Pretty Princess Parfaits

We had a knights and princesses party here for the Personal Assistant and Mr. Baby's birthday. It was super fun. The menu was pretty easy, but I did make a few special treats. Like these yummy parfaits. Mmmmm.

 

(Healthy) Sugar cookie dough

I love cookie dough. It probably should have killed me years ago in college when the cookies never quite got baked. But here I am, still loving cookie dough from afar. Until now.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios

I promise this is easy.

 

Quick Fix: Chandelier Makeover

We've had a winter full of surprises. Many of them were not good. Like the furnace breaking twice in the coldest February on record, leaving us with no heat for a month. Or the the day the second floor toilet flushing into the stud space one morning, and a short in a wire causing half the house to lose power in the afternoon. Or the day shortly after that when we woke up smelling gas in the kitchen (easy fix) and ended up with our water heater tagged because it needed a new chimney.
I have spent most of the winter hating my new house, and spending the reno budget on emergency repairs.
But I am trying to like it. I really am. So I am tackling the dining room on a shoe string budget-starting with that fabulous 1980's chandelier.

Quick Fix: Large Designer Toy Bin

I have been looking for a large, crushable, (you know, to reduce the toddler minor head injury screams) moderately good looking toy bin for ages. Then I saw it on Boo and the Boy...

Adorable boy's room. Adorable Blog. You should totally check it out...but later.

It was perfect for Camp Bed Room! Or the playroom, or maybe even the livingroom! Clear floors here I come!

It was $27. For a brown paper bag. I kid you not.

You know I can do better right?

Kid Crafts: Easter Window Clings

It's hard to find activities that challenge my 4 year old and engage, but are not hazardous the Mr. Baby (he will eat ANYTHING). This easy peasy no mess craft was great for both of them.

 

Quick Fix: Baby Food

We make most of our own baby food here. It's easy, fresh and cheap, but I think the main benefit is knowing exactly what your baby is eating. Not because I don't trust baby food companies, but because it's just easier when you are introducing new foods. (Also because CSID. But that's a whole other conversation.)

At Christmas the Hubster gave me a Black & Decker smoothie blender. At the time I was all "oh, gee...thanks?" But later I figured out all that it could do and thanked him properly. The best feature of this blender is that it fits on mason jars-which is great for so many reasons. Especially baby food.

 

Frozen smoothie treats for teething babies

Most teething treats are starchy and out of bounds for us. Lots of yogurt drop baby finger foods have added sugar or are made with sucrose containing fruits and veggies, so again-out if bounds. But I wanted to make some yummy teething treats for Mr. Baby, and decided to try making frozen yogurt drops. He loves them.

A (slightly) more sane approach to the holidays

So I may have publicized my annual Christmas meltdown this year. Oh well. When you live with small children you learn that melt downs are going to happen. How you recover is what is important.

I recovered by moving my fire hazzard wreaths to the outside of the windows. I may have plugged them in using a string of lights as an extension cord.

 

The Hubster giggled at me. My Personal Assistant thinks they are "Brilliant!" The Baby laughed and clapped-he'll be the president one day. (Fun fact: I have never lived in a house with exterior lights at Christmas. This feels like a major accomplishment and I could not be more thrilled. And it only took me 30 minutes! I know, I know, it looks like I spent weeks planning and installing this light display, but no. Mere minutes.)

I broke a light bulb while hanging the lights. When I ran out to change it, My Personal Assistant fed Baby...the soles of his shoes. Those brown crumbs are what was left of a perfectly good pair of boots after I left the boys alone with their shoes for less than 3 minutes. Shame on me. (Baby is fine. You don't have to be too smart to be president right?)

Baby proof all you want-the first time you leave them alone with something dangerous-like the dreaded shoes-all bets are off.

I bought a $5 set of plastic Christmas tree decorations from IKEA (assembly required) and we decorated the tree in Camp Bedroom. Because there is a tree in Camp Bedroom with lights already on it, and Baby can't get to it.

There will be a post about how I painted the birches when I do the next update on Camp Bedroom.

I stumbled across an app called Waterlogue that converts your photos to water colors. It is mesmerizing and makes everything look more festive.

It is also making me miss painting.

Even the saddest of wreaths.

But maybe not bathroom mayhem. Whatever. The rest of this post will be in fake watercolor because it amuses me.

The Personal Assistant is still in charge of sending replies to Christmas cards, which may or may not be mailed by New Years. I also set him to work planting some paper whites for some easy/kid safe Christmas decor.

That kept him busy long enough for me to bake some egg free, sucrose free, starch free cookies (sounds yum right?) and make a batch of his favorite marshmallows.

(The cookies aren't half bad for my first time trying to make CSID safe/egg free cookies. It only gets better from here right? Besides, I keep telling myself that what he will remember is that I tried.)

