Durango Palmers: December 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010

Simply Christmas

I recently read an article that said that even religious people aren't going to church on Christmas or including any religious celebration during the Christmas season. That they are just too busy with parties, dinners, shopping etc...It made me really sad.

Really sad that Jesus is being pushed out of His own birthday party. I can't imagine putting together a party with all the decorations, sending out the invitations, making tons of food, decorating a cake, buying and wrapping gifts and spending weeks in anticipation of the blessed event only to not invite the celebrant. Doesn't that seem odd? I'm pretty sure my children would have none of that (I'm just imagining Kale preparing for his birthday party only to find out he's not invited).

Yet that's what happens at Christmas. We can get so distracted with the party that we forget about the Guest of Honor. Jesus. I am guilty of this many times throughout the Christmas season. I get so into all of the fluff that I have to literally stop and think again of my reasons. Could I "do" Christmas without all of the fluff? I sure hope so. The fluff is traditions, memories, fellowship and fun. There's nothing wrong with that. But my hope is that even without the extra stuff...Christmas is still Christmas to me.

At the very heart of Christmas is simply a baby in a manger.

Born to bring us peace and joy and hope and love.
Born to live a sinless life.
Born to teach us how to love God and love others.
Born to heal the broken, the sick, the blind.
Born to give us a new life.
Born to die on a cross and then 3 days later rise from the grave to conquer death. Born to reconcile God and man.
Born to show us amazing, endless, unconditional love.

If I miss that....I miss Christmas.

I pray that your Christmas is filled with family, friends, joy, laughter and lots of love. But I pray more than anything that your Christmas is centered around, and filled with, the love of Christ.

Simply Christmas

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Living with SPD (Part 4) P.S.

I know I said yesterday that I was done (thank you for all your sweet comments by the way -- it was very encouraging) but after rereading it I felt like I wanted to add just a couple things. Like what I've learned from all this.

This journey has definitely had it's difficult moments, things and emotions that I have never experienced before. It took me some time to come to a place to be able to blog about it (I can talk with people but I wasn't sure about how to blog about it). Many emotions that I had to deal with personally. I also prayed that my story would not shine a negative light on my daughter but instead educate, encourage and maybe even give hope to other parents no matter what their children are going through (not necessarily SPD). It's been a humbling, learning, growing process for all of us. And while I had moments of not liking my daughter I never had moments of not loving her. In fact God gave me even more compassion for her and her emotions as well as insight to His love for me

It was when she was melting and out of control that would make me want to tear my hair out, and at the same time I'd be hit with this feeling of overwhelming love for her. I'd feel so awful for her inability to feel and control herself. I felt like she didn't like the way she was behaving but she didn't know what to do about it (much like I was feeling). I saw her as a child crying out for help because she was lost, scared, afraid and unsure.

Much like I am with God. I can see Him watching the choices that I make and not liking them but Him always loving me and having compassion for me knowing that I'm lost, scared, afraid and unsure and how He desperately wants to help me if I'll let Him. A God moment(s) for me for sure.

I also learned that it's okay to get help. Many times we just don't understand that this behavior/symptom etc...isn't normal because it's just always been that way so we figure every kid must deal with this. Honestly I probably wouldn't have sought help if my folks hadn't suggested that something else may be going on. It gave me a new-found hope that maybe this wasn't supposed to be how my life was always going to be. I dealt with the thoughts that I should know my child. I should be able to take care of this, I just need to fix myself and be a better parent (can you say pride?). I finally realized that this wasn't something I could fix. And I needed to be humble and listen to others who knew better. Yes I know my child, but, I can't possibly know everything. And I didn't want my parenting pride to keep my daughter from having a happy childhood.

It wasn't always easy. So much of what she was doing just felt like she was misbehaving or I was doing terrible parenting. I was worried that the Drs would think I was a crazy parent who was trying to find some reason for her issues - anything other than my parenting! I knew there was a very real possibility that I could be doing things wrong and let me tell you that I am not first in line when it comes to getting criticism! But I realized that I was willing to do anything - including being humbled - to help my daughter. A huge revelation to me.

