Note to Self: Cacoa Nibs

So I had heard good things about the superfood cacoa nibs. How good it is for you and how it beats chocolate cravings etc. So when I was perusing through the new-to-me and utterly awesome Indianapolis based Under the Sun (UTS) store and came across a bag for $2.00 as opposed to the typical $6-$15 price range I had been seeing online and at health stores, I figured I would pick up a bag.

So sitting in the slightly sketchy looking UTS parking lot I decided to pop the bag open and shove a handful in my mouth. Looks like chocolate pieces, kinda smells like chocolate pieces, and heck I haven't even had breakfast yet and it is nearing 10:00 am now so why not?

Gag, sputter, cough!

Yeah, not what I was expecting. They are like super, ultra, uber DARK chocolate pieces but with a kinda nutty taste - not something you shove in by the handful. Maybe like 4-5 pieces a time or something.

The bag says to add it to smoothies! baking mixes! etc...and I am looking up some sort of candiefied recipe now haha. But yea word of warning for you. :)

To Remember...

What every child wants to know is, “do your eyes light up when I walk in the room?” – Toni Morrison

Our Summer Bucket List

Always seems like summer is over before I have a chance to blog about our bucket list. This year especially - felt like we waited for warm weather that never really came.

1. Creek stomping: did this at a local park where we celebration our 10th anniversary with dinner grilled out at the park just like we did on one of our first dates.

2. Grill out dinner at a park - Note to self, remember towels or napkins, bug spray, something for the baby to sit in and matches or a good lighter haha! Dinner was excellent though once we finally got it going. Also pick a table in the shade - and bring a table cloth.

3. Farmers market with the family - this still needs checked off!

4. Playdates at the park - thankful for Gina with the Franklin Playdate Group for getting this accomplished!

5. Busy Bag Swap


6. Potholes near Attica - been on our list for a while and finally made it!

7. Indiana State Fair or local fair

8. Using up tomatoes and garden produce - here's to BLTs, pizza toppings, and bruschetta!

9. Sleepover up north visiting family

10. Blueberry picking (check)! Note that toddlers really are not so much into blueberry picking....or strawberry picking - or anything involving excessive heat, bugs and not being able to eat the berries right away.

11. Strawberry picking

12. Community pool visits

13. Splash pad visits

14. Sprinkler or slip n slide backyard fun

15. watertable fun on the deck

16. Planting pots of annuals for the patio

17. Movie in the Park

18. Zoo trip

19.

20.

Now on to our fall bucket list!!

Free activities for Tots (and more) at Your Local Library

One of the things that I have taken advantage of more now with finding myself laid-off in the last month or two has been all the great free activities at our local libraries! From tot pasta art to preschool reading programs there is so much to do! Next month we plan on learning about how to make rootbeer, bike safety including free helmets, learning about bats and more!

Check out what your local library system is up to - their calendar of events may surprise you!

Top 10 FREE Family Fun Things to Do at the Indiana State Fair

Indoor Playground where we lost the balloon

My husband and I have made the Indiana State Fair a family tradition. Each year visiting as many of the exhibits and family areas that we can cram into an afternoon before exhaustion kicks in. So much to do and learn, even for adults! Little tidbit I learned this year was that Indiana is #4 in production for mint - who knew?!

For the kiddos there are definitely more than just rides - in fact we try to avoid that wallet-sucking area as much as we can - that and the food area -- heck, bring a picnic!- with kiddos you are already carting around so much anyways - why not pack a little cooler with hard boiled eggs or sandwiches and chips, etc. And our oldest (almost 4) doesn't even like cotton candy - so no fights for that haha!

So (in no particular order) here's our list of free to-do's each year:

1. DNR Building: The butterfly habitat right outside is a huge hit with our daughter and the lovely cold knee level fountain is mommy's favorite spot to rest and cool her feet off. The building itself is a cooling retreat from the harsh sun and a fun walk through of Indiana aquatic life.

2. Little Hands on the Farm: Featuring a free fun little farm walk through where the children all don aprons and  complete farm activities including "egg" and "apple" collecting and you even get to ride/drive a tractor - and wrap up with a visit at the "store" to trade in your "money" for a drink or snack I think...this is a good 20 minute activity so for those waiting with the stroller and sleeping baby outside the activity - hang tight. :)

3. FFA Pavillion: The free putt putt course and shredded-tire playground is a great spot to rest from all the walking. Lots of the buildings also feature a little area where kiddos can color with free printables - we are right at that age where that is a huge hit - take advantage of it if you need to!

