What do you notice?

Pause. Do you see it? Can you tell why I posted these?

Have you actually tried to look? Don't just start reading. Play my game. Please. Ok, you might need super strong reading glasses.

Here's my dream for the next year or two. I don't really want to go back to work just because both kids will be in school all day next year. It's not about laziness, but availability. There's no chance of getting a real teaching job around here. Even if I could, I don't want one. I am not capable of being an excellent teacher and parenting. I don't have that kind of energy. And I don't want to be anything less than an excellent teacher. I don't have any other job skills that would land a great part time job, like nursing or pharmacy. There are jobs out there I could get, but I want to be able to stay home if someone if sick, to help in the school, to have the emotional energy to help my kids and to guide them through each trial life throws. And I couldn't think of an job with such flexibility. But I do have a lot of skills and I like to be challenged, to learn new things, to interact with people.

So a year and half ago, I started a blog. I wanted to practice writing. It turned into this therapeutic outlet. But it was practice. And if somehow I could break into the world of freelance writing, I could work from home. I could have flexibility. So above you see Plan A for the future. Check the byline. This article marks the first time I have actually been paid to write. Yippee! Though I must say that when I read the article in print, I thought, " Ouch. I'm rusty." I haven't been practicing journalism---blogging is a totally different style. But I was assigned a second article and received an email saying in essence, "You did a nice job." And the second one was better. And I got paid again. And the editor sent me to a "photo shoot" to get my picture taken and she asked for a short bio. I think I am in (with 1 magazine anyway). What other markets can I break into? I wanted to tell you sooner, but this is scary for me. It carries the possibility of failure, and I don't really want to share that with you. But I will, because I've discovered awesome accountability in my faithful friends who read this blog. And as I've prayed, I've felt God's leading, his nod of approval, his peace. So I know that even if my attempts fail, there will be valuable lessons to help me grow in faith.

And now I have one more question, again risky, because what if there is no response? I can't turn anything I have written on this blog straight into an article, but I can change them. There are magazines out there for almost all topics. So, is there anything I have written here that you remember? That you think might be worth sharing with people who don't know me?

Birthday Extravaganza

Hadley had her birthday party yesterday. I'm wiped out. I'm also blessed to have friends, childless friends who happily come to help out. (But who could resist a very serious 6-year-old pulling you aside and asking if you would please be in charge of some aspect of her party?) Hads invited 13 little kids, yes thirteen. We made the invitations while Hads was home sick one day. I intended to print the info on the computer to make them look nicer, but there was the little problem of the virus-stricken computer. In inviting, I failed to think through the all important step of how much space is there at the table? But I reasoned, surely two people won't be able to come. I was wrong. Everyone RSVPed affirmative. But one little girl never showed up; the kids said she was home sick from school on Friday. 

We started the shindig with crafts: floral crowns made with artificial flowers and leaves in 

one room, and yards for the little plastic pets in another. (By little plastic pets I mean those funny bobble-headed, tiny plastic animals that Hads loves, Littlest Pet Shops they are called and each child got one to take home. We made yards for them to play in --out of fabric, foil, and construction paper.)

Hadley came up with the crown idea and asked our dear friend Teagan to help. She made me looked organized and well-planned. She also thought up the yard idea and helped me find all the supplies for very little money. Really, Teagan and her husband Beau made the party extra special. They could help at parties for a side business. Hadley also decided that she wanted everyone to wear their PJs. Her menu included pancakes with strawberries, whip cream and syrup and ice cream. She didn't want a cake. 

After the crafts we had pancakes. We managed to fit all 12 kids in the dining room and served them. It took four of us, Cody, Laura, Tom and myself to get everyone what they wanted. 

