Another Check In

UGH!  I had a whole post written, but blogger ate it.  I’m so bummed.

It seems like all I do lately is come here and update.  I’ve been a bad blogger.  I write posts in my head but I don’t seem to have the time to come and share them.  

So what’s up with you???

Here’s what’s up with me:

I’ve been gearing up for fall.  I told the kids the other day that I felt like the ant in the Ant and the Cricket Fable.  I know winter is a ways away, but here in Ohio, it could snow tomorrow.  Well maybe not TOMORROW, but it has snowed on October 13th before.  I’ve been trying to get the yard and landscaping ready for next spring.  I’ve started to dismantle the garden, but due to the massive amounts of rain we’ve had lately it’s all been a challenge.  I swear that I feel like I’m going to drown when walking around the front yard.  I saw a rainbow last Sunday and it reminded me that God promised not to flood the earth again after what happened to Noah but some days I find myself a little concerned.  We could really use a little less rain...

Between the rain drops, I’ve managed to wash and wax the car and put up all the Halloween decorations.  We LOVE Halloween at our house.  The kids are always so excited when the decorations are up.  The neighbor kids seem to love it too.

Have I mentioned that we are completely redoing our powder room?  Yea, we didn’t plan on that.  The vanity broke.  When you pull the drawer open, the drawer front completely comes off but the drawer stays closed.  It’s not supposed to do that.  We fixed it once, but now it’s unfixable.  SO we are doing a new vanity, sink, counter top, faucet, toilet, paint job and hardware.  I didn’t hate this bathroom.  There are bathrooms that I really don’t like and would have liked to have done first but this one was not it.  But it’s too late now.  There’s no turning back.  The new vanity is in and ready to be delivered.  I just need to decide what type of granite I want and get that ordered and cut.  Easier said than done since I found a granite that I LOVE but that I can only get in a full slab.  I don’t need a whole slab.  I need a 49” x 22” piece.  A full slab would do 2 bathrooms.  And that means I’d have to buy a new vanity for another bathroom.  Have I mentioned that we aren’t rich??  Yea, NO.  So I have to put that granite out of my mind and find something else.  So far I don’t like anything else.  But the vanity is in... yea, I need to get this figured out this weekend.  Wish me luck!  Oh and did I mention that powder room is off the kitchen and the new stuff makes the kitchen look like crap.  My husband is scared.... very, very scared.  When he comes home from work and I’m watching HGTV he immediately breaks out in a cold sweat.  The kitchen will have to wait... yea, we’re not rich :)

In my last post I mentioned Christmas shopping.  Since then, I finished the boys Christmas presents.  Actually we decided to do one big “magical” present.  They have enough toys and “stuff”.  They are going to be freaked out!  I’m a little excited too :)

I can’t believe tomorrow is October already.  I feel like days are just flying by.  

Thanks for reading my “update”.  I’m checking in on you all and hope that all is well with you guys.

Things to share:
The creator of the site Mad Alex Products asked me to share this allergy free site with you.  I haven’t check it out other than the home page, but I wanted to share the link and have you check it out because you can receive 20% on any order by entering the code “TryUs” from now until October 2nd.  We love anything allergy friendly and will be checking out the site ASAP.

Reassessing Label Safety and Gluten Free Products

When my son was first diagnosed with food allergies, I felt lost. I had no idea how to keep him safe or what to feed him. He was diagnosed allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut, tree nut, and dairy (outgrown in 2008). How do you feed a child, a 10 month old, without wheat? No Cheerios, no animal crackers, no biter biscuits, no toddler puffs? That's what my first son ate as snack finger foods (along with the usual fruits and veggies).

 I found a "gluten free tour" at a local natural foods store. It was geared toward people with Celiac Disease, but there were a few of us there that had food allergies or love someone that has food allergies. From the tour we were able to deduce that if something was labeled Gluten Free it did not contain wheat, rye, barley or oat in the ingredient list (of course this does not take into account how and where the item was processed or handled during manufacturing... that's a whole other post). Maybe our deduction was somewhat flawed or at least you can say we were taking a Pollyanna view of the whole thing, but 9 times out of 10 when dealing with a reputable manufacture this was true.

