The girls got a ton of wonderful presents this Christmas. Including several things we haven’t tried yet – like puzzles and games. Yesterday two of the three girls were too sick to take to Church, so we ended up with a quiet day at home. MG started to perk up in the afternoon, and wanted to try the Magic Science Wizard’s Kit my brother and his girlfriend had given her.

After some setup time and enforced “read the instructions” time, they were set to go. They had so much fun! They started by making a wand with magic purple crystals inside. Then moved on to invisible ink, a crystal ball, and the piece de resistance: explosions! OK, so they were really just test tubes bubbling over, but they loved that so much! I don’t think they could have been happier with this present unless there was fire involved!

They started to make a webshow out of the science fun, but unfortunately it kept getting interrupted. It was quite a good attempt, though MG thought they would be a “one hit wonder”, lol. MG looked great as a mad scientist in safety goggles paired with her purple robe, too.

Out of the three girls, MG is the most precise, which makes her perfect as a scientist and as a cook. She had to stay home from school today (can’t go to school until you’re fever-free for 24 hours), and spent an hour very careful following a cookie recipe. Personally, I prefer cookies to magic wands, so I’m happy to push her in that direction… I remember when she created the fluffernutter cookies three years ago! Wow, they grow up so fast.

Our family has been living gluten-free due to Celiac Disease for over 6 years. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and very similar to the protein found in outs. This means that any food needs to be made specially – bread, pasta, cake, pizza crust, pretzels, cookies, etc. Finding the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes was a wonderful surprise!

Over the past 6 years there has been a huge increase in availability of gluten-free products, but most of the GF products have been found in the health food aisle of the grocery store or in a specialty store.

However, gluten-free products are becoming more mainstream as the number of people diagnosed with celiac disease rises, as well as the number of people living gluten-free for other reasons. Last summer, General Mills introduced a new, gluten-free formulation of Rice Chex (they changed the sweetener from barley malt to another sweetener). In addition to becoming more mainstream, gluten-free products are becoming much more commonly available and found in most grocery stores.
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My current top pet peeve – people who forward emails without research. Not only the usual “check snopes” type urban legends, but also political information – don’t take the word of someone who has an agenda when you forward an issue to everyone you know!

Ugh! I’ve been avoiding any political discussions lately. (Though President Obama’s Miyagi-like mad fly-killing skillz were very impressive!)

Anyhow, I just received a forward about the evils of Bill S909 – the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. According to the email, it will protect people who commit incest, pedophiles, and other creepy folks, and make it impossible for people to speak freely and quote the Bible, pray, or express contrary opinions on homosexuality (plus many other free speech topics). First off, I now identify myself as a Christian. However, I still think that these accusations are confused, so I wanted to read the original text of the Bill before making a decision to talk to my representatives (always a good idea – read the fine print!)

Do these people ever actually read the text of Bills before they send these emails? The one I received said (in part):

On the other hand, guess what WILL NOT BE TOLERATED and will be considered a hate crime and YOU WILL GO TO JAIL…..

1. Praying In Jesus’ Name in ANY PUBLIC VENUE–that includes church buildings

2. Preaching against SIN in general that could in some way be considered hateful by those who don’t want to be told they sin or their behavior is sinful
3. Quoting the Bible in church as that is offensive and considered hateful speech by some

I’m not a lawyer (nor have I ever played one on TV…), but my father is, and I have done a lot of paralegal-type work for him, so I have read a lot of bills and other legal documents. In reading Bill S909, I don’t see anything that would indicate the above is accurate. In fact, there is even a section which says:

Section 10: RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
For purposes of construing this Act and the amendments made by this Act the following shall apply:
…
(4) FREE EXPRESSION- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual’s expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual’s membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs.

So, you can express your beliefs all you want. What you can’t do if this Bill is passed is hurt/kill someone or incite others to hurt/kill someone. Saying “straight white men are evil, and sex outside procreation is sinful” would be OK. Saying “we all know straight white men are evil sex outside procreation is sinful, so we must kill all straight white men who have sex outside of procreation – here is how we should accomplish this…” would not be OK, especially if you or your followers then follow through on it.

