gluten free tortillas!

Pork carnitas in the crockpot is one of my all-time favorite meals.  Chipotle is a great place to enjoy them, but over a year ago I saw a homemade recipe on the Feingold member's recipe board, and have loved making it ever since.  It is so easy and makes the whole house smell so good. 

When I went gluten free last summer, one of the things I missed the most was flour tortillas.  We have been substituting corn chips in their place for Mexican food, but to be honest, we've had so many corn chips lately it was getting old.  So this weekend I pulled out the cookbook Gluten Free on a Shoestring to try a homemade recipe for rice flour tortillas.  The tortilla press I got for Christmas made these so easy to make, I wish I had tried them sooner.  My press is small, so one adjustment I will make next time is to make 8 tortillas instead of 6, which is a better number for our family anyway.  It is so much fun to let Josiah have a tortilla he can eat, too!

 

Flour Tortillas

 

2 c. GF flour (you can buy this premixed or save money by making your own.  I use 6 c. rice flour, 2 c. potato starch, 1 c. tapioca flour that I order from Amazon)

1 t. xanthan gum

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

4 T. oil (I used olive)

1 c. warm water (about 100 degrees)

 

In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt and mix to combine well.  Add the oil and stir to combine.  Add the water slowly to combine and mix as you pour.

 

Press together the dough with wet hands.  Divide into 8 pieces and flatten individually in tortilla press until about 1/8 inch thick.

 

Heat large skillet.  Once it is hot, place each raw tortilla in skillet one at a time.  Allow to cook for 45-60 seconds, then turn for another 30-45 seconds.  It is better to undercook than overcook.  Remove from pan and place on a plate.  Use while still warm.

 

Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas

 

2 lb. boneless pork ribs, pork shoulder, or pork loin

2 t. salt (or less)

2 t. dried oregano

2 t. black pepper

2 t. cumin

1/2 large onion, cut in 4 pieces

 

Mix spices and rub over pork.  Place pork in slow cooker and scatter onion on top.  Cook pork 6 hours on low or 4 on high.  About 30 min. before done, shred pork with fork.  Let cook in juices for 30 min. before serving.  The meat is very tender.

 

 



healing

Rachel's troubles started again in September.  At first it was just a couple of days one weekend when she had a few tummy issues, then things were good again.  But as October, November, and December wore on, the days between bouts shortened and the symptoms increased.  Her IBS was back.

This is one of the many times I have been thankful we can homeschool to work around health issues.  However, it is hard not to be concerned when I see Rachel not wanting to eat and complaining of cramping and diarrhea on an almost daily basis.  We kept food logs, dropped gluten (dairy was already out), grew more careful about fatty meat, onion, and garlic, but it didn't seem like much we did made a difference.  Finally I looked into the FODMAPS diet for IBS and implemented it.  I added in digestive enzymes and probiotics for good measure. That did help some but the trouble continued. 

In January a friend from church mentioned the name of a holistic chiropractor so we made the appointment.  He told us to try cutting out refined sugar and had a few new suggestions about enzymes and probiotics that her body could better tolerate.  We added zinc and more recently magnesium.  Slowly but steadily Rachel began to get better! 

We're not there yet, but things are really on the upswing.  She still has to watch her fruit intake, because if things get out of hand, the intestinal cramping comes back.  Onion, garlic, and all meat are back on the menu.

So how does someone cut out refined sugar?  This is an area where I have to applaud Rachel for being willing to make some hard sacrifices, but she knows she feels so much better when she does!  Meijer sells coconut sugar that we use in place of regular sugar, and we also use Stevia in oatmeal and hot chocolate.  Actually, she has gotten to the point that she eats oatmeal with no sweeteners.  There is so little sugar in things like chocolate chips that she does well with those, even straight out of the bag.   Larabars are the new granola bar.  Homemade are not difficult at all. We're hopeful that eventually she will be able to tolerate a bit of sugar again one day.  Meanwhile, the rate at which popcorn disappears at our house continues to escalate. =D

Another day, another adjustment.  The cooking adventure continues! 

peek at the week

Josiah has figured out he can read, really read!!  What a magical moment! One morning I sent him up to get dressed and discovered him a few minutes later, in bed reading, only half changed.  Here he is sharing a story with Nana and Poppa at bedtime.

Some surprises in the new way we are doing school: Josiah loves the fingerplays and acting things out.  On this day he chose 5 stuffed animals and labeled them with the names of family members.  Then he chose an activity for each "person" to do based on what he knew they were interested in.  Here is "Micah" doing his schoolwork.

This was my favorite: "Daddy" and "Mommy" cooking together.

We had a little Valentine's party.  Rachel had already bought herself some crafts from Hobby Lobby with a birthday gift card and enjoyed making a sun-catcher.

