Us Ramms: my sweet girls

It's hard for me to believe that it's already October 18th. It doesn't seem like our trip back home last January was that long ago and so, considering we aren't very far from January 2011, I feel like the last year has flown by so quickly that I barely even noticed it. Our lives, the kids--and even me--are barely recognizable when compared to last January. Sure, I look the same, I suppose, but I'm not. Yes, Jason is still more of a nomad than anything else, but he's different too. We are different.

I guess I'm just feeling sort of melancholy since he left yesterday. Maybe more reflective than melancholy.

To keep this reflective mood positive, I guess I will spend a few minutes talking about the girls. Jordyn.... Wow, what can I say about Jordyn. That child has morphed into this amazing bundle of energy since she switched to her new school. Whereas some children would relish a "free" day off, she does not. I came down pretty ill a couple of weeks ago and so, since Jason was not home, I wasn't able to get the girls to school. Jordyn was not happy at all and told me so several times. Bieng who she is, however, she didn't pitch a fit and instead wrote me a sweet note and brought me a Sprite and a banana. Considering how I felt, I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of eating, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
The other interesting development in Jordyn's personality is that she is silly! Strange faces, talking in funny voices, crazy dances...you name it, she does it. A lot. She reminds me a little of my sister, Summer, who was silly as well. Hopefully that will paint a little bit of a picture of what she's like to my own family members.
As always, Jordyn is sweet and incredibly empathetic. She's a perfectionist. She's an observer. She has a strength that I don't understand in a child her age as she seems content and happy to play by herself or with other children...any other children. She seems to have no "best friend" or group she hangs out with at school but seems to float from person to person and is totally fine with it. She just seems confident in who she is and doesn't necessarily need to depend on being part of a group of people to define her value and her identity. I realize she's very young, but I think you can tell so much about a child's personality from a very young age.
And, finally, she still to this day sleeps with Elmo every single night.

Moving on to Maddy. What can I say about Maddy? Sensitive, emotional, energetic, honest, open, and confident. Maddy is really quite similar to the person she's always been. She's mostly happy and smiling her big, beautiful smile. However, when she's sad or mad or hurt, you're gonna know it. Actually, everyone within a mile radius is gonna know it. She seems pretty much unable to hold anything inside, even if she desperately wants to. She's been "told off" several times at school already and each time, though she doesn't want to tell us about it, she ends up spilling the beans. A couple of times she so desperately didn't want to tell us that she's told us through tears and threw in every now and then that she didn't want us to know because we would get mad. I feel like the only way to understand Maddy is by telling a few stories about her...
During the summer holidays we went through a phase when Jordyn was having some sort of behavior problem that was getting very frustrating. So one day while I was driving with them I decided to have a little chat with her about it. I made it very clear that I was speaking to Jordyn and discussed what the problem was and then said that we were going to have to solve it. I told her that she had a choice and that we could do things the easy way or hard way. I asked her which way she'd like to do it and Maddy burst out in tears and said "THE EASY WAY." I reassured Maddy that it wasn't about her, but she still felt horribly guilty. It was sad and sweet all at once.
There are of course many arguments and fights around here. Usually Jordyn gets so frustrated (I find that Maddy irritates her on purpose) that she squeezes Maddy's arm really hard or growls at her or something. Sometimes its a little worse. Anyway, usually when tell Jordyn to apologize Maddy begins crying and apologizes to Jordyn instead. Very sweet.
Assuming you have a general idea of who Maddy is, I'll stop there... Oh, I do have to say that the kid has a disgusting sense of humor that involves poo, wee, farts, etc. I have no idea where she got that from!! :-)

I also wanted to share that the gluten-free diet has been totally life changing!! I look different and feel different. I've totally gone off caffeine, artificial sweeteners, pretty much completely cut out sugar, and gone off dairy as well. I know that sounds like a lot, but it's been fine. The truth is that I haven't really felt the need for caffeine like I used to. I was drinking scary amounts of coffee and Red Bull. Scary. I went cold turkey and have had none for nearly two weeks. I feel so much better!!

It's also been a great opportunity to try new foods. Goats cheese, buffalo cheese, quinoa (though I've had this before), polenta... Rice milk has become a staple around here (Jordyn is inhaling the stuff). The girls are gluten-free (except at school) as well as Jason. Jason has been so good about it also, which has been a huge help to me. I never thought I'd see him eat gluten-free bread...but he does!!

I'm really enjoying the experimentation, to be honest... except the sheep yogurt. I'm still having flashbacks to that one. Ick. I've taken to photographing some of my food, actually, because I've found that needing to think so much about what I eat has led to creating much more beautiful things than before. I mean, how often do we eat ham sandwiches, chips, unexciting looking salads, etc. These things don't sound or look good at all. Food, however, is not only artwork for the taste buds but also for the eyes. I honestly believe that you eat with your eyes first and cooking something, for yourself or others, is a beautiful way to love, care, and show how much you value them or yourself. When you think on how food impacts people and how experiencing gorgeous flavors is such a sensual experience, it becomes clear that it really is an amazing gift from God and we ought to take the time to create and enjoy it.

Anyway, here are a few things I've made recently...

My first gluten-free dinner. Not exciting. Simple and yummy Scottish salmon with soft goats cheese on mixed lettuce and garlic and onion wild rice. Yum!

The kids wanted pizza, so I made this for them yesterday. Who wouldn't want to eat that? They devoured it! And yes, it's gluten-free!

My lunch yesterday...mixed greens with quinoa and pesto, white beans, toasted pine nuts, tomato, and a beautiful hard and mature goat cheese. Oh, it was divine!