Wow. There’s a lotta love for cupcakes around here! We had 39 comments for Disney Playhouse LIVE! tickets, and 37 for a half dozen of Siobhan’s delicious creations — that says a lot, hmmm? That we all love CAKE!

The winner of yesterday’s review and giveaway receives their choice between flowers and Valentine’s Day creations. Siobhan, you MUST send me photos of those beauties.

On January 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm, Leslie said:

Have you ever tasted something that quite literally makes your eyes close and roll up behind the lids? A piece of food that the mere thought of makes your mouth water?

I’m not a big cake eater. But Siobhan’s cupcakes did this for my entire family.

Look at these lovelies:

Moist, airy, not-too-sweet. Siobhan makes this to-die-for buttercream frosting, and homemade fondant, which she molds into the shapes you see. This winter she also started baking mini cakes to the detriment of waistlines everywhere. But the tastebuds are going nutty with flavours like classic vanilla and chocolate, and spiced apple and walnut for the more adventurous.

She lives in Ajax with her two sons and hubby, works a day job, then bakes. She’s a rockstar. If you ever need some special treats for a birthday, wedding, or party of any sort, think of her, and check out her website at For the Love of Cupcakes (you should pop over there just to see the gallery of deliciousness. There are sheep cupcakes, people. Sheep!).

Because we need to share the love of cupcakes at Durham Region Baby, I have a half dozen Valentine’s or floral ones to give away to a lucky reader. Check out Siobhan’s site and leave a comment with your favourite creation. We’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Happy drooling!

We are back to proliferating as much as we can from cows.

After Angry Baby dissapeared and the green poops dried up solidified stopped, we introduced Alice to small bits of dairy around 8 months. She’s been perfectly fine on everything, and now eats buckets of yogurt, cheeses, baby cereal and regular formula.

So who knows what this was all about. I can only guess her digestive system needed some extra time to mature.

I’m excited to be buying our favourite baby/toddler yogurt again: Li’l Ones by Dairyland. I did a big review back in March 2007 when Lucy was gobbling them up — check it out here. They’re still delicious, sweetened with fruit juice, made with whole milk, have no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners and come in great baby-pleasing flavours such as banana, pear, peach and grape.

Obviously the line has grown in the past 2.5 years, because I can now buy them at my local grocery store — not just Lawn Mart. Very exciting.

And wait ’till you hear this deal!

As a disclaimer, I’m a coupon whore. If I’m the store and there are coupons for a product, I take, like, 20 of them. So a few weeks ago, when the baby food aisle at the grocery store was laden with Heinz Nurture $10 off any formula coupons (!!), I pounced. I ripped 10 of them off the stack and stuffed them in my pocket like a thief, eyes darting. The Eyes in the Sky at the store probably thought I was trying to stuff baby food down my pants or something.

We were supplementing Alice with soy formula at the time, but I was working towards switching her to a milk-based one like the Nurture line.

Last week the stuff — regularly $23/can — went on sale for $17.50. Do you know how much formula is when it’s on sale and you have a $10 (!!) coupon?

That’s right. I got it for $7.50.

I bought one can on Monday to make sure Alice could digest it alright. Then I went back on Thursday night and bought six more. Regular price = $138. Coupon stuffing price = $45.

I’m getting tingly just reliving those moments. Two managers had to come process the coupons through the register — reading the fine print, turning them over and over — and a bunch of cashiers came to ohh and ahh and congratulate me on the savings. I felt like I’d won the lottery or something.

The timing of the score sale couldn’t be better. My busy baby seems to be done nursing. She’d given up all but the morning feed when she first wakes up. And now she’s more interested in batting the blind behind our bed and trying to climb out the windown that snuggle in with me and drink.

I think this week will be it. She easily drinks formula from a cup, and does not even care if it’s heated anymore. The transition for all of us could not be easier.

From a physical stand point, anyways. There’s still the emotional side that I have to deal with, Alice being our last baby.

But I’m ready. I want to buy pretty bras again and have my Girls settle into their nursing-battered shape. Which, ironically enough, will probably be much like the cow udders that are replacing me.

Dear Nerissa,

We loved the cupcakes.

Wanna see?

Read the rest of this entry »

 All of us at the Durham Mom’s Night Out cookie exchange last week, L-R, starting with Jen O. in the blue coat, Laura, Colleen, Kelly, Carolyn, Michelle, Anie (pregnant, with a girl and due next month!) and Lauren (also pregnant, with a boy, due in April!). My apologies to the two preggo ladies for over-exposing your faces with my camera’s ridiculously bright flash…brings new meaning to the word glowing, doesn’t it?

We had a great mix of goodies, including Rocky Road, pumpkin squares, molasses cookies, mocha cookies, peanut butter cups, magic squares and more. I ended up making maple caramel popcorn.

I dunno what the ladies thought of it, but I think it turned out great: Sweet and caramely, crunchy and salty. And so easy and quick to make. It’d be a perfect Christmas present in a pretty tin or gift bag. I’ve included the recipe, below. Enjoy!

Maple Caramel Popcorn

10 c. freshly popped popcorn (around ½ c. kernels)
1 ½ c. pecan halves (optional)
1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. butter
¼ c. maple syrup
¼ c. corn syrup
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. maple extract

• Place popcorn in large greased roasting pan
• Break pecans in half (if using) and add to pan
• In large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring sugar, butter, maple syrup, corn syrup and salt to a boil over medium heat
• Boil, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches hard-crack stage of 300 degrees F (149 degrees C) – approx. 10-12 minutes
• Remove from heat and stir in maple extract
• Pour over popcorn and stir to coat evenly (do this quickly, as it hardens fast!)
• Let cool, then break into bite-sized pieces

*Can be stored in an air-tight container for up to one week

Have any of you been following the tainted milk scandal in China? Where manufacturers were adding melamine to milk to mask low nutrient levels?

I’ve used melamine before. To paint my bathroom to prevent mold growth. Rather disturbing people decided to add it to milk that babies drink, hmm?

One story points out the huge number of ill babies and kids (53,000 at last count) shows how much breastfeeding has declined in China.

Big global companies such as Hershey’s and Cadbury are also caught up, but no products in Canada. There have been Chinese cookies, candy and instant coffee recalled here, though. See an FAQ from the CBC here, with more details. Here’s the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s site on melamine and all recalls.

This girl named Rhonda used to babysit me growing up. She lived a few doors down. I don’t remember Rhonda too much, except she had blonde hair, and taught me how to make the best at-home caramel popcorn ever. Knowing this is the last time I’ll ever be pregnant and figuring this is the last time I can eat whatever I want, I’ve been eating this a lot. If you love sweet-salty, THIS IS FOR YOU.

First step: Assemble margarine/butter and brown sugar — the best combination of food substances EVER.

Next: dump an obscene amount of margarine in a small saucepan over low heat. I’m talking, like, a quarter or more of a cup. It’s not called obscene for nothing. After it’s melted, dump an equally obscene amount of brown sugar (a little less than margarine) into said pot, and stir-stir-stir to get it all melted and mixed. (Hopefully your kitchen is like mine, and your stove faces a wall, so your significant other can’t see how much you’re dumping in the pot.)

While that’s happening, pop your corn. Air popped is best, in my opinion, because it’s fresher. Oh, and it’s better for you. You know, ’cause you should save some calories what with all the obsceneness going on above.

If you can time it right, start drizzling the margarine/brown sugar mix over the popcorn as it comes falling out the popper. This makes for maximum stickability, and keeps everything hot and fresh. Adding it after it’s a big deal, though. You may need some practice to get it perfect. The last six weeks of gestating have made me an expert.

Finally, lean over the bowl of obscene deliciousness and inhale. Don’t let your eyes roll too far back in your head, ’cause you’ll need to see the way to the couch where you’ll stuff your face in bliss.

Enjoy!

Did you hear or read or see the CTV/Globe and Mail tests and stories about bisephenol-A in canned goods such as apple juice, soup and baked beans?

Reaction to the story totally depends on which side you’re on.

The environmental peeps say Canadians are “marinating” in the chemical, and that “little by little, these exposures add up to a bigger hit.”

Product manufacturers say the found levels are well below safe levels from Health Canada, and question the testing methods.

More info for you to ponder. Read more info on BPA, sippy cups and bottles etc. here, here, here and here.

When I worked at the paper, there was a woman from another department who was pregnant. She was only the second knocked-up woman I’d ever seen really up close, on a daily basis, and I found it fascinating to watch her grow.

One morning I was in the cafeteria making a tea when she came in carrying an apple. She reached into her lunch bag in the fridge, and pulled out this metal wheel-thingine, much like a wagon wheel but with plastic handles on the edges. And much smaller, of course.

She placed the apple on a plate, lined up the middle of the wagon thingie, and heaved her girth straight down on the handles (she was petite, and probably seven or eight months along, but lemme tell you — that apple gave, people).

I stared, open-mouthed. Not at the small woman who’d exerted so much force, but at the apple. It was cored. And in eight, tidy little sections.

I loved it. I wanted it. I had to have it.

So Eric bought me one for Christmas in 2005, and now I use it pretty much every single day. I have sensitive teeth and weak gums, and get slaps on the wrist by my dentist if he hears I’m biting into things such as fruit with my teeth. I love that the corer does all the work for me, and makes apples and pears perfectly proportioned.

It’s also a fabulous tool for slicing up fruit for babies and toddlers. When I was making Lucy’s baby food, I cut apples and pears up this way before peeling, chopping and pureeing them. Now, it creates pieces perfect for her hands and has helped teach her how to take proper-sized bites.

I used to see them only at specialty kitchen stores, but now they are all over major department stores such as Canadian Tire and Sears.

Pregnant lady, baby, toddler and mom approved. Best wagon thingie ever.

Is your head spinning with trying to figure out this bisephenol-A information? Wondering what bottles, sippy cups and water jugs are safe?

From what I’ve read, polycarbonate bottles are labeled with a 7 on the bottom, for other plastics. Unfortunately, some BPA-free plastics (such as single-use beverage bottles) are also labeled 7, so it can be confusing. But at least this is a guide.

Here are some excellent resources for making sense of it all:

Z Recommends: The Z Report on BPA in children’s feeding products, third edition — I cannot recommend this site enough. This guy has interviewed almost every major baby product manufacturer and ranked them, creating a massive, comprehensive list of safe (and not safe) products. Truly the best resource on the Internet, which is why so many people have linked to it.

Plastic labeling — wondering what each little number on the bottom of plastic means? Here’s a fabulous list.

Rubbermaid BPA list — now here’s a wonderful thing to see. Rubbermaid has a list of ALL it’s products (with photos, for handy reference) and whether they do or do not contain BPA. If only all corporations did this.

Playtex BPA list — just got this via email from Playtex yesterday, a pdf of all their products, too. They’re also offering free samples of their BPA-free Nurser Drop-in system. Keep in mind that the bottles themselves contain BPA (although the food does not touch them, it does not help the process) and this creates a lot of garbage.

CBC News in-depth on BSA — richly detailed.

I was at Once Upon a Child in Ajax today, and they are back-ordered on all their stainless steel sippy cups until the end of May. Has anyone found them in Durham?