Oh, it was sooooo good to eat pie! We have discovered that the Sweet Dumpling squash is very sweet and yummy all by itself and tastes a bit like pancakes. Our 2 year old tasted the squash all by itself and blurted out, "Pancakes!"
Here is the simple recipe:
I blended 3 cups of Sweet Dumpling squash with 9 egg whites (4 whole eggs would work, but we can't tolerate the yolks at this point)
I added 6 Tbs of cashew nut butter (that I made with my Omega Juicer) and half a tsp of celtic sea salt and blended it all until it was very smooth.
It was the perfect amount to fill a pie plate with no crust. I baked it for 1 hour at 350F.
Enjoy!
We plan to experiment with other squashes. If anyone knows what to do with buttercup squash, let me know. It sort of smelled like cucumbers. Very strange. It has an interesting flavor and I can't quite figure what to do with it.
October 27, 2009
Day 51 - It was a Good Day
Today was a GREAT day! Oh, it feels so good to be able to say that again. I do NOT feel angry and mad at the world like I did all last week. I am myself again and it feels so good.
The dishwasher broke and we had to wash all of the dishes by hand. Oh, well. Our 8 year old started to think about how much water we waste by running the dishwasher 3 times a day and decided that we could save a lot of water by soaking dishes in the same sink water all day and washing and rinsing them by hand. We actually had fun spending most of the day in the kitchen together. We cooked, we cleaned, we ate.
We cooked 25 pounds of Hamburger Soup. I wanted to see how much my large stockpot could hold and how many days of lunches we can get out of it. We are trying to figure out how we will stay on the GAPS diet as we travel to Chicago and back next month. It will be a challenge, but it will be fun, too.
I made the most delicious pie today! It is not too sweet, as it has no sugar or honey or any kind of sweetner, but it was sweet enough, as it was made from Sweet Dumpling squash. We have discovered that there are many kinds of squash out there and the all have a very unique flavor. Our two year old tased the Sweet Dumpling squash and blurted out, "Pancakes!" He was right. It tastes a lot like the GFCF pancakes that we used to make. I will post the recipe in a seperate post. YUM!!! There were no leftovers. One whole pie was eaten by 5 of us.
Schoolwork was completed in good time and with a good attitude. That always makes my day. Laundry for the day was finished and put away by bedtime. That always feels good. We kept up with the dishes somehow, even though we had to wash them all by hand. It was so nice to have everyone pitching in and helping out where needed.
We have all been going through some major die-off for the past few days. I have been increasing the sauerkraut juice a little every day. It's rough. I felt like I had the flu last night, but I knew it was die-off. I took three detox baths and still went to bed with a stuffy nose, a headache and achy muscles, although I felt better after the baths than before. I woke up this morning feeling fine. The kids have been a little droopy here and there. One child had a headache tonight and had to take a second bath after bedtime so she could feel well enough to go to sleep. I promised to wait until the weekend to increase the sauerkraut juice anymore. We need a little break from the die-off. It's only fair to have a few days to feel good and full of energy.
This is far from complete, but I do need to sleep. I will write more when I can.
The dishwasher broke and we had to wash all of the dishes by hand. Oh, well. Our 8 year old started to think about how much water we waste by running the dishwasher 3 times a day and decided that we could save a lot of water by soaking dishes in the same sink water all day and washing and rinsing them by hand. We actually had fun spending most of the day in the kitchen together. We cooked, we cleaned, we ate.
We cooked 25 pounds of Hamburger Soup. I wanted to see how much my large stockpot could hold and how many days of lunches we can get out of it. We are trying to figure out how we will stay on the GAPS diet as we travel to Chicago and back next month. It will be a challenge, but it will be fun, too.
I made the most delicious pie today! It is not too sweet, as it has no sugar or honey or any kind of sweetner, but it was sweet enough, as it was made from Sweet Dumpling squash. We have discovered that there are many kinds of squash out there and the all have a very unique flavor. Our two year old tased the Sweet Dumpling squash and blurted out, "Pancakes!" He was right. It tastes a lot like the GFCF pancakes that we used to make. I will post the recipe in a seperate post. YUM!!! There were no leftovers. One whole pie was eaten by 5 of us.
Schoolwork was completed in good time and with a good attitude. That always makes my day. Laundry for the day was finished and put away by bedtime. That always feels good. We kept up with the dishes somehow, even though we had to wash them all by hand. It was so nice to have everyone pitching in and helping out where needed.
We have all been going through some major die-off for the past few days. I have been increasing the sauerkraut juice a little every day. It's rough. I felt like I had the flu last night, but I knew it was die-off. I took three detox baths and still went to bed with a stuffy nose, a headache and achy muscles, although I felt better after the baths than before. I woke up this morning feeling fine. The kids have been a little droopy here and there. One child had a headache tonight and had to take a second bath after bedtime so she could feel well enough to go to sleep. I promised to wait until the weekend to increase the sauerkraut juice anymore. We need a little break from the die-off. It's only fair to have a few days to feel good and full of energy.
This is far from complete, but I do need to sleep. I will write more when I can.
October 25, 2009
Day 50 - Still on Intro
Wow! What a week! It was terrible, but I think I figured out what was going on. Adding anything to our diet can wreak havoc in our home. I love the peace that we have found by changing our diet and I hate when the chaos returns for no apparent reason. I was mad at that world and I was particularly angry at my oldest child and I really took it out on him this past week. He needs consequences, yes, but not with the anger.
So there I was in the spice aisle at Whole Foods, when it dawned on me what had messed up our lives for a whole week. I was picking up more Celtic Sea Salt and was wondering if I should look into getting a different brand to save a little money. Salt is salt. But, NO! Salt is NOT salt. Some of the salt I bought in the past had dextrose in it. Those little packets of salt that you get at fast food places have dextrose in them. Restaurant salt may or may not have iodine and could have dextrose in it. Who knows!?! They do not label the table salt.
Well, last Sunday the girls and I bought a small bit of Himalayan salt because it is supposed to be so very good for you. We ate some with green beans before we headed home from Whole Foods. I cooked with it on Monday and on Tuesday. My grumpiest days were Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Hmmm. The kids seemed to do OK with it, but I was a mess!
Now, I can’t cook different food for everyone in the house. I can hardly keep up with cooking the same meals for everyone. What I wonder is if we can introduce it very slowly so that we can all tolerate it and benefit from its goodness. I wonder the same about the egg yolks and the other sulfur foods, too.
All the foods that are good for us cause us major problems. I think this is because we are majorly toxic and whenever we have any food that is a good detoxifier we experience the symptoms related to our body trying to get rid of the bad stuff. I know that we are just going to have to go through it, but I have to keep my mind sane in order to get the kids through the diet. So how do I cook for them and keep myself sane at the same time? This is still a mystery for me. I am not sure what to do.
Lord, I trust and believe that this diet was a direct answer to the prayer that I prayed 19 months or so ago. I know that You will bring healing to this family. I believe it. I know it in my heart. I also know that it is not going to be magical. It is going to take some thought and a lot of work. I am willing to do it. I am not sure about the details or just how much we are going to suffer on this journey. Please help me to know which way to go. Guide us as you always have and lead us to the knowledge we need. Your people perish for lack of knowledge. We want to know You and understand Your world according to Your Word. We thank You for these magnificent and wonderful bodies that You have created and for the amazing way that they deal with all of the crud we put into them. It is truly amazing the way our bodies are continually balancing and rebalancing all the time. We mess up in one area and our bodies compensate. We mess up in another area and our bodies compensate. Thank You for these amazing bodies. Thank You for your love. Thank You for Your help in times of trouble. Thank You for Your peace. No matter what, I know that You have our best interest in mind. You are good and You are good all of the time. I trust You. I believe in You. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Lemon water
Chicken and broth
Carrots, yellow squash, green beans and winter squash
Hamburger Soup
Casseroles
Fried eggs and mashed avocado
So there I was in the spice aisle at Whole Foods, when it dawned on me what had messed up our lives for a whole week. I was picking up more Celtic Sea Salt and was wondering if I should look into getting a different brand to save a little money. Salt is salt. But, NO! Salt is NOT salt. Some of the salt I bought in the past had dextrose in it. Those little packets of salt that you get at fast food places have dextrose in them. Restaurant salt may or may not have iodine and could have dextrose in it. Who knows!?! They do not label the table salt.
Well, last Sunday the girls and I bought a small bit of Himalayan salt because it is supposed to be so very good for you. We ate some with green beans before we headed home from Whole Foods. I cooked with it on Monday and on Tuesday. My grumpiest days were Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Hmmm. The kids seemed to do OK with it, but I was a mess!
Now, I can’t cook different food for everyone in the house. I can hardly keep up with cooking the same meals for everyone. What I wonder is if we can introduce it very slowly so that we can all tolerate it and benefit from its goodness. I wonder the same about the egg yolks and the other sulfur foods, too.
All the foods that are good for us cause us major problems. I think this is because we are majorly toxic and whenever we have any food that is a good detoxifier we experience the symptoms related to our body trying to get rid of the bad stuff. I know that we are just going to have to go through it, but I have to keep my mind sane in order to get the kids through the diet. So how do I cook for them and keep myself sane at the same time? This is still a mystery for me. I am not sure what to do.
Lord, I trust and believe that this diet was a direct answer to the prayer that I prayed 19 months or so ago. I know that You will bring healing to this family. I believe it. I know it in my heart. I also know that it is not going to be magical. It is going to take some thought and a lot of work. I am willing to do it. I am not sure about the details or just how much we are going to suffer on this journey. Please help me to know which way to go. Guide us as you always have and lead us to the knowledge we need. Your people perish for lack of knowledge. We want to know You and understand Your world according to Your Word. We thank You for these magnificent and wonderful bodies that You have created and for the amazing way that they deal with all of the crud we put into them. It is truly amazing the way our bodies are continually balancing and rebalancing all the time. We mess up in one area and our bodies compensate. We mess up in another area and our bodies compensate. Thank You for these amazing bodies. Thank You for your love. Thank You for Your help in times of trouble. Thank You for Your peace. No matter what, I know that You have our best interest in mind. You are good and You are good all of the time. I trust You. I believe in You. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Lemon water
Chicken and broth
Carrots, yellow squash, green beans and winter squash
Hamburger Soup
Casseroles
Fried eggs and mashed avocado
October 22, 2009
Day 46 & 47 - Stage 2-3 of Intro
Day 46 was NOT a good day for me. I just could NOT be nice for 5 minutes, no matter how hard I tried. I promised to try to be nice and then someone would say something or do something or nott do anything and I flew off the handle. This is rediculous! My thoughts were all so negative. I couldn't understand anything that anyone said and I had to ask them to repeat it several times and make a real effort to listen. It is so frustrating! Even when I did understand their words, it rarely made sense. I can't stand this roller coaster! What can I eat??? What can't I eat???
