On Wednesday I made a delicious Organic, Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free meal. We had Quinoa seasoned with taco seasoning in Brown Rice tortillas, with black beans, lettuce, onions re-fried beans, salsa, dairy free cheddar cheese, Mexican rice and organic corn tortilla chips. It was soooo good!!! The flavors were so fresh! Our Princess little GIANT (who happens to be the pickiest) enjoyed it all. Middle little GIANT had a hard time with his tortilla because the brown rice one's are a bit more stiff and need to be heated in the micro for about 15 seconds before filling and folding. Being the first one I made, his kept falling apart, but he still ate the whole thing. Even our littlest GIANT scarfed down 3 helpings of the Taco Quinoa and the Mexican rice. He hasn't sat that quiet or still for a meal in a long time! It made me feel so good to see our little GIANTS eating a meal that was so good for them and to have them actually enjoy it without complaint. The prayers for taste buds to change is working, thank you God!
Thursday we had run some errands after school and work and I was not in the mood to cook anything! We also had lots of leftover's in the fridge. We had leftovers from the previous night, some Quinoa and Brown Fried rice, a bowl of organic rice noodle spaghetti and some veggies that were getting close to their final days. When I told Daddy GIANT that leftovers were for dinner, he was not too thrilled. He has never really been a big fan of left overs, but as he informed me that night, he was getting burnt out on the only 2 Vegan, Gluten free/Dairy free meals I know how to make. He officially told me that I needed to find some new recipes to try! I promised him that I was working on it and would come up with some new meals for him. It's a learning process and definitely more time consuming to cook this way than the modern way.
So, on Saturday, we are going to try Gluten free/Dairy free, Organic/All-natural PIZZA. Pizza has been a huge favorite in our house of GIANTS, so I am really excited to see how this turns out! It will be fun too because the little GIANTS will be able to participate. I am also going to try my hand at baking Organic Gluten free/Dairy free Apple Muffins.
Slowly, but surely I will find more recipes to try and perfect so our Daddy GIANT doesn't get too bored. In the mean time, I will try my best not to over do it on the things I do know how to make. Living Life with 3 little GIANTS and keeping Daddy GIANT happy isn't always easy, but it's a job I love and will keep trying to succeed at!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
A little GIANT"S Battle with Diaper Rash
Our littlest GIANT has suffered from some pretty serious bouts of diaper rash. Our two oldest little GIANT's never got diaper rash when they were babies. Baby little GIANT's rashes have been so bad that his skin cracks and bleeds, he even has a little scar on his bum. :( It seems to be the most painful thing for him because he absolutely dreads diaper changing time, even when he is rash free.
When he first started getting these rashes, we asked the pediatrician what might be causing them and she said that most likely it's the acid in his poop caused by teething. So we trusted our doctor and applied the recommended creams and have been for the last 6 months.
Last night, our little GIANT woke up in the middle of the night screaming and crying in pain! We went to him and found that he had, yet again, another diaper rash. We got him cleaned up, creamed up and calmed down. Then, the rash got me thinking...the little GIANT isn't teething, he has all the teeth he will have until he is 2yrs old. I also started thinking about the last time he had a rash and it was before we took him off cow's milk. So I started talking to my mom about it and we rehashed what he had eaten in the last 24hrs. Due to the craziness of the (absolutely AMAZING) Wedding this weekend, we did whatever was easy and available to us.
Saturday, the day of the Wedding, my mom fed him some cottage cheese and applesauce (one of his fav's!) as a snack before leaving for the wedding. We are still trying to use up what we have around the house before we do the complete switch and she knew it was something he'd eat, since he is a picky little GIANT! At the wedding, he ate the cheddar and white cheddar popcorn party favor's as a snack while waiting for dinner to be served (he was STARVING). For dinner he was served mac and cheese, all of our little GIANT's favorite! None of what he ate had alarmed me, up until last night.
It all of a sudden made sense, the little GIANT had not had a diaper rash ONCE before he was put on cow's milk and fed dairy products. While I nursed him I avoided dairy to help keep his gas down as it seemed to bring him discomfort when I did eat things that were. Once he was old enough to eat dairy and have cow's milk, that's when the eczema and diaper rash began. Over the last few weeks that he has been drinking Almond milk and eating very little to almost no dairy, he's been diaper rash free and eczema free. In one 24hr period he had more dairy combined than in the last few weeks and ended up with another severe rash.
