Well, I did it. I made bread! We were out of bread, I had the ingredients and we don't get paid until tomorrow. So, I made what we needed. I also made bread for Addi and the boys. Their bread is about $5 a loaf. I can make it much cheaper and I do have to say that it tastes about 300,000 times better then the stuff I buy.
The bread I made for us came out well, but is a bit sweet. It is really good with ham and as toast, but I am not sure I like it for our normal bread.
We are trying to cut back on expenses and live lean. We have spent way too much on groceries in the past and I am doing my best to cut our grocery spending to a minimum. One of the ways that I have found that I can do this is by making the kids gluten free baked goods. I have the time now that the boys are in school all day and my house actually stays cleaned up. It is amazing.
I plan on making a schedule for which foods I make on what days.
I loved the smell of the house as I baked today and I was able to clean my messes as I went instead of being interrupted 10 times and not being able to get back to the kitchen to clean up the mess.
I am looking for a good bread recipe. I am not against using other grains in my bread. So if you have a bread recipe that you love I would love to try it.
I thought that I would be board with the kids in school, but I am having fun cooking and baking again. It has been a long time.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Almost back to normal and New Challenges
After about 2.5 weeks we almost have the gluten out of the systems and we are back on a good meds schedule. It has been a good time to see that the supplements and meds are working. They do make a difference.
I have been faced with new challenges this week. The kids have learned how to open the garage door. They love to ride their scooters in front of the house and play in the front yard. I now have to lock the utility room door again and take the key out of the front door. Fortunately they have all stayed close to the house and have not been wandering the neighborhood.
I think they are getting board with summer break. School starts 2 weeks from Wednesday. I have mixed feelings about this. I have loved (most of the time) having them home and now the boys will be gone all day. They are growing up. Right now I am looking forward to the time when I can have them home for school. (Ask me how I am feeling when that day finally comes.)
I am thinking about starting a "workshop" for moms of kids with Autism. I want to encourage these moms in the same way that many of you have been an encouragement to me. I want to do some cooking workshops and some safety workshops. If I can help these moms keep their kids safe and help them come up with fun gf/cf menus, I think it will help take some stress out of their lives. I know as moms we can all use less stress.
We shall see how things are going once school gets started. These next 2 weeks will be dedicated to getting ready for the school year. All 3 kids have outgrown their clothes and shoes from last year. I guess that means a shopping trip for mom. Rats! :)
I have been faced with new challenges this week. The kids have learned how to open the garage door. They love to ride their scooters in front of the house and play in the front yard. I now have to lock the utility room door again and take the key out of the front door. Fortunately they have all stayed close to the house and have not been wandering the neighborhood.
I think they are getting board with summer break. School starts 2 weeks from Wednesday. I have mixed feelings about this. I have loved (most of the time) having them home and now the boys will be gone all day. They are growing up. Right now I am looking forward to the time when I can have them home for school. (Ask me how I am feeling when that day finally comes.)
I am thinking about starting a "workshop" for moms of kids with Autism. I want to encourage these moms in the same way that many of you have been an encouragement to me. I want to do some cooking workshops and some safety workshops. If I can help these moms keep their kids safe and help them come up with fun gf/cf menus, I think it will help take some stress out of their lives. I know as moms we can all use less stress.
We shall see how things are going once school gets started. These next 2 weeks will be dedicated to getting ready for the school year. All 3 kids have outgrown their clothes and shoes from last year. I guess that means a shopping trip for mom. Rats! :)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Pictures
You know there is nothing like a picture of yourself to motivate you to keep up the weight loss.
Here I was thinking I was looking so fine! :)
Now I have seen pictures from the wedding. I have a ways to go. Brother.
Well here is to another 30 days of shredding and cutting the calories with Jenny Craig.
Nothing like a picture to give you a wake up call!
Here I was thinking I was looking so fine! :)
Now I have seen pictures from the wedding. I have a ways to go. Brother.
Well here is to another 30 days of shredding and cutting the calories with Jenny Craig.
Nothing like a picture to give you a wake up call!
Friday, July 17, 2009
A reminder
We were in Seattle last week. We took Edy, Spencer and Connor. Taylor and Addi stayed back in Indy with Grandparents, Aunt Amy and Aunt Cindy.
All of the kids we took with us did great. Spencer was complimented numerous times on his behavior. Edy did great as she always does, and even Connor had minimal fussy times.
It was really hard reincorporating everyone back into the family unit. It seemed as soon as we got home the kids started picking at each other. This climaxed yesterday.
Not only did we have to get back into the swing of things after being gone, I also helped Edy host a movie party and we had a bridal shower here last evening. Many think I am crazy, but I refuse to be held captive once again by the Autism. On top of everything both Spencer and Addi ate wheat on Wednesday, making them over the top yesterday. We had so much attitude and screaming, that I was just about to give up and lock them in their room.
