loving this biz.

stef,

has it been too long, or what? just have to fill you in on life down here these days. so, i’m pretending it’s fall. bought some boot socks for 5 dollars at target. why? i don’t know, it’s still miserably hot down here. but i can dream. j + k + i are going to put up the halloween decorations and visit a pumpkin patch this weekend. here’s k outside of whole foods’ little pumpkin display. couldn’t you just eat him up?

i am thrilled because i just started a new business. i became a consultant for rodan + fields, working with the doctors who created proactiv. they are now focusing on aging skin, and their products are incredible. what really intrigued me was the business aspect of r + f, though.  so the fabulous leslie bishop, YOUR former boss, is now MY boss! she got me hooked when i saw that she was using this business to pay her mortgage, fund preschool, and both her kids’ college funds. i started thinking, hmmm… there really must be something to this. so i jumped in. i asked j, of course, and he said to go for it because i’d be great at it and i had nothing to lose – isn’t he sweet? my kit came today and my kitchen table is now my office. we eat at k’s little table in the kitchen lol.

here’s a link to my product site! check it out sis… wish you could come to my business launch next thursday at 7 pm… maybe you could fly in for a few hours? i wish 🙂 can’t say enough about what an amazing business r + f truly is. they are a fresh, new, rapidly growing company and i’m so glad i got in early. i am loving the amazing group of women i get to work with, especially leslie!

a few more pics of life around here lately:

the Lord is really teaching me these days to look to him each morning for strength. k and i have a memory verse – jeremiah 30:17. “but i will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.” it’s been a great reminder as we continue to walk through our health problems, which is a day to day thing. but we have seen so much progress. more on that later. reading a great book with emily, my wonderful bff who is actually celebrating her birthday and turning the ripe old age of 28 on this very day. whaaat? i knew here when we were 16! anyway, #happyhappybirthdaytoyou! so the book is by stormie omartian, called finding peace for your heart. you should check it out.

oh how i miss you. let me count the ways. love you sis!

GAPS update month 2.

stef.

our trip to see you was pretty much the highlight of my year. it was incredible. so great to spend time with you and s and for k to get to see his auntie and uncle. he is one loved, blessed little boy. i am pretty sure k did way too much shopping for his own good, but he is still a man’s man, obviously.

time for an update. we are in month 3, having completed month 2 of our GAPS journey. k’s progress is simply amazing. his dr. can’t believe how fast he is healing. k has been inches away from a failure to thrive diagnosis, mixed with being on the ASD spectrum. as a mama, both these things have been cripplingly hard to deal with. but God had bigger plans for k. took him to see the dr. 2 weeks ago. she laughed when she saw him. cried a little too. he walks. he talks. he just keeps coming further and further out of the “toxic mess” his little body was in. (her words.)

progress we are seeing 2 months in:

– k says at least 4 words! ball, dada, dirt, bottle

– he tries to walk all by himself and is pretty good at it most days!

– increased eye contact

– able to interact, play, and listen to commands

– happier moods

– improved digestion

– less night-waking (used to wake up screaming)

– eczema basically GONE!

and the list goes on and on. this has been nothing short of a miracle. while it can be very frustrating and slow some days (k is stuck in stage 1 of the intro diet and may be here for months. you slowly add the recommended progression of new foods, watch for a reaction, and either proceed or stay put based on symptoms returning or not. k’s symptoms have worsened every time we try to add a new food, so we are staying here, where his body is thriving, for now.) but we have so much to be thankful for this thanksgiving – and always.

such as – i got my boy back and i am loving every minute of it. was reading some GAPS blogs this morning and one mama said she knows people just look at her son and think  just “grew out of it.” but she knows the reality of how GAPS healed her son. that’s sort of how i feel too. lots of people haven’t what we have seen. but they didn’t live in our house on the days when he would wake up and we didn’t know who he was. a silent, staring, mostly unresponsive soul in our boy’s body. praise God for this indescribable gift that is ours after just a few months of prayer and persistence.

