Holiday Cookies (GFCF) for Santa!

I think I've started a new tradition that will stick with us for many years! The day before Christmas Eve Logan and I made Christmas cookies for Santa Clause and Logan had such a blast helping me! We made gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies. Gluten free/casein free of course! They really taste fantastic, you can't even tell that they are GFCF.

I'm usually so busy Christmas Eve because I'm cleaning the house, cooking dinner and wrapping last minute gifts so I knew I wouldn't have time to make Santa some cookies too. That is why the day before Christmas Eve I recruited my favorite little boy to help me make cookies while Lily was taking a nap.

He did so great! He helped me mix the gingerbread ones and he cut out almost all of the little gingerbread men. I had him pat it down like it was play dough and then use the cookie cutter to make them. He also helped me tear off the excess and then I would place the gingerbread man onto the cookie sheet. We sprinkled them with sugar then into the oven they went! He was just thrilled when they were done baking and exclaimed to me "I'm eating his head and it's good!" when he took his first bite. LOL.

I also made gluten free, casein free chocolate chip cookies. This recipe is from Special Diets for Special Kids and it was modeled after Toll-house chocolate chip cookies. For the casein free chocolate chips, I use Enjoy Life brand. You can pick them up at any Cub Foods or Coborns. The cookies are fantastic, even Lily was chowing them down! I'm honestly thrilled that I can make these for my kids because they taste great. I can't wait to make cookies for Santa Clause next year. Maybe Lily will be able to help!


Below are the Recipes for the cookies.

GFCF Gingerbread Men

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose baking flour
1/3 cup Tapioca starch
2 TBL spoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil (or other vegetable oil)
1/4 Molasses
2 TBL spoons water

Bake cookeis at 350 F on a greased cookie sheet for 14 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients into a large bowl then add the oil, molasses and water. Mix with a mixer until the dough is crumbly, then knead with your hands until it is the consistency of play dough. Flour your cutting board with a little tapioca starch then roll out or pat down until it is 1/4 inch thick. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter and cut out cookies. After tearing out each man, smoosh the dough into a ball and re-roll again to cut out each additional cookie.



GFCF Chocolate Chip

2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup potato or Tapioca starch
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup of CF margarine or Ghee
2 eggs* (or the equivalent of one egg if using EnerG egg replacer)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 a bag Enjoy Life GFCF chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a mixer until the mixture is wet and gooey. Roll cookies into balls and place on greased cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes. You can also make cookie bars by placing the mixture into an 8" square pan and baking for approximately 20 minutes.

Macy's 8th Floor 2009

Every year, Macy's does a fantastic Christmas display on their 8th floor. They've had this tradition for a very long time, forty seven years to be exact! They do an excellent job coming up with themes and creating a beautiful display around that theme.

This year, it was "A Day in the Life of an Elf!" and it was sooooo cute! They showed the elfs doing various chores at Santa's estate in the North Pole. They had them baking cookies, working in the toy workshop, going to school, sleeping and singing carols. They also had a majestic forest of singing Christmas trees.


It was so cool to see the children just fascinated by all of the cool things to look at! Logan was thrilled because everything was just about his size. He wanted so badly to climb up on the displays and play around in the kitchen or climb up onto one of the elf bunk beds. He did an amazing job of restraining himself and just looking with his "looking eyes."

Lily was tired by the time we got up to the display so she was a little cranky. We did have to wait in line for about 20 minutes before making it inside but once we were actually going through it she was OK. She wanted to get down and touch and being a two year old couldn't understand why we weren't allowing her to touch all the pretty things.

It was a very successful trip and even though Lily was a little too young to understand the concept of just looking at all the rooms I think she enjoyed what she saw. I know that next year it will be even more memorable. I've heard that Macy's is going to stop doing the holiday display so I wanted to take my kids to it at least once just in case they decide to discontinue this wonderful tradition. I really hope that they decide to do it every year but I guess we will have to wait and see. What is that saying again? Oh yeah, "All good things must end." I'm just wishing it would end 50 years from now!

2009 Holiday Train

Every year the Canadian Pacific Rail Road does a Holiday train that crosses the entire United States and parts of Canada. They decorate the train in Christmas lights and have a band play music out of one of the cars.

The goal is also to collect food for the food shelf. Logan absolutely loves trains, and this is such a good cause that we had to go this year. It stopped in Buffalo at 6:00 PM on Monday, December 14th. Boy, was it a sight to see!