After doing some research and finding that a milk allergy and gluten allergy CAN be a definite cause to diaper rash as well as eczema, I am convinced that what is best for my little GIANT is to be Gluten and Dairy free without having to have a doctor tell me so! My own personal observations have pinpointed more probable cause than what my pediatrician has found. I find it frustrating and irritating that my pediatrician didn't help explore further the cause to his rashes. Just like how the Dr. said his eczema was due to the use of a pacifier, even though the eczema didn't go away when we stopped using it like the pediatrician said it would. I am a firm believer in medicine and do vaccinate my children, but I just wish that doctors wouldn't take one glance at a kid with a binki in his mouth and bumps on his face and assume that it's irritation from the binki they think they are too old to be using. Or, take a look at a red bum and see drool constantly dripping from his mouth and say it's a rash due to teething. It just seems like a cop-out of them actually doing what we're paying them a lot of money to do, which is take a look at the symptom and closely and carefully explore what the proper cause and diagnosis is. Believe me, after working in the medical field and being a manager of a well known bank, I know that it all comes down to time and money. They need to see lot's of patience in one day to make a good profit, which means they need to get them in and out as fast as possible and leads to the quickest most generic diagnosis that may not even be the actual cause!
I am taking a stand for my little GIANTS and refuse to stop with the basic diagnosis that is the first thing to come to the pediatrician's mind. I am committed to this journey to see if their specific health problems and overall health improves simply by eliminating processed, non-organic, unhealthy food. God called me to "Living Life with 3 little GIANTS" and it is a call that I won't refuse or take lightly. I am honored to be their mama and won't give up on providing them a life full of faith, hope, love and health!
When he first started getting these rashes, we asked the pediatrician what might be causing them and she said that most likely it's the acid in his poop caused by teething. So we trusted our doctor and applied the recommended creams and have been for the last 6 months.
Last night, our little GIANT woke up in the middle of the night screaming and crying in pain! We went to him and found that he had, yet again, another diaper rash. We got him cleaned up, creamed up and calmed down. Then, the rash got me thinking...the little GIANT isn't teething, he has all the teeth he will have until he is 2yrs old. I also started thinking about the last time he had a rash and it was before we took him off cow's milk. So I started talking to my mom about it and we rehashed what he had eaten in the last 24hrs. Due to the craziness of the (absolutely AMAZING) Wedding this weekend, we did whatever was easy and available to us.
Saturday, the day of the Wedding, my mom fed him some cottage cheese and applesauce (one of his fav's!) as a snack before leaving for the wedding. We are still trying to use up what we have around the house before we do the complete switch and she knew it was something he'd eat, since he is a picky little GIANT! At the wedding, he ate the cheddar and white cheddar popcorn party favor's as a snack while waiting for dinner to be served (he was STARVING). For dinner he was served mac and cheese, all of our little GIANT's favorite! None of what he ate had alarmed me, up until last night.
It all of a sudden made sense, the little GIANT had not had a diaper rash ONCE before he was put on cow's milk and fed dairy products. While I nursed him I avoided dairy to help keep his gas down as it seemed to bring him discomfort when I did eat things that were. Once he was old enough to eat dairy and have cow's milk, that's when the eczema and diaper rash began. Over the last few weeks that he has been drinking Almond milk and eating very little to almost no dairy, he's been diaper rash free and eczema free. In one 24hr period he had more dairy combined than in the last few weeks and ended up with another severe rash.
After doing some research and finding that a milk allergy and gluten allergy CAN be a definite cause to diaper rash as well as eczema, I am convinced that what is best for my little GIANT is to be Gluten and Dairy free without having to have a doctor tell me so! My own personal observations have pinpointed more probable cause than what my pediatrician has found. I find it frustrating and irritating that my pediatrician didn't help explore further the cause to his rashes. Just like how the Dr. said his eczema was due to the use of a pacifier, even though the eczema didn't go away when we stopped using it like the pediatrician said it would. I am a firm believer in medicine and do vaccinate my children, but I just wish that doctors wouldn't take one glance at a kid with a binki in his mouth and bumps on his face and assume that it's irritation from the binki they think they are too old to be using. Or, take a look at a red bum and see drool constantly dripping from his mouth and say it's a rash due to teething. It just seems like a cop-out of them actually doing what we're paying them a lot of money to do, which is take a look at the symptom and closely and carefully explore what the proper cause and diagnosis is. Believe me, after working in the medical field and being a manager of a well known bank, I know that it all comes down to time and money. They need to see lot's of patience in one day to make a good profit, which means they need to get them in and out as fast as possible and leads to the quickest most generic diagnosis that may not even be the actual cause!
I am taking a stand for my little GIANTS and refuse to stop with the basic diagnosis that is the first thing to come to the pediatrician's mind. I am committed to this journey to see if their specific health problems and overall health improves simply by eliminating processed, non-organic, unhealthy food. God called me to "Living Life with 3 little GIANTS" and it is a call that I won't refuse or take lightly. I am honored to be their mama and won't give up on providing them a life full of faith, hope, love and health!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
3 little GIANTS Go Get a Treat
Yesterday we took our middle little GIANT to try on his Tuxedo, as he is to be the "Ring Man" (he coined this phrase because he did not like the title of ring bearer) this Saturday in my cousin's wedding. Afterwards we decided to take the little GIANTS to get a treat at the self-serve frozen yogurt shop called ZOYO. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to teach them that even with this new way of eating, every now and then, we can still get YUMMY treats!
