The Peanut Evaluation

My son has allergies.  It took us a while to figure out he had them and then when we got him tested he was positive on about everything food-wise you can throw a stick at.   Over time, his immune system became more mature and many of those allergies faded or went away altogether.

One of the pediatricians seemed concerned about the allergies some time back.   Then, the next wellness check when we saw our favorite doctor, she said, "the levels he tested at just weren't that high.  I'm not that concerned."  I decided I liked the, "let's not be too worried about this" attitude.   I wanted to do the reasonably safe thing, but I didn't want to exclude all sorts of foods he had a mild, non-breathing related reaction to only some of the time.  

And that's how we proceeded.   Over time his food sensitivities (which may be a better way to describe them than "allergies") got better and better.   He only had one real nemesis: peanuts.   They would make his mouth an itchy mess and two days later his skin would show up with a bad case of eczema.  We were told his type of allergies was not such that he would be at risk for an anaphylaxis reaction so we didn't have to worry about life-threatening breathing problems.

My son preferred to avoid nuts.  I didn't blame him.  He mostly did this by asking us if a thing had nuts in it.  We could have used this to our advantage, telling him something we didn't really want him to have (candy) was nut-laden.   But we refrained from the easy out of parenting though and tried to put nuts in a positive light, saying he wouldn't be allergic to them always and that some people liked nuts very much.

In the meantime, we had Biscoff spread and Sun butter instead of peanut butter.   We avoided all the other things that come with nuts such as, breads, brownies, cookies, pies, cakes, salads, almond milk, etc.   On occasion, I would do a little test to see how his reaction was faring.   About eight months ago I gave him a piece of peanut brittle that didn't have a peanut in that part.   He liked it.  He didn't, however, like the next part that had a part of a nut in it and then wanted to make his mouth stop itching.

Of late my son has been asking me if he can have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  He's been asking about peanuts and he's been interested in trying them when I talked to him about doing another test.   Today we decided to do that test.   I got him a large glass of water and explained that in this case, it was absolutely okay to spit his food out, especially if it made his mouth itchy.

I showed him a container of peanuts (something we don't normally have, but happened to get over the holidays.)  His sister tried two and thought they were okay.    He took one, took a bite, chewed it, put the rest in his mouth and then swallowed it...all while I was holding my breath.

He said he liked it.   He said it didn't make his mouth itchy.  He was happy.   I was elated.   We hugged and I told him how excited I was.    Then he started making this funny mouth noise and I started to panic.

"Are you okay?  Does it itch?  Do you want some water," I said?   He took the water and swallowed some and then told me, "the peanut is stuck in my teeth."   Oh.  Okay.  I gave him a lesson on how to swish water around in your mouth to try and dislodge food from your teeth, which was amusing to watch him do.

I'm not done with the peanut tests, but I'm pretty excited about the results of our test today.

The Big Boy Update:  My son told me, after eating the peanut today and having no allergic reaction that, "when I'm five-years-old I won't be allergic to cats anymore."   I told him that sounded like a good plan to me.  On New Year's Eve, we were at a party at a friends house where my son had had a bad cat reaction before.  To prepare, we gave him a small dose of Benadryl.   That night, not only did he spend time in the room the cats stayed in, he was jumping up and down and playing on the cat tower and was fine.   So, his prediction may turn out to be true, who knows.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter has had this little scooter she rides around in the house all the time.  It's never been outside so the wheels are nice and clean.   My son isn't as good as she is, but she makes up for it in enthusiasm and total time spent on the scooter.  What she hasn't mastered is how to press the brake and stop.   Since we have only so far she can go before a wall or door or furniture gets in the way, she's never really needed the brake.  Today though she became interested in the brake and spent a lot of time braking.   She said to me, "I did the brakes, mommy!"

Into The Woods

This post is not about the movie that's out right now with the same name as this post title.   This post is about what happened this afternoon.   I am going to warn you right now that you may well want to stop reading.   Come back tomorrow when I'll be writing about cute, funny things my little horrors got up to while I was on the phone.

This afternoon started well.  We had planned a long run at about two o'clock.  My husband had a home inspection to go to so we had a sitter come to watch the children while my neighbor, Uncle Jonathan and I went off on an eighteen-mile run.

We left almost on time and hoped to be back before it got dark.   You remember how I run slowly, right?   I do.   My neighbor does as well (although I suspect she is faster when I'm not around.)  Uncle Jonathan, well, he's sort of like a dashing lightning bolt when he runs but he said he'd join us for the conversation.

