Archaeology, and the GFDF diet so far

We've been having a ball reading about and playing at archaeology this week. We read Archaeologists Dig for Clues and Tut's Mummy Lost and Found which both came with our Sonlight Core B materials, and supplemented with dig magazine and the Geosafari Egyptian Dig kit. The kit was fun, but not terribly educational. We found at least one inaccuracy in the history pamphlet which came with it. But Max and Bess had fun making a mess, and afterward they created their own dig in the backyard. They found lots of acorns and one rock which led to a half hour argument about who owned said rock, because apparently it's a valuable dinosaur bone the likes of which the paleontology community has never seen. Fortunately, they settled it out of court. The acorns were cataloged as proof of an ancient squirrel civilization.

Archaeologists at Work

A few weeks ago, we put Max on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet for his GI symptoms(chronic diarrhea accompanied by slow weight gain). Many children on the autism spectrum have issues with gluten and dairy. We've been pleasantly surprised by Max having fewer temper tantrums and being much more talkative since the change. I'm not saying it's a direct result of the diet, because I'm sort of a skeptic about anything that isn't proven in a controlled, clinical study. I'm just making an observation. It's possible the change in diet happened to coincide with a cognitive jump. It's not unusual for Max to be completely incapable of doing something one week, and then become a master of it the next. So I don't know. But here are the changes I think can definitely be attributed to the diet change: fewer GI problems, better sleep, and increased appetite.

I'm not a natural when it comes to gluten-free cooking, but I'm slowly learning. It feels odd to have eggs in the house again, as we've been vegan for years. But Max is very picky about the texture of the foods he eats, and vegan/gluten-free foods were not getting eaten. So we buy eggs now. I only purchase free-range from a nice,local farmer, but I'm not naive enough to think the hens are sent to a retirement community when they stop laying. We are choosing our son's health over our moral stance. Maybe, one day, we will be in a situation where we can raise our own chickens who will have full access to retirement benefits.

I've created a page here for gfdf recipes and product reviews which I will periodically update.

Until next time!
 

Lately

I haven't posted here in a while. We've had a hailstorm of changes over the past month or two, and I needed to concentrate on other things.

First, my mother was in the hospital for a short time.

Then, my oldest son quit college mid-semester because of some serious issues with anxiety. Thankfully he's doing better now. He's taking one class he really enjoys, and helping us at home. I think taking a break was a good idea.

And for two months, I've had a few minor multiple sclerosis flair ups which is normal for me in the year following a pregnancy, but annoying as hell. My symptoms usually get better about a year after giving birth. Rose is 9 months old now, so hopefully soon I'll start having fewer problems.

Also, we have my husband's upcoming graduation in May and ongoing job search.

We're gearing up for a move. Even if my husband gets a job in our city, we are going to need a new place.

And to top it all off we've started our youngest son on a gluten-free/dairy-free diet which is a big change for the main cook of the family(me).

But somehow we're still coasting along in our homeschool. It's been a good year for us. And next year should be even better, because I just found out my days of secularizing Sonlight are almost at an end. Whoohooo! Bookshark(formerly Brightflash) is up and ready. It's the new secular version of Sonlight. I'm really looking forward to not having to edit the IG every day. So yay for that!

What we're reading : Where the Sidewalk Ends
                                 Half Magic
                                 Bedtime Math

What I'm reading: Raising Girls
                           Mortal Instruments: City of Bones(guilty pleasure book)

What We're Watching: Lionel Nation

What I'm watching: Korean Dramas--The Great Doctor and Pasta(These are both on Netflix right now. I highly recommend both series.)

In our kitchen:  Gluten-Free Banana Muffins(with Earth Balance replacing the butter to make it dairy-free)

Crafting: Crayon Resist Paper Easter Egg

And that's about it for now. Lately, I'm just trying to keep everything running as smoothly as it can through all of our changes. Just when I think it's all too much to handle, I find some hidden pocket of strength. There is something to be said for getting older. If all this had been happening in my 20s, I would be drowning in a pool of my tears right now. At 42, I'm doing okay.