Halloween 2010

Pops came over this morning and I made breakfast and we went on a little walk around the block with the kiddos. After Pops left, I had to use up some bananas that were going passe so I made a banana buttermilk cake with homemade buttercream frosting. It was my first time doing a frosting like that. It was a lot of fun and came out really yummy.

I tried to do some therapy exercises with Kai Boy but he wasn't into it. He wasn't into taking a nap today either and the hard part is that he's figured out how to open his bedroom door himself. This changes the dynamic COMPLETELY! He is acting VERY two. So I'm having a hard time not only getting him to listen, but also to practice what we're learning in therapy. It's a huge challenge. 

When Peter woke up we had some pizza and started getting ready for trick-or-treating. Ryenne was so excited to be a butterfly. She looked gorgeous! 

Kai Boy was a Cow Boy :) He was really excited about the hat, but not the vest. I was going to draw a black mustache on him, but he didn't want me to. Again... this is a sensory thing with his mouth. 

And my dear Cruzito. He was a Swiffer Duster. Since he's been scooting all over the floor, I figured I might as well sew a microfiber cloth to his onesie. Just for giggles I grabbed the handle of our living room broom and we had fun with it. 

I was a house wife (or as I like to say... Domestic Goddess) and Peter was Clark Kent. It was a lot of fun dressing up. I even had hair extensions clipped into my hair. Too fun! 

Now these next images. These are near and dear to my heart because:

1. Pops took them for me.

2. They made me laugh so hard I nearly snorted.

3. They are totally and completely our family - big dorks that we are, never looking at the same thing, and cracking up hysterically about it. 

Hope everyone had a safe, wonderful Halloween!

Product Reviews: Tarte & Melaleuca

With Kai's struggles I have been looking at everything in our environment. There is so much going on. Recently I saw a link of Facebook showing that Johnson's & Johnson's baby wash and Wal-Mart's equivalents were being pulled from the shelves for containing trace amounts of formaldehyde. After doing research, a lot of baby products contain carcinogens in small amounts. Big companies responses are that they are very trace amounts. That may be true... however, these things are still going onto small children who's brains and bodies are still developing. And when you think about all the other nasty stuff, all those small exposures really add up. Just think.... there are chemicals in everything we touch - the paint on our walls, the treated drywall, the carpet, the teflon on the pan. Literally everything has some sort of effect on our system.

Recently my mom and I were talking about it because two female cows on the property are infertile. Just imagine... this is a result of our environment - whether it be their food, the water supply (or both), or some other unknown factor. Infertility is caused a great deal by toxins in the body throwing off the hormones.

I am personally getting so sensitive to chemicals that I cannot walk down the laundry/cleaning section in a store without having a burning nose and teary eyes.

I also researched Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which is a cheap foaming agent in just about every soap/shampoo out there. And THAT also contains carcinogens. GREAT! I have tried a few shampoos without SLS... but none have been great.

Recently I joined Melaleuca. Everything is based upon Melaleuca oil (tea tree oil) and everything is supposed to be derived from nature and natural enzymes (but I'm still checking every label). Best of all I don't have to go down the cleaning aisle at Target anymore :) Anyway, I have a shampoo that contains sodium-coco sulfate. I researched this and found that it's derived from coconuts and does not have the same hazards as SLS (aside from Melaleuca, Method also uses this). The Tea Tree shampoo is excellent. (for those that don't know me, I have very thick, duck like hair that needs good shampoo). I have also tried the EcoSense laundry detergent and it's extremely concentrated and I like it. Their toothpaste is also AWESOME.  I will be adding more reviews as I try them - but for now I am just buying things as I run out of the old stuff in my house. So far I've like what I've tried, but they won't ever replace my Alba Botanica lotion or Carley's face soaps :)

I've also been on a mission to find a good, natural mascara. Both high end and drugstore type mascaras contain a lot of aluminum, parabens, and some even have mercury! Yikes! So I got Tarte's Lash Hugger and LOOOOOVE it. I also am loving their new moisturizing lip stains. YAY TARTE for getting chemicals out of cosmetics.

Please know that these are my personal opinions of products as friends have requested I post my experiences with trying new "green" products in my home. My biggest goal is to eliminate as many toxins from our home as possible.

40 pounds

Today I have lost a total of 40 pounds since I started tracking it in April. I'm still letting that absorb into my brain. It's wild.

