Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I made this hat

I made this hat.... And this baby. 


9 Days Old

Baby Margaret is nine days old today. 
She has the sweetest little face. 


Thursday, November 20, 2014

How to use an EpiPen

First of all, let me just start by telling you that you don't get to stab someone in the heart when you administer an EpiPen.
I know. 
I was disappointed too.

You actually only get to stab them in the thigh.
And really, you don't even get to stab them.
There is no needle.

It's very anticlimactic.


When you live with someone with an anaphylactic allergy it's important to know where they keep their EpiPen and how to use it.

My mom's EpiPen came with a "trainer" for practicing. It even gives you audible instructions on how to use it.  It looks just like the real thing... except it black instead of bright orange.
It's quite easy to follow the step by step instructions. Remove the cap and then press it against the leg and push the button. Hold for five seconds and that's it. You can even do it though jeans.

In a way it's actually quite reassuring how easy it is to use. There is no throwing someone on a table ripping open their shirt and jabbing them in the heart.

Often times the person can even administer their own EpiPen if they catch their reaction early enough.

This is the real EpiPen
It is important to know, however, that after a person receives an ejection from an EpiPen they often begin to shake uncontrollably. This is often mistaken for a seizure. Really it's just the effect of the adrenaline shot they just received.

To reduce the seizure like side effect the person can take two benadryl BEFORE administering the EpiPen, if they have time.

After having to use and EpiPen it is recommended to go to the hospital. 
(The person receiving the injection, not the person giving it)

If you travel with a person who has an anaphylactic allergy ask them where they keep their EpiPen. It's good to know, just in case.

If you carry an EpiPen yourself, it is always a good idea to tell those you are with that you carry one and where it is.

You also might want to make sure they know how to use it.... 
otherwise they might try to stab you in the heart.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Food Allergies

This has been a rough year for our family. Each one of us has discovered and/or developed food allergies.

Apparently, according to my mom's specialist, when your environmental allergies are a constant extreme (for example, living on top of a den of skunks who have taken up residence under your house), or if you're under a lot of stress in your life, your body freaks out and all kinds of other allergies start to bother you. Like food allergies.

Some of these allergies could have always been there but get more extreme, while others can develop seemingly "out of the blue."

Food allergies are often genetic. So...blame your parents.

Food allergies are no fun. But they are very real.

Symptoms of food allergies often present themselves on your skin.  Your skin is your largest organ, and it's on the outside of you. So it's a great place for your body to tell you that something is not quite right on the inside.  Rashes, hives, eczema, itching, puffy eyes, mouth sores and even pimples and reacquiring breakouts can all be (usually are) the symptoms and signs of food allergies.

Intestinal reactions are also very common with food allergies. Gas, bloating, stomach ache, diarrhea, etc...

Other symptoms can be more serous and dramatic. Like your throat closing up and not being able to breath. This is called and/or leads to anaphylactic shock.

 Anaphylactic shock is defined as "an extreme, often life-threatening allergic reaction to an antigen to which the body has become hypersensitive."

 If a person has an anaphylactic food allergy DO NOT COOK THAT FOOD AROUND THEM!

Cooking the food, or with ingredients, that someone is allergic to will make them sick. The food goes into the air and is breathed in. This is bad.
Especially if it is an anaphylactic allergy.


This list has since been added to and updated...I forgot Tuna and oysters and nuts on my mom's

At home I am usually the person who makes the meals. I often keep everyone's allergies in my head and make meals that EVERYONE can eat. Sometimes I have to resort to making separate things for each person, but I am always VERY careful not to "cross contaminate." Everything is prepared on different plates with different utensils and in different pans.

And I NEVER cook with ingredients that will cause my mom to not be able to breath. Such as cilantro or coriander.

In preparation for the baby, and in planning on not being able to make the meals for a while, I made a list of all of our allergies and put it on the refrigerator to help William keep them all straight (there are actually a couple missing in this picture. I forgot to put my mom's Tuna and Oyster allergies).

I know this list looks crazy. I know it must seem impossible to feed people with such a list of food allergies.

I know it's frustrating and even annoying to try to feed someone that is seemingly allergic to everything.

Trust me.

It's more annoying and frustrating to BE the person who is allergic to everything.

But it is SO wonderful to not feel sick all the time.  I'd rather have it this way and be healthier and happier than ignore my allergies.

My mom doesn't have the option of ignoring her allergies. For her ignoring them can be life threatening. But I don't mind. As long as we get to keep her around for a good long time.

Besides.  We all eat healthier this way. So that's good.

If you think you might have a food allergy...

(it is my personal strong opinion that most people do have at least a mild one... we just ignore them because in Western medicine we are obsessed with treating symptoms instead of causes. "oh you have a rash? well stop scratching and here's another medicine for that." instead of "let's look and see what you are already putting into your body to cause that.")

If you think you might have a food allergy the best way to figure it out is to do a food journal.  The number one, most important thing we learned from my mom's allergy specialist is that a food journal is THE most effective way to diagnose an allergy (most tests for food allergies are not accurate! (especially the one for Celiac/gluten)).

