Medical Update on the Kids

It seems like it is time to update here about the kids medical issues. If for no other reason, then so it all can stop swishing around in my head. There is lots of new information right now and I need to start compartmentalizing it.

*All of the pictures in this post are from blueberry picking recently. After blueberry picking, the kids enjoyed a very cold splash in a mountain stream.

Tim 23 ~ Tim has been an irritable person most of his life. However, in the past few years he has struggled more and more with irritability and frustrations over daily activities. Every little speed bump of life is like hitting a mountainside to him. We decided to leave conventional medicine (that was giving us almost no help) and look into alternative medicines. We had him tested for cortisone levels and tests to see how his adrenals were doing. The test results are back and indeed his cortisone levels are very high and his adrenals are not doing well at all. Testing of his neurotransmitters revealed that two of them are very low. These are serotonin and GABA, which help with happiness and a feeling of well being. The doctor started him on some new supplements, but she told us upfront that it might not be enough, since his brain is so badly injured. So far, he is complaining of having lots of trouble waking up in the morning. However, he has been functioning better and having more small pleasant moments than before. We are hopeful that this new protocol will help him over the coming month. We are also trying to stimulate more alpha waves in his brain and decrease the amount of his beta brainwaves. One way to accomplish this is by using classical music. We are playing lots of Bach around here right now. So far, I am seeing a little bit of improvement in mood while the music is on, but as soon as the music stops, he is right back to not feeling well. We plan to purchase Wild Divine soon. Our psychologist has been suggesting it for years. Now we are going to take the leap. It should be useful to multiple people in our home.

We are also exploring changing Tim's diet a bit. He has a latex allergy and we found out that there are several foods that cross-react with latex due to having the same or similar latex proteins. One such food is bananas. He has been allergic to them for years. Now that I see the list of what other foods he might react to, I am realizing that he already avoids some of them because they make him feel bad. It seems like this could be contributing to his mood as well.

Furthermore, we needed to get him a psychological evaluation to keep him at the brain injury program he is now attending four days a week. The results are not back yet, but the psychologist wanted to tell us about his IQ. The verbal part of an IQ is very noticeable when people interact to people because it includes vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension and carrying on a conversation. Tim has a very high verbal IQ in the superior range. However, the rest of the scores that make up his IQ are in the low average or even below. With such a high verbal intelligence, Tim is able to speak with complex vocabulary and comprehend what others are saying even in a complicated conversation. This explains why there are people (such as the teacher he was having trouble with recently) who think there is nothing wrong with him and accuse him of not applying himself. It takes longer to realize out that he processes information slowly, has a terrible working memory, and has very poor math skills. All of this combines to make it difficult for him to navigate his world, to manage time or even remember his phone number. So when the experts average out his IQ it really cannot reflect Tim's abilities at all. In fact, the doctor said that Tim falls into a very narrow category where the IQ test is useless. In some ways, this is a relief to know. However, it reinforces why he is so frustrated and overwhelmed with life.  Lots of work to still do here with my oldest. I am hopeful that we are on the right path now.

Goldilocks (12) ~ Where to begin...Goldilocks continues to struggle with behavior. She is always creating chaos but complains to anyone that will listen about how her family isn't calm enough and that she hates chaos. When she is in respite care, however, our home is amazingly quiet and calm. Some of the experts think she is exhibiting RAD behaviors (which she has a diagnosis of) and others think her PTSD is being triggered by having to live with her birth brother Tom Sawyer (children who were abused in their birth home and then adopted together often have lots of sibling adoption issues). An additional possibility is that she is showing signs of borderline personality disorder, which her psychologist thinks might be true. Her birth mother has this diagnosis. People with borderline are easily bored and crave chaos/excitement and will create it if it is not present. No matter what is causing her issues, it is very hard to live with at times. We are having a terrible time finding a therapist who we can afford and is also the right fit. Mental health services in the state of North Carolina are very poor. The special needs family support network in our area has given me some places to contact to try to find some funding. I have found some horseback riding psychotherapy in the area which I think would be a good fit, but it is $100 an hour. When you are talking about $100 an hour, funding quickly becomes a major issue. She is still receiving neurofeedback, which is supposed to be calming and improve her processing. However, the doctor doing neurofeedback says it will take YEARS to see improvement. I am not sure I will continue this if I find a good therapist that our insurance takes. We will only be covered for one or the other.

This is a very typical pose of Goldilocks.
I am at a loss as to why she curls her hands this way.
Has anyone ever seen this or know why?

We are waiting for our insurance to catch up with the recent change in pediatricians. Once that goes through, Goldilocks will be having an echocardiogram to begin figuring out if she has Marfan Syndrome. This diagnosis will help us know whether or not the dizzy spells are something to be concerned about.

