This Old House

A storm came two nights ago...and with it took most all of our appliances and electronics . I thought it fitting since we are moving...we will need all new stuff. It seems that everything in our home dug their heels in and refused to move...I'm not sure I blame them. I will miss our place too.

We have bought a house together. Even as I type this, I am tearing up about the situation. Although I am very excited about our new home, I will miss our cottage here terribly....the home we were never going to leave... It represents so many things accomplished over the years. My independence(my only "a femme sole" purchase), my largest and most expensive gift for my son(so he would have a yard to run in), my marriage to God's greatest gift to me, and our little baby girl we have watched every day grow into something so magnificent, we really couldn't have imagined her any better. All of these things we are leaving in these walls...our memories, good, bad, and sad...go with us..but the remnants that happened here stay here....and that tugs at my heart like nothing else.
Everything in it's place and a place for everything...Our new house will be better for us. Our little home now, sadly, is ill equipped to house 3 growing children, two adults, two dogs, and two households of furniture. It has no place for anything...except our hearts but It was time...we knew it was coming...we explored every option we could to stay and we delayed this until the very last minute. However, I do admit, having space to move about and a place to put everything will be a nice change. Our one bathroom situation has been for the past two years, difficult, to say the least. My near teen son and potty training daughter had to come to an understanding quickly about personal space...forget the two adults who need to brush their teeth and shave every so often.

There are some perks to a bigger place...but I am moving slowly through my house now...packing it carefully...so not to shock my system.

Before I started today, I decided to photograph some things that we shouldn't forget

Our oak tree:
the one they said would never weather the storms,

always hung, looming over the top of our house,
protecting it really...
it was never a threat at all we discovered.

Mother Mary watching over our kitchen:
protecting all who bravely ate my food...










Our confederate cream jasmine covering the ugly black iron:My husband's late father suggested it to me, saying that it covers excellently and is nice to smell in the Spring when you walk out your door. He was right.





Our door knob: touched everyday by each person that is cherished in this house.

Our angel
hanging by the door:
protecting us as we come and go

Our street: Where Kate learned to ride her scooter
and Austin his bike.

Our house numbers:
painted after two storms blew away our address markers. These weren't going anywhere.












My babies' "height chart" in the door jam:this goes with us no matter what Tom says.

Kate's "birdfeeder":

right under her window so
she can watch them eat...

Our wooden floors I refinished myself:
Tom, with little faith in my abilities at the time,
insisted I stop and put the carpets back...
I, of course, did not....

This old house has seen us through many things, protected us from the storms, held strong like the bunker that it is...never disappointing us when we came home to it, walked into it, ate in it, fell asleep in it, played outside of it, made and brought our babies home to it, cried in it, laughed in it, stayed up late in it, celebrated in it, mourned in it...it will be hard to let it go....if I can. I don't intend on kicking and crying as they drag me away from it...but I'm not making any promises.

It's a ...What? now wait...a what? Oh boy!

Yesterday, Thursday, May 19, 2011, we found out that we are giving Austin and Kate a brother. I have to say that I was somewhat surprised, as I thought we would always have girls. A boy never factored into my equation. My son was born in 2000. I always say he was the perfect child. He really was. You can ask most anyone who knows him. He just never caused us any problems or stress or worry. When you have a child like this...you tend to believe...embarrassing to say now...that you have some sort of super parenting skills. You view outrageous temper tantrums in the store and sassy children smarting off to their parents as subpar parenting, disorganized discipline and no structure. YOUR child is the direct result of your superior rearing....you did everything right and this is the result! Right?

Uhmmmm...well...that is until God throws you a curve ball. Our curve came in 2007 with Kate. She was born the day of Hurricane Humberto...her first birthday was Hurricane Ike...it is a good representation of how life has been since her birth...although chaotic...it's a blissful chaos. We love her to her little wild core. Her mind is her own. We have to relate to her far differently than we did Austin. Where we could just tell him to do something and no questions were asked....Kate wants to know why, the purpose of it, the outcome of it and exact specifications of our expectations. It has been, to say the least, an adjustment. I wouldn't have it any other way, though.

So, last week, I got all of Kates old clothes down. I was seperating them...those to wear, and those to donate. Yesterday, I put them all back up knowing most will go to someone elses little girl. It is a little painful that that part of Kate is over. Those precious tiny times have come and gone and we won't have someone to relive them through...sniff...a little sad. But the Queen will have her princess and the princess will keep her throne!

SO!! We get to have a little boy. A bouncing baby boy that I get to watch play soccer and tball all over again and I am really excited about that! I get to pull out all of Austin's old choo choo trains (his cherished "peepoos" that I just couldn't part with ever)with his little teeth marks scratched in the paint...some still with chocolate smears...ready for the next little man who will play with them.

