Changes for the Better

I wrote this post about my little James, and with all of our research over ways to help him... we've learned that there are food additives that can trigger hyperactivity as well as gluten. So we are in the process of moving our diet over to being a healthier, all natural as much as possible, and gluten free as much as possible plan. I say "as much as possible" because we aren't going to restrict them from going to events and things -- plus when it is absolutely necessary we will allow them to have things on the go while doing the best we can. If fast food is needed, we would prefer it to be Chick-Fil-A where at least it is real chicken.

We tend to eat at home most often than not anyway, and thankfully most restaurants have some good gluten free options these days. We just decided that it's easier to remove it for all 4 of us than it would be to explain to James why he would have to eat differently, Lord knows it can't hurt any of us.

While I was researching, I found a company that makes foods that fit into this category - a good number of them are gluten free, but they are clearly marked with any potential allergens.

Right there -- this is for every product they make. Which is a GREAT thing.

I'm also looking for a hostess of the month to join along with me, and earn rewards in the process. You can host a freezer meal party, a tasting party where I provide samples for the food and your friends can come taste for themselves, or you can even have a virtual party.

The freezer meal plans are where you buy a bundle of products can can do make at least 10 meals at about $3 a serving! Which also makes it easy and affordable. I tried a different menu, and loved it -- so I'm trying this one next. I've got a friend hosting a party for this menu that closes out on Friday -- so let us know if you might be interested in doing this in the comfort of your own home. It is $75 for the product bundle, and then once that is purchased - you'd get a detailed grocery list of the few additional things needed as well we detailed instructions on how to prepare for your menu to stock your freezer.

Once you purchase the bundle for the freezer meal, you'd also be eligible to get either of these bundles at 50% off as an additional item. Basically if you spend $50 you can get one of them at 1/2 price or if you spend $100 you could get both of them at 1/2 price. 

This is what my original freezer meal kit included (except the cranberry juice peaking in the pack ground) -- I included this photo just so that you can see you are getting full sized products that in most cases will make the meals listed above twice. 

I'll also say that the grocery list comes with some additional recipes that you can use the products in, and since our kids are still small -- we were able to make some of the meals stretch farther. I made 14-16 meals out of the 10 because we just couldn't eat 2lbs of meat in one meal, so I took them and split them in two different bags.

I fell in love with these products so much that I decided that I need to sell them, they are that good. I also wanted to be able to get a discount on the products that I will be buying anyway.

This is what I got in my Wildtree kit, and I'm thrilled to be able to start cooking with them! If you have any interest in joining in my fun new business - you should know that this opportunity is very new and there are only 23 teams in the country... which means that the growth opportunity is incredible. Come join in the fun sharing these items with other foodies and enjoy knowing that your family is getting the best they can get!

A Memory & Laugh

When I met John, his grandmother's house was the main Christmas stop for all of the family. Everyone calls her Memaw, and every year she would give us all $5 (I think) wrapped up in a toilet paper roll... which I always thought was hilarious.

This year John and I went without gifts for each other because of having two homes, two sets of utilities to pay for, and in order for our families and kids to have a normal Christmas. So we did a couple of small things for each other... which for me came in the form of some gift certificates for some really thoughtful things... wrapped in toilet paper rolls... so I couldn't help but laugh through my tears over the choice of packaging.

Our First S'mores

This was our supervisor -- HAHAHA -- Dixie was not thrilled that she didn't get to partake of the spoils, but her tummy was glad to not have to deal with all that chocolate.

Here we are in process of getting the dessert ready. The boys did pretty well staying back and only watching from their chairs. We of course made the obligatory coat hanger roasting stick. I'm sure that John would have liked to roast the marshmallows a bit more, but I was concerned with getting any of the melted stuff in our gas logs.

Then came the eating... and some happy boys!

A good time was had by all involved, and I'm pretty sure that the boys will be ready to enjoy them again anytime.

Sporting Boys

We've done some new things with the boys this last week, we've seen a Texas A&M basketball game... and my niece play volleyball. The both of which we've never done, and with my two crazy boys -- both were slight risks. We tend to like to move around a LOT, and the basketball game luckily had very few people there because it was New Years Eve. That gave James a lot of freedom to be in constant motion, which worked well. The volleyball tournament was another opportunity to keep those two moving, but it was a bit confusing for them that they couldn't go talk to Brittany.

Here are some cute pictures from our adventures:

And the volleyball tournament:

My Buddy

This little man has been having some trouble lately, and we suspected that he might be having an attention problem. He just has trouble sitting still at all, and doesn't physically seem to be able to sit and do our home school lessons at all. I'm not talking about your normal small child behavior, this goes a bit beyond that. He just doesn't rest well, his body is in constant motion, and he is unable to sit down and listen even to a short story completely.

I'd noticed it mostly with our home school activities, and how different the boys are. Tyler is younger, but able to sit and listen and interact with the story in a much more dynamic way. He does the lessons and is starting to be able to draw circles and things that James isn't quite ready for. Now, I know not to compare the boys beyond some basic generalizations because kids are different and can develop at many different rates. I just knew something was a bit different about James, not in a bad way -- but just wanted to make sure that if we needed to get him some help that we did it at the earliest point possible.

So we decided to take him to be evaluated by a behavioral specialist, which was an interesting process. She spent about 45 minutes with him alone doing various activities to test his abilities, and then another 45 minutes with us talking. She had his teachers from TN fill out a form about their observations as well.

She believes that my little man has ADHD, but he is still young... so we will have to keep an eye on it until he is a little bit older. He has some sure attention issues, and a few things that he is slightly delayed on... and has been referred for speech and occupational therapy sessions twice a week.

From there, we had to get the insurance information sorted out - which is a giant hassle. After getting through that process, we made our appointments with the therapists. He has seen two speech therapists since our initial appointment. They like to split it up so that there are different therapists perspective helping with different areas. So we will be seeing Mrs. Julie, Mrs. Danielle, Mrs. Karen, and Mrs. Jennifer during this next year.

Our speech therapy sessions are 30 minutes, but they will be coupled with an hour and a half of occupational therapy as well. We hope that these sessions will be able to get our little buddy back on track and that our early intervention is a blessing. We love this kiddo, and want him to be the best he can be.

We will also be exploring some diet related options to see if that can help regulate his little system, and the rest of us as well. It's a journey that we are just starting, but I hope that we all are able to change our bodies for the better.

Long Time

I haven't posted since September, and there are many reasons why. A dear friend passed away, and then I moved back to Texas 3 weeks later. The last year (2013) certainly had some big punches - I found myself at two funerals, but it also had some highs too in that we got to move home.

It's fairly late in the evening, and I planned to post something earlier in the day... so I'm going to keep it short for tonight. I wanted to share my New Year Goals for everyone, and I hope to talk more about them as time goes on - certainly because that would mean that I'm still thinking about them.

Since it's been a few months, I thought I'd also give you a look at how much the boys have grown... they are getting too big these days. More on them to come!

They were all decked out for their first Texas A&M Basketball game, to be followed by the Chick-Fil-A Bowl... but they didn't make it to the bowl game. They actually crashed on the way home and didn't wake up until this morning. With the exception of Tyler's brief wake up at midnight because of all the crazy fireworks.