Wisdom Teeth Update

The surgery went well yesterday.  She came home very wired from sedation but did not sleep more than an hour the first six hours at home.  They told us she would sleep most of the day.  They do not know how adversely she is affected by chemicals. 

And eventually, her system must have become overwhelmed by the combination of sedation drugs, anesthetic, pain meds, lack of food, and who knows what else.  Long story short, she ended up taking an ambulance ride to the hospital for a couple of hours on IV fluids.  I think that’s what she needed to flush all those toxins out of her system.   I am thinking all surgery patients might need a good flushing out so they can recover easier. 

She has passed out before, but never to this extent and would always recover.  Yesterday, we could not get her to stay awake and bounce back and her color was ashen gray.  Not a good color to see in your child’s face. 

She has had some rest and has eaten some soft food today and has a lot of color… rosy pink chipmunk cheeks. 

This is how she likes to sleep.  No wonder she likes burrowing animals. 

More on Food Dyes

Here is an interesting article on food dyes.  Notice the short list at the bottom of surprising foods containing artificial colors.  Then click on the link for the full report and scroll down for a more complete list. 

It never hurts to read all labels.  Even some white marshmallows have blue dyes.  And restaurants also include it in their foods. 

http://www.everydayhealth.com/add-adhd/0330/20-surprising-artifically-colored-foods.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthLivingWithADHD_20120414

I believe manufacturers are really insulting us by adding dye to things to make them appear more appetizing. 

Trust me, after experiencing the kind of behavior my oldest has after ingesting red dye or listening to my husband wheeze after ingesting yellow dye, I do not find bright colored food very appealing. 

Wisdom Teeth

The oldest, who is seventeen, will be having her wisdom teeth removed today. 

Her bottom teeth have already broken through the gums so I’m hoping that will mean less abuse during surgery. 

She lost her first tooth at age 4 and was the first in preschool to lose a tooth. 

She had all her permanent teeth before age 9.  

We have joked that maybe she is really older than they told us. 

Just a Haircut

Sometimes all it takes is a haircut to take you back in time or cause flash backs.  Sean has been wearing his hair longer for the past couple of years or so.  Today, we got his hair cut and it’s like looking at him when he was three years old. 

This was taken in February with his basketball trophy.

Below are his today versus when he was three.   His hair has darkened quite a bit.

Artificial-Free Marshmallows

Since my son cannot have corn syrup, I have learned to make healthier marshmallows a few times and we love them.  Did you know that some marshmallows you buy at the store have blue dye in them?  Why?? 

I took some pictures starting at step 5.   Notice, no dyes. 

Adapted recipe from the book Candy Making Basics by Evelyn Howe Fryatt

powdered sugar for dusting
2 packages Knox gelatin
8 tablespoons cold water (same as 1/2 cup)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Dust an 8- or 9-inch square pan with powdered sugar. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, soak gelatin and 8 tablespoons of cold water. Set aside.

3. Combine granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a large heavy saucepan.

4. Cook and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Add gelatin and bring to a boil.

5. Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl and let stand until partially cool.

6. Add salt and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer until soft and double in volume.

7. Pour into the prepared pan to about 1/2 inch thick.8. Set to cool until it will not stick to the finger.9.

Cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces and roll in powdered sugar. 

 

To make them for roasting, double the gelatin.  It will seem too thick but when you add it to the sugar water, it will dissolve.   They will stay on the stick but melt easily on s’mores so they are a bit messy. 

 

To make them taste like peeps, you can use organic powdered sugar which is not as fine or use a coffee grinder to grind your own sugar to make your own.

 

It takes a while to beat the mixture until it doubles and is soft.  I start out on low and then as it gets a little thicker, I increase the speed and finish with it on high.  This takes me 15-20 min. with my handheld mixer. 

 

These are so good that they do not last long at our house. 

Why Are Dinosaurs Extinct?

They died. 

 

Why are DoDo birds extinct? 

They died.  They did not need a meteor crashing to the ground or some single event to make them extinct.  They were unable to survive as flightless birds probably due to their environment being disrupted by the addition of animals and people who may have hunted them or destroyed their nests which previously had been safe on the ground. 

City Hall and Police Department

We took a field trip recently to city hall and the police department.  I had to chuckle when someone asked the kids what grade they are in.  In her defense, she did not know it was a homeschool group. 

 

 

 

For anyone not from our area, can you guess what the building is in the background of this picture? 

Excuse Me?

