Bun making = EPIC FAIL

Are you good at making bread and buns/rolls? When I was first married, I was HORRIBLE! I didn't have a breadmaker or a stand mixer, so whenever I decided to "try it again," I had to do it by hand. Even a year after we got married, I cashed in some wedding giftcards and bought myself a really nice Cuisinart mixer (I went into the store with the intentions of buying a Kitchenaid, because, come on, they look so great on your counter! But while looking at warranties, motor size, wattage, bowl size, and accessories, not to mention prices...I ended up deciding to go with a Cuisinart, and haven't regretted my decision since!)...but back to the story....even after I bought a stand mixer, I was still too afraid to try the dough hook attachment and continued to try to make bread and buns by hand, resulting in an EPIC FAIL every single time. I mean, they tasted OK--not great--but they looked horrible and the texture did NOT have the soft, pillowy goodness that a bun should have.That and my arms, shoulders, and back were killing me afterwards everytime!
Then one day I stumbled upon a website....I don't remember if someone showed it to me, or I just found it while looking for a recipe, but I have to say that it changed my bun and bread making life!  :)

It's actually a very popular blog now and they have a couple of recipe books out. Everything that I have tried off of there has been absolutely delicious--the apple dip, the butternut squash soup, the overnight cinnamon buns, so many other things...including "World's Best Dinner Rolls."

When I found their bun recipe, I noticed a link to a bread making tip article that they had written, so I went and read it, re-read it, and then printed it off. It was THAT good. And like I said, it changed my life. SO now I'd like to share it with you. Even if you are good at making bread and buns, read it! There may be a few things that will make your life easier! I've tried lots of recipes since then and have found another that I prefer to theirs, but really, there are so many different types of buns that it makes it really hard to choose a favorite. And what one person likes about a bun, another person may dislike. Like for example, I like a bun that tastes yeasty and sweet, and Derrick does not. So, I try all kinds of recipes. Maybe one day I'll share the one that I have been making lately the most...but for now, here's the AWESOME and AMAZING article I was telling you about:  Tips for Yeast Doughs

I'd love to hear what you think about it and if you have any other tips that you'd add to the list!

I found one today in another recipe from their site that my sister in law shared with me yesterday---when a recipe says to warm up milk and butter until the butter is melted, and then cool it down so that it doesn't kill the yeast, instead of waiting forever or putting the pot on top of some ice, try keeping out 1/4 of the milk called for, and add it after to help cool it down. You may still need to wait a bit, but the time will definitely be decreased!

Here's our most recent family picture!

Homemade Crazy Bread!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE LIttle Caesar's Crazy Bread, with extra buttery-cheesy goodness! Unfortunately, the nearest Little Caesar's Pizza Place is an hour away...so I don't get it very often (which may actually be a good thing...). When Derrick and I were dating, we used to get their cheapest combo at least once a week--it was around $8 for a pepperoni pizza, crazy bread, and dipping sauce. Not exactly the healthiest supper, but when you're a poor student, it works!


I found this recipe for pizza dough a few weeks ago, and found a knock-off recipe for Crazy Bread a few months ago, so the other day I decided to combine the two! The crazy bread recipe used store-bought pizza dough, butter, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese. Now unfortuantely, the stores around here (and by "here" I mean 30 minutes away) don't have frozen pizza dough--at least I've never seen any! So if I wanted that, I'd probably have to go to Lethbridge, again, an hour away....so I might as well just buy REAL Crazy Bread! So when I saw that the blogger that posted this recipe had turned hers into cheesy garlic sticks, I decided that I could do the same. 

So one day I decided that's what I wanted for part of my lunch, but of course decided this while I was making my lunch (the dough take about 1 1/2 hours so that wasn't going to happen)...so I used some fresh Naan bread that I had just bought the day before with the intention of turing into a pizza for Mason while Derrick and I had Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It turned out pretty yummy, but just wasn't as good as crazy bread in my opinion! The cheesy garlic sticks and pizza dough recipe can be found here.


So anyways, the other day I decided to make pasta with a creamy rose sauce that I had seen on Pinterest and thought Crazy Bread would go well with it. The pasta was an EPIC FAIL. Derrick wouldn't even eat it. He said the smell of it made vomit rise in his throat., which would have offended me, but I already knew it tasted kind of funny...Mason ate it, but then the next day when I tried to give him leftovers for lunch, he wouldn't let me put it in his mouth! I thought it was ok, but definitely missing something...all it was, was you sautee garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil, then when the garlic starts to brown, add a can of crushed tomatoes, and simmer about 10 mins until thick. (I pureed everything before this next step because Derrick won't eat chunks of tomatoes). Then stir in 1/2 cup cream or milk. I think the bitter taste of the canned tomatoes, and the overwhelming taste of olive oil (it called for 1/4 cup!) was just too much...topped with lots of parm, it wasn't that bad, but then I'm not really that picky...so anyways, we won't be making that again! Derrick ended up just having crazy bread for supper! I guess that's what happens when you don't get home until 9:45--no time to make anything but a bowl of cereal, which he doesn't like anyways....haha!