Today, Day 47, was much better. Thank you, Lord. Everyone seemed to do well today.
Our 11 year old has really had some trouble with concentration and memory. He will ask me a question and I will answer him. A short time later, he will ask me the same question. I ask him if he remembers asking me already. I sometimes remind him of the whole conversation and he says he has no recollection of it. It is truly amazing. Also, he does things that he should know not to do or he puts things away in weird places. Sometimes he puts things away in places where we used to keep them years ago and has no recollection of the current place where things are stored. One time, he put all of his daddy's undershirts in his own sock drawer. Go figure. Obviously, his mind was somewhere else.
You might note that it is 1 AM. We had several children wake with leg cramps tonight. Our 5 year old actually never fell asleep because her leg started to hurt when we put her to bed. She said it got worse and worse as she lay there and that she really tried to fall asleep. I believe her. We gave her an Apple Cider Vinegar Bath, the pain went away, and we got her back in bed after 11PM. Then, our 2 year old woke up at 11:30PM crying because his leg hurt really bad. (He is the one who never woke for any reason, except for hunger as an infant, until after his first vaccine in 18 months.) We gave him and Apple Cider Vinegar Bath and watched the pain just seem to melt away after about 20-30 minutes. We got him back in his pajamas and back in bed by about 12:20AM. Now I hear 2 kids stiring a bit. I am waiting for things to quiet down a bit so I can go to bed.
It is so hard to figure what causes certain reactions unless you eat the same things every day and only change one thing at a time. We gave them eggs and avocado recently. Only the 5 year old seemed to react to the eggs, but we are not sure. We gave her eggs again today to see if her excema will return. We gave them cashew nut butter 2 days ago. Our new batch of kraut finished on Tuesday and we started taking it instead of the previous batch made with red cabbage. We increased it a bit. Too many changes, so it is hard to be certain. Oh yeah, and I made the buffalo and hamburger soups with soup bones and mixed in the marrow. Oh, yeah, and we had the cauliflower on Sunday. I think that is what made me so short tempered. It could be a delayed reaction. I understand that food reactions can take several days...I know it has something to do with mercury. I just know it in my heart.
It's late. I'm tired. That's all for now!
Today, Day 47, was much better. Thank you, Lord. Everyone seemed to do well today.
Our 11 year old has really had some trouble with concentration and memory. He will ask me a question and I will answer him. A short time later, he will ask me the same question. I ask him if he remembers asking me already. I sometimes remind him of the whole conversation and he says he has no recollection of it. It is truly amazing. Also, he does things that he should know not to do or he puts things away in weird places. Sometimes he puts things away in places where we used to keep them years ago and has no recollection of the current place where things are stored. One time, he put all of his daddy's undershirts in his own sock drawer. Go figure. Obviously, his mind was somewhere else.
You might note that it is 1 AM. We had several children wake with leg cramps tonight. Our 5 year old actually never fell asleep because her leg started to hurt when we put her to bed. She said it got worse and worse as she lay there and that she really tried to fall asleep. I believe her. We gave her an Apple Cider Vinegar Bath, the pain went away, and we got her back in bed after 11PM. Then, our 2 year old woke up at 11:30PM crying because his leg hurt really bad. (He is the one who never woke for any reason, except for hunger as an infant, until after his first vaccine in 18 months.) We gave him and Apple Cider Vinegar Bath and watched the pain just seem to melt away after about 20-30 minutes. We got him back in his pajamas and back in bed by about 12:20AM. Now I hear 2 kids stiring a bit. I am waiting for things to quiet down a bit so I can go to bed.
It is so hard to figure what causes certain reactions unless you eat the same things every day and only change one thing at a time. We gave them eggs and avocado recently. Only the 5 year old seemed to react to the eggs, but we are not sure. We gave her eggs again today to see if her excema will return. We gave them cashew nut butter 2 days ago. Our new batch of kraut finished on Tuesday and we started taking it instead of the previous batch made with red cabbage. We increased it a bit. Too many changes, so it is hard to be certain. Oh yeah, and I made the buffalo and hamburger soups with soup bones and mixed in the marrow. Oh, yeah, and we had the cauliflower on Sunday. I think that is what made me so short tempered. It could be a delayed reaction. I understand that food reactions can take several days...I know it has something to do with mercury. I just know it in my heart.
It's late. I'm tired. That's all for now!
October 19, 2009
Day 45 - Confused and Trying to Get Through Intro and On to Full GAPS
Oh,oh,oh. It's those sulfur foods! We had cauliflower for dinner last night and I have been an ogre all day. On top of that, I continue to be constipated. There seems to be a link between these two things and my quick temper. I feel just fine and happy and then someone says something or does something and I react. I apologize and promise everyone and myself that I will really make an effort to be patient and kind, but then someone says something or does something and I react. It is sooooo frustrating!
We also seem to have pinpointed what has been causing our 5 year old's eczema. We added egg whites this past week and her forehead broke out in eczema. We took it out and it is clearing up. We will add it back again in a few days and see if it breaks out again. I suspect it will, but I hope I am wrong.
Our 2 year old has been doing very well. We are thankful for that. Sometimes his eyes seem to bother him and sometimes he gets down on the floor and buries his face on the floor between his arms for a bit. He is a bit rigid about some things, but not like it was. Again, we are thankful. He seems fine with egg whites and avocado.
We added nut butter pancakes today. I tried to make some without eggs for our 5 year old, but they didn't hold together very well, more like mush. I cooked some of the egg free batter in some chicken broth and gave it to her as porridge. She liked that idea. She wants to play Goldilocks whenever I make nut butter porridge for her. She says that Daddy, Mommy and our 2 year old can be the three bears and she can be Goldilocks. The rest of us enjoyed nut butter pancakes made with sweet dumplin' squash (very sweet), cashew nut butter, egg whites, and beef fat. I fried them in the skillet with beef fat. They are best when poured thin. It is hard to get them to cook through without burning when they are poured too thick.
Saturday, we cut our 5 year old's hair for locks of love. She looks adorable with short hair. Our 8 year old and I will be cutting our hair very soon.
Our 2 year old has looked like a wild child with his long hair. He has not been agreeable about getting his hair or his fingernails cut, but this week was a good week and I took advantage of a good day and cut his hair myself. It actually looks good. I thought, "Cool! I can do this." I tried to cut my 11 year old's long hair. It didn't turn out so good, so we had to cut his hair short. He likes his long hair, but he looks so much better with short hair. He looks so handsome now.
Oh, yeah! We tried out our latest batch of sauerkraut today. I tried several different methods of fermenting the jars of sauerkraut and they all seemed to work, although one seemed a bit slimy but smelled and tasted OK. I am trying to find out if this one turned out right and whether it is OK to eat. If I remember, I will get back to you on this.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
green beans
nut butter pancakes (sweet dumplin' squash and cashews)
avocado
leftover pork roast (cold)
leftover spinach (cooked in pork broth)
beef chuck roast
green beans
carrots
fried eggs (for me)
That's it, I think!
We also seem to have pinpointed what has been causing our 5 year old's eczema. We added egg whites this past week and her forehead broke out in eczema. We took it out and it is clearing up. We will add it back again in a few days and see if it breaks out again. I suspect it will, but I hope I am wrong.
Our 2 year old has been doing very well. We are thankful for that. Sometimes his eyes seem to bother him and sometimes he gets down on the floor and buries his face on the floor between his arms for a bit. He is a bit rigid about some things, but not like it was. Again, we are thankful. He seems fine with egg whites and avocado.
We added nut butter pancakes today. I tried to make some without eggs for our 5 year old, but they didn't hold together very well, more like mush. I cooked some of the egg free batter in some chicken broth and gave it to her as porridge. She liked that idea. She wants to play Goldilocks whenever I make nut butter porridge for her. She says that Daddy, Mommy and our 2 year old can be the three bears and she can be Goldilocks. The rest of us enjoyed nut butter pancakes made with sweet dumplin' squash (very sweet), cashew nut butter, egg whites, and beef fat. I fried them in the skillet with beef fat. They are best when poured thin. It is hard to get them to cook through without burning when they are poured too thick.
Saturday, we cut our 5 year old's hair for locks of love. She looks adorable with short hair. Our 8 year old and I will be cutting our hair very soon.
Our 2 year old has looked like a wild child with his long hair. He has not been agreeable about getting his hair or his fingernails cut, but this week was a good week and I took advantage of a good day and cut his hair myself. It actually looks good. I thought, "Cool! I can do this." I tried to cut my 11 year old's long hair. It didn't turn out so good, so we had to cut his hair short. He likes his long hair, but he looks so much better with short hair. He looks so handsome now.
Oh, yeah! We tried out our latest batch of sauerkraut today. I tried several different methods of fermenting the jars of sauerkraut and they all seemed to work, although one seemed a bit slimy but smelled and tasted OK. I am trying to find out if this one turned out right and whether it is OK to eat. If I remember, I will get back to you on this.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
green beans
nut butter pancakes (sweet dumplin' squash and cashews)
avocado
leftover pork roast (cold)
leftover spinach (cooked in pork broth)
beef chuck roast
green beans
carrots
fried eggs (for me)
That's it, I think!
October 14, 2009
Day 39 and 40 - Stage 3 for all
I gave everyone some avocado yesterday and today. I can't say if it went over well or not. We had a pretty crazy day.
Our oldest just hasn't been able to hold it together since the weekend. I think the ghee did not go over well for him as he has had difficulty accomplishing what he has had no trouble accomplishing since we started GAPS. I would think that he would be recovered from that by now, but he is still having issues.
