An Open Letter to Arkansas Pro-Vaxxers

I like to use this blog to talk about many things. From time to time I come here to vent. This is one of those times. I suppose that's one of the great things about having your own blog.

I'm in Arkansas. Yep. The state that is currently claiming to have a Mumps "outbreak". Cheese and crackers, okay let's take a look at something here. According to Arkansas Population 2016 there are 2,989,573 (ish) people living in Arkansas. **I'm only throwing an "ish" on there because I'm sure more people have been born since this number was taken. OKAY, so we have a couple of different/conflicting reports on how many ACTUALLY have the mumps, within 4 hours it went from:
"There are now four confirmed cases of mumps and 48 reported cases in Northwest Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
That brings the total of reported mumps cases to 52."

to:
Friday, Springdale School District reported 11 more students had mumps symptoms, bringing the total number of infected students to 27. The district also reported two teachers have shown symptoms."

Basically some are showing symptoms, may or may not have it. Either way, let's say 60 indeed have the mumps out of approximately 2,989,573 people...you consider this an outbreak? Seriously?

1 in 68 children in the U.S. have Autism. ONE IN SIXTY EIGHT. 
More than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder

So let me get this straight. This is NOT considered troubling to you? But some MILD DISEASE is? This is so baffling to me.

Or how about the fact that between 2004 - 2015 there have been 108 deaths from the measles vaccine, but ZERO deaths from measles?!

I truly wish people would RESEARCH before popping off about vaccines. The HATEFUL comments I've seen floating around about this so called "outbreak" of mumps is ridiculous. And some of these people refer to themselves as Christian.

I do NOT care if you agree or not with another parent when it comes to their decision about vaccines. If you vaccinate, that's YOUR choice. I do hope that you did all your research and you aren't solely relying on a 5 min convo with a pediatrician. Read the ingredients, vaccine inserts (no, not the "what to expect" little sheet the nurse/doctor gives you, I'm talking the actual manufacturer insert, easily found on the FDA website) etc. If you haven't done that yet, please do. At the end of your extensive research, if you still feel vaccinating is what is best for your child...still your choice and I'm not going to judge you. At least you reached your decision after informing yourself.

If you don't vaccinate, that's YOUR choice as well. I've found through experience from meeting others that when people aren't vaccinating, they aren't for one of two reasons. 1) They have a vaccine injured child and decided to stop. 2) They did their research PRIOR to having a child and decided it wasn't in the best interest of their child.

People, you have to understand this. The government DOES NOT OWN YOUR CHILDREN. PERIOD. You need to understand that we ALL have the RIGHT to make medical decisions for our child/children. You don't have to agree with us, but you don't have to be hateful. (No, not everyone is being this way, some people genuinely respect us either way. I sincerely THANK YOU for that.)

I'm absolutely sick of seeing people say things like "I would rather my child be Autistic than dead". I can't begin to explain what a true slap in the face this is. Do you seriously think Autism is something easy to deal with, like it's a common cold? It's NOT. It's hell. Plain and simple, it can be pure hell for all parties involved. It doesn't stop at Autism. Some of these kids have other chronic issues that go with it. Seizures, delayed speech or no speech at all, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, behavioral challenges...the list goes ON.

I wouldn't wish Autism on ANY child/family. I do not enjoy watching my child struggle on a daily basis. Struggle because he can't figure out how to appropriately communicate his feelings, which leads to him becoming extremely overwhelmed and melting down. Melting down like it's the end of time, all because we try to introduce a new food and try for the umpteenth time to get him to take a BITE of a vegetable. Being screamed at, having things thrown at us, doors slamming, watching your child slap themselves because again, they can't seem to communicate how they are feeling and they can't handle the overwhelming feeling that comes with that. I watch my son and I can see it. The words are there, I can see his brain trying to process what he wants to say, but it's not working the way he wants. Having your 7 year old say through his tears, "I don't understand why I'm this way. I don't understand why I get so angry and I'm mean." It is truly heartbreaking.

