Bring on the Baking!

With only two days before Thanksgiving, I'm getting the urge to bake!  I cannot wait to peel, and slice, and sugar and cinnamon all those apples...and try and get them in the pies before the kids eat too many!  I do  not host Thanksgiving, so I don't have to worry about deep cleaning.(The kids are thankful about that, too:)

I get to concentrate on my favorite part of the holidays...desserts!  On my list are chocolate chip cheesecake, mini pumpkin cheesecakes(this is a first so hopefully it works out!), apple pies and a pumpkin pie.  Sarah's making 'acorn cookies' from Martha Stuart's Living magazine.

I really enjoy baking....the order and rhythm...and the sweet rewards when it's done.    Seeing what I've baked spread out on the counter is only slightly less satisfying to me than watching my friends and family enjoy it all!

I've always loved to bake.  For several years after Peter was diagnosed with Autism and we switched him to a gluten and dairy free diet, baking became stressful.  Worrying about cross contamination and Peter getting into foods that he couldn't have..which always results in extreme hyperactivity and night waking for hours at a time...took most of the joy out of cooking for me.  Not being able to share special things that I made highlighted the challenges we had with him, made me feel guilty that he couldn't eat them, and just took a lot of the fun out of baking.

It took a few years, but those feelings have gotten better over time.  It still makes me sad that Peter can't eat my regular special desserts.  I make him lots of special treats, but it's still not quite the same.

For a long time Peter had a lot of texture issues, too.  For about two years, now, he will actually eat steak and poultry.  So it's nice that there are at least an extra meal or two during the week that we can all share together.  Peter likes turkey, so that makes Thanksgiving a little easier!  Peter will get spoiled at Thanksgiving, too, by my aunt who will make gf/cf cupcakes with frosting!(She and my cousin are on a gf/cf diet, too.)

So....countdown to baking!

 And, then to shopping!

And, then to perogi fest!

(More on all that later in the week!)

Thankful Thought #20:
I am thankful that I get to witness the love that Luke has for his baby sister, and the love that Kate has for him.  I love the way he asks for her as soon as he wakes up, the way he talks to her and tries to play with her.  I love the huge smiles that Kate has for Luke and the hugs they give each other.  They are a blessing for each other...and for all of us!