Siliac

Siliac is a very food limiting disease. My mother developed this about two years ago. Apparently it is something you are born with, but it remains dormant until something triggers it. People with siliac cannot eat anything with gluten. My mother cannot have anything with flour, wheat, oats, barley, rye and stuff like that. She can't even drink regular beer. It is amazing what food products have gluten in them, even soy sauce. She has to read all food labels. I made pizza tonight and had to be creative for her. Made her pizza on tortilla shells. Just think of all the foods you are no longer able to eat-cakes, cookies, bread, pizza. She had been extremely thin from this disease, but now her body hoards whatever she eats. She eats lots of salads (minus the croutons). She is so sensitive that she brought her own bread to a restaurant, but the crumbs from the other breads got on it and she got sick. She ordered rice noodles at a restaurant but it's cooked in the same water as other stuff, so she can't eat there any more. Very restrictive diet. And the sad thing is - it's genetic. Great. The things I can look forward to. Not a bright future for someone who loves to bake. I have my own health issues and have to be careful of what I eat, let's just add that in. There's many a day I live on saltines when my ulcer flares up. No flour products...oh dear.

Regression and Guilt

And so it begins...We are visiting my parents, with my husband leaving in two days (and yes, he is counting). When we brought stuff in, the changes they made to their house made us very suspicious. Kind of like they were expecting our visit to be more long, long term than what it is. Sure enough, it was brought up today. About missing the kids, keeping family together, helping each other out, etc. Maybe we could live here with them indefinitely. It would mean so much to them to be with their grandkids. Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a long summer?

And why is it that I, a perfectly normal adult seem to regress when I am around them. Years of conditioning I guess. Hate to make waves, easier to give in, who knows. Today I ended up making pizza for the whole group. Tomorrow they are having company and I am catering it. Enchiladas for 12. I really have no idea how it happened. Although the fact that I hate my mother's cooking may have something to do with it. (She is also on a special diet for her health and so she eats some bizarre things). The deal starts with "if you cook, I'll clean the kitchen". Yeah, right...she wanders off and plays with the grandkids. Trust me I've walked away but the dishes don't budge...for days. It finally drives me crazy enough to just do them. Can't deal with dishes piled up. It's easier to just get them over with. So I've reverted back to the cooking and cleaning person again. I told them after Saturday I'm not cooking any more. I eat very little and there's no reason for me to cook. At least I put them on notice. If I live on salad I get the benefits of no cooking, no cleaning and hey, maybe I'll lose some weight. Maybe eating healthier will help my backbone get stronger. I made a start tonight, let's hope it continues.

A First

Today was the first day my husband and I ate a meal in a restaurant without the kids. We had eaten without our oldest son, but never without our 2 year old. Not because we didn't want to, but she is quite a handful and people just don't seem to volunteer to watch her. We have found it's just easier not to eat out at all. Fighting with her is more work than the meal is worth. But today she had grandparents (well, one at least) who were willing to take her on. We are not the outdoorsy type, but their grandmother is. She played ball with them, took them for a walk to the park, and all around wore them out. We got out for 2 1/2 hours, and when we got back it was naptime. Kids were so worn out, although the oldest will never admit it. He doesn't take naps, but he sure crashed at night. We had a nice lunch, picking a place the kids would not like. Usually, if we do eat out, it's at a place they enjoy the food. So yeah!!! we got to have a nice relaxing and civilized meal. Hope it doesn't take 2 1/2 years to have another one.