Weekly Wrap Up - Friday Already?

It's Friday, that means it's time for the Weekly Wrap-Up; a weekly review meme hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click the link and join the fun! Share your week.

I don't have too much to share this week. It didn't accomplish much of anything. I did a lot of lazing around and visiting family. We've had a lot of rain so I've enjoyed the down time after having the last few weeks being so harried. I especially enjoyed it because Littlest's birthday is next week so it's going to get a little crazy around here this weekend with all the shopping and preparations. Littlest and I are FINALLY starting to get over our colds and feel human again so that has been a huge blessing. Here are the highlights of our week.

Monday - Hubby was home so the whole family spent the day with my brother who just flew up from Texas after a 18 month long tour in Afghanistan. We had lunch, and Rita's Ice, and hung out then had dinner and hung out some more. It was lovely.

Tuesday - General straightening up of the house. I took Biggest and Littlest to the park for a little while. That's it, just a gravy day.

Wednesday - Another gravy day. Did laundry and loafed around the house. What a life.

Thursday - The boys and I went to visit my cousin and her three girls. They bought a new house and we went to oooh and ahhh over it. It's lovely, they have plenty of room to stretch out and a great creek running along the back. Heaven!

Friday - Today I finally got off my duff and did some real cleaning and organizing. I also did some shopping and planning for Littlest's birthday. He'll be two on Tuesday and his party is next Saturday.

Update on my Photographer Issues

You remember the issues I was having with my photographer, right? Well here's an update.

As I stated in the first post, I sent her a letter of demand as a certified letter. I addressed it to "Helen"/"Name of Photography Business". She was not home when the mailman tried to deliver it so they left a notice for her to pick it up at the post office. Standard procedure is that the post office gives the recipient 20 days (TWENTY!) to pick it up. If it is not picked up it is sent back to the sender. Guess who didn't pick up the certified letter? Yup.

So I waited the full twenty days only to have the stinking thing returned to me. I kept the original letter with all the post office markings for my records and printed out another copy. I then typed a second letter to Helen, summarizing her refusal to pick up the certified letter and stated that (since she did not pick up the original letter) I would kindly give her an additional 15 days to get the photo CD to me and that if I did not receive the CD I would take her to small claims court.

I then hired Western Maryland Investigations and Surveillance to serve both letters directly to her because, you know, Homey D. Clown don't mess around. Western MD Surveillance did a great job. She got the letters :) Just yesterday I received this email from her:

Cheryl,

I received your letter and wanted to inform you that your photographs will be mailed later this afternoon or tomorrow morning in a medium sized white box labeled WHCC. I will email you the tracking information tomorrow morning. Inside will be some hard prints in addition to all of the full sized digital files that I have. I was not able to recover the images lost of your maternity shoot. A few of the pictures were saved on a photo hosting site. I cannot retrieve the full sized digital files of these but am able to order prints from the company. A separate envelope should be arriving from a third party photo hosting site in about a week.

I am sincerely sorry this experience has been one disaster after another. You have been incredibly patient and understanding, much more than I deserved. Six months ago I closed my company so that I could care for my baby sister through her chemo and your pictures completely fell off my radar. I offer this not as an excuse but to simply explain that there was not malice in my mistake. I am so very sorry.

I am glad she apologized, and I am truly sorry for her sister. But I have an inside source who tells me she went to visit her sister (who lives in California) for only a week or two, and the trip was back in April. She's been home ever since and on Facebook playing some mafia game (?? I don't facebook so I don't know) almost daily. Yup, daily.

She has not yet emailed me my tracking numbers as she stated in the email. I will email her tomorrow morning asking for the numbers, if she doesn't come through tonight. Tracking number or not, knowing that she received my letters, yesterday was day 1 of her 15 days. So she better get moving.

Potty Training Success?

Today, Littlest peed on the potty! Literally. Not in it, he peed on it. He was walking around naked, marched over to the potty, looked down at his business and let it go. He peed all over the potty and the floor. So I told him what a great job he did and cleaned it up. I'm hoping this was not an accident, but a sign that he's starting to make the connection!

Wednesday Memes!

What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free?

It's time for What's for Dinner Wednesday Gluten-Free Style. This is a weekly GF-recipe swapping meme hosted by Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker. Click the link and play along!

Tonight we're having stuffed baked potatoes. We usually eat this once a week during the cold winter months, but it's such a favorite of mine, I like to sneak it in on a rainy summer day.

I like to slow bake my potatoes in the oven, they come out much more moist than if you microwave them-I use my microwave as little as possible anyway. I place the potatoes in a shallow baking dish, drizzle them with olive oil and then rub salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder into the skin. I then pop them into the oven at 325 and bake them for a little over an hour-no aluminum foil! Once they're done, top them with whatever you like. Some of our favorite toppings are broccoli, onion, bacon, Tofutti sour cream, chives or even chopped luncheon meat. Mmmm.

Works For Me Wednesday

It's time for Works For Me Wednesday, a tip sharing meme hosted by Kristin at We are THAT Family. Click the link, share your tips and play along!

What works (and worked for me last week) is Eucalyptus Oil. Littlest and I have been fighting a nasty cold, complete with head and chest congestion and sinus pressure.

In an effort to ease our symptoms naturally I turned to the old staple Eucalyptus Oil. Eucalyptus Oil smells just like Vicks Vapor Rub, and works just as well too. I add a few drops to Littlest's bath to help open his sinuses. I will also add a little to a diffuser for overnight. You can even add eucalyptus oil to a carrier oil (like olive or grape seed) and apply it to your skin like Vicks. Just be careful at first, like anything else, you need to be careful of an allergic reaction.

My Son the Genius and Pictures of the New Bathroom

My Son the Genius

I was so proud of Littlest this weekend. He likes to help me cook and I asked him to get me an egg, which he did. I then asked "Will you get me two more eggs please?" And he did! He handed them to me and said "Two!" with a great big smile. Priceless. He will be two next month, he doesn't have a big vocabulary but he understands the concept of two :) I'm so proud of my baby.

Pictures of the New Bathroom/Laundry Room

We need to sand the patches and repaint, but everything is in working order, woo hoo! I also need to find a vanity light I like, so we're without one for now.

the entrance and exit

the shower and new washer/dryer

the shower

the potty

the vanity

washer/dryer and shower again

the boys playing in the shower

Biggest and Littlest

Music Monday #10

My brother, the one who came back to the states after spending 18 months with the Army in Afghanistan, came home this weekend! Hallelujah! He has three weeks home. Then it's back to Texas until November then he can come home for good :) I'm ecstatic. He looks great. And he seems in good spirits given all he's been through. He was a bit quiet and withdrawn this weekend...but that's to be expected. I have complete faith that with, patience, normalcy and a lot of love, he will soon feel like himself again. So, in honor of my brother and his service I have chosen I'm Proud To Be An American. Welcome home little brother!!

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

Yesterday we had a somewhat unpleasant surprise. Since Thursday our basement has had a bit of a funky smell. We didn't think much of it because Thursday was the day our contractor-friend tied our bathroom onto the main sewer line. We figured there was just some funk lingering in the air, ya know? But after airing out the house Thursday and Friday the smell was still lingering, in fact, on Saturday it seemed worse. So Hubby went downstairs to investigate. He was not happy with what he found.

It appears our contractor-friend made a mistake. In getting electricity into our new bathroom he inadvertently cut power to our chest freezer!! Eeewwww!! That worsening smell is rotten food moldering in my freezer. Yuck. Thankfully I didn't have a bunch of meat in there, just a few casseroles, pizza crusts, popsicles, veggies and blueberries...but still, we lost a bit of food. Hubby hooked the freezer back up so everything will refreeze and we can clean it up without such a stench. I'm not looking forward to that chore. I wonder how much Biggest would take to clean it for me :)

Guess What I Did All Day Yesterday...

