My little baby is THREE

And this happened three months ago. I'm just getting around to posting about it. Mom of the year over here, folks! Or maybe I could just say I've been so busy being a great mom I had no time to write a blog post about his birthday. Hmm... ;)

We decided last Christmas what Aiden's birthday theme would be. And then crossed our fingers and hoped he would like it by the time August rolled around! We found some super-fabulous deals on Thomas the Train collections (thanks to my friend over at Western Wake Wallet Savers - great site for you local folks to check out!). Aiden's Christmas was already taken care of, so we got a bunch of train sets to put aside for his birthday.

Who says Gluten-Free can't be delicious? Breakfast Bars you simply MUST try!

I was writing this JUST before that tornado hit...just hadn't added pictures and hit publish yet. But here it is now. The yummiest thing I've eaten in quite a while!

I made a new gluten-free dish the other day. It sounded good, the picture on the website looked good, and I hoped it would be good. You just never know... But oh man, it exceeded my expectations by...well, a LOT.

And I even left out the chocolate.

Goodness. That's what this is.

I linked to this recipe in last week's menu plan, but I wanted to devote a whole post to it. If you eat a gluten-free diet, you HAVE to try this. Actually, regardless of eating GF or not, you should have this. I'm not sure how many non-GF folks have things like xanthan gum in their house, though. The ingredients in it are easy to find at a local health food store, like Whole Foods, but xanthan gum isn't the cheapest thing to get, esp for just one dish. Just being realistic... If you have it, though, or don't mind forking over the $8 or $10 for it, then make this. [Edited to add...Just rechecked the price for xanthan gum at Whole Foods. Here it was $11.99. So...if it's something you won't use otherwise, find someone who already has it in their pantry instead of buying it for this recipe. It only takes a teaspoon.]

Please.

I followed directions exactly, being the first time I made this. With a few modifications....so it wasn't exactly followed, I guess. I did use eggs. I did not use chocolate because we wanted Aiden to be able to enjoy this, too. (We aren't giving Aiden chocolate yet. Go on, tell us we're depriving our child. Like he won't have YEARS to eat the stuff. Children's taste buds and food habits are formed mostly in those first few years. So, we're trying to make them the most healthy possible. Trust me, he gets sweets. Just ones we decide are ok. We ARE the parents, after all. And he is not deprived, I assure you.) :) Plus, this is a breakfast dish, and I'm not too keen on regularly giving the kids chocolate for breakfast. Me, on the other hand... We used dried cranberries and chopped walnuts instead, which were great. I don't have vanilla powder; she says you can use whatever vanilla you want in the same amount as called for, so I used vanilla bean paste, which was also gluten-free. It does have a bit more sugar than I would like, but I think using a bit less would be fine. I'll use a little less each time I try it to see how low I can take it.

The baking pan I used, a gift from my wonderful mother-in-law

And I don't have an 11x9 pan, so I used a 13x9. I did have to cook it a bit longer, but I'm not sure if that was pan size or what (I would have expected to cook it a bit less when considering the different pan size, so it must have been some other factor). I was worried the edges would burn when I kept having to cook it longer after so many times checking the middle, but it came out *perfect* and did not last long at all...due to being so ridiculously yummy.

Taken out of the oven at 9pm Thursday night; this is what was left by 2pm Friday...

For the recipe and directions/tips/etc, please visit the original post from Gluten-Free Goddess, found HERE.Check out some of her other recipes while there - she has LOTS, and they all look incredible! I intend on trying out loads of them, especially after this success.

Not only did this exceed my expectations, but I couldn't believe how moist and soft it was. It wasn't dense or grainy or gummy, like some gluten-free goods can be. It didn't have that tell-tale taste of most gluten-free flours. Really, you cannot tell this is gluten-free at all! I will be making it again very soon. I would have made it again this week if it hadn't been for no power. It's back on by now, of course (every time I open the fridge, Aiden exclaims, "Look! We have POWER!"), and I will be enjoying this again before the next week is over. This or maybe the banana bread recipe from the same website... I hope you try it, too!

