Yeah! School's Back!

I AM SO EXCITED SCHOOL IS BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR!
And I am so glad that Spawn is also excited to go back to school - in Grade 1!!! ..crikey.

As you probably know, I spent a chunk of time making snacks to fill Spawn's lunchbox, and I love that I was even more prepared this year than I was last year! There is so much variety in the freezer that I have no problem asking Spawn what he wants for lunch tomorrow, then pulling something that meets his requirements out of the freezer, ready to go the next day! Sooooo good. (Last year I only really made treats, so still had to make savoury things for lunch time.)

Anyway, who cares about food?! School is back! I have freedom! I can do grocery shopping without Spawn! Probably one of my favourite things, as supermarkets are one of the few places that still send him super troppo - I think it's a combination of the light, noise, and whatever else over-stimulates him.

His new teacher is getting all the praises, too. (Let's call him "Mr M" to maintain my "anonymity" lol.) "Mummy! Mr M loves animals too!" "Mummy, Mr M tells me I have to do this *puts hands behind back and sits quietly* when he rings his bell." ...I think I need to ask Mr M where he got his bell, LOL. 
This is obviously a good thing - not going to lie when I say I was a tad scared that Spawn wouldn't take to his new teacher. He loved his old teacher - maybe more than me, some days! Then again, Mrs F was amazing. I loved her, too. Sad that she isn't at the school this year, yet excited for what she is spending the year doing.

Did I mention Spawn was approved for school funding?! I cannot remember if I mentioned it in a previous blog or not??!
Anyway, he was. I'm not sure how many hours he will have with the aide (what the funding covers), but I'm so excited that he's going to have SOME time with an aide, that I'm not particularly fussed over how long it is!!! Hopefully it's enough to really help Spawn though. Lord knows he needs the help at school, so he can learn to manage his behaviour.

I applied to go back to university..........again. I think I might spend my life studying. Every time I think I have my career sorted out, a spanner is thrown into the works that rules it out! It's beyond frustrating!!! Law is definitely out though, so I know I need to do something to help me with a new career path. I think what I have chosen will work. It has its perks, and works with my personality, most days. We'll see though. Depends on whether or not the university accepts me! No pressure, lol.

Eh. I think I have rambled enough, and I need to make a start on dinner. Until next time......

Peace out.

- L. x

Gluten Free Banana Bread

So I LOVE banana bread. At the same time, I am also super fussy when it comes to the flavour combination, texture, etc., and between Spawn and myself, we have several dietary requirements. (TL;DR: this banana bread recipe is gluten free, nut free, dairy free, contains no refined sugars and is bloody amazing!)

Anyway, I have been hunting (without success!) for a banana bread recipe FOREVER. Until now.
I am in a few facebook groups with this amazing goddess, Angie. She is like the dietary requirement queen. I bow down to her, in my head. Probably would bow down to her in person, if I ever saw her walking down the street, LOL.
She shared this recipe, and I tweaked it minutely, purely because her recipe contained white sugar *hiss* and that stuff is satanic when ingested by Spawn! I also made the second batch dairy free, by substituting the milk with coconut milk, so my friend's little girl could have some. Fairly certain I'm her favourite now! ;)

Soooo.... Without further adieu, I give you this glorious banana bread recipe! Even if you don't have a tonne of dietary requirements, you'll probably love this bread, and would never guess it contains nothing unhealthy!

INGREDIENTS:
3 overripe bananas, mashed
130g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
2 tspn vanilla extract
1 tspn ground cinnamon
2/3 cup coconut sugar (or raw sugar if you don't have coconut - I hear they're similar!)
2 tbspn milk of choice (I have only used light and coconut milk, but am fairly certain any milk would work!)
1 1/2 cups GF self-raising flour (you could easily just use regular SR flour if you don't need it to be GF)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees, then grease and line a loaf tin.
In a large bowl combine the mashed banana and butter, mix to combine, then add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and milk, and mix until well combined. Add the flour (I do it in two lots, as GF flour is awfully messy) and try not to over-mix.

Pour the mix, which should vaguely resemble pancake batter, into the loaf tin, then put into oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.

OMG, you smell so good!

Allow to cool slightly before placing on cooling rack to cool further, then slice and enjoy!
Apparently the bread lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for five days, but I haven't had a chance to test that out yet. :)


Enjoy!

