A Special Diet

About two years ago, I discovered a have a gluten sensitivity. It triggers my migraines (I have many, many other migraine triggers, but gluten is the most severe and immediate) and so I avoid it as much as I can. We are not 100% gluten free at home, but I'm working on it.

These days it seems as if "gluten free" is the way to go whether you have a sensitivity to it/are celiac or not. I hesitate to tell people I don't eat gluten because I know it must seem as if I'm trying to be trendy. But a lot of people don't know that wheat, and the gluten contained in wheat, cause a host of issues for many of us. It's not just about gaining weight, either.

Did you know that wheat has only been in our diets for 7,000 years (source: Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts)? Humans, or homosapiens, have been on the earth for roughly 100,000 years but we didn't eat wheat for about 90,000 of those years. As Annalise points out, that's like a 45 year old man eating wheat for the first time at age 41. I like to spout that statistic when I hear people wonder why it seems as if gluten is causing issues for people "all of a sudden." In reality, these issues have developed over the course of many years, and what seems like an everyday problem (like IBS, indigestion, arthritis, depression, even acne) can often be attributed to a gluten sensitivity/intolerance or celiac disease. Celiac is the most misdiagnosed disease in the United States!

More telling is the fact that the wheat we grew 200 years ago is not the wheat we are growing today. In order to make the fluffiest cakes, muffins, and breads, we have genetically modified our wheat to contain as much as 50% more gluten than it used to.

Of course, the easiest way to avoid gluten is to just stop eating things that contain it. But it's so difficult to avoid gluten completely, and even harder if you love a good slice of pizza or have a serious sweet tooth. Plus, gluten seems to be in everything. Did you know that soy sauce and sausage casing have gluten in them? (I didn't.) It's a constant effort on my part and sometimes I "cheat." A cookie here, a pita there. Bagels and pizza (two of my favorite foods) trigger a migraine for me within an hour after I've eaten them--most likely because the gluten content in those is high. Crusty breads do the same.

It's important to remember that gluten free does not equal healthy. Processed food is processed food, whether it's gluten free, vegan, low fat, sugar free, whatever. And I don't like substitutions. I eat vegan for periods of time and I don't like fake cheese or textured vegetable protein that pretends to be meat. 

I often get asked if my kids are off gluten too, and for now, the answer is no. They are carbohydrate hounds, and I monitor their consumption as much as possible, because simple carbs = sugar, and well, we know how that goes with small kids (it's been over a year since I've bought those Goldfish crackers, and that was a big hurdle to overcome!).

The best solution I've found is to make as much of what we eat at home from scratch, which is always a priority to me whether it's gluten free or not. Baking is a science, and gluten free baking/cooking is even more so. You need a balance of grains and starches, but there are so many different flours it's easy to get confused and overwhelmed (and buying all those flours can get expensive!). I've found a few great resources and I'd love to share them with you. We are once again enjoying pancakes, waffles, bread, muffins, cookies, and cakes.

Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts -- Every single thing I've tried from this book is delicious and easy. Annalise has a few basic flour mixes which are simple and accessible. The first part of her book has some history on gluten (part of which I shared above) and explains the science behind gluten free baking and cooking, which is really invaluable. Her blog is also awesome.

These pancake and waffle recipes from Lynn's kitchen adventures are fantastic--fluffy, delicious, and not a hint of gluten.

Gluten Free Slow Cooking -- I love my slow cooker and I love gluten free. This has some delicious recipes.

Gluten Free Girl and The Chef -- A writer as well as a chef, Shauna's blog is a wonderful source for many amazing recipes and great information.

google -- Yep, google. I have found many intriguing and ultimately tasty recipes by just googling them.

Do you have a special diet?

That Morning

I had about half a dozen ideas floating around in my head to write for this week. But I simply cannot even begin to write about anything else without first acknowledging what happened last Friday, December 14th, in Newtown, Connecticut.

If I can think of one event in my adulthood that has changed me as a human being and changed how I look at my life and the world as a whole, it is what transpired on the morning of September 11th, 2001. And now, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary last Friday morning has altered me once again, but this time in a much more profound way--as a parent.

