OB today

We headed to the beach today to look at the waves, a big storm headed our way. It was actually really nice out, not hot or anything, but it wasn't cold and windy. The kids could have stayed all day but Rowan had eaten his fill of sand.

What's been cooking?

The Sweet and Sour tempeh from EDBV, it was delicious! I also made the coconut lime rice which you can't see!
Crazy pizza night. I made the crust in my bread machine using whole wheat pastry flour and cornmeal and it turned out OK, kind of different, but I liked it in a weird way. On top is some organic pasta sauce and some sizzling veggies with my usual olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dash of maple syrup blend.
Athena made her own pizza sans veggies.
Ginger muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I really liked how these turned out even though I didn't really follow the recipe. I realized that I am like a mad scientist sometimes, I cook so spastically that I am surprised anything ever turns out. Like these for example. I hardly measure things, just kind of eyeball it, but most of the time everything is still ok. I sprinkled cinnamon on top of the big muffins and chocolate sprinkles (Let's Do Organic!) on the kids sized ones. Athena called them cupcakes that way.
Rowan chowed on some chard from my friend Lisa's garden this week. He seems to eat anything and everything right now. You should have seen his little mouth tonight as I scarfed some Neopolitan SoDelicous right in front of him. He was smacking his lips and opening his mouth as I carried the spoon to my mouth, right in sync with me. I felt SO bad for him so I gave him his own banana to smash and smear everywhere, he seemed happy with that.
MMM, pureed steamed chard, it actually wasn't bad. I usually eat his leftovers because I refuse to feed him food that I won't eat!
I also made the peanut butter passion sauce from EDBV last night and it was a hit with Athena. It tasted better as a dip to me as when mixed with some noodles, it tasted a little more bland. A dash of red chili sauce was all it needed though, I think I'd make this one again as the peanut sauce was good for kids since it wasn't too spicy or gingery or garlicky. This weekend I want to make the chocolate brownie waffles from Veganomicon, I'll keep you posted.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Athena had her dance recital tonight and it was awesome. It just cracks me up and makes me laugh to see her up there on stage, completely comfortable, and just loving it. Her costume was about a decade off, but oh well, they still looked darn cute. Plus, she loves her costume which may make the $35 I spent on it worth it.

Athena with "attitude face". The teacher kept telling them to make an "attitude face". I guess the closest Athena could come to that was a fish lips face. I love it!

Like Father Like Son

Legoland

We took a trip to Legoland this weekend and had a blast. I wish it stayed open longer, the day seemed short. Athena got to go on lots of rides, she and her cousin Oli even got to go on a few without the grownups! They got to drive little cars and ride horses like knights. It was so cool to see their faces. All the kids did very well without any meltdowns, pretty amazing for a couple of 3 year olds and their baby brothers. THEN, the mommies went on a big kid ride. It was fun and silly but I'm glad we did it. My SIL Kelli and I went on this bionicle arm or something like that. It went upside down and twisted us around. I would love to go to Legoland again but it is so freaking expensive! We had 2 free adult passes but the kids tickets still cost almost $50!!! It is a great place, but not worth the prices in my opinion. Here are a few pictures from our day.

An official walker!!!

So Rowan has been taking steps for almost a month now and I kept thinking he'd walk before the new year, but he took his time, and has developed better and better control. I know you aren't supposed to compare your kids, but Athena just learned to walk so differently. She couldn't stand independently very much at all (only about 4 days of it) and she went right to running! Rowan has been able to stand pretty well for a month or so but would only take a couple steps here and there. Today he really started to put it together. I think it is because we spent most of the weekend with his cousin Dante who is 4 1/2 months older and very skilled and walking (and running). So...while he still has a ways to go to be completely bipedal, I am officially calling him "walking" today on his 10 month, 1 week birth marker! Yay Ro! I'm hoping walking will help him focus more on eye level rather than every little thing on the ground. AND please don't flame me for the crying, I did it as fast as I could!

Chickpea Cutlets:(

I was really looking forward to loving these chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon but was actually disappointed. They went well enough with a spinach salad, I actually preferred the salad. Something about these was just strange, probably the stringyness. They were not terrible, I ate up all the left overs off of Chris and Athena's plates, but I wouldn't make them again. Chris didn't like them and Athena ate about 1/2 of hers dipped in loads of ketchup. I still love that book though, just not a cutlet fan I guess.

Fire Fighter Visit

Athena's school had a fire truck visit today. We don't go to school on Fridays usually, but since it was a special event, I brought her just for the hour. It was pretty cool, they let all of the kids spray the hose and check out all of their equipment! They also learned a song called "911" that they sang for the fire fighters. It was pretty funny, I went ahead and showed her how to call that number on the phone since she knows it now anyway. I hope she'll never need to use it, but I figured since they were teaching it at school that I'd follow through.

Pop Quiz

1. Rowan woke up last night because:
a. He is teething and the 7th tooth is right under the skin
b. He is working on talking and walking, 2 of his newly developing skills
c. He had a soaking wet diaper that leaked onto his pjs
d. He thought he was in Europe
e. All of the above

2. I wanted to throw Athena out of my bed this morning because:
a. She woke up way to early
b. She was annoyingly playing with my hair
c. She responded with the loudest possible whisper "NO!", when I threatened she'd have to move back down to her own bed if she didn't stop trying to touch her sleeping brother.
d. I like to throw things.
e. All of the above

***If you answered e you are mostly right.

2:30 am blogging...yikes

Not tired, no not at all!

Rowan woke up at 1 and seems to think it is morning. He's only off by about 6 or 7 hours. weqqqqqqqz"b ghfbvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv t yyy ghm gfcvb g 34444 dfcvv " that is what he has to say for himself.

