Harumph. Went to do another henna test, but in the process of boiling the coffee, I boiled it all away.

It's all my fault. I drank all the coffee today.

Susan, cut yourself a break, girl. I'm not a parent, so I can't offer any really helpful thoughts, but I've done a lot of babysitting and watching of others raise their babies. You're doing just fine.

I mention this because I secretly believe it somehow makes me cooler and sexier by Jen association

It totally does. Cause she's sexy like that.

a woman tries to help her nine-year-old son deal with being called fag

Goddamn fucking PEOPLE. Jesus.

I may yet develop a taste for it, but it takes extraordinary garnishment to get me to eat asparagus

I will eat all your asparagus, if you eat all my mushrooms.

Now, they are not the most enlightened (can you say "racist") and I figured they would ignore my black BF.

Well, I'm glad to hear that they were better than that! Yay! And ah, the fun of family members.

Now y'all are making me want veggies. Or pot-pie. Mmm, pot pie.

Ah, fuck. Apparently I burnt enough peach cobbler onto the bottom of my oven as to render it completely unusable until I find time to clean it. Also, I have determined beyond a shadow of a doubt that the smoke alarm in the kitchen is dead dead dead.

I was pretty precocious on several levels. I walked at ten months, and while Annabel is close, she's not quite there yet, and she'll be eleven months Sunday. I think I also had a few words at her age,

It's not a race.

It is not a race.

It is not a race because (A) you do not control it in any way and (B) the results are IRRELEVANT to the baby's future life.

When Annabel is 5, you will not care whether she walked early or late. She will not be more graceful at 5 because she walked at 10 months, or clumsier because she waited until 14.

I had one kid who read at 3. I had one kid who read at 6, with a lot of sweating and swearing. Now they're both in double digits, and they both read equally well. They're both wayyyy ahead of their age levels, even though one had a three-year start.

It is not a race.

I think she's just trying to explore her world and investigate her new physical skills. She's a very self-contained child. I'm not sure she'll be an introvert, because she's friendly and flirty, but she's very mellow and independent.

Gah, Susan, you worry so much and beat yourself up so much and then you throw something like this out there and I just want you to listen as hard to the voice that says things like that as you do to the one that seems to be always questioning yourself. That is a beautiful, happy, curious baby you've got there, and I know you sometimes think you're not doing right by her but you are, you really really are.

Dinner: marinated chicken breast (Trader Joe's), edamame (TJ's), and sweet potatoes (yes, TJ's).

I have eaten TWO vegetables, and my tongue doesn't hurt!!! Trader Joe's, my tongue thanks you!

Steph, I saw those cubed sweet potatoes the other day at TJ's. If they're that good, Ima think I'm heading over there to buy some. I want to smother them in butter and brown sugar.

If they're that good, Ima think I'm heading over there to buy some. I want to smother them in butter and brown sugar.

They were really good -- I microwaved them until I could moosh them with a fork, and then mooshed some butter into them and just a teeny tiny bit of cinnamon.

For Steph:

Sweet Potato, Corn, and Black Bean Hash

2 tsp canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup frozen corn kernals
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
pepper

Sautee onions 3-5 minutes. Add sweet potato and cook, stirring, until it starts to brown in spots, 5 minutes or so. Add garlic, jalapeno, cumin, and salt. Sautee until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until liquid is absorbed. Stir in corn and beans and cook until heated through. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges; tortillas or corn bread on the side.

It is Teh Yum.

Gah, Susan, you worry so much and beat yourself up so much and then you throw something like this out there and I just want you to listen as hard to the voice that says things like that as you do to the one that seems to be always questioning yourself. That is a beautiful, happy, curious baby you've got there, and I know you sometimes think you're not doing right by her but you are, you really really are.

Thanks, Brenda. I needed to hear that. She really is the most wonderful and lovable child ever, and you should hear her laugh. It's the best sound.

I've just got to figure out how to make myself stop worrying about her intellectual development, because that's what all these worries come down to for me--am I doing enough to make her as smart as she has the potential to be? And since I'm wired for guilt, all the well-meaning child development advice hits me the wrong way, because I feel like I could be doing more.