So Sweet

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Creativity of Toys

I have conversations with my husband about how we used to make up games when we were little.  We didn't have much, but I just remember having so much fun growing up.  My brother, sister and I would make up games, inside or out, be creative with what we had, use our imagination.... you know, back in the day.  I sound so ancient.  I truly cannot believe the amount of toys that are out today.  And for absolutely everything.  There really is no need for children to use their vivid, fun and creative imagination these days.  They don't have to imagine, they just have....

I am in the mood to purge throughout our house.  I am looking at the mountains of toys they girls have and wondering what I can do away with.  So I start with the toys and the first thing I see are the instruments.  We are a music house, so I can't get rid of their instruments.  Or can I.....


When we were growing up, we used pots and pans for drums, wooden spoons for the sticks, our air instruments and mouths for the guitars, trumpets, saxophones, etc., and a hairbrush for a microphone.  Come on, dance and sing with me.  You know you did it too!  And it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!  I watched my 4-year old, who is very creative and imaginative, create an entire band in front of her using her garden tools, cups, play-dough shaper (we didn't have those either.. back in the day) and anything else she could find.  She had to work to put this together.  And all of her instruments were right upstairs.  She even lined up her animals and dolls behind her for "the rest of her band."   She then asked me for a mic stand... you know - since she had to sing AND play.  Did I mention we are pretty musical in our house?   So, following suit, I handed her an empty crayon box.  Tah-dah!  We have a mic stand!  And she was SO very excited.

Then my 2-year old wanted a microphone too.  I saw a tinker-toy stick on the floor in front of her and told her to pick it up and use that.  It was like a foreign thought to her.  She couldn't even see it, literally.  She didn't get it.  When she finally picked it up and held it in front of her, she deflated... as if to say, "I can't believe I have to settle for this."  She looked at me, I started to count off and she put it down.  She said, "Mommy, I want my microphone upstairs."  And off she went to get it.  Then I was deflated.  Have I totally zapped her from all of her creativity?  Imagination?  When she came down I told her that I used to use a hairbrush.  And still do sometimes.  It's just plain fun!   She totally didn't get it.  Abi, my 4-year old, thought it was great and told me to go get one to use, so that I could be in the band too.  Then when they were getting ready for a rest/quiet time, Abi lined up all the instruments for later:

So here is my thought for the day.  Do we REALLY need all of these toys?  Do you really need all of the toys in your house?  What if we packed up at least half and eve just put it away for a while.  Even just a week.  To see what might come out of it, how our children will grow in just one short week.  Kids are smart.  Kids are creative.  Kids are curious.  Kids are entertaining.  What would happen if we let them use all that creativity, imagination and energy?  And go rid of the crutches that make things so easy?  So unimaginative?  I say let them create!  Let them imagine!  And let them see the potential they have to think up new things.  Let them feel good about what they can do.


Let me know your thoughts and what you might like to put away for a while.  And how it goes.  And what your kids come up with!

Song for the Moment

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Roots by the Stream

Jeremiah 17:7-8 reads, "'But blessed is the mans who trusts in the Lords, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a dought and never fails to bear fruit.'"

This passage opened up this morning when I was flipping through my Bible at church during worship. We had yet another blow last night with the company and I have to admit, I was not excited about going to church this morning. I wanted to stay home and sulk. And continue to ask why this keeps happening over and over again. However, my spirit was stirring. And Abi REALLY wanted to go. Mark and Amanda have pink eye, so they were staying home anyway. I knew I needed to go, and I knew it was also not right to keep Abi from church just because of the state of my heart. So, I went upstairs and turned on some worship music while I got ready. I pulled up the music that the team was going to sing this morning as well as the set I will be singing next week. God is so good. The first song I clicked on was "You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)" by Michael W. Smith. "You are Lord of Lords, You are King of Kings, You are Mighty God, Lord of Everything. You're Emmanuel, You're the Great I AM, You're my Prince of Peace, Who is the Lamb. You're the Living God, You're my Saving Grace, You will reign forever, You are Ancient of Days. You are Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End. You're my Savior, Messiah, Redeemer and Friend. You're my Prince of Peace and I will live my life for you." As if that weren't enough to point be back in the right direction, here is the next song that I opened up: Todd Fields' "It is Well." We all know the verses well. Here is chorus, the part that stuck with me this morning, "It is well, it is well, through the storm I am held. It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well, God has won, Christ prevailed. It is well, it is well with my soul." It is so easy to say those words when things are going really well. But when you are struck down again and again, it's not so easy to say them and mean it. To truly mean "it is well with my soul." This morning, I did not start out feeling like all was well with my soul. However, knowing that the Lord brought these words to me to speak to me personally in this storm, It was easier to choke them out through the tears.

