A little rearrangement and a trip!

Action shot

I cut the legs down on our sad attempt at a door-turned-table.  It's a great size for all of us  to eat at and do "work".

The awesome hammock in the corner is a Zaza Hammock we got for my youngest at Christmas.  It was a pain finding studs in our old house, not to mention screwing them into oak studs.  But it's secure!  The kids all fight over it, and it even safely holds an adult and child. 

Indianapolis Children's Museum.  I love the colors the sky changes in the dinosaur exhibit area.  We were not very impressed with how crowded it was, though.  There were too many people and too few things for older kids to do.

Yeah...I am confused.

Being a giant dork, I was intrigued by the Arabic science texts and workbooks they had in the Egypt area.  I want these for my kids!

Attacking Sphinx

Children being attacked right and left!

The playland for younger kids was ok.  So crowded you could barely move, though.  The Cincinnati Museum has a definite advantage in both crowds and activities.

Simple Woman's Daybook 12/21/11

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...foggy gray weather.  The kids are mad there is no bitter cold or snow.

I am thinking...I have so much material to sift through to prepare for homeschooling next month.  I admit I'm in a bit of an information binge.

I am thankful...For clear weather for holiday traveling! I am also thankful my cat's newfound illness is relatively benign and treatable (hyperthyroidism).

From the learning rooms...Nothing but Christmas and Chanukah books lately!

In the kitchen...We made some pretty terrible gluten free doughnuts this morning.  They were soggy inside and greasy.  But we do have plans to make all sorts of goodies for Ari's birthday and Christmas celebrations.

I am creating...I just finished the features of my one year old's Waldorf doll.  I need to make it some clothes and steal it back to give it to her as a Christmas gift.  I also need to finish her striped elf hat.  I really hate stripes in the round...

I am going...a little crazy.

I am wondering...How on Earth my house will ever be clean again.

I am reading...Underworld by Hancock, A Christmas Carol, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Positive Pushing.

I am hoping...That I can finish my holiday crafting in time!

I am looking forward to...Seeing my family in a few days.

I am hearing...Lots of ruckus. 

Around the house...Christmas books and new presents everywhere!  But most of the Advent stockings are down now.

I am pondering...TPR use in teaching French.

One of my favorite things...Big baby kisses.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Here are some pictures for thought I am sharing...

Gluten Free 101

I started writing this up for my mother.  My little brother was just diagnosed with Celiac's disease.  Hopefully all of this information is correct!  This is what we've been doing at our house after weighing going gluten free for years.

1. First thing to do-get rid of everything you own with gluten in it, or gluten contamination.  Look for: rye, barley, wheat, gluten, or anything saying "malt" in the ingredients.  You would be amazed here.  Some broth, most soups, licorice, many candies, some condiments, some kinds of vanilla, etc. are not gluten free.  Really check those ingredient lists, and if in doubt, google it.  Your oatmeal is NOT safe.  You have to have certified gluten free oats.

2. Check for foods labeled "gluten free", stick to whole foods like fresh/frozen meat cuts, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables.  Udi's or Rudi's has good frozen gluten free bread.  Van's makes great gluten free waffles.  We eat cases of Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans and gluten free hot dogs which the kids like.  Lay's regular chips, Natural Cheetohs, Pirate Booty, many kinds of tortilla chips (check) are also ok.  King Arthur's Gluten Free pancake or muffin mixes are wonderful but expensive.  BEER IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.

3. I buy Honeyville almond flour, and whatever brand of coconut flour, sorghum flour, arrowroot, garbanzo (chickpea) bean flour, cornstarch, and tapioca flour.

4. Get rid of your toaster.  It's contaminated.  Use a toaster oven lined with foil or a toaster specifically for gluten free foods.  Put all of your dishes through the sanitize cycle on your dishwasher.  It's best to get rid of and replace wood utensils and cutting boards.  The rest need sanitized because those gluten molecules get stuck in stuff.

5. Amazon has a great bulk deal on GF stuff if you find something you like. We like kinnikinnick and Udi's brand anything. Chex and Rice Crispies have gluten free varieties, and so does Annie's. Annie's even has GF mac & cheese for a great deal on Amazon if you like it. I thought it tasted exactly the same. Teff and Millet are ok to eat and they can sometimes be found as wraps in restaurants.

6. Keep in mind cross-contamination-watch what knife you use for peanut butter does not go on wheat bread and take crumbs back in the jar.  Replace your peanut butter and jelly.  They've been dipped into after bread has been on the knife.  Also, your butter if you use a tub is probably unsafe.  Buy sticks of butter and get rid of anything else contaminated.

7. Check your personal care products.  Shampoos, conditioner, soaps, lotion, etc. sometimes have wheat protein in them.  Bumble & Bumble's Hair Masque gives me hives from the wheat protein or something in it.

