hello all!
it was my dream to blog about the incredible home schooling events that are taking place daily in this house...BUT...i am sooooooooooooooo freaking busy!
i am doing school for kids, diet changes, school for me, Bible studies, family time, friend time...one gets the picture! my life is SCHEDULED to the max...and i LOVE IT!
i have never been so happy...i need to schedule a weekly blog in the mix...hmmm..note to self!
j-bob's rash is MUCH better. figured out it was a combination of too many sugar/starches in his diet, gluten cross contamination, and needing to be back on probiotics. i can say that the first week or so of fighting that yeast was very unpleasant, but my darling boy is rocking it out again! and a side benefit of no sugar/starches in this house is a reduction of 4 inches from my waist AND an even happier mermaid!
home schooling is...the biggest blessing since my husband and birth of my babies. i am enjoying every minute of it...even the tough ones. the character training and Godly hearts that are being cultivated (in the WHOLE family) is worth every less minute of alone time i could possibly dream of! it's even worth the running void that said less alone time has left in my schedule!
the kiddos, just last night, were voluntarily lying on an outstretched map trying to locate flags and countries from a prayer journal we are studying (brings awareness of other children's struggles in different countries). quite thrilling to see such genuine interest. if i do nothing right...it is my heart felt desire that these kiddos fall in love with knowledge, wisdom, and develop a deep, living relationship with our incredible Lord.
due to natural flow of the conversation, i did break it to the kiddos that there is in fact no REAL santa...mermaid grinned really big after the information set in and said: well...we still have JESUS!! j-bob wasn't sad at all, but he wondered how the presents were in the house on Christmas morning. i explained the details and his only complaint was that WE ate the COOKIES! i laughed so hard.
it is quite funny the productions we go through for the "sake of our children"...when all they care about is found in the most simplistic ways of living.
My Quivers
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
research research research
well...this seems so simple, but i have finally put my mind around what i need to do in regard to j-bob's diet.
first we have eliminated all sugar and white starches and most grains (keeping quinao flour in back pocket as needed as i have such a sensory sensitive child). i tried to do some home made fruit and juice popsicles but they caused j-bob's rash to flare up (at least i think...he also dipped into his daddy's toothpaste, but at least it is gluten free). so we are back to the basics.
i am going to try coconut flour, but if i need to will use quinoa flour in small amounts to cover his chicken. also, i am going to make various meat "puffs" aka meat balls that have veggies grated into them. i have made a ketchup he can tolerate, and it has a small amount of honey. he also will be getting green apple, celery, carrot sticks, and tahini with a tad of honey as snack. one time a day he is allowed air popped pop corn. we shall see. this drastically reduces his starches. after 2 weeks i will slowly add other food or take away as needed. from what i am reading pear juice doesn't seem to hurt. i am going to try "popsicles" with pear juice, avocados, and coconut milk...may or may not succeed.
supplements...ahhhh...the biggie. i have started back kirkman's pro bio gold...it's a hefty probiotic. we are on 2 capsules a day (for a few weeks) to try to crowd out the bad stuff. i am going to add digestive enzymes, a butter oil/CLO oil capsule, and his daily vitamin and companion powder over the next month. these are the basics...according to all i have put together. there is literally dozens of other things he may need, but i am hoping and praying that God will let this list do most of the work. it's really quite amazing what i have been ignoring this last year. i am thankful his skin is so reactive as skin reactions are so tangible.
i am happy to go into detail or link research as needed...esp if you are interested in name brands. i will let you know some successful recipes as we find them. just know this...every single person should drastically reduce if not piratically eliminate all sugar...at least in the white form. honey, agave nectar, and raw are healthier choices, but i am learning that stevia and xylitol are even better.
first we have eliminated all sugar and white starches and most grains (keeping quinao flour in back pocket as needed as i have such a sensory sensitive child). i tried to do some home made fruit and juice popsicles but they caused j-bob's rash to flare up (at least i think...he also dipped into his daddy's toothpaste, but at least it is gluten free). so we are back to the basics.
i am going to try coconut flour, but if i need to will use quinoa flour in small amounts to cover his chicken. also, i am going to make various meat "puffs" aka meat balls that have veggies grated into them. i have made a ketchup he can tolerate, and it has a small amount of honey. he also will be getting green apple, celery, carrot sticks, and tahini with a tad of honey as snack. one time a day he is allowed air popped pop corn. we shall see. this drastically reduces his starches. after 2 weeks i will slowly add other food or take away as needed. from what i am reading pear juice doesn't seem to hurt. i am going to try "popsicles" with pear juice, avocados, and coconut milk...may or may not succeed.
