If You Fall Through the Cracks… Mom Will Catch You

Today I am honored to have Karen from Baking in a Tornado as my guest blogger.  I recently guested on her blog with my post She Who Microwaves.  I still think it was meeting up with Karen that really got me going in this great big world of blogging! 

I don’t think she needs much introduction.  Karen is the mastermind behind such things as The Secret Subject Swap and the Fly on the Wall series.  If you are interested in finding out more about these or how to participate, don’t hesitate to go to her blog to find out more or ask the lady herself! 

I won’t keep you waiting any longer.  Here is Karen’s post!

I hate Guest Posts. Probably not the best way to start a Guest Post. Maybe I should have started with “I’m sorry, Sarah”. But Sarah’s known me for close to a year now so she knew what she was in for when she asked me.

I think I hate them because I’m really possessive of my blog. I want to control everything that goes on it. Even when the words aren’t mine, I feel that they reflect on me.

On the rare occasion that I’m the Guest Post writer, I’m just as possessive of my own work. Writing a piece, making a graphic, baking, taking pictures, writing out a recipe, I want that post to go up exactly as I intended. Anything less is like going out in public and forgetting to wear a bra. No one’s gonna die, but the possibility for extreme embarrassment is there.

Maybe I better start over:

I’m sorry, Sarah.

OK, moving on. I asked Sarah what she wanted me to write about, and she said she’d like to hear more about my younger son. Oh, and dessert.

I think Sarah wanted to hear about my younger son because “J” has a lot of the same traits as her son The Professor. But J is a Senior in High School, so it’s kind of a look into the future. I’m walking a thin line here because I want to speak to the issues but I also want to protect J’s privacy.

So lets make it all about me, shall we? Here’s what I’m willing to say about J. He has fine motor issues and when he fights for fine motor control he has a tremor. His handwriting now is the same as it was in Kindergarten and the school system repeatedly refused to work with him (don’t get me started). He has visual-spatial issues so when he was little he used to orient himself by standing on my feet. Walking into walls happened more often than not. He has some gross motor inefficiencies. Not enough to affect his life, but he’s not going to be a pro athlete. When he puts his mind to something, like I saw with skiing, his stubbornness serves him well. There’s so much more but you get the picture.

Here’s the “all about me” part: From the name of my blog, Baking In A Tornado, you probably have guessed that I take refuge in the kitchen. And J has a Hyperactive Gag Reflex. Take a minute. Think about it. Yes, it’s what you think it is. Any time he doesn’t like the taste, texture, look, smell of anything new he . . . well . . . releases the offending morsel. And I don’t mean that in a pleasant way. He has never “objected” to a single thing I’ve baked but I will say this: I will never again, when in my dining room with 25 guests on Thanksgiving, insist that he just taste the turkey.

S’mores on a Stick

The other piece? J has a disorganized brain. He doesn’t process like we do (like categorize information). I had to spend hours with him coming up with organizational tools and strategies so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by multiple class assignments and deadlines. And now he can do it himself. He has over a 4.0 GPA, including Honors and AP classes, top 5% in a class of over well 600 students.

I was trying to figure out how many FB “likes” I’d need per day to get to 5000 by my page’s 1 year anniversary: “J, what is 5000 minus 4220 divided by whatever number of days there are from now until August 13^th”? And he told me. Yes, I nonchalantly grabbed the calculator and went into the bathroom so he wouldn’t think I was questioning him and yes, he got it. Imagine what he’d be capable of if the schools had ever agreed to help him reach his personal optimal capabilities instead of their minimum requirements.

So he is left brained, which makes him concrete and literal. The all about me part? I am dry and sarcastic. He didn’t get me. At all. He couldn’t read facial cues or see subtext. A meal is for eating. Period. I had to teach him to look up, make eye contact, converse, that if someone at school offers you one of his cookies, chances are good he wants you to offer him one of yours; all the mechanics of social interaction. Seeing him now laughing with his friends can almost bring me to tears. So does the fact that he “gets” me. He gets me!

It can all be very frustrating. But over the years when my boys have grown exasperated with the things that challenge them, this has continuously and consistently been my answer:

Everyone in this whole wide world has something and this is yours. If it’s not fatal, we’ll take it.

S’mores on a Stick

Ingredients:

12 Graham Crackers

3/4 cup plus ¼ cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup Mini marshmallows

Multicolored sprinkles or nonpareils

NOTE: You don’t need to put these on a stick, but if you want to, you’ll need craft sticks.

Directions:

*Carefully break the sheets of graham crackers in half along the perforation.

*Place 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/3 cup heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl and microwave 45 seconds, stir and repeat at 10 second intervals until completely smooth.

*Add mini marshmallows and stir. Let cool slightly.

*Put half of the graham crackers onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper.

*Put 1 TBSP of the chocolate mixture into the middle of the flat side of one graham cracker half. Gently press the flat side of the other half on top just barely pushing the chocolate mixture out towards the edges of the cracker.

*Holding a hand on the top of the graham cracker sandwich for stability, gently press the craft stick up into the center of the chocolate mixture. Repeat until all of your sandwiches are made and your craft sticks are inserted.

*Melt the remaining chocolate chips in the microwave. Drizzle over the s’more sandwiches. Immediately sprinkle with nonpareils or colored sprinkles.

*Do not touch them until they have set (may take a few hours, but you can speed up the process in the fridge.

Welcome to blog therapy. I’m Karen, a semi-sane Mom; a baking, blogging, beach, ballet, Boston and booze fan. I bake to relieve stress, take pictures as proof, and blog to vent.

Wasn’t that an awesome post?  Be sure to go over and visit Karen’s blog.  Your tastebuds and funny bone will thank you!