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! 

a complicated kitchen

If you were in my kitchen tonight, you would be able to smell the delicious scent of homemade gluten free chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven.  This is one of my favorite recipes.  Coconut oil used in place of shortening gives them a special melt-in-your-mouth flavor.  I don't miss the wheat flour and although admittedly some people do not care for the texture of rice flour, I don't think many people would turn their noses up at these. 

So much of the time, I can be content and thankful for the food journey we have been on.  My kids are healthy, overwhelming days of dealing with behavior are mostly behind us, many of my own stomach issues have subsided, and even Eric has benefited from the changes we have made with huge drops in his cholesterol and triglycerides.  Josiah has come so far in the past year, even in the past 4 months since school started as we tweaked a few little things about his diet.  What a difference the right food can make!

But there are a handful of days now and then when trouble comes creeping back.  Sometimes I see reactions in my very food-sensitive Josiah.  It may be just a matter of needing to back off of stage 2 (like the tomatoes we have been too joyfully allowing in the form of chili, although happily pizza once a week is that "just enough" amount of tomato sauce).  Another time it is a new reaction to a food like oatmeal that his body is not handling as well as it used to.  Not only does he become much more impulsive, on an affected school day he writes some of his letters and numbers backwards--unheard of on his good days--and takes at least twice as long to get things done.  He says his brain feels foggy.  My heart goes out to him even though I'm also worn down trying to keep up with what he needs.

For the past month, Rachel has had diarrhea at least once a week, a bit of a return of old symptoms of two years ago.  So far we suspect dairy and tomatoes as her worst offenders.  Why she did fine for two years but is now having a flare is beyond my understanding, but this is often the way with GI issues.  After spending considerable time and effort to make holiday feasting safe for my kids to eat, both she and Micah indulged in foods that caused digestive upset for the first part of the next week.  Josiah simply does not eat off diet, he did just fine.  There may be a lesson there, one that my older children need to internalize for themselves.  They are beginning to do so, and I'm blessed by their willing attitudes.

So, a deep breath, another look around the kitchen for tolerable food, another scouring for new recipes, and we forge ahead.  When I want to throw up my hands, I remember I don't have to go slaughter my own cow and make my own candles and soap.  But maybe, if I didn't know any better, that wouldn't be so bad. 

the true root cause?

One month of gluten free has meant amazing changes for Josiah.  I continue to be astounded every day by the things I am seeing in him not just as a mother but also as a teacher.  So where does that leave us now?

Here is what I have learned over the past 1 1/2 years on this diet journey after reading numerous books and talking to other parents who are successfully addressing their children's behavioral issues through diet:

1. ADHD type behavior can often be a symptom of food sensitivities. (However, there are many other symptoms of food sensitivities that can also include cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or physical health issues.)

2. Numerous food sensitivities are often a symptom of gut damage.

In theory, if you can address what is damaging the gut, you may eventually be able to decrease the number of food sensitivities.

Things that can damage the gut include:
-antibiotics (which destroy good gut bacteria and allow yeast to proliferate)--Josiah was on these almost constantly for a year when he was a toddler
-inflammation (due to food sensitivities like gluten)
-lack of nutrients in a diet of over-processed foods and/or an inability to absorb nutrients (especially when gluten or casein sensitivity is a factor)
-other environmental factors  (food additives, pesticides, even the many chemicals released through scented products or absorbed through the skin from soaps)

How to address gut damage:
-pull irritating foods and chemicals
-probiotics
-appropriate supplements
-improve the nutritional value of diet


We've addressed sensitivities, now we are addressing the gut and praying that sensitivities improve.  Only time will tell, but we are amazed and thankful that God has brought us this far.

why we're homeschooling (well, not the only reason!)

Micah woke up with another stomach ache this morning.  Funny how often these happen the morning after youth group*!  All he had was Cheetos, so I looked up the ingredients.  There, near the bottom of the list, was MSG.  A few weeks ago he was sick after eating scotcharoos.  Marshmallows are made with gelatin, which contains a naturally occuring form of MSG.

This is the fifth time since we started the school year that he's had to work through a day sick, although only two have been from MSG.  At least he can keep going now, and he's not counted absent from school.  And slowly, he's learning what not to eat.

