Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!

Making salt dough ornaments has been on my list of things to try for several years now, and this year, we finally made them.  They were super duper easy to make (only 3 ingredients!), and The Littlest Apple and I both had lots of fun painting them once they were dry.  We used washable tempera paints, but I’m sure acrylic would also work well.  You can play around with stamps and pressing patterns into the dough before baking (we did a few of those, like the red star that you can just barely see in the very top right of the photo below).  Next year we might break out the glitter too!

One special thing we did this year was the Family Thumbprint Christmas Tree Ornament (you can see 2 pictured above).  I wanted a way to document our last year as a family of 3, and I thought this would be a cute way to do it.  We pressed our thumbprints into the dough before baking, and then I colored them each a different color and added some details and our name with a black fine-tip Sharpie.  Next year, we’re going to need a bigger tree ornament to fit all 4 of our thumbprints!  This was actually the only salt dough ornament that went on the tree.

The rest were used for gift tags!  Part necessity because we ran out of gift tags, part “okay, what do we do with all of the ornaments now that we made them?”  Aside from their slightly delicate nature (I did accidentally break one when I stacked a few presents on top of each other), I LOVE the way the salt dough ornaments look as gift tags.  I wrote on them with a fine tip sharpie.

One batch of dough made plenty for us!

Salt Dough Ornaments

recipe from The Happy Housewife

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup warm water

Mix together flour and salt.  Then mix in the warm water.  Mix until you have a dough that is similar in consistency to pie crust.  Take the dough and place it on a floured surface.  Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. If you don’t have cookie cutters you could use a glass to cut circles.  Put the shapes on a cookie sheet.  Then take a sharp object (I used a meat thermometer) to put a small hole in each shape where you will insert the ribbon. Make sure the hole goes all the way through the dough, because it will close up slightly while baking.  Bake the salt dough ornaments for 4 to 6 hours at 200 degrees or until hardened.  Paint and decorate as desired!

A few days ago, The Littlest Apple and I sat down to look through all the cookie recipes I’ve pinned to select some to make for Santa.  He was very interested in these cookies, but decided we should make them for Santa’s reindeer since they are called REINDEER Bites Cookies.  I thought the reindeer were getting carrots and reindeer food (of the oatmeal and glitter variety) at our house like they did last year, but The Littlest Apple had other plans.  And once he has an idea in his head, good luck convincing him otherwise (he gets that from me).  So, Reindeer Bites Cookies for Santa’s reindeer.  Oh, and he was also insistent that we needed to bake different cookies for Santa.  So I’ll have another cookie recipe coming soon…

As for the Reindeer Bites Cookies…what’s not to love?  These cookies are simple to make, and even though they look rather plain, there are so many wonderful add-ins: the coconut-shredded AND coconut extract, graham cracker crumbs AND pieces, caramel bits and chocolate chunks.  The batter of these cookies reminded me very much of the Samoas/Caramel deLite Girl Scout Cookies.  So yes, I indulged in cookie dough batter.  Again.  And suffered for it.  Again. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now….but I just couldn’t resist this delicious cookie dough!  I’m guessing Santa’s reindeer are going to enjoy these too.

Here’s the recipe, in case you want an extra special treat for the reindeer when they visit your house…

Reindeer Bites Cookies

recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter flavored shortening (Picky Apple Note: I substituted real butter for this!)
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1 c. caramel bites
• 1 c. coconut
• 1 c. chocolate chunks
• 1/4 c. graham cracker chunks

Yesterday was a busy day of baking cookies, painting salt dough ornaments, working on the nursery, a trip to Target, and wrapping Christmas presents late into the night.  As a result, blogging got put on the back-burner yesterday (and I was on such a roll with posting!)  I think it’s going to be go, go, go around here for the next few weeks (and then some!).  On the agenda for today: get old car(s) (yes, plural) tuned up, washed and vacuumed in preparation for trading them in tomorrow (new car day!!!), write thank you notes for baby gifts received, do some deep cleaning around the house, work on the nursery, and finish (and deliver?) a few handmade gifts.  Whew!  It’s good thing The Littlest Apple is spending the day (and night) with my parents.