Meal Plan

Finally getting back into this...
I haven't really planned lunches out for specific days this week. I'm making some chicken broth in the next day or two, so I'll use some of the chicken to make some chicken salad. We'll have some pasta and peas for another day. Some avocado to go along with whatever else another day... And then there are leftovers. Etc, etc. Oh, another favorite of Aiden's is a "regular sandwich." The boy who doesn't really even like sandwiches... One day he said he wanted a "regular sandwich" for lunch. We weren't sure what in the heck he meant by that, so we went through a list of all the types we would normally offer him. He finally said yes to a turkey and cheese sandwich. What makes this so funny is that he NEVER eats turkey and cheese. So, it's not really "regular." Toddlers...

Camden's away visiting family over his track-out, so we're having some meals we like that he might (haha - he WOULD) normally complain about. ;) Here's what's on the menu this week.


Sunday
Lunch: Leftovers - Choose from taco soup or lasagna toss. Thanks to my friend, Becky, for sharing the lasagna toss recipe. It was a big hit, especially with Camden!
Dinner: cheese burgers on the grill, roasted potatoes and beets, and yellow mango. YUM.

Monday
Beef and lentils, roasted broccoli (we tried this recipe while my mom was visiting, thinking the kids would like it...not so much, but us adults LOVED it; to be fair, I don't think Aiden even tried it. Camden said it was better than regular broccoli but that he still didn't really like it.), and corn (because you've gotta have something you KNOW the little kid likes, though he usually does just fine with the beef and lentils dish, but you really never know). 

Tuesday
Beef and lentils leftovers

Wednesday
Bean Soup and cornbread - trying a new recipe that uses white beans, lots of carrots, and turkey sausage. We want to see if we think Camden might like this version better than the other we usually make...which is a very basic bean soup.

Thursday
Deconstructed broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breasts (using chicken left over from making broth, so they're not breasts but chunks of chicken - I like it better this way, anyway, and it's actually a lot easier to make!) and sweet potatoes.

Friday
Leftover bean soup.

Saturday
Lunch: whatever is in the fridge, leftovers, sandwiches... I'll actually be at a friend's baby shower having brunch, so the boys get to fend for themselves. :)
Dinner: leftover broccoli/cheese/chicken, sweet potatoes

AND I'm now, once again, on a gluten-free diet, so we're making adjustments for that... We're trying to keep it easy and plan *around* gluten so we don't have to rely on a lot of substitutions (or so we don't have to buy a lot of extra flours, etc, just yet). BUT....oh, but we ARE going to make THIS. It just looks so good. We got the ingredients we didn't already have today. For some reason, silly girl that I am, sent my mom back home with a lot of my gluten-free things, which actually included some of the necessary ingredients for this dish. Yes, very silly. Oh well. Monday happens to be my birthday, and since Whole Foods didn't have this incredibly awesome gluten-free cake that my mom and I got while she was in, I'm making these babies. By the way, if you are ever at WF and see in their bakery section...where they keep the cakes...and they happen to have their gluten-free chocolate carrot cake - GET IT! It in no way tastes gluten-free, and whoever thought of making a chocolate carrot cake?! OMGoodness it is the best thing ever! But hopefully the quinoa breakfast brownies will be good, too...

Then later we're calling WF to try to reach that bakery buyer to see if she'll order a cake for us. Maybe they'll have it in time for Ryan's birthday. We're exactly a week apart, so that would work. :)

Oh wait....I just did a search to see if I could at least link up to this awesome gluten-free chocolate carrot cake..and I found it! You can order it from their site, too. And looks like they're in Asheville, NC. Now, we bought a much smaller cake at WF, so it wasn't this big or expensive. Ours...you could just barely (maybe) wrap your two hands around it - that's how small it was. And they also had some regular g-f carrot cakes. I want to get one of each next time to compare. But if you want to check it out, HERE is the "World's Best Carrot Cake"...and it might just be. Really.

Playing Catch Up...

Yeah, it's been a while. We have good excuses. Don't we always??

