AWOL

Hello blog friends. Yes, I'm (mostly) alive. 

We are enjoying the fall colors but some unusually warm weather. It seems like Christmas is just around the corner but it's 70 degrees outside.

There- I've talked about the weather...hmmm, what else?

Oh, where have I been. You didn't notice I was gone? That's okay, Mom. I know you are busy.

Things have been up and down here. I thought my health issues would clear up with a few visits to a new doctor, but low and behold they have not. I had a small break-through two weeks ago when I decided to cut out all gluten from my diet (after being told by the doctor that everything looked normal...to which I wanted to say, "Everything but ME!" Gotta love test results...) and found myself relieved of about 75% of my symptoms. But gluten is in EVERYTHING, and trying to weed it out is detective work. Work that is hard to do when your symptoms include a very foggy brain, forgetfulness (what did I just put in those muffins??) and an energy level measuring in at negative ten. So, I'm not really sure if it's the gluten, or preservatives of some kind, or some other environmental allergen. I think I've stayed away from gluten for the last two weeks, but I've had several things that said "May contain trace amounts of wheat." I'd like to think I'm not really that sensitive, but who knows. When I think back to what I was eating when I first cut out gluten it was mostly plain old meat and veggies and fruit, with a lot of brown rice thrown in for good measure.So we're going back to that plan for now. And I will say that this experiment has helped me to diversify my grains...my bulk food shelf, which consists of glass jars, has doubled in the last week!

When I do have a good day or a burst of energy, I find myself not wanting to sit at the computer, but usually buzzing around the house playing catch-up. Life does go on, and we've continued to have abbreviated school days (mostly just phonics and reading, and not for hours on end because that can be exhausting, too...) and a lot of playing around the house. It's been good for me to be around the kids so much: I get to see how they interact more than if I was busy in the kitchen or doing my own projects. We've been able to tackle discipline issues that are subtle but fierce. And my soon-to-be 2 year old has turned into a book worm! We are memorizing the poem, Block City, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and he even has the last word of most of the lines memorized (he's a genius, I say).I just spelled genius wrong (a typo, for sure) so I guess that means he doesn't get it from me.

This has been an unexpected quiet season...we flew like madmen from April until August and then hit a brick wall. I'm ready to be back on my feet, accomplishing more than just laundry and dishes, but for now I'm working on being content with my limited sphere. I do have an appointment next week with a doctor several hours away who specializes in the endocrine system and natural hormones, so that may provide us with some answers.

So, I'll leave you with a picture (because it's the only one we've taken in the last few weeks) from our family photo shoot last week...

Don't worry, our yearly picture will include everyone's heads.

And the next time I get around to it (haha, Grandpa Glenn...I still have the one you gave me) I will share with you a tip from a friend on managing children's "treasures" and memorable stuff that multiplies and makes room organization a bear.

The week in pictures

Coloring= his new favorite pastime

the family ham

Getting ready for winter and entertainment, all in one

Our fall garden is full of green beans! Don't you remember being a kid and pretending you had braces?

Have a great weekend!

$10 gift certificate to Everything Kitchens

Hello ladies and gents, and fellow kitchen gadget aficionados.

I recently found myself leaping from the couch to figure out what was burning, only to find my blender lid melted on the element in my dishwasher. That was the final (plastic) straw and I went on a rampage to declutter my limited drawer space of sippy cups and unwanted plastic containers. We have nice plastic-free water bottles and no-spill cups, and plenty of glass storage, but when both are available the kids and the leftovers seem to be drawn to the toxins. My drawers were finally empty enough to close without jamming everything in, but I was still down one blender lid.

I shopped around, and found Everything Kitchens. They have free shipping on almost everything. Even though their prices were about 5-8% higher, my usual online kitchen store charged me $7.95 for a $9 part. Not cool.

Click on the banner for Wusthof Cutlery, Kitchen Aid Mixers & more!

 
And if you have a blog, and mention their store, they will send you a coupon code for $10 off, hence the advertising on this usually-free-of-advertising blog. So, in the end my lid will be $0.95. Very cool.

ETA: They do not have free shipping on everything (my item, for example) and although they do claim to price match, they won't combine any offers. They were friendly, but really I could have just placed two orders for the items I wanted and received both discounts, so why did have to be so complicated? In the end, I ordered the other item from Amazon. 

12 bucks! And an advent idea

Medium Bag= $12 through October 7th

Check out this idea for blessing a friend with an Advent Basket. I'm still pondering over who should be on the receiving end, but this (not so) little tote would be the perfect place to put all the Advent treasures. 

the eternal optimist strikes again

Is the hope that comes with being optimistic worth the great falls when "the plan" doesn't go the way you thought? I'm not sure if it is (I'm beginning to think the pessimist totally got it right- he is always pleasantly surprised). My husband says he's a "realist" which sounds less negative. According to a friend, there are half-full people, half-empty, and also "so-what-if-it-isn't full" kind of guys. Seems like the last category would be the safest place to live.

I had one good day two weeks ago, and I decided I was up for painting my fireplace. If I had known I'd go downhill again so soon I might have...I don't know...made and frozen a meal for my family. Something more practical than changing up the house a bit.

Lots of uninteresting details, but I'm struggling with some health problems that will hopefully get worked out soon (at which time I'll tell you about whatever natural miracle cure was helpful). Most of it has been exacerbated by weeks of very little sleep, which is why I haven't been blogging.

Here are some rough before and after pictures. Thanks to my friend, Amy, who was staying with us when I got the crazy whim to paint. Do you know how hard it is to paint something in the middle of your house (a room with no doors) when your children are around? As soon as it was mostly dry, Thomas decided to climb right in and try out some soot foot prints around the hearth.

And the good news (?) is that the old wood stove isn't up to code, so it's just a Plain Old White Fireplace. I've just been informed that the stove not working is actually bad news we're trying to make good (see, Optimist vs. Realist). So the new goal is get a different stove in the basement, but that's still in the works.

Painting the door will have to wait until things stabilize around here. (But I'm sure it won't be long.)