Now that The Littlest Apple is out of school for the Christmas break, I can share this great Foot Soak I made for his preschool teachers.  I’ve created homemade scrubs before (for Mother’s Day), but this gift idea caught my eye on Pinterest because it was a foot soak, not a scrub, and included peppermint tea.  Also, it wasn’t super oily like lots of other scrubs.  Teachers who are on their feet all day herding preschoolers deserve something luxurious and refreshing to soak their tired feet in at the end of the day, don’t you think?!  (Not a bad idea for pregnant women either, so I made myself a batch too!)  This soak was amazingly easy to make, and The Littlest Apple enjoyed helping me stir together the ingredients.  I packaged it in these jars that I just love (I bought some of mine at Garden Ridge Pottery and some at Hobby Lobby), and kept my labeling and ribboning to a minimum (mostly because I made about 10 of these and got burnt out by the ribboning stage).

I paired the foot soak with a Rice Heat Therapy Pack containing eucalyptus essential oils, also hand sewn by me.  Yes, 10 of them.  I’m glad to have that marked off my To Do list!  I found a super cute fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby, and I’m already itching to use it for myself somehow.

I’m kicking myself for not getting any better pictures of this stuff for you.  The pictures I do have were taken at night and are pretty awful.

Peppermint and Lemon Foot Soak

recipe from Or So She Says…

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sea salt (a great alternative would be Kosher salt)
• 1 cup Epsom salt (usually found in the personal care/pharmacy aisle)
• 2 Tbsp peppermint tea (Be careful not to confuse this with “peppermint flavored” tea: the tea should be 100% peppermint leaves. Tip: if you can’t find it in bulk, buy a box of tea-bags, cut them open and measure!)
• 4 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 3 tsp pure lemon extract
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda

Combine the sea salt and Epsom salt in your mixing bowl. When the two salts are completely blended, add olive oil, peppermint extract and lemon extract. Stir each time you add an ingredient, making sure to break apart any large chunks of salt with your spoon. Once these liquid ingredients have been fully incorporated, your salt mixture will look like moist sand (and it will smell pretty good too!). Now it’s time to add the cornstarch and baking soda. Again, blend thoroughly, breaking apart any large clumps of baking soda or salt.  Almost done! Now add the final ingredient – the peppermint leaves. (I add this last, because I’ve found that adding them early in the process causes the leaves to bruise and give off their green color to the salt.) Stir the leaves in until they are fully blended with the salt mixture. Go ahead and take a deep breath while you’re at it – it should have a very refreshing scent!

At this point, if you’re planning on keeping the foot soak for yourself, store it in an air-tight container so it stays fresh. If the container is not air-tight, the beautiful aroma of the extracts and the peppermint leaves will fade. (The soak will still be useful, just not as charming!)

Instructions for Use: Fill a small basin with warm water and stir in ¼ to ½ cup of foot soak. Stir it to dissolve the salts, and soak your feet for 10-15 minutes. Ahhhh…

Let’s take a little break from all the Christmas stuff because I’ve got a delicious new pork recipe to share with you!  Don’t worry, I’ve got quite a few more Christmas things I’m going to try to squeeze in over the next few days, but for today, it’s all about a yummy dinner, okay?

The real superstar of this dish is the Cilantro Pesto.  Don’t get me wrong, the pork medallions themselves are plenty tasty and simple enough to prepare (and I love cooking pork in medallion form!), but I could just eat this pesto by the spoonful.  It’s that good!  The Cilantro Pesto is creamy and spicy and sweet and and rich and bold all at once.  It’s a unique flavor combination that just works.  I found this recipe in The Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook (available for free at Mark’s Daily Apple), but don’t tune me out just because I started talking about all that Primal and Paleo stuff again!  My husband, who is decidedly NOT Primal (and isn’t called The Picky Apple for nothin’!), loved this meal just as much as I did.  I think you’ll enjoy it too!

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cilantro Pesto

recipe from The Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of pork tenderloin
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• Cilantro Pesto (recipe below)

Slice the tenderloin into rounds of 1-inch thickness. Mix oils and vinegar, add garlic and ginger. Marinate the pork slices in a non-reactive glass container for at least 2 hours or overnight, turning at intervals to marinate both sides of the slices.  To cook the pork, heat some coconut oil, lard, or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly sear the slices, turning once, until just cooked through. Do not crowd the pan, cook in batches as needed so they sear and don’t steam. Keep each batch warm in a warm oven or covered in foil wrap.  Make pesto (see recipe below).

To serve: Put a few slices of pork on a plate with a little bit of pesto on each slice, or serve pesto on the side.  (A little pesto goes a long way, flavor-wise.) Serve with cooked greens with sesame seeds and sliced red peppers for a nice color combo.

Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of cilantro, leaves only
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or less, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 cup almond butter (Picky Apple Note: You can also use peanut butter!)
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
• 1/2 – 1 cup coconut milk
• sea salt to taste

To make pesto:  Blend sauce ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth, adding coconut milk until preferred consistency is reached.

