Toddler Co-op

Clara loves her toddler co-op. And we finally made it there last Friday, after weeks of sickness and trips out of town. Here are a few pictures of the twenty-three month old (P.S. Don't you have to stop counting by months when they hit the two year mark? I'm going to say her age in months as many times as I possibly can in the coming weeks!)...

Her favorite activities at co-op, in order of obsession:

1. train whistle (which signals taking the rope train to music)

2. snack (if I'm really honest, it's tied for 1st place. Notice how she is the only one shoving her face in this picture)

3. music time (which involved the ever-popular parachute this week)

4. painting

5. tunnel/slide

6. listening to a book on CD (mostly just putting on the ear phones)

7. tire bouncing

8. waiting to wash her hands (this might be higher on the list, actually). I don't have a picture of this one, but it has to make the list.

9. looking at fish

10. playdough

There you have it. A day in the life of Clara at co-op. Life doesn't get much better than that, for the Clarabelle ;).

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-eight is not a landmark. Maybe if you're counting by sevens, but even then it's not really a landmark. In the case of birthdays, it's just another one in the late twenties. A little closer to thirty but not quite there. I am now a twenty-eight year old woman. I still feel about 22, I think.

The nice thing about having your birthday land on a Friday is that it morphs into an entire weekend quite nicely. How did I celebrate? With a few low-key and lovely events with family and friends. And a whole lot of dessert. That, I realize, is the quintessential Amy activity. Dessert eating. Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, chocolate peanut butter pie, mud pie, and the Europa birthday bomb. That's four days of fabulous desserts. I will start my chocolate detox tomorrow.

In all honesty, one of the very best moments of the last few days was the 45 minute rocking/cuddling time I had with Clara after her nap on Friday afternoon. My little lady is not, to my displeasure, a cuddle bug. I wish she were. Afterwards, I tried to capture her birthday song singing. I was not entirely successful. I got a few lines out of her - intermixed with another song that continues to linger, despite our deliberate attempt to rid it from her memory (for the next eight months, at least). Here it is, for your listening enjoyment: Happy Birthday, Mommy.

And just a few pictures from the past weekend...

Dinner with Carly and Neal at a favorite restaurant (their first experience with greek food. My favorite food on the planet!) followed by a delicious dessert made by Carly:

Family gathering: the best homemade dinner on the planet (risotto rustica, salad, bread and mud pie), GU basketball and babies. That was kind of an extreme change in viewing experience, but great nonetheless.

And now the LANDMARK birthday in our family approaches. No, it's not Clara's 2nd birthday, though I'm sure that will be exciting. I can hardly wait ;).

Cousin Love

Cousins. Oh how I love to watch Clara and Sophia's ever-changing relationship. It changes over weeks and months. It changes over an eighteen second period, as documented in the following photos.

Love. Kiss. Pout. Climb. Giggle. Terrorize. Hug. Cousins.

Hair Update

Hair. It's one of the things we adults have in abundance over here. I know I've posted before about my ridiculously thick locks. Every time I get my hair cut my hairdresser says my head full of hair is tied in thickness with one other girl's. But that's it's more deceiving because it's kind of fine in texture. And Jonathan's hair is equally so. I cut his hair yesterday and wish I would've taken a picture of the mound on the floor (or maybe I don't - that's kind of nasty). You might say that it's a good problem to have (better than the opposite problem, I suppose), but I would argue with you. Regardless of that, though, is the purpose of this post:

My daughter has the most ridiculous thin hair I have seen on an almost two year old. And it is more uneven than any child I've had the privilege of knowing (maybe I'm not looking closely enough).

I know, it's not as if her hair has ever been even. You might remember this picture. But still. At the rate it's growing, she'll have hair to her derriere before her side hair reaches her ear. I'm not so sure this picture showcases it best, but it's all I've got at the moment:

Back hair: thin but growing.

Front hair: a thin bit of new growth in the front makes for "bangs" while the side hair resembles peach fuzz.

Oh well. What's a mom to do? It's not like I can cut anything to even it out. I'm thinking she may just end up with "waves of hair growth". Maybe her bang (or fringe in Australia, a much better word, I think) growth represents wave #2 and waves 3-10 are on their way? I'm hoping for the best ;).

Black Bean Pizza

It has been quite a long time since I've posted a recipe. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm cooking less or loving food any less (come on, you know me) and everything to do with my laziness. And I suppose the fact that I just haven't thought about sharing any recipes in a while.

But last night, as I was making black bean pizza for the second time in a month, I began reflecting on my love for this pizza. It is simple. It is delicious. It's quite healthy. And the kind of meal that makes me think I might actually survive as a vegetarian (I have no plans to head that direction - just a desire to eat more veggies and less meat on the whole).

I'm not quite sure where this recipe originated, but it currently graces one of the pages of our Vaughn family cookbook. It was added by my lovely mother although I don't think she made it up. Whomever made it up, I am forever endebted to their brilliance. You will be too when you give it a try...

Black Bean Pizza

Crust (I use this for all my homemade pizzas):

Dissolve

*2 teaspoons yeast in 1 c. warm water (let soften a few minutes)

Add:

*1 teaspoon sugar

*1 teaspoon salt

*2 Tablespoons oil

*2 cups white flour

*1/2 c. whole wheat flour

Knead a few minutes, then rest a short time (15 minutes? That's about how long I let mine rest last night when I had to frantically run to the store for cilantro). Roll out and bake @ 425 degrees for five minutes before adding the sauce & toppings.