Back to the Crazy Bread. I used the pizza dough recipe, splitting it in half and using canola oil and honey (those were options on the recipe), as well as unbleached all-purpose white flour. I patted it into a circle with my hands on a piece of parchment, then cut it with a pizza cutter into rectangles. I then baked it about 6 minutes on the parchment, on an upside down cookie sheet as she suggested at 500 degrees, and then immediately brushed it with a mixture of butter, garlic powder, and salt (I don't have garlic salt, and all it really is, is one part garlic powder to two parts salt...but I did about a one to one ratios for this...just eyeball it!), and then sprinkling it with lots of parmesan! You could use fresh garlic, but I wasn't going for that spicy taste that fresh garlic brings, I was going to the authentic Crazy Bread taste.

It was pretty close! And I think the dough part was even better than Little Caesars! It was soft and fluffy, yet a little chewy, the way pizza dough should be! It was so yummy and I ate wayy to much of it...forcing myself to save half of it for Derrick...I didn't even take a picture because it was half gone by the time I thought of it...I suppose I still could have, oh well! Next time!


If you're reading this and have a mixer with a dough hook, you should definitely make this! It is not hard at all! Your mixer does most of the work, and you just dump in ingredients!


In other news, Mason is now drinking slightly cold milk...haha, we'll get there soon....and if this weather ever decides to stay nice, I'll get his bed frame spray painted black (it's scuffed up and white right now), so I can set it up in his room! Maybe I'll do that before I take away his bottle, as his bottle helps make him nice and drowsy...hmmmm

In the meantime, can you guess what I'm making for Mason? Jake was "helping"... :P

Walking, bottles, soothers, cribs....

Isn't he just the cutest!? I love him so much! He is such a sweet, smart, curious, and happy boy! He's 14 1/2 months old right now, and has been walking really well for the last two weeks. He only crawls about 10% if the time now, and it's usually if he keeps falling down lol! He started pulling himself up around Christmas, and now, five months later, he's not looking much like a baby anymore! This summer I'm going to take away some of the baby things he loves (sigh): his crib, his soother, warmed milk, and his bottle...I should have gotten rid of the bottle by now, but I have been slowly working towards having him drink cold milk. Right now we're at room temperature. I could just switch him to a sippy cup with warm milk, but I hate having to warm it up, so we're getting rid of that...I tried to do it cold turkey a few weeks ago, but he wanted nothing to do with the sippy or the cold milk. If he was a chunky kid I'd say that wasn't a big deal, he'll drink it eventually, but he's slim so I worry about how the lack of calories would effect him.

Although, he does eat a lot of food, and he's not picky. I honestly don't know where he puts it! He has a little belly, but nothing like some children! I guess he's just like his dad!

So, a few more days (a week at most), and we should be onto cold milk. Then will be time to change to a sippy cup. I really don't like sippy cups either, I'd rather have him drink from a regular cup, but we'll see how things go! I suppose it could make things easier because he loves to drink from a cup!

Now with the soother, I know a lot of people have different ideas on how long a child should take a soother (if at all---I'm still on the fence about this one)...but I figure, the earlier you break them of the habit, the easier it will be. Mason has been sleeping great for the past few months (except for the odd teething episode or over night trip), so I think that now is the time. Whenever I go in there after he has woken up, he is standing there holding it out for me. And if I don't get there fast enough, he throws it out of his crib onto the floor, as if he's saying "No more soother, time to get up!"

I almost took it away about a month ago when he was sick because his nose was so plugged that he couldn't suck his soother and breathe at the same time, and that made him really upset, but I decided not to, because it still comforted him...so now the dilemma is which day of the week...and something always seems to be coming up! I prefer to do it on a Monday so that by Sunday he won't cry for it at Church. But Father's Day is this Sunday (and I don't want to deprive Derrick of a good sleep haha), and then next Sunday our baby neice is being blessed, so we'd need him to be quiet during that...and then Weds-Fri I watch another child around Mason's age, and I don't want him to be woken up from his naps by Mason crying for his soother....I know you can do it a little at a time too, but I think I'll just take it away and be done with it. He falls asleep in the car sometimes without it, so I'm not too worried...and we have earplugs, or if it is really bad, 2 other beds...that sounds horrible....at least Derrick could use one of them since he has to operate heavy equipment! The other dilemma is should I move him to a bed before taking the soother?

When I worked in daycare, children napped on mats once they hit 12 months. Those were the licensing regulations--no more cribs. And they slept fine, if not better, on the mats. I think the real reason parents keep their children in cribs is so that they don't escape lol and I totally get that! But my plan is to teach him to stay in his room when he wakes up until I comes in to say good morning, Wish me luck! I have a toddler bed for Mason, and I would move his crib mattress into it, so really, I could do it anytime. The upside: the room is outside of our room (for those of you who don't know, we have an ensuite[master bathroom] that we are using as the nursery (no there's no toilet or shower in there lol just a sink and storage cabinets). So once he moves, we don't have to whisper when we go to bed, and get ready for bed in the dark. I know that we could have trained him when he was younger to sleep through loudness, but seriously, when your baby is sleeping, who wants to chance waking him up!? Mason can sleep through some noise, and can fall asleep if it's noisy, but you still have to tread lightly. The downside of moving him: if he wakes in the night, it's a further walk, and the other downside: our living room/tv is right outside that bedroom door...but he'll learn to sleep through that I'm sure...I hope....lol

Thoughts? As it stands, I'll probably have him off the bottle in the next week or two, and be done with a soother and in a toddler bed in the next couple of months. I don't think I'm "forcing him to grow up" by doing this, but making his and my life easier in the long run...plus we'll still have lots of snuggles and playtime!

