It's Opposite Baby

Well, it happened. Thursday night, I put a baby to bed. That baby woke up Friday morning as a full-blown toddler. I would be mourning the loss of Mila's baby status, but I'm too busy chasing her all over the place to really stop and think about it.

Not thinking about it makes it easy to focus on the positive. Toddlers can walk to the car, so it no longer takes me two trips to get all of the stuff in the car each morning. Toddlers can carry their own lunch bags, too, so that's a whole other level of efficiency. Plus, there's fun stuff Mila can do now that she couldn't last week when she refused to walk.

Hello, Kennywood!

Somehow Mila had never ridden a single thing. She who wouldn't walk unassisted wasn't allowed to do much of anything fun, really. But Mila timed her first day as a toddler well, because we long ago had made plans to spend Friday evening at Kennywood.

A week earlier, a trip to Kennywood would have involved one grown-up riding fun rides with Alexis while the other grown-up waited with Mila at the ride exit. Alas, it was a Toddler Day, so we wandered to Kiddieland. Why not, you know?

The why not should have been because Alexis would blow a gasket at the idea of being expected to hang out in Kiddieland. The reality was that Alexis is ridiculously good at this big sister thing because she was all I WILL TAKE MILA ON RIDES! PLEEEEASE!

So, now, let's be confused about something.

That child. THAT child loves to be hung upside-down by her toes. THAT child learned  to jump on a trampoline long before she walked. THAT child has been found on top of the piano more than once. THAT child looooooooooves to be spun, dropped, thrown, flipped, and everything in between.

THAT child hated the rides.

She started out suspicious, but she ended with angry yells.

IT MAKES NO SENSE.

Which just goes to show that Mila is the child who will do the opposite of what you expect at every single opportunity. Like when you expect that she will need help on the slide, but she runs up the stairs like a pro, slides down the slide in a fit of giggles, and then repeats the process over and over and over and over and over and over ....

I should know by now to never be surprised by anything Mila does or doesn't do.

Strawberry Chocolate Zucchini Muffins or Raspberry White Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Yesterday I woke up with a serious urge to bake all of the things. I have no idea why, but when that happens, lots of people win. Except, I didn't have any zucchini. It seemed 15 shades of wrong to bake in August and not use zucchini, so I tweeted something about how doing so is probably illegal and moved on with my day. No baking was done.

And then magic happened. As luck would have it, lots of neighbors follow me on twitter. One saw the tweet and showed up with a grin and a giant pile of zucchini.

KAH-BLAM!

I baked so many muffins today, you guys. So many.

I started with this recipe and a few dozen standard Zucchini Muffins. Then I wandered over to this recipe and decided to change it up a bit. There's no Nutella to be found around these parts, but there were raspberries and strawberries. Lots of them, in fact.

Both twists on this recipe turned out fantastic, so I highly recommend you get busy. In the meantime, I'm going to make lots of friends in the next few days as I give everyone I see a zucchini muffin or ten.

Strawberry Chocolate Zucchini Muffins or Raspberry White Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Makes two dozen muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup powdered cocoa
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup raspberries or chopped strawberries
1 cup chocolate chips (If using raspberries, use white chocolate chips. For strawberries, go with milk chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line cupcake pans. You're making 24 cupcakes, so plan accordingly.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Use a whisk to mix it all up.

4. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the butter, milk, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg. Use a fork to mix it up all proper and stuff.

5. Gradually pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the butter and stuff, using a fork to keep stirring. When it's all mixed, throw the zucchini in there and stir it up some more. Fold in the berries and chocolate chips.

6. Place the batter in the muffin liners. They should end up about 3/4 full.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 22-25 minutes. They're done with a toothpick comes out clean.

8. Eat at least two of them. There are like three food groups represented here, so it's almost like you're eating something healthy.

Tea Party