Christmas

Christmas has been good. We spent the week in Cambridge, staying half the time at each set of parents' homes. I feel like we've spent our time well, we did a lot of family stuff. But we totally missed out on church. I'm super bummed about it. Ryan just didn't feel up to it.

He's been pretty sick for about 4 weeks with an on-again-off-again fever and super exhaustion. He sleeps a LOT. When it first started, he was tested for all the basic sickness stuff and was all clear. Three weeks later, he's seen 3 more doctors, been put on an antibiotic and taken off 2 days later (misdiagnosed), had 13 vials of blood drawn +4 cups, had a throat swab again, peed in a cup, had a cat scan, and now he has a super sore throat with the yucky white spots in his throat. We know we didn't start with strep 4 weeks ago, so did he pick it up while at the clinic since his immune system is weak? What the heck?! So Ryan has the yuck. We just don't know which yuck. We find out Monday -hopefully. And hopefully it's not that yucky.

So pray for Ryan.

Thankfully everyone else has been able to steer clear of Ryan's yuck! Sully had a good first Christmas. Crazy gifts that sing, light up, wiggle, and amuse both Sully and Brinkley. Sully's Grandparents were very generous! Sully's mom kinda expected it (and was totally thankful for it!) and only got him a Disney's Cars flashlight (he loves lights) which literally broke in under 5 seconds. Bummer. It's a good thing he won't remember that or I would feel like a total failure.

Me and Ryan's parents went together on a new vacuum for us! What an awesome gift! The one we've been using is incredibly lame. I'm pumped to test it out!

We're still in Cambridge. Our cars have been in pretty bad shape so this week they've been on the road to improvement. 2 new tires, a fixed side-view mirror, a replaced burnt-out brake light... on Monday both cars will have their tires aligned and rotated and we'll be finished. And ready to go home. :) I'm just hoping to get to church in the morning (we'll see how things go), to visit with a few more friends, and to send out our Christmas cards in the meantime.

This is my favorite Christmas pic of Sully:



I hope you all had perfectly wonderful Christmases with lots of happy memories!

More kisses.

I just have to share that I got one of Sully's awesome kisses over the phone today! Huge smile in my heart!

Not Me! Monday

It's Not Me! Monday and I would like to inform you that I was not involved in the following shenanigans.

This week I did not drink orange juice from a measuring cup and ice cream right out of the box because there were  no clean dishes left... Not Me!

I did not leave with the keys for someone else's house thinking they were for my own.  And lock myself and my 6 month old out of the house ALL day long? Never. Not Me.

I did not continue to drive out of the garage unable to see over my left shoulder causing the right side-view mirror to crunch-hit-the-garage and fall off my husband's car. Ach! Who would do that!? (Not Me!)

Someone had a very bad first Not Me! Monday post.  But it was Not Me!

Goals

Have you ever heard that the most successful people in the world are the ones who write down their goals?  I've done this in the past but have always misplaced my lists.  :)  I think the point is to look at them, be reminded of them, and to always have them in your thoughts.  So I'm going to keep them recorded here.  I'm just going to start small and I'll probably continue to add to the list.  There's no limit, right?

Financial Goals:

Have my school loans paid off.

Have Ryan's school loans paid off. 

Own a home (and furnish it!).

Have enough money to pay for our kids' college. (Although I don't actually want to pay for it... or at least I don't want them to know it. I want them to be responsible for it.  Possibly after they've finished college we can surprise them by paying off all of their school loans.)

Have enough money to vacation once a year.

To be able to buy a Caribou Coffee (for myself and a friend!) without worrying about our budget!

Ryan and I have not made a habit of using a credit card.  The only purchases we've made on our one card have been for business  -photography equipment (computer, cam gear, etc).  My goal is to keep it this way.  I think living within our means is a huge step in attaining these goals.

Numbers...  I didn't put any amounts anywhere.  I just don't know what it would take to fulfill all of these goals. But!  I would LOVE for them to be fulfilled in 5 years.  I'm sure the house obviously wouldn't be fully paid for though.  (And the kids' college goal isn't about to happen in 5 years either.)

Like I said, I'll come back with more.

Sully's Kisses

A few weeks ago Sully started to Kiss me!  They are not your average sweet baby kisses.  These are fierce, ferocious, mad kisses!  

He seems to burst into a kiss, grabbing my head with both arms, fists full of hair.  He pulls my face right up to his wide open jaws for a few seconds before releasing.   A little scary, but oh so sweet!

