Sleeping Habits in the Wild

2 Days ago, we switched to a toddler bed (a race car!). So far, it has been going very well! Of course, we hear pitter-patter of little feet during the first part of nap/bedtime. But then the little feet noises die down, and he ends up in his bed. Dr. says not to worry, as long as he stays in his room - even if he sleeps on the floor. I always wonder what in the world he's up to in his room! Well, last night we snuck in after he fell asleep and this is what we saw. An uncomfortable-looking child, upside down, with books ALL over the place! He makes me laugh!

Another blog for another day...Our child's obsession with cars...it's crazy.

Baby Names

We'll be announcing the baby girl's name on the blog in a few days. But I wanted to give a heads up to those friends who'd rather find not from a blog post. Anyway, if you are one of those friends, make sure to ask me very soon before the cat's out of the bag!

Laura's Shower

This weekend was Laura's bridal shower. I've known this awesome girl since we were benchwarmers on our 5th grade softball team & I'm looking forward to the big day. Here are most of her bridesmaids. For those curious to check out the 25+ week bump, you'll just have to wait! Thanks to the strategically placed head in the belly's place.

And the dresses are in! I'm so excited. I think it will actually fit!! It's gonna be a good preggo dress, like she picked it out just for me. We ordered a dress 4(ish) sizes bigger than I regularly wear. So I thought the whole entire dress would have to be ripped apart and resewn, but it's just a few minor alterations. I just hope I don't gain much weight in the next month!!

Hiding

Where's Ethan?Here he is!

Cherrybrook Kitchen

Thank goodness for Cherrybrook Kitchen! I’m way impressed. Commonly sold at places like Whole Foods, I never expected to see their brownies and pancakes in the pharmacy section of my regular, more urban grocery.

The pancakes were great, the brownies were AWESOME! My personal opinion is that these are as good as any other mainstream brand of brownie mix around.

If you are peanut/dairy/egg-free, or are ever making a treat for someone who is, this is a great easy solution! Go buy some Cherrybrook Kitchen brownies today!

On the same note, Allergy Free Foods makes some awesome (cheap!) chicken nuggets. They are $1.99 versus Ian's & Applegate Farms, which sell for $7-8 for a smaller box. Only problem, is that they've stopped selling it at the groceries near me!!

New Food Survey (See Top Right Also)

Since food allergies are such as integral part of my life now, I’m just taking a poll about how & if you have any food restrictions, for curiosity-sake only. Please take a moment to fill out the anonymous survey. Below further describes the choices.

A) Someone in my immediate family has a restricted diet for personal reasons (Vegetarian, Vegan, etc. Does not include minor restrictions, like "I'm not eating chocolate" or "I'm trying to eat more veggies.")
B) My immediate family has a restricted diet, due to food allergies
C) I do not have a restricted diet.

If there is something I've left out, let me know!

Daffodils

I love the Springtime. How beautiful are all these daffodils? There are about 7 varieties here. I tried to transplant some of the bulbs last week. Any gardener know if that will actually work for next year?

Baby's First Gift

This is baby girl's first gift. Hmmm...Should I be worried?

Ladies Who Lunch

My mom recently had a milestone birthday, so in celebration, my sister-in-law, Jeanie, and I had a little luncheon for her & some of her lady friends. We had such a great time!I made this tablecloth recently when a fabric store was closing down! All yards of upholstery fabric were like $4/yard!!Jeanie (the same girl who made this cake) whipped out some petit fours like it was no big deal...

Trace Adkins for FAAN

I don't listen to country music, but am now a big fan of Trace Adkins. He, too, has a child with food allergies, and is raising money for FAAN in this season of Celebrity Apprentice. YEAH! Tonight is the finale, and Trace is in the final two! I haven't been watching, but have caught a couple of episodes. I'm so excited that he's raising money, but more importantly, raising awareness for food allergies. My hope is that if Ethan does not outgrow this thing by the time he's schoolage, that people like Trace Adkins will have been incredibly affective with awareness by then. I'm saddened every time I read about a child with food allergies being teased by other kids for being different, or ruining their good time. Go Trace! I'm rooting for you!!!

Recent Pics of Ethan

Here are some recent pictures of E's past few weeks... Picking Flowers! Looking Pensive & Handsome A spontaneous visit to the Fire Station resulted in a free hat! Helping Daddy at work Easter Morning! (He picked out the clashing PJ's)

My New Best Friends

are the Pregnancy Pillow (not me pictured) and Tums. Know what I mean?

Translation Card for Allergies & Other Health Conditions

I ran across these Food & Travel Translation cards from Select Wisely, when I was planning our recent trip. How cool! Buy them in the language you need & it makes it easy to communicate your needs. I think I may get one for in Spanish for eating in local Mexican restaurants! I've had trouble communicating our situation in the past & this would make it so much easier. Anyway, thought I'd pass this along...

Can You Believe all these Strawberries? - Plus Dairy/Egg Free Strawberry Bread

Just about every year, my father-in-law is the strawberry & grapefruit fairy. This weekend, these landed on my doorstep, along with about 40 grapefruit. So in turn, I get to be strawberry fairy too, bringing them to some friends & neighbors. In addition, I've got some in the freezer, and baked some of these muffins, which were quickly eaten. So...What's your Favorite use of Strawberries, in a recipe?

VEGAN STRAWBERRY MUFFINS (Here's the Non-Vegan version)

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 soy yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 cup chopped strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees & grease muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine oil, soymilk, vinegar, and soy yogurt. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, spices and sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.
3. Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Consignment Sale

Moms & Dads: Make Plans to Shop now for Good Quality Spring and Summer Children's Clothes! Mark your calendar. I hear it's a good one!

Friday, 3/28, 8 am - 7 pm
Saturday, 3/29, 8 am - 2 noon (1/2 price on Saturday!)

Forest Hills Baptist Church
2101 Old Hickory Blvd. (corner of Old Hickory & Hillsboro)

Clothing & Shoes (infants through juniors/boys size 20)
Children's Toys; Books & Puzzles; Videos & Games
Baby Items
Maternity Clothes
Baby Furniture

"Hi Baby."

It's so cute when E. pats or kisses my tummy and says, "Hi Baby." I love when he says "Baby Sister!"

We've been enjoying his company so much since we've been back, but one thing I didn't expect - TANTRUMS! He NEVER throws tantrums, but boy, it took some time to readjust! My parents said he was perfect while we were gone, of course. I'm wondering...Did they totally spoil him? Or is he teaching us a lesson for leaving? Fortunately, things are getting back to normal.

Lance Climbing

I know I just posted a rock climbing picture of my hubby, but I liked this one, so I wanted to post it. His climbing prowess and big muscles are 2 of the (many) reasons he won me over, almost seven years ago.

Getting Ready for Produce!

It's almost time for the CSA to get started again! If you are thinking about joining one, now's the time to make your choice about which farmer you'll join. My CSA, Avalon Acres, begins deliveries on April 30. If you missed it, here's the list of Pros & Cons I put together at the end of last season for your consideration.

Back from Austria & Germany

We had a wonderful time traveling in Giessen, Cologne & Frankfurt Germany and Vienna, Austria. Here are a few more highlights from our trip! Here we are in Vienna, at the Opera.And what else do we find in Vienna, but one of their dozens of climbing gyms! And surprise, surprise, we see our friend Tommy on the poster outside.So Lance got to do some climbing...Here is Lance outside Cologne's cathedral. Boy was it cold!!
And me at Schonbrunn's fountain...(Minus the water.)
And here are our wonderful friends, Markus, Julia, Emma & Davy.

Guten Tag!

Guten Tag, Y'all! We've been visiting our good friends in Germany this week. Here we are at Schonbrunn in Vienna, Austria. How about that German meal of Wiener Schnitzel and Potatoes? More pictures to come later! Hope this week has been good for you!

Family Bedtime

I'm not blogging much this week, so I wanted to have my little family at the top of the page. But, since we never get a family photo together, we hopped in the mac photo booth before bedtime. By the way, a Vietnamese man told me today that he could tell that E would live a long good life, because he had good ears. He said would be the President & live past 100! Have a good week!

It's A....

Looks like we'll be shopping for lots of stuff like this! (Picture from Pink Chalk Studio)

Poll Results & Baby Talk

The poll is drawing to a close, since we have our 20 week appointment today! Current poll results are close: 51% Girl (19 votes) and 49% Boy (18). I'll let you know tomorrow! Also, I wanted to share a frequent conversation that Ethan & I have. It always goes like this:

"Do you want a baby brother or baby sister?"

"Sister"

"You want a baby sister?!"

"No, Brother!"

"You want a baby brother?"

"No Thank You."

