Darn You, Microwave!!!

As I was reheating my son's lunch on the stove top (spaghetti), I finally told Husband about my personal microwave challenge. Honestly, I was feeling pretty good about it! Making changes, trying to be more natural, etc... And it's been easy too! I felt good once I got moving this morning. It must have been that hearty bowl of leftover quinoa chili I had for breakfast... that I... reheated in the microwave in my morning stupor. GAH! So, it's square one again. This time I have a note on the microwave.

In my defense, we're all still recovering from our son's sleep deprivation EEG prep. That's it. Yeah.

Excuses, Excuses...

Typically I use 2 - 3 different computers each day.  At home.  My photos are spread all over the place; therefore, I'm not posting a lot of photos since the photos I want are not on the computer I'm using.

I'm pretty tired right now.  Husband and I had to keep our son up late then wake him up very early to prep him for a sleep deprived EEG to check for absence seizures.  So... yeah, my mind is a little preoccupied with all that.  Our little guy handled the whole thing like a champ though!  We were nervous considering how he loathes anything or anyone touching his head/ scalp (though he'll wear some hats).  The kind woman running the tests attached 20-some wires to his scalp, so it was really a testament to how far he's come with his sensory issues. 

While in the waiting room, we heard a young child screaming bloody murder while having the same test done.  It was not encouraging.  When we were called back for the test, I tried to discreetly speak with the tester to inform her that our son has some sensory issues around the scalp, just to give her a heads up in case there were issues.  I hoped my son didn't hear me, I didn't want to create a self-fulfilled prophecy situation.  He did wonderfully. :)  We go to the neurologist next week, and hopefully that office will have the results in by then.

On the lighter side, we visited the aquarium in Baltimore.  It was our second trip there with our son.  The first time, he wasn't very interested.  This time, interest was high!  We even rode the train down, which was a first for all of us.  Oh, Maryland public transportation... at least it's there!(?)  Anyway, it went very well, despite my bone-headedness in not buying round-trip tickets right off the bat.  What was I thinking??  Lots of photos... on my camera still.  The other computer is the one with the slot for the sd card.  And now this blog post has come full circle...

Personal Microwave Challenge

Often I see blogs posting challenges that invite others to try and maybe even offer a giveaway of some kind. Yeah, this is not that. I'm going to work on eliminating the use of our microwave, and this blog post is a reminder for me to stay on track. Accountability!

We don't use our microwave that much anyway, so I don't foresee this as an issue, but who knows!

Image from http://hihorosie.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Ghee Whiz! Dairy Revisited. Again.

I Can't Believe It's Butter!

For whatever reason, I kept forgetting about ghee.  Ghee, a.k.a. Clarified Butter, is made from milk but is-- wait for it -- casein free.  Yup, an actual milk product we can enjoy on the GFCF diet.  Take some butter, melt it down, skim off the scum that appears, strain the solids that drop to the bottom, and you're left with pure fat known as ghee.  It doesn't even take up refrigerator space because it can be stored at room temperature!

I picked up the larger size jar of the Purity Farms brand at one of our HFSs and have worked it into several of our meals already.  It's been a while since I've had actual butter flavor, and I'm definitely enjoying it!  The label itself says that its casein-free, which is always wonderful to see.  Too often, I see "Dairy-Free!" on a package only to find casein or caseinate in the ingredients list.  I didn't think I'd see "Casein-Free" on a dairy product any time soon.

The first time I used it was to fry an egg.  I learned a little goes a VERY long way.  Thank goodness, since this stuff ain't cheap!  I cooked some Swiss chard this evening and used extra virgin olive oil plus a little ghee for flavor, and I probably could have used a little less-- that butter taste was still very apparent!

While I have very much appreciated the Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and Spread, I'm excited to not rely on those for butter taste.  I'm thinking for baking I'll do some sort of combo of ghee and Spectrum shortening or something.  Mmm.... possibilities!  Now with butter flavor!

10 Days Later...

Wow, 10 days flew by, just like that. No rest for the weary, though! I need to get back to this. I must! I shall! I'm doing it right now!! It's HAPPENING.

One of the main thoughts running through my head is the incredible impact dairy has on my son. I'm still not over it. We had a FANTASTIC weekend with regard to behavior and overall demeanor. The language is coming back, the stimming rarely occurs, patience has returned... the dairy is almost completely out.

The other night at bedtime, DS was playing with his trains when I informed him that he needed to get ready for bedtime in 5 minutes. He looked at me and quietly told me it's not bedtime.

"I'm going to set a timer for 5 minutes, and you can play with your trains that whole time. Once it rings, it's time to clean up and get ready for bed."

Calmly, he said, "I don't want to clean up."

"Well, I can clean up and we go to bed right now, or you can play for 5 minutes and then go to bed. Do you want to go to bed right now or do you want to play for 5 minutes and then go to bed?"

"Play for 5 minutes."

"Okay. I'll set the timer now."

Once the 5 minutes were up, there were no issues putting the trains and tracks away and getting ready for bed. I just KNOW that 2 weeks ago, in the middle of the insanity, this would NOT have gone as smoothly. OH... it's so nice to be back!!

Oh, and Happy Pi Day!

Mighty Mind and Mama's OCD

This is such a hit at our house.  Understatement!!  DS can't get enough of them, and DD can't wait to get hold of them and eat them.  With the latter in mind, they are only to be used at "the big table" (the dining room table) instead of our kid-sized table.  Of course I'd rather it be on the small table for my son's comfort, but safety first!  I love that we have a designated place for playing as well as rules such as "keep everything on the table."  Good stuff in my book.

