One of my favorite dish to make !  My husband can have this a few times a week.  Even though it's a sour fish soup, you can substitute the fish with prawn and it will work just as well.

There are a few ways to make it, the Southern and Northern style.  I found the Southern style a bit more on the sweet side.  My version is Northern with my own twist :-)  

So here's the recipe:

- 8 cups of chicken broth (home made, can or carton) or water if you don't have it.
- 3-4 fish fillet (any type of fish, you can add a whole fish or use fish head, just be careful of those sharp bones when consume) or you can sub. with 1 1/2 lb of prawns
- 1/2 cup of fresh pineapples, diced, more less to your liking (canned or frozen pineapple is ok too)
- 1 cup of bean sprouts (more less to your liking)
- 3-4 stalks of taro stems, peeled and sliced diagonally

Taro stems - sponge like - peel the outer green skin off with the edge of knife

- 3 med. tomatoes, quartered
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, smashed
- 1 small chunk of rock sugar or 1/2 table spoon of cane sugar
- 1 of 1 inch square of frozen tamarind pulp or 1/2 table spoon of tamarind powder
- fish sauce

*Additional ingredients:  You can add any of the below ingredients to this soup, more less to your liking, adjust soup broth (add more water) if soup is too thick.
- 1/4 cup baby clams
- 1/4 cup baby shrimps
- 1 tofu cut into small chunks

Flavoring herbs (this is what gives canh chua the flavor):

Thinly slice:
- green onions
- ngo om
- ngo gai
- rau ram

Ngo Om - rice paddy herb - lemony citrus sweet cumin flavor

Ngo Gai - long coriander, thorny coriander, saw -leaf herb - taste close to cilantro

Rau Ram - vietnamese coriander, blade like leaves - peppery flavor

IF you can't find any of the above herbs then use green onions (thinly sliced) and dills (chopped).

Cooking Instructions:

- in a pan, add it a bit of oil, add in 1/2 amount of garlic, stir until fragrant
- add in the quartered tomatoes, stir around 2-3 times, until orange liquid is released

- add in the chopped pineapple and stir until soften, put a aside

- in a heavy pot, add a bit of oil, then add the last 1/2 amount garlic and shallot and stir until fragrant
- add in the fish fillets and let it cook for about 3 min.
- pour in the cooked tomatoes and pineapples
- put in the smashed lemon grass stalk
- add in the water or broth

- bring pot to boil then turn stove down to medium, to simmer

- add in any additional ingredients you would like to add

- add in the chunk of rock sugar and tamarind
- add in the bean sprout and taro stem slices last (these cook really fast)

Simmer all for 15-20 minutes, bring back up to boil, season it with fish sauce and you're done !

(I seasoned mine with a table spoon of 3 Crabs brand fish sauce.  Different brand of fish sauce has different sodium content so season sparingly)

Spoon the soup into a big bowl, then add in handfuls of the thinly sliced herbs.  If this is your first time eating this, add in a bit of the herbs at a time as it is very pungent in flavor.  Serve with rice.

Bee doesn't like to eat lunch.  She would rather be outside in the playground with her peers than sitting inside and eatting her lunch alone.  It seems no one is eating lunch in kindergarten.

I spoke with other moms and they told me, on a good day their kid finished half, but generally, most day lunch is 75% untouched.  One mom told me, her son takes 1, yes 1, bite of the sandwich and he's done.  For many of us parents, we are patience and persistent :) and a little afraid our little bigger will starve :) so we consistently make and pack snacks and lunch for our kid (s) each day.  We pray and hope to see those lunch bag come home empty.

C & I were a bit stressed that Bee's not eating her lunch but upon hearing from other parents, we feel so so much better about lunch time.  Vince's mom told me that around grade 2 is when they will finish their lunch and snacks !  Speaking from her own experience with her elder kid.  Here's to hoping and praying it will be earlier or same for us.

Bee wants to be with other kids at the 1st lunch warning bell (we're on the West Coast lunch schedule, there are 2 bells, first one is 15 min. into lunch, if you're done you can go outside, the 2nd one is at 30 min into lunch, and this one is where EVERYONE has to be outside, whether you finish your lunch or not, you have to be outside).  Most kids are out at the 1st bell, Bee said.  She wants to be with all her friends so she packs up after 15.  Being a slow eater, she often finished only 1/3 or 1/4 of her lunch.

