This purple theme is the third blog theme I’ve had since I started blogging, and believe it or not I’m considering another one. It’s all Anna’s fault - she clued me into The Slovanian Designer yesterday. When I took a peek I instantly fell in love with the African theme. The only thing holding me back is that the African one doesn’t have any purple on it… and the fact that I paid a designer to find and upload this theme for me so I hate to change it so soon. Plus I love the fonts and arches in this theme… but that African one is so gorgeous and so unique… if it had a zebra or two and a bit of purple I’d be all over it. Yeah, I know I’m waffling - I’m really good at not making up my mind.

Anyway, I liked the African theme so much I just had to peek at the rest of page, and to my surprise there was more than just templates! Moni has graphics he’s created and photos he’s edited too. I love looking at this kind of stuff and was amazed by the model in the snow. I’m learning to edit photos but I don’t think I’ll ever be good enough to add snow where there wasn’t any before! Hint, click on the photo to see the entire thing. I won’t admit how long it took me to figure that out.

Do me a favor - take a peek at Moni’s blog then come back and tell me what you think!

One of Jim’s dreams while in America was to see the Great Lakes for himself. He asked Teacher about flying to see Lake Superior, but Teacher told him that Lake Michigan was just an hour away. “By bus?” Jim asked. Apparently Thailand has an extensive system of buses that Jim often used for travel. “No, you don’t need to take a bus, we’ll drive you.” Teacher told him.

Since our van wouldn’t fit all of us plus Jim we asked the kids who wanted to go. Jo-Bear did, but the girls decided to stay home and watch a Gilmore Girls marathon. So Sunday afternoon we packed the boys and Jim into the van and took off for Manitowoc and Lake Michigan. Teacher had underestimated the distance to Manitowoc so the drive was actually closer to two hours than one, but it was a peaceful drive. Z-man and Little Guy slept the whole way, occasionally snoring gently or muttering in their sleep. Jo-Bear played his Nintendo DS, and didn’t complain when I made him turn the volume down so the game wouldn’t drive me crazy. Jim looked out the windows, occasionally asking questions about the farms we passed. We did our best to answer his questions and explain dairy farming to him. Jim’s parents are farmers in Thailand; growing rice and a local fruit that I’ve forgotten the name of, and it was interesting to discuss the similarities and differences between their Thai farm and Wisconsin farms.

It didn’t seem like long before we entered Manitowoc and started looking for signs to the beach. We passed one little park with a small beach, but it wasn’t the one Teacher had found online and wanted to visit. Just up the road from the little beach we turned off the main road into a woods that offered a peek of the lake through the trees. The blacktop road gave way to gravel as we got closer to the beach, then ended abruptly in a turn-around. Teacher parked the car and we all tumbled out.

Next to the road was an arched wooden bridge over a stream of clear, rapidly flowing water. Jo-Bear jogged over the bridge with Little Guy trotted after him holding Teacher’s hand. I had out my camera and was already taking photos so I didn’t notice right away that Z-Man had balked at the bridge. “He’s scared” Jim called to me. “You want me to carry you?” he asked Z-Man. Z-Man nodded and raised his arms to Jim. I started back across the bridge to take Z-Man from him - I didn’t want our guest to feel obliged to carry our son, but Jim said “Is OK” with a big smile so I continued across the bridge.

Here’s everyone starting across the bridge, and the stream under the bridge. I don’t blame Z-Man for being scared.

The view from the bridge to the lake - gorgeous! And Jim carrying Z-Man across the scary bridge.

Z-Man was happy to get down and walk on his own on the other side of the bridge, kicking the gravel ahead of him, then scuffing through the sand when the gravel ended. Jo-Bear bent down to take a handful of the beach sand. “Mom, feel this, it’s so soft!” he called. “We should take some home for our sandbox.” he added. Teacher and I looked at each other and laughed. In Michigan he’d built a sandbox for my daycare and filled it with lake sand from a local quarry. I loved that fine, soft, dust-free sand so much! One of my biggest disappointments in moving to Wisconsin was that I couldn’t find lake sand for our new sandbox. I kept teasing my in-laws that they should fill the back of Dad’s pick-up with sand, or at least bring a garbage can full of lake sand when they visited - but in the almost 10 years we’ve been here they never have. Since our visit to Manitowoc I’ve decided to find a Manitowoc quarry with lake sand, rent a trailer and get sand for our sandbox there. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s SO worth it!

