Homemade Granola Bars

It would be a disservice to society to keep this granola bar recipe to myself. It's adapted from a recipe my friend, Jayme, gave me (I would link to the original to give her credit, but I can't find it) and they are so good and pretty good for you. I was looking for some good snacks for my boys that don't involve packaging of any kind. Without further ado:

Cherry Almond Coconut Chocolate Granola Bars

2 c. old fashioned oats
3/4 c. wheat germ
1 cup crushed almonds
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. dried cherries, chopped
1/3 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I start out with whole almonds and crush them with my hand blender. Mix oats, almonds and wheat germ on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast them in the oven for about 12 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes or so to keep wheat germ from burning.

Meanwhile prepare an 11x13 glass baking dish by lining with waxed paper and lightly spraying with cooking spray.

Remove oat mixture from oven and let cool. Turn off oven.

In a medium sauce pan, combine brown sugar, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, almond extract and salt over medium high heat. Bring to a rolling boil and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat (if you over do the boiling the granola bars will be hard, not chewy).

Put the oat mixture in a large bowl and add coconut and dried fruit, then mix in the partially cooled caramel sauce. Mix everything really well, ensuring you coat all the oats with the caramel sauce since that's what will hold your bars together. Add the chocolate chips and mix lightly (they will begin to melt--trying to figure out how to do this without them melting too much).

Spread out the mixture into the prepared pan. Put another layer of waxed paper on the top and press down HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so your bars won't fall apart when you cut them.

Remove waxed paper and let cool for an hour or two. Pull them out of the pan with the waxed paper. Cut into 10 columns, 2 rows = 20 bars. Enjoy!!

You can also substitute different nuts and dried fruits (I've tried pecans, apricots, dried blueberries and cranberries), or omit almond extract and coconut, try something else instead of chocolate. You get the idea--the possibilities are endless.

More on that cauliflower, caramelized onion tart coming...you're right, Cathy--how did that tart manage to start off our referral day? Ridiculous!!

Torpedos

You might wonder how Mark remains so ripped with two (almost 3) kids...
I give you exhibit 1:

How it all went down

For me, there is nothing that compares to 'Referral Day.' Those of you who have adopted know exactly what I mean. It's an intense mix of emotions and the end of an anxious season of waiting and the start of a new chapter of (more anxious) waiting.

So, here's how March 19th went down at our house. We woke at the usual 6-6:30am wakeup time and we all had breakfast together before Mark headed to work. At 7, the boys watched Curious George and I began making an insanely involved tart (more on that nonsense later). We got ready for the day and then Mark's mom and dad came over to spend the day with us. I headed off to 'spa day' with my mom's group, and lamented with a few friends there about our lack of referral and on the way home stopped at the grocery store for a few missing items I needed to complete the insanely involved tart. I got home at 11:55am and 6 minutes later, as I was in the bathroom, my phone rang. I heard my mother-in-law shriek and knew she must have seen "HOLT" on the call screen. I ran out of the bathroom and knew I'd missed the call, but there was soon a VM. I quickly checked it and our specialist said she wanted to talk with both of us. Not a moment later, our home phone rang. I answered it and after she reintroduced herself I said, "I hope you're calling for the reason I think you are!" and she said, "Yes, we have a referral for you for a little girl." I asked if she could conference Mark in at work, and she said she couldn't. Rather than hear about our girl by myself, I opted to let her email us all her information and we'd look at it together. So, both boys were about to go down for their naps, and I didn't want them pulling their shenanigans as I tried to fully focus on the intensity of the referral. I went into auto-pilot at that point putting the boys down for bed, and of course on that particular day they were dragging their feet so it seemed like an hour, but by 12:20 we were sitting down together and opened up the email. And....

My jaw dropped.

She is a sight to behold.
She is gorgeous.

I could not help but gush and gush over her from the moment I saw her. She has the most amazing little face. From her big brown eyes to her perfect rosebud lips and softest looking skin on the planet. She has the most soulful look and sweet demeanor. I cannot believe she is going to be my daughter. I am impatient to know her fully. To know what the expression in her photos mean. To know what her smile looks like. To wrap my arms around her tight and kiss her cheeks.

We read through her background information (which choose not share as it is her sacred story), and began to grieve all of the loss involved in her story. Her loss is now our loss and we will continue to grieve with her in the months and years to come.