Along those lines, one of the horribly unwelcome AND unsolicited advice I love to give is to introduce new toys in a thoughtful way, with guidelines as well as a storage place.  I'll admit I'm not always great at this, because often we'll have something new without having a place for it just yet and the kids will spot it before I can prepare,  BUT when I do manage to do this, it goes over wonderfully.

 
Example time!  Notice in the right photo how everything is arranged.  Cards on the left and right with shapes in the middle and the active card directly in front.  Cards on his right are the new cards, cards on his left are the completed cards.  The shapes are arranged inside the box lid as well before starting.  After doing that together, each time Mighty Mind comes out, my son sets everything up himself in this same fashion.  It seems a little OCDish, but one of the concerns we've heard from a couple of his therapists is that he needs help learning to organize his thoughts (part of his processing issues).  My hope is that this can help him practice.  Also, when I can, I'll start by showing my son where something is in his bookcase so he can see where I picked it from, but in this case, I keep his Mighty Mind box out of his (more specifically my daughter's) reach because of its small, choking-hazard size pieces.

On to Mighty Mind itself.  You get plastic colored shapes and cards.  The lower number cards ease you in.  Here's my son doing the second card.  Two squares.  One's red, the other is yellow.  Put them together to fill in the rectangle shape below.  Ta-Da!  Mighty Mind!

 Secret step not mentioned in the directions:  Place used card in discard pile to the left.

Ta-Da! Mighty Mom Directions!

The puzzles become more challenging as you move through the cards.  Here's a house:

Later there will be pictures with no guidance as to what shapes will fit in there.  Or there will be a shape to take up a spot and you have to figure out how to work with/around it.  My son's had a blast with this for a long time now (he received it as a gift a couple Christmases ago).  I highly recommend this!  It's for ages 3 - 8, and is also a great way to talk about colors, counting, shapes, and pumping creative juices.

This reminds me... I have an awesome Tangram game that no one will play with me... yet.  For now, the waiting game!

Window Washing

It must be a weird moon phase or something's going on because I decided it was time to do some cleaning.  Armed with my sprayer bottle and a towel, I began spraying and wiping some of the mirrors in the bathroom.  My son saw me and wanted to help.  

Is it weird to say I've been dreaming of this day?

Lo' and behold:

Working those hand muscles!

Wax on!  Wax Off!

I introduced the squeegee as an afterthought.

Well, there you have it.  My darling window washer (with an admirer).

This is a very good activity for my son for many reasons:  strength building, coordinating, both fine and gross motor skills, concentrating, etc.  I have been a humongous fan of Montessori education, and as I speak with my son's various therapists, I can easily see how much Dr. Montessori truly understood the needs of our children.  Window washing falls under the practical life category, and I'll admit I bought that little spray bottle over a year ago waiting until he was ready to use it. 

Gluten-Free Casein-Free Egg-Free Pancakes

Can be made soy-free too!

A little late to post this for National Pancake Day, but boy did these turn out great!  They're high in fiber and very filling.  Did I mention that the kids loved them too?  Added bonus:  I froze the leftovers (I said they were filling!) which toasted up nicely the next day in the toaster oven.

While I do enjoy buckwheat pancakes, some recipes result in a dense disk (for me anyway), but these were just right.  They were heavier, but still light.  Paradox!  Another paradox would be that something called buckwheat is gluten-free.  Don't let the "wheat" part fool you though, it's definitely gluten-free!  Thank goodness too, because what a delicious way to start the day!


Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Egg-Free Banana Pancakes
Makes 12 4"  pancakes

Dry Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or honey for a non-vegan recipe)
1-1/4 cups rice milk or soy milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted) or canola oil
1 banana, mashed

Directions:
1. Combine dry ingredients. 
2. Combine wet ingredients.
3. Add wet to dry, mix until just combined.
4. Cook pancakes as if any regular pancake recipe.  
5. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings and enjoy!

Reintroducing Dairy: Revisited & Rejected

Bye-bye, dairy!

Well, that was fast.  I'm convinced we need to eliminate casein.  Today in my son's communication folder from his preschool, his teacher noted that he was aggressive toward another child.  That is not my son.  I searched on the Internet for links between dairy and aggression and was overwhelmed with the number of stories connecting the two, particularly with children on the spectrum.  We did fine without dairy for 7 months, so I'm not too concerned about dietary changes.

My main concern is to get that casein or casomorphine out of his system asap!  I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to help with that, but I look forward to a happier child.  The first time around, we noticed improvements within a week.  Hopefully that's the case again, but if not, it will take up to 3 weeks. 

I should also note that after what I call "*The Cheese Curl Incident" which propelled us into reintroducing dairy, his communication folder has shown only one day of semi-good behavior, with the rest of it being uncooperative.  Prior to The Incident, his mood was happy and generally cooperative.  I love that communication folder.  Anyway, at home, I saw exaggerations of what I consider classic autistic behavior: hand-flapping, jargon, extremely poor eye contact, etc.  I hadn't realized how seldom these actions had occurred until I began seeing them again.  His emotions were quick to change as well, and he would become so upset so quickly over the smallest reasons.  Poor little guy.

The good news is, if it is this, then we know it and we have the power to do something about it.  If not... we'll still keep the dairy out, and see what else we can do.


*The Cheese Curl Incident:  Despite providing a Do-Not-Feed list to the school, they still gave him cheese curls at snack.  Dairy AND Red40.