Life, Gluten Free

Play Outside: Outdoor Bowling

Over at Childhood101, their April challenge was to get outside and play! Well, that's been a bit difficult for us because of the current weather patterns. We've been getting mostly rain, intense wind or snow. But the sun has peaked its way through the clouds once again and we got outside to embrace the challenge.

My daughter's idea was to play bowling outside and it was a lot of fun. We experimented with setting the pins up in different patterns.

We aren't sure what happened to the bowling ball that went to the set, so we used a mini basketball in its place. We had fun and absorbed some much needed sunshine.

Whats your favorite thing to play outside?

 

A Grain-Free Diet

Some people with Celiac Disease find that being gluten-free is not quite enough for them to feel completely healthy again and symptom free. Our daughter's doctor told us that when Celiac Disease was first discovered, it was recommended that you eat a completely grain-free diet, not just a diet that was void of gluten found in wheat, rye, barley, etc. 

Since our daughter still experiences some eczema, we've decided to adapt a grain-free diet to see if that alleviates her symptoms further. 

Here are some of the products that we've added to her diet. It was not as hard as I thought. My first fear was that she'd ask for brown rice noodles but we quickly solved that dilemma! Now she doesn't ask. That might tell you something. Often times, once you eliminate a particular food from your diet, you then realize that it didn't really agree with you in the first place.

She's been off of grains for about a month, and her skin is looking pretty great! We are pleased. And since I started to write this post a while ago, I can now say that the transition to grain-free has been very easy. She loves the new noodles and she really, really loves the coconut wraps and calls them "flatbread."

Coconut Wraps: (pictured above)

Pure Wraps are heaven. They smell so, so good. They are made in a nut-free, gluten-free facility. They hold together well. You can cram them with avocado, homemade pickles, lettuce and olives (that's Sophie's favorite combo).

Grain-free Noodles:

These miracle noodles are a hit. They may not be just like rice noodles, but Sophie likes them all the same. I even used them for chicken noodle soup and it was a win!

*This post is purely my opinion on these products that we've found to work well for us, I did not receive any free products from the companies listed above. We just love them!

I'll leave you with a photo of my daughter eating a pizza that we made using the coconut wraps as a crust. It was a major win.

Painting with q-tips

I really enjoy watching my daughter when she paints. She really gets into it, concentrates hard and enjoys it fully. She lives in the moment and it all comes very naturally for her. It is inspiring.

For this craft, all you need is paint, q-tips and paper.

First my daughter made an abstract painting with the q-tips.

Then we decided to use a big pom-pom to paint some clouds (you can wash it afterwards and re-use it)

Happy Crafting!

Earth Day with Toddlers

My daughter is learning about how to take care of the environment because she sees the choices that my husband and I make. Children are very astute!

She knows that we compost and that it's best to re-use items rather than throwing them away.

I thought of a fun and educational craft idea for today since it is Earth Day.

I printed out a coloring page of the Earth and together we colored it (she did the arms and hands, I did the earth).

We glued it to a piece of construction paper and then glued on a piece of blank white paper.

I asked her to tell me things that are good to do for the environment, and to say what things she liked about the outdoors. I wrote them down for her.

Then, we added some flowers and hung it on the fridge.

One of her favorite recycling ideas is to re-use boxes... yesterday we started on a fairy house for her fairy and princess dolls. So far they have a nice loft and a yard with a pond. Who knows what may happen next!

And by "throw compost away" she means to take it outside to our compost bin ♥

Happy Earth Day! Organic Gardening

We rented a 400 square foot garden plot. It's not huge, but I think it's just the right size to get started. We are excited to start planting a variety of organic vegetables. Last weekend we dug out rocks and tilled in our compost and the soil is ready to start planting!

Earth Day is important to my family in particular, because we strive to go to greath lengths to reduce our overall impact on the environment. To us, Earth Day is everyday. 

Here are a few things you can do for Earth Day:

1. Support local farmers and start shopping at your local farmers market (check out Local Harvest to find one near you)

2. Put your recycling bin to good use

3. Start a compost

4. Reduce packaging waste (buy items with recyclable packaging and pass on items with excessive packaging that isn't recyclable)**

5. Talk to your kids about recycling, composting, re-using, being conservative in our energy and consumption use. Kids are smart and they want to help, too!

6. Have room? plant your own garden or hunt around in your community for a garden plot to rent.

7. Feeling crafty? check out alphamom's paper globes for earth day.

** My daughter received a gift for her birthday and the packaging for the item was beyond excessive. Inside was something that could fit in the palm of your hand, yet the packaging was 5 times as large. In fact, I emailed the company to let them know how unecessary the packaging was and that I was disappointed and I would not personally purchase their products unless they start being more conservative in their package design.

Make waves. You never know what positive change you may inspire.

Nut-Free & Oat-Free Granola

What kind of snacks do you feed a kid with allergies? easy, try this nut-free and oat-free granola!

It's beyond simple to make and is a good at-home and travel-friendly snack.

My daughter loves it. And the coconut chips add some crunch (in place of the nuts).

 

 

Nut-Free and Oat-Free Granola

no gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts, oats, grains

Ingredients:

organic dried plums

organic dried apricots

organic raisins

organic coconut chips (we buy ours from Tropical Traditions)

dash of sea salt (optional)

Directions:

chop the dried plums and apricots into smaller pieces

add to a bowl, along with the coconut chips and raisins

toss in a sprinkle of sea salt

stir well and add to a jar to store

 

Easy DIY Easter Decorations

We made these easter decorations up right before we moved. They are fun and took less than 20 minutes!

Supplies you need:

Metal pails

Shredded paper (or other filler)

Floral foam (to stick the decorative picks in)

Easter eggs

Simply stick some floral foam down into the pails and add your picks.

Top with shredded paper and then decorate with easter eggs and easter chicks!

You've got yourself some easy and quick easter decorations to decorate the house with or give to a friend.

Happy Easter! I hope you all have a good one. How do you celebrate?

My husband and I love to put on an easter egg hunt for our daughter. It's something that I cherished as a child. I loved easter egg hunts.

A home is the greatest gift you can give

We're moving! And we're homeowners! And it's pretty awesome, thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

Last year we were selected, after a long process of applying. After being selected, you commit to sweat equity hours, financial and budget classes and of course repaying the mortgage once the house is built and you buy it.

It was certanily a lengthy process, but all very much worth it!

Our house had some modifications because of our daughter's environmental allergies, like we have tile flooring throughout the house and no carpet. We also (supplied ourselves) used completely non-toxic NO VOC paint from Bioshield.

Some of the people who all make it possible are the volunteers that come out to put in their time, tremendous effort and hardwork.

Sophie and some of her friends got to take markers and make their mark on the framing as well :)

And now, 450 sweat equity hours and many months later: the house is officially ours!

Over the weekend we started moving small stuff and we had to put a stain (also by Bioshield) on our unfinished wooden stair caps and we did some touch-ups here and there.

You know you're a homeowner when you make fifty trips to Home Depot. :)

We are so thankful, amazed, blessed and beyond excited!

"It takes hands to build a house,
but only hearts can build a home." -anon