Too Good to be True

Yep. Some things are just too good to be true. After A's last visit with his allergist I was absolutely sure he had outgrown his allergy to tree nuts. His skin test came up negative and all we needed to do was a simple oral challenge, that I was certain he would pass with ease, and that was it; we would finally be "normal".

Ha! That will teach me to get my hopes up! Apparently my motherly instinct was on vacation.

I am sad to say that A never even made it past his skin test. When we went in for the oral cashew challenge I was in it for the long hall; sure we would be there all day. I packed his video game, they had movies and LEGO'S ..... this was gonna be a cake walk.

Okay, so I would be lying if I said I wasn't the slightest bit nervous. Thank god! I have never had to use the epi-pen so the thought of this day possibly being that day, did send me into occasional moments of utter fear. However, my instincts (you know, the ones that forgot to tell me they would be on spring break!) wouldn't let those thoughts take over for long.

The nurse came in, scratched his arms and boom! Our visit was over as quickly as it started. The hives appeared almost immediately and my heart sunk. Seriously?! I was shocked, heartbroken, and angry all at once. It was not suppose to go like that. He was gonna start elementary school next year like all the other kids. He was gonna go to every birthday party, share snacks with his friends, go out for ice cream, and never have to say the words again, "does that have nuts in it?" Labels would be a thing of the past.

And here we are. Reality kicked me in the ass ..... Hard!

DIY Keepsake Growth Charts

I have been searching for a growth chart for my boys for some time now, but most of them are so cheesy and/or super expensive that I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy one. I wanted something that would last for several years so that I could continue to track their growth, well, as long as they would let me. I needed something very classic, not babyish.

Many of you probably remember having that one wall in your house where your parents would mark your height and either your age or the date. I still look at the wall used in my dad's house and it brings back so many memories. That's what I wanted, but unfortunately we rent so that was automatically out of the question. Then I found the coolest portable growth chart kit on WhipperBerry. It was exactly what I was looking for.

The idea is that when my kids move on, I can roll up their growth charts and put them away till they have children of their own. Then they can either use the same growth chart for their kids or just keep it as a memory. This is why I suggest making one for each child. Don't worry, it is so cheap and simple, you ll have no reason not to make one for each of your children.

I'm not gonna bother with the tutorial because Heather did such an amazing job with hers, there is really no need to try and duplicate. You can check out her DIY Baby Gift ~ Portable Growth Chart Kit here.

How to catch a Leprechaun

Aside from wearing our green this St Patrick's Day we will be attempting to catch ourselves a leprechaun. Now I'm no expert on leprechauns, but from what Ive heard, they are greedy little guys who like to play pranks. They are also nearly impossible to catch, but that wont stop my little guys from trying. They have been hard at work on their leprechaun trap all day.
If you'd like to try to catch a leprechaun tonight with your kiddos here are a few things you may want to consider when building your trap:

Leprechauns love the color green, especially green clovers which represent good luck. They are also attracted to rainbows. It is said that a pot of gold lies at the end of every rainbow and being the greedy little guys that they are, they are constantly on the look out for gold and jewels. We are filling our "pot of gold" with lucky charms to lure a little guy in, but chocolate gold coins would be really cute too.

There is a trap door in front of the "pot of gold".

As Cobblers, or shoemakers, by trade I'm thinking a few pairs of shoes might do the trick. I think we will leave our trap out next to some shoes at the front door. Just need to figure out how to keep the dog out of the lucky charms. Hmm?

My kids are loving this project! Just hope they aren't terrified to go to bed tonight with the thought of a strange little green man coming into the house while we're sleeping. Haha!

If you do decide to make a leprechaun trap with your kids, please feel free to share a picture. You can leave a link in the comments below or find me on twitter @OCFAmom. I cant wait to see what ideas you and your little ones come up with.

A King has been named.

My husband was making jambalaya for dinner last Tuesday and I decided to get into the spirit of things as well. So, on a bit of a whim I made king (cup)cakes for Fat Tuesday.

I had originally wanted to make an actual king cake till I realized, that wasn't exactly the type of thing you just whip up at four o'clock in the evening, so I used king cake as more of an inspiration per se. Basically this meant I used a lemon flavored box mix and added a tsp of ginger since as far as I know, which isn't much, lemon and ginger are two key components of a king cake.

Though much by accident, I made my batter egg free. That's what happens when you forget to check and see that you have all your ingredients before you begin. Oops! Wouldn't be the first time, which is why I knew to substitute 1 Tbsp milled flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water for each egg. However, if you have egg allergies, want to make something vegan or you just screwed up and forgot to check your eggs like me, I would suggest using 1/4 cup of mashed banana or applesauce as an egg replacement instead, but surprise! I didn't have those things either, so flax seed it was.

A king cake is like Mardi Gras on your plate. Covered in gold, purple and green, presentation is key with this hideous looking thing. So for my cupcakes, I divided my batter into three bowls and mixed in food coloring so that I would have a rainbow of cake mix to work with.

I added a spoonful of yellow, green and purple to each cupcake tin.

The thing that truly sets the king cake apart from ordinary cakes, other then the fact that it looks like an Easter wreath and is stuffed with pantry randomness, is the plastic baby hidden inside. Apparently the plastic baby is suppose to represent baby Jesus, so Ive heard. Whoever finds this baby inside their piece of cake either earns the title of "King for the day" or has to make the cake next year. Something like that. I decided to go with the king for the day bit. Oh, and I also went with a plastic army man. It was the closest thing I could find to a plastic baby laying around the house.

