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Emu Oil Without the Emu

Disclosure: We were given a free bottle of GREEMU Oil by Devonian, distributed by Koru Naturals to review.

I first learned about emu oil back in the ancient times when I would ride past an emu farm to get to school. The emus are quirky, cute, ostrich-like birds, only slightly smaller. The one I liked best I named Elmo. Elmo the Emu.The emus were used for their oil.

The fatty acid make-up of emu oil is essentially the same as that of human skin cells. That is why it is considered a prime product for skin care. Makes sense, right?

The problem with emu oil is that you don’t merely wait for Elmo the Emu to deposit a load of oil in your lotion bottle like you would, for example, wait for an egg. The oil is extracted from the fat of the emu, and, as those of us know who have done more thigh lifts than we care to think about (that’s, like, three for me), the only way to get the fat out is to “extract” it.

In other words, dead Elmo.

Devonian has developed a plant-based product that mimics emu oil. The combination of oils and butters has the same basic lipid profile as that extracted from Elmo the Emu, but Elmo can live on.

Win-win.

It’s called GREEMU. Catchy, ain’t it?

GREEMU works for skin and hair, so that’s how we used it.

Without telling my family (and you know, it’s hard to keep secrets in a 30-foot travel trailer), I applied greemu to one side of my face and one hand. Over the course of a few weeks, I asked my family to guess twice which side of my face was being treated. They guessed correctly.

I tried to take a picture for you, but this blogger’s camera s-t-i-n-k-s.

1. The first benefit I noticed was that my skin wasn’t as dry.

2. Next, I noticed that my smile lines around eyes seem to have softened. My son said my skin was softer on that side as well. Perhaps that’s the massaging, perhaps the oil, perhaps I haven’t been smiling enough lately. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t an unwelcome result.

3. Surprisingly, I saw that my “mask of pregnancy” had faded on one side. That was a shocker, and maybe a coincidence. Who knows. I don’t spend a lot of time studying my face, but it was definitely lighter on one side–for how long, I have no idea!

4. I also used it on Eliana’s crazy hair and my own frizz. It calmed our hair until we washed it again.

5. Finally, I used it on Eb’s rash on his back and dry skin under his lip (teething and drool). It may have helped with the rash, but I would need more experiments to know for sure. The dry skin under his lip definitely benefited.

Other products may have had this same effect, but one of the main benefits of GREEMU is the ingredients. They’re tame. In fact, there are only five ingredients:

macadamia seed oil
organic palm oil
shea butter
sunflower seed oil
rice bran oil

Notice that they are all pronounceable, and, while GREEMU oil is not edible, it comes almost entirely from things you wouldn’t mind eating. That makes me feel more comfortable using it on my little guy. Go here to learn the benefits of each of these ingredients.

Remember, this is oil, and it doesn’t absorb as readily (in my opinion) as lotion, so don’t expect lotion. I don’t lie down soon after applying, because some of it is still there on the surface of my skin. Despite the slower-than-lotion absorption rate, I have to tell you that I really like the feel of it going on–smoooooooth like a good Swiss chocolate. I can’t stop rubbing my face–is that weird?

I intend to test it a bit further. One of my children has extremely dry skin on her hands. Lotion isn’t making a dent. Another has small scars on her face that I want to fade. I’ll update this review if I’ve discovered any improvement. ‘Kay? ‘Kay.

(By the way, I don’t agree with the Devonian time period info on the website; plants were created on the third day. Science supports Creation in many ways. Just because I like their oil does not mean I stand behind the comments on their home page.)

Additional Thoughts for My Fellow Travelers:

A little bit goes a loooooooong way. That means you have a whole lotta oil in a small space. Plus, because it offers multiple benefits (skin and hair), it requires fewer bottles than if you had a hair oil and a facial moisturizer.

Finally, the bottle seems sturdy. It is flexible, so it takes the occasional beating fine–we’ve all been down those roads that are so bad they launch our products out of the cupboards and onto the floor!

Read what other reviewers have to say right here:

Demme Learning’s Math-U-See Has Gone Digital!

Please know that I was given a free year’s access to the digital pack for level Delta from Demme Learning’s Math-U-See in exchange for my and my son’s fair and unbiased review. (We did buy the student books with our own money…not stolen money.) This is indeed a fair and unbiased review. As you know, I can be swayed with cookies, but rest easy, reader friends–my son is a man of integrity. Stand strong, Boy!

Over the past 15 years of homeschooling, we have had six children use Demme Learning’s Math-U-See, and number seven is on the horizon.

We are big Math-U-See fans, and this is why:

I am a disorganized, inconsistent, unstructured mess of a mama sometimes. But that’s okay…I mean, for math, because Mr. Demme teaches my kids (and me) on video. If I don’t get out of bed for three months, they can still progress in their math. (That would be super boring for me, although I’d get a lot of reading done.)
As the name implies, the students can see not only how to do math, but why they do what they do. The manipulatives are part of that, as is Mr. Demme’s break-down of the process.
Each level ensures mastery before moving to another topic.
Each lesson reviews previous skills.
There is no drill and kill–math should not be fatal.

Recently Demme Learning came out with their digital packs. Instead of a physical teacher’s guide and a DVD, you have access to video streaming, digital manipulatives, the lesson summary, and the solutions all online for one year.

So instead of my son Elijah’s Delta level Math-U-See supplies looking like this:

…he has this:

Phenomenal cosmic math concepts…itty bitty living space.

Here’s what I love about the digital packs:

My son does not need to be sitting in front of the television. If we are in the van, he can watch his math video on the ~~library~~ Kindle Fire. He loves that he doesn’t need to wait for his turn with the DVD player. My husband loves that the math lesson can be a little quieter than when it’s on the tele.

Second, the digital streaming doesn’t get scratched, broken, lost, left in Arizona and not discovered until we’re in Colorado, stepped on, or need to be put away.

Third, last year I had six students in Math-U-See. (We graduated two last summer.) That was a lot of teacher’s books, I tell ya! They took up a lot of space that could have been used for literature or history–my favorite subjects. (Do you remember we live in a trailer?)

Fourth, the digital packs aren’t ever going to be outdated. There isn’t an older version and a newer version; you never wonder if your student text will line up with the teacher’s guide. It’s all good.

Fifth, you don’t have to wait for shipping–you finish, you re-order, you click a few times and you’re on the next level, which is a pretty big deal for me, the perpetual procrastinator…or percrastinator. Re-ordering is as easy as pi. That was a little math joke there.

Sixth, the work is still done on paper. There’s just something about paper and pencil that makes me happy…that and cookies and pie with an e.

Here’s what I don’t love about the digital packs:

I have eight students, and, quite honestly, I don’t want to be buying access year after year. I can’t pass them down, and I am totally into hand-me-downs.

I’m old school. I don’t like staring at screens; it messes with my eyes and makes me miss nature. I just want a book already. But you know what? My son is across-the-board-school. He likes screens and books, so, while I am a middle-aged, change-resistant Lutheran, he is totally hip to the digital version and even prefers it.

Additional thoughts for my fellow roadschoolers:

The ongoing space issue:

We have been traveling for four years with our enormous bucket of Math-U-See blocks. It’s not enormous in a house, but in a 30-foot Passport travel trailer, anything bigger than a two-slot toaster is outrageous. The manipulative solution Demme Learning offers online is far and away more space-saving than the box of blocks.

I (the old-school, change-resistant Lutheran), of course, prefer the blocks to the digital version, because I am not a fan of learning curves anymore and I like to hold things in my hands…like cookies and pie and babies. My son prefers the physical blocks as well. But here’s the thing–when he turns the computer off, the blocks are put away. You think Legos hurt on a trip to the bathroom at night? Try stepping on math manipulatives! Old school or not, those babies hurt.

Also, whine though I might about the learning curve, there’s a quick and easy manipulatives demo on the digital access page, so take that fellow Lutherans. We can handle change…maybe.

The ongoing internet issue:

As with all online curricula, there is the issue of internet connection. The digital packs do require you to stream videos, which we can only do when we have a strong internet connection or enough data left at the end of the month. (Yeah, we data budget.) My son has been flying through his lessons, so he’s been watching a video every day or two, but when he gets to the harder lessons, it will be more like once a week or so, making the access issue less significant.

The online manipulatives are not a big data hog, so he can use them for his assignments and practice whenever we are connected with no issue…although I think he may have recreated the Danish attacks on Wessex last week instead of working on his division. As with all online activity, supervise supervise supervise. Of course, he can also do his assignments without the manipulatives if there is no connection at all.

An unexpected bonus:

Just an aside, when he doesn’t have a connection, he tries to figure out the lesson himself, and then watches the video later. He owns the subject more when he struggles to think it through instead of being guided. It’s a Japanese concept that works with some of my kids. Of course, sometimes he ends up watching two or three videos at a time this way when we’re connected, but whoop diddly do, right?

Go here to read reviews from homeschoolers who fall a little closer to “normal” on the normalcy spectrum than we do:

A Homeschool Writing Program Anyone Can Love!

Notice: I was granted a free one-year membership to Here to Help Learning where I am currently using Paragraph Writing: Flight 1 of their Homeschool Writing Program with my first and fourth graders in exchange for this fair and unbiased review. Also, I am an affiliate of this program, so if you purchase through my links, I receive a commission which, honestly, I reinvest in homeschooling. Contrary to what I say, I don’t blow it all on cookie ingredients…but wouldn’t that be fun!

Those of you who read my article in the Texas Home School Coalition Review entitled “How a Family of Writing Class Slackers Raises Top-Notch Writers“ may be surprised to know that for the past several weeks I have been using a bonafide writing curriculum with two of my children (three if you count the little four-year-old tagalong…who can’t write, but has brilliant ideas about glass slippers and what kind of underwear penguins wear). It is called Here To Help Learning.

What kind of program would tempt us away from our slacker approach, you ask? I’m tempted to say, “Go try it yourself and stop bothering me,” because it’s that much fun and can’t really be described by mere mortals, of which I am one, but that’s rude, and I was raised better than that, thank you, Mom.

You are going to find numerous normal homeschoolers describing it to you at the Review Crew, and you can also head to the website for a full description and samples of the program, so I’m going to keep the technical description brief. What I really want to dwell on is my perception as 1) a professional writer, and 2) a roadschooler.

A brief description:

Here to Help Learning is a video program that teaches the writing process.
It incorporates workbook pages, games, and assignments to practice the new skills.
You the parent/administrator are involved in the process as a guide, but not as the instructor.
It’s a Christian program, but it won’t slap you in the face if you’re not a Christian.

Now, my thoughts as a writer who raises writers:

Thought one: Non-writers can “teach.”

Most people cannot write. Many are afraid of even trying. Others think they can, but they can’t. It’s painful…like when I croon off-key to my musician husband. As the head writing tutor at my college umpteen gazillion years ago (exaggeration is bad writing form), I and my team were required to read papers from every single freshman in the school, as well as students who were recommended to our center by other profs. I vividly recall the agony of reading paper after paper after paper from people who thought they were good enough to skate in and out of the center, but who stunk like skunk roadkill sandwiched between two rotting fish fermenting in the bottom of your diaper bag on a summer day. Really. Their writing stunk–there, I said it. There were three freshmen whose papers needed minimal help, if any; I married one of them. (Just so you know, I used to stink, too, and sometimes still do, so there’s hope.)

Here to Help Learning offers writing instruction on video, so you yourself don’t have to actually know how to be a writer. Isn’t that great?! Anything you need to know you learn right alongside your kids…although it is helpful if you can spell better than they can. Let me reiterate this, because it is very important: you do not need to be a writer to teach your children to write…although a princess crown always helps.

Thought two: You all learn the process.

The instructor, Mrs. Mora, teaches the entire paragraph and essay writing process in a logical progression from the start. She reviews the previously learned steps until it becomes second nature. As a writer, I no longer follow this writing process in a step-by-step manner, since it’s more mushed together like casserole, but it’s important to master the skills before going the casserole route.

In other words, the kids are learning how to write, not just how to get through an assignment.

(Please note that they are not, as far as I have discovered, learning how to write a sentence. This is for the paragraph and essay levels, or roughly anywhere within 1st through 6th grade (and I would say beyond as needed). I have had to do some technical explanation of a complete sentence to properly play the sentence game, and my tagalong still thinks anything that mentions princesses, cookies, or kittens is totally a complete thought and therefore a complete sentence. Don’t bother teaching four-year-olds the technical side of grammar. Now is a good time to mention that this is not a grammar program. Don’t get confused. They do, however, offer this language guide as a freebie, which you can get right now.)

Thought three: It’s fun!

This class isn’t boring or corny, like previous courses we’ve dabbled in. Okay, so maybe it’s potentially corny at times, but in an amusing way that doesn’t speak down to the kids. (My 19-year-old disagrees, but she’s 19 and not in the target learning audience.) I honestly thought the talking dog would register pretty high on the annoyance meter, but after the first 30 seconds, I was totally into him. Even most of my older kids thought he was a hoot, and they’re a tough crowd.

Mrs. Mora herself is hee-haw hilarious! I don’t know what it is about her quirky self, but she totally resonates with our quirky selves. We had to re-watch her flight prep videos just for fun. If you’re not quirky, you may disagree. Seriously, I wish I had a fourth grade teacher as engaging as she is. (No offense, Mr. Fett. You were great, and you taught me a mean game of Sheepshead.)

The course takes the “ugh” out of learning writing. The main reason I didn’t use a writing program for years is because I didn’t want my kids to hate writing. I wanted them to love it like I love it! Some of the writing programs we tried made my kids groan. The authors either tried too hard to be hip (and failed) or the programs were menial and pathetically boring…even for me. It’s not that I think everything in life needs to be fun–just clean the stinkin’ bathroom already–but it does help if something as intimidating as staring down a blank sheet of paper can be made exciting. (Personally, I think a blank piece of paper is an invitation to a feast, but apparently that’s just me.)

With Here to Help Learning’s Flight Lessons, my kids have been begging to do their writing. They’ve been begging for a decent internet connection so they can watch the next video. They’ve been begging me to print the papers (you have the highly desirable option of buying the workbook) and setting up binders for them…which I didn’t, because I’m a meanie…and because roadschoolers have space and weight limitations that you foundation schoolers only think you understand. The begging is annoying, but it’s great how much they enjoy their writing lessons and how enthusiastically they pull out paper and pencil to write.

Additional thoughts for my fellow roadschoolers:

Thought one: Internet connection versus DVDs

This is a program whose usefulness on the road depends on your situation and whether you opt for physical or digital products. We went the digital route. For us, being in a new spot every couple of days (and sometimes every day), we do not know what sort of internet connection we will have. Also, video streaming, as you know, uses up our limited data, so we have to wait for a freebie connection. This means lesson days are hit and miss, which is no biggie for us, since we’re adaptable. On the other hand, you don’t watch a video every day in this program, so you just have to exercise those amazing logistical skills full-timers acquire to make it work–also no biggie. Still, if you’ve paid for a one-year membership, you don’t want to miss so much that it isn’t worth it. Of course, at $6.99 a month for access to the entire six years worth of instruction, it isn’t too big a hit.

That said, most of you don’t move around as much as we do, so your connectability is less of an issue. Of course, if you buy the DVDs, you don’t have to worry about the internet connection.

Thought two: Printing versus buying workbooks

You can either purchase workbooks or download and print worksheets from the site. We did neither. RVers understand about weight and space limitations and the necessity to adjust to both. We managed to do this program with very little printing–okay, we didn’t print anything, but don’t tell Mrs. Mora! We may well have benefitted more if we had, and my son sure would have preferred that, but we work within our limitations–simplify, simplify.

How did we do it? We skipped some aspects, such as the rewards coupons (cookies are lighter and require no additional storage space–ahem). Also, instead of printing images and papers for them to write on, we looked at the images on the video while it was paused, and we wrote everything down on reg’lar ol’ paper. Not as exciting, but it’s cheaper, it saves space and weight, and it’s how we roll. Honestly, the amount of space required for the workbook is so negligible that it would have worked better for us having a workbook for each child or one workbook to look at and looseleaf papers to write on. I would do that if I were slightly more sane, which, sadly, I’m not.

Thought three: Time

I somehow thought that on the road I’d have all sorts of extra time for book-larnin’. Turns out I was oh-so-wrong. There’s too much life and road happening (don’t ask me how road happens). This program does not require prep work or teaching time. Do I get a cookie for sharing that vital information with you?

My final thought:

If you can handle the internet access and printing issues, or if you purchase the DVDs and workbooks instead of relying on online access, or if you are not as printer-phobic as I am, this will work beautifully for your roadschooling writing class needs. Those postcards to Grandma are going to get pretty exciting!

I have to say one more thing. We’ve been talking about pride quite a bit in our family, trying to differentiate between being proud of yourself and being proud of yourself. Beth Mora does that beautifully in the first video lesson. Right there I was sold.

Here’s what more normal homeschoolers have to say about Here to Help Learning:

What to Do With Your Unwanted Electronics

Photo Credit

We have some serious computer geniuses in the extended family–I mean serious. As technology advances, so do they. This means they have veritable computer graveyards, known in the biz as e-waste. It’s impressive, really, how they can extract a skeleton and some guts from their graveyard and create the computer world’s rendition of Frankenstein’s monster. Go bro!

