since i have a test to study for, i’ll keep this short.

zoë turned 5 on thursday last week, and her party was sunday afternoon. thursday morning, she woke up to about 20 balloons on her floor, and a tunnel hanging from the ceiling right outside her door (she’s jumping up and down and hitting her head on them in one picture). she went to school, took cupcakes and then came home to be taken to cracker barrel for dinner.

sunday was another thing altogether. the pictures don’t capture the sheer number of people at her party – at least 16 kids, and then the assorted parents – it was lovely and big and loud and everything a 5th birthday should be. we had a pinata that didn’t open (maybe we should have all pulled a string at once. oops!) egg races that saw teams get smaller on the second round because the losing teams didn’t want to play any more… it’s tough being a kid. we also had a dinosaur egg hunt in the vein of an easter egg hunt, but i assumed the number of eggs written on the box was the number i hid. nope! about 1/2 went into the gift bags, so when i said 6 eggs per kid, it was more like 3. some feelings got hurt on that one too. but what is a group of 3-7 year olds without some hurt feelings? the ice cream cake melted, the balloons kept popping because the popcorn ceiling was kinda sharp and 2 of the boys kept fighting.

in short, it was perfect. zoë had so much fun, and so did her friends – i was exhausted, hence why this is just now getting posted. but there you go. the birthday madness, encapsulated in less than 1000 words.

today, the silliest 4 year old i know turned 5. last night, we blew up about 40 balloons and put half of them on the floor in her room. the other half went into the hallway alcove right outside her door, hanging down so she had to walk through a tunnel of balloons to get to breakfast. but instead of being in awe of all the work (we had a hand pump, but my triceps were killing me this morning when i woke up), zoë was dismayed that she still looked 4. that was the first thing she said this morning – “i still look 4!!” with a tone that bordered on disgust. we aren’t quite sure what sort of transformation she was expecting, but she was disappointed when she didn’t turn into whatever mythical figure she anticipated. the day continued in that vein.

she went to school this morning, taking cupcakes with strawberry frosting (another bit of work last night) which she informed everyone were “homemade.” apparently this is an important distinction to make, as i guess they get bakery cupcakes for other kids’ birthdays. go me. the cupcakes are fantastic, and i’ve made the recipe twice in the last week. and of course i didn’t take any pictures. you can find the recipe here. i cut it in half to make the cupcakes, since i only needed a dozen.

so after school  today, her teachers informed me that she had an exceptionally good day. she sat in her seat, didn’t talk, didn’t get distracted, and also didn’t take a nap (no big surprise on the nap). she told her teachers that she is going to obey, now that she’s 5. she informed us of this fact about 2 weeks ago, after a pretty bad temper tantrum. apparently, she meant it, so we’ll see what happens now that she started the behavioral changes. she also told her teachers that she gets to chew gum now. she ate 3 pieces of sugar free gum tonight, but so far so good on the not swallowing bit.

we went out to dinner at cracker barrel, where she got a “kid food” (she gets inordinately excited over what she calls “kid food”, and what i call “boring”) birthday dinner, also a big deal. apparently my adventurous cooking is not good enough for her simple tastes and desires for mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes and chicken fingers. she initially wanted fish sticks, but had to work with the kids menu. in regards to the “kid food” thing, she’s 5 now, but she better get a better palate, or the rest of her life at home is going to be interesting, to say the least. after dinner, she spent some birthday money in the store. on a battery operated tarantula the size of a dinner plate. the thing is a little too realistic for my tastes, but once again, she’s 5.

finally, after dinner, she got to go spend a gift card from aunt allie and uncle buzz – so she buys herself a mermaid toy for the bathtub, a moon nightlight (also the size of a dinner plate, though significantly less terrorizing when viewed out of the corner of the eye, and will allow her to make it match the current phase of the moon),and a recorder (yes, the awful elementary school music class instrument). the first two choices were good ones, although i know we will regret the 3rd.

