Wonder Woman Cured My Fashion Blindness!

Last spring I spoke at our state homeschool conference.  At the end of my speech, a very "well-put-together" friend came up to me at the end of one of my talks to tell me I looked great!  That was high praise indeed, for this woman is always dressed to a tee.  She's one of those ladies I've always admired because everything she wears looks great on her!

Then, this summer, I saw her at our church's family camp.  She came up to me and said, "I wanted to talk to you about the conference."  Wanting to return the favor of her compliment, I thought perhaps she would be asking me for guidance about some topic on which I spoke.  To my surprise, she helped me.  She helped me in a way no one ever has before.

You see, I'm fashion blind.  Being a tactile person, not a visual person, I choose clothes that are comfortable.  If I find something I like, I will often buy two or more of those items in various colors because of how they feel.  I usually didn't give much thought to "which color".  For example, you've probably read here about my obsession with "Therashoes".  I have three pair.  None of them are fashionable AT.ALL.  But, I have no more back pain and I've toned up considerably as a result of wearing them.

Along comes this lovely lady, Wonder Woman**, I'll call her.  That morning at camp, she handed me a little notebook sheet of paper showing me my "season".  She made a list of colors to wear and colors to avoid.  Then, she handed me a book she had borrowed from the library to read at camp, but was finding she didn't have the time called How Not To Look Fat..  My littlest was still taking two naps a day, so I snatched the book and went to read during nap time. 

Come to find out, I was wearing all the wrong colors and dressing to look both old and fat!!!!  So, Wonder Woman straightened me out.  I've purged all my "wrong colors" from my wardrobe.  Having lost 18" has helped in that matter because I had to go get some new clothing that actually fit me.  I am a thrift store shopper.  I completely redid my wardrobe, including shoes, for about $300.  That included Ann Taylor, Nine West, and a few other brand names were accessible to me, buying used.  ALL of the things I bought were in my color palette.  All the clothes fit the requirements, except many of them are now to big :-)!!!

So Wonder Woman, I thank you!  You saved me from Fashion Blindness.

** Wonder Woman hosted a couples' party for our homeschool group.  We played a "newly wed game" though most of us have been married more than a decade, some two.  One of the questions for the women was, "Which would you rather be? A) Nancy Drew B) Wonder Woman C) Barbie?"  The hostess said, "I can't believe this!  After having my fifth baby, I bought a Wonder Woman costume on clearance after Halloween that year."  She ran upstairs and donned the costume UNDER her real clothes.  The room went wild when she not only revealed her answer, but her Wonder Woman costume under her clothes (complete with the red zip up boots.)  And, she is nothing SHORT of Wonder Woman in so many ways.  She's one of my heroes.

Living with a Dairy Allergic Kid

This post is a response to a friend who asked about dairy allergies:

It's possible to live without dairy.  We did it for three years when my first two were 5 and 4.  The four year old was positive for a dairy allergy.  It made the 5 year old have an upset tummy and it caused some issues that I think were a 5 year olds way of saying, "Hey, I don't feel so great!"  So we got rid of it.  Actually, we also got rid of it because I believed (and still do) that the dairy was causing problems with their behavior.  There are articles that talk about it, but I believe that medical research still needs to be undertaken for that to be truly PROVEN.  I can tell you removing dairy made a huge difference in my children's behavior.

So, to cut dairy out means no:

• Acidophilus milk
• Casein
• Caseinate
• Cream
• Curds
• Galactose
• Ghee
• Ice Cream
• Lactalbumin
• Lactate
• Lactic acid
• Lactoglobulin
• Lactose
• Malted milk
• Milk
• Milk fat
• Milk solids
• Nougat
• Potassium caseinate
• Rennet
• Skim milk
• Sodium caseinate
• Whole Milk

WE USE BUTTER HERE...we don't give that up because it doesn't seem to cause a reaction in my dairy allergic kid.  If your child is severely allergic, you can find dairy free margarines OR you can make GHEE, which is clarified butter where all the milk solids are removed from the butter.

Be aware that foods containing "artificial butter flavor," "caramel color", "non-dairy substitutes" (believe it or not, they often contain dairy!), or anything that doesn't describe what "flavorings" or "seasonings" means, may contain milk. Non-dairy whipped topping actually has dairy protein in it (the trigger for dairy allergies).  In addition, milk may be hiding out in canned fish (such as tuna), many processed meats and deli meats, nutritional supplements and medications.

READ THE LABELS.  When you go to a restaurant, you need to ASK. 

If you are breastfeeding a child with a dairy allergy, you MUST avoid dairy, too.  REALLY.  I know that sounds harsh, but if you are going to do it, do it for love and make the sacrifice.  I had to give up dairy while I breast fed my 5th child.  One day before his 1st birthday, he snitched some chocolate protein pudding (1 scoop of protein powder added to my chocolate pudding).  The protein powder was casein based (dairy based).  He broke out into welts, started making a gagging type of sound and started wheezing.  Off we went to the hospital in the ambulance.  We came home with an epi pen.  He nursed for nine months past that date.   I couldn't have dairy so he wouldn't have dairy. So, I know the sacrifice you are making here.

