My Life is a Basket of Bread - Living on Restricted Diets

Well, it isn't exactly. My life is certainly not a bowl of cherries though. That would be healthy and we aren't quite there yet. So, I was making some beef stew this morning in the crock pot and started this line of thought about the food in our home and our diets. Making the stew, gluten free of course.

Beef Stew Cooking - about 1/2 way done. It looks better in person.
Hamilton Beach 8-Qt. Slowcooker (Google Affiliate Ad)

Yes, Hey has to be gluten free and Myrrh has to be dairy free and technically egg white free. We aren't real strict on the egg white free diet for Myrrh because it was based on an allergy test of her blood. The doctor told us on a scale of 1-4 her allergy to egg whites was less than 1. He suggested we not let her have recipes heavy with egg whites, like omelets, quiche, scrambles eggs, you get the idea. So she is exposed to eggs, but usually not to much. Her egg exposure is usually minimum. We have had a harder time adjusting to her dairy free diet than her sister's gluten free diet. At the age of  5 when we had her tested and evaluated she had a very established diet, very heavy on the dairy. Peanut butter and dairy were her primary sources of protein since she won't eat any beans, nuts or meat. Well, except for chicken nuggets and hot dogs, but we only let her eat those about once per week, unless we are having a hate grocery shopping and lazy cooking kind of week. Some of her more healthy favorite foods were yogurt, cheese sticks and things sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Seems that milk is in many of her favorite foods. We have adjusted, but have to tweak a few things here and there since NASA doesn't always think about it enough. If we have it in the house and it isn't blatantly thought of as having milk, he may let her have it. Since Hey has been gluten free since age 3 (now almost 8)  he has gotten much better, but he is still learning with Myrrh.

I guess my husband isn't alone. Dairy free for other people is more of a challenge than you would think. For example, at church yesterday they let her eat chocolate Oreo cookies. Last night and this morning, she was complaining her tummy hurt. Well, when I asked what she ate yesterday she told me about the cookies. We have let her eat the yellow Oreos, but definitely not the chocolate. Myrrh had it marked on her name tag that she must be dairy free. She said one of the teenage helpers read the ingredients and said there wasn't any dairy in them. Well, clearly people do not associate milk with chocolate, although I am pretty sure they say milk on the package. So we talked about the fact that most of the time when an ingredient on packaged or junk food is chocolate that it usually means milk chocolate, not cocoa which is what we get in dairy free chocolate bars from Sprouts.

Some people may ask, "Why have it in the house, if your husband and children have a hard time with their diets?" Well, unfortunately I am addicted to wheat, love Eggs and dairy. I need the yogurt for yeast imbalance. Yes, I know I can take pro biotic supplements. I have to give Myrrh a pro biotic powder daily. However, I have learned garlic and yogurt work much better for me. I use the supplements too. Sad to say, but I know my yeast problems are due to my wheat and sugar diet. I am trying, really.  I am addicted and I know I have mentioned this before. I need rehab to break the addiction. Through rehab I could train my body to crave a more Paleo type diet, processed sugar and wheat free. If I can just detox from the processed sugar and wheat, I think the cravings would stop. Maybe that is unrealistic, but I know it would be my best chance. Bypass surgery would be useless on me because I know I would probably still make myself sick to eat the foods I crave. Heck I know that my body reacts to certain foods, especially when I eat out. You would think the horrible stomach discomfort and the need to run to the bathroom after 30 minutes of ingesting the poison would be enough to change my ways. Nope, I still eat it. That is a serious addiction issue.  I bet 80% of my health issues would resolve themselves with a back to fresh, basic, unprocessed food LIFESTYLE. Yes, not a diet, a new lifestyle. Then my house will have to be cleansed of my trigger food for a few days when I return from rehab. Of course, my children and husband being with me on this new lifestyle would be an added bonus, but I think if my body no longer craved it I would be okay after the first week or so of being home.

I can sit in a house with a bag of M&Ms and only consume a few at a time, once a day. Most of the time it takes us, the three family members who can eat it, 5 days to finish a 9 ounce or larger bag of candy. Well, at least 27 days out of the month. I do sometimes have a binge issue 1-3 days out of the month. I am learning my trigger foods (and some of my husband's too). We call yellow Oreos, the ones Myrrh can eat, crack. I want to meet someone on a typical American diet who can eat only 1 of them once a day. I swear they have a drug in them, hence why we call them crack. I laugh at the resealable packages. Those Oreos don't stand a chance of going stale. They don't last more than 3 days in our house. They are an evil food. Gluttony is a sin. If a food causes me to overindulge, it is evil, and I have sinned. Yep, it is my responsibility. It is now known that food companies purposely flavor foods to be more desirable, or simply put, addictive.

“He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”Proverbs 5:23

Anywho, we are trying to get processed and toxic food out of the house. It is a gradual process. Unfortunately, Myrrh is a concern. She looses weight whenever I try and remove a major staple of her diet. The things like crackers, cereal, Pop Tarts and breads. We finally weaned her off Pop Tarts while Grandma was here this winter, but I screwed up. I had a $1.00 off coupon from Fry's AND a $1.00 manufacturers coupon. I went to Fry's with Mir, she asked and I bought. I know I enabled her. Cutting out and keeping those coupons was my first error. She asked me if I had a coupon because she saw they were on sale. I am a weak Mom when it comes to feeding this child. Plus, my husband and I love how convenient they are and they do taste good. They were super cheap, like 85 cents a box after sale and coupons. I have decided though, once those three boxes are gone, no more. There is only half of 1 box left. I went grocery shopping last night, without the children, and didn't buy any. So, I have to stop cutting out coupons for processed foods AND not grocery shop with my children.

If I buy healthier alternatives, eventually Myrrh will at least try them. She rarely likes them, but who can blame her. The alternative foods usually do have a different look, flavor or have an odd texture. The worst is that the good alternatives are super expensive. We try.

We are trying to detox our diets the best we can and as cost effectively as possible. We now have a garden. I will only buy organic apples. I try to be sure to buy organic items that the girls consume on a regular basis. We get grass fed beef. I buy our boneless chicken breast  from Zaycon Foods. It is supposed to be fresher and less processed than regular grocery store chicken breast. I only get cage free eggs. I buy only Hebrew National Hot Dogs and the nitrate free lunch meats, like Hormel. I buy organic broths in the cartons. I have cut in half our use of canned products.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

It is hard to eliminate all the allergen foods in our home. Hey, our gluten free girl, who can't have bananas or cucumbers either, really enjoys being able to eat dairy foods like gluten free pizza. She loves my cheesy chicken casserole. Myrrh, our dairy free, who shouldn't have egg whites, loves bread. NASA and I love our cheeses and breads. Hence, why our home supply of food isn't as restrictive as we need, but it is the way we want it for now. Now if NASA could just be more careful and remember which child is which, it would be very helpful. However, each girl is getting better as they get older.