Before we walked over to the yogurt shop I had a chat with the little GIANTS. I explained to them that this place would have lots of flavors to choose from, but that we were going to find the Gluten free/Dairy free flavors and that would be what we choose. If for some reason they didn't like those flavors, we wouldn't be able to eat any frozen yogurt. I also explained the topping bar to them and said that the same went for that, only Gluten free/Dairy free toppings allowed. The little GIANTS nodded their heads and said " Yes Mom" with a very surprisingly understanding and excited tone of voice! We held hands and were off to find our delicious treat with Daddy and baby little GIANT following behind.
We entered the shop and got our taste cups and yogurt dish in hand and ready to fill. As we looked at all the different flavors we found that most of them were Gluten free, but as suspected, not Dairy free. We kept looking. They asked if they could have Chocolate, the Root beer flavor, and Vanilla. I calmly told them that those flavors were not Dairy free and that we needed to keep looking. There was not one protest! At last, we had found it, the one and ONLY, Gluten free and Dairy free flavor. The flavor was Pomegranate Raspberry Sorbet. I filled their taste cups and in unison they said "MMMMMMM!!!!" So we filled up our big cups and then proceeded to the topping bar.
Now this is where I thought things were going to get hairy. I could picture a meltdown and tantrum in my very near future. As they looked at all the chocolate chips, candy, sprinkles, pretzels, cookie pieces, gummy worms and gummy bears, their eyes lit up! Again, I calmly explained that we needed to find the Gluten free and Dairy free things. So at the end of the topping bar we found lots of fresh fruit. The middle little GIANT and I decided on fresh strawberries and pineapple, while the oldest little GIANT chose cherries and strawberries (Daddy was the only one who put cookies on his sorbet, LOL!). We paid and then sat down to enjoy! Our youngest little GIANT took a taste and puckered up since it was a little tart, but then came back for more, and some more, and some more! I think he ended up eating more than me!
Our first outing trying our best to pick Gluten free and Dairy free was a success! Now, I know that the ingredients probably weren't organic and most likely contained some artificial sweeteners, but we're okay with that, in moderation. We want our little GIANTS to be able to enjoy being little GIANTS and for some reason going for ice cream (or in our case, frozen yogurt) is a mandatory part of childhood! This is something that we will only do every so often and on those occasions, will allow the few non "wholefood" elements. We don't want our little GIANTS to feel as if they've been deprived of things throughout their childhood to the point that they completely go over board when they're BIG GIANTS. We want to educate them on how they can find balance in eating this way and help them to see that they're not really missing out on anything. So far, it seems to be pretty well understood by the little GIANTS as they all left with smiles on their faces and our middle little GIANT with a purple pomegranate raspberry sorbet goat-t surrounding his!
As we proceed on this journey, I'm sure there will be days that don't end up as successful! But as we do continue down this path God has us on, we are committed to covering it in prayer. I've been praying even for the simple things like the little GIANTS taste buds changing and finding joy in eating these new foods and that the cravings for the old food would go away. God is faithful and we will continue to seek and follow Him while Living Life with 3 little GIANTS!
Before we walked over to the yogurt shop I had a chat with the little GIANTS. I explained to them that this place would have lots of flavors to choose from, but that we were going to find the Gluten free/Dairy free flavors and that would be what we choose. If for some reason they didn't like those flavors, we wouldn't be able to eat any frozen yogurt. I also explained the topping bar to them and said that the same went for that, only Gluten free/Dairy free toppings allowed. The little GIANTS nodded their heads and said " Yes Mom" with a very surprisingly understanding and excited tone of voice! We held hands and were off to find our delicious treat with Daddy and baby little GIANT following behind.
We entered the shop and got our taste cups and yogurt dish in hand and ready to fill. As we looked at all the different flavors we found that most of them were Gluten free, but as suspected, not Dairy free. We kept looking. They asked if they could have Chocolate, the Root beer flavor, and Vanilla. I calmly told them that those flavors were not Dairy free and that we needed to keep looking. There was not one protest! At last, we had found it, the one and ONLY, Gluten free and Dairy free flavor. The flavor was Pomegranate Raspberry Sorbet. I filled their taste cups and in unison they said "MMMMMMM!!!!" So we filled up our big cups and then proceeded to the topping bar.
Now this is where I thought things were going to get hairy. I could picture a meltdown and tantrum in my very near future. As they looked at all the chocolate chips, candy, sprinkles, pretzels, cookie pieces, gummy worms and gummy bears, their eyes lit up! Again, I calmly explained that we needed to find the Gluten free and Dairy free things. So at the end of the topping bar we found lots of fresh fruit. The middle little GIANT and I decided on fresh strawberries and pineapple, while the oldest little GIANT chose cherries and strawberries (Daddy was the only one who put cookies on his sorbet, LOL!). We paid and then sat down to enjoy! Our youngest little GIANT took a taste and puckered up since it was a little tart, but then came back for more, and some more, and some more! I think he ended up eating more than me!