Tom got up early Saturday to make a giant bowl of pancake mix and a smaller bowl of gluten-free pancake mix (for Kass). He wanted to play Ultimate Frisbee at the high school with

 the guys he always plays with. He promised every thing would be ready by the time he left at 8 a.m. and it was. The girls and I even went to Kassy's ballet class at 9:15, came home a little after 10 and had nothing to do but wait until 10:20 when the first guest arrived. 

After the pancakes, Beau

 did a juggling and magic show for us. There was lots of laughing, yelling, and a little screaming (what little girls don't scream?). Beau was great. 

Then we opened presents. I hate this part. But Hadley, of course, loved it. We had a good conversation the night before about the proper way to act at a party. We talked about what to say when you open presents, even if you already have the gift, or if you don't like it. We talked about the importance of being a good hostess, of making sure your guests are having fun and feel comfortable. They were good lessons and

 taken to heart by my young birthday girl, who was full of good manners and profuse thank yous. But I still hate all the junk that comes. The presents are nice and even thoughtful. But the girls get

addicted in the days after the party to constantly wanting something new to do 

or play with. I don't think a birthday party helps combat the constant state of the gimmes these little kids are stricken with. Next time I think we might take the no-gift approach. 

There were a few funny moments at the party, where it was clear the curriculum at their school was exceptional. Like when they all sang Happy Birthday in English and Chinese. Or when during one or two magic tricks, when Beau couldn't convince them that a secret bag didn't have hidden pockets. Clearly those kids were thinkers. Overall, it was a really great party. And many many thanks to our friends who made it that way. We are blessed. 

Remember you can click on an image to see a larger version and so sorry if there are weird text breaks in this, I've never moved pictures around within a post before....

Chasing the bus

K and I walked H to the bus this morning. It was a brisk, pleasant morning. The bus came; we started to walk home. Then I realized I still was holding H's backpack. I could imagine her panic when she realized she was missing her homework, gym shoes, and lunch. I started trying to calculate my morning and how on earth I could fit in the 20 -minute round trip drive. The bus driver must have heard H's real scream of panic, because when I turned around I saw the bus slowly backing down the street. I ordered K back to the sidewalk and ran the five houses to the bus. There was Hadley, at the top of the stairs, smiling, relieved. 

"You're a great bus driver," I told Mrs. C. "And I am a silly mommy." I think the whole bus laughed, at least the whole front of the bus which is the K-2nd graders. 

Many thanks to my cheesecake-making namesake for the use of her computer the past two days. 

You don't really need to see my numbers

It's Monday for you. I am writing this on Sunday due to the computer crisis at my house. So here's the lowdown. After a long, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week with numbers consistently above 190 (even fasting) and some over 300, I was relieved to fax my numbers to my doctor. I couldn't take it anymore. I was exhausted, unsure of what to eat, unable to function well as a patient mother and longing for a shot of insulin. The doctor increased my meds again. And now my numbers are not great, but they aren't so high that I can't function (in the 140-175 range). I swear I just need to go on insulin. But until such a time as the medical community agrees, I can function now. And I won't be posting numbers again unless I slip. While my numbers aren't great, my ability to cope with my diabetes, accept it for what it is, and not get angry at the little glucometer have increased tremendously. I think my mental health is much improved. Thank you for your encouragement dear friends. It was invaluable. And since I think my numbers are dull, and since I think they fuel the worry of my mom and grandma, I'll just do general updates from here on out. But if you see me, go ahead, ask. Say, "Hey Laura, what was your fasting today?"  

Two posts today-scroll down

This post is a detail post which translates into dull writing void of creative thinking. 

The virus appears to have eaten the insides of my computer and for now we are doing nothing. So there won't be much here for a while. I am discontinuing the posting of numbers on Mondays but will try to post diabetes updates on Mondays. Partly because my computer is down, partly because you've helped me win the battle. I am checking my numbers and I don't quit when they are awful. I will write the post for Monday today and rig it so it post on Monday!

