A week or so ago...

I was waiting to see if my baby has Autism. There has been an update on that here....

http://kickingthewolf.blogspot.com/

This is Jonah's blog which I want to keep separate from this one so please feel free to head on over there and have a look around :)

OK so, when I last posted I was also awating the birth of a brand new nephew, he was due in for days time. I am proud to say that baby Otis arrived yesterday and he is just gorgeous. Unforuntately Otis was born with a hole is his diaphragm and some of his internal organs have moved into his chest cavity. This was not picked up in the scan and was totally unexpected.

He's doing well, has been transfered to the childrens hospital and will have surgery tomorrow or the next day. He looks a lot like his cousin Luke when he was born and I can't help but want to pick up that boy and squish him good!!

Luke is loving school and is doing so much better than we expected! He has mastered all of his 100 magic words and is now well into the next set! They get 100 words divided up onto coloured sheets and learn each set before moving on to the next. It starts with the Golden words and he learned those two days after he got them. That was the pattern, every time he would get a new set of words he would know them all two days after. He's just hooting along!

Sam is not coping as well without Luke home but he's doing ok. Sam, the child whom I said God gave me because He couldn't handle him, has turned into the most quiet, placid, Angelic little boy. I cannot believe he is the same child lol. He is so quiet, sentitive and just so loving. He doesn't destroy the house any more, thankfully, and he is such a joy to be around.

I think God knew that there would be no Mummy left if he gave me Sam as he was and Jonah together! :P

Now, that sugar thing. I am thrilled to say I am still off the sugar and hope to be for a very long time. I just cannot cannot cannot eat it. It goes straight to my mid section and I can't shift it! Plus, it makes me feel downright awful. I sleep poorly, I can't concentrate, my skin goes terrible and I generaly feel lethargic and foggy headed when I am on sugar.

I am so happy to be off it again. I have also told people that I will not be joining them for dessert when we are out. My birthday was the last hoorah and that's it!

I am starting another 12 week challenge at my gym and have been doing a running programme for the past 7 weeks. I have made some great gains but I still need to shift some kilos so I don't feel like I'm running with a weight vest on when all I am wearing is a T shirt lol. I shall keep you all updated on that one!

OK, nuff from me.

Hectic

Everything is just so hectic. I've pretty much fallen apart but I'm busily putting the pieces back together again. Looking back on the past month I'm quite suprised I got through it. I'm tired, fed up, worried, stressed, busy, uncertain and nothing will change in the near future. That in iteself is quite daunting.

Darling Husband and I have decided that we will do nothing, absolutely nothing that will cause any added stress to our family. We've been quite ruthless about accepting and declinging invitations to places and events that might cause added stress, even though they're meant to 'give us a break.'. People just don't understand that even dropping by for a catch up quick coffee or a catch up can be a stressful event these days. My home is my sanctuary right now and it's all I can do just to keep things running smoothly here. Having to entertain and accomodate visitors is just a bit beyond me at the moment. I know people thing 'but it's only us' and that they'll help themselvs to coffee etc but I'm just not comfortable plodding around in my pyjamas in front of guests and there are some days where I don't actually want to get out of my pyjamas!

I fell well and truly off the sugar free bandwagon, skinning my knees and my pride in the process. I've made a concious decision to get back on that wagon and that started today. I am much better when I am sugar free. Going back on it at least had the benefit of proving to me that I just can't eat it. I felt dreadful, my skin again turned horrid, the weight I lost came back on and my energy levels fell through the floor.

But I can't stay and wallow in self pity, it's too lonely here. I think I've had my sook and my scream and shout and now it's time to pick up, dust off and get moving. Thanks to anyone out there who is still following along this blog. I heart you muchly xxx

Giving up Sugar (again)

Day 1: Going well so far!!

My Pet Peeve

Nutella.




This stuff ^^ it's truly horrid. How any parent can justify giving it to their child is beyond me. Even before I became a fructophope I still knew Nutella was not a food any child (or adult for that matter) should ever be eating. People, it's a jar of sugar and fat. Before you even see a hazelnut you have to get past 85% sugar and fat. That's right, there is almost 55% sugar in that jar and 30% fat, that's almost 85% sugar and fat alone.

It's not food, it's poison dressed up as a chocolate spread.

You should see my house right now...

