A Week Without Daddy

Daddy is out of town this week. It's been a very long week and I am overwhelmed. Hubby took off to go to a worship leaders conference in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Lucky him! He's on the beach looking at the beautiful ocean. I'm very happy for him, but at the same time so totally jealous that he gets to go away for a week and get away from reality.

Since I only worked 2 days this week Bubby and I moved in with my parents, quite literally. The dog even came along! The only problem is that the house isn't childproof and it has stairs, Bubby's favorite!! I am very tired from chasing him around, flicking his little hands when he puts them in things he's not supposed to, saying "no" and "danger!," and having to hold him up so he can turn all of the light switches on and off. He doesn't seem too happy about it all either, because he's at the Explorer stage when he wants to touch and throw and get into everything! He's also in this new Tantrum stage where he throws himself on the floor and screams when he doesn't get his way. I try to walk away, keep calm, and ignore his fits, but it is a challenge. I've found myself getting frustrated, angry and sometimes shouting when he throws his tantrums. Not cool mommy. Not cool.

I also forgot Bubby's music box that we usually attach to his crib to help him sleep. It's a complete life saver in helping Bubby fall asleep, especially if he wakes up in the middle of the night (kinda like his binky). Since we forgot it I've had to rock him to sleep every night and he's been waking up at 5 a.m. wanting to get up. It's hard to leave him crying when I have family in the house, and they have lives during the day which means they need their sleep, so I've had to get up with him and try to rock him back to sleep or cuddle with him in my bed. Cuddling in bed with me doesn't work like it used to though because now he likes to crawl all over, jump on me, and get drinks out of my water bottle. I guess you can see why I'm looking forward to going home! It will be nice to be back to our normal routine, back into our own beds, and also have Daddy back in the house!

Life is Quiet

Life has been slowing down more lately. It's interesting how I wanted to be home more and now that I am I get bored so easily. My home is full of lots of peace right now, it helps when Bubby is napping and the washing machine isn't running.

I had several houses that I usually cleaned for fall through this month and I am left with being at home more. I'm not complaining, but when the bed is made, laundry is done, dishes all clean, and the house in general is picked up I find it hard to find things to do. I can see why stay at home mom's go to so many play groups, they need the social time! So, here's what I've been filling my time with:

1. Organizing
*I've managed to get Bubby's room, the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom organized!

2. Trying New Recipes
*Zesty Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
*Tex Mex Roll-Ups
*Baked Oatmeal
*One Pot Goulash
*Pumpkin Oatmeal

3. Reading lots of books to Bubby
*He's in this new phase of wanting to read the same books over and over again. It's starting to bother me a little so after reading one book 10 times I casually slip it behind the couch so he can't find it. Don't worry...I pull them out for the next day!

4. Running errands during the day
*It's AMAZING how quickly you can grocery shop at 10 a.m. compared to 4 p.m.! Smaller lines, less people, and more variety!

5. Watching more TV
*This probably isn't the best thing. I'm in the middle of reading The Fellowship of the Ring but I am a super slow reader and usually only read 2-3 pages a day (on average!). Days when I am home I like to watch Rachael Ray and sometimes Dr. Oz. With Bubby, I like to watch The Cat in the Hat, Arthur, and Martha Speaks (super cute!). We also watch Wheel of Fortune just about every evening. Plus, Hubby is taking me through the seasons of LOST and I am really getting into it. It's hard to not watch an episode during the day. There are so many other shows I would watch regularly but since we don't have cable I have to load them on Hulu, like Project Runway All Stars, Last Man Standing, Once Upon A Time, and I would really like to start watching Downton Abbey. You're probably thinking "wow...that's a lot of TV" but really I don't watch all of that every day.

6. Home Business
*I'm also busy working on my home business and trying to expand my network of people. I have a feeling God has a lot in store for me and I'm really excited to see where this business takes me. It's also a blessing to be able to work from home the majority of the time.

We will see what God does in the next few months. I am praying and relying on God that he will sustain us and help us to flourish like the olive trees he talks about in Psalms. I read them almost daily and it is a constant reminder that God is on my side!

What I Now Do With Leftover Chicken and Turkey

I am not a left over person. It's taken me a long time to actually reheat and warm up anything in the refrigerator. But since we are trying to save money I have been much better at being creative and making left overs into meals.

