STINKY JOHN JONES

Sugar High

Now, stick with me here as this post may be long and mostly incoherent as I am still trying to grasp the situation. 

Stink.

My poor child is having a sugar issue.  About a month ago I took him to the nutritionist, his first visit since he was an infant.  Our reasoning at the time was because he was having stomach aches, often, and I was hoping to narrow down the cause. 

So, we walk into the room and she begins to hook him up to the machine after only asking one question, 'what's going on?'.  I told her about the stomach aches and how they seemed to be unexplained. 
A few minutes later, the testing was complete, and Stink was free of his electrodes and able to move about. 

The nutritionist began to read the results.....

"Is Stink hyp...." and before she could finish, Stink was jumping about with a small figurine from her office when he quickly broke the tiny teacup off and was pretending to drink from it.

"What?  Oh Stink!  Put that down!" as I took the pieces from him turning my head back to the nutritionist. "I am so sorry.  What were you saying?" I asked.

"My question was, is Stink hyper?  But I can see." 

"Um, yes.  Stink!  Come here!  Sit down!  Um, yes he can be.  He also doesn't sleep.  Can't sit still.  Is constantly running around and I am sure if he could, he would climb up the walls. Stink, get down!" was my answer. 

"I can see why.  He seems to have a sensitivity to sugar.  All sugar actually, including fructose.  If we don't get this under control, he is going to have a hard time in the next couple years."  she stated. 
"It seems he cannot process sugar like you or I.  His body creates a huge high from small amounts and then he crashes.  Thus the hyper activity and then the very cranky moods." was her explanation.

And that is where it began.  The sugar test.  Do you realize just how much sugar is in EVERYTHING!
I have found myself in the grocery store reading every label.  No go-gurts.  No candy.  No cookies.  Gum.  Lollipops.  Ice cream.  All of your kiddy items, the ones that I would give to keep them quiet.  Gone. 

Now, we have watered down juice, because ALL juice has sugar in it and he hates water.  He drinks a lot of milk.  And decaf ice tea without sugar.  At the moment, fruit is out, although he can have pears.  And let me tell you, when the Good Humor man comes around and the neighborhood kids are getting ice cream, he is not a happy camper.  And his poor sister is right in the mix as I can't let one and not the other. 

I could completely deal with wheat, or milk or eggs.  But SUGAR!  How? 
And to top it off, he is stuttering.  Not bad, but noticeable.  Especially when he is tired.  Which is most of the day since he refuses to sleep at night.  It's like a vicious cycle. 
So, I have a three year old who can't have sugar and now sleeps back in the crib with the tent so he can get a full nights sleep without escaping and wondering around the house.  And I spend at least 45 minutes each evening on his floor in front of the crib keeping him calm and lulling him to sleep. 
And another wake up during the night where he wakes up and yells, "Mommy!  GET  ME  OUTTA HERE!" 

We have an appointment with the regular pediatrician next week for some more thorough testing.  But for now, we are in limbo.  Hoping.  Waiting for the sugarless less-sugar diet to kick in and bring my good-natured little boy back. 

Hiddee Ho Neighbor

You know that neighbor who pops his/her head over the fence every couple of weeks with a friendly 'Hi!'? 

Well that seems to be me lately. 

These last couple weeks have been so crazy and I just haven't had the energy to do much else but sleep in the evenings. 

Unfortunately, we lost Dave's Grandmom last week, which consumed a good portion of our time and emotions.  Although that is a post in itself, but I need a little time yet.

And with summer upon us and the garden and chickens needing tending, that sucked up the rest. 

However, I do have a good story to leave you with.....

Tonight, we had great weather.  Slight, cool breeze and clear skies.  As I sat on the porch, Stink joined me on the bench. 

"Ah, FIRE!" he screamed, pointing at the lawn. 
"What?  No fire, Stink." I said.
"No, right THERE!  FIRE!" 

It took a few seconds for me to realize what he meant.

Lightening Bugs!

"Those are lightening bugs, Stink."  I explained.
"Ah, I not like them!" and just like that he flung open the door and ran into the house. 

Guess I need to add Lightening Bugs to the list.
Wonder if that should come before clouds or after on the fear scale?

I think when.....

.....we said, "Get in the game!", he took it literally.

She's 5!

 

 

     

Happy 5th Birthday, Baby Girl! 

T-Ball Finale

Chachi had her last game the other night and no one would have known her delight had she not cheered in glee to never have to play again. 

