After I had #1, my back hurt. Perhaps it was because I spent the first 5 months of his life trying to soothe him via rocking, standing & bouncing, going for walks, etc., etc. Mostly what I know is that one day I woke up with my back in such a sorry state that it hurt to breathe. It was time to do something about it. I went to a physical therapist who gave me exercises to strengthen my back. However, if I skipped a day or two I would completely relapse. It was as if I couldn't hold onto the muscle I was trying to build for more than a day. She told me to have X-rays to ensure there wasn't more wrong. I did. There wasn't. My time with the therapist ran out (according to my insurance) so that was that for a while.
When I was pregnant with #2, I again woke up one day and my back was out. I suffered through it & was up and around again after a couple days.
Following #2 my back was still in sorry shape, but that's life, right? I'm a mom with 2 little guys under 3 and I'm bound to have issues. I'd get the occasional massage and life would be good again...for a bit. Then I finally felt up to getting back into shape so I started running. My ankles started hurting. Yes-ankles! I am feeling old. Then the knees. Mind you-I wasn't even running far or much. Nothing like before kids. I found I had to do Yoga at least once a week to keep my back in a manageable state. As it was bound to, it eventually went out again. This time I went to a chiropractor. He started looking at my feet & declared that I over-pronate. Next thing I know he's talking orthopedic shoes. Yikes! However, he's also talking about a plan of stretches & exercises to get me where I need to be and it occurs to me that I should go to a physical therapist instead since my insurance covers physical therapists (and not chiropractors).
Enter physical therapist (aka the angel). He immediately starts looking at my hips. Turns out one of them is rotated back, rendering that leg shorter than the other, which is leading to the back and knee issues. After a series of awkward stretches and movements, he gets my hips back into place. I feel good as new! The problem with me is that my joints move easily so I regularly pop back out, but it's relatively easy to pop me back in again. I've gotten stronger and I've also found it helps to sleep with a pillow under my leg so I don't pop out as often as I used to. Sometimes I can even get my hips to pop back in on my own.
I share this story because I can't tell you how many women I've run into who have the same issue. I also have run into a number of women who are having issues like the ones I was having & have yet to find the physical therapist who correctly diagnoses the problem. I hope that this post finds its way to a few women that really benefit from it! If you have problems, determine if one hip bone is higher than the other when you lay down. If so, find a good physical therapist! When we feel good, it sure helps as we strive to be perfect (or maybe just decent) moms!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
And the Appendix Must Go!
I previously had this huge fear of my appendix bursting and my not being anywhere near a hospital since I typically try to be 'tough girl' when in pain, so I thought I'd share a little insight gained with all of you from my unexpected surgery a little over a week ago.
Thursday night I went to my book club, where our gracious host served a yummy dinner, complete with these delicious cake balls that I couldn't get enough of! I should clarify: my book club is really an excuse to have a girls night. As you might imagine, sometimes we get a little carried away with the adult beverages. However, this particular night I only had one glass of wine. So when I woke up at 3 a.m. Friday morning feeling sick, I quickly ruled out alcohol as the culprit.
When I woke up my whole abdomen was cramping & hurt. It honestly felt like I needed to poop. But, I did poop & there was no relief. Then I started vomiting. I probably vomited every 20-30 minutes from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Nothing was relieving the pain in my abdomen and I didn't have anything in me to vomit. Also, it was a deeper vomiting than anything I've ever experienced, like there was something in there my body was trying to get out. My next thought was food poisoning, but since I ate the same thing as all my girlfriends, I was able to rule that out as well. Around 11, I stopped vomiting & my pain lessened just enough that I was able to fall asleep for about 30 minutes.
Earlier in the week my running buddy mentioned that her sister thought she was having an appendicitis & the doctors told her it feels more like you pulled a muscle in your abdomen. They also told her that the real key is a fever. As the day went on, I realized the pain in my abdomen was starting to feel more like a pulled muscle, and it seemed to be moving from the center of my abdomen to the right. It was definitely more intense on the right as time went on. Around 7:30 p.m. I looked it up on the internet. I was having all the symptoms except the fever, but the website I visited indicated it could be as low as 99. I said multiple prayers that if I needed to go to the hospital, God would show me a clear sign. At 8 p.m. I took my temperature again & it registered 99. I told the hubby I was going to the hospital.