“if gratitude is an antidote for anxiety, and giving thanks is a real cure for stress, we don’t have to relegate thanksgiving to a holiday, for giving thanks to God revolutionizes all our days.” – ann voskamp

and it’s not over. true digestive healing takes lots and lots of time. it’s not a quick fix, and it’s not cheap or easy to cook this way, to make chicken broth every day, to make everything from scratch, to avoid restaurants, to try to get fermented cod liver oil into your son with a medicine dropper… i ain’t saying it’s been fun around here. but results were what i wanted and they are what i am getting. it is all so much easier to understand for me because i am going through it myself. i have severe digestive issues as well. GAPS is a miracle diet that really isn’t all that complicated when you think about it, and it just medically makes the most sense. your digestive system can be a source of nourishment for your body, or it can be a major source of toxicity. thanks to GAPS, k’s body is healing from the inside out. he’s like a little tree and his roots are getting nourished. his skin, his hair, his face… just all look so…bright.

oh… and my little engine that could, mr. “well he didn’t grow again this month” is packing on the weight. he looks SO healthy. i am so overwhelmed with God’s blessings. what a different thanksgiving this will be for me. i never truly understood the depth of God’s gifts until this year.

so sad. but LOL, right?

now get down here and let’s eat turkey and shop til we drop on Friday then watch a christmas movie! later sis.

tomorrow! tomorrow!

beck. BECK! you are coming t.o.m.o.r.r.o.w! eeeeeeeeekkkkkkk. can you tell i am a little excited? and fall is just breathtaking here. i can’t wait for little k to see all the changing leaves and pretty scenes here. to do list:

1. go to the pumpkin patch
2. library
3. park
4. SHOPPING (sorry k)
5. bake something fallish
6. go to the zoo
7. sit and play with sweet little k all day and catch up with oodles of sister talks

feel free to add to that list 🙂 in other news. went to jax this weekend and got to see my little B! so so so sweet and so so so smart. check out his and B#2’s costumes for halloween this year.

cutest little chic-fil-a cows!

it was so fun catching up with sweet friends and remembering where we met and married. we even got to see the blue angels fly at the air show. so neat! k would love it. maybe when he is a little older, the noise might scare him. but leaving jax left me with a mean sinus infection. phhhewwww never been so thankful for a sinus infection. got the diagnosis from the doc and literally said “thank you jesus”. so glad it was nothing contagious so k can still come! i did however stay home from work yesterday to go to the doctor and may have stayed in bed until 11. shhhh don’t tell.

my little ones at school are just cuter than words. i adore them! so wish you lived closer and could come help in our class. did i tell you i have 5 red heads in our class. that’s half the class! God knew i was going to be missing k something awful so he gave me some red heads to make me smile 🙂 here is what we have been doing:

each day we add something to our class pumpkin!

we celebrated the letter “P” by making our P chicka chicka boom boom trees and paper bag pumpkins!and our PJ’s and pancakes party was a success! k would love to read, if you give a pig a pancake.

last wednesday was pumpkin patch day! the kids loved it. the pumpkins were as big as them! side note: it also happened to be “turn the town pink day”. guess who didn’t get the memo? this girl. being pumpkin patch day i show up in my bright orange shirt (which mind you i of course had to go out and buy the day before since all i own is white, beige, tan, grey and black. don’t worry, i’m starting to branch out). let’s just say the entire school, all the parents who came to help, and i kid you not, the whole town had on pink! there’s me sporting my bright orange shirt clearly reinstating that yes, yes i am the new girl in town just incase you forgot! it was hysterical to say the least. think i’m exaggerating? a mother came to pick up her child that day and looked at me and said “oh, you are the girl who was wearing orange in the picture!” yep. true. story.

but having the amazing hubs that i do, s came home that day with this for me. 

he wanted it to be official and being the smart husband he is, he knew monograming a cute tote bag makes the new name officially official!

