You know those 'crazy theories' that us Mommas have? The ones that sometimes come from facts or have some sort of proof, but for the most part they are there from something deep inside our Mom brains that's been stewing for quite some time...something I like to call 'Mother's Intuition'.
These photos have nothing to do with my blog post topic. But, I thought, rather than gross you out with pics of 'pink' chicken nugget meat and gross, greasy fast food photos, you'd rather see a little of what we did during our days of hibernation....this first one is what our street looked like during the second round of snow. Yes, Brandon and our neighbor friends plowed away at every driveway on our street. I was inside, taking this photo out the window.
Yep, you know what I'm talkin' about. Those remedies, those routines, those traditions, the recipes, the 'kisses that heal everything', and the old saying 'Mother knows best'. All of these fall under the category of 'crazy theories' that I have and I'm pretty sure the Hubs thinks they are just that: Crazy.
Snuggled up on the couch with Foxy and the blankets I made the boys.
That is, until this evening. Yes, this evening....I think the heavens opened up, someone found the gold at the end of the rainbow, and yes, I even think a few pigs flew...because tonight, as we were eating dinner, my Hubs, he admitted it. He admitted that one of my 'crazy theories' was actually true.
It was freezing outside, yet my baby boy decided he did not want to wear pants that day. Good thing we were snowed in.
I think I've finally convinced him.
Old school - we love these Tinkertoys.
Of one thing at least.
You see, our boys...they are sensitive. Not emotionally, not physically, but they are sensitive in another way. This kind of sensitive makes them gag...makes them puke with even the slightest inconsistency, funny smell, or different texture in their food. The sensitivity that if something doesn't smell right, they must gag it out. And, unfortunately, this is something they've been plagued with for years {or forever}.
We even got the 'balls' out of the basement. I'm still finding 'balls' in funny places all over my house.
Except for the past six months or so.
Now, these next photos are kinda funny. You know those 'shooters' (guns) that your kids get...that are kinda fun, but kinda annoying at the same time? Well, we've got a few of those. And, instead of allowing the boys to shoot each other with them (or poor Bella), we've come up with this 'shoot the monster game'. The boys draw the monsters and then set them up around the house to shoot. Pretty fun...safe....and it doesn't encourage them to shoot the 'shooters' at anyone. This is a game I love.
Let me rewind a bit: Around the time of October of last year, Parker proclaimed that he no longer liked fast food. He thought it smelled funny. And, while I've always had a soft spot for a cheeseburger and fries, I thought this was amazing.
My five year old could smell the toxicity in the food he was eating - I thought maybe his sensitivity to smell was now a super hero power and he could somehow distinguish the difference between something good for him and something bad, just by smelling it!
Just one of the many 'monster' displays that the boys set up. I absolutely love this. Imagination at its best.
So, since then, we've had absolutely no fast food {on my watch at least}. No Wendy's, no McDonald's, no Sonic, none. Sure, we've ordered our fair share of pizza from our local pizza joint...we've indulged in Subway and Mr. Goodcents, and we've definitely visited our favorite Mexican place a time or two, but we haven't had any of that nasty, fake, fried, overly processed chicken.
Andrew loves to get the 'monsters'!
Okay, now fast forward to about a month ago, when I realized that the gagging, the vomiting, and the sensitivity to smells, textures, and inconsistency, it had all stopped. Cold.
My kids hadn't been sick ALL winter long. We hadn't had any dinners interrupted by one of them proclaiming that the cheese in their tacos was too stringy, followed by them either spitting it out or gagging their entire dinner up.
It was an epiphany. I knew what it was. It was the grease, the grime, the toxic 'stuff' in that fast food {which, seriously, we only ate at the most once a week} that was making them do this. When I proclaimed this to Brandon he looked at me like I had six eyes and a horn coming out of my head. He wasn't buying it.
Then, a few weeks ago, Brandon took Parker to Wendy's for lunch after preschool. Then, that night, we had tacos, which are Parker's favorite meal. That night at dinner, Parker gagged on his taco and ended up throwing up.
After that incident, I gave Brandon the ole, 'I told you so' look, but he still wasn't convinced.
Parker is such a sweet big brother. Here he is setting the 'monster' back up so Andrew can get 'em.
So, not believing me, Brandon took the boys to Wendy's last week while I was working in the evening. And, what do you know? The next morning, Andrew gagged and threw up his pancakes (his favorite) and then tonight, Parker got sick at dinner.
What did my Hubs do tonight? You got it - he threw the towel in {or napkin...since we were eating dinner}. He looked at me and said, 'I am never taking them to Wendy's again. Ever.' Mmm....Hmmm. That's right.
I love Andrew's looooong legs in this photo.
What is it about that food that makes my kids do this? I need your help. I'm doing some research, trying to find some scientific proof to this 'crazy theory' of mine, but it's difficult. Is it an allergic reaction to the grease used? Is it acid reflux? Does the food just have so much toxic stuff in it that it upsets my kid's stomachs?
I think Parker is too close...easy shot.
All I know is that it can't be good. It's gross. And, as a parent, who wants my kids to grow up healthier than ever before...I just can't let this slide.
Just look at the detail on these 'monsters'.
What do you think we should do? How can we change the common mindset that this is okay?
The old (Goodwill) table under this blanket has some major changes coming to it...stay tuned to the blog to find out what happens to it.
And, now that I've {finally} convinced Brandon, I know I still have a lot of skeptics out there, how do I convince everyone else that this isn't just my 'crazy theory' and I believe this to be a real problem?
My little 'monster' shooter. He's keepin' his Momma safe at night.
I'll let you know how this goes. But, in the meantime...watch your kid's eating patterns after dining on fast food. Let me know if they have these same or similar symptoms.
It's never too late to make a change.
