Moving this blog

I am moving this blog to http://striderightsince1988.blogspot.com/. Pardon me as I make that switch.  We are going to free ourselves for a while from home internet so I am in the process of making sure I can access everything that is important.   Since my blog is tied to my old email address, I am not sure I’d still be able to access it once we dump the internet provider so I’ve created a new blog and am moving the old one to it so I can continue to post once in a blue moon. 

Thanks to all four of my followers for reading my blog. 

Photos

Went to Kentucky over the Holiday last month and had a nice visit with family.  Here are a couple pictures.

 

Us.

Father-Daughter chat.

My handsome cousin I had not seen in a while.  Looks more and more like his dad, my uncle, as he gets older. 

Baby cousin with adorable long hair. 

Another adorable cousin. 

Sad Days

In the midst of the joy that spring and the end of school brings, we have had some sad days as well. 

We had to put our dog, Sam, age 14, to sleep last week.   Great dog who took a part of our hearts with her. 

Our homeschool community lost two moms in May.  One passed away of complications from a bone marrow transplant for leukemia.  The other one developed an infection around her heart that led to severe congestive heart failure and kidney failure.  Both moms were 44.  The latter was a single adoptive mom.  Some things are just hard to understand. 

The memorial service for the second one was today.  I have never worn a t-shirt or anything with Mickey Mouse to a funeral before but it was her request and a fine one I might add. This afternoon, while we were at McD's and I was still wearing my t-shirt, an employee with special needs stopped me to tell me she liked my shirt. It made me think of all those people that Diana has touched with her life and service to others.  Diana cared for people who were mentally disabled.  Her legacy will live on through them.  I am privileged to have known Diana and to have shared some good conversations and laughs. I am glad I will see her again.  See you later, Diana.

 

 

Spring Piano Recital 2013

 

Sean played his own composition “Nightmare”.

Marksman

Sean inherited the target-shooter gene.  He completed eight weeks of air rifle for 4H.    They  have certain requirements for earning Marksman which he achieved.  His highest target was a 96% which means he got three 10s and two 9s on a bullseye. 

 

Spring Soccer

The last soccer games were this morning.  The first baseball game was this afternoon.  The kids had a really good season and lots of fun.  Sean’s team has a lot of talent and were on fire this morning.  They won 7-1 and scored 5 of those in the first half.  Sierra had a great coach and the girls got along great. 

 

Allergies/Sensitivities

 

 

Soccer Season is Here

New to us this year is that both Sean and Sierra are playing.  This is Sierra’s first season.  She was very excited. 

Out of the six weeks, there are only two games that are at the same time.  Their fields probably could not be farther apart so it should be interesting. 

This morning was picture day so we had to be there even earlier for the 8:00 game.  This is what the fields looked like.  Brrr.

I just happened to catch the sun rising above the playground. 

 

By the second game at 9:30, the grass had thawed and it was not too bad. 

 

This is a short video highlight of Sierra playing like a veteran even though it was only her first game.   What I love most about it is listening to her brother cheer her on. 

Spring Break

We had a wonderful fun day with friends this week in Bloomington. 

 

The best part was spending it with a great friend. 

 

Also on spring break, the kids enjoyed warm weather when they could play outside without coats.  They also enjoyed playing in the snow and building a snowman.  It’s not often you can experience both in late March. 

Gray Hair–Not My Natural Color

 

My Do-It-Yourself Color and Cut. 

Homeschool Moment

The kids and I sat around yesterday, each of us reading a book about presidents and sharing what we were learning.   One of them started talking about heaven and who they want to see when they get there.  It was a thought-provoking conversation.  Then one of them asked me what I wanted to ask God when I got there.  I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, but then that one said “I want to ask God who fired the shot heard around the world.”     Deep thinkers.    

Today would have been my husband’s sister’s 65th birthday.  She is one of the people my  kids want to see in heaven.  They also mentioned wanting to see their grandparents who they never met.   

Post Op

Déjà vu.  It seems like only a couple months ago that I was talking about my post-op stuff. 

Mine was way easier than my husband’s.   He even gets the really good narcotic pain meds.  Fortunately, his pain has not been as bad this time as it was last time in 2007 (on the other shoulder).  The doctor was able to do all of it through the scope this time.  With the last one, he had to make a mini-open incision.   He started physical therapy yesterday.  His surgery was the day before that.  They repaired a 3 cm. tear in the rotator cuff and also removed some extra bone he had floating around and a piece of bone that was part of a genetic abnormality (in the meso-acronium). 

This is close to what he is wearing now, except on the opposite arm. 

In addition, he has something similar to this that goes over the shoulder and hooks to three tubes that hook to a machine that looks like a short computer tower.  

 

Water goes through two of the tubes and air goes through the other one.  It keeps the temperature at a constant 45 degrees. 

He is on restrictions for 12 weeks. He cannot use his shoulder muscles at all for the first 4 weeks.

