Cough, cough, groan, groan

I started coming down with "it" today. Yeruck.

Took Caden to the doctor this morning as he was retracting. Last time that happened it was a 3 day hospital stay and a pneumonia diagnosis. Not today though. Just...croup. Again. I ended up running back up to the doctor to get another long acting steroid pill as Caden refused to take the first one in applesauce. In fact, if I'm lucky, he may be got half of the second one. He's out and out refused to take medications today. Hold him down did work. Squirting with a syringe didn't work. The spoon didn't work. I'm hoping he got a couple swallows of the three attempts to give him motrin for bed time. I'm not holding my breath though. At least he doesn't seem to have a fever and is sleeping comfortably.

I think I may call the allergist to discuss this with him. I'm concerned his tendency towards croup is turning to asthma rather than just reactive air way. I'm mentioning it to his pediatrician come time for his 2 year appointment too.

We're hanging on for the time being. And crossing our fingers and toes that we are all better by tomorrow morning. So I'll say cheers using my Nyquil in toast!

The Contagion Descendeth

Both Jason and Caden are down with a nasty virus. I've avoided it thus far and hope I don't succumb. And I hope my guys get over it quickly. And knock on wood, that Caden won't get croup this time. He gets croup every.single.time. he gets a cold. And if he doesn't that either means 1) The daily singulair is helping that and his allergies 2) He does have reflux and the Zantac is helping or 3) He's outgrowing the tendency. Which is it? The world may never know.

Other than that, things are coasting along smoothly. I'm getting ready to purchase some seeds for my garden. I'm going to build at least one more box and possibly two. I can't believe how much my Square Foot Garden (SFG) produced last year, and I'm excited to expand this year. I'm also going to do more container herbs and am considering growing some strawberries. I'm also going to do an official experiment with some, err, organic fertilizer and marigolds. More on that later.

And because I haven't yet, I'm going to post a picture of the very handsome Caden. Oh! If you haven't checked in at Nathan's blog lately, please do! They've received some very great news. http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ And yes this picture is from this past fall. After his second birthday, I'll post some more.

Cookies, and granola, and bread, oh my!

Today was a cooking day and it went well. I still need to make supper (chicken piccata over noodles with fresh cooked spinach, garlic and olive oil), but I spent the majority of the day cooking, but I have granola bars and cookies for Caden to have snacks for the month (in addition to fruit and other such things). The cookies, while they have sugar of course, really aren't that bad health wise. Oats, whole wheat flour, and molasses are some of the bigger ingredients. Well, eggs too, but since Caden is allergic to eggs, we use an egg replacer.

Jason is at the grocery getting the noodles right now. When he gets back I'm going to start supper. But for now, I rest. Ah! Sweet relief.

Yeah, so homemade margarine=not so good

Blech. I don't know what I did wrong. Its grainy. And not buttery tasting. Yuck. It might work okay in baked goods, but it most definitely isn't a enjoy on a piece of bread sort of thing. Seriously vomit. I'm communicating with the person who gave me the recipe so hopefully I'll learn something to improve it. In the meantime, I'm hoping it'll go well in the cookie tomorrow.

I need to find a Jewish grocery in the area and see if they carry Mother's or Nucoa. I haven't had luck finding either in the area yet, but of course, its not too close to Passover (not sure Nucoa is for Passover but its supposedly safe for our food allergies).

Its gotten suddenly much colder, but its almost the end of January. So that means spring will be here soon. Right? Right?

On the dorm mom note. A grandma called the main office in charge of student affairs asking about an afghan her grandson left behind when he checked out after the fall semester. Bless her heart, I understand her handiwork went into this afghan, but ultimately it is her grandson's responsibility to keep track of his belongings and move them out. She was trying to get his old room mates number so he could look for it *sigh*. Not happening. Its probably okay FERPA wise, as it's directory information, but not something I was okay with happening. So the student worker did her best to help her.