Start with the most common allergies and take them out of your diet ONE AT A TIME
(that would be soy, gluten, wheat, dairy, peanut (yes, peanut oil counts), tree nuts, eggs, shellfish).

Then pay attention when you eat them again... how does your body react?
(and don't just take them out for a couple of days... do it for a week or two).

Another really good way to figure out a food allergy is to look at your family history.  Do you have any relatives that are allergic to anything? Chances are you are too... and remember, food allergies can develop later in your life... so if you're not allergic now... you might be later. Sorry.

So there you go. Just in time for Thanksgiving! Everything you never cared about knowing for food allergies.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving meals and the people you share them with... and please be considerate and conscience of those at your table with food allergies. They are not trying to be difficult... it's just how things are.

And please remember If a person has an anaphylactic food allergy DO NOT COOK THAT FOOD AROUND THEM!

It's a Girl!

We were blessed beyond words yesterday afternoon. 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Hilarious Obi

Obi is a funny boy.
He's so expressive and imaginative.
Here are a couple videos of him being very silly indeed.


 On Halloween we went to a Halloween party at our friends' house.
They do a GREAT job decorating for every holiday, but espeically Halloween. 
They turned their dinning room into a "spooky room" which the kids LOVED.
Obi especially loved playing with the skeleton at the table.
He might have had a little too much candy and no nap that day.
(turn your sound up all the way to hear his adorable laugh)

At snack time the other day Obi was pretending to be a crocodile.
Apparently crocodiles not only growl, they say tick tock.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Chronicle of a Belly

This might be a silly post. But I'm putting it here more for my self than for anyone else.  It's just pictures of my growing belly.
When I first got pregnant I was very freaked out that something would go wrong. I was actually more afraid than I was excited.
It wasn't until I hit 30 weeks that I really started to feel excited. That was when I really felt like we were really going to have a new baby.

Because I was so scared I made myself take pictures of my belly's growth precess.
So here it is. My baby growing inside my belly.
 
 15 weeks


20 weeks

22 weeks

26 weeks

30 weeks

35 weeks
 When I hit 35 weeks we got a little crazy with the camera.









39 weeks and 3 days
and having some contractions

40 weeks and some days and having no contractions.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Back Yard Boy

 Obi loves his "new puppy"

He loves telling people about her, he loves wrestling with her, he loves playing soccer with her and he loves walking her on the leash.

But sometimes he just likes to be outside hanging out with her.

Since we put the new fence up he's really taken to just being outside on his own. With the puppy.

I think we all feel safer about having the yard enclosed.






I peeked out the door to check on him one day (he was being awfully quiet) and found him just lounging on the railroad ties.
 This is apparently his favorite place to just relax and have a little personal quiet time.
He reminds me of our own little Huck Fin.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Baby Preparations

I washed all the baby linens

We've all been working very hard on getting the house ready for Baby.

Since we got skunked in May the house has been pretty much torn up.

There was having to avoid an entire side of the house for a while (due to the smell). Then there was remodeling, painting and other skunk clean up that had to be done.

And of course there's always reorganizing that nesting pregnant women seem to need to do.



But now the house is finally orderly, cleaned and redecorated in places (we repainted our bedroom and made the kids a new play room).  All just in time for Baby.

Then this lovely Autumn sunrise greeted us.
I'm not usually awake for sunrise, and when I am I'm not happy about it. 
But the other day is was so lovely that I had to get up and take some pictures.
It brought me so much joy and peace about baby.
I think I'm finally read for her/him to arrive.




That was the day we finally got the baby changing station all in order. 
This is my favorite wall in our "new" bedroom.

 I also put up some baby clothes for inspiration and focus points during labor.
I don't have curtains on the window just yet because I am really loving waking up to the Autumn view every morning. 
After the leaves are all gone I'll look into getting some curtains.

The kids are excited too. This morning Obi was walking around with his baby doll in his shirt.
When I took this picture he was saying "I have baby in my tummy. I the Mommy"
He's ridiculously adorable.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago
There was no etsy.com,
No pinterest,
And wedding photographers still used film.
 
There were no iPhones.

We still rented movies at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. And they were sometimes VHS.

Ten years ago
Flip phones were cool.
Camera phones were new.
We all had AIM instant massager… on our desk top computers… and loved changing our “away messages.”

Ten years ago the iPod Mini came out… in 5 different colors!

Ten years ago the year was 2004 and Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake sang at the  SuperBowl. There was a “wardrobe malfunction.” 
Everyone freaked out.

In 2004  Facebook launched,
Haiti happened,
and the 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece.

2004 was the year that Massachusetts legalized gay marriage.

It was a presidential election year.  George W. Bush was reelected over John Kerry.

In 2004, the day after Christmas, a 9.3 earthquake rocked the entire Indian Ocean causing massive tsunamis. It has been called the worst natural disaster in recorded history.

2004 was the year that Ronald Reagan died and Christopher Reeves died.

