A few notes on this sunny Friday…
1. Thanks for all the kind words about my Grandma. We are hoping to do a family reunion to honor and remember her and Grandpa in Hilton Head at some point. They would have wanted us all back together again!
2. It’s possible that the only thing more exhausting than competing in the Olympics is trying to keep up with watching them. Is anyone else dragging from trying to stay up ‘til midnight every night? And while I’m on the subject, can we please all just make a deal to NOT post Olympic spoilers on social media? I have been cutting myself off around noon each day to avoid seeing what happens. I’m on Team Phelps forever. Don’t get me started on Lochte…
3. I bought kohlrabi at the market this week, and I’m excited to cook with it this weekend! Haven’t had any since I worked on the farm in Charlotte. Such a funny looking, but tasty vegetable.
4. This is Sarah’s last weekend here in Seattle. I literally feel like her plane arrived last week. How has it possibly been two months? I am so sad to see her go, but even more sad for Cullen. He has fallen so in love with her this summer, and now he’s going to be stuck with his lame mom all day long.
5. Cullen got his first balloon a few days ago – a gift from the Trader Joe’s cashier. I held onto the bottom of the string, while he frantically threw his arms everywhere and laughed as the balloon bounced off his face. Kids make the simplest things so much more fun.
6. I have a serious coconut problem right now. I’m eating coconut flavored everything. Perhaps the most serious offender is this one. Coconut peanut butter. This jar was emptied in less than a week, and I was saving it until I remembered to snap a picture. Every time I open the pantry I am sad it’s all gone.
7. The dogs sat me down and had a serious conversation about the ratio of baby to dog photos here in this space. They have really been missing the spotlight. They are loving summer in their new sunny yard with plenty of room to run.
Indy is a big fan of Cullen, and he is surprisingly gentle and patient with him. If I were going to worry about either of them, it would have been him. So equally surprising is that Huey isn’t not quite as enamored. He runs out of the room when Cullen is on the move, and only really gets close if he thinks food might be thrown. Lucky for him, that is quite often these days.
8. I think Cullen is walking. It’s hard to know what counts as official walking, but he can now take 6-7 steps in a row, and his balance is pretty awesome. When we turn music on he even jumps and dances – too cute! Here’s a short clip of him teeter tottering across the floor a few days ago…
9. It’s going to be in the high 80’s in Seattle this weekend – our best weather of the summer so far! I’m thinking another beach or pool day is in order.
10. I hope you all have a safe and sunny weekend!
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As Cullen begins to drop more and more food, Huey will come around. Food droppings have a way of converting dogs. :-)
I’m struggling with the Olympic coverage too. I have missed the end of coverage the past couple nights – which is when all the prime events are shown! I catch every. single. one. of the qualifying swim events though. –sigh– Today I gave up and just checked the scores online. Don’t worry, I’ll spoil NO results!
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Not totally sure but your rutabaga picture looks like kohlrabi to me.
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Gah! Of course it is kohlrabi. This is what I get for staying up so late all week! :) Thanks for pointing it out. Can’t believe I wrote rutabaga, haha.
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Give the kid some credit!! ;) OF COURSE, he is walking. That is awesome.
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Lena Reply:
August 4th, 2012 at 3:08 am
agreed. also, I can’t believe he is walking already!
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That counts as first steps – way to go Cullen!
As much as I love the pace of summer, by now I’m usually ready for the kids to head back to school. This summer has been busier than usual, and we have been traveling as much as we have been home. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of rushing through summer in this way and I wish we had a couple more weeks.
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So cool! Cullen is totally walking!!
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Yum! I just discovered coconut oil…and attempted to make my own butter tonight. You should make your own coconut peanut butter mix!!!
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Totally counts as walking! What a little ham!
Coconut is my weakness as well, especially coconut water and pineapple coconut ice cream. It’s incredible.
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Yaaay Cullen..so cute to see him taking his first steps…full swing into toddler territory (kind of sad)….at least that’s how I feel for my little guy.
