A blurb about Living Gluten Free

Long ago, I wrote a post about living gluten free.

I often get questions about being GF and refer people to that blog post. I've gone back to read it and there is a lot more to share! Here goes.

-Finding GF food is so much easier! Ask for a Gluten Free menu at any and every restaurant you visit. It's likely that they have something for you.
-Udi's GF bread is AMAZING! They even carry it at Cub. Crazy.
-Bisquick just came out with a gluten free alternative. HolyBuckets. I am SO excited to try it!
-Yummy Noodles! http://www.tinkyada.com/
-Perfect Pizza!!! http://galacticpizza.com/



Since taking gluten out of my diet...
-I've easily maintained my weight 20-30 pounds below what it was while I was eating wheat.
-I am migraine free. (I used to have 1-3 headaches every week.)
-I actually get full! I noticed that when I eat wheat I eat constantly. It's like gluten causes constant hunger and cravings.
-I'm not as confused and foggy feeling.
-My skin is clearer.
-I have more energy.
-I don't feel like a rock.
-I think I'm less achy.


I few more motivators:
My dad was diagnosed and lost over 20 pounds.
My mom knows someone with the same experience who lost 70 pounds.
A friend no longer struggles with migraines.

A tip or two about willpower:
When my willpower is waning I eat wheat. (Gasp!) But there are rules! I chose a favorite food, set a date, look forward to it, get excited, and then I EAT IT! :)
...and then... I feel sick, gain a few pounds, get a few headaches, feel nasty, get constipated, wonder why I put myself through this and then suddenly! I have my willpower back!
I go through this very 3-6 months. If I don't do this I end up cheating occasionally and one time I started cheating daily. Just a little poison here and there. It made everything horrible -blech. It's a hard cycle to get out of. So do what works for you but make it work!


If you're thinking that gluten is doing nasty things to you I really encourage you try take a stab at living gluten free. It is estimated that around 15% of the world population is gluten intolerant! You can always be tested in the future, but think about what you can do for your body now! When you are constantly eating what is toxic to your body... think about the battle for health that you are putting yourself through! That's an incredible obstacle that is completely unnecessary!

Also~ you may not experience symptoms just like mine. There are many!many!many! different symptoms of gluten intolerance. For example -one that I haven't yet mentioned is that when I eat wheat I get some bumps on my knuckles, palms, and elbows. People have many different experiences. Living Gluten Free for Dummies is an excellent reference book!

I know I only have 3 1/2 year of GF experience but I welcome any questions you might have!

Bizzy

I feel a bit like an event planner.

This week I am gearing up for my first wedding of the season and it's in Iowa.

My mom was planning on coming along so I wouldn't have to leave Story. But I'm already starting to stress about it. All the packing, maps, schedules, unfamiliar places, and wedding excitement is enough for me. I so badly want them to come along but my head will be much clearer if I'm on my own.

Being away from her for two nights will be really hard. Ick. Hopefully it won't be so hard on her! :( I'm used to sleeping about 1 inch away from her... But I'm trying not to think about it.

Lists are starting to scatter themselves everywhere.

Packing for Story and Sully for 3 nights with Nana and Papa.
Packing for me for 1 night with my 'rents and 2 in Iowa.
Packing equipment for Wedding Day.
Grocery list for Sully at Nana and Papa (this boy eats a lot).
Equipment purchases (a GPS(!), new batteries, extra CF cards, lens protectors, and a lens hood).

...
So this coming weekend will be my first of many wedding weekends this summer but it will also be a little break from being a mommy. I'm going to bring a book (probably some kinda "mom" book) to read while I eat out :) by myself. I'm going to paint my toenails(to match my new red shoes!). And I might even soak in a hot tub at the hotel. I will also go to bed early and s.l.e.e.p. all by myself. all night long. I'll most likely wake up a little bit confused, a little bit in pain (I'm nursing), and a lot a bit rested.
Rested.

:)
And then I get to shoot a wedding! How fresh!

Red Shoes

Random Thoughts

-Shooting my first wedding of the season in 7 days! Excited to carry 2 cameras -2 funky lenses.

Not excited about what I'm wearing so much. Stupid c-section. Still kinda numb-ish and hurting. Pants just aren't good.

-Milk Chocolate Mochas!

-Sullivan does not eat sugar. Well... rarely. He gets a sad rash when sugar gets in his diet. Even fruit that is high in sugar has a strong affect on him! He had been having cantelope a lot one week and it was a week of pure insanity. He couldn't sleep. He kept getting time-outs. He would run crazy, shaking his head. Once we figured out the connection everything settled back down.

