Lentil Salad

I love lentils. No one else in my family shares that love. I'm okay with that because it just means that I always have leftovers!

Lentil Salad

2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
3 Tbsp organic olive oil
1 Tbsp coconut vinegar
1 Tbsp raw honey
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sea salt
Lettuce


Mix olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and sea salt in a small jar. Shake until well mixed.


Mix lentils, onion, and mustard vinaigrette; allow to marinate for at least one hour.


Add scallions and parsley; mix gently.

Serve on lettuce leaves.

E's Egg Challenge

E finally had his egg challenge yesterday. I scrambled up six eggs and sent them, along with a bottle of ketchup (yes, E is one of those people who puts ketchup on everything!), with Nick and E to the appointment.

The appointment generally lasts for about two hours, while they expose E to more and more of the eggs. At one point, he started gagging and had some trouble eating them, so the doctor kept him for an extra hour, just to watch for any more reactions.

In the end, he sent E home, saying that he's no longer allergic to eggs and can go ahead and eat them.

Last night, E announced that he had to throw up. He was finished by the time I got in there, and I asked him if he threw up his dinner. He said no, he'd just thrown up his germs.

Sure, whatever.

So...as the sun was just rising this morning, I was awakened by: "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! It's time for me to have my eggs for breakfast!"

Then he had a meltdown because he didn't want them cooked; he wanted to crack them and eat them raw!

Give me strength. ;)


We had two eggs left in the house, and Nick fried them up. E was thrilled! He sat at the table, while Nick grabbed the camera to record the momentous occasion. E took his first bite...

and promptly threw it up!

I called the allergist, who felt that it was more of a taste/texture issue than an allergic reaction. He said not to give E any more plain eggs, but to try them in pancakes or french toast.

E is excited about the pancakes...but now says that he doesn't like eggs!

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One Day

The Dream:

• Four whole weeks with all four kids in different camps
  
• Being alone with Nick
  
• Getting caught up with paperwork, housework, decluttering, homeschool planning, and ripping out carpeting to make it safer for our dust allergy kiddos
  
• Maybe even going out and doing something fun with Nick

The Reality:

• One day alone with Nick
  

Last Monday was the big day. GracieGirl and E went to camp, and Nate and J went to my in-laws' house at the beach. Nick and I went for a quick swim together after being ordered by our therapist to do something fun! The rest of the day was spent on paperwork.


And, as of last Thursday, Nate is the only one still going to camp.


That was the day that Nick went to pick up GracieGirl and E at the YMCA camp. All of the kids were down at the little public park at the bottom of the hill. As Nick parked, he watched GracieGirl and E run through the parking lot (which is a shared parking lot for other businesses and is also a narrow back street), alone, up to the office. The building was unlocked, and when he got there, he found both children in there, alone. He signed out both kids and started to leave with them, without any staff members present.

He was not happy,
and after gathering up their backpacks,
he spotted E's EpiPen bag in the office!!!

After our initial fiasco with E's EpiPen, the camp director held a meeting and assigned someone to carry E's EpiPen bag so that it was with him at all times, no exceptions. They put up signs and made it a peanut-free facility. They sent home notices to the parents. There are two other kids there with peanut allergies and we were happy to see those changes implemented.

After all of that, I was shocked to hear that it had happened again. Nick said that we simply couldn't send them back, so we withdrew both kids. Once again, I contacted the camp director, who was appalled, apologetic, and furious with her staff.

So...we had our one day this summer. The house is still a dust-filled, disorganized mess, the paperwork still out of control, and Nick and I often resort to emailing each other because there's no time to talk. E is back to life at home without the structure of camp, which is always an adventure. But, he's alive and healthy, and we're thankful for that. I was so skeptical about sending him to camp because it's really hard to trust strangers with your child's life. It was the first time the kids ever went to camp, and it may be the last. We'll see.

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1-2-3 Gluten-Free

I tried a gluten-free cake mix from 1-2-3 Gluten-Free for E's birthday. The mix is free of gluten, wheat, dairy, casein, peanuts, tree nuts, corn, sugar, eggs, and soy. I had both chocolate and yellow, and decided to try the chocolate first.

The mix calls for eggs, but also has an egg-free version using flaxseed. Since E can eat eggs in baked goods that have been baked for at least 30 minutes, I used eggs and made a 9 x 13" cake. It rose beautifully and although we didn't get a single picture of it, it was a great looking cake!

I'd never used a cake mix to which you have to add your own sugar, but I ended up liking it because they have an option for making it with agave syrup and maple syrup. It was very sweet and I don't think that anyone would guess that there was no refined sugar in it.

Everyone who tried the cake really liked it, and these are people who aren't necessarily used to GFCF, refined-sugar-free cakes!

Personally, I like the chocolate cake I make from scratch better, because I think it's just a bit moister. This was very good for a mix, though, and I'll definitely make it again. Next time, I'll try making 9" round cakes because I think I'd like it better with the extra icing in-between the layers.

Ingredients: Rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, aluminum-free corn-free baking powder, natural flavor, xanthan gum, salt. Manufactured in a dedicated allergen-free facility (NO gluten, wheat dairy, casein, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and soy!).

More Allergies and More Prayer

So, after listening to Jay screaming at the top of his lungs, and having to hold him down to prevent him from bolting from the room (and this was with the sedative that J had taken before leaving the house!), Nick learned that Jay is allergic to shellfish, trees, weeds, cats, and dogs. But, dust mites are by far his worst allergy.