Whenever I make chicken or turkey for a meal and I have some left over I now have an AWESOME way to re-use it and make it last another meal (even one that Bubby likes which is hard to do sometimes). I've been making Chicken Salad or Turkey Salad Sandwiches! Honestly, this is worth celebrating because when I was growing up I wouldn't even touch the stuff and now here I am making it, eating it, and serving it to my growing child!

Here's what I do:

1. Take the left over turkey or chicken and chop up really fine (I use my Pampered Chef food chopper and it works awesome). Toss it in a bowl and set aside.

2. Chop up and any veggies you want in there! I usually chop up carrots, onion and celery. Chop it really fine and mix in with chopped meat.

3. Mix in some Mayo, just enough to moisten it and give it a little flavor, and then add in about 1 tsp of mustard (Dijon is best).

4. Sprinkle in some Tarragon, Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder.

5. Mix and serve on bread!

LOVE IT! It's super easy and super fast without using lots of dishes either. Plus you get your meat, veggies, and bread all in one serving. You could probably mix some fruit in there too, my Hubby likes chopped up grapes in his.

Enjoy!

American Food Names

I had the strangest conversation with Hubby last night, I should mention he was the one who brought it up, about all the weird names that America has for food. Here are some of our complaints:

1. Chicken Fingers-chicken's don't even have fingers!

2. Tater Tots-since when did potatoes start having babies? And WHY are we eating them?

3. French Fries-it makes no difference if we call them Freedom Fries, it's still a weird name. I thought we should just call them fried potatoes, but then we decided to go along with "chicken fingers" we should call them Tater-Toes and really emphasize the "Toes" because if chickens can have fingers then potatoes can have toes!

4. Buffalo Wings-Hubby complained about this one because buffalo wings are made of chicken, not buffalo. But I corrected Hubby and told him that Buffalo refers to the sauce, not the meat. So I won that argument.

5. Fish Sticks-Fish don't look like sticks to me, and to be honest I don't recall ever eating a stick...ever. Might I add that I don't even like fish and I wouldn't eat it even if looked like a stick.

Vitamin D

I went to the chiropractor a couple weeks ago and picked up an article about how Vitamin D can combat colds and the flu. Before giving any extra Vitamin D, I made sure to do some extra research on Vitamin D and how it is good for the immune system. Let me just say that I was very impressed with what I found. Here's one site and an article from the site to start with:

Dr. Joseph Mercola
Vitamin D and the Flu

In my opinion Dr. Mercola is a great researcher, plus he's an O.D. which means when he sees patients he's treating the "whole person" not just the problem (I've thought about finding an O.D. for our family). I read some of the articles about Vitamin D and was shocked to hear that Vitamin D deficiency is one cause of a ton of health issues-Cancer, Hypertension, Pre-eclampsia, Diabetes, Colds, Flu, and on the site you can check out all sorts of other diseases. And for all of you pregnant women out there check out this article I read about Vitamin D and pregnancy. When I was pregnant I had high blood pressure and had pre-term labor 5 1/2 weeks early. Now I know how I can prevent those issues during my next pregnancy.

Vitamin D and Pregnancy

I never realized how important Vitamin D is, and if you've ever checked me out then you know that I'm a pretty pale person. So, being that it's Cold and Flu season I decided it was best to up our dosage. According to the site you need 35 IU's of Vitamin D per pound of body weight in order for it to even be effective, so why is the AAP recommending only 4o0 IU for children? Who knows!? Bubby now takes a daily dose of 1,000 IU and Hubby and I take 5,000 IU. And if we find that we do get sick then we can up our IU dosage for a day or two to help combat our illness. This is an experiment I am willing to try for the winter (along with proper hand washing and staying away from others who are sickly). Being that we are no longer in the day care center like we were last winter will probably help a lot, but since I clean houses and touch all sorts of germs every day it's good that we protect ourselves so I don't bring anything home and expose my family to anything.