Pumpkin Patch fiasco

I had images of grandeur taking the kids to the pumpkin patch and getting a great picture of them for Cruz's first Halloween event.

Yeah. This is what I got.

 Gorgeous, isn't it? 

Check out how Ry looks like she's going to rip Cruz's head off. Mmmm-hmmm... THIS was our trip to the pumpkin patch.

We started out loading the kids into the car. I realize that people may not understand how I get three kids into a Scion XB - so here's an illustration for you. As of late there have been a lot of fighting and hitting between the older two while I'm driving. I think they had just hit each other when I took this picture.

Cruz, however, was excited. 

So we're at the pumpkin patch and I am thanking my lucky stars that we didn't drive out to Sweet Berry Farms (an hour + drive) because the kids were absolutely rotten. 

Kai wouldn't stop throwing pumpkins and yelling "Ball!". Ryenne kept running from pumpkin to pumpkin and I realized that she was ripping the stems off them! I was mortified!

We attempted some pictures - but this was really fast because I just wanted out of there as quick as possible. I was really disappointed that our "fun family outing" ended up being a yelling contest for me. I don't think I relaxed for even one moment we were there. And I was so sad because I had such high expectations for having a great time with my kiddos. 

Maybe it's my fault that they behave this way. We don't go out to eat. We don't go to social functions. Maybe it's my fault that they don't know how to behave in public places. Their version of an outing is to the grocery store or to get diapers at Target or breakfast at Gams and Pops. Maybe it's my fault because I am not a social person and shy away from big gatherings or crowded places. I was just completely embarrassed at their behavior and the fact that I had to yell at all (in the church pumpkin patch, no less.)

So this was our pumpkin adventure this year. I don't think we're going to carve our pumpkin. I'll probably cook it after Halloween.

More new things at therapy

Today we went up to Marti's house again and I took all three kiddos. Thankfully Marti's neighbor said she would watch Cruz and Ry while Kai has his therapy. This is huge because now I don't have to go through the city during rush hour traffic when Peter is awake. So we went up at 11am today and it was smooth sailing with no traffic. Ryenne instantly started playing with the other little girls' and Cruz was a cruiser.

This time Kai and I went into the sauna first with the therapy music playing. We sweated and sweated! When he came out, he was happy and jolly. Marti got him on the swinging platform with his feet in the front to exercise his side muscles (the last times he wouldn't let Marti put him on the platform) so already this is big. Then she stimulated his mouth with a vibrating thingy that she had attached a lollipop to. Last time he wouldn't let her turn the vibration on, but this time he did. We came to the conclusion that we will now do the sauna first thing before the therapy because he seems to be so much more cooperative.

Marti explained to me that Kai reacts to things with an instant "fight or flight" response. She gave me examples: if someone brushes your arm just slightly, you tend to move your arm quickly. Or if you touch something hot, you move your arm instantly. It's fight or flight. But if you grab a cup you think is full but it's really empty and it's lighter your arm is already up high with the cup before you realize it's empty. The brain processes that information more slowly. With Kai, he reacts to everything instantly with that "fight or flight" response.

So we're "resetting" this. She gave me this little medical brush and showed me how to brush his body with it - his arms, back, legs, hands, and feet. What this does is flood his brain with sensation and will hopefully reprogram his "fight or flight" response to use it when it's appropriate and to process things more normally in other situations.

I am hoping that I understood it all correctly. So much info to soak in! We have set it up so that we will have therapy twice a week. I'm thankful that she has all of this knowledge and the sauna because it's doing a world of good for him. He hasn't given me a blank stare in a few days and he's talking quite a bit.

Feet off the ground

As promised, some video and pictures of Kai on the swing. I went a little overboard with pictures - I know. I was just so thrilled for him. Now he has more confidence outside. He is loving the swings!!!

I am pooped after two days of a preschool photo shoot. It was fun but exhausting! It's so funny that I went from no shoots to four in four days. I have a huge "To do" stack of things on my desk. Now to find the time to do them... 

We have another therapy day tomorrow - back in the sauna again as well!

Cruzito is scooting all over the place now. I had to use the bathroom and I was quick, but when I came out he had scooted into the kitchen and discovered how to open the cupboard of the art supplies all by himself. This is how I found him. He was thrilled with himself. Now I think I'll put a latch on that cabinet!