2 months now into kindergarten, I learned a bit about Bee's habit, she doesn't want to be last out and too much food overwhelms her (too many choices).  I also learned not to fuss over it, the more attention I gave the more apprehensive she gets, and then our walk home isn't fun anymore.  Instead I ask her, if she enjoys the lunch C or I packed her, and often she would tell me what she likes and don't like and the occasions "you packed too much!".  We decided to give her a smaller lunch and play around with what's convenience to pack and what she can finish in short time so she can be out with other kids at 1st bell !

While I like to exchange ideas and seek advices from other parents, I take them all in stride.  Reasons are our kids are different and our parenting style are different.  I prefer talking things out rather than force.  I know parents who forced their kids to eat, it's not for me or hubby.  We also don't tell our kids "eat or be hungry" and we avoid hand feeding them most of the time.  Instead we would play food stealing games to get Bee to eat while we eat our meal.  We are not the most patience people either so if by the time we're done our meal, if she's not done, she can choose to stay and eat or clean up with us.  We are lucky that generally there's something on the table that she wants to eat.  She has her off day 1 or 2 times a week but she makes it up by eating cucumbers or broccoli or fruits and drinking more milk.

I've read articles on picky eaters and none of it really applies to Bee or our personalities so I walk away with the overall knowledge:  get to know your kid !  and then use that knowledge and find solutions that works for both of you.  Bee is a selective eater and also a slow eater too.  She generally likes most fruits and for veggies, she prefers cucumber and broccoli most.  She used to love mixed food but now prefers them separate, not touching each other.  Maybe it's just a phrase but while she's going through it, it's good to be considerate of that and let her be.

To make our life easy, for lunch, we pack all the tried and true food we know she would eat.  I wouldn't start introducing new food at lunch, that's more like a dinner thing.   Right now, I pack mostly her favorite fruits for snacks, and she doesn't like sandwiches (because we don't normally eat them) or anything with sauce (pasta, etc) or anything mixed (like mixed noodled or fried rice) so I try to pack her something that is filling.  This probably is the most challenging and trying part for me !!!

For this week and last week, lunch menu is home made breakfast sausage (recipe here), or mini pancakes (1 egg, 2 table spoons of flour, bit of cane sugar, bit of mashed up banana or grated sweet potato mixed with water), or croissants with turkey ham, or mini chicken wieners with rice balls.  The ham and wieners are either free range or made with organic meat and are locally made.  Even so, I don't want her to start liking processed meat products so I try to limit it to 1 a week or 1 every 2 weeks.

One mom told me her boy likes cereal so she packed cereal and milk for lunch.  Another packed pancakes for the whole week.  I think it's great that they do whatever works for them and the kid !!!  It makes it less stressful for everyone.  

I found baby cubes are great for packing small snacks.
They are just the right size, take little space and easy to open and clean.

Bee doesn't like cold food so with a recommendation from another mom, I bought a kid thermos at London Drugs.  So far it's a great investment ! we use it everyday !  It keeps food warm for 5 hours and cold food for 7 hours.  We don't tighten it too tight, just enough so Bee can open by herself.  Price is around $15 so it's not so bad.

There's no candy or juice or milk in Bee's lunch bag.  She has a bottle of water!  We also pack her a 4-5 ritz crackers or 15 gold fish crackers (because her friends are eating them and she asked me if she can have it too).  I don't like crackers as I feel they are loaded with salt and are just filler food.  But they are easy to pack and easy to eat when hungry or just need something to tie over.  The crackers come home most day though, untouched, but we continue to pack them just in case she's still hungry after lunch.

We're getting the hang of making lunch for Bee.  It just takes some time to figure out what works and what doesn't and takes a bit of effort in prepping.  Now a few times a week (2 or 3) we get "I finished my lunch" and it's encouraging for us.  It seems food is forever a battle for us parents !!!  We don't spoil our kids, but we do compromise with them on some things, mostly with Bee, as she's vocal enough to let us know her preferences.  If something is a struggle for us then we sit down and discuss as family and negotiate !!!  At the end of the day, while we listen and hear the kids out, we make sure they know we are the king and queen and we rule this place called home :-)  we get to have the last word !  for now anyways !

Bee loves grapes and cantaloupe cubes !  She like croissants and the mini hot dog (organic all meat with no preservatives)

First time packing this for Bee and she ate everything but the corned beef slices.  We don't eat cold cuts at home so it doesn't surprise me that she didn't eat it.  I remember liking corned beef so I bought it, hoping she likes it.  Oh well !

Mini chicken wiener bites (organic all meat with no preservatives) !  Bee likes to eat it with rice :-)  we're so asian :-)

Everything was eaten except the beans and chicken  :-(  She likes beans at home but not at school, she told me !  We will forego cold cuts as she doesn't like it at all.