Also, now that Bubby is a year old we tried introducing him to whole milk (also for some extra Vitamin D) but after giving him some Whole Milk with his formula this past week he has drank significantly less milk. I'm guessing this is why he's super fussy and refusing to drink anything that's not water or formula. I think that he either doesn't like Whole Milk or it is giving him a tummy ache. So we are going to stick with the formula and also try giving him Almond Milk instead. I've been wanting to make my own Almond Milk for a while now! *On top of all the milk issues we've been having a hard time breaking the bottle. He will sit and drink 6oz. of formula from a bottle but barely touch a sippy cup full of the same formula! Luckily we don't really have to wean him completely until he's 15 months so I've got some time to figure things out.

I've also just started using Norwex in our home (and I just joined the Norwex team as a Sales Consultant!) which will help to actually pick up the germs and put them down the drain where they belong!! I love how Norwex can kill 99.94% of germs without using any chemicals, which means no more residues in our home!!!

I Did Something Kinda Crazy

I cut my own hair. EEK! I have always wanted to grow my hair long but I really don't like getting my hair trimmed every couple months, so I decided to take matters into my hands, literally, and just give myself a little trim. My friend Paige has cut her own hair in the past and I thought, if she can do it then so can I! Here's how I did it.

1. Shampoo and Conditioner (I used extra conditioner)

2. Parted my hair like I always do

3. Combed it nice and straight

4. Put up the top layers of my hair

5. Trimmed all around the bottom layer of my hair (using the scissors vertically and checking to make sure it was even)

6. Slowly added more hair and attempted to make layers (I basically just trimmed what was there and tried to make sure it was even)

7. Blow dried my hair

8. Checked for any uneven areas while my hair was dry and trimmed what was

9. Styled!

My Hubby didn't even notice which means I must have done okay. I'll have to take a picture for proof!

I'm Blue

Yesterday at MOPS we had a speaker who talked about personality colors. We took a test and figured out what our color was. The color results were:

1. Orange-Risk Taker
2. Blue-Nurturer
3. Green-Problem Solver
4. Gold-Organizer

I was a Blue-Nurturer. And you know what? It totally makes sense. The main description of a "Blue" personality is "people pleaser" and I am definitely a people pleaser. I am ALWAYS worried about what people think of me and how I am treating people. I do not like conflict and it's very hard for me to tell someone how I really feel (which usually brings me to tears because I'm so worried about what they'll think of me). The other day I was drawn for a raffle prize and didn't even go up to redeem it because I felt bad that other people didn't get drawn. How weird is that??? They ended up bringing it to me in the audience.

I am also the type of person to constantly obsess over what other people think of me. The Enemy likes to get me to this point so that I retreat into my hole and avoid having any community. Realizing this, I try my best to command the Enemy to leave, focus on God and spend some time in community.

At MOPS we also discussed what "colors" our kids were so we could recognize and respond appropriately when disciplining. For instance, an "orange" child loves attention, so disciplining them in public makes the thrive, however a child who is "blue" would feel humiliated if they got in trouble in front of others because they wouldn't be making everyone happy. It's nice to realize this early before Bubby gets older so I can pay attention to his behavior and respond correctly. However, I also need to remember that every child is different and no discipline model is best for everyone. Hubby and I have decided that as Bubby gets older we will really try to be consistent, because consistency is the best thing you can do when disciplining. Right now we are doing a lot of redirecting, and whenever Bubby touches something he absolutely can not touch; like a fan, cords, blinds, etc, we say "danger!" Obviously since Bubby's just about a year old that's all we can do, but as he gets older I will definitely think about his personality and how discipline will affect him. Right now I can see some "nurturing" personality in Bubby. He likes to cuddle and hug, especially when he's upset.

As I sit here typing up this blog post Bubby is opening his dresser drawer, pulling out all of his clothes and throwing them on the floor, replacing his folded clothes with kleenex's that he pulled out of the box, pulling down the curtains, and taking books that he's not supposed to touch off of the shelf.

A Series On Apartment Living

Welcome to our bathroom!

Our bathrooms is very much updated compared to what it was before we moved in. The mirror on the wall used to be about a foot to the right (not even above the sink), the drywall was falling off, there was no shower-just a floor with a hose coming out the wall and plastic to create a shower, and the floor...I don't even remember what the floor was. So before we moved in our landlords put up some new drywall, painted, moved the mirror OVER the sink, put in a new shower, and new linoleum. Personally, I like this bathroom better than our previous home.

