God is good.

There are days I feel like a big baby.

Allergy season has struck three out of four of our family and I'm miserable. Even with essential oils taking the worst of it, it's still pretty bad. Last night, my amount of sleep was abysmal and the quality of sleep equally abysmal. So all day, I've been looking forward to when M would get home from work and help with the boys so I could rest even a little.

So when M let me know he'd try to head home early today to help, I was thrilled. When he said he was on his way home, I was relieved.

And then, after I put Z down for his nap, and A was distracted by his movie, M crashed on the couch.

Wait, what?

No, no, no. That's not how this is supposed to go. I am the one who barely slept last night, and have been dealing with a sneezy A and a baby who's had bad sinus drainage, causing him to spit up way more than normal. I've been concerned about how much Z has been retaining in his belly all day with how much he's been spitting up. Not to mention also just how many times A has injured himself today jumping off something or running into something. I am ready for a nap.

So I worked on cleaning up the kitchen, trying (unsuccessfully) not to complain to myself about how unfair it is. I'm the one that needs to feed the baby. That needs to make dinner. That gets bent out of shape when the house is covered in toys and needs to be vacuumed. That needs to get to the laundry. And I'm the one with the least amount of sleep. I should be allowed to rest a bit while the boys are down or distracted!

And then the Lord stepped in on my little tantrum.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

I shouldn't begrudge my husband for wanting to rest. He's been up early (around 5 am or so) and at work. Working to provide us funds for money, for our house, for clothes, (for my Stitch Fix), for ministry.

I love my husband. I love how he doesn't even complain about how he leaves for work and I stay home with the kids. I am so very grateful that we are blessed in that he can work and provide for all of us and that I don't need to work to help provide for our family. That's a blessing that I should not ever take for granted.

My grumbling and resentment over his bit of rest was sin. It sure wasn't loving! I was focused on ME, not on the fact that yeah, he's likely worn out. And although he slept more solidly than I last night, he did go to bed later and got up way earlier.

As for my own tiredness, the Lord has been gracious in seeing me through today. M got home early, so when Z is up and I need an extra set of hands, he can help me then. I've gotten more done today than I had expected at this point. And my attitude has been better than expected for sleep deprivation and horrid allergies. Yes, I've slipped up in moments of frustration, but those have been rarer than other days, and the Lord has kept refreshing my energy.

Really now, I have moments of being such a baby. But thank the Lord for his daily grace!

Fellow Mommy's out there, I know how easy it is to slip down that slope of sin into the 'woe is the tired/spat up on/un-showered/taxi driver/________ Mommy'. Ladies, I encourage you to recognize when you are in that moment, take every thought captive, repent of it and give it to the Lord. He is enough. And don't worry about tomorrow either-focus on each day as it comes. His grace is sufficient.

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12: 8-10

Intro to Green Scene Mom and my Brackitz review

I just recently started writing product reviews for a group called Green Scene Mom, and I'll share a few of my reviews here as I write them, and encourage all young mom's to check out GSM! I receive a product for free, try it out, write a review about it, and get to keep whatever it be. (which is good, as nothing in this household is completely safe with a little boy in it!)

Green Scene Mom is a domain that shares eco-friendly products, clothing, inspirational stories and tips for a healthy lifestyle. I have greatly enjoyed reading other mom's reviews on products that I've found to be of interest to myself, and to hear their personal opinions on them. I highly recommend checking out Green Scene Mom! I'll include a link to GSM at the bottom of this post, as well as a few links for spiffy toy that I reviewed down below! 

Brackitz are a creative toy designed to encourage young minds in building and creating structures. They are made in the USA and are advertised for ages 3 to 103. Each set contains high quality wood planks and vibrant sturdy plastic joints for kids to build with.

Brackitz currently offers three sizes of their play set; a 50-piece Creator Set, a 100-piece Architect Set, and a 200-piece Master Builder Set. We received the Architect Set to try out, and our entire family loves it! Brackitz come in a handy box with a handle for easy traveling and storage when not in use.

The design of this play set is great — whatever we make is very sturdy. We've built towers that will not topple unless someone is out to specifically destroy them.