Delicious Fibre........Ummm...What!?

I found this recipe a long time ago on Pinterest, and have come across it again a few times, but just today decided to make it: No-Bake Energy Bites

Like usual, I changed it to suit what I was looking for: More fiber, and a better crunch.

I have this product called Nutracleanse that you can learn more about here. I got it from my mother-in-law, and she bought it at Pharmasave...I had never heard of it, but since acquiring it, I seem to see it everywhere! It is a blend of ground flax seed, ground psyllium husks, dandelion root powder, burdock root powder, and fenugreek seed powder. They recommend mixing it into hot cereal, or putting it in baked goods. Or, if you're in a "rush," they recommend mixing it in a glass of orange juice. Tried that, and not going to lie, it was pretty gross...I also tried mixing a large amount in yogurt, and same thing...yuck...They tell you to take 1/3 cup everyday for optimal health. So, when Mason was born with "pooping" problems, and I didn't want to use medication, I thought that this might help. I asked my doctor and she said it was find for him to have, so I started mixing it into his baby cereal or applesauce (and only 1-2 tsp). It worked great! And now, I hardly use it and he has NO problems! I'm not saying it's a miracle cure, but it's definitely worth a try!

So when I decided to make the energy bites today, I figured I would substitute Nutracleanse for the flax. Here is my adapted recipe:

In a bowl mix together 3/4 cup chunky (or 1/2 cup smooth) peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, and 1 tsp vanilla.

Add 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup nutracleanse (you can do straight ground flax if you'd like!), and 1/4 coconut, stirring to combine.

Add 1/2 cup corn flakes, and 1/2 cup carob chips (or chocolate chips if you prefer), mixing gently to combine.

Cover bowl with saran wrap, and refrigerate about 30 minutes, or unti "moldable."

Using your hands, form into balls. I made ones that were "one bite" sized so I could just pop them in my mouth, but you could easily press the mixture into a square pan and then cut when firm. Just remember to keep it in the fridge, whatever form you make them into. And be careful, because they're a little addicting...especially if you like PB + Honey sandwiches!!

Let me know if you make these and what you think!

Tackling that clutter

I don't know about you, but I have a major issue with clutter...I don't like to admit it, and usually can find some excuse or another for it, but it really is an issue...I think it's kind of inherited though lol! I try to work on breaking the habit every now and then, but have never been able to beat it.

If any of you have been on Pinterest, you'll notice that there are often pins about house cleaning. I have re-pinned many of them, but today found the best one for ME. It's found here

I love how she lays it out nice and simple, but ultimately leaves it up to you to figure out your own tasks. After reading through the article, I wrote down the main points that stood out to me, typed them up, and then hung the page in my kitchen. I am excited to share it with my husband! He doesn't have a big problem with clutter, but doesn't really help with the issue either (clothes belong in the hamper honey, not by the bed, beside the couch, or in the front entrance! Praying for the day when we have a mudroom...lol!) Anyways, here's what I got from the article:

The Four Unbreakable Rules

1. Everything has a home.
2. Use it or lose it.
3. Never ignore or pass anything that needs to find its home.
4. Use "little minutes" every chance you get.

Lists

1. Daily chores
2. Individual rooms broken into tasks

Boxes

1. Toss
2. Keep
3. Sell/Donate

Time

1. One hour per day spent
2. 30 minutes for daily chores which can be spread over the day
3. No more than 15 minutes “deep cleaning” one room per day

4. Remaining 15 minutes doing something you like/goal/relaxing/etc.

Remember: You are not “cleaning,” you are “preparing” rooms so that you will have a nice feeling every time you enter them!

Great tips hey! She even jokes around in it, saying things like, 

"I'm so buried I can't find the shovel to dig my way out!

How to get started when it all feels so hopeless.

Don't start with a shovel. Start with a spoon. Or actually three boxes and one corner.

Now you can do one small corner can't you? Of course you can!"  

How can you not smile at that! I know that for me, the main reason I don't tackle the clutter is because it just seems overwhelming...but today I followed her advice and worked on my kitchen for 15 minutes. Now, my kitchen isn't really that messy. I'm a big believer in clean kitchens and do my best to keep it that way, but the parts that aren't used for food prep always seem to accumulate clutter (the bar on the island, the end of the counter near the side door, half of the kitchen table...). I always clean it up, but it always "magically" re-appears! I'm glad I can use the Four Unbreakable Rules to help stop this now! So now, my kitchen is clutter free! And, I'll follow her advice and work on another room for 15 minutes tomorrow.  

I would highly recommend for everyone to go and read the article...let me know if it helps you out at all! Even if it just changes the way you do one or two things! And I'll let you know how my clutter is doing in a week! 

