Homeschooling

Today is not the typical recipe or neat thing I found on the internet. I know, I throw these at you all when you least expect them! Today, I share a part of my real life and as many of you know, I tend to be honest about our struggles, our joys and our real life issues. So, far in the last year alone I've thrown deafness/hard of hearing issues, alcoholism, autism, Tourette syndrome, ADHD, OCD, Sensory Processing Disorder, etc. at you all. To be fair, you've all handled it really nicely! I will say that I get a lot of questions about having kiddos with these various disorders but, the thing I get the most questions about is homeschooling. Which considering I grew up publicly educated, seems to buck the norm.

JD picked yellow as his color of the day. So, he's picking yellow things out of the picture cards, while he eats his yellow snack. It took him six months of work with his speech and occupational therapists, as well as daily work at home to even be able to do his colors! So, we brush up on them every now and again.

JD practicing with the leftover beans he used to make his name earlier. He traced the numbers and then was working on putting the correct number of beans in each square. Towards the number eight, I began to loose him though! lol He kept at it though.


People are curious about the motivations behind it, or how I do it with two special needs kiddos, or my personal favorite, "what about socialization?". So, here I am, outspoken momma of two special needs boys who homeschools, answering just a few questions that I get asked all the time. Maybe it will help someone out there decide whether to go for it or not. Maybe it will open eyes that there is not only one "type" of  homeschooler out there! Maybe it will help those of  you out there who think that homeschoolers let their kids run amok! Yes, I get that remark on occasion too! Or maybe it will just satisfy your curiosity about what goes on in at least one homeschooler's home. Kind of like when you catch yourself reading those trashy magazines in line at the grocery store and you just want a peek behind the curtain! Speaking of, I read the titles on those and maybe it's that country girl who didn't really care what anyone else was doing, I just wanted my bull J.C. and a good book or maybe it's just me but, I have no idea who half of these people are on the magazine covers! Yes, I fully admit it, I am not a reality T.V. junkie, which apparently is who half of these people are. I'm the nerdy girl who sits up watching Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole, or The Universe but, I digress. Back to homeschooling...

JD practicing tracing his numbers. He wanted to work on the chalkboard that day, so this is what we did. It's a great idea, according to their OTs!

How did I fall into homeschooling?
And yes, I fell into homeschooing! I had begun homeschooling my oldest by the time he was 2. He knew ALL his colors, his shapes, could name every letter of the alphabet, he was doing 24 piece puzzles all by himself, he was a wiz kid and I had run out of the typical preschooler things to teach him. So, little by little I began working on drawing his letters and numbers as well his name. Seemed like a natural projection of what I'd already been doing. Next thing I knew, I had removed him from a special education preschool, where I fought everyday with the school system, and dove head first into homeschooling.

DW working on handwriting...still! As a kiddo with TS and SPD, he still has issues with handwriting. So, we work on it every single day. I make him trace simple words and then rewrite them on the next line. His handwriting has come far enough along, we are due to stop doing this soon! 

Why did I still choose to homeschool?
I get asked this a lot, a lot! I was once told that I homeschooled because I was too lazy to work. Which I laughed at and turned the other cheek to. I used to be a mover and shaker, getting 6 promotions in 3 months, getting paid to wine and dine clients even. I hated it but, I did it because that's what I got paid to do. So, laziness is not really in my vocabulary, obsessive is, neat freak is, nerd is even, but not lazy. :) And if you ask anyone who homeschools, lazy is not something we get to be!! There's lessons, meals, trying to keep a house in order and outside activities...I could go on, trust me!
I chose to homeschool because it was an extension of my being a mom for me. While other little girls dreamed of their weddings growing up, I dreamed of a Victorian house, with 16 rooms all filled with adopted children (because I was never going to get married), and a homeschool room where they could follow whatever course of study interested and best suited them. Weird, I know but, I don't think I have ever been called normal! :) Anyway, I do not think that you're child being educated in the public school system is wrong in any way but, for me, I not only needed to be there for my oldest as much as I could to help him through whatever issue one or more of his disorders were throwing at him but, I wanted him to have a stress free environment. Ok, as much as it could be "stress free". At home though, he can tic without judgement, he can stand up if he needs to, etc.
Not to mention growing up in farm country, now living in a "big" city - alright no city in Nebraska could be "big" by most standards. It's just that when the only towns you've lived in had a population less than 3,000 and that was counting farmer's dogs, cats, cows, chickens, horses and our donkey Sporty (yes, we had a donkey), towns like Lincoln and Omaha are HUGE. They also bring with it a new set of people, who don't all teach their children the same values or manners that small town folk are used to. I could tell you stories! So, for me, I wanted to pass on the values of saying hello to someone as you pass and look them in the eye, of knowing your neighbors, of manners this next generation has seem to forgotten.