Logan squealed with delight as the train blew its whistle and puffed into the "station". Everyone cheered and it was so cool to see a train decorated with gazillions of Christmas lights. Although the night was very very cold, the kids did a great job of braving the weather.

The organizers had free cider and hot cocoa for everyone and there was a group of carolers there that handed out bells to the kids so they could jingle their bells and sing along. Second Hand Rose, an antique shop, even brought in Santa! We had Logan and Lily go in and warm up for a bit and sit on his lap.

When we were done with that we went back outside just in time to catch the band start playing Christmas tunes. Logan made me hold him up so he could see where the music was coming from. The crowd was singing along and generally in good cheer.

After the kiddos got too cold, we decided to take them to Culver's for dinner. They both had a burger and we talked about the Holiday train and how much fun it was to see it. Definitely something to do again next year!

Sledding With the Kiddos 2009

We decided to take the kiddos sledding for the first time this winter on Sunday, December 13, 2009. It was Lily's first time ever sledding and Logan's second year of enjoying this wonderful Minnesota tradition.

We have some awesome sledding hills in St. Michael! The one we frequent is behind the community center playground. It is a great little sledding hill that leads down to the soccer field and they even put lights on in the evening so the kids can see where they are going.

It was Sunday, the day was dragging and Mike and I were looking for ways to keep the kids entertained. Logan wanted to go out in the yard and make snow angels. As I started putting on my snowpants, I mentioned to Mike we should take the kids sledding instead. He thought that was a great idea. So we all put on our snow gear and headed to the hill.

Lily had the best time! She is such a little dare devil. We strapped her into the little red sled and Mike would run down the hill with her. She had the biggest smile and her face and would exclaim "weeeeeeee" and giggle when she went down.

Logan went down with mommy the first few times but after a few times he wanted to go by himself! He did just great and had such a fun time. I think this will be an activity we will be doing quite often this winter. I can't wait until they are a little bigger so we can go snow tubing at Elm Creek Park Reserve and also get them on skis or snowboards. :)

After we were done with sledding, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights before going home. It was such a fun winter Sunday with my family. We are so blessed.

Elf Yourself

This is hilarious! Just watch the video.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Santa Clause 2009

This year we decided to take Logan and Lily to Cabela's to see Santa Clause. Every year they offer a complimentary photo with Santa! Who can beat that?! They do a really fantastic set up in front of the upstairs stone fireplace. They take your picture, have it printed in about 10 minutes and the kids get free face painting or a candy cane when they are done. They don't advertise this much so there was no line! Mike went to park the car and by the time he got upstairs we were done with photo.

It went so quickly we were able to go buy Logan a pair of hockey skates at the local sporting goods store. We plan on getting him on those puppies this winter but need to find some knee pads first. We are gonna be hitting up Cabela's every year for Santa, you just can't beat free and fast. :)


Logan was so excited to sit on Santa's lap again (he did the day before at the ECFE holiday party) and didn't really inquire why Santa was still in town. ;) He was just happy that he got to tell him what he wanted again.

I thought that Lily might be a bit nervous, she was last year and the picture we got of the two of them wasn't great because she kept looking up at him or at her brother the entire time. This year was a different story! I think it is the best Santa picture yet! They both were so good, even said "cheese". This picture is definitely one for the scrapbook!

Early Childhood & Family Education Christmas Party

We are so blessed to have a really wonderful Early Childhood and Family Education program in St. Michael. We enroll our kids in classes every year and they enjoy them so much! Not only does our program offer quality classes to babies through preschoolers, they also provide family field trips and family parties.

This year we took Logan and Lily to the ECFE Christmas Party and it was such a blast! They had each of the classrooms decked out with a theme. Each child was given a bag to collect treats and prizes in for playing Christmas themed games and completing craft projects.

The first room we went to was the "Gingerbread Man Cookie Room." They had made play dough that actually smelled liked gingerbread cookies. All sorts of cookie cutters were set out for the kids, and then they had three stations of play kitchens where the kids could "bake" cookies. Logan and Lily both loved this! Also in this room they had a bean bag toss where you had to toss the bags through little holes with a barn scene from Jesus' birth.

Next they had the snow room! Logan and Lily really enjoy sensory stuff so they had a great time playing with the shredded tissue paper that looked like snow. They also had some really cute play houses decorated in "lights" and "wreaths". The kiddos got a kick out of playing in them when they were decorated.

