Yesterday, it was a week since the bombings at the Marathon. My husband and I have gone to the Boston Marathon for years, and then we had kids and haven't gone since. Our favorite spot to stand and watch and cheer on the runners was just as the runners come out of the bridge on Comm Ave. After the elite runners come by, we would wander over to the finish line on Boylston St. This year the kids are 4 and 5 and as we were watching the marathon on TV we talked about when we could go back in to Boston and watch. I actually had mentioned going in to Boston later in the afternoon and just hang around with the kids. We ended up watching it on TV and hanging out at home. Later that afternoon, I got an alert on my phone about an explosion in Boston. I didn't think anything of it thinking it was something little, not realizing that the explosion was actually 2 homemade bombs that had exploded near the finish line.
Once I realized that it was actually a bombing and not an accidental explosion, my husband and I were glued to the TV. As the week went on and we got more info, it became more and more emotional for me. Anytime I heard something or saw something on the TV, I would cry. I would think about how we always went to the marathon and how we were always in that area at the times the bombs went off. I would think about how I wanted to head into Boston later the day the bombs exploded and how horrible it could have been. I would think about the people who died because of the crazy people who put bombs at this wonderful international event. I would think about the injured and those that either ran the race or were spectators at the race and how this would affect them for the rest of their life.
Then Friday, when Boston and the surrounding towns were under lockdown as officials we after the two suspected bombers, I was an emotional wreck again. When they spoke about how young the bombers were, I couldn't help wondering what made these kids do something so horrible. How does the 19 year old, who had others say nothing but positive things about him, change to the point that he was able to carryout these horrific acts of terror? I am always intrigued by what makes people do the things they do. This does not mean that I even remotely think that there is an excuse for the horrific act these 2 people carried out. I believe that the 19 year old (the 26 year old died during the chase) should be punished to the fullest extent possible. There is no excuse for what they did no matter what the reason. It is completely crazy and sick that people can do something like that to others.
Yesterday, 1 week after the bombing, I found out I knew the person that was holding the 8 year old boy that died. I felt horrible that this person I knew had to lie with this experience. She is a nurse that was helping out at the medical tent for the runners and she ends up trying to save this little boys life, only to have him die in her arms. This is something that would be hard for even the strongest person to handle emotionally, but she is not. I can't imagine how horrible this must be for her. I am crazy emotional even now, and I wasn't even there!
I hope that our country never has to go through another horrific thing like this. If there was one positive, it is how our community came together came together and helped out, either by helping the wounded, giving blood, donating money, doing fundraisers, and just banding together for support. We are Boston strong!
Amy
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Response To Recent Comments
I am always appreciative of any comments, but when people take time to comment like Anonymous did on the last post about Michael, I really, really appreciate it. I will try to answer some of the questions posed in the comments.
First, Michael has been on an IEP since he was 3 for his significant speech delay. He was only in EI for 6 month because we had hoped that he was just a little slow in talking, like my husband was. He started in an integrated classroom, but after a couple of months, it was felt like he needed more support. We got together and revamped his IEP to include an extended year program as well as a much higher teacher to student ratio. I believe that this has been a great help.
We finally decided to have him evaluated for Autism and ultimately, he was diagnosed May of 2012. We had another IEP meeting and asked that he be evaluated for OT since he was also given a sensory integration diagnosis along with his PDD NOS. OT felt that he did not have any OT needs that impacted his school day. Speech on the other hand continues to be involved. He is being seen for speech, both individually and in a small group setting, as well as in the integrated classroom.
I love the idea of seeing him in the classroom, but I think I may be more of a distraction. I have been in to see him, but very informally. He tends to stay with me and not do classroom things. He also doesn't transition well after I leave (though it is only for a short time).
I think he is probably doing better than I am thinking, but I am still a little apprehensive. He isn't fully potty trained and still wears pull ups at school.
We have a transition meeting set up for April 2nd. His current teacher, his speech teacher, the integrated kindergarten teacher (who has observed him in both his classroom and the integrated classroom), and my husband and myself will be there. I think that this meeting will help. I think having the kindergarten teacher there will help. I guess I don't do well with transitions like Michael.
I need to look at the kindergarten standards. I think that he is doing well, but is probably a little behind.
As for sleep, I think this is where his sensory stuff really comes into play. He just can't seem to settle on his own. With out Melatonin, he will stay awake and have a ton of energy, just like the energizer bunny!
I am also noticing that he is getting more fearful of sounds than he used to be. He was literally in tears when the fire alarm went off at the mall. That meant I was literally in tears too. He is starting to comment about the dryers in the bathroom making sure that I am not going to put them on when we go in. He is also fearful of those squishy balls with hair, almost koosh like, but different. He's not a fan of Koosh balls either.
As for music, it was where he shined with his verbal skills. Even when he couldn't talk, he would attempt to sing and dance just like in music videos. He loves acting out his TV shows now, sometimes in a repetitive way and sometimes in a way that just amazes me how much he remembers of the shows that he loves. Sometimes, it's things like this that make me think he should be in music/theater groups instead of soccer. If he were to go into a sport, I think swimming would be where he would shine. Again, probably his sensory issues and inability to slow down are more relaxed in the water.
As I look this over, I think it make be a little disjointed, like most of my writing. I am not a writer and I am not great at grammar, but writing my blogs are something I love to do. Please, if anyone has thoughts on Autism, feel free to share. I will start sharing some things from my other 2 kids days too. This blog is supposed to be about my crazy but amazing life as a married mom of 3 trying to work and enjoy life and all it's craziness!
Amy
First, Michael has been on an IEP since he was 3 for his significant speech delay. He was only in EI for 6 month because we had hoped that he was just a little slow in talking, like my husband was. He started in an integrated classroom, but after a couple of months, it was felt like he needed more support. We got together and revamped his IEP to include an extended year program as well as a much higher teacher to student ratio. I believe that this has been a great help.
We finally decided to have him evaluated for Autism and ultimately, he was diagnosed May of 2012. We had another IEP meeting and asked that he be evaluated for OT since he was also given a sensory integration diagnosis along with his PDD NOS. OT felt that he did not have any OT needs that impacted his school day. Speech on the other hand continues to be involved. He is being seen for speech, both individually and in a small group setting, as well as in the integrated classroom.
I love the idea of seeing him in the classroom, but I think I may be more of a distraction. I have been in to see him, but very informally. He tends to stay with me and not do classroom things. He also doesn't transition well after I leave (though it is only for a short time).
I think he is probably doing better than I am thinking, but I am still a little apprehensive. He isn't fully potty trained and still wears pull ups at school.
