My Life

A symptom of????

2012-01-28T17:44:00.001-06:00

So Max woke up with a rash on his face. little bumps on one side of his face and some large red splotches on the other side. Is it gluten? Is it dairy? Is it something entirely unrelated? How the hell am I supposed to know, because he ate both bread and butter for lunch yesterday at school.

I am still pissed.

he is gluten and dairy free today. Tomorrow he will have gluten.... again.

An issue

2012-01-27T20:50:00.000-06:00

I have a dilemna. Who do I yell at first?

I went to work at 6am this morning, Ron has the day off. I gathered all of the kids' homework, snow pants, hats, and gloves and made sure they were in their back packs ready for school. I organized ther shoes and boots next to their back packs so they wouldn't forget to take them to school. I made Max's snack for school and placed it into his back pack. I made his snack for him to eat after school and placed it onto the counter to be handed to the after school teacher. I made Max's lunch including a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fruit cocktail, chips, and a drink and placed it into the fridge until it was time to go to school. I told all of this to Ron. All he had to do was get the after school snack and Max's lunch box and be on his way.

Are you guessing where I am going with this story?

Ron forgot to send Max's lunch.

Max tells his teacher when he gets to school. He asks his teacher to call us so we can bring it to him. Ron was home almost the whole day.

Max's teacher does not call us. She sends him through the lunch line at school and he has to get the school lunch. Max chose no drink- he knew he wasn't supposed to have the milk. He ate the corn dog, because he knew he could have hotdogs (and honestly, it was the only choice- eat it or eat nothing) He also ate the fruit. he didn't eat the cucumbers because he doesn't like cucumbers. I am sure he ate the dessert, whatever that might be.

Well Ron was by me, so he got the first round of "Angie's pissed". Now what do I do about the teacher? She should have called. Ron could have had the lunch brought to the school in 5 minutes.

So we were going to introduce dairy this weekend, but instead it looks like gluten has been introduced. So we are going with gluten I guess. We are going to start on Sunday.

Almost there

2012-01-24T20:53:00.003-06:00

Okay, I took short hiatus while I was sick, but I am back. Max is still eating dairy and gluten free. We are going to introduce dairy back into his diet this weekend to see how he tolerates it. Then next weekend we will introduce gluten back and see how he tolerates it.

Max chose the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks; Chip wrecked this weekend. He did well not having to stay inside for recess last week. His next goal is to get 20 days of stars and then we will take him to Incredible Pizza. Today was not a good start to that goal, though, as he had to miss part of recess today to finish some math work.

I did get a semi-positive report from his teacher on Friday. She said that he had a better week last week but Monday is always better than Friday. I am sure that he is more rested on Monday which impacts his attention span. I am not sure how we can get him to bed any earlier during the week. What I need is a job that allows a work schedule of 9-4. then he can sleep in and wake up rested. I'll keep dreaming....

Day 18

2012-01-18T20:13:00.001-06:00

I picked Max up from daycare tonight and he immediately said, "Before I say anything else.... I have to tell you something important. I didn't have to stay inside for recess!" Yippeee Max!!! He has just earned a movie! We'll have to try and squeeze on in this weekend. Now I have to figure out what is playing!

breakfast: cinnamon toast
lunch: hot dog, catsup, fruit cup, carrots
snack: cereal bar
snack: kettle corn
supper: chili, gluten free crackers, non dairy cheese
snack: almond ice cream

Max loved the chili. He wants it for lunch tomorrow. That works for me!!

He is going to be tired tomorrow. Wrestling practice tonight until 7, he doesn't get home until 7:20, then eat a snack and take a shower. He got to bed at 8pm. Ugh. That makes for a tough morning.

I did remember Zyrtec this morning. I don't remember if he was stuffy tonight or not. I think not, but he did get a bloody nose at wrestling practice. I think he will always be prone to bloody noses. but if we can make him less stuffy that would be better.

Only 12 more days of this diet and then we will add back foods. I think we are going to add dairy back first, see how he tolerates it. I know gluten can take longer to get out of your system. I would hate to add gluten back and then he react to it and then I have to wait another 30 days for it to get back out of his system before seeing if he reacts to dairy.

I just purchased a book on Amazon called Unhealthy Truth. It was recommended to me by a friend. I love reading food/health books anyway, but I am expecting some good information that maybe we as a family can incorporate into our eating habits.

Day 17

2012-01-18T06:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Gavin stayed home from school with a little stomach bug. Hopefully no one else gets it!

breakfast: cinnamon toast
lunch: chicken fingers and french fries
snack: cereal bar
snack: whole pear
supper: chicken enchiladas (gluten free tortillas and dairy free cheese)
snack: almond milk ice cream

symptoms: he didn't seem real tired until about 6pm. he had a shadow of circle under his eye, but improved. I forgot to give him the zyrtec, but I will remember in the future. He didn't have to miss recess today. another sticker!

14, 15, 16

2012-01-16T20:41:00.002-06:00

14th: We attended a wrestling tournament.

breakfast: toast
lunch: hot dog from the concession stand with no bun
snacks: various things: fruit rollup, craisins, tomatoes
supper: spaghetti with gluten free pasta
snack: almond ice cream

15th: a birthday party for a cousing

breakfast :smoothie
lunch: leftover spaghetti
dinner at the party (we didn't know there would be food): beefburger with no bun, little smokies.
snack: almond ice cream

16th:

breakfast: toast
lunch: ham and veggie cheese sandwich with mayo. fruit cocktail, and something else that now I can't remember.
snack: blackberries
supper: chicken strips, baked beans
snack: almond ice cream and a few craisins

symptoms: 15th was really tired by 5pm and had circles under his eyes. 16th: complained of a stomach ache after he ate the blackberries but he did eat almost a whole pint. :) circles under his eyes. all days he had nasal congestion.

today we bought an allergen matress and pillow cover. Let's see if that helps with his allergies. We also started Zyrtec today. We'll give it two weeks and if it doesn't help I'll call the ENT and see what else Max can try. In the past Zyrtec hasn't helped like I think it should. Also today Max did not have to miss any recess. Max did say his teacher had to tell him once to pay attention.

Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T20:26:00.002-06:00

Max was so excited yesterday that he got a sticker on the calendar after I dropped him off at daycare he said he was going to try hard again today. :) I was starting to feel some confidence building in what we are doing. Then I received this email from the teacher this afternoon.

Angie,

Max was very off task every day this week except Monday. He had to stay in from recess to complete some of his work. I haven’t noticed much difference this week except for Monday. It is almost like he can’t control it. I will have to bring him back to what he is supposed to be doing. Let me know if I can help you any further.

