Life happens...

Nursing or Pregnant on the Daniel Fast

I know many people have had questions on doing the Daniel Fast while pregnant or nursing.

The only advice I can give you is from my own personal experience.  Yes, while pregnant or nursing we are suppose to consume some extra calories to help our child but the Daniel Fast is still a possibility even with that consideration.

It is on you if you just choose to eliminate a particular food like soda pop or skip a meal but I would rather you eliminate a food then skip a meal.  Please consult with a doctor before you decide to go on this so you can discuss the matter with them but ultimately is us between you and God what you do.

I chose to have only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans/leguems and just water.  I found that I ate so much better during this fast then I ever did with any of my pregnancies.  You can get the calories in if you eat enough though I found that my appetite kept decreasing so I had to get calories from healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil, beans, nuts, peanut butter, etc.

I know some say that you need omega 3's and such but you can still take a multi vitamin, use ground flaxseed meal and that will help as well.  Just do some research and you will see that you can do this!

Since my son is nursing I wasn't sure how he would take such a change in my diet but he did very well.  My milk supply even increased even though I was eating less then before.  I am thinking that might be because of the quality of food I was eating versus the quantity.

Since doing the Daniel Fast, I have been late posting all the food for each day, since I have stopped the Daniel's Fast my milk supply has gone down in just a week, my son doesn't like the change, my skin is breaking out.  My whole body is rebelling going off the Daniel Fast.

So I am going to start doing a modified version of the Daniel Fast but this would be more like a modified Daniel Diet since I will not be doing this part for spiritual purposes like I was doing in January.  I will still eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans/legumes and will be adding dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, I will also be adding proteins such as chicken, fish, etc.

My body did so well on the Daniel Fast and now since I have stopped I have never felt more tired and drained. 

So try the Daniel Fast if you feel this is what the Lord is leading you to do and know that it can still work while pregnant and/or nursing.  Eating this healthy will not only benefit you but it will also benfit your child.  I truly believe that it is our fast food mentality that gets us in trouble.  Oh let me just pull this thing out of the freezer and heat it up or let's go through a drive through, etc.  The preservatives in the food and who knows what else is put into food doesn't do good things for our bodies.  Can you pronounce half the ingredients that are in some items that are like 20-30 letters long?  You can eat healthy food and it can be done is a reasonable amount of time.

Trust me, I am a mom of three little ones, a 3 year old boy, 2 year old girl and a 7 month old son.  This is doable.  YOU CAN DO THIS!

New Homeschool Blog

For those of you who don't know, my husband and I decided that we are going to homeschool our children.  Most of you might not realize that you already homeschool just by talking to your kids, doing things with them at home with crafts, cooking, reading stories...you just might not call it that.

We have prayed about this and feel this is what is best for our children.  For those of you die hard go-to-school people; even if you don't agree with us, we believe this is where our children will do best right now.  Each child is not a 'one size fits al', so what works for us might night work for you and vice versa.  We just pray that you will come check up on us and see what works we have in progress and how the children are doing over at Pathfinder Christian Academy.

If you were wondering, that what we decided to name our school.  Please read the posts and leave comments so we know what you think and would love any suggestions that you might have.  Since we are just starting out, there is still so much more that we as a family will be learning and if you have any 'pearls' of wisdom, by all means share them. 

Also feel free to leave comments on Life Happens.  We always love hearing from everyone.

Thanks and God Bless!

Falling TV/Furniture Accident

Yesterday we had an accident that was a little too close for comfort.

My son Joshua; who is 3 1/2 years old, decided that he was a big boy and could change a DVD by himself.  I had left the room for only a few minutes and in that time he tried to climb up our TV to get to the DVDs.  Our TV is on an armoire; pretty low to the ground, but our TV is easily over 100 lbs.  It is the old tube style.

Well, I heard a crash followed by a piercing scream.  I thought the kids had knocked another kitchen chair over again as they have several times in the past.  But as I walked out to the living room I could see the TV on the ground and all I could think of is please God no.  In a split second I remembered a devotion that a lady gave in PWOC last year.  The ladies daughter I believe was about three years old and had a little TV on her dresser in her room but she tried to climb to get it or opened all of her dresser drawers and the TV fell on her and she later died.