Peeping cute chicks/ pullets

Friendly ducklings in the Poultry and Rabbit Barn

Cattle Barn

4. Barn Walk-Throughs: There is the obligatory and entertaining brief jaunt through the cattle or swine barn (or both) complete with "ughs!" and nose-holding as you watch the cows getting prepped and ready for showing - or watching them rest etc :). But our favorite is the Poultry and Rabbit Building where posts signs everywhere say not stick fingers in the cages - but that little bunny tush pressed up against the mesh of the crate is too much to bear. And where fuzzy chicks and ducklings peep and walk up to the sides of their cages to greet enthusiastic young onlookers. Encubators with hatching eggs are popular spots too and who doesn't love the onslaught of rooster crows :) and hilarious looking chickens.










5. Farm Bureau Building: The nice thing about this spot is the bathrooms, A/C and of course the free popcorn!

Dupont Food Pavillion

6. DuPont Food Pavillion: One of our favorites! Always a demo going on about recipes (Red Gold, etc) and usually includes a little taste for the audience. Food samples around the building from salsa to honey...and you can watch the cheese sculpture being form and the littles can play in the little interactive area.

Planting sunflower seeds at Seed Survivor in the Ag/Hort Building

Gourd activity in the Ag/Hort Building

7. Ag/Hort Building: More look-see and respite from the heat. My favorite is the Can creations of all things - where they compete with grand displays made from food cans - this year's favorite was a huge construct of Olaf from Frozen. This area has a great honey bee area, and walk throughs of award winning things like wreaths and produce, etc. This year we happened upon a free gourd decorating area for kiddos and the Seed Survivor activity where you can color sheets, and plant and take home a sunflower seed and more! We also sat in on a demo from this year's Honey-Bee queen and got to sample her recipe for honey-orange smoothies - very yum!

Olaf "Can"struction

8. Angie's List Garden: full of great free activities and crafts and also a free balloon!....which we promptly lost :( ....and much screaming ensued. Tie that puppy to a hairtie on your wrist next time - oy!

9. Pathway to Water Quality: Great little outdoor walkthrough along a path of shade trees and you can fill your thermos with great cold well water!

Lactation Tent near the Little Hands on the Farm and Pathway to Quality

10. Lactation Stations: This for us has been such a great relief. Two different stations at each end of the fair made for moms to step in and nurse or change diapers and grab a cool water and refresh on sunscreen and if you forgot yours they have some as well as some diapers and wipes if you find yourself in a bind. The volunteers for these booths are great - so much so that they inspired me to sign up for a shift this year - loved being able to give back to a cause that made me feel welcome. Of course you can nurse wherever you need to at the fair - but these little areas are a nice place to meet up with other mom's or, like in the RV, get a way from all the distractions so the baby can focus on eating.

RV Lactation Station - air condition and more private if needed for the distract-ababy

Blogger Family Distelrath Farm Tour

Had the pleasure of joining fellow bloggers an a great tour of the awesome Distelrath Farm - located nearer to downtown Indy than you think! Just east on Raymond St.

The tour walked us along a mulched path past a fenced in chickens, a rabbit hutch, muddy pigs, goats and sheep and back to the chickens. The kiddos were given bags of old bread and were allowed to toss hunks of bread to the happily awaiting animals. Even got to hunt for eggs in the chicken coops! Delaney found one!

We cannot wait to go back and visit on a Saturday morning (open to the general public at that time) and to learn more about joining this great farm co-op.

Links to learn more:

Distelrath Farm
Follow them on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DistelrathFarms
Find Them on: Facebook

Distelrath Farm Tour - Coming Up

Very excited to take part in the upcoming Blogger Family Farm Tour at Distelrath Farm. We drove past this new-to-us location on our way to our fairly ill-fated strawberry picking family adventure earlier this year (too hot outside for my wee babes that day) and have been wanting to go ever since! I creaned my neck in the passenger seat to see more as we drove past - I did see some lovely chickens and have been seeing write-ups about the location. Cannot wait to fill you all in on this gem!

Fresh Thyme Farmers Market Greenwood

I am so incredibly excited about Fresh Thyme Farmers Market coming to Greenwood! We are in an area pretty devoid of much in the way of natural food stores - and if you can find them - they are fairly small and not vary diverse what they carry. I cannot find what I need from one store - I end up having to go to different ones each week for what I need.

Was lucky enough to be on invited to the Friends and Family Night this week for Fresh Thyme to get a little beforehand sneak peek at what this store has to offer.

