Almond Flour Scones

The day before James' birthday I was sitting in the waiting room at our doctor's office waiting for Henry's check up and I was like Oh crap. I have to make birthday breakfast! I had almost forgotten about it! How could I forget birthday breakfast?!

Obviously I hadn't bought any special breakfast groceries and I seriously doubted my ability to make a crack-of-dawn bakery run because of the babies. I had to figure out something special that I could make with groceries we already had and I wanted it to be easy. Flipping pancakes while Calvin hangs onto my leg and whines does not qualify as easy. So I turned to my handy dandy "Breakfast" board on Pinterest and sighed with relief when I saw this flourless "scone" recipe from Delighted Momma.

The original recipe is for blueberry scones, but I did chocolate chip for birthday breakfast. Something a little more decadent. My version of the recipe is at the bottom of the post :)

Dry ingredients: almond flour, chocolate chips, unsweetened shredded coconut, sea salt,  baking soda
Wet ingredients: egg, honey

Mix wet + dry and you end up with very sandy feeling dough. Shape it into scones on a parchment lined baking sheet.

They only take 10 min. to bake! I was able to throw together the batter and have them in and out of the oven while Calvin was eating his Cheerios in his high chair. Whew!

Unfortunately, Calvin got bored before I was finished baking and poured milk all over his tray.
Guess he didn't want dry Cheerios.  *Facepalm*

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Almond Flour Scones

• 2 c. almond flour or almond meal (mine is from Trader Joe's... you can also make this by grinding raw almonds into a powder with a food processor!)
• 1 c. add-in (chocolate chips, dried blueberries, dried cranberries... I used mini chocolate chips this time, but I've also made them with cranberries and they were great!)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs. honey (or agave syrup) 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix the almond flour, chocolate chips (or whatever your add-in is), coconut flakes, sea salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the honey (or agave).

Pour the egg and honey into the dry ingredients and mix it all up. It's really easiest to use your hands to make sure all the dry ingredients get a little wet. It's kind of a weird sandy dough.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, form the weird sandy dough into whatever shape scones you would like. I made 6 circles about 4" in diameter. I thought about getting fancy with a cookie cutter and decided to take the easy way instead :) They won't change shape when you bake them.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. (I know, I know, they're already brown. They will get golden-er brown-er I promise.)

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I love this recipe because it's easy and  yummy and as long as you use dried fruit instead of chocolate chips they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. I have people in my life with those food sensitivities, so I'm always glad to have recipes up my sleeve that I can cook for them. Just keep them away from people with nut allergies!

30 Beers for 30 Years

Don't worry. James did not drink all these beers! It wasn't that kind of party ;)

James turned 30! For my homebrewing beer connoisseur, I crafted (read: stacked) a beer can cake! And this is no Bud Light or Miller Genuine Draft creation. Not for James. No, this beer can cake is crafted of craft brews, of course! A selection of four beers from San Francisco's own 21st Amendment brewery, plus one from New Belgium brewery out of Ft. Collins, CO. That's right, James is 5 six-packs old. 

For anyone who might be Pinterested in making a beer can cake like this one, there are 17 cans on the bottom tier, 9 in the middle, and 4 on top. There are cardboard circles covered in scrapbook paper between the layers. Mine are about 12", 10", and 8" in diameter. I didn't do anything to attach the cans, so this cake isn't portable. My card says: Cheers! To 30 Happy Years with 30 Hoppy Beers! Note: If the beers you use aren't very hoppy, you might want a different message ;) Oh, and if you want that nice crooked edge on the card, cut it hastily with kitchen scissors.

We started the day with birthday breakfast! I got up with the babies and made almond flour "scones" with chocolate chips. They are super yummy and super easy. I'll share the recipe in another post.

James went to work and I spent the day throwing together a last-minute dinner party while Lola helped with the babies. I cooked a pot roast - James' favorite comfort food - with mashed potatoes and I cheated and used a salad kit. I also cheated and bought a cake at Safeway, but it was a hit :)

It's a S'mores cake topped with mini marshmallows and Golden Grahams! 

Looks like Calvin is signing "milk." 

Happy 30th birthday, James!!

Calvin + Henry

These two boys are just adorable. And sweet. I feel so lucky to be their mama.

I am learning on the go about how to be a SAHM of "two under two" and although there are all too many moments when they are both crying or they both have poopy diapers or they are both crying in their poopy diapers... there is also Calvin's hysterical laughter and his goofy toothy grin with that irresistible dimple and Henry's look of sleepy contentment when he has a full tummy and is snuggled up in my arms. And sometimes it's hard to feel gratitude when I can't remember if I've showered in the past 48 hours and I can't figure out when one of us will be able to do the grocery shopping, but it is always easy to love love love these boys.

And I just want to add that I know there are many, many mamas that do much more than care for two under two! Twins, triplets, three under three, four under four, single parenting, kiddos with special needs and on and on... all with amazing mamas and daddies that do much more than James and I do! I should also add how thankful I am for James who is an awesome dad, and our many friends and family members who help us all the time! Right now I am especially thankful for my grandmother, our Lola, who lives upstairs. I wouldn't have thought that at 92 she could help me much with  the babies or the housekeeping, but she really is a big help! She is always happy to hold Henry or Calvin, and although she can't get down on the floor with Calvin to play with him, she plays with him from her spot on the couch and once she even pushed him around the apartment in his little red wagon! She also helps me fold the laundry.

Calvin is very curious about Henry. He often tries to touch Henry, especially his face and head. I just have to stop him when touching turns into grabbing or poking! It doesn't appear to be malicious, just curious. He likes to smell Henry's head and "kiss" Henry (which is really just Calvin putting his face on Henry's head!), but sometimes he leans in with his mouth open and his little teeth bared and I am afraid he will bite the baby!

He doesn't seem to be jealous of his baby brother, but it is frustrating for him when he has to wait for me to be able to help/feed/play with him because I'm help/feed/holding Henry. Sometimes it is Henry who has to wait. When Henry cries, Calvin usually looks up or goes over to him as if to see what is the matter or to try to help. Calvin often reaches up and drops little toys into the bassinet when Henry is in there. One time while all three of us were on the floor, Henry lying on his baby gym mat, Calvin tried to put a toy into Henry's little hand! I hope he still wants to share toys with Henry when Henry is actually big enough to play with them :)

Don't Bite Your Brother's Face

Look Who's Walking

Big Brother Calvin is 16 months old today! Henry is still a few days shy of one month. Both boys are doing great and James and I are... well we're hanging in there trying to keep up with them!

I am very proud of my big boy Calvin.. he has been working hard on his newest skill: walking! Looks like my first baby is now a toddler!

Calvin has been cruising around the furniture for the past couple of months and walking with push toys like the little red wagon we have. For the past few weeks, he has been able to take one step without holding on to get from one piece of furniture to another. At the zoo on July 12 he was able to walk around a bit while holding one hand with James. While Granny Anne was here, she was encouraging Calvin to practice and she kept saying that he'd be walking by the time she left.

Sure enough, on July 24, the day Granny and Danpa were leaving to go home to Georgia, Calvin took two steps on his own to get from the couch to Granny's outstretched arms! We were so proud of him!

A couple days later, Calvin could take three steps by himself. Then three turned to four... and now he can walk across the room! Still wobbly, especially if he tries to turn around, but he is getting stronger and more balanced every day. I wanted to share a few cute vids of him walking :)

Here he is on July 31...



Then the next day at the park... Ok this one has more standing and sitting than walking, but it's still adorable.



And here's the latest one taken yesterday.