"Shaky Banana Pancakes"

Well i thought about it for days: Nicky loves his Pancakes in the morning. They are yummy made out of almond flour, eggs, honey, vanilla and baking soda. But the problem is (and i just learned it while i was reading a new book on the diet) that almond flour is very hard to digest and can slow down the healing process of the gut. So are raw vegetables, fruits, onions and so on.

There is an intro diet and i wanted to give it a try.

I got up this morning and made him mashed banana pancakes. Just Banana, eggs, Honey, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon.

The reason why i call them now shaky banana pancakes is, because i was shaky when i put them in front of him. First he didn't look to happy, but then he shoveled in . That's my boy ;) . This will be his diet only for a few days. If he is doing better without the almond flour we will not reintroduce it for a while, which means i have about 10 pds. of almond flour in the basement :(

I am glad Nicky is a good eater. Every change we made so far he was just fine with it. Thank You Nicky for sticking with Mommy's experimental cooking :)

News on the house

Well we had the inspection last Sunday. After a list of doable and no so doable things we are a step further now, going through attorneys list. Its kind of exciting, a roller coaster i would say. One moment you thing the deal is settled and the next moment you are not sure about that any longer. But we are positive and we know this family loves our house. And hey whats not to love ;o)
But i guess by the end of the week we are safe, closing date is 27Th of June.
The boxes in the house are getting more and more, now i have them in every room. Whenever i am in a room with the kids i can fill one or two.
Well its a beautiful vacation week with the boys. We don't do a lot. In the morning Nicky rides his tricycle and Philip builds castles. In the afternoon we move with the sun and splash in the little plastic pool on the deck. I just finished the Kite Runner. I haven't finished a fiction book in a long time. Very good book, i loved it and can not wait to read the newest book from the author.

Happy Earth day!

Its Earth day, even our little Philip knows. I like the waking up of a country that produces nearly a quarter of the worlds greenhouse gases. I like to see that every grocery shop is know selling there reusable bags, that more and more organic foods is moving from the natural food section in the "normal" isles. I like to see more Prius cars, they make me smile. Its the every day that counts, its everybody who counts. Its on you to teach your children now about taking care of there environment.
I was thought very early in life that we do not throw trash just in the bushes, our of the window. We rather take it home and throw it in the trash can, because every piece of trash you just trow out of your car window is hurting some animal and lets face it: It looks horrible. Just have a look around you next time you wait for the green light. Dunkin donuts joins Mc Donalds. Welcome to the Fast food world.
Don't get me wrong, i looove this country, but the green thinking is just on the starting line.
It started about 20 years later than the Europeans did. We do not have plastic bags in our grocery stores in Germany , well only if you want to spend a buck for one. Maybe you don't want to travel now to Europe any longer :) ?

Well and because its earth day, i have a few things for your every day life you could change little by little:
Did You know that the dryer is after the fridge the appliance the average US household uses the most. Safe some energy and just hang your clothes on drying racks or hangers. I do that with my boys pants and shirts. They dry there and i just have to hang the hangers in there closets. Voila, easy! Yes i still put all my towels and smaller laundry in the dryer. But on a normal washing day i have about 5 loads of wash, but only 1-2 for the dryer. Hanging the cloths outside on a drying rack is also very healthy, you don't need any fragranced drying sheet, mother nature smells so much better :) Oh and in the winter i hang the boys hangers in there closets when the clothes are still damp. Works great in the dry air during heating time. Yeah i know, drying racks outside are a sign of poor people, at least thats what people think here. Well, lets have a look to Europe (Yeah, again!) and these people are not poor, they are just very smart, they just use mother nature for them. So, yes it is ok to hang your clothes on a drying rack. You dont have to do that in the front yard...... :)
Something about cleaning supplies:

1. Next time you make the trip to the store to by all this fancy, expensive, full of poison cleaning supplies think about this: Is it safe that my kids touch the table after i cleaned it with a cleaner that has an ingredients list longer than this article today?
2. Do i really need a room fragrance spray or is it enough to open the doors?
3. Try baking soda next time if you have a blogged drain, it works great and its cheap!
4. Well i discovered Microfiber clothes . And in a combination with vinegar your stainless steel will shine better than with every other cleaner.
5. Try natural stuff on the toilette, you can do either a combination of baking soda and vinegar or you buy the natural stuff in the store that smells like you are standing in middle of the Rock Mountain forest :)

Try to avoid spray bottles whenever possible. I found for example a great shaving cream in the natural section, it comes in a tube, smells great and its supercooling on your skin. Its from ALBA and costs just a little more than the other stuff.

You wonder why i am writing all this. Well here is my thought. I believe that my son's autism is an outcome of the environment that surrounds us. He doesn't have a genetic disorder, his brain looks just like ours. He was born with autism, it didn't come later after his first year or so. He was autistic from the beginning. His condition is an outcome of the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat. And don't get me wrong, i was careful like every mother is when she is pregnant with her child, but there are things we can not change.

