Battling Hypothyroidism

I have been battling hypothyroidism for years.  I'll be put on new medicine and it will work for a few weeks then stop working again.  Then all the symptoms come back.  Fatigue, always cold, weight gain, depression, horrible menstrual cycle, and slow heart rate.  I have 3 very busy kids, I don't have time for all those symptoms.  Two year ago I went gluten free to help with symptoms.  I wasn't concerned with losing weight or being a part of the new fad diet.  After a ton of research, I kept reading that being gluten free helps the thyroid function correctly.  I tried it.  I loved it.  Well, not at first.  The beginning was hard. I missed pasta, pizza, and white bread.  I made it over a year being gluten free with no cheat days.  My medicine stayed the same while gluten free and I had no hypothyroidism symptoms.  It was a miracle.  Then my kids had pizza one day and I caved and ate some.  The gluten tasted amazing.  :-)  I didn't want to be gluten free anymore.  I went food crazy.  I have now been eating gluten for over a year.  Last month I went to my endocrinologist and got some bad news.  My medicine was not working correctly and my blood pressure was dangerously low.  So, now I want to be gluten free again.  I don't have an allergy to gluten.  My body just doesn't do good when I eat it.  It's summer time.  Cookouts, bonfires, and always on the go.  Starting this diet at this time is going to be hard.  I keep pushing it off.  Reading food labels again sounds like a pain.  I can do it.  Just have to push.  ugh.... here goes.



*****Some of the gluten free items I loved*****
Pop Chips - BBQ
Nature Valley PB & Chocolate Protein Bars
Cocoa Pebbles
Barilla noodles

Quiz Time

Quizes with past quiz questions

Addison - 11 years and 3 months
Name - Addison, why am I doing this?
Age - 11
Live - She answered this perfect, just don't want to post it
Job - I don't have a job, I have chores.
Favorite Movie - I don't know
Favorite Show - The Flash
Favorite Toy - My big pink owl
Favorite Activity - sports
Favorite Color - blue
What does daddy do? he works on a computer
What does mommy do? going to college to become a teacher
What is summer? I don't know.  It's just a season
How often do you need a bath? umm...a bath?  I don't know.  I know I need to shower every other day.
What is 1 + 1? 2
Say your ABC's... ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY&Z
Can you spell your name? Addison
Does Uncle Joe play baseball? No, he plays softball
Do you want to play baseball one day? No
Favorite animal - Snowy Owl
Do you like Zoe? Yes, Zoe is nice.
What do you want to do this summer? Sleep

New questions
What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher, maybe PE or Social Studies
How tall are you? 5 something
What grade are you going into? 6th
What sports do you like? Watch hockey and football.  I like playing football, softball.  I like watching baseball too.  Then I want to do track.  I like cross country also.  I'm doing cross country now.  I want to do volleyball.  Oh yeah, I totally like basketball too. 
Favorite song or artist? Like someone who wrote a song?  Bruno Mars.  Running Home to You is my favorite song. 
Favorite vacation spot? I don't know

Lucas - 10 years and 3 months old
Name - Lucas
Age - 10 I think, yeah 10
Live - He answered this perfect, just don't want to post it
Job - um I don't have one.  Well, chores from my mom
Favorite movie - Monster Trucks
Favorite show - Fuller House
Favorite color - Orange
Favorite toy - Xbox One
Do you like Zoe? Yes
Favorite animal - Manta Ray
How did you grow into a big boy? I don't know
When are you going to go in the potty? umm.. I already have since like 3, 7 years ago.  37 years ago, yeah
When are you going to stop wearing diapers? um I already did. Like 37, 3, 7 years ago.  I don't keep track of that stuff. 
Did you poop in your diaper today? umm.. I don't wear a diaper anymore and no.

New questions
What do you want to be when you grow up? Marine Scientist
How tall are you? 5 foot
What grade are you going into? 5th
What sports do you like? baseball, basketball, football
Favorite song or artist? ummm.... what is it called?  In the Hall of Fame.  It's in a play by I don't know. 
Favorite vacation spot? Florida

Owen - 8 years & 1 month old

1.  Favorite movie?  Transformers, Age of Disntiction

2.  Favorite TV show?  Is YouTube an answer

3.  Favorite book?  The Bad Guys

4.  Best friend?  Ryder

5.  Favorite hobby?  Drawin

6.  Best memory about preschool?  Building

7.  Favorite food & drink?  Mountain Dew & pancakes

8.  Worst food & drink?  Peas and I don't know that many drinks that are not good.  Maybe green bean juice.  I like peaches

