Mysterious Spot Kid

Both of our boys battled baby eczema when they were little. They both got it after their major sicknesses. If you are unfamiliar Mica had a staph infection in his neck when he was 7 months, and Isaak had meningitis when he was 2 months. Antibiotics were pushed down them. All for good reason. They saved their little lives.

I think back and man they were sick. Their white blood cell counts went through the roof, and they both had nasty fevers. Mica couldn't turn his head to eat. Isaak didn't want to eat at all. They both had that sick cry that went on and on. I waited at their bedsides, read to them and sang to them.

With heavy antibiotics given to them they both developed baby eczema on their heads. Since this happened to Mica first I thought it was cradle cap. I called it "Cradle Crap". I was thinking that's what he had because I was unable to bathe him like I would if he were well. I scrubbed his little head until it bled. This is not something I was proud of. I just read that that's the only way to get rid of cradle cap. Except it wasn't cradle cap. It was baby eczema.

I tried creams and oils, and nothing helped. They just made him look like a grease monkey, with a sore under the grease. It was recommended to me to by a family member to give Mica probiotics. So 8 years ago is when I first was introduced to probiotics. It took a few weeks of him taking them, and it started lightening up.

Later on the same went for Isaak. Except I was experienced in the problem at hand. Sure enough probiotics cleared him up.

Mica always has been my mysterious kid. He was born with a cyst under his tongue, which made his tongue thin on one side. He had to get an MRI to see if he had a cyst in his brain. They didn't know if he'd talk, or eat right. He clearly does both just fine. He crawled funny, and when he first started walking he limped.

Now he has yet another mysterious spot. The doctor has seen Mica's chin.  I took him in because the spot would not go away. He told me to wait it out, and if it still had not gone away to call him. They told me to put Hydrocortisone cream on his spot. I don't know why, but I forgot about probiotics being the only thing that helped in the past. I called the doctor once again because the spot is still here. They wanted me to email pictures in.

It is actually better than what it started out being. Before it was more red, and got a pimple in the middle of it twice.

Just so you can see it's red under his chin:

They (the whole office) can't figure out what's wrong with his chin. The next step is to see a dermatologist, or just wait it out longer. I'm going to stop with the Hydrocortisone Cream and continue with probiotics and make the probiotic a paste and put it on his skin as well. It worked on the boys when they were babies.

The  Hydrocortisone Cream is a steroid. All those creams have side effects.

Do you or your kids have skin problems?


 

Zimtal Nut Milk Bag Revew

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


I've been longing to make my own almond milk. To be honest I was scared to make my own milk. I was thinking for sure I'd make a mess, or waist the nuts because I'd do something wrong.

There's a stabliizer put in rice, almond and soy milk called, "Carrageenan". I'm not going to pretend I know a whole lot about Carrageenan, but I do know that additives of any kind usually are not good. It's better if you can make your own of things. I'm not going to make my own milk 100% of the time, but I will when I have the time.

Making nut milk is actually pretty easy.

I am so lucky to have gotten Zimtal Nut Milk Bag for review. Zimtal made what seemed possibly hard to me, so easy! Along with their bag to make nut milk, they send a link to get a free PDF recipe book.

 There are recipes for:

• Cashew Milk
• Almond Milk
• Pistachio Milk

I was going to make Almond Milk, but changed my mind when I saw that they had a recipe for Cashew Milk. All the recipes are similar: 1 cup nuts, 4 cups water, and add the sweetener of your choice.

Diy Nut Milk

I thought it was wonderful tasting! 

Here are the steps:

Soak 1 cup of nuts in tap water overnight.

2. Rinse the nuts, and put them in the blender with 4 cups filtered water.

3. Add your choice of sweetener, vanilla and salt. I added 2 Tablespoons of local honey, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and no salt for me.

Other Ways to Enjoy Nut Milk:

• Chocolate Nut Milk: Use the recipe above, and add 2 Tablespoons of raw cacao nibs or unsweetened cocoa powder


• Cinnamon Nut Milk: Use the recipe above, and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg


• Chai Nut Milk: Use the recipe above, and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

4. Blend all the ingredients together.

 

5. Pour it into Zimtal Nut Milk Bag to strain it. I helped it with my fingers as shown in the photo below.

You now how your milk. I saved the cashew pulp for smoothies.

About the Zimtal Nut Milk Bag:

• It's rated #1 as a Nut Milk Bag
• It's food grade
• Food Strainer
• Filter bag
• Fine mesh strainer
• Mesh filter
• Durable
• Washes great
• Has multiple uses in the kitchen 
• It has a drawstring
• Doesn't let pulp through
• You'll never have to buy cheese cloth again
• Can make nut milks, yogurt, and strain chicken stock
• It's made in the USA
• $19.95 on sale for $10.95 

FAQ:

• There's something wrong with my milk it's separating in the fridge, and looks gross. What's wrong with it? Nothing is wrong with your milk. Naturally made things do that. Shake it and drink it.


