Bloggin two days in a row! Woo Hoo!

Yesterday, I tried to write about my crock pot disaster, so today I'm going to start with that and see what I come up with. Maybe if I find the time to start blogging again, I'll get back into my daily topics. For now, I'm just happy to blog at all :)

So, yesterday. Yesterday was NRN (new recipe night) and I've been wanting to try a BBQ chicken and cornbread dish in the crock pot. Little L is still struggling with reflux, and after talking with three different moms, we've decided the best thing to do is try a gluten free diet. Thankfully, the place I got this recipe from cooks gluten free! Even lists the brands she uses which made shopping a lot easier! The problem I had was that she used a 4 qt crock pot and I have a 6 qt one. I figured it'd be ok, I could just add more water. Big time fail! I'm sure the chicken part of it would have been delicious, but the corn bread mixture just mixed in with the bbq/water mixture and was a mess. So right away I decided to just start over. Bummed from the meal and money I had just waisted, I prepared the meal again, this time according to directions. I'm not really sure what I was thinking. I was still using the wrong size crock pot. I completely, and I mean COMPLETELY burned the entire meal. It was far from edible. I still really want to try that recipe though. I guess I'll have to buy a small crock pot now ;) (for those interested, here's the blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-barbecued-chicken-and.html)

Wow, both kids still sleeping! I guess I'll keep blogging :) As I mentioned in that last paragraph, J and I decided it's time to try a gluten free diet. J and Sweet T are still eating plenty of gluten, but I'm off it, or at least trying to get off of it, and Little L has never really had much to begin with...other than what's in my milk of course. I started my new diet on May first. Parts of it are easier than I expected and parts are much more difficult. My in-laws have been off gluten for years now, and they are amazing cooks. My mother-in-law loves trying new recipes and is not only willing to send me the recipes, but also sit down and teach me what to do. She even gave me tons of different types of flours and things to try out (and you would not believe all the different types of flours out there!!!). We have an amazing selection of gluten free products at our local Wegmans. It's pretty expensive, but easy to find which is very helpful too. The hardest part for me is giving up my sweets. I LOVE cookies, cakes, brownies, all things sugary. And while I can still eat some candy, some of my favorites are now a "no-no." The cookies and candies that I can't eat are now out of the house. When I get the craving for something sweet, I go for a couple chocolate chips or something. My mother in law sent me a recipe for gluten free oreos that I'm excited to try, and if I can find some cookie recipes, I'll be golden. The one thing that I have not been able to give up yet is my beloved chocolate milk. Yes, it's sad but true. Some of you may be thinking, "Wait, I thought L was lactose intolerant and you can't drink milk?" This is true, but I drink the lactose free stuff :) Every morning, Sweet T and I enjoy a morning glass of chocolate milk. I started craving Carnation Instant Breakfast (Dark Chocolate kind only) when I was pregnant with Little L, and I haven't been able to stop drinking it ever since. Sweet T realized that my morning milk was different than his morning (white) milk when he was around 20 months old, and has had chocolate milk (Ovaltine) ever since then too. What can I say? We're addicted. I'm sure there are other types of chocolate milk out there without gluten in them, but I don't want those! I only want the dark chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast :( I know I need to give it up. It's for L's health. Your body goes through a bit of withdraw similar to what an alcoholic goes through when you stop eating gluten, so for now I'm using that as an excuse. I should give it up slowly so that I don't go through that. But it's still going to be hard in a week or two when I can't use that as an excuse any more :( STUPID wheat starch :(

On a non-food related note, the diapers I bought yesterday are about to go into the dryer! YAY! Can't wait to get them on the bum! So, that's all for now, friends. Hopefully I can keep this blog up. I know I say that every time I get on here. Oh well...