Gluten-ed

Heaven save our family from all the gluten in the world!

Ty and I got "gluten-ed" this last weekend and I guarantee you- it has been the pits getting it out of our system.  I read on Google that it can take up to 14 days to get it completely out of your system.  TWO WEEKS!!!  Now- whether that is complete hogwash or not- I don't know... you'll have to do your own research.

And here's the rub- I have actually had a ton of conversations with a lot of different people in the last couple of weeks about gluten and behavior... I am NOW a COMPLETE believer in the connection between my kid and what he eats.  I'm the first to admit that Ty can be difficult- but since his diet change- he has been a more mellow, easy going kind of guy.

Enter gluten.

It's like something from an alien predator movie.  Monday morning (two days after his unfortunate meeting with wheat) I asked him to change his shorts into something more appropriate for school (he was wearing gym shorts with cowboy boots and a too small Star Wars t-shirt... I'm all for personal expression- but I figure we keep these kind of "expressions" for Saturdays), and you would have thought I had asked him to chew his own arm off.  He FLIPPED out!

And really- our day spiraled down from there.  And it's been this way since Friday.  Today is Wednesday and I finally feel like we're getting back on track.  Is that crazy??

What have we been feeding our kids?!  The interesting thing to me is how much worse the reaction is NOW verses when he was ingesting it all the time.  Is it because his body is trying to heal?  Or it's on it's way toward healing?

It's times like these that I wish I was a dr and had all the answers.  Sigh.  Back to Google I guess...

Pictures from the First Day of Preschool

Ryan was so excited for his first day of school to finally get here.  He hated watching Ty go off for a new day at school and he was "just stuck at home AAWWWLLLL day".  I took this with a grain of salt, remember all to well what happened last year on the first day of preschool.  Ryan cried and cried and all but refused to let go of my hand.  This continued for about three months before he was finally content to be left at school.  I figured he was all talk and that his bravado would end up being just a little on the weak side.

But the first day of school dawned bright and warm.  And Ryan was ready!  We shined his glasses and spiffed up his hair!  He put on his new socks and tennis shoes and grabbed his school bag!

And he waited for me, Kate and Ty to get out to the car.  He kept yelling at us to hurry up!  

I know he's kind of blurry here- but he's trying to show off his new school bag.

And I still think he looks so cute in his new glasses!  In fact- he looked odd without them last night when he took them off to go to bed.  Funny how glasses just become a part of you isn't it?

And you know what?  All my worry was for naught (it usually is these days- I should just stop worrying).  He bounced out of the car and waved good-bye to me.  And he ran inside.  With no help from me.  Or his teacher.  He just... ran inside.  Like all was right with the world.  Or his world anyway.

I talked to his teacher when I picked him up and she said he was just fine inside too.  That he hung up his bag without a hitch and got right down to the business of playing while the other kids made their way inside.  She said he was attentive and helped the kids that were sad.

Huh.   I guess I underestimate him sometimes.  Here's to you Ryan.  And to another year of preschool!

Pictures from the First Day of First Grade

I told you I had some pictures from the first day on my camera somewhere!  I found them this afternoon and decided I better post them before I lose them again.  

I know Ty looks sleepy in this picture... it's because HE IS!  The little bugger got up so early this morning to make sure he wasn't late for school.  I assured him time and again that 5 AM was plenty early to make it to school in time for the 8:40 school bell.  Sigh.

Once at school, Ty introduced Ryan to all of his school buddies and stood impatiently in line for his teacher.  Ryan waited right next to him and was heartbroken when he couldn't go inside with Ty.

Three weeks later and Ty is still loving school.  Not 5 AM loving it- because I unplugged his alarm clock.  Now he has to wait for me to come and get him out of bed.

At The Zoo

The Friday before school started (I know I'm kind of going out of order here- but I had all these Instagram pictures that I wanted here on the blog... and I'm just now getting around to doing something with them), I wanted to do something fun with the kids to cap off the summer... So we went to the zoo. Again.  I don't know how many times we went this summer- but it was a fair amount.  The kids LOVE it... and who am I to complain when I can hang out with my kids all day and they come home so exhausted that they are angels for the rest of the day?  

Anyway- we normally only stay until it starts to get hot, but on this day- I promised them they could stay as long as they wanted.  They were so excited.  Ty loves the new polar bear exhibit- so we hit that very first... and I have to admit- it is pretty cool.  Part of the bear's house is in water which is held in by a huge panel of glass.  Visitors can hang out on this side of the glass and watch the bear swim- which we did and he came right up to the glass and just stared at the kids.  Kate ran away- but the boys hung out for a good fifteen minutes with the bear.  

