kiddos

Because of the snow...

We have not been able to be outside as often as we would like, so I have found some really great indoor activities that entertain kids for hours. One of our favorite things is going to the dollar store, buying glow sticks, and taking a bath in the dark. This entertains my kids all night. They don't want to get out of the bath. The water glows and they love it. You can't tell in the pictures below, but the lights are off.

Art table fun!

We have an art table, and the kids LOVE it. Scarlett is so in to drawing and painting, and she is actually really good. Below is the Valentines card she made for Owen. It was so sweet. They like to put their art hats on and can spend hours at this table. I LOVE that my kids are in to art, because Mike and I are really in to it too. This art table has actually inspired me to start painting again and it feels great. I might get enough courage to post some of the things I am working on in the near future...we will see. For now here is some pictures of the kids and the art table.

I figured it out.

After reading and researching, I think I have narrowed Scarlett's issues down. I think it is a milk allergy. I KNOW it is a milk allergy! So I will be avoiding dairy for a week with her to see if her problem gets better.

Please read!!!

The last post made me think a lot today, and the phone calls, texts and comments I got made me think even more. I act like the peanut allergy is not a big deal, but inside I am sad and pissed off that my child has to deal with it. It is the scariest allergy people can have, and most fatal. I am crying just typing this. My four year old is terrified to eat anything. She is constantly asking people if something has nuts in it, and telling people that she can not have anything with nuts. I AM mad that she has to worry like this. I am overwhelmed with fear sometimes. It is an awful feeling to hear your baby cry because their lips are swelling and their throat is itching, and they don't know what is happening. You just want the best most normal life for your kids and when it is out of your control, it is a little hard to deal with. I guess I am saying all of this for two reasons. 1. It is easier to type this than say it out loud, and 2.People need to be more aware. I know before this happened, I was not aware of how bad it really is. I can't tell you how many times we go somewhere to eat, or get ice cream, and I have to ask people to use new spoons, and make sure NOTHING has touched nuts. Usually they say okay, but shrug it off like it is no big deal. It is a big deal! Also, a lot of times people make peanut butter snacks and bring them to daycares or schools. since 1997 nut allergies have almost tripled in children. Next time you moms are making a snack for a group of children, try something without peanut butter. Thanks for reading my venting!

Hmmm Gas?

For those of you who don't remember, Scarlett is very allergic to nuts. Not just peanuts, ALL nuts. She also has night terrors, and has NEVER been a good sleeper. I have watched her sleep walking before. She got out of her bed, and went to our room and got in our bed, totally asleep. She talks in her sleep all the time, and sometimes it is funny, and others scary. If she takes a nap during the day, she will not go to bed till 12, and her regular bedtime is 8. The one little nap will screw up days of her sleep. The other big thing we have to deal with is her gas. She is the gassiest little girl I have ever met. I feel bad for her, because she can clear a room, and I don't want her to have this problem when she is older. I can't tell you how many times we have been standing in a line or sitting in church, and she farts, and I have to act like it was someone else. Sometimes she says her tummy hurts, and then she farts and she is better. The gas is always worse at night.

I am saying all of this because I took her to the doctor for her 4 year check up, and mentioned it to the doctor, and I was told she might have to try a gluten free diet. Mike's side of the family has food allergies, and so I always assumed my kids would have something, but poor Scarlett has to deal with a lot! When they tested her for nut allergies, she tested slightly positive for a wheat allergy. So, we have decided to go with more organic foods, and free range meat. They are now linking lots of allergies and obesity to pesticides and hormones found in store bought fruits, veggies and meats. I bought some gluten free pasta, and it was great. I also bought some gluten free macaroni and cheese, and it was BY FAR the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth! I gave both kids that macaroni, and Owen started gobbling it up, and I thought, "oh great they like it"! then Scarlett said, "this tastes horrible like dirt!" I told her to just try it, and then I took a bite. It tasted like wheat grass and dirt. I spit it out and said, "Mommy is so sorry she tried to get you to eat that!" All the while Owen is still eating it. I said, "Owen, you don't have to eat that!" he put his fork down and looked at me with a disgusted face!

