Our Little Over-Achiever

Liar, Liar!

Last night, Elena and Isaac got in a huff and (according to Isaac), Elena slapped his cheeks. So, we immediately got the two together and asked for their story. Elena denies hitting him. So they both sit out awhile until they're ready to tell the truth. (Because we really have no idea who's lying at this point.) Elena now says she thought about hitting him but changed her mind.
Sit out again.
I hear them talking it over and Isaac's pretty frustrated with her. They come back in. Elena now says she started to hit him, but didn't. By now, we're fairly confident Elena's the one lying. Isaac's story stayed consistent.
We send them back to work it out together. I think 2 minutes passed. They come back in. Elena says: I hit him.
So Elena became Isaac's servant for the night. We told her: It's your job to make sure Isaac has everything he needs. You need to fill his water glass before he has to ask. When you see him take his last bite, you need to jump up and offer him seconds.

Isaac was very relieved by this punishment. Elena learned how to love through service.

Lessons learned:

• justice will prevail
• telling the truth saves time and pride
• selflessness brings joy
• selfishness brings pain
• humility will be rewarded
  

Sweet Boy

This is a boy I worked with for 2 years. He was precious to me. Alex. When he went to his 4-month well baby visit and was vaccinated, within 6 hrs his temp shot up above 105. Brain damaging fever. He was a normal, healthy baby. He was then blind, had multiple seizures daily, non-ambulatory, incontinent (wears a diaper), eating through a g-tube only, and required breathing treatments 3x/day. I grew very close to this family. I went with them to several Medicaid appointments; he was sick a lot!
Breaks my heart that it didn't have to happen.

We don't vax because of the ingredients, and how they're made, and all the diseases, including autism, that are linked to vaccines.

I've seen firsthand, as a Speech-Language Pathologist, what vaccines can do to a kid's developing brain. I can't tell you how many autistic kids' symptoms began following the MMR vaccine. You can also read all about it in the book: Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and PDD.

Alex died when he was 8 years old.

Homemade Snoods

Be honest: had you ever heard that word before? I hadn't, until I wanted some. My sister made these beautiful snoods for Elena and Chloe to wear to ballet. Aren't they gorgeous? Elena and Chloe feel like princesses when they wear them. In fact, they made sure to wear pink last Sunday so they could wear their snoods to church.
Thanks Aunt Jamie!

Unraveling the Mystery of Autism

I loved this book! It reads like a novel, but it's full of so many answers. It truly does unravel the mystery the autism and pervasive developmental disorder, along with explaining how many other problems are caused by diet and toxin overload. I read the book to learn more about autism, one of the areas I specialized in back when I was a Speech-Language Pathologist. Many of the children I worked with had autism, and their population increased exponentially every year. I was intrigued and kept reading because so much of the information was applicable to my own family, although none of us have been diagnosed with autism.

Life is Precious

Even if you've already seen it, it's worth seeing again!

Good Fats Part 1

We eat a lot of popcorn around here. It's such a cheap, easy snack and I'm a big fan of both cheap and easy. Our favorite way to eat it is with red palm oil (aka palm fruit oil):

Extra virgin Palm Fruit Oil is pressed from the ripened fruit of the palm tree. It is a rich source of Vitamin E oil and antioxidants, and is stable against heat and oxidation. Palm Fruit Oil is commonly used in food products as a healthier alternative when compared with other higher saturated oils.

~from the Mountain Rose Herbs site

Here's what this golden oil looks like, scooped out of my Mountain Rose gallon bucket:

Now it's time to add the popcorn kernels. I like to experiment with different varieties, but today we're having regular old yellow popcorn. Add enough to almost cover the bottom of the pot:

Cover and cook over med-high heat. It will take about 2 minutes before anything happens. Alton Brown says to keep the pot moving the whole time, so I do. (Yes, I always do what Alton Brown tells me to do. I'm very obedient.)

When the popping stops, we have a big delicious beautiful bowl of what looks like movie popcorn. But this stuff is actually healthy! And it tastes fantastic!

I use red palm oil for anything savory. I add a big spoonful to pretty much whatever I'm cooking for dinner. For sweet stuff, I use virgin coconut oil, but that's another post.
The health benefits of red palm oil far surpass those of EVOO and I think you'll really like it once you try it! I'll save you a bunch of time and money too-- this is the cheapest place to find this healthy fat: