All The Little Ducklings… Sean’s Piano Recital

Sean is playing All the Little Ducklings at his piano recital June 3, 2011

Easter

I’m behind on updating… here are some pics of us on Easter.

The Power of Straight Line Winds

Storms came through here yesterday.  Winds lifted a building into the air and smashed it right behind my parents’ garage, knocking down their privacy fence and spilling concrete blocks and shingles into their yard.  A couple miles away, a tree was uprooted from the ground, taking the sod up around it and another tree broken off. 

 

 

   

A Word on Food Dyes

Below is an article that gives me hope.   It’s been about 3-4 years since we figured out that our teen had issues with food dyes.  Red #40 was the one we discovered to be a problem at first, but now we believe they all are.  Actually we are now dye free in our household.  That really isn’t a totally easy thing to do as food dyes are in things that you would not expect. 

While watching children at gymnastics or some other organized event, I see kids that remind me of my daughter when she was the same age and I want to warn the parents to get rid of food dyes in their child’s diet.  Dyes are made of petroleum.  I think how different my child’s life might have been without them.  Behavior problems at school, unable to go to sleep at night, etc.   The teachers complained that she was highly distractible.  The only thing they knew to do was move her desk to different places until she was sitting completely isolated from everyone else.  She would act so silly on the playground that other kids would egg her on and try to get her to do stupid stuff.  She was totally out of control. 

Today, with red #40 out of her system, when she does accidentally digest it (which happens most often in prescription meds or when she eats at a pitch-in), we can all tell.  And so can she.  It’s horrible.  She acts intoxicated and it causes her anxiety to go high. 

Not all reactions to food dyes are the same.   Other reactions could include skin issues, inability to concentrate, bed wetting, mood problems, and the list goes on. 

But, red #40 is not the only culprit.  Remember, they are all made from petroleum.  Our same daughter with the red #40 issue was having breathing issues….   from any activity.  Unable to catch her breath.  An inhaler did not work.  She had an echocardiogram done to rule out heart issues.  We started on the Feingold diet soon after and the main thing eliminated from what she ate/drank was Powerade Zero the mixed berry flavor (the only one without red #40).  Instead, it has blue dye.  After cutting out the dyes, her breathing went back to normal and she has resumed regular activities, like walking.  Anywhere. 

Anyway, if you haven’t begun to do so, begin reading the labels of your foods, especially those targeted at children.  Look for Red #40, blue 1, yellow 5 and 6, and others with color names.   I get angry when I see how much this junk is being used in our foods.  

Technorati Tags: adhd,hyperactivity,food dyes,red #40,food allergies,reactions

Good news from Australia

The Australian branch of the Aldi supermarket chain has announced
they are ditching food dyes.

This is important to consumers
world-wide for several reasons:
First, it brings awareness to the fact
that petroleum-based food dyes are
harmful. Second, it shows that food
can be colorful and delicious without
the need for fake dyes. This makes it
harder for markets in other countries
(and for the US FDA) to continue to
turn a blind eye to the enormous
amount of research showing the damage
they cause. Finally, it puts pressure
on governmental agencies to take
action to protect consumers, especially
children.
In 2007, following the landmark
study from the University of
Southampton (showing that food dyes
cause harm to all children), the major
British chains announced they would
be getting rid of the dyes.

The effort that started in England
with Jamie Oliver, and the 2004
and 2007 Southampton studies,
resulted in the removal of most of
the synthetic dyes from the food in
Europe! Let's hope this trend
makes its way to North America!

Leading the charge were Marks &
Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's and
ASDA (which is owned by
Wal-Mart.) ASDA was especially vocal,
promising their customers a "no
nasties guarantee."
The chain's "no nasties" policy did
not sit well with Ajinomoto, who currently
makes the synthetic sweetener
aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet). The
Japanese company initiated a law suit
against ASDA that has gone on for
several years.
Ajinomoto seeks to defend the integrity
of its controversial sweetener,
which has generated more health complaints
to the US FDA than any other
additive in history.
In addition to aspartame, Ajinomoto
is the major manufacturer of MSG
(monosodium glutamate), which has
an even longer history of reported
health problems.

Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter
of the Feingold Association of
the United States, www.feingold.org.

Spring and new beginnings

Sierra learned how to ride her bike without training wheels last month.  It took just a short time of practicing.  Soon she was zooming around the circle and I was afraid she would crash and burn and not try again until she was 16, so we made her stop.    She was so excited that she came inside, got paper and wrote a story about it.   

Callie’s new do

Callie decided to get her hair cut and once she finally decides to do something, she wants to do it immediately.  So off we went to the mall and she had her hair cut into a braid so we can send it to Locks of Love.  She has always been interested in doing that.  I weighed her braid and it weighed 2.8 oz.  That’s a lot of hair.  Her hair is so thick.  After she washed it and let it air dry, it was curly so even looked like a different style again so this might be the last time it looks like below. 

Winter still?

Where is spring?  Even my child who loves winter said she is ready for spring.  We had a couple of ice storms back to back this week.  We were blessed to not lose our power or have any major problems like others in our area. 

These pictures are from round one.   I thawed the van’s windows in between and the next day it looked the same.

 

The trees in our backyard do not like ice.  The worst for ours was the pine trees.  We saw much larger limbs down in the neighborhood and some trees that broke in half.  I am glad the utility company trimmed trees near power lines last fall.   I think that might have been what saved us from losing power. 

 

I think the limbs above will survive once the ice melts.. they are just hanging low from all the weight.

Some limbs are not so lucky.

 

 

Piano Recital

I just love Sean’s piano class.  It is a parent-involved class so I am also learning to play.  We’ve been in class since August except for a month off since Christmas.  Tonight was his first recital.  It was fun listening to all the students from beginners to the most advance.  Sean seems to learn quickly, is enjoying the class and has made a few friends. 

I did not get the camcorder started on time so missed a couple of notes but you can still recognize the song… Beethoven’s Ode To Joy.

Winter Wonderland

Jeff took Sierra to the Princess Ball recently.  They both had a good time.  I love this picture. 

 

Christmas 2010

 

Who is that old couple with those kids?  

   

Callie wanted a opossum for her birthday or Christmas.  Ewww. 

Sean and Sierra with their great-uncle Mark. 

Vacation?

Jeff has worked two days straight replacing the carpet in Callie’s room with laminate wood.  I’ll try to post pictures in the future.   It is all done and looks great.  Today I cleaned Sierra’s room and shampooed the dining room carpet and part of the living room.  I hate having carpet in the dining room.   We are pretty tired and it’s only Tuesday.  Jeff is probably glad he has to work tomorrow for one day to get a break from here.  I still need to sort and organize Sierra’s room.  After not agreeing to donate anything, I finally talked her into letting me bag up some dolls and stuffed animals for the attic.   That’s the only way to be able to organize her room.  She has too many dolls and stuffed animals.  Her closet is overflowing with clothes because she is just at that in-between sizes stage but I need to start sorting out the almost too small clothes to make room for everything. 

 

I am looking at making some changes for school.  I am thinking about doing school in the dining room.  That might help us keep our family room neater. 

 

I cannot remember if I posted this picture before, but I don’t want to have a post without a picture so since I mentioned school, here is a school picture.  Can you guess what we were studying?   

Eagle sighting

About four miles from our house, Jeff and the kids spotted these eagles in the tree near their nest.  It is way off the road but my zoom lens was able to get a fuzzy picture of them.. enough to tell they are bald eagles.   Notice how big the nest is. 

Christmas Musical

Sean participated in his first Christmas Musical tonight.  Ice was freezing on the windshield on the way there, snow blowing across the road on the way home.  We thank God for keeping us safe and for such a good turnout.