My Nutrition Journey-Background

I posted this picture for a couple of reasons.  Anyone old enough to remember a time before selfies, when you would be on vacation and no one was around and you would have to take turns taking pictures of each other by the landmark?  It makes me laugh to look back at pictures.  

This picture was taken at the end 2004. This is probably around the time I first started to notice a problem.  I was tired all the time.  It would take me a year or so, to finally feel bad enough to go into a doctor to see if there was a reason for my tiredness.  I took some blood tests and no results came back.  So I sort of dismissed it and went about my way.  Needless to say, soon after I was pregnant with my first child.  My tiredness then had a place to blame, on being pregnant and then eventually on having a baby around.  A high needs baby.

It's now 2010 and I am still extremely tired and my husband is convinced I might have sleep apnea.  I start to wonder about the link of depression and tiredness. Even with everything going on with Bella, I don't really feel depressed, just tired.  So again I head to the doctor for some bloodwork and a sleep study.  The sleep study comes up empty handed, but the blood test shows I have the Epstein-Barr Virus.  The prognosis is that I will have times that I feel really tired, and nothing can be done about it.

Fast forward a few more years and now we have two more kids.  All the kids are through the baby stage and for once we are getting sleep during the night.  In fact I make it a priority to get at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep every night.  And I am still continuously tired....ALL OF THE TIME.

This is when I first start researching the internet for causes of being tired all of the time.  I landed on some interesting information about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  The tale tail sign is that no matter how much sleep you get, you still always feel tired.  There is also some new research suggesting it has to do with getting a virus (such as Epstein-Barr) that never really goes away and your immune system is continuously fighting it.  As you know I like documentaries, so I just recently watched one called "Unrest" (on Netflix), which was directed and starred by a someone who has chronic fatigue syndrome.  It shows more of the very severe cases, people who can't get out of bed.  There still is no real cure, or even much research going on for this disease.

The realization of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome fell in line with the diagnosis I had gotten from the doctor of having Epstein-Barr virus.  In addition to being tired all the time, I have dealt with migraines all my life.  I had been told to keep a headache journal to see if there were triggers and I never really took the time to do it.

The year is now 2015 and I was also getting interested in nutrition.  Like everyone else I heard about the sugar epidemic and how everything had too much sugar.  I started watching some documentaries and stumbled upon one that had a great impact.  It was called "Forks Over Knives".  This again is available on Netflix, or you can even rent it from your local library.  I highly, highly, highly recommend this documentary.  This documentary started me down the path to try and fix my problems using nutrition.

To be continued...….

The Functional Point

Here was our laundry room before we started the remodel, back during the New Years holiday.  We are so close on our laundry room remodel.  So close that it's fully functional and we can't seem to get ourselves to work on it.  I'm hoping next week we can officially post a reveal.

In other news:  Anyone else's mood totally shot from all this "winter weather"?  I just can't seem to function as a normal person anymore.  I recently read this interesting article from Goop about seasonal affective disorder.  I definitely think I have most of these symptoms and in the future would really like to look into finding things to look forward to in the winter.  I just think for now, the winter means being cooped up with all the kids.  If we can get passed the "kids are ALWAYS sick" phase of life, I think making sure we have a trip planned in the winter could be a great thing to look forward to.  I keep trying and trying to get everyone to want a trip instead of presents for the holidays.  Maybe this next year will finally be the year it happens.

These last couple of weeks I had lots on my plate for school volunteering.  I wound up signing up for more than I had expected too.  I don't mind helping out at school at all.  But I definitely feel stress when things keep piling up.

I've read articles that a part-time job for a mom can be the best option.  In the past I've pushed myself to work full time (and that was way back when we just had one kid) and with all of Bella's special conditions, it was just too much.  So I went to part-time.  I've tried to stay home each time I had another baby, but I would only make it a couple of months and would actually need the sanity break from my kids, and working was a good solution.  I had to stay part time because there is no easy answer when it comes to care for Bella.  So I am a slave to the school and Bella's schedule.  I've been lucky that my career has allowed me to work part time.  And as working remote gets more advanced, I can even work from home some days.

For me, there are two downsides to working part-time.  The first thing is that you don't ever really feel part of a community.  You are not a full time -slave to the job, employee.  You can't take the big projects, or the promotions.  You have to turn down the social experiences.  You also are not a full time stay at home mom, that can schedule playdates or mom dates.  That doesn't have to worry about working.  You have your feet in both worlds, so you try your best to be part of both worlds.

Secondly you have even more things on your to do list that you have to decide the priority on.  I really struggle with this.  What should I spend my hours on today.  I am paying for daycare so every hour is costly.  To make the most money I should be working.  I also need to run errands and it's much easier during the daytime and without additional children (not to mention impossible if Bella is around).  The house is a mess and should be cleaned.  I should also throw in a couple loads of laundry.  Oh and everyone has been complaining about nothing to eat, so I should really make a home cooked meal today.  Oh I also need to pay bills, maybe I can sneak that in too.  Hey, I also promised to work on myself and fit in yoga everyday.  A shower would be nice too.

