The Wheat Free Experiment

I've been reading the book Wheat Belly over the past month. It was of particular interest to me as my mom was diagnosed with celiac disease about 4 years ago. For anyone who hasn't heard of celiac disease, it is an autoimmune disorder that is aggravated by digestion of gluten. This is different than a wheat allergy but both encourage sufferers to go wheat free and celiac sufferers go gluten free.

In the book, the theory is that we can feel better, sleep better and lower our blood sugar (among other things) simply by saying goodbye to wheat and other whole grains. One of the most interesting things that I learned from the book is that a snickers bar has a lower glycemic index than 2 pieces of wheat bread. Think about that one for just a minute, you would have a lower blood sugar by eating a candy bar?

What's to blame for this? According to the book, it's the mutation of modern wheat.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this book but I do think there's some truth to it. I followed Weight Watchers successfully before my pregnancy and lost over 30 lbs. However, it's been really hard to get back on the bandwagon nursing my son, going to graduate school and never getting a full night's sleep.

So starting tomorrow, I'm going to try to go on a wheat free test. Hopefully, if I'm successful I'll be updating with good news in a week that I actually lost weight. I'll post before and after pics and hopefully have good information on what to expect and how a wheat free lifestyle feels.

Til then I'm going to enjoy my dinner, grass fed steak tacos! Happy eating!

Fun with the Water Table!

So as everyone knows, I'm a stay at home mom and recently taken on the role of intern! Luckily my awesome mom is able to watch Jack when I need to go intern.

Recently, she bought him a water table and we got to watch him play with it on the first day!

 

Some more action shots-

 

Later on in this week, we finally got Jack in the pool for the first time!

Jack's First Petting Zoo

After lunch on Saturday, we were driving back when we noticed a petting zoo in front of the local T-Mobile. Since we had decided Jack was probably too young for the real zoo right now, we pulled in T-Mobile and stopped by!

 

All of the animals were really friendly. Me being the fearful first time mom was hesitant about letting Aren put him any closer than absolutely necessary!

 

I was more okay with Jack being closer to this little one-

 

We stayed until they rounded them up to head home. Jack really enjoyed it and we're hoping to venture out to the real zoo maybe later this year!

May 12

So we kicked off this Saturday like we do every Saturday at Little Gym! On the agenda, flips...

 

Parachutes...

And exploration....

 

Jack hadn't taken off walking just yet so I snapped some pictures of his attempts to stand getting bubbles :)

 

 

Getting Back to Normal

So the last month has been extremely busy with wrapping up school and various other things going on with our little family so I will be updating with pictures as quickly as I can catch up.

 

Aren was off the first part of May right around mother's day and we enjoyed a lunch with my mom and grandfather. Jack's favorite part of the lunch? Eating sugar packets.

Jack loves playing in the back of his Paw Paw's truck. He is now beginning to notice all trucks and thinks it's his responsibility to play in all trucks!

After we ate lunch, we went to the mall and Jack had some fun playing with the mirror at Macy's.

 

More to follow!

Deactivation

So about a week ago, I deactivated my Facebook. Why? You might ask, well there were several reasons:

1. I felt like I was spending more time "hearing about it on Facebook" than actually spending time with my real friends.

2. I felt like the more I played armchair political pundit, the less I actually spent really helping in my area.

3. As I move into the next phase of my school. internship, I need to focus more on the actual problems of others vs. worrying about the latest "he said/she said" drama on Facebook.

I am torn about the decision to reactivate. I have enjoyed not knowing the intimate details of my friends on Facebook but yet I really miss some of the groups I have been involved in and hearing about what's going on with some of my other friends (who I don't know in real life, shh don't tell Mark Zuckerberg that I am friends with people I don't actually know in real life).

Anyone have any thoughts? Do you have a Facebook at all? What's the longest you've gone without Facebook? I feel like the more I'm away the more likely I am to actually do productive things (like find things I'm doing to blog about, study, etc) and feel more focused on my family and my friends in real life.

 

Summer Is Upon Us

Lots had been going on this week around our house but first I'll start with Jack and his love of all things ice cream....

 

It has been interesting watching Jack's tastes develop. So far we have discovered he loves sweet tea (my favorite) and foods with flavor (Aren's favorite). But Jack loves ice cream the most. This was taken after Jack just enjoyed some ice cream at Chick Fil A.

 

Jack hasn't taken anymore steps yet but he is finding creative ways to get around without independently walking. This was taken after he pushed a chair across the kitchen and was trying to get around.

 

Jack has started finally using crayons to begin writing/coloring. The only problem is keeping them out of his mouth!

Jack has gotten more comfortable going out on his own at church including crawling down the hall after church. This past Sunday night, he saw his Bible class teachers walking in and went to them thinking that it was time to go to class again. He was devastated when he couldn't go to class :(

Thursday, we enjoyed a trip to El Paseo with my mom and dad. Jack eats tortillas like a champ! He also enjoyed checking out the fountain in the waiting area with grandpa.

After dinner, we went to Spring Creek to pick up signs for Craig Bickley, who's running for County Commissioner in Tarrant County.

