Gluten Free doesn't have to be boring!

Even though at the moment we are very 'relaxed' about being GF and CF in our foods, we find that overall they increase the health of every member of the family when we do have them. Some foods I simply haven't changed, we still drink soy milk, we have rice biscuits and so on.

Recently I explored into different ways of making fun foods that suited the gfcf diet and found a few. One which we particularly love from www.rainbowfrenzy.com - the Rainbow Cake.

For this one I simply use a gf buttercake recipe mix and colour each portion with vegetable colours. We've also made them as cupcakes, it's a lot of fun to make and makes the fairly plain but tasty recipe just that little more interesting.

It's also great to get Jono into the kitchen and creating, he enjoyed making these cakes as it was just so different to what we have done before, and he enjoys playing with the colours as we go.

Another great place for GF recipes is omnomicon, the recipe she's got here for the pancakes simply looks amazing, and can be adapted for gfcf very easily. (of course, don't make cheddar ones, but just plain ones if cheese is not on the diet... or change to a soy cheese).

Another great recipe place is Gluten-Free Mommy, this site is a wonderful range of recipes, from breakfasts through to dinners, even multi course meals! In planning dinners week by week this is a great resource for trying a few new recipes to introduce to the family a few new flavours and interests while finding favourites, or new twists on favourites.

If I try something and it doesn't quite work for some reason... well, I have 2 dogs ;)

Pasta Tricks

I'm trying to do a bt more planning ahead with our weekly meals, and decided to go with the 'pasta' night. I'd found a spinach and ravioli stir through sauce that I wanted to try... but wasn't confident how the kids would go with it. So I made a lightly curried meat and beans to go with it... and debated on keeping some pasta plain in case they didn't like the sauce, but decided to go with the sauce and just see.

When I served up I was very pleasantly surprised by how much everyone loved it... it got devoured! I got Daniel to grab the pot and bring it to the table so we could dish up seconds, which we all enjoyed.

Jono enjoyed it so much, he wanted thirds.. and the pot was a little too far to reach, so he stood up, got up on his chair and climbed across the table to reach it. He stayed kneeling on the table and started dishing himself a spoonful, and then another, and then another... all of a sudden Rob grabbed his plate and dished himself jono's spoonfuls onto his plate. Jono grabbed a fourth spoonful and as he lent over his plate to place it on he realised the rest was gone!

He laughed, a little... 'haaa ha', and went right back to dishing up more pasta!

Rob got his extra, Jono got his extra and we all had a laugh with him at the pasta disapearing off his plate ;)

Happy Mothers Day! (did you bring a tissue?)

For all the Mums, New Mums, Older Mums, Multiple Mums, Adoptive Mums, Mums-to-be, Grandmums, and just the nice lady that all the kids call Mum... HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

It's 6:30am here, and I'm the first one awake, I've grabbed my laptop and headed downstairs, it's quiet, the birds are in the backyard on the trampoline, the sun is just getting over the hills and the birdsong is ringing in my ears. I have a cuppa, a water, and am keen to get into my home gym and move my muscles. My children all wanted to sleep together last night so I have 3 kids in the one bedroom, mattresses on the floor and general chaos... they love it.

Yesterday I thought of getting gifts for my children to thank them for making me a mum, for it really has given me so much to be a Mum...to do a reverse Mothers' Day, I ran out of time but the sentiment is there, perhaps this post is my gift :)

My life before kids was a world of difference to what it is now. I have 3 children, which is enough a challenge in it's own right. I had then close together, around 22 months apart, so my oldest was five when the youngest was born, when you are at home, with no car and no friends nearby... this is also a challenge. My second child is Autistic, and yes of course this is a challenge.

Being a mother of a special needs child is definitely a greater challenge, as the 'book' really doesn't have much information covering these type of situations. The needs that occour are different and the ways to handle them depend a lot on how you are within yourself. Are the rewards greater? You know what, Im going to say not really... it's just that you become better tuned at looking for them, and you celebrate the smaller things with more intensity than what perhaps you usually would.

I still remember when Jono was first able to feed himself by himself with a spoon. No, he wasn't holding it right, no it wasn't tidy, but by joves he could do it, he was around 3.

I remember him getting on the internet and downloading and installing games on to the computer, without help, when he couldn't read, and couldn't talk enough to ask us for help, he was 5. We were amazed about this for years.

