Around here things are always happening. Is it 5 kids? Is it curious homeschooled minds? No matter what it is I have children that must try everything for themselves.
That has meant gravity experiments off the front porch. 2kids+1gallon blue paint+not telling mom=blue foot prints through the house, streaks on the FRONT of my house and regretful but nonetheless excited giggling.
Recently I have had to spend most of the day in my wheelchair. Because my right leg and hip will go paralyzed at anytime, so I fall. It is safer in the chair. My house is two story and not handicap accessable at all.
Yesterday afternoon it stopped raining for a bit. The kids put on boots, jackets the works and all 5 went out back to stretch their legs. I had to walk out to check on them. I thought it would be a quick peek and done. When I went out the baby was in the garden playing in the dirt and holding the neighbors cat to her chest. The cat was not very happy about this. So I holler for the rest of the kids to help. Then the chase began.
The baby (okay she is going to be 2 soon so not really a baby) and the cat took off around the house. Then went the laughing 4 and 6 year old girls. I think they were actually egging Peanut on. Then went my 2 oldest trying to get to the baby. Last was me thumping along behind the mix trying not to fall over.
The keystone cops would have been proud. Secretly I thought it was a hoot and loved the happy laughing children.
When we caught the baby she handed over the cat. I am suspisous about that cat he stayed and rubbed all around Peanut's ankles.
Do you ever have one of those days that all you can work yourself up to making is scrambled eggs? I really enjoy cooking and creating interesting meals. On the flip side if I haven't planned anything or if I have no good ideas I can punk out.
Yesterday started our projects week. This week is dedicated to doing the larger grander projects that don't fit easily into our standard routine. After a day of keeping up with the kids and I am still pretty sick. I was exhausted. So I lamed out on dinner, scrambled eggs it was.
New day, but more big projects and now sick children. Again dinner loomed.... I threw into the oven a bunch of potatoes and trolled through the freezer. I found an interesting package. I thought had browned beef. As it thawed there was not browned beef but rather some sad, creepy frost bitten thing. I laid it to rest. We went vegetarian.
Now tomorrow is already on my mind. BUT I have a plan. I have a thawed roast ready to go. I'll add pototoes, corn and some rice dumplins. If I can pull it together possibly some fresh bread PB+Js for lunch. I think that will make up for the dinner disasters.
Strange post... sorry I'll blame it on the steriods. Please feel free to follow me on FB I'd be happy to return the favor. The link is on the side bar. Also I post more often on my www.specialneedshomeschooling.com blog.
God bless my friends!!
Sometimes I start to write on this blog and my mind draws a total blank and I can't think of a single thing to write about. Today I have so much on my mind that I can't figure out what to write about and whether any of it is noteworthy anyway. I think I'll make some random "headlines" then go back and fill in my thoughts below them.
Online friends
For some reason I've grown distant from my online friends for the most part. I have one that I've knows for several years now and she introduced me to two others, now I never seem to get to connect with any of them. Perhaps they are busy and distracted, I hope so, but I do really miss them. We used to get together online and do "15 minute missions." That is basically doing focused cleaning or organizing in our own homes then checking back with each other to talk about what we accomplished. We would do that several times in row and it was a lot of fun and we each were able to get so much done. I've joined the Flylady forums and there is a group that is doing something similar, maybe I'll give that a try again. It's not as much fun, but maybe it will keep me inspired.
New homeschool co-op
My two youngest children and I have joined a fairly new homeschool co-op in a nearby town and so far things are going pretty well. There was one woman there that I'd met at a previous homeschool function and we have hit it off pretty well. There are several little girls around my daughters age, so she is making some friends also. There are several boys around my sons age also but I think he's determined to not make friends, as the one boy he enjoyed spending time with at our old homeschool group isn't in this one. He's starting to come out of his shell a little, it's just that my kids are as shy as I was at that age. I still am quite a bit, but it's not as crippling as it was at that age. Along with making friends they are really enjoying their classes. They are taking Art, Science, Home Ec. and Gym. I'm trying to consider if I want to instruct a class next semester, but I'm not sure of what to offer. I'm sure it will be some sort of artsy type of class, just not sure what yet.
Crafts
I'm still doing crafts and other art projects both on my own and with the kids, just haven't been taking any pics of the process. I did alter a sweatshirt today and made myself stop and take pics while I was doing it, so once I'm satisfied with the end product, I'll probably post it on here. I plan on making some of the Christmas gifts we'll be giving to our extended family, and I'll try to remember to photograph them along the way also.
Friends found again on Facebook
While I've lost contact with some online friends, I've been able to reconnect with several of my old high school friends with Facebook. Right now I'm advising two on how to begin homeschooling. Which reminds me, I need to send them links that I promised I'd send them. Both with be homeschooling their only child, and it makes me wonder what it would have been like to homeschool only one. When we started six years ago, my oldest was going into 5th grade, middle was in 1st grade and the youngest was only three but determined to do school right along with the older ones. Homeschooling more than one can be frustrating, but it is also very rewarding.