As I headed to church with Abi, my soul was quiet. Rested. And I was ready for what the Lord was going to speak to me. When I got into service, I stayed in the back, sat down and opened up my Bible while the worship was going on. Worship is my pathway and I knew the Lord had something He wanted to say to me. Some words of encouragement for this moment in our journey. He fed me all kinds of encouraging scripture. And in the midst of it all the team began to sing "My Savior, My God." The chorus says this, "My Savior loves, my Savior lives, my Savior's always there for me. My God He was, my God He is, my God is always gonna be. " My Savior is always there for ME. As if this weren't enough to encourage me and to let me know He was in control and would take care of us, he brought me to Jeremiah 17:7-8 written above.

Now I hope my pastor isn't reading this because I have NO idea what his message was today. I was so tuned in to what the Lord was speaking to me that I didn't hear a word from the pulpit. However, I think he would be okay with that knowing I was listening to the sweet words of my Father. Here is how these 2 verses were broken down for me:

vs. 8 " He will be like a tree planted my the water that sends out roots by the stream." We are to plant ourselves by the stream of Living Water, to send our roots toward that stream. To spend time with God, reading His word, soaking it in, drawing His words up through our roots and through our branches so that we may continue to have green leaves and bear fruit. So that we can LIVE. HE is the source of our water, the source of our life. He will give us what we need to survive if we only trust and believe in Him. If we continue to seek Him in all we do and all we are.

The next part of vs. 8 reads, "It does not fear heat when it comes; its leaves are always green." If we continue to soak up the Living Water from the stream by which we are planted, we will never wither. We will remain green. We will continue to live. Because we have planted ourselves by the stream of water. Our roots have reached out to it and continue to drink from it. We have a constant source of life right beside us if we will only reach for it. We do not need to fear the heat, the struggles, the obstacles, the seemingly endless, dark tunnel. We need only reach for that source of Life.

The last part of vs 8 reads, "It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." No worries in a YEAR of drought. A year! We have so much water to drink from and stored up that we need not worry. He is our constant life support. HE provides everything we need to survive, if we only look to the Lord and soak up all that He is, all the He has promised and all that He has to offer. He will guide us and give us strength and life.

As much as I question, I turn to worship which always leads me to the Word. I praise through my tears, frustration, questions....because there is Joy in those moments. Answers in the tears. Direction in the midst of chaos. And if I praise through it all, the enemy will not be able to get a foothold. If I go straight to worship and the Scriptures, the voices of doubt, discouragement and hopelessness are gone. Even when I don't feel like it, I worship. Because I know I will hear Truth. I will be encouraged. I will not know all the answers, but I will be reminded that I am not alone. That there is a bigger picture, a bigger purpose and a God who loves me like no other. A god who will not ever let me down. Who will be my one constant Rock through it all. So I will swim in the waters of Life. Take a deep drink of the water by which I have been planted. Soak up the water through my roots and allow it to flow through the branches, that my leaves will continue to be green and that I may continue to bear fruit in the midst of this drought. The source of Life is always beside you. Stand firm and full of life where you are.

We moved into a rental home a couple of months ago. We are in a beautiful location.... right next to the water. It's a canal, and we are right at the "T". God knew when He gave us this home that I would need this physical picture of being planted right by the water. This was not by chance. It was ordained for moments just like this. My Lord knew what was coming and planned ahead, like He always does. Oh, how much He loves me. How much He loves all of us.

Just in case I didn't quite get how much He loves me, He had my 4-year old daughter take the picture at the start of the blog. I had to chuckle about this when I was thinking through the past couple of days. I was taking pictures of the gorgeous glass-like water reflecting the clouds above. My daughter happened to take a picture of the tree by the water. And she hit the button by accident. Or so I thought. It ended up being my favorite picture! And today I realized this. There are 4 fruit trees in our back yard. This particular one is the closest one to the water (by inches) and looks to be the only one that will bear fruit this season. Chance? No way. I truly believe that my Lord orchestrated all of this to speak to me so clearly in this very moment. To remind me that He has a plan, He knows the order, and if we follow and obey, standing firm and blossoming where we are planted, the He will take care of the rest. That I can have peace in knowing He is in control. So here is a picture of peace, the one He gave me yesterday. Find peace where you are, seek Him always, and reach for the Living Water. He will give you LIFE.

Discipline

I do not like to discipline. I know I have to and I do, but I can't say I enjoy it. And the repetitive nature of discipline is about to drive me batty. I do not enjoy watching the children cry and I do not enjoy how I feel when I allow myself to get so upset that my blood pressure shoots through the roof and I literally explode. That does NOT a happy house make.

As I sit here reflecting on the happenings of the morning, I am thankful that we are able to sit outside as we learn to write our letters and numbers. The weather is gorgeous, the sun is out and God has completely blessed us with the most beautiful view. It is really hard to be out on the patio and have a bad attitude. it is very healing. And now I feel like we have started our day over.

