Imagine my surprise tonight when I cut the top off a red pepper and found two little happy faces staring at me! I think it must be a good omen, no? Two happy faces for two little girls? I was impressed, but DH is not moved (standard scientist reaction, I'm afraid!).
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Shiny Happy Pepper
Imagine my surprise tonight when I cut the top off a red pepper and found two little happy faces staring at me! I think it must be a good omen, no? Two happy faces for two little girls? I was impressed, but DH is not moved (standard scientist reaction, I'm afraid!).
Biscuit Blend
Here is another rice-free flour blend. I have been using it sparingly - the starch content is higher than I like, but it makes really fluffy biscuits! It also makes the most amazing Navajo Tacos (recipe to follow soon). Biscuits and Indian Fry Bread are treats worthy of their own flour blend, I think, and this one works really well for both of them.
1/3 cup buckwheat flour (or teff flour)
1/3 cup sorghum flour (or amaranth flour)
1 cup tapioca starch
Sift together the buckwheat, sorghum and tapioca flours together until well-blended. Store in the refrigerator an air-tight container.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Remembering
The school the girls attend has this really awesome training program for parents. It's not a training program, really. It's more of an intense information download within a supportive group of like-minded parents traveling on more or less the same road - to understand their children and do their best to smooth their life roads as much as possible. The most recent one I decided to attend was about Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I went thinking I might not learn much, since SID and Anna are old friends...we've been there and done that, almost everything. But it's been awhile since Anna's been in occupational therapy and a lot of my memory has become foggy. I thought there might be something I could glean from this session. So I went.
It was shocking and dismaying how much I've forgotten. I tend to be task and goal oriented - knock down one problem, move on to the next. I'm afraid that I've spent the past year in a glorious place of stasis - just enjoying my daughter, her laughter, her independence, her love of learning and life in general. Pretending that SID was largely behind us, knowing in the back of my mind it isn't. Which is probably why I attended this class.
A few things have stuck out in my mind about Anna recently - her cowering with her hands over her ears at the dentist's office. The sucking on her fingers. The long jumping jags on the trampoline. The wearing of her weighted blanket every night. The way she enjoys carrying heavy loads - a stack of books, the cat, the groceries. Sitting in the class and listening, I remembered everything else. Such as the shooters muffs Anna had to wear to dampen noise. How she'd shriek bloody murder in the middle of a city bus because it was too noisy. The sensitivity to light touch. How much the Willbarger Brush helped her sensory defensiveness. The rocking chair I brought to her initial occupational therapy appointments because it was the only thing that calmed her - not my touch or love, only the rocking. And the fear. Hers and mine. I guess that's why I filed all that away as soon as possible.
But the sensory integration dysfunction, while much better, is still there, even after those years of therapy. Even with my understanding of her need to jump and stomp and cringe. It probably will never go away. She will always need a sensory diet. She's old enough now to regulate herself more and seek out activities that help, such as carrying heavy loads. She probably doesn't know why she does these things - like carry a stack of books plus her book bag every morning to school. She doesn't need to carry books back and forth to school, but she does. She's a panic every morning getting out the door, gathering her stuff, books falling out of her arms. She never complains. She picks them up and lugs them along. It was not until I was in the class that I realized she's doing that as sensory input. At the start of the school day she is seeking input to regulate her morning transition. She is also fond of carrying around a heavy rock she found in the yard. The rock drives me crazy but she loves it - "it's iron on the bottom, and quartz crystal on the top! Did you know that quartz crystal has a hardness of 7?". The rock bothers me. It's not just that she named it (Sparkle Twilight, in fact - is 8 years old too old to have a pet rock?), but that she lugs it around the house. She sensed my dismay and even gave it a bath. I worry about her dropping it and damaging the floors or breaking a toe but she never has. I felt like such a heel when I realized that it's another way she seeks sensory input.
So now I'm aware that a sensory diet is still important to Anna and probably always will be...just like her expressive language delay will always be with her. Yes, that has also been brought to my attention recently. I was talking with a parent of a child with expressive language delay and it suddenly hit me that I've forgotten all about Anna having expressive language delay too. How could I have forgotten? So much has gotten masked with age and language acquisition! Anna spouts off facts about all sorts of things...she can talk your ear off with all the facts she knows - all that stuff she has room in her head and interest for...such as black holes. What black bears eat for breakfast. What will hypothetically happen to the universe when it runs out of gas. The hardness scale of rocks. The mature language she uses actually hides the fact that she has a hard time expressing herself. So nobody sees how hard it is for her to use language. Even her own mother.
But it just takes one jolt of a reminder. I remember now. She has expressive-receptive language disorder. It has gotten better, but it will always be there. The receptive is better than the expressive. The shrieking she did at 3 years old has morphed into stomping and slamming doors, because taking physical action is easier than using language to express her frustration. Because overreacting is easier than negotiating the subtlety of interpersonal relationships. In the heat of the moment, Anna pulls down the words that are easiest to remember in moments of frustration - I hate this game. This is boring. You're being mean. I'm not playing anymore. (Cue running out of the room with sobs and stomps.) It does not help that Megan sees these verbalizations as challenges. She'll go after Anna with vigor, with a more sophisticated grasp of social language and emotion and logic. She's like a barracuda, and Anna is left shrieking in self-defense. If this is what happens in a supportive environment at home, I shudder to think what would happen elsewhere.