What do you use for curriculum?
I'm a notorious eclectic kind of gal. What does that mean? Well, I have structured curriculum in the house and I use it but, not for everything. Sometimes just as a guide line for what my boys should know by the end of the year. I scour the internet some nights looking for ideas, printable or lesson plans if I think it will work. I even sort of unschool by letting the boys lead me in what they want to learn in some areas. We learn a lot through play because, well they're still young and we can! We do field trips, sometimes to the same place for a different thing. Example: The zoo for penguins this next week and then the aquarium in the spring. That's my favorite thing about homeschooling, I can tailor the lesson and/or speed for where they are. Which a public school can't do.

What about socialization?
I can't tell you how many times I hear this. Quite frankly it makes me go bananas. I mean pull my hair out, run through the street yelling bananas! lol Wouldn't that be a sight! During the spring, summer and fall, we have the entire neighborhood of boys in our house. They love to eat all the goodies I make and have on hand. Most states or areas, have a homeschool support group or community group that gets together and does things like flag football, Lego club, etc. They play, talk with and meet peers all the time! For our boys, we were involved with the local TSA (Tourette Syndrome Association) support group and the Hands and Voices chapter so that my big buy could meet other's like himself and recently, we started going to the local Autism Society's functions to meet other kiddos like both boys but, mainly my youngest.

We still go out and have fun! My son put stickers on my face, so I got to put some on him! :)

Or we go to meet Monster Truck drivers two days before we go to Monster Jam. Which left my ears ringing for hours afterwards. That can happen when you're 4th row from the floor and in front of one of those piles of cars they need to drive over! I should've worn the ear protectors! :D

Or they hang out with the neighbor boys and have a snowball fight, with the biggest kid of all, their dad! :)

Another shot of them rolling down the hill with one of the neighbor boys.

Or one of their favorite things to do though, is spend time with their Papa, which we try and do once a week. We bring him his favorite cookies that we tweaked and my famous granola bars and he builds paper airplanes with them, or plays with magnets, or takes them to the buffalo farm (which they LOVE).

Sorry for the terrible cell phone pictures but, I never seem to have a camera in hand when I need one! :) I shared these so that maybe I can dispel one of the myths that homeschooled children are sheltered. My boys are out and about and have a lot of fun too, whether it's with their peers or with their family. So, please if you don't homeschool, please dismiss the thoughts you have about socialization. Our kiddos get out as much as yours do! Homeschool groups have sports leagues, meetups, co-op teaching groups, etc. we don't lock them in a closet, with no sunlight and only let them see us! :D Yeah, okay no one has ever said that to me....yet, I'm sure someone has thought it though! 

Alright, enough of my rambling. If you stumble upon this and homeschool, I'd love to know what you're favorite part of homeschooling is! For now though, I'm getting ready to take on my self-appointed "kitchen helper" and make spaghetti for dinner. Nothing I love more than kiddos in the kitchen! Truly I do, sometimes though, it's like running an obstacle course with him but, he loves to cook and there's something about him drowning in my apron that makes it all worth while! :)

Recipe Burglar and Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

So, now that I have a working computer, albeit a dinosaur, I thought it was time to share the lovely (and seemingly the favorites around the neighborhood), peanut butter cup cookies. Well...that was the idea anyway but, when I went to find my lovely recipe the other day, it had vanished along with two other ones! I think my wee "kitchen helper" absconded with my recipe cards! So, I will share my back up recipe from Joan over at Chocolate, Chocolate and More.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Her recipe makes about 2 to 2 1/2 dozen, if I remember correctly. It has been a while since I made hers but, trust me, they are delicious! I will share the original version of hers and then how I altered the directions a bit. That's just me, always tweaking, changing and modifying, or so I've been told!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I add about a full tsp or a smidge more)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
24-30 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add in peanut butter and beat again until combined. Add egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add in flour mixture until they're all combined. Roll into 1 inch balls.
Her directions: Place each ball into the cup of an ungreased mini muffin tin.
What I did: I made 2 inch balls in a regular ungreased muffin tin! 