Then we went across the hall to the Santa & Mrs. Clause room. The kids were able to write a letter to santa and put it in a mailbox that actually looked like a miniature postal service box. Logan and Lily also colored pictures patiently waiting for Santa & Mrs. Clause to arrive. They were one of the first kids in line and got their picture taken with them. This year, neither kid was shy and Logan even told Santa what toy he wanted! You should have seen how excited he was to sit on his lap!

Next we went to the Reindeer Room where Logan and Lily made reindeer hats that they still have. We pasted on googly eyes and a pom pom nose and fitted them to their head. Another activity was having reindeers set up with different nose colors and having the kids match felt pom poms to each nose color. Lily and Logan sat down and colored reindeers too. Mommy and Lily took a picture in the hand made reindeer photo cutout.

I think our ECFE program did a fantastic job and the kids had so much fun! I had so much fun just watching my kids have a blast and I'm really thankful that we have a community that cares so much about young families and their little ones to do programs like this. We are blessed to live here. :)

TO SEE THE IMAGES IN LARGER SIZES JUST CLICK ON THEM.

Great Grandma & Grandpa Klein

We decided to go visit Mike's grandparents, Grandma & Grandpa Klein, a little over a week ago. We brought our rambunctious toddler and preschooler and they had a great time running around their place. Logan loved to jump on their bed and Lily entertained herself by getting into Great Grandma Kleins sewing materials and dumping buttons all over the floor. (Which I had to clean up quickly!) They were also very attracted to the fireplace and Logan would say "Look, it's a fire!" with glee.

They also really enjoyed singing songs for Great Grandma and Grandpa, especially Jingle Bells. Logan and Lily had a juice box, then posed for pictures. We couldn't get them to sit still for very long because it was close to their bed time and they always get very silly and hyper when it is time for them to go to bed. Logan fell asleep on the way home and Lily went down as soon as we got home without a peep.

Great Grandma & Grandpa Klein are in our prayers as they face this trying time. We hope to support them throughout their health issues. Please say a prayer for them, we love them very much.

The Christmas Card

Ya know, I never really got into the whole Christmas card thing until Mike and I got married. My mom didn't do them consistently, especially when we got older and busier with sports and school and work. I think she gave up by the time I was a teenager so I don't remember ever sending them out. Well at some point (I think it was the 2nd or 3rd year we were married) I decided it would be a great idea to start the tradition of sending out a photo card and a Christmas letter. I gave up on the Christmas letter because I don't have time to sit down and come up with all the clever things we've done the past year. I think the Christmas photo cards are priceless and so we keep doing them.

For 2009, I thought it would be wonderfully fun to post all of the Christmas Cards from the past and also include the one we will send out this year. I have discovered digital scrapbooking! I love regular old fashioned scrapbooking and will continue to do it so that my kids can have something to actually page through when they are adults, however, digital scrapbooking is pretty cool too. I like to use it for making inspiration boards for my wedding planning blog but I've also found that it is fun to use it to make a unique photo card. Yes, I've spent endless hours geeking out on the computer to create our Christmas card. :)

Here is the card for 2009:

I'm also including the collection of cards from years past. I keep one every year and scrapbook it so that we can look back at our memories from Christmas time.

Hansen Tree Farm

Mike and I have had a real tree for Christmas since the first year we were married. We've continued the tradition with our children and up until this year, we always got our tree from a "tree lot" in St. Michael.

We decided that this year Logan would be old enough to enjoy going to a Christmas Tree farm and we would cut our own tree. (Lily is a trooper and likes to do EVERYTHING her big brother is into, so we figured she would enjoy this little outing as well.) We found the most perfect Christmas Tree farm in Anoka. It is called Hansen Tree farm and they have a huge selection of trees.

You can cut down your own tree, or they do have pre-cut ones available...but what is the fun in that? We took the kids to the Blue Spruce section and we walked around the field for awhile looking for a great tree. Mike wanted a short fat one, and I wanted a taller skinnier one. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Maybe our Christmas tree tastes echo what we are drawn to aesthetically. LOL.

In the end we let Logan help us decide. He really liked them all so mommy pointed to the one she wanted and he agreed with me. I think it was a good compromise, it was taller and fatter. Mike then set about cutting the tree down and the kids were excited to watch him do this.

