We need to work with her on her experimental design.

One idea I came across online was a summer squash pesto, which is pretty much what it sounds like: a pesto recipe with pureed summer squash thrown in.  I decided to use this as an opportunity to use up a lot of the herbs that we’d gotten with our farm share, too (including tarragon, rosemary, parsley, sage, of course pesto, and probably a few others).  And I didn’t have pine nuts or walnuts, so I used some almonds I had in the cupboard.  So “pesto” may be a strong word for what I ended up with, but it’s a really nice sauce, and the best part is that you can get so much summer squash in to it.  The summer squash adds a really nice creamy sweetness, but it’s not a strong enough flavor to overpower the other flavors.  I’ve made two batches, in the first, I de-seeded the squash, but with the second, I only removed seeds from the squashes that had the really large seeds.

So sort of recipe for summer squash pesto – I’m really bad at keeping track of amounts:

• olive oil – a couple of tablespoons
• garlic (this can handle a lot of garlic), I think I used a small head of strong garlic.
• assorted herbs, as much as you can get
• slivered almonds, maybe half a cup
• variety of summer squash, any large seeds removed, pretty much as much as will fit in the food processor
• shredded parmesan cheese, maybe a cup
• salt to taste

1.  Toss the garlic, herbs, almonds and olive oil in to the food processor and process until smooth.

herbs, garlic, almonds, and olive oil

2.  Add the  squash and puree again until smooth.

summer squash (some of it was shredded first, but that's not necessary) added to the bowl with the processed herbs, garlic, and almonds

3.  Mix in the parmesan and salt to taste.

final "pesto"

So given the amount of squash, the pesto is a lighter color, and creamier than is traditional in a pesto.  I froze both batches in ice cube trays.  I’ve tossed a cube in with a bowl of pasta or spaghetti squash for an easy meal.  I’ve added a cube or two in tomato sauces, in fact, I have a tomato sauce simmering on the stove right now with 5 cubes in the sauce.  I know that I’ll use it in soups this winter.

The day didn’t start too well, I was sitting with Hazel on my bed, and turned away, and down she went.   Lesson for the day: if you find yourself saying to your baby, “Why don’t we put you on the floor so I’m not so nervous with you up here.”  Then for the love of all that’s holy, DO IT!  Thankfully she’s fine, other than sporting a pretty nasty bruise on the side of her face.

But back to Zoe’s birthday.  Chris and I took her out to breakfast this morning.  She got to take a cake to school, and then we went out with her grandparents for dinner.  After dinner, we went home to open gifts.  The funniest was how every present, she’d squeal and say, “ooh, it’s what I’ve always wanted.”  Even when the gift was a box of books that she’d never know existed until a couple of weeks ago.   Not to be outdone, Hazel chose this evening to take her first real steps that weren’t just moving her feet while falling.

In honor of Zoe’s birthday, I thought I’d do a bit of a retrospective…

on her birthday in 2006

1 year (rock hammer for scale is approx. 13")

2 years, rock hammer for scale (approx. 13")

3 years. Surprise! No rock hammer this year.

4 years - rock hammer for scale is 13"

5 years old! Rock hammer is still for scale. Still 13"

At bedtime, I asked how it felt to be 5.  “Nothing really changes that much when you have a birthday,” she told me, “you just get a little bit more attention.”

you'll note that she did put a toy in there to keep Hazel happy

Filed under: the girl ]]> http://tragicoptimist.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/sisters/feed/ 2 Ann Z sisters http://tragicoptimist.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/they-dont-mention-this-in-the-breastfeeding-books/ http://tragicoptimist.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/they-dont-mention-this-in-the-breastfeeding-books/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:45:22 +0000 Ann Z http://tragicoptimist.wordpress.com/?p=1183 ]]> It’s not disputed that nursing causes some changes in the mother.  My figure is bustier, I actually have cleavage to speak of, and I’m not used to that.  It has also really upped my chocolate cravings, which were already quite strong to begin with.  But now they’re crazy, leading me to grab and scarf down handfuls of chocolate chips and to try to satisfy them.  It’s the combination of the two that’s the kicker.  On more than one occasion, I’ve noticed melted chocolate on the inside of a bra, where a chip had fallen, unnoticed by me in to my more-ample-than-what-I’m-used-to décolletage.

…I’m…probably alone in this, aren’t I?