Elizabeth Stone is quoted as saying, "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." As my children grow and pull farther and farther away from me, I feel this sentiment every single day, with every fiber of my being. 

I have cried with joy and sorrow every September, so proud that my children have reached a new milestone, a new grade, and yet so sad to see their miniature bodies, the back of their little heads, disappear beyond their huge and heavy school doors. I worry almost endlessly while they are there. Will they listen to their teacher? Will they get along with the other kids? Will they be bullied, made fun of? Will they get hurt at recess? Will they get lost in that gigantic building, and will they know how to get help if they do? 

A tiny part of me often worries that they won't be with their teacher when they come out at pick-up. It's irrational, but there it is. 

After Friday, that worry is exponentially larger and more real. 

On that morning of December 14th, 2012, evil invaded my life, all our lives, in a way that I never expected. That morning, in a small town in Connecticut, the unthinkable, the unspeakable, the unbelievable, became a reality for all those families at Sandy Hook Elementary.
 
26 souls lost. 20 of them small children.

As the story unfolded I was numb, in shock--then I started to weep and it feels like I haven't stopped since. I weep for those innocent babies--their tiny lives ripped away from them, their little bodies destroyed by a crazed psychopath and a gun. I weep for their parents, their grandparents, their aunts, uncles, and anyone who loved them. I weep for the heroic teachers and staff who no doubt sacrificed themselves for those children. I weep for the first responders--the people who had to descend upon the most horrific thing they will ever witness in their lifetimes. I weep for the survivors. The children who had to hold hands and close their eyes. The teachers who heard the screams and the gunshots and were powerless to stop them.

I weep for them, for us, for the human race. God help us.

It is true, people die in violence all over the world every day, children included. But for me, for every parent in America who sends their child to school--this particular case hits so close to home. Because I am those parents. We are those families. That morning, I dropped my children off at school, just like they did. I hugged them and watched them skip off and thought nothing of it, like those parents did. My mind quickly shifted to other things, to my to-do list, to my social engagements. I went to a good friend's home and we sang happy birthday to her beautiful little daughter. I assumed, as those parents did, that my children were safe and sound and that I would be seeing them at day's end. 

The holiday gifts I have chosen for my children's teachers seem trite. Nothing I can think to give them speaks to how enormously grateful I am that my children are under their protection.

That morning, how many of the teachers and staff at Sandy Hook kissed their loved ones goodbye? How many huddled over their lesson plans, assuming it was going to be a typical day? 


That morning, how many children woke up cheerfully, looking forward to a new day? How many were excited at the prospect of seeing their friends, for show and tell, for dance and art and social studies?

That morning, how many of those parents hurried their child along for fear of being late to school? How many lost their patience and might have yelled at their child to quit wasting time, as I have done more times than I can count? 

How many let their children run off without one last hug? Without one last "I love you?"

Dropping off my children at school on Monday morning was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. As we said goodbye I hugged each of them tighter than I ever had before and as they disappeared beyond those doors I sobbed openly and uncontrollably into my husband's shoulder. I was both grateful for the opportunity to hug my children and destroyed by the thought that so many other parents cannot.

My sorrow for those families reaches no end. I am so deeply and immeasurably sorry for those families, those children. 

That morning changed everything for them. For us all. 

If you have ten extra minutes, please watch the video below.

I want her to say...

Everyone has to parent the way that rings true for them. The way that tells their Mama heart that they are doing what is best for their baby. I'm an AP mama for that very reason. Gwen thrives in that hands on, child-focused style; and it emphasizes the things that I love about her and for her (independence, respect vs. obedience).


When Gwen grows up, I want her to say

 ... that she always had a voice and that voice always meant something.
 ... that her Daddy and I were there whenever she needed an ear, and that she felt comfortable telling us what was on her mind and in her heart.
 ... that expectations were straight forward and obtainable.
 ... that if the answer was No, she always knew why.
 ... that she didn't get everything she wanted, but that she had everything she needed, plus some.
 ... that compassion and a consciousness of others and our surroundings were important from an early age.
 ... that she was appreciated and valued.
 ... that there was never a doubt in her heart that her mama loved her and was there for her. Period.