H recovered from her fever quickly and made it to 3.5 days of school this week only to catch K's cold on Friday. Both girls (and mom and dad) now have runny runny noses. And the girls have coughs. Spring Break please hurry and break this cycle. It's wearing on me. 

K was tested for and accepted into H's school. The big moment was when my clinging shy child, released me from her grip and went with the man for testing. She handed me her faithful pillowcase that gets her through all stress-inducing situations. She smells it and feels better. But she went with that tester, and asked me to hold pillowcase, "I might smell it too much" she said. I was so proud.  It's a relief to have her accepted. I didn't want kids in two different schools. Yippee. I love H's school. 

I have been busy. Helping at schools, hosting dinners, and planning my garden. I used to think I didn't have enough time in the day because I spent too much time on my blog. I was barely on the computer this week and I still didn't have enough time. 

Anger Management

Writing is so therapeutic for me. This one has been cooking in  my head for a while now. 

I can't control my tears. When I feel any strong emotion: joy, anger, embarrassment, hurt, disappointment, tears come. I can't stop them. I've tried. If the emotion is just a little strong, I can sometimes yawn the tears away or maybe stretch my eyes to make them stop. Growing up these uncontrollable tears were a source of extreme embarrassment, which created a double problem. It was terrible to start crying in math class when I couldn't figure out how to do a problem, but even worse to keep crying from the embarrassment of people noticing the first set of tears. Even before I really believed in God, I would pray that nothing would cause me to cry. 

While the tears were at times nothing short of horrifying, they had the unexpected bonus of not allowing me to bottle up or stuff any strong emotions. I still regret that I can't command my tear ducts to stop, but as an adult I take more things in stride and tend to feel the strong, tear-inducing emotions less.  So the public tears are more infrequent and more appropriate when they do come.

I started pondering my tear reactions two weeks ago, after dealing with H and her temper. 

H has the temper that stereotypically accompanies her hair color. When she gets frustrated or embarrassed or angry, she doesn't cry, she gets mad. Sometimes she gets mad at herself, sometimes at other people. Often the reactions are extreme enough that she has to go to her room for cool down. At first, I tried to teach her that she could hit her pillow if she wanted to. But, a pillow was unsatisfying to her and such a suggestion lent itself to reinvention in other physically harmful ways that we don't want to promote. About two weeks ago, H actually threw the wooden stool at the wall while in her room. 

So now I have been pondering, what's an appropriate thing to do when angry? I don't want her to stuff it or deny it. Sure, if it is anger as a result of selfishness it would be nice if she could just repent and move on, but that is not a realistic expectation for a 7-year-old. I cry when I get angry (weird, I know). Tom leaves the situation, walks for five minutes and can then usually cope. H isn't old enough to walk around the block. And removing herself from the situation into the comforts of her room is apparently not enough for her little temper. Now what? I'm taking suggestions. 

Someone is listening

H was telling her sister tonight that her doll goes to preschool and "I am mostly happy with it. The teachers are really friendly, which is a good thing about it. But during recess they often don't go outside and they watch videos, which means they don't use their imaginations. I don't that about her (the dolly's) preschool. " 

Can you believe an almost 7-year-old would offer such an analysis of her dolly's preschool? I wonder where on earth she could pick such things up? I must be careful what I say (and when!).

To be reused no more?

I wrote this a few weeks ago, but I still wonder about the issue. Since my computer is still down and I only have a short time on my husband's computer tonight, I'll post this for your entertainment. I'll talk to the doctor tomorrow (I hope) and both girls are still sick. 

If it doesn't get used again, is it still recycled? With the economy, the recyclables market has dropped to almost nothing. At this point, at least in this part of Michigan, the recycling centers continue to collect recyclables. But they can't get rid of them and when they do, it doesn't cover their expenses.

Sadly only 6.7% of my city recycles...I didn't forget any digits! The average for other Great Lakes State is 26% and for the nation it's around 32%. The car industry has been eating away at my city for so long that in 2005, budget woes forced this city to get rid of curbside recycling since at the time only 17% of the residences participated.

