Sustainable Christmas Gifts for Kids

I am getting way excited about the gifts I've gotten for the kids, especially the ones that were "found." To me it gives the gifts more meaning because this practice is one way that we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. Some of the items we are gifting were passed our way and we have been saving for the occasion. Some of them we "rescued" from the thrift store, and I still need to clean them up and add the finishing touches for Christmas morning. My kids are going to be thrilled! I hope to post pictures of some of those in posts to come, but first, here is my current sustainable gift I have ready to give.

This little gal is a 2004 Cabbage Patch Kid that I rescued some weeks ago. Although in great shape, when rescued her, she was only wearing a bow in her hair and an undershirt. I've worked on her hair and made her a dress from an old shirt that I thought had a cute print, (and also some pleats that I integrated into the bodice.)

I save old fabrics that come my way, as well as old ripped or stained clothing that cannot be donated. They all go in boxes, and when I want to make something, I just dig through the boxes. I always find what I need. I love the reconstructing process. Much to my husband's dismay, the boxes of fabric are always floating around in inconvenient places, but he does always support me in my recycling ways. My next project will be to find a better way to organize the stuff.

Even though the little girl this is going to won't care, I decided that she reminds me of a young Emma Woodhouse from the Jane Austen novel. She will love her Emma!

Procrastination

I am sitting here writing a blog post in order to postpone ordering supplements. I know, it's bad. I love the supplements and what they do. I know that they are necessary and to put off keeping the supply up is just not a good idea. It's just the drain on the bank account that I dread.

Earlier this week I stopped in for parent-teacher conferences. I heard my son sincerely described as "highly intelligent." I actually chuckled. The irony was not lost on me. You have to understand that I have never doubted the intelligent nature of my child. It's just that I have spent lots of years just trying to help him be a normal, functional, happy boy. My seven year old son who has developed his own method of speed reading is still learning how to tie his shoe. Ironic, yes?

I am extremely grateful for the experience I had a the conference. Learning more about how my son functions academically helps me to understand his lack of patience at times. He already gets it, and he is bored. He wants to move on and explore his ideas and create.

Understanding this is already helping me to be to appreciate his creative side even more. It is helping me to be more willing to make myself available for his projects he wants help with at times. We made airplanes this week from a children's book that was published in 1978. (That really appealed to my vintage-loving side.) I understand why he is so relentless about soliciting my help at times. I was a creative child as well, and when I could not follow through with my ideas because, 'Oh, I can't find the scissors,' that was way frustrating. I am hoping that by encouraging his projects, he will also make gains by way of fine motor skills, which he really needs.  

Allergen Free Thanksgiving

Our first holiday with our son on a special diet was Thanksgiving. We celebrated that first major holiday at home, with our own turkey and trimmings. We have learned so much since that first holiday!
 
Sometimes when you have a child with autism on a special diet, the holidays almost seem to become a battle of survival for a parent. My first impulse was to simply stay home all the time and not go anywhere, but the reality is that it was something that needed to be faced and worked through. We needed to enjoy the holidays, see friends, and ultimately teach our child how to function outside the home in terms of behavior and the diet situation.

Our first holiday away from home was at Eli's grandparent's. We did quite well in terms of diet. Everyone was so understanding and supportive. I think the only deviation from the diet was the accidental Dorito that Eli got his hands on. While that was a pretty big "Oops," noways we have learned to provided substitute chips.

Questions that swarm my brain when it comes to holidays include, "What will be served at this gathering? Will people be understanding of me if I bring my child something different to eat? Will my child be understanding of having something different?" These are things that run through my head for every event at school, every birthday party, and every holiday. I have come to learn to anticipate events and I am generally becoming better prepared for them all the time.

We have found that the key to successful gatherings is lots of the communication with the host, including asking lots of annoying questions! Our hosts do not seem to mind all my probing questions about how they prepare turkey, potatoes, etc. At a recent gathering, our host even set aside potatoes and beans for us before adding the allergens in his recipe. We took some of our favorites to share, and was a great gathering.

