red light.

so i figured since i babbled all over my facebook about it, i should explain our new added "crunch".

first, let me start with what happened a week ago at sawyer's school. that sort of kick started this whole thing.

so sawyer is overall.... apathetic to punishment. like, you could tell her "get upstairs or ill throw your lovey in the trash" and she'd tell you to toss it. in school, they have colors on how theyre doing that day and she doesn't give 2 shits. like "cool. i got a yellow". or the threat of it doesnt phase her. sawyer had a bad week last week at school - but i mainly attributed it to A and S moving into the same bedroom that wkend before (pics on my TYLWL blog). and, well, they are re-learning how to fall asleep on their own LOL so i gave the teacher some ideas on what *i* would do with sawyer in those situations (hey, she asked!). and waited for the change.

now, is this 3 year old behavior? sure. but at the same time, i read about red dye in foods, on another board. hmmmm. so i looked up some more info.

http://www.red40.com/

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/adhd/2010/09/the-red-dye-diet-the-concept/

http://reddyefree.blogspot.com/

the last blog was interesting, mainly bc of the comments on some of the entries. so many people had behavioral changes as well as other changes in their children.

so i figured, well, sometimes sawyer's a nut case ;) sometimes aidan is. lol more like "over-reactive flip outs for no reason" which usually are from overtired kids, but sometimes.... i wonder... ;)

anyway. so sunday of this week. my mom and i went grocery shopping.

if you eat pretty "clean", most of your food, likely, doesnt have red dye. but its the "treat" foods that are bad - the crap cereal, fruit snacks, etc. and sneaky things.

for instance:
*eggo cinnamon waffles do not have dye. but the blueberry does (didnt check others).
*regular chocolate syrup has red dye. sugar free does not. that works for us already lol
*lots of fun cereals do not have red dye (like kix! or chex!) but some "good" ones do - like special k with red berries.
*most of the fruit snacks have red dye, but there was one we found that didnt.
*some things that are meant to look "golden" have red and yellow dye - like pillsbury croissants. (which sucks. bc i can sneak anything into a croissant and get them to eat it - veggies, meat... gah. and i am uncertain to how easy that is to just whip up lol)

etc etc.

so you just have to be careful. keep an eye out.

as for behavior changes, i dunno. ill watch. she did have a fabulous week at school. which makes me smile. but the biggest change has been HER SKIN.

sawyer's entire mid-section was rough, scaly, patchy.. the dr always said eczema. so we'd put creams, oils, we put on some food oil that she told us to do lol sigh.

but less than 1 week without red dye and POOF! her skin is glorious. is it as soft has her sweet little face? not yet. but the eczema is barely there. its amazing. really.

and fyi, this stuff is normally "not me". but since sawyer is already sensitive to so many things, and we've rotated so many level 2s and 3s back (with good results! as she has gained so much weight in the past year!)

so anyway. check into it, maybe? if you have any questions, i may not be able to answer them but ill try :)

resolutions.

or things i want to do this year.

1. learn photoshop elements. i do all my editing in lightroom. i have PSE and should learn how to use it. now, whether i actually use it for processing my photos? eh, we'll see. but i want to know more of what i *can* do.

2. bust out my new sigma 85 1.4 and show it out in all its glory. its a mere few states away on a nice USPS truck coming to my house right now. and im purely giddy about it.

3. keep going to the gym 3-4x a week. the holidays (and EJ home) made me so lazy bc i didnt want to get up and go. so instead of 3-4, i was down to 2-3 and it bummed me out. so this year i really do want to make sure i get up and OUT! of course, the kids back in school will help bc i have to take them by 9am :)

4. change up my gym routine. i go to the same classes all the time. i dont want to miss those classes -- but i need to add something to confuse my body a bit. i always get down to the same "body" after babies and then it stalls.... bc nothing changes in my routine. so that needs to be fixed.

5. eat better. make the kids eat better. i need to take out the processed crap we have in our house and just STOP with it all. i can get them to eat fruit at any point in time, but i need to figure out how to throw veggies in there without having to make a smoothie and trick them ;) and besides, going to the gym does nothing when i come home and eat shit.

6. be more patient. i really do think i have a lot of patience as a mom with a 4 year old, 2.5 year old, and 8 month old. i pride myself in that -- but i want it to be 100% of the time (ok 99%. lets not go crazy). i dont want to get frustrated with the small things and "la dee da" with bigger ones. i want to be "its okay. none of this is a big deal" with everything my kids do to torment me throughout the day. its okay that ive said "put your shoes on please" 50x. its okay that aidan's room is, yet again, a disaster zone. its okay that ive gone through 203942309482 dishes for the day even thought i *just* did them earlier that morning. its allllll okay.

7. go to church. this is something i think would be nice for all of us. i have aidan and sawyer learning so much in their baptist little preschool, but i want to be a part of it again. i want to make nice friends there, have my kids meet more friends, and overall - have a day of the week where i can feel whole again.

