Gluten Free Wednesdays

Well, I have been horrid at keeping up with GF Wednesday posts.
But I should be better from this day forward. I have decided to go back off of gluten. I cannot wait for a Doctors appointment that is 4 weeks away. I want my body to feel healthy and right now I feel anything but. I initially decided to eat gluten and get tested for Celiac because 1)I really wanted my dad to try going gluten free 2)I would have liked to offset the price of gluten free foods through my FSA and 3)I felt like that would give me validation for not eating gluten, especially at a restaurant. But my dad has been off of gluten for about 8 weeks now and feels better, I don't care anymore about the money, and I don't need a medical reason to not eat something when I can see the results for myself. So good-bye daily headaches constant stomach problems, achy body, lack of energy. Goodbye sleepless nights, weight gain, foggy memory. I cannot wait to start to feel good again. I am actually excited to go back to my gluten free foods.

So today I went to Roths and grabbed a few staples when I eat GF, Kettle Chips, mixed nuts, and dried fruit. I made sure I have enough GF pasta and flour to cook with. I had also bookmarked a few webstores that I will buy some GF items from next paycheck.

This place is supposed to have the best bread for sandwhiches.
Udi's Gluten Free Online Store

Bavaria Mills, out of Vancouver, WA, makes pizza crusts that they use at Garlic Jim's and they carry other yummy products. They will ship to you with a minimum order of $50.00 so I have emailed them to see how I can go about this. I would love to have some pizza crusts, pie shells, and other baked goods packed away in my freezer.

And this post on Gluten Free Mom's blog has a bunch of things I want to try. She has put a list of her staples together and her families favorites. Some things that I really like are on the list so I feel we may have similar tastes and want to try more off of her list

almost April and snow?

In the mornings before the kids get out of the van we pray. This morning it was raining but it had that look of snow. I hadn't told the kids there was a "chance of snow" as I know what a "chance of snow" really means. But they could see it. So we prayed that today or tomorrow we could see some snow. We opened our eyes and right in front of us was a car with about 2 inches of snow! They must have come down from the canyon but we saw snow! The kids and I were laughing and it was a great answer to prayer. God has a sense of humor. BUT IT IS NOW SNOWING HARD NOW. It is so pretty coming down and even if t doesn't stick it is amazing to watch fall. I love snow.

Friday

Friday morning I woke up and was contemplating keeping my kids home for the day. It didn't seem fair to send them off on the nicest day of the year while the public school was out for break already. Ben said I shouldn't let them skip school yet so off they went. When we went to pick our kids up it was so nice to stand around in the sun talking with parents. LOVED IT. And when my kids asked me if they were having friends over I got to say "no, mommy is having a friend over!" I rarely have an adult over during the week. I sometimes get together with girls on weekends but it was such a treat to have a short get together planned with an old girlfriend. A friend from college was sort-of in the area and came over for about an hour. I hadn't seen Sarah in years! It was so nice to see her and her adorable little boy.

It was the best start to a spring break. I only wish that weather had stuck around a bit longer.


PS My Internet has been really finicky lately. So I am not posting as often. :(

Today will be better

So after my appointment on Monday the day seemed to just get worse. Some of it I'm sure was just from my being emotional. I dropped an egg carton and broke eggs in my kitchen, my son and playmate found puffy paint and had a grand time using it in Ethan's floor and shelving in his closet,etc. etc. But I was also feeling really crappy. Not quite sick but not quite right. Tuesday was more of the same except sometime in the afternoon I started to feel more myself and by bed time I felt almost normal.

Today I feel fine. Not sure what was up but it's nice to feel like myself again. Well, except my arms still hurt to move at the elbow. They really did a number on me. And for my sister, they did tape me up downstairs. I bled through the cotton balls and tape and out. The nurse upstairs ended up using wrap on both arms. It was so tight I almost couldn't get them off.

So today I am doing all those errands I didn't get around to Monday and Tuesday!

On a happy note. I had to share a find. This summer I am doing summer school with my kids. We are doing the world again. I have been looking all over for fun crafts, science experiments, etc to make it fun. But this website I like to visit is having an around the world month and posting some great ideas. Here's the website. Craftycrow.com

They have made my hunting so much easier by doing this. Some of the ideas are so perfect.

Doctor visit

So today I thought I would go in and take another celiac test and then joyfully stop eating gluten as I wait for results. But after a while talking with my doctor he is sending me to a GI doctor in Salem to have them do the tests and I will be on gluten another few weeks. In the mean time he wanted to run some more tests today. I needed to have blood drawn and a very capable nurse came in and drew it from my left arm. It started and then my blood just stopped. So she tried my right arm. Same thing. NO BLOOD. (Mind you, I have the best veins. They are fat and right at the top of the skin. Perfect for nurses and this has never happened. My blood pressure was also not abnormally low, I mean I run on the low side normally and have never had this problem.) So she wrapped me up and said I should go upstairs to the hospitals lab. I went upstairs and when I took my jacket off to show her why I needed labs done my arm was bleeding everywhere. I have blood all over my coat and purse. It was a mess. The poor receptionist got me some more gauze and then I waited forever for a lab tech to come get me for labs. It was quite embarrassing to sit in front of everyone with blood all over my arm. It looked so gross and felt so sticky. Finally the lab got me and cleaned me up and she was able to draw some blood. She said I will probably have a nasty bruise on my arm.

I was never so glad to leave a hospital as I was today.

I think I am at "that" time of the month because I am so emotional and tired. I would love to just climb into bed but I am watching a friends kid today.

I hope the rest of the week goes better then today.

So there is my whine fest. Sorry you all get to be a part of it but it feels good to let it out. :)

I have an 8 year old!

Alicia turned 8 today. But I don't even have time to be sad about the fact that 8 sounds really old to me. I don't even have time to find some great pictures and tell her birth story to you all. Stayton Christian School's annual auction is tonight. I will be busy finishing up set-up and feeding the helpers. So my parents are picking up my kids, Alicia early, and taking them down south to so Alicia has a proper birthday. It makes me sad but she is very excited. Nana and Grandpa are taking them, Ethan and Alica, bowling for the first time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY baby girl!

Dear IRS