All for One and One for All.....

Our family has recently undergone a dietary change to be Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free (for one month, until Ayden's next doctor's visit) to help and see if it alleviates some of his developmental delays. It's all for one and one for all around here at our house. We're doing this together to make it easier on Ayden. I've read a lot on the topic and even his doctor says that changing his diet should make a difference. So, far he's getting frustrated with normal things and not his laid back self. He's also pointing and trying to use words to express himself for the first time. It's progress and I remain hopeful that it's as simple as changing what we eat.

For starters, I cleaned out the pantry, the cabinets, freezers (big and little) and the fridge of all things containing wheat or dairy. That left me eating guacamole and Frito's for dinner that night. And here we are approaching the end of week two...it's been interesting. We haven't starved, but I've gotten really creative in the kitchen.

Another plus to this new dietary change, I haven't had any yucky, bloating feelings and lots of energy. (Maybe all that wheat expands in your belly, making you feel all fat and gross?) Also, that cuts out 98% of eating out (YAY!) there are very few places that Ayden can eat at outside of home and daycare. By the way, his daycare has amazed me with the questions and dedication they have to help me out to figure out if these foods are making Ayden delayed.

KUDOS to you Miss Heidi and Miss Ann!

So, we have NO BUTTER in our house, just Vegan sticks of a butter substitute...Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks. There's NO CHEESE, just Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternatives. And lastly, NO MILK, (yep!) we've done soy milk before, but we've discovered ALMOND MILK! Oh and then there's the NO WHEAT thing...yeah, wheat is in EVERYTHING!

I had a bare pantry 2 weeks ago, but now it's nice and full of wheat-free/dairy-free items and it's a place that I can feel good knowing that I can prepare foods for Ayden that will help him meet his goals and if not, well...there's no harm in continuing this diet. We all know that processed foods contain so many chemicals that aren't found in "nature" nor are they "all-natural".

Do we really know what we're feeding our children?

It's Going to be Like a Fat Guy in a Little Coat......

So, I just finished another wonderful book. I've been curled up on the couch the past few days reading this book I picked up at the library last week. I've read so many wonderful books lately, but this one just took me back about 50+ years to a time when things were a whole lot more simple and no day to day distractions (like Facebook or e-mail.) It was set during the pre-war era 1960's, when you called your friends and neighbors on their home phone and played bridge on Mondays at noon. Sounds like fun, but I've never played bridge, however I might want to learn. I began thinking about how our lives are cluttered with unnecessary things and appointments that we dread. I'm hoping that one day, I can live by the words:

Less is More.

I'm not sure how to exactly go about this, but I've started de-cluttering my life and have begun thinking of all the things we hang on to for memories. Simple things like decorations, art made by our little ones, things I made as a child or something that a family member made before they passed away. I'm all for keeping their memory alive, but if I accumulate much more, I'm going to need another house.

So, I'm trying to get to a place where I don't need the object for the memory. Or latch on to it, because it once belonged to a great-third-cousin twice removed who found it at a local flea market and thought it would look perfect on their mantel and willed it to me or my husband. Because in fact, we don't have a mantel to place it on. Our family is also to the point where we know it's not going to be much longer before we PCS with the Army to our duty station. Now, I know how "roomy" the base housing can be. Let's just say I'll be lucky to fit a queen bed, dresser and two nightstands in the master bedroom. It's going be like the fat guy in a little coat getting all of our stuff in there.

Where does this leave me?

With a house full of stuff that I CAN'T get rid of, because it's perfectly good and someone would throw a fit to know that I passed it along to someone else. It's just like that crystal serving dish Clay & I received 7 1/2 years ago as a wedding present that I've yet to serve from. (Well, maybe I should hang on to it, you know for the my bridge club on Mondays at noon. So, I can serve tea sandwiches and deviled eggs off of it with my silver service.) Thank God that we didn't register for fine china when we got married. I'm partial to my clear dishes and Smurf glasses for entertaining.

However, I have an idea to solve my problem. I'll just go through one room at a time and just think to myself "If this ________ was really important or useful to me, it wouldn't be in a box, under the cabinet, stuffed in the closet in the office, etc." I'm spring cleaning and it's all going. I'm going to follow my own advice.....

If I haven’t enjoyed it, seen it, touched it or worn it in the last 6 months or going to in the next 6 months, it’s gone. However, there are two exceptions to this rule: my skinny clothes in the closet and my Husband! (deployments are 12 to 15 months long) Goodbye Clutter!

~excerpt from previous blog entry: Trying to Go from Semi-Hoarder to Semi-Simple.

I received an Award!

I just received the "Honest Scrap" award from my good friend Jelly. (you know Jelly & Kake)

Thank you so much for this lovely award! It is such an honor to receive this for my blog. *tear*

The deal is that I give you 10 random facts about me:

1. I recently bought $175 worth of books off Amazon.com last week. I have read all of them, but wanted them to in hardback for my library that I'm building.

2. Our family has recently undergone a Wheat-Free/Dairy-Free diet to see if this helps eliminate some of Ayden's (my youngest) developmental delays. Needless to say, this has been interesting finding foods without wheat or dairy in them.

3. I'm working on my Bucket List. I have a feeling that it will be a work in progress.

4. I'm trying to workout on my Wii (Wii Fit Plus) everyday. ~Clay would be proud.

5. The last time I slept beside my husband all night long was on January 1st 2010.

6. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

7. I love to cook. I'm the happiest when I create something delicious to eat!

8. I don't wear a lot of make-up or none at all most of the time, because it makes me feel fake.

9. I like to dance and I sing out loud in the car when no one is with me, except for Ayden (he sings too!)

10. Thinking that I need to have a weekend getaway with Jelly and go to an amusement park and ride some rollercoasters with her. (Adding that to the Bucket List!)

Now to pass this award on to....

Attending the Battle of Who Could Care Less?

Where do I begin....

Do you never rest?

Fighting the battle of who could care less?

Unearned unhappiness...

That's all right I guess...

I can feel that something's not right. I can feel that someone's blasting me with hate and bass. Sending dirty vibes my way. It wasn't my idea. It wasn't my idea. It never was my idea. Look who's telling who what to do. I don't get many things right the first time, in fact, I am told that a lot. Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls brought me here.

Kiss my a$$..

goodbye...

I'm pissed off, but I'm too polite.

The b*tch went nuts, she started talking politics in front of all my bosses and bullshit from the internet. The b*tch went nuts....cause I'm rocking the suburbs.

*Ben Folds thank you for amazing song lyrics.

It's Lellow and We're Going to Taksas!

My niece Grace (my sister Julie’s daughter) is 4 and just outright hilarious. She comes up with some random stuff sometimes, like zombies and Michael Jackson. If you ask her, she’ll tell you all about Michael Jackson..”He died.” She says lellow instead of yellow. But to hear her talk with her southern accent is a sight to behold. She brings a smile to my face when she has a conversation with me (very seriously with her hands on her hips).

I read the cutest thing yesterday on FB.

Julie's Wall-to-Wall with Clay

Grace: " I had a dream about Uncle Clay lasterday."
Me: "Oh, really?"
Grace: "He was coming from back Taksas. And his sweater was choking him."
You like this.
Clay: Omg hilarious. That is sweet.

Even funnier, because I’ve never seen Clay in a sweater the 11 ½ years we’ve been together. Maybe I need to tell Grace next time we talk that we're going to Taksas and looking for the Lellow Rose!

And these are the Days of Our Lives…..

This might turn into a weekly "special" blog post. Poor Tiff in Texas, her new ArmyWife life is more interesting than a soap opera on NBC. So…this week’s story is about Merton, C.C. and Hershey. Merton is an athletic 60 year old male who is married to C.C. a 43 year old woman who is a chronic chain-smoker since the age of 3, who bore them a child named Oh Henry. Oh Henry is 15 months old and enjoys playing on the jungle gym at the park nearby. Hershey a strapping 38 year old maintenance man who works at The Willows Apartment complex to help support his gambling habit of Texas Hold'em.

Tiffany: Todd why are you dragging me into the bathroom?
Todd: (whispering, his face beat red and out of breath from running) Our neighbor C.C. is having an affair with Hershey the maintenance man. That child of hers is really his, not Merton’s. I overheard them talking in the hall, they didn’t see me, but I believe that I know something that I’m not supposed to.
Tiffany: (hitting Todd on the shoulder) And you’re involving me in this….because?
Todd: Ouch…you’re here all day and he fixes things at the apartment.

Meanwhile…
Back in FacebookLand, I've never laughed so hard until I heard Tiffany tell me all about the love affair between the Crazy Cat Lady and the Maintenance Man at her apartment complex.

Nikki-Just wait...it's going to be great! My muse is back.....I'm still laughing at picturing Todd's face trying to tell you the juicy gossip from down the hall.
Tiffany-Oh my God! It was soooo funny!

Oh and of course, I'll share my blonde moment on FB for the day.

Tiffany- According To Nikki I'm so exhausted because I'm having "Octagons"! LoL!!! Thankful for my friend who always knows what to say to make me laugh! :o)
Nikki- Well what do you call it? Give me a break! I had a long workout at the gym, two kids in the backseat and random people asking if I needed a tire change all because I was sitting at the end of the road so I wouldn't lose service while talking on the phone with you! :P

I believe congratulations are in order for Tiffany and her "Octagons"! I'm so happy for you! :)


(BTW-I got the name Hershey from a real maintenance man that works at the hospital I used to.)

Just stopping by to make a purchase....

It's been an incredibly LONG week....and it's only Monday. I've had a lot going on the last few weeks...... planning Ayden's 3rd birthday, planning for my first airplane ride with the boys (solo), planning our trip to San Antonio, worrying that my husband's Fit for Duty will be scheduled before we get to Texas (that's a whole other can of worms), getting Ayden transferred to the school system for his therapy to continue after his 3rd birthday, Chris being asked to be in a friend's wedding this summer as the ring bearer and then dealing with the daily duties of a housewife. It's been crazy around here. Sometimes, I feel like I've bit off more than I can chew at times, but I'm still sane and I've been keeping up with what's going on.

Then to top this feeling of being slightly overwhelmed, Chris brought home papers in his backpack today for Kindergarten Registration. I broke down...just because he's my first child (he's gotten so big, so fast) and then I realize,

"Are we even going to be living in NC come August?"

I don't even know where to begin, other than just planning like we will be here come August. Military Installations are used to dealing with kids transferring during the school year, but will I?

So, I'm just going to stop by the paddle store before I head upstream and pray for the best. :)