The list goes on and on.  And to be honest lately, it seems like prioritizing a to-do list is pointless anyways, as the kids are usually home because of holidays, snow days, or someone is sick.  It's been a never-ending winter.

Conscientious Closet Purging

I have a fairly large closet and I have it packed to its seams.  In fact I am also using part of Jesse's closet and the guest bedroom closet.  Not too mention a few bins for off-season, or just can't part with clothes.  I know I have a problem.  In fact fast-fashion is my problem.  I am always wanting something new to wear, and justifying that if I don't spend a lot of money on it, it makes it okay.  It's not surprising either that fashion trends are continuously changing, so that if you want to stay on top of it, you constantly need to be buying new things.
I watched a documentary a year ago that really made me think about what we are doing.  It was called The True Cost, if you clink the link you can watch a preview of the documentary.  It is also currently available on Netflix.  If you enjoy buying clothes or just like fashion in general, I urge you to watch it.

It definitely made me think about how I don't need to constantly be buying clothes.  In fact this year I have made a promise to myself that I won't be buying any clothing for myself and trying to really think about the clothing I purchase for my children.

The documentary has also been stuck in my head as I think about what I want to get rid of in my closet.  It claims that most of our donated clothes get shipped to other countries and then what they don't want ends up in landfills.  When I think back to my trips to our local thrift stores looking for costumes, it makes sense that most of the donated clothing looks like it's from the 80's or 90's.  In other words, they seem to have plenty of stock that is extremely outdated.

So while purging my closet would most likely make me feel better in the short term, if I was going to get rid of clothing I would really like it to go to an organization that could use them.  While I don't have the perfect answer for this, we have donated in the past to women's shelters and are currently looking at taking our donations to a Kansas City homeless shelter.  I can tell you that in volunteering at a thrift store a few years ago, we would keep the best stuff to put out on the shelves and send the crappy stuff to the homeless shelters.  I think it would be nice to take the nice stuff to the homeless shelters, but I have no idea if they need it either.

I haven't been following the true Marie Kondo method of dumping all my clothes on the bed and then seeing what sparks joy.  Instead I have been slowly going through all the places I have clothes and being conscientious about what I keep or don't.  So I have begun amassing a pile of purged clothing that is living on the guest room bed.  I have started three piles.
1.  Pile to donate
2.  Pile to tailor
3.  Pile to think about

So let's look at a piece I went ahead and tailored today.  It all came from an inspiration photo I had saved awhile ago.

As I was trying on older pieces of clothing today, I came across this old black sweater.  It's definitely more than 10 years old when the style was more fitted.  Also as a side note - today is a snow/ice day and my kids are home.  Which means I haven't done any hair or makeup today.  Also I may have hired my 7 year old son to give me an honest opinion about whether I should keep things or get rid of them :-)

I figured this sweater would be a great piece to turn into the inspiration piece.  I attacked it with a pair of scissors cutting the side seams apart and then I took an old button down shirt of my husbands that was too small for him, and hacked off the top part.  It literally took me less than 5 minutes to sew the two shirts together....and here is the after.

Now if the kids could actually go to school, this would be the perfect outfit to wear for casual Fridays in the office.

Ideas to Deal with all Those Papers

This is our first line of defense when it comes to paperwork.  Otherwise known as the entryway paper command center.  The largest basket is recycling.  The majority of the paper that enters our house, goes straight into that basket.  The second shorter basket is where all papers should be placed for myself to go through and organize.  Except it's usually up to me to round up papers from on top of the desk, in the kitchen, practically anywhere else and get them into this basket.  It's a work in progress for the family.

At first pass, I try to use the file folder to organize bills/paperwork that actually need to have something done to them, or need to be saved.  The file folder will then make it's way upstairs to the home office when I have the time to follow through on the paying bills and filing things.  In all honesty I usually save the filing and just tackle it once a year.  Or, since I already showed you the embarrassing state of my home office, I should admit it's probably more like every couple of years.  The bills unfortunately have to be tackled monthly.

But what about all the school paperwork that comes home?  That piece gets trickier.  I've heard the statement asking why we go to the trouble to save our kids papers, test scores, etc only to have them at best, quickly look at them once when they are 18 and then throw them away.  I totally agree with this statement.  Yet I can't quite throw everything away.

In our house we have a holding drawer for all school work that could potentially get saved.  And if I left it up to the kids, the majority of things would get saved.

This is also the drawer that unfinished school work/homework and important date papers go.  So we definitely go through it quite a bit.  Once we have fully agreed a project, test score, or report should be saved, it gets moved to a folder in the filing box.

I made file folder for each child labeled with their name and current grade.  I attached a picture from either their school photo proofs, or the wallet size pictures that you never know what to do with.

It makes their folder special to go back and not only see the types of things they were working on during that grade, but also seeing a smiling picture of them at that age.  At the end of their school career they will each get a folder case with their papers in them.

Then it will be up to them to decide what to do with it.

Challenge Space - The Home Office

I'm obviously not embarrassed to show off my extreme messes.  This is my home office.  It's attached to the master bedroom and you actually walk through it to get to my closet, or the screened in porch.  I actually do work from home a couple days a week, so I spend quite a bit of time in this room.