Ryan likes the tigers- but they weren't out... the zookeepers were cleaning their cage.  He was kind of bummed- but settled for an elephant show later.  Have you seen the elephant show?  It's pretty cool!

And Kate loves the monkeys.  All the monkeys.  She jumps up and down and shrieks at them... it kind of makes me wonder which one should really be in the cage... :)  

We stopped for lunch and a drink- and then we were back at it.  We rode the Carousel and played on the playground.  We watched a wild bird show and finally... we ended up on the train.  All three of them insisted on riding together- which was the perfect opportunity for a picture.  It was such a fun (and exhausting) day- I love these little ones!  

Cuttin' Crazy

About a week before school started- I took all three kids into the salon for haircuts.  The boys were starting to look like Chewy on Starwars and Kate's hair had a mullet-esk quality.  It was time for some TLC beyond what their mother-dearest could offer.  The boys are both total pros when it comes to hair cuts.  They LOVE the girl that does their hair (Jamie)- and she really does an amazing job.  

  The boys bounced up into the chair for their turns and then it was Kate's.  Kate hadn't been to the salon before so I wasn't really sure how she would react.  Sometimes she's totally fine when she's in a new situation, and others- it's like we have released the spawn of an alien predator.  But she climbed right up after Ryan got down and sat there like she's been doing it her whole life.  She got a little antsy toward the end... enter "Angry Birds" and we were set!  In all, Jamie cut about an inch off of Kate's ends- and it turned out absolutely beautiful!  I wish I'd taken her in sooner!  

My What Big Teeth You Have

I'm feeling sorry for my Ryan as I write this post.  It seems like he is a tiny catastrophe magnet.  And he always has been, even from the very beginning.  For those of you that remember- he aspirated on fluid on his way out and ended up catching pneumonia- he ended up hanging with the NICU nurses for the next two weeks.  When he was 18 months old he knocked out his two front teeth.  Two months after that he took on a pickup truck and lost.  Now he has glasses and after a trip to the dentist... he has two cavities.  Sigh.  I want to wrap him in bubble wrap and put him in my basement for the next.. well.. FOREVER!  

He was such a champ at the dentist though.  Holy cow.  You would NOT have guessed that he was only 4.  The clinic we went to only had two gas machine thingys- so the dentist's only options were to wait until the gas was available or stick Ryan with a needle.  I am so mean- and told them to give the needle a try- if he wigged- we'd wait for the gas.  

So Mr Dentist numbed Ryan's gums and stuck him... I waited for a scream or a twitch that would make me tackle the dentist... But Ryan's hands didn't even clench when the dentist was injecting the gel.  I was shocked.  And so was the dentist.  His eyes kept getting wider and wider in disbelief.  What can I say- with all that Ryan has been through- he's a freakin' rockstar to me.  It makes me wonder what purpose Heavenly Father has for him on this earth... Whatever it is- I'm in awe.  Ryan is flat amazing and I love him!

I Can See Clearly Now

Okay okay.  I know you've already heard from me today.  Whatever.  It's my blog and I can talk all I want.  We had some awesome happenings today.  First off... Costco called today and told me that Ryan's new glasses had ARRIVED!  I was excited.  Ryan was not.  He acted kind of downcast about it actually.  He turned to his older brother and asked him if he was going to make fun of him now that he had to wear glasses.  Without skipping a beat- Ty turned to Ryan and told him, "Of course not!  I would never make fun of your glasses!"  It was sweet.  And hopefully truthful.  Ryan would be crushed if Ty made fun of his glasses... so hopefully Ty stays sweet.  Cross your fingers.  

I think he looks cute... what do you think??

And... today was another big day for my other little boy.  Ty had hot lunch for the first time today!  We have had to jump through some serious hoops to get this to happen for my boy.  The state of Utah requires schools to offer a gluten free lunch option- apparently there is a law.  But in order to get that gluten free lunch- there was some serious work to be done over the summer by yours truly.  I have been on the phone with the District and the school and Ty's dr so often that they are actually in my phone's speed dial now.  But persistence pays off!  Ty's food was finally ready for him today.  I was so nervous...  Sheepishly I even texted his teacher to tell him what to expect of the food didn't settle- though I didn't tell Ty.  This probably sounds stupid to some of you- why on earth would I even try to use the school's hot lunch when I can make him a perfectly gluten free lunch at home that is free from any threat of cross- contaminants.  My answer is simple...Because Ty wanted hot lunch.  And I figured we could give it a try and if he gets sick- then we go back to homemade lunches.  He walked in the door today and I totally gave him the third degree... I wanted to know exactly what it was (even though I had already talked to the secretary at the school AND the head lunch lady) and if he watched them make it for him.  I wanted to know how he felt after... headaches?  Tummy-aches?  I was a wreck and Ty thought I was nuts.  All in all- it was a good day.  I'm still a little nervous about sending him to eat at school, but I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

