From this picture above, I can tell you are 15 months going on 12 years old. I swear you are so grown up already and even though time sometimes feels like it stands still, it seems to fly by. You have become a little girl this month in so many ways. I know I say that every month but I feel like this one your little girl personality is shining.

You are so independent. It is hard to even go food shopping with you because you refuse to be carried or sit in the grocery cart. I guess I could be that Mom with a screaming kid but I swear your will and power would override any games that I could play to distract you and no a cookie would not work, since you do not love food and you are gluten/wheat and soy free so our options are limited. Basically you want to walk on your own until you feel that I should pick you up and you do the little gesture with your hand and say something that resembles up…but I think you just say..”PPPPP”.

You have started to dance and break dance like your brother does. You actually watched him do one his moves and then did it yourself. You had me in tears from laughing so hard. Check it out!!

You have had a tough month so far…you have been sick twice. It seems this is the month that everybody in our family always gets sick-this month and October and you have been sick with a cold and then a chest cold-it has been awful..many homeopathic remedies such as pulsatilla, chamomilla, and kali bich. It seems that chamomilla did the trick and also helped with the 3 teeth that are coming in-2 molars and another tooth on the bottom right. UGH.

Oh can I have your eye lashes because I love them and just love you.

We actually went out to play yesterday even though you and the rest of us were not feeling great but I knew that vitamin D would help and it was so nice until you ate the dirty snow and then we went inside. LOL. You have this part of you that like to gets in trouble and I can see that look where you just want us to say NO..like how you try and hang from the over handle these days..You have such an adventurous side to you. I love it and I see so much of myself. I am getting myself prepared.

You are still in love with Shrek and actually laugh at different parts of the movie. You also love Milo and Otis, a film about a cat and dog and their travels. You are really enjoying playing with the pretend kitchen and are great at enjoying your toys on your own but you also love to wreck your brothers toys and then watch him get upset. I have a feeling this will go on for a long time between the two of you. You are the light of my life. I am so lucky to have you as my little girl and to watch you grow and experience. I hope you never stop exploring and continue to challenge us. I love that you are strong willed and yet need to be cuddled and snuggled. Keep loving…you are so loved by me.

Love,

Your Mommy

We found Amy Yasko because after diet changes and speech delays and allergies that could not be explained I knew it was more of an auto immune issue-which is basically what psoriasis (my hubby) and so we landed here-doing the Yasko protocol, which means that I am giving B12 shots every 3 days to myself, the hubby and Max..compounding a variety of supplements, dosing us with RNA’s (which are basically formulas which bypass our genetic mutations) and watching daily for detox..of and I forgot to mention doing a major gut protocol-killing the yeast and bacteria in our gut!

We just sent in urine and stool samples to re-test and see how we are doing with the supplements. I am hoping that the yeast and bacteria have lessened but those damn bugs are hard to get rid of. I guess it has just been a lot of stress on me. I have to realize that in the end we will all be fine but I also know that we will be fine because I am doing what I need to do for us to be healthy. I need to look at this as a journey and not an overnight quick magic bullet.

So it has been amazing to know that I am saving our family and learning so much about genetics. Who would have known that I would be able to speak to doctors about genetics, let alone nutrigenomics (using supplements to bypass genetic mutations).

As for me, yesterday was just one of those days. I was tired. Sam or Max have been waking up at 5 am. Sam is cutting a tooth and Max wakes because he hears her waking or vice versa. I am going and going and I am just plain tired. I even felt like crying yesterday. To top it off my little girl was playing with her blocks and threw one at me and now I have a busted eye and I am swollen in between both of my eyes. I am trying to teach her that we dont throw or hit. She is feisty. I never had to do this stuff with Max so I am learning as if it were my first. She is hysterical and it takes everything for me not to laugh but I say in a clear and calm voice …be nice..no throw..gentle..I have a feeling she is my wild child. Max and Sam are complete opposites. If Max takes a toy from Sam she will actually go and hit him..my little angel even bit him two months ago..feisty..of course there is this part of me that loves it and it makes me so happy that my little angel can stand u for herself but I also know that I need to draw the line now before it gets bad. I don’t want her to be that little girl that hits. I am sure it will be fine. It is so funny how our kids are so different and yet they have the same genes.

