I'm just sitting here sweating.......bleh. Anywho, let's talk about Canada. No lies, I love living in this country for a lot of reasons, but lets keep these brief(ish)-lets just talk about our food! I wanted to make a Canada Day treat to honour our countries birthday, and the usual things come to mind: red and white like our flag (strawberry shortcake, anyone?), but I'm not much for being predictable, so I thought, "tastes of Canada?" Out west? Beef. Out east? Seafood. Quebec? Poutine...none of these things screamed "make me into a dessert!" The idea just made me a little ill actually...and made my husband laugh at me. I dunno...anyway, I thought about one of my favourite foods...maple syrup! Oh man, this country can produce maple syrup like its nobodies business! O.k, so, moving on from maple syrup, us Canadians love bacon (we're only 7th in the world as far as producers of it, but that's not too bad!). And maple bacon is a favourite among many (my husband excluded!). A lot of people appreciate a plate with pancakes, bacon, and the syrup being "allowed" to touch both! So, we've got maple syrup, bacon, and what else could we add...not 'exactly' Canadian, but we eat it a lot in this Canadian house: chocolate! :) Phew, that took a lot of thinking on this hot, hot day! So, speaking of hot, let's not use the oven at all for this dessert!!! I'm melting!!!!!! O.k., we've got to cook some bacon, but that's not too bad! Maple Bacon Crispy Squares with Chocolate Ingredients:
Method:
So, these squares have a hint of salty, smokey bacon, a hint of maple syrup, and a lovely chocolate top keeping it all real.
If you're heading to a Canada Day party, make these to bring along! Some people will love them, and some people won't even try them! Haha, just being honest! Any maple & bacon lovers or haters out there? Share your feelings!
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I quite like tuna. What I like more is having tuna that is just all cozied up with other tastes and textures. So, that's what happened (and happens often) with me and my tuna. I will eat this tuna salad in a lettuce wrap, or just strait up out of the bowl! It's yumm-didly! Tuna Salad (fully loaded) Ingredients:
Method:
Well, I thought yesterday was Friday for most of the day because of it being the last day of school, and my brain wants the last day of anything to be on a Friday. Today is indeed Friday though, and I hope everyone has a good one!
Today is the last day of school! It's crazy! I cannot believe that Caleb will be heading into grade 5 next year! Oh my, oh my, oh my..... Ever since Caleb started school, summer has been a time that worries me (worries is a poor word, it made me feel sick to my stomach is what it did!). He really loves the structure of school, and the summer would tend to be unpredictable which would equal more meltdowns. On one hand, all the experts say "structure, structure, and more structure for kids with autism!". It's a valid point. Kids with autism have such sensory problems that they generally thrive on rituals, schedules, and sameness, and have a hard time with how chaotic the world can be. Procedure can give an element of comfort to those who find our world more confusing than most. But on the other hand, even though they desire order, creating it at all costs can create a child even more obsessed with order. I know that for many with special needs kids in their care, they may be unhappy with that last comment, but it's just my thoughts from this past year. If a child who has a hard time handing change gets to perpetually have things just-so, they will only learn that things will always be just-so. Which can't be the case. No matter how hard someone tries to create a predictable environment, change is inevitable. It seems like I've gone off on a tangent, but what I am trying to get to is this: summer can equal torture for lack of routine, but summer can also equal torture because of a routine! In the past, when summer had no routine, Caleb would be on his very worst behaviour. Fighting, meltdowns, poor eating, bad communication......Oh, summer fun. But, summers with a must-stick-to-routine created a lot of grief in the family because if someone invited us over last minute, we would have to say no because Caleb hadn't been warned first thing in the morning. If we needed (or wanted) to run into town for something suddenly, but hadn't let Caleb know when he woke up, it wouldn't be happening (well, unless we thought him having a jumbo fit in a store would be fun!). So, routine worked for him, but not the rest of us (well, I sometimes liked it), and no routine worked better for us, and not for him. Summers sucked. But something has happened in the last year...Caleb has learned that as much as we try to plan and create a structured environment, life isn't a routine maker! In fact, I think if life had a best friend, it would be change! Caleb has come home from a school day of dis-order, and has a great and happy evening still. Before he would have a chaotic school day, and get through it, then get home and fall apart! We very slowly started to blend the two worlds together. We had routine in that we have a predictable day in some elements (wake up, get dressed, then breakfast, etc.), but no routine in that we may be staying home, or we may be packing up and heading somewhere. Caleb (despite his autism, and us reading and being told that he will only thrive on routine), has managed to grow leaps and bounds this year with a routined and non-routined life. Not only has he grown in his communication skills, school work, eating habits, and