Productivity...

How was your day today? Are you just finally getting a chance to sit down? Have you been sitting down all day? Were you out and about, or did you stay home? Do you have an active job or passive job? I'm a stay-at-home mom. My maternity leave ended the middle of March, and I made the decision long before then that I wanted to stay home. It's actually been a goal of mine since I was in College taking Early Childhood Education. I thought, when I graduate, I'll work until we are ready to start having children, and then once my maternity leave it up, I'll open a dayhome so that I can stay home and raise my children with all of the knowledge I have gained! Well, that has almost gone according to plan. I really, really wanted to do licensed care, but because our deck isn't finished and our yard isn't landscaped yet, I'm not able to. I have to have a "safe, outdoor playspace." So until that time, I'm just watching one other child (who is actually only a week older than Mason!). I plan to open a licensed dayhome come September. It's kind of nice that everything didn't go according to plan, because this way, I still have a lot of my summer to "do what I want" with, as this child only comes three days a week.


Today was the first day he started coming. He arrived around 7:45, which meant I was up at 7:00 for a shower (yeah, I take 30 mins to do what should take 10 min lol), and then straightened up a few things in the kitchen while I was waiting. I usually don't shower until I put Mason down for a nap because I REALLY like my sleep...and Mason usually sleeps until between 8:00 and 9:00...so 7:00 was pretty early...especially since I had a terrible sleep last night. Do you find that happens to you? When something big or new is going to happen the next day? Even if it's not really that exciting? Like Christmas Eve....when I was a child I could hardly sleep, and it's still that way lol! Must be the stress of everything...so anyways, 7:00 came early this morning. I have been so lucky to have a child that I could teach to sleep in!

Back to my point--productivity. I don't like to admit that I'm often pretty lazy, but it's true. Most days, I get the kitchen cleaned up and a load of laundry done, and that's about it....I feel SUPER productive on the days when I vacuum, clean the bathroom, or sort through things that should have been put away long before...but I don't really feel too guilty about it, because the majority of the time spent not being "productive," is spent with Mason, watching him develop and change. Marvelling at how quickly he learns and picks up on things. Feeling so proud of him when I see the new skills that he is using. And just rolling around on the floor with him and Jake (our dog), playing and laughing. I am so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom!

So when I heard a few weeks back, that someone in our area was looking for a dayhome, I thought, well, now's my chance. So I took it and now I get to still do everything I just talked about, but with one more child. It was so great to watch the two of them interacting and learning from each other today. And it was a much busier day that I'm used to! But it was a "good" busy-ness. When I worked in daycare, we always had a schedule that we followed--although it was sometimes just loosely followed--it was still there. So I know no other way. Today I put us on a loose schedule and it was great! We did everything that Mason and I usually do, took a walk in the sunshine (which hasn't happened for a while!), and I was able to use the time they were napping (Mason who usually sleeps for 2-3 hours only slept for 1 hour today...hopefully tomorrow will be different!) to clean up the toys, wash the highchairs from lunch + clean up the lunch mess, do supper prep, as well as peel and chop up a whole bag of carrots (the small bag that is), to blanch and freeze this evening. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to sit down while they nap! The child's father surprised me and picked him up an hour early, so otherwise he would still be here and I wouldn't be able to sit down quite yet...I mean, I could, but you try sitting down with two one-year-olds crawling all over the place, exploring everything...

Anyways, today was a great day. I got lots done while they napped,a load of laundry in while they played, and the front entrance vacuumed while they finished up lunch. And the strange thing is, that I don't feel as tired as I thought I would! Must be the exercise from the walk...we'll see how I'm feeling after supper though! I don't know about you, but that's when I want to just vedge!

Homemade granite cleaner and "clorox" wipes!

A while ago I posted about how I was going to start trying recipes for homemade cleaning products that I had found on Pinterest, but so far have only posted one! I have shared some other recipes that I have found, but not for cleaning products, so it's time to get back on track! Mason has been sick the last couple of days, and this morning he was very clingy (but no fever...) so I ended up putting him back to bed an hour after he had woken up, and he slept for 3 hours! I firgured this was a good time to try out the second recipe that you will read about (I actually made this on Saturday, but hadn't had a chance to try it yet!) The first one is...

Granite Cleaner
Granite cleaners can be quite pricy. I found this recipe a long time ago, like when I first joined pinterest, but ended up changing it a little.

I had bought two granite cleaners long before we got our granite installed (we were waiting for over a year for cabinets, and no cabinets means no countertops!). I bought a Zep brand cleaner (heavy duty) and an all natural one. Unfortuntaley, I really wasn't crazy about either. The Zep one smelled strongly and left streaks, and the natural one I found just didn't do the job I was hoping for.

So I called the place where we got our granite and asked if they sold any cleaners. The woman there told me they had one for about $10 (yikes!) but recommended I try a solution of 1 part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water. I ended up going more with this recipe than the first, as I didn't want to leave any soap residue or fragrance on the counters. The first recipe only calls for a little of the soap and fragrance, but I didn't want to take the chance having any of that transferred to our food!

