Gluten - What is it?

So Last Friday I made a very bad food choice...in my defense we were at a local "favorite" pizza joint with some business associates and pizza is the only thing on the menu! I was hungry so I ate some. That same night I had so much pain. We are talking full blown flare. Saturday wasn't any better and as of today I am still having pain off and on. So I thought I would share the following about the evil gluten.

Being on a gluten free diet people often ask, “What is gluten?” Gluten is the "glue/sticky" protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. Gluten is also found in relatives of wheat, including spelt, farro, kamut, triticale and einkorn.

This is why I and others on a gluten free diet avoid foods like bread, pasta, and more. Gluten can also be found in foods like soy sauce and lunchmeat, soups and sauces.

Why Go Gluten Free?

I have gone gluten free because I have Crohns disease and have an intolerance to gluten. Symptoms of a gluten intolerance include:

Pain or discomfort in the digestive tract
Chronic constipation or diarrhea,
Failure to absorb nutrients
Fatigue
Headaches and migraines
Dermatitis herpetiformis

I have experienced all of the above.

It’s estimated that 1 in 7 people has a gluten sensitivity.

Which Grains are Gluten Free?

There are many grains and starches that you can still eat on a gluten free diet, including amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, gluten free oats, millet, montina, lupin, quinoa, sorghum, taro, teff, chia seed, rice, corn, potatoes and tapioca (derived from cassava).

Rice and corn contain a form of gluten, it’s not the same gluten so most people on a gluten free diet should be able to tolerate these grains

Low Gluten Grains (Einkorn)

Some people with a gluten sensitivity can tolerate some of the more heritage breeds of wheat such as einkorn. Einkorn is considered the “original” wheat, and carries only 14 chromosomes whereas modern wheat can carry up to 42 chromosomes.

Einkorn is also high in minerals and nutrients including B vitamins and beta carotene. In addition, einkorn doesn’t carry the D genome, which causes gut inflammation.
Eeinkorn is much more digestible than modern wheat.

The Jovial brand of einkorn is most often recommended. Einkorn is more expensive than modern wheat, but is worth it if you can digest it!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

A Crohnie's Dream Come True

For a Crohnie running out of toilet paper is a nightmare!!! So I felt I should share this with all my fellow Crohnies and intestinally challenged peeps:

Free Toilet Paper!!!

Get a roll of Scott Extra Soft Toilet Tissue for free when you sign in or join Scott Shared Values

https://www.scottbrand.com/offer/sesfreeroll

I found this while I was Sweeping (as in sweepstakes)

I highly recommend becoming a Sweeper. Here is my latest prize:



I've tried her Glowing Green Smoothie and it tastes a lot better then it sounds. I like it and I have to say I've been following her advice and I feel better. I have already been gluten and dairy free so adding her other recommendations for my diet has been easy so far.

A Wonderful Wonderful Day

Guess what I did yesterday!!!

I played in a fort made of dining room chairs and blankets with my beautiful niece PenPen!!! I loved every second in that fort with P, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, a monkey, and occasionally her dog. It brought back wonderful memories of forts with my boys.
We ran around the house pretending to be a train and played ring around the rosie while her mommy made gluten free bread and short bread for me. Yum!!!
We were joined by my sis C and niece S for lunch. It was a wonderful wonderful day.
Of course I forgot to take my camera so I have no pictures to share :(
Next time!

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Its almost April…why is it so cold!!!