Evening

This afternoon I took my tired bunch over to Gams and Pops as I was doing a photo shoot with my friend Christie (she'll be doing our family pictures soon). The kids were cranky but Pops played with them and they had a great time. My photo shoot was great aside from a pile of fire ants. Boy am I pooped though! I'm hoping it will be a good nights' sleep for all. I am doing a photoshoot at a preschool tomorrow and Tuesday and have to be up really early!

I had one of Mom and Windy Cow, but it didn't come out in focus. :( Mom is leaving tomorrow morning - early - for Reno. I'm already looking forward to her coming back home!

Perfect and Thankful

Perfect:

Breakfast at Gams and Pops house this morning with the most amazing pancakes on the planet.

A cool breeze and overcast skies.

Caterpillars caught with Ryenne's little hands.

Kai experiencing the swing for the first time with a smile on his face. *


Thankful:

For Marti who is helping Kai grow in so many ways that I notice every single day.

For my parents who are funding Kai's therapy.

* - Kai has been afraid of having his feet off a solid surface. He usually won't swing, won't sit on a ball without his feet touching. Today he went on the swing all by himself and was smiling. His feet weren't touching the ground. It was a huge milestone to witness!

Video's from Today

Activities

Yesterday I went grocery shopping while the bigger kids were at school. I just thought I'd take a picture of my counter filled with groceries because I had so much groceries for $100 (the vitamins were $40 of that) I was just so impressed. You don't even see the eggs and two boxes of cereal in this image! 

That cauliflower there along with one of the zucchini's became dinner tonight. I tried an experimental recipe and made cauliflower alfredo. It came out quite tasty! Although next time I think I'll add a bit more garlic. 

My Canon G9 is on the fritz right now. I am using my old Fuji 6mp and it's still going strong. Glad I held onto it so I have a quick, easy camera to grab. All these images are with the Fuji. 

Gams & Pops bought a Thomas the Train tunnel to help with Kai's therapy as he's supposed to crawl as much as possible. It's been a huge hit with both boys! 

Kinda funny though since Cruz is scooting all over the place I'll think, "Where did Cruz go?" and then I find that he's scooted into the tunnel and is just hanging out. It's like his little fort. 

I had a pile of artwork from Ryenne's class and I noticed on one of them that her name was written as if she had done it. Ryenne has insisted for months that she doesn't write and doesn't want to write. I asked if she had written it. She said she did with her teachers help. It made me a little sad that she is ok with writing with her teacher but wants nothing to do with writing with me. So I bribed her with gummy bears and painting today. 

I wrote an R and told her if she could write me a good R I would give her a gummy bear and she could paint these plaster trucks that a friend gave us. The bribe worked! 

 

 The R's on the very right we drew together... my hand over hers. The two R's in the middle she did all by herself!! SO PROUD!

No pictures of Kai Boy today. He had a rough morning. For some reason he won't poop at school - so he had been holding it yesterday and this morning he was constipated. Finally he passed it and he wasn't at all comfortable. So we headed out into the backyard so he could be a nakey boy, which he loves. We planted some sunflowers, some lettuce, he watered all the plants, and we played choo-choo train with the wagon. He even got to pee on the fence! It ended up being a good day for him, after all!

Kai's 2nd Therapy Day

Today I took Kai for his second day of therapy with Marti. We decided to conduct an experiment since on his last session we did music therapy AND sauna at the same time. This time around we did music therapy first to see if it made a difference on it's own followed by sauna therapy to see it's effects without the music.

Kai has some sensory issues and doesn't like the headphones on his head. We put them on his head and tried to keep him very occupied to keep them on. He played with a lot of toys and Little Tykes cars. We got about 20 minutes of music therapy in before he took off the headphones and wouldn't put them back on. He played like normal, but there wasn't a large improvement with the low tone of his jaw/mouth area.

Next Kai and I went into the sauna for half an hour at 125 degrees. We played cars, sang songs together, and drank our water together. Like last week, he came out with a tighter jaw line and less drool. He talked in the car and sang. He made a "list" for the first time. He said, "Nilk Firsht, get puggy and ny-ny" - this translates to Milk first, get pluggy (paci) and go to sleep. His first list! He was totally pooped by the time we got home. We had quite a bit of traffic heading back to South Austin.

We got home and he said hello to Daddy, Ryenne, and Cruz. He got his milk, walked upstairs, and asked to go to bed. Tomorrow we'll be crawling in the tunnel more and I will try the headphones on him again.

