One Month (Mostly) Wheat Free

In an effort to take control of my health I've begun a wheat free journey courtesy of  Wheat Belly. I have had no obvious wheat products for one month with the exception of the occasional test noodle when cooking for the family and one flour tortilla during play week.  I have cut down on other grains, but I still have some oats and brown rice.
Pros:

• Down 4.5 pounds:  It's not the dramatic weight loss you read about in the testimonials, but I'll take it.
• Reduced sugar cravings: I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get rid of sugar in my diet. I would eat "healthy whole wheat" and by the end of the day I would attack for anything with sugar. I would end up eating boxed cereal at bedtime so I could sleep. Now I have lost most of my cravings for sweets.  I still like sweet things, but I'm good after a bite or two. That's a good thing.
• *TMI ALERT* I'm, um, regular. That loss of fiber that was going to ruin my digestive tract has had the opposite effect.
• *TMI ALERT* I didn't bloat last month. I usually gain around 3 pounds of water weight before that time of the month.
• My shoulder doesn't hurt anymore! I had an almost constant ache in my right shoulder for over a year. The pain was attributed to repetitive motion (a.k.a. too much computer). I noticed it was gone when I was putting on my coat last week and I didn't wince when I put my arm through the sleeve.

No Change:

• I haven't noticed a significant change in my average energy level. I have been busier than normal with the Crafter's play, work, and having major landscaping done in the yard. I pray more energy is coming.
• Hip and knee pain are still my companions, especially when it's rainy.
• Female issues are still issues.

Cons:

• Eating away from home is challenging. Restaurants are manageable. I can usually get a salad with grilled meat. Eating at someone's house is another story. I either have to bring my own food or hope they have safe foods. Then I have to explain. Then I have to politely decline "just one homemade roll." I worry about appearing rude or unappreciative.
• I'm in this diet change by myself. I hope they will come along at some point.
• I miss crackers. I miss cheese and crackers, peanut butter and crackers, and soup with crackers. 

I have been exercising approximately four days a week. I mostly walk on the treadmill in my bedroom. I want to do some exercise videos, but my family is not supportive. They peek in and laugh at me. The TV is in the living room, so I can't really hide.

So all in all I'm doing better. I will update again next month.

The Play's (was) the Thing

Another Christian Youth Theater (CYT) play has come and gone. I am not exaggerating when I say that Sleeping Beauty has been our lives for the past two weeks. Wild Thing, Princess Pink, and I did get a break from waiting at the 3 hour rehearsals because of the generosity of a friend. The Crafter was able to ride with her and her family. I remain grateful. If you happen to be reading this, chocolate is heading your way when we get back on regular schedule.

This year the Crafter was the sky/sea, a maid, and a jewelry salesperson. The Crafter and her friends performed brilliantly last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

We had a surprise last Tuesday. One of the cast members was sick and the Crafter was called in to do Princess age 8. She did beautifully. She mastered a dance and a few lines in only two rehearsals. The sick cast member recovered and was able to go on Thursday, but the director allowed the Crafter to perform the princess role on Friday. That was the night our AWANA girls came to see the play.

Needless to say, we were and are still tired, but CYT is worth it. Sleeping Beauty was spiritually twisted to be an allegory of Creation to Revelation. The Gospel is clearly presented. The princess must choose between the Shepherd, Jesse, and Prince Tromperie, the Deceiver. When the princess says "I want Jesse," Tromperie causes her to fall asleep--death. She is awakened for her marriage at the end of the age.

Unexcused Absences

I've been a negligent blogger once again. Suffice it to say...

 

the Crafter turned 12 in September,

we welcomed a new neice on her birthday,

Princess Pink turned 6 in November,

we celebrated Christmas,

and Wild Thing turned 8 shortly after.

2012 Health Goals

I've been tired for 6 years. Nothing is really "wrong" with me according to most of my bloodwork and the medical profession. In October 2010, I was diagnosed with iron deficient anemia despite having a normal hemoglobin count.  Since then I have tried several supplements with little success.

This year I am taking charge of my health. I cannot be the wife and mother God wants me to be if I continue this way. I could take the physical tiredness if it weren't for the mental fog.

Goal #1: Continue with supplements (iron and vitamin D) to get my levels up to normal.

Goal #2: Greatly reduce wheat. I've been reading Wheat Belly and it makes a lot of sense. It will be difficult because the Historian is a bread man.

Goal #3: Daily exercise. Daily. No matter how I feel. No matter how tired I am. I must make myself do this. I must not let my family distract me.

