It's a Poop Story

Funny enough, I was just telling my friend how we've never had any major "poop incidents" at my house. I mean, I've got three kids, the oldest almost four....so I thought that was kind of amazing. Maybe I was boasting a little bit. Definitely came back to bite me in the butt because I spoke to soon.
The day before Quin's 2nd birthday, we were at home just hanging out & recovering from being sick. All three kids & myself caught a cold and we're all congested, runny noses, watery eyes, cough, scratchy throat....you know, the fun stuff. Needless to say, nobody was really feeling that great. Quin had already had a rough morning since she is deathly afraid of pooping on the toilet. We're talking like screaming, crying, running afraid. She has been potty training for less than a month now, and doing great, minus the being afraid of poop thing. She just holds it. Which is HORRIBLE! So I'm really pushing for her to go in the toilet and get over the fear. This special particular day she went poop on the toilet and cried her eyes out. Somehow I always use bath time to deflect situations. It's like the easy way out. Kids are bored? BATH TIME. Everyone is crying? BATH TIME. Kid's are falling asleep when it's way to close to bed & you need to keep them up longer? BATH TIME! So you see, it work's at all times. Since Quin was a wreck, I said "BATH TIME!" And the kids always scream and laugh and run upstairs like I just announced we we're going to eat ice cream. We head upstairs & Quin tells me she has to poop again, so she sat on the toilet & does her business. I thought that was perfect since we we're getting in the bath, of course. I start the water, get Quin in, get Ruby in and get the little man all undressed and lathered up in soap. I go to put Dean in the water when I see little bits floating around.  Me: "Quin? Did you poop?" Quin: "YES!" Ruby: Jumps out of the bath SCREAMING. I set poor little naked soapy Dean down on a towel on the floor. I then pick up Quin who has just had MAJOR, nasty, horrible, HUGE diarrhea man poop in the bath tub. (I literally don't know how she had that much left since she had just pooped twice within the 20 minutes before!) She turns around, sees the mess & of course starts SCREAMING. Ruby sees it and starts screaming LOUDER. Ruby upsets Quin. Ruby starts backing toward the door which I open and make her leave the bathroom. Quin's hysterical at the point, the little naked man is now screaming, and I'm left with a bathtub FULL of the grossest mess. I shove Quin out the bathroom door, then let the water out of the tub as quickly as possible. I picked up Dean and rinsed him off in the sink, got him dried and dressed & then tackled scrubbing out the tub with bleach. By the time everything was clean, I had to carry Quin back into the bathroom kicking and screaming and bathe her in about thirty seconds because she was screaming like someone was murdering her. I guess the scene of the crime was a little traumatizing to her. Ruby flat out refused to get back into the bath with Quin, so I had to wait until Quin was done before Ruby got back in and cleaned up. All that with a horrible headache from my cold and I'd say it was about the most not funny, funny experience we've had with poop thus far. Feel free to tell me your poop stories so I feel better about mine.

"Healthy" Brownies

Ok, so they're not actually healthy....but they sure are good & fit a lot of the standards I've come to want with baked goods. I am a baking junkie and HATE that eating a giant brownie or cinnamon roll isn't good for you at all. Lately I've been on a no refined sugar kick. It's kind of depressing finding out that no matter what, whether refined or not, sugar is sugar & it's just not good for you! BUT, on occasion, when you're wanting something sweet, here is a grain free, vegan, no refined sugar brownie recipe just for you.

"Healthy" Brownies

1 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 pitted Medjool dates

1/2 Cup Spectrum Shortening (can sub coconut oil but will change the flavor of brownies)
4 one ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate (I used Baker's)
1 Cup coconut sugar (I haven't tried honey yet...but I will soon!)
1 2.5 oz jar baby prunes
1 small zucchini peeled & grated
1 ener-g egg (prepared according to box)
1 TBS vanilla

Walnuts to top (if desired)

In food processor blend almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda. Add dates and process until completely blended into almond mixture.

On a double broiler, melt shortening and unsweetened baking chocolate. Remove bowl from heat and add coconut sugar, stirring well. Add baby prunes and mix completely. Add vanilla, egg replacer and combine. Fold in zucchini.

Pour the wet mixture into the food processor with the almond flour mix. Blend until completely smooth.
Pour into a greased and floured 8x8 dish. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. (My oven is really annoying, old as the hills and really hot in certain spots, so I NEVER know how long a normal oven will take! Just watch them! They may need longer.) You'll know they're done when they sink in the middle a bit and the outsides get a little crisp/cracked looking.

Voila! Moist, chewy & delish!

Little Man

Nobody can get enough of this darling boy. I'm kind of in love. 

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

I know I should be eating gluten free all the time, but I don't. It's just not as fun! It's a whole lot easier making just vegan items than it is gluten free and vegan...and since it's dairy that bothers me, Ruby & Quin and eggs that Quin can't have, vegan is just the way I go most of the time with baked goods. 

A couple days ago I made vegan cinnamon rolls and boy are they delicious! Of course, I DO miss the cream cheese frosting....but overall, they really hit the spot! I made these for my company and was told these were the best homemade cinnamon rolls she had ever had! I didn't mention they we're vegan :) 

DOUGH

1 Cup warm Rice Milk (110 degrees F)

2 Ener-G egg replacer eggs

1/3 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, melted

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

FILLING

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 TBS cinnamon

1/3 cup Earth Balance soy free spread

3/4-1 cup walnut pieces (optional)

FROSTING

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (more if needed)

1 TBS Earth Balance soy free spread, melted (or coconut oil)

2-3 TBS Rice milk or dairy free alternative (so delicious original coconut creamer works great!)

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup earth balance soy free spread and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture and walnuts, if desired. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 19x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile,  preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes, turning halfway through baking. While rolls are baking, beat together powdered sugar, vanilla, melted earth balance spread, salt and milk alternative. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving. 

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Disney Days

Honestly, I absolutely love Disney Land. Ever since I was a kid it's been a magical place! We had passes this last year and they JUST expired. Sad day. The last couple of times we got to go were probably the best time we had the whole year! We will miss it greatly. 

 Highlight of our trip was Ruby getting to walk through Toon Town holding Mickey's hand! 

She's still talking about it....

 Tom Sawyer's island is the best! 

Gluten Free Vegan Waffles

I love waffles. I stopped making them for a long time because Quin can't eat regular anything and in the past a lot of my gluten free vegan attempts have been horrible! But I decided to try again because did I mention I love waffles?

First off you should have a good gluten free flour mix you like. I make my own out of Cybele Pascal's book "The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook."

Gluten Free Vegan Waffles

1 1/3 Cup Gluten Free Flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Ener-g eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 small banana mashed (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbs agave
1/2 to 3/4 c rice milk
Dairy free chocolate chips (optional)
Walnuts (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add dry to wet and mix until well combined. Make waffles in preheated waffle iron.

The Beard

When Adam found out I was pregnant, he stopped shaving. Seriously. Apparently he figured if he was extra super manly we would have a boy. Let me tell you, this was NOT something I even remotely enjoyed for one second. I was so grossed out by his beard that by the time I was packing my hospital bag I wanted to put the beard trimmers in there. For some reason he absolutely loved it and even after I had Dean he didn't want to shave, even though that was our deal! Finally after more than a week after baby boy made his arrival, he let it go. I hope he never does that again!!!!!!