We were very surprised...but I am getting pretty excited about what's next...A boy a boy a boy...Oh boy! God Save the Queen!

You mean I can't have my lotion either?!?

Ok folks. I am a fool. I have been sitting here a blasted fool.
I must tell you...every night. I have a routine. It isn't a long one, but it is true. I take my bath. I dry my hair. I put on my jammies and rub lotion on my feet and hands. My feet are socked for the night and I get to smell Moonlight Path(my most favorite Bath and Body Works scent since I was in college) on my hands before I drift.
Every morning I wake up....and my ring is tight and I go to the bathroom and wash my hands and massage them. They always swell in the morning. It's always been so.
However,
It isn't supposed to be so.
Who knew I was going to have to watch out for my lotions? Almost all of my famous maker body products are made from wheat germ oil.
HELLO?!?
For Fifteen years I have been putting their products(in one scent or the other) on my hands and feet at night. Every morning within those years I have woken up with swollen hands. Except this morning. Haha! This is a little crazy even for me....But I was reading an article about gluten free beauty products. It suggested going through all of your beauty products and figuring out which ones are have gluten in them. How ridiculous! So now I have to investigate not only what I'm putting in my body but what is on the outside too? Fab.
Your skin absorbs about 30% of what you put on your skin into your bloodstream(according to a study on celiac.com) and...Apparently almost everything at "famous maker beauty products" has wheat germ oil in it...for moisturizing...they list it actually as a benefit to your skin. Which explains why certain people's hands puff up like a pigeon in the morning.
I am elated to have figured out my swollen hand thing. I am beyond despair from having to throw out one of the only constants in my life over the past fifteen years.
I have listed some things here that I already use and are gluten free(and I didn't know it)...

Dove: Dove Shampoos and Conditioners...Dove will list any gluten on their label.
Crest toothpaste....I spoke with a rep and they say their products are gluten free
(in fact celiac.com suggests you call and ask manufacturers if there is any, wheat, wheat germ,oats, malt, or millet in their products)
Smashbox Cosmetics(which I already love) are gluten free.
So! I will investigate this and compile a list of products that I have found(that actually work)and are gluten free...Godspeed Farrah..and good luck!

Week 8 begins...Get it all out!

Well, It's officially 2 months since I started totally removing gluten from my diet. The Skeptic has become the believer. I never started this with the intention of losing weight(although I have lost four pounds). I began with the hope of making my body healthier so we can have another baby and feeling better forever(which is always a good thing, baby or not). I haven't been disgusted by anything yet and I am feeling better than I have since high school!

I have three certainties.

1. I can't believe it has been as easy as this has been for me.

2. If it is within my own power, I will never eat wheat again.

3.I want to learn more and share as much information about this as I can with people.

In an ealier post, I said that I had some blood work come back funny. Not funny haha...but off. It indicated some inflamation. Inflamation.

In my family, we have a history of auto immune disorders.....When we hear inflammation...we panic.

I paniced. I thought of my poor crippled grandmother who suffered her entire life with pain and steriod treatments because there was nothing else. She couldn't pick us up or hold us long periods. Her hugs, although filled with love, were weak and labored. I thought about my babies and my future grandbabies and decided I needed to do something fast.

I had the same blood work rerun this week. It has come back. It has come back within and below normal ranges. My doctor has attributed to a certain number of things. However, I am pretty sure that I know why. I can't say for certain that if you have RA or Lupus that your blood work will change or anything like that. But. For me. This is very exciting and promising news.

On the verge of tears here, I am playing these "What if" games...What if she had known. ...if she just had known she was allergic to wheat, she might have felt better. Maybe, just maybe at 60 she wouldn't have been using a walker, she couldv'e held us tight, she couldv'e folded her hands in prayer like she always wanted to.

What if. Maybe.

But maybe for me...I can break the cycle. Maybe I can be where it ends. What if I found the problem? What if it was this simple all along?

Maybe.

Tonight. Gluten Free Chili...cause it's cold and I can have all the rice I want! Shocker.

Old Mother Hubbard

I have recently given up wheat in my diet but did not have the inner strength to purge the pantry of it all. It's kinda like your old "stand by" pair of fat jeans...just in case you ever have a weak moment and need them again, you keep them around. I wanted to make sure. Before dispersing and tossing the food that has caused me so much trouble...I had to make sure we were in this for the long haul.

Sunday was the day....to purge our home of the unwanted gluten. ..I went forth with a vengance. For someone who, for so long, has made her meals of toast and Cream of Wheat...ritz crackers and rolled oats, it was a daunting task to say the least. three trash bags full of half consumed boxes of pasta and open boxes of uneaten cereal went in the trash. One small box of unopened pastas went to a friend. It was difficult, but I did it! I will share with you that I was left with a very light feeling. I didn't have to worry anymore that in a moment of desperate weakness I will pull out the Cap'n Crunch or Cream of Wheat and begin Day 1 all over again. However, in addition to the light floaty feeling, I was also left with a dreadfully bare pantry....not unlike Old Hubbard's cupboard....Here's hoping I can provide some satisfying options for my family so they don't completely hate me when one of them starts craving a big ol' slice of buttery white bread or steaming bowl of pasta, cream and cheese.

