Cookies

My love whipped up his first batch of Gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies today. They are fabulous! Great Job Jimmy! I think I could safely say that if we did a taste test, no one would be able to tell the difference between this gluten free cookie and a regular cookie. 

Disclaimer, the flour is made with garbanzo beans and if you are thinking of licking the bowl, spoon, beater or ANYTHING with uncooked dough, Think hard on that.. Not good. not good AT ALL.

I was so scared to eat the actual cookie because of my experience with the dough...Truly.. gag.

BUT I am glad I did because he really knocked it out to the park. Once the flour is cooked, all the tastes meld together for delicious treat! A true success! Once again I will sing the praise of my husband who is just really, that awesome!

Here is how he did it. 

2 1/4 cups Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 sugar, approximately 

1 1/4 C dark brown sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together  flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine. 

Scoop 1 tbsp of batter on cookie sheet 6 per cookie sheet, (these are big suckers!)


adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-gluten-free-recipe/index.html

Mommy Guilt

I can't wait till summer, I miss cuddling with my kids in the mornings.

 I miss hanging out with them all day with nothing to do except clean the house and make dinner for when Dad comes home.

 I miss the carefree days of summer and I cannot wait till they are here.. 28 more days.

This semester has been so terrible I feel like I have missed so much...

With everything that has been going on this year I am ready for a break. I hope my kids know I love them, and that they are my priority.

I hope they know that without them..NONE of this is worth anything.

I hope they know I love their faces... and their stinky feet!

Mommy guilt .. sucks.

Phantom Of The Opera

To brighten your week I am starting a new tradition... Video Tuesdays...Some will be old..some will be new.. this is an oldie but FOR SURE a goodie....The date stamp on my Flip said 3/10/09

ENJOY!

Ignore the laundry, God knows I do!!

Shoes

I will admit I have an unholy union with shoes.. I love them.. I have a least 4 pairs in my closet that I have only worn once.. or never worn...this is not about MY shoes..this is about the shoes I hate...

MY CHILDREN'S shoes....

They never can find them.. WHY OH WHY can you never find your shoes? They never fit.. even if I just bought them.. they grow so fast... and Jayme is pretty picky so if it tugs, pokes, rubs, shines, scuffs, freys or as you will read..WRINKLES...she is over the edge and has no desire to wear them. (sometimes flat out refuses) Even though they wear the same size, Carly Jo would NEVER be allowed to wear Jayme's shoes or visa versa...DON'T even THINK it..

This being said, I went out on Friday and bought new shoes for each of my children.. flip flops and cute little tennis shoes. Because I am SICK to death of.. "where are my shoes?" "These hurt" blah blah blah you get my point. FRIDAY....

Fast forward to today... MONDAY. Wake up at 6:45...sing the morning song...time to get up and get dressed...Carly Jo can't find her shoes...and she can find ONE flip flop. Jayme is irritated because the tongue on her shoe is wrinkled and she wants to wear her flip flops.. (can't it is PE day)(AND RAINING). repeat.. her shoe is WRINKLED... WRINKLED???? Annabelle can't get her shoes on, she is trying to force them on the wrong feet. McKenna is dressed and being an angel..muuuuahhh love you Kenna.

We searched for Carly Jo's shoes until 7:55...we are supposed to leave the house at 7:45. In the process I have dumped out every toy box, I have looked behind every couch, under every bed, looked in every closet. I even sent Carly jo outside to see if she left them out...(it's raining remember?) insert parenting award. I was turning into a BANCHEE....

Finally, trying to get the kids  in the car.. Carly jo is standing in the den with no shoes on.. I said.." are you SERIOUS? WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES? DIDN'T YOU WEAR THEM TO GRANDMAS LAST NIGHT?" ... blank stare..."no I wore kenna's flip flops" (insert peanut gallery) "No you didn't Carly Jo, I wore my flip flops"....

Suddenly.. with a flick of the head a light bulb went off in Carly Jo's head...she jumped up and ran into the other room...
Comes out with her tennis shoes.