Two weekends ago I had been gone all day at a wedding. When I got home I received so many kisses!  One right after another for almost 5 minutes!  We were all laughing at his excitement.  It was so great!

These are the things that make being a mommy so wonderful.

Challenge

So I challenged a friend to spend 20 minutes every morning praying and listening to God.  I promised I would take the challenge, too.  I'm hoping we can keep each other accountable.  I'm hoping I can do it!  I'm hoping it becomes a habit for me.  And I'm hoping...  um... to be opened up, hear new things, to be changed a little.  Yes.  This will be so good.  

(Where am I going to find twenty minutes?!  I barely get a chance to brush my teeth with Mr. Sullivan keeping me crazy!)

Anyone have any prayer requests???

Anyone want to join the challenge?

Living Gluten Free

I became gluten-free (GF) on January 1st, 2007 (a new years resolution I've actually kept). I was diagnosed with an allergy to wheat/gluten when I was 15 but just ignored it. I felt fine (I thought).

Then I met Mary, a new coworker of mine (and the sweetest woman!), she told me about the complications she had had after ignoring her allergy for many years. Complications (including surgery to remove part of her colon) that I would rather avoid! So I began researching and learning about what It meant to take gluten out of my diet.

"Living Gluten Free for Dummies" is an awesome book that I would recommend to anyone making similar decisions about their diet. I spent about 2-3 months reading the labels of everything that I ate... "Okay, Kim, this could very well be your very last bowl of tomato soup (yes, there is wheat in tomato soup) you better enjoy it!" I had many "last" bowls of macaroni and cheese!!! So when the new year came around, I was totally prepared. I had gone to the Wedge and purchased a ton of GF food and claimed two shelves in the kitchen cupboard as Kim's GF edible food. That way I would be less likely to get discouraged. No "theres nothing for me to eat!" and give up. No excuses!

The first changes that I noticed had to do with my digestive system (we'll pass on the details). And I felt awesome every morning. I hadn't realized how gross I had felt when I woke up. Now I felt super light and energized. Aside from that, I didn't notice much bet kept at it.

8 months later I decided to have a wheat week! I was so pumped! State fair food, Valleyfair food, pizza, macaroni and cheese, subway... it was awesome. And totally GROSS. I felt HORRIBLE. Super tired (like laying on the floor because there was no energy left tired), I was often confused and jumbled up my words, tons of bloating, nausea, weight gain, headaches, dizziness, I couldn't even focus my vision at times. And it wasn't even that satisfying. I can live without pizza if it means that I don't have to feel like that again.

And now that I can recognize the symptoms... I can decide if it's really worth it to have some pizza or go to Buca. Do I really want to gain 4+ pounds at one meal? Feel nasty for a week? It's filling my healthy body with toxins and it's notnotnot worth it.

So anyway, the whole reason for this post is that I've been asked for advise on living gluten free and I thought I'd share what I've learned. GF can be expensive and there's a lot of trial and error in finding good stuff. (A lot of GF food tastes like dirt-literally) If you have anything to add let me know!

The best and cheapest pasta is at Trader Joes.

The best and cheapest waffles (regular and banana) are at Trader Joes. *I love Trader Joe's!

Trader Joe's also has weird frozen GF pancakes that are pretty great.

Trader Joe's has a good brownie mix. I haven't tried their pancake mix yet....

Rice Chex is GF! (Rice Krispies are not -they have malt.)

Bittersweet is an awesome bakery located in Eagan. Their bread is awesome and it's also sold and Fresh and Natural Foods stores.

Sunshine Burgers, Smart Dogs, and Soyrizo are awesome if you're a vegetarian as well!

Target has an awesome mix for GF Sugar Cookies. I can't remember the brand name -there's also cake and other goodies.

Pamela's GF Cookies are pretty great. Especially Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Crumb -Gourmet Deli- in Eden Prairie has GF bread for sandwhiches (it's Bittersweet's).

Noodles & Company has awesome GF pad thai!

Biaggi's and PG Changs both have Gluten Free Menus

Click here for more dining in the Twin Cities.

For baking there are pre-mixed flours or you can mix your own (tough!). You should go to your nearest co-op and ask. They sometimes have it in bulk so you can try just a little to see what you like.

Most chips are made of corn or potatoes. Mission makes good corn tortillas.

Mary's Gone Crackers GF crackers are good!


Not Gluten Free:
Beer -there are very few GF brands. Hard Cider is a good substitute.
Soy Sauce -try Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Better and healthier!
Most vegetarian fake meat - Boca, Morningstar, etc
Mock Duck
McDonald's French Fries (BK fries are ok)

Read the Label!:
Microwave dinners
Rice dishes
Sauces (particularly asian food) and dressings
Soup


Whenever we go out to eat I go online ahead of time to look up their allergy notifications. They often tell you what's gluten-free. Waiting 'till you get there to ask your server can cause a lot of confusion.

