Her Mother's Daughter (and other Slices)

We went to IKEA yesterday and Anna went to this little play land they have there. It's kids-only. We drop her off and she has up to an hour there and then we come and get her. It's pretty cool.

Anyway, there's this loft that they can climb up to and watch a big screen TV. After she played for a while, she took a break and went up to watch TV (I know all of this because she told me). Here's the conversation we had about it:

Anna: I went to watch TV and there was a girl and she said, "This show is not for you."

Me: So, did you say anything back to her?

Anna: Yes, I said, "This show is for me!"

Me: That's great! And did she say anything back to you?

Anna: Yes, she said, "No! This show is not for you."

Me: Oh. Well did you say anything back to her?

Anna: I said, "Yes! This show is for me."

Me: Did it keep going like that? Or did one of you stop talking?

Anna: I stopped talking.

Me: And you watched the TV?

Anna: Yes.

Me: Because it was for you.

Anna: Yes.

Then I told her to give me a high five and commended her for sticking up for herself. She's assertive like her mom.

This is the kind of confidence I don't remember having as a kid. If I was in that situation I would have said, "Oh. OK. I guess it's not for me," and walked away.

I was never able to separate the concept of confidence from cockiness. I always felt that people who were sure of themselves were also full of themselves. I know now that I was wrong.

And I don't doubt that people will be wrong about Anna too, if she keeps up with this confidence stuff. She'll be called bossy or pushy or stubborn, instead of assertive and ambitious and strong willed.

But screw those people. She's awesome and I'm going to keep giving her high fives.

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Before nap and night time, we talk about happy thoughts; things that Anna can think about as she's going to bed. Usually, it's something that she did that day, like going sledding or eating something she really liked. Stuff like that. We usually supply the happy thoughts, but lately she's been wanting to determine what they are, which actually makes a lot more sense.

Yesterday, one of her happy thoughts was flossing (which is something she just started to do).

Tonight, one of her happy thoughts was, "getting bigger and stronger."

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For supper tonight: Toasted Sesame Kale and Veganomicon's Blueberry Corn Pancakes, which are my new favorite pancake. So easy and so fucking good.

I don't swear a lot on this blog. Maybe you've noticed. But I just did there. That's how good the pancakes are. I'm not going to say it again. Once is enough. But really, they're that good. For an approximation of what they look like, check out the photos here (mine were bigger than these, because I like big pancakes).

Anyway, Anna and Liam both loved the kale and the pancakes (which, oddly enough, went together really good). It was Liam's first time eating kale and he didn't even flinch. He just starting eating it like it was something he'd always eaten. And then he asked for more. He's a good little eater.

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Do I brag about my kids too much?

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I was trying to explain the concept of glasses to Anna; how some people can't see that good and so they have to wear glasses. I could tell it was hard for her to understand so I took a couple photos to illustrate.

This first one is how it looks with my glasses on.


And this is what it looks like with my glasses off (and no, this isn't an exaggeration):



So now she probably still doesn't get it, but it might make a little more sense.

Random Photos

So I have photos. And I want to post them. So here you go.

We made cinnamon buns last weekend. We used this recipe at Vegan Yum Yum. We didn't use a big enough dish and didn't bake them long enough so the inside rolls were kind of gooey and not fully cooked (I think it's mostly because they didn't have enough room to expand, but then agian I'm sort of a bread novice), but the outsides pieces were pretty damn good. Definitely going to try it again with a bigger pan (or 2).

Here they are basking in the yellow glow of our stove light.






Liam's first birthday was in January. At first, we were going to have it at our house, but enough people RSVPd yes that we decided to move the party to a hotel near our house. All we had to do was rent a room for the night and they let us use the pool area the next day. There you go. A cheap pool-party birthday.


Liam wasn't actually too into the cake. He ate some, but like any food, he tired of it after a few bites and wanted something else (this is a blessing in disguise because it means he loves eating new foods).


Sledding in the back yard.


And I made a snow angel.


This was Anna's idea. I thought it looked cool.


She still loves her stuffed friends. George is laying on Rocky (the dog) who is laying on Buddy (the bear).


Anna's frosty window in the morning.




Jen and Liam.








Anna likes to help in the kitchen.


And I suppose the secret is out now. That's right. I'm pregnant.

OK. Not really. Seriously though, my gut is not usually that pronounced. But it is what it is. What can I say? I like food, beer and I don't regularly exercise. Sue me.

Actually, I sort of wear my weight with pride. I haven't lost a single pound since choosing veganism over seven years ago. That's not to say that you can't lose weight by going vegan, but ... well, look at me. I'm not exactly wasting away over here.

I'm still watching Ella on Friday's, much to my kids' delight. Liam has taken quite a shine to her. He even wants to hug her now when she comes over. It's awwwwwdorable.