*By the way, this isn't meant to be an indictment against youth group; it's just an indication of how many foods that teens like to snack on contain MSG!

finding new favorites

Ah, sweet relief.  That's how I feel this morning, the first in over a week that I have awakened without a headache.  A funny thing happened when I took chocolate out of my diet; I found another headache trigger: tomatoes.  It seems that fresh are Ok but cooked and sauces are not.  Goodbye to pizza, spaghetti, and chili, some of my very favorite foods.  Thankfully, since Josiah is also sensitive to tomatoes, I know there are tasty alternatives.  Still, this week I complained light-heartedly to Micah, "I'm having to give up all my favorite foods!"  My sweet son gave me a hug and said, "Well, Mom, you are going to have to find some new favorites." 

He's right, of course, and here is one of them.  I love the cupcake recipe made from coconut flour from a friend's blog, and tried topping it with a caramel icing.  The frosting was melting into the cupcakes in this hot summer weather (even with the AC on), so I stuck the pan of cupcakes in the freezer.  What a great treat to pull out on a hot summer's day!  Besides the icing, it's relatively low in sugar, another thing my body is not dealing with well right now.

In the end, it is more than worth it to be headache free.  I'm looking forward to many happy mornings to come!  And, happily, the tomatoes ripening in my garden will be something I can still enjoy.

Caramel Frosting

2 T. butter
3 T. milk
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

Boil first 3 ingredients for 1 min. on high.  Beat in powdered sugar, 1/2 c. at a time.

say, "cheese!"

After we had success giving Josiah some Kilgus Farmstead milk, I had a hunch that natural, organic cheese would also work for him.  So today, we headed out to the Ropp Jersey Cheese store just outside of town.  This is one of those special places where we even know the owners.  I knew from past experience that we could try free samples and find out before even buying if the cheese would work for Josiah.  He tried the cheddar curds and some Cojack cheese, delighting in every bite...and no reactions.  We headed outdoors to pet some calves, a turkey, and some goats, and also watched through the window where they make the cheese.  Then back in to grab a few varieties along with a package of antibiotic-free and hormone-free ground beef.  What a fun shopping experience, and we look forward to many more.  I can hardly wait to make pizza and calzones with real cheese for everyone this week! 

Does it cost more to shop this way?  Yes, if you are making the switch from the cheapest store brands, although not a lot.  But it will save us money over what we were spending on milk substitutes.  It is a good feeling, too, to support our local farmers.  Their hard work and services mean a lot to us!

got milk?

I was ready to give up on milk.  Then I found this at our health food store and cautiously let Josiah try it.   He does not react to it at all.  Amazing!!  It sure tastes great, too.  It is not homogenized, but a good shake before pouring takes care of the cream that rises to the top.

I'm still not sure what it is that would make this milk better for Josiah than what we were buying before.  He is very sensitive to added vitamins and some corn derivatives.  It could be that, or it could be that healthy cows allowed to pasture feed really do produce better milk.  A year ago I didn't even want to attempt to understand the arguments behind organic food, but I'm coming around when I see the difference it makes in a child with so many food sensitivities. 

I can't wait to try their yogurt.  Now if we could just find some cheese that works for him...

helping picky eaters

[caption id="attachment_1497" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Josiah asked for a lettuce salad with shredded carrots after reading a book about green foods."][/caption]

When my youngest was a baby just starting on solid foods, I grew very excited with each new food we tried.  He loved it all!  Fruits, vegetables, cereal, crackers...all went down happily and without a fuss.  After spending months battling every bottle due to reflux, this was so rewarding.  I thought perhaps he had finally found joy in eating something that didn't hurt his tummy and he just couldn't get enough.

Soon, however, his acceptance of new foods dwindled.  He began to limit himself to a few fruits, breads, and cheese.  Looking back I know this probably happened with the new addition of milk to his diet (he was soy-fed as an infant).  I now had on my hands the pickiest eater of all.

Dealing with Josiah's pickiness was a battle.  He was incredibly irritable if he didn't get food in his tummy at each meal, so I did what many moms do: I made him his own suppers alongside ours.  We had to feed him something!  Therefore I gave in even further to his self-limited diet.