Brackitz's award-winning 100-piece Architect Set includes:

• 60 Wood Planks
• 10 Blue 90° Connectors
• 10 Orange 90° Connectors
• 10 Yellow 120° Connectors
• 10 Red 120° Connectors

Our 2-and-a-half-year-old son loves coming up with creative ways to attach the joints to the wood and build random fun shapes that way. As young as he is, he sometimes has trouble sliding the joints onto the wood, but with a little help from Mommy or Daddy he can design anything. And after a week of having them, he's now getting quite good at doing it himself.

Brackitz is a wonderful engineering toy for teaching children the basics of structural design, and offers hands-on training about how a good foundation is important for a strong tower. Our son has been enthralled with these since we've received them, spending as long as an hour or more playing with them. As he gets older and more adept at attaching pieces together, his attention span with this toy will likely stretch to even longer.

Product Details

• Allows for a greater building experience
• Provides countless hours of fun
• Teaches measurement, angles, proportions and basic physics
• Made with safe materials certified by Consumer Product Safety Commission standards
• Made in the USA

Brackitz can be found online on their website with free domestic shipping on any order! Check out Brackitz imaginative play sets for your own little architects!

http://brackitz.com/

Seriously now, go check out Green Scene Mom! 

http://greenscenemom.com/

Family Update (and no, I am not pregnant!)

I just need to have a little post update on my family. Everyone is growing up so fast, I need to blog and remember and treasure these moments while they're fresh in my mind! 

My eldest will be turning THREE in April. THREE! Where did the time go?! He's grown up so much, I really can't call him a toddler anymore. He really is a little boy now. Which is both exciting and terrifying. It's heartwarming and makes me want to cry all at once. I love my little boy! And in just a few short years he'll be a big boy. Then a teenager. Then a man. 

Oh man. Now I want to cry. Gahhhh!!!

He loves puzzles of all types. He has quite a few easy puzzles that he's mastered (48 piece) and now he's been trying out some 80 piece puzzles we have. It's so much fun to watch him look at the pieces, try rotating them, working it out in his mind where they go.

He also loves to climb, wrestle, jump off any furniture he's climbed on, tumble, run into the wall, and be a crazy little boy. I love how active he is, especially because he really does truly calm down to sit and color, work on puzzles and watch movies. He's active, but he can sit down too. I'm grateful for that balance!

We've been working on the backyard of the house lately. The former owners did their own drain system, and quite frankly, it is very poorly done. The sprinklers are also in the same sad state, so we're working on digging everything up. (and I also get to work on prepping the soil of my garden area. Yay!) He's been loving the time outside to help, play in whatever water he can, play in whatever mud he can, and get his boots stuck in the mud. So my boy!

My sweet #2. He's similar to A in quite a few ways, but so very different in many more ways. A liked his paci. That was all that we could do for him when it came to comforts, until he got much older and attached to a blanket. (THE star blankie. NOT the circle blankie!) Z, on the other hand, loves to suck his thumb, his fingers, however much of his fist that he can fit in his mouth. Every ultra sound we had, his hands were up by his face. This has remained so, even out of the womb. His hands are always cold from this, as he slobbers all over them and even though we keep the house a comfortable temperature for winter, it's still cool enough to make his hands freezing when wet. Not that that will deter him in the slightest!

We're entering the 'chomp everything' stage. He's been doing good for his age in sitting up and we've been encouraging him to sit in his high chair at the table with us when we eat. (currently it is VERY well padded to keep him in, but it's a start!) If he isn't sucking his fingers at the table, he is nomming the table.

The most notable difference in my mind between the two boys is the smile factor. A smiled as a baby, yes. But Z is quick to smile. A was more stoic, more intent on analyzing what was around him. Z just loves to smile at anyone, anything, anytime, anywhere. I love it.

Z does NOT like to be on his back. If I put him down on his back, he's quick to flip himself over onto his belly and watch from there. If A is running around, then Z will army crawl a bit to get the best view of the crazy action. It astounds us how proficient in this he is. He's a strong baby!

M is still busy at the car wash and enjoying it. He's been super busy at church, helping with both the sound team and playing bass in one of the bands. On top of that, he's a deacon and I'm a deaconess, so we've both been busy there. I'm just enjoying (and sometimes going crazy, I admit it) being at home with my boys, running the house and planning for preschool soon.

I love this picture of us from November. My man looks sharp!

In a few months I'll hopefully have a few more sharp pictures of all of us, as M's little sister is getting married. YAY! We are beyond excited for her, and we love the man she's marrying. He's the perfect addition to our family. 

