The wierd things I do

I have decided that I'm going to do a cleanse. If you have no desire to read any further...I completely understand. But I've decided to blog about this because I think it will be theraputic of me and also because it's what I'm doing. I've heard of people doing them and never in my wildest imaginings did I ever think I would do one...but...I am. I always thought when I was a teenager and even until I started having children that people who had their babies at home were crazy hippies and that people who did cleanses were just weird. It wasn't until I had my 2nd child that my way of thinking changed. Having my third child at home was difficult and rewarding and comforting and life-altering for me all at the same time.

So now I'm a home-birther! Not that Nate and I plan on having anymore but if we do it won't be delivered in a hospital! Anyway, I stumbbled onto a cleanse that a friend of mine did and absolutely loved. I was very skeptical. I started doing research into them. Some were just drinking water mixed with cheyanne pepper, honey and lemon juice, others involved some sort of pill. None sounded like anything I was interested in. I researched the company that my friend told me about called Arbonne and what the ingredients were in the cleanse. Many of the ingredients are herbs. Milk Thistle, Burdock root, etc. You don't starve yourself, but with the gluten intolerances in our family, this cleanse seems exactly what I need! I'm really excited about it and how I will feel. I'm going to try to post everyday about how I feel and what the effects seem to be.

I mentioned the gluten-intolerance, it seems that Ethan, Natalie, Me and possibly Conner are gluten-intolerant/ have Celiac's Disease. We have had to eliminate all gluten from our diet. This means no wheat, barley or rye products. So any cookie, cracker, pasta, bread, cake, etc. we can't have. Ironic isn't it when I LOVE to bake so much!! I didn't think that it would be a big deal at first but I also didn't realize the extent to which gluten is used in food. Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup, both have gluten and are therefor off limits. There is also gluten in soy sauce, and caramel color, which roughly translated means soda, and anything dark in color. Food starch is gluten, and so I have been relegated to excessive label reading!! Fortunately I feel a ton better eating gluten free and Ethan has made a huge improvement as well. We have had less tummy aches and bathroom problems and Ethan is sleeping better as am I. Eating gluten free has other advantages as well. Most flours and products that are gluten free are also free of preservatives. This I learned when talking with my Visiting teacher whose sons are also Celiacs. Inspired assignment for a visiting teacher I think. I didn't know that we had this when she was assigned to me but having her as my visiting teacher is a tender mercy if you ask me. She has been very helpful with tips, and advice, and ideas for our family!! But I digress... anyway, this has been a big change for me and for our family. It's also been an experiment in seeing what is good and what is not. FYI Pamela's brand is the best out there for Gluten intolerances!! Cookies, bread you name it she has a mix for it and it's fabulous! My father was the one who was diagnosed with it and since it's genetic we thought it might be good to look into. I'm glad we did. So if you know someone who is gluten-intolerant or has Celiacs Disease, don't be afraid to have them over for dinner. We can have Corn, rice, potatoes, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), beans, any veggies,and fruits, corn tortillas are fine just not flour, corn chips, and potato chips are ok too.

Here's where I found the cleanse: www.arbonne.com It's in the figure 8 line of products. I'm pretty excited about it. We'll see how it goes! Wish me luck!!