I ran up and down the stairs to use the bathroom all day, even though the potty in the new main-floor bathroom is working. I guess I'm just not used to having a main floor bathroom yet...

We should be putting the finishing touches on the bathroom this weekend so I'll have pictures to share soon!! Woo Hoo!

Weekly Wrap Up - Our 2009-2010 Curriculum

It's Friday, that means it's time for the Weekly Wrap-Up. A weekly review meme hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. This week's wrap up has a theme that I've very much been looking forward to: Share your 2009-2010 curriculum. I can hardly wait to see what everyone has on their agenda! Here's what we have planned.

First, for Littlest, being that he's about to turn two (sniffle, sniffle) he doesn't have a curriculum per se. But we do have products we will utilize and some goals. We may not reach every goal, but at least we know which direction we're headed.

• Potty train
• Expand vocabulary
• Learn numbers 1-10
• Learn colors
• Learn some sight words
• Continue with Your Baby Can Read program
• Continue with Muzzy French program
• Nature walks and "journals"

For Biggest we have a full year planned. He will be starting 8th grade and we will be using this year to set him up with improved academic and study skills so he will be ready for homeschool high school next year. For me, I will be learning to be better organized and to keep better detailed records so I'll be ready for his high school years (sniffle, sniffle). We currently use Sonlight, this year he will be using Core 100. His bible study, history, some geography and readers come from the curriculum.

Bible

The Bible Study Sampler

God's Will, God's Best For Your Life

Why Pray?

Evidence For Jesus

The Bible Jesus Read

Reading

Biggest has 40+ readers planned for this year, great titles like Indian Captive, Maniac Magee, To Kill A Mockingbird, Amos Fortune, Free Man, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Slopes of War and The Red Badge of Courage just to name a few :)

Plus he does his free/pleasure reading before bed almost every night

Writing and Grammar

I'm leaning towards Easy Grammar but still haven't made up my mind...

Writing will be monthly book reports and what is required in his day to day schedule-that requires plenty

History and Geography

Joy Hakim's A History of the US in its entirety

Postcrossing

Spelling

SpellQuizzer (I've been given the opportunity to review it thanks to Kris' review)

Poetry

A Treasury of Poetry for Young People

Math

Math-U-See Epsilion

Math-U-See Zeta

Science

Apologia Physical Science

Nature walks and Journals (under the guise of doing it "with his brother" Mwha ha ha!)

Language

Rosetta Stone German

Music and Art

I plan to select one artist composer a month and learning about them slowly, doing only a couple of related activities a week, while viewing or listening to their work daily during lunch. (I stole this idea from Sherry)

I will round it out with field trips and projects. I also expect Biggest to keep up with his guitar even though we canceled his lessons...I'm going to see if there are free virtual lessons on YouTube.

Same Conversation, Different Stages of Life

I've been spending an awful lot of time at Lowe's the last two weeks, since we've been finishing our garage into a bathroom/laundry room and office. The bathroom should be finished tomorrow and I'll post pictures :) Anyway, I had quite a few laughs observing couples, like us, with children, and those without. We all seem to have the same fundamental conversation...just in...different...very different ways. For example take shopping for a new vanity light:

WITHOUT CHILDREN:

This conversation is even cuter/funnier if the couple is pregnant. They have no idea what they're in for :)

Hubby: What do you think of that one?

Wife: It's nice, but I think the globes are too large. What about that one?

Hubby: The chrome one?

Wife: (laughs) No, the brushed nickle one.

Hubby: It's fine. Pick the one you like best. I want you to be happy with it.

Wife: I don't know, there are so many.

Hubby: Take your time.

Wife: It's either that one or this one here. What do you think?

Hubby: I like this one,but get what you like.

Wife: Hmmm. Okay. That one!

Hubby: You're sure?

Wife: Uh huh.

Hubby: Positive?

Wife: Yes.

Hubby: Okay that one it is.

WITH CHILDREN:

Hubby: What do you think of that one? Sit Down!

Wife: It's nice, but I think the globes are to large. What about that one?

Hubby: I said sit down, please. Which one?

Wife: That one. Listen to your father, sit down.

Hubby: The chrome one? Help entertain your brother.

Wife: (huffs impatiently) No, the brushed nickle one. Here, give me the baby.

Hubby: It's fine.

Wife: Stop wiggling. Fine or fine?

Hubby: It's fine. Pick the one you like best. Where's your brother?

Wife: Stop wiggling. He's right there. Hey! Get over here your supposed to be helping with your brother. What?

Hubby: Pick the one you like best.

Wife: What? Shhh, it's okay. Here, take your brother for a stroll in the cart.

Hubby: Don't huff at your mother. I said, pick the one you like.

Wife: I don't know there are so many.

Hubby: Make sure you pick one you like. I want you to be happy with it. I don't want to have to come back and exchange it.

Wife: I'll have to exchange it, you won't pick out a new one.

Hubby: Where are the boys? That better not be them making all that noise.

Wife: I don't know. I think I like that one.

Hubby: Well we don't have all day to decide.

Wife: There they are. Oh no! Hey! Get over here! You almost mowed over that lady, what are you thinking?

Kid: Have you picked one yet? Just get this one.

Wife: It won't match.

Kid: So?

Hubby: Stop distracting your mother.

Wife: Okay it's either this one or that one. What do you think.

Hubby: It's up to you, just pick one.

Wife: Umm...

Hubby: Why did you let your brother out of the cart? Stop running!

Wife: Okay, that one.

Hubby: Did they just break that?

Wife: This one. Let's go Now.

Hubby: You're sure?

Wife: Yes, I think they broke it.

Hubby: You're right. Let's go now.

Wednesday Memes!

What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free?

It's time for What's for Dinner Wednesday Gluten-Free Style. This is a weekly GF-recipe swapping meme hosted by Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker. Click the link and play along!

Last night I made chicken nuggets for the first time. They turned out pretty yummy. I used Panko Flakes so they weren't gluten free, but I think my step-father (the one who has celiac) would like them. I'd like to make a GF version next time he comes to visit so I was hoping y'all could tell me what would be good to use in place of the panko flakes. Here's how I made them:

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

1/2 cup O'Charley's Honey Mustard thinned with 2 tablespoons hemp milk

panko flakes

I dipped the chicken in the honey mustard mixture, coated them in the panko flakes and fried them in oil, although I'm sure you could bake them. They were good. I served them with french fries and peas.

Works For Me Wednesday

What works for me is my rice bag. This is the best

thing ever. Used cold it's great for headaches, sprained ankles and fevers. Warmed up it's perfect for sore muscles, cramps and as a heating pad. I used mine earlier this week when Littlest was spiking a fever.

It's time for Works For Me Wednesday, a tip sharing meme hosted by Kristin at We are THAT Family. Click the link, share your tips and play along!

To make a rice bag you take two pieces of muslin or patterned cotton and sew a 5 inch (smaller or larger if you wish) pocket, just like you would for a pillow. Instead of stuffing it with polyfil, you fill it with rice or a mixture of rice and flax seed. Then sew it closed. Since you can't wash the rice bag itself I prefer to use muslin for the rice bag and make a fleece or flannel pillowcase for it. That way if the cover gets dirty you can wash it. I also like to add a few drops of essential oils, I've used lavender, bergamot and vanilla oils. I've also used cinnamon-when the rice bag is warm it smells like rice pudding :)

I keep my rice bags in the freezer so they are ready for bruises or fevers, and if I need it hot I just pop it in the microwave for a few minutes. Make sure you shake it up though or you can end up with a scalding hot-spot.