I guess what needs to happen now is to go from attending each individual's needs quietly to addressing these needs as a family unit - where individual needs are known and respected and talked about openly. Because information is power. The more we know, the more we can help. I think the girls are old enough to handle this. So Anna has ASD. So Megan has ADHD. So what? We love each other, and that's what counts.
It was shocking and dismaying how much I've forgotten. I tend to be task and goal oriented - knock down one problem, move on to the next. I'm afraid that I've spent the past year in a glorious place of stasis - just enjoying my daughter, her laughter, her independence, her love of learning and life in general. Pretending that SID was largely behind us, knowing in the back of my mind it isn't. Which is probably why I attended this class.
A few things have stuck out in my mind about Anna recently - her cowering with her hands over her ears at the dentist's office. The sucking on her fingers. The long jumping jags on the trampoline. The wearing of her weighted blanket every night. The way she enjoys carrying heavy loads - a stack of books, the cat, the groceries. Sitting in the class and listening, I remembered everything else. Such as the shooters muffs Anna had to wear to dampen noise. How she'd shriek bloody murder in the middle of a city bus because it was too noisy. The sensitivity to light touch. How much the Willbarger Brush helped her sensory defensiveness. The rocking chair I brought to her initial occupational therapy appointments because it was the only thing that calmed her - not my touch or love, only the rocking. And the fear. Hers and mine. I guess that's why I filed all that away as soon as possible.
But the sensory integration dysfunction, while much better, is still there, even after those years of therapy. Even with my understanding of her need to jump and stomp and cringe. It probably will never go away. She will always need a sensory diet. She's old enough now to regulate herself more and seek out activities that help, such as carrying heavy loads. She probably doesn't know why she does these things - like carry a stack of books plus her book bag every morning to school. She doesn't need to carry books back and forth to school, but she does. She's a panic every morning getting out the door, gathering her stuff, books falling out of her arms. She never complains. She picks them up and lugs them along. It was not until I was in the class that I realized she's doing that as sensory input. At the start of the school day she is seeking input to regulate her morning transition. She is also fond of carrying around a heavy rock she found in the yard. The rock drives me crazy but she loves it - "it's iron on the bottom, and quartz crystal on the top! Did you know that quartz crystal has a hardness of 7?". The rock bothers me. It's not just that she named it (Sparkle Twilight, in fact - is 8 years old too old to have a pet rock?), but that she lugs it around the house. She sensed my dismay and even gave it a bath. I worry about her dropping it and damaging the floors or breaking a toe but she never has. I felt like such a heel when I realized that it's another way she seeks sensory input.
So now I'm aware that a sensory diet is still important to Anna and probably always will be...just like her expressive language delay will always be with her. Yes, that has also been brought to my attention recently. I was talking with a parent of a child with expressive language delay and it suddenly hit me that I've forgotten all about Anna having expressive language delay too. How could I have forgotten? So much has gotten masked with age and language acquisition! Anna spouts off facts about all sorts of things...she can talk your ear off with all the facts she knows - all that stuff she has room in her head and interest for...such as black holes. What black bears eat for breakfast. What will hypothetically happen to the universe when it runs out of gas. The hardness scale of rocks. The mature language she uses actually hides the fact that she has a hard time expressing herself. So nobody sees how hard it is for her to use language. Even her own mother.
But it just takes one jolt of a reminder. I remember now. She has expressive-receptive language disorder. It has gotten better, but it will always be there. The receptive is better than the expressive. The shrieking she did at 3 years old has morphed into stomping and slamming doors, because taking physical action is easier than using language to express her frustration. Because overreacting is easier than negotiating the subtlety of interpersonal relationships. In the heat of the moment, Anna pulls down the words that are easiest to remember in moments of frustration - I hate this game. This is boring. You're being mean. I'm not playing anymore. (Cue running out of the room with sobs and stomps.) It does not help that Megan sees these verbalizations as challenges. She'll go after Anna with vigor, with a more sophisticated grasp of social language and emotion and logic. She's like a barracuda, and Anna is left shrieking in self-defense. If this is what happens in a supportive environment at home, I shudder to think what would happen elsewhere.