The beach was obviously not a swimmer’s beach; judging by the large boulders visible through the waves and the number of shells, sticks and stones in the sand. The boys all had a blast throwing stones into the lake - without being yelled at! - and searching for “treasures” in the sand. Teacher found some crab shells and after Jo-Bear saw them he was on a mission to find as many shells as he could. He found quite a few, including one with a dried-out crab inside. Grosssss!!!! Jim was awed by the size of the lake and took tons of photos. Teacher followed Little Guy up and down the beach, scooping him up when he got too close to the water and the waves washed over his feet.

The shoreline, and one of the crab claw treasures Jo-Bear found.

Z-Man is looking for treasure while Teacher keeps an eye on Little Guy. At this point his feet are still dry…

Jim takes photos of himself everywhere he goes. If I ever get to visit a country more exotic than Canada I’m sure I’ll do the same thing. It just amazes me to think that we have a friend halfway across the world.

This is one of my favorite photos from the day. Little Guy loved being on the beach, I can’t wait to take him back when it’s warmer!

It was amazing how relaxing the bright sunshine, scent of fresh lake water, and sound of the waves were. I could feel the tension leave my body as I walked along the beach next to Teacher. Apparently he was feeling the same way; “Relaxing, isn’t it?” he asked, putting an arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked out toward the horizon, watching the water glitter in the sun and filling my senses with the lake. “Oh yeah.” I agreed. “If I didn’t love our house so much I’d really want a place on the water.” We stood there for several minutes, just enjoying.

After about an hour an a half we were ready to leave the beach - at least the adults were ready. Jo-Bear was old enough to hide his disappointment, but Z-Man openly pouted and Little Guy cried and arched his back to get down as Teacher carried him away from the water. This time Z-Man wasn’t afraid of the bridge, and after crossing it once he wanted to go back and forth one more time. I walked with him as Teacher got Little Guy in the car seat, then we all piled back into the car for the drive home.

By this time it was 4:00 and we hadn’t really had lunch - just muffins around 10:00 - so we were hungry! A quick stop at McDonald’s provided the solution, as well as loudly annoying toys for Z-Man and Little Guy to torment us with all the way home. Next time we’ll try Burger King - their toys can’t be as annoying, right? All in all it was a great afternoon, and I’ll never forget the way Jim’s face beamed as he stuck his hand into Lake Michigan. “It’s cold!” he said first. Then, “I touched the Great Lakes - is always my dream.” It doesn’t get better than that!

More photos coming later as I get time to edit them!

Little Guy was hamming it up the other morning so I snapped a series of photos. If you look closely at his little finger you’ll see me wrapped around it. Yeah, I’m a total marshmallow when it comes to the kids, but I can’t help it - they’re so cute! And Little Guy’s big blue eyes and adorable smile get me every time…

Isn’t he just the cutest?!

Jim started prepping for his meal by washing the produce, seeding the jalapeños, choosing a large frying pan from the cupboard, and hunting up additional spices from our stash. He found a head of garlic and roughly chopped it up; skins included. I found the soy sauce, but remembered that we’d used the last of the oyster sauce and hadn’t replaced it yet. Jim said that was OK, he’d get by without it. Teacher was assigned to slice the carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, and halve the grape tomatoes. My usual job is to clean up as Teacher cooks, and while I cleaned up after Jim I was able to remove the garlic skins without being noticed.

Although Jim had told us that he didn’t know how to cook he moved confidently around the kitchen and looked like he knew what he was doing. He began by cooking up some Thai noodles (like Ramen noodles with a kick) without the little seasoning packets, threw in a bunch of garlic and stir-fried it with some carrots, tomatoes, soy sauce and fish sauce. When it was done Jim carefully placed it in the middle of a large plate and garnished with cilantro. “Thai style” Jim said, explaining that Thai food generally makes use of colorful vegetables and garnishes as decoration.

Next Jim mixed eggs with garlic, soy sauce, and a little water for what he called a “Thai omelet”. He watched the cooking eggs intently so they wouldn’t scorch, then flipped them almost effortlessly. Like the noodle dish, the finished omelet was carefully placed on a plate and garnished with cilantro.

For the vegetable dish Jim stir-fried broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and mushrooms with more garlic, a few carrots and tomatoes, and spinach tossed in at the last minute. Soy sauce and fish sauce enhanced the flavors without adding the hot spiciness I had worried about. By this time the kitchen smelled incredibly good; my mouth was watering, my stomach was growling and I couldn’t wait to eat!

