Thursday, February 19, 2009

Taking a break from the Hutch

Not feeling well. Can't write coherently. Only the Sultan Flokenes people will miss me. heh
See you when I find my brain again.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Birthday!

Just before heading to her Jam Camp at the Apple store with Dad. How they spent the day!

Today you are 12 years old, on the brink of becoming a teenager. You are such a lovely young lady. We are so very proud of you in so many ways. Your hard work and enthusiasm in school, your helpfulness at home, your natural caring ways with your little brothers, your big heart, your clutzy ways, your wonderful talents in so many things are just a few of the things that make you so very special. We know that this past year has been difficult for you at school but you have not lost yourself as a result of those trials. You hold your head high and stick to what you believe is right no matter how difficult that may be at times. That makes us so very proud. We hope that you will always be able to look within yourself to find the strength to push through the challenges that life may throw your way. You are braver and stronger than you think you are. I hope you know that your family is behind you. We will always be there to love and support you through the joys and challenges of life. This next year will bring many more changes for you but we have confidence that you will navigate through them with the grace and wisdom that is you. Happy Birthday Sweetie!
Oh no! 2 Boyfriends!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

12 on the 12th

It's that time again and once again I don't have pictures to show for my day. Here are my 12:

1. Massage therapy with my angel Joyce.

2. Grocery shop.

3. Lunch with the Hero.

4. Put groceries away. Repackaged bulk meat.

5. Prepared fruit tray for Turtle's class party.

6. Had a surprise visit from my Dad, he was on his way back from a conference in Kananaskis. He brought me roses for Valentine's Day. He has rarely missed a year since I can remember.

7. Organized valentines for all the classes and packaged the cookie lollipops for Iceman's party.

8. Helped Turtle make a goodbye card for twin classmates that are moving to a school in the next county.

9. Made supper - BBQ steak, roasted baby potatoes, sauteed mushrooms with garlic, delish tossed salad with grape tomatoes, yummy lettuce, red onion and feta.

10. Off to have a bath..... always a good idea after a massage to help the lymphs drain... while the Hero puts the littles to bed.

11. Watched the Office and dvred Greys Anatomy.

12. Have some snuggle time with the Hero.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Wordless Wednesday




* photos by Iceman starring Kodiak goofing for the action shots (obviously it's time to retire those track pants lol... can't keep up to that kid and his growing) FTR the junk you always see along the edge of the yard in the pictures belongs to the neighbors and not to us. ;)

Clear Skin

Kodiak and La Diva really don't have a fighting chance in the hereditary department when it comes to clear skin. Their parents have battled awful acne in their teen years to the point that I was on Accutane for a brief time (ugh, what a mistake but I was heading to college and desperate) and the Hero has some scars to show for his awful skin. Seeing as kids are just downright vicious these days I've been trying to do whatever I can to help them through this process. La Diva is really just starting the zits and she has mostly a blackhead problem with the odd awful under skin eruptor that leaves an oozing mess on her sweet face. Kodiak is blessed with the T zone nightmare which was starting to look like a permanent affliction of red dots.

They use a skin care line from Melaleuca which work well enough. We decided to try an additional route with Kodiak which was to add the multi plus daily glow vitamin and take him off milk for a 2 week period. I have heard rumblings that dairy is a major culprit with acne issues but the larger reason we cut out the milk was because he seems to have a *warning disgusting* build up of mucous which caused his ears to feel plugged and an urge to hork constantly. When he was a small boy and required a 2nd round of ear tubes we researched other options and decided on chiropractic care. The Chiropractor suggested that we switch him to goat's milk for a time because it has less mucous than cow's milk and could help his ears to drain, along with the chiro adjustments. It worked wonders and he never needed tubes. So when he was saying it felt like his ears were plugged alot this came back to mind. We had decided we would do this milk free trial and then schedule a hearing test if necessary. While the milk free trial worked on all counts- his hearing has improved, he isn't constantly horking and his skin is really clearing up. We also discovered that he was drinking upwards of 4 litres (a gallon) of milk every day. He is a cheese lover and would rather cut out all that milk and still have his cheese. He has tried soy, goats milk and rice milk during the experiment and finds goats milk to be the closet to cows. So for his cereal we will have goats milk on hand. He is drinking more water which is good for him. All the way around it has been a win-win situation for him.