Darrin took them to the local school to ride scooters and bikes in the parking lot. They were 100% improved when they got home.
I learned one thing yesterday and was reminded of another.
I learned that after the kids have gotten into wheat they need to move there bodies really hard and it will help with the after effects of the high.
I was reminded of how it used to be every day. It is hard for me to see our progress because it is a gradual thing. Yesterday The Lord gave me a big dose of what it used to be. 2 years ago I never would have been so bold as to host anything, let alone 2 parties the week we returned from a trip. We did it and lived to tell about it, and it was fun.
Today we are calm and anticipating a trip to the pool. I think it will be a great weekend.
All of the kids we took with us did great. Spencer was complimented numerous times on his behavior. Edy did great as she always does, and even Connor had minimal fussy times.
It was really hard reincorporating everyone back into the family unit. It seemed as soon as we got home the kids started picking at each other. This climaxed yesterday.
Not only did we have to get back into the swing of things after being gone, I also helped Edy host a movie party and we had a bridal shower here last evening. Many think I am crazy, but I refuse to be held captive once again by the Autism. On top of everything both Spencer and Addi ate wheat on Wednesday, making them over the top yesterday. We had so much attitude and screaming, that I was just about to give up and lock them in their room.
Darrin took them to the local school to ride scooters and bikes in the parking lot. They were 100% improved when they got home.
I learned one thing yesterday and was reminded of another.
I learned that after the kids have gotten into wheat they need to move there bodies really hard and it will help with the after effects of the high.
I was reminded of how it used to be every day. It is hard for me to see our progress because it is a gradual thing. Yesterday The Lord gave me a big dose of what it used to be. 2 years ago I never would have been so bold as to host anything, let alone 2 parties the week we returned from a trip. We did it and lived to tell about it, and it was fun.
Today we are calm and anticipating a trip to the pool. I think it will be a great weekend.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Wow, it has been a long time!
I did not realize how long it has been since I posted. So much has happened in the past months. We had some really nasty flu, some regression after and now a leap in language.
The flu was really bad. It literally just about wiped out our month of May. After we were mostly better we had some regression with the kids. Not just in language, but many of the old Autism manifestations reared their ugly heads. I had smearing, spice dumping, water dumping, screaming and other such behaviors that I thought were history. Not so much.
I think it was a true learning experience for us. While we were ill, neither Darrin nor I gave the kids their meds. We were both just too sick and tired to care. It really showed us that what we are doing is working. We got started again and all is well if not better.
Taylor is exhibiting more and more "normal" speech and behavior. This is good and bad. It is really hard to discipline him when he runs. He laughs as he runs and therefore makes me laugh. It is a game to him, but he is much faster than a normal 3 year old that would do this. It is a good thing that I am getting in shape. I think I will be needing some athletic skill here in the near future.
Addi has ceased the screaming. It is amazing. I thought for sure that she would be screaming until she died. Her screams were blood curdling. Made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This was not a behavior that she could have in Kindergarten. The Lord has seen fit to have mercy on me and gave us a way to rid this house and Addi of the screaming. It is called 1 2 3 Magic. I love this discipline method! It has transformed our house. I even use it on Edy. Addi responds very well. She even tries to use it on Connor. Very cute.
Things are improving here. The Lord has given us a rest from the hard road. I don't know how long the rest will be, but I will enjoy it while it is here. This is the first summer that I have truly enjoyed being home with the kids. They are so much fun right now.
The flu was really bad. It literally just about wiped out our month of May. After we were mostly better we had some regression with the kids. Not just in language, but many of the old Autism manifestations reared their ugly heads. I had smearing, spice dumping, water dumping, screaming and other such behaviors that I thought were history. Not so much.
I think it was a true learning experience for us. While we were ill, neither Darrin nor I gave the kids their meds. We were both just too sick and tired to care. It really showed us that what we are doing is working. We got started again and all is well if not better.
Taylor is exhibiting more and more "normal" speech and behavior. This is good and bad. It is really hard to discipline him when he runs. He laughs as he runs and therefore makes me laugh. It is a game to him, but he is much faster than a normal 3 year old that would do this. It is a good thing that I am getting in shape. I think I will be needing some athletic skill here in the near future.
Addi has ceased the screaming. It is amazing. I thought for sure that she would be screaming until she died. Her screams were blood curdling. Made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This was not a behavior that she could have in Kindergarten. The Lord has seen fit to have mercy on me and gave us a way to rid this house and Addi of the screaming. It is called 1 2 3 Magic. I love this discipline method! It has transformed our house. I even use it on Edy. Addi responds very well. She even tries to use it on Connor. Very cute.