However, the Bill only is in effect if someone is actually injured:

‘(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DISABILITY-
‘(A) IN GENERAL- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B) or paragraph (3), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person–

Emotional or psychological injury doesn’t count:

‘(1) the term ‘bodily injury’ has the meaning given such term in section 1365(h)(4) of this title, but does not include solely emotional or psychological harm to the victim;

I, personally, think the bill sounds like a good idea. But, if you disagree with me, please at least read the Bill and offer a reasonable, educated argument. And please don’t send me any more emails that aren’t well researched, and rely only on biased media reports! Thanks in advance!

Hide and seek is fun with kids, but not so much fun with food. It’s amazing what you can find hidden in your food, allergens where you don’t expect them.

I discovered while breastfeeding my third daughter that corn made her congested and ill, so I spent a year avoiding corn, until she (thankfully!) outgrew it. Avoiding corn is not just avoiding popcorn, corn syrup, corn on the cob, and corn tortillas, but corn as a “hidden” ingredient. If you haven’t read The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, I can clue you in on the first quarter of his book – corn is in everything.

If you eat a lot of prepared foods, you are eating a lot of corn – and I think you’d be surprised at how much. Even if you don’t eat a lot of prepared foods, you’re still eating more corn than you think. Don’t believe me? Let’s try this experiment – go find 4 things in your pantry or fridge:

1. a drink
2. a condiment
3. a form of protein
4. a starch (ie: bread, crackers, etc)

Make sure that you can find the ingredient information, we’ll come back to that in a moment.

Recently, there has been more awareness of high fructose corn syrup, so we are starting to see a move back to cane syrup (aka sugar) in juices. I was thrilled to buy a bottle of Ocean Spray Cran-Grape, and see “no corn syrup” on the bottle! Of course, there was still “hidden” corn in the drinks, but avoiding corn syrup continues to be one of my goals, though it’s not always achieved.

This comes to mind today because I received two corn-related alerts. Melanie at My Little Patch of Sunshine is having a giveaway (enter by the end of tomorrow!) related to the new Pepsi Throwback, Mountain Dew and Pepsi made with sugar rather than corn syrup, available for 8 weeks. Meanwhile, Modern Mom’s “must have” for today is reusable and disposable plates & utensils for kids, made out of corn. Ack! I wonder if all the processing makes the corn no longer an issue for people with corn allergies… Definitely something to ponder, and given the rising prevalence of corn turned into eating utensils, yet another thing for the corn-sensitive to watch out for!

Now – back to your food, and the corn in it. Read the ingredients. See if you can spot the corn in there. Do you see corn syrup, corn starch? Quite possibly. In addition to those ingredients, I’m willing to bet that you have hidden corn in at least 3/4 of the foods you chose. Compare your ingredients to the 7 hidden corn words after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

Some days, it’s hard to see the bright side to your problems. The clouds don’t appear to have any silver linings, and you’re thinking the light at the end of the tunnel is probably a train.

However, while suffering can be mandatory, misery is purely optional. Though it can be hard to remember that!

And then there are the days when it is easy to be a light unto the world. Where you can feel the light shining inside you, and where the the weight of the world is off your shoulders, and there’s more silver lining than clouds.

For us, a change of scenery made a huge difference for our moods! We took 4 buses (public transport, shuttle bus, coach, homeschool bus) and 1 subway, and now we’re with Nanny Ogg and her absolutely fabulous crew. We feel welcome, loved, accepted, and appreciated. We’ve spent some time relaxing, drinking tea, shopping, playing with the puppy, cooking, and just hanging out.

Today’s plans include a trip to the birthplace of Joseph Smith, some Geocaching, and then a girls night in. What more could we really want?

We’ll go home tomorrow afternoon, and be home for Church on Sunday. It’s unlikely we’d be allowed to bring home any of Nanny Ogg’s kiddos, but we’ll be bringing home plenty of memories, pictures, and a warm light in our hearts.

Last Sunday (3/22) was my birthday. We had a fun weekend! And yes, it’s now almost Friday, and I’m finally posting. Well, um, it was busy, and we have kept ourselves busy.

Thursday and Friday we had our friends B&Z over for trips to the Y and a couple of sleepovers. They are sweet, high-energy boys, and we had a blast. The house is still standing, too!