After we picked our tree, we took the kids on a hay ride. They loved that, and it is great to be reminded how simple things are so fantastically fun when you are with exuberant children. We also hung out by the fire, enjoyed some warm cider and hot dogs. Logan and Lily also played in their miniature log cabin while Mike payed for the tree. (He felt the price was a little high but I reminded him we are paying for the experience, not just the tree.) The kids really had a great time and it is a memory I will always cherish. I would really recommend Hansen Tree farm if you are in the area, they have a neat little corner of Minnesota. http://www.hansentreefarm.com/

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All The Way....

Logan and Lily have really gotten me into the Christmas spirit this year! They sing songs like "Jingle Bells", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and "O Christmas Tree". It is so darn cute and they absolutely love listening to the radio with all the Christmas music. Logan is so excited about Santa Clause this year and every night for a bedtime story he wants to hear "The Night before Christmas."

Here is a video of my precious itty bitties singing "Jingle Bells!" It's so funny because Lily tries so hard to sing all the words!

A Fantastic Thanksgiving

This year we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are blessed in too many ways to count and I'm thankful for so many things but on the top of my thankful list is my husband and children and parents. I just don't know what I would do without them.

Logan and Lily had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa Skowronek's house. They don't go over there too often so it is a treat when they do. Logan enjoyed playing in Grandpa's "man cave" otherwise known as the basement/pool hall. He has it decked out with a pool table, TV, mini-fridge and various Wild and Harley memorabilia. Logan loves to climb up onto the pool table and roll the balls into the pockets. He can't see too much over the top of it so we'll have to wait a while before we can teach him to play.

Lily had a great time climbing up and down Grandma and Grandpa's stairs. She liked to practice walking down them instead of crawling down them. She also loved banging on the piano. Well, they both did actually!

The kids got a lot of attention from everyone and they had a great time. Logan was so excited he didn't want to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Grandpa finally got him to eat a couple of bananas but he was too busy running around to care about eating! The funny thing is, I made a delicious GFCF pumpkin pie and GFCF sweet potato casserole with caramelized apples and he didn't want either one. Oh well, one of these years he will want to sit down and eat. Lily was in her usual spot on her daddy's lap eating off of his plate. She is a chowhound.

The kids were so tuckered out by the end of the feast that they crashed in the van on the way home. They both took a long two hour nap when we finally got back home around 4pm. We woke them up and then watched "Howl's Moving Castle" together as a family. All in all it was a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Isn't She Lovely?

One minute, Lily was in her room looking at her library books (Blue's Clues and Dora). Usually she likes to "read" them aloud and I can hear her commenting on something or other. I was watching some HGTV and folding some laundry, so I didn't notice that she had gotten a little quiet.


I then heard giggling. It was coming from the bathroom. I look up to see that the bathroom door is closed and the stinker is in there getting into something! So I open the door to find my darling daughter playing in my make up. Lipstick all over her face! It was so adorable, even though she was using my favorite lipstick and mucked it all up. So I ran and got the camera.




I asked Miss Lily to show me how she puts on Mommy's lipstick and she happily demonstrated for me. So here they are, my precious little devil getting into Mommy's make up. There's hope for this Tomboy yet! :P

My handy husband!

I'm so blessed to have a handy husband. This summer, I asked Mike to build me an organizer so that I could put all of our kids' toys in those canvas cube storage bins. I drew up the design, but he was the one to do the measurements and build the actual piece.

I think he did a fantastic job! He spent many nights cutting MDF and measuring each component to make sure that it would all fit together nicely. Then he painted it for me. It took about a month for him to complete the project but it was well worth the money we saved.

I'm very thankful that he is able to build these things for me and he always does such an amazing job! Look at the finished project! It gives us so much more space in our living room and I'm actually able to hide the toys when guests come over. It is also a great way to teach the children to pick up their toys because it is so easy for them to throw them into the bins. I admit, I could be a little more organized and label them but the kids don't seem to have a problem finding what they are looking for!

Gluten Free/Casein Free Chicken Nuggets

My recipe for GF/CF chicken nuggets is pretty darn good! Logan loves them and if I didn't tell you they were made with gluten free breading you would never know. Here's the recipe and directions.


