Discussing Autism

So you want to know how to make a sock monkey…and the best places to learn how to make gingerbread? OKAY, OKAY! I will tell you! And, I will throw in the GFCF candies for the gingerbread just for kicks, alright?

Happy now? Just teasing. I love sock monkeys and I LOVE the smell of fresh gingerbread. Just please DO NOT give it to AJ.

I made that mistake on Saturday and he did not sleep a wink all night. I purchased GFCF gingerbread mix from Miss Robens, the allergy grocer and it was Feingold Stage One safe. I figured that even though he had reactions to cinnamon before we could try it. WRONG. I gave him what was left on the baking spoon to lick and within ten minutes he was glassy eyed, running in circles, scratching the furniture, licking my clothing, jumping off the furniture, tackling the dog, stripping himself of his clothing, and wagging his head while standing on all fours. I don’t even know how else to explain his behavior.

Once he fell asleep (with the help of his clonidine), he only stayed asleep in 20 minute increments. He woke for good about 1:30 and barely fell back asleep all night. He ended up in our bed and drifted in and out, actually having nightmares and screaming himself awake several times. This scared us to death about 3 a.m. when he sat straight up in bed with a blood curdling scream.

Darn Salicylates!

Anyway…here are some great sites on how to make Sock Monkeys:
Craftbits Sock Monkey
Lenny Taylor Red Heel Sock Monkey
The Original Sock Monkey
Clubhouse B
Wiki…with a reminder to not put buttons on Sock Monkeys for children under 3
HGTV...with great pictures!

The Gingerbread Train we made was fabulous!
Family Fun Magazine printed the train information in last month’s edition and it was all AJ could talk about, as he loves making gingerbread (for Christmas and Halloween…I am waiting for them to come out with an Easter version).

Here is a regular dough recipe or you can purchase the GFCF dough at Allergy Grocer. *Note: I needed three bags to make the entire train. This Royal Icing is GFCF (it can also be corn free if you purchase powdered sugar without corn).

Here is a great GFCF recipe for dough from scratch. Check out her GFCF house!

For candy…see my GFCF Candy post for a great list. Things we used? Candycorn, gumdrops, jelly beans, marshmallow santas, reindeer, and snowmen, wreaths (like gumdrops), peppermints, candy canes, chocolate kisses (not touched or eaten my AJ) for the coal car (which my father crashed) and a Nerd Rope for the train tracks.

This site has everything one would ever need to build a gingerbread house…recipes, templates, types of candy!

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