Gaps in the Family

Equality for All

2013-03-28T09:15:00.003-05:00

I haven't written in a while mostly due to being so busy the last few months. Todd and I remodeled our home and it was something that was much more trying than I thought it would be. Luckily, we came through it and our home, as well as our marriage, is still beautiful (and as of last week 11 years strong). That certainly got me thinking about all of the talk regarding marriage equality this week. I know I usually post about autism and disabilities talk on my blog, but I really think this topic really speaks to the fiber of our society and what it means to be a family. Which is the most important thing to me, my family.

First off, if you say that gay couples shouldn't be married because the bible says so, that is your right to believe, but we can't say that is a reason there should be a law about it because there is a separation between church and state. Religion can't govern our citizens. That is what is great about living in America.

Secondly, just because two women love each other or two men, how is that hurting you? I say that love is love and the more of it the better, because division and hate really hasn't gotten us anywhere has it?

Thirdly, if a person like Jesse James can be allowed to get married FOUR times and Liz Taylor 10+ times, why can't a gay couple get married at least once? What makes a man and a woman's relationship any better than people of the same sex? That is just silly to say that just because you are a man and a woman, you can marry as many times as you want, but if you are a same sex couple you can't.

Finally and most importantly, what does marriage mean? To me it means that as of March 16, 2002, my husband was officially my family. He was not just my best friend and the person that knows me better than anyone else in the world, but legally he was my family. That means if something horrible was to happen to me, he is able to make decisions on my behalf. In those circumstances, there is no one else I would want to make those types of decisions for me. Unfortunately, for gay couples in certain states, they are limited to doing this for their sick or ailing spouses. They are unable to have custody of their children because they did not birth them. They cannot inherit property without paying taxes. They cannot get the benefits that married couples get by law. It makes me so sad to think that no matter how much someone loves someone else, the government can limit others on who they say is their family legally. That is wrong.

My friend reminded me yesterday that I can't change people's mind by just changing my facebook profile picture, but I thought maybe I could change people's minds by making them think. How would you feel if you someone told you that your partner could not legally be part of your family?

Sticks and Stones

2013-01-09T11:06:00.000-06:00

I have become a little more sensitive to other people's plights since my son was diagnosed with Autism. Having a child with developmental difficulties really opens your eyes to the ignorance that surrounds us everyday.

When my son was being tested to see if he was Autistic, we were taken aback when the developmental pediatrician asked if our son was "Mentally Retarded." Seriously, a medical doctor used this term. My husband and I asked what she meant by that. She said "low intelligence." We said we weren't really sure because he was only 2 years old, but regardless of her definition that word to me is derogatory. People normally do not use that in a friendly context.

Believe me, I am no angel. My husband frequently tells me I cuss like a sailor (never in front of my kids), but those words are not directed at any demographic. The words that I find horrific are the ones that single people out. I wonder, in this day, how people can use the word "Retarded" so easily but they find it unconscionable to use the "N" word or the "F" word. I can't even bring myself to type any of those words in fear it may hurt someone's feelings.

I feel awful that I used the "R" word regularly when I was a teenager to describe something as stupid. I said it freely and a lot. At the time it wasn't one of the words that people didn't correct you for saying because it was acceptable. However it has been 15 years since I was in highschool and a lot has changed.

I am sensitive to this now because I have actually had the school district tell me that my son has below average intelligence. I take it with a grain of salt because they do not know my son and they have never met my son in person, but could you imagine that from the day your child was born to be labelled with that if your child had Down's Syndrome? Someone has already marked your child to have low intelligence even before they have had a chance to prove themselves.

I know the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," but I don't believe that it is true. Words do hurt whether they are directed at you or your child or if you hear them said by someone you thought knew better.

A Perfect Vacation!

2012-12-26T13:44:00.001-06:00

I am so happy to report that our Christmas holiday adventures were a huge success. Our family took a Disney Cruise the week before Christmas and it was everything a vacation should have been: fun, restful, and happy.

We were blessed to have taken our cruise with a group called Autism on the Seas. They set up group travel for families with Autism or other special needs. They have a staff that travels with you and provides activities and respite during your vacation. After spending a week with the staff from Autism on the Seas, I could never see us travelling any other way again.

Todd and I actually got to spend 3-4 hours a day by ourselves while the children (both A & B) played until they were exhausted with people that I felt comfortable spending time with my children. I would be fine with leaving A in the kid's club alone, but both Todd and I did not feel the same for B.

Also, although they had a lot of group activities, I also loved that we did not feel pressure to participate in everything. It was very laid back and just what we were looking for. Todd and I are already planning our next vacation with them. I can't recommend Autism on the Seas enough.

I think the best thing about our vacation was getting out of our comfort zone and allowing the kids to experience new things. I believe it is very easy to shelter special needs kids and do what is the most convenient rather than what is the most enriching. I can honestly say that there were some moments that Todd and I were both very stressed during our excursions off of the boat (waiting in lines is very difficult for B), but it was well worth it to give both of my children new and fun experiences.

We learned so much about our two wonderful children and it certainly gave us a new appreciation for them. We learned that B loves fireworks and A is a great dancer. We also learned both of our children are not afraid to try new things like jumping on a trampoline in the middle of the ocean or going down large water slides by themselves. They also were not afraid to hold sea turtles or pet dolphins.

I know that getting away from it all gave me a new perspective on my life and my family. It taught me how fortunate I am have such a wonderful husband and two funny, unique children.

Until next time....

Tips for Surviving the Holidays with an Autistic Child

2012-11-29T17:16:00.002-06:00

A few months back, I wrote a post about traveling with your autistic child. While we were decorating our Christmas tree, I thought that I may impart some wisdom that I have learned over the past 4 Christmases we have celebrated after diagnosis.

Plastic Ornaments are the Best!!! My husband and I used to buy beautiful heartfelt ornaments for one another every year since we were married, but that all ended the day our tree was pulled down by my very curious 3 year old. Now this could happen with any child, but I feel that the move to plastic ornaments was a great choice. Now when I hear an ornament fall off and roll across the floor, I smile and ask one of the boys to put it back on the tree instead of running to get a dust pan and screaming for everyone to move so they don't get shards of glass in their feet.
Find substitutes. This is the first year B has been on a special diet. I was heartbroken when A asked me when we were going to make our gingerbread house this year. I told him I wasn't sure, but took to the Internet and found a great place that makes GFCF gingerbread kits. We got ours in the mail yesterday. We will still get to have our annual tradition and I will feel good knowing the B is still on his diet.
Create your own schedule. Do your own thing and if it falls in line with other's plans, that is wonderful and if not, don't stress. This Thanksgiving, despite our entire house getting the flu, it was one of the best ones ever. The reason was we weren't rushing around trying to fulfill others' expectations.
Manage your expectations. B is 6 years old and still does not really get into the holiday season. Where as, A is all about Santa and decorating. I try not to get too worked up about it. I try to remember what the season is about us being together as a family and being happy and healthy. I still drag B to all of the holiday things I can think of but the first moment he is unhappy we are out of there.
Understand what giving is all about for an Autistic child. This tip is for families of Autistic kids. I get the same question every year from people. "What should we buy B?" Honestly, I would like to say "if you must, please write me a check to put in the bank for his future care", but nobody wants to do that. B doesn't really like toys. What he really likes is for someone to go out and jump with him on his trampoline or take him to the park to swing. It would mean more to him for you to pay attention to him than give him a toy he is not interested in. Unfortunately people get to bogged down in BUYING things, they lose sight of what giving really is. You can give with your time and that would mean more to B, as well, as Todd and me than anything else.

So that is it. My top 5 tips for surviving the holidays with a Autistic child. In 3 weeks, we are going on our first full fledged family vacation out of the country. I will post about our adventures when I get back. Until then, I hope you have a happy and joyous holiday no matter which one you celebrate or what you believe in.