all in all, she got to celebrate her day in the sorts of ways she finds meaningful – mermaid, tarantulas and bubble gum included. her big party is on sunday, and there will be lots more pictures coming for that too. i have pictures of today to post, but they won’t be coming til tomorrow, as i have a paper still to write tonight. you think i could use an afternoon and evening partying with my 5 year old as an excuse for not completing it? yeah, me neither.

check out the flickr stream for more cheesy grins…

the second tooth came out yesterday, and she pulled it out herself. she says it was upside down in her mouth, and needed to come out. exaggeration, a slight one, but it was definitely ready. i think this is the last tooth for a while, none of the others show the same movement.

zoë opened a few presents from grammie tonight, clothes and shoes with clothes specifically for her birthday day – opening them this weekend means i can get laundry done in time for her actual birthday. they were all a hit, and the little shoe fiend was quite excited to get a couple more pairs.

we’re planning on breaking in some of those new clothes tomorrow, maybe at the park – when the weather is 65 and sunny, you gotta be outdoors as much as possible.

anyway, short update, it’s been one of those weeks, so we’ve not been up to much. next week will see me prepping for her birthday party, and posting birthday pics on thursday or friday, with the party on sunday. maybe a recipe or 2 before then, who knows.

this recipe however, is not from gojee. it’s from melissa clark, new york times food columnist. i’m using her granola recipe as a very bare template, because the possibilities of substitution are endless. the original recipe can be found in her book “in the kitchen with a good appetite,” one of the better cookbooks i own.

this is the second time i’ve made it, and it’s lovely. and it makes a good bit, so i might just use it for christmas presents this year. and for me to make something twice is saying something, as i have previously made mention of my propensity to only try new things. it’s not super expensive to make, and because you can substitute just about all of the ingredients, it can be done for almost any taste. the secret ingredient is olive oil, and a decent amount of salt, making it quite an addictive little treat. she recommends serving it with berries and ricotta, although we’ve been eating it with plain greek yogurt. yum!

Olive Oil Granola

ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups chopped raw macadamia nuts

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

3/4 cup chopped dried dates

directions:

preheat oven to 300F.

in a large bowl, mix up the oats, nuts, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and ginger.

spread over a large baking sheet with a rim ( i use my jelly roll pan at 11×17 inches) and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. you want it well toasted, and not wet, but still golden brown.

once it’s cooked, transfer to a large bowl or container, and add the fruit, tossing to combine.

enjoy!

there are a lot of other combinations you can do with this, and if you’re a chocolate lover, some mini chips would be divine. if you add in chocolate, decrease the brown sugar a bit, or it will be sickly sweet. here’s some potential other combos, and note that all the fruit should be dry, not fresh:

apricots—cherries—pistachios—pumpkin seeds—cinnamon—cardamom

apricots—dates—walnuts—cinnamon—cardamom

cherries—figs—almonds—coconut flakes (the dry kind)—cinnamon—ginger

blueberries—mangoes—almonds—cinnamon—ginger

cranberries—apricots—walnuts—cinnamon—ginger

so on thursday of last week, zoë lost her first tooth. well, the first tooth that came out without dental intervention.

so she was at school, crawling under a table, and bumped her head on the underside of the table – it made her mouth snap shut, and her tooth came out. needless to say, she was super super excited when i picked her up from school, and promptly began wiggling the tooth next to it. money is a great motivator to lose teeth, as i know this well myself.

we’ve been to chuck-e-cheese, during my last couple of days before school started… we still had some leftover tokens from the last trip, so it was a cheap afternoon together that yielded us a silver plastic dollar sign ring and a lollipop. the lollipop got dropped on the floor and the ring was missing before we even got home. making memories, right?

school has started for me, and it looks like it’s going to be a wonderful semester. very relaxed – i’m all for that. i’m borrowing a loom from a friend for the semester, and i’m looking forward to getting a head start on christmas presents. priorities, y’all.

so that’s the last 2 weeks so far… i’ll do a quotes roundup in another week or so.

2012 is going to be a great year for any number of reasons…

zoë has her first wiggly tooth, one that promises to come out on its own, rather than through dental intervention. in fact, i would be surprised if the tooth lasted the month. she’s overjoyed with the prospect, and keeps showing me her tooth (and drooling all over her clothes in the process).

zoë will be going to kindergarten in the fall. i can’t believe the sweet little meatloaf we brought home just shy of 5 years ago has grown so much, so fast. i can’t imagine being in my mom’s shoes, looking at the little girl i could have sworn was 6 just 10 minutes ago having her own little girl. although mom has always had a much better grasp on time and the fleeting nature of it than i ever have, so maybe the analogy is not exact.

i’m going to be graduating college, at long last. this has been a decade in the making, and while my degree in english literature does not promise me loads of money or even a particularly satisfying job, i’m happy. i’m completing a project that i have returned to off and on for years. what comes after? i don’t know. i’m applying to grad school within a few days, but honestly, i’m done having to do homework. i want to go to a job, do my work, and leave it there. which means i won’t likely be in management anywhere. no loss.

we’re settled here in athens. truly settled. spencer and i have moved so many times, and we always felt a bit disjointed, out of step from our surroundings. that didn’t mean we didn’t make good friends, or attempt to find our place, but living in athens has provided a community, a home for us in a way we’ve not yet experienced. it’s no different than any other smallish, liberal leaning, academic town – we have insufferable hipsters, and snooty townies, and a fairly large homeless population, and a host of other social problems, but we’re home. at least for now. ha. one day, we’ll leave athens, there’s no doubt about that but until that day – this is home.

so looking at resolutions, and all the other things we’re supposed to do at the new year, i don’t know that i have any. this year is going to be a good one even if i fail or succeed at every resolution i make. i will try to blog more, although i’m pretty sure i made that resolution in 2011, and we all saw how that played out. thanks for joining me on this journey, and here’s to many more years of my ramblings.

christmas day, originally uploaded by thecakewife.

well, the big holiday is done. zoë is in her room, pretending she’s a mountain climber stuck on a mountain top with her stuffed animals as her rescuers, and ever so often she comes in here, bouncing on her blow-up ride on dinosaur.

we opened presents and ate dinner yesterday with spencer’s folks, his sister and her fiancé, and his uncle. it was a lovely, low key family gathering, and as always, the food was excellent. spencer’s parents are fantastic cooks, so we quite enjoyed dinner. zoë got all sorts of fun presents, ranging from cute tights to hello kitty backpacks, craft supplies to fuzzy scarves. all in all, it was a long day, but a good one.

after talking to mom yesterday, i realize there may have been some ambiguity on the gifts of money zoë received. we added it to her piggy bank and took her to target to pick something out for herself. she bought a princess barbie doll and a la-la-loopsy figurine. it was actually really good for her, because we got to discuss what her money would and wouldn’t buy, and why she had to choose things that fit her budget. learning opportunities y’all. ha.

well, i need to go rescue my intrepid mountain climber from the rivers of lava flowing in between her bed and desk, so click the picture to go to the christmas set. all the pictures are up, and because zoë is so wiggly, some of the pictures are a bit blurry. sorry for that.

every year, for most of my childhood or at least as much as i can remember, we ate scotch eggs on christmas morning. we would excitedly dig our small presents out of our stockings, wolf down scotch eggs and get back to playing with our new presents. if my parents were anything like spencer and i, they were drinking coffee, feeling bleary and wondering how long the present-induced silence would last.

there are few things in my life i can say are childhood traditions – i have our old manger scene and figurines, the birthday girl or boy gets to pick the dinner meal, and we open christmas presents on christmas eve as i did as a child. but scotch eggs bring back a host of memories, all of them as warm and bright as this day. here’s the recipe, in the hopes you can enjoy these as much as we do.