We have a transition meeting set up for April 2nd. His current teacher, his speech teacher, the integrated kindergarten teacher (who has observed him in both his classroom and the integrated classroom), and my husband and myself will be there. I think that this meeting will help. I think having the kindergarten teacher there will help. I guess I don't do well with transitions like Michael.
I need to look at the kindergarten standards. I think that he is doing well, but is probably a little behind.
As for sleep, I think this is where his sensory stuff really comes into play. He just can't seem to settle on his own. With out Melatonin, he will stay awake and have a ton of energy, just like the energizer bunny!
I am also noticing that he is getting more fearful of sounds than he used to be. He was literally in tears when the fire alarm went off at the mall. That meant I was literally in tears too. He is starting to comment about the dryers in the bathroom making sure that I am not going to put them on when we go in. He is also fearful of those squishy balls with hair, almost koosh like, but different. He's not a fan of Koosh balls either.
As for music, it was where he shined with his verbal skills. Even when he couldn't talk, he would attempt to sing and dance just like in music videos. He loves acting out his TV shows now, sometimes in a repetitive way and sometimes in a way that just amazes me how much he remembers of the shows that he loves. Sometimes, it's things like this that make me think he should be in music/theater groups instead of soccer. If he were to go into a sport, I think swimming would be where he would shine. Again, probably his sensory issues and inability to slow down are more relaxed in the water.
As I look this over, I think it make be a little disjointed, like most of my writing. I am not a writer and I am not great at grammar, but writing my blogs are something I love to do. Please, if anyone has thoughts on Autism, feel free to share. I will start sharing some things from my other 2 kids days too. This blog is supposed to be about my crazy but amazing life as a married mom of 3 trying to work and enjoy life and all it's craziness!
Amy
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Michael
This is Michael's last year in pre-school. In September, he will move on to a new teacher, a new school, and a new "regular class (I believe). Now this transition is hard for most parents of
"neuro-typical" children, but Michael has autism. He doesn't always deal well with change (tough that is improving a little), he doesn't socialize with others very much (or at least he doesn't without someone guiding and modeling what to do), he has repetitive behaviors and can sometimes go into his own world when it comes to imaginary play. His speech has come so far, yet his volleying back and forth with communication still needs a lot of work. He doesn't answer questions reliably or at all sometimes. He will ask for things, which he was delayed doing. He is also not potty trained with poop. I am not sure what his IEP will look like. I don't know if he will have someone in the class giving him extra attention so that his socialization skills continue to improve. We are having a transition meeting in the next couple of weeks, so I'm sure that this will help with some of my anxiety, but I won't feel better until I actually see how he does in school. Right now, he is in a class of 7 or 8 students and has 3 teachers in the room. He does go to a regular pre-school class 3 times a week for lunch and circle time. This has been going well, but it is a more structured time, so I don't know how he would do in a less structured situation.
The one good area that I have been really happy with is his sleep. We have been doing Melatonin for the last 2 1/2 months and have had to up the dose from 1 MG to 2 MG. It still takes a good 45 minutes to kick in, but it does kick in. He has been sleeping through the night and has been getting up a a reasonable time. No more waking his up for school. No more sleeping til 10:00 if we let him. He is now asleep by 8:30 and is usually awake by 7:30 at the latest. This morning he was actually up at 6:00. I am hopeful that his improved sleep pattern, like all of us, is helping his overall. He used to fall asleep closer to 10 or even 11 and then not want to wake up the next morning til 9 or 10. We tried to do a sensory diet which helped somewhat, but it really didn't make a huge difference. I am hoping that once spring is here and we are outside more, things will be even better.
Michael finally has something that he loves. He had been really focused on Caillou to the point of reciting lines and acting out episodes sometimes at inappropriate times and often repetitive ways such as bedtime routine. He now loves Wall-e and Mickey Mouse. He doesn't seem to act out these shows as much, though he can recite the lines to them as he watches them. In wall-e, the is a part from Hello Dolly and we watched it a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't interested in it until that scene came on and he ran into the room and sang with the song.We probably watch too much TV in this house and I am working on changing that. He does love music and the Polar Express sound track right now is his favorite!
One thing that is bothering me right now is a family member who is trying to pressure us into signing him up for kindergarten soccer. he has shown little interest in soccer or anything like that. He tends to enjoy digging in the dirt, running around, riding his bike, climbing, and swimming. Personally, I would rather see him in swimming lessons where he would thrive not in an organized team sport where he doesn't like to play with other kids. The problem I have is that this person keeps pushing and pushing and pushing. I just want to say "STOP TELLING ME WHAT I NEED TO DO FOR MY CHILD". Yes that was meant to be yelling. She always tells people what they need to do, not suggest an option that is available. She then goes on to push her agenda. With regards to soccer, she was a soccer coach for her kids and they still play soccer in high school and college. I totally feel like this is her agenda and not mine. Yesterday, we took Michael to spend $20 of his birthday money at the book store. I posted it on Facebook (and maybe that's my problem, I open myself up for criticism by putting it out there), and she responded that I should be putting his money away for college. He will have some go in his bank account, but I think it is important to let him spend some money on a gift. Again, it is my child, and my decision. No one else's, except my husband. Again, I just want to yell, "stop telling me what to do!"
Thanks for listening to my rant! I am so happy that I have some where to get out things both good and bad instead of only unloading on my husband!
Amy
"neuro-typical" children, but Michael has autism. He doesn't always deal well with change (tough that is improving a little), he doesn't socialize with others very much (or at least he doesn't without someone guiding and modeling what to do), he has repetitive behaviors and can sometimes go into his own world when it comes to imaginary play. His speech has come so far, yet his volleying back and forth with communication still needs a lot of work. He doesn't answer questions reliably or at all sometimes. He will ask for things, which he was delayed doing. He is also not potty trained with poop. I am not sure what his IEP will look like. I don't know if he will have someone in the class giving him extra attention so that his socialization skills continue to improve. We are having a transition meeting in the next couple of weeks, so I'm sure that this will help with some of my anxiety, but I won't feel better until I actually see how he does in school. Right now, he is in a class of 7 or 8 students and has 3 teachers in the room. He does go to a regular pre-school class 3 times a week for lunch and circle time. This has been going well, but it is a more structured time, so I don't know how he would do in a less structured situation.
