Nicolas' 3rd Birthday

The last few months have been so crazy and my blog has been put on the back burner for some time and so much has happened that I want to share. For one, Nicolas had his 3rd birthday the middle of October. We had to postpone his party for about a week due to Doug and Eli having the flu and another unforeseen circumstance that affected us, but more about that later.

So on his actual birthday, I took Nic to the doctor for a flu swap to see if he had it, which he didn't, and the doctor gave him and I both Tamiflu just in case. Then off to the bakery to get his cake and by the pharmacy to pick up a balloon for him and our medicine. Once home we gave him his presents, he got what he wanted and loved playing with them.

Little man's cake, he picked strawberry. He had a dump truck theme this year.

We rescheduled his party for the following Thursday night at Chuck E Cheese, everyone had so much fun.

Nic decided that since he could not get the ball rolled all the way up, he would take it up there and throw it in.

Cake and present time!

He is meeting Chuck E Cheese, he decided he needed to give him a high five. I can't believe our baby is three, it just does not seem possible. But for now I have him at home until preschool starts next fall.

Eli's 5th Birthday

I have picture overload below with pictures from Eli's birthday little over a week ago. His birthday fell on a Friday this year so he wore his school spirit shirt to school and I picked him up we came home to open a gift from us and one from Nic before we went to lunch at Logan's Roadhouse. Our little tradition that we started on Eli's second birthday, the day Logan's opened in Owasso so now we go on all of our birthday's. After lunch we picked up his cake (from the best bakery, D's Sweet Designs) and came home to get ready for his party that evening. He had a few friends from school come and they all had such a ball. After playing in the bounce house or castle as the boys call it, they ate pizza played more, then gifts, pinata, cake and more playing. It was such and enjoyable evening with family and friends. This year's theme was all about Transformers and it was such a hit. After the party we went to the high school football game and the boys had fun there as well. Needless to say they crashed when we got home that night. It is hard to believe our little man is five it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that he was just a baby.

1st Soccer game

This year Eli is playing his first season of soccer and he is loving every minute of it. Doug is his coach and I am helping out with the couple of games that he cannot be there. At this age they play three on three and their quarters are only eight minutes long. During games this is a long time for boys and girls that are all under 6, without a water break or timeout. Unlike most of the teams, who have five or six players we only have four little guys and they get tired and thirsty really fast during the games. We had our second game this morning and the boys won 7-3 and played so great. Watching the games is so much fun, there are a few that has played a season or two but most haven't played at all. These pictures are from their first game when it was still dreary and yucky but this morning it was so beautiful. We have seven games left in the season and it looks like it is going to be a really fun one.

This is one of my favorite pictures, with both teams running to the ball.

Letter to my dear friend Ragweed

Dear old friend Ragweed,

Every year you rear your huge ugly head and make us all miserable. Why oh why? The runny noses and sniffling, sneezing, coughing and that horrible pressure in our heads. Please, just go away for a while. If you wouldn't mind, could you take some time off and come back again next year or better yet hibernate for a time? We would truly appreciate it.

First Day of Pre-K!!

The first day of school was over a week ago and Eli is loving every minute of it! He can't wait to get to school everyday and he likes all of his new friends and his teacher. Pre-K is only for a few hours each day but it is getting him into the routine of school everyday and what to expect while there.

~ ~

Elijah,

Over the last five years (almost), we have watched you grow and learn tremendously and we are overjoyed that you love school so much! It has been so much fun being your parents and it is a little sad to see you grow up so fast, it seemed like yesterday you were born and now you are on an education adventure of a lifetime. We look forward to you sharing your daily adventures with us and what you learn each and every day.


Knowing we have guided you and taught you well, gives us great satisfaction because you are such a wonderful little man!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

We love you little man, enjoy your school year!!!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Informal Book Club

Okay, ladies I am participating in an informal book club. If you would like to participate, I have the information below with the instructions. If you would like to participate, send me an email confirming you would like to participate and I will send you the name and address of the person you are to send a book to.

