Learning to let go

special needs or special educational needs

— pl n
a. the educational requirements of pupils or students suffering from any of a wide range of physical disabilities, medical conditions, intellectual difficulties, or emotional problems, including deafness, blindness, dyslexia, learning difficulties, and behavioural problems

It seems like i have to rehash this issue over and over often, but each time I'm learning to let go sooner. Letting go of taking my children's behavior personally.. letting go of trying to make them "normal", letting go of how other view me, letting go of how others view my children, letting go of fear for the future. It's SO easy to look at someone else situation and have an easy answer for how things can be better for them, but in my own life i often feel overwhelmed and burnt out. There is always something that needs to be done. On top of the normal everyday life of family, we have the extras to worry about. I think the past 3 years have been so overwhelming for us, we just shut down a bit and kept to ourselves because there was so much that we just had to process and learn about raising children who have extra needs. I feel like we are finally coming out of that cloud of confusion, the sun is burning off the clouds and we can feel more hope shining though. The big part of the journey has just been learning to let go of what the world thinks, cling to Jesus, and to learn about our children and let them be themselves. That is so much easier said then done! But in all seriousness, God has given us (and especially me) so much grace and He has really opened up my eyes to His never ending, never tiring, never impatient love for me. And the ONLY way that I can be anything good for my boys is to lean on His strength. I don't know how people can raise special needs children (or any children for that matter) without Jesus! Whew... let me tell you! I know that I'm human and I will more than likely struggle with these feelings on and off though the years, BUT I know that there will ALWAYS be a God who will be willing and ready to mend my poor, tired, and wounded soul back to a spirit of joy and hope once again.

Crockpot Play Dough

With the "school year" rolling around again I thought i would post my favorite recipe for homemade play dough! In our house, as you may know, we do things the gluten free way, but this recipe can be used with just plain ol' all purpose flour!
So here you are...

CROCK POT GLUTEN FREE PLAY DOUGH

-2 Cups g/f flour (I've used may different types and they all turn out the same, if you are not gluten free you can use plain all purpose flour)
-1 Cup corn starch
-1 Cup salt
-1/4 cup cream of tarter
-2 Cups hot water
-2 teaspoons cooking oil (not a typo! that's all the oil you need)
-food coloring

-Plug in your crock pot and turn to low to warm up slowly.
-Dump in your dry ingredients; stirring evenly to distribute.

Add the water and oil. Add in food coloring to the color you desire (the kids enjoy doing this part and making different colors). Close the lid and switch the heat to high.

Set a timer and check your play dough every 30 min, stirring well each time. My crock pot is newer so the play dough only cooks for me usually 30 minutes to an hour, but for some it can take up to 2 hours. It will be hot when it's done... once it's cooled down WALLA... homemade crock pot play dough... super easy and so much fun! Oh and GLUTEN FREE :)
If the dough is a bit sticky.. knead in some cornstarch and you'll be good to go!

I had a series of pictures to put up, but the computer isn't letting me uplaod them, so you'll just have to trust me, that this works :)

one of My Little Warriors

Daniel Josiah

Why Organic?

I have two containers of half and half in my fridge. One is organic, the other is not. One would think that half and half is just that.. half cream, half milk... but i was shocked when i read the labels for both.

Here you are...

Organic Half and Half : Organic cream, organic grade A milk

okay so that sounds right... let's read the "regular" stuff

Half and Half: Homogenized nonfat milk, milk, corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, mono and diglycerides, carrageean, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin a palmates

SERIOUSLY.. i am NOT making this up. Does half and half really need corn syrup solids, artificial color, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, mono and diglycerides, carrageean, natural and artificial flavors ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
What are we putting into our bodies??? WHY are they putting these things into a product that should be so simple?
Do i even need to say more on why we eat organic? If you don't... please think about it and what you may be putting into your body and how it is effecting your health. Yes i realize that eating organic is very spending, but if shopped smartly, it can be done and you can look at is as preventative medicine.
I'm not going to elaborate anymore.. i think the ingredients should speak for themselves!

p.s. my husband says that i am such a hippie, but when our kids are 50 and running marathons and in better shape then the 20 year olds he'll thank me :) I wouldn't have it any other way!

Yet another song...

my favorite song to listen to with the boys right now...