Bake for 12-14 minutes.
What I did: Bake for allotted time or until just barely turning golden and then removed from the oven. They will look almost undercooked but, keep in mind they will continue cooking as they sit there.

Her directions: Immediately after removing muffin tin from oven, press one Reese's cup into the center of each cookie.
What I did: I inserted Reeses mini PB cups. I let them cool only for anywhere from 2-4 minutes to the aforementioned 10 minutes depending upon how "done" they looked when I removed them. (In other words, how distracted I got before I removed them from the oven! lol)
She had a great notation to put the Reeses in the freezer about 20 -30 minutes prior to start and it is a great tip but, if you don't do this, it's not the end of the world. It just makes things easier. Also another tip I remember was that if you were having difficulty removing them, to use a butter knife to remove them. I believe that is where I got the idea to use it from.

Anyway, either way you make them, they are amazingly delicious. Albeit not diabetic friendly or probably not really healthy but, I can tell you that they are a crowd pleaser. I almost always have to make a double or triple batch...which I don't recommend! It's harder to mix completely the more ingredients you have in one bowl! They're super good though, I am NOT a peanut butter fan at all, never have been and I would make and eat these without the peanut butter cups! Yes, oh yes, it's that good!

Hope you enjoyed her recipe and/or my take on it. If you do, pop by her page, which I've linked above and check out her other goodies! Now, off to find the kitchen helper's hidy holes...I'm not sure I'll ever find them all until he's grown and gone! :)

Double Mint Mocha Fudge Brownies

First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone! :) We're winding down here, but I still have a LOT to do! Most of my holiday orders are done and shipped out, just a few more goodies to take care of and I'll be done! 

Anyway, before I get cracking, I wanted to share this so simple recipe. So, you can wow your family and friends too. I promise it's so easy and it will literally take just a few minutes to put together. 

Double Mint Mocha Fudge Brownies

Ingredients: 

1 box of Pillsbury Mocha Fudge Brownies

Peppermint extract

A bag of York Peppermint Patties

A bag of Andes Mint baking chips (or you can a package and chop them yourself)

*You could also a tiny bit of instant espresso powder if you want a bit stronger coffee flavor

Directions:

Make the brownies according to the package directions. At the end add about 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract, depending upon your taste. Then add about a quarter to half the bag of the Andes mint baking chips. Mix together until just combined. 

Pour half of your mix into your baking dish, only half! Then lay out your peppermint patties over the top of the mix. You can make any pattern you wish to do, I myself am a mint lover, so I literally didn't leave any space between the patties.

When you're done, top with the rest of the brownie mix and bake according to the directions. Once you've removed it from the oven, sprinkle some more Andes mint baking chips and holiday appropriate sprinkles over the top. The heat will help melt and keep them in place. How much mint chips and sprinkles, is entirely your call. You could even frost it and then add these but, these brownies are so rich and delicious I've found that they never needed frosting. 

I hope you enjoy this easy go to recipe to make in a pinch for the family. From our house to yours, may your holidays be filled with love, laughter and years of memories!

Double Chocolate, Marshmallow Crackle Cookies

So, I know I don't post much to the blog anymore. Just don't have a lot of time but, as you know, I do my best to keep that FB page going! :) This one though just could not be shared in a note on my page, so you're not dreaming, I'm actually posting something on the blog! lol

Christmas to me or any holiday around this time of year is a big deal to me. I love them. To me it's more about family than who has what. I still love to drive around more than the boys do to look at lights and while I was lucky this year to be able to find a great sale at a house and bring in a lot more decorations, I usually can't afford to do a whole lot. The one tradition that holds true though, is that every year, I bake dozens upon dozens of goodies for friend, family and neighbors. Including the ladies out at my mom's retirement center!