Dear Hubby - The Husband Handbook #3

Dear Hubby,

I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to thank you for cooking breakfast on Saturday morning.

I don't know...

how the words thank you...

could have slipped my mind.

Thank you.

All My Love,

Cheryl

xoxoxo

Music Monday # 9, Not Me and Meal Plan Monday

Music Monday #9

It's time for Music Monday! If you'd like to play along you can read the guidelines HERE.

Earlier this week I was getting my Robert Redford fix. The Way We Were, The Horse Whisperer. Ahh, I love a good love story movie. Even one that breaks your heart...like my James Franco (hello!) favorite Tristan and Isolde. Oh, unrequited love...

So this week's Music Monday is one of the best unrequited love songs ever, Hello by Lionel Richie.

Not Me Monday

It's time for Not Me Monday, a meme created by MckMama at My Charming Kids. This meme was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal moments she'd rather forget. Click on over if you want to tell every one what you didn't do last week. As for me:

• I did not allow Littlest to eat his chicken noodle soup with a ladle...Not Me! That would be ridiculous.

• I did not dress out of a laundry basket for the second week in a row. Nope, not me!

• I certainly would never neglect the housework so I could go outside and play in the sprinkler with the kids!

• And you would be wrong if you assumed I was happy when Hubby decided to end guitar lessons for Biggest. I enjoyed the hour and a half round trip out of my Monday afternoons.

• And I would never dream of serving dinner late because I was blogging when I should have been cooking, never! Not Me!

Menu Plan Monday

And now for Menu Plan Monday, a meme where participants share the meals they've planned (and sometimes recipes!) for the week. This meme is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Here's what I have planned for the week:

Monday: Homemade chicken nuggets, french fries and peas

Tuesday: Spaghetti with meatballs, salad and garlic bread

Wednesday: Egg Fried Rice

Thursday: Fried Ham Slices, baked potatoes and green beans (from my garden)

Friday: Leftovers!

Sigh...Again

This summer is passing me by so quickly. I must make time to go to Washington DC...it's on my summer to do list. Why? The kids will love it, there is so much to do and see. But honestly, it's for purely selfish reasons. What I really want is to go to The National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum...maybe I should go by myself :)

I'm not a huge art buff. I can't list the names of dozens of artists. I'm a little confused over different techniques and mediums. But I know what I like. I know what speaks to me. I know there are paintings that can make me cry simply by looking at them. One of those is by one of my favorite artists, whose name I do know. Childe Hassam, an American impressionist. The painting? Golden Afternoon. Isn't it lovely? *sigh*

Childe Hassam has a whole exhibit at the New York Met, but I don't think I will be heading that way anytime soon. So, the next best thing is Washington DC. There are four paintings on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and three at the National Gallery of Art. I'm dying to see his work in real life.

Note to Self

Bowels may become temperamental if you should eat:

Chunky applesauce with breakfast

Raw baby carrots and raw onion with lunch

Pickled (red beet) eggs for a snack

Beer, sauerkraut and broccoli with dinner

And fig newtons for dessert....

Sigh...

Have I mentioned how much I adore Robert Redford? (*sigh* and batting eyelashes) I'm sure I have. But let me say it again. I adore Robert Redford. I was just browsing the instant play movies on Netflix and I came across They Way We Were I love that movie. And Out of Africa. And The Horse Whisperer. And of course Brubaker, Barefoot in the Park, Three Days of the Condor and The Electric Horseman. And The Last Castle. In short, I don't think I've seen a Robert Redford movie I don't like.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's so handsome. I find it odd that I think he's handsome. I don't usually go for the blond haired, blue-eyed type. I prefer dark eyes and hair, like my Hubby, who has brown eyes and curly black hair.

But you've got to give the man credit. He looks good. 73 years old? Uh huh. Hope I'm still workin' it at 73 :) Thankfully, Hubby will tell me I am, even if I'm not.

Weekly Wrap Up - Living at Lowe's

It's Friday! Time for the Weekly Wrap-Up, a "what did you do this week?" meme hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Next week's wrap-up has a theme - "share your curriculum"!

This week wasn't very eventful. Most of the week was spent at home "supervising" a contractor friend we have finishing our garage to office and bathroom/laundry room conversion. He's getting so much done, I'm thrilled!

Monday - Hubby had off today. We all just lounged around the house today. Hubby took our dog to the vet. We had been planning on taking the boys to a state park, but our dog, who has bad arthritis, was up all night whining. Hubby took her in to be sure there was nothing new wrong and get her a stronger pain killer. I took Biggest to his guitar lesson. While there we informed the teacher that this will be Biggest's last month. We're cutting (almost) all the luxuries from our budget to save for a possible upcoming move. We're still house hunting.

Tuesday - Hubby was off today for an appointment. He had his appointment in the morning. I hosted a co-op committee meeting, planning the upcoming semester of co-op. It's not that much work, but it's enough for me to wonder what I was thinking :) After the meeting Hubby came home for lunch then we all went out to see Harry Potter - it was okay. After the 2 1/2 hour movie (which Littlest slept through most of!) we drove by a house we were interested in. It was a bust-on way too busy of a road.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- These days were spent at home with a quick trip to Lowe's sprinkled in here and there. I'm the gopher. Whatever our contractor needs, I go-for it. If all goes well we should be able to paint the room tomorrow or Monday. You have NO IDEA how gloriously happy this makes me. We have a log home--which I adore because it has so much character and with all the logs there are no fingerprints on the walls--but being a log home I cannot paint the walls. So I am thrilled to have 2 rooms I can paint. I chose Martha Stewart's Homespun Linen (a golden-tan) for the bathroom/laundry room and Valspar's Woodlawn Silver Brook (a grey-blue) for the office. I can hardly wait to get the paint on the walls...although since we may be moving I'm wondering if I should have stuck with the tan color for both rooms...oh well. Oh! On Thursday Biggest had an orthodontist appointment and I stopped by the county building to rent a pavilion for Littlest's upcoming 2nd birthday party!!

Geography Quiz

Here is a fun quiz. Click the box below (be ready because the timer starts right away) and see how many states you can name in 10 minutes. They have to be spelled correctly with proper capitalization to be accepted. I was hoping to do better, 43 is pretty bad for me, someone who loves history and used to have all the states and capitals memorized. Of course I can blame my poor performance on the fact that Littlest was crawling all over me :)

I named 43 US states in 10 minutes

Wednesday Memes!

FYI: I have a book giveaway going on my Book Review Blog, The Devil's Company by David Liss!

What's For Dinner Wednesday AKA What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free

It's time for What's for Dinner Wednesday Gluten-Free Style. This is a weekly GF-recipe swapping meme hosted by Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker. Click the link and play along!

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it is on my list for a light dinner this week. I found it on recipezaar, posted by user Laura36, and it has rave reviews. It can easily be made GF by subbing your choice of GF bullion.

BLT Salad (sorry, not pasta salad as I stated in my link):

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice concentrate

2 teaspoons sugar

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup green onion, sliced

2 teaspoons chicken flavor instant bouillon

• 4 cups lettuce, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine mayo, lemon juice, sugar and bullion for the dressing.

Combine all remaining ingredients -- I recommend waiting until you are ready to serve before mixing in the lettuce.

Works For Me Wednesday

This is my first time participating in Works For Me Wednesday, a tip sharing meme hosted by Kristin at We are THAT Family. Click the link, share your tips and play along!

What works for me is my amazing shower curtain. I found this StufFits shower curtain about six years ago at Bed, Bath and Beyond and it's the only shower curtain I have bought since. I love it!