What I like about this bathroom:

1. Lots of light!

2. Mostly updated and fresh feeling

3. Easy to clean (with no tub, little counter space and a small amount of space it doesn't take long)

What I don't like about this bathroom:

1. No bath tub. I really enjoy baths! Growing up I would take a bath every night and then shower every morning. Not having a bath tub is really a downer for me. It also makes giving Bubby a bath somewhat difficult. Instead we have to set him in the bottom of the shower and spray him with the shower hose. We asked our landlords to put in a shower hose specifically for this purpose. Bubby doesn't seem to mind as long as we keep the water on him so he doesn't get cold.

2. Little storage space. As in any small apartment with a child, you really are limited on storage space. Literally the only closet in our apartment is our bedroom closet (which you will see how bad it is when that room comes) so here's my solution: dresser in the hallway full of towels and washcloths, hair supplies under the sink, toothbrushes/toothpaste and daily meds in cabinet above the sink, make-up and extra items on shelf next the sink, and baskets of brushes and more hair supplies on the shelving over toilet. I also have rods hanging on the doors for our towels. It makes for a not so nice looking bathroom, but it works!

3. Size. I dream of having a bathroom with tiled floor, a walk in shower with glass doors, a jacuzzi tub as well as 2 sinks and plenty of storage space. I'll be honest...I don't know when that day will come, so for now I'll just have to deal.

4. Old Door. The bathroom door does not lock. So when you come to my house: Door open=free for all! Door closed=do not enter! note: Bubby likes to sneak in the bathroom to unroll the toilet paper, flush the toilet, and pull my feminine products out of the cupboard to throw all over the place.

5. The only outlet is the one that is attached to the light fixture above the mirror.

6. The shower door doesn't always close all the way which means if I don't pull really hard so that it latches I get water dripping onto the floor.

In my opinion, this bathroom works. It has all the essentials and I'm VERY happy that I don't have a "hole in the wall" shower like it was before.

Just a few fun facts about our bathroom:
1. When you come over put down the toilet seat before you flush. I learned on Dr. Oz that feces go flying everywhere when you flush with the lid up! Seriously!
2. Bubby will gladly come and unroll your toilet paper for you, or flush the toilet. Just please wash his hands afterward. Again...I don't need feces anywhere, especially on my child!
3. Don't be fooled by the Bath and Body Works Foam Soap Bottle, I make my own soap and use the recycled foam bottles.
4. There is some room spray on the shelf above the toilet.
5. The seashells in the basket and picture on the shelf are from our first trip to the ocean at Myrtle Beach, NC.
6. The drawing above the mirror is hand drawn by my Hubby, and the wooden turtle is from our trip the Isle of Palms in South Carolina.

Our Daily Schedule

Our house is pretty routine these days. Now that Bubby is sleeping through the night and taking 2 decent naps a day we have a schedule that we seem to follow.

6:45 a.m.-Bubby usually wakes up. Remember how he used to wake up at 5:30 a.m.? Yeah, not anymore!
7 a.m.-Bubby has a bottle. No more nursing, he's all formula!
7:30 a.m.-Breakfast. I try to eat at the same time he does, but this doesn't always happen, often I'm putting dishes away from the night before, washing dishes, or packing my bag for the day.
Then Bubby plays till he's ready for a nap. This is usually between 8:30 and 9 and he'll sleep about 30-60 minutes.
10:15 a.m.-Snack and 2nd bottle.
Then Bubby plays some more till it's time for lunch!
11:30 a.m.-Lunch
12:00 p.m.-Afternoon Nap. Bubby usually naps for 2-3 hours, this is sooo nice!
When Bubby wakes up he has a snack and his 3rd bottle and then we play some more and take a walk.
5:00 p.m.-Dinner for Bubby, with a bath to follow at least every other day. Sometimes we will try and push him till 5:30 so he can eat dinner with us, but he doesn't always make it and we'll end up putting him in the high chair anyway.
6:00 p.m.- Bubby's 4th and final bottle.
7/7:30 p.m.-Bedtime

In the morning's Bubby has been doing a really great job of playing on the floor by himself. I usually sit on the floor and play with him, but I tend to start off by reading from the Bible and writing in my journal while he's playing. If he gets fussy and wants me to play then I will put off my God Time until his morning nap.