Nowdays, we have Eli, Little Bear, and myself on the special diet. Fortunately, we have learned over the years to not only survive Thanksgiving, but also to really enjoy it with our favorite recipes. We took Roast Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Walnuts to our recent gathering, and they were a big hit! Thank you to Kim Wilson for that recipe and also for her Cranberry Relish. The two together are just divine, and I can't imagine us having another Thanksgiving without them. Click on the names of the recipes in this text to view them.

Halloween Candy

      No Halloween post on this blog would be complete without a follow up on what we did with all the candy! I used to love candy, but now it is almost a bad word! All of it's sugar, corn syrup, dyes, hydrogenated fats, chocolate, (and the list goes on,) are detrimental to to all of the hard work we do to help our son recover.
      Last year I posted about the monster box. The 'monster box' was created out of desperation. Eli had discovered what Trick-or-Treating was and wanted to go. I am happy to say that the 'monster box' was a success again this year. We added things like a Transformers activity book, Spiderman rubber stamps, a 50 cent piece, and other loose change. We were even super brave and let him have one little organic lollipop. (He really wanted to try a piece of candy this year, and we felt that providing the 'safest' one would help him not feel deprived. Our hope is that by doing things like that we can prevent rebellion when it comes to diet as he gets older.)
      The pictures in the previous post were from a Halloween carnival that we went to the weekend before Halloween. On the actual day of, Little Bear was not well, and Jason was not available, so hi s sweet Aunt and Uncle took him out Trick-or-Treating. He lasted a total of about 35 minutes. Let's just say he does not have much of an attention span!
      The candy I 'buy' from him when he exchanges with the 'monster box' goes in the pantry and it usually goes to his dad's lunches. Mom used to have the biggest sweet tooth in the house, but now that I am 'grown up' I have learned that my ADD is on the autism spectrum, which explains why I have many of the same food sensitivities as my son with autism. My posts on discovering our sensitivities are here and here. Nowdays I probably could not eat a 'fun size' Snickers without spending a day in bed. So not worth it....

Halloween

We were all Wizard of Oz characters this year for Halloween. Of course, our Orson stole the show with his Lion costume. Eli had a great time as Tin Man. Jason went as the Scarecrow, and that left me with the only female character. There were some great benefits to using recycled materials to make the kid's costumes. They did not cost me anything and they were simple and fun. I made them from things I had around the house. Eli's used 2 vinegar jugs, a cardboard box, and old shirt, and some black paint and duct tape. Orson's was made from scraps from another project, and two old shirts. Jason and I found our key elements at the local thrift store. I think I will probably be wearing the red keds again. They are cute.

Cunsumer Report on Arsenic

Some very discouraging news has reached me through a fellow mother with a mission. There is now a consumer report that tells us that there is a level of arsenic in rice products that cannot be ignored.

 http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

This report goes so far as to warn that rice milk is not suitable for babies or toddlers. When I took my son off of cow milk, guess what I gave him? You guessed it. When he had a Toxic Element Profile done years ago, we were shocked to see that he did have a touch of arsenic in his system. Now we know where it came from. 

My family currently lives on rice. I have been feeding my family quite large amounts of brown rice in the form of stir fries and pasta for years, because it is the most affordable whole grain we could eat that is not contaminated with gluten. I am at a loss. There are other whole grains that are gluten, corn, and soy free. They are more expensive. They would require me to re-learn how to cook... again.

My current plan for this moment is to "Keep Calm and Carry On,"  and not "Freak Out and Scream." I find it more productive.

For starts, we are currently doing all we can to support our son's methylation cycle, which is our natural system for cleansing the body from toxins. He gets magnesium, folic acid, and B6 everyday, in addition to a slew of other good things. We will at some point do another Toxic Element Profile. It is unfortunately an expense not covered by insurance, but if we find heavy metals, his doctor can oversee a round of chelation therapy to help extract them from his body. We can test his brother, too. (On a side note, his brother has thankfully been drinking almond milk.) I will also at some point ease us into eating more of the expensive, corn free, soy free, and gluten free grains, and less rice. Some lemon doTERRA essential oil in our daily regimen will probably be cleansing as well.

