Pancakes

Ever since Conlan was about 12 months old, he has loved pancakes. We were at a family reunion, known as "The Ranch". As is tradition, we have pancakes for breakfast on the Fourth of July. Pancakes, sausage, bacon, syrup, jam, orange juice, milk, and other delicious foods. Conlan loved the pancakes, then a couple days later at his great grandma's place more pancakes. From that point on, they were a staple in his diet. Pancakes and waffles, usually drenched with syrup.

So when we started cutting sugars and gluten, pancakes and especially syrup were the first things to go. We replaced his breakfast food with corn/quinoa flakes from Whole Foods and other gluten-free cereals. At first we used regular milk. Then we bought rice milk for a while. Then when we got our Vitamix blender, we started making our own rice milk. So much cheaper than both rice milk and regular milk. Sure, it tastes a little different but does the job. And he likes it.

Recently I made rice flour pancakes using milk that was in the fridge (we had friends and family staying with us and bought a half gallon for them). He ate the first one plain. For another pancake we added a limited amount of jam and for another, some pure maple syrup (no added sugar). So this past weekend, I used the same recipe but used rice milk instead. Same result: he ate them just as heartily as though they were "normal" pancakes.

Here's the recipe:

• 2 C rice flour
• 3? tbsp oil
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 eggs
• milk (rice, hemp, flax, almond, soy, cow - any type should do
• generous sprinkling of cinnamon
• baking powder
• rest later

Sorry, I will look it up later and correct/finish.

Bread

Since we've gone mostly gluten-free, we've started making our own bread. We found a bread maker for about $10 at the local Salvation Army store and have been using it. It's been difficult finding a good recipe to be gluten-, sugar-, and dairy-free.

Here's what we currently use as a recipe.
1 1/2 C warm water
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp apple vinegar
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1/3 C flax meal
3 C brown or white rice flour or a mix of the two
3 tsp sugar
2 tsp bread machine yeast

Sometimes I'll put in a little baking powder as well.

We tried making an extra loaf and freezing it, but it just crumbled upon thawing.

To make the rice flour, we use our Vitamix dry blender.  We also make the flax meal the same way. The flax isn't required but adds texture, fiber and nutrients.

Xanthan gum helps keep everything stuck together, what gluten also does. It's quite costly, at about $12 per 8 oz bag from Whole Foods. We got it once for $10 and should have grabbed a couple extra bags.  Wal-Mart sometimes has little packets costing 0.50 each. Xanthan gum is hard to find at grocery stores. After trying it out, I suggest finding it cheap online.  Bob's Red Mill sells a 5-lb bag for $111. I've seen other brands on Amazon and other places.

We're still modifying the recipe, but this works pretty well in our machine. It comes out a nice golden brown color but is very dense.

Spinning

Conlan's latest thing has been spinning objects. Objects range from pennies and other coins to lids, toys, foam letters. I think he even tried to spin a shoe once. He's good too. His favorite item seems to be lids from water and soda bottles. A couple weeks ago, Heather gave him a couple pennies and a plate to occupy him in the car. He loved it! Now we try to keep a plate or other flat-surfaced object in the car and a few coins handy. While we were still in Arizona, we got him one of those toys that spin when you push the handle down. He loved that toy even then - I wonder where it is now.

Hi, My Name is Emily

At the park the other day, a girl the same age as Conlan came up to him. She introduced herself and asked his name. I don't think he even noticed her as he continued spinning rocks and babbled, possibly in response to her query.  Not receiving a response, she continued on her way a little perplexed that he didn't want to play with her. Talking with her mom later, I found out they are both in first grade at the same elementary. I'm surprised Emily didn't already recognize him. Supposedly Conlan's class does interact with the neurotypical kids his age on a regular basis. Maybe we should push for more integration.

Snow days

School was closed on Tuesday because the forecast said it was supposed to snow a lot. It did snow quite a bit, but nowhere near what would have canceled school where I grew up. Then, of course, the next day was also canceled so that the roads could get cleared. The school district canceled for a third day, for reasons undisclosed. I think the temperature was too low, about 5 degrees at 6 AM. Thankfully, work was also closed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I could telecommute or take leave. Thursday, I wasn't feeling well so took a sick day. Three days off of school for just 4-6 inches of snow! It's ridiculous to me. Conlan hasn't had a full week of school since before Christmas break. And now, instead of getting President's Day off of school, they have to make it up and go to school that day. I hope they don't cancel any more days since more will have to be made up after school gets out in June.

Anyway, Tuesday evening, we finally ventured out into the snow. I'm so glad we got Conlan those snow boots a couple months ago. At first he protested the extra layer of clothing. We even had to hold his hands while we got suited up so he wouldn't strip down. Finally outside, we had lots of fun making snow angels, throwing snow at each other, and making fresh tracks. Hardly anyone had ventured out all day. We made our way over to the park. It's fun sliding down a slide full of snow! Shortly after getting to the park, a girl, her mom, and their dog came to join in the fun. We made some more snow angels, got to know them and had more fun. Conlan squealed at the sight of the dog. He kept putting himself between the owner and the dog so that he'd get all tangled up, squealing and laughing the whole time. This kid needs a dog!

All I Want for Christmas is an EEG?

About a month ago, Conlan lost his first tooth. Well, not exactly, he lost his first tooth without hitting his head on the bathtub. A couple weeks later he lost another. Both times he was very calm and "asked" us to take out his tooth. And just in time for Christmas!

Christmas for Conlan has always been a little different. He doesn't quite get that there are presents for him beneath the wrapping paper. Or maybe he doesn't understand gifts and possession. He is so used to playing with whatever is available. He doesn't seem to have any wishes. He's content to bounce around, watch a little of "Signing Time", or play with things as simple as a cardboard box. Much to our annoyance, he could throw an empty 2-liter bottle onto the hardwood floor for hours squealing with glee the whole time.

So what do you get an autistic 6 year old? His two front teeth! We got some stuff mainly from the dollar store. We also got him an alphabet puzzle floor mat and a tactile spiky ball. He loves puzzles and always plays with the floor mats at other people's houses. I think his favorite toy is the helicopter blade thingy that is spun off of a helical-shaped stick. The blades quickly ascend to the ceiling when purged off of the stick and even glow in the dark. He loved unrolling the Chinese yo-yo's too.

His brother had a blast opening most of the toys, even Conlan's. The video below shows his reaction at first seeing what Santa had brought.





Sadly, all the fun and games quickly came to an end the next morning. He had an appointment with the neurologist to get a portable EEG attached to his head. It was quite an experience for all of us. The technician did an amazing job attaching all the electrodes and wrapping his head so he wouldn't tear it off. A few weeks from now, we get to visit the neurologist again to look at the data and see if they find out anything. I sure hope it was worth the sleepless night as we monitored him both to make sure it stayed attached and to record any mini seizures (none noticed) or other anomalous activity. He was very happy to get it off the next morning and even more excited to be treated with pancakes from Denny's for tolerating the bandage for almost 24 hours. Good for you Conlan!

Sick

The poor guy has been sick for a few days. The school called on Thursday saying he had a slight temperature. So we let him go to bed early and kept him home on Friday. He slept most of the following few days and nights. It's so different for him to be sleeping so much. He never takes a nap! Then on Saturday, he threw up a couple times because he wouldn't cough and ate very little. Monday were declared snow days by both my work and his school. This helped him (and us) get more rest. Since he wasn't feeling very well, he got lazy. He stopped using the bathroom and wet his bed almost every night. He even wet his pants a couple times during the day. He was doing so well with his potty training. He never needed us to take him to the bathroom unless we were in public. He did everything on his own and only needed help to clean up the messy ones. So we're back to closely monitoring his bathroom breaks and their frequency. We really hope that once he gets feeling better, he'll get back to independently taking care of business.
He was so tired that he fell asleep at the bottom of the stairs.
After a couple days of being stuck inside and seeing the snow fall all morning, he just begged to go outside. And he had lots of fun. Since then, he loves walking on the crisp snow, crunching it much like he likes the sound of the leaves underfoot.