Well, that's a buzz kill.

breakfast: cinnamon toast

lunch: taco salad and fruit rollup

snack: rice cakes

snack: rice krispie bar

supper: leftovers: sloppy joes on a gluten free bun. blueberries

snack: fudgecicle

symptoms: fatigue, stuffy, circles under his eyes. He might be coming down with a cold. He sneezed several times tonight.

He told me he didn't have to miss any recess today and he passed his list three sight words. Way to go dude! Another sticker on the calendar.

Day 12- A sticker day!!!

2012-01-12T19:56:00.001-06:00

I picked Max up from daycare and on the ride home I asked how his day was. He said, "I have something very special to tell you. I didn't have to miss any recess!" Woo Hoo Max!!!!! He said he even had to alphabetize and all of the words started with the letter A!! And he got it done in time. So that is two times this week that he has gotten his work done on time. That hasn't happened for awhile!

So we came home and placed a sticker on his calendar. :)

On a sadder note, one of his frogs died today. Max was quiet for a minute when I told him and then he said, "I just don't understand why it's eyes are still open." Max thinks maybe the other frog ate all of the dead frog's food. Who knows... maybe he did.

Max also had wrestling practice last night and didn't get to bed until 8pm. That is about an hour past his bedtime so I decided to call in late to work and let him sleep longer. I normally get him out of bed at 6:45; I finally had to wake him up at 7:45 or he was going to be late for school. He was more refreshed, though, and it obviously helped during school.

Breakfast: cereal bar, grapes
lunch: spaghetti, rice krispie bar, mandarin orange cup
snack: rice cakes
snack: apple cinnamon muffin
supper: bacon, sausage, cherry tomatoes. (breakfast night tonight and the kid won't eat eggs!)
snack: mandarin orange fruit cup

symptoms: circles under his eyes, stuffy and bloody nose today. not so tired tonight and didn't have to stay inside for recess. :)

Day 11

2012-01-11T20:46:00.003-06:00

We started a calendar with stickers. If Max can get all of his work done on time at school and not have to stay in for recess he can put a sticker on the calendar. If he gets five stickers he can pick an activity. He says he wants to see a movie- so a movie is what we will do.

No stickers yet, though. He had to stay in for part of a recess.

On Tuesday daycare asked if he could have a store bought rice Krispie bar. I had to say no, because their is milk in it. (butter). but I thanked them for telling me and told them I would make some home made bars and bring one for snack. It worked out perfectly!!! I made homemade Rice Krispie treats with gluten free Rice Krispies, marshmallows, and smart balance margarine which has no dairy in it. I even threw some sprinkles on top so they looked like the store bought ones. I bet they tasted better too!!

breakfast: cinnamon toast
lunch: hot dogs, grapes
snacks: Kettle Corn
snack: Rice Krispie treat
supper: stew (he is totally NOT a fan of stew)
snack: frozen grapes and a fruit cup

I haven't spoken of symptoms in a while so here they are: circles under his eyes, fatigue, still can't get his work done on time at school.

Ron and I have made an appointment with a Dr. Hilliard for a second opinion. This Dr is a child psychologist and I have been told will do more testing than the last doctor. This doctor will do an IQ test and also test him to determine what his current learning level is and then will compare the two. If there is a large discrepancy between the two then we will discuss ADD. The appointment is scheduled for February 10th.

Day 10

2012-01-11T20:30:00.003-06:00

I started writing this yesterday and didn't get a chance to finish it. We received a wonderful report from Max's teacher! She said on Tuesday Max didn't have to miss a single recess and he got all of his work done on time. Wow!!! However, Max came home Wednesday night and said he had to miss recess, but only a few minutes. So, it was short lived, but it was a positive response!!

breakfast: smoothie: almond milk, soy yogurt, 1/2 banana, blueberries, ice, peanut butter
lunch: spaghetti, carrots, blueberries
snack: granola
snack: cereal bar
supper: sloppy joes on a gluten free bun
snack: fudgecicle

Max was invited to a friends house today after school to play and stay for dinner. Ugh!! I said he could play but not stay for dinner. I explained the whole allergy thing and the mom was great. She texted me and asked if Max could have fruit snacks, but I didn't see the text right away. I responded about 40 minutes later and said she had to read the side of the box. She responded back and said that Max said he could have fruit so he had an orange. Is that okay? I said that is perfect. Way to go Max!!

I had to really fight with Max this morning though with getting up. He refused to get out of bed. he said he was too tired, but I didn't wake him up. He woke up on his own. I don't know what to do about him being "too tired" all of the time.

Day 7, 8, and 9

2012-01-09T19:46:00.002-06:00

Okay, the weekends are too chaotic for posts I guess. An update, The birthday party went without a hitch. the father of the birthday boy bought Max a popsicle (since he couldn't have ice cream) and a taco salad with only lettuce, meat, and tomato since he couldn't have pizza. What a relief!!

Saturday:
breakfast: apple cinnamon muffin
snack: rice cakes and apple sauce
lunch: half of a sandwich and taco salad
snack: popsicle, some candy (skittles)
supper: chicken enchilada; a recipe from the internet.

Max pretty much isn't very excited about any meal I have made that is gluten free. We have done well with finding butter replacement and cheese replacement. (on a side note: the dairy free cheese smells weird, but doesn't taste too bad)

The worst part about Saturday.... we helped a family move and they served donuts to everyone. :( that was sad. Max and I skipped the donuts, but now without a lot of whining from Max. He is the king of donuts.

Sunday went well also. We even got to spend an hour swimming at the Y after church.

breakfast: cereal bar- gluten free
snack: fruit
lunch: hot dog and baked beans
snack: cereal bar
supper: walking tacos and apricots
snack: fudgecicle

the cereal bars are an amazing find. Max really likes them and they make good/easy snacks. the taco salad at the pizza place worked out well so we tried our version. Max was really upset he didn't get sour cream, so Ron and I use any sour cream either. Gavin, on the other hand, piled it on. Max had taco meat, corn tortilla chips crushed, salsa, black beans, and fake cheese. it was quite a dish!!

Monday-today

breakfast: peanut butter toast
lunch: sandwich, blueberries, carrots, and fruit rollup
snack: grapes
supper: chicken tortilla soup.
snack: cherry tomatoes and fudgecicle

Max told me he didn't have to miss any recess today. he also said he wanted to stay home from tae kwon do so he can get extra rest because he gets so tired at school. So I went on a google search, and did you know a symptom of ADD and sleepiness during the day? At least it was in the few posts I found. Who knows, right?! Max also said he didn't get a cupcake. Lily brought cupcakes to school for her birthday. He didn't get one. :( How said is that. If this gluten free thing is a bust, I am making the kid a pan of cupcakes all for him.

