Time to get my bake on.

So I watch my carb intake obviously since I'm a diabetic. I do indulge from time to time, but for the most part, I like to spend "treat" carbs on a glass of wine or a beer with a yummy dinner and forgo the dessert.

But I do LOVE to bake, so it's nice when there are events that come up where I can get creative for others. The church's annual Cookie Caper is coming up and I'm making some straight up yummy chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal-coconut cookies. I know that the oatmeal-coconut combo is not for everyone's palate, but if you enjoy coconut, these are divine.

The endeavor I'm most excited about is for the Punkinhead's Teacher Appreciation Salad Luncheon. I'm making the pasta salad we always ate at the lake house in spring/summer. So delicious with marinated artichoke hearts. But that's the cooking, not the baking. I'm making a Peeps Chica-dee cake. I have some left from Easter and was inspired by this:

Milk envy

Watching 19 Kids and Counting the other day (Josie Duggar Sisterhood episode) amazed me with it segment about how much milk the mom pumps. Thinking back to the Punkinhead's preemie days - my pumping days - and how little I produced, I was amazed by how blessed baby Josie is to have so much breast milk ready for her. 18 bottles a day pumping!!!!! They had a full deep freeze ready to go for her.

When Beanie had a blocked tear duct, I was told that an eye wash with breast milk often helps to clear it. My milk was long gone by this time, but a friend of mine generously gave me 2 oz of her own pumped milk. After I left her house, I pulled over to the side of the road and cried with gratitude. For her it was a small amount, but 2 oz in one session was the most I was ever able to pump for the Punkinhead so for me it was more of a loving sacrifice than she'll ever know.