School and Morning Snack-Banana Bread Muffins

Well I guess I have been busy since it has been since August for a post....opps! I have been very busy but loving every minute of it. Kira has started school at home and loves it. We started Zoo Phonics in the summer when my sister brought it over from NZ. The kids love it and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a phonics program. It is fun and interactive for the kids, while teaching them (and me) phonics. I did not learn phonics as a kid, so it is interesting for me to learn the process. We started to read a couple little easy reading books, cat on the mat etc. Then she wanted to read more. So we read the first two pages of "The Fire Cat". She did great and loved every minute of it. She is getting some sight words and wants to learn more. I love seeing her excitement and do not want to drown it out with constant lessons and pounding it into her brain. But rather take our time and let her lead the way with the speed of learning. As long as she wants to keep reading in a session, we will.
I guess I am doing a mixture of traditional schooling but with a small part of unschooling in it too. The whole unschooling idea intrigues me. I love the idea of them studying what their interests are and as a parent you can lead the learning by certain books. I read this one blog on how the mom would put out a book on insects on the kitchen table in the morning and then the kids would go through it and it would produce the appetite for more. The kids would go outside with jars, shovels and magnifying glasses then have a day full of learning all untraditional. Anyways, I want to incorporate that type of freedom in teaching Kira and Enzo and encourage their interests to come out!

I have been baking more now that is is a little cooler...not that it ever really got hot this summer. There were a few days here and there but nothing crazy. I just realized that I do love to bake and I know why now. When I have something baking and the kids smell it and I overhear them talk to one another about it in wonder, it is so cute. In example, I was baking banana bread for our neighbor and Enzo and Kira are coloring in the living room. Enzo turns to Kira and says "Kira, do you smell that?" She replies "Yes, what do you think it is?" He replies "Something yummy!" Then they came to me and asked when it was ready and when could they eat it! It was so great that their senses were heightened and it peaked their interest! So cute! So I guess I am a baker after all.

This recipe is great, easy and quick. For some reason I thought banana bread was more labor intense than this. It is also vegan which is great, but full of flavor! I have tweaked the recipe a bit, it originally had one cup of sugar and it only needs 1/4 cup because the bananas are so ripe and sweet. I want to mess around more with it but for now this recipe is great!


Gluten Free Banana Bread Muffins
3 ripe bananas
1/4 c oil
1/4 c cane sugar
2 c GF flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c chopped walnuts

Mash bananas and mix well with oil and sugar.
In a separate bowl sift flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda.
Mix banana mixture and flour mixture.
Fold in walnuts
Using 1/4 c fill muffin tins about 3/4 full.
Yields 12 muffins

Bake at 360 degrees for about 20 minutes.
I bake them in my toaster oven for about 16-18 minutes.
My oven heats up the whole house and I not ready for that kind of heat :)

Kira does not like walnuts but Enzo does. So I split the mixture and only use 1/2 c walnuts in Enzo's and top the muffins with walnuts so I know which one is which. It just takes a second to do and then I do not have her picking apart the muffins :)

Enjoy!

Veggie Enchiladas

I made sweet potato and black bean enchiladas last week and thought I would try another recipe.

I used zucchini, carrots, red potatoes, black beans and onions.

Obviously, if you use sour cream these are not Casein free or vegan but you can use a sour cream substitute.

Veggie Enchiladas

Corn tortillas

2 carrots-sliced as big as potatoes

1 large zucchini sliced

1/2 med onion- cubed

5-6 red potatoes- large cubes

1 tsp Cumin

salt and pepper

1 cup cooked black beans

enchiladas sauce and/or

sour cream sauce- 1 part water 2 parts sour cream mixed

Directions

Bring potatoes and carrots to boil until fork tender about 5-10minutes depending on size of chunks. Meanwhile saute onions and zucchini with salt and pepper until tender. In a blender puree potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onion and black beans. Season with cumin. Warm corn tortillas on a skillet. There are two ways of doing enchiladas.