(notice the pink shirt i HAD to change into for our church meeting that night)

s and i are soooooo excited to see you! give little k a kiss for me and tell him that auntie tess can’t wait to play all weekend long with him!

oh and this many days until i see you (and k and mom and sam!):

tootles!

the countdown.

stef….

number of days since k and i have seen you…

number of days until we get to see you again!!

can we say eeeeeek??

it’s a hippie kind of house.

stef. oh my word. the hiking pic – classic. love that s had to carry you because you are just a little weakling. and your classroom? can we say LOVE? and… your bathroom? jealous! i really should post a pic of mine. which has been out of commission for – literally – months. been so busy with k i haven’t even had the chance to clean it, much less sand, texture, and repaint it. sigh. learning to be content! putting scripture everywhere i can so i won’t forget that God is with me through these times of trouble… He is my joy and my help!

found this cute “joy” bunting on aholyexperience.com. love it!

ok, so i promised i’d tell you what this diet is all about.

so, GAPS. what is it? i will shamelessly promote this diet as long as i live! for a few reasons:

1) it’s a temporary diet. not one of these for- life things that is impossible to stick to. warning though. you might feel so good and be so healthy that you don’t want to stop. haha. but it’s true.

2) it’s hard and a huge learning experience (anything worth doing is always a challenge, right?)

3) most importantly…. it is truly a healing diet.

GAPS stands for “Gut and Psychology Syndrome.” Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride suggests the connection between your intestinal flora and the overall health of your entire body, including your brain. think of a tree. you can’t see the roots. but if the roots are not healthy, the tree ain’t gonna be pretty. that’s our intestines. the root of all health. and also, if damaged, the root of ALL disease. i am a firm believer, that, as they say – “death begins in the colon.” and i only believe it because i suffered so many years from all sorts of ailments that have mysteriously vanished with this protocol.

so k was going along just fine on his rice milk. but then we started to realize the scary fact that this change, the gluten-free, casein-free diet… it wasn’t enough. he stopped progressing again. slipped backward. limited himself to rice milk and watermelon… refused all else. and, the diarrhea never went away. so i frantically and prayerfully searched for another step to take. hence, GAPS.

gluten-free is great. casein free.. those are all great steps. but they just aren’t enough because they don’t address the problem. the problem is a gut without the proper balance of microorganisms. so GAPS is a protocol to heal the gut and hence fix a myriad of problems related to poor gut function. such as:

•    Autism
•    Asthma
•    Allergies
•    Eczema
•    Dyspraxia (extreme clumsiness)
•    Dyslexia
•    ADD, ADHD
•    Depression
•    Schizophrenia
•    Irritable Bowel Syndrome
•    Crohn’s and Colitis

whaaat? hard to believe all these conditions could be related and that they could be caused, essentially by one thing…a damaged gut. damaged by any number of things – chemicals in our food, antibiotics, NSAIDs, environmental toxins… and of course, SUGAR. sugar is up there on the list of the top 10 things most damaging to our immunity (a large percent of our immunity resides in our gut, thanks to the friendly bacteria that works to keep us healthy by fighting off pathogens). see, i am learning that our health problems aren’t such a mystery after all. take my health problems – emotional, arthritis, aches and pains, constant sicknesses and infections, headaches, swelling, constant sore throat and many more… all vanishing on this diet. i was a big skeptic at first. i am a reluctant hippie. however, you can’t argue with the proof when you watch it happen to your family.

really, you ask, how could our food really affect our brain, causing autism, developmental delays, even bipolar disorder? well, put it this way. when you swallow a pill to combat that bipolar disorder, or depression, or schizophrenia… doesn’t it have to be digested in your gut to make its way to your brain to take effect? and your skin… if you don’t believe it soaks up toxins like a sponge, then how come they make birth control patches, or nicotine ones, which absorb through your skin and do their thang in your body? seems like common sense. i just never thought about it until lately.

so yes, it’s a hippie kind of house now. nothing not organic for k. only grass-feed meats and no sugar around here. let me explain the steps of GAPS real quick.

the first step is an “introduction diet” in which you remove the offending foods and “heal and seal” the gut. this is done through large amounts of broths, boiled meats, stews, and ginger tea. animal fats (don’t freak out) provide amino acids and tons of nutrition to heal a damaged gut. ever heard the old wives tale about chicken soup for a cold? it’s true. our society is so bent on low-fat diets that we are doing harm to our bodies. we need fat! but we don’t need it from fast food, processed food, fake butters and margarines, and heated, chemically damaged oils. grass-fed chicken, beef, lamb, fresh eggs… that’s the good stuff. very interesting article about cholesterol myths here. dr. natasha also wrote a book about the importance of good fats called Put Your Heart in Your Mouth. it’s on my list of books to read next.

