Decorator's Touch

I wonder what people will think when they come into our house and see this in our ceiling fan above our family room??

Keegen at 2

So, some two months past your second birthday, you:

have wild hair. I've contemplated cutting it, but i don't know that that would help anything. And i honestly love how crazy it is. Goes perfectly with your personality.

are the definition of Mr. Messy.

talk. A LOT.

love love LOVE fruit. Any and all. But especially bananas, apples, grapes, raspberries and strawberries.

common answers to requests/questions of late--"why?", "because", "I will"--example: Me: "Keegen, eat your chicken!" Keegen: "I will eat my chicken!" (as he grabs another grape).

try really hard to keep up with big brother. And you guys play really well together.

Fred-Flinstone your trike and are starting to ride a scooter.

have terrifying jumping skills. You jump off of the ottoman, off of the chair, off of the high steps, with zero thoughts about your own safety.

are still madly in love with your binkies. We'd weaned you to only having them when you're sleeping, but they've somehow crept back in lately. You are very happy to sleep with one in your mouth while holding four in your hands.

are in that determined to "do it myself!" stage.

in time for this post, for the very first and what had better be last time, BIT your brother on his belly. When I asked you the first time why you bit him, your response? "Beca-ause."

There's so much more to you. You are so much fun and i'm so glad you're a part of our family!

This video doesn't do the jumping justice, but will have to do.

Books and Fountains and Friends! Oh My!

While we had a rough start to our day (very whiney "i want!" 4 year-old and super-sassy "i'm a 2 year-old, hear me roar!" 2 year-old), it ended up being a whole lot o' fun.

We had nothing planned, so i decided there were enough things i needed to do in downtown Colorado Springs to make a trip. I decided to include a trip to the library there. We usually go to a different one, but this one didn't disappoint. Much better children's section. I was excited to go through my book list from the New York Public Library that i stole off of this blog. I'd like to make it through the whole list by summer's end. Shouldn't be too hard since they're all children's books and some of them we own or have already read multiple times. It was fun to go armed with a list and a plan, rather than pick through with uncertainty or let Bode pick random titles. Keegen was super-cranky (what is his DEAL? i paid a $20 copay yesterday certain he had an ear infection, just to be told he's perfectly healthy. Grateful, yes. So apparently he just needs an attitude adjustment...). As we were walking out the guy at the desk handed me a free kids' magazine and said, "Here, you can have this. I hope it helps. I remember i was difficult when i was his age." Riiiiiiiiiiiight. The only reason i spared him my wrath was that i think he was on the special needs side of things. And it really didn't bother me. Much.

Next to Title Nine to return the bathing suit i bought. It manages to make me even more flat-chested than i realized i was. And yes, when the salesperson asked for a reason for returning it, that's what i told her. To which she responded as she typed, "Did. Not. Like." Yes, i guess that would have been a good answer, too.

Then we walked across the street to Acacia Park and ate under a shady tree (TREES!!!). And then we hit Uncle Wilber's Fountain. A splashpad there in the park on the street corner. I was thrilled to see Bode want to jump right in. Surprised, really. He was so excited. He still took a few minutes to take it all in, but only a few minutes. None of this hour and a half crap. He had a blast. Keegen was more tentative. Got his leg in here and there. But mostly sat with me and watched. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

Next i dropped my violin off to get a new bridge and have the soundpost adjusted. Maybe one day i'll take lessons and get back to it...

Finally we spent a couple hours with Kate and Jack. Bikes and scooters. Checked out the community garden (heaven! they even have fruit trees everywhere). We walked next door to the coffee shop for ice cream. And after trashing their house, we headed home. Keegen was asleep after literally 2 blocks on the road. Bode 10 minutes later.

It was one of those sun-soaked, tiring, on-the-go kind of days. Very nice.

The Best Father's Day Present EVER!

We had a nice Father's Day. The boys and i made gingerbread waffles (i adapted the recipe to be gluten-free and they were delish!) and orange julius for breakfast. But first we had to wake Doug up and did so by storming in with our new nerf-like pop guns. We've been through a few of them lately and i was excited to find new ones at Target. So he was bombarded. We had breakfast. The boys gave him a cute card.