Here is a list of five of the things I have found are such great alternatives(most can be found in our Kroger or HEB stores here)...and of course Basic Foods.

1.Blue Diamond(my savior with their NutThins)

2.I love all the Quinoa pastas but my parents bought some new pasta at Wal Mart that I swear is better...its call HeartLand Pasta and it was so close to the real thing...

3. Cream of Rice cereal is also my savior on cold mornings...my childhood favorite having been put out to pasture..has been replaced with a good enough substitute.

4. BisQuick now makes a gluten Free product...so we can have our skinny pancakes back!

5.Of course you can eat all of the cheese, meat, dairy, rice and potato you want...but what about crackers for your cheese?

Crunchmaster makes these fantastic crackers...my favorite is this one, toasted onion, but there are about four kinds to choose from.

Betty Cracker also has a whole line of Gluten Free products now that are quite tastey too!

It's nice to see some companies I recognize are trying to make life a little easier and healthier for us!

Macaphony and Cheese Please!!

I've been sick. If you are anything like me, sickness tends to make you a smidge...well uhm...weak. Physically weak...obviously...but mentally weak as well. I must admit, my resistance to craving the fantastic comfort food the ol' body has craved for so long...has..in all honesty...worn thin. The only thing I want during times of sickness is pasta. What can't I have? Pasta...sigh.
What to do. What to do. What to do....eat a big bowl of steaming tomatoey and basily Spaghetti...sure and then risk swelling up like a puff fish and needing a crane to get me in the bed...or

find an alternative.

I found a great little gluten free recipe for my all time favorite...Macaroni and Cheese...I had to tweek it some...it called for a few things not in the pantry at the time and it used just plain ol' milk in the sauce( and every southern gal knows her mac n cheez just isn't, unless you are using evaporated milk)...this is key...My dear sweet Nannie made Macaroni and Cheese every holiday. I asked her for her recipe and once given, asked stupidly if plain milk would suffice...response"It just isn't something you want to try". Later I found out for myself. If you want thin lifeless mac...use your little 2% to your hearts content...You want people slappin' their mommas? use the evaporated milk.
START! by melting a big pat of butter and sauteing about a cup of finely chopped onions. Once they are nice and clear...sprinkle in about 1/4 of a cup of potato flour and brown it into a taupe roux...
2 cans of evaporated milk(wisk it well into the roux)then add
2 bay leaves, 1tbsp paprika, 1tsp salt..in that order...
bring it slowly to boil...then reduce to a simmer...
next add about a cup and a half of shredded chedder cheese
stir it all around...mix it up real real good...then
1 cup of cottage cheese....stir stir stir stir stir....well.
Now this is the most important part...the noodles...What kind you ask? I used Quinoa. Why is this important to know? They are the only noodles that come so close to regular pasta that I can hardly tell the difference between them and their evil wheat counterparts...You have boiled these jewels and are ready to mix it into the cheesey ooey gooey mix...in a 2 quart casserole...sprinkle about another half cup of cheese on top and it's ready to bake for 20 minutes at 350....
But Wait! Wait!!
What about the crust you ask?
Rice Chex...yeah you read that...Rice Chex...
I would have never thought of this on my own...but it is pure genius....fill a small ziploc full and SMASH! PULVERIZE! and then toast them a little in some butter over medium heat...Sprinkle on top and you're ready to go!
Twenty minutes later...you've got something that I guarantee no one can tell there is something "funny" about...No one will guess! It is that good! The only thing you will have to worry about is making enough...and if there will be leftovers for lunch the next day! Yes Please!

Shrimp Happiness and Grit Heaven

Shrimp and Grits tonight....unbelievable that these creamy grits are sans gluten...
not that it makes up for the Thin Mint fiasco but anyhoo...here's the recipe!

* 5 cups water
* Salt and pepper
* 1 1/4 cup stone-ground grits
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 6 slices bacon, chopped( keep the grease)
* 4 teaspoons lemon juice(I used 2 lemons)
* 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
* 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
* 1 large clove garlic, minced
(Bobby Flay doesn't use an onion...but I used a very small yellow onion sliced thin)
Directions

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. (Bobby doesn't say to drain the shrimp mixture but I did...just to get rid of a little grease)
Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.
(Not kidding...this took me about 45 minutes start to finish and we all ate! I started a little after six and we ate at 7! And everyone knows that the Cobbs eat late anyway...but not as late as usual!)