Kid stuff

Yesterday I left work early (such a hardship) to take the kids to their school's Open House. We met the teachers and dropped off their supplies. Found out that the locker stacker thingy won't fit in DS's locker. I think I've talked DH into making him one. We found a cool design that another kid had. Of course DS is being very nonchalant about it, but I think he would be happy.

Speaking of DS, it is really driving me crazy that everyone seems to think he is already a High Schooler. He is very tall (5'7 1/2"), but don't make him older than he already is! I've had 3 people this week ask me if he was in 9th grade! Noooooo, not yet! I'm not ready to give up my baby!

After the Open House we ran home and made some dinner, then DH & I went back to school for 7th grade orientation for parents. I think this will be DS's toughest year. He has pretty much skated through school so far, getting very good grades, with minimal after school effort. Doesn't seem that way for this year. But that was what I thought last year too, come to think of it. Oh, and he has a field trip already! 4th day of class. The fun thing, they are going to a camp, which happens to be the same camp that DH & I met at, when we attended a precollege Freshman camp.

One interesting thing the teachers mentioned, if he wants to take Honors classes in High School, they suggested that he take the ACT test in February. Anyone else experience this with their kids. Should he study for that? Our high school has about 2400 students, and is ranked very high in both sports and academics, but is very competitive too. I'm really hoping and praying that both kids do well. I'd love if they both stayed in swimming (not sure DD is going to though) or some other athletics. Maybe that might lead to a scholarship. Of course academics comes first, and their are scholarships there too...

I left the orientation early to go to the Annual Swim Team meeting. It was very informative. They asked me to run for the Board of Directors, which I did. Since there were the same number of parents resigning as joining, that worked out. The President later asked me to be Treasurer. That should be fun. The fun thing, the meeting was held at a local wine shop. After the meeting we stayed to socialize a bit, and I had a yummy glass of Sangria.

Today DS starts swim practice with the Senior group. He was moved up before he turned 13, which is the standard cut off, based on his incredible improvement and performance since the beginning of the year. He is incredibly excited, and a little nervous.

DD doesn't start swim practice until Sept 13, but she is also going to be playing organized basketball at her school. Should make for an interesting Fall.

Yes, summer is over. *sigh*

Blogging is fun

Ok, I think I am getting the hang of this blogging thing. It is way fun. Don't get any work done, but have lots of fun. Thanks for making me feel so welcome too!

Upcoming Peep Meet

I am very excited to be able to host a mini peep meet! Sept 8 at my house! We are expecting around 7-8 peeps to join us.

I was a little worried at first. I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Kim & I were talking about this some time ago, and how it would be fun to get together with peeps in the area, and it just spawned into this meet. But I guess if anyone is offended, that is their problem, not mind. I opened it to everyone who might want to come anyway.

So I was trying to decide on some food to have, and was at a friend's house. They asked why I needed some ideas, and I explained I am meeting a bunch of people I don't know. Gave more details, and that we had invited them to spend the night in our house. My friends were appalled! "You don't know who these people are, they could be axe murderers" and "Are you going to hide all your valuables". At which point DH piped up that we don't have any valuables, well, except the kids, and if they stole them they would have to drive them to swim practice 4-6 times a week, so in the end they wouldn't take them anyway. I had to LOL. DH, the one who was very opposed to meeting anyone from the box. Now, after having met PRE, Wallflower, EMTBGirl and Brown Roach, he is looking forward to meeting more!

One of my other friends, who has met peeps online through a sheepshead site, warned me about the reactions of our other friends. And they did reference him as well, that we were as crazy as him.

I'm so happy that I am not as short sighted and closed minded as some people I know! Getting to know my online friends, even if it is just online, has greatly enriched my life, expanded my horizons, and really helped me to see things from different perspectives. Also to see how truly blessed I am.

Happy Birthday

To my husband! Now we are the same age again!

Since the Packers are playing, we won't be going out for a special dinner. I am going to try a new recipe that Qwertypie gave me for Oven Crisped Orange Chicken. It is gluten free, and I know DH has missed eating fried chicken. I have all the ingredients except for orange juice concentrate, so I'll have to stop on the way home.

I'm also picking up an ice cream cake that I had made for him. Normally these cakes have this yummy cookie crumble inside, but that has gluten, so I had them remove it.

He asked for a GPS, so I found a decent priced Garmin Nuvi 350. It is smaller than mine, has more features, and of course was cheaper. Go figure.