How do you cope and what do you do?
1) Find a milk substitute you like, they like and you can cook with.  Rice milk is my first choice if you aren't allergic to rice.  (I am.)  Vance's Dairy Free is a powdered hypo-allergenic milk replacement we use at our house.  These are all vitamin and mineral fortified to have the same calcium/vitamin D levels as cow's milk.   I don't recommend soy milk because I'm convinced the soy causes LOTS of problems with early onset puberty in girls and issues with estrogen induced reactions from boys.  I use coconut milk a lot.  It has lots of fat in it.  It used to be used in formula before the evil health cops came along and (wrongfully) said coconut fat is bad for you.  They were wrong.  Coconut fat is GOOD for you.  Oh, so good for you because it has Lauric Acid in it, found in few places besides breast milk, cow's milk and goat's milk.  I use coconut milk in my baking.  It also whips, with lots of work and chilled implements (bowl and mixer attachments put in freezer before whipping). 

2)Decide which camp you will belong to:  NO dairy for anyone or NO dairy for the allergic child.  If you decide to feed the allergic child differently than the rest of the family because you are afraid of a family revolt when the menu changes, just be sure all other sources of dairy are cleaned up after meals and snacks.  My scavenging dairy-allergic toddler has found his way to many a dropped cheese cube or leftover glass of chocolate milk.  We're used to dairy free cooking here, but many families can not live without dairy on the table.  It might be necessary to remove dairy only from the allergic child's plate. It might be necessary to remove it from the whole house for a short time so the allergic child isn't the only one "restricted" from the food.  Trust me, that's a hard thing for a small child to understand - they can't have something everyone else is having.  You have to decide.

3)Cook from scratch.  Canned soups, many processed foods and prepacked meals contain milk.  Cereal bars, meal replacement bars and many snack foods have dairy.  Read the labels.  Anything with cheese, ranch dressing, chocolate coatings, butter flavor or creamy texture may have dairy (i.e. Tootsie rolls, caramels, Zone bars, Ranch Doritos, some brands of microwave popcorn, dill pickle potato chips...you get the picture.)

4) Calcium can be found in many other sources.  When in doubt, supplement.  Drinkables Coral Calcium at Sam's Club is a great supplement recommended by my pediatric dentist for my dairy allergic son.  There are other ways to get calcium.  Calcium fortified OJ is a great way with having the added bonus of having Vitamin C.  Broccoli is great as are many other leafy green veggies.  Make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D and your body will grab the calcium out of any food that has it.

5) Know that this may only be temporary.  Most kids outgrow dairy allergies by 5-7 years of age.  Also, if you are just starting, it will take 8-10 days to see a difference.  Once it's eliminated completely, you will see when they have gotten into the dairy!

Good luck and hit the com box if you have more questions. 

21 days and counting...

Tomorrow will be 21 days since I had a Diet Coke. I had always offered to give it up for Lent, but my husband would ask, "Would you make us suffer, too?" I was that bad of an addict.

On February 27th, two very good friends gave me a talking - to. It was one that changed my life. Thank you, Dana and Marion. I think you saved my life.

We were having a MNO (Mom's Night Out) and were talking about food, nutrition, etc. I had mentioned that I was a Diet Coke Addict. Truly I was, and had a 2-4 can a day habit.

Here's what changed that all. First, they challenged me to watch the documentary Sweet Misery about aspartame. Then, they told me about what effects it might have on me that were "glazed over" during the lab testing for aspartame. That's what clicked.

You see, in August, I almost died. I was suffering from iron deficiency anemia. How does one "suffer" from that? Well, inability to stay awake, bruising and blood that doesn't clot are ways you suffer. I had a newborn. I thought I was just "tired." I thought my thyroid numbers were off (TSH high=fatigue). Nope, I was iron deficient anemic. After oral dosing of iron failed, my doctor offered to send me to the IV clinic at the hospital for IV Venofer (an iron sucrose solution delivered intravenously.) I took it. I was so tired of being tired with 6 kids (one a newborn) and a new year of home schooling looking me in the face.

I went in at 8am and got the IV started. It was due to finish at around 11:30. At 11:15, my feet started burning...oh no, that was one of the side effects of this medication. Big warning lights went off in my IV nurses eyes. I could see it. Soon it turned to hives, then swelling. Shortly thereafter, I started having a hard time breathing. By the time the 911 team from the hospital made it there, I was having some kind of seizure. It was unexplainable. I was conscious, but I was convulsing uncontrollably. After several different shots and IV meds, they got me stabilized, but no one could explain the seizure. I've never been so scared before in my life. It scared my husband, too, even though he was not there.

The fact that aspartame can cause neurological problems, brain tumors and seizures put me over the edge. No longer will I drink anything (or eat anything) that has aspartame in it. We threw out all the gum in the house with aspartame as an ingredient. We are sitting here with a case of Diet Coke, unopened, free to anyone who would have it...although should I really give it away?

Here's the real kicker. Aspartame turns to methyl alcohol in your system. Now, I've read just about every web site that talks Aspartame - pro and con. Since they have found NO other reason for my seizure, I am going to make an assumption that perhaps the aspartame was to blame for my seizure. Did it definitively cause the seizure? I don't know. However, will it hurt me to NOT drink Diet Coke? Nope.

So, here's to 21 days Diet Coke free. They say it takes 3 weeks to create a new habit. Welcome to my new habit!