Recipe:

2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked
1 cup Arrowhead Mills Rice Cereal
1 Cup Envirokids Amazon Flakes
1/4 cup water

I recommend making a big batch of breading beforehand and storing it in a tupper ware container so that you can make these without having to make the breading each time. To make the breading add 1 cup of Arrowhead Mills Rice Cereal and 1 cup of Amazon Flakes to your blender and grind until it resembles a breading. Set aside in a bowl

Next, cut the chicken breasts into cubes and cook in a skillet until they are white (about 5 minutes). Drain excess fat and put the chicken into the blender along with a quarter cup of water. Put blender on grind and grind until the chicken is the consistency of canned tuna. If it is still too chunky add a little extra water, about 2 tbsp, and grind again.
Empty the mixture into a bowl and add a little of the breading, about 1/3 cup and mix with a spoon. Form chicken mixture into balls (much like making play dough balls) and then coat them with the GFCF breading. Flatten into nugget shapes and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake the batch (about 16 nuggets) at 350F for thirty minutes.

Serve to your kiddo with fries or whatever side you wish! Just a note, this recipe also works great for making chicken tenders. Just make a worm like shape instead of a ball and flatten. This makes about 10 tp 12 good sized chicken tenders.

Logan's 4th Birthday/Halloween Festivities

Logan is now four. I absolutely cannot believe it. Just yesterday he was born, just yesterday he took his first steps, just yesterday he said "mama", just yesterday he rode his bike...with training wheels. Ugh! Where does the time go? I know, I know. It is the mother's lament but still it goes so so fast and nothing quite prepares you for it.

I admit, there are days that feel like forever but even those pass quickly. Anyway, on to what I should be talking about. Logan had a fabulous birthday. We are blessed to have such a loving and wonderful family. Both sets of Grandparents, Great Grandma Nelson, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Crissy and cousins Tyler, Jakob and Gavin (in utero) were present. It was fantastic to be surrounded by our loved ones.

We let the boys play, sang "Happy Birthday" ate some GFCF cake, and opened presents. Logan was happy about all his stuff but the Thomas the Train Carnival set from GG Nelson definitely was his favorite. Mike set it up for the boys to play and they had a great time. Later on he discovered the rest of his toys, play dough, Mr. Potato Head, Chalk Gun, Thomas bath toys, Mr. Doodlebug.... Thanks to everyone for your fantastic gifts!

Halloween Night was also very fun. Logan was his favorite character "Curious George" and Lily was a Mermaid. This was a strategic costume on my part to keep her in her stroller! She is a bit of a Daredevil and I did not want her running into the street at night.

She loved being a Mermaid and sat happily in her stroller. Logan did a great job ringing the doorbell and saying "Trick or Treat!". I got so many compliments on how adorable they were. I couldn't agree more. :)

Finally, later in the evening Mike and I went out while Grandma S watched the kiddos. Mike was Babar and I was a gypsy. We were originally planning on going to the Woodland Hills Winery but their event ended at 8pm so we were unable to make it. Then we decided to go to Anoka AKA Halloween Capital but the party we wanted to go was sold out at 9 pm! We ended up in Albertville at Majors and saw my cousin Melissa and her boyfriend Chase. It was a great time!

JUST A NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE IMAGES BETTER JUST CLICK ON THEM.

Apple Jack Orchard 2009

Mike and I were lucky that the first nice weekend we had in October we took the kids to 101 Market Pumpkin Patch and Apple Jack Orchard. Apple Jack Orchard is located in Delano and it is the most perfect place to go apple picking. They have a huge orchard and we even took a tractor ride touring it!

Logan and Lily love Apple Jack's. It is situated right on the Crow River with breathtaking views in the fall. They have so much fun stuff for kids to do such as lead line pony rides, hay bale slide, apple picking, petting zoo and all types of fun things to climb on.

Lily loved going down the hay bale slide! She was such a trouper crawling up right after her big brother! Of course it was filled with other little people crawling up the bales and sliding down over and over. I think we spent a good twenty minutes at that attraction!

Next, we headed over to feed the goats and chickens. Logan got his fingers pecked a couple times trying to "feed" the hens leaves like the other kids were doing. He learned pretty quick not to do that. The goats were a bit more friendly, licking the kids and getting petted.

I was really surprised when Logan saw the lead line ponies and wanted to go on. I kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to ride and he answered "yes" every time I asked so we got in line. He was a little impatient while we were waiting, saying "It's my turn now, go, go!" After about five minutes of waiting it was our turn and he hopped on that horse with no fear! I was more nervous for him than I needed to be, he was a pro and had the hugest smile on his face the entire time! It's a good thing that Mike took Lily into the gift shop to buy apples or she would've had a fit wanting to ride the pony too. Maybe next year!