 

Josiah made two Valentines, one for Daddy and one for his friend J who lives next door.

 

 

Announcing...the Clippers!

 

I either need to buy a better camera, or take better pictures, or both.  But had to capture a few shots of Micah playing Upward basketball.  His team has been so much fun to watch this year.  They work so well together.  Micah scored his first basket last night, but prefers to play defense and pass the ball off to someone else for a basket.  (He's the blurry one with the ball!)

His height is definitely an asset!  I did not realize how tall he had really gotten until I saw him out on the floor with other boys his age.  Makes it easier to grab those rebounds!  It will be sad to see the season come to an end.  As far as we can tell, it may be the last time Micah plays organized basketball.  But soccer is calling his name for high school...

beyond rewards and punishments: the Heart of discipline

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son...God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness." Hebrews 12:5-6, 10

 



Long, long ago, in another galaxy far, far away, before I had kids, I was trained to be a special education teacher.

I remember my college days with fondness.  The further along I went in my field, the more interesting this line of study became.  The classes on child development were insightful, information about learning disabilities and behavior disorders drew me in deeper, and the professors were skilled as they imparted their expertise to me.  What intrigued me the most, as my knees shook at the thought of being responsible for a classroom full of behaviorally challenged children, were the classes on behavior management.  Terms like variable reinforcement, rewards, and timeout became part of the toolbox I could carry with me into a career to help children with special challenges and help me to maintain some semblance of order in my classroom.  For 3 1/2 years I used these strategies while loving on students, working through tremendous behavior challenges, and helping little ones learn.  Granted, I had children in my classroom who most certainly had read every book on behavior management already and were working to rewrite them, but I was a teacher and could leave these things behind at the end of each day.

Then I became a parent.

My early parenting days were what I expected, filled with normal things like playing, trips to the park, snuggles, and enjoying library books together.  When behavior became an issue, I continued to pull my trusty behavior management tools out of the toolbox.  While not a perfect system, I often was able to elicit the response for which I hoped-- an obedient child.

As we added to our family, behavior challenges crept in that I wasn't expecting.  When Rachel was my sweet little toddler, she began to make it quite plain that there were certain situations, (especially those involving loud noises) of which she was highly intolerant.  I remember reaching into my trusty bag, promising rewards if she would just go into the echoing, noisy room for Vacation Bible School, or the sanctuary where we needed to attend a funeral service.  In addition to the uncomfortable sounds, she protested loudly to things like cutting her fingernails, brushing her hair or especially putting it up in any kind of pony tail, and wearing certain clothes.  My tools failed me.  No promises of good or threats of punishment were going to convince her to comply to my simple request to obey. 

When our youngest child arrived on the scene, things became intense.  Whether it was the texture of foods, loud noises, food sensitivities, or once again the cutting of fingernails, or even simple duties I would ask him to perform, his protests were long and easily heard within a one block radius of our house.  He would often lash at out those around him, was impulsive and had an overabundance of energy, and was extremely non-compliant.  By age three I was barely able to manage his behavior, even with strong and consistent reliance on behavior management techniques.  He could barely control himself for any length of time, often expressed anxiety, spun around, plugged his ears and shouted, and seemed uncomfortable in his own skin. 

What I did not fully understand at the time was that my youngest children both have forms of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), a term that I do not even remember from my college days.  Rachel was first diagnosed with a mild form as a preschooler, and we have recently come to understand that while her symptoms are subtle to the untrained eye, they are still very much there and do still affect her.  It is only recently that I really began to look at Josiah more closely through the lens of sensory issues (although due to Rachel's experience I have long suspected he had them), and began to see how pervasive they are to every day functioning...and behavior.

But what strikes me most is what I am discovering in my research on SPD.  The website Sensory Smart Parent states, "When a child's behavior is due to sensory processing issues, punishment and reward do not work as motivators."

I had to read that again.  And then slowly, reluctantly, I eased up my grip on my toolbox.

But what does work with children who have SPD?  For starters, they are helped most when taught coping skills.  When you take time to separate their emotional and physical needs from their behavior, and teach them to process what is going on in their bodies, they begin to develop their own tools for managing behavior.  How does this happen?  You have to enter into their world, talk to them about what they are experiencing, and help them find ways to manage. 

As a Christian parent, I am taking this lesson to heart.  For too long I have relied on a system of punishment and reward to shape my children's behavior.  That is not to say these things do not have their place.  In the Bible, God Himself disciplines His children with promises of blessing for obedience and the threat of curses for disobedience, especially throughout the Old Testament but also in the New.  However, through the gospel He shows us what is behind His discipline: a desire to reach our hearts.  He entered our world through the person of His Son and adopted us into His family. He disciples us, walks beside us through challenges, and equips us to overcome sin in the power of His Holy Spirit, which is the Person of God Himself, come to dwell within believers.