"WHERE.... WERE.... THEY?"

behind the tub....she wanted to make sure no one else touched them.....

BEHIND THE TUB.....of course, makes total sense and probably the only place in the house I didn't' look...

She is going to be the death of me.

(Now I have to go clean up the toy box mess I made this morning....)

Another step on our gluten free journey

Gluten Free Pancake

2 cups stoneground yellow cornflour

1/2 cup rice flour

3 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

almost 2 cups buttermilk 

(start with 1 1/2 and added more to your liking)

1 cup water 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg


Can thin out to your desired thinness

(we like ours thicker)

 In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the buttermilk, water, oil and egg with a fork until blended. Add to the cornmeal mixture and mix until lumps are eliminated. 

Butter your griddle and fry those puppies up!

This morning Jim found a way to keep our Saturday Morning tradition alive, despite the inability of Carly Jo to eat gluten. They had a hint of corn, but not like corn bread and the consistency was close to a real pancake but a slightly grainy, but not offensive. 
If you are going to eat them without syrup, you should add more sugar; once we added the grade a dark amber syrup, the sweetness was just right. I have put the recipe in here in case anyone wanted to try it.  

I love that my JP is on this train with me, next he wants to try chocolate chip cookies! YUM!

On a side note, both JP and I have seen noticeable signs that removing the gluten from Carly Jo's diet is working. She does her work, she can stay focused (more so than usual) and her hyperactivity has toned down. I am waiting until summer to get her into a psychologist and get her tested for learning challenges...but I am happy that we have taken the daunting (and expensive) task of removing the gluten first. It gives me peace in my heart to know I am doing what I need to for Carly Jo. Whatever else comes, I can be satisfied knowing that I am TCB on my end. 

Some people aren't made to live in Kansas

She is one of those people.  

Allergies are awful

This is what she will look like for the next two weeks.

Poor JoJo! 

After a year of shots and filling her up with every allergy drug known to man, she still looks sad and miserable.  Guess I will visit her and her family in Arizona when she is grown up. 

or somewhere else that doesn't grow trees, or weeds, or molds....

Jeggings....

I had an interesting experience yesterday..not a GOOD experience  really...but one I thought needed documenting. For the first time in my life, I wondered...am I too old to wear this?...

Sigh.. when did that happen? I am 36 and have had 5 kids and am packing on a little padding where it once was not... true...but I still am pretty damn hot, I have to say. I know my husband is still on the Christi Bandwagon..and shouldn't that be all that matters...shouldn't it?

I do NOT feel old...I feel like I am in my prime...I am confident, I am successful and I am living a dream I never dreamed. Yet.....there is this..

Yesterday I wore a sweater with Jeggings, the sweater covered my butt for the most part..but it wasn't down to my thighs or anything, I definitely had some booty action going on. 

I think looked good, I felt good, and then all of a sudden....I was like..hmmm.....I wonder..

This aging thing is so funny because not only do we have to worry about how we look but, because we are women, we ALWAYS worry abut how we are perceived as well. 

So the question I have is how will I know? Will I know...

How will I know when I am past the "age of acceptance" will I go out gracefully or will I be one of those women. you know.... THOSE WOMEN. 

So...what is the age? Or is there an age? NO, there is DEFINITELY an age... 

I guess I just have to hope that I have at least ONE true friend, and if I am 70 and wearing daisy dukes...(with panty hose), someone will tell me it is time....

So for now, as to the question 

to Jegging or not to Jegging..

I suppose I will take a que from Erin Brockovich 

"... as long as I have one ass instead of two I'll wear what I like if that's all right with you."

Going...

Going....

GONE!

Persistance pays!! Good Job Carly Jo! 

Extra Thanks to Big Sister Taylor

(Man I love her face!)

Battle Scars

Some kids get hurt all the time, like..Carly Jo.  Carly Jo just pops up with an "I'm OKAY" and keeps  playing. Some kids are more cautious, like Jayme.  When Jayme gets hurt, it is really a sad and pathetic deal. She is so sad...so HURT physically and has taken a big hit to her pride.  It is hard to tell which hurts worse. So you can imagine...the first big bike tumble and it was a major catastrophe.. And because I love her so much..it is a hard time for momma too!

