Great.

Now I'm addicted to Facebook.

Here's a cute kid photo to enjoy while I go look up people from my past.

Things You Can Find Online

A make-your-own onion soup mix recipe.

Ways to be frugal.

Fun games.

A parenting magazine right in my own backyard.

A slideshow by my husband.

Three Months

Dairy-Free Fried Chicken

Katherine was asked to submit her favorite recipe at school for a class cookbook. She chose Daddy's fried chicken. Here is the recipe as she and Daddy submitted it.

Daddy's Fried Chicken

3 eggs
1/3 C. water
2 C. self-rising flour
1 t. pepper
chicken pieces (Katherine likes legs the best.)
vegetable oil for frying

Beat eggs with water. Stir pepper into flour.

Dip chicken pieces into the egg, coat well in the flour mixture. Fry in hot oil (350 degrees) until brown and crisp. (Dark meat takes about 15 minutes, white meat takes about 10.)

Freezes well - reheat at 400 until hot and crispy.

Reuse the oil - it tastes better the second time.

Buy This Book

People often ask me what resources I recommend to learn more about food allergies. Of course I mention the many wonderful online resources, but for a print one, I recommend Food Allergies for Dummies. Not because I think the people asking are dummies, of course, but because it is such a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about food allergies. The author, Dr. Robert Wood, has a food allergy himself, so he knows of what he speaks. The text is very accessible, and it is full of information about and reviews of other food allergy books and websites.

I recommend Food Allergies for Dummies to teachers, childcare providers, and parents of allergic children or just-diagnosed individuals who are learning about food allergies for the first time. I also think this is a great book if, say, your child's friend or classmate has a food allergy and you want to learn a little about it without delving into complex medical texts.

Food Allergies for Dummies, Robert Wood, M.D. and Joe Kraynak. $13.39 on Amazon.com.

[Written for Go Dairy Free.]

On the Internets

The newest Food Allergy Blog Carnival is up at Rational Jenn's, and Karen at Avoiding Milk Protein has posted a Nowheymama interview. You can find it under "Avoiding Milk Protein News and Information." Thanks, Karen!

Also, I finally got my postpartum self in gear and officially joined WEGO Health, which is shaping up to be a great online community. Come join us!

We Was Robbed!

Photo courtesy of Menshealth.com.

I'm kidding. We had a great time at the Bake-Off. I think any of you who are eligible should enter next time.

The winners are here. A blog about the event (Complete with photos of Scott!) is here.

[Edited to add: Here's some of the "bad press" Scott's recipe received, to which I have to say: Lighten up, Dudes.]

To Do List

1. Pack for Dallas!
2. Pick a travel outfit to wear while holding an infant lap child (white shirt and mustard yellow pants?)!
3. Clean for my parents who are watching the other kids at our house!
4. Plan easy meals!
5. Write down important information that my mom already knows!
6. Worry that we will be stuck in an airport and miss the Bake Off!
7. Surf for helpful travelling-with-an-infant tips!
8. Figure out cool places to go if we have any free time! (Besides here, which is included in our trip.)
9. Plan what to say to Sandra Lee if I meet her!
10. Cook dinner!
11. Wonder what I've left off the list!

I'm a Big Chicken Person

That's what I said on my first date with a guy when he asked me what kinds of food I liked. He laughed. A lot. I hope he's gotten some mileage out of that story.

So, speaking of chicken, here's the "top secret family recipe" of one of our postpartum meal delivery people. She was kind enough to let me in on the secret, and so I share it with you. I bet you could easily replace the egg and make it egg-free as well as dairy-free.

Also, have you ever had City Chicken? (Just replace the butter with margarine to make it dairy free.) Apparently, we Pennsylvanians and our odd customs are getting some national attention thanks to our April 22 primary.

I'm off to thaw ground turkey, not chicken, for our dinner. I'm a big turkey person, too.

Firsts

Katherine took her first communion yesterday and also lost her first tooth. If I were a certain type of writer, I would compose a thoughtful, heartfelt piece about the passing of time and the many ways our little ones are growing up. I would tell you how I felt full of joy at the sight of her serious face concentrating on her thimbleful of grape juice, and I would tell you how I felt helpless at the pre-tooth loss tears. "I don't want my tooth to come out!"
And, I would tell you that a little part of me didn't want Katherine's first baby tooth to come out, either. I would tell you about my sadness over the loss of that particular little smile. But helping our children change and grow is part of our job, so I would tell you that in the morning I reminded her to sit quietly in church during the communion service, and that in the evening I gently grasped the loose baby tooth and helped her pull it out.

Tell Me All Your Thoughts on Blogs

Like many of you, I don't like blogging about blogging, but here is my secret blog confession:
I don't use one of them there RSS thingys yet. (GASP!) It just always seemed too burdensome. But I think now is the time because I'm missing too much that's going on. I need a tutorial, please. How do I do this?

Also, what other bloggy accessories can you not live without?