- L. x

mmm, tasty. Want some? ;)

Mango Loaf

So while this amazing smelling loaf bakes away in the oven, (yes, I bake on 37 degree days! Hello, aircon!) I decided I would share the little back story that led to this tasty little loaf! 

First, do you know what I love most about January? Mango season. The juicy little morsels are by far one of my favourite fruits, and I can never resist stocking up when I see them at a good price! Unfortunately, this isn't as common down here in Victoria. Not like the sunshine coast, where amazing ripe mangoes can be purchased just about everywhere, at prices that have the potential to turn anyone into a person who lives solely on mangoes!
Ahh, Sunshine Coast. Take me back!!! Your glorious beaches, weather, and cheap fruit are the things dreams are made of!

Anyway, basically the only way to get cheap mangoes down here is when they're all borderline overripe. Which is fine if you want to gorge on mangoes that day, but sucks when you already have a few in the fridge ready to eat!! 

I had this genius idea to combine my need to use the overripe mangoes with my need to prep snacks for Spawn to take to school! This of course, led to serious googling and a trip down the rabbit hole......but after a few hours, I resurfaced with ideas! Mango loaf! YES.
However, the recipes I found contained ingredients I don't own (all that sugar?! No thank you!), so I found the tastiest looking recipe and tweaked it until it could be consumed by my naturally hyperactive child without inducing a sugar rush! Said original recipe can be found here. 

Fresh out of the oven... Mmm, delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (150g) plain flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup (190ml) coconut oil
3-4 mangoes; 2 pureed, 1-2 chopped (small)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup (30g) sultanas or raisins (optional)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, then grease and line a loaf tin. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat eggs and oil together then add to flour mixture along with the mango puree and lemon juice. Add chopped mangoes and raisins(if using). Pour into loaf tin and cook for about 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I am also making a mango butter to go with this loaf, that I will put on each slice before freezing, to make it easier when putting in Spawn's lunchbox. 

Enjoy!

- L. x

I would chop two mangoes to add next time! It's yummy, but needs more mango for me!

Hello, 2016.

Wow. Finally, 2015 bit the dust. Cannot say I'm sad to see it go! Quite the contrary, really.

Let's recap.
The start of 2015 saw me a recent RMIT graduate, pumped to get a job at a corporate law firm where I could work my arse off and fulfil my career goals. It also saw me anxious to become mum to a school boy! (Although, I was more excited than anxious by this!) Things were shaping up to be great.
Then came the dramatic downward spiral of 2015. Once Spawn started school, it did not take long for his teacher to notice his behaviour was a little more erratic than your typical 5 year old. So she gently approached me and suggested I see a pediatrician and see if there could be an underlying issue causing his behaviour. Unbeknownst to me, this issue had also come up the year before whilst Spawn was in kinder, however the issue was never mentioned to me. 2015 could have been so much easier if Spawn's kinder teacher had told me about his behaviour!!!

Anyway, I'm digressing...like usual!
So we got the necessary referrals and saw a behavioural specialist, which led to the events I blogged about last year, and subsequent diagnoses shopping list.
The diagnoses led to more testing through the department of education, as we needed a LOT of documentation to support the specialists reports in order to apply for school funding. Such a long process, by the way! We started in July, and all the documentation was finalised and sent off in early December! Kind of gives you an idea of how intense it is to try and get funding!
While all this was going on, I obviously had a lot to accept, learn and embrace. I had to realise my life would never be as easy as I imagined it would be. I would never work my arse off in a top tier corporate law firm. I would never be the shark I knew I could be. I would be me; mum to an amazing little boy with autism. As I had a lot of support from various parent groups on Facebook, I was able to embrace Spawn's diagnoses a little easier than many would, but it still cut me deep. Naturally, to learn your child is different and is in for a hard road, breaks your heart. I have cried, many times. I have stuck my head in the sand more times than I will ever admit, and I have come out the other side a better person because of it.
It is for this reason that I know 2016 will be a better year! Spawn has an amazing team of specialists on his side, helping him in every was possible, whilst helping me better understand him at the same time. I have become more accepting, tolerable and patient because of 2015, and for that, I will also be fond of last year, but I will not miss it.

I look forward to helping Spawn on his path to success, and working with his new teacher to ensure his mind is adequately stimulated in the areas he excels in. I look forward to many years of trying to fully understand the complexities of raising a 2e child in a way that sees him able to live a happy, successful life.

I also look forward to the laughter, adventures and memories 2016 will bring, both with family and my amazing friends.

Much love.

- L. x