Monday's Indulgence

Jiffy Drops (aka haystacks or coconut peaks)

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup milk

Bring the above ingredients to a boil over medium heat and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and pour over the following ingredients:

4 tsp cocoa

1 cup coconut

3 cup oatmeal

Mix all the above together and drop by the teaspoonful onto waxpaper and let set for 5 minutes..then DIG IN!!

These are my all-time favorite cookie. So simple to make yet so delicious! These jiffy drops were my 'Monday Indulgence'...and they are gluten free!

Simple Appreciation

It has come to my attention while perusing through FB each day that there are alot of people out there that need to learn about appreciation and thankfullness. Status after status is about how much the husband or kids annoy you and family situations that you can't deal with. Let me start off by saying that this kind of stuff should not be aired on FB. How would you feel if your husband or even your kids wrote something everyday about what you had done that embarassed/annoyed them? How would you feel if that status was turned around to portray your negative flaws each day?
Be thankful for the husband that loves you unconditionally, the kids that you were BLESSED with and the job that you have that keeps a roof over your head and allows for the luxuries of life. Take pleasure and appreciate  the little things that family/friends and work gives you.The simple things like a smile from your husband or a little pair of arms wrapping around your leg giving you a hug, a boss that says 'nice job' and a family that does not judge you for the mistakes that you make. What if one or all of these things that annoy you were taken away...would they really seem that annoying if you look back....how would you feel? Appreciate the little things in life and the little moments that you are blessed to have.

I know that there are days where I am frustrated with my day, the weather, the kids or family situations, but have a filter when it comes to airing your family situations or annoyances to the public. A negative attitude just keeps you negative and attracts negative attention. Your life can't be that negative all the time can it? Really?

The Wheels on the Bus...

The other day Colton and I were invited to join our dear friend downtown for lunch. So Colton and I hoped on the bus for a little adventure and headed to meet up with our friend on her lunch break. Colton (like most kids) has no filter when it comes to commenting on whatever he sees. The ride downtown was entertaining and he was pointing out everything he saw  and commenting about people on the bus. We made it downtown without any real embarassment and enjoyed our lunch followed by a walk around the mall.
 We caught the bus again and headed home. Colton was more comfortable this time around and he was also getting tired by this point...here are some of the things that came out of his mouth on the way home...

" Mom, can I touch that guys hair?" - referring to the poor man sitting in front of us who turned around and laughed.
" Why is that lady sleeping on the bus - does she live on the bus?"
" That man shouldn't sleep on the bus, he needs to go home to bed"
" I'll ring the doorbell when it's time for me to get off the bus"
" That lady needs to run faster or she will miss the bus"

Thankfully, people were finding the humor in the innocence of Colton's observations and we made it home without any confrontations! : ) However, we did have to sit down once we got home and go over a few rules about riding the bus and that it is rude to point at people...: )

Brefast(as Jeff would call it)

I told Colton lastnight as I went to kiss him good night, that in the morning him and I would have pancakes and choc. milk for 'brefast'. His sleepy little face lit up like a Christmas tree and he said, "oh mom, I love pancakes!"

So this morning, like clock work, he came in to wake me up. He snuggled in under the covers with me and informed me that it was pancake time. He snuggled in a little closer and I felt something cold against my arm, so I looked under the covers and here he had the new bottle of pancake syrup under the covers with us! So we both headed downstairs, with pancake syrup in tow, to enjoy our (gluten free) pancakes..and were they ever delicious! 

This was my plate of pancakes....

This was Colton's...we were joined by his colorful treasure that hasn't left his side since yesterday afternoon.

GF GOODNESS!

I have slowly and successfully adapted to my new 'not-optional' gluten free diet. Cooking is a breeze and I have discovered some really good recipes that my boys will even eat. Baking on the other hand is a trial. I LOVE to bake and I enjoy a challenge when I know how things are to turn out or what they should look like. Baking GF is like baking blind-folded. You can't just substitute rice flour for regular flour and 'ta-da'! No, it is more like, add these 2 different flours, one starch, some guar or xanthan gum and then hope for a good result.  Baking GF is unpredictable (for me anyways) right now and it is driving me crazy! I like to make everything from scratch if possible and it is rewarding to see it turn out and taste delicious. But baking GF you never know how it will turn out and I am getting to the point where I am tired of baking and everything flopping, so I am quite happy to rip open a box of cake mix and go to town. Thankfully I have a mom who has a love for baking like I do, so she sent me some GF cake mixes from the States. Not sure why we can't get this stuff up here in Canada but i will settle for giving my mom a list each time she heads to Minot. Guess what I'm doing this afternoon.....

I love that the box has GLUTEN FREE written right on the front in big letters. No having to stop and read every ingredient on the label looking for hidden gluten. Thank you Betty Crocker for making my week end with a big smile!

Snow Day

It's been a long winter......and  I am bored. So, here is my little list of things that I like about winter:

1) there are no snakes slithering around in the winter - I am TERRIFIED of snakes...the only reason I don't pass out when I see them is b/c I am afraid that if I faint and fall on the ground that they will crawl all over me..so I just stand there and scream at the top of my lungs and then proceed to curl up in the fetal position and rock back and forth for the rest of the day.  I can't even look a magazine that has pictures of snakes in them. Any books that Colton has with snakes in them...those pages have been ripped out and thrown in the garbage. Terrified...truely, 100% terrified! And I am the kind of person that if there is a snake around, I will be the one that spots it! So I will welcome snow if for that reason only!
2) Two words: Roast Dinner! There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down to a warm, home-cooked roast dinner on a freezing cold winter day like today. Mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, fresh buns and delicious roast beef or pork. That has to be one of my favorite winter meals of all times. I keep the butchers in business in the winter around here. Thankfully I have a brother who raises and butchers pigs, so my freezer is full of 'porky-goodness' this winter. I have a pork roast in the crock-pot as I write this and it will be accompanied by roasted potatoes/carrots, GF gravy and fresh rolls(for the boys).
3) Rosey Cheeks - I love to see Colton all bundled up on a cold day and seeing his red cheeks come through the front door and him saying, " mom, feel my cheeks, they are cooooooolllddd". : )
4) Christmas!
5) Crunchy snow - I love the sound of tires gripping on the snow-packed roads or walking on crisp snow.
6) Snow days - as much as I hate to be couped up inside for days on end, it is nice to have a 'snow day' once in awhile. A day to do nothing and not feel bad about it. A day to sit and watch movies and eat chips and unhealthy snacks. All though the following day is usually spent as a 'sick day' for all the garbage you ate on your 'snow day'...you just can't win, can you? : P
7) Snowmen and snowball fights - There is nothing more fun than spending a beautiful day outside with family and friends and enjoying the childish things that we can do once in awhile. Seeing the faces of  kids as you whip a snowball at them and they look at you like, " Are we allowed to throw one back and not get in trouble?". And who doesn't love building a snowman??!
8) Flannel Sheets! Is there anything better than crawling into a bed that has flannel sheets on it? NOPE!

Well that is my list so far....Today is a 'snow day' here in Calgary ( -35 with the windchill) so I am sitting here with my feet up, watching a movie and eating all the unhealthy snacks I have in the house. Tomorrow will for sure be my 'sick day'...: )
Stay warm my friends!

True Love

 How do you describe the love that you have for your children? NEVER ENDING TRUE LOVE! Followed by warm fuzzies....*sigh*