If Scarlett is going to have to eat differently, then I will do whatever it takes, and we will all make changes. If anyone has any advice on this, I would love to hear it!

Ash Wednesday

Today I drove to Las Cruces for life insurance classes. It was a class with a bunch of people from State Farm offices all around New Mexico.I sat down in the front row with my friend Bo who went to the class with me. Soon more people started to take their seats, and as I looked around the room, one guy stuck out across the room. He had a HUGE black blotch on his forehead. This is how my sheltered mind processed it...

"oh my gosh, that guy has an awful birthmark!", "And it looks like it is hairy!", No wait, it is marker! I bet he went out last night and got really wasted, and his friends drew on him with marker, and he has not looked in the mirror today!" "I bet the teacher will let him know."

An hour later..."STILL no one has said anything to him!" "Oh great now we are starting to pair off into groups, I bet I get to partner up with marker boy" "Perfect, I DO get to pair up with him!", "should I say something?, If I don't and he goes to the bathroom at break, he will think I am a weirdo that did not say anything to him!" As I am about to walk over to him, I lean over to Bo and say, "Am I the only person that sees that this guy CLEARLY has marker on his head?" Bo's response..."Its Ash Wednesday!"

Sickies and kids

Owen has moved to a toddler bed! He is so proud of it. He is getting rid of the "binks", sippy cups, and diapers. My baby is growing up!

So this is what happens when I let the kids play together in their rooms! Mike and I got food poisoning this weekend, so I let the kids do whatever they wanted. This is what they wanted to do. When I finally got out of bed, I looked around my house and thought, "Is there any way I can get this cleaned, or should I just get out the trash bags and start scooping stuff up?" I think it is so incredibly hard to take care of kids and be sick at the same time.

Roasted Cheetos and a liar.

Scarlett woke us up one morning this week saying, "mom, salmon (our smelly dog) smells like a roasted cheeto."

Owen on the other hand is perfecting his skills as a big liar. If he does something wrong, and I ask him what happened, he says, "me don't know" or "carly did it". He calls Scarlett Carly because he can not say his S's yet. I happen to love it and hope he never stops saying it. It is his own special name for her, and some things are way to sweet to grow out of.

What do you REALLY think...

It seems that politics are such a heated topic, and I am usually at the center of a heated politic conversation. This year, I decided to sit back and LISTEN to what people had to say before spewing my thoughts. I have learned a TON!!!! The biggest thing I have learned is that both sides conservative or liberal, want basically the same thing, but that have different ways of accomplishing that goal. I know that people will never agree on everything, but I think that if people would just listen, and not jump to conclusions we could find some middle ground. God created humans to have passion, and we should use it, but we should do it in love. I think it is safe to say that MOST people want peace, most people want this country to stay out of debt, most people want to end abortion, most people want the poor to thrive, but everyone has their own way of going about that. If we LISTENED to peopl and stop trying to PROVE our own points, maybe we could resolve some things.

Not in to it!

I could care less about the super bowl. I thought there were nine innings in a football game for goodness sakes. Obviously I am not in to football.

the haps

I don't want to complain too much about the snow, but seriously! I don't ever remember it snowing this much! I have not seen my driveway since the 1st of december. The good side of that is that there has been a nice thick layer of snow covering up my messy yard thanks to Salmon. The bad side of That, is the brown and yellow pacthes of snow really stand out, thanks to Salmon.

LAst night we switched out Owens crib into a toddler bed. It was hard for me to do it, but it was time. He LOVED it! I overheard Scarlett tell him, "Owen, now you can get out of your bed at night and sneak into mom and dad's bed!". What a lovely child! He did fall out once last night, but he went right back to sleep when we put him back in his bed.

We have also attempted to break him of his love for a binky. It seems to be much harder for him than Scarlett. When we did this with Scarlett we told her to throw them away because she was big enough to not need them anymore, and she did it! I mean, we would find her hiding in corners, or under beds "sneaking a suck". That is what we called it. We would say, "Scarlett, what are you doing"? She would say in a whiney voice, "Awww, I just wanted a taste". HILARIOUS! Owen knows he can only have his "binks" if he is in bed, so now he wants to go to bed all of the time! It is woking out great.