Guess who’s coming to our house for the first time tonight?

That would be the Tooth Fairy!

(You try and get a 5 year old to smile in such a way that she holds her lip out of the way! Go ahead! Just try!)

So yes, Ava lost her first tooth today! It came out just a half hour before we left for an OrKIDStra presentation of The Snowman this afternoon.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is a children’s book that was made into a short animated film. Like the book, the film is wordless – but has an orchestral score.

We got all dressed up for a kid friendly trip to the theater.

The Snowman was being shown on the big screen while the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra played the score live.

The movie (and book) are very sweet and we all enjoyed the entire performance – from listening to the orchestra play holiday music before the film began to the holiday sing along after the film was over.

Feeling pretty Christmas-y after our holiday outing, I decided to make some not-quite-raw, vegan, no-bake Gingerbread cookies. I was inspired by Cindy’s version of Averie’s Raw Vegan Gingerbread Cookies and got to work on them this evening.

No-Bake Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup raw cashews
6 medjool dates
3/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c ground flax seed + another 1/4 c ground flax seed, set aside
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 Tbsp black strap molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger – to taste

My dates were REALLY hard, so I soaked them with the raw cashews in a bowl of water for about an hour. Once the dates softened up I added them along with the soaked cashews (which also softened up) to the food processor with the rest of the ingredients listed above. Averie’s original recipe didn’t call for molasses but Cindy used it and I loved that idea.

Black strap molasses has a pretty potent taste but I love that it’s such a good source of iron and calcium too.

After all the ingredients were thoroughly processed, I transferred the dough into a bowl for rolling into balls. In a separate bowl was the remaining 1/4 c of ground flax seed for dusting the cookie balls with, to help with the stickiness factor.

These cookies are perfectly sweet, and I love that they are vegan too. Although most of the ingredients I used are raw, rolled oats are not technically raw because oats are steamed before being packaged to keep them from going bad. I felt like these needs a little more “something” to them though and decided to use oats, therefore “No Bake” is the best I can do.

They are tasty and healthier than your typical butter and sugar filled holiday cookies. Make no mistake, I’ll still be eating my share of butter and sugar laced cookies this holiday season – but it’s nice having healthier treats around too. The molasses and ground ginger were such great flavors and have a very festive taste.

They’ll keep in the fridge for at least a week – although there’s no worry that ours will last nearly that long.

Now I’ve got to go see how much money the Tooth Fairy has in her wallet. Here’s hoping she’s got some small bills – I’m not sure how a No Bake Vegan Gingerbread Cookie might hold up under Ava’s pillow all night.

• Like a School Girl
• Dear Blog
• Choose Your Own Homeschooling Adventure

It feels like a week has gone by in the span of about 48 hours. The last couple of days have been filled the disassembly of our current household to be packed and driven to our the new house about 20 minutes away. It’s felt a lot like putting together a puzzle that’s missing all sorts of pieces, including crucial corner and edge pieces like couches, beds, tables, dressers and bookcases.

We have made countless (ok, maybe 5) trips to the new house in the last two days. Anything non-essential (read: anything that is not mine) is subject to being packed up and shipped off to the new Weeds Family Urban Compound.

We’re making progress though! And taking pictures along the way too.

Like photos of the very first food item in my new cupboards (old pizza left behind notwithstanding) dropped off by a friend.

Pics of giant salads consumed between house runs, eaten right out of the storage bowl like a heathen.

Snap shots of cookies made by little girls who are fortunately being kept busy by generous family members.

Pictures of our new intercom/laundry chute to summon children downstairs

only to find something stuck in the chute and yet another item left behind by the previous owners.

That would be a black bra hooked into a giant pair of mesh shorts. 36 C anyone?

After our third car load of the day yesterday I made a quick trip to pick up food to feed the masses – the family as well as all the people who stopped by last night to help out.

Apparently take out pizza makes both Zak and Maxine’s mouths hang open. Who knew?

And I figure if I’m going to buy chips to appease the crowd I might as well buy them from the health food section. These Baked BBQ Popchips were great and even the self proclaimed health food skeptics agreed that they were good.

Given I had to buy pizza for children (cheese only) and picky meat eaters (pepperoni only), I used it as an excuse to get my favorite veggie sub from Wegmans.

And my favorite raw drink too.

Take out pizza? $13
Veggie sub? $5
Kombucha? $3.49

Our first meal in the new house followed by the realization that for the next couple of weeks I have TWO kitchens to keep clean? Priceless.

I woke up this morning in the mood for the most normal morning possible. That meant a run and oatmeal first thing while the fam snoozed and I pretended both of my kitchens are clean.

A slow, icy, snowy and slippery 8 miles followed up by a chocolate breakfast cookie with a twist.

1/2 smashed banana
1/3 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 c hemp seeds (therein lies the twist)
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 tsp cocoa powder
splash of chocolate almond milk

Combined and flattened onto a plate with a fork and then into the fridge for a few hours. A normal Sunday morning post-run breakfast.

Not only have I been neglecting my blog duties, but I’ve also been neglecting cooking, emails, friends, personal hygiene and laundry as well. With one of those items now crossed off the list, I’m off to see what else I can get caught up on today! I’ve got a new pair of mesh shorts and black bra that need to be washed after all.

• Two Lefts Don't Make a Right
• Say What You Mean To Say
• Run for Breakfast