I can sit here and spill my guts out to you how it is having a child with Autism, but until you LIVE it daily....YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND THIS LIFE.

I honestly do NOT care if you agree with me when I say my son is vaccine injured. Your opinion on the matter means THAT little to me. You WEREN'T there when he DRASTICALLY changed after his last set of vaccines. WE WERE THERE, NOT YOU. We are NOT the only parents who have seen changes in our children after they've been vaccinated. PLEASE, someone explain to me what we have to gain by making these claims? We've lost friends, we've lost doctors. We've gained lots of laughs, being called crazy, conspiracy theorists, idiot, don't deserve to be a parent, hope your child dies, the list of HORRIBLE things goes on.

Do you honestly think parents come out and say "hey, my child changed after vaccines" just to deal with the hellish, hateful backlash that comes with that? I'm sorry, if you think that's why we do this, you are seriously delusional.

**Yes. I'm very aware that not every parent with a vaccinated Autistic child believes vaccines caused their Autism. Yes. I'm very aware that there are non-vaccinated individuals who still have Autism. I'm not discussing those issues today, so that argument can be saved for a later date. 

And NO, Autism is NOT the only reason parents don't vaccinate. So stop with that argument. There are other vaccine injuries besides Autism. Do some of you seriously not understand that vaccines are NOT a one size fits all?

And BEFORE anyone brings up "that one scientist/doctor who lied", PLEASE educate yourself.
Dr. Wakefield NEVER said vaccines cause autism.
Dr. Wakefield is a gastroenterologist. He saw a number of children with gastrointestinal problems who also happened to be diagnosed with autism. Dr. Wakefield reported his observations. He never claimed that the MMR “caused” autism. He merely reported that a number of children he had seen had BOTH gastrointestinal problems AND autism, and according to parental report, these issues developed within a short time of when the children received the MMR vaccine.

And BEFORE you come at me with the same thing I always hear...."but...but...but....vaccines are why we don't see all these diseases anymore. vaccines eradicated disease." EDUCATE YOURSELF AGAIN on how disease was on the DECLINE prior to the introduction to vaccines. Yes, PRIOR.

I don't get it. The information IS available to you to research, yet I see so much misinformation and blatant lies being spread. People, please. Just do your research. Those of us who choose not to vaccinate can't continue to do the research for you. You're an adult, do it yourself. We do not owe you anything, we don't have to prove ourselves and our decisions to you. Take the time and actually RESEARCH.

Since I'm pretty sure the majority of you won't even bother looking into ingredients, here ya go...
This is a list I compiled, breaking down ::some:: of the ingredients:

Formaldehyde: Embalming fluid - yep, what they put into the deceased as a preservation fluid. A colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. It is used in pressed-wood products, such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard; glues and adhesives; permanent-press fabrics; paper product coatings; and certain insulation materials. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.

Fetal Bovine Serum: A common component of animal cell culture media. It is harvested from bovine fetuses taken from pregnant cows during slaughter. FBS is commonly harvested by means of a cardiac puncture without any form of anesthesia.

Recombinant Human Albumin: Human albumin is a protein found in blood plasma and recombinant means it’s genetically engineered. When this is injected, it’s been known to cause chills, fever, nausea, increased heart rate, and difficulty breathing.

Hydrolyzed Gelatin: This is collagen collected from the bones of animals, including cows, fish, poultry, and rabbits. It contains free glutamic acid (MSG) and aspartic acid, two amino acids that can negatively affect neurological health.

WI-38 Human Diploid Lung Fibroblasts: The WI-38 cell line was developed in July 1962 from lung tissue taken from a therapeutically aborted fetus of about 3 months gestational age.

MRC-5 Cells: A cell line that was developed in September 1966 from lung tissue taken from a 14 week fetus aborted for psychiatric reason from a 27 year old physically healthy woman.

