simple hit counter

10 Reasons you have a headache and how chocolate can help

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Edited to remove something stupid and insensitive.  What was I thinking?

The following post has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my loving husband has quit buying me chocolate ice cream because he is doing his best to be supportive of my weight-loss endeavors.  I don’t know why you would even think that.  Anyway, he knows that chocolate ice cream is low on the glycemic index and therefore very helpful in keeping my hypoglycemia under control.

10 Reasons You Have a Headache

  1. chocolate stack snack 239996 l 198x300 10 Reasons you have a headache and how chocolate can helpYou’re dehydrated.  Drink plenty of water Starbucks style frap. Add cocoa powder to make it easier to take in the quantity of fluids you so badly need.
  2. You have low blood pressure, like I often do.  It will go up if you find a scorpion in your bed. You’ll need some chocolate afterwards.
  3. You have low blood chocolate.  The verdict is out on whether chocolate is a cause or a cure when it comes to headaches but I choose to believe that it helps mine, and we all know the power of suggestion.
  4. Your kids are too loud.  Maybe they’re bored.  Maybe you should give them some work.  Hey, where did they go?!  Quick, get the ice cream and a spoon…
  5. You are suffering from caffeine withdrawal.  Chocolate has caffeine.  It may take a lot, but you want to get rid of your headache, don’t you?
  6. Too much caffeine.  See?  You should have had chocolate instead of coffee.  Less caffeine.
  7. It’s hormonal.  That’s the price of being a woman, but there is an upside: everyone expects you to eat more chocolate.
  8. You’re short on sleep.  Duh.  You’re a mom.  Chocolate has just the right amount of sugar and caffeine to get you through a long day, plus it has proven anti-depressant properties.
  9. You’re stressed or prone to high blood pressure.  Did you know chocolate is well-established as a stress reducer?
  10. You have low blood sugar.  Dark chocolate is relatively low on the glycemic scale and gives a moderate, sustained rise.

Did you know that chocolate comes from the cocoa bean?  Beans are vegetables.  When you add milk, you have one serving each of vegetable and dairy.  It’s a lot like eating broccoli and cheese sauce.

Chocolate quotes:

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process…. It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?

Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It’ll take the edge off your appetite, and you’ll eat less.  I’ve actually done this with a tablespoon of chocolate chips.  It works!

If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don’t they actually counteract each other?

Anything is good and useful if it’s made of chocolate.

more chocolate quotes here

Have you ever tried chocolate with cayenne added?  The gentle spicy kick is a perfect accent.  It’s also good with orange, toffee, coffee, peanut butter, bacon, almonds, sea salt, raisins, and raspberries.

OK, I’ve never actually tried chocolate with bacon, but I feel confident in recommending it.  Why not?

image credit: Whizzy

Comedic Brilliance

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Watch more Saturday Night Live videos on AOL Video

Quick! Eat chocolate!

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Didn’t you know?  October 28 is National Chocolate Day, and I haven’t a thing to eat.  Too bad I already missed International Chocolate Day (9/13), plain old Chocolate Day (7/7), and two of the four National Chocolate Chip days (5/15 and 8/4).  But I can still celebrate plenty of other holidays.  National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day sounds promising.

Look here for the whole list, courtesy of my friend R.S.

Need help?  Try this.  I just did, and it worked like a charm!  I suggest eating yours directly from the mug.  I started that way and it was a moist, rich fudgy delight.  When I took mine out of the mug, I found that the edges dried out very quickly.

Dangerous Chocolate Cake-in-a-Mug

  • 1 coffee mug (microwave-safe)
  • 4 T. cake flour (plain, not self-rising)
  • 4 T. sugar
  • 2 T. cocoa
  • 1 egg
  • 3 T. milk
  • 3 T. oil
  • Splash of vanilla
  • 3 T. chocolate chips, optional

Add dry ingredients to the mug; mix well with a fork. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix well. Add chips, if using.

Put mug in the microwave, and cook for three minutes at 1,000 watts. (note: my little low-wattage microwave cooked it perfectly at 3 minutes.  you might want to try less time with yours.) Cake will rise over the top of the mug — do not be alarmed. When finished, carefully remove mug from microwave and allow to cool a little. Tip onto a small plate prior to serving, if desired. Yields one generous serving or two “more virtuous” servings.