On a very light note ~ She is ready to start round two of braces and will also need the penguin to help expand her jaw line.

Tom Sawyer (11) ~ Tom Sawyer seems to be making a vast improvement in tolerating foods that he hasn't been able to eat in several years. Lately, he seems to be able to eat organic, unbromated wheat flour if he is given GlutenEase (made by Enzymedica) a supplement. He still reacts to barley. Many of the wheat flours in the store include barley with them, so he can't eat wheat products prepared by stores or restaurants. He does experience stomachaches if he eats wheat without GlutenEase, so we still may need to look into Celiac Disease. His doctor who follows his allergies suggested that he should be tested but didn't want him to go back on gluten to find out. However, I think it would be worth knowing if the tests are not too dangerous or invasive. He does not want to remain gluten/grain free for life if his digestive system could be cured. He continues to take l-glutamine, vitamin C, PB8 probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements to promote digestive health. To our relief, he seems to be handling all food better with less hives, redness, skin issues and behavior issues. He still looks very pale most of the time and complains about exhaustion. I am interested to see what our new pediatrician thinks about his food issues. He seems to be filled with fresh views on what might be going on with the kids.

The dentist is sending Tom Sawyer for an orthodontist evaluation. We knew this was coming for a long time. His teeth are crowded and his chin is starting to recede (just like his biological sister). He has always had very thin and deformed enamel on his teeth which increases the chance of infection and complications. He has already had dental surgery for a growth in his mouth a few years ago. We are concerned about how to keep him healthy through this process. Fortunately, our orthodontist has done a great job with Goldilocks and says he has lots of ways to help Tom Sawyer with his sensory issues.

Tom Sawyer, who has mild cerebral palsy, is nearly finished with physical therapy at this time. While he needs more, our insurance will only cover 16 sessions a year. Consequently, the physical therapist is giving him a list of exercises to do at home so that he can keep making progress (that is, if I can make him do them often enough). He finds physical therapy very painful and it brings him to tears. Still, Tom Sawyer has made amazing progress and can do many things that he could not do at the beginning of this Summer. He can sustain his energy level better and keep up with other children for longer periods of time. I am hoping that the special needs gymnastic class he recently started will help him keep working on his trunk and legs.

We will be looking into an occupational therapy evaluation once PT ends in a couple months. Writing is such a struggle for him. His hands tremor and his whole body tenses with the process. The physical therapist said he is having trouble because his core is so weak and recommended that an occupational therapist could help with fine motor as well as some gross motor. In this way, he can continue getting help for his core while working on the smaller muscles in his hands as well.

Little Red Riding Hood (9) ~ There is really nothing to tell here. She is by far the healthiest and easiest child I have. She struggles a bit with balance when dancing (more than she should after so many years of dance). This is probably because she inherited a mild case of pigeon-toed walking, which would be of little concern if she wasn't interested in dance. We are in a holding pattern to see if the dance studio thinks she should return for a few more sessions of PT. She starts dance classes again next week, so we will see then what the teachers think of her progress over the summer. She has done lots of yoga, standing on her toes, and other balance work to improve her balance.

Well, there is an update.

Blessings, Dawn

What We Eat ~ Grain-Free Living!

One of my friends keeps asking me what we eat.  One of her children may need to go on a similar diet to ours, and she wonders whether they will starve to death.  I must admit that I worried about this a year ago, too!  Just to recap,  our son can't eat grains (wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, oats and any others I missed), all nuts, soy, olives, shellfish, and yeast.  He can only have small amounts of chocolate and eggs baked into food. He can have dairy, but the cheese has to be fresh, such as mozzarella, rather than aged.  In addition, we eat as much organic as we can.  I do this for health reasons and also to reduce chemicals in our diet.  We do our best to eat grass-fed beef and cage-free chickens.  Our son is so sensitive to corn that even eating caged chickens who have eaten a corn diet affects him.  We are completely organic with dairy, potatoes and meat.  We are 75% organic with fruit and 50% organic with vegetables.  We generally drink tea for breakfast and water for lunch, snacks and dinner.  Sometimes we have milk for dinner, if I feel like our calorie intake for the day has been low.  We have juice one time a week (usually for our Friday field trip).


Here is what we ate last week: 

BREAKFAST 

Tom Sawyer:
(I use Red Mills All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour to make the bread and Against the Grain bagels. We use Stonyfield organic yogurt.)


Sun -- Grain-free banana bread, two cuties (small tangerines), and cup of milk.
Mon -- Same as above.
Tues -- Organic strawberry yogurt, banana, homemade sausage, black tea.
Wed -- Homemade sausage, bagel, cutie, black tea.
Thur -- Against the grain bagel, two cuties, strawberry yogurt, milk.
Fri -- Against the grain bagel, banana, frozen organic raspberries, milk.
Sat -- Organic hot dog, frozen organic blackberries, bagel, milk.

