The 3rd Birthday Bash

My son turned the big '3' a couple weeks ago and I still can't believe it. I'm also surprisingly taking it much better than I did when he turned 2. He was never your typical 2 year old so I'm wondering if the terrible twos are still coming. It's just one of the perks of being a parent, right? That and having a birthday party every year...or in our case two with a third that still hasn't happened yet.

The Work/Life Balance: Does It Exist?

My friend. My enemy.

I've been going a little crazy on the business side of life lately. My design business is picking up which is fantastic, but some of the other aspects in my life have been neglected a bit. I'm not a fan of that, but it just has to happen. Work has pretty much taken over this past month and it's been hard on my personal life as well as those around me...specifically my little guy.

Cookie Cookbook for Cancer

There are a few blogs I follow that inspire me in cooking and everyday life. I happened to check one of them out today and the post was one that needed to be shared.

The post from Recipegirl.com on September 30th was about chocolate chip bars from a bake sale cookbook. Now, this isn't just an ordinary bake sale cookbook, it's actually for a cause...for something more than your typical fundraiser events. These chocolate chip bars come from the cookbook titled, "Cookies For Kids Cancer: Best Bake Sale Cookbook."

Recipegirl's post brought me to her son's blog. Recipeboy.com featured another recipe from this cookbook called "Prince Liam's Peanut Butter Cookies." (This is the part that tugged at my heart strings) These cookies were made for a little boy named Liam who was diagnosed with pediatric cancer when he was just 2 1/2 years old. His mom held bake sales to raise money to find a cure.

When I became a mom, I started looking at the world differently and it will never look the same as it did before I had my son. When I hear of diseases, ailments, conditions, etc. that affect children, it breaks my heart. I have no idea why something like this would happen to such a little guy, but my heart goes out to his family and anyone who ever has to go through something like this.

If you're interested in checking out this cookbook or becoming involved in the cause, visit www.CookiesForKidsCancer.org.

(Recipegirl.com and Recipeboy.com will be giving away 3 of these cookbooks to raise awareness for this charity. If you'd like to be entered in their contest, visit each of their blogs for more information.)

Fantastically Fun Finger Paint

I made my very first batch of homemade finger paint this morning. It was pretty easy to make and it was even more fun to use! I first got the idea of making my own from a friend who makes her own for her 1 year old to use. It's easy on the budget and you don't have to worry about your kid having a little taste because it's all natural ingredients that are non-toxic and used in everyday cooking.

Before I planned on cooking up the mixture, I did a little research and looked at some recipes on some sites throughout the web. They were pretty standard with some calling for cornstarch and water while others called for flour and water. I wasn't keen on the mixtures that just had cornstarch and water because it seemed like it would be way too clear when all was finished. The flour/water combination, on the other hand, seemed like it would have too much of a glue consistency and be too opaque. I decided to come up with my own recipe using cornstarch AND flour so I could have the best of both worlds.

A Delightful Drink

I made my first smoothie today and I'm happy to report that it turned out to be pretty awesome. I had some strawberries that were starting to soften and thought I should use them up before they started to turn fuzzy and green. And since no one likes to eat a mushy strawberry, I decided I'm make my first smoothie with them. I also figured that my son would love one as a snack because he's never had one before. Well, he took about four sips before he got distracted with his Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Next thing I knew, smoothie was all over the table. I think we'll be banning trains from the kitchen...

Doctor's Orders

I feel like I got in trouble today. My son had his 2 and a half year check-up earlier and everything was tip-top as usual. He's a great kid and we're so lucky that he's healthy and always gets the A+ from the doctor, but my husband and I were told that we need to do a couple things.

The first thing the doctor wants us to do involves milk. My son loves milk. No, that doesn't quite cut it...he LOVES it with a bazillion capital letters times a million. It's become his routine to have a little bit of chocolate milk when he wakes up, a little plain milk around naptime, and little more plain milk after dinner. Because he's been so picky with eating, the doctor wants us to cut milk down to 1 cup per day. I realize now, after it's been five hours since his appointment, that the doctor probably thinks we're giving him more than we actually are, but I'm willing to comply if it means he'll eat better. A kid can only eat so much pizza, waffles and fruit, right? The outcome of this little experiment remains to be seen, but I'm willing to bet that cutting out one glass of milk won't make much difference because, well, I do have a two year old after all!