Most of us have our own budding e-graveyards, some old unused techno-gadgets stuffed in a drawer or closet or that old desktop computer from high school sitting unused in a corner. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have Frankenstein-like computer revival skills. It’s tempting just to toss the e-waste, but that’s a no-no for several reasons I won’t get into here, but which you can read about here. What is a responsible grown-up supposed to do with old cellphones, iPods, televisions, Kindles, computers, and other techno-clutter?

First things first. Before kissing your e-waste goodbye and shedding that final tear, do the following:

Check your state’s laws.
Consider upgrading instead of replacing old equipment.
Wipe out the memory and any other personal information–you want total computer amnesia.
Remove the battery if that bugger has to be recycled separately.

Photo credit.

Next, check out these websites for quick and easy e-waste solutions:

Where to Recycle Unwanted Electronics

Environmental Protection Agency

Earth911.com

The Manufacturer–some companies, such as Samsung, Dell, and these fellas, will take back their gadgets at no cost to you…although I’m not sure why it should cost you. They should give you a cookie.

Where to Sell Unwanted Electronics

Gazelle.com

BuyMyTronics.com

Nextworth.com

Craig’s List (Who is Craig, anyway, and why does he have such a big list?)

The Manufacturer–many companies, such as Best Buy, Dell, and Amazon will buy back your e-waste to refurbish or recycle for parts and either give you a gift card or deduct the cost from an upgraded unit. Some of those companies will buy back other company’s electronics, too. Cool beans, eh?

Where to Donate Unwanted Electronics

National Cristina Foundation — NCF gives the products to organizations in need.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Freecycle

Goodwill

Interconnection.org — They put new operating systems into old computers and donate them to needy causes.

How to Repurpose Old Technology

Update the innards.

Pass it down to the kids to be used as a word processor or typing tutor.

Make a fish tank out of a monitor.

Make jewelry.

Make a cat bed…my personal favorite use.

Try one of these techy ideas.

There are hundreds of ideas online or in the head of the exceptionally creative.

Get rid of those squeaky computer mice and stale memory chips…and my cheesy puns while you’re at it! You may be connecting soldiers to their families or making a little cash in the process.

What do you do with old electronics?

Adventure, Courage, and Loyalty on the High Seas with G.A. Henty

This is a non-biased review of The Dragon and the Raven, a dramatic audio production of G.A. Henty’s book of the same title, created by Heirloom Audio Productions. All opinions are my own and those of my children. There was no exchange of cookies, pie, or money to alter our opinions.

Ever since we listened to a Librivox recording of G.A. Henty’s The Cat of Bubastes over a decade ago, read in a drone voice that we grew strangely fond of, we have been huge Henty fans. A Henty novel is an education in itself–language, history, geography, human nature, character. It’s a treasure trove of Christian virtue wrapped in adventure and courage and tied with a bow of literary prowess.

While nobody can really improve on Henty, one can tie it with a different bow, so to speak. And that’s exactly what Heirloom Audio Productions has done with their dramatic reproduction of Henty’s The Dragon and the Raven.

What’s it like?

Using famous voices that you’ll recognize (Bilbo Baggins, anyone?) and stirring music by John Campbell that makes it hard to press pause, Heirloom Audio Productions has released a highly professional two-and-a-half-hour adventure that brings courageous Christian heroes to life.

Set during the time of King Alfred the Great, this story of loyalty and perseverance follows two boys as they follow the young Alfred as he follows his Christian virtues during the Danish attacks on England. (That’s a lot of following.) That’s all I’m telling you, because I was once called a very bad name in college for accidentally giving away part of a plot. I still have the scars. If you want to know more, however, you should watch this video. You should watch it anyway, because it’s good.

We have little patience with productions that aren’t well done. This is well done! The Henty story is spell-binding. The Christian virtues are an example I’m proud to have my children emulate. The voices and music are spectacular. The story is timeless.

Is it True to the Book?

If you’re like us, this matters…probably more than it should matter. Geek alert! The adventure is primarily true to Henty’s original novel. There is a slight shift in the main characters, however, with a previously non-existent lad stepping in and a previous main character being offed…literally.

The story is still excellent, and the variation allows for some quality discussion and compare and contrast practice…which we never call “compare and contrast,” because that takes the fun out of it.

What does it come with?

There are downloadable bonus items included with the CD. This includes the original book newly re-illustrated (which our 10-year-old boy can’t wait to dive into), the score, printable posters, making of video, and, my personal favorite, a 48-page study guide. Stick with me a minute while I talk about the study guide, because it really adds to the drama.

The downloadable guide breaks the story up into bites around 3-5 minutes long. Each section of the guide contains the following:

Comprehension questions geared toward helping the younger students better understand what they heard. These were particularly helpful for the 10 and under crowd who didn’t quite catch everything.
Digging deeper questions, including some research questions. These added depth for the older kids (like me–Mama), as well as painted a picture for the younglings.
Vocabulary
Special activities, including a recipe for Alfred Cakes, which, as you know, is right up my alley
Information about Henty and Alfred the Great

While we started out pausing the audio to focus on the study guide, truth be told we sometimes were so immersed in the saga that we couldn’t press pause. Seriously, it was paralyzing. Wink wink. Still, the study guide has proven very valuable and makes this Henty treasure a solid historical, character, and language study.

Who’s it for?

My entire family listened together (although Daddy was, admittedly, in and out and would show up and say, “Is this Tolkien?” every single time). Here they are checking out the name of one of the characters as written on the disc case, so we could spell it right for our “character tree” (like a family tree, but you don’t have to be related…although you do have to be in the same book.

The other side of the room:

The four-year-old there enjoyed it, but she wouldn’t have gotten the gist of the stories without the discussion; mostly she waited to find out if there was a princess in it…which there was…sort of. The seven- and ten-year-olds benefited immensely from the comprehension discussions. The thinking questions benefited everyone, including Mama, who learned more about the Danish attacks on Wessex than most Americans, I’m guessing.

Additional Thoughts for My Fellow Roadschoolers:

Because everything is available as a download, this is absolutely ideal for roadschoolers. Download when you have a good (preferably free) internet connection, and you’re all set for the entire study. If you (unlike us) have the ability to listen to CDs or MP4s while driving, you can do this in the van. (Our Bagabus lost its CD player the first week out over four years ago. Major boo. Major sore throat for this mama.)

Seriously, I see no drawbacks using this for your roadschooling family. And when they fall so immensely in love with Henty that they want more than the four currently available, download the books for free from Amazon. Just do it!

If the other dramas in the Heirloom Audio Productions’ Henty adventures are as spell-binding and character-building as The Dragon and the Raven, I can’t recommend them enough! Toss one or two in an Easter basket or slip one on the table for a graduation gift. It’s almost as good as chocolate. Dare I say better?

To find out what other homeschoolers think, go here:

Mostly Measurable, Manageable March Goals

How did you do on your February goals?

Personally, I mastered omelettes, celebrated National Pizza Day, and made peach pie, so I consider last month a success!

Time for March.

Remember the ridiculously obvious rules for our mostly measurable, manageable monthly goals:

They should be mostly measurable.
It’s manageable.
It’s a monthly goal.

You have to write your own goals, but here are my mostly measurable manageable monthly goals for March:

Family Habits

Breakfast Bible: read Luke aloud.
Monthly family manner: eye contact. It’s definitely improving, but I’m taking one more month to practice. What’s the rush?
Monthly family home care habit: the entry way. Keeping the entry clean makes the whole house seem clean…for a few seconds.
Monthly character trait: practice finding the positives. You can never get too much practice!
Prayer: we’re good with bedtime prayers; time to strengthen our meal-time prayer habit.

Family Fun

Have one game night focused on the older group.
Have one game night focused on the younger group.
Celebrate National Lumpia Day on March 16.
Bake two pies. We let Emily decide because it’s her birthday month, so for March’s Year of the Pie selections we are having both a chocolate and a vanilla pie, both of which we found in my grandma’s pie cookbook.
Have a Filipino feast! Lumpia, adobo, pancit. We missed this last month.
Cut movie night back to once a week and make it a special affair like it used to be.
Watch the Passion of the Christ. (affiliate link)
Make resurrection cookies.
Read the Passion in the Bible.
Do Sense of the Resurrection with the kids–it’s like an Advent study, but for Lent. Check it out here.

Homeschooling

Write two letters each…including mama!
Continue reading aloud The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.
Teach omelet skills.
Hannah: Continue weekly goal sessions.
Marissa: schedule one college exam this month; order books for two tests next month.
Start upper level art class with Marissa, Elisabeth, and Emily (and Hannah, if interested).
Test the Apologia writing program with Emily (and Elisabeth if interested).
Continue Here to Help Teaching’s writing lessons with Elijah (10) and Rebecca (7).
Test Times Tales and Talking Fingers with Rebecca.
Study birds from Schoolhouse Teacher’s Charlotte Mason preschool with Eliana (4).
Continue Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready with Judah (7 months).
Find a new history program–maybe Beautiful Feet?