I have very few friends at work, 2 to be exact.  Over the years, I learned, the less friends and the less you talk at work is beneficial in the long run.  When you keep everything professional and focus on your work, there's less drama and distractions.  I happened to like my job and like to spend time working !  Strange I know :-)  I try not to share too much about my personal life, where I live, what car I drive, what dwelling I live in, what my husband do for a living, etc.  I noticed the more you share the more criticism you will draw to yourself.  I always remind myself to keep those personal conversations to companies of few.

What I know now I learned from experience off course !  There once was a colleague whom I talked to often and naturally over the years we gotten to know more details of each other's lives.  It was great to know their hobbies, their up bringing, their opinions, their dreams.  Then one day another colleague kinda make a comment to me, about me, about things I know I didn't tell them.  I then found out that the trusted colleague whom I talked most to, often share my stories to some other colleagues.  That was hurtful and quite un-necessary.  It benefited no one.  It was rather just to have "something to talk about".  And I know, when a convo is repeated from another person, it's never 100% of what was said.  That was my first brush with office gossip.

What will come will come, it's inevitable.  Our organization is going through restructuring.  Everyone is replaceable.  It's not over until it's over so don't ever go making useless assumptions.  I try to stay away from fear mongers  !  We all need to work, we don't know who's going through what, or what other burdens they have, so we all need to be kind and thoughtful in times like this.  Know that it's not personal, it's all business.  There will be casualties, it's inevitable.  More talk = more fear = low morale.

Talk about morale, it's at obvious low around here.  I feel everyone is down and there's a sense of instability.  I've never been through it so this is very new for me.  The environment is a little different, I don't know how to say it, but there's a change in the air.  Good or bad I've yet to know.  I'm also off on mat leave soon so I won't be able to see how all these will pan out.  But for sure, after 1 year when I'm back things will be different from now.

woke up one morning to find the kids sandwiched between us and one set of eyes staring at me !

I love cosleeping with the kids.  I love having them holding tightly on me and me holding them tightly back.  I like reading to them, I like listening to C reading to them.  we love bed times around here, when we all snuggle up next to each other, the kids would tuck tightly under our arm pit, while one of us reading to them.  When "the end" are announced, they are either both asleep by then or need another 5-10 to fall asleep.  They both are very easy sleeper, something I feel very blessed for.

When the kids are in deep sleep we sometime move Bee to her bed and she most always would crawl in with us in the wee morning.  Our bed settings is like this, up against the headboard is Lovebug, me and then C.  Bee would either be in her room or in a toddler bed at the corner of our bed room.  When she's up would quietly say "mommy om" (meaning "hug me mommy") and magically I'm up (I don't know how I can hear it in my sleep but I do) , then we would hug, I can feel her breathing on me and I can feel my breathing above her head, we would stay like that until sleep alludes us away.

I'm usually the first one up.  I take this time to reflect on things and one of the thing I love most is, looking at my kids peaceful face, the moment is so beautiful.  They are growing up ! I noticed their features are changing, they still look the same but a bit different at the same time.  I see their faces everyday, but only when they sleep would they stay still for me to have a close up view of them.  Lovebug lost most of her baby cheeks.  I can see her cheek bones now.  I noticed Bee got a tiny mold on her upper shoulder.  That's new.  To much sun this summer maybe.

I want to be this close to them for as long as I possibly can.  Until they have enough of us.  Funny how before we have kids, C and I used to think it's so weird that parents sleep with their kids.  Kids should be in their room, sleeping in their own beds, and be independent or learn to be independent of their parents.  Until we have our own kids, we then realized why.  One look at Bee and then Lovebug, I knew I can't be apart from them.  C said he feel safe at night knowing we're all in one room.  I like this cozyness feeling of all of us snuggling and sleeping together.  I love it.

The question comes up often when the pumpkins are growing orange in the field.  As Christians, do we or do we not carve pumpkin and dress up and go trick or treating ?

Here's the back history of this night:  http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-Halloween

I know many Christians opt out, and many goes to children's program at church, and many dress up and go out like us.

The issue here is not black and white and it's more in the gray area.  It's all personal choice and where you stand in front of God.  The short answer is, everything in this world belongs to Him and Him alone.  A man-made event or holiday doesn't make it a "bad" or "satanic" day.  Telling me I'm sinning for carving pumpkin and giving out candies or taking my kids out trick or treating is not going to change me or my salvation.  No one has that right but Christ alone.  I often pray and rely on my intuition when unsure of things.  When something is off or wrong, my heart is not at peace and I know right away the holy spirit is caution or warning me.  I don't feel any uneasiness with Halloween.