Its because I don’t have any hair isn’t it???? I have to go and sit at baseball games in the cold (30ish degrees) with three hats on and I’m still cold??? (Plus the layers and layers of clothing) But I do love to watch my boys play baseball and so far my crohns beast has been cooperating. If I eat an early lunch I’ve been able to make it through the game. Double headers are another matter! Now that things have settled down after the surgeries and chemo I need to get back to my gluten free diet. That should help baseball season go a little smoother. I still haven’t called to schedule my GI appointment…shame on me. I need to do that soon. I’m wondering what he is going to say about meds. I don’t want to go back on the cimzia (I don’t even know if that’s an option). Right now the Pentassa is working well so hopefully I can just stick with that. Of course he is going to want me to have the dreaded colonoscopy but that’s going to have to wait till all my plastic surgery is done. Turns out I may have to have some touchups done sometime in May or June. That’s ok thou because after everything I’ve been through I want my new boobies to look their best so I’ll do whatever I have to do :)

I’m happy to say that my hair is starting to grow back YEAH. Unfortunately its growing back on my legs and under my arms the fastest!!! BOO

Well no early lunch for me today (no lunch at all). I am off to meet J at the eye doctors and then B has a game at 4:00…Its 32 degrees right now!!! I think I need more hats!!!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

New Med = Less Bathroom (so far)

I went to see my GI the other day and we discussed the Pentasa I’ve been taking for longer than I can remember. 2 pills 4 times per day. I was out of refills and needed a new script called in. He told me if I wanted I could take 4 pills 2 times per day or he could switch me to a different drug (Asacol ~ mesalamine ) that was 2 pills 2 times per day. I said sure I’ll try the Asacol. About a week later, after my insurance company approved it (don’t you just love insurance companies) I got it filled and started taking it. I’ve been taking it for about a week now and it is helping better then the Pentasa. I don’t have to go to the bathroom as often woo hoo. As a matter of fact it is 1:42 and I haven’t gone yet. This is like the closest I’ve ever gotten to constipation lol. Going less should be very helpful during mastectomy post-op. My surgery is scheduled for October 22nd which is creeping up on me quickly. I’ve found some very informative blogs that have given me lots of ideas of what to take with me to the hospital and what to expect after the surgery. I’ve started packing a bag already so that I don’t forget anything that I read about. The bad news is my fistula has been acting up. I got a script for Cipro so I hope that gets it under control FAST. I don’t want anything to postpone my surgery. I just want to get this over with. I’m also getting back on track with my gluten free diet. All the junk food is gone. B had some friends over and the gobbled it all up. I want to eat as healthy as I can leading up to the surgery (something I should have been doing all along). Since I’ve been off the vitamin D3 my joints have been hurting more and the past few days have been really bad. This could also be because of the change in the weather. I hope I can get back on the D3 quickly after the surgery is over. Well I will try to update you a few times between now and my surgery. Until then

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

Guess What

Guess what??? In honor of October (breast cancer awareness month) I’ve started a new blog. Yep…Its called Your Boobs or Your Life and it will follow my journey beating breast cancer and hopefully the stories of others who have been touched by breast cancer. If you would like to check it out you can go to
http://yourboobsoryourlife.blogspot.com/

Guess what??? I had some pain this morning but thankfully it went away. I’m not sure if it was related to the crohns but I’m glad it didn’t last long. I’ve been a little lazy the past couple days as far as my gluten free diet goes. (This could explain the pain) I have a lot of snack food in the house from the weekend. It was Homecoming and B had friends over after the dance. Oh and

Guess what??? B was on the homecoming court :) I was very very excited about this and yes I took lots of pictures. He didn’t get voted King…darn. He sure did look handsome tho:











Guess what??? Before my snacking weekend I did try some great gluten free products and here they are:



I really loved these english muffins





These bagels...love them too. I got both at Whole Foods.
I'll share more great gluten free stuff with you later, not because I have to go to the bathroom but because I'm tired!!!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto

Remember way back somewhere around the beginning of August…I said I would tell you all about my tomato adventures with the lovely CA. My beautiful niece who just happens to live a few blocks away and happens to be the bestest neighbor ever! Well I got a little sidetracked by the big C diagnosis but now I’m ready to get back to business and ok ok it’s a good distraction while I sit here waiting for the surgeon to call and give me a date for surgery…

So years ago, before my kids baseball took over my spring, summer, and fall we would plant a huge garden of mostly tomato plants, a few pepper plants, a zucchini, and pumpkin plant. Strange I know who would plant a ton of tomatoes and only a few other odd veggies? Well when you live with 3 males of varying age and you are the only one who will actually eat a vegetable unless it is peeled and seeded and pureed and cooked into tasty homemade spaghetti sauce you throw your hands in the air and you plant tons of tomatoes. The pumpkins by the way were strictly for fall decorating and 2 of the 3 males enjoyed growing them. The oldest male didn’t appreciate that he had to mow around the sprawling vines but he did because like I always say “Happy Wife, Happy Life!!!