The one good area that I have been really happy with is his sleep. We have been doing Melatonin for the last 2 1/2 months and have had to up the dose from 1 MG to 2 MG. It still takes a good 45 minutes to kick in, but it does kick in. He has been sleeping through the night and has been getting up a a reasonable time. No more waking his up for school. No more sleeping til 10:00 if we let him. He is now asleep by 8:30 and is usually awake by 7:30 at the latest. This morning he was actually up at 6:00. I am hopeful that his improved sleep pattern, like all of us, is helping his overall. He used to fall asleep closer to 10 or even 11 and then not want to wake up the next morning til 9 or 10. We tried to do a sensory diet which helped somewhat, but it really didn't make a huge difference. I am hoping that once spring is here and we are outside more, things will be even better.
Michael finally has something that he loves. He had been really focused on Caillou to the point of reciting lines and acting out episodes sometimes at inappropriate times and often repetitive ways such as bedtime routine. He now loves Wall-e and Mickey Mouse. He doesn't seem to act out these shows as much, though he can recite the lines to them as he watches them. In wall-e, the is a part from Hello Dolly and we watched it a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't interested in it until that scene came on and he ran into the room and sang with the song.We probably watch too much TV in this house and I am working on changing that. He does love music and the Polar Express sound track right now is his favorite!
One thing that is bothering me right now is a family member who is trying to pressure us into signing him up for kindergarten soccer. he has shown little interest in soccer or anything like that. He tends to enjoy digging in the dirt, running around, riding his bike, climbing, and swimming. Personally, I would rather see him in swimming lessons where he would thrive not in an organized team sport where he doesn't like to play with other kids. The problem I have is that this person keeps pushing and pushing and pushing. I just want to say "STOP TELLING ME WHAT I NEED TO DO FOR MY CHILD". Yes that was meant to be yelling. She always tells people what they need to do, not suggest an option that is available. She then goes on to push her agenda. With regards to soccer, she was a soccer coach for her kids and they still play soccer in high school and college. I totally feel like this is her agenda and not mine. Yesterday, we took Michael to spend $20 of his birthday money at the book store. I posted it on Facebook (and maybe that's my problem, I open myself up for criticism by putting it out there), and she responded that I should be putting his money away for college. He will have some go in his bank account, but I think it is important to let him spend some money on a gift. Again, it is my child, and my decision. No one else's, except my husband. Again, I just want to yell, "stop telling me what to do!"
Thanks for listening to my rant! I am so happy that I have some where to get out things both good and bad instead of only unloading on my husband!
Amy
Monday, March 26, 2012
Michael
I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment to have Michael evaluated to see if there is more to his speech delay. I am hoping that I am just being overly worried and that they will say that he is just behind and will catch up. At this point, I do think there is more to his speech delay and since he is four, I want to have him evaluated so that he can receive more services if he needs them. The irony is that my husband was the one who was initially concerned, and now that his fears are alleviated somewhat, mine have increased. My husband is a teacher and has seen kids with autism, I don't really have experience with childhood development. If you were to ask me about dementia related issues, I could probably tease that out and see a lot of warning signs, but not childhood developmental issues. For example, I definitely picked up on the fact that my grandmother was showing signs of dementia long before I was told that she was actually diagnosed with it. My background is in nursing homes and geriatrics so I definitely fee comfortable with watching for those signs, not things like autism. Do I think that he has autism? Honestly, I don't think he does, but I am starting to realize that there are some really mild forms of autism or PDD NOS that some people wouldn't even diagnose as PDD NOS. I do think that there is more to his speech delay, but I don't know what. I guess that is why he is being evaluated. I know that he will be evaluated by a pediatric neurologist from MGH and that the evaluation will be play oriented, but that is all. I am looking forward to having this evaluation so that I am no longer worrying if there is an issue. I am concerned that there is an issue, but at least knowing that there is an issue will be better than wondering. Once I know if there is an issue I can hopefully learn what else I can do for Michael and what other services he is entitled to.
It's going to be a long couple of months til May 15th, but I am so happy that it is only a month and a half until the evaluation. I have heard that it can take up to 6 months to get an appointment so I am happy. I am also happy that we are meeting with the doctor 1 week later to discuss the results!
Amy
It's going to be a long couple of months til May 15th, but I am so happy that it is only a month and a half until the evaluation. I have heard that it can take up to 6 months to get an appointment so I am happy. I am also happy that we are meeting with the doctor 1 week later to discuss the results!
Amy
Thursday, March 15, 2012
On Being a Previvor
If you didn't know, I recently found out that I am a "previvor". A previvor is a term, I believe, that was founded by force.com to designate a term for people who are positive for the BRCA gene. I now am faced with the decision to have prophylactic surgeries to remove my ovaries and my breasts. This has been something that I have thought about for the last couple of months. I had started thinking about it before I got tested, but the reality of this is just finally hitting me. Last night was really the first time that I allowed myself to break down. I was out doing my walk/run and in the middle of it, I broke down and started crying. I started talking to my husband about what happened and he said I really need to do research and figure out what I need to do for me and that he will support me in what ever decision I make.
If you couldn't tell by the name of this blog, I believe in living a more natural life, but I also believe that there is a balance that needs to happen when living a natural life. This decision is one area that I believe needs to be balanced. I don't think that it is an easy decision to make: to either have surgery to remove parts of my body, that for a lot of women including me, are part of who we are as women or to use more alternative means to prevent cancer, breast and ovarian. Right now I am leaning to not doing surgery with the potential of maybe having my ovaries out, but not having my breasts removed. I have felt that this was going to be the way that I would go from the beginning, but I am scared of making the wrong decision and getting cancer and leaving my husband and 3 young children before it is time all because I made the wrong decision.
The New Year's goals that I have written about are based a lot on my BRCA2 + status. I think that if I can work harder on these goals and actually meet them or at least continue working on them, I have a good chance of preventing cancer. There is a lot of writing out there about having a gene and getting cancer. There is also some information on how your genes are not your destiny. I am hoping that I can make changes to my life to help change my genetic destiny. I need to do a ton of research, and I need to find people who are on the same page as I am. I haven't really figured out how to find these people, but I am hoping that there may be a group that I can find, maybe a support group type forum that actually meets in person. I love that the internet allows for all sorts of info, but I really want to meet people and talk to professionals in person.
Wish me luck on my research endeavors!
Amy
Friday, February 17, 2012
LIFE!!!!
Lately, there have been lots of ups and downs in our family's life. Some of the ups include oh so much better sleep. Pretty much every night between 6:30-6:45 we start our bedtime routine. At one point, the routine was way too complicated. I've basically pared it down to either bath time or washing up/brushing teeth, diaper changes/toilet time, 2 books, and maybe a song. We are usually complete with lights out before 7:15. Usually, the kids are asleep before 7:30, at least the twins are. Michael, on the other hand, needs his own wind down time by himself one the twins are asleep. He is usually asleep by 8:00 sometimes a little later. This has made life so much easier. I love bedtime so much more now.
