Dear America (Election Day)

Dear America,

I honestly liked things about both presidential candidates.  I thought and hoped that both candidates would do good things for this country, just with different approaches.  I believe that we need to come together as a nation and cooperate with each other.  I also believe that we need to support the decision of the people.  We as a nation chose Obama (at least unofficially), so we need to stand by one another in that decision.
However, I also have to point out that it is not our duty to support corrupt government. If we, in the future, elect a truly corrupt president who mistreats the people and takes power that isn't his (which in our system would be difficult), then we should not support that.  Our government has corruption, and we could probably come up with a much better system, but it is decent and the future is bright if we dedicate ourselves to repairing (not tearing down) our country.
Also, I think as a general body Americans tend to GROSSLY overestimate what the president can do.  He is not a king.  He is not a dictator.  He has quite a bit of influence, but he can't possibly have his way on everything.  Nor can he make all the decisions.
I sincerely hope that everyone put as much energy and thought into your state and local leaders, for theirs is the influence that will effect you most directly.

I am so grateful that I and my fellow citizens have a say!  I am grateful that so many Americans care enough to go out of their way and vote, though I wish it was a 100% turnout.  I pray that our leaders will have the integrity, resources, and inspiration to lead our country in the right direction.

Love,
Your Common, Patriotic, Non-Partisan Friend,
Krista

P.S.- I appreciated Romney’s concession speech.

Lullaby for Clyde

(to the tune of "Homeward Bound")

In the stillness of the evening,
In the gentleness of night,
There's a magic world unfolded
When you whisper out the light.

When you forget the day's distractions
And you let your mind go free,
Who can tell what you'll imagine?
Close your eyes, and you will see!

Rest your eyes from the daytime;
Find your perfect world within.
Your adventures are awaiting.
Soon tomorrow will begin.

And when night is quickly fading,
When the sunbeams tease the sky,
Let your dreams inspire the waking;
There's so much for you and I!

Rest your eyes from the daytime;
Find your perfect world within.
Your adventures are awaiting.
Soon tomorrow will begin.

Your adventures are awaiting.
Soon tomorrow will begin.

Gerber Baby Photo Contest

Hey, I don't know if anyone reads this who hasn't already seen it on facebook, but, whether you have or haven't, I have a request.  I entered Clyde in a Gerber photo contest.  There are different milestone categories, and other people can come and vote on their favorite.  Each voter can vote once a day in each milestone through September 24th.  So, I've been voting for Clyde and two of my friends' babies in different categories.

Anyway, if you think these babies are cute enough to win, won't you please vote for them?!

Then (only you want to) you can share these links with other friends!

Thanks!
Krista

https://nestle.promotions.com/gerberps3/mobiledetail.do?entry_id=200944

https://nestle.promotions.com/gerberps3/mobiledetail.do?entry_id=457826

https://nestle.promotions.com/gerberps3/mobiledetail.do?entry_id=364115

Mom Gone Crazy Therapy- Tips to Relax and Relieve

The past week or so I've been getting these NASTY headaches every evening.  I have no idea where they came from.  I just kind of brushed them aside until my sister (who lives nearly two states away) called me the other day complaining of the SAME THING.  She thought it might be stress.  I thought it was about time to do something about it. 
Try these tips.  If you don't like one, just keep reading.  #1 is the answer to all your problems. (ok, maybe not, but it sure as heck helps!)

5. EAT HEALTHY- For goodness sake, there's nothing wrong with a sweet treat every now and again, but if you want energy, please eat right!  It's not too hard.  Base your meals around a variety of fruits and vegetables, and add the bread and meat on the side.  Drink lots of water, not pop.  Also, avoid processed foods when you can (though don't feel guilty about heating up some corndogs for lunch on a rainy day).

4. GET OUT- Both with the kids and without.  Everyone needs some fresh air and excercise, and there's no better way to drive yourself crazy than to stay cooped up all day with a bunch of dramaqueens and zoo monkeys (whom you love very much, of course)!  I'm sure there are many things you can do at home, but I promise, so many more things await you outside.  Need a few ideas to change it up?  Try a tour of the town (dress up as tourists and visit local or nearby attractions), a peaceful nature hike (try searching for parks and hikes in your area online), visit a new museum (especially on free museum day) or just visit the library and sign up for the summer reading program (an excellent way to entertain the kids all summer... depending on the kid)

OR

STAY IN- I know, I know, now I'm just being contradictory!  Seriously, though.  Sometimes the problem is that you're trying to do too much.  Take a day off.  Stay in your pajamas.  Let the kids play lego's and watch movies all day and then order pizza (or Chinese) for dinner.  Just don't do it TOO often.

3. MEDITATE-  You have a million things to do or think about, and they're all spinning and swirling around that rush-hour spaghetti-bowl brain of yours.  Take at least 10 minutes each day to close your eyes, breath slowly and deeply, and clear your mind.  You'll find it gives a considerable boost to your stamina. 

2. LAUGH- You may have heard about the numerous health benefits of laughing.  Have a quick look at this article on laugher and health, and then have a quick (or long) look at My Life Is Average. So when the baby is screaming and your 2-year-old comes in covered with flour and corn syrup...  It's funny.  Laugh. 

and FINALLY...

1. SELF-MASSAGE-  You may not have expected this to me #1... but trust me, it's HUGE.  I could tell you about it, but try reading some tips on this WebMD article.  Read it.  Try it.  You won't regret it, especially if you've been like my sister and I the past few days!

I hope these tips help... I can tell you they definitely make MY life quite a bit more easy-going!

Thanks for reading!  C-ya!