Sauce

In food processor or blender combine:

*one can black beans, rinsed and drained (Jonathan made it one time without draining the beans and it was a soupy mess)

*3 Tablespoons olive oil

*2 Tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro (or more!)

*1 teaspoon cumin

*1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (I'm a wimp so I just do a few drops)

*1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Spread bean mixture on pre-baked pizza crust. Add the following toppings:

*small can sliced olives, drained

*1/2 c. or more diced red bell pepper (I used green this time because I has some on hand)

*1/4 c. sliced green onions

*8 oz. jack/cheddar blend cheese

Bake at 425 degrees for 7-12 more minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa!

If I'm honest with myself, I'm not sure if I'd look at this recipe and think delicious if I hadn't already experienced it's goodness. You might be like me. But I would say: go for it. Make it tonight! You might just find that your husband (or son, or sister, or aunt, or nephew), like mine, begins asking for it on a regular basis!

Eleven of Us

It's been nearly eight months since the eleven of us that make up the Vaughn clan have been together under one roof. We spent the week of the 4th of July at the lake together, but that seems like forever ago. It was the in-laws year for Christmas, and we weren't all together at Thanksgiving either. Let's just say it's been long overdue.

We all convened in Portland this past weekend for some quality time together. Grammy & grampy and our little family of three drove down from the Kan. Ethan rode the UM charter bus with the rest of his tennis team and Leah and Trav flew up from Orange County.

We loosely planned the trip around Ethan's tennis tournament, but at the time we weren't sure if he would travel or play at all. Thankfully, he did. He played against the University of Portland Friday night and the University of Texas San Antonio Saturday. We were able to watch both of his matches. I was reminded just how much I love watching tennis. I will certainly miss the twice weekly high school matches that have been a part of our spring schedule for the last two years. Hopefully we'll make the trek to Missoula sometime this spring to watch some tennis. Clara sure enjoyed watching her Uncle E. We did too.

The time together couldn't have been more relaxing. We went on walks to the park, ate good food, and hung out. That was pretty much it. And it was lovely.

Only about four months until the next gathering of the eleven (plus about thirty extended family). We can't wait.

The "A" Team

This past weekend I traveled to a place I love to visit a person I love. I flew solo to Colorado to visit my dear friend, Andrea. Yes, I went on a trip without the Claranator. It was great. Of course I missed her, but she had probably the best weekend of her life. What could be better than a weekend with both sets of grandparents plus lots of daddy time? Not much.

It marked the first time in almost two years that I've used a purse. I am actually quite impressed that I found a purse in my possession at all. It was buried in a plastic tub in our basement. I had almost forgotten how great (aka light) a purse feels, compared to a diaper bag.

Some other luxuries: transitioning in and out of Andrea's car with ease, continuing our plans through the afternoons without even a pause for nap time, sleeping in until eight o'clock in the morning, and leisurely reading multiple books on the plane.

As for the "A" Team (aka Amy & Andrea), we had a wonderful time together. Andrea had been heckling me to make a trip to Colorado Springs for months. It was about time I went her way. She's visited me many times in the past few years. And when she said she would "sponser" me to join her in the Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer and get us a hotel in the mountains before the race, it sealed the deal. Five years ago, the two of us stumbled upon this event by accident while attempting to cross country ski at the Frisco Nordic Center. We loved it. The event has grown by about 300% since that first year, which is awesome. Even with the mass of people this year, it was so much fun.

We couldn't spend time in the Silverthorne area without a stop at the outlet malls. It is a great thing I don't live ten minutes from them, like I did when we lived in Frisco. They're trouble.

We headed back to Colorado Springs after the romp and enjoyed a girls night with two of Andrea's dear friends, Lisa and Jenna. We made some homemade pizza and went a little crazy with Whole Foods dessert. I have a slight obsession with the chocolate pot de creme. Hmmmm. That might be an understatement. Maybe it's good that I don't live by the outlets or a Whole Foods.

After church in the morning, we decided to bust up the incline, which is alongside the Pikes Peak trail. It's basically a mile hike where you gain 2,000 feet. It's like walking on a stair climber for an hour straight, except at times you're scaling steps at hip level. Andrea runs up this thing in her sleep. She's done it over a dozen times. She even sprained her ankle on the run down the mountain once and had to be air lifted out of there. Okay, maybe she wasn't air lifted but it took her about four hours to make it down. It's a dangerous place ;). But we survived. And of course had a great time doing it. Or maybe it wasn't that we had a "great time". I don't know anyone on that kind of hike who doesn't stop at some point and think, "why in the world am I choosing to do this?" But there is just something extremely gratifying about accomplishing something challenging. And breathing that rocky mountain air and seeing the lovely view doesn't hurt either.

On the way back to the airport, we stopped by to spend some time with my grammy at her care center. It was both wonderful and heart breaking to see her. She suffers from dementia and has changed dramatically in the years since we moved away from Colorado. Her sweet spirit is still very evident, though, and she loved the pictures of Clara I showed her on my phone. Isn't she just darling? She's wearing a sweatshirt with all her grandkids from many many years ago.

Now I'm home. And already reaping the rewards of my absence. My clingy, tired lady seems bound and determined to make me suffer for leaving her. It may just take a few days but we'll get into the routine again, I'm sure. And despite the fact that I miss Andrea and Colorado air and purses and pot de creme, outlet malls and leisurely plane rides, there is no place I'd rather be that with my little lady (and my husband!, I do have a husband :)) again. Thanks again, Andrea, for a wonderful weekend away!