Please Read

This post really hits home. I think it should for all of us. We should stop pretending, and start being ourselves.

A Day in My Life

Last week I was supposed to see a new doctor to follow up on my appointment in August.  Somehow though, I was rescheduled to see the Physician's Assistant that our whole family sees.  There is something to be said for having someone that knows all about you.  As I explained to him that the last doctor told me to exercise 30 minutes a day, he smirked and asked "When?"  That was my thought.  I would love to exercise 30 minutes a day, but am having trouble figuring out the when.  And this is why:

5 am Wake up.  Most often one of the boys or both will also wake up right at 5.  Then I make breakfast for Dana, make coffee, and pack Dana's and Kaia's lunches.  Also during this time I'm usually changing diapers and giving the boys milk and crackers.  Kaia gets up right around the time Dana is leaving, and I try to get Morgan up then as well.  I get showered, dressed, and ready for work.  Hopefully by 7:30 am we are all piling into the Suburban.

I take Kaia to the child care at her school.  All 5 of us walk in, drop off Kaia, and the 3 boys and I head back out.  Then we do the 20 minute drive to Grammy and Papa's where I drop the boys off and I hopefully am at work by 8:30.

Once at work, I sink into my chair in my calming green office, and dig into work.  My work varies day to day.  Right now, it is campaign heavy, in the spring it will be community investment heavy.  Today, I'll be in Ellensburg for a Statewide Combined Federal Campaign meeting.  Before I leave I need to send off my charity listing info to the printer, and run reports for the audit.

Work is over at 5, and I usually head by the grocery store, or stop to buy fuel on my way out to get the boys.  We arrive home somewhere between 6 and 6:45.  I give the boys bottles while I make dinner, look through the mail, and listen to Kaia's day at school (or break up the fights between her and Morgan).  After we eat dinner, the twins go to bed, and it's time for the older 2 to get ready for bed.

Dana and the older 2 usually go to bed about the same time, and I follow around 9:30 or 10.  Occasionally I feel adventurous and I try to watch a show that comes on at 10 like the Mentalist.  It works for a few minutes, but I'm usually asleep on the couch by the first or second commercial.  If I'm lucky, I'll get to sleep all night long, if not I'll be up at least once or twice before 5 am.

Maybe you see an opening for exercise?  I think my best bet is to use my lunch break.  For now, I can go on walks outside, but come winter, that isn't an option.  That's when some sort of gym membership or class is going to be helpful, but anything close by is expensive! 

The Kihn Sandwich

I discovered the true proof that Kaia and Morgan are Kihns last week.  Never mind that they have the Kihn temper and look just like a Kihn, it's all in the sandwich. Kaia and Morgan have made the sandwich their new favorite snack.  The Kihns all love this sandwich, I have not tried it, and because I'd rather lick a frog than eat bologna, I have no plans to try it.  Perhaps you are braver than I?

Kihn Sandwich
2 slices white bread (the fluffy stuff with no nutritional value)
Sandwich Spread (the kind with relish in it)
Peanut Butter
Lettuce
Cheese (American is preferred, but you can use cheddar)
Bologna

On one slice of bread, spread Sandwich Spread, on the other spread Peanut Butter.  In between the slices of  bread add lettuce, cheese and bologna.  Enjoy... or if you are me, pass it on to a family member that will eat it.

A Day in the Life

I love looking at the lives of others.  Especially when their world is so different from my own.  My grandma's life in Mexico is definitely different from my day to day.  I asked her if I could share this with you.  I think this could be an interesting little series.  If you would, please send me your typical day and I will post it, linking back to you, in the coming weeks.  I promise to share my own typical day as well.

Today is a guest post from my Grandma Florence also known as Flossie of "Flossies Fast Food Fly Through" A feeding station for hummingbirds.

I'll try to tell you a few things I do daily.
 

Before dressing I shake my clothes & shake out my shoes. I have never found a scorpion but others have, Scorpions are not every day things but they are around. I have never been stung.

We do not flush toilet paper. The pipes may be cement tile that is rough & snags the paper to clog the pipes. I have a sign that says No paper to be flushed. The bank & Library have signs too. I keep small plastic bags to put the paper in & the garbage man comes by every day except Sun. I have to have the garbage out before 7 am! 

We have a dry season & a rainy season. Of course it can rain a bit in the dry season too. The ad for our area calls it "The Land of Eternal Spring". It never freezes but I saw 43* once & 45-50*some nights in Dec & Jan. Rainy season can begin in May but usually about June 13th & lasts until Oct. Dry season the mountains are brown & rainy season beautiful green. 

