I know it has been forever but we are alive and well and I swear just so much is happening. I cannot believe it is already May. Where has the time gone? Both kids can swim by themselves-of course we are in the pool but they are amazing. max can do cannon balls and swims across the pool.

Sammy is fully talking in complete sentences and she has started to go on the potty-both pee and poop. Max is doing amazing in school and looks like such a big boy.

Florida is treating us well. It has taken me a while to just get adjusted to life down here and plus my business is really taken a lot of my other free time. I love what I am doing with my clients and I love my business as well.
Check it out-Rachel’s Wellness.

I promise to post more and I owe my kiddos a few months of letters plus my host site was down for two months but I think we are back.

Dearest Max,

Wow it has been so long since I have sat down to write your birthday letters and even blogged about how much you have changed and grown. You are doing an outstanding job at your new school. You are making friends with so many kids and you are really are making this school a home for yourself. December was a special month at school because your teachers and classmates did the Birthday Celebration for you where I made a poster of all the years you have been alive and told a little about each year you have been around in this world and they read it to your class. You lit candles, sang songs and walked 4 times around the “world” candle in the middle of your classroom. It was a beautiful and amazing celebration. You answered questions about the sun, the moon and all the planets. You did a great job. You were so proud and I was honored to be there with you. I think your favorite part of the celebration was handing out my special gluten free, egg free, dairy free cupcakes with dairy free and egg free icing at the end plus dairy free chocolate chips..the kids and the teachers were so excited. You were helping the teachers put them on the kids plates and all of the kids with allergies could eat them, which made you so happy too.

This is a picture of you next to your proud cupcakes that your Mom makes!

You have been doing a great job with practicing writing letters and Daddy bought you a book that you practice tracing your letters and then writing them on your own. We also started to work on reading at night. We are looking at the letters and then sounding them out and reading the word. You really enjoy this even though it is tough work. You LOVE all the Richard Scary Books right now and Daddy just bought your 3 more because we had read the 2 we own about 150 times already. You were so excited when they came in the mail. You are just growing up. You can put yourself to sleep now all by yourself at night and your hold onto Running Bear, Eagles Bear and Singing Blue Bear. They keep you company.

You are very proud of your room and your books. You are very proud of being an Eagles fan and often ask why everyone is not an Eagles fan. You room has a bunch of Eagles Jerseys hanging up and pictures of the Phillies and the Flyers. You, just like your Dad, are die hard Philly Fans. You an your sister both have your Eagles gear that you wear for game day but the season if over so we will wait for next year!

There is a great playground near us that has these water machines that you can aim at each other and shoot water. We went there with friends from out of town and you had a blast. You were soaked from head to toe but you enjoyed yourself so much. You love to play. You are also really into your imagination Playmobile castle and school. We sit for hours and play. You and your Daddy sit for hours and play with all the figures and just play pretend imagination. You have always been great at playing and you love to just have time to enjoy your toys and cars.

a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxsmom/5377217649/” title=”IMG_8153 by Maxsmom, on Flickr”>

You are definitely going through the 4 year old..”I want it my way stage” but seriously you are the sweetest boy with the most open and gentle heart. You may hit here and there when your sister annoys you or takes your car or destroys your castle or messes up your game..but I don’t blames you even though I need to discipline you and your sister for messing things up. You have a HUGE heart and you just want to love. You enjoy playing, baking, cooking, painting, drawing, snuggling and watching Dino Dan. You love to play with other kids and you have really stepped out of your shy shell and taken on your power and your voice.

This year you and your sister painted the most amazing picture in December that is hanging in our living room. You guys worked on it for 2 days. The canvas was 4 by 6 and it was bigger than the both of you but you worked and worked and it is so beautiful. We will have it forever. It reminds me how colorful you are and how much brightness you bring to the world. Don’t ever stop asking questions. Don’t ever stop playing even though I tell you everything is not a game. You teach me so much. Thank you my dear boy.

Love you always,

Mom

I know I have really been awful with posting since we decided to move. It has been hard for me to find the time between moving and then finishing school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and then graduating-YIPPEE and then moving and then starting Rachels Wellness but here we go. So much has happened. I owe a birthday letter for Max and now almost one for sammy but Thanksgiving was great and lots of fun. It was hard to be away from my family-the first time in almost 10 years but luckily my great husband was there to tell me it was ok to be upset. Sometimes for a tough “do it myself” and “I can handle it on my own” type of girl..I need to hear that it is ok to ket go and cry and just go with the flow..so once he let me know that it was ok..I felt good and enjoyed the day and saw all the blessings around me. So here is a picture of my little guy and his momma who adores him.

I have to say it is quite funny to have Thanksgiving in the warm weather and be wearing short sleeves and not be cold while up north it was snowing. Max managed to have a gluten free meal even though we ate out because I called ahead and got him a baked potato and veggies steamed. I then found the desserts that had no gluten and he was in heaven. Sammy ate a yogurt I brought and the icing off some cupcake and she was in heaven as well.

The kids played and enjoyed dinner-well they actually did a lot of running around but it was still nice and we had a great time being with family..not my own family but it was still family. At one point Max was break dancing and this guy actually got up from his table and started to break dance with him as well-it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. The kids are growing up so fast. I cannot believe it.

I am very fortunate for all that has been given to me. I always have talked about our food allergies-gluten and wheat intolerance, egg allergies, digestion issues but at the end of the day, I have the happiest and most special kids I have ever met. Max is the sweetest and toughest little kid I know. He has a huge heart. Sammy is on fire. She is talking up a storm and has an agenda all the time and a plan. She is so strong in her desire to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. I am blessed with love from a great husband and two amazing and truly gifted children. It is all grace. I am one lucky girl!

