We ran into a serious problem this year for Halloween. The store we were counting on buying our candy from stopped carrying the candies Jackson loves. He'll be fine with Mommy's special homemade treats this year, but I began my internet search so we're prepared for other Holidays and birthdays.
One of our favorite candy products was Yummy Earth Organic Lollypops (formerly sold at Publix). We also like Surf Sweets, and they make a whole line of corn-free candy ranging from gummy bears to jelly beans. The big problem with online organic shopping is that most of the time you have to buy in bulk. Jackson doesn't eat enough candy on his own to warrant buying in bulk. So, that doesn't really work for us. I found a site recently that has a large selection of all our favorite products and sells our favorites in small quantities. My discovery came too late to order and get it here for this year's trick-or-treating, but we'll be ready for Christmas.
The Natural Candy Store even has a section dedicated to corn-syrup free candy. I still check the labels, but this makes it easier to find exactly what I'm looking for.
So, if you're in the market for some natural treats for your little ones, check out the Natural Candy Store online.
My schedule stays pretty full. Between pre-school for Jackson, homeschool/class for my older son, three therapies a week, all the shopping and cooking, caring for my 1 year old, sports, church, etc. Things get pretty hectic. There are many things I don't get to do much anymore like watch tv, go to the theater, even going out to dinner has become a near impossible feat with Jackson's allergies and our schedule, but there is one thing I miss more than any other. That is the ability to choose time to spend on spiritual things as I saw fit.
I accepted a challenge in college to read the Bible through every month, and thought I was really doing a great thing. It was great, but I soon had to alter that plan to every three months due to the other studying I had to do. Still every three months was pretty good. A lot of my reading was done on auto pilot, especially through the books that don't read so easy (you know the ones I'm talking about). I can look back and see where I was going through the motions but not really gleaning what I should. Still the Bible actually became one of my favorite books to read, and often was hard to put down.
That challenge had to be altered again after I got married and was now working full time and caring for my new marriage, but during my first pregnancy, when my husband was on call or working over the weekend, I began reading in big chunks again. I would read out loud so the little guy could hear. I have such wonderful memories of what God showed me during that time.
Fast forward to the day my oldest son was born, and those days of reading my Bible, listening to sermons, playing my piano and singing in worship, even just getting to church easily, those days were now gone. I was not prepared for the shift. I really struggled with depression and emotional craziness. Some due to the baby blues women often get after giving birth, but I believe some of it was going from feasting to famine. I was going through withdrawals on top of no sleep, hormone insanity and all the new demands. I remember a deep longing to return to my Bible and thinking, "if I can just get him sleeping through the night..." or "if I could just get him weaned...." I kept thinking those opportunities would just happen again. Well, after two more kids and an autism diagnosis, that day still hasn't come. What I've had to do is make some trades and some interesting improvisations.
I've given up what little bit of tv watching I had left. I've stopped obsessing during the kids' nap time over cleaning or cooking, and began reading my Bible or other spiritual books or listening to a podcasted sermon during that time. Many times I've read myself to sleep, something I would have been appalled to admit before kids, but now I see it as God granting me much needed rest, almost like He's telling His little girl a story and lulling her off to sleep.
My favorite adaptation is what I call auto reflections. Jackson has two half hour speech appointments a week. When we first talked about the schedule, I was a little irritated that these were the only spots she had open for him. I wanted her to block the two segments into a 1 hour slot so I could do something with it, but it was this or nothing. Now, what am I going to do with 30 minutes? There isn't any time for shopping or errands. All I really can do is sit in the parking lot and wait. Then the Holy Spirit opened up my mind and heart to using that time to read, reflect and pray. I've found I can get a lot more done in those 30 minutes than I ever thought possible, and while Jackson gets speech therapy, I'm getting spiritual therapy.
So, while I sat outside the school today getting my spiritual therapy, I decided to post this discovery. I've wasted so much time stressing over not getting enough time with God. Knowing that I needed Him to help me with my often short fuse and anxious, worried heart, and I just kept stressing and thinking there was never going to be enough time. I needed to alter my expectations and open up my mind and heart to a different way of spiritual life.
