I haven't updated in awhile, but that doesn't mean nothing is going on! I have had a pretty rough time this past week, which is due to the cleanse. At times it feels like I'm going backwards, but according to my doctor I've had it pretty easy compared to other patients doing the same cleanse. May 10th is Pill Liberation Day and I'm going to mutiny if he suggests one more cleanse!
Rob will be undergoing allergy testing tomorrow. His gluten issues have gotten so bad that he can't even walk into a room with cookies, etc w/o feeling his throat tighten. We'll see what the test shows and how to proceed from there tomorrow.
We have four weeks of school left and I am pleased that we will actually finish our cores this year. It's been a rough year with the move and my health issues, but God has been good and we've been able to get through all of the material.
Miss Anna had a trip to the ER this week. I had been napping (bad fibro day) and came downstairs to find her sitting on Rob's lap. She had stuck a Craisin up her nose and he couldn't get it out. He had tried every trick he could think of, but she just kept sniffing it up. Because he could no longer see it, he assumed it had gone into her sinus cavity. He had to leave for work, so I took the troops to the ER (per the doctor's orders, as we called him first.) The nurse was examining her when Anna made a funny face and sneezed hard twice. Out came the Craisin! Everyone in the room just kind of said, "Um...okay! That was easy!" and we left. Goofy kiddo.
Matthew has been taking art lessons through the city park and rec department. He loves it and I have seen improvements in his artwork already.
The kids finished their Truth Trackers program just this past week. All three of them earned their medals for the year. They do not have an awards ceremony for the little ones, but Matthew's class did so I got to see him get his medal.
I think that's about it around here!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
How to Handle Food Issues
For quite sometime, I've had this blog post welling up inside of me. As you all know, my family has undergone a major change in our dietary habits. We are gluten-free family-wide, and I am also dairy, soy, and egg free at the moment. I meet people all of the time who can't believe we can actually eat this way and survive, and others who have to start on this journey but deem it impossible. I really want to answer all of these issues with one post, so hold on for a bumpy ride. We'll do Q & A format from real questions I've been asked and real objections I've heard.
Q: It's impossible to eat this way (as stated by my pediatrican.)
A: No it's not. It's not only very possible, but leads you into healthier eating for the whole family. And honestly that's the silliest thing I've ever heard!
Q: Is your food bill enormously high? I mean, gluten-free stuff is too expensive!!
A: Yes, it is pricier, but let's think about this: If you are going from eating white bread, white flour pastas, white flour cookies, white flour crackers, and other such things to trying all gluten-free versions of the same, it is more expensive. But here's the deal: All that white bread stuff is bad for EVERYONE not just the gluten-free person! And even the whole wheat versions aren't much better! When we started feeding our kids fruits, veggies, cheese sticks and Simply Gogurts for snacks with the occasional homemade treats, our grocery bill decreased significantly. Rob takes leftovers to work, we also eat popcorn for snacks, etc. We do buy gf flour and pasta, but we also look for the best prices and those things do not comprise the majority of our meals. We're actually spending about the same amount on food.
Q: It seems too hard to get started. How did you get used to it?
Yes, it was hard to start. It's hard to look at how you were eating and realize there are many things you can never have again. But then you start to realize how much of what we enjoy in life is tied to food. And instead of focusing on food at social gatherings, focus on the people! Food is only here to sustain our bodies, not entertain us. We recently went to our Sunday school class' breakfast and I couldn't eat a thing on the menu. I brought my own smoothie and had a marvelous time talking to a few friends. I barely glanced at the food table! Change your attitude toward food and it's not so hard!!
The other thing that is hard is changing how you buy and how you look at the items you buy. Yes, it will take three times as long to go through a grocery store, but pretty soon you will get used to what things you can buy. And you HAVE to view the old food as poison to your body.
No one wants to eat poison, right?
Q: But if I eat gluten free (or whatever-free) I won't have anything left to eat!
A: Did you hear my eyes rolling in my head? Sorry, but that objection brings out a rather unspiritual side of me :) You CAN eat meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts. And if your only sensitivity is gluten, then you also have dairy, eggs, and soy. And corn. Get the picture?
I also heard a great piece of advice for starting out on a new eating plan: Find one or two things to eat and just feed that to your family every day until you find one or two more. Pretty soon you'll have a very diverse menu. Remember, we are sustaining our bodies, not entertaining ourselves.
