Wordless Wednesday - More from CJ's Birthday

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Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Happy 2nd birthday my little schmoops! I love you so much! 

I am the luckiest mama ever to have this little one in my life. 

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Easy Dairy-free / Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

I've mentioned before that my son CJ has a very severe milk allergy. He isn't lactose intolerant, he is ALLERGIC. If he has any dairy, he could have a very severe reaction. So when it came time to plan the menu for his 2nd birthday party, I went searching high and low for dairy-free cakes. Every recipe I found called for either tofu or dairy-free sour cream. I didn't want to use those things, I wanted just regular cake ingredients that you would find in any pantry. My friend Kristen is vegan, so I went and asked her. She shared with me this recipe for dairy-free chocolate cake. It can also be made vegan with a slight substitution. I was afraid that the cake would be bland, but it turned out moist and rich and just the right amount of chocolate. I love that CJ was FINALLY able to enjoy chocolate. Enjoy the recipe, let me know if you have any questions!

Dairy-Free And/Or Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 bar melted good quality dark chocolate (has to be dark, otherwise there is milk in it)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (must be warm, otherwise it will cause the melted chocolate to seize)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs at room temperature (replace with 1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar to keep Vegan)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Begin melting chocolate. I suggest the double boiler method.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

In large mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar and beat until combined. Slowly add eggs (OR vinegar) and beat until smooth. Add melted chocolate and water. Slowly Add flour mixture and beat on medium until combined.

Put in greased 9x13inch pan for 25-35 minutes. (I actually used an 8x8inch cake pan plus 4 cupcakes. It was done after 25 minutes.) Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, I used this dairy-free frosting recipe. 

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Wordless Wednesday - CJ's 2nd birthday!

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CJ's Birthday - Weekly WrapUp

What a weekend! Friday night I fell while running across the street. I slid right down the road and skinned my elbow, hand, and knee. I have road rash. It is gross. Wanna see? Gross huh? It is kind of green-ish now. Good thing my hubby is a nurse. He's keeping an eye on it for me.

Saturday we had a cookout for myself and my sister-in-law's boyfriend Ben. That was a lot of fun. We didn't get home until midnight so we were not well-rested for what was to come, which was...

CJ's 2nd birthday party!! His birthday is the 15th, but we had his party a week early. He doesn't know the difference. He had a great time and it was a ton of fun to plan, bake, decorate, etc. I have a ton of posts coming up about the party. I'll be giving my dairy-free cake recipes, some tips on frugal decorating, and lots of party pictures. For now though, I am exhausted. CJ is too. He took a 3 hour nap today, and I'm pretty sure he'll be going to bed at exactly 8 o'clock. So look forward to the fun posts, and I'll see you after I get a good night's sleep! Here's a pic to tide you over.

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Happy birthday to me!!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear meeeeee, happy birthday to me!

For reals though, happy birthday to me.

As of 5:39 Eastern Standard Time, I am 28 years old. Wahooo! My mom said she couldn't believe her baby girl was turning 28 and I said "I know. You are SO OLD." Hehe.

I am sure that we will have a low key day today. Might go see the Tall Ships. Might get a pedicure. I'd love to get a facial. Spend time with my hubby and my baby. Maybe go to dinner with some friends. My mother-in-law took me shopping today for some summer clothes. I was in desperate need of some new clothes. I am not a size 10 anymore, no sirreebob.

In honor of my 28th birthday, I wanted to list and share with you 28 things I am grateful for.