Pure and Simple Baby Banana Griddle Cakes

I bet you're wondering what I'm doing writing about banana cakes at 2 in the morning!  Ok, so maybe you're not (I kind of am, though.  Especially since Clyde has been determined to wake up and stay awake at 7:30AM each day.), but in any case I'll tell you.  Ryan has been working the night shift and has a couple nights off.  He has to keep up his schedule, though, so he's staying up late creating his boardgame... and I'm staying up with him.  I figured it gives me a good time to rant about breakfast. ;)
This morning (Well, I suppose it was YESTERDAY morning now) I was thinking about hw much I wanted pancakes when my mom texted me asking for a gluten-free pancake recipe.  That made it final.  

I whipped up some pretty awesome ones, but I'll tell you about that in a minute.  

First, while I was making them Clyde was "helping."  He started getting kinda cranky.  I knew he was hungry, too, and wanted him to share in the pancake fun.  I had some banana baby food that needed finishing off, so I added a few ingredients and threw it on the griddle. 
 

Pure and Simple Baby Banana Griddle Cakes

~1 Tbsp banana puree
~1 tsp brown rice flour

~1/8 tsp baking powder

A very teeny-tiny amount of salt (optional)

This makes enough for 2 half-dollar sized pancakes.  Or one slightly bigger one.  They cook pretty fast, so whatch them.  They'll be kind of sticky in the middle (since they're mostly banana).
They actually turned out very tasty (yes, of course I tasted them)!

 

Clyde loved them!  He only ate about half of one, though... he was more interested in playing with them.

I bet you could make these with pretty much any flavor of puree/baby food.  In fact, why reserve them for just baby (I'll take the sweet potatos!)?  Seriously, they're THAT good.

Now for our pancakes.  I added blueberries, shredded zucchini, and flax seed meal.  They were incredible if I do say so myself!  Oh, and Ryan said so, too.  :P

Gluten-Free, Baby Banana, Wheat

I bet you can't tell which is the gluten-free one.

By the time we were done making, eating, and cleaning up (yikes!), it was a little past nap time...

Making breakfast is hard work!

...and he was plum tuckered-out!

About $5 + A Little Bit of Time = Reusable Swim Diaper!

It's swimming season!  I decided to make a reusable swim diaper for Clyde.  I usually like to come up with my own pattern, but since I'd never done this before (and I REALLY wanted it to work!), I decided to use someone else's tried and true.  I hardly ever pay for a pattern.  There are so many free ones online and, after searching on google, I found this: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2011/06/aquarius-swimmer-swim-diaper-tutorial/

This is the picture from "Sew, Mama, Sew."  She tells you how to make two different styles.

I made a few alterations, of course.  My 6th month old is 16lbs but pretty chunky, and I want this to last the entire summer, so I made medium size.  I extended the wings a little to make room for another row of snaps, switched around which wings go in front (because it was cuter and didn't really hurt performance), and just hemmed the end of the FOE instead of folding it over three times (to reduce bulk and save some elastic).  You could also just use one piece of FOE and go around the entire diaper.  Also, on the tutorial she uses three layers of fabric (swimsuit material, PUL, and athletic wicking).  You really don't need the outer layer.  They have so many cute PUL prints.  I just used two layers, PUL for the outer layer and AW for the inner.

Here's how it turned out:

Athletic Wicking (AW) inner

PUL outer

Smaller setting (fits him now)

Larger setting (probably will fit later in the summer)

Ready...

Set...

Swim!

Tips:
It's best to use is a very thin (the smallest you have), ball-point needle. 
If you need to, use pins.  The tutorial doesn't, I think, because you need to be careful with both PUL and elastic.  If you do get little holes in the PUL, most (depending on the brand) can be thrown in the dryer on high for 20 min. to reseal those holes. 
This was my first time ever using fold-over elastic (FOE).  It can be a little bit tricky at first but I think it turned out ok all things considered!  Just take it a little bit at a time and make sure to mark on your diaper where to start stretching.

The Ultimate Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins!

I love to bake... and create. When I make something new, I never just follow the recipe. I generally look up a bunch of different recipes, study them, and then make my very own rendition, adding new exciting ingredients if I feel the need. Tonight I was seeking to make something not TOO unhealthy that I could snack on... something chocolate... something sweet, but not TOO sweet...
After looking over a few muffin recipes, and my favorite brownie recipe, I combined them (and some little twists of my own) into this:

 The Ultimate Gluten-Free Double-Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk)
Another 1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1-2 Tbsp carob

1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder

*Flour blend*
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/4 cup flax seed or almond meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup semi-sweet and/or dark chocolate chips (I used half s.s. chips and half dark chunks)

*This is just the flour blend I used. Just use what you've got. The most important thing to worry about is the STARCH (use potato, tapioca, corn, etc. Just remember: potato starch is NOT the same thing as potato flour. Conversely, tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the SAME THING). The flax seed meal adds a nutty flavor and some nutrition, but it's not needed.*

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix cocoa and baking soda.
Add boiling water and 1/3 cup oil; stir until thickened (it's important to do it this way for a fudgy texture).
Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla, milk, remaining oil, applesauce, and carob.
In a separate bowl combine salt, baking powder, and flour blend.
Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
Add chocolate chips.
Grease a muffin tin, or use muffin cups. Fill each cup 1/2-3/4 full for a smaller muffin or all the way for a larger muffin.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until muffins feel springy when you poke the top.
Sit down, take a deep breath, and enjoy.

**UPDATE**
WARNING!
It may be tempting to eat the whole batch right out of the oven.  Save some!  They're even BETTER the next day (both in flavor AND texture)!  I put them in the freezer to keep them fresh, and then I just let them thaw or put them in the microwave for 20 seconds.  :D