I remember the first time he came home from school with a piece of paper with his name written on it, it was crude, it wasn't all the letter, but it was his, he would have been 6. Just this year he chose a pair of sneakers to wear on his feet rather than sandals all year long, the confining space on his feet didn't worry him as much, he's now 8.

I've had more than one person comment lately how well I do with Jono, my level of patience, the way I handle him, the way I comfort him. I thank them for the comments, but that has been 5 years in the making. The person I was when I found out about his condition, is a completely different person to the one I am today... and I am grateful.

I am grateful for the lessons to my own heart about what it means to be a Mum, to any child. I am grateful to have Jono in our family, and that we have all 'had' to learn to be more patient with each other. I am grateful for all my children, and I hope they never feel like we 'play' favourites, but that we are treating each one as individuals. I am grateful for my husband, and for his family with their unity and the complete acceptance and love they have for us. I am grateful for my family, my Mother and my brother and the amazing childhood and great childhood memories I have with them.

And I am grateful for my Mum, and the positive heart she always taught me to have, the acceptance of my self and the 'healthy ego', to do more, to try more, to be different and to not be afraid of it. I so hope I can impart that on my children.

So, Happy Mothers Day, to all Mums! May you celebrate your motherhood, in all it's 'glory' and be a better person because of it.

I have to share this, I found it this morning and it's just inspired me so much, I feel it's relevant to every child, to have a mother with this kind of heart, and if you aren't that mother yet, give your children time, they are working on it :)

A PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL SON

A little boy was feeling sad. He had been born with a disability that made him walk, talk, and move differently from other children. The little boy was sad because some of the kids in the neighborhood had been making fun of him. His mother took him by the hand and led him to the full-length mirror she kept in her bedroom.

“I’m crippled and useless. The kids say I am.”

“You’re my perfectly beautiful son.”

“Mommy, how can you say that when you know how I look?”

“You’re my perfectly beautiful son. You look like your daddy. You’re lucky, my pet. He’s handsome and strong. Can’t you see? You belong. Be proud, my beautiful son.”

“My feet drag on the ground. I fall down all the time.”

“You’re my perfectly beautiful son. And when you fall down, you get right back up. You’ve never stayed down and I know you won’t now. Get up, my beautiful son.” ... continues

You can read the rest here, at the Baltimore Family Examiner.

Words to do with Renovating

There has been a tonne of renovating going on in Jonathan's life recenelty and more to come yet.
We have taken out half the garage and built a new room - which will start it's life as a gym. While getting the gym done, we decided to get a few last things done to the kitchen... and then after the kitchen looked at the bathroom and started to pull that apart, along with the toilet. Next we are tackling a pool and outdoor stuff.

Meanwhile at school, they are gutting and rebuilding approximately 3/4 of the school buildings as well as putting in new buildings. So he's getting it all over in his life (poor boy). I have to say he has handled it remarkably well, and been very settled throughout, probably a lot less stressed or concerned than what Rob and I have been.

As a result of all the reno's, we have had a few classic moments that I really want to share. The first when we had an electrician here fixing the lighting in the bathroom.

The electrician arrived quite early - around 7am, on a weekend, and Jono was sleeping in. He did all his preparation work, cut new holes in the ceiling for new fixtures and got everything ready to the point he needed the electricity to be turned off. He let us know it was going off, we shut down computers, turned off the telly and let him get on with what he needed to do.

Around 5 minutes later, the electrician came downstairs with a huge grin on his face and a story for us "your little fella is quite funny" he says.

Jono had awoken, and as usual headed for the light switch in the hallway to turn it on (it was 9 o'clock in the morning an broad daylight, it didn't need to be on, but such is his habit). He reached for the switch and 'click'... nothing happened. 'Click', still nothing... 'click, click, click, click, click', pause... then a little voice 'uh-oh'. Another pause... then... 'I can't see, I can't see, I can't see!"

We all cracked up laughing and spent the next few days saying to Jono 'click.. I can't see' and he's been giggling with us. Lovely to see he has a sense of humour about himself.

The other incident that's kept us laughing has to do with shoes. We've had a shoe rack near the front door for years, and with the renos have opened another space in a cupboard under the stairs with heaps of room for schoolbags, lunchboxes, iceskates, and the shoerack.

