Gluten Free Cranberry Banana Bread You'll Go Bananas For!

A couple of weeks ago Max decided he didn't like bananas anymore. He'd been wanting to eat two a day for weeks so I made sure to stock up. Unfortunately, his sudden refusal to eat them meant I had a lot of bananas on my hands and I'm just not a big fan. Banana bread, however, is something I've always loved.

So I whipped up this bad boy yesterday afternoon in less than 10 minutes flat (while Max was awake! Score for me!) and let me tell you- it is delicious. Do yourself a favor and let those bananas over-ripen. You're going to thank me later.

4 ripe bananas
1/3 C melted butter
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups Maple Grove Farms Gluten Free Pancake & Waffle Mix (or flour of your choice)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk egg in small mixing bowl. Mash bananas in large mixing bowl and add melted butter, stir together. Add the egg, sugar, and vanilla to banana and butter mixture, stir to combine. Add baking soda, salt, and gluten free baking mix or flour. Stir dried cranberries into batter. Pour mixture into 4"x8" loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Keeping Little Hands Busy - Three toddler activities and how they worked for us

Having a toddler is exhausting, as any parent will tell you. Short attention spans and the need for mental stimulation demand creativity but, as much as I hate to admit it, entertaining a rambunctious 15-month-old doesn't come easily to me so I went looking for some ideas on Pinterest.

I picked three activities for Max and I to try this week, all simple and inexpensive. I found all the supplies either in my own home or at Dick Blick (an art store) and paid less than $10 for everything I needed.

First up, we tried pipe cleaners and a colander. This activity actually kept Max busier than I expected it to, keeping his attention for about 40 minutes or so, which is/was unheard of for him! My only complaint is that the pipe cleaners aren't easy to pick up when done, so I have a ginormous pile of 100 pipe cleaners in the closet.

The next morning we tried a Ziplock container with a small hole in the top and 100 pom poms. NEVER have I seen this kid concentrate so hard! We have done this activity three times already and it's one I am sure we will do again and again. Hands down the winner of the three.

Lastly, we tried felt pieces cut and rolled up (like baby wipes) inside a coffee container with a large hole in the lid. I actually thought this one would be too easy, but it turns out to be rather difficult for little hands that can't hold a container stationary while grabbing the felt pieces. Much more difficult than you'd expect! Max asked me for "elp!" multiple times and ended up sitting on my lap while I pulled the felt pieces out of the container. We might try this again in the future, but it's a little too difficult for him for now.

Do you have favorite activities to keep little ones happy and busy? Tell me or link to them in the comments!

Dear Birth Mother - Growing

There are many times when Max does something amazing, funny, or something that touches my heart and I immediately want to tell one person- his birth mom. Although we send regular updates to his birth parents, we don't as of yet have a face-to-face relationship with them, so many of the things that I would love to tell her go unsaid, so I am beginning this series to share what I wish I could say to her myself.

Please note that I am using "birthmother" to protect Max's birth mom's privacy, not because I don't know her name or don't want to address her personally.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Birthmother,

Every morning when I go to get him out of his bed he sits up, points to his face and says "nose."

We move onto eyes, ears, head, hair, hands, fingers, and toes. Some days he remembers to say "knee!", others he forgets or points to shin instead. He also loves to talk about belly buttons and gets frustrated when he's in a onesie or a romper and can't find his.

He's such an extraordinarily smart kid that it blows my mind. I know a lot of it is because I'm home with him to work on things like shapes and colors, but I have a hunch that you are the one he really gets his smarts from.

He talks all the time. A month or so ago I decided to count all the words he uses on a regular basis; I lost count after 30 or so, and he's added many since then. He says "up!" dozens of times a day, but my favorite to hear, of course, is "mama!"

He is such a strong-willed little boy, which I also have a hunch comes from you. There's no getting him to do something he doesn't want to and you will likely have a huge meltdown on your hands if you try. With his strong will also comes tenacity, though. He never gives up when he wants to accomplish something, a trait I hope he carries into adulthood.

