Made with Love

Found this Scarf for boys/men. I have been wanting to get/make a scarf for the men in my life but felt like my ideas were a little too girly. The scarf on the little boy looks very manly and I think I just added something to my Christmas to do list! Yay!

Traditions to Treasure

A few years ago I enjoyed reading Noel Piper's book "Treasuring God In Our Traditions". This gave way to a new focus in our home. Hubby and I try to bring the Gospel into everything we do in our home. Of course we are not always successful but we try. We do Bible time and Catechism questions every night with the kids. We do an Advent Calendar in December to count down the days to our Saviors birthday. Easter has us baking a resurrection cake on Easter that the kids love to decorate with an empty tomb. Reformation Day better known as Halloween we love to watch "Luther". These are just a few of the traditions we are trying to create in our home.
Hubby's Aunt has a really neat Tradition in her home. She has a Miniature case full of various items. Each item represents a time in their families lives where God has shown His lovingkindess, and grace to them. When someone notices the items and asks about them, that gives them the opportunity to share Christ. I just think that that is a wonderful reminder to always be looking for the ways God moves in our lives. Since I saw hers I have been on the hunt for a miniature shelf of my own.
I would love to hear your traditions NOT just holiday traditions.

Frozen meal anyone?

Our new addition is coming in May. I know I have pleanty of time to think about this but I want to be prepared. When we had G I had no idea how consumed with her I would be. I was unable to do much more than the essential in life inbetween nursing, changing, soothing. When J came things were a little better. I knew what to expect and we had a lot of sweet folks from our church bring us meals and it was a huge blessing. However, I am thinking ahead this time. I want to make lots of frozen meals ahead of time. I figure I will make them in my last trimester and freeze them for those first weeks of craziness. I have never done this before so I am lacking in the "frozen meal" recipe department. So if any of you have some Yummy, Kid friendly, Freezable meals you would like to share, I would love to have them. I found this one and am going to try it out this week.

New Rules!

Since the last food blog entry there have been some new rules put into place. They seem to be working!
Rules
1. Mom is only cooking 1 dinner per night! I mean it!
2. Kids must TRY everything on their plate.
3. Kids do not have to clean their plates. However if they want dessert they must eat everything on their plate.


So in the past week with the new rules in place this is how dinner went.
Day 1. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, and edamame (the kids love it). G cried while eating her potatoes and didn't mind the meatloaf. However she cleaned her plate. J ate a few bites of edamame but didn't want anything else so he was forced to try. He then proceeded to gag and dry heave. It was a funny (but not funny) so I had to try not to laugh at him. He didn't get any goodies. G did and he was not happy about that.
Day 2. Cooked Asian noodles and chicken and egg rolls. Both kids cleared their plates. Seems weird but this is the dinner G requested. They both got one piece of there candy.
Day 3. Baked steak, rice, gravy, yeast rolls. G asked hubby, "Daddy will you please force this rice into my mouth?" However once she tasted it she liked it and asked for more. G cleared her plate. J Loved the steak and didn't want the rice but tried it and ate the required amount. He used to love rice but I guess he wasn't in the mood. G also ate 4 (small) yeast rolls. I though if she had a drink she might explode. That was prob. more food in her stomach then had ever been there before.

I think things are going well. I am not saying Great because I know I have a long road before I can just make dinner and have them eat it on their own. But it is an improvement on chicken nuggets every night.

Vote!

I am super excited to vote next week. I have looked forward to voting since I was a small child and the polls in our area had "kid polls" set up for me to vote. I got to vote in the 2000 presidential election and it truly made me feel like a grown up. It may seem silly but it is really fun to me. My hubby and I keep reminding each other that we are in KY not WV and we are voting for men we are not familiar with. We live so close to WV that we get their local channels on TV. We see all of the WV candidate commercials and ads. I hope I get the right name on Tuesday.
All that to say VOTE!!!

Picky Eaters, HELP!!!