Thankfully, Joshua wasn't under the TV but his arm looked a little blue and his shoulder was all red and his face was purple, most likely from his screaming.  He probably scared himself pretty good.  He has a nice knick about where his right collar bone is but he seems to be able to move his arm pretty well.

After much crying; mostly by me, it was all okay.  THANK GOD!  Joshua was just looking at me, "Mommy I want to watch 'My Favorite Things'", that is the DVD he was trying to grab.  He didn't think anything of the situation and I am just sitting there thankful he is okay and that nothing more serious happened.

Zach and I never even thought that the TV falling could happen because the thing is so darn heavy.  I mean he only weighs 25 pounds but I guess a determined toddler is all it takes.

When my husband came home, he and a friend of his put the TV in the back of our vehicle along with our glass and wrought iron coffee table and side table as the kids have stood up on those too.  So all those things are leaving because they just aren't safe for toddlers.

They are in a climbing and jumping phase that to them seems fun but to us as parents can be rather daunting.  It is daunting in the fact that we can't take things for granted.  We thought we were okay, I mean we 'safety proofed'  the house.  We have plugs covering the outlets, the kids can't get to any electrical cords, the strings to the blinds are put out of their reach, we have kid-proof covers on our door knobs, most all our big furniture is anchored to the walls, but despite all of that things still happen.

I know I can't put my kids in a bubble and believe me they get their fair share of bumps and bruises from falling and playing outside but aside from that I feel that my job as a parent is to try and ensure that their environment is as safe as possible.

NPR  reported on falling TVs as a growing threat to children.  It happens more often than people like to think and it isn't just the TVs aren't safe it is our furniture too.

We had bought some furniture from IKEA and they came with wall anchors but if you were in a pinch you could buy some 1 inch wide nylon chord, some washers, and screws.  Kid Smart Living is just one site that you can find some products to help make your home a little more safe.

I understand that getting rid of things isn't always the answer but for us it was in this situation.  We will be looking for a TV in the near future that isn't so heavy as our last one but this will be mounted either to the wall or will have anchors used with it.

***If you have young children at home or have young children that visit your home, I urge you to please go through and see what are some things that you can do to help make it more safe.  If you are unsure HowStuffWorks has a few tips to help you out.  With young children it only takes just a moment for things to happen.  PLEASE DON'T ASSUME OR TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED!

Identity Theft

I would like to think we live in a perfect world but we don't.

I was looking through our bank account online to see what transactions had posted and I came across one that didn't look familiar.  I looked at it and it said ATTBusPhone for $139.95.  Well, we don't even have a phone with AT&T.  So I called them and gave them my husbands debit card number which was the card that the transaction was linked with.  All they could tell me was that the payment was for a house phone, they couldn't give me that persons name (privacy), which I can understand than they told me to call my bank to dispute the charges. 

I immediately called my bank (I love my bank) and was sent to the fraud department where they took all of the information about the incident, canceled my husbands card, and than were told we should get our money back in about 3-5 business days.

I am still just dumbfounded that someone would take our information.  I am not new to this, I use to work in a bank where I would deal with these issues for other people and help them get their money back.  I thought that I was safe and that this couldn't happen to me.  Just goes to show that people can do anything to anybody at any time.

So till further notice we will have to take a few tips from Dave Ramsey and just take cash out and use that to pay for everything.  They can't get our information from cash!

Funny thing is that even if you use an ATM, that too is subject to theft.  It is sad that we even have this problem.  If the people that do these things took even some of that energy and put it to other use, that might be more prosperous.

People that do steal our information will make small charges that might go more undetected.  We keep our receipts to all of our purchases and than I go through our account to make sure that everything matches up.  Well, I haven't ever had a problem before but I am glad that I keep an eye on our bank account.

Now if you are one of those people who were like me who thought, 'oh this will never happen to me, I am safe', let this be a warning to you.  No one is safe from this.

***If this has happened to you or if this ever happens in the future, the Federal Trade Commission has some great information to help direct you in the right areas to take care of the matter, such as canceling accounts, alerting the credit agencies, etc.  We will be following these steps to try to make sure that nothing else happens and to help prevent this from happening again in the future.

***If you would like to know more about identity theft and how to try and avoid it you can go to FTC or Identity Theft Facts .

***Here are some tips from myself that you might find useful to help prevent and/or help in the event of your information being stolen.

