Encouragement for a Moms heart

I wanted to share a neat story with you.  It had been the morning of my meeting with the school to address "issues" and work on Turbos 504 and I was a nervous wreck.  For some reason the very thinking of these meetings and having little to no say in what's best for my child can reduce me to a puddle of tears in a moment.  I decided to get a cup of coffee from Starbucks before heading to the meeting.  I do get an occasional Starbucks and am very familiar with the process.  Once reaching the window they confirm your order, give you your total, take payment and close the window to go get your coffee.  Not that they are unpleasant at all but their not particularly chatty.  That day was different.  The lady noticed I was dressed up and asked if I was headed to work.  I shared no, I was headed to a meeting at my sons school and had just decided to grab a cup of coffee and try to relax a little.  The sweet woman at Starbucks (I do wish I knew who she was!) leaned out and started asking me questions and showed real concern even though I kept my answers pretty vague and brief.   She shared a personal story of a time when she let the school decide how things should happen with her child and how she deeply regretted not fighting for what she knew was best.   She told me to be strong and fight for my son because no one else will.  God showed up that day for me in this dear woman at the Coffee Shop.  How did she know to ask were I was headed and how is it that she had a personal story that she could relate to what I was dealing with??  I believe God used her that day to encourage my heart . 

I share this story just as much for my own heart as I do for yours.  If you have a child with ADHD then you have likely at some time or another been discouraged and even come up against a lot of misunderstanding of your child.  It's hard and it hurts.  But do not lose hope, continue to seek God, study his word and look for him because he will reveal himself to you.  You are not alone in this!

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Facebook kept asking me to update my profile with my "job".  Today I finally got tired of seeing that prompt and decided to enter my job, Homeschool Mom.   I'm still not sure how everyone saw that I added that because it never appeared in my news feed but the comments started rolling in!  It actually felt liberating to have it out there to not only those that are close to me but acquaintances..... and well all of "facebook world".

Be encouraged mamas while you know your kids VERY well, the Author of Life our Awesome God knows every teeny tiny detail about our children and about US.  Seek his wisdom and take respite in his word.  For even on the hardest days he is with you and you are not alone!

Blessings,

Melissa

The challenges of ADHD

It's been a tough couple of weeks here......oh, how do I begin...  a little history for you for now and more to come in follow up posts....

Turbo(10) was diagnosed with ADHD about three years ago.  His quality of life was dramatically effected by the challenges that ADHD presented.  We are not particularly against medication but are open to alternative methods of treatment as well.  We did try several common medications.  I recall one particular medication made him cry, for no reason and for extended periods he just cried.  It was horrible for us to watch but mostly for him to experience a feeling of his emotions being completely out of his control.  After trying three medications all with side effects that either took away his joy or made him a very flat temperament we gave up on medications.  We decided that we would work with his school (at that time he was in the public school) and that if appropriate accommodations were in place we could create a healthy environment and experience for him.  Sadly it did not work out that way.  While it brought us to this great place of homeschooling (which I LOVE)  I say sadly because I am deeply saddened by the school system and how they handle children with this medical diagnosis of ADHD.  I was approached several times in a backhanded way and medication was encouraged.  The school had seen  him for a brief period on medication and they liked it.  It made teaching him easier and it made their job easier.  Which I get, I really do.  But what we got at the end of the day was a lifeless boy with no energy or desire to do anything.  If we took a car ride after school he would instantly fall asleep and he consistently had dark circles under his eyes.  That is SO the opposite of my little guy!  I had explained to the school the side effects of his medication and that we couldn't keep him on it.  But ya know what, they didn't really care.  They were not seeing any negative side effects during school hours and so they couldn't understand why I was taking him off the medication. 
I dreaded going to the "meetings".  I had wanted him evaluated for an LD since I sincerely believe he has some barriers to his learning.  The school declined my request stating his ADHD is what was inhibiting him academically.  So I pushed for an IEP and tried to set up accommodations.  I was denied an IEP but given a 504 instead.  I don't know any others experience with the two types of accommodations but I had two other children on IEP's and things went easily with their plan.  It was clear and the schools executed it.  I was afraid to have a 504 since it was different.  My fears came true.  While we had a clear set of accommodations in place there were always ways the school found to get around them.  For example one rule was that they could not take away his gym time.  I expressed they could use any other reasonable method of discipline including staying after school but under no circumstances could his gym time be removed.  As it was the kids only got 15  minutes of recess.  Time after time his recess was taken away for different reasons that they felt didn't apply to his 504.  After talking to the teacher a couple of times and talking to the principle twice and still having them take away his recess WE WERE DONE.  So done with the school system that was failing us, failing my son.  Not only were we done but my son was done.  He had begun having anxiety, he was falling further behind and many days he went to school in tears.  The blessing in all this turmoil was that it led us to homeschooling.  I often wonder why did we have to go through ALL that to get here but I take comfort in knowing this:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Our journey is really just beginning as we now try to figure out how to best give Turbo the tools he needs to be the best he can be.  I know were in for a long and bumpy ride.  I am grateful to friends who understand, parents who don't understand but don't complain about our choice to homeschool, to the web for being an amazing resource for both research and learning and to My Heavenly Father for continuing to carry me on this journey even when I don't feel like I can take the next step.

Blessings,
Melissa

Disclaimer:  this is my true story of our experience.  I am hopeful that many good schools exist as well as many amazing teachers.  Our story isn't a reflection of what all families with kids diagnosed with ADHD go through in the Public School System.  It is simply our story.

Adjusting to homeschooling with Chronic Migraines

It's been a bumpy week or so here.  Lots of sickness and not a lot of energy for school.  My migraines have been a real challenge.  Ya know as much as I prayed and thought I prepared for homeschooling my son while dealing with Chronic Migraines I am realizing that it will take a LOT of flexibility and patience before we find a good groove.  I will be trying a "new to me" Migraine treatment in the next week and am praying it is helpful!  I also just ordered a book that a friend recommended to me.  It's called The Mood Cure by Julia Ross.  I have been told it covers all sorts of things from depression, anxiety, ADHD, muscle issues, Fibromyalgia and more!  It just arrived today with my 2 day Free Amazon Prime shipping and I can't wait to get started!

We did manage get a few things done.....

We watched a great video on Humpback whales and the songs they sing.  Well, we learned in the video they don't sing as their mouths are closed so they are actually humming.  And their noises can reach across the ocean!  Notice below in the link before the words "youtube" it said quiet.

*****You can add the word quiet before whatever video you watch to remove ads in the video AND so you don't see those random videos displayed on the side panel!****  

http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=-oYIK6Bg6co

What we've been reading lately:
DK Eyewitness book: Explorer
Farmer Boy
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!  (a living math book)
Janice VanCleave's Oceans for Every Kid -Great activities to reinforce science


For now it's been necessary to cut way back and just focus on English & Math.  Turbo is doing a math facts app that I have on my Iphone called Math Magic.  I've tried LOTS of the free (popular) math practice websites and my kids thought they were kind of a drag!  Math Magic is fun and it's mobile so we can be sitting in a doctors office waiting room practicing math facts!  We are pushing hard to finish up Math Mammoth 3B.  I love the program.  So much that I bought the entire series!  However as we push through Turbo is kind of on the fence about it.  I love that it is a mastery program but I find that for us it requires some adjustments.  For example if we hit a concept Turbo already knows I will drastically reduce the number of problems he has to do. When we began this program I had Turbo working independently only coming to me if he had questions.  I got the idea to sit with him and do much more of the math orally.  It has CHANGED the way we do math!  Because I'm sitting in I can clearly and quickly identify things that Turbo has mastered and reduce the work if needed without him getting frustrated and going into mental overload.  He is also much happier to give an oral answer and math is getting done in about half the time it was taking before.  Rob (dad) has been helping to take over Math by teaching it in the evening since I'm having such a hard time getting through everything.  Thank God for my good husband!  I so appreciate his help but I hope & pray this is a temporary fix.  In my ideal world I'd be able to get all the instruction done during the day and we could enjoy evenings as a family. 

http://www.mathmammoth.com/

Product Review:  I can not tell you how much of a hit thinking putty is!  I only ordered one container of it and it was not enough since EVERYONE wants to use it.  Even the adults & teens who visit!  It can keep my little one occupied for quite some time.  It really gets his imagination going as he finds new ways to use it and incorporates his other toys into it.  I was even able to remove the entire ball of putty from our off white carpeting today!!  It gives the boys something quiet to do with their hands while I'm reading or going over lessons and it's so much fun!  No more play dough for us we are definitely picking up more thinking putty soon!

My next post I'm planning to explain in more detail what we are doing to keep up with homeschooling while having Chronic Migraines.  I'd love to hear what others are doing to manage health issues and still made home schooling a priority!

Blessings,

Melissa

Adventures in the Sea & Sky Week 2

Winters Promise Adventures in the Sea & Sky - Week 2

Fun things we learned: An Octopus has 3 hearts!  One on each side of it's gills and it's main heart!  We also made snow ice cream which was a big hit!

Hands on Learning:

We took a basketball and a LOT of blue painters tape (a specific amount) and covered the basketball.  Once we finished we had a small replica of what the Earth looks like and it's water to land ratio!  It was very interesting for the kids to do and of course afterwards they played monkey in the middle with the ball and had a blast.  This idea was taken from the book: Bill Nye the Science Guy's big Blue Ocean.  

We are lapbooking on Mollusks but it is slow going!  Typically Turbo enjoys lapbooking but he is not enjoying this one at all!  I don't think it's the project itself, I think he's just unmotivated to do much school these days.  The thing is he LOVES animals and oceans so this should be fun for him.  

    

We've watched Horrible Histories Highly Hawaiian Via: Discovery Education Streaming.

We also looked at the pictures from a variety of books I had pickup at at the Library on Sunday about Ships and Sea Life.  For Science we did a whale blubber experiment.  The first picture below is feeling how COLD the "ocean" is.  The second picture is feeling the difference if you have blubber insulation.  The boys all loved this experiment!

And we finished off our week making a Valentines Minecraft Box for Zman to bring into school.  As well as making Minecraft Valentines which we had gotten an AWESOME free printable for!  I know it's a little late to be sharing but heres the link: http://www.meetpenny.com/2014/02/free-printable-minecraft-valentines-day-cards/

We also worked on FLL3 & WWE3.  I am really trying to work these two things in as I LOVE them and Turbo has commented that he really enjoys the lessons.  Math has suffered this week but we will be working on getting caught up!  It's been a rough week with my migraines so we are behind the schedule I had set but I am learning I have to be flexible!

I hope you've enjoyed your week!

Blessings,

Melissa

Gluten Free Pizza Crust Review!!!!


We eat pizza weekly......well alright sometimes twice weekly!  Getting good tasting Gluten Free pizza crust has been something we have tried to master for the past 3 Months!  We've tried dozens of recipes most were edible but not what we call pizza!  We have two local restaurants in the area that offer a Gluten Free crust pizza cooked in a dedicated oven for GF foods.  Not bad, but again we knew it wasn't what we expected pizza to taste like.

On a whim and after trying most every other prepackaged mix for making Gluten Free pizza that our local stores offer....my hubby found Mama Marys!  To say we were hesitant was an understatement.  We try a new recipe for pizza at least once a week and so far had been pretty let down.

The Verdict:  It's the best we've had so far and we would definitely eat it again!  It's super easy just add your toppings!

Cons: It may just be our oven but you have to find the balance between getting the crust crispy yet not burnt.  We struggled a little but I know we will improve as we continue to try to work with this crust.  

One of the biggest challenges with GF crust is that is is often to rubbery or moist.  This crust definitely solves that problem!  Plus, it was sooooo much easier than hand mixing together the dough we've being trying to perfect for weeks!  Mama Mary's is a winner in our house!

Let me know what's your favorite GF pizza crust?  Premade or a recipe!

Mama Mary's Gluten Free Crust!

Fresh Air for a Fresh Perspective!

Me & Rob

 Despite being sick on/off the entire  month of January we pushed ourselves and got out and had some Winter FUN!  Turbo is loving snowboarding.  We had a hard time getting away for him to snowboard at larger hills.  Luckily we live near a decent sized hill so he can practice.   

If you are experiencing the Winter blues or blahs or just need a little pick me up....I would highly suggest you get outside and have a little Winter Fun!!!  Jr. was only able to last about an hour.  Rob & I both slipped and were hurting quite a bit by the end of the sledding excursion....but we ALL had a good time and it was a great break after being stuck sick in the house for so long.

                   Enjoy,
                   Melissa

                                                    

                                                 Jr. liked laying in the snow more than he liked sledding in it!

       

Turbo!

We have seemingly been passing our sickness back and forth to each other and it's made a pretty terrible month.  But February is upon us and I can feel healthier days are headed our way soon!  So.....what's best to eat when your under the weather....Chicken Soup!  Now being gluten free has often times thrown a real monkey wrench into my  meals.  My 10yr old Turbo is PiCkY!  He actually prefers the taste of boxed mac &Cheese from you know who and he loved canned Chicken Noodle soup.  All my previous attempts at recreating his favorites were epic fails...until this past week!  So without further ado, our GF Chicken Noodle Soup that tastes just like the"real" canned variety! :-)

Leftover Chicken Carcass from either a store bought roaster or one you've cooked.
4-5 Chicken Bouillon squares (make sure it's GF)
3-4 roughly chopped Celery Stalks (pre-wash)
3-4 Carrots roughly chopped (pealing unnecessary) pre-wash
1 lg. onion cut into large chunks.
Sam Mills Gluten Free Fettuccine Noodles (break the long noodles into three sections)
12Q. Stock Pot
3-4 garlic cloves
1T. Poultry Seasoning
Salt & Pepper to Taste


First place your entire left over chicken into your stock pot.  Then cover with water until pot is about 3/4 full of water.  Add all chopped/washed veggies.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 3 hours.  Taste broth and if needed add Bouillon to enhance the flavor.   Strain the broth leaving you with a bowl of soft veggies and broken down chicken.  Now, you can take the carrots if you'd like and mash or cut them into tiny pieces and add them back into the stock pot with your broth.  You will also go through the bowl and pull out any good meat that has fallen off the carcass If you were just boiling with bones you'll need to add in some pre-cooked and finely shredded chicken.  Add in 1T. Poultry seasoning.  This is optional but I really feel like it enhances the flavor of the soup.  Allow soup to simmer.

Meanwhile bowl water for your Gluten Free noodles.  We are big fans of Sam Mill GF noodles and I found the Fettuccine noodles to work perfect.  I grabbed handfuls and broke them into three smaller pieces and cooked the noodles like that.   Grab a medium pot and bring some salted water to boil.  Stir frequently to prevent the noddles from sticking together.  Good approx. 9 minutes or until noddles are soft.  Drain the water and add the noddles to your soup.

This is our basic Chicken Noodle Soup that tastes like the canned stuff! (only better!)  Feel free to add to it.  Our goal in creating the soup was that it would be a simple replica of the canned stuff that Turbo loves and it got his stamp of approval.   Below is the link to the Sam Mill Noddles we use and love!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sam%20mills%20gluten%20free%20pasta&sprefix=sam+mill%2Caps%2C200&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asam%20mills%20gluten%20free%20pasta.


Enjoy!