Diaper Review

A wonderful fellow TX Ruby sent me this awesome diaper to try out with little Jay bird. Mrs. Jennifer Bryant over at The Dandelion Field makes this All In One diapers and they are pretty nifty! I compared them to my current Daisy Doodles (which Jay is outgrowing at an alarming rate) and here they are:

Jay in his AIO diaper from The Dandelion Field - it was bigger than the Daisy Doodle (whose claim to fame is the slimness of their diaper) but had no leakage at all. He has not peed this diaper out yet. It is great to put it on (it Velcros) and take it off and throw the whole thing in the diaper pail, wash, and dryer. Super simple.

Here is his Daisy Doodle (for size comparison). I really like these also because of the snap in inserts - that way I don't have to purchase a lot of covers. He has leaked out of these quite a bit though and they are snap diapers - one of the snaps came off pretty quick on one of my favorite Aggie Maroon diapers.

Jay really enjoy's tee time.....

The AIO from The Dandelion Field is a great diaper - especially if you want something super easy - just throw the whole thing in the diaper pail - no muss no fuss no inserts to fiddle with.

This is how Jennifer came about making these little gems:

Several years ago, we found out that we were pregnant with our first blessing from God. Soon after his birth, a dear friend turned me on to cloth diapering. There are so many things to choose from! Stuffers to covers to prefolds...but I really wasn't finding what I wanted. So, I came up with a design that had all I was looking for. After a bit of trial and error, I came up with exactly what I had been looking for.

The Dandelion All-In-One Diaper. Put them on/take them off like a disposable-BUT-just toss it into the wash instead of the trash! Nothing to stuff in, or take out. Just on and off easy! They have a hidden PUL (polyurethane laminate) layer to keep "goodies" in the diaper. A nice, soft layer of fleece next to your baby's skin to wick moisture away to the microfiber soaker hidden inside the diaper. There are several thirsty layers of the microfiber to absorb and keep your sweetie dry. The leg openings have encased elastic so that it never touches baby's tender skin. You will also get a custom fit every time because of the encased elastic at the back and hook and loop closure at the front. Then, of course there are the cute prints and designs on the outer part of the diaper. No plain ol' boring diaper covers here! Then, when you're ready to toss them into the wash, they have easy fold back tabs to keep them from catching onto everything in the wash.

"Finally! Something that's easy!" my dear husband said.

Once I decided that I really liked this design, off I went. It really has become an addiction! I just have so much fun picking out the fabrics and putting them all together. I branched out from there with our Tag Blankets. And now keep having all these ideas that I'm working on. There will always be something new in our store. So, here we are now with two children and lots of friends and sewing up a storm. Life is so good!

Please visit her store and take a look at all her handmade items!

Snow Storm...

At least it was to us!



The view out my bathroom window



this is looking out the girls window


our front porch (still under construction)


Jack's BMW was iced under...


Katie and her "mountain" of ice.....

Recipe - Kale Salad

This kale salad is pretty simple:

1 head of kale pulled or cut into small pieces

splash apple cider or lemon juice

splash olive oil

now is the fun part - put these together and smash with your hands until the kale is wilty - almost looks like cooked kale

now add:

some cumin - maybe 1 tbls

some hemp seeds

an avocado - if you want to

any other things that sound good to you - the cumin is REALLY good though

mash some more - if you added avocado mash it until it blends in well

I also like to take some pumpkin seeds and whiz them in the coffee grinder and sprinkle on top

The kids eat this up - they want more and more...Mommy and Daddy hold their own too :)

22 Pictures

Katie got ahold of my camera the other day and took pictures of our cute little Jay pulling up in his crib....22 pictures...of the same pose... but they were all pretty darn cute!

Bella's B-Day

We celebrated Bella's birthday with some good friends of ours - the Harris family. We had a small tea party with just us girls while the boys played outside - it was a wonderful day!


Katie made and decorated the cake - gluten free I might add... and the frosting is honey cream cheese and dyed pink with strawberries...



Ms. Camille had the table all ready for us - it was a beautiful layout.



Katie served tea


Bella's good friend Jubi



I don't know what Camille said that was so funny, but everyone thought it was hilarious.

Jay Bird

My baby is growing so fast! I cannot believe he is 8 months old now!

Ice Cream Breakfast

Remember when it was warm out side - like 3 mornings ago.....before the snow....
The kids (Bella) decided they wanted some of our raw banana ice cream for breakfast. For those that don't know, Bella likes green things - she eats spirulina tablets like nobody's business, she loves Dr. Shultz green pills and eats them like candy and she really enjoys the Spirulina Goji bar from Mr. Glen's market.... so we made what Bella wanted - green ice cream.
We put some frozen banana's , some spinach, ground flax, a spoon coconut oil (expeller pressed) and processed away in the food processor.




I thought mine looked a bit naked, so I added Chia seeds - as did everyone else!

Yep we ate it all up! It was grrrrrrreat!!