So what does this mean? By the time someone is old enough to go to college, they are old enough to be responsible for their belongings. Mom, dad, grandma, other family members should not take it upon themselves to look for their college student's belongings. By the time they come to college they are legally adults. Capable of voting, smoking, watching bad movies, going to war, get married, etc. Protecting them from the natural consequences of their behavior is NOT going to be helpful to them in the long run. Increasingly, I'm seeing a lack of personal responsibility in post millennial students, which is puzzling. I don't get the mentality that we need to save our children from the consequences of their actions. And its one that I hope I not do to my son and any future children.

I hope that doesn't come across as condescending, because I most certainly don't intend it to be that way. It's just that if you are sending your child to college soon, please realize that even though they will always be your baby, they will be viewed by the college they attend, their employers and themselves as adults and, really, they deserve to be treated that way.

We're going (partly) organic

I've long held the belief that Caden's food allergies are- in part- due to GMO's. While I don't think anything has been proven, the correlation (which of course doesn't equal causation as my old stats prof would tell us) is too great to ignore. Interestingly, I would bet some money, if I were a bettin' sort of gal, that bribery (excuse me, the pc term is lobbying) is stopping any formal studies from being done or released. But I like conspiracy theories. At any rate, I've decided that we are going to start the process of going organic. I intend to buy all the fruits and veggies that are in the Dirty Dozen organic, as well as eggs and dairy products. Eventually, I hope to make the jump over to organic meats. Financially, I'm just not ready to commit to that yet. It would be great if we had room for a large freezer, then I could buy my beef and pork by the animal (1/2 or 1/4 probably). Of course, if my homesteading dream ever comes true, I'll be able to raise the animals how I want, which will, of course be organic.

I've decided to start doing some baking on Saturdays or Sundays twice a month. I hope that it will make my life a little easier and reduce the risk of running out of stuff (like bread). This Saturday, I'll be making some healthy oatmeal raisin cookies (oats, molasses, and whole wheat flour) for snacks for Caden (okay and me too!), whole wheat bread, granola bars, and margarine. A wonderful poster at Kids with Food Allergies shared her recipe with me. The margarine will be so nice, until I can see if any of the local groceries will sell Mother's Margarine around Passover. I can't wait to make garlic break from scratch again. Okay, well except the french loaf. I haven't tried to make that from scratch yet.

I'm really striving to make the change from convenience foods to home made foods. I'm sure I won't succeed totally. We'll probably always buy things like cereal, chips, and crackers (I'm horrible at making crackers). Not to mention lunch meat.

And Caden's decided not to take a nap today, which means that I need to end this now.

If you could take a minute to pray today

Please take a moment to pray for the health and recovery for Tricia, Nathan, and their wee baby, Gwyneth. Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis and gave birth to her precious baby preterm. I've been following her husband's daily updates, since learning about her from her sister on breastfeeding.com. Their story has touched my heart in a such a deep way. I find myself thinking of them several times a day and saying a little prayer for their wellbeing.

So please, take a short moment to join other believers as we surround Tricia, Nathan, and Gwyneth in prayer.

If you're interested in hearing more, here is Nathan's blog:

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

Gentle Parenting

As a Christian, I feel it is time to criticize some of my own. I'm increasingly disgusted with the lack of scrutiny Christians give to parenting books. If a person claims to be Christian, throws in a couple Bible verses for good measure, then the philosophy they tout is embraced wholeheartedly by Christians. What happened to careful reflection? Examining the context of the verses used to support their beliefs? Studying commentary or, preferably, the original Greek or Hebrew? Why do we use the Old Testament to support the premise that spanking our children is necessary, while ignoring other laws?

Jesus died for our sins and defeated death to give us grace. He died to wash away our sins. He welcomed little children into his arms and in parable told his followers that what we do for the least important, we do for Him. So on the first point, Jesus welcomes the little children and blessed them. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus calls His followers His children. We are Jesus' children. Throughout the New Testament, is there any indication that Jesus beat his disciples? No there is none. Did he rebuke them? Yes most definitely. When the disciples were out of line, He did. Just as He allows us to be rebuked when we do wrong. Yet through it all, He shows us mercy and grace. He rebukes us in love.

