Hurricane Flossie

Check out this link

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/12/hurricane.flossie.ap/index.html

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/pages/prod.php?file=/data/HFO/TCPCP2

I just want to ask for prayer for the islands of Hawaii. There is a hurricane headed our way and we don't know what is going to happen whether it will weaken or come as strong as it is now. Please pray us here...Pray for God's mercy upon Hawaii.

Heal Pain and Sore Legs

Well, it's happening...I heard that when you reach 24 years old your body starts going down hill. I don't know this to be a fact but it's happening to me! Okay so it's not that bad but I've recently begun experiencing pain in me heal and lately my feet and legs are achy tired at the end of the day most consistently, and I'm not pregnant! So I got online and looked up heal pain and came up with "plantar fasciitis" which means "It's an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface (plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes." (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=144)
"You're more likely to get the condition if you're a woman, if you're overweight, or if you have a job that requires a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces. You're also at risk if you walk or run for exercise, especially if you have tight calf muscles that limit how far you can flex your ankles. People with very flat feet or very high arches are also more prone to plantar fasciitis."

Anyways, so after my reading at a view different sites I believe that the following have contributed to my sore feet and heal pain: wearing flat flip flops with no arch support every where I go since moving here. Going on long walks 3-5 times a week and pushing a double stroller( up hills too. --I do wear good sneakers when I do this however) . Walking around barefoot whenever I'm not wearing flip flops. Being on my feet for almost 12 hours a day! I do sit throughout the day, but with 2 little guys under the age of 2 I really don't sit a whole lot, so that and also carrying them too. Anyways, I did some more reading for what is the best sandal to wear and what nurses prefer most (since they work 12 hour shifts) and up came Birkenstocks. Well, as it turns out I own a pair of Birkis Aruba sandals and only wear them occasionally just because I prefered my flips because they're so easy to get on and off and go with anything you wear. So I put them on this morning and have been wearing them for like 6 hour now and my feet don't hurt at all(yes, it's gotten to the point where my feet are now hurting a bit in the morning too). I'm really amazed...and thankful that these sandals are helping and the pain has subsided so quickly.

Cow's Milk Vs. Goat's Milk

This post was inspired as a response to Emily's comment.

Thanks for your comment Emily:) Yes he eats other foods with calcium, so I'm not worried about his calcium intake. I think that's going good. I appreciate your encouragement too. I switched my other son Moses to goat's milk when he was 13 months old because when he turned one we started him on cow's milk and he then had 2 ear infections in one month. One was really bad and he also had a persistent cold that month too. ANyways, after the 2nd really bad ear infection I was talking to my mom and she told me that cow's milk can cause ear infections, especially if a child is prone to them (which we found out Moses was prone to them because they're hereditary as daddy Ryan had alot when he was a child). So I did some research of my own and learned alot of interesting things about cow's milk. Just type in "milk ear infections" in google and see what you come up with. I was surprised to read that cow's milk has proteins in it that are not easily digested. In addition to that it also produces more mucos, so when nasal congestion occurs, passages become blocked and irritated, then ear infections are the frequent result. So, anyways, we took Moses off cow's milk and switched to goat's milk because it's less allergenic than cow's milk. Also, goat's milk does not have the proteins that are the main stimulants of allergic reactions to cow's milk.
Plus, certain cow's milk proteins suppresses the immune system and goat's milk doesn't. ANyways, if you do a little research you'll find a lot of negative things about cow's milk for young toddlers and children. Overall, goat's milk is just better for you.
www.crohns.net/Miva/education/aboutgoatsmilk.shtml
But don't just take my word for it, I encourage you to find out for yourself.
So, with Elijah we're just going to do goat's milk. Moses still drinks goat's milk occasionally, but because it is so expensive out here and WIC doesn't offer it here (it does in Oregon), we don't buy it as often, however I just found a website that has a good deal for powdered goat's milk which is just a great as the liquid , so I'm going to order some from them. Anyways, Moses and Elijah both eat cheese and yogurt too, plus there are a lot of other foods besides dairy that have calcium which I was surprised to learn http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/calcium_foods.htm. (another great website that I like is www.whfoods.com). Moses sometimes has cow's milk but it's not a regular part of his diet.

