Bear Lake

We went on our first vacation with the kids! We took them up to Bear Lake with my family. We rented a 3 bedroom condo at Ideal Beach Resort. It was a really nice facility, and we enjoyed our vacation.

We had our own bedroom, and the kids did really well for being away from home. The condo could sleep up to 16 people, but we decided it wasn't set-up to feed that many people. The kitchen and dining area were small, but we managed.

The resort was a really nice place. They had playgrounds for the kids, swimming pools, tennis/basketball courts, big grassy areas, mini-golfing, and of course, beach access to Bear Lake. P1 liked collecting all the little seashells on the beach.

Breakfast time at the condo! The kids would wake up at 6 because it was really bright outside.

One day we went to Rendezvous Beach because we had a boat rental there and they had a nicer beach area. We ate lunch and played in the sand.

P1 is the only boy I know who loves dirt but hates being dirty. He would keep crying because he would get sand on his shoes and toes. Finally we convinced him that it was fun by burying his feet in the sand.

Then we went for a long boat ride. P1 was excited to go on the boat. P2's life jacket was horrible, and I don't think she could breathe in it when it was buckled all the way. In hindsight, one of us should have just stayed on the beach with her. She tolerated the boat ride surprisingly well, but I don't think she enjoyed it all. Oh, and we lost P1's hat during the boat ride, he was really sad about that.

 We went tubing for a little bit, and P1 called it a balloon. So we were riding the balloon. I think we lasted about 5 minutes, and that was good enough for P1.

 

 

A tractor pulled our boat out into the water, so when some of us wanted to get off the boat, we rode the tube back in. We had fun, but next time I would only do the boat for an hour with the kids, and then play more on the beach. And then maybe I wouldn't have gotten sunburned.

   

 For dinner we got the giant Old Ephraim pizza. I had prepared my own grain-free pizza crust before-hand, so all I needed to do was throw on the toppings and pop it in the oven. I even bought a can of pre-sliced olives so it would be easy (and a can of mushrooms instead of using fresh mushrooms). Unfortunately, there was only a cheap, broken can opener in the condo. So it was quite the hassle getting the cans opened.

P1 loved mini-golfing. He was too cute! I would help him hit the ball correctly the first time (once he got a hole-in-one), and then I would tell him to hit his ball in the hole when it was his turn again. He would then pick up the ball with his hand, place it right next to the hole, and push it in with his club (more like shuffleboard). He really enjoyed it, and wanted to play again, but we were done since P2 would only let me or my mom hold her.

PE took P1 and they set-up a hammock. That was PE's goal for the vacation, mine was to play catch which I was able to do with my brother and dad. I haven't used those muscles for a while, but it was fun to throw a ball around.

The last night we were there, we went to the Pickleville Playhouse for dinner and a show. The kids went back to the condo with PE after dinner. The food was good, and the play was enjoyable. We saw "The Drowsy Chaperone."

All in all, it was a pretty good vacation. Exhausting, but good. Traveling with kids is hard work, and it's good to be back home!

11 Months

This cute girl is 11 months old now. Can't believe she'll be 1 soon!

 

She can stand up on her own for a few seconds, but isn't too interested in walking since she can crawl everywhere. Her hair is getting longer, and she gets a little bit of curl in the back. She has a very strong will and can be very determined. She knows what she wants, and is not happy when she doesn't get it.

She loves to pretend to eat, just like her brother. She also still loves to be chased around. She gets shy around strangers and loves to cuddle with mom when she is bashful. We love our little sweetheart! 

Silly Children

Oh the silly things kids do!

P1 has always hated broccoli. The other day he surprised me by eating some and saying it would help him grow bigger. So we were trying to get him to eat his broccoli yesterday, and he said, "the broccoli is sad". PE asked "How can we make them happy? Should we hide them in your mouth?". P1 answered, "NO! Sing them a song!!!".

P2 is quite a character. She loves to be chased. And she has already figured out that if she takes P1's toy and crawls away as fast as she can, then he will chase her. It is so funny to watch. She can crawl quite fast, but she will stop and turn around to make sure you are still chasing her. Sigh, already antagonizing her brother.

P2 is starting to not like baby food anymore, she thinks she's a big kid or something. And she's already figured out the sippy cups (because she steals her brother's).

 And this character never holds his cup with his hands. Ever since he was little, he would just walk around with the cup in his mouth and hands free.

 Crazy hair!

Styling with sunglasses!

 I converted P1's crib into a convertible bed today. He thought it was cool at first, but later was crying for me to put the other piece back on it. It took him a while to nap, but he did finally fall asleep in it. Hopefully he will do well at night too!

