EEG

     My youngest finally got his EEG on November 18th. He had to fall asleep which I was worried about, but daddy held him and he was asleep in just a few minutes. He wasn't particularly happy when we had to wake him up for the last part of the test.
     Fast forward to November 28th and we got the results. Everything was noreal and no sign of seizure activity. It was such a relief. One less hurdle to get our little man over.
     We will be getting him into all of the recommended therapies starting early next year. Our insurance is switching over, so there is no point in going through all the start up and paperwork just to have to change it over in 2 months.
     He has continued to eat better. He had started eating pears and pistachios. Still trying to get him to eat more forms of protein and vegetables, but he is making improvements.
     Sleep is a little iffy. More often than not, he wakes up in the middle of the night and crawls into our bed. Goes right back to sleep, but just enough to wake us up. He likes to take up my side of the bed, so I wake up in pain a lot. Hopefully we can turn it around but for now I'm so exhausted all the time that I don't feel like handling it.
     Well that's all the news for now, got a busy day ahead of prepping salad in a jar. Great way to have a healthy lunch ready to grab, but they do take some work. But that's a post for another day!

Last canning of the season

     To finish off the last of the jalapeños that my parents grew I made some pepper jelly. I made two different batches. One was all green bell peppers and jalapeños and the second had red bell peppers and a jalapeño or two that had turned red.
     The first batch was runny so I ended up having to fix it, but the second batch turned out great.  

      This was the first batch that I fixed up. It is perfect now!

     This was the second batch that turned out just right the first time!

     I've never actually had pepper jelly so I had my family try it and they said it tastes good/just ad it should. I was glad to hear it turned out right for a first try. 

     The recipe was in the booklet that came with my FreshTech jam&jelly maker. It is also online at:  http://www.freshpreserving.com/pepper-jelly-%7C-pepper-jelly-recipe---ball-fresh-preserving-br1308.html

    I'll have a new post soon about our trip to the pumpkin patch. We're carving tomorrow, so it'll probably be Thursday or Friday.

Officially diagnosed

     My youngest finally got in for his tests back at the end of September to see if/where he is on the spectrum. He was diagnosed with a moderate level of autism, but with a prognosis that improvement is likely with therapy.

     I expected to be emotional after the appointment. I just didn't know if it would be hopeful or sorrow. It wasn't a surprise that he is, in fact, on the spectrum. My biggest fear was that he'd always be nonverbal and I'd never get to hear him say "Mommy I love you!" This appointment gave our family both a plan and hope.

     Right now the plan is to get an EEG, a hearing test, a vision test, and to start dental visits. The dentist isn't part of his therapy it's just time. They recommended a genetic test as well. We are going to see about getting him into speech therapy and possibly an eating group to improve the range of foods he will eat. 

     He's been thriving at school. Sleeping better. Not necessarily eating better, but eating more. He does seem willing to try more new foods. Recently he ate ground beef, an apple with the peel on, and a pear. He actually points at something when he wants it, where he used to excitedly wave his arms in the items direction. He also seems to be making more purposeful sounds as opposed to just noise. Like he is trying to say actual words instead of just monotone sounds. He has even started giving hugs and kisses!

     For now we just get him all the help he needs and hopefully before long I'll finally get to hear his voice. Hopefully he'll finally be able to get out of his own head and tell us what he's feeling, what's he's thinking, what makes him happy, what makes him sad. 

     Hope. It's what we needed, and it's what we have. Even if it's all we have for now. We will get through this together.

CordaRoy's corduroy beanbag chair-full sleeper

     My husband recently started the program for his master's degree, and he set his computer up on a low table in our bedroom. He can close the door and get work done, but sitting on the floor was uncomfortable to say the least. He knew he was going to have to go the beanbag route because a chair would be too high. We checked out tons of brands over several weeks when I came across the one we ultimately chose.
     I read lots of reviews talking about how the company really stands by its product and if the beanbag isn't fluffy to your standards they send more fluff, free of charge. So few companies do this, so I knew we had a winner.
     There are so many great positives to this chair. The best being the inside is actually a full size sleeper. The whole thing is machine washable  (though I'm not sure how you'd fit the inside inside a standard washing machine.) There are a few different sizes and fabrics for the cover. Lots of colors and patterns to choose from. There is something for everybody.