Recipe - Potato Cauliflower Curry

Sauce:
Some broth or water in the bottom of a pan
Add some onions and garlic
Saute until soft
Add 1-3 Tbls curry
1 Teas - 1 Tbls ginger (if you use fresh ginger, saute it with the onions and garlic)
Stir this for a bit and then add some water - enough to make a "sauce" - probably a cup or so
Make another cup of water with 1 Tbls arrowroot and add this
1-2 Tbls coconut cream concentrate (optional - just great coconut flavor!)
Stir until thick - if it is too thick for you, just add more water a little at a time

Steam:
You can be steaming this while making the sauce
1 head cauliflower
about 5 potatoes cut into small pieces


Put the potatoes and cauliflower in a pretty bowl and pour sauce over. I put this in a glass container, poured sauce over and put it in the fridge - we had it tonight (2 days later) and it was wonderful!

New - recipes

Ok - this blog is going to double (for now) as our family blog and recipe/ "what do you eat" blog. We get so many questions about what we eat, how we do it, and recipe request we decided to just put it here to save time... now, if we get really crazy, we might one day have a separate blog for this foodie stuff - but for now, here it is..

Today we spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen doing our "once a week" cooking. We try and cook up some soups and main dishes on Saturday to make life easier on us during the week - we actually just started this about 2 Saturdays ago, but it is working great. Katie loves to bake, so today we did a "bake off" with three gluten free dessert recipes we found. We usually adapt the recipes to fit our family (like using honey instead of sugar and coconut oil in place of butter, etc..) - I will post the original recipe and the adaptations when I can (i.e. when I remember to)



This is Flourless Chocolate Banana Cake from SouthernHopeFarm

3 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup honey
¼ cup coconut oil
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2
bananas) (no need to mash really)
½ cup cocoa powder


1. In a vita-mix, whip egg yolks, honey and salt on medium
for 1-2 minutes
2. Add coconut oil and mashed banana and blend for
another minute or two ( we just added banana without mashing)
3. Blend in cocoa powder
4. In a bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks
5. Gently fold contents of vita-mix into bowl with egg whites
6. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and pour batter into pan (used glass 8x8 )
7. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes
SouthernHopeFarm




These are Coconut Flour Brownies
Got this recipe from HERE

Brownies Made with Coconut Flour
1/3 cup coconut oil (or butter) (we used coconut oil - expeller pressed)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup sugar (we subbed 1 cup honey)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1 cup nuts chopped
In a saucepan at low heat, melt butter and blend in cocoa powder. ( Katie and I just used warmed coconut oil and beat in the cacao)
Remove from heat and let cool .
In a bowl, beat together eggs, honey, salt and vanilla .
Stir in cocoa mixture.
Add well sifted coconut flour and whisk the batter well until there are no lumps.
Fold in the nuts.
Pour batter into a greased 8" or 9" square baking pan.
Bake at 350' for 30-35 minutes.


This is an adaptation of "Fudge Pie" from Whole Foods For the Whole Family
3/4 cups cacao
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
3 eggs
1 Tbls vanilla

Beat with mixer or process in food processor. Pour into pie plate and bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.
This one is so simple that Bella put it together and beat it with the hand mixer.

Now - we did a taste off between the Coconut Flour brownies and the Chocolate Banana Cake - Me, Bella and Card liked the Chocolate Banana Cake - it was moist and tasted a little like a warm banana... with chocolate..and honey...YUM!
Now, Daddy and Katie liked the brownies - they were very dark chocolate tasting... also quite YUM!!
Jack enjoyed everything and when I asked him which he liked better he replied "Cake Me"... meaning - he wanted more of anything I would pass to him :)

Hip Chickens

Yep - our chickens are wearing the finest in Chicken Jewelry - certified, real, not plated, Styrofoam...

Ponds Done

Well - almost... they still need a little work - but they are lined! Thanks to all who helped - Harris boys, Glen, Greg, Bill and Jake....

The babies enjoy using Dad-Dad's dirt piles as a slide - this was before the rain, rain, and more rain we have been enjoying lately

Dad-Dad and Jay having a talk about ponds, barns, etc..

Papa Perkins

My grandfather has been diagnosed with cancer - it has spread all over and they have said "take him home and make him comfortable". Here are the kids with him a couple Sunday's ago - please pray for him as we try and talk to him about his salvation.....

Went to visit him today and he was looking pretty good. Got him to talking about the times in Livingstone - he owned a trailer in Livingstone just down from the lake. We would go up during the summer and fish, swim, and just have fun. Played "Sorry" till all hours of the night, had fresh catfish each night for dinner - it was a great time. Where does the time go??? Just the other day I was a little blonde headed girl riding in my papa's boat out to "Pine Island" to swim while the adults did the "fishing thing" (which I grew to love later ). I would spend hours swimming around (almost got stuck under the boat once, dont mention that one to my parents!). Then the nights spent out on the boat with my dad and sometimes my Uncle Brady. I would usually fall asleep on the floor of the boat - how did they know to bring blankets and a pillow?? They were probably glad that I stopped talking for a bit :) Ahh - I can almost smell the pinecones in the woods that surrounded the trailer. What a blessing to have such wonderful childhood memories!

Restoration Farms

A day out visiting some friends - and something about butchering a hog, but I doubted you wanted to see any of those pictures...

"Here, let me show you how..."

Girls room - DONE!!

Greenbeans in the Garden

We have been listening to this for days now - since we saw the West girls in Inherit the Land...

Greenbeans in the Garden by The West Girls

The amazing belly button...

It's an inny


until he eats!!