supplements...ahhhh...the biggie. i have started back kirkman's pro bio gold...it's a hefty probiotic. we are on 2 capsules a day (for a few weeks) to try to crowd out the bad stuff. i am going to add digestive enzymes, a butter oil/CLO oil capsule, and his daily vitamin and companion powder over the next month. these are the basics...according to all i have put together. there is literally dozens of other things he may need, but i am hoping and praying that God will let this list do most of the work. it's really quite amazing what i have been ignoring this last year. i am thankful his skin is so reactive as skin reactions are so tangible.
i am happy to go into detail or link research as needed...esp if you are interested in name brands. i will let you know some successful recipes as we find them. just know this...every single person should drastically reduce if not piratically eliminate all sugar...at least in the white form. honey, agave nectar, and raw are healthier choices, but i am learning that stevia and xylitol are even better.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Some Good Books
i have read 10 or more books this summer.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller was a fantastic memoir. i have fallen in love with the way she writes! her memoir not only exposes her life but also exposes the beauty of africa yet the ugliness of war.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was another incredible novel about africa...well...a family in africa...it was beyond good...i also fell in love with kingsolver's ability to tell a tale!
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill was so good that i could barely put it down. something about this book gripped me immediately and spoke to my soul. it's about a little girl being ripped away from her family in africa and being brought back to US as a slave. i was even able to convince OA to read it!
i have read so many good books that i can barely express the goodness of each one, let alone remember what they were, without locating my list! i think that each summer i am going to challenge myself to complete my own summer reading program! maybe i can inspire my kiddos...mermaid already sits at the book shelf lovingly...and she is never far from a huge stack of books!
celiac disease
so i posted about jaden's rash. a dear blog reader took the time to post a comment back which has led me to really dig deep into some research again. i have run across the term dermatitis herpetiformis before when looking into jaden's rashes. i don't know why i have been so lax about his celiac genetic marker from our DAN! visit...just because his blood test came back negative (and when have i EVER needed a blood test to confirm something for me??)...which...his blood tests from the DAN! did confirm the deficiencies that are so typical for celiac disease!! sigh...we have been using all kinds of toothpastes, soaps...well...he gets special soap but we use other in the same tub without proper cleaning, hair gels from my husand's head, play dough, etc. bottom line...i have been more focused on his brain reaction to foods and less focused on his gut reaction...which...is the foundation of all the other problems.
on the same note...i have gone back and forth on my diet...allowing other's comments to allow me to believe that i am simply crazy and without a proper diagnosis i could never be celiac myself...well...all i can say is: PHOOEY on that!!
j-bob has the genetic marker from someone. i have nearly every symptom to include the most recent blood in stool (sorry, too much information) which had gone away for the first time once i started the kiddos diet! it may not be celiac disease...but there is a DEF gluten sensitivity in this house...SO...i will be combing this house for ALL THINGS SAID GLUTEN!! if nothing else, if nothing else i am hoping j-bob's skin will continue to improve AND if my monthly visitor can become more of a friend and less of a crippling painful ghost that haunts...OH BABY!!
please see kat's blog for a great introduction on celiac.
on the same note...i have gone back and forth on my diet...allowing other's comments to allow me to believe that i am simply crazy and without a proper diagnosis i could never be celiac myself...well...all i can say is: PHOOEY on that!!
j-bob has the genetic marker from someone. i have nearly every symptom to include the most recent blood in stool (sorry, too much information) which had gone away for the first time once i started the kiddos diet! it may not be celiac disease...but there is a DEF gluten sensitivity in this house...SO...i will be combing this house for ALL THINGS SAID GLUTEN!! if nothing else, if nothing else i am hoping j-bob's skin will continue to improve AND if my monthly visitor can become more of a friend and less of a crippling painful ghost that haunts...OH BABY!!
please see kat's blog for a great introduction on celiac.
Monday, August 17, 2009
splitting head ache...amazing day
oh...i have the worst head ache i have ever had. it could be from the 3 day lack of all things said: sugar.
or even psuedo-sugar...OR...it could be bc OA ran out and bought the store's worth of sugar free jello and hard candy! i don't do aspartame...but i have today...and i think it's going to kill me faster than my diet!
but i am liking this south beach life style...i wish it never had the term "diet" associated with it...as i would've given it a look sooner!! it's really an amazing detox/healthy living way of life. OA is actually eating veggies...well...sort of. i am wishing i had written down my ingredients to my "bean" dinner tonight...as they were fantastic, AND my darling husband ate all kinds of veggies (i was not allowed to tell him what was in it...HA)!!
anyhow...this may all be incoherent as my head really feels like it's in a vice grip, but i wanted to remember this day. it was our first "official" day of school. we started several weeks ago and then i decided to stop being so type A and let the precious kiddos have their last week of summer break. today was fantastic...it really was...amazing. my kids are singing their memory verses randomly...for fun...and they are remembering them, too! they are enjoying learning...i am enjoying watching them learn. it's all so surreal. really. and then the friends we have and are making in this process is just...a God send. we met said friends at the "duck" pond close to our house. the kiddos got to feed the ducks...actually only two ducks and a gaggle of geese...did you know geese hissed when scared/irritated? well...you do now!
we followed up the feeding of ducks with a walk to the park area...and followed that up with a lego play date for the boys in j-bob's room...mermaid was in rarest of rare forms...very very talkative and extremely un-shy!
i need to post our new diet regime for the kiddos...but needless to say...with the exception of the gfcfsf turkey dogs (that have chemicals...argh...only bc i cannot afford the others) she hasn't had one single chemical in her precious little body. i checked my feingold diet list, and she's pretty much on feingold stage one except those turkey dogs...she did have a head ache this am...and she ate curry chicken last night which had bell peppers and spices that aren't allowed in feingold stage one due to their being high in salicylates...and i am curious to see if she has another head ache in the am...as our meal had several spices not allowed in stage one. ALSO, thanks to a dear blog reader i may have figured out j-bob's rash...we are combing the house/current food items for hidden sources of gluten...i have also pulled alot of his "comfort" starch/sugar foods...and started him back on his probiotic. his skin is considerably better and his eye contact is coming back...alot less crying spells...but really that doesn't make sense as i would expect the yeast die off would cause a worse-before-better kind of reaction. i doubled his probiotic tonight...we shall see what tomorrow holds...maybe it's been hidden gluten this whole time? and maybe it was cross contamination from his beloved: ruffles...aka...stripey chips!
ok...enough rambling...sorry...tonight's post was more for me than anything...helps me sort out my thoughts to see them...thank you for indulging my head-ache-induced-rambling!!
or even psuedo-sugar...OR...it could be bc OA ran out and bought the store's worth of sugar free jello and hard candy! i don't do aspartame...but i have today...and i think it's going to kill me faster than my diet!
but i am liking this south beach life style...i wish it never had the term "diet" associated with it...as i would've given it a look sooner!! it's really an amazing detox/healthy living way of life. OA is actually eating veggies...well...sort of. i am wishing i had written down my ingredients to my "bean" dinner tonight...as they were fantastic, AND my darling husband ate all kinds of veggies (i was not allowed to tell him what was in it...HA)!!
anyhow...this may all be incoherent as my head really feels like it's in a vice grip, but i wanted to remember this day. it was our first "official" day of school. we started several weeks ago and then i decided to stop being so type A and let the precious kiddos have their last week of summer break. today was fantastic...it really was...amazing. my kids are singing their memory verses randomly...for fun...and they are remembering them, too! they are enjoying learning...i am enjoying watching them learn. it's all so surreal. really. and then the friends we have and are making in this process is just...a God send. we met said friends at the "duck" pond close to our house. the kiddos got to feed the ducks...actually only two ducks and a gaggle of geese...did you know geese hissed when scared/irritated? well...you do now!
we followed up the feeding of ducks with a walk to the park area...and followed that up with a lego play date for the boys in j-bob's room...mermaid was in rarest of rare forms...very very talkative and extremely un-shy!
i need to post our new diet regime for the kiddos...but needless to say...with the exception of the gfcfsf turkey dogs (that have chemicals...argh...only bc i cannot afford the others) she hasn't had one single chemical in her precious little body. i checked my feingold diet list, and she's pretty much on feingold stage one except those turkey dogs...she did have a head ache this am...and she ate curry chicken last night which had bell peppers and spices that aren't allowed in feingold stage one due to their being high in salicylates...and i am curious to see if she has another head ache in the am...as our meal had several spices not allowed in stage one. ALSO, thanks to a dear blog reader i may have figured out j-bob's rash...we are combing the house/current food items for hidden sources of gluten...i have also pulled alot of his "comfort" starch/sugar foods...and started him back on his probiotic. his skin is considerably better and his eye contact is coming back...alot less crying spells...but really that doesn't make sense as i would expect the yeast die off would cause a worse-before-better kind of reaction. i doubled his probiotic tonight...we shall see what tomorrow holds...maybe it's been hidden gluten this whole time? and maybe it was cross contamination from his beloved: ruffles...aka...stripey chips!
ok...enough rambling...sorry...tonight's post was more for me than anything...helps me sort out my thoughts to see them...thank you for indulging my head-ache-induced-rambling!!
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