Refreshed

re·fresh

–verb (used with object)

1. to provide new vigor and energy by rest, food, etc. (often used reflexively).

2. to stimulate (the memory).

3. to make fresh again; reinvigorate or cheer (a person, the mind, spirits, etc.).

4. to freshen in appearance, color, etc., as by a restorative.

–verb (used with object)

1. to provide

Jodi, Amy, Me, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel

I learned that pose off facebook, from all my friends' daughters' prom pictures.

This past weekend I had the sweet and rare opportunity to go away overnight with 5 very dear girlfriends. I cannot even begin to describe everything our time meant to me - but refreshed seems the most appropriate word to use. Physically, spiritually, intellectually..... refreshed.

We talked, we laughed, we cried, we played, we ate, we drank, we SLEPT, we relaxed. There was much merriment.

We are a unique group in the fact that most of us are homeschooling mamas. I suppose we were probably delusional in thinking that we might get around to the games, the books, the magazines or the knitting we had brought. We talked and shared most of the time - about homeschooling, the Lord, being mamas, being wives, things we've been learning, ways we are growing, ways we need to grow. I was so encouraged and lifted up. And incredibly thankful - thankful for these women who challenge me, in such positive ways, to be and do better - but more importantly, to abide in God's provision in every area of my life. I learned so much from each one of them in just a couple of days together.

We are already planning our next trip together. *warm fuzzies*

Unfortunately, my camera battery died very early on so I didn't get very many pictures. Here are a few that I captured right after we arrived and one that I stole from Amy. I'm looking forward to seeing more from the other ladies...hint hint.

Amy.
But you could have replaced her with any one of us.
We did a lot of laying around.

I suppose I could have asked Rebecca and Amy's permission to post this one.
But why really? That wouldn't have been as much fun.

They can just be thankful I cropped this one a bit.

Please somebody!!
Do something about my hair! I'm desperate.

Ps. I know I said it before, but seriously! I have the rockinest hubby around. Not only did he take the kids to a parade all by himself on Saturday morning but when I got home (at 1:45 a.m... long story) I found the whole house clean including a cleared and scrubbed refrigerator and he had found the missing dinosaur magnet from the preschool theme kit that needs to be returned to the library. Muah! I love you J.J.

What Could It All Mean?

I've been having weird dreams lately. This morning I dreamt I was in Canada to see a movie with my friend Stephanie and her children. When I couldn't log on to the theatre computer to print out my tickets I got into the post office line - because the post office was inside this gigantic theatre. I then got frustrated because the staff let an older woman to the front of the line in front of about 20 other people. I shouted down the line waving my hand, "How many others would like the chance to go to the front of the line?" Evidently the post office had stuff for me I hadn't picked up the last time I was in Canada. After picking up my things from the post office I went to get my vaccination. The Canadian man of Asian descent who gave them to me didn't support vaccinations and when I shared my concerns with him he went and got me a special dose of whatever vaccine I was getting. Before putting the equipment away he licked the syringe off and then wrapped it up. An older lady waiting in line behind me (different than the earlier one at the post office) was getting impatient and made a comment about how smart and great the Asian man was. She had tubes coming out of her and was hooked up to some machine. As I looked at the clock it was 10 pm and time for me to get going anyway. After all, Stephanie and her kids were waiting for me. So I left out the big front doors of the sushi bar of course, but not before I tried a little skateboarding on my friend Nate's skateboard. He had been studying outside to become a preacher and was taking a break on his skateboard.

Would anyone care to attempt an interpretation of this one?

Homies in the Hood 1.0

That's what we're calling our super duper funalicious girls getaway this weekend. Well, at least that's what I'm calling it. 'Cause I think I'm huh-larious.

Six of us homeschooling mamas (and homeschooling mamas-to-be) are taking a night away at my in-laws vacation unit on the Hood Canal. I am giddy with excitement. I believe this is only the second time in my LIFE that I have gone away with girlfriends.

So far I have packed:

Books: homeschooling, gardening, knitting
Magazines: Real Simple
Games: Balderdash, Guesstures, Yahtzee
Booze: Mexican-ish beer, ingredients for mojitos and dark and stormies
Clothing: more changes than I need, including a bathing suit, tennis shoes for a little hike
Food: gouda, smoked salmon, pico de gallo.... need I say more??

I cannot wait!!

You may know a couple of the ladies coming along. Amy, Rebecca and Jodi, for example. Stacy will be in next year - with a little more advance notice on my part. And two other good friends. Between the six of us we are mama to 24 children. A bit of rest and relaxation is in order!

Steele was standing next to me tonight and said, "I hope you have a fun time on your trip, Mama. I'll miss you."

How sweet is he???

And this guy....

the cute one wearing the firefighter's uniform?

