Howdy :)

Well, I guess it's time to start fresh.

This first post will be an introduction. A look into my little world, I guess.

My name is Heather. I'm a mid-20's stay at home mom. I've worked in the "real world" before, but when my son was little I was given a choice between my kid & my job. The choice was an easy one & I've never looked back.

I'm married. My husband is a railroad conductor for a Class One railroad. He's gone a lot more often than he's home. It's hard at times -- I will never deny that. However, I've adjusted over the years. This job has been a blessing to us & I hope to see my husband retire at an old age from this job. He enjoys his job & that's so rare anymore. My husband & I recently celebrated eight years of marriage.

Together my husband & I have a six year old son. He's our only child & will likely be our only child. I want another one, but my husband currently says no. That doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future, but I'm not holding my breath. My son is currently in first grade at a local elementary school. He's an accelerated reader & is sharp as a tack. Common sense completely skipped him, but I've heard that's common with kids who have book smarts like he does.

There are also two cats in my family. Smokie is an almost nine year old pastel calico. She's the most lovable cat I've ever seen in my entire life. We adopted Smokie when she was a year old from our local Humane Society. She was in the back of the shelter ready to be put to sleep because her tail is broken & it has a ball at the end.

Shadow is a one and a half year old domestic cat. Shadow, quite literally, walked into our front door one day & we've had her ever since. She belonged to our neighbors who were looking for a new home for her. She's a gorgeous grey & white marked cat. She's quite the character. Shadow is full of surprises & she's quite talkative. She understands a few basic words ("bite" is her favorite, of course) & she knows her name well. She has an obsession with crinkle balls, string, and tape of any sort. You will likely hear quite a bit about Shadow's antics.

My son & my husband have a genetic disorder known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. We received the diagnosis with my husband in February, 2006 & received the diagnosis with our son about six months after that. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (which you'll see me refer to as EDS in this blog quite often) affects how your joints product collagen & it has many other nasty side effects as well. My husband has acid reflux that we control with diet along with his EDS as well as shoulder & knee problems (he's looking at knee surgery in the future due to a torn meniscus). My son has acid reflux that we control with diet & a prescription antacid, he has many joint issues (we're currently battling ankle problems; we've dealt with knee problems in the past), and he's very double-jointed. He can pop his hips out of place standing up (eww!).

My son sees various specialist doctors for his condition. Most of these doctors are out of town, but they're the very best at what they do. We've been told by his pediatric genetics specialist that he'll never be able to do any sports other than swimming. We invested in a metal frame pool last summer & enrolled him in swimming lessons over the summer as well. I'm hoping to do the same this year.

My son has also shown ADHD-tendencies in the past. After two years of listening to others tell me that something is "wrong" with my kid, I did some research and found the Feingold diet. It has been a lifesaver! After winter break, my son's teacher came to me & asked me what I'd done over the break to my son. He sits still in class, he completes his work on time with the other kids, he's not constantly talking or bugging other kids... it's been so wonderful! We're currently working on adding foods back into his diet. So far we've tried tomatoes & apples, but I'm going to have to try the apples again. I gave my son some of the applesauce I had canned from the summer & I forgot that it had lemon juice in it. I used lemon juice with an artificial preservative that's a no-no on the diet. Oops.

I have family. I have lots of family.
I have an eighteen year old brother. He's currently off to college on a full-ride scholarship. I'm quite proud of him as is the rest of the family.

I have a thirty-three year old sister. She has Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus (water on the brain). She has the mentality of a four year old, but she's beat so many expectations. She was supposed to die by age ten & be a vegetable all of her life. She's definitely not a vegetable at all & she's definitely passed the age of ten! She's definitely a miracle & she keeps life interesting.

I have a mom. Growing up my mom & I didn't get along well (I don't know of many teenagers that get along with their parents). Once I was out on my own & especially after I had my son I grew close to my mom. My mom & I try to spend as much time together as we can, but it can be difficult since her full-time job is caring for my sister & my full-time job is caring for my son, running the house, and trying to keep things in order.

I have a stepdad. My biological dad is referred to as my sperm donor. The sperm donor hasn't seen me or talked to me since I was about two years old. My stepdad is the only dad I've ever known & he's been wonderful to me. My little brother belongs to my stepdad so I guess he'd technically be a half-brother, but I really don't like using those terms. I've always called him my brother and he, for the most part, has always called me his big sister. Anywho, my stepdad is a good guy. He's a bit weird (he has an Andy Griffith obsession) but he's a good guy. He's currently counting down the years to retirement.

I have in-laws. My in-laws aren't around much. My husband's grandparents, who my husband is very close to, live very close to us & we try to make a visit to them once a week or so. It's been hard to do that lately due to my husband's work schedule & the snow that's piled up. My father-in-law lives close to us as well with his wife (not my husband's mother. She is similar to my biological father -- she has nothing to do with my husband for various reasons). Again, they're not around much, but we all try our best with what we have.

I also have a little brother-in-law. He's about three weeks younger in age than my little brother & he's off in college as well. We don't see or hear from him much right now, other than Facebook. I suppose that's how college kids are these days.

I'm not quite sure what I expect from this blog. It might be a place to vent, it might be a place to brag, or I might post a few Feingold recipes from time to time. Whatever happens with this blog, I hope that you'll join me.