Things That Make Me Say Yeay

My sweet little Max who is obviously way too excited about the cheez its we made the other day.

A pretty bunch of French Tulips.  Is it weird that I like the look the look of tulips right before they die?  Like when they are fully open and a little droopy?  That is my favorite. 

Fresh out of the oven low carb flax rosemary bread.  Super yummy.  I have been using it for sandwich bread mmm.

A bin full of pretty art for only $5 a pop.

Ronin is completely obsessed with hammers, tools, dump trucks etc so I decided to have a "construction" themed first birthday party for him.  I made a trip to Home Depot and got so many cute little things to get the decorating ball rolling!  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  

Best Baby Products Series: What's your Favorite Baby Wash?

This week as part of the Best Baby Products Series I am spotlighting baby wash and would love to hear from all you Momma's what your favorite baby wash is.  I will be leaving my personal favorite in the comments below along with everyone else. 

What you decide to wash your baby with is very important for most Moms.  Do you go for organic?  Something that makes your baby smell delicious?  A product that has been around for ages and is tried and true?  How do you decide and what is your best recommendation for other Mom's?  

See also best baby carriers, based on other Mom's opinions.

Flourless Cheez-It Crackers

One of the challenges I have as a mom is finding healthy on the go "cracker style" snacks for my toddler that he actually likes.  Let's be real, he is not totally stoked when I pack him a little baggie of trail mix when all his friends are eating Cheez Its and Goldfish Crackers.  Tradsies anyone?  So I have given in from time to time and bought boxes of crackers and I am pretty sure he might be turning into a cracker-aholic so I have decided to cut back on those processed little snacks.

Yesterday I decided to give homemade cracker making a shot.  I always imagined making your own crackers wold be a long time consuming project,  that only those Martha Stewart type Moms would attempt but I was so wrong.  This was a breeze!  Plus making your toddler a happy little camper is pretty awesome as well.  I found this recipe and made a few small changes and I can not believe how good and "Cheez It" like these taste!

What you will need:

• 1 3/4 cup of blanched almond meal 
• 4 tbs of nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt + a little extra for sprinkling on top
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs of melted coconut oil or *butter
• 2 tbs of lemon juice 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients together. 
3. Mix together the lemon juice and egg.  Add the lemon juice and egg to the dry ingredients.  
4. Stir in the melted coconut oil or butter. 
5. Mix well until dough forms. 
6. Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and using a rolling pin roll the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. 
7. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut crackers into desired size.  Using a ruler will help if you want to make them all the same size. 
8. Use a toothpick to poke holes into the middle of each cracker. 
9. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of the crackers.
10. Place the parchment paper with the crackers onto a cookie sheet. 
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Keep an eye on the crackers and since the outer crackers will be done faster than the ones in the middle remove those one and keep baking the others until they are nice and crispy. 

* Tips

• I made a second batch (Max LOVED them so much) and in the second batch I used olive oil butter and they tasted even better.
• The thinner you roll the dough the better they will be.
• The browner and crispier crackers were the best so if you need to bake them a little longer do so.

The real taste tester for these babies was my son Max (he is almost 3).  He loved them!  He loved them so much I made a second batch so we could have more for the rest of the week.

Mother's Day Snippets

I hope all you Momma's out there had a truly special day yesterday.  This was the most memorable Mother's Day to date and my boys made is so special.  Not gonna lie...I kind of loved not having to change one poopy diaper all day either.  Here are a few snippets from yesterday.

My husband told Max that he could pick out whatever flowers he wanted for me and he chose this  little baby rose plant.  He said, "Mommy will love this garden hat."  I love him and I love my rose plant with the little straw hat :)

We had brunch at one of my favorite spots, which included outside seating (great for crazy non quiet kids and food throwing babies) and misters.  Ahh loved the misters especially since it was over 100 degrees in southern California yesterday.

 An extra spicy Bloody Mary.  So good.

That afternoon I met up with my Mom and we got pedicures, had delicious drinks and appetizers and ate the most sinful dessert maybe ever.  Oh and never ever get yellow polish on your toes.  Yucky.  Lesson learned.

I told my mom she could pick out whatever she wanted for dessert and she chose possibly the most sinful thing on the menu.  This is deep fried banana rolls with a huge heaping scoop size of caramel infused vanilla ice cream.  Woahhhhhh.

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

My sweet little man who will be one in less than a month!  So crazy.  I have just started planning his first birthday party and I am so excited to have a fun little bash for him, even though he will not remember one moment of it.

The cutest little white kitchen in a house that reminded me of a real life doll house.

Wedding season has arrived and so have all the fun invitations!

Salt & Pepper Chocolate.  It was interesting.

The best homemade pizza courtesy of my husband's Aunt and Uncle.  Total cheat and completely worth every bite.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day! 

New Series: Delighted Momma Best Baby and Kid Products (Baby Carriers)

As a new mom one of the biggest challenges can be deciding which baby and kid products to get.  I remember browsing the aisles of Babies R Us while I was registering for my first baby shower and I was so overwhelmed I started crying right in the middle of my store...ha!  My poor husband.  I had a total meltdown.  I mean, is it really necessary to have a whole section dedicated purely to thousands of different pacifiers and bottle nipples?  Which ones were I supposed to get?  I did not have a clue and decided to leave and come back once I had done a little more research.

The truth is, Moms really are the experts.  They are the ones with the experience and the simplest way to find out what the best products are is by asking other Moms. 

So with this series each week I will be spotlighting a category and I will be leaving it up to you the readers to leave feedback saying which product is your favorite and why.  At the end of this series I will compile a whole list of the best baby and kid products based on your feedback and what the majority is saying.

So for those of you who have opinions this is your time to share!

This week I chose baby carriers.  Which baby carrier do you love and would recommend to other Moms? 

Mother's Day Traditions

My very first Mother's Day with Max. 

I love Mother's Day.  It is one of my favorite "fun" holidays.  I love that there really is no pressure when it comes to this holiday.  To me it is not about buying gifts or stressing about making a giant feast or worrying about who you might irritate if you can not show up.  It is just purely about celebrating the fact that you are a mom (or have a momma), which truly is one of the greatest gifts in the world.  Ever since I have become a Mom myself it is a holiday that I get excited about and always look forward to.  I love waking up to homemade scribbled on cards, macaroni necklaces, and a messy egg breakfast (with a few eggshells because of the tiny kitchen helpers).  And lets be real a day where foot massages are given out freely and not having to cook one meal or clean up a single dish is my kinda day.  Every year we usually wake up early, have our eggshell egg omelet, and head down to the beach for the morning, doing whatever it is we decide to do.  So simple and I love it.  I will also be seeing my Mom later that day for an afternoon of pedicures and girly drinks.  I can't wait.

I would love to hear what you do on Mother's Day.  Have you started any traditions yet that you look forward too?   And if this is your first one (so exciting) enjoy every single moment!