The Personal Assistant would like more craft time, and one of the Moms in my CSID support group is stuck in the hospital with two little boys at home. We decided they could use a care package, so we spent the afternoon making Christmas busy bags and testing them. They were easy and lots of fun. I will share more about them later this week.

My dear aunt confessed that they are laughing less at her house these days. She is the point person for co-ordinating care for my Grandfather as he recovers from a fall (he's doing great) and for her daughters-one who is recovering from an AVM and one who has been diagnosed with a rare from of MD. It is a lot. She said she is hanging things on her walls that she loves-or that make her laugh out loud. I can't do much to help from here, but I do have funny pictures, so I spent an evening looking through old and new photos to send to her.

 

 

Looking a photos from this past year the Hubster and I were overwhelmed by how much The Personal Assistant loves "his" Baby. It is written all over his face in every single picture of the two of them. We are taking time to snuggle, and feel thankful, indulge in hobbies, and laugh at our imperfections. It may still be a bit crazy around here, but it is the funny sort of crazy that we can all live with.

Merry Christmas, and Peace, and imperfection, and giggles be with you.

-Jen

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Just keep moving forward: Boy's CAMP Bedroom

One of the most challenging things about being a Mom to two little ones is juggling their very different needs and schedules. Mostly the schedules. It feels like I am still unpacking and not a single room is 'done' and it is now officially months (plural) since we moved in. I am learning to be content with progress-no matter how minor. That said, today I made a tent!

Quick Fix: Conflict of interests, snow day

We had a conflict of interests this morning. Kiddo wanted to play in the first snow of the year (sans pants), Baby wanted to sleep in, Mommy wanted to take a shower (solo) and curl up with some tea on the couch.

So we got out my daytime parenting partner: the activity tray.

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes

I like pancakes. I really really like pancakes. But I am allergic to eggs. This is well documented at this point. The personal assistant as CSID (I should maybe explain that one of these days) and cannot eat sugar (sucrose) or "too much" starch. But I still really like pancakes.

Quick Fix: Mess Containment

 We've sold our house! (And now the chaos will begin for real.) In honor of an exhausting solo weekend with the boys, negotiating a deal, while my husband was away with his pals, I give you a new use for cookie sheets: mess containment!

Supermom.

I'm not gonna brag or anything, but I'm pretty freakin' awesome at this Mom gig. I mean, I turned an old t-shirt into a superhero cape and mask in no time flat. Who does that? Supermom. That's who.

Lunches of Fun

When we found out our oldest son had CSID I was panicked that all the hard work we had done to diversify his diet and make food fun would be in vain. Would mealtimes become a drudge? Would all the food be plain and tasteless? Would my son (who loves to eat) become a picky eater?

The please can I please have a shower puzzle

I need a shower. It is how I wake up. It is my five minutes of not touching anyone. It is warm and therapeutic on my aching back that is not used to carrying around these giant milky boobies. I am routinely covered in someone else's pee, or vomit. I sweat profusely at random times cause I have post partum hot flashes. I likely do not smell very nice. I NEED a shower.

The boys don't give a crap. Or actually they do...often, so when everyone is finally fed, and cleanish and happyish. I run to the shower. Only to be called back, naked, to deal with...something. So I made a puzzle. Something new and novel to occupy my 3year old so he would not ask for something for a minute or two, maybe.

Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad Wrap (CSID lunch)

We are on week 3 of the induction diet for CSID (Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deffiency). One more week and we can start Sucraid and will have more food options. But in the meantime, I am getting bored serving the same lunches over and over. Today I wanted eggless chicken salad (I am allergic) and came up with Avacado Ranch Chicken Salad Wrap. It was really tasty!

Quick fix: Easy carpet deodorizer plus toddler entertainment

I am stuck on the couch with round ligament pain, the wind chill is too low for outdoor play, and the Personal Assistant want to "make foot prints like a robot." Oh what is a Mommy to do? Deodorize the carpet!

Quick fix: Play Dough Revival

 Is your play dough lacking luster? Are the sensory spices you added just not sniffable any more? Here's your quick fix. And I mean really quick. These photos are from dinner prep time sometime in late December.

Baby it's cold outside: Quilt-As-You-Go Sweater Quilt

The response to my last post has been humbling and overwhelming. The personal notes and kind words left me speachless at times (I know you don't believe me, but it is true,) and I thank you. You all forced me to see that even though I don't like to hear praise and encouragement when I am angry at the universe, I need to accept that knowing that people are strangely, (and possibly irrationally) confident in my abilities is a life line I am in no position to reject.

I will probably write more about CSID in the future, but for now, it is back to DIYville for some happy happy denial time. I am going to show you how to make a truly easy sweater quilt.