Taste Testing: Grace Island Baked Cheese Crisps

Okay, if you don't know by now, I'm a sucker for just about anything free. So, when a friend asked if I would sample some Baked Cheese Crisps from Grace Island Foods ( www.graceislandfoods.com ) I was TOTALLY going for it. Free is one thing, Free FOOD is even better!! As it turns out, the snacks were delivered to us on a Sunday that we had to stay after church for a while, so by the time we were in the van we were FAMISHED and tore into these crackers like there would be no tomorrow. So, in all actuality, I'm not only going to give you my honest (they did say an HONEST opinion), but I'm going to let my kids and husband give you theirs as well.


When I was first told about these, I was pretty excited. I'm quite restricted as to what foods I can eat now, and these snacks fit right in with what is allowed. Even the ingredient list is READABLE (cheese, egg white, sesame seed, garlic, onion, salt, spices). That's almost unheard of in a grocery store nowadays! So, here is a rundown of the different cheese crisps we tried and what we thought of them:

Baby Swiss: Tanya: I'm a swiss cheese LOVER so I was excited to try these. When you look at them, they look just like what happens when some cheese leaks out of a burrito onto your cookie sheet and gets cooked there. The crisps were definately....well, crispy! It had just a hint of swissy taste to it, and was pretty....okay.  Not remarkable, but not bad. I was hoping for a little more swiss flavor, but I thought it was decent. Katye: The swiss was really, really good. It was one of my favorites.  (Considering Kayte is our semi-vegetarian and world class picky eater, this is rarely heard from her describing ANY food) Aidan: GOOD! I really liked ALL of them. 
Bottom line: So, while it was only okay for me, the fact that my pickiest eater and other kids liked it, and the fact that it's super healthy would leave me to purchase these for a snack...well, depending on the price I guess.

Asiago: Kayte: This was the BEST one. It was a lot like the swiss, but with a lot more flavor. Tanya: I have to agree with Kayte on part of that, it definately had more flavor than the swiss; but I enjoyed the more subtle swiss. I thought this was a little too sesame seedy for my taste. Aidan: This was kinda yummy. Scott: Not very cheesy tasting, just salty enough. Okay tasting.
Bottom line: I would probably buy this if Kayte chipped in some money, but she was the only one who really loved this kind.

Parmesan & Italian Herb: Tanya: I was really disappointed in this one. I was expecting to get a really good burst of Italian flavor, but it was really sub-par. None of the kids really liked this one either. I think with a little recipe tweaking this could be quite yummy, but, as is, it's not. Amelia: This one was my favorite! Kayte: This one wasn't my favorite but it was good.
Bottom Line: For some reason, Scott didn't get one of these, but everyone's basic opinion was..eh. Except for Mimi who chose these as her favorites. SO, if she wanted to chip in some moolah to buy some, I might go for it.

Romano & Black Pepper: Tanya: Okay, I've saved this one for last. Our entire family has one opinion, while Aidan is on the opposite side. My very first reaction is that...uh....yuck would be an understatement. I honestly thought it tasted like bile. I didn't even make it past a nibble. In fact I BARELY made it past the smell. I don't know that a single person in our family took more than a nibble off a corner...except Aidan. He INHALED them!! He would patiently wait while someone tried one, then  (drooling) jump up and attack the crisp as if he had never had a meal in his life. In fact, just TALKING about the crisps makes him want some more. Ava: This doesn't taste very good, but it's a little crunchy. Hope (Ava's friend): I thought it was good, but at the end it wasn't very good at all.
Bottom Line: If I were you, I would DEFINATELY try a sample of this before buying a large bag. It will not be on our family's grocery list.

So, there you have it. Take it or leave it, it's our very humble family's (and Hope's) opinion.

Baby #6 at Our House

A good friend of ours has been in the hospital the last few days, so we are able to bless our home with Baby #6 for a few days! To be honest, I was kind of hoping for a screaming, demanding, high-maintenance baby. I've had the 'baby itch' for the last couple of years; SCOTT, on the other hand, has taken plenty of anti-itch medication (also known as the common teenager). Maybe it's BECAUSE we have teenagers that I have this urgency to have something cute and cuddly that responds GRATEFULLY to every small offering. A little being who offers a smile whether you offered one or not. Someone who loves unconditionally, without wanting the car keys in return.