*Instructions*

Please send a paperback book or audio book you have already enjoyed to the person whose name and address you will receive. There is no need to box the book you mail. A mailing envelope is fine. It will be interesting to see where the books come from and what books you received. You should receive 36 books.

Next, you copy this letter or post on your blog and send it to 6 different people. Do not send them a book. Put my name and address on the back of the six letters or email it to the participants.

If you can't do this within a week, please let me know so that we can be fair to the participants.

I hope you will be able to participate and it will be fun to see what books to will receive.

Thanks for Their Gifts

Thinking, praying, worrying and wondering why. What is the purpose of it all and how do we navigate through it? I know I have a purpose because without my faith in the Lord, I would literally crumble into a million pieces onto the floor. Knowing the people you love and care about are hurting and not being able to make their pain and worry go away, just makes you feel helpless and hopeless sometimes. Then there are times just being there for them helps and knowing they know you are praying for them and have many others thinking and praying for them helps. The day to day life and functionality gets lost and you sometimes get lost as well, floundering around and questioning what happened. How did everything get so off track and how do you get back on track? I know these things happen to everyone you just never expect to feel yourself being the one to flounder and wonder. But I know I should be thankful for everything in my life and know there is a purpose to this path and I should learn from the journey we are taking in our lives.

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:10-13.

Health Happenings..

Update: After I posted this earlier, we found out Doug has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and had to go get a stat X-ray on his colon, more details will come from the doctor once it is read . We now need to change his diet and most likely go ahead and change all of ours, to gluten free. I know our grocery store carries gluten free items and am going to try and set up a tour to find all of the items that they have, so that I do not have to search when I go grocery shopping. We are asking for guidance from the Lord and we are glad we finally know for sure the self diagnosis we made earlier. It is a relief to know something for sure and how we can handle and take care of it now.

For those of you who know and those who do not, here is an update on Doug's back and shoulder. If you remember, back in January he fell at work and hurt his back and shoulder and getting hurt at work, well can be a hassle to say the least. Why? Well you have to deal with worker's compensation insurance and not your own health insurance, which would have solved everything by now. Back to treatment, at first they thought is was a pulled muscle and said it would heal on it's own, wrong. All the while, he has been hurting and nothing really being accomplished, let's just say when it comes to a company's insurance paying for something, they deny, deny and deny more until you take them to court. That's right court. So, finally a judge court ordered treatment for his back, in May, that's right nearly four months later, all the while he is at home hurting. He has a 3/4 inch tear in a ligament in his lower back, which will eventually heal on it's own, we hope. They tried physical therapy to help with the muscles around it but that just made it hurt worse. So now, this Tuesday, I will be taking him to the orthopedic specialist to get a shot in his back, right in the ligament to see if this helps. They have approved three shots, how kind of the insurance company. The lawyers will also be meeting on Tuesday to try and decide what they will do for his shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, that's right they are fighting against treating that as well and here we are six months later, with nothing accomplished. Doug is a trooper, he has been back to work under doctor's order for a month now, although he is hurting, he loves his job and his family and we truly appreciate him and love him very much. So, please keep him in your prayers and we hope that these treatments work and he stops hurting.

Praying for Stellan

Many of you know MckMama and the story of Stellan. I hope that you will lift their family up in prayer, Stellan has been going through a rough few days and his little body is fighting hard to keep up. The last I read is that they will be airlifting him to Boston. Please keep him and his family in your thought and prayers.

