Fancy Gluten-Free Pancakes: Banana + Eggs = Yum

Ahhh the Saturday mornings that I get to spend with my family making a scrumptious meal...sometimes the sky is full of sunshine taunting me to come outside and play. Other times it's cold and rainy and all I want to do is curl up under a blanket and snuggle my babies. But no matter the weather, when we have those rare Saturdays that we're not rushing out the door for a family event, birthday party, or other commitments, my day starts our right! And then my mouth and tummy call me towards pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, fruit salad, fresh squeezed orange juice, homemade hash browns (recipe to come soon)... !

Speaking of pancakes, we all know there are like 3 billion recipes and variations out there to use! Now the question for me has always been... which recipe is the best one to add to my staple meals? Can I find one that's gluten-free that doesn't taste like cardboard? Will my kids eat it? We have been blessed that none of us has developed any food allergies or intolerances, but the more I read about gluten, the more I think it's best to avoid it if possible. One day I opened my Facebook page and noticed my Dad had posted a link. Little did he know it would become one of my kids' favorite meals! I have since tried to go back and find the link, but it's somehow disappeared. However, I did write down the recipe and it's easy enough to memorize on the spot. Here it goes!....

One mashed banana and two eggs! Whisk them together and that's it. First melt a little coconut oil on the pan and then pour in the batter. The smaller the pancakes the easier they are to flip. They are a little thin and delicate to begin with but quite filling once you keep shoveling them in your mouth! I have made them enough that I now have a few extra ingredients that I add just for fun. Totally optional! I will include them in the recipe below. You can find things to add that you love. Double or Triple the recipe if the whole family is eating or use just one batch if you are feeding 1-3 kids. These are an absolute favorite in our house!

Fancy Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes

1 ripe organic banana, mashed

2 organic eggs, beaten

pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. pure almond extract

Whisk all ingredients together. Melt coconut oil on bottom of the pan. Pour the batter into small circles in pan, flip when ready. Serve with pure maple syrup, and your favorite fresh berries on top. Makes 6 pancakes. Enjoy!

Eliana Eden

She's here! On May 7th, 2013 we welcomed a perfectly healthy and gorgeous 7 lb - 13 oz, 20.5 inch baby girl, Eliana Eden! She is now 3 months old (14 weeks today). And what a blessing she is! I'm so thankful to have been blessed with a daughter. One that I never thought I would have. For some reason, I always felt like I would have only boys. She makes our family more complete and I now have my own little sidekick when I want to get out and do girly things. This will come in handy more so as she gets older! 

A very good sleeper, she began sleeping through the night (4-5 hours stretches during the night) at one week old. Napping in her swing, she is so content that sometimes I have to wake her up or she will sleep 4-5 hours during the day! We bonded instantly to where I feel like I know exactly what she is telling me with any rare cry that comes out of her sweet little body. The only time she utters a fierce cry is when she is very tired. This makes life very easy for this busy Momma! Predictability! She recently began sleeping in her own crib (Aug. 9th was the first night)and has done so well! She hasn't put herself to sleep while laying in there yet. I lay her down after a feeding. The stage where she still falls asleep in my arms while feeding is priceless! She is so cuddly!

At about 6-7 weeks old she began smiling :) Anyone who looks her in those bright beautiful eyes and smiles at her or talks to her will get a big, excited smile from this happy girl! She's a very good eater, burps herself most of the time, and does not spit up! The Lord has truly blessed me with 3 very content and happy children. (The Lord does not give you more than you can handle. I'm a person who needs more rest than most people and my children are the same way. It would be very hard for me to deal with a child who doesn't sleep well). They nap well and sleep in later than most kids their age. Ahhh blessings! 

She found her hands at 10 weeks old. We were at the zoo and she had been in her car seat in the stroller the whole time just looking around and taking in the sights. I remember looking down at her and she had her fist waving in the air and was just staring at it in amazement. So cute! The next day I noticed she was grabbing onto her toys that hang down from her bouncy chair. By 12 weeks old she found her feet. Now when she's lying on her back, she loves pulling them up and moving them around. This was a fun milestone as she is more content for longer when I set her in her bouncy chair. Before that she would prefer to be held or carried around in the Bjorn. 

Well I could go on and on about these three fabulous kiddos of mine, but I just wanted to share this very special life event of ours. Here are a few of Eliana's newborn pictures! Courtesy of KME Photography .

This Kid Named Landon

Lately I have been writing down a few things here and there that I wanted to blog about so I will be getting to them in the next few posts. But tonight as I sit here, all I want to write about is my son, Landon. He turned 3 this past November and every day he does and says things that just amaze me, melt my heart, and make me laugh! He is growing up so fast and I just want to make sure I am documenting these precious memories. Ok, so I came across a few questionnaires on Pinterest (you will see that I blog a LOT about things I find on Pinterest). Questionnaires that you ask your kids to see their responses. I thought it would be cute to ask him these questions every year to keep his responses documented and to see how they change.
I called Landon over to the kitchen table and said I wanted to talk to him and wanted to ask him some questions. His face glowed with the biggest smile. He definitely has quality time as his main love language. So he plopped down on my lap and we began chatting. I found THIS Mommy & Me questionnaire on Pinterest pinnned from THIS blog. I thought it was pretty cute that I would ask him a question and he would mostly answer me with a full sentence. For example, I would say, "What is your favorite color?" Instead of just saying, "Green." He would say, "My favorite color is green!" It was a very fun activity to do together, you could tell he was loving the time and attention he was getting to tell me all these things about himself. Well, that was until I got the idea that we should do another questionnaire. This time about Daddy. I thought it would be fun to put the answers to THIS questionnaire into his Father's Day card this year. Well, as you will see below, some of the last few questions went unanswered as he got tired of me asking so many questions. His response to me at the end was, "Mommy, please stop talking to me, I'm tired, it's making me angry you talking to me still." I couldn't help it, this was hilarious! So below is a fun list of questions and answers between me and Landon for me to keepsake! 

MOMMY & ME

Recite Name: MY NAME IS LANDON KARJA.
How old are you?: I'M 3. 
What is your favorite color?: MY FAVORITE COLOR IS GREEN.
Who is your Best Friend?: MY BEST FRIEND IS GAVIN. 
Favorite animal: UMMMM, A  BUNNY.
What do you want to be when you grow up?: I WANT TO BE A HOCKEY PLAYER. 
What is your favorite movie?: BOB THE BUILDER
What is your favorite book?: THOMAS
What makes you happy?: MOMMY....AND TURTLES AND FROGS AND SPIDERS BUT I DON'T LIKE WHEN THEY CRAWL IN MY MOUTH OR MY NOSE. 
What makes you sad?: GOING TO SLEEP. 
What is your favorite food to eat?: GRAPIES. 
What is your favorite song?: The ABC's
What game(s) do you like to play?: I LIKE THE FISHING GAME. 

FATHER'S DAY

My Dad is 30 years old. (with my help)
His hair is BLACK. His eyes are BROWN. 
My Dad likes to wear UNDERWEAR.
He loves to eat PEANUT BUTTER. 
He is smart because he knows MOMMY. 
My Dad works hard at MONEY.
Daddy always tells me A STORY ABOUT THE FOX AND THE SQUIRREL. 
If he could go on a trip, he would go PROVIDE FOR THE FAMILY and he would take HIS COMPUTER.
If I could give anything to my Dad it would be A KISS AND A HIGH 5. 

LOVE THIS KID!

Making Cookies

3D Movie with Daddy

Off to ECFE 

First time riding his bike outside! He learned in our basement over the long winter. 

Found Mommy's mascara........