Most Mexicans shop daily. They eat lots of corn flakes for breakfast & sweet rolls & milk or hot chocolate. The little stores make sandwiches of this ham like loaf & cheese & hot pepper & wrap them & sell them. The Mexican people eat anytime. If you go any place by bus or car you will see small stands & people eating. There is no water to wash hands or dishes so they put a plastic bag over the plastic plate & a new bag for each person. Saves water anyway. 

I walk to the store most mornings. Not for the warm buns that all stores sell, but looking for damaged or over ripe bananas. I love bananas & so does my dog. I buy a Papaya there each week. I buy eggs there too. They are sold by the Kilo = 2.2 lbs & are put in a plastic bag to carefully carry home. I have 2 cartons to put them in. There can be 14-16 eggs depending how big they are. Eggs are on the counter NOT in the fridge. On Fri morning I walk 4 blocks round trip to the plaza where they sell fruit only on Fri. I usually buy a few things & carry them home. Then Sun at 10:30 am my pastor picks me up for church. Near the church is a grocery store & then a tortilla place & then a fruit market so he stops & I buy more fruit & veges & corn toastadas at the store.  That is where I get heavy stuff as I get a ride to my door. I get my Jiciama there. It is a root vegetable that you peel & slice or cube to eat raw. Some people put lemon juice & salt on them but I don't. I seldom eat meat but eat beans,brown rice & barley & cheese & eggs. My eggs have been less than $1.00 a Kilo & here eggs are $1.50 on sale & MORE a dozen. I give away parsley,basil & lemon grass.   All fruit & veggies that can't be peeled we soak in drops of a disinfectent to kill parasites.  I have a friend who soaks melons,Papayas,bananas & eggs. I don't! Parasites can make you sick. I take a pill about once a year to kill off any I may have. Some people take a pill every 6 months. I do peel & cut up my Papaya & Cants  & put in quart Yogurt tubs that people give to me. Then they are ready to use.

I used to walk to the post office, but now as it is up a slight hill my gardener brings me my mail. I found out he went after mail for another lady so asked him to bring mine. 

The View

One way I kept the drive home from being boring over the summer was taking directions from the kids.  There are a large number of ways to get from the freeway exit to our house.  The most breath taking are the routes that take us up over the hills and we drive down into the valley.  I had to snap a few photos, with my phone camera.  They don't do the view justice, so some day I will pullover with the real camera and try to capture this.

Progress

Things are moving along at the Kihn house!

The boys turned 11 months old yesterday, and have started taking several steps at a time.  In no time, we will have 2 walkers to keep up with.  Their 1st Birthday is just around the corner, and I already have their Halloween costumes planned.

Morgan, who no longer likes to be called Mo, has slept 2 of the past 3 nights in a bed other than Dana's and mine.  Both he and Kaia have been going to bed at 8:30 pm without much fuss as well.  Another huge milestone, he has started going into the bathroom when he needs to poop.  He's not using the toilet yet, but it is the first step to being potty trained according to the method I'm following.  I owe a huge thank you to Mrs. Mordecai for sending me the article on this way of training.

Kaia is cruising through 2nd grade.  She is reading 3rd grade level books, doing really well on her math homework when she applies herself, and has already been to one birthday party this school year. 

Dana and I are enjoying having our bed to ourselves, and having a quiet house after all the kids are in bed.

The cats still do not like Nemesis, and Nemesis loves to terrorize the cats.  This is just one of the photos I snapped during the 5 minutes Cinnamon and Nemesis got along.

My second 24 hours wasn't nearly as easy as the first.  I didn't want to eat my foods, and everything I thought to make for dinner had something that wasn't allowed. I made fried rice, bbq pork and egg rolls for Dana and the kids to eat.  I did cheat and had a few scrap pieces of bbq pork, but only because I wanted the super hot mustard.  I love that stuff.    I had roasted chicken thighs and broccoli.  This morning I had leftover cold chicken and Ry Krisps with cream cheese for breakfast.  For lunch, I met my brother at Pizza Hut for their buffet.  I couldn't eat the pizza or pasta, but I enjoyed 2 plates of salad.  Tonight I think we'll have meatloaf for dinner.  Some of the grumpiness I can tell is hormones, and some is sugar withdrawl.  I also remembered that I only did the 2 week diet last time, because I figured out quite quickly my trigger foods.    So I will likely do the same as last time.  I will add back in the foods I know I can eat, and stay away from the sugary stuff and the sweet baked goods which are usually what get me the worst.