9.  Favorite thing about yourself?  Me

10.  Chore you love & hate?  Hate living room.  I do love bathroom.

11.  What do you want to be when you grow up? Principal Software Architect

12.  Why?  cause it looks cool.  Wait no, cause dad does it. 

13.  Three things that describe you!  Weird, Not annoying, and I'm a comedian.

14.  What size clothes do you wear?  I don't know

15.  How much do you weigh?  72, probably 62 now because I laid a big dump this morning.

New questions
How tall are you? I don't know, probably 4 foot something
What grade are you going into? 3rd
What sports do you like? baseball, basketball, and football but I can't play no more.  I like other ones but I haven't played them.  Can I try hockey?
Favorite song or artist? Sam Hunt Body Like a Back Road
Favorite vacation spot?  Florida

5 months of Eat, Sleep, Baseball

This year all 3 of our kiddos played softball/baseball again.  Kyle decided to be head coach to Luke's team and assistant coach to Owen's team.  What this really means is that I wouldn't see my husband for a couple months.  Sitting alone at practices and games.  Very lonely.  :-)  Thank goodness for awesome moms to visit with that are also alone since their husbands are coaching also.

All 3 kids had a great season.  Addison's team didn't do great, but Addison improved a ton.  She was hitting the ball and played 3rd & 1st base.  She enjoyed the season so much she decided to play softball for middle school this coming year.  Lucas' team went 10-2 in regular season.  Lucas started off not doing great.  Strikeout King around game 5.  Then something changed and he became amazing.  He went 14 out of 15 for awhile.  One of those was a HR.  Luke even pitched some this season.  He struck many kids out.  Lucas was picked for the All-Star team.  He was the 1st batter and played SS.  Owen's team struggled this season.  No wins.  Owen had a hard time hitting the ball but always went into BEAST MODE when playing 1st base.  My favorite memory of him this season was when he hit the ball maybe a foot away and it was a triple for him.  :-)  When the game was over he said, "Even the smallest hit can make the biggest difference."  Oh I just love that positive attitude he has. 

Throughout the years Kyle has always bought different training things for the kids to use.  I think by the time my kids graduate we can start a fitness center in our garage.  This season's purchase included: 

BSN Orange Throw Down Bases (5 piece), MacGregor Batting Tee, SKLZ Impact Balls - Heavy-Duty, long lasting limited flight mini training balls, and SKLZ Impact Balls - Heavy-Duty, long lasting limited flight training balls.  All items were wonderful except the MacGregor Bating Tee.  It broke at the first practice.  Kyle had to use electrical tape to fix it.  Not it bends and is just not right.  I think they use the BSN Orange Throw Down Bases the most.  Kyle and Luke use them a lot while Luke practices pitching.  Beats using spray paint in my lawn. 

Roller Blades

My kids are always very active.  This year we decided to go with roller blades for birthdays.  I didn't like any in the store so we went to Amazon and found the perfect skates for all 3 kiddos.  I would recommend these skates to anyone.  Great buy and worth every cent!

Addison, 11 years old, had the first birthday.  I went with the best reviews on Amazon and ordered from there.  Roller Derby Women's V-Tech 500 Button Adjustable Inline Skates were the winner.  They fit sizes 6-9 and are adjustable.  Addison wears a women's size 8 shoe. 

Lucas, 10 years old,  really wanted an orange pair of roller blades, of course.  I couldn't find any orange ones that I liked, that were under $60.  We decided to go with the same brand as Addison's since we loved hers.  I was shocked that they were only $31.19 on sale.  Normally they are $56.99. AWESOME.  They are the Roller Derby Boy's V-Tech 500 Button Adjustable Inline Skates.  They fit sizes 6-9 and adjustable for those sizes.  Lucas is a size 6 and they are perfect.

Owen, 8 years old, had to have the same kind as Lucas.  We went with a different color so we could tell them apart.   Roller Derby Boy's V-Tech 500 Button Adjustable Inline Skate's were the perfect choice.  Only $49.18 and they were a prime item.  Got them in 2 days!  Owen wears a size 5 in boys shoes and these fit great.  The size on the skates are 6-9 and they are adjustable. 

Family Bucket List

Our family has been hit with the travel bug.  Vacation is all we talk about now.  Planning and dreaming about our next vacation.  We have made a vacation bucket list.  Hopefully, we can make it to every place on the list before the kids graduate.  Happy thoughts!  Here is our list, in no particular order.

1. Amtrak for 6 days
2. Mount Rushmore
3. Mall of America
4. NYC
5. Washington DC
6. Salt Lake City
7. Disney World
8. Disney Land - 2014
9. Universal Studios - 2016
10. Cabin in Tennessee
11. Texas - Waterpark
12. Cruise - tropical
13. Yellowstone National Park
14. Grand Canyon
15. Boston
16. Wyoming
17. Seattle
18. Alaskan Cruise
19. Hawaii
20. New Orleans
21. Sequoia National Park - 2014
22. Wisconsin Dells - 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012
23. State Capitals - Indiana,

Long list.  Lots of family memories to be made.