Our first outing trying our best to pick Gluten free and Dairy free was a success! Now, I know that the ingredients probably weren't organic and most likely contained some artificial sweeteners, but we're okay with that, in moderation. We want our little GIANTS to be able to enjoy being little GIANTS and for some reason going for ice cream (or in our case, frozen yogurt) is a mandatory part of childhood! This is something that we will only do every so often and on those occasions, will allow the few non "wholefood" elements. We don't want our little GIANTS to feel as if they've been deprived of things throughout their childhood to the point that they completely go over board when they're BIG GIANTS. We want to educate them on how they can find balance in eating this way and help them to see that they're not really missing out on anything. So far, it seems to be pretty well understood by the little GIANTS as they all left with smiles on their faces and our middle little GIANT with a purple pomegranate raspberry sorbet goat-t surrounding his!
As we proceed on this journey, I'm sure there will be days that don't end up as successful! But as we do continue down this path God has us on, we are committed to covering it in prayer. I've been praying even for the simple things like the little GIANTS taste buds changing and finding joy in eating these new foods and that the cravings for the old food would go away. God is faithful and we will continue to seek and follow Him while Living Life with 3 little GIANTS!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
3 little GIANTS go Gluten and Dairy Free
Life with 3 little GIANTS has been busy as usual, but we are now entering into a new season of life that I am actually very excited about and plan to use my blog as a way to share it with you. I hope you will come along side me and share in Living Life with 3 little GIANTS!
Many of you may know that we have struggled with some behavioral and emotional challenges with our Princess little GIANT. Daddy GIANT and I started seeing a family counselor in January to see if there was something we weren't doing that would help her. During our monthly visits we received lots of positive feedback that we were doing things well and handling most of the situations the way she would recommend parents to. We received a couple of tools and were also able to really understand and learn about what the specific challenges are that our Princess little GIANT faces and that she's not JUST "strong-willed", it's so much more than that!
She did suggest that we have our Princess little GIANT evaluated for ADHD because some of the challenges she faces are symptoms of it. So, we did some online evaluations and most of them stated that she was definitely in need of professional evaluation for it. We started researching different treatment methods and really tried to educate ourselves. We made an appointment wit the Pediatrician and was given the "official evaluation" for all of the adults who lived with her to complete as well as her teacher. During this time of waiting to receive the form back from her very busy teacher, we started learning about food allergies. We uncovered that on both sides of our family there are some food allergies to gluten and dairy. We also learned that the allergic reaction to both of these things tends to be emotional and behavioral. When we received the form back from the teacher, we found that we were all on different sides of the form and learned that if a child truly had ADHD they would rate the same for behaviorally at home AND school. Our little GIANT is a remarkable student, is very well behaved, follows directions and is excelling above her grade level in reading and math (I'm bragging just a little as any proud mama should!). So, it seemed pretty clear that she did not have ADHD.
Another interesting thing that happened during this time is that our insurance didn't cover her visit to the doctor, which it did previously when at 2 1/2 she was seen by the Pediatrician for the same reason with the same insurance and coverage and at that time was diagnosed "at-risk for ADHD". We prayed about it a lot and really just felt like God was closing the door on us continuing to test her for ADHD and that He was using the insurance as a way to say "quit going down this road for a diagnosis because you will have to pay out-of-pocket every time and that's because she doesn't have ADHD." So we listened and I am sooooo glad we did, especially since there are so many kids misdiagnosed with ADHD. We didn't want her labeled with something like this that would follow her for the rest of her life.
So, after even MORE prayer, we have turned our focus to food allergies and what form of treatment we are going to pursue for them. Now many of you maybe thinking and wondering, "did they go to a doctor for that diagnosis?" and the answer is NO. Why you ask? First off, money... insurance does not cover the type of testing needed to diagnose gluten and dairy allergies, also many Allergists won't test for it because there are 3 different strands of allergies and it's not found in the common one doctors test for. It could cost over $600 per child for the testing and it's not even guaranteed that a gluten or dairy allergy would show if they had one. We are going to do an elimination diet this summer, which we are slowly transitioning into, and we are going to see if removing those two things help with our little Princess GIANT's emotional and behavioral challenges. In addition to going Gluten and Dairy free, we are going Organic and pretty much Wholefood/ Plant-based as well.
