1.31.18 - January joy statuses

1.29.18 - A few more winter joys

1.24.18 - Netflix' Skip Intro button

1.20.18 - Gluten free oatmeal cookies

Oddly we have a whole ton of certified gluten free oatmeal in the pantry right now, so I decided to take a Saturday afternoon and try some gluten free oatmeal cookies. I followed the following recipe except I used all raisins (no chocolate chips on hand) and substituted GF flour for the cornstarch. The batter was delicious (hard to go wrong with a lot of butter and sugar) and the cookies themselves turned out pretty well too. I like to tell myself this is a cheat to get Clara to eat more oatmeal. :-P

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned oats, divided

2 tablespoons cornstarch (used 1:1 GF flour as substitute)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, process 1 1/2 cups oats into a fine meal. Whisk together ground oats, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add oat mixture, beating until combined. Fold in chocolate chips, raisins, and remaining 3 cups oats.

In batches, drop dough in 2-tablespoonful mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown at edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack 2 minutes, then transfer to rack and let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, up to 5 days, or in freezer, up to 1 month.

(link)

1.19.18 - Building a snowman

1.18.18 - Paper Snowflakes

1.16.18 - Girls so happy to see me

When Jack brings the kids home from Beth’s they are absolutely delighted to see me. Last night I was still in my room when they got here, and Clara ran from the front door to me giggling excitedly. We went back in the living room and she was just jumping up and down and smiling at me, and when Jane saw me she burst into a huge grin and started kicking from her car seat. Amazing to have people that happy to see you after only hours apart. What a huge self-esteem boost.

1.15.18 - Kid Snippets

The other day Clara and I drove home from speech practice in heavy traffic. I didn't feel like digging around for my iPod so I sang "Break Up With Him" by heart and she smiled a lot. Then she sang it back to me, and she would go line by line and wait for me to repeat it before continuing. It was adorable! I don't think a bystander would have understood her but I could tell which parts she was singing starting with "Hey girl...sup?" We did that 2-3x and I didn't feel in any particular hurry to get home, I was enjoying our time together so much.

Watching steam trains while playing with a Duplo train while wearing train-themed pajamas.

For a long time now when I want to share her excitement at something beautiful I say "Oh wow, so pretty!" Soon she started saying the same thing for anything impressive, whether beautiful or not. For example if the big loud garbage truck went through our lot she would say "Oh wow, so pretty!" Now she's developed a new method where she'll just say "Oh wow, so [noun]!" For example I opened the fridge the other night to let her examine inside, and she said "Oh wow, so juice!"

In somehwat matching outfits, about to go to Beth's.

I recently ordered a bunch of verb vocabulary flashcards, and when they got in I picked out 10 or so of the verbs she already knows decently. I showed her the flashcards and then I placed them next to each other on the ground and asked her to find each one. ("Where is 'go'?" "Oh! Where'sa go? Here it is!") After she found and very proudly handed me each card, I put them all back on theg round and this time asked her to find them by doing the ASL signs for each. And she did! That was pretty encouraging.

Jane is more interested than ever in what Clara's doing. Though not fully crawling yet, Jane can scoot, rool, and army crawl to where Clara is and then reach out and try to touch or take whatever toys Clara is playing with. Clara, of course, is not a big fan. Besides resisting Jane's approaches, Clara does not pay that much attention to Jane. However yesterday, out of nowhere, Clara laid down on the living room floor next to Jane to face her, and Jane thought that was hilarious. They stayed that way staring at each other for a few moments before Clara moved on, but it was very sweet.

Watching the disproportionate interest Jane has in Clara and the delight Jane has when Clara pays attention to her underscores yet again how little I know about not being the oldest. I really hope Clara is a caring guardian who shows interest in her little sister who already seems to look up to her so much. We will see how it goes. It makes me think of Sola and what a loving sister she is to Rocket and Harrison.

Sometimes I will sit on the floor next to Jane while she plays, and, like her sister before her, she seems to be content longer if I'm just nearby. Sometimes I will pause with whatever I'm absorbed in (usually on my laptop) and glance over at Jane who will already be staring at me. As soon as I look at her she busts out in a huge grin like she's so delighted to have my attention. It's quite uplifting and of course just makes me want to scoop her up and put kisses all over her, which I often do while she giggles.

Jane and Vera.

1.8.18 - Cleaning while on the phone

2017 Dates

Let's see how Jack and I faired as we added another kiddo to our crew:

1.11.17 - Panda Express
1.25.17 - Cheesecake Factory
2.1.17 - MOD pizza
2.6.17- MOD pizza
2.9.17 - Ju Hachi
2.17.17 - Ju Hachi
2.22.17 - Eggy's restaurant
3.3.17 - Pieology
3.10.17 - Subway & McKinley Park
3.17.17 - Panda Express
3.31.17 - Logan
4.20.17 - The Press Bistro
4.25.17 - MOD Pizza
5.5.17 - Guardians of the Galaxy 2
5.20.17 - Leatherby's (first post-Jane date!)
5.29.17 - Elephant Bar
6.25.17 - Ju Hachi
No dates in July, geez.
8.6.17 - Chicago Fire pizza & Snook's
8.30.17 - MOD pizza
9.16.17 - McDonald's & Ross
10.4.17 - American Made & Johnny Rocket's
10.28.17 - Burgers & Brew
11.19.17 - Cheesecake Factory
12.21.17 - Old Spaghetti Factory (in St. Louis)

2.9.17 - Ju Hachi

3.3.17 - Pieology

6.25.17 - Ju Hachi

6.25.17 - Ju Hachi

8.6.17 - Chicago Fire

8.6.17 - Chicago Fire

8.6.17 - Snook's

10.28.17 - Burgers & Brew

10.28.17 - Burgers & Brew

11.19.17 - Cheesecake Factory

12.21.17 - Old Spaghetti Factory

1.4.18 - Kid-friendly apartment

1.3.18 - SWA from SMF to STL