Family dinner!

We had my parents and siblings over for dinner! made my BBQ Chicken, Polentta, salad, and sweet bread. It was great! I really liked it. My family liked it! I need to work on Polenta, but it really was a great! I got rave reviews for it and we ate great! :) I'm so happy we have been able to find some new foods we enjoy. AND recipies that we already like that we can eat! :)

Pancakes! :)

So i tried to make pancakes today....yeah well, they were SUPER thick. They tasted OK. It wasn't to bad...with enough syrup and butter! We're going to try try them again, later...so the experience...
Well, i started making it and um....i didn't read to well, i was a bit distracted...opps, happens sometimes when i get upset, or the kids are crazy, or well, just sometimes...sooo i didn't measure the mix and so had trouble getting the right amount of liquid in it...soooo...um...I cooked them right. I didn't burn them! It's a miracle! GO ME! (I tend to burn at least one of them each time i make them!)  but they didn't fluff right, they were really thick...sigh..i probably should have added more milk or eggs or oil...but not thinking clearly that didn't happen...sigh...the Mr. said they were ok, Pinkie ate them ok, JJ said they were ok with enough syrup, the boy LOVED them. Me...they were ok, i do like mine a bit fluffier...they tasted very nice, needed more fluff...yep i took pictures.... :) thanks to a wonderful friend's suggestion we'll be trying them again while everyone else is gone. So G and i will bed trying them out! :) hehe! but really they were OK, just need to tweak them a bit!

 

yeah the scoop stood up in the batter!

 used my griddle to cook them! REALLY thick still!

and we have pancakes!

We used Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix. (now i do have to say I didn't follow the directions, so they didn't turn out right) Next I'm going to try the Bisquick Gluten Free...so we'll see how that goes! :)

SUCCESS!! LOL!

So for the second time I have made Gluten free Pizza! The unaniomous verdict? YUMMY! we has pepperoni, sausage, cheese, and pizza sauce. SOME of us had Mushroom (me and JJ, the boy wanted some at first, but picked his off and gave them to me :D ) and I added pepper rings to mine too! MMMMM! I couldn't even eat 3 whole pieces! OK! Pizza is back on the menu! :) I just have to make it...It's not to hard, but it's time consumming. So here's the skinny on it: 

I start with Bob's Red Mill's Pizza Crust (I've found this at both Wal-mart and our local Grocery store. Using my handy dandy Kitchenaid mixer I make it following the directions on the package. then 30 min later I place half the dough on my pizza stone, following the directions I bake for a bit, pull it out, top it (with what ever we want that night). Put it back in, finish the baking (I do tend to almost burn them, opps). Serve the first to the kids and hubby (I wait!). Make the second doing the same process. Thend I eat! Whole thing takes about 2 hours. But it is sooo worth it! The kids enjoy it, Hubby enjoys it, I love it! and we're all full! ONLY thing I would like to change is I need a second stone!!! LOL! I'd really like to be able to back both pizzas at the same time!!! :) But it's all good! AND tonight i had left overs! WOOT! lunch for me soon! :)

AAAHHH!

The craziness that is Christmas is over! Whew! We made it through a family dinner with out the hubby getting sick or having pain. So that was a win! There wasn't much for him to eat at the dinner though so that stunk. BUT I did make better bread than last time! :) GO ME! As my MIL was going to be gone for this dinner, I was put in charge of her usual dishes (not this did include me FINALLY getting a recipe i have been BEGGING for and that was GREAT! But it also required me to make more bread! OH! NO! the last batch, while it tasted right, just was to dense. And that was not going to work for me. I get to where I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my cooking. Especially when it's for my in-laws! HAHA! there goes the anxiety! Oh fun! :) The hubs says "eh, they'll eat it or they won't. Who cares?" MEEEEEE <jumping up and down! screaming!> SO the kids got banned from the kitchen, the heat turned up, and my kitchen got a work out! OH! they ROSE!!!! WOOOT for me! Now we just wait to see if they taste as good as last time!! Dip time! (sorry i can't share the recipie, my MIL made me swear to never share it or bad things would happen!) And then! desserts! I have to make some desserts too! OOOOKK! HUM...Chex! they're are Gluten Free! HUM....OH!! PUPPY CHOW!!! that's good! OK KIDS! You've been good! You can help....OH wait you younger two have DESTROYED The Boy's room! GO CLEAN!!! <evil snicker> OK Pinkie, kitchen time with Mommy! :D Rice Chex....Check, Peanut Butter....Check, Chocolate Chips....Check, vanilla...Check, Powdered Sugar...Check! Nuke it, Mix it, and...GREAT! i forgot the vanilla...ok...Mix it.....SIGH it's getting to solid!....nuke it again!!...OK, Mix it!!!...Mostly covered...in the bag!...Cover with powdered sugar....SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE....OK works for me!!! <i'm shaking too> Mommy needs a break! and maybe a stiff drink! Yeah you guessed it, my anxiety is super up and i'm just about to go crazy!!! AHHHH! Someone take me away! LOL! OK, Santa wants Peanut Butter Blossoms! We can do this!.... Peanut Butter cookies...Kisses! Check!....are they being good...yeah, we'll let the kids help, it's Santa's cookies after all! <ok, so Mrs. Clause eats as many as Mr. but who's counting!> Mixed and ready...lets put them on the pan....15? that's all i got? 15!!!!? ok, we won't take these! they'll just stay home! we've got bread, dip, and puppy chow....we should be good! Who want's to share the BEST cookies ever! made by the best little helpers EVER!!! :) i so love my babies! :)