The report mentions that there are producers that plan on doing testing and such, but really, the problem is not really the rice.Ultimately, this issue is a problem that engulfs us all, rice eater or no. When the water we drink and that our food is grown in is poisoning us, it is a global environmental issue. It is about our world and how we care for it. The more toxic our world becomes, the closer the level will come to our toxin tip, and the more health issues we will face. Autism has increased to 1 in 88. Imagine their toxin tip levels, which are lower than the general populous, and imagine what issues we will face if this all continues. 

I'll keep telling myself that 'Freak Out and Scream' is not productive....

Autism Therapist and Vitamin B-12

I have been working on my resume lately. Here is what filled in part of it along with my education and jobs:

Autism Advocate, Independent, August 2008- Present

○    Implementation of the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now) biochemical intervention program

○    Creating behavior plans and charts that are visually engaging and meaningful to student

○    Administering supplement regimen, including oral and injected, and keeping supplies current

○    Developing appropriate meal plans and recipes free of gluten, casein, corn, sugar, dyes, preservatives

○    Engage autistic children in ABA therapy (2009-2010) and art projects (2010-2011) in a classroom setting

○    Blogging on autism topics, resulting in raising awareness of biochemical intervention (2007-Present)

 

 

      I did have "Autism Therapist" as the Job description, but the consensus among friends was that since the workshops and independent study I have done are not 'formal' training and certification, that 'advocate' was a better explanation. Well, I don't disagree, and whatever I am, I am happy to be it. It all started when Eli was three and 1/2. That is when we discovered the DAN! program. Even though we knew it would be hard, especially given our occupation choice, we knew that it was what our son needed.

     As to "administering supplements," that has been an adventure in itself over the last few years. The most recent being a change up in the way that we give B12. We decided that because so often the injections would be a failure, (he would roll over and such in his sleep,) that we would have to give them to him while he is awake. It was rocky at first, but along with a meaningful reward chart, and the numbing cream in tow, he adjusted to it rather quickly. Now B12 is much more regular, and that means more good days! It has been quite an adjustment, but very worth it.

Leftover Surprise

On a diet like ours, where there is lots of cooking from scratch, there is also alot of reinvented leftovers. It is almost mandatory to know how to remake leftovers to serve again the next day. Sometimes my "leftover surprise" is just ok, but this one was a raving success.

Last night I was not well, so I made something super simple. It was brown spaghetti with some marinara stirred in, and a side of peas. That was it, but it was easly and settled nicely.

Every morning Eli insists on pancakes with sunflower seed butter. He is pretty ridged in his routine when it comes to this. I am usually ok with this because it is a cheap way to eat gluten free, dairy free breakfast. This morning though, I was ready to shake up the routine alittle bit. I made the leftover pasta into frittatas. I saw it in an italian cookbook once. Eli loved it. My husband, who does not eat a special diet, (but who is always a good sport about eating it at home,) really enjoyed it as well.

I beat a medium egg in a bowl, added sliced green onion and added about a cup of the marinara gluten free pasta for each frittata. This I stirred together and fried up just like a pancake with some salt and pepper. Here are some fritattas I found on the web. These recipes are likely NOT special diet friendly, (although the last one may be!) It was fun finding them and being inspired.

http://honestfare.com/leftover-spaghetti-frittata/

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2D8123BF931A35751C0A9639C8B63

http://onehungrymama.com/2011/05/recipe-kitchen-aid-leftover-spaghetti-chard-frittata/

http://valuskitchen.com/tag/how-to-use-leftover-pasta/

http://www.i-hate-cooking-recipes.com/leftover-spaghetti-frittata.html

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2012/05/gluten-free-pasta-frittata-with-kale.html

Surprising Summer Findings

      As mentioned in this post, Eli did summer school. As it was winding down to the last few days, I was talking with his student teacher and mentioned my son has autism. She told me that she was wondering what his official diagnosis was, because the student teachers are apparently not allowed to see the actual IEP's. I was surprised to hear that. I told her he was diagnosed as moderate, classic autism at the age of 2 and 1/2. Obviously he does not meet that diagnosis any longer, but I have not had him re-evaluated. I told her, "Nowdays he is much more like a severely ADHD child with speech issues." Even I didn't know I was going to say that as I said it, it was true all the same. I really surprised myself! It has really sunk in how true that is as I have been thinking about it in the weeks since. On one hand, I want to cheer! It is such a miracle that has occurred right under our noses. At the same time though, we are already doing everything I think that a parent of a child with severe ADHD would do on this medically healing path we are on.