Let me know if you have any questions!!! Or if you have any advice for me!

Sibling Rivalry

Tug o war.















A few days ago Brinkley started bringing some of her toys to Sullivan. She puts them in his hand and then tries to take them away. Hoping for a good game. :) Sullivan is actually pretty good at it.

Worst Case Scenario

Today we got out and went to the evening Thanksgiving church service. We LOVE the Maple Ridge Church in Maple Grove... but it's an hour away so we get there as often as we can. Scott got baptized tonight (yea!) and we got to visit with Stacy, Scott, Mark and Mary Anderson, and Jamie and Billy and Austin! So fun! Austin and Sully were born in the same hospital about a day and a half apart. They were due two days apart and both came over a week late. It is SO fun to see them together and compare stories. Austin has 2 teeth! Such a cutie!

On the way home we realized that we had no keys to get into the house... panic. We looked everywhere (purse, wallet, diaper bag, messy car). There are 2 loose keys that I've been meaning to put on my keychain...

We knew we could get in the first doorway with a little help from the upstairs neighbors. But the second doorway would be a challenge. Ryan had seen Mike Dehn open a lock with a credit card (a trick learned while training to be a police officer). But didn't know if he could do it himself.

We made many Worst Case Scenario plans. My favorite included going to the Mystic Lake Casino (20 miles away) to stay at the hotel where I would make my way to the buffet after Ryan and Sully went to sleep! I'm nursing and I'm always hungry. ..being locked out of the house began to not sound so bad. I was totally revved up for that adventure!

It only took Ryan a few moments to get in. (Why do we bother locking that door?!) Bummer!!!

So now I eat rice, eggplant, avocado, corn, onions, and cottage cheese. Yummy -but I'm totally missing out on the salad bar and ice cream.

Far and Near

We moved out to Belle Plaine a few months ago. It is only about 15-20 miles further west than where we were living last year but being here makes me feel completely disconnected from Everything. 2 hours from Cambridge, 1 hour from the cities. That is - if you drive alone. Adding Sully means adding a lot more packing, timing your departure for immediately after eating, making a few stops for more eating and a break from the car (he hates car rides) which are 30 minutes to an hour each. Plus you have to make the entire trip back again. So... I really don't get out much and when we do leave the house we pack a LOT of errands into one trip. My work also keeps me here. I have not yet fallen into a good groove with my editing and deadlines. Balancing my work with Sully and housework is Tough!

So sometimes I feel a bit stranded. And disconnected. I miss being in Cambridge. I never really had a vision of where I wanted to live "when I grew up" ...but I'm sure that Belle Plaine is not it.

Lately I've found myself drawn to reading blogs. I think it's a good way to stay connected and get and give advice and share experiences. But I don't want to become a "lurker" so I think I'll join in and become a little more regular about it. Of course I started here like a year ago... a slow start. :)

I'm back.

I seem to hit my blog every 6 moths or so... Sully is here, he's 5 months old and he's such a stud. I love him. His favorite thing to do is to laugh. All you really have to do is look at him and he squeals. :)
My wedding business stuff is really moving forward, my next step is to work out a 'real' website and I'm about to take it. And I'm pumped. Designing it is going to be fun -I have two main ideas, I just have to choose one and stick to it.
We moved, but not into a house. Bummer. When we get a house things are going to happen! I'm so excited to paint, put pictures up, decorate, and organize our lives it's ridiculous. What's the point of doing that in an apartment when you'll only be there a year?
I went to the Women of Faith convention this past weekend. It was really good. The main thing I left with was that I need to learn to "Do what I know to do and let God do the rest." So tough. I always feel the urge to direct/instruct/control everything. Letting go is trusting and that's the hardest part. But so important. There are a lot of things in my life right now that I need to whole-heartedly give to God. And I KNOW that it'll only get better. So I'm working on it. :)

Goodness!

Well, it is now February of 2008 -6 months since my last/first post. I have only one change to report, and that is that I'm pregnant -6 months pregnant. Weird. We are expecting a baby boy and I couldn't be happier! We have so many upcoming changes with the baby -moving, changing jobs, moving again... I'm pretty sure our lives will just be completely different. Ach -I have so much on my mind now I think I could write a novel... but I'm actually just going to stop here for a bit, work on some wedding pictures, and come back :)