whobody

This is just one of those 'I want to remember it' posts...

*I noticed recently that, per Luke, my favorite color is now "purple." This makes me sad because only a few days ago, it was "puhpull" and, consequently, one of the cutest words ever. I would ask him multiple times a day what my favorite color was, just to hear him say it. Now, it's just another word. However, I think he's hit and miss because they are still "mushamallows." For today anyway.

*Max loves to say "da da da." He has said "ma ma ma" a few times but not with any regularity. Seems his new favorite game is to get me to pick him up (not much work involved there), then he says, "da da da." At which time I smile and say, "ma ma ma." At which time Max looks at me and laughs and says, "da da da." Nice, Max.

*We were watching a Nascar race a few weeks ago. Okay, Seth was watching and I was laughing that the announcers don't even sound like they are speaking a language that I know. Seth informed me girls can't be drivers. Dave jumped in and told him that not only could they, but there was one driving in this particular race. Seth's response? "That's ridiculous. Girls are supposed to scrapbook or something." Guess I need to take up a more dangerous hobby to introduce him to the world of well-roundedness.

*Seth has also learned the word "painful" and likes to use it. Me: Seth, could you [insert any mindless and trivial task]? Seth: This is painful.

*I asked Seth to please put his shoes in the cubby and pick his jacket up off of the floor. Seth's response? "My life would be so much easier if I didn't have to do so much work around here.

*And finally - this one is my favorite - Luke has a new word. It's "whobody." Whobody said that? Whobody was that? Whobody's coming over? LOVE three year old made-up-words!

11 months...

I would be lying if I said it didn't make me a little sad to be posting the 11 month pictures. I know it's inevitable - they just grow and grow. But, I'm a little sad to not really have a baby anymore. But, oh how I love this little guy! He really is an easy baby. I'll probably pay for typing that out, right? He nearly always hangs out in his bed for quite awhile after he wakes. I can usually hear him on the monitor, chatting, but he's happy to just be there for awhile (probably because he can hear his brothers and is trying to hide from them). And he's nearly always happy and smiling when I do go in to get him.

He still only has the two teeth. And a mommy who doesn't trim his nails often enough so he scratches his own face. Actually, the nail problem is that if I try to do it while he's awake, he likes to take the clippers and pretend to trim them himself. And since he doesn't fall asleep in my arms all that often it's a struggle to get those nails trimmed!

Yes, we did change shirts mid-photo shoot. I thought it was hard to read the sticker on the blue shirt. Max looks a little like he's wonderin g if this sticker is going to be on ALL of his shirts, or what?

This month he's been eating a little more "real" food, but still mostly eats baby food. But, he loves little pieces of anything that he can feed to himself.

His little personality is really sweet. He loves to make us laugh. He'll clap or wave if we make a big deal of it. At bedtime he claps sometimes when I ask if he's ready to go to bed. He's starting to snuggle up more in unfamiliar situations or around people he doesn't know. I love that he knows to feel secure with me or Dave. If you know me you know I REALLY do not like feet. But, there's just something about baby feet and the way those toes curl all around that makes me melt. And I see those toes a lot. A. Whole. Lot. Everytime I put Max in the car he takes off his shoes and then his socks. We go to church about a mile from our house and he can strip both feet in that distance. Lately, if it's warm enough, I've just quit bothering to put the shoes and socks on until we get to our destination.

Alright, I'm off to plan a first birthday bash...

Edible Easter fun...

Now that we have the candy coating issue resolved, I have really been wanting to try my hand at cake pops. Here is the process...