I’ve participated in the Favorite Things Party at 320 Sycamore for the last 3 years, and this year I have lots of new favorites to share with you!

Hair powder: I’ve mentioned before that I’ve got LOTS of hair.  Super thick, super straight.  It doesn’t lend itself well to air-drying, so washing and drying it on a regular basis is a huge ordeal.  My hair is also on the dry side, so I tend to go 3-4 days without washing it (sometimes longer, if I’m being honest).  To keep it looking fresh, I use hair powder (AKA dry shampoo!).  Couldn’t live without it!  Two of my favorites are TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo and Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Hair Shampoo, but just about any of them will do! MAC Lipglass: Must have!  I wear this every day.  It has great shine, stays on longer that most lipglosses, doesn’t feel sticky, and comes in tons of great colors.  My current favorite is Viva Glam V. Green and Black’s Organic  85% Dark Chocolate: This is the chocolate I go to when I’m craving chocolate.  It’s dark.  It’s smooth and creamy.  It’s not full of sugar.  One tiny little square should satisfy your chocolate cravings.  (Runner up=Lindt) Le Creuset Stoneware Butter Crock: We eat real butter here, primarily Kerrrygold Butter which is made in Ireland from grass-fed cows.  But keeping real butter in the fridge means that your butter isn’t spreadable.  Enter the butter crock!  You keep this handy device on your counter, and it keeps your butter nice and fresh and soft for spreading.  Don’t know how we managed without it.     I got a white one, but I love the Caribbean color, pictured below. MomAgenda: I’ve been using the MomAgenda Desktop Planner for three years to keep myself organized.  These planners come in several different sizes, great colors (including zebra print!), and include lots of space for planning your day, your children’s activities, dinner, and your daily and weekly to do’s.  There’s also an App for iPad now. Slugs and Bugs Music: We discovered the music of Randall Goodgame and Andrew Peterson in September of 2010 after they performed at my son’s preschool.  We own Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies as well as A Slugs & Bugs Christmas.  Both CDs are full of silliness, clever lyrics, as well as truths about God.  Some of our favorite songs are “Tractor Tractor,” “God Made Me,” “The Camel Song” (the silliest Christmas song ever, which includes a Star Wars reference) and “Christmas Around The World.”  Our whole family enjoys listening to these CDS (over and over and over) and my son, husband, and I are frequently singing their music throughout the day.

Amazon Kindle: As an avid book reader, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about using an e-reader.  But after receiving a Kindle from my husband last year for Christmas, I have been 100% happy with it.  I’ve read more books this year than ever before!  I love how light it is (especially since I tend to like the novels that are 500-1000 pages).  The e-ink makes the screen super easy to read, and I’ve been taking full advantage of the free books available for download.  I have the Kindle Keyboard pictured below.  In the last year, they’ve switched to touch screen and full color technology in the Kindle Fire.  If you love to read, you won’t regret owning a Kindle!

Parks and Recreation: Every year, I share my favorite TV show, and this year, I’m loving Parks and Recreation on NBC.  It’s funny and clever and heartwarming all at once.  I love Amy Poehler and her character Leslie Knope, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford and all the rest.  Last season, Rob Lowe and Adam Scott joined the cast, and they are both just perfect!  If you haven’t watched this show yet, I encourage you to tune in!

Gap Maternity Jeans: I have 2 pairs of maternity jeans.  They’re both from Gap, and I love, love, LOVE them!  Maternity jeans have come a long way since I was pregnant 4 years ago.  These are amazingly well made, fit great, and are super comfortable with a full belly panel.  I have a pair of Long and Leans hemmed to wear with flats and a pair of Sexy Boot Jeans to wear with heels and boots.  Both styles are available in sizes 00-18 and in Ankle, Regular, and Long lengths.  If I had to pick just one, I’d probably choose the Long and Leans.

Merona Women’s Ruffle Neck Dress:  This is NOT a maternity dress, but I took the risk in ordering it from Target.com, and it is my favorite maternity dress (and favorite dresses I own, period!).  I hope to be able to wear it post-pregnancy too.  The teal color is gorgeous, the ruffles and the fit are flattering and forgiving.  It’s versatile for summer and winter, work and play.  I’ve gotten so many compliments every time I wear it.  I also have it in red (my Christmas Eve dress!), which I love as well.  The best part?  It costs $25!  In addition to teal and red, this dress also comes in Army Green, Brown, and Violet.

