Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

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I don't mind putting forth a tad bit more effort knowing the end result is a little more nutritious than the boxed kind. It tastes delicious, too!

  • 1/3 cup raw honey
  • 4 TBS arrowroot powder or corn starch (I used corn starch b/c I had it on hand)
  • 2 TBS cocoa powder
  • 2 cups milk or coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp butter (omit if using coconut milk)

*Whisk together arrowroot powder, cocoa and milk in a glass bowl until fairly smooth. Combine honey and milk mixture in a small saucepan. Cook over med. heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

Once thickened, remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter until evenly distributed.

Serves about 4 -- I stretch it out to 5, though. Top it off with "home made" whipped cream!! Yum!


**This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tuesdays at the Table

Works for Me Wednesday


I originally saw this recipe at Food Renegade.

Monday, August 23, 2010

See the Yolk Difference?

Pin It Now! I am kind of glad that I bought eggs from a friend last week instead of the store. Yuck to the salmonella outbreak!!

My son will be learning about eggs in nutrition soon, so I took the opportunity to show him the difference in a pastured hen's egg and a store bought one. Supposedly the happier and healthier a chicken is the darker the yolk will be in the eggs they lay.

Pretty obvious which one is my friend's hen's egg, huh? Yep, the one on the right. And honestly, the one on the left isn't really too bad. The cheap Fry's eggs (store brand) are even paler in color. I don't want to even think about the living condition of the hens from whom those eggs come!!

You can even tell the difference after they've been cooked. Hopefully my dark yellow yolks are higher in omega 3s, which is what I am going for!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Bye, Bye Belly Bump

Pin It Now! My sweet, baby girl was born with a belly bump that we later found out was actually an epigastric hernia. It's a little hard to see in this picture, but the bump is above her belly button. These kinds of hernias don't go away by themselves, so we knew surgery was in her future.

August 17 was that day. I was amazed by her bravery! Not once did she cry before surgery. The other day, though, she asked me if I'd be sad if she never woke up. Of course I said, "YES, I couldn't live without my girl!!!" Her reply: "Well, you could just kill yourself and then you'd be with me." She said it so matter-of-factly, too.

Here she is coloring with Daddy while we wait to be admitted.

So cute in her surgery outfit, and she got to pick out her hat. :) Waiting was the most difficult part, but she never complained. She did get to watch G-Force, so I am sure that helped. I couldn't believe that she never even once complained about being hungry or thirsty. Such a good girl.



The nurse gave her some stickers so she could decorate her breathing mask. Oh, and she got to scent her mask with root beer flavor - her choice. Nice that they make it so "fun" for kids.

Yep, this was the hardest part for me - watching her wave bye. And still she didn't cry. I was surprised that I didn't either, but I managed to keep myself together.

Seeing the surgeon come out to the waiting room with a smile was the best! Poor baby, though, was quite grumpy and tearful waking up. I hate that she had to go through this, but I loved taking care of her and spoiling her. :)


At home resting with her new Littlest Pet Shop character - her little happy from Mommy and Daddy. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her belly - she says it's ugly.

I am so thankful that everything went so smoothly. Praise God!!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Birthday Make-up

Pin It Now! We really went all out for Mullin's birthday this year. We have been in AZ for his past 4 birthdays, and 2 of those were basically flops. His first year in AZ, we had a super-fun Harry Potter birthday.

In 2008, he contracted chicken pox right before his birthday, and we had to cancel his party.

Last year, we planned a big blow-up slide birthday bash . . . and the blow up slide WOULDN'T BLOW UP! We had a house full of boys, and it's TORRID in August. Wow, we had to improvise -- we felt so badly!!!

So, this year we tried to make it up to him. He deserved it -- he is truly an amazing 11 year old!!!


Kicking it off by eating "sort-of home made doughnuts", and having his cousin spend the night.

NYPD pizza for lunch the next day with church friends. He doesn't look very happy here --first of all we weren't allowed to sing him "Happy Birthday" in public (yep, he's officially a tween!) and he really didn't even want to pose with his birthday brownies -- the kid doesn't care for cake anymore. Sorry, but a mama's gotta have certain kid photos!


After lunch -- Mukutu's Island for a few hours.


Actual birthday -- spent time with his Grandpa, and then we celebrated with Oreo Delight and presenting him with a Zune. :)


Lastly, a "neighborhood friend" birthday party. Pizza, X-box and gun wars.

Hope you had a blast, son!!! We love you so much. :)

Friday, August 13, 2010

Because It's Just Too Difficult

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. . . to go that extra mile -- or in this case, the extra 2 feet -- to put your shoes on the shoe shelf!

Ahhhh!

Not that I noticed, but all of my shoes are on the shelf. That shelf that's for . . . shoes.

I don't like shoes in the house. I never have. It's gross. Shoes walk on all kinds of nasty surfaces, and they never get washed like hands do. (Okay, well I HAVE actually washed my shoe bottoms before.) Anyway, most of us would never think of leaving a public bathroom without first scrubbing our hands, right? (Please say, "Right!") But . . . we don't wash our shoes which have walked all over that same bathroom.