Q: But I'll never feel full only eating that stuff and how will I get fiber in my diet?
A: At first, you body will feel hungry all of the time. I think it took me about three weeks before I felt full eating a meal of mainly veggies. But the point is it DID happen! And it WILL happen to you! You can't look at the immediate and the now...you HAVE to stay focused on the future and how much better you will feel when your body gets used to a new normal (and please apply that principle to every aspect of your life!!). There is far more fiber in fruits and veggies than in wheat products. And just think of what God put into the Garden of Eden...anything in boxes? Bags? Nope, just good stuff that our bodies were intended to eat. (Although there may have been a Reese's tree but I haven't found that in Scripture yet!)
Let me also say as a side note that my kids are far healthier now that they were before we started this journey. They have barely been sick this winter and when they were sick, they got over it quickly. Ben and Anna's airborne and pet allergies are gone, as are mine! You will do your family a real favor in the long run by dumping the preservative-laden junk food and eating mainly real food!
Q: We all know you love to bake. How are you doing that now?
A: At first, we did buy a bunch of alternate flours and search out gf recipes. Then I got to thinking: Can't I just take my existing recipes and substitute the flours? So I did and so far the results have been great!
Q: I still think it's too hard and I could never do it.
A: Then you're not ready. I wouldn't have been ready a year ago, but God slowly changed my thinking and we started making small changes that have led to bigger ones. When you're ready, I'll be here to help you :)
And for those keeping up with my weight loss, my total loss as of yesterday is 26 lbs!!
Q: It's impossible to eat this way (as stated by my pediatrican.)
A: No it's not. It's not only very possible, but leads you into healthier eating for the whole family. And honestly that's the silliest thing I've ever heard!
Q: Is your food bill enormously high? I mean, gluten-free stuff is too expensive!!
A: Yes, it is pricier, but let's think about this: If you are going from eating white bread, white flour pastas, white flour cookies, white flour crackers, and other such things to trying all gluten-free versions of the same, it is more expensive. But here's the deal: All that white bread stuff is bad for EVERYONE not just the gluten-free person! And even the whole wheat versions aren't much better! When we started feeding our kids fruits, veggies, cheese sticks and Simply Gogurts for snacks with the occasional homemade treats, our grocery bill decreased significantly. Rob takes leftovers to work, we also eat popcorn for snacks, etc. We do buy gf flour and pasta, but we also look for the best prices and those things do not comprise the majority of our meals. We're actually spending about the same amount on food.
Q: It seems too hard to get started. How did you get used to it?
Yes, it was hard to start. It's hard to look at how you were eating and realize there are many things you can never have again. But then you start to realize how much of what we enjoy in life is tied to food. And instead of focusing on food at social gatherings, focus on the people! Food is only here to sustain our bodies, not entertain us. We recently went to our Sunday school class' breakfast and I couldn't eat a thing on the menu. I brought my own smoothie and had a marvelous time talking to a few friends. I barely glanced at the food table! Change your attitude toward food and it's not so hard!!
The other thing that is hard is changing how you buy and how you look at the items you buy. Yes, it will take three times as long to go through a grocery store, but pretty soon you will get used to what things you can buy. And you HAVE to view the old food as poison to your body.
No one wants to eat poison, right?
Q: But if I eat gluten free (or whatever-free) I won't have anything left to eat!
A: Did you hear my eyes rolling in my head? Sorry, but that objection brings out a rather unspiritual side of me :) You CAN eat meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts. And if your only sensitivity is gluten, then you also have dairy, eggs, and soy. And corn. Get the picture?
I also heard a great piece of advice for starting out on a new eating plan: Find one or two things to eat and just feed that to your family every day until you find one or two more. Pretty soon you'll have a very diverse menu. Remember, we are sustaining our bodies, not entertaining ourselves.
Q: But I'll never feel full only eating that stuff and how will I get fiber in my diet?
A: At first, you body will feel hungry all of the time. I think it took me about three weeks before I felt full eating a meal of mainly veggies. But the point is it DID happen! And it WILL happen to you! You can't look at the immediate and the now...you HAVE to stay focused on the future and how much better you will feel when your body gets used to a new normal (and please apply that principle to every aspect of your life!!). There is far more fiber in fruits and veggies than in wheat products. And just think of what God put into the Garden of Eden...anything in boxes? Bags? Nope, just good stuff that our bodies were intended to eat. (Although there may have been a Reese's tree but I haven't found that in Scripture yet!)
