5 OF MY FAVORITE HEALTHY RECIPES

Hope you all had a great Easter! We sure enjoyed ours. I have been saying for quite some time now that I will be sharing some healthy recipes with you all. So that is what this entry is all about!  By healthy I mean.. Clean

-NOT PROCESSED

-GLUTEN FREE

-DAIRY FREE

-WHOLE FOODS

This may not be someone else's "healthy" but this is how I am currently eating. You can substitute anything or everything. For example: I am just going to say tortilla, and you can chose if its flour, corn, or gluten free tortillas. I will say that I do not deprive myself of anything, and there are some days where I eat all the food that I listed on my "do not eat, list".  If I want to eat an entire tin can of Pirouline, cookies, then I will! (Just like I did the other night)  But, this is not something I do everyday.   I do not have an allergy to gluten or dairy, I just do not like how they make me feel when I eat them in excess, so I try to avoid them as much as I can.  I am also trying to keep Gavin on a gluten and dairy free diet....which is a little difficult since the other 2 boys have already been exposed to certain foods that they don't want to give up. If I incorporate just a few meals a week that do fit into the above criteria, then the transition is a little easier.

I also must add that I do not have a Type A personality so I never follow recipes exactly ( I am sorry for all of you that are, and will probably go nuts after reading my recipes) Instead of 1/2 tsp. I may say 2 shakes of cinnamon...It is horrible and there are some circumstances where my recipes turned out DISGUSTING because I didn't follow the directions exactly...but for the recipes below I made them up and tweaked them a little until I liked them. Feel free to do the same.

#1. Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Coleslaw

This one is pretty straight forward...

-Bake, grill, or sauté your favorite fish, however you would like it.
-Chose a grain to go with it, rice, brown rice, quinoa, etc.


- Jalapeño Coleslaw:
(I DO NOT like coleslaw, I actually can't stand it, and I HATE SPICY FOODS, but this is amazing...I promise)
Depending on how many you are feeding will determine how much you will make...use your best judgement, like making a salad.
-Chop up a half head of cabbage (red or green, but I prefer red) into very small pieces, almost like skinny tiny strips.
- Do the same for a carrot or 2
- Dice up 2 jalapeños, and make sure you get out ALL the seeds or it will be very spicy.
-add 2 small splashes of apple cider vinegar (lol told you)
- add a little less than 1/4 cup of honey (or to your preference)
-throw in a few shakes of poppy seeds
- add in about 1/2 cup(once again add or take away based on your judgement, and how much you are making) of mayo (this can be Veganaise, greek yogurt, or plain ole Helmanns) whatever you prefer.
-add the juice of about 1/2 of a lime
-chop some cilantro and throw that in too.
Let this chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, so make ahead. Stuff your tortillas with your fish, grains, beans, any other toppings you want and add coleslaw on top.



#2.  Red Quinoa Burgers

Make sure you cook the quinoa before you add to the meat. Make sure its drained and not holding a lot of water.

-1lb ground beef
-1- 1and a 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
-1 egg
-a few shakes of salt and pepper (to taste)
- garlic (fresh or powder)
-dice up about half an onion.

Smash it all together with your hands and form the patties. They will be extra mushy if the quinoa was holding a lot of water, but this is ok. Just make them into the best patty you can put them on a plate or a tray and stick them into the refrigerator for 30 min. Then grill!

Add whatever toppings you like...I like feta cheese, with avocado and tomato.
Enjoy!



#3.  Spaghetti with secret veggie sauce (sorry no picture)

-Ok so this recipe is one of my favorites but I am not going to tell you how to make pasta or to add meat or not....that will be left of to you. I personally do add meat, and I make gluten free, brown rice angle hair pasta.

-For the sauce: You will need a very powerful blender or this will not turn out how you want it to. I use a Vitamix, so use something similar... Ninja, Blendtec.. etc. You don't have to do this but the veggies will not be a secret :( you will have small tiny minute pieces and your kids WILL see them.

-Pick your favorite store bought sauce or make your own with tomatoes.  To save some time I use an organic tomato sauce out of the jar. Pour half in the blender.

-Next you want to sauté or steam 3 carrots, 2-4 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic) half an onion, 2 celery stalks spinach or kale.  Not a ton of the spinach or kale because you don't want it to turn green (unless you want to turn it into "Hulk Sauce" or something of that nature.)

- Add all the veggies into the blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds. Next add this to the remainder or the sauce you have and heat it up. Add meat, salt and pepper or whatever else you want, and serve over your pasta.

#4. No grain banana protein muffins

- 2 or 3 very ripe bananas, smashed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tspn of honey
-1/4 cup of coconut flour
-1/2 cup of oat flour (you can make your own if you have a Vitamix, or something similar)
-1/2 tspn of baking soda
-1/2 tspn of baking powder
-1 tspn of vanilla
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil (or any oil will work)
a few shakes of cinnamon
Optional: I add half of a scoop of protein powder in the mix...this can be any kind or flavor you would like. I also add chocolate chips to mine, but make sure they are REAL chocolate and make sure they are made with cacao over 60%. That way you don't have to feel bad about eating chocolate because its good for you!

Mix all ingredients together, put in muffin pans, in the cupcake inserts because it will stick and bake at 375 degrees for 15-22 min or until center is done.

#5. Soba Noodle Stir Fry (sorry no picture)

This recipe is pretty much self explanatory...make your own stir fry, however soba noodles are my new "lo mein" choice.  The soba noodles I use are buckwheat so they are a lot healthier for you than the lo mein and they taste almost identical.

Basic instructions: Chop some of your favorite veggies and sauté them in lots of coconut oil. I like to use carrots, onions, zucchini...just to name a few. After they are sautéed, depending on what mood I am in I will add some flavor.  Some times it will be a teriyaki, soy mixture, and sometimes I add turmeric powder and butter. You can add whatever you want.  You can cook chicken or another meat and add it to this mixture as well and then serve over the cooked soba noodles.

I would love to hear back from you if you try any of these and also if you put your own spin on some of them. I am always looking for new recipes and new ways of cooking. Please let me hear your feedback.

Once I can get my frazzled brain thinking straight, I can sit down and write up some more recipes to share.  Hope ya'll enjoy!

Is it March Already?

 And Almost World Down Syndrome Day!

Kristen Pace Photography

Almost 5 months have flown by and I finally find myself having a minute to update you all.  Its been a rough, depressing winter. Last I wrote, I went on an adventure of some sort to find a "cure" for my terrible back pain I was experiencing.  I decided I was going to eat extremely healthy, eat an anti-inflammatory diet and find the cause of this mysterious pain that no doctor could diagnose (except for arthritis, which I wasn't going to take).  I had some great recipes that I was going to share with you, (and still will) and was doing great on my journey...but the pain was still there...so to make a long story short, I cut out whole food groups...no dairy, no grains...NONE AT ALL...no sugar, to processed food, and no caffeine.  So I basically ate grass...no not really but close.  Fruits, veggies, meat and lots of nuts. Did I feel better? Absolutely not. I got worse...but in a different way. I lost a ton of weight (not trying to) which contributed to my problem. I got to a point where my body actually was shutting down and telling me to stop. I had a high fever, couldn't get out of bed for a few days. My body was literally using my muscle for energy...so I had to regroup and start getting myself back to a normal body weight.  After a few months of struggling through that I am finally at a place where I feel is "healthy".  I found out that my pain was actually "normal" for what I have been going through.  My muscles are in a constant state of tension. I am lifting all day long and with Gavin's low muscle tone...it feels like he is heavier than he is.  I don't want to take muscle relaxers for the next few years, and I can only get a few cortisone shots a year (which I don't really want to do either) so building muscle, exercising and strengthening my core are the best options for me. I have only been on this path for two months now, but my back pain is completely tolerable now and getting better by the day.  I am having a balanced diet with a variety of food groups. Still clean eating though. Very little caffeine and sugar. Only dairy I eat is butter (to put on weight, has to be grass fed) and I am back eating grains, but all whole grains.  I am hoping to put a few recipes together to share very soon...or at least our top 3, that even the kids will eat.
 

Gavin is doing great! He is crawling everywhere, pulling up and cruising on furniture. Will stand for a split second on his own but still hasn't mastered that yet.

We celebrated his first birthday back in November after Thanksgiving. I had a rough time on his birthday because all the feelings of his birth came flooding back to me. I had to re-live the whole thing over again.   People told me that it gets better with time..and it does but just when you think you are doing better....wham! All those horrible feelings hit you smack in the face.  Lots of ups and downs again and the depressing winter we have had didn't help at all. I will say that this little boy is amazing. His little personality is contagious and he is so loving! As much as I don't like DS, and  I can't stand the fact that he will have to work harder at everything he does in life,  does not change the way I feel about HIM.  I hate his diagnosis but love this boy unconditionally.  Its safe to say this kid really loved his party very much.