Because it's feral!

Gastro came to play at our house this weekend and with so many people living here, you can imagine the carnage. Darling Husband and I took turns nursing children, vomiting and cleaning up all maner of bodily fluids. sometimes it was a mystery as to what belonged to who. The one good thing though, Darling Husband was supposed to be in New Zealand this morning but because of some uncertainty with with JDude's tests, he didn't go, thus, he didn't leave me all alone with three spewing children hooray!

Today is Sunday and we're all feeling better. Again, hooray.

Yesterday was Seb's birthday (Quick recap for those of you only recently playing from home, Seb is from Ethiopa and has been living with us for almost 3 years now), I made her a chocolate cake, covered it in pink icing and Smarties and as is usual, she blushed. We also bought her some gifts which she loved. Honestly, I swear she is the hardest person to buy for so I was glad that she really loved her presents :)

In Ethiopia they don't celebrate birthdays like we do. It's acknowleged but you don't get presents and birthday cake. At best you might get your favorite bread baked for you and you might get some clothes if your parents have money but that's about it. So, when it's Seb's birthday and we celebrate it, she doesn't really know what to do, say, or where to look LOL. Each and every time I can't help but laugh, I've never seen a dark skinned person blush before I met Seb lol.

And yes I did say that I made her a chocolate cake, and no I didn't eat any of it. I had run out of glucose powder so had to use caster sugar. That meant I just couldn't eat any of it so I simply didn't. And to be honest, it really wasn't that hard. Half of the cake is still sitting in the fridge. It will probably get thrown out before it gets finished. That never used to happen in this house!

It's day 22 of no sugar and I can honestly say I'm now feeling no withdrawal symptoms at all. I don't crave it any more, I'm not having my afternoon slumps and I no longer have that foggy, headachy feeling. It's over, done and dusted.

Some people have asked me if I intend to stay off sugar for life or if I will soon begin to have 'just little bits', for a 'treat'. The answer is yes and no. Yes I will be staying off it for life and no I will not be having any of it for a treat.

Sugar to me is like smoking. I was addicted to nicotine and sugar. Both were ruining my health and I had to give them both up. To have a little bit of sugar for a treat now is exactly the same to me as having a 'puff of a cigarette' for a treat. Seriously, who would do that?

I do acknowlege though that it took me many times to fully give up smoking. Twice I gave up for two years, only to fall off the wagon again. Many times I gave up for 4-6 months, again to start up. Actually in the last ten years that I smoked I was off them more than I was on them. It may well be the same with sugar. I may fall off this bandwagon but I promise myself that I will do all I can not to fall off and to clamber aboard quick smart should I find those wagon wheels about to barrel over me!

There are two oposites about sugar v's nicotine though. With nocotine you're a social outcast if you partake yet with sugar you're a sociall outcast if you don't! It's hard celebrating birthdays, when you lovingly make someone a cake, present it to them and then decline a slice. It's hard going to people's houses for dinner, you have to pre arrange no dessert so the host doesn't go to too much trouble all for nothing. Restaurants are hard, the sauces almost always have sugar in them. Many places will cater for allergies, for gluten intolerance but for the sugar addicted diner? No dice. Yes, I could order off the diabetic menu, if there was one but that's as rare as my kids having a clean room for more than a nonosecond.

On Feb 2nd it will have been a calendar month since I gave up sugar. On that day I will weigh myself and see if there has been any weight loss. I don't expect big numbers, I ate an orchard full of fruit every day plus anything that wasn't nailed down during the wost of the withdrawals, and I chugged down a lot of glucose so
the scales might not go my way.

It doesn't matter. I know that eventually, one day they will. All that matters for now is that I have achieved another goal that I set out to do. I have given up sugar and I am over the withdrawals.

I hearby declare.....

That Skipper is awesome. Yes indeedly, totally awesome, just as awsome as her awesomeness manly man, Daz.

Why do you ask are they so totally awesome?!?! They found all of my old blog posts and now I have them back!!

These folks ^^^ choc full of awesomesauce, the pair of them <3 <3 <3

Can't thank you both enough. MWAH!!

xxxxx

There was an old woman..

