Facebook… finally

Well, I did it.  I finally made a facebook page for My Stained Apron.
It only took me.. a few years. 🙂  Technology is not my strong point, as you can probably guess from the eye-catching “design” of my site.
You can find me on facebook here, and I’ll be sure to keep it updated with new posts and ideas, and feel free to let me know if you have any recipe requests as well!  I love a challenge! 🙂

 

Recovery

Well, my kitchen has officially been traumatized.  And I might add that this picture was taken after my sweet hubby did a lot of the dishes.
We had a wonderful Easter, with family and one of my dearest friends as well.
So I’ll be spending most of the day getting the kitchen back in order and trying to figure out wordpress.  After a few hundred spam comments a day I gave in and turned the comments off.  I love hearing feedback, but… not so much when it’s 163 comments from a spammer.    So bare with me as I try to get things easier to navigate, and if you can’t find an older recipe, about 50 were lost in the transfer to wordpress, and I’ll be getting them back on within a couple days.  Thanks for being understanding!

In progress…

So I finally made the switch over to wordpress… only to realize that I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.  : )

It’s kind of humorous that I blog since I seem to be so naive when it comes to this kind of thing.  I have never even texted or tweeted or twittered or whatever you call that.  And I’m probably in a very small category of thirty-something year olds that can say that.

So… bear with me while I try to figure all this out and make the site more user-friendly.  Fingers crossed!

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Merry Christmas friends

Blessed is the season which engages the
whole world in a conspiracy of love.
Merry Christmas friends,
I hope you all have a day filled with love. 
 Nothing is better than having young children at Christmastime, is there? 

Anniversary and a Funeral

Sorry for the lapse in posts last week, but we’ve had quite the couple of weeks around here.
The night before our 10th wedding anniversary my grandmother passed away.
So we cancelled our plans for a relaxing picnic and opted instead for me to go with my mom to the funeral home for arrangements.  It reminded me of what a great guy I married.
He didn’t hesitate in cancelling our plans and watching our girls so I could be of support to my mom.
Then came the funeral.  And while it was emotional, I knew she had lived a very full and vibrant life.
She had planted many a whoopie cushion under a guest, hidden many a cotton ball in biscuit dough.
Frosted many maple bars (her specialty), cooked countless holiday meals, and crocheted more doilies than could possibly be counted in her 97 years.
As family gathered at her home after her funeral, I realized that maybe the reason I love old farm houses so much is because of her, of that place. 

Birthday Lunch

I had a birthday this week, and since my hubby has the week off we took the opportunity to go on a lunch date.  I loved the places we went so much I had to share with you all!  And if you don’t live near Portland, Oregon… sorry. 
I broke out of my comfort zone a bit and snapped a couple pictures, though I really hate taking pictures in restaurants.  I feel like I’m invading some one’s home and taking pictures.  So while the pictures are limited, you’ll have to trust me that they were amazing!
First we went to Cacao, which was a little tricky to find for the first time, but worth the extra trip around the block.  I found some cacao nibs which I think should be fun for a little recipe experiment, and some Mexican chocolate.  And of course we had to try their hot chocolate.
 It was rich, creamy, and quite good.   I love good hot chocolate that is more chocolaty than sugary, and theirs fit the bill.
Then on to lunch.  We were distracted by food trucks on the way but stuck to our plan to try Blueplate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain..  I’m so glad we did!  My new favorite restaurant!
We had seen Blueplate featured on an episode of Diners, Drive In’s, and Dives and had wanted to give it a try for awhile now.  Since they make their own sodas, we had to give them a try.  I had the hibiscus soda, made with star anise and allspice.  I’m a bit of a hibiscus junkie, as I drink hibiscus tea all the time, so it easily won me over.  I loved everything about this place, even the dishes.
I tried the BLT salad, and while it was really good (especially the basil dressing), I really loved hubby’s sliders.  Which is a total surprise since I don’t usually like hamburgers!  I liked them so much we had to (okay I, not we) : ) had to come home and re-create them for dinner. 
The last thing that won me over was the dum-dums on every table.  
So if you’re in the Portland area you really should check this place out.  I can’t wait to go back and try something else off the menu!  In my opinion the best food is the least pretentious, just done really, really well.

CHALLENGE

I am remiss.  It’s the month of May, and I had so many plans for April.
April is Autism Awareness Month, and as many of you know, my eldest daughter Amelia is autistic.
There is something else important about April.  It’s Easter.  The day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (which means I’m a Mormon) ; )
I love Easter.  We celebrate new life, hope, and focus on our belief and faith in eternal life and families.

