Chaos is how life is running at the moment. My oldest daughter, the Monkey, has been in and out of the hospital for the last three months and I have completely lost all organization. I have never been super organized, but my New Year’s Resolution is to get organized and do it better than before. We all strive for something, this is my goal right now.
I am organizing everything from finances, meal planning, cleaning, to schedules. And I’m doing it while potty training Bub and our new puppy, Bella. I would like to give the children the structure of knowing what is happening next, knowing what to expect. I would also like to give myself less opportunity to procrastinate. So, first on my agenda is to schedule, schedule, schedule. I am scheduling almost everything (free time is always necessary). I am starting my day planner filling in times to take Bub to the potty and Bella outside. My carpet cleaner is on standby for this portion of my schedule.
I can’t schedule absolutely everything but will come pretty close. I will leave room for mishaps and the unexpected but that’s all folks! Oh, and my coffee in the morning…Maybe that should be my first priority to put on my schedule before potty training. Yep, coffee is definitely required prior to starting the days filled with potty training. Yep, definitely.
What is your New Year’s Resolution? Did you make one? I usually don’t but decided this year it was a must to start the year off right.
Every month there are many things to be aware of. This month of November is no different. The first of November marked the beginning of Mustache Season because its Movember. Join Team TS Iron Works, LLC and change the face of men’s health specifically prostate and testicular cancer.
November is also:
National Prematurity Awareness Month. Babies born prematurely are often faced with health and learning disabilities. Prematurity is also a leading cause of newborn death. For more information visit the March of Dimes website at www.marchofdimes.com
National Adoption Month is to raise awareness of children and youth from foster care. According to www.childwelfare.gov ”the 2011 theme for National Adoption Month is Build Capacity to Make Lasting Change.” For more information about adoption visit, Adoption.com, childwelfare.gov, or surrattlaw.com
National Epilepsy Awareness Month. My oldest daughter has epilepsy and it is among the least understood chronic medical conditions according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Go take the Get Seizure Smart Quiz here (www.getseizuresmart.org), I did.
American Diabetes Awareness Month. Join the Millions in the movement to stop Diabetes. This year, the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) is asking individuals to take a pledge and raise their hand to stop Diabetes. Go to www.stopdiabetes.com where you can share, act, learn, and give.
My oldest daughter, The Monkey, is in the hospital. We have been here since last Thursday, so 12 days now. My husband is at home with our little ones and a family friend is helping him watch them during the weekdays so my husband can continue to work while I am away.
My son is having a hard time with me not at home. Mostly at night. He likes to call me and we sing songs together. My husband informs me he dances while we sing. I can only imagine, which makes me giggle. We have tried to Skype and use FaceTime on our iPhones but the hospital wi-fi does not allow for this. My husband brings the little ones to the hospital every few days to visit, it’s nice.
My husband went grocery shopping and the babysitter told him, “Ooh your gonna be in trouble this is not organic. I have been here when Robin came home with groceries and she buys healthy stuff.” I was laughing hysterically when my husband told me. He did his best at the local grocery store. I think. I usually shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or Sprouts. The wife is away so of course the house is going to play. Anything to make life a little easier right now is what I am all for.
My husband and my youngest daughter have become incredibly close. This makes me happy. Pumpkin was such a Mommy’s girl for so long. She has figured out that she is wrapped around Daddy’s finger and now it’s all over. My son, Bub, is still a Mommy’s boy. I don’t think this will change, at least not anytime soon.
The Monkey and I are having nice alone time. As she has gotten older she tends not to be cuddly anymore. She tends to not like hugs but still likes to be kissed on the cheek and she blows us kisses. She has never been one to like her hand-held… until now. She melted my heart. The first day we were here in the hospital she was getting an i.v. and she reached over with her left hand and held my hand. My eyes filled with tears of joy. She has now done this several times throughout the hospital stay and each time is as special to me as the first time just a couple of days earlier. It’s the little things that melt my heart.