As I was saying, I was (kind of) hoping for a reminder of how demanding a baby can be, but ended up with what I can only determine is the world's happiest baby. Because his Mom had to go into the hospital urgently, Baby Boy came with very few directions. Luckily, I have at least 5 children I haven't managed to damage beyond repair, so I figured we could wing it. This little cutie has been SO accommodating, that he just rolls with the punches. Speaking of roll, he's also JUST starting to get up on all fours and rocking back in forth and managing to scoot himself forward with each try. He's perfectly content to lay on his tummy on a blanket and aim himself towards his favorite toy (or our dog/cat) and work on reaching his goal. Very inspiring.

Of course, the other kids are all having a field day with him as well. Aidan looks like a proud papa every time he holds him. He always brings him around to whoever is around and shows off how smiley he is and how much he loves to be in Aidan's arms. Kate (who is fairly certain she's allergic to infants) is even smitten with him. As long as he doesn't need a diaper change, that is. And Baby Boy seems to be quite smitten with Kate. She better get used to boys drooling over her. Ava FINALLY has someone to take care of, and she does her very best to tend to his every whimper. She has finally found an outlet and a listening ear for all of her singing. Enoch has discovered that babies don't like the scary version of Peek-A-Boo, and that his deep voice can really disarm a crying baby. Amelia, of course, is in Mommy heaven. Even the poopiest of diapers hasn't turned her off.

And Scott and I? Well, Scott is keeping a smiley distance. He thinks the baby is cute and SUPER easy going, but he's not about to get too close for fear of catching the dreaded 'baby wanting disease'. Myself? Heavenly Father has wisely given me a seriously painful kidney stone as a reminder that, even though the baby may be easy-going, that doesn't necessarily mean that the lives AROUND the baby will be as easy.

All in all- we are LOVING every precious moment we have with this little guy, while praying that his beautiful and loving Mommy will get better soon. I'm certain she's desperate to get back to the world's best baby.

Back on the Wagon

To say I "fell off the wagon" is quite an understatement. More like "fell off the face of the earth"! Well, I will make no promises again, apparently they scare me off; so, I'll just do the best that I can!


I'd try and go back and re-hash everything that has happened since the beginning of the year.....but that would take two months to record, and I promised myself that I didn't have to if I would at least blog SOMETHING!! So......


I just finished reading a book titled We Need to Talk About Kevin. I go through 2-4 books each week, but this book took me a week to finish by itself. It took so long because I would have to read a 'normal, happyish' book in between chapters. Sometimes I wouldn't even make it to the end of a chapter. If you haven't heard the premise (it's also being made into a move- of course- anything this disturbing and unpleasant is BOUND to be a blockbuster), it's about a teenager who goes on a school shooting rampage, and the book is a series of letters written from his Mother to his Father. She basically 'fesses up' to the fact that she NEVER loved her son, was ALWAYS scared of him, and it was bound to happen. She tries to take the blame, but in a desperate "this is what I'm supposed to do" type way. It is a pathetic book, to say the least, and yet I found myself coming back to it again and again. I imagine much in the same way that people can't help but look at a car wreck to see if they can see anything. It puts motherhood on the same level as some pathetic job you HAVE to do, just because someone tells you you should. At the end, there's a hint of emotional connection between the mother and the son, and by that point you're SO DESPERATE for any type of bonding between the two, your brain tells you that the piddly amount that is shown is magnified into a real 'breakthrough'. This book/movie is another very obvious attempt from Satan to convince the world that the very nature of motherhood is pathetic, and when our children exercise their free agency, there is still some blame to be put on those who raised them. I'll step off my soap box now.

Happy 2012!!

Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

You know you're so totally over the hill when you go to bed at 11:45 on New Year's Eve. You also know your KIDS know you're too old, when they don't even BOTHER to come in 15 minutes later to wish you a Happy New Year. Nope, not even the 6 year old (although she might have fallen asleep- I came out at 2am and she's sprawled half off of the couch).

So, at 2:15am I am now wide awake (ill) and wishing it were 11:45 so I could just go to sleep, but alas. It isn't meant to be. SOOOO I decided to blog.  About nothing. Well, not about NOTHING just what I just told you......(and cue the lights...fade out......hopefully)

So Watch Out 2012!  Here come the Hepworths!!  