Goal #4: Find a new, supportive doctor. I am dreading this. It took me forever to find the one who finally ordered the blood test to figure out the iron stores deficiency. There are several reasons why I am not going back to this provider. The office is too far away, and there have been some questionable practices by the office staff.  I need someone who will look at my entire picture, not just the female issues.  When I mentioned joint pain, she said that she didn't deal with "stuff like that".  I need someone who is supportive of natural care and doesn't reach for the prescription pad by default. It's a tall order.

Pumpkin Time

First we gut.

Then we poke.

 Next we roast the pumkin seeds.

Light them up.

Wild Thing's Angry Bird

The Crafter's Mermaid

Princess Pink's Dolphin

Math Resources

I thought I would pass along a couple of math links that we have been enjoying.

Timez Attack

Lead your little creature through the castles dungeon and defeat the ogre. Sound easy? It is if you have mastered your multiplication tables. Wild Thing has been testing this one out. He enjoys it, but he can get a little frustrated. The game adjusts to the player and it takes a while for it to strike the balance between challenging and frustrating. There is a free basic version and a paid deluxe version. The content of the game doesn't change with the paid content; it just gets more video gamey. We only have the free version.

Math Pickle

The Math Pickle has math challenges for kindergarten through 12th grade. It adds a little spice to our usual lessons. Each video presents a challenge to solve. Several have worksheets to accompany the challenges. Wild Thing's favorite is Willie Wiggle Wiggle Worm.

Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day: Lesson 1

We've been studying birds this year using Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day from Apologia. It's been fun so far. The first half of Lesson One covered the definition of zoology, classification, and the principle of flight. The first experiment involved placing a straw in a full cup of water and trimming the straw so that it only stuck up 1/2 inch. Then you blew at the top of the straw with another straw. Water was supposed to spray out of the straw that is in the cup when the air flow over the top of the straw reduced the air pressure.

It worked. I ended up having to hold the straw in the cup while Princess Pink blew. There was plenty of water on the table. I'm not sure how much of it came out of the correct straw

The second experiment involved making two gliders. Both had wings had equal areas. One was 1 X 8 inches and the other was 2 X 4 inches. Then they threw the gliders and measured how far they flew.

(Gliders made by Wild Thing)

Then they threw the gliders 10 times each and measured how far they flew each time. The Crafter recorded the data and computed the average.

We did not get good results from this experiment. The glider with the thinner wing was supposed to have a longer flight. Our results were about equal. I can't remember the exact numbers, and I'm too lazy to go find the Crafter's science notebook.

New School Year

Bradford Academy is a year round homeschool, so the old year sort of morphs into the new. The kids get their new grade designations when their classes change at church.  This year all three are having formal lessons. Here is this year's lineup.

Princess Pink: Kindergarten

Phonics Pathways, Saxon Math 1, Italic Handwriting B, Bob Books, Abeka Readers, Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and tagging along with Tapestry of Grace Year 3

Wild Thing: Second Grade

Phonics Pathways (just a few more pages), Italic Handwriting B and copywork, Saxon Math 3 followed by Singapore Math 2, First Language Lessons, Spelling Workout A, Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and Tapestry of Grace Year 3 Early Grammar

The Crafter: Seventh Grade

Rod and Staff Grammar 6 (we have 3 chapters left) followed by 7, Singapore Math 6b followed by Life of Fred Fractions and Life of Fred Decimals and Percents, Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, Spelling Workout F and G, Drama through Christian Youth Theater, Mavis Beacon Typing Instructor, and Tapestry of Grace Year 3 dialectic level

An Unexpected Visitor

We had a bit of excitement this afternoon. It was thundering, so I sent the children out to bring in the clothes. They came back inside. Then I heard scratching at the door. I had thought that our dog was already in, but I cautiously opened the door. The next door neighbor's dog came barreling in and hid under my computer dest. That's my dog's spot, so he wasn't happy. After a bit of growling, the question of whose spot was whose was settled.

The neighbor's dog settled down with Princess Pink. They looked at books and played with toys. The dog took a nap. After the rain stopped, the dog got up on Wild Thing's bed and looked out the window toward her house. Finally, her family's minivan pulled up. She went to the front door. I opened it, and she ran home.

My Brilliant Idea

I was trying to organize and declutter when I ran across a stack of cheap, plastic award frames. We have had these things forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but they've been hanging around for at least ten years. I think the Historian had some purpose for them, but then that event didn't take place. Anyway, there they were, taking up space. I was all set to send them to the thrift store when I happened upon an idea for making a dry erase board out of a picture frame.

So I removed the frames from the donate bag. Here's one frame.

Then I trimmed a plain piece of printer paper to fit. Did I mention that these frames were oddly sized?

 The next step is securing the paper in the frame. How? I used duct tape of course.

Here's the finished product.

But why stop there? Here's one with lined paper.

And here's one with graph paper.

The possibilities are endless. You could do maps or a periodic table or a skeleton to label. I wish I had more frames. Don't tell the Historian.