During naps I like to be productive...most of the time! I have to force myself to stay up during the majority of his afternoon nap because if I lay down I will most likely zonk out until he wakes up! I always try to make the bed (because if I don't then it won't get made until right before I go to bed), do the dishes, clean up toys, put any laundry away or start any new loads, and do one cleaning project (sweeping/mopping floors, wiping down bathroom, vacuuming, etc). That way the housework is always caught up. On days when I am working my Aunt usually does some of this for me (SO AWESOME!) so when I come home I don't have to do anything but relax!

Since the weather has been so nice this Fall we've been taking multiple walks a day. We typically go before lunch time and either before or after dinner. I try to go around 3 and 4 p.m. because that is one of the most boring times of day (not quite dinner time...yet you've been playing all day), plus it keeps me from watching shows like Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz which can sometimes be rather addictive for me. Not that I enjoy Dr. Phil that much anyways...it's mostly just to waist time.

I am so glad Bubby goes to bed early because that gives Hubby and I some alone time. We enjoy watching movies and are currently going through the Bourne series. We finished all of The Lord of the Rings a couple weeks ago. We usually end our day with some ice cream and a glass of wine as well. Our bed time is usually 10 or 10:30 so we typically get a good 3 hours of hang out time!

I've learned that routines are really great for young kids. When Bubby went to the daycare there was no routine, especially for eating and sleeping! He is so much happier these days and I actually enjoy being with him. When he goes to bed I sneak in and pet him or give him kisses because I miss him being awake! He's also learning a ton! He can now sign "more" and "all done" and we are currently working on "drink" which he's only done once. I don't think he quite knows what they all mean, but he will soon! Also, having a routine makes planning things so much easier! I can plan appointments, play dates, and outings without having to worry about interfering with his nap or eating schedule.

A Series on Apartment Living

I thought I should finally give you the official tour of our apartment. I'll take is slow so you can really grasp how much we have learned about living in a small apartment with a child, so I'll share about each room in separate posts through "A Series on Apartment Living."

Welcome to my kitchen! I tried to get pictures from all angles.

The back door leads into our storage room and the other leads to our hallway/entry way.

This doorway and window open to the living room.

Yes, the washer and dryer are in my kitchen.

This is the only counter space we have in our kitchen, very limited!

Our kitchen is actually quite large compared to our previous home. What I really enjoy about this kitchen is that we have enough room for the dining room table. It's really easy to put Bubby in his chair and leave him to eat while I do other things, like doing dishes, putting away groceries, or cooking. I also like how much space there is to get around. In our previous home there was a huge wall between our dining room and kitchen which would have made it challenging to get anything done while Bubby was eating.

If you can tell in the pictures, our floor is brand new linoleum that our Landlords put in right before we moved in. If you had seen the rotting wood floors that were here beforehand you probably would have thought I was nuts for moving in here. The cabinets were also freshly painted.

Some people are very particular about the location of their washer and dryer and you would think that the last place you would want them is in your kitchen. However, I actually really like having the washer and dryer in our kitchen. It's so easy to toss in a load when it's location is so easily accessible. When our washer and dryer were in the basement at our old house I would have to haul a load down the stairs, but now it is so convenient! I get a whole lot more laundry done now than I used to!

The kitchen is located in the center of our apartment which I love because I can easily do dishes or cook while Bubby is playing the living room. I also have a window that opens into the living room which really opens the kitchen up and allows for some natural light from the few windows that are in our apartment.

Even though there are many things I do like about our kitchen, there are LOTS of things I absolutely despise:

1) Our stove is awful. We were spoiled with a gas stove before we moved and now we are back to uneven coils and a slow cooking oven. I feel like I have to cook everything twice as long.

2) Our cabinet doors/drawers stick horribly! Sometimes I have to fetch my Hubby to get them open! The plus side to this is that I don't have to child proof my kitchen, the only doors that have a latch are the middle ones because they don't close.

3) Our freezer runs constantly and I can't figure out how to adjust the temp. So whenever I want ice cream I have to defrost it first. The door also doesn't close all the way which allows moisture in and creates a frozen seal which means I have to pull really hard to even get my freezer door open.