Flu Vaccines -
On November 20, 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Flucelvax, which is the first U.S.-licensed (trivalent inactivated) influenza vaccine manufactured using cell culture technology.
The first two ingredients listed for Flucevax are Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell protein, MDCK cell DNA. Did you catch that? CANINE, from a female Cocker Spaniel.
Influenza (Flublok): baculovirus and host cell proteins, baculovirus and cellular DNA. What's that? Insect. Yeah, this particular flu vaccine was made using an insect cell/virus line.

Vaccines are grown and strained through animal or human tissue, like monkey and dog kidney tissue, chick embryo, insect cells, calf serum, human diploid cells (the dissected organs of aborted fetuses), pig blood, horse blood and rabbit brain. 

All this info is available to you on your favorite source, the CDC. And if you are comfortable injecting this into your children, that is your choice and your right as their parent. But STOP bashing those of us who decide NOT to. 

OKAY....sorry, back to the "outbreak". There has YET to be any sort of confirmation that non-vaccinated students have contracted and/or are showing symptoms of the Mumps. In fact, straight from the school, the non-vaccinated do NOT have the Mumps. 

Please explain to me how a child who is NOT sick with said illness can spread it? Oh wait....they can't. STOP blaming people who don't vaccinate for the inefficient vaccines that are being injected into your children. STOP telling us our children are going to or are infecting others. Children are NOT born with all these diseases lying dormant in their bodies waiting to spread to others.

From the Arkansas Department of Health "Two doses of MMR vaccine is 88 percent effective in preventing mumps, meaning there is no guarantee it will actually "work". It is a live virus vaccine and is not recommended for pregnant women or patients with a weakened immune system" DID YOU CATCH THAT? 88, not 100, but 88% effective. LIVE VIRUS. 

What does this mean? The MMR does NOT offer 100% immunity to the Mumps. A LIVE VIRUS means it CAN SHED. Are you connecting the dots yet? If you have been vaccinated with a live virus, you can walk around sharing it with others. Gee....could it be that the mumps "outbreak" is actually being caused by the very people who were vaccinated for it? Looks to be that way, the school has already commented that the non-vaccinated were NOT sent home for having mumps.

WAKE UP people.

And oh my lanta....PLEASE stop saying ignorant comments like "your kids shouldn't be allowed in public school unless they are vaccinated". Do you stop every random child in public places and make sure they are up to date on vaccines? I mean...let's be honest here, you would be kind of crazy if you did.

Are you up to date on vaccines? According to the CDC adults are largely unvaccinated. So please...tell me again how a non-vaccinated child is putting others at risk?


Another post that might interest you with more links: Find it here

DIY: Binx Cat Costume

Okay, so who doesn't LOVE Hocus Pocus? I know we do! So this Halloween Ronnie wants to be Binx from Hocus Pocus. If you haven't seen that movie....Binx is a boy who was turned into a black cat. And if you haven't seen that movie, you MUST. Yeah, I could have go to the Halloween store and bought the ears, tail and even cat paws....but I just love doing homemade when I can. It's fun and I think it makes it extra special.

So I gathered up my supplies from Hobby Lobby. I found the black sweatshirt/sweatpants at Walmart and picked up some wire hangers. I already had the headband from other craft projects, but it did come from Hobby Lobby.

So from Hobby Lobby I bought 2 sheets of black felt and 2 sheets of white glitter felt (for the inside of the ears). I also bought some black elastic and velcro to make the belt that will hold the tail. We picked up some fluffy boa wearable art, which was perfect for his wrists.

Also, some black fur that I used to make a collar piece and fur to go around his ankles. They had a large piece of black boa type material that I used to wrap around the wire hanger that made his tail.

For his tail: I bent/twisted the hanger until I got it how I wanted. I slowly but surely hot glued the feather boa material from top to bottom, until it was completely covered. I did leave a small piece of the wire hanger not covered. This part is bent to hook over the elastic belt.

For the elastic band that his tail clips on. I measured out how much I needed and then added velcro on each end. I bought velcro that had adhesive on it already, but ended up (hand) sewing it because it kept trying to come off. I ended up sewing ALL velcro pieces because of this reason.