First, you make a cake. Cake mixes are actually preferable for this project due to their crumble-ability. Yay me! And yes, I plan to continue to make up words for this post...Next, you let your baby destroy the entire Sunday paper, just to keep him entertained. It probably would've been more entertaining for him if he had two hands to use, rather than the one hand and the long sleeved t-shirt claw. [Side note/fun fact: I HATE the Sunday paper. It's just more clutter to mess up my already too cluttered house. We only get the paper two days a week. They keep calling and offering us great deals to get it more often. NO! It's just MORE paper. Ugh. Makes me crazy.]Then, after digging paper out of Max's mouth, and after the cake is completely cooled, you destroy the cake much the same way Max destroyed the paper. There is something obnoxiously therapeutic about baking a cake only to dismantle it. You rip it into shreds. Yeah, sure, the instructions say to cut into four equal pieces. But the next step is to rub the pieces together until it crumbles all up. Why do I need four equal pieces for this?

Then you add the icing to the crumbled cake. Sorry, no picture of this. Imagine a big glass bowl with crumbed up cake and some icing being glopped in (made that one up too) and then mixed around. Oh, and I made the icing - but that's because I'm a bit addicted to my cream cheese icing and I knew I could lick the beater when the boys weren't looking. Then you make balls out of the cake. My mini ice cream/cookie scooper is the perfect size. No pictures of this either, mostly because touching my camera at this point seemed a tiny bit scary. [Remember, it's cake and icing being rolled around in my hands - messy!]

Then I got out some Peeps too, just for fun.

Next I melted some white candy coating and some chocolate. Now, for whatever reason I thought this would be a fun project with the boys. I am not sure what made me think that a 5 year old and 3 year old would be able to sit and wait for excess chocolate to drip off the peeps on a stick. However, they were good at covering the chocolate with the sprinkles. So, I set out the sprinkles.Next I fed the boys marshmallows (or musha-mawows), to keep them entertained. I should probably work on the entertainment around here, huh?

And, voila - a mere 12 hours after starting the project, we had round cake pops, egg shaped cake pops, and chocolate covered Peeps. You know, after lunch, naps, a snack, dinner, a few loads of laundry, picking up some newspaper, and a few weather warning sirens later, chocolate covered goodness. Nothing about the process was particularly difficult - just time consuming. The cake has to cool completel; the balls have to be chilled; then the chocolate needs to set, etc.

A bit of packaging - little wrappers and ribbon to pretty it all up. We took some of the chicks and bunnies to Seth's teachers and some of the prettier balls to a friend for her birthday.

Some leftovers. Whatever shall we do with these? I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of plain Peeps, but the marshmallows and the crunchy sugar coated in chocolate is a bit addictive!

The egg shaped pops didn't work quite like I had hoped. Once the chocolate is set, you are supposed to paint them with corn syrup (stripes, dots, etc.) and then sprinkle sugar on them so they look like deocrated Easter eggs. Unfortunately, the decorations just oozed off. But, now that I know I can make the regular balls, I'm looking forward to doing so for Max's birthday party treats!

Cake pops from:http://www.bakerella.com/

Peeps from:http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/chocolate-covered-peep-bouquet-and-peep-smores/

I hate food allergies...

This is not a fun, light hearted post. Feel free to hop on over to the next fun and light hearted blog which you enjoy reading. And, let me just say, that I know that Luke's allergies are part of God's plan. I'm not questioning that. And I would not trade Luke for anything in the whole world! He is crazy insane rowdy, but he's also the most loving child you are likely to ever meet. My prayer for Luke (especially as I start thinking about school for him) continues to be that his awesome personality will always outweigh the extra work that allergies can cause. But today, I'm feeling the need to vent!

Seth's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I got a fantastic cookbook full of cake pops. Cake pops are little balls of baked cake, combined with icing, on a lollipop stick, and coated with chocolate. This is where the issue arises!

This is as far as I got:

The next step was the issue. Chocolate. Well, there were multiple issues. One issue is that I wanted to shape them like cupcakes and had the supplies to do so but it just wasn't working out. But the bigger issue was that I could NOT find chocolate to use that wasn't cross-contaminated. And yes, these were for Seth who can eat anything. But, really, would you like to come over and explain to Luke why he can't have one of Seth's birthday treats? Didn't think so.