As a child I ate everything! I also like pretty much any and every food. I can only think of 2 that I didn't. Peas and raw tomatoes were the only things I couldn't stomach. My parents had a policy where I had to try everything @ least once. I wasn't allowed to say that I didn't like something unless I had tasted it.
My husband is a different story. He was VERY picky. He disliked more foods than he liked. His parents also had a policy about eating. He had to sit at the table till he ate dinner. This lead to many many hours at the dinner table for my hubby.
I have now been blessed with 2 picky eaters myself. I am sometimes embarrassed by my children lack of love for food. A sweet couple from the church took us out to dinner after church on Sunday and this is how it went.
G- ordered Mac and Cheese. They brought out this beautiful bowl of homemade Mac and cheese NOT the blue box version. My daughter doesn't taste it she just looks at it and announces "This is Gross!" So I give her some of my salad (plane iceberg) and she doesn't touch that either. She decides to have a biscuit with jelly. She then continues to eat the jelly off the top but doesn't touch the biscuit.
J- gets eggs and bacon. He does better than his sissy and eats his whole egg. He doesn't touch his bacon. The sweet couple who are treating us to lunch get concerned that he didn't have enough so they order some rolls. and he doesn't touch those. They make him some buttered crackers, and he doesn't take a single bite.
Both kids are more consumed with the crushed ice in their drinks than eating. As we are leaving the gentlemen with us says "we are going to have to do something to get them to eat more."
Where did I go wrong? I guess I haven't been as much of a stickler as my parents were in getting them to try new things. But they don't like anything!!! Not bread, not french fries, nor any other type of potatoes.
I welcome any advice or methods of feeding the picky. I wouldn't be too concerned about my kids lack of eating except that G is in the 10th percentile and J is in the 5th. Help!

Family Fall Festival

It has been a while since I have posted but I figured I should at least show my finished products for my families Fall Festival costumes. All are homemade except for Buzz. But I did make my Buzz a jet pack so he had some piece of homemade goodness.

The CURE has been found!!

I have been to numerous Doctors, and been on numerous medicines to no avail to cure this nasty "thrush". I have gone as far as setting up an appointment with an infectious disease dr. I was still no closer to feeling better than the day these nasty symptoms started.
My dear sweet Mommy has been searching high and low for a cure just like I have. And you would think that I would learn by now that Mothers are always right. But I was stubborn when she told me about a cure she had found. She had Apple Cider Vinegar suggested to her. When she told me about it I reminded her that my "Anti-Candida Diet" forbids vinegar. So I ignored her suggestion and went on my way suffering.
She did some research online and again suggested I try it. Apple cider vinegar is made a different way than other vinegars. So, I decided I was desperate and I would try it. I would try pretty much anything at this point. There have been quite a few suggestion from folks at church as well. Such as having a 7th son who has never seen his father blow into my mouth. Not joking!
So I got vinegar on Friday took my first dose that afternoon and guess what...I have been symptom free since. Hallelujah!!!! Can you believe it, Mommy was right!! So now I have 1 teaspoon 3 time a day and I am feeling like myself again.
Not surprising but ACV has many health benefits. It helps a lot with digestive health, and helps with skin problems such as eczema.
I have had that pressure in the back of my throat for so long and thought about it for so long I feel FREE! I can eat most anything I want and I don't have to worry is this going to "feed the yeast". I am so thankful for all of your prayers and encouragement.

Oh and I found out something else on Friday. Hubby and I will be expecting #3 in May! Yay!!

Thought this was a cute blog we could all use.

We browsing the various blogs I like to follow and found a link to this cute blog. Fashion for the Economically Challenged. The blogger photographs herself in her daily wear and dishes how much she spent for each item and where it is from. I know I am always standing back staring at my closet trying to find a new way to wear the pieces I have. I got several good ideas from her.

Amazed!

I am amazed at the number of friends I have had contact me over "thrush" or "thrash" as they call it here in Eastern Kentucky. I have heard from prob. 5 friends who have suffered from it. 2 of which had it OVER A YEAR! Shoot me now.
I am feeling a little better but still symptomatic when I eat or drink. It is like I am doing fine but then I swallow something and my throat is immediately on fire and pressure.
I am not a good "medicine taker" but boy I have been faithful with all my meds for this nasty thrush.
I also have advice for all you ladies out there who might suffer from thrush or a yeast infection after taking antibiotics. There is something you can do to prevent this mess! When the Dr. writes you a script for the antibiotic, go ahead and ask for a script for Diflucan. This will prevent you from ever even getting this problem. This was advice given to me from my Dentist and another friend who is a dental hygienist. Oh, woulda, coulda, shoulda!

PS My spit is still gross. Just in case you wanted to know. lol.

I think I am addicted to spitting in a cup now.