The twins have turned 3 and are no longer eligible for early intervention due to age, but Eva Rose is getting speech once a week for articulation issues. She amazes me though, and even the speech therapist mentioned it today. She can say alligator pretty clearly, but she can't pronounce the ending of simple one syllable words like cat or cup. Thomas is not receiving any services. He is going to be watched, but he really doesn't need anything. Michael continues to go to a preschool program for 5 hours. His behavior seems to be testing limit setting at home and at school. I think I am going to talk to his doctor about my concerns at his 4 year visit to see if there is anything that we should have him tested for, if not just to ease my own mind.
In the down department, we have had some big issues with a family member who has been living with us. Life has been really stressful and we finally told him it was time to leave. There are way to many things to write about why it was so stressful, but I am so looking forward to getting our house and life back in order! I am not looking forward to the potential backlash from the family, but we needed to do what was right for our family not what was right for this family member. I am hoping that my kids will be better off and I know that I will be better off!
It has been an extremely mild winter here north of Boston, but I still can't wait for spring. I can't what to take the kids out and play. I can't what to go hiking and walk the zoos and farms and ll those types of things. I can't wait to start our garden again. This year, I want to start planting our early spring plants on time and not wait til it is too late.
Amy
The twins have turned 3 and are no longer eligible for early intervention due to age, but Eva Rose is getting speech once a week for articulation issues. She amazes me though, and even the speech therapist mentioned it today. She can say alligator pretty clearly, but she can't pronounce the ending of simple one syllable words like cat or cup. Thomas is not receiving any services. He is going to be watched, but he really doesn't need anything. Michael continues to go to a preschool program for 5 hours. His behavior seems to be testing limit setting at home and at school. I think I am going to talk to his doctor about my concerns at his 4 year visit to see if there is anything that we should have him tested for, if not just to ease my own mind.
In the down department, we have had some big issues with a family member who has been living with us. Life has been really stressful and we finally told him it was time to leave. There are way to many things to write about why it was so stressful, but I am so looking forward to getting our house and life back in order! I am not looking forward to the potential backlash from the family, but we needed to do what was right for our family not what was right for this family member. I am hoping that my kids will be better off and I know that I will be better off!
It has been an extremely mild winter here north of Boston, but I still can't wait for spring. I can't what to take the kids out and play. I can't what to go hiking and walk the zoos and farms and ll those types of things. I can't wait to start our garden again. This year, I want to start planting our early spring plants on time and not wait til it is too late.
Amy
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
My Latest Projects (and a couple of pics of the twins)
I am trying to spend some time being creative and also using up some of the huge crafting stash that I have accumulated. When I was looking at some of the things I thought about getting rid of, I realized that they were actually completed projects (if I was just a little creative in how I saw them), they just needed the finishing touches. I weaved in some ends, and Voila!!!!, a baby Belle granny square afghan and a granny square afghan for Eva Rose. Now on to using up some yarn stash to make the boys an afghan.
Eva Rose with her new afghan
Eva Rose's Baby Belle's afghan
The twins!
Amy
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Healthier Me
I've been joining in with another twin mom to challenge myself to get healthier. The first two weeks were rough, but I think I'm on my way way, at least with the exercising. The first week. My daughter was sick and then I got sick the second week. Finally, the third week, I am feeling more myself and was able to do 90 minutes of running/walking. I am down about 5 pounds and weigh less than I did when I got married and pregnant with Michael. Now I need to start doing some strength training and getting my food intake under control. Some days, I think that I want to run/walk more than every other day. I've been doing great drinking my green smoothies. I'd love to do a couple of days of detox smoothies just to see how I feel. I really need to cut out sugar, carbs, and fat, and even coffee.
Given the fact that I have decided not to pursue surgery for my BRCA2 gene positive status, it's really important to me to change my lifestyle. I need to continue to exercise, eat better, and deal with stress better. I realize that just because I have the gene, it does not mean that I will get cancer, but given that my great grandmother, my grandmother (who died of breast cancer), and my mom have all had cancer and my mom is also positive for BRCA2 gene,my chances of not getting cancer seem slim. I really need to do all I can to be healthy so that even if I do get cancer, my body is strong.
I really need to stop drinking coffee. I have switched to decaf, but I really want off coffee all together. I just bought some new tea. I have been trying to go from coffee to tea. Part of the issue is that I really like going for a ride with the kids and getting a cup of coffee. I think that I just need to let go of buying the coffee and bring my tea.
The other thing I am doing to get healthy is to get a little more organized and be better at cleaning my house. It will be an ongoing project, but one that I really need to keep working on. Some days, I think that I have some form of ADD, but hen other times I think I just need to be better organized and everything will be fine. I feel like if I get better organized, my stress levels will be better. Overall, if my stress levels are better, I will be better.
It slow going, but I feel like I am my way to doing what I need to do. I'm really glad I joined in with this challenge!
Amy
Given the fact that I have decided not to pursue surgery for my BRCA2 gene positive status, it's really important to me to change my lifestyle. I need to continue to exercise, eat better, and deal with stress better. I realize that just because I have the gene, it does not mean that I will get cancer, but given that my great grandmother, my grandmother (who died of breast cancer), and my mom have all had cancer and my mom is also positive for BRCA2 gene,my chances of not getting cancer seem slim. I really need to do all I can to be healthy so that even if I do get cancer, my body is strong.
I really need to stop drinking coffee. I have switched to decaf, but I really want off coffee all together. I just bought some new tea. I have been trying to go from coffee to tea. Part of the issue is that I really like going for a ride with the kids and getting a cup of coffee. I think that I just need to let go of buying the coffee and bring my tea.
The other thing I am doing to get healthy is to get a little more organized and be better at cleaning my house. It will be an ongoing project, but one that I really need to keep working on. Some days, I think that I have some form of ADD, but hen other times I think I just need to be better organized and everything will be fine. I feel like if I get better organized, my stress levels will be better. Overall, if my stress levels are better, I will be better.
It slow going, but I feel like I am my way to doing what I need to do. I'm really glad I joined in with this challenge!
