what's cooking: No bake energy bites

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and it looked so easy and simple and delicious. I also choose to make it because I had most of the ingredients on hand and didn't feel like turning on the oven.

Adapted from Gimme some Oven

1 Cup toasted Coconut
1 Cup oats - Used Quaker breakfast oats with flax seed and wheat germ in it
3/4 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Graham cracker crumbs (instead of ground flax seed - which I was missing)
1 Tsp Vanilla

Mix it all together, then put it all in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so. Then you roll it into balls and keep them in the fridge for up to a week.

*I should have put a bit more honey in it as they were a little on the dry side when it came to forming balls out of the mix*

I'm going to make one with some crasins and seseme seeds next, something more like a trail mix energy bite. The recipe is very easy to change to suite your needs.

So I walked into the kitchen and found this...

 I had to stop her before she sampled them all. Girl munched on apples all afternoon.

a couple stories

I've got a couple stories that happened lately. Yesterday I was changing Lucas's diaper, and Sadie was playing near by. She happened to notice the bandaids on his leg from his shots. She quickly started to whine, then cry, and then really cry as she backed away from him. Yep, my girl is terrified of the little bandaids. I tried to show her it was ok, but she wouldn't come near him, even after his pants were back on, it took a bit.

She's just like me. I didn't want her to be like me in this aspect. I was terrifed of my own cuts, bandaids, and shots. I tried to play it cool with her, but she's a sensitive little being. Just like her momma.

Lucas is almost ready to crawl. He's been getting up on all fours for a few brief seconds and then he scoots backwards. I'm not ready for a mobile baby yet, so I'm frantically cleaning things up on the floors in case this progresses quickly.

It was sunny out today, so we went out for a walk. Goodness its so frustrating trying to get both kids ready and out the door. I swear, it takes half an hour to chase Sadie down and force her to put on clothes or shoes or just get down the stairs. I've been praying for more patience, and lately it seems like I'm being put in more impatient situations. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Cloth Diapering -- what I've learned

Its been 3.5 months now with cloth diapering my little guys. I've learned quite a lot. I've learned that poop is not as scary as some people think -- and I've gotta say, the only blow out I've ever dealt with was a disposable diaper, and it was a nasty experience. Poor Lucas.

Some people think its a lot of work to do this, a lot of extra hassle. My sister in law saw me sorting and stuffing diapers and she commented that it couldnt be worth it, but really, its just an extra load of laundry every couple days, and sorting and stuffing diapers doesnt take long, unless you have little helpers un sorting all your work (I like to stuff diapers during naptime while watching Frasier :) )

I've also learned that buying them second hand is awesome. They're half price or better usually, and aside from some light staining, they are as good as the new ones. I wash them really well, and then we're good to go. Its not something I get grossed out about, I mean, we're talking about diapers--all they do is catch the poop.

*Another bonus is that Sadie's pants fit her when she wears cloth diapers. They add a little extra fluff to her petite frame so that her pants stay up. Otherwise, she looks like one of those horrible rapper guys with pants down past their butts.

Ohh and check this out: http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/Calculator.asp
This handy link compares the prices of disposables vs cloth diapers. Roughly the cost for cloth diapers is about 200-300 bucks (can be cheaper if you buy used). This calculator showed me that I'd break even after 4 months. Yay! After using them for a year, I'll be saving $657.00. I've got at least 1.5-2 years to go. This was the selling point for Tony.

Sadie Loves...

 Playing with my iPhone. She's texted and called Aria once, and posted "A" on facebook for me.

She thinks splashing in the tub is hilarious. Its also hysterical when we stomp stomp stomp your feet and then fall on your bum in the tub.

She loves to wash Lucas' tummy with soap, or your arms, or hands, or whatever is in reach for her.

She loves it when Lucas sucks on her fingers, shes constantly offering her hands to him.

She loves her stuffed animals and babies. She feeds them, brushes their teeth, and puts them to bed. It makes my heart melt when I see her being such a good little mama.

She loves music, and dancing is the best.

She really loves sweet pickles. Every time the fridge is open, shes there pointing at the pickle jar.

She's just a sweet sensitive little girl.

I love her.

My sewing machine is all dressed up

 I think it was right before we moved that I noticed that my machine had died. I let her sit for a while on my desk, and a few weeks ago I took her out and tried to get her going after hearing about a friends machine that magically came to life. Well, she also magically started working again! This called for a celebration, so I went through my Home Ec e-course to find something to sew. It was fitting that there was a tutorial on how to make a sewing machine cover, especially since mine gets dusty and doesnt have a cover.

So there she is, pretty in red. I totally recommend that Home Ec course for basic sewing tutorials. Its got easy tutorials for beginners, the pictures and steps are great. It gives me courage to try more complicated (to me) things. I believe that curtains are going to be next on my list of things to create. :)

sitting!