      Comes packed in a surprisingly compact box considering how big this thing gets. Around 20"x20" and fluffs up to over 40" wide.

     Some details about what is covered under warranty should an issue arise. We chose the corduroy to help prevent certain issues. We have a cat who scratches everything but his scratching posts.

      This was before it reached full fluffiness, but it is obviously still pretty large.

     This was the cat I mentioned earlier. So far no scratching *fingers crossed*

     Couldn't get the whole measurement in the picture because it was just too big. 

     So far the beanbag chair is working pretty well. He can sit and be supported while doing stuff for school. All of the kids and animals love it, so I'd say it's a win/win! Definitely recommend this chair to anybody who is looking.

Compost tumbler and canning jars!

     I've had a certain compost tumbler on my amazon wish list for at least 6 months and the reviews were great, but the price was hoverify between $90-$100. I checked my list and it was on sale for $67 and some change. I hopped on that right away and I'm super excited. The instructions weren't great, but luckily it was pretty easy to figure out with the help of a YouTube video I searched for. It is the yimby brand and I've already put egg shells, coffee grounds, apple peels and cores, a paper egg carton, and a whole bunch of other stuff in it.

     In addition to the sale on the tumbler ball jars were also on sale (on amazon as well.) I got 12 half pint, 12 pints, and 12 quart for around $26. If I'd been thinking I would have used my gift card and gotten $5 off. 

     I bought some more Jonathan apples and turned the caramel apple jam I made before into a recipe for pie filling. It looks good and I'll get to see how it turned out later this fall.

Lots more canning to finish off the summer

                               From this:

To this: 

In just about 4 hours. 

     First I cut an "x" into the bottom of each tomato and put them one at a time into boiling water. After about a minute to a minute and a half I moved them into an ice bath. I peeled them and then cored them with my handy dandy tomato corer (made it much faster!) I cut them into quarters and pureed them in my ninja blender. 

   

    I moved them to my big old stock pot, added my ball pasta sauce spice mix, and brought it to a boil. I reduced the temp to a simmer on medium in order to reduce the liquid. I'm not sure exactly how long I ended up on the stove for, but it was at least an hour. 

    I them put them into warm quart jars and processed them for 65 minutes in my electric water bath canner. I feel like the sauce could/should have been reduced a little more (probably at least another 30 minutes) but overall I'm satisfied. I can doctor it up a little bit when I actually cook dinner with it. Maybe add a little tomato paste and a bit more spices.

     Back in June I made some pickles and they were a big hit, so I wanted to get a whole bunch more made for the winter. I made 4 pint jars of bread and butter pickles and over 20 quarts of dill pickles. Most if them were slices but I made some spears as well.

     A couple of weekends ago I went to the local pick your own place and picked 20 pounds of Jonathan apples. It was way more than I intended to get, but I quickly had 3 ways to use them all up. I decided to make caramel apple jam: http://www.alattewithotta.com/2013/09/carmel-apple-jam-in-ball-freshtech-jam.html?m=1

Applesauce: http://www.freshpreserving.com/applesauce-recipe-%7C-how-to-make-applesauce---ball-fresh-preserving-br1126.html

And Apple butter: http://kristagilbert.com/amish-crock-pot-apple-butter/
     With the apple butter I ended up having to reduce the liquid in the oven at 250-300 for about an hour. Next time I will just remove some liquid before pureeing the apples. I also altered the caramel apple jam recipe by prepping the apples in lemon juice and water before hand and adding 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the actual recipe as it was cooking.

     I am going back to pick some Granny Smith apples in October. I'll be using them to make apple pie filling, but canning season is winding down for now. I've made a lot of new recipes this summer and the results have been pretty good so far!

More fruit picking, canning, and a vacation!

