Our weekend

Saturday: I dropped Lily off at her stepmom's parent's house yesterday morning. Their names are Allen and Beverly. I sat with Beverly for a bit and we talked about ourselves so I know what kind of person she is. She's a nice Christian lady, doesn't seem shady or like she would talk behind my back.

VERY nice house in a neighborhood kinda out in the boonies. She lives about half way between where we live now and our Mulberry property. So, I think that was all of Saturday. We didn't really do anything. I wish I had more to elaborate on here. Sorry everybody.

Sunday: Easter bunny came!

It just sucked that Lily wasn't here in the morning to look through her basket with the other 2. Yet again, a photo opportunity moment that was missed because she was gone at someone else's house. If Gina asks to get Lily next weekend, I'll tell her that I want Lily to stay home. I need some Lily time during the weekend. I'm really hoping we can all go out to Mulberry more often to fix up the property to get it pristine and perfect for when it's finally time to move onto it. I need to ask Chris if he wants me to call a surveyor this week, since last week we weren't able to do our yardwork in time so calling a surveyor was delayed. Chris got pretty much everywhere yesterday on his riding mower. He couldn't much see the back of the property because his mower has no headlights and it was DARK. He said he just did what he could. There was a streetlight on the street corner that's across the street from us, but it kinda only lit up the front of the property where I trimmed some tall branch plant-things. Me and the kids made a large branch and trash pile on the front of the property next to the road. I felt good when everybody was all finished. I got the kids to help. Normally I try to do everything but I KNOW that the kids need to be more involved because they're not going to avoid working forever. Especially since we're going to be on our own property soon, they need to learn about yardwork because we're going to be doing it basically every weekend. I got some "before" pictures of the half of the property that's just open field but I didn't get a picture of under the trees.

Left half of the field

Right half of the field

It's hard to tell the actual size of the property through pictures. It's only 1/2 an acre. It's 150x150. I really wish I could've gotten a picture of the "after" when Chris was done mowing and I was done lopping branches. Chris was having difficulties with the drive belt that we ordered off of Amazon last week. Nothing wrong with the belt, but the pulley that holds the belt on was either missing or messed up so Chris somehow make-shifted a pulley but the belt kept slipping off so finally he made some little hook thing that wrapped around the pulley to hold the belt on, to keep it from slipping off. Worked perfect! :)

So, he was working on that all morning and that's why it took so long to finally get out to the property. While he was doing that outside, me and the kids were inside cooking breakfast and dying eggs.

I actually remembered to put vinegar in the boiling egg water and also into the dye colors so things turned out well :) I was very happy. Elaina and Jonathan used their new little art caddy thing from their basket to paint on their eggs. I didn't get pictures. They're hot messes. Lol. They're also still wet. Ugh. Chris says he doesn't want me buying anymore paper towels. What the frick? I was like "so what do I do when I'm making bacon and I need them to drain the grease?" he says "Use a slice of bread"..... For real? Are there people in the world that also think like this?

Monday: So, here we are this morning. I woke up determined to clean the inside and outside of our house today. I was able to get Lily to the bus stop on time (I was almost late. Got there just as the bus was pulling up). Once I came back home, I got Jonathan up and dressed him, and I cleaned next to the front door (all the boxes and empty containers), and I brought the garbage to the road because today is trash day and miraculously, the garbage man hadn't came by yet. So, the trash outside is picked up. I just need to rake (REALLY bad). There's so many leaves, it's ridiculous. At least I didn't have to rake our property yesterday. Chris said he would just mow over everything. The leaves and moss will just mulch up. Those stupid gloves I wore yesterday to protect my eczema... Yes, they did their job at keeping my hands safe, but... I bought them at Dollar Tree over a year ago, ok? It was 2 right gloves PLUS there was this clear stuff on one side I guess to water-proof them for the palms of my hands, BUT I had to put the one on my left hand backwards so the water-proof stuff was facing out, on the outside of my hand. I threw them away when we got home. They also didn't fit me well. I need some good stretchy, handy gloves probably from WalMart or Lowe's maybe. So, now I need to get Elaina on here to start her school. Peace out, Home slices. He is risen! He is risen, indeed <3

Kayla Dobbins

2 Days in 1 Post

Busy with Easter stuff, kid stuff, house stuff, anything and everything. Thursday was like the kids' Friday because they are all off of school today for Good Friday. I would REALLY like to find the kids a kid-friendly story online about today in Jesus' time. Something that will help explain what happened and why. I tried to explain yesterday to them in my own words but they acted like they didn't care.

Anyways, so on Thursday, Jonathan came home with a bunny-basket from school full of Easter booty. Hehehe...

Jonathan's class has some awesome parents who brought in some cool stuff! Lol. But you know what? I honestly, actually controlled myself and I only ate one of the half Reese's eggs and one of the whole Reese's eggs. Normally, I would've ate at least half of this but 1) I'm trying to be healthier and 2) my kids are getting bigger and have more of an opinion when I eat their goodies. Haha!

Alright, so we're here to today, Friday. So, I decided to bring the kids to the park to take some Easter pictures....