Read the following article.  This makes my eyeballs want to pop out.  I would love to be able to buy Nesquik and other Nestle products if they would get with the program here in the U.S.   They are not the only company making accomodations in Europe while still selling out the U.S. consumers.  We are led to believe that our country is one of great opportunities.  Unfortunately, these so-called opportunities are making us sick.  

NESTLE 

Multinational companies have replaced most of the synthetic dyes
with natural colorings in the foods they sell in Europe. Now Nestle is
ditching the artificial flavorings and preservatives in their line of candies
sold in Britain. They have also removed artificial ingredients
from their Nesquik -- but they continue to use synthetic dyes and flavorings
in the products they sell to Americans!

Nestle's UK spokesman, David Rennie, explained the company's decision,
"Moms are very concerned about what their children are eating."
Mr. Rennie, please send a memo to your US counterpart; our
moms are concerned about our children, too!

 

Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter
of the Feingold Association of
the United States, www.feingold.org.

Humor from Someone Else

I like to post something funny once in a while but I have temporarily lost my sense of humor, so, not to disappoint, here is a link to one of the funniest things I have read in a while. 

I hope you enjoy this post by Dawn Meehan, author of books and one of my favorite bloggers.  I have been reading her blog for a few years and have read one of her books.  She’s a hoot but she is also real about real life. 

Into Tunnel of Darkness  My Colonoscopy

Sounds Familiar

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/brainallergies.htm

 

This article pretty much sums up many of our experiences.  The really sad and scary ones, but very real, are the mental health problems. 

Pollen?

 

No kidding!

Spring Break - Day 1

Okay, today is day 1 (if you do not count the weekend) of our spring break.   There is so much to do that I do not know where to start so I plopped down at the computer to do a blog post.  Not very productive but maybe if I list what needs to be done, it will motivate me to check them off.  

So many things to choose from.  

Spring cleaning seems like a good idea but it’s hard to think of doing that before spring officially arrives.  I think I will at least clean a few more windows… you know, so I can see through them.   I’ve got a couple of kids who think cleaning windows is fun so I will probably “let” them do the ones they can reach to get the top layer of grime and handprints off of them. 

Also a bit premature it seems, is that we’ve had to bring out the off-season clothes from the attic so we can have something comfortable to wear with these record-breaking temperatures.   I need to spend time partly switching out clothes.  I have a feeling the temps will not return to below freezing but just in case, we need to be able to dress for it. 

And then there’s the case of the missing printer and speaker power cords for the computer.  They were misplaced when we packed everything during the house flood.  I am hoping as I continue to organize things that were thrown into containers and boxes, that I will somehow run across them.  It escapes me how these did not get packed with the other computer desk items.   

In addition, I need to find a better place for our birds and located their nest box before they start laying eggs on the bottom of the cage.  They seem to be inspired by this weather also and are showing signs of the egg laying behavior from last year.  We never had any fertilized eggs so I don’t expect any this time but you never know. 

The kitchen counters were a nice brown pattern of some sort, I think.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen much of them so I know I need to spend a few hours in the kitchen.  One of the bread machines needs to have a different storage location. 

I want to have a garage sale in the next month or two (next week would be even better) so doing a mass de-cluttering seems appropriate as well. 

Then there’s the homeschool book sale in May that I might participate in.  So, sorting through books and materials should be on my list. 

And the list goes on and on. 

Example of a discussion with an Aspie teen with ADD.

 

Background:  Ongoing  discussion regarding sperm.  She is fascinated with biology but does not like talking about the “s” word. 

 

C:  “Mom, I saw a picture of them and they are tadpoles!  I told you!”

Me:  “They are not tadpoles.  Tadpoles turn into frogs.  Tadpoles grow and develop legs”

C:  “Babies do too!”

Me:  “Babies do not grow from sperm.  They grow from eggs that are fertilized by sperm.”

C: “Huh?  What do you mean?”

Me, wondering where she was during 5th and 6th grade sex education, “The egg gets fertilized by the sperm and then grows into a baby.  Just like with chickens.  If their eggs are fertilized, they don’t turn into chickens, they’re just eggs.” 

C:  “Chickens!  I want a chicken!”

Me:  “Sigh.  How did we end up talking about getting a chicken during a birds and bees conversation?” 

C:  “What do birds and beetles have to do with anything?”  

Sam

Sam was looking especially photogenic today.  She is a good dog.   A great watch dog. 