As far as La Diva goes we have issues with her ability to swallow pills so this vitamin will be near impossible for her to take. She is so slim that I really don't want to take the diary away from her at the moment. So we will just keep going with the skin care routine and play it by ear.

Monday, February 09, 2009

It's a Good News Day!

"It's a Good News Day!" says Iceman when he arrived home from school. All of his hard work with home reading, sight words, getting him to read every chance we could has paid off. He was at a below grade reading level in September (like not quite grade 1 level) and he has brought it up to a 2.3. I know most people would be shooting for something closer to a grade 3 level considering his age and how far into the year we are but this is a HUGE deal for him. I'm so proud of him for working hard at something he was hating so much because of the frustration it caused him. I'm also grateful for his patient teachers who have been so amazing this year. He is thinking that a Blizzard date with Dad is what he'd like as a reward.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

another blog

I'm contemplating starting another blog about my torment. I don't think everyone (my vast readership lol) wants to read about my ups and downs during the process (it often feels like I'm whining) so I do not post about them here as much as I would like to. I feel like I need a place to put a lot of it as well as a way to track my days... good and bad, how my body responds to different treatments, etc. Honestly, sometimes I need to just bitch and moan about it. I've tried a few groups for fibro/chronic pain but everyone is to involved dealing with their own issues that there isn't a lot of activity. What you get is no response to your own issues and are left with a bunch of whining posts with little to no encouragement in return. So maybe having my own diary of my struggles and victories is better than being a part of some of the groups? What do you think, should I put my journey through Fibro'myhell'gia somewhere else or keep it here?

sorry for the missing words, I'm having a foggy day and the drugs don't help any. I think I caught them all but I'm hoping you can read between the lines heh

Friday, February 06, 2009

We're under attack!!!!

Freedom is running back and forth from the patio window to the front door, her ears permanently perked up and her tail going. She just tried to nudge my hand off the keyboard and is now running back and forth from me to the door. This would normally mean I have to peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee but that is not the case. The yard, the trees, the roof are covered with swarms of cedar waxwings. Their noise is sending her off the deep end. She loves to play with the birds. If I open the door she will go bounding out in the middle of them and send them flying in all directions, she will race to the back yard and do the same thing protecting her territory. They will fly off at first but if we let her do this often enough they will just perch in the tree and mock her from out of reach. She has never attacked them and whenever the Hero says "Where's the birds?" it sends her in a frenzy of playfulness. The weather has been warmer the past few days and with that comes the birds to feed on the berries from the mountain ash, as well as, the crabapples and plums left on the neighbors trees.

We are blessed with many birds thanks to the huge trees in our yard. It's not uncommon to see blue jays, chickadees, sparrows, waxwings, robins and even the odd woodpecker. We put out seed and suet in the winter. We hung up several birdhouses this fall as well. This past spring we had a nest of blue jays in our front yard.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Thankful Thursday!!

Today is a day to celebrate because it is the birthday of one of my favorite people! She is an amazing woman with talents and gifts too numerous to list. She constantly astounds me with her craftiness and creativity. I've had the great pleasure of meeting her outside of cyberworld and she is so beautiful inside and out! Her family is a testimony to her "awesomeness" (stealing Iceman's word). I know that I do not tell her often enough just how much she means to me. She has helped carry me through some difficult times with her wisdom and she has given me hours of laughter with her wonderful sense of humor. So Happy Birthday dear friend! I am so blessed to have you in my life! Do something special for yourself! We will celebrate today with cupcakes in your honor!