You may also be wondering why we are making this change for every little GIANT as well as ourselves. The answer to that is because through our research and look back into health history for each of us as well as family lines, we see A LOT of things connected to these allergies. For example, the kids all have a skin condition very similar to Eczema which is a symptom of a dairy allergy. Our littlest GIANT had Eczema on his face pretty bad and with the changes we've already made, it seems to be clearing up. So, we are going to see how much better we all feel after these changes and see if any other health issues clear up because of the changes being made.
All of our little GIANTS are receiving most of the changes pretty well so far. We have done away with all Cow's Milk. Our Princess and Baby little GIANT's love Almond milk while our Middle little GIANT prefers Rice milk. I have also cooked quite a bit with a whole grain very high in protein called Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wha). It really takes on the flavor of whatever spices your cooking with and can be used in place of ground turkey, beef, and chicken. I made fried rice with brown rice and Quinoa and other organic ingredients the other night and it was a HUGE hit! We have also been teaching the little GIANTS about portion control (the little GIANT's love using the measuring cups to actually measure their food before they eat) as well as what it means to eat Wholefood and Organic versus the food we ate before and why it's good or not good for us. We even watched Forks Over Knives (a documentary I HIGHLY recommend as well as Food Inc.) as a family and the little GIANTS were pretty interested!
I am very excited to see what this change in "diet" does for each one of us this summer. I am going to use this blog as a way to chart this experience. I'll share the good and the bad as well as recipes and foods that are big hit or a big flop. I am open to questions and comments and am in no way trying to push this lifestyle change on anyone else, so in return please respect what we have chosen to do for our family.
No matter how much work being "Gluten free, Dairy free, Organic, Wholefood, and Plant-based" is going to be, God doesn't give us anything we can't handle! I believe that He will provide us the finances and provisions needed to live this way. And if it truly benefits my family in the way we believe it will, I'll DO IT, because I LOVE Living Life with 3 little (healthy) GIANTS!
Many of you may know that we have struggled with some behavioral and emotional challenges with our Princess little GIANT. Daddy GIANT and I started seeing a family counselor in January to see if there was something we weren't doing that would help her. During our monthly visits we received lots of positive feedback that we were doing things well and handling most of the situations the way she would recommend parents to. We received a couple of tools and were also able to really understand and learn about what the specific challenges are that our Princess little GIANT faces and that she's not JUST "strong-willed", it's so much more than that!
She did suggest that we have our Princess little GIANT evaluated for ADHD because some of the challenges she faces are symptoms of it. So, we did some online evaluations and most of them stated that she was definitely in need of professional evaluation for it. We started researching different treatment methods and really tried to educate ourselves. We made an appointment wit the Pediatrician and was given the "official evaluation" for all of the adults who lived with her to complete as well as her teacher. During this time of waiting to receive the form back from her very busy teacher, we started learning about food allergies. We uncovered that on both sides of our family there are some food allergies to gluten and dairy. We also learned that the allergic reaction to both of these things tends to be emotional and behavioral. When we received the form back from the teacher, we found that we were all on different sides of the form and learned that if a child truly had ADHD they would rate the same for behaviorally at home AND school. Our little GIANT is a remarkable student, is very well behaved, follows directions and is excelling above her grade level in reading and math (I'm bragging just a little as any proud mama should!). So, it seemed pretty clear that she did not have ADHD.
Another interesting thing that happened during this time is that our insurance didn't cover her visit to the doctor, which it did previously when at 2 1/2 she was seen by the Pediatrician for the same reason with the same insurance and coverage and at that time was diagnosed "at-risk for ADHD". We prayed about it a lot and really just felt like God was closing the door on us continuing to test her for ADHD and that He was using the insurance as a way to say "quit going down this road for a diagnosis because you will have to pay out-of-pocket every time and that's because she doesn't have ADHD." So we listened and I am sooooo glad we did, especially since there are so many kids misdiagnosed with ADHD. We didn't want her labeled with something like this that would follow her for the rest of her life.
So, after even MORE prayer, we have turned our focus to food allergies and what form of treatment we are going to pursue for them. Now many of you maybe thinking and wondering, "did they go to a doctor for that diagnosis?" and the answer is NO. Why you ask? First off, money... insurance does not cover the type of testing needed to diagnose gluten and dairy allergies, also many Allergists won't test for it because there are 3 different strands of allergies and it's not found in the common one doctors test for. It could cost over $600 per child for the testing and it's not even guaranteed that a gluten or dairy allergy would show if they had one. We are going to do an elimination diet this summer, which we are slowly transitioning into, and we are going to see if removing those two things help with our little Princess GIANT's emotional and behavioral challenges. In addition to going Gluten and Dairy free, we are going Organic and pretty much Wholefood/ Plant-based as well.
You may also be wondering why we are making this change for every little GIANT as well as ourselves. The answer to that is because through our research and look back into health history for each of us as well as family lines, we see A LOT of things connected to these allergies. For example, the kids all have a skin condition very similar to Eczema which is a symptom of a dairy allergy. Our littlest GIANT had Eczema on his face pretty bad and with the changes we've already made, it seems to be clearing up. So, we are going to see how much better we all feel after these changes and see if any other health issues clear up because of the changes being made.
