Heeeelllo!! I am pooped! It was a great weekend, but also a weekend of being up very late, and waking up very early! Bad combo! I woke up bright and early on Saturday to head into Belleville for the Art Show, which was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was buzzing, I sold some paintings, baking goodies, and antique windows turned into chalkboards, as well as some of my antique dishware pieces (cookies trays, cake stands and bird feeders). Then, after rushing home from the show, the hubby and I headed to a wedding in Madoc which was a blast. We didn't really know anyone there, but we quickly made friends and had a great time! The food was great (catered by some people we did know, but hadn't seen in a while!), the night was great, and we felt honoured to have been invited! Sunday morning we headed back to Madoc early-ish to meet up with some friends we hadn't seen in a (waaaay too) long time!!! We had a great breakfast, and a bit of a catch-up, then rushed into Belleville for church (kinda late...). After church and running our usual errands, we got home, un-loaded the groceries, and went back into Tweed for a Feast From Farm thing that was going on. Local peeps with their local goods, music and games (Caleb won a pumpkin), and a nice sunny afternoon made this a pleasant event for the fam! After that we went back home, had some dinner, and got a few things done like lunch packing and doing the (barn) chores. Then, right at bedtime some friends stopped in....and we all stayed up (even all the children) until about 11-ish! After they left, hubster and I wanted a wee bit of time to ourselves, so we stayed up until midnight eating Jelly Belly's (my treat day!) and watching Arrested Development. This morning we were up and getting the kids out the door for school (all of them looking a tiny bit zombie-ish!). After they got on the bus I went for a nice walk, and now I'm just trying to jump-start my system with some coffee! Phew, that's the end of the story about my weekend, and why I feel so tired today!!! :) Soooo, another paleo mug cake!!! This one requires more effort than usual, but I was a-hankerin' for a salted caramel something, but didn't want to make a huge event out of it! So, this cake emerged from the mad-scientist lab known as my kitchen, and if you have a micro-wave, you will want to make this! If you don't have a micro-wave, you could make it in the oven, though turning the oven on for this seems wasteful. So, maybe use a toaster oven, or even your bbq! Worst case scenario, just make the caramel and eat it strait up. :) Paleo Salted Caramel Mug Cake Ingredients: For the caramel sauce:
For the cake:
Method:
Even though this cake takes more effort than a usual mug-cake, it is 100% worth it! Maybe even 150% worth it! Well, I hope Monday shapes up well for you, dearest reader! I'm feeling like a nap is seriously in order or else I won't make it through this day! Well, I might make it through, but I sure would be grumpy! Thumbs down to being grumpy!
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I loves me some guacamole people! See that plate with veggies in the photo? I ate all of that for my lunch! I know it looks like a plate ready for a party, but the party was all me. :) I was super full, stayed full (thanks to those healthy fat avocados), and got most of my servings of veggies in for the day! My advice for guac? Skip the chips and use veggies! It's super tasty, and (obviously) better for you too! Loaded Guacamole Ingredients:
Method:
So, that's my guacamole! If you don't like stuff in it, well, just omit all the stuff-well, keep the seasoning, of course!
Tomorrow I am very excited to be a part of the Belleville Culture Days and the Art Walk! If you live around Belleville, you should come down! I will have some new paintings for sale (go check 'em out!), as well as some antique windows-turned-chalk&cork-boards, tea cup bird feeders, tea cup & saucer cookie trays, and some recipes in a jar-antique jars, of course! I'm really looking forward to it, and I think you should stop by! Whatever you're doing, have a good weekend! xo People, today is my 31st birthday! I'm not sure why I'm so excited about getting old exactly....except that this birthday marks a year of change for me. A year ago today I was a different person, and not at all a person I was happy to be. I needed to change, but I felt stuck. It wasn't until October last year that my life had a serious stick stuck into it's spokes, and I went flying headfirst into the rubbish heap I had made of my life. What caused the fall isn't important, but falling was necessary, and it started a chain of choices and events that changed me. So, today I want to share the things that I have learned this year that helped to make me into the person I am today. A person who is new, & renewed. By God's grace I can look back at this year and see how all the struggles, the poor choices, and all the hurt has brought me to the feet of Christ, and humbled me, and made me new. Friends are important: I know. Crazy, right? I have thought back on my life and have known some situations where I had friends because I should have them as friends. But they would be so negative, or "toxic". They would have such different values than me, or even just different ideas on life and fun! We will have people in our lives who tire us out, but we need those people in our lives to help us develop virtues (...like patience, or love, or kindness), but also for the others persons sake. Who knows what they are needing, and if God is working in you to help that person through something. We may also be that person to someone else! We need people too, people who seem to push us and challenge us. A person who doesn't care if they are "friends" with you, but still speaks life into you. When I say a "true friend", I mean someone you choose to share with, and be open with. Someone who doesn't drain you because they give back as much as they take. You can be open and honest, and so can they. You both challenge each other, and want to see the best from one another. It is mutual. Sometimes it can be a little lope-sided, but the roots are mutual. In the last year in my