God was willing to do anything (and he did everything) to help His daughter - me.

I learned that there's always someone else who deals with similar things. You are not alone. You just need to be willing to talk about it and open up. It helps others open up as well.

I learned that there is a season for everything and God will use every circumstance in our lives to teach us how to love each other more, love Him more, and love ourselves. He doesn't "do" stuff to us but He will use our stuff to bring Him glory (if we let Him). And this year has been a year of difficult circumstances that I have had opportunity to learn and grow from and hopefully bring Him glory. And because of what I have learned, I am thankful. I know that my relationship with God is much different than what it was a year ago. Better. Not perfect but better.

On another note, we have started to see, as a family, a Christian chiropractor in town. Another road we will walk down to see where it takes us. There is hope that with his help, Kate may see even more improvement in her SPD as well as improvement in her eyesight. It may even enable her to go off her allergy meds which would also be a blessing. I will keep you posted on her progress. This is a 9 month long commitment! So here we go on another adventure :)

I hope that someday my daughter will read this blog/journal and see the tunnel that we walked through and see how God did miracles in both of our lives. And again, thank you for your encouragement. It really is a blessing to me!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Living with SPD (Part 3)

Hopefully I can wrap this up on this post.

We called the occupational therapist (OT) and met her in early August. Her name was Sherri and she was amazing. She totally has a heart for kids with SPD and she was very knowledgeable. She wanted to see Kate 3 times a week for 2 months to assess her, build a relationship, treat her, encourage her, teach her and teach us. So we did just that.

The first few weeks were interesting. Kate did really well and adored Ms Sherri. She spent time getting to know Mark and I and how we parent and building her baseline with Kate (seeing how much stimulation she could handle). Kate responded really well. In fact we noticed a change quite soon.

Sherri gave us exercises to do with her. She let us know why she'll react certain ways sometimes and not others (one of the biggest challenges with SPD is that you never know what exactly will trigger a meltdown -- one day it's one thing but it'll be completely different the next). She showed us, and Kate, techniques for coping with sensory overload. It was incredibly helpful and that's an understatement. We spent 2 solid months, 3 days a week, visiting Ms Sherri. It was challenging to entertain Jack and Kale in the waiting room for 45 minutes each visit so whenever I could pawn them off on someone, I did :) But we made it through and I'm so thankful we did.

As for when and where she has a meltdown, the psychologist told us that it's kinda like us wearing an itchy sweater. If we leave for the day wearing a sweater that we eventually find out is incredibly itchy, we'll tolerate it (meaning we won't be scratching our pits and bellies like dogs) until we can come home and change into something else. Same with Kate. When she's out around people she's either distracted or has a much higher tolerance for the over-stimulation then when she's home.

SPD is different with every kid which is also why it can be hard to diagnose and treat. There are kids whose tolerance level is zero no matter where they are or who they're around. There are kids who can handle itchy stuff but jumping on a trampoline makes them bonkers. Just as every child is unique, so is their SPD.

Sherri let us go in October. Actually when Mark and I got back from our trip to San Diego I got a phone call from the physical therapist's office telling me that Sherri no longer worked there. Honestly I cried. I felt a little foolish but then again, this woman helped change our lives! She helped me actually like my daughter again! We couldn't just never see her again!

So I stalked her. Well I didn't totally stalk her but I had emailed her once before during Kate's treatment so I had her email address so I wrote her. I told her that if she had moved to a new practice we'd follow her. We were so grateful for her work with Kate.

She responded that she was looking for another PT office to work from but she thought Kate was doing really well so she didn't think it was necessary to continue treatment (we were going to evaluate anyway when we got back from SD). I told her that I dreaded telling Kate. That Kate had loved, loved, loved going to play with her and had already been asking about her. Sherri then asked if we could meet and she'd tell Kate. I thought that was a fabulous idea.

