Will this work?

As I have mentioned we are working through some budget adjustments with the introduction of Tristans new diet.  It almost doubled our monthly grocery bill in the last 6 weeks.  So in looking at ways we could reduce OUR grocery buying ( as Tristans stuff lets be honest...there are no short cuts) I found this website and will be giving it a go.  Its basically a place where they do the work to find the best deals around, put together healthy meals and provide shopping lists and Ad Matching opportunities.  Well I have no idea how much I saved- but I gave it a go this past weekend.  I only bought what was absolutely neccessary, did the ad matching at the checkout stand and while I did save money - I no way bought the amount of food they show on the blog for the same cost.  So Im still a bit mystified on how folks do this...but its a start.  And if I saved 5-10 bucks then GREAT. 

In all we had a pretty good weekend.  Took the boys to airborne( the indoor trampoline park) on Saturday for an hour.  BEST money ever spent and they had an absolute blast.  But sunday morning was insane.  Tristan has a reward system for taking naps and sleeping in his bed at night.  After 7-10 days he gets a toy, coloring book, or something of the like.  Well he got to the part on his chart that indicated he gets a toy...and he wanted it NOW.  THAT very instant that he woke up.  What happened was a complete meltdown of epic porportion for over an hour before church.  Needless to say we were almost an hour LATE for church dealing with this tantrum.  He doesnt get the concept of patience, or "later".  However as Jonathan posted to Facebook....we need to remember that he is, and often can be, an angel as the picture below captures. 

Visit with Noellie

February has flown by!!  We had a lovely visit with this one and her mom -and the house is a little less bright when shes gone.

As usual we didnt get as many pictures in with everyone ( although we got a lot at Christmas) so its all good.

Saw movies, relaxed, took T sledding, went to Church, baked and cooked tons( which meant we ate a bunch too)

and in all had a fabulous time.

Success

I realize that I haven’t shared the recent success of our new diet for Tristan and the remarkable changes it has made in our home.

First off let me say that its HARD. Taking out sugar from a diet, along with everything else we are doing requires dedication, time, and planning. Think going back 60 years where mothers made everything from scratch and there was no convenience foods. We have to buy lots of organic foods and much of what we are buying isn’t available in many stores. We are going to specialty food places for those items and its costing us about double our normal food budget each week.( Hello monthly budget!~ Its totally blown!) Snacks have to be prepared and thought of ahead of time. Dinners are planned. I did do this most often, but I wouldn’t hesitate to grab a can of salsa for instance and now EVERYTHING I cook I have to do from scratch, or look at labels first. Tristans “treats” include frozen organic yogurt, or coconut ice cream. The up side? Tristan has turned into a different child almost overnight. Hes had one minor temper tantrum in the last 3 weeks. He is sleeping better, sleeping longer. Hes much more calm. Doesn’t run around the house and jump on furniture, "freak" out or go "crazy". We have had feedback that hes more focused and stays on task. So while I didn’t follow the ADHD diet to a “T”- we have followed it pretty close. Its amazing when you read labels how everything includes sugar/dyes/preservatives. Even stuff I didn’t think about like mayo, salad dressing, ketchup. We pack his food, send “approved” snacks to school and church and pretty much have him aware of what he can and cannot not have. Tristan now asks ” Mom can I have this?” or “Does this have sugar?” Hes taken his new diet like a champ and hasn’t complained. Hes eating less as the food hes consuming is keeping him more full, and giving him more energy. In all- its been a huge SUCCESS!

Jan is coming to a close

Okay so January has been a bit of an experiment...our budget( which was a bit painful - but we did it!)

Some new changes

and Resolutions in order....

As I mentioned this is the year Im getting our lives in order- food storage, emergency prep etc.  My dad has been great- afterall anyone that knows our family is aware that we were pretty well set up in these areas.  My parents were avid outdoor enthusiasts...my father was a paramedic/EMT for several years, gun collector, prepper, and my mother was right there alongside him.  So when I told him that I really have felt the need this year to be better prepared- he told me about this Novel( as well as a lot of other things of course lol).  Let me tell ya tho...its a must read.  VERY Interesting.  I couldnt put it down.  He also gave me a bunch of books on survival, homesteading, and military medical basics...So my library is growing.

Jonathan got our shelves set up in the cold storage area and we have our food storage organized.  I updated our 72 hour kits ( water, clothes, cash, food, first aid etc) and have them in both cars.  So in all- I feel like Ive made some progress!!

The other note worthy thing to happen  this month is we got callings in our ward.  Jonathan as a sunday school teacher, and I the beehive advisor in Young Womens.  I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the calling at first- thinking how I was going to do it considering our already overscheduled lives, but Im feeling much more confident about things now.  There are 16 girls...and they are adorable.  Im excited to be a part of young womens again and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives!

