day out and potatoes

New potatoes freshly dug

We were kind of worried by how many white spots were in the potatoes.  So, we looked it up. They are 'normal' for newly dug potatoes that have been in wet weather conditions or soil with poor drainage.  The wetter the soil is, the more white spots, or lenticles - or pores, the potato needs for the exchange of gasses.  Also, the more it has - the harder it is to keep for long storage.  So, we are eating these as mashed potatoes tonight.  Esme even ate some - she said that it wasn't like potato - it made her face different, and her skin feel beautiful.. she was sure there was a difference, and even told Grandma so when she went for a sleepover.

This morning we did quite a few errands.  It is important for me to take her out 'on our own' once in a while and have her follow my cues, listen to my directions and boundaries for yes we will do this but not that etc...  I find it hard sometimes to find my balance with this and not rely on Daddy or Grandma, so it's good for both of us to just have one-on-one.  Also, we can sometimes stop and take a timeout for some things she wants (like eating IN at a restaurant, or going to a certain place to see what it is) that we don't usually do with Daddy.  We stopped to see a new city park fountain today, which she loved.  And she ate an entire chicken taco by herself - which I did have to hurry her along with, but is a 'big' thing for her to branch out and do some new things. 

When we are out together, just the two of us, I can use big words, or make funny stories - etc etc... I know sometimes it can be boring, as well, or 'educational'.. like making her try to count the change, or estimate how much the bill will be at the grocery store - down to reminding her to use full sentences when she wants to ask something etc.  She read a story out of a kid's magazine and sounded out author names on lots of books quite better than I thought her level was right now.  But, she had a lot of trouble remembering the names of the children she met, and then it was hard for her to talk to them because she kept mispronouncing their names.  They were all quite older than her, and focused on the summer reading program.  Finally she took that cue and picked several books to read and then I picked a few more to get her limit.  The librarian gave her a special bag to keep her books in since they are on her OWN library card.

The rest of the produce from the garden today was a long radish, green beans, and sweet peas.  Esme got a few sweet peas with her meal, too, and sausage and canned peaches.  She is doing so much better at eating more variety, but it takes work to keep it going.

Now I am going to relax some... and back to work tomorrow.  I have a set of new pillowcases I sewed last night in the washing machine, and have finished the copy net string bag for the person at work.  I got a couple of greek mythology books for me to read, as well - so I can try to tell some of them to Esme as stories.  We did Odysseus and the Cyclops last year or so.. but she doesn't remember.  And last night she watched Percy Jackson, and it reminded me of several myths she should hear the 'first' versions of, just like the 'first' versions of fairy tales we have been reading compared to the Disney versions and Fractured Fairy Tales she has seen on tv etc..