egg-cellent

Today we crushed another barrier in allergy-free foods. Maggie is allergic to a whole bunch of stuff, including eggs and dairy. So chocolate chip cookies aren't exactly at the top of the list of things she can eat- butter, eggs, milk in the chips. Which I think is a huge bummer. I mean, really. Who doesn't like to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough when you're sad/cold/tired/hungry/happy/watching a movie and pig out until your stomach hurts. What do you mean that's just me?

But today, we changed all that. I stumbled across Pure Hope, a blog by a mom living with lots of family allergies, and found an interesting recipe for egg-free and dairy-free chocolate chip cookies. I'll admit that as we mixed it, the dough seemed doomed- all flaky and not really sticking together. But it tasted good:


and Maggie about ate her weight in "just one more" bites. So, we put it in the oven and out came some really, really awesome cookies. I don't think you'd know they were dairy and egg-free unless someone told you.


See? almost gone. Mmmmmm. I think my favorite 'yes' is when Maggie asks me, "Is it Maggie-friendly?" Oh yeah, sister. Totally.

girls for president

I've been very proud of the way my children have been aware of the political season. They knew who the democratic nominees were, and they knew who ran for president. They knew who was running for Congress in our district and could recognize him when he showed up on my facebook page.

I realize now that, in an effort to help them understand the election process, we may have simplified things too much. Brian's elementary school had a presidential mock election in October. The 8th graders went to each class and talked about the candidates, then a few days later the school voted. When I asked Brian who he voted for, he told me Barack Obama. "Why did you choose him?" I asked. "Because he's the good guy. He's a...democrat. And McCain, he's a republican, and they're bad guys." Oh. Okay, so I might have said that, but, uh, let's talk a little more about what that really means...

And just this morning, Maggie and I were saying our goodbyes and doing the Obama "bump", a new variation on our old high five. I asked her if she was Michelle or Barack. She said, "Michelle" and I said, "Good, because I want to be Barack. He's the president." Maggie's response? "Mommy, you can't be president! You're a girl!" Seriously?! Whose child are you??

clean up your act

I've been struggling to keep up with the mess in our house. I can't even end that sentence with "lately" because it's more like an "ever" kind of thing. I mean, cleaning up isn't my forte, but even Kelly Ripa would have a hard time here...the constant un-doing of anything I've just done is pretty darn defeating.

So, we hired a monthly cleaning lady. Which means that once a month, we really commit to getting everything off the floors, counters, desks, dressers, bedside tables, and any other level surface that accumulates junk so she can clean.

Last night, we were back at it, trying to make a fun game out of this project. "Let's go, Team Tidy!" (Team Tidy is something they have at my son's kindergarten that seems to work.) My 3-year old daughter says to me, "Mom, what is Team Tidy?" I explained the super-exciting idea of a group of cleaners. "I don't think I'm on this team. Who is Tidy?" Okay, next trick.

Not long after this, I hear Brian (5) muttering, "I don't get it. Why do we have to clean for her? She's the cleaning lady!"