My First Gluten-Free Bread

Ever since Gerritt was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity this fall & after learning that eliminating gluten may be a healthy choice for many people even if they are not gluten sensitive, I've been looking for good gluten-free bread recipes. The gluten-free bread from our local gluten-free bakery left us less than impressed so I've decided to take matters into my own hands. A toast with raw walnut or pecan butter & honey is a frequent snack at our house for children and I. I needed to find a recipe fast.
Luckily, while browsing the blogosphere during my late night quiet "me-time" sessions, I stumbled upon the gluten-free honey oat bread recipe by Yammie's Gluten Freedom. The recipe was simple enough with no dough kneading & bread machine required. I went to the grocery store the following day. After all, not every pantry happens to be stocked up on rice, tapioca and oat flours, not to mention xanthan gum.

I followed Yammie's recipe with the exception of substituting olive oil with melted extra virgin coconut oil (to preserve its health benefits, olive oil should never be heated) & adding a handful of raisins. Unlike dry, crumbly, cardboard-like gluten-free bread I've tried in the past, this recipe delivered moist, chewy & flavorful bread for the whole family to enjoy. The bread was gone in less than a day, proving that eating gluten-free can be delicious!

A variety of alternative to wheat flours - essentials of gluten-free baking

Murphy's Law

Sick Sophia with her pink blanket & baby tiger

Of course, just as my Mom left for much needed vacation in Mexico, all 3 of my children got the flu. Cleaning up vomit & diarrhea, keeping everyone hydrated & pumping breast milk for Jacob for the past 2 days, I hardly had a minute to myself. Luckily the kids tolerated the flu well. Sophia who initially complained of fever & chills & spent her time by watching cartoons & snuggling on the couch with her blanket & "baby tiger," started to feel better on the 3rd day.

Gerritt & Jacob also bounced back quickly. I knew the children were on the road to recovery when they organized a group play using the Tonka truck. The truck was big enough to allow them to take turns sitting in it. Although the thought of the truck potentially flipping over with one of the kids ending up on the ground crossed my mind, I didn't stop them. I felt they could use some laughter after the last couple of miserable days.

I kept a careful watch as they pushed each other around the living room. Even Jacob surprised me with his strength by pushing Gerritt all by himself. Goodbye flu, hello happiness!

A Moment In Time

Sophia & I on December 12, 2012 at 12:12 pm

Jacob was taking a nap & Gerritt was in preschool while Sophia & I happened to be at home on 12/12/12 at 12:12 pm. Sophia was playing & I was rushing to finish cooking the chicken soup before going to pick up Gerritt from preschool at 1 pm. Lucky for us, my Mom lives with us so I've asked her to grab the camera to make our own family history. Just a moment in time - never to be repeated again...

Camping

My children's latest favorite pastime includes "camping." Although they've never camped before, they insisted on doing just that in babushka's bedroom today. After I helped them with erecting the tent, Gerritt & Sophia brought pillows & their favorite stuffed animals inside. They knew enough about camping to pack their backpacks, wear hats & to ask I turn off the lights so they could use the flashlight. Of course, there is no fun in camping without food so pizza we baked for dinner came in handy. The kids had their dinner inside the tent & the adults got some peace & quiet. :-)

Santa Photo

After waiting in line for over 30" Gerritt, Sophia & Jacob met Santa again this year. I quickly put Jacob on Santa's lap before he had a chance to turn around & realize that the reason he could see me was because I WASN'T the one holding him. My Mom was clapping her hands, I was making Jacob laugh & the photographer was ringing his bell. Santa was smart enough to be quiet. Jacob was trying to figure out how to react to all the attention. The 3-second delay gave the photographer just enough time to snap a picture. Loud crying which followed let us know Jacob wanted to be as far away from Santa as possible. Another memory made & mission accomplished!

Jacob Is 1 Year Old!

