Snack Please?

I've been trying out lots of new recipes this summer and wanted to share a few of our new favorite snacks. The first is homemade granola (gluten-free of course :-) found here. This was super fun to make because I had my little sous chef join in on the action. Great pre-math lesson too, as little man is becoming quite the counter!

I prepared the ingredients during Judah's nap

Chop chop! 

When I told Judah it was time to stir the pan, he said "No mommy, sweep!" You're right, little buddy, "sweeping" the oats around worked out much better :-)

in the oven! 

Finished product...oh so yummy. 

Another summer favorite has been Almond Energy Bites found here or "Energy Balls" as they are affectionately called at our house~recommended by my dear friend Andrea, aka "Isaac's mommy." Judah first tasted one of these at Isaac's house and even though I've made them several times this summer, he still says "Isaac's Mommy" when I give him one. Oh well. I don't have a picture of these because they are gobbled up by the the two men in my house soon after they are made! Gluten-free and great for kiddos with a peanut allergy because they are made with almond butter. (Hint: I use a little less agave nectar than listed or you can substitute honey...both make them not as sweet, which seems to be better. I also substitute dark chocolate chunks for the raw cocoa nibs.)


And lastly, we've been making kale chips to substitute for all of those tortilla chips that are usually consumed by the Nixes. So easy and very delicious! This is the recipe I use....the olive oil in plastic bag trick is the way to go!

Quite possibly my favorite meal of the summer...
gluten-free basil-pesto BLTs and kale chips.

Happy Snacking! 

Fun in Bama!

The first week in August gave us the much anticipated summer trip to Alabama...back to my hometown to visit family and friends. Although these trips are now much more expensive (thanks to a little someone turning 2 and needing his own seat on the plane) I must say that this self-proclaimed "big kid" is quite the airplane passenger~making flights a little easier. Can you tell he was excited to board?!

waiting to board the plane while flying his own

One of my favorite things about visiting is getting to see Judah with his cousins, Marlee and Maggie...or as Judah sometimes affectionally calls them "Margie," as one unit of course :-) Not sure if the highlight of this trip was visiting the zoo....

Or celebrating Marlee's 8th birthday...

I think the birthday party wins out because of this...

It's safe to say he enjoyed himself.

We also visited with lots of old friends. So special for me~and pretty cool for Judah, too, as they all brought along their kiddos. Here is a shot of most of us (a few didn't make the picture) after a fun day at my parents' pool. And yes, after one too many cookies and a few too many hours past his nap time I just couldn't get Judah to hold it together for the pic. Next time, buddy.

And one of my college besties, Brooke, visited another day. Judah had so much fun swimming with Sawyer.

And we finally got to meet Sawyer's precious baby brother, Ben Fischer! My niece was quite the babysitter, too ;-)

I'm pretty sure every other second of the trip was spent in the pool with this cool kid, my very own Olympic swimmer.

It was a great, action-packed trip and I think we're finally caught up on sleep. Yay! In the words of J-man anytime we leave a place, "See you next time!"

Lil Fish

So much to catch you up on...I'll get to it I promise. Tonight I just want to share some evidence that our lil' man went from being quite apprehensive of the pool early this summer to this by the first of August...

He now jumps off "all by self" without me there to catch him. Too bad I don't have video of this yet. It really was priceless. After jumping off the diving board a few times, he boldly declares as he stands on the edge and points to his chest, "Big Kid!" I know what this means. He does not want mommy to catch him. I give in and off he goes...huge jump, goes way under, comes up smiling and swimming to ladder..."all by self." It's true I tell ya.