Next Jim brought out two packets of traditional Thai seasoning he’d brought from Thailand: Green Curry Paste and Phad Prig Khing Curry Paste. He put about half the package of pork stew meat into the frying pan and began to stir-fry it. Once more I was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough food, but Teacher had made lots of rice so I decided not to worry. Jim added sliced asparagus and a few carrots for decoration, sprinkled in fish and soy sauces, then stirred in some Phad Prig Khing paste. “You taste… not too spicy?” he asked me. I tasted… mmmmm, delicious! It had a slight kick but wasn’t too spicy at all. In fact it was less spicy than some of Teacher’s dishes.

By this time the rice had finished cooking and was set aside with the other dishes to wait as Jim made up Kaeng Kheaw Whan: a Thai soup based on coconut milk and chicken. “Kaeng Kheaw Whan” means “curry, green, sweet.”I was nervous as I watched Jim add raw chicken breast slices to the bubbling coconut milk. Up to now he’d just been stir-frying - a process that went very quickly. What if he didn’t cook the chicken long enough? How would I keep the kids from eating undercooked chicken without being rude? How could I get the chicken cooked all the way through without insulting our guest? But my fears were for nothing - again. You’d think I’d learn, wouldn’t you? Jim simmered the chicken in the coconut milk, added mushrooms and simmered some more, added water and simmered more, stirred in the green curry paste and simmered even more. But the time he transferred the soup to a serving bowl and added the cilantro and jalapeño garnish I was feeling pretty silly about worrying.

As we took our places at the table I was amazed by the bounty spread in front of us. Not only did everything look and smell delicious, there was so much food! Somehow Jim had taken what Teacher and I thought was way too little food and turned it into a feast! We said grace and dug in. Yummmmmm! Everything was perfectly cooked and delicious with little to no heat - except for the Kaeng Kheaw Whan which ended up being too spicy for most of the kids. Little Guy drained his bowl of broth then gave a cry of surprise and rubbed his mouth vigorously. But that sure didn’t stop him from eating it! When I discovered that the chicken and mushrooms weren’t as spicy as the coconut milk broth I didn’t give Little Guy any broth for his seconds… and thirds.

When we were all full I took stock of the leftovers. There was a scant quarter-cup of the pork/asparagus dish and lots of rice left; all of the other plates were totally empty. I never would have believed it, but it had been the perfect amount of food for all of us. Jim seemed very happy that we liked the meal so much, and proud of himself for cooking it. As we cleaned off the table he confided that he’d been very nervous since he hadn’t cooked for other people ever before. I told him that he’d done such a good job he should start!

Cooked noodles with garlic - doesn’t all that garlic look yummy? And the finished noodle dish. It was definitely one of the kids’ favorites!

Here’s Jim cooking the omelet, and the finished omelet - Thai style. The omelet was one of the boys’ favorite dishes - they all love “eggies.”

This is the pork and asparagus dish, and Teacher cutting the asparagus. All the kids except College Boy like asparagus, except some will only eat the stems and some will only eat the tops. They trade until everyone is happy - crazy kids!

Jim’s veggie dish and the Thai soup. The soup was a little spicy, but sweet and rich from the coconut milk. Delicious!

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of “Social Networking” before. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Sorry, couldn’t resist it!

How about MySpace or Facebook?

I thought those would ring a bell - I’d heard of MySpace, but didn’t realize it was a “social network” until recently. Did you know there are about a million gazillion social networks in cyberspace? Check this out: Wikipedia list of social networks. Amazing, isn’t it? And that doesn’t even include Digg, StumbleUpon, Hubs, etc. It’s crazy out there!

Maybe I’m crazy too - I’ve recently dipped a toe into the huge social networking pond. I was hoping to connect with old friends and make new ones, but haven’t had much luck yet. Either my old friends are too old busy to get into social networking, or maybe I haven’t found where they all hang out. Maybe they’re all hiding from me so I won’t find them. Some friends!

Anyway, I’ve got profiles set up in a couple of places, if you’re in the same places stop by and add me as a friend! Since my old friends aren’t around I’ll just forget them and make new friends. They’re probably mad that I called them old, but who needs them - I have you, right? Ummm, unless you are one of my old friends, then I didn’t mean you; I meant those other guys. Really, I’ve always liked you, wanna be best friends forever?

