The Way The Cookie Crumbles

With my new job, I do not go into work if the school in town is closed. So, my very first snow day was today. Let's face it, I am a beach kinda girl who likes a white Christmas, but the rest of the year would prefer 70+ degrees. So, as I sit inside and watch the kids play in the snow, I bake some cookies and get the hot chocolate ready.  Awesome mom right?  My 7 year old did declare that this was the best day ever and I was the best Mommy ever. 

(The deck is still a work in progress)

We are still gluten free at home so when I found the Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate chip cookie mix I snatched it up. I mean, it's Betty Crocker, that chick knows her baked goods. Now, I'm more of a cookie dough connoisseur, so I'll start with my (less than expert) opinion on the dough. Umm...for lack of a better word, weird. It was this strange crumby texture that fell apart. It tasted ok, but I really had to mash these into ball to even get them on the sheet. They actually baked up okay, but still finished with this fall apart cookie that really ticked off my almost 3 year old. They tasted okay and the kids liked them, but I'm pretty sure I could cook anything and as long as I add chocolate chips, they would eat it. I would give these a thumbs down. However, I did buy the premade tub of Pillsbury gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough a while back and those were definitely a thumbs up. 

Confessions of a Minivan Mom

I knew the day would come.  I have four kids and they have to be taken places.  This limits your vehicle choices temendously.  Those gas efficient sedans, cute little SUV's, and middle age crisis sports cars:  no, no, and no.  The choices include a giant SUV that has less than stellar gas milage, which we already have, or the dreaded (shall I say it) MINIVAN.   

I just started a new job which requires me to leave earlier and drive a little further.  This meant my hubby now got the pleasure of dropping the little angels at their designated locations and I had to give up my (super cool) Suburban driving up to him.  Now instead of being super cool, I am the Altima.  Now close your eyes for a moment and picture an Altima, not too bad huh?  Now erase that picture and begin to picture this:  a tan 2003 Altima, 3/4 door handles missing (just the outer part so the door still opens if you sneak your fingers under the inside part), lovely cracked pain around the back windows, peeling patches of the glossy coat (I am sure there is a technical name for that) on the roof, I lovely rattling noise any time you are stopped.  I could go on, but I think you may get the picture.  However, we had both cars paid off and I kinda liked that. 

We had been going back and forth about getting a new (used) vehicle since whoever had the car is limited to 2 kid pickups, but didn't want to add a car payment.  Both cars have around 130,000 miles and we began to worry that at some point they both would need replaced at the same time.  I REALLY didn't want 2 car payments.  We decided the time may have come to replace our beloved Altima.  (I use the term beloved lightly).  It had served its purpose for the 8+ years we had owned the salvage title vehicle.  We looked at SUV's and the 3 row models were a tad bit on the expensive side and the gas milage is not so good.  Then it happened, I don't know what came over me, I guess I have gotten practical in my old age, but the words came out of my mouth.  "I could drive a minivan".  What happened to me?  I used to be cool and I just said I would drive a minivan.

Well, we began looking and yada, yada, yada. I won't bore you with the details, but the Altima is now I am sure headed to the salvage yard, and we are the proud owners of a Honda Odyessey.  Here comes the worst part, the confession.  I am kinda pumped about it.  Don't tell anyone, it's a bit embarrassing, but I like it.  I like it a lot.  I don't feel cool driving it around.  It is not my dream car nor does it become the envy of many people around me, but it is convenient and practical.  Yep, it happened I am old, practical, and I think logically.  I am pretty sure I am going to start a club.  A minivan loving mom's club. 

FYI, you can ask my husband, I don't proofread well.  My commas are in the wrong spots, words are spelled wrong, and I may or may not use an extreme amount of run on sentences.  I don't care and I don't need correction so deal with it :)

Operation Gluten Elimination

As of the start of today our gluten elimination trial has begun.  I am not jumping on the new craze of eliminating gluten just for fun.  In fact,  I am not extremely excited about this new journey.  However, we decided after constant discipline problems at home along with attention difficulty of our oldest daughter, Addison (age 7) we would give it a try.  Honestly, we were at our wits end of constantly having to get onto her and the tantrums that should have dissipated about 3 years ago. 

My turning point occurred after a day of extreme annoyance and getting in trouble.  Addison is a spunky girl and has a lot of wonderful traits.  However, she also has some sensory integration issues that we have been aware of for a long time.  She often gets upset and tells us that she "can't help from being bad" or "can't control herself".  I often times find that as an excuse, but also often time don't believe that she has control of her actions until it is too late.  On this particular day, she was sent to bed early secondary to her behavior.  I went down to discuss her actions for the day and why she was sent to bed.  As I calmly talked to her, her sweet little blue eyes began to fill with tears.  She could no longer hold the tears in and began to cry.  As I held her and asked why she was crying she told me, "I feel like the stupidest one in the family".  My heart broke, we are hard on her, but in no way want to make her feel like less of a person. 

After this day, I began to think of options that we had to help her in her life.  I think she also has ADD/ADHD issues and considered taking her to the doctor to get medication, but who wants to stick their kid on a stimulant if there is another option.  She does not have many issues in school either so, to me, that was another reason to explore other options.  However, recently one of her computer based tested scores dropped from September to January and that to me was a red flag.  After a particularly bad tantrum about homework last week (and a lot of research), I decided we were trying the gluten free diet.  I had a long discussion with her about it and let her know why we were doing it and she was ready to start that day. 

So, this is day 1 of operation gluten elimination.  I will keep you updated on how this process goes.  I really dread the upkeep (especially with parties and going out to eat) and the increased grocery cost.  We are giving it a month and based on results, will decide from there.  If you have any tips to pass along to make this transition cheaper/easier I would love to hear. 

Welcome the my crazy world!!!

So here I go, I decided to start a blog.  As if I don't have enough things going on, but this girl loves to share her opinion and talk.  I am a member of a free site www.buzzagent.com that will randomly pick you to trial items and give your opinion.  I will be posting some of those reviews on here.  I will also probably share random bits of our life that I find crazy, interesting, or just plain irritating.  I may never get a follower, but hey, it will keep me busy in my ever so abundant "off time".