Oops

So I just got a FB message from a friend asking if I blog and where. As I replied, I realized it's been a while. Sorry. I've made a few more blankets and read 30 some odd books on the Kindle. We bought Chaser his own Nook. For the record, the Kindle is better. But don't tell Chase...

Cassie isn't really napping much anymore. Right now she's upstairs and quiet. She could be sleeping. Or she could be coloring all over herself like she was yesterday when she was supposed to be napping. Frankly, I'm afraid to go see.

UPDATE: She was napping and I woke her up. Awesome. I started this post during "nap" yesterday and am finishing while I watch Cass and babysit my niece, approx. 21 hours later. This may be why blog posts are few and far between. Life gets in the way. Last night after dinner I went to yoga (I joined a gym and gained five pounds. And lest you assure me it is "muscle" b/c muscle weighs more than fat, I'm pretty sure muscle wouldn't make my tush jigglier and jeans tight. More likely the mentality of "I just busted my butt at the gym, so I'm going to eat these Girl Scout Cookies" is catching up w/me), came home and fed the kids (again), got the kids in bed, read a bit and collapsed in bed. This morning was school drop off, shopping (Easter & grocery), hardwood mopping, preschool pick up, lunch, babysit niece while neighbor kid mows, catch up on email & various correspondence. Tonight is a baseball game for Chase (dear God, please rain after recess but before he gets home) 30 minutes from here less than an hour after he gets home. When I called his BFF to see if he could go w/them, I ended up getting to take along the BFF w/us instead. At some point in there I must make and serve a delicious but nutritious dinner.

I saw SAHM = vacation on Facebook today. Does that sound like a vacation to you? I could really use room service and a maid, but I've got a baseball uniform to find, laundry to put away and carpet to vacuum. Maybe I just need a wife....

SLACKER

I'm currently reading Rummy's memoir and loving it. I think it is even better than W's memoir because it gives a view of American politics over the last 50 years. As a politics/history buff, it's a great read for me!

When I bought Known and Unknown, I also got a Kindle. It was my Valentine's Day present from Jamie. I'm loving it, but not as much as Chase is. He read for 6 or 7 hours straight yesterday. That's not a typo. He is completely obsessed with the Percy Jackson series right now. All he wants to do is read--it reminds me of myself at his age, when my mother would kick me off the couch and make me go outside to play. That kid is SO his mother's child!

Since he's been using the Kindle, I've been on a bit of a crochet tear. I made Cassie a new blanket (v-stitch) and Jamie a blanket (also a v-stitch w/six pounds of yarn, my biggest blanket to date and the current family favorite). I also made two baby blankets (1 large granny square and 1 waffle weave) and a baby hat to match one of the blankets. I'm working on a third baby blanket right now. There is no shortage of baby boys due to friends this spring/fall, so I've got plenty of stuff to make!

I joined a gym a few weeks ago and am loving the Zumba and yoga classes offered. I'd forgotten how much I loved yoga classes--it just doesn't compare to a tape at home!

Naptime for Cass means crochet (and laundry) time for Mama. Per my last update--the Allergy Mama's chocolate chip cookies are the new hands down favorite around here. They were a HUGE hit at church yesterday, too!

Adjusting

 I'm reading these two books and LOVING them! Decision Points is a fascinating look inside W's Presidency. Since I'm a fan of 43, I don't know if haters would enjoy the book. I am enjoying it tremendously. So much so that Cassie's new unicorn pillow pet is named George.

We are adjusting to a dairy-free life with her. Since she was already peanut/tree nut-free, the real challenge of her recent testing was eliminating dairy. It's been quite an adjustment for me (as the primary shopper and preparer of food in our household), but Cassie has adapted BEAUTIFULLY. She loves chocolate rice milk, loved soy pudding, liked strawberry soy yogurt, eats veggie slices american cheese daily--she has adjusted beautifully. Last night I made chocolate cake from the Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. I iced it with Pillsbury Chocolate Icing (yes, it is dairy-free). It was a hit. So were her chocolate crinkle cookies tonight. My only complaint is that there is no calorie/fat/nutrition information for the recipes. That would elevate the book to just about perfect in my eyes. My true test comes tomorrow when I take some of the cake and cookies over to Dad's house. The immediate family gave the cookies and cake a thumbs up. Chase's friend Cody who was over tonight also enjoyed the cookies, so much so that I sent some home with him.

We are adjusting. It is a new way of life, but we are making our way...

Allergy Update

So Cassie's allergy testing was yesterday. Some of the news was better than I anticipated: her peanut allergy isn't life-threatening and she isn't a candidate for shots (for her tree pollens & mold allergies) b/c of her eczema. The rest of the news was bad beyond my expectations: she is just as allergic to milk as she is to peanuts and she has a life-threatening allergy to tree nuts. We knew she was allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. But to hear her doctor say "A walnut could kill her..." Unless you've been there, you can't possibly imagine the abject fear that strikes into a mother's heart.  Until she is capable of advocating for herself and reading labels, I am what stands between her and an anaphylactic reaction to a seemingly innoculous food, innocently given to her by someone unaware of her allergy. Or a loved one who didn't read a label. Something that simple could kill my kid. I'm a control freak on a good day. At this point, if I could get away with putting her in a bubble to go through the rest of her life, I would. Parents want to protect their children. But I can't put her in a bubble. So we'll learn to manage it as best we can and pray that we never need to use her Epi Pen.