That's where this starts to go downhill.   Let me say first though that my neighbor has this problem that happens when she runs.    She used to apologize for it, but now she understand we don't mind at all.    Her problem involves tissue paper and a hidden spot in the woods.   And let me tell you, she comes prepared with the tissue paper.     For our eighteen-mile run she had not one but two ziplock bags full of tissue paper.

Having this problem when running is apparently not as uncommon as you might think.   Some people have a problem with their stomachs and have to be very careful what they eat or they'll get sick when they run.   I'm fortunate in that I can eat about anything before a run without issue.   So for me, I don't have a problem with things coming up or down while I run.    I'm lucky.

My neighbor has this whole thing down by now.    She had dashed off twice already while Uncle Jonathan and I ran ahead some and then back after a bit to reunite.   I really don't know how she does it, clambering over the logs, limbs, decaying leaves and other woodsy things to find a somewhat secluded spot.    We run on a fairly busy trail, so sometimes it takes a bit to find a break in the passersby to make your dash for the woods.

Today, something was rumbling on my end though.  (I told you it was going to be one of those posts, why are you still reading?)  I tried to ignore it, but we were seven miles in and we had eleven miles to go and I realized, for the first time, I was in trouble.    There are no bathrooms on this trail or anywhere close to our running path.

I told my running partners I was going to have to, for the first time, make my own trip into the woods.  I needed advice.   How did she pick a spot?  How far did she go in?   What should I avoid?   There were other questions but I truly don't think I can write them here.    What gets talked about on the run,  stays on the run.   And those questions needed to stay deep, deep in the woods.

Her advice was interesting though:  she said she went for higher ground rather than lower ground because she noticed people looked down at the trail when they ran or biked by and didn't look up often.   She told me what type of cover to look for and how far to go back.   I asked about a particular location and she said that would be ideal.  Then she handed me the bag of tissues and said, "use them sparingly."

I am going to skip the next bit of the story but suffice it to say I came back with less tissue than I went into the woods with.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The Big Boy Update:  My son and daughter went to the bathroom with me at lunch today and we went into the large, family bathroom available.  My son went first and stood up.   My daughter wanted to stand up but couldn't, she said, because she didn't have a penis.   My son told me, "hey, I want girls to have a penis."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter is good at reading a book to herself.   She makes up a story that goes with the pictures and is quite satisfied with how she decides the story ends.

Fitness Update:  Eighteen miles and a special visit into the woods today.

The Tiny Corner

We have this chair in our bedroom that's angled against a corner.  It's a sofa-chair type chair with a solid rectangular back that makes a nice connection with the wall.   The chair itself is two big cushions that come off easily to make forts and other things children imagine they might be useful for.

For a while, my children couldn't get behind the chair.   Then, when they managed to get back there, they couldn't get out.   That was fun for a while.   Now, they climb back and forth, in and out, up and over the chair on a regular basis.   The pillows are in regular demand for all kinds of fun adventuresome-things, but the best part of all is that triangular space behind the chair.

I have two fairly small children at three- and four-years-old but I'm continually impressed how they can both get back into that little triangle play land.   In addition to their bodies, they bring a large back roller they use for a, "cast" that's beside my nightstand.   They commonly bring the dog's leash and collar and sometimes they throw in a backpack full or items.  

The thing that I didn't believe though was how they were both huddled in the little space, hidden behind the chair completely, watching a show on the iPad they had snuck from the drawer when they didn't have permission.

The Big Boy Update:  On the way to school my son suddenly started counting in Spanish.   He got up to six and said, "that's all I know."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  This is the first year my children really "got" Christmas.   Yesterday morning my daughter asked me, "is it Christmastime yet?"  I think they may have enjoyed Christmas too much.

Fitness Update:  First gym visit this year.   It was good to see my friends, including our trainer, after the holidays.

Question Everything

Spring has sprung.   It must be time to start that spring cleaning.   Wait, it's not spring there?   It was sixty-three degrees here today.   Perhaps the temperature is to blame for my spring cleaning fever then.   I've caught something at any rate and I'm in fever of organization.

My brother-in-law, Eric, texted me yesterday saying his wife, Kelly, was going through the entire kitchen, organizing every cabinet, saying visiting our house the prior week had inspired her to do some organizing when she got home.  I texted back that I was doing the same thing here.

For some reason I'm in what I like to call, "question everything" mode.  I look at a drawer, cabinet, closet, shelf, room and everything in it and ask myself questions like:  why are these things stored here?   Is this the best place for these items?  Do I even need this thing?   If I don't need it now, do I want to keep it for later?  If we don't need it any more, is there someone who does need it?