     Since my last post I've gone blackberry picking twice and once to pick peaches. The blackberries were a bit bitter, but perfect for cooking with. I made jam, pie filling, fruit snacks, and then froze the rest. I picked way too many peaches (25.5 lbs!) so I made a lot of food. I made peach salsa, peach jam, fruit snacks, pie filling, and peach cobbler.
      Back in May and June I made sweet pickles, dill pickles, and bread and butter pickles. I let them pickle until vacation so they'd taste the best they could. Everybody kept telling me how good they were, so I guess I did an ok job. I accidentally switched the labels for the dill and bread and butter, so that led to me trying b&b pickles for the first time. They were actually pretty good!
      Speaking of vacation, we had so much fun! We went to Branson and stayed in the best lodge. It was so nice to spend a whole week with my whole family without the hubby having to go to work. We spent a lot more time at Silver Dollar City than White Water because it rained and was a bit cool for a water park.
      We got a ton of taffy in a bunch of different flavors and kettle corn. My oldest rode two bigger rides that he refused to go near only two years ago. Granted he said he'll never ride them again, but he still got on and rode! The youngest rode a few kiddie rides, but he loved water the most.
      Every year we go to Branson we pick out a hand-blown glass ornament from the glass shop at SDC and this year I got a pretty orange one that looks like it has flames. We already have next year booked, so I can't wait to pick out the next ome!

It has been crazy lately!

     My youngest got sick last week, so I haven't had time to write recently. He was so bad he ended up in the ER on IV fluids. He is doing worlds better now, but we have to fix his sleep schedule again.
     We bought him a hammock swing because it seems to sooth him so much. When he is actually ready for bed he falls asleep within 10 minutes or so. It is by far the best investment we could have made. Granted it wasn't even $50, including the mounting hardware.
     Here in a little bit we are getting him a new bed. Right now he will only sleep in his "pack and play." We found a bed at IKEA that I think will help him move away from that. It has stairs and you can put a tent/canopy over it. He loves his older brother's bed because of the stairs, but this bed is much lower so I'll feel safer.
     I have a new post coming up in the next couple of days about my first adventure with making sweet pickles. They are complete, I'm just waiting for them to sit for a bit before opening. I'm making dill and bread and butter pickles now that I've got my new electric water bath canner! That way I can process more at one time without water getting everywhere.
     More to come soon, I hope anybody reading is having a blessed day!

Strawberry Picking

 We went to a pick your own place this past weekend for strawberries because 

the weather was beautiful and the hubby had the day off. My older sister and my nieces

went with us. I haven't picked strawberries in at least 20 years.

This time I didn't trip and send my berries flying every which way, so

it was definitely an improvement. 

The kiddos definitely had a great time, even if the youngest wouldn't eat any of the 

strawberries. They didn't even mind the mud in the field from it

raining so much the days before we went. I might have ruined a pair of shoes,

but man did I enjoy watching them in the fields. 

We ended up with almost 10 pounds of fruit, so I decided to make some jam. I used my 

FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker again using the following recipe: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/jam-maker-homemade-stawberry-jam. 

I think I added a bit too much fruit the first batch, so it is more like a syrup

than a jam but it is still yummy! I will take the time to 

measure much more carefully for the next batch I promise!

I am also currently in the middle of making some sweet pickles off a a recipe I 

found on Pinterest. So far everything looks normal, but I guess I'll see how they turned out later

this week. I'll post the recipe and pictures later this week with an update 

on how it went. 

