Thursday, February 27, 2014

Ah, domesticity

Well, as my luck would have it, as soon as I wrote my last post about getting back on track, our house has been struck down by plague.  Not the actual Plague, but some sort of sickness that gives the kids a fever, runny nose, and cough, but doesn't seem to slow them down or prevent them from making enormous messes.  They've been sick since Monday (but I didn't realize it was a real thing until they got their fevers on Tuesday).  Ah, it's been lovely.  Also, it rained!  Which is awesome!  But between the sickness and the rain, I have barely been able to exercise.  Luckily, thanks to my husband working from home a couple days this week, I was able to get out a few times anyway.

So.  It has been a rough week. To say the least.  Yesterday, knowing it was going to rain and I'd be stuck inside with the kids all day, I decided to defrost our leftover Thanksgiving turkey to make turkey soup (good for the sick kids!), I baked 12 loaves of French bread (probably will not do again for a while, at least not with the kids underfoot), and made a bunch of pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins.  Which my sweet-tooth son will not eat because he's worried that eating unhealthy food will give him a stomach ache.  Sigh.  I feel like a domestic goddess.  But four days of having sick whiny kids is taking its toll, and the TV is getting turned on more than I'd normally like, but right now I don't mind at all.

I've been thinking about my health issues again, lately.  I mentioned that I wanted to try gluten free, then I chickened out, but it's on my radar again.  On one had, I have no hard evidence to support that I have a gluten intolerance.  On the other hand, what can it hurt?  Besides completely changing the way I eat and cook for a while.  Still, I'm seriously considering it, and considering bringing it up with the doctor.

I talked to my sister about my hip pain and she mentioned trying yoga.  I have not had time to try an actual class, nor am I sure I want to just yet since at the moment I'm only looking at specific yoga poses that will help with the hip pain and I don't want to spend an hour in a class that may or may not cover those poses, but I am dabbling.  Here is the specific article that inspired me, since this is EXACTLY my ailment (a painful, stiff left hip after running).  So far I'm only really doing the pigeon pose, since out of the other two, one is too hard for me at the moment, and the other doesn't seem to do anything for me, but man, just that one is really helping.  I try to do it twice a day and hold the stretch for several minutes at a time, although sometimes I only manage it once per day.  This morning I ran 2.5 miles, then did the stretch almost immediately after (instead of waiting until later), and I have been more or less pain-free all day, which has almost never happened in the last 6 months.

So I am hopeful.  I would like to work some yoga and meditation into my daily routine, but I'm not sure how.  For one thing, I need both a time and a place to do it, and with two 3-year-olds in the house, finding both of those things is tough.

So - for my chronic hip pain, I've discovered yoga and I'm considering a potential gluten-free experiment.  I feel happy to have some options.  And I'm hoping the gluten-free experiment might help with a few other things, like the digestive issues, achy joints, and fatigue.  Although it seems like a lot of those things could be chalked up to having small children.  Ha.

Anyway, the cleaners are coming tomorrow, and it's late, and the house is a mess because of the aforementioned sick whiny kids not going to preschool all week, so I better get hopping.

2 comments:

  1. I had the same type of hip pain you are talking about for a while (so painful and debilitating!), and yoga and regular massage really did help.

    BTW, I was thinking of you yesterday because our nanny was sick and I had to stay home from work and take care of my sons solo all day. (Even on the weekends I am rarely on my own with them for 9 hours in a row like that, since my husband and I are usually together or switch off a few hours here and there.)

    I don't know how you SAHMs of twin toddlers do it day after day! I was truly relieved to get back to the office today after being home with two less-than-healthy little guys all day. I got almost nothing accomplished, and my patience was sorely tested on several occasions.

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  2. I know what you mean about having sick kids in the house affecting your productivity. Thankfully, (knocking on wood here), other than a small bout with the sniffles, the wee-lings have been healthy all winter.

    About the gluten-free thing... I don't want to discourage you because it is a necessary diet change for a large number of people, but it isn't easy and it can bring up other problems. If you are buying gluten free products be sure to be watching the sugars in them. By nature, a gluten free diet is higher in sugar and carbs (rice flour is higher in sugar than whole wheat, etc).

    Good luck with the yoga! I have never really tried it, but I have a couple of friends who swear by it for pain relief.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!