Growing up I was lactose intolerant. If I had a speck of lactose from chocolate or milk in something that wasn’t baked in I was up sick all night with tummy troubles. The only thing I could eat that contained milk was hard cheese. I have an older sister that is four years older than me. She remembers this and how we would do a candy swap after trick or treating every year. I would always be upset because I would get less candy after the swap because almost everything was not allergy friendly for me. I would be left with what had no milk. Everyone seemed to like to hand out chocolate at Halloween. My sister was always so sweet about swapping me.
So my sister text me this year that she has non-dairy, allergy friendly candy this year to pass out. She has called me every year to tell me this. She is very proud that she is a house that only hands out milk-free, allergy friendly candy. My youngest daughter had some food sensitivities for the first year herself. In that first year it caused us to be much more aware of what we eat. Not such a bad thing to know what you are eating. But, I can only imagine a life long true food allergy or multiple food allergies. Amazingly, I noticed a lot more allergy friendly foods being available in supermarkets. We had fruit snacks to pass out ourselves. They had no artificial colors and none of the 8 common food allergies. I felt good about having these to hand out. However, we did not get a single child trick or treating.
In our town there is a community event that takes place at a local park that everyone including us went to. But the candy was there just incase someone didn’t get the memo on the top-notch event to go to. Local businesses including the one my husband works for sponsor the event and hand out candy. It is great times had by all.
My oldest daughter was dressed as a hospital patient this year for Halloween as she has been in the hospital for ten days now with tummy troubles herself. She had surgery on Sunday to revise her J-tube and place a G-tube (again). My son was Buzz Lightyear which I was surprised to only see one other last night. My daughter was a giraffe and she was the only giraffe I saw there. My friend and her son trick or treated along with us and her son is just a couple of months younger than my daughter. He was a sock monkey. He was also the only sock monkey I saw. I saw a bunch of pirates, must be the recent movie release of Pirate’s of the Caribbean. We all had great fun taking the kids trick or treating and I can’t wait for next year to do it again. Next year we will still stay with having allergy-friendly candy to hand out just incase someone knocks on the door.
I found this tasty recipe on Whole Foods website. I have made it a couple of times now. I would not change anything about this recipe. It is perfect as is in my opinion. My husband and kids love it. I made it friday afternoon before getting ready to go on date night with husband. You just put the ingredients together, cover and stick it in the refrigerator over night. Then when you hear the baby cry you take it out to sit and pre heat the oven. Then bake. Easy and delicious, doesn’t get better.
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) organic day-old baguette, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pint organic blueberries, divided
12 ounces Organic Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1/2 cup organic sugar
8 organic eggs
1 cup organic sour cream
1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
2/3 cup organic milk
Organic Maple syrup (optional) 
Method
Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with blueberries, reserving a few for garnish. 
In a mixing bowl, beat cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Gradually add milk until blended.
Pour half over bread. Top with remaining bread, then remaining cheese mixture.
Cover and chill overnight or up to 24 hours. 
Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350ºF about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake about 25 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with reserved blueberries. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with maple syrup, if desired. (We don’t use the optional Maple Syrup)
What do Dr. Seuss, Ed Emberley, Betsy Cronin and Betsy Lewin have in common? They are my oldest daughter’s all time favorite authors. My Monkey loves to be read to. If she is upset we can cheer her up by reading her one of her favorite books. We read to Monkey often. She is the best to read to as she holds a sincere smile the entire book. And then you get to the end of the book and she eagerly signs for more. If she has her way she would have someone reading to her 24 hours a day.
We are a family that reads to our children. They are read bedtime stories every night without fail. This is something we find important to do. In an age where technology is taking over I still believe in the good old paper versions of books that sit on a bookshelf or between bookends until they are picked for the read of the moment. I do own the kindle for myself and enjoy being able to do a quick download of the new releases I want to read myself. But for my children I want them to have the pages to turn and the pictures to follow. And when we pick up books from the library I want them to know the smell. The smell of the years of page turning that has occurred.
We are a home of many books. This is something I am proud of. Here is a list of some of the titles that are favorites of ours and picked often by my three children to read:
Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
A Treasury of Curious George by Margret and H. A. Rey
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs By A. Wolf As told to Jon Scieszka
Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin
My little Pumpkin turned one this past week and we celebrated with family and friends at our home this past weekend. She had a wonderful time. My Pumpkin is also called “The Princess” because she can be quite demanding but also so delicate.
