I am hanging with the kiddos this week for our first official full week of summer vacation!

We are busy splashing in the pool and trying not to melt from these 110 degree temperatures we are already having this week.

We are also busy eating lots and lots of our favorite homemade Organic and Healthy Red, White, and Blue Popsicles and my personal favorite Dairy-free Coconut Caramel Bananas Over Ice Cream.

The good news is that we are also making a lot of fun new experiments in the kitchen to beat the heat so I will have some recipes to share with you when I am back online next week (translation…when the kids are at summer camp next week).

So, I just wanted to let you know that I, in no way, am forgetting about all of you, my loyal readers and friends!

We are just having a little fun and I am staying away from my computer to give my boys some lovin’!

See you next week! Hope you are all having a big bang and great start to your summer vacations too!!

This is where I will be this week….

This is what I will be doing (although probably not as gracefully as my son)…

And these are the cool cats I will be hanging out with…

This has been our first official week of Summer Vacation. And even though we had an unexpected and fairly complicated medical issue to deal with at the beginning of the week, we are doing it up right now and making a big splash as we head in to the Memorial Day Weekend.

So…I am taking a little break from the blogosphere to enjoy some time with my family. But, after the Holiday weekend, I have a special giveaway coming your way next week…

I will be giving away TWO copies of Carol Kicinski’s absolutely beautiful new cookbook, Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts. I will be back next week to tease and taunt you with all of her amazing recipes and will give TWO lucky winners a copy of her must-have book!

Until then, our family is raising our home-made organic popsicles to all of you as we head into this Memorial Day Weekend! We hope you remember to take the time to enjoy all of the little moments and are able to spend this weekend making special memories with family and friends.

Cheers!

Today, there is no talk about food allergies or recipes.
 

Instead, I want to share a story about a little boy who has inspired everyone who knows him and is, in every possible meaning of the word, an absolute miracle.  It is the story of the amazing John Birtch – the son of some of our closest friends.

John was born November 30, 2005, 16 weeks too early, at only 24 weeks 5 days gestation due to a bulging bag and prolapsed cord from an undiagnosed incompetent cervix in his mom. He only let out a tiny cry before he was handed to a team of Neonatologists and level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses. He weighed in at 1 pound 8 ounces (680 grams)and was about 12 inches long – picture the size of a ruler.

Nothing prepared any of us for the roller-coaster that John and his family embarked on on that November day.

I remember anxiously awaiting all of the updates that Jill, Jamie, and the family would send out.

Some were of good news. “John opened his eyes!” Or, “He gained 5 ounces!”

And some would make your heart sink into your stomach. “John has Necrotizing Enterocolitis, (or NEC – a condition where the intestines become infected and can begin to die) and has to have emergency surgery to save him.”

Some would cause you to stop breathing for a minute while you let the news of what you were hearing sink in.  ”John has a grade 4 bi-lateral brain bleed and will have long term disabilities.”

But, after fighting for his life and overcoming every difficult obstacle possible that a micro-preemie can face, John Birtch amazed every single one of us.  On March 20th, 2006, weighing in at 6 lbs 10 ounces, and measuring 18 inches long, he left  Phoenix Children’s Hospital after calling that NICU “home” for the first 110 days of his life.

Since then, this little miracle has shocked, impressed, amazed, and astounded every one of us. He has accomplished every single milestone that his doctors told his parents he would not ever do. He is a fighter and just never gives up.

And although they do not ever really admit it, John’s parents and grandparents have been a HUGE reason for this as well. They have been ultimate crusaders, working tirelessly with him on his therapies and exercises.

And, for all of my healthy nutrition-minded readers, John’s mom, Jill, would make every one of you so very proud. Because John has been on a feeding tube, she has blended the most most amazing concoctions for him every single day for the last 5 years – she has packed them full of organic greens, vegetables, fruits, flax and fish oils, raw nuts, vitamins, and more. They are jammed with more nutrients than any of us could ever imagine getting our children to eat occasionally, let alone every single day. His brain has been fed with such nutrient-dense foods over the years that he has absolutely thrived and stayed so incredibly healthy! Another testament to what nutrition can do.

If you saw him today, you would never realize, or even believe, the dire prognosis that this little angel was given five years ago. Just watch this montage of his progress over the years. You, too, will probably have a tear stained face and be at a loss of words as you watch the journey of this little guy who was never thought to walk, talk, smile, or even recognize his parents.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And, a while ago, John’s mom, Jill, wrote a poem describing her feelings about her roller coaster of emotions that she went through on her blog.