Jacob with his parents, siblings & grandmothers

Jacob's magical first birthday has finally arrived! In line with maintaining our 1st birthday tradition for every one of our kids, the whole family has traveled to Tacoma for photos at the Korean photo studio while wearing traditional Korean outfits. Even my Mom got to wear a hanbok. It was a miracle to get a few decent photos since it was around kids' nap time & everyone got pretty hot & cranky in a small photo studio in no time. The photographer made the mistake of touching Jacob a few times to fix his hat & once Jacob started crying he couldn't stop. The seemingly impossible task of taking a decent photo of everyone looking at the photographer in the same direction while keeping their eyes open & smiling became possible with good old photoshop. A few "heads" were moved from one shot to another creating the final masterpiece. After the photo editing was done, we happily returned to Korean grandma's house for lunch of homemade seaweed & oxtail soup & cultured vegetables. Of course, Jacob didn't leave a stone unturned & Korean grandma had to do much cleaning up after we left.

Jacob has reached his busiest stage yet. If we open the front door, he rushes outside. When we open the dish washer, he wants to climb in. If we lift the gargabe can lid, Jacob wants to touch the garbage with his hands. When we lift the toilet bowl lid, he puts his fingers in the water. When I take a shower, he attempts to climb in or at least wet his hands. We literally can't step anywhere without Jacob following us!

Puppy love!

Jacob's latest favorite past time includes looking out of the doggie door. He also uses it to throw everything he can get his hands on outside. So I check the outside at least twice daily. We found things like TV remote control, his pacifier, puzzle pieces, small toys, shoes, spoons & food. Once Jacob even attempted to put a basketball outside without much success, but he sure tried. :-)
Jacob is still at the peak of his separation anxiety, so in her pursuit to get more sleep, my Mom moved him from his crib to sleeping next to her in bed. He still wakes up 2-3 times a night, but goes back to sleep as soon as he is reassured she is there. Both Gerritt & Sophia started to share our bed at the age of 2. It seems Jacob has figured out his priorities sooner! :-)

Climbing into the dishwasher

Jacob loves to play with pots & pans

He enjoys rearranging the shoes by the front door & would often bring ALL of them to whoever happens to sit on the couch. He gets upset if you push him away, say "no" or don't acknowledge him in some way. He sure likes to be appreciated whether you need his help or not. :-)

Their Own Bedroom At Last!

Bedtime story with Daddy

Today is truly one of the biggest days of the year! After cosleeping with us for over 3 years (Gerritt since age 2 & Sophia since infancy), both kids are finally sharing the bunk bed & sleeping in their own bedroom.
My slow but deliberate attempt to get them out of our bedroom began in April of 2011 when I was just 9 weeks pregnant with Jacob. Gerritt & I made a trip to Ikea & selected his new "big boy" bed (a bunk bed later to be shared with Sophia). He seemed really excited about it at first & was happy to sleep on the top, while I slept on the bottom, for 1 whole week. However, shortly after he refused to sleep in the new bed again & moved back into my bedroom. Sophia continued cosleeping with Daddy, which was fine with us since she still was so little. Gerritt coslept with me all through my pregnancy & following Jacob's birth.

When Jacob was 1 month old, my Mom moved in with us. Since Gerritt still slept with me & Sophia slept with Daddy, the kids' room & their bunk bed turned out to be the only available sleeping space for my Mom. She took over Jacob's night time care. After moving the kids' toys to my husband's bedroom, we soon moved Jacob's crib into the kids' bedroom, next to my Mom. So for the past year my poor Mom has been sleeping on the bottom of the kids' bunk bed & using the level above for clothes, diaper & linen storage.
To say that our sleeping arrangement was inconvenient would be an understatement. My Mom felt crammed in & would often hit her head on the kids' bed frame when getting up multiple times at night to care for Jacob. Gerritt often didn't want to sleep without me & would stay up late waiting for me to finish my house chores (& as a result be cranky the next day). My husband had to go to bed early to comfort Sophia. Gerritt's clothes was still stored in my Mom's bedroom so it was often a challenge to put away his things & get an outfit ready for the next day between Jacob's naps & before his bedtime. My husband's bedroom was filled with kids' toys & books. Jacob was crawling all over the house (while getting into everything), & there was no private room for Gerritt & Sophia to play. They had to get their own room again.

