ignorance vs stupidity

ok...it's been a while since i have had a "rant"...let's blame this on the antibiotics, shall we??

today, someone actually made the comment to me: oh, please tell me you aren't one of those moms...don't do that (gfcfsf diet) to your children!

i took a deep breath...put on my advocate cap...briefly explained why i do that to my children...i have gotten so good at the spiel that i don't even get angry anymore...until later...it's always hours upon hours after the comments...they wake me up...get stuck in my mind...over and over and over...until the extreme exhaustion of the day is long forgotten, and instead i find myself typing away on my pc...cleansing my brain...purging it of the rude-thoughtless comments of others...

it's been a long road...the hardest part is over: defending why i am taking milk (the beloved gift from the greedy dairy industry...america's golden white honey...for-goodness-sake-get-a-grip-people) out of my son's diet...even the "warnings" on the boxes of rice milk telling me to seek medical approval before giving my less-than-five-year-old rice milk is accusing...grandparents, husband, doctors, friends...no one immediately jumps on board the "diet-train"...

it's a huge decision that most mom's sadly make alone...clinging to the fact that...we have prayed no less than a thousand prayers for God to PLEASE help us figure out what is wrong with our child...a prayer that is answered in the strangest of ways...allergies...sensitivities...removal of coveted foods...

slowly and surely...the doubters see change...develop relationships for the first time...become believers...never acknowledging a day when they questioned...denying a day they never believed...

FINALLY...the exhausted mother...the mother who had to turn to yahoo forums for three months so that she could feel accepted SOMEWHERE...so she could gain her identity back...rally support...from strangers...finally...she has peace...not because the doubters are now iron-clad-believers...RATHER...because...if only this one time...she listened to that still small voice of God...and believed Him...over everyone else...and He honored His Promise to her...

it's been nearly two years now that we have been gfcfsf...egg free...dye free...nut/legume free...and my son is recovered enough from the autistic spectrum...anymore will be icing on the cake...gfcfsf icing of course...not only is my son's body and mind healing...he has led my daughter's unknown/undiagnosed "issues" to the land of forgotten difficulty...he has led my body to a brighter journey...i have considerably less anxiety/depression...my skin doesn't burn for "no reason"...my tummy issues...years of tummy issues are no longer present...my skin is clear...my eyes sparkle again, and the dull-hazy-exhaustion from the first three months of going gfcfsf are replaced with a vibrant glow of hope...love of running...movement...worship...health.

so when the random strangers...or even friends...or fellow church family...ignorantly decided to give their two-cents on my family's "quirky diet"...i have to take a deep breath...remember there is a difference between ignorance and stupidity (ignorance is not knowing...stupidity is deciding to speak anyway...) and remember that God put my family on this path, and i thank Him every single day...esp on the days my children (four and five years old) GLADLY turn down fistfuls of M&M candy...scoffing that they are full of "kemicals mommy"...now that's a moment i love to justify!

strep throat

I HATE STREP THROAT!!

i haven't run in over a week...my body feels like a train hit...i would take a pic of the back of my throat for sympathy...but will not go that far...

i have taken every natural known remedy for strep known to man...this case is not budging...so it's off to antibiotic land...land of the upset stomach, body aches, and hurting skin...all of the above are still better than strep...i could even smell my strep breath this am...argh

ok...just wanted to keep my dear blog readers current...have the pics of the darling mermaid helping prepare the vegan gumbo...will try to post that tomorrow...it's the whole typing out the recipe...aye aye aye.

OH...j-bob's shirts turned out nicely and we had 3 people show up to run for TEAM JADEN...which was a blessing as i had to walk due to: strep throat...there's always next year...right!?

oh baby!!

i have so many things to update!! my camera needs to be plugged in first...

this is my to-do list of blog post goals for this week:

my new square foot garden...which i have some successful seedlings coming up!!

mermaid cooking vegan gumbo...which i am eating now...and it is DELISH!!

my inspiration run...wow...so amazing...the mother who put that together is a dream mom! in a nut shell...26.2 miles to every school in cabot school district to teach kids about healthy choices...i only did 12-13 miles of it...but it was the fastest i have ever done!!

