Maddie! Maddy! Madeeeee!

A Very Merry Un-Brownie Brownie for You

So I had these leftover dates, and, I didn't really want to bake anything with them, so I decided to stay raw and gluten free and do a brownie bite. Just by mixing a cup of nuts (walnut or pecan), a cup of dates, some cocoa powder, and a little agave in a food processor, you get a pretty brownie-like treat. Not warm and gooey, but dense and chocolate-rich--so, on the whole, pretty healthy and tasty. The Rawitarian does a great version of these: http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-brownie-recipe . I skipped the coconut and added some golden flax.
The Fam did not enjoy the flax but thought the brownie was pretty ok.

In my next batch I am going spicy with cinnamon and cayenne!

Amaze Balls! Make a healthy raw snack for the kids. In a food processor mix a bag of pitted dates with 1 cup oats, a handful of walnuts, a few tsps of golden flax, I tsp coconut oil, and cinnamon, and a little water. A tiny bit of agave, too. Blend into a paste, roll in shredded unsweetened coconut, and freeze for a bit. These need to be cold to be extra yummy. You should have yours with some tea, of course. Or a Blonde Fatale. Now there's a food and drink pairing.

I'm a guest poster!

over at my super cool friend Courtenay's blog: Soup: Midwestern Mama Cooking Up Life in the Heartland. Courtenay has a very special series of posts going on over at her blog entitled The Moment a Mother is Born, and I feel quite privileged to be part of the project. So, feel free to check out the post, but, even more importantly, check out Courtenay's blog. She is a super writer and her reflections on mothering are spot-on! Thanks, Courtenay! Hugs!

Our Wild Child

Mad's weekend has been full of dancing and chatting with her best bud, some turkey crafting, and some dessert-making.  Here are pics.  She had so much fun.  Hopefully I'll get some blogging done this week! 

Happy September!

The Kiddo has started 1st grade!  She's having a blast.  Her favorite parts of the day are when she gets to do math and go to Music and P.E.  She seems to be getting along well with her teacher--who says she is "always on task" and "very conscientious."  Who could ask for more?!  Last weekend we went to the opening of the roller derby season, and Mad danced the night away after the bout to a really fun band called Hott.  Not something I could listen to often, but Mad had a great time.  We've also been to the orchard already.  This weekend Mad has been practicing on her new skateboard and had her first fencing lesson.  Here are some pics.  She LOVED fencing.  She's going to take more lessons on Mondays, right before her hip-hop class.  The instructor said she was coordinated enough fro the 7-10 age group.  She's also going to start taking Spanish after school on Thursdays.  This may be her busiest fall yet, but she seems to love all the activity and the learning.  We're going with it!

 

Mad's First Flash Mob

 

Happy 4th!

 

I love my kid!  She is a delight when she can be out and about, listening to jazz, and full of face paint.  She INSISTED Mommy have some face paint, too!  Just in case you were wondering, we are going back tomorrow--after the parade, of course.  So it has been written.  So it shall be done.  (Also, the carnival saw a significant influx of cash today.  Hey, Grandpa Pat & Grandma 'Zona, when are you coming back?!?! Lol.  We miss you!)   

The Wild Animal

So Mad got in a little trouble the other night and ended up in a time out--kinda.  It consisted of sitting in one of our living room chairs, "thinking it over," while trying to get her Ema to talk to her and let her out of her prison.  After she sat there for a bit, I explained to her that she seemed to be able to be respectful to her art camp counselor and our friends who take care of her some afternoons, but that when she gets home she seems to have a difficult time being respectful to us.  Then I asked her what she thought we might do to improve this situation and what better choices she might make.  Her response: "I'm going to need another couple minutes."

 

Finally got these scanned!

 

 

 

 

Wishing Mad could've known her Great Grandpa and Grandma Rouse.  I know they would've had wonderful times together!  So glad she has such fabulous grandparents to make memories with, though!  Big hugs!

Happy Father's Day!

Mad's has been too busy this morning to do a video to post, but she sends out her love, as do we, on this special Sunday!

 

Hoping the tooth fairy has some cash!

I finally ended up having to pull Mad's little tiny tooth this morning.  It was bothering her and just hanging on by a couple stubborn roots.  Let me just say, once again, nothing grosses me out more than teeth!  (Well, sometimes feet gross me out, too.  But teeth are the worst.)  She was brave and very excited when it came out.  Here's a pic of what her Ema calls her new air conditioning.

 

Day Trip

On a whim we decided to go to the Shedd Aquarium this morning.  We only had time to spend the day there and come back home.  (Sorry, Aunt Peg!  We need to plan a longer trip soon!)  We had a great time seeing all the cool exhibits and pretending to be jellies!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Maddie-lion!

Dear Madeline, you are the most incredible person I know.  When you were born I felt like we were the only two people in the whole world and that all my life I had been waiting just to meet you.  And every day when you wake up and say, “Hi, Mama,” I am so happy to see you and hug you and know that you are ok, and I will wake up every day, no matter where you are, no matter how old you are, and I will be grateful that you are in the world and that I have been so very very blessed to get to love you.  And as I have learned from my own family—your family—and, especially from your Ema, that love is endless, boundless, staggering love, and it never goes away or diminishes in intensity.  It comes from a place where everything and everyone is sacred and respected and valued, from a place and a belief that we all deserve kindness and attention and forgiveness, and even when we are not perfect or we set our expectations too high and find ourselves disappointed, we must reach out past our own disappointment to discover that whatever we thought was the ideal was always there to begin with and maybe just needed some polishing, some thoughtfulness, some perspective.  I love that at six, you tell me on the way out the door that the picture on the cover of your library book might be a Picasso, but, in fact, you say, it looks too real for a Picasso because he didn’t make things that look real.  I love that you know words like “thrilling” and “calamity” and that you think it is terribly exciting to think about being a trickster when you grow up because you love trickster characters in stories.  I love how you sing the muffin song and how you say, “Oh, Mommy!” with impish disdain when I call it the cupcake song.  I love that you always want to try and learn new things—like wanting to learn to rock climb and surf and do multiplication and try eggplant and bok choy.  And how you want to go to China and London and Hawaii and back to South Dakota because we need a vacation.  I love how you try to make me laugh at night before you fall asleep, so you can stay awake longer.  I love how you remember even the tiniest of details and make connections I would never think of.

Small child you fill our lives with your fondness for rainbows and animals, mud puddles and pine cones, hip hop dance and tree bark, imitating voices--your perfect southern accent.  I will show you the gentle glow of sunsets and sea glass, uncovering the mystery of an ocean whisper in a conch shell, charting the growth of summer in seedlings and luscious tomatoes.  There must be belief in the tiniest of efforts, in the magnificence of castles, language on the page and paintings on everything! the way you hear music everywhere and stop to admire lilacs.  You are amazing.  And I will always, always believe in you.               

Spring 2011

I'm way behind with putting up posts and pics.  Here's a little catch-up album of Mad celebrating Uncle Jeff's birthday, her fabulous first kindergarten music performance, and some pics from Easter at home and at Aunt Sondy's.  How can it be that she will turn six on Friday?!?!

Roller Skating

Mad went roller skating for the first time tonight.  She was so tough!  And she really stuck with it for two sweaty hours.  Her buddies from the Old Capitol City Roller Girls were there, including her favorite, Bat R Up.