Disclaimer: This post contains several Amazon Affiliate links.  That means if you click through and purchase something from Amazon, I earn a few pennies.

If you’re looking for something that’s not too messy to keep your kids busy this week before Christmas, this may be the project for you!  If you’ve got little kids (or big kids) who like to play with hammers, then this is definitely the project for you!  I saw this on No Time For Flashcards, and knew it would be a good one for The Littlest Apple.

We used plastic hammers and real nails to hammer buttons onto a styrofoam cone to make a button Christmas tree.  The Littlest Apple stuck with this for longer than expected, but did get a little frustrated with some of our buttons that had extra-large holes (because they kept falling off the nails).  I went with a white cone because a) that’s all I could find and b) I thought it would make a pretty snow-covered backdrop for our green and red buttons since I knew we wouldn’t be completely covering the tree.  If you want it to look more like a Christmas tree, you could use a green styrofoam cone.

What activities do you have planned to keep your kids busy while they’re out of school for the Christmas break?

The Littlest Apple

I’ve had several emails and comments from the other tubie mommies out there wondering how The Littlest Apple has been doing.  Here’s an update for you!

A few weeks ago, we had a checkup with The Littlest Apple’s GI at Texas Children’s Hospital.  The Littlest Apple has been making excellent progress!  His appetite seems to have increased a little bit (for him anyway).  He actually eats breakfast now, which is probably the most telling of all.  He also seems to have what we think are hunger pains now-something he’s never experienced before.

We started The Littlest Apple on probiotics (Culturelle for Kids) in early October when he was on antibiotics for an ear infection and sinus infection.  An interesting development: he stayed healthy until this week (amazing for a kid who gets sick ALL the time)!  Our GI was all for the probiotics as well and recommended another brand (BioGaia) that has been proven to help some infants with gastroparesis.  I’ve been taking probiotics for over a month too, and I’ve also been feeling great.  Probiotics: get some!

The Litttlest Apple’s current weight is 34.6 pounds, and he’s 39 inches tall.  (He’s 4 years and 3 months old.)  That makes him “perfectly proportional” according to the GI.  He’s still small for his age, but he actually appears to have a little bit of body fat now, especially in his belly and cheeks.  Here he is with The Picky Apple after his preschool Christmas Program…

For comparison’s sake, here is The Littlest Apple a year ago (3 months into g-tube)….

And two years ago (a few months before he got his NG tube)….

Amazing difference, right?!

Now here’s the puzzling part…The Littlest Apple’s most recent gastric emptying study shows that his stomach emptying is extremely slow and worse than ever.  In fact, this was the slowest his stomach has ever emptied (and we’ve done 5 of these studies!).  It doesn’t quite add up with all of the great weight gain and increased appetite we’ve seen, but the doctor thinks we should just keep doing what we’re doing until we hit a wall.

In fact, we’re decreasing his night feeds via g-tube even further!  Woo hoo!

Now if we could just expand his food selection during the day….He still doesn’t eat any meat other than chicken nuggets (one brand only) and pepperoni.  Also, no veggies.  None.  He tried a tiny bite of sauteed red pepper the other day, which was nothing short of miraculous.  And he let us add chopped up pepperoni to his favorite meal of buttered noodles.  It’s the little things.

Mealtimes are still a huge, frustrating struggle for everyone involved.  Now that I’m more aware of how the food I eat affects me, I can’t help but wonder if The Littlest Apple is affected similarly.  He had an AWFUL afternoon yesterday after consuming bright green frosting by the spoonful at his preschool Christmas party.  So it would seem that sugar and/or food dyes certainly have an effect on him.  Gluten is another thing I wonder about, but it is such a huge part of his diet that I can’t imagine cutting it out completely (though we did experiment with this when he was younger and thought he might have Celiac).  At this point, I’m just trying to limit the sugar and junk and make more of an effort with his food during the day.  I’d also LOVE to go back to blending our own formula to use for his night feeds, but with a new baby on the way, I just don’t see that happening.

Baby Slinghsot

My C section is in LESS THAN 3 WEEKS!

Why the C-section?  My doctor (who is normally all for VBAC) feels very strongly that I need to have C-section because of the surgery I had with my ruptured ectopic pregnancy.  Not only am I having a C-section, but I need to have it at 37 weeks, because I am at a high (higher?) risk of rupture if I go in to labor naturally.

37 weeks is early, y’all, and as excited as I am to meet this little guy in a few short weeks, I certainly have my fair share of concerns.  The Littlest Apple was born at 36 weeks and spent 10 days in the NICU.  I guess my biggest concern is lung development, but I’m praying that all will be well.

