Monday Madness (on Tuesday)
1. It’s hot.
2. It’s nice to finally have a vehicle that is reliable in this heat. Did I mention that we finally got rid of the Crunchy Honda? We actually were able to use it on trade in to get a 2001 (?) Accord. It is in immaculate condtion. Not exactly an expense we needed or could afford, but we couldn’t NOT afford it either. The CH was just too unsafe.
3. I’m about 2/3 done with The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. There will surely be more posts to come on this book, but I highly recommend it. In fact, I really don’t see a credible reason that anyone shouldn’t read it. If you hate corporate America, this book is for you. If you’d rather shop at the local mom’n'pop, this book is for you. If you think the government has their hands buried a bit too deep in everything, you won’t believe what you’ll read here. If you care even a little about your health, you need to read it. (If you don’t care about your health, I can’t help you!) If you hate politics, this book is for you. If nothing excites you more than a big, juicy steak, you absolutely MUST read this book. If you are an organic snob, this one’s for you. If you just like food, gotta read it. Trust me, there will be more to come on this subject.
4. I just accepted an offer to transfer to a new location within my company. The new location is about a mile and a half from Jarid’s work, and about three and a half miles closer than my current location. I’m trusting and praying that this is a good move. It will allow me to gain more experience in the credit union and get an overall fresh perspective. Sometimes working with almost all girls is NOT a good thing. Okay, most of the time!
5. Still really wanting to go back to school. Still don’t know if it’s feasible or practical. Thank goodness we serve a God who sees the end before it begins, huh?
That’s all for now. Gotta go see if a certain little girl has destroyed her room, for the eightieth time!
Coconut Math
The cost of one coconut is $1.29, before tax. The yield is 16-18 oz coconut milk and 2 jars of dried shredded coconut.
If I were to buy it in the store, I would pay $3.29 for a 16 oz bag of shredded coconut and $1.10 for a 14 oz can of coconut milk.
That’s more than $3.10 in savings. All for 20 minutes of work. No added preservatives or ingredients that I can’t identify. Fresh coconut milk and yummy shredded coconut.
10 simple steps to enjoying raw/fresh coconut:
- break
- scrape
- shred
- add water
- drain/squeeze
- pour
- refrigerate
- dehydrate
- wait
- enjoy!!!
Not to worry: a more detailed explanation is on its way. Maybe with pictures.
Sedona
Jarid and I spent a much needed night (sans kiddos) in Sedona last weekend. It was amazing. I hesitate to say that it was beautiful, because when you grew up in Montana, nothing compares. However, the place we stayed was so reminicent of Montana. Let me tell you, friends, that it could have been nestled right on the Gallatin River in the canyon. We fell asleep to the sound of Oak Creek babbling it’s way down the canyon. Truly heavenly. The only thing better would have been actually being on the Gallatin River.
I ate my first trout, caught fresh from the creek. I think I’m hooked. (Sad that I grew up in Montana and never ate trout, eh?) Fishing and eating fish may be added to the growing list of my obsessions. 
We also went hiking in Red Rock State Park. As you can see in the pictures below, parts of it were very Montana-esque.
A one-night stay was not nearly long enough. Rest assured, we will be going back soon. An open invitation stands for anyone who would like to join us…the condo-on-the-river could certainly accommodate a few more people.
Thank you, baby, for orchestrating such a wonderful weekend. I’ll take a weekend in Sedona any day over a stay at the Marriott.
*I apologize for the picture quality. Some were taken on my cell phone, the rest on our video camera…the good camera is in the shop, STILL.*
Camping, Take 2
aka GFCF Camping
After a wonderful getaway with my amazing husband, we decided to take the kids camping again. (I am on a mandatory five day vacation where I work.) The last time we went camping was in May, right before we discovered Benjamin’s gluten/casein intolerance. That trip started with a big gluten-stuffed meal at IHOP. Nothing like loading your child full of junk that will make him sick, eh?
This time, we headed out fairly early for a breakfast of smoothies and Lara Bars, courtesy One Stop Nutrition…a much better way to start the trip. Of course, I had to make a caffeine stop, but still much better than IHOP.