relational skills, but he can easily switch gears, and cope with the (sometimes sudden) changes in his day. I am still feeling a bit of a knot in my stomach about the summer, but I think this year it has more to do with the 4 and 5 year old girls and all their bickering!!! Sheesh. In this last week of school, Caleb has had some pretty different days, but has done so well. We even went away for one day to visit my sister at a cottage near-by, and at the end of the day Caleb said to me, "School is all done and summer for cottage", and I said, "nope, you actually still have 2 more days of school". A year ago this conversation would have ended in a complete, full on flailing meltdown, but this time he thinks about it and says, "Caleb will go to cottage later". That was it! What a kid! I sometimes get cranky and unpleasant about changes in my day, and what I thought was going to happen, and there's my son, my autistic son who needs "structure, structure, and more structure!" shrugging his shoulders and getting on with the day. I have said it before, and I will likely (hopefully) say it my whole life, but I need to learn from Caleb. He can still get bent out of shape if things change, but even in those moments, he gets over it faster than he used to. I can be grumpy all day because of a last minute change to the day, but man, I see Caleb and he is working so hard, and trying his best to see that we can have order and disorder, and things can still be alright! There are so many adults who get upset when things don't go as planned, but guess what? Life happens! If my son with autism can struggle to accept that, I feel that the rest of us should be putting in some effort too. Happy summer to those with kids in school who are wrapping it up, or to those just excited about the summer! Plan some fun things to do, but also leave some room for summer surprises; last minute bbq's, trips to a splash pad or beach, getting a freezie and heading to the park, whatever! Stay calm, and summer on. :)
So, a bacon wrapped chicken recipe for ya today. It's really pretty simple, and turns out great. My mind is feeling empty right now, so I don't have much else to say.........o.k, well, enjoy! :) Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken The chicken will need to marinate at least 30 minutes in the bbq sauce before cooking. Ingredients:
For the BBQ Sauce:
Method:
I ran out of little toothpicks....this will still work without them, but the bacon can twist off as it cooks. So, without tooth picks it just means you have to keep your eye on these more, and make sure the ends of the bacon are facing down on the grill to keep them from flying away! Well, that's about all I have to say about that (name that movie quote. The hint is I said it {well, in my head| in a very southern accent). Anyone.....anyone....? (yikes, another movie quote!). O.k, never mind, signing off on another Wednesday!
I like to do end of the school year gifts. I know not everyone does, and that is completely fine! I personally like to because teachers (and e.a's, and principals, and the secretary!) have a really hard job! I couldn't be a teacher (well, not a good one!). End of year gifts can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, and can cost a lot or a little, depending on what you have in mind. I'll just let you know though; I asked my friend who used to be my son's e.a., and she said a good gift is homemade stuff like jams, cookies, etc. Just FYI. :) Anyway, so today I'm just going to share with you some of my favourite gifts from Pinterest, and the gift the kids and I made. It's not too late to whip something up to say "thanks"! The kids and I made Cinnamon & Sugar cookies, as well as Kit Kat cookies (I'll share that deeeee-licious recipe soon!). I wrapped each type in it's own plastic wrap so the flavours wouldn't smoosh, and placed them into a little bucket with tissue paper I found at the Dollarama. Then we just tied 'em up with some cute ribbon. You can package baked goods in whatever you have available, but a little effort can make a simple gift really pretty. Also, don't feel that each person needs a 2 dozen cookies or squares. Just a few will do the trick; enough they could share if they wanted, but not so much that they end up throwing some of it away because there was too much. At Mel's Kitchen Cafe, she shows you (what I think) is a brilliant idea of making Cookie Dough Tins. So, basically instead of baking cookies for people, you make the dough roll it and freeze it, then give people the frozen dough balls with instructions. This idea is great because the gift receiver can make the cookies whenever they want, and there won't be any "these cookies are too old now, just throw them away" problems. If you do this idea though, be sure to bring it to the school yourself, or attach a note so that the person getting the gift doesn't just tuck it away, but actually puts it into the freezer until they are ready to go home. A post called Facilitating the Appreciation over at A Casarella gives a great idea of using a cheap spaghetti canister to hold a stack-o-cookies as a gift. I like this idea because you can see all the yummy cookies. The last gift I want to show is this cupcake holder idea. Really, if you were pinched for time, but wanted to give some gift, you could get some store bought cupcakes, and separate them into their own little 9 oz cup as a gift for one (no sharing allowed!). She tells you that to get the cupcake out you need to stab it with a fork and lift it out, but I would even suggest tying a fork to the top so it can be eaten out of the little cup.
