Too close for comfort...

A couple days ago Steve told me about a particular critical-care patient of his that he had spent a lot of time with. She was 32 years old and had just given birth 4 weeks earlier to a healthy baby boy. When I asked him what was wrong with her and replied simply, "She is very sick."

I don't know how many doctors worked on her case, specialists of all kinds, but she continued to decline. Her heart function was decreasing, and she had some kind of infection, but they couldn't locate the source. She was transferred to another hospital with a better critical-care facility, and there she had surgery in which they removed her uterus after it perforated during a D&C. Perhaps there was some tissue left over from the delivery that caused the infection. We still don't know.

I was consumed with her case, asking for every detail (including her name, which Steve with held due to HIPAA compliance). Why was she sick? There still wasn't a good answer. It was frightening. It still is.

I told my mom about her yesterday and we prayed for her healing. I felt the spirit of death had attached itself to her, and we both prayed against it. I went to sleep last night feeling peaceful that she was in God's hands.

Today, I asked about how she was doing and was shocked when Steve told me she died last night. I do not understand why, and of course, I am fighting to maintain peace.

And so I am grieving. Grieving for a woman I have never met but felt a deep connection to. Grieving because she will not be there to raise her son, she will not know the joy of seeing him go to preschool or meet his first soccer coach. And her little boy will never know the woman who gave him life. He will only hear about her as he grows.

I know there is pain in the world, tragedies like this one that have no explanation. Although my life has had it's share of troubles, I have been protected from such pain and for that I am thankful. I know that my God is watching over me, protecting me, planning good things for me, providing for me.

I just wish that I could have done something to help. I felt that my prayers were enough, but I was so moved by compassion that I really wanted to DO something - to go down there and pray with her, anoint her with oil, share the gospel with her, offer her hope... but all I did was pray. I know there is power in prayer, but I will never see in this life any fruit from those heart-felt prayers that were going up for her. I suppose I can continue to pray for her husband and baby boy.

I just don't understand. I just don't get it.

How will I continue? "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs. 17:22) I will chose to be cheerful, to keep my spirit focused on the goodness of God and not allow this to crush me. I will remember that I am a redeemed daughter of God and that he will watch over me. I will not fear evil - I will remember that even the swallow has found a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near the altar of the Most High. (Psalm 84:3) I will put me trust in God and not man. "No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." (Psalm 84:11)

Even now, I know God is bigger. I may not understand, but I don't have to. I will release this woman and know that I am not her, that this will not happen to me.

Uncle Martin

Every summer we take a trip to Michigan to visit with Steve's family. Sometimes we visit with the extended family (both of his parents are from Michigan, so there are PLENTY of relatives to catch up with). This year, it worked out that we could only get away for 3 days, and so we just spent our time with his parents and his brother, Martin.

Silas completely latched on to his Uncle Martin. Together they worked around on the farm, driving the tractor, moving dirt, running over small trees. They hunted for wild turkeys but only managed to collect a few feathers. They fished with real worms and caught a real cat fish. They built a fire and roasted marshmellows. You can see why Silas became so attached - Uncle Martin is REALLY COOL!

And the best part is that Uncle Martin seemed to enjoy it all as much as Silas.

Napping...

Naps are tricky. On days when Silas doesn't nap, it can be hard to get through his normal napping hours without tons of whininess. I still insisit on him having "quiet time" to himself, where he is in some other part of the house alone. I think it's important that he not have his every waking hour filled with interaction.

If he doesn't nap, he goes to bed very early, which leaves me with a lovely evening to myself, or if Steve is home, to spend with my husband when we aren't totally exhausted.

But most days he still needs naps. Today his nap was going longer than the normal one and a half to two hours. I was beginning to fear that bedtime tonight might be a battle if I let him sleep longer, so I went up to wake him up and invite him to join the world.

Most of the time when I wake him from a nap, he is happy to get up and asks, "Is my quiet time over?" But today, he surprised me with his request:

"Can you please leave me alone so I can sleep?"

I guess his little body wasn't done yet. I'll have to make the most of the this extended nap, as it might mean a late night for us.

Turbo!

Silas is in camp at a local gymnastic center this week - the theme is American Gladiators. On the first day, all the kids got to draw a "gladiator" name out of a hat and his gladiator name is Turbo. It so suits him.

He has decided that he really likes the name and has even asked if I will sign him in at church as "Turbo Silas". He is even working hard to learn to spell it! I guess whatever helps him learn.