We have a very small bathroom and for whatever reason, having shampoo, soap, toys etc. lining the edges of the tub drives me bonkers! So I stuff

the shower curtain pockets with all these things. It's easy and makes clean up a breeze too.

You can also place the curtain so the pockets face out and stuff it with toiletries, combs, hairdryers, extra TP...whatever. And it's all neatly hidden behind the cloth curtain. Lovely.

Littlest's Allergy Story and My Elimination Diet

After My Dairy Allergy post, Jen from FEELING BETTER GLUTEN FREE mentioned that she'd like to hear more about my elimination diet. Her comment made me realize that I've mentioned my elimination diet before but never explained it. And yes, it might be something others would like to hear about as it helped me pinpoint Littlest's allergies, as well as my own plus helped me lose about 30 POUNDS! Yeah, I was a chubster :)

To put things in perspective, at the point I began an ED (elimination diet) I had figured out that I was, at the very least, lactose intolerant but most likely dairy allergic. However I was still slightly confused with the differences between Lactose Intolerance and a Dairy Allergy. What truly spurred me to try an ED was the fact that Littlest, at 3 months of age, was exhibiting symptoms. He was exclusively breastfed at the time so any symptoms he exhibited were due to foods I consumed. The symptom that worried me the most was blood in his stool (poo). His other symptoms were gas, reflux, general fussiness (most likely due to an upset stomach) and a red skin rash. The rash originated on his groin area and I originally assumed it was diaper rash, it looked similar. However, when it showed up on his legs I realized it wasn't diaper rash after all. The child has never had a diaper rash in his life, only allergic reactions-go CLOTH DIAPERS!

Ahem, back to the story.

I originally cut out dairy only and that took care of the blood in Littlest's, his reflux and it also cut down on his fussiness. But, when it didn't help the rash I knew he was dealing with an additional allergy, so I took on an elimination diet. It was such a blessing, it helped me pinpoint the allergies, caused me to drop my extra weight and allowed us both to feel well again. But to be completely honest, I have to say it WAS NOT fun and I was NOT a nice person while adhering to the ED. But I did it for my baby.

This is what I did:

I did a little ED research and found the approach I liked best. I had read that dairy (and any other allergen) can take up to three weeks to completely evacuate your system AND that you should give your body at least two weeks to respond to any new allergen (sometimes you just need time to build up enough histamine for a reaction). So, I decided to completely cut out dairy and any other probable allergens for at least three weeks. Then add them back into my diet, one by one, giving two weeks in between each addition.

I researched the most common allergens. There are eight top allergens: Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Fish, Shellfish, Peanuts and Treenuts. I decided to cut ALL of them out of my diet at one time. I did this because I didn't want there to be any possible question as to what was causing a reaction. I didn't want to go back and forth, guessing.

I found Fish, Shellfish, Eggs, Peanuts and Treenuts to be relatively straight forward and simple to eliminate. If you read ingredient labels carefully you can, usually, identify any of these ingredients easily. However, I found Wheat, Dairy and Soy to be much more difficult. Soy is in EVERYTHING processed-even fruit popsicles. They use soy lecithin as a non-stick ingredient. Wheat is in a lot of products too, and there is a lot of cross contamination with wheat-free products made in the same facility as wheat-containing products. And for dairy, it is in a lot of products too, but it was most tricky because it has so many different aliases (like ammonium caseinate, rennet etc.) To break it down I:

Went off the top 8 allergens for 3 weeks and felt great, Littlest's symptoms disappeared also

Reintroduced dairy-I got sick and Littlest had blood in his stool within 48 hours

Went off the diary (plus the other 7) for an additional 2 weeks to cleanse my system again and STAYED OFF DAIRY TO DATE! :)

Reintroduced eggs for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat them

Reintroduced soy for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat it

Reintroduced wheat for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat it

Reintroduced peanuts for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat them

Reintroduced treenuts (almonds to be specific)-Littlest had his rash back within 8 hours!! This was passed through my breast milk that quickly, I was stupefied. I then cut treenuts out for an additional two weeks to cleanse my system and stayed off them to date

Reintroduced fish for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat it

Reintroduced shellfish for two weeks-no reaction-continued to eat it

That's it. It was rather straight forward, but it wasn't easy. Breakfast and dessert were the worst. I wasn't aware of the many gluten free flours available, and I had no good allergy cookbooks. So breakfast was often honeyed rice and dinner was a vegetable medley with potato or rice and dessert was...well, nothing or quick homemade sorbet (which wasn't bad) or fresh fruit with honey...for MONTHS. But the positives far outweighed the negatives.

I had a healthy, happy baby. I was able to figure out what was causing reactions and eliminate it from our diet, resulting in good health and great skin for Littlest. And I lost 30 pounds too! I will wait until Littlest is 3 to reintroduce his allergens again. There is a small chance he will outgrow the allergies if his system is not constantly taxed by them. Hopefully he will outgrow them. But if not, I've a firm hold on our alternatives. I'm not too worried about the probability of his not being able to eat dairy, but I do hope he can one day eat treenuts. I'm hoping his treenut reaction was what I call a "compound reaction". Your body can react negatively to things you're not actually allergic to if it is stressed from constant bombardment of a true allergen (in his case, dairy).

Monday Memes

MUSIC MONDAY #8

Welcome to Music Monday! This is a music sharing meme, open to anyone who would like to play along. You can read the guidelines HERE.

This week's Music Monday is about music that gets you moving. Since I'm trying to become active and taking regular walks/jogs, I've been considering getting an iPod and loading it with music with energizing music. I probably won't though, because Biggest rides his bike along side me and I like to take the time to chat with him. But if I were to get an iPod, one song I would definitely put on it would be Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back, featuring Timbaland. What songs get you pumped? Do you have a favorite workout song?

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NOT ME MONDAY

This is my first time participating in Not Me Monday, a meme created by MckMama at My Charming Kids. This meme was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal moments she'd rather forget. Click on over if you want to tell every one what you didn't do last week. As for me:

When, at dinnertime, Littlest threw handfuls of rice all over the kitchen I certainly didn't turn my back and pretend like I didn't see what he was doing, just so I wouldn't have to discipline him while he was having so much fun. Not me, that would be irresponsible!

I also did not allow four large laundry baskets of clean laundry to pile up in my bedroom. Not me, I always fold and put away our laundry immediately.

And being the responsible, loving, homeschooling mother that I am, I unequivocally did not (on several occasions) tell Biggest that if he didn't straighten up I would sell him to the gypsies. Not me!

And of course I would never to take my darling husband for granted. I wouldn't dream of feeding him "leftover surprise" 3 out of 5 nights last week. Nope! Not me!

And I absolutely did NOT eat myself sick on Moon Pies because I just discovered they are dairy free! NOT ME!

My Dairy Allergy Story

I thought I'd take some time to share my allergy story, to let you know a little bit about where I'm coming from. It's a long story but one you may find interesting, you may see a little of yourself in my journey. So grab a cuppa and pull up a chair.

I grew up eating dairy. The more dairy the better was my motto, covered in cream, smothered in cheese, dripping with butter? Oh yeah. I lived off cheese and crackers, cream of wheat and cereal. In fact, I'd have cereal for breakfast nearly every morning and another bowl before bed most nights. And it wasn't a good bowl of cereal unless it had lots and lots of ice cold milk.

Around eighth grade I started noticing that I would get nauseous often, and when sitting in my morning classes my stomach would burn. Nothing too terrible, but it wasn't comfortable. I chalked it up to my vitamins, I assumed they were too strong to take first thing in the morning.

