Sundays are not for the faint of heart

You know what? I've had a day from ________ (fill in the blank).

Trevor got a call early this morning from a friend who needed help, so he ditched us to go help this friend.

Okay. Stop. I know it sounds all complainy and stuff. I'm glad he was able to help this friend. And his ox was really in the mire.

Whatever. Anyway, on with the story.

Carter started the morning with a diarrhea diaper just before his bath which he didnt want to take and let me know it. We got to church 10 minutes late, but just in time for the sacrament. The whole chapel was full, so we had to sit in the foyer. After Sacrament Meeting, Carter refused to walk down the hall to nursery because he had made another diarrhea diaper which was burning his rear end.

To the mothers lounge! And then Will started screaming.

I changed carter who was kicking and screaming because his bum was on fire and bleeding. Put Carter down and picked up Will. Calmed everyone down and then off to nursery.

I dropped off Carter and made my way to Sunday School which was being held in the gym because it was Ward Conference. Oh great. Because I took so long with my mother's lounge fiasco, the only seats left were in the front. Bah!

Trudge in and sit down. About 10 minutes into Sunday School, Will started screaming again and this time there was no calming him down. Time to stand up and leave as EVERYONE watched.

Back to the mothers lounge!

After I fed Will, things actually calmed down and I was able to catch all of Relief Society! After RS the kids brought me Carter who was a whiny, crying mess. I looked in his diaper, and sure enough another diarrhea episode.

We got home from church, changed diapers, and fed everyone. Then turned around and went back to church for a scout meeting.

Side note: there is this newer family in my ward and the mom was just called into the primary presidency. She is the counselor over scouts. She hates me. Or if she doesn't hate me, I don't know... no. She does. There is no question. She is one of those that looks at people and makes snap judgements. I asked Trevor (who has witnessed our conversations) why he thinks she is so mean to me. He said he thinks its because we are physically such polar opposites. And even though I dont really think I dress to the nines when I go to church, people have told me that I look like I stepped right out of NEW YORK CITY!! lol! Sister Meanie, on the other hand, does not dress like she is from New York City. I couldn't tell you what she dresses like, because I honestly never pay attention to that stuff, but Trevor says we are really opposite. Sometimes I feel like people here ostracize me because I am flashy and different from what they are used to. And yes, I am flashy. Not because I want attention, but I have bright red hair. There is no hiding. And I love color, and I'm not afraid to wear it.

At the pinewood derby a few weeks ago, Sister Meanie stopped me to introduce herself (our first time meeting), and ask if I was going to the leadership meeting in the morning in Wendell from 8am to 12pm. Ummm. No. Since it was my first time hearing about it, and I had other obligations, I explained that I was not going to be able to make it. She did not take my answer happily and told me it was important and I needed to be there. Again, I explained it just was not going to work for me. Then she asked who was in my calling with me, and who was in charge. I explained that I had been thrown into being the leader and that I wasn't really sure of what I was doing yet, especially with the new changes in scouting, but that we were figuring out the new program. And then SHE LOOKED AT ME POINTEDLY AND SAID "THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO GO TO THE TRAINING IN THE MORNING." Uh, drop it lady. I'm not going. If only you knew the mess that is my life right now.

Anyway so back to today. I made it to this meeting with all my kids in tow, and this mean lady is there, and Carter is acting horribly because his buns hurt really bad. At this point, I feel totally drained for the day and I could have really used someone being nice to me.

The meeting started and the scout master asked for input and volunteers and stuff. I was really prepared for this meeting since I had stayed up late looking up ideas and thinking about how we could apply them in our ward. So I was raising my hand and talking alot, which yes. This is not normal for me, but I was on fire and I really love scouts! Then sister Meanie Head rudely interrupted me in the middle of me excitedly volunteering to make invites and told me I couldn't make invitations for the event we were planning since I had already taken on decorations with another sister, and that SHE would take care of it.

Anyone who knows me knows that this type of thing is a snap and fun and easy for me. I hope it takes her a week to make them and that they turn out awful.

And then Meanie said a few other things, but I wasn't listening at that point because she just rubs me the wrong way. Ugh. I have to talk to this lady and report to her.  I better get over this aversion quickly.

And meanwhile Carter was being really bad and crying. He wouldn't sit down because of his bum and he was really in pain. As the meeting was wrapping up, I realized that we had another diarrhea on our hands.

To the mothers lounge!

Poor Children

Here is what it's really like working with kids: Notice it's dark, which means it's bitterly cold. They are all huddled around the heater for warmth. The oldest isn't there because he is forced to work.

Broken

Recently I've had an epiphany.

When I was little, I was put into a mold and told I was shy. I was compared a lot to my brothers, sisters and especially twin sister; as if what defined me, was my siblings or that I was quiet.

But being shy had its advantages. I was able to sit back and watch a lot of interactions between people. Being shy helped me to be able to realize that I could be strong while being quiet.

Still, I've never really had many friends. Not very many people want to be friends with someone who doesn't talk much or as we've talked about on here before, talks too quietly and is easily forgetable.

It's interesting that the people I have been able to be friends with have been people with fairly strong personalities. These people tend to both push me out of my comfort zone, and force me to push back when they become overbearing. But there is still that friend who comes along once in a blue moon with the same quietness and fragilness as me.

To contradict my feelings even more, some people lead me to feel great anxiety to be around because of the way they "bully" by being bossy or pushy.

