Flavorful Stew and Changed Minds

I used to hate sweet potatoes.

No, hate isn't quite the right word.

I despised them.  Loathed them.

No candied yams at Thanksgiving, no sweet potato fries- none of that for me, thank you.

I was resolute in my stance that they were one of the world's most disgusting vegetables.

Then I found myself the mother of a picky eater.

My son is incredibly limited in the foods that he will eat, and, while I will spare you the details, trying to convince him to branch out was a traumatizing experience for all involved.

Yay for sensory issues!

Anyway, it became evident early on that if I was going to get that child to eat anything with any redeeming nutritional value at all I was going to have to sneak it into him- a task that is far easier said than done.

Crazy Green Salsa Yumminess

A few weeks ago my son came home from school with his first birthday party invitation.  My daughter's kind of been there done that with birthday invitations...when she brings them home my inward reaction is more like "uuuuuuuughhhhhh....another free Saturday spent being socially awkward when I could be on my couch with a glass of wine and my husband...."- though that's not a sentiment I share with my daughter and I have a rule that we always attend parties to which the kids are invited.

Once we had to cancel an RSVP to a little girl's party at the last minute and I found out later that NO ONE showed up.

Talk about feeling like a terrible person...yes.  Every party we can make it to we do.

Anyway, back to my story.

So my son came home with an invitation.  I was genuinely ecstatic.

This is so big for him!

Of course, I knew that all of the kids in the class likely scored an invite.  Didn't care.

Little Man actually has two classes- his early intervention Pre-K class due to his autism and his regular Pre-K class for his inclusion time for the majority of the day.

I had no idea which class this kid was in.

Again- didn't care.

MY KIDDO WAS GOING TO HIS FIRST PARTY!!!!

Simple BLT Salad

I've been buying a LOT of bacon lately.

Like a lot a lot.

My son has decided he loves bacon, and with his weird food issues pretty much any new food is something to get excited about.

And really...isn't bacon always something to get excited about?

I certainly think so.

Anyway, I came across a recipe for a BLT salad and it just sounded so simple and great and, well, I definitely had the bacon on hand- so I went for it.

Crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, crumbled bacon, and croutons- all topped with a creamy made-from-scratch dressing.

A Lifechanging Haircut

Earlier last year, just as the weather was starting to warm up, I decided to chop my hair off.

My halfway down my back hair.

All trimmed up! :-)

My driving me nuts, I'm-not-a-girly-girl-and-I'm-hopeless-at-styling-it hair.

It suddenly, and spontaneously, had to go.

It may (ok, most likely) have had to do with the instantaneous feeling of freedom I felt when I took my son to his first day of preschool.

When he turned 3 he became eligible for the early intervention preschool in our school district.

Suddenly I wasn't alone.

Suddenly I had six hours a week BY MYSELF.

Six hours to go grocery shopping.

Six hours to peruse stores.

Six hours to paint my nails and actually let them dry.

Six hours to donate to a blood drive.

Six hours to make doctor's appointments.

Six hours to get my hair cut.

Double Fudge Cookies and One Long Night

Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you about a recent evening at my house...

Now, my husband had been out of town for four days.  I love him.  Oh goodness I love him.  I am grateful that his job provides me the opportunity to stay home with the kids even if that means a few times a year he has to travel for work.

That being said, a few days into his trip I  get a little...frustrated.  Jealous of freedom.  Rundown by single parenting, a very active daughter, and a son with autism.

Oh I had such great plans for that night!  I was going to be like...Pinterest Mommy of the Year or something.  You know, all rainbows and unicorns and happy childhood memories.

My daughter came home from her after school activities and immediately showered and got into cozy PJs.  Homemade double fudge cookies were baked.  Homemade chicken noodle soup was consumed.  We had a girly evening styling our hair and painting our nails.  We piled into the car to drive aimlessly and enjoy Christmas lights.  Upon returning I popped delicious popcorn, started the fire in the fireplace, and we all curled up together by the tree to watch Peter Pan live on TV.  Then we headed off to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing through our heads.

The Only Gift I Need

I don't need anything for Christmas this year.