The night before he went in for testing, I was reading about how most kids with eczema are allergic to dust. So now I'm praying that we can get the dust in this house under control so that we can get his allergies and eczema under control!

I spent hours cleaning and dusting the bedroom, and Nick went in and vacuumed thoroughly. The allergist said that we really have to take up the carpeting, put in floors, replace the blinds, and cover the mattresses and pillows with allergy covers. I'm just praying about all of that because I have no idea how we're going to come up with the funds to do it.

Meanwhile, I've been up since 3:30 this morning because GracieGirl now has eczema on her back and legs, and she was going crazy with the itching. I gave her medicine and then held her for an hour until she stopped whimpering and went back to sleep. I'd started cleaning out her room, because she is also allergic to dust. We need to get the rug out of her room, too, and get her mattresses and pillows covered.

Now I know what my mom went through with me when I was little because I'm allergic to dust. I don't know how she found the time to clean my room each day, but that's what I need to do with our bedrooms. The problem is that I can't vacuum or do a lot of the other cleaning, and Nick's already up to his eyeballs doing all of the other things I can't do! All I know is that five out of six of us are allergic to dust, and we need to find a way to keep on top of the cleaning.

So, I'm praying for flooring, allergy covers, and someone to come clean our house! :)


Oh, and they want Jay to start weekly allergy shots immediately. I'd better pray about that one, too!

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Allergy Testing and Prayers

I really thought I was doing the right thing.

J's anxiety has been through the roof recently, and I didn't want to add to the obsessing/worrying, so I didn't tell him that he was having allergy testing.

The look on his face when he got home (yes, I made Nick take him - I still haven't gotten over the last time he was tested, eight years ago, when he literally climbed up me in an attempt to escape through the window) told me that I was wrong.

All he said was, "You knew about this?"

I nodded. The look of betrayal on his face hurt my heart.

It went downhill from there. I soon realized that there was no point in trying to explain why I hadn't told him. All he could say, over and over again, was that he wasn't prepared. He likes to be prepared. He thought he was going in for a checkup...

From there, it went to talk of his birthmom, feelings of abandonment, sad accusations that we're not his real family...

After many hours of this, he asked me what I could do to stop his pain. I told him to pray and I told him that I would pray. He asked if I would ask my friends to pray for him. I assured him that I would.

A few minutes later, he told me that he had prayed and asked God if He would remove his pain. He promised that he would spread His Gospel if He did. He added that he knew that he'd spent most of his time in the house instead of out spreading the Gospel, and he wanted to change that.

With that, he rolled over on the couch and went to sleep. Eight hours later, he's still asleep on the couch! Definitely a first...

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J's Update

Still moving towards getting J to his Social Skills Camp...

I finally spoke with his autism doctor and we're getting a game plan together. She's going to increase one of his meds. I also told her that he started Singulair a month or two ago for his allergies. Here is a list of behavioral side effects from Singulair's website. J has experienced a good number of them. So, I called his allergist and he said to stop the Singulair immediately.

J doesn't know it, but he's scheduled for allergy testing on Monday. I hope we can figure out what's causing his symptoms so that we can practice avoidance and not have to rely on meds as much!

His doctor also wants to get his eczema under control, but we can't get in to see the dermatologist until September. She wants us to see our family doctor, which I think is somewhat pointless. J's former dermatologist already said that there's nothing more that he can do for him, so I'm not sure what a family doctor can do.

We took J to an ophthalmologist because none of the drops that the allergist prescribed were working. Let's just say that the exam didn't go well. As bad as I felt for J, it was almost amusing watching the doctor, who obviously had little experience dealing with kids on the spectrum, try to figure out what to do next. It seemed that he was stumped. A nurse came hurrying in after hearing the screams, but he didn't even know what to tell her to do! So, Nick and I jumped in and we finally got through the exam, which included rolling J's eyelids back, an unpleasant experience for anyone, but torturous for a kiddo with sensory issues.

J has Allergic Conjunctivitis and has to use a steroid eye drop in addition to his regular eye drops for the next couple of weeks. Thankfully, the new drops don't sting, because I'm just not up for any more battles, especially four times a day!

J's behavior specialist is working with him, too. She's contacted the bus company to see if he can take a test ride next week, as one of his big fears is riding the bus to and from camp. They're not returning her calls. Ugh.

Oh, and J went in to see if he would be approved to see the psychologist. They did a screening and then called me the following day, accusing me of "double dipping." What??? Yep, since he's getting Wraparound and seeing a behavior specialist, it was considered double dipping when we took him to another facility to see if he can see the psychologist there. They haughtily informed me that the screening will probably not be covered by his insurance.

What can I say? They're on to me. Yes, I was trying to double dip. I was thinking that I wasn't spending enough of my spare time making phone calls, filling out paperwork, and running kids to appointments. I just had to have more!

Unbelievable.

I realize that my attitude stinks. It's just been a long, behavior-filled week, compounded by too many headaches brought on by various medical policies. I told Nick that I'm going to pack up my washer and dryer (my essentials) and move everyone to the mountains of Idaho, where we can live the simple life and never deal with any more agencies, therapies, or doctors.

He said that I've had better ideas. :)

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