Friday, April 22

Last night was Michellie's first night out with friends - finally!  She was able to catch the bus after school and head to her friend's Birthday Party for the evening.  What a great milestone!  She enjoyed herself, did a lot of giggling, and made it past midnight before getting too tired.  She did sleep in this morning, as she said it took her a while to get to sleep after all the fun.

Today we finally had friends over for dinner from the other side of the island.  David cooked up some fabulous Tortierre, and I made the Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake the right way today (two layers with lots of great icing).  We had a whole evening of great chatting, and the kids did a lot of giggling.  It was really fun to get together and it was nice to have MacKenzie here to enjoy it as well.

The box moving is a little slow.  There is so much moving around, and shifting things to get everything to work.  They are calling for rain all next week, so we have our fingers crossed that we will still be able to get the windows into the dining room.  We have to get the new windows out of the lean-to part of the house, as the leaking in there is completely destroying the ceiling and walls.  The whole thing could fall down before we get to tear it down.  If we can get the dining room windows finished this week, then we can move on to the gable windows, and that will be the last of the windows.  Next, insulation in the basement, and then we can move some more storage items down there. 

In the meantime, Michellie continues with her exercises from the physio.  She is getting stronger each day, but we still need to get the walking going more.  The weather has been on and off rain or snow flurry, so she has not got out like we had hoped.  There is only one more week until her trip, so we hope her stamina will be strong enough by then.  The water treatment on her foot has made a huge difference.  The skin has improved in quality and what was white scabs and bumps has turned to a huge red welt mostly.  We will keep at it all week to see if we can eradicate most of it before she leaves.

We seem to have a handle on the food challenges.  Michellie stays pretty close to gluten free most of the time, but she can tolerate wraps.  She has become fond of Rice Crackers, instead of Wheat Thins, and she is ok with Parmesan and Cheddar cheese, but not Mozzarella.  If we follow these little guidelines, everything seems to be ok.  Sugar is a challenge to keep to a minimum.  Everyday there is a reason to have something with sugar in it.  Dad picked up IRNBRU (Michellie's favorite pop of all time), and it seems to call to her from the fridge.  We are trying to get back to salads and smoothies to stay on top of the veggies and fruit servings.  It is easy to slip from these, and back to snacky foods, so we are making extra efforts to not lose the new habits we have formed.  Everyday is a challenge to keep on the nutritious path and away from the sugars and treats.  (Of course, I am the one who made the chocolate cake tonight - and there is no way to eliminate the sugar from this treat!).