 

 

Extra Slim

Sean has always been on the lower end of the weight charts.  I don’t think he’s been more than the 6th-percentile. 

This would explain why even slim pants have to be altered.  The adjustable waist pants require stretching the elastic as far as possible. 

 

This weather is incredibly too warm for me.  I don’t like to sweat. 

The kids have enjoyed playing outside.  Sierra even played in the pool.   With Polly, that is. 

Then we went to cool off at the ice rink for her lessons. 

Two more days of school and then we are on break.  From everything.  Bliss. 

Fruit snacks

Click here to find out What's really in your fruit snack?   It’s not fruit or certainly not much fruit. 

After learning that one child has a sensitivity to artificial dyes, especially red #40, and another one has a sensitivity to corn syrup, we don’t buy these any more.  We do not buy a lot of things now because I can’t risk having an accidental ingestion of the dyes.  Red dyes cause extreme anxiety, blue causes shortness of breath, yellow causes my husband to have asthma.  

Before learning of the corn syrup issue, I did find that the Mott’s brand of fruit snacks doesn’t have artificial colors but I think the first ingredient was corn syrup.  Would you let your child drink corn syrup straight?    

Reading labels is eye opening. 

The Friday Zone

We went to a nearby college town recently for filming of a kid’s show at a local PBS station.  The younger two participated in the craft portion for three different shows.  This week’s show features them making a tooth fairy mouse.   We all had fun and it was neat to see how many people are involved in the filming of such a show.   We’ve been invited back for another filming but I have not decided if we will do it.  It is during our spring break week and I was hoping to not have to be anywhere that week so I can get some things done around here and relax. 

 

 

At the website, The Friday Zone, you can see the current week’s video in addition to some pictures from the filming.  You can also view previous videos.   The kids were also in the video Space Cadets and will be in an upcoming show this month. 

Far Behind

I am a bit behind in posting.   To catch up, it might work best to work from present and move backward.   As a follow up to the fractured ankle, Sean wore a cast for 4 1/2 weeks and then wore a splint for 2 more weeks.  He could take it off to shower and sleep so he was good with that. 

Remember our water fiasco last fall?   I think we might be almost done with it, finally.  We have had the worst adjuster possible, I think.  I finally called our agent who wished we’d called sooner.  We did just have the restoration company back out this week to redo part of the bathroom.  It was a simple fix, thankfully.  According to the adjuster this morning, the check is in the mail for the receipts I turned in four weeks ago.  It was a simple task of comparing the cash value that they paid us with the receipts for the few things we replaced and then make a check.  Fortunately, I had put the numbers into a spreadsheet here at home because when his total was about $60.00 less than I calculated, I knew he was off.  Then he had a little trouble with a calculator.  Seriously?  A calculator?  Ok, whatever.  Anyway, we owe the thanks to our agent for getting a fire lit under him… or a foot put someplace is the phrase I think he used. 

Probably the sweetest thing to come out of the flood was this gorgeous computer armoire that I found on Craigslist.   Almost like new.  Great price – got it within our allowed replacement amount. Solid oak.  Was my husband ever pleased about that as soon as he saw it.  Notice the magnetic white boards on the doors – great bonus for us homeschoolers.

 

Here is a glimpse of our new carpet.

And our tile while still being installed.

And our new ceiling and ceiling fan.  These were taken before the rooms were finished.   And before they cleaned the drywall dust off the brick wall and hearth.

 

I do not have any pictures of the finished rooms yet.  Part of the reason is that I am still unpacking boxes and reorganizing.  And we still need to touch up the paint on the ceilings.

The restoration company sent us a nice Christmas card with a big magnet of their company.  I had to chuckle.  Do they really have customers who want to see their magnet every day to remind them of the situation in which they needed their services?  Needless to say, the magnet is not on the front our our refrigerator.  

Growth plate fracture

The downside to sports is injuries.  The doctor determined Sean does have a growth plate fracture and gave him a new cast for two more weeks and told him there was a 98% chance he would be done with casts at that time.  He might get a boot for a while after that.  The ankle was still swollen and bruised when they took the first cast off.  He is set to get this one off in five days.

 

Sean chose a glow-in-the-dark cast this time.  He liked the light color so he could have everyone sign it.  He wasn’t entirely thrilled about having another cast, but he was a good sport. 

 

Basketball casualty

Sean was playing a good game until he turned his ankle, fell and then someone stepped on it. 

He has a possible growth plate fracture with pretty nice ankle sprain.   Cast for at least two weeks depending on exam.