pat a cake pat a cake, bakers man

Here are a few things I have tried lately in the kitchen! The real fun is that it is ALL Egg, Milk, Peanut free!! Woo hoo!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies- these were really good! Got rave reviews from my family!

Ingredients:

1 c. dairy-free margarine (I use Soy margarine sticks)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. soy milk or rice milk (I used rice milk this time)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life Choc. Chips. I found that this was way too many chips for the amount of dough. I would use about half the bag next time).

Instructions:

1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2: Cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add soy or rice milk, and cream. Mix in vanilla extract. It might look a little curdled, that is fine.

3: Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, then fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.

4: Drop by teaspoons (I would flatten out more next time) on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool on racks.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting- also a success! This is the first time Alex has ever wanted to eat cake! and he liked it!! Well, I know that he ate a little more icing than cake, but hey! he ate some cake!! woo hoo! This is also just super easy and would be great for anyone who needed a cake quick and easy.

All it is is Duncan Hines Spice Cake (box) and a can of Pure Pumpkin. Mix together and bake following the box. I used Duncan Hines Cream Cheese icing out of the can! It doesnt get any easier!


This "cheese" is supposedly the best- Daiya. Even Oprah tried it when she went Vegan for the show. Alex likes it! Don't tell him but nothing beats real cheese. So far we have tried pizzas and nachos (besides eating it out of the bag). Alex didn't really care for the pizza- he has some weird thing against red sauces. He did like the nachos! :)

I also found out that I can use Pillsbury Crescent rolls- they are dairy and egg free! Pepperoni rolls, pigs in a blanket, ham and cheese rolls, dessert pastries- the possibilities are endless! This is their website that offers a ton of recipe ideas. If I could only get Alex to try them!

Ellie really likes this coconut yogurt! I tasted it and its pretty good. Tastes like ice cream. Alex wouldn't try it. Stinker.
I also got some Sunbutter. It is really pretty good. Tastes like sunflower seeds. Can't get Alex to try it yet but he acted excited. I am just glad that we have a good substitution for peanut butter for when he is ready. And if you want to try some, just come on over! It would be good for schools that don't allow peanut butter.

We have also been eating these A LOT :) Got them for Ellie's bunny party coming up and had to try them out first...haven't stopped! and just saw on the website that they now have granola bars that look safe for Alex. We will have to try them out!

Next up will be Ellie's birthday cake!

Oh, and a little confession of an allergy mom...the Cheetos that I scarfed at lunch by myself yesterday were oh so heavenly. Cheetos, oh how I have missed you.

Rodeo!

Travis took off work so that we could all go together this year. It was so much fun! I sadly only took my lil point and shoot and I totally regret it. I got horrible pictures. I felt like something wasn't set right because they were worse than normal even. Live and learn.
It was too funny- when we pulled up and got out of the car I realized that 2 cars over our friends the Stacers where getting out of their car too! It was fun to do some stuff with them- Alex loves Evan S.!

And Kathryn was nice enough to take a picture of the fam for us....we are a little ragged by this time. It was windy windy and getting hot! We were all worn out!

Alex LOVES the tractors. One of his favorite parts of the rodeo.

Ellie was holding on to that bar so tight and soooo interested in seeing those animals. I thought it was best for us both to be on the other side. ;)

He did also LOVE riding the horse!

I didn't get a picture but I think another one of his favorite things was the band playing on the outdoor stage. Just some cute teenagers singing some cover songs but Alex was in hog heaven playing his air drums right along with them!

Spring Break Fun

(last) Last week was Alex's spring break so I decided to do a few fun days to help the week go by.

Monday we went to visit Daddy at work in Lockhart. Honey came too and it was a fun trip. We got to see the office...

play with sticky note tabs
the yard with big stuff...

and we went to barbecue lunch. Alex was intrigued with the Deer heads on the wall. That is what he is looking at here. And he was surprised that it wasn't Whataburger. ;)
I like that it is open 8 days a week! ;) thats what it said!
As for my review of the barbecue....eh. not a big fan of Blacks. Think I will stick with Rudys right down the road.