In the Shadow of the Holidays: Helping Those Who Grieve This Season

This is the time of year when we often celebrate the abundance of our lives. We fill our homes with lights, decorations and presents. We send cards and well wishes to people that we feel lucky to know and to keep in touch with, but with whom we may not be able to have many visits or interactions with over the year. We gather for large family meals and we celebrate our religions in a way that really doesn't happen over most the year. Joy is usually the theme that permeates our airwaves, our thoughts, and our lives during this time of year, but in the shadow of all this light and happiness there are many who are grieving this year; who grieve every year. I don't know what it is about this year that has made me realize this more than any other year, but I seem particularly attuned to it everywhere I look.

You see, my life has been touched by women who have lost (or are losing) their children this year. Think about the degree of that loss. Most of us don't want to. Most of us can't. You see, the people who read this blog are all parents and we don't want to think about losing the most precious people in our lives, the very people who have redefined who we are and who gave us the title of mother or father. Yet, I look around me and I see many mothers grieving this season. Many of you might remember the blog I wrote featuring the Harper family and honoring Alicia Harper, well, I am sorry to say that the Harper family was hit by the devastating loss of their youngest member, Brayden, whose miracle life has inspired and continues to inspire so many. Likewise, you may also remember the blog I shared about another inspring mom, Melissa Bissing, who successfully turned the grief she feels after losing her son in May of 2011 into a movement, Orange for Owen that has transformed not only her community but the lives of people all over the world. Another brave mother with ties to my own hometown community is currently facing the possible loss of her beloved daughter, Kyra, to cancer this season. Even our own contributers here at the connected mom website have been bravely honest about their own pregnancy losses and as I grieve with yet another woman that I have come to care about who is currently suffering her own second trimester loss, I can't help but think about all these mothers' grief even in the midst of my joy during the Christmas season.

It is easy at this point, when you hear or read about so much loss to resolve to pray or to think of all these mothers and then use their grief as inspiration to cling that much closer and to be more appreciative of our own children, but I think that is only the first step. The most effective way we can help them in their grieving is to participate in making their loss meaningful by liking the facebook pages I have linked to above and maybe even donating or giving when we can to those who are making thier loss meaningful like those at Heaven's Angels who accept donations of yarn, other materials, and knitted goods to help grieving mothers who lose their babies in later pregnancy or The Global Hydranencephaly Foundation who works to educate and create support and full lives for families faced with the same devastating diagnosis that just cost the Harper family their son. We are all mothers together and we are all a community, whether we have ever met in person or not, and we must also grieve and act as a community as well. It may not make any mother's grief less painful, but it can make the world a little brighter for everyone if we remember to keep the candles burning for the children whose light no longer burns in this world.

Thank you for reading,
Shawna

Guest Post - Help Your Child: Prevent Diabetes With Exercise

Diabetes was never something that I personally worried about, and it wasn’t until my little cousin was going through testing for Type II Diabetes that I started to really pay attention to the disease, and to understand the serious consequences that come with it. Diabetes is a serious disease that affects millions of people each year including children. The only way to free our country of this disease is to raise awareness about it. November is American Diabetes Month, so it is more important than ever to promote knowledge of this illness.

Type II Diabetes used to be a disease that mainly affected adults, however it is now affecting children at an extremely high rate. In fact, nearly 200,000 people under the age of 20 have diabetes. Children are more likely to develop Type II Diabetes if they are overweight and inactive. Carrying excess weight increases the chance of insulin resistance, which is a main cause of diabetes. While there are factors that are uncontrollable when it comes to Type II Diabetes, obesity and lack of exercise are the two biggest controllable factors, which is why it’s so important to understand them and practice preventative habits.

The fact that so many children are developing Type II Diabetes is disheartening. They are still so young and have to deal with this terrible disease that can be life-threatening – many people don’t realize that the

longer a person has diabetes, the more risk they have of developing heart disease when they are older. This is why parents have to step up and do everything they can to prevent their children from developing

diabetes. In addition to encouraging healthy eating habits, parents should motivate their children to stay active. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day can greatly reduce your child’s risk of developing diabetes. There are many activities that will allow kids to get the aerobic exercise they need without it feeling like they are actually exercising.

Here are tips on how you can help your child stay active so that he can avoid obesity and diabetes.

Yoga: Calm-Inducing and Demanding Activity All in One

Yoga is not just for adults; children can also enjoy this relaxing exercise. Doing yoga exercises will not just keep your child fit, but it will also improve his mood, increase his flexibility and improve joint health.

Think about attending a parent-child yoga class at your local health club with your child. Once you two learn all the different yoga moves, you can do the exercises in your home – either through memory or by following along to yoga videos!

Hiking through Nature

Your child is more likely to enjoy exercise if you choose a physical activity they enjoy. For example, you can go on a nature hike with them the next time the weather is nice. During the nature hike, your child can burn calories and see all sorts of different trees, flowers and animals. They can also collect different rocks and leaves on the way and make a collage with them when you get back home!

Get Your Groove On!

A fun way to help your child stay fit is to have a dance competition in your living room. Encourage them to invite a few of their friends over and compete against one another. Each child has a certain amount of time to dance to upbeat music. Once they are all done, choose the one who danced the best, silliest, etc.

Thinking about your child developing diabetes can be scary, but encouraging them to exercise on a regular basis, along with a healthy, nutritional diet, can significantly reduce their risk of developing the disease. It is scary for me to think of my little cousin having diabetes, particularly because of all the consequences that come with the disease. Taking a preventative approach with her now will hopefully prevent the development of heart disease and other illnesses later on in her life. In my attempt to get her on the right track of a healthy lifestyle, as well as my other cousins, I have started to implement activity days each week in which we try some form of activity that keeps us moving – we did the dance party, took the nature hike, played paintball, organized a neighborhood-wide kickball game, and are going to continue this so it becomes a lifelong habit for all of them.

Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/

Reading List: Motherhood and Beyond

I have to start by apologizing for my self-imposed hiatus. I didn't plan it, but I needed it, and it feels great to be back and writing. As promised, here is the last post in my series of three reading lists. These are books that may or may not have to do with motherhood and children. Enjoy and as always, leave a comment and let me know what book you've liked or would recommend.

As I thought about what books to include in this list, I realized that I haven't read a great book that doesn't revolve around being a parent for a while. I'm going to get on that, and hope I can stay awake long enough at night to read!

1.  The Truth Behind The Mommy Wars: Who decides What Makes a Good Mother?  Perhaps the most contentious "mommy war" of them all, working or staying at home was something I thought a lot about during my son's first four years, when I was a working mom. I felt guilty, tired, inadequate, and that was on the good days. I loved this book because not only did it give voice to all those feelings, but it helped me sort through them, as well. The author explores women's choices when they become mothers; talks about the middle ground many of us fall in (working part time or working at home); discusses work environments for mothers (with most of them severely lacking what is needed to strike a balance between home and work); women's overall role in the workforce; and does so through research and personal accounts.

2. The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want - and What To Do About It  A feminist look at motherhood today, this book speaks to those working moms who want to "have it all"-- a job they love with a good family life balance. It's both fascinating and frightening how much women are still discriminated against in the workplace, and it only gets worse when we become mothers. I stay home with my kids now and I wouldn't have it any other way, but while I was still working, the disadvantages were crystal clear and I felt quite helpless. Outlining the problems working mothers face today, we also read about companies who have got it figured out--those with paid maternity/paternity leaves, on-site childcare, special pumping rooms for breastfeeding mothers, and it's outlined how much those types of work situations benefit us as women, and how much they benefit society as a whole.

3. Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds  Ok, I admit it--I love to buy stuff. I love stuff. However--I don't hoard, I donate things I don't use several times a week, and I don't buy stuff *just* to buy it. We all go through our stuff (children included) every few months to decide what we don't need anymore. This book is not simply about buying stuff--it's about the consumer manipulation many of us are victims of, whether we realize it or not; especially children. It was truly jarring to learn that there are entire corporations hard at work trying to figure out how to penetrate my infant's mind so that, when she's old enough, she can point to what she's been brainwashed with thinking she wants to have. That even before we have children, if we are in the correct demographic, we are marketed to so that when we *do* have children, we can buy stuff we don't need. Interesting and educational if you are into consumerism and marketing.

4. Heaven Is Here I read this book just a couple of months ago, and it's an incredible story. You don't have to be a fan of Stephanie Nielson (of NieNie Dialogues fame) to read about how she and her husband, parents to (then) four small children, miraculously survived a horrible airplane crash, their lives being changed forever. She is inspirational and her story is really and truly amazing.

5. Louder Than Words She's not a scientist, and she doesn't have all the answers, but Jenny McCarthy's book on her journey with her son's autism is the reason I started researching vaccinations and one of the reasons I am as informed as I am today. Whether you agree with her stance or not, this book is a gut-wrenching and emotional account of every parent's worst nightmare--that our child might have, or in this case does have, an often incurable and life-altering disorder. She eloquently expresses the emotion and the guilt involved and takes the reader inside her plight.

As always, these titles are all available on Amazon.com. Happy reading!

one and done

My husband and I are young. I'm 30 and he's 32. So I say the following with the caveat that there is plenty of time should we change our minds. But I don't think we will.

See, before having kids I was always so sure that two would be our perfect number. Now, now I think that what we have shouldn't be messed with. I can't even fathom adding another person into the mix.

Before Gwen, there was such intense longing for a baby. Now, I feel no need for a second child, no desire to upset our balance, no longing to go through the baby stages again. I feel content with Gwen, complete as our unit.

Sure, in the back of my mind there is a little voice that whispers of the relationship I have with my brother, Ethan, and our amazing bond. A little part of me feels badly "denying" Gwen that relationship. I wonder if I'm forcing her to miss out on a great relationship and a ton of memories? Denying her future kids the pleasure of Aunts and Uncles? Making things harder for her when Trav and I get old and she has to deal with us on her own?

But who is to say that a sibling would be any of those things to her?

If we did have another, I'm positive the love would be there. I'm sure that I would take my first glances at the little one that had grown in my womb and feel nothing but amazement. I would wonder how we ever considered not doing it.

But would we be able to do less of certain things? Less of the traveling we want to do with Gwen? Less one-on-one? And its silly, but I worry what if I don't love the second one as much? Or worse, what if I love it more?

From an AP standpoint, would I be able to parent the way I wanted with a very attached little girl, and a newborn in need of much attention? Would I get touched out that much sooner? Would have have the "gas" to get me through 3 more years of breastfeeding if that's what the babe decided? I would have patience enough for Gwen and a second, when sometimes I feel I don't have enough patience for just my almost 3 year old? Would I be able to find and keep a balance in my life, between being the hands on Mama I love being while still being a wife and sometimes just Meegs? Something I'm really just getting a handle on now?

Recently, I visited with a friend and her newborn baby boy. I adore babies, I really do, and I loved every second of holding and snuggling with the grumpy little old man. But it really hit me at that moment, as much as I loved holding and snuggling this baby... I am happy not to do it again. I don't want sleepless nights and crying that I'm not sure how to fix. I don't want the helplessness. I don't.

We remind ourselves that decisions at this point don't have to be infinitely binding. That my brother and I are close as can be at 7 years apart. But at this point we've given away all the baby clothes. We've started giving away all the gear. And eventually, "not deciding" will be a decision.


How many kids do you have? If you have one, will you have more? Why or why not? If you have more then one, how did you know having number two (etc) was what was right for you? 

24 Hours at Our House

Ever wonder what someone else's days really look like? I decided to keep track of what goes on at our house for one whole day and share it as a blog. I specifically picked a day in advance and stuck with it, because otherwise I knew I would end up either (a) waiting until a "good-to-write-about" day or (b) trying to artificially create a better-sounding hybrid day by piecing bits of different days together.