Well, I hope that even if you have no teachers you need gifts for, you can still get some nice baked goods packaging ideas from this post. And if you never give away baked good, well, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. I joke. You are all my friends....and saying stuff like that makes me feel pretty crazy because I feel like I'm talking into the vast world wide web and not any real person! On that cra-cra note, it's time to bow out gracefully(ish). Feel free to make me feel a smidge less coooky by leaving a comment about anything you want, whether it's related to this post or not! :) xoxo A few things I hate. Wow, what a way to start a Monday morning! Well, anyway, first of all, I hate when a recipe tells you to turn on your oven, and then later in the instructions is tells you to refrigerate something for an hour or more! What? And I'm going to have the oven on the whole time waiting for the dough to chill? Geepers. Just sayin'. Secondly, I am not a fan of food that gives no hint as to what it is...Fig Newton? It's gonna have figs! Peanut butter cookie? I'll be looking for peanut butter! Snickerdoodle.....? What the heck? Does it have Snickers bars in it, because it had better with a name like that! But it doesn't! I thought I had made some brilliant cookie, this Cinnamon & Sugar cookie....turns out it's a Snickerdoodle....who knew? I'm sure someone did (obviously), but I didn't! O.k, well now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, let's move on! I woke up in the middle of a really bad dream, and I think it's left me feeling fairly grumpy....my apologies. Cinnamon & Sugar Cookies (the Snickerdoodle) (The dough needs some chillin' time)-see what I did here? I warned you in case you only read through the ingredients and not the method, and you don't realize you won't be eating these as soon as you had hoped! :) Ingredients:
For rolling:
Method:
These are the tiniest bit more time consuming than regular scoop & bake cookies because of the rolling in the cinnamon & sugar, but these are so tasty you won't mind. Pinky swear. I decided to post a cookie recipe today because this is the last week of school, and cookies are a great end-of-year gift for teachers/principles/e.a's/whoever if you were planning on giving them something. And if you don't have school-aged kids, and have no-one to bake these for....feel free to bake them for yourself. :)
I know I already posted an avocado recipe this week, but get over it. :) I also know avocados are high in calories, but food is more than calories (gasp, I know! How could I say such a thing!). Ignore the calories and look at the fact that one avocado has no cholesterol, tons of fibre, you've got some protein in there, 24 vitamins and minerals, as well as fats that are good for you, such as Omega 3, and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. So, in summary (I haven't used that one in a while!), don't be afraid of the ugly avocado! In the future I will be sharing some more savoury recipes that you can use avocados for. So, if you're not into making sweets with them (...weirdo...), you can try some other things to get this fruit into your life. Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies Ingredients:
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Have a great weekend, whatever you're doing! I'll see ya back here on Monday!
In April I wrote an autism & sibling post, but from my own family, and what I see. Today's autism & sibling post is from an article that I really loved from the Hamilton Spectator. It's written by a dad, Joel Rubinoff who has one son with autism, and a younger son without autism. I like his honesty, his point of view, I love how his boys have so much love for each other. I appreciate him seeing and knowing that younger siblings often look up to older siblings, and look to them to lead the way, but in the case of older siblings with special needs, at some point, the younger may be the one leading the way. And The Little One May Lead HimBrothers Max & Sam. The older one with autism, the younger with a sever case of hero worship.By Joel Rubinoff Find the story on thespec.com
The delight they take in each other's presence is palpable. They hold hands in the car, crawl into each other's beds for comfort and ascend the heavens in space capsules constructed from elaborately arranged futon pillows. Max and Sam. Two brothers, 19 months apart — the older one with autism, the younger with a severe case of hero worship. At ages 5 and 31/2, they're pretty much inseparable, which, as their dad, I find both touching and bittersweet. Touching because this is how I know it should be. Bittersweet because I know, as most parents of autistic children know, that at some point, this dynamic may well reverse itself, with the protege overtaking the master. Never mind the ethical quandaries: Is it right? Is it fair? It's already happening. "It's OK, Max," Sammy comforts his older brother, whose "big feelings" have once again resulted in Sammy getting screamed at inches from his face. "We can watch your show instead. I don't need a turn." "It's OK, Max," he'll tell him as I rev up the car stereo. "You can pick the first song. I can wait." "It's OK, Max. You can have the last Orange Fiesta juice box. I'll have this crappy, no-name grape drink instead." It's an odd thing to confess as the parent of an autistic child, but I sometimes feel more protective of Sammy than I do of Max. Max will be OK, my gut tells me, with a little help and careful monitoring along the way. But Sammy? How, I