I moved it in one night when he was in bed, so he wasn't aware it had happened. The next morning when he woke, he came down the stairs and noticed it straight away. "Where's my shoes??"... on top of "I can't see" it's been a great week, both for his intiating conversation, and for the family funny bone :)

Dental Surgery - a.k.a Run Down the Hall Quickly!

We are in the school dental system and as such, this year it was Jono's turn to go to the dentist and get his teeth checked.

When Daniel hit this stage of life, I wasn't working, I was able to be there with him and I wanted to be with him (first child, I 'have' to be there). Last year Sarah got to go when she was in prep, I was working, and more relaxed about it.. so I let her go in school hours at the time she needed to go, and she was fine.

As I am now working, and Jono is older, and the other two survived going to the dentist, I decided to let him go for his check up with his teachers in school hours. Then the 'fun' started.

The first checkup he did brilliantly, he wore the protective glasses and the bib, he opened his mouth wide, he had no problems with the chair moving up and down, nor with the dentist's mirror, fingers and instruments being in his mouth. His teacher reported all this back to me very proud of him. I was too! Then we got asked to come back for a second appointment.

Second appointment we booked in after school, so I had all three kids with me. He did all as above and was totally comfortable with being checked out. The dental assistant explained which teeth needed work on them and why. He has 5 that need work, 3 with extremely minor cavities, and 2 with slightly deeper cavities, that all need covers or fillings of some sort to keep the 'baby teeth' in place long enough for his adult teeth to grow in with little complications.

Once I had all this explained I gave them the go ahead to do the smaller ones and 'see how they go'. The suction machine got turned on, and that was it.

'No thankyou, No thankyou', pushing it away, wriggling off the chair to get away. I decided very quickly that I wasn't going to make him sit through this as he was actually happy enough to have a checkup, it was just the noise that freaked him out. So we let him go, grabbing the glasses and bib off him and he ran out the door and discussed what the options were. Basically, he has to go to hospital and go under in order to have a few fillings.

Third appointment, with the dentist themselves at the school, same thing - happy to go, happy to be prodded. We talked about whether it was worthwhile to book him in again for the dental assistant to attempt one more time to do the work in the surgery rather than in the hospital. I said it's hardly worth it, and asked them to turn on the suction equipment. He ran for the door and they signed the paper work to get him into the hospital queue, with a 6-12 month wait... but first.. a visit to a specialist.

Appointment Number 4. Yes, I am starting to get tired of visiting dentists by now.

I am on the queue for the specialist appointment, and expect to get in after around a month. I got called two days later with an opening in two days... in the middle of the day. So I organise some time off work and decide 'bag it, I'll take the rest of the day off'. I wasn't sure how he would go and if I went back I'd only get 1 hour anyway, so wasn't too concerned about that.

We get to the appointment a little early, and they have cartoons in the waiting room, which he enjoyed. We got called into the room and once again he's happy about the chair, actually wants the glasses, and is ok with being checked out. They told us his teeth were beautifully clean and the issue is there are smaller fissures in his teeth that a toothbrush can't actually clean that are holding foodstuffs that are causing the decay. It's slow, and they aren't stressed about it, but it definitely needs work.

Then the room next door had a suction machine go in in there... up, out of the chair and running down the hall, but this time towards the noise! He wanted to see what was happening (with his hands over his ears for protection). So, we have him booked into hospital, and are on the waiting list, with one more specialist appointment in a few weeks time to discuss and practice brushing.

And what did we do for the rest of the afternoon? We went shopping, had lunch, got some clothes, bought Easter eggs, and picked up the other two. What a lovely afternoon! Perhaps I should book him in for some more appointments... Hmmmm ;)

The Power of Underestimation

What, underestmation has a power now? Well, not in and of itself, but in the effects it has on those around it.

I have for a long time just 'done' the things that need to get done around the house... socks on the floor? I'll pick them up. School lunches need making? Puts one hand in the air, while grabbing lunchboxes with the other. Floor needs sweeping? I'll grab a broom, then the dustpan, and then the mop; and so on... oh, yes, you're a Mother too and you've also been there. So you know what I'm talking about.