I recently added to the About section of my own blog that our life is just like yours, only I'm writing everything down. Consider this my taking that literally, and sharing it with y'all. This account is from 10:00 p.m. Monday night until 10:00 p.m. Tuesday night.

(And yes; I kept cryptic notes all day to be able to compose this post. My children ate my memory skills.)

10:00 p.m. 

Agent A (age 2) has been asleep for nearly two hours, and Agents E (age 6) and J (age 4) are ready for bed. After brushing teeth and a last-minute bathroom breaks they climb into bed surrounded by a menagerie of stuffed animals. They claim to be too tired for stories, so I turn on their "stars" (a light projected on the ceiling) and cuddle between them for a few minutes. I tell them I will go check on their brother and be back in five minutes. I actually stay ten minutes, come back and E is out but J is still awake. I cover her up again, snuggle a bit, and tell her again that I'll be back in five minutes.

10:15 p.m.

I bump the heat because I'm freezing. I feed the cat because her incessant banging on the cabinet trying to get to where we keep her food is loud enough to wake the neighborhood. Trying to figure out what to do once I confirm all three kids are sleeping. Get online? Write? Watch TV? Go to sleep? A solves that for me: He wakes up coughing. He wants to cuddle and nurse again, but this time sitting up. We move to the rocker where he nurses briefly, then proceeds to cough so much he makes himself puke (a classic J move). I change my shirt and clean us both up, and together we check on J, who is now asleep. Then we go back to rocking.

11:30 p.m.

A is finally gives out and goes back to (relatively) peaceful sleep. I lay him down in his bed and decide that my laptop and the television will both have to wait until tomorrow. Of course, then I can't sleep, because I keep thinking what if the whole throwing up incident wasn't just a fluke related to coughing, and he's really getting sick and has some nasty stomach virus and that means the girls have it and OMG then I will get it and Hubby is gone and how will I take care of everyone and . . . breathing, breathing, breathing. 

12:00 a.m.

A is up again to nurse. This time he's content to lay down and that's fine by me because I'm exhausted. I'm sure I'll fall asleep next to him, but I manage to make it back to my own bed. I toss and turn some more and last remember looking at the clock at 1:00-ish.

5:00 a.m.

E comes into the room. I'm back in A's bed, but I have no recollection of moving down there. E tells me she's not tired. (Yes; my six-year-old gets 7 hours of sleep and feels refreshed. What the what?) I tell her to climb into my bed, I grab the TV remote and join her. She half watches Jungle Cubs while I doze in and out beside her. Soon she decides she'd rather be out in the living room. The next hour or so is a blur; I think I fell back to sleep, but maybe not.

7:00 a.m.

A is awake! And happy and squirmy and literally bouncing on the bed. I guess he's feeling better. Good morning snuggles all around. Yeah! I make coffee while he and E color. I'm not moving very fast this morning. Lots of cuddly time on the couch. A tells me, "mum mum, coffee, hot." He knows me well.

8:30 a.m.

E and A decide to wake up J so she can watch Charlie and Lola with them. I finish my coffee, putter online a bit, and then hang out on the couch with them again. I cut up fruit for us to share for breakfast and afterward we all get dressed. I am especially careful brushing A's teeth this morning.

9:30 a.m.

I get everyone in the car and we're off to A's dentist appointment. I discovered last week that A has two top teeth with brown spots on the underside . . . I literally had to have him upside down to see them. It's about a 30-minute drive and I mistakenly rely on the GPS to navigate us; I could have gotten us there easier following my own sense of direction. On the way we talk about what will likely happen while we're there. E and J offer to help distract or soothe A with singing.

10:00 a.m.

At the dentist office, the kids admire the waiting room fish tank, books, and toys (including a giant stuffed caterpillar) while I check in. I already have most of the paperwork done, as I printed it at home and brought it with me. Anything to avoid having to complete medical questionnaires while simultaneously keeping three monkeys from destroying an office waiting room. We chat about the fish and flip through a few books. Mostly A wants to be held. He knows.

