Friday Night, Pizza Night: Take 2

Experimental pizza Friday night has been a tradition in our family for over three years. I posted about it three years ago when we started. We don't hit every single Friday, but the ones that we are home for are pizza and movie night. It has also been a great excuse to invite people over. No one would turn down homemade pizza. So pizza night also turned into our friend night and we got to know a lot of people we wouldn't have otherwise.

We actually started pizza night for me originally. It was at a time when I was really struggling in finding direction in my life. I only had one child and as we sat and waited for the next one to come with a few failed attempts I started to get discouraged and wondered what my purpose was except to have children. I needed something to occupy my mind and my time besides thinking about all of the babies that I wanted. I spent a lot of my time researching and finding new recipes, shopping for the ingredients, and making it with the people I loved so much.

Although finding things to occupy my time is NOT a problem for me anymore with three kids, pizza night reminds me of that difficult time and how I found a way to focus on things that I could control instead of those that I could not. It's a tradition that probably won't ever die in our family but will just change with time. The latest discovery being how easy it is to make knock off "Wingers" wings to go with that pizza (Shad's specialty).

I love the versatility of pizza. You really can put anything on pizza. I also found an awesome pizza dough recipe that makes it way easy. I love this recipe because you can actually make the dough a night or even days in advance and stick it in the fridge. It actually makes it better. We tried a lot of different dough recipes in the beginning and this one just couldn't be beat.

Here are a few tips that we found in making pizza if you want to try it yourself:

1. ALWAYS use a pizza stone. You just have to. It is not the same if you don't.

2. Heat your oven to 475-500 degrees with the pizza stone in the oven for up to an hour. You want the sucker good and hot so it cooks the crust quickly and lightly melts the cheese. The toppings don't need to be "cooked" anyway.

3. Use a pizza peel, or something like it, to pull the pizzas in and out of the oven. We were too cheap to buy one until just 6 months ago and were using two pieces of masonite board Shad had wrapped in wax paper along with some big spatulas. I wish I would have taken a picture of us using it before we got rid of it because it was pretty hilarious. We are pretty awesome at "jimmy rigging." If you plan on making pizza a lot, buy a peel. We use a thin metal one like this one. It does the job and more.

4. Cornmeal is your best friend. You must use cornmeal on the underside of your pizza before you put the toppings on or it won't be sliding off of that peel onto the pizza stone. Test it out and make sure it slides easily before you put the toppings on. There is nothing worse than making a pretty pizza and having it destroyed as you try to put it in the oven because you didn't put enough cornmeal. The cornmeal also helps to give the crust a little "crunch," for lack of a better word.

5. My dough recipe only takes 9-10 minutes in a hot oven to bake. Watch your pizza carefully.

6. Only use mozzarella cheese. I grew up with cheddar cheese pizza. I never loved homemade pizza. Now I know it was mostly the cheese that was the problem.

7. When the pizza comes out, take a stick of butter and rub it all over the crust and sprinkle powdered parmesan cheese or this yummy mixture. You will thank me when you get to the end of your pizza.

8. Try making your own pizza sauce on the spot. Shad has mastered this. He throws a combination of fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian spices, and fresh garlic into the food processor and "WALA!" Enough sauce for one pizza!

9. Having a double oven is awesome. That is all.

10. Don't be afraid to try new combinations but also make a pepperoni pizza every time for back up. Most of the time our kids aren't as adventurous as us.

Here are a few recipes that we have tried in the past. Some have made it to the table more than others but I can say that there really wasn't one that we absolutely hated. The kids even liked most of them.

 You'll have to forgive me on the pictures. I am usually so anxious to eat when the pizza comes out that I have a hard time getting a good picture or really a picture at all sometimes. Most of these pictures were taken years ago. We are due to try a few more pizzas here soon. Shad said he is getting tired of these combinations.

CPK Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza
Somewhere online

This one is still one of my favorites. The spicy chicken with the sweet sauce base and touches of roasted peppers just makes it awesome.
You can go all crazy and look up a Jamaican Jerk sauce for the base or you can just buy this:

It is pretty amazing stuff. The first time we made this I was at the store in search of all of the ingredients to make the sauce and this was sitting on the shelf for about $5. Totally worth it. I'm always about taking the easy way out. Makes this pizza a winner for me every week. It's also great on chicken and other things too. If you are only using it for this pizza it lasts a long time when you are only using 1/2-1 cup each time.

Anyway, that is the base for the pizza. Just pour it right on the crust right out of the bottle.