Now for the ears:

I grabbed a sheet of computer paper and hand drew the cat ears, the black piece bigger than the white. Ronnie helped me pick how big they should be. He chose white for the inner ear "because the inside of a cats ear is white." It's easier to just fold your piece of felt and pin your paper design to it, cut around it. This cuts both ears at once and I did the same with the white felt. I hand stitched the white felt onto the black and then sewed the black ends together. Now, where my finger is pointing in the last ear picture, I put hot glue all along that area and wrapped it over the headband, just to offer some extra support. And then I sewed the ears on the headband.

For the fur collar:

I bought 2 packages of this. My first piece, I cut it half and sewed the ends together to make the fur collar. Also, sewed the velcro pieces on to help keep it in place. I took the other black fur and cut it in half. I put velcro on each end so it can connect and that makes the fur that goes around his ankles.

I used black eyeliner for his face makeup. How adorable is he though? :)

I personally think he makes the most adorable Binx EVER....and NO! I did not make him do this, that's all Ronnie.....

He makes my heart melt. He's so cute!

Anywho,

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and maybe it will give you an idea for a super easy and cute costume to make for your little one!

CHECK OUT this SUPER FUN Halloween Craft: http://healthymommatalk.blogspot.com/2013/10/outdoor-halloween-decor.html

And THIS ONE: http://healthymommatalk.blogspot.com/2013/10/outdoor-halloween-ghost-decoration.html

Homeade Egg Drop Soup

Who doesn't LOVE Egg Drop Soup? This is such a easy dish to make and it turned out so delicious!

What you need:

5 cups of Chicken Broth (I use Simple Truth Organic, from Kroger)
1 1/2 tablespoon of Arrow Root
3-4 Eggs  - whisked
3-4 Green Onions - chopped
(about - I just throw some in there) 1 teaspoon of Himalayan Fine Pink Salt 
(about - I just throw some in there) 1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
 *Optional- frozen bag of organic corn
 I added corn in my second batch of this soup and the hubs and I both LOVED it. :)

**My first batch of this soup I used 4 eggs, my second batch I went with 3 eggs. I preferred using 3, but if you like more egg use 4.

Let's cook:

-Chop green onions and set aside.
-Set aside 1 cup of broth and pour the rest in a large pot, set to medium-high. Bring to boil and stir in  Himalayan salt, chives, corn (if using) and garlic powder. Return to boil.
-Mix arrowroot with the 1 cup of broth and pour into pot, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium and boil (lightly) for around 2 minutes, soup will slightly thicken.
-Slowly pour your whisked eggs into soup, will cook immediately.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls, purchased at Kroger

Enjoy y'all!!

Autism and Plexus?!

First let me start by saying *Plexus products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.* I'm not claiming that Plexus has cured Ronnie, but it HAS helped him in SO many ways. I am NOT an Ambassador, just a happy customer! Prepare for a long post, but it's amazing seeing and now sharing with all of you how much Plexus has helped him!

I will say that I personally have seen great benefits from using Plexus products and you can read more about that here. But today, this post is all about my son, Ronnie. He's 6 years old and has Autism.

This is a typical reaction when we say "Ronnie smile" and I love it!

Ronnie has dealt with constipation pretty much his entire 6 years of life. And if your child has ever dealt with chronic constipation you'll understand when I say, it has been so heartbreaking to watch. When Ronnie was diagnosed with Autism (around the age of 3) the psychologist recommended we do a dairy free diet, at that time he was taking in large amounts of dairy. Yogurt, it was one of the few things we could get him to eat. She talked with us about how removing dairy may help improve his constipation and that "might" help improve :some: behavioral issues. So we tried. It helped some, but not enough.

We spoke with his pediatrician because despite going completely dairy free (wow, what a challenge that was) he was still having pretty severe constipation. She prescribed him Miralax and told us to give him some every day. We did this for quite some time and guess what? Still no relief. After researching, I found out that Miralax A) Shouldn't be taken daily and B) Can cause chronic constipation. Yes, you read that right, extended use of Miralax can cause chronic constipation, the one thing I was trying to help my child with.