He did get all of his schoolwork done and his chores done in a reasonable timeframe, but with a few reminders from me. However, he can't seem to make common sense decisions about things. For example, he was helping to put food in freezer safe jars to store in the freezer and he got food all around the edges where the lid screws in place. I asked him to wipe up any messes before putting on the lids. He turned the jar around 3-4 times and noticed nothing. He was so busy looking on the sides of the jar that he didn't notice the top part where the lid screws on just above the indentation of the jar and the ridge. Then, when I pointed out where the mess was, he tried to wipe it clean, but he didn't notice that the jar was dangerously balanced on the edge of the table as he turned it. We nearly had broken glass and oily hamburger soup all over the kitchen floor. I couldn't bear to watch and I didn't want to clean up the mess he was bound to make, so I gave him another job. I asked him to watch the baby for a bit while I finished up. He accidentally dropped the baby on his face (not from too high, but it sure made the baby cry).
I know that something is going on. Sometimes he really has it all together since we started the diet. I have been so very proud of him and have thought that he has matured so much, but these past few days have been just like old times. I used to blame him and think he was being completely rediculous, but now I am convinced that his brain really is affected by food and chemicals. It is just too crazy to be real!!!
Also, he spends half of his day in the bathroom 'trying' to go to the bathroom. Whenever anyone has to go to the bathroom, we have to ask him to wrap it up and let someone else in. He does not like the feeling that there is poo in there that needs to come out, so he just sits and waits and tries all day. He poos 1-4 times a day. That's great, but he should be doing other things and running to the bathroom when the urge comes for real. I could go on, but...
I have been in a pretty reactive mood all day. Can't say why for sure. I know I am fine with avocado and egg whites, but I suspect that it could be the chicken liver or the bone marrow I nibbled on after making bone broth. I seem to react to all of the things that are supposed to be the most healing. I guess that means that I am on the right track, but I just can't be a good mommy if the food I eat makes me mad at the world.
Truly, on days like today, I have a very difficult time understanding people's words. When the kids all talk at once, I can't deal with it. All my oldest has to do is say one word and I am all over him. (Habit from 11 years of practiced interaction. Ack.) I know now that he is a sick boy, but for years I thought otherwise and when I am reactive, I am just that: reactive! I spend a lot of time apologizing for my quick reactions. Ack. Wish it were different, but alas...
I am too tired to try to remember what we ate these past few days. I know it is pretty much the same as every other day with the exception of adding avocado and fried eggs. That is what we had for dinner tonight. YUM!
I do hope that everyone sleeps better tonight. Only one person in our house slept through the whole night last night. It's crazy! The up side is that they went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, so we had only one wet bed in the morning.
So there it is...a piece of our day's history. Tomorrow will be better, I am sure!
Our oldest just hasn't been able to hold it together since the weekend. I think the ghee did not go over well for him as he has had difficulty accomplishing what he has had no trouble accomplishing since we started GAPS. I would think that he would be recovered from that by now, but he is still having issues.
He did get all of his schoolwork done and his chores done in a reasonable timeframe, but with a few reminders from me. However, he can't seem to make common sense decisions about things. For example, he was helping to put food in freezer safe jars to store in the freezer and he got food all around the edges where the lid screws in place. I asked him to wipe up any messes before putting on the lids. He turned the jar around 3-4 times and noticed nothing. He was so busy looking on the sides of the jar that he didn't notice the top part where the lid screws on just above the indentation of the jar and the ridge. Then, when I pointed out where the mess was, he tried to wipe it clean, but he didn't notice that the jar was dangerously balanced on the edge of the table as he turned it. We nearly had broken glass and oily hamburger soup all over the kitchen floor. I couldn't bear to watch and I didn't want to clean up the mess he was bound to make, so I gave him another job. I asked him to watch the baby for a bit while I finished up. He accidentally dropped the baby on his face (not from too high, but it sure made the baby cry).
I know that something is going on. Sometimes he really has it all together since we started the diet. I have been so very proud of him and have thought that he has matured so much, but these past few days have been just like old times. I used to blame him and think he was being completely rediculous, but now I am convinced that his brain really is affected by food and chemicals. It is just too crazy to be real!!!
Also, he spends half of his day in the bathroom 'trying' to go to the bathroom. Whenever anyone has to go to the bathroom, we have to ask him to wrap it up and let someone else in. He does not like the feeling that there is poo in there that needs to come out, so he just sits and waits and tries all day. He poos 1-4 times a day. That's great, but he should be doing other things and running to the bathroom when the urge comes for real. I could go on, but...
I have been in a pretty reactive mood all day. Can't say why for sure. I know I am fine with avocado and egg whites, but I suspect that it could be the chicken liver or the bone marrow I nibbled on after making bone broth. I seem to react to all of the things that are supposed to be the most healing. I guess that means that I am on the right track, but I just can't be a good mommy if the food I eat makes me mad at the world.
Truly, on days like today, I have a very difficult time understanding people's words. When the kids all talk at once, I can't deal with it. All my oldest has to do is say one word and I am all over him. (Habit from 11 years of practiced interaction. Ack.) I know now that he is a sick boy, but for years I thought otherwise and when I am reactive, I am just that: reactive! I spend a lot of time apologizing for my quick reactions. Ack. Wish it were different, but alas...
I am too tired to try to remember what we ate these past few days. I know it is pretty much the same as every other day with the exception of adding avocado and fried eggs. That is what we had for dinner tonight. YUM!
I do hope that everyone sleeps better tonight. Only one person in our house slept through the whole night last night. It's crazy! The up side is that they went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, so we had only one wet bed in the morning.
So there it is...a piece of our day's history. Tomorrow will be better, I am sure!
October 13, 2009
Day 37 and Day 38- Stage 2 and 3
Sunday, we were all too exhausted from the busy weekend. We just crashed. Everyone slept in late (except the 2 year old and Daddy, who got up with the 2 year old so the Mommy could sleep).
I didn't have meals planned past Saturday, so I felt like we were playing catch up all day on Sunday and Monday.
Embarassing note: I have been constipated, but have been scared of enemas, which are vitally important as it is not a good idea to go more than 36 hours without a bowel movement. I went 5 days without going, so I tried carrot juice (finally), but by night, nothing, so I finally gave in and tried the enema, but with spring water. What a relief! Can't say what I was afraid of. It was no big deal and it brought such relief. I will not wait so long in the future.
Monday was an interesting day. Extra detox from carrot juice??? I don't know, but I was pretty tired and out of it for the past two days. I finally got some sleep last night, as my dear husband stayed up late to do all that had to be done and I went to bed with the baby at 9PM. Amazingly, he woke up at 1030PM and then slept until 530AM. 7 HOURS!!! That is a first for this child. WooHoo!!! A little sleep for Mommy!!!
Yesterday (Monday), our 11 year old came running to tell me something in a way that indicated, "This is a MAJOR emergency! You had better drop what you are doing and come NOW!" He said that our 2 year old and our 5 year old were both in the closet eating yogurt drops (treats for our 8 year old's pet rat). Sure enough, the 2 year old had evidence on his lips. Our 5 year old admitted to nothing at the time, but got into big trouble for lying. She totally screamed when I tried to look in her little purse to make sure that there were no more yogurt drops around and she lied over and over saying that there were none in there and then insisted that she didn't know they were there once I had found 6 in her purse. We threw them away and then searched the rest of the house for more to trash because the 2 year old admitted that they were yummy. I checked the ingredient list and there was not one in the list of 8 ingredients that were acceptable on our current diet. (dairy, corn, sugar: to name a few, but thankfully, no eggs or artificial anything. Whew!)
Our 5 year old had found some Sweet Tarts in a bag leftover from VBS this summer. She couldn't resist the temptation and later confessed her indescretion and asked for forgiveness, which I gladly gave. It turns out that she didn't want to share with the 2 year old who caught her eating it, so she gave him the yogurt drops so she could have all of the sugary goodness for herself. Kids!?!
Also, I took all of the boys to the Mall to take pictures at Sears. I take pictures every 3 months for two years and then every year after that. We have a wall in our hall with all of their pictures for the first two years of life. It is fun to look at everyone's 3 month pictures or 9 month pictures and see how much they looked alike at the different ages. Our baby just turned 6 months, so it was his turn and our 11 year old just turned, well , 11, so it was his turn, too. We took some baggies of green beans for a fingerfood snack and made an afternoon of it. (The girls stayed home with Daddy.) Amazingly, it went well and we got great pictures and no one fell apart, even after the yogurt drop incident. I should mention that our 2 year old is always calm in his stroller, no matter what!
There were tantrums and meltdowns in the afternoon and evening, but nothing like I would have expected. Bedtimes went fairly smoothly, too and everyone slept through as far as I know. I will have to check with Daddy on this later. Our 5 year old had some signs of eczema and yeast as a result of the sugar. We have seen this connection for several years now, so we were not a bit surprised by that. So it seems that egg yolks and maybe some of the sulfur foods have a worse effect than a little sugar, corn, and dairy. Hmmm! That is interesting to note.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
carrot juice (Mommy)
chicken broth
chicken
veggies???
hamburger soup
green beans
pork ribs
beef casserole
boiled egg whites
fried eggs (Mommy)
beef and squash soup
Natural Calm magnesium supplement (Mommy)
Blended veggies (2 year old)
Remember, this is two days worth of food. I may be forgetting some things, but this is basically what we ate.
I didn't have meals planned past Saturday, so I felt like we were playing catch up all day on Sunday and Monday.
Embarassing note: I have been constipated, but have been scared of enemas, which are vitally important as it is not a good idea to go more than 36 hours without a bowel movement. I went 5 days without going, so I tried carrot juice (finally), but by night, nothing, so I finally gave in and tried the enema, but with spring water. What a relief! Can't say what I was afraid of. It was no big deal and it brought such relief. I will not wait so long in the future.
Monday was an interesting day. Extra detox from carrot juice??? I don't know, but I was pretty tired and out of it for the past two days. I finally got some sleep last night, as my dear husband stayed up late to do all that had to be done and I went to bed with the baby at 9PM. Amazingly, he woke up at 1030PM and then slept until 530AM. 7 HOURS!!! That is a first for this child. WooHoo!!! A little sleep for Mommy!!!
Yesterday (Monday), our 11 year old came running to tell me something in a way that indicated, "This is a MAJOR emergency! You had better drop what you are doing and come NOW!" He said that our 2 year old and our 5 year old were both in the closet eating yogurt drops (treats for our 8 year old's pet rat). Sure enough, the 2 year old had evidence on his lips. Our 5 year old admitted to nothing at the time, but got into big trouble for lying. She totally screamed when I tried to look in her little purse to make sure that there were no more yogurt drops around and she lied over and over saying that there were none in there and then insisted that she didn't know they were there once I had found 6 in her purse. We threw them away and then searched the rest of the house for more to trash because the 2 year old admitted that they were yummy. I checked the ingredient list and there was not one in the list of 8 ingredients that were acceptable on our current diet. (dairy, corn, sugar: to name a few, but thankfully, no eggs or artificial anything. Whew!)
