What I'm Thankful For This Holiday Season

It's been a few crazy weeks around here and it'll only get more busy as Christmas approaches. So I thought I would sit down for a few minutes and write out what I'm thankful for this year.

I'm thankful that our 4 yr. old son does not have to have a feeding tube like other kids with Eosinophilic Disorders.

I'm thankful for being able to homeschool our 7 year old son. Have I mentioned how much he really loves reading these days?

I'm thankful that our family has everything we need and more right now.

I'm thankful that our business is doing well. In fact it's doing so well that we are swamped!

Most of all I'm thankful for these 3 guys making my life so amazing...

I hope you and your family have a very happy Thanksgiving and a fun upcoming holiday season. I also wanted to mention that over at A Mom's Review we are currently giving away LOTS of items we think Moms will love! These items would make great Christmas gifts!

Here's what you can win right now:

Shrek The Halls DVD

An ABC FamilyChristmas DVD Prize Pack

A Year's Worth of Naturally Nora Cake Mix + Olan Mills Portrait Packages to 10 additional winners!

$100 Worth of home cleaning products from Weiman & Filterstream. Who wouldn't want the best handheld vacuum on the market? (link coming soon!)

Build A Bear Gift Certificate!

1 of 3 Holiday Items from Land's End!

When Life Gets Tough I Take Pictures

Nothing soothes me more than being able to get outside and take pictures. I wish photography were my job but, hey, it isn't and I'm no professional. So, I guess I'll just sit here and blog my life away instead. It works. It pays the bills.

However, professional or not, I'm still sharing these photos from yesterday. It was warm here so the boys and I played in the hills behind our house.

The Road To Get To Our House...


On His Bike


And the rest can be seen on my flickr photo page.

Now, my request for you. What is one thing that relaxes you when life gets tough/stressful? Post it on your blog and I'll share your link with everyone here, or post it in the comments for everyone to read. Maybe we can help each other. ;)


BTW, I'm looking for moms or dads that review products who'd like to be featured over at A Mom's Review in the coming months.

Dear Santa,

Please bring me a "pause button" so I can use it on days like today.

Sincerely,

A very busy mommy blogger/entrepreneur who just wants to sit down for one freakin' minute (sorry Santa) without thinking about the eleventy-hundred things she has to do next.

P.S. Today was rough.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Foods To Eat

Up until about 2 weeks ago, we thought we had our son's food allergies and eosinophilic esophagitis under control. Then the vomiting started again, and now it's bad. He's vomiting almost everything he eats unless it's rice milk, rice cereal, bagels, peanut butter, eggs, or crackers. How is my baby boy supposed to live like this? It's hard on him and it's hard on us. I had to take away his trick-or-treat candy today. Truthfully, we should have never allowed him to have any of it in the first place. But we gave in and allowed him to have things he shouldn't because his steroids were helping him, or at least masking his problem. His GI Dr. also said we could try and re-introduce some foods if he wasn't having any symptoms. I guess we gave him too much.

We made an appointment next week with his specialist to see what we need to do, and this morning we started him on a very restricted diet once again. An elemental diet such as Elecare is something we are also considering at this point as well. I guess we will wait and see what his GI Dr. suggests.

So, in the meantime, I've been searching for new recipes our son can eat for what seems like hours and I'm not getting anywhere. What can I make that tastes good and is soy-free, dairy-free, meat-free, and corn-free among other foods? Really, what's left?

I Have A Love/Hate Relationship With Horror Movies

We live in a rural area. It’s definitely small town, America. What image comes to mind when you hear rural or small town America? I’m betting you see lots of farms and open spaces. Well, let me be the first to tell you that not all small towns are created equal. We live in the heart of Appalachia surrounded by hills, mines, and even fewer farms unless you count chickens in cages. At night this place can be down right spooky. Our “holler” (hollow to you city folk) would be an excellent place to film a horror movie.

So, what’s my point? Well, there isn’t one really. I just wanted to say that last night as I was walking from my MIL’s house to my house that I realized that we live in strangers land (as in the movie, The Strangers). Yeah, it's eerily similar at night. Anyway, all I could think of as I breathed in the very cold air was at what point during my walk were one of those masked maniacs going to jump out and get me. So I ran. Hopefully no one was watching my foolish antics. Then this evening no one was home but me and I just knew someone of the masked variety was going to knock on my door and ask me if Tamara was home. Geez, you'd think I'd be over this movie* by now.

So, who else let’s their imagination get the best of them after reading a scary book or after watching a scary movie? Come on you can share you secrets with me. After all I just divulged to the world what a “scaredy-cat” I am. Did I also mention that after watching a scary movie I won’t go to sleep unless my husband is holding me? Pathetic much??

BTW, I totally recommend watching *The Strangers even if it is one of the more terrifying movies of the year... just don't watch it alone.

The Holiday Commercials

I asked my 7 yr. old son what he wanted for Christmas.

He replied with, "Mom, I don't know yet. I'll have to watch the commercials."

Funny yet not-so-funny at the same time. Ya know what I mean?

So, a few minutes later he did say that he wanted a Nintendo DS and that is something we, I mean "Santa", will be happy to bring him since there are so many fun as well as educational games to choose from. We have the Wii and love it! Our favorite games right now are Endless Ocean and Wii Carnival. Do you have a favorite you recommend?

*Oh, and before I forget (yes this sounds just like an advertisement) stop by A Mom's Review to win a box of Crest White Strips Premium. They really do work! Seriously, my teeth look great!

We are also giving away a very nice Dove prize package. Go see what it is on AMomsReview.com From now until Xmas we are going to be giving away lots of gifts so you have to visit us over there, ok.

Super Heros On This November Day

Imaginary care-free play - it's such a beautiful thing. Through our eyes, time goes by so fast. Through theirs, time stands still. Make every moment count, and don't forget to capture some of the more breathtaking moments on camera. Yeah - that's my tip for the day, or shall I say month since I'm not blogging much here these days.




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* We're giving away the very NEW Spongebob WhoBobWhatPants DVD over at A Mom's Review. Win it! I hope you'll also join us every day at A Mom's Review throughout the holiday season for some great product reviews, gift ideas, and giveaways!
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