• How long does it last? 4 days from delivery. Because this product is fresh and raw, there are no preservatives or additives, which is why there is a shorter shelf life than the boxed almond milks. It's fresh, and you know what's in it.  

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Have You Ever Had the Hots for a Musician?

One day I was in class. Stevie Nicks came on.

I said to my assistant teacher, "I just love Stevie Nicks. Her voice is so unique. I just just can't help it sometimes though...although her voice is unique she sounds a billy goat, or sheep at the same time."

My assistant said, "Man you've ruined it for me!"

I said, "What?"

He said, "Well all the guys in my generation had the hots for Stevie Nicks!"

I said, "I know, but there is no denying that she has an animal sound to her at the same time a as pretty sound to her."

He shook his head. As if to block out what I was saying.

She'd sing a wonderful cover for Ba Ba Blacksheep.

Then he said, "Haven't you ever had the hots for a musician, or singer?"

I said, "No not really."

He said, "WHAT?"

I said, "Well I thought Roy Orbison, and Neil Young had sexy voices. That is until I saw them. Their looks are not all that. I liked Prince, and Michael Jackson, but didn't have the hots for them. I guess I'm more of a hots for an actor type person."

He said, "Who did you like?" 

I said, "I liked Johnny Depp (even though I heard he smells), Tom Cruise back in the Top Gun days. Now he's a little wacky. Brad Pits always had that never aging baby face. The one I really liked that not very many people have heard of was William McNamara from the movie Stealing Home."

Source

Come clean what musician, or actor have you had the hots for in the past?

We Had 5 Babies

Kitties to be exact.

A stray cat has been seen by our home.

Our neighbor said, "Hey Travis did you know that you have babies?" Then she showed him the kitties. They were up by the shed.

As many of you know I have allergies bad, so no we weren't about to keep them. If it were up to just Daddy he would give me up, and keep the cats. ;)

I joked a bad joke and said, "Just turn them loose in the yard behind us." Why was this a bad joke? They have big dogs back there. The kitties would probably be a meal for them.

I'm not that mean, and wouldn't do that.

In fact I found the number and website for feline frindz. They are a Nebraska nonprofit organization that deals with cats. They don't euthanize them. The Human Society will if they don't get sold.

He was about to contact them, and poof the cats are gone. They must of read my mind.

Are you a dog, cat, or none of the above person?

Crossword Puzzles

The boys wanted to go out for pizza on Isaak's birthday. Can you tell I'm behind in my posts? His birthday was May 19.

Anyhow I wanted to go somewhere that sort of fit in with my diet. Cheese and gluten don't really mix. There is a local pizza place called Zio's Pizza that has gluten free crust. I do love their pizza!

I felt kind of odd when I walked in. There was one of my students serving. Then I look ahead, and there's a table of my students. I like both my family, and my students, but it's odd when the two parts of my life mix. I like to leave them some what separated. Yes I talk about work at home, and yes I talk about family at school, but not a lot. I certainly don't hang out with both together.

I was picturing my student's going on about, "Oh you should have seen her family...", "Her husband tips well.", "Her husband tips crappy.", "OMG Mrs. Apel has to have gluten free." and "Her kids are loud." As you can see I don't like mixing the two parts of my life.

Well it all seemed dandy.

Mica loves watching their TV that is on the ground.

The boys seemed happy that Grandma and Grandpa showed up without them knowing.

Isaak has trouble with crossword puzzles. It didn't help that 1/2 the words were backwards. Daddy helped him.

Grandpa helped Mica; even though he didn't need help.

I love that Zio's Pizza will give the kids dough to play with. I didn't ask for any, since the kids were well occupied.

Our pizza did have cheese, but no gluten. It was a Natural Chicken and Feta Combo, and the boys got Margherite Pizza. I didn't get any pictures of our food, but here it is from their site.

Zio's Pizza has been labeled Omaha's best pizza for 33 times.

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is all about me discovering something that is different. I don't want to post things that you and I have more than likely heard before. I want to find something different. It could be from another country, someone singing from the streets of NY, and more.

This week I'm covering Victor Wooten. He's not unknown, I just didn't know him. I feel like I've been hiding under a rock, since I haven't heard of him. He's actually a recipient of five Grammy Awards. He was also awarded, "Bass Player of the Year" 3 times in a row in Bass Player magazine. He's been featured in Rolling Stone as well.

Victor is an American bass player, composer, author, teacher, and producer.

