Our GFCFSF diet.

It's been a little while since my last post and I have some many things I had planned to share!  First Peanut got sick again, then sassy started having GI problems (bringing us to the Emergency Room).  During all of this we had a snowstorm, and I got sick with what I think was the flu.  In any case, I have a lot of catching up to do (at home and online!)  I figured I'd start with a quick and easy post.  I get asked a lot about the diet we follow.  I'm adapting this post from a recent email I sent to someone in our area.  This is a list of our favorites and how we try to save a little money in the process.

Our GFCFSF Diet:
With any diet modification, you want to be sure that your child is getting the correct nutrients.  We Use a multivitamin from Rainbow light.  It's GFCFSF, preservative free, and dye free. It comes in powder form.  We mix it in Peanuts juice in the morning with a handful of other supplements and he drinks it right down.  Depending on what products you choose to eat you may also want to consider including using a Calcium supplement to ensure that you are getting enough of your daily value.  We use Now, Calcium citrate.  It is GFCFSF (the source of the calcium is from Lyme stone and changed to calcium citrate by using citric acid).  We Use 1/2 tsp (233mg) once a day mixed with Peanuts Multivitamin which has 200mg of Calcium as well.  We make sure to mix it with the multivitamin because it contains Magnesium which aids in effective absorption of the Calcium.  This combined with his "milk" and "yogurt" intake meets his recommended 700mg of calcium per day. (Speak with your doctor or nutritionist to find out what your recommended daily allowance should be)

Sassy takes Smarty Pants  multivitamins (she won't drink powdered supplements).  This multivitamin is great because it s a gum drop and it has Omega-3's in it.  It tastes good too!

SAVING MONEY: This diet gets expensive pretty quick.  If you go to the websites for the companies you can usually sign up for coupons.  There are a lot of great sites online that also have links to printable coupons for GFCFSF products.  It takes a little time at first but after you do the initial search it gets easier and quicker.  Also, making your own foods (ex: muffins, cakes etc...) can be cheaper in the long run verses buying a pre-made mix.  It's also easier to control the ingredients if you make your own as well!

The best site I've found that helps map everything out is the TACA website.  They talk about how to start and even how to do it on a budget.  I found this was a nice guide to help map out meals when starting.  The budget plan they provide is not working off of organic foods, so be aware that the pricing does not reflect organic pricing.

WHERE WE SHOP:  For groceries we shop mostly at Hannaford.  They have a wide variety of organic foods and they now are coming out with their own brand of many different gluten free items including some casserole mixes.  We just recently started making the drive to Whole Foods (my absolute favorite!) a couple times a month and occasionally will make the trip to A-Market as well.  I don't tend to use Trader Joes very often.  Although many people like the products they offer, I find I prefer Whole foods or A-Market.

MILK/YOGURT/ICE CREAM:  The 2 best substitutes we have found for milk have been rice milk (Rice Dream is GFCFSF, but make sure to buy organic because levels of cyanide have been found in non organic rice milk)  and Coconut milk.  We use coconut milk.  We buy the brand So Delicious.  This brand also makes GFCFSF yogurt and organic chocolate ice cream. 

BUTTER: The only GFCFSF butter substitute I've found is made by Earth Balance.  It's pretty good and they make a version without soy in it.

CHEESE: When it comes to cheese...well, it's gross. I haven't found any really good cheese.  There is a brand called Daiya that is GFCFSF that is okay for a sprinkle on pizza but too much of it and whatever you're making tastes horrible. (I tried making mac n cheese with it and it was gross! It tasted too much like the cheese).  Otherwise I haven't found many good substitutes. 

BREAD: We have tried MANY brands of bread.  We've tried making our own bread and all of it is awful!!  I recently found a brand of bread that tastes great!!! It's called Udi's.  It's GFCFSF and smells and tastes like real bread.  They also make some good muffins too. 

