Snacks On the Go

My kids are always hungry!  Because we are gluten and dairy free, I need to be prepared and bring snacks wherever we go.  It is nearly impossible to just stop and grab something for them to eat.

I can usually find some packaged snacks at Costco that work for us.  (applesauce pouches, Annie's fruit snacks, freeze dried fruit, nuts, craisins, Lara bars, veggie straws)  I have a snack bin in the pantry that I keep stocked so that we can grab things on our way out the door.  The Bumkins snack bags tucked in there are to fill with nuts or craisins.

I recently bought a box of small Dixie cups to use in the car.  They were only a few dollars and have adorable little owls on them that the kids love.  Even the Costco individually packaged snacks can get expensive when there are so many of us, so to save more money I just bring along a large bag of something.  (gf pretzels, popcorn, veggie straws, snap pea crisps, etc)  I grab one of the Dixie cups from the box and fill it up for each child.  The cups stay in the car so that they are always available when I need them.  In the past we kinda fumbled around with handing each kid a handful of snack or using a napkin or something, but that usually ended up making a mess.  I tried washable cups at one point, but they ended up getting left in the van and staying dirty.  Disposable cups are not much more waste in comparison to the individual packaging on the snacks that we would have been buying otherwise.  They were inexpensive and work nicely for this purpose.  We do try to use the cups a few times before throwing them away.

My kids and I each have a water bottle that we fill up and bring along when we know that we will be out and about for more than just a quick trip.  If I am planning to run errands, I will fill up their water bottles in the morning and they use that cup for the whole day so that it is ready to grab and go whenever we leave.  These are Contigo brand and have worked well for us.  I've seen them at both Meijer and Costco.

What tips do you have for feeding hungry kids on the go?

Construction Birthday Party

Isaac turned two in March!  I think I've had this cake in my Pinterest ever since he was born, just waiting for the right time.  :)  It was so easy to do and turned out wonderfully.

The cake was gluten and dairy free - I used this mix: Pamela's Products Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix and the frosting recipe from The Healthy Gluten-Free Life: 200 Delicious Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free and Egg-Free Recipes!.  The chocolate chip "rocks" are Enjoy Life brand.  I used these Toystate Caterpillar Construction Mini Machine 5-Pack as the cake topper.  They also served as table decorations and party favors too.  The napkins and plates we found at Hobby Lobby.  Some yellow streamers along with these fun 7" Traffic Signs made easy decor.

We served lemonade, cake, veggies and dip, and fruit salad for a simple afternoon party.

Some of his favorite gifts were these:

Toystate Caterpillar Construction Take-A-Part Trucks: Wheel Loader

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

UNITED PARCEL SERVICE UPS 4" P-600 Package Car Delivery Truck

Learning Curve 4" Garbage Truck

Postal Service Kid's Toy Truck

In fact, this is how we had to do diaper changes for a while, drill in hand!  :)

Birth Stories

So you've read Story Number One where I became a mama,

     Story Number Two where my traumatic birth was redeemed, even down to the details,

Story Number Three where Esther arrived before the midwife even did...

     and Story Number Four where our precious baby boy was born two years ago now!

Each story is unique and magical and I am honored to have been blessed with each of these little ones to love and care for.  I realize its been slow on the blog - I'm still here.... just working on Story Number Five, to come in October!  :)  I enjoy writing, and am balancing my online time with homeschooling my kiddos and spending time loving on them.  I'll squeeze in a quick post whenever I have time, and of course stay tuned for Story Number Five in October!!

Elk Antlers!

There are many different things for a puppy to chew on: shoes, the rug, the kids toys...

In researching what to buy for Poca to chew, I came across this article, and purchased a few Wholesome Hide rawhides.  She chewed through the chips too quickly, but one of the larger rolls lasted her quite some time.  On further searching, I saw "bully sticks" recommended.  Oh. my. goodness.  I could not even believe what those are made of.  Lets just say its much worse than a pig ear, which is nasty as well....

Finally I saw elk antlers recommended as a great choice for dogs to chew on.  I read about antlers on a few forums and then saw them in the local pet stores as well.  Antlers, phew, I can handle that.  Evidently elk antlers are the premium choice - deer antlers can splinter, but elk are just right.  Antlers are the perfect chew toy because they are naturally shed by elk and readily available.  There are no preservatives or crazy ingredients in them either.

I found Mountain Dog Chews and was really impressed with their website and philosophy.  They agreed to send some Elk antlers for us to try out - Poca could hardly wait for us to get them out of the package for her!

She has had these antlers for almost four months now (she is definitely not this tiny anymore!), and they have held up amazingly well.  She LOVES them and chews on them quite often.  Antlers are one of the only things that I am comfortable leaving in her crate with her because I know that she is not going to ingest too much or break them.

Mountain Dog Chews staff was very helpful with figuring out what type and size of antler to get Poca.  We  got some that were split down the center, allowing her to get to the yummy middle part without too much work.  This is one of her well loved antlers:

You can see that she is in no danger of swallowing or breaking it; its simply worn down all over.  Antlers can be pricey, but considering how long they have lasted her, they are well worth it.  I highly recommend picking some up for your dog, and highly recommend the quality and good service we received from Mountain Dog Chews.  Has your dog tried antlers?  They even come in some enormous sizes for those power chewer dogs!

Disclosure: We received a package of elk antlers in exchange for our honest review.  Poca gives them two paws up!