Paleo Fruit Pizza

I had a "lightbulb" moment Friday in the early morning hours while I was half-conscious in the bed before waking. Since six kids aged four and under were coming to play that morning, I wanted to make a delicious, healthy snack that the kids could help put together. Already for small group this week I'd made these n'oatmeal cookies from my new Make it Paleo cookbook that I'm loving! And I had pizza on the brain from Claire's request for her birthday party dinner.

So I made a "crust" using the n'oatmeal cookie recipe, except I substituted chocolate chips for the raisins. Hamilton helped me "make cook" Friday morning as we prepared the cookie dough and baked as directed.

After the cookie dough cooled, I slathered on coconut milk from a can for the "sauce." Then I let the kids sprinkle on the sliced fruit. Strawberries and blueberries from Florida were on sale this week, and they're so delicious.

I've tasted dessert fruit pizza like this one (before my Paleo days), and it's so indulgent and pretty! With kids decorating this pizza, there was no order to the "toppings." By the end the "pizza" was piled high with fruit, so we sliced it with a pizza slicer and served the kids.

Community Group

For the last few weeks we've averaged probably seven adults plus a few kids at our community group that meets weekly. For March the Morgans are hosting, which means I also prepare the main dish, but tonight we had eighteen adults plus six kids! I doubled this easy, delicious recipe, and we still almost ran out. It's a crazy scene around here with so many people, kids, and dogs. While I do enjoy the quiet intimacy of fewer attendees, the boisterous crowd is fun and exhilarating--though the planner/hostess in me worries we'll run out of food. Then I'm reminded of this scene from Clueless when Cher argues the pro side during a debate.

Cher: So like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" Well it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that like did not R.S.V.P. I was like totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much.

Goodbye, Johnsons

Our dear friends are moving this week, so we hosted a going-away party for them tonight. We're SO sad the Johnsons are leaving; there will be a missing family in our community group, our church, and our circle of friends. And, the July Boys will be separated!

We had a great party tonight with no one wanting to leave and say the final goodbye. Most of the men sat around watching the kids play with Hamilton's toys.

We women congregated around the kitchen table, chatting over wine and punch.

Hamilton did fairly well at sharing his toys with all the partying kids. However, Grady took an interest in the train-repair shop. Though Hamilton has never spent much time with that toy, though he loves the train that came with it, he hounded Grady telling him "no" and pulling at his clothes. Grady smartly eluded Hamilton's attempts to recover the now-popular toy.

Grady put on a little show for everyone when he stood on the coffee table and showed his belly--to many cheers and chants from the adults. Hamilton knows he's not allowed to stand on the table, and I love how in this shot he's eyeing Grady just waiting to hear the reprimand for Grady's rule-breaking.

December 8

Our community-group Christmas party tonight was wild and crazy with nearly 20 adults and 7 kids (under 4 years old). We tried taking pictures of the kids in front of the tree, but I did not succeed in getting one picture with all the children in the shot. Hamilton found his way to this little chair which he seemed to like, but he really loved all the cheering that we adults were doing to make the kids smile. He, of course, thought we were cheering for him, which made him smile and join in the clapping and cheering fun.