So a friend recommended trying a probiotic. I found some chewables that luckily he could tolerate and after doing some more research I added Aloe Vera to his juice. And eventually we went gluten free. While doing all this helped improve his constipation problems a lot, he was still having problems (just not as severe). We kept with this routine for quite some time (years) until he could no longer tolerate the chewable probiotics. So I moved on to a liquid probiotic that I could just add hide in his juice.

*CUE PLEXUS*

I started taking Plexus products and LOVED THEM (read more about it here). My husband and I had to take Ronnie to the doctor because he was peeing so frequently we thought maybe a bladder infection!? Nope. It was from constipation. So I showed her my Probio5 and she gave us the green light and things have been amazing ever since. He no longer has problems with being constipated. For the first time ever my little guy isn't in pain when he goes to the bathroom and he's regular. But that's not all that Probio5 has helped him with.....
*Note, he occasionally will have a half of Slim, but he IS consistent with Probio5.

Behavior. His behavior has drastically changed for the BETTER. I cannot stress that enough. Before Probio5, it was rough around here. And that's putting it mildly. My husband had just gotten back from his assignment in Turkey, Ronnie was having problems with transitioning from one parent to two parents. Daily, we were dealing with being screamed at, slamming doors (I'm honestly surprised it didn't fall right off the hinges), throwing things, hitting, kicking, screaming, saying the most awful things, he couldn't focus and was extremely hyper. If you're an Autism parent, you'll understand when I say....they were meltdowns from hell. And as a parent I felt so awful, like I wasn't doing everything I could to help my baby. I hated seeing him like that, he didn't understand why he was behaving that way...it was hard hearing him say "I don't understand why I'm this way Momma." We aren't seeing this behavior anymore, I mean....rarely....when we do it's usually around a full moon and it's not as severe. Thank you Jesus.

Schooling. We homeschool and that journey has been rough. We began kindergarten last year. He couldn't focus, he couldn't sit still long enough to try to focus and the moment something difficult came up...he would lose it. We weren't getting much work done during the day. We ended up taking a break from homeschool for months because of his behavior, honestly....I felt like a failure. But now, we're a couple of  months back into homeschool and he's doing GREAT. He can focus better, he is much more emotionally and mentally prepared for school work and his behavior...AMAZING. When something frustrating does arise, he communicates with me instead of automatically resorting to screaming at me or melting down. Do we still have a few rough spots here and there? You bet, but it's not something that we can't manage now. Even his OT has commented on how much he's changed and how much improvement she's seeing in his sessions.

Sleep. Where do I start? Around the age of 2 sleep became such a huge problem area for Ronnie. It was a battle....a long, hard and exhausting battle. It was taking him usually around 2 hours to go down for a nap and at bedtime. I eventually gave in and did away with nap time, thinking he would fall asleep easier at night. Nope. It was still taking him up to 2 hours (usually right at 2 hours) to go to sleep. PLUS he would wake anywhere from 3-5 times a night. So it wouldn't wake my husband, I eventually just started sleeping in Ronnie's bedroom floor. I was EXHAUSTED. We took him to his pediatrician several times and kept getting the same "oh that's normal for his age, just put him in his bed and he'll go to sleep eventually." They would not hear our concerns. Before you say, "oh why didn't you just find a new doctor?" It wasn't that easy when you lived on a military base and they were short on pediatricians. I expressed my frustration and exhaustion on Facebook and a friend recommended melatonin. What a life saver that has been for Ronnie (and the tired Mom). Ronnie has been taking a total of 6 mg for quite some time now and that helps him fall asleep, but he would still have night time wakings. Now, since being on the Probio5 and thanks to our amazing Young Living Essential Oils, I've been able to back him down to 4 mg. AMAZING! He's not getting up before dawn anymore either. *insert angels singing* He's sleeping anywhere from 7 ish to 8 a.m., sometimes as late as 9 a.m. That is HUGE for him y'all. HUGE.

