Cute/Gross Video

So here's a video of C laughing and having a good time; then he spits up, lol.  Enjoy :)

Garlic Chicken Flavored Couscous

So couscous is diverse, super easy to make, and takes almost no time at all.  I got a box of plain original couscous (10 oz.) and added some of my favorite flavors.

Ingredients:

• 1 box plain couscous (I use the Near East brand)- 10 oz.
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (from a jar, of course)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp onion powder

Directions:

• In small saucepan over med-high heat, lightly brown garlic (if using fresh garlic, use olive oil- the jar has plenty of liquid to avoid burning)
• Once garlic is fragrant, add chicken stock, salt, olive oil, and onion powder
• When liquid comes just to a boil, stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat
• Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff with fork before serving

This makes about 5 servings; since I don't have many options as far as snacking goes, I like to make extra so I can pop something in the microwave for a quick meal.  This would go really well with the chicken recipe I posted yesterday!  

Enjoy :)

Quick, delicious grilled chicken

We eat a LOT of chicken around here.  I'm not a huge red meat fan, and chicken is fast, easy, and diverse.  I tried this last night, just throwing things together from my spice cabinet, and it turned out really yummy.  Even better?  It's super fast and something you can throw together in a few minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (medium sized)
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic (I used the pre-cut jarred garlic)
• 1 tsp rosemary 
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp season salt (I know this sounds like a lot, and you can use less, but I like salt and it wasn't too overpowering for the dish)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp white vinegar (or whatever you have on hand; it just adds a little depth to the flavor)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• *you don't need to be exact with measurements, and you can add or subtract different spices according to your preferences
• **I use all dry spices

Directions:

• Put everything but chicken into quart sized freezer bag
• Cut chicken into 1" strips, trimming fat, and put in the bag
• Seal bag and mash around to thoroughly coat chicken
• Grill (I just used my countertop electric grill) on med-high heat until chicken is cooked through.

Another note: I was making some acorn squash to go along with this chicken, so I put the chicken in the marinade in the fridge until just before it was time to eat.  You can make this a day or a few hours ahead and just toss on the grill when you're ready to go, since it only takes a couple minutes to cook through.    

You can have it plain, depending on your diet restrictions you can put it in a tortilla with some veggies and have a wrap, put it on a sandwich, make tacos, whatever.  Enjoy!!

Video of C rolling!

I caught him on camera!

COOKIES!! (Top 8 Free)

I made these today, and they are actually quite delicious!!  Fresh-baked cookies were always a weakness for me, and it's been hard going without.  I found a recipe that was wheat-free, but it called for an egg, which I am currently going without (for a reminder, the top 8 allergens are dairy, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish, and shellfish), so I had to find a substitute.  They turned out deliciously chewy. Enjoy!

**EDIT**
Enjoy Life makes allergy safe chocolate chips, and they're AMAZING!!  I put them in these cookies the next time I made them and they were so delicious.

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• 1/2 cup dairy free margarine (I use Earth Balance dairy and soy free margarine)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed 
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup applesauce (this replaces the egg)
• 2 cups rice flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

Cream the margarine and sugars together. Add the applesauce and cream the mixture until fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Beat the combination well. 

Bake at 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes.

The original recipe called for nuts and raisins, but I can't have nuts and I don't like raisins, lol.  They're a great base cookie, and you can mix in whatever fits your diet; chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, etc.  

(They don't look very pretty; I just plopped spoonfuls on the cookie sheet.  But they taste good!)

He Rolled Over!!

Today, C rolled from belly to back, I'm so proud of him!!  Of course, he wouldn't do a repeat performance for his daddy, but we have time for that :)

He's doing so many new things lately; cooing, "talking," he's learned to fake cough, and he's smiling and laughing a lot more.  Here is a video of him talking and laughing with his best friend, Ceiling Fan:

Back to Square One

Ever since we went on our trip, C hasn't been doing so well.  He's had a rash on his face that recently spread to his chest and legs, he's been fussy, spitting up more, etc.  At first I thought I had eaten something contaminated with dairy or soy and that's what was causing the reaction, but it hasn't improved much and since we were out of town when I was reintroducing some things, it was hectic and rushed and not done properly.

So, I'm going back to a top 8 free diet.  No dairy, soy, egg, wheat, peanut, tree nut, fish, or shellfish.

Sorry for the lack of recipes, I haven't been doing anything new.  Since I'm restricting my diet so much again, I'll have to come up with some new stuff soon, and I'll post when I can.  :)

CPR Class

So today I got certified in CPR, child/infant CPR, AED, and First Aid.  This certification usually happens in several classes spanning a few weeks.  We did it all in one shot: a Saturday class from 8:30 am to 6 pm.  I've been wanting to take infant and child CPR since I found out I was pregnant, and just got around to it.

Since Bryan is working and I'm breastfeeding, I have the genius idea to just take C with me!  He's a super awesome baby, no problem bringing him along right?

....... yeah........

The first half of the day, C was AWESOME.  He just hung out, slept a little (ok, 30 mins, which doesn't really count as a nap, but I'll take it), and hardly cried.  Everyone commented on how chill he was, and how he was such a great baby.  Then, the afternoon came.

No naps, being in a strange place, no beds, etc. led to a grumpy, grumpy baby in the afternoon.  I checked with the teachers beforehand about bringing him and they said as long as I was ok with it, so they were extremely understanding, and I did whatever hands-on stuff I could do, but most of the afternoon was spent standing, walking, bouncing, rocking, and shushing C.  Not to mention the MASSIVE amounts of spit up that happened all day, soaking through two bibs (and when I say soaking, these bibs could've been wrung out, it was insane) and an outfit.

The good news is, even though I was standing most of the time and bouncing and trying to fill in the little circles all at once, I was still the first one done on the tests and got 100% on both of them.  I feel so nerdy and special!!  The bad news is, my body HURTS.  It's 8:30 pm, C is asleep (thank goodness), I'm eating and I will be in bed very, very soon.

A long, exhausting day, but now I can save people :D

Redondo trip pictures

So our trip to Redondo Beach was a lot of fun, even if it was cold.  Living in Las Vegas, and it being the weekend ending July and starting August, I packed capris, shorts, tank tops, and flip flops.  So when I got there and it was in the 60's and 70's (it's SUMMER, California!  Those temperatures are reserved for October/November!), we had to stop at a store and buy me a sweater.  Here was the view from our hotel room:

Saturday we went to a wedding.  Here's C in his fancy duds:

On Sunday we went to Huntington Beach.  Well, we walked the pier.  There was some sort of surf competition in town, so the beach looked like this:

On Monday we went to the actual beach (Redondo), and it was cold.  And windy.  And overcast.  Generally not pleasant.  I put C in the Ergo to keep both of us warmer, and he slept through everything.  Here are some pics from that:

And here's Estee getting scared by a seagull :P

Before we headed back home, we met up with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for dinner.  Here are some pictures of the family, and of our travel group:

Then, it was time to head home.  Which was good, because C was SO done with vacation:

Whole Foods= My hero

We went on vacation this past weekend, and I was really worried about food.  Thankfully, there was a Whole Foods within walking distance from our hotel!  They have a ton of allergy free options, and everything is clearly marked and labeled, making shopping much easier.

It is more expensive to shop there, but I try and just get stuff there that I can't get at the regular grocery store (bread, mayo, snacks, etc).  Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there, it's definitely worth a trip :)

Vacation

We just got back late last night from a 4 day vacation in California to attend a wedding (congrats, Liz and Matt!!).  C did SO well in the car and in general, and we had a lot of fun.  I'll post some pictures soon :)