Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Even though this is a day late, I just had to share the funny St. Patrick's Day dip that Spunky made for us yesterday. She REALLY wanted to make a special snack for her sisters and brother after nap. She had absolutely no help from me because I was busy with something else. Here's her recipe:

1 part peanut butter
1 part honey
1 part applesauce
1 (large) dose of green food coloring

Serve with carrots. They all loved it!

Quirks

Spunky often wears one sock around the house. Just one. I have no idea why.

Bubba hands out little cards to everyone and says he's giving them a "chocolate treat". Actually it sounds more like "chocut teet?"

Calico is currently trying to clean out her own boogers with the aspirator bulb. It cracks me up.

Giggles has these bizarre theories on things. Yesterday while examining a bruise on her upper thigh, she commented that she hurt her foot on the trampoline and she thought the bruise must have bounced up her leg from her foot. Hmmm . . .

I'm sure Ethan and I have some quirks of our own, but they aren't coming to me at the moment. What funny little things do you observe in your family?

Good Morning!

Who doesn't love Veggie Tales? Years ago we adapted a song from the episode with the chocolate factory to sing to our kids every morning. I think I've been singing it since Spunky was a baby.

Good morning, Spunky, how are you?

I hope you slept just fine.

Mama's here and I love you very much,

And I'm so glad you're mine!

I wonder how many years I'll get to sing that to them, before they roll their eyes and groan? :)

Our Foray Into Gluten-Free Eating

I promised a while back to write about the new diet we are trying with Bubba. We've heard from SO MANY parents of autistic children that removing gluten and casein from their child's menu helped them tremendously. His doctor didn't put much stock in it, which is why we haven't tried it up until now. But we needed to do this to see if there is anything we can do to help him and make our life as a family more manageable. I planned to start with a polished, perfect menu that covered all of the appropriate food groups for both him and the rest of the family.

Fail.

Why is it so stinkin' hard? At a friend's recommendation, we bought the Food For Life brand millet bread, because he eats a lot of sandwiches. First attempt: I made a pb & j, and he licked all the peanut butter off and left the bread sitting there. Second attempt: pb & j; he nibbled the sandwich. We also bought Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, which must have tasted like crud because he wouldn't eat a single one (although he fed several to his sisters). We bought gluten-free breakfast bars, which were so hard we could sharpen our knives on them. He has been eating a lot of rice and potatoes, fruits and vegetables. He also likes rice milk, so that's a plus.

I worry that he's not getting enough food, and wonder if this is really worth it. They say it can take six months for gluten to leave the body. Can we last that long?

We cooked some gluten-free banana bread last night. I had so much fun hanging out with my little guy. He absolutely loves cooking and baking of any kind. I seriously have to chase him from the kitchen sometimes, but I'm trying to let him help whenever it's possible.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. :)

Have a happy weekend!

A Glimpse of Our Week

Silly: Me chasing after the kids with the oversized teeth we are borrowing from a non-profit dental organization. Who is the adult? Sometimes it's nice to forget . . .

Sober: Studying the Spanish Inquisition. What would we do? How would we react? Giggles reflects upon the the fear that reformers must have felt and seriously declares that in the same situation she would "ask God what I should do". Wise words, babe.

Bittersweet: Dearest Calico has roseola. As I cuddle her I gaze at her round cheeks. Remember. The thumb in the mouth and blanket clutched up close. Remember. I'm not ready for my precious baby to grow up. Just a little longer to hold her, please?

For Added Safety

For a long time I have considered not using the real names of our kids on my blog because it's public. I've hesitated to make the change because I know it means a couple hours of editing old posts. But I've decided to start today. If you know us please don't use their real names in comments. Thanks!

New names are as follows:

Our 8-year-old girl is Spunky.
Our 6-year-old girl is Giggles.
Our 4-year-old boy is Bubba.
Our 1-year-old girl is Calico.

What do you think about blog privacy? Any stories or thoughts?

Saluton!

I have wanted to start a foreign language with the kids for quite a while. As I am not well-versed in any particular language, I've had a hard time deciding. Spanish seemed like the obvious choice and we also have a friend who is fluent in sign language, yet neither of those appealed to me. So, after much research, we've decided to learn Esperanto as a family.

Never heard of Esperanto? From wikipedia, it's "the most widely constructed international auxilary language". It doesn't belong to one people or country; there are speakers in every country in the world. The structure is much easier to master than other foreign languages.

The kids are loving it already and I've found we can incorporate it into other parts of our school day. For example, the kindergartner who's practicing addition can be asked, "What is kvar plus ses? (Answer: dek)

Since I don't know how to say "Have a great day!" in our new language, for reading this post I say

Dankon!