The process of getting the kids to sleep on their own has been gradual over the past year. My Mom often put Sophia on the bottom of the bunk bed for naps during the day. Shon & I would often swap the kids at night so that they could get their fair share of Mommy & Daddy time. This way Gerritt, who was used to sleeping only with me since the age of 2, got comfortable with sleeping with someone else. Also, it has become a pattern for my husband & the older kids to spend 1 night over the weekend at his Mom's house almost every week (to give my Mom & I that much needed break). We knew the sleeping arrangements had to change, so a couple of months ago my Mom & I made another trip to Ikea & bought a queen-size bed, a dresser & a wardrobe for my husband's bedroom. I also sold the king-size bed my husband & Sophia were using on Craig's list.
With Jacob's 1st birthday just 2 days away, I finally had enough of the chaos. It took us about 3 hours but we moved all of my Mom's things & Jacob's crib into my husband's bedroom. We also moved all of the toy shelves & kids' toys from my husband's bedroom into the kids' bedroom. By the end of the night, the kids were sleeping in the bunk bed in their bedroom (Gerritt on the top & Sophia on the bottom), my Mom & Jacob were sharing a spare bedroom & my husband & I were alone together at last. What a joy it is just to put the kids to bed at 8:30 or 9 pm, say goodnight & turn off the lights. I can't believe it took us such a long time to get Gerritt & Sophia into their own beds, but I am so glad we are finally here!

The Versatile Baked Potato

Recently while visiting our local Farmer's Market, I bought a few baking potatoes. Although there were many potato varieties sold, I chose safe & well-proven Russet potato. Baking potatoes is simple enough, but I was pleasantly surprised with a large array of potato toppings available. Even though I had my baked potatoes several times that week, I never got bored.

Baked potato with avocado, chopped green onion, sour cream & smoked pork jowl from our local Farmer's market

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Clean potatoes with a stiff-bristled brush under running water. Remove any bruised or miscolored spots. Prickle each potato several times using a fork to allow steam to escape during baking. Dry potatoes with paper towels & then lightly coat them with olive oil. Bake them in preheated oven in the middle rack over a baking sheet for about 60-85", or until the skin is golden-brown & potatoes are soft when poked.

Baked potato with king salmon caviar (thanks, Awers), sour cream & chopped fresh dill

Almost anything can be served on top of a baked potato. Some topping ideas include:

- Sour cream, butter
- Shredded cheese
- Chopped fresh herbs such as dill, cilantro or basil
- Chopped green onions
- Pulled pork, bacon, ham, grilled chicken or steak
- Baked or smoked salmon
- Beans
- Chopped fresh or sundried tomatoes
- Chopped avocado or guacamole
- Salsa
- Pesto
- Pickled or cultured vegetables

Baked potato with pickled mushrooms, sour cream, Trader Joe's nitrite-free bacon & chopped green onions

Zoo Pumpkin Bash

Today we made our annual trip to the Woodland Park Zoo Pumpkin Bash. It has become a tradition of sorts to dress the kids up in adorable Halloween costumes & spend a few hours outdoors surrounded by nature & animals every October. We weren't brave enough to test the limits of 10-month-old Jacob, so he stayed at home with my Mom. Of course, we had to take a few rides on the 1918 historic wooden carousel with hand-carved horses & visit Gerritt's favorite meerkats. We all got quite a show from diving pinguins. We made a mistake of renting a single occupancy stroller so Gerritt & Sophia kept arguing whose turn it was to ride (the arguing got more intense & loud around the kids' nap time). It turned out to be one of those gorgeous sunny fall days. It began to rain only in late afternoon allowing us plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. The combination of light, beautiful natural surroundings & Halloween-inspired decorations make the Woodland Park Zoo one of my favorite places to photograph the kids in the fall. Even though she had the choice of wearing the monkey & bumble bee costumes, Sophia insisted on being the butterfly again, just like last year. Gerritt wore the dragon costume I bought almost 2 years ago & was saving while waiting for him to grow into it.

Another dragon!

Gerritt is ready for fun!

Sophia & Mommy riding the carousel

So happy!

Riding the monkey

Gerritt's favorite meerkats

Gerritt & gorilla

Sophia & lion

Pinguins!

Halloween magic

Beautiful fall day

My cute dragon

Surprise found in the woods