"Ahhhh, CAKE! My mom hasn't given me any sugar my entire first year of life!"

Not sure about this hat

Just tried some cake

Gavin celebrating with two of his buddies

Christmas came and went very fast as always. And 2015 brought lots of new therapies for Gavin. We started our neurodevelopmental therapy program that we traveled to Atlanta for. This is something we do on our own at home everyday with Gavin, lots of flashcards, exercises and touch therapy. Its lots of work..no lie! I barely have enough time during the day to get 3 kids fed, clothed, bathed, etc. but adding therapies into that mix, makes my head spin.  We also started seeing a cranio-sacral therapist who is really good. She manipulates his skull and facial bones to help with certain problems that children may have: fluid in his ears, congestion, mouth breathing etc. The last 2 thing we added were speech and oral motor skills. Gavin is STILL nursing. Yes, he is 15 months and ONLY TAKES THE BREAST! The boy eats grilled cheese sandwiches, and veggie straws but does not know how to swallow liquids!!! Talk Tools is supposed to help him with oral motor function and eventually be able to swallow liquids from something other than me! Besides the drinking problem he is doing great with everything else. Just wanting to be like his big brothers.

Christmas 2015

   
    Lukas on the other hand is regressing on being potty trained. After almost a year of being trained with the occasional accident, he started going in his pants 2-3 times a day! I don't know why, and I don't know what to do about it. Is this a phase? Is he doing it for more attention? I would love any advice from someone who has gone through this. On a positive note, he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! A 2 year old riding a bike with a diaper and a paci...how funny?? Besides that, hes still the cool, crazy middle child who is constantly getting into stuff.
      Zachary is ready for school to be out for summer :(  Kindergarten isn't the same as it used to be. There is a lot more pressure and not as much fun. He is learning a lot and does enjoy it once he gets there, I just feel like we fight every morning to get him to go to school. He absolutely hates getting up early (which who can blame him?)  He celebrated his 6th birthday last week and is so excited that he is finally older, lol...I am not excited :(

SkyZone with his friend and brother

Pizza was birthday dinner

We have both the boys in spring soccer and this is Lukas' first time playing so this will be interesting. 

Such a cute!

      Last weekend we went to the IDSC (International Down Syndrome Coalition) meet-up in Charlotte, NC which was a lot of fun. We got to meet some other families that are going through some of the same things we are going through.  I was extremely optimistic after hearing and seeing some of the children and talking with their parents.  It was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the month of World Down Syndrome Day. Which brings me to my next topic...

Love these two, don't know what I'd do without them

Enjoying the wave pool at The Great Wolf Lodge!

***This Saturday, 3/21 is WDSD and I am asking for you ALL to show your support and raise awareness for Down syndrome. ***

Here are 2 ways that YOU can do this:

1. Show support by wearing your craziest socks you own. If you don't own crazy socks...mismatch them or wear 3 socks for 3 chromosomes.  Wear them March 21st, take a picture and tag me on Facebook or Instagram... I wanna see you rockin your socks!!

2. I am asking all of you to take the 3/21 PLEDGE. Ruby's Rainbow is an awesome organization that grants scholarships to adults with Down syndrome who are seeking post-secondary education. Their goal is to create awareness of the capabilities of these individuals and help them achieve their dreams of higher education.  You can read more about them here.

-The pledge is that you donate just $21 (to Ruby's Rainbow)
-To be kind and compassionate to people of all abilities
-Ask just 3 of your friends to take the pledge with you and donate $21 to this organization.  I just took the pledge...who else is with me? Let me know when you take the pledge and I will send you a Down syndrome awareness rubber bracelet.

If you want to see Ruby's Rainbow in action, and see some of the young adults that they have helped, check out this article from Kelle Hampton's blog, Enjoying the Small Things.  Kelle went to Western Carolina University and visited two of Ruby's Rainbow scholarship recipients.  Kelle is also the author of the book, Bloom. This was the first book I read after Gavin's diagnosis and it is such an amazing book...it gave me so much hope, something to look forward to.


I hope you all take the pledge, and rock your socks on Saturday! Can't wait to see them!

