Calming Down...

Today was a crazy day. First of all, it was St. Patrick's Day. My kids were off the chain! They came dressed in all shades of green and were SO excited to bring the leprechaun catchers they had created to school. We did some projects and then went on a leprechaun hunt. I added to the hype by turning over some chairs in the classroom and tossing some glitter around while they were at art. They were totally convinced a leprechaun had been in our classroom. It was SO cute! One of the best parts of teaching (other than snow days and you know I love my snow days!) is that kids can really take your mind off your stress. This morning I was still fuming about the whole homestudy thing but forgot all about it until I left work at 4:30 this afternoon. I love that my kiddos can give me some joy during the day! Here are a couple of them at the end of the day still looking for that tricky leprechaun!


When I left work I tried my social worker again. He claims my homestudy was sent to CIS today.
I hope so. He said a copy was sent to me. If I don't get it by Friday I am going to raise all hell cause I also just learned that it's approximately a nine week turnaround to get the I171H. I can pretty much kiss a summer court date good-bye. As eager as I was to get in before the courts closed, deep down I knew that wasn't really likely. I am still hopeful I can get my bambino in 2009 but I am not sure. Thanks for the supportive comments on the last post. Several people did say that it I need to just trust the timing because my daughter will come to me at the perfect time, and I believe that to be true.

So, I came home and made some dinner. The old me would have eaten a pint of Ben and Jerry's to self-soothe (ok, who am I kidding? the new me could easily do that, too) but tonight I decided to just cook a quick healthy meal and focus on other things. Rachel posted an easy recipe and I tried it tonight. I sauteed some garlic in olive oil, added black beans and tomatoes, and salt to taste.


I, then, added some sliced avocado and ate it with tortilla chips and an O'Doul's. Pretty darn tasty.


And then I topped off the whole meal with a homemade vegan brownie. The surprise ingredient is zucchini! I was a bit unsure of how they would taste but they are really good! They are more the consistently of cake than brownies but trust me, I know my chocolate desserts, and they are great. Honestly, I can't see ever making my child brownies from a mix when these are so much healthier and can give her a serving of vegetables as well. Try them. I highly recommend!

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini

ICING
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.
To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and butter; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

(I didn't make the frosting as it's not vegan, but I posted it as it was part of the recipe)