Slowly, God is showing me that parenting isn't simply behavior management.  It is about discipling my children, tending to heart issues, showing how the gospel speaks to daily living, including the challenges of sensory issues.*  Together we have seen God give my children courage to face anxiety-provoking situations in answer to prayer, although that is admittedly not always how He chooses to work. He's also given guidance in helping us to come up with plans that help my children to manage their own unique needs so they can self-regulate their behavior, and He continues to walk with us daily on a journey we weren't expecting to take.  The supernatural patience, the new understanding and consideration of other's needs, the forgiveness extended when we do sin against each other, the relationships we are building with God and each other through difficulties are far more valuable than making sure I have a specific behavior outcome. 

Slowly, according to His plan for us, I trust we are being made holy.  As we go through hard things trusting our kind Father is using them for our good, our lives are conforming to His standards.  We are learning the joy of being His children, and experiencing the relational love He expresses to us through His perfect discipline.  He's reaching our hearts.

*The sensations of SPD itself are not issues of the heart, (much like a child's irrational fear over getting a shot is not pure defiance), but they certainly do give us opportunities to address heart issues.

teaching a mover and shaker

For those who know Josiah, either in person or via this blog, it will come as no surprise to hear me say that he is a little boy who loves to move.  We started our kindergarten year with a curriculum I had pieced together by borrowing from friends and family.  Our days had a nice rhythm and routine, and we eased into "real school." 

 

Shortly after the beginning of school, a friend mentioned the name of a curriculum I had never heard of before.  I love looking at curriculum and seeing what's out there, so I sent for a catalog, thinking it would eventually end up in a drawer just like all the rest.

 

Well, I was wrong.  I looked at it, looked again, scoured the internet for reviews, looked up the website, and read the message board.  And then, when my little boy repeatedly fell out of his seat during fine motor activities and squirmed his way through a stack of stories that were above his comprehension level, I talked to Eric and we prayed.  Finally, the week after Christmas break, we switched.

 

What a switch.

 

We are in week 3 of Little Hearts for His Glory by Heart of Dakota.  I love that we have not lost anything at all by beginning mid-year.  The guide is for 5-7 year olds, and we can pick it up right where we left off when we start school next fall.  (Assuming we do put it down for the summer!)  We have Bible, dramatic play, artistic expression, science, and history planned out with an open and go, use-whatever-you-have-around-the-house format.  Story time is still a favorite, but readings are short enough to be savored and discussed, even acted out if we want.  I can add in my own phonics, handwriting, and math so we have lost nothing there.  But we have gained a child who is engaged in his learning.

 

 

After the lesson on Noah, we made a couple of boats out of aluminum foil.  The first one sank after adding two teddies, the second was a keeper!  How many teddy bears can float on it?  A lot!!!

 

 

Making the boat move without touching it...how's this for wind?

 

Say the memory verse before the Kleenex touches the ground!  Rachel looking on...she keeps asking me about what fun things she will be doing next year as we plan to switch her eventually, too.

 

For the lesson on the Tower of Babel, we had to pack a suitcase to leave.  I showed Josiah how to fold his clothes and put them in his suitcase.

 

Socks are tricky!

 

The best part?  He was talking complete gibberish because our language was confused!  The first thing he did was ask me a question in Spanish, but from there it turned into something I truly could not understand.  We loaded up the camel...then I left Josiah alone to play it out while I worked with another child.  He ended up somewhere in Japan, used his credit card, and stayed on the sixth floor of the motel. =D

 

Seatwork is exactly the same but somehow Josiah is finding that part more tolerable.  We are still adding in extra science because that's his thing.  But last week when I said something about school going great, he corrected me.

 

"No, Mom.  It's awesome!"

pictures

 

This little girl came to live with us a few weeks ago, an early birthday present for Rachel.  Or a late one...she has wanted a hamster since she was 10!  Gloria is crazy, climbing all over her cage, doing cannonballs off the top of her wheel, and once even finding her way out.  We think she fits in with our family quite nicely.  As far as waiting goes, Rachel has proven incredibly responsible in caring for her new pet.  She doesn't care for the stink, so Gloria gets a nice clean cage quite often.

 

Josiah loved putting together a model airplane with his daddy.  I think dad's feelings were mutual.

 

 

Last month we were invited to go to a homeschooling class about worms at Sugar Grove Nature Center.  Rachel and Josiah both participated and both enjoyed it.

 

Does this smile say anything about what kind of time Josiah was having?

 

I can't wait to take them to this month's class about bats!  Rachel has been studying them in science, and Josiah and I are almost there.