Foods Tots Love

If you haven't discovered these products yet, you've got to give them a try, particularly if you have a toddler. Snapea Crisps are made from sun-dried peas. Aside from the salt, they have lots of good vitamins in them! Also, Ethan LOVES Ian's Supertots. They are letter-shaped potatoes mixed with peas, carrots & cauliflower! Both of these are safe for E's allergies, too.

An Allergic Reaction

This weekend it happened. From 3 tiny bites of a Veggie Sausage. Mom & I went out to eat, and Ethan wouldn’t touch the food I brought him. So I let him have a few bites of sausage. I never do this. I only ever let Ethan eat food when I’ve read the ingredients. [Did you know that o’Soy yogurt has milk ingredients?!? Allergy moms always read ingredients.] But I thought maybe this once I’d make an exception. A few minutes later, he had hives on his face. An hour later, his nose had swollen up & he was having trouble breathing. A little children’s allergy Benedryl, and he started to feel better.

It was so sad, but I am glad my mom saw the reaction firsthand. Sometimes I feel like people think us Allergy Moms are just a bunch of paranoid freaks. Especially in those over 45, since this whole food allergy phenomenon just didn’t exist a generation ago. While no one has ever said anything, often when I tell someone (of a certain age) about E’s allergies, I feel like the thought going through their head is, “Oh, I bet a little bit wouldn’t hurt him.” I probably had thoughts like that myself before it happened to us.

Sometimes I've wondered if I’m just making myself crazy, making my job as a mother harder for no good reason. But this reminded me that this is a real problem. I am reminded that I have been doing the right thing by being so strict with the foods I give him. I hope this was the first & the last time that we experience this! It made for a sad day for us.

Whew, I'm Done!

This is my first attempt at lots of things - Making a Yoke, a French Seam, Pockets, adding a hidden zipper & Sewing with Bias Tape. It's finally finished!! The bear is only to show one of the pockets.

Goods for Girls

Have you seen the commercials that address the problem of young African girls who can’t go to school when they are having their period? Granted, I think it’s a bit too simplistic. There are LOTS of things preventing African children from getting an education.

But this is one thing that maybe you can do to make a big difference in a young girl’s life. Goods 4 Girls is donating handmade pads to areas where it is culturally appropriate. I've never made a reusable pad before, but they say it's really easy!! If you don't sew, they also take donations.

Read more about the problem here. Photo by Vince Cook

Traveling Update

We've decided not to take our toddler overseas, but we're leaving him at home and going ourselves! Anyway, thanks for all the advice.

I wanted to share some advice that I thought was great, thanks to Jennifer T's referral to the Fodor's website. Here it is: Take a ton of small, new toys. Keep them in packaging that can be opened w/o scissors on the plane. Wrap them all like presents, and bring them out in increments. We've done the new, cheap toy trick, but I hadn't thought to wrap them all up like presents! That buys some extra time, and every minute counts with a toddler on a plane! Anyway, I wanted to pass it along to you folks.

Web Baby Shower

My friend (and old boss) Hannah sent me a link to this cool website, WebBabyShower.com. It's perfect for a business colleague or out-of-state friend, who you can't throw an in-person shower for. You can post pictures, have a guest book, and more! And it's not just a one-day shower. You can keep it up for a while!

Playgroup Valentine's

McHaney and her mama treated our playgroup to a fun little Valentine's Party at Chuck E. Cheese last Friday. It was so much fun! Thanks again, Rachel!Notice, poor E can't share in the pizza-eating. Just a glimmer of the parties to come. :(Ethan just stood there most of the time, staring in wonderment at all the bright colors & flashing lights. That is, except for the time that he tried to steal Mc's game balls & run away.How they've all grown! Here's a picture of them, taken maybe a year ago. The mamas' hair has all changed too!

Handmade Valentines

Ethan "helped" me make Valentines for his little playgroup buddies & his daddy. The fortune cookies idea is from Martha. Hope y'all had a great Valentine's Day!

Twas the Night Before V-day

And all through the store,
Not a creature was stirring,...Except for last-minute shoppers.(Moment captured by Lance's phone.) Anyone else appreciate the humor in this?

It's That Time Again

I'm in trouble. It's Girl Scout Cookie time again, and I can eat a whole box of thin mints without flinching. No joke. Time to make my husband hide the cookies again. (No seriously, I make him hide them.) Is it just me? What's your favorite GS Cookie?