After Aiden got that nasty stomach bug, he passed it onto me. How would I not get it when he threw up all over me about 20 times? All over meaning sometimes...it went into my shirt. You wanted that visual didn't you? He had it worse the one day, but he continued to throw up at least once each day for the next few days. It took a while for him to recover and go back to eating normally, probably for fear he would keep throwing it all back up. Poor guy. :(

Then it was Easter and we had family in for that next week. Ryan's mom came to visit, which is always fun. Aiden had a blast with her especially and would ask for her when he was supposed to be going to sleep or doing other things he might not have wanted to be doing. I think he knew she might rescue him... ;) When she left for home, she took Camden, who is now visiting with his dad for the week. And since, Aiden and I have been running like crazy doing all the things we couldn't do while sick or entertaining company. So, we've been a tad busy.

Easter... We went back to our "home" church, where the service was actually held at an amphitheater in town instead of the actual church. (Another post for another time, but we've been back and forth about what church to attend, as we have moved farther away from our old church, and for other reasons. But we keep finding ourselves drawn back to it... More later. I hope. If I get time. For the many posts I keep wanting to put up...) Anyway, the service was HUGE, and it was incredible to see so many there celebrating together. I haven't heard the final count, but there were thousands. Back home, Aiden got a new Bible and a puzzle with animals. He adores both. He carries his Bible everywhere he can, saying "Bi-bi" and "Jeeees" (Bible and Jesus). Camden got some new books, too, one being his first daily devotional, and a t-shirt. We try to keep the Easter baskets full of things that represent what the holiday means to us. True...the puzzle might not seem to fit...but there were animals on the Arc, right? ;) And wait...no mention of candy?? Yep. No candy this year. Nobody noticed, either. Camden didn't ask or seem to care or even realize it was missing. He also got the new Toby Mac cd from MaMaw, and he was too thrilled about that to care for candy anyway, even if there had been some!

We have eaten out a couple times over the last week. (Eating out isn't a common occurrence for various reasons. Money. Food allergies....) We discovered that P.F. Chang's has an awesome gluten-free menu. And after ordering but before being served, we also discovered that all of their meats are marinated with eggs the night before, meaning Aiden couldn't have anything with meat, meaning that the only thing on the g-free menu he could eat was veggie stir-fry. He did not seem to care and loved it! Another discovery...their chocolate cake is probably THE best chocolate cake ever. Then last night we went to The Melting Pot for my birthday (well, mine and Ryan's, since we're just a week apart). Don't tell Camden!! He might not be so happy to find out we went without him... They also have a ton of gluten-free options and have a good menu telling you what you cannot eat. Only one meat has egg in the marinade, but it wasn't even one they had with the Big Night Out this time around. We had to make few substitutions so that Aiden could eat...leaving out the pot-stickers and getting extra chicken. And we almost forgot there was beer as a base with the Fiesta Cheese (the one we almost always get), so we just subbed with white wine, and it was fine. No chips or bread for the little guy, only two of the sauces (one of which he just loved with everything)...and for dessert he was stuck with fruit. But he was just fine with all of that. He ate fairly well!! And I'm very pleased that more places are getting on board with gluten-free menus and are actually aware of what all it involves!

Aiden turned 20-months-old. I'll get to that post next. Soon, I hope.

And today...today I turn 30. Most of all, it's just another day. It's not such a big deal that I am the big 3-0...but it just sounds strange to say I'm that age. It's like I am officially an "adult" now, even though I've been an adult for quite a while. I mean, I do have a husband, two children (one of which is about to turn 11!), a house, etc, etc, etc... But for some reason, being 30 seems to make it official. Not sure if that makes any sense.

Last night, after getting Aiden to bed, Ryan and I turned on Friends. We have the entire series on DVD and watch it every now and then. We start from the beginning and watch through to the end. And then do it all over again. So, last night, the next show for us to watch just happened to be "The one where they all turn 30." No kidding. Pretty funny, in a way. Some of them were talking about what they had or hadn't accomplished by this time. In a way, I've accomplished a heck of a lot. A bachelor's degree, a master's degree, I'm married, I have two kids...that's a lot. But I do feel that there is a ton that I haven't accomplished. I still don't have a career or know what I want to be "when I grow up." And here I suddenly am "grown up." I often go through the day just getting through the day...running errands, taking care of the kids, making dinner...and sometimes wonder what I'm not doing that I should. Is there something more profound I should be doing, too? Thanks Friends, right. (No, I wonder this all the time. With or without Friends to throw it in my face.)