So we baked her some cookies, drew her a picture, and met her down at the train station one night to say goodbye (or see you later). It was wonderful and it made me love Sherri all the more. She gave me her cell number and said that if Kate was struggling in the future to call her and she'd be happy to help us again. So thankful for that!

SPD isn't curable but it is treatable. Sherri told us that Kate may never show any symptoms ever again OR she may, in the future, if something in her life overwhelms her. She thinks Kate started displaying bigger symptoms because our year was so very stressful. With losing our baby and my aunt and then losing our dog...well Mark and I have faced numerous situations. And of course that affects your children. If/when it happens, Mark and I will be much better prepared now that we've walked, and continue to walk, this road. We've blown it many times with her. At this point we know that if she's tired, been going and doing too much for too long, or is really hungry, she is more likely to melt down. Routine, alone time and calming exercises seem to help keep her a balanced-almost-5-yr-old. It's when we over-schedule her or not schedule naps/quiet times that we have much more of a problem.

I hope that my 3 day saga gave you a little insight into our world and our daughter. There are, of course, so many stories I could've included but I figured 3 days of reading was plenty :) Thank you for sticking it out with me!

I'm thankful to have been on this journey. I'm thankful that God has shown me one "key" to my precious daughter. But more than anything, I'm so thankful to have my sweet baby girl back and we can go on our mommy/daughter dates without meltdowns!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Living with SPD (Part 2)

The final straw was a planned outing I had with Kate. I figured we needed a mommy/daughter date. Some sweet time alone so we could focus on each other. Have fun together instead of power struggling and being distracted by the boys. So we planned a date to go get a haircut (the beauty salon as we call it) then go get ice cream or something. The goal was to just be together.

We made it to the garage. Seriously. We got in the car and something was wrong with the car seat and the seat-belt and it led to a full on meltdown. I tried for 20 minutes to calm her down, fix her seat and make this work. I couldn't do it. I left her in the garage and came back inside.

Mark asked me what I forgot, assuming that I had driven off and turned around. I was crying by then and told him that I couldn't do it. I couldn't take her to town and risk her losing it while getting a hair cut. I couldn't be around her. At all.

Mark went out to the car and spent another 20 minutes trying to calm her down. He wasn't successful either. So we carried her inside and put her in her room {kicking and screaming} in hopes that she'd wear herself out eventually. I decided to go run an errand and have some alone time.

As I was driving and crying I started praying. I really felt so helpless and lost. I loved my daughter. I desperately wanted to like her too. I kept saying to God that there had to be a "key" that I was missing. What is the "key" to my daughter? What do I not see that I needed to? What questions have I not asked that I need to? Answers did not come right away but by just praying I was already feeling better. I was feeling unexplainable peace.

I did my errands and came home (almost an hour later) and Kate was still in her room. Still crying. I think this was one of the worst melt-downs I had seen. They are usually bad but not like this.

I can't remember the exact time-line for this next part but I know it wasn't too long after this melt-down, several conversations with my parents and even Kate freaking out about her car-seat with my parents in the car, that my mom called and told me about Sensory Integration Disorder (what I later discovered is now named Sensory Processing Disorder). She'd found some info online and wondered if this is what Kate was dealing with.

Truthfully, I was at a point where I was ready to go down any road to the very end just to see what might be the problem - even if it was me and my parenting - I was ready for change. I was relieved that my parents had observed Kate's meltdowns and didn't think it was me. I can't tell you how I felt after hearing that. To have a glimpse of hope that you alone are not screwing up your child is amazing.

My mom also mentioned finding out about any potential side-effects to singulair (which Kate had been taking for allergies this whole time). So I started researching and asking questions and making appointments with different Drs.