Let me also say as a side note that my kids are far healthier now that they were before we started this journey. They have barely been sick this winter and when they were sick, they got over it quickly. Ben and Anna's airborne and pet allergies are gone, as are mine! You will do your family a real favor in the long run by dumping the preservative-laden junk food and eating mainly real food!
Q: We all know you love to bake. How are you doing that now?
A: At first, we did buy a bunch of alternate flours and search out gf recipes. Then I got to thinking: Can't I just take my existing recipes and substitute the flours? So I did and so far the results have been great!
Q: I still think it's too hard and I could never do it.
A: Then you're not ready. I wouldn't have been ready a year ago, but God slowly changed my thinking and we started making small changes that have led to bigger ones. When you're ready, I'll be here to help you :)
And for those keeping up with my weight loss, my total loss as of yesterday is 26 lbs!!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Easter 2012
We had a marvelous time today as a family. I have to say that I enjoyed celebrating Easter far more than Christmas this year, mainly because I feel so much better! And, we did the whole day at our own pace.
Last night, we did the traditional Paas coloring of the eggs. The kids were so excited---and then as all of you know, had to wait! Wait for the eggs to boil, wait for them to cool off, wait for the color tablets to dissolve, wait for the eggs to be colored....etc, etc. And when we were done, they said, "That's it??" Anna doesn't remember doing this last year, so it was fun to see her get excited about everything. They finished putting stickers on the eggs this morning while I made a gluten-free coffee cake.
We opted not to do our egg hunt in the morning this year simply because we wanted to take our time and enjoy it. The boys were up at 6am for some reason and I thought that they might be excited about our afternoon. But no...they were discussing the real meaning of Easter! I was very surprised and please to hear them talk about the meaning of the day and review the entire Easter story. Anna popped up next to me a 1/2 hour later talking about the same thing! It is such a joy to hear my children excited about celebrating the resurrection of our Lord rather than finding a bunch of colored eggs and candy. (Although Anna did mention that the thieves hanging next to Jesus were wearing green and red underwear--must have been in a picture she had last week in Sunday school.)
Our Adult Bible Fellowships traditionally have an Easter breakfast, so we decided to bring a gluten-free coffee cake so that Rob would have something to eat. I fixed that while he prepped the ham. Good thing he loves puzzles so much because it almost didn't fit in the crock pot! I gave Matthew and Anna each a piece of the cake for breakfast and then sent one to church for Ben. His Sunday school teacher decided to bring in breakfast for her students and contacted me with the menu. He was able to have the eggs and juice, but I sent him coffee cake in place of her muffins and Chex cereal in place of the Fruit Loops.
We had a nice church service, although I did have to leave during the choir number. Still having some problems, but thankfully I did not have my usual over-stimulated issues this afternoon (I'll give an update on the fibro/sensory stuff in another post). When I picked up Ben and Anna from junior church, a worker popped out to tell me that Anna had been in trouble! First time that's ever happened! Apparently, she wouldn't stop talking during the story and had to be removed from the room. I have NO IDEA where she gets the chatter box stuff from.....
Lunch today was ham, mashed potatoes, and sauteed green beans. We picked up Easter cupcakes from Molly's yesterday, so the kids and Rob had a yummy dessert. (I was given a teensy weensy bite.) After lunch, I went to the backyard and hid the colored eggs, candy, and some toys. Grandpa and Grandma Litwiller sent some money for the kids, so we did buy a small amount of candy and a little toy with it. Rob and I bought them each a small outside toy and a family gift: a croquet set!
The hunt was an absolute blast! The kids were so fun to watch and they did a great job not picking up someone else's candy. (They were all labeled with initials.) I even hid one extra egg full of loose change and Ben was the big winner. We napped afterwards, then went back outside to play croquet. Anna got a little frustrated, even with Daddy's help, so we just let her play on her own. Eventually she gave up and came over to be my cheerleader. We made up our own rules, broke them, then make up some more :) The important thing is that we were out there as a family having fun. And I won. That's also important.
Rob and the kids are at church tonight. I wish I could be with them, but I don't think I want to do a Sunday night until I can fully handle Sunday morning. Anna usually stays home with me, but Rob wants to start training her in the service. We'll see how this one goes :)
Happy Easter!