8. plan, in advance, date nights with EJ. i am going to talk to the sitter and mark down days ahead of time that she can come over. that way, even if my parents are at the lake, we can at least go out to dinner more often just the 2 of us :)

9. stay on top of my business. not bc i was ever behind, mind you - but i want to make sure i keep organized, everything filed as it should, etc etc... i dont ever want to be in a spot where "omg where is that" or "omg i totally forgot about ______". so i will continue to be as diligent as i have been in the past few months :) it feels good to have a whole sector of my life that i can keep completely how *i* want it to be. bc its mine. its my business.

10. fight my baby fever. well, eh? maybe. LOL

sawyer's poops.

well the problem is solved, my friends.

i, and dh, have been slowly ruining our 2 year olds body bc we assumed she had a dairy allergy and fed her soy.

oddly enough - she has a soy allergy/sensitivity. ok. really?

after her horrible blood test (started off great, but then she wasnt giving enough blood so they had to root around and i wanted to cry for her), we got her results back (appt to talk about them next week). but here are her top sensitivities.


level 3.
soy
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
fennel (the spice)

level 2.
horseradish
cantelope
cashews
tuna
sole
lobster
turkey
eggs (we knew this! phew!)
and gluten.

gahhhh!!

so they said to start eliminating things. oh, and what a time sawyer has had with dairy products (yes, im trying to give them to her sparingly so she gets used to more dairy). but dear heavens our whole pantry is changing bc of the gluten.

and, let me remind you, food for kids like her is pricey. i was actually surprised lol i had barely anything in my house that had no wheat. so my mom and i did a lot of shopping and searching and at least found some things to start her off right :)

BUT just in the past 2 days of doing this - she has not had one blow out. just one or 2 NORMAL poops. which is so nice. haha i guess this falls into YKYAPW, right? talking about your kids poops is gross, but im so happy that now we know all these things and she can gain some weight :)

so. starting off - 2 years old and 21 lbs. lets see if we can chunk her up in a good way :)

birthday parties.

so.

we always have bday parties for the kids. always. for a few reasons.

1. we dont have a lot of friends with kids so its a reason for all of us to get together and have a great time.

2. the kids LOVE our friends and vice versa. so having them all there in one place at one time is phenomenal.

3. good food and good drinks. yep.

so sawyer and EJ's combo bday party was sunday. so much fun. we DID, actually, have kids there this time - some cousins, aidan's best friend, etc - so that was nice :) my parents and brother/sil were there. we had a nice baby station set up for reese and rylan (my new niece) lol

and we had yummies.

our snackies included (not all made by me. no way lol my mom and friends brought lots of stuff):

7 layer dip
buffalo chicken dip
mini-philly things
cream cheese/olive dip
little weenie pigs in a blanket things
sliders with all the "stuff"
cake
mojitos
beer
lots of wine
and all the sodas, chips, pretzels, etc.


yep. divine. my diet of the past 2 days has consisted of the extras. and thats okay by me. you can go to my other blog to check out some pics :)

things i don't care or stress about.

when reading things online sometimes, i wonder how more mothers around the U.S. arent dying of heart attacks or having stress hernias or something. the questions seem like the answer should be "don't worry/stress about it", but i understand there is comfort in knowing "someone else has been there. it will be okay".

and, as we all know, i DO get riled up about a few things. but this post isn't for that.

these are the things i really don't care about or simply cannot stress about.

1. my kid not eating a meal. please refer to this post about food consumption in this household. i truly do not care if they are not hungry. if i make their fave meal and they still won't eat? ok then - i will bet you they'll eat breakfast... or lunch the next day. they will not forfeit food for the rest of their lives and slowly starve. its just not the case. relax - if your kid only eats 1 meal a day or only grazes the rest of the time - he'll likely make up for later.

2. most fevers. unless it is absolutely ridiculously high OR my kid is acting lethargic/not their normal sick type self - then motrin and baths are my friend. and letting them sleep. there's only been one time where i truly worried about a 103 fever and thats bc aidan was just not acting normal. we went to the hospital *just in case*. of course she was fine, and i have no qualms about doing whats necessary, BUT i see a lot of times people getting VERY stressed over 101. and, in my experience, that needs nothing more than hugs, kisses, and motrin ;)

3. what size other kids are wearing. this is the strangest q to me online. why do i care that your kid wears a size 10 shoe and mine wears a 6 or 7? why do i care that your kid wears 2T pants and 3T shirts? oh. right. i dont'. and ironically enough, i still answer those threads. i mean you *must* care what MY child is wearing, right? lol

4. how many words my kid has. unless they are 18 months and it is ZERO. its just not something i stress about. yes, sawyer is a good talker. i rarely do not understand her. she has a word for everything and says 2-3 word sentences.

but aidan was not like that. aidan had words. but she had her own language til 2 and slightly after. and SHE knew what she was saying bc if i said "what?" she'd repeat it all over again. total gibberish with a few real words thrown in. lol then between 2 and 2.5 that gibberish turned into words! ta-da! that was it! :)

before people rail on the fact that EI is important (which i dont disagree with) - im hardly saying that all situations are unstress-worthy, but for me they are. but i think sometimes when parents of one year olds FREAK OUT bc their kid "only has 3 words!!" or "my 18 month old has x amount of words and the pedi said she should have x + 5!!! what do i do?!" i think its slightly ridiculous.

