Monday, March 8, 2010

Trips, guests and more guests!

Just at the tail end of a busy window of an out of town trip and a house full of guests! The wind down! Managed to get down to Victoria for a visit with my folks and a trip to the museum.

We had such a nice time down there. The boys coped pretty well and we really were digging the museum this time around. Especially me! The fiber arts displays, tools and handicraft specimens ( the most incredible beadwork, basketry, and embroidery) definitely caught my attention much more now than they every have in my dozens of trips to that museum on school trips and such as a child! The boys were right into it as well, since they have been really digging primitive arts and tool making lately. It was especially awesome when it was quiet... almost magical in there. Then the school tours started and the boys were irritated and stiff and had thier ears covered. School kids are noisy! Sadly it can be tricky for them to recover once they are overloaded like that.
When we came home things were all out of whack. The littlest one has been bedwetting and verbally stimmy and angry ( the likes I haven't seen since we cut out dairy a year ago) and the oldest is crawling around all over the floor, flappy and stimmy and really just completely out of it( looking at me with that completely blank but very unhappy stare). For the first few days I just assumed it was just a recovery from the trip, then I started worrying that they were regressing for some reason. ( I had just pulled the autism and sensory processing books off the shelf last week to donate to the local elementary school. A little premature and overly optimistic maybe?) My tummy has been awful all week, itchy skin and just not right, but I hadn't put it all together until yesterday. I all of the sudden had the vision of a box of kellogs corn flake crumbs on the counter when my folks made hommade chicken strips. My dad is gluten/ casein/ soy free, but isn't careful AT ALL when it comes to the condiments and hidden gluten sources. I had already saved the meal a pile of times from questionable seasonings and such .( I research every single product we use and contact the company if unsure. we also never use anything if there is ever a question, or just make our own versions that are safe). Anyhow, despite all of my neurotic checking and rechecking, I somehow gapped on that one! It used to be that it took about two weeks to recover from being glutened, so we will have to see. It has been one week and a little bit and the kiddos are still looking pretty affected. It was actually a blessing though because the boys have been talking about gluten and dairy lately and thinking that they have been missing it. They are clear in thier minds that they DO NOT like feeling like this though. Since it has been a long time since we were contaminated they have been unable to make that connection. Better so have a small slip up than to sneak a bite of something really gluteny or cheesy when they are at class or something!