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

September 28, 2011: Legions of Angels

Hola, All! Last week I had a mammogram; Monday they called to say that I needed a sonogram on my right breast. Since this has happened at least twice before, I wasn't worried, so made the appointment for this morning. After signing in and going through the routine of undressing and putting on a top with the opening in the front, I was shown into a room to await the sonogram. Lying on my back, I then remembered something that I had read this morning. Whenever anyone is faced with fear about anything or is just a little nervous, we can call on legions of angels, masters and friends to be with us. So I did that, instructing them to fill the room with their healing energy; I wanted so much healing energy in the room that I could feel it! And I did as I experienced a wave of dizziness , which I knew to be the healing energy swirling in the room. When the dr came in, he told me that he had seen something that looked like a broken blood vessel and that he wanted to get a better look. He asked me if I was on any medication, and I told him no. Well, I do have to tell you that he had trouble finding it. He said he had never seen anything like it because it was in a peculiar place. It was smaller than before!!I mentally thanked the angels for their healing energy, and for crowding into the room. I am supposed to go back in 6 months ............but, we shall see!
Call on legions of angels, masters and friends,
Dawnie

September 21, 2011: The chicken or the egg.

Hola, All! As we all know, change is in the air. "The Way of Mastery" says that whatever is going on inside of you will be manifested outside of you. For instance, think back to a time when things just didn't seem to be going your way, when nothing seemed to be working out the way you wanted. Were the circumstances that were happening around you the cause of your unhappiness? Or, were you unhappy inside and the unhappiness was showing up around you? It seems to be similar to the saying: what came first, the chicken or the egg. Because I have been working on my inner peace for a long time, I know without a doubt that the crappy things that happen in my environment are a result of the crappy way that I have felt, along with the negative thoughts I have had in my mind. When this happens I know that I have to change the way I think, the way I feel and the things I say in order to change what is going to happen in the future. Many times it isn't apparent that these two things are connected because of the space of time between them. But, rest assured, that the saying, What you think about, you bring about, is true. It's our energy, our feelings that tells the Universe......this is what I am valueing right now. And, the Universe will respond.......OK, here it comes! And then, a week, a month, a year, 10 years down the road when the crap hits the fan, we wonder what we ever did to deserve it. Sound familiar? How do we change the way we feel so that it doesn't happen again? Well, here are two suggestions. 1. Ask yourself, how can I see this differently? When Ed and I are dancing, and I get blamed for making a wrong move ( whether it's true or not), I almost always start to get irritated. But now I am training myself to ask in that moment, how can I see this differently? One way is for me to break the tension by either saying something funny or doing something he doesn't expect, like winking at him. It breaks the ice that had started to form and we can go back to having fun. 2. Tell your mind, with certainty, "The stillness of the peace of God is mine". This one I just read about yesterday so haven't had much time to put it into practice. I hope these will be useful to you.........let me know!

Practicing peace,
Dawnie

August 18, 2011: Letting go

Hola, All. As I was reading "The Way of Mastery" in my dining room, I stopped to think about a question that was posed: "As you look upon your environment, imagine that the things around you were taken away. Would that take anything from you?" Now, I have some lovely things in that room...........a small table that I got from my mom's house that I use as my meditation center, another pretty table from my mom's house, a pitcher that I use when I have company, several pieces of Waterford crystal, etc. I asked myself the question as I looked upon each piece...........if I no longer had the meditation table, would that truly take anything away from me? Me, being the soul of me; me, being the place where God resides; me, being where the peace that passes all understanding is living. Of course, when put in that light, the answer is no, nothing would be taken from me. Would I miss it if it was gone? Yes, but why? Then, I realized that the meditation table is important to me because of the emotion that I have given it; in my perception it is important. I hear people say that they hang on to things because something has been in the family for years. But, that's not really the reason they keep something; it's because of the emotion that they have given the particular thing. Which leads me to another question: What if we saw these things as neutral? What if we took the emotion out of it; would we still feel the same way if it was gone? Truly, do you think your dead ancestors give a flip about the lamp they used to read by? We have a wonderful table from Ed's grandmother, Dora, that has at least 5 leafs in it. I use it sometimes when I need an extra table. I seriously doubt that Dora cares about that table, considering that she has been gone 10 years. Taking the emotion out of the table just makes it a nice piece of furniture. If it were gone, I would still be the same; inside I would still be the being that God created. To me, taking the emotion out of things seems to be very liberating, very freeing; it should not disturb my peace if it were gone. I think that's what this all boils down to for me............striving for inner peace and letting go of the emotional attachment to things is one more step toward inner peace.

Letting go,
Dawnie