I had commented to Jarid that we should get gas while we were still in town, as it is quite a bit cheaper than near the freeways. We both spaced it, and before we knew it, we were looking at prices of $4.19/gallon. No matter, though, since there was one more gas station out in the toolies…surely it couldn’t be more than $4.19, right? Except that it was $4.45. As in four dollars and FORTY FIVE cents!!!! Out of sheer principle, we decided to chance it, even though we had less than a quarter tank of gas. If it was a straight shot, no big deal. But to get to Payson, we’re looking at climbing several 6% grades. We literally coasted in neutral on the downhill portions…right into Payson where we were greeted with $3.97/gallon!!!
From there, we were off to our next mandatory destination: the Payson Wal-Mart. Even though we have created a packing list, there were still a few items we needed before setting up camp. Flip-flops for me (those are a must have, camping aside!), a fishing license for Jarid, sinkers, fishing poles for the kiddos, velveeta cheese for bait, marshmallows, and ice…and we were finally on our way!
I’d like to divulge the location of our favorite campsite, but then I’d have to kill you. Fortunately, our particular site was vacant, so we got right to work. Within minutes, the tents were up…and we were hungry. Since it was early afternoon, we didn’t want to start a fire yet, so we popped open the portable grill and slapped down the meat. For Jarid, top sirloin; for the rest of us, hotdogs from Applegate Farms. Oh, and cantaloupe.
Then it was off to the creek to catch some fish. As expected, the little ones got bored quickly, so daddy was left to bring home the bacon trout himself. With the attention span of our children, there was only time to catch one. But oh the joy of watching daddy kill, behead, and gut the poor thing. As this production continued, I decided to try my hand at fishing. Considering that I grew up in Montana, it’s really sad that this is my first time fishing. Beginner’s luck? Maybe…
When we finally decided to call it quits, Kaiya was soaked head to toe, Benjamin had long since forgotten his fishing pole, and Jarid had a trout in the net.
After all the hard work, of course, we were hungry again. So we started the campfire and Jarid finished off the steak, and we all had cilantro-lime-chicken-onion-bell pepper-potato packets. (Ben’s was potato-less, as we are avoiding potatoes, apples, and raw tomatoes for him). As we grilled the corn, the sky began to darken and the rain came. So we at corn-on-the-cob in our tent. And raw coconut. Yum.
We had planned to roast a few marshmallows (which are gluten-free for sure, probably casein-free!), but by the time the rain stopped, our little troopers were tuckered out. We moved them into their tents and they fell fast asleep. We weren’t too far behind. Camping is hard work!
Last time we camped, we all froze. I ended up climbing in with Ben and Kaiya to make sure they stayed warm enough. This time, Jarid and I didn’t actually crawl into our sleeping bags until sometime in the middle of the night. Even then, it was just a bit chilly.
Breakfast consisted of eggs and pure maple syrup, along with a huge load of watermelon. After-breakfast dessert, as promised by daddy, was roasted marshmallows with a bit of gfcf chocolate (which is surprisingly good) and peanut butter on top. Fake s’mores!
After taking some time to pack up, we took a quick hike up to the top of the hill, with Benjamin as our guide. A quick wipe-down and a fresh change of clothes and we were on our way home.
GFCF camping? Doable, for sure. Easy, in fact. A little planning and fresh food, and you’re good to go!
Enjoy the pictures. If you click on them, you’ll be able to see a larger version. Be sure click on the one with my big goofy smile to see my “catch”.
Monday Madness
Two in a row, Sara! Yay, me!
1. Monsoon season has arrived. I am in heaven. Okay, it’s not quite as good as a Colorado/Montana blizzard, but…when many of the streets are closed due to flooding and people are late to work, it kinda takes on blizzard-like qualities. Very fun.