The girls are doing great.  Hazel is pulling up on everything and getting really frustrated anytime she falls.  She’ll be walking soon, which will be a whole new adventure.  Zoe is almost 5, as she’s happy to point out to nearly everyone.   We have all sorts of power struggles as we both figure out how to interact, but I think that’s normal, and I think it’s getting better.  And we still snuggle at night, and I can’t think of a better nearly 5 year old.  The two of them together is a hoot, Hazel clearly adores her older sister, and Zoe is always trying to get Hazel to smile and laugh.

helping with laundry

—-

In other news, I’ve entered Zoe in to Prevent Blindness America’s Most Beautiful Eyes contest.  I would love your vote for her (click here, click vote – no registration or log in necessary).  I would love to have a child with glasses be the face of a program to help parents learn more about healthy eye sight for their children.  I wrote more about it over at Little Four Eyes.

four months (rock hammer for scale is 13")

5 months (and 5 days), rock hammer for scale is 13"

We forgot to take a 6 month photo, but I have the stats.  She weighed in at 20 pounds, and was 28″ long (she’s fallen down to the 97th and 98th percentiles, respectively).

Sisters, 7 months and 4 years 7 months, rock hammer for... oh, you know the rest

“I had a dream mommy” she tells me quietly, “a dream about flowers and lots of roses and we could smell them! Was that a good dream?

I think about this weekend, with trips to the doctor for both girls (suspected RSV for Hazel, pinkeye for Zoe). I think about the treatments we’re dealing with in both cases: nebulizer and much-hated and fought eye drops, and the fact that I kind of want to dip the entire house in disinfectant.

I think about this long winter we’ve had. Cold and snowy, we haven’t had a significant thaw since November, so the snowfalls layer on top of each other, like sediments. I imagine you could see evidence of each individual snow and ice event, if you felt like cutting through the huge snowpack. Snowplows couldn’t plow to the curb through the deep snows so there’s hardly room on the streets for cars to pass each other, and walking is full of obstacles and snow barriers should you want to get from the sidewalk to the street, to do something crazy like cross the street.

But the girls are healing, even if there’s still many days left of nebulizing masks and eye drop fights. And the days are getting longer and warmer, even if it’s likely to be another 6 weeks at least until spring comes for good. We have had above freezing temperatures 2 days in a row.

I give Zoe a kiss on her forehead, careful to avoid her goopy eyes, “yes, it’s a very good dream.” And I head back to bed imagining the scent of roses and thinking of spring.

First, Hazel’s baptism – my parents, Chris’s parents, and my brother and sister in law were able to make it, which was great.  My sister-in-law, Roopa, took the pictures.

Hazel's baptismal gown was made by my grandma. Her booties came from Target.

I think Chris is telling me that I forgot to bring our copy of the paper that tells us what happens next.

Dad baptized Hazel

Zoe watched

And it just so happened that the same weekend was the Lake Harriet Kite Festival, which I’ve written about before.  I convinced my dad, brother, and sister-in-law to go along.  Luckily for them, it was a bit warmer this year, getting all the way up to 12° F, with very little wind.  Unfortunately, the lack of wind meant our kite didn’t really fly.  Still fun.  (Pictures by Roopa, again).

that's my dad and brother and our kite

probably the closest our kite came to flying

other people had a little better luck

Zoe having fun on the ice

inside the warming tent, you could make a fish print by painting a fish

pressing a paper on top ...

and there's your fish print!

Otherwise, this January has been quiet.  We’ve done a bit of baking.

Zoe shaping pretzels

and other fun cooking

Zoe dipping strawberries in chocolate

Zoe finished her 10th day of patching this morning.  It hasn’t been easy, I know she doesn’t like it and it’s hard to see with the patch on, but I’ve been super proud of what a trooper she’s been, wearing it without complaint (though she does ask how much longer she needs to keep it on).

Last Friday, when we first learned she’d need to patch, she’d been hesitant to wear the patch out where others could see her in it – she was worried people would laugh at her.  I was worried it would cause problems at daycare, but she  reported that only one kid laughed once, but that a lot of kids kept thinking she’d hurt her eye, even if the teachers told them what the patch was for.  Still, I was surprised yesterday when she asked why she didn’t wear her patch at swim lessons, and told me that she wanted people in her swim class to know that she wore an eye patch.  I wanted to ask why, but was afraid it would come across as sounding like I thought she should hide from wearing the patch, so I filed it away.  Then as we were picking out clothes last night, I gave her the choice of wearing her patch to Sunday school, or waiting until after church.  She wanted to wear it to Sunday school and church, and again brought up that she wanted everyone to know she wore a patch.  This time, I couldn’t help myself and asked her why.  “So if they see me wearing a patch later on, they won’t ask me why I’m wearing it, or laugh at me,” was the answer.  She’s a proactive one, my girl is.

I will say, after walking through church with her with the patch on, I can see her point.  The number of well-meaning people who asked her if she’d hurt eye was getting a bit overwhelming.  For the record, given the prevalence of amblyopia, it’s probably safer to assume that a kid wearing an eye patch is strengthening the vision in their unpatched eye, rather than recovering from an eye injury.