We drove out to the Garden of the Gods for a hike around the Siamese Twins that we so enjoy. This was the first hike Keegen did all by himself! He would NOT let us carry him (it's a mile loop). It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day and we were all pooped from all of the vitamin D.

After the hike we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were right above Manitou Springs and got some lunch at a Mexican place we like called The Loop. The boys were so well-behaved that we actually all had a good time.

We've blown bubbles and played in the sprinklers and had a nice little dinner.

But, the BEST part was yet to come...

Bode pronounced after we got him in his jammies with his "nighttime Pull-Up" that he had "to go poop on the potty!" (he's been pee-trained for about 8 months but has NEVER once in his lifetime pooped on the potty. He instead holds it and asks for a pullup at home and then we make him clean everything up. Much harder than just pooping on the potty. But i've already chronicled a lot about this subject so i'll say no more).

He ran downstairs and very quickly and efficiently did his business! We whooped and screamed and danced. The whole neighborhood is now well aware of his success.

Doug and i are in total disbelief. Seriously. Will we wake up in the morning and it will all have been a dream?

Best present EVER.

33 Things

In honor of my recently celebrated 33rd (gasp!), here is a list of 33 things I am grateful for and/or that simply make me happy. Not in order of importance. Just in order of how they randomly came into my mind...

1. My family.


2. Two healthy, wild, obnoxious, dirty, snuggly, sassy, smart, thoughtful, silly boys


3. Doug. Who else could put up with me?


4. Doug's willingness and ability to build stuff. From an entertainment center to my garden boxes, and most recently a sandbox.


5. My friends. Always willing to listen to me and hang out and talk and share and all that good stuff. If you're reading this, consider yourself among my friends. (strike that if you're some random troller or creepy stalker-type...).
   
6. My health. I've had a number of pretty serious scares this year. All of which have come back basically normal. So grateful.


7. This blog, since it's the only place i do any sort of journaling and i want the memories for myself and my boys.


8. Tulips.


9. Bright blue skies and sunshine.


10. When we have a day with little to NO wind. Rare but joyous!


11. Donna the Brain Lady and her plan of action.


12. The circle of friends involved with their children doing similar plans of action. It's so nice to have a group so close by who understand all too well what i'm trying to do.


13. When i actually accomplish all of the at-home occupational therapy activities we try to do on a daily basis.


14. When Bode tells me "You're the best mommy ever." This almost makes up for all the times lately that he's told me i'm the meanest...


15. Strawberries dipped in melted semisweet chocolate.


16. When the kids wake up happy and we have a nice morning.


17. A day at our local zoo.


18. A morning at the Garden of the Gods.


19. A pedicure after a long winter.


20. When Doug unexpectedly comes home from work early (and I hand the boys off to him!).


21. An unexpected phone call from an old friend.


22. Burt's Bees Pucker Berry lip gloss.


23. When a new gluten-free recipe works for us!


24. a morning spent at the farmers' market.


25. a good book.


26. dark chocolate caramel covered apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.


27. packages in the mailbox.


28. flowering trees when in bloom (apples, pears, dogwoods, cherries--not picky).


29. my flexible job that gives me the chance to make some extra money and maintain some skills.


30. my mother's day necklace (with a charm for both boys' names).


31. when Keegen actually eats a decent meal


32. my iPod on shuffle in the kitchen (while Doug has the boys outside and i'm making bread and cleaning up and can blast it!--like right now)


33. fresh flowers on my kitchen table

Dino Cookies

Bode's going to a summer day camp this week with a dinosaur theme. It's already been a challenge keeping him gluten-free. I called ahead and got the snack list. I let him have the snack on Monday since it was mostly cornmeal and oat flour, although it did have some wheat flour (it was a dino cereal). Tuesday was supposed to be pretzels so i sent him with a bag of GF pretzels. But when we got there i saw the makings for frosted graham crackers with dino fruit snacks. Uuurgh. I asked them to try frosting his pretzels, but from talking to him he got the graham crackers. I feel like i'm treading a fine line between keeping him GF and not making him feel singled-out when he's already in an uncomfortable (for him) environment.

