Teaching the Truth...

My munchkin headed off to start another year of school this morning - 1st grade! That child amazes me: no fear, no apprehension - just pure excitement! I can't wait to have her get home so I can hear all about her day over a homemade cupcake (our first day of school tradition!)

I was nervous about having all three of the kids here this summer. Between working two jobs from home, plus trying to keep up with the house and kids I'm often left feeling tired and frazzled. But the summer went by so quickly and so much easier than I had imaged! Kaitlin was a great help to me. She learned some basic cleaning skills, played with the boys and helped get them drinks and snacks. Now I'm wondering what I'm going to do without her during the long mornings and afternoons! The boys are already missing her and asking when she'll be home. We're looking forward to your return, sweet girl!

I have been greatly encouraged the past few years by some Christian moms in whom I've confided my struggles about sending Kaitlin to public school. They have been such an encouragement to me, sharing with me their understanding that it's okay not to homeschool, and how they've used the experience of public school to further teach their kids Godly principles. The older Kaitlin gets and the greater her understanding grows, the more opportunities I am having to teach her the truth. Please pray for both of us this year as the Lord continues to teach both of us and brings opportunities for me to share His love to both Kaitlin, her classroom and school friends.

"Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." - Psalm 143.10

Frozen Banana Treats

We've been busy looking for snacks for the kids since we've eliminated most sugary, pre-made snacks from our house. My kids are big fruit eaters, so these frozen banana treats seemed like the perfect choice (sorry about the bananas again, Sherry!)

You simply need:

Bananas
yogurt
nuts

Slice up the bananas. This is easy for the older kiddos to do with a butter knife, but mommy did it this time. No one ever takes pictures of me cooking. Hmmm.

Take the banana pieces one at a time and dip them in the yogurt. Any flavor would work, but we used raspberry yogurt. If your kiddos like getting messy, they will LOVE this. Kaitlin, on the other hand, asked to wash her hands in between each slice.

After dipping in yogurt, dip the banana in the nuts. The original recipe we found called for cheerios, but I wasn't sure how I felt about frozen cheerios. I think mini-chocolate chips or coconut flakes would also be a yummy option!

We place our yogurt dipped banana slices on a wax-paper covered baking sheet and then placed the baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour. Here's what the finished product looked like!

Kaitlin thought they were super yummy, but D.J. wasn't a big fan. I had made a few without the nuts and he LOVED those, so next time I'll have to choose a different topping for him. We probably put too many nuts on them. Just sprinkling the top with nuts would have been sufficient. They kind of tasted like little bites of raspberry banana ice cream. Yum! I actually ate some for breakfast today!

Don't forget to visit Me and Lu for some great school snack ideas for the kiddos!

Kids in the Kitchen Breakfast Sundaes

In honor of our attempts to eat a little better and cut out the artificial sugars for D.J., our Kids in the Kitchen post for today is Breakfast Sundaes (although they're good enough to eat anytime!)

You only need the following:

Bananas

Yogurt

Cut fruit

Cereal or granola topping

First order of business is to cut the bananas...

...then add the yogurt!

Next, add the fruit toppings...

**Please excuse the poorly cloned in cluster of blueberries at my daughter's bosom. The child kept losing her nightgown, and I wanted to insure that this picture would not come back to haunt her if she ever chooses to run for Miss America or the President.

...and a little bit of cereal for a nutty crunch (we used Grape Nuts).

What a yummy breakfast...

...and fun to eat, too!

Little Man Update

Some of you have asked me how D.J. is doing since I posted about his "issues" here. Since we've had a few appointments with the G.I. specialist and a few rounds of testing, I thought it was about time I give an update on how he's doing.

The doctor sent D.J. in for a slew of test - lots of blood work and stool cultures. At our appointment a couple of weeks ago, we finally had all of the test results back and the doctor feels that his initial suspicions were correct. It appears that little man Doug has an inability to process certain sugars. We're pretty sure that he's okay with natural sugars, but his inability to tolerate artificial sugar/sugars seems to be what is causing the diarrhea.

The Doc says that the only way to know for sure WHICH sugars he's intolerant to is to take a biopsy which would require putting him under for the procedure. However, since we seem to be managing the low sugar diet and seeing definite improvements with it, he does not feel that this is a necessary risk at this point in time. As it sits now, D.J. has been on a low sugar diet for about a month. Although he has had periodic cases of diarrhea, we have not had the on-going issue of 12-15 times a day with constant raw and bleeding skin. That's a definite praise in this house! We'll be monitoring his diet for the next three months. If we feel that all is going well, then we will not be doing the biopsy (for now, at least!)

We are thankful to see our little man feeling better. Who knew it could be something so simple? And to think we had him on a lactose free diet for a year!

Kids in the Kitchen - Pita Pizzas

The whole family got in on our Kids In The Kitchen project this week - even daddy! Pizza has become my 2-year-olds favorite food, and I love the healthier option that Pita Pizzas give us. As an added bonus, they're fun for the kids to make!

**I apologize for my consistently crummy pictures for my KITK posts. Remind me to never again purchase a house with only north and south facing windows in the main living areas. Grrr.**

All you need for Pita Pizzas is:

Pitas
Tomato sauce or Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Favorite pizza toppings

First the kids spread the tomato sauce on their pitas. We added some italian seasonings on top since we weren't using pizza sauce.

Next you pile on the cheese. You have to give extra cheese because, inevitably, little people will sneak it to eat when they think you're not looking.

All that's left is to add the toppings and the prep work is done. We were using tomatoes, bell pepper and pepperoni, but anything will work! This is also a sneaky way to get the kiddos to eat some extra veggies. Kaitlin VOLUNTARILY ate bell peppers - and then asked for more!

All of our pizzas are ready to go into the oven. See the pizzas all decorated with pepperoni in a circle? Yeah, those are Doug's. Told you he got into it!

We placed the pizzas in a 350 degree oven for about five minutes. Voila!

The kids like me to cut their little tiny pizzas just like a real pizza. Perfect size for little fingers!

Added bonus? This entire meal cost about $6 and we have enough left over ingredients to go another round at lunch with the kids some time this week!