Um, I know this may sound CRAZY, but not everyone seems to be able to get all of that yellow stuff inside the toilet.

Sorry to be the one to have to break that to ya. But, it's true.

So, I provided a handy-dandy shoe shelf right by the door. Just take your shoes off, and wow, reach over about 24 inches or so, and put your shoes on it.

Really, it's that easy.

Any other mamas out there have this same problem -- a shoe shelf that's just too difficult for the house inhabitants to use?

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Blog Swapping with Delicious Ambiguity

Pin It Now! Hi Autumnfawn Lane readers! I'm Jenn from Delicious Ambiguity and I am so excited to be swapping blogs with Brandi today.

First let me tell you a bit about myself: I am a twenty-something Canadian who used to teach English as a Second Language in South Korea and Thailand. Nowadays I am a stay at home mom to a very busy and clever twenty-two month old boy, K, who keeps me on my toes! We are currently living in Sydney, Australia and trying with great difficulty (and very little success) to not take on the slang or talk like we have marbles in our mouths! When I'm not busy baking, crafting, creating, procrastinating from cleaning, wiping butts and toddler wrangling, I am a self-confessed blog-a-holic.








Here's some of the themes you will find on my site:






I share stories and photos about what's going on in our home or what's on my mind. I also feature new followers and commenters of my blog.




Link-up party for crafts, activities, educational resources and recipes for toddlers.




Just as it says- I will share random things that I am loving every week!





Parenting and domestic tips that I think are useful for every stay at home mom/ domestic diva. Some are written by me and some are submitted by my readers.




I feature printable freebies of various topics, awesome DIY projects, giveaways and other blogs that I enjoy.





I post questions submitted by my readers or myself about being a mom, raising and educating our children, keeping a home and keeping our sanity! Readers can contribute by submitting their own questions to be featured or answering the question in the comments section under each post.


A "Tot School" post with the montessori inspired activities I have made or have been doing with my son. Once a month I will post a specific theme (ie: Colours) link-up party on educational resources for early childhood children as well as Busy Bag Activities. It is my hope that we can create a one-stop-shop by theme for printable resources and creative ideas that are useful in educating our toddlers and preschoolers.






When I'm not blogging I like to craft. Here's some of my favorites:









































































I'd love it if you'd stop by Delicious Ambiguity sometime and day hi. If you like what you see you can also stalk find me on Feedburner, Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for having me Brandi. It's been a blast!

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Friday, August 06, 2010

Summer's End

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I made it -- through the first week of officially teaching 3 students. (Insert big, deep breath here.) I know there are other mommas teaching 1/2 dozen or more, but 3 for me was like, "Whew, I am WORN out!"

FIRST REAL WEEK OF SCHOOL

Lincoln - 8 1/2

Favorite subjects so far - Science and History. He loves learning about war. Right now we are learning about the Civil War, and he can't wait until WWII.

Shiloh - 5

My sweet girl is so excited about kindergarten. So eager to read. She's already made it through her first set of BOB Books.


Mullin - a few days shy of 11

I am so thankful he is doing just about everything on his own! Here, he is delving deep into the wonderful world of Middle Earth. I hope he loves the book - he's been playing with the characters and watching the movies since he was 5. :)

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

WFMW: Sibling Notes

Pin It Now! "Lincoln, something is wrong with the computer, " I heard my daughter say (in her sweetest voice) to her brother while I was upstairs.

"If you put my Lord of the Rings characters away, I'll fix it for you, " he bargained.

"OKAY!" she beamed.

And all was well. Miracle of miracles. :)

I don't know about you, but hearing a sibling conversation like this one is better than a big bag of peanut M&Ms! I usually have to come flying down the stairs all decked out in my black and white striped shirt, whistle hanging around my neck, and wisdom at the ready to be able to solve whatever controversy has sprung up amongst my 3. (Or 2 -- it's usually a battle between my boys.)

Anyway, here is where the "Works for me Wednesday" comes in. In the midst of daily chaos where oftentimes sibling rivalry abounds, I can forget how important it is to "spur my children on toward love and good deeds." I think notes from siblings is a simple way for brothers and sisters to show each other that they really are appreciated.

I was so touched by my son's willingness (without being asked) to help his sister! When he was out playing later, I mentioned to my daughter that maybe she could make a card expressing her thanks.

Shiloh thought that was a great idea! She had a spread of markers, stamps, paper etc. with which to design her card.


We secretly entered his room, and she placed the card by his pillow. I know my daughter felt good inside about making and giving this card to her brother.

Later, after my son had found the card, he kinda laughed and said fixing the computer was no big deal -- Shiloh had just clicked the wrong thing. He said he got the better deal b/c he didn't have to clean up his toys. Even though he saw it that way, it was a great teaching moment -- I tried to get him to realize that to Shiloh he had become the big brother to save the day!! Fixing the computer problem was huge to her -- it was something she couldn't do, so picking up his toys was a small price to pay. EVERYONE WON, and everyone was happy. Including me!!

Sibling Notes work for me ~ siblings getting along works for me! Siblings showing appreciation works for me!! How do your kids show their appreciation for one another?

*For more WFMW tips, visit We are THAT Family.

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