Saturday we had planned to take a trip to CT, but the girls ended up having a visit with their dad & roller skating. Then we made cupcakes for the birthday party on Sunday, and finally got some sleep.

Sunday was my birthday, and I was glad to have the girls all day, even if it was a busy day! First, we had Church, where I did a reading (!!!). Then left early so we could go to Z’s birthday party at the YMCA rock wall (yes, my girls were greeted as regulars. that’s good, right?).

After Z’s party we packed up the van and went to CT. We did a little visit with my Nana, then went over to stay with K and P&P. Always fun, since we can visit with their pups, kitties, birds, and guinea pigs. And our Ra-puppy! I miss him so much when we’re apart. We also miss our dear friends in CT too. It’s wonderful to spend time with them, and they are lovely to let us stay overnight. I’m hoping that Nana’s health improves, though, so we can visit some of our other friends, too! (Visit = foist ourselves upon)

To make it even more fun, they made me special cakelets. K&P made such beautiful butterflies! They also made a delicious sweet & sour chicken that included pieces of tempura chicken made with rice flour. mmmmm…. They also know about my current obsession/totem animal, and managed to give me a gorgeous phoenix kite! Anyone want to help me fly it? It’s got a 6 1/2 foot wingspan, and I’m feeling intimidated. (Anyone who wants to give me phoenix objects is welcome to feed my obsession. They are hard to find, though. Dragons were much easier.)

We spent Monday morning with K&P&P and our puppy, then went over to visit Nana for a few hours. Nana was doing OK, but not great. It’s so hard to see her struggling with so many physical challenges at once. She wasn’t up for pictures, so instead I took one of the girls eating their first pizzaria pizza in 6 years! Illiano’s Pizza sells gf pizza with crusts made by Still Riding Pizza. They were happy to make it without cheese, too. Great people, and a wonderful crust & sauce! (fyi – the crust does contain egg, but is free of other major allergens)

This weekend is looking a bit quieter – just an overnight Friday with B&Z, a birthday party for their cousin on Saturday, visitation with Dad on Saturday, grandparents come home late Saturday night, Church Sunday morning, and then recuperating and relaxing Sunday afternoon.

So, it’s the day after U2’s new CD has been released. What are you doing? I’m sharing my love of a band with my kids, and you?

It’s been described as “the most thoroughly Christian thing they’ve done yet.”, but whether or not you are Christian, you’ll enjoy it. Heck, I never realized U2 had any religious overtones, and I’ve loved their music since the dark ages, when I was a teenager. I may be a smidge oblivious, though.

Because I’m cheap frugal, I downloaded No Line On The Horizon for $3.99. But there are a ton of other ways to buy U2’s new CD. I love a band that has options for an album that range in price from $4 to $65!

Admittedly, I also love No Line On The Horizon simply because I no longer have to hear the words while the girls are watching Space Buddies. As a bonus, I can also listen to it without headphones, unlike Lily Allen’s fun (but R-rated) new release, It’s Not Me, It’s You.

OK, that’s my rambling for the day completed. Anyone have any other great suggestions for new-release music? I’ve been reclaiming my love of music lately. And yes, that means some eclectic choices along with Lily Allen and U2, I’m also listening to Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.

We celebrated this historic day with coloring pages and me “encouraging” the girls to watch the swearing in, and as much of the speech and ceremony as possible.

What an amazing nation I live in – a nation that has changed so much in the past century. I am so proud that we elected Barack Obama as our 44th president, and I am optimistic for the next 4 years.

Meanwhile, we celebrated New President Day with more packing! That’s Change, right?

We also celebrated by having guests over for dinner – we had issued a Brussels Sprout Challenge a couple months ago, and we were finally able to serve up the Roasted Brussels Sprouts tonight.

The verdict? Two people who swore “I don’t like brussels sprouts” ate seconds. I win! I’ve converted so many people over to the joy that is Roasted Brussels Sprouts after a childhood of eating refusing to eat mediocre steamed brussels sprouts.

So, let’s believe in change, let’s celebrate change, let’s find joy in unexpected places. Let’s do our best to have hope for the future – hope for the little things (like yummy food) and hope for our futures.

