GF Banana White Chocolate Pancakes

Often, we have something special for Sunday meals. I'll fix a roast dinner or Mike will grill for us. This Sunday, we were getting over two weeks of colds, coughs and strep throat. We needed a simple day.

So I planned pancakes for Sunday supper. But after getting a few hours of extra sleep and a good hot shower, I was feeling better and wanted to jazz the pancakes up a bit. I would normally make blueberry pancakes but I had already made blueberry muffins for breakfast using Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix, 4-Pound Bags (Pack of 3)

Blueberries twice in one day would be a bit overkill. I had some white chocolate chips that needed to be used up. So I looked online at a few recipes and then came up with my own version. I would have used cinnamon in the pancakes if two of my kiddos hadn't shown sensitivities to it. But they turned out delicious none-the-less. My second child only ate two when he is normally begging for a fourth or fifth of my blueberry pancakes. But he has this weird aversion to most things white. He thought at first that the white chocolate chips was cottage cheese. I tried to explain to him that he really needs to let his tastebuds make the decision.

I absolutely love Pamela's Baking mix. It is a very easy way to fix gluten free goodies when I am short on time and energy. No guesswork! I know whatever I make with it will turn out perfect. No wasted time making something not worth eating. I included the link above where I order it by the box from Amazon.

GF Banana White Chocolate Pancakes

3 bananas, mashed
2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
2 T oil
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Mash bananas in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips. Whisk well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto a 325 degree griddle. (Love my griddle, too! Invaluable in making pancakes, grilled cheese, crispy bacon and even fried eggs. Saves a lot of time standing over the stove.)

I doubled this recipe for my big brood. Many times, there isn't any left. Because these were a bit rich, there were more leftover so I am eating some for breakfast. They reheat well.

Enjoy!

Healthy Beverages

When my first two boys were little, I gave them mostly milk and apple juice. I was thinking that those were healthy options except that one of the boys having a lactose sensitivity and even watered down apple juice prevented their gastrointestinal problems from going away.

When my next two started having similar problems, I asked the pediatrician what to do and she recommended water with the squeeze-in liquid flavoring like Mio. I LOVE having a mom for a pediatrician. Our old pediatrician had five children and was pretty kid savvy but nothing beats mom-experience coupled with a medical degree. She knows the best, easiest ways of accomplishing what needs to be done.

We had a cold last week and this week, one child has strep with possibly a sinus infection. I have been drinking GGMS which gives me apple cider vinegar daily.



I don't get near the sinus infections that I used to with apple cider vinegar. I can't exactly explain how it works but after drinking an ACV drink, I can feel the mucus loosening and coming down my throat. By clearing my sinuses, it doesn't sit and fester and turn into an infection.

I wanted to get my kids to drink something similar but they aren't fans of that kombucha-like taste. Then I found this recipe for healthy Cool-aid. I don't have any fruity herbal tea at the moment so I'm using up some koolaid packages. While we use up what we got, I'm gonna keep an eye out for herbal tea coupons and sales.



Today I used orange and mango in a gallon of water. I added a few shakes of Sweet Leaf Stevia and a generous splash of ACV. I stirred it up and asked James to try it and tell me if it was sweet enough. He loved it and told me that it was the best drink I had ever made. Told me that he loved me and gave me a hug for it. I do believe that it is a success!

Light of the World

I am working on some goals to balance out my life. I have a tendency to hyper focus. But with so many people, needs and obligations in my family, I can no longer afford to let all the balls fall while I focus on one part like cooking, organizing, teaching or whatever.

But juggling balls is terrible imagery because inevitably one falls. I am picturing instead a boat in need of many anchors to stay steady. Some days may get crazy and unbalanced but instead of stopping the juggling to pick up a ball, I'll just throw out another anchor.

My faith is very important to me. One of the goals I am working on is keeping conscience of doing it all for Christ. It is so easy for my thoughts to be dominated by the tasks of everyday life. So to bring my thoughts back to my Savior, I light a candle.

That's all. I put it on the windowsill in my kitchen out of reach of the little ones. Every time that I walk by, the light catches my eye and I am reminded of Christ, the Light of the World. This post by Loyola Press explains the concept so beautifully.