Here at my house, we are probably one of those households that will always find a way to recycle. And we love our recycling bin as those clean containers have provided hours of creative fun. I often find my clean cans and aseptic boxes being reused as homes for small plastic toys, as parts of imaginary weather equipment or as musical instruments. On recycling days I usually have to rescue various containers from far flung corners so that they actually get recycled. But I wonder if I will always be able to recycle?

Currently, I pay a nice young guy to pick up my recycling and take it to the recycling center. It's cleaner and neater than me trying to stock pile and go once in a while. And it supports a local business. But he had to raise his priced recently because of the drop in the recycling market.

And consider this, the recycling plant in the county could sell a ton of office paper for $400 in the summer of 2008. Now the price is $60. A ton of cardboard sold for $100-130, now it's $25.

A ton of tin sold for $300-400, now no one will buy it. I wonder how long that plant can continue to accept materials for recycling. They've already done lay offs (who hasn't?) and started storing up tin hoping things will look better soon.

A Quickie

My computer has crashed with a virus. And T's efforts to fix it didn't work so well. Both kids are down with a fever. And how will I vent without a blog? I promise I have been taking my numbers, but they are awful. Last Wednesday my doctor changed my meds again, but my numbers are higher. I won't post them all today but my average fasting has been 180ish and my average after meals is 227, 275 if it is lunch. Such high numbers make me tired and weepy. I feel frustrated but not hopeless. I know where my hope lies and I know who is in control. 

Taking Care of Business

No updates here. No cute stories or sad ones either. My relatives of the older generation have a question that needs answering. Some of them want to participate in the blogging world by posting comments. But the steps are confusing, so here's a guide.

When you read a blog post that makes you want to respond, either with a smart alack remark, a joke, or a word of encouragement, click on the word at the bottom of the post that says Comments. It says something like 0 Comments or 3 Comments. When you click on this you'll get a new screen that shows the comments which have already been made and on the right side of the screen is a box that says, "Leave a comment." Your computer might give you a warning prior to showing this screen saying some items on the page are not secure. Don't worry, you can keep going anyway. It's safe. Type your comment in the comment box and then, if you are so inclined, proofread your comment. Once you post a comment, you can't change it. The next step below the comment box is a another space with one or two words (often nonsense words) written in a curvy, irregular way. In the space labeled Word Verification type the word you see (this is a security feature to make sure a real live person is making the comment). Next it is time to Choose An Identity. For basic purposes, just click anonymous. If you do click anonymous, but you want me to know you you are, make certain to identify yourself in the comment box. Now just click Publish Your Comment which is an orange "button" beneath the Identity choices. Sometimes your comment won't show up right away, don't panic. Check back the next time you read the blog to make certain your comment showed up. If you include a question in your comment, check the comments under the same post in the a few days, as I usually try to answer.

In other areas of business, when you check my Quiet Musings blog, if I have updated my food blog, there is a space on the right side of the screen where I write what the most recent post is on Food Expansion. You can click on the new subject info and go directly to Food Expansion. And often there is a survey on the right side of the Food Expansion blog where you can click on your answer and then push the "button" for vote.

And to ease your minds, posting a comment or answering a survey does not release personal information. The only thing that that becomes public is your comment or your vote. Hope this helps.

Birthday #33

This is a picture of my breakfast the day after my birthday. It spent the previous night under the girls' bed, hidden beneath a pillow case. On my birthday day, the girls decided they wanted to make me breakfast the next day. So while we were in the living room with our friends doing a Bible Study, they were sneaking around the house, climbing on the counter to reach the picnic trays, and acting as cooks. My precious breakfast included carrots, dry rice chex, tortilla chips, my own sippy cup of water and two love notes complete with attached book marks. Please note that the girls are well trained and included no sugary foods and also eliminated the gluten to make K happy.

