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!

whoa.

We got a letter on Saturday that our middle son had been accepted in to the same school that our oldest goes to.  Which is awesome.  Except that I'm planning on homeschooling our middle son for kindergarten

(and beyond?  one year at a time... one year at a time...) 

But that letter created anxiety.  Because if we don't register him this week we lose his spot.  Gone.  They'll give it to someone else.  There is a waitlist.  There is someone waiting for his spot.  

And while I'm okay with that there's that anxiety in the back of my mind questioning if we're doing the right thing?  But everytime I question I hear God's reassuring voice that yes, this is what I want for him.  Keep him home.  Teach him.  Show him My word.  Love him.  Just love him. 

And I know it is not going to be easy.  Hello!  I have a daughter that will be home with us the entire time.  There's a good chance my husband will be gone at least part of the time. 

And so we're going to take it one day at a time, one year at a time, but I hope it is the start of something bigger for us.  Something awesome.  

Toy Story 3 Birthday on the Cheap

Last month my middle son turned 5 so we threw him a party based off his much loved movie Toy Story 3.

It turned out really cute and wanted to share because it was done a week after Christmas without breaking the bank!

 

I purchased 2 packages of 25 each of balloons at the Dollar store.  We blew them up and put them all over, the kids loved playing with them!  $2 for tons of entertainment.

We cut a hole out of the top of a box and decorated it like the claw game.  The kids got to pull their goody bags out of here.  We alternated with some crinkle paper so the older ones really had to dig.

 

We decorated piggy banks for the activity at the party.  These came in sets of 3 for $10 from Micheal's but I had 50% off coupons that week so they cost me $5 or a $1.66 per kid.  

These would have been a splurge but I traded a local organic bakery here in town (Cupcakes a la mode - check her out, she's amazing) for this adorable bed and alien cupcakes.

Finally we had pizza from "Pizza Planet" and I was able to find a bogo coupon online by simply typing in the pizza place's name and coupon code.  That made two large pizzas $13 + tip.  

All in all it was a great party, my son had a blast and felt really special that day and we didn't break the bank a week after Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Hello 2011!  Did you make an resolutions for the new year?

I didn't.  At least not in the traditional sense of making resolutions.

Instead I made a list of 31 one things I want to accomplish before I turn 32 in December of 2011.

I included fun things like get a new tattoo and re-pierce my nose. 

I included things like taking the kids to serve in a homeless shelter, developing a closer relationship with God, and to give quality as gifts this year (i.e. wooden blocks that encourage play instead of a plastic toy that will break tomorrow)

Homeschooling my middle child landed on there as did taking a cake decorating class and weaning my toddler!

The idea is to stretch myself.  To be able to look back on the year and see tangible activities that encouraged me to grow and try new things.  Not everything has to be a success, I do not count myself a failure if I don't do one.  Its just forcing me to write down where I want to go, what I want to try.  To stop saying "I'd really like to _blank_" and actually doing it!  

So when my friend said to put going to Paris with her in September I thought she was nuts!  How could I afford it?  Simple she said, we have a mutual friend living there, we can stay with her and significantly cut our costs.  Oh.  My husband said go, its always been your dream and I don't want to go there.  Huh.  Everyone I talked to said GO

And isn't this what it is about?  Stretching myself?  Trying something new?  Something I've always wanted to do?

So #10 on my list is go to Paris.  #17  is get a passport. 

Hello 2011, how you doin? 

Getting the nod

My husband has finally recognized that I truly am intent on homeschooling my son for kindergarten next year instead of sending him to the same school our 8 year old goes to. 

So my plans have begun to intensify (as has my doubts and worry!  yikes)

I looked at Sonlight Curriculum on a very sound recommendation, unfortunately it lives outside my budget. 

I then researched Abeka but it didn't speak to me.  It is very heavy in worksheets and that doesn't speak to me and what I'm trying to get him away from.

Which lead my search to My Father's World which I think looks really great but I have heard is weak in phonics, especially for younger grades.  I am still leaning towards this system though and thinking I may just supplement with phonetic learning options.

