Author: Sarah

Pumpkin Brownies!

Sarah General

Because, of course, when it’s 95° outside, you’re going to want to turn the oven on and bake something.

We invited my family over for dinner tonight, and we happened to have some canned pumpkin on the table that hadn’t made it’s way down to the pantry yet. After a little discussion about what we could make with a can of pumpkin, my brother and I came up with a recipe for pumpkin brownies by combining elements of a pumpkin cookie recipe, a brownie recipe, and sheer dumb luck. It came out quite tasty…well, the second batch did, anyway. The first try didn’t turn out so well, so we made some modifications and tried again. Mmmm.

So, without further ado:
Pumpkin Brownies
Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1 15oz. can pumpkin
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup Hershey’s cinnamon chips
  • ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix oil, egg, vanilla, nutmeg and ginger. Add pumpkin and mix well. Mix in baking powder. Mix in sugar. Mix in flour. Stir in cinnamon chips.
  3. Pour into 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon (if desired).
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before cutting

Enjoy! (These would be excellent with vanilla ice cream.)

Stupid Little Pet Peeve

Sarah General

I know it’s just coloring – annatto, I think – but I really prefer “white” cheese to “yellow” cheese. And generally I have a choice. But lately I’ve been buying cheese made with 2% milk, and it only comes in a weird orangey-yellow color. I just think it looks unnatural, and it makes me think of plastic. (Just so we’re clear, as some readers of this blog apparently take me very seriously, this is totally my own hang-up, please don’t take offense if you prefer your cheese to be yellow.) So I guess I have a choice between healthy or aesthetically pleasing? That’s just not fair.

Gosh, if that’s the worst thing about my life right now, I guess I’m in pretty good shape!

Eight Months Old!

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Carolyn,

My goodness, you’re growing so quickly! I can’t believe that you’re already eight months old. I look back at the pictures from when you were born, and I can hardly believe that you’re the same little girl as that tiny little baby.

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You’re very confident about pulling up on things now. You can even stand on your own for a moment or two – until you realize that you’re not holding on to anything, and then you plop back down on your butt. You’ve started taking steps holding onto hands or furniture, too.

20050624_standing.jpgWe’ve added a few new foods to your diet since last month: oatmeal, green beans, peaches, squash, barley and plums. We tried out yogurt for a few days, but even though you absolutely love how it tastes it didn’t agree with you so well – not an allergic reaction or anything, just tummy troubles – so we’ll wait and try it again in another month or two. You’re also learning how to pick up food and feed yourself. In fact, just today you figured out how to consistently get puffed rice cereal off your tray and into your mouth.

The LeapFrog learning table is still your favorite toy. You walk around it now and play with all the different buttons and spinning things. A new thing this month is that you’ve figured out different things to do with your toys besides chew on them! You bang blocks together, turn the pages of books, and shake rattling things. You’ve discovered that cars have wheels, and the one we have that you can pull back and release and watch it move forward is one of the first toys you go for when it’s time to play.

You consistently wave “bye-bye”, although generally about 30 seconds after the person going away has actually left. You clap your hands when asked to, and sometimes just when you’re really happy about something. You’ve figured out how to point, and you’re really starting to enjoy the touch-and-feel books we have. I’m starting to show you signs for some words, “more”, “eat” and “milk”, and there are times when you bang your fists together in your high chair and I really think you might be trying to sign “more”.

20050624_book.jpgStill no teeth in sight. There are nights when I’m sure we’re going to wake up and you’ll have a whole mouthful of them, but they’re never there. You’ve been drooling so much, though, that I’m sure one of these mornings we’ll see a teeny-tiny pearly white or two. Nights, by the way, have become quite interesting. It’s a challenge to get you to sleep, and you generally don’t stay that way for long. Despite the fact that you fell out of the big bed a couple of weeks ago you end up there more nights than not now because I’m just too tired to drag myself out of bed so many times every night. Partly I think it’s because you’re much more interested in standing up than laying down – it’s like you’re on autopilot: there are times when I put you down – sound asleep! – on your back, and you roll over, push up on your hands and knees and sit up before your eyes are even open.

You’re not really babbling yet, either. No “ma-ma-ma” or “da-da-da”, but you’ve modulated your shrieking into something a bit more conversational. We have great fun repeating each other with “ahs” and raspberries. Sometimes when you shriek really loud now I say “scream with your inside voice, please” and say “aaaaahhh” really quiet, and you repeat it very quietly. People are very impressed that you know what I mean by an “inside voice”. And I’ll just let them be impressed, even if it is just a repetition thing. You do have a very cute voice, though, and I can’t wait until you start talking – even if it’s likely that we’ll never get a word in edgewise.

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I’m so proud of everything you’re learning, but there are times when I look at you and realize I’m losing my baby. It’s not as sad as it sounds, because I adore the little girl I’m getting in her place, but sometimes I wish I could stop time for a minute or two just to catch my breath.

