Carmi and the cow and a very strange day

For the past few months Carmen has had this never ending cold, or so we thought. Lots of crying, a very gaseous stomach, and the never ending runny nose. After the past two weeks of trying everything to get rid of it with no luck (and realizing that none of us had picked it up) we realized it may just be an allergy of some kind. So we cut out the most obvious high allergen of which we consume plenty, dairy. It's amazing the difference it made, a happy little girl, a significantly less runny nose and no gas. Eric and I were both allergic to milk as children so hopefully this is just something that will last for a little while. Until then, Carmi gets to enjoy all sorts of perks, like applesauce instead of yogurt, almond milk instead of cows milk, and pretzels instead of cheese...

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Yesterday was a very strange day. The girls spent the vast majority of it in their room with the door closed (I decided long ago that it was important for the girls to have a room of their own, without putting anything in it that they couldn't have) so I wasn't worried that they were in there destroying things (and there was no crying!). Between 8 am and 4 pm they only came out three or four times, for lunch, snacks, and potty break!
I had the great opportunity to READ!! Something that occurs very seldom. I started "The Ultimate Hitckhikers Guide To the Galaxy" By Douglas Adams last week after we scored it at our local Borders, which is one of the stores being closed by the company. It was nice to have so much quiet, and a clean house. :)

Tell-tale signs that I have children...

A scattered snack as they raced back to their room to figure out how they can conquer the universe....

The only messy room in the house! Yes, it was bad, but for an entire day of near silence I don't mind taking 20 minutes to clean up their room...plus Lilli is awesome at helping clean up! Of course part of that is because she is terrified of the vacuum and any sort of hint that I am about to get it out sends her on a wild rampage to preserve all her things from getting gobbled up!

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The other day I made a massive batch of super awesome fudgy brownies....most of them are now resting in the freezer for when I crave them (of course that's practically daily!!). Just teeny little bites so I don't eat to much.








Yummmm, this is one of my top three brownie recipes!

Here it is, I don't remember where I got it.

Fudge Brownies

In a mixing bowl:
1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

In a saucepan bring to a boil:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water

Remove from heat and add:
1 (12 oz) bag of chocolate chips (I use semi sweet)
2 tsp vanilla
Stir until chocolate chips are melted then beat in 4 eggs one at a time.
Then add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Optional:
Add 1 cup chopped nuts ( Coconut is also really good if you like it)

Bake at 325 F for 50 minutes in a 9x13 greased pan.