My youngest child

     I gave a bit of background on my youngest in my first post, but now I'm going to go more in depth.
     I had a very healthy and fairly easy pregnancy. I only gained 10 pounds and I was very active throughout. He was a tiny little thing compared to his brother, but unlike his brother my breast milk supply came in faster and better. Breastfeeding went well and I was so happy for that.
     However it slowly became the only way he would fall asleep. He was a great sleeper until a bit after he turned 1. He started waking up every 1.5-2 hours and would take about 20-30 minutes to get back to sleep. Needless to say I quickly was in full zombie mode most days. Thank goodness I didn't have a job, or I would have been useless. After a lot of back and forth with his doctor and having to push and insist that this was in fact not normal she finally agreed to do some bloodwork and refer me to a sleep specialist. His iron was low. For a year we worked on getting him on a schedule, getting his iron up, and getting him to fall asleep on his own. Less than a month after he turned 2 he decided he was done nursing and his iron was back up.
     Another issue with his sleep was that he would only sleep in the living room in his pack and play with me in the room. If we let him fall asleep and then moved him he'd wake up within the hour. We had been able to get him back into his crib and me back in my bed. Unfortunately he doesn't do that anymore, so I'm back on the couch. It's not ideal, but we all need sleep around here so we do what works best. Obviously it is a temporary solution and he is showing signs of wanting to sleep in an actual bed.
     He never really met the timetable for any of his milestones. He was almost a year before he crawled properly and was almost 14 months before he even took even one unassisted step. 3 and a half months after he turned 1 he really started walking. He never started saying anything beyond dada, so I started to worry. He was showing signs of more than just delays. He was doing repetitive behaviors, hitting his head on things when he gets mad/frustrated. At 18 months and 24 months I filled out a questionnaire about his behaviors. He was referred to First Steps. Luckily I was well acquainted with the system, so it was smooth sailing. He qualified for services as most of his development areas he was scoring at 10 months even though he was 2. He started seeing an Occupational Therapist  (OT) who recommended he also see an Applied Behavioral Analysis  (ABA) Therapist. He sees OT one hour a week and ABA 7 hours a week.
     After a few months of ABA really started to see what I'd seen quite some time ago. He needed to be tested to see if he falls on the spectrum. I highly suspect he does. He has an appointment in September.
     This is just the highlights, but whatever challenges he may face I am his mom and I will fight for him every step of the way. And he will keep finding new ways to make his whole family smile and laugh.
   

Mother's Day Blackberry Jam

     So my mom is a big fan of blackberry jam, but even more so when it is made from scratch. I just happen to have the Ball FreshTech Automatic Jam&Jelly Maker. I've had it for almost a year and I LOVE it! I made a bunch for family for Christmas and it went over pretty well, so I decided to make my mom's favorite for Mother's Day.

This machine is seriously my best friend. There is no sitting around babysitting and stirring while cooking the jam. Just a few easy steps and you have yourself some fresh jam.    

First wash your chosen fruit and crush it with a potato masher.

Sprinkle pectin evenly over the bottom of the pot and then add the crushed fruit evenly over the pectin.

Add butter to help reduce foaming.

Press the jam button (which will set the timer to 21 minutes) and then press enter.

Wait 4 minutes for the appliance to sound 4 beeps, which signals the time to add the sugar.
Slowly add the sugar as the stirrer keeps running. Put the lid back on and let it finish the cooking cycle.
Once cooking is complete, press cancel on the front of the machine, unplug the appliance,
and remove the glass lid. Remove the stirrer, using a pot holder.
Skim foam, if necessary, from the top of the jam.

Preserve immediately using one of 3 methods:
1. Enjoy now: Ladle into hot jars and allow to cool to room temperature. Place lids and bands
on jars, then label. This is good for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

2. Freeze: Repeat steps for enjoy now, leaving 1/2" headspace. Good for up to 1 year.

3. Preserve and store: While jam is cooking filler canner/stockpot half full with water.
Place lid on canner and heat to a simmer. Make sure jars, lids, and bands are washed in hot
soapy water and rinsed well. Heat the jars in your canner to avoid breakage when filling.
Ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jam/jelly from the rims of the jars
and center lids on jars. Twist on the bands until fingertip tight. Place the jars in a canning
rack inside the canner and ensure they are covered by 1-2" of water. Place lid on canner
and bring water to a gentle, steady boil. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes,
adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid, and let jars stand for 5 minutes.
Remove jars from water and cool. Check for seal after 12-24 hours. 

The front 4 were preserved, while the back 2 were prepared using method number 1.

     My mom really enjoyed the jam and it is so simple to make. It leads to such a feeling of accomplishment that I made something myself, even if I could just go to a store and pick it up. I can't wait until I have my own homegrown fruit to make the jam with! I think I am going to make strawberry next month for my dad. 

    Here is a link to the full recipe for the jam I made: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/jam-maker/berry-jam. 