Like it's so hard to look normal in pictures. My kids act like it's impossible to stand still for more than 2 seconds. Lily is always furrowing her eyebrows, Elaina actually did well (my ODD and ADHD child), and Jonathan acts like he's in pain when it comes to smiling. Lawdy lawdy. Still got cute pictures. Just not like Hallmark or Glamour Shots adorable. Lol. But my kids and my kids and in my eyes, they are the best! :)

So, Chris just pulled up here at home and now it's time for me to grocery shop. Woo! I wonder what kind of deals I'll be able to find at Save-A-Lot in the evening...

God Bless!

Kayla Dobbins

Busy as always

Us moms are always busy with something. Normally stuff for our families. My neighbor from down the road (Gail) let me know about a food pantry about 20 minutes away from our house that we haven't been to yet. We went there for the first time today so we had to fill out paperwork and tell them about ourselves and they showed us a video of their church from their Senior Pastor.
When we were there, we got a box of food and a brown paper bag of things too. Mostly cans of veggies, some other things like a loaf of bread, can of spaghetti and meatballs, etc etc. The kids were all given their own coloring book,  small box of crayons, and an Easter Craft that has to do with gluing flowers onto a cross. Here's my current situation:

I miss seeing this kind of stuff everywhere. I REALLY want to get back in church. Not only for the Godly support of fellow believers but my children need to learn these things at a young age so they can carry these values and lessons through their lives to help them make wise decisions and to make sure that they're on a road to success. I would be so heartbroken if my children told me one day "I don't believe in God". Oh my gosh, I wouldn't know what to do. It would be like they're someone I don't even know. They're always asking me questions about God and Jesus. I love their curiosity and I want to fill that void with a vast pool of knowledge. So, back to today.

I had to get Jonathan from school early. Today was the day he dyed his eggs at school. He hadn't done them yet when I went to go pick him up because we had to get him early so we could get to the pantry on time.

His teacher wrote his name on the eggs with a white crayon so it wouldn't get mixed up with other kids' eggs. That was a crazy awesome idea! I meant to tell them in the morning when I'll be picking him up early and I totally forgot this morning and I felt bad when I got there early.

So... got Jonathan early, went to the pantry, put away the food, got Lily from the bus stop, was SO tired of seeing stupid little roaches around my pantry so I took all the cans and boxes out and bug sprayed it out, let it dry, and put everything back in a nice order so I can find stuff. In the meantime of fixing things up, Violet (Gail's granddaughter) called me from Gail's phone and invited the kids over to play in the water. So, now I am sitting at home by myself while the kids are water-playing. Chris just pulled up at home. I get so happy when I get to see him while it's still light outside. A LOT of times he gets home later at night after the sun's went down. I hate that.

Oh! And when we were at the food pantry today, they gave us these free dinner passes to go to their dinner buffet for Wednesday nights. Gail said we could go there next Wednesday because normally on Wednesdays around 7pm, she goes to another church where she has to sit through service so she can get a box of free food afterwards. I guess that's a good game plan to give food to people with patience.

Have a Blessed rest of your day and always be thankful for what you have and don't be afraid to humble yourself when you're in need.

Kayla Dobbins

RARE Swaggable offer!

It's been a couple months but I finally accepted another Swaggable offer! YES!

These aren't gluten free but thankfully, according to my recent lab results, I do not have Celiac disease so I can eat possibly ONE of these to give a review about them. They look and sound delicious! :) YUM! This is why I say... don't lose hope. Something will eventually pop up. Always strive for greatness!

Kayla Dobbins

School Mornings

Was doing school with Elaina this morning and I saw a couple visitors outside :) I first saw a blue jay but as usual it flew away before I could get a picture. But right after, there was a squirrel out of the window right behind me :)

Sometimes, I can't stand how much nature is near this house, but I could never get sick of squirrels and birds :)

Another BzzAgent Campaign Has Arrived!

I LOVE mail! It's always a surprise. I am still waiting on my coupons for my free Horizon pouches and fruit snacks but in the meantime....

Guess this is my hint to get some dishes done. LOL! Thanks BzzAgent !

Kayla Dobbins

Martha Stewart Hard Boiled Eggs

Anybody that knows me well knows how much I love Martha Stewart's vast knowledge of virtually everything. This morning was not the first morning I had used this recipe for the perfect hard-boiled egg. Jonathan needed some boiled eggs for his school because tomorrow his class is going to be dying their own eggs. I decided to make a GOOD hard boiled egg so once he brings them home colored, we can still eat them and not just throw them away :)

Here's a screenshot that I took this morning:

It is so simple and easy. Just put the eggs in a pan with water covering them, bring to a boil for one minute. Then pop the lid on for 14 minutes. It's just a matter of watching the clock. Then after 14 minutes, drain them out of the hot water and just run cool water over them or do what Martha said and pop them in an ice bath. Easy peasy. And you know what's amazing? You can do this for ANY amount of eggs. You wanna make a whole dozen of hard boiled eggs? Go ahead and use this same recipe. You wanna make 2, 3, or 4? Same directions. I love it! Here was my beautiful eggs afterward... I made 5 eggs so I coujld eat 2 deviled eggs for breakfast (hehehe):

They were SO SO good!! Like I said, I made 2 for myself but the other egg was definitely subpar for uploading onto the internet. Haha! All I did was pop out the yolks and mix them with a little mayo, little mustard, salt, and pepper. We have no relish :( But they were so good that Elaina ate the 2 ugly halves and I ate the other 2 halves. Lol. One egg just happened to peel perfectly off and the other shell was just a mess all over the place. But they were incredible. I was very satisfied. As usual, Martha outdoes herself once more :)

Kayla Dobbins

PINCHme box has arrived!