I used the princess role for her party theme this year. I put a bit of detail into my youngest daughter’s first birthday. I started by picking a brunch to go around her nap times to avoid her being cranky. I then sent out invitations. But her invitations were not store-bought, I made them so I could personalize them and make them mementos for family and friends. I made a scrapbook style, fairytale inspired, picture book invitation. I put a lot of hours of many days into these invitations, I really wanted them to be special.
There were a couple of hiccups in the preparations. The first hiccup was on the artistic side. I left a writing utensil in my toddler son’s reach, oops! At first sight I gasped for air. Oh no, I have to re-do. But it actually was no big deal. It was a pencil that I had left out and was easily erased.
After the invitations went into the mail I worked on the food. I always go overboard on food because I am always afraid there will not be enough. Not this party. I decided I would go simple on the Brunch items. I had planned on making a couple of quiche and a breakfast casserole but last-minute decided we could do without them. I made all the dessert type items and store-bought the rest.
I made two different cookies. I made the Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, Sugar Cookies, and I made the Cupcakes. I was letting frosting set on the Sugar Cookies and attending to things around the house when I spot my son chewing something. I asked him, “Bub, what are you eating?”. He opened his mouth and showed me. Well, there was the other hiccup in the party preparations. He even left the evidence behind again. I had to laugh. Again it really was no big deal. I had made plenty of extra cookies with the assumption that there would be some pre-party tastings.
I made the cookies the day before the party and the cupcakes the morning of. I was taking a little risk with the cupcakes because I had never made this particular recipe before but really wanted to try them. They came out wonderful…disaster avoided. The frosting, I have to say, is to die for. So, yummy!
The decorations were quite simple. I got some silk flowers and put them in tin pitchers on both ends of my kitchen island. I have a white cupcake stand that I placed in the center filled with the cupcakes and some cupcakes scattered below. I used our apothecary beverage dispenser for punch and sliced oranges to float in the punch for an added detail. I had a bottle of champagne and a pitcher of orange juice for mimosas. I used pink sparkle tulle as the table-cloth which really brought it all together. I used plain light pink plates, cups, and eating utensils.
The birthday girl enjoyed herself. She loved to open her gifts. She was adorable to watch. My pumpkin showed off each present, especially to her dad who was taking the pictures. After she opened her gifts we placed her in her royal high chair for the grand cupcake eating. She was delicate for the most part with her first cupcake. The frosting was definitely her favorite part of the cupcake. I chose white vanilla frosting because my son’s first birthday was a red Elmo cake and it looked like a bloody massacre when he was finished eating it. So I did not make that mistake again. Although we still laugh about it.
I ended the party walking our guests to the door with heart-felt thank you’s. I gave the guests castle and tiara shaped sugar cookies that I had made and placed in goodie bags tied with pink ribbon. It was a lovely party and am so glad our friends and family could share in celebrating our baby girl’s first birthday.
A friend of mine’s mom use to make a cookie around christmas that was oh, so delicious. These are my version of them. They are year round cookies in our home that get requested often. (*See Notes for recipe variations)
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons organic butter, softened (almost 2 sticks)
3/4 cup firmly packed organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 organic eggs
1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons organic cinnamon or 1 cup cinnamon chips* (see note)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups organic quick or organic old-fashioned rolled oats uncooked
1 bag organic chocolate chips (12 oz) semi-sweet, or milk chocolate, or dark chocolate*
PREPARATION
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
Add oats and chocolate chips by hand; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in a tightly closed container for up to 3 days (if they last that long). 
*NOTES*
Around the winter holidays i can usually find Cinnamon Chips that are in the same area as the chocolate chips. They make the cookies even better tasting and slightly more moist in my opinion. When you use the cinnamon chips use only one teaspoon cinnamon. As for the chocolate chips I have used every kind of chocolate, even allergy free. It is your taste preference I like them all.
Bub, my 2 1/2-year-old son had gymnastics this morning as he does every saturday morning. He did wonderful and most importantly had lots of fun. He is getting noticeably better every week. He is jumping on the trampoline without help now. He wanted a hand to hold the first couple of times we went. But, no more and he is very proud of himself.