Our 5 year old had found some Sweet Tarts in a bag leftover from VBS this summer. She couldn't resist the temptation and later confessed her indescretion and asked for forgiveness, which I gladly gave. It turns out that she didn't want to share with the 2 year old who caught her eating it, so she gave him the yogurt drops so she could have all of the sugary goodness for herself. Kids!?!
Also, I took all of the boys to the Mall to take pictures at Sears. I take pictures every 3 months for two years and then every year after that. We have a wall in our hall with all of their pictures for the first two years of life. It is fun to look at everyone's 3 month pictures or 9 month pictures and see how much they looked alike at the different ages. Our baby just turned 6 months, so it was his turn and our 11 year old just turned, well , 11, so it was his turn, too. We took some baggies of green beans for a fingerfood snack and made an afternoon of it. (The girls stayed home with Daddy.) Amazingly, it went well and we got great pictures and no one fell apart, even after the yogurt drop incident. I should mention that our 2 year old is always calm in his stroller, no matter what!
There were tantrums and meltdowns in the afternoon and evening, but nothing like I would have expected. Bedtimes went fairly smoothly, too and everyone slept through as far as I know. I will have to check with Daddy on this later. Our 5 year old had some signs of eczema and yeast as a result of the sugar. We have seen this connection for several years now, so we were not a bit surprised by that. So it seems that egg yolks and maybe some of the sulfur foods have a worse effect than a little sugar, corn, and dairy. Hmmm! That is interesting to note.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
carrot juice (Mommy)
chicken broth
chicken
veggies???
hamburger soup
green beans
pork ribs
beef casserole
boiled egg whites
fried eggs (Mommy)
beef and squash soup
Natural Calm magnesium supplement (Mommy)
Blended veggies (2 year old)
Remember, this is two days worth of food. I may be forgetting some things, but this is basically what we ate.
October 11, 2009
Day 35 and Day 36- Stage 2 and 3
I am writing this a day late, so yesterday was day 35. We went to a museum exhibit across town. It took about an hour there and an hour back, but it was worth it to see what we are capable of doing as far as traveling on GAPS. We plan to take a trip to Chicago in a month and we have to figure out the details of how to prepare, pack and serve food while on the road.
It is convenient that our 2 year old will eat green beans now, a somewhat non-messy fingerfood for travel food. Pieces of meat also make a pretty good fingerfood (white meat chicken and stew meat or steak cut into small bite size pieces).
I did a lot of cooking for several days before hand to have enough food for yesterday and today. We ate it cold, but it was good. Everyone had enough and everyone was satisfied. WooHoo!
Today, we all went in different directions. I took our baby and our 8 year old girl to a Creative Memories Croptoberfest (all day photo scrapbooking workshop). I packed leftover hamburger soup into thermos cups and also took some peas, some green beans, and some chicken. We took our filtered water with us as well. I left the rest of the family with Daddy and a bunch of leftovers to be heated and served. It went fairly well. I have already started to cook for tomorrow. We have to have some meat and veggies for breakfast in the morning. I am cooking two chickens. I am going to start some pork ribs in a crockpot in the morning.
Daddy is exhausted and crashed on the couch about 9PM. I got the baby down about 8PM, the 2 year old in bed after 9PM, the 5 year old in bed after 10PM and the older two in bed about 11:30PM, but they both came out about 20 minutes after midnight with complaints about this or that. We have had children up past midnight for several days in a row now. First, it was leg cramps and night waking due to egg yolks. Then, it was kraut juice on an empty stomach right before bed (not a good idea). Now, it is tears over an interruption in a Saturday night routine. Our 11 year old is a complete emotional wreck because, since they went to bed so late, he didn't get to listen to more than 4 songs on a favorite Saturday night radio program.
Another strange thing is that our 11 year old has been spending about half of every day in the bathroom. I am a bit concerned about this. He has been sloooooow getting his schoolwork done, had trouble finixhing his chores by bedtime, can't seem to remember anything, is rather selfish and inconsiderate in his actions, and he has had a hard time dealing with broken routines.
WHAT WE ATE YESTERDAY AND TODAY:
filtered water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
green beans
peas
leftover hamburger soup (cold)
blended squash, carrots, chicken broth, and chicken pate
I have had fried egg whites and avocado.
It is convenient that our 2 year old will eat green beans now, a somewhat non-messy fingerfood for travel food. Pieces of meat also make a pretty good fingerfood (white meat chicken and stew meat or steak cut into small bite size pieces).
I did a lot of cooking for several days before hand to have enough food for yesterday and today. We ate it cold, but it was good. Everyone had enough and everyone was satisfied. WooHoo!
Today, we all went in different directions. I took our baby and our 8 year old girl to a Creative Memories Croptoberfest (all day photo scrapbooking workshop). I packed leftover hamburger soup into thermos cups and also took some peas, some green beans, and some chicken. We took our filtered water with us as well. I left the rest of the family with Daddy and a bunch of leftovers to be heated and served. It went fairly well. I have already started to cook for tomorrow. We have to have some meat and veggies for breakfast in the morning. I am cooking two chickens. I am going to start some pork ribs in a crockpot in the morning.
Daddy is exhausted and crashed on the couch about 9PM. I got the baby down about 8PM, the 2 year old in bed after 9PM, the 5 year old in bed after 10PM and the older two in bed about 11:30PM, but they both came out about 20 minutes after midnight with complaints about this or that. We have had children up past midnight for several days in a row now. First, it was leg cramps and night waking due to egg yolks. Then, it was kraut juice on an empty stomach right before bed (not a good idea). Now, it is tears over an interruption in a Saturday night routine. Our 11 year old is a complete emotional wreck because, since they went to bed so late, he didn't get to listen to more than 4 songs on a favorite Saturday night radio program.
Another strange thing is that our 11 year old has been spending about half of every day in the bathroom. I am a bit concerned about this. He has been sloooooow getting his schoolwork done, had trouble finixhing his chores by bedtime, can't seem to remember anything, is rather selfish and inconsiderate in his actions, and he has had a hard time dealing with broken routines.
WHAT WE ATE YESTERDAY AND TODAY:
filtered water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
green beans
peas
leftover hamburger soup (cold)
blended squash, carrots, chicken broth, and chicken pate
I have had fried egg whites and avocado.
October 8, 2009
Day 34 - Stage 2 and 3 of intro
Today was one of those slow moving sticky days, like when you dream that you are running but in slow motion and you just don't seem to be going anywhere fast. Yes, today was one of those days.
We have a ton of laundry everyday because of the additional wet bed clothes that have to be washed and put back on the beds. We have a ton of cooking to do, because the children are literally eating us out of house and home. I praise our Lord and our Savior, our God, that he has blessed us with the means to feed our family good healthy/healing foods. There are many new things to figure out, but I am happy to say that many things are falling into place and it does get easier. The logistics for doing this diet/protocol for so many people at once really takes some thought and planning, to say the least.
Because the children are most definitely reacting to the egg yolks that we gave them, they are not as much help as they have been. Our oldest took all day to do his schoolwork and his chores and had great difficulty moving very fast at any task I gave him to do. Often it is just easier and faster to do it myself than to have to help him figure it out so that he can accomplish the task. Trouble is, I need his help.
His brain is definitely affected because he has NO memory for what he is supposed to be doing or for how things are done. He seems to have no ability to figure out the smallest, seemingly simplest, tasks. For example, I asked him to make the bed and he had the hardest time getting the mattress pad on. He came out panting and told me how hard it was to make the bed and he didn't think that it looked right. (He's 11 year's old and he has done this task before.) When I went in to check, I noticed (because it was impossible not to notice) that he had put the mattress pad on sideways and had really stretched it to make it barely fit around the top corners of the mattress. I had to laugh. I asked him to step back and take a second look to see if he could figure out where he went wrong. He couldn't. I explained to him that beds and sheets are rectangles, not squares. He still couldn't figure it out. I am shocked! I show him with two rectangular wipes boxes how he put the pad on perpendicular to the length of the bed and then he finally understood. Amazing!
We had lots of spills and falls today. Our 2 year old cried a lot because I would not let him up on the bench in the kitchen. He has been very prone to falling and bumping into things so I was nervous about him falling onto the tile floor. He fell once and stubbed his toe once and dropped several bowls of food on the floor in a big splat!!!
Our 5 year old fell off the bench this afternoon with a mug of broth in her hands. Falling scared her, the mug shattering and cutting her toe scared her, and sitting in a puddle of broth and broken ceramic scared her! She was an emotional wreck! It took a while to calm her down and let her know that she was going to be OK and that it was all going to be OK.
Our 11 year old wanted to be helpful so he went to put on his slippers because of the broken ceramic. However, when he got back to the kitchen in his slippers, the thought of getting broth on his slippers overshadowed his original intent for wearing them. When I looked up from comforting our 5 year old, there was our 11 year old standing barefoot in the middle of the mess with the broom and dustpan. His slippers were parked at the edge of the living room floor. My first thought was, "WHAT!?!?" "What in the world are you doing standing in the middle of all that broken ceramic in your bare feet!?!?!"
I am telling you...he really is not thinking very clearly at all! It is not my imagination! He has good days and bad days. I used to think, "NO WAY! He can't be serious! He is smarter than that." Now I realize that he is smarter than that on some days and not so able to connect the dots on other days. It is crazy, I know, but it is true! I am thankful to be figuring this out because I just thought he was a kid with an attitude, but he is really a good kid who really does his best to please me, but who really can't get it together on certain days.
Our 5 year old had several tantrums today over wanting things her way. She has had more than a week of no tantrums and she has played very nicely with her friends and her siblings, but today was more difficult.
Our 2 year old just didn't feel well and you could tell. His eyes seemed to bother him. He was loud and needed lots of contact. His words were muddled, but he was talking to us. He was easily upset. His eye brows were knit most of the day. He was not flexible about any routines like bath time. It was a hard day for him, but not the worst.
Our baby did fine. He is a chunk at 15 pounds. He is getting stronger everyday and will be sitting on his own before too long. What a cutie!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
pork
squash and carrots
stew for lunch - YUM!
hamburger soup
sugarsnap peas
I hope to have some eggs and some avocado, but it is getting late and there is still much to do!!!
