Rice Dogs Recipe

Mmmm- I'm not a fan of hot dogs, but the crust with this recipe is yummy. Corbin LOVED it and Brian just picked all the rice crust off of it and ate the hot dog underneath.

This recipe is from Lisa Lewis' Special Diets for Special Kids- Two. I halved the recipe shown here but should've added a bit more liquid into the batter to help it stick on better to the dogs but it still was great "kid fare".

Ingredients:
*2 Cups GF flour blend
*3/4 cup Cream of Rice
*1/4 cup sugar
*2 teaspoons salt
*3/4 Cup milk substitute
*2 egg yolks, beaten slightly
*8 hot dogs
*8 cups oil
*Wooden skewers or chopsticks

Preheat oil to 375 in a deep pan or fryer.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, milk & eggs in another. Then combine all together and beat with electric mixer until you have a thick, smooth batter.

Skewer the hot dogs and dip carefully into the batter. Cover the dogs all over, let excess drip off. It works better if you dry the hot dogs off w/paper towels beforehand.

Hold the sticks and submerge each one into the oil. Turn it slowly so it's completely coated and then you can let go of the skewer (I made sure the end of the skewer sat on the edge of the pan I was using). Cook each dog for about 5 minutes (turning once or twice)- until the coating is a dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels.


Helpful notes that Lisa adds:

* The sugar can be omitted, but she (and I) thought it tastes yummy w/it.
* Cream of Rice contains only granulated rice but it is made ina plant that makes wheat products. There are health food store varsions that carry no risk of cross contamination.
* Always take care (read the label) when buying hot dogs. Kosher dogs are usually safe as are the ones in the freezer section of your health food stores- they contain no preservatives at all. Also many chicken & turkey dogs are acceptable- but READ READ READ.

Scrapbook: Pure Childhood Innocence

I can't be sure how old the boys were in these pictures, as I didn't date the pages (shame on me)- but I remember the day clearly. It was early summer- I'm guessing June- so that would put Brian at 2 months and Corbin at 20 months. The air was still a little chilly but you could feel the summer sun's rays beating down. We were down by the ocean near my family's home that I grew up in (sad to say, they had to move a few years later and that home isn't in our family anymore- so weird).

Corbin found a stick and had so much fun just playing with the stick, running in the tall grass, watching the ocean. I told him the story of the "mermaid's lagoon"- a little inlet in the rocks that my sisters & I named- we were positive it was magical.

Brian was a chunky monkey already- breastfeeding at all times of all days lol. He seemed to already have a personality- he laughed so much and made everyone around him laugh too. He definitely had sensory issues, at so young, though. That point I won't deny. He hated the grass, and we would try to put his bare feet on the grass and he would pull his knees right up to his chest. I have a picture from that day, not included on these layouts, of him having tummy time in the grass- it was probably the highest he had pushed him up to that point- no way did he want his big baby cheeks to be touching that grass!

My Mom took these pictures with a new camera she had just got and was experimenting around with. They were, and remain, some of my favorite pictures. I remember looking at Corbin's and just being shocked at how old he was becoming. He was like a little boy- not a baby! I also loved the innocence she had captured. His wonderment in the little things of nature. I remember looking at Brian's picture and I couldn't believe how she had captured that twinkle in his eye, that second of pure joy plastered all over his face.

Oh, and the quote I chose for Brian's page- I had no clue how close to the truth that would be when I chose it.

Nothing Is Ever Boring

Today I stopped and bought a couple pounds of shrimp to mix with some pasta for dinner. And so it all started. I try to involve the kids with the cooking of the meals, as they are both extremely picky, and, so I've been told, a hands-on technique should help them expand their menus- hasn't worked so far but I'll keep trying. The shrimp were a disaster. Corbin was PETRIFIED of them- it didn't help that Josh told him he was gonna put one down his shirt- yes, sometimes I feel like I have three children I'm trying to reign in. So Corbin was running around the house, screaming his head off. Brian was sitting at the table and had a little less of a reaction- a turning of his head, sticking out his tongue and saying "blech". I wanted him to touch it but I think he was convinced I was trying to get him to eat it- eyes and all. I couldn't stop laughing at the drama surrounding the little pink guys.

Finished making dinner and sat down to eat with my family. Brian immediately pushed his plate away with his "blech" response. Corbin immediately ate all the shrimp but just pushed the pasta around with his fork. I ate mine, it was heavenly. After Brian threw his shrimp on the floor and was prompted to clean them up he decided to keep trying to get down from the table to my persistance that he at least stay at the table while we ate. Suprisingly he said "banana" pretty clearly so we got a banana down and I gave him half of it. At this point we gave Corbin his half-hour time limit to eat his pasta to recieve garlic bread- Corbin thinks bread is a real treat. Brian swallowed his half of a banana in one gulp and started reaching for the next. I stopped him and told him he had to eat a 1/4 of a strand of spaghetti for another bite of banana. It took about 8 minutes to get him to do it- with me continuously repeating "FIRST this (pointing to pasta), THEN banana (pointing to banana)". We continued this process probably three more rounds before he started doing it on his own and up to eating two strands of spaghetti to each bite of banana.

I look over to Corbin's plate and it looks like he may have eaten a bite or two. I remind him of his time limit- he only had about five more minutes left. He started crying, he was sick (okay, then you need to go lie down until you feel better), that he was full (but he still thought he needed that bread), then he just started shoveling it in.