The rest of the family: 


Sun -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Mon -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Tues -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Wed -- Homemade sausage,  Natures Own bagel, banana, tea.
Thur -- Same as Tom Sawyer (but the bagel was Natures Own, less expensive).
Fri -- Organic Peanut Butter Bumpers cereal, milk, banana.
Sat -- Yogurt, eggs, and hash browns (homemade).

LUNCH

Tom Sawyer:

Sun -- Hamburger with cheese, carrots, water.

Mon -- Miracle noodles with Earth Fare spaghetti sauce and meat balls.

Tues -- Ground turkey burger on a against the grain bagel, salad (no dressing).

Wed -- Same as Wednesday but with cucumbers rather than salad.

Thur -- Grain-free banana bread, Hormel ham slices, cheese and apple slices.

Fri -- Potato chips, cheese slices, apples and carrots.

Sat -- Potato chips, hot dogs, Annie's organic gummy bunnies, pears, and organic grape soda.

The rest of the family:


Sun -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Mon -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Tues -- Same as Tom Sawyer except we used rice.
Wed -- Same as Tom Sawyer except we used Natures Own bread.
Thur -- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Fri -- Same as Tom Sawyer.
Sat -- Same as Tom Sawyer.

DINNER

We all had the same thing, except that when rice or tortillas are mentioned, Tom Sawyer would have had Miracle Noodles or fried potatoes.


Sun -- Fish fry (fish dipped in Quinoa flour and fried in oil other than olive as Tom Sawyer is allergic to olives), green beans and organic french fries.
Mon -- Ham dinner with organic ham, pineapple, grain-free banana bread, green beans and homemade cranberry sauce.
Tues -- Quinoa macaroni, ham and cheese casserole (see photo) with apple slices and cucumbers.
Wed -- Taco night with tortillas or fried potatoes, ground beef spiced with homemade taco seasoning, cheese, salsa, tomatoes and lettuce.
Thur -- Turkey meatloaf made of organic ground turkey with crushed potato chips, ketchup and Italian seasoning and salad.
Fri -- Chef salad bar ~ lettuce, ham, turkey, cheese, tomatoes, carrots, celery, sunflower seeds and raisins.
Sat -- Organic hot dogs, organic fries, and fruit salad (cuties, apples and blackberries).

DESSERTS AND SNACKS

For dessert, the kids had Breyer's natural ice cream, Annie's Gummy Bunnies or homemade hot chocolate.  For snack, they had cheese, raisins, sunflower seeds, popcorn (everyone except Tom Sawyer) or potato chips.


Blessings, Dawn

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real ~ Living a Grain-Free Life

For those who are new here ~ My son is allergic to ALL grains.  He is also allergic to most nuts, soy and a few other individual things.  In my opinion, the hardest thing to avoid is corn.  It is in everything from Pledge Dusting Spray to 80% of food you can buy in the store (according to our doctors).  Even processed food that has no corn in it likely was put on a conveyor belt sprinkled with cornstarch to keep it from sticking to the belt. Tomorrow I will be talking about going to the dentist with a corn allergy.  However, today I am celebrating food and learning how to eat grain free.

Pretty ~
I made Chicken Fingers recently.  They came out so pretty.  I took chicken breasts and dipped them in tapioca flour, then egg, then smashed potato chips.  Then I browned them in oil and baked them in the oven.  Yummy!

Happy~
My son really missed bread of some kind.  I did find a bagel in our health food store that he loves made out of tapioca flour.  However, it is almost $8 for 6 bagels!  That is a bit steep for me to buy on a weekly basis.  Thus, I was happy when I found this recipe.  I have trouble leaving recipes alone so I use tapioca flour instead of the potato starch and only a 1/4 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.  My son loves this and I can use it for pancakes or sandwich bread.

Funny ~
As I said before, I tend to do my own thing with recipes.  Funnily enough, my husband often says he will never get the same dish twice, since his wife won't remember what she put in it last time.  Due to my son's allergies, I have been forced to follow recipes more closely in recent months.  It is so easy to ruin dishes when you are using all of these strange, unforgiving, grain-free flours.  Most people say you throw away a ton while learning grain-free cooking.  I simply can not afford to do that.  Unfortunately, I did have to throw away a batch of homemade jelly beans the other day.  I don't know if my kids will have jelly beans for Easter this year (even the organic, corn-free ones are shook in confectionery sugar, which has cornstarch in it, to keep them from sticking).  It must be possible since they sell the molds.  There was a time when I thought marshmallows were impossible, but now I can whip them up without any trouble.