life I have gained and lost some friends. Some of these losses and gains have really surprised me, but through it all, I am learning about friendship, and what it should be. I have a few really close friends, a few dear people who know ALL of my darkest secrets, and love me anyway. What a true and honest blessing. I also have a group of people who I am so glad to call friends who, perhaps don't know all my garbage, but know enough of this crazy lady and still choose to be my friend! People who share, and love, and encourage and visit (usually inviting themselves because my introverted self forgets to invite them over!), and make me laugh, and who laugh at me! I am learning that friends are necessary, and that I can't do life alone, no matter how much (read-how Dutch) I think I can. Be a real person, be a true person, let others know you and see you for who you are. Be a friend, and make some friends! It's important! Drugs are good: Okay, well, not the illegal kind. Last year in the late fall, I felt like my brain fell apart. I felt so off....I don't know how else to put it. I would wake up in the morning with dread for the day. I would feel anxious throughout the day, and would constantly be checking my pulse because I could feel my heart pounding. I was fine one minute, than having a serious breakdown the next minute. I have a bit of a temper, but it suddenly was a hair-trigger temper. There is a history of mental illness in my family, and I knew I wasn't immune....as much as I wanted to imagine I was. I told my husband I needed to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told me what I had thought, I was a little messed up. He diagnosed me with a Borderline Personality Disorder, and Bi-Polar II. I am not the type of person who immediately takes a Tylenol when I have a headache, or cough medicine when I've got a cold. I like to fight it out, to figure out a healthier way. But with this, there was no healthier way. The psychiatrist put me on a mood stabilizer called Lamotrigine (which was originally intended {and still used| as an anti-colvulsant drug). Lamotrigine is the first mood stabilizer to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration is 30 years, which is when Lithium was approved. Do I think everyone should be medicated? Nope. But, do I think there is a stigma around mental illness? Big time. There is shame and embarrassment associated with being "crazy", but there shouldn't be. I wasn't choosing to act like a crazed woman, but I sure was acting that way! I would feel such embarrassment and regret after having flown off the handle, so for me, the so-called embarrassment of taking meds is much less severe. Taking meds has levelled me out. Though, once a month I still feel un-hinged, but that should just show you the power of those pre-menstrual hormones! Geepers!!! If you feel like something is not right with you, like you know you think and feel so differently from other people, talk to your doctor, see if there is something that can be done. I thought everyone lived in a state of anxiety and despair, but they didn't. It was me, I needed the help. Life now is so different. I thank God for the people who developed the medication I am on! What a life I had been missing out on by being so afraid of the "mental illness" bug. I can see now that a good part of my adult life has been spent working around and trying to live with this illness. I feel relief now. I feel "still" instead of on edge and anxious. Being honest about my mental state was the best thing I ever did for myself and my family. Don't carry other peoples monkeys!: A good friend told me this in the spring, and it turned me around. I was sharing with her about the guilt I felt from a situation, and she listened with open ears and heard that I felt guilty for what I did, but also guilty for what it caused in the other persons life. She told me, "don't carry other peoples' monkeys!". Basically, a monkey is your "stuff". Your troubles that you carry around as you work through them. I was carrying mine around, and someone else's. It is appropriate to feel regret and remorse about how something you did effected someone else, but to carry around the guilt from their part in it? That is theirs alone, so don't do it. I was literally burdened because of the real or imagined problems I had caused, and my dear friend spoke life into the situation, and I got rid of that extra monkey! I just said to myself, "you've got your own monkey, and that person has their own monkey. They can carry their own, it's not mine". And moved on. It changed the way I was thinking and feeling, and has helped me in many situations since. It is NEVER too late to get into shape: I am turning 31 today, and am literally in the best shape of my life. I'm talking better shape than when I was young, and dancing, and horseback riding many times a week, and, well, being young! In March I decided that enough was enough. I was carrying grief and guilt about so many things that had happened in the last year, and it was weighing me down-literally. I was at my heaviest (not counting the time I weighed 200lbs before I had Keziah!), and was tired of feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin. I hate that feeling. What did I do? What was my secret? No secret, it's just exactly what you would expect: eating right, and working hard. Eating right (to me) means real food: meat, fruits and veggies, good fats (coconut, avocado, olive oil) & nuts and seeds-basically, the Paleo (or Primal) diet. I have a treat day to keep me from thinking all day about my favourite food groups (marshmallows and chocolate!), and I don't beat myself up over eating any amount of real food! I can (and have been) eating fruits and veggies and meat and nuts and seeds until I was full, and have lost weight, and gained muscle. Eat real food, your body will be happy with you! As for working hard, I hired a personal trainer named YouTube. Did you really think I hired a personal trainer? I'm too cheap. For the first few months I basically only did Jillian Michaels workouts. Is she annoying? Yes. But, does she have some amazing workouts? Yes. Are they freakin' hard? Yes!!! After