Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Several of my tweeps asked for this recipe, so wahlah!

Here is the link to the original recipe from Whole Grain Gourmet.

I made some adjustments.
1.) No chocolate chips. Chocolate is sacred. I do not mix it with fruit or veggies. (exception ... chocolate covered strawberries).
2.) I beefed up the spices big time. The whole wheat seems to suck the flavor right out of it!
I added two teaspoons of pumpkin pie seasoning and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Actually that is just a guesstiment. I just kept adding and stirring and tasting until it seemed about right.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT OVERBAKE. It will be dry and nasty. And we just can't have that!

The flavor was wonderful and the bread was super moist. Plus, another way for me to slide whole grains into my family's diet!

Enjoy!

Silly Bandz 101

Wondering why children are running around with a bunch of squiggly rubber bands on their wrists? My 7 year old gives you the 411.

Road Gripe (a little short of road rage)

Dear Traffic Engineers,

The residents of and near Springfield, Missouri cannot handle driving in one lane, let alone two. So, for your information, it is completely ridiculous that you added a third lane both east and westbound on James River Freeway between the Campbell and National. My daily commute is now a suicide mission.

A Child's Freedom

Last weekend, like most people in this country, I celebrated my freedom. The freedom of speech. The freedom of religion. You know what I am talking about, right?

Have you ever thought about the freedom to be loved, to be cared for, to be rocked to sleep at night?

I have. Everyday. For a few years now. I'm a foster parent. We've had our first and current placement for just over 3 months. A sweet baby girl.

Now, don't get me wrong. I DO believe her parents love her. Unfortunately, they are in a tough place right now. And, well, that's all I can say about that.

However, I can tell you there are thousands upon thousands more just like her in Missouri alone that deserve the freedom's every child should have. And I'm just talking foster care.

Missouri has over 2,000 children waiting to be adopted. They are looking for the freedom of a forever family.

This goes far beyond Missouri. Right now I have friends in Ethiopia. They left the US on Independence Day to go meet their daughter for the first time. She is beautiful. She should be able to join them here in the states in August. She will have the freedom a child deserves.

These children, all of them, from my house to Ethiopia and beyond, did not ask for the situations they found themselves in. They are innocent. They only ask for the freedom to be a child.

Not every family is meant to be a foster family or an adoptive family. But, I encourage you to find a way to help.

If you are willing, message me and I will point you in the right direction!

A Turtle Kind of Day

Normally, I don't take our mini wiener dog out of a morning. Earlier this week I did, for whatever reason.

About 5 steps from our front walkway was a turtle the size of a large serving platter. I grew up in the "country" so I've seen my share of turtles. Not a life changing event for me. I will admit this turtle was one of the largest I've come across.

This was Rocket's first turtle encounter. He would sniff and jump back, sniff again. I let him get the curiosity out of his system. I pulled him away from the turtle and took him to the other side of the drive to do his "business". In under two minutes he was done and wanted to check out that turtle. Except, the turtle was gone.

Doing what any curious dog would do he put his nose to the ground and was on the trail. He spent the next 10 minutes trailing that turtle through our yard and the neighbors. We never found the turtle. Apparently, this turtle had NOS set up on his shell.

The morning proceeded uneventfully. We all got ready and out the door. I took Baby Girl to daycare just like I always do.
Hopped out of the rig.
Open the door get the baby out.
Open the other door to get the diaper bag out.
Turn toward the daycare door.
... There is another large, but smaller than the first, turtle on the sidewalk, right in front of the daycare door.
Really? Is God trying to speak to me via turtles? This is down right odd.

I guess this turtle had been checking the daycare out and thought it looked fun. When I grabbed the door to open it, he/she (not really up on identifying the sex of turtles) tried to waddle on inside. Keep in mind I have a baby in one arm and an over-supplied diaper bag in the other. I was able to use the door to scoot the critter away from the entrance.

Two turtle encounters in a day. Crazy. I decided if I got to work and there was a turtle in the parking lot I was going to go home.

Or maybe I needed a concordance to look up the Biblical significance of the turtle encounters.

Is it the Month or Year of the Turtle? I started to think that when I read this:
http://ow.ly/23hhe

Can I get some type of turtle reference at Wimbledon or the World Cup?

~TTFN