He is really doing well at camp and LOVING IT! I showed up early yesterday to observe for a bit, and I was amazed at the complex series of activities they were asked to do:

Donkey kicks on the wedge mat, then
Walk sideways up the inclined balance beam, then
Somersault (with assistance) down the ajoining balance beam, then
Hop on one foot on the mini-trampoline five times, counting outloud (1,2,3,4,5), then
Run up to the spring board, jump two times and land on raised block mat, then
Go to rings and pull up to make "Mickey Mouse ears", then
Run to start and begin again.

As I listened to Ms. Paige give the instructions, I wondered if he would be able to do it all. I was stunned at how well he did! My little boy CAN follow directions! YIPEE!

Pregnancy Update: 2nd Trimester

I am feeling so much movement these days - it's so much fun! I'm really starting to feel that special connection to him and Steve is even starting to refer to him as "Josiah" so we might have finally settled on the name. We don't have a middle name yet, but that will come. I have been noticing Braxton-Hicks contractions everyday, especially in the afternoon and into the evening. I don't remember feeling them this early with Silas. I am such a hypochondriac sometimes that I think I make too much out of everything, but I do plan to mention it to my doctor when I go see her in a couple weeks, just to make sure I'm not overdoing it. I have this friend from church who I've just gotten to know and she and her husband just went to Italy for 10 days, hiking and biking all over - oh, and she was 6 or 7 months pregnant! On her blog, she posted a video of her husband napping on a bench while she's waiting on him so they can go hiking up this gorgeous mountain side. I feel like such a wimp compared to her!!!! But I know I shouldn't compare myself and I should be thankful for the health I do have. It is hard, though, not to feel like a complete whiner when I think of her!

Summer Days...

Isn't summer wonderful. Sleeping until 8:00. No where to rush off to in the morning. Lazy days at the pool, library, playing in the backyard. Wonderful.

I am so enjoying my little boy. I realize this is my last summer we have to ourselves, just the two of us. Next summer we'll have a 6 month old with us, and while I'm so thrilled to be giving Silas a sibling, I will miss these days of just having one child. It's so easy to up and go. And he is so fun!

We spent a relaxed evening at home, which started with watering plants and ended with playing in the sprinklers. After bath, we had a snack, and then cuddled up to read some of the new library books we picked up before dinner. Since it was a bit early for bed, I didn't mind reading more than the normal three books. I enjoy new books just as much as he does! And then into bed, prayers and cuddles. So sweet.

Our cat, Cooper, sleeps with Silas most nights. He jumped up to join our cuddle time and tickled Silas by "kneading dough" on his belly. It was hilarious. One of those cute little moments you are so glad you got to be part of and you never want to forget.

Here's an action sequence of our water play, starting with dousing himself with the hose...

...running wildly while wet...

...coming around...

...to laugh...

...and laugh some more!

Silas' Future Wife

We hope...

Seattle

We've just returned from a wonderful getaway to visit my dear friend, Faith, in Seattle. We couldn't have asked for a better visit, expect, perhaps, I wouldn't have had crazy swollen feet the first two days.

We were able to get a great deal on tickets (thanks, Priceline!), but couldn't fly at ideal times, so we asked my lovely family if they would watch Silas for us. Now you can see why this was such a great visit - not that travelling with our dear son wouldn't have been great, just not as deep and rewarding, and probably much more tiring.

Faith and I have been friends for so long and it is so lovely to spend time together. She is such a treasure. I don't deserve her. Since she married Phillip four years ago, our friendship has become the long distance kind, with weekend visits here and there and long chats on the phone when we had time. We were so blessed this visit with how well our husbands got along; it was the boys who stayed up the first night talking late! (The pregnancy really slowed me down this trip!) Phillip and Steve really had a great time together, which is such a blessing to us.

We ran around their lovely little town, checked out the military base Phillip is stationed at, and spent the Fourth of July enjoying downtown Seattle. We visited Pike's Market and the Space Needle and watched the fireworks in Bellevue accompanied by a live philharmonic orchestra. It was such a memorable holiday that we will never forget.

Journey With faith...

Originally drafted April 11, 2008

I am pregnant again. It is so wanted and yet it brings out so many difficult emotions. Joy and Fear are constantly fighting for my full attention and so I have found myself forgetting that I am even pregnant at times, perhaps as a coping mechanism.