I mixed a little confectioners sugar and water with intentions of drizzling some icing over the cupcakes, but wouldnt ya know it - I ran out of confectioners sugar. I was over it by this point. I half ass decorated a cupcake and called it good.

If your wondering who found the army man?... Well, nobody. At least nobody that night. Hey, it wasn't exactly your normal king cake, so who said the army man actually had to be found on Fat Tuesday? He eventually was found though and 'A' was pronounced "King for the.... well, rest of the Night".

(No army men where harmed in the making of these cupcakes)

Shame on Westboro and their irrational disicion to protest Powell boys' funeral

I am so disgusted and saddened by the news this morning of the Westboro Baptist Cult, I mean Church, and their ignorant disicion to protest the funeral of the two Powell brothers who where killed by their father last Sunday after he deliberately set fire to their home in Washington state (as if that's not sickening enough). The reasoning behind their mindless protest? They actually are naive enough to think that Josh Powell, the boys father, was punishment for Washington's decision to legalize gay marriage. What the, excuse me, fuck are they thinking? Better yet, why are they not thinking? That is the most absurd thing Ive ever heard, and Ive heard some pretty absurd shit. Have these sweet little boys not suffered enough? Let them rest in peace, please!

It is uneducated organizations like the Westboro so called church that give Christianity a bad name. Shame on them for using god as their platform to spread their hatred!

My husband, god bless him, was so upset by this story that he decided to call the Westboro church this morning in hopes of maybe indoctrinating someone with some actual scripture and respectable moral value, but was further aggravated when sent directly to an automated system prompting him to choose whether he was a veteran or a patriot. Upon choosing patriot, he was then directed to another automated message criticizing his patriotism because of the acceptance of gays in our country. Infuriated, he was not able to listen to the entire brainwashing message and hung up.

Westboro should not have the right to call themselves a church. A church is a place of worship; Wesrboro is a place of prejudice.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:12)

Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding

I had tons avocados left over from Superbowl Sunday that needed to be used. I am not a huge avocado fan and my husband was a little burnt out on guacamole so I decided to try something new.

My Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding. Yum!

There is a Chocolate Pudding recipe in Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious that uses avocado's. Seeing that my kids are a little on the small side, we're talking 5th percentile for weight, I thought a little avocado in their diet could do some good. However, Jessica's recipe calls for an entire cup of confectioners' sugar, which lets face it, is a lot of sugar. Kind of defeats the purpose of hiding the avocado in the pudding, so I decided to change it up a little and not only cut out the sugar, but eliminate the stove, saucepans and even add a banana.

Here is Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Chocolate Pudding recipe:

Ingredients

1/4 cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1 cup avocado puree
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornstarch

In medium saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the avocado puree, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Cook, mashing well with a silicone spatula to smooth out any lumps of avocado, until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually stir in the cornstarch. Serve warm.

Here is my simplified version:

Ingredients

2 avocados
1 banana
1-2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional)
3-4 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon or cayenne pepper

In blender, puree avocados and banana with agave nectar or honey till smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and cinnamon or cayenne. Pulse till creamy adding water in small amounts if necessary till desired consistency.

This was so good! Your kids will never know its made from avocado. I even froze some in Popsicle molds for the kids and it came out almost like a fudge. Very rich. If you like dark chocolate, you are sure to love this!

A very happy "A" with his pudding pop.

Distressed Red Dining Chairs

Several years ago, my now mother-in-law gave my husband this picture that we have notably dubbed Jose, for obvious reasons. We have since then, used Jose as the inspiration for out dining room. Having said that, I think Jose is well deserving of a new frame or maybe matting, but for now he's just gonna have to let my new chairs take the spot light.

Jose

Ive been on a bit of a DIY kick lately. I think it was the success of my cork ball that really got me going, but this has been my biggest, and probably most useful project. I painted and distressed a pair of dining chairs that I found on Craigslist for $20 each which may seem a bit pricey, but they were exactly what I was looking for and in pretty good shape.

One of my chairs BEFORE

First, I enlisted my husbands help for the dirty work, and sanded the chairs down. Then with a little help from Jose, I decided to paint the chairs red. I chose Rustoleum spray paint, cause its easy, in Colonial Red.

I let the chairs sit over night to dry. Then came the distressing part. I wasn't totally sure what I was doing here so I pretty much winged it and lightly sanded the edges of the chairs down. Then I went over the chairs with a Minwax Dark Walnut stain.

One of my chairs AFTER

I'm pretty happy with the way the chairs turned out, however I could have done a little more distressing. I was a little weary about sanding the chairs to much before applying the stain though. Nothing two little boys armed with matchbox cars and super hero figurines can't fix, I'm sure.

I do love the color! Wish I could say it was intentional, but the color came out almost identical to the red on my new talavera pot. Very cool!

Next, I plan on using the same color on my son's dresser. Would love any tips you have for distressing furniture with paint. Should I have used a primer? What about a protective top coat of some sort? Is there a specific size of sand paper that works best for sanding down my newly painted piece before applying the stain?

BEFORE:

AFTER: