Gestational Diabetes

This past Monday, the head nurse of my doctor's office called to tell me that I have gestational diabetes.  I already guessed I had it because I was feeling so bad, especially after breakfast and lunch.  By bad I mean I mean I would begin to feel very weak, light headed, dizzy and as though I may faint.  I actually taught Maryn how to call John on my phone and run across the hall to the neighbors if I should fall and not be able to respond.

On Wednesday, I went to a class with a nutritionist and a nurse to learn how to eat and how to check my blood sugar.  They gave me a blood glucose monitor, strips to begin testing, and I got a prescription for more.  I also had to get ketone strips to test my urine every morning before I eat.

On Wednesday and Thursday I followed the diet closely they gave me, but I continued to feel awful and my blood sugar was just a bit high a few times.  Then I messed up one time and had barbecue sauce, which made my sugar super skyrocket (174, and they want me no higher than 120).

Yesterday I cut back on starches and was feeling so much better, but my sugar was a little high.  Today, I ate the same things for breakfast and my sugar was really, really high.  I've felt awful all morning.  Allergies are really bad right now too, so ALL of  us are feeling bad.  The kids are tired, grouchy, and fighting with each other all the time, sometimes while I lay nearly comatose on a sugar high.

So right now I'm just frustrated.  Obviously I need to make some changes.  I'm going to try to cut out eating yogurt, and I got some tips from a friend who had it whose nutritionist told her some different things, like no yogurt at dinner or after.  Also I think I will have my nighttime snack earlier, and then have a snack at some point in the middle of the night--like a few pretzels.

I can have NO, no, NO dessert type foods like cakes, cookies, pie, etc.  It hasn't been too hard for me.  The hardest thing has been not popping food into my mouth whenever I see leftovers on my kids' plates, or a cookie here and there, etc.  I can see how terribly difficult it is to be on a diet with children living in the house.

But really if I'm still going to feel bad AND I am having a c-section anyway, why not just eat a cookie now and then?  Well, because high blood sugar for me could mean low blood sugar for our baby and I know I need to do what's best for him. But sometimes I want to eat a cookie just for spite.

Kansas and Louisville, KY

We had a good time watching the Jayhawks on Sunday evening.  We ordered pizza and had milkshakes, and ate right in the living room!  It was a special night.  Josiah pulled the rocking chair out all by himself for a special spot.

 Maryn was cheering for the Jayhawks with the rest of us!

After ballet and Josiah's 3+ hour nap today, we went on a nature hike and to a playground in Cherokee Park.  Then we came home, had dinner with Daddy, and Daddy--not to be outdone--wanted to take us to a "cooler" area of the park.

 We did some rock jumping in the gorgeous river, and some pretty intense hiking.  John and Maryn also did some pretty risky rock climbing.  She is a brave girl.

 Here they are!  They climbed up all those rocks.

Then we went to another playground that had boulders and more kid friendly rock climbing things, and she loved that too.  Maryn had her third ballet class this morning, and she is just doing splendidly.  She's a natural.  Her toes, when they point, are so beautiful.  I can't wait to see how she progresses in the coming year, if we are able to keep her in it through the summer especially.  Our kids are thoroughly exhausted today!

Mommy and Daddy are exhausted too (I did get a nap today!  No way would I be functioning right now otherwise).  Good night!

International Food Festival

Last night we held the first ever International Food Festival in our neighborhood.  I love our neighborhood and all the unique opportunities we have for making friends, experiencing different cultures, and just doing fun (FREE) things without even having to drive anywhere.

We got to try a lot of different foods last night.  We had Indian and Nepali food, Iraqi, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Italian, and more.  I'm not sure the lasagna John made was authentically Italian but it's the kind I prefer!  My Italian grandmothers didn't ever make lasagna that I can remember.  They made lots of soups, eggplant parmesan, tons of vegetables and of course loved to have bread, bread, bread with every meal.  And pizzelles!  Wow, how I love pizzelles and wish I had my grandmother's old iron pizzelle maker.