I spent the next several hours on the phone with family and friends, sharing our good news (Mark got back to work, hard worker that he is!) and was so grateful my in-laws were here so I could completely immerse myself in the news of "B" that afternoon. I shared B's picture with them individually when they woke up from their naps. Torin purred "Baby" at her, and Ashen stared intently at her photos for about a minute before beaming and then insightfully asking about what happened to her (he is aware that they have much in common). The boys received their new "Big Brother" shirts and sported them proudly for their photo shoot. in In the evening, we all went out for a celebratory dinner and relished in the news of B.

She is already a Blessing.
We are so lucky.

REFERRAL!!!

We are elated to share the news of Sweet "B" with all of you! We received her referral on Friday at noon and have been gazing into her beautiful eyes ever since. She is 4 months old and we can't wait for her to join our family, hopefully this summer!

Thank you for all your encouragement and support. We have a huge sense of relief after 51 weeks of waiting to know our daughter, and are excited to be in this new chapter of our journey to her.

According to our agency and the Ethiopian government's policies, we will not be able to post pictures online of Sweet B until we return home with her.

No news...in case you're wondering if we're holding out.

Lucky Winner!

This raffle totally blew me out of the water!

23 participants
209 tickets sold
$550 raised for medicine for kids at AHOPE!!!
THANK YOU!!!!

And the winner is....

Last Chance for Raffle

Just a reminder that if you didn't get in on the raffle to support kids in Ethiopia with much needed medicine, you still have today to do so. Just click on the Paypal button on the right. Thanks!

Weekend Getaway

We finally did it. We left the boys for a weekend. I honestly find it so strange that I've had such fear in leaving my kids overnight. I feared that they'd cry and cry and want their mom and I wouldn't be there. I had a revelation on Friday night as I ate my delicious phad thai with tears welling in my eyes, and wondered what the heck I was so upset about. I think it might stem from the very intense homesickness I experienced several times in my teens when I traveled overseas. I love to travel, but at the same time I am a real homebody. Being away from those I love most gives me anxiety. Once I could name my fear (do I sound like my own therapist?) and had a chance to talk to my very calming and confident dad who was taking care of the boys with his wife, I felt much much better and was able to relax and enjoy myself. I knew it would be hard to finally leave my kids overnight, but was not expecting it to be a part of something from my past. Funny how emotions work.

Mark and I stayed downtown and relished the silence and uninterrupted time together. We ate out lots (something we rarely do), walked around town a lot and browsed, talked without distraction, read for a few hours in Barnes and Noble, went to the movies, napped, swam and soaked in the hot tub at our swanky hotel. It was just the recharge and reconnect we needed during this really stressful time in our lives.

The boys had a blast with Dad and Pam and had visits from their uncle, two grandparents and their aunt all in the course of 36 hours. They didn't miss us, which is just the way I wanted it. I feel more confident leaving them for 10 days to go to Ethiopia.

Still no call from our agency. I intend to fill up our week with distractions so that I don't feel totally insane like I did last week. This is so hard. Not whining, just being honest.

p.s. Don't forget about the raffle! I am overwhelmed by the generosity of so many of my blog readers. I am so excited that we are going to be able to help so many kids in Ethiopia. TWO more days to enter!!

Quilt Raffle for AHOPE

There are way too many unknowns that are wigging me out at the moment, including no referral (referral paperwork still not received by our agency), the very distinct possibility that we will have (I would have said "get" but with two boys it's difficult to drop everything and leave, not to mention it's incredibly expensive) to travel to Ethiopia twice--first for court, then to bring her home, a 2 week federal jury summons that arrived yesterday and takes place in April, and Mark's dear grandfather who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

With all this anxiety running at high levels in my blood, I decided to channel my overwhelmedness into this baby quilt. This is where you, my dear readers come in. This is "THE" year of babies, at least in my world. In our small church alone, there are 16 babies expected between now and August. I thought about giving this away, but decided that instead it could be a tool to provide some critical medicine to children living with HIV and AIDS in Ethiopia who live at AHOPE (an orphange for HIV+ children). They are in need of antibiotics, various topical creams, tylenol, vitamins, and more.

When we travel to Ethiopia, Mark and I hope to pack a couple bags full of medicine, which we can access at better than wholesale prices through a medical misssion organization. We bought prescription medicine from them in 2007 for the CHSFS care center and it worked wonderfully.

So, to get a jump start on that goal, I'm raffling off this beautiful (can I say that even though I made it?) quilt in various shades of pink and blue. It measures 36"x45" and would be perfect for a baby or toddler, or as a lap quilt. As I sewed the binding on last night, I had it on my lap and it was very cozy. I'm making the crazy assumption that *everyone* knows someone birthing or adopting a baby in the near future!