Because every woman needs free chocolate

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Free sample of 8 gourmet chocolate from Haydee Chocolatier

After finding that, I did a simple google search and turned up some more.  Some of these are old and might not work, but they were all worth a try as far as I’m concerned.  They all gave me encouraging results like, “Thank you for your request.  Your sample should arrive in 2-99 weeks.”

Hey, chocolate is chocolate.  Who am I to pick and choose?

Can you find more?  It’s nice to share.

Chocolate memories

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

I just remembered a tidbit from my childhood.  I told my kids this morning and they loved it, so I thought it might be a good idea to store it here in my longterm memory banks blog.

Back when I was 11yo, I went on a babysitting job with my best friend.  She was 12 and an old pro, but I had never been allowed to babysit so I felt very grown up and privileged.

We babysat.  This was where I learned a little toddler-diapering trick that has stood me in good stead over the years.  This was also where I witnessed an adorable bit of toddler cuteness as the mom was giving us instructions before she left:

Mom: Here is Miranda’s plate with her dinner.

Miranda: Dinner!

Mom: She can watch a bit of TV after she eats.

Miranda: TV!

Mom: She can have 2 cookies for dessert.

Miranda: Cookies!

Mom: Her bedtime is at 8:00.

Miranda: Not yet!

Gina told me that the parents in this home allowed her to snack on whatever she wanted and they had given me permission as well.  I imagine my jaw hit the floor when I heard that.  In our house, I remember the menus being strictly planned.  “Don’t get into that cheese!  I need it for Thursday!  Don’t each all of the peanut butter – it has to last til next Friday.”  There was no free snacking in my childhood memories.

I peeked into the freezer and found – oh, joy! – a bag of chocolate chips!  What treaure!  What luxury!  At my coaxing, Gina and I nibbled the entire bag.

It. Was. Good.

And then the parents returned, and we went back to Gina’s home.

But the story doesn’t quite end there, on such a happy note.  Apparently the parents later discovered the missing bag of chocolate chips.  Gina told me later that they changed the rules and began setting out preplanned snacks for Gina because they feared she was not making wise choices.

I’m sorry Gina.  But it was worth it, wasn’t it?

Guess who gained 4 more ounces in 4 days?

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

No, not me.  If you must know, I gained more like 4 pounds over the last 4 days.  I know, I know.  I’m supposed to be losing weight, not gaining.  But the last 10 days have been nothing short of a Food Fest, beginning with the 3 lb. box of See’s Chocolates that my dear, sweet in-laws gave me as a baby gift.  All dark chocolate, baby.  I guess labor & delivery has more benefits than just a sweet baby.

sees Guess who gained 4 more ounces in 4 days?

But I’m not the only one gaining weight.  Maybe the chocolate is making my milk richer, because this little angel is now 8 lbs. even, up from 7.5 a week ago.  And this was an early morning weigh in, after her traditional all-night fast.  Since she’s gaining at the rate of an ounce per day, she might have weighed even more by this evening.

sleepingangel 300x200 Guess who gained 4 more ounces in 4 days?

Credit where credit is due: my in-laws knew about See’s spectacular, wonderful delicious chocolate because my hubby offered it up as a suggestion when they wanted to know what they could get me.  And my hubby knew about See’s scrumptious, delectable, unmatched-by-any-other chocolates because my grandparents have sent us a box every year for Christmas since I was little.

How to score a lot of chocolate

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Try accidentally deleting your church’s entire website. Two weeks before the annual conference/talent show.  If your husband is the very understanding type, he just might bring home an unprecedented amount of chocolate to soften the blow.  Of course, I still have to finish rebuilding the site.

And I had been joking about giving birth onstage as my talent act.  Maybe I’ll go up there with a laptop and show them my ability to commit mass destruction with a single unintentional keystroke.  Now that takes talent, wouldn’t you agree?