Things are improving here. The Lord has given us a rest from the hard road. I don't know how long the rest will be, but I will enjoy it while it is here. This is the first summer that I have truly enjoyed being home with the kids. They are so much fun right now.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Great Day
You know, I have never made it a habit to take my camera with me on family outings. When I was at home I could always count on Amy, Cindy and Mary to take the pictures. After I was married I took pictures on our honeymoon and some after Edy was born. After we had the boys that went out the window. Too many hands were needed. Now our family is to the point that I need to begin making this a habit. We had a great day yesterday and I have no pictures to document it.
We took all 5 children out to lunch yesterday. This is the first time that we have done this since Connor was born. We have to be selective about the places we eat because of the diet restrictions. We took them to my favorite place... Koyo's. This is a Japanese Steakhouse. They cook the food in front of you. The kids loved it. They sat really well and Connor would have done a bit better if I would have realized that he needed a diaper change. Oh well.
They loved the fire in the onion tower and our chef did a bit extra because the kids had such a great reaction. Taylor ate all of his chicken and Spencer, Edy and Addi also ate well. (right now Koyo'a is having a 5.99 lunch special) We will order a bit differently next time, but it was a start.
After this we headed to Ritter's for ice cream. If you order anything over $2 you get a stamp on a card. A full card is good for a free treat. We filled the card on one trip. I think Ritter's will become a frequent family outing. The kids did great sitting at a table and waiting to be called over to get their treat. The weather was great!
We then headed over to granma and granpa's house. They played for over and hour. It was a lovely visit. We arrived back at home around 3. All in all it was a great day!
Addi had a bit of a problem in the morning because she did not get any breakfast. It is amazing what food can do for an attitude. She had also gotten some wheat this last week which made for a very hard week.
Today I started her on some more supplements: more L-carnitine, magnesium and baking soda. (the baking soda helps with oxalate acid which is the acid that makes the muscles hurt in Fibromyalgia) We have had a great morning. I will see how the rest of the week goes. So far I am optimistic about being done with the screaming.
I also started doing a "dry brush" on her arms when she is upset. This helped a whole lot. I got this idea from Vanessa, my friend Monica's sister. She has a son with autism and she said that his dad would do this and it helped. Addi loves it. She will just sit on my lap and get very relaxed as I brush.
Progress is being made again. We have given the kids their supplement every day for the last week and a half. Doing it at night is so much easier. We are almost to the point of having the kids on all of the supplements that Dr Hulseman wants them on. This is the first.
This all contributed to our great day yesterday.
We took all 5 children out to lunch yesterday. This is the first time that we have done this since Connor was born. We have to be selective about the places we eat because of the diet restrictions. We took them to my favorite place... Koyo's. This is a Japanese Steakhouse. They cook the food in front of you. The kids loved it. They sat really well and Connor would have done a bit better if I would have realized that he needed a diaper change. Oh well.
They loved the fire in the onion tower and our chef did a bit extra because the kids had such a great reaction. Taylor ate all of his chicken and Spencer, Edy and Addi also ate well. (right now Koyo'a is having a 5.99 lunch special) We will order a bit differently next time, but it was a start.
After this we headed to Ritter's for ice cream. If you order anything over $2 you get a stamp on a card. A full card is good for a free treat. We filled the card on one trip. I think Ritter's will become a frequent family outing. The kids did great sitting at a table and waiting to be called over to get their treat. The weather was great!
We then headed over to granma and granpa's house. They played for over and hour. It was a lovely visit. We arrived back at home around 3. All in all it was a great day!
Addi had a bit of a problem in the morning because she did not get any breakfast. It is amazing what food can do for an attitude. She had also gotten some wheat this last week which made for a very hard week.
Today I started her on some more supplements: more L-carnitine, magnesium and baking soda. (the baking soda helps with oxalate acid which is the acid that makes the muscles hurt in Fibromyalgia) We have had a great morning. I will see how the rest of the week goes. So far I am optimistic about being done with the screaming.
I also started doing a "dry brush" on her arms when she is upset. This helped a whole lot. I got this idea from Vanessa, my friend Monica's sister. She has a son with autism and she said that his dad would do this and it helped. Addi loves it. She will just sit on my lap and get very relaxed as I brush.
Progress is being made again. We have given the kids their supplement every day for the last week and a half. Doing it at night is so much easier. We are almost to the point of having the kids on all of the supplements that Dr Hulseman wants them on. This is the first.
This all contributed to our great day yesterday.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Nuvo
We are in Nuvo.
Read it here: http://www.nuvo.net/
Taylor is the one in the picture, on the front page, (scrolling pictures) on the island with the bowling pin in his hand.
Read it here: http://www.nuvo.net/
Taylor is the one in the picture, on the front page, (scrolling pictures) on the island with the bowling pin in his hand.
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