Real ~
Almost everything has to be made from scratch, and I mean EVERYTHING.  We make our own fruit roll- ups, marshmallows, bread products, whip cream, ice cream and Feingold simple syrup (to replace corn syrup).  Now I need to learn how to make vanilla extract, since even organic is made with corn whiskey, as all extracts are!  I just made raspberry syrup for pancakes and ice cream.  It came out a bit thin but tastes great.

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Blessings,
Dawn

Chinese New Year!

My children started talking about the upcoming Chinese New Year a few weeks ago.  They could not wait!  A big part of their excitement was about food.  They wanted lots of Chinese food.  We could not possibly have all the food that they wanted with our special diet.  However, I started researching and looking in the stores.  We learned that you are supposed to eat 8 different foods for your New Year's meal.  We also learned that each Zodiac sign is supposed to have a particular good luck food.  The kids were excited to make this fun meal.

Here is what we ate ~ Bean soup (good luck to the rat), Asian noodles (good luck to the sheep), Sugared ginger (good luck to the horse and the pig), Oranges (good luck to the dragon), veggie stir fry, fortune cookies, fruit kabob and steak kabob.  I did allow wheat for this evening meal. The Asian noodles are plain with butter.  I gave Tom Sawyer lots of vitamin C and double the digestive enzymes before dinner.  I then gave him activated charcoal two hours after dinner.  So far, so good.  He is curled up in a chair reading a book right now. 

The kids had so much fun learning how to eat with chop sticks.  Everyone tried a bite of the sugared ginger.  It was very spicy.  Timothy and Daddy are the only ones who ate more than one piece.

After dinner the kids put on a dragon dance that they created earlier in the day.  They used their  homemade dragon masks.  It was a fun evening for all.  Earlier in the day, we read some picture books about the Chinese New Year and wrote about how each of our Zodiac signs were like us.  (I pointed out how general each Zodiac sign is so that almost anyone can find a similarity of him or herself in any sign.  I told them that it is just fun, but that we are all unique and not detemined by our sign.)

Blessings,

Dawn

Christmas Boxes for the Elderly

My children love doing the shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, so when I saw an ad to make shoe boxes for Meals On Wheels, I knew it was a charity for us.  Sure enough, the kids were very excited to make a box.  We tried to make a unisex box for an elderly couple.

We filled it with exotic teas, a 500 piece Christmas puzzle, good smelling soap, Christmas CDs (used but in great shape), lotion and powder, a Christmas romance book (again, read first by me) and a wrapped surprise (a Santa decoration). It was a nice change making a box for an adult.  When we dropped off the box at Meals on Wheels, the room was bulging with Christmas boxes.  It was wonderful to see all of the loving hands that had made an elderly or disabled adult's day more pleasant.  We will do this charity again next year.

UPDATE ON TOM SAWYER ~ His fever broke mid-day Saturday.  Thanks for all of your prayers and advice.  He is still tired and not eating very well.  However, he is a sweeter, more creative child.  We have noticed this before and it lasts for a few days after a high fever.  His doctor thinks he has trouble  detoxing and that the high fever detoxed him.  We are looking at more ways to help him detox every day.  His doctor suggests sauna treatments, Epsom salt baths, drinking lots of water, trampoline jumping and looking into the NAET Clearing program.  Denise, I will be contacting you about homeopathic ideas for fevers.  I will be working on making a safe medication cabinet.  Surprisingly, the Infant dye-free Advil seems to have worked.  He is not reacting from it, even though we gave him an entire bottle over the three days.  I guess that batch did not have corn in the glycerine.

Blessings,
Dawn

Friday Wrap-Up ~ Christmas Is Coming!

This week:

1. Another 9 weeks are done and the kids got their report cards.  They all improved in one area or another.  I determined their grades by scoring all of their work and also reading my notes over the last 9 weeks in regards to attitude and accomplishments/struggles.
2. We glittered Christmas cards and wrote a message in each one for the veterans that pass through my husband's station at work.  He works at a VA hospital.
3. We studied Christmas in England and then had a special dinner with pot roast.  The kids decorated the table with our musical carousel and crackers.  The kids love opening Christmas crackers each Christmas.  It is a tradition brought to our home from my husband's childhood home.
4. At the mall, we donated food to the Food Tree for needy families.  I let the kids pick the food at the grocery store this year.  I was surprised that Tom Sawyer picked noodles (which he loves and cannot have).
5. We made gingerbread for some of our neighbors.  I have a few more neighbors for which to bake.
6. We went on a field trip to see the National Gingerbread Houses on display.
7. My snowmen figurines are up!  I love them.  They probably will not come down until April.  LOL!
8. The gingerbread creations at the display were amazing.  We love to go see them each year.
9. The kids had fun playing in an antique sleigh in the great hall of this hotel.

We really enjoyed the gingerbread houses.  The pictures below are our favorites.

