Doctors and More Doctors!

We've been in full swing with doctor's appointments again. We'd switched allergists, thinking that it would be easier to have all of the children's doctors at Children's Hospital, but we decided to go back to our old allergist. Nate and E went this week and GracieGirl and J are going tomorrow. The allergist said that Nate's asthma is under control but his allergies are bothering him. E's report wasn't as good, and the poor little guy came home with a stack of prescriptions!

Jay saw the dermatologist again, too, and she thinks that some of his problems with nighttime scratching may be behavioral. I'm not sure why she would think that, since the majority of his body is covered with eczema, and I'd kind of think that that's why he's scratching! She wants us to make an appointment with a behavioral specialist through Jay's developmental pediatrician at the autism center. We'll try anything that might help; I just to get to it on my To Do list yet!

Jay had a sleep study a few nights ago. He had some trouble dealing with all of the wires, but he loved the room...the bed with a sleep number mattress, the big, comfy quilt, the large flat screen TV, and lots of snacks. Once he was settled in, he lay back and said, "Yep, I could definitely get used to this!" He paused for a second and added, "It's not because of the TV or even the snacks; it's because there's a bed in here for you, too!" He's so sweet...

He brought his sleeping bag with him because he practically lives in it at home, so that helped comfort him a bit.

Jay in his favorite sleeping bag. I don't know how he does it,
but he walks in it and goes up and down stairs in it!

So, I was selfishly thinking that I might get a decent night's sleep, being away from the nighttime drama here at home. I went to bed at around 11:00pm, got comfy, closed my eyes...and Jay's monitor started going off! The tech came in and turned it off, and once again, I settled in. Three minutes later, it went off again! This time, both techs came in, turned on the lights, started replacing parts on the machine, and finally left. I don't know what the problem was, but this went on most of the night! I was feeling far from refreshed when they woke us up at 6:00am! I'd begged asked for late checkout, just as I'd done during my sleep study, and once again, I was turned down! ;)

I was feeling sad this weekend because, for the first time ever, we missed Sesame Place with the Variety Club. E is really struggling with his asthma, so he couldn't go. He's had a few rough days (and nights!) between the asthma, allergies, hives all over his arm one night, and the little, itchy bumps that are covering his entire back! The allergist ordered blood work for him to check on some of his allergies. Nick thought that these symptoms were perhaps linked to the Cyclic Neutropenia, which makes his white count low every three weeks. If this is the low period, maybe his little body just can't handle everything. I don't know, but I sure would like to help him feel better!

Now we're just continuing to pray that E stays out of the hospital. The treatments aren't helping much, and tonight his breathing was really labored. I still don't feel confident about knowing exactly when he needs to go to the hospital, but Nick is confident that he knows. Prayers greatly appreciated for our little guy!

E decided that the only way to feed the birds is to dump the seed
all over the place, roll in it, pull up leaves and sticks,
and then sit and call the birds to come eat!


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Red Lentil Soup

2 cups onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
7 1/2 cups water
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups red lentils
Fresh parsley, opt.


Sauté the onion and garlic in 1/2 cup water in a large pot until the
onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin, ginger, black
pepper, and cayenne; cook for 1 minute.

Add the lentils and the remaining 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover
and simmer for 1 hour.

Stir in sea salt to taste. Puree in the Vitamix until smooth.

Garnish with fresh parsley before serving, if desired.

Simple Coconut Granola

I made granola today. From start to finish, it took three days! Don't get me wrong; it's an easy recipe that would normally take no time at all, but this has been The Week of Incessant Interruptions!

I like the simplicity of this recipe. Since we can't do nuts, and the kiddos tend to pick out the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and organic dried fruit that I've added in the past, I decided to just omit those ingredients. If I chose to add the seeds, I would do so in the beginning, along with the rolled oats and oat bran. I'd add the fruit as soon as the granola came out of the oven.

I use two different types of coconut oil because not everyone in our house likes a strong coconut flavor. The virgin coconut oil smells and tastes like delicious fresh coconut. The expeller pressed oil does not have any coconut taste or smell at all. By combining the two, I get a light coconut flavor, but the recipe would work just as well with all virgin oil or all expeller pressed.

Simple Coconut Granola


8 cups gluten-free rolled oats (or 6 c rolled oats and 2 c steel cut oats)
1 cup gluten-free oat bran
1 cup organic unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup organic coconut milk (classic, NOT light)
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup raw honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, oat bran, and flaked coconut.

In a saucepan, combine coconut oils, brown rice syrup, and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for two minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.

Pour the syrup over the oats and coconut, and stir until the dry ingredients are fully coated.

