Mini Post Monday

• About a month ago, we celebrated 14 years of marriage! My parents kept the boys overnight and gave us a night at the Westin Hotel at the Galleria in Dallas! We had Mi Cocina for dinner, walked the mall, had Haagen Daz for dessert, and actaully had a quiet evening together for a change! Wonderful! For my anniversary, Jerry got me a new camera. I cannot tell you how excited I am about it, although I still haven't learned how to use all of its features. The pictures in this post are a few we took while trying to figure out the new camera.

Just goofing off with the new camera...this is Drew on our way to a July 4th cookout.

• I cannot tell you how excited I am for school to be starting next week. I am soooo tired of hearing the kids bicker and get on each other's nerves! I am also tired of hearing the words, "I'm bored." At least with tons of school work to do, they won't have a valid reason to say they're bored. Not that they won't still try it...
• The Jr. High Grammar class I was so excited about teaching at our local homeschool co-op didn't make.  I was so disappointed I had a hard time gathering my things and getting out of there without crying in front of everyone.  But I know that there were many people praying that just the right students would sign up, so the fact that I didn't get enough to keep the class tells me God has something else for me to be doing instead.  I'm choosing to trust that his plan is better than mine, because, you know, it is.

One of the sillier features of the new camera - templates to put the pictures in - right on the camera screen! Crazy.

• I am working through a Kay Arthur Bible study right now called, Lord, I Want to Know You.  It is a study on the names of God, and it has been amazing!! I am so thankful that I had already done the lesson on El Elyon before the co-op registration.  It is so amazing to me to try to understand fully what it means that God is Most High, fully in control of everything that happens.  I am not sure my human brain can fully comprehend it all, but to know that even when Satan attacks, he has to ask God's permission first - well that's comforting to me! That means that God has a purpose and plan to use each of those hard times for my betterment. His plan will happen no matter what because he is sovereign over heaven and earth, angels and demons, the good and the bad.  Wow.

Jerry took this one...I know it is a horrible picture as far as pictures go, but the effect of having the outside blurry and the focus only on Aaron's head is cool. I'm sure there's a technical name for this effect...

• It's amazing just how cool 86 degrees feels after 40 days in a row of temperatures over 100 degrees. Saturday we actually had rain (!!!) and the temperature stayed so low - sitting in the house under the ceiling fan actually felt cold that day!

This picture doesn't show any special camera feature, but I love seeing Andrew really able to join in with what his brothers are doing now.  And I love that his brothers humor him and let him join the fun!

• Jerry and the boys have another allergy treatment this week.  We all hate these treatments so much, but also cannot deny that they have made a world of difference for our overall health. With a treatment on Thursday, we are on much stricter eating now through September 9. It's no fun, but we also thought it was important to get another treatment in before the fall baseball season gets in full swing so that the kids aren't suffering after each practice and game.  The summer clinics they did, although fun and very educational for them, were horrible for their allergies.  With no rain, the dust has been unbearable.  Mix that with the tree pollen and the ragweed, and they coughed and sniffed after each night at the ballpark. Actually, all of us except for Andrew did! Remind me on Friday when both my older boys are throwing up and miserable that it is worth it, okay?



Frozen Banana Treats

Over the last year I got in a kitchen funk.  The two years of figuring out how to cook for my food allergic family took its toll on my creativity and I started to detest menu planning and recipe searches, something I used to *love* to do.  I also got in horrible habits once we started to be able to add back some of our allergens and we haven't been eating well.  I finally got fed up with feeding my family too many allergens (and reaping the consequences), eating the same food all the time, and not having options for my kids when they asked for a snack.  Also, Andrew has started to show some signs of food allergies (boo!!) and that was the final straw that caused me to become fed up with my lack of planning and creativity!

Enter Frozen Banana Treats - a great snack or dessert during these hot summer days!  Here's what I used to make these tasty bites:

• 2 bananas
• 1/4 c. chocolate chips
• 2 squares unsweetened bakers chocolate
• 1/2 c. almond butter
• 2 TB coconut oil
• unsweetened shredded coconut

You could easily alter these ingredients to suit your needs, using peanut butter, all chocolate chips and no squares or oil - it is very forgiving! I altered my ingredients from the original recipe, which I found on this blog The Spunky Coconut, by the way! It isn't one of her recipes, but it was in a link up there, and I cannot remember which blog it was originally from...

Anyway, melt all the ingredients together except for the shredded coconut, until it is just smooth, then allow it to cool.