Ebay and Christmas
I've been listing some items on ebay and so far they've done pretty well. I've gotten paid quickly and recieved positive feedback, can't beat that!! It would be nicer if the items went for more money, but I did make a little profit so that works too. I used the profits from my first round of sales to purchase my dad's Christmas gift, the full year of 1964 Hot Rod magazines. My husband has already poured over them and has even taken them into work to let those guys look at them. They are all safely and neatly in my closet awaiting the holiday season. I have some ideas for other gifts, and hopefully starting sooner will not put such a financial strain on us at the end of the year.
I had two other categories listed on here to write about but I've got housework screaming for attention so I'd better be getting off of here. I'll try to post more later.
Wow I was surprised to find my article in the homeschool encouragement newletter from Crosswalk.com this morning! if you are visiting from that newletter welcome! Thank you for taking the time to read it and I pray it helped you.
If you are interested in more articles on special needs homeschooling see the button on the right that shows the Company Porch. I write every week an article pertaining to special needs. You can also find me at my ministry site Special Needs Homeschooling
God bless my friends.
Heather
We joined a rather new homeschool co-op in my area and are really enjoying it. Really the only thing I'd like to see run a little differently is the gym class. Right now the kids are led to the gym for about half an hour and they are to find something active to do during that time. It's generally something with balls but nothing structured. I'm going to make a suggestion that planned activities be done during that time.
There are some shy kids in the group that don't just jump in where the action and usually stay on the fringes watching everyone else. Yes, I'm mostly talking about my two that I take. I don't take my oldest one as there are no other kids their his age and he'd be annoying beyond belief if I forced it on him, so I let him stay home.
I was doing some searches online yesterday for some ideas that I could implement into a gym class if they are interested in letting me help with it. I worry, though, since many of the kids seem to enjoy themselves as it is now, will they rebell if I try to add structure? The kids in this class range in age from 9 through 14. I'd like to stay away from competitive games and have the kids do things just because it's fun. Kind of hard to go totally non-competitive, but that's my goal eventually.
Here's a list of a few ideas I found or thought up, I wonder how they'd be received by the kids.
- Table tennis ball spoon race - balance a ball on a spoon, walk to the other end of the gym and around one or more obstacles and back to the next person in line. If dropped, pick it up and continue from where it dropped.
- Paddle ball balance - balance a table tennis ball on a table tennis paddle and continue as above.
- Frisbee toss - take three plastic flying discs and toss them one at a time either through a hula hoop or into a large trash can.
- Javelin throw - use pool noodles to throw through a hoop, into a large can or past a certain point on the floor.
- Chop Stick Relay - Using chopsticks, lift a stuffed chicken out of a bowl and transport to the other end of the gym and deposit into a frying pan, come back and give the chopsticks to the next person. The next person retrieves the chicken and brings back to the bowl. Continue until everyone has a turn. Chopsticks cannot be used to poke or stab the chicken, but must be used properly.
- Obstacle course - take whatever I can find in the gym area and create an obstacle course. For example, weave around cones in a line, bounce a ball around a chair, crawl under a table, etc.
- Wacky Walk - The kids would be spread out around the perimeter of the gym and would start walking in the same direction. Every 30 seconds or so a new way will be called out. They will continue with that for 30 seconds then return to walking for 30 seconds. Some ideas: crab-walk, reverse direction, backwards, jog, skip, jump, big steps, tiny steps, sideways, sideways jumping.
- Jump rope - teach some jump rope rhymes and teach how to jump in the middle of other people twirling the rope.
I hoping to find more ideas. I'm not sure if the co-op is interested in changing the way the gym class is run but if so, I'd like to be ready. The class is around 30 minutes and we have another 6 or 7 classes left in this semester. So if they'd be interested in holding off on it until the spring semester, then I'll be ready for that too.
Hello my friends! I was just passed this great deal over on FB. If you use the code "thanksgiving" you can recieve a free e-cookbook.
Jules Gluten Free
I would ask that if you are doing some shopping for gluten free products consider buying them here. It's a thank you for giving us this cookbook free. Thank you Jules!
Changing the whole way a person bakes can be daunting! When you are told gee you can't have wheat, soy, or dairy I just about cried. After all I am from dairy farm country in Ohio. My grandfather had a dairy farm! Change was necessary so we did.
There have been breads that would work nicely as hockey pucks. Cookies that turned to goo and ran all over my oven. But nothing beats a recent pancake fiasco!
