swamp monster soup

It's been a crazy week. On Monday I lost Ian. At Walmart. Quite possibly the worst 5-7 minutes of my life. He ran off while I was talking to a friend. He is not one to run far, and usually stays where he can see me. If I don't chase after him, he always comes right back. This time he ran into the clothing section and turned a corner. I quickly ran after him. I looked around the corner. Nothing. I checked all surrounding areas. Nothing. I started yelling his name (he ALWAYS comes when I call his name). No response. I started running around the store, searching and yelling like a crazy person. He was gone.

After a couple minutes of running and yelling, I went to get help. The assistant manager said, "oh, would you like me to go help you look for him?" Completely annoyed, I blurted out "NO, I want a page...he is two and he is wearing bright orange shorts!" After a barely audible page (I wanted a code adam), I kept searching and yelling. A couple of VERY long minutes later, a female associate came walking towards me holding Ian's hand. Blissful relief.

Ian didn't see J-P until he got back from his bike ride the next morning...

Ian: Daddy, I missed you yesterday. At Walmart.
J-P: Did you get lost yesterday, Ian?
Ian: Yeah. I did. At Walmart.
J-P: Uh oh.
Ian: A lady found me, daddy. At Walmart.

In addition to recovering from the stress of losing that little turkey, I have been making more food changes. I have noticed that Max's meltdowns (although now few and far between), are directly related to what he eats. So I started a food journal. High oxalate foods like blueberries, chocolate, and parsley, I found out this week, are BAD. I always know when he has a reaction because he gets dark circles under his eyes (allergic shiners), itches/rubs his face, and cries. I have endless amounts of patience for researching, cooking, and figuring out what foods are best for our family. I have very little patience for whining and crying.

So...I am on a mission to optimize our health. To improve our digestive system function and increase our well being. No more sugar (just honey and maple syrup). No gluten, dairy, or soy, and very little corn. No processed food. No cans. Mostly organic. I have been fermenting vegetables and trying to make coconut kefir. I have been using nutritious, easy to digest grains like millet, sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth. I'm even making my own coconut milk (which makes delicious smoothies), and giving the kids coconut water. As soon as it cools down a bit, I'm going to plant a big garden. Buying organic is expensive.

Convincing the kids to eat healthy is also a creative venture. I made a smoothie with fresh coconut milk, a banana, frozen papaya, mango, and pineapple, a squeeze of lime, kale (great for detoxing), and a dash of maple syrup. All I had to do was put it in a bowl and call it swamp monster soup and they slurped it right up.