PASTA: The best pasta's we've found have been made by Orgran and Tinkyada.  The Orgran pasta is good every once and a while but it is made with corn so we try not to use it too much (because of Peanuts current digestive issues).  Tinkyada is the best rice pasta we have found to date.  It is available in organic and non-organic forms.  It cooks well and doesn't get too mushy, and most importantly it tastes great!

KID FOODS:  Chicken Nuggets, French fries and mac n cheese are all staples that are a MUST HAVE in our house.  Ians makes GFCFSF chicken nuggets, french fries, fish sticks and Mac n cheese (it's called "Mac n no cheese").  My kids love them and they are great in a bind.  Just make sure to read the packages because they also make products with gluten and casein.

SNACKS: For snack foods (other than carrot and celery sticks, apple slices, bananas etc...) we tend to stick to chips or animal crackers/cookies.  When it comes to chips we eat Cape Cod Potato chips.  They are not organic but advertise that they are natural and Gluten Free.  We alternate our foods so we also eat Lundberg Rice chips.  They are really good and have a great crunch! This company also makes a handful of other products that we've tried (like their spinach and mushroom risotto) and we've really enjoyed them!
When it comes to that inevitable sweet tooth we enjoy Orgran products.  Their animal crackers are low in sugar (4-6 grams), taste good, and they are GFCFSF as well as Non-GMO, Nut free, Yeast free, Egg free.

PRETZELS:  Finding GFCFSF pretzels was tough.  Glutino makes a GFCF pretzel (as well as crackers and cookies) but they contain soy.  There is only one brand of GFCFSF pretzel out there now (that I have found) and it's called Ener-g.  I have found small bags of them at Shaws but I find it cheaper to buy in bulk through Amazon.com.  Make sure when purchacing these pretzels to read the ingredients first.  This brand also makes other flavors of gluten free pretzels, but they contain soy.

PEANUT BUTTER:  We started out buying organic peanut butter in the jar but it has to be stored in the refrigerator and gets hard.  We started buying  Justins peanut butter in individual packets and they work great! I just rip open a packet and squeeze it on the bread. The kids love it, it's organic, it's GFCFSF and you can buy other flavors as well.  Two other favorite flavors in our house is their Almond butter and Chocolate Hazelnut spread (which also come in small one serving packets)

MAYONNAISE:  We use Spectrum canola oil mayonnaise.  It's GFCFSF, organic and it tastes almost like Helmans.  (just as a side note, tuna should be avoided because of the mercury content and some brands contain casein.)  We also buy their Coconut oil for cooking.

TOILETIES: We also use GFCFSF toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, lotion and diaper rash cream.  Our toothpaste is JASON and can be purchased at Hannaford (in the organic toiletries section).  We also use JASON body wash and shampoo.  I have only been able to find the JASON gluten free bath products online, at Buy Buy baby and at A Market.  Our lotion and diaper rash cream is Natures Baby Organics (found in Hannaford in the baby isle).  It's expensive but worth it, and works great for winter dry skin and stubborn diaper rashes.

ARTS AND CRAFTS:  Another thing to consider is art supplies.  Many people with a gluten intolerance will react to certain art supplies just as they would a toiletry product (gluten is found in adhesive on stamps and stickers as well as in glues, paints, play dough, markers, crayons, etc...).  Remember, if it's absorbed into the skin, it is circulated into the body.  See my previous post on Gluten free art for more information about this topic. 

So thats our GFCFSF, organic diet in a nutshell.  At first it was overwhelming but now that we have found some great brands that we love it's much easier.  I hope that helps some of you out there who are unsure of what to buy and what to try.  Have fun cooking and happy eating!!


Mommy Provost

Too blessed to be stressed...