Can you believe that everything is completely edible?

This one was my favorite.  The picture does not do it justice.

We are almost done shopping.  One child has not bought her gifts yet.  We are done with school until the New Year.  There will be some changes.  My oldest will be resuming post school with me.  He will be working on writing essays in preparation for trying some type of college.  We are looking at a developmentally delayed program at our local college.  Not sure that is the answer.  However, I am excited that he wants to improve his writing skills with me next year.

Tom Sawyer is sick with a high fever, and I am having a time keeping his temperature at a safe level.  The latest discovery in the allergy world of corn is that corn is in every fever reducer.  I think the only "mostly safe" medication is Advil Infant.  If anyone knows of good ways to keep a fever under control without traditional meds, please let me know.

Blessings,

Dawn

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real ~ A Very Special Christmas Party

Our local hospital puts on an amazing party for all of the special needs kids in our area each year.  It gets bigger and more spectacular each year.  This year the party was held in a huge venue that could accommodate fire engines, police cars, moon bounces and many tables with exciting activities (all inside).

Pretty ~
This is a really exciting event that the kids look forward to all year.  This year the kids all wanted to get their hair colored with temporary dye.

Our youngest daughter is pretty  in pink, her favorite color! 

She was delighted with her new hairdo.

There were several craft tables for the kids

to make pretty gifts for their friends and family.

Happy ~
It makes me so happy that there are events like this where my kids can be who they are and not worry about sensory issues or medical issues.  Everyone there knows what it is like to live with extra difficulties.  It is truly a non-judgmental environment.

A Bingo game where everyone wins if they play long enough. 

The girls won teddy bears and Tom Sawyer won a sensory ball.

Even my husband got his hair dyed! 

Tom Sawyer got a dragon painted on his face as well.

Funny ~
I think the highlights this year for the kids were the moon bounce slide and the balloon man.  The balloon man was really impressive.  He made this incredibly funny hat for Tom Sawyer.

He also made these really cool balloons with little balls that rolled back in forth inside.  My husband is holding them in the picture below.  Yes, my dh is a character in front of a camera at times.

Real ~
In March it will be one year since starting Tom Sawyer's special diet.  What a year it has been!  We have seen our grocery bill double, miraculous improvements in Tom Sawyer's behavior and health, and we have come to accept this new way of eating as a way of life.  Lunch was provided at this wonderful party, but Tom Sawyer could not eat any of it.  A few months ago, I would have resisted going to the party because of the food issues.  However, I have learned to work around it, so I called ahead and found out what was being served.  Then I bought safe organic soda, organic hot dogs, a grain-free bagel and some organic gummy bears.  Tom Sawyer was able to enjoy everything his sisters had and without getting sick. 

He did however have a reaction to the hairspray and/or face paint.  Oy!  This allergy thing is very hard.  However, I am grateful that we are on the right road to making him healthy and happy. 

Lastly, I have wanted to get my face painted by the face paint artist for years.  However, the line has always been so long, and I didn't want to take away from the kids.  The artist was hidden in a corner this year; and we found her with a very short line, so I got to get my face painted, too.

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Blessings,
Dawn

Little Red Riding Hood Turns 8!

My littlest one is 8 years old today!  She is very excited about having a night time party on Friday.  She will have her three best friends over for a princess pink party, complete with girly crafts, manicures, pajamas and donuts.  Little Red Riding Hood really wanted an overnight but none of the kids will be able to spend the night for a variety of reasons.  I am getting around this dilemma by having a Mock Sleepover.  The kids will have a party and then get into their pajamas and watch a movie until it is time to go.  Then they will get up and have a donut (breakfast) before heading home at  9:30 pm.

Today we had a mostly normal day.  However, Little Red Riding Hood did not have to do any chores.  She also got to pick our lunch.  She picked pizza.  We haven't had pizza in about 7 months due to Tom Sawyer's food allergies.  We just recently got back some forms of dairy on a limited basis.  I went to our local health food store and to my amazement found a pizza (grain free) that was almost perfect.  Even more amazingly, it tasted so good that all the kids asked for seconds and thirds.  It is called Against the Grain Gourmet Pizza, and it has no gluten, wheat, corn, soy, rice, sugar, yeast, peanuts or tree nuts.  You can see the website here.  It is cost prohibitive as a regular food item in our house but will be a great addition for special occasions.

Now for our tradition of listing off a special thing about our birthday child for each year they have lived.