At least my living room floor is finished.  Hubby and I and several of the older girls worked until well past midnight, then finally went to bed with a couple of hours worth of work left.  This morning, I slept late; don’t ask how late because I’m not telling.  At late-o-clock in the morning, Deanna brought me my Bible and the laptop and suggested that I might like to stay in bed for a while longer.  My guilty conscience took one look at the clock and jumped out of bed, dragging me along for the ride.

Outside my bedroom door, I found the remainder of the tile job nearly finished.  The Boy was playing contentedly outside under the supervision of 6yo Becca and  8yo Natalie, while Deanna and Lydia worked quietly and diligently, painstakingly cutting the last row of tile to fit around the edges of the room.  Hubby had taken the other 3 children to work with him.

tilefloor 300x200 How to score a lot of chocolate

I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first.  I looked around wondering just how well they had been paying attention to the finer points of measuring and cutting tile last night at midnight, but I have to admit: the floor looks fabulous.  I have no idea where the adult handiwork left off and that of the children began.

Now we’re considering where to put the bookcases when we reconstruct the room.

Oh, and speaking of reconstruction, I’ll have to work some more on the church site.  Ugh.  Bad Kim.  Bad, bad, bad!

It’s a boy. Maybe.

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

maybe Its a boy.  Maybe.

I’ve decided to do something presumptuous, though I’ll try to do it purely without presumption. I’m going to start referring to the new baby in the masculine gender. I’ve decided to do this for a number of reasons:

  • All the girls are constantly referring to the new baby as “he.”
  • Many of the immediate and extended family have dreamed repeatedly that the baby is a boy.
  • Several people have told me that I’m carrying the baby like a boy (what does that mean???).
  • It’s surprisingly difficult for me to imagine having a girl this time.
  • The one time before this that I really, deeply longed for a boy, I had The Boy. Now I really, deeply long for a brother for The Boy.
  • I already refer to the baby as “he” in my head and try to filter the pronouns before they come out of my mouth. I also did this with The Boy.
  • If the child is a girl, I think we’ll have no trouble switching pronouns when we meet her. Right now we’re having lots of trouble with pronouns. Why waste brain cells fighting before we know which side we’re on?

coffeealmondfudge Its a boy.  Maybe.And so, with disclosures and disclaimers in place, with no external supporting evidence, and with tongue firmly placed in cheek, I will henceforth unapologetically refer to this child as “he,” unless and until I learn otherwise.

Oh, and while we’re talking about the baby, I might as well add that he loves Starbuck’s Coffee Almond Fudge ice cream. He didn’t wait 10 minutes for the blood sugar boost – he jumped for joy when he heard me ask for the ice cream, and kept it up the whole time I was eating. Then he got his blood sugar boost.

Recipe

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Posted by: Lydia mae

This is a recipe my Mom made up (kim c).

Brownies

  • 3/4 c Cocoa
  • 3/4 c Butter
  • 2 c Sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 1/4 c Flour
  • 1 tsp salt

Melt butter. Stir in Cocoa powder, then Sugar, then Eggs and Vanilla
Add dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 pan.
Bake 25-30 minutes at 350.

This recipe works very well with either white sugar or brown sugar. We’re going to try it next time with partly whole wheat flour.

Do you see what I see?

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Do you see 2 1/2 years of archives, full to bursting? It’s a site that warms my heart, and it’s all thanks to my Honey who finally made the old database work.

Smart and handsome. I love that guy.

“Cold”

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Mom says that it is not cold here; we just think it is cold. I know I kind of believe that it is colder in the “normal” places, but it has to be kind of cold here in some ways and I found one way this morning.

This morning I got up feeling groggy and remembering that it is not really cold, just “cold.” My eyes were rather cloudy, my body was awake, but my brain was hardly out of dreaming, so I recited a memorized and robotic “Hi” as I walked past Mom to the bathroom.  When I got there I realized that some things even in Texas are cold. The toilet seat is cold.

But a good latte makes it all better.  Megan and I are always competing in lattes. I find that it works best to just find ingredients and mix them around. Here are the most commonly used in our house:

Start with:

1/2 a cup of coffee, and milk

Add however much of:

  • Vanilla
  • Heavy Whipping cream
  • Chocolate syrup
  • Cinnamon
  • Anything yummy and chocolatish

What do you think is good?

Can’t wait for frugal friday!