And yeah, I know, it's crazy that I'm blogging something other than recipes or Stitch Fix! But I do want to start trying to have a bit more variety here, as then I'll have more to write about! Sometime soon I'll try to start writing about my garden-to-be. Is there something you think I should write about specifically? Let me know, I want to get better at this! 

Stitch Fix box #2 recap and the 3rd box!

Sooo, I totally forgot to take pictures and post about the second Stitch Fix box! Shame on me. I will post a picture of what I kept though!

My second box had several lovely pieces that looked great in the picture and would look amazing on other friends. Not so much on me. Between post baby and post holidays, I forgot to remeasure and change my measurements on my Stitch Fix Profile, so a few things just didn't fit in the most flattering of ways. (and I still need to figure out what my color type is, so I can tell them what my color type is, and know what to look at and what to avoid) One jacket was asymmetrical, like I had been pinning on my Pinterest board, but the size was a tad too small, and the color wasn't flattering. Some ladies can pull off the off white/tan/beige colors and look amazing. Alas, for I am not one of those ladies. But I really liked the jacket, so I sent an email asking if they had it in other sizes and colors. They didn't, but the gal offered to put a note in my profile saying I wanted one like it in a different size and color. Lovely customer service.

Out of the entire box, one item did fit me that I liked. At the time that I kept it, I only liked it. But it's really grown on me, and now I LOVE it. (I'm actually wearing it right now, as it were) It's soft, comfortable, I can dress it up or dress it down, it's a flattering cut and fit, it's nursing friendly... wonderfully perfect.

Queensland Dolman Jersey Top by Market and Spruce - $48

My 3rd box came in last week and oh, so much good stuff! It was really hard to make decisions on this one. Krystal was my stylist for this box, and she had some great picks!


#1 Ishara Lace Detail V-Neck Blouse by Daniel Rainn - $68

I loved the vibrant purple of this. I really don't have much purple at all in my closet, so I was really happy to see this. I loved the lace in the back, and how classy it was. I wasn't overly fond of the way it fit though, so I sadly put it back. Hoping to see more lovely purple items like this in the future!

#2 David Sueded Asymmetrical Jacket by Miilla - $88

My jacket!!! I loved this the second I touched it. Oh, it's a wonderful, comfortable, soft yet sturdy, classy and edgy, spunky jacket. It has two zipper sets, so you can have zipped loosely or tightly, you can have the awesome side zip for a more square top, or the center zip for a more classically placed zipper line, the zipper can be opened up at the bottom for more flare, it has pockets... It's similar to the jacket that I wanted in the second box, but so much better. Many thanks to my stylist for finding this gem! As if you couldn't already guess, I kept it.

#3 Cecily Crew Neck Sweater by Mak B - $48

and

#4 Leah Skirt by Brixon Ivy - $68

I really liked the sweater. I need to add more classic gray tops in my wardrobe, and my current stash of sweaters is diminishing. (Something about most of them being from college years or even high school means they don't fit like they used to. How odd.)  Unfortunately, I found the sweater wasn't quite as long in the sleeves or the torso as I prefer my sweaters to be. Which is a shame, as I was very fond of the design, color and fabric. So lovely! So I put this one back.

Ladies, it is important to remember to update your sizes on your style profile if you change sizes from holiday season! I hadn't thought about it at all in regards to my hips, and I just didn't think of it til this skirt came in. The picture does not do this skirt justice. It is soft and comfortable, and I so wish it fit! (I'm only holding it up on me in the picture) I have NOTHING like this in my wardrobe. Hopefully I can get something similar in the future that fits, because this would be super fun to wear with a bright top, or neutral top with bright leggings and boots or something. It didn't fit, so I put it back. But I'd be very happy to try it on in a different size.

#5 Ilana Reversible Neckline Dress by Leota - $138

This dress. OH. THIS DRESS! I want it! It's a reversible neckline, I loved the hemline, the fit, the drape, the everything. ..everything but the orangey coral color. I'm seriously hoping and praying that this dress becomes available in a different color and pattern soon that I can try on again. Everything about this was perfect, and I would have kept it if it wasn't for the coral orange colors. Realllllly hoping to get this dress sometime soon though. I'll gladly pay for a dress that fits like this!


I'm thrilled with what this box had in in it. I'm in love with that jacket and still in love with that dress. The other items have given me ideas for my own wardrobe, which is something I appreciate greatly.