So I ended up using about 2 parts rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water---put it into a spray bottle, mist lightly, and rub with a dry cloth until it disappears. If there are gunky bits on my counter, I usually wipe them with a warm, wet cloth before using the spray.

I don't know the exact breakdown of price for this, but considering you can get rubbing alcohol at the dollar store, I would say it's less than 50 cents to make a whole spray bottle worth. And it gives your counters a nice clean shine, while disinfecting them (because of the alcohol). I might try adding a drop of dawn next time so that it would do a better job cleaning gunky bits...

The second recipe I tried was...

"Clorox" wipes
The original recipe can be found here.

I followed it exactly, except for the ammonia (which was optional), but only because I didn't have any.

On her blog, the author uses them to clean the bathroom. I also sometimes use clorox wipes to clean the bathroom (mostly just the toilet), but also like them for door handles and light switches. So I tried this solution on a few things---some easter eggs that I put out last week for Mason to play with, a bouncy ball, light switches, door handles, and my fridge door handles (stainless steel).

As I was using it, it seemed too soapy. I didn't see any residue left on the toys, light swtiches, or door handles once they had dried, although there was some when I was wiping, but the fridge door handles had dried soap on them afterwards. I think I will try to make this again, but next time use half the soap (it calls for 2 Tbsp), and use ammonia too.

Let me know if you try these recipes or have a different one for granite cleaner or "clorox" wipes that you use and find works well!

Small Spaces

A month or two ago, I realized that I needed to start acknowledging Mason's capabilities more. Of course, I already do this a lot by letting him choose what he would like to play with, how much he wants to eat, etc., but I realized that I hadn't been really "testing" those capabilities. So one morning when I went into his room, I picked him up out of his crib, held me hand out, and said "Can you give Mama your soother?" He didn't do anything, so I said "Give Mama your soother" and gently pulled it from his mouth. Within a couple days, when I asked him the question, he would spit it out of his mouth into my hand, and sometimes pull it out himself, causing a loud "pop!" I was very happy to see he understood and was catching on! The last couple mornings, I have noticed that he has grown even more: I go into his room to get him from his crib, and as soon as I open the door, he pulls the soother from his mouth, standing up in his crib, and holds it out for me to take. It's like he's like "Here it is! Now it's time for me to have a bottle and then go play!" I know we all know that our children develop, but sometimes we don't really notice the process. When we do, it makes us (or at least me!) feel proud :)

Lately Mason has been getting into everything. But I mean that literally. A couple of days ago, he got into Jake's kennel, and the laundry hamper, all within 5 minutes.

The day before that, he managed to climb into and sit up in a little tiny box that my mom and sister had sent his birthday presents out in.

We had a family birthday party for Mason and his cousin last Sunday, and Mason got a big wagon, so of course, he was crawling in and out of that box. We still haven't thrown it away, because he just loves playing in it! It's funny too because Jake will often go in behind him, and Mason gets so excited when he sees Jake "chasing" him!

We have a tunnel/tent set that is downstairs, and if Mason is crawling through and sees Jake coming in his direction, he just squeals and books it to the other end of the tunnel, before looking to see if Jake is still "coming to get him!" lol! He's so funny! Here's another one, it's from a week ago when Derrick and I put up the cabinets in the laundry room. All of the boxes were thrown just outside of the room, so of course when I brought Mason down a little while later...(sorry about Jake's rear end!)

Anyways, Mason just LOVES going inside of things. I'm sure he's going to be a fort-lover once he gets old enough to ask me to build them!

*Healthy* Chocolate Muffins

Yesterday I said I was going to make these:

I first found this recipe here, but then noticed that the original recipe was from the site above. Here's what I thought the muffins would look like (from this second site where I first found them):

It's interesting how different the muffins look...mine look more like the originals, except that I didn't smother them with chocolate chips! Mostly, because I didn't have enough!

Here are how mine turned out...















So I ended up changing the recipe a little, mostly because of laziness or lack of ingredients. Here is my recipe (you can check out the original one if you'd like to make these healthier. The only thing to note is that the vinegar amount is different between the two recipes. I would assume you should use the original's amount. I used cream of tartar.) Oh and I decided to make these because apparently they were Vitatop muffin knock-off's. Not that I've had a vitatop muffin before, but apparently they are pretty good for you and cost $6 for 4! So here is my adapted recipe:

1 3/4 c rolled oats, measure and then grind them up in food processor, blender, magic bullet...
2 small/medium eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used one of those little applesauce cups, and then filled the rest of the 1/2 cup measure with oil, as that's what the applesauce is replacing!)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup yogurt (it calls for greek yogurt...I just had activia, so I used vanilla)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp vinegar)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup sugar (it actually calls for a substitute. I had Splenda but forgot I had it! So I just used sugar)
1/2 cup semi-sweet, white, or peanut butter chips (I had like 10 semi-sweet chips left, so I used those and then milk chocolate chips for the rest, and I used the whole 1/2 cup in the muffins and sprinkled extra on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. (I was only able to fill 18, so keep that in mind.)
In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until mixture is smooth. I actually just used a handmixer. You really can just dump everything in and blend away!
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans. The mixture will probably be thin, but don't worry!
Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the rest of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin*.

Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes (or in my case almost 10 minutes), or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could put all of the chips in the batter, and bake the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!

Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!
Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 18-24 Smaller Muffins


I really enjoyed these muffins. They are quite moist (especially the next day), and it's a nice change to make them with the ground oat flour instead of wheat flour. I probably could have ground my oats even finer so that they completely resembled flour, but I enjoyed the texture. It was also nice to be able to just use one bowl to make these. I was going to do it all in my food processor, but it just wasn't big enough. These would probably be good as mini muffins too if you wanted to give your children a treat but still have a little bit of fibre in them!

If you did compare my recipe with the others, you will notice how they would be healthier--they used 3 egg white, all applesauce, splenda or stevia, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Let me know if you try these, what you think of them, and how they turn out for you!

So remember last week's post...well...

I take back what I said about Mason sleeping well still although he is teething...well, I only partly take it back, because I'm not really sure it was because of teething, and because it only happened one night--last night...or should I say this morning.

He woke up at 4:00AM WIDE AWAKE! I was so mad! I tried to just give him his soother and cover him with his blanket, but he cried...
so I went back in there and did it again...
still didn't work.
So I picked him up and went to the rocking chair. After about 5 minutes of him staring at me (and me not looking at him except to check a couple times if he was still staring at me), I put him back in his bed (this has worked before--it's like he just needs help to relax or something).
But that didn't work either...he just cried and cried...so Derrick suggested a bottle.
Duh! Why the heck didn't I think of that! Oh, because it was 4:45AM and I was trying to stay in "sleepy mode" so that when Mason finally DID go back to sleep, I wouldn't just lay there myself wide awake...
well anyways, I went off to the kitchen to make him a bottle, being so thankful that my husband made that suggestion (seriously. I sometimes baffle myself, not thinking of the obvious...I have had to give Mason a bottle in the night before because of growth spurts, and it usually only lasts one or two nights before he's back sleeping through the night again...)
Anyways, it's about 4:50AM now, and I head back to the bedroom and OF COURSE, all is now quiet...so I walk back to the kitchen, put the bottle in the fridge, and go back to bed, frustrated, but glad he's gone back to sleep on his own.
Except, he hadn't...not even a minute after I lay down, I hear him talking quietly. Sometimes he does this before he goes to sleep, so I left him. But within a few minutes, his cries started again...
So back I went to the kitchen, grabbed the still-warm bottle, squeezed all of the air out of the liner, handed it to him, and went back to bed.
Now I have to say here, that I NEVER put Mason to bed with a bottle. I am a HUGE BELIEVER that this is one of the worst things you can do for your child--it causes toothrot, and can cause ear infections (liquid sitting there)...and how hard is it for the parent who is trying to wean their child off a bottle, but can't because they have to have it to fall asleep and fall back asleep if they wake up (not to mention that formula is only supposed to be at room temp for a max of one hour after it has been made...gross!)...and I'm sorry if you are a believer in putting your child to bed with a bottle...I'm not trying to offend you, but there are just so many downsides to doing this, and working in day care, I have seen the effects on children's teeth and in their seeping ears, watching them lay their ear against the cold floor to give it some relief...so sad :(
But back to my story...I was too tired, so I just gave it to him to feed himself. (That's another thing, I almost always hold Mason and feed him his bottle...I like the bonding time, and in the beginning especially, it helped me not to feel so guilty for not breastfeeding, because we still had Mommy+Mason bonding time...but that's a whole 'nother story to blog about another day)...
Ok, no more side tracks....
About twenty minutes later, he starts crying again. I don't even know if I had fallen back asleep or not. So I go in there, and he still has 1/3 of his bottle left, so I fed him the rest--he sucked it dry, and then when he complained just for a second and seemed to be done, I went back to bed....
Now it's just about 6:00AM and he starts crying again...
so I figure, well maybe he's still hungry, since I only made him 3/4 of a bottle. So I go out an make him a half bottle (better to have extra than run out again, right!?), and this time grabbed some Camilla (a natural pain reliever for babies).
I picked him up, squeezed it in his mouth (it really doesn't taste like anything, but Mason still doesn't like it so I kind of have to "surprise attack" him with it), and then gave him his bottle and put him back to bed.
This time he slept! And so did I...
And then when our dog, Jake, woke both of us up at 8:15 by shaking noisily (banging his collar around his neck), I was pretty mad...and I had a massive headache...Mason usually sleeps until 8:00/8:30, but I was hoping he'd sleep in...and maybe he would have too...oh, the life....
Well, Mason is napping now, and has been for 2 1/2 hours. He usually sleeps 1 1/2 to 2 hours...I'd say he's pretty tired, as he got grumpy about an hour after waking up (this usually takes about 3 hours, and that's how I know it's nap time)...here's hoping for a better night's sleep tonight!!!!

Oh and I guess I should update on the homemade lotion---it seems to be working pretty well. My heels definitely aren't as dry and cracking as they were last week, but they are still a little dry...I did miss a day or two though...anyways, I will keep applying it and hopefully within one more week they will be back to their soft selves!

I'm going to make this healthy chocolate muffin recipe this afternoon to bring to a meeting tonight, so I'll post on how it went in the next couple days! Wish me luck!