I started with our allergist to see if her medication could be affecting her. When I told him what we were dealing with he suggested SPD and recommended a psychologist to meet. I called the psychologist and our pediatrician and had meetings with both of them. After hearing our story they both, independently, said SPD. So I'm guessing, at this point, that the "key" might be learning more about SPD :)

A definition I found:
Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with taking in, processing and responding to sensory information about the environment and from within the own body (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, gustatory, vestibular and proprioception). For those with SPD, sensory information may be sensed and perceived in a way that is different from most other people. Unlike blindness or deafness, sensory information can be received by people with SPD, the difference is that information is often registered, interpreted and processed differently by the brain. The result can be unusual ways of responding or behaving, finding things harder to do. Difficulties may typically present as difficulties planning and organizing, problems with doing the activities of everyday life (self care, work and leisure activities including work and play), and for some with extreme sensitivity to sensory input; sensory input may result in extreme avoidance of activities, agitation, distress, fear or confusion. There no known cure, however, many treatments are available.

Our pediatrician gave me the name of an occupational therapist to call (one that she herself had used) and that began the adventure down this particular road. Stopping here to give my hands a rest. I'll pick this up again tomorrow. Hang in there! Thanks for sticking this out!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Living with SPD (Part 1)

I realize that I haven't yet filled you in on anything going on with my daughter. I don't know how many of you are really interested in all of this but I'd like to take a bit to give you some information if you don't mind reading along.

It's hard to know just where to begin this since I think Kate's dealt with it her whole short life. When she was a baby she hated being swaddled (Kale was wrapped tight in a blanket till he was 6 months old!) and has always been a bit particular about what she wears. But I attributed all of that to her just being Kate and there was nothing wrong with that. I just needed to figure out what worked for her and what didn't. A challenging process for sure.

About a year ago we took Kate to an allergist [after she'd been sick so often and her mood was ever-changing] who diagnosed her with several different allergies and gave her some medicine to help. And they did help. She slept better and felt better (rarely got sick that winter) and behaved better. We thought we had things figured out. Ha!

Starting that next spring (last April/May) we noticed more and more behavioral issues. She would get angry over clothes and the way they felt. We had many fights over what to wear to church(or anywhere else we were pressed for time to get dressed for). We had long given up dressing her the way we wanted to dress her. We {both Mark and I} had visions of a darling little girl with pigtails and dresses. She had other ideas. And once I gave up my visions, I saw that we did have a darling little girl with her own unique style and I began to really love seeing what she was going to wear that day. Many days she doesn't match. At all. She'll also wear shorts in winter and pants in the summer. She'll layer clothes that you would never have thought to layer (like tights under cut-off jean shorts). That girl's got a personality all her own. I thought that letting go of my expectations and freeing her to be her would solve our problems.

Nope. Not that it didn't help - it did. BUT it didn't solve everything.

Then she started getting upset about her car seat being crooked and no matter how hard we tried to fix it it was never right. She'd get upset about how we brushed or fixed her hair. It was too tight or too loose or too crooked. Music was too loud. The sun too bright. We couldn't snuggle her just right. Her glasses were too tight. In fact everything was too something and you could bet that it wasn't too good.

We had arguments about her screaming and her behavior. It wasn't that I was upset that she didn't like something, I was upset because everytime she didn't like something it'd turn into a full-on meltdown temper tantrum. She'd kick and scream and hit me because her carseat was crooked or her seat belt "wasn't working". There were time-outs, spankings, lost privileges etc... I was pulling out every parenting trick I could think of. And things just weren't changing. She'd be melting for me and fine for everyone else. Church was fine. Small group was fine. Playdates were fine. Even visiting family was fine...for awhile. Eventually she started melting with family members.

I let so many things go in an effort to make things better for all of us. Fine, we don't have to fix your hair. Fine, I'll turn the music down. Fine, change your clothes. Fine, you can sit on my lap and put my hands just where you want them. But there were other things I couldn't compromise on. Car seat for obvious reasons. And her glasses. Without her glasses she is cross-eyed and she can lose her sight. I was at a loss at how to fight over those uncompromisable things. All the disciplining I was doing wasn't changing a thing and the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. I was seriously going insane!