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Finding out scores instantaneously is unavoidable in this day and age. Combine that with NBC’s insistence on showing the “highlights” of the day from 8-midnight every night, which amounts to a sometimes 12 hour time delay for west coasters, and the onus now squarely falls on fans to make sure they avoid all social media until 8pm. I agree with you that the late coverage is just not great, but I disagree that everyone should stop “spoiling” the results on social media. I’m tired of seeing people complain on Facebook and Twitter when they see spoiled results. If it’s that important to you (or any other fan, for that matter) to not be spoiled, then what you’re doing by avoiding social media after noon each day is exactly right and really the only “solution.” However, I don’t think the solution is to encourage people not to talk about the results as they happen!
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Yep, in the West Coast camp here, which just makes it even harder. I’m just mad that news coverage and things are splashing the results live, but NBC refuses to air it. And the internet coverage is really spotty. The social media break is the way to go. :)
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Lindsay Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Sorry, just a little bit of a rant there! I blame NBC wholeheartedly. I’ve been watching online and then watching some coverage at night because I’m just too connected to Twitter/FB that I can’t not go on during the day. But I’ve been so disappointed with NBC’s online coverage. Not to mention there always seems to be some buffering that happens in the most critical part of the event! I am on the east coast and it’s frustrating, but grew up in CA, so I know how frustrating it is to deal with this on the west coast.
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I’m with you on the Olympics coverage – I love, love, love it, but am so tired each morning from staying up late to watch!
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Look at Cullen go! Before you know it, he’ll be walking faster than he crawls. I can’t believe he is already on the move!*
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Yeah, that’s some kohlrabi you got there! :)
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I know! Lame mistake – just fixed it. Thank you!
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That looks like walking to me. There are Olympic spoilers everywhere you look. It is annoying.
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He seems so young to be walking!!
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That definitely counts as walking! What a cutie pie! And I couldn’t agree more on the Olympics front. Us West Coast gals have it bad as far as the time zones go. So tough to not pay attention to all of the media spoilers!
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I agree whole-heartedly about the Olympic coverage. I’ve been so frustrated as I’ve tried to avoid spoilers and yet keep getting spoiled anyway. It’s very annoying. Oh, my sister just got orders that they will be moving to Bangor in 2 weeks. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She wondered if she could still wear her Toms in the rain, and since I know you love Toms, I thought you could answer that. :)
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I’ve been a big fan of your blog and am even more excited about it now that A) you are living in Kirkland (we live in Totem Lake) and B) that I just found out we’re having a BOY!!
Do you have any tips for finding friendly pregnancy/mom groups in the area??
Thanks so much!!
Janine
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:45 am
CONGRATS to you!! Highly recommend you check out PEPS to get connected to other new moms in your area!
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He is TOTALLY walking! OMG, Em, that’s crazy! Go Cullen!
And yes, the Olympics going to midnight is ridiculous.
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Hey Emily, I’m sorry to hear about your grandma. Mine also passed away a few days ago and we had a beautiful outdoor service for her yesterday. Like your grandma, mine also outlived my Granddad by 20 years, and I used to love going over and having a cup of tea and listening to her stories about when they first met. Even though I know that her time would come, it is still hard, and I feel as though something is missing. Your post yesterday was a beautiful memorial of what seemed to be a loving and well-loved woman – what a nice way to remember how much she impacted your life. xo
On another note – I would love to know how you prepare/cook your kohlrabi – I get them occasionally in my Harvest bag but I am always stumped as to what to do with them!
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Yep, that’s walking for sure! He’s so advanced! I’ve never seen a kid his age just stand up without holding on to anything and take steps! Probably because he has such good playmates (you, Casey, and Sarah, obviously) :)
If you want to hate Lochte even more, just read these, and especially watch the video in the second one. Prepare to hysterically laugh out loud.
http://jezebel.com/5931055/10-reasons-ryan-lochte-is-americas-sexiest-douchebag
http://jezebel.com/5931604/ryan-lochte-and-ryan-lochtes-mom-issue-urgent-clarification-about-ryan-lochtes-penis
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Omg the 10 reasons things had me weeping. He is such a fool!
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Leah Reply:
August 6th, 2012 at 7:24 am
Thank you for sharing those links! I was wondering what others thought about him after seeing the segment showing his sneaker collection. Too funny!
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OMG!!! Didn’t you have him yesterday?!?! Emmie is thinking about walking too.