Well, I have been spitting in a cup everyday since Friday. My spit still does the gross "hanging thing" mentioned in the last post. I guess this Thrush has a huge hold on me and doesn't want to let go.
I updated my status on my Facebook page a little while ago. I had an old friend from high school comment on my status unexpectedly. I had mentioned I was going to a dentist tomorrow because I have completed all of the meds from the previous Dr. (guy who tried to kill me) and still have symptoms (hanging spit). She is in the dental field and wanted me to call her. So I did. She deals with Thrush a lot and had some great advice for me when I go to the Dentist tomorrow. She was super encouraging, and reafirmed in me that I am not crazy. I am suffering with a real condition. Isn't sad that I feel crazy from this sickness. Who would have thought being on an antibiotic, which is susposed to make you better when you are sick, is the very thing that has made me so sick. I feel crazy because I have been to 3 Dr's now and none of them have been sure about what I have. They agree my throat looks inflamed....but not sure what that means. I have been denied insurance over this "throat" issue. Thats right I was denied medical coverage because I was on previcid when the ENT thought it was reflux. I had to jump through many many many hoops to be accepted including riders on my policy to not cover me for reflux related issues. AND IT WASN"T EVEN REFLUX!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! ok better now.
Are Dr's not taught the cool spit trick in medical school? I am just wondering why none of them put the pieces together like being on anitbiotic, feeling better after taking the thrush meds the first time, previcid not helping. I mean a sweet lady from my church diagnosed me for crying out loud.
Ok, I am really off my soap box this time. I was simply going to say I feel so prepared for my dental appointment tomorrow because this sweet friend of mine took the time to talk to me. I am so thankful the Lord has put these people in my path to take me in the right direction. I am not sure where I would be had he not set that lunch date and I would probly get the run around tomorrow had I not had my friend talk to me tonight.
My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty there's nothing my God can not do...
Elshadi=Almighty God

Go Spit in a Cup

This sounds really weird, I know but spitting in a cup has changed my life! I have been having some health issues for the last few months. It all started in April when I stopped nursing Jackson, got mastitis, and was put on antibiotics. A very very strong dose of antibiotics. Immediately I got this pressure in my throat but thought I was having a reaction to the meds. So the Dr. switched me to a different medicine and said I would feel better. I didn't. It just got worse. I never had trouble breathing, just an extreme pressure in my throat. I was getting hoarse and my throat always felt like it was dry and I needed to clear my throat but neither a drink or clearing it would give me relief. If you have been around me since then you have probably noticed me pulling at my throat or telling you how frustrated I am by this pressure! Sorry! It is all I can think about at times. So after 3 weeks of suffering with this problem I did some research online. I diagnosis myself with Thyroid Cancer (I am a hypochondriac which make this even worse). I got back to the Dr. He is baffled and says maybe it is Thrush. So I go on more meds. I started to feel a little better but not completely. So I go to another Dr., an ENT this time. I see the throat specialist. He says, "You have reflux". So I go on more meds. I NEVER believed it was reflux, I never ever have heartburn EVER! So I take the meds for over 2 months with NO relief. I AM CRAZY! What is wrong with me. I stopped the reflux meds (which gives you heartburn when you stop thank you very much) and I try to get into another Dr. We have just moved to KY so I don't have a Dr. to go to. I find one taking new patients and am scheduled to see him@ 2. A sweet lady at our church invited the kids and I to lunch that day so we went with her before my appointment. THIS IS THE GOOD PART!!! While at lunch we start talking about my problem, she says "YOU STILL HAVE THRUSH". I listen to her story, she suffered with the same mysterious symptoms for a year not long ago. She said what I was saying was identical to her story. She told me to put water by my bedside and in the morning "SPIT" in the cup. Crazy weird I know but it is a real way to diagnose thrush. So I went to the Dr. and lets just say that was an experience in itself. I felt like I was at the free clinic in the middle of nowhere! I am not trying to be critical but it was scary. He has pictures of himself dressed as Elvis EVERYWHERE!! I ask/tell him about it being thrush. He pretty much writes me off and says maybe it is so he writes me a prescription for meds. He also orders me a bunch of other tests, such as x-rays for herniated discs, blood work for thyroid and b12 deficiency and many more. By this time I am feeling SOOOOOO discouraged I want to cry. Why can't someone tell me what this is?
So I go to get my prescription filled at Wal*Mart. I wait 30 minutes in the store to get my meds and when I go to pick them up they say, I cant have them. The Dr. prescribed me 3 TIMES THE MAXIMUM DOSE! I cried, I wanted my medicine! I wanted relief! I tired all night and all morning to get the Dr. to fix HIS BIG TIME BOO BOO! He could have made me very sick had Wal*Mart not caught HIS huge mistake. THANK YOU WAL*MART!
Yesterday morning gave me my fist opportunity to spit in the cup. I was sceptical of this working. But I am willing to try anything and everything. So, I woke up, spit, and it did exactly what my church lady said it would if it were Thrush.
So I get the meds. yesterday around noon and had my first doses of my hopefully miracle serum. I am not better yet but I know I will be! Pray for me!!


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