Here’s my networks so far, I’ll LYK that means “Let You Know” if I join anywhere else so you can look for me there too:

StumbleUpon: http://amysuen.stumbleupon.com/ I was addicted to StumbleUpon, it’s like playing the slots, Not that I’ve ever been to a casino, but it’s what I’d imagine playing the slots would be like. You click the Stumble button and a website pops up… is it a good one or a bomb? The fun is seeing what comes up each time. Try it, you’ll like it!

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amysuen Admittedly pathetic so far. I just recently joined and haven’t taken time to personalize everything yet. But it’ll get there eventually, I swear! I think it’ll be fun once I figure out how everything works and I have a bunch of friends to “play” with.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1044494416 This is relatively new too, but I’ve already found some friends and joined a couple of groups. I’d like to play more games but it bugs me that I have to invite all my friends in order to play. I’m just stubborn enough not to do it. Pop in anyway and feel free to invite me when you play games; I love seeing all the fun games and stuff there.

So there you have it - I’m hip, cool, groovy, phat, happenin’… and hoping College Boy isn’t falling off his chair laughing as he reads this! Whatever you want to call it, I’m not totally out of touch yet. Stop by my profiles and be my friend. Pretty please?

Teacher told me that Jim wanted to go to a grocery store to buy food so he could make us a meal. I was a little uneasy about this prospect because Jim had said he didn’t know how to cook, although he did like to watch cooking shows on TV. I was also worried because Teacher and I had tried Thai food a few times and each time it was too spicy for me and I hadn’t liked the flavors. I knew Teacher and I could eat just about anything politely, but I worried that Jim’s food would be too spicy for the kids, or that they wouldn’t like it and he’d feel bad. Finally Teacher told Jim he could cook on the weekend, and we hoped he’d forget or something would come up.

As the week went on my fears didn’t diminish. At the Amer-Asian store Jim had purchased some Thai noodles in addition to the coconut gel and chili paste. The next morning he made some for breakfast for Jo-Bear and himself, and invited me to try them. Jo-Bear’s were mildly spicy, but Jim’s noodles brought tears to my eyes. “Not too spicy!” he said, obviously having a higher tolerance for spice than I have.

Saturday came and Jim asked about cooking for us again. He explained that the children were expected to cook a meal for their host families, and we began to understand how important this was to him. Teacher and I agreed to take him to the grocery store; hoping for the best and determined to find a way to make it work.

When we arrived at the grocery store Jim was a man on a mission! He took off like a shot with Jo-Bear trailing in his wake while Teacher and I followed with Little Guy and Z-Man in the cart. We watched as Jim flew through the produce area, selecting jalapeño peppers and cilantro; a small bag of mixed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower; a container of grape tomatoes; and a bag of spinach. “That’s not going to be enough for all of us.” I whispered to Teacher, panicked at the small amount of food in the basket. We pushed the bare cart behind Jim as he raced through the store. Since he arrived I’ve been amazed at his high energy level - everything he does is much quicker and more energetic than anyone I know. I don’t know if it’s just him, or another difference between Thai and Americans.

We followed Jim as he searched the meat aisle for chicken, pork, and Thai sausage. He spied an open box of individually wrapped frozen chicken breast and indicated that he was looking for chicken breasts, but not as many. As he pulled the string of plastic-coated meat out of the box I was afraid he didn’t understand that the entire box was to be purchased as a unit. I quickly steered him to the fresh chicken case where he studied the shelves for a couple of seconds then selected a package with two organic chicken breasts. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Jim’s an adult older than I am and used to living on his own but I managed to stay quiet and not to point out that organic was more expensive than the others.

In the pork case Jim was excited to find a 1-lb package of pork stew meat, already cut into small pieces. As we led Jim to find coconut milk and rice I looked at the small amount of food in the cart and tried to imagine how it was going to feed the 8 of us. “We can make lots of rice” Teacher whispered to me, knowing what I was thinking. “You know how to make rice?” Jim asked Teacher. Teacher assured Jim that he knew how to make rice, and we exchanged worried looks as we followed Jim. He was cooking and didn’t know how to make rice? Yikes!

Walking through the frozen section Jim asked about “The long green beans, like you have everyday?” and gestured the length of his forearm. Picturing some Asian green bean I was stumped. “I don’t know…” I said, “Maybe back by the vegetables?” “Like you eat every day” he repeated, “And you…” he made the motion of chopping a long bean into sections, “You make like this.” he said looking at Teacher. Suddenly it dawned on Jo-Bear, “Asparagus?” he asked. We’d had asparagus twice in the past week since it’s one of my favorites, thus the “every day” in his description. “Yes! Asparagus!” Jim said. “By the vegetables” Jo-Bear said. They headed off across the store as the rest of us tried to find a short check-out lane. Jim and Jo-Bear appeared moments later with a handful of asparagus, just in time to check out and go home.