10:15 a.m.

We head back, and the girls plop into the dentist chair, fascinated by the TV on the ceiling. I hold A in my lap facing me and flip his head onto the hygienist's lap for his cleaning. She is really sweet and patient with him as she brushes his teeth with strawberry toothpaste while he screams his head off. All the while I hold his hands and talk gently to him. It doesn't do a whole lot of good. The cleaning is done and he grabs onto me tight. I grab back and kiss him and stroke his hair and try to calm him while we wait. 

10:30 a.m.

The dentist comes in and takes a look at his teeth (through more screaming) and confirms my suspicions: two cavities on his top teeth, plus the beginning of one on one of his molars. With A still on my lap whimpering a bit but mostly relaxing now, the dentist and I discuss options. Clearly we need to do something, because while A's not experiencing pain right now, we don't want them to get worse and/or to affect his permanent teeth. We also talk about possible sealants for the remaining molars. Then the obvious: A would need to be sedated for this dental work. Yikes. I mean, intellectually I know the risks are minimal, and I don't want to take chances with his future oral health, but still. The thought of my two-year-old with IV sedation is unsettling. I hug him a little tighter.

10:45 a.m.

Dentist is back after stepping out briefly and we continue to discuss treatment options and preventing future decay. Breastfeeding comes up. While he acknowledges that night nursing might have partly contributed to A's issues, he by no mean "blames" it and is more understanding (neutral?) than expected. He does ask if I've considered when I might wean him, which gives me a flashback to this conversation I had with A's pediatrician. I say that I intend to wean him gently, but fully expect it to be within the next few months. (Which is mostly true, even though I am still a bit torn.) We kind of drop the subject and he tells me a bit more about the pediatric anesthesiologist they work with. 

11:30 a.m.

After making a follow-up appointment for A (a recheck in a few weeks just to confirm it's not getting worse too quickly) and scheduling his dental work (fairly far out at this point, hence the intermediate appointment) we get ready to leave the office. Before we go, E cleans up all the toys they had out, unprompted. She even recruits J and A to help her with specific tasks. (She takes her oldest sibling role seriously.) This time we ignore the GPS lady and take our own way home. Mostly, we talk about what we're going to have for lunch and what fun we will have this afternoon. Not surprising, my 5:00 a.m. wake up call dozes off in the car for a bit.

12:05 p.m. 

Home sweet home. I fix everyone a quick snack and they run off to play. I take this opportunity to publish a blog post (already drafted the day before) and check Facebook. I send off an e-mail to Hubby explaining our morning. Then I clean up the kitchen a bit while periodically checking on the kids playing in the girls' room.

1:00 p.m.

Time for a book party! They all pile into my bed and I drop a giant stack of library books down. E settles into her latest Cam Jansen mystery. J and A mostly use the books like building blocks, but eventually request a read. I climb in between them and we flip through 3 or 4 books together. Then they are back to wanting to just "arrange" them. Which is fine; I use this opportunity to make tea. I think I'm getting A's cold/sore throat.

1:45 p.m.

Time for another snack. (How is it we managed to miss lunch?) I start Roomba and we decide to go outside. Except there is a lizard on the inside of our sliding glass door (the screen is torn on one side) and he's right by the handle. Which means the second we open the door he's going to scoot inside. And I don't want to be chasing him around the playroom (which of course is a mess; thousands of places for him to hide). So we wait.

2:00 p.m.

It's just as well, because now A needs changed and wants to nurse again. Then all three go back to their usual reading, coloring, stuffed animal adventures. Before long I hear J screaming from the other room, "A pooped on the floor!" Given that I had just changed him, and he was wearing a diaper and pants, I kind of doubted her assessment. E stepped in and informed me that it was just an old craisin. Whew. A litany of poop comments follow. Why are little kids so fascinated with bodily functions? I make another meager effort to clean up a bit while they play, every once in a while popping in to join their pretend world.

3:00 p.m. 

I see the lizard jump off the screen and scurry away. All three kids head outside while I decide I should probably fold the laundry that's been in the dryer since the night before.

