craftyerin
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Posts posted by craftyerin
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I have a 4 year old son who is GF for gut and behavior issues. He never had a normal looking poo in his life until we changed his diet, and he is much less hyper and struggles less with impulse control when he is off of gluten (and casein).
My mom is gluten free because of auto-immune diseases (hasimoto's thyroiditis and meniere's disease). She has seen tremendous improvement in her symptoms.
And yes, I think it's trendy. I'm sure there are some people eating gluten free that don't need to be. But it has really helped those two people in my life!
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I got my first machine about 5 years ago, and got the same advice--either go old or go expensive. I didn't want to, and I'm stubborn, so I bought this one. and you know what? I have loved it. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Affordable-60-Stitch-Computerized-Free-Arm/dp/B000JQM1DE/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1309744131&sr=1-1
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It sounds like you've already had some good answers for Houston. Moody Gardens aquarium and the beach at Galveston and NASA (between Houston and Galveston) would be fun, if you want to head closer to the coast. I hear the aquarium at Corpus Christi is amazing, but we've never been.
Depending on how far into Louisiana you'd be willing to drive, New Orleans has a TON for kids to do.
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My son is on a gluten and dairy free diet for ADHD-like behavior (not diagnosed). We eliminated one at a time, one meal at a time. We started with casein (dairy) and made a list of 5 things that he could eat for breakfast that were casein free. We changed breakfast only for a week. The next week we did the same for snacks, then dinner, then lunch. Then we took a week off and started the same for gluten. Made another list for breakfast, and eliminated one meal at a time. We were seeing HUGE improvements in behavior by the 6th or so week. Done gradually, it wasn't too overwhelming to implement, and the improvements we saw gave us encouragement to keep going. Best wishes!
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My son is gluten and casein free (not celiac, but intolerant--causes gut and behavior issues). This blog is awesome for recipes: http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/
Also, make a list (and enlist the other members of your family to contribute) of things that are YES to eat. Post it in your kitchen, and keep a good supply of those foods. You'll be less overwhelmed if you think about what you CAN serve the kids for breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc. than what what you CAN'T.
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We adopted my oldest son domestically, through the foster care system. He was 3.5 weeks old when he was placed. He is AA and we are white, and I would love another AA or mixed race baby to "balance" the family (we have bio twins, as well). I don't think I could do another foster care adoption, though. My son's case was particularly poorly handled, was drawn out far too long, and was very difficult emotionally on all involved. It was also not "free" once you consider the legal fees my husband and I paid for an attorney that would represent us in the conflicts that eventually took place in court. Like I said, it was messy. I would do a private domestic (newborn) adoption if we were ever to do it again.
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We are gluten/casein free. We limit colors and preservatives, but have not strictly put them on the "no" list.
When we started, we switched one meal at a time which made it much more manageable. First we did dinner. DH and I sat down and made a list of as many dinner ideas that would be gf/cf and menu planned. We did that for a week, then added another meal. Over the course of about 6 weeks, we had changed over dinner, breakfast, lunch, and snacks, in that order. It didn't seem daunting at all going that slowly and making lists of YES foods for every meal. Much better than focusing on what we can't eat.
overall, we eat much like soror (poster above). some of our yes foods for breakfast--eggs, gf cereal with almond milk, gf toast with earth balance, fruit, gf waffles or pancakes, and oftentimes, non breakfast foods. peanut butter and lunch meats are popular requests at breakfast in my house.
for lunches, we do leftovers, sandwiches, bunless hot dogs (nitrate and other junk free), hummus and stuff to dip it with, fruit, veggies, salads, etc
dinners are pretty typical. pasta, tacos, soups, grilled or roasted chicken or other meats, all with lots of veggies, salads, rice, quinoa, etc. I want to start incorporating more fish and beans. we do some, but not as much as I'd like.
snacks are hardest, especially when we're on the go and I have preschoolers. I rely a lot on raisins, fruit leather, applesauce, and (honestly) potato chips. there are some good rice-based bars by envirokids that are easy to throw in the pool bag. same for larabars.
hope that helps!
eta: I keep a box of gfcf animal crackers and annie's bunnies in the house to send with DS to Sunday school and any other child care situation in which a typical toddler snack will be served so that he can have something like his friends. I don't give them regularly at home, though, since they're SO expensive.
