I'd like mac-n-cheese, hold the dairy please.

I've done poorly at blogging lately, in part because my middle son has been sick since Christmas.  A couple of weeks ago one of the doctors at my children's practice decided to put my son a strict dairy free diet to see if we would see an improvement.  And while well meaning individuals have suggested that he can still have cheese our doctor has prescribed absolutely no dairy, period. 

Which is fine, I mean seriously, praise God that it wasn't a life threatening illness, that my son doesn't have to take strong medications and that we live in a society where we have the means and ability to get products that specific to allergies.  I mean that from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you Lord.

And for the most part is has been easy.  I went to the library and checked out all the vegan cookbooks I could find because I figured hey, vegan will be dairy free and if I want to add meat back in I can but we already don't eat any pork or beef. 

And we've found some great recipes, really yummy sounding and tasting and my son has been so responsive.  It still sucks for him sometimes, he's five and he can't have the cake at a birthday party or he can't have the snack at soccer.  But we're making it work. 

And can I say, I'm seeing an improvement!  It is awesome!  Thank you Lord!  I don't think we've identified everything that is at fault but he's feeling better, looking better, and just generally doing better. 

And so begin my blog stalking of dairy free sites....

I found Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - sadly it looks like the last post was from October of 2007... 

So I thought back to the vegan winner of Cupcakes wars and looked her up and here is what I found:

Hello beautiful!  Doesn't that look amazing?  It is one of the cupcakes that Chef Chloe made on Cupcake Wars and hello, no dairy! 

And so while there are days that my son cries because I brought a dairy free cookie to a birthday party and he wants the cake, with frosting, we are generally making it work and so I give you the top five things that I am grateful for this week:








1. Healthy Children.  Despite the fact that little brother bear has been sick he is not sick with something life threatening and we live in a society where we have access to health care, medication, and alternatives to our current lifestyle. 

2. Friendship.  I grateful for my friends, or sister friends as one coined the term, as they are the source of my sanity and well-being many days. 

3.  Exhaustion.  I've been seriously tired lately, there's a lot going on and this momma is keeping busy!  But what a blessing to be tired, it means that I am filling my days with meaningful and wonderful things that I love doing. 

4.  Muddy paw prints.  Seriously folks, they are ALL OVER my house despite my best efforts to keep them from appearing.  We have had snow this week, yup, snow!  And that silly little dog loves the snow and the mud that brings.  But I know that we need that moisture and am so thankful for it. 

5.  A good book to read.  Enough said.

Fellow Homeschooling Peeps and Moms too!

There's an awesome giveaway occurring over at Confessions of Homeschooler (whom I love!)  As much as I like the idea of my digital calendar and its general ability to sync with my phone, there's something about the handwritten day timer that speaks to my heart (and my ability to better remember things!) 

Check it out!  It is a great giveaway!  And leave me a comment letting me know you did enter - if you feel so inclined!

Meaningful Easter Baskets

This was going to be a post about how we started the seven days of creation today with God making light, however I didn't have black paint like I thought I did and the smalls have been fighting a cough so instead I will touch on something else that is on my heart.

Easter isn't for over a month, it seems to be late this year.  But I'm already thinking about the kids and their Easter Baskets.

One of the things I decided to do this year was attempt to give more meaningful gifts.  This doesn't mean I'm avoiding toys all together but I'm looking for high quality, interactive toys, not that new baby alive dolly that grows teeth - gag.

And I feel that this extends to the Easter Basket as much as anything.

My children do not need another cheap stuffed animal, mass quantities of sugar, or poorly constructed, meaningless toys.  And maybe that sounds harsh but I just think there is so  much more to the Easter season and so much more I could give my children.

So what am I going to put in their baskets?  I'm not sure.  So I did the only logical thing, I googled "meaningful easter baskets"

And oh the results that popped up...

There were such suggestions as "go to your local Christian store and pick up things" okay, but what things?  and "get a chocolate cross instead of a chocolate bunny"

Um.... yeah.  Not exactly the "meaningful" I was looking for....

 So I've been thinking...

I think for my oldest I'd like to find a Bible that is at his level - he will be 9 in may and LOVES to read.  I would love to give him a Bible that speaks to him and is easy for him to understand.

My five year old is a pre-reader but loves books.  I think both and he and little sister would benefit from books as well.

Little Sister is in love with Larry Boy - a new movie may be in order.

But am I hitting on the meaningful?  I am teaching of Christ and the real reason that we celebrate the season or falling back in to the commercialism trap?  I'm not too sure...

P is for Pirate - arrrrrrrrr!

In our house P is for pirate which is not what we "p" things for so I "created" my own curriculum for the week.

We made pirate hats out of newspapers.  We found other pieces of paper to be too small.  The simple directions can be found here.

We made pirate maps - including me.  Mine lead the children around our home to a "buried" treasure of golden (chocolate) coins.

But our favorite part was the books....

This was such a cute book, especially if the daddy in your house gets up and goes to an office every day....

 
This is such a cute book about becoming a pirate and why it might not always be fun.....


And if you have a toddler in the home I love that "That's Not My...." series (p.s. they're really great books for church too for keeping little one's fingers busy)....

"What I Am"

What I am:

1. I am a good cook. I really am. I like playing with recipes

I am not however a great baker - I tend to over/under cook things.

2. I am a an artist. For those who don't know I love to create and run my own photography business.

I am not a musician thought. Cannot carry a tune in a bucket folks.

3. I am a reader. I love books, magazines, you name it, if I can read it, I love it.

I am not someone who *needs* the latest technology the minute it comes out. True story, our TV is older than our oldest son (he'll be 9 in May)

4. I am a goer - I am pretty much on the go from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Too much stuff not to be.

I am not a napper. As much as I would love to be if I lay down I cannot nap. It just doesn't happen peeps.

5. I am a sweet/salty type of girl. I love that sea salt and chocolate are in right now - yum-o!

I am not a peeps person. What are those things and why do people eat them? I just don't get it.

Those are five of my "what I am" (and what I am not). What are you?

What I Need

Motherhood is the greatest adventure I have ever been on.  It truly gives me endless joy to watch these little people become who they are.  I feel so blessed to have a hand in how they getting to adulthood. 

And motherhood requires a certain degree of monotony, your days don't change that much, every day your child needs to eat, every day they need to play, every day they have to go potty and so unlike typical jobs where you have a project and complete you may instead feel like you are stuck in the movie groundhog dog, never really accomplishing a "goal".

But I choose to look at the day in and day out as my act of service to my children.  When I change my daughter's diaper with a cheerful heart and a good attitude I am serving her.  I am showing her to work with a joyful heart.  When I cook for my children instead of making instant meals I am nourishing them.  I am their Mother, it is what I do.

But to serve my children with a joyful heart I have to care for myself too otherwise I end up on empty and we all pay.  This year has not been as nourishing as I had hoped.  Illness, weather, and other circumstances have prevented date nights and girls night out, MOPS has been canceled due to weather, illness has prevent playdates. 

And the enemy has been attacking - email after email attacking my decisions, treating me like I'm dumb, and blaming me for things beyond my control.  Emails canceling things I was looking forward to.  

And friends, I am on empty.  My tank has nothing else in it.  I'm snapping at my children when I shouldn't be, I'm feeling run down, low.  Not myself. 

And that's just not me. 

So what do I need?  A date night out with my husband.  A girlfriend to call and say lets get together, watch the first season of Sex and the City or Friends (watched the movie, now I'm hooked) and drink wine and laugh.  Tea while the kids play.  I need something to refuel me. 

I'm sure we all get there from time to time, when we need a pick me up.  How do you pick up friend?  How do you pick up a friend when you see they're in need?

My Little Cupcake Pop - A Product Review

So in my random internet surfing I cam across this cute little product called "My Little Cupcake Pop"  Now I love the concept of cupcake pops, I first saw them over at Bakerella however while her's are adorable and fun, mine were a huge disaster!  I believe that Martha Stewart  also does them but her's were even harder looking than Bakerella's! So I had long since abandoned my desire to make them.

That is until I found My Little Cupcake Pops!  In pure genius fashion she not only devised a no-bake (2-ingredient!) recipe for the pops but she also made a little mold to make them for you!  And for $5.95 I ordered one right up!

So after ordering my mold I watched the video on her website as I waited - her kids show you how to use it - okay friends, if her kids can do it so can I!

So I was super stoked when very fast shipping brought my little cupcake pop mold.  It just so happened that my little goddaughter's first birthday was later that week so I decide to make her a batch for her birthday.

Let me tell you - they are super easy to make and they make a really great impression!  I am going to make them later this month for my daughter's birthday and the two things I will do differently is actually place the molded cupcakes in to the freezer instead of the refrigerator so they're nice and cold and I will think my melted candy dips like they suggest on their website.

And when I make my daughter's I promise to actually take pictures!  Mommy fail!