I have had 2 ultrasounds showing a strong heartbeat and many blood tests showing good HcG and progesterone levels. This is quite different from the pregnancy I lost in September when there never was a heartbeat and my body just took a long time to recognize that it wasn't supporting a viable pregnancy. And so this time I have been guarded, protecting myself in case, God forbid, things might go in the same direction.

But this time is very differnt, and I am rejoicing because of it.

I went last week to see the doctor and felt as if I could finally exhale when I saw that beautiful heartbeat blipping away in a static field on the monitor. And as we were walking back to the exam room for a final consultation, I thought all was well. But then my doctor reviewed some addtional labwork and discovered something of concern: I have Anti-D antibodies present in my blood.

What are Anti-D antibodies and why would I be concerned? I am Rh negative and Steve, my dear husband, is Rh positive. If you recall from high school biology, there are different bloodtypes and some are compatible and some are not.

Sometime during my miscarriage my body recognized I was pregnant with an Rh Positive baby and my body converted and began producing anti-D antibodies. This means that my body may begin to produce more of these antibodies with this pregnancy which will cross the placenta into the baby's bloodstream and begin destroying the baby's blood cells. There is NOTHING that can be done to reverse this process. I felt completely defeated and hopeless upon receiving this news.

I called my mom that night, and she reminded me of the hope that is in Christ Jesus, that I can call on Him and He will answer me... She went on in faith for 20 minutes, building my faith and encouraging me not to give in to fear (I Peter 3:6). I went to bed that night with a resolve to feed my faith and not my fear and instead of lengthy internet searches on "anti-D antibodies", I read through Bible verses that spoke of God's promises to heal, hear, and protect those with FAITH.

The very next morning we were able to see a specialist and were very encouraged by our meeting with him. He basically confirmed that there is nothing that can be done to remove the anti-bodies, but he was very confident that I would be able to carry this baby to term with regular activity and some intervention if needed. The change in my heart was so amazing from Tuesday to Wednesday. I am confident that everything will be fine. I may have to jump through a few hoops in order to have a healthy baby, but I WILL GIVE BIRTH TO A HEALTHY BABY!!!

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome!" Nehemiah 4:14

And so I am rejoicing in the LORD and in his great mercy. He is faithful and good and I will not be afraid.

Score!

Since Silas was feeling a bit better this morning, I thought it would be nice to get out of the house. But where do you take a "contagious for 1 more hour" kid... Garage Sale-ing!!

Silas loves to go to garage sales. His eyes lit up when I made the suggestion this morning, and he scampered upstairs to get dressed. I packed lunch and snacks, and we headed out late, around 11:30. Not ideal for getting good deals, but we weren't really looking for anything, just trying to get off the couch.

We went to one neighborhood nearby that was having a community yard sale and had a great time browsing and finding "must haves". We came home with a bike tire inflater, metal bike rack for the garage (much needed as Silas bike is ALWAYS in the way), a white noise maker alarm clock for the nursery, a ten cent spinning top, some craft supplies, and Silas had a hotdog and limeade. We also got a vacuum with a retractable handle that is perfect for Silas, who has already vacuumed the dining room, his bedroom and ours. And I found a home of 2 teachers selling off a variety of thematic project books (Science, US History & Geography, Math) for "school at home" inspiration - notice I did not say for homeschooling, as I have no plans to take that on in the immediate future, but I wouldn't mind having resources for enhancing his educational experience in the future.

The big score of the day was the Eddie Bauer Travel System complete with car seat, stroller, two car bases, and cute winter snuggle blanket (much needed for my Thanksgiving baby), though now I'm wondering if the stroller is going to be too heavy. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I'm hoping to recoop some of that next weekend when I sell mine at our community yard sale. Silas is very excited to select things to sell of his own. I don't know if I'll let him keep the money, but I do have veto rights to prevent him from doing something rash like putting John Brown Dog up on the auction block!

Strep Throat

I am feeling like a big, fat jerk. Silas has been on again off again feeling yucky for almost 3 weeks. Most days he is fine - no fever, no sore throat complaints - just a normal, energetic 4 year old.

Last week he woke up with swollen glands on his neck - I mean REALLY swollen. I consulted my "Guide to Your Child's Symptoms" from the American Academy of Pediatrics and found that swollen glands without fever or other complaint should just be watched - call the pediatrician after 7 days. 7 DAYS?!? Well, if it can wait that long, it must not be anything serious. So on day 8 when he woke up feeling TOTALLY HORRIBLE (a very drastic change from the previous 7 days, but still, no fever), I called the doctor at 9:01 a.m. and had him seen at 10:15.