Isn’t it funny how they leave the room now to do their own thing? Em ditches me all the time.
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Congrats on a walking child!!! Now life gets even MORE fun (corner of the coffee table scaring you yet?)
On the Olympics. . . I hear ya on the spoilers, but we have to watch on a 48 hour delay(no tv service provider)- there is NO WAY for me to avoid facebook for the next two weeks. However, even better then DVR for this is online streaming. http://www.nbcolympics.com You can watch any prelim, final, and everything in between whenever you want to!
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1) i’m with you on the olympics thing. yesterday i stayed off social media to stay surprised for the women’s all around in gymnastics (and even gmail on my computer- since it has those “news clips” on top…argh). then we had friends over an hour before the olympics began & he totally ruined the outcome. i was so mad! haha i’ve recovered though.
2) i’ve become a complete coconut addict the past six months or so… i made coconut muffins recently that were out of this world amazing. :) i’ll have to try that spread- or make my own!
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We just discovered kohlrabi this year in our CSA box. Will you be posting a recipe using that anytime soon? We made a stir fry with ours, and there wasn’t much out there I could find online. Your recipes are always so creative!
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So:
1. I won’t get you started on Lochte because I think that would just get ME started. Team Phelps, all the way.
2. Sorry about your grandmother also, losing family and grief in adulthood I am finding to be quite complex.
3. How do you handle the cute of that child? So much of it, all over the place.
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Aww! I remember watching the video of Cullen getting the hiccups while in your tummy. Now he is walking in videos! He’s come along way :)
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I personally predicted, right here in the comment section, that Cullen would be walking by 9 months. Right again! Batten down the hatches…things get much more, um…complicated when they become upright and mobile! But also infinitely more fun, if that’s possible. Enjoy every step!
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Haha YES – I remember it!! :)
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Gah! Video too cute!
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While I always love seeing pictures of Cullen, I love seeing the dogs today! What kind is Huey? He looks a lot like my weimaraner. Maybe a weim/lab mix? All three of your kids are adorable!
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:44 am
He’s a German Shorthaired Pointer. Same family as a Weim!
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I love the Cullen video. He is indeed walkinng. I’ve been watching way too much Olympicslately. I give Cullen a score of 10 on his stand up, balance, and walk technique.
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Hilarious!
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Cullen is actually the cutest little guy ever! It’s been so fun watching him grow, nine months has gone so fast! I’ve loved reading all your adventures with him (been reading for a while, but hardly ever comment…I should more often!), enjoy your Friday!
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Thanks Caro!
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I’m a fan of Phelps too. Is it just me, or did he get more attractive over these past four years too? That’s just a plus; he’s an amazing swimmer too :).
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Um yes. Confirmed. :)
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Trader Joe’s is best for offering both a scavenger hunt and free balloons :)
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I am sorry about your grandma, they are special. I hope y’all get to do a reunion! I am team Phelps forever too, all the way!!
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Your family is so stinking cute. How do you stand it!!!
Fully support #2. I avoid all media from noon on. I’ve had too many spoilers. And I am pretty much not functioning by staying up until midnight…. And it’s only week one haha. So worth it tho!
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your house is so clean looking for a baby and 2 dogs! Do you hire someone or do you actually clean it all yourself? Just curious.
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Ahh I wish. Nope, just me. I do my best but it’s usually just surface cleaning. I don’t like clutter!
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I wish that I could stay up late watching the Olympics – none of the main channels here in Bangkok are carrying them :( I’m contenting myself with trying not to read any spoilers and watching the replays online.
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Whoa!! Definitely walking. Nitsah (one day younger) isn’t all that close yet, but she got really excited about the video of Cullen walking. Maybe she’ll be inspired!!
Your descriptions of Cullen actually sound like the way people describe olympic athletes as babies… super active and wiry (and keeping mama on her toes at all times). Sign the kid up for gymnastics lessons!! ;)
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:43 am
I love showing Cullen videos of other babies!!
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Oh my goodness, that kid is getting cuter every time you post about him! So adorable.
And coconut peanut butter?! I HAVE to try to hunt this down…
Do you think you could do a post about how you prepare the kohlrabi? I keep seeing this at the farmer’s market but I have no idea what to do with it!