One of the many things I adore about Stitch Fix (aside from the variety, the convenience of it being delivered to my front door, the 3 days to try things on and 'sleep on it', aside from all that good stuff) is that I can decide on the price range I prefer. I have the option of getting accessories, bottoms, dresses, jewelry, outer layers and tops. For each of those categories, I can give my price preference. The cheaper the better, $50-$100, $100-$150, $150-$200, or $200+. And then you can choose if there's categories you want to avoid, or that you want lots of, or maybe just to see one item per Fix. Personally, I have lots of jewelry already, and I don't wear it that much with two boys. So I don't want to waste one of my 5 items per box with a piece of jewelry- avoid! I can find dresses in the cheap range at most the stores I shop at, but I'm open to spending a bit more on a nice dress if I really like it, and if I can try it on with what I have at home, so that option is set to $50-$100, but I've also told my stylist I'm open to it being a bit more if it's a really good dress that she really thinks I like.

There's so many more things you can customize on your Style Profile. I'll go more into that detail maybe for the next Fix!

If you have any interest in Stitch Fix, questions about it, or want to sign up, click this link to sign up or leave a comment with your questions. I hope ya'all try it and love it as much as I do!

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/4319388

Stitch Fix-the beginning!

So yeah, I haven't really been around much. I've been busy with moving, a newborn, getting the new house put together, etc. And thebakingbeauties.com have been wonderful in supplying so many recipes that I've needed!

Because I've been so busy and now have two little boys, I really don't have time to go shopping and try on new clothes. But now I'm coming to terms with the fact that many of the clothes in my closet really should go, some because they don't fit so well now, some because, well, having clothes in the closet from high school when now a mom of two is just kind of odd. But what mom has time to try on clothing with a toddler and a newborn? And I hate being in a fitting room, and trying to imagine if the top I'm trying on would match with what I have at home, and matching colors and such. Then I saw on facebook about this new thing called Stitch Fix.

Stitch Fix is this new thing (at least to me) that is a well thought out, brilliant idea. Upon signing up with it, you get a stylist assigned to you, you give them your sizes, style preferences, etc, and they then send you 5 items that they think you'll like. This covers tops, bottoms, skirts, dresses, bags, accessories, etc. After receiving them in the mail, you get 3 days to try them on with what you own, decide what you like and what you don't like. Figure out what fits well and what doesn't. You then pay online for what you want to keep and put the things you don't want to keep in the pre-paid bag they send you and toss it in the mail. Done deal! Easy, fun and up to date styles. (which, for me, is a good thing. Because I tend to stick in my comfy fashion rut) Set the price ranges to what you want, as high or low as you prefer, and set how often you receive your fix.

Oh, Stitch Fix, how I already love thee!

Earlier this week I got my first Stitch Fix box! And boy, do I love it! I had left a note for my stylist, letting her know that I'm the mom of a toddler and a newborn, so I needed the clothes to be comfortable, practical and nursing friendly. Hannah did a great job!

I really liked this top a lot. It's my style and color, but alas, for my shoulders are broader than the cut.
Filbert 3/4 Sleeve Popover Blouse, Black  

I loved this top. Soft, cuddly, great color!
Sawyer Space Dye Dolman Sleeve Knit Top, Burgundy 

Another lovely pick. Again though, it was a bit too tight in the shoulders.
Sad. I really liked the style.
Layle Shirred Shoulder Button-Up Blouse, Red

I liked this one a lot. It's not my typical style or pattern, but that's good.
Dominic Honeycomb Printed Shirt Dress, Navy and white 

Another dress I really liked. Soft and comfy!
Mollee Dolman Sleeve Striped Dress, Gray tones

I'll be keeping the burgundy knit top and the honeycomb dress and ask that they send either the striped dress again or something similar. Definitely a great new addiction!

If you're interested in joining Stitch Fix, please use this affiliate link so I can get a bonus $25 off my next Fix!: https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/4319388

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner rolls

So Thanksgiving is coming up, and I don't know about ya'all, but finding enough oven space for everything is hard. Dinner rolls are a crucial (in my mind) aspect of the Thanksgiving meal. But the oven needs to be used for the the turkey, for the sweet potato casserole, for the stuffing, for the green bean casserole....

But I have a crock pot!