Don't believe me.....see for yourself.......

That's her playing outfield.  Wondering how she sees the ball coming?  So are we.

Or this....

That's her coach....holding her pet monkey....that she insisted on holding in her glove.  During the game. 

And my favorite......

She is supposed to be "running" the bases.  Notice her hair is not swinging like she is in motion.  Because she isn't.  In motion I mean.  "Running" the bases to her was more of a leisurely stroll as we screamed in the stands for a little faster pace.  Asking yourself why she is wearing shorts with little flowers on them?  She insisted the "baseball pants" made her look like a boy and refused to put them on. 

I do have to say, she provided plenty of laughs and not just for us.  The other Mom's would joke that Chachi just didn't want to mess her hair up, which was so true.  Her favorite position was the pitcher's mound as she treated it like a stage and would dance around as the ball flew past her. 

Needless to say, she does NOT want to play next year.  And as much as we would like her to, we are in agreement.  Thankfully this.........

.....is cute enough to last a lifetime. 

Congrats Chachi for your team effort.  You definitely get an A for sticking it out!

What day is it?

God, how long has it been?  It feels like forever I've been missing in action. 

I would love to blame it on the busyness of family life but I have to admit, I just haven't had the drive to write anything.  And with the long daylight hours and the warmer weather, we have been enjoying every minute spent outside until we drop into our beds from exhaustion. 

So much has been happening though and my camera is full of pictures to share. 

Let's start with an easy one tonight.

The tadpoles.

Yup.  They are still around.  All of them.  Each and every one.  12 total. 
Each day I would think to myself that one would be dead, floating belly-up because I was certain our conditions were not exactly suitable.  But nope.  They are thriving. 

Check this out....

We have legs! 

Which were not there the day before. 

And then this.....

That one in the middle had front legs too!  Looks like he just needs to drop that tail and he's ready for pickin'.
And check out the others.....lots of them have legs. 

What really gets me is that I am the only household member who really cares.  The kids pass by without a glance and the hubby is less than impressed.

Now for some much needed information as I was to pass this on to Rachel and just haven't gotten around to it......care.

It's really easy.  I have a pitcher of water that I left sitting on the counter for a few days.  When the water level in the little habitat gets low, I use this water to top it off.  I haven't cleaned it out entirely as it doesn't seem to need it plus the tadpoles like to feed on the muck, which is gross, but working.  Also, I have them in front of the window since I read they need warmth and sun to evolve.  And they live on goldfish food.  I crumble it up and they show it down.  Every once in a while I will pull a few blades of grass with the dirt stuck to it and throw it in.  For some reason, they love it. 
They seem to be thriving, but I will let you know once we get to the frog stage.  Not sure how it's gonna work out, especially since others won't be ready yet, but so far so good. 

I just wish I had a web-cam because as far as I can tell, they just morph.  I totally thought I would find one with just one leg or at least some funk in the process, but nope.  No freaks.  Guess piercings, tattoos and nipple rings haven't made it to their species yet. 

Crapshoot

This is most likely going to be all mumble-jumble but at least it's something.

Summer is upon us, Chachi has graduated from Pre-K (pics coming soon!) and we are busier then ever. 

The garden's in full swing, weeds are a plenty and it still needs mulching.

The chicken's are a handful, one has a broken toe.  Really.  Have you ever tried to bandage a chicken's foot.  Not pretty. 

We spent last Saturday afternoon in the hospital.  Again.  At this point, we should definitely by stock.

The pool is open which took the rest of the weekend.  After fishing out a couple dead moles.  And the kids cannot stop telling strangers we have rats.  People make strange faces when they hear that. 

Stink apparently has a sensitivity to sugar and is currently going through withdrawl bringing tantrums around the clock.

Everyone is lacking sleep and really cranky.  And I can't find time to do much else but child-rear, clean, laundry and work. 

The van needs a new radiator after $400. worth of tires and more on brakes, not to mention the inspection is up this month. 

But, besides that, things are good.  I am thankful that we are all healthy and have steady jobs in this economy.  That my children have the advantage of private school and other activities.  And that my marriage is rock solid, giving the kids a good foundation in life and great home environment to thrive. 

That pretty much completes this update.  Hopefully I can find time to elaborate on the topics I touched upon in the near future.  For now, this will have to do as I have a small child who refuses to sleep and during the waking hours is bouncing off the walls.  Seriously, I need to go peel him off the ceiling like an over ripe banana.