My other great birthday story involves cheesecake. Being an only child, I still like to have my birthday celebrated. I don't need presents, but I do like a break from at least some of my daily duties. It was convenient then that T was off for spring break so he could pack lunchboxes, walk the H to the bus and pick the girls up from school. My Bible study friends provided dinner. I spent the afternoon at a coffee shop---writing my Monday post and updating my food blog (check it out...there's a great recipe for refried beans and more info than you ever wanted about the humble bean) . Maybe spending three hours writing doesn't sound fun to you, but I loved it. It was a good birthday complete with many real snail mail cards from my family.

I still need to tell the cheesecake story. Monday morning, since I had no responsibilities I wanted to make my favorite cheesecake (with Splenda!) for dinner that night. I went to the cookbook shelf but the recipe was missing. I looked in all the absent-minded locations I might have left it. Then I got frustrated. I didn't want to make a new recipe. I wanted the tried and true cheesecake. Where on earth had it gone? I am not a super-organized person, but my recipes are actually in proper working order. At the height of frustration, my former neighbor, aka the other Laura, walked in, handed me my missing recipe and a cheesecake. Wow. Given her timing, it was better than most carefully-planned surprises.

And the funniest birthday gift? A friend gave me a used book. It was a book I've wanted for a long time and I didn't care if it was new or not. The funny part was the disclaimers she gave, " I think my aunt said I can keep this." And, "Sorry about the brown spots, I spilled goop all over it and had trouble getting it out." It was better than a new book, much more memorable.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

Confusion, peace, and numbers

Beware of long windedness. It's been a whole week since I last blogged and my heart and mind are spilling forth. I will try to approach this spill with a napkin and dab at little bits at a time until it is all cleaned up. But the first napkin is always soaked. Some people blog for their friends and family. I blog for me (blog is a noun and verb now, right? Like Google?). And I am blessed that a few of you like to read what I write. To understand the story below, it will help to remember that ideal blood sugars are around 100 first thing in the morning (fasting) and between 120-160 two hours after a meal. High numbers around 400-500 might mean a person can't walk or even see. Low numbers around 50 might cause dizziness, exhaustion, or fainting.

Last Wednesday night I happily recorded all my blood sugars from the last two weeks on a spread sheet. I used the format the new doctor requested. Date, time, fasting in one column, post prandial in another. (Post prandial is a fancy medical term I just recalled meaning two hours after a meal). The idea that someone who could do something would look at my numbers, call me, and change things was refreshing. T took my sheet to work the next day and faxed them to the doctor. The nurse called on Friday. She said exactly what I expected. Increase the new medicine by 15 mg a day. I started the new amount on Friday morning and was excited to check my fasting numbers Sunday morning. My fastings had been running 140--how much lower would they be? The meter said 176. What? I washed my hands, sure that I must have sugar from the girls' cereal on my hands. I checked again. 172. What the...? I cried. Sometimes hope disappointed is more than I can handle with a straight face. To restore my spirits, I resorted to the childhood tactic of avoidance. I left the glucometer in the drawer for the rest of the day.

A few hours later T and I took the girls to the playplace at Burger King (deemed superior in fun to McD's). We made our obligatory purchase and sat down to watch the girls release energy. I am going to switch to present tense here so you get the full effect:

In walks an adorable five year old girl. She plops down, whips out her very own glucometer, pricks her finger, and checks her blood sugar. She frowns. I am staring. I can't stop. To make the staring seem friendly and not weird, I smile and say, "I have a glucometer too. Was your reading high?"

"409" she shrugs.

Hoping my eyes aren't the size of saucers as I wonder how she can still be walking, and resisting the urge to insist on a hand washing and a retest, I say, " Is that normal?"

"Usually they're like 58 or something."