Groceries this week & pantry on the road to recovery! 

Hey is the most reliable at turning down foods with wheat. She will be 8 next month and has been gluten free since age 3. She tested allergic, but does not have celiac disease. Myrrh is 6 years old and has only been dairy free for less than 2 years. Eventually they will be able to self regulate their diets. Hey and Myrrh are learning that their tummy troubles and sore bottoms are related directly to what they eat. Being so young, hopefully they choose not to create such horrible discomfort for themselves. I hope they don't grow up to have addiction issues.

Do you have a child with a special or restricted diet? What changes have you made? What do you find is the most helpful resource for special diets?

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Let Me Get Real - A Weighty Issue

I originally wrote a majority of this message back in November 2011. I didn't post it then because I was scared I couldn't stay the course, but I did.  So here it is with updates.

This past weekend our Pastor at Canyon Ridge, Kevin Odor, went over discipline. Interesting thing is that Pastor Kevin decided to use the metaphor of losing weight to discuss discipline with money.  Oh how I need to hear the message and live it.
 

As you may have read, God healed the hole in my heart after an amazing worship concert with Michael W. Smith at Canyon Ridge. What an awesome blessing this church was in our lives while we were in Las Vegas. We will miss the role it has played in our spiritual growth, but are assured that God will continue to bless us at our next church, Pantano Christian in Tucson, Arizona.

Anywho, back on the subject of weight loss. With the hole in my heart healed I have to focus on getting the rest of my body on the road to healing too.  Despite God’s mighty work with my heart, I am still addicted to food.  I know in my heart that I need to eat less and exercise more. As many of you know, it is easy to say, very difficult to do. 

“He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”Proverbs 5:23

I have started my committed journey today, the day after my recovery from a stomach ailment. It is a great jump start since I spent 1 complete day not eating and lost 3 lbs. Of course it wasn’t the best way to start, but you have to start somewhere.  Now I have to figure out how to stick to making better choices. I know what I have to do, but dang, it is a minute by minute struggle. Geez, I almost wish I was addicted to some drug or alcohol that could easily be removed from my home. You can’t stop eating. It doesn’t work for very long. I have gallbladder disease too with at least 1 large gallstones of 2 cm. If I let myself get to hungry or eat to much fat my gallbladder lets me know.  This requires that I eat snacks and low fat meals. That part is easy, it is keeping all the calories from all those meals and snacks below what I need to lose weight.

One of my biggest obstacles to losing weight is the psychology of it all.  I don’t perceive myself as fat until visually presented with it by pictures or by the size of my pants. Although this may sound odd, I do not see my huge self in the mirror.  I didn’t become obese until I was an adult. I didn’t struggle with my weight until my twenties. I graduated high school at 125 lbs. I was 115 lbs. when I met my husband. I then rapidly gained over 50 lbs. over 1 winter in Watertown, NY after being on Norplant (implanted birth control) and experiencing cabin fever due to over 390 inches of snow in one season. I later learned I suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder. The rest of the weight gradually crept on year after year of inactivity and overeating.

Myself and My Mom in Feb. 2011

My immediate family is obese. My father, 5’ 8” tall, died at the age of 56 over 300 lbs. My brother, 5’ 8” tall, at the age of 42 died weighing at least 400 lbs. My Mom, 5’5” tall, is morbidly obese too. My worst weight, being 5’6” tall, at one time was 258 lbs. really, not over or under exaggerating. It is all about the truth and taking off the masks. I have learned that from Mandisa, a great inspiration to me.

“Buy the truth and do not sell it: get wisdom, discipline and understanding.” Proverbs 23:23

I have so many excuses it is ridiculous. Since birth I became physically ill when I exerted myself. I spent 33 years with a gaping hole in my heart that made me very ill whenever I did aerobic exercise. Can you imagine the obstacle that presents the mind. I still dream and see myself as the healthy weight I was as a young adult. I have spent decades swallowing my emotions. I have a mental illness that requires I take medications, one of which results in weight gain.  I spend hours sitting in front of a computer. I am home most hours of the day homeschooling my two daughters. I suspect one of our daughters has food neophobia so I have to keep some of the few foods (bread, cereal bars, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, and cereal) she will eat in the house. Foods that I like to overeat.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

Although moving was stressful and we haven’t fully settled in, I didn’t gain any weight. This is the first move in 15 years where I didn’t gain weight.  I am down 1 pant size and that helps motivate me.  I have a few new wardrobe items left over from lighter days. Not as many as I like, but enough to not have to constantly wear baggy things.

My Mom lost weight this summer and showed up this winter weighing 40 lbs. less. At 70 years old, if she can do it, I best get off my ass and move. I have to confess that with her being within 20 lbs. of me, I have added motivation. Oh, yes, I got Momma Drama issues.

I am looking at some aspects of the 12 step programs, praying constantly and doing a bible study. I am doing some yoga, not enough, and trying not to spend as much time sitting. I still cannot walk much due to back and feet issues, but I do run up and down the stairs here at home. My own really short interval training.

So glad that I kept this blog write up from November and can post it knowing I have made progress. I will continue on this journey to healthy choices. I’d appreciate your prayers, thanks.

The Really Complete Tucson Update

We moved to Tucson and if it was a successful move or not still remains to be seen. My husband was officially retired from the Air Force, March 29, 2012.
It isn't exactly the move I envisioned. We have only connected with very few previous friends. It seems most of my previous friends are only through Facebook. I guess being gone for 3 years you find who are your real friends. The painful part of it all is that although their children all go to school, the Moms hang out for Mom Night Outs and I have not been asked to be a part of that group or been invited. I'm going to stick with the idea that it is because I homeschool, so they must think I have become a weirdo or something. I don't want to think it is because there IS something wrong with me, nope denial is more comfortable.

We live in the best school district in Arizona, literally. I think that maybe why the homeschool community here isn't as strong as it was in Vegas. There are few extracurricular activities that take place during the traditional school day. There isn't a $6/per class gymnastics here. There is no ice skating at all since the only rink here went out of business. In the last 3 months there has only been 1 field trip opportunity. The elementary co-op class we attend (K-3rd grade) is very traditional in it's structure with 20 children and 1 official parent in charge. The parent (bless her heart) has no background in education other than being a homeschool teacher. The parents are supposed to remain on site to help and oversee their child's behavior. With 20 children, there is rarely more than 2 other parents there, myself included.