As I was speaking to my children this morning, specifically my 4 year old, I couldn't help but feel that the Lord was also speaking to me. As I was telling her for the umpeenth time not to talk back, to just obey, and sending her for time out once again, I felt my blood pressure rising, anger beginning to flow, yet the Lord calmly saying to me, "Just obey." Trying not to cry while in the midst of sending Abi to time out, I thought about how much the Lord has to discipline me. And then I thought about how often He must discipline me even when I don't know it. And yet how calm He always remains in the midst of it all. How quickly I lose my patience, but expect my children to remain calm and collected. How are they supposed to learn to take a breath and speak calmly if I am not able to give them that example. Saying it isn't enough. It has to be shown to them too. This is not new information for me, but today was just another reminder of how I need to start my day differently. I need to get back to starting my day with just myself and the Lord in order to have the focus that I personally need to have patience for what each day brings. This is not something I can do on my own. I am the queen of making my own agenda, only to be frustrated and upset when my plans fall apart. My focus is in the wrong place. Even now as I type, my focus is all jumbled. I am realizing that I need to find a specific time to blog as well! To blog while trying to "school" is not completely ideal, at least at this beginning stage.

So, off the computer and on to lunch. And then some quiet time to refocus my day on what the Lord has called me to today. So here is my personal reminder for myself - Each day should have focus. The question is this - where will your focus be?

I'm Back!

Well hello! I am sure you are thinking, "Wow! Those girls must be really poorly behaved and a handful! It has been 5 months since she tried to get them to sit through a meal and that is the last time we heard from her!" Well, they are a handful, but the break was for me. I found myself trying to do everything at once - figure out if I could homeschool, research homeschool programs, research preschools in case I was too intimidated to homeschool, trying to find some part-time work I could do from home, then moving during the holidays (which I am convinced is impossible with 2 small children - we are still in boxes!), trying to blog about gluten-free things, trying to make my posts as good as all the others I was reading, frustrated that I couldn't be as eloquent as others I was reading, frustrated that I did not have a focus for my blog.... I KNOW! I am dizzy just recapping! So, I needed to take some time to process, regroup, get enough settled into our new home to function, and figure out a better plan.

In taking time to process, I realized that I was trying to blog about what everyone else was blogging about. Trying to find a focus based on what others were focusing on. Trying to BE everyone else. As I took some time to randomly go through my posts from the past, I have found 2 things that I really love to write about. Inspirations from nature and my children, and all things gluten-free. However, they do not belong in the same blog. I am currently working on a new blog where I will begin posting all of my cooking and baking recipes, tidbits and mishaps. You know I have those! And here I will try to focus on inspirations from my family and nature. This feels good. I think I can now enjoy returning to the blogging world.... provided I can stick to my schedule. God has given each of us a voice for different things, talents for different things and abilities for different things. That is how we can all work together. He has given us words to speak in different ways. It is part of our story. So let your story be told in your own way. That's what makes it all so exciting!

Once my Gluten-Free site is up and running, I will post that as well!

Have a wonderful day!

Yummy Lunch!

Okay, so today I was starving and didn't know what to fix for lunch. I really wanted pizza, but I am out of one flour I need to make the dough (have to make it gluten-free) and let's face it.... it would just take too long to make the dough, bake the crust, put together the pizza and finish baking it. So I went scrounging around. SCORE! Here is what I found:

The end of my gluten-free loaf of bread (enough for a couple of slices)
Left-over spinach pesto from the pasta I made last night (thick enough to spread - YUM!)
Some cheese that had already been grated

So I decide to make a pizza-like lunch! I smeared some of the yummy spinach pesto over the lightly toasted slices of bread and topped with cheese. Put it back in the toaster over for about 7 minutes on 375 and then on broil for about a minute (or less) just to make the top brown. Oh my gravy. SOOO YUMMY!!!! I will be doing this again. A LOT!

Here is my spinach pesto "recipe" - (in quotes because I don't ever have measurements):

1 package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cloves (more or less) minced garlic - more if you like the garlic flavor
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese (maybe 1/3- 1/2 cup?)
A couple of tablespoons dried basil
Olive Oil (to consistency and taste) - at least 1/3 cup
Lemon juice (Oh, I don't know - maybe a tablespoon or so?)

And I do everything "to taste". Take a taste and if it needs something, smell some other ingredients while you have the flavor in your mouth. You will be able to "taste" all of them together through the smelling and will know if that is what you want or not. You could also put in pinenuts, almonds, walnuts..... Experiment and make it yours! You will love the outcome when you land a dish that is yummy and all your own.

Enjoy!