In the spring of my senior year of high school I had my first son, Biggest. While I was pregnant I had none of the old problems, no burning stomach, no nausea. But when Biggest was only a few months old the symptoms returned. I switched vitamins several times with no luck. I figured maybe it was just me, the sleepless nights and stress of being a new mommy.

When Biggest was about 10 months old I started to occasionally wake in the middle of the night, terribly nauseous or vomiting. It didn't happen often but when it did it wasn't fun. Since it happened so sporadically I always assumed it was a 24 hr virus or something I ate. I had never heard of the "more subtle" symptoms of dairy allergies. And as far as I knew at the time, no one in my family had any allergies.

Life continued this way for a while, pretty normal except for a burning tummy and the occasional puke fest. I should mention that several times over the subsequent years I went to the doctor for my symptoms, he also chalked it up to a virus. Allergies were never mentioned, I was never encouraged to keep a food journal or go on an elimination diet. I saw several doctors actually as we moved a few times and had to switch providers. None of them caught on. This is why I say that though they mean well, doctors don't make good allergists.

I was given what I call maintenance meds, like Zantac. I can honestly say I didn't give them a fair shot. I used them a couple times but that was it. I felt like they weren't truly helping me, they were just masking my symptoms and I wanted a real answer.

When Biggest was about 2-3 years old things took a drastic turn for the worse. I remember my first "episode" as I like to call them. I woke up in the middle of the night (it's always the middle of the night) feeling nauseous and like I needed to use the restroom. *If you get queasy easily you may want to stop reading now, TMI ahead*

It started with diarrhea and lots of bowel cramping. Then nausea, which steadily worsened and I was soon vomiting with terrible stomach pains. The diarrhea became...eh...forceful and the vomiting, projectile. I vomited with such force it would splash 4 feet back out of the commode-I had such a mess to clean up the next day, but I didn't have strength to clean it then. There were even times when things were shooting out both ends, I couldn't control it, I'd have to sit on the commode with the trash can between my knees.

This would go on for hours. And when I say I had bowel cramping and stomach pain I mean PAIN, I could hardly stand it. These pains were as bad as if not worse than transitional labor pains and I know, I've had two natural, drug-free births. I think I would have rather had a baby! Along with or because of the pain I would have chills and sweats (which is one thing that lead me to believe it was viral), I would shake and tremble and all color would drain from my face and lips. I thought I was going to die.

That is pretty much how my episodes went, I would only have several episodes a year so it took me a while to realize it wasn't viral or food poisoning. When I finally realized it wasn't it didn't help, I still didn't know what to do. I went to the emergency room several times during episodes. I was given great meds to stop the vomiting, diarrhea and pain, blood tests were run and I was sent home with no answers.

The meds were wonderful in managing my episodes but didn't solve anything. Around this time I finally had a doctor encourage me to keep a food journal. This was another great idea that didn't solve anything because we were looking for a red flag before an episode. We weren't looking for the cause of the constant nausea or burning stomach (which I now beleive were the dialy warning signs of an impending episode) so the fact that I ate dairy everyday wasn't a concern. Looking back I should have gone to an allergist or at the very least gone on an elimination diet. I was woefully uneducated on allergies.

Life went on this way for a while, an extremely slow progression of worsening symptoms. I eventually got to a point wherethe nausea and burning stomach was at its peak, I had to sleep sitting up or I'd throw up, the episodes were much more frequent and I had a constant, terrible urge to go to the bathroom (#2). I would map out our travels, even just a half hour drive, by spots I could use the bathroom-rest stops, gas stations or thick bushes, it was bad.

I don't know how I let it get so bad. By now Biggest was 10 years old, it was just such a S-L-O-W progression that it was hard to see until I stepped back and really looked with open eyes. I remember complaining about my predicament to my sister-in-law, God bless her, and she suggested that I at least try to cut out diary. She used to not be able to smell or taste and had to deal with a chronic stuffy nose...until she cut out diary.

I told Hubby I was going to cut out dairy for two weeks and if that didn't help I was going to the doctor (again) because I had stomach cancer or something else really serious. So I cut out diary and within 3 DAYS my stomach stopped burning. Within a week the bathroom urge greatly lessened. It was amazing. Over a period of only a few months I felt like a new person, better than I had in more years than I could remember.

I did have a few setbacks. I went back to dairy thinking I was, perhaps, only lactose intolerant so I relied on Lactaid, which did help but not completely. I also showed marked improvement when I went went from Lactaid to raw milk products, but I still wasn't 100%. I didn't get 100% until after I went on an elimination diet due to Littlest showing symptoms (I'll share his allergy story next time).

I'm proud to say I've been dairy and episode free for over a year, almost two. I avoid dairy like the plague. Life is so much simpler and less scary. I can't tell you how awful it was to lay my head down every night and wonder if I would wake up sick, oh the anxiety! I still have a sensitive digestive tract, I think it's due to years of abuse, I was effectively poisoning myself with diary but I feel like a new woman. I feel healthy and it is such a blessing.

Travel From Your Mailbox

Want to travel to far away destinations without having to go farther than your mailbox? You might want to consider Postcrossing. This is a great site I discovered a couple months ago, it's like pen pals only less personal. I started using this site (it was so much fun!) to supplement Biggest's geography program and became hooked myself. Postcrossing would also be good for foreign language reading practice. I haven't used it recently as I ran out of postcards, but this weekend I plan to restock and get going again. In a nutshell, here's how it works.

You simply go to Postcrossing and create a profile and specify your preferred language(s). You then request addresses so you can send postcards (they are chosen randomly and you can only have 5 postcards out at a time). Next, you mail a postcard to the given address-being sure to include the tracking number you were given with the address-then you wait for the recipient to receive the postcard. The recipient then registers the tracking number on postcrossing. Once you've successfully sent a postcard your address (or PO Box, whatever address you provide) is then given to another random user and you begin receiving postcards. It's really simple, inexpensive and fun. So far we've received 5 postcards from Hungary, The Netherlands, US and (2) from Germany. Check it out!

Weekly Wrap Up - Hectic but Fun

Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly meme hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click HERE to join the fun and tell us what you did this week!This week was hectic and busy, but we had lots of fun! Everyday, from 1-3PM Biggest had cooking classes in Frederick, MD (that will be another post). Right now, Biggest says he wants to be a chef so we are trying to give him some culinary exposure. The classes are about an hour from our home, so Littlest and I had to find fun things to keep us occupied. We had some great one on one time together. Here's what we did.

Monday - Hubby had off today so we spent the morning at home, I was fielding phone calls about the house we were considering making an offer on. I set up a second showing because the first time we only quickly ran through the house. Our realtor had been told it was vacant, it wasn't and we weren't sure we were even supposed to be there so we didn't dally. I set up the second viewing and we left around noon to take Biggest to his cooking classes. After dropping Biggest off, Hubby, Littlest and I went to my brother's house-he lives nearby-to hang out. While there Hubby helped my brother set up his new TV. Then we picked up Biggest and ran to VA to see the house. More drama. The "owners" were there, and said that their realtor had not let them know we were coming...hmmm. There were 3 boys, ages 9-12 running around, running around with toy guns, cursing like sailors...living the thug life. There was a teenage girl watching TV in her room (the only clean room in the house) who pretended we weren't there, and a woman in bed who appeared to be sick or in pain but who was miraculously up and about in the kitchen when my realtor went in to say goodbye. Again, hmmm. My brother went with us to see the house, so we all went out to dinner, dropped him off at home, then went home ourselves.

