Oh so wee and learning more than just gymnastics

Starting in January Maisie began a new practice schedule at her gym which keeps her there longer, and a lot later into the evening than in the past.  I had my doubts as to how she’d do with the new schedule, especially as she still has to be up early for either school or morning practice, but she’s loving it, doing amazingly well and has a new energy about her, excited after each practice.  Maisie misses practicing with her old teammates but we’re working on keeping the girls together with play dates outside of the gym and she’s beginning to find her place with her new teammates.  Maisie loves that she now practices with the big girls as they really encourage and inspire her and that definitely has contributed to her recent increased enthusiasm.  Maisie does a fabulous job keeping up with all her big teammates as well as doing everything her coaches ask of her.  By the end of each evening’s practice Maisie’s tired and ready for bed but she’s always excited to share what she learned and worked on. 

I don’t stay and watch all her practices (as they’re too long and there are too many of them) but some days I try and watch a little, either at the beginning or end of the evening.  Last night I took the above picture of the girls as they ended their practice on a positive note, all circled together and each stating what they did particularly well during practice.  I couldn’t get over just how wee Maisie is compared to all the other girls, yes I know, only coming up to their armpits.  I can’t help but think that one day, sooner than I’d like, she’ll be one of the big girls in the group.  I hope that all the love, encouragement and support that she’s receiving from her big teammates, she’ll take, remember, and give the same to other little gymnasts.   

This picture of the girls around the chalk bin is from Monday but I swear, this is such a common sight as the girls spend crazy amounts of time chalking their grips, over & over & over.  I think that the girls spend more time at the chalk bin than on the bars, sometimes it’s amazing that they leave their beloved chalk bin and get on the bars at all.

With all of Maisie’s hours in the gym, I have to make sure that she gets in all the protein and calories that her body needs.  Dumplings are one of her favorite foods and a great way to get that protein into her, but with her allergies I have to make special Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers which though delicious, are extremely time consuming to make.  Maisie’s been asking for dumplings and after thinking about it I realized that it was the flavors of the filling which she most enjoyed, not the wrapper.  So thinking about dumplings without wrappers, I came up with a new and delicious recipe for Chicken Dumpling Patties which have all the dumpling flavors, the protein which Maisie needs, are simple and quick to make, travel well in her lunch bag and are just downright delicious.  I’ll be making these Chicken Dumpling Patties for my wee little girl on a regular basis as she and all of us adore these wrapper-free dumplings.  Click on the link or the picture to be taken to Cook Lisa Cook and the recipe.

More delicious chicken recipes on Cook Lisa Cook include:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole, Copycat “KFC” Original Recipe Fried Chicken, Chinese Five Spice Wings, Chicken Satay Noodle Salad, Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Red Curry Chicken, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Cheaters Chicken Soup, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Fire Roasted Tomato and Chicken Tortilla Soup, Tom Kha Gai, Chicken Tenders, Grilled Thai Chicken, Curried Grilled Thai Chicken Salad, Mom’s Curried Chicken Salad, Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Home Style Chicken Curry, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Oriental Chicken Salad and Thai Peanut Salad.

Enjoy!