basically the intro diet provides the body with foods that are easiest to digest. then you move on from there, introducing a new food as suggested in the GAPS book every 1 to 3 days. if you see problems arise or returning of original symptoms, you just slow down. the gut will heal, it just needs time! we ran into some problems when we tried to move to stage 2, which includes egg yolk and avocado. but we will get there.

after the intro diet, you work into the full GAPS diet, which is basically all foods that are easy to digest. no long chains of proteins. no grains. no sugar. even potatoes aren’t allowed because they can be damaging to an already damaged gut. but the good news is, a few years on the diet (which is actually pretty delicious) and you can come off of it! however, dr. natasha warns that you will just re-damage your body if you begin eating processed carbs, sugar, meats, oils, etc. the goal is health for life, so those things should be consumed in moderation if at all. for me, those days are over. they did too much damage to our little family. and feeling good just…feels so good!

at first, things were not pretty around here. like, almost wanted to give up, ugly. but i had read other moms’ journeys and they said it gets worse before better, always. well that is what happened. the body’s healing process is painful! detox signs ranged anywhere from diarrhea to vomiting to lethargy and crankiness. it was rough! but…progress we have seen on GAPS: k will eat. no more fussiness. no more picky, only watermelon days. he eats meat, veggies, drinks broth in a bottle, sauerkraut, fish oil… all of it. he doesn’t complain. his doctor is amazed by his progress. he will walk with us holding one finger! he is conversational. he looks at us, responds to us, plays with us! we truly have our son back. still, every day is challenging because he has a lot more healing to do. dr. natasha claims it takes up to 2 years to truly heal a damaged gut. but every improvement reminds us to stay the course on this diet. we are praying and believing God will heal little k.

the new juicer my amazing husband surprised me with! for all those GAPS milkshakes i make. love love love.

so that’s it. the GAPS diet. a life-changer. it’s amazing the things we believe about our health just because that’s what we’ve always been told. dig a little deeper and read something “controversial” and you might be surprised. we sure are. we would not be doing this all-consuming, hours in the kitchen, dirty-dishes-coming-out-my-ears diet if it wasn’t revolutionizing little k’s health. praise jesus! praise him for how he created the human body to heal if we just give it the right conditions.

a few more things i believe have been essential in k’s healing:

– cod liver oil. best of the best.

– biokult. a strong probiotic.

– prescript assist. another probiotic – my favorite. has worked wonders for me.

here is more info on GAPS and dr. natasha. here is a link to a great blog with fantastic recipes that will make you a believer that eating on GAPS can actually taste darn good. peanut butter brownies, baked apples, and tons of savory dishes. i used to be a low-fat kind of girl, and the hubs is loving all this meaty goodness around here. oh sis, it’s been too long. k misses you so much. he wants to watch an auburn game with uncle s because he knows how to throw his hands up in touch-down fashion now. too bad his daddy’s vols didn’t do so good this weekend. ooh, check out my fall kitchen! k usually has to hold that pumpkin balloon while he eats.  also, what do you think of my new curtains? gotta love target.

 

 

t-minus 19 days until we get to see you! that’s only 456 hours! we miss you too much. bye sis.

disclaimer: the information in this post is all my opinion based on my reading of dr. natasha’s book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome. i am not a doctor, just a momma who’s loving the results she’s getting 🙂 there are GAPS practitioners in the U.S. who have been trained by dr. natasha. here is a link to find one!

