A tale of Manoush - a middle class parenting experience

We received the usual daily slide pack from daycare on Monday. It transpired that they had been busy making Manoush, or a traditional Lebanese breakfast pizza. Apparently they had all taken turns in "the pouring and mixing of ingredients".

There was even photographic evidence.

The next slide (under the heading of "Children respond to diversity with respect", no less) contained details of how the children were encouraged to try their wares, using the example of Green Eggs and Ham for those who were less than willing.  "Try them, try them and you may.  Try them and you may, I say".

Alice obviously bowed to the pressure and I was quite impressed to see this shot amongst the others.

She banged on about "manoush" all the way home in the car, correcting my pronunciation and asking if we could please "make some manoush now".  My protests that we were sitting in the Eastern Distributor tunnel fell on deaf ears.  I promised that we would look up a recipe when we got home and write down the ingredients for a shopping trip on our day off on Wednesday.  "Write the ingredients now?" was the cry for much of the next 12 hours and indeed, it was the first thing she said when she woke on Wednesday morning.  We're all for the upside of Dolphins at the moment and helping her to remember how much fun it is when she stops crying after having been dropped off, so we set off for the supermarket. 

The recipe turned out to be straight forward if time consuming and we just needed to purchase sumac and sesame seeds for the topping to be away.  As with any bread making experience with a toddler, there was a good deal of kneeding, resting, washing a little persons hands, defending onseself against a toy rolling pin, picking up bits, finding patches of flour on your clothes for hours afterwards etc.  Lots of me asking, "Is this how you did it at Dolphins?  What fun.  Did Savannah stir it too?  Did you all kneed the dough" etc.  It took most of the morning, what with all the resting it seemed to need (geddit?!) and finally went into the oven, with the herbs added, while Alice was napping.  When she woke up, she somewhat predictably had to be bribed to try it and took only a couple of bites.  But we'd had fun and she was excited for Daddy to try it on his return from work (the poor guy was chased around the lounge with a small person hollering, 'Try it and you may, I say"). So, fun to do; not that successful in terms of sustenance.  It passed a rainy morning that we might otherwise have spent watching Dora.

This morning, we arrived at Dolphins and I proudly told them that we had repeated their experience.  Alice had a little sample piece to show the girls and we (I) were all puffed up with super motherhood/chefdom at our baking.

"Oh", said Sarah, non-plussed.  "You actually made the bread?  We didn't do that, we just bought it and spread the herbs on top". 

You'd think that a two year old who can say "ingredients" and pronounce "manoush" like a native could have summoned the vocabulary to say "no" to just one of my pestering questions.  Still, it went very nicely with my soup at lunchtime today.

Hols

As usual, we're back from hols and have been busy, jet lagged, sleepless and this year, add very pregnant to the list.  So as usual, far too little about the holiday and just some piccies to bring us up to date.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193274&id=658227046&l=811eecfe34

Alice had a lovely time with almost all the family.  She missed catching up with "her cousin Meely" and the great-grandparents especially.  Still, as can be seen from the photies, hanging out with the Grandparents, Aunties and Fairy Godmothers (all of whom she called either Ruthy or "That") was lots of fun and she's still asking to, "See 'Chelle now?", "See Auntie Becca now?".

I would imagine that this would be the last time she'll have to be re-introduced to people and that she'll start to remember everyone properly now that she's getting a bit older.  She still remembers her infamous Makka Pakka birthday cake from January, so should be able to keep flesh and blood relatives in her mind for a few months at a time, surely?!

Potty training. Tick.

I wouldn't like to say too much on this subject in case I jinx her, but after a shaky start including 5 "accidents" in one afternoon and one day with 4 wardrobe changes at daycare, Alice seems to be just about "there" during waking hours.

There have been the requisite embarrassing moments (in the cafe at the Australian museum; on the tram at the Singapore night zoo - which was a particularly worrying one, since I was convinced that the bears would smell us and storm the tram.  Despite sitting on my lap and having drenched us both, Alice wouldn't let it lie and kept whining that "I forgot to tell Mummy.  I forgot to tell Stuart") but generally speaking, we're dry.  Or we're wet in appropriate places.  Alice likes a toilet trip a deux and nary has there been a prouder moment than when she announced to the Qantas club lounge that "Daddy! Daddy! Mummy did a wee-wee".

She's still wearing "sleeping pants" - although I did hear some clattering from the bathroom the other day as she got herself up from her nap, tried to climb on the toilet seat, failed, undressed, sat on potty and performed "the works" and wiped - but overall, I must say that it's been a pretty painless process, all be it one involving a lot of smarties.  The magical fold-up travel toilet seat with the inspired Dora stickers has been a godsend and has seen us across the world and back.  I don't know when we'll brave nap and nighttimes, but no rush, I guess?