Every time I start to feel comfortable in everything that is autism, a curve ball comes our way and I'm knocked right off my feet.  First I research, then I worry and by morning I have constant shakes (anxiety) and chest pain.  Ativan anyone?? It's in my nature to worry, but when it has to do with one of my kids it throws me right over the edge into anxiety land.  All this past summer I dealt with the chest pain that is Autism, and finally after months of planning, worrying, researching, arguing and negotiating I felt as if everything was perfect (as perfect as it could be that is).  We negotiated and won the amount of ABA, OT and speech that we felt Panut needed.  We got his diet figured out.  We got on a regular schedule for his Music therapy and his Snsory integration therapy.  We began the next phase of Peanuts biomedical treatment.  I was spending some much needed quality one on one time with Sassy.  I was keeping up with most of the housework (I say most because laundry is the bain of my existence and so I'm never caught up on it.).  I started a new curriculum in our church nursery and was starting to see results, and I had even started our home school plan with nothing but success.  Everything had fallen into place, and it amazes me how such a little thing like a piece of paper could knock me off my rocker.

Peanut is a sick little boy right now.  He's actually been a sick little boy since his first birthday. (He turned 3 this past August).  Anyone who knows us knows that Peanut is always sick.  He has a fever on a monthly basis.  The fevers get as high as 104.  He gets monthly bouts of diarrhea that is almost like pure acid to his poor skin.  We finally got him to a great Naturopath and we had our plan.  During our first visit the Naturopathic doctor asked us to withhold any and all vaccinations until she could heal his beaten immune system.  We agreed.  We knew he was sick, and we knew it was especially worse whenever he was vaccinated.  The last vaccination he had (Prevnar 13), caused a rapid temperature spike to 104 in an incredibly short span of time.  When it began to spike his eyes to rolled back into his head and he was unresponsive for a few moments.  We were in the car on our way home from a therapy appointment when it happened.  Thank God my mother was in the car with me and was able to get back to the backseat to make sure he was okay while I got off the highway.  I had turned the car around and was on the way to the hospital until he perked up and seemed to be okay.  He spent the afternoon feverish and lethargic on my bed moaning, but responsive.  We got an appointment for him to be seen at his PCP office that afternoon.  The pediatrician (who is very good at her job, but only knows what the CDC and AAP tells her).  She said his fever wouldn't be from the vaccination because he had gotten the Prevnar 13 shot 2 days prior to his fever starting.  She did a thorough exam and sent us home with a diagnosis of a viral fever.  After my latest research I have a differnt opinion as to what happened that day.  In any case, the decision was made that no vaccine will be given to our little Peanut for at least the next year.

Yesterday I found a note in Peanuts backpack.  It was from the health office at his school.  It stated Peanut had not had his Hib #4.  If he didn't receive it and prove  that it was done by 3/4/11 he would not be allowed back into school.  I didn't freak (yet).  Of course he had gotten it.  Peanuts home ABA therapy began and I quietly sat at my laptop and went online.  I came across an article called, "The Search for Safer Vaccines."  It tells the sad story of little Elias Tembenis and the battle he lost against a vaccination injury.  There was no need for this little angel and his family to endure what they have (and still do) live with.

I teared up as I read it.  It was then I looked at that piece of paper from Peanuts backpack.  Could his reactions to vaccinations get worse?  I knew the answer was yes.  As soon as the kids were in bed I opened my laptop up again and I began to research.  The laws in our state only allow exemption from vaccines due to a religious reason or a medical issue.  In other words if Peanut didn't get this vaccination he couldn't go to school.  90% of his therapy is through the public school right now.  If he couldn't go into the public school he could loose it all.  I got up and went down to my shelf of binders.  All paperwork and information related to Peanut and his medical issues is contained in this wall of binders. I checked his immunization record, and my heart sank.  He never got Hib #4.  Sassy did.  He didn't.  My mind began to race and then the worry began.  What would we do?  We had just fought so hard for this therapy.  He loved his therapists and teachers.  They all work so well with him and he's had such an improvement.  He had the chance to socialize with so many peers.  He had learned so many social skills in the past few months.  How could we loose all that?!?! I asked myself, is it worth vaccinating him one more time?  I again thought of Elias Tembenis and knew with a certainty the answer was no.

