Burn out comes so easily to us food professionals, it can be really challenging to deal with. I’ve learned to head it off by giving myself something challenging to learn–sometimes it’s food related, sometimes not. This is why I started to learn how to cook Indian food–because my mind was on the verge of turning into mush from spending so many hours in the bakery–doing the same things over and over again. Don’t feel bad or guilty about your emotions over leaving Restaurant Salaam; I for one can definitely relate!

Welome back!

I have a friend with a child who is just a little older than Kat (who is older than my child by about 2 months). They were concerned about his speech development as well, until they were convinced to try signing with him. All of a sudden, he got very expressive. And his speech has recently picked up pretty significantly as well. Just by looking at Kat’s face, you can see she’s got an active and expressive personality.

I’ve been signing with my daughter since she was born. It’s the awesomest thing ever, to know what she wants. Plus it gives multiple levels of interaction, and it’s encouraging even more motor skill development. (Also, Signing Time is an awesome kid’s show that doesn’t drive parents completely nuts, and libraries often carry it)

It looks pretty obvious to me that you guys are very engaged in interacting with Kat, and she with you. My brother didn’t really talk until he was over 2. It might be that you guys are just in tune enough with her that she doesn’t feel like she has to talk yet.

If and whenever you’re feeling up for it, I’d love to hear what you think of Mark Bittman’s new book.

Don’t let the blog become an obsession, but yea, don’t neglect us either