But we can for the future of our children and there children. Please start today, plant a tree. Or check out Today's item about Earth day: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24243346/.

Celebrate our blue planet. Happy Earth Day!

SCD Popsicles with Mango and Pineapple

I decided to give Popsicles a try. I felt sorry for Nicky not getting that kind of treats any longer. And with summer just around the corner the time had come. Nicky loves all fruits, so i just took a pineapple, a mango and some orange juice. I blended it in a food processor and stuffed the Popsicles forms. Off to the freezer, and here is what came out :

The boys looooved it :)

A break from autism and selling the house

We took a break yesterday from our busy life and took the Vette to Cape Cod. We had a sitter and left at 3.30. After getting over the bridges we took Route 6 through Sandwich and Dennis.It was so beautiful. No tourists yet, but all art galleries and gift shops where open. Everybody was out and about to buy flowers and breath in the spring.

Driving slowly through this old towns with the roof down on the car was amazing, you could smell the air, every flower, the ocean breeze.

We remembered an Italian restaurant in Chatham from our stay on the Cape a few years ago . Its on route 28 and its name is BUCA's. We wanted to end the evening beautiful like it started. Oh wow, there food is amazing, the service great. You just keep eating, nobody rushes you. Perfetto!

I still can not believe it :)

It's been a few days that i posted on our blog. We had some very exciting days but i have to add this good news now. Our house is under agreement (Yeah, i learned some new words from the realtor world :) ) Anyway, after our open house on sunday (Remeber, we went to Bass Pro shop to get out of the house, what a lucky trip) we got an offer on monday. The offer was not very good and we got very frustated. But hey, this is the market right now and people are trying. I would too, if i would be a buyer. Anyway, we came to an agreement yesterday, which is very good.

I woke up this morning and thought this is a dream, i couldnt believe it. But it is true. Now we are going trought inspections this sunday. I think our house is in great shape and there is nothing to fear, but we are still nervous, something could come up.

I keep you posted whats going on at the Gebhardts.

Getting closer to the move

Well, you all know The Gebhardts are moving end of June back to Germany. Right now the work is kind of overwelming. Lots of phonecalls to make things right in Germany: getting registered, getting the cars to the right time on the right place, making shure the kids are fine at school . Lots of organisation with the moving company, tons of paperworks. We have to get all medical records for Mr. Nicky and us.

The month of May is going to be crazy. By the end of the month the moving company with the container will come. By that time we will be without ANYTHING. Scary thought, we will camp on matresses in front of a borrowed TV (thanks Jen :) ).

Its getting so close and it scares me. Leaving our friends and starting new. I hope this will be the last time in our lives that we have to start new. I am not a big mover and i hate to leave my friends.

I just talked to our DAN doctor, Pam Farrow. She encouraged me to keep going even we have difficult days with him. The stimming in Nicky always comes when he tends to be constipated. We give him Oxypoxder from GI ProHealth. I love that store, its products are made especially for autistic kids on the SCD diet. The Oxipowder works naturally. Not like Mirolax, which is so bad for these kids guts.
Well anyway :) We are going to increase the amount of Boullardii during the April vacation week. Nicky gets very stimmy with 3 caps. a day but Pam thinks its good for cleaning out his system. What a great week we will have , ha ha.
On May 1st we will see her to get the first B12 shot. I am hoping to get some more sounds our of him after this.
That's for today. While i am writing this, Nicky sits on his chair in front of the TV and shakes his head like crazy. Looks like we are having a long Epsom Salt Bath today :)

What a fun afternoon

On Friday after i picked up the boys from school, i let them play in front of the school on a little fenced in area. Lots of kids play there when they come out of the school. Philip always enjoys to play with all his (girl-)friends. Nicky usually just watches or looks at the American flag. Not so last Friday. He was running after Philip and was laughing loud. He looked at the parents standing around till he found me in the crowd. Then he smiled and walked up to me. These are moments that make everything worth.
There was something else: Nicky tried to walk around the fence towards the parking lot. Very slowly. I said "Nicky, you have to walk back here" Well, my smartypants-son turned around and walked backwards toward the parking lot. How smart was that. Everybody laughed out . His smile was so cute and bright.
He is doing amazing, he understands a lot. He remembers his signs if he needs help or has to go to the bathroom. He has his own will. Today we went to the Bass ProShop just to spend a few hours. When we walked in, he heard the water and that's where he wanted to go. He took my hand and pulled me through the whole store till we arrived at the fish tank. That was his will and does not every kid have that, most of them a strong one.
Well i could get on with my little stories. The progress is steady, but we always have days where Nicky is not doing well. I think we have to cut out tomatoes, i think they make him very hiper.

3 months on the SCD diet - it's hard

I created this blog for using it as an diary for my son's changes after we started the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet). We've been so busy that i barely had time to do so. Here is an update on his condition:

Nicky is diagnosed with PDD-NOS since age 2, he is now 6. With the last tests in school he was at a stage like a 1-2 year old. He is non verbal and still in diapers (probably will for a few more years!).