I really don't.  I can't think of anything that could beat what I've already experienced this holiday season.

My son gets that it's Christmastime.

He got that it was Thanksgiving.

He understood that it was Halloween.

He may not have the slightest clue what any of those things actually mean.

He wouldn't eat his Halloween candy (that makes two years in a row his sister has really lucked out).

He ate a grilled cheese sandwich while we stuffed ourselves with Thanksgiving dinner.

He doesn't know to look forward to Christmas gifts.

Today My Son Said "I Love You"

This one isn't food related and that's ok by me- I'm just super excited and have to share!

My son doesn't call me Mommy.

If I want to hear the word I can write it, because he'll read anything you put in front of him.

If I point to a picture of us he'll say "Mommy" when you ask who is in the picture.

My husband and daughter have had names for quite awhile.  

But he doesn't call ME anything.

I can ask him what my name is till I'm blue in the face and he would just repeat back "What's my name?  Who am I?" and giggle in that adorable way he does.

Last night, though, he was laying in bed next to me as my husband snored.  He flopped his head over on my chest, grinned at me, and said, "Hi Mommy!"

Oh my goodness.  Not only did he call me "Mommy" but he did it spontaneously, using his speech functionally, free of echolalia.

Sweet Vanilla Cupcakes For My Kiddos

Feeding my son can be frustrating.

The nuances of what he's ok with eating vs what he will physically cover his face to get away from can be tricky to navigate.

For example, sometimes he will eat orange goldfish crackers.  Sometimes.  However he won't eat the goldfish crackers that come in different colors- he won't even eat the orange crackers if he sees you picking them out of the multi-colored variety.

This lovely pink-topped confection was for my daughter!

He loves french toast sticks because they're dry and crisp on the outside, but won't touch a soft pancake.  Period.

He will eat yogurt with fruit blended in, but not the kind with even the tiniest of fruit pieces in it.

He will eat a peanut butter sandwich, but only if there is literally only enough peanut butter to hold the pieces of bread together- otherwise it is cast aside completely.

You know how some kids are just picky and will eat eventually if they get hungry enough?

Yeah...this isn't like that.  He really won't eat regardless of how hungry he is.  

Dear Churches...We Need You.

I need you.  WE need you.

You see, you are not only my family- you are my lifeline.  My son has High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder- a mouthful, I know.
He is sweet.  He is funny.  He is borderline brilliant.  He is not yet 3 1/2- yet he can read you his children's Bible, start to finish, unassisted.  He can write "xylophone" and "mother" and "queen" and any other word you throw at him- ambidextrously and in better handwriting than my 8 year-old.

He does not, however, call me "Mommy."  He does not understand potty training and is still in pull ups.  He won't eat the goldfish crackers you offer at snack time, because, well- who knows why.  Because his quirks and sensory sensitivities extend to his eating habits.
I know he shakes your expectations a little- if I wasn't his mother I would probably be a little confused by him as well.  But his hand flaps, excited vocalizations, and food preferences aren't any extra work, really.  To paraphrase Temple Grandin- he is most definitely different, not less.

Light Summer Pasta

I've tried to start this post like three times.

Each and every time the only words that have come to me are these-

I.  Am.  Tired.

Like, as in I am physically exhausted.  I'm not sure how to explain the toll having a 55ish lb, 3 1/2 foot tall, autistic little man is taking on my neck and back.  He's sweet.  He's adorable.  He's freaking brilliant.  And he's HEAVY and POWERFUL.  I'm seriously just...ugh.  There is a huge amount of physical exertion that goes into every task, from getting him into position to change his diaper to getting him into his car seat.

My back is toast.

Ups, Downs, and A Side of Salad

We all have those days, don't we?  The days when you don't know which way is up.  There are days when I feel like both running for the hills and hiding in bed.  When I don't know if I want to fall into my husband's arms when he comes home from work or lock myself away in my room with a glass of wine and a book.

I think being a mother always means being torn in multiple directions, and it is often difficult to find a balance that makes you feel whole and successful in all of them.

I am wife.

I am mother

I am Nora.

Sometimes the planets align and I am happy to be all three.