Anyway this August CA and I went to Trax Farms, 325 acres of land with a wonderful market where they sell homegrown fruits and vegetables as well as an awesome bakery and deli.



We each bought a half a bushel of beautiful tomatoes.



That night and the next morning we cored



Blanched



Cooled in ice water



Peeled



Removed seeds



Pureed



And since we don’t have all the equipment to actually can the puree we put it in freezer bags to freeze for future use. (This is how I always did it back in the day and it works just as well as canning)



We enjoyed it so much we sent her hubby JA back to get more tomatoes and we spent the next weekend making more puree. Of course I have already made several pots of tasty sauce…nom nom nom…sooooo good if I do say so myself!!!



The Gluten Free Biscuits were made from Chebe All-Purpose Mix and they were very good. I had some with the sauce and the next morning I had some with butter and jelly. I even made a mini sandwich with them...Yum!!!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

A New Battle

Hello everyone, I have been away for awhile dealing with a new battle that I need to fight a new battle I intend to win. I’ve been spending lots of time with doctors & having tests done. As a matter of fact this past Thursday and Friday were the only breaks I’ve had except for weekends.

On Aug. 23rd I received the official diagnosis of breast cancer. My doctors are very positive and so am I. I will share all the details with you soon and plan to get back to blogging about crohns living with me and my gluten free adventures and family and baseball…so hang on it might be a little bumpy here and there but God will see me through this too.

Please keep me in your prayers. God is great and the power of prayer is awesome!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

Relaxing

I am happy to say I am still relaxing (much to everyone’s dismay :) I’m almost done with that second book. I am squeezing in some laundry, cleaning, re-organizing my kitchen cabinets (only a few more to go) and linen closet. I have a huge TV on my living room floor and boxes of dishes in my dining room that hopefully will be removed once J moves back to school this weekend. Speaking of dishes I finally have a full matching set again with lots of serving dishes/mixing bowls and so on. Thank you JA *smooch on the cheek*

These restful weeks have been great for my diet too. Its much easier to stick to the gluten free foods while at home as opposed to the endless tour of baseball fields during the season. I hope to try new recipes and products and share my thoughts with you.

I had a wonderful Saturday helping my beautiful niece C watch my beautiful great niece PenPen while her parents went to a wedding hours and hours and hours away. We took her swimming at A’s my other beautiful niece (btw I have lots of beautiful nieces :) Pen is quite the adventurous almost 1 year old. She LOVES being in the pool…see for yourself:











Oh and more piggy toes…I can’t resist them:







On the way to A’s we stopped at Trax Farm and bought some lunch and some wonderful tomatoes, corn on the cob, cheese, fruit, snacks. All Gluten Free of course. My next post will be all about the tomatoes Yummers! Until then

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

A little bit of this a lot of that!!!

Busy bee was me…

Don’t know where to start. I’ve been so busy busy busy yet I feel as though I’ve gotten nothing done. How can that be??? Oh yeah…I’ve spent 90% of my time behind third base!!! Baseball season is officially over. J had his last game a few days ago. B had his last game last night and his last workout this morning. I am ready for a break before fall ball starts.

Heres whats been happening:

My crohns beast has been somewhat calm with a few flares here and there. Nothing major thankfully. The new med for my migraines is helping but not as well as the last one that made me crazy. Now that baseball is over I need to schedule the rest of my follow up appoints…Ugh hopefully there won’t be any more poking or prodding. I’11 be getting my Cimzia shots tonight…woo hoo! I've been on it now for over a year and it seems to be working well.