Food

Food pictures and I don't really agree with each other, but I decided to post a few anyway just so you'd know what I've been up to.

The lemon garlic pasta from EDBV is my favorite. I like to double the sauce recipe and pour 1/2 of it onto some seitan and broccoli and let it sizzle until all the sauce is absorbed and the seitan starts to brown. MMM, good. Athena likes it too which is always a plus.
I've never made crepes, and have no memories of ever having crepes, so this was my first experience. I like them a lot and will continue to work on my art. They were easy and rewarding because I always thought they sounded so "special" and they were actually easier than pancakes because they didn't stick at all. Athena liked hers with cinnamon and sugar and I spread some strawberry fruit spread on mine. They are from VWAV.
Sometimes Athena doesn't want to eat vegetables so I have to come up with interesting ideas. This was a cucumber sandwich with hummus and pretzels inside. She loved them.
And finally...the super charge me cookies from EDBV! Can't wait to make these again. They are great and healthier than most cookies so I don't mind sharing them with Athena other than the fact that I wanted to eat them all myself!

OCD

These are things I find around my house on any given day. She calls them "families". Anything and everything can be a family. How beautiful.

Paper ripping party

It was a long day, so what else to do but rip up magazines and pretend to eat them like Rowan. We felt much better afterwards. Who knew that tearing up paper could be so freeing.

Wild Mountain Dinner

Squash mountains(pumpkin with fresh herbs) with trees and rocky ravine (beans).
Pine cones and raspberry leaves with wild berry spread.
Golden beet sunshine.
Acorn mush with dried berries.
My mother in law treated us to a tasty dinner Friday night. She is getting ready to make her very own cookbook (based on native type foods to our area). We really enjoyed it and everything tasted delicious and fresh. I even tried 2 things for the first time, elderberries and chia. Chia has a similar nutritional makeup to flax seed, but it doesn't have to be ground to access the nutrients. Pretty cool! Plus, we got to watch a movie on their new 40" LCD TV, a real treat since we don't have a TV! We do watch stuff on our computer, but Athena really liked their "big" TV. It was a super fun night and we can't wait to try out more of Nana's recipes.
I have more to post about some of what I've been cooking...but maybe another day, let's just say though that the Super Charge Me cookies from EDBV are my new favorite!!!

Park Save and Well Baby Check

Today I was so proud of Rowan. He was climbing all over the play structure and is getting so fast at scaling the stairs. Well, the regular stairs are pretty low so easy to climb. Then he crawls across the platform to the bridge, across the bridge and to another platform with a high step to get to the slide. I didn't think he'd climb the step, and then he did and I got all proud and was telling a friend, "Look, Rowan can already climb this big step..." "ah" I looked and Rowan was sliding head first on his tummy down the slide. I jumped and grabbed his ankles, therefore saving his life (good thing I have long arms)! It was a foot drop into some pretty cushy sand, so yeah, he probably wouldn't have sustained any life threatening injuries, but there was a possibility of head or neck trauma and a guaranteed face full of sand. So, yeah, I totally saved his life and a bunch of moms I didn't even know were cheering for me.
After our park adventure we headed for the Dr.'s office for Rowan's well baby visit. Everything went great. He is 22.7 lbs, 31 inches, with a 19 inch head (70th%ile, 97%ile, 97%ile). He had his iron checked too and it was fine. Yay for Rowan. He didn't even flinch when he got pricked for the iron test. Athena was worried when I told her what he was going to do and she started to ask me a lot of questions, but it was over so fast she didn't have to worry long. And she thought it was cool he got a silver sparkly band aid.
After the Dr.'s appt, we went to grocery shop. I'm always wondering if we spend way more than most people on groceries. We buy all organic, and lately I've been spending about $150 a week on food. Ok, well I spent like $15 on seaweed alone because they are always out and so we stocked up! And then I bought a $10 bottle of echinacea/astragalus to try with Rowan since he is always getting sick. Anyway, I know in college I spent like $50 a month on food, but I ate out all the time and have know idea what I spent on that!!! We've been eating well too so I'm not complaining, just curious if we are crazy eaters over here. Oh wait, those who know us well, know that we are crazy eaters, heck I remember my best friend commenting that the only time she saw chris and I fight was over food!

Standing and stepping

Rowan is so good at standing now, he has probably stood for at least a minute now, and has taken up to 4 steps. He is cautious though, and prefers to crawl unless there is something to hold on to. He also is enjoying food now. He loves bananas and apples, and also eats most everything I've given him that wasn't mush. He prefers chunks of food. Sweet potato, carrots, celery, broccoli (all steamed), and brown rice are some of his other regulars. I also started sprinkling dulse on his food sometimes. I hope he loves sea veggies as much as his sis, since I really don't care for them but they are so good for you. So now I have to remember to pack him food when we go out to playgroups and dinners or else he begs for what we have and a lot of times it isn't baby friendly.

Musical genius

You've seen Rowan rock the piano, and now this! The boy has got music in his veins.

1st family bike ride

On Tuesday, we went for our first family bike ride. We only rode about a quarter mile (then Chris rode for awhile with Rowan), but it was fun and special for Athena. It was Rowan's first time on the bike and he really liked it until he got sleepy and couldn't keep his helmet head up. And yes, we were wearing shorts and t-shirts in our 80 degree weather on Jan. 1st. Crazy town that we live in.

a baby in a basket

I WON!

I can't believe it! I have won my very own copy of the awesome new cookbook Eat Drink and Be Vegan. I haven't entered too many contests, but I am so happy right now! Thank you Dreena!

Hilariously sad

Athena found this while browsing the one step ahead catalog...It was weird because she always devours that catalog and she opened right up to it and brought it to me and said, "Mommy, what is this?" Now she is scared I think...