Toppings:

- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast- pounded thin

- 2 tsp. Jerk seasoning (McCormick makes this but you can also just put your own combination of spicy spices like cayenne, paprika, chill power, etc. The key is that the chicken is SPICY)

*Rub the jerk seasoning all over the chicken and grill or pan fry. I stick it on my little George Forman 

- 1/4 cup thin sliced yellow onion

- 1/3 cup roasted red/yellow peppers (I do my own. If you don't know how here is a great tutorial)

- 1/4 cup crispy bacon

- 1 T. green onions

- Mozzarella Cheese

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza

Food.com

- Chicken Breast, cooked and cut into cubes

- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (any variety)

- Mozzarella Cheese

- 2 T. chopped, fresh cilantro

- 2 T. smoked gouda cheese (we've never used this. I could never find it at the grocery store)

- 1/4 red onion, sliced thin (I usually use yellow since I have that on hand)

Coat chicken in 2T. BBQ sauce. Spread the rest on the base of pizza. Top with remaining toppings, except for the cilantro which is added after baking.

BLT Pizza

Family Fun Magazine

- 9 strips bacon

- 2 T. Dijon mustard

- 4 oz Mozz cheese

- 2 oz Parm cheese (or just use all Mozz)

- 2 medium tomatoes

- 1/2 T. lemon juice

- 1 T. Mayonnaise (kraft "spicy Mayo" is pretty amazing)

- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

- 2 Cups finely shredded romaine lettuce

- Avocado, sliced (optional)

Top pizza with Dijon mustard, then cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Bake. Mix lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and romaine lettuce. Cool pizza 5 minutes then top with lettuce mixture and sliced avocado.

Ultimate California Moon Doggie Pizza

Food.com

- 1/4 cup pesto sauce

- 6 oz grilled chicken breast

- 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (or 1/2 can)

- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes

- Mozzarella Cheese

Top pizza with pesto sauce, cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and sliced chicken breast. Bake.

CPK Thai Chicken Pizza

Food.com

We have only made this one once and it was a long time ago so I don't remember it too well except for that it was kind of different. We have been thinking of making it again soon. 

*This makes 2 bigger pizzas

Spicy peanut sauce (base)

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (great for lettuce wraps too!)

- 1 T. honey

- 2 tsp red wine vinegar

- 2 tsp minced ginger (or more if you wish)

- 2 minced garlic cloves

- 2 T. toasted sesame oil

- 2 tsp soy sauce

- 1 tsp Vietnamese chili sauce (or dried chili flakes)

- 1 T. oyster sauce

- 2 T. water

Toppings:

- 10 oz cooked chicken breast- cut into cubes

- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

- 4 scallions, slivered diagonally

- 1/2 cup white bean sprouts

- 1/4 cup shredded carrot

- 2 T. chopped roasted peanuts

- 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

- *We also added mushrooms

Directions:

Combine sauce ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to boil; boil gently for one minute. Divide into 2 portions for use on chicken and pizza; set aside. Coat the chicken with 1/4 cup sauce. Set aside in refrigerator. Spread sauce over pizza. Cover with cheese, green onions, bean sprouts, carrots, chicken, and peanuts. Transfer to oven and bake. Sprinkle cilantro on top after removed from oven.

Greek Pizza

allrecipes.com

This one wasn't my favorite. Shad seemed to like it better than I did. I couldn't get over the mayonnaise base. If you wanted to I bet you could substitute Greek yogurt, but I have never tried.

- 1/2 cup mayonnaise

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped

- 1 T. oil from the sun dried tomatoes

- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (we used black olives)

- 1 tsp dried oregano

- 2 cups baby spinach leaves

- 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

Mix mayonnaise, garlic, and 1/2 cup feta in a small bowl. Spread mixture over pizza, then top with tomatoes, olives, and oregano. Bake. Toss spinach and onion with the 1 Tb. sun-dried tomato oil. Top hot pizza with spinach mixture and remaining 1/2 cup feta cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts about 2 minutes longer. 

Alfredo Pizza

myself

This is one that I have been making long before we started having regular pizza nights at our house. We really liked alfredo so I made a pizza with all of the fixin's on it. Recently Shad made a version of this and used an alfredo packet but added extra sauteed garlic to it and thickened it a little more. It was very yummy. 

- 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce (make your own, canned, or from a packet. I prefer packets. They make about a cup of sauce and they only cost $.33)

- grilled chicken

- olives

- tomatoes

- mushrooms

- Mozzarella cheese

- spinach (optional)

- bacon (optional)

- Italian seasoning

Spread the alfredo sauce as your base. Sprinkle with cheese and toppings. Bake. 

