One of the ways our family prepares for Christmas is with an advent calendar. Since advent calendars are usually made with chocolate and chocolates are usually made in facilities with other chocolates that contain nuts, we have never had a store-bought advent calendar. We have a homemade calendar like this from Pottery Barn. Today, the kids filled the calendar with Andes candes, Peppermint Andes Candes, and holiday wrapped York peppermint patties. Then, I got a text message from an extremely thoughtful friend who also has a son with nut allergies. She knew we were not feeling well today (OK, I am sick. A mom + 2 kiddos. Sick. Hardest day…
Nut-free Vacation Planning
Pre-kids, my husband and I had grand expectations of worldly travels with kids in tow eating baby crêpes in Paris and schnitzel in Stuttgart, and Bangers and Mash with a few pints in the UK. Then, reality set in. Colicy baby, an entire vacation cancelled last minute due to whooping cough. Eventually a nut allergy diagnosis. Bad colds, never ending sick kids. Ear infections on top of ear infections and exhausted parents. We quickly learned that our dreams of extravagant travel were pretty far off in the distance. If we wanted to actually enjoy it, anyway. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade, or something. We have adapted over the…
Saltine Cracker Brickle
My Dad and his wife had us over for dinner yesterday + my brother and his girlfriend were there, too. It was a fun time and my Dad always has a ton of delicious food for snacking. This year he didn’t disappoint. His BBQ ribs were amazing. Doug and I both brought a dish. He made olive stuffed cheese balls and I made Saltine Cracker Brickle. This recipe is so easy, you can literally make it in 5 minutes (even just after stepping out of the shower with your towel still on, thinking Ohmigod, I forgot to make dessert!) It’s so easy. Ingredients 2 sticks unsalted butter 1 cup brown…
Gillian's Stuffing Review
If you’ve tried gluten free/nut free items, you are aware that the flavor is not always terrific. I have to give a huge shout out to Gillian’s for making a stuffing that tastes EXACTLY like real stuffing, only nut-free and safe for my kiddo. The directions are super easy, and my brother added garlic, onion, celery and vegetable broth. He prepared the rest as package states. I was BLOWN away by the flavor, especially after reading the reviews online. This product is available at Amazon.com, Metro Market (recently bought by Kroeger) and Wal-Mart (although we haven’t shopped at a Walmart since Hawaii 2009 for some seriously good reasons). Hope you…
Thanksgiving Menu
I’m pumped for our family time this weekend! And so are the kids. Packing up the house and suitcases for a few days of fun was the highlight of the short week. For some reason I feel “behind” in my holiday preparations this year. Maybe it’s because the weather has been so nice (just 70* last week Friday) and felt like summer was making a come-back. The little holiday items that I usually take care of quite early, end of October, just did not happen this year. Preparing the Holiday cards, starting to shop for Christmas, family photos, holiday dresses, etc. all felt rushed this year. I ordered a lot…
Trolls Movie
If you’re feeling a little bummed out and could use a pick-me-up, Trolls is where it’s at, for any age. It’s dark, cold, gloomy, and a whole bunch of little things add up during the week that can put a frown on our face. This movie puts things in perspective. It reminded me that music and spontaneous dance parties are essential parenting skills to brush off the small stuff and keep smiling. Don’t quit. Dont give up. Give kids hope for peace and friendship. And even though everyday isn’t rainbows and cupcakes, there is nothing wrong with seeing the glass half full, all the time! Oh! Our movie theater is…
Snyder's Pretzels!
We rarely buy pretzels, so today when Carter and I were grocery shopping, I had to stop and think about brand and manufacturing. At HyVee there are a while host of pretzel options. Usually I try to stay away from any brand that also makes a peanut or peanut butter pretzel. Not the case for Snyder’s. Snyder’s manufacturers out of several different facilities, one of which is nut-free. Yay! We are making salteen toffee bars and I will post the recipe later!
St. Nick Stocking Stuffers
December 6 is St.Nick and it falls on a Tuesday this year. I start by picking up little things here and there, adding up to one nice big stocking. A few items I ALWAYS have are: holiday pjs, a little candy and the rest non-candy/food items. The holidays are FULL of candy and sweets, we do not need any more. We still have candy from trick-or-treat! Here’s what I picked up this year: Puzzles – The Dollar Tree $1.00 Wooden Airplane – The Dollar Tree $1.00 Glitter Glue – The Dollar Tree $1.00 Holiday Coloring Book – The Dollar Tree $1.00 Sixlets Candycane – Target (dollar bin section)$1.00 Holiday Socks – Gymboree (clearance) $4.00…
10 Minute Caramel Apples
This isn’t your typical caramel apple recipe. I know what you’re thinking. Melt caramel. Put a stick in an apple and dunk. Nope. Not even close. This apple recipe is so good, you could make it in advance for Thanksgiving and everyone would LOVE IT. Re-heating can be done over low in a non-stick pan, or in a crock pot on low, occasionally stirring. About two years ago, I had a baby and toddler and a giant bag of apples that we were never going to finish before they went bad. I googled “pan fried” apples and got a few good recipes. The easiest one turned out to be the…
First Hot Lunch
Wow – this is huge! After talking with Chloe’s principal, teacher and touring the cafeteria and wipe-down process, I was finally comfortable with the idea of hot lunch. Chloe had been asking to do it, and I was hesitant. She hadn’t had a school meal (except for the snacks in her classroom) since her cross-contamination incident last May. That story is also on the blog under “Mom Stuff” and it sent her to the ER for anaphalaxis symptoms. Hot lunch at her school is great. It’s 100% organized and run by a parent committee. There is a designated nut-free table, which she has some great friends at, and never eats…
Candy Bars
Enjoy Life brand has an AMAZING chocolate bar free of the big 8. We were at the Kalahari Resort this weekend and had the opportunity to try this yummy treat! I’ll be stocking up via Amazon Prime for sure. Enjoy your Sunday. check out my blog post on the Kalahari and how allergy friendly they are!
Nut-free at Kalahari
***Update as of 5/25/2019 we no longer consider Kalahari allergy friendly. The large assortment of allergy free snacks available last time are no longer stocked at Kalahari. There is a restaurant inside the game area that will acommodate allergies, however. But the snacks by the pool and waterpark are gone. The #1 Allergy Friendly hotel for families would be across the street at THe Great Wolf Lodge where the entire hotel and facility is nut free. All restaurants, snacks and treat are safe to those with nut allergies. They take ALL allergies seriously and work to ensure each guest is having a great time. *** This week, my husband had…
Gingerbread House!
Live Blogging here! We are at toys r us, and I am probably more excited about this new find than the election coverage, a totally nut-free gingerbread house kit (rare!) Made by DISNEY!
Chicken Chili Dip
When I call a dinner “Dip” – it makes it seem like a fun snack, not a healthy, vegetable packed meal that will give my kids the energy they need. Tonight we made Chicken Chili, another amazing meal that Chloe and I put together at last night’s Hy-Vee DISH session. Since she helped me make it she was proud of her work, making it easier for her to clear her plate. She owned this meal. It was hers. And she was proud to tell everyone about her homemade spice packet that made the chicken taste so good. I was happy to see her so excited and capable of making a meal. Preparing healthy food is…
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