Busy Busy

This month finds me very busy.  So busy that I started this blog post three days ago and keep having to update it because it becomes out-of-date.   I have been doing a lot of reading and researching in order to make some changes to our schooling.  So far what I am doing different is having the desired result but it may be too early to know if it will last.   I am turning up the speed and not relying as much on our curriculum because it just moves too slow in some cases especially in math and English. 

For the second time in less than six years, my husband will be undergoing rotator cuff repair on his shoulder.  This time it is the other shoulder.  I feel the need to say the surgery is on his shoulder because I am weak in anatomy so am not willing to just say rotator cuff repair in case there might happen to be a rotator cuff somewhere else in the human body that I have not heard about.   I am pretty sure there is not but I have been wrong before so I will play it safe. 

We spent part of the weekend rearranging our bedroom so that we can switch sides of the bed and so that the bedroom can look more like a bedroom since we put in a new floor and finally painted.  It’s been a work in progress (or should I say work in waiting) for some time.  We are not very good at finishing projects.   It is amazing how moving a few things around can make a room look bigger. 

Well, we have a sick child at the moment so the doctor’s office was our trip for the day.  Strep was negative and she does not have enough flu symptoms to even test for that so it’s just a yucky virus.  Now I’m beginning to think the headache and stuffy nose I’ve had off and on the past couple of days might be more than sinuses.   I’m hoping no one else gets it, especially the daddy.  The nurse said Sierra looks just like her daddy.  She grew up with him.  She then talked about how sweet his mother was.    Sierra was not paying attention but when I told her later, she was not impressed (about looking just like her daddy, that is). 

Here is the paint color we chose.  Do you see a problem with the tv?  This was my view using the zoom on the camera from my new spot on the bed.  Obviously a problem.  Last night, the tv was moved to the other wall and now I have holes to cover up but that’s ok.  I am behind on picture taking for the blog or I would show the new view.

 

Last week the kids went ice skating with about a hundred other homeschooled kids.   When it was almost over, the youngest stumbled and fell on her knee and elbow.  She did not mention the elbow until on the way home because her knee hurt so much.  By the time we got home, she was in tears about the elbow.  I think we can see why from the picture below which was taken several days later.   Ice hurts. 

Why we don’t eat out much

It is tiring to have to avoid most convenience and fast foods or to have to travel an hour one way to shop where you might find fewer of these ingredients in packaged foods, esp. those in red/yellow.  Those in orange show just how messed up our food supply is due to overuse of corn in our society.  Of course, some of these could be two or three colors.  And this is just based on what I know which is  not enough. 

 

These ingredients are derived from corn or are likely are derived from corn

These ingredients contain or may contain petroleum (TBHQ for sure does)

These ingredients can hide artificial stuff (but not limited to these ingredients)

BK Nuggets: Boneless chicken breast with rib meat, water, isolated oat product, potato starch, seasoning (modified corn starch, salt, maltodextrin, yeast extract, chicken stock, flavors, wheat starch, dextrose, propylene glycol and citric acid), salt, sodium phosphates. BATTERED WITH: Water, yellow corn flour, wheat flour, wheat starch, salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate), dextrose, spice. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), spices, salt.  Breading set in vegetable oil.

McDonald’s McNuggets: White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning [yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid], sodium phosphate, natural flavor (botanical source). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

                                               /\  (what???) 

 

Click here to read Fooducates post about the new BK nuggets.

Technorati Tags: artificial,ingredients,artificial ingredients,corn allergy,corn derivatives,petroleum,food sensitivities

Car Market–What a Ride

In spite of all the bad press about Craigslist recently, we have had another good experience.  Our other good experience was when we found this computer armoire earlier this year.  I think I would continue to be very selective about what I would try to purchase though.  Used iPhones is not one of them.  I heard on the news recently that someone was robbed when they went to a really bad neighborhood to purchase used iPhones from someone.  Clue #1 that this was a bad idea:   used iPhoneS – as in plural.  Bells should have been going off.  

Anyway, I have been searching Craigslist, classifieds and dealer inventory for a suitable vehicle to replace our wrecked car regularly since the wreck three months ago but more seriously since Thanksgiving.  We made a trip out of state this weekend to look at and then purchase our find.  We opted for small and great gas mileage.  31 city/38 highway.  I’m anxious to see what we get. 

Time4Learning Review

We tried out Time4Learning for about a month.   I wish we’d had more time to test it out but for the times my kids did use it, they did like the easy to learn lessons.  The playground has fun games. 

As a mom/teacher, I liked being able to sign in and see what each of my kids have been working on and what they had completed.  The feedback was helpful.  

I appreciate the ability to change grade levels.  We had to adjust the grade levels for both my kids to make it more interesting and challenging.   One thing that I did not see but would be interested in having access to, is a scope and sequence for each subject and by grade level.  This would be helpful if the main purpose in using Time4Learning is to supplement other curriculum. 

I would recommend this curriculum as a supplemental educational tool.  

Do It Yourself. Or Maybe Not.