On Easter I was thinking alot about our journey with Amelia, and the challenges we’ve faced.
But my mind kept going back to my belief and faith that the day will come when I will see my daughter free from the challenges she faces.  Some may look at her now and not realize that she is autistic.  There is no scarlet letter on her back, no obvious physical deformity, no sign she carries.  That can make situations difficult at times.  There are many occasions when someone will assume she is “acting out” or being “difficult”, not realizing that she is just exhibiting normal behavior for an autistic child.
For example, one day awhile back, we were in Costco waiting in line and Amelia layed down on the concrete floor.  (In a very over-stimulating environment she just wanted to lay on the cool concrete floor and close her eyes and block things out a bit).  I quickly started to get her up but in those few seconds a man in the next line got noticeably annoyed and was glaring at her. (I might add that she wasn’t in his way even.)  I should also add that Amelia noticed this negative look and stance and seemed more bothered by it. 
As I got her up I turned to him and said “she’s not misbehaving, she’s autistic”.
In a snap his demeanor changes and he said “oh. sorry.”  He seemed a bit ashamed and looked away.
Now, I don’t believe autism gives a free ride on bad behavior.  We work VERY hard and diligently with Amelia so she will learn by practice appropriate ways to act in home and in public.  But that takes ALOT of time and practice to master.  I can only hope that by the time she’s an adult I can breathe a little easier when we have outings.
I have been surprised at times when someone has told me that they’ve never met or seen an autistic child or adult.  Really?  The numbers are about 1 in 100 now, so it’s a little hard to believe.  And my standard question I then ask is “when is that last time you saw a child act out in a grocery store?” 
The odds are, it was the last time you there.  And the odds are, on more than one occasion, one of those kids has autism.
So here is my challenge to you.  Whoever you are.  Where ever you are.  For the month of May, every time you go to a store or public place, and feel the urge to be annoyed at someone in your way ask yourself: “what if?” 
What if this person just needs some understanding, some space, or what if I just assume the best?
So quickly we assume the worst in others.  What if  we assume the best?
What if the mother trying to no avail to calm the screaming child is doing her best?  And what if that child screams EVERY time they go into a store?  At what point does she need to just plug thru it and get the groceries?  (Amelia may not have ever done it to this extreme, but I have met other families with autistic kids that face this challenge).    Amelia makes funny noises in stores alot and pulls on my hand quite fiercely, we do get alot of looks for this but we are quite used to it.
I guess what I’m saying is maybe instead of jumping to assumptions we should all take a lesson from Christ and be more kind.  Instead of glaring at a mother who obviously has her hands full loading groceries and an uncooperative child, why not offer to take her cart back for her?   Instead of looking away from someone with an obvious disability, why not smile? Even muster up a cheerful hello?
I suppose I believe, like Anne Frank, that at heart most people really are good.  And I want to be one of those people.  Amelia needs more of those people, we all do.

Break

I’ll be taking a little break in posting this week. But a “break” isn’t exactly what I’ll be having…

I for some insane reason decided I should remodel our kitchen. While my hubby is at work.
With 2 children. With an autistic child.
Wish me luck! I blame my craziness on the excitement of double wall ovens… a cook top….more storage for my plethora of gadgets…non-green counter tops…you get the idea : ) 
Oh, and want a sneak peak at my new kitchen?! Just check out the picture below…

Yep , that’s my new kitchen.  Now to unwrap it. : )

My baby

My baby… could she really be turning 8 this year?  Today my mom went for a car drive with me and the girls, in an attempt to get Amelia to fall asleep.  Lucy has a cold and was coughing, so Amelia of course woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep… at 12:30 am. 
It worked, she fell asleep in the back seat, leaning on me.
I couldn’t help thinking of when she was a newborn, just 3 1/2 lbs.  Pretty much the only time we could take her out of the house was to take her to her many doctor’s appointments, but she would stop breathing after about 5-10 minutes in the car.  So we would have to pull over constantly and pick her up, rub her back, wait for her to stabilize again, and then go a little further.    So today, I’m choosing to be eternally, deeply, and truly grateful for my trials.  Because while I may feel like I’m sleepwalking at times, and feel overwhelmed by life, today I held my baby and didn’t have to fear that she would stop breathing.
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