11 months

There's an old wive's tale which says that a baby "born in the caul" or with the amniotic sac intact will become a midwife. It is also supposed to be a symbol of good luck. Maia's sac had already ruptured at the start of labor (I felt it pop, as I was very familiar with the sensation because it's the way all of my kids' labors began), but it didn't leak until she started coming out. And she was born still covered in the sac.

So I guess it should come
as no surprise that Maia
found all my birth and baby
books that I had piled next
to the basement door ready
to be put in storage bins.

Maia is 11 months old now.
She loves her blue bear, and
messing with her brothers'
stuff.

Sorry for the Friday delay...we have a 24 hour stomach virus whipping through the house at the moment, which I got first, lucky me!
Friday was red, white & blue day in Ryan's class, so I made an appropriate bento...

Ryan's
lunch:
blanched
spinach;
carrot
sticks;
Tofutti
cream
cheese
and
rasp-
berry
jelly
sandwich
topped
with
more
cream
cheese and blueberries & strawberry stripes; edamame; mini apricot ginger tart; mini strawberry rhubarb tart.

The mini tarts were the challenge for my new Bento: Impossible group. I randomly chose three ingredients from the back of The New Basics cookbook, which ended up being ginger, apricots & pastry.

Apricot Ginger Tarts

1 sheet puff pastry
2 T. crystallized ginger, diced
6-8 dried apricots, sliced
1 T. sugar

Thaw frozen pastry for 1 hour at room temperature. Cut into 3 inch rounds (or shape into a large tart pan for 1 large tart). Place on non-stick baking sheet. Dock pastry with a fork except near the edges.
Top with ginger and apricots. Sprinkle with sugar. Fold in edges 1/4-1/2 an inch.
Optional: top with remaining stripes of puff pastry.
Bake 15 minutes at 375F.

Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

1 sheet puff pastry
1/2 cup fresh ripe strawberries, sliced
1 stalk ripe rhubarb, thinly sliced
1 T. sugar

Thaw frozen pastry for 1 hour at room temperature. Cut into 3 inch rounds (or shape into a large tart pan for 1 large tart). Place on non-stick baking sheet. Dock pastry with a fork except near the edges.
Top with a layer of rhubarb & then a layer of strawberry slices. Sprinkle with sugar. Fold in edges 1/4-1/2 an inch.
Optional: top with remaining stripes of puff pastry.
Bake 15 minutes at 375F.