No poo for you *update*

If you haven't caught on yet, my 3 year old is a bit of a handful. He comes by it honestly, so I don't get too upset about it. I've heard he's nothing like I was as a toddler/preschooler, so I consider myself lucky!

Probably the most frustrating thing I've ever dealt with as a parent, aside from him not eating most foods, is potty training. He potty trained back in September and did great! Had hardly an accident for the first two weeks out of the gate. The Bug was ready!

Now he is just too lazy to be bothered to stop what he's doing. No matter what I do - get mad, don't get mad, make him change his clothes, help him change his clothes, reward chart, reward treats, make a big deal when he uses the potty, be low key when he doesn't - nothing is working! Here is the most frustrating part - he pees 100% of the time at school, but won't poop there. He poops 100% of the time at home, but has lots of pee accidents here.

I know this is a normal part of potty training - the novelty has worn off, it's no longer fun and exciting to use the potty (except for at school, apparently), but I'm about to lose my mind over this! Any and all potty training experts, feel free to give your advice here. I need all I can get!

UPDATE
We've had moderate success with the Love and Logic approach, but at the suggestion of our pediatrician, I gave in yesterday and put the Bug back in diapers. He was being so defiant about going potty and I know he had to go. I just couldn't let him walk around and have an accident in the house again, especially since the last one was on my couch!!!! I'm sad since we went from him going all on his own to this, but hopefully it will work and he'll want to be a big boy again soon.

Happy holidays!

I'm hoping this holiday season brings good things to everyone. And, if I can ask for one good thing for me ... it will hopefully be a job offer soon! Keep you fingers and toes crossed for me.
Turns out BooBoo is a snob and only like Bubbie's salmon patties. Stinker! So, the hubby and I will be enjoying them this week with some au gratin potatoes that I will try to hide from BooBoo. She has a knack for zeroing in on things she can't eat and, of course, wanting to try them. I can see this will only get harder as time goes on.
It was pretty easy with the Bug because he is so picky that he never wanted to eat what we were eating. Our only issue is birthday cake, that usually calls for a huge tantrum because he knows my dairy free cupcakes are nowhere near the same. BooBoo is a great eater and wants to try just about everything, though. I can only hope they will completely outgrow this issue sooner rather than later. But, in the big scheme of things, I consider us pretty lucky. It's not a life threatening problem, although it has made potty training interesting at times.
Hope everyone has a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a happy New Year and a happy anything else you are celebrating this season!

Finally something new to add to our menu!

We went to a family Hannukah party last weekend where BooBoo tasted Bubbie Gert's salmon patties for the first time. They were a hit! I'm so glad because I often feel like BooBoo eats too much junk, since she can't eat dairy meals that the hubby and I eat for dinner. She often gets chicken nuggets or a hot dog instead and it kills me to feed her that when she will eat other things. If the Bug ate nuggets and hot dogs all the time, I'd be thrilled!
Anywho, so I made my own salmon patties last night with Bubbie's recipe and they turned out great. BooBoo was feeling a little under the weather, but she still managed to eat half of one. Now I have a whole batch in the freezer ready to defrost when needed (although, I probably won't feed her more than two a week).
So here it is:

Bubbie Gert's Salmon Patty Recipe

1 can salmon (I was told to use Red Sockeye, but I used pink and it turned out fine)
1/2 c. crushed rice crispies
1 onion (1/2 chopped in the patty, 1/2 sliced in the pan that you fry them in)
2 eggs
oil

In a box, crush rice crispies, add chopped onion and add salmon (after you've take out the bones and removed the skin), add eggs and mix (I added some spices, salt and pepper to taste, too). In a pan, add sliced onions and coat the bottom with oil. Form patties and place in pan to fry. Turn after patties get golden brown on one side. Transfer to paper towel after brown on both sides.