I had a little bit of candy coating bark in my pantry, leftover from Christmas baking, that did not contain any kind of "may contain" [peanuts, tree nuts, etc.] warnings and I was comfortable using this. However, it wasn't nearly enough. Okay, that's easy then - go back to where I bought it and buy some more. I wasn't sure where I bought it but I knew there were only about three stores where I shopped for Christmas baking supplies so I was set to just re-trace my Christmas steps. Dave did some grocery shopping and checked Meijer for me. Not safe for Luke. I checked Target and Kroger one day. Not safe either.

I went home and checked the package of the leftover bark that I had and checked it out online. The information wasn't very detailed online. So, I got up on Tuesday morning and determined we were heading out to buy candy coating/chocolate. Seth did not have school this day so my entire mini-entourage got to make the tour with me. First, we went to Wal-mart. Not safe. Then we went to another Target, because you just never know. Then we went to "the pretty people Marsh." It's not as pretty as it used to be but I always think I'll find that one obscure item there. I did find milk chocolate that I could use - and it was the kind that you melt in its own bowl so that seemed easier for dipping. It was $4 so I only got two. But I really needed white so I could tint it myself. [I also bought cheese crackers and pretended they were a real lunch and fed those to the boys in the car.] Next we went to JoAnn's to see if they had any candy melts that were okay. Nope. Then we went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe, hoping they had something odd and leftover (it's a fun store but often seems to specialize in odd and leftover). They had more milk chocolate and it wasn't labelled as contaminated and I think it was a brand I had read about on some allergy blogs as being 'safe.' But, still no white.

By now, we were running out of time. Certainly for that day we were done. Max fell asleep in the car and the other two needed some rest and I was exhausted from hauling everyone in and out of the car on what felt like a cross country road trip.

So, Wednesday morning I got up, feeling defeated still, and made the cakes anyway, hoping to stretch the white chocolate I had in the pantry as far as possible. Well, once I figured out that the balls wouldn't magically shape themselves like cupcakes and I HAD to have a treat for Seth for Friday morning and, because I can't shop at a bakery for party cupcakes, we still had to make those AND ice cream, I gave up on the cupcake pops. However, I decided that I would e-mail the company that made the candy coating bark that was in my pantry. I also started investigating whether they make the little bowls of chocolate in a white chocolate. OH, and I found more of the milk chocolate bowls at Meijer for $2.50. So, I TOTALLY got ripped off at the pretty people store. Ugh.

I promise, this story ends soon... [as if anyone is still reading]

Finally, Friday afternoon I got an e-mail back. The employee stated that there were no nuts in the product and even told me where to buy it (Wal-mart, where I had already been). So, I rushed out (well, you know, 5 days later because now I already had other treats) and checked it out. I bought it, but I also came home and took a picture of the warning label on the back re: peanuts and tree nuts and e-mailed it to the employee with whom I had been corresponding. I got an e-mail back that says that it's made in a nut-free facility but then transferred to another location where there are nuts, although the products are kept completely separate. I'm very thankful for this information and very excited to attempt some more cake pops for Easter and, especially, for Max's birthday.

But NOW I'm wondering how many other things that are labelled "may contain" and that I put back on the shelf when I'm shopping really don't contain. ARGH. It's so hard to know. Reactions can occur with as little as 1/20th of a peanut. That's clearly a very tiny amount when you think of splitting a peanut into 20 pieces - small enough that you wouldn't notice if it was there. Then there are the varying answers regarding subsequent reactions. One doctor will tell you that the next reaction is likely to be similar to the first reaction - hives in our case. Then there are the doctors who will tell you that subsequent reactions are likely to be more serious than the last.

Everyone has their own comfort level. I'm sure many people think I go overboard. But, when caring for your three year old includes training on how to use an epipen, is it really overboard?