that I started to look around YouTube more, and found so many workouts that I really enjoyed (in that completely exhausting kind of way!). I like to do videos because it keeps me moving, keeps me from stopping to rest, and really pushes me. I will have ups and downs, but I want to stay like this; happy in my own skin, feeling so healthy and in control, and feeling a little bad-ass for how hard I've worked and for knowing what I'm capable of! Some of my favourite workouts with my 'personal trainer' are this Kick Boxing video from my pal Jillian, this series from Jillian (I started at level 1 for this series and worked my way up!), and a favourite channel is from POPSUGAR Fitness. Now go break a sweat! :) Don't follow your heart!: If I hear one more song, or see one more Hollywood film say "follow your heart...." I'm going to loose it! I know it's something we hear all the time, and from a lot of different places, but I will plead with you-do not follow your heart! A very wise person, whom I love very much, gave me a quote last year, and I will try to sum it up further for this. It hit me hard, and really made me look at my heart, and see that I do no want to follow it. The quote is from Oliver Heywood (1825-1892), and is from his book "Heart Treasure". "Store up experiences of deceitful operations of the heart. The heart is a very sad book, but you must read and re-read it. If you do not, you will live and die in serious ignorance. Study then the diverse windings, the cunning strategies, and secrecies of your depraved heart. Consider and remember well all its ways of craftiness and guilt which have cost you so much. Now, in view of it's sad history, will you trust your deceitful heart again? Who, but a fool, will hand over everything he owns to a known thief? What wise man will be exploited by a famous con artist? He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. And will you not be the greatest fool that breathes, if after so many betrayals and tricks, you still confide in this complete traitor? Ah reader, I appeal to your own experience. How many a grievous experience you have had of the hearts deceitfulness! It is prone to deceive, and to be deceived. It is the latter, the proneness to be deceived, that is the more dangerous quality! The reason that a person indulges self-confidence is due to ignorance. He is ignorant of the trickster within. He does not know the working of his own heart, or having gained some knowledge, he forgets this sobering experience. A person who declared bankruptcy in desperation does not want to study the list of his debts, fearing the reality of his condition. He wants to run away from the truth of his predicament. In the same way, a poor deceived sinner does not want to look into his heart. He has a vague and uneasy sense that all is not right there. He wants to cover and conceal, even from himself, this terrible sight which destroys his sense of peace. The real child of God, however, cannot but see what others overlook or strive to hide. The one living by grace will willingly see these things, and will sorrow over them. May God enable us to know and fear our own hearts, that we shall then trust them less, and Him more". I read this quote a few times a week to remind me of who I could be if I blindly followed my heart, and refused to see the folly within it. This idea has honestly changed my life this past year. Speak truth with love: Ephesians 4:29 says "Do not let any unwholesome (think un-nourishing, energy depleting) talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful (useful, profitable) for building others up according to their needs (struggles, or hurts ), that it may benefit those who listen (not what will benefit us)" (emphasis and bracket thoughts my own). This verse can throw away all that you think is necessary to say, and can also push you to say things you may be unwilling to say. To run things you're thinking threw this filter of "is it unwholesome? Will it nourish? Is it going to build them up? Will it benefit the person I need to say it to?" can change the way you see your opinion. Loving someone doesn't mean saying everything you want to, and if the person loves you back they will just take everything you dish out. No, love and friendship is about being forgiving if someone says something hurtful, but a hurt that is lovingly, and truthfully given is a faithful hurt (Proverbs 27:6 "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses). Know your motivation! Speak truth, by all means speak truth-but do it with purpose-to build others up according to their need! And that is my year in summary. I am blessed, I am new. I am so thankful for the people in my life who love me, and push me and challenge me. I am humbled by what God can do with the broken pieces of a life, and that He loves me too much to see me continue on a road of destruction. I couldn't have guessed all that would transpire in one year. But there are seasons, and I am so happy to be looking at the season past. I am standing at the top of a long, steep hill. But I am standing, and I am stronger, and I am wiser. Gosh, I am still human and will stumble and fall a lot, but I can see that there is a solid foundation beneath my feet now. Happy birthday to me! :) I've got another recipe today featuring zucchini from my neighbours garden! :) Chocolate zucchini muffins are nothing new, so if you're thinking, "eeewwwwww", you suck, and you've never tried it. You're just guessing it's gross because we treat zucchini as a vegetable, but in reality (botanically) it's fruit. I know. Bonkers. So, what I'm saying is, if you're in doubt, think of this more as a chocolate and (insert another fruits' name here) muffin. O.k? Let's get to it then! Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Ingredients:
Method:
I think I'm not getting enough (or good enough) sleep lately. I usually can sit down at the computer and write away, but a few times over the last few weeks I just sit here....staring.........then, I suddenly I snap out of it, and think, "was I thinking of something important? I can't remember, I'll sit here and think for a minute......"(staring).....I think you get the idea.