The first 24 hours

Last time I was on the Yeast Free diet the first 24 hours was hell.  I don't say that lightly.  I really felt as if my body was shutting down and my head would explode.  This time the first 24 hours was accompanied only by a minor headache.  I feel pretty darn good, and sticking to this diet has been easy.  Only a few times have I had to stop myself.  The candy dish full of tootsie rolls and dots in my office is tempting, but I always passed by.  This morning packing Dana and Kaia's lunches, I caught myself just before popping a chip and then a piece of cheese in my mouth.  I wasn't aware how much I mindlessly snacked until today. 

So, just what am I eating?  Here is my menu starting Monday evening:
Dinner- Roasted chicken thigh and leg
Mashed potatoes
Gravy made with corn starch, water and chicken broth
Green salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and a tiny amount of ranch dressing for flavor

Breakfast- Oat Groats (oats that haven't been rolled) with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
Small amounts of sugar are allowed, when they are consumed with a whole grain.  Your body will digest it like a complex carb because you consume it with the complex carbs.

Lunch- Leftover chicken breast (2 oz)
Baked potato with cottage cheese on top
Handful of cherry tomatoes

Snack- Corn nuts Not the healthiest, but the ingredients are corn, corn oil and salt.  Really satisfied my craving for something crunchy and salty.

Dinner- Eggplant Super Soup (recipe below)
Rye Krisps with cream cheese

Breakfast- 1.5 cups of oat groats with butter and 1 packet of sugar

I've been drinking 2 cups of coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day.  Lunch today is leftovers from dinner last night.  The soup is an excellent hearty recipe, easy to make, and was easy to convert to fit my diet.  The recipe is from a Sunset Cookbook, but I as always, have considerably altered the recipe.

Eggplant Supper Soup
3/4 pound of ground beef
1/2 an onion chopped
1 small eggplant cubed
1 large clove of garlic
1 large can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice
2 cubes of beef bullion
2 large cans full of water
6-8 oz of brown rice penne pasta (Hodgson Mills makes excellent rice pasta)

Brown the ground beef and add the chopped onion near the end of the cooking.  Add eggplant, garlic and tomatoes to the pot.  Then add the cubes of bullion and water.  Add or reduce water depending on desired thickness.  I wanted this fairly thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Then add your pasta and cook until tender.   

The eggplant soaks up all the flavors of the soup and makes this a delicious and hearty meal all by itself.  Dana, Kaia and Morgan ate Saltine crackers with their soup.  Brendon, Bryce and I had the Rye Krisps.  It was a great way to use the free eggplant I received, and no one turned up their nose!

Back To Health 4 weeks of Yeast Control

I've finally had it.  I'm tired of being tired, achy, and fatigued.  I'm tired of not being able to type because my hands are tingly and weak.  I'm tired of falling asleep on the couch because I'm so worn out at the end of the day.  I'm tired of wearing one size of clothing one week, and being at least a size bigger the next due to intestinal bloating.  I'm tired of my allergies going non-stop, in spite of the loratadine I take daily.

There are many foods that can trigger pain and fatigue.  Most programs and books recommend I talk to my doctor about an elimination diet.  Then I would cut almost all foods out, then slowly add back in to figure out my triggers.  The thing is, yeast or candida sensitivity is always on the list of triggers. It's been shown women with endometriosis struggle with candida sensitivity.  People with fibromyalgia often struggle with it.  And my allergist diagnosed me with a candida sensitivity.  So it makes sense for me to use my already prescribed yeast control program first.  If it brings relief, as it has in the past, then I know that there aren't any other trigger foods.  If it doesn't bring relief, then I can begin eliminating other trigger foods.

You may wonder why I ever stopped following the program, if it worked well the first time.  Honestly the program is designed so you can add back in foods, and just make some changes to your normal diet once the yeast is under control.  The problem is, it felt so restrictive the first time, although looking at it again, it's not.  Also the long term program allows you to add back in most foods.  Just not in a large quantity, and not all of them.  It's too easy to just start adding in everything, and the icky feeling from it comes on so slowly you don't realize how sick you are getting.

