A Diagnosis and Chai Tea Cupcakes

So another intensely busy week has begun. I feel a little overwhelmed with all the appointments and meetings for Davey, and the etsy shop orders keep piling up. I've had so many custom orders with specific deadlines in the past couple of weeks that I've stayed up past midnight every night and risen at 6:00 am just trying to keep up.
As many of you have been probably been wondering, we did receive an "official" diagnosis for Davey last week. After his long morning appointment with a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, child psychiatrist, and pediatrician, Davey has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. I have in hand an Autism Speaks 100 Day Kit that is helping us understand a little more of what the future is going to be like with this diagnosis. We still have a lot to learn, and tomorrow we will be discussing specific therapy options and preschool possibilities with the special education therapists. I am still processing the diagnosis - amazed that God found us worthy to undertake such a task and terrified of the responsibility and life changes.

I'll keep you all updated on our little man as we continue through this process. Davey did amazingly well throughout the long process and especially enjoyed the physical therapy room with its balance beams and bouncy balls. The therapist discovered that Davey has very little core strength, causing sitting up and climbing up into his car seat to be an exhausting task. This is why he has such poor balance and has difficulty doing simple tasks, like walking backwards or jumping off a step.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share a recipe I discovered recently when I was getting ready for a premiere jewelry party. I made these chai tea latte cupcakes - divine! and so here is the recipe:
Vanilla Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 oz butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
dash of salt
1 or 2 chai tea bags
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place liners into cupcake pan.(recipe make about twelve)
Heat up milk on stove, remove from stove. Place tea bags into milk, cover and steep for 5-10 minutes.
Cream sugar and butter together. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in milk.
Sift flour, baking powder, spices and salt together. Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
Divide batter into cupcake liners. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool before frosting with your favorite buttercream frosting. Sprinkle with cinnamon. :)

Yummo! Happy Monday all!

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Eggs!

Life As Mom is hosting her weekly recipe swap as usual, and this week's theme is eggs. As I happened to create an egg dish just the other day for dinner, I thought I would participate. That, and I don't have enough brain cells today to come up with a more meaningful post. :) haha

So my recipe is for Scrambled Egg Pizza.

You need:

* 5 eggs

*a little milk

* can of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10)

* maple syrup

* your favorite cheese - we used Colby Jack

* some cooked slices of bacon, or a cup of chopped ham

To make:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take out an ungreased cookie sheet or pizza pan.

2. Open your can of biscuits and arrange them on the pan, with sides touching and in the shape of a long rectangle (2 biscuits in each row). Lightly glide a rolling pin over the biscuits to push them together. Pinch shut any "holes" between biscuits.

3. Drizzle the biscuit dough with maple syrup - the more, the better, of course.

4. Scramble the eggs with a little milk in the microwave. Remove eggs from microwave and spread over the biscuit dough.

5. Sprinkle bacon pieces or chopped ham (or both!) over the eggs.

6. Finally, shred your cheese over the whole thing until it looks sufficiently cheesy.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 11-13 minutes, until edges of biscuit dough are lightly browned.

8. Serve immediately.

I actually made two of these the other night for dinner, expecting my family's appetites to be greater than they actually were. And thus I discovered that this recipe does not reheat well, but is best served right away.

My picky picky toddlers loved this and ate all of their pizza slices, including the Beast, who has strongly professed his disdain of scrambled eggs. Go figure!

You can find many more eggy recipes at Life as Mom, and of course share your own.