Summer is just round the bend. (a health PSA)

What a week this has been with temps at the beginnng of the week at 80 plus degrees then needing the heater for a day. Now it's hot and raining with storm warnings and high winds. It's the reminder that we're in for that hot sticky weather really soon.

I wanted to take this time to remind folks about a little known fact. Sports drinks are HORRIBLE for children and adult teeth due to carbination. They're just as bad as soda for eating away at the enamel. Regardless of sugar content they really aren't healthier. The best way to stay hydrated in this hot weather is plain ole' water. Yeah, it doesn't taste as good but it works. The other thing you can do is water down kool aid and don't add the recommended amounts of sugar.

Another thing to remember is that just because it's warm doesn't mean people won't get sick. Viruses are HUGE this time of year because people aren't protecting themselves as much. Keep the vitamin C and zinc around and do what you can to keep yourself healthy...Oh, and don't forget to take probiotics occasionally throughout the week. If you can keep things flowing through your digestive tract to keep yourself healthy (especially when swimming in public places).

Okay with that whole PSA out of the way something on a different front. My Sister-In-Law has access to raw milk and has offered to give some to us if it will digest properly within my sweet little boy's system. He's had some now and in a couple of days we'll see how things are. I am keeping my fingers crossed because I am not fond of soy and it's phytoestrogens. I know there are other alternatives but it's tough because they're more expensive.

Happy Birthday my sweet Lilly

She woke me at 6:30 AM then took a nap with me until 9:00. It was then that I reminded her that she was now 4. I am amazed at how the time has flown. I am also amazed at the things she accomplishes every day. Though she's a pretty mature 4 one thing I must remind myself is that ...."she's ONLY 4". I don't want to expect too much from her and allow room for her to blow me away. I hope we can all learn from my sweet Lilly.

What a day...

Sometimes I'm amazed at how many different activities go on in one day. Especially the Lord's Day.

Here's the rundown....
church (which went well....I think)
Buying food for the family gathering.
Decorating Lilly's cake for said gathering. NOT her birthday party mind you
Allowing grandparents to give her a fwe presents early.
Lunch.
Watching the nieces and nephews play the Nintendo WII
Weeding flowerbeds at the In-laws
Lilly FINALLY got to eat her cake.
Cutting up wood for a fire so the children could have S'mores (yes, I was using a hatchet and bow saw)

On the way home.

I am amazed at how many different things that can happen in one single day. WHEW!!

Roller skating last Sun..

This weekend four years ago

WOW!! Time really flys. This time four years ago we added our sweet Lilly to our lives. Our little lady weighed in at 8lbs 11ozs and she was 21" long. Now? She weighs around 34 lbs and is around 3' 3". No more burping and breastfeeding. She's now asking questions about those very things though. My precious baby was a sweet little thing who slept a lot and barely cried..NOW? She's a passionate spirited little lady with spunk and fire. I LOVE her to pieces.

Trials and triumphs..

It seems as you go through life with your children there seem to be successes and failures constantly. One thing may go perfectly and five minutes later something else is falling apart. That is how things seemed to be when we were in the middle of diagnosing Theo's dairy allergy. Please don't get me wrong it didn't take me long to figure out what he had but getting others to see it was near impossible. After I stopped nursing and switched to formula (I dried up prematurely due to thyroid disease but did EVERYTHING I could to keep nursing him) I started using the formula that had been left over from his sister when we were on WIC. He kept refluxing, and I was worried. I tried an anti reflux formula and it just made things worse. It wasn't for another week or two that I discovered that there were formulas with broken down dairy proteins (NOT Nestle thought because I boycott them). Nonetheless I had a new 5 month old in a matter of a week. What a relief. Then there came the lectures because he was 10 mos old and I wasn't really giving him "food" (AKA cereal) yet. He wasn't acting full after his bottles and feeble attempts at still trying to nurse. I knew better than to give him empty fillers. He started out on table food at around a year. I made most of it and what I couldn't afford to make I bought in the form of organic baby foods. He loved the flavors of his carrots and sweet potatoes. He also did GREAT on the pastas with zucchini. He was a happy fella with NO issues what so ever. Then came the old school lectures about "Milk is so good for you". Yeah, right I know my son. Then it was "have you taken him to an allergist?". Um, NO....I was told NOT to do that and to keep doing what I had been doing. It's likely he'll grow out of it. Why is it that people love to act like they know so much more than you do even though you're the one going through it? Some habits die hard I guess.

Well, he definitely hasn't grown out of his allergies but we are getting really good at cooking for him and treating him for the occasional accident when people shove food at him during family gatherings. Usually it's a cousin that is the culprit now. We have discovered the beauty of probiotics as well as some wonderful digestive enzymes. I am not saying this works for everybody but with Theo only being allergic to ONE protein it is a sure fire way to keep the side effects at bay. If you suspect your little one has an allergy you're likely right. Please DO trust your instincts and it doesn't hurt to add prayer into the mix. God was good to us in the fact that we had already dealt with these issues in my niece. I already had some experience and it saved us from a TON of heartache.

**If anybody has advice on a spirited little lady I'm ALL ears**

Tragedy strikes Christian Music star.

According to early reports Stephen Curtis Chapman's daughter Maria (age 5) was struck and killed by her older teenage brother in their driveway earlier today.

This is a tragedy and I am praying for this family. Please do the same.

Then you soar...