I hate allergies and school supplies

I have been sneezing all day. I even took a dang allergy pill. Unsure if it is August allergies, a cold, or due to the dust created by the electrician who installed a strobe light fire alarm in my office this morning. Stoopid fire marshall guy. I think he has it out for us. I do usually have more allergy attacks during April & August. So far this month it has been nearly nonexistant. I figured the anti oxidant stuff I was taking this summer really did help. So much for that.

Happy Monday. Last night DD commented on how weekends always go by so fast, and that they should be longer. Couldn't agree more. So far I have no reasons to leave work early this week. *sigh*

Yesterday we spent 1 1/2 hours at Walmart buying school supplies. $150 down the drain. We even had a few things that we could reuse. By the time we left, I noticed that each kid had somehow managed to finagle a few extra things they really didn't need either.

Now I know why we always have done School Pak before. I think I would have saved money in the end. But then I wouldn't have had that wonderful bonding experience with my kids. (end sarcasm)

Beginning of the end...

for my business, that is. I've been feeling more and more done with it over the past 8 months. I still love candles, but I feel my life is going in a different direction for now.

I'm not willing to give it up completely. Not willing to say "I quit". But I'm not actively seeking home shows anymore. Of course that means I will be getting a lot of calls to have shows. That is ok, but I'm not actively growing my business. I figure I will still take care of my current customers and their candle needs, and that is about it.

I was listening to a Fergie song, and realized that part of it described how I feel about PL right now.

(I need) ...to be with myself in center, clarity, peace, serenity
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We got some straightening out to do
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've gotta move on with my life...

I do realize some of my feelings stem from the problems our family is dealing with now, especially between DH and myself. But I honestly believe that I have been feeling more and more ambivalent about my business for a lot longer. I'm getting more involved with the kids' activities, namely swim. I'm running for election to the Board of Directors of the swim team, and if I am elected, I am hoping they ask me to be the treasurer. It isn't as hard as it seems, since the club has a finance person, but I would still be overseeing that aspect.

With the contact list I have, I figure I could always pick it back up. But for now, doing home shows isn't fun anymore. I always said if it wasn't fun, I would stop.

State 12 & Under Swim meet

Wow! What a weekend! So I missed Friday's events. I couldn't catch an earlier flight home from Houston, and then my flight was delayed nearly 1 1/2 hours, so I got home around 12:30am. But the rest of the weekend was fantastic!

DS swam in 7 individual and 4 relay events. He finished with 5 individual ribbons and 4 relay placements, including a 3rd place finish in the 400 meter freestyle relay! It was the very last heat of the very last event on the very last day of the meet. I'm sure all the boys were tired, but our team was sick of coming in 4th or 5th throughout the meet. They all swam their fins off, and it ended up being a close race, with our boys narrowly beating out another team who had consistently beat them! DS was so proud (as were we!). Our boys were only 1 of 2 relay top 3 finishes by our team (there were 12 total relays). It was so great to see him standing on the podium. That had been his goal, to get on the podium at least once. For relays, only the top 3 are honored like that, with places 4-6 getting a ribbon. Individual races have the top 8 finishers stand on the podium, while the top 16 get ribbons.

We now have a month off. I'm looking forward to not having to chase to the pool every day! Both DS & DD have expressed some interest in doing some laps during open swim. Guess they are dedicated after all!

I'll post a pic as soon as I get one. We only had our video camera, and asked others to send us pics if they have them.

Later this month I expect to be elected to the Swim Team Board of Directors. There are 3 people resigning their positions, and 3 interested in taking on a position, so it won't be a real election. I'm looking forward to getting more involved. (Did I just write that out loud?)

**side note**
I'm really looking forward to the upcoming WI etal peep meet. Anyone is welcome. Will you be there?

Heading out...and back

Howdy y'all!

I'm about to leave to go to the airport! Heading to Houston for PL's National Conference! It will be a blast, but I think it will be the last one I attend. With everything going on in my life, I am making a conscious decision not to build my PL business. I still plan to take reorders from friends, family and customers, and if people want to do a book show, I will be happy to accomodate them. Maybe an occasional home show for a good friend. It has been 4 years!

I'm coming home early this time. Normally I stay until Sunday, but this year I'm flying home on Friday. DS is in the State Championship Swim Meet, which is held Friday-Sunday. He said it would be fine if I missed his 2 events on Friday, but not the rest. And of course, wild horses wouldn't drag me away! My original plan was to head home late on Friday, but now I am rethinking that. There are 2 earlier flights that have availability, so hopefully I can go standby on one of them, and surprise my family!

See ya soon!

Birthday weekend

Ok, I know I'm a little late in posting this, but all the kidlessness over the past week made me lazy.

I met Weltek on my birthday for a quick drink. She was on her way to visit Breezy, so I sent along 2 cupcakes and told her she had to share. She gave me a gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses! It was a lovely surprise, and they smelled wonderful. I still have a couple of them left. The goofy thing is this is the 2nd peep meet I've had with Weltek, where neither of us remembers to take a picture. Go figure.

Our family went out to dinner at Maggiano's. They offer gluten free pasta, and after the chef came out to discuss options, he made DH a yummy gluten free marinara sauce, along with the gluten free penne. I had my favorite, Zuppa de Peche. Yum.

We had a big swim meet on Sat & Sun, at which the kids did great! DS got his 5th state qualifying time, this time in the 400M Freestyle. It was the first time he swam it, and he had no problem at all qualifying. He is turning into quite the distance swimmer. DD got 3 out of 4 best times, which is great as well!

Even though it was 97 degrees, on Sunday we went to Summerfest. After surviving for 4 hours, including an hour long visit to the Cool Zone, and air conditioned room commemorating Summerfest's 40 years, we got to see INXS! We found seats in the 9th row. It was quite loud, didn't get to stay the whole time, but saw just over an hour. I got to hear most of my favorite songs, including By My Side, Afterglow and Pretty Vegas. JD was quite hot. *swoon*. I like him better with short hair, but h-o-t nonetheless. My camera has issues, especially when zooming. This is the best picture of the ones I took. Notice the open shirt at the bottom.

I also took some video. Just can't figure out how to upload it here. Tried Google & Yahoo, and they didn't seem to work. Maybe I'm just too impatient.

All in all, a very satisfactory birthday weekend!

Wahoo!

We had one of our 2 day swim meets this past weekend. Finally, all that hard work has paid off for DS. He got his first 2 individual state qualifying times! On Saturday he swam the 100 meter Freestyle and beat the state cut by about 1/2 second. Of course I was so happy I was crying a bit, but when he came up by us he totally melted as soon as he reached me, and at that point I completely melted right with him. We are so proud of him! Then on Sunday he got the qualifying time in the 50 meter Freestyle. We knew he could do that one, as he had swum 5 times in relays with a better than the cut time, but it never counted, unless he would have been the lead off swimmer. Overall he ended up with 1 medal, 5 individual ribbons and 2 relay ribbons for 1st & 2nd place!

DD had a good meet too! She swam some hard races, including the 200 meter Freestyle and 100 meter Breaststroke. In fact, she got ribbons in both of those races! She ended up with 3 best times as well. She was very gracious in congratulating her big brother on his accomplishments, although I could tell later that she was a bit envious. I reminded her how proud we are of her, and she is a different person, with different accomplishments.

DD is in summer school this week, and having a fun time. Who would have thought?!

My dad arrived on Sunday. It is good to have him here, but it also adds an additional wrinkle in our schedule. Maybe he will see how busy I am, how much I do, etc. Of course last night DH made dinner. That was a nice change too. I am working 1/2 days this week, which is also very nice. I'm going to be spoiled after this week!

Happy Chocolate Pudding Day! No skins for me please!

Eight Random Things about me

Thanks for the tag MTW! Sorry it took so long. I got sidetracked. That happens to me a lot.

1. I work 7 - 4pm, and have a hard time getting in at 7am. But I won't change to 7:30, cause then I would get out later.
2. Stupid people annoy me. Especially when they are asking me stupid computer questions. Like why they aren't getting emails from someone, when in actuality the emails are going into their spam email, and I've reminded them a bazillion times to check their spam emails daily.
3. My favorite color is green. As in Packer Green. But I lurve purple, pink and blue too.
4. I love sitting at the pool when my kids have swim practice. I used to hate it, felt I was wasting time, but now I consider it "my time".
5. I miss my mom just about every day.
6. I do not enjoy shopping much. It is more fun when I go with DD.
7. I love fruit flavored custard (as in ice cream). Especially Kopps Black or Red Raspberry.
8. Not really random, but I have to. I sell PL candles!

I tag Sharnina and Cygnus!

Happy Fathers Day

Hope all the Father's that might read my blog had a great day!

We went to church, did some shopping, relaxed at home a bit, then sent DS off to Confirmation Camp until Friday! Luckily for me, this isn't the first time he has been gone for that long. I still got a little verklempt. Then we relaxed at home some more, and went out for dinner. Culver's was DH's choice, although he would have preferred somewhere else. But DD took a 3 hour nap, and anywhere else was going to take too long.

Did you do anything special to celebrate Father's Day?

Swimming Bragging!

What fun! We got our swim pics this weekend!

Topped off a great swimming weekend. Both kids got 4 personal best times! DS is "knocking on the door of State Times" according to his coach. I'm glad he was so positive with DS, as DS was mighty frustrated after swimming both relays. He swam what would have been a state time in both of his relays, but only the first leg on a relay counts as a possible state time, and he swam 4th both times, so they didn't count. When he later swam his own individual 50 Free, he ended up 1 second short of a state time. But I told him I was so dang proud of them both, and we've got plenty of time to get those state times! After all, we have meets almost every weekend from now until the State Championship Meet the last weekend in July.

DD actually got a ribbon on one of her races! There are sooooooo many girls, that unless you are a phenomenal swimmer (DD is not), you don't usually get awards. But with this meet, they split the results into different classes of swimmers, and as a result, she got a ribbon!

DS got 3 out of 4 individual ribbons. All of them 4th place, which is just out of medal contention! Call him consistent if nothing else! He got a 1st & 2nd place with his relays, so all in all a successful weekend!

I love short weeks

So this was a good week. Maybe because I only had to work 4 days? I think I got more done these past 4 days than I did in the 2 weeks before that! Depression is mostly gone! That is because

DH is back on the wagon, and communicating with me more than ever. Also

we have a swim meet this weekend, both days, and DS is totally geared up. He is really really close to meeting the first of his goals. His goals? I asked him last night what they were. The answer? State cut times on every event. Dang. He goes from nothing to the moon in one swing! In addition

DD is growing up before my eyes. And it is freaking me out. She is maturing, but is still my little girl sometimes. And she is singing again. All.the.time. Turns out I missed it the past couple of weeks. She also starts piano lessons on June 11. Should be interesting. And finally

I've gotten over my disappointment about not going to Mexico. I am happy about that.

What are you happy about?

one step forward two steps back

So he made it 36 days.

I knew it on Sat. He seemed drunk. He denied it, but it turns out I was right.

I found a bottle in a new hiding spot on Tuesday. I left it there, and last night there was a 2nd one there. So I told him that I knew he was drinking again. Very matter of fact. No emotion, just detached facts. After his stunned silence, he admitted it. I reminded him I love him, not his actions, and asked what he was going to do about it, if anything. That I have to take care of myself and the kids, he needs to take care of himself. He said he would go to more meetings and find a sponsor. I did set a boundary that he cannot drive the kids anywhere from now on. period. I will remind him of this.

So today he called me and thanked me for 'kicking him in the butt'. Doesn't he see it? I'm not doing anything. I just bring it in the open. He referenced that at our first group meeting too, that I pushed him. WRONG. Nope, I didn't. He asked me to help him get help. According to his counselor, he hasn't bought into the fact that he can't control this. He says all the right things, but doesn't believe them, deep down. He said he relapsed because he wanted to see what it felt like. All together now, can we say rationalization?

I went to my first Al Anon meeting last night. Was quite uncomfortable, with all the people trying to give me these soft, lame hugs. But it was divine intervention again. At about 2:30, I had made a decision to find one to go to, so I found a place that worked with our schedule last night, and went. The topic was "Detachment with love". How appropriate. I had first hand experience last night, and I'm proud of myself and how I handled it.

He is lying about a lot of things now. I've found out a couple of things to prove it. But I can't do anything about it. I will try another Al Anon meeting or two, and proceed with my own well being and that of the kids.

I'm trying really hard not to be pissed about this. I know it is part of recovery, but it still pisses me off. I am sort of relieved this first relapse is out of the way. I just hope and pray he gets back on the wagon. I'm not sure he will. One of those lies was about the meetings too, so we'll see.

In the meantime, he is staying in one spot, and the kids and I are moving on. Without him for now. How sad.

Gee, this blog is good for me! Whodathunkit?!