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 5th, 2012 at 11:42 am
I love it just chopped and roasted, but if I do something fun I’ll definitely post it!
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If you think that coconut flavored peanut butter tastes great, you should check out the cookie butter at Trader Joe’s. I could easily eat an entire jar in one sitting–it’s absolutely delicious!
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Maybe this will be an unpopular opinion, but I think the whole “don’t post Olympic spoilers on social media” thing is ridiculous–this isn’t some kind of tv show!
I’m proud of team USA and when I watch it live, I want to post about it! Would you tell the athletes who won their gold medals to hang on until NBC catches it up on primetime?
If anything, I would be angry that NBC has been using these tape delay tactics. I’m sorely disappointed in them, not to mention them deleting the London bombings tribute in the opening ceremonies. No class whatsoever.
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I have at least seven hours of Olympics I need to watch sitting on my DVR. I don’t mind finding out the results ahead of time, in fact I prefer it.
I actually like living on the West coast because I can find out the results to things like reality shows without having to sit through all of that “coming up” and “right after the break” drawn out lameness.
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OMG that coconut peanut butter spread is FANTASTIC!! My favorite is the crunchy. I use it on everything from so delicious coconut milk ice cream, oatbran, bananas, pancakes, pretzels, and best of all STRAIGHT FROM THE JAR! :)
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Leah Reply:
August 6th, 2012 at 7:18 am
I need to try it! I had no idea it even existed. There are so many great peanut butter flavors these days (especially the ones by Peanut Butter & Co).
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That video is too cute!!
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Walking at 9 months- woo hoo Cullen!! Also that picture of him with Sarah at the pool is beyond cute! Hope you are enjoying the weekend!
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Awwww Cullen is such a cutie!!! I saw that peanut butter in the store the other day and wanted to try it but wasn’t quite sure. Now with your assurance of deliciousness, I will grab it next time!! Thanks!
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My hubby is growing a bunch of kohlrabi and I have no idea how to cook it…. you should post a recipe using it! I always love your recipes… just made the strawberry banana bread one and it was yummy!!
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Hi Emily,
Like so many of your readers, I recently bought the rice cooker you suggested. However, I am bewildered by the poor instruction manual. To make things extra confusing is the less than one cup measuring cup they provide! Given that you seem to be the blog world’s resident expert (and most popular proponent) of this kitchen gadget, I bet many of us would be grateful if you would provide a quick tutorial/cheat sheet on various cooking times/liquid ratios/settings to use for common veg meals – such as dry beans, quinoa, etc.
I don’t feel like experimenting around when I buy a new (expensive) product; I expect practical guidelines to accompany the product…so far, I am disappointed to say the least. I’m counting on you to convince me otherwise :)
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 8th, 2012 at 9:39 am
Hi Karen – me again! Sorry it took a few days to get back to comments. I will think about putting together a post with ratios and cooking times and such. It is a Japanese rice cooker, which means the manual isn’t quite as user friendly, but I highly suggest looking at the book I sent you a minute ago! I understand not wanting to experiment too much, but that is actually how I’ve discovered the many uses of the machine!
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Cullen is so adorable and I totally agree with avoiding social media! I had a few swim races (my favorite) ruined at the beginning of the week from seeing stuff online.
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It has been tough most nights to stay up so late to watch the Olympics. It has been routine (as it was with the 2010 winter Olympics). We watch an hour or so right before bed. The other night we ended up TiVo-ing the coverage and watched it the next night. Luckily any spoilers has not wrecked it for me…I’m still enjoying watching it.
Love the dog’s expressions in this post!
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I can’t believe Cullen is walking!!!! He is growing up WAYY too fast! Stay young, Cullen, stay young!
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Definitely fell asleep on the couch last night watching the Olympics! The dogs are very photogenic, or you’re great at capturing them! Go Cullen go!
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[...] has also started walking. And everything I heard was right – once they start they literally do not stop. He is [...]
[...] has also started walking. And everything I heard was right – once they start they literally do not stop. He is [...]
[...] has also started walking. And everything I heard was right – once they start they literally do not stop. He is [...]
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