So I was wondering if I could somehow make dinner rolls in my crock pot, and by golly, it worked! Now, I've only done this once, and it worked beautifully for me. I'd love it if anyone else wants this recipe, that they try it once before Thanksgiving in their own crock pot! I don't want my head on a spike the day after Thanksgiving because a recipe didn't work in another crock pot on turkey day...

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup GF all purpose flour (I used Pamela's today. Make sure it already has xanthen gum and salt in it. If your flour does NOT have xanthen gum and salt, add 1 tsp xanthen gum and 1/2 tsp salt)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP yeast
1 cup warm water
2 TBSP melted butter/margarine
1 egg

Directions:
Mix the flour, almond meal, sugar and yeast, then add the wet ingredients. The batter will be thick.
Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray, or grease it as preferred.
Divide the dough evenly and roll into balls (I made 12), distribute them evenly in the crock pot. I got 10 around in a ring, and then 2 in the middle with a quarter inch of space between each ball.
Set your crock pot to 'keep warm' for about 30 minutes.
Switch it to low for the next 45 minutes.
Switch it to high for the last 45 minutes.
Pop those babies out and enjoy!

My apologies over the very hastily written directions and horrid format. I'm receiving an influx of choir dresses that need to be hemmed soon and I know I should work on one tonight while I still have a teensy bit of motivation.

...tonight's motivation being dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. >_>

Pumpkin Muffins and Apple Spice Muffins

Two posts in the same month? It's a miracle!

I mentioned on Friday that I'd be making muffins for the Saturday morning breakfast at my ladies retreat. Well, I've had many requests for those recipes, so I figured I'd make life easy and blog it here!

We celebrated family birthday's earlier this week, and my awesome lil-sis-in-love got me a new cookbook. *yay!* It's babycakes by Erin McKenna. The recipes are vegan, (mostly) gluten-free, and (mostly) sugar free. And they rock! I did two of her recipes on Saturday, and I'm going to share them here. I highly recommend adding this cookbook to your collection! And to make life easy, I'm even including a link for buying it from Amazon. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/BabyCakes-Gluten-Free-Sugar-Free-Recipes-Talked-About/dp/0307408833/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381093340&sr=8-2&keywords=babycakes+by+erin+mckenna

These apple cinnamon muffins were delicious. Our little guy was lucky enough to have a few, and he kept asking for more. (In the end, I limited myself to four muffins in one sitting, thankyouverymuch.) These are great for breakfast! Or just snacking. Or just whenever...

Roasted Apple
1 pound granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced in 1 inch cubes
1 pound pink lady apples, peeled cored, and diced in 1 inch cubes
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Muffin Mix
2 cups all purpose GF flour (they recommend Bob's Red Mill, but i used my own flour blend)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup rice milk (or coconut, or almond, or hemp, or...)
2 TBSP vanilla extract

 * To make the yummy

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, toss apples, cinnamon, agave nectar and lemon juice until the apples are completely coated. Spread this mixture evenly on the baking sheet. Bake them in the oven for 35 minutes, rotating the sheet after 20 minutes. The apples will be soft when done, pull them out and cool them.

Keep the oven on, and line your muffin tins!

Now whisk together all your dry ingredients-the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add the oil, agave nectar, milk and vanilla, and mix completely. Add in 1 cup of the apples.

Fill each little cupcake mold about halfway to two-third's full. Bake for 22 minutes, rotating the pans at the 10 minute mark. They'll be golden brown and pass the toothpick when done.

Cool, eat and enjoy!

***When I made this recipe, I double the muffin batter and used ALL the roasted apples. She makes a note in the book that the apples can be kept in the fridge for up to a week, if you want to make a batch of muffins a few days apart)


The pumpkin spice muffins were a huge hit yesterday-and I clearly didn't make enough yesterday! I decided to make them again this morning for those who didn't get any yesterday (including myself) and this time I made enough. These are moist, yummy, tender, absolutely delectable. I've got a feeling I'll be making more of these soon.


2 cups All-Purpose GF flour blend (the recipe recommends Bob's Red Mill. Today I used my own personal blend)
 2 tsp baking powder
 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp xanthan gum (only if it isn't already in your flour blend. My personal blend has it, so I omitted it today)
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 TBSP ginger
1/2 cup coconut oil
 2/3 cup agave nectar
 2/3 cup rice milk (or coconut, or almond, or hemp, or...)
2 TBSP vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
 1/2 cup hot water

•  How to make the yummy!
  