Love, Mommy

D-A-D-D-Y Spells Daddy!

Sarah Carolyn

Among other little goodies, Carrie and I gave Denis this for his first “official” Father’s Day:
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(Click for a bigger image.)

I had the pictures printed separately, wallet-sized, and then put them in a hinged black metal frame. It came out so well I wanted to give it to him early! I did two photo-shoots (didn’t like the first outfit so much – the letters didn’t show up as well) and took over 100 pictures to get those 5!

My mind is spinning with all the exciting new photographic possibilities now. What else can we take pictures of Carrie spelling out? Actually, if I could find a 7-opening hinged (or wall) frame so she could spell her name, that would have serious gift potential…

Why Am I Still Awake?

Sarah General

Because I’m an idiot, that’s why. The resident alarm clock will be going off at her usual time – around 6:30, 7:00 if I’m lucky, 5:30 if I’m not – and she doesn’t have a snooze button. My excuse? I had to wait up for the first load of laundry to finish drying so I could put the second load in the dryer. But really, it’s not as though the laundry couldn’t have waited to go in the dryer until morning. I know I need my “me time” after Carrie goes to bed so I can unwind, but this is bordering on ridiculous.

Ack.

Clap Hands!

Sarah Carolyn

Yesterday Carrie started doing two new fun things: clapping hands and beeping noses. Now if I could just get her to stop grabbing my glasses after she beeps my nose, that would be a neat trick.

Apparently, the dogs just finally noticed that Carrie is a two-legged creature. She pulled up on the gate in her room while the dogs were laying on the other side, and it set off a bark-fest that had me looking to see if a C.A.T. had wandered into the house or something. She is obviously quite threatening despite her rather diminutive stature. They don’t have much longer before she’ll be able to chase them around on those little feet, though. She’s started – when she’s not thinking about it – standing on her own for a few seconds at a time. It’s sort of like cartoon physics, though: as soon as she realizes she’s not holding onto anything she falls.

And for the past few weeks Carrie has been trying very hard to fill whatever space she’s in with sound. Whenever she goes anywhere (not that she doesn’t do this often at home, mind you) she tests the acoustics of the space and then shrieks high enough and loud enough to break glass. We’re pretty sure she’s going to be an opera singer. Either that, or she’s working on a new way to communicate with the dogs.

Water Baby

Sarah Carolyn

Today was my cousin’s son’s first birthday party. They have a pool and it was incredibly hot out, so Carrie and I decided to take the plunge. She loved it! She was kicking and splashing and giggling. She tried to drink the water and coughed a little, but she was generally having a fantastic time. All my worries about dropping her were pretty silly. Between her swimsuit which gave me something to grip and the buoyancy of the water she really wasn’t going anywhere.

Several of my family members were teasing me about Carrie’s “safari hat”, but she still doesn’t have a very thick head of hair and I’m not going to try to smear sunblock on her scalp so I think it’s important. Besides, she’s as fair-skinned as I am, and I burn if I stand too close to a window.

The only thing is, I’m not sure how Carrie’s swimsuit is supposed to work. It’s got a built-in swim diaper, but we’re not sure if we can/should put disposable swim diapers on in addition (especially in other people’s pools) or if the built-in diaper is sufficient. It’s not meant to soak up liquid, but then again I’m not sure the disposable ones do either. Plus, I think I’m going to have to buy her a second suit because this one takes forever to dry. (Oh, and I’m feeling very vulnerable about posting a picture of myself in my swimsuit, so please be nice…)

Finishing Frenzy, Part 1

Sarah Crafts

I’ve been working hard on various craft projects and have lots to show. Only, I didn’t take pictures yet and we’re going to a party tomorrow afternoon, so I probably won’t be able to find enough time to show everything off until Sunday at least. In the meantime, here’s the obligatory adorable baby picture. Carrie really likes holding my yarn!

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I’m feeling so virtuous about finishing things up I don’t even really feel like going and buying new projects – I kind of want to work on things I already have. (Although there is one kit for some Christmas ornaments that I’ve wanted for several months that I will probably go ahead and order.)

Splish, Splash

Sarah Carolyn

We went to a play group today (well, more like play date since Carrie and I were the only ones there besides the mom and baby hosting it) and Carrie got to play in a baby pool. She looked pretty cute in her swimsuit, although I didn’t think to take pictures. (Nor did I think to bring a towel or a bag for the wet clothes. Silly me!)

I’m nervous about putting her in our in-ground pool, but it’s more because I’m afraid I’ll drop her or something than anything else – she loves the water. She didn’t even mind when the other little girl splashed, although after a while I think she was getting cold and cried to be picked up. I certainly have enough flotation devices to choose from since we’ve bought several for visiting children to use, but I kind of wish I’d bought a mesh water sling or something.

I suppose the sooner we do it the sooner I’ll get over my nerves, so maybe if there’s some non-rainy time this weekend we’ll try the big pool. And this time I’ll make sure we get out the camera!