4) Old counter tops that stain. Hopefully some day these will get replaced. They are nasty and hard to clean!

5) No storage space. I am very limited on the amount of space to put things. Half of our old kitchen is now packed in our storage unit because we don't have room for it all here. I also have a cart in our storage room here with all of our appliances on it because we have no other place for them in the kitchen.

6) NO DISHWASHER! If you know me at all you know I absolutely despise doing dishes and now I have to handwash EVERYTHING! I think I do dishes about 6 times a day and they take up a lot of the limited counter space that I have available. This makes cooking difficult too because when your counters are covered in dishes you have no room to do anything. Can I just put the dirty dishes in the washer and turn it on "delicate wash"???? This is why I invented paper plate weekends and why when you come over for dinner we will serve you on paper plates rather than our fine china.

Friday Joy

Helpful Hubby!

Let me just say how THANKFUL I am to have a Hubby that helps out!
So far this week he...

*Went grocery shopping and only spent $160 on 2 weeks worth of groceries (he's such a saver!)

*Cleaned up my mess in the kitchen on his day off

*Helped me pick up the house and put away our clutter

*Brought home some flowers for me

*Made the bed

*Played with Bubby so I could get some things done around the apartment

*Made some very yummy brownies so we could enjoy dessert every evening this week

*Took the dog to the vet

...and so much more that I can't even remember! He is amazing!!!

My Thursday Thought: God's Healing

Over the past several years God has healed me of a lot of issues. Physical issues. If you didn't know, I struggle with a lot of digestive problems. The list goes like this:

Chronic Gastritis:
Swelling of the stomach and lower esophagus, possibly bleeding, due to acid reflux. It can lead to polyps and ulcers (which I almost had once)

Acid Reflux:
When acid goes up from the stomach, into your esophagus and gurgles in your throat (nasty!)

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Basically speaks for itself, a bowel that is easily irritated, lots of gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and is usually triggered by certain foods. (for me it's Mexican, Chinese and spicy foods which stinks because I love Mexican and Chinese food!)

Lactose Intolerance
Unable to digest lactose, which is in dairy products. Therefore I have to take Lactaid when I eat dairy. It's a digestive enzyme that helps break down lactose.

For a while there I also thought I had Celiacs Disease, but when I tried to eat gluten free it didn't really do much for me. All of this started in 2006 when I all of a sudden, no matter what I ate, I would get horrible reflux (literally anything I ate!). I ended up seeing a Gastroenterologist, having an upper endoscopy (when they stick a long tube down your throat with a camera on it to look in your stomach) and getting diagnosed with Reflux and Gastritis. They gave me some temporary treatment for it but it never helped so I just kept dealing with it and popping the Tums.

Then, right after Hubby and I got married I was having A LOT of problems. Throwing up, stomach pains, gas, bloating, reflux, and feeling very crummy whenever I ate. The only way to manage all of these issues was to take lots of medication. 2 Omeprazole in the morning, 1 Zantac (which is complete crap and did nothing!) at night, plus Milk of Magnesia for any "lower" issues. And on top of that still popping the Tums when I needed it. Whenever my IBS got really bad I would take the prescription Hyomax to help with those issues. I was convinced that this would be my life from then on and forever more. I would never heal, be taking tons of meds and still suffering. Plus, insurance companies don't help whatsoever with "pre-existing conditions" which meant I would never be able to really figure out what was wrong and try to fix it.

I've done a lot of praying over the years for healing and received lots of prayer, and God has definitely answered some of those prayers. One answer to prayer was learning that I was Lactose Intolerant, which was about 2 1/2 years ago. Learning that I couldn't eat dairy meant I was able to manage my diet by either cutting out dairy all together or taking Lactaid when I needed to eat my bowl of ice cream. This really helped to reduce a lot of my symptoms and now my IBS is a whole lot better. I also have learned to try to reduce the amount of spicy food I eat. Yes this means I have to eat bland tacos/fajitas and avoid eating lots of Chinese food, but my IBS really hasn't been a major issue in a long while!

