Bedazzled

This week, Abby got her ears pierced. It was a totally spur of the moment decision that I never saw coming. In fact, we had always said we would wait until she was truly old enough to do all the aftercare herself before she could have it done. However, several friends her age have had it done and the begging had begun. It occured to me the other day that if she got her ears pierced now, they would have time to heal before the wedding that's coming up and she and her cousin could wear the same earrings. Then, I found out that she would be given a pair of earrings as part of her gift for being in the wedding. So, suddenly I found myself saying, "Hey! Wanna go get your ears pierced?" She was ultra-excited. The fact that it came out of left-field was a big surprise to her. She got to pick her earrings, they are cute gold hearts with a pink rhinestone in the middle...very Abby! I need to make better pictures of her, but these are the ones I have - she's just too cute!

Spring Possibilities

I love spring so much. I have been impatiently awaiting its arrival and it feels like it's finally here. After several days of fun in the sun, we are being blessed with a thunderstorm...right on time. I planted grass seed in the front yard, wildflower seeds in my front beds, and peas, lettuce, carrots, and swiss chard in our new vegetable patch. They will really appreciate the rain today.

Once in a while, I still think about my dad. I'll be thumbing through a stack of pictures, looking for something and am almost overwhelmed at the sheer number of photos that he made while he was alive. 95% of the pictures I have of my children were made by my dad and they have his style - the way he loved to capture them looking at each other, or sweaty curls sticking to their heads in the summertime, or smiling from ear to ear. Yesterday, while cleaning up the yard, I found myself with a rake in my hands and I missed him. I didn't get really emotional, I just missed him and I wished there were some way I could still tell him that I love him and how grateful I am to him for all he has done for me.

I think he would like what we did with the bathroom. I think he would love to see the yard this year - and the house painted again. He'd like the fact that my car is cleaned out. He'd love to hear that I've had another copy writing offer which may turn out to be incredible for me professionally. He'd love to see my mom and I so close, hugging each other through it all. He would love the strength and quiet mourning of my brother. He would have laughed at me quite a few times over the last few months. I am looking forward to the spring - not just for house painting and plant tending - but for the healing that will continue through this next season. Each season will bring with it new tears and new happiness. That is the definition of joy, isn't it? What real joy have you ever experienced that didn't include a few tears as well? If it was really wonderful, it probably brought you to your knees. The birth of a child, the wedding to your best friend, a lifetime of memories...they are all so hard to hold on to. Spring has rain and we have tears, both are necessary to the growth that God intended.

Bored Yet?

Sorry that everything is about gluten right now. I had planned on writing about something else, but Ford was accidentally "gluttoned" yesterday with dramatic consequences. After several days of calm and harmony, he became a complete basket case - sobbing on his bed for 15 minutes over something so insignificant that I can't even remember what it was. He had two bouts of crying uncontrollably and was once again argumentative and unhappy. I began racking my brain. Baxter started to doubt that gluten had been the cause in the first place. Then, I realized what had happened and felt terrible. Our seemingly innocuous lunch of homemade nachos was laced with gluten. My "MSG free" homemade taco stuff that was in the freezer was prepared with flour as a thickener. It didn't contain a lot of flour like a cake would, but it was apparently enough to make him feel terrible. He also complained about his tummy before bed last night (and I had sharp stomach pains as well). Then, on top of that, he woke up with night terrors for the first time since we went gluten free. Now, I'm totally convinced. I will be much more diligent in my efforts to avoid gluten and Baxter is behind me 100%.

I am reading Elizabeth Hasselbeck's book, The G Free Diet and am learning a lot. I am amazed that roughly 10% of type I diabetics have Celiac Disease (compared to 1% of the general population) yet I have never heard this figure from any of the doctors I have seen since I was diagnosed 16 years ago. Other conditions may be diagnosed as a result of having lived with Celiac Disease over time (or misdiagnosed, due to undiagnosed Celiac Disease) Here's a list of these conditions: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Hypothyroidism, Addison's Disease, Aphthous Stomatitis, Cardiomyopathy, Sjogren's Syndrome, Depression, Osteoporosis, certain forms of cancer, and reproductive issues. I'm not going into my long medical history here, but I really think that this diet will be good for me to follow as well.

I was surprised to learn that all the foods I have avoided containing MSG that made my stomach turn inside out contain gluten. Gluten is used as a binder in MSG. So, I've been partly avoiding it for a while now. I will update again if I notice changes in my general health and share any new insights I come across. Thanks to all my friends who love me enough to read these boring entries!

New Tool!

Hey people. So, you do read my blog! A lot of times, you don't have time to comment, or you forget what you wanted to say - so I've added a tool to the bottom of all of my blog posts. In fact, the tool is on all 3 of my blogs. If you don't have time to comment, I'd still love your input. It may even help sculpt the types of things I choose to write about here. So, check out the "Reactions" tool below and click to let me know what you think.

Gluten

Who knows anything about gluten allergy? I know it's the latest thing to be allergic to and I'm thinking of stepping on the bandwagon with my son. I have good reasons though. Keep in mind that he is five. He's way too old to be having real temper tantrums like a two year old. He has had bouts of belligerence and defiance - where he looks at me (or on Sunday, my Mom) with outright hatred, complete with the most hateful speech. He has had trouble sleeping at night here and there - waking up in a complete frenzy and difficult to calm down. He was refusing to eat meals. He refused to do almost anything. When I say he was belligerent, I'm really not giving him the justice he is due. He was completely uncooperative. The smallest things would set him off. For example, if I'm in the middle of a lesson with Abby and can't stop everything I'm doing to help him with a simple worksheet that he really shouldn't need any help on, he'll just break down sobbing.

Then, there are physical symptoms as well. He has been complaining about pain in his jaw. He has pain in his legs from time to time as well. He has always been underweight and has trouble keeping his pants from falling down despite a healthy diet. He also has increasingly worse eczema on his face. He didn't have it as a baby. It probably showed up around age 2 and has never really gone away despite many creams and ointments that promised to take care of it. I've been wondering if he has lactose intolerance because he has occasional unexplained digestive symptoms.

Before my dad started to go mentally, he mentioned gluten allergy to me and wondered if Ford had it. At the time, I kind of brushed it off; but now I'm wondering if he saw something last year that I'm just now beginning to see? I am not one to rush off to the doctor for a diagnosis, especially with something that doesn't require real medication to cure. I decided to try and eliminate gluten for a while and see what happens. Well, I started yesterday. He seemed better throughout the day and was able to mostly control his emotions. In other words, it was the first day in a long time that he didn't go throw himself on his bed to sob for 30 minutes. He slept well last night. This morning, instead of being greeted with scorn and contempt, my son told me he wanted a hug for breakfast. A hug for breakfast. He smiled sweetly, and he even has a case of the giggles this morning. This kid was incapable of being happy a few days ago. INCAPABLE. Is one day's evidence enough to go on? What benefit is there to taking him in for a medical diagnosis and how hard is it to get one? If you know any information about gluten allergy or Celiac disease, please share or please feel free to share this with someone you know who has an allergy.

Update:
We are still seeing dramatic changes to Ford's behavior!! The only words I heard from him yesterday were, "sure, yes, and OK!" Since I haven't complained on here about his past behavior, you really have no idea how much better this is. Trust me, it's incredible. He is cooperative for the first time in a LONG TIME. Also, he had been so sad for a while now. I was concerned that he was depressed and may need to see someone for it. My mom even mentioned giving him something like St. John's Wart for depression, which I was really hesitant to do. Well, all of that sadness is gone. It's like a miracle, really. His skin is also clearing up!

The only down-side to stopping the gluten is that once the antibodies are out of the system in a few more days, I won't be able to get him diagnosed. I would have to reintroduce it and then have him tested. At this point, I don't see the use and wouldn't want to ever give it to him again.

Here are some things I learned about gluten allergy over the past few days:

• Gluten allergy runs in families with Type I diabetes (hmmmm?)
• 1 in 133 people in the US have it
• Once you stop consuming gluten, the results are almost instantaneous
• Symptoms include: beligerence, depression, gastrointestinal upset, feeling "foggy headed," skin rash, joint pain
• If you don't stop eating gluten, you can do permanent damage to your intestines and deprive the brain of proper nutrients...it may stunt the growth of children

If you're interested in Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease, here are some great internet resources:

Mayo Clinic: Celiac Disease Information

Celiac Disease Foundation