After the pony ride and some down time hanging out by the beautiful river we decided to take the kids on a tour of the orchard. We hopped in the back of the wagon pulled by a tractor and got to see all the varieties of apples grown. They also have a corn maze, apple toss and animal train but we didn't get to those things this year. All in all it was a fabulous day and we got the best Honey Crisp apples!

GFCF Thanksgiving

I'm so excited to be helping my mother with Thanksgiving dinner this year! Maybe I will actually get to host a Thanksgiving meal in my own home in the next few years. I know it will be hard for the old guard to pass the torch, but I think it is about time. ;)

Anyway, Martha Stewart has some great GF/CF recipes (or recipes that are easily converted to GF/CF anyway!) Logan does really well on the gluten casein free diet. We are lucky to live in a time where there are many people facing Celiac disease and so the major grocery chains all have wonderful substitutes!

Without further ado, here is what I plan to bring for Thanksgiving. (My mom is doing the turkey, but will use Smart Balance butter which is casein (dairy) free and will use a home-made gluten free stuffing in the bird (which I'm bringing and will post the recipe for.) We will offer a regular stuffing, but it won't be cooked inside the bird.


Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Caramalized Apples

* 4 large sweet potatoes, pierced with the tines of a fork
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (Smart Balance)
* 2 tablespoons heavy Vanilla Rice Milk
* 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
* 2 teaspoons grated fresh peeled ginger
* 1 teaspoon coarse salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* 2 apples (1 pound), peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake until tender, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand until cool enough to handle.
2. Cut each potato lengthwise. Scoop flesh into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; discard skins. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the cream; mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in applesauce and ginger; season with salt and pepper.
3. Transfer potato mixture to an ovenproof dish. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss apples with sugar in a bowl. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove potato mixture from oven; top with caramelized apples.


Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (cornmeal is gluten free!)

* 1 pound Hormel fresh pork sausage, casings removed, crumbled (plus giblets, diced; optional)
* 1 large onion, (about 2 cups), finely chopped
* 3 celery, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 pounds prepared cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (12 cups)
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
* 1/2 cup applesauce (in place of 2 eggs)
* 1 to 2 cups Pacific chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage (and giblets, if using) over medium-high heat, stirring often, until browned and cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl.
2. To pan, add onion, celery, and 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to medium; cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add to sausage.
3. Add cornbread, sage, and applesauce to sausage and vegetables. Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan; pour 1/2 cup over stuffing, and toss gently (cornbread will break down into smaller pieces). If needed, add up to 1/2 cup more broth, until stuffing feels moist, but not wet. Stuff into turkey, using about 4 cups. Spoon remaining stuffing into a baking pan; it should reach the top. Refrigerate stuffing in pan and remaining broth separately, covered, until ready to bake.

Yummy! I cannot wait. :) My mom will also be making mashed potatoes (gfcf of course), corn, GF/CF gravy using smart balance and turkey drippings, gfcf pumpkin pie (bob's red mill has a great gluten free pie crust, and Libby's pureed pumpkin is also gfcf) and salad!

Nature Walk

Mike and I really love to go hiking, and we hope to instill a love of nature in our children. We are lucky to live in rural Wright County so we have many park reserves and walking trails very close to us. The Hassan/Crow River Park Reserve is a beautiful space not far from us.

The park reserve has horse/walking trails that wind around the river and through the woods. They also have a park situated in the center with picnic tables, fire pits and great views of the river and woods. We plan to do Logan's birthday there if the weather is nice.

We took both Logan and Lily for a nature walk on this beautiful late September day. It was wonderful to see them enjoying themselves so much. We did this walk last year and Lily was harnessed to Mike's chest because she couldn't walk yet. It is amazing that this year she was toddling behind her Daddy like a little duckling!

MN Renaissance Festival

Mike and I decided to take Logan to the MN Renaissance Festival for the second time. The first time he went he was just a baby, but Mike and I enjoy going to the festival every few years so we took him. This time, it was so much more fun!

He was very interested in all the things going on and he was having so much fun being a "Knight". Grandma (S) bought him a little Knight outfit that she found at a thrift store thinking he could use it in the Kiddie parade for the Daze & Knights Festival. We didn't make it to that but we did end up using it for Ren Fest!

