Aw Nuts!

Mood: Thankful for a beautiful day
Listening to: My kiddos bugging me to go to a park.

It has happened in our house. A big, huge, scary thing that threatens our very way of life. Well, at least our way of eating. Was it a monster growing in the fridge? Or possibly a gas leak? An especially militant vegetarian? It’s, it’s, it’s, a peanut allergy. Duh Duh Dun! (that was supposed to be dramatic music.)

I know, peanut allergies aren’t anything to write movies about, but this really threw me for a loop. I never thought we would have to deal with this problem. My eldest daughter doesn’t have any health problems at all (knock on wood!). My youngest has had a particularly nasty battle with eczema (another allergy related issue) since she was a very wee babe. I don’t know anyone in our immediate family that is allergic to any foods. My brother and mom are allergic to sulfa drugs, but it’s not quite the same thing. We found out when the wee one had a reaction a few months back. To be honest, I had no idea what she ate. We had just come back from the park and the girls were getting ready for dinner. We were eating some yummy cheese and broccoli rice (which both girls have had before) when the little one started getting REALLY cranky. My elder daughter had been eating cashews earlier in the day and had neglected to put away her bowl after she was done. Little one’s eyes puffed up unbelievably and she broke out in hives around her head, neck and chest. Scary to say the least! After a trip to the pediatricians and a blood sample, we have found out that she is allergic to all tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Um, Sesame seeds? Yeah, never heard of that one before! So now I have to be a peanut detective, carry around an epipen and all that fun stuff. We have to see an allergist too.

I also heard that eating nuts during pregnancy can cause peanut allergies too. Guess who spent her pregnancy eating almonds after hearing that they were a great protein snack to keep away the munchies? Yep, that’s right folks, huge dose of parental guilt right here on my plate. I’m hoping that she outgrows it.

Becky

*Blink Blink*

Mood: Calm – for the moment
Listening to: Endless chatter

Well then. I have once again surfaced on this endless vapor we call the internets. Hooray for me. A brief up-to-date. I now have an 18 month old and a 5 ½ year old. It’s summer vacation. Insert a “send help and margaritas” message here. So yes. We are in the throes of summer. I’m just trying to maintain my grasp on sanity with my teeth. It’s been a beautiful year in southern New York this summer. We may have hit 85 one or two days. For the Hudson Valley in July, this is a true miracle.

The latest news on the kids is that the eldest has an attitude to match an angry chimpanzee most of the time. Talk about 5 going on 15! Whew! We have our good and bad days, and transitions have never been easy for my eldest. The past two weeks home from school have been difficult to say the least. The youngest is officially a naughty 18 month old orangutan/octopus. She is into EVERYTHING. She doesn’t shoot back “no” to everything she’s told like her sister did, she just moves on to something else naughty while I’m cleaning up. I’ll cover more of her antics later. She definitely has the “naughty look” and laugh just like her elder sister did. It makes you feel a cross of uncontrollable laughter and exasperation every time she does it.

So I’m trying to start writing on a regular basis again, but we all know how well that works out, so, well, yeah. Cross your fingers!
Becky