My Friday

Today I tried another recipe. I knew that I would be spending the whole day not at my house as they were finishing laying the flooring (pictures soon, I promise!), so I decided to try a different kind of recipe: lotion! The original recipe can be found here. Basically, it goes like this:

2 Parts Baby Lotion
1 Part Vaseline
1 Part Vitamin E Cream (I didn't have any of this, but I did have straight Vit E, so I squirted some of this in and added a little bit of another body cream)

Put everything in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until it resembles icing. Scoop into a sealed container.

I decided to make this lotion because my heels have become really dry the last couple of weeks, and I read somewhere that this is great for feet. I just put some on tonight, so we'll see how it goes!

I also made another recipe this afternoon, but this time it was a food one: Cookie Dough Brownies. I made it a little differently than the one on her site, but it was still similar. I used a brownie mix, and then with the cookie dough, I added some vanilla and no chocolate chips (we were all out). I thought this would be a rich, yummy dessert, and usually I can eat a large portion when it comes to food like this, but with this one, I could hardly finish it. Derrick said it would be better frozen and mixed with ice cream, so I took what was left (almost the whole pan), chopped it up, threw it in a ziploc, and tossed it in the freezer. Should be good!

On another note, Mason has been pretty grumpy lately. He's been sick for almost two weeks, but seemed to be getting better (his runny nose is slowing down), but I think he may be teething...He had his second tooth pop up when he was first starting to get sick, so I'm wondering which one will come up next. He got his first tooth at the end of January. I'm kind of glad he didn't start teething until he was almost 10 months old, but I've heard that that means that now his teeth will come in a lot faster, which won't be fun! Mason has had on an amber teething necklace since he was a couple months old, but it didn't seem to be working very well for this last tooth, so I ended up buying him a hazelwood one--so now he wears two! It seemed to help, but he is getting grumpy again. Luckily, he still sleeps fine at night, but the last two days he has only been taking 30 minute naps (where he usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 hour one!)...oh the joys of teething!

Time to use some of these "great" ideas

Are you a Pinner? That is, are you on Pinterest? If not, check it out. But be careful, as you may end up wasting a lot of time feeling productive, but not actually being productive! I have made a few dishes and baked goods off of pinterest, but decided it was time to try some of these homemade cleaners, etc. for myself! So, I've decided that each time I try one, I'll post the recipe/process, results, and it I would use it again. Let me know if you try this or have any other homemade recipes!

#1) How to clean the inside of your oven's window

(click on the title above to view the original website that I found this idea on)

Basically, you make a paste of baking soda and water, rub it onto the window, let it sit 15-20 minutes, and then wipe it off. And voila! Your oven window is clean! She says, "You will be amazed at how easily the grime just wipes right off!"

I did a recipe similar to this before to clean the bottom of my oven (you sprinkle baking soda all over the bottom and then sprinkle or spray vinegar over top and let it sit before wiping it off), so I was curious to see if just water and baking soda would do the trick. So, I made the paste, actually a little thicker than what she made, and ended up spreading it all over the window with my fingers (you might want to use gloves for this as baking soda can dry your hands out) and let it sit about 25 minutes (I just wanted to be safe).

When I came back, I started to wipe it off with a rung-out wet rag. I noticed though that not all of the baked on gunk was "just wip[ing] right off." So, I used the paste that was still covering the window, and rubbed it around a little where I knew there had been gunk. It didn't take very much elbow grease (hardly any) and it came off. I decided to use the paste that had been on the window to do the enamel on the inside of the door (the area all around the window) as I noticed it had some baked on gunk as well. I just transferred it over with the rag,spread it out, and left it for 15 minutes. It was thicker from sitting on the window, and probably would have spread a little better if I had scooped it back into the container and added a little more water, but it still worked ok.

When I came back, I used the same rubbing action that I had applied to the window. I found it didn't all come off, but most of it did. And I'm sure a second treatment would remove it all.

Overall, I'd definitely do this again. It was a cheap, non-smelly, environmentally friendly way to clean my oven window. I just found that you couldn't simply wipe it off to get the results you want, but had to rub a little. Maybe her oven was cleaner than mine, although I did just clean it a month ago! And maybe next time I'll remember to take "before" pictures so I can post "after" ones!

Feb 2012

Hurray! Our basement is almost finished! Over the last few weeks, we had it drywalled, painted it ourselves, got the carpet laid, and now Derrick has just finished hanging doors and is working on the trim and light fixtures! It's very exciting to know that our basement will soon be "liveable." I love how I can do laundry too and even with the door open down there, I can't hear it upstairs. Before, I couldn't do laundry while Mason napped because it was too loud! So I'm very happy about that lol!

Mason is growing and growing...he's 10 1/2 months and is already wearing a lot of 12 month clothing--especially pants and pajamas--the 6-12 month ones just are not long enough for him! He finally got his first tooth a couple of weeks ago too, right in the center on the bottom. I had his amber teething necklace on him the whole time and it seemed to help a bit, but he was still pretty miserable and woke up in the night quite a bit. I just ordered an amber and hazelwood necklace to see if that works better for next time. They say that hazelwood has a stonger effect, so I'm hoping it will help! The problem with hazelwood is that it doesn't last as long as amber, and is more expensive. But if it helps to keep me from having to give him Tylenol or Advil, then in my opinion, it's worth it! Every once in a while tylenol and that are all right and should definitely be used, but if I can use something natural first, before I try the other things, then I'd rather do that.