8. Stick to the first month of naturally gluten free foods.  Make rice instead of serving bread with food.

Here are some options (make enough for leftovers!):

Breakfast: 
Eggs
Bacon (check ingredients!)
Sausage
Rice pudding
Tapioca Pudding
Chex or Rice Krispies cereal (check for the gluten free symbol!)
Mini cheesecakes (crustless)
Pumpkin custard-pumpkin pie without the crust
Fruit crisps with gluten free oats (vitacost.com has the best prices)
Clafoutis
Buckwheat pancakes (not wheat-use buckwheat.  It's gluten free!)
Smoothies
Banana Bread

Lunches and Dinner:
Roast with vegetables
Nachos
Enchiladas with corn tortillas
Rice or Quinoa pasta for spaghetti, goulash, chili, lasagna, etc.
Steak, Brisket, Chicken-roast, pan fried, grilled, or any other meat with vegetable or rice sides.
Tacos with corn tortillas
Ribs
Beans and cornbread using gluten free flour as replacer or sweet corn cake
Chili with gluten free pasta or tortilla chips
Soup-split pea, french onion (minus the bread), lentil, vegetable
Chinese Fried Rice or General Tso's Chicken (made at home)
Big Salads with meat, chickpeas, hardboiled eggs, etc.
Baked beans
French fries (Ore Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food Fries or just home fried potatoes are best)
Eggs-hardboiled, deviled, scrambled, omelettes, etc.
Quiche without the crust

Dessert and more:
Flourless chocolate cake
Flourless chocolate cookies (I use chocolate chips instead of walnuts)
Flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
No bake cookies
IKEA's Daim Almond Torte (in the frozen foods section by the restaurant)

Eating Out near Cincinnati:
A list of local restaurant experiences
More experiences


Cheeseburgers in Paradise
PF Chang's
Bonefish Grill
Carrabba's Italian Grill
BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse
Shaan Indian
Buffalo Wild Wings
Macaroni Grill (VERY accommodating towards food allergies)
Indian Bistro
Skyline Chili
Chestnut Cakery
Outback Steakhouse
Red Robin
First Watch
Burger King
Lonestar Steakhouse
Longhorn Steakhouse
Old Spaghetti Factory
Olive Garden
Original Gino's Pizza
Sojourner's Baked Subs
Uno's
TGI Friday's
On the Border Mexican Grill
O'Charley's
Noodles & Company
Godfather's Pizza (some locations only)
Chili's
Chipotle
Chick Fil-A
Maggiano's
Carino's Italian
Wendy's (menu on their wall has allergen info)

http://celiacsinthehouse.com/2010/08/greek-and-gluten-free-in-cincinnati.html
http://www.cinciceliac.com/
http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_8/tips_for_safe_restaurant_dining-2070-1.html
http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/socializingwithoutgluten/a/DiningOutTips.htm
TIPS: Always tell your server that you can not have gluten (gluten allergy usually gets the point clear).  Ask for gluten free or allergy menus.  Specify new salads and not salads with the croutons picked off!
McDonalds is NEVER ok. Print off the gluten free menus and keep them with you in your purse or car at all times so you always know what is ok.


Some of my favorite gluten free links:
http://glutenfreemommy.com/10-silly-mistakes-i-have-made-on-the-gluten-free-diet/
http://amandeleine.com/tag/gluten-free/
http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/
http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/
http://www.elanaspantry.com/
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

What we've been up to, and gluten free cookies save Advent

My son's first real speech (on tigers).

My oldest daughter's first real speech (on leopards).

Too small woolies.

Handprint ornaments

We used Model Magic rolled out.  Make sure to put holes in it to hang it up before it dries!

 New Friends

And awesome gluten free cookies.

When I started planning our Advent activities, I wanted to keep in all of the good holiday treats.  The kids love rolling out cookies.  We used Gluten-Free Girl's Sugar Cookie recipe with some modifications.  I find gluten free all purpose mix too expensive, so we made our own for cookies:

1 cup blanched almond flour (we use Honeyville)

1/2 cup cornstarch (or potato, tapioca, or arrowroot)

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 tsp. Xantham Gum (omit the gum called for in the above recipe)

These were so amazing.  Absolutely spot on for "real" sugar cookies with a slight almond flavor.  The dough was so addictive that I couldn't even get pictures of it.  We all demolished it as soon as it was mixed.  They rolled out and baked wonderfully, too, though I found cooking for 7-8 minutes worked best in my oven with slightly thinner cookies.  You can probably even leave out the Xantham Gum entirely if you use almond flour.  I also used all butter and about 3/4 cup sugar.  I never use as much as is called for.  Make sure you follow the recipe pretty exactly, though.  Don't overmix your sugar and butter at the beginning or they spread!

Moving into winter

The tree is ready with it's ornaments above baby-height.  Babies have warm pajamas and new woolies on the needles.  This has been a long, hard year.  We are still trying to find our rhythm with a new little one around, and she doesn't mind all of the attention.  A lot of changes have happened here.  We've cut out gluten for several of us because of medical issues, and we're still working on figuring more out.  Our homeschooling has changed, too.  It's gone up with the tides and been very scheduled and heavy, and down with the tides to just reading our Tapestry of Grace history books when we remember.  Hopefully next year will bring us some stability in our routine.

King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Muffins with blueberries

I love gluten.  It's been difficult cutting it out, and I try not to eat too many "replacements".  But an occasional splurge is needed for the mind.  We've had great luck so far with the King Arthur Flour mixes.  The muffins and pancakes were absolutely spot on for the real thing.  The only downside is the price, but it's such a drive for us to buy any, anyway, that it gets to be a rare treat.

Our favorite breakfast right now is mini-crustless cheesecakes.  Sometimes I cook up some frozen fruit to put on top or add almond meal to the bottom as a crust.  I don't think it's possible for there to be a better breakfast.

Home school 10/11/2011

Today we did angles.  In spelling we learned ur.  I am reading the battle of the labyrinth and Devon is reading the Lost Hero. 

Home school 10/10/2011

Today we had to get up early to go to piano.  When we got home we did math.  Later that day we went to Devon's soccer game.

Maddie