Answers

I have been having nagging feelings that something is wrong with Kai. I don't want anything to be wrong with Kai - but I've been getting little pings in my gut that something is up. He has moments when he's so perfect and then moments where he's not.

An Occupational Therapist, Marti Smith, was recommended by a photographer friend and I took Kai to see her yesterday. I was blown away at her observations of my little guy.

She observed Kai in play, conversation, and conflict. Physically we have several issues going on:
- His hip/trunk muscles are not well developed. He sits on the floor with his legs like a W, as if his legs are a tripod, to hold up his body. This explains why he is constantly falling out of his chair. He doesn't have the strength the hold himself up for extended periods of time. She recommends correcting his floor sitting to cross-legged and encouraging him to crawl as much as possible (building forts, putting tunnels in the living room) to strengthen his hip and trunk area.

- He views things with his peripheral vision. He approaches things sideways. And further, he moves his eyes sideways in one direction and moves his whole head in the other direction. Next step is to see if we have Vision coverage and have his eyes checked out.

- He is very tense in his upper chest and shoulder area. He does not relax his upper body making it challenging for him to have enough breath to speak. Marti showed me a massage technique to get him to relax his upper body.

- His jaw and mouth muscles have no strength - thus the tongue hanging out and drooling problem. Marti recommends we have him play with a vibrating toothbrush to stimulate his mouth to move around. She also sent us home with headphones and special therapy music to try for two weeks to train his brain on proper sounds so that he can emulate them.

There is more but my brain is so overloaded with information I am still processing it all. Is all of this caused by the CFL lightbulb that burst on him? I don't know. I don't know if I will ever have the answers as to what has caused all this in my little guy who was perfectly on track for his age at the beginning of the year. The good news is that Marti knows he can be brought to where he should be. It will take work, but it will happen. He's the perfect age as his brain is like a sponge.

We did one other therapy thing while we were at Marti's house. It is only experimental and we agreed that it wouldn't hurt him to try it. She calls it "Voodoo" cause she can't explain what exactly is going on.

Anyhow, Kai and I went into her infrared sauna for half an hour at 120-125 degrees. We both had lots of water, toys, and he had snacks as well. We both sweated a lot. I kid you not... when we came out he was like a bright, shiny, brand new boy. He closed his mouth, went on the swing in her living room (he hates swings!), and hugged Marti. By this time of the appointment, Marti had to get her kids and I had to get back home to nurse Cruz. I loaded Kai into the car and we stopped at the red light at the end of her street. The light turned green. And I heard, "Mama, light is geen (green). Let's go!" WHAT????? This from the boy who doesn't talk in sentences???? WHAT?????  So I said, "Yeah let's go!" and he said, "Let's go!" again. He started laughing and noted the truck that was next to our car. Then more words, "How wum Daddy didn't come?" WHAT????? I said, "What Kai?" to see if he would say it again. He did. I cried. Then he asked why Ryenne didn't come. He was a chatterbox the entire way home. How can I explain this? I can't. I simply can't.

When we got home and he was back in his normal environment he regressed. He wanted milk and he wanted a banana and then he wanted to go to bed. He went to bed early. He later awoke and called for me. He shoved his plug into his mouth and gagged on it and threw up. He threw up a couple times last night. I'm not sure if it's a result of the sauna or if he had a tummy bug. I was going to keep him home from school. But this morning he was so bright eyed and wanted to go to school so I took him.

I feel a sense of validation that I was right to trust my gut. I know that this is only the beginning of healing for him and I'm sure there will be obstacles along the way. But I'm glad that we didn't just sit back and pretend that everything is fine. I knew that it wasn't.

I kissed that foot

The other night was holding Cruz in my lap while I was editing photos. He wanted to nurse so I started nursing him and holding up his right foot and kissing it.

His right foot has developed a really sweet freckle on the bottom. It is highly kissable. And his foot is exactly the size from my thumb to pointer finger tip.

I kissed that foot. And I kissed that freckle. And I told him someday when he's a grown man with gigantic feet I'll be able to tell him, "I kissed that foot!". Cruz laughed and laughed when I kept kissing his foot and telling him I'd remember that moment forever. It was really special.

He is getting so big so fast! He is army crawling all over the living room and kitchen floors. He can sit up for longer periods of time without any support. The upper toofers are peeking through and he looks like a little Pumpkin head. It's all passing SO FAST I can hardly believe it. So I'm just really trying to soak in every ounce of his babyhood that I possibly can.