Negative

Gracie's 18 month doctor appointment was scheduled for 2 weeks after Jack's diagnosis. I'm glad there was a little bit of a gap between the two because it gave me time to gear up for what the doctor might find wrong with Gracie. I really was expecting the worst.

She is a petite little girl and her developmental strides have been small in the past few months. I know it is not always good to compare your children to others, but at this point I needed to in order to know if I should be worried about her. This shows you just how tiny she is:

- She wears 3-6 month or sz 1 shoes. On a lot of her shoes I have actually have hot glued traction onto the bottom since they don't expect 3-6 month olds to be able to walk. She would fall flat on her face with our slippery wood floor otherwise.

These were bought last Christmas when she was
6 months old and are just now fitting her.

-She wears sz 3 diapers, but could technically still fit into sz 2 pretty comfortably.

- Most of her clothes are 6-12 months size. I am currently putting away the 6 month old pajamas (also didn't have any traction)

- Her hands still look like 3 month old hands to me. Small hands run in the family though, so that doesn't surprise me quite so much.

- She is still in her infant car seat and may not reach the weight limit until she is at least 2.

- People have commented on what a smart 9 month old I have to be walking and jabbering like she is. They are always surprised when I tell them how old she really is.

Our past doctor didn't worry too much about her, but now we were going to a new pediatrician, the same one who diagnosed Jack, and I kept thinking about what else this new doctor might find in my children.

My suspicions were correct that she was small, although I was surprised that she had gained less than two pounds in the last 6 months. I thought she would have at least gained 5. She at least felt heavier to me.

She is not even on the charts for her weight (16lbs 12 oz) and her height (28.75in). Although she is following Evans suit with a larger head for her body at 25%. At least we know her brain is growing.

Developmentally she is on the lowest end of the spectrum but she is starting to catch up now that she can walk. She talks like crazy and most of what she can't do is because of her size. However, I still am currently looking into some intervention just to give her a little jump start.

As for her tiny body: The doctor recommended first a celiac test since that can inhibit growth. We immediately went to the lab to get her celiac blood test. They called the next day and it came back negative. That was a huge relief to me. Before I knew her results I started looking into what it would take to do a gluten free diet for our family in addition to Jack's diabetic diet and I was completely overwhelmed.

Next the doctor recommended a chloride sweat test to detect cystic fibrosis. We made an appointment for the next day at Primary Children's since I was already going to be down there for Jack's diabetic class. The only appointment they had open for the test was 8:00 am. Ahhh! There was no way I was leaving our house at 6:00 AM with two children in tow, so we stayed the night at my grandma's who lives close to the hospital. Jack's class was at 9:00 AM, which I ended up missing because they didn't start Gracie's test until 8:30. I was not a happy mom that morning. Luckily they had an unusually large amount of new diabetic patients in the last 2 months and were holding an afternoon class to accommodate everyone. Someone was watching out for me that day!

The sweat test was the most interesting test I have ever seen. It is one that has been done to detect cystic fibrosis since the 60's. I actually don't really know why this type of test is done, but they said it is the best indicator what whether someone has cystic fibrosis that they have found.

First they put cloth on her forearms and hooked her up to a machine that stimulates the sweat glads. They said it kind of feels like having your arms get tingly and fall asleep. They had her on the machine for 5 minutes. She pretty much screamed through all of that 5 minutes.

Then, they put a clean piece of gauze on both of her arms and wrapped them multiple times in plastic wrap, then in bandages, a heating pack, and a reflective blanket. This has to be left on for 30 minutes and then they remove it all and collect the sweat drenched gauze at the bottom which can tell them whether or not her sweat is salty enough to indicate cystic fibrosis. Really weird.

During the 30 minute wait we got to walk around the hospital. She was really freaked out by all of the wrapping at first but soon got used to it as we roamed the halls and everyone told me how darling she was.

The next day the results were back. Negative. Thank goodness. I really was not sure I could handle another diagnosis. The Dr. told us to keep feeding her bacon grease and get her weighed every few months. If she doesn't progress then we can look into something else. She is tiny, but at least we know it is just because she is tiny and not because of something else. A piece of mind (at least for right now) was worth every little bit of crying and sweating that went on that morning.  

The Life of a Super Hero

During the month of November Jack said to me on more than one occasion that he was a super hero. He would say "Mom, I'm super Jack-Jack, and you are super mommy." This is significant to me because on December 16, 2013 Jack was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and really did become my super hero.