When I'm done asking these questions in my mind, things start to move around.   Things change.  Today I went through my desk drawers and found most of the items didn't need to even be there.   The things I need most at my desk (paper for the printer and envelopes) somehow seemed to be in the next room and things I never used (empty iPad and iPhone boxes) were for some reason taking up an entire drawer.

With the desk drawers done, I moved on to the bar in the basement.   We had three fly swatters in one of the drawers there.   Was there a fly invasion sometime in the past that could only be combatted by three fly swatters?   There were about thirty other "things" that got re-assigned to other, more appropriate or useful areas of the house.

I informed my husband I was in one of my "let's organize the whole house, yay!" moods again.   He was super excited (I could tell.)  I explained I'd be doing a push of things to the basement mechanical room and the attic for the next several weeks.   Things like those empty iDevice boxes would go there for re-evaluation once the rest of the house had been gone through.  As long as I don't mess too much with my husband's mechanical room (and associated storage space) he lets me organize in peace.

My husband's been doing a bit of organizing lately as well, although his has been all digital.   His email of many years is tied to an ISP we're moving away from.  That same email is also associated with many, many online accounts.    He's been diligently changing a few each day and I think he's almost through his large list.   I'm going to buy him a beer to celebrate when he's done.

Tomorrow the children go back to school and I'll go back to organizing.   Who knows what I'll find in all of our stuff?

The Big Boy Update:  My son asked me today, "mom, what does love mean?"  I did my best to explain.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I asked my daughter if she had wiped her mouth after she'd finished eating something messy.   She said to me, "when I get my tongue out, I can clean my lips."  She then demonstrated and very nearly got a tenth of the icing off her smeared face.

Happy Meal Toys

I loved to go to McDonald's when I was a child.   I have very fond memories of going there for a special treat after the school play when I was in elementary school.   When I was older, our McDonald's got a drive through and you could get your happy meal and if your mom or dad wanted to pay extra, you could get the collectable glass with your order.

There were toys in those happy meals.   My mother always joked that I could put whatever little piece of plastic contraption/puzzle/toy was included before she had gotten to the instructions to read how to assemble it.  I don't really remember what the toys were that came in the happy meals, but I remember mostly playing with them from time to time and then throwing them away.   Years later, I heard some people had kept their entire collections and could sell them for something like twelve dollars (or perhaps it was more) on eBay.

Then there was that time when you could get Beanie Babies with your happy meal.   Or maybe you had to buy them as extras.   Either way, that was a craze I was thankfully too old to care about so I missed it completely.

What I do remember was that those happy meal toys were always something little, but nothing really special.   Today, the happy meal toys at McDonald's are serious business.   They do interesting things.   Some have batteries and now, they even have their own video games with them.

That's right, you go and get that three-dollar-ish happy meal for your child and you get a cool toy that will last a long time because it's built not to break like those dollar store toys.   And the battery-based toys are good too: we still  have one that still sings when the button is pressed a year-and-a-half after getting it.

But let's get to this free video game bit.  There are series of toys that are happening at any given time.  Usually they're movie-based because hey, it's all about merchandising and advertising, right?   There are boy toys and girl toys (you'll get asked which you want when you place an order for a happy meal.)  And no offense to the girls out there, but don't bother with the girl toys.   They're usually cute, but a lot of times don't do anything.   In my household, we like things that do stuff.

So you get your toy from the Lego movie or the item from the Spy Gear series and your child opens it and runs about with it for a while.   While they're doing that, download the McPlay app on your phone or tablet and open it up.    Then have your child bring that toy back over to you for a minute.   Tell the app that you have a happy meal and it will turn on the camera on your device.   You hold up the toy and angle it to match the overlaid picture on the screen.   When you get it just right, their recognition software confirms you have the toy, the app makes some happy sounds and disco, you have a new video game your little happy kid can play on your device.

You know what's coming, right?   This is one of those, "when I was young..." posts.  And yeah, wow. Some of the toys that come for free with a meal these days are ones I would have saved up cereal tops for and mailed off only to wait eight weeks for arrival.    And video games?   Don't even get me started.   When video games were around when I was older, they were a precious and much coveted commodity.

A lot has changed since I was a child, including the food in those happy meals.   Today my children do eat fries and nuggets, but they also eat apple slices, yogurt and drink milk.  So I'm a fan of the McDonald's Happy Meal.

