Auntie Dana is GREAT!

Hey!  The other day I got a package from New Zealand from my Auntie Dana.  It was candies and a New Zealand shirt.  It made me feel happy because the New Zealand shirt was cute and I loved the candies!  They were so great!  I got to wear my New Zealand shirt to church.  I like you Auntie Dana.  Please visit soon.  Thanks for sending me all those packages.  I love you. Goodbye.  Love, Jacob

Food Allergies and "The Terrible Twos!"

Well...I got the results back from my food allergy test on Friday and I have to say that I was quite disappointed!  It turns out that I have several acquired food allergies and it is no wonder that I have felt so terrible for almost a year now.  Almost everything I eat contains one of these ingredients.  My top 4...yeast (brewers and bakers), sugar (I know!  this one is the worst), wheat, and whey protein which is in milk and other dairy products.  You must be thinking, "What is left to eat?"  Well, I can have any fruit, veggie, meat, nut, eggs and several other grains like oats, corn, rice, spelt, buckwheat, barley.  I can also have chocolate, but not sugar...someone figure that one out for me and coffee (which I don't really drink much of) and some hard cheese like cheddar, soy products or goats milk (hmmmm).  I can sweeten things with honey and pure maple syrup and I can use carob as a chocolate substitute. Here is the good news though...I do not have any life long allergies.  Because all of my allergies are acquired, I will eventually be able to add these foods back and hopefully my body will begin to tolerate them again.  Initially, I have to go off of all of them for a period of time (3-6 months) and then slowly add in one at a time and see how I feel.  So if anyone has any really great sugar free, wheat free, dairy free recipes...send them my way.  I am going to experiment with some cookie, muffin, and smoothy recipes I found on line.  

On to the next topic...The Terrible Twos...

My precious little Micah who loves to snuggle has turned a corner and we are just praying that this is a short phase that he is going through.  This whole weekend he has gone on a pushing and hitting rampage.  It started with him pushing Jacob every so often last week and then on Saturday I must have put him in time out over 20 times.  It seemed that every time I let him get out (after having him show me what "nice" is ... he rubs his hand gently on our cheek and says, "nice")  he would run over, with this devious little brother look in his eye, and push Jacob again.  Time outs did not seem to be very effective, but consistency is key right?  

Sunday was a disaster! I put Micah in his class at church after warning the teacher that he has had a tough weekend and telling her to page me if anything happened.  About 3/4 of the way through the service I was feeling pretty encouraged that I hadn't been paged and was singing a worship song when I felt a tap tap on my shoulder, "sorry to interrupt, but Micah is having some trouble."  Oh no...I get to his class to hear that he has pushed 3 kids in a row and I am mortified.  Then as I stand there talking to one of the nursery workers, he walks over and shoves a little girl super hard.  She cries of course and I take Micah out...feeling like the worst mom in the world, my cheeks hot and not sure what to do with this defiant little 2 year old who has become the class bully.  I have to say that I have been humbled in so many ways since becoming a parent and am just clinging to what the Lord spoke to me this weekend through James 1...I am asking for wisdom for how to deal with Micah in the way that is most effective for who he is.  And I am believing that He will give me the wisdom I need for each circumstance that comes.  Feel free to pray for a softening of little Micah's heart and a receptiveness to

 discipline.  He is such a sweet little boy and I don't want him to be labeled as trouble.  

My Big 6 Year Old Boy!

Jacob turned 6 last week and we had such a fun party for him.  He really wanted to have a Dr. Seuss birthday, so we transformed our office into a movie theater for the evening.  When all of the kids arrived I gave them pretend money and they walked the "red carpet" to the concession stand to buy their popcorn and candy.  Then they went through the curtains into the "theater" and watched a couple of classic Dr. Seuss cartoons beginning with Jacob's favorite, The Cat in the Hat.  It was a lot of work to pull off, but Jacob was so happy!  I attempted to make a Cat in the Hat 5 layer birthday cake that actually turned out pretty well.  We had a little trouble trying to make the frosting red ( I got a little stressed out when I thought my 6 year old boy was going to have a bright pink and white cake for his party, but after a whole jar of red dye, the pink turned to a nice red).  I also posted a pic of the cupcakes I made for Jacob's class at school.  I got the idea on line, and they turned out so cute.  I used white lifesavers and red cinnamon candies to make Dr. Seuss hats.  So fun!  My mom was here for a week and a half and I so appreciated her help.  Jacob is going to write a little about his birthday now...

Jacob says, "Hey!  Remember my birthday?  Guess what?  We had cake and we opened presents and we watched a couple of Dr. Seuss cartoons and we played in my room last and when it was time to go I gave people their goodies.  They were a Dr. Seuss pencil sharpener, a pen, a book, and an eraser and books for the little kids.  Bye Bye."

What a night!

Jacob woke up in the middle of the night came into our bed, which is always ok with us.  I didn't even really know he was there until he woke up at about 3am and threw up right in between Tim and I.  So sad :(  I have to say, Tim really shines as a Daddy in times like this.  I do not do well with throw up, but Tim is always so compassionate and took Jacob to the bathroom so he could get the rest of it out.  Unfortunately a lot ended up on the floor, but Tim cleaned all of that up.  I am so thankful for such a hands on husband and Daddy.  Jacob was so brave, he didn't even cry.  I always cry when I throw up...even as an adult.  

It is now 7:45am and Jacob is doing just fine.  He's happily watching Diego with Micah and doesn't even have an upset stomach.  Let's just pray that the worst is over.  I don't want him to be sick on his 6th birthday, which is Wed.  

Here is a pic of Jacob yesterday.  He looked so cute that we made him pose for some pictures.