At this point I got up to crush up some melatonin to put in Brian's drink. He hasn't been sleeping again so I dug it out, hoping that tonight, I might get a full nights sleep (and here I am at 11 PM not able to sleep). I always have to put his drinks with supplements into cups with lids and straws as if he sees any particles in it he'll refuse to drink it. I grabbed a lid from applebees that has those four little triangles in the straw hole that you push down for the straw. Brian drank some and started playing with the straw. He pushed the straw down into the hole, which was promptly followed by his pointer finger. He tried to pull it out and those aforementioned triangles dug into his poor little skin. I removed the cover from the lid and tried to get it off, but everytime I pulled it it just dug into his skin more. He was crying so hard- and when my little guy cries from pain I know it's bad as he has such a high pain threshold.

Josh jumped up to get scissors to cut the lid off of his finger and Corbin started SCREAMING and CRYING REAL TEARS- the kid thought we were going to cut off his little brother's finger. We got the lid off and then continued to laugh for a good ten minutes over the ordeal. The drama that has just happened was just so over-the-top that is almost seemed surreal.

So in the end, Corbin finished his entire plate in the alloted time (in reality I think he went a couple minutes over)- I can not remember the last time he has finished a plate of pasta- and he got his garlic bread. Brian probably ate about 15 strands of spaghetti- a big feat for him. Brian's finger is intact. Oh and Brian fell asleep, on his own, in about two minutes of lying down- I'll let you know if he stays asleep all night (which is his real problem).

Cry it out and then move on...

We're in the process of obtaining a Dynavox for Brian, to get approval from our insurance, we need to have a whole slew of evaluations done. One of them was cognitive testing. I wasn't very excited about it at all as I have heard over and over again how skewed they are for our kiddos that are nonverbal. He had the testing done at his preschool with his one-on-one present and she pumped me up a bit by saying she thought he did really well. So some of my doubt left me.

Today I recieved the evaluation in the mail. The evaluator used the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales- Fifth Edition (SB5)- a test, I'm fairly familiar with as Corbin did it last year and did extremely well on. Well, Brian didn't so well. He was scored in every area from borderline impaired to moderately impaired. I broke down. I don't do it often, I might feel like I want to, but I hold it together for the sake of everyone.

I called my sister and just cried. Really cried. I cried for my son- that I've worked so hard for and he has worked so hard and I just will do ANYTHING fo him to help him achieve his goals and to learn to talk. I want to hear his voice and his thoughts so badly and I would give anything for that chance. I cried for the preconcieved notion his teachers will have of him next year. I cried for my little boy that may always be that "little boy" and for the days when kids might pick on him. I cried for his future- the unknown- I want him to be happy, I want him to have a "normal" life, and to be able to do all the things I take for granted.

My sister cried with me but also gave me the push to get out of the tearfest- she reminded me how far he has come, how smart WE ALL KNOW he is- no matter what some test says, she reminded me that no matter if Brian progresses on or not he will be happy because he has all of us. I got off the phone with her and felt better (though I have a huge lump in my throat while typing this).

Not only did I feel better but I felt determined- went online and am looking up some nonverbal IQ tests that I'm going to demand him to recieve. If anyone has any suggestions I would be greatly appreciative.

And on to the next...

So Brian's one-on-one ABA therapist, Jen, applied for a job as a head teacher, actually in Brian's preschool classroom, and she got the job. I'm happy for her but bummed as always for Brian to have to start over with someone new. Jen is our second one-on-one in the 2 1/2 years he has been recieving one, which is a better rate than others I know. I get anxious with the whole questioning everything- will the new person be patient, kind, driven, understanding, loving, determined, openminded? And how long are we going to be without a person? Jen's last day is this Friday- so Josh & I have to juggle transporting Brian to speech in the mornings & preschool with our work schedules- we had it really good with Jen, as she transported him to those things. I get anxious wondering if the person will be a good match with our family. A one-on-one, in these preschool days, is like a member of your family. Jen spends almost as much time with Brian as I do. She works in my home. She is here with Brian when no one else is. She knows the inner workings of my home. I need to teach and preach the GF/CF diet to the new person. It's just hard, when we've become accustomed to someone and we need to start all over. And of course, it's not just me, it's Brian, too, who has to become close enough to someone to really show them the potential he has.

"oh man!"

This is Brian's new expression- and on top of being able to say it, he says it appropriately and spontaneously! It's so funny and great! He had been saying it for a while (it's a favorite phrase of Corbin's, I think that's where he picked it up from) but just sporadically and never in context until this week. He used it on Christmas when it was time to leave Harley's house and one time when a cousin took a toy from him. Today, his one-on-one said that when she took out his object labels- one of his least favorite programs- he said "ohhh, man!" It's going to be so much fun watching his personality gain so much more with funny phrases like this!

Frustration with the Potty

Three days in a row, Brian has had NO potty accidents- and on top of that, all of his bathroom trips have been completely self-initiated- including two BMs!! Excellent news- I've been so proud of him! So excited, hoping this might be the end of our, what, it must be around 14 months now, of potty training.

Then tonight, he went upstairs when I said it was time for bed, I was a few minutes behind him as I helped Corbin clean up all his crayons and markers- came upstairs, and found him naked, lying on his bed in a puddle of his pee. So Friday, Saturday, and all of today, accident-free- only for him to pee in his bed, during two minutes of not being supervised, in the room RIGHT next door to the bathroom. He was lying there, rolling in it, laughing. Oh, and on top of everything, he removed his pajamas before doing the afore-mentioned deed.

At this point, I scolded him. In the past, I haven't really scolded for potty accidents- instead just a firm NO and having him help clean up- but I have to admit, I feel like I'm up to "there" with it- just knowing that he can do it but doesn't?

I wish I could just know what is going on in that little head of his.