wonder, will this history of indentured servitude affect him in the long run? When we found out Max had autism, Sam was 19 months, a freewheeling vagabond attempting to scale household furniture and cram his scraggly stuffies into cookie jars and heating vents. For an older brother who struggled with the give and take of human interaction, this kid was a godsend. "Sam, make sure you're not in my personal space!" Max would declare imperiously as his brother looked bewildered. "OK, Max!" "Sam, it's dark outside — time to fall asleep. FALL ASLEEP! If you don't fall asleep, I won't be your best friend!" "OK, Max!" The autocratic cruise director and his dutiful protege. But it works both ways. While Sam looks to no-nonsense Max for empirical benchmarks, factual certitude, the correct way to unscrew an Oreo cookie, Max gauges his more emotionally astute brother — in a scientific, bug-under-the-microscope way — for clues on how to interact with people. To be fair, Max has come a long way since he was diagnosed in fall 2011. At that time, when he wasn't staring into space or lining up toy trucks, he was having two-hour tantrums over napkins that weren't folded correctly and toast that was improperly buttered. But two years of speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioural therapy and Daddy tickle fights have helped this tiny titan surpass every limitation imposed by the "Oh my God, he has autism!" school of cautionary horror. Every parent of a special-needs kid knows what I'm talking about: that sucker punch in the gut when the doctor looks you gravely in the eye and tells you "your child is not like the others. He will face challenges. He will need help." It feels like the end of the world. And because the autism community is split over priorities — celebrate differences or find a cure? — because interventions are chronically underfunded, because no one knows what causes this complex brain disorder that affects more kids than diabetes, AIDS, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and Down syndrome combined, you find yourself giving up hope. But that's about you — not your kid. Your kid is just fine, thank you, content to view the world through his own unique prism. And somehow he's evolved into a bright, well-mannered kid with a whimsical sense of humour and keen sense of irony. Like Dick Cavett in short pants. Stigma? Despite alarmists who consider autism a one-way ticket to social rejection, Max has friends, gets invited to birthday parties and — this one confounds me — is greeted like the Norm character on TV's Cheers every time he shows up in the kindergarten playground. "MAXXXX!!" This, of course, isn't the focus of most autism stories you read in the media, which tend to fall into one of two camps: 1. Kids so overwhelmingly needy their distraught parents feel compelled to drop them off at public shelters. 2. Kids everyone thought were lost to the world who turn out to be — get this — scientific geniuses. As far as I can tell, Max — at the higher functioning end of the autism spectrum — is neither, just a regular kid who loves astronomy, art and gymnastics and who, yes, faces unique challenges. Does he have meltdowns? You bet, though not as many as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Does he respond well to change? Like the Titanic heading for an iceberg. Which is where Sammy — the Phil Donahue of 3-year-olds — comes in. "Sammy, come into my bed and we'll pretend it's a rocket ship and go to the cookie planet," I hear Max suggesting over the baby monitor as I lie comatose in bed. "Weeeeeeell ..." Sam, a classic slow waker, hedges in his elongated Jimmy Stewart drawl. "I think I'll just stay here for awhile and rest." And sure enough, Max — a leaner, combover-free Donald Trump — blasts him. "THAT'S IT, SAMMY!" he bellows. "YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE! I WILL NEVER PLAY WITH YOU AGAIN! I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!" For Max it's an immovable mountain, and one he will struggle to surpass. Will he do it? No one would accuse me of being an incurable optimist, but I don't doubt that — with a little nudging and a lot of screaming — he'll grow into a happy, productive adult. Hell, we think he's fantastic — why shouldn't everyone else? But the stats tell another story, with nine out of 10 autistic adults unemployed or underemployed, regardless of IQ or education level, says the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Many live with their parents, their potential squandered, struggling to find their place. But it's Sammy — the pint-sized peacemaker — who will be around to witness the milestones, the heartbreaks, to help Max navigate the nuances when things become overwhelming. But lately he's looking a little frayed around the edges. "I'm mad at you, Max!" he'll growl when goaded to his breaking point. "I'm not your friend anymore!" Max looks shocked, but Sam — shaking with emotion — stands his ground. It's moments like these — when the devoted younger sib teaches his struggling older brother how the world really works — when I feel like rushing over to raise his little fist in triumph. "Atta boy, Sam. Give him hell, don't take crap. And whatever you do, watch his back." Well, these mini turkey meatloaf muffins are fun and yummy. You can just make them without the potato top (so that it's just a meatball minus the rolling into balls part!), but that's up to you! Making the potato topping can happen while the minis are cooking, so it doesn't really take any extra time, just a bit more effort. It's worth it though because these are cute, which obviously matters. ;) Mini Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes Makes about 18 minis Ingredients:
