Happy Birthday to Daddy - Gluten Freestyle

This weekend it was my husband's (aka the Daddy aka GrandHighPooBah or Kurt) birthday. I won't reveal his age, lets just say he is now the same age as I am. We celebrated it "big time" with not one but two birthday parties (the joy of divorced parents) - both parties complete with gluten and casein free cakes & lots of good food. I made the cakes which came out marvelous, if I must say so I myself. When we have a family birthday party - I make a cake that is safe for Alex and everyone eats it. I'm not going to make him a separate cake so we can all eat one thing and he has something different -- he gets that enough, especially when he goes to birthday party for a friend. But for family, no way - not like that.

Party 1: On his actual birthday we went to celebrate with his mother & her husband. I made a double layer Namaste Foods Chocolate Cake with lots of frosting on it and it came out perfect. So easy to make (just add egg, oil & water) and it is gluten and dairy free. So rich and sweet, perfect for chocolate lovers! For dinner, my husband was treated to a favorite meal made by his mother (Chicken Marsala) and the kids had pasta. Alex, the gluten free wonderkid, devoured Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Spirals with home-made sauce - none of "that jar stuff". A highlight of my evening was that I got to run-off while the kids were in for a 'tub-swim' (jacuzzi bath) and go to Whole Foods. While there I promptly bought up every last So Delicious Dairy Free yogurt in Vanilla that they had on the shelves (no less than a dozen of them) plus another half dozen or so of Strawberry Banana flavor. The kids love this dairy free yogurt (it is made with Coconut Milk) and is such a yummy healthy treat for them. I really need to get this yogurt carried in a store that is closer to me, until then I will trek the half hour or so up to Whole Foods Market.

Party 2: This party was at our house, hence my cleaning binge from which I twittered at 3am. Meanwhile, many twitter moms (#motrinmoms) were up in arms over a commercial on the Motrin website that was making light of baby-wearing. Not good. I woke up and declared that if there was motrin in my cabinet I'd flush it. But back to the party.... This time with Grampa & Gramma - my husband's dad and his stepmom. They came over and we ordered take-out from Ikko and had some really good Sushi. My daughter enjoyed (playing with) and eating a bowl of rice and I baked up some chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and french fries for Alex from Ian's Natural Foods. Today's party featured a rectangle single layer cake - Pamela's Luscious Chocolate Cake mix and assorted dairy free ice creams from Turtle Mountain (So Delicious). Alex and Belle rocked the Neopolitan while Kurt went for the Mint Chocolate.

That's a whole lot of gluten free & dairy free eats with no complaints. I'll take it.

And on to the Birthday Swag:

I searched high and low, refusing to sell my soul and pay the high prices at eBay and many online retailers. I went North and South on the parkway 20 or so miles in either direction from me and kept striking out left and right on finding it... Guitar Hero World Tour - Band Kit of course. Since I didn't pre-order it when it came out in the end of October I was really having a hard time getting my hands on it. I found it for other platforms, but not the Wii and I was pretty frustrated. I could find the game alone, or the game & guitar kit, and even a bundle with the game and 2 guitars... but I really really really wanted to get the full Band Kit with the drums, microphone, guitar and game - the whole kit 'n kaboodle. I was about to give up when I found it in stock at Walmart.com and I immediately ordered it and got it in time. So glad I did - Daddy was very happy and Alex seems to like the drums but hasn't quite figured out how to play it yet. Time will tell, but this could (I hope) prove to be another wii therapy success. In the meantime, Kurt is having fun with it. Belle has decided she'll be the singer and rocks out with Twinkle Twinkle little star on the microphone. Pictures, and video I'm sure will be coming. My in-laws gave him a Flip videocamera which will be a fun little gadget (put to good use), certainly.

Overall, an exhausting yet incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable weekend spent surrounded by the people most important to me - my family.

Happy Birthday!

Enjoy this video complete with gluten & casein free birthday cake