I guess what needs to happen now is to go from attending each individual's needs quietly to addressing these needs as a family unit - where individual needs are known and respected and talked about openly. Because information is power. The more we know, the more we can help. I think the girls are old enough to handle this. So Anna has ASD. So Megan has ADHD. So what? We love each other, and that's what counts.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Rice-Free Multi-Grain Flour Blend
I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I promise! I've just been busy. It's a lame excuse but it's true. First I was sick, then I was sick again, then Anna was sick, now DH is sick. Only Megan has been spared. However Megan, after a year and a half of no eczema, has had to deal with hands all chewed up again. The last time this happened, we found out she was allergic to egg. Before that, it was dairy. Whenever the eczema appears it is the harbinger of bad food news. A blood panel confirmed that we'd overdone it with rice, coconut and peanut butter (Anna does not eat peanuts, but Megan was crazy for peanut butter). Lucky for us, it seems that it is just over-exposure (like what happened with Anna). I think after 6 months or so of avoidance, we can add those foods back to her diet in moderation. So I've been baking even more than usual. It's a good thing I like to bake!
Interestingly, the allergist insisted on testing Megan for antibodies to wheat. I thought it was a waste of time since we've been wheat and gluten free for four years. But her antibodies to wheat were really high! I don't allow gluten into the house, and she's very good about not eating other people's foods. For her antibodies to wheat to be so high, she's had to have chronic exposure to it. Talks with her teachers didn't reveal anything other than daily hand sanitizer use before snack time. I learned that some hand sanitizers have wheat ingredients in them. Whether or not the hand sanitizer is the culprit, it does not wash gluten off the hands. Now Megan is only using soap and water and never hand sanitizer. Her hands are looking better...not 100%, but not chewed up, either. Hopefully in another month they'll be back to normal.
At this point, I've got the whole house on a hand sanitizer, rice, coconut and peanut butter free kick because it's probably a good idea for everyone to rotate. To that end I've modified one of my existing multi grain flour blends to be rice-free. So far it makes fabulous muffins, scones, cookies and pancakes. Take that, eczema!
Interestingly, the allergist insisted on testing Megan for antibodies to wheat. I thought it was a waste of time since we've been wheat and gluten free for four years. But her antibodies to wheat were really high! I don't allow gluten into the house, and she's very good about not eating other people's foods. For her antibodies to wheat to be so high, she's had to have chronic exposure to it. Talks with her teachers didn't reveal anything other than daily hand sanitizer use before snack time. I learned that some hand sanitizers have wheat ingredients in them. Whether or not the hand sanitizer is the culprit, it does not wash gluten off the hands. Now Megan is only using soap and water and never hand sanitizer. Her hands are looking better...not 100%, but not chewed up, either. Hopefully in another month they'll be back to normal.
At this point, I've got the whole house on a hand sanitizer, rice, coconut and peanut butter free kick because it's probably a good idea for everyone to rotate. To that end I've modified one of my existing multi grain flour blends to be rice-free. So far it makes fabulous muffins, scones, cookies and pancakes. Take that, eczema!
Rice Free Multi Grain Flour Blend
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
Sift together all ingredients until well-blended. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Buckeyes
I am sick. Again. For Super Bowl weekend, no less! I'm so miffed. I thought 37 was going to be so awesome and then I got slammed with first a bladder infection (an evil from which I have been previously spared and hope to never endure again) and now an unnamed upper respiratory infection, which I sincerely hope won't turn out to be bronchitis. I totally need to drown my sorrows in chocolate. Some nut butter in the middle wouldn't hurt either. If the girls would make these buckeyes for me, I'd be golden. I think they might do it. I just might have to ask.
2 cups creamy nut butter (such as almond)
4 tbsp. dairy-free, soy-free margarine (such as Earth Balance)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
a little almond milk, if needed
1 package dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)
1 tbsp. palm shortening
In a large bowl, beat the nut butter together with the margarine, salt and vanilla with an electric beater. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, beating until fully incorporated. If the mixture is too dry and crumbly, add a little almond milk. If the mixture is too wet, add more powdered sugar. The end result should be stiff - something you can roll in your hands without it sticking everywhere. I used Maranatha Creamy Almond Butter, which is way less creamy and wet than traditional creamy peanut butter, so I did not need to refrigerate this before rolling it.
Taking a heaping teaspoon of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Set aside (if the dough is a little too soft and sticky, refrigerate until firm). In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate and shortening over low heat. Heat only until the chocolate is soft, then remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate and shortening has melted completely and has been thoroughly combined.
Stick a toothpick into a ball and dip it into the melted chocolate about 3/4 of the way up. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the saucepan and place the ball back onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls. The toothpick will leave little holes in the tops of the buckeyes. You can gently smooth the hole over with your finger if you like, so the surface is smooth. Refrigerate buckeyes until the chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks - I like to keep them refrigerated.
Taking a heaping teaspoon of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Set aside (if the dough is a little too soft and sticky, refrigerate until firm). In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate and shortening over low heat. Heat only until the chocolate is soft, then remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate and shortening has melted completely and has been thoroughly combined.
Stick a toothpick into a ball and dip it into the melted chocolate about 3/4 of the way up. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the saucepan and place the ball back onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls. The toothpick will leave little holes in the tops of the buckeyes. You can gently smooth the hole over with your finger if you like, so the surface is smooth. Refrigerate buckeyes until the chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks - I like to keep them refrigerated.
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