Whole Wheat Waffle Brownies

Whole wheat brownies.
Made on the waffle iron.
A-ma-zing.
I've seen brownies made in the waffle maker on Rachel Ray. So when I finally found a whole wheat waffle recipe I liked, I decided to merge the two to make one sweet brownie-waffle love child.
These are so fantastic for so many reasons:
A) It's a REAL food but it's fast.
B) Brownies take about 30 minutes to bake but you can have one of these in your hot little hand in more like two minutes.
C) This is actually a dessert but it wouldn't be the end of the world if you ate these for breakfast!
I tweaked the original recipe to make it more waffle iron friendly. Here it is:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon solid coconut oil
2/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg

1. Mix dry flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl combine solid coconut oil and honey and microwave until melted. A minute or so.
3. Combine melted mixture, vanilla and egg to flour mixture.
4. Heat waffle iron and butter generously.
5. Put a heaping tablespoon of the brownie batter on the iron and close.
6. Check after a minute. Cooking times will vary so I'm going to just advise you to keeping checking.
What you are looking for:
Brownies won't fill the entire waffle mold and that's fine. Smaller is more manageable.
You're not trying to brown the brownie-just make sure it's cooked through.
7. When you feel like it's "done", unplug the waffle iron and flip it over to dump it out on a plate. Don't even try to use a fork- this brownie recipe is more crumbly than most.

Like most brownies, these taste best when cooled completely. Drizzle with chocolate syrup, top with ice cream, serve with a dollop of almond butter or just scarf them down plain.
You're welcome.

Monkey Wants a Cracker

I took BOTH kids to the zoo BY MYSELF. I'm either brave or crazy or just too sleep deprived to know that was a nutty idea.
But we had a blast!
We went to the petting zoo.
Saw the flamingos.
And had a picnic by the monkeys.
One of the monkeys came right up to the glass and looked longingly at Carson's cheese crackers. I would want some too if I were her!
Here's the link for the recipe:
http://postcardsfromthepillowfort.blogspot.com/2012/02/healthier-homemade-cheez-its-and-more.html
And here's a picture of poor Miss Monkey wishing she had a mouthful of Healthier Homemade Cheez-its:

Where There Is Smoke...

...There wasn't actually a fire. But when I opened the door, the house was filled with smoke. And it was really poor timing for the house to be filled with smoke:
A) Because Carson had informed me,"Ready pee!" several times on the way home from the store.
B) And Livie woke up from her nap as soon as I put her in the car and cried all the way home to be fed.
Soooo...this was not the best time for the house to be filled with smoke.
But it was.
And I was very afraid.
But come to find out, it wasn't a fire.
And thank God it wasn't a fire.
Sometimes you need something in your day to remind you to stop being so inconvenienced and start being grateful. The kids were a little wet and hungry but they were just fine.
It was this:
A sippy cup that fell down on the dishwasher's heating element.
It still smells smoky in the house and I've run the dishes twice to get the smell of burnt plastic out.
But I'll take that over a fire any day!

Healthier Homemade Cheez-its and More

I miss Cheez-its.
And Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.
But I don't miss additives and eating something that can sit on the shelf until the end of time.
And then I found a super simple recipe for homemade cheese crackers.

So here's my slightly tweaked healthier version of that recipe:
1 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 c. grated cheddar cheese (it's so worth it to grate your own-tastes better than the bagged stuff)
4 Tbsp. water

Directions:
1. Add flour, salt and butter to your food processor and pulse until it looks grainy/sandy.
2. Add cheese a cup at a time and continue pulsing until it resumes a grainy/sandy texture.
3. Add 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms into a ball.
4. Wrap in plastic, and chill for a few hours. It helps the butter to set up.
5. Roll the dough out to 1/8 in between sheets of parchment.
6. I used a pizza cutter to cut 1 inch squares. Use a fork to press around the edges and poke in the middle to give them the "Cheez-it look".
7. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. If they get too warm and sticky put them back in the fridge to set up a little bit before baking.
8. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
***post update! After making these I've decided that next time I would roll them slightly thinner and bake closer to 20 minutes to get a crisper effect***

But wait! There's more...
Because Monday was President's Day, we took the day off...and yesterday too... but here's what we are learning the next two weeks:
Theme: Horses
Number: 13
Letter: M
Color: White
Shape: Rectangle
Vocabulary Word: Colt
Scripture: "Love one another."
1 John 3:23

Mommy Time Outs

Sometimes I need to put ME in timeout! Especially with potty training madness going on.
I try to take at least 10 minutes a few times a day (and sometimes I set a timer to make sure I do it) to do something *I* want to do.
Read a magazine.
Take a bubble bath.
A few minutes of TV.
Call a friend.
Sometimes just sit.
One of my favorite blogs http://www.babywisemom.com reminded me of this with a giveaway she's doing for a book called "A Minute For Me".
I think I'll go take a timeout right now!