So, we must ask ourselves, what example did Jesus give us based on his interaction with children? He blessed them. Should we not do the same? Should we not show the same mercy and grace to our children that Jesus shows to us? Yes, we should. We role model God's love to our children. We are the vessels through which His love is poured through. We bless our children through our love. Since we are this earthly example of Fatherly love, how do we express that to our children? Through spanking? Through slapping? Does that REALLY show them God's love, mercy and forgiveness? Through letting a wee bairn cry their little heart out in a dark room alone? Letting them cry because its not time for them to eat? Denying them mercy and comfort? What god are we trying to show our children?

On anther note, children do not do anything that is developmentally abnormal when they cry, or tantrum, or hit, or bit. Babies will cry. They will need to eat sooner than 2 hours. Their little tummies will hurt. They will feel lonely in the middle of the night and need a snuggle. Meeting our child's needs is how we express the Father's love. We are not buying into sin when we do these things. God gave us tiny souls and bodies to nurture for his kingdom. Are we doing that when we follow the Pearl's and switch a five month old? Are we doing that when we force our toddler on blanket time? Are we doing that when we spank a child until they act sweet? No, we are, in fact, going contrary to Jesus' example and contrary to the Bible when it tells us not to exasperate our children.

Now, I'm sure many followers of Pearls and Ezzo believe that if they don't spank, they will be permissive with their children. Parenting is not so black and white as that. There is a large continuum on which we can fall. The Pearls and Ezzo fall at the authoritarian end. Permissive is at the other end. Democratic parenting fall right in the middle. If one were to study child development, many things that the Pearls and Ezzo are developmentally normal. Spanking isn't the only answer, particularly when study after study and expert after expert (which neither the Pearls nor Ezzos are, look up their qualifications, they have none) says it is harmful.

So, please, if you are considering any of the books by Pearl or Ezzo, do your research first. God gave us a brain to use, so use yours. Think about long term consequences to the parenting philosophies you adopt. Pray to God to help you show grace to your children. Treat their gentle hearts kindly and love them.

I give up.

I'm having a half sandwich for supper. This diet sucks. I have been so freaking hungry all day.

So here is what I have learned.
1) Fruits and veggies are healthy
2) I need protein
3) I can survive eating fruits and veggies only, because my stomach will eat itself. I'm sure that is why I haven't wasted away.

I could have probably done this if I had eaten fruits and veggies both days and had some legumes or at least one serving of lean meat and some whole grains.

I'm hungry.

I've eaten a piece of ww toast with smart balance light; carrots; a salad with garlic flavored red wine vinegar; and drank two cups of V8. I need some protein. I did okay on this yesterday with the fruit, don't veggies have more fiber? What's going to happen on Friday when all I can eat is bananas and 3 glasses of milk? I think I'll have some squash for supper and snack on a green pepper if needed.

Starting Day 2

I weighed myself this morning to see if it was true that you could loose 2-3 lbs in the first day. It's true. I lost 3 lbs. Granted its all water weight, but so far the "promise" is true.

So to recap what I ate yesterday: a half cup black coffee, 10 cups water, watermelon, 2 apples, cantaloupe, blueberries, 1 animal cracker. I think that was it.

Day 2 of the diet says to start the day with a baked potato with a pat of butter. I used all our potatoes up Monday to make a Shepard's pie so I started the day with a slice of whole wheat bread and a pat of smart balance light. For the rest of today, I have veggies to eat. I may run out and see if I can get a bag of salad and some apple cider vinegar for dressing. I also need to get more fruit for tomorrow. I'm debating if I should get the stuff for day 4 while I'm out. Maybe I will. I need to get skim milk and bananas. I'm finicky on my bananas though so it'll have to depend on how "green" Kroger bananas are today. Interestingly, the diet doesn't specify what kind of milk to drink on day 4, but skim makes the most sense.

Did I mention today is going to be harder than yesterday? I expect to be hungrier today as I don't like veggies much. OOH! I'm going to get some green peppers. I wonder if I can saute them with cooking spray, rather than extra virgin olive oil?

