Halloween and Way Back When-esday

Halloween 2009 (Dorothy and the 2 scarecrows)

We have a lot of Halloween celebrations this year.  One of the positives about getting laid off, is that I can now go to all these things at night with the kids.  We have a town Halloween night tomorrow, a Halloween party for Michael's school Friday, a Halloween party Sunday for my twins' group, and then of course it's Halloween Monday!  Last year was our first year being able to enjoy trick or treating with the kids.  Michael's first Halloween I had gotten put on bed rest 2 days earlier, and then the twin's first Halloween, we attended my sister's wedding.

I have at least attempted to make part of our costumes.  This is year no exception.  I have to admit that I am not taking as much time as I probably should.  Part of it is because they are costumes for not quite 3 year olds and a 2 1/2 year old, and part of it is because I procrastinated thinking that I had more time than I did, and now I think things will be worse if I stress about making the costumes perfect!  They will look good, but will definitely have short cuts.  As much I like crafting and creating, I don't know that I like sewing clothes.  I like sewing in general, but clothing is not my favorite.

I am almost done with the boys costume, and I need to complete (for the most part) Eva Rose's costume.  Hopefully by bedtime, I will have finished all the costumes and will only have to hem Eva Rose's costume tomorrow after she tries it on.  The boys' costumes are a little big, kind of on purpose to accommodate warm clothes.  Hopefully Eva Rose's costume will fit well enough.

Here's a sneak peak.

Amy

Diets

No not the kind to lose weight, though from what I hear a lot of people eat this way to lose weight.  Last summer I had a blood test for food allergies and this summer, my oldest has the same test.  Unfortunately, we both showed sensitivities to dairy and gluten.  I wasn't surprised about the dairy for either of us, and often wondered if gluten could be an issue.  Now it is time for both of us to go completely dairy and gluten free.

I think that this is going to be a really difficult thing for both of us.  Obviously, since I had the blood test over a year ago and haven't gone completely gluten or dairy free yet, I am going to have a really hard time. The good part for Michael is that I will be the one figuring out what I am going to be making for meals and snacks.  He won't have a choice like I do.  I have to make the right choice for me and him.

I have been reading some blogs that are gluten free focused and dairy free focused.  I am hoping that I will feel some relief from my foggy brain that I sometimes get.  When we talked to the dietician about Michael's  test results, we mentioned that at one point we were concerned about him being on the Autism spectrum.  My husband is no longer concerned, and even though I didn't pick up on things earlier, I am now the one that continues to have concerns that there may be more than just a speech delay.  The dietician mentioned that we may see some changes neurologically once Michael gets the gluten out of his system.  I am hoping that we see some changes since I have heard that diet can play a huge role in people's behaviors.

The other issue with diet is, my mom found out that she is a gene carrier for breast cancer.  I am more than likely going to get tested for the gene, but I also want to change my diet to help keep myself healthy even if I don't have the gene.

I am hoping to find some good bread recipes since that is going to be the hardest for me to give up as well as for Michael to give up.  What I have been finding lately is that I need to let go of what I expect things to taste like.  I can't expect that gluten free and dairy free foods, unless they are naturally gluten and dairy free, to taste the same as the regular foods will taste.

If anyone has any good recipes, cookbooks, blogs, or any info at all, please leave a comment.  If you have any suggestions on how best to tackle this, please leave a comment.  I will be researching and reading blogs often!

Wish me luck!
Amy

Sleep

I haven't written about sleep issues in a long time.  That is because we haven't had sleep issues in a long time!  The twins have always been good sleepers, and since we stopped dairy in January, Michael has also been sleeping through the night.  For the last 8-9 months, I have only had an occasional middle of the night wake up.  For the last couple of weeks, Miss Eva Rose has been sleeping horrible.

She fights naps, even though she still needs them.  When she doesn't nap, she falls asleep what could be considered either too late or too early, meaning she takes a nap too late which then interferes with her night time sleep or I put her to bed early thinking she will be out for the night and she wakes up too early.  Today I put her and Thomas in for a nap and Thomas fell asleep right away and she is still yelling and crying at the door almost an hour later, although I think she is finally going to sleep now!

 I am hoping that a normal nap will help her sleep better at night.  I hate having her cry it out for a nap, but she needs her nap.  I don't even know if this will make a difference.  I also got laid off and I don't know if that is impacting her sleep.  She seems like she needs to be held, rocked, and/or have her head rubbed, but even then she still fights sleep.  I wish knew why she all of a sudden needs more attention and seems to be having some sort of separation anxiety.   I also wish I knew why she won't go to sleep like she has for the last almost 2 years 9 months.

Any help?
Amy