It is a long drive to Lockhart but it was fun to see Daddy and now Alex has a better idea of where he goes all the time. (Thankfully he is only going all the way to Lockhart a few times a week now though. Yea!!)

Tuesday we went to the outlet mall to look for new shoes for the kids. Always fun. At least we were 50% successful. Thats pretty good. And then there is nothing like a good bribe for shopping. Buzz did the trick! We never go down this part of the mall so Alex had never seen this before- it was like Disneyland! I think he could have stayed all day!

I would say he was in love

gotta let sister play a little too

Wednesday Honey came over to watch the kids for me while I ran errands and shopped. She is truly my angel. my godsend. I love Wednesdays. And I know the kids love it too! They always have a good time! and I actually bought clothes for myself- shocking!! Mom has to have a little fun on spring break too!

Thursday I went to Fairytale Threads consignment sale while Papa watched the kids. Again, I know I am so lucky to have sitters like this! I got some GREAT stuff! Here is a sneak peak of what I found for Alex- it was a steal! and worth every penny if you cant tell already!

And then the kids and I went to Sprouts after Ellie's nap. This was also a fun little outing. Alex never goes to the grocery store with me because I tend to go on Wed. by myself or while he is at school. This was a quick trip and we got his specialty foods that he loves, so it was fun. I will post soon about some of the things I have been baking! believe it or not!

St.Pattys Day Green!

Friday we went to the Rodeo!! That post next! It gets its own post.

Drizzle Drizzle Fo Shizzle

Alex had his Spring Show at school last week. I was so glad that we all recovered from the bug in time to go! I was a little nervous though considering how our Christmas show went. But I should have been more confident in the lil guy. Of course he is bigger and braver now! He did great! I was beyond proud. Not too much singing but hey, we take what we can get! Super cute even if I dont know what they are saying! One of the songs is "Drizzle Drizzle". We got that part! Oh, and Alex looks a little frumpy because his pants button popped off as we got out of the car and they were like falling off of him even with the belt. Oh the drama. :)



We celebrated afterwards with some cookies (this may have been why Alex did the show- he was promised cookies if he did it) and hugs from Papa Wes and Nani. He got to watch it back on the camera too. Yes my Dad works for the news. Haha! No, just kidding. He does like to video weddings though. And therefore we also get the high tech video service. (but the video here is from our lil camera)

11 Months

My sweet girl. You are just too big. Getting so close to one year old! You are just too cute for words and getting cuter by the minute.
I love all your little different laughs. Your dramatic cries. Your funny little personality coming out. The best is your "Super Sweet Smile" where you raise your head high and squint your eyes and give a big gummy smile...Daddy and I think you are on to the power of it and have started to use it to your advantage already.
You say Momma and Dadda all the time. Momma seems to mean "I want it I want it"
Your afternoon nap is getting shorter. boo. But I won't argue with early to bed. You are kinda difficult these days in that you want me, but then immediately want away/down. It will wear ya out quick.
Let me just give a quick insight to what the zoo is like...The craziest part of my day is dinner time. You usually want to eat as I am making dinner which works well so that I can cook but makes it hectic. Going back and forth to feed you and tend to you and try to throw dinner together. Then as soon as I am ready to sit down, you want out of the highchair. All this with Alex whining and wanting and messing...its enough to drive a woman crazy. Thank God there are two of us most nights! I couldn't do it without Travis.
Okay, back to Ellie bird
You are standing alone really well. And we are just starting to see the itch to take a step!
You pretty much entertain yourself just messing around with stuff around the house.
Still not really into eating very much but love to feed yourself. Fruit is your favorite. This month you decided you are not really into Cheerios. Not sure what happened there but its annoying. I have tried to keep snacks away from you but it is impossible with Alex always eating them. So you scream your high pitch squeal when you see a bag or box of anything. You seem to know you want it. You are a much better eater than Alex ever was though. You will try new things and tend to eat what I give you. I pretty much give you a little of whatever we eating.
Your two bottom teeth have really come in but that's all you got for now. I love that gummy top and precious lil white perfect teefers...my fav. I will be sad when you get more.