Aiden has made the day so nice and easy...waking at 5am and refusing to go back to sleep. Taking over two hours, with plenty of yelling at me, before he would finally go to sleep for naptime. And the day is not over!! What more should I expect, right? He doesn't know it's mommy's birthday! ;) And now I'm going to go outside and do some yard work. BUT tonight...there will be cake. After our yummy and very filling (too filling) meal last night, we made a stop by P.F. Chang's and grabbed some of that chocolate cake to eat tonight. I'm still deciding if I'm going to share....

PS - Pics of everything in the April album online:

2010 April

Testing, testing...

Ok, so when I wrote the last post about all this gluten stuff with Aiden, we were waiting on a referral to the pediatric gastroenterologist at Duke Children's Hospital. I called our family dr's office on Monday, knowing our provider was not in that day and wouldn't see the request until Tuesday. So, it came as quite a surprise when I got a phone call at 8am on Tuesday morning, before the office was technically open. We already had an appointment with the specialist THAT THURSDAY...two days away! That never happens...getting in that quickly. We even got the specific ped GI that we requested (per a recommendation from a friend who works with these providers, saying this guy was "the best" of the department). I was shocked. But also a bit concerned...did we really need to go in just yet? I wanted to talk with the nurse or doctor before actually going in for an appointment.

And...surprise again! I got to speak with a nurse that same day. The visit wouldn't be pointless even if testing was put off, she said. She also relieved me quite a bit when she said Aiden only needed to consume the equivalent of a graham cracker a day to get enough gluten for accurate test results. Aiden would at least eat some cheerios each day, and that's what I gave him to snack on when we were running around, so he should have gotten enough. She also said some doctors would test after being on gluten for two weeks, some waited four.

Thursday rolled around, and we got another call. Instead of waiting until the afternoon, could we come in as soon as possible? Some spots had opened up. So...off we went as soon as I got Camden off to school, picking up Ryan on the way. We left the house at 10am. We returned home that afternoon after 3pm. We were in the exam room for three hours, at least. The only stop was a very quick lunch after leaving the hospital. It was a long day, needless to say.

But that's to be expected there. We always have to wait a long time when we see a specialist at Duke. The upside...when it's our turn, the doctor gives us plenty of time...taking a good history, getting all the facts and hearing us out. You may spend time waiting, but that's a small price for great care. Plus, this time, during our wait, my friend Melissa stopped by to chat with us, too.

So....after talking with the doctor for quite a while and filling him in on...basically everything Aiden has experienced since he was born (seriously, they do a good job), he told us what we kind of knew. This could be celiac. Could be a gluten sensitivity. Could be a wheat allergy. All of those are completely different from each other. Also...this could be something else altogether. We explained how we were concerned about Aiden's slow growth (going from above the 75th%tile at birth to the 30th at one year and now in the 14th at 18 months...all the while being a VERY good eater), his tendency to get sick easily and stay sick for a long time (despite all the protective factors), and all the other "symptoms" that could mean something or could mean nothing at all. He agreed. And while he said the slow growth was something to keep an eye on, he wasn't too concerned because at least Aiden wasn't LOSING weight; it's possible he's also still "settling into" his normal growth pattern (is this something they're all supposed to say to help keep parents from worrying too much? Ha.). Anyway, after all this talking and whatnot, he decides to go on with the blood work. I was a bit hesitant because Aiden had only been "on" gluten for 12 days at that point, but the doctor thought it was fine, especially with Aiden being younger. And hey...going out there is not a quick trip (or cheap), so we went on with it.