Kids and Meals

I have had the hardest time getting my sweet girls to actually sit through a meal at the table. They are all over the place! It is becoming a battle we dread every night. And we really love dinner time because we are finally all together and can talk about our day. Here are some things we have tried:

1) Sit or time-out. This doesn't work :-)
2) Sit or no dessert. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Especially since they are smart enough to know that we don't always have dessert (actually don't most nights).
3) Separate their chairs - also to minimize the fighting. This worked for about a night or two.
4) Removal of plate with the assumption that they are finished since they are not at their seat. This has probably been the most effective for bringing them back to the table, but I want to keep them from actually leaving.

One things that someone suggested that I have not yet tried - a reward for staying in their seat the whole time (sticker, dessert, etc.). I think this is what I will try next.

Now I am fairly certain that this goes along with the age of the girls (2 and almost 4), but I am also fairly certain that there is a way to actually keep them at the table. I just haven't figured it out yet. Neither one of them can sit still for more than about 5, MAYBE 10, seconds, so I am on a mission to figure out how to calm them enough to be able to have some sort of attention span. Otherwise school will be near impossible.

Calling all moms! What has worked for you?

Gluten-Free, Where to Start

For many, the need to go gluten free is a medical issue. Doctors have confirmed a gluten sensitivity, allergy or otherwise. in this case, the need to go through cabinets, read labels and purge anything and everything that has a hint of gluten in it is a must. Anything with flour (unless it is pure rice flour, corn flour, potato flour or soy flour) , modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, vegetable protein, malt r malt flavoring, vegetable gum, soy sauce or soy sauce solids.... YIKES! This can seem like a very daunting task - all of this "stuff" is in everything we currently know to be "every-day foods". For the need to go cold turkey because of diagnosed medical reasons, my suggestion would be to go straight to the produce department or farmer's market and start there. Eat everything fresh to retrain your brain, pallet and give you time to regroup mentally. Let's face it. This is where we should all be shopping anyway. Anything processed or pre-made typically has too many unpronounceable ingredients anyway. Then you can slowly move into replacing traditional pastas with brown rice pastas (which are actually very tasty), eat more rice-inspired dishes and begin making your own breads and baked goods. I have a really good gluten-free bread recipe posted here on my site. Look at the items you CAN have, not the "can't" list. You will quickly see how much you really can eat on a gluten-free diet. Just make sure to read ALL labels, even those items that claim to be gluten free. They are not always 100% gluten free, but enough to claim the status.

Now there are also many people who want to experiment and try removing gluten to see if it makes a difference in how their body feels. Not a medically diagnosed need, but a personal want. In this case, here is what I would suggest. Make a list of all the wonderful things that do NOT have gluten in them and begin your shopping week on a happy note. There is so much to eat! Start by cutting out regular pasta and bread. Eat more rice-based or potato dishes. Then you can move to a brown rice pasta for those days that you really want a pasta dish. You can make a loaf of your own bread and have that on hand (again, there is a great recipe on this blog). Also focus on eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Once you have adjusted to this way of thinking, begin reading labels of items in your pantry and make some notes as to what items have gluten in them. Set them in their own section in your pantry and try to focus on the large "can be used" section. You will quickly realize how much you really can eat and that it is not as difficult as you may have initially thought. Unless you eat out more than you eat at home. We never eat out, so it has been a fairly easy adjustment for us.

Once you get the idea of on-gluten items in your head, be creative! Use things like almonds (or any kind of nut) as a replacement for breadcrumbs in a recipe (run them through a food processor), or even gluten-free corn flakes. I have made Chicken Parmesan with corn flakes as the breading. DELICIOUS! And in a recipe I have on this blog, I used almonds for the breading on chicken fingers. You will be pleasantly surprised by the wonderful texture and flavor these items will add to your staple dishes. And you may never go back to the old ways. You can have delicious, flavorful meals without the gluten. Many people have made statements that say you can't eat anything or that there is no flavor in gluten-free cooking. SOOOOO not the case. I actually think the food I am now making has more flavor and texture than my old way of cooking. AND we don't have the digestive issues we had before.

Like anything, a change is an adjustment. Just make sure that you give yourself time to adjust, give yourself some room for error and know that yes, YOU CAN DO THIS. Check back for more recipes in the days and weeks to come! I have a pizza crust recipe that I will post soon. Yes, even pizza can be yummy and gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Multigrain Sandwich Bread

Hi everyone! Well, I have been hard at work creating the perfect recipe for a gluten-free, multigrain sandwich bread. Not an easy task! But it has been so much fun to play, experiment and EAT! Yes, you heard correctly. Eating these samples has been very enjoyable. Nice flavor, not like cardboard and the whole family loves it! I know I will tweak it just a bit more, but here is the recipe as is currently stands:

Gluten-Free Multigrain Sandwich Bread

3 Eggs (I use egg substitute) - room temp is best
3 1/2 Tbsp Canola oil

2/3 Cup Millet Flour
1/2 Cup Sorghum Flour
1/3 Cup Teff Flour *
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Potato Starch
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
2 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 tsp Salt
1 3/4 tsp Unflavored Gelatin
2 1/2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 packet Dry Active Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1 Cup Milk (I use Almond Milk) - warm, but not too hot
4 Tbsp Flax Seeds


* - if you don't have Teff Flour, just use 1 cup of the Millet Flour. I like the Teff as it adds a richer taste, reminiscent of whole wheat bread.