#alittlebitofeverything

 

beck. its true. you have had the last three posts. i am so overdue. please forgive me? all i’m saying is i am sure glad we made up a secret language when we were little and the one phrase (which still remains to have never been actually translated) we remember happens to be our password on here. sistas for life. anyhoo. K!! K!! K!! oh how i LOVE hearing of his health. it brings tears to my eyes thinking about all you have done for him. all you have fought for. the loneliness you felt through it all. and all the statistics and charts that sweet precious k has gone leaps and bounds off of all because his mommy didn’t quit. i hear you say often “i want to treat the cause, not the symptoms.” i can’t help but think of our savior who looked at us and said, “yep, all the odds are against them. lost cause. but i choose them. i will fight for them.” thanks for being such an example of the gospel to my little nephew and especially to me. i can only hope that when the storms come i will fight like you.

ok dry it up now. speaking of. blubbered my eyes out this morning when you texted and said you and k were coming this month! walked into work with the shades still on like mom used to do when she was trying to hide that she was secretly crying over missing t, or me, our sam said i love you. sheesh. i get it from her. love sal. not much new here in the ‘ville. loving teaching my sweet 3 year olds. we read caps for sale yesterday and oh how the memories flooded back. tomorrow is the very hungry caterpillar. it just never gets old. who knew making H is for House houses and rainbow fishies out of cd’s would be so fun. can’t wait for you to come see my classroom.

s and i are just about done with the bathroom. just needs a coat of paint and a few things here and there and we are DONE. did you catch that? D.O.N.E. moment of silence…. feels so good to say that word. sneak peak? ok here you go!

100% diy. obsessed with the floor and subway tiled walls. maybe a little too obsessed because i spent countless hours tiling and choosing the perfect rocks. yes, we did the floor the cheap way: garden rocks and polish. saved about $200. spent about $20.

i’ve been a cooking machine. it’s my outlet. not so much the eating part. just the cooking. ok who am i kidding? hello extra ten pounds that i swore i would never gain like most newlyweds do. consider this your warning: no fat jokes when you get here. s says its muscle. we LOVE s. in other news, who knew actually eating meals would do so much for you hair! hello curls that i thought had left me for good. i have become a war eagling woman. i think you have to here. friday in the south means dress up for game day and if you forgot well then you just aren’t american! or something like that. s and i were on tv for the LSU game. well, my arm was. but s was front and center clear as day! 

fall is here! fall is here! i suddenly know why lindz is so obsessed. al fall is actually… fall! not like fl fall that is just a plain ol’ tease with the leaves that just fall but don’t change colors. i’m talking leaves changing, crisp air, hot tea, smell of apple cider kind of fall. in love. lindz- you must come up here! in honor of all things fall and noel’s visit to the ‘ham last weekend we hiked oak mountain. so much fun. 

guess the picture doesn’t say so.

not too many diy projects these days because i am too busy a) finding creative things to do with my little ones or b) laying on the couch wiped out from my little ones. i did save this black beauty from it’s doom of the dumpster.

life is good at the jones house. we can’t wait for you and k to come up here! tootles.

 

these days.

stef. okay, enough’s enough. it’s been too long. went to the m-i-l’s farm this weekend and she said we have to get back to our letters because she misses reading. so here goes!

why have i fallen off the face of the earth these days? 2 words. GAPS diet. hardest thing i’ve ever done, but definitely the best, most incredible journey of my life. it’s a temporary protocol to heal the intestines (and thus, food allergies, leaky gut, autism, candida, bipolar, etc.) and whew, it’s intense. scary truth: disease begins in the intestines. heal them, stop eating foods that tear them the heck up…bye-bye disease. here’s the book that we read almost as much as our bible these days. (kidding.)

i will definitely post more on how we are implementing this around here in case you want to try it (haha). i am sure uncle s would love sipping on some meat stock while devouring some homemade sauerkraut. then he can wash it down with some boiled beets. de-lish.

oh sis, so much to tell you! k is improving leaps and bounds. the dr. actually uttered these words to me last week: “your child was on the spectrum. he isn’t anymore. he just doesn’t fit on it now.” music to our ears. k is a long way from healed, but we are seeing it happen and it is a miracle. to hear your doctor say that to you… there are no words. how many times have i heard it can’t be done, there is no cure… praise jesus that he made me stubborn and i didn’t listen to anybody. just to see this child eat… i never thought it would happen. giving him liquid through a syringe because he had such terrible feeding problems… those awful days are over! he’s a meat, veggie, broth eating machine! go k, go!

the thought keeps dancing in my head though. what if there hadn’t been an answer, a book, a protocol, a cure? what if this was going to be life? would i still be praising Him? some days are great days, and some days are awful as we walk through this healing journey. the doctor said it takes 2 years. she said when you get a bruise, you can’t make it hurry up and heal. you can’t do anything for it. you just have to… wait. but would we still be praising God if this was it? He is good regardless. what a hard lesson. love this quote by c.s. lewis:

