Happy Birthday, Sam!

Today is Sammy's first birthday! Sam, we are so thankful for you and we love you with all our hearts!  Happy birthday, my sweet boy!

The least messy cake-eater I've ever seen.  I don't think he liked it.

He did like gift-opening time...

Sammy wasn't the only one who enjoyed his new toys...

Who needs college when you have blocks?

Kyle came over tonight to see Sam, too, which was nice.  Been a while since I've seen him.  He's too skinny-  Needs to come around more often for home cookin'. 

My handsome little cowboy on his new horse.

And...  A few from Halloween that I never got posted:

My Mad Scientist, Beautiful Princess, and Tired Mommy

And one from my birthday...  My kids are so sweet to me.  Yes, that's me under the silly string.  Their father was behind this.  I will get him back.

Forgot to mention...

One of the things my doctor said I'm supposed to avoid like the plague is gluten...  Okay...  That's what I said in her office- "Okay"- all casual and intelligent-like, with a slight knowing nod of the head, as if I needed no further explanation.  Cuz, you know...  I gotta act like I got the smarts even though I don't. 

So, dear friends, my question(s) for you is:  WTH is gluten and what can it do to me?  How do I recognize it in my food when I don't know what it is?  It is not listed with ingredients in food, is it?  I've never seen it.  So how will I know to avoid it?  It has something to do with wheat or flour, does it not?  How do you eliminate it from your diet?  Does eliminating it require the purchase of fancy schmancy (and expensive) ingredients from snooty health food stores with blonde workers wearing tank tops in November?  Does eliminating it make your food taste like crap?  Cause I don't want anything to do with gluten-free living if it means everything will taste like crap.  Why bother eating crap?  Why does my doctor think that I would know these things?  Is it possible that I actually do appear to be somewhat intelligent?  Doesn't a doctor's job description include telling patients how to follow their directions when said patients are clearly idiots and just pretending to have smarts?  Does my doctor think it's comical to send me on my merry way with a clueless look on my face?

I have a feeling that, even though I don't know what gluten is, it has been the key to my happiness for the last 43 years.  I'm almost positive of this.  Gluten and Chocolate are what has kept this little girlie afloat lo these many years.

I'm heading to the store tomorrow to stock up on healthier crap.  Wish me luck.  I have no idea what I'm doing (Oh, really?  Who could tell?).  I've been scouring the internet (always a reliable source of accurate information) for info on what I should/should not be eating.  Oy...

P.S.  Check back soon for pictures of my peeps.  I'll get them up as soon as I can.

P.S. again...  Thank you for the B-day wishes!  I had a great day!

Hey, Everybody...

It's been a while.  Sorry.  I've just become one of those bloggers, haven't I?  I wanted to update everyone on my health hassles, since several of you have kindly emailed checking on me (thanks!). 

I went to get the blood tests that my doctor wanted quite some time ago, BUT- I never got to go back into the office to hear the results until just recently because I got the flu.  No, wait...  I didn't really get the flu.  I got The Flu.  We seriously think it could have been H1N1, but I never went in to get tested so we'll never know for sure.  Our doctor's office didn't want me to come in with the flu (go figure) and said I'd have to go to the emergency room if we suspected H1N1, so I kept thinking I'd ride it out at home as long as I could until it really felt like an emergency. I certainly felt sick enough for it to be H1N1, but eventually it started getting better.  I've honestly never had the flu so long or so bad in my life.  I'll spare you the disgusting details, of course, but it was bad.  Really.Really.Bad.  And... Just.So.Gross.  Really.  I was wishing I'd just die already and be done with it.  Really.  Bad. 

So...  Once I was well enough, I went to the doctor (haha... funny) and found out that I do in fact have hypothyroidism (that's underactive) and diabetes. I also have slightly high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  I've been put on two new meds and the doc said I should begin feeling much better.  Her exact words were, "No wonder you've been feeling so sick."  Ha.  Yeah.  No wonder.  She said my thyroid levels were almost twice what they're supposed to be and that would account for the symptoms I've been experiencing.  Even my ridiculously intense and embarrassing sweating could be due to one of my "conditions" (I forget which one causes the sweating.  There was an awful lot of information to take in at the time).  And here I thought I was just a fat, sweaty pig.  For now my diabetes will be managed with one of the new meds and diet changes.  She's giving me a couple months to get my diet under control and then I have to go back for more blood work. 

Shortly after getting back in to see the doctor, I had a relapse of The Flu and I'm just now feeling better.  I've been in self-imposed exile for what feels like an eternity, trying to keep my kids from catching this horrid crap.  I feel like I've barely seen anyone for weeks.  I was just telling Darrell today that it's really, really hard not to kiss your babies.  I have to constantly stop myself from kissing those gorgeous, fat, little faces.  So far, so good though- no one else seems to be catching it. 

