The Redwoods

They were enormous and beautiful... The Redwoods are so awesome due to the sheer size, but also to realize some of those babies are 2000 years old! It is just amazing. The trip there was not so bad, but we definitely had our share of whining. After everyone ate the picnic lunch we started off exploring... And without skipping a beat our second daughter had a melt down. I was afraid the trip was not such a good idea, but then her daddy took her and the dog in one direction, and I took off in the other with the oldest and youngest... and I have to say, once we split up, it was enjoyable! Daddy even said the wildness went tame on his end too! I got some nice shots and we enjoyed the rest of the time there. Wild woman even found a worm (pictured) she named him "Silky" We met back up to finish exploring and Silky stayed on the walk through the gigantic trees the rest of the day until it was ( just in time) time to pack up and depart.
Although it is hard, and gets harder the older the kids get, I love that the military sends us to different places around the world. My children have had so many more opportunities to experience such beautiful things than I did growing up and I am very thankful about that!

* Gluten Free Cake & Icing Recipe *

A recipe I made... I love being able to say that... I am sure other people have something similar, I mean it is food, but I baked it from my own head and used what I have learned from the GFCF diet. I just found out that a relative of mine was diagnosed Celiac disease. This is where the body can not process Gluten properly and can effect multiple organs and have both short and long term effects if left un treated.
So I took my know how of the GFCF diet and made a recipe for a small yellow cake with a chocolate peanut butter frosting... This was a HUGE hit! It DOES have butter in it, (like I said, my grandparents and ancestors would roll over in their graves if we went dairy free) but besides that, which can be substituted for those who are vegan, it is completely GFCF...... So I dedicate this to my cousin, in hopes that she can find her way though this difficult time of figuring out all the recipes that are good, and finding great recipes she can hand down through her generations to come!
** The Chocolate Peanut butter Icing **
1/3 Cup water
1/4 Cup corn starch
3/4 Cup's Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Peanut butter (or whatever nut butter you use)
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Tahitian from Trader Joe's)
1/4 soy milk (or almond, any milk substitute to keep it vegan or Casein free)

**DIRECTIONS**
Mix water and cornstarch in a pot and warm...



. * Do not walk away and forget pot while mixing other ingredients or you will end up with this and have to wash the pot and start over..... Yeah, not a good idea ;)

*That's better, combine fully and heat until all is combined and looks starchy enough for you.
*Next in a clean mixing bowl, add the starch water and rest of the ingredients minus the peanut butter.
* It will look slightly watery and take a few minutes to combine fully.
* Last add peanut butter and put your mixer or beater on high ( or use those triceps and get a good work out!) and beat on high until it looks thicker...
* Still a little drippy, but that is what I was going for (Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and it will firm up more)

** The Cake **
1/4 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup white sugar
1/8 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 stick soften butter
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2 Eggs

** Directions**
Combine all and mix until smooth

* Mixing complete
*Grease loaf pan with coconut oil
* Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
* Cut into bite sized pieces
* Arrange on a plate and pour your icing over top however you like (there will be MUCH more icing than you need for this, freeze left over icing for the next time you make the cake)
** BLIND TASTE TEST**
ok...
mmmmmmmm!
OH YEAH!
mmmmmm
seconds, try fourths!
And fifths please!
I like it, can I really have more?

This was the funniest picture I got! Dripping and oozing chocolate, eyes wide with anticipation of the taste liking her fingers as if there were none left on the plate, they all loved it, but my girl who I started the journey for, really loves it and has no clue it is anything other than "Yummy cake mom, thanks for the treat!"
Worth all the effort of having to think outside the box.....

Here's a re-cap

** The Chocolate Peanut butter icing **
1/3 Cup water
1/4 Cup corn starch
3/4 Cup's Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Peanut butter (or whatever nut butter you use)
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Tahitian from Trader Joe's)
1/4 soy milk (or almond, any milk substitute to keep it vegan or Casein free)

**DIRECTIONS**
Mix water and cornstarch in a pot and warm.... Do not walk away and forget pot while mixing other ingredients or you will end up with this and have to wash the pot and start over..... Yeah, not a good idea ;) Combine fully and heat until all is combined and looks starchy enough for you.
Next in a clean mixing bowl, add the starch water and rest of the ingredients minus the peanut butter. Last add peanut butter and put your mixer or beater on high ( or use those triceps and get a good work out!) and beat on high until it looks thicker... (Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and it will firm up more)

**The Cake**
1/4 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup white sugar
1/8 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 stick soften butter
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2 Eggs

** DIRECTIONS**
Combine all and mix until smooth
Grease loaf pan with coconut oil and pour batter in
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
Cut into bite sized pieces
Arrange on a plate and drizzle icing all over top
Enjoy!