Gotta love those All Day Meets!

Sorry, not a peep meet. It was a swim meet! Had to get up at 6am this morning so that DS could get to the pool by 7am for warmups. Thankfully a good friend whose daughter swims with DS picked us up. That way DH and DD could sleep in a bit. So after warm ups, we sat and watched other kids swim 400 yd IM (individual medley, which means 100 yd each of Butterfly, Breaststroke, Backstroke and Freestyle) and waited about 1 1/4 hours until DS actually swam in a race. 50yd Freestyle. He did FANTASTIC! His time was 1:03.90, which was 3.5 seconds faster than his previous best, and only .61 slower than a state cut time! WAHOO! Then we waited another 45 min to watch him swim the 200 yd Backstroke. His best friend was in the lane next to him. Those two are so competitive, especially when it comes to Backstroke. His friend is a better sprinter, but DS is better at long distance. Anyway, he finished just ahead his friend, finishing in 2:43.45, while his buddy finished in 2:43.97. The best part? He knocked off 9 seconds from his best time, and is less than 2 seconds off of a state time! Another WAHOO!

He ended up in 5th and 6th place overall, and got medals for his hard work. His coach said "See, all that hard work you have been putting in is paying off." I love when the coaches show encouragement too.

So then home for lunch and back to the pool for DD's portion of the meet. She was a little envious of the medals, and had hoped for one herself, but it wasn't meant to be. You see, there are over 5o girls that swim in her age group at these meets, while less than 1/2 of that total swim in DS's age group as boys. So her chances are slimmer. She did end up with a best time in her 50 yd Freestyle, and felt good about that. I'm thrilled that she is still willing to get up and swim in meets, and that she keeps having fun. I keep telling her that she is only 9, and has time to work on getting better. Compared to DS, who started swimming when he was 9, she started when she was 6, and I'm hoping will be an even better swimmer! Of course that is hard to swallow when you are watching your brother get the glory, but I give her plenty of praise and compliments too. I'm thrilled that she got 1 best time, since the last meet she didn't get any! Improvement of any sort is GREAT!

So now I'm hope, gonna make Thai noodle dinner that is gluten free, and begin another week.

Did you have a good weekend?

Reflections

When I first created this blog, I really wondered if I would ever really post anything. I have found that this place is a great form of therapy. I say things that I can say, without giving away too many details, but still get the thoughts out of my brain and psyche.

I've been dealing with a bit of depression the past few weeks. It is totally selfish, but it stems from DH coming out of the alcoholic closet, so to speak. There are so many aspects of it.

• I'm mad because our lives have so changed. First we had to deal with the Celiac disease, which has been ok, but a challenge nonetheless. Now this? I'm not a big drinker, but I certainly know how to tie one on occasionally, and most of our friends are the same. Does that mean we won't be able to do so many fun things that we have done over the past 20+ years, all of which involve drinking? I mean I don't want to tempt DH, but then I feel I am being deprived too. I've been told that I am being extrememly supportive, by his group counselor. I say all the things that I know I should, and I believe them too, but that selfish part of me is mad.
• I'm sad, because I didn't see this coming. I know DH has always drank too much. I have told him so many times, starting back in college. I even gave up drinking for a whol year once, just to prove to myself that I could. And every once in a while over the past years DH has had 'too much to drink' and I could see it, and I let him know I wasn't pleased about it. He always agreed (typical addict, I'm sure he believed it too) and would slow it down for a while, then it would happen again. But I had no idea the extent of his drinking for the past couple of months before April 12, when he finally reached out for help. And that makes me sad, guilty, mad, you name it.
• Somewhere inside of me, I am mad about not going to Los Cabos. I know that it is the right thing to do, but it still disappoints me that I am depriving myself. I know that DH said to go on my own, but first, what fun would that be? I would be constantly worried about him back here, and feeling guilty knowing that he would know what I was doing, since he was there in Aruba last year.
• Another part of me feels the martyr for having to deal with everything going on in our schedule. I know that I was doing most of it before, but at least then I could rely on DH to make dinner when I was running around to the pools, or watch DD while I was carting DS around. Now I am doing 99% of everything, and it is wearing on me. Poor dragonflies, losing her identity. But then I feel guilt about feeling martyrish, because wouldn't I rather do this now instead of having to live completely without DH? Of course!
• I've had to ask for a lot of help from other parents. They have all been very willing, even though all but one have no idea why I have to ask for help. That makes me feel guilty too.
• All of this has had an effect on the kids. I've tried really hard to keep things at home as level as possible. And they are happy they are getting their dad back. But it has had some effect. Like DS mentioned how we rarely eat as a family now. Hopefully that will change after DH is done with his intensive program to get him started on sobriety. I know he'll be going to AA meetings, but hopefully it won't be 3 times a week until 8:30 every time. Maybe some of those he can come home for dinner first. Or we can work them into our schedule a little easier.
  