It turns out it is strep throat.

I texted Steve and he texted back, "I'm surprised. No fever, no tonsilar exudate!!" Those were the things I was looking for too. Fever and oozing stuff from his throat. He had neither. But the throat culture showed strep, and after 18 hours on an antibiotic, Silas is strikingly improved. So much for doctor mom. Or Doctor-doctor dad.

I'm just glad he's getting better and hopefully, we'll be able to go to his friends birthday party on Sunday. Perhaps another day of unlimited tv, books, cuddles and popsicles will bring back my perky little buddy.

John Brown Dog

Silas has a best friend. His name is John. He has short brown hair and brown eyes. They met last fall at Grammy's house and the connection was immediate. We were surprised by Silas' deep attachment as he had never showed such preference before, but given the timing (a month or two after the miscarriage) perhaps it filled a void.

For a few weeks, Silas was telling stories about an older brother named Sean. I'm pretty sure this was his way of dealing with the sudden absence of sibling discussions that had been flowing for some time. We had foolishly included him in our happy news as soon as we found out I was pregnant last fall, and when we got the devestating news that the baby had stopped developing at 6 weeks although my body hadn't figured it out yet as of 10 weeks, we had no idea how to reconcile it for ourselves, let alone for our sweet 3 year old.

And so we clammed up. God is merciful, and Silas seems to have handled things quite well on his own, and so we listened to stories about Sean, delicately showing interest while not encouraging it too much.

We were a bit relieved when he seemed to have latched onto this shaggy stuffed dog. It already held special significance for my mom as she had purchased it years before for her mom who at the time was dying from cancer. Grandma Myer had become very child-like, but never really took to the little brown dog as mom had thought she might. Grieving was very hard on mom, and she didn't have the heart to get rid of it. She just tucked him up in her closet to be dealt with another day.

So when Silas discovered it in her closet and asked to take it home, I made a BIG DEAL out of taking good care of Grammy's puppy and returning it to her after his sleepover. When we tried to return it the next day, Silas had grown so attached that mom was happy to give him a new home.

At first his name was just Brown Dog - Silas was new at "naming" and so he went for the obvious. While on vacation with Mom and Dad in January, a friend of theirs asked Silas if Brown Dog had a name. He thought for a minute and said "Sean". Then he seemed to remember that he had assigned that name to someone else, and so he quickly changed it to John. And so John it is.

John goes with us everywhere and holds a special place in my heart as well as his. He is Silas' playmate during the day and his champion in the night. He goes to the library, the grocery store and even was able to visit his preschool a few times. Every evening at bedtime, one of us is searching for the last place John was in play. I've noticed in the last several weeks that there have been nights that Silas has forgotten John, and I find him dicarded on the floor somewhere. I know he might be missed in the middle of the night, and so I slip him into Silas' bed and tip-toe back out.

Perhaps his need for John is coming to a natural end. There is a new baby on the way and his focus is shifting to his role as a big brother. (Needless to say, we waited until we were VERY safely out of the woods with this pregnancy to share the news with him, even though he had been asking about my growing tummy for weeks - I tend to show REALLY early, and I think I've educated him a bit too much about growing babies.)

I am grateful that mom didn't get rid of that little brown dog. He wasn't able to comfort a dying grandma, but he was able to come along side a confused little boy and bring joy and friendship, and for that John will always be cherished.

Pregnancy #3... First Trimester COMPLETE!!

Everything with my pregnancy is going well. I have officially made it through the first trimester and things are looking just like my pregnancy with Silas looked and NOTHING like the miscarriage in the fall - Praise God! It's funny, but it's taken me this long to really settle into begin pregnant! I just pulled out maternity pants on Sunday (and was comfortable for the first time in weeks!) I guess I wasn't rushing things so much, as one of the hardest things about the miscarriage was being in maternity clothes and NOT being pregnant.

I think I told you about meeting last month with the specialist from OSU and how we felt God's peace and comfort afterwards. Steve had a blood test while we were there to see if he was heterozygous or homozygous - basically whether he carried only positive factors (I don't know the actual term) or whether there was a 50-50 chance that this baby could carry a negative factor and thus not be affected at all by the anti-body senstitity. For some reason, we didn't get the results until just this week, but I am happy to report that he is heterozygous!!! Even though it's a small thing, it is an answer to prayer, giving me hope that this pregnancy will be uncomplicated and building my faith that God is in control and that he will watch over and keep this baby safe. I also had more blood tests on Friday and got the results yesterday that my levels have not changed AT ALL - another huge encouragement! So I am feeling tons of peace!