"Fun" with food

"Fun" in quotation marks because it is so "fun" to "feed" my kids. Rather, make meals for them that they refuse to eat or pick at. Here is a list of the food that the Bug ate today: a pop tart with about 2 oz. of soy milk (yeah, yeah I know it's not the healthiest, but he eats it), chips and one chicken tender with milk, some pretzels and for dinner he had a couple of freeze dried banana slices, 2 oz. of milk and dipped his fingers in some soy yogurt. I'm expecting a visit from him at 4 am asking for milk.
BooBoo did a little better today. She skipped breakfast except for some milk, but I managed to get her to eat some cereal and a cereal bar for snack, then she had 2 pieces of butternut squash kugel for lunch, a couple pretzels for snack and for dinner she had a couple bites of black bean soup (sans the cheese in the linked recipe) with rice and another piece of butternut squash kugel. Grrrr!!!!
Yeah, I'm having LOTS of fun here.

Two of my favorite dairy-free recipes

Here are two of my favorite dairy-free recipes that everyone enjoys! First is a good "cookie" for the season. We don't celebrate Christmas, but I still drool over these ginger snap bars. (ok, maybe I'm not drooling over them anymore after I OD'd on them last week, but, I'll be back to loving them next week, I'm sure) I have to give props to my former co-worker, Julie, for this recipe. WARNING: these are not remotely diet friendly!

Ginger Snap Bars

1 1/2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/4 c. margarine melted (I used Fleischman's unsalted, it's dairy free)
1 egg
1/3 c. molasses

Preheat over to 375. Mix all ingredients together well (I like to mix the dry first with a fork to get everything blended). Spread into a 10x15 jelly roll pan (like a cookie sheet with a lip to keep everything inside). Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes (I actually bake for longer, still trying to find the right time. Should be chewy, but not too gooey). Cool, then cute into squares. Store in a tightly sealed container.

This next recipe is a bit healthier (it contains a vegetable!). This is great when BooBoo is teething and looks so fancy when you bake it up, but it's sooooo easy. I have to give credit to our Rebbetzin, Leah, for this recipe.

Butternut Squash Kugel (souffle)

1 c. freshly cooked butternut squash (I cheat and use frozen butternut squash that comes in one of those square blocks).
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/4 c. milk (soy milk)

Blend all ingredients and pour into a 9x13 baking pan (I put it in a pie plate once, it looked so nice!). Baked at 350 for about 35 minutes.

ETA: I should add that the Bug loves the ginger snap bars and calls them cake. Call them whatever you want as long as you eat it, buddy! Thumbs down for the butternut squash, though. Not surprising for the Carb King!

I haven't posted in awhile, since I was laid off about 2 weeks ago. I guess my priorities have shifted a little bit as I was trying to come to terms with my "new" life now as a temporary stay at home mom. So far, so good. I'm enjoying my time with my kids while looking for a new job. Too bad the economy is so awful. I'm glad I learned how to become a frugal shopper before all of this happened! If anyone knows of a job in financial services/compliance/advertising review, let me know. LOL!
A little update, I tried the vegan cheese wrapped inside the crescent rolls. It was a no-go for both kids. Boo! But, the hubby and I really enjoyed it. They are great with the cost-conscious lentil soups I made recently. Too bad the kids don't like those soups either. I hate being a short-order cook, but sometimes it's inevitable ... especially when you're dealing with dairy intolerance in the family.
So, an upside to my new job situation is that I no longer have to pack lunches for the kids. I still have to worry about what to make for lunch, but at least I don't have to pack it the night before. BooBoo is teething something awful, so she's existing on air lately (well, soy milk actually). The Bug is existing on air as usual, as well. It's very hard for this Jewish mom to turn off the inner voice that screams that her kids must eat. Oy!
So, that sums things up for us. I haven't really tried any new recipes or foods lately. Oh, but I did make my dairy-free ginger snap bars last week. I will post that recipe tomorrow. It was a big hit with the Bug, even if he did call is "cake." :sigh:

Edited for typos (mental note: don't post late at night)

Probably my cheapest non-dairy meal ever

Tonight I will make probably my cheapest non-dairy meal ever and I'm so excited. It's my first stab at making mujadarah from scratch, wish me luck! BooBoo loves it and there should be some leftovers for her to take to school tomorrow. I like it pretty well too and it should make a nice dinner with a salad. The hubby will be gone tonight, so I can get away without cooking something "fancy" (not that anything I make anything so fancy).
The Bug would never dare to touch things like lentils and rice, so he will eat a waffle, most likely. :sigh:

The stomach ailment is no longer a mystery!

