The Long Awaited Ear Piercing Day!

Before pictures! They were so excited . . . .

Here is Page just before she changed her mind, for the first time.

Emma watched them load the gun and never even flinched. She was done in about 30 seconds without so much as a grimace. She never cried and was all smiles the second it was done. She said that it didn't hurt at all, not even a little bit!

Page cried and cried for over 45 minutes about not wanting to do it, then wanting to do it. She finally did, but I had a headache and was exhausted by the time it was over. She made me go to Walgreens and get her Tylenol because it hurt so bad.

Liam, the Polar Bear

We had about 3 inches of snow fall Christmas Eve. Liam couldn't wait to get dressed to go play in the snow. This was his second run in his underwear. The first time he ran out and then stepped in the snow and proclaimed he needed his pants on. I was outside with Page and Will was inside with Emma, who refused to go out in the snow because it was too cold. So, the second attempt to run outside I got video of his braveness/stupidity, whatever you want to call it. Will got him dressed right after this and then he wouldn't go out again. It was really quite funny. Sorry the video is sideways, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve since Christmas day is also Page's 6th birthday! My baby is getting so big. We also got to have a white Christmas this year. It was so beautiful. Not terribly fun to drive around in last night, but well worth it. Page asked me to get her a few things for her birthday meals; pizza, shrimp, Chinese dumplings, pop tarts and a Hannah Montana cake. I don't think she could have been any more random if she tried. I went to 3 places last night and still could't find any Hannah Montana cake decorations, but it all worked out fine anyway. We ended up having to take Liam to the ER after lunch on Friday (when I was going to make Page's cake). He is fine, and the people at Children's were fantastic! They even brought him 3 Christmas presents. Will attempted to make cupcakes for her and burned them so he went to the grocery store and bought her one while we were at the hospital. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all did as well!

Here are some pictures of our Christmas Eve. A funny video and some pictures of the snow to follow.

What's Been Going On

Well, I have jumped into Gluten Free baking and while I wish I could say how fun it has been, I can't. It is horrible. This morning for example I made pancakes which contained quinoa flour in them . . . GROSS! I have tried buckwheat flour several times with some fail and some tolerable. Nothing great yet. There are a few good blogs that I have found to help me on my journey, but it still isn't fun. My nights at the gym have turned into nights at the computer learning about rotation diets and flours that I never knew existed. It is crazy. Our insurance company has denied coverage for a dietitian, so we have appealed and are still waiting to hear back. I found a pediatric dietitian that specializes in food allergies and will see her regardless of insurance coverage, but I really hope they approve it.

I am roasting pumpkins today to puree and freeze for future recipes. I do it every year around Halloween, but this year it has taken me a lot longer to get to it. Thankfully the pumpkin we got is still in great shape since we did not carve it and it smells delicious in my kitchen right now. It is a fairy tale pumpkin and the color on the inside is so rich and deep that it looks more like a butternut squash than a pumpkin. I am so excited to try it out in some recipes. (I know I am a little too excited about food right now, but I can't help myself.)

The kids are all sick and watching movies in the living room while I cook, clean and blog. It is not too bad a morning. None of the kids have any energy and they are content to watch Thomas and Sid the Science Kid. I am sure they will start asking for lunch soon and my blogging time will be cut short, so I will do what I can so that I can update on what's been going on before I start posting Christmas pictures!

The weather is very cold this morning and it makes me want to pull out the Christmas decorations since we are sitting at home for the day. I am refraining, however, because I really want to paint the living room before I decorate for Christmas. The living room has been only half painted for so l can't even remember how long it has been. My parents are coming for a visit this weekend, so maybe that will motivate me to get the painting done so that they can help with the kids while I decorate the house. The thought of Liam and ornaments this year sends chills down my spine. He has really taken to throwing anything and everything. I am pretty sure baseball or football are in his future.

I have started thinking about Christmas shopping and got 1 present this weekend. I am excited to be starting early this year. Usually it is the week before Christmas that I start shopping since having kids. I would love to know what you all are buying for your kids this year. All my girls want are their ears pierced, and I have no idea what to get Liam. We have so many toys and clothes already that I can't imagine what I will get them. Although I will be shopping on Black Friday this year, all by myself! I am so excited.