If you read my blog post that I linked above, you'll see that I said I ran out of Probio5 while waiting on my order....yeah, he ran out of his too. NEVER again will I let that happen. EVER. He was off his Probio5 for 2-3 days and the difference we saw in him during that time was....SO ROUGH. His constipation returned and his behavior....let's just say we weren't able to get ANY school done those days and a lot of tears were shed (between the both of us). It was hard. And it was a great reminder of how much Probio5 has been helping him!

Over the years, I've done and tried so many things to help Ronnie. It's hard watching your child, in a sense, suffer. For us, Plexus has offered a bit of normalcy and relief for Ronnie. For both of us. I hashtag this a lot because it's true, we're a #plexusforlife kind of family. I am so thankful that I took a leap of faith and tried Plexus for myself. I'm even more thankful that I introduced it to Ronnie.

So if you ever wonder why I LOVE Plexus SO MUCH and share about it a lot, THIS is why!

His first time climbing Pinnacle Mountain. My husband and I weren't sure if he would be able to handle climbing to the top. But here he is. He conquered it. He conquered it like he has so many other things in his life. I'm so proud to be his Mom.

I will continue sharing with everyone how much Plexus is changing lives, for the better! I'm so thankful God answered my prayers and helped bring something in our lives that would make a difference!

#plexusforlife

***UPDATE***
As of 10/26/15 Ronnie still CONSISTENTLY takes Probio5. When he's eaten more things we typically don't do, especially with the holiday's rolling around, we bump him from 3 Probio5 to 4. I have also started adding 1 Biocleanse to his chocolate milk (he can't swallow pills) and he drinks that at dinner. He is still seeing AHHHHMAZING benefits and I still get SO emotional when I talk about it, so it's probably a good thing you can't see me typing! ;)

Be sure you check out the updates in my blog entry about how Plexus has helped me! 

So.....Ronnie decided we needed to add a updated photo and so I said of course! I just love him to pieces! He picked this photo to share. He's going as Binx, the black cat from Hocus Pocus! :)


****UPDATE****
 12/2/15 - Ronnie still consistently is on 3 Probio5 and we have now added 2 MegaX. One during the day and one at night. He still consistently takes BioCleanse, but now between breakfast and lunch. But GUESS WHAT??? He can now SWALLOW his meds, no more mixing it in his milk! That's so HUGE for him, so YAY! :)


****UPDATE****
3/7/16 - Ronnie is still consistent with Probio5 (3 right before dinner), 2 Biocleanse between lunch and dinner and 2 MegaX. I switched giving his MegaX 1 in morning and 1 at night to taking both (2) at night. But GUESS WHAT???? As of 2/20/16 Ronnie is officially OFF Melatonin. Yay!! Ronnie had been taking it for about 4 years and was up to 6 mg. I slowly weened him down to 4 mg before MegaX and then slowly weened him completely off. He sleep beautifully....PRAISE GOD! :) 

**These statements are not endorsed or provided by Plexus nor am I medical professional; this is just my personal experience and/or research.

I DARE you to try it....

 First let me start by saying *Plexus products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.* I'm not claiming that Plexus has cured me, but it HAS helped me in SO many ways. I am NOT an Ambassador, just a happy customer!

Remember that time I got that adorable pixie cut? 

What you don't know is the reason behind that. See picture 2, I was losing chunks of hair at a time, the picture that shows the hair on the shower wall, yeah...what you can't see is there were about 3 more piles of hair lined up. This was happening every time I showered. It was so upsetting and depressing. I was so insecure about it, that many times I contemplated just shaving my hair off. No lie. Any time I was going to be out of the house, I wore a hat. But, instead of shaving my head in a moment of frustration, I got the pixie cut.

 

Now, let's talk about these pictures (which doesn't even do justice for how bad it was). I asked for prayers so many times for this miserable rash on my face. I never shared a picture of it, b/c it was embarrassing to me, I hated even leaving the house. I saw a dermatologist and he gave me some meds for it....keep reading I talk more about this in a bit.