1. Very Frugal ~ Little Red Riding Hood has saved $101 to date.  She only gets a $1 a week allowance and has an uncanny ability to find coins on the ground.
2. Easy Going ~ A really great skill to have in this special needs family.
3. Dancer ~ This girl loves to dance.  She is so excited about being in the Nutcracker again.
4. Obedient ~ I rarely have to tell her twice how to behave.
5. Happy ~ She often has a smile on her face and loves the camera.
6. Mommy's Buddy ~ This girly loves to be with me and go wherever I go.
7. Quiet and Peaceful ~ Little Red Riding Hood likes to be quiet and play by herself.  She likes to cuddle and just listen to everyone else.
8. Little Cook ~ She loves to help prepare meals and is almost ready to cook her own first dinner.

We love you, sweet girl.  You are growing so quickly.  I am so glad to be your Mother.

Blessings,

Dawn



Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ Home

In My Life

We are home from Disney World and I am busy setting up our routine for the next few weeks. We arrived home Friday and hit the ground running with a fencing tournament for the oldest on Saturday and tennis lessons for the three youngest on Sunday afternoon.


I want to make sure there is time this summer to knock out some home projects. We are hoping to organize the basement, paint the kitchen cabinets, paint some trimwork and numerous other small projects. This week I did get my husband's raised-relief map framed and it will be up on the wall by tomorrow. That is a project that has been waiting for almost a year.

In Our Summer Homeschool

We are going to have lots of sports this summer. The kids are signed up for two weeks of free swimming lessons that start next week. I plan to sign them up for two more weeks in July. Also, the kids started tennis lessons that our city provides at a considerably reduced price. The kids had their first lesson this past Sunday and they all loved it. The instructors made a big fuss about Tom Sawyer's natural talent. They could not believe this was his first time holding a racket! We shall see where this leads.

My Favorite Thing This Week

My favorite thing this week is finding some new grain-free recipes that Tom Sawyer can eat. Even better is that all of the family likes the recipes, and we are finding some new foods to replace all the foods we have lost in recent months.

(Grain-Free Ginger Snaps)

(Grain-Free Banana Muffins)

A Photo to Share

What Little Red Ridinghood wanted most from Disney World is a Rapunzel wig. We could not find one there, so we bought this wig from Ebay. Our little brunette loves it.

Boomer (on the left) is now 8 months old and 60 pounds!! He is doing so well with training. However, he is still having accidents in the house and needs more work on walking on a loose leash. Overall, he is a great dog, and we are so happy to have him. His almost 12 year old "sister", Lady, on the right thinks he can stop growing anytime now. HaHa!

Blessings,
Dawn

A Return to Lapbooking

Our family really enjoys lapbooking. Somehow, I got away from it for most of this year. I didn't intend to ignore this really meaningful way of learning for us. Recently, with the crisis of learning a new diet and with a puppy in the house, I was forced to look for a simpler way of doing school and remembered lapbooking. Thank goodness for Homeschoolshare.com. I love this site. They have so many wonderful books with lesson plans and lapbooks already to go. For the last month, I have picked a different FIAR (Five in a Row series) book each week, and we have rowed through and lapbooked it. The kids also have had a blast looking through all of the lapbooks they have made over the years.

We did a unit study on Japan using FIAR books for three weeks. We rowed through Grass Sandals, Grandfather's Journey, and A Pair of Red Clogs.

You can see in the picture above one of the origami cups (green) that the kids made. They even ate their snacks in them.

Below are the children's Haikus.

Tom Sawyer's ~

rocks at the bottom
water falling off a cliff
hot dinosaurs drink

Goldilocks' ~

two dogs play in grass
the day is warm and sunny
to dogs play with toys

Little Red Ridinghood's ~

Lincoln Logs are fun
she plays with them everyday
she loves Lincoln Logs

We also finished a great lapbook on Johnny Appleseed. I am glad that we are enjoying lapbooking and that my children are still learning so much in this very busy season. We only have three more weeks of school.

The wonderful news is that Tom Sawyer is showing noticeable improvement with his special diet.  His face is free of strange color changes and his mood is much improved. He is being very cooperative with the diet. I am really proud of him. It is so hard for him to give up his favorite foods. I am keeping him out of all grocery stores, since it is painful for him to see all of the foods (even gluten-free ones) that he no longer can eat.  The diet is easier for all of us to handle with such marked improvement so quickly.

Blessings,
Dawn

Here We Go!!

We have suspected food allergies with our Tom Sawyer for years but have been unable to figure out exactly what was wrong. Our pediatrician, whom we like very much, has not been helpful in this department. I have tried figuring out this issue on my own but with limited success. Last month, we got a referral to an integrative physican who is also a pediatrician. She specializes in children with complicated medical/family histories and uses alternative meds and diets. She has ran a RAST blood test and stool test. The doctor will also be taking a hair sample for a hair test at our next appointment. So far, the allergy blood test results are in and they are alarming. Tom Sawyer is very allergic to wheat, chocolate, gluten, eggs, oats and rice.  He is mild to moderately allergic to corn, soy, yeast, milk and peanuts. In addition, he has a deficiency of magnesium, vitamin D, and iron. She said he was the second most allergic child she had ever seen. To my dismay, she used the word "dangerously allergic" about some of the foods!