So, on that note......... People who have spent any amount of time with me know I am passionate about food. I love healthy food, and I also love not so healthy food! Just being honest! :) A discussion I find myself in often though is sugar and it's sweet alternatives. So, I wanted to share some thoughts, stats, and facts about the 3 sweeteners I use: sugar, pure maple syrup, and un-pasturized honey. When I'm doing "regular" baking, I use sugar. I use it because I am usually bringing it somewhere or having people over where the dessert in question will be divvied up, and no one person will eat too much of it....and it's cheaper. In my life, eating white sugar is for "treat days", and it is a one day of the week event (sometimes less often...occasionally more often), and because it is isolated and purposeful, I can do it (almost) guilt free. Maple syrup and honey are used in our house more often. I use them when sweetening paleo baked goods, sweetening tea or coffee, or to use on the kids Saturday morning pancakes. Anyway, I am going to run through each item in question, and let you decide how you feel about them! Sugar: So, the basics of sugar that that it is a crystalline substance obtained from various plants, especially sugarcane and sugar beet, consisting essentially of sucrose (two simpler sugars stuck together: glucose and fructose). In recipes, a little bit of acid (for example, some lemon juice or cream of tartar) will cause sucrose to break down into these two components. Neato. Sugar is "natural", it was from a plant, but it's the process it undergoes to become shelf-stable that turns it into a poison for our systems. But beyond that, sugar has NO essential nutrients. None. There are no proteins, essential fats, vitamins or minerals in sugar. It is just pure energy, & empty calories. Sugar is a known cause of insulin resistance (which leads to Type II diabetes), heart decease (studies are showing that sugar effects heart decease more than saturated fat!!! Yowwza!), and sugar even effects how our brains feel about food because of it's high content of fructose, which doesn't tell your brain you are full. So, basically, you end up eating a lot more food (and a lot more empty calories) than you would eat if you had consumed foods that told your brain you were satisfied. So, you put on extra weight. The one thing about sugar that I think is really scary is that it can be actually be addictive. Like abusive drugs, sugar causes a release of dopamine in the reward centre of the brain. The kind of dopamine that is released from eating sugar (and a lot of other types of junk food) is much more significant than what we get from eating real food (food from nature). So, we eat the junk, our brain releases dopamine, we like the feeling, and we repeat the process. The “everything in moderation” message may be a bad idea for people who are addicted to junk food because the best thing for an addiction is abstinence. With all the facts (there are many, and involve big words!), sugar is a poor choice for excessive, everyday consumption. If you are looking for something sweet, look to fruits, or sweeter veggies like carrots, peas that are podded, sweet potatoes (which do take a little effort), or beets. I know it's not the same as sugar, but you can re-train your brain and your body to think of sweet as something different. Maple Syrup: Maple syrup! This is probably my favourite sweetener. Maple syrup has little fat, contains the minerals iron, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese and potassium. Though, maple syrup doesn't offer much in the way of vitamins. F.Y.I, maple syrup is the sap from the (wild sugar) maple tree. The sap that the tree produces (and some brilliant person thought to collect!) is boiled to reduce it to make the sweet maple syrup. When buying maple syrup the label should simply say "100% pure maple syrup" if you want to be sure you're getting real maple syrup. Real maple syrup is more costly than maple-flavoured syrup, but one of these items is real food, and has good elements for you, while the other is made from a nasty mix of sugar, corn syrup, molasses, caramel colour, alcohol, vanilla extract, flavours and a sulphite-based preservative. Which one will you pick? You might save a buck on the maple flavoured syrup, but at what cost? See what I did there? Anyway, the only thing about maple syrup vs honey that tips the scales in the favour of honey is that maple syrup, although it is natural, and not as processed as white sugar, is it is still man made. What comes out of a maple tree is sap. You can drink this sap, but maple syrup really becomes super delicious once it's been boiled down. Honey on the other hand can be eaten strait out of a hive, and it is every bit as delicious as the kind a bee-farmer has extracted (using centrifugal force), and packaged for us. With that, let's move on to honey. Honey: The vitamin content of honey is notably higher than that of maple syrup. It provides a source of vitamin B-6 and vitamin C (maple syrup contains neither of these) :( . Honey also contains more than three times the amount of riboflavin (a part of the B Vitamin group) than maple syrup. A little known fact is that honey also contains fluoride...as in the stuff in your toothpaste and what the dentist gives your teeth a rinse or paste in! What? dental benefits from something sweet? Say it ain't so. My dearest