First is the prep before if you are not eating right away: in a baking pan pour enchiladas sauce or sour cream sauce and place warm corn tortillas in sauce covering on both sides one at a time. Once tortilla is saturated, spoon on about 2 Tb of potato mixture. Roll up and arrange neatly in pan. Cover with remaining sauce and cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Second prep is for immediate enjoyment. Your potato mixture is hot and tortillas are warm so you will need to warm up your enchiladas sauce or sour cream sauce. On a large plate assemble the tortillas with the filling. Pour the sauce on top and serve.

You can add black olives, green onions, cheese or even jalpenos to top of the enchiladas.

The kids ate these up and Eric even said these tasted like a meat filling. I think the cumin is the trick. You could use any taco seasoning too.

Enjoy!

You get veggies in there and the kids have no idea, I love it!

**If you want an easier recipe use two large sweet potatoes cubed instead of the red potatoes and carrots**

Bonjour Butterflies

Okay I am really going to get all of our vacation pictures up I promise.

I have a check up appointment on Friday with my OB/GYN and

we are going to talk about getting a second opinion.

But for now enjoy these pictures!

Here are the butterflies we saw at the Science center

Enzo is standing next to a little butterfly on the right

Close-up of his butterfly

They look like eyes

One just like this was on Kira's head but flew away before I could get a picture

Where Do I Begin?

Well, where do I begin? First off, I thought I was pregnant, which would have been amazing but not so much in our plans. I was a little excited and nervous thinking we just sold all of our baby stuff so it figures I would get pregnant. I decided I better go get tested and I might as well get my yearly out of the way since it has been two years, opps. I made my appointment and went in for my yearly OB/GYN last Friday. I went in and the pregnancy test came back negative, whoa, as I am wiping the sweat off my brow. Next we move onto the ever so delightful breast exam. "Hmm, do you feel that?"  I thought to myself, huh?! As I feel around, I say "Uh, isn't that my rib?" She replies politely, " No, see it is not connected, it is not a rib". Sheepishly, I start to wonder I guess I am not that great at going my quarterly monthly self exam, what the heck?! She tells me I need to get a mammogram, oh great, cause that sounds like so much fun. We finish up all the fun and she gives me numbers for different diagnostic centers.

Wow! I am floored right now. I thought I was pregnant but really it looks like there is something wrong with the ladies. I call Eric and I am trying to keep it together. I walk down to the park with the kids because I promised we would go after the appointment. Dazed and confused I made my way down there. I made a few phone calls and got an appointment for a mammogram on Wednesday. Now let me remind you it was Friday. That means I had Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to endure and then Wednesday for my appointment. Really?

Good thing I had to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday night otherwise I probably would have thought about it way too much. It is good to be busy and have to think about others rather than yourself when you are going through something unknown.

To be totally honest I was not too worried if it was cancer. If it is cancer I know I could handle it but the not knowing and waiting was killing me! I had to really concentrate on the Lord and His peace. Obviously, I needed to be in His arms. I know I need to be there all the time but how often do we wander off think that we are okay. He gently reminds us that we need Him.

By Saturday I was feeling emotionally better. I felt the prayers that were covering me and it was nice.  Sunday morning came and our pastor was talking about trials....hahaha. Nice coincidence! He talked about Abraham and Isaac. How God had promised Abraham:
     I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. Gen 12:2
But then He commanded:
Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." Gen 22:2

It was crazy how Bryan was talking about the promises and commands of God and how we should have faith to follow His commands even though they might not seem to directly coincide with His promises. The whole sermon was great and I could relate.

I just tried to stay busy and when I found myself thinking about it and worrying I had to remember to cling to Him. I definitely had all of the "what if" thoughts but I found peace no matter what. Finally, Wednesday morning arrived and my appointment finally was here.

I got to the diagnostic center and tried to keep it together. I was not allowed to wear lotion, perfume or deodorant. Now, I do not wear lotion or perfume so that is no problem but deodorant?!? If you all do not know I sweat, a lot, no really a lot. I do not smell but I sweat. Since this happens to be on  When they called me back the nurse told me on the way to the mammogram that I would need an ultrasound too. Yeah, not only are they going to squish my right breast but I get to have the ultra sound wand wandering all over it too. It just keeps on getting better. I will say the staff was outstanding and very sensitive to me.
By the time this the appointment came to and end I was left in the ultra sound room in my beautiful new gown waiting for the doctor's assesment. I was a little overwhelmed but at peace at the same time if that makes sense. I eyes welled up a couple different times. I kept thinking of scriptures and would not let my mind wander to the bad or the what if's. Obviously, our minds gravitate to those but dwelling on them is not what I wanted to do. Instead  "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:7 came to mind and it did.