It's an absolute mess.  It has looked like this for years.  My office needs to serve dual purposes as being the place I can actually work my professional job and be the family command center.  You know a place to store all the school papers that come home and pay the bills.

This is the space I picked that I wanted to do a complete overhaul.  Both design wise and cleaning/organizing wise.

So here is what I am planning to do over the next month or so:

1.  Purge the space.  Letting go of old documents and books that are severely outdated.
2.  Deep clean the space.
3.  Paint the walls.
4.  Hang photos/artwork.
5.  New curtains....TBD.
6.  Rug?

To anyone else out there fighting the battle of school papers, I have some organizational ideas I will share with you later this week.

For today, I can share with you the progress I made on the first step, purging.  Here is how the home office looks after taking down 10 baskets full of recycled paper.

Now it's time to deep clean and get things moved and prepped to paint.

Displaying Family Photos and Children's Art

Am I the only one who struggles with pictures and art.  I love all types of art, but I have the hardest time purchasing and hanging it in our house and then changing my mind later.  Which is why I don't often wan to pay a hefty price tag, just to take it down later.  I've also been known to say I will make a piece of art instead of buying it.  So it's been a slow process around our house.

So the easy way out is to put up family photos if you have them.  And with the new canvas photo prints, it makes it super easy.  I have ordered many different types of pre-printed art.  There is the normal canvas prints, metal prints, photos that I have framed, or had professionally framed.  I have used many different companies and haven't had a complaint yet.  I would say a great time to order is near the Black Friday sales, or to just keep your eye open for deals.  Canvas on Demand has great deals, so I would keep them on your list.

There is a case to be made for having too many family photos.  So the key is to find a couple of places in your house where you really want to display them.  I grew up admiring my grandmothers house and all the family photos she had up on the stair case walls.  She was rocking the photo gallery long before pinterest.  It has always stuck in my mind and so, I have followed suit by putting up our family photos in the stairways and upper hallway.

We also have a few family photos in the family room, although I am slowly leaning towards taking some of them down.  Especially the older ones that don't include the youngest child :-)  She might mention it all the time.

The next best thing to family photos, or sometimes I think this suggestion is even better, hanging kids artwork.  I love my kids artwork.  And framing them in simple white frames with a bold paint background really makes them pop.  We just recently painted our hallways with black paint on top, and I love it. 

My white frames happen to come from two different stores.  I like these Ribba Frames from IKEA (12"x16"size), but they keep switching out the back of their frames and how they are hung, so it can kind of be all over the place.  I also got these from Michaels a few years ago.  The frames themselves are a little bit thinner and they were a little pricier, but easier to hang.

We also repainted the entryway white.  We had some drywall damage from foundation settlement issues that needed to be fixed.  Plus the original paint color, while lovely in the natural light, turned a little neon with interior lighting.  The entryway itself has therefore gone through quite a few changes.

Entryway when purchased - 2009

Entryway after first remodels - 2016

Current Entryway - 2019

One of the next big projects on our radar is changing out our front doors and adding a porch and discreet handicap ramp this spring.  We love the double front doors we added years ago, but unfortunately our daughter's wheelchair barely fits on one side.  And opening both doors every time she goes in and out is not practical.  So stayed tuned for more changes.

Looking at Front Door Currently - 2019

Age challenge and the dynamics of our kids

Has anyone else been secretly enjoying the 10 year challenges on facebook.  I'm not a huge fan of facebook itself, so I don't post much.  I thought I would have a little fun of my own.  Here we are vacationing in Mexico 10 years ago (June 2008) versus family pictures near Christmas this past year (Dec 2018).  I was a mess 10 years ago, still trying to figure out how to be a mother to Bella.  Actively pursuing all these different forms of therapy for her so she could have a chance at developing.  I was exhausting myself and it was having no positive impact on her development.  It took me a few years to realize that Bella was just going to be Bella and I was going to have to adjust to new expectations.  It's still a struggle for me 11 years later.

Now we have added two more kiddos to the mix, it's crazy around here.  I have known we would struggle with raising Bella and keeping up with two other kids, and it has been a struggle.  What I didn't realize.  As in this completely blindsided me.  How much my two younger children fight, bicker, wrestle, whine, and cry about each other.  It drives me crazy.  I have tried so many different things to get them to get along better.  I'm not saying I want them to be best friends, although that would be nice.  I just want the constant noise and stress of them going out of their way to be mean to each other to stop!!!  We tend to all hang out at home more than most families because of our limitations on getting around with Bella.  It makes it all the worse when being home is constant stress.  The additional part of the puzzle is that they always want to play with each other.  It's really hard to keep them apart and to have them do their own thing.  They always end up gravitating towards each other and then within a few minutes fighting erupts.  And here's the thing.  I like my kids individually.  For the most part I actually even enjoy being around them.  You get two of them together and I want to run away screaming and lock them in their rooms for the rest of their lives.  I feel like I'm failing.  So, if anyone has any good advice, I'm all ears.