among other things...

so here is a shot of sick amelia. she has her first post-ear tubes ear infection last week & into the weekend. she's doing much better now but still battling a very intense cold--you know, heavy green snot. so gross. so this is the new toddler carrier we bought a few weeks ago. & amelia is not so into it but adeline loves it (yes, it can carry adeline!) but now amelia has warmed up to it.

& i noticed how nicely matched i am with the carrier & also the wall. it was all planned, you know. important things.

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this past weekend we had grandparent visitors! wes' parents stayed almost a day with us & overnight. adeline talked about it all week, so excited. here is a picture of the girls before we all (stupidly) went out to eat. (why stupidly? well, we went to carraba's b/c of their gluten free menu. we called ahead to get reservations at a certain time. we arrived on time. they told us we still had a 25-45 minute wait. what? better: whisky-tango-foxtrot! {thanks, scotty}. ugh, both girls were starting to lose it by the time our food arrived & adeline wanted to lay on my lap instead of eat, amelia was tossing ice cubes around. good times!)

so, yes, a picture of the girls pre-eating-disaster

adeline showing off her boots

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ah, gluten free. how is that going? well, this week we've eaten pretty good after my lunch of carrots, celery, & an over-easy egg. i've had some painful stomach cramps & aches but i guess it's all part of my stomach getting used to the new gluten-free food. we're learning; i've finally shopped at whole foods which i've mostly avoided b/c i think it's a bit over-priced & well, just not necessary for us to drive 25 minutes to do grocery shopping. thankfully it seems the cheapest option is just a mile down the road at the raisin rack, a local health food store. same options, just about a dollar cheaper. anyway, they also have frozen gluten free doughnuts! & highlander grogg coffee! glory be.

we have cast out food worth hundreds of dollars, then spent another few hundred dollars on new food. did you know most soy sauces have gluten in them?! really. & chili beans. & some ice creams. so much stuff to part with. & some things we've spent a hefty chunk of change on turn out to be *nasty* like some pre-mix pizza crust. amelia even tossed it aside...yea, that disgusting that our garbage disposal wouldn't eat it. (for example: amelia ate cold refried beans out of a can today when we were preparing dinner. she will eat nearly anything, so you know this pizza crust was so terribly vomit-inducing).

i have more to say about it all but i'm tired & maybe just not ready to talk about it all quite yet. i think it's all so emotional for me not just b/c i'm giving up my favorite food choices...somehow i have to feel worse before i can feel better again. will it work? i just don't know the answers. i'm just tired of the trend of new diagnosis, ya know? (i'm praying this is the last for a good 30 years.) i have a lot to learn about when it comes to this celiac stuff.

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welcome, natalie johanna parsons to this world! what a cutie.