Falling Behind....

2012-10-10T15:48:00.001-05:00

I feel really guilty that I have fallen so behind in posting. The last two months have been a rollercoaster ride for me emotionally. After the loss of Belle, came the boys 6th birthday. The party went off wonderfully and I was happy to say that B blew out his candles by himself for the first time!

We also decided to adopt Rigby, our foster dog. He was an immense source of comfort to me after Belle passed and I think he has comforted Max too. Max and him play almost everyday and it has really shown me a side of Max I thought was gone. B loves him so much and is learning to be gentle with him. He also only goes potty on walks so he is getting the family up and moving more so that is a good thing.

I am still getting used to having one child in Kindergarten and another in a different school. Both have their own sets of challenges. I was not prepared for all of the stuff Kindergarten teachers and room moms expect from you as a parent. Every week they want money for something, volunteer for something, and have your child do something out of the ordinary. It is exhausting.

We also have made a the difficult decision to move B to a different school at the first of the year. One that is much further from home, but that we feel may be able to give a different perspective to his treatment. It is hard to say goodbye to a school that your child has attended for 3 years, but we think it is time. I have been very fortunate to have developed lasting friendships with parents I have met through the school, as well as, some of the staff.

We started Homeopathy with B last month and it has stirred up things inside him that I thought were long dead. Massive Tantrums for one! I am hoping this is a good sign though. Once the bad is purged, maybe the healing can start. I am going to try to write an entire post on Homeopathy sometime this month. Right now I can say I really like our practioner and am hoping for the best.

As this blog used to be dedicated to food, I will update you on B's diet. He is still on the low salicylate diet. It is a huge challenge to come up with new and different things to give him. He has recently started to eat celery and I am thankful of that! It breaks up the monotany of carrots all of the time. He really loves anything that is smooshy. So it is great that it is squash season! B loves Acorn squash and they are huge and plentiful this time of year. We make squash pancakes and just serve pureed squash too.

I believe we are all caught up for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather brought to us by Mother Nature! Until next time....

At a Loss

2012-08-23T08:59:00.005-05:00

Belle,

I am so sorry we couldn't save you. After nearly 13 years together, I thought we had more time. I had been preparing for the day you were no longer with us since you were diagnosed with Cushing's last year, but I had no idea that it would be so soon. I am comforted that your daddy and I both got to say goodbye to you and that you were happy in your last moments with us because we owed you that for all of the years you were our protector and my confidant.

You were always a big dog in a small body. When I brought you home, you were 2 lbs and had no problem standing up to Melissa's 10lb cat. The two of you became fast friends and spent your days while we were at school wrestling. When I was at home, you made sure I was safe and loved sleeping with your daddy while I went to class.

However, you weren't always perfect, whenever we let you off of leash, we would spend hours trying to catch you. You chewed my dad's steps and when you were in trouble you would hide under the bed chewing up things so I could not reach whatever it was.

You hated when we brought Max home and tried to eat him until you decided it was useless and finally let him sleep in bed with all of us. Max spent years driving you crazy, but I know you grew to love him.

We travelled cross country when we moved to Virginia. You loved sitting at the top of our townhouse and looking at the window and barking at all of the kids getting off the school bus. You didn't understand snow, but tolerated it. You were so happy when we moved back to Texas and you got to chase and bark at deer in my parents' backyard. You loved their house the best. You could run and be free.

When we brought the boys home, you didn't like it, but again you protected them too. You would sleep on the foot of our bed and would let us know when you would hear them getting out of bed. You were my furry shoulder to cry on when B was diagnosed with Autism. You were always my furry shoulder to cry on whenever life got to be too much.

As you got older, you started to suffer from Arthritis, but you never let it get you down. You still hopped up in bed at night and took your place at the foot of the bed. You still took walks with daddy and Max and would chase balls in the backyard, but as always not bring them back.

I miss you more than you will ever know. I hate coming home and not hearing barking as I come in. I hate not see you sitting on the bed in the morning while I get ready. I hate not having a buddy to nap with. I miss you always being there for me no matter what. I see you everywhere, but you are not there anymore.

I want you to know you were so loved and that you made me a better person and parent. You helped your daddy become someone that is not afraid to show his feelings. You taught the boys what being a responsible pet owner is about.

You were one of a kind and there is nothing or no one that will ever replace you in our hearts. You will always be our "princess."

I love you and miss you.

Mommy

Rising to the Occasion

2012-08-16T15:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while and the only reason is that I really have felt that I have had nothing insightful to say. With the end of summer, there is always so much going on at our house. The boys' 6th birthday is right around the corner and every year it gives me time to reflect and look back on our Autism journey.

This year is especially hard because I can say, that four years ago, I thought by the time the boys were six, we would have already beat this. As I have said in previous posts, I thought I was going to have two kindergartners getting on the bus at the end of this month. That is not to say that this is not a time for celebration in our household.

Everyone that knows me, knows I am a little crazy about throwing a great party for my kids. It has gotten more difficult as the years have come since B has to have a party that does not have too much structure, but it still needs to be fun for A. Luckily, both of my kids love the pool and we are having an Adventure Time pool party (thanks to Clickable Party for the great party ideas). I can't wait to see all of the kids typical and not-so-typical ones all playing together.

As a birthday present, I also make the boys a yearbook of sorts. It is a photo album of all the fun stuff they did last year and the last page is always reserved for a list of their favorite things and the great stuff they learned to do. In fact this year, A corrected me because I put he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up and he told me that he now wanted to be a "science" (no typo there).

It also helps me put things in perspective. Regardless of the ups and downs, B has made some huge gains this year. Don't get me wrong, he is still developmentally behind, but I don't care as long as he is still growing and learning. This year B learned his alphabet, he is counting to 20, he is answering yes and no questions (still working on no). He is riding his bike (with training wheels), he is dressing himself, he is putting his shoes on by himself, he asks for things. To be able to type all of these things really makes my heart happy.

My husband said something the other day that made me really think. We often forget that B is almost 6 years old. He said that we need to treat him like he is 6 years old and he may surprise us by acting 6 years old. I think he is right.

So this year I am really going to try to set the bar higher for my son. I think he will be able to rise to the challenge. I am hope I am ready for when he does.

Tips for Vacationing with a Special Needs Child

2012-07-23T10:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my family embarked on our first semi-vacation with B has been on his special diet. We had a wonderful and restful time applying some rules we have learned over the years.

Here are my Top 5 Tips for traveling with my special child:

1. Always stay somewhere with a kitchen and if you can't have a full kitchen, always have at least a microwave and a refrigerator.

This was the first time we took B on a vacation while he was on a special diet. We went to the store the night before and brought all of his approved foods with us. The house we rented had a full kitchen so we were able to make breakfast and lunch for the kids without the stress of having to find a place that had foods B could eat.

2. Always stay somewhere that has a separate room with a door. Otherwise, you are going to be going to bed at 8:30 with your kiddos.

Todd and I have slept on the pull out couch several times and the boys took the king size bed so we could stay up and have us time. Luckily, where we stayed this time had three bedrooms and there was plenty of room for us to spread out. Todd and I were able to watch movies and have some much needed time for the two of us.

3. Always over prepare.

It brings peace of mind in a new environment. We always pack a first aid kit, plenty of food and water, wearable child identification, special blankets/toys, and any other special stuff that you may or not be able to find where you are going.

For us it was the special soaps, medication, and shampoo for B. We used all of these things over the past weekend. A scraped his arm up while we were out and it was great to have band aids to clean up the wound. B slept more soundly with his weighted blanket and iPad. Both of the boys slept better in a strange place with melatonin.