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

I just posted on Frugal Hacks about 2 very different deals, each fabulously frugal and exciting in its own way.
One could easily be tied to chocolate, and the other has to do with books. See why it’s so hard to choose a favorite?

Chocolate is my friend

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

My friend Jennifer sent me a reaffirmation that dark chocolate is indeed health food. Now I found this in the latest CBD newsletter. I just might have to get one of these in her honor:
chocolate+mug Chocolate is my friendI could toast Jennifer each time I down a cup of cocoa mocha (that’s what we call cocoa made with black coffee instead of water). OK, so the chick on the mug is a little googly-eyed, but so am I on occasion, especially when I’m downing big hunk of dark chocolate.
The mugs are $4.99 for one, $3.99 each for 3 or more. I can think of 3 chocolate lovers. No, I’m not thinking of Me, Myself and I. Well, even if I am, I can think of more chocolate lovers. chocolate+tote Chocolate is my friendI think the $4.99 tote is pretty cute too, though I’m not sure I would actually use it. Maybe I could just use it to tote my chocolate stash.

A low–caffeine way to start the day

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

We call this a latte, though I’m sure it’s not at all authentic. Is is good, however, fulfills my psychological need to sip something warm and coffee-ish in the morning, and doesn’t pack the caffeine punch of a full cup of coffee. And it makes me happy. Not surprising since it contains #1, #2 and #6 of the top 11 Mood-Lifting Foods. (HT to Lifehacker for the link)

Mom’s Morning Latte

Combine 1/4-1/3 cup of black coffee and 1-2 tsp. chocolate syrup. Fill to top with milk, and heat until it’s so hot you can barely sip it. Grab your Bible and enjoy some early morning quiet caffeine time.

Now if I could just bring myself to eat a Broccoli/Rice Mackerel casserole for breakfast, I’d be the happiest gal around. NOT.

But the latte works for me.

Chocolate and coffee confessions

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Deep breath.
I quit. Aside from an occasional weak “latte” (1/4 cup of coffee with 3/4 cup of milk, nice and hot) I have almost entirely given up coffee due to atrial flutter or something very much like it. I was very slow to blame the caffeine, but after less than a week without coffee I was 99% better so I’m struggling to stay away from the stuff.
All I can say is that I’m glad coffee doesn’t taste as good as the fresh ground beans smell. I’d never be able to give it up.
I’ll also mention that I now get an extra little thrill out of kissing hubby in the morning, with his coffee breath. mmmm. He tastes and smells better than ever. icon wink Chocolate and coffee confessions

But chocolate…no worries. With all that coffee out of my diet, I have plenty of room for the tiny bit of caffeine provided by good dark chocolate. And with my blood pressure down to 90/50, I need that little boost. moz screenshot Chocolate and coffee confessions
“You’re just nice and relaxed,” said the dental hygienist after she took my blood pressure. “ummm…yeah,” thought I. “must….have….caffeine…”lindt Chocolate and coffee confessions

Hubby has recently treated me to several bars of Excellence 85% Dark Chocolate by Lindt. It has just enough sweetness and plenty of dark rich chocolatiness. (What? You think that’s not a word? It is now. I just added it to the spell checker.)
It’s even low carb: a teeny tiny 12 carbs in the entire bar, but just one of the 10 big squares has enough chocolate to satisfy a craving.
Which fits very nicely into my upcoming post in which I will be asking for your favorite low carb recipes. Get ready.

Gas math

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

edited to add my 2 cents’ worth

I filled up the van this afternoon and calculated the gas mileage. Bear with me, because I did all of the following in my head while driving.
358 miles divided by 29 gallons = approx. 12 mpg.
“12 miles per gallon? That stinks,” thought I.
Then I played with the numbers some more. I’m a numbers person.
12 miles per gallon = about 520 feet per ounce. 2 tablespoons of gasoline moves my 15 passenger van 540 feet.
2 tablespoons to move 5 or 6 thousand pounds of steel, flesh, and diaper bags 1/10 of a mile. Even at $3/gallon, that’s less than 2 1/2 cents. Not a bad deal.
Based on moving pounds and feet, I would have to move my own carcass nearly 4 miles to get the same level of efficiency. I don’t think 2 oz of chocolate would get me that far.
Maybe chocolate covered coffee beans would do it…but not 2 cents’ worth.