Well, he's pretty much amazing. Not only is he caring for the children with nary a raised eyebrow (which really, is no unusual thing for him - he's an amazing papa) but he is taking this sweet girl

for her first helmet appointment.

He's also bringing along these hooligans.

(they look wild don't they?)


All by himself.

He rocks, huh?

So I'll see you next week. I promise to take lots of pictures. Maybe.

Or...

What happens in the Hood stays in the Hood?

I know. I told you. I'm funny.

Cough Be Gone!

And other health-related topics

Man, I always do this. I think up a bunch of blog posts in my head, determine to write more frequently, and then somehow days... weeks... go by... and I haven't written anything.

I wanted to be sure and give a little update regarding my vitamin d levels and cough. Not to go on and on about myself - but hopefully to give somebody out there some tools and resources to consider.

Time and time again, I am impressed by naturopathic medicine and the help it has provided me and my specific symptoms. I have been seeing naturopath physicians off and on for about 7 or 8 years now. Before that, since the time I was about 16, conventional doctors have recommended a whole spectrum of treatment for my endometriosis and related symptoms ranging from birth control pills, anti-depressants (which I promptly deposited in the trash bin on my way out of the doctor's office), medication that would cause my body to go into early menopause.... not to mention anti-anxiety drugs, inhalers, acid reflux medication and on and on and on. I have never once - not once - had a conventional doctor recommend to me that I exercise regularly or change my diet. And yet, these two things by far, have been the biggest aid in helping me feel good. Now, I'm not saying that conventional medicine isn't good for anything - in fact, I see a very wonderful conventional doctor as well, who has educated me, eased my mind, helped me get some more answers as to what's going on in my body. What I am saying is that I really wish conventional and alternative medicine could link arms a little more. I think we could all benefit from it.

That said, I am very happy to report that since seeing a new naturopath and beginning on some supplements, I am feeling a bazillion times better than I had been over the winter and even better than that - my cough is almost completely gone! Hooray!! Before I went to see her about a month ago, my cough was getting worse and worse until I seemed to be coughing all day long. And now - every once in a while I notice the rattling in my chest and I will cough a bit - but nothing near what I was experiencing before.

I wish I could tell you exactly what was going on with me. I think it was a combination of things stemming from the fact that my immune system was extremely depleted. What I can tell you is what I've been taking and doing and where things will go from here. Of course, I'm not a doctor, and I have always been very hesitant - even when I've felt that I've know the proper supplement to take - to treat myself without the oversight of a physician. I don't think this stuff gets shared enough though - which is why I'm sharing it with you - but I would highly recommend that anyone see a naturopath for their personal treatment.


First off, the Vitamin D3:

• 5,000 IU/day for another month at which time I'll have my levels re-checked
  
• I've been laying out in the sun as much as possible - my research says up to 90 minutes between 10 and 2 is best for D3 processing in darker skinned people. Believe me, I do not have 90 minutes a day to lay out in the sun. I might get 15 minutes here and there.
  
• I'm trying to choke down my cod liver oil - I've taken this regularly in the past but let me tell you, it is hard to do. It's just plain gross. Taken with a shot of milk - I can tolerate it - but my naturopath as well as my friend, Jodi, recommended Nordic Naturals to me. I'm going to get some - I hear it tastes better and is less expensive than what I've been taking.

Liquid Calcium/Magnesium

• 1 Tb a.m. and p.m - to help with my D3 processing and also to help acid reflux which my naturopath thinks could be the cause of my coughing.

Cysteplus

• 2/2x day - I wish I could tell you what this was but I really have no clue. I asked my naturopath - twice - and she explained it to me - several times in different ways - and I still didn't really understand. What I do know is that it's an amino acid and is supposed to help detox your liver and specifically for me, thin mucus that was in my lungs.

High Potency Pro-biotic Capsule

• 1/day - now, as far as I've read, pro-biotics are one thing that pretty much everyone, children and adults alike, can take and will be helped by. Just a simple "probiotic" search on mercola.com turns up a wealth of information.

Vitamin C

• 2,000 mg/day - I've been taking this mostly in the form of Emergen-C added to my workout water.... when I go to teach Jazzercise! Yes, you read that right - I'm teaching Jazzercise again and am loving it. It's refreshing for me in so many ways.
  

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

• I am supposed to be drinking 1-2 tsp. of this mixed in water 30 minutes before every meal. I've done it once. Because well, how many mamas do you know who know when they're going to get to eat next? Yah..

Sitting down and chewing my food more while I eat

• This happens a little more than the acv - but not much more. One interesting bit of info. that my naturopath told me is that one area of disagreement between alternative and conventional doctors is whether or not acid reflux is caused by a lack of acid or an overabundance of acid. Naturopaths believe it is caused by a lack of digestive acids so that when you eat, your food does not get digested enough and comes back up. Chewing your food more, taking the apple cider vinegar and not drinking while you eat can help provide more acid in order to digest food more effectively. I find this all very interesting.
  