Upon arrival they immediately hooked me up with an IV. I must have had "dehydrated" written all over me. The doctor didn't seem convinced it was my appendix, but he did think it was a possibility. He said a CAT scan was the way to figure it out. It takes 3 hours to do a CAT scan, by the time you drink the stuff you have to drink & let it settle. Fortunately they pumped anti-nasea medicine into my IV so I was able to keep it down. The CAT scan revealed that I had a stone in my appendix, but they could also see that I didn't have any lacerations (yet) so it was up to the surgeon as to exactly how quickly he was coming up to take it out. It turned out to be noon the next day, though once they started giving me morphine, I didn't really care.
They did remove it via laprascopy, which is amazing! I have 3 very small incisions that can be covered by a bandaid. The worst part of it is that they pump you full of gas in order to create the room they need to work. My neighbor tells me it will take 2 weeks for my body to absorb all of this. I've had many bloated days since, and 1 in particular where I felt pregnant again. But, if that's the price, I'll take it! Anything is better than the way I felt that Friday!
Also, my prayers that God would give me a clear sign if I needed to go to the hospital worked! I went because my temperature registered 99. Upon arrival to the hospital my temperature was 97 and I never had a fever afterwards. I additionally wonder if the "stone" was really one of those cake balls I ate the night before. Perhaps I should've taken it a little easier on those!
Thursday night I went to my book club, where our gracious host served a yummy dinner, complete with these delicious cake balls that I couldn't get enough of! I should clarify: my book club is really an excuse to have a girls night. As you might imagine, sometimes we get a little carried away with the adult beverages. However, this particular night I only had one glass of wine. So when I woke up at 3 a.m. Friday morning feeling sick, I quickly ruled out alcohol as the culprit.
When I woke up my whole abdomen was cramping & hurt. It honestly felt like I needed to poop. But, I did poop & there was no relief. Then I started vomiting. I probably vomited every 20-30 minutes from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Nothing was relieving the pain in my abdomen and I didn't have anything in me to vomit. Also, it was a deeper vomiting than anything I've ever experienced, like there was something in there my body was trying to get out. My next thought was food poisoning, but since I ate the same thing as all my girlfriends, I was able to rule that out as well. Around 11, I stopped vomiting & my pain lessened just enough that I was able to fall asleep for about 30 minutes.
Earlier in the week my running buddy mentioned that her sister thought she was having an appendicitis & the doctors told her it feels more like you pulled a muscle in your abdomen. They also told her that the real key is a fever. As the day went on, I realized the pain in my abdomen was starting to feel more like a pulled muscle, and it seemed to be moving from the center of my abdomen to the right. It was definitely more intense on the right as time went on. Around 7:30 p.m. I looked it up on the internet. I was having all the symptoms except the fever, but the website I visited indicated it could be as low as 99. I said multiple prayers that if I needed to go to the hospital, God would show me a clear sign. At 8 p.m. I took my temperature again & it registered 99. I told the hubby I was going to the hospital.
Upon arrival they immediately hooked me up with an IV. I must have had "dehydrated" written all over me. The doctor didn't seem convinced it was my appendix, but he did think it was a possibility. He said a CAT scan was the way to figure it out. It takes 3 hours to do a CAT scan, by the time you drink the stuff you have to drink & let it settle. Fortunately they pumped anti-nasea medicine into my IV so I was able to keep it down. The CAT scan revealed that I had a stone in my appendix, but they could also see that I didn't have any lacerations (yet) so it was up to the surgeon as to exactly how quickly he was coming up to take it out. It turned out to be noon the next day, though once they started giving me morphine, I didn't really care.
They did remove it via laprascopy, which is amazing! I have 3 very small incisions that can be covered by a bandaid. The worst part of it is that they pump you full of gas in order to create the room they need to work. My neighbor tells me it will take 2 weeks for my body to absorb all of this. I've had many bloated days since, and 1 in particular where I felt pregnant again. But, if that's the price, I'll take it! Anything is better than the way I felt that Friday!
Also, my prayers that God would give me a clear sign if I needed to go to the hospital worked! I went because my temperature registered 99. Upon arrival to the hospital my temperature was 97 and I never had a fever afterwards. I additionally wonder if the "stone" was really one of those cake balls I ate the night before. Perhaps I should've taken it a little easier on those!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Best Sugar Cookies Ever...with fun colors found in nature!