2. The Crunchy Honda died. All weekend it sat in the parking lot where Jarid works. We are now back to a car and the truck. And the motorcycle. Buying his parents’ car is now out of the question, because they owe more on it than we thought. Not sure what is going to happen, as we still have probably two months of heat ahead of us. Juggling kids and carseats and motorcycle helmets is not exactly easy. Especially since one of us isn’t exactly ready to make the bike her main source of transportation.
3. I have an interview tomorrow for an internal job transfer. This location would be about two blocks from where Jarid works now. It’s about three miles closer to home than where I work now. Three miles may not seem like a lot, but when it’s six miles on a round trip, that adds up! My only concern is getting enough hours in, as this location is open fewer hours. I am praying that the Lord can work this out…I’m ready for change!
4. Jarid is getting ready to take over the finances. I can’t wait. We have no intention of taking me completely out of the loop, but we decided that was one area that he could take over to alleviate stress for me. All of the diet changes we have made have really taken a toll, and take a huge chunk of my time. Plus, I need to extra guidance in regards to our grocery budget, as I tend to go a little nuts with it (slightly obsessed??)! We really aren’t sure how or why I ended up taking care of it all in the first place (maybe because of Mountain Mudd and staying at home?). Either way, it will be nice to hand that off.
5. I’ve been following the progress of Steven Curtis Chapman’s family here since they lost their daughter, Maria, in a tragic accident. He and his boys just got back on stage within the last three days. It truly is amazing to see how they have relied on Jesus through their pain. They are schedule to appear on some major media outlets very soon, including People magazine. What an awesome opportunity for the world to see a great example of God’s grace and mercy.
6. Starting Friday, I am on mandatory vacation. Where I work, each employee is required to take a mandatory five-days-in-a-row vacation every year. That means I’ve been there for a year…on the 20th! Wow. That also means I have some much needed R&R coming up. Yay!!! My husband has something in the works and it involves leaving the kiddos behind for a couple of days. Love my kids, but I am so stinkin’ excited!
7. We had friends over last night, which was great fun. My house is clean, too. Yay!
8. I’m reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. A challenging read intellectually, when you consider I’ve been reading parenting books and the Pokey Little Puppy for a few years now. Okay, okay, I’ve been reading healthy/fruity/crunchy books, too, but this one (at least at the beginning) requires a little more focus. It really is an intriguing and eye-opening read, to say the least. I will certainly write more about it soon.
9. I have a headache.
The Story, Part 1
It’s been a rough day. I’m not feeling the greatest, the kids got up super early, and I waited too long to get my caffeine fix. But that wasn’t the rough part.
What made it rough was seeing the expression on my son’s face, knowing it meant 1) he’d eaten something with gluten or casein and 2) it was going to be a frustrating day for both of us.
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll notice that I haven’t talked much about how we got to a positive test result of gluten/casein intolerance. Honestly, it’s hard to talk about and some of it feels very private to me. My hope and prayer is that if I do write about it, I can help even one person avoid the rollercoaster and heartache we’ve experienced. I guess that means that I’m going to have to open up a little.
So, here we go. Please know that this really doesn’t even scratch the surface. My thoughts are incomplete here and it will take several posts to get it all out.
Imagine sitting on the floor playing with your two children. One is 2 and a half, the other is 6 months. To this point, the older child absolutely adores the baby. Then, completely unprovoked, the older child crawls over and headbutts the baby.
What would you do? Discipline, of course. Do you automatically think to yourself, “Wow, maybe this is a food problem!”??? Of course not.
Then one day, when said child is seemingly done with his nap, you bring him downstairs to sit with you on the couch, only to find yourself dealing with an over-the-top, completely whacked out temper tantrum. His eyes are closed, he is crying and hitting you in the face. After a few swift swats to his backside and some stern words, nothing is working. But then, as if a switch has been flipped, he opens his eyes and smiles at you. “Hi, Mommy!”
What?!?!
Suppose that when leaving the house with the children, you always go through the garage. One day, you need to leave something on the front porch, so everyone leaves through the front door. Suddenly, your child is so distraught over the change in routine, that he cannot function. He cannot follow simple directions and behaves as if the world has come to an end.
This child needs discipline, right?
