Wednesday, February 26th, 2014
Everyday you hear of someone new who must go Gluten Free (GF) either due to gluten sensitivity, such as hubby, or Celiac disease. I first heard of Celiac in the early 2000s. A friend was always sick and anemic looking and and in constant pain. She found out she had Celiac and I thought how in the world could you be allergic to wheat! Fast forward 12 or so years and hubby realizes his cramps and excruciating pain is not due to dairy, which he originally thought, but due to a wheat reaction. When he stopped eating any kind of breads he felt MUCH better. Unfortunately, it has been a learning process as gluten comes in many hidden forms and items. We have learned the hard way and by reading many labels and articles. Thankfully, since we are label reading any ways trying to eat healthier, this has fit right in with our learning about foods that affect ADHD behavior so it was easier for us as I began to do more food research to help him.
I see way too many people reach out on Facebook and get overloaded with information and then are just as confused as they were before. You must learn how to rethink cooking and eating and also learn what you are willing to compromise on tastes. GF bread is just plain disgusting to us so we avoid it. We have learned to cook cakes, muffins, and other goodies that taste great. Many of the things I cook for my family and friends is GF and they do not know it. If you mention it, people get a preconceived idea that it will taste gross BEFORE they even try it and pass early judgement. If you find good cooks, or recipes, or websites such as sarahbakesglutenfree.com, you will be amazed and you will learn you are not limited on what you eat. Just be patient and experiment!
Lately we have played the cold/allergy game with almost all of us. Lawyer started out getting a cold after the cats being indoors and her obsession with touching them despite my screeching to her to stop touching the cats. I finally got her well and Monkey got a cold...or maybe Monkey had one before and Lawyer got it...I forget. Either way I got both of them better and fever free and back to school. Then I worked out in the yard with the family cleaning up dead leaves and pine needles to get ready for warmer weather and I had an allergy attack. I wore a mask but it didn't help and I was miserable all day Sunday and into Monday. Zyrtec managed to make me the 6th and 7th dwarf Dopey and Sneezy since I was still sneezing every 5 minutes and couldn't keep my head up and my eyes open for any length of time. I tried watching the last day of the Olympics but found myself with my head in my hands snoring like my grandmother! Sooo, I finally shook off the meds and then fought a headache (which I won this round on!) only to have Monkey run fever on Tuesday morning. She always runs a low grade fever anyways due to allergies I believe. I am pretty sure dairy aggravates her allergies but the kid loves cheese and we haven't found a decent alternative so we deal with it. Anyways, I picked her up from school Tuesday afternoon and she looked horrible. She was sluggish and pale. I took her temp before dinner and it was 101. Even hubby said I think she is feverish. So next day Monkey slept in which is unlike her. I kept her home and hubby was worried about her and kept checking in with us. He had me check for mono symptoms but she didn't have all of them thankfully (his nephew has mono so his mind went into go mode!) It was hubby who pointed out that she was not having the usual allergy symptoms of sneezing and runny nose and cough. So I called the pediatrician and after a two hour wait from 4 to 6pm we find out Monkey had strep. I even had a bet with Monkey for a cookie that she did not have strep...I lost and she made sure she reminded me of the bet at the pharmacy! Little devil!
Speaking of being sick...so when you are sick with a cold or allergies and your nose is totally stopped up I have discovered breathe right strips are awesome! I don't get a horribly sore throat as bad from breathing from my mouth all night. Those things are awesome. Especially with allergies when your nose is swollen and stuck shut it seems.
It is the little things that make me happy, like getting to read for 30 minutes or play one of my stupid games on the iPad...since this week has been a pill and it is only Wednesday night! Oh, hubby decided to have yet another kidney stone in his right kidney. Stay tuned.....
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
The cat chronicles:part two...if cats could talk
Friday, February 14th, 2014
Happy Valentines Day!
Tonight hubby and I got to go out on a rare date. He wasn't working his hands to the bone for once and our favorite babysitter was free so we saw an opportunity and took it! We ate Chinese food, went furniture shopping, and shopped at Pet Smart. Hot date!
Since we have been adopted by the two kitties we decided after the vet bill this week we would adopt them back and make it official. So we had to get a real cat carrier and collars to hold their tags. We bought breakaway collars since they are outside cats. After we got the baby sitter back home, I put the collars on the cats. Princess had no issues and took it in stride...not so with Scaredy Cat (SC)! We put it on her and she promptly sulked away as if she had some hideous goo on her. She then walked three feet away and just fell over...again and again. This is what I imagined she was saying in her little head....