Amy
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Pictures
At the zoo
for a walk
reflections
Trying for a hug
The twins
My 3 kids
Michael
Eva Rose
Thomas
Being silly
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Illness and Other Things
I have been fighting a cold/bronchitis since Thanksgiving. Finally, I went to the doctors 3 weeks ago and got the Z-pak for bronchitis and was feeling so much better. I was feeling great for about 2 weeks and then my daughter got sick just before her 3rd birthday. She was miserable this past weekend. The poor thing was sick on her birthday party and her actual birthday, though she started feeling better on her actual birthday. I brought her to the doctor who felt that her fever was related to a virus and that it would just have to work it's way out of her system. He gave me some things to strengthen her immune system and help her body do what it needs to do to help her get better. She was fine the next day but guess who is using everything that she was told to use? I am once again sick. I am using the echinacea, the vitamin C and vitamin D and am hoping that I will start feeling better soon. I also need to start using my nasal rinse as well as eating better and probably starting my allergy shots again.
I started a Biggest Loser type program with another twin mom blogger. I have lost a little weight, but given the illness here, I have not exercised anywhere near where I should be. I am going to try to get on the treadmill today since I really am not sure who I feel about being out in the cold when I am sick or with my daughter who was recently sick. I am hopeful that I can at least use this challenge to lose a little bit of weight and get myself on the right track. Losing weight is so much harder when you have kids.
Here's a few birthday party pictures:
I started a Biggest Loser type program with another twin mom blogger. I have lost a little weight, but given the illness here, I have not exercised anywhere near where I should be. I am going to try to get on the treadmill today since I really am not sure who I feel about being out in the cold when I am sick or with my daughter who was recently sick. I am hopeful that I can at least use this challenge to lose a little bit of weight and get myself on the right track. Losing weight is so much harder when you have kids.
Here's a few birthday party pictures:
Sick birthday girl!
Birthday boy!
Big Brother
Birthday Cake Nonna made
Birthday Cake from Costco
In another month and a half, we'll be celebrating Michael's 4th birthday, but for now we are a house of 3, three year olds! Hopefully no one will be sick for Michael's birthday!
Amy
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Test Results
If you didn't know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer just about 1 year ago. She has gone through chemo and radiation treatments and so far things are looking positive. Her lump was caught early, unlike my grandmother her mother, who almost 6 years ago died of breast cancer. Since my mom got diagnosed, she also got tested for the BRCA gene. She got confirmation that she is a carrier for the BRCA 2 gene. Currently, in my family, my mom, my grandmother, my grandmother's twin sister, and my great grandmother all have had breast cancer. My grandmother's younger sister also had and died of pancreatic cancer, which the BRCA 2 gene puts you at higher risk for.
Now that my mom got tested, my sisters and I had to decide if we were going to get tested. At first, I was leaning totally against having the gene test. After talking with my doctor, I decided that it would be better to find out if I had the gene, because with my family history, without getting tested, I would need to have increased testing to ensure that things were caught early just in case I was at higher risk and didn't know it. I got met with a genetic counselor right after Christmas and with my husband decided to have the test. Just about a week ago, I found out that I tested positive for the gene.
I wasn't totally surprised at the results, but I was still in shock from actually seeing it on paper and having one of my worst fears confirmed. Of course, the immediate recommendation was to have a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy. I was told that I needed to meet with an oncologist and discuss my options. If I decided not to have surgery, I need to have a mammogram and a MRI every 6 months alternating each time. If I don't have the oophorectomy, I need to have a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test every 6 months. Even though I don't have cancer, I left that appointment feeling like I had been given a a death sentence, especially if I didn't have surgery. Not exactly a great feeling to have especially not actually having cancer. I thought that since my family tended to get cancer later in life, I have a decent amount of time to decide, but no, they just lucked out (if getting cancer at all can be considered lucky) and got cancer later in life. The BRCA 2 gene tends to cause earlier cancers, something I did not expect to hear.
I am still trying to figure out where to go from here. I have 3 small kids and a great husband. I don't want to get cancer. I don't want to go through the pain and suffering and even potentially die, but I also don't want to have surgery. There are too many reasons to go into right now, and at some point I will probably write about it just to put it in words that I can actually read. My New Year's goals go along with the changes that I want to make especially now that I have tested positive for the gene.
My diet needs to change and so do my exercise habits. I have joined in with another twins mom's blog for a healthy challenge. I am hoping that this challenge will help me make the changes that I need to make and hopefully make theme stick.
Amy
Now that my mom got tested, my sisters and I had to decide if we were going to get tested. At first, I was leaning totally against having the gene test. After talking with my doctor, I decided that it would be better to find out if I had the gene, because with my family history, without getting tested, I would need to have increased testing to ensure that things were caught early just in case I was at higher risk and didn't know it. I got met with a genetic counselor right after Christmas and with my husband decided to have the test. Just about a week ago, I found out that I tested positive for the gene.
I wasn't totally surprised at the results, but I was still in shock from actually seeing it on paper and having one of my worst fears confirmed. Of course, the immediate recommendation was to have a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy. I was told that I needed to meet with an oncologist and discuss my options. If I decided not to have surgery, I need to have a mammogram and a MRI every 6 months alternating each time. If I don't have the oophorectomy, I need to have a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test every 6 months. Even though I don't have cancer, I left that appointment feeling like I had been given a a death sentence, especially if I didn't have surgery. Not exactly a great feeling to have especially not actually having cancer. I thought that since my family tended to get cancer later in life, I have a decent amount of time to decide, but no, they just lucked out (if getting cancer at all can be considered lucky) and got cancer later in life. The BRCA 2 gene tends to cause earlier cancers, something I did not expect to hear.
I am still trying to figure out where to go from here. I have 3 small kids and a great husband. I don't want to get cancer. I don't want to go through the pain and suffering and even potentially die, but I also don't want to have surgery. There are too many reasons to go into right now, and at some point I will probably write about it just to put it in words that I can actually read. My New Year's goals go along with the changes that I want to make especially now that I have tested positive for the gene.
My diet needs to change and so do my exercise habits. I have joined in with another twins mom's blog for a healthy challenge. I am hoping that this challenge will help me make the changes that I need to make and hopefully make theme stick.
Amy
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Getting Our Family Healthier
One of my big goals this new year is to work on being healthier. I don't want to make this a resolution, but with the new year, I decided to start thinking of new goals, or at least re-focusing on goals that I have already had.
My husband and I decided to start eating healthier, both us and our kids. For me, this is a tricky goal. I want to be healthy, but I have horrible food cravings for foods that are not good for me and unfortunately often give in. Also, my kids are on the very, very bottom of the growth scale, so I am always conscious of how much they eat. They are also very very picky eaters. With the new year, my husband and I started green smoothies again. Much to my elated surprise, my oldest son is loving them. He liked them the first time we started and he was about 18 months old, but quit eating them soon after. Now he is still loving them and having easily 2 shakes at breakfast. This means he is getting some sort of leafy green (kale, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, etc.), and fruits. Finally I can feel like he is getting some good nutrition easily instead of fighting to get him to eat healthy foods. My twins, on the other hand, barely touch the shakes. The good news is that they are eating vegetables much better than before so I'm not as concerned with their healthy eating. I am trying to be better at meal planning which means I am not so crazed at dinner time trying to figure out what to cook. Also, I spend less money and waste less food because I know what to buy for when.