That is where we found ourselves a year ago, before we started changing how we eat.  His iron was low and his behavior out of control.  Slowly but surely, we pulled foods out of his diet that were irritating.  The funny thing was, most of these foods were the very ones he craved.  And when you take out one favorite, you have to find something to replace it.  Viola!  His diet improved and his pickiness began to subside.

In her book What's Eating Your Child, Kelly Dorfman describes her E.A.T. program for picky eaters.  The strategy follows like this:

E-Eliminate any irritants that may be causing a bad reaction.  (If food sensitivities are not an issue, this could simply mean eliminating unhealthy foods from the diet.)

A-Add one food at a time.

T-Try one bite of this food each night for two weeks.

We know this works--it is basically what we have done with our youngest!  Our own variation on the last step is simply trying new or previously disliked foods, one bite at a time.  We call this our "try it" bite.  In this way my daughter has learned to love broccoli (especially when she tried it with garlic salt sprinkled on top) and Josiah has added a greater tolerance for meats, vegetables, and other new foods.  I try to serve a variety of foods at each meal, making sure there is something everyone can get filled up on, but I am no longer a short order cook (except for Josiah's special sensitivities.)

Other ideas for helping kids learn to like new foods:

-Let them help with cooking.

-Read books about food.

-Try ethnic recipes and make it an adventure that everyone participates in together.

-Don't badger but do be firm.  "You can get down from the table and play after your 'try it' bite is gone."

-Try a food fixed different ways.

-If you child is a dipper, provide a dip for the new food.  Mustard, honey, whatever it takes to get it to go down.

-Model adventurous eating yourself.

It has been 6 months since we removed the irritant of milk from Josiah's diet, the last of several foods we found that were bothering him.  The result has meant a much less picky eater.  He is even asking to try things like fish, beets, carrots, and lettuce.  The more I read about nutrition, the more I realize eating a variety of foods is an investment in my family's health and well-being.

Bon appetit!  I think our adventuresome eater has returned.

[caption id="attachment_1498" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="He loved it!"][/caption]

mystery solved?

Thankfully, Micah made it most of the way through his trip without getting sick.  However, after eating at a couple of restaurants on Sunday, he woke up quite ill in the night.  We researched the ingredients of what he ate and discovered he had a hefty dose of MSG.  This is what I have begun to suspect is causing his tummy issues.  While I'm sad he was sick, it's a relief to think we might have discovered his trigger.

We also finally found a way to settle Micah's stomach when it is upset.  The magic cure?  Baking soda.  His stomach troubles usually last 4-6 days, but after taking baking soda twice yesterday, he is feeling great this morning.  We put it in empty capsules so he could take it more easily.  One thing to remember: do not take with carbonated beverages. :)

It's really great to have all my kids home again!!

radio interview

Dr. Carlton has been working closely with the Feingold Organization for many years.  If you look for his topic of Food and Mood at this link, you can listen to his radio interview from this past week. 

A few highlights:

The three biggest food offenders for learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, health issues, and even depression in adults: dairy, wheat, and chocolate.

90% of children reacted to food additives in a double blind study.  Some do react much more strongly than others.

Children who were treated with the Feingold diet and then given vitamins in a double blind study saw 2-3 years increase in reading comprehension.  Some went off the vitamins and the increase in comprehesion lasted for an additional 1 1/2 years.  He urged parents not to buy their children vitamins with additives or fillers.

This one is lovely: Undertakers are saying that it takes the human body longer to decompose than it used to, due to our consumption of preservatives.

you are what you eat

About a year ago, I sat chatting with a friend about this and that, and she brought up a blog post she had read recently about cutting out food containing preservatives.  I thought, "Wow, that's strange" about trying such a thing, and the conversation drifted to other topics. 

Two months later, at the end of my rope with our youngest child and his behavior, I was reading everything I could find about the Feingold diet as a way to manage ADHD.  This approach was incredibly successful, and suddenly I was in the same camp as the blog author, cooking from scratch and cutting preservatives and more out of my own family's diet.