To be continued…

On the way home from school Monday Teacher drove Jim past the Hmong Amer-Asian store that’s around the corner from our house. Jim had taken a long walk Sunday afternoon - over two hours which was long enough to make me worry that he’d gotten lost or been mugged not that muggings are common around here - but he hadn’t seen it. The first thing Jim did after taking his school things up to his room was grab Jo-Bear and walk over to the store.

He came back very excited, telling Teacher that it was “All Thai food there.” I didn’t understand why the Hmong store would have Thai foods until Teacher told me that Lynn had said many Hmong lived in refugee camps in Thailand. Ahhhh, makes sense now! Jim brought home a bag of goodies: two jars of coconut gel, a pouch of chili paste, and a ton of Thai noodles - like Ramen but spicy. Wasu, one of the Thai students, had already gone through the stash of Thai noodles he’d brought from home so Jim replenished his supply.

While Teacher worked on our spaghetti supper, Jim opened the chili paste and found the leftover rolls from the previous night’s dinner. He encouraged each of us to take a taste. I was more than hesitant - it looked like ground up beef jerky, but I could see from the package that it was made of fish and seafood. I asked if it was hot and Jim shook his head “Is OK” he said.I broke off a small bit of bun and tentatively dipped it into the particles and took a bite. Spice… and… fish. Not my cup of tea - I didn’t mind the spice, but could have done without the fishy taste.

As the kids were setting the table Jim opened the jars of coconut gel. I’d thought it was jelly, but it was actually small slightly translucent squares of gelatinous coconut swimming in a clear liquid. “Sweet” Jim said, pointing at the gel and smiling. He poured both jars of gel into a bowl then put the bowl in the table along with the chili paste. As everyone dug into the spaghetti Jim sprinkled chili paste over his portion then passed the coconut gel. I gamely took two spoonfuls, figuring that if he could eat our food the least I could do was to try his.

The coconut gel squares weren’t as sweet as I’d imagined, but I’m learning that American “sweet” is much sweeter than Thai “sweet.” The consistency was like Jello Jigglers, if you used 4x the amount of Jello - very firm yet gel-like. As I chewed, the gel just disappeared into juice, yum! I’d imagined that it was made by adding gelatin to coconut milk, but since each piece tasted slightly different I realized it was made from the coconut flesh. Little Guy gobbled his up and had thirds, but Z-Man wouldn’t even try his. Definitely showing their ages!

Jim outside the Amer-Asian store.

Jim poses inside the store. He seems very happy to find something Thai in America.

Well, it’s been over a week and things aren’t nearly as stressful as I thought they would be to have a foreign guest. Jim is the teacher from Thailand that we’re hosting until the end of April. My two biggest fears were that he’d be hungry all the time because he wouldn’t like our food, and that we wouldn’t be able to understand each other. I was also worried that our modest home wouldn’t be nice enough for a non-family guest. And that he wouldn’t be able to handle the everyday craziness our zoo family usually is. OK, so I had more than two fears - do you blame me?

Saturday was kind of weird getting to know each other and getting used to having a stranger in the house. The kids gave Jim the “grand tour” around the house and yard while I cringed wondering what he thought of it. Tom made grilled chicken, steamed asparagus, and cilantro rice for dinner - hoping the simple flavors would be OK. Even though Jim said he ate “every kind of food” we didn’t want to freak him out the first night. As he was helping to set the table he told me that in Thailand they used forks and spoons but not knives. I asked if they used chopsticks also and felt stupid when he said “No, that is Chinese.” I’d always mistakenly thought that Thai culture was very similar to Japanese and Chinese but have been learning that it’s closer to Indian. Meaning India Indian, not Native American Indian.