      Last week was Eli's first week of his swim lessons since we moved to our new town. I have been very surprised how well he has handled it. He does have some sporadic, excited behavior that is not appropriate. But for the most part, he does what he should, he is not timid, and he is not defiant. His behavior overall last week just got better and better as swimming lessons progressed. (The improvement occurred in the pool and at home.) The only downside has been the allergy bumps on his upper arm from the chemicals in the water. We have only four more days left this week, which is too bad. Perhaps I will need to drive him farther and pay out-of-city rates to take him to an indoor pool, as this outdoor city pool in our town will not be offering any more sessions. I think we may have found what our son needs to make more progress. It really does make sense to me. With his slightly disfunctioning nervous system, the water pressing on him at all sides feels good to him and helps him relax. ("Oh, now I can feel my arms better, so I can control them more.") After all, Michael Phelps was once an ADHD kid taking swimming lessons, so he would stay out of trouble! Perhaps swimming just clicks for kids with autism/ADHD.

     I had such plans for doing speech at home, and I have not gotten myself to adhere to a program the whole summer! It is terrible because he needs it so much. At the same time though, with his improved behavior with the swimming lessons, I have been able to do more correcting in our everyday conversation. He has been more willing to "say it again" and repeat after me when he needs to correct something. He has not been getting mad or defiant like he has before. If I can get this to continue, it will be like speech lessons everyday at our house and things will improve rapidly, I think.

    Through all of this, Little Bear has gotten to be one mobile baby. His is crawling and climbing everywhere, with a smile on his happy face!

Being Bad

My mom treat tonight is:

1/2 batch of Augason Farms Gluten Free Basic Cookie Mix
- substituting 1 tablespoon milled flax mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water for the egg
- also 5 drops Wild Orange DoTERRA essential oil in place of vanilla

And yes, I can polish these off on my own if occasion requires! :)

What is your favorite gluten free treat?

Summer, New School, and FOOD

        Summer is always a challenge, whether your child is typical or not. We have been blessed to participate in a summer school program this year with the local university, even though our son does not qualify for summer services with the school district. He did it last summer, and is now looking at finishing up his second summer with them next week. The class is even held at the elementary school down the street for 3 hours a day. The university holds this summer school as a way to give their students experience. The program is overseen by professionals, one of which is Eli's fabulous kindergarten teacher, Miss Dale.

       Since the program is ending next week, we will be doing our best to fill the rest of the summer with constructive activities, and some fun. We have plans for a session of swimming lessons, sessions of speech therapy with a neighbor, day trips to the canyon, and reading at home to gear up for a new and awesome experience in the fall. I don't think I have shared this, but we have found what we feel is a great educational and social situation for our child. It is a charter school. I am honestly still feeling slightly apprehensive about pulling him from the local school district, but we both feel that this school is the place for him. Don't get me wrong, the school year last year ended on a positive note. He learned how to "be" in a mainstream classroom, but maybe not so much how to learn in one. Everything was done which could have in the situation. We decided it is just time to change the situation. Here and here are the previous posts which I wrote over the school year last year. We are looking forward to even more great things in the coming year.

      Oh yeah, and this is nothing new, but food is my nemesis. More accurately, it is a terrible love/hate relationship. I love food. However, it can easily make me and my child sick if we eat the wrong thing. I am not always a stalwart solider. This causes me stress and work which I sometimes whine about. One thing I hate about food is the "allergy bumps" that my son occasionally develops on his arm. When I see these on his upper arm, I feel as though I am a failure, even though this often happens in situations beyond my control. When we see these, my husband and I say things to each other like, "Oh yeah, that bit of cracker a kid on the playground told him to eat yesterday." Or, "Oh yeah, he got into the kool-aid at grandma's."