“If you think of this world as a place simply intended for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place for training and correction and it’s not so bad.”

my happiness is not God’s goal or his ultimate plan for me. he is teaching me. teaching me patience, grace, hope. all these things i never wanted to learn this way at all, and most days when i pray i tell him i still don’t. health problems rob you of your happiness. but they can’t steal your joy if your eyes are on jesus. i have had some amazing opportunities to talk to other mommies who have encouraged me to remember that – ones walking the same journey as we are.

well, sis, you gotta write back. how i have missed this! can’t wait to hear about your weekend with the bff. oh, and did i mention k is obsessed with pumpkins? he holds them while he eats, gets a diaper change, plays with them in the tub. what oh what will we do when fall is over? ooh, check out this new song by thomas rhett. too bad i am doing the GAPS diet too and beer isn’t allowed. aloha.

 

kitchen! kitchen!

stef. today the unthinkable happened. i got up before 8 am. and then something else that is totally unthinkable happened right after that. i went for a run. i feel like a million dollars right now. things have been a little strange since k’s bday… found out i had celiac’s disease, then found out i actually don’t (via blood test) and then found out what i actually had, that was causing all my back pain, wasn’t grain… it was… kidney stones. there are no words for the level of uncomfortable-ness these microscopic things cause.

feeling better for now. i think it’s out, but gosh that thing looked like the end of a toothpick. how it could cause so much pain i don’t know. the best part was, when i told people what had been causing my pain, most of them could only offer me a “oooh, those are supposed to be super painful” or a ” oh my gosh, you’re going to be in the er when you pass that.” not the encouraging, uplifting “get well” that would have gone a long way. that’s okay. cranberry juice is the only friend i need right now. 

let’s see. been cleaning all morning, blah, blah blah. my kitchen is finally done! what do you think? i am so obsessed with white cabinets.

 

been loving these new teas i have been trying. they are by yogi and they are fab. i used to hate tea, but since coke is a big no-no for me these days, tea is my new love. try the kidney and liver detox, and the peach kidney detox. so delicious. i have been sitting on the couch beside my love drinking tea and watching the olympics every night. going to be de-pressed when they are over. oh, and around 10 pm we get little k up for an extra bottle because he keeps losing weight every time we go to the doctor. this is him after his late night snack.

 

so excited about your new job! you are going to be the best teacher ever. well, except for me. but you know that. so s is having a birthday coming up soon huh?! what does your man want for his birthday? you should make him this super festive wreath i am making for k’s party. and i hear him on the baby monitor. that means me time is over but i love when me time is over because that means it’s us time. a little k time goes a long way and you really need some don’t you. love.

 

big day for k.

stef. how jealous am i of your bathroom remodel? you and s belong on HGTV! seriously. i am so excited to see the finished project and to use it when i come see you. which will be very soon. can you put in heated tiles for my feet?

as you know, k is no longer a baby. the big 1 came too quickly. he celebrated in style. and we praised the LORD for his health. can’t say a day goes by that we don’t celebrate the miracle God did in his little life.

i was able to find a local bakery that makes vegan gluten free cupcakes. since k is allergic to eggs, dairy and gluten, these cupcakes were a must! he picked it up, smashed it in his hand, and proceeded to eat all the crumbs. he even fed me and j some. sweet little angel.

we visited daddy at work and we were enthralled by the fountain.

i can’t believe my baby is one already.

went to the sugarland concert with j. it was fab! the lead singer is pregnant and she had a cute bump and all i could think was how is she belting out these tunes while she is with child? i am a lightweight. singing in church was a chore for me when i was pregnant with k… it made me winded. pathetic with a capital p. ooh, check out this new band we heard! they opened for sugarland and i really liked them.

let’s see, what else. still no gluten around here. j is a trooper trying these new recipes. lots of quinoa and brown rice bread. i am learning to like it all! here is a new recipe i tried for dairy-free “butter.” k and i like it a lot. i put it on g-free bread, veggies – everything!