Divide evenly between two large stoneware jellyroll pans, spreading out to cover the entire surface of the pans.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until toasted. Remove from oven and cool on jellyroll pans.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

Baking Half Birthday Cakes

Tomorrow is GracieGirl's birthday.

Not that there's constant competition going on here or anything, but E has been insisting that it's his birthday.

I realized that he's right; today is E's Half Birthday. He's 3 1/2, although if you ask him, he'll tell you, quite convincingly, that he's 5!

So, he needed to make a cake. He wanted a vanilla cake (in contrast to his sister, who wants all things chocolate!). I found Lisa Lundy's White Cake recipe, and E and I went to work.

He was such a big help!

Okay, that's a lie, but J lectured me a bit this morning about how I'm too hard on E and he doesn't really get in trouble, he's just curious! So, apparently he was just curious yesterday as to how much of my hair he could rip out of my head and how far his teeth could sink into my flesh. Yeah, that's it...

I digress.

E was busy mixing the flours, and he asked me if he could take a bite.

I said no, explaining that it wouldn't taste good.

I turned around and asked him if he'd taken a bite.

He said that he had not.

I'm just not sure I believe him...


We spooned the batter into some little cake molds and the
kids were thrilled at how the little cakes came out.

Not a great picture, but they really are cute! E was happy with them,
and that's all that matters. Happy Half Birthday, E!

P.S. I've mentioned Lisa Lundy's recipes and cookbook before, and I'm going to mention them again because they've been such a lifesaver for us, especially on birthdays and special occasions. I'll be making Lisa's chocolate cake for GracieGirl's birthday tomorrow. Lisa's cookbook, The Super Allergy Girl Cookbook is definitely worth checking out if you need recipes without gluten and the top allergens!

Spinach and Corn Mashed Potatoes

This isn't a combination that I ever would have dreamed of, but it's so good! In my book, it's comfort food at its finest.

Since I'm beyond sleep deprived, still sick, and now have four sick kiddos, none of whom have the same thing I have, I'm in definite need of comfort food. I'm going to do my best to make this tonight!


Spinach and Corn Mashed Potatoes


3 lbs red potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c Earth Balance, soy-free
1 c milk substitute of choice, unsweetened*
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 c whole kernel corn
20-oz fresh baby spinach, stems removed
3 tsp garlic, minced

Fill a large pot with water, add 1/2 tsp sea salt, and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes and boil until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain well and return potatoes to the pot.
Add Earth Balance and milk substitute, and mash potatoes until light and fluffy.
Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Add olive oil and corn, and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes.
Stir in spinach and garlic and sauté just until spinach is wilted.
Fold mixture into mashed potatoes.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve!

*This recipe can be grain-free, depending upon the milk substitute used.

Celestial Stew

Celestial Stew is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, I have a cold right now and I'm craving it big time! Too bad I don't have the energy to make it!

I don't know if my kids would eat it, especially in light of the fact that they tend to go running in the opposite direction at the sight of a single pea. :) Maybe they'd eat it if I tried putting dumplings on top...



Celestial Stew

2 lbs potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 28-oz cans Muir Glen tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
2 med onions, diced
3 med carrots, sliced
1 10-oz bag Cascadian Farm frozen sweet corn
1 10-oz bag Cascadian Farm frozen sweet peas
1 qt vegetable broth
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp sea salt

Boil the potatoes until soft, about 25 minutes.

Drain, and add the tomatoes and juice.

Add the onion, carrots, corn, and peas.

Stir well and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, on low for about two hours.

Remove bay leaves before serving.


Update:

My nice hubby made Celestial Stew for me. It really hit the spot! On a whim, I stirred a little bit of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar into my bowl. I don't know if it's just me but I loved it!

Thanksgiving GFCF Pumpkin Cake

We had signed up to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local church today, but, because we were sick, we weren't sure if it was going to happen or not. One thing I learned this week while Nick was out of commission is that, realistically, serving Thanksgiving dinner for three or four hours is not something that I'm physically capable of doing right now. In retrospect, I'm not even sure what made me think I could do it, except that it was just something that I really wanted to do.

Nick woke up feeling better today. My sister had signed up, too, so he went with her and took Nate and JJ, while I stayed home with GracieGirl and E.

While they were gone, I divided my time between playing with GracieGirl and E, and cooking. I wasn't going to do much this year, and I didn't do as much as past years. I cooked up some yams and made one of those yucky casseroles with the marshmallows. I also made a pumpkin cake from Karina's Kitchen. I followed the recipe except that I used a different GF flour blend and I added 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum just because I've never made any GF baked goods without it! It was nice and moist (always a bonus with GF) and everyone loved it. Of course, as soon as I mixed it up, I realized I'd made it with eggs, so I had to make a second recipe (which I cut in half) for E, using Egg Replacer.