My friend inquired, "Have you been tested for Lyme Disease?" "No. I don't have that." (Famous last words.) "Are you sure? You've not been tested." "I haven't been bitten by a tick. I haven't ever noticed a bulls-eye rash. And Lyme isn't really in Michigan anyhow. Yeah, I'm sure I don't have Lyme Disease." I didn't really think much about that conversation until 4 other people asked me if I'd been tested for Lyme Disease. I probably wouldn't have thought much about it had it not kept coming up. The CDC, who is thought by many in the Lyme community to offer a very conservative estimate, reports "...the ...Read More
Chronic Fatigue is Bogus. Why Are You Really Tired?
"I'm sorry, there isn't anything I can for you. I can refer you to someone who can diagnose you with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome," the doctor stated matter-of-factly. The words rang hollow in my ears. "No, no thank you," I mumbled limply. I felt like crying. Why didn't anyone have answers? After checking out, I made my way to my car. I put my head on the steering wheel as I felt the hot tears running down my cheeks. Frustrated, I wondered what I would do next. I waited 4½ months to get into this specialist. I'd been hoping and praying she'd have the answer or at least some ideas to pursue. Nobody ...Read More
Ending Mealtime Battles: A Guide to Peaceful Family Meals
Are you ready to end mealtime battles? You know the ones. Kids not staying in their seats. Complaints over what you made to eat. Whining voices asking, "Do I have to eat ______?" And what's with the children screaming like wild banshees at the dinner table anyhow? Whose children are these? Maybe we're the only family who has kids who turn into crazies at the dinner table. But my guess is there we're not alone. (At least, I hope we're not.) Do you have a Picky Patty? Or a Tantrum Timmy? Fidgety Fred? Or maybe you have a Defiant Dan. Why can't mealtimes be more peaceful? Or maybe the better question is, how can ...Read More
Bedtime Battles: Strategies for Putting Them to Rest
The endless stream of bedtime requests from our two sweet, loving, albeit manipulative 3-year old boys were never-ending. Ridiculous excuses to get out of bed went on for hours—yes, multiple hours. Folks, this has been a big-time struggle in our family. I am so excited to share what has finally worked to get these wiggle worms to rest! I need to go potty. My finger hurts. Can I have a drink? My foot needs a kiss. Can I have a band aid? I have to go potty again! Kiss my tummy. ...and the list of excuses goes on and on! Night after night this weary mama gave in to kisses on fingers and toes and extra trips ...Read More
Foods Decadent Low-Carb Turtle Cheesecake Bars
Every once in a while you need a decadent dessert. Not all the time. Not for every day affairs. But for a holiday. A special event. A party. This is that dessert: decadent, low-carb turtle cheesecake bars. Looking for gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on. My mom called and asked if I'd make a really yummy gluten-free, sugar-free dessert for a family gathering. What a silly question, of course I would! I love making and creating desserts. Dessert makes people happy, and I like to make people happy. :) I sort of have a love-affair ...Read More
Homeschooling Made Simple: 6 Lessons to a Less Chaotic Day
Let's take a minute to talk about the chaos that often comes with homeschooling and also homeschooling made simple. A day that ends in a child (or mom) crying that they hate school is not a good homeschool day. A day that ends with an overwhelmed, frustrated, frazzled mom is not a good homeschool day. When homeschool feels more chaotic than peaceful, it is not a good homeschool day. Can you relate with any of these statements? I can. When these types of days begin to outnumber the peaceful days, it's time to examine what's going wrong. Special thanks to Compass Classroom for sponsoring this ...Read More
Essential Oils Aren’t Dangerous (but stupidity is)
"Ahhh...it burns!" my husband cried. He writhed around in pain after applying the lavender oil. I wondered if he was just being melodramatic. (He's been known to do that.) I had just used this oil on my 3-year-old a few days ago without any problems. Surely, lavender, often considered a mild oil, wouldn't cause such irritation on a grown man. Would it? Sure enough, it did. His skin continued to burn for a couple of hours, despite flushing the area with cool water (for reference, we learned later that it's best to flush the area with a carrier oil instead of water. We didn't know that at the time though) . What ...Read More
Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (grain-free & refined sugar-free)
Birthday parties for the little people can be challenging when you're grain-free and you're trying to limit your kids' refined sugar intake. They aren't quite so challenging, though, when you have a delicious cake any kid would love—like this grain-free banana cake with peanut butter frosting! Looking for more gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on. I'm going to be honest here. My kids sometimes have refined sugar. They sometimes have french fries. They sometimes go to grandma's and get WAY too much refined sugar. It's life. We ...Read More
