We're Back!!!!!

Things have changed a bunch around here but my passion to find healthy alternatives for Charlize has not. Charlize is going to be a big seven years old this year. WOW! Where has the time gone? She also became a big sister to Elijah (3 years ago). Elijah doesn't have any of the allergies that Charlize has. It's a good thing not having to worry about him and allergies too but I find it easier to give in to the not so healthy foods available to children without allergies. With all the GMO foods out there it has become even more of a habit for me to read labels. I'm very thankful for the vegan society. With the exception of nuts in their diets the recipes I have found provide so many available options for Charlize as substitutes for the stuff that the rest of us who don't have allergies get to enjoy. Fruit is a HUGE deal in our house and finding Organic fruit can be time consuming to say the least. It’s such a shame that we have to search so hard to acquire food that's healthy. Our goal this year is to grow as much as we can right here at home. I am a huge supporter of regulating GMO foods. I don't believe that we should genetically modify our food. I believe the farther food gets from its original God given state the worse it will be for us and our children. We are still in the process of trying to go completely Organic and Non-GMO in our house but until its regulated it's a battle.

Charlize went to pre-school from August 2010 to December 2011. It was a great learning experience for her. We unfortunately felt the need to pull her out after having to watch her battle every sickness others brought to school on a monthly basis. You see, she has severe asthma and when she gets a cold it’s not just a cold for her. It goes straight to her chest and breathing becomes a huge struggle for her. Watching her become sick for two weeks of every month and end up in the hospital every month is not something any parent wants for their child. Of course I was told from the beginning that all she needed was to build up immunities. How long does one wait for that to take effect? I watched for a year and a half while she supposedly built these immunities only to realize it didn't seem to be happening. Everyone is different. All our bodies are affected differently by different illnesses. For Charlize it was making her life less than she deserved. Charlize can't have the flu shot because it's created in egg embryo. She's deathly allergic to eggs so that option is out for her. To be honest, even if she wasn't allergic to it I wouldn't subject her to it. That's my choice based on research I've done for my family. I believe with the right diet she is protected better than a flu shot can protect. Again, my choice based on my research. There is a delicate balance in keeping Charlize healthy and I may not always get it right but it’s my choice as well as my husbands because we know our daughter and her special needs. I'm merely sharing our story because I hope that maybe it will help someone else.

Since January of 2012 I have been homeschooling Charlize. WOW! It has been just as rewarding as it has been challenging. Is it worth the challenge? Heck yeah! Watching your child prosper and grow because you are able to nourish and feed their little minds is beyond words. I started her in the Kindergarten program in January 2012 instead of continuing on with pre-school. She finished out the school year as a Kindergartner. She started first grade in August of 2012 and excelled even though she was technically a year ahead. I found that the program we were using wasn't challenging enough for her so we switched programs August of 2013 when she started second grade. It's a more hands on program but that's the kind of learner she is. This is part of why I love homeschooling. I am able to see that she needs to be challenged in a different way and taught with a different approach because she was honestly board with the other program. In a classroom of thirteen to twenty other children the teacher may not have had the resources or the time to see this in her. Don't get me wrong, I have several friends who are teachers and I have the utmost respect for them. They are unfortunately dealing with a lot of bureaucracy which takes away from what they could really be focusing on. So, I have taken this part of my daughters education into my own hands. Her favorite subject is Science and we have the luxury of having a Zoo that offers multitudes of different classes where she can focus on animal sciences and environmental sciences beyond what she learns from the program we are now using. Even our Botanical Garden has classes they offer for home school children.

So, in a nutshell this is what we have been up to. I will continue to share recipes that are dairy, egg and nut free but will also be including Non-GMO information, gardening, home schooling information and home school projects. My hope is that through any one of my posts I will be able to help someone. Learning to feed Charlize with all of her allergies was daunting in the beginning but now I have the tools to do so. I'd like to share those tools amongst other things with you. Thanks for reading and please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my very best to answer in a timely manner and as accurately as possible. Be on the lookout for a recipe in the next day or two!