4. Remember safety measures.

Safety in a new place is a big deal to me. Both of the boys have identification dog tags that fasten to their clothing. I also have ID stickers that go in their shoes and recently purchased ID temporary tattoos. It is important that both of my children have a way to get back to us in case they are lost, especially B since he has very limited speech. Please see the links if you are interested in purchasing any of these products. They really bring peace of mind. Finally, when going to a crowded place, always decide on a meeting place if you get separated from your group.

4. You also want to be able to be independent.

This is a main reason we do not vacation with our families. Our kids wake up at 5 am and we realize that is early for most families. Also, we are aware that B's special needs can sometime be a damper on normal family activities such as family dinners. We also have to be extremely flexible and waiting is not B's strongest quality. Don't get me wrong. I would love to vacation with our family, it is just we would always want to stay in our own place and have our own car.

5. Finally, allow time for rest.

Do not go non-stop. Stay somewhere close to your activities so that the children can go back to their rooms to rest and refuel. Proximity is important and it is worth spending a little extra if you have to. It is also good for the parents too. I know Todd and I are on alert every time we take the boys out. It is hard to be on all of the time and it is nice to have time to recharge our batteries too. We did an activity in the morning, went back to our house for lunch, and then had an afternoon activity. This made for a happy and restful vacation.

I hope that you can use these tips the next time you plan a vacation with your family. They work for the typical kids too!

Until next time...

What are Salicylates?

2012-07-13T14:48:00.000-05:00

After the last two months of not being able to figure out why B has been acting so crazy, reducing sugar with zero results, I decided it was time to seek professional help.

I am big believer in things happening for a reason.I think I signed up for Julie Matthew's emails at an autism conference I went to three years ago. I have been glancing at them and deleting them for three years!!! Then on Friday, for some reason I was compelled to read her latest post. It was about how people suffer with yeast and go on a low sugar diet and still have issues. The entire article was about Oxalates. I am telling you that I don't believe my son has an issue with Oxalates based off of her article, but it did get me thinking. What if she knows of something I have never heard of before. What if something else is going on I have not thought of?

Julie travels the world talking about nutrition and diets for people with Autism. I went to her website, nourishinghope.com thinking I would get some ideas and found that she does consultations. I was lucky to get in with her this week and from the pages of information I sent to her and after talking to her for an hour and a half about my little man, she came to the conclusion that everything that B eats is super high in Salicylates.

What are Salicylates? They are a chemical compound that occurs naturally in most fruits, spices, and mostly anything that has perfumes associated with it. Most people do not have reactions to this, but research has shown that some Autistic children do not produce enough of the enzyme that breaks this down in their stomach. This causes a lot of the behavioral and learning issues that I am seeing in B.

So we are at a cross roads. Should we stay the course with GAPS or start a low salicylate diet? One thing I think that this journey has taught me is that you have to be willing to adapt and change. When something isn't working you don't stick with it because it is easier than learning something new.

I am a little scared to have to learn all about a new diet. It is time consuming and stressful to our entire family. We have decided to step back from GAPS a bit in order to see if going on a low-salicylate diet will help my son. I have tried a lot of things and I think we can do this by sticking with the foundations we have learned on the GAPS diet. We still are going to try to keep the sugar low in his body and I am not going back to processed foods.

Every time I start a new intervention or diet, it reminds me how appropriate the puzzle pieces that represent Autism are. Hopefully this direction in his diet will fill in another missing piece for him.

A Little Help From My Friends

2012-07-03T14:20:00.005-05:00

Over the past few weeks we have started to see a problem with yeast start to creep up again with B. He is a fruit lover, but sugar does not love him. He becomes very erratic when he has too much of it in his system. Since we switched to GAPS he only gets honey and fruit as sources of sugar. However, I think I have given him too much and his system now seems to be a little toxic. We have decided to remove nearly all of the fruit and honey in his diet to try to combat the yeast. This is going to make for a very irritable child, but we feel it is a necessity.

Here is my request to you. B likes carrots and I was able to get him to like a lettuce only salad, but that is it! I am not a big veggie person so I need some help! Do you have any good recipes for meals that are gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free? If so, could you share them with me at gapsmom@gapsinthefamily.com . If they are a hit with B, I will put them on my blog.

In other cooking news, the other day I found a recipe for chili for hot dogs in Women's Day magazine and decided to make it. I was a little disappointed because I am a Texan and like my food a little spicy and this recipe was a little too bland for my taste. I took the base recipe and spiced it up and it turned out quite good and a lot less work the the previous version I was making. Here is the recipe.

B's Kickin' Chili

1/2 of diced red onion
23-24 ounces of diced tomatoes with liquid (I used Pomi Tomatoes, they come in a box not a can, or you can do it the old fashion way if you want)
1 lb of grass fed ground beef
2-3 cups of cooked navy beans mashed or pureed
2 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp of Cheyenne Pepper (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Throw it all in a crock pot (even the uncooked beef, but I separate it with my hands so you don't have huge chunks of beef when it is done), mix, and cook on low for 8 hours stirring every few hours.

You can garnish with some Pico de Gallo or fresh jalapenos for an added kick. I hope you like it.

I also made yummy bacon wrapped chicken yesterday. It was a big hit with B, but then again it contained all of his favorite things: Bacon, Mustard, and Honey. Their picture is much prettier than mine so check it out on the Kayotic Kitchen.

Until next time...

A Delicious Way to Beat the Summer Heat

2012-06-27T07:37:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is enjoying my new and improved blog. Turtles have a special meaning in our family and they were B's favorite animal at the time he was diagnosed. We think of the story of the Tortoise and the Hare when we think about B's Autism. It may take him longer to get to the finishline, but he will make it all the same.

My husband and I know that patience is the key. However, people that know me, know that when God was handing that out, he didn't give me that gift. Growing up and I wanted everything easy and fast (a lot like my other little boy). Instead God gave the gift of B to teach it to me.

As you probably could tell by my last few posts, my patience was waning. It seems to happen to me a few times a year and then I have to regroup and get my priorities in order. Moping around and feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help B or anyone else in my family for that matter.

Instead, my family has been making being active a priority. To beat the summer heat we have been engaging in cool activites such as swimming and running around in our neighborhood fountains. I think getting out and getting active has really improved my outlook lately.

However, my poor dairy free son has been very sad since he can't partake in his favorite summer treat. It breaks my heart when we drive by our old favorite frozen yogurt place and he says "Ice Cream! Ice Cream!" I decided I had to remedy the situation immediately!

Last week I purchased a small small seedless watermelon (rather I thought it was small). Once I carved the thing, I had watermelon coming out the wazoo! All of a sudden it was like a light bulb went off! Why don't I use the ice cream maker to make sorbet!!!

I went on the internet to find out that it is a complete myth that sorbet is healthy! All of the recipes called for at least one cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of corn syrup added in for good measure. Gross!!!
So I made my very own GAPS friendly sorbet. It was super easy and only had two ingredients.

4 cups of cubed watermelon
1/3 cup of honey

Throw all of that into your blender and blend until smooth. Then throw it into your ice cream maker and you have sorbet. I also read you can freeze it in a bowl and just remember to stir occasionally until you get the consistency you are looking for. It will just take longer to get the same result.

Here is a picture of B and Daddy waiting patiently for the finished product.

Here is the finished Sorbet. It was a little softer than I would have liked, but someone (I won't name names) could not wait for it to freeze completely to try it.

Here is a fun fact! Watermelon contains Lycopene, an antioxidant that is said to help keep cancer at bay and decrease the look of aging*. *I am not a doctor, I just read it on the internet folks!* If you are really interested, here is an entire article about how awesome watermelon is.

This summer enjoy my guilt free treat knowing your are helping your body by cooling it off and filling it with hydration (watermelons are mostly water) and antioxidants! Remember, when life hands you a heatwave make sorbet!

