Bummer

I just wrote quite a lengthy post about my foray into the world of wheat/egg/dairy-free baking, but due to some sort of technical malfunction on Blogger's part, the post no longer exists. I'll have to drum up the enthusiasm to redo it tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a recent photo of our sweet baby. This was taken before she managed to get about six bruises on her enormous forehead. Poor baby. It's hard to have a big head and no sense of proportion.

These are my recreation clothes

Not a crushing disappointment

So far, the net result of Clara's allergies (for me, anyway) can be summed up in one word: hunger. I'm compelled to not be hungry and to get lots of good nutrients to keep Momma's Dairy Bar as healthy and delicious for Clara as possible. The problem is, I have never been the most deliberate eater, especially during the summer, so not being able to eat toast or have a sandwich or a quesadilla on a moment's notice has left me feeling perpetually peckish. In a moment of borderline self-pity, I decided to cheer myself up by making an approximation of one of my ultimate childhood comfort foods: cooked white rice with a bit of butter, sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Of course I substituted Earth Balance "buttery spread" for the butter and a bit of soymilk for the milk. And as I stirred it up and took my first bite, preparing to be disappointed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually pretty good. Not quite the same, but still sweet and warm and comforting. Now on to the next task: finding the perfect wheat-free bread recipe.

A Healthy Chi

All of those baby yoga classes have finally paid off! Clara has perfected the downward-facing dog after much dedicated practice.

I'm only joking! Clara does not take baby yoga, but as you can see she has very little need for it, as she is quite naturally at one with the universe. This little pose is one that Clara is extremely fond of; she probably assumes it at least ten times every day. Unfortunately, we have had great difficulty documenting the pose, since as soon as she catches a glimpse of the camera she sits up straight and gives us a cheesy grin. Another compounding factor is that she doesn't spend much time in this position, so if the flash is slow in going off the moment is lost. This is our best picture so far, and I think it really captures some of the subtle nuances of her Zen-like zest for life.

Vegan-Plus?

I'm trying to figure out what to call my new diet, which has been drastically altered following the news that Clara has mild-to-moderate allergies of dairy, eggs, and wheat. Typically, those have been my three primary food groups, but since I'm still nursing her I am having to embrace the new. We were pretty sure she had a dairy allergy, but the wheat and eggs were a bit of a surprise. I was ready to be Vegan-Plus (my phrase for a dairy-free diet that is heavy on veg, grains, fruit, and beans but which also includes meat). Now that we have to cut out wheat for a time, I'm kind of at a loss for a clever moniker.

We have an appointment with an allergist in a few weeks, but in the meantime Clara's pediatrician counseled me to err on the side of caution by eliminating the offending foods from my diet as well. Right now I'm in "survival mode," which means that I am eating a lot of cold cereal and soy milk. Clara and I did venture out to Wegmans (if I could leave Jeremy and marry a grocery store, I would marry Wegmans) and purchased some wheat-dairy-egg free delights, so I'm sure my new culinary repertoire will just continue to expand. The good news in all of this is that she'll probably outgrow these allergies within the next few years. In the meantime, we'll be grateful that she's over the moon for oatmeal, barley, veggies, and fruit. Now we'll work on getting her to like meat and soy...

Really, though, as you can see from the following photo, she doesn't much care what she eats:

In which I channel my inner homemaker

My friend Laura and I enjoyed a drizzly morning at the Farmers Market on Saturday, and among other things I came home with a large box of juicy peaches. What does one do with a large box of peaches, one might ask? Well, among other things, I decided to try my hand at freezer jam. My mom thought I'd be better off making regular jam, but I have neither the knowledge of such mysteries nor the equipment. She only has herself to blame for this gaping hole in my domestic education.


At any rate, this is my jam. It looks lovely, but is quite chunky as I don't have a food processor or a potato masher and therefore had to resort to using a pastry cutter to mash my peaches. But if we are known for anything here at the Blog of Glory, it's for liking our jam chunky! We also like our jam tasty, and I actually haven't tried it yet. I'm sure it's delicious. Anytime you add four and a half cups of sugar to only three cups of fruit you must have a winning combination.