Dr. Johanna Budwig’s Oleolux Recipe

Ingredients:

• Onion
• Chemically non-hydrogenated coconut fat/oil
• Flaxseed oil
• Garlic

1. Put 4 oz. of flax oil into the freezer compartment of your refrigerator.

2. Heat 1 cup of coconut oil with a medium-sized onion cut into 4 parts. Sauté until the onion starts to brown (5 to 8 minutes). Add 10 garlic cloves and continue sautéing until they are light brown (which takes about 3 to 5 minutes). Pour this mix through a strainer into the cold flax oil. Stir and immediately put back into freezer compartment. When fully cooled, put into and store in fridge.

i also bought dr. budwig’s cookbook. lots of yummy recipes including this one that i eat for breakfast! i don’t use quark because i pretty much have no clue what it is and i haven’t taken the time to figure it out. wasn’t that the name of the dog on honey i shrunk the kids? that movie reminds me of little caesar’s pizza nights with our once-per-week-only friday night soda. we had/have the best parents ever.  hmm, pizza. going to miss it. need to find a good recipe for gluten free pizza crust this week. also flippers needs to come up with an acceptable (yummy) gluten free pizza. anyone out there, hint, hint?

what is this, you ask? my new best friend. baking soda. why didn’t i discover its amazing-ness much earlier in life? have been putting it in k’s bath. his rashes are clearing up on his legs! i soak my feet in the bath with him for a quick pretend pedicure and it makes my feet oh-so-soft. also – i add 1 tsp of it to my shampoo once a week. makes for great hair. don’t tell sammy since she thinks she’s the prettiest sister already. ha. what else… j and i have been making a past of 1 part water, 3 parts baking soda and washing our faces with it. it works great. i add it to my laundry detergent, my dishes, and even scrub the tub with it. what more could you ask for. try it sis… you are missing out if baking soda is not an integral part of your life.

oh sis, k is a pointing machine! he learned how one day and points at absolutely everything. you will die when you see it. it melts my heart. i am one of those annoying moms who is proud when their kid picks their nose. it’s true. but you will be the same way one day. being a mommy is my favorite. being your sister is pretty great too. love.

mr. fix it

beck. how cute is k with his new swing set. i must come down to fl and play with him! can’t wait for birthday pics of my boy. noticed i haven’t posted in a while? it’s true. life has been busy and a little messy. here is what we are in the middle of:

bye bye small bathroom, hello big bathroom with big tub!

if you are looking for potty privacy, our house is just not the place right now. i am afraid our bathroom opens up to the living room right now. open floor plan we are calling it. tmi? it’s true.

but s is so handy and studly and has built us a wall and a little nook for my super sweet roman tub that he gave me as my wedding gift. told you. he’s the best.

first bath in the new, well not quite new, bathroom. and boy was this a treat. we were without water for four days and s worked until 2am the last night just to get me water. guess i can add smokin hot plumber to his handy man list. 

we are still in the process of bathroom remodeling and i took that picture a week and a half ago and the bathroom still looks pretty much the same becuase while in the midst of bathroom demo, this happened:

and by this, i mean our air went out. but good news! we have a new window. ugh. s wont let me cook because it heats up the whole house. that’s almost worse than living with no air conditioning! a week and a half with no air is slightly insane in AL but we keep telling ourselves it’s preparation for our dreams of living oversees. oh and since we are on the topic of no running water and no air, our washer went out too. thank heaven for super sweet sister in laws who let me use their washer. life. savor. 

as much as i love to help s, or at least try to help s with the bathroom. sometimes i am just no help. so here is what i have busied myself with. yep. diy.

bye bye shower curtain…

… hello kitchen curtains!

bye bye boring white pantry doors (oops no before!)…

hello chalkboardy curtain cuteness!

old picture frame, scrap book paper, old drawer handles and….

wala!!! love my new last name. 

so much more to post but i think i have maxed out on my pictures. give little k a kiss for me. can’t believe he turned one! still waiting on our visit from beck and k….

happy birthday sweet k! uncle s and auntie tess love you! (and will NEVER forget the 12 hours we spent in the hospital waiting on you to get here. s is such a trooper.)

tootles.