And woah.

You guys are going to love this place!

Really good prices - talking like 77 cent strawberries! Kinda unheard of for a health food store. So much produce, so much deli items, so many bulk pantry items....you can pour your own honey, olive oil and more! So happy!

And for all the dairy free and gluten free peeps - this store has your back! From pizza, to ice cream and more - happy dairy free day!! I wanted to skip joyously down the aisles! Ha! This stuff is hard to find on our side of town unless you count the tiny natural foods section in Kroger.

Essential oils, bath and beauty products, cereals, it is pretty cool.

Check it out!

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ABOUT FRESH THYME:


At Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets we believe you shouldn’t have to give away the farm to feed your body nutritious food. We’re on a mission to improve the way our communities eat by offering fresh and healthy food at amazing values -all in a vibrant and fun shopping environment, with smiling friendly faces.

The foundation of healthy eating is often based on incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets. Therefore, at the core of our offerings is an abundant produce department, overflowing with fruits and vegetables, fresh from the farm, often locally grown and much of it organic. We’re so passionate about produce that we’ve made it the nucleus of the store, ensuring the bounty of fruits and vegetables is visible from all other departments.

Here is more on the Grand Opening:

http://freshthyme.com/news/fresh-thyme-farmers-market-opening-first-indiana-store-on-june-12-in-indianapolisgreenwood

Summer's here!

So glad to be done with winter - but my do we have some catching up to do! Time flies with two! :)

Diving Into Dairy Free

So we have decided to go dairy free for our little miss Ainsley. Bouts of fussiness and arching her back through all hours of the night even on reflux medication (same as we had done for Delaney 3 years ago) lead us back to the pediatrician and also a chiropractor for insight and answers and also to rule out any ear infection, etc. Everything ruled out - so the elephant left standing is dairy in my diet. (and possibly soy- but we are going to talk about that right now - because if you take out dairy there is almost nothing left it feels - and so to also remove soy - omg let's just not go there right now). Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese are my saving graces right now - take those out and then what?? Yikes. Ok..on to the dairy free stuff.

When you first think about going dairy free it is pretty crippling. All you goes through your mind is what you cannot have. But there is light at the end of tunnel for all you fellow dairy-free people out there! I know you have that deer in the headlights look as you grip your bottle of powdered probiotics and stare at your pantry and fridge...because it is ALL DAIRY...but rest easy. There are options, choices, and you WILL feel better - and obviously baby will too.

We started this journey about a month ago and it has made a big difference for me even. I cheated and had a cupcake with dairy cream cheese and was in so much pain myself afterwards. Oy.

So here are your first steps if you are going dairy free that I found helped me.

1. Stock up on the staples: Kroger has an awesome natural food section that features a lot of what you need to go dairy free. The idea of trying to fit in an extra trip to the healthfoods store was daunting to think about when toting around two children during our limited weekend time - but really I have been able to find almost everything I need at Kroger. Yay, Kroger! :) Meijer has limited items and I haven't foraged Walmart for dairy-free so I cannot report on the scene there if there is one...but save your sanity and go to Kroger.

Buy dairy free staples that will help you daily in cooking, baking. Almost any recipe can be modified to be dairy free - this is freeing to think! Creamy casseroles, cookies, etc....modify, modify, modify.

Here is your staple list:

• Dairy Free Butter
• Dairy Free Cream Cheese
• Dairy Free Sour Cream
• Alternative Milks (coconut, almond, or rice)
• Alternative Cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, etc)

I found it helpful to go ahead and buy half gallon cartons of several different alternative milks...so yes, there is an entire shelf in my fridge dedicated to milk.

I have found that almond milk has much more subtle taste than soy milks or coconut milk - making it great at modifying recipes that call for cows milk. I haven't tried rice milk yet - but may here in the future just to see how it compares to almond milk.

On the dairy-free cheese - do not hold much hope on these folks. Unlike the easy substitutions from dairy to non on the milks, sour cream, etc....cheese is in a league of it's own and I haven't tried enough of the alternatives out there to say what works best. I have tried what I read was the best and...eh. Just not cheese. Helps ease the transition, but so obviously not cheese. Especially cheddar. Just a word of warning on that.

