My Monster. Part Two.

Do you remember my Monster?

I still love it. Things actually feel cleaner with a Monster in the house, and although we bought it refurbished, it is still going strong.

Beau's uncle asked me if I thought he should buy a little vacuum/steamer combination unit for $80.00 plus shipping and tax.  At first, it looked like a good idea.  Then I thought he probably has a vacuum and every single cordless vacuum I have ever had lost suction.  These things made me think of my Monster. Don't waste your money on a handheld unit, Uncle Scott. Get the big gun!

As I got out my Monster and looked lovingly upon it this morning, I realized it held the answer to another problem that has been plaguing me.  Ever since I spied this:

at a friend's house, I have wanted one. Of course.

I have thought about it many times as I lugged out my squeaky old Pic N Save ironing board.  And my drippy iron. I had decided to ask for it for my birthday.  Yup, that's what I'll do.

But wait! I forgot there was a Monster lurking in my closet, waiting patiently for his chance to be useful.  So I plugged him in and hung some clothes on hangers.  As I steamed the wrinkles right out of our clothes, I laughed gleefully.  Inside my head. 

My Monster gets rid of wrinkles, too. Imagine that.

Cousins

Here is the end-of-summer picture with all of the Woodward cousins.

Last summer, there were 9.

This summer, there are 11. No one is pregnant right now, but there are no promises that 11 is the final count.  (Staci....)

The list:

Roman (2)
Dax (2)
William (4)
Rebecca (5)
Chase (6 mos)
Hudson (5)
Mattie (5)
Jackson (6)
Thomas (7)
Reese (7)

That is a 7-year Woodward explosion.  

Hmm...

Well, we lasted two weeks.

Here's what happened:

My kids were sitting outside, chatting with some friends. The friends asked if my kids would like a breakfast burrito.  My kids said, nope. We're allergic.

The four older children then proceeded to launch into a mini-discussion about everything they couldn't eat...cow's milk..cheese...eggs...tomatoes...hamburgers....

I was shrinking into the grass under the withering stare of my husband.  I could almost hear the disdain in his glare.

Later that afternoon, we had a very informational, helpful discussion about what is right and balanced and what is weird and obsessive-compulsive.

Here is the rundown: Roman gets hives from milk.  Roman will not be eating milk products.  The other kids will be eating like normal kids.  For the most part.  (Normal healthy kids?) Mommy stands corrected, a little humbled, and thankful for her husband who can see a little more clearly.

Beans 6x a day is not really normal.  Right?

Just thought you should know.

First Day of School!

 I feel like I just posted that Jackson was going to kindergarten.

 He is in first grade.

 She is in kindergarten.

 He is with me now. We get some good quality time.  And discipline time, says Daddy.

Another year. Here we go!

Allergy-Free Rotation Diet

Good morning! After finding out that Roman is severely allergic to eggs and milk, I couldn't help it.  My curiosity was piqued.  I wanted to find out why Jackson gets a red rash around his mouth after certain meals, and why Rebecca gets dark circles under her eyes. I wanted to test them too!  Beau let me test the older children and we got their results right before we left for vacation, so I was able to do some research while we were away.

In a nutshell, I have implemented a rotation diet.  The theory behind rotation diets is this: if a child is allergic to multiple foods, he probably has a leaky gut.  Therefore, if I simply remove offending foods from his diet and replace say, wheat, with rice- he will eventually develop an intolerance to rice.  The body simply cannot be bombarded with the same substance time and again.  However, if you give time to let the body clear out each food, the immune response will decrease and the body will begin to heal- even to tolerate very offensive foods. 

Do I believe it? I think so.  I am starting to feel a little wary about all of the nutrition research I do... it is like the Bible.  The more I study and read, the more I realize I don't know!  And while Scripture is true and unchanging, nutritional research can be subjective and transient.  So we go into this journey with a grain of salt.  I still live by the 80/20 rule.  We will not tell a gracious host that we will not eat their food because we are allergic.  There is no perfect control in this life. 

That said, I have put together a plan for our family.  We are not supposed to have eggs, milk, beef, pork, and turkey. And black pepper. Really.  Really?!

(However, after a week without red meat, I asked Beau to bring home a steak to BBQ with our salmon. I needed some iron!)

There are not a lot of rotation diet menus available online.  The thought occurred to me that this is because every kid is allergic to different things.  So, the menu and shopping list is Woodward-specific.  However, I hope it can be of help to someone.  This is a dairy-, egg-, and beef-free menu.
 

Allergy- Free

Trader Joe’s Shopping List

Apples

Grapes

Bananas

Cucumber

Strawberries

Carrots

Lettuce

Bell pepper

Pears

Spinach

Cauliflower

Blueberries

Avocado

Sweet potato

Potato

Romaine

Lentils

Hummus

 Chicken slices

Roast chicken

Salmon

Corn tortilla

Brown rice tortilla

Frozen corn

Berries

Chocolate

Fish

 Tuna

Split peas

Brown rice pasta

Rice

Corn pasta

Maple syrup

Applesauce

Pear sauce

Goats milk

Coconut milk

Rice milk

Almond milk

Raisins

Walnuts

Sunflower seeds

Prunes

Almonds

Macadamia nuts

Cashews

Corn chips

Potato chips, no pepper

Day 1 Rotation Diet

Chicken slices

Raisins

Walnuts

Apple

Snack-

Grapes

Walnuts

Lunch-

Chicken slices

Cucumber

Apple

Grapes

Snack-

Raisins

Walnuts

Dinner-

Roast chicken

Split peas

Swiss chard with sesame oil

Strawberries

Broccoli

Day 2 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Rice

Almond milk

Olive oil

Stevia

Prunes

Snack-

Sunflower seeds

Carrots

Potato chips

Lunch-

Tuna

Rice

Lettuce

Carrots

Snack-

Prunes

Almonds

Dinner

Salmon

Brown Rice Pasta

with olive oil

Salad with-

Lettuce

Bell pepper

Carrots

Almonds

Day 3 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Socca:

2 cups garbanzo bean flour

2 scant cups water

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Maple syrup

Peanut butter

Goats milk

Snack-

Peanut butter

Pear Sauce

Lunch-

Lentils

Black beans

Olive oil

Pear

Hummus with socca

Snack-

Pear

Peanut butter

Goats milk

Dinner-

Cod

Black beans

Hummus with socca

Cauliflower

Spinach

Day 4 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Banana

Blueberries

Cashews

Coconut milk

Oatmeal

Snack-

Pistachios

Coconut milk

Lunch-

Corn

Avocado

Banana

Cashews

Corn chips

Snack-

Banana

Pistachios

Corn chips

Dinner-

Sole

Pistachios

Romaine

Avocado

Corn

Sweet potato

Vacation 2012

 We are back from vacation. It was lovely to be away with my family. They say vacationing with children is not really vacation. It is doing the same thing you normally do in a different place. 

Like the double stomach flu?

 Yup.  Just Roman, though. And we were at my in-law's beach house for those three days, so my mother in law was very helpful.  A little throw-up, a little diarrhea doesn't faze the mother of three boys and grandmother of eleven. 

After two days of a painfully empty tummy, Roman started following me around the house, saying "I'm HARGY, mama!".  Beau and I decided that this phrase is our new favorite in the children's made-up vocabulary.  

 Besides that, though? We had the nicest time. I loved getting to wake up every morning knowing that Beau would be there for the day. He did work two of the days on vacation, but it was different, more relaxed.

 While we trekked to San Francisco, Pismo, and Monterey, it didn't feel that cumbersome because the weather was so darn nice.  So nice!  We wore pants and sweatshirts the whole time.

 We went to an aquarium, the coolest park we had ever seen, and to the beach. Twice a day to the beach. 

 

The view was amazing, and we could hear and see the ocean from the living room of the place in Monterey.  We left early so Beau could work today...we were ready, though. It is nice to be back!