Music Mission

Write April 2016 newsletter.
Continue 2016 thank you notes.
Update subscriber list.

Health

Work dog and self up to 30 minute walks by the end of the month. (If that looks strangely familiar, it’s because we only got up to 20 minutes last month. But that’s okay!
Continue the two-a-week treat limit in churches.
Continue to expand my food options on the total elimination diet.
Research and purchase a digestive or pancreatic enzyme.
Make two family dessert night treats that Hannah can eat. (No dairy, grains, sugar, processed anything.)
Continue food/symptom journal.
Schedule a doctor’s appointment. Notice the procrastination from last month–I just can’t conquer this irrational phobia.

Writing

Write four non-sponsored, non-review posts here…for you lovely people! This counts as one. Hooray!
Write three posts at The Travel Bags.
Submit my article assignment for Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Mock out our June feature for The Old Schoolhouse magazine.
Begin research for “Old Mamas” article due in June.
Send one pitch. Done!
Edit one chapter in my book.

Personal

Finish 40 Days of Decrease–this book is great!
Continue Trumbull’s Hints on Child Training–-this book is even greater!
Finish Nagel’s Cure Tooth Decay.
Finish G. K. Chesterton’s The Innocence of Father Brown (free Kindle version here).
Read Daddy Long Legs (free Kindle version here). (The recent raves about Mr. Knightly reminded me of this classic–such a fun book! Never mind the socialism.)
Read The Story Girl, by Lucy Maude Montgomery (free Kindle version here).
Begin Sabatini’s Scaramouche (free Kindle version here), based on the recommendation of a Facebook follower.
Journal weekly.
Smile.
Master boiled eggs from America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook and from this post by my Hannah.
Unsubscribe from 31 subscriptions. (Where do these things even come from?!)

What are your goals for March?

Our Journey With the Total Elimination Diet

I love pie. In fact, I have deemed 2016 the year of the pie, and we are choosing a pie each month to bake; there’s a homemade peach pie waiting for us for breakfast.

I should say that it’s waiting for my family, not for me. I’m not eating pie. And this is why:

I’m on the Total Elimination Diet, which heretofore shall be affectionately termed TED. TED and I are old pals. This is my third time hanging with TED at every meal. It isn’t that TED and I are particularly fond of each other. I think TED likes me better than I like TED. Still, we hang out; it’s a relationship of necessity.

Why hang with TED?

Four of my eight children have had digestive issues as nursing babies. With my firstborn, I did not have the support, knowledge, or confidence to know what to do, nor was the internet a resource at the time. With my fourth, seventh, and eighth, however, I had long given up on support and opted to take matters into my own hands. We do have a pediatrician and pediatric allergist on our team with our current baby, but TED is in my hands.

What digestive issues did they have?

It varied–colic, bloody stools, mucous in the diapers, diarrhea, extreme fussiness, abnormal behavioral issues, neon green leprechaun poo–you know, the usual.

What is TED?

TED is a diet that helps pinpoint potential allergens or irritants in the mother’s diet that may be affecting the baby by eliminating almost everything from the diet and gradually adding foods back in one at a time.

Why TED?

Most doctor recommend giving up dairy and soy, but I had given up far more than and not seen much improvement, if any. I didn’t want to wait weeks testing this and that while his little system continued to be inflamed. So I buddied up with TED. (TED’s a bully, just FYI.)

How does TED work?

Step 1. Take everything out of the diet except for the least allergenic foods. Those are (in America) turkey, lamb, summer squash, zucchini, pears, rice, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and salt and pepper. (I could not do lamb, pepper, or white potatoes.) After 2-3 weeks all other foods should be clear of Mama’s system and mostly clear of baby’s system as well. I give everything more time.

Step 2. Add something back in. For me it was carrots. Then I got all googly-eyed over green beans. Adding squash was like a party in my mouth.

Step 3. Wait 3-4 days (I also go long) to see if there is a reaction in baby (or Mom).

Step 4. If there is a reaction, take that food back out and bump it back down the list a ways to try again in the future. If there is no reaction, add it to the food rotation and return to step 2.