The good news about the health problems is that the doctor said I should notice weight is just falling off (at least at first, then I'll have to work at it).  She thinks the thyroid problem has been keeping me this heavy.  The bad news is that I still have to make radical changes in the types of foods I eat.  Here's the thing...  I never eat a healthy meal on purpose.  No, I'm not joking.

I don't know the first thing about eating or cooking healthy.  These are the guidelines the doctor gave me: I'm supposed to get rid of everything white- meaning no more foods containing processed white flour or white sugar.  I'm supposed to cut unhealthy fats and carbs.  My whole life is one big unhealthy lump of fat and carbs.  No joke.  I'm supposed to eat lots of whole grains and lots of veggies.  I can still have some fresh fruits, but more vegetables. 

The only veggies I really eat are baked potatoes slathered in butter and sour cream, corn on the cob with butter and salt, or salad covered in fatty bleu cheese dressing and tons of cheese, so you can see I have a real problem on my hands.  Even fruit is a problem for me- strawberries are covered in chocolate or dipped in sugar, apples are wrapped in caramel.  I'm like a spoiled kid at a carnival, trapped in a big, fat adult's body.  It's time for the kid to get a time-out and the adult to take charge.

I want to get better.  For my kids' sakes.  I want to change.  Finally, it's not a matter of vanity and wanting to get into a smaller size jeans.  I want to feel good and be healty and I want healthy kids. 

So...  how do I do that?

I've ordered a few books from Amazon about eating for adrenal health and managing diabetes through diet, and talked to the kids (and their father) and told them that the whole family is going to start making some healthier choices so we'll see how it goes.

The healthy changes are going to start the day after tomorrow though, because my hub and beautiful babies are taking me out to lunch for my birthday (They have already baked me a cake, decorated the house with balloons, and there is a huge gift- wrapped in Tinkerbell paper- waiting for me on the table.  Yes, I know...  I've got it good.).

Yes, my birthday.  I'll be 43 flippin' years old tomorrow.  And I'm giving myself a gift this year.  The gift is in the form of a goal that I actually plan to meet.  My goal is that I'm going to be healthier by forty-four.  In one year (mark my words) my weight will be down (maybe not as far down as I'd like, but down), and I will have reversed my diabetes to the point of not needing the medication.  I will have learned to incorporate healthy foods into our daily life and be feeding my family healthier meals.  So there you have it.  It's down in black and white, so I have to do it.  And I'm giving up diet soda...  Maybe.  But not today.  Let's play it by ear on that one.

As always, your comments and advice are appreciated.  If I have healthy eaters out there, give me suggestions.  And recipes!  Healthy, but good-tasting meal ideas for the family would be awesome!  The only thing I probably won't try cooking is seafood.  We are not a family of fish/seafood eaters.  If God had wanted me to eat fish, he wouldn't have made it taste so fishy.

And lastly- while I've been sick, I've totally lost touch with all my favorite blogs... again.  I miss you guys.  Hope all is well!  It's going to take me forever to get caught up so drop me a comment letting me know you're okay!

Pictures

These are mostly of Sammy from our weekend in Branson and the trip to the zoo. I'm sorry for bragging, but I'm convinced he's the cutest baby boy around.




I never knew how white I was until I had Sammy.  He looks like he's in the clutches of a cadaver.
Evan is such a good big brother. He adores Sam.  I don't know many fifteen year old boys who would cram themselves into the baby rides to make a baby happy.  You can't really tell by his face in these pics, but Sammy loved the rides.  He was saying, "wooOOOoooOOOooo..." the whole time. 



I figured I should include one picture of myself...  My hair wasn't cooperating that day, but this is as good as it gets.

Mike had to dress up for "Western Day" at school.  I think he looks pretty cowboy-ish, don't you?  The funny thing is that his costume is made from his brother's actual clothes.  Alex wears these proudly.  How did I spawn such a redneck?
These are from Homecoming.  Mike was just escorting this girl- she's not his girlfriend. 

Did you see this story?

The thing that gets me most about the following story is the quote, "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Hmmm. I don't know whether I want to laugh or cry. I never knew that letting black people use your bathroom is proof that one is not a racist.

Read on...

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

By Mary Foster, Associated Press Writer – Fri Oct 16

NEW ORLEANS – A white Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.
Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.
Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.
Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.
"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."
Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples. Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish who agreed to marry them.
"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And all our friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're typical happy newlyweds."
"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzmann. She said the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 "that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."
The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice."
"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann said.
According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage license must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce.
Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security card.
The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by a Louisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the clerk's office.
"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't think I've mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, but you have too. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I wouldn't do it."

Comments, anyone? I'm just glad this idiot wasn't from Kansas. What an embarrassment to the good people of Louisiana.