There were days that I'd cry just as much as she did. Days I'd spend in prayer (all day!) begging God to show me what to do. I battled insecurity, self-doubt, anger, frustration and guilt (guilt because I didn't like my own child and believe me that tears you to pieces!). I'd worry I was being too strict. I'd worry I was being too lenient. I'd worry that I was being unfair and harsh. I'd worry that I just plain ole sucked at parenting and my children would end up....I don't know...miserable, lost, unhappy....

I feel like I need to stop here since this is already so long. If you've made it this far I'm proud of you. I will continue this tomorrow!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Confessions of a Christmas-aholic!

Hi. I'm Jill and I'm a Christmas-aholic.

[Hiiiiiii Jilllllll]

I think I've been this way most of my life but I figured now is as good a time as any to really confess.

I love Christmas. I don't like X-mas {can't even use it in a text to save 5 characters}. I like CHRISTmas. I like pretty much everything about it.

I like the decorations {I'd have 9 artificial trees and 1 real one like my friend Jan if I could!},

the stockings,

the lights {I'd be Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation if I could!},

the Christmas carols {every single verse!},

the food,

the gingerbread houses,

the eggnog,

the special coffee flavors,

the chocolate covered cherries,

the baking {cookies, caramel popcorn - thanks Kristin and my grandma - are my favorites},

the parties,

the programs,

the family and friends {although I like them all year round too....},

the excitement of children on Christmas morning,

the colors {yup, I like red and green - I have one red bathroom and one green one - for real},

the gift buying and giving,

the gift receiving {let's be honest here...},

the way every store is decorated for Christmas {even if they decorate before Thanksgiving - doesn't bother me!},

Santa,

this year the Polar Express,

the Christmas cards {you wait a whole year to get mail you actually want to read!},

the cartoons {although they are different as an adult - Santa would never be that mean to Rudolph! - that's just not real!},

the snow {in manageable amounts of course},

the anticipation,

the advent season,

the nativities,

and most importantly the celebration of the birth of my Savior Jesus!

Yup. Pretty much love it all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Have you ever...

...been done with Christmas shopping a full week before Christmas?

Yeah, me neither...until this year! Woohooo! We are done! We are done! We are done!

I hope....

Oh and I wanted to give you a heads up if you are interested. I decided to blog about SPD and my awesome daughter. If you want to know what's going with her and what we've been dealing with for the past year or so, my story will be on here starting (yes starting -- this is a long story!) on Monday. See ya then! (or maybe sooner if I have some fun stuff to share with you this weekend)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thankful Thursday

What am I thankful for today? It shouldn't be, but sometimes it's hard to sit and focus on what I'm thankful for. I don't want to be repeating everything and I really want to be able to see things that I might have overlooked otherwise. Ya know? To really have a thankful heart (for me) is to see beyond the "normal" into the amazing big and small gifts that are in my life. I want to be able to see them and appreciate them everyday and to focus on that rather than my circumstances or what I feel I'm "lacking".

I'm thankful for my warm, soft, comfortable bed.

I'm thankful for food in my pantry (even if it'd be beans and crackers for dinner I'd still be able to eat!).

I'm thankful for my parents teaching me how to give to others.

I'm thankful for the beautiful feeling it brings me to give.

I'm thankful that God doesn't ask me to do something He knows I can't do or handle something He knows I can't handle.

I'm thankful for my furnace!

I'm thankful for Christmas decorations. I love my house all decorated!

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Kid's Merry Christmas

Sunday morning was our children's Christmas program. Mark and the worship team led a couple songs in the beginning and then the kids took over and we were not disappointed.

This was Jack's first official Christmas program. The 2-3 yr old class rocked out to a song about the best thing about Christmas is the baby Jesus. They were hysterical.

And Jack? Well he kept us entertained. He danced off to the side showing everyone his moves. I really had no idea what he'd do up in front of everyone. My other two are more shy and reserved. Not Jack. He danced like no one was watching and I loved it.