Aiden was quite the trooper. They took SEVEN vials of blood. Wow. We didn't expect that. Aiden did cry at first, but after a couple vials, he was fine...just put his head up against Mama and watched where the blood was being removed from his arm. (I wonder how this will affect his sudden separation and stranger anxiety that he has been exhibiting. This certainly reinforces that strangers aren't necessarily the nicest people out there, huh?) He did pretty well, though. He later cried more after whacking his face into the corner of my glasses...

So now...now we wait. The results should be in within the next few days. If the results are positive for celiac, we go in for a biopsy to confirm. I'm really trying not to even think about that yet. We didn't even ask about the process when we were talking with the doctor. No point.

But if the results are negative... I'm not sure what that means. It means this might be ruled out. (But we will worry, of course, that they tested too soon.) There are many other possibilities, if we get negative results, though. That's not something we're really excited to think about, either.

I'm trying to just tell myself...whatever will be, will be. It doesn't help to wonder and worry. It was easier yesterday. Harder today. Today Aiden showed more symptoms, especially after he ate some more wheat yesterday than he had been. I think we've figured out that Aiden doesn't really care for white bread. He's always eaten wheat bread. We got a fabulous bread machine for Christmas and have been using that instead of buying bread...but we've been making white bread because in order to make wheat, we would need to buy extra gluten to use with it. But we don't want to buy all these extra ingredients and then find out that he does have celiac and needs to avoid them. We happened to buy a loaf of wheat bread the other day, and Aiden suddenly likes bread again. So funny. Camden was the same way. I always gave him wheat bread, and the first time he was given white bread at someone's house, he looked at it like it was the strangest thing ever. Ok..off topic. Anyway, this explains why he hasn't been wanting much bread...the bread, biscuits, ect have all been white.

I'm more worried about the results being accurate and trusting that they are accurate than anything else. Feel free to pray that they are accurate and that we can feel at ease with what we are told. Right now, that's actually our biggest concern. Thank you for all the kind comments and all the prayers. We really do appreciate it all. It helps having that support and knowing so many people care about our little guy.

Overwhelmed

It's been a while, I know. I do plan on writing about more than, as a friend would call it, Aiden's Red Chair posts. But I've been a bit overwhelmed lately. I have mentioned a couple times that we are having some problems still with Aiden and are looking into other food issues. It seems that has consumed my life these days. We were trying to keep it under wraps until we knew more, just telling close family and maybe a couple friends. I've posted about it just a little lately on facebook...more b/c I needed some support after feeling so defeated here and there.

Long story short...we are looking into problems with gluten. Does Aiden have celiac disease? We're not 100% sure, but it does look to be very likely. Ok, we're pretty sure he does. I like to KNOW things and have a hard time saying it is so without hard facts to back me up (um...with certain things..I am not like that with my faith, but with things like medical issues, yes, I am). We have not had the blood work done yet. This is where I am beginning to feel overwhelmed, really. I read up on this before taking him off the gluten, and I do know that he needs to be ON gluten in order for the tests to be accurate. Actually, I was going to go off gluten myself but did the blood work for me first. BUT I didn't want to do anything unnecessary with Aiden...why subject him to a needle and a bunch of blood being extracted just b/c of a hunch. (I know, I know...mother's intuition...we need to learn to rely on it a bit more, but I wasn't so sure this was the problem. We had already tried dairy with no changes; this was just the next step.) Anyway, so we went and took him off gluten and even mentioned this to our family doctor.

I'm skipping a lot of details here, but you'll get the gist. I'm battling some nasty sinus pain, so I'm just getting out what I feel I need to for the moment. This is mostly about me getting things off my chest. The informative stuff will come later when we know more.