Convert-O Bike

Check out this cool toy... A tricycle that converts into a big kid bike by taking off the axle and inserting one of the back wheels. Very cool... But at 325 US dollars, a little too steep for me... I think it is available in the NE. so my European friends may be able to find one at a bargain! Here is the link to the US store that sells it (a favorite modern store of mine called Design Within Reach)
http://www.dwr.com/product/accessories/recreation/convert-o-bike-tricycle.do?sortby=ourPicks

To photoshop or not to.... That is the question

(from the blog "The J- Walk)

Another look at this burning question of mine.... Man oh man do I love some of the pictures that come from Photoshop.. I truly do and I go back and forth on this all the time, but I read a blog and it just kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like how far will a person go for a good shot...

The photo above is from a Photographer who deliberatly made kids cry and then took the shot and then photoshopped it. The end result is a cool shot, but really has the art of Photography gone out and the art of painting taken over? I battle back and forth because I can see that it does produce great work, but there is a line some people cross, so should I say I will never do it... Is it all or nothing? This is a battle I struggle with because I still am learning so much and I know I could go shop a lot of my mistakes, but then I would never learn how to get it right and what to do better next time in the camera to better myself on my joouney to become good at what I do. I am not a perfectionist so I deal a lot with my errors and I have pictures both untouched and touched. I know of a Photographer who balances this wonderfully, but I still struggle with what I should do and if I should draw the line in the sand or not. So far so good for trying not to, I have not touched any of the new ones... But does that mean I wont in the future... I dont think it does. I guess this is just my journey to see there is a line, and forcing kids to cry and then photoshopping little kids to get a good shot is not somewhere I want to go.... I like the old school principles of waiting, even if it is a LONG time, for a good shot, and then in a split second capturing it in the camera..... To me it is like the old school principle of working hard in your youth and reeping the benefits of living comfortably when you are older. I know with digital it is instant gratification, but when did the pendulum swing so far? Not everyone's does and this is something I will definitly think about and take into consideration.
Here is the link:
http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/crying_kids/

Oh Daniel-son.....

This should not make me so happy....

Today at Target I stumbled upon a new product by Scotch Bright 3M.... We all know I love their products, and now there is a "green" version??!! I really feel like I have to say I am not a tree hugger, but I do have it in my blood and get too excited when I find products that help me in my mommy job at home and are natural because I feel better when I use things like that.
Anyhow, the brown cloth is made from Bamboo, it is SO soft! The sponge has a scrubby side and a soft side. The hard scrubby side is made from the Agave. It could only get better if they would have used coconut! ;)

A total coco-nut!

Here is the coconut oil I use for those out there who asked about it. (Spectrum- organic virgin coconut oil, unrefined) Below you can see that it comes as a more solid (but not too hard) consistency. This is perfect for any beauty uses it has. You can also heat it (I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds) and it liquefies clear the same as every other oil out there, but has a slight coconut flavoring, so this is perfect for baking or cooking Asian type foods in a skillet.
The last picture is of a yummy low fat treat by Dreyers, coconut fruit bars! They are Gluten free and perfect for my little lady who I am trying the new diet with (Also the rice in the jar behind the coconut oil is good for this diet too, we have to stay away from brown rice and all things containing wheat)
Anyhow, most of Dreyer's fruit bars are not only Gluten free, but also Casein free (GF/CF will be a term I use on here) She happens to want every flavor of them, but NOT coconut! What do I say abou that? The same thing anyone with kids would say, good, more for me! ;)
truely I am a little coconut crazy, and not ashamed to admit it! Between that and my love of the garlic, rosemerry, olive oil trifecta, my taste buds are always happy! I will have to post on that later!

It's not wife's day people!