Then we're off to dinner! So i walk in and what is there else to eat.....summer sausage, Cheese, and crackers....nope, Pizza...nope, um....GREAT! sigh...ok, so hubby's going to be hungry! The kids havn't really gone completely on the diet yet, soooo they can have whatever! A seriously short time later and we're out of there and headed for home! d

Dinner time! <great, i didn't really plan on making dinner tonight...but people are hungry!> OK um....food! left overs from the party....sleep for the babies and then "Santa time" Whew! that was quick! :)

The sun's up!!!  Stockings! <where's mommy's coffee?> Presents! <no really?!? Where's the coffee!?!>  OH!!! Pretty new laptop! Thanks to my hubby! :D He spoils me soo! COFFEE!!! We're out of MILK?!?! really??? ok eggs and bacon!! and fun with the new laptop! thankfully I'm geek enough to be able to move all my bookmarks and stuff in less than 30 min! :) lunch nachos! - a meal i don't have the change at all! <woot> dinner - spaghetti, our style with elbow noodles! then scarf the left over Puppy Chow! off to bed for the babies! time for me to play with my new laptop! :) 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families! Have a great end to the year and a new one just starts in 6 days!

Preping for Christmas!

well! here i sit 2 days before Christmas. I've got the presents all bought. Most of them wrapped, and the stuff ready for the stockings! I have to start my baking! LOL! i need to make 2 loaves of sweet bread, a batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms, some rolls, a loaf a bread. Finish my grocery shopping. and then finish my house work! OH! so much fun! this will be our first family meal with the extended family on the new diet. So this is going to be fun! LOL! yeah, it's going to be interesting. hopping we can keep our stuff from being contaminated! I better go get started so I'm not the crabby crazy lady i can tend to be when I've go to much to do and haven't left myself enough time! sigh...it's going to be a LONG couple of days!!! have a Merry Christmas and love your families!

Sooo....

It's been a week on the new diet and so far we're good! we've been enjoying the new foods! and redoing the OLD ones. There have been some fails, but then there have been some great ones!!! :) made some pizza and that was GREAT! Now for a challenge! making Gluten Free Sweet bread! LOL! time to do some hunting!! i'll share some pictures later! right now it's time for some fun with the family! AND on the good news! The Mr. says his tummy is starting to feel better! so maybe it's starting to heal! :)  We can only hope! :)

Websites

So far i've found a few websites that have plenty of recipies for us! i'm so happy for us! it's so nice!

http://glugleglutenfree.com/

http://simplygluten-free.com/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

I'm looking forward to reading these and finding us some new recipies and support for our process! :)

Our First meal!

We had our first fully gluten free meal! I made BBQ/Balsamic Vinegar Chicken, mashed potatos, and a loaf of gluten free bread. It went over so well! the kids ate everything! and the Mr! yeah he enjoied it too! I was soo glad! everything was good! The bread could have had some more flavor but it was good! :) Oh and the dipping sauce was Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive oil!

 

Gluten Free Dinner

Gluten Free Bread!

Grocery Shopping! WOW!

So i did our first grocery shopping with the new diet! WOW talk about sticker shock! It was so nice to find so many things that we already eat that could stay on our diet. I was also surprised to find out how many things we eat had hidden glutens. I went over budget, and have to bring it down. But so far we've been enjoying what we're eating!

So..What's up?

I think next we need to talk about the "problems" in my family :) I have chronic anxiety. Basically i worry about everything! Im sure you're thinking oh that's not that bad. HAHA! You're funny! Try just thinking about driving the kids to school can give you a panic attack. Or thinking about trying to grocery shop can have you shaking so bad you can't think. Yeah it goes soooo far beyond just worrying. I have a side of depression. That's fun too! as mine isn't really so much sadness as anger. i do have the sadness....but the anger is the part that was bad! HAHA so yeah when i get upset i can very easily get more mad that anything else! then i get worried, then more upset, and more mad...it's a  really bad cycle!!! Thank God for the meds i'm on! So keep that in mind as you read everything....

My hubby has Celiac Disease. That's basically an inability to process gluten. Gluten also damages the intestines. This causes many problems. From bloating to a constantly upset stomach to diarrhea after every meal. Also there is fatigue, irritability, and nutritional deficiencies. There is also a skin rash that can develop. There is also an increased risk of small intestine cancer, lymphoma, and gastrointestinal carcinoma. None of these sound like a lot of fun for us. The only treatment is to remove all gluten from the diet. At first that seems simple, don't eat bread or breaded things. HAHA i say again! It's more than just that. There are so many products that use gluten as a glue. Mainly this blog is going to be about the process I and my family go through as we remove gluten from our diet! Enjoy our process and i sure hope you can learn things from us.