So, off gluten...the symptoms went away. Completely. It was rather exciting. And I know some people who know what gluten is might think it's a difficult diet, to be gluten-free...but it really isn't for us. We don't eat many processed foods, and there are gluten-free alternatives to things like crackers and bread. It's not exactly the same, but still. And if we find out this is it for sure, there will be adjustments for learning to bake and cook with other types of flours, but we'll figure it out. Aiden eats mostly whole foods anyway (all of us do, not just him), so it really wasn't too difficult at all. It might sound strange, but I would get so excited when I would change his diaper and see a "normal" poopy diaper! Before, he was having 4-5 explosive bowel movements a day (I mean filling the ENTIRE diaper)...very soft ("wet," not just soft...but not quite diarrhea). It seemed like everything he ate was just going right through him. And the foods he eats are, like I said, mostly whole foods and things that should "bulk up" a diaper. These diapers should not be happening and are not what one would call normal for this age. But off gluten...things were as one would expect.

Anyway, after three weeks, time to go back ON gluten. If the symptoms reappear, we have our answer. It's a lot that the symptoms went away after removing gluten, but you also want to see if they come back with the food back in the diet. After a few days, we started to see the symptoms return. Not fun to see, esp b/c these diapers bring terrible, terrible rashes, regardless of treatment. But reassuring nonetheless. I mean, this would indicate we have our answer. Right? Well, the problem is...we aren't seeing the symptoms consistently. He'll have a day with them, a day without, etc. Why? Because the little stinker doesn't want to eat the stuff with gluten!!! I did not foresee such a problem. He will not eat bread, biscuits... He will eat crackers some but not many like he used to. I've made muffins, and he liked those some. He loves pasta, too, but we have to give him gluten-free brands b/c they're the only ones that can say for sure their pasta is made in an egg-free facility. So, we're finding it more difficult to get gluten into his diet than it was to get it out! Who woulda thought?!

The problem with this?? Testing. As my mom said, it looks like we have our answer, regardless of testing. But, as I reminded her...this is ME we're talking about. I want to KNOW. I have this need to know this is the right diagnosis. Plus, I don't want to have to restrict his diet in such extreme ways if it's not necessary. Gluten-free is not bad for you at all - quite the opposite - but there will be instances it will be difficult and limiting. I have talked some with my friend who is a pediatric dietitian, and she agrees it really sounds like celiac, but testing will tell us for sure. Yet, how can we test when he won't eat the darn stuff?! She's recommended going to a pediatric GI, and another friend has recommended one that works at the Duke Children's Hospital, which is where we would be sent. We're waiting on our doctor to refer us so we can get in to meet with this guy or even just ask a few questions over the phone. We're hoping he can give us some instruction or advice. Here I am breaking all my food rules and doing everything I can to get this child to eat gluten, and it's becoming terribly difficult. I hate doing it...b/c if he does have celiac, the foods are actually making him less healthy, but if we are to test for this, he has to be consuming gluten. (And I keep warning him, once this is figured out, the rules are back ON. Ha.)

This really is driving me absolutel crazy. On one hand, we weren't sure enough to do testing first and both felt it was better to try the elimination diet before subjecting Aiden to unnecessary testing. But now, I'm totally regretting that decision because we don't know how possible testing will be because of his current diet. I'm not even sure how long he needs to be consuming gluten, but I know a few days or couple weeks (after being off it completely for three weeks) isn't enough. I'm doing a bit of beating myself up over all of it because perhaps we could have had our answer by now and been on our way. Instead, I'm consumed by all of this...watching every little thing he eats, trying to make him eat what he doesn't want (and you know what he wants to eat...things like peas and carrots and fruit...wonderful things...just not breads and things with gluten!!), writing down every thing he eats, writing down when he poops, how much, all the details around it (these are records my friend told me to keep...to show the doctor and for her to look over if gluten isn't the culprit). Almost every thought I have is about this. On the days he's not showing symptoms, I'm checking his diaper nonstop. When he does, we're watching for the rash to return and questioning what to put on it this time and why it keeps doing this. Aiden is constantly pulling on his pants and scratching...even when the rash has taken a break. Diaper changes are very difficult lately. It's frustrating for all of us. And all of the symptoms and problems have been going on for MONTHS, so this is not something new. It is something we are ready to have the answers to so we can move on and get past it already.

Any suggestions?? Any ideas for ways to get him eating gluten? We welcome them. We also welcome good thoughts and prayers. Hopefully we'll have some actual news soon...whatever the answer is, we hope to know it soon.