Let’s say you ask him to put his shoes on, but there is a fuzzy on his toe. Even though he’s been talking in full sentences for quite a while, he doesn’t verbalize the problem, and refuses to obey, even after repeated discipline.
Who cares? Mom said put your shoes on, JUST OBEY! Obey, right away, all the way, with a smile on your face.
Or, let’s say that you’ve just eaten a burrito from Chipotle, complete with fajita veggies and pico de gallo. Your child comes to sit on your lap, but the situation quickly sours as your onion breath is more than he can handle. It’s not just a matter of turning away and not breathing in his face. He literally cannot function with the smell of your breath.
Ridiculous. Get over it and don’t be rude.
On a good note, when putting your child to sleep, he loves to have his arms, back, and face rubbed. However, if you stop for one moment, he loses his composure.
At some point, while on your own journey to lose the baby weight, you learn how bad refined sugar is for your body. Knowing that sugar makes kids hyper, you decide to cut out sugar from your child’s diet. You’ve known for a while that this child seems more sensitive to sugar than your baby. You see some improvement.
No matter how gentle you are, washing your child’s face is always a fight.
You grow tired of telling your child to “take it out of your mouth”.
One day, you walk around the corner and see your child, jaw clenched, eye-to-eye with the baby, acting as if he were going to squeeze or vibrate her brains out.
Warranted overreaction and automatic discipline, right? Of course.
Then you see him do it to his stuffed animals.
At some point, other parents and family members begin to reassure or encourage you. “He’s just a boy.” “Boys are just more aggressive.” ”Spare the rod, spoil the child.” “Maybe you have strong-willed child on your hands…”
You are really growing tired of telling your child to stop talking like a baby, knowing darn well he can talk like a big boy.
Some days, it seems as if your child has gotten a caffeine buzz. He gets so excited, it literally seems like the excitement is trying to escape every pore on his body. He hops and jumps. He spins around non-stop, runs like a crazed maniac from the kitchen to the living room and back, and loves having daddy throw him in the air.
Then there is the look (like the one I saw this morning). It nearly brings you to tears to see it and try to describe it. Honestly, it looks as if your child is possessed. No lie. Eyes wide open and a mischievous smile.
You easily lose your patience sitting at the table with your child. He constantly swings his legs, kicking you or the table. No amount of spankings or verbal reprimand can change the behavior. He’s not even aware that he’s doing it.
Oh, and then there’s the grinding teeth. (But of course, that doesn’t mean anything…YOU did it as a child….)
Oh, and how annoying is it to hear constant noise from your child? Whether it’s playing with a plane, a truck, or a piece of lint, it’s constant noise. “Sccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” or “VVVVVVVVVVVVVrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!” But he’s just a boy. Boy’s do that.
Oh how frustrating to tell him again and again and again, “Do NOT ‘fly’ the plane that close to your sister’s face!” or “You do NOT need to ‘accidentally’ bump into your sister when you walk by her.”
But then he comes to sit on your lap and cuddle. Finally, a moment of sweetness. Oh wait. Nope….he just wants to squish your face or say something “icky”.
When called or asked to do something, your child does not respond immediately and you must repeat yourself fifty bajillion times.
By now, you know it’s gone beyond silly. It’s not even obnoxious. It’s beyond that. It’s not normal. You are frustrated beyond what you can handle. Fine, get a book on parenting. Get twelve. Name a book, you have it.
- The Strong Willed Child
- Raising Boys
- Bringing Up Boys
- Dare to Discipline
- Creative Discipline
- Shepherding a Child’s Heart
- Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours
- Don’t Make Me Count to Three
You read them and try their suggestions. It’s not working.
You spend hours reading, perusing internet boards about parenting and discipline techniques. You seek the advice of other parents. Most parents who have spent time around your child don’t understand what you are talking about. “He’s so good when he’s at our house!” or “I’ve never seen him do what your talking about”.