I went into Peanuts room and began to cry.  I stood there with my hands on him and I prayed.  When I was done I sat on the floor, looking at my little angel through my tears and stroked his small soft hand as he slept.  We couldn't give him this vaccination.  His life was worth more than any therapy. 

I paced the living room waiting to hear from my husband.  He was working late at his second job.  I went online.  Facebook was slow.  I posted, "stressing."  Within minutes I had a response from a very dear friend and church family member.  She wrote, "Keep telling yourself you re too blessed to be stressed and too annointed to be disappointed, it helps me alot if I keep repeating it . I'll keep you in prayer. love you"  I stewed on this for a few minutes.  It took a while to sink in.  If anyone else had written it I may not have paid too much attention to it but coming from her it had meant to much more.  Her and her husband are an inspiration to us.  She has been struggling with health issues and cancer for years.  No matter what obstacle came their way, her and her husband stayed as faithful as ever and so her comment meant more to me for that reason.  She was right!  Babes called and I discussed my night of worry with him.  He agreed, we couldn't vaccinate Peanut.  Not now at least.  Suddenly I was feeling better.  God will provide.  He always does.  My stress didn't melt away but by midnight I was able to get to sleep instead of staying up all night. 

The morning brought back my chestpain.  I woke up congested with a cold.  We were running late to bring Peanut to school despite having plenty of time to get ready.  I slipped on some ice walking out the front door and sliced my palm open.  The sliding door to our van wouldn't open.  By the time I dropped him off at school I was running ragged and it was only 9am!

Later in the morning I spoke with the Pediatrician and discussed my concerns with her.  She suprisingly agreed to write a letter of medical exception for us.  I spoke with the Naturopath and she stated I never need to worry like this again.  She would always be willing to sign a medical exception form for us.  I called the Health office at the school and the Nurse was so nice and supportive. (I expected to be judged for our decision.)  After I hung up with the Nurse, I began to cry.  The relief was too overwhelming!  There are too many times I hear the horror stories of families and their struggles with these same issues.  Their outcomes,   not all positive like ours.  It's times like this where I have to remember that God is with us and he is in control.  Sometimes it's hard to remember this.  Even if today didn't go as well as it did, I still need to stay strong in my faith, because God is in control. 

I'm reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 that states, " Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Sometimes we don't understand why God lets things happen, but we need to have faith that it's all in his plan and all for a good reason. Thank-you God for the wonderful outcome today.  I not only thank him for today, but also for everything he has provided; my family, my friends, the roof over our heads, the food in our mouths, our children, our church, our salvation.  Thank-you God for all that you do and thank-you for opening my eyes to how much better life is, when you are in control. 

God Bless,

Mommy Provost

Gluten free art.

Art projects and crafts are wonderful opportunities for practicing fine motor skills, sensory exploration, and encourage creativity.  Sounds easy right??  What about when your child is gluten free?  If gluten causes illness or behavior changes in your child, an art project can be a complicated situation but it doesn't have to be!  The TACA website has a wonderful article about Gluten exposure and art supplies.  You can view it here.  This article is actually a hand out for teachers about the GFCF diet and it touches base on what supplies are ok.  It also has some examples of IEP goals that can be implemented into your child's IEP.  (If your child is on any special diet I would strongly suggest you have it written into the IEP).  We have copies of this article in Peanuts communication notebook with a note encouraging therapists, teachers and paraprofessionals to read it and even take a copy.  We had Peanuts diet written into his IEP (not as a goal but as a provision).  The early education coordinator even took a copy of this handout to use to educate all of the special ed preschool teachers in the district!  We supplied the school with a box of all the school supplies our son may need for a project.  The teachers are really good about giving us advanced notice if a special project is planned for the class (making play dough, decorating gingerbread men, playing with jello etc...)They also have a list of GFCF art supplies you can start with.  You can view that list here.  We use a lot of the supplies on this list as well as others.