It has been a whirlwind the past couple of weeks and I have had a lot of people asking me questions. I have been meaning to write this post for a while to help answer some of these questions and I am just now getting to it. I am by no means an expert about diabetes. With this disease you learn by fire. We are still in the fire, so I am still learning something new everyday. There is a lot of trial and error involved and a huge learning curve involved. I'm sure by the time I get it all figured out Jack will be ready to do it all on his own.

Hopefully this post will help educate some of our family and friends on diabetes.  If nothing else it will help me to write down and review the information for myself. I honestly didn't know anything about diabetes before Jack was diagnosed except for that it involved high blood sugar and insulin.

Here are a few of the questions that I have been asked:

What is Diabetes?
I thought this video from youtube would be better at explaining diabetes than I could. It is 2 minutes long and explains it in a way that my 6 year old can understand.

Right now Jack is in what they call the "honeymoon" stage where his body is still producing some insulin, although it is a guessing game to know how much. My Dr. described it as wringing out a wet rag. You never really know how long you will be able to get a few drips out. It can last for weeks or months. This is why getting his dosages correct right now is kind of a guessing game.

What are the signs for Diabetes?
Of course when I talk to other moms about Jack being diagnosed they want to know what the signs are so that they can make sure their own children don't have any symptoms. It is something that can really sneak up on you. Especially in toddlers because a lot of the signs are common for really any toddler.

- increased thirst
- increased (or decreased) hunger
- increased urination
- weakness or fatigue
- weight loss
- blurry vision
- fast, deep breathing
- slow or confused thinking

The last few symptoms come when your blood sugar has reached its max. Your body starts breaking down your fat causing you to go into what is called DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis). It can be a very scary thing and these kids are very sick.

Fortunately, we caught Jack very early. Looking back I am not sure how long he was really showing signs of diabetes. The only signs that I saw were the week before his yearly check-up. He was always asking for water, peeing about every hour, waking up at night in a panic to use the bathroom, and fighting us at every meal to get him to eat.

I have told many people this, but I honestly think that the spirit was prompting me that something wasn't right and told me to ask questions. Two, almost 3 yr olds, are like this, so I have no other reason why I was lead to get him checked out. One night as Shad and I laid in bed my mind went to a conversation that I had with one of my friends whose son was diagnosed recently. I asked her what the signs were and she talked about frequent urination and loosing weight. Shad and I looked up all of the symptoms of diabetes, and although I didn't think they sounded like Jack at the time, I couldn't get the thought of diabetes off my mind.

This is what led me to ask the Dr. at his appointment a few days later. This was the first time that we had seen our new pediatrician and I wasn't sure how seriously he would take my concern, however, he immediately had him tested in the office and his A1C (a sample of blood that can tell the doctors what your blood glucose has been like in the past 3-4 months) indicated that he was indeed diabetic. He was an 8.7 where as a normal A1C is around 6.5

Honestly I was in a little bit of shock, especially when the doctor told us to pack our bags and get down to primary children's hospital in Salt Lake that night and expect to spend the next 2 days there. As we left the office I just kept thinking "but he's not sick." However, I heard from a number of people how lucky we were in finding out in this way. Unfortunately a lot of cases go unnoticed until something serious happens and they have no choice but to go to the hospital. I was able to finish my laundry, let Jack finish his nap, and have dinner with my parents before we were admitted into the hospital.

I wasn't always a believer in getting those yearly check-ups done with my children. I always did, but they were always healthy so I never worried. Now I know just how important they are. What if I would have put it off or not done it at all? What if I wouldn't have followed the promptings and asked questions? The timing couldn't have been any better.

So, my advice to all of the moms that have asked me if they should get their children checked because of things they have noticed, I would say "it doesn't hurt." Ask questions. All it takes is a urine test or a little finger poke for a peace of mind.

What causes type 1 diabetes?
Type 1 is more common in children or adolescents. It is the result of an autoimmune process, which is basically like a case of mistaken identity. Your body's immune system, which is responsible for protecting your body from invading illness, attacks your own healthy tissue by mistake. With type 1, the autoimmune process attacks the pancreas, damaging it so it can't produce enough insulin.

Scientists aren't sure what triggers the autoimmune process but there are two factors that seem to play a role:

- Genetics. People with diabetes are more likely to have inherited certain genes that make them vulnerable to the disease.

Jack doesn't have any immediate relatives with type 1, although my teenage cousin was diagnosed a few years ago and Shad also has a cousin with type 1. My other children will be tested since it does seem to run in families.

- Environment.  Something sets off, or "triggers," the autoimmune process in a person with a genetic tendency toward diabetes. The trigger could be a virus, a chemical, stress, or something else the person encounters in daily life.