Scotch Eggs

ingredients:

one dozen eggs, divided

2 rolls of reduced fat sausage (we use jimmy dean, but 24oz of any breakfast sausage will do)

1 1/2C seasoned bread crumbs, or a mix of plain panko and italian seasoned bread crumbs

directions:

preheat oven to 350ºF.

hard boil 10 of the eggs by placing them in a pot large enough to hold them, cover with 1 inch cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil on the stovetop. as soon as the eggs boil, turn off the stove, cover pot and set aside for 10-15 minutes. drain pot, run cold water over eggs in a colander, and peel as soon as they’re cool enough to handle.

whisk the other two eggs in a small shallow bowl until well combined. put the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

each roll of sausage covers 5 eggs. take a piece of sausage between pin pong and golf ball sized, flatten into a pseudo-bowl shape and press hard boiled egg into the middle. wrap sausage around the egg, making sure to completely cover it. roll sausage covered egg in the raw egg, until lightly coated, and then roll in bread crumbs until well coated. put on a cooking spray coated baking tray or 9×13 baking pan. repeat for all ten.

bake eggs for 50-55 minutes, until sausage is cooked through. let cool for about 5 minutes, and enjoy!

just a couple more pictures from yesterday and today.

So, obviously, it’s been a long time. A really really long time. As of yesterday, 5 months since my last post. So here are some highlights to last semester -

• I got on the Dean’s List at UGA, and I graduate in May.
• Zoë has learned how to read, and we do a lot of practicing of this new skill.
• We moved into a larger apartment, with a real dining room, a fact that brings me great joy every time I contemplate it.
• Zoë is also learning to appreciate football. Whether or not that is a completely good thing, I don’t know, but I enjoy watching and so does she now.

Zoë has a much larger list of silly things she’s said recently – here’s the facebook highlights, where I call her the kidlet, as directly quoted from my statuses:

• “kidlet told me this morning that she never wants to move away from us. i explained to her that she wouldn’t get to decorate the christmas tree the way she wanted until she moved out. she changed her mind immediately. that’s my girl.”
• “the kidlet just informed us she wants to be a boy. so she can grow up, get really old, and get hair in her ears. wow. just wow. her reasoning is sound, right?”
• “and now the kidlet is doing the running man in our living room. what a weird weekend for her. “
• “so zoë’s weekend so far: turning into a boy to grow ear hair, doing the running man in the living room and attempting to dougie, and reading the first 14 pages of “hop on pop.” i don’t know what to expect tomorrow. it’s been pretty interesting so far.”
• “kid, stop trying to breathe like darth vader, and eat your dinner!”
• (while watching UGA – the red team, play Boise State) “kidlet – “is the red team girlsie state?” i guess we’ll see how the season turns out, before i can answer that.”
• “”those crabs aren’t fighting, they don’t have any guns!” – kidlet watching the documentary “oceans”.”
• “”did you know there’s an orctafish? they’re real – they’re black and white, with white spots and 10 legs and a long tail and they live in the ocean.” – you know who… she’s entered the wild tales phase of life.”
• “kidlet just went to her pre-k class – 3 kids mobbed her as soon as she walked in, shouting “zoe’s here!” auspicious beginnings to her school year, i would venture.”

more silly things, via spencer’s facebook wall:

• “Zoe told me this morning that she was allergic to tigers. I responded that it was a good thing that we did not own any tigers. She then replied that we need to stay away from things made from tiger fur, as it is what she is allergic to specifically. That’s my girl.”
• “After Zoe and I returned home from Sam’s Club she told Catherine, “I wish my name was Sam, so I could start a club and call it Sam’s Club.”"
• “Zoe just asked me for a cough drop…she said her throat was frustrated.”

So, that’s the fall, in a nutshell. Here’s the link to the channel we’ll be streaming on, Dec. 24th at 3PM EST.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zoe-s-christmas-morning

I’ll be posting more often, as my schedule next semester is nowhere near as atrocious as this last one was (15 credit hours, aka 5 classes makes me a very bad blogger.)

See you all in about 12 hours!