It's GROWING.....YAHOOH !!!!

 ( planting more dill seeds)

 ( rutabaga)

 ( bush beans )

 ( baby bokchoy )

 ( Kolrabi)

 ( Patty pan squash)

 ( red leave lettuce)

 ( scarlett runner beans)

( clematis - the blooms on this one are the size of a dinner plate )

Cocunut Macroons - a gluten free indulgence

So..... I'm just finishing my third week of eating gluten free in addition to my eating dairy/ any other allergen free.  It's going really well. My sinuses are clearing, my eczema is fading, I've lost weight and my metabolism is revving back up !!  Ana's finishing up her second ......she's doing very well....I'm already seeing a difference.  Her moods swing are much tamer, her sleep is calmer, her skin looks better, the dark circles under eye are gone and she's eating up a storm.  She announced this evening that she feel's better and thinks she should keep eating "this" way.  We both know that she has a REALLY hard time handling even the slightest feeling of deprivation.  There have been a few moments over the last couple of weeks.  She's gotten upset in the moment but hasn't allowed a rage to take over.  One of our strategies has been to do a lot of menu planning.  My recipe books are full of orange post it note and I think I'm running out of room to book mark any more online.

Yesterday the ladies at church gathered for a group birthday luncheon.  After much thought I decided to bring chicken veg. kabob, veg. flavored brown rice and two sweat treats.  Chocolate Marshmellow squares & Coconut Macaroons.

I make the marshmellow squares following the regular recipe except I used vegan margarine, half crispy rice cereal and half puffed rice and I threw in about a 1/4 of a cup of pure( no dairy) chocolate pieces.

The Macaroons recipe is.......

2/3 cup coconut
2 tsp. cornstarch ( you could probably substitute a different type of starch if you don't use corn)
a sprinkle of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg whites

- Preheat oven to 275 degrees, line baking pan with parchment paper.

- Combined coconut, salt & starch.   set aside.

- Beat egg white until fluffy but still shiny, mix in sugar gradually

- Fold in vanilla, then coconut mixture

- spoon onto lined trays leaving an inch or two between the cookies

- bake one pan at a time for approx. 20 to 30 minute.  just until they start to change color.  allow to cool for a few minute then remove to cooling racks to finish cooling

Yesterday I double the recipe....it wasn't enough !  So I made more today.....we'll see how long these ones will last.  I may need to hide them !!

Wednesday Homeschooling Group - Potatoes & Picincing

 ( It was time to mound up the potatoes.....since we're all new to spud farming, Maren did a little research...we think we did it right...I guess we'll find out won't we......)

( Maren has a thriving herb garden.  My favorite is her "Thyme Oregano" and she is super gracious in sharing with all of us !!)

Crabbing

This morning my big boy was up and at it early...he was going crabbing for the first time with the " young men" & president Terry.  He was so thrilled and successful !

If he has it his way my canner is going to be busy, my freezer stuffed and his sister will be pros at digging out the meat by the Fall.  He's so proud to be giving them lessons and to be the one who provided such a special meal.  I guess I should get searching for crab recipes !!!

Homeschooling Group - Family Day at Stories Beach

a change of diet.....

For a while now I've been mulling over the idea that Ana & I might be sensitive to gluten or wheat.  We have a lot of similarities for two people not genetically related.  We both have sensitive nervous system( I however manage to keep my raging to a minimum) & dairy.  For 9 years I cooked gluten free for K & A, for some reason it never crossed my mind that maybe we should all be eating that way.  I ran the idea past her a few days ago & gave her some articles to read.  I explained that many children like her have had huge success in being able to regulate and control their rages after changing to a gluten free/dairy free diet.  As of today she has agreed to give it a try. I have asked her to commit to a least 6 months, after a few questions she agreed to that also. In a effort to keeps thing positive we went searching for some new recipes.  I pulled out all my GF cook books and paroused some blogs.  We made these this morning......they were a big hit except for the fact that I'll need to multiply the recipe by 6 to feed my brood !!!

