Random (Possibly Lame) Updates

Smooze ice pops can be found in stores.

My neighbor's roofers are still. Working. On. Her. Roof. I love the sound of nail guns in the morning. And all freaking day long. *pching pching pching* Pause. *pching pching pching* Pause. Shoot me.

We have reduced our landfill diaper contribution by half. Yay, potty training!

Our favorite farm stand lady has retired. We miss her so much and are trying to find new sources of rhubarb and strawberries and eggs and raspberries, among other things. The kids keep asking for "Apple" because she always gave them an apple or other fruit when we stopped by. She is responsible for their willingness to try many different vegetables. OK, must stop before I get choked up.

But, our CSA box has started arriving! Greens! Fresh herbs! And, one of our neighbors works with a woman whose chickens are laying so many eggs she's giving them away. She won't accept payment, just...food scraps to feed the chickens. DONE. Thank you, lady I've never met, for all of the FREE fresh eggs!

Scott and I have declared war on the birds that have taken over our yard. I'd love to be all lovey dovey about them, but every piece of play equipment, furniture, and decking is covered with huge splats of birdy poopy. It's not their fault. They are drawn to my neighbor's jumbo-size bird feeders, just as the squirrels and rabbits are drawn to the corn and peanuts she puts out. Yeah. Obviously, we're talking about a fence, but what else can we do that's safe for kids and animals? We don't want to kill them, just keep them OUT.

Potpourri

• We are enjoying our Erin Baker's treats--especially the breakfast cookies. Katherine takes a small breakfast cookie for her morning school snack every day and likes all of the varieties. I'm sure she also enjoys taking prepackaged snacks for a change, instead of the usual apple or baggie of pretzels.
  
• Every time the older kids and/or I put on our shoes and coats, Helen runs over to the closet and grabs her coat. She then stands there, looking at us expectantly. It's heartbreaking, especially when I'm leaving without her.
• Rational Jenn gave me a Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks, Jenn!
  
• Have you noticed any companies suddenly charging you more? Our cable bill has gone up, but at least they sent a letter about it. Some companies are just suddenly charging more fees without announcing them. This is extra frustrating when we pay them by automatic withdrawl. (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, VONAGE! VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!)
  
• So, anybody tried MagicJack? How's that working out for ya?
• "Eli, I need to wipe your nose." "NOO! Don't wipe mine nose!!!" "Would you like to wipe it?" "*sigh* No, you wipe it and I'll cry." OK, then.
  

Thursday List

Thanks to everyone for your eating out tips! I think one of us should win the chance to cook with Martha Stewart, don't you?

Helen is at that in-between food stage I always forget about. She wants to eat everything with her hands but still needs us to help fill her up with pureed foods. What are your favorite baby foods for nine-month (*Sniff!*) olds?

Our town does Trick-or-Treat the Saturday before Halloween, which makes Halloween itself rather anticlimactic. That means Trick-or-Treat is this Saturday! And the school "Literary Parade" is tomorrow! I dug out all of the kid's costumes yesterday and am making a peanut and dairy-free treat (rice krispie treats) for Katherine's class party.

Speaking of food allergies, thank you so much to The Allergic Kid for the link to BeFreeForMe.com. Coupons for expensive allergen-free foods! Whee!

This bread recipe has changed my life. Fresh bread every night! Tonight we're having it with Russian Hot Pot. I don't know what's Russian about ground beef with cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes. The pickled beets served on the side, maybe?

Birth Weekend

I had a wonderful birthday weekend. On Friday, our local grocery store owner stopped me to tell me that his store now carries: Tofutti ice cream, Tofutti Cuties, Tofutti American Soy-Cheese, and...Tofutti Sour Supreme, a product we have never tried. Also, he has Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese on order. Yay! I don't have to drive out of town to find these items! I don't have to buy them by the case from the natural foods store and then have to figure out where to store them! I can make recipes that call for sour cream! Both of the kids had tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch on Saturday. Such a small, normal thing. It made me so happy.

Scott made birthday apple pie on Saturday. I am one of those rare people who, if given the option, would choose pie over cake every time. Mmm.

The kids were mildly sick on Sunday, so I stayed home from church with various children draped over me. After lunch, I went shopping at the outlet mall by myself where I saw a car with a license plate from my place of birth. Marion, Indiana--Hollah!

We enjoyed spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade bread for dinner. I'm sorry to let down all of my dairy-free peeps, but after the kids were in bed Scott got me a Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen. Our Dairy Queen is a rarity because it sells only frozen treats, no hot food, and it is open only half of the year. The opening of DQ is a sign of Spring. I was glad to sneak in one last frozen treat before they close for the winter. (We do go as a family, sometimes. Katherine can have the StarKiss Bars and the Arctic Rush.)

What did I get for my birthday? A food dehydrator! And an awesome dried foods cookbook. We can make our own dried fruits! And fruit rolls! And sun-dried tomatoes! And.... (Help me out, Sally.) Best of all, I received a beautiful homemade card made out of an index card. It will fit perfectly in my wallet.

Thanks for all of your birthday wishes.