Worlds Tiniest Snowman

Snow! We haven't seen much of it so far this winter so it was so exciting when it snowed earlier this week!
We collected snow, did a couple snow projects. And saved the rest in the freezer to pull out for an indoor snow day!
Here's the World's Tiniest Snow Man complete with googly eyes and bobby pin arms.

My Funny Valentines

Yesterday I woke up feeling festive. Like we needed to have a Valentine's Day party. All day. So we did.
Call it the teacher in me.
We made Valentine cards.
We did Valentine crafts.
We read Valentine books.
We had an indoor pizza picnic. (Still obsessed with picnics around here.)
And best of all...
I spent the day snuggling my funny Valentines.

Potty Training Leg Warmers

Right now, little potties and tiny undies are a BIG deal at our house.
Yes, we're plugging along at the big PT.

Potty training.

Which means no pants.
Which means chilly little legs.
So I've been putting a pair of my husband's old socks on Carson to keep his legs warm.
And he loves it!
Honestly, I think he's more excited about "big socks" than Thomas the Train underwear!
But I thought I'd jazz them up a little bit. With monsters of course.
But nothing so fancy that I'd be disappointed if they fell apart after a few washings.

And here they are: Monster Leg Warmers made out of old socks, felt and googly eyes.

I'm a genius.
He may never take them off!

Temper Tantrums and Dinosaurs

This morning we had a very unfortunate event...dun, dun, DUN...
A tantrum.
In the library.
People watching.
Gulp.
It started out with wanting to use the big kid computers and when his way was not to be had, my less-than-two-year-old...Lost. It.
My precious. My angel. My smartie. My "always such a good boy" threw a fit.
I was embarrassed.
But I remembered my wise neighbor tell me once that tantrums (though not acceptable behavior) is a natural part of development. And this is the quote I repeat over and over in my head, "There's not something wrong if he throws a fit. I would worry if he never threw a fit."
Whew.
So I'm not a bad mother, it's just part of a being a little person learning to deal with big feelings. But it's still not appropriate behavior.
So I put on my big girl pants and said, "We don't throw fits in the library." And we left.
We he calmed down, we talked about it. And he said (heart melt) "I'm sorry I throw a fit, Mommy."
Being a parent is definitely not for wimps. I've felt a little stressed since The Event but I picked up this book for Olivia's nap time story and it made me laugh: "No T-Rex in the Library" by Toni Buzzeo
How appropriate.
It's about a little girl, Tess, who gets in trouble for her "beastie behavior" at the library. She unleashes a dinosaur from the pages of a book and sees just what her own naughty behavior looked like!
I'll be reading this to my little T-Rex before we go to the library again!

How To Make Yogurt in the Crockpot

I adore homemade yogurt.
I started making it when Carson was eating his first foods because YoBaby seemed kind of pricey.
And I just never quit! We love it with a drizzle of honey and some berries and nuts sprinkled over the top.

It's not work but there is some waiting involved. But I PROMISE it's well worth it. Read the back of your yogurt label. Even good quality yogurt has some weird stuff added in. Know that your yogurt will contain only milk and cultures once you get started!

What you need:
1/2 c. plain yogurt that says it contains live active cultures (good quality like Stonyfield Farms and after your first batch save 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt to be the starter)
1/2 gallon WHOLE milk

How you make it:
1. Cook milk on low in your crockpot for 2 1/2 hours.
2. Then unplug and let the milk cool down for 3 hours.
3. Next take out a cup or so of milk from the crock and mix in your yogurt in a separate bowl.
4. Return yogurt/milk mixture back to the crock and stir.
5. Cover unplugged crockpot with two thick towels and leave overnight.

How to make it thicken up:
1. In the morning, you the milk should have thickened up. To make a Greek-style yogurt line a stainer with coffee filters or an ultra-thin dish cloth and place over a large bowl.
2. Put it in the fridge and leave until the following morning.

Here's my yogurt making schedule:
Monday at 4:30: I put the milk in the crockpot.
Just before dinner at 7: I unplug it.
Right before bed at 10: I add in the yogurt and cover with towels.
Tuesday around 9 or 10 I pour the yogurt into the straining bowl and stick it in the fridge.
Wednesday: Enjoy! And for us, a batch lasts until the next Wednesday.