I called to make an appointment with the Dr for our second opinion. He is a child psychologist and I was given his name from another person I know who had taken her son to him. I had to leave a message so we shall see where this path leads us.

Day 6-An invitation

2012-01-06T20:45:00.003-06:00

So... Max was invited to a Pizza party tomorrow. It is actually eating pizza and then playing games and doing the rides. There is pretty much no part of pizza that he can eat. Is it fair to send Max to a pizza party with a sandwich while everyone is eating pizza?! I can only imagine how he would reacto to that. Ron and I did manage a compromise. Max can go to the party, I will drop him off a half hour after it starts and hopefully the pizza will be gone. Maybe if we don't tell Max about the pizza we can pretend it doesn't exist? I am not sure how well this will work, but I bought him candy to take along and I hope that will cover up the lack of pizza.

breakfast: cinnamon toast, some Naked juice/smoothie
lunch: hotdogs, catsup, applesauce,fruit rollup
snack: rice cakes
snack: chips and salsa
supper: turkey burger on gluten free bun with veggie cheese and catsup. home made baked fries
snack: fruit roll up

He was not a fan of the turkey burger, but ate part of the bun and all the fries. He is totally a fan of taking hot dogs to school.

Max said he didn't have to stay inside for recess today.

symptoms: he had dark circles under his eyes, but I think they are lighter than they have been in the past. he is stuffy. he got up just fine this morning, but we were moving furniture around so we could get our carpets cleaned today.

Also, I tried that Lorabar, I thought it tasted pretty good! I might buy some more for myself! And on that note I have figure out suppers for the next week, now I need to compile the grocery list. This part is actually the hardest part. I have to look at every label, dig through my fridge, pantry, and freezer to see what I have and what I need so I am not making trips to the grocery store every day.

Day 5

2012-01-05T21:39:00.001-06:00

Not too exciting today. Max woke up this morning and I didn't have to fight with him to get out of bed. That was nice. On the other hand, he can't go to bed every night at 6:40 so I am sure I will have to fight with him most mornings.

Max came home from school and said that he had to miss part of a recess because he hadn't gotten all of his work done in time.

breakfast: cinnamon toast on gluten free bread and g/d free margarine
lunch: hot dog, catsup, carrot sticks, applesauce. he didn't eat his applesauce
snack: loramer bar. Max doesn't like it, bummer. that seemed like an easy snack
snack: kettle corn
supper: salmon burger, salad, rice.
snack: fruit rollup and tofu fudgecicle.

The salmon burger wasn't too bad. Better than I expected. Max ate half, he refused salad, and didn't want the rice. But, like my dad had me do when I was a kid, we poured milk (almond milk in this case) over the rice. He actually ate it. :)

symptoms: circles under his eyes are looking better today. he didn't get his work done in school. he didn't seem quite as tired today either.

Also on the positive side: hot dogs stay half way warm in a thermos. Who knew?!

On the downside, or upside, depends on which way you look at it... Ron and I have started the process of getting a second opinion for Max. We are looking into finding a psychologist that can do assesments such as IQ testing and other testing to get a diagnosis based off of numbers instead of me saying he gets down from the dinner table early and his teacher saying he fidgets with his shoe. Ron and I were sad about it last night, no one wants their child to struggle and I feel like if we don't take this step than we are forcing him to struggle, but if we do take this step then it is a whole different kind of struggle. Ron and I figure, though, that we better get the ball rolling on this because it could take several weeks for any kind of answers and if the diet change does not work then I want to be ready for the next step, whatever that might be.

Day 4- Teacher conference

2012-01-04T19:15:00.002-06:00

Well, the muffin was a good idea, but it definitely did not need to cook the 30 minutes as written in the cookbook. I think 20 minutes would have been much better. Max seems to like it okay though. He ate one for breakfast and asked to take one for snack at school. This is definitely a learning experience.

Max's teacher emailed me today. I had sent her an email last week during winter break asking to meet with her and discuss all that is going on. She is the one that suggested Max see a doctor regarding his inattention. So I met with her after school today and gave her the run down of all that is going on. Max has some indicators of ADD, but he also has symptoms of allergies. We are going to try this diet for now and we will see in a month. She was supportive of everything I had to say and she also agreed to email me, at my request, ever Friday to get a brief synopses of how Max is doing. Is he paying better attention? Is he exactly the same? We will start the Friday emails next Friday since this week is not quite a routine week. She did end the conference by saying Max is having trouble alphabetizing. He says it is too hard and he didn't want to start the assignment on his own. The teacher and class then alphabetized the list together and the teacher wrote the list on the board and the teacher said the list had to be copied onto their paper or they would have to stay back from PE. Max immediately got to work copying the list and was done in plenty of time for PE. Is it frustration and lack of focus that kept him form alphabetizing, or is it that actually doing the work is boring... until you realize PE may be taken away? Guess I'll be googling websites for practice sheets on alphabetizing and working with him on writing his letters forward. Thank goodness it isn't a spelling and sight word week.

Breakfast: gluten/dairy free apple cinnamon muffin, banana
Lunch: ham and veggie cheese sandwich, fruit roll up, cherry tomatoes
snack: apple cinnamon muffin
snack: kettle corn
supper: barbecue chicken sandwich on a gluten free bun, garden green beans, apple and banana chunks
snack: tofu fudgecicle.

symptoms: the stomach aches seem to have gone completely. So I am going to only comment on them when they occur. dark circles under his eyes are still there. focus problems (during alphabetizing?) Max was tired when he came home from daycare. He was yawning. I also had a difficult time waking him up this morning. he said he wanted to sleep in. last night he went to bed at 7. Tonight he skipped wrestling practice and we got him to bed at 6:40.,but he got out of bed at 7 to use the restroom.

Day 3- A very expensive muffin

2012-01-03T20:48:00.001-06:00

Today Max took his diet to daycare. School starts again tomorrow, so today we did what I called a practice run for school. I packed his snacks and lunch and no foods from the daycare or other kids.