Mason had a babysitter for the first time on Valentines! Well, I should say a sitter that wasn't family. I was a little nervous and ended up leaving a huge list of instructions because we weren't going to be able to be reached for most of the time we were gone and Derrick's parents were out of town. But everything went great! I feel more confident now in leaving him now :)

Mason also has been surprising me with what he will and will not eat lately. For a few days he went crazy with absolutely refusing to eat food with texture--like mixing supper in a bowl, or cereal with fruit in it...I had to give him everything seperately...and then today and yesterday he has been gobbling everything down. He LOVES cheerios--as soon as I put some on his high chair tray he grabs at them with both fists and shoves them in his mouth as fast as he can chew them--at least he eats one or two at a time instead of trying to fit them all in his mouth and choking on them! Tonight for supper I made taco soup and really wasn't sure how it would go over with him (I had a backup plate of leftovers from last night) but he loved it! I wonder if that's because I ate it every couple of weeks while I was pregnant...it's a great meal, full of protein and fibre! And even better, you can make it on the stove or in the crockpot. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested. You can make it lots of different ways, and I think everyone does it differently. I know people who add a can of mushroom soup, a jar of salsa, a jar of jalapenos, or a can of green beans. Here's how I do it:

Taco Soup

Dump the following ingredients into a pot or slowcooker:

-Ground beef, seasoned with taco seasoning or seasoning salt (I like to make a big batch and freeze portions in ziplocs to use for this soup, for burritos, and for nachos. If using frozen, cooked beef, you do not need to defrost first)
-1 can corn, rinsed
-1 can beans with tomato sauce
-1 can (from beans) of water
-1 can kidney beans, rinsed
-1 small can tomato sauce or 1/2 medium can tomato sauce
-1/2 to 1 packet taco seasoning (I use bulk so just add some at the beginning and you can always add more later)
-beef boullion and more water to taste (you can add close to the end of cooking time if you want)

Let cook until boiling or until you're ready to eat! Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips (we like the whole grain ones!). This is also a great recipe to freeze--just add the toppings when you're ready to eat it. If Derrick would eat tomatoes that weren't pureed, I would add a large can of diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!

Our Winter Vacation

Merry Christmas!

Mason opening presents Christmas morning!

For Christmas this year we got to go to BC to spend time with my family. We were there for almost two weeks, and it was great. We visited friends and family, relaxed, and ate way to much food! It was great introducing Mason to everyone, and I know my Mom was so happy that we were able to be there for so long with her! Mason is her first Grandbaby, but because we live in Southern Alberta, we don't get to see her very often. I have to admit, it was a really nice break too from all of the usual duties and responsibilities at home, and it was great to have extra hands around to help with Mason!

Family picture!

Mason and Olafar Nielsen (Great Grandpa). Mason is his first great grandchild! Mason really liked him and they had lots of fun playing together!

What can I say...

When we got back, we cleaned up our whole upstairs and moved almost everything out of the basement, upstairs, into storage, or to the dump to get ready for drywalling the basement. It's exciting to be moving forward to finishing our basement! There are only a few little things left upstairs to finish. I really need to take pictures of our finished kitchen...here's a couple that I took a while ago (it was finally finished by the end of November!), I still need to take pictures of the island, but you can see a little corner of it on the first picture in the bottom left corner:



Mason is crawling around all over the place now, and quickly! He started to crawl just before we went to BC, at about 8 1/2 months, and while we were out there, he figured out how to pull himself up onto things. I love watching how much stronger he is becoming, and how straight his back is when he sits. I wish my posture was that good! But that comes from having good core muscles, something I really need to work on getting back!

Speaking of exercising, I'd like to share another recipe...lol...this one is for banana bread. Do you have a favorite banana bread recipe? Mine seems to change every couple of years when I find a new one that I think is even better. My favorite one right now is one that I found on the side of a bag of clearance bananas at Extra Foods. It has a nice crunchy upper crust that I love. The first time I made it, I used all white flour because I didn't have any whole wheat (crazy, I know...I am always trying to sneak some healthy ingredient(s) in!). So here it is:

Banana Bread

1/2 cup room temp butter (not marg unless you want to use block marg)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed (you can use thawed bananas too for extra-moist bread)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional--I'm allergic so I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan or line with parchment. You can also use a muffin tin (line with paper cups or spray with Pam).

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

In a seperate bowl, mix together flours, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture, mixing well.

Fold in bananas, vanilla, and walnuts.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 50-60 mins or until a toothpick poked in comes out clean. (My banana bread takes 65-70 mins, so just keep an eye on yours!). Let cool in pan 10 mins, then dump onto a cooling rack. Makes one loaf. For muffins, bake until a toothpick removed comes out clean, 20-30 mins.

Enjoy with a thick slathering of butter or cream cheese, and let me know what you think!