Source

Victor is the youngest of 5 boys, he started playing bass when he was 2 years old, and was performing with his family's band at the age of 5.

Here he is playing with a broken string!

Here he's playing at a Dave Mathew's concert.

Check out Victor Wooten's website.
Like Victor Wooten on Facebook.
Listen to Wooten on his YouTube channel.

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

Last week Isaak came out of his bed  with a huge smile on his face and said, "Mom I lost another tooth!"

Now this is the 3rd tooth he's lost all in the same area.

Daddy cleaned up his bloody hands. He said, "Dude I don't think this one was all the way ready to come out. I wiggled it earlier, and it wasn't loose enough."

We think Isaak yanked, twisted and pulled all to get some quarters.

He looks like he was punched in the face. It makes me crack up.

Random Tid Bits

1. The moment my house is clean, Isaak does this:
   
   
   
   
   I'm just happy cut up paper isn't in the mix this time. What kind of messes do you find yourself cleaning up on a regular basis? I guess Isaak cleans his messes up, but I have to look at it.
   
   
2. It's been nice weather wise. Then a sudden burst of rain happens. I saw a rainbow. I haven't seen one of those for a long time. I wish there was a pot of gold at the end of it. 






3. I think I have summer school, but no one has told me when it starts. Hummm...do I dare to ask? Last year I didn't ask. Then I found out on a Friday that I was to start teaching on a Monday.


4. I know the Ridset Detox Cleanse was working. Two days after I stopped taking it my asthma kicked in. I've been coughing up well stuff. It's been hard to breathe. My husband said my skin felt softer when I was on it to. Also stomach issues that I had before the cleanse, left me while I was on the cleanse, and now I had issues all one day. I have to wait a month before I start taking it again. :( I went into taking that cleanse as a complete skeptic. Now I really think it worked! 


5. Isaak is excited - he starts jiu-jitsu next week! We're taking a break from swimming since Mica wasn't trying hard, and Isaak's way ahead for his age. We'll also have nights and days where we won't be able to go due to travel. We'll go back to it. It's just a break. We can always go swimming for fun.

Shandali Travel Towel Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
Our boys love going swimming. In fact we need to go more to open swim at the Y.

One thing that we seem to struggle with is hauling everything. The towels just take up so much room!

That is until I discovered Shandali The UltraSport Travel Towel.

 I now have 1 towel, and may go back and buy more.

 What are the Shandali The UltraSport Travel Towel features?

• It's thin, but don't let that fool you. It dries off wetness better than the thicker towels. Usually when we go to the pool I carry home a big wet mess. When I used Shandali Travel Towel it dried so fast.


• It's better on your washer because it is so thin.


• It dries 10 times faster than cotton towels. It works best if you hang it to dry.


• It's made out of a material that is 100% microfiber. 80% Polyester and 20% Nylon.


• It's soft and durable.


• Since it is thin it saves room in your swimming bag, or suitcase.


• It has a fabric hook, which makes it easier to hang, and dry.

Colors:  

• Pebble and Stone
• River Blue
• Light Blue (The one I got to review)
• No Bleed Dye! That's right, the color does not fade, or go on to other things in the wash.

Sizes:

• Small: 20"x40" $24.95, and on sale for $14.95
• Medium: 24"x48" (I picked the medium size) $29.95, and on sale for $19.95

Some Uses:

• The swimming pool (So far I brought it along to dry off Isaak at the swimming pool. It worked great!)
• The beach
• Traveling
• Camping
• The gym
• Boating 

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Watch Them Grow

I forgot to put this up. I made this invite for Isaak and Evan's birthday party. I thought it was nice not having something superhero like for once. Isaak loves being outdoors, and Evan got what he wanted for his friend party so we went for it.

Their bodies are not their bodies. There's two backgrounds here, burlap for the sign, veggies added, and the boy's heads. Yes they look odd. They are supposed to. They are collaged that way.

We had a taco bar. Collard Greens were out for those that didn't want gluten. They work pretty well for wraps. Now Grandma told me that they make gluten free shells. We had homegrown corn. Then all the toppings. Grandma brought a relish tray, Aunt Terra brought a watermelon, and Aunt Angela brought salsa and guacamole. I made gluten free brownies, and brownies that were not gluten free. Isaak likes them more than cake. Terra brought a rhubarb pie. Then there was all kinds of ice cream. I had rice milk ice cream.

I put little flower pots at the tables, with the silverware and a napkin in them.

The kids played, and played.

Isaak got a rainbow loom from Terra, big wooden letters for him to decorate that spell out Isaak, more craft stuff, money and Lego sets. He scored big. 

This is the face Isaak makes when he can't open something easily: