Staggering fact:

I saw this fact on the "Today" show this morning:

20% of kids under age two have a TV in their bedroom

What! To me that's incredibly high my kids never even wanted to watch cartoons or were interested in anything on TV until they were around 2 1/2 years old. We limit our kids to an hour of TV/X box/computer time to one hour a day. Of course there are always exceptions like homework on the computer or watching a movie etc. But as that as our goal we feel it sets a time limit at least so there's no fighting when it's time to unplug. Alright there you have it my opinion on TV watching I just thought it sounded ridiculous to put a TV in a toddlers bedroom no wonder kids are cranky these days and don't get enough sleep. Sorry again just my opinion no you didn't ask for it I just gave it anyway :)

The test results are in...

I had Kaleb tested for all kinds of food allergies,molds,fungi, and also toxins in his body. Being off dairy for almost 6 months has definitely helped but he still has been having intestinal problems. The test came back showing he is highly allergic to dairy and goat milk (yuck). He's also allergic to Salmon, Shrimp neither of which he's ever had and tuna fish. These two are great he's highly allergic to baby's breath, and hog hair I thought those were funny. A variety of other animal hair came up and a few other small things. He came up with Candida also not so high he can't have it at all but we definitely have to limit his sugar intake for the next six months or so. The lady said his body is very inflamed which I knew already from his regular doctor and he has high levels of fungi. So with the supplements she prescribed all being homeopathic or natural he should be much better in 6 weeks. His colon she said is very toxic so he's on a detox pill for his colon once that's better and we put the good "bugs" back in he should digest his food much better and his allergens to food should go down. This test was truly amazing and coincides so good with what his regular doctor has said. I'm hoping that in a few months my little one is feeling much better and his body is running as it should. The good news is he's not allergic to any grains I was scared he might have to go gluten free. It's so good to finally know what he's allergic to and how to fix the problems it really was very informative. I plan on having all our kids tested now not just for food allergies but for toxins and such to. It's good to know so we can rid ourselves of them.

Kids questions..

Alright what do you do when your kid out of no where asks you what herpes are? Yeah I was a little taken back since being homeschooled those words are pretty foreign to my kids. Here's what happened I was getting read to go out for dinner with Ben. Lucas walks in the bathroom and say "mom, what are herpes?" I was a little speechless at first I mean where did he hear that so I said "oh, it's a disease". He says "oh, what are geneial herpes?" (yes, that's exactly how he pronounced it) I respond with it's a disease by your privates. He walks away and I think that satisfied his curiosity he comes walking back with the dictionary which I should've know he would and reads to be the dictionary definition of herpes. Now by this time I'm almost laughing because he's just so innocent and he is my most inquisitive kid by far so it's just like him to haul out the dictionary or encyclopedia if he doesn't know what something means. All of a sudden I realize he's been watching tv for a little bit and I knew he was watching something on discovery channel. So I asked him what exactly he was watching and he said something on discovery channel about machines and how they work. I asked him where did you here about herpes then "oh", he says "it was a commercial for Levitra" or whatever drug is for herpes. My oh my I can't even let him watch an educational show on tv without him getting an unwanted education on sex ed. Bottom line is he now knows what herpes are but not sex maybe it's about time we had that talk...GASP!! Not quite ready for that yet!

hard to be a parent sometimes...

Today was the funeral for Mr. H, hubby and I agreed it was one of the best ones we've been to. It was so nicely done he was quite an extraordinary man he will be greatly missed. We did take the older two boys they had never been to a funeral before. Kaleb kept thinking he was just done to their other house lucas understood I think. They saw him in the casket and then I think Kaleb got it on the way home he said Mr H. is in heaven mom just matter of fact so I think he understands now. We had a hard time deciding if we should take them or not they both wanted to go but as a parent it's one of those things that's hard to say if they should go or not. There's really no right or wrong answer but I'm so glad we did they have a better understanding of death and I think it's something kids do need to experience and understand if possible it's a part of life. Maybe they'll be prepared a little bit for when someone really close to them like a grandparent dies. Being a parent is so hard sometimes but with God's grace and wisdom it's so much easier. Mrs. H was so happy the boys were there so I was then really glad we brought them. Thanx to those who gave me their opinion on the matter!!

The gift of a friend

It is with a sad heart that I write our dear friend and neighbor Mr. H. passed away yesterday. He and his wife have been one of the best neighbors we've ever had. Mr. H was a friend and great Mentor to our son's especially our Kaleb. He was a kind and gentle man always willing to "play" with Kaleb. Every spring he'd take Kaleb out to look at the pear tree in his yard almost daily they looked at that tree. His love for children and his patience for them was an endearing quality. Kaleb would knock on his door daily to see if he could come out and "play" mind you Mr. H was 80 and he'd always take the time to at least walk around the yard with Kaleb to talk or sometimes they'd have things to do together. How I wish I had written down some of the wisdom he shared with Kaleb. He would discuss the bible with Lucas our oldest and give out candy to them both. When Roman was born he got tears in his eyes when holding him and said he loved children and I know that holding our newborn was the best part of his day that day. He was a Christian man who shared so much with our kids, just being a friend and mentor. If every young boy or child for that matter had a Mr. H in their lives to mentor them for even a short period of time how enriched that childs life would be. I pray that Kaleb and Lucas remember the time they spent with Mr H. for he taught them so many things and shared his time in a way many elderly people don't these days. His gift of time teaching things and talking, his gift of patience and his gift love have been more than he'll ever know he gave my children.