Just Heather
3
Food You Can Eat
Sep 19, 2006 | Filed Under: Checking Out, Going Gluten-Free, Hectic Holidays

If you have ever seen me eat, you would be hard pressed to picture me shopping in an organics food store. The recent discovery of my littlest one’s wheat intolerance has found me there quite regularly. I’ve been buying gluten-free toddler puffs and cereal to replace the Gerber puffs and Cheerios she was previously eating. It’s slightly more expensive, but mostly just annoying having to add 1 more store to my weekly errands.

Yesterday I found a new Gerber food that she can eat! I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to discover the new Mini Fruits freeze-dried foods where just that—freeze-dried fruit with no additives. As long as we steer clear of the poisonberry flavor, we’ll be okay. I can add yet another mainstream food to the short list of Lorelai-safe treats. Plus, I had a coupon! And we all know how I feel about that.

I’m putting together a list for family in case they want her to actually be able to eat her first Halloween goodies as they will need to be both wheat-free and dairy-free. It started out pretty short—banana chips and fruit cups were all I could come up with—but it’s growing by leaps and bounds as I have researched brand names and ingredients.

  • banana chips
  • fruit cups
  • Fritos or Ruffles chips (She should be able to bite into these soon!)
  • potato sticks
  • Gerber mini fruits
  • Newman’s Own organic dark chocolate bars (Actually, a lot of candy is gluten free, but most chocolate is made with milk and most other candy is too hard for little ones.)
  • apple cinnamon rice cakes
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1
Gluten Free Day 1
Aug 27, 2006 | Filed Under: Checking Out, Going Gluten-Free, Sick & Tired

In our infinite patience, we have decided to exclude gluten from Lorelai’s diet even before the the test results are back. In all my panic-driven research, I have realized she has numerous symptoms of celiac disease, though the only common symptom is her weight problem. I also discovered that breastfed babies present with atypical symptoms because the antibodies in mama’s milk protect the infant from serious gastrointestinal infections.

Whether she is diagnosed as celiac or not, it seems a gluten free diet may relieve some, if not all, of her symptoms. Non-celiac gluten allergies and sensitivities present with many of the same problems. Our thinking is that a gluten free diet won’t hurt, but there are many indications that it might help. We plan to keep her gluten free until her 1-year checkup even if the test is negative. We can track her progress and weight over the next 3 months to determine if a gluten free lifestyle would be beneficial.

I made my first visit to Wild Oats Marketplace this afternoon to pick up some cereal and finger foods to replace the potentially-poisonous Cheerios and Gerber Puffs. I was rather pleased with both the selection and the prevalence of gluten-free shelf tags. It made the entire foray into organic shopping quite easy. I also wandered the aisles to see what else was available in case the gluten-free, dairy-free diet becomes long term.

Did you know she can still eat pizza? I can’t imagine that soy-cheese, rice-crust pizza would actually taste that good, but to a child who has never known the difference I suppose pizza is pizza. She seemed to like the organic Teddy Puffs I found for her, which taste remarkably like Cheerios even though they are made from rice and corn instead. I also purchased Gorilla Munch cereal and (gluten-free) arrowroot cookies, a staple among older babies and toddlers.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a phone call tomorrow. Even though I have a plan and am feeling a bit more empowered by newfound knowledge of the disease, I will be on pins and needles until I know for sure.

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4
Customer Unsatisfaction
Aug 21, 2006 | Filed Under: Checking Out, Never Again

We’ve spent a ton of money at Menards in the last few months, for obvious reasons. Last week we returned some extra things we had and bought some new. When we were making the returns, I told the cashier we needed to spend it right away and she said we would be fine. Well, she was wrong-the debits all came through on Monday and the credits were held until Tuesday, resulting in $178 in overdraft fees.

The bank was completely unwilling to waive them even when I had receipts with the correct time stamps. They claimed the problem was on Menards end and they can only refund for a bank error. I was pretty surprised that National City would rather charge $178 that wasn’t deserved than keep a customer. That account will be closed this week.

