What to do today? Grind up some flour!

So I went to make some rolls for the family, and discovered I was out of flour. No worries, I usually grind my own grains to make my flour. So today I combined white hard wheat, kamut and barley. What grain mill am I using today? My FGM, aka Family Grain Mill. I got it from Pleasant Hill Grains, and it comes with some very neat attachments, but right now, I am making flour, so using the normal head.

 Because kamut is such a large grain, I decided to crack everything first.

After this I dial the setting to finest, and grind away.

As you can see this grinder is not as loud as my kitchen tec, and so I let the little one help me.

 

Next I will be putting this through my sieve and then grinding the germ again. Anything too big will be tossed to the worm bin, because those sharp edges break my gluten strands when making bread.

March is Trisomy Awareness Month!

Now that we are halfway through the month.. I am going to talk about Trisomy. This is near and dear to me, and whenever I see a Trisomy person I just want to hug them, They are so beautiful!
Don't be afraid to ask me about Trisomy or Saralyn. We love to help educate, we love to talk about Saralyn. Please read the whole post.

What is Trisomy?  Well, this refers to cells having three copies of a chromosome. When three copies of any one of the chromosomes are present, rather than the normal two, the outcome is 47 chromosomes in the cell, instead of the usual 46.

What is the most known Trisomy?  Downs Syndrome or Trisomy 21 is the most known. . Next is Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome, then Trisomy 13 or Patau's Syndrome.

How many Trisomies are there? There are 23 different Trisomies, one for each chromosome.
In Saralyn's case, she had three 18th chromosomes.

Is Trisomy fatal?  Actually, LIFE IS FATAL, I mean we don't get out alive right? Everyone dies, we just don't know how long we get to stay on earth before that happens. Some people get 100 years, others get 100 minutes.. Every body is different. Even "normal" babies can die at birth.

What is the difference between Full, Partial and Mosaic?  Full trisomy refers to three copies of a chromosome being present in all cells and is the most common form of trisomy 18 or 13. Mosaic trisomy and Partial trisomy occur far less often, with variable and generally better outcomes but some individuals are as affected as those with a full trisomy.  Mosaic trisomy refers to two cell lines in a person; a portion with trisomy (3 copies of a chromosome), the other with 2 copies.  Partial trisomy occurs when only a piece of a chromosome is extra in a person’s body cells. (direct from trisomy.org)

I just wanted to share in case anyone was wondering, or now has this path to go down. This is not a bad path, it is just different. We wouldn't change having our sweet Saralyn.

If you have questions, ask them, please. IF you have been told your child might or is a trisomy baby, we have an amazing support network at trisomy.org
Look for SOFT on facebook, or just go to their website at trisomy.org for more information. There is so much medical information on trisomy.org. Yes this can be scary on your own, but with us you are NOT alone.. Remember, educate and advocate for your baby and or child.