Here are some of the great supplies we have found:

Discount School Supply makes a GFCF play clay that we love!  We bought a tub of different colors.  The only thing you need to make sure of is that all the dough stays wrapped in plastic wrap.  We were able to split each color in half and give half to the school to use and still had plenty to play with at home.  They have an entire line of gluten free art supplies that I always love to browse.  Colorations clay can be found here.

Our next favorite moldable product is Playfoam.  This stuff is great!  It's gluten free, it molds and holds it's shape and it never dries out!

  

One last GF moldable material that my son loves using is moon dough.  Sassy is a little young still (she still eats play dough).  We have the dog house mold that you can buy separately and he loves watching the dog pop out of the house.  I've found this activity to be great for his fine motor development as well as encouraging use of both his hands (he had a left sided neglect for a little while).  The other thing I like about this product is that it's inexpensive and can be found in your local Toys R Us. 
Both my children LOVE using their daubers.  Do a dot's daubers are Gluten Free and come in a wide variety of colors.                                          


They also make activity books that can be used to practice letters and numbers.  We have this book and the kids love it as well.  Sassy is very meticulous with how exact she daubs each circle.     
                                      Play and Learn activity book

If you don't want to buy an activity book there are a handful of wonderful printables out there. 
* DLTK has a great selection of free dauber art printables.  We love using these to work on colors or just for fun.
*Homeschool Creations  has a great selection of dauber printables to practice the alphabet.  My kids love these as well and we have included these sheets into our activities in RRSP.

So that's about it for art supplies.  I hope it helps.  God Bless and have fun getting creative!!

Snow Day!!

Peanut and Sassy are feeling much better and we had a HUGE snowstorm today!  We had a great time.  We did a cotton ball snowman craft from the DLTK website.  It went well.  I let the kids paint snow on the ground of their paper.  Then I helped them to glue on their cotton balls and then the eyes, nose, arms etc.  We did our RRSP PowerPoint.  This is available on the members only section.  We also practiced writing the letter "L" using the RRSP worksheets.

One thing I've wanted to start doing is to share a recipe once a week.  It's so hard to make yummy food on a limited diet.  Today we made home made apple sauce.  Peanut in GFCFSF Organic, low sugar, low salycilate.  So buying applesauce is pretty much our of the question.  After doing some research, I found that Golden delicious apples are fairly low in salycilates.  I bought a handful of organic golden delicious apples this week so we made apple sauce.  We made a small batch, but it could easily be doubled.  This has to be the easiest thing I have cooked in a long time!

Peanuts Yummy Apple Sauce
2 peeled, cored, chopped Golden Delicious apples
1/3 cup water
2 tsp organic cinnamon (more if you'd like)
1/2 packed of Stevia

Mix all ingredients in a pot.  Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender.  Take apples off the heat and let it cool.  Once the apples are cooled mash them up with a fork.  Put the apple sauce in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Have fun and enjoy!

NAA Never Give Up PSA

What a crazy weekend!

I keep telling myself I'm going to get organized and then something comes up...

 This past weekend was Sassy's 2nd birthday party's (we have a child's party and then a family party).  Everything went very well, until Peanut came down with yet another fever.  It came out of nowhere.  He got as high as 103.6.  Our Naturopath advised us to avoid OTC medication to treat fevers unless we really feel it's necessary.  When they are close to 104 we feel it's necessary.  He is still around 99.8 but doing ok.  The poor kid is always sick and his fevers tend to be related to his Bowell's.  I can almost guarantee if he's had loose stools for more than a couple days that a high fever is close behind it. 