All of our little GIANTS are receiving most of the changes pretty well so far. We have done away with all Cow's Milk. Our Princess and Baby little GIANT's love Almond milk while our Middle little GIANT prefers Rice milk. I have also cooked quite a bit with a whole grain very high in protein called Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wha). It really takes on the flavor of whatever spices your cooking with and can be used in place of ground turkey, beef, and chicken. I made fried rice with brown rice and Quinoa and other organic ingredients the other night and it was a HUGE hit! We have also been teaching the little GIANTS about portion control (the little GIANT's love using the measuring cups to actually measure their food before they eat) as well as what it means to eat Wholefood and Organic versus the food we ate before and why it's good or not good for us. We even watched Forks Over Knives (a documentary I HIGHLY recommend as well as Food Inc.) as a family and the little GIANTS were pretty interested!
I am very excited to see what this change in "diet" does for each one of us this summer. I am going to use this blog as a way to chart this experience. I'll share the good and the bad as well as recipes and foods that are big hit or a big flop. I am open to questions and comments and am in no way trying to push this lifestyle change on anyone else, so in return please respect what we have chosen to do for our family.
No matter how much work being "Gluten free, Dairy free, Organic, Wholefood, and Plant-based" is going to be, God doesn't give us anything we can't handle! I believe that He will provide us the finances and provisions needed to live this way. And if it truly benefits my family in the way we believe it will, I'll DO IT, because I LOVE Living Life with 3 little (healthy) GIANTS!
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Busy Life of 3 little GIANTS...
Well, where do I begin? It has been quite some time since I blogged, but as you can imagine, life IS busy with 3 little GIANTS!
So here's the update... October we enjoyed experiencing fall. November quickly came and it was time to celebrate our littlest GIANTS 1st Birthday! We were blessed with a visit by Daddy GIANT's Mom and youngest Sister. We really enjoyed our time together as a family. We had a nice party for Baby little GIANT with good friends and of course, CAKE (which he absolutely loved)! That weekend Daddy GIANT received news of a job transfer back to Arizona in 1 week. So we quickly packed up our house and our 3 little GIANTS and embarked on a 27hr road trip after attending the wedding of some dear friends on November 18th. We were able to stop at Daddy GIANT's Mom's for a few hours where the little GIANTS enjoyed playing with their Oma, Auntie, Great Oma, Great Tonta, Great Cousin and Second Cousin, while Mommy and Daddy GIANT slept. We made it to AZ early Sunday afternoon and got settled in. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family at Uncle and Tia's house. The little GIANTS had no problem making themselves right at home and making everyone their new best friend! That following Monday, the Princess little GIANT started school. We are now settled and developing our new routine.
So as you can see, even in this condensed version that leaves out a lot of detail and funny stories (because as you know, my little GIANTS do some of the funniest and say some of the funniest things, so much so that if I typed them all my hands might go paralyzed and the keyboard end up broken.) that we do Live a BUSY Life with 3 little GIANTS!
So here's the update... October we enjoyed experiencing fall. November quickly came and it was time to celebrate our littlest GIANTS 1st Birthday! We were blessed with a visit by Daddy GIANT's Mom and youngest Sister. We really enjoyed our time together as a family. We had a nice party for Baby little GIANT with good friends and of course, CAKE (which he absolutely loved)! That weekend Daddy GIANT received news of a job transfer back to Arizona in 1 week. So we quickly packed up our house and our 3 little GIANTS and embarked on a 27hr road trip after attending the wedding of some dear friends on November 18th. We were able to stop at Daddy GIANT's Mom's for a few hours where the little GIANTS enjoyed playing with their Oma, Auntie, Great Oma, Great Tonta, Great Cousin and Second Cousin, while Mommy and Daddy GIANT slept. We made it to AZ early Sunday afternoon and got settled in. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family at Uncle and Tia's house. The little GIANTS had no problem making themselves right at home and making everyone their new best friend! That following Monday, the Princess little GIANT started school. We are now settled and developing our new routine.
So as you can see, even in this condensed version that leaves out a lot of detail and funny stories (because as you know, my little GIANTS do some of the funniest and say some of the funniest things, so much so that if I typed them all my hands might go paralyzed and the keyboard end up broken.) that we do Live a BUSY Life with 3 little GIANTS!
Finding ways to Untangle Christmas for 3 little GIANTS...
I found this book and it has so wonderful and practical ways to help enjoy Christmas a bit more. Hope it helps you...
<a href="http://untanglingchristmas.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.untanglingchristmas.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TChristmas-125x125.png%22%3E%3C/a>
<a href="http://untanglingchristmas.org/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.untanglingchristmas.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TChristmas-125x125.png%22%3E%3C/a>
Monday, October 3, 2011
The little GIANT Princess turns 6!