     My sister and I had persistent bumps like these on our upper arms as children. My mother, who was very conscious of our health, asked our pediatrician about them. Our doctor recommended Lubriderm because she really had no idea that it was all allergy, or food intolerance related at all. At least this is what I attribute it to after all I have learned. For all my complaining, I really do feel very blessed to have some answers now so I can be proactive in the health of my son and I.

Things Fall Apart Sometimes

     My son is doing very well. He has been mainstreamed for a good part of the school year. I am convinced that when I take him in for a re-evaluation, he will fall in a "mild" range, whereas when he was first diagnosed, he was much more "moderate." This is all great stuff! The work of diet, supplements, and of course lots of dicipline, love, and patience all have done wonders.

     Last week, however, was a little bit of a cloudy week. He spent a couple of days in the autism special ed class for behavior reasons. He was being more diffucult at home, and getting very whiny. I felt like things were falling apart alittle bit, like when the laces on your shoes get loose and they need tightened and retied. It felt... uncomfortable, like something was wrong.

     Over the weekend I did some thinking about what was going on. I realized that besides the change in weather, (Yes, that does affect, too!) I had also changed a supplement. It was the melatonin he takes at night. I didn't even change the dose, just the brand! He had been taking the new one for 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks and was getting more and more tired everyday and was getting headaches. I ran to Smith's to get the brand we used before, and now afew days later and with the help also of some sunny weather, he is himself again. I am so grateful that I finally figured out what to do. Sometimes it feels disheartening, though, how fragile it all really is.

Glutathione

I have a confession to make. When I go in with my son to his DAN! doctor, and the doctor starts talking about the methylation cycle, he gets a blank stare from me. That is not because I don't have a basic understanding of what the methylation cycle is. Basically, it is the body's system of detoxifying. (I know, grossly simplified.) The body uses chemicals to do this job, and when those chemicals are not available in normal levels, that helps cause many of the problems we see with autism. His doctor used to pull out a chart, thinking it would help me to understand how the lack of this chemical effected this or that part of the cycle... however, after dragging my then toddler with moderate autism to to office and waiting with him, I was exhausted, and my comprehension levels were not...so...high.

It is now high time for me to study on my own to learn more about the methylation cycle, especially now that we are using glutathione cream to help that cycle work.

The cream comes in two parts. One is the actual glutathione. The other cream is a "reactor." Dispense the dose of glutathione cream, add an equal part of the reactor cream, mix and apply. We have done this twice a day for afew months now.

I was at first concerned about the cost of adding yet another new thing to "The Supplements". After a trial, my husband and I consulted over what we thought about continuing the cream with the expense and all. He said, "He has actually been greeting me when I walk in from work." That image became our mental "marker" for the raised awareness we have seen in our child. The greetings, conversations, it is all more than worth it.

Photography

My little guy has always liked taking pictures, particularly lately. I have decided that he is old enough now to use the camera (besides the one on my phone) with supervision. (Warranty that covers him dropping it makes me feel better about that, too!)

Mostly he takes pictures of items he finds around, like his toys and video game cases. Sometimes he takes pictures of me and his brother. Here is a pic he took on a recent outing. I am so proud of him for this one! (No, I actually did NOT touch this one up... this is how I downloaded it. It really is that good.)

Birthday Dessert Pizza

For Eli 's birthday this year, we did something alittle different and made a dessert pizza with raspberry jam for a topping. It turned out quite well! We also served hummus with Lay's potato chips and a vegetable tray.

Eli's Birthday Pizza
Gluten free, casien free, corn free, soy free, sugar free, and it is yummy!

1 1/2 cups tapioca starch
1 1/2 cups potato starch
3 teaspoons guar gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon potato flour
3 teaspoons corn-free baking powder

Combine the above ingredients.
Add:

1/4 cup honey
6 tablespoons softened Spectrum Shortening
3 eggs
3/4 cup rice milk

Beat by hand or by electric beater until well mixed and there are no clumps. Grease and use white rice flour to lightly flour large pizza pan. Dump the very sticky dough in the middle of the pan. Spread dough out on pan with the back of a wet spoon. The trick to this recipe is taking the time to spread it out round and evenly and to continue wetting the spoon or perhaps using a very light dusting of white rice fhour when things start getting really sticky.

