A few months ago we had a family home evening lesson of service. As part of the lesson, I had each family member write down one act of service that they would commit to doing. Nathan decided he was going to make cookies for his piano teacher so a few days later he pulled out the cookbook and I walked him through the recipe. He did a great job and discovered that he really enjoyed the process.
Since then, he has started leafing through the cookbook and making cookies whenever the fancy strikes him. He is keeping us well fed with chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, Chinese almond cookies, and he even discovered an oatmeal white chocolate cranberry cookie recipe I haven’t made in years because I have never been able to find dairy free white chips, Matthew was too young to understand that he couldn’t have the normal white chips, Daniel and Nathan were too inexperienced to know that they needed to keep the cookies away from Matthew and I was not experienced enough to figure out how to work around that. With some input from me based on the past seven years of experience, Nathan worked around it nicely, baking a tray for Matthew before adding the white chips for the rest of us. I think it is great that he is getting confident enough to just pull up a recipe and go for it. And I haven’t heard any complaints from the other kids. :-)
This morning he moved on to muffins…
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Picking a Pumpkin
Today was Malia’s annual field trip to our favorite pumpkin patch. She got to try out some tractors, pick a pumpkin, listen to a story and take a hay ride. On the hayride, the farmer gave the kids some info about the farm. He grows field corn to feed his animals and when he asked if anyone knew how to shuck corn, Malia popped right up and told him she knew how. He had her show everyone how to shuck the corn (she did a great job) and then showed them how to get the corn off the cob to feed the chickens. Malia had a great time!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
43 Quarts
Yesterday (all day) was applesauce day. We started with three bushels of apples, two of golden delicious and one of red delicious. For those who have never made applesauce, there is actually a pretty distinct difference on color depending on what kind of apples you use. The golden delicious made a nice bright yellow sauce while the reds made a decidedly pink one.
For some reason Nathan was really intrigued by the ins and outs of bottling the sauce so he was my canning buddy. Everyone helped make the sauce and then Nathan and I canned it all. I’m so grateful for his help. It would have taken me twice as long on my own.
At the end of the day we had 43 quarts of sauce (although some of those were bottled in pints) and only two jars that didn’t seal. In my book that makes it a successful day.
For some reason Nathan was really intrigued by the ins and outs of bottling the sauce so he was my canning buddy. Everyone helped make the sauce and then Nathan and I canned it all. I’m so grateful for his help. It would have taken me twice as long on my own.
At the end of the day we had 43 quarts of sauce (although some of those were bottled in pints) and only two jars that didn’t seal. In my book that makes it a successful day.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
The Heartache of a Food Allergy Mom
A couple of years ago Matthew stopped eating. It took us a few weeks before we figured out what's was wrong and how to help him. A few weeks ago Matthew quit eating his lunch a school again. He was eating fine at home, but he wasn't eating at school. Every kid has days when they don't eat their lunch, so the first few days were no big deal. But as it continued we realized it was not just a random occurrence. By the time we forced a conversation on the issue, we discovered that he had about a week's worth of lunches crammed into the front pocket of his lunch box. The thing must have weighed 5 pounds and was somewhat slimy and unpleasant. So conversations ensued. After several days with no change, a chart tracking good and bad lunch days came into being. With still no change, Kev had yet another conversation with Matthew. And after some wheedling, Matthew said that he wished he could have a hot lunch.
Hearing that made my heart break just a little bit. There is absolutely nothing we can do to make a hot lunch safe for him. And he knows that. He wasn’t expecting miracles. He has just gotten to a point where he wishes he could have what the other kids are having, where he is noticing the differences and wishing his diet could be more like theirs. He has always been amazingly grown up about his allergies and while he still is, he just wants to be able to eat like everyone else even though he knows he can’t.
So we’ve hit an emotional hard spot where the food is concerned. I’m sure it won’t be the last. And even thought I would it I could, I have no way to fix it.
Hearing that made my heart break just a little bit. There is absolutely nothing we can do to make a hot lunch safe for him. And he knows that. He wasn’t expecting miracles. He has just gotten to a point where he wishes he could have what the other kids are having, where he is noticing the differences and wishing his diet could be more like theirs. He has always been amazingly grown up about his allergies and while he still is, he just wants to be able to eat like everyone else even though he knows he can’t.
So we’ve hit an emotional hard spot where the food is concerned. I’m sure it won’t be the last. And even thought I would it I could, I have no way to fix it.
Monday, October 12, 2015
What Is That Smell?!
Malia came into the house a couple of minutes ago, wrinkled her nose, and told me there was a really stinky smell outside. Matthew mentioned that it smelled like rotten pumpkins. Normal conversation resumed as Malia walked down the hall. Just now I heard her tell Daniel, "I think the smell came from your stinky socks." Every one of us, except Malia (and possibly Daniel), burst into laughter.
Yes, boy smell is definitely a part of her life. And apparently she's not too young to notice.
Yes, boy smell is definitely a part of her life. And apparently she's not too young to notice.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Wait…What? Seriously??!!
Today was Matthew’s annual trip to the allergist. These visits have become pretty routine for us. We do the blood draw, go to the office, confirm that he’s still allergic to everything, get refills on all his prescriptions, and call it good until next year. So I knew how this year’s appointment would go based on the past seven years…at least I thought I knew how this year’s appointment would go.
When our allergist walked into the room, she seemed anxious to get right down to business, something that didn’t surprise me based on the fact that she is very good and therefore very busy. But the reason for being ready to get down to business was not anxiety or a need to hurry, it was excitement. She whipped out the results of his blood work and proceeded to tell me that with the exception of peanut, Matthew’s IgE (the antibody that causes food allergies) levels have all fallen in the past year. And we’re not talking dropping a few points (a little variation is common and inconsequential), we’re talking half of what they were last year.
I honestly never even considered the fact that his numbers might go down. We discovered he was having problems when he was five months old and in all that time they have either risen or stayed the same. So today was completely unexpected. When the doctor started reading off the numbers, I actually cried. I haven’t cried in her office since our second visit when she listed everything Matthew was allergic to, gave me a huge list of things we needed to avoid, and taught me how to use the Epipens.
This came as a complete surprise to all of us, our doctor included. When Matthew was two and his IgE totals had doubled over the past year, she told us that he probably wouldn’t grow out of it. As they continued to rise over the next couple of years, she came to the conclusion that he definitely wouldn’t outgrow it. Today she actually told us that she was losing hope that things would improve for him. She was visibly excited today because based on his bloodwork and the results of his skin prick tests, she thinks he might be able to tolerate eggs in baked goods. He is still too allergic to be able to eat plain eggs or have them in other than baked goods (the high temperatures of baking break down the proteins making them less likely to cause problems), but even just that would mean a lot of foods could come back into his diet. So we will be scheduling another oral food challenge when Matthew goes off-track in December. The food challenges scare him to death, but having done three, all of which have gone well and added numerous foods to his safe list, he is totally on board with doing another one.
As Kev and I have pondered why such a dramatic change after years of stasis, we think that it might be the food challenge Matthew did earlier this year that put milk in breads back into his diet. He’s been eating bread with milk in it regularly for the past six months and we wondered if having an allergen in a form that is safe for him is helping his body learn to manage them better. We don’t know for sure, of course, even the allergist doesn’t know for sure, but we have a feeling that the milk in his diet has been a good thing.
The actual food challenge is a hurdle we've yet to jump, but regardless of how it turns out, this year's appointment has given me something very important: hope.
When our allergist walked into the room, she seemed anxious to get right down to business, something that didn’t surprise me based on the fact that she is very good and therefore very busy. But the reason for being ready to get down to business was not anxiety or a need to hurry, it was excitement. She whipped out the results of his blood work and proceeded to tell me that with the exception of peanut, Matthew’s IgE (the antibody that causes food allergies) levels have all fallen in the past year. And we’re not talking dropping a few points (a little variation is common and inconsequential), we’re talking half of what they were last year.
I honestly never even considered the fact that his numbers might go down. We discovered he was having problems when he was five months old and in all that time they have either risen or stayed the same. So today was completely unexpected. When the doctor started reading off the numbers, I actually cried. I haven’t cried in her office since our second visit when she listed everything Matthew was allergic to, gave me a huge list of things we needed to avoid, and taught me how to use the Epipens.