Breakfast: gluten free toast with cinnamon and raisin peanut butter
snacks: rice cakes and corn tortilla chips and salsa
lunch: left over spaghetti, applesauce, and a fruit rollup
supper: chicken tenders, home canned corn, and home canned pears.
snack: cherry tomatoes

Max said I did not pack enough salsa for the chips I sent. I will be more aware of the amount of salsa I send from now on. He is serious about his chips and salsa. I think Max is also getting tired of rice cakes or applesauce. So I am venturing out and making apple cinnamon muffins from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook. This better taste like gold in a paper muffin cup. With almond flour costing me around $13.00 for 4 cups, this is by far the most expensive muffin I have ever made. However I do really like this cookbook, because I can by four non traditional ingredients and make a variety of foods. If this gluten/dairy free diet doesn't work, I don't want 10 bags of different kinds of flours at $15 per bag, and nothing to make with them! I have bought almond flour, agave nectar, arrowroot powder, and grapeseed oil. the rest of the ingredients I already have in stock. And this cookbook has your kid friendly recipes altered for gluten free eating. The chicken tenders we ate for dinner tonight was from this cookbook. Who knew almond flour and grapeseed oil could make a decent chicken tender! (not that Max would notice since he doused his tenders in catsup.)

Tomorrow will be the true test- school. What can I pack in a kids lunch that doesn't need reheated? He isn't a "sandwich every day" kind of kid. This is going to get tough. I do have an insulated container that will keep soups hot for 6 hours. I wonder if it works on hotdogs?

symptoms: dark circles under his eyes. He did sit and work on his handwriting which has improved over the last week. Now I need to head to the Learning Post and find help on getting him to write his letters in the correct direction. First grade teachers do not like letters being written backwards. Again he seems to be going to sleep in the evening much easier and faster.

Day 2- Concession Stand troubles

2012-01-03T20:06:00.000-06:00

Today was crazy busy! We had wrestling tournaments all day, which makes the whole gluten/dairy free thing that much more difficult. When everyone is eating doughy pretzels drenched in nacho sauce, walking tacos with the works piled on, and candy bars galore, Max ate apple cinamon rice cakes and kettle corn. I knew it was going to be difficult, but it was almost painful!! I tried to appease him with a grape fizz drink, but it didn't last too long. Definitely a learning experience! I think I am going to have to look into gluten/dairy free cookies or something.

As far as what he ate:
breakfast: toast with cinnamon and raisin peanut butter
snacks: kettle corn, rice cakes
lunch: jelly sandwich on gluten free bread
supper: gluten free spaghetti with meat sauce and salad with orange poppy seed dressing. Spaghetti was a total hit. The salad, well, while Max does actually like salad, it is required to have ranch dressing on it. He did eat one leaf of salad with the Orange Poppy seed dressing on it, but he made an awful face and said he wouldn't eat anymore. I, on the other hand, thought the salad tasted fantastic!

symptoms: he acted kinda hyper all day, but he was at a wrestling tournament with 150 kids screaming and 200 parents screaming louder. He also had dark circles under his eyes. He did not complain of a stomach ache. I also think he is going to sleep better and faster at night.

He started tae kwon do again tonight. He was excited and I am hopeful that this will help with his attention span. It seems that he paid better attention in school when he was enrolled in tae kwan do. Hopefully we can see an improvement.

Away from the diet: Gavin and Max both did a great job in wrestling! It was Max's first tournament. Max knew exactly what to do when a guy had Max on his back, but any other times Max seemed a little lost. I think a few more practices before the next tournament would be a good idea. Max placed 4th! Gavin did a great job as well. He placed 3rd!!

Day 1

2012-01-01T18:30:00.004-06:00

January 1st and Day 1 pretty much go together. However for us, this is the first day of the gluten/dairy free diet for Max. After getting a progress report from his teacher about not being able to pay attention in class, Ron and I went on a mad search for possible reasons. Does it have to automatically be ADD just because a child doesn't pay attention during Science class? That is the questions we are facing. We have been to the doctor, at the teacher's suggestion, and the doctor said nothing is physcially wrong. but there are some great ADD medications available.

Hmmm.... That isn't where we were expecting to go with this doctor visit.

We went on a frantic search for reasons behind his staring off into space. There are books available that can lead you down whatever path you most desire. If you want to validate your reason for medication, there is a book for that. If you want to avoid medication, but are willing to provide behavioral modificaitons, there is a book for that. Being that Ron and I are from the midwest, a small town in Iowa, farming and food are all around us. For now we have decided to look into the food we are eating. Of course, there are books for that, too. Organic farming, the effects of ingesting pesticides, the problems with food intolerances. Is it possible to change from our way of eating to one of "limitations"? We aren't McDonald's junkies, in fact, we rarely go out to eat. We are a busy family, but we do sit down and eat together for almost every meal. We eat spaghetti, home made chicken strips, hamburgers, and pizza. We eat what is on sale, what I grow in my small garden, or the generic version of what ever food we can't grow or find on sale. What does that mean? That means, high fructose corn syrup, that means, added salt, and that means red dye #40, but that also means some fresh veggies in the summer and fall, home cooked meal almost every day, and a few extra dollars in our pocket.

So here we are now. After looking through all the books, and comparing Max to other people's symptoms and stories, we find ourselves looking into dietary intolerances. It just isn't that he gets spacey at school. It is that he constantly has dark circles under his eyes, even though he just woke up. It is that he complains of stomach aches a couple of times per week. It is that he is congested all of the time, no matter what season or what allergy medicine we give him.

So this is Day 1. The first day we removed gluten and dairy from his diet. We have a goal of lasting 30 days and then evaluating how he is doing. We will look at reintroducing dairy and gluten at the end of the 30 days and see if we can notice a difference in his health and behavior.

Day 1
breakfast: smoothie- frozen peaches, peach soy yogurt, almond milk, peanut butter
lunch: home made tomato soup with corn tortilla chips and half of a ham and soy cheese sandwich with catsup on it on gluten free bread. almond milk to drink.
snack: peach applesauce to go
supper: shrimp stir fry: shrimp, stir fry veggies, white rice, soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic. home canned pears in light syrup. almond milk to drink
snack: kettle corn

Symptoms:
dark circles under his eyes. no complaints of stomach aches.

What have we learned? home made tomato soup is not the same as Campbell's. We won't be making that again. Also, stirfry is not liked by the kids. Maybe they will like it over time?

My hope is that if I keep track every day we will see changes. What if we don't? I am not sure yet. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there, with soy cheese and almond milk in our hands.

Highlights from Chris and Olivia's wedding

2009-10-26T20:05:00.002-05:00

The cake is from the party at my house. I made it! The snake and EMT vehicle is from when Gavin was bit by a snake. The ocean was walking distance from where we stayed!

Practicing Halloween

2009-10-26T19:06:00.002-05:00

The boys have picked out their Halloween costumes and were practicing their designated roles. Max is Blue Power Ranger and Gavin is Bumble Bee from Transformers.