So join me over the next 4 weeks as I follow the program, outlined in Back To Health by Dennis W Remington, MD and Barbara Higa Swasey, RD.
The four main concepts are:
1. Most food from plant sources has natural fungal inhibitors.
2. Carbohydrates should be eaten as long as they are complex carbohydrates.
3. Avoid foods that contain yeast and fungi.
4. Eat enough food.
So for the first phase, I can eat the following:
All meats, fish, poultry and eggs.
All vegetables, including scrubbed potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and avocados.
All legumes.
All whole grains, including barley, corn, millet, oats, brown rice and wheat.
Whole grain muffins, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, rice cakes, whole wheat tortillas, and corn tortillas.
Hot or cold whole grain cereals.
Butter and cold pressed oils.
Milk, plain yogurt (I don't like flavored anyway), buttermilk, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and cottage cheese.
Catsup, mustard, mayo, miso and soy sauce may be used sparingly.

Foods to eliminate:
All sugars and sugar containg foods.
White flour, refined grains.
Yeast- yeast breads, pastries, crackers...
All cheese, except for those listed above
All fruit and fruit juices
All coffee, tea, herbal teas (I will not be following this part, as I found relief the first time while drinking coffee.  I will limit my coffee intake, but not eliminate.)
Leftovers that have been in the fridge more than 2-3 days.
Obvious fungi- mushrooms
Peanuts and peanut products
Processed meats- lunch meat, bacon, ham, corned beef
Vinegar soaked products- pickles, relish, sauerkraut
All artificially sweetened drinks and foods

After 2 weeks on this diet, I can begin to add unsweetened cooked fruits.

So now you have my plan.  Does it suck? Yeah, kind of.  I like fresh fruit, and enjoy cheese.  But we live in a valley full of produce, and I can eat all the veggies I want. 

Stay tuned for my menus.  Already I have oat groats cooking on the stove for breakfasts and lunches.  Tonight I think I'll cook up some brown rice.

September

One late lily 

One early mum

Four busy kids, plus one kitten

All make for a beautiful September here at the Kihn House.

Accidental Garden

Golden Cherry Tomatoes

I planned my garden, I used my mother's day gift card to buy tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, squash and cucumber, but they looked like they always do.  Wilting.  Then when we got home from our short vacation in Seattle I turned the water on, then fell asleep and forgot all about it.  I expected a high water bill from that night of indiscretion, but what I received was amazing.  My tomatoes really responded to all the water.  I have the nicest tomato plants I've ever grown!  Even now in September, I'm still picking lots of cherry tomatoes.  We're eating them in salsa, salads, and just as a snack.

I have learned one little Tomato Law.  The plants you stake well will not produce.  The plants that end up in between staked plants, will grow abundantly.  Go figure!

Very late jalapenos, hoping the weather holds

Sleepy

The only thing that wasn't cute about this nap, was the fact that he was then wide awake well past 9 pm.

In case you felt that his falling asleep in such an odd place was a fluke, there is this proof as well

Part of the family!

Nemesis has made himself at home in our home.

He loves attacking the other cats, and has learned to run when the twins attempt to eat him. 

He isn't too sure about things like rain, but being an indoor cat, he doesn't have to worry much about that.

And a sure sign that HCC Arch Nemesis was present is the scratches. You go to sleep looking normal, and wake up with claw marks across your face.  Mo should beware, as he spends most of his time annoying Nemesis.

Miss Me?

I'm finally back to post!  I'm using my lunch break, one of the first that was truly a break, to check in.  It has been non-stop at work and at home. 

Work has been non-stop interviews, presentations, meetings, and mailings.  It looks like a filing cabinet puked on my desk.  I worked late most nights last week, and when I didn't work late, I was at a school meeting.

Kaia started 2nd grade, and no surprise she loves it.  Mo is having a hard time adjusting to his sissy being gone, and has been in quite the mood.  I'm pretty sure both of them are going through a growth spurt, as more than 50% of the meals I make are going to the two of them, and Dana and I get what's left.  The twins are starting to sleep through the night, and they keep us busy when they are awake.  Dana and I are realizing that mornings are one of the few times we actually see each other during the week.  We'll hopefully get a date night this weekend to go see Resident Evil Afterlife. 

On the health front we've all been fighting a cold.  I'm still fighting this fibromyalgia or whatever it is.  I'm worn down, I hurt all over, and I'm tired of it.  So Labor Day weekend was us being a bunch of bums and lounging around.  I did tackle one big thing though.  Kaia's room.  I should have taken a before photo, but it was disgusting.  What's important is to know that there was a 2 foot layer of clothes, toys and garbage.  Not anymore.  And her closet is even clean.

I hope to be back to blogging, and visiting your blogs again very soon!  I miss keeping up with everyone.