-Sullivan has a super healthy diet. Like today he ate an egg, hashbrowns, an orange, 2 grapefruit, coconut milk, cashews, string cheese, carrots, 1/2 an avocado, and some broccoli. He loves his fruit and veggies and he eats nuts all day long.

-Dark chocolate (90% Caca0) has like 4 or 5 grams of sugar in a Sullivan sized sticky serving. He loves it! (On special occasions.)

-Sully also gets a kids dark chocolate cocoa at Caribou sometimes. Made with soy (less sugar than milk) and half the chocolate. This is his favorite treat!!!

-I got my haircut today! By myself, too! My mom watched my babies by herself, Go Mom!

-Over a year ago, I was vegan for like 2 months until pregnancy cravings kicked in. I was really bummed but having only been "practicing" for two months, I just couldn't keep it up. :( I'm thinking of trying it again soon. I'm nursing and Story spits up a lot. I just learned today (from my good friend, Diana) that if this happens you should take lactose out of your diet to see if it helps. So I might as well take the opportunity to be vegan again, right? More buttery avocados for me!

-I cannot believe that I am old enough to say that "We might be done having kids." ...done? I am an old lady.

-"Might!"

-I want a van. One with doors that open by themselves!

-My poor pooch needs a bath.

-When we move I think I'm going to throw away all of Ryan's socks so he can start fresh with all new ones.

-There are a lot of things I'm going to get rid of. :)

-Poor Ryan has set up the crib (and taken it down again) 3 times and I'm pretty sure it's only been slept in 3 times.

-I miss Becky and want her to move home so badly! She hasn't even met Story yet. :'(

-During the last 2-3 months of my pregnancy with Story, I just knew that she had dark hair and that the cord was wrapped around her neck. Obviously the latter really bothered me. I was right about both. (Everything was ok, of course.)

-I didn't used to be a big texter. But now we have unlimited texting (it's easier to communicate with my sister, Becky, that way) so I've become a super-texter! A little keyboard slides out of my phone and everything!

-Someday I want to replace my silver fillings (I think I have 3 or 4?) with white porcelain ones. Maybe they're not even spendy... ? Both for cosmetic and health reasons. Pretty sure there's mercury in the silver ones. I should really figure out what I'm talking about. :)

-I have to figure out how to deal with blame. Whenever something bad happens, I end up blaming someone. I think this started the year we got married. I would often jokingly say, "And I blame you!" to Ryan. :/ Isn't that awful? I think it kind of festered in me and now I seem to always need to find someone at fault when bad things happen. What a nasty weakness. At least I'm aware. How do I fix it?

-I'm sleepy; I need to pump, shower, and get some real rest with my lovely family!

Here I Go Again...

Yep. It's been... very close to a full year since my last post titled "I am Sullivan's Mommy." Guess what. Now I am also Story's Mommy. :)



I guess a lot has happened this year. Oy. Obviously Ryan and I got pregnant and had a baby girl. Yea! StoryJames Virginia Kasl was born on January 29th. She is my Beautiful Babe. I love her to pieces! I am so happy to be the mother of a boy and a girl!

Ryan is ONE week away from finishing his Master's Degree! He is interviewing tomorrow for a position as a special education teacher in Shakopee. I know he'll get it.

Ryan is a super-human. While going to school full time, he has been working full time (and then student teaching), being an awesome husband (to a crazy pregant lady for 9 months -otherwise I am perfectly normal and lovely of course), he is a terrific father (Sullivan cannot wait for Daddy to come home from work!), and he has held it all together beautifully. And if that's not super-human enough, he is graduating with a 4.0 GPA. !

So since our lives have peaked at about the craziest they'll hopefully ever be, we've been living with our parent's for the past 8 months. A few months at my parents' and then a few at Ryan's. Back and forth. It has helped keep a happy balance. Our parents have been completely wonderful. We are so thankful for everything they do to support us while we're on this path.

In the next few weeks we'll be finding out what God has planned for the next chapter in our lives. I'm so excited to settle into a place that's ours that I don't even care that we'll be renting! Ha! My house-buying jitters have settled. I'm sure the time will come soon enough.

I've been thinking about blogging a lot lately. Writing really helps me sort my thoughts. Sometimes I'll ramble out a paragraph and re-read it and think. "Huh, I didn't even really know I felt that way." I think this is a good thing. I spend pretty much all of my time with two crazy amazing kids. They keep me on my toes and some blogging time for just me is very much in order.

Some topics I'd like to blurb out include:

-Diet stuff. Nutrition related -not weight-loss related. (Of course, when am I not thinking about diet?)

-Wife stuff. (I'm reading an awesome book, "Created to be His Help Meet.")

-Mommy stuff. Ideas for activities and such.

-Fitness Goals

-Photography

-Homeschooling ideas.

-God and Prayer stuff. (WHY did this show up last on the list? This is what's happening.)

...and of course I want to post some pictures. <3

I am Sullivan's Mommy

In the last year I've been...

-pooped on
-peed on
-vomited on
-sucked on
-pumped
-bitten
-crawled up
-screamed and cried at
-through 24 hours of back labor
-scarred
-late
-to too many Dr. appointments
-through 5 clogged milk ducts
-producing about 2 gallons of milk a week
-trying not to speed with a cryer in the back
-doing gobs of laundry
-spening around $1000 on diapers
-changing about 90% of those diapers
-woken up every 1-2 hours every night (except for 8 uninterupted nights)
-lugging a whole person around



...I've never, ever heard my mother complain about being my mom. This dawned on me today....
How is this possible? Is she some kinda superwoman? What grace...

It is Mother's Day and Sullivan is a week away from being 1 year old. The above list is really not meant to be a list of complaints. Really. I'm just making note. ;)




But do you know what's really on my mind as Sully completes one year of life?


-Have I been the best mother that I could have been?
-Have I made all the right choices this year for his emotional well-being?
-Has he been eating all the right foods?
-Have I been praying the right prayers for him?
-Have I been praying enough for him?
-Should I have spent more time with him during his first 3 months instead of shoot weddings?
-I regret not fighting to hold him sooner after he was born (I didn't get to hold him for 4 hours after c-section). What affect will that have on him?
-I regret not demanding to sleep his first night in the nic-u with him and being by his side.
-I hope he doesn't feel trauma from when we went away for 6 days and left him with his grandparents (at 9 months).
-Have I read the right books?
-Have I chosen the right parenting style?
-I crave happiness for him.
-I plead for his health.
-I pray he'll have an awesome relationship with his Savior.
-I desperately hope I can give him the opportunities for a future filled with love, happiness, adventure, and success.
-I ache for him. I hope and pray I can be the mother that God designed me to be for Sullivan.



Being a mother has been an incredibly emotional and physical experience thus far. And it has only been one year. My perception of, appreciation, and love for my own mother has been changed dramatically.

Could you possibly comprehend how much I love being Sullivan's Mommy?


In the past year my baby boy has...


-smiled at me
-kissed me
-squeezed me
-cooed at me
-reached for me
-snuggled me
-rolled over, sat up, crawled, stood up, walked
-grown (gained 18 pounds!)
-called me "Mama"
-danced
-clapped
-leaned on my shoulder
-showed a love for mechanics, water, spoons, music, and books :)
-played with his puppy
-squealed
-given the goofiest, toothy grin
-woken up with smiles and kisses for me every morning (since he's been able)
-napped in my arms
-splashed in the tub
-believes his daddy is "Superman!"
-given me a new view on hope
-made my husband a good, proud Daddy
-made me a happy Momma
-given me reason, and made me want, to strive to be better
-changed our future
-needed me
-loved me
-blessed me
-changed my life.

It is very difficult to describe exactly how becoming a mother changes your entire life... what that feels like... what is so dramatically yet delicately, subtly different about you.

Ryan and I were just discussing what things have not changed since Sully was born. We are still the same people. Same goals, dreams, interests... But how we live our lives... that will never be the same.

So far So good.

Moving from vegetarian to vegan has been an easy move so far. Just cut out the cheese and butter -no problem. :) It's really not that hard. Of course I have my Earth Balance butter-like spread.


I'm going on a Woman's Retreat with my church this weekend where we'll be having 5 meals. I'm a tiny bit nervous about it (food-wise... I'm TOTALLY pumped about it otherwise. We're talking about prayer and I'm really excited about it.). It's just that I'm used to getting questions about vegetarianism and being gluten-free. I've never been asked about being vegan and I know I'll be sitting at a table of 6 women, 5 times... there's bound to be questions , there always is. And people always have opinions about it.

This is actually a really good thing! I really welcome questions. How else are we going to educate/be educated?

Maybe it's just the attention thing. I don't choose my diet to get attention but I'm bound to have all eyes on me at some point during the meal. And I wonder what people think about me.