Today the snack schedule says "dino bones sugar cookies." So last night i whipped up some GF sugar cookie dough and this morning i rolled it out and Doug traced and cut out some dinos and a bone. If you can't tell from the picture, there's a dog bone looking cookie, a stegasaurus and a pterydactyl (upside-down in pic). I think they turned out pretty well and are actually tasty.

Here's the recipe:

GF Sugar Cookies

from http://www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/

2 1/2 cups of your favorite gluten-free flour (i used millet)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla (make sure it's gluten-free)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

After you have preheated the oven to 350°, mix all the dry ingredients together and set that bowl aside.

Cream together the shortenings and sugar, preferably with a standing mixer. Then, add the egg and vanilla. Beat these as long as you can. The more airy and whipped they are, the better the cookies will taste.

Add the dry ingredients, along with the nutmeg.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour (i chilled overnight). This is essential for gluten-free doughs.

When the dough is properly chilled, roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven.

Random Memory

We lived in Colorado Springs when i was 5 until i was 10, so many many of my early memories are based here. One thing i remember clearly was getting gas at the Phillips 66 at Austin Bluffs and Academy. We'd pull in in our green Caprice Classic station wagon. I'd most likely have my head out the window sniffing the gas fumes (LOVED that smell. Does that explain some things about me??). There was always, always a guy there selling flowers holding a sign that read, "I am not a Moonie." I'm not sure why we should have thought he was a Moonie. This was the very early 80's and the Moonies were a controversial bunch then. But this is beside the point. We referred to him as the "Moonie Guy."

We move back here 2 years ago (can you believe it's been 2 years??). I'm driving, checking out the old neighborhood and i pass by the gas station and i know it's the gas station (and, no, i stopped short of driving through sniffing the gas) and i remember the Moonie Guy.

So now, here in our lil ol' neck of the woods, we've got a new Wild Wings restaurant. And they have a guy dressed in a chicken suit at the main intersection dancing all crazy and silly. And the boys always comment on him. And i realized that this Funky Chicken Dude could very well become a random memory for Bode, much like my Moonie.

Voila!

Here's a much better GF pizza crust recipe. This is the one we will be sticking with.

Wheat and Gluten-Free Pizza Crust (from recipelink.com)

1 tablespoon gluten-free dry yeast
2/3 cup brown rice flour or bean flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons dry milk powder or non-dairy milk powder*
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
2/3 cup warm water (105 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon sugar or 1/4 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In medium bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend
the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin
powder, and Italian herb seasoning on low speed. Add warm water,
sugar (or honey), olive oil, and vinegar. Beat on high speed for
3 minutes. (If the mixer bounces around the bowl, the dough is
too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time,
until dough does not resist beaters.) The dough will resemble soft
bread dough. (You may also mix in bread machine on dough
setting.)

Put mixture into 12-inch pizza pan or on baking sheet (for thin,
crispy crust), 11 x 7-inch pan (for deep dish version) that has
been coated with cooking spray. Liberally sprinkle rice flour
onto dough, then press dough into pan, continuing to sprinkle
dough with flour to prevent sticking to your hands. Make edges
thicker to contain the toppings.

Bake the pizza crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread
pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for
another 20-25 minutes or until top is nicely browned.

Preparation = 45 minutes. Serves 6

Foray into Gluten-Free Baking

Here are a few things i've made over the past 3 weeks that are gluten-free and mostly a success.

Most importantly is the sandwich bread. I imagine there are other recipes out there that are better, but Bode doesn't mind this bread (he hasn't commented or complained) and it's nice to be able to make friends and family a PB&J and include him with his on GF bread.