Now inevitably, life will become unbalanced. I have had a rough night with a sick child, busy morning at the doctor's office and pharmacy and right now, I am wondering how much toddlers would destroy if I closed my eyes for just a moment. But lighting a candle takes my eyes off the difficult day to the One with the power to make it better.

Light of the World, illumine me!

Affirmations

A few months ago, I went home to Mississippi for my step-father's funeral. My family stayed with my grandmother and I was telling her about our suspicions of dyslexia in our second child. I was telling her about the reading specialist that I had spoken to and what steps we were taking to address the concerns. She told me how glad she was that I was able to homeschool them and spend the needed time to help them learn well. I'm not sure that she was always whole-hearted supporter of the homeschooling idea in our extended family so it meant a lot to me that she was affirming our decision.

 Shortly after, we decided that I didn't have the ability to take on homemaking, five kids and homeschooling. So when I saw her again at my son's birthday party, I was updating her on how neat their school was and how well the boys were doing. She beamed and told me what a great decision I had made and how homeschooling really was a huge task to take on with five kids. At first, I wondered what decision she thought was better. But then I realized that it didn't matter. She was affirming ME, her granddaughter and not my decisions. My decisions are mine. She didn't need to use them to tear me down. Whatever I chose, she could be an encouragement in this hard job of motherhood.

Affirmers are rare and I am lucky to have one. People mean well but they often whether meaning to or not, tear down a person with their efforts to set-them-straight. I think many of us have the scars of someone who allowed our decisions to build a wall between us. Those negative voices in our head can go on for years.

So do I affirm my children enough? Probably not. Since having my fifth child, I am figuring out that motherhood is not for the faint of heart. Frankly, I have no clue how people do it without faith. You have to have strength from something bigger than yourself to take on this job. I have six things going on in my head all the time that need to be done right away. And then when those things are done, there are six more to be done. It gives me that hamster-in-a-wheel feeling because I work hard each day and it's all to be done again in a few hours.

It can be quite depressing but then again, I have a purpose for every single day. A great purpose! To raise these beautiful children to love God and show Him to the world through their words and deeds. But still with all the to-do's in my head, I am afraid that I spend more time issuing instructions (Do your homework, Get a snack, Drink your water, Do your chores, Find your shoes, Did you remember to do _____?) rather than affirming who they are.

With our system of High Five medals, it's giving me the opportunity to think more about affirmations. One day, James got 16 High Five medals. That was 16 times to say, "You did good!" I am trying to be very specific in how I affirm them.

"That was very thoughtful of you to take out the trash."

"You were such a great brother to tend to your sibling."

"I appreciate how quickly you responded to my request"

I am also keeping all my to-do's on a list. Not because I will forget what needs to be done, but that I can stop thinking about them once I know they are safely written down where they can be checked off when done. If I am not careful, I can spend the whole morning trying to get chores done, then nap time, then boys are home and then bedtime. Before I know it, I haven't spent any meaningful time with children. So I am making goals and including them into my to-do's. Today, along with my laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, and more, I included reading, praying, playing with blocks, ABC mouse and such. A lot more got done this morning by being purposeful like that.

I don't want to be Martha, running around with this harried look. I want to be Mary and chose the better part. Because my purpose is not simply to be a housekeeper, my vocation is to be a mom. Hardest job in the world. Not nearly enough hours to get it done. This is my mission field and I pray that I use every ounce of talent and strength I have along with the grace and strength of my Savior to do the best job I can at it.

High Five medals

I had been looking at ways to be more proactive instead of reactive to go along with the Seven habits. It's is way too easy with five kids and all the cooking, cleaning and grooming that go along with them to just focus on what didn't get done.

I had tried an allowance in the past but found myself still nagging them to check off their list of activities and chores. I wasn't going to pay them for work produced by nagging so we discontinued allowances until they had matured a bit.

At school, they use Mustang Medals to reward good behavior. Mustang is their mascot. They have a little store full of little toys, dvds and such that have been donated. Every once in a while, they go to the store and spend their medals which are just pieces of paper about the size of a business card.

I decided to create our own system for home that is similar. I decided to call them High Five Medals. I got on the computer and created them in a few minutes. Here is what I came up with.

High Five Medal

(you've been caught doing good)

Way to go!

I wanted to put them on a business card template but couldn't find it in Open Office. So I just made columns and separated them with one line space. I cut them out and put them in a jar.