Times they are a-changin'

Well, that's me!! About 75 pounds less than 9 months ago. (I look so happy because I'm at the library using the internet and trying to figure out how to get my computer camera to work without the help of my 10 year old.) I don't know if I've ever posted a picture of myself on here (at least not on purpose) so I thought it time to do so.  Speaking of time.....
Lot's of things seem to be changing around the Hepworth household lately:
Enoch- Enoch now has his student driver's license. Which basically means that Mom and Dad are daily praying for more patience. While at first he was driving too fast, now we're working on stopping slower, keeping both hands on the wheel, and doing more than one thing at a time (apparently, he tends to drift into oncoming lanes of traffic while going around curves because he's trying to make sure his dims are on. I've assured him that someone would rather be 'high-beamed' than in a head-on collision). He's also finishing up his college credits for two computer classes. He also received a 'cell-phone' of sorts. Think as basic as possible, make it a pay-as-you-go-and-as-long-as-your-work-is-done plan, no pics, no internet, and Mom has access to everything and everyone you call and text. Now you get a little better picture. He wrote out the rules loooong before we got him a phone, and we gave it to him for his 16th birthday.  On the home homeschool front...well, let's not talk about that.....
Amelia- Well, she's stopped surpassing Enoch in height this year. I don't know if she cares very much, but I'm certain Enoch does! She started attending dances this year and usually ends up on the dance floor for at least SOME of the dances (thanks to Enoch and other friends). Her and Mom now share jewelry and some clothes (and in just a few more months, none of MY clothes OR HERS will ever be safe from each other AGAIN!! Good thing we have a lot of the same tastes). One thing she DID pass me up on was shoe size, however. She's also been babysitting for the neighbors, which has thrown Ava into a bit of a tailspin (having to give up HER Mimi to her best friend at times). Mimi's loving the cash, however.
Kate- or as she's changed it to: Kayte. She's still producing "The Messed-Up Bulletin" for the missionaries every Sunday. Has for a couple of years now. She takes the 'normal' Sunday bulletin (provided that we have one) and writes notes all over it from the speakers, then some other stuff, and gives a copy to the current set of missionaries every week. Some AWESOME missionaries tend to write messed-up ones back to her, which she saves. We're going to start photocopying them before she hands them over so we can keep a 'journal' of them. Some are pretty clever. I think this year Ka(y)te has discovered her niche in life- WRITING. She has done some very impressive things, and the more I read of her writing, the more encouraged I am that she won't have to spend the remainder of her life in therapy. To put all of her amazing talent to good use, we presented her with her own blog this year: www.katesdelirium.blogspot.com I hope she'll enjoy it. She was stumped for some starting topics, so I found a list for her; but, let's face it Like me, she'll learn that the everyday is the best place for the funniest stuff. Speaking of funny....
Aidan- I don't think Aidan had to be hospitalized ONCE this year, although he will have to go down to Indy early this year to help with his old tube site. After 2 1/2 years, his feeding tube site STILL looks horrible and nothing we or the doctors up here seem to do is helping it. We'll be seeing some DIFFERENT pediatric specialists that will hopefully be able to 'fix it'. He has become our engineer of the family. If something (particularly electronic) isn't working- he's our go-to guy. Scott couldn't even figure out how to hook up our old camcorder (which we lost the cord AND had no batteries to) to watch some of our old tapes on our tv, so we just set it aside. Lo and behold, later the next afternoon, Aidan has it hooked up to the tv and working like a charm!! He's got a lot of his Daddy in him. Now, if only Daddy would let him get a hold of his soldering iron!
Ava- probably the best thing that Ava has done this year is learn to READ!! But, unlike our others, she prefers reading cookbooks, craft books, paper books, how-to books. She's all about big bright pictures and lots of lists She LOVES reading lists. Typical Aspie. Speaking of her Asperger's- she still flaps, and while during the summer it seemed to explode in length and strength she also started adding facial tics We're grateful that the flapping has diminished quite a bit, but whenever she's concentrating on something, or even just doing something she enjoys, she'll make some strange faces and have repetitive movement in other parts of her body. While this would be EXTREMELY disruptive in a classroom sort of setting, I'm once again grateful for the opportunity we have to homeschool where it's not a problem.  The REAL problem?  The constant singing.....not to ME, of course, but to the other siblings in the house. (Hence, a VERY thoughtful set of parents purchased headphones for them for Christmas) She sings EVERYTHING ... ALL THE TIME.  Just last night she asked me how people became 'singing people' on the radio. I gave her a very basic run-down, but her greatest concern was that she wanted to sing her OWN MADE-UP songs. Not what someone else tells her to sing. No problem, I told her. Then she asked about TV.  I told her that they were all really computer-generated and real living humans couldn't be on tv or in the movies. I think that will hold her..at least for a few more years.  (Yes sweetie, Justin Bieber IS a cyborg.)
Mom and Dad? Well, I'm losing weight (and my mind- all at the same time!) and trying to figure out homeschooling for the 5th year in a row (you'd think I'd have it by now..but, no I'm beginning to think I will NEVER have it. Or that there's nothing to have!) I'm the Young Women president of the Kendallville Branch and I just might go inactive if they ever call me away from that. I LOVE this calling and I LOVE the girls. (Here's a little funny: One of the boys one of the YW is/was dating was saying trashy icky inappropriate things, so I pulled him into the coat closet and threatened him.  Just a little. Well....maybe a little more than a little. Bodily harm? Check. Death? Check. Calling his parents/bishop/stake president? Check. Make his life a living hell? Check. Haunting him? Check. Let's just say it contained a little of everything a good 'talking to' should. I can tell you one thing, though. THIS particular 'young man' will NEVER touch one of MY young women.  Dad is still at I-Span where they're getting ready to move into an actual building!! This after the company saw one of it's worst years ever. We were grateful he was able to weather the storm and still has a job through it all. We are praying for the company to TAKE OFF!!! In a good way, of course. Scott's still the Scout Master and hasn't managed to kill, or be killed BY any of his boys yet (and if you knew some of these boys, you'd know what a miracle that was!). We're getting ready to finish our basement this spring (ASAP since it was supposed to be done TWO YEARS ago!!) and are taking ANY AND ALL volunteers. Our money will be tight, but we're hoping our friends will be plentiful!
Well, I'm not sure how often I'll update. We're dropping our current Internet Provider for being idiots (more on that later, perhaps), so we'll be on the Public Library Internet until we secure other means. I'm going to make a resolution to post AT LEAST ONCE every 10 days. In other words, to not EVER (this coming year '12) let MORE than 10 days go by without you hearing from us. HOWEVER, I get let off the hook for 1) vacations lasting longer than a week 2) hospitalizations lasting longer than 4 days or 3) laundry piled more than 8 feet high.  Okay, maybe not #3. That's practically every week.

