Fish and Teeth

I love being a mom to boys. Sure, I would take a girl too. However, I've learned many new things about the world of testosterone. For instance, I can tell the difference between a backhoe and an excavator. I also know how to identify a Deinonychus or Brachiasaurus dinosaur should one ever come stomping across the field. I've also learned that boys are little men wanting to find their place in the world of guns, knives, and fire. Being a mom of boys requires me to overlook what might seem a scary situation. I remember the day Nathan quickly opened the kitchen door and asked in an out-of-breath fashion,


"Mom, where's Dad?"

"I don't know"

"I need to find him. I'm going to shoot and kill him."

"Why would you shoot your dad?"

"So I can marry you!"

"Can't we all be married? That way you don't have to shoot your dad."

"Oh, okay. I'll go shoot something else."


Okay, I know some of you are alarmed at this exchange my boy and I had. I'm not, however. He still claims he is going to marry me and I'm still charmed by it. (If he continues to say that when he hits puberty then I'll call the psychologist). Still, his dad asks with a chuckle, "Why do I always have to die in his little scenarios?"


This past week was a fun one. Our church had a campout over the weekend. I'm sure we'll go next year, but it didn't work out for this one. Victor still was able to take Nathan to the fishing derby held on Saturday morning there. Nathan caught one of the few fish that were biting then.

Is this a cute boy, or what?

He also noticed a loose tooth on the bottom rack for about a week. While he was eating his lunch at summer school it fell out. He actually spit it out on the grass because he thought it was "a nut that wouldn't chew". I quickly fished it out of the grass. After all, it is his first one. He's rather proud of that hole in his mouth. I've noticed he spits on me more now while he's talking...

...and, he's always talking.

What moments do you especially remember in the lives of your kids?

Blessings,

Debbie

Hop on Pop

My son Nathan is in Kindergarten. It was a wise move on my part to enroll him in public education rather than homeschool him for several reasons:

• He is a social beast and has one brother who is not talking yet.
• He will do better in a very routine, predictable environment.
• I would have picked up the bottle by now if I were his teacher.

Over the months I have been so amazed to see the work he has brought home. I get so happy seeing the letters and words he has printed, to hear him count to 50, and to tell me a poem he has memorized.

Of course, there are things that aren't so happy and fuzzy-warm. -Like hearing him tell me he couldn't find a friend to play with yesterday or to know he missed out on a birthday cupcake and ate his "Pamela's" chocolate chip cookie instead. He has only confessed to one "time-out" so far which means he is at the very least not telling "the whole truth".

Nathan has loved books since he was an infant. My whirlwind tornado of a boy has always wanted to sit and be read to. I am blessed! We have always made it a point to visit the library often and bring home a gaggle of books. I tried a couple of months ago to see if he would read for me, but he would jump ahead and just wasn't ready to look at the words and sound them out. Today though, I picked up a reader pamphlet he brought home from school. He was ready to sound out the words and read it to me.

Hop on Pop came out next. Yes, he still missed words and doesn't want to look at the ending consonant at times, but he was able to read the majority of lines. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't get thrilled to pieces when hearing their child read to them for the first time. I am in amazment. I assumed he would and could read, but it is still a wonderful, shocking (in a good way) event in my life.

I jumped up and down and he did too.
Life is good.

Nathan's Corner - Turkey Wraps

Here is the first of my "Nathan's Corner" posts where I will feature kid food (and adult food!) that Nathan, my son has enjoyed or helped me make. Nathan is Celiac and I try my best to keep him excited about food and what we can make gluten free. I hope your little ones will enjoy these recipes too!

Nathan recently was watching a kid's show where they made a turkey wrap. He wanted it "exactly like the picture". That worked for me, because they plunked down a huge piece of green leaf and tomato all over it also. I knew that I needed to make the wrap recipe at Kate Chan's Gobsmacked again for this craving of his. I let him assemble his ingredients on it and he gobbled it down. That's worth any work involved in making it! Before he began eating it though, Daddy walked in and started making one too. He decided his would be made even better by adding olives and pickles. Well, you know what happened next -

Just add a couple of sword toothpicks for a fun meal.