My favorite food at the Food Festival was the Samosas from Nepal made by our neighbor, Babitra.  Samosas are little turnovers stuffed with meat, beans, potatoes, whatever.  They were a little spicy but definitely in a very, very good way.  John loved the spring rolls made by Esai (sp?) who I think said she is from Japan, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong.  They were made with a really super thin (thinner than paper) dough and stuffed with a colorful array of veggies and I think what John said was crab (or lobster?) meat.  There were two amazing sauces to dip them in which John said were incredible and spicy, even for him.  But he loved it!

Josiah stayed entertained by Miss Margeaux's dog.  Pets aren't allowed in our neighborhood, but we have three sweet blind ladies living here that all have seeing eye dogs.  And this has been my kids' sole exposure to dogs, for the most part.  Josiah climbed right on Margeaux's lap and petted that dog, laughing at her (hysterically like he does with babies) until the dog licked him and he flipped out!  But after a few minutes he got used to it and was right there again.  Then he had a free piano lesson with Miss Easai (see facebook for a video of that).

What did Maryn do?  She ran around like a wild banshee, scooping up food whenever it pleased her (mostly cheese puffs and brownies).  :)

I am always surprised more people don't come to these events.  What on earth else do they have to do that could be better than what I just described?  Not only free food, but pleasant company and the opportunity to make more friends!

Josiah is 19 months old!

We had Josiah's 18 months appointment last Friday.  So I figure this is an appropriate time to update my blog on his development and what he's up to.  Here he is playing with our neighbor's baby, Roslyn.  He LOVES babies.  LOVES them.  He almost hyperventilates when he sees a little baby.  He loved Roslyn's toes, and was able to find all her body parts we try to work on with him (eyes, ears, toes, belly button, nose) which he can rarely find on himself!

 He really tried to pick her up a lot.  Having a baby in the house will be interesting.

Here he is painting with watercolors.  What a great artist he is becoming!

 And guess what Josiah did for a long time this morning?  He played dress up!  Oh my word, it was so cute.  Maryn led him out of her room and said, "Look!  I snapped up the firefighter jacket and now Josiah is a fireman!"

He also dressed up as a samarai and a cowboy.  I think we'll be getting him some superhero costumes for his second birthday.  He just loved it.

I had some questions for the nurse practitioner about his feet turning out when he walks.  She said she thinks they'll work their way back in.  I also asked about his speech development and she said it seems like there's nothing to worry about.

She noticed him pretending as he took care of a baby doll in the room, which she said is great and right on track.  And then she got out the little letter blocks and asked, "Is he a stacker or a knocker-downer?"  And he just sat there and stacked up about 7 or 8 of those tiny blocks.  It looked like it was going to topple, so he used both his arms to hold it steady so it wouldn't fall!  It was so cute.

He weighed 23 lbs. and is almost 32 inches. 20th percentile in both areas. He is just a little guy.  

It was interesting to be in the pediatricians' office with just Josiah.  He is so much more calm than Maryn, who literally runs circles around that place and doesn't stop the entire time we're there.  Josiah sat in the chair in the waiting room, looked at the fish for a while (and they all came over to the corner to look at him, too), and was unbelievably cooperative for the nurse practitioner.

He is getting rather sneaky and naughty though.  And violent.  He loves to beat on his sister, who doesn't really retaliate although I think she starts most of it.  We've had a few big temper tantrums but I think we're on our way to training him out of that.  And he definitely understands "no" now and will often obey when I tell him no.  

He also likes to walk on the wild side a bit.  He loves to somersaults right off the couch, jump from the couch or chair to the ottoman even if the ottoman is clearly too far away to make it.  He rode his bike right off a step outside and had the worst scrape down his nose.  It even severed the little thing connecting his lip to his gums.  Ouch.  That hurt for a couple days, but it healed quickly.  He hasn't really learned his lesson from that fall.  I have stopped him from going off the same step a couple times since then.  

Josiah is very musical.  He loves music.  His favorite is classic rock.  I've tried many other kinds, but classic rock always gets him dancing and smiling.  He loves it when I turn off the DVD player in the van and play music instead.  He loves his guitar and keyboard from Mamaw, and loves guitar solos in rock songs.  He's so funny.