We have a ton of laundry everyday because of the additional wet bed clothes that have to be washed and put back on the beds. We have a ton of cooking to do, because the children are literally eating us out of house and home. I praise our Lord and our Savior, our God, that he has blessed us with the means to feed our family good healthy/healing foods. There are many new things to figure out, but I am happy to say that many things are falling into place and it does get easier. The logistics for doing this diet/protocol for so many people at once really takes some thought and planning, to say the least.
Because the children are most definitely reacting to the egg yolks that we gave them, they are not as much help as they have been. Our oldest took all day to do his schoolwork and his chores and had great difficulty moving very fast at any task I gave him to do. Often it is just easier and faster to do it myself than to have to help him figure it out so that he can accomplish the task. Trouble is, I need his help.
His brain is definitely affected because he has NO memory for what he is supposed to be doing or for how things are done. He seems to have no ability to figure out the smallest, seemingly simplest, tasks. For example, I asked him to make the bed and he had the hardest time getting the mattress pad on. He came out panting and told me how hard it was to make the bed and he didn't think that it looked right. (He's 11 year's old and he has done this task before.) When I went in to check, I noticed (because it was impossible not to notice) that he had put the mattress pad on sideways and had really stretched it to make it barely fit around the top corners of the mattress. I had to laugh. I asked him to step back and take a second look to see if he could figure out where he went wrong. He couldn't. I explained to him that beds and sheets are rectangles, not squares. He still couldn't figure it out. I am shocked! I show him with two rectangular wipes boxes how he put the pad on perpendicular to the length of the bed and then he finally understood. Amazing!
We had lots of spills and falls today. Our 2 year old cried a lot because I would not let him up on the bench in the kitchen. He has been very prone to falling and bumping into things so I was nervous about him falling onto the tile floor. He fell once and stubbed his toe once and dropped several bowls of food on the floor in a big splat!!!
Our 5 year old fell off the bench this afternoon with a mug of broth in her hands. Falling scared her, the mug shattering and cutting her toe scared her, and sitting in a puddle of broth and broken ceramic scared her! She was an emotional wreck! It took a while to calm her down and let her know that she was going to be OK and that it was all going to be OK.
Our 11 year old wanted to be helpful so he went to put on his slippers because of the broken ceramic. However, when he got back to the kitchen in his slippers, the thought of getting broth on his slippers overshadowed his original intent for wearing them. When I looked up from comforting our 5 year old, there was our 11 year old standing barefoot in the middle of the mess with the broom and dustpan. His slippers were parked at the edge of the living room floor. My first thought was, "WHAT!?!?" "What in the world are you doing standing in the middle of all that broken ceramic in your bare feet!?!?!"
I am telling you...he really is not thinking very clearly at all! It is not my imagination! He has good days and bad days. I used to think, "NO WAY! He can't be serious! He is smarter than that." Now I realize that he is smarter than that on some days and not so able to connect the dots on other days. It is crazy, I know, but it is true! I am thankful to be figuring this out because I just thought he was a kid with an attitude, but he is really a good kid who really does his best to please me, but who really can't get it together on certain days.
Our 5 year old had several tantrums today over wanting things her way. She has had more than a week of no tantrums and she has played very nicely with her friends and her siblings, but today was more difficult.
Our 2 year old just didn't feel well and you could tell. His eyes seemed to bother him. He was loud and needed lots of contact. His words were muddled, but he was talking to us. He was easily upset. His eye brows were knit most of the day. He was not flexible about any routines like bath time. It was a hard day for him, but not the worst.
Our baby did fine. He is a chunk at 15 pounds. He is getting stronger everyday and will be sitting on his own before too long. What a cutie!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
pork
squash and carrots
stew for lunch - YUM!
hamburger soup
sugarsnap peas
I hope to have some eggs and some avocado, but it is getting late and there is still much to do!!!
Day 33 - Egg Yolks, YUCK!
Yesterday was day 33 and it was a very looooooong day! We gave the kids one-half of a teaspoon of egg yolk in their soup for the second day in a row. I would say it didn't go over so well.
Our 2 year old was obviously not feeling good. He cried a lot and threw tantrums over me touching his plate and moving it ever so slightly. We had a real difficult time trying to make out what he was trying to say because his words were muddled. He would not look directly at us and his eyes seemed to bother him. I asked him if his eyes hurt and he shook his head no. I asked if his eyes bothered him and he shook his head yes. I asked several times and got the same answers, so I think that was pretty amazing that he could communicate that. He was wired and restless and took a long time to fall asleep, but he did not cry or fuss about bedtime. He just took a long time to settle down in the dark room. He has not woken up in the night since we pulled the sulfur foods, but he woke up crying last night at 4AM.
Our 5 year old had another leg cramp (more like leg pain) which started around dinner time. Her leg pain has always started around dinner time or it has woken her up at night. We had pulled all of the sulfur foods and she did not have any leg pains. After 3 days of egg yolks, around lunchtime, she finally has another leg cramp. Could be coincidence, but when you consider that everyone is having issues (different issues) at the same time, it makes sense to suspect the egg yolks. We gave her 2 detox baths and one foot bath before bed. It helped while she was in the bath, but the pain would come back after she had been out for a while. We put her to bed. She normally falls right to sleep, but she tried for about an hour and then she cried that her leg hurt her too much to fall asleep. We gave her yet another bath (each one was a different bath). She sat in the bath for over 40 minutes, well past midnight, and then we put her back to bed. She stayed in bed through the night.
Our 8 year old seemed to do fine with the small amount of egg yolk. Our 11 year old, however, had great difficulty staying on task. It took him all day to finish his school work that he had been completing in record time since we started GAPS. He did not finish his chores before bedtime. He was a bit teary when things didn't work out in his favor. He was bossy and controlling and not very considerate of others, although I could tell he was trying at times. He was still awake at midnight because he had a hard time settling and falling asleep.
Daddy and I had to stay up extra late cleaning up in the kitchen and getting things ready for the next day. There is usually food to finish cooking and put away, a dishwasher to load and run and a bunch of pots and pans to wash by hand so that they will be ready to use again in the morning.
Since the kids were reacting to the egg yolks and didn't feel well, it was a late night, an interrupted night and an early morning. We were exhausted this morning!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
leftover butternut squash and hamburger broth soup
leftover casseroles
brisket
Italian green beans
That's ALL folks!
Our 2 year old was obviously not feeling good. He cried a lot and threw tantrums over me touching his plate and moving it ever so slightly. We had a real difficult time trying to make out what he was trying to say because his words were muddled. He would not look directly at us and his eyes seemed to bother him. I asked him if his eyes hurt and he shook his head no. I asked if his eyes bothered him and he shook his head yes. I asked several times and got the same answers, so I think that was pretty amazing that he could communicate that. He was wired and restless and took a long time to fall asleep, but he did not cry or fuss about bedtime. He just took a long time to settle down in the dark room. He has not woken up in the night since we pulled the sulfur foods, but he woke up crying last night at 4AM.
Our 5 year old had another leg cramp (more like leg pain) which started around dinner time. Her leg pain has always started around dinner time or it has woken her up at night. We had pulled all of the sulfur foods and she did not have any leg pains. After 3 days of egg yolks, around lunchtime, she finally has another leg cramp. Could be coincidence, but when you consider that everyone is having issues (different issues) at the same time, it makes sense to suspect the egg yolks. We gave her 2 detox baths and one foot bath before bed. It helped while she was in the bath, but the pain would come back after she had been out for a while. We put her to bed. She normally falls right to sleep, but she tried for about an hour and then she cried that her leg hurt her too much to fall asleep. We gave her yet another bath (each one was a different bath). She sat in the bath for over 40 minutes, well past midnight, and then we put her back to bed. She stayed in bed through the night.
Our 8 year old seemed to do fine with the small amount of egg yolk. Our 11 year old, however, had great difficulty staying on task. It took him all day to finish his school work that he had been completing in record time since we started GAPS. He did not finish his chores before bedtime. He was a bit teary when things didn't work out in his favor. He was bossy and controlling and not very considerate of others, although I could tell he was trying at times. He was still awake at midnight because he had a hard time settling and falling asleep.
Daddy and I had to stay up extra late cleaning up in the kitchen and getting things ready for the next day. There is usually food to finish cooking and put away, a dishwasher to load and run and a bunch of pots and pans to wash by hand so that they will be ready to use again in the morning.
Since the kids were reacting to the egg yolks and didn't feel well, it was a late night, an interrupted night and an early morning. We were exhausted this morning!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
leftover butternut squash and hamburger broth soup
leftover casseroles
brisket
Italian green beans
That's ALL folks!
October 7, 2009
Day 32 - Stage 2 and 3 of intro
The kids are on stage 2 and I have moved on to stage 3. All this means so far is that I have had some avocado and they have not yet had any avocado. We are still increasing the egg yolk for the kids. I am not having any yolks for now, so I am moving on.
The day went well. I was a little moody and overwhelmed by visual and auditory clutter, but better than the day before. We accomplished a lot in the day. I didn't get to bed until after 3AM so I am writing this the next day. I can't remember details about yesterday as well so this will be short.
I had some die-off or something yesterday. About 3 in the afternoon I just pooped out and my arms and legs were heavy and achy and I could hardly stay awake. It just hit me all of a sudden and lasted until about bedtime. It was good that I finally got my energy back because my dear hubby pooped out and fell asleep on the couch about that time and there was still lots to do. He went to bed and I took the late shift.
My fried eggs were scrumptious. I ate some frozen avocado with a little salt. It was frozen, along with the carrots and Daddy's pickles, because my fridge is running extra cold for some reason. I turned the temp up a bit. I wonder if it runs colder when it is more full. Our fridge has been very full as of late. We are constantly restocking it.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
sugarsnap peas
green beans
leftover butternut/hamburger broth soup
chicken soup
cauliflower
pork and spinach casserole
Fried eggs and avocado for ME!
The day went well. I was a little moody and overwhelmed by visual and auditory clutter, but better than the day before. We accomplished a lot in the day. I didn't get to bed until after 3AM so I am writing this the next day. I can't remember details about yesterday as well so this will be short.