I recently came across this scripture from I Chronicles that has been encouraging me to stand strong: "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments he pronounced." (I Chron. 16: 11-12) I feel like I am able to look to God and that he is revealing himself to me in so many ways. He is in control and I can trust him.

We finally told Silas last week about the baby and he is THRILLED! Of course, the waiting is hard and I would have liked to have waited longer, but my belly has been popping out for weeks and I felt bad misleading him whenever he mentioned it. Here's how the conversation would go:
Silas: "Your belly's getting bigger, mom" said with a sly grin.
Me: "That's cause I eat too much. Your belly is getting bigger too. And so is daddy's."
Which resulted in him breaking out in giggles and allowed a quick change of subject for me. If only he didn't hang out in the bathroom when I'm in my skivvy's, it wouldn't be a problem.

Preschool Humor

Silas has discovered joke-telling as a way to be entertaining. His first real joke was a knock-knock joke and it was pretty cute:

"Knock-Knock"
"Who's There?"
"Cow Go"
"Cow Go Who?
"No, Cow's Go 'Moo'!"

Cute, right. But understanding why it's funny hasn't yet occured. So now Silas is into making up his own jokes, and they're not very funny. As one can imagine, what is funny to a preschooler, is usually nonsense to a grown-up.

At first, I was encouraging his efforts by laughing and telling him that he was funny, but with his recent spoiled-child behavior, I've decided to be more realistic about his attempts at joke writing. I explained that jokes are funnier when they make sense and that the way he was telling jokes were funny only to himself.

So he decided to tell himself a joke:

"Knock-Knock, Silas"
"Who's there?"
"Cowboys and Trees"
"Cowboys and Trees Who?
"Cowboys go 'blah tree boo ticka ree'" (or some other such nonsense)

And then he erupted into high-pitched forced laughter, apparently having cracked himself up. I hope we haven't started something new here.

When I was seven, my three-year-old brother, Stephen, learned his first joke. The first time he told it, my mom nearly wet herself with laughter, totally encouraging him to tell it again and again. And he did tell it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again... you get the picture.

I grew so tired of that joke and all the attention my darling little brother received from telling his stupid joke again and again, as if he were the Little Emperor and could do no wrong. I resented him for being the favorite of the family and for coming along and stealing my thunder as youngest child.

And so I wonder what it will be like for Silas when another child comes into the family. Having been the middle child, I'm sure I will be sensitive to his feelings of de-thronement, while also reassuring him that he is still a special and loved member of our family. But I also am aware that he desparately NEEDS a sibling and that he will be a wonderful big brother, eventually. (Just as sibling rivalry eventually ceased between Stephen and me and now I can say I am very happy to have him as a younger brother - though it was pretty much constant fighting until I left for college!)

And what was Stephen's first joke?

Q: "Why did the elephant wear diapers to the party?"
A: "Because he didn't want to be a party pooper!"

It's really not that funny, is it.

Super Silas

Aunt Faith was here for a wonderful 5 day visit, during which she gave Silas and beautiful red satin cape, lined with fire trucks and dalmations, complete with a large felt "S". She asked for my permission first before giving it to him, in case he was in an obssessive stage in which in might wish to wear said cape everywhere. I assured her that he wasn't in such a stage, and felt pretty safe with that diagnosis as he has 2 capes already and we haven't had any problems.

But those weren't Super Silas capes. He has worn it all day every day since she gave it to him. One morning, an hour before he is usually out of bed, he stood by my bedside, completely dressed for the day, and asked for his cape. It's hilarious. And Faith keeps reminding me that she asked first.

And it makes him run faster. He has hand motions that begin each run. I love it. Because before long, he will be embarrassed. Before I know it, he'll be too cool. Before I'm ready, he'll have struggled with growing up himself and will decide to put his child's play aside and do more big boy things like sports or video games.

So if he wants to wear his cape to the grocery store, science museum, mall, church and mom's group, I'm okay with that. I will just smile at anyone who notices and make sure they know that the "S" stands for Super Silas.

I want to sell my birthday...

Silas' birthday this year was a little over produced, over stimulated, over booked and over dramatic. He was so excited that he barely slept and by mid-morning was exhausted and cranky. After several melt-downs, we actually contemplated cancelling everything in order to give him a much needed nap. We tried coaxing him into a better attitude by reminding him of all the fun we had planned, to which he responded, "I don't want it to be my birthday anymore. I want to sell my birthday."