On top of this I've been taking Probiotics. I know I've blogged about how great Align is and I would definitely still take it if it wasn't so expensive, but being that our family is now on a strict budget I've had to switch to Culturelle. It contains a different type of Probiotic but it works just as good and saves me $5-$10! I also drink a glass of Kefir every day or eat a nice big bowl of yogurt (while taking Lactaid!) to help give me the Probiotics I need. Probiotics have changed my life! Talk about my IBS issues going away, PRAISE THE LORD!

Reflux is still one issue that I struggle with and the Gastritis only acts up if my reflux isn't doing well. After changing my dairy diet and taking Probiotics, I've been able to stop taking the Milk of Magnesia, Zantac, and reduce my Omeprazole intake to 1 pill per day, rather than 2. This is AWESOME! It feels so good to only have to take 1 pill, and it saves money for me having to buy so much of it! I've tried cutting out the Omeprazole all together, but if I don't take it then by 10 a.m. I am feeling the reflux come on. I am trying to explore some natural remedies for Reflux that can help me manage this, like drinking Ginger Tea, Ginseng Tea, taking a Papaya Dietary Supplement, and drinking a glass of warm water in the mornings. We will see how this goes.

In the mean time I am 1. Praising the Lord for all of his help in healing me and giving me the answers and tools I need to cope with all of my digestive issues, and 2. praying for continued healing so that one day I no longer have to take Omeprazole! Wow that would be an awesome day!

Friday Joy

Thursday nights are our new date nights. Last night was our first one and it was great! We had a babysitter come and put Josiah to bed while we went out and had some good fun! Sometimes I forget how much joy a husband can bring to your life. There are times when I feel like I need taken care of (since I spend the majority of the day caring for someone else) and he totally meets that need! He makes me feel loved, cared for, appreciated, and special. Last night we:

*Played a round of disc golf, even though I stink at disc golf! But Hubby taught me some cool moves and I started to get better as the night went on.

*Went on a walk while watching the sunset...and we held hands! I know, kind of cheesy, but when's the last time you took a walk without your kids, during the sunset and held hands with your hubby? It was special.

*Sat under the stars and prayed for our family.

*Had a campfire with some friends.

*Ate Smores and roasted marshmallows.

It was amazing! I feel so refreshed today after having such a great night with Hubby.

What brings you Joy this Friday?

GermFest 2000

Today we took a walk around the mall and you know those kid play areas (Kid Zones) that are typically set up in a large area of the mall? The place with all the giant animals that have slides coming out of there mouths or stairs going up their behinds or tunnels going under their bellies? Hubby and I like to call those places "Germfests." Every time we walk by one we start chanting "Germfest 2000" to each other. We just can't imagine the amount of germs in those places! You want to learn an interesting fact about those "Germfests"? They may or may not be sponsored by your local medical center, at least the one in our mall is! What a smart idea (sarcasm button)!!!! Attention all medical centers, you want a way to make more money??? Sponsor a Kids Zone in your local mall and get them all sick so that they all come to YOU to get loaded up with antibiotics!

*Note: you should know that I am kind of a germ freak. I've been washing Bubby's hands under the sink for awhile now. Once he starts walking I plan on getting him a large step stool so we can really start pushing the hand washing for after diaper changing and before/after meals. Maybe that's why I didn't like having him in a day care center that much. I have relaxed a little since he's been home so often, for instance I'm not as picky as I used to be with giving him a bath every day and I don't rush to wash off his binky when it falls or sanitize a toy if the dog licks it (or him!) but I'm still a little freaked out to let my child play in a kids zone such as the one at the mall. Heck, I don't even let him play with toys that they provide at clinics and offices!

Puff Puffs and Cake Cakes

Bubby is 10 months old now...I can't believe in only 2 short months he will be one year old! My little boy is growing up!! I have really seen his personality come out over the past few weeks. He loves to laugh, especially if you make faces at him, sing to him, or dance with him. His absolute favorite song is "Ba Ba Black Sheep" and I think it's because when we sing "Ba Ba" it sounds like Bubba (also his nickname). Sometimes I'll sing the entire song just saying "Ba Ba" and he loves it! He still crawls on his belly, but can pull himself up to stand really well and sometimes takes a few steps if you are holding his hands or if he's holding himself up on the furniture. He just learned how to play "So Big" this week and it's now a highchair tradition to play that game. His sleeping habits still need some improving despite our efforts to sleep train him, but I am very pleased that he took two naps today, one of them being 2 1/2 hours long!