Sunday night as I went to bed, I looked at the clock and saw it was 11:45pm, and then it came to me... 6 years ago at that time I rolled out of bed in labor. It was time to have our first child, a beautiful baby girl.
On October 3, 2005 at 12:33pm, Princess little GIANT was born weighing 7lbs 5oz and was 20 1/2" long. Fast forward 6 years and she is 62 1/2lbs and is 52" tall (4ft 4"). I can't believe how fast time really does fly and how fast she really did grow.
After school was out, the birthday celebrations and surprises were back in full swing. First we stopped at Best Buy so Poppie could get a new memory stick for his camera, so he could catch all the magic moments. Then, it was game on. First stop, Claire's to get Princess little GIANT's Ears pierced. We took a before shot out front and then in we went. Princess little GIANT went straight to the piercing station and had picked out the earring's she wanted in less a minute flat. When she knows what she wants, she knows what she wants! Then it was time to get the process started.
The process started by attempting to clean Princess little GIANT's ear with an alcohol wipe. Princess little GIANT was plugging her nose because she didn't like the smell. As she got closer, Princess little GIANT got nervous and put her hands over her ears. My mom had the lady show Princess little GIANT what she was going to do on her and she still was nervous, so Derek let her sit on his lap so she wouldn't be scared. As soon as the girl got close, she started to get upset and covered her ears again. The girl stepped away and said she'd give us 2-3 minutes to talk with her and see if she still wanted to go through with it. About 10 minutes later and after much discussion of how it wouldn't "hurt" and it would just "pinch" and the "pop" noise from the gun would mean it was all over, she decided to do it. The girl came back and cleaned her ears, Princess little GIANT giggled and said it didn't hurt and that it tickled. Then she marked her ears and Princess little GIANT was surprised not even to feel her make the dots. Then after a couple looks from me and Gammy to make sure they were centered, it was TIME. The girl asked Princess little GIANT if she'd like her coworker to do the other ear at the same time so it could be done at once and over faster, she gleefully, said yes!!! So while in Daddy's lap and holding Gammy's hands, the girl's counted 1-2-3 and POP! Then came the tears and the heartbroken cry from the realization that the "pinch" we described in her opinion really did "hurt". After a few minutes of straight sobbing, she calmed down and Gammy took her to pick out 3 pairs of earrings to wear once she healed, which made her feel better real fast! By the time we paid and left we had a happy little GIANT who claimed that her ears didn't hurt anymore and she's happy she was brave!
To finish off the celebration, we took the little GIANT's to Out of This World Pizza. We had never been there, but heard it was a lot of fun and to be honest I am Chuck E Cheese'd out and could not handle going there again. By the night's end, it was clearly a great choice as fun was had by our littlest GIANT all the way up to our BIG GIANT (daddy) and the rest of us in between. It was basically a McDonald's play structure on steroids, with Bouncy Obstacle Courses, Rock Climbing Walls, fun little cars to ride, a toddler play area and smaller slides and play structures for younger one's. Derek, myself and Poppie joined in the fun. We climbed our way to the very top, went down the swirliest slides, maneuvered the bouncy courses, and even took a spin around the track. After our workout's we were starving and it was time to eat. To our surprise the pizza was actually quite delicious (waaaayyy better than Chuck E Cheese's) along with really good salad's and cheesy bread. We all ate a ton, with the exception of Middle little GIANT, who was too busy playing to eat. :)
We headed home as all were tired even though Middle little GIANT would've stayed, ummm...forever! The night ended with our little GIANT reading one of her new books on the couch with Gammy and Poppie and her new Barbie. A successful day of surprises and celebrations, I'd say, all while maintaining her bedtime!
So tonight as I sit here and look at this clock reading 11:45pm, I feel the same joy in my heart as I felt 6 years ago when I held Princess little GIANT in my arms. She has grown to become such an amazing, smart, beautiful, funny, caring, loving, creative, thoughtful, generous, helpful, independent, determined, witty, athletic, quick thinking, and joyful girl! I am honored that God called me to be her mama and feel so blessed to be Living Life with this little GIANT!
On October 3, 2005 at 12:33pm, Princess little GIANT was born weighing 7lbs 5oz and was 20 1/2" long. Fast forward 6 years and she is 62 1/2lbs and is 52" tall (4ft 4"). I can't believe how fast time really does fly and how fast she really did grow.
To celebrate our Birthday Princess little GIANT's big day, we packed it full of surprises. While the princess was sleeping we decorated the dinning room in her favorite colors, pink and purple. When we woke up we made her favorite breakfast, pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon. We put a "6" candle in her stack of pancakes and sang her "Happy Birthday". While our little GIANTS were enjoying their delicious breakfast, there was a knock at the door. The voice behind the door said it was the postman that had a special delivery for her. She was nervous to receive her surprise, so she hid behind the door while opening it. Finally when the "special delivery" walked in the door, she realized it was Gammy and Poppie! She was so shocked at first that it took her a minute to realize they were actually standing in front of her. Once she did, she had the biggest grin a little GIANT could possibly have as she went in to give her Gammy a GIANT hug.