   Preheat the oven to 325. Line your cupcake pans with liners. The recipe says it makes 12, but today I got away with making 23?...
  
  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add the oil, agave nectar, milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth and thick. Add pumpkin and water, blending thoroughly.
  
   Fill your cupcake liners about halfway to two-third's full with batter. Bake the muffins for 22 minutes, rotating the pan(s) after about 10 minutes. Use a toothpick to confirm they are done.
   Allow to cool, then inhale and enjoy!
  
  ***I added chocolate chips to mine, because I love mixing pumpkin and chocolate. I added roughly 3/4-1 cup of chips in after I had already blended in the pumpkin and water.
  
  

God is GOOD.

It's finally Autumn (ish) around here. The weather is starting to cool down to the 70's and lower, the Santa Ana winds are howling, and all of a sudden I feel depressed. It took me awhile to finally put my finger on it, as I hadn't thought of it at all since mid summer.

I should be just in my 3rd trimester.

I should be bustling about my kitchen, making pies for tonight, pressing my belly against the counter, straining to reach my different flours. I should be starting to find it difficult to find comfortable sleep positions. I should be bathing in lotion, trying to avoid stretch marks.

But instead I'm jumping up and kneeling on my kitchen counters to easier reach my different flours. I'm sleeping like a log most nights, because I've been staying up late sewing, planning and being productive. I'm remembering to put on lotion, when my skin feels like an alligator's.

In one regard, when moments like this hit me, I feel so empty, like something is missing. (which, honestly, is true.) But at the same time, I feel so full!

God knew that my little one (1.5, as I've started calling him), would be better going straight from the warmth and love of my womb, straight to the eternal warmth and love and joy of His arms. God knew that I would need my full energy and non-hormonal patience for when my sweet boy dumps his entire bowl of soup onto his tray at lunch time. (which just happened, mind you) God knew that my schedule would be so FULL that I would have had a hard time keeping it all together if I was pregnant right now. God knows what I don't-the future.

Maybe, instead of giving birth around New Years, I'll be helping someone move, or help a family with their kids, or just have a wonderful time relaxing with the family at home. Maybe, instead of balancing a newborn and a toddler early next year, maybe I'll be balancing more sewing projects and maybe moving?  Maybe, instead of staying home with two kids, I can take my one over to a friend's house and help her with her newborn.

Who knows? Not I.

Even though moments like now, my heart feels heavy, I choose to be content. I choose to have joy. The Lord has given me peace. Yeah, I may not be bouncing around the house today, but I will not wallow in self pity. I am healthy. My husband is healthy and has a wonderful job. My son is healthy and full of energy. (ok, that last bit about his energy may not be the greatest thing...) I just finished some big sewing projects for clients that helped to pay off some costumes I made this summer. Life is good. We are blessed. My little 1.5 is walking with Jesus, meeting family we have in Heaven, experiencing a closeness with God that I have yet to experience!

And we've been busy. I'm making pies today for our ladies retreat tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll be making muffins, then later tomorrow dinner rolls. (and then a cinnamon bun cake and waffles on Sunday!) We're planning Festividad this year for church. We have an anime convention in January. Our cup is full.

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

~*~*~

So today I'm trying out two new recipes. An Americana Apple Pie and a Moo-Less Chocolate Pie. (I'm especially excited about the chocolate pie, no surprise there! Neither of them are originally my recipe, so here's the two links to both recipes:

The apple pie smells amazing! I just pulled it out of the oven, and I gotta say, it really does smell good. I'm looking forward to cutting it open tonight and trying it out.
http://thefitchen.com/2013/06/25/americana-apple-pie/

I have the crust finished (just use gluten free cookies for the crust), and once my little guy is down for his nap I'll continue on and make the filling. So excited for this one!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/moo-less-chocolate-pie-recipe/index.html

 

Doesn't that pie look good?!

He did this while I was typing. I suppose the spoon just wasn't working fast enough!

Chicken Strips!

I use a white board to write recipe down my recipe experiments and edit changes as I go. I've had a recipe written on my kitchen white board for over a week now, and I keep meaning to share it! It's been a crazy week of sewing and prepping for the Renaissance Faire tomorrow. We'll be taking some friends from church after first service and I refused to let us go without them being fully garbed. Soooo....yeah.

We went to Ren Faire a few weeks ago and took our little guy with us. Such a cute little one!