Double Chocolate Marshmallow Crackle Cookies

This recipe was given to me by a friend and I sort of adapted it a bit. So, I hope you enjoy it and unlike me, have fresh baking soda to work with! :)

Ingredients:

3 cps of flour

2/3 cp of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1 cp white sugar

1cp of brown sugar, packed

1 cp salted butter, softened

2 lrg eggs

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 cps of semisweet chocolate chips 

8 oz. of mini marshmallows, frozen

**My notes: 

For some reason, every now and again, this recipe mix ends up a little drier than it should be. I have no idea why but, all I do is either add another egg or at least 1/4 cp of water. I am unsure the exact measurements because as Rachel Ray always says, I "eyeballed it". And the last adaptation is that I always put more vanilla than the recipe calls for, so probably about another half to full tsp of vanilla went in. These will make it a much richer, drier cookie so if you find it drying out on you, because a few times I've had this problem, just add that water a little at a time.
For more of a "crackle" cookie effect, add a little less baking soda, and the cookie will not rise as big. Be careful though, because too little and you'll have a puddle of a cookie on your hands!

You'll need a small bowl or cup of powdered sugar to roll your cookie balls around in. 

Also keep those marshmallows frozen until just the moment you need them! 

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In one bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, soda and cocoa powder, whisk and set aside.

In a larger bowl blend sugars, and butter until you get a sort of grainy paste. Then add your eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Slowly add in your dry mix and chocolate chip and blend until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! This mix will be very stiff. So, don't panic. 

Grab abt. 4 - 5 marshmallows, though you can do less if you prefer, and take a nice rounded tbs of dough and wrap it around the marshmallows. No worries if you end up making them larger than the "normal" sized cookies because, they still turn out absolutely rich and delicious! 

Once you have your marshmallows covered by your cookie ball, roughly about 2 inches in diameter, just drop them in your bowl of powdered sugar and shake them around a bit, until they are nice and covered. Then you'll place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Parchment paper or even that non-stick foil works just as nicely. Make sure that they are roughly about 2 inches or so apart. and bake about 8 - 10 minutes. Again, remember your altitude does affect baking time.  

When your time is up, remove and let them sit on that pan for about 2 minutes before you remove to your cookie wrack or cool, flat surface. 

Here is where I stress something about baking or even cooking in general. If you remove something from the heat but, let it sit in the pan, or in this case on the cookie sheet, keep in mind that it is still cooking! So, don't hesitate when you go to pull them out and they look slightly under cooked  in the center or even a little light in color - this goes for all cookies too. So, if you leave them on the sheet, they will continue to bake just sitting there. If you were to leave them in the oven until all golden brown, you'll have over cooked them. 

Also, my last words of advice before I tell you to dive in, TEST this recipe out before the day you want to give it to someone! You'll learn what works and what doesn't, you can take out some cocoa powder or add the extra moisture, etc. if you have a practice run before you serve it to someone. 

Lastly, I do not have the calories, or carbs  in this cookie for us diabetics but, with the load of cocoa powder, chocolate chips and flour in this my advice would be to wait for the holiday and then if you've been good, you could treat yourself to JUST 1 SINGLE cookie! lol 

Hope you enjoy these, with a nice cup of mint tea, surrounded by family and friends! 

Happy Holidays! 

Thank You!

Alright so for those of you that used to follow this blog page regularly, you may have noticed that I've been on and off for a while now. Life has gone insane around me and I'm barely hanging on some days! For those of you who don't know, my mother and I helped remove custody of my nephews from my little sis until she can get some help. I like to say she fell into the family curse. One grandparent on each side of my family, along with both my mother and father were alcoholics. So, it was bound to hit one of us I suppose. Out of four of my mother's kiddos, two of us are still on the straight and narrow. Out of my father's 3 girls, there are still 2 of us, still doing good. :) So, I suppose things aren't too awful. Anyway, it's been hard, it is hard but, we're all hanging in there.

Another reason I haven't been on much is because between a month in a cast from tearing all of my ligaments, some completely from my bone, and then a month learning to walk. I got a tad behind in homeschool preps. Yes, I homeschool my children, well just one kiddo really. When I began my preps though, I got whooping cough from the only whooping cough vaccinated nephew! Nice huh? Spent a month sicker than a dog, in and out of the hospital and that my friends, was THE best thing that has ever happened to me!