For the homeschool group we belong to there is a P.E. class most Fridays at a local park. Again, it is very traditional in that the children are divided by age with my children's class being ages 4 to 6 year olds. It is a real struggle for my oldest daughter who is the size of a 9 year old (CDC growth chart). The parents do stay and wait, most sit in groups. If you are new, you have no idea where to sit and the groups make no attempt to reach out and welcome new members. It doesn't help that most sit in a circle with camp chairs and blankets. I didn't bring or even own a camp chair and can not sit on the ground for more than 10 minutes. I attempted to break into one of the groups, but after an initial self introduction, stood there feeling very excluded. However, when my husband attended in my place, they went out of their way to invite him to sit in a group even giving him a chair! Considering my husband is a wallflower in brand new social situations, I took this news very hard. I realize my husband is very good looking, but really, did I act like an alien?

We attended one playground gathering. We arrived and I surveyed the groups of women standing together and chatting. No one must have recognized me from the 4 previous P.E. classes I had attended. Eventually I found an opportunity to walk over and introduce myself, but then found myself listening to conversations that I was not included in. After standing awhile I went and sat down by myself. Then the other Moms must have finally gotten tired of standing and sat with me. It was the only bench with seats in proximity to the play set.

I watched my girls play together most of the time. Finally my oldest was playing with the older girls there, 8 years and older, but as soon as they found out how old she was, they excluded her. Then I listened to two Moms talk about the drama going on between two of the nine year olds that were 'best' friends. The one was jealous that she was playing with other children. Then they gossiped about another Mom who was not there. This is supposed to be a Christian homeschool group. Eventually my children found a very nice girl to play with and they seemed to get along great. She was 6 years old like my oldest daughter. All three of them played well. When it came time to leave, I discovered that one nice little girl wasn't even part of our homeschool group. Sigh, so even the children are so used to each other being friends that they find it hard to include new ones.

I am thinking we need to involve ourselves in a homeschool group that is either very new or less traditional.

On the bright side, one of the main reasons for returning to Tucson is working out. Both my children were adopted from the Arizona Foster Care system and have some abilities that are unique to their biological history and trauma. The girls are back in Physical Therapy with Mary O'Connell to work with their motor skills challenges and sensory integration. My oldest and I are in weekly therapy together to work on our attachment to each other. My youngest has an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician at the end of this month. The oldest will see her again next month. I'm going to see if the Developmental Pediatrician recommends we continue with music therapy, the only decent service we were able to find in Vegas.

We are working with a HUD counselor to see about getting our payment reduced on our 6.125% interest rate mortgage on a house that is worth at least $40k less than what we owe on the house.

The medical care here is better since I can be referred off base to civilian specialist. Although, there are syringomelia, until I have another MRI to see if it is growing. Despite the monthly insurance premium and co-pays we are not used to, it is nice to know we have access to much better care.

Oh, we love our family (an uncle and a cousin) here and church too. So all in all everything is okay and I'm sure it will get even better over time. I just have come to realize it is almost like moving to a new place all over again. Now, my next order of business is to find a good babysitter. We miss Hannah in Vegas.

Is There a Miracle Move in the Works?

Oh wow, is my procrastination catching up with me now.  We are 6 days away from the movers coming to pack our things in boxes.  I have a refrigerator full of food, mail I haven’t opened, and addresses I haven’t changed. I still have loads of laundry to do before I even attempt to pack our suitcases. I feel a bit queasy thinking about it, or that could be my gallbladder acting up again. There is probably going to be another break in the blogs for a bit until we get settled again.

I wonder, with the miracle of my holy heart being healed do I deserve peace in other aspects of my life. Well, of course I deserve nothing, but do I have the right to ask for something? I mean really having the hole in my heart close is pretty spectacular. Besides my absolutely beautiful daughters that God is allowing us to parent, I’m not sure what else I could really ask for. Peace on this Earth would be cool.

However, I am experiencing some severe turmoil. I am not resting on the Lord. I hate this feeling of not being prepared. Every moment I spend sitting at the computer, reading, shopping, or watching one TV show, I am beating myself up about not sorting through things or organizing things for the move. I also spend too much time thinking about things that don’t matter at the time. Does God have a limited amount of miracles he gives out per person, per family? Why some people and not others?

I am surprised that I have the “Why me?” question for my healing. With all my accidents, misdiagnosis, mental and physical health issues, I never said, “why me.” I was always of the thought, “why not me?” I have a trust and faith in God that carries me through the trying times. For the most part I am a positive person with a good ability to put on a good face (mask). I trusted He knew what He was doing and eventually it would get better. Now that God has healed the hole in my heart I now wonder, “Why me?” There are so many people with cancers, severe pain and anguish that I think would be so more deserving. The men, women and children who do not have any resources or support, why not them? 

What really perplexes me now is how can I ever ask God again for anything? I am having a hard time preparing myself for this move from Vegas to Tucson. How will we bring in income? How will we pay the bills? Will I get my act together quickly enough in Tucson to be able to get Christmas decorations up before Christmas? Will I be able to get my girls the #1 gifts on their Christmas lists despite them being out of stock all over the country? Does it really matter?

I have been avoiding some really necessary tasks. I keep telling myself to cast my cares upon the Lord. I just know that I am not doing that as much as I could. I don’t doubt that I still need Him. Deep breaths…. I just don’t know if it is fair of me to ask, like God has some finite amount of help He hands out. How absurd is that!  Well, I never said it was rational thoughts that I have, random yes, rational, only sometimes. Actually I have obsessive thoughts, analyzing different angles sometimes missing the most obvious. I don't need a miracle to move, just some peace and grace.

In the midst of my philosophical musings, I need to get moving. I will go conquer the laundry. The movers will come even if I am not ready. They will pack dirty clothes, but I have an issues with that so off I go.

God's Amazing Healing Power, REALLY!

It has taken me awhile to write out my complete miracle story, being concise doesn’t come easily for me. I could write a whole book on my life, but I’m not sure anyone would want to read it. Instead I will try to summarize it for this blog. There are many miracles I have experienced in my life. I only have listed some highlights before going over the big miracle.

·        No broken bones or death despite falling off a horse and getting amnesia, being hit by a car while on a bicycle, and several bad car accidents.

·        A simple faith in God that prevented me from following through on suicide despite a serious undiagnosed, at the time, mental illness.

·        Survived many episodes of self medication with excessive drug and alcohol usage. Also, I avoided any accidents or consequences of my DUI. I only became addicted to food, not anything illegal or alcohol despite years of abuse.

·        Receiving Jesus and accepting Him into my heart after fully understanding the salvation plan.  

·        Adopting two beautiful baby girls that share the same biological parents from the foster care system.

·        Surviving 3 major surgeries despite severe allergic reactions to general anesthesia and pain medications.

·        Living to the age of 33 despite a serious congenital heart defect, sinus venosus atrial septal defect (hole between upper chambers of the heart and a vein going in the wrong direction). The hole was > 2.7 cm, slightly larger than a quarter and my heart had enlarged 5 times the normal size of a heart to compensate.

·        After 10 years of complaints to doctors, finally finding one who listened to my symptoms and didn’t explain them away as suffering from obesity or a properly medicated mental illness.

Now I come to the awesome miracle of my latest healing. Please indulge me while I give some history I don’t think I covered my previous blog post.

In 2008, six years after my corrective heart surgery, I had some fatigue. After a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE), a cardiologist discovered that the hole in my heart had opened. The cells in our bodies have a memory. Mine clearly were duplicating what they had known for 33 years. However, the hole was < .5 cm, smaller than a pencil eraser. My pressure, saturation and oxygenation levels were well within normal.  Many people can live to old age while having a tiny hole in their heart, no worries. In 2010, the hole got bigger. For the most up to date history about the hole in my heart you might want to read about My Almost a Clear Bill of Health for My Holy Heart. 

I had a cardiac MRI done October 24, 2011 at UCLA. I have my official written out results, confirmation of my healing. THE HOLE IS GONE! My MRI shows there is no flow or evidence for right to left shunt. My pulmonary venous connections appear normal. Here is some great medical jargon. There are: No interatrial or interventricular septal discontinuity. No pericardial effusion. Both ventricles show normal contractility throughout with normal myocardial systolic thickening. No focal mural thinning or regional hypokinesia. No delayed myocardial enhancement to suggest myocardial scar or inflammation. The aortic valve is trileaflet with normal opening and coaption, no evidence for dephasing jet. After all that mumbo jumbo, trust me, the report says the hole is gone. Alleluia! It is confirmation of the Lords miracle. “O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You have healed me.” Psalm 30:2

While the doctor went over the results I was thinking of the questions that I had for him. One of which was, “Can I do aerobic exercise now?” The interesting result from the MRI is that from a cardiac standpoint I am healthy and can resume aerobic exercise. However, to get a complete answer to that question, I have to follow up with my primary care physician. It seems that through incidental imaging of the upper abdomen, it demonstrates Cholelithiasis without evidence for biliary obstruction, but at least two gallbladder calculi, the larger measuring 2.0 cm diameter. There are also mild intervertebral disc bulges at T8-T9 and T9-T10 level, as well as, at T12 level, well defined 1 cm rounded cystic structure within the spinal cord. A well-defined high signal structure apparently invaginating the spinal cord at T12 level, with otherwise normal appearances of the cord - although SSFP sequences not optimal for evaluation -, and some lower thoracic disc bulging noted.

I find it amusing that I thought it maybe my heart that would prevent me from doing aerobic exercise, but instead it is my back. Although I don’t accept that it is an excuse. I know there are plenty of people with back problems that exercise successfully for weight loss. I just have to get my doctor to clear me despite what my back may indicate. Now my getting into the doctor before I move maybe the issue since he is so popular in the military community. Maybe there is another miracle waiting for me!

Career moves

Today you get another perspective on our decision to move back to Tucson. This is in my husband's words, an answer to a family members concern about his quick retirement decision.

“Thanks for your advice. I have already officially applied for retirement. To put you at ease, this was not a snap decision from emotion but one of thought, prayer, and Christian counsel from fellow retired officers, and of course with Leslie. Also, it is not really half pay but more like 1/3 pay. And, yes it is a down economy but that does not limit God. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And quite frankly, I am excited for the first time in many years. This opens many opportunities to more fully let God work in our lives. I have so many options that it is difficult to choose.

I can go back to school get a second master's degree in Ranglend Management at the U of A for free and get a housing stipend plus my retirement with the GI Bill. I can get another job in weather, not what I desire, but a possibility. I can go into ministry as an assistant pastor with my current masters. I can join the Guard or Reserves. I can start a home based business or a real bricks and mortar one like a U-Swirl franchise. I can stay at home and home school my children.

Public school is absolutely never an option in any way what so ever. Our young children should not be left for a majority of their daily lives having their faith and ours assaulted. There are statistics after statistics to support our decision that public school is not an option. It is a whole different discussion left for a different time. If interested check out: www.exploringhomeschooling.com

I can be a college professor at the bachelor's level teaching meteorology 101. The list kind of goes on. But, the main point is I now have multiple choices. The down economy will make a challenge but it is not insurmountable. I refuse to let the government be my crutch. In the grand scheme of things, my career is over. The military will not provide the growth I want and only more separation from my family. I have served faithfully for 20 years, put service before self, and now it is time to say thank you and look forward to the next stage of life before the Gov sucks the life out of me. God led me into the military and I feel now He is leading me out.

Leslie could go back to work. I am not worried about finances God will work them through. But, I do want to get the Tucson albatross off the neck and get that taken care of instead of kicking the proverbial can down the road. We will still get health services as good as they are mostly from my experience they have been great as long as you are healthy and don't need care. Getting a renter $800 to $1000 a month below our mortgage is not a viable option. We have to get a principle reduction, short sale, or significant interest reduction. And unfortunately, our current system and who broke the system in the first place makes us liable to be sued as investors (rental property) but as home owners with a significant reduction in salary we "qualify" to get some relief. Further, they can't hold my clearance over my head that would be non-relevant at that time. Bottom line, thanks for the advice but the retirement is in motion. Leslie and I have a peace about it and look forward to what God has in store.

And yes, it is awesome that Leslie will not need open heart surgery any time soon. The hole is negligible, it is her tricupid valve that is not working properly due to the years of her enlarged heart. She has tricuspid regurgitation that she is dealing with. It causes her exhaustion, edema, etc... Keep us up in prayer for guidance. I am good with our decision and look forward to it."

I Survived the Tube!

Image Source

I'm back from my second trip to UCLA. Yes, I had my cardiac MRI done. Having an MRI is fascinating. Actually I had a Magnetic Resonance Angiography since they gave me a contrast agent to show my heart and blood flow. They shot some magnetic material (gadolinium)  into me to take a series of images while I was laying in a tube like tunnel. If you are claustrophobic, it might be quite challenging. There isn't much room and you can't see out. The machine does all kinds of things that cause it to make really loud noises. You have to have headphones on to not only protect your hearing, but also to hear the instructions from the technician running the machine. The really cool thing was that I brought my iPod and they plugged it into their sound system so I could hear my own music in the headphones. The music would then cut out anytime the tech talked to me. She gave my breathing instructions just like when you get a chest x-ray. However, I sat in what I will call the tube for about 1 1/2 hours. During that whole time she intermittently tells me when to get ready to hold my breath while she catches images. The hardest part of being in the tube is lying down on the table in it for such a long time. Other than a pillow for my head and a pillow under my knees, it is a hard surface table.  Between her breathing instructions I was able to shift my legs a bit, cross and uncross my feet, wiggle my fingers and toes, and stretch some. I just wasn't allowed to move my torso or it would make the images blurry. She gave me positive reinforcement telling me what a great job I was doing being still and holding my breath for sometimes 20 or 30 seconds. Really it wasn't that hard, but I guess since it goes on over an hour you want to encourage people. It can take up to 2 days for the doctor to get a chance to review the results so we shall see. I know it went well though.
I'll get back to you about the other aspects of my trip to Los Angeles, the same day President Obama was there AND that it rained for the second time that month. The same times I was there. Trust me it's gonna be good.

Thank You, But We Are Done.

Today we got confirmation that my husband’s request for retirement was accepted. I say 'we' because when your husband enters the military the whole family does too. We have spent 20 years serving this country. We spent 10 years as an enlisted family and 10 years as an officer’s family. Due to deployments, assignments and a remote tour, we spent 6 years of our first 10 living in the same place. We have lived only the last 6 years as parents. Over the 20 years we have lived in 17 different homes, apartments, and/or condos, only 5 of which we owned. We still own 2. It has brought us places we never would have chosen, introduced us to great people, created little families of friends around the world, shaped our characters like nothing else could and made us very reliant and dependent on our faith and relationship with God.
The Lord led my husband into the military and we feel He has led us out as well. It wasn’t something we contemplated for months. It really took us by surprise. I always thought we would have plenty of time to decide and process this major life event.

We own a home in Tucson, Arizona. We have rented it out since we left. Our ideal tenant is leaving this month. We started considering if we wanted to hire a property management company and what our long term goals were with our home in Tucson. This brought up the direction of his career and our future with the military. We had been in Vegas for two years and as an Officer that makes you eligible to be moved. He just got his line number for his promotion to Major. His field in the Air Force is small so he knows who to talk to about where he stands. He had been told he was on the Top Ten List for his field and rank of officers to be deployed. We had a fairly good idea about where his next choice for career opportunity was going to be on the East Coast. We took a look at what our goals are and what we want to be doing in 5, 10 and 15 years. Most importantly we sought the counsel of some Christian men who have retired from the military and we prayed.

It was literally just days later my husband was submitting his request to retire.  We didn’t want our home in Tucson to sit empty for long, so he requested a waiver to expedite the process. It can take the government 4-6 weeks to let you know your request has been approved.

Alert, the answer to "when" is coming.
It took only 2 weeks to get his official retirement date of March 1, 2012. He has 80 days of leave/vacation built up that we have to use. So that brings his last day of actual work to the first full week in December.
Did you get your answer? Pick a day near or around December 9, 2011 and you got it.

Yes, we are going to move in less than 6 weeks so our home can be rented out as soon as possible.  We just closed on the refinance of our Vegas home, 3.75% fixed interest rate making our monthly mortgage payment $230 less per month. We can rent out our Vegas home at fair market value, pay a property manager and landscape company while still clearing a little bit to save for repairs. It may actually turn out to be a true investment property.

The only reason we could justify staying in longer, past our 20 years, would be for the safety and security it provides us financially. We are a family of Christian faith so that did not make sense. Our safety and security is in God.

Sure, we move back with only the certainty of 38% of our normal annual income, but we will be a family who now has time to spend together. We will no longer have to adapt and support my husband’s job with the military. We will be free to choose.

We will move back to our Tucson home with the whole house air filtration system (our allergies should be so much better), whole house water filtration system and solar hot water heater. We will start another chapter in our lives. We are not the same family that left Tucson and we have definitely benefited from our Vegas experience. A whole new world of opportunities is open to us. As freaked out as I am about the quick change, I am excited too.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…….³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

Oh, I still have to get to California for my appointment Monday at UCLA for my cardiac MRI. Life moves very fast around here. Blink and you might miss it.

Almost a Clear Bill of Health for My Holy Heart

I'm still trying to get over my lost post. As far as our trip to Los Angeles for me to go to UCLA, it worked out well. I had some test done, met with the doctor and learned what I already suspected. Yes, Praise God, my holy heart is healed! The doctor said after reviewing my cardiac catheterization test, which he received first, he was a bit confused as to why I was referred to him.
It was all in the timing of how he received and saw test results. He said, other than some tricuspid regurgitation, my heart is fine. There is no measurable hole. A few days later he received and was able to review my transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE). He said that with the TEE test results it would appear the hole was there and causing issues.

My TEE was done one month before my cardiac cath. That one month, a key event and special moment was critical. Hundreds of people started praying after we told everyone about my TEE results. After my TEE it seemed pretty evident that I was facing open heart surgery again. Due to all my allergies with general anesthesia and pain medication, I was looking at my possible death and/or extreme pain.

On March 28th, I had the opportunity to attend a Michael W. Smith concert. I spent a great deal of time worshipping the Lord during that concert. Afterwards I got some quiet time in my car waiting for traffic to clear out of the parking lot. In those still quiet moments of reflecting on how moved I was by the concert, I swear to you I heared an audible voice say to me, "You have never asked Me to heal you, so ask Me."  I was shocked, amazed and cried out, "Oh My God, you are so right, I never have." I always trusted that God was with me through everything and that His hand had been with the surgeon in 2002 and other professionals through out the process.  I never asked for a healing. Even after the surgery when they were trying to find something to give me for the pain that I wasn't allergic to, when I cried out in severe pain, I cried, "Jesus, please take me home now, kill me and take the pain away." In that time of excruciating pain I never said, "Please heal me, Jesus."

It wasn't until that moment in my vehicle with His presence there that I realized I should and could ask for a healing. I thought healings were for other people. I'm not in pain so why would I ask for God to heal the hole in my heart?  I finally accepted that I was able to ask and receive His healing. I said, "Lord, clearly I wasn't listening, forgive me my ignorance, and YES, please heal my holy heart." 

The next morning after the concert was my cardiac cath test. The test that contradicted my TEE results.  The test that the UCLA doctor saw first. The results that confused my local cardiologist and led him to refer me for a 2nd opinion. The test results that the UCLA doctor cannot reconcile with my TEE results.

Monday, October 3rd I had a cardiac stress test at UCLA. I ran on a treadmill while hooked up to all kinds of wires. I raised my heart rate to 170 without having any cardiac distress and did pretty darn good according to the UCLA staff and cardiologist. My oxygen levels stayed healthy too. So when I met with the UCLA cardiologist he said that the hole, if there is one, doesn't seem to be presenting any issues. It is only because I have tricuspid regurgitation that my numbers are not exactly 100%, but are within the normal range. Due to the enlargement of my heart after 32 years with a hole, my tricuspid valve is stretched and flappy. It just isn't closing sufficiently to control the flow of blood. So instead of a holy heart, I now have a flappy valve heart. It has a cool swoosh rhythm to it too. Depending on the stress I place on my heart may effect the symptoms I see and feel.  He is having me get a cardiac MRI just to confirm his diagnosis about the hole and valve as well as not releasing me to do any aerobic exercise until after the MRI. Unless the MRI test results are abnormal, he said I have plain old tricuspid regurgitation and I will feel better if I just "Loose some weight, eat healthy, and exercise." He clarified with, "Well with the exercise just wait until after you hear from me about the MRI,"

So, I am scheduled to get my MRI on Monday, Oct. 24. I am looking forward to having this whole process over and done. I am excited to be able to return to walking with some running mixed in there soon. I will be a walking miracle! I am going to look to see if there is a 5k I can sign up and do for Spring 2012 in Tucson, Arizona. Oh, that will be another blog for another day.
        

Getting ready for my Holy trip!

Well, I am not as ready as I thought I would be. I have known this day was coming, but I procrastinated as usual. What is the big deal you maybe thinking? Or not?  Monday I go to the Cardiac Imaging Center at UCLA to find out how my holy heart looks.  Yes, I know I spelled it wrong, but I love the beautiful symbolism by saying my "Holy" heart.  Just in case you haven't talked to me lately or read here before: In a nut shell, I was born with a sinus venosus atrial septal defect (hole in my heart and a vein going in the wrong direction) that wasn't diagnosed or corrected until 2002 when I was 33 years old.  Seems that my corrective surgery may have failed since cells have a memory. I am a Christian in case you haven't figured that out yet. I serve a mighty God who I believe has healed my Holy heart. I am confident that God has a plan. Which is a fabulous thing because I don't have much of one.
I thought I had some plans. I was going to record me reading some books for my children, write some letters to them, record some video and create some great memories in case we discover that my life maybe shorter than we thought. Since I am not having any surgery or invasive testing done I put it all off. Heck I lived for 33 years with a gaping hole, so what is a few more months or so.

Open Heart Surgery to correct a defect isn't the big deal it used to be, but I have some co-morbidity issues and had some complications before. I am the less than 1%.  No worries, it is all in God's hands.

So I have a bit of a bucket list that I have been ignoring. I do say though that I have a peace about it. I have had challenges in life and this is just one more that I can face with the joy of the Lord. I figure we are all on borrowed time. Whatever I do have in place now will just have to do. Yes, I have a document labeled, "Leslie's Funeral Plan," on my computer to try and help my family get through it all confident that many decisions are already made for them.

I did follow through on one or two bucket list items. We are scheduled to have our family portraits taken tomorrow. We will have all four of us together in one place for photos.

We are going to take the girls to Disneyland while we are in California. I think it will be a great opportunity to create some great memories. I just have to remember to have pictures taken of me in them. I am the picture taker in the family so I tend to be missing in many of the events in our life. I can't blame anyone but myself for that. I don't like pictures that are blurry, off center, or have peoples eyes closed so I am a bit of a control freak with the camera. I don't take great pictures and I myself don't  photograph well. Sure the weight doesn't help, but I have a bit of a lazy eye, well really a lazy eyelid that droops, uneven eyebrows (thanks to a Merle Norman incident), I have scars, and now wrinkles. I don't particularly like how I detract from my beautiful family.  I do realize that most of my family and friends don't see those things so I have to get over myself and have the pictures taken.  

I have to remind myself of Proverbs 31:30, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

However, photographs serve as reminders too of my disobedience.
1 Cor 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

Anywho, I am a work in progress. I do try and I think that is all that God asks. So off to UCLA I go to at least deal with the exercise aspect of my efforts. Once I am cleared for aerobic exercise I will have no excuse. My holy heart can only get me so far, eventually my stubborn willful addicted brain has to join the fight too.

Oh, I am going to tweet my adventure. Follow me: ruready1st

Let me leave you with my favorite blessing:
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Lots of New Things

I have this really amazing friend who is darn good with most things internet related.  She also does the cutest crafts. She helped change my blog and make it look new.

We have joined a new homeschool group that meets weekly doing some really cool stuff. Today we did a fishing clinic at Floyd Lamb State Park and celebrated Rosh Hashana with Shofars, Apples and Honey.  Rosh Hashana, the Feast of Trumpets, is the Jewish New Year. No we aren't Jewish, but we are learning and celebrating other cultures. Next week is a Roman Feast!

My girls made some new friends today.

My children did something new today besides celebrate Rosh Hashana. They slept until almost 9 AM this morning.

I learned how to tie a new kind of knot that will come in handy if I ever decide to put a hook on a fishing rod.

My husband and I are discussing a new strategy for his upcoming career plans. I will have more on that at another time.

I got a new bluetooth device today that I have no clue how to use yet.

We are making new plans for our trip to Los Angeles for me to go see a new doctor at UCLA.

We have a new plan to go to Disneyland while we are in Los Angeles to go to Mickey's Halloween Party which will be new to us.

I have a new spider vein in my leg that I thought was a new bruise and a new cyst on my ear.

We have a new babysitter (friend of our regular babysitter) for tomorrow night so that we can go to a concert we have never seen before.

You get the idea. Have a great new day tomorrow. Think about all the new things you encounter, create and obtain tomorrow.

Strong, Opinionated Me

I've decided I am not going to do a blog on disfiguring skin diseases, physical ailments or any mental illness. It is to depressing and I didn't realize how controversial. It seems most of the things I want to talk about these days is controversial. I didn't realize that so many of my points of view are so contrary now to the average person.

Last night I found myself explaining how what our children eat and are exposed to in this day and age is very different then when I or others older than I were growing up.  We were talking about the huge increase in children with allergies, asthma, obesity, and autism. Sure there was McDonalds, Burger King, twinkies, pop tarts, etc... around when I was younger. I got what seems like hundreds of vaccinations at school. I lived in houses with lead paint and asbestos as well as two parents that smoked. Oh wait, I do have tons of allergies and other stupid ailments, well, okay, that could explain it, so lets go back further. Well, no I am not an expert and you would be far better off watching some documentaries. Netflix has a plethora of them. I suggest: Food Inc. Food Matters, Ingredients, and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. These documentaries do an awesome job at explaining then and now.

