Round 2

 Vertigo 3 and Shany 0.  Its 9 pm on a Tuesday night and guess who is in bed with a heat pad on her head? This chickadee. Round two of antibiotics for a sinus and ear infection. Here's to hoping that the new medication and my heat pad help me feel a bit better for the rest of my crazy week.

Why I try my darndest...

So I know it's hard to see, but my arms have a horrible dermatitis rash between my fingers all the way down to my elbow on my forearms. The worst being on my left. Referred to as "chicken skin" it is common in those who've just changed their diet from normal to gluten free. Because your body can't digest the wheat  and the gut is being destroyed. It isn't contagious, but looks horrible.
  The bumpy pimple like rash has left this gal feeling quite self conscious of what I wear out in public. It slowly is clearing but any time I'm accidentally exposed to gluten I find the rash becoming more noticeable. My last big whoops was accidentally using some Aveeno shampoo that contained wheat grass. I've learned to read every thing. Amongst my frustrations I've found some success.

I finally perfected gluten free mac and cheese.(not one of those specialty four dollar boxes either!) I'm hoping to try a few other new recipes soon.

Experimenting...

So I must admit that the transition from normal diet to gluten free has been a bit rough. What can I say, I enjoy wheat bread. The first few things Heidi attempted and they tasted alright. But I must say after my mishap with homemade gluten free mac and cheese I just wanted to sit on the kitchen floor and cry.
So we did some research and invested in some gluten free flour at Costco and I began getting in touch with my Susie homemaker side. Breakfast has been hard because I use to just eat with the kids at the daycare. Now I had to find something that stuck to my bones but didn't make me sick. You can eat so much oatmeal and gluten free pbj's.
My flour had a recipe for banana muffins and after some practice and a bit of a tweak (I make it more like a coffee cake) I've found a great breakfast bar. I added raspberries to this batch. They really are quite delightful and I cannot wait to try new things out!

Big Boy Bug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now my nephew Bug's hair had always been a sensitive subject. First of all shortly before his first birthday he had a shunt placed in his head to help drain the extra fluid. This made his head very sensitive. Second Bug's father had long hair and what little boy doesn't want to be like their father?
  His mother and I tried to talk him into a haircut numerous times after Dad was out of the picture only to have him tell us, "no thanks" or "maybe next week momma." Then on the fourteenth I received this picture from Sissy.

My first reaction was, "Oh my, my Bug isn't a baby anymore!" Followed by, "Oh my, I love it!" So Buggy Auntie just wants to say you look so handsome big boy!

Welcome Back!

One of the many perks of working for a school district is the days off. We got two weeks off. Now that doesn't mean I got to sleep in and do absolutely nothing. Ah the joys of also helping at Heidi's school. It was great to get up and open the school in my comfy clothes. No lesson planning, just good old fashion playing and taking care of the twos-threes class.
  Getting up on the seventh and knowing I had to dress nicer for work and spend the week doing the dreaded dibels testing made me want to climb back in bed! By Wednesday afternoon we'd tested all the elementary schools in the district. After hearing the same story over a hundred times I felt like we could've recited it in my sleep. By the end of the week I just wanted to stare at the wall and sit in complete silence.
 My groups resume next week and I cannot believe how little change some have made in their reading. Some even regressed. So as a group of paraprofessionals we've made the decision to push more reading to help build their frequency and move their levels up. I've also made some personal goals to help with my lessons and making the groups fun as well as educational. Here's to hoping the second half of the school year is far more successful!

New Year, New Discoveries

I never knew so much could happen in a matter of four days. I rang in the new year with a sinus and ear infection as Heidi and I watched season three of Downton Abbey via amazon prime. It may sound crazy but I rather enjoyed the quietness of being home on New Year's Eve. (and yes by home I mean Heber City where I now live)
  My biggest change for the new year will be going gluten free. Since mid September I've had what I believed to be a peptic ulcer. They put me on a strong dose of omeprazole and it seemed to calm it temporarily. I tried cutting fried foods as well, but my belly still seemed to cringe no matter what I ate. By late November I noticed it didn't matter what I ate about a half a hour to a hour later I would be folded over in pain.
 I also began to notice other strange things. I had scaly rashes on my forearms and sores everywhere in my mouth. I knew when my brother was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago that there was a chance that my siblings or I could have it as well or be gluten intolerant. I also knew that I had many of the symptoms. So I did what most people do who presume they may have an allergy. I removed the allergen.
Within days I noticed a difference. My gut didn't ache after I'd eaten. My rash on my arms stopped spreading and slowly started to disappear. More than anything I myself felt better. So I still wonder why I never took the time to get the blood work done to test for gluten intolerance while I lived in Ogden. I had a roommate whom was sensitive to wheat and one whom couldn't have it at all. Maybe it was just God's way of preparing me to do the switch on my own. All I know is that transition has been a bit rocky but my body feels so much better!