Consequences

Do you give your children consequences if they do not listen? My boys are great and they do really well but every now and then we have our moments to where the draw for them is to strong and they forget what they should be doing. Take today for example. We go to FedEx Kinko's to ship a diaper cake and before we even get out of the car I tell them to listen while we are in there and afterwards we will go to Jamba Juice if and only if they mind. When you walk in the draw must be too strong because they immediately see candy and packing peanuts. Eli proceeds to toss up a bag of peanuts after repeated requests to please stop and Nic is drawn to the candy and decides he can't hold back and opens the Mentos. I told them both since they didn't listen we would not be going next door but instead go home. After I paid for the Mentos, I heard the girl at FedEx sort of giggle as we were walking to the door and hearing me telling the boys this. Either she thought they were cute or she was wondering if I was going to follow through with what I told them. The boys did not like that I started putting them in the car and into their car seats, all the while saying, "Mommy we will listen." I tell them both they should have listened while they were in the store and we proceed to head home. Both were very unhappy and wined the whole way home. But once home, calmed down, eating lunch and talking they realized they should have stayed beside me and they would have gotten a juice drink. So what do you do when your kiddos do not follow through, continue on and ignore or follow through with the consequence?

* I found this cartoon and just thought it was too hilarious *

Busy Week

We have had a busy week around here. I received quite a few orders, I need to ship one out, we delivered one and will deliver a few more in the next couple of weeks for baby showers. Doug was off on Thursday, so we made a delivery and then went and ate dinner at El Chico's @ Promenade. Nic and I went to get cookies at Great American Cookie and Doug and Eli went off looking for NASCAR shirts, they didn't have any luck though. We then heading over to Michael's for more ribbon and decided to go out to Utica Square to meet his mom and aunt and listen to the music. If you haven't been you should, it was great and the weather was perfect, the boys had a blast as well. Doug, being the sweet husband he is brings me a mocha frappuccino from Starbucks @ 7 o'clock in the evening and of course me and my will power couldn't hold back, I was up until at least two in the morning. Friday we relaxed in the morning and the boys and I were off on an adventure to Target and then the grocery store. Who knew cherries were so darn expensive? And then this morning, Eli was signed up to play soccer and he is so excited! Poor Nic doesn't understand he isn't old enough yet, he keeps thinking he is going to play as well. After sign-up the boys and I headed down to Tulsa to meet my mother-in-law at An Affair of the Heart. My very first time ever going, we thought about getting a booth and we will most likely next year. We have had a great week. I haven't taken any pictures recently and I need to save all my picture to a CD so that I can erase the ones on my Sandisk, there is nearly 500 on there. In other news, Doug and I came up with an idea the other night and we are trying to figure out ways to implement it. We think it will be a great service to our church and community. I need to get back to work, until next time.

Aging and hair color

Call it genetics, environmental factors or just aging but I hate it. For the last couple of years I have been getting white hairs, not gray but white. Not a lot of them, just a few and enough to annoy you but I also go about pulling them out with tweezers. Doug at first thought it was funny and now he sees me checking my hair often to see if those pesky stinkers are back. My hair is auburn and it is not like it is noticeable to everyone else, it is to me. Being twenty-nine, I didn't expect to have white hair this early in my life. So now I deal with it the way I know how until some other way comes along.

Recalls on baby items to pass on...

Here are just a couple of recalls that I received via email from the consumer product safety commission on some items you or someone you know might be using.

The first is for the Aqua-Leisure Industries, they are recalling their inflatable baby floats due to drowing hazards. The recall can be found here. If you have any of these items please call for your refund.

Sold at: Juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide, including Target, Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Dollar General, Kmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, and Bed, Bath & Beyond from December 2002 through June 2009 for between $8 and $15.

The second is Kolcraft. Which produces these: Kolcraft, Carter’s, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle Play Yards. The recall information can be found here. They advise people to stop using them and call Kolcraft for a free repair kit.

Sold at: Babies R Us, Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Target and other stores nationwide and Internet retailers from January 2000 through January 2009 for between $50 and $160.

Just a few tidbits that I thought you might like to know.

4th of July

Our 4th started out quite rainy just like everyone else around Oklahoma. It wasn't looking very promising to watch fireworks, but eventually the sky begin to clear and we decided we were going to Mimi & Papa's. Eli's quote of the day while we were sitting at the stop light, "Looks like we are going to Mimi & Papa's to watch fireworks after all." That boy loves watching fireworks Nic on the other hand not so much. We arrive in Tulsa and meet Doug after he gets off work then head over to his parents for some great grilling. The food was delicious and we head out to the backyard and set up the boys pool and bounce or castle as they call it. They splashed and bounced for a good 1 1/2 then dessert was strawberry pie and a patriotic trifle, absolutely delicious! The boys were off again to play and bounce for another 30-45 minutes before we got them dressed and headed down the street to the neighborhood bounce that was set up. We played down there for a bit and back to Mimi and Papa's before the neighborhood fireworks show started. We had a ball and it was a really long night, the boys crashed as soon as we got home. Can't wait until next year!!!

Blue Bell's "Taste of Summer"

The above pictures are from the weekend before the 4th of July. The last weekend in June is Blue Bell's "Taste of Summer" and this is our second year to go. We had an absolute ball although it was 100 outside and it was morning and earlier afternoon. After arriving we immediately ate ice cream and then headed over to get hot dogs for lunch. We went through at least eight bottles of water while there. When lunch was done we headed over to bounce, at least the boys did mom, dad and mimi roasted in the sun. The boys enjoyed three bounce houses and then more ice cream. We made our way around and the boys managed to find a fire hydrant the firefighters had turned on. They were soaked and loving every minute of it. No I did not have a change of clothes and they rode home like that but it was so hot they didn't notice. After playing in the water we went of to the putting greens and took our turn, then off to tour the facility and home we went. We had a blast and you can bet we will be back next year!

Great Awards bestowed upon me

I received these two lovely blog awards from my blog friend Sandy over at One Day At A Time and I would like to thank her so much. It has taken me a while to post them because I just haven't been posting very much the last few months. I definitely need to get back on my blog wagon here and get caught up.

This blog award I would love to pass on to some truly great blogs that you can get really great inspiration from.

1.) Dana @ From chaos to Grace

2.) Kahri @ Our Peculiar Life
3.) Megan @ It's Not Megan it's Megan

This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to how ever many bloggers you choose and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I would like to pass this along to a couple my blog friends.

1.) Kristen @ No Small Thing

2.) Megan @ It's Not Megan It's Megan

3.) Dana @ From chaos to Grace

4.) Melinda @ Bloggin' It From The 'Burbs

Thank you ladies, so much and I hope you enjoy!

Pictures from Father's Day

I thought I would share a few pictures from Father's Day and what the boys did after we got home from church. This is exactly what all three boys do once we are done with lunch and before Nic's nap. They all change into their NASCAR shirts, wearing their respective drivers, Eli likes #9 Kasey Kahne, Nic likes #88 Dale Earnheardt Jr. and dad puts on #14 Tony Stewart. They all then lay on the couch and watch the start of the race. It was too cute to not take a picture of all of them relaxing.

This picture frame is what the boys and I made for Doug. The boys held up letters spelling Daddy individually and together, I then edited the pictures into a version of black and white from picnik.com. We then framed them into a long black frame. Dad absolutely loved it and the boys hung it up the next day.

Nine Years Ago Today...

Nine years ago today, my wonderful husband ask me to marry him. It doesn't seem like it has been nine years and at the end of December we will be celebrating our ninth anniversary. Matter of fact, Doug is quite sneaky, he told me we were going to watch fireworks, knowing that I love watching them. He took me to the Rose Garden at Woodward Park in Tulsa and we were setting, talking and enjoying our time together. And the next minute, he was asking me to marry him. He jokes that I never said yes. Well obviously I did, because the next six months were a whirlwind of planning, ordering and preparing. We paid for every aspect of the wedding, not an easy task but we did it and I would do it all over in a heartbeat. Now, after almost 8 1/2 years of marriage it keeps getting better and better and I look forward to many more. Sweetheart, thank you so much for all of the joy have brought into my life and I can't wait to see what our future holds.

Happy Father's Day to a Great Dad & Husband

I like to say Happy Father's Day to a great father and husband. It is hard to believe this is your fifth Father's Day since Eli has been born and it gets better every year. The boys and I love you so very much and we hope you enjoyed your day of relaxation. There is nothing like sleeping in, going to church and coming home to watch golf and NASCAR the rest of the day. We enjoyed spending time with you today and hope you were able to relax and rest. You do so much for us and take care of us beyond belief, we truly love you and look forward to many more Father's Day's. The boys really enjoyed making your gift and they could tell you really liked it and you know they want to help you hang it up, when you find the perfect spot! So, here's to you honey, hope you enjoyed your day! I love you!

Father's Day Gift Ideas

It has been a little crazy around here lately and I haven't read any blogs in six days. I did get a chance to read up on them late last night, while Doug and I watched the CMT Music Awards (we recorded earlier in the week). Nic has hand foot and mouth, but his fever appears to have broken and he is starting to eat and drink again, so hopefully we are over the worst. At least he likes gatorade, but only after he has had his tylenol or motrin in him for an hour, then his throat doesn't hurt as much. I have been meaning to post this but with a cranky baby it is hard to get anything done let alone set at the computer and type. I thought I would share a couple of things we have done for Father's Day the past few years, just in case anyone doesn't know what to get, do or has waited until the last minute.

We have gotten a shirt that said "World's Greatest Dad" and I had Eli put his handprints right in the middle of the shirt and we then put the year (I was pregnant with Nic at the time). In 2007, the boys and I got a picture album and I printed select pictures of the boys from birth to right up until then. We then decorated the album with scrapbook supplies and sayings throughout, Doug loved it and he looks at it quite often, it is fun to see how much the boys have changed and grown over the last few years. Last year, Doug was out of town and the boys and I went down to Picture People and had a few poses of us taken and we ordered a couple of 5 x 7's and an 10 x 13 and had them framed for him, good deal as well when you use a 15-20% off coupon. These are just a few of the things we have done and I will let eveyone know what the boys have done for this year next week. The fun part is letting the kids help decorate or make their own projects and you know dad's love that the most.

Witness of Road Rage

While riding I do not always pay attention to the road. I talk to Doug and the boys and look around, which was the case last night on the way home from taking the boys getting haircuts. Doug noticed a car and truck driving fast and cutting each other off. Why? You've got me, there is no reason for it other than to take your anger out on someone who is minding there own business until you present your attitude. I have to admit I do not experience road rage but on occasion if someone is sitting in front of me at the stoplight and talking on the phone, pretty much not paying attention, I will say, "get off the phone and drive", not mean in any way just talking to myself. That is until I heard Eli repeat it one day when we were setting and waiting for the car in front of us to go and he repeating, "Lady, get off the phone and drive". Hilarious definitely but you always have to make sure what you say and especially how you say it. Anyway, back to the road rage we observed last night. This car and truck were driving fast back and forth and they go over into the slow lane and then the truck pulled into the fast lane and stayed even with the car the whole time making very obscene gestures. The car then speeds up and moves over into the fast lane, the truck moves over into the slow lane and then speed up and stays even with them. The truck then moves over into the fast lane, sticking his arms out the window and you know what those gestures entailed this all the while pushing the car further over to the side of the road driving down the highway. Luckily the car slowed down and was able to get back on the road, otherwise the would have ran into the bridge (this happened at 106th to 116th street north). They both continued to speed up but the car was now following the truck and I am assuming on the phone with police, I would have been if it happened to me. We then noticed the truck get off the highway near Collinsville and the car turning around to possibly follow. I would have only if I were on the phone with the police and they were nearby. But these days you have to be careful because you never know what could happen, they could have a gun in the car with them or even follow you to where ever you are going. It is like I said to Doug last night, why can't people just mind there business and drive home in peace the world would be a better place if everyone wouldn't be so uptight out everything and taking their anger out on the nearest person or car beside them or driving down the road.