With her permission, I am sharing it with you guys here. Get a tissue out first, though.

Imagine…

Imagine being told you were pregnant after having a miscarriage the month before.

Imagine hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time.

Imagine being air-vaced to the ER at 24 weeks pregnant , thinking that you have lost your baby.

Imagine being told that you are about to have a C-section, but don’t expect your baby to come out crying.

Imagine lying on an operating table feeling helpless because there is nothing you can do to help your baby.

Imagine your baby being born the size of a ruler, weighing a pound and a half.

Imagine your baby being 100% dependent on a machine to live.

Imagine your wedding ring fitting on your baby’s arm, loosely.

Imagine not being able to hold your baby for weeks.

Imagine getting a call from the doctor at 3:30am because your baby has an air leak in his lungs.

Imagine looking at your baby , praying to God, that he will live another day.

Imagine not being able to breath every time the phone rings.

Imagine your baby having life or death surgery when he is only 8 days old.

Imagine watching your baby being prepped for surgery, not knowing if you will ever see him alive again.

Imagine hearing that your baby has a grade 4 bi-lateral brain bleed and will have long term disabilities.

Imagine a doctor encouraging you to take your baby off life support because his quality of life is uncertain.

Imagine praying to God that the doctors are wrong.

Imagine loving your baby so much that their diagnoses means nothing to you.

Imagine crying your self to sleep EVERY night.

Imagine having a baby but going home without one.

Imagine what it feels like not knowing if your baby’s next breath will be his last.

Imagine going to the mall, too afraid to buy baby clothes, because your not sure that your baby will live to wear them.

Imagine bringing your baby home, but you can’t take him anywhere because his immune system is too weak.

Imagine being woken up by the sound of your baby’s heart rate monitor going off.

Imagine pumping every 2 hours because you know breast milk is the best thing for your baby.

Imagine the feeling of hopelessness when your baby will not eat.

Imagine having to feed your baby through a feeding tube.

Imagine trying to stay sane while all this has taken place.

Imagine having a micro preemie.

Can you imagine?

I cannot imagine. Can you?  But for the very reasons that Jill talks about here, we have joined Team John in the March of Dimes March For Babies walk every year for the last five years. This weekend will mark another year of helping to raise money for the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money we raise supports programs in our community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. These walks have been going on since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

We have so much fun every year and our team has gotten so big. We all wear matching green Team John shirts and the kids and adults alike have a total blast!! I always look forward to this day.

If you want to help support the March of Dimes and help save babies, you can Donate to Team John!

Can you imagine?

The Gluten-Free Blogging Crew (most of us, at least)

The Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef (and little ole me)

My previous post about the International Food Blogger Conference was a summary of all of the wonderful events that happened during the weekend.  This final piece, however, is what I truly took away from the entire experience.

For me, this weekend was about staying true to my passion. It was about reaching out to the community beyond my blog.  And most of all, it was about friendships.

On Friday evening, we had the incredible honor of a presentation from Morgan Spurlock, Academy Award Nominee for his documentary Super Size Me.  This man is an extraordinary public speaker.  He is. Engaging. Entertaining. Hilarious. Inspiring.

The point that resonated for me from his presentation was the very thing that seemed to resonate true for me throughout the entire conference.  Morgan feels that the world of food-blogging has now reached new heights.  Food bloggers, have a very strong and influential voice. We need to take our words out of our computer screens and place them into actions.  We should make the changes in our communities that we speak so passionately about in our blogs.  We should bring people together who are as passionate as we are.  We should teach about the benefits of such things as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).   And we need to encourage people to eat together as a family. As Morgan advocates, the more that we can do this by reaching outside of our blogs, the more effective changes we will see.

There are some bloggers who have already done an exceptional job at this.  Shauna Ahern, of Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef, has been a leading voice in this action. And on Sunday morning, when she and Alex Jamieson, author of Living Vegan for Dummies and The Great American Detox Diet (and, incidentally, also Morgan Spurlock’s wife), sat in front of the attendees at IFBC, they helped to resonate this point with all of us.  They emphasized that blogging is not about being the coolest kid on the internet block.  It is not about having the most visits to our sites.  Nor is it about making the most (or any) money from them.  It is about pouring our passion into our words and then putting them into action.  Staying true to ourselves and staying transparent is the most effective way to do this.  Worrying about the Search Engines or writing for Keywords is not.