Every where that looks red on my face in this picture, was SO raw, chapped and painful.

Cue 4th picture. The mysterious swollen leg. I saw specialist after specialist after specialist. Blood work, MRI's, X-Rays etc. I've been tested for autoimmune disorders, ruled out blood diseases/disorders (despite having abnormal labs) and still no answer. It's been almost 2 years and I STILL do not know what is wrong with my leg. The only thing that I have been told is whatever caused it, permanently damaged it. It's forever going to be larger than my other calf. The only time it changes sizes is when it swells more, which it does on my really active (running errands half the day, doing a lot of walking, exercising etc) days.

What you can't see in any picture I post....the chronic fatigue and pain that I was experiencing every single day. I would be awake maybe an hour or two in the morning and then I would have to put a movie on for Ronnie so I could crash on the couch. It didn't matter what I tried, I could not stay awake. I LIVED on energy shots. Sometimes 3 a day and I still could not function. Being a stay at home Mom of a special needs child and a homeschooler, this WAS NOT an option for me.

*Chronic pain brought on by bulging discs in my neck. Bone spurs and degenerative changes in my back. A old injury to my foot from when I broke it in 7 places, a osteochondroma in that same foot. Fractured sacrum. And the mysterious swollen leg*

At one of my follow up appointments with my Rheumatologist to go over results of the many, many tests I had done, the nurse practitioner informed me....that they still didn't know what was wrong with me. She said some of my symptoms could be Fibromyalgia and there is a family history, but at that time the doctor wasn't taking new fibro patients. So instead, she handed me some scripts to try that they use for their fibro patients. I just felt like that wasn't the right path for me. Like many of you see daily, I kept seeing posts about Plexus. And to be honest, like many of you, I was so tired of seeing and hearing about Plexus....but...

As a last resort, I ended up trying Plexus. I was extremely skeptical, I thought there is no way people are truly seeing all these results. First I started with just the Slim. A week went by and I didn't feel any different. Then two weeks went by, still felt the same. After the third week, I noticed I wasn't having problems with my insomnia (brought on by my Bipolar Disorder). I also noticed that I wasn't stiff and in horrible pain after waking up. And thank goodness, my fatigue wasn't there. Then I started to notice my sugar cravings weren't there. I wasn't going to the cabinet for handfuls of chocolate chips throughout the day.

But then I started having the face rash problem and went back to see my Rheumatologist. He wanted me to get in to see a Dermatologist ASAP to have biopsies done. And he sat me down and told me that unfortunately I was a mystery (all of my symptoms didn't point to one thing and all my tests were fine) and told me that we could try a 8-12 week steroid trial to see if it helped my symptoms. And if it did help, we would then move on to a permanent stronger prescription. Any time a doctor is willing to put me on medication WITHOUT a diagnosis, I'm saying no thanks. I didn't want a band-aid and at that point, I felt like that was all that was being offered. He felt that my immune system was seriously out of whack, but just couldn't give me an answer as to why. He also mentioned trying a cleanse to which he suggested BioCleanse by Plexus.

**The dermatologist diagnosed me with Eczema, Perioral Dermatitis, Seborrheic Dermatitis and Acne (which I would get really bad cystic acne. Acne on my chest and back)**

I thought, okay here is a doctor telling me to TRY Plexus, awesome! So I went ahead and added the Probio5 and BioCleanse to my Slim (triplex combo). WOW. What a difference this has made in my life. I sleep better, my acne is better, my stomach feels better (diagnosed with Gastroparesis as a young adult), my aches and pains feel better. I made the mistake of not ordering my Probio5 before I ran out and what happened? My acne was back, especially on my chest and my eczema immediately started to flare up, along with that horrible rash on my face. I will NOT run out of Probio5 EVER again!  When I started to work on my gut health (which contributes to over 80% of our immune system), the rest just started to fall into place.