You don't sit still for books longer than a minute. I am eager to read you books so I hope that gets better this next month.

You don't really care to be rocked to sleep (shocking after Alex) and you like to "talk" yourself to sleep. Think nuk nuk nuk. I even hear you doing this in the middle of the night instead of crying.
When I go to get you up out of bed you throw yourself down to the bed and crawl quickly to the corner and bury your head there. I have no idea. But it's pretty funny! And it never fails you do it almost every time I go to get you now.

You also love to play peekaboo every night after bath. As soon as I put you on the changing table to get your pajamas on, you grab the towel and flash me a big smile as if to say "lets play that game again"! Its one of your happiest times of day.

(look at all that hair! ha! think you will get a little curl in the back there like Alex did)

You have started to play with Alex some- basically a crawling down the hallway, laughing, chasing thing. You find it delightful. You also will wrestle with him in your bed (more for safety and mom's sanity really). It cracks you up, surprisingly, to be pulled down and thrown around. I think you are getting tougher.

You like the kitchen! Open and close the doors and touch all the "buttons"

You wear 9 months clothes and size 3 diaper now. You are my little sweet petite. Everyone comments on how little you are.

And this is the end- You wanted to show off your super cute ruffle butt bloomers I guess! Silly girl!
Its easier and faster for me to just put all the videos in one. You get to see the crib hiding, crib wrestling, dancing to Imagination Movers Concert (a huge hit in this house btw), Super Sweet Smile, and peekaboo. Yes, Alex is crazy! and so is his hair! and I hate that she is in her "boy" pjs- she does own pink ones! promise!

time to get back on the saddle

I am having a hard time getting back on the blog again. Where to start. What to say. So much has happened...well, sorta.
We had a big fun weekend last weekend and then we all got the stomach bug- yep, the devil one. It is THE worst thing in the world. It started with Ellie on Saturday. She threw up on the way to the library. We were thinking it must be just a sickness or something (not a bug) because she didn't seem sick after that. Still not fun btw, and cleaning throw up out of a car seat is discusting. Not really what I had planned for my Saturday night. Who knew it could go in so many cracks? Anyway, I started throwing up early Monday morning (middle of the night). Before I could even fully recover I was cleaning up Alex's throw up that evening. And I found Travis in bed Tuesday morning instead of being gone for work and I knew that he had also fallen. So, there have been a lot of crackers consumed in the house this week and a lot of tv watching. I was feeling weak (thankfully it really was only a 24 hr bug) all week long, so I knew Alex must be feeling it too. I will note that he doesn't like to admit it- he acts and says that "I not sick anymore! Yea!".

So enough about that blah! Here is some beauty for ya! I love this time of year when for a few days the pear trees bloom white. It's funny because I gag at the smell as soon as I walk out of the house but love the look. A sign of spring! Warmth and sunshine! Playing outside!! :)


One of the fun things from last weekend- Kite Festival! I have always wanted to go! I was so excited that we made it happen this year! and Papa Wes, Auntie Jo, and Kalyn came too! It was a beautiful day and so fun just to be out and about, but it just wasn't windy enough to be a good kite day. We did get out sad lil 2$ Buzz to fly a little though because it was so light. Alex enjoyed seeing all the different types of kites and calling them out.

I think it is time to retire the motorcycle shirt since it is pretty much 3quarters sleeve. Alex is growing like a weed all of a sudden!

Travis set up a fun boys day on Monday- we got free tickets to the local Stars Hockey game. Grandpa Steve and Matt went with them. They all had a blast! Alex thought it was so cool and has been talking Hockey ever since. Travis said one of the best parts was getting to eat a hot dog and french fries with Alex for lunch. It is not often that we get to buy him food out and he gets to eat what we eat (because of his milk allergy). Its just nice to be normal and have it be easy- its fun. Sadly, Travis didn't take a single picture. I guess that's what happens when you have a no-girls event.

Talk about some highs and lows.

So, the house is Lysol-ed down and laundry put away... we are starting to see the sun again...I have so much more to post on! Look forward to a big blogging week, hopefully I will stay on the horse.