 I don't like giving my food allergic child too many "processed" foods, but some items like crackers, potato chips, corn chips and chocolate bars are out of my area of expertise. I've tried to make some of these myself and failed miserably. There are some really good safe crackers on the market today and if I CAN buy something safe and not have to make it, so much the better.

 Flash forward six years.

 In the last couple of years, certified gluten free oats have come to the market. This is fantastic news for those with Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance. But my son is allergic to oats. He has IgE mediated allergies to wheat, rye, barley, and oat. He's not allergic to gluten (and I just confirmed with our allergist that this is true as there seems to be some confusion about IgE allergies and gluten allergies). If he eats the gluten free oats, my son will still have an allergic reaction. So we just need to steer clear of these GF oats, right? Wrong.

 Gluten Free oats are now making their way into products that we considered safe in the past. For example: We have purchased Crunchmaster GF crackers in the past and my son loves them. It's his favorite cracker. The ingredient list can be found here. This is the type that I've always purchased... until a few weeks ago. They came out with a new cracker. It looks similar to the original. But it's bigger and square shaped. These looked like they would make better cheese and cracker snacks for my son. The package still said "gluten free" and I was in a hurry and didn't read the ingredient list in the store. But before I served them to him, I read the list:

This new type of cracker is a "multi grain" cracker and contains oat fiber while the other ones are known as "multi seed" crackers and do not contain oat. I'm sure it's from the new gluten free oats but that does not work for my son. Even if something states it's gluten free, I still have to read the label to make sure it's safe for my son's other allergies. And now, even if it's a product that has been safe for his grain allergies in the past, I now not only have to be on the lookout for oat, but if other items by our previously safe manufacturer now contain oat, I need to find out more about their manufacturing processes and how non oat items are handled with oat items. I have a feeling we'll be losing some previously safe items.

 Once the gluten free oats hit the market, I knew this day would be coming. It's just going to take more vigilance on my part to continue to read labels on notoriously safe products. So for those of us with grain allergies, gluten free may not mean what it used to.

These crackers went off to the husband's office so that they would not get confused with the safe Crunchmaster crackers.  At least I didn't have to throw them out.  

We Like To Pass Things Around At Our House

Unfortunately we seem to be passing illness.  My older son is now down for the count.  He woke us up at 2  AM complaining of a bad tummy and feeling hot.  Sure enough he had a fever.  I think the Little Man passed his ick on to the older child.  I'm feeling "sluggish" today and I'm hoping it's just from lack of sleep and not the ick being passed on to me.  Having this child home today means that all my plans have been changed.  But that's OK because I needed a little down time anyway.  I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to finish my "spring/fall" cleaning Wednesday and Thursday.


Yesterday's weather was just plain ol' awful.  It was in the high 50's/low 60's and rainy... REALLY rainy.  I think it was just the weathers way of letting us know that summer is over and that with tomorrow being the 1st day of fall, here in Ohio we can expect a lot more of that weather in the near future.


I used to love fall but the older I get, the less I look forward to it.  Give me the heat of summer time over the chill of winter any day!  I have a feeling that this wacky weather is contributing to all the illness going around school.  I'm bringing out the disinfectant now and it will probably stay out until spring.  That's just part of the joy of having the Littles at home.


Have you started thinking about Christmas shopping (Yes, Bailey's Leaf, I know you are done.  You are my hero!)?  I've started thinking... but since the boys aren't asking for anything specific yet, I haven't done much with it.  The Little Man has been asking for an iPod, but at the age of 7 I'm thinking he's too young (although he uses mine like a pro).  If he wants to play Angry Birds, he can just use mine.  Other than a few games, I don't see the need for him to have one.  He certainly wouldn't be allowed to down load anything without my permission.  I've seen some of the stuff on there and even the music marked "clean version" isn't very clean most of the time.


I'd actually like to come up with one big item that would work for both boys and cut down on the amount of  "stuff" we bring into the house.  We have enough "stuff".  I've got a few months to get this all figured out.  But any suggestions would be helpful and most welcome :)


On a Food Allergy Note: My friend Henry over at Asthma Allergies Children is looking for stories of how the Emergency Room as handled you or your child when you've gone there due to having a food allergic reaction.  You can send any stories you have to him at queries@asthmaallergieschildren.com
All of our experiences with anaphylaxis and the ER have been extremely positive ones.  Luckily (knock on wood) we haven't had many, but when we've gone, we've always been taken seriously and if needed, epinephrine has been administered.  In fact when my son had his first and most severe reaction, he was admitted and kept over night so they could watch for signs of a biphasic anaphylactic reaction .  Some of the people that have contacted Henry regarding food allergic reactions and the ER have not been so lucky and have been fluffed off, ignored, or treated like they are overreacting in their ER.  So if you have a story, good or bad, feel free to contact him and let him know.
Also, I have a post (in my head) about wheat allergies, gluten allergies and gluten free food that isn't really safe for those that suffer from oat allergies.  It's complicated and I just need to set some time aside to write it down accurately.  I will soon.

It's The End Of Another Week

The weeks seem to be flying by!  I've not checked in, nor have I had time to do my usual blog reading.

Since the boys have gone back to school, I've been in "organizing" mode.  Both boys closets have been cleaned out, organized and revamped.  Items that are no longer needed have been donated to charity or donated to family that can use them.  This was LONG overdue.

I've also been spring cleaning.  It's almost fall you say??  Yes, I know I'm a slacker.  And it's plagued me all summer.  Easter was late this year and I only managed to get the main level spring cleaned before the Easter holiday.  I figured I'd soldier on after the holiday, but the end of the school year activities took most of my time (along with working).  I can't clean with the boys home for summer break.  There's really no time due to all of their activities so I put it off again.

The boys are back in school and I'm no longer working so I figured that this is the best time to continue.  The Master Bedroom was cleaned and organized this week.  I didn't notice all the dust on the walls until I started washing them down.  YUCK.  I finished today and moved on to the Little Man's bedroom.  I cleaned everything down, and de-dusted the room.  I also organized it (I'm not expected it to stay that way for too long..) and made sure all of his things were easy to find and use.  The Master Bedroom took a loooong time to get done, but I expected that.  The Little Man's room was done in 2.5-3 hours.  I have Older Boys room and the hallway to do and I expect they'll each take the same amount of time.  I should be done next week.  I'm only six months late.  Better late than never :)

Of course my schedule will be completed on time if the Little Man makes it to school next week.  He's complained of a sore throat for the last 24 hours.  I contributed it to allergies and because he didn't have a fever this morning, I sent him to school.  But today he came home with a 101.6 degree fever.  This was the first FULL week of school.  How does a child get sick this early in the school year???  Actually several kids have already been sick and I hear Strep is making it's way around.  Is this a sign of things to come?  I sure hope not....

So I'm tired, the Little Man is tired, the Husband is tired (long work week)...  And this weekend we plan on staining the Play Set in the back yard.  My title is "It's the end of another week", but somehow I feel the fun is just beginning.  The good thing is that all this cleaning and organizing is satisfying my Type A personality.  I LOVE the organization.  I just hope we can keep it going.

How was your week?  Did you get everything accomplished that you wanted to?

9/11 - my heart is still grieving

Created by Martin J. Betters

The boys are now old enough to understand what happened on 9/11.  Let me rephrase that, they know the facts (for the most part), but they can't understand WHY someone would commit such an act of evil nor can they understand the gravity of what happened.  I'm trying to explain it to them so that they CAN understand, but I don't want to scare them.  I had to end today's conversation when they asked how some people died and some people survived.  When I got to explaining how if you were on the floors around where the plane hit, you were gone on impact, I knew we got to a part of the conversation that was passing "informational" to " too much information".  I want them to KNOW without giving them nightmares.

I had nightmares for months after 9/11.  I was 31 years old and 4 months pregnant and I couldn't process exactly what happened.  I can't expect my 9 year old and 7 year old to understand or process this information in a healthy manner.