Until next time...

Volunteer for Happiness!

2012-06-18T12:43:00.001-05:00

My college roomate recently blogged about volunteering and why people do it. It got me thinking why I volunteer. I love to volunteer and although I don't have as much time as I used to because of the kids, I try to do so where I can and I have to say the reason I do it is purely selfish. I love making a difference. I love helping others. It makes me feel wonderful. I think it is also because with B's diagnosis I so often feel no matter how hard I try I can't help him. It is a hopeless feeling that I try to fill with helping others.

My favorite charities usually involves animal rescue. I have two adopted dogs and one is crazy Boston Terrier named Max, I adopted almost 11 years ago from The Boston Terrier Rescue of Greater Houston. I have volunteered here and there with them over the past 11 years and it is wonderful to see a dog that was going to be put down go to a new home. They have had an influx of dogs the last couple weeks so we volunteered to take in Rigby, the BUG (Boston Pug Mix), until he has to have his heartworm treatment. Isn't he cute?

He was going to be put down because he had fleas. Now he is flea free and happy to be in a home that lets him have run of the house plus treats! He is happy and so am I . It has been a tough couple weeks with B and he has given us a break from the everyday at our house. I am thankful for him.

So the message is if you are feeling down and out, maybe volunteering will help you get out of your funk. I promise you will get more back than what you give. You may even be as lucky as me to get some sloppy dog kisses as a thank you!

On to the food. This week I made GAPS Cinnamon Rolls from The Urban Poser. They turned out delicious. So much so that B is now turning down his previous favorite, the Apple Coffee Cake, for this. Just a note though, here are some tricks I learned making them. The dough is a little sticky so I sandwiched them between pieces of parchment paper and rolled it out on the parchment. I then took the top layer of the paper off and rolled it up using a similar technique to making sushi. Also, I make mine one inch thickness rather than the two that the site uses. I also put cinnamon on top of mine and drizzle them with honey. Finally, do not overcook them. When you think they need a little more time, that is when you take them out.

Until next time...

Limited

2012-06-01T14:37:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in a while and, in the interest of full honesty, I have been a little down lately. Autism has really been kicking my mental butt over the last two weeks. We started B back on Therapeutic Listening and it has been causing a lot of disorganization in B's world. It is a great tool for sensory integration and we have had success in the past, but like everything it is trial and error and the music we are listening to is causing some bad behaviors to pop back up. If you want to learn more about Therapeutic Listening, there is a link on the main page.

Again I feel like we are taking steps back and I am beginning to feel we are approaching the end of the road of a cure for B. It is horrible to feel that way, but I am running out of ideas. We have decided to stop HBOT as we have not seen really improvement and it is very expensive. I still believe in GAPS and I can certainly tell when he has something to eat he shouldn't have, but I am not sure it is going to cause any miraculous recovery. Today, B has been on GAPS for 6 months.

Here is where we are at. B is talking more. He asks for things he wants, but still it is very limited. He is starting to get frustrated when he can't find the words. We still have accidents at night, but during the day we no longer have potty related accidents. He seems a little more interested in other kids, but doesn't know how to approach them in a way that doesn't freak other kids out. He still doesn't understand when he is being too rough and still doesn't display any type of conscience when he does something he is not supposed to.

When I was pregnant, I felt the possibilities for my family's future was endless. Now I no longer feel that way. What I hate about Autism is that it doesn't just affect B, it affects all of us. I just feel that Autism has made our life so limited. Limited in where we can live, where we can work, what schools my kids can go to, what their futures are when they grow up. Even though we have made arrangements to financially care for B, the true responsibility will one day fall on his brother. He already knows that B is "different." He told us in the car yesterday. Although he doesn't understand now, one day he will understand what it means for him that his brother is Autistic. I couldn't imagine living with that on my shoulders when I was a young adult.

I write this not to make people feel sorry for us. I write it so that people realize that we don't always have it together. I know I hate reading blogs where everyone seems happy all the time and everything is always great and that is just not the way real life is. Just like real life, we will continue on and find away to make the most of what we have been given. I do believe life could always be worse so I try not to get too down. Plus what good would it do anyway?

Life is like a roller coaster. You have your ups and your downs. Right now I happen to be on a down, but I know around the corner there will be an up.

So in the spirit is of ups, I will post the latest recipe success I had. B is dairy free and he desperately misses ice cream. I found on Pinterest how to make banana ice cream. It is just frozen bananas. You can add other things to it to change the flavor, but B loves bananas so it is great for us. Here is how to do it.

Slice 2 ripe bananas.
Place on parchment paper and freeze.
Put frozen slices in a food processor and chop finely.
Put the chopped up frozen bananas in a blender or use your hand blender to blend. (I tried the first time to just put the frozen pieces in my blender, but I guess it was not strong enough and it did not mix).
Blend until it resembles soft serve and there you have it.
You can add 1 tsp of honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, or cinnamon if you like.

Here is a picture.

I hope you enjoy the dairy free ice cream in this hot summer weather. Until next time...

Full Tackle Parenting

2012-05-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of my hardworking, tireless mom readers. It is hard to be a mom these days with all of the expectations that are put on our children. We feel like it is our responsibility for our children to live up to these expectations. But where are these expectations coming from? From books, TV shows, other parents, or even ourselves? I was thinking about how kids are learning to do things earlier and earlier and I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

For example, I know children are playing full tackle football at 5 years old. The question is why? Does the child really want to be out there or is it some lost dream the parents have? It is just my opinion that I am not sure that little bodies are meant for that kind of force exerted on one another. I have read studies that state it doesn't take full concussions to cause long term brain damage. Maybe I am a little more sensitive to those types of stories since my child's brain already isn't working optimally. I would do whatever I can to protect it.

I had a friend ask me at what age my kids started talking and I had to laugh. The only thing I could say was "Late." I stopped following those development charts about the time B was diagnosed. At that time, I was happy for any progression. I am not saying that it isn't good to have a benchmark to follow, but I think it gets to a time where you know your child and know where they are headed. Looking at charts isn't going to change it.

Parenting is a lot like full tackle football. It is very competitive. You like having other parents as a support system, but you end up getting banged up along the way by comparing your children to each other. I know when I hear that one of my friend's children, that are younger than my kids, can do something they can't, I feel like a failure. I try to remind myself that at one time or another I am sure I learned how to do something and then forgot when I learned it. So why does it matter when our kids learn how to do something? The dates aren't as important as actually learning the skill .

Feeling like a failure and guilt I believe is an unfortunate side effect of being any parent, special needs or not. Am I reading enough to my children? Do I play with them enough? Are they watching too much TV? Should I send them to private school? Are they in enough activities? Do they have enough friends? I think we put a lot of this pressure on ourselves. I think at the end of the day the only question we should ask ourselves is "Are my children happy?" If the answer is yes, then I think the other questions will answer themselves.

I am happy to say that my feelings of guilt and failure are all wiped away when my children smile and laugh. That is all I need to see to know that I am succeeding as a mom. Be happy for your children's successes no matter when they come and take heart in knowing that you are apart of it. Be happy for other parents successes and remember if your child fall behind another, it isn't their time. Their time will come.

No recipes this week. I have made a few things, but they have turned out less than spectacular. Hopefully, I will make something that tastes good enough to share next week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

My Big Talker!

2012-05-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends! I know it has been a while since I posted and I wish I had a good reason except for being busy. From my previous posts, most everyone knows that the boys and I have been sick at my house going on about 3 weeks. I thought we were over it and then today, Todd took B to the doctor to find out he has another ear infection. However, I was happy to learn that he told and showed his Nana what hurt him.

