The Month of August was Busy

Well it's been busy here this past month. The hurricane came and right before it was supposed to hit it changed directions and moved away from us. God was merciful to us. So we survived and over prepared for nothing, I was so happy!
We had a friend from Washington come out and visit for 10 days and then we had a four day gap between my husband's parent's coming out for 10 days! We did a lot of activities during that time and it felt like a lot of go go go. It's wonderful having guests and family from the mainland visiting but it was pretty tiring. After they left last week I came down with a cold. So this past week has been getting back into our routine and resting up. One thing about having visitors is that we do more touristy things when they are here then we would do just on our own.

Elijah turned one this past month too. I can't believe it. I am happy though that God brought me through this year without getting pregnant. Because both my kids were c-sections it was important that I at least had a year to heal. So now I have 2 one year olds! Moses won't be two until Sept. 28. So I am enjoying them immensely right now as Elijah now walks every where chasing after Moses. They have so much fun playing together.

I got to go body boarding again with Ryan a couple weeks back and surprisingly I got an incredible wave, first time ever. Ryan said that he pushed my board a bit to make sure I caught it and sure enough it was awesome. Later he told me I rode about 50 yards and let me tell you when I caught it I was amazed at what I was doing. So there I was gripping my board with all my might sure that I would fall off if I lost my grip and than be engulfed in the wave. Not wanting to find out what that would be like, I managed to lean back and grip tightly and ride like a pro, but then as I was facing the rocky shore with fallen logs (yes, it is a rocky shore here, no white sand beaches like in the post cards), it began to get closer and closer and the waves weren't slowing down as I imagined they would. I thought that it would just slow down and I could gracefully float off or something like that. My imagination had it figured out...anyways so I'm rapidly approaching the rocks and I'm not slowing, I don't know how to stop, I wanted to pray but all that I could manage was an "O God"(so grateful that he knows our needs even though we don't always know how to pray, or have time to pray!) before I crashed! I slid back on my board sure that when I hit my upper body would be saved by it's protection. Well I arrived on the rocky bank not sure exactly how I made it, except that as soon as I was out of the water I scrambled upon a fallen log and held onto it as the waves continued to roll in and slap against me. I couldn't move right away, I was kind of in shock by the whole experience and had to get my bearings about me as I processed what I had just accomplished and survived. This surely was an exciting feat as I am I simple mom at home with my boys most days, never thought that I would body board in the pacific ocean by the rocky shores in Hawaii. And to actually catch a wave was pretty exciting for me. So anyways, I managed to pry myself from my log and make my way back to where Ryan's parent's were watching our boys. I looked down as I was taking my flipper off so see my knee was a little bloody but it didn't hurt at all (not until later that is). I scraped off the little rocky pebbles embedded in my knee and all seemed fine. In all I came away with just had a few small scrapes and an bruise the size of a half dollar coin that turned every shade imaginable. Actually I was kind of proud of my "wound," almost like a souvenir that I wore to show that I had caught a wave and survived:) Hee hee. My husband told me later that he watched me catch it but then the wave rose up and took me away and he couldn't see me anymore until the wave died out at the shore. He said that he was a little worried at first because he didn't imagine that I would ride it all the way to the shore! Needless to say I have learned now how you're supposed to get off a wave and hopefully next time I'll manage that better.

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