The Gorilla Song by Raffi

One, two,
A one two kazoo

If I were a gorilla,
la la la la la
I'd eat me a banana.
na na na na na
I'd live in a treehouse
And swing on a vine,
But one thing is sure:
I would love ya,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a tuba,
ba ba ba ba ba
All I'd do is oompah.
pah pah pah pah pah
I would take a big breath,
And I would march in a band,
But one thing is sure:
I would love ya,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

'Cause it don't matter to me-
Whatever you happen to be;
An eagle,
An onion,
A pig or a grape,
As long as you're you,
I will love ya.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a space ship,
ip ip ip ip ip
I would take a long trip.
rip rip rip rip rip
I would circle the planets
And head for the stars,
And then I'd come home,
'Cause I love ya.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And if I were a daisy,
sy sy sy sy sy
Would you still be my baby?
by by by by by
I would pull all my petals out,
One at a time,
And always come up with
I love ya
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

'Cause it don't matter to me-
Whatever you happen to be;
A beagle,
A grunion,
A fig or an ape,
As long as you're you,
I'll still love ya.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ba-bum-bump.

Homemade

I like homemade things. So i thought i would share my latest homemade creations :)

Chewy Granola Bars
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 Cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup butter softened (i used a cup butter to help the oats stick together better)
1/2 cup honey (i used agave nectar)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

added options:
Raisins
mini chocolate chips
peanut butter

Anything that you think would taste yummy in a granola bar!

Press down firmly into 9x13 greased pan cook at 325 for 18-22 min. After 10 min. of cooking press down firmly again and finish cooking. Cool for 10 min. cut into bars let cool completely in pan before removing



Homemade freezer applesauce
Apples peeled and chopped in chunks
Add 1/3 cup water cover and cook on medium low heat for 15 minutes. Blend in a blender. Pour in a clean jar, leaving an inch headroom. Let cool completely before storing in the freezer. When ready to eat let thaw in fridge.
You can add different fruit to the applesauce, like pears.. or add some cinnamon.
YUMMY applesauce and sugar free!

Einstien and other ramblings about schooling

Did you know that Einstein didn't speak until he was older (supposedly around the age of 7) and even then he didn't speak clearly until the age of 9?
When i think about Daniel and how he is going to be 4 years old in a mer 23 days, i think about Einstein. Daniel is SUCH a smart little boy and understands so much, yet he cannot communicate verbally. He makes lots of noises, but nothing that sounds recognizable. I can see it in his eyes how much he knows and understands. He points to things that he is curious about and things that he wants. He takes things apart and puts things together very well. He is a perfectionist. He likes things certain ways and he doesn't like his hands to be dirty. He likes helping me clean up and put things away. He stares up at the clouds and points to them as they float by. I can tell he wants to know what they are and why they are floating. When we read books he points out things he knows and he's very curious about things he doesn't know. He will point at an object repetitively to make us say it over and over... like he is storing the word for a later purpose.
In our current culture we are trying to teach a 2 year old how to read and sticking them in preschools so that they can get a jump start on education. I really like this article that was written by a homeschooling mother of 5. I must admit that I've been caught up in the current system of thinking.. My oldest son is 5 and he can't tell the difference between a E and an F".. i HAVE to work harder with him. Or so and so's kid is 2 years younger and they can already count to 50 and Joshua can only count to 20. That is such a dangerous path to go down, comparing your child and not letting your child be a child at all.
Also, What happened to developing character? Is our culture so caught up in being educated that we've overlooked teaching our children to be honorable men and woman who stand up for what is right and true. I know I'm going on a bit of a rabbit trail here, but I would much rather have my sons be able to show compassion and mercy and stand up for injustice rather then be men full of knowledge, but no wisdom or character at all. Oy! So back to Daniel. I know God has HUGE plans for my little boy. I know that one day my little boy is going to burst forth in speech, proclaiming praises to his Lord. Since Daniel was a toddler many have called him a worshiper,running around with his hands up in the air. :) When i was pregnant with him I had many prophetic dreams of times to come and I really feel God has put a special blessing on Him. I just need to cling to the promises of the Lord and love my little boy FULLY where he is at, speaking or not. A lot of days are hard, but i know that the biggest testimonies are usually those that have gone through hard trials. SO i just pray that God gets us through these harder times and helps us raise our little boys with integrity and grace so that they can grow up and be even greater then what we even imagined, not in the ways of academics, but in the ways of the Lord.