So Proud!

Today I witnessed something extraordinary!  Well, to some parents it may have been no big deal, but to Kenny and I it was nothing short of seeing a new child emerging! 

Today, while sitting in church, they brought all the kids that attended Vacation Bible School up onto the stage to do a short program.  Aohdan has always been PERTRIFED of stuff like this!  When he was 3 years old we tried to make him go up on stage with the other kids to sing Christmas carols....it was a disaster.  Kenny felt he should be shown 'tough love' and made him stay up there, thinking it was just something he had to work through, and the whole time I'm watching in tears myself.  I remember that day as a low point for him, and for us.  For the next 2 years he would cry and cover his ears any time he experienced anything new.  One time we all went to our county fair to watch the school bus races.  Aohdan cried and whined about the noise the ENTIRE TIME!  It was horrible for me, people were staring at us....uugghh. 

Back to today...  Our youth pastor's wife was heading to the stage for a Vacation Bible School program (unbeknownst to us) and as she walked by she sort of stooped over, grabbed Aohdan by the arm (gently) and said to him, "come on Aohdan." And he went with her.  Just like that.  I just stared as they walked away.  As I watched him on stage, I think I braced myself for a meltdown...it didn't happen.  Instead he looked over at my husband and I as he sang and danced with the other kids on stage.  All the while smiling at us.  I was SO PROUD of him!  When they finished he came back his seat next to ours and I just hugged him and told him I loved him.  He looked so happy! 

I promise to post updates soon

I am sorry I have not updated lately:~( I have not been feeling very well...to say the least. I am approx 7 weeks along right now, and just started feeling sick about 4 days ago. There is lots to update, and I promise to soon! Just bear with me while I deal with this morning sickness.

God Bless,

Vicki

Kids say and do the cutest things

After Kenny and I confirmed we were expecting, we told Aohdan that "Mommy had a baby in her belly."  Well Aohdan thought I said "Bug" and proceeds to go into the kitchen and get a spoon out of the silverware drawer.  He comes walking towards me and I asked him what he was going to use the spoon for and he says very matter-of-factly, "Mommy, I'm going to get the bug out of your belly."  Lololol.

When I clarified that I said "Baby" and not "Bug," well then he wanted to know how it got in there and when it was coming out.  Oh boy... 

Aohdan Interview 1-GFCF for over a month

This interview was taken using the handy FlipVideo HD Camcorder that Generation rescue so gratiously provided for us to use while involved in the Family Grant Program (thanks Gen Rescue!!!). Anyhoo, I thought it would be really cool to do a series of 'Aohdan Interviews' to really watch his progress as he makes the journey through biomedical and the Gluten-free, Casein-free diet.

In this video you will notice he answers questions fairly well. But notice how some of the questions he doesn't seem to understand what I'm asking and gives an answer totally unrelated? Before we started the GFCF diet, he would just get mad and yell at me if I asked him about his day at school. So this is a big improvement over just a month ago! Very excited!!!http://gfcf.com/

GFCF Pizza Pockets

When we decided to go GFCF, the one thing my son reallllllly cried for was pizza rolls.  Ever looked at the label on a package of commercial pizza rolls.  Ummm, yeah....talk about a preservative fest.  When I really read the ingredients I was shocked, and a bit ill.

So I made it my mission to make my son GFCF pizza rolls, or at least something close.  Here is my list of ingredients:

Namaste Pizza Crust Mix

Pizza Sauce

Daiya Mozzarella Cheese Shreds

Quite possible the best pepperoni EVER!

*Side note*  If you just want to make pizzas, one package of each of these ingredients make exactly (4) 9" Pizzas.  I bought these little cake pans and they work perfectly and are the PERFECT size. 

But back to the pizza pockets...

First I mixed up the batter...  Can I just say I LOVE my Kitchen Aid?  Seriously one of the best investments I've ever made!

And lightly cooked the pepperoni...

 

Then I cut up the pepperoni in tiny little chunks...

 

and mixed together the pizza sauce, Daiya mozzarella shreds, and cut up pepperoni chunks in a mixing bowl...

Next I spooned 2 TBSP of the Namaste Pizza Crust mix into each cup cake hole, Spooned 1 Heaping TBSP of the sauce/pepperoni/cheese mix on top, and spooned 2 more TBSP of the pizza crust mix on top.  I then had to take a spoon and spread it carefully so all of the sauce mixture was covered.  This is what they looked like before going into the oven.  I baked at 400 for approx 15-20 min.  It may take a little longer, so if you make these at home you'll have to keep checking them....

And here is the finished product!  See how the sauce mixture is sort of oozing out the side.  They were Delish! YUM!!  Best of all?  Aohdan loved them, and that made it worth it!

I will try to post all of my cooking adventures!

God Bless,

Vicki

Behavioral changes

Before I get into the meat of this post, it is imperative to understand how much Aohdan adores his iPad.  If we ask him to put it down, or shut it off, it is MELTDOWN city! 

This is our life.

One of our nurses also has an iPad, and Aohdan will often help himself to her's because, you know, it's 'different' than ours.  Lol.  Nightime is the worst though, or when Jennifer goes home and has to take her iPad away.  Aohdan usually yells and cries and just generally throws a fit.  Well tonight, Aohdan was watching a movie on Jennifer's iPad and she was giving me report on Ava and heading home.  She simply said, "Aohdan, I'm going home can I have my iPad?"  He simply said, "Ok.  Here."  And handed it to her.  Not a single complaint.  Jennifer and I just looked at each other like, "Did that really just happen?"  It was definitely a change from the norm, but GOOD!  So suffice it to say we have defintely noticed some positive changes since starting this diet.

I still remember that psychologist from Children's hospital telling me, and I ""..."The GFCF diet is folk medicine.  It is not scientific, and parents who think they see  benefit are only experiencing a placebo effect."  Well you know what Dr. ----, you can take your negative attitude and shove it, because I am well aware of what 'scientific' means.  Here's what 'Scientific' means...

"a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."


So yeah I am prettttty sure that behavioral changes from the GFCF diet are able to be 'observed, measured,' and all the rest of it.  And the placebo effect?  Come on...  Moving on now...

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter, but what bothers me most is hat this man, and others like him,  is that he is in a position of influence!  I'm a strong thinker and rarely ever take advice without researching it.  But a lot of parents blindly follow what Dr's say!  I still like the vaccine argument...So Dr. ---, explain to me again why I had 9 vaccines growing up, and my children get 35+?  Then I sit back and laugh to myself as they use fancy medical jargon to explain why our kids get all this crap into their system. 


Going off topic, vaccines are a topic for a different post, and not tonight. 

Well, goodnight all!

May God Bless you and keep you!

Blog under construction!

Please bear with me while I figure out a good, working template for Ava's blog.  YOu may see a different design each time you visit, just be patient!

Thanks,

Vicki