If you've followed this blog all the way through, once upon a time, I wrote a piece on how to loose some weight. I did so because I had gone from 300+ lbs. to just under 200lbs. I did it several ways but, mainly I was in the gym 6 days a week, back when I could afford to go. I was cross training and I loved it. I am one of those weird people who loves the morning after pain! Lets me know I have done something, you know? Anyway, almost 3yrs ago, I stopped going to the gym and my money had to go towards children's diet changes, new therapy ideas (i.e. occupational, physical and speech therapy at home), homeschool supplies, etc. I started eating the way I had prior to my oldest son being born and that's when it began. I started to feel the way I did before my youngest son was born and lost the motivation to go to the gym flat out! 

How did I feel before my son was born? Almost 2yrs before he was born, I noticed I suddenly felt tired all the time, I began to loose my hair, I felt depressed almost but, it wasn't that kind of thing right away, I just didn't want to go out anywhere. I began to have panic attacks, I would have horrible mood swings, I was getting sick all the time, etc. I could go on and on but, I will spare you instead and tell you that what it amounted to was metabolic disorder.

What is metabolic disorder? Here's a definition from Medline Plus:

Metabolism is the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues, such as your liver, muscles and body fat.

A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in your body disrupt this process. When this happens, you might have too much of some substances or too little of other ones that you need to stay healthy.

You can develop a metabolic disorder when some organs, such as your liver or pancreas, become diseased or do not function normally. Diabetes is an example.

So essentially, your body just kind of begins to loose it! When I landed in the hospital, my liver enzymes were high, my liver was even swollen! My white count was high, I had apparently had a UTI for some time and had been unaware of it. They took an A1c test and mine was something like 8.7. An A1c test is a blood test where they can determine a 3 month average for your blood sugars. Mine averaged out to something like 195. Which is high but, not too bad. Truthfully the only reason mine was so low is because I often skipped breakfast and would not eat until I was ready to pass out. In the hospital my blood sugars never dropped below 250 on my own the first week my sugars were in the 300s!!

It's been almost a month now and my sugars are still higher in the mornings than they'd like sometimes but, not too bad now overall. To date, (starting from 2 weeks ago) since starting diet and mild exercise since I have high triglycerides too, I've lost 10lbs! Ready to start pushing myself now and take on some more challenging things. Maybe start doing beginners steps towards how I used to exercise. I will say that I am not one for medications, I think we are a nation hooked on the pharmaceutical industry but, I also know that sometimes, things need to be done right now until you can get where you need to be. Case in point, I have one ADHD kid on meds and one not. Though to be fair, the one on meds, has more than just ADHD and I have cut his meds in half by a better diet, the other one is just the text book sensory processing disorder, auditory processing, ADHD kiddo...enough to loose 10lbs in a day if you follow him around! Anyway, I did some of this with the blood sugars and triglycerides with medications. I only take two right now, and if I can help it that will be all and hopefully, I can get rid of one of those in time. :)  I'd like to be rid of both but, because of genetics and the proof of having gestational diabetes twice, the doc says short of a miracle, I'll be on the diabetes meds for life. I was heartbroken but, so be it. I did this to myself and now I must pay the piper. In the mean time I can do what I need to do to get back on the right track for myself and for my boys. One because they need me here and two because of genetics and my having had gestational diabetes, they are now doubly at risk to get it as well. I wish they had told me then that something like half of women with gestational diabetes will go on to get it within 5 - 15yrs after the birth of their child, would've saved me a lot of issues! 

So, now I wear socks all the time, no more barefoot and that was like a death in the family for me! :) I love going barefoot. I take better care of me teeth, always have glucose tablets with me just in case, I carry my diabetic pouch with lancets, strips, logbook, etc. and you bet I carry a calorie/carb/fat counter book! Thank goodness for those because I am not always home when I need to eat. The one my dietitian gave me is called, The Calorie King: Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter 2012. The website is here if you'd like to check that out as well. No, I was not asked to endorse that place nor book, it is simply the one I use but, I know that there are plenty of sites and books out there if you look. So, if you see a lot more healthy posts, or more posts about diabetes. This is why!

Anyway, I'm almost back up to perkily annoying on a daily basis. My neighbors once again like me, though they look at me as if I have two heads! :) It's been a HARD summer to say the least but, I've learned a lot and am getting more together and organized, so look out and thanks for hanging with me so far! You guys are really just a bunch of amazing individuals! I hope you know that and how much I've appreciated your support!