Dinner Tonight

Since I posted earlier today about Jay's allergies, I thought maybe I'd also share a goal that I've been working on lately. I'm attempting to cook as much as I can without dairy. It's tough but possible. You'd think that having a son with food allergies, I would just always cook that way-- but it's not that simple. First off, Jay hardly eats... at all. He's extremely picky and on top of that he's scared to eat new things because he's afraid he'll react to it. Second, eating dairy free can be expensive and it is time consuming considering most processed foods have some form of dairy in them. Third, my husband could not live without Ranch Dressing, provolone cheese, and chocolate milk.

But in order to prevent my son from eating pancakes and popsicles exclusively for the rest of his life, I'm attempting the impossible. Today, I found a recipe for Honey Orange Tilapia, another recipe for Garlic Red Potatoes (minus the Parmesan cheese) and two individual boxes of Green Giant Italian Seasoned Vegetables in the back of my freezer. Put it all together and Voila:

A totally dairy-free, totally yummy dinner. Jay actually ate some of the fish! I was shocked. For right now this goal is mainly for my peace of mind, knowing that we aren't eating dairy around Jay and that we can kiss him whenever we want (see post below). So far so good. Now if we can just get Jay to eat it....



P.S. Does anyone else totally waste romaine lettuce by putting it underneath a hot piece of meat just to make the plate look pretty?... I do.

Oh, and I sprinkle dried parsley on absolutely everything.

The end.

What Happens When...

So about forty million times a day I get asked questions about Jay's allergies. Things like, "What happens when he eats something with milk in it?", "What do you feed him?!", "Milk comes from cows?" etc., etc. Okay, I was joking on that last one but sometimes it makes me laugh how people fail to put two and two together. I cannot count the amount of times people are surprised that he can't have ice cream or cheese when I've told them a million times he can't have milk.

Anyhow, the other night I ate a piece of chicken, which apparently had contact with milk somewhere, because later that night I kissed Jay's forehead and this is what happened:

Kind of hard to see but it's hives people. His whole forehead broke out in hives from a tiny kiss, hours after I ate. Don't worry--Jay didn't mind. He got to stay up way past his bedtime, sucking on a benadryl spoon (handy pre-measured doses of benadryl), and watching TV with Mom and Dad. Lucky kid! I thought it would be a good idea to snap a picture. Maybe next time someone asks me a "What happens when.." question I can bust this one out.

Oh, and speaking of "What happens when" questions... here's what happens when Daddy watches Jay: Note the panda bear stamp on Jay's nose and forehead. Not the dorky haircut... that was my fault.

"Terrible"y Cute Twos

I can't believe Jay is TWO!!! Aaagggh! He's growing up SO FAST! His birthday actually happened while we were in Phoenix but we had a party for him this past Saturday. It was great. All of Joe's brothers and sisters came, which made it very special. It was a "Cars"/"I can't believe it's not dairy" themed party. I made him a chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and oreo crumbs... It was a monster truck cake.

Totally dairy free and soooo yummy. We also had Mexican Turkey burgers and coconut ice cream... not together but in that order. Anyhow, it was the greatest that everything was dairy-free and little Jay was totally safe the whole time. I can't thank everyone enough for coming and helping make that possible. I'm sure Jay won't remember it but I definitely will.

I also decorated the house with roads taped on the ground (which you can kind of see in the next picture) and street signs. Here's everyone watching Wipe Out before Jay opened his presents.

A few funny things about this picture.... first notice how the birthday boy is off by himself playing with a cup while the rest of us watch TV, second notice how delighted Janelle is to see someone fall and probably get injured, and last notice the pair of legs far off to the left that belong to Katie who is not even facing the TV because she thinks the show is ridiculous. (Which 80% of the time I agree with but sometimes I can't help but laugh.)

Seeing everyone together was so much fun. Jay was in heaven. He hugged just about everything he could get his little arms around.

And he got some great presents... bubbles, cars, a ball toy, sidewalk chalk, an alphabet puzzle, and a helmet and trike from Joe and me. He's been playing with all of these non stop since Saturday.

Today his obsession was the sidewalk chalk. And he insisted on wearing his helmet outside!

What a cute head! We just love him.

Jay is pretty much the greatest little kid ever. He is talking up a storm (full sentences now) and he narrates his whole life. (I don't know where he got that from!) When he's not talking, he's singing--which is hilarious because he'll sing a few words and then hold out his last note like an opera singer. He also gives the best hugs. We love this little man so much and are grateful everyday that he came into our lives. Happy Birthday Jay!

Phoenix Baby

So as if St. George was not hot enough, last week we hit the road headed even farther into the desert! Joe's uncle asked us to go clean one of his rental homes in Phoenix for him. It was so much fun. We piled into Joe's work van, which was actually quite comfortable, and drove nearly 7 hours each way, passing through construction and hours of traffic over the Hoover Dam. It was my first trip to Phoenix and my first time seeing the Hoover Dam. I have to say that the dam was not nearly as impressive as the GIGANTIC bridge they are building to bypass it. This picture does not do it justice. The thing is massive. It feels like your eyes are playing tricks on you when you are up close.

We ended up spending two nights in two very different hotels. The first night we stayed in a Red Roof Inn which was alright but was sorely lacking in the pool department. Jay and I went swimming and I became the pool skimmer. I spent most of the time picking out leaves and bees!

The next night we bid on priceline for a hotel.... only ten dollars more than we had spent on the Red Roof... and we ended up in a Hilton Resort! It was AWESOME! This was the view from our room: It was muggy the entire time we were in Phoenix and I could have sworn we were in Hawaii. This place even had Hibiscus flowers. I have no idea how they keep tropical plants so green in Arizona but they do a great job. Our room was actually a suite with a living room and bathroom/sink area. Here's our room:

The resort had everything... golfing, tennis courts, and even a water park with a giant slide and waterfalls. I'd totally vacation there. Joe says that next time we should probably stay in a Marriott instead. When I asked him why he said, "Would you rather support a good LDS man or Paris Hilton?" Good point Joe.

All in all our trip was a blast. I do have to say though that driving through Arizona is like watching paint dry. Any state that has to have roadside tables (aka a picnic table and an emergency phone) because there is nothing for 100 miles but fire hydrant cactus (not the scientific name) and dirt is a state that should be seen by an airplane... except the whole "Grand Canyon" part of course. And I had to laugh that 99% of Arizona's highways have been adopted by a generous man named "available". Good times.