Josiah is still my little love bug.  He loves everyone and has a special gift of making people feel special.  Especially me!  I love being his Mommy.

Back to School!

I have the great privilege to take the class Old Testament and New Testament Survey with two of of the world's foremost scholars on the Bible, Dr. TJ Betts and Dr. Tom Schreiner.  My class is only six weeks long and costs $10.  That's right, ten dollars!

Dr. Betts and Dr. Schreiner are literally the guys that write Bible commentaries and Bible dictionaries.  They are also incredibly talented speakers, preachers and teachers--meaning they don't dumb down the material too much but they won't make it too difficult that it will be over my head.  I am so excited and feel so blessed.

That being said, I have to read the entire New Testament by mid-May, along with maybe 30-40 chapters of the Old Testament.  That's a lot of reading!  My Kindle is helping me flip through those chapters already at great speed.  This is very good news.  Whenever I get my actual Bible out, Josiah quickly runs over to me to feel its pages.  He is obsessed with Bible pages.  He loves their thin, whispy texture and the sounds they make as they crinkle and slide next to each other.  I am SO glad I have a Kindle!

So by Thursday, I am going to try to read Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Wish me luck :)

New Baby!

Congratulations to our friends, Junior and Adrian Hidrogo, on their third baby.  A boy!  

Roman Hidrogo

8 lbs. 6 oz.

Big sisters Eva and Elisa (Maryn's little friends, the twins), and Adrian and Junior are Maryn's Cubbies teachers and in our Sunday School class.  

Sleep, Cuddle, Sleep

Maryn, being cheerful on the computer.

 See how precious he is as he sleeps!

 11:30 is Word World time!

 Ella and Josiah both tried to cuddle with Maryn but she was having none of it.  So they found each other, and cuddled and cuddled and cuddled.  And they may have kissed a little...

 Sleepy, sleepy girl.

Josiah didn't take a single nap yesterday.  But the other day he took a super long nap--3 1/2 hours!  Maryn has been taking naps a little more than usual and is eating a lot.  But then some meals she is hardly hungry at all.  I'm not sure if they're trying to fight an illness or what is going on, but their "clocks" are really messed up.  I figure I am not going to try too hard to fix it, either.  Daylight Savings will inevitably mess them up more, so we'll work on it next week.

Happy Weekend!

More Ocean Crafts and School Plans

 Maryn got to paint her OWN hand for this one.  She covered it thoroughly.  Very thoroughly, clear past her wrist in fact.

And Josiah participated in this one too!  I think it was his first hand print painting.  He knew just what to do, and was so cooperative.  I don't know why I expected any less.  Look how adorable his tiny little hand prints are!

We read A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle, one of my favorites.  We tried to make the bubble wrap painting to go along with it, but we failed in that endeavor.  Big time.

We closed out our ocean theme with Rainbow Fish, reading a non-fiction book about tropical fish, and making a rainbow fish picture.  It was a lot of fun, and I think I achieved my main goal in just helping Maryn understand which animals live in oceans and which live in freshwater rivers, lakes, and streams.

I gotta get her to watch Finding Nemo.  Isn't that movie surprisingly educational?  It's just the best.

I got some books from the library about rivers and ponds, but I think we're kind of past her level of interest.  We'll probably stop with ocean, and move on to Spring-y things, clouds, weather, etc.  She's been very interested in weather seeing as it changes so drastically day to day lately.  She sings Five Green and Speckled Frogs most adorably, however, and I'll try to get that on video for you soon.

Treasure in Heaven

John was talking about skipping out on Cubbies this week (we teach in the same class) and Maryn said, "But Daddy, the Little Red Hen did all the work and you can't let Mommy do all the work."

He said, "I just won't get to eat the bread."

I chimed in, "Mommy's going to have more treasure in heaven than daddy...I'm going to have steak on my table and Daddy will have hot dogs."

Maryn shouted, "I'm having chicken!"