Its no surprise food dyes are bad for you. I even remember them talking about the red & yellow dyes when I was a kid. Reading the list of chemicals most harmful to kids has reinforced the fact that we should try to avoid them when we can. It's not terribly hard for me to avoid them in food at the grocery store (except at Halloween), but my real weakness? Frosting! Specifically, frosting for sugar cookies! I am fine making them with white frosting, but I've made them in fun colors previously so that's what my kids expect. When we start talking about making sugar cookies, they immediately start deciding what color they want "theirs" to be. Ugh! Do I take this happiness away from them too (as if the M&Ms aren't enough)? Or, do I look for alternative & natural colors found in nature? Clearly I try the latter since I'm blogging about it.
My ideas:
white=no dye (easy)
pink=beet juice or maybe strawberries if they are juicy enough (but, I have boys & they don't want pink)
purple=blueberry juice (I did this once with the witches hats, but they were really more violet)
green=spinach juice (dare I try it?)
Last week we made cookies & these were the color options. My youngest picked purple. This time I used more juice & they actually turned out purple! Perfect! My oldest chose green (little did he know). This past summer I pureed some spinach & froze it in ice cube trays. Normally when I defrost one, there is juice. This time, there was no juice. So, I put the entire cube in the frosting. Now the frosting looks white with green flakes in it. It truly looks more like something you should be dipping a veggie in than something that you should be eating on your cookie. But I taste it & it tastes great! Just like normal frosting. There is so much sugar in it, you can't taste the spinach at all. Now for the true test: I tell my oldest that his frosting is more like white frosting with green sprinkles in it. He takes one look at it & says "no mom!" Then I give him a taste. "Ok mom!" Whew! They passed the test & my boys have thoroughly enjoyed their cookies. To top it all off: I feel like I just snuck some veggies into their systems. I LOVE IT!!! (It may be worth a note that the older these cookies get, the flavors are starting to come out. I couldn't taste the blueberries or spinach at all initially. Now its been 5 days & I taste a hint of them, though just a hint & I'm still fairly certain if you didn't 'know' you wouldn't taste the difference.)
Not to be a total bragger, but I do make the best sugar cookies. They aren't easy, but they are so worth it! That junk you buy at the store doesn't even compare. Here's the recipe:
Sugar Cookies
Mix together:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
add:
1 cup butter (must be room temperature, sometimes I pop it in the microwave to soften (melting some of it))
2 eggs
add:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Stir it until it all sticks together & essentially forms a ball (this is the 'not easy' part-your arm will be ready to fall off by the time you're done). Refrigerate the dough 15-30 minutes so its not so sticky when you roll it out. When you do roll it out, you'll need to use a decent amount of flour to keep it from sticking. Bake 8-10 min at 400 degrees.
Butter Cream Frosting
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick of butter, softened
6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix it all together & add your favorite color found in nature's finest food & frost. Frost when the cookies are cool. Also, let the frosting harden a bit after you frost them & then you'll be able to stack them on a plate.
My ideas:
white=no dye (easy)
pink=beet juice or maybe strawberries if they are juicy enough (but, I have boys & they don't want pink)
purple=blueberry juice (I did this once with the witches hats, but they were really more violet)
green=spinach juice (dare I try it?)
Not to be a total bragger, but I do make the best sugar cookies. They aren't easy, but they are so worth it! That junk you buy at the store doesn't even compare. Here's the recipe:
Sugar Cookies
Mix together:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
add:
1 cup butter (must be room temperature, sometimes I pop it in the microwave to soften (melting some of it))
2 eggs
add:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Stir it until it all sticks together & essentially forms a ball (this is the 'not easy' part-your arm will be ready to fall off by the time you're done). Refrigerate the dough 15-30 minutes so its not so sticky when you roll it out. When you do roll it out, you'll need to use a decent amount of flour to keep it from sticking. Bake 8-10 min at 400 degrees.
Butter Cream Frosting
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick of butter, softened
6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix it all together & add your favorite color found in nature's finest food & frost. Frost when the cookies are cool. Also, let the frosting harden a bit after you frost them & then you'll be able to stack them on a plate.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Easy, peasy cleaning without chemicals!
