Peanuts

Squeaky passed her peanut challenge test. Now we move to tree nut testing and peanut/tree nut testing for Blondie.

Another Challenge Test

Squeaky goes tomorrow for another challenge test. This time for peanuts. On the last skin test results, she had a weaker response to peanuts than eggs. That would indicate that she isn't allergic to peanuts anymore because she passed the egg test. It still makes us nervous to think about sitting there with her while she eats small amounts of peanut butter to see her response. Even though it's in a controlled environment with lots of nurses and doctors ready, we're still uneasy about the test. Of course, there's no other way to see if the allergy still exists. If she passes this one, we'll still need to find out about tree nuts.

My How They've Grown

Making Cinnamon Toast

We let the kids help make their own cinnamon toast for breakfast. This is one of those mornings. The silly hats are optional.

Eggs

In the past, we've blogged about the allergies the kids have. Yesterday Squeaky had her egg challenge test. She passed. That means we can now have eggs in the house, cook with them and eat them. We celebrated last night by fixing some (peanut/tree nut free) brownies with egss and eating them.

We Love VeggieTales

I'm The Baby

The kids play this game where someone pretends to be the baby and the other two are the mommy and daddy. Sometimes there are two babies and then sometimes three. They crawl around and pretend to talk like a baby. It was cute the first few times. We're over that now.

Battles in the Yard

The kids love playing in the yard. Until recently, we never thought anything about it. We would play out there with them and have a good time. This changed recently with the father's discovery of a yellow jacket nest. Actually he's just found nest number 5. One of the nests was accidentally found while mowing. After that episode and the 5 stings, we're now reluctant to let the kids out in the yard.

The father is spraying the nests, but when each nest is sprayed, they seem to move to another location in the yard. We're now very reluctant to let the kids in the yard to play. At least it's easier to stay inside because it's so hot. We only hope we get rid of these nasty things soon.

Won't You Be His Neighbor?

In June 2008, Public Broadcasting Service announced that it intends to soon change the way Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the beloved children’s television program, is distributed to member stations.

PBS will cease transmitting the program as part of their daily syndicated lineup beginning in September. Instead, PBS will provide member stations with a single Neighborhood episode on weekends. This unfortunate decision essentially silences the special nurturing voice of Mister Rogers in the daily lives of today’s children.

Please help today by contacting PBS.

Check this site for more information.

Goodbye High Chairs

This week we said goodbye to the high chairs. Actually just 2 of them. We replaced our small round table for 4 and 3 high chairs with a piece of furniture called a "breakfast nook". It's similar to this. The kids now sit in booster seats at the table.

The first morning we made the mistake of having all 3 sit beside each other. They were messing with other. That didn't last long. We now have just one on each side of the table. The biggest problem we have now is deciding where each one will sit. We usually have to rotate locations at each meal.

We left one high chair as a deterrent to acting up while eating. It seems to be a powerful motivator when we remind them that if they act up they have to sit in the "baby chair". Now that they have booster seats, the think they're too old for high chairs.

Prayer Time

Every night before the kids go to bed, we pray with them. We always ask them what they want to thank God for and let them help us pray. Last night, during the prayer, when we asked Little Man what he wanted to thank God for, his response was totally unexpected. It was all we could do to keep praying. His response - "I want to thank God for picking boogers and eating them". Now how can you not laugh at that?

Potty Training

About 2 weeks ago, Squeaky decided she wanted to wear underwear. She got up that morning and told us. Up until then, we hadn't been officially potty training. We had just been taking them to the potty when they asked to go. Once Blondie found out Squeaky was wearing underwear, she wanted to wear them too. Except for the rare accident, things are going great.

Little Man also knows about the underwear, but he doesn't care anything about wearing any or potty training. He likes to sit on the potty and think he's doing something, but that's about it.

Why? - Part 2

The kids still don't have a good grasp on the use of "Why?". When we ask the question, it seems like we get into an endless loop. It's a lot like Abbott and Costello.

"Y"

We're not sure why, but the kids have been adding "y" to a lot of words. Booky, wormy, shoey, etc. It was cute the first few times, but we're tired of it now"y".

So it starts this early?

It seems that females going to the bathroom together is a natural thing that starts early in life. When Squeaky or Blondie decide to use the toilet, they usually want the other sister in the bathroom too so they can talk or read a book together. Who knew that started at such an early age?

Why?

This is one of the questions the kids haven't mastered yet. When you ask them "why" or "why not", they just look at you and respond back with the same thing. Too bad. We would love to have some explanantions for the things they do.

Lucky Little Man

Little Man had his allergy test yesterday. They tested for a lot of things and he was allergic to none of them. The only thing they didn't test for is shellfish. They said he couldn't be tested for it until he had eaten some. We'll have to get up the nerve to work a small amount into a meal. After the reactions we have seen Squeaky and Blondie have to nuts, we're not looking forward to another reaction of any kind.

Early To Rise

Blondie is an early bird. The other 2 sleep until 7AM, but not Blondie. It doesn't matter what time she gets in the bed, she usually wakes up between 6 and 630AM. This is a problem because all 3 still sleep in the same room and when she wakes up, she starts crying until somone comes to get her. Until she stops doing that, we'll get no mornings to sleep late.

More Allergies

After the latex patch test, we found out Squeaky is not allergic to latex. She is just extremely sensitive to it and it can cause dermatitis. She is still allergic to peanuts. In addition, we think it's safe to assume she is allergic to tree nuts too. This is based on the discovery that Blondie is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. This was discovered after she was given a banana nut muffin and we ended up at the Emergency Room. When Blondie had her allergy prick test, she was tested for tree nuts. When Squeaky had her prick test, she was not tested for tree nuts. She'll probably be getting that test at the next annual follow-up.

6 Months Later - A New Beginning

So it's been over 6 months since our last entry. We're really going to try and do better this year. Until we get moving along, enjoy this photo.