Whisk eggs and oil in a bowl and set aside.

Whisk all dry ingredients in a bowl (stand mixer) until well blended (except for the flax seeds). While mixer is on low, add egg/oil mixture and warm milk and mix until well blended. Scrape sides of bowl, then beat on medium-high for 4 minutes. Mix in flax seeds until well blended.

Pour dough into prepared 9" pan (I usually just grease well, but you can also dust with white corn meal) and spread evenly with spatula. Cover loosely with a light towel or plastic wrap (sprayed with cooking spray). Let rise is a warm, draft-free place for 40-45 minutes. Don't let it proof too long or it will likely fall after baking. While bread is rising, preheat oven to 350.

Place bread in preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. Bread should feel fairly firm and sound hollow when tapped on the top and sides. If the bread is getting too dark on the top, you can set a piece of foil over it after 15 minutes of baking.

Pull bread out and let cool for about 15 minutes on a wire rack.

To store, cover well in aluminum foil while still warm. This will help keep the moisture in the bread. I then place the wrapped bread in a Ziplock. You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer. In my house, it doesn't last long enough to freeze! We actually just leave it out on the counter in the foil/ziplock since it only lasts about 3 days tops!

Enjoy!

School

Ok. I have been back and forth between do I homeschool, do I send the girls to preschool, can I actually homeschool ..... I found a preschool that I liked enough to visit. I visited with the girls and we all loved it. Small classes, Christian curriculum, sweet director and they will even take Amanda who is technically not quite old enough. Sounds great and perfect, right? Well.... when did it become so expensive to send children to school? The up-side is that I would be able to work part-time since I would have mornings free, but the down-side is that I would need to have a job in order to pay the fees. It is a catch-22.

I also don't think I would think any more about it except for 2 things: 1) Abi really wants to go to school. You have no idea. Have NEVER seen a child so excited to go to school. And if I'm honest, I think the environment would be wonderful for her. 2) I really feel like she is supposed to be there. It starts on Monday and right now it seems impossible. However, I know that God is bigger than any of this and if it is supposed to happen, it will. On time is soon enough.

So tonight I feel sad for Abi, but trust that God's plan is the best one. If Abi is to go, there will be a way. If God has another plan, that will also play out. All I can do is pray and trust, and that is a good place to be.

Gluten-Free Dinner

It seems many people who are discovering they are gluten-sensitive are finding it hard to locate recipes that make meals that don't taste like cardboard. Or are just plain flavorless. Especially bread! I do have a great bread recipe that I have just about tweaked, so I will post it as soon as I try out these last few adjustments. In the mean time, here is something I whipped up for tonight! I have no measurements, just eyeball and taste as you go (except anything that has been touched by the raw chicken). This is how I do most of my cooking. I get an idea, think through what flavors would be nice and go for it. Gluten-free cooking doesn't have to be any different from regular cooking, you just get to experiment with more exciting ingredients! So here is my loose "recipe" for this delicious dinner!

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

3 or so handfuls of sliced almonds

some freshly grated parmesan cheese

Seasoning of your choice (I used Morton Nature's Seasoning)

EVOO

Chicken tenderloins

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top of it. Spray the rack with cooking spray and set aside.

Put the almonds through a food processor until they are a breadcrumb consistency.

In one bowl, pour a little olive oil. In another, mix the processed almonds, parmesan cheese and seasoning (all to taste).

Dip chicken pieces (one at a time) in the olive oil, coating both sides. Then dip in the almond-crumb mixture, coating really well. Set on wire rack. Continue until all pieces are coated and on the rack.

Let chicken sit on rack for about 20 minutes or so just to set.

Heat oven to 450 and bake for 15-20 minutes (until chicken is cooked through). That's it!

Now forgive me that I don't have more pictures. I am not used to taking pictures as I go, and as soon as I pulled the chicken tenders out of the oven, They were being snatched off the rack! My 2 year old devoured them. I think it also helped that the girls helped make them. They helped with preparing the dry ingredients. If you have children, always look for ways they can help out in the kitchen. They LOVE IT! And they are more likely to at least try a food if they have had a hand in making it.