So, one of my good friends started selling Norwex. Its one of those things you buy at a party. Initially I knew it involved cleaning supplies & they were chemical-free. Right up my alley, except that I really dislike those parties. I always feel obligated to buy things & they are usually expensive, yadda, yadda. Fortunately for me I was unavailable for her first party or two (no joke). I continued to hear bits of info about it & heard ravings about just using water (no chemicals) with this cloth. Right up my alley, except I looked it up & its not cheap (for the record, I am a little on the cheap side). So, parties involved, expensive and if you're just using water, it's not really clean, right? I mean, where's the 'anti-bacterial' in that? I hate the chemicals, but I hate the idea of germs & bacteria even more. I try to limit our exposure to un-natural things, but I am human & I have my limits.
I finally go to a party. I learn the following:
1. silver is a bactericide (aka anti-bacterial agent)
2. these Norwex products are laced with silver
3. the main 'rag' is a microfiber cloth that picks up most anything with water
I'm still skeptical so I buy the very basic of items: enviro cloth, window cloth & dusting mitt. They arrive and I put them to work. OMG!!!
Clean-check
Easy-check
Fast-check (this is the part I missed until I tried it)
I cleaned my whole kitchen in about half the normal time. Scratch that. I probably actually spent the same amount of time because since it was so easy, I started looking around for new things to clean. Inside of the fridge, cabinets, all the appliances (which are stainless). You name it, I cleaned it!
However, I was still a little skeptical. It looks clean & it feels clean, but is it really clean? I watched my friend place a raw piece of chicken on a mirror & do a protein test on it. Before cleaning: test failed. After cleaning with her cloths: pass. But, I needed more. I did the natural thing & googled it. It took some digging to find info that wasn't directly from Norwex, but I dug I did & everything indicates this stuff is for-real. I've been using these items for about a month now & I can no longer live without them. If I could capture the before & after of my shower (my shower is all tile & the solution of how to best clean it has eluded me until now) in a picture, I would!
As for the cost...I can somewhat justify the fact that I won't have to buy chemical cleaners anymore, but how much do I really spend a year on that stuff anyway? Probably not a lot. But, the time savings is invaluable! The products that I have invested in so far are worth every penny if only for the amount of time they are saving me! Total bonus that they are chemical-free!
Here are a couple demonstrations if you want to see how easy these things are:
dusting mitt to clean a screen: http://youtu.be/cbum22AL2dM
dusting mitt to clean blinds: http://youtu.be/AwrBQRzqhSE
protein test after cleaning raw chicken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYw_vjQjbPo
Now, for the record: I do not sell Norwex nor do I intend to start. However, I will be having a party in the next few weeks so let me know if you are interested. If you don't live near me, you can order online http://melissaklusman.norwex.biz/ or look up a rep in your area. It may be worth it to actually see some of these things in person if you're visual like me.
Happy cleaning!!!
I finally go to a party. I learn the following:
1. silver is a bactericide (aka anti-bacterial agent)
2. these Norwex products are laced with silver
3. the main 'rag' is a microfiber cloth that picks up most anything with water
I'm still skeptical so I buy the very basic of items: enviro cloth, window cloth & dusting mitt. They arrive and I put them to work. OMG!!!
Clean-check
Easy-check
Fast-check (this is the part I missed until I tried it)
I cleaned my whole kitchen in about half the normal time. Scratch that. I probably actually spent the same amount of time because since it was so easy, I started looking around for new things to clean. Inside of the fridge, cabinets, all the appliances (which are stainless). You name it, I cleaned it!
However, I was still a little skeptical. It looks clean & it feels clean, but is it really clean? I watched my friend place a raw piece of chicken on a mirror & do a protein test on it. Before cleaning: test failed. After cleaning with her cloths: pass. But, I needed more. I did the natural thing & googled it. It took some digging to find info that wasn't directly from Norwex, but I dug I did & everything indicates this stuff is for-real. I've been using these items for about a month now & I can no longer live without them. If I could capture the before & after of my shower (my shower is all tile & the solution of how to best clean it has eluded me until now) in a picture, I would!