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endo can also be largely asymptomatic. I had only mildly painful periods (nothing a normal dose of advil couldn't handle), no painful sex or bowel movements, but after 18 mos of infertility, my RE suggested a lap to look for endo. Sure enough, stage 2. I'd look into it for sure, if I were you. So sorry you're dealing with this!
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I just asked my 3yo twins and they said "Pig Will" and "Pig Won't". :lol: Been reading a bit of Richard Scarry and watching Busytown mysteries lately, can you tell?
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My best friend is LDS and I am not. We are generic bible church-type protestants. I bet you've just had bad luck not connecting with the other families in the past and that it had nothing to do with them being LDS. I would encourage you to pursue this friendship for your son. He may find one of the kindest and most generous of friends, like I have.
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Another thing I've done is make a visual schedule with the sorts of things we do during the day (lunch, rest, play outside, go to the library, etc--as many as I could think of). Mine seem much more accepting of "play with toys" time if it's got the same weight on the schedule as "art" or "school". If I can make it an event on the schedule, they'll usually go for it. I have the various activities printed out and on magnets, and I put them in order on a magnet board. In the morning, we gather up and discuss what's on the board for the day. They love it.
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I have three little ones, too, and I've learned that they usually don't play well until I let them get "bored". It's not until they're sure that I'm not going to entertain them or turn on the TV for them that they start the really fantastic imaginative play. But then once they get a good game going, they can go for HOURS. Before you try scheduling more "school", I'd let them be a little bored. ;)
We are going to be doing some loose (no writing component) preschool in the fall, and I think our daily schedule will be something like this:
get up, dressed, eat breakfast
do our work--Sonlight P3/4, bible stories, songs
free play around the house or go on an outing/play date
lunch
outside time (backyard or take a walk)
rest time in rooms
art, playdoh, or the like (max 30 minutes)
free play until daddy gets home
I'm going to try to leave the TV off until the late afternoon, and only then turn it on if they're making it impossible for me to get dinner started.
As you can see, that's pretty loose--no "times", but I think it'll work well.
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My very difficult almost-4 year old does so, so, SO much better on a gluten and casein free diet. I think he'd do even better off of all dyes and HFCS. He doesn't get much of those, but I haven't been super careful about them like I am about gluten and dairy. When we transitioned, we started with one meal at a time. I made a list of 5-7 things that he could eat for that meal, posted it on the fridge, and started the change. We did just that one meal for a week, then did the same process for another. After a month, we had changed over breakfasts, snacks, dinners, and lunches, and it wasn't very painful at all. Having the list of foods that were YES on the fridge made it much less scarier than trying to keep track of what he coudn't eat. We saw near-immediate improvement in behavior, so it was very motivating to continue. When the family eats together, the family eats on Jonathan's diet. I don't keep food in the house that Jono can't have. He's my oldest, so the younger ones are on his diet, too, for my convenience. DH and I both cheat when weren't not around him, though. :lol: We also have everyone on a good multi-vitamin, fish oil, probiotics, and calcium-magnesium (since we're dairy free).
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This may or may not be what you're asking about , but I used to teach 3rd grade at a classical school. We started our 4 year history cycle in 3rd, so I taught the ancients. We used these sketch books and they would write their narration of the history lesson (we used Veritas press timeline cards and SOTW) and illustrate it. I probably had them do a timeline book entry 2-3 times a month (we covered roughly one card/topic per week) and it was a great way to combine both a history and a writing assignment. By the end of the year, they had a book of history through the Romans that they could flip back through. The books were always a highlight with the parents and the kids--great keepsake!
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My twins will be 3 next month, and I think in your boat, we would just now be getting to where I could get much school done if I had older kids. Twin toddlers are CRAZY demanding. I think it sounds like you're doing a great job, working things in when you can.