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| The dining room |
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| Princess little GIANTS's pancake "Happy Birthday" breakfast |
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| The SURPRISE at the door |
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| The Shock! |
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| The excitement |
We then enjoyed visiting and eating while Princess little GIANT opened her presents and got ready for school. She was so excited to go to school and take cookies for her classmates to help her celebrate her birthday. Princess little GIANT had Derek braid her hair for her and she even topped her outfit off with a crown. She was truly embracing the "Princess for the day" attitude!
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| Birthday Princess |
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| Before |
The process started by attempting to clean Princess little GIANT's ear with an alcohol wipe. Princess little GIANT was plugging her nose because she didn't like the smell. As she got closer, Princess little GIANT got nervous and put her hands over her ears. My mom had the lady show Princess little GIANT what she was going to do on her and she still was nervous, so Derek let her sit on his lap so she wouldn't be scared. As soon as the girl got close, she started to get upset and covered her ears again. The girl stepped away and said she'd give us 2-3 minutes to talk with her and see if she still wanted to go through with it. About 10 minutes later and after much discussion of how it wouldn't "hurt" and it would just "pinch" and the "pop" noise from the gun would mean it was all over, she decided to do it. The girl came back and cleaned her ears, Princess little GIANT giggled and said it didn't hurt and that it tickled. Then she marked her ears and Princess little GIANT was surprised not even to feel her make the dots. Then after a couple looks from me and Gammy to make sure they were centered, it was TIME. The girl asked Princess little GIANT if she'd like her coworker to do the other ear at the same time so it could be done at once and over faster, she gleefully, said yes!!! So while in Daddy's lap and holding Gammy's hands, the girl's counted 1-2-3 and POP! Then came the tears and the heartbroken cry from the realization that the "pinch" we described in her opinion really did "hurt". After a few minutes of straight sobbing, she calmed down and Gammy took her to pick out 3 pairs of earrings to wear once she healed, which made her feel better real fast! By the time we paid and left we had a happy little GIANT who claimed that her ears didn't hurt anymore and she's happy she was brave!
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| "That stuff stinks!" |
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| "It's cold and tickles" |
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| 1-2-3 |
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| "OWIE!!!" |
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| sobbing |
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| inconsolable |
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| Brave, happy girl |
To finish off the celebration, we took the little GIANT's to Out of This World Pizza. We had never been there, but heard it was a lot of fun and to be honest I am Chuck E Cheese'd out and could not handle going there again. By the night's end, it was clearly a great choice as fun was had by our littlest GIANT all the way up to our BIG GIANT (daddy) and the rest of us in between. It was basically a McDonald's play structure on steroids, with Bouncy Obstacle Courses, Rock Climbing Walls, fun little cars to ride, a toddler play area and smaller slides and play structures for younger one's. Derek, myself and Poppie joined in the fun. We climbed our way to the very top, went down the swirliest slides, maneuvered the bouncy courses, and even took a spin around the track. After our workout's we were starving and it was time to eat. To our surprise the pizza was actually quite delicious (waaaayyy better than Chuck E Cheese's) along with really good salad's and cheesy bread. We all ate a ton, with the exception of Middle little GIANT, who was too busy playing to eat. :)
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| Just to get an idea of how big this thing is, that's Derek standing in the middle who is 6'3" |
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| little GIANT'S off to conquer space |
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| Princess little GIANT and Poppie climbed inside and up to the wavy slide |
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| Middle little GIANT and Mommy riding the cars |
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| Baby little GIANT enjoyed the little play area |
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| Daddy GIANT fit and made it down the tallest slide |
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| Poppie followed suit |
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| Princess little GIANT and her friend |
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| Weeeeee! |
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| C'mon Poppie, you can do it! |
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| Even Daddy GIANT managed to fit and baby little GIANT joined me for a ride |
We headed home as all were tired even though Middle little GIANT would've stayed, ummm...forever! The night ended with our little GIANT reading one of her new books on the couch with Gammy and Poppie and her new Barbie. A successful day of surprises and celebrations, I'd say, all while maintaining her bedtime!
So tonight as I sit here and look at this clock reading 11:45pm, I feel the same joy in my heart as I felt 6 years ago when I held Princess little GIANT in my arms. She has grown to become such an amazing, smart, beautiful, funny, caring, loving, creative, thoughtful, generous, helpful, independent, determined, witty, athletic, quick thinking, and joyful girl! I am honored that God called me to be her mama and feel so blessed to be Living Life with this little GIANT!
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