I had some die-off or something yesterday. About 3 in the afternoon I just pooped out and my arms and legs were heavy and achy and I could hardly stay awake. It just hit me all of a sudden and lasted until about bedtime. It was good that I finally got my energy back because my dear hubby pooped out and fell asleep on the couch about that time and there was still lots to do. He went to bed and I took the late shift.
My fried eggs were scrumptious. I ate some frozen avocado with a little salt. It was frozen, along with the carrots and Daddy's pickles, because my fridge is running extra cold for some reason. I turned the temp up a bit. I wonder if it runs colder when it is more full. Our fridge has been very full as of late. We are constantly restocking it.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
sugarsnap peas
green beans
leftover butternut/hamburger broth soup
chicken soup
cauliflower
pork and spinach casserole
Fried eggs and avocado for ME!
October 5, 2009
Day 31- Stage 2 of Intro - My Issues
So, I had a few issues today. I hate to admit it, but it is true. I was irritable. Noise and talking and clutter really bothered me today. As hard as I tried to look at things in a positive light and be positive, my words always came out sounding negative and irritable. I wanted to point out every mistake or wrongdoing and I just could not seem to let things go. It was mild compared to some days, but it was there.
I have enjoyed well over a week without any of these "overwhelmed", "stressed", "annoyed", "irritable" feelings. It has been nice. I can't figure out why I feel this way. I got more sleep than I have been getting and I slept soundly. I did NOT have any egg yolk, though I gave some to the kids yesterday. I DID have some avocado last night, but I have never had an issue with avocado before. I DID go to the Whole Foods store yesterday. I do not like being this way, even just a little bit, which is why I have been so good about sticking to the Feingold diet for the past 3-4 years.
I say it was mild because I held it together for the most part and didn't lose my temper with anyone today. I stayed on top of all of the cooking and laundry and, well, just everything that had to get done today. We had 3 sets of blankets and bedsheets to wash in addition to 2 regular loads of laundry. We did not get it all done, which means more laundry for tomorrow, but I'm cool with it. We had one peepee accident in the bathroom, so the bathroom floor had to be sanitized, but I stayed cool. I know it was truly an accident. We had one poopy fall out of a 2 year old's diaper in the middle of the living room floor, so he had to be changed and cleaned up and the floor had to be sanitized, but I still held it together. The amount of pee and poo in this house as of late has been something to talk about. Really! We seem to talk about it all day long.
Our 8 year old was a tad bit irritable, but not too bad, just a little out of sorts. Our 11 year old seems to have lost his mind, meaning that his memory is gone and if his head were not screwed on, he would lose it. He had a hard time remembering what he was supposed to be doing and kept leaving things half done. He couldn't give me a straight answer about anything. He had a hard time remembering to be considerate of other people in the house and didn't answer loud enough for me to hear him whenever I asked him any questions, but I did not get upset because I remembered that this is the case when he is reacting to something. He was dropping food all over the place. It's crazy, but it is true that when he is reacting to something he can't move food from one place to another without dropping it, so we also notice that when he is reacting to something he puts his mouth down by his plate and shovels it in. We have tried and tried to teach him to use a fork correctly and sometimes he can do it, but then he gets exposed to something and all of the work we put into teaching him to do it right seems to just go out the window. He gets totally focused about one thing and talkes about it all day long whether you are interested in it or not and does not seem to notice whether it is an appropriate time to be talking or not. I could go on, but I won't. Our 5 year old did pretty good today. The baby did great! Our 2 year old did pretty good today with only a few issues, but nothing to holler home about.
I nearly burned the zucchini, but caught it just in time. I didn't cook enough veggies to make the sauce for the casserole, but I started early, so I had time to cook more veggies and we had a late dinner. The 3 chickens we cooked yesterday to last us for several days turned out to be tough and chewy, so we had to cut it up into tiny pieces. We used it for soup and casserole. I had to go to the grocery store to buy more chicken and I cooked it this afternoon. We will debone it and strain the broth before going to bed. I also still have to strain and bottle the fat I rendered this afternoon. All in all I guess I was in a pretty good mood after all. If I was able to accomplish as much as I did and deal with all of the stuff that came up throughout the day and not lose my temper with anyone in the house, then I guess I did pretty well after all. I felt like a grump, but hey, don't we all from time to time?
(In reality, I was/am reacting to something. I know this because I have learned that there are days when I simply cannot tune anything out and I get very overwhelmed by it all. Today was one of those days and I did feel agitated by all of the input, but by the grace of God, I am learning to recognize this and so I do not now blame others for my problem. When the children's chatter and talk used to overwhelm me, I used to blame them. Now I tell them that I am unable to take it all in and sort it out. I let them know that I am getting frustrated, but that it is not their fault. I tell them that I am trying to listen, but that I cannot understand all of their words or make sense of what they are trying to tell me. I ask them to try not to take my frustration personally. I ask everyone to stop talking and I purpose to focus on one child and encourage them to speak clearly and to try to give me all the information I need to understand what they are trying to tell me. I tell them that I am not good at trying to figure things out when I am feeling so overwhelmed, so they have to be very clear and upfront with me. You see, some days they can all talk to me at once and it is no big deal. I love those days! I feel like a supermom. Some days I just can't handle it at all.)
Enough of that! Thank you God for this amazing day! Thank you for helping me to get a proper perspective about my crazy day. Thank you for your goodness and your amazing grace!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
squash and carrots
chicken soup
leftover lamb stew
blended butternut squash
(with broth and fat for the two year old)
butternut squash soup - blended with leftover broth from the hamburger soup (waste nothing)
We discovered that the butternut squash goes better with beef broth and fat, while the acorn squash and the sweet dumpling squash goes better with chicken broth and fat.
casseroles - made in those small rectangular loaf pans
We had two chicken and two beef casseroles.
cauliflower for the 5 year old and I - it seems that she had a tummy ache after eating the cauliflower, but no leg cramps noted so far. She had a detox bath, so we may never know. If I really want to test it, then I need to give it to her for lunch so she has time to develop the problem before we plop her in the bath. I will try that tomorrow.
I plan to have fried eggs and a little avocado later tonight.
I have enjoyed well over a week without any of these "overwhelmed", "stressed", "annoyed", "irritable" feelings. It has been nice. I can't figure out why I feel this way. I got more sleep than I have been getting and I slept soundly. I did NOT have any egg yolk, though I gave some to the kids yesterday. I DID have some avocado last night, but I have never had an issue with avocado before. I DID go to the Whole Foods store yesterday. I do not like being this way, even just a little bit, which is why I have been so good about sticking to the Feingold diet for the past 3-4 years.
I say it was mild because I held it together for the most part and didn't lose my temper with anyone today. I stayed on top of all of the cooking and laundry and, well, just everything that had to get done today. We had 3 sets of blankets and bedsheets to wash in addition to 2 regular loads of laundry. We did not get it all done, which means more laundry for tomorrow, but I'm cool with it. We had one peepee accident in the bathroom, so the bathroom floor had to be sanitized, but I stayed cool. I know it was truly an accident. We had one poopy fall out of a 2 year old's diaper in the middle of the living room floor, so he had to be changed and cleaned up and the floor had to be sanitized, but I still held it together. The amount of pee and poo in this house as of late has been something to talk about. Really! We seem to talk about it all day long.
Our 8 year old was a tad bit irritable, but not too bad, just a little out of sorts. Our 11 year old seems to have lost his mind, meaning that his memory is gone and if his head were not screwed on, he would lose it. He had a hard time remembering what he was supposed to be doing and kept leaving things half done. He couldn't give me a straight answer about anything. He had a hard time remembering to be considerate of other people in the house and didn't answer loud enough for me to hear him whenever I asked him any questions, but I did not get upset because I remembered that this is the case when he is reacting to something. He was dropping food all over the place. It's crazy, but it is true that when he is reacting to something he can't move food from one place to another without dropping it, so we also notice that when he is reacting to something he puts his mouth down by his plate and shovels it in. We have tried and tried to teach him to use a fork correctly and sometimes he can do it, but then he gets exposed to something and all of the work we put into teaching him to do it right seems to just go out the window. He gets totally focused about one thing and talkes about it all day long whether you are interested in it or not and does not seem to notice whether it is an appropriate time to be talking or not. I could go on, but I won't. Our 5 year old did pretty good today. The baby did great! Our 2 year old did pretty good today with only a few issues, but nothing to holler home about.
I nearly burned the zucchini, but caught it just in time. I didn't cook enough veggies to make the sauce for the casserole, but I started early, so I had time to cook more veggies and we had a late dinner. The 3 chickens we cooked yesterday to last us for several days turned out to be tough and chewy, so we had to cut it up into tiny pieces. We used it for soup and casserole. I had to go to the grocery store to buy more chicken and I cooked it this afternoon. We will debone it and strain the broth before going to bed. I also still have to strain and bottle the fat I rendered this afternoon. All in all I guess I was in a pretty good mood after all. If I was able to accomplish as much as I did and deal with all of the stuff that came up throughout the day and not lose my temper with anyone in the house, then I guess I did pretty well after all. I felt like a grump, but hey, don't we all from time to time?
(In reality, I was/am reacting to something. I know this because I have learned that there are days when I simply cannot tune anything out and I get very overwhelmed by it all. Today was one of those days and I did feel agitated by all of the input, but by the grace of God, I am learning to recognize this and so I do not now blame others for my problem. When the children's chatter and talk used to overwhelm me, I used to blame them. Now I tell them that I am unable to take it all in and sort it out. I let them know that I am getting frustrated, but that it is not their fault. I tell them that I am trying to listen, but that I cannot understand all of their words or make sense of what they are trying to tell me. I ask them to try not to take my frustration personally. I ask everyone to stop talking and I purpose to focus on one child and encourage them to speak clearly and to try to give me all the information I need to understand what they are trying to tell me. I tell them that I am not good at trying to figure things out when I am feeling so overwhelmed, so they have to be very clear and upfront with me. You see, some days they can all talk to me at once and it is no big deal. I love those days! I feel like a supermom. Some days I just can't handle it at all.)
Enough of that! Thank you God for this amazing day! Thank you for helping me to get a proper perspective about my crazy day. Thank you for your goodness and your amazing grace!