Shrink eyes. Shrink. How can you act so normal? I wonder.
The girl's mom and brother walk in with the food. The mom doesn't look shocked at the number report but does ask a few questions to see if she can find the cause. The girl eats her lunch of french fries and chicken tenders (a high carb meal). Then her mom calculates the needed insulin. The girl stands up, anxious to play, pulls her shirt down to expose her shoulder. The insulin needle is injected and she laughs, saying "That didn't even hurt this time." I am staring. I feel like there is a rock in my stomach and I'm my stretching eyes in an effort to keep the gathering moisture at bay.

That girl's face is a new permanent memory. In retelling the story I still fight tears--the kind of tears that come as you watch someone you admire deal with something hard. The last few months of reporting my numbers to my new blog support group has strengthened my resolve to face diabetes. Books I have read, not about diabetes, but about not being anxious and about Amy Carmichael, a missionary in India, have reminded me that while confusing--my diabetes forces me to remember God. I am not in control. I am not supposed to be. I can't make my numbers do what I want them to. And because I know who is in control, I can rest. I don't need all the answers. Come what may, I will not be given more than I can handle. Life for me is no longer about finding answers, but about seeing the glory of God. I don't need to understand. I am a blessed child of God. Such thoughts crowded my mind for weeks prior to seeing this girl. And somehow this little girl, with her crazy blood sugar numbers and her quiet acquiescence strengthened the message the Lord has been giving me.

For God's new strength I am thankful. This morning as I checked my fasting number and it inexplicably read 206, I was at peace. I took a second reading: 196. I did a control test to see make certain the meter was functioning properly. It was. I will wait a day or two, get complete post prandial readings, and call my doctor.
Thanks for walking with me. Here are the readings I did take.
3/3 fasting 128
3/3 after dinner 170
3/4 after dinner 143
3/5 fasting 143
Increased medicine on 3/7
3/8 fasting 176
3/9 fasting 206

Lost lab work and numbers

Before I went to my new doctor two weeks ago, I stopped in my old doctor's office and asked for copies of the last 2.5 years of lab work. It took 15 minutes only and they handed me the copies. I leafed through them and said, "I'm no expert at reading these reports, but I don't think my most recent A1C is in here." The nurse checked. It wasn't there. And they couldn't find it. My urine report from my Jan tests was there, but that's all. They said they would check with doc and get back to me. So I went to my new doc without the latest info. But I distinctly remembering her saying my A1c was eight point something and that it had been too long since my cholestrol had been checked. She filled out the lab work to have it checked on the next go around.

The old doctor never called or anything. I forgot about the missing lab results. So Friday in the mail, copies of the latest lab work show up. It says my last A1C was 6.9 which is darn close to the magic 6.5 I am supposed to shoot for. And my cholesterol numbers were there. All lovely I might add. So I'm not sure what the doctor was looking at during my last office visit. But we are on to new and better doctors, I think. I'll fax the new lab reports with my numbers to the new doctor this Wednesday.

The numbers aren't great this week; but if you read last Monday's post I didn't expect them to be. I am guessing my medicine will get increased this week. The plus to these numbers is that the fasting number is more consistent and that is a good thing. A big goal for diabetics to keep blood sugars in a small range close to normal--no spikes, no dips. And while my numbers were lower before, they varied widely for fasting.

Thanks again for reading this. I still can't believe I have friends who read my medical stats faithfully. Love you all.

(Reminder: goal here is under 110 for a fasting and between 120-160 two hours after a meal)
2/24 fasting 152
2/24 after dinner 184
2/25 fasting 154
2/25 after dinner 161
2/26 after dinner 142
2/27 fasting 140
2/28 fasting 193 (then I washed my hands and got 143--must have been some sugar on there!)
2/28 after dinner 240
3/1 fasting 162
3/1 after dinner 122
3/2 fasting 149