Finally got another box and it only had one thing in it! I guess it was maybe a short week with little supplies. But seriously you guys reading this, this snack I got in my pinchme box was completely worth only getting one thing in my box.

These are MUCHO delicioso! OMG. It's popcorn with some sort of sweet, salty caramel coating and drizzled over with chocolate. It's such a simple snack but yet it tasted SO good, I was almost at goosebump-level. I give these 10 out of 10 stars! I'd just like to know how much they go for at the store to know if they're worth their price or not. But, either way, I am in love! :D

Kayla Dobbins

Mondays aren't always bad

First, let's start with Sunday...

I ran to Sam's with Elaina and she had a small buffet of foods. Lol. Sample Sundays are the best :) The only ones I could try was fruit-related. The others were breaded fish, chicken strips (breaded), yeah you get the picture.
But it's ok. Elaina had a good time and Jonathan missed out because he wanted to stay home with Dada and play on his 3DS. Oh well.
So, eventually my brother Danny swung by here and picked up the kids for a couple hours just to take them to the park and then by Cici's (pizza buffet) for lunch. I told him he could hurry if he wanted because we were going to go to Mulberry for the rest of the afternoon to fix up the yard for the surveyor this week.

Welp, Chris got a good deal on a riding mower near our house. But he couldn't find anywhere close by that sold a drive belt that this thing is missing. So I ordered one off Amazon yesterday and I just got a text that we will be getting it by Friday. So hopefully we can stick to our plans next weekend to go out there.
In the meantime, Chris dropped it off at his dad's house so our landlord won't complain about "a dinosaur" (as Chris put it) sitting in the front of his yard.

Last night rolled around and Chris was in bed by 8pm. It was unprecedented madness, I tell you! He said he had a bad migraine. There was something on Fox about the Passion. It was the story of Jesus but it was played by modern people in modern clothes and they were singing a bunch of songs that had to do with the events happening. It was beautiful and I cried a lot! I thought it was going to end at 9 but it was on til 10. So, as soon as it ended, I sent the kids off to bed and Chris was already completely passed out in his bed so I then ran to WalMart because he needed a new invoice book for work also. Otherwise I would've just ran up to Circle K. (Chris takes Goody's when he has a migraine and he gets one maybe at least once a month). So I ran to Walmart, got him his invoice book, Goody's, and a drink to take his medicine with.

Now here we are today. This is what I've been battling with all weekend...

It hurts SO bad to type, but I need to keep up with this so I can remember my findings and the things that I've been going through (almost) daily.

I've also been dealing with a sickness all weekend. I have bad congestion in my chest and all in my cranium. It hurts my chest when I cough. My mom gave me this little Vicks humidifier that uses these little moist strips. I LOVE Vicks and I feel like it's been helping me a lot.

Me and Elaina tried to finish her school quick this morning so I could get some orange juice from Publix this morning before picking up Jonathan from school. I didn't get orange juice. I found some of this...

The Bolthouse Farms stuff is all BOGO this week. I got this Vitamin-C Boost and one called Tropical Goodness. We swung by the deli and got some serrano ham and spanish pork to make cubans for lunch. I found some gluten free bread for $5 (ouch). Got some other things. I ended up spending $17. Ugh.

Finished Chris' work invoices from last week before I picked up Lily from the bus stop this afternoon.

Holy Crap!

It's like I completely forgot about it!! So, I got an email from LabCorp with my results :D I checked the Biggers Patient Portal this morning but there was nothing. But I got an email from LabCorp and I am SO glad I signed up. I was hoping I could get my results early that way instead of waiting for someone to type it up into like 10 different messages in my Patient Portal.

So, here's my only scores that were off...

So, here's what this says: My TSH is high. I have now taken 3 different TSH blood draws with this dr and all 3 are higher than what they need to be. 2 of them are higher than what her (wrong) scale says I should be at. Once she sees my results, I hope she tells me to set up an appt so she can prescribe me with something (FINALLY)!! Ahh! Alright, the other things: the Alt (Sgpt) is my liver. It's putting out higher amounts of this "stuff" than what needs be. I assume I have what I read about here and there which is called fatty liver. As far as I've heard, the best way to clear that up is to cut out the fatty greasy foods. So, I just have to eat cleaner.

And the last thing is my Vitamin D. It's lower than what it needs to be. I think that's something that correlates with my fatigue.

I feel a weight off my shoulders. I mean, the information sucks to get that my body isn't totally normal BUT I'm slowly learning what is wrong so I can fix it. I have more blood tests I'd like to take in the near future to test more things but for now, I'd like to get on my thyroid medicine that I've been dying for and also take some Vitamin D (hopefully I can find some chewable stuff).

So, I am going to get off here and try to recooperate a little more with my Vicks handheld and my Vitamin C juices. Peace in the Middle East.

Kayla Dobbins

Late night

So, it's 11:36pm, Eastern Standard time here in Florida, in the great ole U.S. of A. Today has been long, yet passed by quick (how does that happen?)