Logan was pretty good about people coming up and talking to him. Sometimes, he got a little nervous but I think any kid would be a little intimidated by funny talking grown ups in costume. Otherwise, he had so much fun! Logan wanted to go on the trampoline and was such a trooper. He was seriously brave...they strapped him into that harness and off he went to jump 20 feet in the air!

Another thing he loved was riding the elephant. He got to ride it once with mommy and once with daddy and had no fear! He just climbed up onto that elephant like it was the most natural of animals to ride. Not only did he ride big animals, he also checked out the medieval roller coasters they had available for the kids. He was such a good boy sitting and smiling for the camera each time he came around.

We also did a lot of eating. Logan loves corn on the cob and I think he ate two whole cobs of corn. Mommy and Daddy had delicious sweets like caramel apples and nut bars. I also couldn't resist getting a big Turkey leg. It is a must every time we visit. I think next year we will bring Lily, and I plan on dressing up with the kiddos. There are so many "spectators" that aren't really a part of the festival that dress up, it would be really fun to get into costuming each year with the kids. Well, until they think it is "geeky" anyway.

101 Market

After 2 weeks of rain, we finally got beautiful weather so we thought it was the perfect day to go and pick out pumpkins. 101 Market is located in Otsego, MN and it has a bunch of really great activities for all ages!

They have a corn maze, a corn pit, face painting, go cart racing, potato and apple guns, the animal train, pumpkin jumper, and a great pumpkin patch! Logan and Lily had such a blast here! They played in the corn pit and Logan went into the pumpkin jumper. I think he stayed in there for 10 minutes! For a dollar they let the kids jump a really, really long time. He also got to ride the "animal train" which is just pulled by a tractor and is a bunch of little cars made to look like pigs, cows, chickens, sheep, etc. etc. He absolutely loved that and didn't want to get out.

We also picked out pumpkins which was really fun. The selection was great, and it was such a beautiful day to wander and look at all of the pumpkins. They had white, orange, green and perfectly imperfect ones with all kinds of weird growths on them. That is the kind I got, because it reminds me of zombies so I plan to do a zombie pumpkin this year. The kids got little ones that were perfect for their size. I think Logan might be more interested in helping with carving this year, but we will see.

We plan on carving our pumpkins on Halloween Day at Logan's 4th birthday. I think it will be a really good time and will definitely help start the excitement for the evening!

I'm really glad that we have the 101 Market so close to home. It is really a neat place to go and has so many fantastic activities this time of year. I think we will probably make it a family tradition and go every year! The kids should be old enough for the corn maze next year and I love doing those!

Super Cute

It was a beautiful fall day and we were waiting outside for Logan to catch the preschool bus. Lily was practicing climbing up and down the front steps. We also did a little swinging. She loves that and giggles with delight every time she starts to spin or if I give her an underdog.

She was also pushing her Cabbage Patch doll around in her toy stroller and then taking her out and kissing her. She was carrying her around like a good little mommy and I just had to get pictures of her playing. Of course her shirt says it all, Lily is simply "super cute."

I'm so blessed to have my own little girl that I get to dress up in cute outfits and put pigtails with bows in her hair. She is usually really good for me and lets me doll her up. Even so, I think she is a Tomboy at heart because she loves to be rough and tumble with her big brother. There has never been a toy car/truck that she's met that she hasn't liked playing with. Everything Logan plays with she wants to play too!

GF/CF Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I found this really awesome GFCF pumpkin bread recipe online and I tweaked it a little bit and made pumpkin bread cupcakes that are awesome! I think I'm gonna have to make a batch for Logan to bring to preschool for his birthday. :) This recipe is from Gluten Free Casein Free and Not Starving blog.

GFCF Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 c. gf flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Mix)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
2 eggs, beaten or use 1.5 tsp of Ener-G Egg replacer with 2 TBSP of water. (Logan can't have eggs)
1/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) Walnuts are yummy!

Preheat your oven to 350. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, & baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs or egg replacer, water, & spices. Pour into the bowl w/ dry ingredients & mix just until all are combined - don't stir too much! Stir in the nuts, if you're using them. Pour 3/4 mixture into each cupcake spot in the cupcake pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes about 8 cupcakes.

The Children's Museum

This past June we had the opportunity to go to the MN Children's Museum for the first time with our kids. It was a rainy icky day, we didn't have any plans so we packed up the kids and took them. They had such a blast and I cannot believe all the exhibits they had!