Bake in preheated oven, 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and spread one whole 10 oz. jar of Smucker's Simply Fruit Raspberry Jam evenly over the top of the pizza.

Place in the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes until done.

The Dentist and Sensory Issues

Our afternoon was spent at the dentist office.At his previous cleaning visit, my son saw the tools on the tray and he told them which ones they were NOT allowed to put in his mouth. Today he was getting cavities filled and was given prescriptions meant to give a sedative affect in order for his work to be done. (I really drug my feet on the sedative drugs... I just hate giving him prescriptions and things.) He was also given the laughing gas stuff. We were there for quite some time before he calmed down somewhat. (After I suggested they put the heavy vest on him that us usually used for the x-rays.) The dentist somehow got one little filling done, and that was it. He never was sedated enough for the work to get finished.

The heavy x-ray vest helped calm him down because the extra input feels good to his slightly malfunctioning nervous system. ("oh, I can feel where I am because of this extra weight on me. I don't have to constantly wiggle to be able to tell where my body is in space right now.") He has a weighted vest that was handed down to him. He wore it to school one day. His mainstreaming teacher said it was the best day that he ever had in her class! Once the special ed teacher saw it, however, she told me that to protect the school they needed a behavior plan written by the OT in order to use it. The vest went home, and he has not gotten to take it back since because said OT is so spread out among schools that said plan has not been written. Poor kid.

Why does my child need fillings anyway? I sometimes wonder that, but as the dental hygienist today so kindly reminded me that brushing and flossing are important. In spite of my efforts, for years it has been difficult to get a toothbrush in his mouth. I often had to get new toothbrushes when he was 5 and under, because he would bite down on them so hard when I was trying to brush his teeth, they would get ruined. (Trying to brush is teeth was just a scene, of course.)

What this whole thing boils down to is some serious sensory issues. I have for sure heard of worse, and my son has been worse off in the past where those are concerned. Often people with autism have sensory issues, and they are not all the same. My son has always been sensitive with his hearing. Even now he sometimes runs from the room when his baby brother cries. Of course he is super sensitive with his mouth. When the one filling was finished, the dentist was speaking to me and my son just fell right to sleep. He had no response to a little pinch I gave his ankle. We thought perhaps we could do some more work, but when they started going at his mouth again, he woke right up again. Poo, now we have to take him to a special pediatric dentist and have him completely sedated just to fill some cavities.

Autism Awareness Month and GFC

I am so excited for April to come this year. Ever since we have found special diet and medical helps for our son, we have enjoyed sharing with others in hopes that they will take the information and encouragement, run with it, and gain some recovery for their own children. April is my big chance to have my biggest sharing audience to date... I have written a short version of our story for The Gluten Free Consumer. Some of our readers have children with autism, and all of them know someone who has autism, so I am so excited for this opportunity. Those who order during this month not only get a great publication for a year, but they also get to have a portion of the sale donated to the Autism Research Institute's Million Dollar Puzzle Piece Challenge. For those who order during April, their April issue will come with a paper puzzle piece from ARI as a token for their donation.

Here is a sneak preview. Awww.... Doesn't my little one look sweet? This is my son at age 3, with alittle marker on his nose, so cute!
I also included one of my son's favorite recipes at the end of the article. I am looking forward to hearing feedback on it from our readers.

Happy Spring! I pulled out the flip-flops today. That makes me so happy!

Don't forget to check us out at www.GFConsumer.com!

My Valentine

Eli's expressions of love are often not verbal. Over the last two years, we have had more hugs that he has initiated, but it does not occur to him to verbally express love often. I am always pleased with a hug or kiss on the cheek at bedtime when I tell him how much I love him and say goodnight. On a very rare occasion, "I love you, too, Mom." Most often the "I love you's" come in the form of notes, which I treasure. This time, around Valentine's Day, he had me come into the living room to show me a surprise. He wrote me a love note out of his building blocks.

