Ten on Tuesday

Randomness from the Neaton ranch.....

1. My kids are funny and I couldn't imagine my life without them. Charlie's above face is a daily occurrence. Sometimes it makes me laugh and some times not!

2. The girls adore their father and can't wait to get into a piece of equipment with him.

And I think he likes it most of the time too.

3. Even when she is not looking at the camera, she is saying cheese.

4. I took Joseph in today to look at his skin again. It does look noticeably better and I'm thinking it should only get better from here on out. Final conclusions.....no dairy, no wheat and no gluten, no eggs, no corn, no green peppers, no potatoes, and no beef.

5. I think the beef and eggs make me the saddest. Probably because we raise both in our back yard. I'm still hoping/praying that the beef is more of a corn issue and will probably try a little after his skin clears up some more.

6. Besides all the skin issues with the littlest. In the last couple of days, I have developed some red spots on my arms and Cori has a couple of little spots on her leg. I have no idea what it is. There is no itching.

7. Cori is trying to talk more. She almost says - done and blanket - now. I have a feeling when the switch finally flips, she will be talking as much as her big sister.

8. I started taking a liquid fish oil. The girls are always wanting what I have so I have been giving them some too. It doesn't taste horrible, but it still amazes me that little ones have no issues with that stuff and come begging to have more. The first day we took it, Charlie says....Mom, that tastes kind of funny. Can I have some more?.

9. Garden planning, garden planning, and more garden planning going on here. I can not wait to get things planted.

10. I may be over doing it but this is what I'm planning.....tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, sweet corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, squash, pumpkins, watermelon, cantaloupe, lettuce, spinach, and zucchini.

God bless!

Joseph Jr. - 3 Months

The biggest news related to little Joseph this last month.....his skin.

We are still struggling on getting a handle on his eczema. I thought we had it about figured out a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to be clearing up. I could tell dairy was bugging him and his skin looked a lot better when I avoided it, but it wasn't clearing up completely.
 

I then cut wheat out of my diet.....getting better but not there yet. Then on a whim I decide I should watch my soy and egg intake, since they both are common allergens too. It wasn't horrible, but you could tell his skin was still irritated and was itching him. I was at a loss and feeling really bad for the little guy.

About a week and a half ago, I decided to go see a local herbalist lady and see if she had any other ideas. She assessed both of us and determined I had a candida (yeast) issue in my body and that was affecting Joseph's skin. She recommended a couple of supplements for me, probiotics for both Joseph and I and a 3 week detox/diet to clear the yeast out of my body. That meant no dairy, no wheat, no yeast, no sugar (including fruit) and no vinegar. I was sort of already doing that, minus all the fruit I was still eating (the sugar in the fruit was just feeding the yeast). On a side note, she also said I needed to up my protein intake and told me I could add eggs back into my diet.

I followed her advice for about a week and Joseph's skin was actually getting worse. Last Thursday, I decided to go and see my old chiropractor, Dr. Mays. I can't believe I had not thought of him earlier. He not only is a wonderful chiropractor, but knows a lot about nutrition, allergies, supplements, natural alternatives, etc. In short order, we determined that Joseph has issues (allergic, intolerant or sensitive) with dairy, wheat, corn, eggs, gluten, and beef.....and he really wasn't liking one of the supplements I was taking. The day before we saw Dr. Mays, my diet was mostly beef and eggs.....no wonder he seemed miserable and looked awful. As far as the beef, I'm hoping it is just a fluck and is actually the corn fed to the beef rather than the beef. (We pasture/grass feed our steers, but I was out of hamburger and we are eating corn-fed beef right now.) 

As of today, he is looking better and feeling better. I'm hoping his sleep improves this week too. He has been so itchy that he can't sleep well at night. We are going to head back in and see Dr. Mays again this week. I want to follow up and run a few more allergy possibilities by him and have him adjusted again.

At this point, I'm just concentrating on what I can eat. The list is shorter than what I can't eat anyways. On a positive note, I haven't eaten any junk in weeks and I am back to pre-pregnancy weight plus some.

And we are praying that this won't be something Joseph has to deal with his whole life.

03-14-11

03-16-11

03-21-11

03-30-11

Ending on a fun note.....Joseph has rolled over twice in the last couple of days! And he is enjoying the time we have been spending outside.

God bless!

Six on Sunday

1. I got the cutest picture of Cori at the chiropractor, but it's on my phone and I have no idea how to get it off. The kids have all been getting adjusted since they were born. But this was the first time she crawled up on the table by herself and laid face down for Dr. Ryan.