In the end, we all are free to make decission on such day without fear of people judging us :-)  I believe Christ love us just the same as yesterday and tomorrow.  I view it as a fun day for the kids to be with their friends, to parade around school, to be with other kids, to visit neighbors.  I remember my childhood with fond memories of halloween with families and friends.  Our families would gather together and my aunt Ninh used to put all of us kids in a garbage bag !  Yup black garbage bag with a slit cut out on the bottom and sides and we put it on like a shirt.  Then when older, I would be in pyjamas and use pillow case to use as bag.  Even if it's raining, my friends and I are out there drenched in the wet cold weather, trying to out number each other on candies collection.  It was fun times.  Maybe it was the era or the people I was friends with, but there was no booze or drug on halloween, not even fire crackers.

pumpkin carving and seeds separating !

trick or treating at the mall !  Cupcake store gives our mini cupcakes !  yum !

our lovely neighbor Marie packed a huge goodies bag for the kids and a sweet card for us !

excited to go trick or treating and showing off their costumes to our neighbors 

10 houses, they went to 10 houses, not even a complete block, and asked to go home.
Bee said she gathered enough candies.   It's good to know when it's enough and stop I guess !  

Today our family do the pumpkin patch visit, pumpkin carving, dressing up and go trick or treating.  We've always make it a family non-scary event.  I never like the scary aspect of halloween and it seems many parents, christians and non-christians alike, opt for the fun/cute/silly version too.  I see all super heroes, princesses, and other characters, but no witches or creepy monsters on the street or any that came to our door.

There is no loss or gain if you participate in Halloween or not.  You are not more or less of a Christian.  I am neutral about it, much like Valentine, an event with lots of sweet too !  It is just a day like every other day, the sun rise the sun set.  You choose to the make the best decission for your family and we for ours.  For our house, we serve the Lord, we meet our neighbors, we hand out candies to kids, check out their costumes and happy faces.  It's happy times all around.

I like McDonald's breakfast sausage but limit myself to it only a few times a year.  The other day it came to me, why don't I make them at home ?  why haven't I thought of this before ???  They are healthy, without preservatives and easy to make !

Here's the recipe written by literary mom for food.com, I tweaked it a bit:

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground turkey (or pork or mix of both, I found lean turkey are a bit too dry)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon fennel seed > I grind this on a pestle for even distribution in the meat
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper > I used only half when I make it for the kids
1⁄2 teaspoon white pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
1⁄8 teaspoon allspice

I also add:
- 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (omit if making for kids)

Mixed all the dry ingredients together, then add to the ground meat.  Mix well with hands and form into thin patties (1/4 of an inch).  Pan fry on medium high, 3-5 min on each side.  Enjoy !

Right behind me is where Bee likes to be whenever we're in a new environment.  She would hold onto me hand, freeze on the spot, and peer out at the other kids from my side.  Other moms and kids would smile at her, some approached her and said "hi".  I would nudge her to say "hi" back but nothing came from her.  I would respond to them in her place, "she's a little shy" and they nodded back at me as if understood.

English is my 2nd language, shy in Vietnamese can be taken as "quiet, cautious" and the other meaning is "embarrass".  To me it doesn't have a negative connotation.  However, after repeating it a few times, I realized I accidentally labeled my daughter, just so that I can explain to other why she doesn't respond to them.  I unintentionally gave Bee a "disorder" :-(  I felt horrible.  Bee has no issue.  She just need time to warm up to people.  She's cautious of her surrounding, of who's around.  She likes to observe people before opening herself up to them.  Which is a very good trait to have.  She told me she doesn't want to talk to people she doesn't know.  She said "I don't know them, they are strangers !"  Another excellent point !  and this is where I fail her :-(

I taught Bee about strangers, to avoid them, don't talk to them, and then here I am, unintentionally making her talk to people she deemed "strangers".  They aren't my friends or family so yes they are strangers to us.  She's too young to understand that it's ok to have a conversation with someone at the playground or on the transit or in a line up.  It all depends on the situation.  For now, at her age, I rather her treat them as strangers and stay away.

Lately I've just let her be.  She doesn't have to say "hi" if she doesn't want to.  When she doesn't respond to others, I don't feel the need to answer to them or say anything to Bee.  I need to respect her choice, the little control she has in her life.  Sometime someone will say to us "oh she's shy", I would just smile and say "she just doesn't know you".  It's been working well for us.  She doesn't feel she needs to answer them or to me !  Parenting is hard y'all !  I learn something new everyday.