I am super excited and on clouds higher than nine. I went to the gym today to work out and on a whim decided to step on the scales. Much to my surprise I suddenly felt like a contestant on the biggest loser...I lost SIX POUNDS from last week to this week. Some of you would just say "Hey, that's great". It truly IS but there's something BIGGER here. I haven't lost weight in a year. In fact with the thyroid disorder known as Wilson's syndrome I had gained 30 lbs in the last year. Between being able to get OFF birth control and the partial removal of my thyroid combined with better medication to supplement a slow thyroid I ACTUALLY lost weight.

I am praising God for this victory. He's been giving me the strength to push through the severe depression I've been dealing with and getting me to the gym. I am starting to FEEL better, I was just sharing that with a friend at church last Sun. We both agreed that feeling good is one of the biggest steps to losing weight and overcoming depression. This is incredible.


Another big hurdle we've jumped over is that while my children were with the In-laws they DIDN'T give him anything he couldn't have. YAY!!!!

What a week for victories.

I know it's been a few days.

Thank you for being so patient as I get used to this.

I was out of town for a couple of days with my sister. She's a sweet spirit that I wish would rekindle her love for God. Her daughter accepted Jesus a couple of years ago when I took her to bible school at a local Christian Missionary Alliance Church. What a blessing their ministries have been to myself at so many different stages of my life.

My niece was a joy to be around as always. The evening conversations with my Brother-in-law were nice. I didn't get to see my sister much because of her working schedule. We did however spend a good portion of yesterday afternoon at the emergency room. At this point I can say that those reading this who spend time in prayer please remember her if you could. She may be in for a difficult road over the next couple of months.

Lilly and Theo did quite well over the past two days considering they weren't around their Dad and weren't sleeping in their own beds.

Oh and if anybody knows of what dyes they put in Generic Wal Mart/Sams club pre-sweetened grape kool aid let me know. Theo's butt seems to be dyed purple and he had purplish poop for two days (TMI I know but when you have food allergy issues you want to know what's coming).

Worship.....

Today was okay for me. The children however had a wonderful day. Lilly has decided upon celebrating a friend's birthday at a roller rink that she wants to take up roller skating. Her smiles out on the rink really lit up the room. Theo tried but was swiftly intimidated. Daddy kept things together for Lilly while I Occupied Theo. Divide and conquer, as they say.

I hope it all goes well...

Today we went over to help the In-Law's mow. They have about three acres of lawn and it's a lot for just one person. Plus they were offering to watch the children so we could get out for a while. I am nervous because while they know that Theo has a dairy allergy....they don't always think about what has milk in it. This is where the allergies get difficult. When they're not with you and you aren't sure if people are truly thinking. Here's the thing they won't be the ones to get the worst of the effects. It will be ME tomorrow or Mon dealing with a sweet baby boy with a sore bottom and a rashy diaper area. UGH!!! Please God keep by sweet boy safe.


On a lighter note my adorable boy got a haircut today. I'll be posting pictures soon.

My view of today's happenings.

We had a splendid day today. It started slow because it took forever to dry my socks. We then went to a dear friend's home to deliver a second load of cloth diapers that Theo is no longer using. I LOVED watching S's face light up when she saw another 15 diapers walking through her door. I am so happy that I have been able to share this planet saving as well as money saving activity with others. It's also a wonderful way to be a frugal family. Oh the joy.

Then I did something for ME. I went to the gym and rode 1.75 mi on an exercise bike as well as ran .70 miles on a treadmill. Oh then I got on this mountain trekker and did another .725 mi on an uphill climb (that translated to me "hiking" an average of 3.0 mph). I can't say that I am visibly thinner but I do feel better about myself.

***Off topic entry here.....
Now that my thyroid medication has been changed to a natural choice and I am off the Birth control I believe that the weight will begin to come off as well.****

Okay here we go, after the gym it was shower time then we went to dinner with my in law's. Sometimes the time with them is precious and other times it's hard to do. Tonight was fun because my Mother in Law was telling us about how when they were first married she couldn't even boil water. The stories were wonderful and the laughter was even better. What a wonderful way to spend a day.

I want to give you a little background to myself and my family. I believe that the things that happen in our lives are what molds us and makes us who we are whether good or bad. I grew up in an abusive home where my Mother refused to leave my father and they are still together today. When I say abuse I mean farther than "deserving punishment" ( I should add that I am not a big supporter of spanking just so you know I am NOT repeating the cycle of failure). My biggest supporter in life was my Grandfather whom I lost in 2000 to suicide due to Alzheimer's disease. Then I dealt with a lot of chaos. I can't even begin to describe all of the things that went on between this time and when I first met my husband. It was season after season of heartbreak, poor choices and feeling that I was alone even though I still believed in God. I was jumping from church to church and feeling torn at every turn. NOT all churches or Christians are created equal I am afraid to say. Many times when people found out what I was struggling with they turned me away or told me I didn't have enough faith. Talk about broken hearted. I gave up on people and simply trusted in God. That's when things began to turn around for me. I will add more about this later.......

Our family...

First I believe that it would be best to introduce ourselves to you all. I am Maria a Wife and Mother. I used to be in sales and marketing as well as serve as a state tested home care provider for the elderly. I have held MANY professions before nestling into my role of Wife and Mother.

Throughout the entirety of my life I have been a big supporter of natural remedies as well as believing that Naturopaths absolutely have their place in this world and that big drug companies are really out to get us more often than not.

As I started caring for my children many other ideas took precident over the "norm". Our first No Brainer was to breastfeed the children and nurture them by being close to them. Right along with that came babywearing. Soon after these choices were in full swing, we moved and started Cloth diapering. As you continue to follow this blog you'll learn of our struggles with dairy allergies, defending our position on different choices and showing God's love throughout it all.