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
squash and carrots
chicken soup
leftover lamb stew
blended butternut squash
(with broth and fat for the two year old)
butternut squash soup - blended with leftover broth from the hamburger soup (waste nothing)
We discovered that the butternut squash goes better with beef broth and fat, while the acorn squash and the sweet dumpling squash goes better with chicken broth and fat.
casseroles - made in those small rectangular loaf pans
We had two chicken and two beef casseroles.
cauliflower for the 5 year old and I - it seems that she had a tummy ache after eating the cauliflower, but no leg cramps noted so far. She had a detox bath, so we may never know. If I really want to test it, then I need to give it to her for lunch so she has time to develop the problem before we plop her in the bath. I will try that tomorrow.
I plan to have fried eggs and a little avocado later tonight.
October 4, 2009
Day 30- Stage 2 of Intro
Today went very well. It started off rather slow because the older two kids were weak and achy from die-off, but the younger two and the baby and I were all doing well. Interesting, as we all ate pretty much the same thing with the exception of me eating fried eggs last night. We had to let the older two eat their breakfast right away. They felt much better after breakfast and they have been acting and feeling fine ever since. Everyone had good BMs and seemed fine, so we moved on to stage 2, but this time we only added a quarter of a teaspoon of egg yolk to their soup. (None for me, thank you!)
Our 2 year old did pretty well today. No tantrums at the table and he was in a pretty good mood throughout the day. He was cooperative for dinner and bath and his bedtime routine went very smoothly. He went to bed with no problems. He has taken to grabbing my face with the palms of his hands and pulling my face to his and giving me the gentlest kiss right on the lips. It is so sweet! I just have to thank God for this precious child, everyday!
Our baby is learning to go to sleep on his own because he simply has to. There is too much to do to carry him around all day because he is tired and will not go to sleep or stay asleep. He does not care for the change too much, but he is fine. He cries himself to sleep, but wakes up happy because he is getting a full nap without interuption. He is a smart little baby boy and he will figure it out very soon and then he will not fuss anymore. Already, he knows not to fuss when I put him down to do certain other activities, so I am confident that he will soon begin to recognize the pattern of the routine and will feel sleepy and be content to drift off into dreamland whenever we start the routine. It worked for three of the other kids (not the 1st) so I am confident that it should work happily for him, too.
Our 5 year old bopped happily through the day. She is taking a bath and is getting ready for bed. Our 8 year old had a pretty happy day after the bumpy start. Our 11 year old has had a pretty great day after the bumpy start.
We had lamb stew for dinner tonight. Our 8 year old seemed less than enthusiastic about it, but then it turned out that she liked it better than anyone else. My husband and our 8 year old, 5 year old and 2 year old liked the lamb stew, but our 11 year old and I could hardly choke it down. Thankfully, we had some cooked green beans and some leftover hamburger soup. I think, since I am the one doing the cooking, that I will wait to buy any more lamb until we get to roasting.
Several of the kids went with me to Whole Foods to see their pumpkin patch and pick up a few things for the week. We had to buy some "pig" for our five year old who kept chanting, "Pig! Pig! Pig!" at the meat counter. I picked up some more beef fat to render. I still have 2 huge bags in the freezer, but I figured that if I could get some fresh that I could render it tomorrow without having to thaw any out in the fridge for days.
Three children are in bed now and the older two will be going to bed soon. My dear hubby and I are ever hopeful that we will get to bed at an earlier hour. We will see.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
filtered water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
chicken soup
sweet dumplin squash soup - YUM!
(with a quarter teaspoon of egg yolk mixed in - but not for me)
lamb stew
leftover hamburger soup
green beans
boiled rockfish (not the 2 year old)
I plan to have some fried eggs later!
Edit - I did, and I had a little bit of avocado, too!
Our 2 year old did pretty well today. No tantrums at the table and he was in a pretty good mood throughout the day. He was cooperative for dinner and bath and his bedtime routine went very smoothly. He went to bed with no problems. He has taken to grabbing my face with the palms of his hands and pulling my face to his and giving me the gentlest kiss right on the lips. It is so sweet! I just have to thank God for this precious child, everyday!
Our baby is learning to go to sleep on his own because he simply has to. There is too much to do to carry him around all day because he is tired and will not go to sleep or stay asleep. He does not care for the change too much, but he is fine. He cries himself to sleep, but wakes up happy because he is getting a full nap without interuption. He is a smart little baby boy and he will figure it out very soon and then he will not fuss anymore. Already, he knows not to fuss when I put him down to do certain other activities, so I am confident that he will soon begin to recognize the pattern of the routine and will feel sleepy and be content to drift off into dreamland whenever we start the routine. It worked for three of the other kids (not the 1st) so I am confident that it should work happily for him, too.
Our 5 year old bopped happily through the day. She is taking a bath and is getting ready for bed. Our 8 year old had a pretty happy day after the bumpy start. Our 11 year old has had a pretty great day after the bumpy start.
We had lamb stew for dinner tonight. Our 8 year old seemed less than enthusiastic about it, but then it turned out that she liked it better than anyone else. My husband and our 8 year old, 5 year old and 2 year old liked the lamb stew, but our 11 year old and I could hardly choke it down. Thankfully, we had some cooked green beans and some leftover hamburger soup. I think, since I am the one doing the cooking, that I will wait to buy any more lamb until we get to roasting.
Several of the kids went with me to Whole Foods to see their pumpkin patch and pick up a few things for the week. We had to buy some "pig" for our five year old who kept chanting, "Pig! Pig! Pig!" at the meat counter. I picked up some more beef fat to render. I still have 2 huge bags in the freezer, but I figured that if I could get some fresh that I could render it tomorrow without having to thaw any out in the fridge for days.
Three children are in bed now and the older two will be going to bed soon. My dear hubby and I are ever hopeful that we will get to bed at an earlier hour. We will see.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
filtered water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
chicken soup
sweet dumplin squash soup - YUM!
(with a quarter teaspoon of egg yolk mixed in - but not for me)
lamb stew
leftover hamburger soup
green beans
boiled rockfish (not the 2 year old)
I plan to have some fried eggs later!
Edit - I did, and I had a little bit of avocado, too!
Day 29 - Stage 1 of Intro - For a Day
Today we went back to stage 1, just for a day (or 2) because when we did it the first time, we did not add ANY probiotic. On the gaps.me website Dr. NCM repeats over and over again how important it is to have the probiotic from the very beginning. Also, we are going to try to add egg yolk again and the only things we had added so far were casseroles and egg whites, so it wasn't stepping too far back.
The kids did not notice that the only thing we had all day were stage one foods. They didn't notice until about 10PM when the older 2 started to have signs of die-off, though not as bad as the first time around. Whew! This is what I expected. Today, we will add the egg yolk, but only 1/4 tsp for each and I will stay on stage 1 + egg whites and maybe even go ahead and add avocado so that I can be well enough to care for the kids. I have decided that I have to pace myself and the kids differently.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
Chicken broth
chicken
green beans
chicken soup (broth, chicken, carrots, zucchini, green beans, sea salt)
sweet dumplin squash soup (squash, chicken broth, chicken pate, sea salt)
hamburger soup (ground beef and carrots w/ sea salt)
I had fried eggs at the end of the day.
The kids did not notice that the only thing we had all day were stage one foods. They didn't notice until about 10PM when the older 2 started to have signs of die-off, though not as bad as the first time around. Whew! This is what I expected. Today, we will add the egg yolk, but only 1/4 tsp for each and I will stay on stage 1 + egg whites and maybe even go ahead and add avocado so that I can be well enough to care for the kids. I have decided that I have to pace myself and the kids differently.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
Chicken broth
chicken
green beans
chicken soup (broth, chicken, carrots, zucchini, green beans, sea salt)
sweet dumplin squash soup (squash, chicken broth, chicken pate, sea salt)
hamburger soup (ground beef and carrots w/ sea salt)
I had fried eggs at the end of the day.
October 3, 2009
Day 28 - Stage 2 of Intro
Four weeks we have been on the introduction to the GAPS diet. It is becoming our new way of life. It is a lot of work to feed a family of 7 this way, but it is definitely worth it to see our 2 year old doing so well and to know that all of the children will be well and will not have to fear food all of their lives.
We will move into stage 3 next week. We will be adding avocado to our soups and we will increase the probiotics gradually.
Our 2 year old has been a happy and independent little guy for these past four days, but today after visiting a neighbor for about 15 minutes he came home a different child. He was clingy and fussy, wanting to be held, and he lay around and just looked like a sick child. He threw tantrums at dinner and getting him bathed and ready for bed was more difficult tonight than it had been earlier this week. This happened when he went to my parent's house, the art store, and the healthfood store. He seems to do fine to go to the grocery store and to co-op.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
Italian green beans
squash and carrots
hamburger soup
leftover casserole soup
chicken soup
boiled egg whites
I had my fried egg whites and more chicken as a late night snack.
We will move into stage 3 next week. We will be adding avocado to our soups and we will increase the probiotics gradually.
Our 2 year old has been a happy and independent little guy for these past four days, but today after visiting a neighbor for about 15 minutes he came home a different child. He was clingy and fussy, wanting to be held, and he lay around and just looked like a sick child. He threw tantrums at dinner and getting him bathed and ready for bed was more difficult tonight than it had been earlier this week. This happened when he went to my parent's house, the art store, and the healthfood store. He seems to do fine to go to the grocery store and to co-op.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
Italian green beans
squash and carrots
hamburger soup
leftover casserole soup
chicken soup
boiled egg whites
I had my fried egg whites and more chicken as a late night snack.
October 1, 2009
Day 27 - Stage 2 of Intro
It was a good day. Third day in a row where our 2 year old has been his happy, easygoing, lovable old self. The eye contact seemed a little lacking right before bed, but...we will see how he does tomorrow.
No ghee today. We will have more tomorrow. So far so good.
We had some broccoli tonight. We are waiting to see if there will be any reaction. If not, then we will have it once or twice a week. That will be nice.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
squash and carrots
chicken soup
boiled casserole - because I didn't cook the veggies enough before I put the casserole together yesterday. It was good. It was a kind of thick soup. Everyone liked it. Whew!
broccoli
beef ribs
sugarsnap peas
No ghee today. We will have more tomorrow. So far so good.
We had some broccoli tonight. We are waiting to see if there will be any reaction. If not, then we will have it once or twice a week. That will be nice.
WHAT WE ATE TODAY:
Fiji water with lemon
kraut juice
chicken broth
chicken
peas
squash and carrots
chicken soup
boiled casserole - because I didn't cook the veggies enough before I put the casserole together yesterday. It was good. It was a kind of thick soup. Everyone liked it. Whew!
broccoli
beef ribs
sugarsnap peas
New Foods Every Day! Who Could Believe it!