Does anyone else have any thoughts or comments? I still have much to learn about diet and nutrition, so I am not claiming to know it all, this is just what I have learned and was sold on it because we have never had another ear infection since switching to goat's milk.

Weaning Baby

Does anyone have any advice for weaning? I am starting to introduce goat's milk to my 11 1/2 month old and he will take a sip or two but he doesn't seem to like it very much. I'm concerned about him because he doesn't nurse for very long when he does, which is about 4 times a day and once at night. He likes water, but I'm just not sure how much breast milk he is getting and concerned about his fluid intake (he is not dehydrated, but sometimes his diapers are more yellow than clear, and he sometimes will go 4 hours without needing a diaper change because he is not that wet. I want to wean him about his 1st birthday but concerned for his lack of wanting to drink milk. I don't have a pediatrician yet, so...I'm just not sure who to talk to for advice. He is happy and healthy overall and seems content after nursing and eating...I just don't feel completely at peace with how things are with his liquid intake.

Dragon Fruit

Has anyone ever eaten dragon fruit? I just had some for the first time today and it's very interesting. I did some research and found out that it is native of Central and South America, where it's known as pitaya, and is gaining popularity in Hawai'i. It's the fruit of a climbing cactus that prefers warm, moist climates rich in organic soils. I really couldn't compare the flavor to anything, but if I did have to compare texture it's close to a kiwi. Very yummy and absolutely beautiful!

Boys

Does anyone have any advice for me about young boys? My little guy is almost 2 and is turning into a boy!! I need help! What do I do with him? I am always feeling like I don't do enough and I'm running out of ideas for things to do during the day. Most of the time he plays with his cars and balls, and I try to get him outside once or twice a day where he can run around in the yard. He loves books, so we read stories everyday too. I guess I'm just unsure of myself as a mom...I just feel like there is more I should do, or be providing him with more activities. I'm just starting to see more differences in him recently and seeing he is full of energy and loves to run and wrestle where I would love him to sit and color I realize that is not going to happen! At least not now. It's a good thing he has a wonderful papa who plays with him when he comes home from work. I'm seeing first hand how just how important a dad is in a little boy's life.
I am also wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for books about boys, besides Dobson's book. I've read it and some of it was good, but I'm looking for more of what boys at his age are going through, developmentally. Any advice would be welcome too! Thanks

Randomness

For the first time in a long while, I am starting to feel more of my need to read my bible and pray in the morning before I do anything else! I'm so glad that God is working in my heart and is ever so patient with me. But today when I really just wanted to be alone and not be bothered so I could read my bible and pray, my little almost 2 year old really wanted mama to play with him....so, at the particular moment I felt like God was saying that loving my son and playing with him outside was more important that my alone time. So, I got him ready and we went outside to play. He had a blast, he loves to be outside. So I walked around with him and while he roamed I read some Psalms out loud so he could hear too. I'm learning new ways to get the Word in me with my children around because I'm not alone very much....but I really should get up earlier to read and pray before they get up...

I sold a pair of shoes on ebay a couple days ago that my husband bought at a garage sale for $3, and we made a $13 profit, not bad. I'm hoping that we will find more bargains in the future that we can resale and make a little extra cash.

I started running today! Yea! Well, my goal was to begin working on cardio-vascular exercise again for at least 30 minutes today. I went for a run and was able to maintain a good pace for about 10 minutes, but after I went up a good hill, I had to slow down and walk for a little bit, then I started again. So, I jogged most of the time, but combined with walking I got a good sweaty workout! I have not run like that for almost 2 1/2 years! Just with 2 pregnancies in a row, I was just a walker overall with baby and big belly:) Today it felt great to run, but I'm really out of shape and need to work up to being able to run for 30 minutes straight. I am going to try and be realistic with what my goals should be so I'm going to just try and do what I did today 3 days a week for a week or two, and then maybe add another day to it after 3 weeks or so. ANyways, I am glad to have made the step and actually went out and did it. I really want to get into better shape.