This was what I took away from this weekend.

Shauna is an exemplary example of this.  She is passionate about love, food, and family and how the three culminate together.  She and Danny love bringing people together around beautiful meals.  In fact, food plays a major role in their own love-story.  It is the story told in their new cookbook, Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes (to be released in September). And she is doing a wonderful job at leading a movement to bring families together around tables filled with whole fresh ingredients.

She and Danny, and their little sous chef Lucy, did just that for the gluten-free bloggers at this conference.  Aside from going above and beyond to make sure that we were all more than well-fed by Kaili McIntyre, owner of Wheatless In Seattle, and her amazing crew, Shauna and her family prepared an incredible lunch for us on Sunday.

The Menu – each recipe from their soon-to-be-released book:

Greens with Fresh Figs, Blue Cheese, and a Bacon Vinaigrette

Fresh pasta with lemons, capers, olives, pine-nuts, aside an aamazing prosciutto-wrapped salmon

The most divine fresh crusty gluten-free french bread

An Amazing Berry Peach Cobbler - just looks at those drops of juices!

It was wonderful.  It was prepared with the same passion that they prepare all of their meals.  It made our “bellies happy”, as Danny Ahern is fond of doing and the exact reason he loves being a chef.  And we were so honored that they went through such efforts to do this for us.

So, this is, in essence, also a heartfelt thank you note to Shauna, Danny, and Little Miss Lucy.  Thank you for the love and energy your poured into this meal.  Thank you for going above and beyond to make it happen.  Thank you for making the gluten-free and allergy-free community so much a part of this weekend.

On this note, I am brought to the final point of what I got out of this weekend.  The friendships.  The friendships that had started long before this weekend.  These relationships were culminated in real-life meet-ups and connections throughout the weekend.  It was touching to be amongst so many women that I had, for so long, only connected to through our words, and through our shared experiences.  To now culminate these relationships into real-life was perhaps the best part of the entire weekend for me.

In closing, today I am giving you all a challenge.  Leave a comment below telling me how many nights a week, on average, you eat together as a family.  The challenge part of this is to increase that number by at least one by the end of this week.  And, if you can increase it by more, than you will earn your gold badge star for the week, for sure!

I am here. The International Food Blogger Conference. Otherwise known, amid the food-blogging world, as IFBC (throw a hashtag in front of it if you are Twitter-talking).

So, what is this conference I speak of?  I fully intended to give you that answer before I even boarded the plane to Seattle.  But life happens. So the post did not.

Let me give you a little run down.

This Conference is Co-hosted by Foodista.com and Zephyr Adventures.

It is centered around the evolving world of food-blogging, where , according to Foodista’s website, “leading bloggers, authors, editors, publishers, and technologists all in one conference focused on food, writing, technology, and the fusion of all three” come together.  There is an abundance of great wine and food (yes, I listed the wine first – I am here without children…or husband), all prepared from a group of top chefs.

The conference is being streamed live from Foodista, so I will not go into the details.  You can check the agenda for all that is in store.  And if you are on Twitter, there has been a live Twitter stream (with the #IFBC hashtag) that has been nothing short of comedic.  As the tweets get funnier, you can hear the ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.

So yes.  I am here.  And I did not imagine it would turn in to what it has.  I never thought that I would be amidst the likes of the very bloggers that I have looked up to for years.  But, alas, I sitting among them. This blogroll, to me, has the same reminiscence of a celebrity who’s-who list. You can obviously tell what world I live in.

I am in heaven. This has exceeded expectations.

A meet-up at the Flying Apron Bakery (am entirely Vegan and Gluten-Free bakery) was a wonderful chance to nosh on some of the allergen-safe baked goods while laughing it up with the gluten-free crew.

The Gluten-Free Meet Up At The Flying Apron Bakery

Then an evening reception at the Hotel Monaco lent to some wonderful food and alcohol from great sponsors such as POM Wonderful, Modernist Cuisine, Rodney Strong, Jordan Winery, Theo Chocolate, Tonnino Tuna, and Wisconsin Cheese (along with so many others). And yes. I definitely enjoyed the POM Wonderful martinis.  Of course, on our way to bed, we had to take a quick peek into a late-night party at Seattle’s Purple Cafe, hosted by Urbanspoon.

The sessions have been held at the Theo Chocolate Factory, one of the main event sponsors.  There has been no lack of chocolate indulging. We have been treated to an endless array of their delectable organic, fair-trade, bean-to-bar chocolates. The most unusual flavor, to me, is the Spicy Chili.  The most addicting flavor is the Burnt Sugar confection.

There is something that I will be able to take away from each of the sessions.  I will not give the fine-tuned details of each, but I can assure you that I will be applying the techniques and tips discussed in each to my blog in different ways.  I hope it will only create a better experience for you, my wonderful readers.

The sessions included in the conference:

The Art of Recipe Writing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Building Traffic and Social Media
Food Writing with All Five Senses
Law & Ethics in Blogging
Pitch to Publish
Digital Food Photography

Gluten Free at IFBC

And then …. an event to behold.  Shauna and Danny Ahern, of the Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef, are hosting a lunch for our little group with dietary restrictions.  Each dish will come from their soon-to-be-released love-story of a cookbook, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes.  This meal deserves a post all of it’s own.  This meal deserves accolades that go beyond words. So that it will get.  Tomorrow…

And of course, the pièce de résistance.  Sur la Table, another Premier Sponsor of IFBC, created the most amazing goodie bags for all of the attendees this year.  I will not go on and on about the incredible swag.  But I will tell you that it was nothing short of amazing.  This collection of some of the most awesome kitchen gadgets actually deserves (and entirely needs) a suitcase of it’s own.  So mine is getting just that, in the way of a UPS shipping box.

Okay, so this post has absolutely NOTHING to do with gluten free, allergy free, Celiac Disease, my iPhone App or anything else that I regularly talk about here with you.  Every now and then I need a break from all things related to cooking allergy free because, well… it can consume your life, if you let it. So today I felt compelled to not think food allergies and instead share with you a special photo and a little bit of what our family is about.

And for the 99% of my wonderful blog readers that have never seen the room in my home that I am sharing with you today, this post may seem silly (and yes, possibly even bore you). But for the 1% of you who have, you will understand why the photo, that was taken by sheer accident, means so much!

Six plus years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest son, we travelled, for the last time as a childless couple, to Maui.  While there, my husband fell in love with a picture at one of the art galleries.  It was a perfect fit for what we were envisioning our son’s room to be.  The price….ridiculous.  The feeling it evoked….of course, priceless.

We could not get the picture out of our minds. We returned to the gallery and managed to steal some pictures of it and then shared them with a friend who is a mural painter.  The choice was made to instead transform Conner’s room into the picture.  Once again, the price….ridiculous.  Once again, the feeling it evoked…of course, priceless (this time to the nth degree).

This room stands for our love of the sea.  Although we are desert dwellers (calling Arizona our main residence), we have a cottage right on the beach in Oceanside, California. We spend as much of our time there as possible.  My boys call it home just as much as they do our house in this land-locked state of Arizona.  My husband would prefer to move there permanently (if I gave the okay).  He has a passion for surfing that is unrivaled by anyone I know personally and his skills on those waves still continue to amaze me, even after these last 17 years that I have watched him ride.  His heart belongs to the ocean and he starts to get slightly cranky when he has been away from those waves for too long.

When we had the mural done, Kurt asked our friend to include a picture of him holding the hand of his son, while staring out at the sea.  Everyone has commented on this part of the mural.  It has become the heart of the room.

So, when, my Mom and I were sitting up on the deck this July, watching my husband take his oldest son out for his first solo ride (albeit on a boogie board, not a surfboard), our cameras could not snap pictures fast enough as Father and Son were walking out hand-in-hand to greet those gentle waves.  My Mom is the one who actually got the shot, but it is the one that I never dreamed we would have gotten without a staged photo.

This was the perfect shot…..

And, of course, I cannot leave out the one who was pining over the fact that he could not be out there with them.  This child here will be out there the second we feel confident enough that he will not drown.  He is: Eager. Fearless. Full of Wonder. Not Afraid of what lies ahead. Oblivious to Danger.

Thank you for humoring me.  Now you know another little piece of me.  It felt good to focus on something other than work for a bit, although, I must admit that I am feeling a little sentimental since both of my kiddos headed off today to start the school year again!

I will be back on track tomorrow with more from the world of healthy eating, gluten- and allergy-free.  Until then, peruse my site for your fix of recipes, or visit my friends in my Blog Roll!

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