Much love,
XOXO

Healing your body from the inside out

A bunch of people have asked me about my new diet aka my new way of living. Apparently through my craziness I have inspired some people to start eating clean and healthy themselves. (Which is awesome!) I know a lot of you are wondering what I'm eating and want some recipes so.... I figured I would take some time to talk about this. Once a week I'm going to try and post what we ate for dinner the week before.

First I need to say- this is what I CHOSE to do for myself... This does not mean you need or have to do this. You may just want to detox from sugar or maybe nothing at all. Maybe you just want to eat less processed, chemical containing food. Great! Hopefully you will take something from this post but it's nothing personal, I think you all are great the way you are ... This is strictly me sharing what I am doing and if you want to join then keep reading...

Right now I am eating gluten, dairy, and sugar free. This is NOT to lose weight although the pounds do literally drop off of you. I am doing this strictly because I have had chronic back pain for years and after that third baby my back when down hill fast. Because of the pain (and Gavin's diagnosis) my occasional anxiety attacks turned into general anxiety that I was suffering with everyday. I did a ton of research on healing my gut to heal my mind and body. I will spare you all the details, google it if you are interested on the "why?" But the first week of giving up sugar and caffeine made a HUGE difference in the anxiety. Let me so say this was THE hardest thing in the world. I was eating a few butterfingers a day on top of sugary creamer in my coffee, baked goods, cookies, ice cream every night. Halloween was becoming my favorite holiday. So if I can do it,  YOU can do it. After a couple weeks it got easier to say no and find alternatives (ie: I drink pumpkin spice chai tea with French vanilla coconut creamer). Then I went a but harder ... Bread and cheese! Nooooo! I don't know anyone that doesn't love bread and cheese. But for pain reasons, they went bye bye. Fast forward to a month later and I am still doing this. I survived the hardest part! Is my pain gone? No not yet, but it takes time, it took years for my body to process all these chemicals and sugars so it will take longer than a few weeks to detox. My mind however can handle my pain a little more. My anxiety is completely under control.

Now.... What do I eat? What is left to eat? Hmmm NOTHING. I snack on some grass and some leaves.. Lol no really I eat and I eat every 5 min because I'm starving half the time. The veggies and fruits do not like to stay with you. Basically you have to get creative and once you do you will find there is a ton of food to eat. Your taste buds change and you start trying new things. I was told to give up grains too but since I am still nursing and my milk supply has already went down, I cannot give grains up right now. I have also needed to supplement with more protein since I'm not a huge meat eater for every meal. 

Let me also state that I am trying my best to switch the boys over since this is ultimately where I want us all to be (especially GAVIN). But they are kids and as you all know kids do not like change. I do make them eat a few bites of what we are having but I add cheese, or bread (sprouted bread) to their meal. So basically I take what we are having and modify it for them. I got Lukas ( who put himself on the beige diet: pretzels, bread, goldfish) to eat an entire plate of asparagus by bribing him with bacon. Bacon plus asparagus is much better that beige diet and NO veggie. I love to sneak veggies in their foods. Be creative!

I have done a very mild detox but once I am done nursing I will do a crazy strict whole entire body detox which will hopefully jump me up to the next level. So when that time comes please let me know if you are interested in it too and we can all hold each other accountable. 

Here is a sample of what I eat in a day

Breakfast: oatmeal with fruit and a smoothie -( I call it "the mix every supplement and powder I have that I don't know what to do with", smoothie) 

Start with these: Almond or coconut milk (put everything in a Vitamix, Ninja, whatever high powered blender you have). Just make sure it can break down the cell wall in the raw veggies.

Then add these:

I finish by adding some ice, because its usually warm when I am done blending. Yuck :(

Lunch: a variety of things: hard boiled egg, veggies and dip, salsa, gluten free bread with hummus. 

Snacks: almonds, fruit, dried fruit, another smoothie. Basically anything I can find. Kombucha which you can make whole made or this store bought already made one is my favorite !! 

Dinner:  I have a variety of dinners that have been successful so we stick mostly with those. Mainly a grass fed organic meat, lots of veggies and a grain (millet, brown rice, quinoa, gluten free pasta). Weekly dinner meal plan to come...

