New Discoveries About Diaper Changing (dun dun dun)

My son has always hated getting his diaper changed.  When he was a wee little newborn (well, if you consider nearly 9 pounds wee and little) he hated being wet in his diaper.  He also hated being changed/cold.  Pretty much safe to assume he hated everything diaper related.  Now, as a mature 2 year old, his hatred of diaper changing has only increased.

We're starting to potty train, which theoretically should work to my advantage.  Kid hates diapers, kid discovers potty and BOOM!  Miracle.  N.O.P.E.  No way.  He's not very excited about the potty either.  Sure, he uses it, a few times a day while eating a cookie, but we're not potty trained yet. 

So here's out it goes (about 50 times a day):
Step 1: My son yells "POOPIEEEEE."  I ask if he's gone poopie.  He says, no.  My nose senses he has in fact gone poopie.
Step 2: He sees me reach for the diaper.  "NOOOOOOO."  I say, "YESSSSS." And attempt to pin him to the ground while distracting him with songs and other tactics.  He's on to me.  He knows what's coming.
Step 3: I give him the very important job of holding the sacred clean diaper and swiftly clean up the mess (that he denied having done). 
Step 4: He runs away.  I rejoice that its over.

What have I learned from this?  Toddlers are harder to change than newborns, and newborns may be easier than toddlers.  He's lucky he's so cute.

Be Green, Help a Horse

A friend of mine has a wonderful Etsy shop featuring heavy duty upcycled reusable shopping bags.  With each purchase, not only do you get an awesome bag (my favorites are the horse ones) but a portion of the proceeds goes directly to a local horse rescue.  The bags are very well made and are perfect for your large grocery trips.  Would make great gifts for the holidays that are right around the corner!

Visit the shop Here and check them out!

Gluten-Free Pizza for the Whole Family-On a Budget

I love pizza.  I mean LOVE it.  When I went gluten-free in 2007, one of the things I missed the most was nice, greasy pizza house pizza (specifically from the York House of Pizza in York, Maine).  I shed tears over the notion of never having it again.  And for those of you who have tried the frozen gluten-free pizzas, you probably found the same results I did: not worth the money.  One way I make it now, after much trial and error, is using the Gluten-Free Bisquick recipe you can find on the box.  Of course, as I tend to do with everything, I change it up a bit.  The result is a yummy pizza that tastes a lot like normal gluten-filled homemade pies. 
Here's what to do:
Pick up some of this  for about $4.99 at the grocery store.  Pretty steep, but you can use coupons to save a little.  Follow the recipe found on the side of the box for pizza.  This box should make 2 pizzas, which is a lot cheaper than the upwards of $12 you can spend on one small one in the freezer section. 

I use a round pan to make myself feel like I'm eating real pizza.  Be sure to spray the pan.  I will admit, spreading this onto a pan is a bit of a challenge, but worth it.  The trick I use is to continuously wet your fingers with cold water and spread it with them.  Don't worry if there are small holes. 

The last thing I do a little different, is to add a little oil to the top after adding the cheese and toppings.  It gives it that slightly greasier taste I craved from the inability to eat real pizza. 

The results:

Roasted Chick Peas

A few weeks ago I bought a couple cans of chick peas.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them, but I wanted to do something.  I started to research roasting them, and after my first handful, I couldn't understand why I hadn't done this sooner.  They were delicious!  Oddly enough, my two year old was obsessed with them which is great because they're a healthy treat.  They have iron too, which I'm terribly in need of, so that's an added bonus.  I used a recipe I found on this blog but made a couple changes to cater to my family's taste buds.

Here's what you need:
1 can of chick peas (15 oz)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt (add more to taste, if you prefer more salt like I do)
1/8 tsp chili pepper
1/8 tsp paprika

What to do:
Drain and rinse the chick peas and combine all the ingredients in a bowl.  Mix them well to coat the chick peas.  Spray some oil (Pam, or whatever kind you have) on a baking sheet and spread the chick peas on it.  Put them into the preheated 400 degree oven for about a half hour, adding a little more time if you prefer them crunchy.  Be sure to turn them a couple times.  Enjoy!