 

Jack loves Sid the Science Kid. I got him this a few months ago but he had us laughing when he used Sid as a phone to call Grandma.

I have more pics to come but will save those for tomorrow when I have time to blog. Good night for now!

On Turning 31

Well yesterday was my birthday, to be honest I was feeling a little weird about turning 31. I equate it much like reliving senior year again. This year pending unforeseen circumstances I will complete my master's degree and much of this week has been devoted to all that fun paperwork required to end a semester. So as I turn 31, I was filled with that feeling of new beginning but also that things will be changing come 2013.

I also finally realized its time to put on my big girl pants and start taking better care of myself health wise. I've been carrying about 15 lbs. of baby weight from Jack that I keep making excuses for. I need to get back on the weight watchers band wagon once and for all. I need to get a physical again and find a new doctor after mine retired. Ultimately, turning 31 has reminded me that I owe it to myself and Jack to be the best me I can be. I started back on Weight Watchers today and so far made it one meal! Yay!

In other news, pictures have been limited due to my old phone being a dud and having to get a new phone. Luckily, my mom took pity on me and got me a prepaid phone til I could figure out my next move. Monday, my aunt gifted me an iPhone for my birthday so I am so excited to start getting some cooler pics of Jack!

Jack's big news is that he started walking Saturday, April 28 aka Aren's birthday!! AND we were both there! It was so quick, just a few steps that we didn't get to snap any pics of the big moment but it was still super exciting! Jack got sick last week again, I'm beginning to learn his sick signs. He is back on the last antibiotic he took during the ear infection saga.

Yesterday for my birthday I started the day at Stevie's with Jack, Mom and my grandfather. Jack had fun wearing his napkin as a hat.

 

Ordering at restaurants has been a challenge this week. Since his throat had been hurting, he's been spitting his food out minus the swallowing. My mom did discover he likes omelets.

 

That night, my family and friends went to Carrabas for my birthday dinner. Jack hung out with everyone and I snagged this pick of him with Uncle Alex and Aunt Kay.

 

Jack and Paw Paw

 

It was a really fun night! I was so blessed to have Aren, Jack, Mom, Dad, Alex, Aunt Kay, Paw Paw, Leslye, Edie, Trinidad and little Niko all there! The fabulous Emily Owens is finally back from Paris and she got to join in the fun plus get reacquainted with Jack.

All About The Haggards

I am joining the blog party over at 5minutesformom.com so to all my new readers reading this here's a brief about me:

I'm Alissia, 30 year old mom to Jack. Jack is 1 and these are tales of what life is like with him. I'm in grad school, graduate in December and my husband, Aren is a preacher.

I hope this blog will be a place for new moms to meet and discuss. I don't have a lot of moms around me with kids my age. I'm also going to use this blog as kind of a what's up in my world in regards to my hobbies and just what we do as a family. I love music, movies and politics. I will also be blogging soon about our family's fitness goals.

Looking forward to meeting other bloggers :)

Technical Difficulties

So this blog was delayed due to technical difficulties this weekend. After my session at DARS, I actually left my iPad at the office and was without it ALL weekend. You never realize how much you depend on these devices until its gone.

So what's been up around the Haggard house? It's been a relatively slow week for us. Monday, Jack rode in the kids car at the grocery store.

 

He really enjoyed that. No walking yet but he's been doing lots more talking. We have been trying to encourage him to talk more which has been frustrating at times for him.

Little Gym was fun. Jack got to play with the music sticks. He's very musically attuned so he always enjoys any opportunity to play, dance or experience music.

 

Transitions was Jack's objective during free time. He was all about trying to figure out how to get off things...

 

He also got to experience walking like a soldier on the balance beam.

 

This week, I am furiously working to get my practicum hours done early. I picked up my iPad this morning and have been working on getting caught up for school. I have a sedation dentistry appointment Friday and no there won't be any pics :) will update more later :)

Last week- politics, school and an accident, oh my!

So as you know, my hobby right now is school. I am about to start counting down the days because as much as I love school (I really do) I'm finding school and babies don't mix. However, I am extremely blessed to have the help I do in getting me to December.

Jack has been getting more adventurous in moving towards walking. In this picture, what you can't see is he's been using this table almost as a walker and it has just given out. Jack is a funny kid, he's extremely resourceful and he can find ways to do things his way.

Last Saturday, we had a fender bender at McDonalds. We were really lucky no one was injured. I snagged a pic of the damage.

 

Tuesday, we went to our first precinct convention. It was an interesting experience. If you have any political opinion, I advise you to start attending your convention. Here's what I learned:

1. Each precinct gets a certain number of delegates. For example, ours could elect 39. We had 6 interested people show up. So those 39 votes get distributed among interested parties.
2. In some precincts, no one shows. Those votes? Essentially erased.
3. Show up early and you can run the precinct convention.

Overall, it was very educational and I learned lots about the government process. I also finally met Craig Bickley, who is running for county commissioner in Tarrant County. Very nice guy and has a lot of good ideas. He is also strong financially which is pretty much one of the first things I look for in a candidate nowadays.