As for the cost...I can somewhat justify the fact that I won't have to buy chemical cleaners anymore, but how much do I really spend a year on that stuff anyway? Probably not a lot. But, the time savings is invaluable! The products that I have invested in so far are worth every penny if only for the amount of time they are saving me! Total bonus that they are chemical-free!
Here are a couple demonstrations if you want to see how easy these things are:
dusting mitt to clean a screen: http://youtu.be/cbum22AL2dM
dusting mitt to clean blinds: http://youtu.be/AwrBQRzqhSE
protein test after cleaning raw chicken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYw_vjQjbPo
Now, for the record: I do not sell Norwex nor do I intend to start. However, I will be having a party in the next few weeks so let me know if you are interested. If you don't live near me, you can order online http://melissaklusman.norwex.biz/ or look up a rep in your area. It may be worth it to actually see some of these things in person if you're visual like me.
Happy cleaning!!!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday Morning Pancakes
A few years ago my hubby decided to start a Sunday morning tradition of making pancakes. My thought at the time was, "Really? Like, every Sunday?" I was still begging for every possible moment of sleep I could get and this sounded like more work than a bowl of Cheerios (recall: Cheerios don't have BHT).
So it began. But, come to figure out it's not so bad! You can make a big batch and freeze them for the week and when the boys want pancakes during the week: 2 minutes later, they are on the plate! Bottom line: homemade pancakes (not from a box) any day of the week. Note: to my knowledge I've never had pancakes from a box, but I'm guessing these are way better!
Buttermilk Pancakes (I normally triple the recipe)
1 C flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt (roughly 1/4 teaspoon)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 C buttermilk (you can mix 1 Tbsp lemon juice with 1 C milk & let sit 5 min if you don't have buttermilk). Sometimes I add a little more buttermilk to get the right consistency.
Put the griddle on the stove over low heat (so it's nice & warm when you're ready). Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients & mix. Add a little oil to the griddle & put batter on. Flip when middle starts to bubble.
Variation: Banana-pecan: Mash a very ripe banana & add with wet ingredients (do a 1/2 banana if you're only doing one batch) and add chopped pecans at the end. I also throw in chocolate chips at the end (often I just toss a few to each of their pancakes after they are on the griddle) for the boys. They love them!
When you freeze: put a small piece of wax paper between each of them & place in a big Ziploc.
So it began. But, come to figure out it's not so bad! You can make a big batch and freeze them for the week and when the boys want pancakes during the week: 2 minutes later, they are on the plate! Bottom line: homemade pancakes (not from a box) any day of the week. Note: to my knowledge I've never had pancakes from a box, but I'm guessing these are way better!
Buttermilk Pancakes (I normally triple the recipe)
1 C flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt (roughly 1/4 teaspoon)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 C buttermilk (you can mix 1 Tbsp lemon juice with 1 C milk & let sit 5 min if you don't have buttermilk). Sometimes I add a little more buttermilk to get the right consistency.
Put the griddle on the stove over low heat (so it's nice & warm when you're ready). Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients & mix. Add a little oil to the griddle & put batter on. Flip when middle starts to bubble.
Variation: Banana-pecan: Mash a very ripe banana & add with wet ingredients (do a 1/2 banana if you're only doing one batch) and add chopped pecans at the end. I also throw in chocolate chips at the end (often I just toss a few to each of their pancakes after they are on the griddle) for the boys. They love them!
When you freeze: put a small piece of wax paper between each of them & place in a big Ziploc.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Hedge Apples...they do have a purpose & it involves bugs!
My mom recently told me about a friend who collects hedge apples every fall, takes them to Oklahoma & sells them. What? Why? She claims there are a bunch of Oklahomans who believe these things are spider-deterants so they put them in their basements. To clarify: hedge apples are those large lime-green balls that look like brains and fall out of large trees. I'm extremely thankful I've never been hit on the head by one!
A few weeks after hearing this story, I took my kids to the botanical garden to take Christmas pictures. And what just-so-happens to be on the ground that my kids decide to turn into a toy while mom tortures them taking pictures? Yes, hedge apples! In my later efforts to distract them from a melt-down I tell them what their granny told me about hedge apples getting rid of spiders. So they insist on bringing these things home & putting them in the basement.