• Lastly for now, I sprained my ankle badly almost 3 weeks ago. As a result of our lives, I really haven't been able to rest it much. But I don't have a choice. DH has meetings 3 times a week, and the kids still need to get to their activities. Plus I have my PL business, although I was able to switch a few things around to slow that down a bit. But my ankle still swells up every day, even though I am taking Ibuprofen all the time, and it hurts. PITA. Just enough to put me over the edge.

It is really hard for me to deal with this, as I am a strong person, an optimist. People say what a trooper I am. And I truly don't enjoy being depressed (ok, that sounds bad, like who does?). But it makes me feel ungrateful, weak, and most importantly not trusting in My Lord to take care of me. That is something I have been working on really hard the past week. Giving the things I need to into His care. I admit I haven't been doing that much lately. But I tried to focus on that this week, and I do feel better as a result!

Now that I've gone through 4 tissues, I will need to check my makeup, and get back to work! What a great therapy this blog is! Have a great weekend! I will. We have a volleyball tournament with DS tonight and tomorrow, picture day with the swim team, then the rest of the weekend to putz around out in the yard.

But don't even get me started on the Mother's Day thing. What a mixed blessing that is! LOL, I'll just enjoy it...

I'm grumpy

I've been grumpy and suffering from self pity all week. Of course, I blame it on the weather. It is supposed to be nice this weekend, like 70s, maybe 80! Hopefully that will make me feel happier.

Got any good jokes?

Change of plans

Ok, so taking into consideration recent events in my family, DH & I have decided not to travel to Los Cabos. I am totally fine with that! Earning the trip to Los Cabos was important to me, but actually going wasn't quite as important to me as my husband is. Last year, going to Aruba was a big thing, but not so much this year. Plus it wouldn't have been quite the same anyway, as a couple of good PL friends weren't going either. I still get to say I "earned" the trip, and in lieu of going, PL will give me a $500 gift certificate! More GC to help fill my candle closet!

Watch out Sammy!

PL is coming to Cabo Wabo!

Wahoo! I (unofficially) have earned my trip to Los Cabos this May! DH is going too, although his trip isn't completely free (but it is cheaper than last year!) I say unofficially, because I haven't received confirmation yet, but I crunched all the numbers, and they all add up! This pic is one of the infinity pools at one of the 3 resorts we are staying at.
I am so pumped! I worked really hard this year, and although I didn't want this trip as much as I wanted to earn Aruba last year, it still means a lot to me! I guess I'm proving to myself that I can be successful at what I do. This is just a small portion of what I do, but a part I love. And I don't neglect my family, my faith or my day job either! Of course DD isn't thrilled about us going, but she'll get over it. And my dad is once again travelling up from Florida to watch the kids, which is so great. I"m so blessed that he is willing to spend 5 days and nights with 2 growing, active, and sometimes bratty kids! DD promised she would be nicer this year. She informed me that she is "much more mature now". My dad is going to turn 77 while we are gone, so the kids and I will make him a surprise cake!

Today is also my 1 year anniversary of promoting to a Unit Leader with PL. We had a little celebration meeting at our house tonight. It was great to see some new friends and some old friends! And the Ice Cream Cake was yummy. Poor DH can't eat it though, the crunchy middle part has wheat flour in it.

It really sucks, we find so many of our favorite foods are banned for him now. Pizza is a big one. And I feel guilty eating them, especially in front of him. He has told me that he doesn't want me to feel I have to go gluten free, but I don't like to eat his favorites in front of him. Especially since this is so new to us all. We still have to go grocery shopping at the natural foods store. He is really hesitant though. I think partly because every gluten free substitute has paled in comparison to the wheat filled original. We really need to find a good white bread. I don't know that we will... I think I also need to expand our menu. It will get boring if I don't. Problem is I'm not much of a baker or cook. Guess I'll keep trying and learning.