The 10 year anniversary of 9/11 has opened wounds that I thought had healed.  Apparently I just soothed those wounds and ignored their pain.  I wonder if this is how people in the 1940's or 1950's felt about Pearl Harbor.  I remember every nuance of that day 10 years ago.  I also remember the pain, sorrow and fear that I felt in the days, weeks and months afterward.  I remember hearing a sky silenced of air craft that day.  It was so eerie.  The only air craft heard was the occasional helicopter.  It felt surreal.  A low flying jetliner or the sound of a helicopter (which flies by our house frequently) will make my hair stand on end.  And I'm immediately drawn back to the memories of September 11, 2001.  Part of me hopes that I can forget and part of me, the bigger part of me, hopes that I NEVER forget.

I used to post pictures of the Twin Towers every anniversary.  Then someone reminded me that it would be like watching your loved one die over and over again.  I don't want to add to someones pain.  But I do want to remember.  This 9/11  I will be saying a special prayer for all those that lost their lives, the families left to deal with aftermath, those still fighting so that  we are safe, and for everyone that is still affected by that horrible day.  I pray to our Lord that we, or anyone else, never has to deal with such horror again.

Source Unknown

Readings for mass Sunday September 11, 2011

Mass Readings 9/11/11

These are the same exact mass readings read the Sunday following September 11, 2001...

I know I've been M.I.A. again

I thought that once the boys were back in school that I'd be able to blog more.  I thought wrong.  At least for the moment.  Trying to get organized with all their activities and all my volunteer work hasn't been easy. I've resorted to using Google Calendar on the computer and the Missing Calendar or "Mi Cal" app for my iPhone.  It uses Google Calendar and syncs itself whenever I make a change.  It's really helping me  keep track of all the balls I'm juggling at the moment.

Older Boy had his first soccer game of the fall.  They Won!  That's a far cry from where they were last fall. I believe it was the 1st game that they got beat 9-0 and things only went down from there.  I don't care if they win, but it does help to keep their spirits up to win one now and again.  There's a great group of boys on the team and their parents are just as fantastic.  It's nice being on a team where everyone has the same agenda.  All we want is for the boys to have fun and to learn something.  Mission accomplished there!

My guy in goal

I love this action shot

We also had a very nice Labor Day weekend!  Friday night Older Boy went to a back school party at a friends house.  It was for all the boys in his class (all 7 of them).  He had an absolute blast.

Saturday we went to an Ohio State game.  It was my 3 guys 1st time at the "Shoe", but I've been there before.  I LOVE going to Ohio State games.  There's nothing like college football.

Here we are tailgating in the parking lot (with water and chips).  It was 105 degrees F in the parking lot.  Inside the stadium wasn't much better.  I was worried about the kids dehydrating so we made them drink as much water as possible.

We also made them tailgate from  the back of the car at one point.  It was just too hot in the sun.

 When we did make it into the stadium, the band was coming in and playing and dancing while they went to where they enter the field.  It was really neat to see.

Brutus

 It was alumni day.  We sat next to an 85 year old woman and her husband.  He played on the 1944 Ohio State team.  She was full of great information.  She also got into the game and had the mouth of a truck driver.  It think that was just part of her charm;)  She was so sweet and really made our day.
This picture is of the alumni band and the current band scripting "Ohio".

Oh yea, and then there was football.

It was so hot that we left right before the 4th quarter.  Both the Little Man and I passed out on the way home.  It was hot, but it was really worth going.

Sunday we had a cook out with my in laws and Monday we just relaxed and tried to get ready for the work/school week ahead.

I've also been trying to get organized more.  That's where a good chunk of my time during the morning and afternoon has been spent.  I'm paring things down and cleaning out the clutter.  Some things I've donated and some just got thrown out and some have just gotten new homes.  I've felt like clutter has taken over... in the house and in my personal life.  If something isn't working or is giving off a negative feeling, it's out of here!  Life's too short for all this clutter.

I've also been reading.  I've got a couple of books going right now.

I'm still reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, but I've also added the following:

Made To Crave by Lysa TerKeurst and
How To Have A Mary Heart In A Martha World by Joanna Weaver

I'm liking all 3 three of these!

So that's what I've been up to, how about you?