-COPIES.  Make copies or scans of everything that is in your wallet so that if it is stolen you know  exactly what was in it and you will have all the card numbers and telephone numbers of the companies so you can call them.  There is usually a 24 hour fraud number on that back of your bank and credit cards.

-DISPOSING OF INFORMATION.  Buy a nice shredder so you can shred anything that has your address, account numbers, transactions, and any other information you wouldn't want others to have.  We like to shred our cards when they are closed instead of just cutting it up with scissors.

-CHECKS.  Make sure you know where all of your checks are located and any other cards and keep them in a safe that you can hide somewhere in your house...just make sure it is a place that you will remember where you put it.  If you don't want it in your house you can get a box at a bank and leave your important papers in their.

-PASSWORDS.  Be careful when someone ask you for your information such as health insurance cards, account information, etc.  You do not need to give out personal information, it is okay to question even the companies you have and just maybe go through the information once than ask them to have an account password that they can use for when you make phone calls in the future.  Even if you like to walk into your bank you can ask them to put a code/password on your account so that even when you walk up to a window you have to tell them what it is.  Some people can make fake id's in your name with their picture.  Don't assume the teller will always remember who you are. 

-GIVING INFORMATION.  If you have to give a SSN, account number, password to someone don't say it outloud.  Write it on a piece of paper and pass it to the person so others around you can't hear it.  Make sure to get that paper back when you are done so you can shred it!  Also don't give any information through text messages or online.  Even if it is your bank, they should not send you an email or ask for personal information like that.  If you notice that your login process is a little different, call your company to see if they have changed anything.  Don't assume anything.  Always, always call if you are unsure.

-PINS.  If you have to use your card try to cover the keypad so someone who is behind you can't take video with their phone or a picture and get your information that way.

-MILITARY.  If you are military, know that it is against the law to photocopy a military id.  If you would like to know some of the law codes or regulations you can find them at this Tricare website.  So don't let anyone copy it, but at the Tricare sight it gives the exception of when you can and from what I gather it is just for medical purposes.  So if some place says that they need to copy it in order to give you military discount or to verify that you are military you can just tell them, "I can show you my id but it is against the law to copy it."  If they have a problem that is just too bad.

-PURSES AND WALLETS.  Don't leave your purse or wallet unattended when at work or elsewhere in public.  It is very easy for someone to grab your wallet or purse and get what information they want and put it back and you wouldn't even know that anything had happened.  If possible, put it in a drawer that locks if you must leave.

-DOCUMENTS.  Make sure you know where all your important documents are.  Birth certificates, social security cards, etc.  Keep them in a safe place and make copies of them and keep those in a safe place like a bank or with someone you trust.  If something happened to your home and you lost your paperwork, you would have something to go off of.

-CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS.  If you don't have to use your debit card or credit card...don't!  Just use cash and keep that in your wallet.  There is technology now that you don't even need to swipe your card, you just need to be close enough to the device and it can read your cards information while it is still in your wallet.  If you need to use your card, use it like a credit card instead of using your pin because VISA, Master Card, etc. can cover you like it was a credit card.

-CHECKS.  If you like using checks, don't put your first and middle name on their, just use your initials...i.e. for Kermit The Frog you could put K.T. Frog that way the person wouldn't know if you are a man or a woman.  Don't put your driver's license number or any other identification on there.  We don't put our telephone number on there because people can look that up and find our information that way.  We just use our names and PO Box.  If someone says that must have a physical address than just pay in cash.  We haven't had a problem with using our PO Box.  There are also pens out there that are suppose to help with check fraud.  You can find them at most stores.

-POST OFFICE BOX.  Get one!  You won't have to worry about someone coming and stealing your mail.  If you aren't home and packages get delivered you won't have to worry about someone stealing them.  It is much more convenient for us and they really don't cost much at all.  The only thing I wouldn't have you do is open your mail while you are in the post office, wait till you get to your car or home and open it there.  If you have to use a regular mail box don't leave outgoing mail in there.

-JUNK MAIL.  If you don't want people sending you things ask to be removed from mailing list.  Here are a few places you can go that have some good information.  http://www.obviously.com/junkmail/  http://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm  http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs4-junk.htm

-BANK ACCOUNT.  Check it!  Keep up-to-date with the transactions that are going on with your account.  There are time limits to when you can file.  If you notice something wrong you generally only have 30 days to file.  You will have to check with your bank and see what their policy has.