( Gluten Free Apple Waffles)

Wednesday Homeschooling Group - Birds with Mother Goose Cori

 ( making egg carton bird feeders)

 ( we all LOVe it when Mother Goose Cori reads to us !!)

( playing crack the egg)

My Big boy.....

Oh, how I love him so !  He & I are making our way through the " teenager" stage of life together.  He's my guinea pig child !  As his mom I don't have the mainstream view on this stage of life.  Maybe this is because I wasn't an " average" teenager myself.  He's away this week on his grade 7 trip to Victoria.  We are all missing him already and it's only been one night !!  He asked me " What I was going to do with out him?" just before leaving yesterday.  I reassured him that we would miss him terribly and do our best to manage...:)  He's so charming.  How I LOVE that smile of his....I sure hope he's having a good time !!!

Baptisum

Eight days ago .....we were baptized and officially became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I went into 2011 with a strong sense that this year would bring peace and maybe that last bit of healing we had all been working for.  I had no idea how or in what form this would happen I just knew.....  Shortly into January we were invited to attend church with dear friends of ours.  Oh. Let's back up a bit !  

For sometime now the girls had been requesting we attend church.  You may remember this post?  Anthony however was most certainly not interested ( let's just say I have reason to think this is trauma based).  We attended services at a couple of our local churches but nothing fit.  Anthony joined us out of respect for his sisters however, he was more than a little uncomfortable.   Which left me in a difficult situation.  I was raised and baptized as a infant in the Catholic church until I made the choice to stop attending at around 12 or so.  I wasn't comfortable with what was going on around me and my father honored my decision.  Over the years I attended service at various denominations but never found the right place for myself.  As I entered into parenting I kind of just gave up.  I tried to live my life in a way that honored my strong belief in a higher power....or so I thought at the time !  For some crazy reason I thought I could raise my children who pretty much see the world as " black & white" in " grey" when it came to religion.  Well really let's be honest I was living in " grey" myself.  So back to January......Anthony was invited to attend church by his friend " A" the youngest child of my dear friend.  He came home really excited to attend and hoped I'd allow him to go.  Of course I said yes and off he went the next Sunday.  The girls were terribly disappointed that just Anthony was going this time.  He arrived home that afternoon just beaming.  I asked him if he'd like to continue attending and how he would feel if we attended as a family....he was more than okay with that !  So off we went and haven't looked back.

When I started on this journey it was for my " girls", then it was for my " children" and along the way I realized it was for me too.  However, it's more than that !  I realized I have more baggage from my religious upbring than I thought.  Baggage is like that it tends to trip you up when you least expect it !  Here's the deal...My Dad did his very best.  He was raised Catholic and he passed on what he knew.  He could have " forced " me to continue attending but he did not.  He had always encouraged my sister & I to look outside of ourselves and to see and honor the ways of others.  To be respectful, caring and of " use" to our community and to think for ourselves...sometimes I wonder if he ever regretted it !! Hehe.


On June 5th we as a family were baptized ( Liam received a blessing & will be baptized after he turns 8).  It's amazing how making the right choice can feel so freeing and grounding at the same time !!

Homeschooling Wednesday - Telegraph Cove

June....

has started off so nicely.......yesterday we attended a celebration in Alert Bay being held by the students at the local cultural program.  It was very enjoyable...I wish we could have stayed longer !!

( The big house )

( the tallest totem pole in the world)

( heading up the dock.....)

( traveling across to Alert Bay on the NIAAD Explorer)

(Swimming on his own....being 7 is sooo great !!!)

( gardening, gardening, gardening.......:)

This morning we enjoyed a late breakfast and then took our time for the rest of the day.  We visited with friends, worked in the garden, pretended we were " fossil finders", baked a super large carrot cake for tomorrows potluck, the boys had a water battle, sold some girl guide cookies, enjoyed a summer dinner and a family movie & some snacks.

( our new fence....)