Can you sell a birthday on Ebay, I wonder?

Acting like over-indulgent parents, we pressed on and rewarded a LOT of bad behavior with 2 parties. Yes, one at a local party house arcade, followed by a dinner party at our house for family.

Today we have worked on correcting all that went wrong. All of his presents are in Time-Out until further notice. He spent most of the day playing quietly in his room with a box of legos and some library books. And he was DELIGHTFUL. I think he just needed some strong discipline and a little less fan-fare.

Next year, we will keep it simple.

Why the drama?

For some reason I was wondering about sensationalism. Dictionary.com defines it as "subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste."

Vulgar taste. Why do we like things that are crude?Why do we crave drama? Why do we desire to hear the horrid details of someone's life? Why are we consumed by celebrity gossip? Are we that bored that we can't find better things to think about?

The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Phillipians a list of things that one should think on. He writes:

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you."

Philipians 4:8-10

I imagine his instruction applied to those moments of our leisure time when we are mindlessly channel surfing and stop on some new reality TV show that is meant to appeal to our carnal nature. And we wonder why we have such little peace! We are thinking about all the wrong things.

And OH, BOY, look out if something dramatic happens to us or someone close to us! We are going to shout it from the mountain tops, sharing every tragic detail until our listener feels pain at hearing of our difficulty. So maybe we aren't that obnoxious, but we certainly would like for others to know the depth of our pain. There is such a fine line between sharing our lives with others and gossip, isn't there?

Proverbs 20:19 says, "A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much."

I guess the point I am trying to make is that we ought to spend less energy getting all the details of an event understood and more time finding the silver lining. We need to be careful about what we watch on TV, what crude things we fill our minds with and instead be content with Silence. And when something moves us deeply, our first reaction should be to lift it before the LORD and ask him to reveal His hand.

And sometimes we should be content to keep things to ourselves.

Knitting Portfolio

I've been wanting to post a few pictures of some of the things I've knitted lately, so here goes:

Here is Silas in the green sweater I knitted back in September. It is quite big on him, but I do think he likes it now. (The boo-boo on his chin is from our recent visit to a water park. He waded out into ankle deep water and dove in! He was NOT happy!)

A couple sets of slippers I made as a gifts.


Baby Hat made for my new nephew, Judah Stephen, who was born yesterday!


This sweater is not quite finished, although I hope to complete it by the end of the week. It is for my niece, Isabella, who turned 5 on Sunday. It is the same pattern that I used for Silas' sweater. I recently came across a pattern for a very cute asymmetrical cardigan and a cute shrug that I'm going to attempt next.

Beach treasures as determined by a preschooler...

This picture is from our trip to Florida in January. I loved watching my little boy discover digging in the sand, exploring the little treasures nature had left for him to discover.

Bad Breath...

Okay, so this isn't something I'm proud of, but I tend to have bad breath. And for as much as I tend to my oral hygiene, I really think it out to be better than it is.

The other day I was listening to Good Morning America Radio (on XM) and happened to catch Dr. Harold Katz discussing bad breath and it's causes. He mentioned sugar being a factor in feeding the sulfur producing bacteria that cause bad breath which live on the back of the tongue and in the sinuses. According to his research, mints and gum contain sweeteners and while they may mask a foul odor temporarily, they really will make matters worse by providing a buffet for the bacteria to feast on and therefore multiply. So the Altoid I had just popped in my mouth was actually doing more harm than good! Great! Now what?!?

Never fear, Dr. Katz has developed a product that will suffocate the bacteria rather than feed them: Therabreath. I went to CVS and purchased the oral rinse product immediately.


I'm not trying to be a mini-commercial for some product, but this stuff WORKS! It even eliminates morning breath! My husband is thrilled (as am I since he is using it too)!

I use only 1 capful once or twice a day, not the recommended 2 capfuls before brushing and after flossing, which in my mind will only help me go through his product faster, thus forcing me to buy it more frequently.

Dr. Katz also mentioned using products that contain essential oils like Tea Tree or Peppermint as they suffocate the bacteria rather than feed them, so I purchased a natural toothpaste at the health food store. It doesn't taste funny at all, so I'm happy to make the switch.

I am a little concerned about the safety of the Therabreath products as I am on a uber-natural quest to right all the wrong in my body, and I don't know how this will fit into the equation. But for now, I am confident that when reading to my dear preschooler, I will have sweet mommy breath and not that of a dragon!