I served it with brown basmati rice, but I wanted to jazz it up a tiny bit since I was out of chicken stock to cook the rice in. So, I added a little bit of the same seasoning from the chicken and tossed in some of the sliced almonds. YUM! Just felt like it might work, so I tried it. not to mention it tied the meal together. Then I make some honey glazed carrots to go along side. OH! And I made a honey mustard dipping sauce, but it wasn't needed. Sure was good though!

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

1/4 - 1/3 cup honey

a couple of spoonfuls of Dijon mustard

Gluten-Free Mayo to taste.

YEP! That's it. You could add a little bit of lemon juice too if you wanted, and a little horseradish if you want a little kick. I wasn't sure if the horseradish here was gluten-free or not and since it didn't need it, I left it out.

So all of this to say that you don't need recipes, just a thought in your mind and to "taste" the flavors you would like to have. Nothing has to be difficult and hard to put together. And you don't have to have a recipe to cook. Experiment. Have fun with your food! There is so much great food out there and so many ways to pair them and create new things! Just make sure to read the labels.

Quiet Times and Time-Outs

I know it has been a while..... again. I have had lots of thoughts for blog posts and I am sure many of them will happen, but I have been trying to focus my time on how to better manage my time and the girls. I felt like I was yelling or disciplining ALL the time and had no time for fun with the girls. And because of that I have been a wreck. Now I don't yell all the time, I do not like to yell at my children. But let's face it, there are days when n one is listening and you feel like you are yelling to be heard all day long.

Then I found myself talking very softly, the same thing over and over, "If you can't hear me, you need to take a breath and try to calm down." And, "I will not talk over your screaming, so I will wait." Once they realize that I am not going to talk over their screams and they won't provoke a yell or frustration out of me, then they take a breath, calm down and are ready to listen. How many times do I scream and yell at the Lord (ok, maybe not scream and yell, but complain about the same thing over and over or ask the same thing over and over, and never feel like He is hearing me) and wonder why He doesn't answer or talk to me? Way too many times. I believe He is also saying, "Carrie, I will not talk over you. When you are ready to listen, I am hear to repeat what I have already told you. Open yourself up to listen." The still, quiet moments are when I hear most clearly and can focus on what the Lord has to say to me, to ask of me and to show me.

So then I began to think about my mommy time-outs - those times that I have always removed myself from the room to take a few moments to gather myself together and to pray. Why have I not tried this with my children too? And then I also began thinking about how I could revamp time-outs to try to make them more effective and meaningful. Hmmm....

Just about then, a time-out for Abi was in order. I decided to try a new approach. Here is how it went: "Abi, why did you continue to shake that pom-pom in Amanda's face after she used her nice words and asked you to stop, and I also asked you to respect her words and stop?"

Abi, in a sing-song, flippant response - "Ummmm..... I don't know!"

Mommy - "Well, I would like for you to take a time-out over there on the carpet and think about what you could have done differently."

Abi immediately went to the spot I pointed to, folder hands, closed her eyes and began to pray, "Dear God, please help me to know what I could have done and help me to know what to do." then she sat quietly for the rest of her time. Quite honestly, I think I did too!

Once that time-out was over and I asked her what she could have done differently, she told me a couple of things that would have helped her to avoid time-out. How she could have been more respectful. And then she followed it with, "Jesus helped me!!!!!" Yes, He did! This approach to time-outs has worked wonders for Abi! She now walks around singing, "I want to be like Jesus.....", she is sharing better, she is SO helpful around the house, she is becoming more and more obedient every day.... turn the focus upward. I am in the process of creating a time-out space for reflection, but I think even the current verbal is so effective.

Now I am working on a quiet-time space and routine. Prayer books, Bible stories, coloring books/crayons..... a specified time during the day when we all take some time to quietly work, create, read, pray.... I think it is so very important to establish a routine of daily quiet time early on. And to also establish a time of family devotions. So this piece is a work in process, but I will say there is a lot more prayer going on in our house from people of all ages and it is a much more peaceful place. Every time there is a bump or scrape, both girls are right there to pray healing over whomever got hurt! And they remember to ask later to see how that person is feeling. Even today, we went out in the rain to get a couple of groceries. As we were about to run back to the car, the rain stopped just long enough for the girls to get in (yes, I got soaked. But the girls and I laughed because it was pretty funny). As we were pulling into the driveway, Abi says, "We could ask the Lord to please stop the rain while we get inside." I answered, "Yes we can" and just then, the rain stopped! Abi said, "Look! HE stopped the rain for us!" And just as we all got inside, it picked back up. What a testimony of child-like faith.

