end of school year

Well 2nd grade is coming to an end for my son and pre-k for my daughter. They are excited and i am worried and stressed already. I am hoping to find enough for them to do so they don't destroy the house or each other.

I had my end of year meeting yesterday with his teachers and one for next year. I am not as worried about third grade as I was and I did get the diet put into the IEP so the school has to follow it. I know that next years teacher will be asking this years teacher about him and do things similar. the best resource teacher he could have had is retiring this year, he has had her for two years in a row. I am really glad that he had her for a teacher because she listens and I have learned a lot from her this year. I know that academically he will never be ready for third grade but he is as ready as he will ever be. I am just thankful that he will not be the new kid. he has been in that school since kindergarden and he knows everyone, and for the most part they all accept him.

a little slip

this week my son's teacher gave him a treat because everyone else got something because of a birthday party. what she gave him was gluten free but it had dairy in it and she was unaware of it. I noticed a huge difference immediately, his mood changed and this week he started stimming again. last night at gymnastics while we were waiting for his sister he started spinning and today I noticed that the shoulder shrugs were back. It is very interesting what just a little bit of the wrong thing can cause so much difference in his behavior, I am going to have to be really on top of it next year. I am considering volunteering on the PTO and helping hands so that I can be at the school and be more involved with them.

on a different note I heard that rice can cause gut problems in some autistic kids so I am switching him to almond mild this weekend to see if that improves his behavior any.

wearing thin

i have decided that autism is very draining, I do not have it, my son does and if i feel this drained just taking care of him I can imagine how he feels. I try to be patient, and understanding. I am blessed that he is verbal, he talks all the time and drives his sister crazy and she drives everybody crazy. he wakes up at 4:30 every morning and can't go back to sleep unless I check on him and pat his back and cover him up and give him his fuzzy (his bear). then it takes me about an hour and a half to go back to sleep, then I am up at 7:00 most mornings, then I take care of the dog (biscuit) get austin ready for school, pack his lunch and backpack, take him to school. come home take other dog out (sassy) get kayla up and spend mornig with her. she is a liitle hyper in the mornings, but more so in the evenings. then we eat breakfast, run errands. take her to school and sassy for a walk. then I come home eat lunch. and either bake, cook, or clean house or all three. I have been doing this forever. just now I am having to bake and cook all of their food. I am exhausted, I was supposed to make dinner rolls and start dinner and plan snack for after school, get started on organizing the downstairs and finish the laundry. then organize the kitchen. instead I took an hour nap and now I feel really tired. better a late start than never I guess. oh yeah and tonight we have a ball game. I am hoping to survive motherhood.

staying on budget

it is really hard to follow a budget when I have to feed my kids certain foods and their foods cost a fortune. I am making everything from scratch so that I basically only have to buy flour and milk. so far that is working. I am going to get some of my bills paid off soon so that will free up some money for other stuff. I have realized that if I homeschool my kids and I do it right that it will be cheaper than sending them to public school. I will be giving up the cost of expensive school supplies and backpacks and clothes because they can just wear play clothes at home and nice clothes to church. I will save money on book clubs and book fairs and yearbooks and pictures etc. I am considering homeschooling because my son is being picked on and my daughter is so far ahead of her grade level in some areas that she is bored easily. I also think that I can get my son caught up because it will be all one on one.

great new food idea

i was eating out about a month and a half ago and I came across a pancake idea that I wanted to make homemade gfcf so my kids could eat it to.

I took a 3 quart sauce pan and filled it half way with canola oil. Heat the oil while you mix up the pancake batter, you could use a mix like I did or you can make it from scratch, I am going to try that next.
once the batter was mixed and the oil was hot I just dropped spoonfuls of batter into the oil about three at a time and cooked them. flipping them over about halfway through, they turn a gloden brown and get a donut hole type look. then I roll them in cinnamon and sugar and they taste great. like a pancake and a donut. My daughter loves them and I am sure my son will.

finding a new way to eat

I started the day on a good note, I made an appointment yesterday to get my daughter evaluated for aspergers and I am hoping that goes well. My son woke up early full of energy, I wish that I could say the same thing. I have decided to change my diet gradually, I am not brave like my children and I can not do it cold turkey, so I am going to stay away from soda first, when that gets easy, I will move on to sugar etc.