maple syrup contains no fluoride...some other things honey has that maple syrup do not are amino acids, and fibre. The sugars in honey are mostly from fructose though (with a bit from glucose and even less from sucrose), and a diet high in fructose is detrimental to heart and liver health....and remember what I already said about fructose under the sugar blurb? Whomp whomp. So, if you're looking for minerals and lower fructose, maple syrup is a good choice; for those who want the vitamin boost and zero fat (maple syrup has trace amounts), honey is your best bet. But at the end of the day, all sweeteners, be it table sugar, maple syrup, or honey can be bad for you if eaten in excess. The only difference (and redeeming factor) in maple syrup and honey is that they contain vitamins and minerals, and a few other perks. Something I say to people that I food chat with is that when eating foods, whether they be "good" or "bad", pay attention to your body. Some people can eat dairy, wheat, sugar, maple syrup or honey, starches from root vegetables, corn, etc., etc., the list can go no and on. But you need to know and recognize how you metabolize your food and how you feel when and after eating it. Not how the newest guru of the newest fad diet feels about that food. Just you! For instance, if I eat honey past 3 o'clock or so (it doesn't matter if it's strait up, in my de-caff tea, or in a paleo baked good), it will keep me up ALL NIGHT!!! Maple syrup won't do that for me. Sugar makes me happy/laughing, then crying, then angry. In that order, and sometimes quite rapidly and without warning!!! So, when I do have it, I have to mentally be prepared for a string of irrational feelings based on my blood sugar roller coaster! I can eat maple syrup any time of day, and in any amount, and not have a blood sugar rise and crash, or excessive energy resulting in no sleep. So, learn to read your body-that is real natural health. We are each made differently, and react to foods differently, and therefore one persons rules should not apply to all people. There are some cold hard facts about some foods, but telling yourself that it is forbidden will almost always make you think about it more (you know it's true!), and want it all day! If you struggle with a certain food, be it sugar, breads, salt, whatever-tell yourself when you can have it. Say, a certain day of the week, or within a certain window of the day. Sometimes giving yourself a rule, but with a reward, can be beneficial to gaining control over your health and over those things that may control you. As a parting note, I didn't even mention agave nectar. Whaaaaa? But Agave is all the rage! I know but I don't like it. It's fructose content is worse than high fructose corn syrup, and therefore (I believe) shouldn't even be considered as a healthy sweet alternative. Don't hate on me, just read up on it. As for brown sugar, I use it in baking too, I just sort of forgot about it. To me, it's the same as white sugar. Though tastier.
Truthfully, when I see a health-type blog using brown sugar in a recipe, I go, "huh...?". To me, I never thought it was a "health food". Basically brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added, or sugar whose natural molasses wasn't fully extracted (so it can be unrefined or partially refined. Molasses is just a black syrup extracted from the sugarcane as it's processed). Because I kind of forgot about brown sugar, I read up on it last minute, and Wikipedia sums up quite well all he bits and pieces I was reading: "Natural brown sugar, raw sugar, or whole cane sugar is a brown sugar produced from the first crystallization of the sugar cane. There is more molasses in natural brown sugar, giving it a higher mineral content. Some natural brown sugars have particular names and characteristics, and are sold as turbinado, muscovado, or demerara sugar. Although brown sugar has been touted as having health benefits ranging from soothing menstrual cramps to serving as an anti-aging skin treatment, there is no nutritional basis to support brown sugar as a healthier alternative to refined sugars despite the negligible amounts of minerals in brown sugar not found in white sugar. Turbinado and demerara sugars are made by crystallizing raw sugar cane juice, then spinning it in a centrifuge to remove water and some impurities. Demerara sugar has less molasses than light brown sugar. Muscovado (also moscovado or mascobado), an unrefined, dark brown sugar, is produced without centrifuging and has much smaller crystals than turbinado sugar. The sugar cane extract is heated to thicken it and then pan-evaporated in the sun and pounded to yield an unprocessed, damp sugar that retains all of the natural minerals" That's all! My rant about sweeteners is over! Any thoughts? Let me hear 'em! Happy first (full day) of fall, btw! Fish. Some people love it, others hate it. But, wrap it in bacon....? Who can complain now? O.k, even my middle child who is generally our pickiest and says she doesn't like fish will eat this. Three cheers for bacon! :) For real, bacon wrapped haddock (or many types of fish) tastes great, and is real simple to pull off. Bacon Wrapped Haddock Ingredients:
* I usually also sprinkle either dried thyme or rosemary onto the fish before wrapping it in the bacon....but I forgot this time because I was distracted by taking pictures.... :) Method:
See? Easy peasy.