B's communication has been getting better every day. He is telling us what he wants and it is really wonderful. We are no where near having a conversation, but he is getting so much better at communication as a whole. He is pointing at things and is much more expressive. I am so proud of him. He is even singing entire songs (granted really fast and you have to know what he is saying). He sings his ABC's, Pop Goes The Weasel, and Itsy Bitsy Spider. He was even running around the house singing the "DUH DUH TADA DA" from Star Wars.

I can proudly tell everyone that last week I reached my goal weight. I have lost 30lbs. I went from a size 12 to a size 4. I also am confidently wearing a bikini again. However, I am going to keep that picture to myself. :)

My husband is coaching A's soccer team and they both are naturals. B even showed some interest in soccer too.

Even though A is making a silly face, I love this picture. B is actually smiling for the camera!!!

I wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog. I hope that our journey is helping others. Not necessarily by getting everyone on the GAPS bandwagon, but by seeing that making little changes in your life can make a big difference.

On to the food!!!! I have been doing very little "new" cooking. I have been so tired from work and "the crud" that I have not been very inspired until this past weekend. I made what I call "Hot Chocolate Marshmallows" and GAPS cornbread. The pictures aren't that great, but I have pictures this time and that is a small miracle in itself.

Hot Chocolate Marshmallows

OK, let's be realistic here, it looks like the blob, but it tastes like heaven!!! Next time, I think I am going to make a double batch so I can make bigger marshmallows. Here is the recipe. The Nourishing Gourmet's pictures are much more appetizing, but I cook for taste not for looks. I made a small modification by mixing in a tablespoon of cocoa powder right before I was ready to pour the marshmallows into the parchment lined glass dish. In the future, I am going to wait until they are completely dry before I cut them. It was big hit with both of my boys.

I also made Paleo Buns, but Todd said they tasted more like cornbread so I am calling them GAPS cornbread. I also didn't have the molds to make them in the bun shape so we had muffins.

GAPS "Cornbread" Muffins

Again, I didn't have time to make them pretty for you, but you get the point. I am excited to have these the next time I make chili. These are from MultiplyDelicious.com.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful spring. Get out there and enjoy this wonderful weather. For those of us in Texas, we know we don't have many more of these days left until the boiling heat comes.

Until next week, Britt

Getting What You Want Out of Life

2012-04-26T14:07:00.001-05:00

As most of you know that read my blog, it is not just about a diet. It started out that way, but quickly became a place where I could post the things I am learning along the way. I just got back from my industry's women's conference. I am very lucky that my company was so graciously paid for this event because I could have never afforded it and it was both educational and enlightening.

I spent 3 days being surrounded by the best and brightest women in my industry. One of the biggest messages that was repeated over and over was that women make up half of the workforce so why aren't half of the executives women? One thing that they found was that we are really are our own worst enemy. As women, we feel that we have to be able to do something 100% before we make the jump to do something new. Men, on the other hand, take more risks.

I know why I don't take risks. I have young children at home and one may need lifelong care. That got me thinking though. By not taking risks, I am stagnant and going no where is not helpful either. In another lecture, one speaker said that studies show that children with two working parents did little to no harm to their children. It was the quality of the time they spent with their children not the quantity. However, people that were unhappy in their jobs cause significant damage to their children. So that got me thinking.

I love to work. I love to be something more than a mommy. I like to talk to adults about adult things. However, I hate my job. HATE IT. So I think I have been looking at this all wrong. I have been looking for another job, but my main objective wasn't to get a job I love, but one that was closer to home. I never thought, what if I hate this closer job too?

I have decided to apply some of the things I learned over the past 3 days.

Ask for what you want - you are never going to get what you want unless you ask. People aren't going to know what you are thinking. "Say what you mean, mean what you say, and don't be mean when you say it." - Christine Cashen
Get out of your comfort zone - Doing things that make you uncomfortable, makes you a better person.
Learn from others - Ask questions. People love to talk about themselves so why don't you take advantage of that.
Invest in yourself - Invest in your health, invest in your mind. You can't help others, it you are not your best.

All of the things I wrote above, can be applied to work, but also can be applied to being a mother or a caregiver. I know I spent a lot of time talking about my kids while I was at conference. One thing I learned is that B is my biggest challenge, but he is my biggest success too. I always laugh because I know deep down I am a quitter. I have quit pretty much everything in my life except for my marriage, my job and my children. What I realize now though, is that I am not a quitter. The toughest things in my life are my marriage, my job, and my children!

The conference changed my outlook on my life. I am ready to make some positive changes. I hope by reading this you are too.

Finally, this was how the hotel decided to disguise the men's restrooms at the conference. I hope you get a laugh out of it like I did. Smiles!!!!

PInk Eye, Stink Eye!!!

2012-04-19T08:28:00.001-05:00

We have been spending a lot of time at our gym's heated outdoor pool since the weather has been so nice, and I am convinced it is why my son suddenly came down with pink eye last week. I had never had pink eye before and was amazed to find out there are both bacterial and viral kinds. The bacterial ones can be treated with antibiotics and viral you just have to ride out. B had the viral kind. Poor guy was out of school for almost a full week sleeping it off.

Well guess who caught it? If you said me, you guessed right. I am also right in the middle of one of the most stressful times I have ever had at my job which I believe also compromised my immune system. I am actually doing 3 people's job since my counterpart quit and the other girl in our department went out on maternity leave. It is not a good time to be out of work.

Mom's just can't be sick, but as I always say, I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband that picks up the slack when I am not 100% and I can't forget my mother that watches the boys when they are sick so we can go to work.

That being said, yesterday I went to work and hunkered down in my cube with antibacterial gel and managed to do all of meetings by conference call and then BAM, llaryngitis!!!! I have no voice today. Seriously the hits keep on coming.

I have also not been following my GAPS diet at all. Which leads to a vicious cycle of feeling bad and being too tired to make something from scratch so you eat bad foods which makes you feel bad. Todd and I have kept B on the diet even when he was sick so I am proud of that. The boys love their homemade Popsicles. I make them from fresh squeezed orange juice so they think they are getting a treat and they are also getting a shot of vitamin C. If you haven't been reading my blog from the beginning, go way back and read the first few posts about my awesome Popsicle making machine!!!

Even being a nurse to my sick child and sick myself I have found time to make a few new recipes that I want to share. You will have to forgive me for not posting pictures. There are two recipes that I have tried that have made repeats at my house which means they were winners.

The first is Avocado Chocolate Pudding. Yes, I know, I was a little skeptical at first too. I emailed it to my hard body friends and they were all like, "YES!!!!!" That being said Todd who has told me more than a time or two that it doesn't matter if food tastes good and that "Food is Fuel" really couldn't eat it because he said he knew what was in it. He calls it the "Green Ketchup Effect." Remember when Heinz came out with colored ketchup? It was said to taste the same, but because it was the wrong color it messed with your mind and it tasted weird? That is what he means by the "Green Ketchup Effect." I digress...

Anywho, B loves it and A will even eat it if there isn't anything else sweet around. So here is the recipe thanks to StevePaleo. A few things I learned after making it a few times. It usually will last about a week in the fridge. Also, it gets really thick once it is refrigerated. I use my immersion blender to mix it to really incorporate all of the avocado bits, then there isn't any weird green chunks in your pudding.

The other recipe is Zucchini Tots. I modified this recipe from The Curious Country Cook to make it GAPs Compliant.

Zucchini Tots

1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best) (I don't use the cheese because we have B off of dairy)
1/4 cup Almond Meal
Salt and Pepper ( I through some garlic and herb seasoning in too, yum)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. grease mini-muffin pan, set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach.
3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, and spices.
4. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.

These are great because we can't have potatoes. Serve with homemade ketchup and you have a pretty close substitute for tator tots.