As if I don’t have enough baseball in my life I went to the Pirate game with my hubs, sister, and my lovely girls and some of their guys.



I love this baseball field!!!





And it was fireworks night



We spent a week in Atlanta with B and his team. They played in the Perfect Game tournament and did very well. They placed in the top 25 of over 200 teams.
This was my first gluten free trip and well it wasn’t really all that gluten free…Yes I cheated and I ate gluten foods. Yes I paid for it. I know shame on me but there were just some foods I could not resist while eating on the run. I just had a nibble of these because everyone was raving about them.





While the food was great the hotel was...well NOT. Our room/problems were not too bad (compared to others) but its hard to believe they stay in business. Heres why:

We had two phones in our room



Neither one worked. The maintenance guy could not figure it out and he was very creepy looking so when he offered to come back later I said that’s ok we have cell phones so we don’t really need these to work. Except when we had to call the desk for something and convince them that we were guests of the hotel and no we don’t want someone to come and check the phones.

Our air conditioner did work



But as you can see we had the temp set at 50 degrees and the room was a constant 70+ degrees

Housekeeping was a bit daft. We started off with 4 towels but the next day we got 3
Then the next day we got 4 towels but no wash cloths. Then we got 3 towels, 4 wash cloths and no hand towels and so on for 6 days. They never gave us more shampoo.





One family was moved 3 times because the AC didn’t work at all in their first room, the second room they tried to give them they couldn’t even get into because there was a problem with the door. The third room the toilet didn’t work (a crohnies worst nightmare). Then there was the day the creepy maintenance man pulled a mouse out of the pool filter and a RAT out of the pool drain. He had a little trouble with the rat. He kept trying to pull it out by the tail with pliers and pieces of the tail kept breaking off…needless to say we stayed far away from the pool after that!

If all that isn't enough there was a storm and the hotel got struck by lightning...8 hours without power and we were on the 9th floor. However they had food and an open bar in the lobby to keep us happy.

Right before we left for Atlanta our pool collapsed…a wall of water down the street…14,000+ gallons of it!



J’s season of coaching is over. Other than a few hairy moments with crazy parents and umpires I’d say he enjoyed it. Heres a pic of him coaching:



So thats about it in a nut shell.

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is

I’m in Love I’m in Love and I Don’t Care Who Knows It!

I’m in LOVE with lettuce wraps. They are the bomb! When you are on a gluten free diet or you’re just looking to eat less bread, lettuce wraps are the way to go at lunch time or anytime really.



At a picnic when the menu is hamburgers and hotdogs take that burger and chop it up, put it on a large piece of lettuce with all the fixings and roll it up. Do the same with a hot dog. YUM! I thought I would miss having a good sandwich at lunch time but not now that I can do a lettuce wrap. I don’t miss the bread at all. I do more with a lettuce wrap then I ever did with two pieces of bread and it is healthier.

Speaking of picnics we had another one this past rainy weekend and a graduation party too. Yes a picnic on a rainy Saturday can be a success and it was.



The park we were at was by the river and was so beautiful. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but I did snap some pics with my cell phone of my beautiful Pen Pen and today I will post more than just her piggy toes because she had the exciting opportunity to sit on a real helicopter and fire truck





Of course the food at the picnic and graduation party was marvelous. There were plenty of fruits and veggies and gluten free side dishes so I had lots of good stuff to choose from…like some of my favorites:
every picnic or party with my family has to have black olives



and I could eat an entire plate of deviled eggs all by myself



one of the best things about this beautiful park…..a real bathroom YAY!!!

Love, Laugh, and Always know where the nearest bathroom is…

Wow what a day…

Yesterday was a good day!

First: I commented on the blog Quaker Large Rice Cakes Now Labeled Gluten-Free and Giveaway at http://glutenfreefun.blogspot.com/ and won the giveaway, a free sample of Quaker Gluten Free Rice Cakes. I’m so excited, I never win anything. Well that’s not really true. For some reason I always win A LOT of gifts but only at wedding and baby showers. It’s really kind of strange and my family (well my sisters) gets very annoyed. I walk out of these showers with almost as much as the bride or mom to be. At one shower they were pulling names for a door prize, my name had already been pulled so my niece said “Come stand by me so I win something”. I went over and……..she won lol.