(photo courtesy: http://blogs.kansascity.com/photos/uncategorized/road_rage_logo.jpg)

Journey of Life

Life's journey.. Where will it take you? Where have you been and where did you come from? All poignant questions in this journey we call life. Life is all about making choices, the way you choice to live, worship and how you proceed down the road. But what does it really mean? When you reflect on your life there are probably things you want to get rid of and others you wish you had experienced more of. I would love to pick and choice my journey but it is not up to me, my journey has been planned and there is only one person who knows where I am going. Do you put up a fight? You could, but would that really get you any further in life than sitting there kicking and screaming about missing out? I wish I could go back in my journey and toss out the bad and replace them with good but I have to accept that for some reason my journey is for a purpose and all will be revealed once the time comes. My journey and that of my family is on a path to someplace we know is good and we feel led to follow it. Questions, doubt, anxiety and peace all cross your mind but in your heart you know this is the right decision of you and your family. After church yesterday, Doug said to me, if that sermon wasn't talking directly to us then I don't know what is? There are Sunday's that I hear and understand the sermon and then there are those that hit right to your heart and are being directed right to you. What do you do with that? Follow, you better believe it. Whether it is something small, as volunteering or a life changing big move, follow and trust in the Lord as your guide. There is a reason for this journey and you will know what to do once you get there that is the reason they call it a journey in the first place.

Yesterday was the day of Pentecost or as many say the Birthday of the Church as read in Acts 2. There is something awe inspiring about reading Acts and how the apostles were speaking in tongue. I am a visual person and as I am reading and listening to the scripture being read I could picture Peter standing in front of the crowd delivering his message. As you go on to finish the chapter, I can also picture Peter giving the conclusion of what the people have done to Jesus and how the people ask what they can do to make it right. It is awe inspiring to read that three thousand people that very day repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.

It does my heart good to know that our children are learning by example. If we give them their dinner and we haven't sit down yet with ours, they say prayer and grab each other's hand and wait for us to sit down and pray before they start eating. Yesterday after church, Eli said prayer in the car and he and Nic grab hands and Eli started saying a prayer in the back seat. I am not sure what he was saying but it made us smile to know that the Lord is in their lives and leading them, along with guidance from us to be little men of GOD.

Rollercoaster of emotion on tv

What am I talking about? Well if you have seen all the hype over the last month on the TLC show Jon & Kate plus 8 then you know exactly what I am referring to. I had to DVR the show last night to get my monkey's in bed, then Doug and I watched it together after the news. You talk about a lot of emotion. One minute you are sitting there mad at one of them and turn around and be sad for them and their marriage but my heart goes right to all of their children. Yes, they put their life on television, what did they expect, to not get noticed when they go somewhere? When you put your life out there for everyone to see and we literally watch your children grow, people are interested. I noticed last night they talked about choices. They made the choice to do the show, write books, quit their jobs and go out all over town. But you can also quit doing the show and grow up and take care of your family as well. I mean if you can't take being at home taking care of your children, you need to look in the mirror start to focus on your family and get a job outside of the home, instead of gallivanting all over the country on a book tour or going out with a much younger single woman. All of their children do not deserve any of this, they deserve to be loved unconditionally and be their parents, regardless of what happens between them in the future.

Sorry, but this is a hot button issue for me. My parents divorced when I was about two and you never really get over the feeling of being left out, hurt and mad. Even when you feel as if you have dealt with your feelings and have cleared the air, there are days it can all comes rolling back and the abandonment issue hits you like a ton of bricks. I know there are children, teens and even adults that know that feeling I am talking about.

But, I am thankful for some wonderful people in my life that have helped to feel that void or hurt that you can feel at times. The first and foremost is the Lord, without my faith, I wouldn't be where I am today. Yes, I have questioned my faith a time or two and no I am not proud of that, but I know I am being led to something better and the Lord will take care of me along the way. Next, is my wonderful family that I take care of every single day, all three of my boys, they keep me on my toes and make me laugh so hard that it hurts. The loves of my life, what wonderful blessings to have in my life. I love you, Doug, Eli and Nic. Then, I had a special person in my life from the time I was born until she passed away just over six years ago, and she is my Nana. The person I could always count on to be there, that is until I met Doug, then I had two. There are a few people in my life that are there from time to time but my strongest support comes from Doug and the boys. Thank you for being such a rock honey, you are the best husband and dad anyone could ask for! And we would follow you to the moon and back!