I'm feeling a smidge brain-dead at the moment and can think of nothing to say now. So, in summation, fish+bacon=thumbs up. The End. Well, this week is wrapping up! I feel like it flew by! I went for a walk yesterday morning, and was freeeeezzzzing!!!! Just last Thursday I went for a horseback ride feeling nice and warm and only have a t-shirt on! Geepers Canada! I'm never sure what to expect! Last night I went to the first night of volleyball for the season, and it was a blast. It's a non-competitive (super duper non-competitive!) group of ladies, and just a really good night! Anyway....another mug cake....I am so sorry to those who don't own a microwave!!! I never wanted us to have one, but my husband came home from work one day with one he had bought from a co-worker, and, I will admit, I was pissed! Haha, for realz. Anyway, now he likes to rub it in my face a little that I have a fairly serious microwave mug-cake problem!!! This cake today is a gem....mmmm, man it's so good! It was meant to be a chocolate chip mug cake when I first started mucking around, but the chocolate would melt because my coconut oil was too hot, and I realized-who cares?!? It still tastes crazy deee-lish! Cra-z. Paleo Chocolate Swirl Mug Cake Ingredients:
Method:
O.k, I'm officially freezing here! It's only September, and I refuse to turn the heat on in our house-which for us means getting the outdoor wood boiler up and running, and us having to fill it with logs a few times a day-that is too much effort for heat in SEPTEMBER!!! Whomp whomp.
It just means I'm writing with gloves on, which means every word I type I need to re-type 5 times because typing with gloves on is not really possible! I love the fall though, it is crisp, the air feels clean and free of that muggy summer hot, fresh apples (and apple cider!), cozy sweaters, hot chocolate, the Rockton Fair!!! Oh boy, I'm feeling good (though frozen...) about the fall! Have a good weekend everyone! I want to look back at Caleb's school years... When Caleb was around 2, his therapists encouraged/forced me to send Caleb to pre-school. I was very resistant, but they assured me it was for his best. I brought him everyday he was to attend, and everyday they had to pry a screaming, kicking, flailing young boy out of my arms. He was not impressed with pre-school. His pre-school in Brantford was a dud. His teachers seemed more irritated by him than anything else, and they basically told me he would always be severely delayed and separate from the students his age. There was one woman there who did seem to see a light in his eyes though. She always seemed to be trying to encourage him, and would tell me what he had done well that day, instead of just telling me how delayed he was. When we moved to Bancroft and Caleb started a new pre-school, he still screamed when I dropped him off. In fact, he would scream and cry for at least 1/4 of a kilometre before we even got there! Poor lamb. I felt better leaving him there though, as I knew his teacher and helpers really seemed to enjoy having him around, even though he would have melt-downs and was a distraction to his classmates. They saw there was more going on in his wee head. They helped him learn his alphabet, to count and recognize numbers, and to identify shapes. When we lived in Arden, Caleb attended Land O' Lakes Public School. He got to ride the (big, regular) bus, which seemed to relieve a lot of his tension about going to school. The kid loved school buses! By God's grace, his bus driver was a wonderful woman in her 60's who's brother (at the time in his 50's) had autism. I walked Caleb to the bus, and explained to her Caleb's "isms", and that I was so sorry if he squealed too loud because he was excited about the bus, and that he may just be too loud in general! She was patient and kind, and didn't even mention about her brother until the Christmas break when we gave her a gift, and she had one for Caleb! A Bluebird school bus money-bank. I cried when Caleb ripped it open, and grabbed his crotch in delight at the fantastic bus he was holding. She knew how much he enjoyed riding the bus, and buses in general, and went out of her way to bless him. She honestly laid a foundation to school for Caleb. She was friendly, and understanding. She helped the bus ride to and from school be a relaxing one (as much as is possible!) Beyond the bus driver was Caleb's Kindergarten teacher who was such an amazing woman. Caleb never did manage to say her name right, but he loved her. And she genuinely loved Caleb. She was also key in finally getting him potty trained! Miracle!!! He still had melt-downs, he wasn't learning to read very well. He was behind in most things, and was an interference in the class, but she persisted, and loved him through it all! For a few years after we had left Arden she would still connect with me on Facebook to see how Caleb was doing. I'm not on FB anymore, so we've lost touch, but I know she would be bursting proud of her little Caleb and how far he's come! To give you an example of how much he loved her and his experience in Kindergarten, Caleb