It's a Monday

So Matthew was in the shower last night. I walked by and heard him belting out "I'll catch a grenade for ya. Put my hand on a blade for ya." Do you know the song? Bad parenting, or totally awesome parenting?

I was at Fred Meyer today grocery shopping sans kids. At the checkout the clerk casually asks me, "Do you have any plans later?" I gave him a blank stare. "Are you doing anything fun the rest of the day?" Ummmm, no was my answer. That was so weird. Am I supposed to have fun plans later on a Monday afternoon? I guess I should have told him all of my real fun plans. I am hoping to make it home in time to unload the groceries and scrub two toilets before my kids get home from school. Then I am going to do homework and make dinner all with a baby attached to my leg. Does that sound fun? Do you think he was asking me out? Ha, ha, ha!!!! Now that would be fun-ny!

What's Baking?

You see these cookies? This is art. love. brilliance. These are gluten free snickerdoodles. Oh, I can't even say enough about them. They are divine. I can't help it, I have to tell you how brilliant I am at gluten free baking. It's weird too because baking was never really my thing. I am all about the savory. But for some reason I am really good at making delectable gluten free treats. For the most part I come up with my own recipes, like these cookies. Ah, and it just makes me so happy. You should see Spencer's face when he comes home to a new batch of treats. Really, you should see it. It would make your day.

We decided to try going off the gluten free/dairy free diet in December. After doing the diet for two years we were all ready for a break, and I was starting to wonder, does it really work? It was a great month because there were so many yummy treats and parties he could partake in. By January it was very clear that we needed to go back on the diet. But, I kept putting it off hoping maybe things would still turn around. I remember one day in January and I looked at my 4th grader basically in a ball crying on the floor. I realized he had been a crying puddle on the floor for most of the last few weeks. Everything was so upsetting to him. Anything we asked him to do resulted in tears and yelling. Everything, anything, all the time. That was a huge moment for me. I went back on the diet the next day, and within even 24 hours he started doing better. I didn't want to put him back on the diet because it felt mean. But I realized not putting him back on the diet was more mean. He needs it. Spencer was a little reluctant, but the only thing he asked was if he could take a break every December. I thought that was pretty thoughtful.

Another Book

I just finished this book, and I thought I should throw this one out there too. This book is really three stories in one because he was an Olympic athlete, a plane crash survivor, and a pow in Japan during WWII. The book was riveting, but I have to warn you. It was one of the most brutal POW stories I have ever read. It was extremely detailed and unsettling. At one point I only kept going because I had to get through it and make sure he would come out the other side.

Oh, and I only like stories with good endings. They don't end up together, one of them dies, they both die?? Don't even think about recommending one of those stories to me. One place in my life I am a true optimist is in my book and movie choices. And this book has it right on the cover. Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. Perfect.

Biographies

I love them. I love reading books about WWII, Mt. Everest, the Holocaust, and so much more. Real life is almost always better than fiction. I mean when crazy things happen to you, (strange baby in your bedroom???) you just can't make that stuff up. I have been surprised to find out through the years attending different book groups that a lot of people avoid Biographies. Here are two great ones I wanted to share.

The Bob Woodruff story is amazing. He was the news anchor embedded in Iraq when a bomb hit the tank he was in. I love that they wrote the book together. They switch back and forth during the book, and each give their own unique perspective. Their life was fascinating to me. And the way they supported each other during a massive crisis was really inspiring.

Now I am a big Bush fan, but especially a Laura Bush fan. I have always been fascinated how the two of them ended up together. I think they are the real deal and I wanted to hear her side. I loved reading her story. Her book was better than his, although I enjoyed it too.