Food Mistakes

I was just randomly reading the headlines on my Yahoo homepage today when I stumbled on the following article. It sparked my own curiosity. For those of you who are parents or caretakers of children, how do you get children to try new foods? Do you commit any of these 'food mistakes'?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?ex=1379304000&en=916e6480bc36f917&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Looking back on the times I've cared for children, I've been guilty of a few. The no children in my kitchen rule has probably been my biggest no no. There have been times I've offered to teach children how to make something, but in general the kitchen is the me zone. I think that stems from my creative side. I like to be alone or in my own space when I'm busy creating something, whether that be writing, crafting, scrapbooking, and even cooking. There are some crafting things that I like others present or like to do while spending time with others, like crocheting and knitting. But in general I enjoy my own creative space away from the distraction of others.

I've also been guilty of hiding the 'good stuff ' aka the non-healthy stuff. I guess that shows that I shouldn't have that stuff in my home if it's not good enough for a child to eat. I need to work on this area.

And then I got to the part of the article that spoke about mothers that diet and how that affects their daughters. My mother always dieted when I was a child. Although she rarely needed to be on a diet, it was a household obsession and I can see how that's affected my own eating habits. I can't remember when I didn't know what calories, fat, and calories from fat meant. I remember looking at my milk carton in school and wondering if I was going to get fat from drinking it. Ironically, I did start to gain weight in 4th grade. That's when my little pot belly formed shortly before puberty began. I was so embarrassed and did everything I could to get rid of that pot belly. I felt guilty and wondered what secret calories I'd been eating that my mom didn't know about. Ultimately I hadn't been eating any extra or exercising any less, those were the beginning effects of PCOS. I wish I had known then and started some sort of treatment. Some 18 years later, I still have that pot belly....and more. I wonder if this will be an obsession of my own when I have a little girl someday. Will I look at her calories, fat and carb intake so closely that I'll make her feel the way I felt as a child? Will I be so paranoid that PCOS will affect her as well or will I be able to allow her to be a normal child no matter her genetics?

Interesting article though.....please share your thoughts.

~*Melody*~

New Blog Look

I've been wanting a new look here forever. I plan on making a new header eventually, but for now you just get a new background. Anyway...enjoy.

And now back to your regular websurfing.....

27th Birthday

I actually had 2 days of celebration this year. The first was on Monday Aug. 18th. My husband and I took a day trip to Chattanooga for some shopping and an eye exam for me. We had a nice day out, relatively uneventful, just nice and relaxed. I came home with some lovely items from the craft store and a new eye prescription with new contacts.

I was having some trouble focusing the contacts that evening but I thought nothing of it. By the next day, I was having major issues with the contacts and could no longer read anything closer than arms length. Using my laptop was near impossible, even after magnifying my screen to 200%. So that meant that it was time to return to the eye doctor.

I got another appointment scheduled for my birthday (Friday). It just happened by chance that my husband and mother didn't have to work. So we all loaded up that morning and took off for birthday celebration #2. *chuckles* I didn't mind at all.

When we got there we had to rush to my appointment before we could go shopping. My eye doctor told me that the distance between my eyes and contacts vs. my eyes and glasses had a major difference with the strength of my prescription. My brain just couldn't comprehend the strength of my new contacts, so I had to return to my old prescription. I can use my new prescription with my glasses though. The doctor gave me a different set of contacts and I headed out of the office.

We then went next door to look at glasses at Lenscrafters. I'd already looked at them on Monday and had an idea of the pair I wanted. I knew that I couldn't afford them though. My mom encouraged me to try on glasses again. I showed her the ones I liked the most. And surprise, they were my birthday gift ! So an hour or so later, I came out with these...

So what do you think? They are by far the most stylish glasses I've ever owned. LOL. I can remember when I wore glasses so big that they covered my little round cheeks. I look back at those pictures and ponder about how I ever thought those looked good one me. Oh well, I'm sure we all have 'those' pictures.

