My kid is actually *eating*!!!

If I could, I'd throw him a parade! Picky food allergic boy is making huge progress.

Today he had spicy lentils and falafel!

Yesterday he ate spinach dal!

The day before, he begged for rice and beans.

He likes butternut squash, sweet potatoes and spinach! Carrots and beets are not of the devil. Broccoli, regular potatoes and green beans are, unfortunately. He will eat salad mix (though nothing too bitter or kicky. He picks out the arugula for me or the lizard...)

Potatoes and eggs are a favorite, as is rice crust pizza with spinach & soy cheese. He also loves bean enchilladas and veggie tacos. And as ever, soy yogurt (now in a variety of flavors with fruit in them, not just vanilla!) and hummus and GF breadstciks.

The kid who wouldn't do crunchy now eats GFCF granola bars and potato chips!

The kid who hated fruit will now eat bananas, fresh raspberries (he'll pick 'em off the bushes in summer), canteloupe and applesauce. But he still hates strawberries, oranges, watermelon, non-mushed up apples, blueberries and pineapple.

He loves Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Mint SILK soy milk. (I still can't get him to drink almond or rice milk.)

He's interested in earning to cook and being helpful in the kitchen. He is actually looking around when we shop for things he would be interested in trying! Aliens have obviously inhabited his body...

And OMG, it is cheaper to bulk order lots of gluten and dairy free foods from Amazon than to drive to my supermarket and pick them up. I just bulk ordered a bunch of vegan and gluten free veggie soups from Amy's Organics, and OrgraN falafel mix, and gluten free spaghetti, and I've forgotten what else. (And I got lots of holiday treats from Vegan Essentials- Hurray for vegan marshmallows!)

Now to reorganize my entire kitchen to make it all fit... Mikro will be well fed this winter, and I am freaking ecstatic!

Advent Calendars for Food Allergy Boy

Every year I see those advent calendars with the chocolates and have to give them a pass, since Mikro is allergic to dairy. Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered a safe and fun alternative today!

Apparently, there are Lego Advent Calendars and also Playmobil Advent Calendars.

I picked one up, after spending a few minutes dealing with the sticker shock. One review on Amazon mentions that they get much more expensive as the holidays approach. Next year I will have to look for these early! They sound about perfect for Mikro.

Mikro's a Nanowrimo Winner for 2010!

He finished his story tonight, and had a great time doing this. He's got fine motor issues, so writing the whole thing out himself would have been nearly impossible. Dictation-taking mom to the rescue! He told me the story, and I rushed to get it down longhand, then typed it up.

His word count goal was 400 words (he's only 7 and a half...)

He came up with 4,595!

I am very proud of my little storyteller.

Our Version of Thanksgiving

We don't do the whole happy pilgrims and indians thing here, but we do use this day to think about the things in this life which are blessings. And we have a huge vegetarian harvest feast, heavy on the beans, corn and squash...

Top of my list of things to be thankful for:

• My dad came through emergency surgery this week with flying colors and will probably have much better quality of life going forward (if he behaves himself and allows his body time to recover. I suggested my mother duct tape his ankles if he doesn't behave. (This is the man who climbed and pruned a tree one day after pacemaker surgery. A good patient he is not.))
  
  
• Mikro. The great joy of my life, this wonderful little person who sees the world through eyes of wonder and drags me along for the ride.
  
  
• Kevin. My best friend for 30 years now, husband for almost 20. Sometimes we drive each other nuts, but the love is always there, under the crazy. (We always fight at the holidays, a tradition I would rather change, but it seems as inevitable as breathing. At least we got it out of the way early and have now made up.)
  
  
• My mom. She's finally accepted that I parent differently than she did back in the 60s, and she's seen the good come of my way in the sweet, loving and passionately curious person her grandson is. She has even become a fan of homeschooling! We are back to the great relationship we had pre-Mikro, and I am grateful to have her back as my friend, as well as my mom!
  
  
• Wild places nearby where we can enjoy the beauty of nature.
  
  
• Still being able to walk, albeit gimpily. Arthritis is kicking my butt, but I am more stubborn than it is.
  
  
• Having enough. Not a lot extra, and no cushion. We have certainly done better financially, but so many have it worse than we do.
  
  
• The homeschool community, where Mikro and I have both found good friends, great fun and lots of inspiration.
  
  
• Cherished friends I have known for what seems like forever. Becca, Cindy, Vicky, Leela. I have to do a better job keeping in touch than I've done this year. You are all my sisters, as far as my heart is concerned.
  
  
• My online friends, who have been there through the good and the bad.
  
  
• Hope. I lived a long time without it, feeling sorry for myself after the accident, and it makes all the difference.

This is the first year that Mikro helped me prepare our dinner. He snapped green beans and learned how to peel potatoes. More practice needed there, but he tried!

And best of all, he ate his dinner! Green beans, broccoli, sweet potato, acorn squash, carrots, refried beans (a Mikro request), a couple of tiny potatoes harvested from our garden, corn, and even a taste of cranberry sauce (which he says has a good taste, but not such a good texture...) Mikro loves the 3 sisters, and sweet potatoes, but he hates broccoli with a passion. Nevertheless, my very picky, food phobic food allergy boy was so eager to eat, that he had a hard time being patient as I read the Mohawk Thanksgiving address (in English. If I can read it in Mohawk someday, I will be thrilled.)





I spent half the day on the phone to my parents, checking up on my Dad, who seems to be doing well. Very thankful for that!

Homeschool Update

Here's what we've been up to lately (between field trips...):

Math: Books, workbooks and online resources (not pictured). Mostly addition and subtraction with regrouping and lots of word problems, understanding place value, the concepts of multiplication and division, fibonacci numbers and patterns, some intro to fractions and decimals:







Science: Nutrition, digestion, circulation, marine biology, ornithology, ecosystems and biomes, nature, weather, geology and recycling.






















History, mythology, folktales: Mostly India, a little bit China. We've also done some Native American studies, especially concerning the truth about Columbus Day and Thanksgiving (no photos, mostly online and discussion.):













Language arts: Mostly working on the elements of a good story, i.e., plot and characterization, conflict, pacing, etc. and outlining Mikro's story.