One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four

Matthew has discovered that by standing on his tip-toes, he can reach the potatoes stored in a kitchen drawer.

He sucks on them (gross!) and carries them about, stashing them in various cabinets. I consider it a small price to pay for a contented child. Stephen joined him to create "peanut preserves."

And in another twist on our allergy journey, Matthew's blood tests revealed that he is allergic to oats. Goodbye, Oatios.

He was listed as having "life-threatening" allergies to milk, egg, soy, wheat, oats, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and peanuts.

On the bright side, he can eat beans.

Triple Decker Fun

We love these mini ice cream cones.

They are a perfect size for kiddos, even with double or triple scoops (made with one of my favorite kitchen gadgets)...unless you take a large bite and get brain freeze.

And There Was Much Rejoicing

A whirlwind week to say the least.

Last Monday I loaded up all three kids in the van to head to Dollar Tree to snag some pregnancy tests (not even such a monumental event would allow the needless waste of money on name-brand tests that are 8-9 times costlier). I ignored any strange looks from the cashier, hustled my brood out the door, and went home to pee in a cup. It was positive.

Tuesday brought a little anxiety as the midwife's nurse was less-than-cautiously-optimistic about the pregnancy due to some issues 10 days previous.

Wednesday everything was confirmed with an ultrasound: 7 weeks along, strong heartbeat, EDD 10/7.

Thursday I insisted on going to the library to pick up my favorite quilting book - I'll need every spare minute this time.

Friday was more testing for Matthew.

On Saturday morning, my sister called and after chit-chatting about nothing for 20 minutes, she said, "So what else is going on with your family?" I blurted out, "Well, there's going to be a new baby...." to which she replied, "We're going to have one, too!" It's beyond crazy!

Doug and the boys and I also took a walk on Saturday afternoon and talked with some neighbors - turns out it was their 50th wedding anniversary. We got to see their wedding photos and enjoyed hearing them reminisce about their life in the military, about buying wedding rings, and the nostalgia of playing records they've had these last 50 years. It was very special.

And to top it off, Matthew slept through the night.

Surviving Torture

Matthew and I spent a rather unpleasant afternoon with the allergist. He was completely offended by the pricking, but it was necessary. According to the skin results, he is once again free to eat bananas but most of the other foods we had suspected were problematic (milk, egg, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy) were in fact just that. From here we will have blood drawn to see just how bad the allergies are.

What Do We Eat?

This is a question that I often ask myself though there are a few staples around our house.

• Natural Balance or Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread is a perfect dairy-free alternative to butter or margarine - it tastes great for eating, performs well for baking, but contains soy.


• Once Again Sunflower Butter - my choice to top rice cakes or dip for apples...yummmm!


• Orville Redenbacher Natural Popcorn Simply Salted 50% Less Fat - I thought microwave popcorn was once of the simplest snacks until I tried to find something without milk and soy; thankfully the search was successful and this is a treat we all love!


• Great Value Soy Butter - Stephen's peanut butter alternative for lunch


• Rice Dream rice milk - this comes either in the refrigerated section or in a shelf stable box, and I have had great success in using it in all manners of cooking (though it does a pathetic job in milk or tea)


• Rice Dream ice cream products - just tried the Orange & Vanilla which is very much like a push-up, complete with the cardboardy aftertaste


• Oatios - I never knew Cheerios had wheat


• Tofutti products - the cream cheese is a definite staple for Stephen's favorite breakfast casserole and he also enjoys the mini ice cream sandwiches ("Cuties"); contains soy


• DeBoles wheat free pasta - it tasts pretty good and I was even able to snag some at Big Lots once for $1/bag


• Jungle Shortening - just got this one but hope it will work in some baking recipes in place of margarine


• Cascadian Farms Oats & Honey Granola - for when I don't want to make a third breakfast food from scratch


• Instant oats - an inexpensive and healthy breakfast


• Dried cranberries - its amazing the number of these Matthew can eat though I'm not sure of the dietary gain when they exit his body whole


• Hormel Natural Choice lunch meat - this is usually what Matthew has for lunch (I love the salami)

Food Allergy 101

Two and a half years ago, our world changed when Stephen was diagnosed with allergies to milk, egg & peanut. While it was frightening at first, we were amazed to see the changes in our child that occurred overnight. His skin looked normal (no more rashes or oozing or scales) and he was pleasant and content. Who would have known that the foods that were supposed to be nourishing his body were in actuality hurting him?

Since then I have become somewhat zealous in the fight to recognize, diagnose and live with food allergies, a task that became a little more difficult with Matthew's arrival and additional offending foods (wheat, banana, soy, beans).

So when our newspaper's food section requested the help of parents of food allergic children to be interviewed for an upcoming article, I immediately called - you can find the article here. (There are a couple of points to clear up: (1) I eliminated all dairy, not just milk from my diet - milk or its relatives can be found in many unusual places such chewing gum, candy, tortilla chips;
(2) Stephen definitely does have a peanut allergy and it is listed as the highest class possible; (3) Lactose intolerance is completely different than a milk allergy although both cause great discomfort; (4) Celiac disease and its gluten-free diet has to be one of the worst chronic diseases).

And in the spirit of overkill, here is another article that I have been wanting to share for a long time. The author does a wonderful job of explaining the real-life implications of food allergies.

We would covet any prayers for Matthew as we take him to the allergist on Friday to be retested. There is a little concern over his small size (though he is exactly the same size as Stephen was), and we are hoping that the tests may show that he can tolerate a few more foods. Our doctor, a mother of 3 boys (at least one of whom has food allergies) and a cancer survivor, just started her own practice so she would be able to pray with and for her patients. At our first visit in 2006, she said that there was One who could heal him. Praise the Lord for Christian doctors!

One of the Boys

Matthew enjoyed his first official romp outside with the big boys Sunday afternoon.

He loved the chance to explore the yard in his big boy shoes, free of the backpack where he is usually confined.

While he tottered, Andrew and Stephen gathered twigs to build a bonfire.

When that lost its excitement, they decided to wrestle.

Can you guess who started that?

Boasting

As I washed dishes tonight, I mentally dictated a post. Said post was to describe the joy of successfully cooking and draining spaghetti noodles for dinner. Lest you say, "Huh?", I'll explain: I seem to have had some trouble with this for a few months now. More than once I have been forced to rescue and rinse noodles from the garbage disposal (shh....the boys never suspected) before serving my hungry males.

So it was with great pride that I took a picture of the fresh noodles, neatly confined in my wedding-present-colander with nary an escapee and thought of my accomplishment. Then suddenly I was awakened to reality by an unusual sound.

Turns out in my daydreaming, I failed to catch a measuring cup that slipped in the garbage disposal. My favorite 1/4 c. is now a disfigured hunk of metal, twisted into an unnatural position, reminiscent of a chalk outline from Law & Order.

What can I say? I'm my mother's daughter.

What's With the Hype?

I was talking to a girl friend at church one day, and I mentioned in conversation some info I had read on a mutual friend's blog. She replied, "I don't see how she has the time to blog....I much prefer Facebook. I've got over 100 friends from high school and college that I've reconnected with."

A few days later I had a similar conversation with another friend. Both assured me that I could sign up and view their friends and see what everyone has been doing for the last 10+ years.

So while Doug was busy enthralled in the Super Bowl, I created yet another log in name & password to remember. It was a little anticlimactic.

This week I got requests from 7 people to be friends (okay, this reminds me so much of grade school that it's enough to turn me off). Two of these people I don't even know!!! I suspect they were classmates from high school, but seeing as I don't know for sure and I've made it nearly 13 years since graduation, I think I'll pass on the chance to reconnect.

Maybe I'm cynical and cold. Maybe I'm just technologically behind a few years. Maybe I just like the anonymity of reading strangers' blogs than taking the time to look up people with whom I shared a few classes.

So if you want to be my friend, I'll say yes. But don't look for any updated info there. I'll be blogging.

Bonded By Books

It was refreshing to find these two snuggled together, Andrew reading to his little brother.

Andrew Turns 5!

It doesn't seem like it's possible, but Andrew tells me it happens "automatically."

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Before/After

The port-a-potty is gone. The dumpster is gone. We await the final inspection. What was once a dreary basement may have just become our most favorite spot in the house (everything else looks a little shabby).

Desk/Storage Area: added a real closet and a new door to the garage

Main Room: replaced sliding door and tile; rewired; painted

Garage: added bathroom

We are now open for overnight guests should anyone wish to visit the Scenic City - come See Rock City for yourself!

Combo Birthday Bash

The Cole clan had planned a few months ago to visit this weekend so we decided to throw a dual party for Matthew and Andrew.

I decided on a CARS party after I found some cute CARS mini tin lunch totes (just happened to have 5), erasers, and pencils on clearance after Christmas. I supplemented with other finds from Dollar Tree.

I've always done fun cake for the boys (Family Fun has wonderful ideas) and my original idea was to make 3 "tires" stacked like a display with another across the top. This seemed a little complicated so I opted for the single tire (I was told it was not a race car tire but this was lost on the boys) made with one layer of Stephen-safe chocolate and one layer of yellow cake mix.

Matthew was stuck with a prepackaged mix I found reduced at the grocery store a few months ago; the package read:

"Namaste" (pronounced "Naa-Maa-Stay") is an ancient Sanskrit word with no literal translation. After many hours reviewing all the different translations, we decided we like this one the best: "The Spirit within me honors and respects the Spirit within you."

After tasting it, I felt more like saying, "The taste of this product will make you want to gag" but Matthew seemed to enjoy it sprinkled with a little powdered sugar.

Turns out the Coles were sick and had to cancel, but we partied on with the Mosolgos and Barretts, devouring chicken "dipsticks" and high octane fuel. Stephen was a good sport about the festivities and happily aided Matthew in opening his gifts.

For the past week we've been reviewing etiquette regarding gifts. Andrew had declared, "But two gifts is not enough!" and Stephen had said, "If I get a shirt, I won't say thank-you." Thankfully they were all well-behaved and grateful for both the quantity and content of the gifts.

Matthew was very pleased with his non-battery-powered-but-noisy-nevertheless bus.

We played pin the eyes on Sticker and musical chairs, but the best entertainment was Matthew's wrestling match with the birthday balloon. Never has a balloon had such a short life; never has a boy had so much fun.


As Andrew's real birthday is next Monday, there will be more celebrations to come.