We didn't shop much in the mall after that. We ate while we waiting on my glasses to be made. I was looking around the mall for Lane Bryant only to find that it has been moved out of the mall. Boo, that's the kind of change I don't like. We drove to the local Lifeway bookstore where I purchased a new book for my Sunday school class and a new Willow Tree figurine.

I've always had a fondness for this collection. I think what draws me most to them is the life symbolism each of them have. Each one can represent different stages of life, different feelings, emotions, etc. I have received two as gifts and have purchased 3. When I look at them on my mantel, I think about different aspects of my life. The first one I received from my former boss. It symbolizes our unique friendship. The second was an unexpected gift from a dear friend who wanted to encourage me to never give up hope. I bought the next one at Christmas to symbolize the place where my husband and I were at during that time. The largest of my collection was purchased for me by husband to celebrate our love. And last but not least, the figurine at the left is called angel's embrace.

For me, this symbolizes that our lost children are in the arms of heaven. They have received the utmost of care and love. I take comfort in that on my hardest of days. I once saw an angel, the one I believe to be my guardian angel. She was small, had childlike features and light brown short flowing hair. When I saw this particular figurine, I saw HER. The tears immediately flowed down my face, but I also felt God's arm wrap that comfort around me too.

I've looked at that figurine on my mantel many times since then. It no longer brings tears to my eyes, but a smile to my face. God gave me a smile for my birthday.

Transitions in Ministry

RL and I have had yet another transition in ministry. I'm pleased to announce that we are now the college ministry leaders. We met with the pastor today and discussed ideas and some expectations. Basically I'll be using my dear computer here to keep in touch with all our college students while they are away through Facebook, MySpace and blogging. We'll also be doing some campus visits and a few get togethers for them when they return home. I'll be writing some devotionals periodically and keeping them connected with our services possibly through audio podcasts. In the future we'll be offering a class for this age group as well.

I'm excited to get plugged into an actual area of ministry. I've been teaching for some time now, but the ability to really make a difference makes me feel so much better about myself. I feel like God is going to challenge me to use my talents and abilities in a greater way than I ever imagined.

The college ministry is grouped under the youth ministry and we'll still be working closely with youth of all ages. This is a new age group for us, but I'm glad we'll still be in youth ministry. Youth ministry is my first love and I'm not ready to transition away from it yet.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement over the past months. God has definately blessed my husband and I. His guiding hand and provision over us never ceases to amaze me. I am in awe and very grateful.

~*Melody*~

Baby Can You Hear Me?

A video I found on YouTube....

A Question Posted

In reference to the last post, a couple questions were asked. I thought I'd post the answers here for others to benefit from.

Questions : How do you use progesterone cream? Where do you apply it, and what does it do?

First of all, it's very important that you purchase natural progesterone cream. It must have the label USP progesterone cream in the ingredients or it's not natural and could actually be harmful to your body. You won't find natural progesterone cream at Walmart, it's usually at a health food store.

Basically you rub 1/4 tsp. 2 times a day for cycle days 14-28. It's just like rubbing lotion on. You rub on any of the areas of thin skin; the inside of your upper legs, inside of your arms, tummy, or chest. Within 5 days of stopping the cream you should have a normal cycle. For the first month of use, you should double the dose and you may have to try twice before it works.

Our bodies naturally produce progesterone, so you aren't introducing anything new into your system. By using progesterone cream after ovulation (which means that you might have to adjust the cycle day that you start the cream), you are helping to balance out the levels of estrogen and progesterone. Sometimes women have too much estrogen that causes their cycles to be irregular. Some women have too much progesterone that causes them to have irregular ovulation. By introducing progesterone at the correct time into your system, it helps to naturally balance your levels.

Progesterone is produced by the corpus lutem (the remains of the follicle that drops to be fertilized). If conception happens, it produces progesterone until the placenta forms and takes over (usually around 6-7 weeks). If a fetus isn't detected by the corpus lutem, it stops producing progesterone and the withdrawl induces the beginning of your cycle.

I think I covered everything there. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I don't mind answering questions.

Normalcy... for Me?

I haven't written in some time about our journey with infertility. So I wanted to give a very brief update on that.

Basically here's the run-down since my molar pregnancy....
A few trials of natural progesterone cream helped the molar pregnancy to pass and hence no longer be a problem for me.

Post-pregnancy loss cycle (Cycle 1) - I used natural progesterone cream on cycle days 14-28 of previous cycle. AF (Aunt Flow) arrived on cycle day 31. I also started taking Soy Isoflavones 120mg on cycle day 5-9 to help my body to ovulate properly and in a timely manner. I tested positive for ovulation on cycle day 17. A normal cycle.

Cycle 2 - I used natural progesterone cream on cycle days 22-31. AF arrived on cycle day 31. I took Soy Isoflavones 160mg on cycle day 3-7. I'm not sure if I ovulated or not. I messed up the testing a bit because of traveling and taking the tests at the wrong time. A normal cycle.

Cycle 3 - I used natural progesterone cream on cycle days 19-30 of previous cycle. AF arrived on cycle day 31. I took Soy Isoflavones 200mg on cycle days 3-7. I also added Robitussin to the mix this cycle. I began taking 2 teaspoons 3 times a day on cycle day 5 to help thin my cervical mucus. I'm now in the waiting process to see if I will ovulate or not.

As you can see this is great progress. I give God all the glory and thanks for helping my body to once again be normal. I'm telling you natural progesterone cream is a miracle working cream. Who would have known that the cure for most of my problems was in a jar at a health food store? It just blows my mind that I could have been helping my body all these years, but I didn't know it even existed.

I've also adding BBT charting on FertilityFriend.com . I began that towards the end of cycle 2, but it was too late to show if I had ovulated. So far I've been consistent with temping every morning, even though it is incredibly annoying. I set the alarm on my cell phone to wake me up so I can temp at the same time everyday. It's slowly becoming a habit. I'm hoping that it will help me to discover a pattern in my cycles and if I'm truely ovulating.

If the soy doesn't work this month (meaning giving me a definate positive ovulation), then I'll be lowering the dose and using it on cycle day 5-9 again. Usually the dosage starts at 60mg and ends at 200mg. I choose to start in the middle because I was sure that I needed more help than the lower doses would give. It is a substitute for the fertility drug called Clomid. I took that last year on cycle days 5-9, so that why I started with those days first. It's a guessing game to figure out, so that's why I'm exploring using different doses on the different days. Hopefully I'll find a combination that works well for me soon.

I'm hoping and praying that God is healing my body in preparation for a healthy successful pregnancy. It's coming to the end of year 8 for my husband and I. At the beginning on 2007, I heard a message preached on God's new beginnings and how the number 8 stood for new beginnings. Since then I've been focusing on that new beginning; the possibility that year 8 for us would truely be a new beginning. It is probably merely coincidence that it is 2008 and our 8th year of marriage, but I hoped that it meant something. Our 8th year ends this upcoming month; the 8th month of the 8th year of 2008. It's very strange and probably something I've just thought about too much. Somewhere deep down inside of me, where the dreamer still lives, I wonder if it still might be possible to have that new beginning, our number 8.

And for a few laughs, here's a few more number 8's for you......I'm supposed to ovulate on or around 8/8/08. If I become pregnant it will be our 8th pregnancy. And when I switch to a new OB/GYN, this will make number 8 for me in the past 8 years. LOL... I think I'm becoming obsessed with the number 8. But this isn't anything new, because I remember as a child that my favorite number was 8. It's probably because my birthday is in August. I have always, as long as I can remember, picked the number 8 in everything; chinesse Christmas, pick a number for a drawing, etc. 8 has always been mine. I sure hope that God allows me to have number 8 this time.....