Second: I qualified for a survey about Crohns Disease and they are sending me a check for $50.00. YAY!!!

Other than that it was a lazy Thursday. We are in between baseball seasons so I’m enjoying a nice break. It feels good to stay home and eat!!! I’ve been lounging around in my sweats with my hair pulled back and no makeup….it feels so nice. However, I am getting absolutely nothing done around the house… “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.” (She says in her Scarlett O’Hara voice)

I did make my first loaf of gluten free white bread. I’ve made several cinnamon and raisin loafs which I love but I wanted some gluten free bread for making sandwiches. I was very pleased with the outcome. I used a Red Mill Mix and it mixed up easily and baked up light (not heavy like some mixes) and made a good sandwich.

So what can I win today??? Anyone have a good giveaway out there for me???

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Sister + Baked Goods + More than one Bathroom = A Lovely Day!

This past Wednesday I had a Gluten Free Baking Day (hopefully the first of many) with my sister. Sister + Baked Goods + More than one Bathroom = A Lovely Day! Of course as usual it was one of those slow moving nausea mornings so I was late getting there. Sis already had the cookies done and the cornbread ready to go in the oven. That’s ok because my favorite part is eating everything! I jumped right in and mixed up some banana bread and then some banana muffins.

Here are the mixes we used and our results:



Betty Crocker GF Cookie mix: I have used this mix before but I just made bar cookies because I was too lazy to do the scoop and drop and bake routine. So it was nice to see that they scoop and drop and bake well. When I made the bar cookies they were kind of on the crumbly side but the cookies held together well and tasted good. (Not nearly as good as my sister in laws chocolate chip cookies mind you but hers are the BEST chocolate chip cookies in the world so everyone just throw in your towel now. Btw anytime I am in the same room with RS’s chocolate chip cookies I will cheat and eat…just saying) I don’t know if its just me but I feel like some of these mixes have more sugar in them then their gluten sisters. If you have an opinion on this please share it with me.



Gluten Free Pantry Yankee Corn Bread Mix: This mix baked up nicely also. A whole stick of butter for this small size corn bread seemed like a lot but it did taste good. I’ve tried the Red Mill Corn Bread Mix and I liked that a little better.



Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix: We used this Baking Mix to make the Banana Bread and the Banana Muffins. Out of all 4 treats I liked the Banana Muffins the best with the Banana Bread coming in at a close second. We used the recipes on the back of the bag. Very quick and easy to mix up and tasted great.

Here are the finished products:



Eventually we hope to forgo the mixes and start baking from scratch. This should be less expensive and hopefully even tastier. If you have any great recipes please, please feel free to share them and I will do the same.

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Lots of Good Stuff

Well the end of my week was somewhat uneventful compared to the three days of birthday celebrating. The good news is that my tummy has settled down and the benefits of my Gluten Free diet have kicked back in. It’s clear that when I’m having a flare even the GF can’t help me but that’s ok because it’s helping me the rest of the time.

Btw have I told you how wonderful my family is? They are so loving and supportive. They are always looking out for me. My beautiful niece K just gave me some very good GF news so I looked up the details so that I could share it with you:

Gluten-Free Bun Available at Every Eat’n Park!

We have an exciting announcement for our guests who have celiac disease: we now have a gluten-free bun available in all of our restaurants! This new rice/tapioca-based bun is similar to an Italian-style roll, and we think you’re going to love it. Unlike some other gluten-free breads, it doesn’t have a dry, crumbly texture. In fact, it’s delicious!

We’ve always done our best of cater to our guests’ various dietary needs, and the back of our menu is a great resource for anyone on a low-calorie, reduced-sodium, vegetarian, or celiac-friendly diet. However, for those with gluten allergies, this new bun opens up a whole new world of celiac-friendly possibilities at Eat’n Park.