Water

• Drink 50 oz./day. Unfortunately this doesn't happen often either but I am drinking more water than I was before.

Contrast Hydrotherapy

• This is the craziest thing I'm doing but it's turning out to be one of the most refreshing. I do it focused mainly on my chest and lungs. Be sure and click on the link to read about it. The naturopath I linked to is not mine but it is a very good explanation. I do it in the shower and alternate hot-as-I-can-stand water and cold water on my chest and back. And yes, I felt like screaming the first time I did it.
  

I've also continued to try and remain as gluten-free and now, as grain free, as possible. But this is a continual area of struggle for me so maybe I'll share about that another time.


Man, I talk a lot....

In other health-related news. Sweet Xochi has managed to end up with a pretty flat head over her short 14 months. After a trip down to Children's Hospital on Friday to have it evaluated, it looks like we are probably going to be treating it with a plagiocephaly helmet. It shouldn't take long - about 4 months - for it to round out. It really is not that bad and is kind of on the line of whether or not it should be treated, but hopefully we'll be saving her from any future teenage-flat-headed woes.

Star Spangled Sewing

And some blog love.

Before I begin - I have to tell you what a nice wife I am. Just before sitting down to write, I reached up into the cupboard and took the last two squares of a Hershey's dark chocolate bar. For a split second I was going to just leave the wrapper sitting there - until I thought to myself, "No. You shouldn't do that. Because wouldn't that suck to be Justin and reach up thinking your were going to get chocolate only to find an empty wrapper? That would royally suck" So I took it down and threw it in the trash. It's the little things, you know. You can thank me later, hon.

We're all about the holiday wear in our family. It's a tradition that goes back to my grandmother - and probably, if I asked her, would go back even further than that. Now, nothing over the top - but on St. Patrick's Day you wear green, on Halloween Day - maybe a little pumpkin pin, 4th of July - definitely red, white and blue. If I can, and if I have time, I like to try and make something for the kids. It's getting a little more challenging with three kids - but this year I felt especially inspired from a number of sewing blogs I've been reading (and I seem to have some added energy - Vitamin D anyone??) so I got some things made.

First off, I made a little pair of bandana shorts for Steele. I made him a pair last summer - they're so simple and fast and cheap. ($1 bandanas at Walmart. Yes, I shop there. Yes, my husband's a union firefighter. No, I do not feel one bit guilty. I'll stop there. You can too.) They're not so poufy after you wash them and they're fun to throw on and run around in in the summer. You can find the tutorial I used here. They also have one over at Sew Mama Sew.



Next I started in on a couple "simple" tops for Adia and Xochi. I used a shirt of Adia's as a sizing template. They seemed easy enough and I don't know, maybe it's because it was midnight (or later) but I could not get the sleeves to go in properly. Finally, after ripping them out four times I had the novel idea to look in one of my sewing books. (get it, novel? Sewing book? heh heh. yah, yah. I only got 5 hours of sleep and I haven't had any coffee yet today, OK??!) I was finally able to get those babies in. I once told Justin that I would not be at all surprised if hell had some department where all you do all day is sit around sewing seams only to be told you have to rip them out again. Either that, or waiting in line at the DOL only to be told you don't have the right forms or you're not in the right line and you have to come back. Where was I? Ok - Shirts. 4th of July. Right.

I was inspired by this cute set on I blog I recently found - Asthetic Nest. This woman is an amazing seamstress. I could spend hours browsing the adorable dresses she's made. Of course, the second time around I couldn't make it any easier on myself by just using the pattern I finally ended up using on the first one. I had ideas to make it even better!! Next time I'll know... I think the simpler the better with these tops. I really did over-think it. Elastic thread is my new best friend. I have big plans, folks, big plans!! Here's a sneak preview.

I'll add a white t-shirt for Steele and some denim shorts for the girls
and we'll be all set to go. Now if I can only find time to make a skirt for myself.

If you're wondering how I do find time. I went to bed at 1:30 and was woken up at 6:30. I then proceeded to neglect my children - letting them watch cartoons,play Leapster and feeding them dry Captain Crunch until Justin arrived home - at which point they were bouncing off the walls and he fed them some real food. (Xochi was sleeping) But hey! They'll look darn cute - so there you have it.

If you're looking for some sewing inspiration yourself, I've found some brilliant blogs around the web that feature wonderful sewing. Many of them include tons of tutorials, patterns and web shops. I thought I'd share a few. Have fun!

No Big Dill
Made By Rae
Made
While They Sleep
JCasa *Handmade
Magpie Patterns