{homemade pop tarts}

these pop tarts are far superior to the boxed ones {you will never ever no back! & while i still can't say they are the ideal healthy treat, they are much much better for you, still} & require next to no effort to make. they are our new favorite saturday morning treat :)

all you need is:
pie crust, rolled out flat. store bought, or homemade. {we have an excellent crust recipe that we use here. i make several at a time & freeze them. & use all spelt flour instead of white & it is delicious & slightly nutty tasting}
jam of your choice

optional:
frosting is made with powdered sugar {start with a cup or so} & a dash of milk & vanilla extract to desired thickness. or you could do an egg wash using one egg, beat & brushed on the top.
we've actually come to like them plain. just a preference with us, though.

no.1 roll out your pie crust to a thin, but workable amount. cut into long rectangles with a pizza cutter until you have used all the dough {you will be folding these in half, so think very long rectangles} 
no. 2 scoop about 2 tsp of jam onto one side of your crust & spread - leaving a bit of room around the edges.
no. 3 fold crust in half & crimp the edges with a fork.
no. 4 bake at 350 degrees until slightly browned on top, or 7-ish minutes

bon appetite!

{camp sunshine}

i have too many great things to say about our time in maine this past week. {once we finally got there. ptl!} just going through the photos today i am missing the people & am wanting to be back again. only 55 more weeks, right?

there were definitely mixed emotions being there. i had time to think more about isaac than i have in a long while. we met so many parents that had lost children. i didn't know what to say. i think we have grieved, in a way, & can relate more than some, but there is nothing to say that makes these things okay. they are all such strong, wonderful people, though. we felt at home with them right away.

even so, we talked & laughed & sang karaoke {daniel was king, by the way}, & ate LOBSTER! for the very very first time & i loved it. i was a pro by the second one guys, let me tell you...

we spent a lot of our days in 'lectures' i suppose you could say. isaac had plenty of ladies to coo over him in the 'tot lot' all during the day.

one talk in particular though, on gene therapy was amazing & encouraging - for a lot of the parents, i think. the hope, & a lot of the research being done right now with FA is essentially looking to isolate & fixing the broken DNA & putting it into the body via a carrier, or virus. if its successful in a patient, it would eliminate the need for a bone marrow transplant & would be an outpatient procedure - both of those things are crazy mind-blowing & almost too good to be true sounding!!! its okay if none of that makes sense, but just know that it is really hopeful & exciting news to us.

there is so so much i could say, but i'll let some of the pictures speak for themselves, & i also don't want to give too much away - i'll be posting some more thoughts on camp in a few months via the FA Newsletter, so we'll save some of the details for then ;)

p.s.
i am also going to take just a minute to gush over photos of my little son & say that the one of him holding the balloon & the 'isaac' wish boat tie for the most heart melting photos EVER. i can't stop looking at them. at least they are in my book...

{home again}

we are back! it has never felt more lovely to be home, but at the same time, we had a wonderful trip.
some parts of it were incredibly unexpected. like the 3 cancelled flights & two days in detroit that we didn't plan on {we are driving from now on!} but that also meant spending time with a sweet friend - one of my bridesmaids way back in the day, juliet & her man. they seriously get friend of the YEAR awards for picking us up at the airport at 2 in the morning & saving us from sleeping in the terminal at the airport! we were able to spend all last friday with them, too, so it actually ended up being a really nice time that we didnt expect in the middle of a crazy situation.

we got to camp a day late - saturday afternoon & had a wonderful time.
more on that, soon, though :)
THANK you guys, again for all of the travel tips! it was really helping for our many flights!

{packed & ready}

thanks everyone, for the travel tips! i am feeling SO much more prepared & mostly at ease about our journey now.

we are packed {a bit early} & ready. one carry on. two backpacks. stroller. carseat & a baby.
i seriously don't know how that happened. seriously.

isaac was an awesome little packing buddy. he has figured out how to shake his head, so he jammed out to musics the whole time & watched me.

it is feeling really real now. can't wait!

{a 10 month birthday}

isaac is 10 months old today. we are coming up on a year SO quickly! & to celebrate 10 months we are going to camp in a few weeks! our new fanconi family will all be there as well as a lot of the doctors & researchers. we are excited to meet everyone. our circle of people has grown so much because of isaac & i feel like it is about to explode.

i will say, though. i am really nervous about flying with him. & just being so far away from home. he is a super well behaved little man - but he does seem to choose the absolute worst moments to cry unconsolably. i'm just praying for an uneventful flight...

any of you mommies have tips for traveling with wee ones? from airports, to packing & being in new places...
i need your mommy expertise!!!