3:05 p.m.

I determine it would be way more exciting to do a Google search of "risks of IV sedation for toddler dental work." (I know, I know.) Luckily, most of what I find is positive and encouraging. I continue to check on the Agents every few minutes. (I check more often if it's just J and A out there, but when E is with them, she is my eyes and ears.)

3:30 p.m.

The doorbell nearly scares the life out of me. Two Amazon boxes delivered; one is a Christmas present for the girls from my MIL and the other is my new Kindle. (Ack!) I put the girls' box up in my closet and open the Kindle so I can charge it. Then I check on everyone in the back yard (again) and stay out with them for a short while before coming inside to actually fold and put away laundry for real. A comes inside about half a dozen times, each time wanting me to remove his jacket and then put it right back on. 

4:30 p.m.

They are still playing outside, so I take out the trash and get the mail . . . avoiding lizards again. (Our mailbox doesn't always close all the way and sometimes they crawl inside. I learned not to just stick my arm in and grab a big stack of mail unless I want to be completely freaked out.) Hubby calls and we chat about A's dentist appointment. A comes back inside again, this time to stay. Of course he needs to talk on the phone, too. "I talk dada!"

5:00 p.m

Everyone is back inside now and they all pile into the bathroom to wash hands. I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cut it into pieces to share, and we have a "picnic" on the living room floor. We watch some Octonauts.

5:30 p.m.

It's our usual dinner time, but I'm not sure how hungry anyone is since we just snacked. I heat up leftovers anyway, and they all eat three servings. I guess they were still hungry. Which is no great surprise; most of the time they are pretty much like ravenous wolves. Sometimes J will go through a carrots-only phase, when that's all she wants for dinner. However, her siblings love them, too, so we tend to have carrots almost every day.

6:00 p.m.

After dinner they go off to "clean" their room . . . this is when they are supposed to be getting their room ready for bedtime (i.e., making a path to the bed) and instead end up playing with everything they find. While they do that I clean up from dinner and start the dishwasher. Soon things start to spiral downward; a little pre-bath insanity ensues. There is some pinching, pushing, poking. J hurts herself (again) and needs some love. We decide maybe we should just roll into bath time early.

7:05 p.m.

We actually end up starting bath time five minutes late. But finally they are all in the tub and giggling and clean. (Outside time with no shoes = little mud monsters.) We talk about our day. We count down the days until Daddy comes home. We chat about what we'll do the next day.

7:30 p.m.

Everyone is in pajamas and A is clearly ready for bed. We turn off all but one lamp and I sit on the couch and nurse him while E reads J a story. I continue to snuggle with A long after he falls asleep, but eventually I move him to his bed, get the girls a bedtime snack, and send off another e-mail to Hubby with something I forgot to tell him earlier.

8:10 p.m.

I'm off to take my shower. I'm in the bathroom for exactly five minutes total, during which J interrupts me three times. When I come out the girls are watching Gaspard and Lisa and clamoring for another snack, this time grapes and strawberries. While I'm in the kitchen I compose a quick grocery list for tomorrow. I realize I haven't been to the commissary in almost two weeks, because Hubby was here recently and he went for us. Although shopping is not really my nemesis. It's usually manageable to get all three to the grocery store; they actually enjoy going.

8:30 p.m.

A is awake. He wants to nurse for a few minutes, then settles back to sleep. E and J want me to read to them from their children's Bible. The three of us snuggle on the couch and they each choose a few stories. We read about four, and then they go back to rearranging their stuffed animals. And more coloring. Oh, the coloring that goes on in our house!

10:00 p.m.

Bathroom breaks and teeth brushing, but no one is tired, so we head back out to the living room. Hopefully they'll be ready for bed soon.

We didn't do much "intentional" school today. That happens sometimes, but I don't stress about it. We always cover reading and P.E. at the very least. :-) And all that coloring ends up being educational, too. Tomorrow is another day. Which will probably be very similar to this one, minus the dental extravaganza, plus a little more school work.

What would 24 hours at your house look like?

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day.