Sarah...

So I know I have not been blogging, summer came and kicked my rear. lot's of fun and laughter instead of blogging. we went camping,fishing,rock hounding and in general enjoyed each other :) We even sat on a lake for labor day.

Unfortunately our labor day lake vacation came to a screeching halt when I received a call that my sister sarah was being rushed in was not likely to survive based on vitals and her blood sugar numbers.She made it through so far but just barely. Her kidney's are failing more every day so far, her blood sugar is dipping into the 20's and she does not seem to be in the right frame of mind. I unfortunately agreed years ago that if something happened I would take care of stuff and make hard decision's. She and I have for years been more like mother and daughter than sisters. That is not always an easy path to follow but that is what she has needed from me. I am so sad to know that at this point sarah is terminal in most senses. Due to her inability to seem to maintain or care for her diabetes her body is now giving up on her. She will not be eligible for a transplant due to her lack of self care . I wish it were different but that's the path we are on.

Some how with our lack of money in the next week I will fly to Seattle to be with her, make sure her wish's will get taken care of so that in the future, whether it is tomorrow or in 5 yrs everything will be taken care of for her in the way she would want. On wing and a prayer this will be and I  come see my lil girl probably for one of the last times due to finances. I hope things turn around for her but at this point it may just be to late.

good thought's for sarah would be appreciated.

Joy

Flu....

One thing I can never understand is why so many germs have to affect me. I know my immune system is not running at full steam. I get that I know some germs hit me and smash me harder than others. I just wish my body fought a tiny bit more. 3 flu type bugs in 2 months seems just  a bit much. oh well tis is my plight I guess.
Hope my friends and family out there is doing better :)

So a change...

I think I approach this blogging thing wrong in my head. I stopped blogging awhile back since I figured I didn't have much to share.I think day to day things are what I actually love about blogs so I am going to make a goal to blog at least 4 days a week for the entire summer. So some of these posts may not be super interesting but in the end I think the over all quality will be sweet.

I have recently been looking at our budget and realized just how much money I am pouring into food every week. Most of this in an attempt to eat in a healthier way. all this adds up and that does not help pay off medical debt or get  derk and I back into college.

Daxs health problems in the last 6 months has made us more aware of all our food choices.

Since one of his health issues is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabsorption and failure to thrive we are looking at ways to cut out some things that are hard on his body while maintaining his ability to eat.

Unlike most kids dax can and has starved himself to the point where he needed a feeding tube. If it looks remotely yucky to him no amount of coaxing or force can get him to eat it. Food for him can be a real power grab by not making it a center of focus this power source is depleted.

We currently do this by

1st) having an open kitchen. night or day your hungry GO FOR IT!! We teach moderation and keep certain thing like junk food for special occasion.

2nd) I make one dinner not 4!!you do not like what I have for you fine you have 2 options peanut butter and jelly or cereal.

3rd) I try to provide food we all can agree on!

The hardest  thing I find about number 3 is that dax is so picky most things a kid likes dax just will not eat!!

Dax likes cereal no granola but cereal, Noodles with no sauce, meats with no sauce,cheese, milk, fruits and veggies. Heaven forbid we mix things or try things a lil different.

 I love variety and want to mix and match food in fun maniacal ways. I am a person who has to be on a high high protein diet and loves most foods in moderation.

Moderation and center is a mantra I seek to live by. All food can be great in moderation.

 Dax due to being dax loves sameness!!

So long story short after research we found out milk and gluten can contribute to his health issuues.

We have tried the gluten diet and well lets just say that is not an option for our family.ROFL

Milk to drink and for cereal is an area we have found in general works for us to change. 

After some trial we found goat milk is yucky,Soy milk has to much estrogen for boys, Hemp milk at 4.25 a pint is way to expensive an option, coconut and almond milk were over all a huge winner for our family.

 A disclaimer is I am VERY allergic to almond milk. 

So we will be buying soy for me and almond or coconut milk for the boys.

Now Almond milk is expensive much more so then moo milk as we call it. So we are needing to cut costs in other areas. Our veggie and fruit costs have also been crazy like 60-70 a week. Did I mention we love our fruits and veggies lol. 

 Add just those 2 things  up and boy do I know why we are broke :)

Lucky for us and thanks to a friend letting us in on a great co op we have a great less expensive way to cut costs and still eat in a healthy way!! bountifulbaskets.org  is awesome they are currently in 14 states and growing all the time!! This week we finally bit the bullet and bought in for our first basket at 15 a basket plus a 3 dollar first time basket fee ( pays for the baskets that hold your food till you show up with your boxs or bags. keeping it green baby :) ) the results speak for them selves :)

I know when I go to the store I spend more than 15-18 for this much fruits and veggies.Now I am told amounts vary and each basket is unique either way I feel like I got a great deal!! Now to help with costs 1x every 2 months every family needs to volunteer 1 hour to help with loading or unloading the trucks and handing out baskets. Pretty cool I think.

Now being me and not realizing how much food their is I also bought 2 additional Items that you can buy ala cart. This was my total bill ROFL 

Conventional 1 $15.00  Utah Basket pickup 

 First Time Basket 1 $3.00 

Valencia Oranges - Approx 88 count 36 Lb from Mexico 1 $14.50 

Strawberries - 8 Lb box of 2 large clamshells - California 1 $12.00 

Handling Fee:

$1.50

Total Price:

$46.00

This does not show the orange box full of yummy fresh valencia oranges :) Next time I think the basic basket will do just fine. yet I love how yummy and tasty this will all be.

Over all  pretty nice changes and our grocery budget is much much smaller :) Lil changes help our world get better I hope.