There are a zillion blog entries out there discussing the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Obama. This is just one short one, one little link to Obama. I may also be one of the few liberal Mormons you’ll meet, but I do exist, and I’m sure others do too. The Church will actually have representatives a the Inauguration, and I really like what President Monson said: “We send our best wishes to President-elect Obama and pray for the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven to be upon him and his administration.”

I am one person, mom, attachment-parenting person, writer, blogger, friend, church-goer, dog-owner, sister, aunt, cat-lady, homeschooler, daughter, grand-daughter, geek, person with chronic illnesses who voted for Obama and is thrilled for his inauguration! Watching his speech Sunday warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. All of his speeches seem to have that effect on me, and that’s part of why I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s festivities. I am also looking forward to reading Dreams from My Father when I’m staying at my mother’s house (my step-dad has a copy).

I was also excited to find out that I have a link to President-elect Obama! My step-father started a folk music coffee house the year before I was born. One of the people who came to perform there was Pete Seeger, and we ended up having dinner with him before the concert. So about 20 years ago Pete Seeger had dinner with me, and now he’s performing with Bruce Springsteen in a concert for President-elect Barack Obama!

I remember playing debate bingo when we were watching Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden in the VP debate, and it was far too much fun. If you are thinking of a bingo or drinking game for tomorrow, check out this bingo/drinking game for the Inauguration.

On a more serious note, one of my dearest friends from Austin has written a great post about President-elect Obama’s Inauguration and the comments she has heard from conservatives. Is it OK to show how happy we are? Or do we need to be sensitive to those whose candidate didn’t win? Well, I’m quite happy, and not afraid to say it. I highly recommend reading and pondering Suna’s wonderful entry.

I have always thought that we needed a day in which to recover from a weekend. Today is no exception!

Our weekend in thumbnails, a lot of fun and quite a bit of sushi…

Our new universal remote, picked up Friday. It’s so cool to be able to turn on the TV and change channels from the couch! Of course the only one available at the drug store was bigger than the girls’ heads… It’s really unlikely it will get lost now, though! That’s always a positive!

Our friend JadenKale came to visit from Wisconsin, and spent the afternoon with the girls. Then, they went to my mom’s house for the night, and she & I went out to eat. Mmmm… boatload of sushi! Mmmmm…. and yes, we ate the whole thing!

My dear friend S sent us some sculpy sushi beads for Christmas which her kiddos had made – they are so, so, so cool! We have such incredibly awesome friends! We started by making some sushi earrings. It was fun wearing the earrings while eating the sushi!

S and her kiddos also sent us some sushi soap for our bathroom. Our bathroom is also really cool for having a shower curtain, so this is just another step cooler. A sushi bathmat would be great too, someday…

I took JadenKale for a scenic tour of the North Shore of Massachusetts, and we got a great view of the Boston Skyline and some Frostbiters (people who sail in winter). I didn’t take pictures of those, though, sorry.

We ran a couple errands (took another person for their first Trader Joe’s experience!), and by then the sun was setting – this is the first in a series of 4 sunset pictures over a cove down the hill from our house. Sooo pretty!

From the Ministry of Silly Poses – I strike a robot pose with a shiny tin hat from a Christmas Cracker and a tin man shirt from TeeFury, and each of the girls pose with a beautiful, soft scarf from JadenKale. (I got a lovely burgundy one, but no pose because it didn’t fit in with the robot silliness) The scarves are really cool and can end up being used as hats as well as scarves – we’ll need to take a better pic, but that’s what LG is doing in the blue scarf.

Before she left, we had to take good bye pictures. It was sooo hard to say goodbye! I really hope we can see her again soon, but going to “America’s Dairy Land” is an unlikely destination for us, so we’ll have to wait for her to visit us again. Soon, I hope!

This past weekend seemed magical. We were all sad we couldn’t make it to church, but other than that it was perfect.

We had great fun, great food, and a great friend who enjoyed being with all of us – what more could we really want? Other than to have it last a lot longer and include even more sushi, of course! We’re keeping our smiles today as we get back into our usual routine, and hope we can continue to meet in person with the wonderful people we’ve gotten to know online. May all of your days be filled with the magic of friendship!