These are what my little girls call "Kissing fish" .... So I wake up to Mother's day with my husband who made an omelet for me. Not in his bag 'o tricks, and since we did not have any new eggs, he used an old one... Yes people, I ate a rotten egg omelet for breakfast. But I did appreciate the thought. Until my belly started hurting and UNTIL I asked where the loot was... I mean, I always get a gift on mother's day, so why is this any different.... Then I was informed that it was not wife's day, so since I was not his mother, there was no gift for me.... (no he did not send his mom one either, so there lies the truth!)
Anyhow, my feelings were hurt and I decided to give my second born daughter a gift of using this lapse of judgment on her father's part as an excuses to buy her the fish she has been wanting.
Now these are salt water fish and since my toddler thought it would be fun to sprinkle the extra salt in there, I put them in a measuring cup to clean the bowl.. (Where does she get the energy, one, and two, find new things to make a mess out of?.. I will never know!)

By the way, these stupid fish have yet to kiss any of us! Just what I needed, someone else with attitude in the house! :)

All in all, I was able to relax. My oldest gave me a foot rub, my middle told me she was on her best behavior because it was "Mutters day" and the baby cuddled up and watched a movie. All in all a good day was had by me and I wish I had more relaxing days!!

I hope you all had a happy mother's day... Even though, It's not wife's day people! ;)

Prints

OH how I love getting prints!!! And the process and paper I use is SO expensive, that I have to be careful with what I print out and what I keep digital. Recently I went through all my family pictures to decide what I print from trips and of my kiddos..... I thought I was being very selective, until I ended up with 95! Yes, that is almost 100 prints that I loved and wanted to print...
So now I am at the point of thinking, it is actually a great idea to put 95 pictures up on one wall. A wall of a hundred portraits... has a nice ring to it. And I can swap them in and out as I find new portraits I just cant live without seeing and put the others in an album.... This wall is a great idea, but not here at the rented beach house (I say that as it is an old 70's house right on the beach filled with old wood and really needs some structural love, love that does not include 95 holes!) So this project will be at our next assignment where the plan is to buy our first home and make it ours. So this wall of a hundred portraits is a plan in the making, but I am going to print pictures off now and that is a lot of dough.... Here are just a few of the hundred I will be printing. It is SO eclectic of a mix, mixing random snap shots with portraits, color, black and white....but that is what I like.

trying a little something new.... ish

So my little middle lady has had a tough time finding her way through this wonky world and I have had my ups and downs trying to figure out things that would help her the best I can.... It has been 7 years and no solution seems to be a fit, but here I am re-visiting things of old which did not work for us in the past, but I have a renewed outlook and hoping a new change of diet will help a little for her. She is such a picky eater anyhow, but I can try to work my mommy magic on her! ;)
So there is a bakery in New York called "Baby Cakes" it is an Allergy free bakery. The owner has been featured in Martha Stewart's magazine and on her show. As you guys know, I try to be more healthful, as much as a normal person can without going into the full blown tree huggin hippie heritage I have running through my bones, so this is hard for me as I love to mix bought and home made things. And getting my husband on board will have to be by blind tasting first before he knows the difference.

http://www.babycakesnyc.com/

Anyhow, I am going to list a few substitutions for baking Allergy free and then post pictures from my first (blind) taste test. I will also be buying a few highly recommended books and posting about those if this is a success.
I tried a diet called the Feingold diet before which did not work other than to annoy my family, but this is different than that a little and after finding these yummy treats from Baby Cakes, I am hopeful to find something that will pass the sweet tooth test (my husband and I have one true vice, chocolate!)
Don't think I am off my rocker just yet, I am as big of a sceptic as they come, so you will be hearing what I really think about this stuff, but I have read really great reviews about this stuff, so we will see.


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SUBSTITUTIONS:
Cow's milk can be substituted part-for-part by rice milk or soy milk
- Instead of eggs, you can use 3 tablespoons of applesauce for each egg
- You can substitute sugar with agave nectar, which comes from a cactus and can be found in your organic supermarket
- Use 2/3 cup agave nectar per 1 cup of sugar

(I have personally used coconut oil for all my baking for a while- she uses both canola oil and coconut as well... I remain a fan of the coconut as you can use it not only for baking, but put it in a separate jar or mason jar for lip moisturizer or a mild non greasy body moisturizer-- it comes in a stiffer consistency when you buy it (perfect for beauty) and you measure it out and microwave it and it becomes the clear liquid to bake with-- .... it smells yummy, you just have to like coconut flavoring!)