Tuesday - The morning was spent on breakfast, laundry, emails and more phone calls. We wanted to make an offer on the house, but there was confusion over whether or not we really could due to the fact that it was somehow simultaneously listed with two agents. And a third time, hmmm. We left at noon to take Biggest to his class, then Littlest and I went to my brother's house and he took us to his community pool. We spent the afternoon lounging by the water. Ahhhh. Then it was time to pick up Biggest, go home, fix dinner and get ready for bed. Below is Littlest and my brother (he's single :))

Wednesday - More phone calls about the house, and the upcoming semester of homeschool co-op, I'm on the planning committee--what was I thinking?? :) I set up a time to meet the realtor to make an offer on the house, we had a green light. I dropped Biggest off at his class then went to my Aunt's house. She had dug up some old pictures from my wedding, and some shots she had taken of me when I was 14 or 15 and wanted to enter a modeling contest...oy. We visited for a little while then I took Littlest to the mall to let him run around like a maniac since we'd been spending so much time in the van. I then picked up Biggest and met Hubby and the realtor in VA to pull together our offer. We submitted it. Now we wait but it's not looking good. We'll see what happens.

Thursday - I spent the morning doing as much laundry as humanly possible with an almost-2-year-old under foot. Then I took Biggest to his class. Hubby surprised me by meeting us there and went with me to a park with Littlest. We had a little picnic and played on the playground but didn't stay as long as we would have liked because there were two unsupervised children there, one was seven, the other was nine. They were nice, but irritating. They were sad really. The younger one was chatty, telling me about the holes in his heart, his older sister who goes to parties and does bad things, his 18 month old brother who died of bronchitis or pneumonia, and his upcoming vacation to go to Louisiana so his mom's boyfriend can get a divorce from his wife then his mom can marry him and they will get a new dad. And the older boy showed me how he "likes to cut himself with sticks and watch himself bleed". It was disturbing, I didn't quite know what to do or say.

Friday - I could tell all the running was really catching up to Littlest. He was quite grumpy so we had a slow, calm morning with lots of cuddling. I dropped Biggest off at his class and took Littlest over to Baker Park, in Frederick, MD, where I used to go as a kid. We took two loaves of bread and fed the ducks. It was CHAOS! Littlest loved it. He can be a mean little cuss though. He would throw bread on the ground, wait for the ducks to swarm it, then run into the group of ducks trying to kick and pull feathers! He got in a bit of trouble. Once he calmed down we had a good time, then a lovely picnic lunch and a walk around the lake. We then packed up and went to an outdoor mall where we walked around some more, splashed our feet in the fountain and went to Maggie Moo's for some dairy free sorbet (mmm, mango!). Now we're relaxing at home. We don't have anything scheduled for this weekend. So Hubby will probably work on the garage and I'll fiddle in the garden. And we'll wait to hear something about the house.

Little Things, Updates and Wha??

WARNING LONG, RAMBLING POST AHEAD!

LITTLE THINGS: Yesterday evening, my family and I were eating out. Hubby and I were doing the usual "tag team dining". You know the drill, while one parent gets to eat for 10 minutes the other takes Littlest outside to do laps around the restaurant, Littlest is then brought back inside for about 5 peaceful minutes of family dinner time before the parents swap and the one who did the laps first gets 10 minutes to eat :) As we finished up our meal and stood to leave we received a very unexpected compliment from the elderly couple seated across from us. "You have such a wonderful family!" they told us. Oh people, that made my week! Little things like that help me get through the challenging moments.

UPDATES: Yesterday evening before eating out we put in an offer on the house in VA. I felt really good about it. I hope that calm is God telling me we're doing the right thing. Of course it could be God saying "Go ahead, it doesn't matter what you do because you're not getting the house." LOL

Wha??: It's not looking good for the house. Right now we're playing a waiting game. The house is a short sale which, to the best of my understanding, means it's like a pre-foreclosure. According to my realtor, only about 30% of short sales go through to settlement. But in order to save on foreclosure costs and evictions, the bank and owners agree to list the house and try find a happy middle ground with the sale. The owners and listing agent set the sale price, review, then reject or accept all offers. THEN, the offer goes to the bank and the bank can accept or reject the offer...all the while the "owners" get to live there for free. Yeah, free.

The house has quite an interesting story. I had originally enquired about it and was told that it was under contract. A week later it was back on the market with a different agent. My realtor investigated and found that, under the original agent, the house was listed and marked as "under contract" for a year. So that means that for a year there were no showings, no offers, nothing. Just free rent for the owners who, for whatever reason, had reneged on their mortgage. Hmmm.

The house is now listed with a new agent (who bears a resemblance to the owner) at the same price as before. We offered full price plus closing costs. Even so, it may not be enough. You have to remember that the sellers and agent set the asking price, then if an offer is approved the offer goes to the bank for approval. It just so happens that the owners bought this home in 2007 for $250,000 more than the list price/what we offered. So, the bank is probably still carrying close to 100% of their principal...I don't know if they will be willing to take that much of a loss.

I'm no real estate agent but it appears to me that the owners can set an extremely low list price, accept low offers-only to have the offers rejected by the bank again and again, and continue to live in their home for free. What a racket.

It also doesn't look good for us because, according to the listing agent, there are 2 offers other than ours and they are "less complicated". Less complicated means the other offers have no contingencies on inspections as our offer does. Our offer states that if an inspection does not meet our expectations we can abandon the contract. The listing agent wants to waive these contingencies before she even takes the offer to the sellers--that seems fishy to me, but again, I'm no real estate agent. The property is being sold "as is", We know and understand that. We're willing to sign a document stating that we will go through with the contract unless something structurally unsound is found like a crumbling foundation or catastrophic termite infestation; but I refuse to waive my right to get out of the contract if the house is unsafe.

We're standing our ground on the contingencies. I'm not sure I trust the listing agent. But, we figure if the other offers are better we won't get the home anyway. The other offers could have come from contractors/investors who have lots more money than us. It has me a little upset because the home is in a great area, closer to my mother, Hubby's work and grandparents and would be a great investment. But I've put it in God's hands and trust that His will will be done.

What's For Dinner GF - Rita's Ice

It's time for What's for Dinner Wednesday Gluten-Free Style. This is a weekly GF-recipe swapping meme hosted by Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker. Click the link and play along! This week's theme is dessert. Oy, do I have a sweet tooth. Unfortunately, not many of my desserts are gluten free. I love cakes, brownies, cookies, you name it. And I haven't often tried my hand at making them GF. But it just so happens that one of my favorite treats are both dairy and gluten free! Rita's Ice!! It is laden with sugar, but hey, it's dessert right?

Rita's Ice is my guilty pleasure. Seriously I'm addicted. We currently have 4 half eaten quarts in the freezer (I like to mix the flavors). Right now we have pineapple, strawberry, raspberry and mango--yum, yum, yum. My all time favorite is Island Fusion, it has a tropical fruit flavor...sometimes I'll add a little rum. And Alex's Lemonade? Don't get me started! Mmmmm. I love it.

For those with allergies, Rita's is a must. The ice flavors (not custard, toppings etc) are free of the top 8 allergens. I also love the fact that they allot each flavor it's own scoop so there is none of the dreaded cross-contamination. I also love the fact that Rita's offers an online allergy information chart. Click HERE to view the chart.

As a quick note, I have not seen them lately, but in the past I have seen Rita's occasionally offer a flavor that contains dairy. However, my experience has been that these flavors are labeled in fine print as "Cream Ice".

My Dilemma

Am I crazy? My brother says I'm crazy. Here's what I'm looking at.