Here's what Nathan has to say:

Dear Kids who are Celiac,

I have a very tasty snack to tell you about and it's called "Turkey Wraps". It tastes wonderful and it's healthy for you too because it's all gluten-free. It was easy to put together. Just "stick" a tortilla, "sprinkle" some mayo on it with cheese, turkey, lettuce and tomato. I like putting the pointy stick (toothpicks) in it to hold it together.

Love,

Nathan

Some of my thoughts on making these wraps:

I think Kate Chan of Gobsmacked is a creative genius. I'm glad she's done all this work before her little one arrives. We probably won't get much out of her for at least a few months! I've looked at the picture of her wraps and thought about how good they look. I took the time to read the recipe through and make them finally. Wow! I think this is as close as you can get to a wrap or tortilla. These things really are pliable and delish! I've also found a way to spread them out that works better for me. I have a 12 inch diameter teflon mat to cook on that is about as anti-stick as you can get. I spoon some on it (about 1/2 cup). I pull out some plastic wrap that will be big enough to cover my tortilla/wrap and spray it with cooking spray. I lay that on the "blob" of dough, sprayed side down. I then mash it out little by little (with my hands over the plastic wrap) until I have a round coating of dough on my teflon mat as thin as possible. You don't want to cook these too long. I pull off the piece of plastic and then bake them for about 7 minutes or so. You'll want to monitor them closely. I've made the plain and sun-dried tomato ones listed on her site. I like them both, but the tomato ones are more pliable the next day than the plain. These actually roll up and don't crack, but they are best fresh!

Turkey Wrap Recipe:

One gluten free wrap/tortilla

Mayonnaise to spread

Gluten free turkey lunchmeat

Green leaf lettuce

Sliced tomato

Shredded cheese

Roll up your wrap starting at one end until completely rolled. These are easier to eat when sliced in the middle. Slice it on a diagonal for a better look.

Enjoy!

From My Little Corner of the World: I’m Sending my 5 year old Celiac kid off to Kindergarten…

Time flies, doesn’t it?

I’ve known that my kids are going to grow up, but I didn’t really face that fact with my heart, only my head. I also didn’t know how much my heart could hurt for them.

In one short month, Nathan is going to be in Kindergarten. Just thinking about it causes my stomach to flip flop. He is such a busy kid. I hope he doesn’t try to wrestle in the classroom. I hope he doesn’t want non-stop attention from the teacher. I hope he can make it through the year without consuming gluten and having an accident in his pants.

If there is one thing I could do for him it would be to have the diagnosis of Celiac instead of him. A friend of mine recently commented (she was trying to sympathize with me) about how hard this has been for me to make all of these changes for him. While I do get discouraged with the whole gluten free baking/disappointment thing, I never really think about how hard my life is. I think about him and how in the world he handles seeing other kids eat things he can’t have. I think about him being different – and I don’t want it to be that way. I want it to all go away. But it’s not.

On the brighter side, his little country school has only 90 students total and they happen to already have a Celiac kid! Now that’s amazing – at least considering how few people are actually diagnosed. I received word back from the principal that his teacher would meet with me before the year starts to discuss what he needs. So far, so good… I’m really encouraged. Trying to explain Celiac disease to someone who has no knowledge base for it is difficult. On the surface they understand, but it takes much longer and more discussions for them to really get it.

I pray that we can navigate all of the Kindergarten things like parties and crafts and the lunchroom. It seems so overwhelming at times but I’m his mom and I gladly go through all of this for him. I pray for wisdom to walk that fine line of needing to teach him gluten is toxic to his body but also that life is more than what you can eat or can’t eat.

Being thankful helps. I’m thankful Lord that my son has a bright mind and can say “I love you.” I’m thankful that we really do have a plethora of food to choose from and the income to buy such food. I’m thankful that you put me in a position in life to become knowledgeable about this and be his advocate. I’m thankful that your Holy Spirit can help his heart in ways I can’t reach. I’m thankful that I can still pray for his healing and yet rest assured that if it doesn’t happen you haven’t made a mistake.

So, I’ll try to remember to be thankful.