First Day of School

She woke up, and knew that today was the day:
First day of school.

She was handling the morning 'to-do's better than we anticipated, but her nerves were oh so present.

When it was time to go, she was definitely a nervous nelly:

Daddy made sure Mr. Bunny came along for the ride (hoping we could get her jazzed/ relaxed a bit more):

And it worked! The nerves stayed in the driveway, as the four of us paraded to school.

(I only took these three pics, as my full focus was on Quinny's moment to moment. Historically with this kid, activities that bring her anxiety can also bring a boat full of meltdowns, so I needed to continually look out for the warning signs to keep her brain riding the course).

On the way to school (it really is like a 1/4 mile walk) we passed 5 people we knew, who cheered Quinny on and gave such love and encouragement!
This community is so ridiculously rad- walking on main street with our babes in the stroller, Jake's coffee fogging in the air, neighbors saying the good mornings and go-get-em's...it really could have been a commercial for 'The Blessed Life'.

Arriving at school, entering the door to her classroom the old routine started: "Mommy hold me, hold me." She kept saying in a panicked voice.

But the moment we got into the classroom, it was a different ball game.

She went straight to the ponies she knew were waiting for her, and met a little lass there, a sweet, shy little girl who engaged her in a convo. about Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie.

Two minutes later:
"Ok honey, we're going to head home. We'll be back soon to pick you up. Remember Teacher Beth is here to help you feel safe."
"Ok Mommy. Bye Daddy. Bye Carter."

And that was that.
No crying.
No meltdowns.
No anxiety.
Totally unreal.

We headed home and waited the 3 hours till pick up time- waiting to see if her streak of tenacity carried her through the day.

It had!
Teacher Beth told us that she was beyond surprised how helpful and attentive Quinny was. How she was the first to clean up, the first to sit down when asked, and the first to line up. She said Quinny had an amazing day.

On our walk home we asked Lou how school was:
"Good. I learned and played. Can I go back tomorrow?"

Such a wonderful day we shared as a clan.
Hopeful-ness is carrying on and this year is going to be so rad!

Apple Pickin' Time

Spent the afternoon picking some Gravensteins.
Thinking we'll make pre-made pie filling for the year (again, in love with this extra freezer).
This could be our last pick of the summer- can't wait for next year!

GFCF Bread

I have been beyond nervous to bake GFCF bread.
I am not one for failures (who is, eh?) so finding a recipe that was in my comfort zone and had an appealing picture tutorial was essential for me to find success!

Luckily I stumbled on to:

www.barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com

Her GF bread recipe used the flours I was used to, the ratios I was used to, and I was easily able to change her dairy products into CF products.

So, this chilly (wonderfully cozy) morning I gave it a whirl (literally, whirled it in my Kitchen Aid):

Her recipe called for butter and milk, so I subbed in rice milk and Earths Best. I went ahead and used real eggs (knowing Carter is ok when eggs are baked for more than 20 minutes in the oven) as I felt the eggs were essential for the structure of the bread (once I get more comfy with this recipe, I'll start playing around with my egg substitute).

Kind of sticky stuff, I didn't even try to use my hands to manipulate- all spatula!

Letting it rise (again).

And then, it happened- a loaf of GOOD GFCF bread for the fam.

A success at 140 s. Olive St. this morning.

Back to School Night = Back to School. OYE!

Back to school night was the other evening at Quinny's new preschool.

We coordinated to show up a bit early so Lou could mingle with her teacher and the classroom without the extra stimuli.

This year's set up gets us a bit jazzed when cataloging all of the positives:
her classroom is about a 3 minute walk from our house, featured in the main Yamhill Carlton School House, fastened with a super loving, well educated and ridiculously calm teacher.
They also allow crazy moms (such as myself) to volunteer in the classroom whenever we can/ want/ need to (which allows me to see Q in action in her school setting to know what areas of development we need to keep chippin' away at).

Prior to Back to School Night, I had been dreading the start of school. The memories of her broken heart from last year, the cruelty of (some) of the children and the un-caring-ness of the parents.

With the world's expectations for Lou that keeps on growing as her years keep climbing- mix that with her neurological wiring system that short circuits with that additional stress of those expectations and this year was looking more and more challenging.

But there is a LIGHT:

A few days ago I was at our favorite health food/ gluten free store in McMinnville (Parkway Foods- truly, if you're in Mac and need a fabulous small town store with nothing but wonderful food...hit it up!) and I was asking the store clerk about Autism Parent Support Groups in the surrounding area, when this woman walked up to me and said she was over hearing my convo and had some insight.
Turns out this woman is not only a Mama to a 15 year old Aspie, but she also lives in Yamhill!
The picture she painted of this town, with regards to being a supportive community, was amazing.
The parents in the Yamhill/ Carlton School Dist. had been nothing but understanding and kind to her son and their clan. Her son had numerous friends and was thriving in the academic and extracurricular arenas.

Of course their journey wasn't all peaches and pice cream, but the jist: fabulous!
I left her (and the store) with a hug (of course) and a kick to my (swollen) feet.

My light is that we live in this town where it seems as though people CARE about one another, and about the welfare of the younger generations.

My light is that while buying beautiful groceries I can meet a local parent who embraces me with wisdom, kindness and hope.

My light is seeing the excitement Quinn had when leaving her school room and asking us when she gets to go back and play with her teacher.

Back to school night (and my angel Mama from the grocery store) restored my hope and excitement for our stormy todays and our sunny tomorrows.

Back to school?
BRING IT ON!

Stocking the Fridge

Been preparing and freezing gfcf meals for the weeks after baby comes.

My Mom in law found a fabulous freezer off Craigslist that I'm happily filling up- best $50 we've spent in a while.

It is a little cray cray that I am still pregnant at 38 weeks! Let's get this show on the road!

Rad GFCF Products

A benefit for having me be a wee bit less ambitious the past few weeks (in the kitchen) was that I started to venture out and try some pre-made GFCF food items.
I have found four go-to's for our family:

UDI's Gluten Free Food Products:

This bread is super good toasted- reminds me of a nice artisan bread (crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle).
The cinnamon raisin version is one of Quinny's favorite breakfast snacks- and it is super low in sugar for the flavor it packs in.


Applegate Naturals:
I have become a HUGE fan of this company. We buy the bacon (gfcf) the lunch meat (for the times I don't have chicken in our fridge) and these AWESOME nuggets.

These little nuggets are delicious, crisp, and totally worth the price tag (around $7 depending on where we go shopping).
I try and keep these in my freezer at all times now for a quick lunch or dinner.



Amy's GF dairy free Burritos:

Quinny is not too keen on these bad boys, but Carter, Jake and I are in love!


It is amazing how adding a few pre-made foods to our closet takes away a bit of stress and pressure for those afternoons and evenings where I am just not feeling it.

I would LOVE for those who have their favorite GFCF/ GF Vegan/ GF Dairy Free pre bought food items to leave it in the comments- let's catalog this stuff, eh?

Gfcf Doughnuts

The girls were begging for doughnuts- so doughnuts I made.
"Cooking for Isaiah" was my road map:
turned out 'ok', needing more moisture next time. I'll be working on this.

UPDATE!
I added a 1/4 cup of apple sauce and they came out perfect!