my having to eat flesh again...and drink gatorade...and worrying that my heart is beating too efficiently...as in...it's soooo slow!! but...i'm told..that's normal for: runners!! (oh, am i one of those??)

j-bob's weird regression...esp with his skin...and the rocking and hand sucking...and is he actually hand posturing? is that the word? not sure...BUT...he is being out of this world lovey...so i am taking the two steps back with a thankful heart that his connection to the world is still very much in tact...actually...i cannot remember him ever being so needy of affection in his life? all a big puzzle...one day at a time!

and last but not least: I HAVE BEEN CAFFEINE FREE FOR ONE WEEK!!!!

Redefining Autism

so i have designed a t-shirt for the Autism Awareness Run in LR on April 18th...

it's very simple, and i am hoping that the people i am wanting to use can breathe life into the idea! i am really excited about it...i'll "unveil" the final product...who knows...maybe i can get an extra one and actually do a give-away!!??

so my book is called: A Child's Journey Out of Autism....by Leeann Whiffen

i like it...it's a very good look at what families go through...i don't identify with Leeann nearly as much as i did Jenny McCarthy...BUT...for those of you who tend to keep things in and not show emotion...she's the mom for you...

i will leave you with this "video" of her son...it took my breath away...beware...it's very REAL...ok so i cannot figure out how to make the you tube video come up...here is the link...please follow...it's less than 2 minutes!

Clay Whiffen

100 miles in 30 days

map my run has all kinds of fantastic things going on...one of which is a goal challenge to...you guessed it...run 100 miles in 30 days...they claim that only adds up to about 3.3 miles a day!

well...i joined it...it's the greatest thing i have done thus far to get me to run daily! now i see what the sistah has been talking about all this time...routine running...wow...who knew??

so i did a 2 miler for speed work...it was great...except that i looked reDONKulous running sprints...oh the joy of self-imposed humility!

that didn't count towards my challenge as i joined the next day in which i ran 3, and then yesterday i ran another 3 in 31 minutes...YAY for me!...and then today i did a quick 2 in the rain...had to cut my intended 4 short as thunder began booming, and though i would love to die running...i didn't feel today was quite the day...

today as i ran in the rain my heart was pounding, and i was struggling for every single breath...i began to pray...more like worship...as i thought of every amazing thing i could think to call my God...and i also realized how thankful i was to have finally found my medium of worship: i wish i could sing...aspire to play an instrument...am too adhd to really still myself during worship...

ironically...i guess keeping in line with the whole paradox that is my life...it is thru movement that i can finally still my mind enough to focus solely on His Goodness...solely, soully, what-have-you. i am blessed beyond measure...and if that wasn't enough...my dearest husband...the man i literally dreamed of...did the dishes, folded, hung, and PUT AWAY three loads of laundry...why? because he wanted...to simply bless me...and bless me he did!

sigh...my heart is full of Love today...may it overflow...spill out...and drown the souls around me yearning for such that is Love.

awareness

so in case you DON'T know already...april is autism awareness month.

i am going to sift thru all of my past posts and actually LABEL them...haha...so that all of my autism related and gfcfsf...blahblah...free and biomedical posts can be easily accessed.

i picked up a new book...it looks like more of a novel-memoir...cannot remember the name right off the top of my head...but i figured in lieu of this month...i should start reading again. as i have mentioned in the past, i have to balance my immersion vs coming up for air otherwise i drown in all that is autism.

today...i am very very thankful...as we are having great successes here in this granola house-hold! j-bob is eating a carrot stick, an apple slice, he tried corn on the cob, asked to taste mustard, etc. he is regularly eating turkey burgers and actually ate his left-over vegan lasagna yesterday at school...AND...he is wearing polo shirts, button ups, khaki pants, and yesterday even wore BLUE JEANS!!??

WOW...all i can say is: thank You Jesus!! and thank you blog readers as i know many of you faithfully lift up my family in prayer...i am so blessed...so very very very blessed!

so today...i lift up a fellow mom...check out her awesome blog: MyFiveMen
she is a testimony, a true testimony of an incredible mom and Christian woman...autism looks different for every single child and family...

be aware...be understanding!