Family Worship Time

I used to be really confused about this Family Worship stuff.  What should it look like?  Should we go through a devotional book together?  Should we do it every day, every week, two or three times a day? I think we found a solution that works for us right now.  We know our kids do best and listen well when they are eating.  But John and I like to enjoy our meal and not necessarily be reading or teaching while eating our dinner.  So we decided to get a special dessert each week--one that I don't have to cook--and try to do a family devotion while everyone munches on their treat.  Because our schedule is so irregular, we don't have a set day or time.  At this phase of our lives, I don't think set days or times for almost anything are very good.

During dinner, we asked each other questions like, "What is the Lord doing in your life this week?"  And, "How can we pray for you this week?"  Maryn has the cutest answers.  I asked her, "What is the Lord doing in your life this week?"  And she said, "Jesus puts happiness in my heart."

This past week John read right from Scripture, but I don't think that's always necessary.  We could use a Children's Bible or use Cubbies stuff from church, whatever.  One of the things John read was Psalm 150.


Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

So naturally after we ate our dessert (Maryn chose "Big Wheels" which are like huge round ice cream sandwiches), we had a nice loud praise and worship session with all the instruments we could find in the house.

It was such a fun time.  We didn't have a plan, or any big ideas.  Just us and the Lord, having fun and showing love to Him and each other.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes."  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

eating

I'm trying some interesting food strategies today to try to get Josiah to eat some veggies.  Now that he can have yogurt and bananas, I decided to try a smoothie idea my BFF Kendra suggested.  I knew Maryn might struggle with this idea but I said it was a special St. Patrick's Day smoothie and she could put in all the ingredients.  I know she likes all the ingredients, so we tasted each one and added it.

a handful of fresh spinach
a glass of ice
a banana
maybe about 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
maybe about 1/4 cup pineapple juice concentrate

Then we blended it in the blender we borrowed from our neighbor, and both kids cried at the noise.  By the end Josiah was laughing, and Maryn was hiding under the covers on the couch.

It came out a nice green color and the texture was pretty decent, a lot like a sort of icy milkshake.  Maryn liked the first few bites.  Josiah was in love from bite number one.  He ended up eating 3 cups of it, and was asking for more.

So for Josiah it was a winner, Maryn not so much.  Although she likes everything in it.  I could have just made her a plate of all the ingredients.  What a weirdo.

Tonight I'm making a baked pasta--I love baked pastas--and I pureed some onions, carrots, green pepper, and even some leftover broccoli to put in it.  Then I cooked it all a bit in a pan with olive oil, basil (fresh basil from Trader Joe's that's actually frozen in cubes, it's genius I swear) and fresh garlic, and simmered that with the pasta sauce we have.  I made a little extra of this extra stuff to put in our next pasta.  The pasta has a whole package of frozen spinach, cottage cheese, egg, mozzarella, etc...in it...I know Maryn will like it.  It seems like I can't win both kids, their tastes are so different.

Honestly if you took all their likes and dislikes, they are almost completely opposite.  But Maryn is a much healthier eater.  She doesn't like french fries.  She isn't that crazy about macaroni and cheese, any sort of smoothie, or spaghetti-os.  She likes salads and nuts and things kids aren't supposed to like.

Josiah is a normal toddler.  He likes all the kid stuff.

Maryn is, and probably always will be, an unusual kind of person.  :)

Marriage and Family

I have been so blessed by my Marriage and Family class here at Southern Seminary, taught by Mrs. York.  John and I, and I on my own, have attended and been a part of several marriage classes, retreats, and there was of course pre-marital counseling.  We have read many books about marriage, family, etc.  But for some reason this class has been major!

I think part of it is due to Mrs. York's realistic approach, her crazy wit, and the "Praying for Your Husband" prayer calendar she gave us.  My heart has really opened, I think, to my husband's needs and less to my own.  I really have a "heart for marriage," as some would say.  My heart breaks for women that are left abandoned by their husbands, marriages that end in divorce, and so on.

If you ever feel like your marriage has become routine, boring, or if you are going through any of the typical problems we always hear about in marriages, or even if your marriage feels perfectly healthy, I would highly recommend a marriage retreat (they are fun!  They're not like seeing a therapist at all, and they are usually very affordable), taking a class, reading a book, etc.  If you need some suggestions or advice, let me know!  No judging or shame--it's always a pleasure to invest in marriage!