Sometimes being a good Mommy is enough to make Nora happy too.

Sometimes I feel like a failure at them all.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pizza Crust

I've mentioned it before in passing, but my little guy has High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

He is awesome.  He's sweet, cuddly, hilarious, and can both read and write (well beyond his comprehension of language) already despite having just turned 3 last week.  He appears to be hyperlexic, which is crazy fun to observe.  That being said, he obviously has some issues and his sensory issues are probably second only to functional language delays.

He's slowly improving when it comes to tactile sensitivities, but he has so many weird issues with foods he can't/won't eat.  I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to sneak extra nutrients into the foods he will eat.  Lately he's been stuck on pizza.

Like STUCK on pizza.  He walks around asking for it all of the time.

Pizza isn't exactly known for it's nutritional value, and I can't just load it with veggies because he will only eat cheese or pepperoni pizza.

Pull-Apart Soda Bread Rolls

In keeping with my recent St. Patrick's Day theme, I was looking up recipes for soda bread.  I stumbled across the idea of Pull-Apart Soda Bread in Martha Stewart's magazine...but unfortunately I've had pretty bad luck with her recipes.  In my experience they tend to be off in lots of ways and I'm a little wary of them.

 

The idea, though, was great!

I started with this recipe for Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread and it definitely lived up to it's name!  I did have to add a little extra buttermilk, but that's ok.  I liked that it was basic- a lot of recipes dress the bread up, and I wanted to keep it simple to go with dinner.

Pretty Exciting For a SAHM!!

I've always loved to cook, but I really threw myself into it about four years ago.  I think it started when I was out of work for nine months- it filled the time and made me feel useful.  Boy did I send a lot of baked goods to work with my (now) husband during that stretch!  Since then a lot has changed...I've gone back to work, gotten married, gotten pregnant, had a son, quit my job to be a homemaker, gone from long-time user of Allrecipes.com (I've quite literally used the site since it's first inception as "cookierecipe.com" 16 years ago, though I didn't even register until that stretch of unemployment) to Allrecipes Allstar (a gig that even got me an amazing trip to Seattle last year!)... the past few years have been quite an adventure!

The Allrecipes Allstars program is something I have truly been blessed to get to be a part of.  It's just so much fun!  What a lovely community of (mostly) ladies I am a part of, working with them is a true delight.  Each month we receive "assignments" and goody packages and get to work- sometimes those assignments require that we write up a blog post and share our experiences with you guys.  For many of us this has been a struggle, certainly not something that comes naturally.  Personally, it has become a nice outlet for me.  I've been able to find a balance, I think, between sharing my assignments with you and other goings on in my life.  I get a little giggly when I have a post that really takes off and I can see my page views go nuts for a bit, or when another website with a larger following than my own shares one of my posts.

On it's own, that's been a silly little thrill for a lady whose days often consist of speech therapy appointments, dirty diapers, laundry, and never-ending house cleaning.

Comfort Foods and Loving Letters

I love pretty much everything about Fall...the weather, the decor, being able to wear sweaters, the food. 

We will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year (it makes way more sense than what we normally do, which is prepare EVERYTHING at our house and then haul it over to my MIL's) and I've already planned the entire menu, appetizers to dessert.  I have a new tablecloth and napkins hanging out in my cart on Amazon.  I'm pinning Thanksgiving centerpieces like a madwoman on Pinterest.

Click on the picture to see the recipe at Allrecipes.com!

I'm going a little crazy, right?

I know.  I'm kind of ok with that, though.  :-)

Since I still have 54 more days until T-Day (but who's counting?), I'm taking full advantage of the Autumn weather until it gets here.  That's why I decided to make turkey soup with dumplings for my family last night.  What's better than warm soup on a Fall night, right?

Mainly Margaritas :-)

Life's been a little hectic the past few months!  My son turns two next week and he doesn't really talk yet.  I take that back- he doesn't speak any kind of language we understand.  He jabbers incessently, but very little beyond "uh oh" or "dada" comes out of his mouth in any recognizable way.  So, we finally went to have a speech evaluation done and he's now seeing a speech therapist twice a week, an occupational

My Handsome Man