Eight days in the corn/gluten/sugar free eating and we are still here! :) First of all, thank you for the encouragement and support that so many of you have given to us during this time!  Many of you have been asking for recipes that I have been trying this week.  I have been documenting everything I'm making and eating and will definitely post more about recipes later. During this process, there have been a few people that have been INVALUABLE resources to me and have spent vast amount of their time to help me.  The least I can do is pass that information along to you!  A huge thank you to my mom - she listens to me talk about food, cooking, supplements, doctor visit, etc... ALL the time.  She mails me care packages of stuff I need  and encourages me every day.  She has walked this road for over a year.  She was diagnosed with diabetes and she decided to fight and change her lifestyle.  She jumped into a world of "extreme" healthy eating wi...

If you tend to think that people share too much on blogs, then this post is probably not for you.  But hopefully these thoughts will help someone else that may be struggling and give me a chance to let friends and family know of a new normal in our house.   For the past three years I have had some medical issues that have come and gone and been very frustrating to pin down.  My symptoms began during Chad's first deployment.  I was exhausted in a way I never had been before and my blood sugar was a mess - dropping as low as 32.  For the next 9 months I went from doctor to doctor, ruling out Lupus, RA, diabetes, thyroid problems, etc... The day I went to a Neurologist to begin testing for MS I found out I was pregnant with Mya.  Strangely enough, pretty soon all the symptoms went away.  I had no real problems until the beginning of this year.  I first noticed feeling tired and having blood sugar swings again, followed up by some stomach is...

The July 4th celebration at West Point was actually on July 8th.  That worked out so well for us because it was originally scheduled  for the 7th.  We were in Philadelphia on the 7th for Chad's cousin's wedding and it would have been very tough for us to make it back in time.  Chad camped out most of the day to get us great seats.   Ready to go! People kept talking about how crowded it would be.  While it was crowded, when you've experienced Stone Mountain crowds, Trophy Point wasn't bad.  New Cadets starting to come in for the their first moment of relaxation since R Day six days before.   Our friend Austin's younger brother Derrick marching in.   Addi and Addie sharing snacks.   Great concert on a great night.   The fireworks were SO CLOSE!  Like right over our heads.   An event definitely worth braving the crowds for!

On R Day Chad's cousin Zack came up to visit.  The next afternoon Chad's parents came up to visit as well.   Watching the new cadets go to lunch. Highland Falls 4th of July parade. I had come back to the house so Mya could nap, so I wasn't there to monitor the amount of candy collected. :)  The next day we went to NYC with Chad's parents.  Zack needed to get to Penn Station, so it worked out well for us to drop him off.   We didn't have definitely plans for the day. As we drove into the city we drove past the USS Intrepid Museum, so we decided to walk down and check it out.  Since we weren't in a hurry, we decided to stop at a park and let the girls play in a shade for a little while.  View from the deck of the Intrepid.  Very hot day!  The Intrepid is free for active military and they give discounts for family members and veterans.  It is definitely more than a pass by ...

Now back tracking a little bit.   These are from the Memorial Day Ceremony at West Point. The Superintendant at Trophy Point. Addison taking it easy! A group of Chinese tourists kept wanting to take pictures with our kids! During Chad's time off we tried to do some fun things during the day for the girls.  One day we went to Bear Mountain, which is just a few minutes away.  The little zoo is free and the girls liked seeing the animals. Love this picture! Another day we drove up to Norwalk, Connecticut.  If you are military family, but sure to check this out:  http://www.bluestarfam.org/Programs/Blue_Star_Museums/    Museums across the country offer free admission all summer long to military families.  We went to the children's museum which normally would have been over $60 for our family.  A tired girl gives a thumbs up to a good time!