She is refusing to go outside

She is refusing to go to school

She doesn't want anyone to see her..and she wanted to make sure I wasn't going to post these pictures on facebook..(what??)

                      hmm.. my reputation precedes me.

She didn't say anything about my blog though.. (Well...SHE DIDN'T)

It took 2 chapters of Junie B Jones, a WHOLE brownie, lots of kisses and about 45 minutes to convince Jayme that what she has are some pretty awesome battle scars.

I told her that back in the days of warriors and villages,  the warriors were judged on the greatness of their wounds and that they served to prove how brave they were. I told her that no one was going to think she was ugly..they were going to think that she was pretty darn brave.  I also told her Daddy had magic, and he could make it better quicker..

The things I can come up with....


 Well it worked and she is back in the saddle..swingset not bike just yet..but I will take it.

As for the reputation of taking my private world and putting it out there for the world to see...guilty. But she will someday appreciate it...RIGHT!? ;)

SUNSHINE

Enough said....

And then there is this...

I always knew that Carly Jo was a special one. It seems like from the first day she was with us there has just been ... something about her. As she became a toddler it was OBVIOUS she was going to be a doozy. Always getting into things..going a mile a minute watching every move we made and most of all... NOT overly impressed with the tv, movies, computer. She always is the one in trouble always the one that is living on the edge of that very last nerve of mine. SUPER sweet..super sensitive...and smart..but..not very attentive or an easy learner.

So it really wasn't a shock that in our last parent teacher conference the teacher indicated that she was worried that something wasn't "clicking" in Sweet Carly Jo's brain. Perhaps we should consider getting her tested for ADD. Don't they say that about every kid who doesn't fit the mold? Well..normally I would say yes, but I don't think this teacher is "one of those" as a matter of fact I am quite sure she isn't. And I truly believe she has Carly Jo's best interest in mind and only wants the very best for her. So that helps..

AND PLUS... well I have been living with Carly Jo for 6 years now so, I get it.

Even though that should have been a DUH moment... it still hurt. Who wants to admit that something might be "broken" in their child? Who wants to admit that there is a chance that everything academically is going to be a challenge, a struggle and a fight? Surely not me...but it is time..or is it? Truth is, I love this little kid to the point of actual pain. She is completely unbelievable, at times..not so much in a good way..but most of the time..she is just...I can't explain it. You just really have to know her to fully appreciate...

But back to ADD....

I have no idea where to even start, do I start at the Primary Dr.? And then what do I say? "My 6 year old is having a hard time concentrating." That seems a little ridiculous. Yet it is apparent to me, and everyone around that there is an issue that should be addressed in some capacity.  Do I take her to a phsycologist? A Neurosurgeon? Does it have to be solved with drugs, there has to be a better way..but if drugs end up being the only way.. then can I find a way to be okay with that?

I am going to try and cut out the gluten in our diets..but that is WAAAAY easier said than done. I can also cut out on the processed sugars, there isn't much of that anyway.

I am reading a book now, that a friend gave me on Friday, called Different Learners. That seems like a pretty good place to start, we will see if I can get some good stuff out of there.

I have to find peace with whatever I do, and find a way to find comfort in the fact that we will do the right thing for Carly Jo. And get over this horrible feeling in my gut...is it..Failure? is it defeat? Sadness?

I don't know. I guess I didn't REALLY expect for all my kids to come out perfect....did I? Didn't I?  DIDN'T I??

I read somewhere that most of the worlds top businessmen and inventors have ADD
Some also claim that - Beethoven, Da Vinci, Ansel Adams and Hans Christian Anderson - are all thought to have had it as well...Maybe it is a sign of Genius...

I love "stay at home days"....

(Insert Eye Roll)

The Culprit 

At least this time it wasn't in the toilet....right?