 

 

 

Saturday

Saturday morning, my dad treated us to breakfast. We met up before Little Gym at Snooty Pig. Jack's main attention was focused on Daddy's pancakes.

I got a group shot of the guys from breakfast, it was a great way to start the day.

Probably Jack's favorite part of Little Gym is playing with the bells. I finally snagged a little action shot....

Jack had a really great day in class. Here he's learning about numbers!

At Little Gym on Saturday, Jack played on the air mat. During Jack's time going to Little Gym, the air mat has been a love/hate experience. This day was a pretty good day where he didn't take a lot of coaching to stay on.

One of the things that makes the kids his age a little unsure of is the actual deflation of the air mat.

For lunch Saturday, we braved the mall to meet Aunt Kay at Carraba's. Jack really enjoyed eating asparagus. He is a total veggie kid but is not much of a fruit eater.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to attend the Texas Libertarian Presidential Debate. It was a really interesting experience as this was my first Libertarian experience. The moderator Sharon Harris did an excellent job asking good questions that also kept the audience engaged. I actually came into the event a Gary Johnson supporter but found myself equally impressed with him, RJ Harris and R Lee Wrights. I highly recommend attending a Libertarian event if you have the chance, I feel we desperately need a third party option. One thing that has most impressed me with the Libertarian party is that they are entirely self funded. You can get more info at http://www.lp.org/

 

 

 

Somebody That I Used to Know- Gotye

So many reading this that actually know me in real life will be first to tell you. I love music. I am a music junkie. If I had the power and funds I would have a Slacker, Mog, Pandora and Spotify premium account if I could and still find things to buy on Amazon and iTunes.

So while listening to my fabulous Squeezebox, another must for the music junkie, I stumbled upon one of those songs that make you stop what you're doing and just marvel at the sure brilliance of the song. My most recent find is "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye. To say this song is addicting and hypnotic is a huge understatement. I can't get enough of it seriously. I am listening to it right now on Mog and I'm considering hitting replay again. It's dark and moody but isn't that okay some times?

Weekends!

Well one thing I've learned over the past year is weekends with a baby are crazy! Aren was busy Saturday at a marriage seminar so me and my parents were Jack's Little Gym buddies.

 

This picture was about a minute before a major meltdown before he said grandma I think for the first time. We went to McDonalds afterwards and Jack enjoyed his first oatmeal raisin cookie.

We had lunch at McAllisters with Alex, Mom and Aunt Kay. During our shopping at Krogers, Aren was finally able to meet up with us. We enjoyed dinner at Panchitas with my parents and grandfather. Jack used a crayon for the first time appropriately!

 

And then they went back in his mouth! Oh well, at least I'm thankful for some progress! Sunday, we had church and today it was back to DARS. I had a nice surprise waiting for me at home- the new MOG iPad app. Which so far looks killer! Well that's about it for me- off to cheer on my favs in the Voice.

 

Busy Busy

So lots has been going on since I last blogged. This week I've been getting back in the school swing of things. Wednesday was my first day back in our web conference class. Jack really enjoys playing at grandma's when I have to go to class or see a client.

Wednesday night, we went to Spring Creek and Jack enjoyed his grandpa taking him around to see the rolls and ice cream. They enjoyed a moment outside.

 

Spring has finally sprung here which means one thing: about 2 weeks of nice weather and on to summer. This week, we finally got to take Jack's 1 year pics at Sears. We weren't sure what the experience was going to be like. Aren spent most of his time chasing Jack back into the studio.

 

I did snag some cute shots of him playing with the mirror.

And apparently he kept leaving the studio to get to this toy-

 

After pics, we enjoyed a nice dinner with Aunt Kay at Anejo's. Today I spent most of the day at DARS and Aren and I got away for date night to see the Hunger Games which was excellent. Turning in for the night, happy Saturday!

Peek-a-boo

Okay so this is an action shot of Jack playing peek-a-boo with the table next to us today at McAllisters. The ladies at the next table were really surprised by this little face peering at them during their lunch but thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

I've spent most of today reaping the side effects of having a kid on Augmentin. After we got back from lunch, he actually spit up today which was a first being that this was day 4 of taking it.

On a lighter note, I started Mockingjay today. First time ever I have read a whole series before the movie came out so I'm proud of myself. Looking forward to watching it this weekend.

That pretty much summarizes my Monday, off to watch How I Met Your Mother!

 

Sunday Sunday

So today was not a really fun day around our house. After what we thought was a recovery from the ear infection it seems like Jack is still not doing well. We had to leave Church early this morning and didn't last long tonight.

Lunch was great, we spent it at my mom's and had some really delicious Boston Market and sweet tea. One important lesson I've learned this week is to not read "Catching Fire" before falling asleep or my dreams will have a Hunger Games tint to them. On a side note, this will probably not deter me from finishing tonight.

So for those of you reading this who don't know what the title of this entry means, about 2 years ago, we started a little Sunday night tradition called Sunday Sunday. Our little gang is currently missing a member, Emily who is in France. During her last Sunday Sunday, she started a countdown on Alex's dry erase board and every week we take a pic counting down her time in France and post on Facebook, so I leave you with tonight's picture! Happy Monday!