Scripture Sunday

“[God Disciplines His Sons] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
- Hebrews 12:1

FFF: Friends

Here are a few photos of Anna's little friends:
(((PICTURES REMOVED BY AUTHOR))

My 20 Month Old

Here's a photo I snapped today of my 20 Month Old Daughter!!!

Scripture Sunday

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”- 1 John 1:7

It's After Midnight...

Anna is 20 Months Old!!!

Printer Giveaway @ 7 Dogs & a Baby

Seven Dogs and a Baby is giving away a A536 photo printer (I'm honestly not too sure what that means... but hey, it's a free printer if you win! I'm psyched!) You can edit your photos and print them out at your own convenience... I like that. I've been dying for a photo printer for some time. So if you'd like to sign up for the giveaway, just click here!

20 Months Tomorrow!

It's such a big step in so many ways... to see my baby turning twenty months old. She won't be __teen months old or any of that any more. She's growing closer to being two years old. I won't have a baby for long. It's sad and wonderful all at once. I love seeing her learn new things. The biggest reward is seeing her personality develop. She's funny, she's silly, she's adventurous. She loves to sing and dance. She loves Spongebob and babies. She's such a doll. Right now she's sitting and watching The Backyardigans with a red bucket hat on her head that she put on herself. =) She's so cute!!! Oh I love my girl!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ah! Desserts! So... do vegans miss out on the most simple of earth's pleasures? These Vegan Cookies sure do look pretty normal... with the exception of the flax eggs... that's a little odd ROFL!
Oh, sorry if this seems so random. My interests change so quickly some times.
Once again, I'm not vegan, but I'm quite curious in how vegans eat now! Maybe you have been? I mean, it can't be easy to avoid dairy products and meat products...

The best vegan chocolate chip cookies I've ever created. Seriously. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Use the amount of butter called for if you want a slightly chunky cookie. A little more for a thin and very crispy cookie. Includes recipe for a healthy and fun vegan egg substitute!

• 2 1/3 cups unbleached white flour (you can use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached white too)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup non-dairy butter (preferably non-hydrogenated too)(2 sticks)
• 1 scant cup organic cane sugar, or other granulated sugar
• 1 scant cup organic powdered sugar
• 2 flax eggs (recipe below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces non-dairy chocolate chips
*Flax Eggs*
• 1/3 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup water

1. To make the flax eggs: Grind flax seeds in a blender or food processor. Slowly add water and blend until it produces a gooey mixture. This makes 6 flax "eggs". Refrigerate unused flax eggs in refrigerator for up to 6 days. (Be sure to clean out blender immediately!)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Sift together flour and baking soda, set aside. Beat together butter and both sugars. Beat in egg replacer (6 Tbsp flax goo = 2 eggs) and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove cookies to racks to cool completely -- they'll firm up considerably.

Yield: 2 dozen

Variations:

• Add chopped macadamias or walnuts

Mama's thoughts: They certainly look normal. And I would think that they would taste pretty normal. I've had carob chips before, and they actually taste like the real thing.... maybe a little more sugary, though. What do you think?

Vegan Pizza

NO I am not a vegan, but lately I've been thinking... how in the world do vegans eat??? I mean, it seems that everything is made with cheese, eggs, or milk. No fast food... that's for sure... I bet you'd maintain a healthy weight, too... hmmm... maybe I should consider it? Nah... too lazy to cook every single meal hahaa!

So... without further ado.. Vegan Pizza

Topping

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 or more cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 small onion

3 tbsp. tomato purée

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp. Sage

2 oz. hard vegan cheese (e.g. Scheese, Cheezley etc.)

Your choice of toppings. I recommend: sliced mushrooms, peppers, sweetcorn, olives, artichoke hearts, smoky tofu, vegan meat substitutes such as Cheatin' Ham.

Fry onion until soft and garlic. Add tomatoes, herbs and purée and cook for a few minutes. Add a handful of wholemeal flour if you want to make the sauce thicker.

Spread the sauce over the pizza base. Add toppings and cover with cheese.

Leave the pizza to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes whilst pre-heating the oven.

Bake at Gas Mark 9 / 250 °C / 470 °F for 15-20 minu

You can buy ready made pizza bases but that's cheating...It takes a long time to make this pizza, but it's worth it. The measures below are enough for a 12 inch pizza.

Pizza Base

1 lb (450g) plain 85% wholemeal flour
1 sachet dried yeast (wouldn't that not be a vegan ingredient? aren't yeast live creatures? hmm)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
6 fl oz (150 ml) warm water

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix into a dough. Add more water or oil if necessary. Knead for 5 minutes to get air into the dough. Put into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Put into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise for about half an hour while you make the topping.

Punch down the dough, roll out into a circle on a baking sheet or pizza dish.

Topping

1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 or more cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sage

2 oz hard vegan cheese (eg Scheeze, Cheezley, etc.)
Your choice of toppings. I recommend: sliced mushrooms, peppers, sweetcorn, olives, artichoke hearts, smoky tofu, vegan meat substitutes such as Cheatin' Ham.

Fry onion until soft and garlic. Add tomatoes, herbs, and puree and cook for a few minutes. Add a handful of wholemeal flour if you want to make the sauce thicker.