In my fridge:

• Almond Milk Original - is slightly sweetened. Works as a great substitute in baked goods, cereal milk, french toast, and frostings.
• Almond Milk Unsweetened - for things like mashed potatoes, cooking dishes like casseroles etc where you wouldn't want a sweetened taste at all.
• Almond Milk Chocolate - helps with those chocolate milk cravings! And yum!!
• Coconut Milk - Coconut milk is a fattier milk than almond milk and works in recipes calling for whole milk. I have used mine to make an uh-mazing dairy-free ranch dressing.
• Tofutti Cream Cheese - great for subbing in recipes that call for cream-cheese including frostings.
• Tofutti Sour Cream - goes great on tacos, and any recipe calling for sour cream.
• Daiya Cheeses - Cheddar and Mozarella

My dairy-free sanity savers:

• Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Homemade Dairy-free ranch dressing - mix up a jar to keep in the fridge - you will be glad you did
• Hummus (do yourself a favor and add a clove of minced garlic and some olive oil, stir, and warm it up - yum) - sooo good and filling with warmed, soft pita bread cut into triangles.
• Bacon
• French bread loaves 
• Burger King French Fries

In the event that  I decide it might be worth it to try going soy-free:

• homemade soy-free "soy" sauce
• subbing  greek yogurt (something about the yogurt cultures eating the lactose making it ok for dairy free - haven't tried so not sure) for the tofutti sour cream
• kraft lactose free cheese ?? (statement found on Clarks Condensed: *Most brands of Kraft Natural Cheese have had the lactose removed, along with the whey, resulting in 0 grams of lactose, including the 100% Grated Parmesan that is used in this recipe. However, some remnants of lactose could remain, just not at a reportable level. From most that I’ve talked to that are lactose intolerant, Kraft Cheese does not bother them, but if you have an extreme intolerance, be cautious.")

Helpful Links:

• http://www.wikihow.com/Live-Without-Dairy-Products
• http://www.cookiesforbfast.com/2012/09/dairy-free-faves-snack-edition.html
• http://jennifermendelsohn.com/dairy.htm
• http://willingcook.com/surprising-premade-allergy-friendly-foods/
• http://mustfollowrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/01/pre-packaged-dairy-free-egg-free-peanut.html
• http://www.clarkscondensed.com/food/best-lactose-free-products/
• http://www.pinterest.com/hemhawseesaw/cheese-substitutes-dairy-free-soy-free/

Milk Conversions for Recipes (borrowed from: Cooking with Curls)

• Heavy Cream = Coconut Milk (can)
• Whole Milk = Coconut Milk (box) or Soy Milk
• Non Fat Milk = Almond or Rice Milk
• Half & Half = Half Coconut Milk (can) & Half Coconut Milk (box)

Delaney-isms

"Oh no! My hands are cracked!"

(She is just now noticing and referring to the lines on her palms and also that her skin is so dry from this brutal winter. She originally wanted a bandaid or "bandage" as she refers to them as for the cracks. Ha!)

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"Delaney, who is your new friend at daycare?"

"Angry."

"Angry? Is she mad? Or is that her name?"

"That is her name."

"??"

(Turns out her name is Avery and, small world that it is, she is the child of someone we went to high school with!)

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Also "Octopus" can be easily confused with "Apple Purse" :) 

Daddy and Delaney were having craft time and he asked her what she wanted him to make her out of the craft paper. And she said an Apple Purse - so that is what he made...and she told him no and took it from him and cut the bottom all up (for legs) :) 

It wasn't until a few days later when he was retelling me the story that we put it together. 

(Indianapolis) To Do with Toddlers: Veal's Ice Tree

This has been one of those soul sucking winters that just makes you want to pack up and move to the equator. I mean S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y. Now add in an on-the-go toddler and an infant and you practically spell out stir crazy.

We packed everyone up this past weekend and spent a day at the mall (ugh), the three-year-old burnt some energy with Dad at the indoor playground (yes, germ-city - we know...)and Mom took the baby around to cross off some returns from our list of to-do's.

Afterwards we revved up the GPS and headed towards I-74 in search of the fabled ice tree. I have heard about it off and on for the last several years but never made it out that way. It really is a must-see! In person this ice sculpture is just magnificent and jaw dropping - makes you stand there in the family's backyard in utter awe and silence. Definitely will be a seasonal family tradition from now on! In fact Delaney asked to see it again this morning -- a full two days later! Next time we will remember to bundle the baby - so THAT's why those pink baby snow-suit things exist - aha!

Pick up a brochure while you are there and read more about the tree and it's history - fun little back story.

Leftover Magic and Improvised Refridgerator Cooking

There is something exciting about taking ho hum leftovers and creating something fantastic out of it. I also see the random left overs in the fridge as a bit of a challenge. Sour cream, whipping cream, half a box of vegetable stock....bring it.