They told me to beg…

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Blogads brings in a bit of cash to help me rationalize away the time I spend on my blog.
If you enjoy my blog, could you help me rationalize even better by taking my Blog Reader Project survey?
It’s quick and easy and you’ll be my best friend. I’ll even eat chocolate with you – just tell me what time you’ll be indulging and I’ll set my watch. Synchronized chocolate eating: how better to seal a friendship over the miles?

BTW, if you’re watching the ads in my sidebar, you’ll see that I’m tinkering with an ad for Vision Forum. Their new Ballantyne books will be available any day now, so watch for these ads to pop up all over the web!

mmm…chocolate. And other stuff.

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

assortment mmm…chocolate. And other stuff.

I just have to brag up my dad-in-law. Last week I received an unexpected package for Mother’s Day.
Can anyone guess what was in it? Would you be able to guess if I mentioned that my father-in-law knows me rather well?

It’s a chocolate fanfan mmm…chocolate. And other stuff.

The Leaning Tower of Chocolate:leaningtower mmm…chocolate. And other stuff.

Look, it’s my masterpiece:masterpiece mmm…chocolate. And other stuff.What’s that? Only 12 large dark chocolate bars in the photos? Who told you there was supposed to be 14?

Chocolate weirdness

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

This is weird. I just reached into the freezer for a bag of chocolate chips and the unopened bag was inflated like a balloon about to burst.
Does this strike anyone as strange?
Isn’t this just scientifically wrong for a healthy bag of chocolate chips? Even if the bag was sealed with slightly more air inside than usual, it sure didn’t look like this when I brought it home. And the air inside would have contracted when it was cooled in the freezer, so if anything it would be flatter in my freezer than it was at the store.
So who has a theory?
I’m thinking botulism – the same organism that causes old canned foods to swell and perfectly healthy people to keel over dead. Now I have to weigh out just how badly I need that chocolate vs. how likely I am to die of botulism. Last I heard, the survival rate was 50% but that might have been without medical attention. I’m on guard, so surely I would fare better. And of course I should factor in the fact that I would die happy.
Or it could just be some kind of yeast, putting out carbon dioxide. The label says they contain chocolate liquor, so perhaps the yeast from the alcohol was still active when I brought it home?
For the record, these are Great Value brand. Yes, I’m slumming. I’m desperate.

Should I try them?

Can you beat this combination?

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

chocolate Can you beat this combination?Vision Forum + chocolate
Does it get any better?

My favorite source of books and media for the thinking Christian has a small supply of very special chocolates to ship in time for Mother’s Day.
Even though I haven’t received any samples yet (ahem. cough, cough. clearing throat…) I’m willing to go out on a limb and assume that if it comes from Vison Forum, it’s really good.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day, so obey the 5th commandment and get your mom some really good chocolate. If I’m your mom, then I’m talking to you. Even if I’m not your mom you can feel free to buy me chocolate. I’m not proud. Oh, and buy some for your mother too.

source code: inashoe

More sweetness

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

After 2yo Rachael was rebuked for having found and dispersed her older sister’s gum, she was sentenced to restitution. I told her that her next treat from the Treat Basket would go straight to her sister.
She nodded and answered “yes ma’am” but I suspected she wouldn’t really understand until it came time to hand over the goods.
I underestimated her comprehension.
The next time she headed toward the bathroom, she announced to the gum-owner: “OK, I go potty and get a treat for you. I get you candy!”
She made a point of getting up on the potty all by herself. When you’re 2yo and everyone is tired of the mad dash to lift you onto the toilet, climbing up by yourself gets you a treat, no questions asked.
I held the basket for her as she chose a mini-pack of m&m’s, and she cheerfully handed them off. Just like that.
I never thought that chocolate could bring me so much pleasure outside of eating it.