During their first performance 1st service I snuck in (I was helping out in the toddler class) to watch. Jack climbed up on the couch on stage and chilled out. He can kinda act like he owns the place. :) He got herded back to the group second service when he tried again to veg on the couch.

A friend of ours whose little girl was also performing got a video of it and posted it on facebook. I stole it to post here in case we aren't friends on FB. He's a bit of a crack up. Hopefully it'll work.

My barefoot princess is performing here with her 4&5 yr old class. They sang a rocked out version of Away in a Manger. I believe they are doing "stars in the sky" here.

"looking down where he lay" Kate's little friend, Anna (next to her in the striped sweater) just stared into the crowd the whole time. She was pretty funny. I kind of expected Jack to do that.

Kale and the big kids' class sang 2 songs. Go Tell it on the Mountain {I believe they are doing the mountain here} and Joy to the World. Their choreography was really cool and they were actually in sync with each other. And since they have more of an attention span than the 2 yr olds they weren't funny...just great.

Well except for this picture when I caught Kale sticking out his tongue - he yawned a couple times during the performance too. Sorry I didn't get a great center shot of him. I was off to the side and if I centered him I got lots of arms with cameras attached...

A letter of thanks

Dear ~~secret Santa~~ sweet generous angel of blessing,

I do not know who you are, or even if you read my blog, but I had to write a thank you to you and since I can do it here and include pictures, that'sa what I'ma gonna do.

Ever since we received our bag of goodies at the church my kids have been counting down the days till our train ride. I think they figured it would never come. But it did. And it was magical!

Dressed in pajamas, we drove to the train station and listened to the Polar Express book on CD to get us ready. Once there, we waited ~~impatiently~~ excitedly for it to start. And it was amazing! They played the movie up on the screen and when they let us out to the tracks they played the part from the movie when the kid fell asleep. It was so fun! Can you see their excitement?

I could not have imagined their reaction to the whole thing. It was priceless and I can only hope we captured it a little bit with pictures. Jack had just woken up from a nap when we left our house and he wasn't in a great mood {I was a bit worried about that} but just look at his face as the train pulled up! I got goose bumps. It was a sight!

We had the perfect spot for the scene to be played out as the boy talks to the conductor and gets on the train. It was right in front of us! The whole thing was exactly like the book and it made you feel apart of it.

The kids got their golden tickets and held onto them all night.

Just like in the book they received hot chocolate as thick as a melted chocolate bar and a sweet treat {Christmas marshmallow rice krispie treats}. Jack was in sugar heaven! He kept calling it his coffee.

The conductor came around and punched holes in our tickets and asked if we wanted sprinkles and proceeded to hole punch over our heads :)

We used the lights {that you gave us in our bag} as swords, microphones and guns.

They played the book on CD for us (again) as we sipped our "coffee", ate our goodies and looked at the town and we rode along to the North Pole.

We reached the North Pole and were blown away by the incredible display of happiness {aka Christmas lights}!

The kids hung out the window looking for Santa. They got to see the boy receive the first gift of Christmas - the bell.

We took pictures of the happy parents and children

Kale thought we weren't going to see Santa so he was disappointed for this picture. Little did he know that Santa was going to visit each car on the way back!

Here he found out that news but by then Jack was done taking pictures...

Kate got to kiss Santa on the cheek...

...Jack gave him a high five...

...and Kale squeezed the kind man's neck to pieces...

...seriously it was so sweet. They each got their first gift of Christmas - their bells {which by the way we heard ringing for the rest of the night - I'm not worried about us not being able to hear them in the future}

Jack entertained us, and the car, with his mad dancing skills [thanks to big amounts of sugar and no place to run]. We sang Christmas carols the whole way home, saw a boy get his present from Santa {another part of the play}, and drew on the steamy windows.

There is no way we can thank you enough for this priceless memory that you gave us. We were so blessed by your thoughtfulness. It was always something we wanted to do and now we have and we have wonderful memories and pictures to remind us of this magical night.