Now you may have noticed that I haven't talked much about Amanda. Amanda is 2 and is testing about every boundary she can. She is very blatantly defiant, except when I tell her she needs to go to time-out. She screams and hollers all the way there and through out, but she goes! She will soon figure out that the obedience needs to come BEFORE I send her to time-out. I do give her a warning, so she will soon learn to heed that warning :-) She is sweet as can be though! Just REALLY testing mommy :-)

Well, our personal quiet time is up and Abi is kissing me to let me know, so I am going to go play Mickey Mouse Uno with her! Be blessed and remember to take those few precious moments to be with the Lord! Your day will be so much smoother and patience will be more abundant..... but also remember to ask for more patience :-)

Honest Breakdown

So, I am having one of those weeks where I am just at my wits end. I have zero patience for anything, which is really not good for the children. And Amanda's potty training is about to send my blood pressure through the roof - if it hasn't already. I find myself so short tempered with the kids and I hate that. But at the same time I just don't know what to do because I am just at a loss. I don't have any idea what I am doing and I feel like I am doing everything wrong because nothing is going right. How in the world am I supposed to teach my children about the love of Christ when I can't show it to them? When I can't control my lack of patience? When I am in a place of nothing but tears?

Both of the girls are so sweet, but man are they testing me. And I feel like they are winning. Amanda is extremely disobedient and disrespectful and I can't seem to reign her in. Abi is seeing things from Amanda and is turning from her obedient self to a less than obedient child. And Abi really struggles with being thankful and sharing. And not letting Amanda do things the way she wants. Has to be Abi's way or there is a complete meltdown. And then they both start screaming and focus on how they can get the other in trouble. I seriously don't have the energy anymore. Nothing seems to be working and all that ends up happening is that I lose my cool and end up in tears, along with everyone else.

I could seriously use some helpful advice for anyone who may still be reading this and has any thoughts. Thanks!

Gluten-Free

Well, it's been a while! Although not as long as I had thought. I forgot I wrote about the 4th of July. Yay! So, here is it is. The reason I have not written. Well, I have been deep into Gluten-Free research. YEP! I am trying us out on a Gluten-Free diet. There is Gluten sensitivity in my family and Mark is experiencing some joint discomfort so I began to research natural remedies both for the joints and for my digestive issues. After a week of researching every free moment I had, everything linked back to Gluten. So, that is where I started. The girls do eat some Gluten foods, but I will slowly move them away from it too. Mark and I have just completely removed it from our diet so the girls eat Gluten-Free meals, but their snacks still have some.

Here are some things I have learned so far from being Gluten-Free:

1. It is not as hard to find Gluten-Free foods these days

2. Just because a box is labeled "Gluten-Free" doesn't mean it is actually Gluten-Free.

3. Reading labels is crucial!

4. Baking is very challenging

5. There are a lot of flours needed to make one baked good

6. I thought organic was expensive

7. Gluten-Free is WAY more expensive than organic

8. I learned the phrase "xantham gum"

9. Modified Food Starch = GLUTEN

10. When in doubt, leave it out

11. Pancakes are still tasty, even Gluten-Free

12. Thank goodness for McCormick spices!

13. Pizza crust is a pain to make

14. I will try pizza crust again and experiment

15. Really dislike seeing the term "spices" in the ingredient listing. Please list them out!

16. All "comfort foods" can be interpreted in a Gluten-Free form

17. Gluten-Free Chicken Parm was my first homemade GF meal

18. Real eggs make things rise better than egg substitutes

19. All condiments I used to use are no longer in my recipes

20. I secretly love the challenge

21. I need to make a dessert soon

22. I have a lot of friends who are Gluten-Free!

There will be more learns down the road and when I find a really great recipe or create something I think should be out there, I will post it! If you have any ideas, recipes or suggestions, please feel free to post too. This is an exciting ride!

Fourth of July

Well, we made it! We ventured out late to see the fireworks. Anticipated rain and all. Abi took a 2 1/2 hour nap so that she would be ready to go out. We knew at that moment that rain or not, we were going to have to venture out somewhere and find some fireworks. We decided to head to the beach. So we scarfed down dinner, packed up and went on a hunt for parking by the beach.

On the way there we sang, talked about what we were going to see, saw lots of fire rescue trucks (we past an accident on the bridge) and went on a hunt for parking. We drove around and around, while Abi kept saying, "Daddy, why are you driving in circles? there are lots of parking places right there! LOOK! I see 2!!" We explained that those were reserved for the people who lived in those buildings, but she still wanted to park there :-) After driving around for a bit, Mark went a little further down, asked the police officers if there were any parking places left in the area they were about to close off, and when they said yes we turned in. YES! PArking right by where we were going to be! we got out, pulled out the stroller and went on our way over to the beach.... just across the street. We saw the barge getting in place, so we knew right where we needed to be and were able to get THE perfect seats on the steps down to the sand. The girls played for a while in the sand until Amanda said, "Oh no! I need to go peepee!" and was dancing. 10 minutes before the fireworks were due to start. I did have a pull-up in her just in case, but you can't look at a 2 year old who is potty training and say, "It's okay, hunny. Just go in your diaper." WRONG! We had the potty in the back of the truck so Mark grabbed her and said, "Let's go!" He ran her across the street and she made it! Score! So very thankful that the Lord provided such close parking :-)