Sunday we took him to church then got bagels and coffee from my favorite coffee place, Jo to Go afterward. Jim hadn’t had a bagel or cream cheese before, but was familiar with bread and buns. He chose a cinnamon raisin bagel and spread it half and half with strawberry and chocolate chip cream cheese. After taking a bite he said “It’s yahmmy,” a phrase we’re happy to hear quite often from him. After we changed clothes and cleaned up the house a little Jim brought out two DVRs that he’d brought from Thailand for us to watch. They wouldn’t play on the DVD player, but did work in my computer. The first, “Elephants and Tourists,” was interesting for the first half, but was all in Thai so once the images started repeating it got a little long. It didn’t help our patience that we had some errands to run, but we didn’t want to be rude so we watched the whole thing. The second movie was about the International Flower Expo held in Jim’s hometown of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the second-largest city in Thailand, next to Bangkok, so it seems weird to me to call it a “hometown.” All of the countries’ displays were interesting, but I really enjoyed the glimpses of Chiang Mai itself.

Jim also brought gifts for us, which I hadn’t expected at all. He had elephant key chains for Little Guy, Z-Man and Jo-Bear; and woven cotton shawls and silk scarves for the girls and I to choose from. I chose a dusky blue silk scarf while Princess chose an off-white shawl, “This will go perfectly with my Prom dress!” and Angel Face chose a rusty red shawl. For the whole family he brought a wall hanging of an Indian god, and a gorgeous painting of a traditional Thai dancer that he’d asked an artist friend to paint for his host family. I was touched by his thoughtfulness - especially since the last he’d heard before leaving Thailand was that they didn’t have a family for him!

Little Guy’s is purple, Z-Man’s is reddish, and Jo-Bear’s is turquoise blue; which Z-Man is terribly jealous about. Jo-Bear took his to school for “Show and Tell” so it’s not in the photo.

These are the shawls and scarf Jim gave the girls and me. The scarf is so incredibly soft and delicate I’m almost afraid to wear it.

The figure in this wall hanging is Ganesh, a Hindu god. Although it’s pretty, I don’t know if we’ll leave it up after Jim leaves. Since we’re Christian our friends and family might wonder why there’s a Hindu god on our wall.

I’m not sure where the painting will hang, but it’s so gorgeous it has to be hung somewhere. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the painting shimmers with gold and silver glitter.

I’ve got some ideas of things we can give Jim to take back to Thailand with him too…

My Zany Zebra contact form seems to be hit by spam in cycles. For a while I won’t get any, then all of a sudden I’ll get a ton. Apparently I’m in another spam-me cycle because this morning when I checked my Inbox I had messages from:

Buffy Cuffy Bink Cuffy Margaret Bitsy Jerry Bink Alice Win Wog Topsy Bridget Pat Bunny Jerry Skip Win Missy and Bunny.

Since they all arrived in a 3 minute period I was fairly certain they were spam, but I checked a couple just to make sure. Then deleted them al - so long suckers!

I wonder when the next wave will hit, and what names they’ll use next time…

I love Burt’s Bees Buttermilk Baby Bath How’s that for a tongue-twister?! but I also like to support fellow WAHMs (aka Work at Home Moms). So when we ran out of the Burt’s Bees I decided to buy some buttermilk baby bath from a WAHM. I found 8 oz of lavender scented baby bath for $8 plus shipping.

When it arrived the first thing I did was take a whiff… mmmmmm, I love lavender! Then I checked out the ingredients… nonfat dry milk, buttermilk powder, lavender essential oil. Hmmm… that sounds like something I could make at home for less than $1 per ounce. I started to feel kinda dumb, and turned to my trusty laptop to Google “buttermilk baby bath recipes”. Only about a million results showed up. That’s when I felt really stupid.

At least I learned from my mistake and now know how to make my own buttermilk baby bath for the boys. I’ll share my recipe but suppose first I probably should post a disclaimer: don’t use any ingredients that your child may be allergic to, discontinue use if there’s any sign of skin irritation. I’m not an herbalist or anything, and I don’t play one on TV. I’m just a mom who likes to make stuff for her kids so please use your own common sense.

Amy Sue’s Oatmeal Buttermilk Baby Bath (makes 1/2 cup, enough for 2 baths)
1/4 cup dry buttermilk
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup oatmeal flakes
2-3 drops lavender essential oil - not fragrance oil
Whirr the dry ingredients in a food processor or clean coffee grinder to grind up the oatmeal and dry milk powder. Whisk in the essential oil and pour into a airtight jar or resealable plastic bag. To use just sprinkle 1/4 cup of the powder under warm running water as you fill the tub.

You can increase the amounts of the ingredients as long as you keep the proportions the same and you can substitute your favorite essential oil for the lavender oil. I’ve heard that orange oil smells yummy, but since orange is an energizing scent it’s probably not the best choice for a bedtime bath.

Splish splash, go take a bath!