ETA: Be sure to check out this Betty Crocker page for free coupons!

The hubby and I came down with the stomach flu this weekend, so looks like yet another lovely bug going through the house. On a positive note, extra meals in the meal plan since no one felt like eating yesterday, except BooBoo. So I can bump some things to different days and work on stockpiling a little bit for next week. LOL!
Now I'm just waiting for BooBoo to catch it. Yuck!

I hate pizza parties

I almost forgot, today is a pizza party at the Bug's school. One of his classmates has a birthday and his parents are sweet enough to bring in pizza. On the one hand, this isn't a huge issue for the Bug because he is so picky that, although he may say he wants pizza, he would never actually eat it. On the other hand, it makes me so sad that he is left out and makes me wonder if my child will ever be able to eat dairy. It reminds of the times when he does care that he can't eat exactly what every one else is and refuses my almost-as-good dairy-free alternative. Those days are rough and usually involve birthday cake at a party attended by all of my friends so that they can be witness to the power of the Bug's tantrums. Fun! I feel his pain, though, as I was dairy free for a year and those days really do suck.
His stomach is just about as sensitive as it was the day he was born. We may try a food challenge next year, but I think it will take a miracle for it to work. Every once in awhile we slip and some dairy gets into his diet, so we learn quickly and repeatedly that he is still intolerant. For awhile, this wasn't such a problem b/c he wasn't too bothered by a little gassiness and loose poops. But, now that he's potty trained (kind of), I'm not taking any chances!
I do have to say though, I am always mindful of how lucky we are that he does not need an epipen if he eats dairy. We still carry one for his suspected peanut allergies, but I find that is easy for us to avoid as he can't have many processed foods because of his dairy issue to begin with.

The mystery of stomach ailments

So, yesterday morning my adorable little Bug woke up at 6:30 am. Not an unheard of hour for him. He climbed into bed to snuggle, again not unusual for us. I'll do anything to catch an extra five minutes of sleep, even if it means getting elbowed in the ribs. Next thing I know, the poor kids is throwing up all over my bed. Oy vey!
The poor thing proceeded to vomit for the next 2 hours and then by 9 am he was fine. No fever, kept down soy milk for the rest of the day, not a big appetite (which is not surprising for him), but otherwise just fine.
Not that this happens to so often, but it has happened before. As a mom of a kid with a sensitive stomach, it always makes me wonder if something didn't agree with him. I've never know dairy to make him throw up, other than some refluxy spit up as a baby. Who knows what he gets into at preschool, the other day a sweet classmate of his brought him a slice of (real) American cheese when he sat down at the snack table after I dropped him off. Being that he's a super picky eater, I can't imagine he ate it. But, you never know!
As a gift for waking up in that manner yesterday morning, my hubby decided to go out to eat with a friend, which meant that I was free from cooking anything extravagant (not that anything I cook is). So, I made some vegetarian veggie soup for BooBoo and me, a real grilled cheese for me and vegan grilled cheese for the kids (couldn't find Toffuti cheese at Whole Foods this week ... weird). Yeah, the vegan grilled cheese went uneaten by all parties. At $0.40 a slice, that was a kind of expensive "miss." But, I can't say it will prevent me from trying it again. I kind of like making the same thing for everyone when I can. Better luck next time!