Who stood behind me in Big W and proceded to tell me her life story. She was 87, it was a long story lol. She saw me wrangling my three youngest as we waited in a line that dwarfed the Great Wall of China. She told me that she had four sons, I told her I had five, she told me I must be very strong because God only gave sons to very strong women, so to get five of them meant that I was in the running to rip Cratos' title right out from under him. I told her that sometimes I thought God had a really sick sense of humour.

Then I told her what I really thought of having five boys. She started glancing at security and backing away slowly. (<--That was actually a Scrubs moment. It didn't really happen)

She was a lovely old Dear. She told me she had buried her son last year, he was 67 when he died. I thought of how odd it would be to die at age 67 and have your Mother attend your funeral. Not that you'd know, you'd be dead of course, but still, it would be strange. Then she told me that she raised her great grand daughter who was 20 now and had pretty much run off to join the circus. She said she had to raise her great grand daughter from birth because the childs Mother was '"Nothing but a crack whore bitch." LOL I amost choked. She did say that in a whisper that only her and I could hear but she still shocked me with her language!

Next she showed me what she was purchasing. Two nice new pairs of undies. Big ones! "But Oh they're really confortable!" she said LOL. She had one black pair and one white pair. I was about to blurt out, "Oh yeah, gotta love the big Granny undies!" but then I remembered who I was talking to and just gave her a smile and a nod. She held them up and then shoved them in my face so I could get a REALLY good look at them. I wasn't sure what she wanted, maybe a score out of ten? But I just admired her new knickers as much as one can without bursting into laughter and handed them back to her.

Then she held my hand and started patting it which she continued to do the whole time I was talking to her LOL. She told me that the shirt she was wearing came from an OP shop, and that there really was nothing wrong with OP shopping you know, "You can get so many bargains there! Look at my pants, they're from the OP shop too. You'd never be able to tell unless I told you first." I told her I completely agreed and that I thought she looked lovely.

After about 73 days we finally reached the end of the line. By this stage my boys had grown fur and a long tail and were wildly climbing anything stupid enough to remain still so I said goodbye and made a hasty retreat to the check out. I saw her as she left the store. She was with a very elderly gentleman, her Husband I assume, unless she was having an affair. They were standing in front of each other, smiling... both admiring the new nickers that she was holding up.

I only hope I'm as spritely and talkative when I'm 87 as she was, and that my day can still be brightened just by purchasing two new pairs of extra large grundies. One black, one white.

Ok, so...I suck!

Yes once again I admit, I suck at blogging. I guess my heart just isn't in it since they tore down fiveby40. But, alas I am no quitter so I am aiming to resume as soon and as regularly as possible.

It still sucks bigtime that I can't paste anything in here. Does anyone know why? Nothing pastes at all so I can't put pics in here.

Anyhoo, quick rundown of life so far in 2010.

Christmas: Was awesome. Jdude was sick, poor little bear but Firstborn and his darling gf were here to share it with us so that made it a great day. Everything went off without a hitch. If you want to see pics send me a request on facebook. Just let me know your name so I can add you.

New year: Again, prefect! We had two lovely sets of friends over and partied on until after midnight as much as one my age can! Actually I think I stayed up until about 1.30am so that was good.

2010: The year so far. We've had my IL's visiting us for the past week. They came to celebrate Sam's 4th birthday as they had never had a chance to see him for his birthday before now. Sam had a great party and if I could I'd post a pic of his awesome spider cake, made by moi! Yes, blowing own trumpet once again but when no one else will, what can you do?!?!

My newest venture this year is going sugar free...Yep, cutting out all sugar and that means in everything processed as well. Did you know peanut butter has about as much sugar added to it as coke? True. Frightening but true.

Sugar withdrawal is nasty. I've been off it for 12 days now and I intended to blog about it every day but this thing called life got in the way and well, you know how it goes.

Ok, off to try and see if I can fix this pasting problem. In the mean time I think I will just add a bunch of pics from the album via "Add image" and let you all sort through them.

Back soon! I promise ;)

Edit

Had to edit.....too many mutants reading....

Pineapple Head

There is a man accross the road from me who usually has jet black hair. One day I saw that he had tried to dye it blonde, but it went bright yellow.

Now, every time I see him out the front of his house I just want to scream out my front door "Hey Pineapple Head!"...because truly, he does look like a giant pineapple. It doesn't help matters that he also looks like a giant dickhead. LOL