October 30, 2011: Follow your Intuition

Hola, All! Earlier in the month, I had a bone density test. This was not my first one, and certainly won't be my last. The test showed that my bone density had diminished, and the dr strongly suggested that I go see an endocrinologist (sp?). I drug my feet making the appointment because I don't want to be on any medication. A few years ago I was prescribed Actonel for my bones; it didn't take too many doses before I was having terrible heartburn from it. Needless to say, I stopped taking it.
After making the appointment with an endocrinologist, I started waking up with weird sensations, such as the fingers on my right hand went numb, even though I was sleeping in the same position that I always sleep in. After a few nights of this nonsense, I knew that the numbness was caused by my fear of not wanting to face the facts that were starring me in the face. In order to express my emotions, I started doing EFT, which caused me to face my emotions that I kept hidden and my fear. Since that day, the weird sensations have not come back.
Last Friday I went to the speciality doctor to see what her thoughts were on the situation. She suggested that I try something called Reclast, because it is taken intraveiniously once a year, that way there is no heartburn, but it makes most people feel like they have the flu for a few days. (Great.) It sounded to me like it must be pretty strong stuff to last a year; I'm really not looking to have my socks blown off by the infusion!
When I got home, I asked the Holy Spirit to tell me if this was the path I should take. Well, you know how it is, I wanted to know sooner rather than later. So, not hearing anything, I, of course, put my request in again to the Holy Spirit, knowing I have to wait on His timing.
This afternoon I was in John's office, trying to figure out how to make the best use of the space in the closet. After taking things out, putting some stuff in a Goodwill bag, and rearranging other things, I was indecisive about how to proceed. I noticed a book on the bed that was lying face down. When I turned the book over, I saw that the title was "IV Therapy"!! Holy cow, Is that the answer I've been waiting for! Is it really that easy to get an answer? Then, and I know you can relate, I started second guessing myself. Does it mean to proceed with the drug, ooorrrrr, does it mean to do some research on it? Oh, the agony of indecision. I think I'm going back to the Holy Spirit for clarification!
Follow your intuition (Holy Spirit),
Dawnie

October 20, 2011: All is well!

Hola, All! Co-habitation seems to be going well! John is settling into his job, having meetings, learning about the products he will be selling. For the next 2 weeks, he is in Chicago for training. How convenient is it that he can also talk to the realtor in person, check on the condo, pack more clothes in the second empty suitcase, and it not be on his dime! I think he also plans to talk to a management company about possibly renting the condo.
In the meantime, back at the ranch in Texas, we are settling into a routine, sort of. Kim takes the baby on Wednesdays for 45 minutes to the Rosemead Rec to a class. The second gym is open to children 1-5 years old;they get to play on the mats, trampoline, and gymnastic equipment. Yesterday Ed went with them and got to be a kid again, hanging out with Austin, rolling around on the mats. Oh, what a sight that must have been!
Since Tuesday was one of Kerri's days off, she and Kim took Ed's mom out to lunch, and then did some serious shopping. Ed was working, but I got to stay home and play with the baby. He loves hiding under the dining room table, playing cards. Well, kind of. What he really does is put each one in his mouth, clamping down on it with his two front teeth. Then he turns to me so that I can grab it. (It reminds me of trying to get something out of a dog's mouth.) I hold the card, pull a little bit, until he smiles and the card comes out. This was great fun for him, as we must have repeated it at least 30 times! I don't think it'll be too long before I can teach him to play Hand and Foot!
When Kim, John and Austin first moved in, I was doing almost all of the cooking. Now that they have been here a couple of weeks, Kim is starting to cook more. The other day she made banana bread that was yummy. Yesterday she took a whole chicken, cut up 2 lemons and rubbed them in the cavity, stopped up the opening with an onion, put oil on the skin with some herbs, and baked it. It was easy and delectable!
All is going well!
Dawnie

October 16, 2011: Food Allergies

Hola, All! Almost every morning I make fruit smoothies in the Vitamix: pears, peaches, and mangos.........all fruit that we know that Austin is not allergic to. He loves his fruit smoothie! I don't know if it's because he likes the taste so much or because he gets to drink it in a big-boy cup. Either way, he downs it pretty quickly. Last Monday morning we gave Austin a raw cut-up strawberry to see if he would have any reaction to it; we repeated this on Tuesday and Wednesday. If he is life-threatening allergic to a food, his throat will close within an hour; Kim keeps an epi-pen with her at all times. If he is mildly allergic, he might break out in hives or have runny poop, or get random bumps on his body. Luckily, the strawberries passed with flying colors; now I get to add strawberries to our morning smoothies!
This week Kim is going to test him on olive oil by putting a little in his oatmeal or some other food. She sometimes will try one new food a week, in the morning for 3 days in a row, watching him carefully. Sometimes I think that having food allergies is a blessing in disguise. The main foods that Austin eats are fruits, vegetables, some chicken and turkey, and cheerios. No candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, french fries..........all that stuff that tastes good but isn't very good for you. He is 13 months old, and his diet consists of foods I never even thought to feed my kids at that age; foods like mangos, blueberries, turkey meatballs, black beans, avocado. Good grief; K, K and B didn't eat avocados until they were nearly grown! (They didn't eat them earlier because avocados are green and that made them undesirable!)
Austin still drinks a bottle 3 times a day, before his morning and afternoon naps, and before bedtime. Since he turned a year old, his bottle has 1/2 vanilla rice milk and 1/2 EleCare, a formula for children with severe allergies. It is dairy free, soy free, wheat free, etc, and not very tasty, according to Kim, but it contains the vitamins, minerals and fat that babies need for proper growth. Because of that, he may be on a bottle longer than other children, but who really cares. I am so thankful that there are so many choices for people with allergies than ever before.
Be thankful,
Dawnie