In November 2006 (Nicky was almost 5) we decided to see a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor, who recommended a gluten and casein free diet. He also recommended some supplements, to go after the Yeast, that showed after testing Nicky. I cut Nicky cold turkey and oh my god...he was like a drug addict the first days. He never ever had tantrums like that before. After three days he finally calmed down, i almost gave up :)

We saw an increase in concentration and less stimmings. He accepted all new foods we offered and after a while we figured out how to get all the supplements into his mouth :)

By about march we tried out B12 shots but couldn't see any improvement. Little did we know that Nicky's yeast just didn't go away with the supplements we gave him (Probiodics). Feeding him with starches and Rice milk and sugar made it even worse.

But he did some new sounds which just was worth so much more and weighted in so much more than the stimming stuff he did.

By summer our DAN doctor recommended Nicky needs to to chelation. I read allot about it and was not sure if this is the right thing. But after the test came back with high results on mercury and other heavy metals i was ready for the treatment. We started very slow and every time we wanted to increase the amount of chelation meds Nicky stated stimming allot. So we stayed very low with the thought that we might do that for years now (getting up every weekend to give him the meds avery 4 hours). We tested him again in November 2007 (thanks for my curiosity :) ) and the result came back with a big surprise: The heavy metals where gone. It was weired, we don't know how it happened. But hey, we where happy, especially because of the fact that Nicky got worse and the stimming came back allot.

In November 2007 we tested again for yeast. The test came back with even higher results for yeast as it was before GF/CF. During chelation we gave Nicky extra supplements for treating the yeast, because i knew that chelation feeds the yeast.

After that results i had it. I wanted to start all new. By that time, Nicky was on about 15 different supplements and nobody except me didn't even dare to get into that system any longer. I could not leave him with somebody.

That was the time when i read allot more about SCD and Enzymes. I took all supplements away for 1 week and started then to give Nicky only Enzymes before every meal . Oh wow, i got calls from school that he is doing so good. He was happy and was able to sit for an entire hour for his ABA sessions.
I decided to give the SCD diet a try. By Christmas we did cut off all potato, rice and pasta products. Christmas vacation was not good for us, very bad, lots of stimming and constipation issues.
Beginning of January we changed DAN docs and saw Pam Ferrow. I loved her instantly. She gave me hope again. It was a hard year for us, lots of ups and downs. Pam suggested to go after the yeast first and start with SCD right away. The next day i started.

Well since then its been 3 months, mostly improvement. His eye contact is so good, his receptive language is by that point where you have to watch what you say (Never say gummi bear in our house!).
We started with Boullardii 3 weeks ago very slowly (1/2 caps./day) and increased to 3 caps./day. I believe he can not tolerate 3 caps. only 2/day. He just stimms more and is very unhappy.

But i have to say the big issue with constipation is gone. It only came back one time right after we started SCD and thats normal, like i read in diff. forums and the tons of books i am bringing home every week :)

More stuff to safe the earth

While i was going grocery shopping the other day, i was paying closer attention to food that comes in big plastic containers. So i decided to make a list of products i will eather avoid or buy less any longer. Here they are:

• Juiceboxes: Buy bigger containers and refill your kids waterbottles (like Sigg) instead of juiceboxes.


• Prepacked salads: If it has to be prepacked for you, buy the ones in plasticbags, not in the hard plastic boxes (like boston lettuce)


• Orange juices: Buy only in cartons, not in plastic.


• Eggs: Paper, paper, paper. If your grocery market allows, reuse them (Very popular in germany at the weekly farmers market).


• plastic bags for produce: If you have only two lemons or one avocado, skip the bag!

Another thing i wanted to mention is the use of a compost. There is space in every garden for a compost. If you are afraid it will stink (it doesnt if you follow some simple steps), just buy a plastic one you can close tight. Here are the pros of a compost:

• Your own organic soil for your vegetables and flowers


• Less trash that starts to stink on humid summer days


• You safe tax money for reducing trash - with less and less regular trash your town hall doesnt have to encrease your taxes

SCD White Fish Fillets Amandine

I just tried this recipe last night and my whole family just loved it very much. If you are (like my son) on the GF/CF/SCD diet just do coconutoil instead of butter and roll the fish in almond flour (tastes even better):

2 pounds skinless pollock fillets 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 cup sliced almonds 2 tablespoons lemon juice 4 to 5 drops liquid hot pepper sauce 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
Cut fillets into 6 portions. Combine flour, seasoned salt, and paprika; mix well. Roll fish in flour mixture. Place fish in a single layer, skin side down, in a well greased 15 by 10 by 1 inche baking pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons melted butter over fish. Broil about 4 inches from source of heat about 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. While fish is broiling, saute almonds in remaining butter in fry pan and allow to turn a golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, parsley; mix. Pour over fish. Serve at once.