Unity in chocolate

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

I’ve stirred up a hornet nest and everyone’s blood pressure seems to be running a bit high, so why don’t we take a day off and think chocolatey thoughts instead?
Thanks to our friend Nathaniel for sharing this tasty little trifle:

Dark Chocolate Better than Tea at Reducing High Blood Pressure

If anyone is suspicious about the fact that articles like this invariably come out a few weeks before Mother’s Day, I have only this to say:
aaahhhh…chocolate. Pass me those bonbons.

In other news today…

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Carmon explains far better than I ever could why we don’t go to the library any more. We are so thankful for the library book sales that have allowed us to build a family library of books worth owning and reading so that we don’t have to go sort through tripe and filth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finished plodding through Jeremiah and have started Lamentations. I am appalled at my own ignorance of the structure of the Bible and elated at what I am learning even when it takes me an hour of interruptions to get through 2 chapters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary shared a recipe that I will blame someday when I have to go on a diet. Her Chocolate fix looks like it creates more problems than it fixes. I’ll let you know in as soon as I make it and eat the entire pan myself.
Sorry, kids.

Low blood chocolate

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

I mentioned in a previous post that I had a blood sugar crash last week, something that typically only happens for me during pregnancy. Maybe you’ll recognize the scientific name for this condition, “low blood sugar” or “low blood chocolate.”
I really didn’t suspect pregnancy since the baby is still nursing heavily. If he got paid hourly, he would be getting a lot of time-and-a-half. I don’t normally get pregnant until the baby has begun tapering off in nursing, and this boy is not tapering unless we’re talking about the taper from his belly out to his head and toes.
After a second and third crash in the past week, I asked my mom for her opinion.
She said that although it never happened when she was nursing girls, blood sugar crashes are par for the course when nursing a boy. Mom nursed 14 children. Case closed.
Apparently the physical strain of nursing a boy is roughly equivalent to actually being pregnant, which could explain why I’m tired all the time even when if I get 8 glorious hours of sleep.

For those who asked, my symptoms are weakness, shakiness (making it hard to stand or hold a glass), wooziness, irritability, pale skin, and – if it’s a bad one – a rushing sound in my ears that tells me to lie down and get my feet up NOW.
I have monitored my blood sugar during pregnancy so I know that it does get very low and I can reliably identify an “incident.”

Like many ailments common to the female gender, the cure for all this is to eat chocolate, quickly. I’ll bet you already knew that.

I love coffee. And chocolate. And phony stress.

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

As a procrastinator extraordinaire, I just have to say that I love the artificial pressure of self-imposed deadlines. You get all the motivation with none of the stress.
It’s like a large Decaf Mocha Cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso. All the goodness of rich coffee flavor and chocolate, but not enough caffeine to wake the baby at 2 AM.
aaahhhh.

Bible hunger, like chocolate

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

My Bible reading is going well so far (I started Isaiah today!), but it has not always been that way. There have been plenty of times when my Bible went unused for longer than I care to tell. Like Martha, I let the cares of the world interfere. Who has time to sit and read when there are diapers, laundry, dirty floors and hungry bellies to care for? Why bother to try when you’re guaranteed an interruption every 20 seconds?
I think the term Bible anorexia is a good one: the less we read, the less we want it. Our health suffers and yet we are less and less motivated to eat what is right before us. It is easy to let our priorities become so skewed that we squeeze out what we don’t really want to accomplish in the first place.
At some point, we simply have to force ourselves to eat what has lost its appeal to us.
But like chocolate and coffee, it seems that the more of God’s Word I devour, the more I crave it. I’m so thankful that good habits can work this way as well as the bad. After nearly 3 months of reading my Bible before I allow myself to get on the computer, I find that even my thought life is shifting in this area. I used to fight the temptation daily and felt that I was, to a certain extent, only going through the motions; but now there is no more struggle. I can’t bring myself to get on the computer without reading my Bible first. I just can’t do it.
I have plenty of other bad habits in my life (hoo boy, let’s not go there…) but I think that this one is thoroughly broken. I’m so thankful for that!

Thank you, LORD, for giving me victory to Your glory in this area. Please, Lord, give me the strength to continue hungering daily for Your Word!

Read Barbara’s Where There is no Hunger for God’s Word for an excellent post on the parallels of our appetite for food and hunger for God’s Word. HT to She Lives.