Excited for next spring

     The hubby has decided on a design for our garden and we've picked out a tumbling composter. We're going to grow all the veggies we eat on a regular basis and some fruits too. I'm going to canning and freezing stuff that we grow but can't eat right away. That we can have home grown food as much of the year as possible.
     I'm still deciding on a final design for our coop, but I've got a basic idea. I'm working on getting things I'll need for the chickens like the feeder, the waterer, and the dust baths. Trying to decide on the best way to keep out pests. We have a groundhog living in our backyard, so I doubt we have many big predators. I'm most worried about snakes, mostly because of my fear of them.
     Hubby thinks we won't end of going through with all of this, but I keep telling him we will. I'm going to have 4 hours a day Monday-Thursday. I can easily get little brother on the bus, check the garden and the chickens, head off to the gym, come back and start dinner, then doing whatever else needs done before I have to get both kids off the bus at 4 and 430. Doing this will be my way of contributing to the house and keep me busy and active. During summer the kiddos can help me with the gardening and collecting eggs.
     I can't wait until we gather supplies and start building so I can out some pictures on here. I'll put pictures up of meals I cook with the food too.
     If anybody out there is reading this and has any tips, suggestions, or cautions feel free to share in the comment section!!

Our Story Begins

     My husband and I met in April of 2006. It was a love at first sight situation. Exactly one year later we were married.
     In keeping with the speed of everything, 2 months into our marriage we found out I was pregnant. My due date was Valentine's Day 2008. Unfortunately just as I was really getting used to the idea of being a mom, at just shy of 13 weeks (08-08-2007) I found out I'd miscarried. I hate that word, it seems so inept at describing what you go through. But how can you begin to find a word that gets to the heart of that loss. The loss of life, the loss of expectations, of everything you were planning for.
     Luckily the story gets better from there. On May 1st 2008, I found out I was pregnant again. We thought things were going wrong again. At my 12 week appointment the did an ultrasound and couldn't find anything. So I went to the hospital the next day and they did bloodwork and another ultrasound. I got a call a few hours later saying everything was great and the heartbeat was 171. Best phone call of my life! Fast forward to September when we find out we will be blessed with a boy. Fairly easy pregnancy actually. Labor was a different story though. I was induced at 41 weeks with no sign of dilation or being effaced. 48 hours of attempting a natural birth and I gave in. My son was born on 01-13-2009 at 9 lbs 1 oz and 21" long with a 16" head. He's still built like a linebacker.
     We decided to try to get pregnant again. Unfortunately it wasn't as easy as the first two. After a year and a half I still wasn't pregnant. I stopped trying and opted to seek weightloss surgery. Of course that couldn't possibly go smoothly. I went through a medically supervised diet and got approved for February 2012. Life had other plans though. After going under one of the drugs they gave me sent me into anaphylactic shock. After some allergy tests, we discovered the culprit was Anacef and Morphine. Luckily I was able to try again and got the Realize band in April 2012.
     Fast forward again to Thanksgiving of 2012 and I noticed things that made me think I might be pregnant again. I didn't think it was possible, but before I was even late I took a test and sure enough there was a faint second line. The things I'd been in denial about seeing my very first pregnancy made me so happy. Of course this pregnancy had bumps in the beginning too. I wasn't paying much attention to my cycle because I didn't think it mattered. I went in around what I thought was 6 weeks so they could get a date to go by. They didn't see what they were supposed to and I was forced to wait a week imagining the worst. Of course the next week my little peanut was there with a healthy heartbeat. I was very active with this pregnancy and in March I found out I was having another boy. This time I was a scheduled c-section which is much less stressful. He was born on 08-03-2013 at 7 lbs 12 oz, 20&1/4".
     I'm a stay at home mom, which I love. But it is also part of the reason I've started writing. I don't have a lot of exposure to the outside world and this is my chance to use the voice I was given. My youngest will be starting a preschool program in August at which point I will have 4 hours a day Monday to Thursday all to myself. I'm finally getting back to the gym. I'm also going to start a garden and raise chickens. I'm doing all my research, so I know what I'm getting myself into and anybody who wants to can come along for the ride.
     I'll probably talk a lot about my kiddos. My oldest is just the smartest and my youngest is really smart too. He will likely have a different set of challenges as he has been referred to be tested for Autism.
     I may talk a bit about my experience with essential oils as well, who knows!
     I know this was a long read and thank you to anybody who took the time to read it all.