Logan and Lily really loved the "Clifford the Big Red Dog" exhibit. They both watch the show sometimes so they were thrilled to see it come to life. There was this bone drop thing where kids would put a foam bone on a conveyer belt and it would drop into the bowl. Logan had a really good time doing that. He and Lily also played in the mail center.

There was also Earth World with a huge anthill that the kids had such a great time crawling through! I had to go in and chase them out. There were also streams of water with play frogs and amphibians for the kids to splash in the water with. They both loved that!

We also visited "Habitot" which has bridges, caves, a winter wonderland station and a marsh area. Lily really liked crawling in the marsh area. She wasn't walking quite yet so it was great to have a place to put her down and let her go.

Finally, we visited the "Our World" which has tot sized grocery store, post office, restaurant or drive the MTC bus. Logan really loved pretending to be on the city bus, either as a driver or a passenger. In fact, he really didn't want to explore much other than that once we got to that exhibit.

We didn't get to visit all of the galleries because the kiddos were getting tired and irritable. Next time we will have to make sure that we get to see the rooftop art gallery and "World Works" exhibits.

Breezy Point

My in-laws have a time share up at Breezy Point Resort and they've been kind enough to let us take a small vacation up there during the fall. We brought the kids and had an absolute blast! Logan and Lily really loved playing on the dock and looking at the fish. Logan collected clam shells while we were there and ended up taking them to preschool for "Show and Tell."

We went swimming, played at the park, watched movies by the fire and went out to eat. My husband and I also had a relaxing time after the kiddos went to bed watching movies and reading books. Logan also rode his bike up to the park! It was only the second time he got on it this summer, but he caught on quick. (Now we can't get him off of it, he loves to ride it around in the garage!)

First Day of ECSE

Logan had his first day of ECSE or Early Childhood Special Education. He absolutely loves it! They work on his speech and communication skills and he gets to ride the school bus. He absolutely loves that, it makes him feel like a "big boy." I'm so proud of him for being so brave and doing so well. I caught the first day of preschool and waiting for the bus. He was very excited to go to preschool and I'm so happy that he's been so excited to participate. :)

As some of you know, Logan has autism spectrum disorder and we are working hard with him to prepare him for elementary school and socializing. He is doing great and we feel very blessed to live in a district that has an awesome special education system. He really loves his teacher Mrs. Foss and he is learning so much in preschool! He comes home and tells me what he played and  learned that day. Doing "art projects" are his favorite.

Logan's 4th Birthday - Pumpkin Carving

Logan was born on November 1st, which lends itself to incorporating the great holiday of Halloween! We are having a pumpkin carving party for Logan on Halloween Day. This is so that our guests can come and enjoy something to do during the day, carve a pumpkin, eat some cupcakes and hike the Crow/Hassan River Trail.

We also will be having a bonfire and roasting marshmellows. Then, if you wish to stay and Trick or Treat in our neighborhood, you are more than welcome to do that. We wanted to give everyone the option of doing TOT in their own neck of the woods which is why we decided to have a day party. Plus, you can display your new Jack O Lantern that evening!

We are planning on having it at the Crow/Hassan River Park Reserve, weather permitting. We plan on serving sandwiches, fruit salad, chips and salsa, guacamole, and  Halloween cupcakes! If it is crappy weather then we will entertain at our home. All the pumpkins, carving tools, templates, and garbage, etc. etc. will be provided by us. All you have to do is show up and enjoy the food and carve a pumpkin. And RSVP so we can get a pumpkin for each family/child. :)

Crow/Hassan Park Reserve
12595 Park Drive
Hanover, MN 55374

Strawberry Picking at Apple Jax Orchard

One of my favorite activities that we got to do this summer was go strawberry picking with the kids. Apple Jack's Orchard in Delano is very family friendly so we had a blast. The kids got to pick (and eat) a lot of strawberries.

Logan especially liked helping pick them and he was also very busy running up and down the pathways. Lily's temperment that day wasn't all that great. She was a little young for the experience and didn't understand why we wouldn't just let her go wherever she wanted to. She did have fun playing in the hollow log though.

I'm excited to go back next summer. I think it will be a family tradition and maybe I will actually learn how to make strawberry preserves or something! We used the strawberries in smoothies and just ate them as snacks. There's nothing like fresh strawberries!