While this mixture is getting cool enough to touch, slice the bananas into bite size pieces.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Dip each banana piece into the chocolate and set it on the baking sheet.  Once all the pieces are dipped, use remaining chocolate mixture to spoon over the top of each piece to make a thicker coating.  If desired, sprinkle coconut shreds on top.  Put the entire pan in the freezer for an hour or so until they are solid, then transfer to an airtight container.

These were a hit with my family! Next time I make them, I will leave out the chocolate chips (allergens) and use all baking chocolate sweetened with honey or coconut sugar.  With that change these will be quite healthy, and tasty to boot!

Mini Post Monday

• I think this has been the January/February with the most snow and ice days in the DFW area that I can remember! It has been crazy just how often everything has been shut down for a bit of ice.   

Andrew enjoying playing in the snow!
• Along the snow day theme - the post office doesn't really have that motto, "Neither rain, nor snow, nor..." We have had almost no mail delivery in the past couple of weeks! 

A full 4 inches one of our snow days!
• Good news on the allergy front! Jerry and the boys went in for another treatment this last week, and were told that after the 3 week "critical period" is over, they can add in ALL their allergic foods on a rotational basis! Woo-Hoo! That means I get back yeast and tomato!! I have really missed yeast and tomato. 

All of my men enjoying some winter fun.
• I placed an order with this company, 240 Sweet, recently.  I was amazed at the level of customer service I received from them! I messed up my order (completely my fault) and e-mailed to see if they could change it before it shipped.  I had a response in less than an hour from them, they fixed the problem, and even went above and beyond what I asked them to do! You don't get service like that very often anymore.  If you are looking for a fun treat or an unique gift, check this company out! 

A bit of snow and a very big stick.  What more does a boy need?
• You may not even notice my adoption ticker on the side blog anymore.  After something's been up for 2 years, 3 months, and 3 days, it starts to blend in with the background.  When we first started this whole process, we were told the timeline was about 28 months from our dossier being accepted in China to travelling to pick up our daughter. We are now just days away from that 28 month point, and it doesn't look like we are any closer to going to China than we thought we were then.  This can be discouraging at times, but occasionally some promising news comes out of China, as it did this past week.  Please continue to pray for this whole process - and not just for me, but for the thousands of families waiting to receive a referral from China, and the tens of thousands of children in orphanages throughout that country waiting for their forever families.  Change doesn't usually happen quickly in this whole process, but I know that God is in control of every step of the process.  He alone can cause things to speed up! 

Aaron - all bundled up and ready to play, but humoring his mom with a smile!
• I am finally getting my energy back after surgery Jan. 4, which was preceeded by about 4 months of being anemic.  I can almost feel my red blood count growing each day - and one friend told me I even sound like I have more energy!  You never realize how much you appreciate your red blood cells until you are low on them. 

When I mentioned being down, my bestest friend had these delivered to me. What an amazing spirit-lifter that was!

Wheat

We just got some food back in this last month, and wheat is one item we can now add to our rotation. We can have some wheat twice a week, and I have to tell you that this is very exciting for me!  I have missed pasta.  Tomatoes are still out, so a traditional Italian pasta dish is still out, but pasta is quick, easy, filling, and cheap.  We have dabbled with bits of wheat here and there, but I finally finished our new, revised schedule for foods and yesterday was our first full-fledged wheat day.  For dinner I made a great Olive Oil and Garlic sauce for pasta and added chicken and broccoli.  Oh. My. Word.  It was so good! All four of my guys asked for seconds!  I'm sure to the average person it would have just been an average dinner, but to us?  This was special, amazing, magical even.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but I was too anxious to dig right in to stop and get just the right picture for you all.  Sorry about that. No.  Really I'm not sorry.  I am a bit sorry that I'm not sorry for caring more about getting into the pasta than getting a good picture for you, though.  What? I lost you with all the sorries?  Oh.  Sorry.

I was equally excited about dessert.  I made a chocolate cake and frosted it with this frosting that I had seen on Tasty Kitchen. (I couldn't make a regular frosting since powdered sugar has corn in it and it isn't a corn day...) I don't know if it is because I bought whole wheat white flour or if our tastes have just changed that much, but we didn't really enjoy the cake that much.  Or the pancakes I made this morning, for that matter.  I am determined to keep trying, though, because wheat flour is about 1/5 the cost of spelt flour and 1/7-1/10 the cost of the other flours we have been using.  Oh, and it is already ground for me.  You know? Maybe that's it.  Maybe I should buy some wheat berries and grind them myself.  Perhaps we are just used to the taste of freshly ground flour now. 