It’s not working. You figure it must be you. You are so absolutely raw and frustrated. Tired of raising your voice, losing your patience and your temper. You are tired of feeling like you are the worst, LAZIEST, meanest mommy in the world. Deep in your heart, you know there is something more, but you can’t figure it out. One day, the thought crosses your mind to drop the kids off with a friend and leave. Yep, you just need out. Maybe not permanently, but you need a break. Your heart literally feels broken when you look at your child and realize that you don’t even want to look at him or be around him. You hate yourself for not liking your child.
Try feeling that way for two and a half years (or more!) and living with in-laws for part of that!!! (O & J, if you read this, you know it’s not about you!!!)
Try being at odds with your husband over this. After all, he did a lot of this stuff, too. He acted this way. Except not. (Baby, if you read this, you know it’s not about you either!)
Now what?
As a last ditch effort, you decide to try some weird, over-the-top diet that you’ve noticed in all of your hours on the internet and with your nose stuck in a book. It seems odd to most to try to fix behavior with a diet, but you are desperate. And lots and lots of other parents have had good luck with it. Great results. When you bring it up to your husband, he reluctantly agrees, hoping this will be the last fad or gimmick. When he asks you what you’ll do if this one doesn’t work, you tell him that you are going to get counseling. If this doesn’t work, you know you are the problem and therapy and counseling is your last and only option.
So you immediately put your child on the diet, hoping for, but not expecting any result. A few days in, you check in with your husband. Does he see any improvement? He says no. You feel your heart breaking even further. You can almost feel yourself slipping into a point of irreversible dispair. But then your mother-in-law (who watches your kids once a week) comments on how amazing your child’s behavior was that day. And then your sister-in-law comments on it the next day, after watching the kids. You can see a glimmer of hope.
Then your husband needs to go on a trip with his mom. You are dreading being left alone with the kids. It’s still rough and you are contemplating having to call a counselor.
Your husband returns from his trip and he tells you about the conversation he had on the plane ride with his mom.
In reality, he HAS been seeing improvement in your child, he just doesn’t want to admit it. In talking with his mom, he finds out that he did NOT act like that as a child. His sweet mother tells him that she does not find this behavior normal for a little boy.
That flickering hope is starting to grow.
He tells you that he will be 100% behind you on this diet. He’s researched a little and has begun to see what you are talking about, understands the whole “inability to break down protein” thing.
Holy cow. Suddenly, a scene from a few weeks ago comes rushing back to you. Against your better judgement, you and your husband decide to take the kids to a 50’s diner after a long day. You decide to let them split a kid’s size milkshake, expecting to deal with a little bit of a sugar buzz. Your little girl? Yeah, she’s fine. Doesn’t even affect her. Your little boy? Within two minutes, literally two minutes, he is so buzzed and hyper, it’s almost comical. Almost comical (but not really) that it hit him so fast. You do your best to manage the situation, but eventually have to leave the restaurant so as not to disturb other patrons.
Holy cow, again. Now, on the diet, you realize that it wasn’t the sugar, but the malt in the shake. Malt has gluten. It’s like you had given him a shot of straight LSD.
Whoa.
Then comes the positive test result. You know it’s not an end-all, cure-all, but it’s certainly a start. And it’s validation.
Okay. I’m burned out just from writing that. There is still so much more to the story. But that will have to wait for another day. I need to go love on my children.
Monday Madness
So I stole this idea from Sara…at least I came up with a different name, right? 
Madness is definitely more appropriate for us.
1. I found the keys to our cars, the mailbox, the house. They have been missing for about 2 months. They were under the sink in the master bathroom. I’m blaming it on my kids.
2. Gas prices aren’t very much fun right now. However, for some reason, when I budgeted last year, I budgeted at $4.00/gallon!!! So we’re just starting to feel the effects. But, we decided we need to do more, so….
Fortunately, we didn’t have to buy this. Jarid’s dad is in Denver for his job, so he graciously allowed Jarid to take his bike while he is gone. He will really only be using it to go to and from work, but it should help with gas for now.