Thank you.

PS. If you are reading this and you know who blessed us, please pass this link onto them. I'd really like them to know what a wonderful time we had. Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

New Old Song

I was praying the other day for several people I know who are really going through tough times. They've either lost someone they love or have financial/health struggles. This time of the year is difficult for many people. They feel lonely, sad, broken ... It's my favorite time of the year but I know that that isn't true for everyone.

As I was praying I started praying specifically for comfort and joy. I prayed for God's comfort during the difficult moments that are sure to come and I prayed for joy despite circumstances that already exist. Joy that comes with knowing that our Savior was born so that we may be with him forever.

And because I LOVE Christmas carols and am always amazed how they can minister to me no matter how many times I've heard them I wasn't surprised when I started humming God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. But when I started to really think about what the words meant...an old song became new to me. A song that speaks to the hurting.

There are 7 verses (that I can find) but I picked 3 that were meaningful to me. If you are hurting or lonely or sick or just not really loving this time of year, please read these words and know that there is always hope. And Jesus came to bring comfort and joy....for you.

God rest ye merry gentlemen let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day
To save us all from satan's power as we have gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Friday, December 10, 2010

Goodness, Gracious Great Balls of Cake!

I decided to blog about something I've made recently {and that my husband loves and therefore volunteered me to bring them for our staff Christmas party tonight}. One, because they're sooooooo yummy and two, because they're sooooooo stinkin easy! They are cake balls! And really that's all they are...balls of cake. The reason I made them the first time was because I totally messed up Jacks birthday cake and I remember seeing them on another blog onetime (although I couldn't find the recipe so I had to improvise but in the end they turned out yummy too!). They take some time to make but it isn't because it's difficult it's because things need to cool and bake and stuff.

Here's how you do it:

You start of with just these ingredients (+ what you need to actually make the cake) and the sprinkles are totally optional. It doesn't matter what kind of cake or what kind of frosting you use. I haven't made this idea yet but I thought it'd look neat to have red velvet cake on the inside (with white icing so they color stays red) and then coat them in green. But anything will do. Mark requested chocolate so I used yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Make the cake.
[The helper is optional although it was a great homeschool lesson. I made him read me the instructions and then he helped "clean up".]

Let the cake cool completely. It's easier to process if it isn't a giant mushy mess. Hopefully you have a bigger food processor than I do. It took a whole lot of processing to cut up the whole cake into tiny pieces.

Then you add your frosting (room temperature is best). I don't have an exact measurement for you. I think it's about 3/4 of a tub of frosting. But I would suggest starting off light then adding more. Too much is another mess.

Then you roll the "dough" into 2" balls. I also recommend that you chill the "dough" first. I didn't have time to chill it this time because nap time was rapidly coming to an end and I really didn't want 3 pairs of hands "helping" me. It's very doable without the cake stuff being cold but it is messier. Then you stick them in the freezer for a couple hours {or overnight like I did} to make it easier to dip them in the almond bark. I think they look like meatballs here....

Melt the almond bark in a double boiler or a very small crock-pot (I tried microwaving it once and you reeeeally have to watch it so you don't caramelize the stuff). This is the part that's hardest for me {the non-baker-but-trying-hard-to-become-one}. I'm sure some of you pros out there can figure this out but melting the bark and making it smooth and not caramelize is not one of my strengths. So the coating tends to be a bit lumpy. But again! they still taste good. I just won't win many points for presentation :)

I did add food coloring though and that was cool!

Dip the frozen cake balls into the bark using a toothpick or a skewer. I then rolled them in the sprinkles. You could also wait till the bark cools then drizzle another color or even melted chocolate over the top of them to make them fancier. Here's a picture of a batch I made last week for our women's Christmas party chillin' in the fridge. I'm sure if I had a nice scooper or a bigger mellon baller they would've turned out more round but oh well. They still taste yummy!

Cool completely then enjoy your yummy cake balls!

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