Someone told me a few months ago that I should see a counselor. It shook me to my core. Her diagnosis made me feel broken and dismissed. Ever since then, I've been wondering what's wrong with being quiet? Is there really a problem with not liking to talk in front of large groups of people? Is there a problem with me because sometimes I don't like answering the door or the phone? Can't personalities be like race or gender or IQ or whatever it is that makes us all different? Do I make people feel uncomfortable and so I should get my personality fixed?

I've also been feeling a bit sad out here. I have a friend, but she's a busy lady with lots of other friends. This friend situation has me thinking a lot about my personality. It's made me think a lot about my so called diagnosis.

I decided to try to serve more. I have tried a few different things, and my latest endeavor has been a total flop. I'm trying to stay positive about this situation, but I just can't help but feel disliked.

I wonder a lot about how to fix my problem and gain friends. I feel sad when I think that I am misjudged. I feel sad knowing that I have been judged even by family members who cannot fathom that my quietness could be just that: quiet. How do I fix this problem? Can you relate?

So, Yeah

Let's see, what has been going on here this week?

I've been doing my best to figure out this food thing with Carter. After I posted that he was having success and solid poop, he had the most awful stretch of diarrhea. It was very frustrating and I was worried and very upset about it.

I made myself start a food journal and record his poop in there as well. I'm fairly certain I know the cause of this round of diarrhea now. So anyway, it was a solid poop I changed last night, finally! I hope to be changing solid poops from now on.

In other news, what the heck have I been reduced to... talking about poop. Sheesh.

The house rebuilding continues. It's slow work, but we are just plugging along. Looks like things are about to turn a corner and start moving faster. What I'm trying to say here is that THE TEARDOWN IS ALMOST DONE!!!

I'm sick of dusty air, rusty nails, mouse poop, nasty insulation, plaster, disgustingness and paneling. I have learned a valuable lesson though: You don't need to use a thousand nails to put something together. Just some glue and a few nails is sufficient to hold things in place. This is something my dad told me a while ago, and I chose to ignore, because nailing things is fun! But guess what, de-nailing things that are over nailed is really really not fun.

And here is another valuable lesson: Do not, under any circumstances, put up four layers of shingles. Very bad idea. We did not do this, but are dealing with the dummy that did it before we got here.

Also, I  think these people had a love affair with cement. Lesson: too much of one thing is not a good thing.

Also, if you are going to put in a fireplace, make sure to take the wallpaper off the wall before you brick it up. Oh wait, maybe you shouldn't put the wall inside the fireplace either. You know, wood being flammable and all...

It's a miracle this house is still standing.

Yeah, one more thing: Headers are meant to be more than a 1x4 laying on the 4. Did you get that? Normally a header is two 2x4s or 2x6s sandwiched together laying on the 2 (or on their sides if you didn't understand my lingo that I made up). So when you find a cracked 1x4 on a load bearing wall laying on its back, not even trying to bear the weight, be very very afraid. Maybe you should even run away. I mean, if you haven't already what with the crazy roof, one inch insulation in the outside walls, giant holes in the plumbing, crazy chimney falling down with a charred wall running through it, and don't forget the ancient wiring running through the house, mold in the ceiling, and the 1x6 subfloor with holes all over where it has been cut but not supported with a joist below so you or the kids might fall through if you aren't careful where you step.

But hey, I made a chandelier!!

Changes

Hey, you will never guess what has been happening here. Carter has had solid #2 FOR TWO DAYS!!!

I know right? It's the first time in his whole life that this has happened!!

Results

Today I woke up groggy and unable to function. I am so tired!

Will has been sick with the same cold Carter had last week. Thank you Carter.

But despite feeling like an non-functioning  mess, I will give you the quick low-down on yesterday's visit to the gastrointestinologist.

He said that indeed it sounds like celiac. Ha! In your face dumb doctor we saw last! He said that the only way to know for sure is to do a biopsy. Or he gave us a second option to do a special diet.

I chose the diet.

We will be doing the low FODMAP diet. It is an elimination diet. For six weeks he will only be able to eat certain approved foods, and the after six weeks we will be adding them back one at a time to see if there is a reaction.

More on this later.

Hi

Hi-ho, hi-ho. It's off to the gastrointestinologist we go.

Honestly, I'm not sure I spelled that correctly.

More on this later.

A little crafty fix

Guys, it is sooo cold!! Remember how our house has no heat? These past few weeks have been miserable. It's so cold that we cant leave our drinking water or the next day it will be a solid ice block. We all put on as many layers of clothes as we can, and that's under our snow suits. Trevor won't let me get him something warmer to wear, and Logan refuses to wear the snow pants I found for him because even though they are black, they have heart shaped buttons. Lol! I'm wearing Carhartt coveralls. These things are the warmest pants you've ever worn, but because they are so big, it's super hard to move around.

So this is a video of us taking a plaster and lathe wall down in three minutes. It's kinda fun when it goes that fast.

Yesterday we were going to use the air compressor to break some things, but then we ended up breaking the air compressor. Haha! Oops!

So we decided to bust out some walls instead. In the process of busting out this wall between the kitchen and living room, look what we found!

It's a little telephone cutout!! Isn't it cute? I told Trevor that I think we should put it back in when we rebuild the wall, but he quickly pointed out what a dumb idea that was since we don't have a home phone. Oh yeah...