Spread the sauce over the pizza base. Add toppings and cover with cheese. Leave the pizza to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes whilst pre-heating the oven.

Bake at 475 for 15-20 minutes.
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Mama's thoughts: I'm surprised at how NORMAL this recipe seemed! The only things that are really 'substituted' are the vegan cheese and the vegan meat. I'm honestly not a big meat eater. I hate beef, seafood of any kind, shell fish, crab... all that... I'm also not fond of pork... so it really wouldn't be too abnormal of a meal. The only thing I'd really miss is cheese. I do love cheese. But from what I've heard, some vegan cheeses are quite tasty... What do you think?

My Sis...

Please keep my sister Melissa's family in prayer. They're struggling right now. Everything they own has been repossessed. They're moving from CA back here to OR. On the up side, I'm really glad to have my niece and nephew nearby again. I've really been missing them. One more thing, the oldest son, Telly, who is disabled, is going to be watched by their grandmother from now on. He's severely Autistic. As far as that goes, it's really sad that he's not going to be around, but from what I hear he's happier. He hated all of the noise and unpredictability in the house... kids fighting, playing, noise, etc.

Things for prayer:

1. Good job for my sis and her hubby
2. Kids settle in quickly
3. Adjustment of being without big brother smooth.
4. They follow God.

OIl Prices Plunge!

Anybody else on the edge of their seats??? The prices fell SIX DOLLARS a barrel today!!! Woopee! Maybe now I can buy Tic Tacs!!! ***groans out of annoyance***

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=Ao_ixbH6Tw6fXffEEI_mPDms0NUE

In 6 Days...

In Six days, Anna will be 20 months old! Oh my gosh, it's a new era! Wow! Her second birthday is just around the corner! I can't believe it!!!

Physical milestones

At 20 months, your child will probably be able to run, though not expertly. He may also go up stairs by himself, but he'll most likely need some help on the way down. He can probably kick a ball, too. Most toddlers at 20 months haven't yet got the hang of jumping or throwing a ball overarm.

Anna runs very well. She loves going up the stairs by herself and recently she goes down the stairs by herself as well with the help of the railing. Every so often she kicks balls, but I haven't seen it too often. She jumps off the ground quite well and yes, she throws overhand...everything. She loves throwing things. I think that's one of those milestones that moms aren't too happy to see lol...

Strong attachments

When you or another important adult leaves, it can be unsettling for your child, who relies on your presence to feel secure. Ease transitions by letting him know beforehand that you're going to leave and that you will be back "after lunch," "before tea," or whatever, and then don't drag out your exit. Give him a quick kiss and be off.

Yup... Anna hates it when I leave and she hates it, really, when anybody leaves the house, even if I'm still in it, but that's more because she wants to go, too!!! LOL!

Aggressive behavior

Small children frequently resort to hitting, pushing, biting, tugging, or any variety of other frowned-upon actions, sometimes to make themselves feel more important, but also to experiment: What happens when I hit Katy? Will the same thing happen when I hit Jamie? Don't overreact to your toddler's behavior. If you retaliate by hitting, it teaches that hitting is acceptable. Calmly make clear that such actions are never acceptable -- no matter how intense his feelings.

I've seen her hitting or throwing her arms around when she throws a fit, but I've never seen her hit, bite, tug, or push another child thankfully! That's another milestone I'm not too excited to see. I think she just doesn't do these things because she isn't around children very often.

Anna and the Piano

I think our little girl will have musical talent when she's older. She drawn to music and instruments. These photos were taken on the 4th of July at Aunt Susanne's.

Hubby's Name Choice...

Paul told me that if we had another daughter that he really likes the name Madeleine. =) Isn't he a sweetie?

Tongue Tied Babies & Breastfeeding

Just to clarify, yes, that was a real memory that I was dreaming about... about Sean and I floating down Canyon Creek and the big snake...

Thursday, July 10, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants born with a birth defect that restricts tongue movement may have persistent difficulties with breastfeeding, researchers from Australia report. In such cases, minor surgery usually resolves the problem, leading to better milk intake and less nipple pain for the mother.

Ankyloglossia, commonly known as tongue tied, is a birth defect in which the mucous membrane that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth is too short, limiting tongue movement. Immediately after having a minor surgical procedure called frenulotomy, the tongue can often dramatically extend out of the mouth, which it could not do before. This can allow breastfeeding, help improve speech and promote proper tooth arch development in growing children.

Dr. Donna T. Geddes, at the University of Western Australia in Perth, and her associates evaluated 24 breastfeeding mothers and their "tongue tied" infants (age 4 to 131 days) with persistent breastfeeding difficulties after receiving professional breastfeeding advice.

Ultrasound scans of the infants' mouth while feeding showed that the infants pinched the tip or the base of the mother's nipple and seemed to have trouble getting milk from the breast.

The infants underwent successful complication-free surgery to correct the "tongue tied" birth defect.

When assessed 7 to 29 days after the surgery, average milk production had increased significantly, "inferring that infants were able to remove more milk from the breast" after surgery than before.

Ultrasound showed better attachment to the breast, with less nipple compression in all cases but one, and nipple pain decreased significantly. The mothers continued to breastfeed for up to 24 months.

"This study provides evidence in support of frenulotomy for infants experiencing persistent breastfeeding difficulties despite professional advice."

SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.