What is this thing you strangled me with? What crazy powers does it have? It is too powerful...can't...walk...muscles...won't...move. I must lie down! Ok, I think I can move again...Oh yeah, that two footed short one had some lizards in her room, I must go check it out... (walks again) What is that ringing? Why do I hear bells? What is clinging in my ear and hitting me in the chest? Oh, yay I am in the short one's room...oh, I...can't...walk...again...what contraption do these people have me in? I...must...lie...down...NOW!
So I hear the jingle of the little bell, clever invention that is, and I follow the sound as it is coming from the girls bedroom. It sounds as if she has jumped on the bed. I go look for her and find her in Monkey's room. Her favorite place has been under Lawyers bed but she now likes to go look for the little lizards in Monkeys room (see previous post) and I heard what sounded like her jumping so I was worried she was getting on their beds. Nope, she just fell over again! Guess the power of the mind and her collar has her intimidated a bit and she is just overwhelmed and loses muscle control! She finally came back in the living room where I am and ignored the bed I bought her and jumped on the ottoman. She licked at he collar and her fur and then I pet her and she tried to bite me. Guess she is a bit ticked off at me! Well, she can go back outside in the cold and deal with it I say!
In the meantime, Princess has been stubborn and wants outside and it not using the facilities as much as I would like to see but honestly who knows how often a cat really goes to the bathroom?? She is banned to the laundry room until she uses the box! I hope she behaves as I need to do laundry and it is much easier with the door open. I plan to kick SC outside if possible so I can deep clean as both kids are sick with a cold as I am sure it is kitty induced and mercifully the weather is supposed to get warmer so we all can get out! My yard needs the attention!
My new project has been readjusting Monkey's thinking with behavior therapy. She wants to talk versus work. She is a people person. She has been tasked with getting her work done and then talking or goofing off. I am testing her at home with tasks and then asking for progress from her teacher. She doesn't listen too well and then tries to do too much so she panics when she can't remember. She bites off more than she can chew so I am trying to teach her goals. I have not been doing that as often and I need to go back to working on her behavior. I limited her tablet time and banned her from video games as her focus isn't as good after playing it. I can really see a difference when I limit her on that but I also know she needs to lose her self from time to time doing her favorite activity occasionally. Momma has to focus too and help her and not do it for her. Baby steps.
Happy Valentines Day!
Tonight hubby and I got to go out on a rare date. He wasn't working his hands to the bone for once and our favorite babysitter was free so we saw an opportunity and took it! We ate Chinese food, went furniture shopping, and shopped at Pet Smart. Hot date!
Since we have been adopted by the two kitties we decided after the vet bill this week we would adopt them back and make it official. So we had to get a real cat carrier and collars to hold their tags. We bought breakaway collars since they are outside cats. After we got the baby sitter back home, I put the collars on the cats. Princess had no issues and took it in stride...not so with Scaredy Cat (SC)! We put it on her and she promptly sulked away as if she had some hideous goo on her. She then walked three feet away and just fell over...again and again. This is what I imagined she was saying in her little head....
What is this thing you strangled me with? What crazy powers does it have? It is too powerful...can't...walk...muscles...won't...move. I must lie down! Ok, I think I can move again...Oh yeah, that two footed short one had some lizards in her room, I must go check it out... (walks again) What is that ringing? Why do I hear bells? What is clinging in my ear and hitting me in the chest? Oh, yay I am in the short one's room...oh, I...can't...walk...again...what contraption do these people have me in? I...must...lie...down...NOW!
So I hear the jingle of the little bell, clever invention that is, and I follow the sound as it is coming from the girls bedroom. It sounds as if she has jumped on the bed. I go look for her and find her in Monkey's room. Her favorite place has been under Lawyers bed but she now likes to go look for the little lizards in Monkeys room (see previous post) and I heard what sounded like her jumping so I was worried she was getting on their beds. Nope, she just fell over again! Guess the power of the mind and her collar has her intimidated a bit and she is just overwhelmed and loses muscle control! She finally came back in the living room where I am and ignored the bed I bought her and jumped on the ottoman. She licked at he collar and her fur and then I pet her and she tried to bite me. Guess she is a bit ticked off at me! Well, she can go back outside in the cold and deal with it I say!