"Happy Mother's Day To Me"

This was the most wonderful Mother's Day I have ever had.  It actually started last night when Jacob said, "Mommy, I am going to get up really early before you get up and put a surprise for you on the table."  (He made something for me at school and had it hiding in his closet for the past 4 days.)  I didn't actually think that the would remember in the morning, but at 5:55am I heard someone rustling around the house and then in comes Jacob to my side of the bed, "Mommy, there is a surprise for you on the table.  When you get up you can open it."  Well, of course I had to get up right then.  (Just a bit of background...every birthday and most holidays I put little gifts on the table the night before, so that the boys wake up and see them first thing in the morning at their breakfast spot.)  I came out and unwrapped the most precious Mother's Day gift.  Jacob's little handprint in plaster with a sweet poem on the back.  Every mom needs to have one of those on a wall in her house and now I do :)  Of course I cried, I was so touched by the thoughtfulness of my sweet little boy.  

A few minutes later Tim went out to the garage and brought in a card and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I was so surprised because Tim is not great about keeping secrets when he has something for me.  I almost always know, but he had a really busy day yesterday and I just wasn't expecting anything first thing in the morning.  So that made it even more fun.

We went to church, which is always a great experience.  In the afternoon we drove to Tim's parents house in Auburn and had a really relaxing afternoon sitting out in their backyard while the boys ran around and played.  Then we went to dinner at Chevey's, which is one of my very favorite places to eat.  Micah was really good through all of dinner, which made it really relaxing and he was super snuggly all day with me.  All in all, a really great day.  I felt so loved by my family and am so thankful for the blessing of my husband and my boys.

The Early Risers

Why? Why? Why? (Do you hear the whine in my voice?)  Why were our kids up at 5:45 AM joyfully running laps around the playroom?  I love to hear my little boys giggling and having fun with each other...but not at 5:45 IN THE MORNING!!!  And then of course I am kicking myself saying, "Why did we stay up so late last night?"  But who can resist watching  LOST, even if it does start at 10pm.  Could have recorded it on the DVR, but isn't it much more fun to watch it that night?  Except if your me, you are so worked up after such an intense TV show that you have to watch something else that is lighthearted or funny to get your mind off of it so you don't have nightmares.   

Well, our day was actually really nice, except for the 2 hour dentist appt I had this morning.  I wish I wasn't so nervous about going to the dentist, but it is not high on my list of things I like to do.  One of todays highlights...I got to have a complimentary 1/2 hour massage at my chiropractor's office.  SWEET BLISS!!!  

So you would think that after such an early morning, our boys would be exhausted and in bed asleep already.  Here it is 9pm (an hour past bedtime) and they are still awake.  Why, you say?  Well because tonight the boys were so cute snuggling together in Jacob's bed when we were doing their goodnight routine.  So Tim and I got the "bright idea" to let them have a sleepover in Micah's room tonight.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?!  Now two exhausted little Loomis boys are doing everything they can to stay awake and play.  Oh well, at least they are making a memory and having some brother bonding time.  We may all need a nap tomorrow :)

Family Bike Ride

Tonight was so much fun.  After dinner we went on a family bike ride.  Jacob has just about mastered his two wheel bike minus the training wheels and we are all so proud of him.  After dinner we all got on our bikes (with Micah in the bike trailer) and took off.  There is a neighborhood near our house that is being built and we can ride on the new streets without worrying about cars because nobody lives there yet.  Jacob had a great time.  I love my little family.  Here is a pic of my boys after our bike ride.

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend we have had!  Friday was Tim's day off, which is something we all look forward to all week long.  I helped in Jacob's Kindergarten class in the morning and then we all went to Grass Valley for a dr. appt. I had with a naturopathic doctor that I see.  I had a food allergy test.  I have been on this journey the past 10 months or so of trying to figure out why I was feeling so run down and tired.  I was finally diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue in January.  This just basically means that my adrenal glands (which produce some really important hormones that give you stamina and energy) were really low at this hormone production.  So I've been working really hard at getting better.  I've had to get more sleep and drastically change my diet (cut out sugar and white flour and eat lots of protein and veggies).   I am beginning to feel a lot better, but still not 100%.   Anyway, after my appointment we stopped in to see Grandma and Papa Loomis is Auburn and the boys had a blast running around in the Salvation Army Corps where they work.  We love having Tim's parents so close!

  Our day off flew by as always and then Tim went into his longest work day of the week Saturday.  He works for 2 churches on Sat.  He leads worship for a church in Natomas in the morning and then does set up and worship practice for Emmaus in the afternoon/evening.  I stayed home with the boys all day and also watched our friends Kevin and Sarah's  little girl Kyri so that they could go on a date.  We had a fun time playing outside in the sandbox and drawing with sidewalk chalk.  I love the weather this time of year.  

So I was just wondering if your mornings ever look like this...

Our Sunday morning began at 5:55am when Jacob came into our room to use the bathroom.  Tim and I always hope that maybe we will be able to fall back to sleep for awhile after one of the kids gets up, but it's usually just wishful thinking.  Pretty soon Micah joined us and we had the whole family in our bed.  Tim and I kept laying there just trying to get a few more moments of rest before starting our day.  We finally gave up after Micah brought us a whole basket of toys one by one.  It was a fun filled morning in the Loomis home with 2 busy little boys and 2 very tired grown ups :)

I have to add this in too ... Conversations with Jacob this week ...

me: "Jacob, what is the best part of your life?"

jacob:  "My whole family."

me: "Why?"

jacob:  "I don't know, just cuz you guys are the best!" 

              ... and ...

jacob:  "Mom, what is God's first name?"

me:  "God or Jesus"

jacob:  "What is God's middle name?"

me: "uuuuhhhh Almighty :)"

jacob:  "What is God's last name?  I think it's Jesus!"

me:  (no comment, sometimes when I don't have a good answer... I just have to say nothing :))