San Diego Trip

Check out all of the great fun and cheap thing we did on our one month San Diego trip on

 the Field trip Page.

Daily Was to Much

OK, as you have probably noticed doing a daily account of our goings on was do much. I have not done it for so long so now I am going t o try and do it once a week with not so much detail like my friend at fourfarming.blogspot.com

Spike just had a birthday and he is now 1 year old. We had cheesecake ad played with balloons. He would like to thank Aunt Andrea and Grandma Owens for his gifts. Spike is cruising around on the edge of the couch and any chairs he can find and always keeps an eye open for the baby gate to be left open so he can get a chance at climbing up the stairs. He becomes very excited when he gets caught. He has 6 teeth and a very very strong opinion about things. We think he is saying momma and dada and maybe buy but it is not confirmed.

Milo is reading so much more and he is getting faster. He read The Giving Tree the other day and if I was not sitting right at the couch I would not have believed him if he had told me that he had read the whole thing. He also jammed through Wacky Wednesday today. The other night he wanted to read so John let him come down stairs after Quincy was out and he picked out King Solomons Mine and read a whole chapter. Then he picked up a Disney classics book and read Casey up to bat. I cant remember who stated this but with 40 hours of trying to read a child can learn to read on their own. Us parents just have to be there to sit near then for when they have questions. I am a firm believer that this is true. Quincy is already interested in words and letters and is interested in reading. So exciting.

Milo is really into doing stuff outside and wanted a quiver to hold his "arrows" (sticks with a notch cut with a kitchen knife). We looked it up and there were many kinds but nothing I could fashion on such short notice. So with a little more looking and searching I found instructions for one using leather. Now I did not have leather but I did have lots of cloth so here they are. A quiver for Milton's arrows and one for Quincy's spears. Boys can be so much fun.



We read some more of Life of Fred Dog. Planning on finishing this one up soon so we can read through the first four books one more time before the summer is over and already ordered the last 5 in the first set. WE LOVE FRED! We are getting ready for a science fair that has been cancelled. That's right. It was cancelled but may be rescheduled. If anything we will do presentations for Daddy. Quincy wanted to learn about the phases of the moon and is learning about waxing and waining. Using plaster of Paris we created 5 moon surfaces and created craters in them. Then we painted the phases of the moon on them . They turned out pretty cool. Milo is doing his on the Human brain and how unique Savants are. I may do a short simple one about how trees bloom and grow.

After visiting the WGI World Championships the boys were all excited about drumming again and were pulling sticks out to play with. Milo wants to work on his paddy fla flas and Quincy is learning to play singles

Quincy's decorated music

with alternating Right and Left hands.

We are gearing up for a summer of fun. New York, Ohio and Washington DC seem to be in order and things that we find in between. So now we need to learn about the states and the Civil War. Hmmm, I wonder if my boys will be interested in the Civil War.

We  also received out butterfly larva and can not wait to learn more about them. They are safe in their little plastic cum and we are waiting for them to do their thing.

As for summer classes Milo will be taking swimming lesson and Quincy will be doing Gymnastics again. The weather is becoming so much nicer and I cant wait to get out side more once again.

I am currently reading The Lonesome Gods by Louis L'Amour's for my Abigail Adams class and have managed to keep my house clean for 2 weeks in a row (minus my own room. That's next on the list). I have finished reading Gaps and Physiology by Dr. Mc bride and plan on picking up Parenting a House United again by Nicholeen Pack. I am also reading Mothers of the Prophets. This one I read mostly on Sundays.

gaps one step closer

So we had our Gaps diet appointment and it looks like Milo and John will be going on the intro diet together, I will be on full gaps because I am breast feeding (YES!), and Quincy will be doing intro without the probiotics or cod liver oil for right now. I think I will have the most trouble staying away from sugar. We are testing Milton out on less carbs and no daytime shots and he seems to be doing pretty good. His pancreas is still working some and we have already had to reduce his units just from cutting out gluten.

Now to order all of the craziness we are going to need in order to get this all  rolling.

Still working towards Gaps

OK, so we are not yet full swing on the Gaps diet yet but we are making changes. Trying for all organic and we are not eating any wheat. Still using maple syrup and eating oats. we tried some nut flour bread. I hated it but the rest of the family liked it. I could not get past the first bite. Organic milk so far. We have not switched to coconut milk yet except for the hubby. He likes it. WE have an appointment to visit with a GAPS diet specialist. After that (Mat 4th) we will be jumping on the wagon.

One thing I have done to get ready was purchase this ebook online. I am going to print out all 60 pages and take it with me to our appointment. With John showing for sure signs of Celiac Disease I am even more wanting to get this started.

GAPS DIET

GAPS DIET

So the Owens family is going through yet another major change. We will be going through a major diet change called the GAPS diet. WE have already started to make some changes (all organic, coconut milk, nut flowers only and on and on. I will post this for those interested and I will be looking for the most economical way to do it all. Not an easy feat for sure. Eating healthy costs so much and its annoying. Want to learn more about this visit gapsdiet.com.

Why are we doing this??? It has cured Type 1 diabetic children. Worth a try right :)

RECOMMENDED FOODS

Almonds, including almond butter and oil
Apples
Apricots, fresh or dried
Artichoke, French
Asiago cheese
Asparagus
Aubergine (eggplant)
Avocados, including avocado oil
Bananas (ripe only with brown spots on the skin)
Beans, dried white (navy), string beans and lima 
     beans properly prepared
Beef, fresh or frozen
Beets or beetroot
Berries, all kinds
Black, white and red pepper: ground and pepper 
     corns
Black radish
Blue cheese
Bok Choy
Brazil nuts
Brick cheese
Brie cheese
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Butter 
Cabbage
Camembert cheese
Canned fish in oil or water only
Capers
Carrots
Cashew nuts, fresh only
Cauliflower
Cayenne pepper
Celeriac
Celery
Cellulose in supplements
Cheddar cheese
Cherimoya (custard apple or sharifa)
Cherries
Chicken, fresh or frozen
Cinnamon
Citric acid
Coconut, fresh or dried (shredded) without any 
     additives
Coconut milk
Coconut oil
Coffee, weak and freshly made, not instant
Collard greens
Colby cheese
Courgette (zucchini)
Coriander, fresh or dried
Cucumber
Dates, fresh or dried without any additives (not 
     soaked in syrup)
Dill, fresh or dried
Duck, fresh or frozen
Edam cheese
Eggplant (aubergine)
Eggs, fresh
Filberts
Fish, fresh or frozen, canned in its juice or oil
Game, fresh or frozen
Garlic
Ghee, homemade (many store varieties contain non-allowed ingredients)
Gin, occasionally
Ginger root, fresh
Goose, fresh or frozen
Gorgonzola cheese
Gouda cheese
Grapefruit
Grapes
Haricot beans, properly prepared
Havarti cheese
Hazelnuts
Herbal teas
Herbs, fresh or dried without additives
Honey, natural
Juices freshly pressed from permitted fruit and 
     vegetables
Kale
Kiwi fruit
Kumquats
Lamb, fresh or frozen
Lemons
Lentils
Lettuce, all kinds
Lima beans (dried and fresh)
Limburger cheese
Limes
Mangoes
Meats, fresh or frozen 
Melons
Monterey (Jack) cheese
Muenster cheese
Mushrooms
Mustard seeds, pure powder and gourmet types 
     without any non-allowed ingredients
Nectarines
Nut flour or ground nuts (usually ground blanched 
     almonds)
Nutmeg
Nuts, all kinds freshly shelled, not roasted, salted or 
     coated (any roasting must be done at home)
Olive oil, virgin cold-pressed
Olives preserved without sugar or any other non-
     allowed ingredients
Onions
Oranges
Papayas
Parmesan cheese
Parsley
Peaches
Peanut butter, without additives
Peanuts, fresh or roasted in their shells
Pears
Peas, dried split and fresh green
Pecans
Peppers (green, yellow, red, and orange)
Pheasant, fresh or frozen
Pickles, without sugar or any other non-allowed 
     ingredients
Pigeon, fresh or frozen
Pineapples, fresh
Pork, fresh or frozen
Port du Salut cheese
Poultry, fresh or frozen
Prunes, dried without any additives or in their own  
     juice
Pumpkin
Quail, fresh or frozen
Raisins
Rhubarb
Roquefort cheese
Romano cheese
Satsumas
Scotch, occasionally
Seaweed fresh and dried, once the Introduction Diet has been completed 
Shellfish, fresh or frozen
Spices, single and pure without any additives
Spinach
Squash (summer and winter)
Stilton cheese
String beans
Swedes
Swiss cheese
Tangerines
Tea, weak, freshly made, not instant
Tomato puree, pure without any additives apart 
     from salt
Tomato juice, without any additives apart from salt
Tomatoes
Turkey, fresh or frozen
Turnips
Ugly fruit
Uncreamed cottage cheese (dry curd)
Vinegar (cider or white); make sure there is no 
     allergy
Vodka, very occasionally
Walnuts
Watercress
White navy beans, properly prepared
Wine dry: red or white
Yogurt, homemade
Zucchini (courgette)

Hackschooling, is it for your kids???? Watch and see.

Great TED talk by a teen boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h11u3vtcpaY

2nd grade teacher quits teaching

See what a 2nd grade  teacher says about the school he worked at and how he quits so he no longer has to work under the restraints prescribed to him.

http://www.upworthy.com/see-the-teacher-s-resignation-video-that-280-000-people-have-already-watched?g=3&c=ufb1