Making Time

I purposed this weekend to spend a more time doing intentional things with the girls. Illness, company and general duties of housekeeping distract me and sometimes I forget to be purposeful in my most important job. So Saturday I had one on one time with H. We went to the Marshall Frederick Sculpture museum. It's free and impressive, though small. The main exhibit hall is massive with many sculptures easily rising above me by more than 20 feet. I had never heard of Frederick before moving here, but he made a good living as a sculptor and many of the pieces on display are kid friendly, meaning they depict things of interest: friendly animals, images from tales H is familiar with. I wouldn't take a rambunctious toddler to the museum as it is a "No touch" place but it was fun standing in a room of giant art and asking H what she thought certain images conveyed and which sculptures appealed to her most. The museum visit only took us thirty minutes so we followed it up with a trip to Starbucks (the nearest coffee shop) where H relished her vanilla milk steamer. I think just being in the coffee shop makes her feel older.

I love one on one time with the girls and repeatedly pledge to do it regularly. I've yet to stick to my goal. I've read about mothers of old, like Susanna Wesley who spent an hour a week with each of her many kids (I think it was Ms. Wesley but I can't be sure). I love the idea. Do any of you regularly spend one on one time with your kids?


Then today we went to the Grand Opening of the new Michaels store. It's nice to have a new, bigger store opening in one of the many empty spots in the strip malls. The lines in there looked like the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't buy anything, didn't intend to. We went for the free crafts (a little lame) and stumbled on what must be the area's best face painter. She was an artist, not just a teenager volunteering to paint a rainbow. She understood that for little girls, it's all about fancy and applied generous amounts of glitter to faces when she was done. Both girls wanted..what else? Kitty faces. The hour wait was worth the results, and it was fun watching her create. We also won flowers, paintable plaster figurines, and a wood frame from the prize wheel. Definitely the best Grand Opening I've ever been to.

Meow!

Tidbits

Can you tell I've been sick? Two weeks and counting. I finally went to the doctor this past Wednesday and got an antibiotic and cough medicine with codeine. I used the cough medicine for two nights and can now sleep without its aid. The symptoms are slowly reversing themselves. First the cough left, then the mucus seized draining down my throat and is currently stuck in my head. T is sick now too( Side note: He is a terrible patient. Resting quietly around the house is like torture for him--he paces around the house looking anxious when he is supposed to be relaxing.) I don't know if the girls aren't sick because they've already had this or if they will be the next victims. I hope K doesn't get this bug as it comes with so much phlegm that she's sure to get an ear infection.

So, sickness drains energy. I used my energy to do the necessities and didn't blog as Amanda noted in her last comment. I am definitely better though since I had even energy this week to try a new gluten-free apple cinnamon muffin recipe with buckwheat flour. It didn't have much of the typical starches that most GF recipes have, plus it had walnuts for protein and agave nectar for sugar ( a honey-like sweetener with a low number on the glycemic index) so I got to eat muffins too.

My mom was here almost two weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to mention it. She came for H's play. It was great having her around for the first sick week. She is so helpful and encouraging. Plus, she does things like clean the kitchen fan and the bottom of the refrigerator. I wish we lived closer and I wish I hadn't taken her picture in front of the screen door. Love you mom, thanks for the loan dad.

H's big news for the week involves gymnastics. After her first 11-week session she was invited to join the Ladybugs. She was so excited to be singled out in this way and doubly so since her latest best friend is in Ladybugs (and in her 1st grade class). Ladybugs is a pre-team group. That means they meet twice a week for 1.5 hours each time. And they have fun meets: meets at the local gym with judging, but not with the same strict standards. There are no real winners, just ribbons for everyone and a bit of competitive experience. BUT, I don't want to spend three hours in the gym in week, and I don't have that kind of money. Plus soccer starts in May and if you were reading this blog in the fall, you know how busy those six weeks are. So, probably she will be heart broken and have to stay in the recreational gymnastics class and just go once a week. But it was an exciting accomplishment. I've had several reminders lately that its not a good for kids to get everything they want, especially without much effort.