Back to School

Life around here has gotten a little... strange.  My kids are growing up and i'm not entirely sure that I'm one hundred percent okay with it.  I know I don't have much of a choice- scientists are pretty insistent on curing disease and not inventing a spray that will freeze my kids at their current ages.  It's all good... I just want to be a little selfish.  I wish they could stay where they are at.  

Kate is 2 and is Mama's Little Helper.  I officially have a shadow.  She is pretty good to entertain herself most of the time- I made peach jam the other morning and she spent the time in the living room playing with her barbies and little people.  I had to keep checking on her to make sure she was still there- it was really nice.  Whenever she isn't entertaining herself- she is right on my heels "helping" me get my chores done.  She is an excellent help when moving clothes from the washer into the dryer, and loves to sweep the kitchen floor for me.  Kate loves helping me make dinner- her apron is always at the ready and come about 4:30 she comes to find me.  I know she can't read time yet- so it's so funny to me that she inherently knows that it's time to start making dinner.  One day her own family will love her for it!  

Ryan starts preschool on Friday.  We went today to meet his teacher and we stayed for a while to play on the playground.  He was a little iffy at first... He kept trying to hang onto my hand and pull me with him all over the classroom- but his teacher, Miss Tammy wasn't having it.  She took Ryan in hand and off they went.  She was Ryan's teacher last year and was SO good for him.  I am so excited that they will be together again this year.  And it will be good for him to have something to do with his time.  These last couple of weeks without his older brother have been really, really hard on him.  It's not that he isn't happy to play with his sister- because he is- and they do play really sweetly- Ryan is pretty content to play "house" with Kate, in fact- he makes a mean pretend pancake, BUT...  he misses his brother.  Ty and Ryan are the best of friends, and co-conspirators- Ryan looks forward to when Ty comes home all day long.  He's been kind of lost- so I think it will be good for him to have something that is just his.  I know school scares him a little- but we'll get through it... and when he gets home... he'll have his little sister waiting impatiently for him!

And then there's Ty.  Oh my baby Ty.  These last couple weeks have been hard on me too.  I miss my biggest helper.  And I mean that literally.  Ty ran a thousand steps a day for me and I miss him.  I know I say this a lot- but he has really grown up these last couple of months.  And I KNOW it's because of his Celiac diagnosis.  He is just a different kid.  And his entry into 1st grade has absolutely proved it to me (if I wasn't convinced before).  He is SO responsible and has the greatest work ethic in school.  He took it upon himself to tell his teacher the very first day of school about his gluten- intolerance!  I mean seriously!  He's 7!  That was supposed to be my job- but he told me he didn't want there to be any problems with his tummy at school so he wanted to make sure that Mrs. Baer knew.  Is that amazing or what?  And he's actually gotten to a point now that I enjoy being around him.  I know that sounds bad... but people... it was really bad there for a while.  Looking back now- I know that it was because of the gluten.  If you feel crappy all the time- you are going to act crappy all the time.  Ty used to be pretty sassy and really quick to lose his temper (think violently explosive).  He was surly and had bed-wetting accidents nightly.  This went on for about two years before Shaun and I started exploring some different options as to what to do with him.  It was clear to both of us that this behavior was no longer "just a phase" he was going through.  It took longer than any of us would have liked- but he ended up with his diagnosis and none of us have looked back since.  I have a friend that is currently trying to decide whether or not to take her daughter off of gluten because of her behavior.  She called to ask my advice- if there wasn't the actual medical diagnosis of Celiac Disease, and knowing what I know now- would I still take Ty off the gluten just to address the behavior problems we had been having?  My answer was absolutely.  Ty is a different kid.  Maybe that's wrong.  He's still himself- but he's a better version of himself.  He's funny and sweet.  He teases now and is kinder to his siblings.  He helps without being asked... and goes weeks without a bed-wetting accident.  I really hadn't thought about how far we had come in the last six months until I had this conversation with my friend- and I'm really glad we did.  It made me tear up a little to think about how much I love this little guy.  Ryan isn't the only one that misses him.

Anyway- there will be some more pictures to follow of back to school, but I was just sitting here in the quiet of the house today and realized it was just that... QUIET!  It's almost un-nerving... almost.  :)