has recently been saying, "Caleb will go to college, then will go to Mountain Grove school (what he calls the Land O' Lakes school) and will be a kindergarten teacher". Amazing. In 2010 we lived in Roslin, and Caleb started attending the school he is still at, St. Carthagh Catholic School. He had a rough start there, not due in part to any one person, but for a poor group effort. He struggled a lot, and it felt like his longest school year ever. I actually blame most of that year on myself and my lack of gumption to get in there and make right the things I saw that were wrong. I talked with my oldest sister who had dealt with putting special needs kids through school, and armed with some strategies to fix the year, I arranged to see the principal to sort some things out. She teared up when I told her the kind of year I had been having with Caleb. She had no idea we were struggling so much, and promised to make it right. She did help us fix what was left of the year by way of opening a dialogue between us and the school, and we started to see improvements-if only by way of understanding what kind of day Caleb had. It helped us to know there was (for instance) a fire drill, and we could reason that the meltdown he was having the instant he got off the bus was a delayed reaction to a chaotic day at school. In grade 2 we were still in Roslin (for only another 2 months or so), but Caleb got to attend the same school two years in a row! Woot woot! We were excited to see him take root and really start to grow. I planned to stop into the class a few weeks into school, and talk to the kids about Caleb. I thought he would have a better chance of making friends if they knew who he was, and what autism was. His e.a. had him out of the class, and I went and chatted with a group of the sweetest grade two's I've ever met. I explained about autism, and how he seemed different, but how he was really the same. I said he had a blow-dryer brain, when everyone else had a toaster brain. I told the kids Caleb could make toast with his blow-dryer brain, it would just take longer. They all loved the idea of the brains as electronics. The best part of the visit was when I asked if anyone had any questions they needed answered about Caleb; about his sometimes strange behaviours, his crazy noises, why he has meltdowns, etc. Instead I got a lot of, "Um......did you know can sink a basketball in the highest net in the yard?". I did not know that. "Caleb's Mom, did you know that Caleb sings O Canada the best out of everyone every morning?". Didn't know that either. That beautiful class of kids had NO questions for me, only things they wanted to tell me about how wonderful he was. I knew this would be a turning year for him, and I was so glad he got to stay in the same school with a group of kids who had already gotten to know him, and loved him as he was. In grade 3 Caleb had the same teacher as grade 2, and that made me happy! Not only was she a wonderful teacher to Caleb, but I knew having her again would help Caleb progress because she knew him and what he was capable of. The other huge thing for Caleb this year was having the same E.A. So, that lucky boy got the same teacher and the same E.A. 2 years in a row! It was like an answered prayer I hadn't even uttered, the Lord just knew! That amazing E.A. wrote a post for me back in December, and it's worth a read. It demonstrates how much she cared for Caleb as a person, but also from a very educational point of view too. That year saw Caleb change and grow a lot, and it was due to the amazing staff at his school. I will admit openly that on this particular year I relaxed in my intense care and advocacy for Caleb at school. I felt so confident in him, and in the people I had entrusted him to, that I relaxed my special-needs-kid-death-grip on his school. It felt like I was able to breath for the first time when I sent him on the bus and watched him leave in the morning. Last year, in grade 4, Caleb got a new teacher, who was wonderful and really thought Caleb was fantastic. But in December his e.a. got offered a job working at the head office of the school board, and after the Christmas holiday Caleb came back to school to a new e.a. He knew his new e.a. from school already, which really helped the transition, but I think the situation really let him shine and demonstrate how much he had changed and grown in the last few years. In the past, he would have a good day at school, then get home and fall apart. Or, he would have a rotten day at school, then come home and be so sweet and wonderful. His adapting skills were so poor, and he internalized changes that bothered him, then let them explode in severe ways. The new year came, and with it a new e.a., and he took all the changes in stride, and had more consistent days where no matter what was happening, he would pull himself together, and keep moving. He finished the year off strong, and we were so proud of him and all he had accomplished. This year, Caleb has the e.a. he got last January, and we know she cares for him, and we know she wants him to succeed.