I hate that I even have to know how to use that epipen, let alone make sure it's not expired and make sure there's always a couple in my bag. I hate that I have to tell Luke he can't eat certain things. I hate that I hide food that I like that he can't have. I hate that Seth thinks it's funny to call him "peanut head." I hate that I don't trust very many people to watch him. I hate the special sticker he has to have on his nametag at church. I hate that planning a holiday dinner has to include a discussion of what's safe and what's not. I hate that I don't always get excited about going to other people's houses because it means keeping a constant eye on him and being sure he's not eating anything when I'm not looking.

But, I love my Luke.

Happy 5th birthday to Seth!

Seth turned 5 on Friday the 8th. Technically not until 10:18pm, but I let him tell everyone that he was 5 all day long. Generous of me, I know. Seth had preschool until 11:45 that morning. He loves school so much that it didn't even bother me to share him with his teachers and friends that morning. I had wanted to make really adorable treats for him to take to school but there were a few issues with that plan (more to come on that in a future post, likely) so we went with chocolate chip bar cookies with some icing and sprinkles. Very festive. I took him to school myself and took him inside, rather than through car line, so that I could help him carry the treats. One of the other pre-k teachers was high fiving him and jumping up and down telling him happy birthday. No wonder he loves school! Apparently he had been letting them know (all week) how many more days until his birthday.David had the day off. So while Seth was at school, Luke and I went to the party store and bought balloons and a few decorations. Then all four of us picked Seth up at school and headed out on Seth's birthday adventure.

First was McDonald's, of course. I only wasted a few minutes trying to convince him that he should pick something better to eat. I knew it was a lost cause, and it was his birthday so I smiled and ate my lunch. Huge bonus [sarcasm alert] - the kids' meal toys make noise this time. So, at noon on Friday the place was filled with kids and their new noise making toys. Argh.

Next, we headed to the zoo. This was Seth's big request for the day. The forecast was questionable but it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful afternoon! Sunshine, not too hot, and a great time was had by all. Only small glitch was that I thought Max would fall asleep in the stroller. I took his favorite blanket and eventually laid his seat back and thought he would just drift off to sleep in the beautiful outdoors. Instead, he kept sitting straight up so as to not miss anything. He never slept there. And Luke actually fell asleep in the car on the way home before Max did!

The penguins are always a big hit.

The polar bear swam by.

Brothers! There was a cute(?) baby elephant in the background for awhile but by the time I got both the boys to sit and look in my general direction the elephant was long gone.

Train ride! Everyone was getting a little warm and tired by this point.

Not sure what Seth was looking at here. I think it's just eagles and vultures in this exhibit. Perhaps my fear of birds has worn off on him.

When we got home I put a movie on for the boys, hoping they would lay down and get some rest, and busied myself tidying for the mini party still to come. Seth wanted pancakes for dinner so the boys had pancakes for dinner. My parents and my sister and her family came over for presents and cake.

Seth was pleasantly surprised with this gift that we bought awhile ago and put away for him. He hadn't seen it in the stores lately and thought he'd missed his chance to get it. I love his surprised little face.

Cupcakes. I thought these were pretty awesome! But I have to give most of the credit to Dave. He made the cupcakes. I made the whipped cream filling. He (using an apple corer) "cored" out holes in the middle and filled them with the filling. Then I made the chocolate icing and he decorated the cupcakes. I don't get it, but he's just much better with the icing shooter than I am.

And I made ice cream - chocolate with oreos and chocolate chips, per Seth's request. Unfortunately, we learned a tough lesson on Seth's birthday. While it's fun to let them do what they want and eat what they want on their birthday, perhaps it's a bit much for a newly 5 year old. Seth had had about 2 bites of the cupcake and ice cream (that I felt like we spent days making for him), when he announced he was done. I thought he said he wanted dad. Someone else thought he said he wanted his bed. At any rate, I found him lying in a chair and we ushered him to the bathroom where he promptly threw up. All over Dave. Which promptly brought the party to an end. Poor baby. Hey, it'll be a great story when he's older, right?

Anyway, I can't believe my first baby is 5 years old. We love you big kid!