Feingold has helped with many things, but more than anything it has directed me to a world that I never really considered and barely knew existed: the world of nutrition and its influence on health.  Organic foods, GMO's, vitamins, fish oil...all this and more has become a part of my working vocabulary, and I have seen firsthand how some of it affects my own children.  Consider:

-Chronic constipation in my breast-fed daughter, from birth.  Breast-fed babies are not supposed to be constipated.  For years she was on and off laxatives, many of which I hope never pass her lips again.  Then came the chronic diarrhea/constipation cycle.  Then other health issues.  While we don't completely understand all that was involved, every symptom disappeared when we removed dairy from her diet.  Her handwriting even improved. 

-Our youngest son was diagnosed with ADHD, but there was much more to the story.  As an infant he suffered from true GERD and feeding difficulties associated with it, then when he went on whole milk he started a cycle of ear and sinus infections.  Later he dealt with anxiety, was an incredibly picky eater, had geographic tongue, was always hungry to the point of irritability, and his iron was low.  Removing artificials from food was only part of the answer.  Removing salicylates helped the anxiety, constant hunger, and geographic tongue.  Removing milk meant no more spinning around, hyperactive behavior, and less pickiness in eating.  Adding iron and a multivitamin caused another bump up in behavior and more openness in trying new foods.

-Our oldest is still a bit of a mystery, but using some detective work is getting us closer to understanding his digestive triggers.  One thing we've learned is that clean eating means better health, even for him.

All this to say, I had never considered the impact of proper nutrition on the health of my children until this past year. 

Kelly Dorfman, a nutritionist, has written a book called What's Eating Your Child? that addresses the impact of nutrition on children.   In insightful, compelling case studies she uncovers the connections between nutrition and picky eating, anxiety, ear infections, digestive issues, learning and behavioral difficulties, allergies, educational success, and so much more.  As I devour each page, I am confirmed that those things I have suspected play a role in my children's difficulties are not fiction but fact. 

I honestly wish every parent, pediatrician, nutritionist, and educator could read this book.  I wish I'd had it when my children were younger.  It may have saved them some damage, unnecessary and costly medical procedures, and many difficulties.  And once I'm done reading it, we may never eat the same again.  But then again, that was a path we'd already started traveling.

The tide seems to be turning.  I'm hopeful that the next generation will know far more than I did.  I'm hopeful that more parents and doctors will know how they can help children heal through good nutrition.

www.whatseatingyourchild.com

$5 dinner mom--mmm...., yummy!

I've been enjoying my new $5 Dinner Mom cookbooks, and so have my kids.  Tonight we had our favorite recipes...they are so delicious and well-received here, I thought I'd share.

Baked Parmesan Chicken Fingers

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins

1/2 c. fine cornmeal

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (leave out if you have milk allergy)

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 large egg

2 T. milk or milk substitute

1 c. spaghetti or marinara sauce for dipping (I used pizza sauce, recipe to follow)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  In small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and milk.  In another small bowl, toss together the corn meal, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Dip each tenderloin into the egg-milk mixture and then coat with cornmeal mixture.  Place coated tenderloins into the prepared baking dish.  Bake in preheated oven 25-30 min. or until cooked through.  Serve with sauce for dipping.

Homemade pizza sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 t. oregano

1 t. dried basil

 1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion powder

2 t. extra-virgin olive oil

In a small saucepan, whisk the tomato sauce with spice and olive oil.  Simmer for 6-8 min.  Store any extra sauce in freezer for next time!

My oldest has always had a thing for lemon, even more so than chocolate.  We are once again trying gluten with good success (we are wondering if MSG or some other chemical is responsible for his digestive issues).  He loves this recipe (in spite of the coconut, which you could leave out but why would you?) so I double it to freeze the extra loaf.  He can take the extra one with him to Niagara Falls next week.

Lemon Coconut Bread

3/4 c. sugar

4 T. butter or margarine

2 T. canola oil

2 T. baby pear sauce (for FG stage 1 kids like Josiah) or applesauce

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. lemon extract

2 t. lemon juice

2 1/2 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 c. sweetened coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In bowl of stand mixer, stir the sugar, butter or margarine, oil, pear or applesauce, eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts, and lemon juice until smooth.  Then mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until a batter forms.  It will be thick.  Stir in coconut flakes.  Spread batter into prepared pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 min., or until a toothpick comes out clean from center.  Let cool before serving.

redefining hard

When I decided to join the Feingold Association to see if it would help Josiah's behavior issues, changing how we ate sounded hard.  Apparently I am not the only mom who feels this way, because I ran across a little article somewhere in materials that redefined hard.  (That article is the basis for the rest of this post.)