Ideas:
Can you gate off a room or a part of a room that is 100% baby proof so that you can contain babies to help big kids with school?
At that age, mine would happily watch Signing Time, which was both good for keeping them out of trouble for 30 minutes and for their communication skills. Highly recommend a good variety of Signing Time videos. My library had them, but they would have been worth the purchase price, too.
Also, I'd really push the synchronized nap. I found that if I kept the sleepy one awake until the more hesitant-to-sleep one went down, they'd both sleep at the same time with few exceptions. If I put the sleepy one down right when the eye rubbing started, then I could almost guarantee that she'd wake up about the time the not-so-sleepy one got tired. And then they'd tag-team me. I hated that.
Best of luck! It really does sound like you're doing the best you can!
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My oldest son is adopted, and is a different race than my husband and me (and our younger bio kids). Most of the time, I would rather people ask about his story in a tactful way than just stare. He was a beautiful gift to our family and I don't mind talking about it. Sometimes, though, the comments seem to come in waves and we'll have a few days out in public where it feels like everyone and their mother says something and I'll get sick of it. I've definitely had those days. :grouphug:
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My OB and pediatrician do.
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I wash my curly-q daughter's hair with conditioner, rinse lightly, and comb out with a pick. In the morning, I spritz with water, work a dime sized amount of conditioner through it, and finger comb. We never shampoo her.
We generally follow this plan:
http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair
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I actually read this little article recently, chuckled, and filed it away for future reference.
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Erin! Good to see you here! :D Family Math for Young Children is a good one. Or Games for Math by Peggy Kaye. I think I've checked both out from the library, but I can't remember which was more appropriate for preschoolers.
ps Are you in NOLA already?
Katy! I've missed you--I need to call you! No, we move next week, but I didn't feel like having to remember to update my location when I started my account here last week.
I trust your guidance on math, since you're my least math-phobic friend.:D
Ok, another one... Math Play! Again, I haven't used this specific title, but own several other titles in this series and enjoy them.This one looks good, too. Thanks for the suggestions, ladies!
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OK, I know that the right answer for what to do for math with preschoolers is count, sort, order, compare, etc. as you go about daily life. BUT I am so right-brained that even that sounds hard! I need ideas! My engineer husband would die if my kids turned out to be as math-phobic as I am. Is there a resource that would help me? No writing component, not looking for a workbook for the kids, just suggestions like "eat oranges, talk about halves, quarters, etc, as you separarate the sections." Anything?
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I think GDI is slow. I taught 3rd grade a school that used the curriculum (pre-kids) and never liked it. It seemed unnatural to me, despite its claims to the contrary. The school actually changed curriculum the year I left because the middle school teachers were complaining that the kids who came up through the elementary were slow note-takers (the school was private, k-12).
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Welcome! This is a great place. It's so refreshing to hear a future homeschooler say she's doing research! I don't know how many times I've had people come up to me 1 week before school starts in the fall and ask, "What curriculum do you use? We're thinking about homeschooling so and so this year.":glare:
oh my gosh! I cannot imagine! I am sort of a research intensive person. I have been known to obsess. :lol:
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At age 3 I threatened to send my son to military school. And me to the psychiatric ward.
By age 6 things had settled down considerably and now that he is about to turn 12 it is a distant memory. He is such an amazing boy that people don't believe me when I tell them what he was like.
I like to say I have amnesia about that time of his life.
:grouphug:
Praying this is true for us, because yeah, I can relate. Mine is a bright, ACTIVE, strong willed nearly-4yo boy. Good. NESS. That boy makes his mama nutso.
s/o LDS Garden of Eden
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I am not LDS, but my best friend is. She recommended I read Mormon America to answer all the questions I was forever peppering her with. It was a fascinating read and I do recommend it for those of you (like me) who are reading this thread as mainstream evangelical protestants who know very little about the LDS church, its history, and its doctrine.
http://www.amazon.com/Mormon-America-Revised-Updated-Promise/dp/0061432954/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310863194&sr=1-1