That's all I can think of right now. I need to check on the pumpkin and start making lunch.

New LSU Outfits

Nonna and Poppy sent new matching outfits for the kids. We tried them on right before bed and they all insisted on wearing them to sleep in. Liam insisted on wearing his the entire next day as well.

Emma

Emma got a new haircut! She is posing like a ballerina in case you all were wondering what is up with her arms :)

Test Results

A few weeks back we had some more tests run on Liam for his food allergies. I was really hoping for some answers to help me control his hives, eczema, upset stomach and swelling. I was not prepared for what we found out. He was tested for 154 foods. The test came back with way more allergies than we know about. Here they are!

barley, corn, cucumber, currant, date, eggplant, garlic, grapefruit, lettuce, malt, cow's milk, goat's milk, millet, mustard, onion, orange, green pepper, red pepper, pimento, rice, rye, rape seed (canola), soy, thyme, tomato, wheat, watermelon, baker's yeast, brewer's yeast, all nuts except pecan.

The doctor is suspicious that he may have Candida because of the high volume of allergies he has. We are also considering testing for Chromes Disease and Celiac Disease. Regardless, it is overwhelming. We have had a rough week trying to figure out what to feed him and still keep his diet high in fat. Removing the goat products is really going to throw a wrench in his high fat diet. Also the removal of the canola oil will be difficult as well. But the hardest things are the wheat and rice removal. All wheat alternatives are rice based and that puts us in a real pickle!

My food blog will also be on hold while I deal with this. I know that God will use all of this for His purpose in my life and I am praying that I will be able to help others with their struggles once I figure out how to deal with them myself! I welcome any and all suggestions! I can hardly make sense of it all. My brain is fried. I do have lots of posts and pictures I want to put up, but they will have to wait until I get a hold on my life . . . again!

New Blog

I have started a new blog in order to index all of my allergy friendly recipes for my cookbook. These are all allergy friendly recipes that we eat on a regular basis at my house. I have tried these recipes out on others as well and they have gotten a stamp of approval from people outside of my family that don't have food allergies. I hope you will check it out and pass it on to anyone you know looking for dinner ideas on a budget, cooking for kids with food allergies, or those trying to get more vegetables into their diet. All of my recipes will cover those spectrums. New recipes will publish daily so become a follower and check in daily! Thanks :)

http://allergickidscooking.blogspot.com/

Miracles

First let me apologize for whining the other day. It was a rough day and after I published the post I looked at it and realized that I was being very whiny that day. I decided not to delete it because, after all, it is my blog and that is what I was feeling. I want to be real on my blog, so I left it up.

Now on to miracles! Will rides his bike to work every morning. This morning he had a PT appointment before work so he left pretty early to get there. He was hit by a car while crossing a very busy street. He fell off the bike and landed on his elbow and hip before skidding across the road on his bottom. I didn't post pictures of his back side, but there is no skin there. His shorts and underwear were shredded. We are so thankful that this is the only thing that happened. It could have been so much worse and he and I both know that the Lord was protecting him this morning. It is crazy to think about the things that could have happened, but didn't, because of God's protection on his life! He is hurting a good bit tonight, but doing really well. I still can't believe it.

Now, let me just say the man who hit him was nearly blind. He said that he just didn't see him! On his driver's license there was actually a restriction on him because of visual impairment. He pulled over, but then left because again, he didn't see anyone. Someone took down his license plate number and called 911. The police said it would be filed as a hit and run since he left the scene. But they found him shortly after the incident. I can't believe they give licenses to people that can't see. REALLY?! It makes me want to scream. If you can't see, you should be driving.

