No Bake Energy Bites - From My Pinterest Addiction

I was browsing through Pinterest and found a pin for No-Bake Energy Bites at Smashed Peas and Carrots Blog.  I'm on a healthy eating lifestyle change and decided that these would work well. But when I went to make them, I did not have coconut and while I did have chocolate chips, I did not want to add them in. My new version tasted like Preacher Cookies (also known as No-Bakes) without all the sugar and butter.  I'm sure the original recipe would be delicious as well.  Here is what I came up with:

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 heaping tablespoon  nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla

I tend to keep wheat gluten for making bread.  I added it here because it has a lot of vitamin C.  I added the nutritional yeast because of it's health properties as well.  Now when I added the cocoa powder, I expected it to taste like chocolate without the added calories of the chips, but I was happily surprised that it made the energy bites taste very similar to the preacher cookies that I grew up with.  Now it's not as sweet obviously, but a good enough substitute for me! According to the site of the original recipe, you can sub in and out many different things depending on what is in your pantry.  Try them and let me know what you think.

I'm Still Here

I hope to be doing some update posts soon!  We've been busy with illness' and a crazy life lately!  I do promise to start posting more pictures.  Here is a quick list of what's new:

• Daniel is co-directing a play at Pickens High School
• Sarah made straight A's on her report card!
• Ashton has really gotten into learning lately. He loves his schoolwork!
• Brenna is our little diva and a great big sister! 
• Ian was diagnosed with FPIES allergies and we will be narrowing down what that means over the next weeks.  He also slept through the night the other day. I love that kid!
• As for me, the Cottage Food Law is moving! It's going to the Senate floor next Tuesday.  I'll be testifying for a house sub-committee next week! That little petition I started a while back is close to having 1000 signatures.  I'm humbled by the support for our proposed new law!

There are more things that have been happening but that will come later.  For now, I hope you enjoy Ian's little sleeping picture.  He was so cute laying there holding his foot! Please ignore the fact that he's covered in food. He takes after Brenna when eating!

Stomach Bug Times 3!

Wow, I thought the cold was bad!  Sarah, Ashton and Brenna came down with the 24-48 hour stomach bug.  That's a whole lot of vomit for two worn out parents.  I know, it's a gross thought but it was I thought you would like to share my life for a bit.  Needless to say, for a couple of weeks (minus a few "well" days) we were taken over by the sick bug. It was a long, intense couple of weeks and I'm glad we are past it.  I would never wish three kids with the stomach bug on anyone!  But praise God we are healthy again and back to the normal insanity.  This week has started out very well and I'm glad that we are moving forward on a good note.

Three Sick Kids

We are in for a ride right now.  The three youngest kiddos are sick with some sort of cold.  There is a little coughing, some lovely fevers and all the runny noses a mom could ask for. And did I mention that it gets worse for all of them at night?  Well it does.  Brenna and Ashton get hit the worst from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. and then Ian wakes up with a spiked fever around 4 a.m. (give or take a half hour).  This time certainly tests even the toughest of moms.  As all that goes on, I must admit that I'm grateful to my heavenly father that they are fairly laid back during the day regardless of their symptoms.  Ian is the only one that is giving me a little trouble but that is more because he is a Mommas boy and does not believe that anything is more important than me holding him any time of day! 

Tomorrow I'm going to face the doctor dilemma. Do they have a standard cold or is it something more.  Should I take them to the doctor for a strep or flu test or do I wait it out 4 more days.  Most colds last 7-10 days and I may just be in the middle of things.  I really hate going in and hearing, "It's just a virus that's going around."  I know it should be reassuring, but I like my illness' with names and medications that treat them. 

Just keep praying for us.  I could use some down time to process all the things that have happened this past week. My mom's health continues to decline.  While the doctors will not say how long she has left, I know that there is a good chance that she will not live to see the end of January.  But for now I have the kiddos to focus on and it's taking most of my mental capacity to be on alert for all of them. Each day I have to draw up a medicine chart just to track the times they can have each one.  Have I mentioned that I'm being distracted by the Christmas decorations that are still up?  They are driving me nuts.  So many trivial things and other deep things.  Beginnings and endings all in one.  And laundry. There is always laundry!

2012 is Here!

The new year has started off and I don't even know what to say about it.  Right after Christmas, my mother's condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital in Key West, Florida.  She's had colon cancer for the past few years and it stopped responding to treatment in October. The relationship that I have with my family is strained at best.  I've talked with my mom a good bit over the past few years and found out about her condition by chance. My aunt and cousins came from Virginia to do the 16+ hour ride to Florida for our final visit with her. My aunt said that mom lit up when I came in the room.  I'm just glad I got to see her before the end.  Her mind is still working great, it's only her body that's not keeping up with her.  One of these days I'm going to write what I remember of our family story. 

My cousins and I decided to piece together all that we knew to see how things got to be so dysfunctional. It was eye opening and helped me to understand some stuff that I still questioned. I love seeing how we've all made a commitment to be different from how we were raised and to raise our kids in a different manner. 

On another note, the SC Cottage Food Law is still in the Medical Affairs Committee.  My friend in Edgefield is meeting with Senator Shane Massey to discuss what's going on.  I was going to go, but Ashton, Brenna and Ian are sick with some kind of head cold/fever combo.  I sent her my questions for the senator and I can't wait to hear about her meeting.

Sarah is doing great this year. Her violin playing is going well and I'm exited at how it has progressed.  Daniel and I are talking about looking into a private tutor at some point.  If possible, I think having one over the summer would help move her forward more.  She's doing great in school and loves being part of a few clubs.  She's smart and witty and hormonal.  I think that says it all! Ha!

Daniel is looking forward to the new year as well.  He's going to help direct a play at Pickens High this year.  Yes, I know he teaches in Easley, but he has a drama background and this may lead to a new opportunity career wise.  He's so gifted in teaching and I love seeing how he uses it to help another generation learn and grow.  I'm also very impressed with the new bed that he and a friend built Sarah.  We've wanted her in a loft bed for some time, but the expense has been more than we could afford.  After looking at some plans, we decided that we could build one and not pay a fortune!  After a little nudging, Daniel got together with a friend and in a day they had the thing cut and put together. I'm going to be painting it soon!  Sarah is excited to finally have her own bed and I'm glad to see one of them up!

This year we are looking forward to a lot of new things going on.  We're planning a trip to Williamsburg in the summer.  Ashton is already planning his next birthday.  Brenna may need her first root canal.  Okay, I'm not really looking forward to that but I thought I'd throw it in.  My baby boy will turn one!  We'll hopefully get to go to the beach and so much more will go on that we haven't even planned yet.  Oh, I almost forgot - I'm going to run a 5k (Lord willing)!  No matter what happens, it's going to be an exciting year for our family and I'm looking forward to it.

God Bless!

Breast Cancer Awareness Raffle Cake

Daniel asked me to make a special cake for the raffle at the local theatre.  Since I had family coming in and two other cakes, it made for a crazy weekend. I do wish I had had more time to spend on this cake.  It was dedicated to my mother-in-love who survived breast cancer before I met her and to my husbands grandmother who recently beat it as well.

Sarah's Birthday Cake

If I ever get time to add more than a few pictures, I will post some of the birthday photos.  For the time being, I'll just add the picture of her cake. She wanted an Addams family cake.  I wasn't sure what to do until I saw a house made of royal icing.  Unfortunately, it did not make it to the cake and I had to scramble for an alternative.  This is not my best work, but she loved it and that is what counts.  The house is made of rice krispy treats and the cake is Sarah's favorite spice cake with cream cheese icing.