The Twins' birthday

2009-10-26T18:20:00.002-05:00

Ron and Dawn celebrated their birthday. Here are some pics of some of the Crees siblings.

Let me explain who they are:

Raymond is the oldest. he has a dark coat on and no hat.

Rodney is second oldest. he has a hat and a dark shirt on

Ron and Dawn: Ron is older than Dawn by 4 minutes

and Roy has the white shirt and the hat on. He is the youngest.

2009-09-27T20:50:00.001-05:00

I can't figure out how to get these pictures in order! The kids were very excited to go to Oceans of Fun. Catherine was also able to go with us! It only took about 15 minutes, though, for "Fun" for Gavin to require an ER visit and 9 stitches!! Gavin and Ron went down a water slide and Gavin hit his chin on the top of Ron's head. So Cathering, Max, and I had continued to have "Oceans of fun" while Ron and Gavin made a trip to the ER.

The boys at Lance and Courtney's Wedding

2009-09-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

Gavin won 2nd Place!

2009-09-27T19:42:00.001-05:00

Gavin video of wrestling in no particular order

2009-09-24T20:25:00.003-05:00

Gavin wrestling- Jan 09

2009-09-24T20:16:00.001-05:00

Picking up where I left off.

2009-09-24T19:36:00.004-05:00

So I have been told it has been far too long since I have posted anything on here. I assumed everyone who was anyone would have a facebook account. However, I found out that I am wrong. So I will be posting some "catch-up" photos.

Newton wrestling tournament

2009-02-07T21:01:00.003-06:00

video is on face book. If you want me to download it here as well let me know. Otherwise enjoy the pics. He got a second place trophy!!!

He pinned the first round guy. Got himself pinned second round. And won in overtime third round. Awesome dude!!!

Gavin's latest hair cut (and Max, too!)

2009-02-07T20:59:00.001-06:00

It's just hair. Right?!

Chuck E Cheese

2009-02-07T20:54:00.002-06:00

Gavin had a birthday bash at Chuck E Cheese!!

Colfax Mingo Wrestling Tournament

2009-01-19T18:15:00.003-06:00

So last weekend was another wrestling tournament. I must admit Gavin has learned a lot about wrestling and doing so much better! The first round went down pretty quick with Gavin pinning the kid in the first 30 seconds. The second round the other kid was tough and quick so Gavin was pinned about 1:30 into it. The third round, though, it was a pretty even match. They were neck and neck with points. Gavin ended being up by one until the last 10 seconds when the other kid got up and gained 2 points. Gavin lost the match by 1 point!!!! He ended up with third place, which was his goal and he was so excited about! Next time, he says, he wants to get second. Here are some pics:

Summer Fun

2009-01-01T16:49:00.001-06:00

Dad puts them to work

2009-01-01T16:47:00.001-06:00

Dad had the kids raking leaves. (okay, so these posts are a little out of order...)

Christmas Celebrations

2009-01-01T16:45:00.002-06:00

These cookies were a work of art. Perhaps Jackson Pollock art?

Grandma A's bday party

2009-01-01T12:42:00.007-06:00

Bill and Esther Frazier and Maxine Albright.

Bill Frazier

Patty (Bill's daughter), Michelle Frazier and Traci Frazier

Little Bill's daughter and granddaughter

Patty Fessler, Traci Frazier, and Esther Frazier

I can't remember all of them,

back: Patty, ?, Cindy

middle: ?, Esther, Bill, Vivian (slightly behind Bill)

front: Michelle, Traci, Maxine, Angie

baby: Wyatt (Michelle's 2 week old)

(Little) Bill, Bill's wife, Monte, Leslie, and the person in front looking at the camera is Crystal.

Vivian and Cindy

Little Bill's daughter and grand daughter

everyone

Cindy, Crystal, Dominic

Go Cubbies!!!!

2008-09-08T20:45:00.005-05:00

We managed to catch part of the I-Cubs game over the Labor Day Holiday. We left about the 5th inning. On the way through the parking lot Gavin said, "Can we could do something fun, now?"

2008-09-08T20:45:00.001-05:00

Max is two wheelin' it!!

2008-09-08T20:38:00.002-05:00

Max is now tall enough to reach the pedals of the two wheeled bike!! He is so excited about riding his bike and wearing his helmet. It is awesome that him and Gavin are both bike riders now. I was able to go for a walk tonight, at a pace that was faster than turtle, with Gavin and Max riding their bikes!!

Fishing Frenzy

2008-09-08T20:30:00.004-05:00

Gavin is the fisherman in the family. Something he learned from me, I think. Well, definitely not from Ron. So far Gavin has caught more fish than Ron has this year! (Not that Ron is counting)

KINDERGARTEN!!!!

2008-09-08T20:25:00.002-05:00

Gavin loves Kindergarten. He talks about recess, friends, PE, lunch, and everything in between. Tonight he asked if I would make him his lunch to take tomorrow. So tonight is the first time I packed a school lunch. How exciting for me AND for him!!!

Iowa State Fair

2008-09-08T20:15:00.005-05:00

We managed to make our way to the Iowa State Fair again this year. And we brought Great-Grandma along for the ride!! We managed to borrow a scooter for G Grandma to ride on and nearly run people over with! Here are some pics from the beautiful day.

Slip-n-Slide

2008-08-12T21:42:00.004-05:00

So we pulled out the Slip-n-Slide for the boys to play on. Ron thought he had to show Gavin how to do it. I think Ron just wanted to try it for himself.

However we officially sunk to "white trash" level when Ron pulled off his shorts and started sliding in his underwear. Now we almost have to move!

Meet the Teacher

2008-08-12T21:39:00.004-05:00

We were able to meet Gavin's Kindergarten teacher at a picnic in the city park. From what I understand, none of the other teachers put this together which makes me very excited to see what the rest of the year brings!! We were able to visit with Mrs Bejarno, ask questions, meet the other parents and students, and then the kids played a game with the teacher. I am soooo excited for Gavin to start Kindergarten. I just know he is going to love it!! Only 5 days left!!

Reconstruction

2008-08-12T21:31:00.003-05:00

Well, we are making progress on the basement. Thanks a bunch to Raymond for all of your work!!!! We had to cut out the bottom foot of drywall all the way around the whole basement. And of course, in order to do that, we had to remove all trim, the sink, the carpet, and so much more. The drywall is replaced, mud and taped, and textured again. We had to repaint everything so we went with off-white (thinking ahead to selling time). Of course, Ron can't go without his wonderfully beautiful HDTV flat panel tv. So he sits in a folding chair and watches it all by himself in the basement. Men and their electronics. I will never understand it!!!!

During clean up

2008-07-29T20:29:00.003-05:00

These are clean up pictures. The carpet is pulled up and fans are blowing under the carpet. There is a monster size dehumidifier in the basement. All of the walls have holes poked in them about every 6 inches at least. They had to discard the baseboards and carpet pad. Where they took off the baseboards some of the paint peeled off and the dry wall tape peeled up. In the bathroom is the worst, as far as the walls. It took a chunk of dry wall off.

I also added a picture of our garage which is crammed with stuff, a lot we will have to throw away after the adjuster sees it. Like the couch: It sits close to the floor and so the water wicked up the fabric and into the inside of the couch. It was wet at least 4-6 inches up the side of the couch.

The basement version of Typhoon Lagoon

2008-07-29T20:07:00.005-05:00

With all of the torential rains, flooding, high winds, tornadoes, etc, etc here in Iowa, it seems amazing that we made it through the end of June with no problems. However, the problem caught up to us and now we are paying (a deductible) for it. The photos are of our basement which flooded Sunday night. Since the electricity went out we were without a sump pump for 9 hours. We had a small river in our basement which managed to wreak havoc on nearly everything. Our furniture, sub woofer, entertainment center, book case, along with several other things are currently being stored in our garage until the adjuster can come look at it and assess the total cost of damage.

Service Master came out today and pulled up the carpet, tore out and disposed of the carpet pad, punched holes in the wall to dry the insides of the wall out, sprayed anti-mold foam on everything, and cleaned up the dirt and sand that washed in. I am gratefuly they did all the work!!

These are before pictures. You can see where the water is by the color difference in the carpet. The darker areas of carpet are where it is wet. If you can't see a color difference it is because all of the carpet in the picture is wet. 95% of the basement carpet is wet.

Typhoon Lagoon

2008-07-22T20:07:00.005-05:00

The kids area had little slides, squirt guns, water falls, and a short little river they could float down. They had so much fun here, and they were exhausted when we left.

Disney Land

2008-07-22T20:01:00.003-05:00

The parade!!!

Disney Land

2008-07-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

Playing in the Goofy Playground.

Disney Land

2008-07-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

Max was a little scared of Mickey and Minnie.... and he was getting over throwing up in the car to visit Mickey and Minnie.

Disney Land

2008-07-22T19:50:00.005-05:00

The boys got to sit in Minnie Mouse's chair at her house.

Mickey and Minnie say "Hi!"

2008-07-22T19:40:00.005-05:00

We spent last week in partly rainy/ partly sunny Orlando Florida visiting Aunt Courtney and Uncle Bud. We also managed to visit Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and a few other friends while we were there. It was a lot of fun, but we had to deal with Max and his car sickness the first 2 days before finding the wonder drug Bonine, and then the last day dealing with Gavin and I getting the stomach flu!!! Vacation sure wears me out!!!

These are some pics of the walking path outside of Lance's apartment. The boys got to feed the ducks, chase squirrels, try to catch lizards, and of course had to do that with their shirts off because Daddy had his shirt off.

Adventureland

2008-07-22T19:39:00.004-05:00

We are getting lots of use out of our Adventureland season passes! The boys have lots of fun riding on all of the rides!

The big 0-3!

2008-06-15T17:14:00.006-05:00

Max celebrated his big 0-3 with Scooby-Doo cake and a pinata! He invited a few of his closest friends and they started off the party by eating some pizza and drinking some cherry Kool-Aid. Then they all headed outside to pull the strings on the pinata and hope the candy would fall out soon. They bagged up a bunch of candy and came back inside to open up gifts. The gift opening took all of 30 seconds and then it was cake and ice cream time. After their cake and ice cream was gone they headed into the back yard to play with the new toys. The kids' favorite was the bubble maker.

Happy Birthday Max!!!

Preschool Graduation

2008-06-14T09:36:00.003-05:00

Gavin made the walk across the stage and accepted his diploma. He is now prepared for the rigorous class work found in Kindergarten. He is so excited for Kindergarten. The last month of preschool he kept saying he wished he didn't have to go anymore and could just go to Kindergarten. I am so happy that he is getting excited about Kindergarten. I hope he keeps this excitement about school for another 17 years!

Dirt

2008-05-21T15:56:00.002-05:00

Boy (n): a noise with dirt.

Max's motto: The dirtier you are, the more fun you are having.

Soccer

2008-05-21T15:51:00.003-05:00

Gavin has again played his heart out on the soccer field.

Olivia- the pregnant woman in the pic is Lori Ballard.

A turning point

2008-05-15T13:06:00.003-05:00

I am excited to report that I have accepted a position with DHS of Polk County! It is so crazy to think that I have been doing childcare for 5 years. There are a lot of things that I am going to miss and a lot that I won't miss. As with any job, there are good and bad things about being home all the time. I am grateful that I have been able to do it, though. I wouldn't change anything about the past 5 years!

Round 'em up!

2008-05-14T08:03:00.003-05:00

Kindergarten round up was last week and Gavin had a wonderful time! His favorite part, of course, was recess. That was all he talked about. In fact, he said he couldn't remember doing anything else the whole time except for recess. Luckily the teachers send notes home and I found out that Gavin is right where he should be for Kindergarten. He recognized all but 4 letters. He can hop, skip, and jump. He can count to 20 without making a mistake. He can write his name. He knows shapes and colors. And an added bonus- he knows how to tie his shoes!! I am so excited for him and proud of him! He is really excited about Kindergarten and said he wished he could go every day. That will happen soon enough!!!

Like father, like son

2008-04-25T16:20:00.004-05:00

Gavin is practicing writing his letters and also practicing some new words. He asked me "Is this the contact way to write an 's'?" I love how he is trying to expand his language- even if he does pick the wrong word sometimes.

He also reminds me of Ron. I remember when Ron and I had just moved into our first apartment. It was a hot summer day but we hadn't turned the air conditioner on yet. Mom came over to visit and, out of concern for mom's comfort, Ron asked if she wanted him to make the fan ovulate back and forth.

That still makes me laugh when I think about it. :)

My new furniture

2008-04-24T10:10:00.005-05:00

Here are pics of my new furniture! The couch, love seat, and chair are now in the living room and the old furniture is down stairs. The boys are loving the bunk beds. Max sleeps on the bottom and Gavin sleeps on the top. The pictures are some I had bought a year or so ago, but match perfectly with the furniture.

Swim Fan

2008-04-18T08:26:00.006-05:00

We made our way to Adventurland Inn a short 6 miles from home to have some R&R. Actually, there wasn't any R&R because the boys swam for 3 hours and Ron and I chased them around to make sure they didn't drown. They had an awesome time!!

