I *need* to bake!

But its 'summer' now, and much to hot to deal with the oven, lol. I want to try bagels and soft pretzels again. And cinnamon rolls. How I want cinnamon rolls! Unfortuantly the baby still can't have cinnamon as of our last trial.
I've been getting a little down about being gluten free lately too. I normally am a pretty positive person, and I can handle just about anything that comes my way... but damnit, I want a real pretzel! I want to go to the grocery store and be able to buy anything that sounds good, and forget reading the stupid label! I'm tired of the money we have to spend so I can be safe, and not sick. I'm tired of having to politely turn down offers of food.
I'm tired of having to politely tell the waitress that I can't have gluten, my kid can't have dairy and gluten, and could you please try to not poison me? In not so many words of course... And then have to politely explain that no, I do not and cannot have that toast that you put on my plate, and now I need a new plate.
I'm tired of being polite.
I'm tired of not being believed. I'm tired of the question of "Well, can't you just forget your diet for today?"
I can't forget my diet today. I can't forget my diet anyday. The word diet implies that I'm eating like this to lose weight. I'm actually quite comfortable with my weight. I'm not terribly overweight, and I'm actually right about where I should be - medically speaking. I live like this because it makes me feel better. I like not being in pain. That's the point.
Gluten is not necessary to live, or to be nutritionally right. In fact, since I can't have a LOT of the processed junk, I eat much better than you. You can go to the store and buy whatever your little heart desires. I have to read labels for every single product I buy. My trip to the store probably takes twice as long as the average shopper. The gal who orders the gluten free food for my regular store is starting to recognize me, lol.
I'm not really angry - I'm more or less just disappointed. Life isn't supposed to be so hard, right? You're not supposed to anagonize over what goes into your or your children's bodies... You're sure as hell not supposed to feel guilty when the store runs out of cheese - except your kid can only eat one specific cheese, and the next nearest store that sells it is an hour away.
It's sure as hell not supposed to take all day to figure out what to make for dinner that everyone will eat, and will be safe for everybody.
So for now, I'm just going to breathe. And be polite... Just don't be surprised when I finally crack, LOL!

So Proud!

William has started spelling!

Everytime I turn around, he's asking me "How do you spell xxx?" It's so cute :). I plan on working really hard this summer, and get him reading. I wonder how many other kids in kindergarten will be reading next year? I was reading at that age, I have always loved reading.

He's also making up stories ;).

He's really been making leaps & bounds lately. I can't even begin to explain how great that feels.

Candy: Pass!

The boys loved the chocolate lollipops! And it was so easy, it was almost scary. This was William's first chocolate lollipop - and there's not a whole lot of chocolate that he can have. Soy is almost always in chocolate - especially the cheap chocolate.

They had a great sheen to them as well, which I've noticed with the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

Making CANDY!

So, Mother's Day is coming upon us quickly, and I was at a total loss as to what the boys should make for their Grandmas this year (all 3 of them).

Then I remembered that the local HyVee has started to carry Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

*Lightbulb*

Off to Hobby Lobby, purchased some candy molds for chocolate lollipops, peanut butter cups, and while I was at it, some Awareness Ribbon molds so I can make some to sell at our rummage sale coming up to raise money for FAAN. Who doesn't want a basically allergy free chocolate lollipop?!

It's pretty simple. Boil about an inch of water in a pot, place glass bowl over water, place chocolate chips in bowl, stir til melted and pour carefully into the mold. I bought a squeeze bottle at the store because I thought I'd put the chocolate in there, but I didn't want to microwave it because I'm funny about microwaving plastic. The first two, my trial lollipops for the boys, are cooling in the fridge. Wish me luck!

Seasonal Allergies

I'm so disappointed.
I had thought the boys had escaped the wrath of my seasonal allergies.
Boy, was I wrong!
Poor Max is waking up with bloody noses, which the doc says is attributed to his allergies. William is a bear lately, and has been sneezing up a storm.
I, of course, am miserable as usual. I can't wait for this season to be over! Though, of course that means higher temps in the summer time.

On the plus side, my seedlings are growing fantastically, and at some point I'll get to get outside and plant them!

It's my birthday, and I'll have cake if I want it!

Ah, Devil's Food Cake...

This time, I made the cupcakes into a real cake, and instead of using shortening - I subbed Coconut Oil, because I was out of shortening. Have been for awhile! This cake was so moist, and so rich - I couldn't finish the piece the husband cut for me!

I made No Cook Fudge Frosting to top it off with, because adding some Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips just wasn't enough overkill on the chocolate front, lol.

You're going to have to email for the recipe, cause I don't want to get into any trouble! It's the first recipe I haven't had to alter from my cookbook, lol. I added strawberries in the center, and it melted the fudge frosting just right... perfect.

Egg "Mc"Waffles?

So the husband was craving egg mcmuffins... you can be sure I'm not letting that in my house, lol. So, I made the next thing, egg waffle sandwiches!

No, he's not eating 'real' cheese, its Rice Cheese slices and he loves them. They melt pretty well, it just takes forever. He really enjoyed the 'sandwiches', as it incorporated two things he loves, eggs and waffles, lol! GF of course ;).