The nurse came in and told me everything looked normal. The lump was just tissue. It was not a cyst, mass, cancerous etc. just tissue. Now that we know it is there just keep an eye on it. I was relieved. To quote Tom Petty "The waiting is the hardest part". My nurse at the doctor's office called later that afternoon to check up. She was saying that the mammogram does not always detect everything and wants me to see a specialist. Hmm, not ready for that bill, but I will see you for a free check up in a week. So as for now I feeling good with the doctor's decision and we will see next Friday about anything further.

Thank you to all of you who prayed and for words of encouragement.
Love you all!

Seattle Day 2

Enzo discovered all of the Legos at my aunt's house

Seattle Center

Okay, Stike a Pose!

Space Needle

Gorgeous Day in Seattle

We head over to The Pacific Science Center

Circus Circus

Enzo the Lion Tamer and a clown

Enzo the lion and now I am the lion tamer

A garden maze

Control panel for the Dinosaur

The electronic dinosaur

Dinosaur footprint

I remember coming here and sitting this capsule as a kid

Inside the cockpit

There was a whole insect exhibit, Enzo is riding the caterpillar like a horse, Giddy Up!

Butterfly Exhibit

I have about fifteen butterfly pictures and will post in a different post

Kira finds the one computer in the whole science center, of course!

A huge tree ring

Enzo, Cousin Cadence, and Kira

The power of water, the guns shot at pinwheels.

It is crazy to me how inconsiderate people are,

the guy in the red shirt was on that gun with his son for about ten minutes.

There was a line of kids and he was oblivious to the fact.

Common Courtesy is not so Common any more!

Huge granite ball

A water wheel, it took three of them to get it going

Well deserved snack with Cousin Shayli

A fabulous Salmon dinner with the whole family

Sheri(my new SIL), Terah(my sister's daughter), Papa Andy(my step dad),

Bethany(my cousin), Jenny(my SIL), Jacob(my brother)

Jenny, Jacob, Mimi(my mom in the red), Jebraun(my sister standing), Aunt B(in the black), Josh(my cousin's husband), Eric(my husband), Kelli(my SIL) Christian(my borther, back of his head, sorry)

The girl's table!

Cousin Jessica, Cousin Maile and Kira

Jessica is Jacob's daughter

Maile is Christian's daughter

Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Ships Day 1

We made it back safe and sound. What an adventure we had! It was fun, beautiful, full of good food and a little trying with the kids but over all absolutely fabulous! What kind of trip does not have ups and downs, we had them all and even some 360's too.

The trip began with an adventure, we left Wednesday night. The Beast (our 1991 Suburban), decided to overheat on the way back from Trader Joe's. I was stocking up on snacks and it red lined. Luckily, we have AAA and have not used a tow the whole year. The tow truck picked me up and got the burban back to our house around 9:30 pm. We called a taxi to make sure we did not break down on the way to the train station and miss our bus. We got to the bus station at 11:30 pm and the bus was scheduled to arrive at 12:00 am.

The bus was full and some inconsiderate guy was sprawled out with legs up on the table in the seats for groups of three or more asleep. Eric sat in the front. The kids and I sat in two seats, with Enzo in my lap. He fell asleep fairly quick but Kira was wide awake. The gentleman across the aisle from us was clearly intoxicated or mentally ill, either way it made the trip interesting.