Oatmeal chocolate no-bake cookies

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Yesterday I wanted to whip up a batch of our favorite no-bake cookies for a MIRLing picnic with my new friends Jody and Martha. I lost 20 minutes searching through 4 recipe boxes (this is what happens when kids get old enough to cook independently), all to no avail.
Since I couldn’t find my own recipe, I found a very similar one and modified it to the best of my memory. Now I’m posting it for posterity in the hopes that Blogger will prove more reliable than either my recipe box or my memory.
I’ve heard that recipes like this are very touchy and often turn out goopy but we haven’t found that to be the case. Just be sure you boil at least 2 minutes (some recipes say 4 minutes) and your cookies should firm up nicely.

Oatmeal Chocolate No-bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4-5 cups oats

In a 4 quart pot, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 2 minutes.
Working quickly, remove from heat and stir in butter, peanut butter and vanilla. Confession: I never measure peanut butter. 1-2 big glops from a spoon will do nicely. Stir in the oats and drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Remember, work quickly. If you are too slow your cookies will cool and set in the pan and you’ll be forced to eat the rest straight from the pan with a spoon. Not good for the hips.
Let cool thoroughly and enjoy.

We had wonderful visit with our new friends and afterwards went to Vision Forum to help out with a project. When everyone told me I had a beautiful glow to my skin, I smiled and assumed it was from the joy of making and meeting new friends. I only wish that was the cause.
Nope.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and we spent 3 hours in a river park with our friends.
I have a sunburn.
Spring is here.

Can anyone say date night?

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

coupon bogo sundaes0107 Can anyone say date night?
Click HERE for the printable version.

I’ll post pics by the weekend.

WFMW: potty update

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

Just a brief update on the potty training, and a little tidbit that took me 7 children to learn:
Rachael did great yesterday! She left one puddle en route to the bathroom (it actually landed inside the bathroom door; she gets points for that, right?) and started to wet several times during the day then caught herself with a suprised look. In each of these cases she only got her t-shirt damp- it was never enough to reach the floor.
She’s already reaching the point of casualness at which they all seem to become just a little reluctant to head for the bathroom. The novelty is beginning to wear off, and potty is not nearly so exciting. We’re also reaching the point of casualness at which I fail to inquire faithfully as to the state of her bladder every 15 minutes.
Here’s where my WFMW tip comes in:
The novelty of using the potty may wear off, but candy never loses its charm. Not the promise of candy, but the candy itself.
The potty candy stays in the bathroom, in clear view.
She is free to go admire the candy anytime she wants. It’s up high where she can’t get to it, but it whispers to her all day long.
I’m also thinking maybe I should switch her over to dark chocolate chips so I’ll be more motivated to remind her to go potty. Then we can both share in the rewards. Hey, potty candy can work for moms, too.

Oh happy day! (potty training)

Free nursing cover, carseat cover, sling, and more!: Just pay shipping

PA090405 Oh happy day! (potty training)
Our Little Red is eating lots of potty candy these days.
She has been using the potty on occasion for the last few weeks. Mostly she uses it for gas. Yes, that gets candy too, since she is recognizing some sort of imminent bodily function. I want to teach her to play it safe on this stuff.
Yesterday I encouraged her to use it when she woke up. She actually peed (hurrah!) and was cheered and received her candy.
I went out on a limb and casually left her diaper off, and she told us when she needed to go again. This was unprecedented for her! Hurrah and candy!
She peed just once on the floor and had absolutely no more accidents all day. I put her in a diaper for nap, but she woke up dry 2 hours later and went right to the bathroom.
Hurrah and candy!
Her “potty candy” is white chocolate chips. We happen to have an abundance of these right now, so it works. After peeing in the potty all day and receiving her white potty candy, she spotted me eating some of my secret stash: Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips.
“Is that your potty candy, Mommy? Did you poop in the potty?”
We’re not going to analyze that statement too much, OK? I have to mention, though, that she specifically requested some of my potty candy after her first bowel movement of the day.

Now – don’t hate me for this – she slept in a diaper and woke up dry, asking to go potty.
No, you can’t have her. She’s mine. And today, she’s getting her very own brand new package of Winnie the Pooh panties.