The simple joys of childhood.....As long as you stay away from the yellow snow!

Totally Random.....and Totally off the Wall

My husband and I were trying to determine if my daughter is left-brained or right-brained, and for some reason the only question that came to my head is "what are panda bear's balls made out of?" My son said fur. Not sure which one of the three of them is going to come out the most scarred.

Who knew Gluten-Free could be so good? Well, Udi's does!

Since I have started trying to lose weight, I am suddenly so much more aware of foods and what is good and not so good for me and my family. I have heard about gluten-free foods, and I know there are plenty of my readers that are gluten-free as are some of my friends. I just had never put much though into it. Until I was contacted by Udi's Gluten Free Foods at least. I am willing to try new things, especially if it will be something I can add to my diet!

My husband and I had a conversation once on how his restaurant has a gluten-free menu. I really had no idea what that meant, so I did a bit of research. On the most basic level, I learned that gluten is protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and oats. It is hidden in pizza, pasta, bread, wraps, rolls, and most processed foods. I also learned that it mainly affects those with celiac disease, but it can also cause so many problems for the rest of us....including increased illness, and may be a factor in lupus, irritable bowel disease, osteoporosis, canker sores and so much more. Not only that, but a site or two that I found did indicate that there may be a link to weight loss/gain.

I am willing to try new things. Especially if it means that I get to enjoy something I already like but is healthier for me and tastes the same. So, when Udi's sent me a little goodie package that included their pizza dough, I was all set to try it. I am familiar enough with Udi's to know that they are the #1 gluten free baked goods brand, and they revolutionized the world of gluten-free foods when they introduced the first gluten-free bread that tastes and looks like “real” bread. 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It looked pretty much the same as the other pizza crusts we have previously used, so that was a good start. The kids added their favorite toppings, popped it in the oven, and we were set.

I was surprised how much I liked it. I am not a huge fan of thick crusts, so I liked how this was thin without being too thin. My kids had an easy time eating it and really enjoyed it, they had no idea there was anything different about this crust than their usual pizza crust. My husband obviously liked it, he had three pizza's to himself. Which is I guess is what would be the only negative, the pizza was a bit small. Perfect for me and my kids to share, but my husband would definitely need at least two (though I will say the full three was a bit much :) ).

In addition to the delicious pizza crust we received, we also got some of the bread, some bagels, and even some muffins. All I can say is that four of those muffins were not enough. We all loved them. We wanted more. The only slight difference I noticed is that they may have seemed a slight bit drier than typical muffins, but really that didn't even matter because the taste was so wonderful! The bagels are light enough for me to eat for breakfast (I am not usually a breakfast person). I actually made my husband a sandwich with the bread and told him that I had just bought different bread that was on sale rather than our usual brand because it was on sale. He actually requested that I get it again! He loved it, and had no idea that it was gluten-free!

Udi's is quickly becoming more available, and Walmart will be carrying  of Udi's best selling products: soft white bread, soft whole grain bread, plain bagels, chocolate chip cookies, and the pizza crust, in the bakery department. You can find if your local Walmart is already selling Udi's by visiting: www.udisglutenfree.com/stores.

Disclosure: I was given a sample of Udi's Gluten Free foods for the purposes of this review. All opinions are 100% mine. 

Wow, just going to stay in bed until February

New Year's Day was such a great one for me that I had extremely high hopes for the rest of the year. Apparently the world wanted to remind me who is in charge (and it isn't me) because it has been kicking me in the rear since then! Beginning with a broken toe. A broken freaking toe from a stupid strappy shoe of my daughter's. Not just a strappy shoe, but one that felt the need to blink cheerfully at me as I tried not to scream out the words that would wake my blissfully sleeping children. Stumbling to the couch, I look down at my feet to see my toe sticking out sideways. Oops. Many many days later, yes, my toe still hurts and my foot is still bruised. But that is not all, my friends. Oh no, that was NOT enough to show me that I am NOT allowed to assume that this is going to be a kick ass year. Then I had to get a small cold. Not too big of a deal. Until it turned into an ugly, raging case of laryingitis. (and if you remember, I work in a call center where people have absolutely NO tolerance for the loss of a voice.) Smack me in the face. Whatever.

And then comes the ingrown toenail (I know, totally sexy, right?). So now I have a pinkie toe on my right foot that hurts and a big toe on my left foot that THROBS!!! And then my wonderful friend decides to visit me in a furious way this month, and early at that, leaving me totally unprepared for her cranky witchiness. Wonderful.

Just patiently waiting until February. I have thrown in the towel. I quit. I will never again assume that one small day means the rest of my year will be good. Shame on me for being so thoughtless.

Being in the middle kinda sucks........

I am suddenly a middle sister. The dreaded middle. The reason if I have more children it will be two not one (though getting my husband to agree to even one just isn't going to happen, I had to get the IUD for him to even sleep in the same room as me again). In the "blood" sense, I am direct in the middle of two sisters. In the full family sense, I am actually in the top two of five. But they are boys.....they don't count.

So back to being the middle of three girls. I am still getting used to it. Weird place to be, I have to admit. I could write a full blog post on how it is weird simply because I just slipped back into my dad and sister's lives so easily but that would be a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGG emotional post. And let's face it, I have been emotional enough lately. Not only that, but I am medicating my broken toe with alcohol (the drinking kind).  So instead we will just focus on the fact that I am the middle of three girls.

The oldest is kinda easy. I have known her my whole life. Which may seem like a "duh" statement until you look at the fact I haven't known my younger sister. My oldest sister is tough, strong, unique, and bull headed. And more often than not you would think I was the oldest. Because she spent so much of her younger life raising me that I guess it is my turn now. But I was still the baby :)

And then the little sister. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, first, though. My younger sister is fifteen years younger than me. She was kind of an oops baby, but my dad and stepmom call her the "make-up" baby so we will go with that :). So, needless to say, I have a hard time calling her my sister when sometimes I feel more like she is my neice. I have a hard time telling my kids to call her Aunt when she sometimes feels more like a cousin. So let's add that little pickle to the puzzle shall we.

What are the benefits of being a freaking middle kid??????? I am sure glad that I didn't spend my whole life as one because I don't see any. I end up being my older sister's strength (which is fine, I like the role, but makes me feel like I should have been the oldest), and I end up being the weird old person with my younger sister. Like making inappropriate smurf jokes at a restaurant. With my children present. At my son's expense.

Again, I repeat. Weird place to be. I watched my dad tell my lil sis to make sure her windshield wiper was full and to get gas and blah de blah and I felt like "HEY!!!!! Why aren't you telling me that". Yet, my other dad (my stepdad) did that for me as well......but I was the baby then. Of course, everything was about me, I was the last one home. I was the college kid, then.

I skype with my little sister and end up being (again) the crazy old lady living in her memories of dorm rooms, sorority parties, and college days. As different as she is from me, she is so alike me as well. And I am actually proud of her for the differences. Because those differences are her strengths while they were my weaknesses.

I hang out with my older sister. The most memorable time was when I took her to her first "girls night out" at a bar and she ordered a flat tire. yeah. I end up feeling old. Older than her young-thin-fit-lookin' self. 

The middle sucks. I want to be the baby again. Not going to say I want to be the oldest. Because that spot kinda sucks unless you are still a newborn. But I kind of want to feel helpless and taken care of. Although my husband would disagree. He is the youngest and boy did he get picked on by his sister. Hmmmmm, maybe I am just looking at this all wrong. Maybe I just need to start coloring on my dad's walls and blaming it on my little sister.....................