Gluten

I've been reading and hearing a ton about how good a Gluten Free diet can be for some people. It's a great for some people that have Celiac Disease, Autism and even MS. So, as a family, we don't have any of those issues. In fact, we are blessed to rarely be sick at all. Knock on wood, but Daniel and I haven't even been to a doctor for the last 2 years that we have lived in Austin.
However, I do know some people that have some health issues and concerns that might be helped out by a gluten free diet. I've passed on the little information that I know about gluten to them.
I decided last week that D. and I would try to be completely gluten free for a short period of time. Here are my thoughts from the last several days of our gluten free lifestyle:

• I could do it, if I had to
• We love that corn tortillas are a great substitute for flour ones
• I need a lot more carbs in my diet than a gluten free diet allows (i teach 6 classes a week and i'm working on training for a 10K and a triathlon)
• As long as french fries aren't battered in flour, they are gluten free :).

So, all in all, Gluten free is not really for our family. However, we will try to cut down on some of the glutens in our life. We can certainly sub corn for flour tortillas, rice or egg noodles for regular noodles and potato chips and corn chips for cheetos and nacho cheese doritos. All of those substitutes are also less processed and have 'all natural' or 'organic' options. So that's always good. Whole grains and fiber are good for most people. That's what we will stick to when choosing bread for rolls or sandwiches. My friend Jen calls it a gluten light diet. I like that option :)> .

Purgatory 2010

We started out the new year by taking a ski trip with my family. It was so fun. We drove to Colorado and skied for 3 days, then drove home. It was a quick trip.
It might have been a little bold of us, but thought we'd let Clarke try skiing. Our first thought was "What if he's a prodigy?". So we tried it. We got him all dressed, introduced him to the snow, which he loved, and put the skis on him. We had borrowed a Ski-Wee. It's basically a leash that you put around the kid and then they ski between your legs. Clarke did ok until he realized he was strapped to something. At that point he screamed and threw one of the worst tantrums of his short little life. Ski time was over. So, we just took turns playing with Clarke in the snow and going skiing. I think he still had a good time. Maybe next year he'll get it a little better. Here's some pictures of the trip.


Edwards family photo.



The whole family


Clarke on skis at 21 months old. Before the meltdown.


He's saying "cheese". He loved tubing.


Aren't those skis the cutest things you've ever seen? He thought they were sticks. He kept trying to hit things with them.