In the meantime, Princess has been stubborn and wants outside and it not using the facilities as much as I would like to see but honestly who knows how often a cat really goes to the bathroom?? She is banned to the laundry room until she uses the box! I hope she behaves as I need to do laundry and it is much easier with the door open. I plan to kick SC outside if possible so I can deep clean as both kids are sick with a cold as I am sure it is kitty induced and mercifully the weather is supposed to get warmer so we all can get out! My yard needs the attention!
My new project has been readjusting Monkey's thinking with behavior therapy. She wants to talk versus work. She is a people person. She has been tasked with getting her work done and then talking or goofing off. I am testing her at home with tasks and then asking for progress from her teacher. She doesn't listen too well and then tries to do too much so she panics when she can't remember. She bites off more than she can chew so I am trying to teach her goals. I have not been doing that as often and I need to go back to working on her behavior. I limited her tablet time and banned her from video games as her focus isn't as good after playing it. I can really see a difference when I limit her on that but I also know she needs to lose her self from time to time doing her favorite activity occasionally. Momma has to focus too and help her and not do it for her. Baby steps.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Cat poo, vomit, and gagging...the cat chronicles
Thursday, February 13th, 2014
Since it has been cold, we have been keeping our outside
long hair cats inside. The most timid one, Scaredy Cat (SC), has adapted to kitty palace status quite
nicely. She uses her litter box over going outside as she had before coming
inside and leaves me nice little sticky atrocious smelling poo bombs as my
office is next to the bathroom where we have her litter box. Nothing wreaks
like cat poo..and I am a bit concerned for her as she has taken a liking to
Monkey's rubber animals she has lying around. Monkey loves dinosaurs and
animals and her favorite toys are the rubber $2 toys and those toys that you get
in gift packs of 12 for birthday parties that remind me of cheap fishing lures.
I had bought her skeletons, spiders, ...and lizards. Well we have lizards, live
ones, outside and the cats adore them apparently. I caught Princess, the other
cat, playing with a half eaten lizard that was trying desperately to crawl away
but she would only let it go so far and then toss it around again like some kind of live sushi
bar show was occurring. Well SC, found Monkey's rubber lizards and ate the tail
off! I probably should have mentioned that to the vet this am but...forgot. So
I am hoping this stinky cat poo is not the result b/c it is downright nasty
smelling! It is hubby gag quality....more on that in a minute.
Thanks to the cats coming inside more I noticed on Monday
that Princess came in with a limp after her daily romping fest outside. By
Tuesday, she was not putting any weight on the paw and then slept all morning,
which in itself is not unusual but she wasn't as vocal as normal. (This cat
loves to talk and garble at you. We have great kitty chats but I can't
translate her side...) anyway...I called the vet and took her in. She had been
bitten by something and it got infected (insert dollar signs as he begins to
tell me what is wrong and how to fix it). She was so worked up he needed to put
her to sleep to be able to debride the wound. So turns out she had two
punctures which made him think she had something in her foot but he could not
find a foreign body so he stuck with the bite theory. He treated her wounds and
gave her shots b/c thankfully she only had a slight temp rise so I didn't have
to bring her back in....
Speaking of bringing in the kitty, I only had a cardboard
box. Cats don't' like them and can get out. I managed to stuff her in the cat
bed inside the box and get it closed using a blanket to cover it and then my
bible. I know my bible is important for me to use but I didn't know how much so
until it helped me keep an anxious cat in the box! At one point while I was
driving it looked like a scene from Alien where the thing comes out of her
belly as all I saw was this blanket covered mound rising up to which I quickly
clodded her in the head with my bible and contained her. Not my preferred
method to contain her but I did not want a crazy cat lose in my car! She got
lose anyway when I pulled up so mercifully the clinic gave me a cat box, which
was a little better than what I had, to take her home in. I had actually run to
Walmart before the appt to see if I could buy a carrier. I saw a soft sided dog
carried and grabbed it only to get home
and let it explode open (not kidding) into a carrier that my children, both of
them, could get into. Yeah, that was not going to work. Anyway, she is home and
slept like a drugged kitty all day although she wants to go back out side and potty
but doctor said no and she is not keen on the inside potty. She will use it but
only until her bladder is the size of her whole body...stubborn cat.