My hubby likes to triple recipes, try new recipes at big parties, you know the time fly by the seat of his pants. He also assumes that anything he makes that looks generally correct must taste fine. So hubby is making the pancakes while I mix up some new all purpose flour mix.
The first pancakes come off the gridle and the baby is there crying for them. So we put her in the highchair to nibble on one while we finished. WHIZZZZ the pancake gets thrown back at hubby! Hubby scolds the baby picks it back up and puts a new pancake on her tray. WHIZZZZ another pancake goes flying.
"Honey is there something wrong with the pancakes?" seemed like a good question to me.
"Nothing they look great." As hubby continues to make more.
I stepped over and tasted one YUCK! They tasted like baking powder, bitter and nasty. The entire batter tasted like that. Putting our heads together we assumed that one of the helpful herd of kiddos had added baking powder into the mix when we weren't looking.
So we throw it out and try again. This batch is wow fluffy and growing. Tastes....YUCK!!
Remember when I said that I was mixing a all purpose flour mix? Sam's changed the outer wrapper on the baking powder now it looked like the cornstarch. sigh I had to throw out over 20 cups of all purpose (baking powder) mix.
At that point we decided to give up and get breakfast on the go. While we were getting our shoes on, there was a scream from the kitchen. One of the kids had found the forgotten second batch of pancake mix. I was growing, and growing, and growing.... It had overgrown the bowl and was trying to eat the stove.
That is one of those memories that will get rehashed every Thanksgiving for the rest of my life, but it's a good one! ;) happy gluten free baking!
Spend today better educating yourself about mitochondrial disease - whether you are affected or know someone who is!!!
(Note from Heather: If you have more than one autistic child in the house your dr's should do basic mito testing! Mito is one of the KNOWN causes of autism!!)
Here are some places to start:
FAMILY SUPPORT:
• United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.umdf.org
• MitoAction (Mitochondrial Disease Action Committee): http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitoaction.org
• Muscular Dystrophy Association: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mda.org
• Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders (FOD) Support Group: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.fodsupport.org
• Organic Acidemia Association: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.oaanews.org
• European Mitochondrial Disease Network: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.emdn-mitonet.co.uk
• Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.amdf.org.au
• Marcel's Way: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.marcelsway.org
• Eli's Angels: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;elisangels.net
RESEARCH GROUPS:
• Mitochondria Research Society: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitoresearch.org
• National Organization of Rare Disorders: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.rarediseases.org
• Indian Society for Mitochondrial Research and Medicine: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.inmit.org
• European Organization of Rare Disorders: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.eurordis.org
• Mitochondria Interest Group: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;sigs.nih.gov/mito/Pages/default.aspx
• Mitochondrial Medicine Society: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitosoc.org
• Mitochondrial Physiology Society: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitophysiology.org
• American College of Medical Genetics: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.acmg.net
• Society for Inherited Metabolic Disease: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.simd.org
• Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.ssiem.org
GENETIC TESTS & RESOURCES:
• GeneTests: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/GeneTests/
• Baylor College of Medicine, Medical Genetics Laboratories: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.bcm.edu/geneticlabs/index.html
• MITOMAP A human mitochondrial genome database: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitomap.org/
• Mitoland: A Handbook for Patients and Parents http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.mitosoc.org/blogs/wp-content/uploads/docs/mitoland.pdf
• MITO 101: A Primer for Physicians and Patients - http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.umdf.org/site/c.dnJEKLNqFoG/b.4585961/k.C6AC/MITO_101.htm
• Mitochondrial pathways: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;neuromuscular.wustl.edu/pathol/diagrams/mito.htm
• IUBMB-Nicholson Metabolic Maps, Minimaps & Animaps: http://www.facebook.com/l/ff795;www.iubmb-nicholson.org
Special Thanks to MitoAction.org and FB Mito Awareness page for putting together such a wonderful list of links! God bless!
This week is mito awareness week. My lovely children are suspected of having mito. I have written a general description of mito and how it effects our homeschooling. Please come on over and see at Special Needs Homeschooling
You can also find me at facebook or twitter with the username gfcfmomofmany
Have a blessed week!
Heather L
Hello all. Today I tried a new product called Chebe Focaccia Flatbread Mix. It is gluten, casein, yeast free and soy free!
The package is snazzy but small so I was wondering about portion. I used 2 packages for a total of 6 people and covered us all perfectly. The recipe is really easy and a quick throw together. It only takes 30 minutes to cook and should be served warm.
I tried it and LOVED it! I have had 5 years of GFCF diet to draw on here. I have never had such a nice textured, herbed, buttery tasting bread. The price was 3.39$ at my local natural foods store.
I will be using this in the future and I highly recommend getting some for yourself. I was pleasantly surprised that Chebe has several other mixes and frozen products. I hope you enjoy as much as my family and I did.
God bless
Heather Laurie
Special Needs Homeschooling