Diet - again

Our family is in the middle of a lifestyle change. We recently found out that 3 of our children have food intolerances and/or allergies. The food that is common in all three is gluten. After a lot of research I believe that the other foods are now allergens because of their consumption of gluten. I also believe that my infertility/endometriosis are linked to food because my endo symptoms receded and I became pregnant after I drastically reduced white flour and sugar from my own diet. I wanted to send a video link for people that suspect they or their family might have some sort of food allergy/intolerance. This link is specific to gluten but it still may give some idea of what types of problems can happen when someone consumes foods they have intolerances to. Also, it explains the difference between a celiac disease, gluten intolerance and gluten allergy.

Happy Birthday Connor!

I'm having a moment. My boy is 12 today! Can you believe it, 12 years old. I love my Conbon. Connor is my ONLY snuggly child. He has been this way since day one. He's always the one to give me a hug, want to sit down by me and often asks if we can snuggle. Connor is SUPER intelligent. His best subject is math. He could spend days putting legos together and has come up with some really cool designs of his own. His designs usually involve trap doors, slides, weapons, etc. Con has always been a peacemaker. He makes friends easily and wants everyone to be happy. Con will now be able to hold the priesthood (huge milestone), pass the sacrament, and has graduated from Cub Scouts to Scouts. I love my Con! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Mailaya

I'm hoping to have my computer back today so I can post pics later. Yesterday was Mailaya's 7th birthday. I LOVE my sweet Mailaya. I searched for her for a little less than a year. I knew I was looking for a girl, but where, I didn't know. Many situations were presented to us. We took classes for Utah Foster care, had a beautiful girl from Kazakstan in our home, either declined or denied several domestic adoptions and when I was ready to give up, we found Mailaya. She is a joy and a delight. She is strong, quiet (unless you get her alone!), loving, desires to help, and beautiful. Even before I was marrried I wanted to adopt a child internationally. I was able to fulfill this dream with Mailaya. Mailaya has many friends due to her laid back personality. She also has an intense love for her true friends and family.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for Mailaya. She decided on a luau. We had fruit kabobs and pina coladas with sorbet and cute straws. We had a "pie" eating contest with whipping cream instead of pie. We did the limbo stick. Made sponge balls. Had a HUGE water fight with balloons and the sponges, oh and buckets. Mailaya's friends were relentless in getting Connor, Kellie and Mailaya wet. It was fun. A couple of kids asked about cake but were okay when I said we didn't have one. I wasn't prepared to make a gluten free cake and ran out of time for it anyway.

Accepting a "No" Answer

How many of us like to be told "no?" I sure don't. Lately I have been getting many of these. I've had two fairly big projects that I was working on. With one project, I went to a meeting and found out that the assignment had been given to someone else. All the hard work I had put in to the project went down the toilet. With another one, no one got back to me so I assumed it was a go ahead only to find out (after several months) that, no, it is not. I had a mini tantrum last night. Not too pretty. This morning I woke up and realized that sometimes I have to follow the very instruction I have given my children. In this case, try and disagree appropriately and if the answer is still, "no", I must accept the answer and drop the subject. "Teaching Self Government" has helped me again. I'm in the process of disagreeing appropriately. My assumption in this case is that the answer will still be, "no." Now I have to swallow my pride and drop the subject. I have found that sometimes logic and reason don't work with certain people and either am going to be upset or I just have to let it go.

FOOD!

Food, it's been the topic in our home for well over a year. What should we eat, what shouldn't we? We found out Jacob had an allergy to sugar some time ago. We were already eating very well at home. We had gone to almost complete whole grains and had taken out most of the obvious sugars. It seemed that behavior really got out of hand during the school year and holidays. My kids were homeschooled last year and it helped immensely. However, scouts, homeschool activities and sometimes church seemed to hold setbacks. We're still working out those issues.
Recently, I stumbled in to another look at food. It now seems that my son is having yet another allergy to food. We are in the middle of testing to find out for sure. It looks like gluten. We have taken out most gluten for the past several weeks. I have seen a calm in him that hasn't been there before. His impulses also seem to be much better. One great improvement for him is that his terrible headaches have ceased. He had a setback after the 4th of July when he ate a ton of candy that was thrown at the parade. During all of this I have been studying what I can about gluten and other food allergies. Much research suggests that autoimmune disorders (diabetes, fibromyalgia, etc.) can be controlled by finding out what is attacking the body. Apparently, whatever in the body is the weakest is targeted when a person is having an autoimmune response. Many parents of autistic children have found that by removing allergens (most common seems to be gluten and dairy) the children improve in areas like language, behaviour, etc. Just this morning I read an article about inflammation and obesity. It seems that much of the food we eat is literally killing us.
The good news is that by changing what our family has eaten, over time, we are all feeling a great deal better.

Last of my 22 Things I've Learned from Being a Mom

11- If an outfit is loved enough, it might take several days before mom can pry it off your body.
12- On most surfaces, permanent marker really IS permanent.
13- Praise is the best way to a child's heart.
14- Children can sing the "Happy Family" song without a single happy note, BUT by the end of the song every face will at least have a smile.
15- Babies have a way of melting even the coldest heart.
16- You can't disguise certain foods, broccoli is broccoli no matter how you fix it.
17- It really is true, if there is a puddle ANYWHERE, a child will find it and jump in it.
18- White clothes shouldn't even be an option for children.
19- If your teenage girl talks and giggles non-stop about a certain boy, you should not assume that you can now tease her about this boy.
20- A teens' version of a clean room is not always the same as moms version.
21- Just ignore rolling eyes, those eye muscles just need proper exercise.
22- Time really does go too quickly, enjoy!

22 things I've learned from being a mom

So, if you've noticed that my background is still "Happy New Years," you're pretty observant. I can't change my background because I can't get my computer to work right when I'm on the internet. I just might have this background until I get my computer fixed which just might be around next New Years, LOL!

I just read about this great idea to list 22 things I've learned from being a mom. I haven't thought of 22, so I'll start with a few.

1. Pull-ups are not underwear. They may have princesses on them, but the three year old is not fooled in to thinking they are underwear.

2. Babies don't like baby jar peas. Heck, have you tasted them? Giving them peas is like saying, "hey cute baby, here's something you can spit all over mommy and really get a good laugh!"

3. If it sounds too quiet, RUN! If you don't, there might be a pile of hair somewhere and bald spots on a child.

4. I have no actual video footage of this one, but apparently a child can start a fire by tripping over a match.

5. "Mommy, I love you," or "thanks mom," can make the worst days seem pretty darn good.

6. Sticks are a boys best friend. The bigger the stick, the better.

7. Big girls need their mommy just as much as little girls. Same with boys.

8. Never say "uh, huh" when you're pre-occupied. You never know what you just said yes to.

9. There is nothing that can make you smile like a child laughing.

10. Peace is holding a child while they sleep.

11. The times when a child needs you the most are the times it is most difficult to be around that child. Be around them anyway.