Today I took SC in to get her shots and a clean bill of
health only for her to run outside immediately upon arrival back home, then
come back in after kids get home, stink up the bathroom, and then vomit on the
floor. Why did I have kitties again??? I do NOT miss this drama or the $250+
vet bill for injured kitty.
So back to hubby's gag reflex...I used to travel a lot for
my job when the girls were little. Apparently, while hubby was on a conference
call to which he did not have the mute button on, rookie parent mistake, and
Lawyer came in and stated, "Daddy, I pooped in my pants!" and Monkey,
not to be left out, promptly leans around her and says, "And its NASTY!".
Hubby, after the guffawing died down on the other end of the conference call,
stated he would be right back....Now let it be known, hubster is a wonderful
dad and does what he needs to do when he has to but stink poo and his gag
reflex don't get along. So he now has to clean up the oldest and the entire
time he is wrenching from the loud gagging that is occurring violently while
Lawyer is crying on the potty. (She hates being dirty from poo or vomit) So while
he is trying to clean her up. Monkey is having a ball mimicking hubby and
leaning over and fake gagging and then laughing hysterically...these kinds of
things only happened when I was gone mind you. I have an entire book of stories
he told of the things our children did as soon as I left for a trip. Maybe I
should just right about those...Yeah life at our house is awesome!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Monday blues...
Monday,
February 10th, 2014
Well if it
isn't a Monday that I am having... we were projected to get up to 6" of
snow in the forecast last week for today and tomorrow. It has since dwindled to
possibly 1/2 to 2"...basically they have no clue. So today my plan was to
run a couple of errands, just in case, as Lawyer had Library books due Tue. But when I
woke up, and after I began to get breakfast ready for the girls, I had the
sinking feeling of getting a urinary tract infection (UTI). I never had them at all in my adult years.
I had one is school, one after getting married (duh), and another when I was pregnant
with first kid. Then I had one somewhere in the ten years since of having her
until last year. And now two within two to three months! I played amateur doctor and gave myself some left over
antibiotics (ABOs) as the crud I had was not getting better or going away back in November. Well, by doing that I think I screwed up my normal flora as I managed to get the first UTI in
years. Went to doc, got meds for it. Done. Then I wake up this am and think
what the heck? I have not done ANYTHING different. So of course my labs come
back negative yet not normal...yeah that helps narrow my issue down! Doctor has no
clue and says it could be a kidney stone forming (at least I have plenty of
pain meds handy thanks to hubby's recent dilemma!), UTI, bacteria from a scrape
or cut (what??? how the heck do you cut down THERE?), or an STD...I am like
dude, if I have an STD, we got bigger problems b/c they will have to treat me
in prison when I kill my hubby... and he would say the same, or prolapsed bladder. I mean I am turning 45 this year but I dont' want to ring in this new year with THAT kind of news dude!
So we, I
mean me, ruled out the STD theory. I also ruled out the scrape b/c we are crazy
but we do not act crazy like that, and I do not exercise that vigorously...
although from the feel of my pants recently maybe I should...and Lord help me if I have a
kidney stone. One is enough for any human being! (ask hubby! he had 3 so far) So that leaves
bacteria and UTI. He mercifully gave me ABOs to treat it as I said I was worried about having this and a snow storm. He said I just may
have caught it early and be super sensitive. Ya think? I mean when you pee fire yeah I am A BIT SENSITIVE! It is b/c those of us
who do not have them frequently, and bless the hearts of those who do as I know
several, usually wait until the pain is God awful and we want to strangle our
first born or anyone who comes close enough to wrap hands around, before we FINALLY go see the doctor. THEN when we call
the doctor we say OH DEAR LORD PLEASE HAVE AN OPENING IN YOUR OFFICE TODAY! Today
I felt that twinge and called at 9am and then got an appt at 11:30. I just say
I am efficient, not sensitive! Now to figure out why I got the darn thing as I usually know
why I get these but I have not a clue today.
Hubby
complained of getting one this weekend, hence the STD question by said doctor.
He just had kidney stone and I am betting his is from that issue. Monkey was
sick thanks to outside kitties being inside kitties with all of this cold
weather, and Lawyer was sporting low grade fever and tummy aches. Me thinks I
need to just Lysol bomb this house as we are getting sick and beginning to drop
like flies for different reasons!