The Big Boy Update:  Volcanos and Lava.   My son did not want to watch a cartoon this evening or a kids movie.  Instead, he asked my husband to put back on the show with the volcanos and lava.   My husband searched Netflix and found that the show Nova had an episode titled, "The World's Deadliest Volcanos."   When he asked if that's what my son wanted, my son said that it was.  He watched the show until he fell asleep on the couch after bedtime.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was shopping with me at Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday.   As we approached the register I got out the slew of discount coupons that have been stacking up in our coupon holder.   She said to me, "can I help you with the poocons?"   I explained to her she could call them, "coupons" but no matter what I (or the two very nice ladies behind me) said, she was sure they were called, "poocons."

Fitness Update:  Seven miles.   I got a twenty-four hour something or other and twisted my ankle so it's been a bit since I did anything other than eat holiday food and celebrate the new year.    My pace was poor, but I was out there.

The Quiet Game

We were going to dinner the other night with a full car.   In the front seats were my husband and Uncle Brian, the children were in the middle row and Uncle Bob and I were in the third row.   We were trying to talk about something across the three rows as adults.   I don't really remember what the topic was, but I do know we couldn't hear each other because the children were very, and I mean very, loud.

They may well have been yelling, I'm not sure, but I know it was louder than it should have been in the car.    Sometimes when we're alone, without a car behind us and we're not running late, we'll do things like stop the car and put them on the side of the road until they calm down.    This is only if they don't quiet down with a calm reminder that we use inside voices in the car.   In this case, they had energy and they were unable to express it physically while being restrained in car seats.    I understood, but we still needed to get them to quiet down.

My husband said, "let's play the quiet game."   We'd tried this once or twice before so it was new and rather novel to them.   Immediately everyone got quiet but after ten or fifteen seconds mumblings from the adults or giggling from the children happened and round one was over.

"Let's play again.  Okay, on the count of three, everyone be quiet," my husband said.   As he counted down to one, we all became quiet in anticipation of the game starting.   About a second into the silence, my daughter loudly yelled out, "quack!"   We all couldn't help but laugh and round two was over.

For the rest of the rounds, "quack" always followed, "three" and our game became rather moot.   I have no idea what prompted my three-year-old to yell quack, but if you ever need the quiet game to be over quickly, it's a sure fire way to end the game.

The Big Boy Update:  Uncle Bob was making soup for our family the other day.   My son asked him, "Uncle Bob, are you making feel better soup?"   Uncle Bob told him he was.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   Our family left yesterday.   After Uncle Bob and Uncle Brian headed off to the airport, my daughter asked us, "where is Uncle Brian's bed?"  Aunt Kelly said she'd go downstairs with my daughter to look in the bedroom.    Uncles Bob and Brian had taken their things with them, so the room was back to its regularly unoccupied state that's sometimes slept in by Uncle Jonathan.  My daughter came back upstairs and said, "It's uncle Jon's bed again."  It was very sweet how she said it; you could tell she was said Uncle Brian had gone.

The Tree Helpers and Boring Normal

Our family all left either last night or this morning.   Our house, with only four people, seems almost empty.   My husband used the remainder of the day to de-holidayize our home.   Outdoor lights were taken down, Christmas decorations were put in boxes and year-round items came back out.  Overall, I think it takes a lot less time to get things put away than it does to get them out.

We're now back to our "boring normal" home and family.   I will miss the busy buzz of a full home, but it's also nice to be back to our regular routine.

As far as cleanup goes, my son and daughter each helped in their own way with the trees...

The Big Boy Update:  Not the star!   My son was watching my husband take the ornaments off the tree with interest.  He was playing with some of the items and being warned that some were more delicate and needed to be held carefully.    When my husband took the star off the top of the tree, my son got angry at him.   I don't know if he didn't want the holidays to be over or if he just liked the tree.   Soon enough he was back playing with other things and I'm hoping has forgiven dad for dismantling the tree.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter only wanted to help with one tree: the lollipop tree.   What she really wanted to do was eat the lollipops, but I told her instead, she could help take all the lollipops down and put them into a bag.    For the next half-hour my daughter slowly pulled of all the lollipops and sorted them into color piles.    She debated if some were more orange or red.  (There were multiple brands and some colors were a bit ambiguous.)  She took a break after getting three of the colors into the bag but came back in a bit to finish the job.   Then, she wanted to help dismantle the lollipop tree.  She knew it collapsed down, but wasn't sure how it worked so we did it together.   When everything was put away, she was very happy having helped, and had completely forgotten about eating any of the suckers.