He sat by the window and proceeded to eat crunch on chips and slurp on soda as loud as humanly possible. Then he practically sucked the skin off his fingers getting the chip remnants off. Remember it is in the middle of the night and everyone else is either asleep or trying to sleep. He continued to talk to himself, more like mumble throughout the trip. At one point the sleeping guy in front of inebriated guy wakes up suddenly. He looks around and hands a phone to inebriated guy. Obviously, confused he loudly asserts "Hey man, this is not my phone....but I keep it!" At the next stop the sleeping guy wakes up and realizes it is his stop. Looking around and searching the seat for his phone, he because concerned about his lost phone. Inebriated guy shouts again "Hey, I have your phone, you gave it to me for some reason!" Sleepy guy thankfully takes his phone and gets off the bus. Finally, we stopped in King City for about a fifteen minute break. The driver announces possible food accommendations and time limit. Inebriated guy starts to have a conversation with himself.
    "Oh, we stopping. Ah, a chocolate chip cookie sounds good, yeah that does sound good. Let's go get one! Yeah, okay"
Kid you not, that was the conversation and then he comes back with an ice cream sandwich! You have got to love public transportion. Needless to say I slept a total of about an hour in the four hour drive.

We pull up to the train station around 4:15 am. I did not think the trains or buses would not be running for some odd reason. So we took a taxi to the airport. We arrive at San Jose airport and they just finished this beautiful new terminal. We get in line at Southwest at 4:30. Now they suggest you arrive at the airport about two hours before your flight. We had a 6:30am flight, we were right on time. We were the second in line, sweet! However, the counter did not open up until about 5:15am! Really, really?!!? We became great friends with our fellow passengers and shared our traveling stories and finally they opened up the counter.

We checked in and headed through security, which was not very long of a wait. I do not know why but I always get nervous going through security. What if I forgot about something hidden in a one of the bags and they freak out on me and take me to be searched further.....arggh! Thankfully it was not the case.

We got on the plane and it was not a full flight so we had two rows to ourself.

Mimi put together crayons and coloring books for the kids-Thanks Mimi!

The kids were great and it was a quick flight, about two hours.

We kept busy snacking and drawing

 Enzo did get a little cranky when we were descending and his ears were popping.

 But through and through the kids were angels.

Kira and Enzo reading over the emergency information

We got in Seattle and my sweet Aunt Carolyn picked us and took us to our hotel in Lynnwood. My brother works for Marriot and we get a family discount. Praise God! We were able to stay in hotel rooms that normally cost $200 or more a night for only $59.00, sweet. Kira and Enzo were so tired. They fell asleep on the way to the hotel. Little bub stayed asleep from 9:30 until 2:30. Once we were at the hotel, I googled Mexican restaurants in walking distance. Taco Time came up and I google "gluten free menu". Yipee, they had a huge gf menu. I grew up with Taco Time and have not eaten there for at least thirteen years. I buckled and ordered their tacos. Oh yum! I figured on this trip we would eat healthy but I was not going to kill myself over it. Clearly, we have to eat gluten free but if we were not 100% plant based, I was okay with it. We hung out in the hotel room most of the day and caught up on sleep. Then we had dinner with some dear friends who live in Arlington. We went to the Lynnwood Mall and ate dinner and walked around. Since I grew up in the Seattle area I remember the Lynnwood Mall well, but I did not recognize it until we came to the middle of it and the fountains. The fountains were just how I remember them and it all came back to me.
We had a great visit with our friends and fabulous weather, I do not need much more than that.....well maybe more sleep. What a long day and full of adventures, we headed back to the hotel and all four of us crashed out. 

North to Alaska!

The day has finally come, we leave at midnight for our trip up to Seattle and Alaska! We are all excited and sooooo ready for this vacation. I cleaned my house, did my dishes and will be packing and finishing up laundry today. I will not be blogging during my trip because it is so very expensive to use the internet and because I am on vacation :)

We are going to Seattle for Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. Then we board our ship and head off on our family adventure. Did I mention there are forty of us?!? Yes, between my siblings, spouses, children, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents, we add up to forty people. I am excited to have time with my sister of course, but also my brothers and their spouses. We all get along so well and have not had a full family vacation since I was a junior in high school, almost twenty years ago.

Anyways, I will be off the computer for a week and a half. Hopefully, I will come back refreshed and back in the groove of sewing, cooking, and crafting up a storm. I have been a little burned out lately but I know I will get back to it all.

Hope you have a fabulous time without me and see ya soon!