So I am just having one of those days and trying to stay grateful. It is a new year full of exciting stuff..becoming a nutritionist..getting my families health in the best place it an be..and learning how to be a better woman..I want to let go of thinking that I am never ding enough..I am doing enough and far beyond..I love my family so much that sometimes I find myself worrying so much that it is not enough..but it is and I am too.

Happy New year! I welcome 2010 with open arms…

So here is another one of Max and his cars!

And here is another one of my little girl who is always striking a pose for the camera!

And there is the typical morning in my house!

And then there is a typical Sunday. Go Eagles!

So we are all doing much better. Sam is fine and it toughened her up. Max is loving school and I think he enjoys the constant schedule and attention he gets there. We went to the chinese herbalist and she gave him a formula for Qi stagnation, clearing the heat and calming the spirit. He started to eat again. Yeah! I think I will take the baby next week. I am also doing NAET with him, which is a technique used to help clear allergies and intolerances. We cleared Eggs and chicken the other day and we will go back next week for another treatment. I did this when he was young but hopefully it will take this time.

I am almost done with my cold. I hate being sick. Good news is that the pill is regulating me and the doctor thinks that in 3 months I will be back to normal (whatever that is). I have also been doing a liver cleanse and I it has been hard to give up my huge bowl of popcorn at night (it is so my comfort food). At this point, I cannot give up that one cup of organic coffee in the am. I know I should but I cannot so for now, this is the best I can do. Lets see if by this week I have the willingness t give up my soy milk in my coffee, which is so my comfort food too. I love creamy anything!

I have just been losing my patience lately with Max. Max has been having a lot of allergy and intolerances. He has been having reactions to everything again. It has been really hard on me because I feel like I dont know what to do and then I get angry and i think I have been taking it out on him when he refuses to eat and only wants to drink his hypo-allergenic formula. I finally let go last night and that loving MOM came back. I cried the night before when I was yelling at him because he would not eat. He has been on a food strike for the past week and for some off reason I take it personally instead of just stepping back and getting perspective. I just collected a urine test from him this AM and will be shipping it off today so we can see how he filters toxins. I also made an allergist appointment for him and Wednesday he is seeing a chinese herbalist named Cara Frank. Hopefully she can clear some internal heat and help with the stagnation, candida and allergies. Just an ongoing process and it can sometimes be really hard but I just need to let go of it and keep moving forward to help Max.

So yesterday morning sucked! I was dropping Max off at school and rushing and I went to put Sam in the ergo carrier and she fell on the concrete. SHE FELL and his her head. I picked her up and held her so tight and went and got max and took him into school. She had stopped crying in 30 seconds but had a huge bump on her head. I gave her Arnica homeopathy and put on Arnica gel and watched her closely. I gave her Arnica later in the day again and she seemed to be fine. I was just rushing. I was rushing to get Max to school and rushing to get to Valley Green for a run with Samantha and she fell. I was crying in the parking lot after I dropped off Max. I know she is fine and I know we all have those moments where our babies get hurt because of something we do but it was still hard. I called the doctor and she told me what to do and what to look for over the next 24 hours. All is fine with Miss Samantha, thank GOD!

Yesterday was the first time I pumped and took Max out for a nice day with Momma. It was so great to be alone with him and I really think he needed it. I realized after blogging yesterday that I needed all my attention to be on him so that I did have the energy. I am lucky that my sitter was able to come here for  few hours and watch Samantha while I had some time with Max and Scott had some time with himself. I think men are just wired differently than women-see we can keep going and going even if we don’t have time for ourselves but my man needs his alone time or he crumbles. So it was great to be out. We went to a gym class and had a great time and we ran some errands and we just hung out.

I felt like I did a great thing for both Max and myself. It was also nice to be out and about with the baby. Sam took her first bottle yesterday like a pro. She drank 4 ounces of good fatty momma milk and had no problems latching later, despite her baby cold-Yes, she got sick from her brother and has a stuff nose and a cough. It kills me to hear her cough but she is still doing ok. She has a little trouble nursing but with the humidifier, and the nasal plunger, well we are ok. I also gave her Camimilla homeopathy recommended byt her Doctor, Daphne Goldberg, to help with the frustration of being sick and also to help with her minor stomach upset from the mucous. She seems to be doing great from the homeopathy because she is sick and happy.

