Box Tops

We have been collecting Box Tops 4 Education. Last school year Alayna's school earned $380 thru the program. With the collection in November they earned $553 so far this school year. This week is her school's final box top collection for the 2009-10 school year.

Here are Alayna's box tops counted up.

For every 20 boxtops Alayna brings in her name is entered in a drawing for a prize. This collection, the prize is a $50 gift card to Toys 'R Us. Alayna has five entries here.

We can't use a lot of the convenience food products that have box tops on them. Alayna is happy that there are box tops on the Chex cereal we can eat, and buy regularly. Not to mention the gluten free Betty Crocker mixes. Alayna asked her grandparents and great-grandparents to look for boxtops on any of the products they used, (i.e. Pillsbury, Nature Valley, Ziplock, Hefty, etc.). They found some and sent them to her. She was very excited to receive the mail.

"Thank you to my Grandmas and Great-Grandma!"

Please check out Box Tops 4 Education. There are nearby schools that have earned over $6,000! The top box top school in the nation is in TX and earned over $12,000!! Alayna would be very excited if you sent your box tops to her.

Boys

This is how our boys look when I am trying to get us out the door to pick Alayna up from school.

It will be nice when school is out for the summer and I won't have to interrupt their naps to pick up Alayna.

Baby Lex

I know that there are many of you that want to see more pictures of Lex. The thing is, we don't have many pictures of him. Babies just don't do much. Right now we are most excited when he does the least possible.

So here is a picture of Lex doing what we love the most:

Sleeping - without being held!
Priceless.

Cinco de Mayo

Being in the dual language program in Texas it would surprise none of our readers that Alayna took part in a Cinco de Mayo program. What would surprise you is that it took place on the 4th.

She told us all about her big skirt that is the colors of la bandera Méxicana, and that she had to hold it out, like this . . .


She demonstrated how she would turn, with her arm up in the air, and her partner holding her hand.

Many of the boys and girls dropped their arms the moment they were done with the presentation part of the dance.

Alayna's partner was a young gentleman and gave her his arm the entire time they were on stage, but not dancing.

It really was an enjoyable program. Cavell, Lex and I were able to see the morning performance and went with Paul to see the evening show.

AB Does Gluten Free?

We have a gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that we have been using for years and enjoy (no nuts, extra chips). But, what if there is another recipe out there that is better?

This weekend I tried out Alton Brown's recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. It is his "Chewy" take* on the Toll House Cookie recipe, using gluten free flours.

They are BIG! Twice the size of our regular cookies.

Except, I don't think he knows much about gluten free flours. Anyone who has watched an episode of Good Eats that involves baking knows that AB LOVES gluten and all its properties.

Yep, they look good, and taste alright. But, Alton's GF substitution was a lot of brown rice flour with a little bit of corn starch and tapioca flour. Anyone that bakes with gf flours regularly knows what will happen if you just use brown rice flour; a GrItTy texture.


Should we now try to adapt this recipe? Use a different flour mixture, adjust the brown to white sugar ratio, use some shortening instead of all butter? Or, do we move on to the next Gluten Free Chocolate Chip recipe? Should the next recipe be Ginger Lemon Girl's BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies or should we try her Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Of course, next week we might make a different kind of cookie, or an entirely different type of treat altogether.

* Transcript of episode

Hula Hoop

Alayna has been practicing a lot.. Today I realized she really can hula-hoop!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Paul's co-worker directed him to the BEST gluten free recipe for banana bread. It was perfectly dense, moist and delicious.

I was directed to a divine sounding* recipe for coconut banana bread with lime glaze.

*sounding - because I will never actually make the recipe to know if it tastes as good as it sounds.

And so I used both to make our own Gluten Free Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze recipe. And our version makes two loaves!

Yes, there was only half of one loaf left to take a picture of.

We really did consume it that quickly.

Gluten Free Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
adapted from Gluten Free Mommy and Our Best Bites

Ingredients
1/4 C Quick-Cooking Oats (I just ground some old fashioned oats a little)
1/4 C Almond Flour (I used the pulp left over from making almond milk, dried it and ground it down to powder)
1/2 C Sweet Rice Flour (aka glutinous rice flour - which contains no gluten)
1 C Tapioca Flour/Starch
1 C Rice Flour
2 Tbs Flax Meal
3/4 C Brown Sugar
3/4 C Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Xanthum Gum
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt

6 Tbs Butter, melted and slightly cooled (to avoid cooking the eggs)
2 Eggs, whisked
1/2 C Yogurt, Plain or Lime flavoured
1/4 C Milk or Lime Juice
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3-4 Bananas, mashed

3/4 C Shredded Coconut

Topping
4 Tbs Shredded Coconut

Glaze
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
2 1/2 Tbs Lime Juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Add wet mixture to dry mixture until just combined. Stir in the 3/4 c coconut.

Pour into two (2) greased/sprayed 9 x 5 loaf pans. Sprinkle each with 2 Tbs of coconut for topping. Bake for 55-60 minutes, covering after 40 minutes when the coconut topping is toasty. Cool the bread for 10 minutes in the pan than remove.

Whisk together powdered sugar and lime juice and drizzle/pour over both loaves. Cool another 15 minutes. Slice and devour!

Big Brother

Cavell is a wonderful big brother. Before Lex was born, Cavell and Alayna took a class at the hospital for big brothers and sisters. They were able to see the delivery room and the nursery (with a new baby). They were able to make their own hand prints with the "one sided ink" the hospital uses for baby's footprints.

They were taught about washing their hands before touching baby and how to be gentle and soft with the baby, especially baby's soft spot. Then they practiced holding a baby using a realistic doll.

It was very neat when Cavell asked to hold his new baby brother. He sat down and got his arms ready. One on the armrest to help support Lex's head and the other held up to immediately wrap around Lex and hold him.

Announcing Alexander Lee Jensen

Born April 13, 2007

7lbs 2 oz

20 inches long

Blue Eyes

Cleft chin

Wise perspective on life

Stacy wanted to make sure she had a picture of herself in the hospital not wearing a gown. So in the middle of her contractions, she stops in the lobby, refuses the cute little 'ol lady with the wheelchair, and poses for a picture.

More pictures will follow as well as the story of the "explosive" event.

Showing off - again

Yes, I knit another shawl. The Aquila. That is Latin for Eagle. It's something about eagle feathers on the edges, and water and the droplets on the water from the wings, I think. The instructions were in Finnish, but I knew enough about knitting to figure it out from the charts. It only took me one month!