Just in the last couple days, all this boy wants to do is sit up. Well, with help of course. He usually sits propped up with the boppy pillow, and he loves it.He throws a fit now if I put him on his tummy. Learning to sit also has its down sides, although hes resilliant enough to not cry every time he does a face plant.

thrifted treasures

Look what came home with me today! Pretty vintage pyrex mixing bowls! Today we kinda decided to go thrifting spur of the moment. We also went to a new thrift store, which turns out to be my new favorite! Sadie did amazingly well, she ran off some energy, and played with the clothes, and toys, babbling through the isles. Lucas hung out in the moby wrap, content at looking at whatever I was checking out. The kids did so well.

Found some pretty vintage sheets for making things out of. Not sure what I will do, but I think I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled for a few more for a big project.  Used some tips from frecklewonder's thrifting guide and brought snacks and distraction for Sadie. A snack baggie of dry cereal, gold fish crackers, and a few books to look at helped keep her happy. The books and running around also were very useful in allowing me to hunt for treasure.

 Sadie kinda fell apart at the end, but we were headed out anyways. I asked her if she was done, and she gave me a big head nod. Yes, we're done sweetie.

Lucas Loves...

 This boy is 5 months old now. What a charmer he is too!

This month, Lucas loves to slither backwards on the floor. Usually ends up getting stuck under a couch.

He is starting to love warm rice cereal and avacado.

He loves it when Sadie laughs. He laughs at her with his husky little laugh.

He loves peek a boo, and the baby in the mirror.

He also loves being in the moby wrap still while shopping.

He loves to grab at the toys in his bouncy seat and eat them ferociously.

He loves naked time before and after bathtime.

What a cute little boy you are turning out to be.

The results are in...

So, remember how I told you all that I had a mysterious bump on the back of my head? Well, the Ultrasound results came in this morning, and I've seen the doctor annnnd....

Its not a scary bump!

Praise the Lord!

I am so relieved.

So what do I have? Well, its a superficial cyst. I've had a cyst on the other side of my head before, but they've never hurt or been this big before, and they always disappeared. This guy, this big, painful evil thing has been such an annoyance.

So apparently these things can disappear on their own, they can grow, or they can rupture (EXPLODE). Gross, cyst juice in my head! (Probably shouldn't have said given you the visual on that, sorry) So I'm gonna talk to a doctor about maybe getting it removed by doing day surgery. Thankfully its stopped throbbing, and only hurts when I touch it, but its on my head, and I kind of just want it gone.

If I get it removed, it will probably mean a short hair cut or something for me. We'll have to see. 

Happy Valentines Day

I love valentines day. Growing up we always did stuff at home as well as at school for valentines. Usually some treats were near our breakfast, or we got a card and chocolates after school. I want my kids to love valentines day, so I started them early on it.

This year I made them their own valentines envelopes that velcro shut. They hold chocolates and fun things. This year Sadie got a couple chocolates and fancy heart crayons that I made yesterday (Lucas gets to use his next year). I collected all the busted up bits of crayons and put them in my heart baking tray at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Once they cooled for another 20 minutes, they were ready to go. She has a blue one, pink one and orange one. We coloured today while eating chocolates. It was good.

Tonight I'm going to try and make enchaladas, rice and black beans for dinner (not really romantic, I know), but I have a chocolate cake -- made from scratch! I've never actually made cake from scratch. It wasnt bad, and it was fun. No more box mixes for this girl.

kind of playing catch up...

This was our snow day in January - I've already forgotten when it was. We had one big dump of snow, and then after a couple days it melted away, and we haven't had snow since. It was so much fun to see Sadie enjoy snow. Lucas enjoyed chillin in the bouncy seat watching his sister. After throughly getting cold, the kidlets had a warm bath and Sadie and I shared a hot chocolate.

Brushing our teeths

And now for something cute and a little more upbeat!

discouraged

Its so frustrating waiting to find out what this bump is. I was really worried the first 2 days, and then after praying a ton, the worrying went away. Its not as bad as it was at least. I worry mostly at night when I go to bed. Watching sitcom shows right before bed seems to help calm my nerves. I've been watching How I Met Your Mother and Parks and Rec. Good funny stuff for me to fall asleep to.

The ultrasound went as expected, painful, but it was quick, so that was nice. Walked out with semi dried goo in my hair, and a bump-ache. I made my frozen peas and carrots turban, and it was better.

I better find out what this stupid thing is soon. Its putting a damper on everything.

{crafted} taggy blanket

(crappy photo quality, I know -- charging up the big camera battery as we speak)

Just something small I made my boy. Its a little tiny blanket that has ribbon tags on it. Apparently babies like tags on things, and so I made him a taggy blanket. So far he only kind of likes it. Its ok though, it was only a half hour project at most.

a bump

2 days ago, I was doing my hair and I felt it. The lower right of my scalp had a bump. Didn't think much of it, Ive had a cyst on the other side of my head before and it went away. The day after, it hurt. Hurt a lot, and felt bigger.

So yesterday I went to the doctor.

He wasn't sure what it was.

So I'm on antibiotics in case its an infection. I'm also due to get my scalp ultrasounded this afternoon. Which doesn't seem pleasant when pressing or touching the bump hurts my head.

So I'm worried. I know I cant do anything, but the worst scenarios appear in my head, and I think I'm gonna lose it soon if I don't know what it is.

I'm wearing an ice turban to make my head feel better. It helps.