Dessert : fruit or my go to is a rice cake with some dark chocolate, or almond butter. I have made some delicious baked goods with gluten free or almond flour and the kids love them. They have no added sugar in them. The trick is to put dark chocolate chips. The higher the cacao % the better. I strive for anything over 75%. Dark chocolate is very high in antioxidants and has barely any sugar, but I still call it my "cheat" item. I need this sweetness (actually very bitter) so that I don't punch someone in the face for some candy, because my sugar withdrawals are so bad lol.  It's my one little thing that I can look forward to each day. So this is what I have to say about "cheat " items. It has to be something small and preferably once a day. Say you just HAVE to put a sprinkle of cheese on a vegetable... Ok.  But that's it, not the whole block. You can't have 5 cheats a day. Or if you absolutely have to have a little cream or a little sugar in your coffee or tea. Fine! Give yourself that little bit of happiness....But that doesn't mean go get a grande caramel macchiato with whipped cream. That is not called a "cheat" that is called, "I'm not ready to give up sugar and dairy". So be smart and aware of what you are putting into your body. Your body will thank you for it. 

I will get my meal plan together and post soon... Be on the lookout

Oh and please feel free to ask me any questions you may have:)

Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

“October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, a chance to spread awareness.  During the month of October, we celebrate people with Down syndrome and make people aware of our abilities and accomplishments.  It’s not about celebrating disabilities, it’s about celebrating abilities.” Chris Burke

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and let me just say that this time last year I don't think I even knew about it being in the month of October. I probably wasn't even aware.  See, when you aren't directly affected by something then you have a tendency to overlook it. This was the case with many things in my world. Not that I didn't care, or didn't want to, it was just that I was not educated or aware of certain things going on around me everyday.  That is one thing I can say I definitely learned in the last 10 months from having a son with DS.  Every day I find out something knew about children with special needs and I want to be aware of what they are going through and how I can help...   I am not ignorant anymore, and I don't live under a rock, in my little bubble where my life is "perfect" and "normal".  God rocked my boat 10 months ago, and I thought it was the end of the world. But I am here to tell you that everyday it gets better, and I am finally in a place where I am not sad anymore. It may have seemed like the end, but it was just the beginning to something beautiful and different. Something that I wasn't familiar with, but in time i've seen that Gavin is truly a blessing, not a hindrance.  I am so unbelievably grateful for this little boy.

Down syndrome is NOT a disease, its not a death sentence, and its certainly NOT a negative thing! DS is not the problem, its our society and how some people view it.... yes, most of these children do things at a slower pace physically and cognitively but they still do them! They are just like any of us, and deserve love just the same.

I want to personally challenge all of you to spread awareness this month... (well every month, but especially this one)... in ALL or the following 3 ways (or at least one):

1. Carry out a random act of kindness- everyday this month, do something kind for someone else...if can be anything you want as long as its from the heart, and there are no stipulations.

2. Share information with friends, family and your community- Here is some great information from The National Down Syndrome Society  and also some myths and facts.

3. Participate in a Down syndrome walk. Our local Buddy Walk is this coming Sunday and we would love to have you join our team, however if you do not live locally, you can reach out to your local Down syndrome association and find out when their walk is. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, consider donating to an organization.  If you would like to join our team and walk with us, or donate you can do so here.  To find a local Down syndrome organization near you, please visit this site.

I would like to share this video with you, in hopes that you will all share it to. Thank You.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Happy Fall! It has been way too long since I have been around the blogging world and once again for the same reasons....LIFE.  I realized today that summer is over and fall is here and I ask myself, "where did it go?".... What have we been up to this summer? To be honest, this summer was a hard one for me.  I love to fill my summer with lots of activities that are focused on water and/or sand. I love to have my toes in the sand, soaking up lots of sun rays. Well, I barely made a dent on my summer bucket list.... For the most part, I was what you call a hermit.  It is exhausting getting 3 littles out of the house; add in sand, bathing suits, clothes, food etc....and I would be on my death bed when we got home.  We made the best of it though and I just kept reminding myself that there will be plenty more summers when the kids are older and we are able to do more, and not to wish this time away.

We started off the summer getting family pictures taken since we keep having kids and our pictures are outdated.  Getting pictures of 3 boys five and under is quite a chore...let me just tell you...Children/family photographers are saints!

 

Photographer: Sarah Rogers with Sully and Willis Photography

Since we took the boys to Disney World over Easter break, we decided to not go on a summer vacation this year. We did however go on a mini vacation to visit our family in GA, for the 4th of July. We also visited the Atlanta Aquarium while we were there.