Onto Menards, where the front end manager said that the cashier was wrong; it takes a couple days to process credits through their bank. She said she should have given us a store credit to use right away. Then she offered to transfer me to the store manager when I asked about getting my $180 back.

He was so rude (and also an idiot!) He said that it goes immediately to our bank and he doesn’t know why our bank would wait. I explained that his service manager disagreed and he didn’t care. I asked if I was just out $178 for choosing to shop at Menards instead of Lowe’s across the street (my exact words). He said “Yep.” I kid you not—the store manager for a company who claims “Guest Satisfaction is our number one goal” actually said that out loud!

I got a phone number for corporate, but he hung up on me when I asked his name. I called back and got it, but it didn’t it do me much good in calling Menards. They do not answer the phone at corporate; they ask for everything in writing and give you the address and fax before disconnecting you.

I sent a letter to corporate via their website, but I also sent the information to our local Call 6 for Help news investiagtion team. I hope to get my money back from someone somehow. In the meantime, I will tell everyone I know how much they all suck!

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6
The Grocery Game
Jul 31, 2006 | Filed Under: Checking Out

Dear Mr. Grocery Store Manager:

When your air-conditioning is out on a 90 degree day, the courteous thing to do would be posting a notice on the front door. I would probably have come back tomorrow with my baby instead of roasting both of us, thawing my chicken, and curdling my milk.

Also, you may think it is clever to put a large basket of honey next to the cereal for those who can’t figure out that honey is in the baking aisle should they want some to sweeten their breakfast. However, those baskets sticking out can be dangerous in an already crowded aisle. Case in point, the large bruise I now sport on my ankle caused by said basket snagging my cart forcing it to stop and my moving foot to barrel into its large metal bar.

Dear Mr. Cashier,

You may not have been a math major, but trust me when I tell you 5 times 2 does, indeed, equal 10. Thus, the coupon you are holding that states $1 off 10 baby foods with the big black and white picture that says 2-packs=1 unit means I only have to buy 5 of the aforementioned 2-packs.

Also, that spinning bag holder was intended to go the other direction, which explains why you had to remove my smashed over-filled bags every 30 seconds when they got jammed in between the bag holder and the big metal bar on the other side.

Finally, a 4 pound bag of sugar may not seem like much to you but to my now-smashed bread that’s a whole lot of weight.

Dear Fellow Shoppers,

I am sorry you got stuck behind me in an un-air-conditioned building in 400 degree heat. Next time, don’t ignore me when I turn to you and say “I have a lot of coupons with this.” I’m not bragging. I am simply trying to warn you that although it appears as if the cashier has already rung up eleventy hundred items and there are only 2 on the belt, he hasn’t even started on the coupons.

Also, rolling your eyes after each coupon scanned does not make the time go any quicker. Yes, I do have a coupon for each item. No, I don’t think it is a waste of time. I spent 20 minutes clipping coupons this morning while watching t.v. I just spent an hour in the store. My savings today? $115.05.

I work hard for the money, but I think $100 an hour is pretty darn good considering I get to keep my clothes on.

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4
It’s All About the Dress
Jul 25, 2006 | Filed Under: Checking Out, Fashion Disaster, Sibling Love

My brother is getting married in 6 weeks. This, of course, means I need a new dress. Though I am not normally concerned with things like fashion and vanity, I am incredibly concerned about how I will look for the wedding. My two sisters are bridesmaids, my children are flower girls, and my father is the best man. I cannot stand next to my dressed to the nines family and look like the frumpy big sister.

Originally, my little sister—AKA fashion queen—was supposed to shop with me. She hasn’t made it here yet so I actually picked out my own dress, which I am ordinarily not allowed to do because I apparently have horrible taste in clothing. I keep waiting for my sisters to sign me up for What Not To Wear, which I would only pretend to be upset about since it includes a whole new wardrobe.

I found the flouncy, sexy $98 little dress for $24! Twenty-four. Dollars. The sales lady brought me the Oprah bra, of all things, to try on with the dress. The dress looked fabulous and then I found the most perfect shoes in the clearance room. Yes, they have an entire room dedicated to sale shoes.