Once the fireworks started, Amanda said, "I don't like those! I don't like fire!" I think it was the noise she didn't like, but she wouldn't even look at them. She was looking at the ground. I kept telling her to look and see how beautiful they were and she would glance up shyly every once-in-a-while. I finally told her, "It is just loud. Like thunder. It won't hurt you, but if you don't look you will miss all the pretty colors!" She said, "Like thunder? BOOM!!!" and then giggled. She was fine after that. She was even telling a doggie not to be scared, "It's just loud, doggie. Don't worry. It's okay."

Abi loved them too! Although she asked, "when are they going to be over?" after only 5 minutes. She did still want to watch though. And both of them stayed up until after we were home. So much fun!!!!!! AND the rain held off! What a great night with the family.

Happy 4th!

Potty Training, Round 2

I think the title says it all. We started potty training Amanda this week. I was hesitant and dragging my feet because I didn't know what to expect. You see, Abi was SOOOO easy! However, the time was now and off we went. Area rugs covered, potty out, diaper off. OK! I can do this!!!!

First we went through the, "ok, now remember that you don't have a diaper on. You need to go to the potty if you need to go...." drill. We started outside since that is the easiest place. Potty outside, water and lemonade galore, we are running all over and nothing. I think this girl is a camel!! So we get ready to go inside. BUT WAIT! I hear, "Oh no! I'm peeing!" She runs to the potty and there you have it! Success. A couple of partial accidents inside and then we were full speed ahead. YIPPEE!!! My diaper days are coming to a close!

After a few days of no accidents, I took Amanda for a mommy daughter shopping trip to pick out her own big girl panties. She was SOOOO excited. We went shopping and she picked out monkeys. Glad I took her because that is NOT what I would have thought she wanted :-) They are cute though! And she could not WAIT to put them on. She actually pulled them out of the package and put them on over her pull-up. Yep! They are keepers!

Something I did differently with Amanda is that I didn't really take a break from errands and going out. It was easy with Abi to stop, but not so much with Amanda. And I think it worked out better for her too. I was more relaxed this time around, just offered a lot of verbal reminders to remember to go on the potty and she worked it out. So we are now 2 nights dry, and last night she actually woke up during the night to get up and go to the bathroom! She still needs help with pulling her pants down, but I am fine with that. She will get there and I am fine with helping her for a few weeks until she gets it. I am just really excited for her and for us! What an accomplishment!

Yay for Amanda!

Photo Contest

Hi there! I know it has been quite a while. A lot has happened! In a nutshell, I made a lsat minute trip to Jacksonville to see my grandfather before he went home to Jesus. I will post on that once I get my head around it all. Still processing. After getting back from that trip (and nursing my girls back to health) we had a week of KIDZ Camp (aka VBS) and I think we are still recovering from that! but it was SOOOO fun! Abi LOVES to be on stage! Amanda loves to sing and dance, but once you put her on stage she just stands and takes it all in. they are both so cute!

Speaking of cute, Abi is in the running for being a photo winner this week in a Kids in Hats photo contest. I would love if you would log in and vote! You can vote once a day per computer all week! Feel free to spread the word to your friends. Fun! You can click on Kids in Hats to vote.

Thanks so much! Have a great week and a Happy Fourth!

No Better Feeling

As I have been purposeful about taking time for myself with the Lord these past few weeks, what a difference in everything. I find I am able to draw more patience when dealing with the lack of controlled emotions of my sweet children, automatic turn to prayer when something happens or I feel my blood pressure rising, passion for people, the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout my every day experiences. But my prayers. THIS is what I have so missed. Complete loss of self, fully focused on the Lord and FEELING His presence in me. Feeling the rest and comfort all the way from my head down to my toes. Literally. I actually feel it travel from my heart all the way through my toes. And I then get lost in His presence and prayer. There truly is no better feeling. to truly lose yourself in the Spirit.

I pray you feel that today. That you feel that every day. That you take time to spend with our Father. Sweet, undisturbed time. I know you think it is not possible, especially when you have small children, a husband, work, life. But it is. There is always time for our sweet Lord. And it is the best time of every day. The best moments we will encounter. Clear time for Him. He is waiting to hear from us and spend time with us. All of us. Individually. He love you that much. He loves ME that much. That He is always there to listen. To talk. To support. To love. HE is my reason for living. Everything else I get to do is a blessing from Him. All my daily chores become blessings. Blessed to have a house to care for, children to raise, food to cook into meals, clothes to wash and iron, dishes to clean.... all blessings that I get to do because I live for Him. No better feeling.