3. We are also thinking about selling the Crunchy Honda. Some of you didn’t know that we bought the CH. It is dubbed the CH because the previous owner rear ended someone and just had the hood banged out….it looks crunchy. Anyway, we bought it earlier this year because we needed a vehicle with AC, as the truck does NOT have AC…and I couldn’t do another summer of no AC in 115* heat on my way to work. Well, it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase, probably not as well thought out as it should have been. The AC doesn’t work as well as it should and neither of us really has a piece of mind when driving it. If we sell it, we can probably get out of it what we paid. We are thinking of purchasing Jarid’s parent’s Toyota Solara from them. We’ll see what happens.
4. Camps are done for Jarid. Yay! He will pick up some junior college games this fall, which is great for adding experience and reps.
5. I’m getting the itch to return to school. It’s a yearly thing I go through, and we’ve found that it is extra tempting when Jarid is at one of his camps that takes place on a college campus! I’m not sure that this itch will go away this time. The events of the last year have changed my focus, just a little. I’m super into nutrition, food, natural medicine, etc…, but in order to go anywhere with that, I really need to get my bachelor’s degree. After that, maybe this? (Part of the reason for writing this is just to help get it out of my system…part of it is to see if my husband is reading or paying attention!!!)
6. Work is getting to me. It’s a longer drive than I care for, too much drama on some days, not enough pay most days. Sound familiar? At least I get to help people.
7. The pool is almost too warm to make it worth it. Is summer over yet? I miss Montana! (I did just find out that I have a cousin who will be getting married in the fall, I assume in Montana……)
8. Fourth of July was fun. Jarid and I finally had a day off together. We spent the morning with the kiddos in the pool (it’s not as bad in the morning), then spent the evening with a friend of mine from high school. She moved our junior year and I actually found her down here because she was working at Starbucks and knew Orley. Anyway, they hosted a barbeque and the kids got to play on the slip’n’slide and the swingset. Then we headed out to watch fireworks. We got to see 4-5 shows on our way home!!
9. In other news, Benjamin continues to amaze me on this diet. We are still fine tuning and finding more foods to be watchful of, but his progress really is awesome. He is trying to sound out and write words on his own and can easily write his name. This might not be a big deal to some, but it is HUGE for us. Instant progress with little training/coaching.
10. Kaiya is a doll.
Need I say more?
11. Just want to see how many of our family members read this, so I’m posting an open invitation to come see us! We love company and would love for our family members (and friends!!!) to come for a visit. I’ll be expecting RSVP’s. Thanks.
Sprouts!
Nope, not talking about the store (though it IS one I frequent often).
Not talking about PBS Kids Sprout (though they do show Thomas the Train, which Benjamin loves).
I’m talking about sprouted grains, seeds, nuts, beans, and even rice (is rice a grain?).
Do you know what sprouting is? Or its purpose?
Sprouting is soaking, draining, and rinsing at regular intervals until your object germinates, or…sprouts! When you sprout, you are activating important enzymes necessary for digestion. Sprouting also destroys enzyme inhibitors, like phytic acid. If you don’t know what that means, or don’t care, just know that sprouts contain an abundance of nutrients.
I’m really just discovering the world of sprouting, but it IS of particular interest to me because of Benjamin’s diet. We are finding out (like Sara), that enzymes may play an important role in the gluten/casein free arena. After all, a gluten/casein intolerance is basically an inability to digest those proteins. I have yet to figure out if sprouts can be as effective as enzyme supplements, but……it’s worth a shot, right?
I’ve already started sprouting my rice before I cook it (which shortens cooking time!), and I LOVE the taste and texture. I am going to try sprouting my pinto beans before I make the most fabulous refried beans ever.
I also have yet to figure out if the nutritional benefit of sprouting is negated by cooking. Hmmm… But, just in case y’all want to go on the journey with me, here are some links.
Sprout People - they have TONS of information.
Provident Storehouse - their main site is dedicated to preparedness, but this link is an “Intro to Sprouting”.
Primal Seeds - easy to read, all on one page, basic information
Sprout Master - sells sprouting trays and other products.
Wikipedia on Sprouting - the neutrality of the article is disputed, but it gives a starting point and basic information if you want to research it more.