2. Joseph's skin is slowing clearing up. It looks much better today than it did a week ago. This definitely means no dairy and no wheat for mama.

3. Thursday, my Bible Study group finished up our current study...Sacred Influence. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time weekly with like-minded women, wives and mothers...and it was a wonderful book on being a positive, encouraging influence in our husband's lives.

4. Charlie got to have a sleepover at grandma LuAnn's on Friday night. She had a blast and has already asked about getting to stay again.

5. Saturday morning, I got the privilege of spending over $50.00 to fill up the minivan and over $90.00 at the grocery store...for only 4 bags of groceries.

6. So, I am failing on my plan for the 100 Day Challenge (starting and keeping 3 habits daily for the next 100 days). My 3 habits were - taking my vitamins, reading my Bible, and taking at least one photo. I think in the last 13 days, I have completed all 3 a total of 3 days.

My resident carrot peeler.

This is what Joseph looked like at the beginning of last week. His skin is now looking much better.

My very own Cinderella.

God bless!

Lent 2011

I am not nearly as prepared for Lent as I would like to be. I did go back and look at my plan from last year...more to get an idea of what worked and what didn't. My fast last year from Facebook and Twitter went well. I actually never went back to Twitter. I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure I failed on the fast from Internet on Sundays. Since last year, I have reworked my schedule quite a bit and had been getting up before everyone else and spending time with my Bible and Him. The early rising all went away at the end of my pregnancy with Joseph and hasn't really returned.

I feel like I constantly struggle to fit it all in. Right now there are days that everyone gets feed and clothed and that's it. Lent this year will probably be more difficult with Joseph still waking a few times a night and we are currently struggling through some major eczema issues. So, I'm going to be realistic and fit some of the things I'm already doing into my Lenten plans.

Plans are...

Fasting -
No Facebook.

My original plan was to give up snack foods and excessive snacking between meals. I feel like I am hungry all the time...nursing a little one does that to me. I haven't snacked really since Sunday besides fruit and veggies between meals, so I'm thinking I will just continue this at least through Lent.

With Joseph's eczema, which seemed fairly cleared up last week and is now back and really bad again, I've been eliminating foods here and there, but haven't been real good about it. So what better time than Lent to be serious and sacrifice for my child. He looks so rough, it makes me sad. This means...no dairy, no wheat, no soy. I'm also doing no eggs and no peanuts...at least for a few weeks. I know dairy is affecting him, but it seems like something else as well, so we will see. This will need to be an ongoing sacrifice as long as I'm still nursing.

Prayer -
I will be consistent with bedtime prayers with the girls and would like to start praying with Joe daily. I'm already working on getting some individual devotional time in each day as part of my 100 Days.

Giving/Community - 
I'm thinking, we should have friends and/or family over a few times during Lent for a meal, dessert, fellowship, etc. I think I'll plan on 3 or 4 times during Lent.

Have a blessed season as we prepare for Easter.

God bless!

Multitude Monday

A very random list...

...a few sprinkled blessings from the last few weeks.

716. Girls doing dishes and doing a pretty good job

717. Their faces

718. Visiting Travis

719. Girls behaving

720. Time to chat with my mom

721. 3 year old's drawings

722. Little books for little hands

723. Children loving books just like mama

724. Charlie peeling carrots

725. Cori always waking happy, even when it's early

726. Charlie walking around for days saying.....Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

727. Remembering stories from Sunday School

728. Last minute weekend trips

729. Girls having extra time with "The Tickle Monster" (grandpa)

730. Playdates

731. Library trips

732. Late night grocery runs

733. Early morning kitchen floors

734. Creativity at the table...mangos and peanut butter, pickles and ketchup

735. Tax stuff to the accountant

736. Getting on the same page

737. Setting plans to pay off big things.....the house

Have a blessed week!

Cori - 19 Months Old

Cori is our laid-back girl who surprises you with a tantrum every once in awhile.

She's a big copycat that always wants to do what her big sister is doing.

She has been a pretty good helper in the kitchen just like Charlie.

Her favorite thing right now is buckles, buckles, buckles.

If it is unbuckled, she will buckle it...carseats, booster seat, swing, everything.

Thankfully, our little biter hasn't bitten anyone in quite awhile.

She is still not talking much, but manages to get her point across...at least to her mother.

Her current vocabulary includes...mama, daddy, baby,

cheese, tickle, hi, bye...and a few more I can't think of.

She loves her baby brother, but doesn't always like that he takes some of mama's time. She has been asking to nurse off and on for quite awhile. I let her try about a month ago, but she couldn't remember how.

She is still a wonderful nap-taker and actually my best sleeper. 

God bless!