Catch Up

Will and I have decided to stop using Facebook. He thinks we have gotten a virus from the site and it is a huge time zapper. I have to admit that I quite enjoyed the farmville game ;) But we will inactive from the site from now on.
I have also changed my cell phone number. When Will gets my computer up and running again I will send out an email with the new number. His will remain the same, but mine will be inactive as of October 12.
Liam had some more blood work done this morning to test for more food allergies. He has had 5-6 reactions since his birthday in June and I am going crazy. His allergist kept telling me to just wait until he was 3 and he should grow out of it so I got a second opinion. We are seeing a new doctor who has suggested some testing that would show sensitivities and allergies to 155 different foods. It will take 2-3 weeks to get the results back but we are hopeful that it will give us some much needed answers. We are SUPER careful about what food he eats and I make everything from scratch (which is exhausting!) . His teachers at the MDO are also super vigilant about his allergies too. He sits between them during snack and lunch and they clear all snacks and crafts with me before they bring anything into the classroom. They are such a blessing! But even with such strict parameters set around him he has had 2 reactions at school. We went to a friends house for a bbq (where I was careful about what he ate) and he had a reaction. No matter how much I rack my brain or restrict things from him he keeps on having these episodes. He is doing well on the high fat diet and is up to 26 pounds now. We have stopped using the appetite stimulant and he is eating very well without it.
I have yet to have Emma's birthday party. Sweet girl is so patient with me. I just can't seem to get on top of things anymore. Although we did pick out a very cool rainbow cake to make for her party . . . when we have it. Page's 5 year portraits have been nixed since she will be 6 in 2 months. Liam and Emma might get their 2 and 4 year portraits done if I get my act together this month. Otherwise the holidays will take over and I will be lucky to get a Christmas picture done this year since I didn't get one done last year.
The girls are loving gymnastics although Liam is very unhappy about not being in there with them. He throws a fit from the time we get there to the time we leave. It is not a very pleasant experience for him or me to say the least. Page likes soccer, but all the parents out there agree that track and field might suit her better. She is like lightening on the field and just wants to run back and forth. The ball is secondary to her :) If she ran the way she does with the ball, she would be unstoppable. Maybe it will come in time or maybe we should just find a track and field group for her.
Will has been working a lot since we got back from vacation and he is so tired. With homeschooling, working part-time, cooking everything from scratch, soccer, gymnastics and trying to stay on top of laundry and dishes I just don't have time for anything else. I am tired just typing that! Anyway, that was my attempt at a catch up. I have gotten a lot of grief from family about not updating the blog more frequently. Now you know why :) With the exception of Liam allergies we are doing well, staying busy and loving (ALMOST) every minute of it.

Requests From Emma

I should be appalled by putting these pictures up so late. But the really appalling thing is that i haven't even had her birthday party yet. Fortunately my Emma is pretty easy going. This is from her actual birthday. She requested Tinkerbell cupcakes (with green frosting) and swimming. That's all she wanted for her birthday. I also came up with a chocolate cake recipe that is yummy and Liam can have. Emma loves chocolate so this was so exciting for her and she had no idea that it was "special" cupcakes. We invited the neighbors over because Emma loves Jordan, who happens to be our babysitter :) So the kids took a break from the pool to eat and then went right back in. It was hot, really hot and the frosting started melting while we were singing and green melting frosting with chocolate cake was a mess! But no one seemed to care except for me, so that was good. I am going to start planning her party this weekend so that we can recover from hers before Page turns 6! Yikes, just the thought of that makes me want to cry :( I need shrinking pills and fast!!!

First Soccer Practice

Okay, way late I know, but I am going to get these pictures up no matter how long it takes me! Here are pictures of Page's first soccer practice. I knew so little about soccer that I didn't even buy her soccer socks! I felt terrible, but she didn't care. She had so much fun. All she cared about was getting a snack after it was over. Have I mentioned that this girl can eat?

Fairy Party

The girls went to a Fairy birthday party a few weeks ago and I thought they were too cute not to post some pictures of them from the day. They had a blast! The hostess was even sweet enough to buy coconut milk ice cream for the girls since they can't have cow's milk. I thought it was really thoughtful of her. (Thanks Arica) In case you can't tell by the expression on Emma's face she really did have so much fun. It just takes her a little while to warm up to large groups of people and I took pictures when we first got there.