Rejoice

So, after yesterday's whiney post I need to redeem myself because I really do hate whining! So, today's post is all about rejoicing. Here are the wonderful things that happened this year that I am amazingly, humbly and eternally greatful.

*My family is just plain awesome. My daughter is smart, funny, well behaved (sometimes too well behaved), athletic, and gifted in many, many ways. My son is also smart, funny, only sometimes well behaved : ), and is just like his handsome and witty father. My husband is the love of my life. I married my best friend and I love him more and more every day.

*My greatest health ailment is that I have celiac disease. I don't have to take medicine, I can totally manage the disease through self discipline. Nothing I can't handle.

*I am blessed to be a part of an amazing sport. I truly love triathlon. I get to coach other athletes to realize their dreams. I coach the wonderful triathletes at JMU, a job that brings me lots of joy, and lots of training partners : )

*This year I was chosen as one of almost 800 applicants to be a part of Team Trakkers. I can't express how amazing it is to be a part of a community of other triathletes that lift each other up and support one another. Plus we get cool free stuff : )

*This year we moved back home to Harrisonburg. I love living in a smaller town and feel a greater sense of community there than in Roanoke. We are close to my parents and my in-laws, which to many might sound like a nightmare, but to us it is a wonderful gift.

*I sit in my sister's house writing this while I am down visiting my new nephew that I was so blessed to help welcome into the world a little over a month ago. I am once again reminded how precious, beautiful and amazing little babies are. Having said that I am also greatful that my babies can feed themselves, dress themselves and put themselves to sleep!

Tomorrow's post . . .Renew

Parenting is tough business

This is me lately. A few months ago we put my 7 year old on a gluten free diet because he was generally out of sorts and having gas that would clear a room. I mean it was BAD. We had to make no farting at the dinner table rules. I would have written it off as a 7 year old boy thing, but he came home excited that he had only had to fart once during school one day. So, we went gluten free with him.
He was not happy. This was also an expensive endeavor because I was buying all the fancy gluten free food to try and make it easier on him. In the end he didn't like many of those things anyway.
After 2 weeks his gas was much better, so we did the check and gave him gluten again to see if that changed things. It didn't - right away. It was so much easier to let him eat school lunches and all the yummy things he liked. We were able to deny the antsy, agitated behavior as holidays. When the gas came back I was starting to see. Then last night the following conversation went on at bedtime:
Eli: Excuse me
Me: Oh my gosh - what in the world did you eat child?
Eli: Nothing, I didn't even have Doritos. (Doritos really send his intestines into a spiral)
Me: Does your stomach hurt?
Eli: My stomach huts a lot mom.
Me: (all in my head) bad mom, bad mom, bad mom for being lazy about putting him on a gluten free diet again. Crap.
So, head out of the sand, Eli is going gluten free again. This time I am going to try cooking things myself instead of relying on pre-made things. Good thing Eli wants to be a chef when he grows up!

All I'm ask'n for . . .

Seriously folks, I don't have many vices. I'm not one of those celiacs that sneak a little pizza every now and then. Since my diagnosis I have purposefully eaten gluten ONCE. I had the stomach flu already and there were Thin Mints in the house - I figured if I was sick already . . . I've almost cut out all dairy, I avoid sugars (except the occasional candy for dinner break down right around Halloween time : )

Anyway, back to my vices. I've been known to have a glass of wine every once in a while - that's the extent of my drinking. I don't smoke. I have had fried food twice in the last 6 years. I exercise almost every day (except after an Ironman, in which I take three to four weeks of sluggishness off and don't feel guilty at all - well, I feel slightly guilty, but I'm working on that!).

My vice - coffee. All I'm asking for is that I have my warm and wonderful cup, hmm well four cups a day. I want to wake up to the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Is that asking to much? I don't want to have to drive to Greenberrys (which is wonderful coffee by the way, I just want mine while I am still in my jammies!!), I don't want to clean up leaky coffee all over the counter - I just want a coffee maker that works. Please, pretty please. Big sigh - off to the store to return broken coffee maker #2 (this week) with dreams of a hot cup of fresh coffee tomorrow. Please. . .