One of my friends, another twin mom, is doing a sort of biggest loser challenge on her blog http://goddessinprogressblog.com. I wasn't sure about joining in, but I decided that it is only ten dollars to contribute to the winning prize. Also, I figure maybe this would be a friendly way for me to challenge myself and have some accountability. So here I am joining in. My husband just bought new running shoes. I bought new ones last summer, and probably only used them and handful of times so far. The other thing that we splurged on is winter gear. We do have a treadmill, but I like getting outside and I can take the twins with me even if it is just a walk and no running.
I actually can't wait to start exercising again. My husband mentioned getting up early on alternate days so that we can go running without having to push the kids and then getting it out of the way. I really don't like getting up early and for me the thought of getting up at 5:30am instead of my usual 6:45am is not something I am looking forward to. I am however, looking forward to feeling better and getting in shape and hopefully liking how my body is going to look.
Plans are in motion to get at least a couple of my goals met. Hopefully my husband and I can set a good example for our kids early in life so that they don't have to deal with for addiction, food cravings, inability to stop eating even when they are full, and hopefully they will be active. Hopefully all of this will help them be healthy kids and even grow into healthy adults.
Amy
My husband and I decided to start eating healthier, both us and our kids. For me, this is a tricky goal. I want to be healthy, but I have horrible food cravings for foods that are not good for me and unfortunately often give in. Also, my kids are on the very, very bottom of the growth scale, so I am always conscious of how much they eat. They are also very very picky eaters. With the new year, my husband and I started green smoothies again. Much to my elated surprise, my oldest son is loving them. He liked them the first time we started and he was about 18 months old, but quit eating them soon after. Now he is still loving them and having easily 2 shakes at breakfast. This means he is getting some sort of leafy green (kale, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, etc.), and fruits. Finally I can feel like he is getting some good nutrition easily instead of fighting to get him to eat healthy foods. My twins, on the other hand, barely touch the shakes. The good news is that they are eating vegetables much better than before so I'm not as concerned with their healthy eating. I am trying to be better at meal planning which means I am not so crazed at dinner time trying to figure out what to cook. Also, I spend less money and waste less food because I know what to buy for when.
One of my friends, another twin mom, is doing a sort of biggest loser challenge on her blog http://goddessinprogressblog.com. I wasn't sure about joining in, but I decided that it is only ten dollars to contribute to the winning prize. Also, I figure maybe this would be a friendly way for me to challenge myself and have some accountability. So here I am joining in. My husband just bought new running shoes. I bought new ones last summer, and probably only used them and handful of times so far. The other thing that we splurged on is winter gear. We do have a treadmill, but I like getting outside and I can take the twins with me even if it is just a walk and no running.
I actually can't wait to start exercising again. My husband mentioned getting up early on alternate days so that we can go running without having to push the kids and then getting it out of the way. I really don't like getting up early and for me the thought of getting up at 5:30am instead of my usual 6:45am is not something I am looking forward to. I am however, looking forward to feeling better and getting in shape and hopefully liking how my body is going to look.
Plans are in motion to get at least a couple of my goals met. Hopefully my husband and I can set a good example for our kids early in life so that they don't have to deal with for addiction, food cravings, inability to stop eating even when they are full, and hopefully they will be active. Hopefully all of this will help them be healthy kids and even grow into healthy adults.
Amy
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A Post About Me
I usually reserve this blog to write about my kids, but today I'm going to write about me. Just because!
I am someone who has always loved to be creative. I gave it up when I became a teenager. I was already not one of the popular kids in school and back in the 80's knitting and sewing were not the popular thing to do, not like it is now. I guess it's probably not a totally popular thing to do, but the whole hand crafted arena is so much more popular with teens than it was back then. After college I decided that I was going to start being creative again, and since then, I have not stopped enjoying anything hand crafted. I love craft fairs. I love craft shows. And, I love actually hand crafting things myself. At this time in my life I am interested in so many different crafts; everything from knitting, scrapbooking, jewelry making, and sewing to even wood working. My biggest challenge right now is time!
One thing that would help, would be to have a designated area to work and keep out everything that I needed to work on a project instead of always having to put everything away even if I'm in the middle of completing a project. I do have an area that I could do this, but we have a house guest that has been here much longer than I had planned (yes this is also a post for me to piss and moan about having my brother in law stay with us). We are a family of 5 and live in a small 5 room ranch. It works for us, but having another adult for 8 months in our basement is totally cramping my style. I have all of my craft supplies in the basement and could actually organize it so that if I were working on a project, I could keep things set up so that if I found a small chunk of time, I could go and utilize it to my best way possible. Unfortunately, the basement is where our guest is sleeping. He will supposedly be moving out the end of this month, but I am not holding my breath. I would love to have a space to work. I would love to try to organize what little space I have so that I have a workable area that I can leave up that project that isn't quite finished so that I don't have to take up time setting up and cleaning up!
Last of the bitch session and on to more positive ideas. My friend over at http://www.goddessinprogressblog.com/quilts seems to post a bunch of fun tutorials (Thanks Liz). I have printed out a few that I want to work on. My 3 kids all have birthdays coming up. The twins turn 3 January 23rd and then Michael turns 4 March 8th. There are a bunch of things that I want to work on for their birthdays. I also have project that I want to work on for my husband. Since we didn't exchange gifts this year and I didn't get a chance to finish something else and since he has a new tea cup, I am planning on making him a travel mug cozy with lectures of the kids on it. I am hoping that I can make it work out the way I want it to. I love blogs and I love crafts so craft blogs with tutorials are my favorite. I can't wait to start working on some of these projects and hopefully, next month I can start working on organizing a craft space of my own!
And now for some simple New Year's Goals
I am someone who has always loved to be creative. I gave it up when I became a teenager. I was already not one of the popular kids in school and back in the 80's knitting and sewing were not the popular thing to do, not like it is now. I guess it's probably not a totally popular thing to do, but the whole hand crafted arena is so much more popular with teens than it was back then. After college I decided that I was going to start being creative again, and since then, I have not stopped enjoying anything hand crafted. I love craft fairs. I love craft shows. And, I love actually hand crafting things myself. At this time in my life I am interested in so many different crafts; everything from knitting, scrapbooking, jewelry making, and sewing to even wood working. My biggest challenge right now is time!