I have not been particularly concerned about our 2 year old's rather limited diet because I figure that as we go through the intro diet that things will change and he will eventually like more food. I plan on sticking mostly to God's foods to heal my son from his injury.
Anyway, he pretty much likes to eat only meat and pureed squash. If he can get away with it he will eat only the meat.
Here is what I do to get him to eat the broth and the fats and other veggies: I puree the squash with some broth and have recently added chicken pate (pureed skins and soft tissues). Sometimes I mix in some other veggies. Sometimes I will have a yellow blend (mostly acorn squash), sometimes an orange blend (mostly butternut squash or acorn with carrot), sometimes I will have a greenish blend (green beans or zucchini mixed in).
I do bite for bite with him. He gets a bite of meat when he eats a bite of veggies. I stay calm and sweet and happy and I keep offering the veggie (trying not to let him knock it out of my hand) and asking him if he wants a bite of meat. Staying calm and happy through 5-10 minutes of screaming on his part is the key. At some point he takes the first bite and gets a piece of meat and then it just keeps going.
Now (except on bad days when he really does not feel well) he likes to eat the whole bowl of veggies himself with a spoon and then get a whole plate of meat to eat all together. Sometimes, because he wants a whole plate of meat and he is not being cooperative we have to do bite for bite where I feed him and give him the meat and he collects it all on his plate until it is full, then he eats it. He is really funny about this.
The other day he ate his first green bean (not pureed). I could not believe it! The next day for dinner he ate 25 cooked green beans with his fingers like French fries. I was astounded. I have NEVER been able to get him to eat a green bean and then the following day he took them off the counter himself and now he asks for them. Amazing!
Yesterday, he tried sugarsnap peas for breakfast, didn't like them, but he wanted to try. This is new. My 5 year old who used to throw screaming fits whenever I asked her to eat veggies said, "Mmm. I just love sugar snap peas. Sugarsnap peas is the only veggie I want for breakfast today." It took about two to three weeks of tantrums and my gentle insistence before the change took place.
Today, our two year old ate small bits of veggies (mashed with a fork) in broth. This is new, too!
Just had to share. There is hope!
Anyway, he pretty much likes to eat only meat and pureed squash. If he can get away with it he will eat only the meat.
Here is what I do to get him to eat the broth and the fats and other veggies: I puree the squash with some broth and have recently added chicken pate (pureed skins and soft tissues). Sometimes I mix in some other veggies. Sometimes I will have a yellow blend (mostly acorn squash), sometimes an orange blend (mostly butternut squash or acorn with carrot), sometimes I will have a greenish blend (green beans or zucchini mixed in).
I do bite for bite with him. He gets a bite of meat when he eats a bite of veggies. I stay calm and sweet and happy and I keep offering the veggie (trying not to let him knock it out of my hand) and asking him if he wants a bite of meat. Staying calm and happy through 5-10 minutes of screaming on his part is the key. At some point he takes the first bite and gets a piece of meat and then it just keeps going.
Now (except on bad days when he really does not feel well) he likes to eat the whole bowl of veggies himself with a spoon and then get a whole plate of meat to eat all together. Sometimes, because he wants a whole plate of meat and he is not being cooperative we have to do bite for bite where I feed him and give him the meat and he collects it all on his plate until it is full, then he eats it. He is really funny about this.
The other day he ate his first green bean (not pureed). I could not believe it! The next day for dinner he ate 25 cooked green beans with his fingers like French fries. I was astounded. I have NEVER been able to get him to eat a green bean and then the following day he took them off the counter himself and now he asks for them. Amazing!
Yesterday, he tried sugarsnap peas for breakfast, didn't like them, but he wanted to try. This is new. My 5 year old who used to throw screaming fits whenever I asked her to eat veggies said, "Mmm. I just love sugar snap peas. Sugarsnap peas is the only veggie I want for breakfast today." It took about two to three weeks of tantrums and my gentle insistence before the change took place.
Today, our two year old ate small bits of veggies (mashed with a fork) in broth. This is new, too!
Just had to share. There is hope!
Pondering Pioneer Days - Thinking About How We Have Been Blessed By All of This
I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to live in pioneer days when you couldn't just run to the store down the road and you had to make your own butter if you wanted any. How did they survive without antibacterial SOAP that comes in a bottle??? (I don't use this anymore.) How did they find the time to get it all done?
I’m sure pioneer moms had days where there was scarcely enough food to feed everyone. They ate what they had when they had it. They started out knowing a few things about how it was done, because they grew up watching it being done. Home school was basic reading, writing and arithmetic and life skills. The kids went where their parents went and learned to do the things that their parents knew how to do.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves these days to prepare a variety of foods for our families because in our fast-paced, have-it-now society we can have nearly anything we want whenever we want it. The reality is that homemade takes time. The up-side to this is that we appreciate the goodness of everything we have so much more!
When we went from a gluten-free but still very SAD diet (Standard American Diet) to the Feingold diet I noticed how my kids appreciated their food and the process so much more. Before, I would ask them if they wanted to make some homemade lemonade and they would whine, “Nooo, I want the Bluuuuue juice (that we don’t currently have in the house so you would need to go to the store to satisfy my intense desire for this particular drink)!” When I did give them a juice box or pour them some juice from a bottle, they would often drink only a part of it and whine for something different. After we started the Feingold diet, I would say, “I am thinking about making some homemade lemonade.” The kids would tell everybody, “We are going to make lemonade today!!!” They would want to help and we had to be careful to save some so that we could have some for the next day or two. It was treasured. It was a real treat!
We won’t be making any lemonade anymore. I wonder what will be a real treat for them as we get to full GAPS??? Right now they get excited about every new thing we add to the menu. They just about fainted over the casseroles. Today they get ghee for the first time. They are soooo excited!
Also, they are all in the kitchen helping me to prepare the food or they are entertaining the baby, now almost 6 months old. It is great fun having everybody helping out and working together. I am really treasuring these times. Hope it lasts! They are building relationships with me and with each other that will last a lifetime. They are learning how to interact with and appreciate people of all different age groups.
About homeschooling, I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to provide a very thorough and well rounded education for our kids because the possibilities are endless and we want them to be prepared to go off in whatever direction they may take a liking to. I still want to do this as much as I am able, but the reality is that if we can help our children to have minds that work and teach them the basics and teach them how to learn, then they will naturally investigate and learn well the things that they will need to know in their areas of interest. I ‘think’ this is true. President Lincoln had only a year of formal schooling and that was broken up. He learned what he needed to know when he needed to know it. This is what we are doing, too, with the GAPS diet. There is more to know about the world than we could ever hope to know in this life, but we stop and take the time to learn what we need to know when we need to know it.
That is one thing that is kind of cool about children with Asperger's Syndrome is that they really get to know lots of detail about the subjects they are interested in. Our oldestl spends hours reading science books and loves to share this or that little unknown fact. Right now his biggest interest is everything Lego and everything science fiction (like his daddy). He has an incredible imagination and if he can ever learn to organize his thoughts, he will be a great writer. There are fantastic and very detailed worlds in his head, but right now he cannot share those ideas and images in an orderly and understandable way. I have to drag it all out of him bit by bit and organize it for him, but it really is amazing.
Anyway, I was just pondering these things. Can’t say if I am right about any of it. I think if I can find the time, it would really be neat to find out what pioneer life was really like. Hmm.
I’m sure pioneer moms had days where there was scarcely enough food to feed everyone. They ate what they had when they had it. They started out knowing a few things about how it was done, because they grew up watching it being done. Home school was basic reading, writing and arithmetic and life skills. The kids went where their parents went and learned to do the things that their parents knew how to do.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves these days to prepare a variety of foods for our families because in our fast-paced, have-it-now society we can have nearly anything we want whenever we want it. The reality is that homemade takes time. The up-side to this is that we appreciate the goodness of everything we have so much more!
When we went from a gluten-free but still very SAD diet (Standard American Diet) to the Feingold diet I noticed how my kids appreciated their food and the process so much more. Before, I would ask them if they wanted to make some homemade lemonade and they would whine, “Nooo, I want the Bluuuuue juice (that we don’t currently have in the house so you would need to go to the store to satisfy my intense desire for this particular drink)!” When I did give them a juice box or pour them some juice from a bottle, they would often drink only a part of it and whine for something different. After we started the Feingold diet, I would say, “I am thinking about making some homemade lemonade.” The kids would tell everybody, “We are going to make lemonade today!!!” They would want to help and we had to be careful to save some so that we could have some for the next day or two. It was treasured. It was a real treat!
We won’t be making any lemonade anymore. I wonder what will be a real treat for them as we get to full GAPS??? Right now they get excited about every new thing we add to the menu. They just about fainted over the casseroles. Today they get ghee for the first time. They are soooo excited!
Also, they are all in the kitchen helping me to prepare the food or they are entertaining the baby, now almost 6 months old. It is great fun having everybody helping out and working together. I am really treasuring these times. Hope it lasts! They are building relationships with me and with each other that will last a lifetime. They are learning how to interact with and appreciate people of all different age groups.
About homeschooling, I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to provide a very thorough and well rounded education for our kids because the possibilities are endless and we want them to be prepared to go off in whatever direction they may take a liking to. I still want to do this as much as I am able, but the reality is that if we can help our children to have minds that work and teach them the basics and teach them how to learn, then they will naturally investigate and learn well the things that they will need to know in their areas of interest. I ‘think’ this is true. President Lincoln had only a year of formal schooling and that was broken up. He learned what he needed to know when he needed to know it. This is what we are doing, too, with the GAPS diet. There is more to know about the world than we could ever hope to know in this life, but we stop and take the time to learn what we need to know when we need to know it.
That is one thing that is kind of cool about children with Asperger's Syndrome is that they really get to know lots of detail about the subjects they are interested in. Our oldestl spends hours reading science books and loves to share this or that little unknown fact. Right now his biggest interest is everything Lego and everything science fiction (like his daddy). He has an incredible imagination and if he can ever learn to organize his thoughts, he will be a great writer. There are fantastic and very detailed worlds in his head, but right now he cannot share those ideas and images in an orderly and understandable way. I have to drag it all out of him bit by bit and organize it for him, but it really is amazing.
Anyway, I was just pondering these things. Can’t say if I am right about any of it. I think if I can find the time, it would really be neat to find out what pioneer life was really like. Hmm.
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