I will tell you that my daughters will not be receiving any more vaccinations until further research. I never should have had Mikayla get more vaccinations after she had a seizure. I figured it was because it was the evil all in one shot.  I did insist after that that we got off schedule and spread them out over a longer period of time. When we did the flu vaccine I insisted on the thermisol free version.  I couldn't track down a thermisol free version in Vegas, so they went without. My daughters will definitely not be getting the Gardasil shots after reading all those horror stories.

Oops, I said I wasn't going to bring up these controversial issues. Now the traditional taboo subjects are still politics, money, sex and religion? However, now there are more subjects if you don't want to hear my strong opinion like the weather, environment, food, medications, diagnosis, weight loss, addictions, parenting, discipline, adoption, careers, education, peoples names, immigration and real estate. I'm sure there are a few others I have argued with people about, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.  I am an opinionated, strong-willed, assertive person. I actually love a good debate. I guess that unto itself is contrary to many people. See in my world a majority of things are black and white. It seems the average person now sees shades of gray in ever single thing. People are so concerned about hurting someones feelings they won't speaks their mind. I'm glad that for the most part I surround myself with either like minded individuals or people who are tolerant of my assertiveness.  I don't do well when I have to constrain myself. Catch me at a time I am tired or exhausted and you can get a word in edgewise. That is me more often these days.

The subject I do find defending most is homeschooling. I am thinking I maybe need to keep some statistical facts handy so I can use those to support my belief in it.  There are so many studies debunking the myths, I can't keep track of it all.  I will leave you with this, "Yes, you could if you wanted to." Really it applies to all aspects of life. If you have enough of a why, you will find the how.

So I am going to contradict myself, (unfortunately I find myself doing that to often), about a no no subject right now. When it comes to weight loss, I am still gathering my why because I just haven't found the right how for me.  So please don't bring up the weight right now or obesity in children. I am not into debating it. Personally I don't need suggestions, advice or will power about it right now either.

I really liked the latest round of Facebook status posts: ~~It's hard to explain to someone who has no clue. It's a daily struggle being in pain or feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside. Please put this as your status for at least 1 hour if you or someone you know has an invisible illness (Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Diabetes, LUPUS, Fibromyalgia, MS, Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Epilepsy, Autism, etc.) " Never judge what you don't understand. Copy and post, I did!~

That is the best line, "Don't judge what you do not understand." I often times get into debates because people don't fully understand something. They got the news from Jay Leno, David Letterman or the front page of their internet browser.  All I can say is listen, look, read, read and do more reading to get as many different perspectives as you can if you want to debate or intelligently discuss something. The biggest issue I have had to work on and be very willing to say is, "I don't know about that."
Okay, I will get down from my soapbox. My oldest daughter will surely knock me back to reality.

PS. Excuse the grammer, spelling and any other annoying writing. I don't have time to do as much editing if I am going to ever get posts on this blog.

Time for A Change

Life never seems to be dull or boring around here. I want to get an update out there about the busy things in our life I mentioned in my July post. http://obsessedanalyst.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-hard-to-start-again.html
The Good News, well other than about Jesus, the IRS closed our case in our favor. They didn’t change a thing on our return and we got our complete refund. It was a very healthy amount, given our money pit in Tucson, AZ. We are now credit card DEBT FREE and had some money left over to save for a raining day. Woo Hoo. We are prepared to handle the financial blessings God provides us. That all came from doing Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. Check out a local course near you! Our church has been offering it for over a year now. http://www.canyonridge.org/default.aspx?page=8146&eventId=16594

More news is that we will be on our way to UCLA October 3^rd to have my heart checked out. I am meeting with Dr. Jonathan Tobis who specializes in Interventional Cardiology Research. His specialty is finding other means to fix the heart so to speak without open heart surgery. I don't think any procedure will be necessary at this point. I have to be prudent though and get a professional opinion and explore the best options.  I am more convinced than ever that my extreme exhaustion, vertigo, edema, aches, pains, respiratory distress, etc... are more related to allergies, diet and exercise.

Since this all started back in September when I made the commitment to do Couch Potato to 5K training, God has been working on my awareness of how I am treating the temple He has given me. He has placed people in my path to bring my attention to what I can do about it. Clearly His hand is on my life as I had lived 33 years with a significant hole in my heart. Now ten years later, I find myself with many of the same issues I had before surgery. Instead of dwelling on a failed repair, I like to think of this as an opportunity to heal, to allow God to do His work with me.

What does that look like? I am focusing on my diet now. Once all the tests are done and the doctor clears me, I will start adding more exercise. I really just think I'm a bit toxic and need to get rid of all the processed sugar and bad carbs in my diet. Since September, I have watched the following documentaries: Food Inc., Ingredients, Food Matters and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  In doing research on the internet I have read about Genetic Engineering, chemical exposure, environmental hazards, yeast overgrowth, insulin resistance, GERD, sleep apnea, etc...  There are so many things that can contribute to poor nutrition and serious health issues, not just a hole in a heart.

We now eat as many organic things as we can along with Grass Fed Beef and soon Pastured Poultry. Still working on getting all the chemical products and processed sugar out of our lives. I really feel I need to get back to what God designed the human body to endure. He made us humans to be a well designed efficient system. He gave us the food we need. People did not need to create or engineer the food we eat. I feel Him leading me and calling me to be a good steward of His creation, me. I am seeking His will for me. Now how that turns out in the end still remains to be seen.

I Feel Like a Pirate Lately.

I keep encountering changes I knew nothing about, didn't pay attention to or are just a part of life. When I encounter these changes and I can adapt to them easily, all is good.  It is those times that I find myself roadblocked from adapting that make me say, "Argh!"  Now I am not a pirate, never have been, never had any desire to be one.  I just find that since I type out many of my emotions that I am running out of ways to express myself without using expletives that won't offend someone, mainly my Mother. Wow, she would be so proud of my run on sentences. Not.  Although the insanity is that my Mother will never be on Facebook, Twitter or my blog. Well, maybe someday on my blog, but that seems way in the future. These posts will be old and off the front page so it won't matter eventually.