 November 6, 2004, ten years ago today,  William and I had the most beautiful day in a forest chapel in Lake Tahoe.


It was the day many of our friends and family went out of their way....some of them a LONG way out of their way... to join us in our lovely celebration.
It was the day that we promised each other Forever.


It was a beautiful beginning. 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Halloween 2014

 We had a relatively quiet Halloween this year.

It was very cold and windy on Halloween night so we decided not to go Trick or Treating.

The kids were totally fine with that as long as we still go to go to our friends annual Halloween party.

They had been looking forward to the part of weeks and were more excited about that than Trick or Treating.

Naturally I forgot to take pictures of all the wonderful festive decorations, food and costumes.

Our friend Alyssa was kind enough to remember to take this family picture of us. My hair had so much glitter in it that it reflected back in the flash... that's why it looks like I have white hair.


The kids and Nana also made Halloween treats.
They made spider cookies.

I think the kids enjoyed licking the mixers and bowl and being allowed to sit on the counter more than the actual cookies.


The cookies were pretty dang cute though.

And Gluten Free of course.


They worked very hard on putting all the legs on the spiders.

It was a fun Halloween and we all ate way too much sugar. Which is how it should be.

The day after Halloween we listened to Christmas music and watch The Muppets Christmas Carol.

We still have our Fall decorations up... but we are ready for Christmas.

I hope you all had a wonderful and fun Halloween.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Three Seats


A few weeks ago we cleaned out and washed the car.

It was an all day event.

We also rearranged the the car seats to be able to fit three in the back seat!!



The kids were excited about it and wanted to put their baby dolls in the car seat.

Of course then we had to take a little drive in our nice shiny clean car.

It was a very giggly silly ride to the gas station and back.



It's a little hard to believe there will be three little babies in my my car.
Putting the third car seat in really made the whole thing feel real all a sudden.


Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Best All Saints Day Party Ever

Today, November 1st,  is All Saints Day.

All Saints Day is the day we celebrate ALL the Saints in heaven, whether we know them or not.

I like All Saints Day because it's ANOTHER excuse to have ANOTHER dress up party.

Two years ago we had the best All Saints Day party ever.

I know these are really old pictures but I never shared them with you so I thought I would now.

Besides, this year I'm way too pregnant to plan a party this. Hopefully next year we'll have another one.



The Catholic Church has this funny group of Saints called "The Incorruptibles." It's a group of Saints that, after they died, their bodies haven't decayed. It's a bit morbid, which of course makes it hilarious to me.

So our family dressed up as Super Hero Incorruptibles... kind of a play on The Incredibles.

Yes. We are very silly.

We printed the names of the Saints we were representing on iron on paper. I was St. Catherine

Here's my little Rosie.

She was such a baby!


What's a party without tons of food? We had lots of food including lots of cup cakes with a different Saints' card in each one.

Everyone did such a great job dressing up.

I think this St. Bernadette or St. Theresa


Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was a queen. So we had her "gems"

Each table had a different Saint theme.

St. Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland.
So we had St. Patrick's Sneaky Snakes.

St. Lucy had her eyes gouged out. ... so naturally we had St. Lucy eyes to snack on.

I believe this was St. Cecilia's piano.
She's the patron Saint of music.

This was made out of finger cookies.








Here is one of the tables. 
That's a picture of St. Elizabeth of Hungry.

William and Obi in their costumes. Can you believe how little Obi was?!

St. Patrick made an appearance

As well as St. Christopher (with the infant Jesus?)
He was helping out with Saintly Ring Toss.

St. Joseph came with his tools ready to fix anything that needed fixin'

And the cutest Joan of Arc ever was there too.

We all prayed the Litany of the Saints together and went around saying our Saint's name.

St. Bernadette was looking rather lovely,

and so was another, more grown up, Joan of Arc.

We played Saintly Musical Chairs. 
I wish I had a video of that one... it was great fun.

And we had pictures of as many saints as we could all over the room.

Oh man. I wish I could remember everything that was on the tables. Kaity did an amazing job at finding snacks to represent so many of the Saints.

This one was my favorite.

Playing Saintly Musical Chairs.

More table snacks and decorations.
These are spicy cinnamon candies for "Anti Beauty Secrets"


Even though we had games, sometimes kids just want to run around like crazy monkeys. 
Silly babies.

Here's William helping with Pin the Shamrock on St. Patrick.

Several people did A LOT of work to make this party super super fun. My friends Kaity and Alyssa put all the tables and Saint snacks together on top of planning their Halloween party the night before.
My friend Jodi planned a lot of the games.
My friend Britney made Saintly good bags for every one to take home.
And everyone pitched in a brought great food.

This really was the most fantastic party and I was really happy with how many people came and dressed up and helped celebrate the Saints. 

One of the main reasons to celebrate the Saints is to learn about everyday, real people who can help inspire us to make our own lives more holy.

I don't know about anyone else, but I know I sure learned a lot about different Saints through this party and was definitely inspired.

I'm looking forward to next years All Saints' Day Party.