A triumph of doctor-going

15 month check up: survived. And actually not too bad! Instead of a scary packet, the nurse just asked a few questions that we barely even had to lie about. It was a relief, obviously, to not be bombarded with "Can your child identify a rhombus while facing eastward?" and "Can you child successfully complete three hand techniques in the Fujian White Crane Style?" In a way, it was also a relief to hear the pediatrician euphemistically comment on her "very strong personality." More than once. Do you hear that, Sweetie? This professional who works with children every day thinks that as far as toddlers go, you are sort of difficult.

Obviously taking after her father in these matters, Anna decided yesterday that my use of fake cobwebs around the house was excessive, and took it upon herself to relieve the furniture of some of them.

"It's okay Mom, I fixed it."

"Though the next 17 years' worth of holidays concern me."

This morning I noticed a few overripe bananas in the bowl, so I had no choice but to make banana bread. When the idea occurred to me I really thought I was in a baking mood, but as the actual act of baking got underway, it became increasingly apparent that I was wrong about that.

I didn't have any walnuts or pecans, so I used slivered almonds...and chocolate chips. I didn't feel like opening a new bag of AP flour, so I substituted half rice flour. By the time I was eyeballing the baking powder instead of measuring it out, I was pretty sure this thing was in trouble. By the time I attempted to mix every single ingredient together at once, I was entirely sure.

But somehow, it still came out very much resembling banana bread!

It's a Week of Columbus Day miracle!

I'm sure the Santa's lap pictures will go well

Okay, here we go, round two of Attempt to Photograph Anna in the Proximity of Pumpkins! Everyone's favorite game. My favorite game for sure.

She did show some interest when she realized she could hoard them.

Not as much interest as she showed in putting dirt on things. While grunting.

I swear it took exactly three minutes for her to achieve her signature "urchin chic" look.

We decided against "attractive" pumpkins.

It's kind of amazing that she could still be a swirling tornado of destruction in an environment so decidedly kid-friendly, but I didn't really see anyone else trying to chew the stems off of pumpkins or build a mulch castle on the slide. I do kind of appreciate her aesthetic taste in gourds, though.

Dinner! Grilled Chicken and Plantains, Jamaican Style from my Bon Appetit archive, served on brown rice with a cabbage salad on the side. Dan said it was "pretty good" in a weirdly insincere tone of voice, but I think maybe he was just tired. I really liked it! The chicken had a really good texture for being cooked on the grill pan, and I liked the combination of flavors.

Pretty freakin' good, I say.

Crackers are a utensil too, right?

First, a couple of notes about Sober October. 1) It's almost over! 2) I got out of Central Market for less than $100 the other day, and I'm pretty sure SO is to thank for that. 3) It's inspiring people all over the country! I'm basically like Biggest Loser but less self-congratulatory. I mean, until now. Don't be intimidated if you're not in the Cool People Named Erica Who Blog About Their Daughters Who Are Named Anna Club. People of all names and levels of daughter-having or not-having can get involved.

Anyway. This is the only item from yesterday's shopping trip that Anna had any interest in. No idea where she gets that.

By the way, if any producers of beef jerky are reading this: no need to make those bags resealable on my account. Thanks.

Last night we had black bean and cabbage slaw tacos. Not the most glamorous, but they were comprised entirely of stuff I already had in the pantry/fridge, so there's always a little bit of satisfaction there.

Oh, hey there 15 month check-up packet of terrifying milestone questions that we have to deal with tomorrow morning! Go ahead and ask me if she's using utensils to feed herself yet! Go ahead.

And I will write "sort of."

At least this museum has a very high tolerance for screeching

There are very few things in the world that I like better than sandwiches. If I didn't think Dan would notice, I would probably just have a dinner menu of alternating sandwiches and poached egg dishes, with a poached egg sandwich for breakfast. I think it may be an offshoot of my Anglophilia, because those people love sandwiches, seriously. And they put corn on them, like a normal topping. Amazing.