Method:
I packed the leftovers from these for a long drive we had the next day, and they were just soooo good cold! Bonus! :)
I hate school. I'm not 100% sure which part of it I dislike so much. I know I would almost die any time I heard the words "pop quiz"! I loved homeschooling...being able to work at my own pace (which varied between not getting anything done, and getting it ALL done on Monday so I could play outside and read Nancy Drew all week!), knowing my teacher (Mum) and classmates (sisters, and my brother for a while), but what I loved most about homeschooling was that knot was gone in my gut; that "school knot" I used to get everyday before school. I went to some other schools (Bible College for a year, and a Summer of Dance 'school'/missions trip), but those felt different because I choose on purpose to do those things. I'm in school again now, and have been for the last 10 years....the school of Motherhood. This school is chock full of pop quizzes! And I often get that knot in my stomach from the unknown about the day. I had heard that having kids can teach you a lot, but I really never knew how much. So, just as in school where (even though I was scared!) I still wanted to do my best, I want to do my best here too. I want my kids to grow up to be smart, and being able to think for themselves. I also want them to know who they are and where they come from, and to feel confidence in that. So, I give to you a syllabus of sorts to the course of Motherhood. O.k, it's not really a syllabus at all (because I'm not telling you what to expect, as a syllabus would), but it is a list of things that in my time as a Mother, I want to do. I have flunked a few (a-hem...a lot) of the tests of this course, but I still want to do my best! Motherhood Syllabus Movie & Treat Night: Once a month, when my husband is working his weekend of night shifts, the kids and I pick a brand new movie on the Friday night, turn off the lights in the living room, grab some great snacks, and "go to the movies". I like it because I am usually too busy/don't want to just sit and watch a kids movie, but I purposely set this aside, and stay and snuggle with the kids. They look forward to a new movie and great snacks, and I know they think it's special that I stay to watch it with them. Interviews: I've done this with Caleb, but I really want to do this more often with all the kids. I want to set up the video camera and interview the kids, maybe just once a year, but at least a few times in their life. I want to do this because I want to remember their hilarious little voices (especially Keziah's loud and shrieky voice!)), the things they were thinking about at that point in their lives, and just to have it as a treasure because they really, honestly do grow up and change so fast! Going on Dates: My husband does this, but I am bad at setting aside the time. The idea is simple: each child gets to go on a date with you! Pick a place your child would like; it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. In fact, most kids think it's fun to go to a coffee shop and have some hot chocolate! To them it feels special, and it will give you one-on-one time with that child to ask about things in their life. If you want to be a willing student to this little teacher of yours, you will take alone moments like this to get the inside scoop on the 'curriculum', so to speak. Goods and Bads: At bedtime I like to ask the kids "what was the best part of your day?", and "what was the worst part of your day?". Sometimes the answers can be the same day after day, but every now and then one of the kids totally surprises me, and I get a glimpse into what they think makes a good and bad day. It's often the simplest thing (Abby once said the best part of her day was that I only gave her two pieces of potato to eat at dinner! haha!). The point is to give them a chance to A: think about their day, and B: share about their day. Love Languages: Learning about love languages is important. If your child has a love language of quality time, and all you do is buy them gifts to show love, they might feel that you don't understand them, or even love them at all. As an adult example, my husband has a love language of gifts. He loves to give gifts, and he loved to get them. I have a love language of acts of service. You want to show me you love me? Do the dishes. For years Adam was buying me gifts, and I was doing acts of service, and we were both feeling mis-understood. Our love was being "lost in translation". We finally figured it out, and as our kids have been growing, we have been figuring out their love languages too. So, getting an idea of what kind of love language your child might have can help us Moms show a very direct, true to each child, kind of love. Read about this "love language" idea here. If you have any things that you do as a Mom that help you make the best of this school of Motherhood, please do share them with me! Seriously, please share!!! And stay sharp for your next pop quiz! :)
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Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn! I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
3 amazing kids! Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : ) Read more about me by clicking here! Want to Stay Connected?
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