28 Things to Be Grateful for on my 28th Birthday

1. My husband who works his hiney off for us.
2. My son who works his hiney off to drive me nuts, but is freaking adorable while doing so.
3. My health. I may be in pain from time to time, but I'm alive and not sick.
4. My in-laws. I lucked out when it came to my in-laws. I am so grateful for each of them, especially my mother-in-law. And how many people can say that? 
5. My mom and her health. My mom had a scare recently with breast cancer. She had some chemo and the growth shrunk and hopefully will not come back. 
6. Old friends. I may not see them very often, but they are all just a phone call away.
7. New friends. Those I've just met but seem to have known forever. 
8. My college acceptance. I found out yesterday that I've been accepted into a Master's in Elementary Education program. So excited to go back to school!
9. My family. They're mostly crazy but I love them anyway. 
10. The VA (Veteran's Administration). Thanks to them, I'm going to be able to go to school for my Master's. 
11. The Army. It valiantly tried to kill me, but I got to meet so many amazing and wonderful people that  it was all worth it. 
12. Books. Books are what gave me dreams and showed me the much bigger world out there.
13. Music. It has provided the soundtrack to my life. 
14. The moon. I just love the moon.
15. Stars. For giving me something to teach CJ to wish on.
16. My dog. She may be the laziest dog ever, but she's my Kamipoopaloo.
17. Blogging. For introducing me to a wonderful world of people I never would have met. 
18. My bed. For being really comfy and having the perfect little divot for me to sleep in while still having my hubby just a stretch away. 
19. My grandmothers. I have 4 grandmothers still living. A great-grandmother, step-grandmother, and both my parent's mothers. I may not see them much, but I am grateful for all I've learned from them. 
20. My village. It truly took a village to raise me, so I'm thankful for all of those who helped out.
21. Laughter. For keeping me sane.
22. Myself. Because I am awesome.
23. Delicious food. Usually cooked by my hubby. Yummy.
24. Egypt. It's always been my dream to go there and I did and I still love it.
25. The ghetto I grew up in. I survived and I don't ever have to go back unless I want to.
26. Rain. Is there anything better than the sound of rain and the feel of a cool rain on a hot day? I don't think so. And the smell? Heavenly. 
27. Hot showers. For helping me relax while also getting less stinky. Appreciate it.
28. God. I know most people thank him first, but I wanted to list all of the things that I wouldn't have if it weren't for him and his plans for me. 

I will not be blogging tomorrow, so you might not hear from me. Have a great weekend. See you on the flip side. 

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Wordless Wednesday - Birthday Photoshoot

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A-Z Mini-Challenge #6 - Birthdays and Fathers' Days

How is everyone doing on the challenge? We are almost halfway through the year. It is summer, can you believe it? I can't. June is my absolute favorite month. It signals the start of fun and excitement and silliness. It is also my birthday month. Wahooooo! Happy birthday to me! 

June is also the month with Father's Day in it. I was originally going to have you read a book with a celebration in it, like a birthday or something. Since I had a mother's day challenge last month, it is only fair to have a Father's day challenge this month. 

So for this month's challenge, read a book with a father figure in it. 

Remember that linking up below once you complete the month's challenge enters you into a book giveaway at the end of the year!

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Wordless Wednesday - Sock Monkey 1st Birthday!

My friend Jazmine (who runs an awesome blog over called Fabulously Natural Mom) had a Sock Monkey themed first birthday for her adorable son Liam. CJ had a ton of fun drinking lots of juice, eating a lollipop, playing basketball with some big kids, and bouncing around on a bouncy castle. We might have to get him one for his birthday. Check out the awesome pics and the adorableness that is Liam.

 

Isn't he the cutest thing?!

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Birthdays!!

Yesterday was my 27th birthday, woohoo!! The hubby let me sleep in and made me pancakes. On July 15th, the little bambino turns 1. And in honor of that special occassion, Barefoot Books has a wonderful event going on. For every copy of Bear's Birthday sold in the month of July, Barefoot Books will donate a book to the children's charity Birthday Wishes. Birthday Wishes believes that all children deserve a birthday party and so provides birthday parties for homeless children. What a great thought.

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What's going on?

I just thought I'd update with a few new endeavors I've got going on in my life.

First, we just got a new puppy. Why we decided it was a good idea to say yes when a friend offered her pug, I don't know. He's a little rambunctious but completely adorable. The hubby is calling him a Dutch Mastiff because it makes him feel better about himself.

Next, I'm planning CJ's first birthday party. We decided to go with a Sesame Street theme. I don't want to buy anything. I want to try to craft it all from stuff I already have. We'll see how that goes.

I know I mentioned in another post, plus there is a banner above, that I am selling Barefoot Books. I absolutely love these books. They're beautiful, the stories are great, and they support moms. Plus they are from Concord MA which is just a bit away from me. I'm going to try to post about one book that they offer once a week here on this blog. I'll probably have a few giveaways too.

Finally, I'm going to be a baby sign language instructor! I'm so excited about this. I'll be working with My Smart Hands which is founded and run by Laura Berg. I'll also be posting on here a "sign of the week" as well as links to the website I'll use to post class schedules and availability.

So I'm really excited for all these changes. I hope you will all enjoy them right along with me. Pin It