When AM went to get dressed this morning, she realized she only had one clean shirt (I know, I know!! I'm way behind on laundry!!). When she realized that the only shirt she had was one that she doesn't like very much, she said, “Mom, I don't want to wear that shirt.” I replied with, “Well that's your only choice.” Then I went into the kitchen. She followed me, and here's how the conversation went.

AM: “So it's okay to just wear my PJs all day?”

me: “No, you have to get dressed.”

AM: “So, I have to wear the shirt I don't like.”

me: “yes.”

AM: “Okay. So really, I have no choice. You said I had a choice, but I don't get to choose at all. That confused me.”

me: (with eyebrows raised in surprise) “I guess you are right. I should have said, 'You have no choice.'”

It is a humbling experience to be corrected by your 6 year old daughter. I guess I better get used to it!!

We are moving in a few weeks, and we have sold our table already. So we have been eating on the floor (off plates, of course)! The kids had been eating apple and had bits of apple and seeds still on their plates on the floor. While I was distracted sweeping the floor, I said, “Peter, dump those plates in the trash.” Peter, the one who likes to hear everything repeated, said, “Mom, did you say dump the plates in the trash?” I said, “yes,” and continued sweeping. The next thing I know, Peter has dumped 2 plates of apple leftovers on the floor and looked very excited to be the one to get to do it. I had my mouth open to reprimand him when I let my ears hear what we had just said. I had told him to dump them in the floor, he asked me (probably in disbelief) if I told him to dump them on the floor, and then he proceeded to obey very quickly. Never in his life has he obeyed quite that quickly!! He was probably afraid I would take it back if he didn't hurry! Peter did not get the reprimand I had ready to give him. We just got a good laugh over it! Maybe next time my mouth will say what my brain told it to!!

We have known AM was allergic to peanuts since before she was one. Several weeks ago, L got her a free cookie from Kroger. When AM said the cookie tasted like peanut butter, L smelled it and discovered it was a peanut butter cookie. We had been wondering if she was still allergic, so L did not give her benadryl. Guess what!! No reaction!! A few days ago, we gave her a peanut M&M with no reaction. The next day we let her eat at Chick-fil-A (they cook withpeanut oil) with no reaction. It appears that she has outgrown the allergy. We are still cautious and not letting her eat peanuts when we are not around, but so far, so good. She is enjoying peanut butter, too! She has had it on chocolate pie and oatmeal pancakes! She has been asking for a peanut butter sandwich, but I haven't given in yet. I'm not sure why. Somehow I am still a little uneasy with allowing her to have peanuts. Maybe because I've been cautious and on the lookout for peanuts most of her life. It's hard to break the habit!! I am very glad that I will not be hearing, “That looks so good. I wish I could have peanut butter.” How exciting for her!!

We have known for a long time that Ph was allergic to wheat. The doctor said that it is a minor allergy, so we let him eat it anyway. The only problem was that he wanted nothing but wheat products. I have learned from various sources that people tend to crave the things they are allergic to. So for the last several weeks, we have removed wheat from our diets. We have eaten spaghetti with eggplant instead of noodles (tasted good but didn’t look like spaghetti), spaghetti with rice noodles (tasted good and looked like spaghetti – but we undercooked the noodles), eggplant lasagna (would have been good if we’d cooked eggplant differently), and zucchini lasagna (not very good).

One thing we really missed was pancakes, so tonight we experimented with a new recipe made with oatmeal. The recipe calls for oat flour, but we ground our own in a food processor. We also used regular salt instead of sea salt and 2% milk instead of nonfat. Also, there is a point in the cooking process just before you add egg to the mix when it is delicious. I tasted it then and enjoyed it more than the pancakes themselves!! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Oat Flour

3/4 cup Oats, Rolled, Quick Cooking

1 cup Nonfat Milk

2 Tb Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

2 Egg Yolks, beaten

1 Tb Vegetable Oil

2 Egg Whites

-In a small saucepan heat milk till hot; stir in oats; let stand for 5 minutes.
-In a mixing bowl combine oat flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add oat-milk mixture.
-In a small bowl combine egg yolks and cooking oil; add all at once to flour-oat mixture, stirring just till combined.
-In another bowl beat egg white till stiff peaks form; fold into the batter. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.

-Cook till golden brown, turning to cook other side when pancake has a bubbly surface and slightly dry edges. Use a 1/4 cup measure as a handy scoop for transferring pancake batter from the bowl to the griddle.

Source: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/detail.php?rid=23643 service

AM and P were playing dress up yesterday. Here is how the conversation went.

AM: P, do you think I’m pretty in these dress up clothes?

P: No, your clothes are ugly.

AM: Mom, do you think I’m pretty?

Me: Yes, but it has nothing to do with your clothes.

AM: P, don’t you think I’m pretty?

P: no

AM: Do you want to wear this coat?

P: yes

AM: Do you think I’m pretty?

P: yes

AM: Okay, here’s the coat.

P: Yeah, I get the coat!!

AM: Did you just say I was pretty to get the coat?

P: yes

AM: I just gave it to you so you’d say I’m pretty

The innocent honesty of children! The world might be a different place if we were all that honest. Although, I’m not sure if it would be for better or worse!!