I'm sure someone will think I'm crazy. Someone will think that I only do it for attention and that I really eat meat at home -when no one is looking (haha!). Someone will be super genuinely interested. Someone will think I have an eating disorder (hahaha!!!). Someone will feel bad for me. Someone will think that I am judging them as they eat. And someone will apologize for eating meat in front of me (I always get a kick out of that).

We'll see how the questions about veganism go... it'll be a new challenge for me. I wish I had Becky there with me to tag team on the questions. She's been vegan for 7 years. She's actually just taken up the gluten free diet as well.

Ha! We'll see how eating goes. That's the real challenge. I'll be bringing a lot of my own food though. I could never expect the camp cooks to be prepared for my diet. Last time I brought some of my own food and they were super accomidating and very nice. :)

It's a done deal.

I have declared veganism. "I am vegan!" As of yesterday evening. :)

I used a couple of weeks to really get used to the idea, stock up on just a few dairy-free products, and had my grand finale this weekend. I had two days of gluten. (Of which I have mixed feelings of excitement and disgust.)

[The reason for gluten and not cheese and eggs is that I really, really, really am not going to have any more wheat days -ever. (I have a wheat day every couple of months so that I have something to look forward to and don't give in on my glutenous cravings.) What would the point be of having a wheat day once I'm vegan? What's a pizza without the cheese?]

I indulged in a few faves -which left me feeling bloated, tired, headache-y, filled with "air," and quite plump:

Macaroni and Cheese
Veggie Corn Dogs
An entire foot long Veggie sub at Subway
Mozz Sticks
Buca (Eggplant and Penne Pasta)
Pizza


On Saturday night, I ate my last bite of pizza and said "I'm done." I felt nasty. And so ready for an exciting change in diet.

So yep, today I was a vegan. Ha! This is crazy.

Going Vegan

I've been a vegetarian for nine years.

It started as a presentation/report in a high-school health class. The topics were assigned randomly. So basically, vegetarianism was not something I sought out or was even interested in.

In my research I found so many benefits of eating a meat-free diet and learned about what eating meat for the rest of my life would do to my health. I couldn't ignore it and making the switch was actually really really easy. I started the very next day and haven't missed it.


I guess I've always been health-minded and pretty "aware" of what I eat. But last year when I found out I was pregnant food become super prominent in my thoughts and I was even more aware of my nutrition. I haven't been able to get becoming vegan out of my head ever since.


I'm so excited to just do it and feel better about it! I know there are things that
I will miss:
Butter
Espresso Coolers at Caribou
Whip and Drizzle! and Caribou
Everything Caribou... I really hope their soy drinks are tasty!
Cheese on my tacos
Sour Cream
Dairy Queen
Provolone on my veggie burgers.

and I know
I won't miss:
Milk -I haven't had a glass in ages. (Besides right after Sully was born -I craved it and it was really weird.)
Eggs -I sometimes can eat them, but if you think about it, dude, they're chicken periods. :-0



It's not like I won't get to eat the things that I want. There are some awesome substitutions out there! They just aren't as readily available and they are a bit pricier.


Ryan is all for it. I'm so lucky that my husband supports me in this! He agrees that it's healthier and all, he just isn't motivated to make any changes in his (already very healthy) diet. That's cool with me. :) (Maybe someday!?)

I'm going about the transition pretty slowly. Making immediate changes has worked well for me with vegetarianism and going gluten free, but I just bought bulk cheese (shredded cheddar and provolone slices) at Sam's Club. :) So I told myself that I'll just make changes until the cheese is gone and that'll be it! Vegan!



For the past week everything but the cheese has been vegan -oh, except for on Easter. I couldn't bare to tell my grandma that I was taking eggs and dairy out of my diet. She makes the best holiday meals... oh man, I don't want to have to tell her.

My new name. :)

Today I was telling Ryan that Sully has a new run of "words" he likes to say. "a-NaNa (NaNa-a-NaNa-NaNa...)" He's been saying this all day. Ryan realized pretty quickly that this was Sully's "Momma."

Isn't that great?! I finally have a name! I'm so happy! He's been saying DaDa for months. And then about a week ago Ryan had him saying "Book."

Dude! I'm seriously with this kid 24/7. I've been waiting for this for quite a while. How did a book get ahead of me?!

But it's all ok now. I've got my new name.

a-NaNa

Contest! Giveaway!

To celebrate my new website going live (woohoo!), I am holding a contest!

(I am so uber excited...)

Here's the dealio.