The Pets!

Ok i didn't include in our count the fish. They just sit there in the tank! LOL! but we do enjoy them!

We have a beautiful dog! He's a GSD! full blood and so wonderful! he's only about 10 months right now and sooo full of energy! We got him at about 8 weeks and he's been a wonderful dog! He's still learning and we're still training, but he's wonderful! As I tell Hubby, he's not perfect but he's perfect for us!

He and the boy are best buds. and he's very protective of us all. Where he's a bundle of energy all day, he loves to cuddle during the quiet times! Especially at the end of the day once the kids have gone to bed! :)

The shorties!

We have 3 beautiful children:

Pinkie Pie or P is just a sweet wonderful smart baby girl! She's growing up and becoming more and more like me! and it's scary! She's starting puberty and that is not very fun, but we will make it through! at least i hope so!

JJ is my wild girl! she's sweet and smart and wonderful too! While still so different from her sister! I'm enjoying watching her grow just as much as P but she's has so much more energy!

Then we have the BOY! OH he is so much of a boy! LOL! all full of energy and like Daddy says came out all about dirt, trucks, and monsters! Oh don't forget the trains! Where he's the joy of my life he's also the trial!

No i don't love one more than the others. You'll probably hear me talk more about the boy as he's with me more both girls are now in school full day and he still is not. All of them love to talk and make noise so our house is always loud! NOT one of Daddy's favorites. but that's life around here! :) They are all full of energy and love. Where I often feel like i want to pull my hair out, i do get lots of hugs and kisses.

The Daddy!

Daddy is a computer geek, gamer and all around geek! LOL!

He plays on his Xbox and PS3 when he has the time, works IT. and loves his kids and me of course! :)

He was diagnosed recently with Celiac Disease (like Thursday!) and that the main reason for this blog. for me to put my thoughts out there and place the info i find in one place! The ONLY way to treat this is with a Gluten Free diet! Ok so at first it's all, ok no breads, we can do that! HAHA! it's not just that! you'll be surprised at the things i have found that we have to cut out of our diet!!! the biggest one is Dr. Pepper! YEA you heard that right! guess I'll just be sticking with my coffee!!! well, that'll be ok with me! :) This is a huge impact on us, and WOW it's going to have some major changes!

The mommy!

thought I'd take the next few days to give you a few more details about us. We'll start with me! LOL! 
Well the highlights: I'm a stay at home mom. Have been for about 5 years now. I enjoy it most days. Some days i just want to run away screaming! OK most days i want to run away. I have a BA in Early childhood. i planned on being a Kindergarten teacher, but life got in the way, as it usually does! And I ended up being a MOM and not teaching! I worked in Day Cares for a while, but that didn't work out. I subbed for a year, but needed a job during the summer so i worked in fast food for a year (during which time i had my second child). then moved on to just being a SAHM. About that time My oldest started school. We  had our third another year later! 
I'd been having tension issues and through some other stuff in our life we decided to see if i had depression. well i went and talked to my dr and it turns out i have chronic anxiety with a side of depression! woohoo! i don't do things have halfheartedly! :) So our Dr. put me on meds, those worked for some and we switched. that one worked great till I went of BC! And WOW! the hormones kicked in! LOL! Now I'm crazy once a month for about a week. more med changes may be in my future, but if it keeps me sane then it's all good! 
That's about it for me! :) I tend to be tense and worried but it'll all work out in the long run...just hope I don't ruin my kids in the process...but they seem ok! :)

Just us!

I'll start by just introducing the "cast." 

There's me I'm going by Lavendaar or Lav for short. I'm the mom, yeah i always dreamed i'd be the mom  but so did not expect to follow this road! No that's not my real name, it's just what i use online and yeah i get asked about that a lot! I've got cronic anixety mixed with depression. OH yeah, that can be so much fun! 


Then there's my wonderful hubby! We're going to call him Mr. Yeah ok, i'm not very original, but whatever! LOL! he's my mr and i love him!


Then we have Miss Pinkie Pie. Oh, yeah i know that's a my little pony charactor, but if you've seen the show, then you know my biggest princess! She's as smart as a whip and just a wonderful girl! 


Then there's Miss J. Oh, mix a bit of Rainbow Dash and a bit of Apple Jack from My Little Pony (yes again) and you've got my middle child! She beautiful both inside and out. She's the laughter at the party and the one that smiles about it all!


Then Oh there's the boy! He'll always be known as the boy, he's my monster, love'a'bunches, and my sweetest one! I've been enjoying this stage as he's learning how to talk and his personality comes out in everything!


Well, that's our family. No I didn't forget how to count. That's the people. WE recently added another member. Our Puppy! Yeah, we got a dog! He's a German Sheppard. named Rouge. He fits in our family so well! and like i often tell Mr. he's not a perfect dog, but he's perfect for us! Yep that's my cast of Characters! you'll find others wandering though, but that's the biggest part of us!