Little did I know what else we were in for with dairy and gluten also being a problem for the kids.  Now, it looks like we will have to go back to a gluten-free diet to bring Micah's diarrhea episodes back under control.  Once again, I find myself returning to what hard really is.

Hard is:

-trying to control your preschooler's behavior with every discipline technique you've ever heard of, only to have none of it work and thus feel like an ineffective and terrible parent.

-pulling your son off the dog or siblings every 5 minutes.

-watching your son yell and cover his ears every time he eats and not knowing why.

-trying to have a conversation with others, only to have your son interrupt every two seconds on purpose.

-not being able to find anything to keep your son busy for more than 2 minutes at a time.

-listening to someone explain the ADHD diagnosis that your 3-year-old just received, and finding out that aside from medication, the interventions offered are really not that much more helpful that what has already been tried.

Hard is:

-taking your child to dr. after dr. and being told time and again there is nothing wrong with them, even though they are experiencing diarrhea every other week.

-being told by a specialist that the dietary interventions you are trying are a waste of time.

-watching  your preteen son miss cross-country meets, field trips, end of year festivals, and scores of days of school, and then being docked a half a grade for excessive absences.

-calling the school attendance line again and wonder how many more times before they alert the truant officer.

-having a constantly disrupted routine because you never know when someone is going to be sick.

So with all those things considered, hard really is not:

having to shop from a foodlist, monitoring every bite, spending more on groceries and supplements, avoiding favorite fruits and vegetables, keeping everyone's very different food allergies in mind while cooking dinner, snacks, and desserts; going gluten and dairy free, sending your own food with your child on a trip or to camp, having less than a handful of restaurants to eat at, or wondering how your child is going to manage once they are away from home and have to do all this themselves, let alone finding a spouse who will understand.

Well, at least that's not quite as hard...maybe it's all relative.

let them eat gluten...

Micah and Rachel are back on gluten, and doing fine.  Some things in life are a mystery!!  Yet our journey to gluten-free was not without benefits...if they or anyone they know ever have to eat this way, they know it's possible and even delicious.

Here's a special salute to my gluten-free friends!

progress and updates

We recently had Josiah's iron retested, and it was still low.  I was finally able to find some hypoallergenic iron tabs he could take, and even located some children's multivitamins with no additives that he could handle.  It's a good thing this little boy can swallow pills!

I'm not sure if it's the vitamins, but once again I see progress.  There is less anxiety (that could be the iron), he's more open to new foods, and he's maturing before my very eyes (that could be normal!) 

Micah has missed 39 days of school this year, confirming our decision to homeschool for the coming year.  We think we've finally found his trigger: dairy.  During this 4-day weekend we're trying gluten again and so far, he's doing well.

Rachel has been healthy for months now, and her shoulder pain has been gone for several weeks.  This weekend she's trying some cheese with lactaid and so far, she's doing well.

Perhaps we're on the road to healing.

got food allergies?

The challenge at my house: find food and prepare healthy meals that do not contain garlic, onion, artificial ingredients, molasses, chocolate, tomatoes, several fruits, certain corn derivatives including corn syrup, not to mention the biggies: gluten or dairy.  And of course, make sure to stick to a budget while doing this.  Finally, the food has to taste good or no one will eat it.  If that happens, we're really in trouble because it's pretty difficult to find an allergy friendly restaurant to run to if my cooking efforts fail.

Thankfully, one recipe at a time, I've learned to cook for a family of food reactors.  And what we eat is usually good!  Still, we miss some of the good, less healthy versions of the American diet.  Like...doughnuts.  We have a Krispy Kreme in town and their doughnuts seem to show up as birthday treats at school as well as a morning snack at church quite often.  I'm proud of my kids for refraining because I know how much they like them.  Yet they seem to know how much they like feeling well.