1. Visit my new photography website at http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com.

2. Count the veils. (Good luck!) Don't try to count the number of actual of brides wearing veils... count the number of pictures that have a veil in them... make sense?

3. Click onto my photography blog in the bottom left corner of http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com and click into the "Leave a Reply" comment box.

4. Tell me how many veils you counted. Be sure to include your name and email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner!


Wait! What what does the lucky winner... win?
An hour with me! And it's all about you!

A one hour photo-shoot anywhere in the Twin Cities Metro Area!
Engagement, Family, Children, Pets, or, of course, just You! Whatever you like. And you get all the pics on disk!

***Update!*** So counting the veils is a bit tough. :) How about this: Just post a comment on the website's blog for one entry and count the veils for two entries in the drawing! Sound good? Good Luck!♥
***Update***



So count the veils and leave your answer in a comment on my blog. I'll take all of the correct answers and put them in a drawing which will be held on Sunday, April 19 at midnight. The winner will be announced the following Monday

Get counting, commenting, and good luck!

www.kimkaslphotography.com

Kim Kasl Photography

My website is finally live and ready for action!
Check it out! Let me know what you think!


www.kimkaslphotography.com

Family Friendly Movie Theaters?

I know they exist!  I just can't find one.  

I know I read about one in MN a while back.  But yesterday I called that same theater and they had no idea what I was talking about. 

It was called Mommy Monday I think.  

The lights are dim -not off.

The volume is much lower -not scary.

There are diaper changing tables in the back.

There are other families with babies.  Everybody is making noise so no one gets upset if your little one is babbling away!

Is anyone familiar with this?  I would love to do this!  I want to find one in Minnesota.  If you know of one, tell me about it!  Please!

Photo Booth

A few things

to pray about.


1st. Stellan. He's in the hospital and he's just a little babe. Click this link to view his mom's blog and learn about his story.

2nd. Lianna and her D.H. Click this link to view her blog and contribute to her IVF fund/gigantic giveaway.

My son is half monkey, half racoon!

He can't walk around on his own yet, but he climbs EVERYTHING!

The least stable and most dangerous things are his favorite.

Lately, he has been very interested in the garbage can. As much as I would love to see him tip it over and spread it all over the kitchen floor... it is just too gross.

How can I stop this from happening. I'm not a fan of having the garbage can on the kitchen counter, but what other solution is there?

Someone has to have some experience and good advise on this!

A Picture of Perfection

The Kitchen is Clean.
Finally!

I cannot believe that it took me two whole days. (Of course I wasn't at it straight -I have a 10 month old who requires a lot of attention! The reason the kitchen was in the shape that it was in the first place!) I wish I had kept a tally of the number of sink-loads of dishes I washed. Thinking back -I think it was between 15 and 20! In the picture it doesn't look like it could possibly have been that bad -but it really was.

I am envious of the dishwasher owners of the world. When we buy a house a dishwasher is going to be high on my "must have" list. A dishwasher will solve all of my clean-kitchen problems. ;)

But for now...

No one is allowed in the kitchen.

The mess.

Accountability.
Just for one day.

Every night this week I've thought "Tomorrow I'm going to clean the kitchen! Ryan is going to come home and be so surprised and happy!"

And then the next night I think the very same thing.

So today is the day. I took pics of the ferocious mess and I'm letting the world see (well, the 4 or 5 people who might log onto my blog) BUT! I will redeem myself later today with a picture of perfection.

You just wait and see.

Can you guess what Sully is eating?

We tested it.




He ate it.






He... liked it?






Well, it was worth a try.



But what a fun mess!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I did not lose my wallet. Actually I did not lose it a couple of weeks ago. This week I still did not find it. :(

I did not pull out Sully's newborn pictures and bug-bug-bug my husband about wanting another baby. Nope not me!

I did not let Sullivan spread 2 decks of playing cards, a deck of Uno cards, and some Apples to Apples cards all over the house. How messy~! Nope, not me!

I did not stay in the house all week (except for one desperate outing for a cup of coffee)! I'm always showered, ready for anything, and out and about.


What did you not do this week?

Sign up!

I just heard about free wireless amber alerts on the radio and signed up! You should too!

https://www.wirelessamberalerts.org/index.jsp


You enter up to five zip codes where you would like to be notified of an amber alert and your cell phone number. If there's an amber alert in your area, you're notified by text message. And since it's free, (everything is better free) why wouldn't you sign up!?

What a great way to be aware and come together when help is needed. Especially when it comes an abducted child.