The longer I'm at this, the more I think it's not about setting aside a certain amount of time or reading a certain amount of pages or getting to that special emotional place in prayer. It's more about desiring God and being open to the time slots He gives you. God doesn't care how much WE do, but how much we let HIM do. Opening our hearts to his work, asking for His filling and help, and making ourselves available when He makes time for us, this is how we keep growing during these hectic seasons of life.
I love this little cookbook because of all the useful tips and facts inside. The articles range from how to make the perfect custard and how to choose a refrigerator (from 1930), and the recipes are simple and old fashioned, some dating back to the 1800's.
The section on cakes gives a foundation yellow cake recipe and then gives 8 ways to take that recipe and make different cake. It also gives some great tips and facts in each section that girls like me might never have known otherwise.
Things like....
From the cake section:
Dredging nuts or fruit in part of the required flour will keep them from going to the bottom of the batter.
When adding dry ingredients alternately with the liquid, begin and end with the dry ingredients in order to keep the fat from separating from the sugar and egg.
Egg whites beat up to better advantage, both as to time and volume, when the eggs are at room temperature.
This is a neat resource to have in the kitchen, and you can get a used copy from Amazon for less than it costs to ship. Check it out.
Grandma's Farm Country Cookbook
There are plenty of days when I don't even notice Jackson's differences. His autism seems to just disappear into the chaos that is our lives. We go about our weekly routine of school and therapy plus sports and church often without a hitch. We have grown so accustomed to it that life is 'normal' even with the occasional hiccup, and we're happy. Inevitably, though, the routine gets changed. A birthday party here, a family get together there, and suddenly there it is, autism in all it's glory.
Sometimes it's manageable, sometimes it's not. Sometimes no one notices, other times it is quite obvious to everyone present. Many times seeing autism in my child brings up the pain and struggle I felt the day I heard the doctor give his diagnosis. But, in the pain of many of these moments I've been taken back by the reaction of family and friends. I have been nearly brought to tears over and over again at their support, acceptance and even their attempts to understand and help.
I am so blessed to be able to say that in our family and circle of friends, when I see autism, I also see love, hope and understanding.
Oh, that it were that way for every child with this diagnosis.
Jackson drinks water, 100% juices and milk. I recently gave him some Juicy Juice sparkling juice which contains no added sugar, but he wouldn't drink it. I also tried another natural sprite type drink, but the face he made when he tried it let me know that I would not be buying any more.
I'm not trying to make him a soda drinker, but I did want to let him try something new. I've often wondered what we would do when he got older and wanted to drink things like everyone else. Well, that's not a problem, at least not in the near future.
Jackson can't really articulate the reason he doesn't like the sparkling juice or natural sodas, but I'm guessing since he's used to drinking unsweetened, non-carbonated drinks, the super sweetness and the fizz was too much for his sensitive palate. I tried them, too, and I noticed a different quality to the natural sodas versus the corn syrup kind. The biggest difference was that it wasn't as tongue numbingly sweet.
Some day Jackson might want to drink soda like his friends, especially at birthday parties and family gatherings, but if he would rather stick to unsweetened, non-carbonated drinks for the rest of his life, that will be fine with me.
Since my camera has taken it's last picture, I won't be posting new recipes until I get a new one. In the mean time, I'll share things that have helped me in creating my own allergy free recipes.
One of the best things I figured out was making my own Baking Powder.
1 part Baking Soda (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 part Potato Starch (or any other flavorless starch, corn starch is actually the best, but Jackson's corn allergy doesn't allow for that)
2 parts Cream of Tartar
After mixing, store in an air tight container. I usually mix it using a Tbsp measure. You want to use it before it loses it's potency, usually about 3-4 months. I have no problem with all the baking I do, but you don't want to mix up so much that you can't use it up before it goes bad.
After mixing well, you can use it exactly like you would the store bought kind.
Even if Jackson were to outgrow his allergy, I will likely continue using my own baking powder. It makes a difference in the rise and texture of baked goods, and I like knowing exactly what's in my food.