And lastly, he is totally over eating baby food. I keep some on hand as a back up in case I can't find anything else to make him, or if he's really grumpy and I can't get food made fast enough for him. So he's been eating lots of table food.

Some of Bubby's Favorites:
-mandarin oranges
-peaches
-pears
-bananas
-melons (there is a great Organic Tropical Fruit Mix we like with all sorts of melons!)
-applesauce
-Baby yogurts
-sweet potatoes
-mashed or sliced potatoes
-sweet peas
-lima beans (he LOVES lime beans and will eat as many as he can get! But they do make for some stinky diapers!)
-corn
-carrots
-turkey breast
-turkey hot dogs
-spaghetti with hamburger and tomato sauce (I mixed in some green beans too because its the only way he'll eat them)
-pasta with melted cheese and butter
-bread/toast with butter (great for teething!)
-buckwheat pancakes (aka Cake Cakes)
-baby puffs (aka Puff Puffs)

One thing you should know is that Hubby and I try our best to eat All Natural and Organic food and we prefer fresh foods. However, since we are now creating a strict budget for our groceries I am having to resort to some canned and not always organic foods. I have found a few brands of canned fruits and vegetables that seem alright, like Del Monte vegetables or Dole fruits. I am still trying to find a way to give him some decent protein without having to cook up some meat on the spot because 1. meat is expensive, 2. we don't like to have lots of leftovers, 3. I don't always have much time to cook for him. I am learning to cook items in advance and save them in tupperware in the refrigerator so I can easily pop them in the microwave for him.

Puff Puffs are a pretty typical snack for him. At Wheatsfield Cooperative Grocery store they have organic puffs that I get for him. Feeding him puffs was probably how he developed his pincer grasp! And Cake Cakes are an occasional breakfast treat (served warm with melted butter). Hubby grew up eating Buckwheat Pancakes so we are going to start eating those more often. I make them with Almond Milk which makes them a little easier on my digestive system.

Sleep Training Your Child

I finally gave in and sleep trained Bubby. He'll be 10 months old next week and it was about time I stopped getting up at night with him and nursing him back to sleep. You're probably thinking "ABOUT TIME!" or "YOU WERE STILL NURSING HIM???" and all I can say is "IT'S HARD!" I had THE hardest time letting him cry it out, but with encouragement from several mothers and prayer's of protection over him, I finally decided to put him to bed, shut the door and not go back till the morning. I've done that for 4 nights now and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Here's how it went:

Night 1: 45 minutes of middle of the night crying

Night 2: 20 minutes of middle of the night crying

Night 3: Maybe 10 minutes of middle of the night crying

Night 4: I don't know if he cried...maybe a few minutes?

It's AWESOME! He's been ready for bed by 7 or 7:30 every night and he's been sleeping till 6 or 6:30 every morning, that means a good 11 hours of sleep for him! We used to put him to bed at 7 and he'd fiddle around in his crib till 8, cry several times throughout the night which ended up with me nursing him once, maybe twice a night, and then him being up and ready for the day at 5:30 or 6. But now not only is he sleeping better at night, he's taking much better naps too! He usually manages 2-3 naps a day (sometimes he still needs that early evening nap if he didn't get his sleep out during the afternoon one) and all of them range from 1-2 hours. If he wakes up before an hour and is crying I've been letting him fuss for 20 minutes to see if he'll go back to sleep.

I must say THANK YOU to all the mom's who have encouraged me for MONTHS to sleep train Bubby. The hardest part was listening to him cry for 45 minutes the first night (and thankfully Hubby was there to hug me when I was anxiously waiting for Bubby to stop crying) but now it's much easier and I prefer to have Bubby cry it out a bit.

*Today has been an off day, I think he's already taken 3 naps today, each of them about 45 minutes and crying it out just hasn't worked. We've been going back and forth from the crib to playing for a while now and he just can't figure out what he wants to do. I think part of it is that he's just starting to cruise around the furniture and his crib so he's just too excited to lay still.