Around a year-2 years ago we started giving the kids more chores, and just asking them to help out in general... except for Jono. I was happy if Jono was dressed for the day, had shoes on, had clean-ish fingernails, and got into the car happily for school. Because I was more concerned about just 'managing' to get to school and work on time, he got let off the hook a lot with chores and getting ready type stuff. What I didn't realise was how much of an impact this was having on all 3 kids.

It wasn't uncommon to hear Daniel say "how come Jono isn't/doesn't/wasn't". Daniel was seeing it as unfair that he had to do 'stuff' and help out, for a time we told him he was the oldest and just 'has' to do it... then Sarah got older and started helping too. Sarah wasn't too concerned as she has helpfulness built in to her genetic coding somewhere along the line, and for me I just wanted to 'get it done', especially when I went back to work and had to leave the house on time or risk my job, occasionally late - well that's ok, perpetually late... even if due to an Autistic boy having a meltdown, and my boss worked in the education system and involved in special needs children and having all the compassion in the world... it just didn't sit right with me, I had a time I needed to arrive and I wanted to make it happen... ahhhh commitments.

This week, the amazing happened.

Get ready.

You won't believe it.

Are you sitting down?

Jono packed the lunchboxes!!!
By HIMSELF!!!

Are you amazed?

If you have a child with special needs I am sure you are dancing with me... I see you, doing twirls in your kitchen and a boogie step. If you don't then I guess you've stopped reading.

I couldn't believe it, he was around me in the kitchen, I had the lunchboxes on the bench getting them ready as I have every day for the past 'x' years, with absolutely no prompting, asking, or direction from anyone he wanders to the plastics cupboard and found for himself a water bottle, and a lid, filled it up, put the lid on tight and put it into his lunchbox. *close jaw now*

Then Sarah said, "get one for Sarah, Water bottle for Sarah", I told her don't worry, it's ok, he did a good job. Next thing, not only has he understood his sisters directions, but he knew what she wanted, and wanted to help out - back to the cupboard, grabs another bottle, and fixes it for her.

Then he stood beside me and waited. I had the next items ready to go into the lunchboxes, so I handed him 3 and he put one in each box. I get the next items and he does it again. He helped me get the rest of them ready.

Even as I write this I'm teary. He can understand things that need to happen to get ready for a day, he is capable of doing them himself, and it makes sense to him. He can help for other people and not just for himself, and he can do it without being asked. Wow!

So Daniel can not ask the 'why isn't Jono' anymore, and feel that he is being treated quite so unfairly with chores, Jono has just won himself a new job and Sarah, I'm sure will oversee Jono to make sure it's done right. All is well, all is very well!

Autism Awareness Day!

Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness Day... were you aware? I wasn't either until I heard it on the news this morning.

This is a fairly new event, having been legislated by the United Nations on December 18th 2007, and as such is one of only three disease-specific United Nations Days . The aim of the day? to raise awareness of the condition to the people of the world as a whole and impart the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. Read more here...

So why should you care? In all reality I don't expect you to. If it's not your child, your family member, your area of work or research or interest I don't expect this to have any impact on you whatsoever.

I was asked on Twitter This morning by @rentedmule 'What is my favourite charity?'
My reply? A tough question for me, of course there is Autism, but there are others and they are mainly for personal reasons. I have a friend whose daughter has Cystic Fibrosis, and that's a big one. I've donated blood and collected money for Red Cross society on more than one occasion, I have a soft spot for Starlight foundation as they grant children with fatal diseases one last wish and I have done Shave for a cure, for people with Leukemia. The article appears here. Do I care about people who are rebuilding after Black Saturday for example... yes, of course, and I have donated to the cause, but they aren't as big a priority to me, as there are so many other things that have personal impact in my life.

I think the idea of Autism Awareness is fantastic, and having it as a UN legislated day shows to me just how much of an impact this condition is having on our world. The other thing I love? They focus on things like early intervention, not on chelation therapies, foods or 'cures'. Simply raising awareness. Wether a 'cure' will ever be found, or its more a matter of people with this condition learning to be able to intergrate better with the rest of us is not something I focus on.

I know there is genetics involved, I know a lot of people say that the 18 months vaccines 'cause' Autism (though personally I'm convinced that is not true, though it may accelerate certain traits), I know there is still so much unknown about the condition. I also know, for me personally, in my life, I have a boy who is bright, loving, smart, has a great sense of humour and is an intergral part of our family, who is Autistic.