Every day when I am holding our son, mine and yours, I think of you. I want you to know I don't take the gift you gave me for granted; it is my honor and privilege to be his mother, even during the times when I am exhausted and drained.

I want you to know, too, how much we love you. You, dear birthmother, are forever in our hearts.

Love always,

The realizations of a new stay-at-home mom

I never imagined myself being a stay-at-home mom.

 

I've worked since I was 14, starting in my dad's office just a few hours a week. Since then, I've owned two businesses, gone to school for cosmetology and medical transcription, and worked in several other jobs along the way. I like to work and I love new challenges.

 

A few weeks ago, though, I reached the breaking point with my job and Dan and I decided that it was time for me to quit. We crunched the numbers and decided we'd be fine without my salary. We've already made some big financial changes in the past few months, so we felt pretty well prepared to lose my income.


 

Truthfully, the money isn't what makes me nervous. Like I said, I like to work, which in my mind means bringing home a paycheck and it has been difficult to wrap my mind around not making money, but I've felt more and more recently that God has some big plans for me that may not entail making a regular salary. Scary, right?

Since we adopted Max last June, I have felt increasingly called to adoption and orphan ministry, which is really the driving force behind why I started this blog to begin with, but as you probably know if you're a parent too, finding the time can be extraordinarily difficult, and I have felt a bit discouraged.

A few days ago though I felt God speaking to my heart. I have already been blessed with a huge ministry.

You see, I now have the freedom to minister full-time to one precious little person all day, every day. No, it's not the grand plan I had in mind of reaching hundreds or thousands of adoptive families, but I have my own little boy right here in my own home that God has blessed me with. When else are we given such an incredible opportunity to show God's love to someone so many hours of the day?

I've been given a unique opportunity to minister to an amazing little person, to guide him towards Jesus, to share love with him every day. I have been entrusted with an enormous responsibility. No, it's not what the original vision looked like to me, but motherhood is an amazing ministry in and of itself.

I don't know what the future holds for me and what kind of plans God has in mind for me, but the realization that I am already in training for those plans has been a huge encouragement to me.

For now though, I am content where I am, guiding my son to follow God's heart. And that's really what it's all about, right?

New series - Dear Birthmother





There are many times when Max does something amazing, funny, or something that touches my heart and I immediately want to tell one person- his birth mom. Although we send regular updates to his birth parents, we don't as of yet have a face-to-face relationship with them, so many of the things that I would love to tell her go unsaid, so I am beginning this series to share what I wish I could say to her myself.

Please note that I am using "birthmother" to protect Max's birth mom's privacy, not because I don't know her name or don't want to address her personally.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Birthmother,

I was taking pictures of our son, mine and yours, the other day. He has this precious dimple on his right cheek, gorgeous long lashes, and amazing almond-shaped brown eyes. I wonder when I look at him which one of you he got his beautiful features from (probably both!).

Max is so incredibly smart. Every day I am amazed with the things he knows and picks up on. I know that some of it is because I work with him on things like identifying shapes, sounds, and colors a lot each day, but I can tell there is so much natural ability in him. He astounds me every day and I know he's going to do amazing things in his life.

I know he doesn't understand yet, but I talk to him about you a lot. The other day while we were playing in his room he picked up a toy that Dan and I had bought while on vacation while you were still pregnant with Max.

I told him how we had been praying for a baby of our own and bought the toy in hopes that we would someday soon have a baby of our own to give it to. I told him that even though we didn't know about you and Max yet we prayed for you every day, prayed for safety, for wisdom, and that you would know how much we love and cherish both of you.

I told Max about how much you love him and how I know you think about him all the time, about how he has two moms who would do anything in the world for him.

I wish I could tell you face-to-face how much I love our beautiful son. You gave me the most amazing gift, Birthmother, and I wish I could explain how much it means to me. You are, and always will be, my hero.

All the love in the world,