Anyway, I do indulge myself once in a while, as with these Warm Fig, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto Sandwiches from Serious Eats.

Feels weird to even be typing this, but I thought there was too much bread in the equation. Next time I'll look for a thinner ciabatta loaf. Still delicious, though, and somewhat autumnal, in keeping with my campaign to ignore the fact that it's hot outside.

Ever wake up on a Monday morning and think, "It's a beautiful day, I should go waste $8"? Must be Children's Museum day! Admittedly, it was less of a waste than the last couple of times, in that she spent some time doing things that could be construed as "playing" and "exploring," as opposed to just crawling around looking miserable. Still, the majority of her time was spent trying to wrest things away from other children so that she could put them in her mouth. (Current record: one and a half golf balls.)

Dan commented on how empty the place looked, so I had to explain that they announced story time and everybody cleared out, but I know better than that. So she kind of had the run of the place for a few minutes.

She climbed up to this platform several times, but I think it was mostly to get in the way of other kids.

It was nice to see the big flappy red flag without the typical big flappy red flag crowds.

If anyone is looking for Christmas gift ideas, she sure liked this thing.

Anna plots her next move.

I figure it's never too early to experience the exquisitely uncanny feeling of an empty museum display.

She hightailed it pretty quick. Lesson that museums are creepy: learned.

Anyway, I spent most of the morning saying "Anna! Anna, look! Look!" but she's not really into "being instructed," so I probably ruined a lot of interesting things for her.

Last night we had Bobby Flay's Chinese Chicken Salad. I cut down the oil quite a bit and used poached chicken breast instead of rotisserie chicken, but it was still really good, so obviously I didn't healthy it up too much.

It's odd to be looking forward to leftover salad for lunch, but there you have it.

I don't care how much sweat is pouring off of you, IT'S AUTUMN

Day 10, Sober October is almost done! (Okay, yeah. I know. But I had to start telling myself that on October 2nd.) ALMOST DONE. My Sober October comrade Andy had some fried beer yesterday, but we decided that didn't count, and also is disgusting. Go team!

Uh, shoes. Seriously.

Like a mother hen.

Made some Mexican potato soup on Friday night. Until I put a huge dollop of crème fraiche in it, there was no fat at all, which is pretty impressive. A nice cozy autumn supper, as long as you don't care about the actual temperature outside. I just keep stubbornly making cool-weather foods and putting on long sleeves as though the word "October" is somehow meaningful in central Texas.

This will steel you against those 78 degree nights.

Yesterday we headed out to Marble Falls to check out Sweet Berry Farm. It was supposed to be a meetup with other people, but we were, um, two hours late. Anyway, Anna was super excited!

And what did we find there, amongst the hay bales and pumpkins and general fall-time emblems?

That's right, GOATS.

Anna surveys the farm with the studied boredom of all Hollywood starlets.

Sure most people go for the obvious "picture on a giant pile of pumpkins" but Anna was  inspired to create a multi-picture narrative of dirt-playing instead.

We still managed to humiliate her a little bit.

You should see how discerning she is in gourd selection.

"You guys know it's 90 degrees out here, right?"

A giant field of sprinklers? Yes, please. Right after this she ran to the mud, stuck a hand in, and shoved it in her mouth. My dainty little lady!

It's unfortunate how clingy and insecure she is.

After we had our fill of farm excitement we grabbed some lunch in town at the Bluebonnet Cafe. There was also pie, but it didn't survive long enough to leave any photographic evidence of its existence.

Diner-y!

If we had ever attempted to make our house look nice before now this might have come up earlier

In the course of decorating our house for Halloween it has become apparent than Dan and I have slightly differing styles in terms of holiday aesthetics.

Me: "I think we should paint the entire room black and fill it with pumpkins. And skeletons and cobwebs. And have some goats in the front yard. And they can be wearing devil horn headbands. And we can also paint them black. And probably some glitter...somewhere."

Dan: "I printed out an original score of Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre to set on the organ. It's the solo organ part, and it's tea-dyed to give it some age."