I started seeing others post about XFactor and how it was helping thicken their hair and with new hair growth, so I added that to my Plexus regimen. I've been on it for almost a month and WOW were they right!  (as you can see in the hair picture above, no more balding)

I'm learning to live with an abnormal leg...

Do you see that? I can actually leave the house WITHOUT a hat to hide my hair loss! I'm finding new hair growth all the time it seems like and I LOVE IT!

Plexus has HELPED with my:

Acne
Eczema
Chronic Fatigue
Chronic Pain
Dermatitis Issues
Tummy Troubles
Anxiety
Insomnia
Sugar Cravings
Migraines
Lost 7lbs (that I put on thanks to all those sugary energy drinks)
Relief from my periods (that's another good blog entry I should do)

These are just my personal results, I'll blog another day about how Plexus has helped Ronnie, my 6 year old son who has Autism. I take the Triplex Combo, XFactor, Plexus Nerve (which is great for when I do get a headache or when my leg is bothering me) and Plexus Body Cream.
**As of 10/26/15 I am CONSISTENT with the Triplex Combo. I NEVER go without the Probio5


So, if you've been debating trying Plexus, Do it. I DARE you to try it. I once doubted it and my regret is that I didn't try it SOONER. You literally have no risks with a 60 day money back GUARANTEE. You can't walk into GNC and get that kind of guarantee. 

#plexusforlife

***UPDATE**** Check out how Plexus is helping my son Ronnie! 
***SECOND UPDATE*** (10/26/15)

I posted a comparison picture to my Facebook page on /10/7/15 and wanted to add it here as well. I spoke in this blog entry about losing chunks of hair and I do mean CHUNKS. The first picture in the Before pics, that's how much hair I was losing every single time I showered. The second picture in the Now pics is what I lose now. I'm SO thankful for Plexus!


***UPDATE 3/7/16*** I've recently added MegaX to my nightly routine. 

**These statements are not endorsed or provided by Plexus nor am I medical professional; this is just my personal experience and/or research.

Bag Burst Science Experiment

Looking for a fun Science experiment to do with the little ones? The kiddo and I both enjoyed this. We started out with a smaller bag first and the decided to go bigger. Because, why not?

If you're doing the smaller ziplock bag, here's the recipe:

Put 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a small torn of square of a napkin. Fold the napkin into a little packet. In your ziplock bag add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Go outside, put folded napkin inside bag and quickly close bag, you may need to give the bag a little shake. Then the bag will slowly start to fill up and after a few seconds should pop.

We got a bigger pop when we used a gallon size bag. The recipe for that size is:

Tear a napkin in half and add 1/2 cup of baking soda, make napkin packet again. In your gallon size bag, add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of vinegar. We added some food coloring to our second bag. Again, go outside and add packet. Zip bag close, give a little shake and enjoy! :)

Glazed Sugar Cookie Muffins

Oh. My. Yummy. Seriously y'all. These Sugar Cookie Muffins are so delicious, easy to make and they're gluten/dairy free.

Have you seen my Gluten/Dairy Free Sugar Cookie Donuts recipe? I used that recipe to make these muffins, so be sure and check it out! I baked for 14 mins total.

For the topping you need:

2/3 cups Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (Vanilla)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon 
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice 

4 tablespoons Melted Butter (I use Earth Balance)

Melt butter. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Dip the top of your muffins in the butter and then in your dry ingredients bowl. Set aside. *I had dry ingredient mix left over, my little guy and the hubs ate some of the muffins the night before. You don't have to make these a day before eating, I did so I wouldn't have to worry about baking them that morning.

Now for your glaze.

You need to melt 3 tablespoon butter (again I used Earth Balance) in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Then add about a 1/2 cup of your Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (Vanilla) (I just eyeballed it, did a little less than 1/2 cup). Next add 1 teaspoon Organic Vanilla Extract and 2 tablespoons Organic Cane Sugar (I picked both of these ingredients up at my local Whole Foods). Mix well!

We spooned our glaze on just one muffin at a time and refrigerated the rest of the glaze for when we're ready for another delish muffin!

So yummy y'all, hope you enjoy!