You are more beautiful than you think – yes… really

Motherhood has aged me. I look at the crow’s feet that were never there before, dark circles under the eyes from the lack of sleep, and stray white hairs that I’ve pulled out more often than I care to remember. I’ve swapped my heels for Birkenstocks, thanks to those lovely bunions and walk around with my brain permanently stored in a jar somewhere. I look at my old photos where I was a pretty, young thing and stare at the mirror where not much is perky anymore. Earlier this week, Dove released  their Real Beauty Sketches and it was so poignant and moving, I had to stop myself and watch it again.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – Itty Bitty Foodies Style

No doubt we’ve all heard of Amy Chua’s new parenting memoir “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” . When I first read her article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” on the Wall Street Journal, I thought it was a satirical piece and kept waiting for the punchline. I read in horror the part about her daughter, Lulu (age 7) when she couldn’t play “The Little White Donkey” and Chua writes, “We worked right through dinner into the night, and I wouldn’t let Lulu get up, not for water, not even to go to the bathroom”. (Watch a video of a different 7 year old girl here playing it. Note - it’s not an easy piece). I felt polarized over the article and judging by the 7000+ comments posted on the article, I’m not the only one.

Feelings of outrage are easily understandable. I would never call my children, ‘garbage’ nor will I force my children to those extremities  (no dinner? no bathrooms breaks over a piece of music? That’s not me). But it was being sympathetic to Chua that conflicted me the most.

Happy New Year – My Two Year Old Eats Octopus

Happy New Year! As I sat to write down my New Year’s (Foodie) Resolutions, I stumbled across one of my favorite blogs My Two Year Old Eats Octopus byNancy Tringali Piho and thought I would pass on her pearls of wisdom. And my personal New Year’s resolution? … to simplify. I wish you all wonderful things for 2011.

Thank you for reading! Till our next happy meal!

Ratatouille or Chuck E. Cheese? An open letter to Dallas Child Magazine

I picked up the December issue of Dallas Child today and excitedly flipped to Pg.30 to see the featured article ”Best for Families – Dining and Destinations” article and boy was I shocked. On the list were Tin Star for Hottest Taco Joint, Babes Chicken for Ultimate Eatery to Share a Meal Family style, Chuck E. Cheese Best Pizza Pie with a Side of Playtime, Rainforest Cafe for Coolest Themed Dining Experience. There were two that I thought were ok, eatZi’s Market & Bakery for Best Healthy Dining and Paciugo’s Gelato & Cafe for Best Spot to Snag  a Frozen Treat. What a sad city we live in if this is considered Dallas’ Best?

Birthday Month Celebrations

Remember when you were a kid and how much birthdays meant to you? Pikelet who is currently four years old asks for four kisses every night and one more to make him five. Lollo sings Happy Birthday to himself at every opportunity like the other day when he stuck a stick in a mud and pretended it was a candle. So Beefcake and I have decided to give each of the boys a birthday month

Main Street Garden – eat, play & splash

Lily Pad Cafe @ Main Street Garden

Take a break at Main Street Garden, the green oasis in downtown Dallas that is bordered by Main, St Paul, Commerce and Ervay Streets. With its gorgeous grounds, cafe, spray park, children’s playground and dog run, Main Street Garden  is a haven for families, even Fido.

If you’d ever wanted to try Chinese cooking at home, stay tuned…

I’ve just won the lottery! Not really but close!

Who are Pikelet & Lollo?

Lollo & Pikelet

I’ve just updated a new page on Pikelet and Lollo. Click here to see who these itty bitty foodies are.

Thanks for your support and joining us on our yummy adventures!

Spread the word.

A delicious sandwich hug with my morning tea

I look forward to our ‘sandwich hugs’ every morning. Before Beefcake heads out the door, we have a little ritual. Beefcake opens his big arms and calls out ‘horseradish’, Pikelet says he’s ‘kobe beef’, Lollo wants to be ‘cornichon chippies’ and I’m pumpernickel bread, next we squish ourselves together and make a ‘sandwich’. It’s our family group hug.

What’s ‘Home Made’ at your home?

I’ve added a section called ‘Home Made’. It will document my blogging journey as I’m ‘making’ this blog at home as well as recipes and sometimes… disasters that I try at home with Pikelet & Lollo. I’d love to hear from readers what they’ve been cooking at home for their own itty bitty foodies.

So tell me… what did you have for dinner this week?

Si Tapas! Me tapas!

The infamous Chee Japa

“Chee japa! Chee japa!”

For the longest time Lollo would say these words over and over again. As said in my About page, he had only a handful of words so whenever he said something consistently, we’d try and figure out what he was saying. Finally one day when we drove by Allen Street in Uptown and he excitedly cried out the same phrase “Chee japa, chee japa”. And finally the mystery was solved. He was of course referring to ‘Si Tapas’.