Last night, we did the traditional Paas coloring of the eggs. The kids were so excited---and then as all of you know, had to wait! Wait for the eggs to boil, wait for them to cool off, wait for the color tablets to dissolve, wait for the eggs to be colored....etc, etc. And when we were done, they said, "That's it??" Anna doesn't remember doing this last year, so it was fun to see her get excited about everything. They finished putting stickers on the eggs this morning while I made a gluten-free coffee cake.
We opted not to do our egg hunt in the morning this year simply because we wanted to take our time and enjoy it. The boys were up at 6am for some reason and I thought that they might be excited about our afternoon. But no...they were discussing the real meaning of Easter! I was very surprised and please to hear them talk about the meaning of the day and review the entire Easter story. Anna popped up next to me a 1/2 hour later talking about the same thing! It is such a joy to hear my children excited about celebrating the resurrection of our Lord rather than finding a bunch of colored eggs and candy. (Although Anna did mention that the thieves hanging next to Jesus were wearing green and red underwear--must have been in a picture she had last week in Sunday school.)
Our Adult Bible Fellowships traditionally have an Easter breakfast, so we decided to bring a gluten-free coffee cake so that Rob would have something to eat. I fixed that while he prepped the ham. Good thing he loves puzzles so much because it almost didn't fit in the crock pot! I gave Matthew and Anna each a piece of the cake for breakfast and then sent one to church for Ben. His Sunday school teacher decided to bring in breakfast for her students and contacted me with the menu. He was able to have the eggs and juice, but I sent him coffee cake in place of her muffins and Chex cereal in place of the Fruit Loops.
We had a nice church service, although I did have to leave during the choir number. Still having some problems, but thankfully I did not have my usual over-stimulated issues this afternoon (I'll give an update on the fibro/sensory stuff in another post). When I picked up Ben and Anna from junior church, a worker popped out to tell me that Anna had been in trouble! First time that's ever happened! Apparently, she wouldn't stop talking during the story and had to be removed from the room. I have NO IDEA where she gets the chatter box stuff from.....
Lunch today was ham, mashed potatoes, and sauteed green beans. We picked up Easter cupcakes from Molly's yesterday, so the kids and Rob had a yummy dessert. (I was given a teensy weensy bite.) After lunch, I went to the backyard and hid the colored eggs, candy, and some toys. Grandpa and Grandma Litwiller sent some money for the kids, so we did buy a small amount of candy and a little toy with it. Rob and I bought them each a small outside toy and a family gift: a croquet set!
The hunt was an absolute blast! The kids were so fun to watch and they did a great job not picking up someone else's candy. (They were all labeled with initials.) I even hid one extra egg full of loose change and Ben was the big winner. We napped afterwards, then went back outside to play croquet. Anna got a little frustrated, even with Daddy's help, so we just let her play on her own. Eventually she gave up and came over to be my cheerleader. We made up our own rules, broke them, then make up some more :) The important thing is that we were out there as a family having fun. And I won. That's also important.
Rob and the kids are at church tonight. I wish I could be with them, but I don't think I want to do a Sunday night until I can fully handle Sunday morning. Anna usually stays home with me, but Rob wants to start training her in the service. We'll see how this one goes :)
Happy Easter!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Anna's Story
Anna was playing with her little Magni Doodle yesterday and was drawing circles. While she was drawing them, she was telling a little story about doorknobs. Then she turned to me and said, "Mommy, will you write down my story?" So here is what she dictated to me.
Once upon a time, a momma was cooking breakfast, and then she was cooking lunch, and then she was cooking supper. And then she put her children to bed and then she went to bed. Then there was a great big sneak who sneaked in the night and turned the little boy's doorknob in the only house in London. And then there was a princess who turned the little boy's doorknob and the momma woke up and said, "You may sleep in the extra bed we have." And then the princess killed the bad guy and she had a knife to cut off his neck. And then it was morning time again. The End.
Can you tell she has two older brothers??
Once upon a time, a momma was cooking breakfast, and then she was cooking lunch, and then she was cooking supper. And then she put her children to bed and then she went to bed. Then there was a great big sneak who sneaked in the night and turned the little boy's doorknob in the only house in London. And then there was a princess who turned the little boy's doorknob and the momma woke up and said, "You may sleep in the extra bed we have." And then the princess killed the bad guy and she had a knife to cut off his neck. And then it was morning time again. The End.
Can you tell she has two older brothers??
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