Below is a list of our menu items that can now be enjoyed gluten-free with the substitution of the new bun:

Burgers:
Black Angus American Grill Burger
Black Angus BBQ Bacon and Cheddar Burger
Classic Black Angus Burger
Classic Black Angus Cheeseburger
Black Angus Superburger
Black Angus Mushroom and Onion Burger

Sandwiches:
Philly Steak and Cheese
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich
Santa Fe Turkey and Bacon
Chicken and Portobella Hoagie
BLT

Breakfast Sandwiches:
All-American Scrambler
Texas-Sized Scrambler
Skinny Scrambler

Just ask your server to substitute the new bun with your next meal, and as always, be sure let him or her know if you have a gluten allergy, so that we can avoid cross-contact with gluten ingredients when preparing your meal.

On the vitamin front I am wondering if the D3 tablets are absorbing properly. Since I’ve switched from the 50,000 IU D to the D3 I have started having the morning nausea, fatigue, and headaches again. The morning nausea is the worst of these three things. I wake up feeling so sick I have no choice but to go back to bed. Blah! I am going to switch to the liquid D3 and see if that works better.

Baseball News: B is recovering from a hamstring pull and was not able to play yesterday or today. Depending on how he is feeling he may get to play Monday or Wednesday. J and his team continue to do well. His games were away today (NY to be exact) so I didn’t get to go.

While you are here please check out the new link on the right for the Take Steps For Crohns & Colitis. I am so excited to be raising money for such an important cause and to be walking this year with my family. If you are able to please walk with us, make a small donation, and/or pray for the members of our team.

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Pulling a CT, Plus a Gluten Free Update.

A while back, after going on yet another rant about baseball someone described me as being like a jug of Creatine – short and full of roid rage. When people would rant they would call it pulling a nutty now it is pulling a CT lol.

Speaking of rants, I am happy to report that I did indeed speak to the head coach (HC) about Mr. FF. I told him about the phone call I received and that I would no longer tolerate a member of his coaching staff bad mouthing my son to other parents. I told him that it is not appropriate and if it happens again I will go to the athletic director and even the school board if necessary. He agreed with me of course and said that he would speak to him. Two days later I asked him if he spoke to Mr. FF and he said he did and that Mr. FF apologized to him (how big of him) and said it would not happen again. We shall see. One thing is very obvious…Mr. FF is staying far away from me hahaha this is definitely a plus. But don’t you worry I will be watching him like a hawk. One thing is clear…the HC is the only one who likes Mr. FF. The other coaches can’t stand him; while they have always been nice to me they now go out of their way to say hello to me with big cheesy grins on their faces lol. The players and parents can’t stand Mr. FF either. They all complain about him constantly. I just wish they would take a lesson from me and go to the HC with their issues, and then maybe he would get rid of him. A girl can dream!!!

On the Gluten Free front I have tried a few new products.

Pamela’s Chunky Chocolate Chip Gourmet All Natural Cookies: Yum! Very good cookies, on the moist side, not crispy (which I like) plenty of chips in each cookie, and the chocolate is creamy and delicious.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix w/ Betty Crocker GF icing: Yum! The cake was a little bit heavier than the average cake mix cake but moist and tasty. The icing gets a yum also.

Quaker True Delights Cheddar Cheese Rice Snacks: I almost didn’t buy these because I was sure they would be bland like a plain rice cake. Well I’m very glad I tried them…Yum! They were light and crispy with just enough cheddar flavor and melted in my mouth. They will be a great snack to take to the field for a long day of baseball.

I have also been cutting back on dairy products so I bought some Almond Milk for my morning cereal. Another Yum vote!!!

Now for the vitamins.

