What could be better

Than Emery giving up her morning nap and allowing us to do more fun things in the morning, before it gets too hot, like going to the park!

A not-too-hot Saturday last weekend that allowed us to take a family hike at Reflection Riding. Matt had been here several times and I'd never been, but always kind of wondered about the name. Turns out Reflection Riding maps back to old English "ridings," which were places where the scenery progressed in a pleasant and varied way. The trails weren't too steep, very wide, and they did indeed twist and turn in pleasant ways, often opening up into pastures, making very easy for me to picture us returning again and again!

Avocado smeared on whole-grain toast that's been slathered with mayo and mustard, then topped off with a little lemon juice and sea salt.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (how long will it be before Matt notices these in the fridge? I'm not going to tell him they're staring right at him!)

Discovering the source of Emery's bedtime antics ... I heard lots of chatter after I'd put her down, which was a bit unusual. It turns out she'd managed to reach far enough to grab "Goodnight Moon" off the dresser for one more reading. I don't know why, but that just melts my heart.

Fearless ... and Spicy Peanut Dip

Words cannot describe Emery's elation at meeting Spike for the first time, though fearless might be a good descriptor. True, Spike is just a little dog, but even I wouldn't want to get my hands too close to his sharp teeth. 

Emery, on the other hand, was more than happy to give Spike kisses, put her hands in his face and pretty much give him all the attention he may or may not have wanted.

And in the world of food, last night I resurrected an incredibly versatile dip I'd made a few years ago. The combination of ingredients might sound strange to some at first, but I promise the end result is delicious ... and it's a great way to use up peanut butter if the only size jar they had available when you went to the store last week was WAY bigger than you normally buy. 

Spicy Peanut Dip 

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup prepared spicy hot salsa

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Mash all ingredients together in a bowl, adding Worcestershire sauce if you like more zing. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or few drops of Tabasco if you like.  Use it to coat linguini, soba or buckwheat noodles, as a sauce for steamed veggies and rice, or as a dip for veggies, pita crackers, etc. It keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

She gets an A-

I'm pleased to report that Emery has made such tremendous progress with the Froggy Fun Pool that I can now give her an A- (an A+ will come when she can actually show a decent degree of enjoyment) for bravely enduring  some time in the pool yesterday.

We started out together, of course.

And she wasn't really expressing much emotion, but didn't seem anxious to get out of the pool, either. A few times I tried taking her out of my lap, but she would have none of that.  So I waited ... and then tried again ... and ...

eventually she didn't protest! This might have been the biggest smile she cracked while in the pool, as she remained quite focused and serious the whole time, but didn't shed any tears. Way to go, Emery!

Dogs and popsicles

Don't Emery and her new friend Monk look like statues in this picture?

No matter the size or breed, Emery still loves dogs, so we've got another canine visit on the docket for this week.

Also on the docket is finding popsicle molds, which are seemingly nowhere to be found in this city, so that we can make these fudge popsicles again (borrowed a friend's molds in desperation over the weekend, because I just HAD to try these). I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder, which made them especially dark (imagine that!) and all the more delicious.

Brilliant is

• Getting a babysitter for Saturday afternoon (when Emery is awake and requires work and attention!) rather than for Saturday night (when Emery is asleep, requires no work or attention and doing anything out probably costs more anyway.) And yes, I know a certain someone is going to take credit for this idea in the comments section.

• Leveraging (certainly not taking advantage of!) friends who have dogs for afternoon outings with Emery. Just sit her on a the floor with her canine friends and there's her free, A/C included entertainment for the day and my chance to catch up with another adult. (No pics of such engagements yet, but stay tuned.)

• The brilliance might just end here, because I simply cannot think of anything else worth noting. I thought it might have been brilliant to bring the Froggy Fun Pool into the house with no water in it to get Emery acclimated, but the fear still grips her whenever she's within a foot of her nemesis the frog. Smile Emery, there's a whole summer of sun, water and fun you might waste away!

Memorial Day Weekend in Georgia (don't tell Tucker!)

For ages my 3-yr-old nephew Tucker has known that he and his family would be coming down to TN over Memorial Day to visit us and have a vacation in the mountains. He's very clear on the fact that we live in TN (and Henny and Papa live in the blue house, etc. etc.) and that is where he planned to vacation.

However, turns out that the house we rented is technically in GA, just several miles from the TN border.

Did we dare mention this slight difference to him?  NO.

By far the highlight of Emery's time in the mountains was my brother and sister-in-law's dog, Ben. He tolerated her admiration quite well, though at times she was so persistent in showing him her affections that he couldn't nap anywhere. I imagine this frustrated him.

We spent lots of time just relaxing at the cabin, but also enjoyed a hike, some time in downtown Chattanooga, a double-date night and picnic with friends.

Emery enjoyed breakfast each morning with her younger cousin Molly (in this pic, Emery is probably looking at Ben, her new love).

She also learned to climb stairs (we don't have them at our house), and was stumped when all of a sudden the stairs were no longer available.

There were plenty of tea parties to be had (gotta love Emery's glazed-over look - too much tea perhaps?)

And new laptops to try out (if only Uncle Austin would permit it!)

And of course the vacation wouldn't have been complete without getting the girls in matching outfits, alongside their valiant, older brother/cousin Tucker, who truly is an all-star with the girls and revels in every adorable thing they do, sometimes even more than their grandmother, if that's even possible!

A progress report and more ...

So this week I brought up the Froggy Fun Pool from the basement and put it in the living room. Holding Emery, we walked past it and she wept. And clutched me. And had a bit of a hard time calming down even when it wasn't within eyeshot.

So I put it outside and later that afternoon we walked past it together ... and, no tears!

Yesterday we sat on a blanket outside right next to the pool ... and, no tears!

Though, I guess I was pressing my luck when I put her inside it after she impressed me with her bravery. She cried. 

Aside from getting familiar with the Froggy Fun Pool, Emery has also been enjoying some good Skype time with Henny and Papa, who now have an iPad and can carry her with them all over the house. 

And we're trying to enjoy the final few days of more moderate weather before the oppressive heat arrives. When we go to the park, Emery's adores playing with the stroller and chasing birds. The stroller can occupy her attention for so long that I think I'll make it an inside toy when it gets too hot to go outside.

In the land of food, this weekend we made "grilled chicken for people who hate grilled chicken," and it was a total winner. Because it's true - grilled chicken can be tough (literally) to like and lacking in flavor. Not with this marinade - the plain yogurt lends plenty of moisture and a little bit of tang.

Tempted in the grocery store line by a Cook's Country special edition of "Skillet Suppers," I picked up the magazine and proceeded to make Spicy Steak Soft Tacos. (in celebration that the flourless diet is over!!) Never did a tortilla and steak taste so good - and the homemade salsa verde was definitely worth the effort.