Jumping Back In

Wow, there's a lot to catch up on! I loved reading about everyone's favorite cookbooks. Jennifer B, I don't know what I'd do without my Fannie Farmer cookbook. Vivian and Charlotte, I'm putting Veganomicon and Elizabeth David on my reading list. And I love old/church/fundraising cookbooks, too! Alisa and I are working on a theory that old cookbooks can be really good resources for dairy-free cooking. Oleo!

Don Mills Diva and her talented sister-in-law are doing a month's worth of gluten-free recipes on Don Mills Diva Recipes and Reviews.

Linda Coss has released her second cookbook, What Else is to Eat? the sequel to What's to Eat?. You can read more about it here.

Finding a Cure for Food Allergies has been nominated as an American Express Members Project. Read more about it here, and consider voting for it here if you are an American Express cardmember.

Now I'm off to help the kids make cards and cake for Daddy.

K is for Kiwi

At least, that's what we decided. Katherine had to bring a food that begins with the first letter of her name to the ABC Picnic at school today. She chose kiwi. Eli, Helen, and I stopped by to help K. make a plate of dairy-free foods. There were some fun choices, like Meg@n's mini marshmallows and Sp3ncer's Swedish fish. W1ll's mom made 22 individual watermelon fruit cups in tiny Ziploc containers. Go, W1ll's mom!

Eli was pitching a fit as we left, and our neighbor and good friend H., who is a kindergarten teacher, stepped out into the hallway saying, "That sounds like Eli!" Is our town that small, or is his fussing that distinctive? Probably both.

And it doesn't hurt my feelings AT ALL that I'm the only one who commented on my guest post at Mommy Daisy's. Glad I could up her blog traffic like that. Oy. Speaking of blog traffic, I deleted all of the NH pics from my vacation post because I'm tired of people coming here for Old Country Store images. Go to their website, dudes. Also, have fun with your Star Wars birthday parties, and quit sending me emails about how I can make my "weener" bigger.

Pieces of Nothing

I'm guest posting at Mommy Daisy's while she's on vacation. She offered me the chance to rant, but that doesn't seem to be in the spirit of her sweet blog, so I posted about vacation instead.

I won the Preeclampsia Quilt Raffle at Cerebral Palsy Baby! Whoo! Shannon really inspires me with all of her beautiful handiwork, DIY house renovations, and the way she raises awareness for such a worthy cause. Of course I will be giving the beautiful baby quilt to Helen. It's nice that not everything she has is a hand-me-down.

Has winning the raffle stopped me from entering giveaways? No.

We greatly enjoyed the program at Katherine's school yesterday, "The Year of The Very Busy Kindergartner." I had one of those loser parent moments when the kids were singing the ABCs (complete with dance moves) and I realized that Eli was singing along--correctly. When did he learn the ABC song? Did Katherine teach him? Sesame Street? I have no idea.

I gave Teacher and the two classroom helpers Borders gift certificates in their cards. (There is a Borders outlet at the outlet mall close by, so they won't have to drive far.) I figure they can buy books for the classroom or for themselves. I struggled with the notes I wrote, but I feel pretty good about them. I thanked them for seeing Katherine as a person, not just as "the allergic kid." I'm going to give her bus driver a gas card, which is a little lame, but it's for Sheetz, so he can use it for gas or coffee or whatever.

Our refrigerator is leaking water. We have someone coming to look at it today. Boy, do I not want to spend money on a new fridge. Or on fixing the old one, really. Scott told Katherine we don't need one; we'll just bury her soy milk in the backyard to keep it cold.

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.

Seven

Hey! Where have I been? I've been here, with my lists of seven. (I'm altering the rules, Ria.)

Seven aliments of the House of Hatfield:
1. stomach flu
2. ear infections
3. sinus infection
4. thrush
5. common cold
6. diaper rash
7. RSV scare (not RSV, another virus)

Seven dairy-free recipes we've enjoyed recently*:
1. Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs (renamed "Celebration Rolls" for Easter breakfast because the marshmallow "disappears" and they're empty when you cut them open. You know, like the tomb.) Also, if you're looking for more Easter/Springtime brunch ideas, check out Alisa's recipes.

2. Fruit Pizza (made with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese instead of dairy cream cheese for Eli's birthday)
3. Country Fried Steak and Gravy
4. Bubba's Beer Biscuits (I'm sorry, all of you Paula haters--We like her recipes.)
5.Back to School Sloppy Joes
6. Split Pea Soup (made with leftover Easter ham)
7. Lady Brownies
*Replace all butter with dairy-free margarine, of course.

Lady Brownies by Paula Deen
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I do 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 oil)
4 eggs
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
11/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend together the sugar, oil, (applesauce,) eggs, cocoa, and vanilla. Add flour; mix. Add nuts; spread into greased 13x9-inch pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Seven books I'm reading a page of whenever I have a second:
1. The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook (Um, obviously.)
2. Birth
3. The Baby Book
4. The Soul's Code (An unlabeled gift I received in the mail. From my brother-in-law, maybe? )
5. A nonfiction political book. I'm trying to stretch, here.
6. Eat, Pray, Love
7. Felicity's Cooking Studio (This is Katherine's, but I'm really enjoying it.)

Off to do dishes and laundry before our next pediatrician appointment....