I have finished my 4 weeks of 50,000 IU’s of Vit. D and have started the daily D3 and continue the B12 drops. I am still feeling very tired but that horrible hit by a train feeling is gone. I am having less joint pain, and a lot less headaches. I am hopeful that the longer I take these vitamins I will be less tired and have more energy. I can’t even remember what it is like to have energy. So that’s that…until next time…

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Stress Stress Go Away, you flare my Crohns when you stay

I hate stress!!! I wish it just did not exist. No matter how well you take care of yourself a little bit of stress can undo it all. A lot of stress can really do major damage. For me Crohns + Stress = Pain and this weekend that equation was proven correct once again. I don’t know why I can’t just ignore haters. Actually I usually can ignore the haters who go at me but when you go at my kids, look out. I lose all control. It turns out that, even tho I was told Mr. FF would not be helping with B’s team, he is. (I mentioned him in my March 3rd post) He has been there constantly and he is up to his old tricks. Bad mouthing my son to other parents. Telling them that B sucks and shouldn’t be playing where he is playing bc player C (who happens to be related to him) is the best infield player the world has ever seen. To make matters worse he “claims” that the head coach agrees with him. Saturday was the third time I got a phone call from parents telling me about the hate he is spewing. Well enough is enough. I will be having a convo with the head coach tomorrow and I will make it perfectly clear (again) that I will no longer tolerate a member of his coaching staff bad mouthing my son to other parents. Especially when he is tearing my player down to build his player up. If the head coach does not put a stop to it immediately I will go to the athletic director. I don’t care who you are on the coaching staff or how you feel about any player, it is not appropriate for you to discuss any player with other parents. Every coach should be impartial and if he cannot distinguish between being a coach and being a relative then he should not be on the staff. He is also going after the infield coach (who decides who plays where) criticizing him to other parents, calling him a horrible coach and bringing up rumors from his past. All of this is playing out in front of the players and it is having a very negative impact. The players are very unhappy and it shows on the field. As I said in the beginning of this post Crohns + Stress = Pain. After boiling over this most of the day Saturday I ended up in typical Crohns pain on Sunday (which makes me even angrier at this man).

Well enough about that….thanks for letting me vent and you will be happy to know that so far today I do not have any pain. I have been back on my gluten free diet and the vitamin D and B12 continues to help. I am still very tired but not as bad as before and hopefully I will continue to improve and get my energy back. My doctor wants me to have a chest and abdominal CT Scan next. My insurance has approved it so I will try to schedule that in late May early June (in between high school and summer baseball). So that means another prep day and then drinking three bottles of horrible contrast right before the test. Blah! Oh Crohns I wish you would go away!

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Bagels and Danish and Cake oh my!!!

I was so bad last week. You already know that my father in law passed away last Monday. The same day that B left for his high school spring training baseball trip to SC. The viewing did not start till Thursday (to give out of town family and friends time to arrive) so we climbed in the car Tuesday morning and drove to SC to bring B home. It was actually a nice distraction. B got to be there for a few games and we got to see his first home run of the season. That was for you Grandpap! The only problem was eating. When you have Crohns eating on the go can be a real problem and I discovered the hard way that when you are on a gluten free diet it’s even harder. Next time I travel I will make sure I take lots of safe snacks with me. We left Wednesday after B’s game and got home about 1:30 Thursday morning. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were of course very busy and so many loving family and friends brought lots of wonderful food to us. Lots of wonderful gluten foods and I ate some of them. Somehow a lot of the Bagels and Danish and Cake (oh my) ended up at my house and I couldn’t resist. I ate some more. At first it didn’t seem to bother me too much and then wham it all hit me like a ton of bricks. I started feeling absolutely horrible. I hate throwing good food away and hubby and B won’t eat it so I told hubby “You have to get all this gluten out of the house…Take it to work with you PLEASE” and he did and they gobbled it up! So I am back on track and slowly starting to feel better. Another lesson learned. I’m going to stock up on gluten free foods and snacks for the unexpected trip. This will be also be helpful during baseball season when we are spending entire weekends at baseball fields with concession stands full of gluten. Whole Foods here I come!!!

