Much Ado About Poo

The life of a mother has never ceased to bring me new challenges and joys. But sometimes I find myself spouting off odd things, such as "Please don't hose down the living room, or get off the table while you're naked." Sometimes I realize I'm doing things that I'd never imagined, like holding a toddler on a toilet with one hand, a baby in a car seat in the other and propping the shabby door shut with my knee. Or most recently, inspecting poo.

It seems that the newest wee-one has some digestive issues. How do I know this? His poo is shall we say "off". I don't want to alarm you, or ruin your dinner with the subtle nuances of baby poop. But my little one's gut is not well. The culprit would seem to be dairy. This horrible culprit called dairy could very well be the instigator of my other wee-ones allergies, asthma and eczema. That's right folks, first no gluten, now no dairy.

And when these people say no dairy, it means NO dairy. (I was still indulging in Christmas cookies, all the while forgetting about the butter). To tell you the truth I was ready to go running out of the kitchen vowing never to return. How was I going to do this? I remember the sweet boy who lived next door to us would come over and he was allergic to EVERYTHING. Everything I tried to feed him, he couldn't have. I used to feel so sorry for his mom and wonder how she kept herself sane in her kitchen.

Thankfully my kids don't have severe reactions to any of these ingredients. We are just trying to see if these have a direct effect on some health problems that they've been dealing with. I would love not to watch my baby scratch at her skin making it bleed. Or never see my son do another breathing treatment again.

I decided to go after this with simplicity. I don't feel like doing a lot of reinventing the wheel. Sure I love fettuccine Alfredo, but I like it with heavy cream, real butter, and perfect Parmesan cheese. I'm not sure I can handle one without a drop of any of those ingredients.

I was a little down because this news came at the height of Christmas baking. I had all these grandiose plans all of which involved butter,lots and lots of butter. I'm pretty fond of butter. Well I guess I'm pretty of fond of lots of dairy laden items. People were relaying their baking beauties and cheesy wonders. What was I gonna do?

Then I found hope in a cookie. Walnut chews. I've had these every year for Christmas since I was a little girl. I can't imagine a holiday without these. I wasn't going to even attempt any of my cookies this year, but I looked at these and realized that there was very little to change on them. Yes, the shortbread bottom wouldn't have any of the same ingredients, but the star, the gooey top could be made almost exactly as the original. There is light!

Today was a swing and a miss with the gluten free/dairy free pancakes, but I'll get it soon. Brighter days are ahead for us all, and my wee-ones will all be better due to a Little Bird's poop.



I'm a little late with all the Christmas cookie posts, and everyone is probably done with them, but if you'd like the recipe for these yummy treats, email me.