This came as a complete surprise to all of us, our doctor included. When Matthew was two and his IgE totals had doubled over the past year, she told us that he probably wouldn’t grow out of it. As they continued to rise over the next couple of years, she came to the conclusion that he definitely wouldn’t outgrow it. Today she actually told us that she was losing hope that things would improve for him. She was visibly excited today because based on his bloodwork and the results of his skin prick tests, she thinks he might be able to tolerate eggs in baked goods. He is still too allergic to be able to eat plain eggs or have them in other than baked goods (the high temperatures of baking break down the proteins making them less likely to cause problems), but even just that would mean a lot of foods could come back into his diet. So we will be scheduling another oral food challenge when Matthew goes off-track in December. The food challenges scare him to death, but having done three, all of which have gone well and added numerous foods to his safe list, he is totally on board with doing another one.
As Kev and I have pondered why such a dramatic change after years of stasis, we think that it might be the food challenge Matthew did earlier this year that put milk in breads back into his diet. He’s been eating bread with milk in it regularly for the past six months and we wondered if having an allergen in a form that is safe for him is helping his body learn to manage them better. We don’t know for sure, of course, even the allergist doesn’t know for sure, but we have a feeling that the milk in his diet has been a good thing.
The actual food challenge is a hurdle we've yet to jump, but regardless of how it turns out, this year's appointment has given me something very important: hope.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Every Girl Needs a BFF
Malia is accustomed to living in a world full of boys. Not only does he have three brothers, there are simply a lot of boys around here. In our ward it is normal for each primary class to have six or eight boys and only one or two girls. Classes at the elementary school are usually 2/3 to ¾ boys with a few girls sprinkled in for variety (and sanity). But with a few new move ins, Malia’s age group is actually tipped a bit in favor of the girls. Last year her preschool class had only 3 girls which really isn’t a terrible percentage since there were only eight kids in her class. But this year there are six girls and Malia is loving it!
Today was her first field trip of the year and we happened to park right by one of her little girlfriends. I have a soft spot in my heart for this particular little girl. Her family moved into our ward five or six months ago and she sings for me in primary. It has been a challenge to get anyone, child or adult, in this ward to sing. The hymns in Sacrament Meeting are sung by about ten people, five of whom have the same last name as me. And since I am the choir director and the junior primary chorister, the lack of musical participation makes my callings a million times harder. So to have a child come to primary, sit on the front row and sing out with abandon makes me feel like maybe it’s not completely a lost cause.
Anyway, we walked with this particular friend of Malia’s and she had a fabulous time. The two of them are the hugging, chatting, declaring they are best friends kind of friends. It’s actually pretty cute. Since Malia is usually surrounded by boys, she was a bit unsure the first time Raylie dashed up and hugged her (her cousin Kate is really the only other girlfriend who is like that with Malia) but she warmed up super fast. I tried to take a cute picture of the two girls, but the sun and a pesky leaf foiled my plans. Nevertheless, the field trip was a success and we are all anxiously awaiting the next one.
Today was her first field trip of the year and we happened to park right by one of her little girlfriends. I have a soft spot in my heart for this particular little girl. Her family moved into our ward five or six months ago and she sings for me in primary. It has been a challenge to get anyone, child or adult, in this ward to sing. The hymns in Sacrament Meeting are sung by about ten people, five of whom have the same last name as me. And since I am the choir director and the junior primary chorister, the lack of musical participation makes my callings a million times harder. So to have a child come to primary, sit on the front row and sing out with abandon makes me feel like maybe it’s not completely a lost cause.
Anyway, we walked with this particular friend of Malia’s and she had a fabulous time. The two of them are the hugging, chatting, declaring they are best friends kind of friends. It’s actually pretty cute. Since Malia is usually surrounded by boys, she was a bit unsure the first time Raylie dashed up and hugged her (her cousin Kate is really the only other girlfriend who is like that with Malia) but she warmed up super fast. I tried to take a cute picture of the two girls, but the sun and a pesky leaf foiled my plans. Nevertheless, the field trip was a success and we are all anxiously awaiting the next one.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Learning the Gospel Can Be Fun
Tonight's scripture study degenerated into a laugh fest about anemones. Scripture time is not always reverent around here, but at least we have fun. And although at times we mock our children mercilessly (Daniel, in this case), it in no way damages their self-esteem. It makes me think that we've gotten at least some of our parenting right. All our children can laugh at themselves, not just at others. And when they do laugh at others, it is in a jovial way, not a mean spirited one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)