Our master bathroom has only a shower, no bathtub.  It has been dripping for a while but has worked it’s way up to a constant.. drip, drip, drip.  So, I requested the handyman of the house to fix it.  Normally, dripping faucets are no big deal for my handy hubby. 

But, this time there seemed to be some cement or strong glue involved… or rusty metal.  Either way, here is what it looks like now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the evening without water, obviously, and today we are waiting for our plumber to come this afternoon to replace the faucet.  We are hoping he can work magic that will not require tearing out any walls or busting a shower.  Visions of last year's house flood are still fresh in our minds, so we proceed with caution. 

What would you think our number one concern about being without water would be?   No shower in the morning?  Nope.  Not being able to flush toilets?  Nope.   The number one concern is how to get our coffee in the morning.  Fortunately, bottled water can work for coffee.  Yay!   

Indescribable Pain

I had my post-op appointment last week where I asked questions and learned a little more about my results.   During my surgery, I had a laparoscopy to discover, diagnose and burn endometriosis, a D&C to remove polyps that were benign and an endometrial ablation to try to help with heavy bleeding/clotting that leaves me anemic.

What I continue to learn is that our reproductive organs are very complex as is the rest of our bodies.  It is amazing how we humans managed to survive that evolutionary process (sarcasm).  I completely believe in the one true God who is the author of all life.   We are created by an intelligent designer. 

Also, I believe that our lives are sometimes filled with illness and suffering because we live in a fallen world.  Our creator gave us free will.  Man chose to sin.  A fallen world is far from perfect and becomes less so all the time.  There will be disease and illness and natural disasters as well as manmade disasters. 

I cannot remember ever not believing  someone who complained of pain, but I am sure that I never will pass judgment on anyone again if they are complaining of pain.  I know there are people who seek pain meds from hospitals and doctors and truly have an addiction problem but it seems likely to me that it began with real pain requiring a need for pain meds.

It’s possible the endometriosis that was burned away during my laparoscopy could have caused my pain which means I should see improvement for a while.  Or it’s possible that the endometriosis that was on or around my ureters and could not be burned because of risk of damaging them is causing my pain.  Or there’s another possibility.  Endometriosis can be in the muscle tissue of the uterus.  This was new endometriosis information that I was not familiar with.  The name for it is adenomyosis. This could be my problem. 

I have figured out that at least some of my day-to-day discomfort has improved.  I thought the reason I hated getting up from sitting on the sofa and despised sitting on the floor and having to get up and down during music class was because I am getting old.  Apparently a lot of that discomfort was due to endometriosis that has been removed because, so far, I have noticed that it no longer feels so bad bad to get up off the floor or out of a seat.  Maybe I’m not as old as I have been feeling.

It’s too early to tell if the indescribable pain has improved.  This is the pain that is difficult to explain to someone including the doctor.  He was not convinced based on my explanation of my pain that he should do a laparoscopy because my pain is or was atypical for gynecological problems but I am glad he agreed to do it and found what he found so now I know why I have pain.  The indescribable pain really is that.  Indescribable.  As I told my doctor, I’ve never broken a bone or been shot or stabbed so it’s hard to compare it.  He thinks I am very analytical.  Ha.  A lot of good it does me to be analytical at this point. 

I told him that c-sections do not hurt compared to this indescribable pain.  I told him that it is kind of like having a bad charlie horse cramp but inside the pelvis.  At least when you get those cramps in a calf muscle, you can do something about it to help… like pull your toes back to stretch out the tendons or rub it out.   When it happens inside your body, all you can do is freeze until it goes away and try not to move because moving makes it hurt worse if that’s even possible. 

So over the next few months, I wait.  I wait to see if the pain returns during my periods.  Or if any of the other pain returns.  I am encouraged that I am a bit more mobile than I was before.  I try to think positively yet realistically.    

Eggless Desserts on Thanksgiving

I thought of my grandmother often today as I cooked Thanksgiving for us and my brother and niece.   I have very few memories of her that are not in the kitchen.  I think she was one of the best cooks.  She also frequently would make our favorite desserts.  She made a really good apple crumble for me.   I still miss her.   It does not seem possible she has been gone over 18 years. 

 

I made some new desserts so that my kids could have egg-free corn-free sweets.  I have learned that it is impossible to buy pie crust that does not contain corn syrup or other corny ingredients.  It is frustrating how much corn is used in prepackaged foods.

Eggless Pumpkin Pie

Apple pie.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies – Eggless

Back to Normal… Almost

Well, eight days out from surgery I am pretty much back to normal except I am not wearing jeans yet.  I can get them on but they squeeze a little too much for the incision in my belly button. I’d be okay on my feet but sitting is a bit uncomfortable so I’ll keep wearing elastic waist pants for a while longer. 

Today is my post-op appointment where I get to find out more details and ask lots of questions (I hope). 

I checked out some books at the library with my teacher card yesterday.  That is how I found out that six weeks from yesterday is December 31.  Really??  Wow.