About our basement...I've done some things to make it fun & slightly inviting if you're into riding bikes, crawling around in tent-tunnels or working-out (for me & the hubby), but it is officially unfinished & we get lots of bugs down there. Mostly rolly-pollies, crickets and a few spiders. If I don't sweep every couple weeks there will be dozens or hundreds (depending on the time of year) of dead rolly-pollies down there. Gross!
They put 2 hedge apples down there about 3 weeks ago & I swear I haven't seen a live bug since! There are maybe a handful of dead rolly-pollies, but as big as our basement is you have to go searching for them (as I did). I'm finding this truly unbelievable! For a girl constantly on the look-out for chemical-free ways to get rid of bugs, can it really be this easy? The hubby insists that the weather has gotten colder & this is the reason the bugs are gone, but really there have only been a few random cold days so far this fall. I think he's just a skeptic. Time will tell! I'm just wondering when the hedge-apple anti-bug super-power will wear off or when they will start to rot. I wonder if you can freeze them & get a new one out when you need it? If anyone from Oklahoma is reading this, please share the secret & shame on you for not telling the rest of us about this sooner!!!
About our basement...I've done some things to make it fun & slightly inviting if you're into riding bikes, crawling around in tent-tunnels or working-out (for me & the hubby), but it is officially unfinished & we get lots of bugs down there. Mostly rolly-pollies, crickets and a few spiders. If I don't sweep every couple weeks there will be dozens or hundreds (depending on the time of year) of dead rolly-pollies down there. Gross!
They put 2 hedge apples down there about 3 weeks ago & I swear I haven't seen a live bug since! There are maybe a handful of dead rolly-pollies, but as big as our basement is you have to go searching for them (as I did). I'm finding this truly unbelievable! For a girl constantly on the look-out for chemical-free ways to get rid of bugs, can it really be this easy? The hubby insists that the weather has gotten colder & this is the reason the bugs are gone, but really there have only been a few random cold days so far this fall. I think he's just a skeptic. Time will tell! I'm just wondering when the hedge-apple anti-bug super-power will wear off or when they will start to rot. I wonder if you can freeze them & get a new one out when you need it? If anyone from Oklahoma is reading this, please share the secret & shame on you for not telling the rest of us about this sooner!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Witches Hats: a costume or a snack?
Today was the kindergarten Halloween party! I signed up for snacks thinking I could provide some cheese or pretzels or something (read: I am short on time & I want something easy). The party coordinator mom had a different idea. Suddenly the snack turned into: "come up with one snack they assemble and eat and one they assemble & take home." Really? So much for easy!
For the snack the kids assemble & eat I made witches hats that the kids could decorate. I briefly saw a picture of this in a magazine at someone else's house & thought it looked really cute. Unfortunately I couldn't find it online (or instructions on how to do it) so I was on my own. I was looking for chocolate covered graham crackers to work as the base, or bottom of the hat and chocolate covered sugar cones that I could turn upside-down as the top part of the hat. A little frosting to make them connect & there you have it!
I finally found chocolate covered graham crackers that were large enough. I really shouldn't read the list of ingredients for stuff like this, but I did. TBHQ (a relative of the harmful preservative BHT), yellow dye #bad & red dye #bad. Ugh! I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. And why would there be dye in this stuff anyway? Weird. Plus, I couldn't find chocolate covered sugar cones. Then it hits me: I can buy regular graham crackers & cones & coat them in chocolate myself!
I did it & it turned out fairly cute & it ended up being SO easy! Here's what I did: I bought milk chocolate chocolate chips & melted them. You have to make a double-boiler so you don't burn the chocolate. Do this by boiling a little water in a larger pan & putting a smaller pan in that water with the chocolate chips in it. After it was melted, I removed the top pan & carefully dipped the graham crackers in the chocolate (be careful not to burn your fingers). Then I rolled the cones in it & stuck them on the graham crackers. To decorate: I did break down & buy frosting. I would totally prefer to make my own, but the consistency of the store-bought is perfect for kids spreading on things like this & I just haven't managed to figure out the trick of getting it just right at home. I bought white & I colored one can purple using the juice from blueberries. It's the first time I've tried dying without actual food coloring & though it was really more violet than purple, I was proud!
A couple notes: I wouldn't make them more than a day ahead, but they do need a number of hours to harden & dry so you also can't wait until the last minute. The chocolate in my finished picture looks a little 'off' because I put that hat in the fridge after assembling.
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