The first step is to work on his gut and try to get his intestinal track working better. This week I will be pulling wheat and gluten (we pulled oats a year ago) and starting to fill his body with probiotics, zinc and digestive enzymes to try to get his intestines to stop leaking. In the coming weeks, we will continue to pull all of the high allergy foods and reduce the mild allergy foods to one time a week. We will continue to work on healing his gut with supplements. This is going to be a long process and starting this in one of our craziest months of the year (three family birthdays and Easter) is really making my head spin! 

Since I always try to see the bright side ~

• We have a great doctor helping us who will see us every few weeks.
• Our insurance covers the doctor visits and most of the tests.
• We homeschool, which will make controlling his food intake easier.
• The Squirrels-Nest (an allergy sweets store) still exists and my kids' safe Easter candy is already ordered.
• My husband supports 100% the changes we will have to make (I just love him so much). I think many fathers might not be so accommodating to their diets once again being changed.
• Tom Sawyer was not allergic to fruits, meat, and veggies.
• He likes fruits, meat and veggies.
• Many food items are made with potatoes, which he can eat.
• This means his behavior, health, and learning abilities will likely improve.

We would appreciate your prayers while we make the necessary changes to our diet and figure out how to shift our finances to be able to afford the supplements and special foods. (My husband is employed at the VA Hospital and may be furloughed if the government shuts down on Friday.) Also, please pray that I will find foods that he likes and that he will make a smooth transition to a new diet. I hate seeing his little body struggle so much.

Blessings,
Dawn

Feed the Family for $75 Challenge ~ Last Week

Well, I did the last of my shopping for this month's challenge. This has been a hard week. We have had doctor and therapy appointments every day. We have eaten out fast food twice with coupons, but I still count this a huge success. 

This week's shopping ~

Sam's Club ~


spinach, strawberries, cherry tomatoes,two heads of lettuce, two containers organic ketchup, big bag of carrots, 10 pound bag of potatoes, big bag of corn chips, red grapes, green grapes, Total ~ $52.12

Ingles ~

big bag of cheese, two jars of spaghetti sauce, bag of dog food, two tubs of Smart Balance margarine with coupons, bananas, two bags of candy corn, Total ~ $28.24

Grand total for this week $80.36

Grand total for the month~ $322.92  Hooray!

Reflections ~ I am very low on food and ideas. Right now I feel like getting through the next 6 days is going to be really hard. Hopefully, I will get some inspiration soon to make the next few days easy going. My savings really came from making my own cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. Also, the kids did not miss juice at all. I was surprised about that. Amazing Savings (dent and scratch store) is very helpful to me, savings-wise, while the local Ingles is not. My "emergency" trip to Ingles produced very little food for almost $30. I will continue shopping this way but will increase the amount to $100 a week so I can take advantage of sales and stock up a bit.

Blessings, Dawn

Feed Your Family for $75 a Week #3

We are now in week 3 of Mary's challenge at Owlhaven. I am going about $5 to $10 over the goal each week and my cupboards are a bit more bare than I like.  Also, I am very low on produce and laundry detergent. I need to get to the Farmer's Market and also make some laundry detergent this weekend. I am pleased with how well it is going over all. Considering that in the past few months I have been spending closer to $700, I can see that there is real room for saving money in the future. I think I will make my goal for next month $100 dollars a week, so I will have more wiggle room. This way, I'll  be motivated to make this a lifestyle change instead of a one month challenge. 

Here is this week's shopping. 

Amazing Savings~

2 packages of organic ground beef, 1 package of cheese, 3 bags of chips, raspberry jam, organic beef bullion, bananas, red pepper, 1 pound cherry tomatoes, 1 tomato,  organic chicken nuggets, orange juice (we were not going to buy juice this month but the price was really good and two kids have the sniffles), Rice Dream, 2 organic packages of gluten-free fish patties (enough for one meal), 1 loaf of bread for dh's lunch, 2 boxes of gluten-free cheddar crackers, 2 bags of gluten-free bagels, 2 packages of organic sausage links, gluten-free pasta, dairy-free ice cream sandwiches, 2 bottles of sparkling strawberry juice (saving for Thanksgiving), 2 packages of hash browns, 1/2 pound organic jelly beans, 1 bag of cereal
Total~ $58.28

Walmart ~

2 pounds of grapes, jar of salsa, 5 ears of corn, 1 dozen eggs, Smart Balance margarine, 2 packages of nitrite-free lunch meat (for our on-the-road days), can of olives, 2 pizza crusts, 2 bags of cheese, gluten-free mac and cheese, 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, corn tortillas Total~$32.88

Grand Total~$81.16

Blessings, Dawn

$75 a Week Grocery Challenge

This is week two of the $75 a week grocery challenge put on by Owlhaven. Wow! I am really amazed at how well we are doing without compromising our organic, gluten-free eating habits. 