Amaranth Bread (from celiac.com)

3 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups amaranth flour (i've also used quinoa and Teff flours
1 1/2 cups tapioca starch flour (gives it its nice crusty crust)
1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder or almond meal(i use almond meal
2 tsp xanthan gum (acts as gluten--sticks things together i believe
1 tsp salt
2 T flaxseed meal (optional but i use it)
1 1/2 T active dry yeast
4 T sugar (i'd like to try honey or molasses instead but haven't yet)
1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115F)

Bring all refrigerated ingredients to room temperature. Grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, oil, and lemon juice. In a separate medium bowl, combine flours, almond meal, xanthan gum, salt, flaxseed, yeast and sugar. Pour 1/2 of the warm water into stand mixer and blend with egg mixture. Slowely add dry ingredients and little at a time until completely incorporated. Add remaining water, reserving some water in necessary. Mix batter on high speed for 3 1/2 minutes, then pour into loaf pan. Batter will be thicker than a cake batter and nothing like the consistency of regular bread dough.

Cover bread with foil and place in a cold oven. Set a pan of hot water on a lower shelf underneath the bread. Leave for 10 minutes with oven door closed. Remove bread from oven and place in a warm place in the kitchen (do not uncover). Preheat oven to 400F. Bread will continue to rise as oven preheats.

Uncover bread and bake for 10 minutes to brown the top. Cover bread with foil and continue to bake bread for 35-40 minutes. Turn bread out onto a cooling rack.

I like this bread right out of the oven, but it gets a little dense as the days go on. I slice it really thin for his sandwiches and he still gets his little Cut-n-Seal circle that he so enjoys!

...................................................................

Next is the pizza crust. It still needs some tweaking, but the taste was good. It was a bit crumbly and more of a deep dish style. I like it thin.

Pizza Crust (from celiac.com)

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat or teff flour
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk or almond meal
3 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 T active dry yeast
1 T sugar
1 1/2 cups water or less (105-115F)
3 T olive oil
4 egg whites at room temperature
olive oil for spreading dough

Grease two 13-inch pizza pans, using organic shortening. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flours, milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, yeast, and sugar. In a measuring cup, combine the water and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add olive oil-water mixture to dry ingredients, then egg whites, mixing well after each addition. Beat on high speed for 4 minutes.

Divide dough into two (or four) equal portions. Place each portion on a prepared pizza pan. Cover your hand with a clean plastic bag. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over your hand and one portion of dough. Spread the dough out evenly over the pizza pan, forming a ridge around the edge to contain the pizza toppings. Repeat process for second portion of dough. Let dough rise for about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake pizza crusts for 7 minutes (until lightly golden) and remove from oven. At this point you can either cool the crusts, wrapping and freezing them for future use, or you can spread tomato sauce on the crust and top with your favorite toppings.

I had to add a lot more flour to make this dough spreadable. I guess i could have just decreased the water but couldn't tell it was too wet until it was too late. I'm going to try a different recipe next time (can't find it right now to post it).
......................................................................

I was surprised to see that wheat flour is in just about everything that's prepackaged. I've taken for granted the convenience of chicken nuggets and meatball for a quick lunch or dinner for the boys. So i tried my own meatballs.

GF Meatballs (from killthegluten.blogspot.com

lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1/2 to 1 cup corn meal
2 eggs
about 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

In a large bowl beat the eggs and add uncooked ground beef into bowl. Mix well with hands. Add corn meal to desired consistency, I like it to stick well together. Add seasoning and mix well with hands again.

Roll them into 1 inch balls and place in fry pan lightly greased. I found it best to cook them as if they are triangles, flipping them from one of three sides over and over once browned using tongs. Serve with gf spaghetti and I enjoyed it this week with my homemade tomato sauce.

While i really hated making these (since it requires handling raw meat A LOT), i thought they were really yummy, especially as spaghetti and meatballs.
...................................................................