Our evolving literary genius

Clara and I ventured to the library, and with her newfound mobility, I think she found this our most enjoyable trip yet! She didn't want to sit in my lap while I read to her, but she did enjoy crawling on the ABC rug and playing with some of the wooden toys. Things were pretty quiet at the library, probably because school is back in session, but I was okay with that, as it left plenty of librarians with spare moments to compliment my baby (I am a sucker for "cute baby" comments; I don't pretend to deny it).

I didn't have my camera with me, but perhaps you'll enjoy some other recent snapshots of our little reader. These were taken last week, when I came into her room after a few moments of too much silence to find her sitting quietly and reading to herself. She reads like I do, with lots of concentration-induced drool and plenty of expressions to go along with the plot's changing action.

I love everything about this picture

Just my dad and me

I have spent a fair amount of time not watching TV with Clara, as per the respected recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nevertheless, both Clara and Jeremy have enjoyed taking in a few minutes of football over the last two Saturdays. Although we never seem to be able to watch any of our three former or current university teams play, Jeremy always manages to snag bits and pieces of the day's "it" games.

Her hair was as yellow as yellow yarn...

We were trying to picture Clara with hair. What do you think?

Personal libraries are the new bomb shelters

The past few weeks have seen quite a bit of media scuttlebutt about the sad state of reading in America. Basically, we Americans are barely literate, if you count reading actual books as a measure of literacy. Which I kind of do, since I really enjoy reading actual books. (Of course, if you are doing other kinds of reading, like magazines, newspapers, etc., I think that should count for something, although I don't think the Surveyors of American Literacy took that into account.) At any event, I came across two new sources on this subject today: first, an article exploring why women read more than men (the mirror neurons being my favorite theory); second, the second half of today's Diane Rehm show, wherein the participants discussed American reading habits in terms of best-seller lists. Intriguing stuff, I declare. (For those of you who, like me, respect Diane Rehm's fight against her vocal afflictions but nevertheless do not necessarily relish hearing her actual voice, you will be relieved to know that she had a guest host today.)

I guess the heart of the issue is that people who love to read are gravely concerned that up and coming generations seem to take little pleasure in books. If young people don't like to read and would rather spend the bulk of their time on the computer or phone or playing video games, where does that leave book lovers a generation from now? This has no doubt been a concern for many generations, but I have to imagine that the other-than-reading alternatives are now more pervasive and powerful than they have ever been. Thus, I am thinking about stockpiling books so that when the publishing industry implodes and Apple takes over the world (perish the thought) at least I will still have something to do.

The Great New York State Fair

This year, the fair's motto was "Gotta Be There," which I find unfortunate on many levels. Nevertheless, we had a rockin' good time and hope to be around for at least one more walk up the Midway next summer. Incidentally--and our friends Matt and Ericka should appreciate this--we were sorely tempted to stop in for a peek of the woman with the snake body. Fortunately, said friends told us that while this may sound mysterious, grotesque, and compelling, this woman is apparently nothing more than a real woman whose real body is hidden behind a curtain and who has a rubber snake attached to her neck. Thanks, Matt and Ericka, for helping us to see the truth without spending our money! I am still curious, however, about the world's smallest pony. That might have been worth two dollars...


Ready to go! She can tell something really special is about to happen.

Getting ready to stroll the Midway and scrupulously avoid the Carnies.

"Seriously, though. What is that?"

Admiring the butter sculpture. Mmmm....butter....

I guess she stands up now.

After dropping the laundry basket by the door the other day, I went back to the bathroom to grab the detergent and returned to find Clara as you see her here. This is now one of her skills, although it's still in development.

In other news, Clara cut her first tooth (top right) and took her first trip to the Great New York State Fair (pictures forthcoming!).