Gavin-speak

2008-04-17T14:26:00.002-05:00

Gavin to English dictionary

amn't (v.)- contraction for am not. "I am being good today, amn't I?"

bootybot (n.)- this word is derived from the word butt, which is not allowed to be spoken in the house (in the context of "I am going to stick my butt in your face!" followed by peals of laughter). So butt was changed to booty, which I still didn't appreciate hearing, so it was further transformed to bootybot, which is close enough to butt to be just as hilarously funny, but far enough away that he can't get in trouble for saying it.

google (n.)- the number 1 followed by many many zeros. After learning that this word represented a number it now is the answer for anything requiring a number. "I want a google sandwiches for supper." "I am going to ride my bike a google miles per hour." "At my next birthday I am going to be a google years old!"

chicken-butt (n.)- the obvious answer to the phrase "Guess what?" Unfortunately I was the one who answered with chicken-butt because, honestly, I was tired of guessing what. I am expecting this word to transform to chicken-bootybot soon.

chantel (v.)- when you take a toy to school to show your classmates and talk about it. AKA: show-and-tell. Chantel is the name of Gavin and Max's babysitter on the occasions that Ron and I are both busy. It is pronounced shan-tell.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

2008-04-17T14:20:00.004-05:00

These are my herbs that I am growing. Compared to Olivia's mine are jungle-like.

The Many Faces of Gavin

2008-04-07T10:01:00.004-05:00

I Rise

2008-04-06T19:56:00.003-05:00

The pastor at the church I attend gave a sermon about Christ rising from the dead and worked into talking about when someone cuts you down and how you can rise from that. I was trying to import it into my itunes and the sermon started playing. I didn't stop it and just listened as I worked on the computer. He mentioned the Maya Angelou poem I have pasted at the end of this post. He spoke the line "You may trod me in the very dirt, But still, like dust, I'll rise." And as he said that he stomped his foot on the floor and I could imagine the dust rising.

I love those moments when I am unaware and unexpectant and suddenly I realize I am in the middle of hearing the answer to the question I have been praying about.

I have attached the audio link to the sermon. It is titled CSI Jerusalem.

http://www.c2all.com/public/fileshowgroup.asp?ID=100561&fID=1857

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

The Many Faces of Max

2008-04-04T09:38:00.004-05:00

Differently Challenged

2008-03-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

Max put a bucket on his head and was banging it with the shovel.

Gavin and his pet

2008-03-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to find good help

2008-03-26T17:31:00.006-05:00

Don't cross our church, or else!

This was posted on our bulletin board as you enter the church.

Easter Bunny

2008-03-25T11:11:00.002-05:00

Gavin had his picture taken with the Easter Bunny at the mall. Max was supposed to, but ended up bawling in fear and wouldn't let go of my leg. So..... we got a picture of the next best thing. Max and the flowers about 20 feet away from the Easter Bunny.

Then they went on the train ride.

Breaking News!!

2008-03-21T08:53:00.003-05:00

Bondurant IA (AP)- Official Name Change Request Has Been Filed

Gavin Crees, 5 years old, has just filed papers with no one in particular requesting a slight name change for his guinea pig, Pretty. The new name is now Pretty Hawk Crees. No doubt the addition of the middle name Hawk was influenced by his father's devotion, and therefore Gavin's mandatory devotion, to the University of Iowa Hawkeye sports teams.

Gavin adopted the albino cavie in January as part of an agreement with his parents which states, "Ronald and Angela Crees, parents of Gavin Crees, from this moment forward, will be required to willingly and happily give gifts to said child that will require lots of money and maintenance". This contract was put into place on January 23, 2003 at a nearby hospital and, as can be seen, has so far been upheld.

An Expressionist's Point of View

2008-03-21T08:49:00.004-05:00

Max decided to express himself artistically. In green marker. On his legs.

Nice Wheels!!

2008-03-21T08:45:00.001-05:00

My 95 year old grandmother's new car. Heaven help us!!!

Gavin says...

2008-03-05T17:05:00.002-06:00

I was pushing my cuticles back this morning and Gavin asked what I was doing. I told him and he said what is a cuticle? So I showed him. He said,"Is that so you can take your fingernails off?"

This afternoon Gabe and Gavin were coloring. This is what Gavin had to say,

"I went to a museum once and saw a lot of pictures. I told myself I could be an artist some day. But I think first I would like to do magic."

Where does he get this stuff at?!

Gavin's questions of the day

2008-02-28T21:00:00.003-06:00

I will soon post pics of my trip to the Eastern Carribean. But for now, you will have to settle with some recent questions posed by Gavin.

(yesterday)
Gavin: where does dust come from?
Me: From on top of the piano.
Gavin: How does it fly?
Me: It floats on the moving air.
Gavin: How come you can't touch it with your hand when it is in the air?
Me: because your hand is making the air move and so the dust moves with it.
Gavin: *thinking*
Gavin: Why did God make woodpeckers?
Me: I don't know.

(today)
Gavin: Where do good and bad germs come from?
Me: You are born with germs in your body that help your body do things. Some germs come from other people or animals.
Gavin: Why did God make bad germs?
Me: I don't know.

Gavin's 5th Birthday

2008-01-28T12:58:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!!!

Gavin had a great 5th birthday on the 23rd of January. First, he got up in the morning and to his suprise there was an empty animal cage! He did not want to wait to see what animal he could get, but he had to muster up some patience. Before he could pick out his animal he needed to visit the doctor for his 5 year check up. He is 42 1/2 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. Exactly 50th percentile on both. He was then the lucky recipient of 3 shots. Thank goodness we were able to counteract the shots- after the dr visit Ron took him to PetSmart to pick out his very own guinea pig. He was so excited!! He chose an albino guinea pig- white fur and red eyes. (probably the scariest one he could have chosen) And of course he got to choose the animals name. After thinking about it for a day it became a toss up between "Shakey" and "Wiggle" (based on how she shook with fear everytime Max entered the room). Much to our surprise Gavin went a different direction and named her "Pretty". A joke perhaps? Like naming a hairless dog Furry? That is the only explanation I can come up with. He is insistent, though. So we call her Pretty.

After the excitement of the new pet Gavin celebrated his birthday with his friends in daycare. They all got to eat some ice cream. Yum!!
However, the party didn't really get started until Saturday. He invited over 5 friends for a 2 hour birthday bash!! The theme was knight/dragon and so we had a "castle" made out of cardboard boxes. I bought markers and they all decorated the castle. They played three games, pin the fire on the dragon, roll the dragon egg across the floor with your nose, and find the hidden treasure. Of course the camera ran out of batteries during the games, so I don't have a picture of that. We then ate Casey's pizza (a party in your mouth!) and then opened gifts. We finished the party with a castle cake and some chocolate chip ice cream. They had so much fun!

