Kara did most of the work, but I did the shopping.

I discovered the joy of food blogs the other day -- I was up to my neck in them. I couldn't write down recipes fast enough, most of them I'll probably never try but who knows, maybe in 10, 20 years I'll find the notebook I wrote them in (because I have this terrible habit of never throwing away a good notebook, especially if it is full) and have the time to cook up a storm.

There was one though...I posted it on my facebook to save for a later day. Or, more appropriately, later that day. Chocolatet Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. Oh mylanta.

Who wouldn't be enticed by that?

Kara was, for sure. So I picked up a few odds and ends for baking (or not, actually) and we did it.

Well, Kara did it. I stirred. Lily was being a turd burgler and kept throwing things on the floor so I picked things up a lot. Deceptively sweet smile, huh?

Anyway. So there was no egg in this recipe, which made it much easier to eat. And I'm pretty sure I stuck my fingers in the batter much more often than was prudent. But there certainly were enough...

Especially once we covered them in chocolate...I say we, Kara did it all...

She noted they kind of look like turds....yes, we're old enough to have children. Don't judge lol.

Lots of chocolate was sacrificed for our cause. There was also lots of freezer time, which I think would be ideal if your end goal was not to eat them and it was not 9pm with two infants. There were three half hour stints in the fridge for the dough, and they must live in the freezer until consumption because they melt FAST. However, if you were throwing a small party and you could store them in the fridge and would be guaranteed they'd be eaten quickly I think they would be a great dessert. They are RICH...we could both only eat one and downed glasses of milk with them but mmmmmmmm they're good.

WINNING.

Messy messy messy, but with a cupcake at the end.

First of all, I find this very true and very funny. Thank you Frank at Post Secret for putting this on the FB. Made me giggle.

Anyway, messy is the keyword for my life. My room, which I spent weeks cleaning out and trying to keep neat, is fairly messy. My car, which I'd like to sell, is full of baby gear. My laundry is clean but unfolded in a basket. I got teary today when an afternoon talk show gave a dad of an autistic child a trip to Disney World. My relationship with Robert is messy and complicated with the added bonus of our new custody struggle (I refuse to call it a battle because I don't want it to be violent) and I'm moving out of state and going to "big girl college" here very soon.

And my baby girl is 6 months old today.

In my family we celebrate 1/2 birthdays. Have for as long as I can remember. Never with gifts, but with a special dinner and having a friend do something fun and special. My mom has kept up with this even now, that I'm an adult and theoretically should no longer be so excited by being celebrated halfway through the year. But it's nice, even as things have scaled down as I've grown. I'm excited to now plan extravaganzas on behalf of my daughter. I want to celebrate her every stinking day! She's amazing and hilarious and growing so fast -- she loves her cereal and today I set the cup down near her so I could grab a bib and she just picked it up like "Don't worry mom, I can finish feeding myself." And then she drank from a cup! A grown up cup! Not even a sippy cup, a coffee mug! She tried to take it out of my hand, the little nut job.

It's insane that we've gone from itty bitty baby to big grown girl! I can't believe it!

She doesn't even look like the same baby!

I can't wait to bake her first birthday cake!! I'm still engaged in the "sugar free, wheat free" endeavor (we're still breastfeeding, as a side note. Yayyyy!!) but these look too stinking yummy to not make, even if I don't give her one...

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes.  Who wouldn't want to get down on those? Mmmmmm....