One thing that would help, would be to have a designated area to work and keep out everything that I needed to work on a project instead of always having to put everything away even if I'm in the middle of completing a project. I do have an area that I could do this, but we have a house guest that has been here much longer than I had planned (yes this is also a post for me to piss and moan about having my brother in law stay with us). We are a family of 5 and live in a small 5 room ranch. It works for us, but having another adult for 8 months in our basement is totally cramping my style. I have all of my craft supplies in the basement and could actually organize it so that if I were working on a project, I could keep things set up so that if I found a small chunk of time, I could go and utilize it to my best way possible. Unfortunately, the basement is where our guest is sleeping. He will supposedly be moving out the end of this month, but I am not holding my breath. I would love to have a space to work. I would love to try to organize what little space I have so that I have a workable area that I can leave up that project that isn't quite finished so that I don't have to take up time setting up and cleaning up!
Last of the bitch session and on to more positive ideas. My friend over at http://www.goddessinprogressblog.com/quilts seems to post a bunch of fun tutorials (Thanks Liz). I have printed out a few that I want to work on. My 3 kids all have birthdays coming up. The twins turn 3 January 23rd and then Michael turns 4 March 8th. There are a bunch of things that I want to work on for their birthdays. I also have project that I want to work on for my husband. Since we didn't exchange gifts this year and I didn't get a chance to finish something else and since he has a new tea cup, I am planning on making him a travel mug cozy with lectures of the kids on it. I am hoping that I can make it work out the way I want it to. I love blogs and I love crafts so craft blogs with tutorials are my favorite. I can't wait to start working on some of these projects and hopefully, next month I can start working on organizing a craft space of my own!
And now for some simple New Year's Goals
- Eat more healthy-cook more from scratch
- Exercise more-get off my but and move damn it!
- Organize my house-get rid of clutter, make sure that everything has a place to return to.
- Be more involved with the kids-Now that the kids are more preschooler, I need to start doing more organized play with them. For now we have been just going with the flow (may be an excuse but finally having 3 kids so close in age is fun and not as difficult, even though it is still OMG so difficult)
- Create more-Make time to create. Try to find a way to keep projects out until they are finished or choose projects that are easy to complete and don't take too much time instead of having to set up and take down everything each time for the same project!
- Spend time learning more about the things I love- I need to learn more about gardening, herbs, art therapy (which will hopefully help me in my career someday), and many other things that I am interested in instead of just having limited knowledge of it.
Those are my simple goals. There is much more work that needs to go into them, but for now that is all I need to post.
Here are a couple of picture of the kids!
Juice Break at Drumlin Farm 11/30/2011
Stone Zoo 12/1/2011
Santa at the Enchanted Village 12/4/2011
Amy
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Delays!
Michael has some pretty significant speech delays! He is doing much better now that he has an IEP and is in school for 5 hours Monday thru Friday, but he is still behind. A while ago, Like more than a year ago, my husband mentioned Autism. We have gone through the back and forth of wether or not this is an issue. I have asked his EI person, I have asked his teachers at school, and our family practitioner has never mentioned anything. No one seems to be concerned about autism. Everyone seems to think that this is just a speech delay and that in time it will resolve itself.
I have this sinking feeling that there is more than just a speech delay. I am hoping I am wrong, but something just makes me think that there is more to it. The problem, is that I don't trust myself and my gut. There is a good chance that I am just over reacting and thinking that there is something wrong, when he is just behind the developmental curve and will catch up. I tend to compare my kids to my friends' kids who may actually be ahead of the developmental curve so that puts a spin on things too!
I don't think that it is autism. I have taken my DSM IV, and looked at the autism spectrum disorders and while Michael may fit some criteria, he wouldn't, at least in my opinion, even fit PDD. We are going to Michael's first school conference tomorrow and I will be asking and probably pushing the teacher to tell me if there is more than just a speech delay and if we should look at getting any sort of testing.
The other piece to the puzzle is that we have had a blood test for Michael and it showed that he has a significant sensitivity to gluten and dairy (as did my test). The problem is, that this blood test has a lot of people that don't believe it's a valid or accurate test. We have been trying to remove these foods from Michael's diet, but it is so hard! Michael is my son when it comes to food. When we removed dairy back in January, we saw a dramatic difference. I didn't see that difference with the gluten so I wasn't as strict. I was talking to my husband's cousin who mentioned that it could take a while before we see a difference with the gluten, and I remembered reading something about that. After that conversation, I decided that I really needed to be more strict and I have removed anything that he could see that he would want and I would be tempted to give him. I am trying to make sure that we have options in the house for him so that he can have bread and cookies and milk. I need to get better at baking gluten free. I also want to watch how much sugar he has. It's amazing how I can do this for him, but I can't seem to do this for myself. Michael is on his 3rd day of being gluten free. Yesterday, he came home and hadn't had an accident at school. This was the first time in a long time that he had been accident free. I think the other thing that made going gluten free hard was seeing him regress with potty training about the same time as we stopped the gluten. It probably had nothing to do with the gluten, but it was making me wonder if gluten was an issue or not. Maybe the potty training regression had nothing to do with gluten, maybe I just needed to be more consistent and stop feeling bad about not giving him gluten. I am totally on board with keeping him gluten free and hoping that this will help with a lot of his issues. The dietician we met with mentioned that getting rid of gluten would make a major change with his neurological symptoms (we had mentioned the autism fear that we had).
As I write this, I feel that I should make a strong point to say that Michael has made significant gains over the past year. This time last year, he had about 10 words in his vocabulary and that may be stretching it. He now will say 3-4 word sentences, but he will be 4 in just 3 1/2 months and still can't even have a simple conversation. I think I will feel better after our conference tomorrow and then we can hopefully move forward and either get some testing, or I can feel better knowing that it is more likely just a time thing!
Amy
I have this sinking feeling that there is more than just a speech delay. I am hoping I am wrong, but something just makes me think that there is more to it. The problem, is that I don't trust myself and my gut. There is a good chance that I am just over reacting and thinking that there is something wrong, when he is just behind the developmental curve and will catch up. I tend to compare my kids to my friends' kids who may actually be ahead of the developmental curve so that puts a spin on things too!
I don't think that it is autism. I have taken my DSM IV, and looked at the autism spectrum disorders and while Michael may fit some criteria, he wouldn't, at least in my opinion, even fit PDD. We are going to Michael's first school conference tomorrow and I will be asking and probably pushing the teacher to tell me if there is more than just a speech delay and if we should look at getting any sort of testing.