Step 5. Record everything. I write down what and when I eat, my baby’s reactions and reaction times, and how I’m feeling. For my baby, I include on a scale of 0-10 his diaper color, mucus levels, blood, smell, rashes, and other info. I also record his skin reactions on his face, his mood, and his spit-up and drool levels. It’s work, but I want to know what keeps that plump little tummy happy and those rotund thighs getting rotunder…if that’s a word.

What are the results so far?

I’ve been hanging with TED since my baby was 7 weeks, so five months at this point. While the diapers are still not perfect, I have noticed the following:

less frequent bloody diapers–almost none, in fact
better consistency of stool
fewer facial rashes
fewer foul stools (although we’re currently in a bout of them, so I have to check my records and see what the trigger is…although I think I know)
less gas
less drool
less throwing up…although he did throw up on his sister’s head and in her shoes today–again, something is amiss and I think I know what it is
far less mucus
fewer diarrhea diapers–almost none, actually

I didn’t see an overnight change in behavior like with our seventh baby who was colicky. Baby number 8 never had behavioral issues–he’s just plain happy. What a blessing! But the lack of a sudden change does make it harder to know what’s bothering his round little tummy. If you’re considering TED for colic, you will most likely see much faster results and reactions.

Also, my joints, which are generally achy, feel much better…even good some days. Now that’s an interesting side effect.

This is a slow, tedious process, but it is the fastest way to lose baby fat I’ve ever experienced! Also, it isn’t completely accurate, but many doctors say it’s the best approach we have. Many other say to put him on formula.

What about supplements?

I am not taking supplements right now, because they caused reactions in my previous baby. I will, however, be taking pancreatic enzymes soon, since they have been known to help break down improperly digested proteins that may be getting into my milk. First I would like to find a doctor willing to test my pancreatic enzyme levels to see if it’s my system that’s on the fritz.

Isn’t TED lonely?

Yes and no. We have a daughter with Crohn’s who is on a healing diet herself, so we’re accustomed to the lonely life…and we’re lonely together. Occasionally we both miss something that everyone else enjoys, like a special treat at a church or local fare on our travels, but it’s for healing, so it’s okay. It’s okay.

In all honesty, we have a very social lifestyle as traveling music missionaries, and that involves a lot of food. We are often invited to events or dinner at someone’s home. Some people are very, very kind and intentionally prepare something we can eat. Most people don’t, which is completely fine, as we can always bring along our own food or stay home. If we do go along, however, and end up staying extra long (like at family visits), we get very hungry if the food we brought runs out. That’s not fun.

And in all honesty, when the rare special someone goes that extra mile for these two smiling faces below, it feels amazing!

Why not opt for formula?

Gut health is very important in our family. Crohn’s disease is an incurable auto-immune disorder that attacks the intestines, and a balanced gut is important in keeping that in check. It’s got a genetic link (my grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, which is related to Crohn’s), and is showing up in children more often and at younger ages, especially in our modernized society. I breastfeed my babies as long as I can partly because we love the bonding and partly to give them the best possible chance at strong intestinal health.

Also, if I learn now which foods bother him, I’ll have a better idea which foods to introduce as he starts solids.

Do I judge anyone who chooses the formula route over TED? Absolutely not! I wonder almost daily if I should go the (expensive hypoallergenic elemental) formula route, if it would be easier to know what was bothering my baby’s tummy, if I’m just being a stubborn ol’ cuss because I’m too lazy to get up at night to make a bottle…which I am, if he’s allergic to me to the extent that I’m doing more harm than good by nursing him. I don’t know. I can’t know.

I’m not saying I’m doing the right thing. I’m saying I don’t know. I do know that I’m doing the best I know how.

I also know that I will once again be going a couple years without cookies and pie while nursing my current little cutie pie…but that’s okay, because cutie pie really is the best kind of pie. Don’t you think so?

If you are considering an elimination diet, if your baby is colicky or has mama-heart-wrenching diapers, or if you are just curious, please ask your questions in the comment section below. I will answer them as soon as I see them…which is soon. I am not a doctor…just a mama and a boo-boo kisser, but I’ve been there. Have I ever been there!

UPDATE (6/21/16): Judah is now 10 months old. He still hasn’t grown out of his issues, although he has improved. He is eating some solids, but very few, and only those which I eat. He mostly eats green beans, avocado, and carrots, although he has sampled many more foods than that…some accidentally. Ahem. He will be doing fine for a while, and then backslide. At that point, I backtrack, and he improves. It’s not always easy; it’s rarely fun; it’s always worth it to see his smiling face and clear skin. The allergist says he should grow out of it. We’ll see!

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