Either way, the bottom line is the same.  We love pasta.  We've missed pasta.  We'll be adding pasta to our regular menu again with rejoicing.  However, the other wheat flour items?  Well, their just not all we remembered.

Thankful

I came across this video about kids with food allergies, and realized again just how fortunate I am that although my children can get quite sick from eating the wrong foods, they do not have anaphalactic reactions.  Everyone should watch this video.  You never know when you will meet a family who does have to worry for their child's life when it comes to the food they eat.  Just knowing that you care enough to try to understand means the world to these parents!

Totally Random Tuesday

• I didn't get up a Mini-Post Monday because I was too busy getting ready to go see Joanna!!!  Woo-Hoo!  I leave Thursday morning, and I cannot wait!
• My middle son turned five last week.  It just isn't possible! 

Ethan got to open two small gifts first thing on his birthday morning.  And, yes, Joanna, he is wearing an Ohio State shirt.  I didn't plan it that way, he just really likes this shirt! 

• The key to a successful 5 year old boy's birthday party is to over plan.  Otherwise, much wrestling ensues.

Notice how neither of the girls that were invited to the party participated in this activity...I let them be a bit more rowdy than our normal house rules allow since it was a birthday party and all.  And look at the smiles - they had a blast.
• My big boys now have the nicest floors in the house.  Jerry finished putting down Hickory hard wood floors in their room since we had to throw out the carpet after the melting snow leaked in and caused mold to grow everywhere.  I wish I could put it everywhere - it is so beautiful!!!  They love it because they can slip and slide across the floor now.  Hours of entertainment, I tell you!

Ooh, aah!  Isn't it lovely?
• It is ant swarm season.  I hate ant swarm season.  Since none of our windows actually fit well enough to keep ants out, we kill tons of ants every day.  These are huge winged ants, too.  During the height of it, the one window they prefer to swarm will have hundreds of them each day.  We spray around the inside of that window, so they're dead as soon as they come in, but still!  I don't really like vacuuming up hundreds of huge, winged ants every day.
• Joanna asked what the asterisks marks by some of the books in my reading list were, so I thought I'd post that just in case anyone else was wondering.  Toward the end of last year, I challenged myself to break out of the reading mold I am most comfortable in and start reading more noteworthy books.  I rarely read non-fiction, and I want to read more classic literature so I can be better prepared to go back to school for my Master's degree someday (big dream...may not happen, but a girl can dream, right?).  I decided it might motivate me if I could actually see the distinction in my list, so each book with asterisks is either non-fiction or of some literary significance.  I am interested in pursuing a children's literature degree so I am trying to read through all the Newberry award winners, and then the others are considered "classics" by the powers that be.  There.  Now you all know.  Don't you feel better?

Andrew gets this super smile every time I give him an oatmeal cookie.  I think I'm packing 10 of  these for the plane ride to Joanna's house...
• I prefer peanut butter with chocolate over any other chocolate combination I can think of.
• I need some coffee.  Strong coffee.
• I need some ideas for how to celebrate my birthday next month.  How does one celebrate the big 33?  Send any and all ideas to my sweet husband, okay?
• Our allergies make birthday cakes pretty much out of the question, but it turns out that as long as the birthday "cake" item has some frosting and a candle, no one cares!  By the way, these allergy friendly oatmeal cookies are the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had!  Not all allergy foods are gross.

Mini Post Monday

• I never imagined just how much I would come to be dependent on White Sweet Potato Starch.  Seriously, I use this in almost every baked good I made these days.  Unfortunately, I have only found it by mail order from one source, and they are incredibly slow to ship and have very expensive shipping, too!
• Aaron's Pinewood Derby car is taking shape.  He and Jerry went to use a band saw to cut the car shape last weekend, and Aaron decided to paint it as a TCU car.  I am still amazed that he started out with a solid block of wood and it now looks like this!  The race is this Friday!

• He loves me.

• He really, really loves me!

• Our bathroom remodel has started moving along again, but with a few problems.  We got the amazing tile wall up!  Isn't it pretty?

• We grouted with gray grout, which looks surprisingly white now.  Unfortunately, we waited too long to start washing the grout off and it is really sticking to the tile.  Jerry has gone over most of the tiles with a razor blade and they look decent now, but see the bottom picture for ones that we still need to scrape!  We also are learning that it is a common problem for glass tile to retain some grout in tiny imperfections that aren't really noticeable before you grout.  I looked online for ideas of how to get these tiny specks of grout out and the things people have done range from using dental tools to fingernail polish remover.  I have a big job ahead of me to clean out over 7,000 tiles!