-RECEIPTS.  Keep them!  If you have a receipt that says you only spent $5.50 and than you notice that $25.00 came out of your account for that transaction, than you have proof and than can go dispute and figure out what happened to that $20.

-HOMEWORK.  Do your homework.  Research what you don't know about.  YouTube has some good videos about identity theft so you can see for yourself just how easy it is.

I hope that this helps.  Even if this hasn't happened to you and you know someone else that this has happened to, just send them my link so they can find all of this information.  Also if you have any other tips that can be useful, please let me know so I can add them.  Thank you.

It Is That Time Of Year...Summer To Fall

Today for me is the first day of fall and felt like anything but.  The heat is sweltering here in the south, oh wait they don't call this the south, sorry the mid-west which I really don't get.  To me you just take a line and put it east to west halfway through the US, anything above the line is north and anything below is South.  Than draw a line north to south directly in the middle of the US and anything to the left is west and anything to the right is east.  Hmmm, so I think we would fall somewhere between being either southwest or southeast.  Puzzling thought.  No matter what people call the location here to me it is just plain hot.  The sun is still in full force but we will see soon if we get any little affects from Hurricane Gustav.  My prayers go out to all of those that are affected by any of the storms that are happening.

On a lighter note and one which I find rather amusing is Joshua's new phrase he enjoys saying, "not yet."  If you asking something he will tell you, "no, not yet."  A little while ago his phrase of the week was, "oh my gosh."  You just have to laugh at stuff like that.  I do need to start keeping a record of that...the darnedest things children say.  I am sure some of you have stories of funny things kids have said and/or done.  A funny thing that has also happened recently as I was picking Joshua up from the nursery at our church, he decided to pass some gas.  Now this kid is talented in that arena.  It was so bad the security guy looked at me and smirked because I think he thought it was me.  Now come on people, is that bad or what when my son can break a big one.  I know this isn't the best topic but who doesn't laugh when someone passes gas...really...be honest you know you have.  Joshua has a talent for doing things at just the right moments.

Now poor little Hannah has just still not been feeling well and had a rash today so hopefully she can get in to the doctor tomorrow so we can see what is going on.  I am almost wondering if she is having an allergic reaction to something.  She has what almost looks like a heat rash all over her body but hasn't gone away even after she has cooled down.  Zach is wondering if it might be chicken poxs.  This poor girl has gone through enough already so I will just hope and pray for the best.  Other than that she is still cute and her smile and laugh is priceless.  She still just has four teeth, two up top and two on the bottom.  Poor thing they are huge, almost looks like she has chicklets for her two front teeth.  When she laughs it is just the cutest thing and I can't ever seem to get a shot of her in time while she is showing them.  One of these days, I will share it with you.  Oh, not to forget we had a big event in our household today...Hannah took her first step all by herself which was immediately preceded by her falling right to the ground.  But hey, progress is progress and she is getting there.  Our little baby girl is growing up so fast.

Zach and I are doing what we can to deal with the heat and get stuff done.  He got a four day weekend off for Labor Day.  He doesn't have to go back to work till Wednesday which is nice.  We had no special plans for the weekend except to just get some stuff done around the house.  There seems like there is always something that needs to be done.  Housekeeping just never seems to end.  Well, with two little ones, toys everywhere, them enjoying throwing their food and everything else now I can see why people that can afford maids use them.  Let me tell you, if you know someone who is getting ready to have a baby.  Forget the diapers and other things, give them the gift of a maid service or bring meals to the house so they don't have to cook.  I had Hannah almost a year ago but I would still love those services now.  But since we can't afford a personal chef and a maid I guess we will just have to make due.  So for those of you who can afford help, great for you and for the rest of us, we can do this!

IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR...SUMMER TO AUTUMN

It is that time of year where summer goes and fall draws near.

Where sunsets seem to glow so bright and are now bowing to the cool dark night.

It is that time of year where children smile and shed a tear.

Where summer camps were lots of fun but now must end since school has begun.

It is that time of year where the summer magic begins to disappear.

Where camping and bar-b-ques give way to the amazing autumn hues.

It is that time of year where change will come and I will not fear.

Where a new season starts to shed its light, I will gratefully embrace it with delight.

I wrote that poem just trying to thing about what happens at this time of year.  Embrace the new season and what it will bring.  Each season in our lives comes with challenges but also comes with many new blessings.  Enjoy each and every moment that happens in your life.