What I think I am figuring out is that no system is perfect and the truly complete ones are also the most expensive ones.  My search is still young and I will keep looking but that's what I have so far. 

Christmas

So Christmas is in two days and I am thrilled, I love Christmas, I love the season.  And I love that I'm feeling completely relaxed and at ease with everything.  Presents are wrapped, meals are planned, we could do nothing for the next two days and everything would be okay.  We won't.  But we could. 

This morning we had to run to the local Kroger, we were out of sugar.  Buddy our elf used the last of it for making snow angels last night.  Which is fine.  But you cannot make cookies for Santa without sugar.  So off to the store we went. 

We just needed sugar, no other pressures or expectations.  Of course I picked up other random things like juice and some frozen pizzas for lunch per the request of my smalls. 

So as we wandered the aisles in no particular hurry or rush I was struck that we were not the norm.  Parents were yelling at their children.  People were cutting other people off to get to the stuff they needed.  Pleasantries were dead.

So in this time of craziness as you worry about Christmas dinner or that last present or whatever else may drive you drink my wish for you is time to enjoy the true meaning of the Christmas season.  God bless you and your family now and throughout the year.

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh ~ Matthew 2:10-11

Tugging my heart...

So at home I've been "homeschooling" my two younger ones.  Doing preschool activities based off a letter each week, or two weeks as it seems to be turning out.  We have stretched each letter in to two weeks of fun as neither of them have been ready to move on after just one week. 

And as I do this the more I question what we're doing with our kids.  Our oldest goes to a public magnet school and is enrolled in a gifted program with all gifted students.  He's functioning 1 - 3 grade levels above his "age" grade and yet I don't feel he's being pushed to soar.  My middle still attends preschool three mornings a week and was really why homeschooling was laid on my heart.  The more he goes the more I feel we're wasting our money on mediocrity.  This year has been hard, nothing like last year, and I sit and dream about what I could do with that $170 a month and how I could teach him (and his sister) with it.  I'm tempted to pull him out of school every day. 

And then we have days like we did just the other day.  There was snow on the ground, not a lot, but a dusting.  So we read books, we did puzzles, we played matching games and pattern games, we colored pictures and then I pulled out the beads and we made necklaces.  Wouldn't you know it, my 4 (5 in a week!) year old spend 45 minutes beading!  45 minutes!  What? The boy that they told me they have a hard time getting to complete projects and they wished he'd be more creative?  And that morning sure seemed like a perfect school day.

So I did the only logical thing, I went to our library and checked out every book under the sun about homeschooling.  Currently I'm reading Love in a Time of Homeschooling and I love it.  She is speaking to my heart.  She is funny and real, honest about she got there and not belligerent for or against homeschooling or public schooling. 

And while I don't know what I'm going to do I know there is a lot on my heart and on my mind.  My oldest is okay in public school but I look at his homework and what he's not learning and I question if there isn't more out there for him.  I look at my middle who not only is marching to his own beat but he's making up a song to go along to that beat along the way and I wonder if he can not just thrive but even survive in full day kindergarten next year.  And then there's my daughter, she's smart as a tack and super headstrong.  (no clue where that stubborn nature came from... ha.) And I'm watching her carefully wondering what will be best for her.  For any of them.  Praying for God's guidance and love on this one. 

Are you homeschooling?  Are you contemplating it?  What are your reasons?  What is on your heart?

Simple Celebration

There are few things I love as much as I love simply being with my children.  This evening we turned off the t.v., turned on some Christmas music and made popcorn.

We threaded some string on tapestry needles because they're not as sharp pointy as other needles.

And we made popcorn and cranberry (or friendberry as my daughter calls them) garland

To not call it bliss would be a lie.  The kids loved it.  We loved it.  And we spent an hour doing it!  Yes an hour just hanging out, laughing and chatting.

and threading cranberries and popcorn on string

And because we were worried our sweet little dog would be inclined to try to munch on our creations we decided to hang them on our Charlie Brown tree outside for our bird friends.

Teacher Gifts

If your family is anything like ours you have a ton of teachers, we have school teachers, we have Sunday school teachers, we have activity teachers...  all-in-all this year we counted 10. 

So the question became, as it always is, what will we get them for the holidays?  I've always thought that giftcards are nice, because it allows them to get a cup of coffee or buy a book or whatever.  But even if we did $5 a person we were looking at $50 which was about double what I wanted to spend.  Cookies are always fun but I don't have the time this year to spend a couple days dedicated to baking, I wish I did but I don't.

So that put me on the search for a fun gift that was also affordable.  That's when I came across this recipe in Everyday by Martha Stewart.    Now normally I find Martha's recipes a little more than I like to swallow, a few too many steps or a few too many exotic ingredients that I can't find or cost too much. 

But this recipe was FOUR, yes FOUR ingredients, two of which being salt and a cinnamon stick.  So I purchased the apples and pears and got to work.  Now I doubled this recipe and boy am I glad I did, because even doubling it I only yielded nine jars full. 

The steps are pretty easy, peel and core both the apples and pears.  My apple corer nicely did that for me with the apples, sadly the pears were too soft.  Chop up in the food processor and then cook in your slow cooker all day!  Not hard at all!!!!  And let me tell you, my house smelled YUMMY! 

While I was sad that I only got nine jars I was very pleased with the simplicity of this project and the final project.  We now have nice handmade presents to hand out to everyone and we didn't break the bank making them.

I like showing my kids that Christmas isn't about the biggest, the most expensive, the best - it is about sharing Jesus' love and celebrating and what better way than with a homemade gift that says I value you and what you do and I show that by giving you my time to make some from the heart. 

Christmas Craft Preschool Activities

Erica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler has done it again.  She has an amazing bunch of Christmas activities to do with your little ones.  My younger two love her stuff so I'm excited to get these printed and do them! 


The best part? She lets you download the entire Christmas set for FREE!  What are you waiting for?  Head on over!!!! 

Dissecting Dinner

Dinner is tricky one.  And seems to only get trickier as my children get older. 

I'm a firm believer in the family meal.  I enjoy sitting down my husband and children and chatting about our day over dinner.  However it hardly ever works out June Cleaver style around here. 

3 nights a week my husband isn't even home from work until 7:30 - too late for the kiddos. 

4 nights a week we have "after school" activities that start at 5:15. 

Yet 7 nights a week I am expected to cook. 

And 7 nights a week we all sit down as a family, 3 nights minus Daddy, and eat dinner together.

That's why I'm always so amazed, if we can make dinner work and eat something homemade and healthy for us, why is it so hard for other families?

So here's what I've learned works and doesn't work for making family dinner a priority.

1. PLAN.  If I sat down at 4 p.m. every day and went "huh, I wonder what's for dinner" this would never work.  I plan out meals for at least two weeks, sometimes a month.  I know some people that actually write down on each day what they're having, that doesn't work for me because I like to pick what I'm in the mood for, but I do plan two-weeks worth of menus.

2. SHOP. And then I shop for those two weeks.  So that way on Tuesday morning I can get up, see chili on my menu list, think it sounds good and know that I have all the ingredients to make it for that night.

3. PREPARE.  Notice in number 2 I said "morning" not mid-afternoon, not evening, but morning.  That's right, I do the majority of my cooking in the morning.  Because I have time to do it then, I have the energy to do and then it is ready at dinner time.  I don't know about your house but 4 - 5 p.m. is insane in our home.  Not to mention the fact that I then have to have children somewhere at 5:15 four nights a week.  So by making it at 10 a.m. all I have to do is reheat or finish cooking the item when we get home at 6.  And let me tell you, I much less inclined to want to grab fast food for my family when dinner is already done.  Does this work for every dish?  No.  But do as much prep ahead of time as you can.

4. SLOW.  This ties in to number 3.  I love my crockpot.  I really do.  It makes life so. much. easier.  I suggest picking up a good quality crockpot recipe book and use it often.  My favorite is "How to Make Love and Dinner At the Same Time" which was recently put back in print.   She breaks the recipes up in to three types so you know how long they'll take you to make and her anecdotal humor is fun. 