You can buy tickets by clicking on the Paypal button on the sidebar. Paypal accepts all forms of payment including credit/debit/bank account transfer, and you don't need an account with Paypal to donate, you can do a one-time donation. Ticket prices are:

$5 for one
$10 for three
$20 for eight*
*(hint, hint, this is the BEST deal)

Remember, this is for a great cause, and I'm sure if you're the lucky winner you will find someone who would gladly cuddle with it.

Please leave a note in the comments letting me know how many tickets you bought--I'm hoping I will just be able to track everyone using Paypal, but since I've never done this before, I'd rather be safe and not leave anyone out!

Raffle will end next Wednesday, (St. Patty's day)-- March 17th. The Winner will be selected at random by my boys and announced by Friday, March 19th. Good luck everyone!

All funds donated will be used to purchase medicine for children in Ethiopia. You will not receive any tax-deduction for this donation--we are not a 501(c)3 :-)

Whenever somebody tells me "you sure have your hands full" in that all-knowing, "what the he*$ were you thinking?" tone, I seriously want to explode, but I generally smile and say, "yeah, aren't I lucky!? It's a blast!" Seriously, life with these two is incredibly rich and they are so fun together. When they're apart they don't have nearly the life as they have when they're together. I appreciate them both separately, but adore them together because they bring out the best (and worst) in each other. Two boys, close in age is the best thing that ever happened to me...other than their sweet dad. Oh, and did I mention that they're pretty obsessed with planes now? Out with the trains, in with the planes! I think it was that trip to Florida...and I get requests to "go back to that hotel with the pirate ship" at least daily.

Full disclosure: I came upon this scene after giving myself a "time out" to cool off after they spread about 1000 pinto beans all over the living room floor (what was I thinking?)

Gotta go...time for LOST!

Anything Goes

Imagine our delight when we came into the bathroom to find little T with a head full of handsoap. I think all this exploration is doing great things for his brain...at least that's what I tell myself to keep from going c-r-a-z-y.

Cake

I thought I'd throw in a little regular programming on here since I know I have some loyal readers who come here mostly for the boys, and truly no offense taken! I love these photos of Torin and Grandpa and their cake--their birthdays are days apart, so we celebrate them together. Granny Annie made an awesome road construction cake, which is perfect for both of them--Grandpa was a civil engineer and designed state roads and tunnels, and Torin is generally into anything that moves earth, or moves at all. Ashen got in on it too...my boys love chocolate and we don't care if our frosting is tainted with little boy hands.

And the Winner Is....

3 + 2 = One

So that makes my wildly creative mother the winner!
Yay, mom! I'll give you the i tunes card next time I see ya.

Thank you all for your ideas--they were fantastic, but in the end, 3+2=One really sums up our life here...it doesn't "add up" and doesn't make logical sense, but it's true that our family is really one solid unit made up of three beautiful children and their crazy parents!

p.s. Tune in tomorrow--I'm going to be having a blog raffle! Since I'm going a wee bit crazy with this wait, I'm trying all kinds of firsts, and keeping busy!

Contest!

Soon "Life With Our Boys" is not going to paint the whole picture. I'm going to need a new blog name that better suits our family! This is where you, my smart, funny, creative readers, come in. Help me come up with a new name for this blog.

Just leave your ideas in the comments section (you don't have to log in or have a gmail account to comment. Just click on the anonymous button and you can leave your comment and your name). There is no limit to the number of names you can suggest.

Entries need to be received by Monday, March 8th at noon. The winner will receive a $15 itunes gift card. The Winner will be announced next week!

Thanks for the help, and good luck!

ETA: Great ideas coming in. An FYI--I'm moderating the comments coming in b/c (and I should have said this before) we need to steer clear of using our last name or city in our blog name b/c we try to keep some fashion of blog anonymity for our kids' protection. So...if you used our last name in your comment, I am not going to post it publicly, but I did see it and appreciate it--and your other submissions, if you posted more than one idea, will certainly be in the running! Keep them coming! Enter as many times as you'd like!

Ugh.

There, I said it.
One week after the promising phone call and nothing, nada, zip, zilch. No news.
I'm back to my stage of doubt and denial that this is all going to happen.
I don't even want to call again to find out if there is an update because it will likely be no news, or false hope. I don't want either.
I just want to know who she is and start the process of bringing her home.
Please.