After having such a cutie like him, you must understand why I'm so determined that our group needs to all be costumed. ...which means much sewing in little time. 


And oh, how crazy this week has been! With a week that's so busy and packed I like to have quick and easy lunch options. Saffron Road makes some really great gluten free chicken strips that I love-but they are expensive. And one package isn't enough for me AND my little boy. So recently I decided to experiment and see what I could come up with.

And it's been on my white board since then.

Waiting to be shared.

So, before I get side tracked again, I want to share it! (and also because I really want to clean my white board and have it fully available again)

2-3 chicken breasts
1 egg
1/2 cup corn flour
1/8 cup white rice flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp onion
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut the chicken into strips of whatever size you want.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. 
4.  Whip egg into a froth, and dip chicken into it, then dipping in to the dry mix. Place on a parchment papered baking sheet. 
5. Bake 12-16 minutes, flipping halfway through. 
6. Serve with tator tots of something else of equal yum!

I've discovered that these also freeze really well. Get a cookie sheet that fits in your freezer, and after dipping chicken in the dry mix place on your cookie sheet and freeze. Bake for 20 minutes whenever you want them!

huzzah for the baker!

So much going on! We're preparing for an event our church is having this weekend for the neighbors in celebration of Easter, we have Easter with our families, and then Renaissance Faire. All in a week's time. Oi. So much to do, so little time!

The recipe I'm going to share is one that I specifically tried in preparation of Ren Faire, so I'm going to focus this post on the Faire.

I'm working on making a cotehardie for the Faire. I wanted something new to wear this year, and a dress sounded fun. (ie, flowy) I found this gorgeous pattern and decided to give it a try. My Mom and I found a whole bunch of light green linen at Salvation Army for an absurdly cheap price, so that's what it'll be made of. The gal who wrote out the pattern and blogged it called one part of the 'never ending eyelets of doom'. Yep, aptly named! That's where I am right now and I'm only 4 in! Ahh, but it'll look good when it's done... If you want to know what it looks like and how to make one yourself, here's the blog that I'm stalking following. ^_^ http://romantichistory.blogspot.com/search/label/cotehardie

We always brought our own lunch instead of buying food at the Faire. Mostly just because it's cheaper, and it's rather fun to walk back to the car, pull out our ice chest and find a picnic table with a group of friends and break bread together in the shade. It's just a lovely experience. Since I've been gluten free, it's more of a necessity than anything else. Get a rotisserie chicken (or roast one the night before), get some cheeses and some bread, some grapes...modern day Renaissance feast! Each year I've looked for a Renaissance-esque bread that I could bake and bring. And today, I've found it!

The original recipe is your normal bread. (ie, glutened) But I've tried making it now gluten free style, and it worked! Huzzah!

First, here's the link to the original recipe, and then I'll tell you what I did: http://www.simplysogood.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html

Crusty Bread

3 cups TG's All purpose floud

1 3/4 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 1/2 cups water

I followed the directions as she listed, mixing the dry ingredients together, adding the water, setting aside with plastic wrap to rise for at least 12 hours. (I waited 16 hours, as I had to wait for my little guy to go down for his nap) I used my Deep Covered Baker (from Pampered Chef) as the tool for baking. I heated the oven to 450 and let it heat in there for 30 minutes as instructed. I deviated from the instructions here. GF will not handle well in the sense of rolling into a ball and being all dandy like glutened stuff is. So I left it in the bowl it had been in, sprinkled flour over it while there, and waited. After 30 minutes of the DCB being in the oven, I took it out, took off the lid, dumped a good spoonful or two of flour on my dough, lifted it and dropped it into the hot DCB. Covered with the lid and put in to bake for 30 minutes. Just shy of 30 minutes into it (27 minutes, to be exact) I took the lid off and let it bake for 15 minutes un-lidded. Took it out of the oven, flopped it onto my cooling sheet, debated for a minute, then tore the bread in half and started taste testing. 

For having only 4 ingredients, it was really good! Wow! It was great with some Earth Balance butter on it. We're going to make some again (after Easter, methinks) and try adding some Daiya or other cheese-like stuff in it to see how it'd be with cheese. So exited for such a simple bread that I can make! Super simple for every day life AND for Ren Faire! Huzzah! Huzzah for the Baker! 

Seriously, you've gotta try it. I'm seriously impressed! If I remember to try it with the cheese sub and it turns out good, I'll do my best to post a note here!