We have a rule in our home.  Once you turn 2 you give up your pacifier.  This was pretty easy for Peanut, but no so much for Sassy.  Friday was her birthday and so when we went in to get her that morning we traded a Ladybug pillow pet (her choice) for her pacifier.  We then search the house and throw out any pacifiers we can find.  That night she woke up with a fever and complained of "boo boos" (pointing to her ears).  She had an ear infection in both ears, and now no pacifier.  She's been up every night since.

My poor sick bunnies...

So needless to say, it's been a crazy few days.  I plan to update more very soon. 
I'm hoping I'll be sharing:
* How we are doing in RRSP.  The kids love it! 
* How we organize our home school in combo with Peanuts therapy.
* A favorite recipe (GFCFSF).  (I'm hoping weekly)
* Our biomedical treatments and the results we've seen.
* How we made our Sensory room in our home.
* About our Church Nursery Ministry at our church. (One of my many projects)

Sorry for the delays!  I'll be back as soon as I can sleep, get organized and get my kids healthy again!

Nothing short of a miracle...

This morning I had the most amazing thing happen with my son but before I tell you about it lets go back to December 7, 2009.  It's the day when our lives changed forever.  We would never be the same again.  Here is a picture from that August. This was his birthday before that fateful day.




Peanuts second Birthday Party

  Notice the lack of clothing? Notice his hands over his ears?  Notice his back turned from the other kids?  I had to open his presents for him because he just wasn't interested.  I picked this picture of him because it depicts where he was at the time.  For most of Peanuts young life he struggled with MANY things.  He was a choking  risk when eating (because of low sensory input in his mouth), he didn't make eye contact with anyone including us, he didn't even acknowledge the existence of his peers, he had Pica, he didn't play with toys purposefully (instead he would hold them and run in circles around the house), he couldn't push himself on a ride-on toy, he couldn't jump, he couldn't go up or down stairs without assistance, he didn't color, his speech was limited to severe Echolalia, there was a question that he may be having silent seizures, should I continue???

December 7, 2009 was the day our Peanut was diagnosed with Autism.  We had questioned it from almost the beginning.  Any time we asked a Pediatrician or a therapist they would tell us not to worry.  Then we changed Pediatricians and they agreed, Peanut needed to see a Neurologist.    After the numbness from receiving his diagnosis wore off we jumped into action.  We increased his speech therapy and his OT through early intervention.  We also enrolled him into an ABA based program called Parent 2 Child.  This was an incredible program and it was such a blessing to be a part of.  We also began to explore biomedical approaches as well.  We were weary but kept an open mind about it all.  We began a Gluten free diet first and Peanut seemed to come out of his "fog" that he was in.  It was like a veil was lifted from his eyes and suddenly he noticed the world.  His staring episodes stopped, he began talking spontaneously, and he even began to notice other children!  The rest is history. 

Jacob now is on a gluten free, casein free, soy free (aka GFCFSF) , organic (which includes no dyes, artificial coloring or preservatives), low sugar and low salicylate diet . (and yes, I'm able to find food he'll eat too!).  He takes multiple supplements daily, he does OT, speech therapy, Sensory integration therapy, music therapy, and ABA therapy.  His ABA therapy in an ABA based class with neurotypical children as well as children with special needs.  He has a 1:1 paraprofessional with him trained in ABA who does the trials as often as possible throughout his day in class.  He is in this class 16 hours a week (we plan to homeschool but utilize the special ed preschool right now to get as much therapy as possible.  He currently does some Bible based homeschool activities at home.) and he also receives home ABA therapy 1 hour per day at home, 4 days a week (So a total of about 23 hours a week of therapy, not including anything we do ourselves at home).  He now sees a  who going to help us to heal his poor belly (from leaky gut syndrome).  Since beginning all of these interventions (all were added slowly and one at  a time to be sure of what did and didn't work), he has made a steady improvement that started the day we went gluten free.  Here is a recent picture now of our little buddy.

