Grilled cheese for the Snow Squad and disappearing sauerkraut (photos!)

It's been snowing like crazy in Seattle - this is what we're doing and eating!

Happy February

Here in Seattle, things are not going according to plan.

It’s been snowing! 

It's been snowing for a week - and it just keeps on snowing.

Last Monday at 5:42 AM Pacific time, I woke to the unmistakeable quiet of a neighborhood covered in a blanket of snow.  And more flakes were floating and spinning out of the sky into golden pools of the street-lamps in front of our house.  It was magical.  

SNOW DAY!!!  

YES, I had a moment of serious panic and frustration.  I had so much work to do!  

And, I thought, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime snow day for my little boy (and me as his mom!) so much of the work would wait.  I was IN with both boots first!

You see, all I’ve ever really wanted to be is a mother.  

When I was a kid, and people asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I'd answer “a veterinarian.”

But I really wanted to be a full-time mom!

Ohhhhh it took such a long time to get here.  And it’s been a bumpy ride.

There have been so, so many moments of doubt.  

In my early thirties I was doubting I’d ever get to be a mom.  

Those were painfully dark days.

When I finally did have my sweet baby, it was far from what I'd imagined.

Honestly, my family felt like a stressed out, patched-together mess running on fumes of panic.  My baby's belly was a bloated train wreck.  He was rashy and didn't sleep.  I was baffled (and sleep deprived) and screwed a whiteboard into our kitchen wall to keep track of everything I ate and all possible food reactions.  When I asked for help I heard “lots of babies are like that" over and over again.  Until I just stopped asking.

Fast forward through cancer, surgeries, chemo, a landslide of mama-guilt, and some massive determination to get my little boy with exactly what he needs to be healthier and happier than ever, and that brings us to...

the perfect snow day.  

The first kid knocked on our door at 7:30AM. I packed my little boy up in his snow gear and off he went to the sledding hill with some other parents while I did my most urgent work.  

I caught up with them and tagged those parents out so they could go to work and took the kids to the meadow for more sledding.  

Then home for a grilled cheese lunch, gluten- and dairy-free.  The sandwiches were gone in minutes (despite a few suspicious looks), and since I'd just made gummies we even had dessert!  

My little boy was thrilled to host a "regular" lunch with his friends, and so proud!  

And I was just as thrilled to provide the experience for him (and me, and the parents that didn't have to worry about lunch).

What felt so special?  

Inclusion!  Feeling ordinary!  Being one of the gang!  Or one of the "Snow Squad," as they dubbed themselves that day.

As a mama with a kid who eats differently, my heart was bursting with joy.  

This just didn't seem possible when we started our journey to health.

Gluten-free, dairy-free and low sugar just didn't seem to fit.  

Not in school, not with friends, not even in our own family.

And my heart was broken and fearful that my son might feel excluded, left out, or weird for the rest of his life.  

And now?  

We eat what we eat, my kid is healthy, we have friends, we do all the stuff we want to, and it feels freaking AWESOME.

How did this happen?

I got support, I found community, and I stuck to it.  

I got some easy favorite recipes that were winners with my little boy and his friends, and reworked my regular shopping list.  

I filled my pantry and fridge with delicious foods that worked for us, and got super-liberal with treats and substitutions when he didn't eat the junky cake or cookies served to his friends.

I kept sharing what we were up to, and I experimented with not apologizing.  

I experimented with not accommodating everyone else.  

I got called out on what I was choosing by people who didn't like my choice, and I got more confident and less uncomfortable each time it happened.

Until I just didn't care what anyone else thought.

I got courageous for my little boy.  

That's how I can fry up a pile of gf df grilled cheese sandwiches on a snow day and serve them to a crowd of kids at our house without a second thought. 

That's why I can pull out a giant pile of sugar-free multi-colored gummies at just the right moment.

YOU CAN TOO!  (just hit reply to find out how)

Back to that perfect snow day: 

After lunch, the kids set off to another house on the block, snow pants swishing and snowballs flying.  

It was an incredible, joyful, perfect snow day, and I heard more kids than mine proclaim, "This is the BEST day of my LIFE!"

AND THEN...

It kept snowing!  ANOTHER snow day!  

The snow squad re-convened, the parents tag-teamed, and we hosted both a blueberry-chocolate chip pancake breakfast (kids' choice) and a sausage and veggies dinner.  

FYI

It's been snowing all weekend and it's snowing right now, and yes, school is cancelled AGAIN!

But this time I'm totally ready for it, and I can't wait to hear back from you!

HIT REPLY if you want some of that COURAGE

HIT REPLY if you want OUTRAGEOUS HEALTH for YOUR CHILD

I'll get right back to you and tell you how.

Love and snowflakes,

Elissa

PS  Most meals at our house are served with sauerkraut (or some other fermented veggie).  It's the little pile of yellow-green stuff on the plates in these pictures. Sometimes I ask a kid who's ignoring their ferment to try a tiny bit, because at our house we like to take at least a tiny bite of everything on our plate.  And then... I shut my mouth and look the other way... until it's gone ;)