Someone shared a website with me: www.allergygrocer.com.  It's pretty nifty: you simply place a check in a box of allergens to avoid, and they display products you may actually be able to eat.  We found biscuits, pretzels, pastry puffs (no idea why the 12-year-old insisted on these!), bread, bagels,...and doughnuts!!  The mixes aren't badly priced, and my rational was that having a mix was one step closer to the finished product.  If it's a hit, I'll try and find a recipe and do it all from scratch.

The doughnut mix sat in my cupboard several weeks while I gathered courage to use my deep fryer for the first time...ever!  But one hot April evening I didn't want to turn on the oven, so the fryer and mix came out.

I fried the doughnut holes until they floated and were brown, hoping for the best.  A small melon ball scoop was perfect for the job of forming doughnut holes.

The mix made a huge amount: almost 50!!

I considered making glaze, but rolling 50 doughnuts in powdered sugar easily won the "less fuss" idea. 

Verdict: these were absolutely delicious, especially while still hot.  I'm not sure I could make this recipe any better from scratch, but we'll see if I can work up the courage to try!

good food and good company

Today was sunny and almost warm with a slight breeze.  We went to visit a friend and found to the 4-year-old's delight, she had a morning of kite-flying planned for us.  Josiah ran off his energy all around the yard, dragging a kite behind him that usually stayed up in the air and out of the trees.

Then we headed inside, where the warmth still felt good after being out in the spring breeze.  Our friend turned on her waffle iron and shared these cookies with me.  Since Josiah couldn't have them, I asked for the recipe, brought it home, and revamped the ingredients so all three kids could enjoy.  (Josiah gets his with carob chips.)  Not needing gluten free?  Use regular flour and oatmeal, leave out the xanthan gum, and you can make it just like our friend did!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

1/2 c. butter or margarine

1/2 c. + 2 T. brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. GF all purpose flour

3/4 t. xanthan gum

1/2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 c. GF rolled oats

1 c. chocolate chips

1. Heat waffle iron.

2. Whisk butter and brown sugar.  Whisk in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

3. Coat griddle with nonstick spray.  Use a tablespoon or small scoop to portion out a cookie on to each waffle square.  Brown 1 1/2-3 min.

*Variations: add coconut, walnuts, use 1/2 white chocolate chips and chocolate chips, or try blueberries!

article about diet as treatment for autism/ADHD

http://www.nourishinghope.com/page.php?f=u

FDA hearing on food dyes

Starting this Wednesday, the FDA will hold a hearing on the safety of food dyes, reviewing research on the behavioral effects in children.  This article to be published in tomorrow's Washington Post does an excellent job of presenting the issue.  Please read it and pray for the outcome of this week's hearing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rainbow-of-food-dyes-in-our-grocery-aisles-has-a-dark-side/2011/03/21/AFyIwaYB_story.html?hpid=z3

still can't believe how far we have come

With spring quickly approaching, my thoughts have often returned to last summer.  I remember long days that often ended in tears, constantly battling the behavior of a certain little boy.  No more!!!  With the help of some digestive enzymes which have lessened the affects of Josiah's numerous food sensitivities, I can count on normal 4-year-old behavior almost every day.  Yes, we still have behavior issues--the same ones all 4-year-olds have.  

Four is a marvelous age!!!  There is so much still to be learned, and children this age soak everything up like a sponge.  Josiah is no exception.  We continue to do preschool together 3 days a week.  I've loved using our curriculum to teach him about the world God made, and he loves it, too.  Last week we planted seeds and he had to run and check on them every 5 minutes to see if they were growing yet!!  Josiah was incredibly excited about Sunday School this week where they taught about the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit...something we had learned together the first weeks of preschool. 

One of our favorite activities is above: using Wikki Stiks to form letters.  Fine motor skills seem to come later for my kids so we enjoy any extra practice we can get in this area.  Josiah also loves to sound out 3-letter words.  He seems to think this is a game!! 

Some of the best moments these days are the ones I least expect.  I'll look up, and my little guy is on the floor, playing with toys.  I still shake my head and remember the days when he would rarely play by himself.  Other times, he'll be on the couch looking at a story.  He loves to listen to me read but has rarely sat still by himself with a book.  Then there are the times he spends playing with the older kids. 

We are enjoying and thanking God for these precious days!