We live in a log home in Pennsylvania with 3 beds and 1 bath. We are in the middle of converting our 1 car garage (that's so small you can't even open the car doors once it's in the garage) into an office and 2nd bathroom/laundry room. We still need to stain the deck, fix the hot tub, do something with our sorry excuse for a kitchen (even if it's just painting the cabinets), stain the exterior logs and refinish all our hardwood floors. If we do all that we might be able to make a small profit off this house. In this market however I'd be happy if we broke even.

We're going to make an offer on a 3 bedroom, 2 bath rancher in our old town in Virgina. Though it's technically livable, it needs work. The carpets need to be cleaned with a bio hazard steam cleaner (I'm exaggerating, but not by much), there are holes in some of the drywall and a leaking hot water heater. Also, the current owners already began to finish the basement, it has an additional 2 bedrooms down there BUT it looks like they put sheet rock/drywall (??) right up against the concrete walls...isn't that supposed to be framed out with insulation then the drywall on top? If so, we'll need to gut that mess. But it has a nice yard, a smidge bigger than our current yard and the rear is fenced-great for Littlest and our 2 Irish setters.

If they don't accept our extremely generous offer the we will make an offer on another house here in Pennsylvania.

The one in PA is a 2bedroom, 1 bath fixer upper. It is half the price of the one in VA but will need complete renovation so the mortgage will end up about the same. We would be gutting it down to the studs. It's so grossly filthy not one wall, ceiling or floor would stay. We would then be ripping off the roof and adding a second story addition with 3 beds and 2 baths and relaying the original floor plan into something functional; taking the existing "2 bedrooms" and making an office and bigger kitchen. This house has over double our current yard.

The scary part for me is this. We've kept our monthly mortgage payment at 1/4 of our monthly income. Once we purchase one of these homes we will be floating 2 mortgages until we finish the work on our log home and sell it. With both mortgage payments we will be at almost 50% of our monthly income. We can handle it, but for how long? We'll really have to watch our expenses. It will be beans and rice or PB&J for us, LOL. No extras, no luxuries.

I'm nervous, but I feel an underlying calm, like we're making the right decision. I hope that calm is from God, telling me we're doing the right thing. I don't want to make a stupid decision just because I'm excited about moving. Right now this is a very unforgiving economy.

Music Monday #7

You know what this one is going to be about. Michael Jackson. Who else, right? I have to admit, I lost a lot, maybe all, respect for him when the whole child molestation scandals came about. I don't know if they were true or not. I hope not, for the children's sakes. Although, even if he was innocent his behavior, at the very least, was wildly inappropriate. I think he was a very confused, tragic man. But before all that, back in the day, I was all about Michael Jackson. It was sad really.

Picture it. It was 1987, I was 8 years old. I had the Michael Jackson doll, the fake rhinestone glove, a bright yellow tee-shirt with the Thriller album cover on it, and down in our recroom I was dancing my heart out, trying to do the Moonwalk and grabbing my crotch, to the latest hit - Bad. Michael was my man, we were going to be BFFs when I grew up. Oh yeah.

The YouTube embedding is disabled for most of MJ's (yes, he let's me call him MJ) videos. And I can't just post the song-a lot of the fascination with MJ is over his unique brand of dance.

So click HERE to watch the Bad video. Oh man, check out that choreography! "Ohhhhh!"

And I can't have a Michael Jackson Music Monday without sharing what is probably my all time favorite Michael Jackson song, Smooth Criminal (followed closely by Billie Jean). Click HERE to watch/hear it. "Annie are you okay? Annie are you okay? Are you okay Annie?"

And of course I must share my own Michael Jackson story. As I said before, I thought Michael Jackson and I would one day be best friends. But alas, our paths were never destined to cross.

As a little girl I had the privilege of going to a Michael Jackson concert with my mom. We were only about 12 to 15 rows back, center stage and the last 4 seats in our row were vacant so we had plenty of room to move around and dance. As I was standing to the outside, along the aisle, I noticed a big, burly usher-lady stomping up and down the aisle, trailing a child or two now and again. At one point she stopped, pointed at me and said in a rather unfriendly tone "I'm coming for you next." My mother missed this exchange. I, not knowing what was going on, thought "Oh no you're not" and I promptly changed places with my mother. I hid behind her as the scary usher-lady continued her laps, gathering up less cautious children, who were clearly less educated than I about stranger danger. :)

Not much later, after Michael Jackson had pointed out that Linda Carter (Wonder Woman) was in the audience and everyone gave her a round of applause, I realized what was really going on with the big-bad-usher. MJ started up a new song and low and behold, here came the children onto the stage. The usher had been rounding up kids so they could get up on stage and dance with Michael for a minute or two!! There were about 20 of them up there, dancing their hearts out as Michael sang his heart out. AYE CARUMBA! If only I had known. :( I'm over it now, but it was more than a little disappointing that night, LOL. Over the years I have consoled myself with the fact that he didn't interact with them... :)

That's it for this Music Monday. If you'd like to play along you can read the guidelines HERE.

Jon and Kate Plus 8

As I stated in my previous Jon and Kate Plus 8 post, I don't watch the show regularly anymore. I just tune in for the big events and season premieres to get an idea of what's been going on and see how the kids have grown. I was intrigued by this season's premiere with all the speculation going on so I tuned in for that, then was suckered in again for the 2nd week with the "big announcement". I wasn't surprised when they announced they were separating (and most likely divorcing) but it was quite sad to hear.

I won't get into a whole lot of opinions and judgements here. I stated most of those on my last post. I'll just say that I still think it was too much stress on an already weak relationship. Also-flame me if you want-but I think marriage, NOT CHILDREN, should come first in a relationship (after a personal relationship with God). I hear both of them say "I'm here for the children, it's about the children". Perhaps if that emphasis had been placed on each other, they would have communicated with one another better and respected each other more.

Now it appears they will be trading off with the kids and house depending on whose visitation time it is. I don't see that situation lasting very long. So whoever's turn it is not will have to vacate the premises. Sad, sad sad. That will last as long as it takes for one or both of them to find a significant other. But on a lighter note *insert evil grin* Hubby asked if they will be changing the show title from Jon and Kate Plus 8 to Jon or Kate Plus 8.

Weekly Wrap-Up

My weekly wrap-up is late. I was hoping to get to it yesterday, but no luck. It's been such a busy week but at the same time not a lot has happened. Funny how that works. I think I opened a can of worms this week, I don't know. You see, I love houses. I'm one of those people who goes to open houses and home models for fun. Last week I was poking around online and found a few houses at a good price. It got me to thinking of how I'd LOVE to lower our mortgage. So I thought why not sell this house, buy a "new" one at a lesser price and save a couple hundred dollars a month? It would get us our French vacation home that much sooner! I know, I know, crazy with this housing market. There's no guarantee our house would even sell...not to mention we still have some work to do on it. But I'm a dreamer...*sigh* So I called around, got us pre-qualified for the bank says we can handle in addition to our current home (it's not much, but it's enough to work with) and have been combing the websites for short sales from here to our old Virginia stomping grounds. Now that you have the background info, here's what we've been up to this week.

Monday- Hubby had to work. The kids and I had a busy day around the house. There was laundry, weeding the garden, general clean-up and bill-paying. When Hubby came home we all went for a brisk walk. After dinner Biggest went fishing with his friends.

Tuesday- I can't remember much of what I did today, isn't that awful? Everything is a blur before our trip to the ER due Littlest falling down the stairs. He's okay thank the Lord and that's all that matters today :)

Wednesday- Wednesday, we ran up to my dad's house to take care of some stuff for him, drove by a few listed homes, I liked one of them and called to set up an appointment for that evening, a quick stop by the store for odds and ends then back home where Littlest decided to take a nap today! Yay! After Hubby got home we all went to see the house. I liked it but it needs A LOT of work, we'd probably put on a second story addition and that would take time and money. I think Hubby is leaning toward this one though.