What I have learned.....

There are several things I have learned from this experience.

1. 2 hours with 6 four and five year olds is too long. 1.5 hours would have been long enough.
2. Rug burn on the forehead and nose is a hazard when playing the "roll the egg with your nose" game.
3. Ron is no help when it comes to birthday parties. He has never been any help and will never be any help. I must accept this fact. However, he does get other things done. For example, I asked him to take a picture of the games, he realized the batteries were dead, went to get new batteries. 20 minutes later I found him cleaning his wedding ring. In the search for the batteries he happened upon the ring cleaner... the rest is annoying history. :)

duck vs. Max

2008-01-16T21:01:00.000-06:00

I had a duck puppet and I was trying to catch Max's hand in the duck's mouth. He was cracking up!!

Puppet Show

2008-01-16T20:50:00.000-06:00

The kids put on a puppet show for me. It was so funny to see them act out with puppets! Max made his hippo quack the whole time. :)

Dear Lord,

2008-01-14T14:43:00.000-06:00

Please tell Santa to bring me more toys.
Amen

The Tool Man

2008-01-14T14:40:00.000-06:00

Max is fixing his water and sand table with the new tools he received for Christmas.

Christmas

2008-01-14T14:29:00.000-06:00

Preschool Christmas Program

2007-12-18T10:41:00.001-06:00

Gavin did a great job singing his songs he learned from preschool.

Want a close shave?

2007-12-18T10:39:00.001-06:00

Gavin and Max will show you how to achieve one!

Church Christmas Program

2007-12-18T10:30:00.001-06:00

Gavin played a shepherd this year in the Church Christmas Program. He did a very good job, except for the brief stint of turning the shepherd staff into a sword and attempting a sword fight with another shepherd. What can a person expect when you give two 4 year olds long sticks?!

Ron's ski trip

2007-12-18T10:26:00.000-06:00

Ron took a ski trip to Park City, Utah the beginning of December. He had a lot of fun spending the day skiing and evening soaking in the hot tub.

Snow Day

2007-12-18T10:22:00.000-06:00

What could be more fun to a kid then playing in the snow.

It's all Greek to me!!

2007-11-26T12:54:00.001-06:00

Gavin: "How do you say hello in Spanish?"
Me: "Hola."
Gavin: "How do you say hello in Spanish if you live in China?"

A walrus story

2007-11-16T14:42:00.000-06:00

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things..."

It has been awhile since I have posted a Gavin conversation so here goes.

G- Mommy, what do you know about walruses?
A- Not much
G- but what do you know?
A- I know they like to swim.
G- I already know that. What else.
A- I know they like to eat fish.
G- I already know that, too. What else.
A- I don't really know anything else about them, but we can find out at the library.
G- *sighs and shakes his head as if very disappointed*
G- Never mind.

Max singing ABC's

2007-11-05T16:28:00.000-06:00

A video....

2007-11-05T16:12:00.000-06:00

Okay, let's see if this will work. Keep in mind, I have no idea what I am doing.

Instruments of Torture

2007-11-05T16:09:00.001-06:00

Thanks Aunt Bibby!!

Beggar's Night '07

2007-10-31T07:41:00.000-05:00

Another beggar's night came and went. The kids had so much fun. The older they get the better more fun it is. Gavin went door-to-door with his friend Jacob. Max tagged along with his cousin Joey. They both came home with a sack full of candy.

The beef burgers were a hit again this year. We handed out 142 sandwiches and gave away about 96 cans of pop (all we had!) I love seeing all of the kids' costumes. I also dressed up this year. I think I would make Sarah proud!! :)

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

The whole family went to the pumpkin patch to celebrate Gavin's milestone of breaking the habit of sucking his fingers. Way To Go GAV!!!! The kids had a blast feeding the animals, playing in the corn, and picking out their pumpkins. We even made our way through a corn maze!!!

Parent's Day at Preschool

2007-10-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

Gavin had Parent's Day at preschool. It is so cute to see them walk in and sing us songs!

Deja Vu

2007-10-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

All the signs point to....

2007-09-28T08:46:00.001-05:00

So what does this mean?

I place my oatmeal in the microwave and cook it for 90 seconds. I pull it out of the microwave and place it on the stove. It is really hot. I reach for an apple on the counter and see a fly swoop down and land on the oatmeal...... and instantly die.

Eat Your Veggies!!

2007-09-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

The setting: Gavin, Max, and myself are sitting at the kitchen table eating supper. I have made a meal of barbecue beef ribs with a tangy, brushed-on, sauce. I also cooked some broccoli with a cheese sauce. The ribs took me 3 hours to make. I first boiled the ribs for 2 hours and placed them on the grill. I combined several ingredients to make the sauce and cooked it for 10 minutes on the stove before brushing it onto the ribs and grilling it.

Gavin: What is this?
Me: Barbecue ribs
Gavin: What animal does it come from?
Me: Cow
Gavin: What part of the cow?
Me: The back
Gavin: Why the back?
Me: I don't know
Gavin: How did the farmer get it off of the cows back?
Me: He had to kill the cow first.
Gavin: Do farmers have guns?
Me: Some do, but the farmer doesn't shoot the cows.
Gavin: So how did the farmer kill the cow?
Me: *sigh* he probably cut the cows neck.
Gavin: What does the cow do before his neck gets cut?
Me: What?
Gavin: The farmer goes "walk, walk, walk, walk, walk," and then cuts the cows neck. What did the cow do before it got its neck cut?
Me: Oh. Probably nothing. The cow probably didn't know that was going to happen.
Gavin: *pause*
Gavin: I want to be a farmer when I grow up. Except I just want to grow broccoli.
Me: Good idea.

I think tomorrow we will have vegetable soup.

(Of course Max only at the broccoli)

This man is an idiot.

2007-09-17T14:10:00.001-05:00

The man in this picture should have an idiot tattoo on his forehead. Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a pic so this will have to do. This man was smoking his cigarette while pumping gasoline. Beware of him while pulling up to the pumps at WalMart in Altoona. He might be your grim reaper!!!!!

Bend it like Beckham

2007-09-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Gavin has found his niche in the soccer community. He LOVES it and even when he is standing on the sidelines he is running and kicking and bouncing around.

Only Max....

2007-09-17T13:55:00.001-05:00

Only Max could get himself into this predicament.