Chloe Mae -our chunky glow worm!

Chloe is 2 months and wears a 3-6 month onesie already- topping out around 12.5-13 lbs. Her rolls almost are enough to hold her in an upright position already. But she is such a snuggler- she loves to be held close and will coo and talk and smile so big.
She loves her big sister and her sister loves her (almost too much as she wants to feed her goldfish crackers already)

Itchy Scratchy no fun allergies

Day 2

I have sensitive skin, pretty much meaning everything chemical gives my hives in one form or another, including shampoo and water softened water. I have gotten used to my ears burning from non pure earrings or the rash that comes with the metals from pants and cheapo jewelry. I even became allergic to shrimp at around 18. I never thought my kids would have it worse than me! Lily loves anything red: tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon etc. But one of these is the cause of a major breakout resulting in an eczema like rash. Her lips and cheeks, neck, left side and butt exploded in a raw rash. Susie got some homeopathic silver gel from the Vitamin Shoppe that removed the redness and itching right away. I slathered her in that and Burt's Bees lotion everyday and it is getting much better, but I still don't know the cause of it. So we get to experiment-not that she is a guinea pig, but we have to find out what she is allergic to. So after her rash is gone we are going to eat some nice juicy watermelon and I am going to wait for a reaction. She looked so bad on the second day that we were glad Susie picked her up because we didn't want to take her to church looking so bad!
My poor baby-it is no fun being allergic to the foods you love. My hypothesis is that all the genetically modified foods that my husband and I consumed over the years caused these food resistances in her. I mean- when we were kids you were allergic to cedar and mold and pollen-not produce. This just backs up my thinking about eating organics and that the FDA is not always the wisest group when it comes to our health. These foods are being altered from their God created states for the sake of mass production and money and now my child can't eat them. I wonder if she can eat only Organic or if her body would reject that too....I will be updating on this venture.

This is after the Silver treatments- about 4 days later- it is much better but still flaky.

Mother's Day sure smells good

I have no idea where he pulled the money from but Corey got me the most wonderful Mother's Day gift. It is a fitting gift since I am the mom of a toddler and an infant and we are the family of a cat and a dog as well.
With the litter box and the diapers and the cloth diapers and toddler messes, the house can get a bit funky at times. I go through so many Glade plugins which are limited in their scents and seem to only last 3 weeks and cost $4 each. I recently read that they are also contributors of VOCs in the air, which is not healthy for our family but I never got around to trying to refill them with essential oils.
So Corey gets me a Scentsy!

It's not a candle-it's not a plug in...
it's both!
The unit plugs into the wall and warms the scented wax which melts and makes the house smell fantastic in about 10 minutes. There are no burning candles and we can turn it on and off at our leisure to save the smell.
Plus when guest are coming over, it quickly disperses the smell through the living room so we can welcome with any fragrance we choose. (And there are 80 to choose from, but we are stuck on Satin Sheets)

The only bummer is that I only have one so far- But we are working on one for our room and a wall outlet one for the bathroom as well.

Super Cheap Dinner

Since we are at the tail end of our check this month (our last $5 until Friday)
I have been trying to get creative with the foods we are eating. Not only am I trying to budget, but after awhile there are only so many ways you can eat pasta. I discovered www.supercook.com where you can search for recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand. There are other websites as well, but Supercook searches through all the other websites to bring your suggestions to one place.

I didn't actually use one of their recipes, but discovering what I could make gave me an idea for my own cheapo dinner:

Mexican Stuffed Crepes.

1 C Whole Wheat Pancake Mix
1 1/2 C Milk (give or take) we used Soy
1 TBS oil plus more for pan
1/2 tsb salt

1lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 onion
cheese
1/2 carton Ricotta (which was leftover from another dish)

Mix the first ingredients with a blender or mixer until really smooth- the mixture should be really thin and the consistency of cream- add more milk if needed.
Brown the meat with the onion and bell pepper.
(you can also add anything else that sounds taco-y)

You can't really cook the meat and make crepes at the same time so either enlist the help of your hubby or make the crepes ahead of time.

For Crepes:

• heat a 10" skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking oil or lightly oil the pan with butter or EVOO.
• pour about 1/4-1/2 C batter in the pan and rotate the pan quickly to coat the entire bottom with a thin batter layer
  
• cook until all the bubbles have stopped popping and the edges start to curl
• flip and cook the other side for 2-3 more minutes.
• Stack on a plate and keep in the oven on warm
  

It took me three crepes tossed to the dog before I got the hang of it. These do work better with white flour but I had Whole Wheat on hand and wanted a healthier dinner

Assembly:
Grate cheese on the bottom of a crepe then add the meat to the middle in a "line".
( I should have taken pictures)
Fold one side in, then roll it like a jelly roll, putting the seam on the bottom
Add more cheese to the top
I then popped them in the microwave to melt the cheese, but they would have been better tossed in the oven for a few minutes.

Serve with Salsa, or sour cream and guac.

You can fill a crepe with ANYTHING-
Chicken & Spinach
BLT
Bananas and Chocolate
PBJ

So don't toss the leftover crepes- use them for breakfast!

5th Grade Assignment

A fifth grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in 20 ways to communicate ideas about God. Here are some of the results:

God is like. BAYER ASPIRIN He works miracles.
God is like. A FORD He's got a better idea..
God is like. COKE He's the real thing.
God is like. HALLMARK CARDS He cares enough to send His very best.
God is like. TIDE He gets the stains out others leave behind. ..
God is like. GENERAL ELECTRIC He brings good things to life.
God is like. WAL-MART He has everything.
God is like. ALKA-SELTZER Try Him, you'll like Him
God is like. SCOTCH TAPE You can't see Him, but you know He's there.
God is like.. DELTA He's ready when you are.
God is like. ALLSTATE You're in good hands with Him.
God is like. VO-5 Hair Spray He holds through all kinds of weather
God is like. DIAL SOAP Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
God is like . The U.S. POST OFFICE Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.
God is like. Chevrolet. . . .the heart beat of America God is like Maxwell House. .... . Good to the very last drop
God is like. B o u n t y . .. . . He is the quicker picker upper. . Can handle the tough jobs. .. And He won't fall apart on you