Yet another failed attempt at a dairy-free alternative

Last night we had tuna mac casserole for dinner, something akin to this. I added half a bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix to my pasta for the last couple minutes it was cooking and then added the pasta and veggies to the cheese sauce along with some tuna and extra shredded cheddar before I baked in the oven to melt some cheese on top. Easy, inexpensive ($3 for dinner, max) and actually pretty delicious. Probably not remotely healthy, however. But, better than plain old mac n' cheese.
Obviously, my kids can't eat this (the Bug wouldn't ever dream of eating it), so I tried to come up with some dairy-free alternative for DD. The last time I made this, I tried to duplicate it by melting a Toffuti American cheese slice in with the noodles and a tiny bit of tuna. If you've ever tried to melt Toffuti cheese, you know that it tends to be a bit on the oily side. I actually thought it melted and mixed in not too badly, but BooBoo disagreed.
Last night I opted to make her a tuna pasta salad with mayo and some veggies mixed in. Again, BooBoo disagree with my choice of dairy-free alternative and ate soy yogurt instead. (FYI - if you or your child has a dairy allergy, Silk soy yogurt is made with L. casei - a milk derivative. Fortunately, for my kids, this is not enough of a source of dairy to upset their systems unless they eat it every night for a week ... which has happened.) I always have a big container of soy yogurt on hand for occasions just like this. The Bug is super picky, so it comes in handy often. He ate a dairy-free Van's blueberry waffle and soy yogurt for dinner last night. I actually thought that was pretty good for him.
So, that is how dinner in the No Moo for You household. Each night holds a new discovery and we never really know what we're going to find out.

My first official blog post evah!

I'm not sure I can write anything worthy enough of "my first official blog post evah!" I decided to start a blog because I couldn't find any blogs that were about moms of kids who couldn't eat dairy. That might just be because I don't know how to search for blogs, though. So, if you have one, please let me know! You might know something I don't. ;-) Anyway, I found lots of blogs about gluten-free diets, kids that can't have peanuts, etc. But, none about dairy free, so here I am.
I'm the mom of two adorable kiddos (I may be biased) who haven't been able to consume dairy since they were wee little babies. We discovered that my son, the Bug, couldn't have dairy at his bris. He happened to have a lot of formula that day b/c mom was busy. The mohel, a wonderful man who is great with babies, informed us that our son was gassy and instructed us on some wonderful positions to help alleviate his pain ... from gas, not the circumcision. Three weeks later he was diagnosed with "colic" and I decided to try some soy formula that I received in the mail. Low and behold, my child was cured! I tried eliminating milk from my diet, but a new diet and new super-fussy-colicky-baby were just to much for me to handle. By 6 weeks he was on soy formula 100% and by 8 weeks he was one happy camper.
With my daughter, BooBoo, I was in major denial. She started with the fussing around 3 weeks old and I just couldn't believe that I could have two kids with dairy problems. It took me 3 weeks to wise up and cut dairy out of my diet. It was much easier the second time around, as my house was already stocked full of dairy free items for the Bug. And, I have to say, the dairy free diet sure did help melt off the baby weight.
We still really have no idea why our kids have milk protein enterocolitis. My theory is that DH and I probably had it when we were kids. I know it runs rampant on both sides of the family. All I had to do was go to one bar mitzvah on my husband's side to learn about all of the family members who couldn't eat dairy and were colicky infants (what the heck did I marry into?!). Hubby and I, if you listen to our moms', were both fussy infants up to 1 year old. So, I can only deduce that we had problems with dairy as well.
Our kids are 3 and 1 now, with no indication that their intolerance is improving. I breast fed BooBoo for 13 months without consuming dairy and am happy to say I am back on the (cheese) sauce again. This can make for some interesting meals with Miss BooBoo-I-Want-to-Eat-What-Mommy-is-Eating Baby. I try to offer alternatives, but as anyone who has ever consumed soy cheese knows, that stuff is just not the same.
That about sums it up, look forward to some interesting times in dairy-free land.

Edit: I figured out how to search blogs! And, I found some on dairy allergies. Still not as many that cover gluten free diets, so maybe there is a need for my blog after all?!