So here is this week's purchases:

Earthfare ~

Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to go to Earthfare this month, BUT we got a coupon for 50% off free-range baby back ribs and three ears of corn for free. My dh has been wanting ribs for months, and I couldn't pass up the deal. It made for a very nice Labor Day meal.  Babyback ribs (2LB) ~ $11 and 3 ears of corn ~ Free

Amazing Savings (dent and scratch store) ~

2 bags organic latkes, bananas, 3 bags of chips, 1 dozen cage-free eggs, 3 boxes gluten-free waffles, 1/2 pound organic jellybeans, 2 containers Soy Dream, 2 boxes of gluten-free "cheerios," 5 pound bag of potatoes, bag of organic cheese, 1 loaf bread, soy ice cream, organic fruit roll-ups Total ~ $32.71

Walmart ~  
5 pounds of sugar, 5 pounds of flour (We are mostly gluten-free, but when it comes to homemade apple pie, one needs REAL wheat flour!!), bananas, 3 cukes, jar of dill pickles, 1 package of nitrate-free ham (for an Irish dish of cabbage, potatoes and ham), salt, 1 can baked beans, 1 jar peanut butter (all natural), cinnamon, popcorn, 1 pound grapes, 1 loaf of bread (half of this is going to a science activity), spaghetti sauce, ranch dressing, lettuce, 10 pound bag of ice, 2 pounds butter Total ~ $39.03

Grand Total for this week ~ $78.74  Hooray!  I think it is going well, even though we have been a bit over each week.

I plan on making refrigerator applesauce and several apple pies to freeze in the next day or two. It is nice to be putting some things up for later.

Blessings, Dawn

Feed the Family for $75 a Week!

Mary at Owlhaven is challenging us to feed our families for $75 a week in the month of September. She has 10 kids and is taking the challenge!! (She does have a huge garden and promises that no one will go hungry!) So, here is the question ... Can a gluten-free, mostly dairy-free, organic meat, locally grown fruit and veggie family of six eat for $75 a week ... without Mom going crazy and dh or the teenager starving?? What am I thinking? The teenager is always starving anyway!

So here is the plan ... After several discussions with the family, we have decided to go without juice for the month of September. That will save us $15 a week. We also are going to eat only 1/2 to 1 pound of meat with the dinner meal five times a week. We will eat more beans. I will search the "scratch and dent" store that sells local organic meat (these are not cut nicely or else are in smaller portions than most folks want) and often has some gluten-free products. Then I will rotate between the farmer's market bulk section, Walmart and Aldies for everything else. Once I have the best deals of the week, I will make a menu. I will avoid EarthFare (the chain health food store in our area). I will try to avoid those quick runs to the store for one item that always turns into 10 items. 

MORE INFO ~ The teenager will be using $25 of his own money to buy snacks to keep in his room for night-time snacking. Also, I have about 5 pounds of meat and 3 pounds of fish already in the freezer. I also have about 4 quarts each of frozen beans, strawberries, and onions in our freezer  from our garden. I also have several pounds of gluten-free flours, 15 pounds of rice and 3 bags of beans. Otherwise, the cupboards are pretty bare, with just a few odds and ends.

Week One ~


Amazing Savings ("scratch and dent" store) -- organic cheese, 3 containers of Soy Dream, 5 bananas, 3 plums, 1 pound organic ground turkey, 3/4 pound free-range organic ground beef, 3 bags of BBQ chips (all natural), locally made strawberry jam, 2 gluten-free pasta and sauce kits, 3 boxes of gluten-free cereal, 1 box of organic candy canes, party platter of shrimp, organic latkes, frozen peas, BBQ sauce, 1 loaf of wheat bread (for dh's lunch, he isn't gluten-free at work), seltzer water Total~$35.51


Walmart ~ cage-free eggs, Smart Balance (margarine), 4 cans of tuna, Oriental Stir-Fry, 2 pounds of grapes, 4 cucumbers (locally grown), broccoli, lettuce, 10 pound bag of ice, trash bags, SOS cleaning pads, Trident sugar-free gum (for dd with braces), Ajax dish detergent, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide Total~ $33.15


Farmer's Market ~ One bushel of Gala apples  Total ~ $14.00

Well, the grand total for my first week of shopping is $82.66. That is $7.66 over my goal. Not bad for my first try and the apples will last a long time. So next week I only have $67.34 to spend. Yikes! (Of course, this is just a game so no one will go hungry!)

Blessings, Dawn