"I also have this tiny leather pouch that's vaguely creepy. And I stood over in that corner and thought really negative thoughts for a few minutes."

To be fair, some hints of excess do peek through Dan's armor of subtlety. He wanted to burn the edges of the music, I guess on the principle that after 50 years all sheets of paper become 500-year-old treasure maps.

Anyway, none of this matters when there is food to be discussed. Last night was my turn to host bunko. As hostess, I can't win prizes, but I can win eating.

Smoked salmon on black pepper chips from Bon Appetit.

More of this unholy bacon-filled caramel corn, also from Bon Appetit.

Sopes! Badly lit, but they looked surprisingly like the recipe picture.

Risotto balls using the leftover sweet potato risotto from last week. Very popular, maybe because it's a fried thing with cheese in the middle of it.

Didn't put a ton of effort into this one.

Anyway, it was a pretty good party from my my stomach's perspective, and everyone seemed to enjoy the nuances of Dan's autumnal stylings. I think they also liked my glittery devil-goats even if it's too tacky to admit it.

What's Anna been doing? Waking up from naps with emo-hair.

"I just have so many...emotions."

I'm also leaving all of the actual cobwebs in place

Day 5 of Sober October! How many days in this month, again? Like 12, right? Awesome. Oh, and just so it's clear, it ceases to be Sober October as soon as our plane lands in New Orleans on the 29th. It may cease to be October altogether. I may cease to be Erica, if things go really well.

Another variation on Eggs in Purgatory last night, via Serious Eats:

I really believe that eggs for dinner can save almost any day.

 I don't know why I made my croutons super monster sized. Sometimes I just want an enormous hunk of toasted bread. As opposed to poached eggs in tomato sauce, which I want all the time.

The fascination with shoes continues apace.

She was pretty pissed when Dan wore her new toys to work this morning.

She has also developed an interest in hats.

Which is good, because they can shield her sensitive vampire skin.

In other news, Dan and I are gunning for the Most Subtle Halloween Decoration award.

So subtle that I have now posted a picture of it in two different places for fear that no one will notice it otherwise. Tune in for the upcoming MySpace and Friendster updates.

Hope this doesn't lead to "I Can't Remember November"

Couple of things.

First, Anna is already cutting her upper canines completely out of order, and that's what I get for reading Twilight while pregnant.

Second, I'm doing this race thing at the end of the month, and even though it's sort of a goof and I really just needed a reason to go to New Orleans, it's still going to showcase what ridiculously bad shape I'm in at this point. What to do? Kale for breakfast! No, wait, that wasn't a good idea. Since the only path to self-improvement I'm ever interested in is paved with gimmick, this time I decided to go with Sober October. I also started regretting that sentence after the word "Since." I'm also 95% sure Sober October was a drunken idea. Nevertheless. It rhymes, and I am doing it.

Anyway, if you see me suspiciously avoiding drinks and looking kind of fat, I swear it's not because I'm secretly pregnant. It's because I'm trying to get into good enough shape to stop any speculation that I'm secretly pregnant. Bring me some sushi and I'll prove it! I'll eat the hell out of some cold deli meat too, just because I can.

So what have I been eating? Hmm, looks like wraps, mostly.

We also did a little grilling on Saturday to accompany football-watching. For some reason I didn't get a picture of the buffalo hot dogs, but they were really good with some nice German-style mustard and caramelized onions.

Sober October doubles as Please Eat Some Freaking Vegetables October.

Excellent potato salad by Emily, who understands the grossness of mayonnaise.

If Martha Stewart says to put a bunch of cheese in peppers, I'm not going to fight her.

I know pictures of pumpkin bread aren't sexy, but this stuff was fine, in the early 90's sense of that word.

Anyway, the important thing is that our team won! Right, Anna?

ROLL WAVE, ROLL.

Anna and Cash also had a little jam session. I'm going to say that their band has a...unique style of play.

Weirdly, they play the kazoo with their elbows.