Bub skipping the round off and just jumping over the tubes.
Bub has practiced all week for gymnastics all on his own. He has jumped on his bed like it is the trampoline. Not something I condone, it makes me very nervous. He has tried to do hand stands, Dad can do them. He has practiced a move they call Donkey Kicks and he his getting better at these as well. It is very fun to watch him practice.
After gymnastics this morning we were on our way to pick up our ’51 Ford from my Husband’s shop across town when my husband spotted the sign, Puppies. I said, “oh let’s go look”. His fault, he announced it to me. We like to completely torture ourselves and be completely busy. A dog, 4 chicks, an 11 month old, a 2 1/2-year-old, a 12-year-old special needs child, and my husband and I. Yep, we are sure to be committed when adding a puppy to this chaos.
She is beautiful. She is a tricolor pure bred Shitzu. All the kids adore her as my husband and I do also. Naming her was not coming easy however, and then we thought “Smores”. She has the colors of a smores, I see the dark chocolate in the dark brown, the lighter brown resembling the graham cracker color, and the white for marshmallow. “Smores”, that is a great name for her.
The new puppy sitting with Bub
Smores went for a car ride. It did not faze her. She curled up in my son’s lap in his car seat the entire trip. My husband picked up the old Ford and I followed behind him, it is a work in progress. The Ford drove great and we had no problems getting it back home.
The '51 Ford
After we dropped off the Ford we went to the pet store. Ugh, on a saturday it is full of product representatives. I probably would not mind under calm circumstances but our kids were beginning to melt down at this point and the phrase “we don’t need any help” only warded them off one aisle at a time. Our mission was to get in, get the stuff we needed and get out as quickly as possible. We were able to get our puppy food, puppy bed, puppy cage, puppy toys, and a lot of oohs and awes along the way. I told you she is super cute.
So, we finally get home and “Smores” eats some puppy food, drinks some water…potties outside. Yay!!! We avoided the first mess. And she went into my husband’s boots, curled up and went to sleep. Now we call her “Boots”.
How Boots got her name
I finished writing this Sunday morning and “Boots” is the name that is sticking especially because the two youngest kids can say it. She has warmed up and is chewing on everything in sight. She loves to cuddle and I find her most with my son and my oldest daughter. Bub keeps calling Boots into his room to watch him bounce on his bed.
Duke is not thrilled so far to have a new family member with fur. Hopefully he will warm up to her. We did get a female to weaken the threat level for Duke. I hope time heals and Duke adores Boots as we do. Some extra lovin’ for Duke should help.
I find myself in a predicament. I am becoming more and more aware that I have two sides of me. I feel selfish on one side but so limited on the other side.
I call one side my “Pink” side. This is the selfish side. It is the side that wants to only have name brands. I often refer to myself as a “purse snob” or a “name brand snob”. I even shop this way for my kids, like they care. But for some reason this is the way I have been all of my life. I should point out that my parents are not this way. My pink side is also the one that likes unhealthy eating, like soda.
My other side is my “green” side. It is the side that wants to eliminate any harmful chemicals away from my family and myself. It is the side that is raising chickens in an organic manner to have the freshest organic eggs available to my family. It is the side that wants to grow my own organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It’s the side of me that is making the necessary changes to eat a whole foods diet and eliminate synthetics from the food we serve at home.
My most recent dose of green, I call it, is trying to limit plastics from our home. If it’s a plastic that is staying I’m trying to make sure its BPA free. This is a harder task than one might think. My kids toys are ALL plastic, except the few I consciously got that are eco-friendly wood or BPA free plastic. This is where the limitations come for us with the green side. My oldest daughter likes only toys that make noise from pushing buttons and if it lights up that’s an added bonus. So I do have to make a few exceptions for her. But overall I can feel better that I have consciously limited the exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
Pumpkin on her eco-friendly walker
My green side is spreading and it’s bringing my family with it. Not such a bad thing, I know. But, I still want this season’s purse. Maybe I could just speak with my favorite designers and have them use eco-friendly materials. This would be how to keep my two sides from competing with one another.
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