Yesterday we were at the neighbors house and the Grandma was visiting. She met Kai and she met Cruz and asked if they were twins (!) cause they're the same size. Isn't that funny?

Windy Cow

My share today comes from my dad... Pops as I refer to him most :)

This is my mom with Windy - her cow. Windy is a special cow that thinks she's a dog.

Closer.... closer.... !!!

It's Friday. Friday's are my official weigh in days where I weigh myself first thing in the morning and log it onto Calorieking.com.

I don't know if I've explained much about my methods for weight loss, so I'll go into it a little bit. Basically, it's everything that you're supposed to do - eat good food in moderation and move your body. What I needed in my life was a way to measure what's going in and how much I move so I could manage it throughout the day. I don't have to restrict my favorite things, which is key here. I just put a bit more thought into planning my day and have stopped eating things off the kids' plates.

Anyway, after I had Cruz I felt heavier than I ever had before - Although in retrospect my heaviest was actually before I got pregnant with Ryenne - but for some reason I also felt more motivated and empowered than ever before as well.

At the end of March I was about 229 pounds. In July I joined calorieking.com at 219 pounds. Since joining and logging everything, it's been a steady 1 - 2 pounds per week which has been fabulous! This morning I weighed in at 191.4 - so close to getting into the 180's! Setting these small goals for myself makes me feel like I'm always celebrating a victory. Also huge for me.... since saying, "I want to lose 50 pounds." seems like an impossible task.

I am feeling so healthy and so amazed. Sometimes when I see my face in the mirror I think, "Who is that?" - I haven't seen that face my entire adult life.

On the flip side, it's also a little bit scary. I have always been the "Big Girl" so I'm trying to figure out who I am now. As strange as that sounds, I keep trying to label myself but can't figure it out. Clothes are also another interesting issue. Basically everything that I had before doesn't fit. My mom bought me some new clothes and I have been picking something up here and there but mostly it's hard to find things that fit. And I'm not used to shopping for clothes, either. It feels like a foreign world and I am clueless. Most of the things in my closet that don't fit anymore I had bought in my early twenties - everything - shirts, jeans, shorts, ect. The only "new" things were maternity clothes and I have no need for those anymore! It's just a frustrating issue for me. I am not enjoying clothes shopping as much as I thought I would. Instead I feel guilty for buying anything because I don't know how long it will fit for and I feel like I'm just wasting money.

Anyway, now I'm rambling. I am both excited and scared at this body transformation. Keep cheering me on everyone!

Saimin and Cheeseburgers and Fall

Isn't it funny how when the weather "cools" to 80 degrees in the daytime I go outside, breathe, and am thankful that Fall has hit us in Austin? I will be even happier when the high of the day is 75 :) But I am so enjoying it not being so crazy hot and we can actually go outside and play.

Since the weather is starting to cool and I feel more like cooking, I've been experimenting with new things. Peter and I are both a bit homesick over foods we miss on Maui that we just can't get here. So I've been experimenting and trying to recreate flavors.

One of those things is a big bowl of Saimin (Ramen to mainlanders). I've made it twice in the past two weeks and it's been a big hit. The kids love to slurp and play with the noodles.

I also made some Korean Tacos - which were awesome. Basically if you've ever had Bulgogi, it's that meat with cilantro, cabbage, shredded carrots, and green onion in a corn tortilla. Couldn't get pictures... they were gone to fast.

Peter has also been on a personal quest to find the best Cheeseburger in Austin. He has tried several places and yet our favorite continues to be the little cafe (Cafe 1626) by our house. But a friend of his said to try Huts Burgers downtown, so we decided we would make a lunch date with Cruz while the older two were at school.

 

It was really fun going into Downtown Austin. The burgers were good, but not great. Cafe 1626 is still the winner so far!

While the kids were in school yesterday we took Dexter to the pet groomers down the street. He got a bath and his nails cut and filed. He smells so good! He is really loving his new role in the household. He is so gentle with the kids and it's amazing to watch him thrive without Chico here anymore. He now sleeps with Ryenne snuggled up by her feet in her bed.

And back to it being Fall.... it is as my Grandpapa would have said, "Delicious" to be outside. This morning me and the kiddos went into the backyard to enjoy the mild sunshine, the cool breeze, and just enjoy.