B12

     For about three years now, I have been sneaking up to my son's room at night and sticking him with a needle. For most of that time I have just hated doing it. Now it is so routine, I get more upset when I can't do it, like if we accidentally run out, or if he isn't asleep enough to stay still enough, even after the numbing cream. The reason being that he is doing so very well, and changing the therapy routine can really throw things off. No B12 can mean emotional melt downs the next day. It can mean climbing under desks at school.
    I describe our routine to others as "B12 by injection." The pharmacy that I order it from calls it methylcobal. Every month I spend about $35 dollars on it, and I have it delivered to our door, because the pharmacy we get it from is over an hour away. It comes in a small Styrofoam cooler, which is still really big for how tiny the little bottle is. The bottle is about 1 inch tall. I always have to remember to order syringes, because once I forgot, and I found out that Rite-Aid will not sell them to me. Duh.
   I have to keep on a schedule with giving it to him. Every third night, about 20 minutes after bedtime, he is usually in a deep enough sleep that I can put a tiny circle of numbing cream on the injection site and he won't roll over on it. I then go downstairs and set a timer for 20 minutes. At the end of the 20 minutes, I draw the dose up myself, because it is cheaper than getting the syringes pre-filled. I go up to his room, wipe off the numbing cream, and administer the injection just how his doctor's nurse taught me. He does not even know that I do this. If any of you were wondering if I was crazy, why yes, yes I am. I stick my son with needles in the dark.

Carly

What a gift this girl has been given. She is a voice to the world through her typing although she has no verbal voice of her own. How amazing and wonderful that she has the ability and willingness to share and help others. See the YouTube video here

No Bake Carob Bar

It makes me laugh to look back and see how much I have changed. The title of this food alone would have been enough to make me leery not too long ago. It is free of all of our allergens, except that it does have the 1/2 cup sugar that we are sensitive to, so I am trying to save this one for really special occasions. Right now my son is on a yeast protocol diet to get the yeast in his gut under control, (translation: no sugar or fruit juice on the diet,) but he would probably like these on this birthday in March. I have honestly never had anything so rich and chocolaty that was not chocolate. Maybe more experimenting will yield a more naturally sweetened version.


No Bake Carob Bar

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (slightly rounded) carob powder
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups gluten free oats

Melt oil and sunflower seed butter together in saucepan. Stir in carob powder and sugar. Dissolve and cook, stirring, to thicken. Remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients. Pour into 8 by 8 inch dish and chill for 1 hour or so until they are cool and look "dry." 

New Year's Resolutions

     My New Year's resolution is basically the same every year. It is always to be happy with who I am, but to not be content or settle, because I can improve myself in ways that help me function as a person and in ways that help my family. Included on the list are "mini resolutions,' such as more study, meditation, and prayer. Others are connected to health; being more active, and eating more whole foods. One thing my journey with my sweet little Eli has taught me is that the body dictates how the mind feels and functions. Taking care of Eli requires constant strategy for behavior plans, memory for all the daily supplements, and mental endurance for all the "why" questions! (He seems to currently be going through the question asking stage he largely missed when he was 4.)

     As far as the health resolutions go, I have already loaded up on some valuable tools. One is Zumba for the Wii. The other is an ebook that I came across by Kim Wilson called, "Good and Easy Eats." This book is unique in so many wonderful ways. All the recipes included are gluten free and vegan, meaning that there are no pesky dairy products that need substituting. All the recipes included focus on whole foods. Not only that, but Kim teaches you WHY whole foods are better. There are so many tools included, such as menu planning and links to online rescources. The recipes included are versitile enough that a family could eat exclusively out of this book with its simple recipes.

     Oh and I almost forgot to mention another reason I am loving this book: The recipes are simple! They even use minimal amounts of kitchen utilsels and dishes to prepare, which makes my life easier and my goals more attainable. I would recommend taking a look at this ebook. It is only about $5, which is not much of a risk compared to buying a hard copy and paying shipping, and then waiting for it in the mail. "Good and Easy Eats" is generally delivered to your email box within 24 hours.

I am so excited for what 2012 will bring. Good food, more peace, and more energy. WhooHoo!