Today the sitter is coming again in the afternoon, so my hubby can watch football all day and then Max and I can go food shopping and run errands. We also have a play date this morning and I am excited to see our friends because it has been a while. Today, I dont feel so crazy and I think that is why I blog because after writing yesterday, things seemed to be a little better.

And of course, here are some pictures of bath time and some pictures of Max and me and then Sam and me. Enjoy!

I guess I just feel more comfortable with those remedies than a doctor. I am not opposed to taking medication. I think medicine is important at the right times but I am all for preventative medicine. One of the most common problems during pregnancy is that you feel tired. Of course it is party due to the hormones but it is also because the body is trying so hard to build blood and people like me, a mom that is anemic, tend to have trouble building blood. Of course the baby is fine but the mom suffers. So I got chinese herbs to help build blood and I am drinking nettle tea, a tonic used in ancient times to build blood. 

As for the other varicose and hemorrhoid issue, I know that the spleen, which is what holds up the baby during pregnancy gets tired and so eating foods that help the spleen to be supported is awesome and of course-getting acupuncture. 

As for fertility, I have been so lucky. I got pregnant the first try with Max and the second month of trying with this one. I ad no idea my period was 37 days long and so I miss judged the cycle. But I do know a few women that are scared to try natural remedies and do not want to see a doctor either. I guess we all have our own journey.

Well as for me, the instant I don’t feel good, I try and figure out who I need to see and then it is all better again. Don’t think that I am a natural doctor hopper but I am a big believer that some peoples bodies need some extra help. I guess this body is one of them.

But all in all-I am healthy. I workout, chase after a toddler and I am on the go constantly.

We saw Todd Hoover again because Max was digging in his ear. He told me that it is an allergy, both food and environment, but that I should not worry since his ears looked great. He gave him another dose of the original remedy and hopefully, this will relieve the digging from happening at all. I think Todd Hoover is one of the best homeopaths because he is such a wonderful observer of both Max and my own thoughts on his condition. The good news is that is is not systemic and it is not yeast just allergies.

Max had green goo coming out of his nose and so we did not go and see Christy at Cakerwakers. I felt horrible but her little one had just gotten over a sickness and I just could not bring him to the party for her little one turning 2 years old. this is the second time i have tried to meet this blog friend and it did not work out. Boo Hoo! Hopefully, we will try again. Sorry but it seems everyone is sick in June. UGH!

As for the pregnancy update, the damn scale is going up and up. Maybe it was the chinese food or the popcorn at the movies. Or maybe it is just the fact that I am prego. I really wanted to gain little weight but I guess I know that I got it off before and so I can do it again. I went for the ultrasound/blood test for down syndrome and the percentage is 1/580 for my age. Well my tests came back and my percentage was 1/10,000. The nurse on the phone was amazed by my numbers. I will take that number any day. As for the baby, well the baby looked happy and bouncing around. I am so anxious to find out what we are having. I have no patience. God bless those who can wait.

Well here is my little gardner. he was very helpful as long as he had a shovel, my shovel and his water bottle. I am still not sure how I managed to get all my veggies planted with being sick and taking care of a sick boy but I did. We planted cauliflower, collard greens, swiss chard, lettuce and tomatoes. I am so excited for the veggies to start growing. 

I do have to admit that it was tough to get into the groove with Max trying to pick up every gardening tool and playing with the dirt and trying to re-plant to plants. Luckily his Dad was eager to have the garden finished as well so they played while I worked in the fields. Lately the pregnancy hormones have been making me feel a tid on the bitchy side and so Scott has been stepping up to help more with Max.

Max is getting in his molars as well as being sick and so he is in no mood for anything. He is fussy and cranky and crying for no reason and this pregnant fussy and cranky mom just feels tired. He has the teething red butt and he is just not happy. I gave him a huge dose of Tylenol, chamomilla homeopathic remedy, a binky and put my little guy to bed. I feel like I need that too.

Tell me! Am I the only one that finds this pregnancy thing tough running after another kid? Where did my patience go? Will I ever get it back?

Just asking.