How did this morning go? Chris left for work before I was even conscious. But lovely Florida weather rained Chris out of work around noon. Chris got home and picked up Jonathan to bring him to the mall. Chris needs new sneakers for work. He usually has to buy a new pair every 6 months or so. Anyways, to make HIS long story short, he didn't find any sneakers but he happened to run by GameStop and he got a used PS4 with 4 games for $200. Sigh.

My day: Chris was falling asleep on the couch as I was waiting for him to get up and leave for the mall so we could both leave at the same time but I didn't want to wait anymore so me and Elaina skidaddled out of the house lickety-split. I first ran to Burger King because it was just after lunchtime and Elaina was craving a chicken sandwich and french fries. Silly goon. I got us a coke icee to share also. We ran to the Dollar Tree with the freezer section (Love it there!) I was looking through the food section for gluten-free things. I did find a few, far and wide between (is that how the saying goes?) but nothing that I felt needed to be bought right now. So, boring me, I ended up buying aluminum foil, ziploc bags, and Elaina found this velvet art thing with markers that had a picture of Princess Anna on it from Frozen. BUT, there was LOTS of Easter things in there. 
Here comes my bad mom moment of the day (since I seem to have a lot of those): So, today was not hot at all. It was overcast with a breeze. It was a nice day to be outside. So, my insides told me "I want to put Elaina in the car with the windows cracked while I snag a bunch of this Easter stuff and I'll double bag it so she can't see through the bag when I come out of the store". Yes, I did that. No, Elaina was not even sweaty and she was sitting on the floor of the backseat eating the rest of her Burger King and sipping on the coke icee. I am not a bad mom. I am not a bad mom. I am not a bad mom.

So, I forgot cough drops. I have crazy phlegm/mucus in my head and in my chest that I absolutely can't cough out OR blow out of my nose. Normally the medicine that's in cough drops helps me to break that up. I didn't even check to see if they were gluten free. I sure hope so. I don't know what I'm going to do without them. I haven't even eaten on any yet today. Anyways, so me and Elaina finally came home, I snacked on my pork rinds and dark chocolate bar while Elaina colored and chewed her sour gummy worms. Today was a good day. I wish I could've taken some pictures. I just hate it when the whole family isn't together. I have a hard time when Lily is gone for the weekend. It seems like we end up doing more family things when she's not here, like there's more of an opportunity for family pictures. And that's not something we purposely do. But things like rain-outs happen and Chris gets to stay home for the weekend. It's so stressful.

Since I didn't take any pictures for today, I don't want this to be a text-only blog. I will find a cute picture to end this with. Good night.

Kayla Dobbins

I'm still here

I haven't forgotten my blog, I promise you that.

I have been trying to research more about gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance. Did you know that there's a difference between lactose intolerance and dairy intolerance? Did you also know that there's a difference between Celiac disease and gluten intolerance?

There's so many different worlds of things that I don't know about. I don't want to misinform but between the dairy intolerance and lactose intolerance, one of them can't fully digest the milk sugars and/or can have casein and whey which are parts of milk but not the sugars. This is all new to me and I should be writing it down. You know, I'm one of those well-meaning "I won't forget this" kinda people and then yeah, I forgot which is which.

Then, there's gluten intolerance and Celiac's disease. I mean, from what I've read and heard from people, they both basically have the same symptoms. Of course, everybody is different and everybody reacts to things in a different way. But as far as I can understand, people with Celiac disease can get hives, heart palpitations, and various other symptoms and could last for days or weeks at a time. People with gluten intolerance only get bloated, possibly nausea, maybe a few other small things, that don't stay for very long.

I've also been reading about how gluten messes with your thyroid and/or your thyroid medication which is why a lot of Hypothyroidism patients tend to go toward gluten-free diets (or lifestyles. However you want to put it). I'm also pretty sure, from what I've gathered, that people who are HYPOthyroidism have or could end up with Hashimoto's. People with HYPERthyroidism have or could end up with Grave's disease. And apparently you can have hypothyroidism and not be diagnosed with any of those 2, you could just be hypo. Apparently it depends on your numbers. Like your TSH level, T3, T4, etc etc from blood tests.

Somebody told me this morning that a LOT of people who have gluten intolerance are also lactose intolerant. I can believe that. If someone has a problem digesting gluten, I wouldn't doubt that there's other things their digest tract can't digest either. I'v also been thinking that gluten is something that is not natural for out bodies. Think back to caveman times. We didn't have the technology to make flour or bake bread. We hunted for meat. We foraged for fruits and vegetables. Yes, I LOVE that technology has advanced so far so everybody has a good variety of everything because no 2 people are the same.



I have looked into the paleo diet in the past. Not fully divulged but basically it's all about "as few ingredients as possible" or "as close to nature as possible". Pretty much the rule of thumb is to eat as few ingredients as possible and to make sure that you're not eating many processed things and if they are processed to check out the ingredients label. The more ingredients something has, the more chance there's something in it that wasn't made for your body to digest. All the unnatural fillers, the preservatives, things in it that would make a better house-cleaner than something for you to ingest.

What I would like to start doing is to stop buying boxed things and canned stuff unless it is something that is in it's almost-natural state. Rice, that's good. Canned veggies, those are ok as long as there's a FEW ingredients but nothing like preservatives; just salt, and other seasonings. Canned fruit, same thing. Spaghetti, lasagna noodles, all pastas, all breads, they're all man-made. Anything man-made, I would like to keep out of my diet. If I can get back to eating the way my ancestors did thousands of years ago, I bet I won't have as many problems. Granted, I still want to get some thyroid medicine because that's something you cannot control with diet.

Chris had a GREAT garden going last year. We had green and purple cabbage, kale, green bell peppers, I've got pineapple sprouting those long fronds (though I think it takes them several years to finally produce anything), we even had some strawberries and tomatoes. It was great! I have a brown thumb, not a green one. I'm hoping Chris can get his garden up and running this year around Spring/Summer/maybe Fall time so we can get some fresh produce. I crave for the day when we have our own property with a garden that only we can eat from that will sustain my family for at least a good chunk of the year.

Update on property stuff: there's no update right now. Still waiting for Chris to get money for a surveyor. As soon as the property is surveyed, then he can buy some fence to put up around it. Then he says once he puts the fence in, he has to sleep on the property every night so nobody tries to steal our fence. See, it seems like a nice, peaceful neighborhood. But Chris' dad owned the property before we got it and he had a shed full of things on there and he's had a grill stolen along with other metal things for people to scrap. Chris' dad says "I think I accidentally left it unlocked but that doesn't just give people the right to go up on your property and take your stuff just because the door is unlocked". Exactly correct. Chris plans on cementing the poles into the ground along with some other ideas to keep it strong and sturdy. I hope he doesn't have to live on the property every night. But I can't really act like that about this subject. Basically whatever needs to be done, needs to get done. I just want to move! There's a freedom about living on your own property, being able to do whatever you want outside. I crave that. Being comfortable in my surroundings.

Have a blessed day.

Kayla Dobbins

Dinner time!

So, I think it's only day 3(?) of being gluten-free. Welp, that's down the drain. I had a cheeseburger from McDonald's for lunch today. I meant to ask to get a lettuce bun before, but forgot. Then I figured I could just take off the top bun but there was ketchup and onions between the bun and cheese. I was in a pickle. Ugh. I am human. I messed up. Oops. I also had a bowl of Chex cereal for breakfast with regular milk. I don't know what to do anymore. This stuff is hard when you don't have the money to get the special stuff. Besides, I need the blood work or proper tests run so I can know for sure that I actually am celiac or lactose intolerant. So, for dinner, yet again it was incomplete...

I pan-fried up some peppers again tonight and this time I cubed up some pork loin. Yet again, it was so delicious, but I'm not making anything to substitute for the pasta that I used to eat nightly. I've heard people make rice or quinoa as a side. I need to remember to do something like that. So, anyways, I had the cubed pork with about half of these peppers (that look like french fries) and I forgot I made corn last night and so I made it again tonight. Ugh. Again, I'm human. I am not a robot. You can't Captcha me! Lol

In other news, I spiked up Jonathan's hair today...

He was a super cool styling dude. Too bad we didn't do anything except pick up McD's for lunch. And I did this once we got back home. Didn't go anywhere for people to admire it. Lol. Oh well. I like experimenting on the kids' days off so I know what to do with them on school days :)

That was my day. Boring, boring.

I'm hoping to get some money from Chris tonight if I can, so maybe we can go somewhere tomorrow. I wanted to do the beach at some point this week but our neighbor has been busy with her granddaughter all week and hasn't had the time to get to the beach. I was thinking of asking on Friday.
Lily is going with Gina (Lily's biological paternal grandmother) Thursday afternoon until Sunday sometime. I hate to do things like the beach without Lily, but Gina spoils her so I don't worry too much. We do things without Lily, Lily does things without us. Things even eachother out. And I haven't told Lily that she's going to Gina's tomorrow either. It's a surprise :D
Have a great night everybody and a safe Thursday. It's almost the weekend!!

Kayla Dobbins

Looking Back

Taking a quick look back at dinner last night...

I wanted to hop on here and make a post about it last night but I was just feeling so exhausted. I seriously can not wait to get my lab results (can't you tell?) Dinner was SO delicious last night. I pride myself, especially when sometimes I have no idea if something is going to turn out good or not. It's like I have a "chef's gut". Lol. Things are done when my gut says they're done. Haha! So, I dredged 3 chicken thighs in eggs and flour and threw them in the toaster for roughly an hour at 400 degrees. The 4th thigh was mine. No dredging. I simply salted and peppered it and I pan-fried it until the outside was crispy ad the inside was fully cooked and still juicy :D

I made my always-delicious mashed potatoes on the side and some yummy buttery corn.

I think it's so funny how bland it looks in the picture. Looks like the potatoes were made from dried, boxed potato flakes. Blech. Everything was so full of flavor. I was so happy.

So... I have some news that's not so happy...

Going without breads and noodles is doable, but... I think I may also be lactose intolerant :O Sad times.

I used milk, butter, ranch, salt, and garlic powder in my mashed potatoes. I was thoroughly stuffed after eating everything on my plate. But it was more of a bloated-stuffed. Then, later last night, I was starting to get some acid reflux so I chugged on some milk out of the carton for a few seconds (yeah, I'm a monster) and instantly, I got that bloated feeling again. My stomach started churning less than a minute later. Thank goodness, though, technology has advanced so people and industries can find out different ways of making things without gluten and without lactose. There's Lactaid and other brands that cater to lactose-intolerant people. With my thyroid problem though, apparently soy disrupts your thyroid production or output, OR it disrupts your thyroid medicine which I'm not on yet. Either way, I'm staying away from soy. I've heard recently that it's not all that it's cracked up to be anyways. I've never liked it. So, I'm going to have to find new avenues. I think it will definitely be a challenge to find foods that are both gluten free AND lactose free. But, now I'm on a new journey. Like, my life path just sent me on a new route.

I have Chex cereal here for breakfast and thankfully all (or at least most that I know of) are gluten-free, but I don't know if they're lactose free. AND now I have zero dollars to buy some special milk for myself. Ugh. Struggles.

I read something the other day about people whose bodies can't stand lactose have problems similar to sinusitis and I am always having sinus problems. Plus bloating. Like, 24/7 bloating. All this myxedema. Tired of being swollen and big. I got my 3 bottles of water in yesterday. That's 3 more than what I've been doing. I haven't eaten breakfast yet today and it's already 10am. I am just afraid to eat the wrong thing and hurt my thyroid even worse. I have to be more conscientious when making food decisions. Eggs are a safe bet. I just need to get the dishes done. I have zero motivation for cooking when the sink is full. I think the same goes for everybody. Well, I'm going to do the dishes. Go be productive and clean your house a little. It'll make everybody feel better :)

Kayla Dobbins

Smiley Product Arrived!

YAY! I LOVE mail and especially when it's a new, FREE product I've never tried before :D Received my 'all Powercore actionpacs' in a surprising 18 pack. I can't wait to wash Chris' clothes! Lol. WOO! I have just had THE hardest time getting his gross sweaty, smokey smell out of his clothes (He smokes a LOT and sweats a LOT). If anybody has any input into any possible ways of getting these smells out, all comments are welcome. I will say... I use oxi powder on his clothes in every wash, I have used Tide (regular AND with Febreze), I have used many different fabric softeners (even the ones that are full of chemicals like Suavitel) hoping to mask that smell but to no avail... Yay free stuff!

Kayla Dobbins

Gluten-Free: Day One on 3/14/2016

So, my post is a day late.
I tried my hardest to go gluten free yesterday and I believe every decision I made was successful :) I did my blood work in the morning, then I swung by Big Lots and checked out the clearance section. The only thing worth buying were some "Old Wisconsin" sausage bites that were marked down to 95 cents. They were pretty darn tasty; like a Slim Jim but not as hard to bite off or chew and it was juicier. And right on the label... gluten free. Sweet!

It was basically that. Clear bag, white label. 'They was good'. Hehehe!

So, that was a LATE snack, basically lunch for me. So, for dinner, I figured I'd try my hand again at gluten-free living. I began by frying up 3 different bell peppers...

After frying these with some chopped garlic for a couple minutes (on low-medium), I added in our steaks when the peppers looked soft enough...

The flavor was superb. I have honestly never had any other bell peppers besides green ones. These were sweet and juicy. They were a great accompaniment.

And when I was trying to figure out what side vegetable to make with the meal, I was thinking of corn but I already had yellow in there so I settled on some green peas :) Everything was GREAT! And I made Chris and the kids a pot of mac n cheese on the side. Just because I can't eat it doesn't mean they can't eat it either.

That's what a lot of people tend to do when someone in their household suddenly wants to change their eating habits; they think that you're no longer going to buy them or cook them "regular foods". Nah, I am still an awesome cook. Now I just have to expand my horizons :) Stay healthy, my friends...

Not officially yet... but I'm waiting IMPATIENTLY for my results. Hopefully I'll know something by the end of this week or by middle next week. Ahh! I'm on the edge of my seat!

Kayla Dobbins

Blood Tests

This morning did not go as planned.
I meant to wake up at, like, 7am to get everyone ready and then at my dr's by 8 when they open for my labs. I wanted them to test for celiac and I keep reading that the celiac blood test has to be done early in the morning, like, right when you wake up. I asked the phlebotomist if she could do it and she said ok so I hope my levels pop up as what they normally are, whatever that may be.

So, I got out of bed maybe 8am and I didn't finally get seen until 10am. I got to the office and waited 20 minutes before they called me back for my labs. The lady asked what all I wanted tested. You know what's aggravating? They'll ask you what you want tested like it's a free-for-all, but they have to get that approved by your PCP, if the PCP deems it necessary. If they don't think it's important, they won't do the test. Grr. Aggravating. So, I asked her to test my TSH, T3 (includes free T3), T4 (includes free T4), celiac, thyroid antibodies, magnesium, potassium (I was told to check potassium, but I don't think that's out of whack. I had it tested at my first PCP visit and I was in normal range).

So, I'm going to patiently wait for 1-2 weeks on these results. Man I have such a lump in my throat. HATE it! 

I have never been more excited to give blood in my life!!! The phlebotomist took roughly 8-9 vials worth and when she finished, she looked me straight in the face and asked "are you ok?" Haha. I said "Yes, I feel fine". I drove home just fine and here I am now. IMpatiently waiting for my results now. Lol.

The lady did a GREAT job sliding it right in with just a small pinch feeling and sliding it right back out. I'm not sure how I got the bruise, but hopefully it won't grow and I hope it goes away fast! Stay safe and healthy!

Kayla Dobbins

The Weekend

Saturday

Me and the kids had to do some errands while Chris went to work for the day. Laundromat, grocery shopping, visited my mom for a bit and washed my car at her house. Then about 5pm, I got back home where I met up with Chris. He brought my best friend Jessica, Jessica's fiance Nate (Chris' best friend), and their baby Ashley :) We all hung around the yard for a bit before the guys decided on Pizza for dinner. So, us girls grabbed pizza while the guys bought some drinks and we all met up at the bait shop. No shrimp. Thankfully there's a gas station 30 seconds down the road who had frozen shrimp.

We went down to the bridge that goes over Manatee River on Hwy 41. It was crazy windy and we have never had the best of luck there so before we even started, we left and went to some pier that I've never been to. The walk down the pier was SO long, my legs and ankles were so swollen (stupid hypothyroidism). We started at 9 and left just after midnight. Eric, Chris' good friend from childhood, caught a catfish in the beginning so I was hopeful for this new fishing spot. But there was a whole lot of nothing out there. So at the end, I was reeling up my line and it gets heavier very suddenly. I ended up catching a mudfish. Lol. But we all had a good time and the kids slept all the way home. The moms and kids all left and we stayed at my house until the guys finished fishing at wherever else they went to. They got back home about 3:30am. 

Left to right: Eric, Chris, Nate, Elaina, Jessica, Ashley in the stroller. I'm guessing Lily and Jonathan were both next to me or just out of the picture. It was a nice group of people to bring along. Everybody had a good time :)

Sunday

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!! What did I do today? Lol, stupid brain fog. I had a terrible time sleeping last night. I had a cold wet frog jump on my chest this morning. UGH! I grabbed it and body-slammed it against the back of the couch. Then I stood up and looked for it but it was nowhere. I woke up Chris to try to find it but he couldn't see it either. Whatever. I tried to sleep with him in bed but he's only got a twin bed. It wasn't long before I was back to the couch. I think I got 2 hours of sleep this morning. I'm so tired of these frogs. Grrrr....

So, Chris tells me that he's going fishing today but he's only taking Jonathan and 2 of his guy friends. So he gave me a few dollars and he says "You can go hang out at WalMart or something". That's usually my popular hangout spot. Lol. But I figured I haven't taken the kids to Party City in awhile so I figured I would surprise them :)

Stopped by my favorite area which is the separate candies that you can get 15 for $1 OR they're 7 cents each. I made a $1 bag for me, Jonathan, and Chris. The girls brought their own money and they picked out their own items there. I also got Jonathan one of those Ninja Turtle PlayPacks with the coloring book, stickers, and crayons inside. 

We then swung by Dollar Tree on the way home. We were all wanting some ice cream so I bought a little tub of what I thought was cookies n creme but come to find out, it was plain vanilla. But it's ok because on the way home, I was thinking about making a root beer float. And I totally did make one! it was so yum and delicious ^_^

Elaina was not wanting to cooperate or listen to me so I sent her to bed maybe 30 minutes ago so she could calm down and collect herself but I'm pretty sure she fell asleep. Lol. I am feeling just so exhausted right now. Oh my gosh. I think I'm going to lay down. Remember: Sunday should be a rest day. It's the last day of the weekend for you to catch up on all the relaxation you missed during the week. Soak it up when you can. Now, I'm going to take full advantage. Have a great rest of your weekend.

Kayla Dobbins

New BzzAgent Campaign!

I am so excited!! I LOVE new campaigns and missions! This time I get some Cascade Platinum ActionPacs! :D With 5 people in my house, BzzAgent KNOWS I need all the help I can get with my daily mountain of dishes. Woohoo! The worst thing is the dried on water spots. I'd like to see these pods get rid of those. If they can, then I'm a customer for life!

Kayla Dobbins

Dual Check-up

So, I finally was able to get Elaina and Jonathan into their doctor appointment yesterday, after so many reschedules and then my car being out of order for over 2 months (urg). Elaina and Jonathan are totally normal (WOO!)
I asked the nurse who was checking them out if it was too early to check out Elaina's testosterone levels (for her anger issues) and her thyroid since apparently her BMI is higher than what it should be. The nurse sent in a 2nd nurse to come take Elaina's blood but dumb mommy had to tell Elaina what was happening and she was wailing like a newborn because Heaven forbid anybody poke her arm with anything if she doesn't need anymore shots until she's 11 years old.

 

So the nurse who was originally trying to take her blood had typed up a requisition form for me to take to Quest Diagnostics so they can take her blood there. (oh, Elaina). Now I've gotta figure out when I'm going to have more gas money to get her there.

Jonathan weighs 49lbs and Elaina weighs 75lbs. Lily's check-up is scheduled for March 30th.

Freebies

So, I have a fascination. I can't explain it but I get a high off of getting free stuff or cheap things. I also enjoy trying out new things BUT I have this problem called "a lack of funds". So, I have scoured (maybe just a little bit) around the internet and found a couple websites that have helped me to try out new products OR get online credits to shop! Woo! Haha.

Alright, here goes:

1. Smiley360 

Free product in exchange for online reviews and word-of-mouth. Smiley allows you to try new FULL SIZE products or maybe products that are improved and companies need people to try out their new items. You don't get paid but as long as you log on daily, or almost daily, and interact in their Smiley Connect (where you comment about different products), you should be able to get new missions every so often. One time, shortly after starting up my profile, I had 5 things going at once! Just hang in there. Something will happen. Most of the time, they not only send you the product to try out but also some coupons. This site is all about social media. They want you to link your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, just to share out your opinions on these products that you try. These take about 1-2 weeks to arrive.

2. BzzAgent 

Free product in exchange for online reviews and word-of-mouth advertising. This was my number one site for a couple months (because Smiley was taking awhile for me to finally get my first mission). BzzAgent calls their missions "campaigns". They work the exact same way as Smiley. You fill out a profile so they know about your family and the way you live and what you like. Then, they will find FULL-SIZE products that would be good for you to try out. Like, they're not gonna send you cat food if you don't have a cat. On BzzAgent, I've been able to try out Zoomer Chomplings toy dinosaur that retails at $40! And I've also tried TimTams for when they first came to the US from Australia :) I have an active one now for ob tampons that will be ending soon and I just got a new one that should be arriving in the mail soon!

This may sound fake but whatever... I love getting stuff for my kids to try! As much as I love trying new things, I think they're the same way and since we are low on funds a lot, I still try to find new things for them to try and do. I try to keep things interesting. I don't want my kids being bored. Whether it be with activities or food. I am so excited! Anything to do with any kind of all-natural or organic product, I am all about that! Especially for my kids :D These take maybe 2 weeks to arrive. Sometimes a week longer, sometimes less.

3. PINCHme 

Samples that come and go quick! Now, PINCHme CAN be a little difficult. They have new products to try roughly every Tuesday at noon. BUT it's not every Tuesday sometimes. AND they have a countdown on their homepage for when new products will be arriving but things pop up between those times so always be on the lookout. I login daily to see if there's anything new. And products run out quick. This is something you have to be diligent about. BUT some people don't think it's worth it because they only send out SAMPLE SIZE things. And they take about 4-6 weeks to arrive to your house.

4. Swaggable 

SAMPLE SIZE items. This site has a whole laundry list of items you can "want" and once they're "wanted", you basically have to sit back and wait for the admins of the site to pick you (or not) for a product. Most, if not all, of these products seem pretty natural and organic so it's exciting. I've only tried 2 things off of here so far. It was sour gummy bears and some kind of all-natural lubricant and body wash (combo?). But I'm sticking it out and hanging in there.

5. Opinion Outpost 

This is my favorite online survey site. You just take surveys using your opinion or facts about your life and you get paid for it! You initially fill out a profile about yourself and your family life. Every single thing that you put into the website profile OR into surveys that you're paired with, everything you type out is strictly confidential. Most surveys will ask you for your age, your zip code, your race, and some other things. It's to place you in different brackets (I guess you would say) because they only need so many people from different regions. Sometimes all around the US, sometimes from a bunch of different countries. But now about the compensation! You get points for every survey you do. Every point is 10 cents. So, when you first sign up, it'll give you 5 points which comes out to be 50 cents. You can redeem your points in different ways. I believe iTunes store is one. Or you can donate to the Red Cross or use them as extra entries into the quarterly prize draw of $10,000! I personally ALWAYS go for the Amazon credits. I used all Amazon credits one year for my kids' Christmas toys. And when you're done with a survey, they will ask you if you were satisfied with the content and the length and then it will show you the points you received and if you want to take another survey. They will constantly bring you surveys one after the other until they don't have anymore that pertain to you. But always check back. I get several emails per day telling me about new surveys that are just right for me. They can range between 5-30 points or more! 30 points = $3 for a survey! AND I have gotten the opportunity a couple times to try out new products through Opinion Outpost too. This is such a great place to earn about new ::hush hush:: items. There's lots of times you will be shown an idea for a new product and companies want your opinion, like if you would buy it or what you would change about it.

6. Sample Source 

These people send out a box of SAMPLE SIZE samples through all the seasons except Winter. They have a disclaimer that says they don't want to ship items through Winter because they have some items that they don't want to freeze as they are being shipped to your house (I am from Florida so I think this rule/stipulation is just WILD). When you sign up for their site, they will send you an email when their samples are ready to be picked out. And they run out fast! If you don't sign up, then you just have to guess when there's new samples and you may not get to them in time. I think these take about 4 weeks to get to your house.

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Many of these sites require you to be checking your email daily. But if you're like me, everything helps, even the little things. And over the past couple years, raising these kids, I have learned to appreciate the little things. Like shopping on half-off Wednesdays at Salvation Army or always going to the clearance section of every store first.

I have tried couponing in the past. I don't want to say "It's not for me" because I would enjoy trying it out again. But it was pretty time consuming and I never found any great deals all at the same time like they showed on that couponing show on TLC. But also, the things my family does doesn't require any coupons. I usually buy store brand things. We usually go to the park or beach for fun kid activities. And I shop a lot at Save-A-Lot and most of the things they sell in my price range are off-brands.

The point that I'd like to get at on this particular blog post is that there are these things that you can do to help yourself out but there's also many other things on the internet to help you. It just takes some time and patience. I am also part of the Mills Advisory Board for General Mills. They send me surveys randomly asking my opinion about different products. I am also part of the McCormick Board, doing the same thing there. They will either send me a survey or ask if I'd like to participate in a new product testing (heck yeah I'd like to be!). I hope you all have success in these new ventures.

Kayla Dobbins