Adventures in the Frozen Section

I have a mini rant brewing, that if given the chance would become a full blown tantrum. So I'm going to get it off my chest in hopes that it will subside.

I. Am. Frustrated.

I specifically asked my child's preschool teacher at the time of Kate's diagnosis to please let me know ahead of time if there were any special treats planned so that I could accommodate her. I didn't ask for special treatment, just a heads up.

I am usually the last mom to pick up in the afternoon, so I usually get a minute to visit with the teachers, giving them plenty of opportunity to notify me of upcoming events. They send home backpacks everyday, so they could send a note. And they have my home and cell numbers if they want to call.

There has been ONE time that they have given me advanced notice, meaning not the morning of, but the day before, that a special snack is needed. Otherwise, I walk in at 9:13 and am told that they will be having a (insert snack here) at 9:45.

I. Am. Frustrated.

There are several grocery stores within 10 minutes of the school, and I have run out and back in time once, only because they had a fire drill and that bought me a few extra minutes, but still. I try to be prepared, and when I don't have notice, I am not prepared. And who suffers? MY THREE YEAR OLD WHO CAN'T DO A HELL OF A LOT ABOUT IT!!!!

Urrrrggh.

So this morning, I am told that the snack for Thursday will be an Eskimo Pie and a sugar cookie. Which is a lot of sugar for a gaggle of three and four year olds, but that is beside the point. Sort of. But as it turns out, the Eskimo Pie was supposed to be a "science experiment" for today, but they decided not to do it because they didn't give notice to the parents with children with dietary restrictions. And the sugar cookie is a "reward" to be given after their little "graduation" program. Which reinforces food as reward for a job done. Right?

I digress. So I drive to the HEB and find these super yummy dairy and gluten free Eskimo Pie-ish treats made with coconut milk and agave sugar. And I have plenty of recipes for sugar cookies, no big whoop.

I go pick up Kate and tell her teachers that "Yay, Kate will be included in the snack on Thursday, I found her some GF Eskimo Pie thingie!" To which they respond, "Oh, well they actually decided to do ice cream sandwiches instead."

Wha wahhhh.

Totally different story. Now I am not appreciative of the heads up, I am irked.

And they're like, oh, she can just have the one you bought and the other kids will have ice cream sandwiches! Which kinda defeats the purpose of the heads up! I know it's similar but it's not the same and I don't want Kate to always always always feel different!

So they tell me to tell her she's special or that her food is special and that's why she gets something else. Which is not really what I think we should be telling her. I know she's special, but not because of her Celiac. And is her baby sister not special because she's not Celiac?

She has a different diet because she has Celiac disease.

She's special because she is smart and strong and sassy and sweet all at the same time. She's special because she is a strong swimmer and has an elephant's memory and is super tall and my beautiful, tender hearted child. She's special because she loves loves loves her sister and Jesus and taught herself how to take pictures with my iPhone just this very morning.

And I believe that it is a big deal and it is not a big deal at the same time, and we are still muddling through it, and I appreciate all the support we can get. It's not bad to be different, but it can be really hard. And I can just hear her in about 10 years saying, "Mo-om! Stop telling me it's because I'm special! I just want an OREO!"

So that is my little rant/tantrum.

In other news, I made amazing GF cinnamon rolls for my family last weekend, I am going to try to make them again and freeze half of the batch. I found the recipe on The Baking Beauties blog. She has some really delicious stuff cooking up over there.

http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2011/01/best-gluten-free-cinnamon-buns-or-rolls.html

I used my brother-in-crime Matt's recipe for the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese
1/4 c butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and smooth, then beat in the milk and vanilla, beat until smooth, add the powdered sugar and cinnamon, beat until smooth. If it is too stiff, add more milk about a teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.

You will not regret making these. Honestly, they were way better than the canned rolls and were as good if not better than the ones Matt makes with wheat flour. They took me about an hour of work, not counting time to rise, but they were incredible! I made them on Saturday night and put them in the fridge for breakfast on Sunday, and it made an entire 9x13 pan full of cinnamon glory, with leftovers for Monday, as well. And you only use half of a box of pudding mix, so you can fold that puppy up and put it in the fridge for next time.

Thanks for listening to my little rant, friends. To sum it up, I stopped at Kroger on the way home and spent $7.50 on four GF ice cream sandwiches. So as much as I feel like they had better be amazingly good at almost $2 a piece, if Kate is happy and included, they are worth every penny to me.