Possibilities

After a particularily bad few days with Tristan, Jonathan and I were laying in bed talking and feeling very discouraged.  We have known there is something "off" with Tristan since he was born, his severe colic and behavior issues...  While there is no official diagnosis, Ive been doing research and talking with my neighbor and friend who has HER Tristan that has ADHD- age 14 and there are just too many commonalities.

My initial thought is ADHD is probably accurate...symptoms and behaviors include:

problems adapting

sleep disturbances

daily or hourly mood swings

tendency to disturb other children

temper tantrums

low tolerance for stress

frustrated quickly

inibility to sit for any length of time

impulsive, daring behavior

clumsiness

talking too much....to name a couple....

All of the symptons listed for this disorder Tristan has.  Now I know that Im not a doctor, and we will have him be seen by a professional, but I feel that there are things that I can do now.  There are supplements that have been shown to have positive effects as well as dietary recommendations for children with this disorder.  Im hoping that our friends and family will read this and understand what we will be doing in our home and support us in our quest.

Some diet suggestions are these:

Bread/cereal/crackers that contain only rice and oats

Tuna/Salmon

High protein diets

ONLY complex carbs- fresh fruts/veggies/beans/whole grains

limit dairy

NO SUGAR in any form( no fruit snacks, cookies, granola bars, graham crackers, cakes, candy etc)

NO: bacon, catsup, chocolate, corn, ham, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, luncheon meat, pork, sausage, wheat

Lifestyle:

Limit TV, Video Games - lots of physical activity

In one of the books I saw the following:

Parents of childing with ADD or ADHD often have a very difficult time dealing with the behavioral problems of their children.  Its helpful to remember that children with this issue is dealing with a physiological disability.  Although they desire to please and want to be good, their minds go in and out of overload with control.  They can feel overwhelmed, ashamed and can develop low self esteem.  These children need a great deal of love, support, and encouragement from everyone around them, but most of all- from their parents.

I know im searching for answers with regards to Tristan- but as his mother, Im desperate for help, understanding, support, and finding answers or options that will help our family.

Order for the New Year

Okay- my resolutions this year revolve around "order"( finances in order, house in order, life in order :)

almost two weeks in and we are doing okay...

Strict cash only budget.

- this is harder than it seems.  No debit cards, no credit cards.  Until last year -we had never used our credit cards or had credit card debt.  then came the house...with so many purchases I got dizzy...then we just used them for extras we always wanted...( ummmm my treadmill as an example..and btw I do love it)

anyway so the cards are currently sitting in a frozen pool of ice in our freezer- not to be used for the year.

-planning grocery store trips is percise.  No extra cash means no extra stuff....I am proud to say I was 5$ under budget last week

-getting gas is the major downside.  hate having to go in to prepay especially when its 12 degrees outside and any time spent running around is too much in my opinion.  also trying to guess how much you need to fill up is kinda lame.  so ive been at the pump more as my 20$ or 40$ at fill up doesnt quite do it for the week.

-rethink EVERY minor purchase...from a book for Elijiah,( scouts and leisure)to the redbox movie...we have a personal spending limit for the month and once its gone- NO more until the next month! this is where our budget has always been blown...we tend not to think twice about date night, bday presents, lunches out, random clothing and tech purchases etc....it was amazing how much we spent each month.  im looking forward to seeing how much a difference this might make.

There are always things we cant count on- house stuff breaks, car repairs, medical expenses( all which tend to be huge for our family every year) but im super optimistic that our lives this year will become more organized, and general chaos will be diminished! So heres to 2012 - year of ORDER!

***

We were late in getting our family photo out this year...we had some last minute change of plans with Noel at Chrismas time and really wanted her to be in this years pic.  So between the holidays and the late start, cards were not sent.  But never fear...here is our annual family photo.( and I thought last years photo session was hard...this year took the cake- but the talented Emily Lesher pulled out a miracle- Thanks Em!! 

Final Christmas Pics

Ill finish out by adding just a couple more photos of our week...New Years was uneventful for the most part- played Kinect, watched a movie went to bed...had a great convo with Brook - Noels mom- and made some potential VERY COOL future plans...

-Also made some goals for 2012- With the purchase of the house this past summer, we were frantic (okay I was frantic) to get some of the most pressing projects done.
             ---Kitchen remodel- painting-basement started-cleanup-some redecorating- all of which took    more time and money than we ever thought.....
  However we are at a place where I think we should take a break.  Recoup, recover and start again next summer.  So hopefully we will be on track with those goals to start up again.

The Holiday season was full- full of love, family, time, meaningful gifts, rest, fun, relaxation, chaos, and joy.  I couldnt have asked for a better conclusion to our 2011.