this kid {26 months}

This kid never stops talking.

This kid has one killer arm. (Katniss Who?)

This kid knows how to put together an outfit.

This kid will turn anything into drums...or guns...

This kid loves any excuse for a band-aid.

This kid pulls the potty chair out of its hiding place and asks to "sit on it naked and read some book, okay?". Nothing ever comes of it, but when it finally does? And she's rewarded with dairy-free chocolate chips? I predict she'll be sitting on it all day long :)

This kid loves storytime at the library, and can't believe that when you leave they let you take ALL THE BOOKS YOU CAN CARRY.

This kid loves to sing and dance. Anytime. Anywhere. Any state of (un)dress.

This kid makes life worth living. Happy 32nd birthday to ME!

oh, i'm sorry - are my 30s showing?

I was both saddened and elated to discover last weekend at The Lion King that you can now take food and drinks into the theater. But! This means you don't have to wait in line for 10 minutes at intermission and chug a glass o' wine on your way out of the lobby. You can just waltz right on in to the auditorium and be glad you came.

After a few sips, you'll no longer be irritated with the woman in front of you who brought with her 2 kids both of whom are way too young to be expected to sit quietly in a dark room for two and half hours. You won't mind so much that the one who hasn't even seen her 3rd birthday is standing (nay, bouncing) on her chair blocking your entire view. Granted, you paid $150 for the privilege of watching the show, but listening is half the fun and you still get to do that. Even though you want to snatch the woman's cell phone (aka The Light Eärendil) out of her hand and throw it Angry Birds style to the hyenas, you resist. Because when she finally (finally!) gets that Elmo app to load in this Dome of No Bars, the 4-year-old just might stop shouting about how thirsty she is, and that seems worth the wait. I know the man in front of her, whose chair she keeps kicking and whose hair she keeps pulling, sure thinks so.

You know, you know readers, how much I love the theater. And kids. And how I want kids to love the theater. But I kinda had to laugh in that room of 2,000 people, one third of them children whose parents would never expect them to sit through "grown up church" on a Sunday morning. And while I am completely anti- the whole Anti-Kids movement sweeping restaurants, stores, and even churches - sometimes you just need to use a little common sense and know what your kids can handle. Be fair to them, and be respectful of the people around you.

The rest of us will remember to pass on the matinees in the future :)

gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookies

"Vegan" is just this mama's way of succinctly saying "Hey! There are also no eggs or milk in these cookies!"

I adapted this recipe from one I found on CupcakesOMG!. Melissa's blog is a lot of fun for me, because she eats the way I do without being too serious about the "p" word ("paleo"). In fact, this particular post gave me the two foods I miss most after going grain-free: chocolate chip cookies and cheese-filled pasta!

I substituted applesauce and additional baking soda for the egg originally called for, which meant that I had to make sure that my cookies, now kind of runny, wouldn't all run into each other.

Enter the muffin tin.

It could be my severely deprived palate speaking, but I thought these were soooooooo good. Most of these ingredients are always in my cabinet (DANGER!), and none of them will trigger Katherine's allergies. She's not really into sweets, but she does want a treat when everyone else is having one - don't we all? In fact, these also freeze well, so I can make a batch in advance and pull one out to thaw when we have dinner plans with friends or family.

• 1 12 oz jar almond butter (room temp, so it's easier to mix)

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup applesauce

• 1 tbs baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips (these are dairy-free, but if you don't need to avoid milk, any chips will do...and...I used half a bag, but it's hard to tell what went into the batter and what went straight to mah belleh :)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350, and grease the muffin tin.

2. Combine all the ingredients but the chips - throw those in last when everything else is well mixed.

3. Fill the cups of the muffin tin 1/4 to 1/2 full, depending on how thick you want your cookies to be. For reference, I filled mine halfway.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are slightly firm (they won't be completely firm - you just want them to get past the liquid stage).

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes - then allow them to cool for 10 more minutes on a cooling rack. If you want to eat them warm, now's the time! Put the rest in the fridge to firm up. If you put them in an air-tight container of some kind, more moisture will be locked in.

half marathon update {subtitle: #wompwomp}

Remember when we brought fevers back from our vacation in August? So I couldn't run my half marathon? But it was ok, because there was another one scheduled in September?

Welp...not anymore. For some reason it was cancelled - or as they are saying, "Postponed for a year". Yeah, that's cancelled, people :)

So, that's one more item still on my Bucket List. I got up to the 10-mile mark in my training, which was awesome. I have no doubt that I could have run, and finished, the race - so we'll just call it good for now and hope that I'll be more successful next year.

I'm working on remembering how I made writing up a gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe I adapted from this one. They're not nut-free (sorry, Alli!) but they are Katherine-Safe and Mommy-Approved - hoo-freaking-rah! It's nice to know I'll have another easy treat to whip up in the future when Kitty needs to take her own dessert to a party.

Also. Why isn't last night's episode Parenthood online yet? I'VE WAITED AS LONG AS I CAN!

**edited** Whew. It's finally up on NBC. Yay!

small town fun for the city girl

One of the great things about where we live is that small town fun is super easy to find! Kitty and I recently cheered on our cousins at the 4-H fair, where they showed their sheep, cooking skills & sewing skills.

Katherine was in awe of all the animals, and just couldn't give them enough hugs...and kisses when mama wasn't looking. Despite her allergic reactions to dogs and cats? Goats, sheep, cows and horses seem to do nothing to her. HURRAY!!!

 

Two weeks ago was the annual carnival in the small town where my dad lives. They line main street with all the carnie-type foods you would expect, and have tons of vintage rides for the kids. Every year, my family has dinner on the midway before heading for the rides - and this was Kitty's first year to experience everything outside of her stroller. She loves speed!

Her very first ride was this train with her big hero cousin, Micah. As soon as she was buckled in, she was shouting to the operator, "Train ON!!! Train ON!!!"

Since the train was a hit, we moved on to her first solo ride. She drove like a pro, cranking the wheel and leaning into the corners (as much as you can while going in a circle).

From there, we took a spin on an elevated ride. The plane isn't moving yet in this picture, but when it started? It was pretty much a "Look! No hands! High five!" fest :)

Katherine does not share her mommy's aversion to heights, and it didn't take any arm twisting for Daddy to hike up the GIANT potato sack slide with his girl. They rode it twice, and she squealed and laughed the whole way down!

I? 'Bout peed my pants just watching them!

Only one ride remained. Micah was not about to try it. Neither was I. Nope, no one but Kitty desired to brave the panic-inducing, lightning rod known as...

THE FERRIS WHEEL!!!

Obviously, my dad and stepmom would do anything to make this little lady happy. Again, no arm twisting was involved. She was beside herself with joy, and I was beside myself with vertigo, despite the fact that I was looking up. I tell you what - pregnancy will do a number on your body! As difficult as it was to let her out of my grip and watch her ride up into the clouds, I know it was good for both of us :)

Katherine has been asking to go to a carnival ever since...it was pretty much the very best day of her short little life!