Just a few things to be looking forward to hearing about in the next few weeks. A starts soccer and Todd is his coach. We will see how that one works out...I am headed to Dallas for a conference so hopefully the house is still standing when I get back (J/K, I know it will be there when I get back, I just wonder what type of shape it will be in. :)) We are considering getting B into equine therapy. Hmmm... It is always an adventure at my house. As always, thanks again for reading my blog and allowing me to share our lives with you. Until next time...

I have got the Kindergarten Blues

2012-04-11T13:16:00.003-05:00

This week I registered A for Kindergarten. It was bittersweet. I was excited that my son would be starting a new chapter in his life, but sad that his brother would not be sharing it with him. B has been at his current school for almost 3 years and I had been wondering if a change of scenery may do him well next year. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options for nonverbal autistic 5 year olds in the suburb I live in.

Before we registered A at his new school, we sat down with the school to talk about their special ed program. The principal and the teacher could have not been nicer, but it was very evident that a K-6 special ed program that lumped all disabilities and ages in one room would not be the best place for my little guy. I also spoke to another more one on one ABA program that seemed great, but again, I didn't want my son only interacting with only one person everyday. There was another program I considered last year, but decided it was not the best either since they treated their kids more like patients than students.

After all of the meetings, I scheduled time to meet with my son's school and talked to the program directors. I laid it all out about how I wanted B to go to the best place for him and not the place he was just comfortable with. I also was open and honest about my likes and dislikes of every place I had been and how all places seemed to have something I liked and something I didn't and that included the school he was in now. I was very happy that they were receptive to my feelings, questions, and criticisms and wanted to work with us. I am eagerly awaiting the new plan they said they are going to put together for B for the summer and next year.

I want everyone to take away from this post is that it is important to be open and honest with your child's educators (typical or special ed). It never hurts to ask if things can be changed because if you don't ask, you will never know. The worst anyone can say to you is no. At least you don't end up wondering what might have been. One of the program directors told me that she appreciated me being honest because so many times they know a parent may be upset about something, but the parents never tell them why. No one can fix something they don't know is broken.

I had several people encourage me to go visit with the school district. One was my sister. She is in a different district and she is a substitute teacher that loves working in the special ed rooms. After I told her what I found out, she apologized for encouraging me to go. I told her there was no need to apologize because I feel better because I am informed. I would have felt worse if I didn't go.

So I am going into next year feeling much better. I think Brock is still at the place he should be and it will work out for everyone.

Also on the GAPS front, B is doing great. His bad behaviors are very minimal and he is even getting up at night to go to the restroom and going back to sleep, where as, before we were up for hours with him. We have been able to go to the store without putting him in a shopping cart and we have been taking walks as a family where he is no longer bolting. B is mostly very happy and his biting behaviors are very minimal. His language is getting clearer. He is no longer constipated all of the time and is going frequently to the restroom. He also participated in 4 Easter Egg Hunts this past weekend.

One of his greatest achievements in my eyes was that we went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and all of the kids were eating pizza and cake around him. He never tried to take a bite of the pizza or cake. He didn't even mind as long as he had the food I brought for him. I was so proud.

I am so happy we stuck with GAPS. It has been a difficult road and some days it would be easier to just go to McDonald's and get dinner, but the change really has been miraculous. I will never stop having faith that the longer B heals the better he will become. One day, I know he will be able to go to school with A. I am sure of it.

World Autism Awareness Day

2012-04-02T09:08:00.002-05:00

I wanted to write something meaningful today about World Autism Awareness Day. It causes me to reflect on our 3 year journey and what our expectations were when B was diagnosed on Nov. 19, 2009. Before we realized there was something different about him, my dream was for B and A to play on the high school football team and to go college together. Be each others best friends. That day my expectations and dreams changed. I just wanted him to be typical. I didn't care if he was the nerdy kid or the loner, but I wanted him to talk. Here we are three years later and although we have made progress, I would be lying if I didn't think B would be recovered by now. I would lying to say that I didn't think on that day with a lot of therapy, B would be going to Kindergarten with A next year. He has had a ton of therapy and we are blessed to have found a way to afford 30 hours of ABA a week and OT, ST and the many other things that we have tried, but he is still mostly nonverbal and way behind cognitively and developmentally. It doesn't mean that we will ever give up trying to make the most of him.

I read an article where a mother was offended when a doctor said her 3 autistic children needed to be fixed (not her kids in particular, Autistic kids in general and it so happened that this doctor also has an Autistic child) and she believed that there was nothing wrong with them and there would be no fixing in her house. Here is where I have a problem with how she feels. I do not believe for a second that this doctor meant anything by what he said except that our children are not wired the way typical people are. Also, in theory it sounds wonderful to be the parent that says they accept their child the way they are. That also comes from a parent that doesn't have a typical kid in their home to also contend with. I always have said my life would be so much easier if God gave me either the typical son or the Autistic son, but he gave me both. It wouldn't have been fair to A to let B continue have the behaviors that he had. Finally, aren't we all trying to raise our children to be a meaningful part of society?

I am not saying that I know for a fact that B will ever live independently, but it is my job whether my child is disabled or not to give him every tool I can to make him be as independent as any other kid. I will not accept for my typical son to have a tantrum and the same goes for my Autistic son. Just because he is Autistic it doesn't mean he gets a free pass to act anyway he wants. I will continue to do anything to fix my son and I am not ashamed to say it. I want my child to have a relationship with his brother and be able to have a job and if that means not letting him have cupcakes and goldfish because that is what he likes and who he is, then so be it.

Autism has taught me that life is not fair. You can do everything right, live a moral and righteous life and still have bad things happen to you. It is what you do with what you are given that defines you. I remember sitting by B's bedside after the diagnosis and while he was asleep, crying and asking God "Why? Why us? I help homeless animals, I donate clothing to the homeless, I let people go ahead of me in line when they are in a hurry. I don't lie, I have never done drugs or stolen. Why me?" He never answered me. I still don't know why. I spent so much time those first years praying, but what for? If I just sat by and waited for God to answer, where would B be today? Probably the same place he was before or worse. If God decides to hand me a miracle, I will take it, but I can't sit around and wait for one nor am I going to accept that God wants my child to sit and stim all day.

I have found a balance between having faith that God will fix my problems, accepting that B is who God wants him to be, and what I want B to be. I no longer feel guilt about the diagnosis and am at peace with where we are right now. After all, this weekend was the first time B asked A to play with him.

I hope my candidness helps other people feel not so alone. Not feel stigmatized by being a parent of a kid with Autism. Autism Awareness isn't just one day. It is being aware that there is a struggle in 1 in 88 families everyday to do what is right, fair, and just for their children. Families like mine.

Celebrations!

2012-03-27T08:59:00.002-05:00

We had a lot to celebrate about at our house this weekend. It was my husband's birthday, the weather was beautiful, and the pool was open.

On Saturday, we decided to try out our gym's outdoor pool for the first time. I was very concerned because of the crowds and was pretty worried that B had forgotten everything he learned in swimming lessons last year. However, he surprised me and took to the water like a little dog paddling fish. B had swim lessons all last summer with a BCBA and we could not get him to swim underwater, but he is a very good dog paddler. We tested that he could get himself out of the pool by himself and was safe around water. After all of that checked out, we are completely fine with the way B "swims". The ironic part is that he loves to go underwater and sit at the bottom of the pool. He was even saying "1,2,3!" before he went under. I was really happy how much he was enjoying himself.

For my husband's birthday, he wanted me to make a birthday cake B could eat. I found an interesting recipe on Cheeseslave.com. Her recipes are usually great so I tried it out. If you can get past the fact that the majority of the cake is smashed navy beans, it is pretty delicious. Everyone liked it, even A who is extremely picky. Mine didn't turn out as thick as hers, but I believe it was because I used a larger spring form pan. Also, I was lazy and didn't beat the egg whites until they were completely stiff. That being said, it still was pretty darn good. The icing was the marshmallow fluff from her website too. I did not have any safe dyes so it stayed white. However, you can get safe ones online.

I also made a roasted chicken that turned out pretty well. Basically, I just stuffed the chicken with onions, celery, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and what ever herbs and spices I had around and then rubbed herbs, spices and salt on the outside, poured some melted ghee all of over it and put it in the oven at 350 degrees. Every 30 min., I would pour some more melted ghee on top of it. Cook for about 20-30 min. a lbs. It turned out nice and juicy.

I think that is all I have for now. I would love to know if any of you have tried any of the recipes that I have posted over the last 3 months and how they turned out. Did you make any modifications that make them more delicious? Also, let me know if you have any recipes of your own you may want to share with me. I am always looking for yummy things to feed my family. Either comment under this posting or send me an email at gapsmom@gapsinthefamily.com/ . Happy Spring!!!

Weight Loss is Expensive

2012-03-23T08:55:00.002-05:00

I wanted to talk about weight loss. I am happy to report to my readers that I have lost 25 lbs since starting GAPS at the new year. I am pretty excited since I went from a size 12 to now a size 4. I have never been a size 4 before ever.

When I met Todd I was 17 years old and a size 6. The last time I lost weight was when the boys were two prior to "THE DIAGNOSIS." After that I forgot all about myself and found myself wallowing in Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream most evenings. I am sure most of us can relate to that.

Here are the before and after pictures. If you are like me, I am sure you have full veto power of all published photos of you. So this one never saw the light of day. It was the week before I started GAPS. The After photo is this past weekend at the shooting range with Todd.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is why I am sharing all of this. I was thinking about how expensive weight loss is no matter how you do it. I have a friend who did Nutrisystem and there is a cost for buying the food, but also the expense of being hungry. Her poor breakfasts sometimes were the size of a deck of cards. There are also the people that use fat blocker pills. Those cost money and come with the added bonus of spending a lot of time in the bathroom if you eat too many fatty foods. I have been doing GAPS and healthy food is expensive. I can't tell you how many times I run to the store every week (probably mostly due to poor planning) and how much time I spend figuring out what we are going to eat and cooking it. However, I have found that I can eat a lot of food and not be hungry and (probably giving you too much info) I am pretty happy with my bathroom visits. :)

All of these diets get results. My friend is actually skinnier than me and looks fabulous. She is now on the maintenance meals and now she can eat more. We talked a lot about our different approaches that got to the same results. I too occasionally cheat when I am not around my son. I am back to having my guilty pleasure "Tall, Nonfat, No Whip, Peppermint Mochas" and I had a few tortilla chips yesterday. The difference is my mindset. I have the "Before Brittney" in the back of my mind telling me to not over do it, to remember how unhappy I was with myself then. The After Brittney is better for everyone. I am happy and that makes me a better mother, wife, and employee.

What I am trying to say is that if you aren't happy with the way you look and feel, weight loss is worth the cost whatever approach you may choose to take (as long as it is a safe one).

But there is one more cost to losing weight...The cost of having to purchase all new clothes!!!! At least shopping is fun.

Have a wonderful weekend. Get outside and enjoy the spring!

Anti-Antibiotics

2012-03-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

Hello GAPS friends! After a wonderful celebratory weekend with my husband, I am back and better than ever. Todd and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this weekend with a nice restful evening away from home. It is amazing what a day at the shooting range (yes I said shooting range!), a high quality dinner, and a comfy hotel suite will do for you.

Todd took me to shoot clays on Friday and, I am a little embarrassed to say this being from Texas, but I had never shot a gun before this weekend. It was a wonderful stress reliever. I am already planning my next trip! Not only did we have a wonderful weekend, our kiddoes did too. A had his first sleep over at a friend's house and B had a wonderful weekend of behavior after a few set backs last week.

Thursday, Todd called me at work and said he was taking B to the doctor. He was pretty sure he had an ear infection. Todd was right and like usual, the doctor prescribed him antibiotics. I was kicking myself about it because after all of the effort we put in to semi-implementing the intro diet, I was not about to let a round of antibiotics derail all the work we put in! Remember my earlier post about being your child's advocate and not always taking the doctor's word about everything, so off to the Internet I went to find that 80% of ear infections do not need antibiotics and that studies show that ear infections treated with pain reliever is as effective as antibiotics. So this time, I decided to have B sit this round of antibiotics out and opted for Advil instead.

I also found out that dairy make ear infections worse. I found this particularly poignant since he didn't have any issues until I introduced the milk kefir into his diet. So we decided to pull all the dairy out of his diet and manage it with pain meds and by Friday afternoon, he was a happy camper.

So this weekend I had a super compliant child and he was also singing his nearly entire ABC's to me. It was pretty awesome!

On the cooking side, I decided to bake eggs this weekend after I saw a pin about it on Pinterest. I have mixed feelings about this. When you bake the eggs, you get the same result as hard boiling them, but mine kept coming out with this icky brown spots all over them. It is very unappetizing looking and the peel seemed to stick more to the egg whites. I am going back to hard boiling. However, if you are interested in trying, preheat the oven to 325, put the eggs directly on the rack and bake for 30 min. Take them out and let them cool and there you have it.

I also made Kimchi, a kind of spicy Sauerkraut. B ended up loving the stuff. I was very surprised. He likes to dip it in my homemade ketchup and GAPS compliant mustard. I do not make my own mustard. I use Annie's organic mustard.

Here is the recipe. It comes from a the intro guide from Health, Home, Happiness blog. I like it because it does not have any sugar in it like many of the more traditional Kimchi recipes I found online. Most have an apple or honey added. I made mine with Red Cabbage because I honestly had no idea what Napa Cabbage was. It is very pretty. Because I knew my child was going to eat it, I did not add 4 chili peppers. I just added one Anaheim pepper. It is spicy, but not overbearing. Plus it is a large pepper and that means I only had to deseed one instead of 4. Call me lazy.

Last night I also made Greek salad dressing. It was so yummy. I am so happy to have some GAPS compliant dressing in the house. I am one of those people that need something with veggies. I got the recipe on allrecipes.com.

Here is the scaled down version.

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1.5 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1 cup red wine vinegar

Mix it all together. There you have it.

I have been really bad about not taking pictures. Hopefully the next round of recipes I will have my camera handy. Until next time...

Intro Diet

2012-03-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

Saturday we started the intro diet. It has been raining cats and dogs here and, in our world, it is probably the worst possible weekend to start a severely limited diet. B's whole world is food. He loves food. He loves to sit in the kitchen on a bar stool and watch me cook and nibble or steal food while I am doing it. He also loves to watch cooking shows on his ipad. So we were stuck inside feeding our food obsessed son soup for the weekend. I am sure God is laughing at the whole situation up in heaven. At least in my mind, he is.

Without getting into too much detail, the first day B did pretty well. He did not like the broth, but would eat the meat and veggies cooked in the broth. He even started chewing up his probiotic he wouldn't touch weeks ago. Day 2 did not go as well. When the poor guy woke up and saw he had to have soup for breakfast again, the screaming started. So it was time for me to take the bull by the horns and decide how I was going to handle this.

I firmly believe in following my gut. It is usually right and when it is wrong, I usually hear from Todd. So my gut was telling me that there had to be a happy medium with this intro stuff. A lot of people I have read about on their own blogs said they were able to move through the stages pretty quickly so I decided if we didn't have any issues, we should just keep on keeping on. So Sunday, I allowed pickles. B doesn't even like pickles, but he sure was eating them.

Monday, he was still doing well. He was a lot calmer than I had seen him in weeks. I am not sure if it is from lack of nutrients or sugar. It is pretty difficult to know when your child can't tell you. What he was telling me all day long was "I want Apple!" I just kept saying "No." Monday I allowed Eggs. He had an omelet and some hard boiled ones too. He was a very happy camper with that. Still hungry though and persistent, so I decided we had to get out of the house. Thank goodness the sun actually decided to come out, so we took a long walk to park and took to the swings. I think it was good to get some Vitamin D and he seemed much happier.

Today I made Taco Meat (with very little seasonings cooked in broth and had shredded carrots added in), a roast in broth, and squash nut pancakes. I think we are in between stage 3 and 4 now, but I really don't care about following the rules exactly. I know some people are all about it and we may have been able to do that if it was just B and me and I didn't have a job and 4 other living things to worry about, but I try to live by only one rule and that is "do the best that I can." So here I am. B liked the squash nut pancakes and I will give you the recipe below. I can't remember where I got it so I hope no one sues me for posting it. It only has four ingredients so I don't think I am stealing any one's trade secrets anyhow.

Squash Nut Pancakes

1 Acorn Squash (cut in half and bake at 375 until the insides resemble a baked potato consistency)
1 Egg
5 TBSP of nut butter (I used cashews soaked over night in water and drained)
Ghee

Mash your acorn squash until it looks like mash potatoes. Add Egg and nut butter and mix. Melt ghee in pan under Med to Med Low heat. Spoon in as you would pancake batter. Do not make these too large because they do not solidify as much as real pancakes. The consistency is kind of like hashbrowns. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes.

Once you get to a further stage you can add honey to the batter if you like to sweeten it up.

In other news, being that I am human and had a severe lack of food in our house, I cheated this weekend and I cheated bad. I had Papa Johns Pizza on Saturday night and last night I had chicken tenders, french fries, and a vanilla shake from Whataburger. Yummy, but I am paying for it today. I have major brain fog and feel like I am recovering from a hangover. Back to clean living for me.

Happy Eating !
Britt

Back in the Swing of Things

2012-03-06T09:36:00.002-06:00

I am happy to report that things are mostly back to normal in our house. B is much happier and although we still are having some sleep issues, I believe we are back on track after a couple weeks of stress. B even asked for eggs on his iPad this morning for the first time without being prompted. Small victories. Yesterday his eye contact was wonderful. I love his big doe eyes. So cute!

I have been trying new ways to detox B's system. I tried a ginger bath which I am not sure if it worked or not. You are supposed to put a 1/2 cup of grated ginger in the bath and sit for 20 min. It is supposed to cause you to sweat profusely. Well B did not want to sit in his bath for 20 minutes. We got about 10 min out of it. I am going to try it out this weekend and let you know the results for me at least.

The weather was so beautiful and everyone was happy this weekend so I was able to get some new recipes created with mixed results.

The first recipe was Marshmellow Fluff courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Cheeseslave.com. This was very easy to make and was very yummy. It would make an excellent icing for cupcakes too. However, this is very sweet and although B loved it, it is better in small doses. I refrigerated mine after I was done, but I have noticed that the honey will start to pool at the bottom so remember to mix it up each time you are planning on serving it.

Marshmellow Fluff

B Loving It!

I also made some paleo biscuits (thank you simplylivinghealthy.com) and although they looked very appetizing (so golden), they have this horrible metallic taste. I believe it was from using coconut oil and coconut flour together. I have found this is a bad combo for our family's taste buds at least. Next time I am going to use ghee as the fat instead.

Finally I made some Greek Inspired Meatballs (modified from Kalynskitchen.com) . They were loved by everyone, especially A, who as asked for more 3 times. Like anything that is delicious in my house, it did not last long enough for me to take a picture, but I will post the recipe. I was actually out of red wine vinegar when I made these so I used lemon juice instead. Equally yummy, but next time I will try it with vinegar. I also made my own greek seasoning.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 small onion, minced

1/2 cup finely grated cheese (you can omit for dairy free or use feta if you are not doing GAPS) We used Monterrey Jack.

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large egg

1 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking dish
1 T dried Greek oregano
4 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. sea salt (optional)
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. Greek seasoning

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400. Use a food processor to chop the onion very finely, then drain if it seems like there is a lot of liquid. (In the photo I used red onion, but any onion will work.)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then use your hands to mix ingredients.

Lightly oil a 9 X 13 baking dish (I did not have to do this because the meat I used was pretty high in fat). Shape meat into 1 tablespoon size meatballs and place on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, after which time you will see some liquid oozing out. Turn meatballs and bake 10 more minutes. Turn again, and bakd 5-10 more minutes, until meatballs are well-browned and cooked through.

Next week we start the intro diet so I am sure I will have a lot to talk about then. Until next time.

A Doctor in the Family

2012-02-29T12:09:00.002-06:00

Today's post has nothing to do with the diet, but something I think is important to discuss. We all often fall into the trap of blind trust in our doctors. We believed when we started this journey 3 years ago that doctors had all of the answers. After all, they went to school to know diseases, syndromes, etc. Boy, was I ever wrong.

The developmental pediatrician we took B to, told us B had Autism and that was about it. She gave us no clear direction of where to go after that. Our regular pediatrician told us about the GFCF diet, OT, and speech therapy, but she thought we were crazy when we looked into alternate therapies. Even the so called DAN (Autism) doctors we took B to seemed to have a one size fits all answer to my son's unique problems. The Pediatric Neurologist (at the Autism Clinic) told us he couldn't help us because B couldn't handle the tests. So today when people ask me who I see as my son's doctor, I say, "You are looking at her."

I encourage every parent to be your child's advocate regardless of what medical issue they have. Never take a doctor's word as fact. Do your research. Doctors know very little about Autism. My incentive is to help my son and their incentive is money. I hate to paint with a broad brush, but that is my opinion from experience. Plus, who knows more about my son, the doctor that sees him for 15 minutes every 4 months or me. I can tell you that most of the things I have discovered that cause issues in my son, I figured out.

One of these things was yeast. Yeast was making my son have OCD behaviors. I discovered that, not his doctor. After I told them that is what I thought it was, they said probably and put him on antifungal treatments. We went through 3 different ones that would help for a month and then it came back. I didn't realize how much stress this put on my son's liver until the Pharmacist told me. So I found an over the counter natural remedy and he was much better after about a month. Far too often doctors are looking for the quick fix. Well there is no quick fix with Autism.

That brings me to another issue I have with doctors. Supplements are a big business in the Autism community. The two DAN doctors I saw loved to push as many supplements as they could throw at you. When I found out that one of my Autism doctors owned a stake in the supplements he was pushing on me, I was out. I consult with a nutritionist and she has no stake in any of the supplements she tells me to give my son. She encourages me to get them where they are cheapest. I trust her opinion.

Trust. I have surrounded myself and B now with a team of mostly therapists that I trust that are looking out for my son's welfare. I take their opinions to heart and I know that they truly care about his well being. He isn't just a patient number. He sees most of these people at least 2 to 4 times a month. The therapists at his school he sees everyday. They have seen him grow and they still care about him when he has one of his bad days. One is helping my son learn to write, another to speak, another to deal with his sensory issues. They love his hugs and kisses and know what he likes and dislikes. These people are not MDs. I trust them because they have the unique balance of being very experienced in their field, but also very experienced in my child. That is why when they bring something up, I get right on it. I think of these people as my extended family.

So there will not be any "Autism" doctors in our future unless one can prove to me they do not practice one size fits all medicine. There will not be any "Autism" doctors in our future unless they can prove they are not in a pharmaceutical or supplement company's back pocket. And there will not be any "Autism" doctors in our future until they can treat my son as something other than just another patient.

For now the doctor in the family is me.