Healing through Food

So my adventure with colitis has been quite the roller coaster ride since I was diagnosed in December. We have tried many medications, with each initially seeming to work. And then I will get worse again. I went to see my doctor the beginning of April, and he was worried that I may have a viral infection, so I went in the NEXT day for another scope. Fortunately, all the biopsies came back negative for cancer, bacterial/viral infections. Unfortunately, fasting does not currently agree with me. I tried fasting in February, and ended up in the ER. The two weeks following the scope were miserable. Probably the hardest of my life. And my doctor was out of town for one of them, so trying to get medication was "fun". I was finally able to start a new medication mid-April. It helped a little, but not as much as I expected or hoped.

Then my sweet cousin randomly texted me, and shared a blog she had come across. The blogger has colitis and has found healing through changing her diet. Now, my doctor has repeatedly said that diet has no impact on colitis. So I have never really looked into it (and I also didn't have a strong desire to completely change my diet). But pain is a great motivator. As I looked into, I found many other bloggers who had found healing through food for their colitis. Many referenced the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) outlined in the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle". The book was first published over 20 years ago, and many have said it has helped them or their child recover from colitis, Crohn's disease, celiac, even autism.

I felt impressed to look into this diet, and borrowed the book from the library. Basically, the gist is that when the bacteria in your gut get out of whack, then your body goes into this vicious cycle where it secretes more mucous to defend itself from bacteria, but the mucous covers your digestive enzymes, so the food you can no longer digest ends up feeding the bacteria. So the idea of the diet is to only eat simple sugars that your body can absorb which will starve off the bad bacteria. It's also important to replenish the good bacteria through homemade yogurt and probiotics.

So I started the diet on April 23, and I noticed a huge difference within a few days. I have felt good and in control of my health. The book recommends doing the diet for 2 years for colitis, and then you can reintroduce food. Two years seems like a long time, so I don't know how long I'll do it. But it does take time for your body to fully heal, so we'll see.

Foods I can't eat: all grains (including corn, soy, rice), milk, sugar, most processed foods.

Foods I can eat: fruit, vegetables (except potatoes), meat, fish, most cheeses, eggs, nuts.

So it's been a crazy 3 weeks trying to figure out what to eat. I'm grateful for the internet and bloggers who have shared their SCD recipes. It's almost overwhelming how many recipes I have found to try.,

Meanwhile, my family has enjoyed eating a lot more fresh fruit and veggies.

Both kids decided they loved raspberries. And P2 decided they looked good in her hair too:

Mother's Day

On Saturday, PE took P1 to the store. Later when I was putting P1 down for a nap he told me "We got you a Winnie the Pooh card Mom." And sure enough I got a Winnie the Pooh card for Mother's Day!

We had dinner at my parent's on Sunday. Grandma got a bench and some sand toys for Mother's Day, so P1 was in heaven. He had fun building and destroying sandcastles. His aunt helped him build a sandcastle, and P1 decided that they shouldn't destroy his castle, only Grandpa's castles.

I'm super grateful for a wonderful mother. You're never too old to need your mommy, and I am grateful she is only 5 minutes away. I'm a pretty independent person, but within the last few months I have called her to come help more times than I can count. Thanks Mom!!!

And I'm grateful for 2 beautiful children that I have been blessed with. They enrich my life in so many ways, and I love being their mommy!

Grandma's House

PE went to a conference for a few days, so we decided to go on vacation to Grandma's house. We had a lot of fun, and the kids did great sleeping away from home.

P1 loved the sandbox. We spent a lot of time digging in the sand. Even P2 liked scooping the sand with a shovel. We just had to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't put it in her mouth.

 

 

P1 also loved jumping on the tramp. He did pretty well, only scared me a couple times when he would get too close to the edge.

 

P1 has never been so excited to go to bed in his life. When we told him that he would be sleeping in a big bed, he was so excited to get his jammies on and go to bed. He did great sleeping in the bed, and actually stayed in the bed during the night and for naps. As soon as I got both kids in bed, P1 would tell me to get in my bed (we were all in one room). Even though it was only 8 pm, I would humor him (sometimes) and climb in bed for a little bit.

The kids enjoyed a fun bubble bath. P2 tried to eat the bubbles and decided they didn't taste so great.

And we went swimming! P2 just lounged in the baby float. P1 did amazing in the pool! He wore his life jacket, and I helped him swim around the pool. Soon he didn't want me to hold onto him, and he was swimming by himself! He was quite the little fish!

P1 had so much fun that he didn't want to come home. Good thing we only live 5 minutes away from Grandma!