So Jason mentioned that he only checks his Livejournal friendslist when trying to keep up with those around him. This made me sad.
But then I found a plugin that will automatically crosspost to Livejournal, and this entry should be the inaugural volley. That made me happy.
Emma is a pickier eater than I ever was (and that is saying something). For that reason (and that reason pretty much alone) we’ve shunned any dietary methods of solving behavior issues for both her AND her sister. When you only eat a handful of things, cutting out a few fingers’ worth isn’t usually the best choice.
Two weeks ago, circumstances made us reconsider. Emma’s behavior had been particularly horrible, culminating in shoving two of her teachers at daycare. Had she done it at school, she’d have been suspended. The slide downward continued inexorably, despite every reward or punishment we threw at it. I decided it was time for a curveball.
This is one of those times where working above a Whole Foods has its advantages. After work one day, I spent about $50 on various kinds of food that Emma actually eats (waffles, bread, snacks, even chicken strips), but all of the gluten-free variety. And the next day, I started swapping out everything I could without letting her know it. She knew I baked bread, but she didn’t know what made it special other than me having baked it.
And for three days while this was going on, you could see a change. You could have a conversation with Emma and she’d not melt down about things. She was generally slower to upset, and when upset, didn’t freak out.
Yesterday, we let her in on the secret. She was understandably peeved, and instantly against the whole idea even though she’d been doing it for three days without a whisper against it, but that’s understandable. We laid it out for her though; we were doing this, and now that she knew she could do it and live (because she had been over the past few days), she could participate in it with us or starve herself trying. She opted for the former.
We went out to Wegmans (which is a haul) because that store is sort of half-normal/half-healthfood, and we could see some things side-by-side in an attempt to figure out what’s available and at what cost in comparison to mainstream items. Armed with a list of gluten-having ingredients, we went into the store to find more things for Emma to eat. We came out with more food, like cereals and jello. We did NOT walk out with gluten-free chicken patties that cost $3 per patty. We’re not quite THAT insane.
Today we did some more shopping, getting things to make smoothies (fruit, juice, yogurt), and that’s how we spent the early afternoon. Emma even specifically asked for blueberries and vanilla yogurt: two things she’s never had on their own.
This might work out after all.
Today is the first day of my tenth year of marriage.
Deep breaths? Not needed. Easiest nine years of my life.
I am presently at work. So too is the box of computer equipment I ordered with a healthy portion of my bonus.
Therefore, neither I nor the box are home right now. Harumph.
Sadly, there is still work to be done. Not only do I need to keep on haulin’ today, but I’m out of town Sunday afternoon through Monday night, so even though I get to put my stuff together this weekend, I’m on a forced timeout soon thereafter.
On the plus side, OH MY GOD THIS THING WILL BE A BEAST.