The other piece to the puzzle is that we have had a blood test for Michael and it showed that he has a significant sensitivity to gluten and dairy (as did my test). The problem is, that this blood test has a lot of people that don't believe it's a valid or accurate test. We have been trying to remove these foods from Michael's diet, but it is so hard! Michael is my son when it comes to food. When we removed dairy back in January, we saw a dramatic difference. I didn't see that difference with the gluten so I wasn't as strict. I was talking to my husband's cousin who mentioned that it could take a while before we see a difference with the gluten, and I remembered reading something about that. After that conversation, I decided that I really needed to be more strict and I have removed anything that he could see that he would want and I would be tempted to give him. I am trying to make sure that we have options in the house for him so that he can have bread and cookies and milk. I need to get better at baking gluten free. I also want to watch how much sugar he has. It's amazing how I can do this for him, but I can't seem to do this for myself. Michael is on his 3rd day of being gluten free. Yesterday, he came home and hadn't had an accident at school. This was the first time in a long time that he had been accident free. I think the other thing that made going gluten free hard was seeing him regress with potty training about the same time as we stopped the gluten. It probably had nothing to do with the gluten, but it was making me wonder if gluten was an issue or not. Maybe the potty training regression had nothing to do with gluten, maybe I just needed to be more consistent and stop feeling bad about not giving him gluten. I am totally on board with keeping him gluten free and hoping that this will help with a lot of his issues. The dietician we met with mentioned that getting rid of gluten would make a major change with his neurological symptoms (we had mentioned the autism fear that we had).
As I write this, I feel that I should make a strong point to say that Michael has made significant gains over the past year. This time last year, he had about 10 words in his vocabulary and that may be stretching it. He now will say 3-4 word sentences, but he will be 4 in just 3 1/2 months and still can't even have a simple conversation. I think I will feel better after our conference tomorrow and then we can hopefully move forward and either get some testing, or I can feel better knowing that it is more likely just a time thing!
Amy
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Fall 2011
Just a few pictures of our Fall 2011!
At our favorite restaurant
Pumpkin picking
family photo
Eva Rose picking pumpkins
Thomas picking pumpkins
Michael taking a break from picking pumpkins
Thomas at Michael's first school Halloween party
Eva Rose at Michael's first school Halloween party
Michael was enthralled with the lights at his first school Halloween party
Tree limb on our roof after our Nor' Easter October 29, 2011
The crane lifting the limb off our roof just days later
Michael climbed his first tree
The twins actually do share
These are just some of our memories from Fall 2011. I can't believe it is already November 12th. Before we know it Christmas will be on us and I for one can't wait. I don't want to rush the time, but I can't wait to start making our family's traditions. I know that we may be a little late to the party to start making traditions, but I think that the kids are old enough to understand them now. My next project is to make an advent calendar. We always had one growing up and I want to continue the tradition with my own children. I have a pattern that I plan to use for ideas. I found it at http://www.acaseofthemundays.com/2010/12/felt-friday-felt-advent-calendars.html. I have so many projects to work on for Christmas. I can't wait to start working on them.
Amy
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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
Monday, October 24, 2011
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
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
Friday, September 30, 2011
My How Things Have Changed!
When the twins were little, we would put them in the baby swing together. I decided, now that they are 2 1/2 to see how they fit.
About 7 months old
About 7 months old
About 15 months old
2 years 8 months old
WHAT A CHANGE!
Amy
Monday, September 19, 2011
Makes My Monday: Where's Michael?
I went to check on the kids last night and what I saw was the following:
The twins were asleep in their bed
Michael's bed was empty
A little panic set in, but I kept reminding myself that he had to be in the house (even though I did check the window). For the life of me, I couldn't figure out where Michael was. I checked under the bed. I tried to see if maybe he had gotten up and was out with daddy with out me knowing. Then I checked the last place I could think of.
There he was, fast asleep in the toy box!
Amy
Friday, September 16, 2011
Toys, Toys, Toys!
School has started! The weather is getting cooler. Christmas will be here before I know it. I have actually started a list of things that I want for gifts for the kids. This year, I am hoping that we don't wait to the last minute and end up not really getting the things we want. I think I want to get some more car toys and some older doll house toys as well as some duplo blocks. The twins are playing with some toy doll house pieces with EI and they seem to really like it. I am also thinking that I want to get a few more dolls. I had gone out looking for a Barbie doll for my daughter and even though I got so many thoughts about Barbie not being an issue for girls, when I looked them they were just so skanky and I couldn't spend $20 on a barbie for a 2 1/2 year old. As I looked for something that I felt was more appropriate, I found a small doll that was bigger than a barbie, but still small enough for a 2 1/2 year old to carry around. It came with a couple of changes of clothes that snap on to the doll and there are a few different dolls to choose from. The kids love this doll and it was such a good choice.
Now, with Christmas approaching faster than I care to admit, I really need to weed through a lot of their toys and get rid of things that they wither don't want to play with, or that seem too young for them. That way I can make room for new toys and hopefully keep a cleaner more organized house.
I am really looking for toys that are going to have a developmental benefit to the kids. I am not crazed about the type of toys that they get, but I do want to make sure that they actually do stimulate some learning. One of my goals is to also make a few gifts for them. I am hoping that I can make some things to go along with toys that they will potentially get for Christmas. A friend of mine made a great map quilt for her kids to play with their cars. I am thinking of something like that, or maybe even just a simple case for the kids to carry their cars in. I want to make a doll or 2 or 3, their quilts, and on and on and on. I have way to many thoughts and not enough time to complete them. I am hoping to have a few travel projects so that I can take them with me, for example when there is down time at work. Right now, I need to utilize what ever time I can find to complete my projects!
Amy
Now, with Christmas approaching faster than I care to admit, I really need to weed through a lot of their toys and get rid of things that they wither don't want to play with, or that seem too young for them. That way I can make room for new toys and hopefully keep a cleaner more organized house.
I am really looking for toys that are going to have a developmental benefit to the kids. I am not crazed about the type of toys that they get, but I do want to make sure that they actually do stimulate some learning. One of my goals is to also make a few gifts for them. I am hoping that I can make some things to go along with toys that they will potentially get for Christmas. A friend of mine made a great map quilt for her kids to play with their cars. I am thinking of something like that, or maybe even just a simple case for the kids to carry their cars in. I want to make a doll or 2 or 3, their quilts, and on and on and on. I have way to many thoughts and not enough time to complete them. I am hoping to have a few travel projects so that I can take them with me, for example when there is down time at work. Right now, I need to utilize what ever time I can find to complete my projects!
Amy
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