Day 1 on the GM Diet

I have eaten some watermelon, cantaloupe, 2 apples, and a serving of chicken broth. I have drank, so far, 8 cups of water. I'll add another two tonight. I'll probably also eat some blueberries. I did eat one animal cracker. I expect tomorrow to be pretty hard. I'm not much of a veggie gal, but I have some cabbage and carrots and celery and broccoli and squash. I'll have to see if I can have V8. If I can have V8, I'll probably be okay. At any rate, a week isn't forever and this will be a good start to a diet that works. I just feel like I need to get rid of my taste for bad sugars.

GM Diet

So, I need to do something drastic. I gained 3 pounds in a week. Eating ice cream everyday during training evidently wasn't a good idea to my waist line (but it was so good). So I'm going to try the GM diet for a week, maybe two weeks with some modifications. After I'm done with the diet, I intend to eat more fruits and veggies, less fats and meats. I'm even considering going vegan, though I'm not sure how I would do doing that. I don't do well with eating little bits of bad stuff so I guess I'll try a eat nothing bad diet for a while and see if that works. I'm hoping it does; I need to do something. Once my broken toe heals, I'll start exercising. I'm considering starting to run this spring. I HATE running, but maybe I can learn to like it.

So today, on day 1, I've eaten some watermelon. I have some apples, blueberries and cantaloupe for the rest of today. Tomorrow will be a veggie day and maybe some soup. I intend to allow one or two cups of chicken broth if I want it. I may make the cabbage soup tomorrow or the following day. I highly doubt I will eat the amount of beef they suggest. I'll probably head to Kroger tomorrow or the following day to see what sort of lean beef I can get. So there we are. Here's to skinny jeans!

Has it been that long?

I guess December was a whirl wind. I can't believe it was before Thanksgiving since I last blogged.

Thanksgiving and Christmas went off without a hitch. Caden was spoiled as no toddler has been spoiled before by Christmas gifts. We don't even have room in his room, if we decide to move his crib in there anytime soon. And his birthday is coming up in less than a month!

I've taken up sewing and crocheting. I made Caden a scarf for my first crochet project. Not the best handiwork ever, but not to shabby for a first try. I'm also in the process of making some curtains for his room to help keep out the light, should we decide to move him into his own room in the next decade. That project isn't going as well as I had hoped. Its harder than I though to sew a double panel together. Fortunately, the fabric was uber cheap, so if I need to make new ones in a year or two, we aren't out too much money.

I weaned Caden in the middle of December. THAT was hard for me emotionally. He seemed to handle it fairly okay. I think we only had one or two bouts of whining. He did ask every morning for a couple weeks. It is so good to be able to eat what I want now. Of course, now I need to get serious about weight loss.

The weather has taken a turn for the better (temporarily, anyway). Its in the 50's today and tomorrow. While gloomy, its nice to have the windows wide open to get some fresh air. Caden had fun getting muddy this morning.

On the allergy note. Caden went to the doctor in December to be tested for his food allergies. We refused to test for dairy since we know he is still allergic. It was a puzzling test. The doctor didn't test for egg for some reason, which would be nice to have in Caden's diet. Caden did out grow strawberry, but the doctor cautioned us against introducing it. I may intro it in the summer when strawberries are in season. I don't understand why something should be kept out of his diet if it isn't a high risk allergen. We, unfortunately, added peanut, melon, and pea as definite allergies. All of which we were avoiding at any rate. The doctor also encouraged us to avoid fish. We didn't eat it a lot so it wasn't a huge loss, but its always sad to lose a food. Caden is also now allergic to cat, dog, and dust.

An interesting study was released in the New England Journal of medicine last week. It has found some hopeful treatment for anaphylaxis. Apparently those who experience anaphylactic reactions have a lower level of a certain factor in their blood. I think it was called Platelet Activating Factor and they hydro something or other was found to be lower in those who experience anaphylaxis. Perhaps, if they can figure a way to use this in an injection, it will do away with epinephrine, which while life saving, means that those who have it administered must be observed in the ER for a couple hours following.

We also bit the bullet and ordered Caden a medic alert bracelet. We hope its never necessary, but its there if needed. And its also a good way for him to be identified if he is ever lost.

So that in a not so small nut shell has been life the last month and a half. The students came back yesterday enforce. And while I enjoyed the quiet, I do enjoy having the noise. I think I missed everyone more than I though.