We had went out Saturday night on a rare double date night with some new friends and came home with half of a chicken. I told him to order pasta but he swears he didn't hear me - but either way we came home with an entire half a chicken that he didn't touch much of. I do admit it didn't look good - neither of us enjoy picking meat off bones.

Sunday night rolled around and I was still looking for ways to use up the half a box of vegetable stock that has been in our fridge from a pasta sauce recipe we tried. Perusing through my evernote recipes for inspiration - it hit!

Half a left over chicken fully seasoned and cooked from the restaurant + vegetable stock + sour cream + 1/4 bag of tortilla chip crumbles = Enchilada Soup!

It is a recipe I have saved in my evernote account for awhile now that has sounded so good! Though at first, as it was cooking up I was skeptical - wasn't hitting me as great as far as smell or taste with just the chicken, store-bought veg stock and tomatoes. Not to mention that I forgot to grab heavy cream from the store - boo! Nothing else to do but improvise! Took advantage of the "cream of something soup mix" I had made up quite a while ago in the pantry - put in 2-3 tablespoons. And a few tablespoons of flour, a few tablespoons of butter - lots of salt and pepper.

But what really made this meal come to together are the add-ins. They take the soup from mediocre to sheer inhalatino-mode.

Here is what we added and suggest making mandatory if you plan on trying this recipe at all - of course they cannot be added on until last minute right before serving.

- crumbled tortilla chips (enough to make up for the thickness of the soup depending on how much chicken you put in etc - I never got the base to actually become creamy as the recipe states - of couse I didn't have heavy cream so this could why - no I take that back - it is definitely why - but I didn't want to NOT make it or run to the store again - so two handfuls of crumbled chips it is! 
- cheddar cheese
- monterrey jack cheese
- sour cream dollop
- green onion
- and inhale :)

Instagram: Let's be Friends

Who wants to join me on Instagram!?

More Easter Goodness

Just a little internet (Zuily) window shopping - carry on, carry on! :)

Think long, dark curls and a 3 year old + this purple dress












And this macaroon lip gloss - because, hello!

Web Finds Wednesday: Brace Yourselves Its a Long One ;)

10 Parenting Hacks that Changed My Life

My latest dinner inspiration = Buns In My Oven

Hometown Tourist Desitnation (where I want to visit next) = Holliday Park

Loaded Baked Potato Fritatta

Learn Web Design Guide

The Best Parenting Books I know

Colicky Babies May Have Wrong Bacteria

Crispy Chicken Wraps

The Way We Work Is Soul-Sucking, But Social Networks Are Not the Fix

Crispy Pork Carnitas

Inner Child Fun

10 Things Moms Need to Remember

12 Reasons the RIE Craze Isn't Crazy

Easter Basket Ideas 2014

Love learning gifts for our little ones and who doesn't love a good deal?! - this week Zuily has both!

Animal Puzzle Spelling Set

Octpus Bow Hair Clip

It's an "applepurse!" as my husband would say. (It's what he thought our little one was saying when she was tyring to say "octopus") 

P.S. I MUST find way to make these - too adorable!

More hair clip adorableness:

Ballet Slippers Clip (PERFECT for our ballerini-obsessed 3 year old!)

Animal Grabber Set

Also a little family inside joke here - and would totally replace the two beloved "sharkies" that managed to make it back to Indiana from our North Carolina vacation but have since met their demise through various tragedies that are inevitable to befall a flimsy plastic stick toy. :(

Maubs

Maubs is 3-year old speak for boobs. lol.

As in, "You maubs leaking, mom? Are they leaking?" Seeing my soaked shirt (hello nursing oversupply and overactive letdown) or watching as I scramble to locate where I put my nursing pads.

Ah the fun of having a 2 month old and a 3 yr old. :)

Web Finds Wednesday (Saturday Edition)

Awesome Story about a Bullied Kid Growing up to be an Awesome Adult

100 Things to Do in Indianapolis Before Your Kids Grow Up

To You Who Bring Small Children to Church

Deep Dish Cookie Pie (with a secret ingredient)

Wow

So a little behind is an understatement.

Our household as grown! Not only was baby #2 born (10 days late!) in a whirlwind of a labor and delivery (only 4 hours total! - holy wow!) but we also took in and bottle fed a kitten.

Gah!

So we are now at two kids, two dogs and two cats! Oy vey!

Hoping to jump on here more often - ya right - TWO kids remember?? No, but really I miss it and need to get back to it! :)

Anyone faithful enough to stick around and still be reading??