She challenges him, but we know that he is also becoming aware and accountable to himself. He wants to read more consistently, is using better words (though his manners are still sort of appalling!), and he loves math (yuk!). :) Caleb has two teachers this year who I think will be good for him. They seem to "get" him, and want to see him do his best. Last week we went to a meet-the-teacher/start of school year bbq. As soon as we got there Caleb vanished, and was swept away in a crowd of boys. The kids were talking with him (while he semi-ignored them. Caleb style.), sharing their DS and phones with him to play games, and goofing around with him while he shouted about his "crabby paddie!" (his g.f. cheeseburger I brought him). I started this post because I was looking through photos, and saw the one of Caleb in pre-school, and thought, "wow, what a wild ride!" I can't believe where Caleb has gotten in the 10 years of his life. When he was young we didn't want any more kids because he was too much to handle and we didn't think we could possibly manage it. I would cry a lot beside his crib while he slept, wondering why God would burden me with this little boy who was so difficult every minute of the day. His early years were more pain and heartache than success, and sometimes it felt like one step forward, then being shoved back 10 steps. The key though is to get back up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward. Raising a child with special needs, and navigating the school years and the school system can be frightening-forget that, it IS frightening! Fight for your child, pray for your child, and get the best for your child! If something within the school is not sitting right with you, get it sorted! It's your kid, and you can voice your concerns! But also, try to see that usually (though not always), the school will have at least one teacher, e.a. or a principal who truly and deeply wishes for your child to succeed. Find that faculty member, and make an ally! We have seen hard years for Caleb at school, but we have also seen a school that loves Caleb, and has gotten to know him-sometimes we feel they know him better than we do! We were joking recently that if my husband and I died, we are going to leave Caleb in the care of his school. I feel like I've been writing about school a lot...maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But, I want to sing the praises of his school! I know this new school year has only just started, but I have so much faith in the people working at St. Carthagh's that I feel so blessed. Caleb had a "incident" last week that my husband and I were confused about. When we talked with the principal about it, it brought my husband to tears to realize how well the school knows Caleb, and how much they advocate for him-even amongst themselves! So, this is a random, start of the new school year thank-you to Caleb's school! To the staff who love him, and to the kids who accept him. I would love to say that my husband and I, and Caleb's siblings have crafted him into this fabulous (and seriously goofy) kid he is today, but I would be a liar (pants on fire). What a blessing you have all been in our lives. We love you and pray for you daily that God will continue to use you in Caleb's life. It also prompts us to pray for special needs kids and their parents who need a boost; for families who don't have a wonderful school to rely on, or teachers or e.a's or a principal who truly care. To Caleb's school-you are wonderful-every one of you!!! Thank-You!!!! xo Hey there world wide webbers. Webbers is not a real word, fyi. I know it's getting cold, I know summer is technically almost over, so perhaps that's why I went looking for a spicy bbq recipe to share to keep the summer alive!!! This one hit the spot, and turned up the heat. Wow, that was cheesy. I don't care, I'm leaving it. Spicy Chicken Skewers with Sesame Dipping Sauce Ingredients:
For the spicy marinade:
Lemon juice Olive oil For the dipping sauce:
Method:
It's a pretty easy process, with fantastic results. I didn't get any pictures of the dip, but it is gooood. I prefer to dip each skewer into the sauce, where my husband likes to dump all his sauce right onto the chicken. Well, that's all she wrote!...for now. She being me, of course. O.k., lots to do today, so I'm signing off!
Good morning to you. First of all, I'm from Canada, and that is indeed how we spell flavour here! O.k, I'm glad that's out of the way! We got back last night from a weekend away with just enough time to pack lunches, put away things from our travels, have a cup of tea and watch an episode of Bones. The wedding we went to this weekend was such a refreshing event; not too traditional, but still beautiful and, most importantly, really reflected the people who were getting married and their tastes and true personalities. At the reception they had a proper Irish céilí....which is basically like square dancing, except not always in a square...I don't know quite how to describe it except to say it was riotous and celtic, and great fun. So much fun. Anyway, let's talk about creamer. Store bought coffee cream should make you gag a bit when you read the ingredients...and if it doesn't make you gag a bit you need food therapy of some sort. Corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils should not be in coffee cream. They really shouldn't be in any food at all, but that's a whole different story. So, my flavoured cream is truly a whole food idea, and it can be customized with whatever milk option you can drink, and to many, many flavours. Get ready to be amazed.... :) Healthy Flavoured Creamer Ingredients:
(Make more or less depending on how much creamer you would generally use within a week) Method:
Some tips: You can add a few drops of honey or maple syrup to the steeping milk if you want it a little sweeter, you can also add extras like cinnamon, a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, or a pinch of cocoa powder. Perhaps don't add all those at once, but make some flavour combos that you think might work! Can I just say that if you don't like cream in your coffee, you can make flavoured milk for your tea, or you can use a fruity tea to steeped with a milk alternative as a strait-up drink. I made the kids "strawberry milk" (almond milk steeped with strawberry tea), and they loooooved it! I have also steeped chai tea in my milk for a proper-ish chai tea latte. Well, dear people, that's all I have to say for now! I hope everyone has a fine monday!
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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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