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This is the new book by baby cakes I will be buying if the recipes go over well.... I will post pictures of my attempt at making them for my unsuspecting family! We will soon see what they really think! :)

Off the Wagon again.

i am a color freak. I just love pictures in color. It is so hard for me to convert once I see my image already on that digital screen... I guess it is because my specialty is child & family Photography... I have not gone over to Photoshop yet. I have recently played around with color and so on in post production on my computer's basic levels that it does, and going black and white or sepia, but beyond that, I am not a believer just yet.... My reasoning is because I want to remember my kiddos the way they really were.... I mean, I am a Photographer, not a painter, and I want to look back in years and know in my heart of hearts, that YES her eyes were that blue or had that much green in them or her hair was that exact shade of blondie colored.... I do not touch levels in the work I do for other people other than very very basic things they may want. I try my best to in camera edit and do the best job I know how to do with the knowledge I have of Photography, lighting, angles, my camera, and that person... I really try to pre-plan as I have to work quick quick when I work with kids... But I do like seeing the difference between color and going black and white and Sepia... there is a line of going over board witht he Photo editing, and I am not on a high horse, as I have gone over board with my own personal pictures trying to get the hang of it and see if I like it and see just what I could do.... But looking back, I am more please with all my un-touched portraits and the ones I only did basic things on.
So in the end, it is a personal thing. To retouch or not to. I was thinking it was the way to go with so many Photographers doing it these days just to keep up, but I really am off of that kick. Not to insult their work, it is great work for what they wan tto accomplish, but my clients know what they come to me for, and it is natural work... If a mom has some post baby blemishes she wants me to get rid of will I, sure, but I will not be touching kids unless there is a specific scare or personal reason. I want the skinned knees of my girls because that is who they were.. I dont want to forget these things and have a false sense of who they were when I am getting old and the fine details are blurry. My clients share my oppinion and see my work. They know I will work hard to get good shots.
Some people love the end result, and if it is what they really love, then to me, it was necessary for them to do. Photos to me are meant to spark emotion or thought and what is beautiful to one, may not be to another. I have noticed for my own eye that I truely prefer an image that has stayed more true to natural shot, weather it is in color, black and white, or sepia... (although I have a few favorites of my own that are cropped and shopped) This is very controversal in the Photography buisness, but I think only when one Photography is taking Pot shots on antoher's work does it become a hot botton subject. From previous posts, you already know I am not competetive in nature, only with myself. SO I truley am my own worst critic, and even if someone does something I do not, I can still find the beauty in their work and look at it from their perspective....
So I am laying it out there, you may see some altered portraits, but from this point out I am focusing on going on the most mild of post production editing that I see best for each portrait... I will keep you posted on that as I go along....

Just a few things that work for me.....

I LOVE these "Scotch Bright" 3M rags. It is nice to use old t-shirts to wash the cars or whatever, some people prefer to use them for everything, but I love these as they are micro fiber, and made in a way that just picks up all the junk I am trying to clean or polish....
This is my sink and you can see, not everything is home made, but the big green container is my all purpose cleaner, with the Scotch Bright towel handy to use with it! And the white one is the lemon/olive oil for furniture polish. I had to change out my bottle on that as the nozzle was not spraying right.... And I definitely love the Lysol antibacterials for things that need an extra deep clean, like after I chop chicken or something, I have them in my messy girls bathrooms, I use them sparingly, but I definitely love them!
Ok, I got this trick many years ago from my friend who was telling me her husband did this.... To be honest, she was.... well, Ok, she was not happy about it as she said it went over the OCD line, but I happened to LOVE it! She and her husband by the way are awesome, and have many great ideas, but as a house wife, I was happy to steal this one from him! Each girls socks shrink a little or new ones are bigger and when I am doing laundry with the EXACT same socks, hundreds of them, I end up with a mound of socks.... This drives me NUTS when I have to lay them all out and try to figure out where this one goes and then when I pull them out, I see "Oh the little girls got mixed up and these don't fit you"
DRIVES ME BONKERS, I HATE MATCHING SOCKS!!!
So now they are each initialed and numbered as soon as the package is opened with a sharpie. I took a picture of her with old ones on so you can see, they are still numbered, and for me the system works. It is a MILLION times faster putting the socks together!
I now do this with all of our socks, so if your house has a shoes off rule, (like my next home will be) Then you will see the initial "D" and a number on my toes!!! ;)
These are just a few tricks that work for me.... Post a few of your own, but be willing to have the idea stolen form you, as I love all tips and tricks of organizing the home that has children in it and I find comfort finding new great ideas!