Now back to
the snow...so I tried to get my errands done today just in case. It won't snow
now that I did and would have been a blizzard if I had not...ya know? So now I
get to play the watch the weather and wait game and see if we make any
activities this week. We have art classes, piano, and a school musical to
squeeze in.(We got Art class tonight done!) This ought to be fun. Oh and my mom and dad are gallivanting across
the south on a funeral/vacation (Yeah we are weird like that) trip hoping to
miss all this weather (which is actually headed straight for them). Thankfully, I have plenty to eat or fix as I love having
a well stocked pantry and freezer for such occasions. And I have extra milk
thanks to a dear friend who is willing to do my bidding..uh I mean pick up a
few things for me cuz she rocks! :)
Hardest part
is deciding what to fix. I missed my weekend opportunity to make a meal we all
eat so now I get to fix a meal and have kids try it. I have hope that they will
like something new one of these days....and it NOT be a dessert! Ended up making Fettuccine Alfredo and Monkey didn't like it. Dang. Lawyer had already eaten as she has to vamoos to art so she was off the hook...for tonight!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Moonlit snow and jewelry, coaxing kids to try something new, and lego bombs
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Today we woke up to a white landscape. Last night about 7pm snow began to fall. We were told we could get up to 2 inches. The storm had other ideas...it went farther south and dumped more on them and only gave us an inch to half inch. Just enough to snarl traffic in the capital city as it hit at rush hour. See this is the south and we are not used to snow and how to drive on it. Teenage boys just gas it and fish tail and girls just stop and cry. It was so bad last night many just pulled over, parked, and walked the rest of the way. We do not have the infrastructure here to handle snow. We have a few sand trucks and scrapers and they tend to go out during the storm and not before unless we know for sure....and that is the kicker the forecasters have not had a clue as the storms are not behaving as predicted. My brother in law noticed this am that down here we are awesome at predicting tornadic storms but suck at winter weather predictions. Thankfully hubby got home before it hit and I already had kids and did not have to get out. It was very pretty this am and tonight I noticed the light glow outside as the lights and moon reflect off of it. Sometimes I wish we would have more snow that I could look out and see the moon and stars reflect off of... sometimes...and only at Christmas. The girls got out and tried to make snowmen to no avail as the snow was sticky but did not hold together well. Most of it melted off the road but will refreeze tonight.
Speaking of refreezing, I was supposed to have a jewelry party today but the weather postponed it to tomorrow we hope. I had made some awesome Pecan Squares and GF cheesecake (a Pioneer Woman recipe I adapted and made GF) earlier and was cleaning today. The good news it gave me another day to clean at a slower pace and get laundry done. I was excited but disappointed that we had to move it. Such is life. At least I had plenty of squares...
So I since I was taking my time cleaning, I kept noticing the same Lego figure moving around. Either it is alive or Monkey is messing with my mind! Actually, she just loves to play with it and picks it up and then lays it down along with 60 other random toys. Mostly they lay Legos and Littlest Pet Shop toys on a multicolored dragon rug. I keep shoes on b/c of my collapsed arches but hubby doesn't so all I hear is a crunch when I step on things but he feels the pain when he does it. He shrieks like some wild animal dying in the woods. We all run for our lives.
Tonight we started a new thing. I told the girls that they must try some of what dad and I are eating for dinner (if they are not already eating what we are). I fixed spaghetti and meatballs. I normally fix spaghetti with meat sauce that I make from scratch. I decided to try a new recipe...we all decided we liked mine better. Monkey obeyed and immediately tried it and declared she didn't want anymore. Lawyer has this mental block that she has to sit and stare at it and think about it until the food is cold and even hubby or I wouldn't like it. She finally did try it (she normally likes my spaghetti minus the meat) and she ate it. She was still dragging her feet though and she brought her plate for me to check progress and I thought she was balking so I threw rest of it out. I felt bad for her b/c she was trying to eat! The odd thing is that I can easily get both girls to try a new dessert but not a new food. Why is that? I mean I know it is a dessert but still! Lawyer doesn't like nuts generally but she has been more willing of late to try some and likes sunflower seeds and my granola bars that have pecans and almonds in. So she wanted to try the pecan squares. She fell in love so I will chalk that up to a victory tonight. Hey, I take anything I can get!