October 14, 2011: Co-habitating rules

Hola, All! To continue from the previous blog: Earlier in the year John interviewed for a job in Dallas and one in Houston with Hospera. In September he was offered the Dallas job, the condo went on the market, the car was sold, and on October 3 Kim, John and Austin moved to 3711 Standridge. Never say that when the kids leave, they won't come back! Luckily, we had 3 bedrooms not being used: Kim and John moved into Kim's room, Brandy's room had already been made into a baby room, and Kerri's room became John's office.
So as to live together as peacefully as possible, we set down some ground rules. Instead of having different shelves for their food and our food, Kim and I decided that we would combine all food, alternating weeks when we each pay for groceries. For instance, starting on Sunday Kim shopped and paid for all the groceries; this next week will be my turn. Another ground rule is that at night all the toys are to be put away, not scattered all over the livingroom/house. So Kim bought 2 good size bins so the toys have a home at night. Something else is that Kim and John have not lived in the south for 6 years, and therefore haven't had to worry about attracting bugs. So all food must be either closed with a closepin, or in a container with a lid, and all dishes washed or put in the dishwasher at night. I certainly don't want to give the bugs any kind of invitation to relocate here!
Kim, John and Austin plan to live with us until at least the end of December, depending on when the condo sells. Another option for them is to start renting it in January.
For those of you who are not grandparents, there is nothing like being able to be around your grandbaby EVERY DAY!! It is such a delight to watch him discover new things, to see his eyes get big over things that I don't think twice about. And, of course, baby sugar is the BEST; I get as many kisses as I can! They don't call me the kissy monster for nothing!
Get 'em while you can!
Dawnie

October 12, 2011: BIG CHANGES SERIES

Hola, All! Boy, have we had some BIG CHANGES around here! On Monday, Oct 3, Kim, John and baby Austin moved from the cold tundra of Chicago to 3711 Standridge, Carrollton......in other words, they moved in with us! But, before I continue, let me give you some background information. Kim and John met her freshman year (his sophomore) in college. When John graduated a semester before Kim, he accepted a job as a salesman in Wichita, KS, with a pharmaceutical company called Hospera. John's game plan was to stay single for a few more years, work, put away some money and then get married. But, when he asked Kim to move to Wichita after she graduated, she replied, "Not unless I'm married!" So much for the best laid plans........ John then went to plan B pretty quickly and asked Kim to marry him. She graduated in May of 2005, and married John in June. After living in the extremely exciting city of Wichita for a few years, he transferred to Chicago, headquarters of Hospera, to find out what people do when they work in an office all day. They bought a small condo near downtown, on the 4th floor with no elevator, and the washer and dryer were in the basement. The stairs numbered 55 from the basement to their front door. Kim got a job working downtown, but John's job was a 45 minute ride on the subway, then a 10 minute ride on a bus. (Can you think of a better way to spend your time??) After a couple of years Kim had a bundle of joy named Austin Daniel on September 4, 2010. She had already decided to quit her job, which turned out to be a hugh blessing, before having the baby. To make a long story short, after Kim quit breastfeeding, they found out that Austin is deathly allergic to cow's milk when his throat closed after sucking down a bottle of Infamil. After having him tested, nuts will cause the same reaction. Well, naturally, this brought out the extremely protective Mother Bear in Kim, so don't even think about touching or kissing Austin unless you wash your hands and have not eaten nuts or dairy that day. But, we do have an out.............after the baby goes to sleep for the night, you will find ALL the adults in the garage or backyard chowing down on cookies, cake and ice cream! Inside the house, though, we are a dairy-free, tree nut-free household. More to come later!
Go with the flow,
Dawnie

October 1, 2011: Roll of quarters

Hola, All! Last week after empyting a chest of drawers, Ed and I heard a shuffling noise as we attempted to move it. We immediately stopped, put the chest down and looked through all the drawers. There was nothing in them. When we started to move it again, we heard the same noise again. Perplexed, we took all the drawers out and found what was making the noise. Somehow under the last drawer were 253 pennies; how they got there we have no idea! After taking them out, I put them into paper rollers that held 50 pennies each. Not only that, but I took most of the loose change we had in cups and rolled them also. I ended up with 2 rolls of quarters ($10 ea), 1 roll of dimes ($5), 1 roll of nickles ($2) and 6 rolls of pennies (50 cents ea). Then, on Thursday, before leaving the house, I dropped in my purse 1 roll of quarters and the roll of dimes. After the book study at Cathedral of Light, for a love offering, I put the roll of dimes in the basket, even though I felt a little funny doing it. As Edna and I were on our way to a restaurant, we passed Mistro Bistro. When I found out that she had never eaten there, we turned around and went there for lunch. After enjoying their delicious food, and asking for the check, I gave the waiter the roll of quarters to pay my bill. He took it, deposited it, and came back to tell us "This is so odd. Yesterday, for the first time, someone paid their bill with a roll of quarters, and now it has happened again. Two days in a row! I want to thank you so much for these quarters; we get so many paper bills and not very much change. " Of course, I was a little shocked at what happened, but happy also that what I gave was so appreciated!
Spreading joy unexpectantly!
Dawnie