5. FORGIVE.  I am not perfect.  You are not perfect.  Having dinner as a family is not perfect.  Are there days when we eat out?  Of course.  Are there days when my kids have happy meals in the car?  You betcha?  Are there days when I feed my kids mac-n-cheese and then send my husband out after food once they're asleep?  Yup.

My goal is not to be 100%, that is impossible and besides it would mean I was cooking every day of my life!  No thank you!  My goal is to have quality time as a family.  To eat a meal together and enjoy each other's company.  My goal is to feed my children good food most of the time. 

And it can be done, with a little planning and preparation and a sense of humor doesn't hurt either. 

only child in a big family

I am an only child.  Well... technically I have step brothers and sisters but being that I haven't even met one of them and they became "family" after I was of the age of 18 I don't think they count as siblings. 

On the other hand my husband is the youngest of five.  Needless to say family gatherings are a little different at his house than mine.  I still remember our first Christmas at his house, we were engaged, and present opening was a free for all.  If it had your name on it just rip it open because no one was going to wait to see you open it and your reaction.  I remember commenting how different it was from what I was use to and one of his family members snapping at me, "you better get use to it" 

I cannot lie, after 10 years of marriage I am still not "use to it".  Sure I've adapted to their traditions but I still don't like that Thanksgiving takes place at three different tables in three different rooms or that the grandchildren are expected to spend the night at the grandparent's house multiple nights in a row inevitably exhausting them and making the majority of them sick. 

But there's a flip side to it too.  I've come to enjoy the laughs that are shared as more and more wine is shared.  I've enjoyed watching the friendships that my children have created with their cousins.  And even if I'm no where near good enough to play LOTR trivial pursuit, Mt. Doom will forever live in my heart. 

And so it is what it is.  Not always easy, not always fun or comfortable, but in the end it is family and they are a huge blessing.  And I think it is pretty indicative of life.  There are things that our Lord wants us to do that are not always easy, or fun, or comfortable, but it is for him and his kingdom, and in the end we are better people for it. 

And as I look at the people around me I wonder how many will ride this wave of hard times with us and how many will refuse to sit at three different tables?  How many will stick around and accept what it is because we're family and that love should conquer all other trivial issues we may have?

Make a Difference Mon... Tuesday?

Anyone who listens to K-Love knows they do Make A Difference Monday where they encourage you to do something to make a difference in the life of someone else - it can be something big, it can be something small, just do something. 

So a few weeks ago a single mom posted how she is out of work but that her son is really in to trains and how she'd like to get him a train set for Christmas.  I didn't really think anything of it.  Easy to just look away right?  But then a week or two later it hit me, duh, we have a Geotrax set in our basement, collecting dust.  My kids haven't played with it in months (years?) but it still works great.  I've thought about selling it but haven't.  And by then I couldn't find that email, maybe I didn't try hard enough (sorry Lord, that's my fault) but it was on my heart and I didn't find it - ugh!

She just posted again (thank you Lord!) so we've been emailing and she's super excited to give this set to her son for Christmas!  And I'm super excited to give it to her! 

So today I challenge, encourage, suggest, implore of you to try to do something, anything, to make a difference in the life of someone.  Call an old friend, your grandma, pay for someone's starbucks, say you're sorry, give money to a favorite charity, invite your ex-mother-in-law to your child's play, read a book or two with your child, anything.  Make a difference and see what a difference it makes in your life. 

God is Awesome!

Yesterday there was much excitement among my friends.  Our good friend gave birth to her miracle baby girl at 31 weeks.  Both momma and baby are doing great!  Sadly however our friend lost her daughter's twin back in August at 19 weeks and that sweet little angel will never be forgotten. 

There is a local jeweler here in Colorado that makes remembrance necklaces, Bugaboo Jewelry and she is having a giveaway on The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  I would love to win one for my good friend because I think it would be an awesome gift to celebrate both of her little girls.  If you or someone you knows has lost a precious little one I would encourage you to head over to this giveaway as well.