Thank you for all you have given me, whoever you may be up there looking over me! Thank you!

I know it can be really touch living with food allergies when you have a family that has all different ones but one we have in common is gluten and wheat. We have learned through trial and error what we are allergic to and what we are not but it varies with season. I know there is an intolerance when there are skin rashes, hives, digestive issues, mood changes, sleepless nights and candida/bacteria imbalances. We have also taken it a step further and done stool tests to look at the inflammation, digestion, absorption and intestinal health markers. We have all done the Genova Allergy blood tests to know what foods we need to stay away so we do not weaken the digestive system, therefore weakening immune system even more.

People always ask me what we eat but we eat tons. I have learned how to make so many meals/desserts using brown and white rice flours. We try and eat a lot of fresh foods and whole foods because my kids and of course myself do not digest the packaged foods that well. My son is able to eat the Glutino apple bars and he LOVES them and they are a life savior for snack when he goes to school. I also don’t live in a bubble and I give my kids Yummy Earth Lollipops and bake daily so they have lots of yummy treats to eat. Max also adores gluten free plantain chips. YUM! Samantha adores banana chips. I swear kids have an intuitive nature about them to know what causes their bellies to hurt and so they reach for what makes them feel good and when they don’t-they don’t feel well. Luckily, they are still little and so it is still pretty easy for me.

I have learned that are food allergies are really bad when out gut is a mess. So I use a ton of probiotics and I rotate them. I also incorporate cultured foods and mix it in with his burger a few times a week. The probiotics are key and finding out what foods are creating the “leaky gut”.

Dr Weil describes Leaky Gut as, “Leaky gut syndrome is not generally recognized by conventional physicians, but evidence is accumulating that it is a real condition that affects the lining of the intestines. The theory is that leaky gut syndrome (also called increased intestinal permeability), is the result of damage to the intestinal lining, making it less able to protect the internal environment as well as to filter needed nutrients and other biological substances. As a consequence, some bacteria and their toxins, incompletely digested proteins and fats, and waste not normally absorbed may “leak” out of the intestines into the blood stream. This triggers an autoimmune reaction, which can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal bloating, excessive gas and cramps, fatigue, food sensitivities, joint pain, skin rashes, and autoimmunity. The cause of this syndrome may be chronic inflammation, food sensitivity, damage from taking large amounts of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), cytotoxic drugs and radiation or certain antibiotics, excessive alcohol consumption, or compromised immunity.”

If you are having trouble with your digestion and you need my help, feel free to check out my website
Rachels Wellness.

Dearest Samantha,

So it was a tough month for you. We had some interesting food allergies come up..actually hives that were covering your body from head to toe. We tried everything homeopathy, Sulphur 200c and sulphur 30c, Chamomilla 30c, Belladonna 30, and then Benadryl and and the creams but nothing was working and you were getting worse by the day. We took away your lactose free milk and started a elimination diet and try rice milk and that made it worse. I have a feeling the safflower oil was aggravating the situation. You also were dealing with candida and bacteria, which in not uncommon when your stomach is really messed up but the questions still remained-what was causing the problem? You were so unhappy and finally when you eyes blew up and your lips swelled, I scooped you up and took you to the ER and they gave your IV prednisone. For me to have you on that type of medicine, it was really bad. So I have since tried everything and the hives started to come back until one day I saw you play with play doh and BAM-hives-ah-WHEAT!!! So play doh went in the trash and so have the hives. It will take some time for you body to recover because you were in really bad shape so I am giving you yeast medicine and an all natural bacteria medicine because you had a bacteria rash on your skin from itching the hives raw. Finally I am giving you chinese medicine to help with the rashes and that seems to be working. Thank goodness. Poor baby. But I hink it is safe to say No wheat and No gluten. I am going to get you tested next week via a blood test. Just like your mom and your brother.

Halloween was not that much of a day for you because we were in the ER that day but you and I did have fun answering the door and handing out candy. In our new neighborhood it seems that halloween is like a national holiday. So we put on your Tinker Bell/Angel costume and took a few pictures. This was a great picture of us that night and even Esther seemed to make her way into the picture.

As for the potty and your diaper. Basically you like to be nude. I have found you in the morning with your diaper off and saying wet. Yes, you heard me right, you take your diaper off..not all of the time but sometimes. You have started to go on the potty and you are very excited about this. You began this about 3 weeks ago and your favorite part of the toilet paper-although you don’t wipe-you just take little pieces and then throw them in the toilet and then clap. You have gone pee and poop on the toilet and I am very proud of you. You also love to get out of the pool and actually poop on the grass like a dog-we are working on this one. I think both you and your brother watch Esther, your dog, a little too much and think this is an acceptable way to go to the bathroom. Oh Boy!

You are talking up a storm. You refer to yourself as ME or Sam! You say, “I throw or I go”. You can repeat almost any word and your brother enjoys teaching you words and making your learn new words daily. You are a great communicator and you are very social.

You are in LOVE with Kung Fu Panda and you think you are a kung fu master so you walk around the house doing kung fu non-stop and hitting doors and people. We are working on not hitting people. You still love Wow Wow Wubzy and you are really enjoying books finally..although sometimes you are the one who has to read the book to me, which is adorable as well.

You are on feisty little girl. You have to have it your way and so I am doing my best to teach you that life does not always give you what you want when you want. We just started a mommy and me called Sprout and hopefully this will help you since there are 12 other little kids in the class because sometimes you get frustrated when other kids are at the playground or on the slide and you say, MY SLIDE or MY PLAYGROUND and then I say share slide…share playground..I love your strong willed personality. You have a voice. You are not scared to show it. Never stop speaking up. You have taught me so much already and I am blessed to have you as my daughter.

I love you angel!

Love,

Mommy