My concerns were eased somewhat when I had a growth scan ultrasound earlier this week.  Baby Slingshot appears to be growing right on track.  No low amniotic fluid, no IUGR like I had with The Littlest Apple.  And even though the weight estimates provided by ultrasound are super unreliable, Slingshot is weighing a pound more than The Littlest Apple did when he was born.  And that’s a good thing!

As for the rest of our baby preparations….we’ve got LOTS to do, and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with Christmas PLUS getting ready for baby.  The nursery isn’t anywhere near finished and we still don’t have a name picked (though we’ve narrowed it down to 2).  Time to get busy!

Earlier this week, the women’s small group I co-lead had a Christmas Appetizer and Dessert Potluck.  I’ve been looking for an excuse to make this beautiful salad wreath I saw on Candace Cameron Burr’s new online women’s magazine, and decided this was the perfect event for such a pretty salad.  The concept is simple: you use a chip and dip bowl (the kind where the dip goes in the middle), fill the outside with greens and fruit and cheese, then put the dressing in the middle.

This salad looks absolutely gorgeous, and unlike some gimmicky food presentations, this one tastes delicious too!  Loads of greens, chopped apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, nuts and gorgonzola.  (If you’re not a fan of the stinky blue cheeses, goat cheese or feta would also be excellent here).  Due to a small mishap (I forgot to buy poppyseeds), I wound up using a bottled dressing instead, but I will definitely be preparing the Lemon Poppyseed Dressing next time.

If you’re looking for something healthier to bring to a holiday party over the next few weeks, I’d definitely recommend this salad!

Winter Berry Salad Wreath with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

recipe from roomag.com

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Iceberg lettuce (Picky Apple note: I used red and green romaine)
• 4 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 bunches grapes
• 1 apple (chopped)
• 1 Pear (chopped and sliced for decoration)
• 6 Strawberries (2 whole for decorating the rest chopped)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup cashews (Picky Apple Note: I used walnuts.  Pecans would be yummy too!)
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (Picky Apple Note: Feta or goat cheese would also work)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp diced fresh onion
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 2/3 cup olive oil

Place iceberg lettuce around a round plate.  Top with mixed greens.  On both sides of “wreath” make a decoration with spinach leaves, then add bunches of grapes to each side, fanned pears and whole strawberries. Be as creative as you wish.  To the salad add chopped apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, cashews and crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

For dressing: Squeeze the juice of one lemon (1/2 cup) and pour into food processor or blender. Add honey, onion, dijon mustard, poppy seeds, and olive oil. Pulse until well blended.

I’m sharing this post with:

The Creative Spark at Clean & Scentsible

Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts

I promised all of you that even though I gave up sugar and flour, I’d still have a few great holiday cookie recipes to share, and here is one of them!  The Littlest Apple and I made cookies to bring to his preschool Christmas Program earlier this week.  These tasted really buttery and minty and delicious.  How do I know?  Well, one of my biggest weaknesses is cookie dough, so of course I had a bite of the dough.  Or two.  Or ten.  And then I got an awful headache and was in a complete fog the next day from my cookie dough indulgences (yup, giving up flour and sugar has been the best choice for me, but boy was that cookie dough tasty!!).  It’s a good thing we gave all of these cookies away because I certainly would have been tempted if we’d had any laying around here.  So, if you’re searching for a decidedly yummy holiday treat, complete with festive holiday colors, you should give these a try!  The original recipe called for Guittard Smooth Melty Petit Mint Chips.  I couldn’t find those, so I used Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips instead, and I loved the way they turned out.

Buttermint Drop Cookies

recipe adapted from Your Homebased Mom

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C butter, softened
• 3/4 C sugar
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• green food color, liquid or paste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (peppermint, not mint)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 C flour
• 8 oz. Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In your mixer beat together butter, sugars, and salt.  Add in eggs, food coloring, and extracts.  Add in baking powder and baking soda.  Mix in flour.  Add in 2/3 of baking chips reserving rest for the top.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until dough is chilled but not solid. (Picky Apple Note: I only let my dough chill for about 30 minutes, max, and they still turned out fine.  Just expect your cookies to spread out more if you don’t chill the dough.)

Scoop dough into balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Press 4-5 baking chips into each cookie .  Bake 9-10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.  Let stand for 2 minutes and then move to cooling rack.

I’m sharing this post with The 2nd Annual Cookie Exchange at Tatertots & Jello.