I'm now in the process of learning how to provide her with a diet completely free of dairy, peanuts, and tree nuts. The allergist thinks dairy is the main cause of her eczema. While not life-threatening, it is a constant source of irritation to her. So the obvious way to rid her of that constant irritant is to rid her diet of dairy. I made my first trips to Trader Joes and Whole Foods last night. Trader Joes was disappointing. I did not find the store to be any more tree nut friendly than my local grocery stores. Most of the dairy free stuff was not tree nut safe. Whole Foods was more promising. I bought two types of rice milk (Cassie has already enjoyed the chocolate variety), soy pudding, veggie/vegan cheese, soy yogurt, rice milk yogurt & veggie mac & cheese. I didn't buy a lot of stuff, but I bought enough to sample and figure out what she likes and what is worth the return trip (all 40 miles round trip of it). It is going to be an ongoing process. I have a real level of concern about the effects of soy on her little system. But I have to weigh those concerns against what cow's milk is doing to her body right now. It sucks. I'm doing the best I can with the resources and information I have.

The Calm Before the Storm

Yesterday I visited all three Targets within a 5 mile radius of my house. That might be a record. I knocked out the last bit of shopping for my kids (Cassie, specifically), picked up a bday gift for a friend of Chase, and found a pair of fabulous booties for me! Plus assorted other things: candy canes, bottled water, a white dress on clearance for Cassie for the Christmas play tomorrow at church--she's an angel.

The kids and I sandwiched lunch w/dad yesterday between trips to Target, which was nice. Then we headed home. Cass took a nap and I went on a cooking/baking binge. I made two pies (chocolate ribbon & pumpkin layer), a broccoli cauliflower & cheese casserole, enchiladas for dinner, and a loaf of cranberry bread. One of the pies and the casserole are for a funeral at church today. The other pie and bread are for church tomorrow (we're coffee hosts--I need to make one more thing today but have to buy eggs). Dinner was pretty good, a great way to use up leftovers! I did the Shred (level 3, w/heavier weights), made my third (and final) Target run, then walked Sherman. Today Chase has a birthday party, and I've got that funeral at church to help out with after doing my leg of the bday party carpool.

I am LOVING my new booties. It amazes me how the older I get, the stuff I crave gets simpler and simpler. Since I am perpetually cold from October-April, I live in booties (or super fuzzy socks) at home.The soles in my pair from last year were shot but I was reluctant to spring for a new pair until I saw bright red ones on sale yesterday! I'm so glad I did! Toasty toes make me happy.

On the First Day of Cycle Break...

My QOTD today is courtesy of my Dad, who said "Do they have to fight over EVERYTHING?" as the kids were engaged in a shoving match over a keyboard at his house. Clearly the man has blocked out living with Mikki and me for 18+ years or he would know the answer to that question is, without question, "YES!"

Life, at the moment, is good. Chase is playing at a friend's house. Cass is napping. I'm procrastinating treadmill time. Despite my best efforts, the scale is about 3 lbs heavier than I would like. Jamie and my Dad say it is muscle from the strength training I've been doing. But I don't like the numbers. So I'm stepping up my workout efforts. Yesterday the dog got a walk outside and I did Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown. Today I'm thinking the treadmill alone should do it. I wonder if I could use the laptop/Hulu and catch up on Glee...that would be a good 45-50 minute workout!

I went on a cooking binge yesterday: soup, white chili & pork shoulder. We'll have pulled pork for dinner tonight and I've got leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. Nothing better than hanging in the kitchen by a warm oven when there are frigid temps outside! Have I mentioned lately how much I love my kitchen?

Enough procrastinating. Off w/the jeggings, into some sweats. I bought the coziest cocoon sweater at Target Saturday morning off the clearance rack. I LOVE IT! So does Cassie--there is enough sweater here to wrap her up with me! We had her Christmas "recital" this morning at dance--I'll post pics once I have them uploaded. Remind me of how cute she was today when she's a smartass teenager, would you? B/c I loved being a girl mom and seeing my little elf dance this morning!

'Tis the Season...

Ho...ho...ho! Tis the time of year when I usually post a tongue in cheek review of our year in honor of all the "our lives are so perfect, don't you wish you were us" Christmas letters sent round the world. Yet after the week I've had, reality is so much crazier than anything I could make up! Saturday, Chase had an allergic reaction to Nita's cat that sent him to the ER. Allergy testing on Tuesday confirmed that he is seriously allergic to cats. Fortunately, he isn't allergic to anything else so he can avoid shots so long as he avoids cats! But guess how many holes were poked in his arm to discover this? The next day, Cassie ended up at the doctor. All we needed was a urine sample. Unfortunately her will is as iron-clad as her bladder, so she ended up experiencing a catheter. Much to my surprise (and her doctor's), she didn't have the UTI we suspected. If life were a Jeopardy game, I'd have pointless invasive medical procedures for $2000, Alex. Needless to say, I'm batting about 0 with my Mother's Intuition right now.

From what I've seen of him, Jamie is well. He got back from a week of hunting in Kansas on Sunday night and has been playing catch up in the office ever since. His one "early" night this week, I walked the dog for an hour (several stuffed animals in our residence are now missing their eyeballs as a direct result of his lack of walks over the last 10 freezing cold days) and while I was gone, Chase deleted my most recent (unwatched) episode of Glee from the DVR. While usually I appreciate signs of my indispensibility around the house, this was NOT so appreciated! We may be coming soon to an episode of Snapped near you!