• This last week, God was teaching me some pretty neat things about what it means to me that Jesus became man and experienced the temptations and weakness that I experience.  How wonderful that when I pray about my weakness, He really understands!
• Aaron has suddenly decided that he wants to wear his hair in a Mohawk.  I have tried for years to get him to wear a bit more style in his hair than the simple "comb to the side" look, and he always resists me wanting a simple hairdo.  I have no idea where it is coming from, but he has now converted his brothers, too!  Needless to say, they had to wear hats when we went out to run errands!

• The older males in our house have come up with a new game.  It is called "Catch and Sniff" and it commences each time there is a diaper change for Drew.  I'm sure you can imagine the object of this game...

Mini Post Monday

I apparently didn't take any pictures at all this week, so I decided to give you some oldies-but-goodies from when my older two boys were born!

• After noticing that Andrew has been chewing on his fingers way in the back of his mouth, Jerry and I were talking about how late our kids get their teeth.  Jerry asked me, "If you don't get your 1-year molars until you're 1 1/2, are you dentally retarded?"

Aaron, the day after he was born, still in the hospital.
• How you know you're living with boys #29:  Aaron (reading a label), "Egg substitute? ::pause::  "hee-hee, toot..." ::much laughter::

Just after Aaron's first bath at home.  Just after this picture was taken, he pooped in the towel and had to be cleaned again...
• I am thankful that God allows me to get uncomfortable enough to want to change when I'm going down the wrong path.  I don't like being uncomfortable, but I like being out of God's will even less!

Aaron's first glimpse of his brother,Ethan.  They have been close friends ever since!
• Jerry and I have been watching some DVD's of Louie Giglio preaching from his Passion Talk Series.  They are called "Indescribable" and "How Great is Our God."  If you can get your hands on these videos, you need to watch them.  They are amazing.  He looks at science in a way that so clearly points out how awesome and incredible our God really is!  I am going to show parts to Aaron, too.  Really, get a copy of these.

Just arriving home from the hospital with Ethan.  Notice the beautiful blanket he is under made by none other than Joanna!
• The boys and Jerry just finished another LDA allergy treatment.  I am so glad it is over.  They boys have decided that they would rather starve themselves the three days of strict diet than eat what they are able to.  Jerry still ate, but I had to watch the boys lay around absolutely miserable with hunger and still refuse to eat.  I didn't realize until this three day period just how much of my satisfaction as a mother came from the process of taking care of my family physically.  To not be able to feed my family was almost more than I could bear.  On a positive note, they are responding to the treatment quite well!  After the shot, both Jerry and Aaron felt great. Ethan's body responds by sleeping.  He slept for almost 36 hours straight, only getting up a couple times for less than an hour each time!

Aaron and Ethan continue to bond.  Ethan is about 1 week old here.  Aaron is 22 months.
• Aaron is making his very first Pinewood Derby car in Cub Scouts.  He and Jerry went to use a saw with the Pack to cut out the car yesterday.  I will get some pictures of him working on it this week!

Mini Post Monday

• It has taken me a while to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but it is slowly creeping up on me.  I guess putting clues to where a treat is hidden in the advent house daily has been getting me in the mood.  However, the thought of wrapping all the gifts I've collected almost kills the joy for me.

• I did finish the Christmas treat boxes I planned with the Hot Chocolate Pods and Truffles.  I even added spiced nuts.  Everything turned out really yummy!

• I really dislike cleaning showers.  If you were to do a random shower inspection, I'd fail 99 times out of 100. But I did clean my shower this morning.  I feel very accomplished.  Anyway, if you were planning to do a surprise shower inspection, today would be a good day, okay?

• Jerry graduates next week!  Woo-Hoo!  Go Jerry!  My husband has an MBA now.

• I am enjoying hearing Christmas music this year.  Most years, I'm tired of hearing it by now.  Isn't that sad?

• Packing for a trip with allergies is a lot of work.  I'm putting together baggies with all the dry ingredients for our baked goods so I don't have to try to find obscure things like amaranth flour in a small town.  So much planning ahead!

• I am so jazzed that the library called today to tell me that the two books I put on hold are available for me to pick up.  It's the little things in life that really float my boat!

Redefining Pie Crust

Every year I make Jerry apple pie for his birthday - it is our family tradition.  Jerry loves apple pie more than any other desert there is, and I didn't want to have to let this tradition fall by the wayside because of allergies.  Jerry cannot have wheat at all, and he has to rotate soy (shortening), both of which seem to be essential for a good pie crust.  But then I found this blog post.  I thought the addition of cinnamon to the pie crust sounded good for an apple pie, and although I have not been very successful with rice flour products turning out well, I decided that for Jerry, I'd give it a try.  I'm really glad I did, because it made an excellent apple pie that the whole family enjoyed! 

(sifting together all the dry ingredients - doesn't the cinnamon look yummy?)

(cutting in the butter - how can you go wrong with butter?)

One big difference from traditional pie crust is that you have to let it refrigerate overnight before you use it.  It is also a bit thicker than a traditional crust, but other than that, I think most people wouldn't think anything of it if I served it up to them!

(ready to refrigerate overnight)

I know that most people reading this blog don't need to make allergen friendly foods, but I wanted to post this anyway for a couple reasons:

• You should try adding cinnamon to the crust of your pie sometime - it's really yummy!
• I am proud of the way my allergy-friendly cooking has improved to the point that I make things that actually taste good!
• You never know when you'll need to make something for a person with allergies or other health problems, and now you'll have a source! :)

Mmmmm....hot apple pie!  Who has the ice cream?

Mini Post Monday

• Did you know that Amazon is giving away free Christmas music this month? Check here every day for a new song to download. However, beware of Dec. 4! Explicit lyrics in Christmas music is jut not my style...
• I found Andrew in the hamper this morning with two pairs of Jerry's underwear hanging around his neck and my pj pants on his head. Yeah, it's a good thing Andrew didn't come with a twin. There just isn't enough trouble in our house for two of him.

Andrew with his two current favorite things: toothbrush and singing snowman.
• The bathroom remodel is going along swimmingly. The old tub/shower enclosure is cut away, a new tub is installed, the tile is demolished, the toilet is out, the sink/counter top is out, all the cabinet doors removed (to be painted), and the one wall that is going to be tiled has been removed and the sheetrock replaced with cement board for tiling! Guess how much of that work I personally have done? :)

This is what it looks like behind/under a bathtub/shower enclosure!
• We found a place that lets you design your own tile mixture! We fell in love with glass tile sheets, but all the ones we found in stores are either rather plain or rather expensive. Jerry found Modwalls and we started playing around with color. Here is the link for the custom blend generator. It is so much fun to play with!  Below is the custom blend of colors we are going to order for our bathroom.  This tile will go on one wall as an accent.

• Aaron has become an avid reader! We are heading out to the library in a few minutes and he will check out 15 or so chapter books. Those will all be read by next Monday's trip to the library! A boy after my own heart!
• Andrew is starting to show signs of more serious food allergy. :( He is red around the mouth after meals quite often, his whole body is covered with spots of eczema, his diapers are not so nice, and he is rather fussy. Sigh. I guess I need to limit what he consumes now, too. I don't think we can get any actual testing done until his is two, but I plan to ask the allergist when we are there next. 
• Sorry about the lack of pictures. I haven't downloaded any all week...maybe I'll get to it later today and add them in!

Dreams Can Come True...

...it can happen to you...

Guess what greeted me at the door when the doorbell rang recently? Do you see the label on the box?

Do you see the shiny red metal? 

Are you drooling yet?  I am.  Unashamedly.  It isn't pretty on me, but I'm okay with that.  Check out my brand-new, Vita-Mix Super 5200 in all its glory!

This baby rocks!  It has both wet and dry canisters, so I can basically make everything short of pure gold come out of this puppy!  I have made all sorts of flours in the dry canister and it works great!  I have also used the wet canister to chop veggies for soup and blend almond butter. I plan to never chop veggies for soup again.  I am not kidding when I tell you that I put a quartered onion in this thing and 4 seconds later had diced onion.  The carrot and celery took about 3 seconds.  I accidentally let it run for close to 5 and so my pieces were super tiny!  I cannot wait to really give it a work out.  Do you know what the coolest thing about it is?  To clean it, you just fill it with water and a drop of soap and let it run for 30 seconds.  It runs so fast that it heats the water and cleans the entire inside like a dishwasher!  Then you just let it dry and it is good to go again!

I paid $20 extra to get it in red, which is crazy!  I think that when you are paying as much as you have to for one of these, they should throw in red, a 20 lb. turkey, and stock options for free, but hey?  Who am I to complain?  Now it matches the rest of my kitchen appliances!