5. bottles and pacis gone at a year. we all know that i JUST got rid of sawyer's paci. and as for bottles - i see them no different than as a device to drink liquid from. i think its downright mean to tell a kid whose had bottles for a year "hey, you had your birthday - i'll be taking that!!" some kids get attached and a bottle becomes their lovey - you don't have to put milk in it - put water in it! lol no kid will go to kindy with a bottle.

6. bumps, bruises, vaccines, etc. maybe im a cold, heartless mom, but i do not cry when my kids bump their heads or have to get a shot. i dont cry if they trip outside. i give lots of hugs and smooches, maybe some special treat, a sweet band-aid and we get back up and play some more. when we're at the dr's office and my kid has to get a vax or something like that - i feel bad, but tears? no.

oh and let me add an addendum to the tears concept. i also dont cry on birthdays.

7. how long my kids sleep. the "is this normal? my kid slept til 10!" questions are so funny. be happy your kid likes to sleep. unless my kids are sleeping something ridiculous like 20 hours a day - they are welcome to be lazy as long as we aren't going anywhere. but sawyer goes to bed at like 730 and sometimes wakes up at 9 or later. AND she takes a nap. ;) some kids like sleep!

ok. so there's 7. seven things i dont care/stress about. :) im sure there's more. what is on your list?

then don't eat it.

i say this probably every day. no, really.

as a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it, or leave it. ~buddy hackett

sawyer is somewhat like a garbage disposal. she will eat most anything.

aidan, on the other hand, has only a few food groups.

1. cheese. more so queso, but whatever. really any mexican food, including beans and rice.
2. velveeta shells and cheese.
3. carbs. like pasta, tortillas, jelly toast, grilled cheese.
(you seeing a theme?)
4. poptarts.
5. pepperoni. on pizza or not. she's not picky. *eyeroll*
6. donut holes.
7. FRUIT!!!! WIN!!! any kind. i can fill her up all day on fruits!!!
8. chicken nuggets.
9. meat from a pig. like sausage, ham, bacon... and hot dogs. i'll pretend thats from a pig to make myself feel better. ;) mooooving on...
10. cereal. luckily, her fave is special k with red berries.

ok, yes, i am being funny for blog's purposes. I DO FEED HER MORE THAN THESE ITEMS. but that doesn't mean she likes them. she tries them (sometimes). and by tries, i mean "puts it in her mouth, gags and spits it back onto the plate"... or into my hand. thats always a delightful part of being a mother.

EJ or i make dinner. and aidan will say "i no WANT that". ok, dude. "then don't eat it."

if i leave the plate in front of her, 2 things may happen: 1. it sits there. until i pick it up. 2. she eats it. but i never know which will happen.

am i a short order chef? yes. sadly, i give into that. but it depends on how much aidan has eaten all day. because, here's the deal. there are a few types of eaters, in my opinion.

1. kids who eat all the time.
2. kids who eat at meal time.
3. kids who rarely eat. and then make up for it later.

aidan is the latter. if she ate a big breakfast, she prob won't eat lunch. and then will eat a small dinner. then prob won't eat breakfast the next day, will eat lunch, and then something for dinner. so if she truly doesn't want to eat dinner - i think "well she had a big lunch" let her have an apple and some toast (if thats what she so chooses) and she's perfectly full til morning.

do i worry about it? no. i see asked online all the time "OMG MY KID DIDN'T EAT LUNCH!!! should i wake him from nap early?!!?!" <--- ok thats an exaggeration. but its similar to that sort of dramatics. sawyer is, um, lets just say #1 on my eaters list. she eats non-stop. and oddly, is my twig. her little waist fits into her last year's 12mon shorts lol she will bring a snack in the car on the way to dinner. eat tons of dinner. and then pick the rest of that snack back up on the way home. its fascinating. i never thought id have a bottomless pit after having a kid like aidan. lets use tonight as an example. aidan had a huge breakfast, didnt want to eat lunch, and then dinner time came... EJ grilled some sort of bratwurst or sausage something for sawyer. aidan wanted none of that. "then don't eat it". she wanted "QUESADILLA!!" (which, by the way, in aidan's terms, is a tortilla with a side of queso). i tossed a tortilla at her and then actually made her quesadillas lol she ate them. la dee da. which by the way i let eat in the cabinet. i do this often bc she eats more here lol (oh, and dont mind the outfit. she actually wore this to target as well - with flip flops and sunglasses hanging on the front. pick your battles...)

some might say, slip some chicken in there! really tiny pieces!! - fail. tried that. she feared the quesadillas that i made for about 2 weeks until i proved to her that it really was only cheese and tort. sigh.

so anyway, im up for recs for kids like her :) but if not, just take note that your kid isn't the only "bad eater". your kid is also NOT going to die if he doesn't eat dinner. kids eat when they are hungry. some are more hungry than others. i promise.