Cousins

The boys enjoyed swimming almost everyday and Zachary learned how to swim this summer and Lukas wasn't far behind.

No, Lukas can't swim alone..he has a bubble on his back

Lukas is finally potty trained (woo hoo), and I am loving this 1 less in diapers thing. We got Zachary into modeling, which he loves to do since he is a total ham. 

My lil Gap model

Love this cutie

Gavin got his first haircut at 7 months old. This is a record since the other boys were way over one years old before a first haircut. When you have to put your child's hair in a ponytail for him to be able to see....its time!

He started physical therapy and occupational therapy... so with those two and seeing his early interventionist we have a total of 3 therapy sessions a week! He is doing great at sitting up but he still not crawling. He just rolls like crazy to get where he wants to go.  I know they say, "he will do it when he is ready", but it's still very frustrating to see the months pass by and your baby not doing what others his age are. This is a constant battle with me but I try to look at the bigger picture. He will stand....if you put him into that position, but hey! I am going to celebrate any accomplishment.

Look at me!

He is still a chunker and is gaining weight like crazy. He's in the 50 percentile on a typical chart. Still 100% nursing and will not drink from a bottle which makes for a very tired mama! This is a huge goal that we are working towards with OT. We are not trying for a bottle anymore though because he is almost 10 months and soon he will need to drink from a cup. He is a little slower on eating food and has a hard time swallowing it.... but still working so hard and getting better everyday. His OT brought us a new spoon to try and viola! Who would have thought... The spoon was all it took for him to start eating/swallowing better.

This is a Maroon Spoon from The Equipment Shop

 We are so proud of our little G... He is such an outgoing, lovable, little social butterfly, who loves attention.

Eating his puffs

This summer, Curtis and I decided to start some DIY projects... this was our way of spending quality time together and also would benefit me on the side (lol).  So we decided to build our very own rustic farmhouse table. After several mistakes, a few bad arguments and very close to a separation, we finished this beautiful table!  

I was shocked at how good it actually turned out. The finish took me forever since I am so indecisive, but I am so pleased with it.  I will be posting here soon, an entire page about the table and what we did, for all of you who would like to know.

My baby is in kindergarten :(

School started a few weeks ago and my sweet Zachary started kindergarten....he loves it, except for the getting up at 6:30am part. As much as I like the break, I miss him like crazy.  When I went to kindergarten, we went for a half day. He is gone from 7-3! This is something I am going to have to get use to.

Lukas started going to preschool again two mornings a week and verdict is still out on if he likes it or not.  With two year olds...one day they like something and the next they hate it. So Gavin and I have some time alone those two mornings.

This past weekend we had Gavin dedicated over in GA with out family. My mom and dad came from NJ so that my dad could do the dedication which was really nice.  Its hard doing life without any family close by so we jumped at the opportunity to have most of us together.  We are so grateful for our family and friends that were able to be there with us.

My daddy, praying over Gavin

We had the dedication at a park in the woods

New "Diet"

The newest thing that our family has started is a new, healthy, clean way of eating.  We have always eaten fairly healthy but some medical concerns and conditions that Gavin may have in the future has turned me turn into a researching food freak.  Apparently children with Down syndrome have a harder time eating and digesting certain foods, than some would.  Those certain foods are in our everyday diet.  A lot of health conditions can be helped or even resolved just from changing what you put into your body.  Before he understands that I am feeding him something different than the rest of us, I need to change the way I eat and slowly incorporate it into our everyday meals.   I will talk more about this later in another post and go into it a bit further but at this current time we are going to be doing a detox....detoxing from processed foods and sugar.  Sugar is a hard thing to give up here at the house. It's seriously like crack and this was probably the worst time to eliminate it (Halloween right after the corner).   I will be putting Gavin on the GAPS diet once he gets better at eating. This diet is pretty crazy and strict but I want to help him in any way that I can, and this seems to be what has helped a lot of kids with DS.  I hate calling it a "diet" because we won't actually be dieting...we will be changing our way of life.  If you are interested in finding out more, or would like some yummy whole food recipes, be on the lookout for my next post.

Brothers being silly

This is our last time eating at Five Guys :(

Gavin loves his brothers

Well, that's it for now....I hope you all had a fabulous summer, and enjoy the cooler weather coming in.