A must...Mac and cheese. Bode's been asking for it for awhile now. I tried a prepackaged box i got at Whole Foods and it was nasty. So i adapted a recipe i like from Real Simple's Meals Made Easy and i think it turned out well.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni (i used brown rice shells)

5 T unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour (i used part brown rice flour and part millet flour--i think millet is good when trying to adapt recipes)

6 cups whole milk

3 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar

2 tsp kosher salt

Heat oven to 400F. Cook the pasta according to package directions (i take it off the heat and drain before it gets too soft since it will cook more in the oven). Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat (needs to be a big pan to fit in the 6 cups milk and pasta). Slowly add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a steady stream. Cook for 7 minutes. Add the cheddar and salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the drained pasta and toss. Transfer to a buttered casserole.

This recipe calls for bread crumbs. I didn't have any GF ones. I considered french-fried onions but those have wheat flour too. So i just skipped the bread crumbs for his and put FF onions on ours (since i have to split it between two dishes to fit it anyway).

Bake until golden and bubbling around the edges, about 25 minutes.

...................................................................

Finally, these were delicious. i have a few rolls of this dough in my freezer for emergencies!

GF Chocolate Chip Cookies (from killthegluten.blogspot.com)

1 cup butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 & 1/2 tsp GF vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups white rice flour (i used brown rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups (11oz bag) GF chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in white chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

The trick to these is removing them just as they barely start to brown on top, but do the toothpick check before removing to make sure they are fully cooked. It took my oven 12 minutes exactly. They are the most delicious gf baked good I have ever made, taste like normal, soft and fluffy cookies.

These came out really really thin and crispy. As Doug described, like a Pepperidge Farm brussels cookies. I like them thin and crispy, but next time will increase the flour. May be due to our high altitude (7000 feet)?.



....................................................................

So there you have it for now! I'm still working and tweaking in the kitchen a lot. I talked to my mom about all the grain-grinding, bread-making, in general domestic skills going on here and she laughed and asked if she could take credit. She's always said she failed me in teaching these stereotypically Mormon things!

The kids enjoying their quinoa bread with homemade strawberry freezer jam...

Speaking of Obliterated...

So forget my whiney previous post. Oh woe is me, my garden got demolished. I was sad because of all the planning and energy that went into planting that garden. Doug built the boxes and we got all the great soil the book calls for. I was excited with thoughts of a bountiful harvest come late summer. But to put things into perspective,...

my sister called to tell me a tornado went up her street in Virginia and that two poplar trees rammed into her home. Through the baby's closet upstairs and decimated the kitchen below. She said the contents of her kitchen are now in the dining room and even in her neighbor's yard across the street. She called to tell me this the day after she left my house to spend a few days in Salt Lake before heading back home. Her husband was in Florida. Only the dog was home. Other than emotional damage, i think he'll be OK.

I am so glad nobody was home. And they would have been home because it happened at the time her daughter would have been napping. Her neighbor went and got her dog and took him home with her and my parents went and took pictures of the damage and i guess went through picking up the pieces they could. As of right now, my sister is taking it pretty well.

On the bright side, she'll be getting a new kitchen!

Grumpy Post

Sooooooooooooooo. Weather. What's the old adage? Something about not being able to change it? Basically meaning just deal with it?

I FINALLY got my lovely little Square Foot Garden planted. That's how i spent my birthday morning. My sister watched the kiddos whilst i planted. It was great. I was happy to see my many tomato, pepper and strawberry plants. I drove around town to find broccoli plants. I planted a couple of the seedlings i started (but most were long dead since it took so long for the warm weather to arrive before transplanting them). Got some herbs. I have squares for my seeds too (like squash, cukes, beans and radishes). I've also been planting away all over the yard. Grasses and cotoneasters, perennial flowers and all.

Welp. Yesterday we got a crazy hailstorm like none other i've seen. Torrential downpour of HAIL. Hail has long been a Very Bad Word in our house due to hail damage on the first new car Doug and I bought together.

OBLITERATED my garden. And many of my pretty little flowers. i'm in an uber-bad-mood over it today.

The only good thing about it was the aftermath. Fiona and Bode went outside with cups and spoons and filled up their cups twice and ate the stuff. Bode kept calling it "cotton balls." Man, i wish!