I introduced it to the boys. They were already familiar with them so it was a brief explanation.

One chore = one medal (They already have their assigned list of chores which is just picking up and putting away in three rooms each plus their bedroom)

Extra medals will be given for exceptional work, quick completions (no dilly-dallying) and good attitude.

Medals will also be given for acts of kindness and help with siblings like giving the baby his pacifier while I am fixing a bottle or finishing up a quick chore of my own or giving the toddler his blanket when he decides to scream or playing for 20 minutes with them. However, they shouldn't expect a medal for every single instance. Sometimes you do things for family just because and I don't want them having a self-centered view of service.

High Five Medals are the new household currency and should be treated as cash. If lost, they will not be replaced. Hoping to teach some necessity of organization and responsibility.

One piece of Halloween candy or 10 minutes of computer/Ipad/tablet time for each medal.

10 medals can get them an Itunes song or app up to $1.29 with a limit of one a week.

15 medals can get a Redbox rental.
25 medals can get them an outing to Ryans buffet with Dad. Mom doesn't want to go because I threw up Ryans shortly into my last pregnancy and I may never want to eat there again.

When we find things they want at Dirt Cheap, thrift store or wherever, I will put what we purchase in a make-shift store and assign a price to it. No more buying them stuff just because which I am terribly guilty of and can result in occasional bratty behavior.

My oldest really wants the Hot Wheels Car Maker. So I told him that he could save up 100 medals for that. But then he also wanted the track and extra wax. So it is a total of 205 medals to get all he wanted. He asked what would happen if we ran out of medals. I told him that I could print more or we could create a Harrill Bank. He then went to mapping out deposits and withdrawals. Making goals! Very cool!


I posted recently about a book about kids begging for chores. It literally happened. On Sunday, James asked to do his chores as well as his brother's chores. As long as he got his done first, that was fine by me. Davy was busy with an origami binge so he didn't care. One day, Davy went the whole day without getting on the Ipad or computer so that he could save for the Hot Wheels Car maker. That took a major amount of self-discipline.


I'm figuring out that I need to keep things interesting and upbeat in regards to getting things done around the house. These High Five Medals provide a platform for endless tweaks in earning and spending. It will teach economics. It will be personally motivating for each depending on what reward they desire. Could even use it for charitable donations that they could earn during Advent or Lent. Lots of options to keep us from getting in the drudgery rut of daily chores.

Treat tins for Christmas gifts

I love upcycling! Taking something that normally would go in the trash and making something useful and beautiful with it. I really enjoy making little happies for Christmas gifts. It may be more enjoyable for me than the recipients but my family humors me. 

This year, I want to focus on giving more to others outside my flesh and blood. I've started that a little by offering fresh-baked banana bread or Halloween candy to Charter repairmen that have had to come to my house way too often. I also have the opportunity with teachers and staff at the boys' school. If I can, I hope to take the kids to offer treats to public service individuals like fireman, policeman and such. 

I've saved all the formula cans since Joseph was born. (Yes, I know breastfeeding is best but I've not had much luck with it) I took off the label and decoupaged scrapbooking paper onto the can and lid. It's a little difficult dealing with the curves and circles. I can't say that I have mastered getting all the bubbles out from under the paper but I have quite a few more to do and practice makes perfect. I can now take treats like cookies or fudge and place them into a ziploc or treat bag. The bag can then go in these cute tins and delivered to whomever we choose to spread the Christmas cheer.

All Saints Day

We read from Once upon a time saints.  It is one of the greatest gifts of becoming Catholic. I wouldn't be catholic if they were a bunch of demigods. Instead,  each saint has their own expression of what it means to follow Christ. Some did it as royalty, others in poverty. Some served the poor. Some educated. Some preached. Some devoted their lives to prayer. Such a vast rich cloud of witnesses!

We really enjoy studying the saints. It made a huge difference in dealing with my stepfather's death. The children were sad and shocked but they had a greater understanding of eternal life. Death is not the end.


Here is a small excerpt.

For today is the day
The first of November
To celebrate saints
You may not remember
The big ones you know
They stand quite tall
Like Francis and Vincent
And Peter and Paul

So take some time to learn about some of the lesser known saints. It may just give you an entirely different outlook..