All this means I had money to spare in my “find the perfect outfit” budget, which brings me back to the Oprah bra. My irritatingly large breasts looked amazing in this bra. They were perky like they haven’t been in years. They stay where they are supposed to, there’s no jiggling, and it is actually comfortable.

I had to have this bra. I needed this bra. A quick look at the $5000 price tag—okay, $62—indicated I should probably run the purchase by hubby. I only had to say “My boobs look amazing” twice before he said to buy it. I am so in love with my awesome boobie bra that I now need it in all 3 colors of all 4 styles.

I will wear this bra until the day I die. And then I will be buried in it so my callers can see how amazingly awesome my boobies look even in death.

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2
Travel Weary
Jul 18, 2006 | Filed Under: Living Inexpensively, Road Trip, Sibling Love

I have been to my hometown 4 of the last 6 weekends—most recently for a bridal shower my sisters and I hosted for our brother’s fiancee.

This weekend I travel north to her hometown for her 2nd bridal shower. Two weeks after that, it’s back “home” for the 3rd and final shower. I don’t know that the sister of the groom is actually supposed to attend all showers, but I want to be supportive. Plus, Leslie doesn’t know a lot of people in our two big families. We can be a little overwhelming.

I’ve been so busy the last few months that many things have been neglected—namely, this blog. Though I have been trying to keep up on my blogroll, even if I don’t have the time or energy to comment.

My summer has been full of:

  • library visits
  • weird animal events sponsored by said library
  • breaking up sibling fights
  • park picnics
  • road trips
  • the zoo
  • rescuing Lorelai from her big sisters
  • the children’s museum
  • free movie Tuesday
  • avoiding the neighborhood pool I insisted we had to have when we began house-hunting 5 years ago
  • more road trips
  • ignoring whining about damn near everything (except for being bored—that one I managed to negate!)
  • counting down the days until school begins (exactly 30!)

I dream of bouquets of newly sharpened pencils, after-school specials, and—most importanty—a big yellow bus arriving at my house daily to separate my children.

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0
Yesterday Was Sunday
Jun 28, 2006 | Filed Under: Calendar Girl, Living Inexpensively, Mommyhood

Summer is a rough time around here. My kids are very into their routines and thrive on structure. When things change, it typically takes a couple weeks to iron out the rough patches and get into a new routine. So when school ends, it takes about half the summer to get settled and then we spend the rest of the summer preparing for school. Summer seems to drag on with no rhyme or reason, days blend into days, and I’m left with restless kids running in and out of my house all day long.

My solution this year was to schedule the summer a bit. It gives it more structure & routine and reminds me to actually get out there and do stuff with the girls instead of just hanging around the house counting down the days until school begins again. On Tuesdays, we head to Regal Cinemas for the free family film festival. On Thursdays we hit a local park—we are so blessed to live in an area with 2 great park systems.

On Wednesdays or Fridays we go to the library, depending on which day has the most exciting activity schedule. Last week was Jungle John and his Care of Magical Creatures. The girls saw a dragon, an owl, and a the big hit of the day—a tarantula. Our library sponsors great specials all summer, plus the girls have each earned the first prize level in the summer reading program already.

The idea seems to be helping. They are having fun summer experiences even though we have no vacation plans. Plus, I am keeping them busy enough to warrant an afternoon nap most days—which, as we all know, results in quiet time for Mommy. Now if only I could use that time to get caught up enough on my scrapbooks to records our summer fun activities.

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One of Those Days
Jan 30, 2006 | Filed Under: Living Inexpensively, Mommyhood

It’s been a real good news/bad news day:

The good news is the girls appear to be getting over their sore throats without a trip to the doctor. The bad news is I now have what they had. In spades.

The good news is a decent-sized check we were awaiting has arrived earlier than expected. The bad news is it still doesn’t make a dent in the medical bills we’ve accumulated.

The good news is my laptop replacement cord arrived today. The bad news is that is not the only problem-it’s still having trouble making a connection, but at least it powers up (for now).

The good news is Lorelai is once again sleeping through the night. The bad news is she is apparently making up the nutrition by nursing every 2 hours during the day.

I’m just going to veg out, attempt to take a nap and hope when I wake the good outweighs the bad.

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