All of this background was for a few reasons but primarily to preface the story I'm about to tell. Knowing the back story really helps to put things into perspective.
This morning I walked into Peanuts room to get him up.  He looked at me and said, "Oh!  You have a new shirt."  I was surprised that he noticed such a thing (he was right, I had bought the shirt last week and today is the first day I'm wearing it!).  He then began to talk but not to me.  I asked him who he was talking to and he introduced me to "Sign".  Apparently Sign, is Peanut's new imaginary friend!  She is a grey horse.  When I asked him where he had met Sign he said, "The Ark".  By the end of the morning he had located the small grey horse that he had been talking to (it was the grey horse from our Little people Noah's Ark).  We made a little bed for her to travel in.  Today is "share day" at school so Peanut decided he would bring Sign with him to school to show his friends.  We packed her a lunch (at his request, complete with a sippy cup) and after he made sure to feed her breakfast we were on our way (late again) to drop him off at school. 

After I dropped him off I told the story to my husband (who is away on a business trip right now)because I just thought that all of this is so cute!  The more and more I think about it, the more and more i sit in amazement.  Neither of my children ever cease to amaze me, but this goes even beyond that for me.  To me this is a miracle.  Peanuts life has been full of miracles almost since conception (see previous postings), and this is another one of those blessings. 

My child who a little over a year ago was diagnosed with Autism (not PDD-NOS, but classic Autism), was now interacting with peers (voluntarily), making eye contact, playing and speaking with a purpose, sings songs on his own and with others, and now even had an imaginary friend!  Anyone who works with or has a child with Autism knows this truely is a miracle!  Approximately 6 months ago you may have found me at my wits end.  I was tired (mentally and physically), I was stressed, and I think at one point I was even defeated.  I don't know if I could have continued on without God on our side.  Despite all the trials, all the stress, all the worries, we continued on because we knew it was all for a purpose.  We had faith that God would see us through, and he has. 

Again, I quote John 16:3, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."  

Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all of these interventions we do will "fix" the problems of another child with Autism.  It's called a Spectrum for a reason.  Every child is different, and every child needs something different.  We were blessed to be able to find the right combination of interventions needed for Peanut to progress as fast as he has.  God may not "recover" your child, but he'll be there with you through it all. To those parents out there with children with Autism, or any disability for that matter, keep going, never give up, and keep God on your side because he can do anything! We've come such a long way, and we certainly have a long way to go, but no matter what happens God is with us and for that I thank Him.

Thank-you God for my children...

1+1+1=1: Raising Rock Stars ~ Joining In

1+1+1=1: Raising Rock Stars ~ Joining In


We have officially Joined Raising Rock Stars!  More to come soon...

Winter Unit fun!

So we did the winter unit this past week over Christmas break.  It was alot of fun.  We made sure to include time with some of our boxes (sensory box, lacing cards, board games) and we spent some time in our reading corner.  Above you'll see Sassy taking full advantage of reading time! 

We got most of our material from  the Winter fun pack from the 1+1+1=1 site.  I think this has to be my number one most favorite home school blog of all time!!  We used the RRS (Raising Rock Stars) format and started our day with a winter bible memory verse.  We made our prayer requests and then read from our toddler bible.  The kids had a blast with all the new crafts we did!  We used bingo daubers to color in a snowman from the DTLK website (another favorite websites for materials)  winter dauber art and we also made snowflakes with little pieces of colored construction paper that the kids cut up.  I cut them into strips and they cut little pieces off with their safety scissors.  We loved this project. (Snowflake scissor skills ) The only thing I would have done differently was I would have traced the snowflake outline on the back of the paper before the kids began to glue on their paper.  This would have made it MUCH easier to cut out once their snowflakes dried.  Otherwise we had a lot of fun!

   We also got to take advantage of the 50 degree weather we had on the weekend and went sledding at nana and papas house!  Here's Peanut ready to go!!!  This week we look forward to starting to integrate a nice mix of tot school and RRS into our crazy therapy schedule.  Wish us luck!!