Okay, I digress. Somewhere in my continues learning of technology and human resources training (yes, I was an HR Director, forgive me please), it occured to me, well it was mentioned several times to me as well, that you shouldn't post anything online that you wouldn't want your Mother, Boss, or Priest to read.  To bad someone didn't mention my grammer teacher. Oh wait, I never had that in school. Can you tell? Anywho, I digress again. So in trying to keep my language cleaner I find myself saying and typing words like, argh, dang, bummer, shoot, sugar, damn, crap, freakin' A, or just freakin', screwed, hell, etc... I think you get the idea. For the most part I don't think these offend anyone, not even my Mother. I have been well trained to try and control my tongue. Well, my use of freakin' has been annoying sometimes and didn't sound very good when it came out of my 5 year old. I have refrained from using that lately.

I don't consider myself a person who swears in general. I have let the $hit word slip out when injured, but that is rare. My mother always said that if a person has to swear then it displays their lack of education and good vocabulary. I would like to think that what is happening is that I write more, especially on Facebook and because the written word can be so impersonal that I feel the need to add emotion. Unfortunately those emotions come out in silly or stupid words.  Actually to think about it, I am not the only one. Since life is often times summed up in 140 characters or less for a Tweet or FB status there are more and more emotional sounds being expressed in typing these days.  I see sounds of emotion expressed all the time now. Phew, Sigh, LOL, LMAO, <3, etc... So I guess my saying "Argh," isn't all that odd these days. I think others online have found much better ways to communicate their emotions than I. I will keep exploring my options.

Oh, you know what started all this. I couldn't get my blog dashboard to come up correctly for me to post something. I had actually planned to spew some other garbage. Got sidetracked. Well, I will save it for another month or two...

Food Issues in Children

Who doesn't know a child who is a picky eater?  Most of the time you think the parent has just given into the child's desires and is catering to what the child will eat.  That maybe the case sometimes, but I'm starting to notice that there more parents out there trying to do the right thing to combat the picky eaters.  There is so much advice and information out on the Internet it makes you wonder if you are doing what it takes to help them.

My oldest daughter has to have a gluten free diet. The nice thing is that she will eat just about anything.  In order for her to eat what the family is eating I buy lots of gluten free products.  It is so nice that the availability of them is so good now.  I get her gluten free pasta, crackers, pretzels, pancake mix, frozen waffles and cookies.  This girl eats green beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, squash, peppers, mushrooms, all dairy, most meats, and almost every fruit.   I buy her 2% organic milk and she drinks at least 2 glasses a day.  Heck ya I'm going to let her have some junk food. I just recently started buying her rice bread.  She is thrilled to be able to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with her sister. Despite the gluten restriction she has a very well rounded healthy diet that includes fruits and veggies.

Now, my youngest has no strict diet restrictions per se.  She tested as mildly allergic to egg whites, but the doctor said that small exposures to egg whites wouldn't hurt her.  So we don't make her any kind of eggs for breakfast, but she does get pancakes and a few other products that have a little egg in them. It doesn't appear to effect her.  Plus, I wouldn't describe her diet as well rounded.  She is a picky eater so we give her what she will eat.

I saw a piece on Nightline the other night where they profiled a 7 year old with nutritional deficiencies because she only ate about 7 things.  She has food neophobia.  It got me thinking about my youngest diet.  She has quite the discerning palate.  She can tell the difference between organic chocolate milk and the regular junk.  I have tried to slip nutritional proteins into her chocolate milk and she won't drink it.  She will tell me it taste yucky.  I even tried chocolate almond milk today and that didn't pass the test either.

Concerned that at the age of 4 she doesn't have a well rounded diet, I started listing all the things she will definitely eat and what she will occasionally eat.  There are 17 foods she will eat that I would consider part of a normal diet, like grapes, cheese, cantaloupe and whole wheat stone ground bread. Then there are about 15 junk foods she will eat, like hot dogs, ham, candy, and french fries that have very little nutritional value.  I do buy Hebrew National Hot Dogs, but still they really don't meet the nutritional needs of a little girl.  There is only 2 vegetables she has ever eaten more than once, slices of raw peeled zucchini and broccoli dipped in ranch dressing.  Although tonight she didn't eat her slices of zucchini.  It was from a local farm here, so I think they had to much flavor. I thought it was yummy.

So I guess since she will eat that many different things she is just a picky eater and probably doesn't have a food neophobia?  I continue to try and find ways to get veggies into her, but she really isn't falling for any of it.  Usually I can bribe her into trying one bite of things, but if it resembles something she doesn't like, she won't even do that.  I tried not to cater to her tastes, but she will go hungry before she will eat something she doesn't know or like.  I do make sure that at dinner there is at least one thing I know she will eat.  I present her with 1 teaspoon of whatever we are having and ask that she try anything new.  I will still put that 1 teaspoon of food on her plate even if she has refused to eat something 10 times.  I sometimes think that just maybe she will get tired of being hungry and eat some.  Even if she likes something she doesn't always eat much of it.  She likes bananas, but they have to be just the right taste.  Often times she will only take one bite even if she is hungry.  In order to prevent starvation I do let her snack on her healthy favorites throughout the day.  The issue is when we are out and about.  She often times will get exhausted and cranky because she is hungry. It breaks your heart to hear your child cry, "my tummy hurts Mommy."

I learned from that Nightline show a few other things I can try to get her to eat more foods.  I will try that, but I think I have decided I need to keep a food journal for her.  Then I can take her to a nutritionist and find out if she is getting enough of what her body needs.  Her pediatricians have never been much help.  They have said, "She doesn't loose weight, don't worry about it, she will eat when she is hungry." However, I know that she doesn't eat when she is hungry. She only eats what she likes no matter how hungry she is.  I don't want her to be 7 years old like that child on Nightline when I figure out she needs professional help.

You can find the coolest things...

...on the Internet.  I just learned about a really cool resource on the web for coordinating meals for a family.  http://www.takethemameal.com/
It is free.  Amazing what you can find these days on the Internet.  It certainly doesn't help my addiction, finding one more reason I need to spend time on the computer.
I'm not 100% convinced it is a full blown addiction yet. 
According to Wikipedia, "an addiction is characterized by impairment in behavioral control, craving, inability to consistently abstain, and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships."
I do crave being on the Internet, but I can still walk away.  Although there are times I would prefer not to.  Well, at least I'm not in denial.  I realize it could be a real problem.
Although I have used it to procrastinate.  In fact, I have a resume someone has asked me to review and provide feedback on and that was 3 weeks ago.  Okay, I better get to it.
Before I close I want to reiterate the reason for this post.  The Internet can be such a fabulous resources, like the coordination of meals for someone preoccupied with the legitimate distractions of life like a new baby or illness. Try it and let me how it works out for you.