It's been great talking to you again. Keep checking in on Kayte, and give her some good encouragement. We love you all!

Time4Learning

 
 
I've been avoiding my blog. Like the plague (in case you didn't notice). However, I was HORRIBLY surprised and dismayed when I found out I haven't posted since JANUARY!!!! Could that possibly be true?!! NO WAY. I am perplexed. And sorry. I will do better.
 
It's not going to be a long post, but I have to let you in on a little homeschool secret I have. I've been slacking BIG TIME in my efforts with Ava, but even with that she's FLYING through her K and most of her 1st grade workbooks (not to shabby for a 5 yr old). I can't take any of the credit, however. We signed up for this super-cheap trial of a program called Time4Learning.com It's absolutely amazing. It has just enough entertainment for her to actually think she's NOT doing schoolwork, but it's teaching her a TON. She BEGS to go on it, and I've even made it her 'reward' for when she gets her chores done and things like that. I had done it several years ago for the older three, the summer before we started homeschooling. They were addicted to it (especially the Lego Ergo Sum...which, unless you know this program will make no sense to you). It REALLY appealed to them on an older level, so I wasn't sure how well it would work for Ava. Like a charm. I REALLY REALLY advise anyone who has kids (home or public school) to think about doing this through the summer. It will keep their minds active, and they won't go back next year having to re-learn everything they lost during the summer. And hey, if you do, make sure you let them know I sent you. Use my name and my email: enochhepworth@yahoo.com I get a little sumpin' sumpin'. You know- share the love.
 
Take care, and I'll return MUCH sooner this time.
 

Sundae Lessons

Enoch and Amelia:  Spending two hours catching up on Seminary is much more fun when you get to eat a Sundae before doing so.

Kate: Black and White striped tights go with anything...and nothing.

Aidan: An ice cream "scoopful" can range from 1/4 tsp to 2 cupfulls.  It all depends on who's doing the scooping.

Ava: It's always fun to have friends over.  Even if they're not 'technically' yours.