Thursday- I had a bunch of plans for Thursday since we didn't really do anything fun this week but I ended up throwing the plans out the window. My brother is going through a tough break-up with his girlfriend of four years. He was having a rough day so he came up and we spent the day together. My dad, brother and step-brother are all going through divorces/break-ups/separations. This has, on several occasions, almost prompted an angry post about the problems with women nowadays. I'm not saying the men in my family didn't contribute to their relationship problems, they did, but by and large they were in relationships with weak-minded, shallow, thieving, lying women. Where have all the strong women gone??

Friday- Hubby had off today. We went up to my dad's house again. My dad is doing some work on his house, painting, new trim etc. We went up so Hubby could help with some electrical wiring and I somehow ended up cooking breakfast for the crew of family and friends there helping...hmmm how did that happen? :) We spent the afternoon relaxing at home then packed up to go look at a house in Virginia and visit my mom in Maryland. I really liked this house, although it is almost double in price as the one Hubby likes (go figure). It too needs a lot of work but it is mostly cosmetic. It's stuff we could do slowly, on our own, while we lived there, but it will still take money. After that we went to my mom's house for a cook-out. We had a great time. I got to visit with a man who was a youth leader in my church when I was growing up. It was so nice to see him again, he was definitely a positive influence on my life, as well as my husband's. This youth leader was disabled in his 20's and would go around to local schools sharing his story and encouraging kids to stay away from the "fast lane". He's now started his own ministry of visiting local paraplegics and taking them out and about, showing them that they can have a full life even though they've lost mobility. He's such a great guy!

That was pretty much it for the week. A lot going on, yet not much at all. Today we're having some family over for a cookout. But before that I want to take Hubby and drive by a property in Maryland...he's gonna kill me :) So how was your week? Tell us at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

Hemp Milk - Cow's Milk Alternative

As I may have mentioned before, Littlest and I are allergic to dairy, and I think Biggest is, at the very least, lactose intolerant. I bring very little dairy--if any at all--into the house. Ice Cream, cheese, sour cream etc. are rare treats for Hubby and Biggest and strictly off limits for Littlest and me.

Because of this I'm extra diligent about monitoring our calcium intake. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to have dairy in order to get enough calcium. If you eat a balanced diet which includes lots of leafy greens, chances are you'll meet calcium requirements. Thankfully, everyone in this household enjoys cooked greens...especially spinach and kale and fresh salads too.

But just to be on the safe side Littlest drinks hemp milk almost every day. Like rice milk and soy milk, it's a cow's milk alternative. It's made from the seeds of the hemp plant and comes in several flavors-original, plain and chocolate. I've only tried the original, but I like it, it has a rich nutty flavor. It's thicker than milk though, so if you're used to drinking something thin (like skim milk) it may take some getting used to.

While I don't care for it as a stand-alone beverage, it's delicious with chocolate, coffee or blended into smoothies. And it's easy to cook with--you can't taste the difference. If you've tried cooking with soy or rice milk you know how important this is. But what I really love about hemp milk is that it offers more vitamins and minerals than milk. I use Living Harvest hemp milk. It has Omega 3 & 6 EFAs, 15 vitamins and minerals and 40% of the DV of calcium in one serving. It really is a fabulous product.

Free Eggs For a Year and an Autographed Cathe Friedrich Video Giveaway!!

We love eggs at my house. We eat them every single day. Our favorites are Eggland's Best. You really can tell a difference in flavor and you can see they have better color, which means more nutrients. We go through 1.5-2 dozen a week...just the four of us. Scrambled, fried, hard boiled, yum! Of course, I make homemade rolls, cakes and whatnot so some of the eggs are alloted to baking. Frittatas are a favorite here too.

Eggs are my BFF. Seriously. If not for eggs, beans and hemp milk I would have to work a lot harder to get enough protein. Littlest and I are allergic to dairy so that means no milk, no ice cream, no cheese, no yogurt etc. That wouldn't be all that bad in and of itself, but just to make things difficult, Littlest isn't a big fan of meat. He'll eat anything and everything else (thankfully), but lately he won't touch chicken, fish or beef. It's eggs to the rescue. He loves them and eats them almost every day for breakfast.

So you can just imagine how excited I was when I saw Wendy at Babies Gotta Have It is hosting an Eggland's Best Giveaway! You can win free eggs for a year! Whoa Nelllie! I'm there. And to make it even more enticing, the winner will also receive an autographed Cathe Friedrich workout video! Go on, click the link and take one look at her. Tell me you don't want to be that fit....yeah, I thought so. I'd love to be that healthy!

So click on over to Babies Gotta Have It and enter to win eggs and a workout video! You will be on your way to a healthier you. Eggs are so good for you. They are packed with protein and Eggland's Best eggs have more omegas, lutein and vitamin E, not to mention less saturated fat than the average egg. I told you they were my favorites, I'm all about EB.

As much as I love you company, go! Go enter!

Littlest's 1st Trip to the ER

Littlest fell down the stairs. Our wooden stairs. Thankfully, he's okay. He has a few bruises on his shoulders and thighs, an abrasion on each cheekbone, a bruised nose and a fat lip but that's it. No concussion, no broken bones. He rolled most of the way down, just one or two head over heels flips. My poor, sweet baby. I have some serious bad mommy vibes coursing through my veins right now. You see, our steps are somewhat divided. We have 3 steps, then a landing, then 10 steps in the other direction. I left Littlest at the top of the stairs and went into my bedroom (at the bottom of the landing) leaving Littlest to walk down the top 3 steps himself. He's done this a million times, in fact he goes up and down all the steps without assistance. But this time he made it down the the top 3 steps then rolled/fell down the big ones. I don't know if he thought I went all the way down and was trying to follow me or if he just fell. Either way I feel guilty. No more taking the steps independently for a while! I snapped these shots this morning while he was sleeping, so they're not the best quality, but here's the aftermath:

Cheekbone abrasion-he has one to match on the other side

Fat lip-about 2-3 times it's normal size. His cheeks are naturally that chubby :)

This experience showcased how differently Hubby and I react to traumatic situations. There are positives and negatives about both our reactions but I think, overall, we're a pretty good team. We both heard the thuds of Littlest going down the stairs and went into action. Hubby ran to the bottom of the stairs and scooped Littlest up. I ran down from upstairs. Littlest had a few dazed seconds and then began to cry.

Hubby is supercharged in these moments, instantly emotionally charged, angry, dissecting the situation, trying to find a cause, a reason, trying to figure out what events contributed to what happened. All this while doing a full body check, working each joint, looking for any sign of major injury. If you're seriously injured he'll know how and why in a matter of seconds. He had identified all of Littlest's injuries almost instantly.

I'm at the other end of the spectrum. My emotions are paused and I'm eerily calm. I also dissect the situation but in a different way. While Hubby takes care of the immediate injuries I usually assess the other side. My mind was jumbling with the thoughts and decisions; ticking off a list of things we were going to do. We're going to the ER just to be sure. Grab shoes. Have Biggest bring in the dogs NOW. What time is it? Count the steps Littlest fell down-the doctor will want to know. Grab Littlest's cup, it will help comfort him.

So in the few short moments it took us to get loaded into the vehicle, Hubby had a laundry list of Littlest's injuries both obvious and possible, and I had the loose ends tied up with a list of technical information. It was stressful, and we don't communicate well during the moment but in the end I think our two different modes of operation compliment each other well. Of course, being that I pause my emotions, I have to click play sooner or later. So today I'm a bit emotional. All the what ifs start playing through my mind...I'm so thankful all is well.