Preschool is officially over!

This morning was the last morning for school, nearly three months until we start back up again. Where has the time gone? I swear it was just a couple of months ago and Eli started preschool and we were getting all teary eyed and look it has come and gone just like that. As we were leaving this morning I noticed our lovely trash can was knocked over with trash everywhere, so instead of staying at school with Eli for the morning I came back home real quick, changed Nic and fed him breakfast (he and Doug decided to sleep in this morning), then broke out my rubber gloves and proceeded to pick up all of the trash. Who knew you could have so much trash in one week? It just looks like a lot when all the bags are tore open and everything is all over the place. But when a dog from the neighborhood decides they need to check out what is in there, what can you do, and we know which dog it is but the owners just let it run around the neighborhood. Nobody seems to mind and we do live in the country but it has chased after my car quite a few time while leaving the neighborhood. I don't like that at all. If this dog runs after my car when I am driving real slow and jumps up to my window, who is to say it will not do this to my children or somebody else's child or grandchild? Granted it lives in a house that has three small children but who is to say it will not come after someone he/she doesn't know. I have even thought to myself if you run under my car too bad, maybe you shouldn't chase after it. I know horrible.. Okay, enough about that rant back to preschool. After Nic was done eating, we loaded back up and went back to school where all the kids were at the playground having a ball. The teachers had two small pools and a sand table that were filled with water and everyone was soaked. It didn't take Nic long to join Eli in all the water fun. So glad I took a change of clothes for both of them. I will post pictures as soon as I have them uploaded. At 11:30 all the kids walked back to the school and said goodbye for the final time, it was so cute. I got the boys changed and we went down to the bowling alley and bowled two games with Eli's friend Adrian and his mom. We had such a fun and busy morning, now I can't wait for Eli to start next year and for him to have fun with that.

The G Free Diet

Whether you are conservative, liberal or the man on the moon you should stop by your local book store and pick up The G Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I am only on chapter 3 but it is so informing and interesting to read you will not want to put it down. Why am I reading this? Well, we are trying to find out why Doug is having so much trouble with food, he is having so much pain in his stomach after eating certain things. After so much research and trying to find answers with numerous doctors, we have self diagnosed him with Celiac disease. What is celiac disease? It is a digestive disorder where your body has a toxic reaction to gluten. It is also an autoimmune disorder where your body attacks itself and is hereditary but not everyone experiences the symptoms, which there is a long list of. Untreated celiac disease can cause you to have problems with your health such as intestinal cancers, infertility, Type 1 diabetes, miscarriage and osteoporosis. What is interesting so far is that some doctors believe and evidence shows that celiac and gluten sensitivity can possibly influence mood and behavior disorders like ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder. Right know doctors are studying the link between gluten and autism spectrum disorders because they believe that if you remove gluten from the diet this can improve the condition.

For Doug to get his diagnosis he will need to have a celiac panel done, which is the first step. This test for the presence of antibodies associated with celiac, these include antiendomysial antibody, antigliadin antibody, tissue transglutaminase and total serum IgA. The next step in diagnosis is a endoscopy and small tissue biopsy, you only need to go through this if your celiac panel shows your risk level as high. Step three is genetic testing and this only needs to be done if step one and two prove inconclusive. So once we get his doctor to set it up we will be one our way to hopefully prove our self diagnosis and then change his diet. And hopefully getting him to feel better and eating healthy options so that he isn't hurting after he eats anymore.

I hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing problems after eating to go out and ask there doctor for a celiac panel to go and starting living a happier, healthier life.

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day was such a wonderful day! The beautiful handprints below is what the boys gave me with the help of my wonderful husband, this year and they are so great! We had a good morning and then headed off to brunch at the Hilton Southern Hills in Tulsa. This was our third year to go and we love the tradition we started and love going and having the the great food that is provided. I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day and enjoyed this wonderful time with your families.

Beautiful handprint molds

Beautiful card Eli made at school

The outside of the card Eli made

Me, Nicolas, Grannie, Elijah & Mimi