My kids are not totally off of sugar yet, i am trying to find substitutes for sugar and I am not getting very far. i think that the safest thing to use is honey and I cannot find where it could be a replacement. i need recipes that are using honey instead of sugar. I know that once my daughter gets away from sugar she will do a lot better. She is still really hyper and I do not want her back on medication.

playing it fair

My daughter says that if she can't eat it then i should not be allowed to, so I am having the last soda, the last frozen pizza and the last peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat. starting tommorrow I will be gluten free, casien free, dye free, chemical free, i will no longer eat processed foods, I will learn to love fruit, I will drink more water and I will enjoy it. Because I know that I will have more energy, be healthier and hopefully happier. i will not complain and I will do it for my children and for myself. after all they are going to have to eat this way for the rest of their lives and I am going to be a good example. my daughter had a point and I can't believe that she is only five. we are going to learn to love to love it forever, like my son. I can't believe how easy it is to get him to eat the right way. now of only it was that easy for me. i am the big junk food junkie in my family.

meltdowns

well today was a bad day. my son had about two long meltdowns all the way to the the health food store and all way back home. i am hoping that the diet has not leveled off because there are no other options. His doctor won't even listen when I ask for a yeast test to check for yeast build up in his gut. The psychiatrist reduced his med. last week that help control mood, so maybe he is just getting used to the new lower dose. He will probably be weaned totally off the medicine during Christmas break this year, which will be good news, he has been on them for about four years now.
my daughter is starting to calm down a little and her anxiety is getting a little better, so I think that the diet is starting to work on her. I am currently in the process of getting her evaluated for aspergers.

doctors do not listen

I took my son to the doctor today to see if I could get an allergy test scheduled, I also wanted to get him tested for mercury levels because he was given a double dose of vaccines when he was one and two, Then I asked about a yeast test because he has eczema and I have learned that eczema can be caused by a yeast infection. he just looked at me like I was stupid and said that we could not do any of those because there is no reason. Then he gave me some papers that could tell me how to look for signs of autism in my son. He was diagnosed when he was five and then diagnosed as aspergers when he was 7. I am not looking for a diagnosis, I am looking for treatments.
I don't think that I have ever been treated so stupidly before. I spend a lot of my time either cooking gfcf foods, since everything is from scratch, cleaning or researching autism. I know that I know more than this doctor when it comes to autism. They really should teach about Autism in medical school.

side effects and medicine

My son used to take a medication for adhd and it made him stutter among other things, he has been off of the medicine and doing great thanks to the diet, for about a month now. the only lingering side effect to this is stuttering, he still can't get the words out and now I am going to have to put him speech over the summer to help correct it. He is starting to get reduced off of his last medicine, once he gets off of it I will never go back, I am a firm believer in this diet and I will never do medicine on my children again when it comes to behavior.

everything homemade

i have realized that if i make everything from scratch it goes further, and with the cost of gfcf foods, it just makes sense.

here is a candy recipe that I have come up with, it works great for my children and made it easier for them because they did not have to give up chocolate.

you will need: candy molds that can go in the fridge.

3/4 cup of dairy free chocolate chips ( I use enjoy life because they are also soy free)
1/4 of natural peanut butter ( I add this to add calories, and flavor but it is optional)

microwave chocolate chips in bowl for about 1 min, stirring halfway through, may need extra 30 sec. until melted
stir in peanut butter
pour into molds, and freeze or refrigerate until set,
freezer usually 1 hour, fridge for about two maybe.
The peanut butter makes them softer, so it takes longer.
without peanut butter the time may be less in the freezer or fridge.

Birthday

Sunday was my son's birthday party, my greatest challenge I thought was trying to find a cake that everyone would like. But to my surprise the first gfcf cake mix that I bought was a huge hit. No one knew it was different, they had some idea because my son and daughter were able to eat it. We were also able to find gfcf donuts for them to eat for breakfast that day as a special treat. They both are really taking to the new foods and I am also feeling better because I am eating about 80% the way they do.

After the party, my son was playing with his toys like a regular little boy would. I was so surprised, he was able to create scenes with his star wars figures and was able to incorporate his robot into the action even though he did not "belong in star wars" he was making all the little guns and missiles sounds that seemed absent before. He is really becoming quite a character, I feel as though I am getting my son back, the nutty little boy he was before he got sick at 12 months. I had a few glimpses now and then, but he has come full circle. We still have a few bumps and he still has a melt down when he is over tired and over stimulated, but they happen about once every two weeks instead of five times a day. And he is taking less medicine now than he was then.