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

A Sunny Gluten Free Weekend

Well the sun continued to shine all weekend and the temperature convinced me that spring really is on the way. The snow is starting to melt to reveal the green beneath (ok brown in some areas). Birds are singing and J is playing baseball. Yes it really is almost spring. Now I just need some energy so I can enjoy it all.

The Gluten diet is going well and continues to prove to be a good diet for me and my Crohns. It is getting easier to stay away from the gluten foods as I find more and more new gluten free foods to enjoy. See my previous post. I made some more gluten free cinnamon raisin bread yesterday. I’m so thankful for gluten free bread mixes. I’ve also decided to try to start limiting dairy and eating less sugar. I’m a big cheese lover and so is B so there is always lots of cheese in the house but I think I can do this!!!! Next time I go to the store I’m going to get some rice milk and try that on my cereal. I’m also a big pop drinker so I’m going to cut that out and drink more water and 100% juices. I know I’m doing this much slower than most people would but I think for me that is the best way. I’ve never been good at “quitting cold turkey” so why set myself up for failure.

In baseball news J’s roommates mom has been keeping me updated with the games. Unfortunately they have lost their first two games. J got to pitch a couple innings in the second game and did an awesome job. No runs were scored during his time on the mound; as a matter of fact they only got one hit off of him. Kudos to my J-man!!! Mandatory practices and tryouts start at the high school today for B. However if they don’t get that snow off of the field it will not be playable till the seasons over!!! B has been working out with his new summer traveling team on Sundays. Yesterday was the last workout until after the high school season. The head coach is also B’s high school coach so I know him well but I don’t know any of the other coaches or parents so I went to the workout today to check them out. Everyone seemed great but you never can really tell till game time. Baseball can make people crazy!!! This is why I go find a spot away from everyone and take lots and lots of pictures. More about that another time. So until then

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is

Today was a very nice day for two reasons.

1. The sun was shining and it felt so good to be outside soaking it up. So good in fact that the dirty piles of snow everywhere couldn’t even ruin the day.

2. My sister and I went on a Gluten Free Hunt at Whole Foods. I got some very tasty Sovella Bakery Gluten Free Biscottines (choc. almond) very yummy. Some NuGo Free (gluten free, soy, and dairy free) Protein Bars. I tasted the Carrot Cake one, also very yummy. Some Blue Diamond Natural Almond Nut Thins (Cheddar Cheese Flavor) Nut and Rice Crackers (wheat and gluten free). I of course tasted these too by themselves and w/ some Mediterranean Tuna Salad that was also purchased at Whole Foods. These get a yummy vote too. They are much better than the other rice crackers I tried. I also bought a jar of Wedderspoon 100% Raw Organic Active Beechwood Honey (some info. from the label: chemical and pesticide free, antibiotic and GMO free, never feeding the bees sugar, hives are made from environmentally friendly material, each jar is traceable back to master beekeeper). I haven’t tasted this yet because I don’t want to open it until I finish the honey I already have. I can’t wait to taste it. I’ll let you know what I think. Once we left Whole Foods we just HAD to stop at the nearby Starbucks to get Chai Lattes (my fav). After a quick lunch we went on a hunt for a bread maker for me. We went to Target first. They only had one and it was more money then I wanted to spend. Of course since I ate lunch I had to make a pit stop in the Target bathroom. You’ll notice it did not make my list of favorite bathrooms above. A brief stop at B’s high school to drop off Media Guide fundraising information to the baseball players, then back to the hunt. We went to Macy’s and JC Penneys neither of which had any bread makers. Darn, the search will have to continue another day. If anyone knows of a good bread maker that isn’t too expensive please leave a comment and let me know about it.
Now for some baseball news: J is on his way to FL right now for his college baseball spring training trip. The players always do something in honor of the trip…dye their hair, a mohawk, creative facial hair… My J shaved his head!!! All his beautiful hair is gone hahaha. Maybe the girls will leave him alone now. What do you think:




Naw…he’s still my handsome J.

Love, Laugh, and always know where the nearest bathroom is