Today we woke up to a white landscape. Last night about 7pm snow began to fall. We were told we could get up to 2 inches. The storm had other ideas...it went farther south and dumped more on them and only gave us an inch to half inch. Just enough to snarl traffic in the capital city as it hit at rush hour. See this is the south and we are not used to snow and how to drive on it. Teenage boys just gas it and fish tail and girls just stop and cry. It was so bad last night many just pulled over, parked, and walked the rest of the way. We do not have the infrastructure here to handle snow. We have a few sand trucks and scrapers and they tend to go out during the storm and not before unless we know for sure....and that is the kicker the forecasters have not had a clue as the storms are not behaving as predicted. My brother in law noticed this am that down here we are awesome at predicting tornadic storms but suck at winter weather predictions. Thankfully hubby got home before it hit and I already had kids and did not have to get out. It was very pretty this am and tonight I noticed the light glow outside as the lights and moon reflect off of it. Sometimes I wish we would have more snow that I could look out and see the moon and stars reflect off of... sometimes...and only at Christmas. The girls got out and tried to make snowmen to no avail as the snow was sticky but did not hold together well. Most of it melted off the road but will refreeze tonight.
Speaking of refreezing, I was supposed to have a jewelry party today but the weather postponed it to tomorrow we hope. I had made some awesome Pecan Squares and GF cheesecake (a Pioneer Woman recipe I adapted and made GF) earlier and was cleaning today. The good news it gave me another day to clean at a slower pace and get laundry done. I was excited but disappointed that we had to move it. Such is life. At least I had plenty of squares...
So I since I was taking my time cleaning, I kept noticing the same Lego figure moving around. Either it is alive or Monkey is messing with my mind! Actually, she just loves to play with it and picks it up and then lays it down along with 60 other random toys. Mostly they lay Legos and Littlest Pet Shop toys on a multicolored dragon rug. I keep shoes on b/c of my collapsed arches but hubby doesn't so all I hear is a crunch when I step on things but he feels the pain when he does it. He shrieks like some wild animal dying in the woods. We all run for our lives.
Tonight we started a new thing. I told the girls that they must try some of what dad and I are eating for dinner (if they are not already eating what we are). I fixed spaghetti and meatballs. I normally fix spaghetti with meat sauce that I make from scratch. I decided to try a new recipe...we all decided we liked mine better. Monkey obeyed and immediately tried it and declared she didn't want anymore. Lawyer has this mental block that she has to sit and stare at it and think about it until the food is cold and even hubby or I wouldn't like it. She finally did try it (she normally likes my spaghetti minus the meat) and she ate it. She was still dragging her feet though and she brought her plate for me to check progress and I thought she was balking so I threw rest of it out. I felt bad for her b/c she was trying to eat! The odd thing is that I can easily get both girls to try a new dessert but not a new food. Why is that? I mean I know it is a dessert but still! Lawyer doesn't like nuts generally but she has been more willing of late to try some and likes sunflower seeds and my granola bars that have pecans and almonds in. So she wanted to try the pecan squares. She fell in love so I will chalk that up to a victory tonight. Hey, I take anything I can get!
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Bacon for a month, chore prep, and peppermint oil
Saturday, February 1st, 2014
Sheese, we got a new lap top for us to share and I am NOT used to this keyboard. It seems to be more to the left and the keys have to be pushed a bit harder. Convenient... yes, frustrating...yes. I feel better now....
One of my other frustrations is getting my girls to eat better and it also has been to try and get healthier options as well as some protein in their breakfasts. My lovely mother cooked up an entire package of bacon one week while we were staying at her cabin so that all she had to do was get it out of the freezer and pop in the microwave and warm up. Genius! 40 secs over 20 minutes! So I came home and began to do that on weekends. Then I can give her one or two pieces of bacon at breakfast before school! I got smarter after reading the 100daysofrealfood.com blog on facebook as she does something similar. She makes ahead and freezes muffins so I made a big batch of buttermilk biscuits using wheat flour (tastes good, not as good as regular, and heavy!) so I froze them. I pull out a couple the night before and warm up in the microwave or I just set them out on a pan and then stuck in the toaster oven on the toast setting and they were perfect. Monkey loves them with some butter and apple butter. Lawyer doesn't like them but she is still a work in progress. This also has worked well for our GF pancakes which Lawyer and I love but Monkey says they are too dry and big. I need to figure out how to make them thin and small. Hubby doesn't know how to get them smaller as he likes his thick dripping with butter, which I also happen to like and he cooks them for me. I love a good challenge...
Last night I made homemade tostado,s but they are still not right. My theme was Mexican last night and I knew Lawyer wouldn't eat the meat so I made a cheese quesadilla for her. Plus we made a new salsa recipe as Lawyer loves salsa even when I told her she is eating tomatoes. It needs more cilantro so I am hoping that the flavors have melded together better over night. My issue with the tostados is I have to figure out how to get the corn tortilla crispy as the pan method isn't making it crispy enough, more chewy instead. Could be my fire temp or amount of oil, not sure...have to tinker a bit more. Anyway, I always have left overs so I used the meat to make burritos for Monkey and last night I just froze the meat for taco's or burritos another day. I have discovered that Monkey likes her burritos crispy and not soft so it really wasn't the meat mixture as it was the texture. With this idea of freezing leftovers, I have not had to cook much as we are still eating tomato and butternut squash soup, lasagna, and mexican chicken spaghetti. I have a nice variety of meals but I want to make sure I keep using up my meals so I am not stuck with hot food in the hot months. I love that I don't have to rush to eat leftovers for a week by being smart for a meal for another day. What was I thinking all of these years???
My newest idea that I got from one of the many home-school sites I follow was using a grease board to lay out actions/chores for the day for each kid. I bought the boards and different color dry erase markers for each kid. I also bought different color boards as well. Now I line out how many chapters a day they have to read and any school work they need to do. I have also begun to make them help with laundry. I wash and dry it then I dump it on their bed and they have to sort it out for me. I come back and hang it back up b/c they are too short to hang it plus I have a system I prefer to help me rotate thru their clothes. It takes them forever but it allows me to do other things like start a new load or sweep while they prep it plus it gets them used to helping and taking care of the house and things. They grumble and it isn't perfect but it is one less step I have to deal with.
Today my hubby went for a massage. He dealt with a kidney stone last week where he made two trips to the ER. What a way to test your new insurance! Anyway, he came home from work with pain and long story short by 2nd trip Monday he had plenty of pain meds trying to get his pain controlled. He hopes he passes it but he stays tense from intermittent pain bouts. So he went for a massage today as his back seizes up if he doesn't and he came home wreaking of peppermint oil. We had a funny laugh as he was supposed to go to get a haircut after his massage. After he got in his truck he was overwhelmed with the smell of peppermint and he can't smell all that well! He decided going to a place where typically only men go to get their haircut the last thing he wanted was to smell like peppermint and try to be manly. Why that mental image made me laugh until I about peed is a mystery. Anyway, he came home to shower and then go back and get a haircut smelling a bit more manly. He was also wonderful enough to go pay our storage bill and take a few pictures of our camper as we are wanting to sell it. He changed trucks so now his truck is too small to pull it. So our little money pit is our project to off load this year.
I am trying to simplify my life. I want to purge anything that we haven't used or is not worth keeping for later. The camper fits that bill as we don't use it even when we could tow it. We need something smaller so we can pull it easy and not have to pay to store it. I have managed to pay many things off this past year and I don't want to add back to it. After having to replace all our appliances over the past two years and upgrading my kitchen after a hot water heater leak, I am trying to downgrade so when an emergency does happen, I have the means to get around it and not go back into debt again! I want to upgrade my ridiculously cold bathroom out of the 90s into 2014. I need a new counter top, tub, shower, tile, and paint. Many of which we can do ourselves as far as demo but we haven't had time to look much and decide what we want to replace it with. Plus it has been so cold this winter I am not keen to start demolition in an already cold bathroom. There is always tomorrow...when we thaw out!
Sheese, we got a new lap top for us to share and I am NOT used to this keyboard. It seems to be more to the left and the keys have to be pushed a bit harder. Convenient... yes, frustrating...yes. I feel better now....
One of my other frustrations is getting my girls to eat better and it also has been to try and get healthier options as well as some protein in their breakfasts. My lovely mother cooked up an entire package of bacon one week while we were staying at her cabin so that all she had to do was get it out of the freezer and pop in the microwave and warm up. Genius! 40 secs over 20 minutes! So I came home and began to do that on weekends. Then I can give her one or two pieces of bacon at breakfast before school! I got smarter after reading the 100daysofrealfood.com blog on facebook as she does something similar. She makes ahead and freezes muffins so I made a big batch of buttermilk biscuits using wheat flour (tastes good, not as good as regular, and heavy!) so I froze them. I pull out a couple the night before and warm up in the microwave or I just set them out on a pan and then stuck in the toaster oven on the toast setting and they were perfect. Monkey loves them with some butter and apple butter. Lawyer doesn't like them but she is still a work in progress. This also has worked well for our GF pancakes which Lawyer and I love but Monkey says they are too dry and big. I need to figure out how to make them thin and small. Hubby doesn't know how to get them smaller as he likes his thick dripping with butter, which I also happen to like and he cooks them for me. I love a good challenge...
Last night I made homemade tostado,s but they are still not right. My theme was Mexican last night and I knew Lawyer wouldn't eat the meat so I made a cheese quesadilla for her. Plus we made a new salsa recipe as Lawyer loves salsa even when I told her she is eating tomatoes. It needs more cilantro so I am hoping that the flavors have melded together better over night. My issue with the tostados is I have to figure out how to get the corn tortilla crispy as the pan method isn't making it crispy enough, more chewy instead. Could be my fire temp or amount of oil, not sure...have to tinker a bit more. Anyway, I always have left overs so I used the meat to make burritos for Monkey and last night I just froze the meat for taco's or burritos another day. I have discovered that Monkey likes her burritos crispy and not soft so it really wasn't the meat mixture as it was the texture. With this idea of freezing leftovers, I have not had to cook much as we are still eating tomato and butternut squash soup, lasagna, and mexican chicken spaghetti. I have a nice variety of meals but I want to make sure I keep using up my meals so I am not stuck with hot food in the hot months. I love that I don't have to rush to eat leftovers for a week by being smart for a meal for another day. What was I thinking all of these years???
My newest idea that I got from one of the many home-school sites I follow was using a grease board to lay out actions/chores for the day for each kid. I bought the boards and different color dry erase markers for each kid. I also bought different color boards as well. Now I line out how many chapters a day they have to read and any school work they need to do. I have also begun to make them help with laundry. I wash and dry it then I dump it on their bed and they have to sort it out for me. I come back and hang it back up b/c they are too short to hang it plus I have a system I prefer to help me rotate thru their clothes. It takes them forever but it allows me to do other things like start a new load or sweep while they prep it plus it gets them used to helping and taking care of the house and things. They grumble and it isn't perfect but it is one less step I have to deal with.
Today my hubby went for a massage. He dealt with a kidney stone last week where he made two trips to the ER. What a way to test your new insurance! Anyway, he came home from work with pain and long story short by 2nd trip Monday he had plenty of pain meds trying to get his pain controlled. He hopes he passes it but he stays tense from intermittent pain bouts. So he went for a massage today as his back seizes up if he doesn't and he came home wreaking of peppermint oil. We had a funny laugh as he was supposed to go to get a haircut after his massage. After he got in his truck he was overwhelmed with the smell of peppermint and he can't smell all that well! He decided going to a place where typically only men go to get their haircut the last thing he wanted was to smell like peppermint and try to be manly. Why that mental image made me laugh until I about peed is a mystery. Anyway, he came home to shower and then go back and get a haircut smelling a bit more manly. He was also wonderful enough to go pay our storage bill and take a few pictures of our camper as we are wanting to sell it. He changed trucks so now his truck is too small to pull it. So our little money pit is our project to off load this year.
I am trying to simplify my life. I want to purge anything that we haven't used or is not worth keeping for later. The camper fits that bill as we don't use it even when we could tow it. We need something smaller so we can pull it easy and not have to pay to store it. I have managed to pay many things off this past year and I don't want to add back to it. After having to replace all our appliances over the past two years and upgrading my kitchen after a hot water heater leak, I am trying to downgrade so when an emergency does happen, I have the means to get around it and not go back into debt again! I want to upgrade my ridiculously cold bathroom out of the 90s into 2014. I need a new counter top, tub, shower, tile, and paint. Many of which we can do ourselves as far as demo but we haven't had time to look much and decide what we want to replace it with. Plus it has been so cold this winter I am not keen to start demolition in an already cold bathroom. There is always tomorrow...when we thaw out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)