I have wondered since diagnosis if all of the stress of moving to grandma's house and then to our new house this past year could have been his "trigger." Not to say that if we didn't move this wouldn't have happened. If it wasn't moving, it would have been something else later on. Diabetes doesn't happen suddenly, although it did seem that way. It happens over a matter of months or years in where the beta cells (those that produce insulin in the pancreas) are under attack. This is how they can actually test to see if you are at an increased risk for diabetes before you even show visible signs. The damage to the beta cells is detectable through tests.

Is it possible to grow out of type 1 diabetes?
No, Jack will have this for the rest of his life. He will need to manage his blood sugar through food and insulin until they find a cure, until someone creates an artificial pancreas, or until the resurrection comes. This sounds a little daunting to me. I try not to think about it too much and take one day at a time.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Jack won't know any different once he gets older. This will be a way of life for him and something he will have always known. For those that are diagnosed later in childhood or adolescence know what it was like to live without diabetes.

How do you treat type 1 diabetes?
Diabetes is treated with basically two things: Food and insulin. Food brings the blood glucose up and insulin brings it back down (so essentially food is like medicine for Jack). Our goal is to keep Jack's blood sugar within a target range at all times. Since Jack produces no insulin (or will eventually produce no insulin) his blood sugar has to be treated using artificial insulin. This can be given through a shot or a pump that is attached to the body (something we hope to get before he starts school.)

There are two types of insulin:

- Long acting (basal): taken once a day and lasts 24 hours. This insulin stays in his body for a longer period of time and essentially gives him a small dose of insulin throughout the day to keep him in check. This dose stays the same everyday, but changes slightly as he grows and needs more insulin.

- Meal insulin (bolus): taken every time he eats. Since food brings up the blood sugar, this has to be counteracted with a calculated amount of insulin based on what he eats. For those without diabetes our bodies do this naturally based on what we eat.

 This is the tricky part of diabetes because everything that he eats has to be counted for carbohydrates to see how much insulin he will need for that particular food. If it is not calculated correctly or food is taken without insulin it could cause a high or low blood sugar which can cause complications.

Right now since he is on his "honeymoon" and doesn't eat very much he hardly ever has to have a bolus shot and is on a very low dose for his basal shot. Almost enough that it makes me wonder if it is worth dosing him at all.

Obviously, it is impossible to keep him completely within target range all of the time. You are continually correcting the highs with additional insulin and the lows with additional snacks. The goal is really to just make sure that everything stays in check all of time (or MOST of the time). As long as you know what is going on then corrections can be made. This is why we check Jack before he puts anything into his mouth so that we know how to treat him. We also check him even when he doesn't put anything in his mouth just for peace of mind. This includes checks at 2:00 am, which he hardly ever wakes up for.

How is Jack taking all of this?
Honestly, for anyone who knows Jack knows what a happy and carefree kid he is. Although he doesn't like the shots entirely well, and he would prefer not to check his blood when all he wants is a few crackers, I think he has accepted this new way of life already. The needles are so small that you really can't even feel them and I think he is already starting to develop some calluses on his tiny fingers.

He still can to anything that any other normal 3 yr old can do. His diet has not changed at all. He can still have snacks, candy, and his beloved peanut butter and honey sandwiches. He is not limited to a "sugar free" diet. Just like any kid, it is important for him to have a balanced diet and that still includes sweets. However, now everything he eats has to be counted, calculated, and a possible shot given. I think it will make him value what he eats that much more once he gets older.

How is our family handling this?
It has been a lifestyle change, a stress, a learning experience, but also a huge testimony builder for us. We have already learned to rely on the Lord for help and never to ignore promptings when they come (which I am sure will become more frequent than ever.) Haken has learned the value of empathy (a topic for another post), and Gracie has learned that she is not always going to be the center of the universe with our attention turned to other things lately.

We are taking it in stride, but that is because we have been blessed by some of the most amazing doctors, support groups, ward members, friends, and family. We have a stable job with insurance (something I will never take for granted again), and have had confirmation after confirmation of why/when/where things need to happen.

When I see my sweet little boy's fingers already developing "prick marks" my heart hurts a little, but then I realize that he is alive and I will take seeing that little drop of blood every few hours to see his sweet little smile every second of the day. Being a diabetic is not what it used to be. We live in a day when it is better understood and controlled than it has ever been.

It is an adjustment (probably the biggest understatement of my life), but nothing we can't handle. People do this everyday and we are going to take this disease one day at a time because being a super hero isn't supposed to be easy.