comfort measures

Henri's blanket was a homemade baby shower gift from Bree over 4 years ago. It's his special blanket.
One of the habits he's formed over the years has been sticking the ends of it in his ear to comfort himself.

echo

I want to take a moment to echo my sister, Jaime, in wishing our baby brother a happy birthday.

Happy 20th Birthday Brandon!

I tried & tried to find a nice recent picture of him. But I couldn't find one. So I blame him. It's Brandon's fault.

Just don't tell him I posted the above picture. He's bigger than me.

I did find a nice picture of him below. But it's over 4 years old. The kid's only 15. He was only 12 when I got married.

Happy Birthday Brandon! We love you very much!

Anyone think he looks like a certain 4-year old son of mine?

guess who's 15 months?

good morning sunshine

"Mama, I'm a soldier!"

Of course you are, Son.

Please don't ask me what he's wearing on his head.

hooked on phonics

Henri tells me that his teachers call him HEN-ree. (As in a few of his preschool teachers during our church's mom's group.)

I ask him, "Do you mind being called HEN-ree?"

He replies, "No, because that's what teachers do. Teachers call me HEN-ree."

"But your name is Henri (on-REE)," I say.

"The teachers call me HEN-ree, and you call me ON-ree," he explains.

"Hey, Henri (on-REE)," Johnny chimes in. "You got the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble."

"No, Mama & Papa. See HHHHHEENN-rrreeee," he carefully sounds out for us.

Due to his interest in spelling and sounding out words, it seems Henri (on-REE) is realizing his name doesn't sound the way it looks.

I completely understand. I had to go through the same thing as a child. Yvette. ee-VET, not YA-vet or IH-vet or UH-vet.

I guess we wanted to put our son through the same turmoil. It's really not that bad.

the test results are in

And they are

POSITIVE.

We've been awaiting the test results of Henri's latest food allergy testing. A woman from the clinic left a voice mail this morning.

Henri is positively allergic to and should avoid:

• eggs (white & yolk)--this we knew
• peanuts--this is new
• tree nuts--this is new
  
• shell fish--this is news to us
  

What?! You ask? Why didn't Henri ever test positive for peanuts, tree nuts, and shell fish before?

Well, he has never been tested for the other food allergens before.

So I thank my friend, Christy, whose young son is also allergic to many foods for recommending her pediatric allergist to me.


THE OLD ALLERGIST:

You see when I told our old allergist last year that Henri didn't like peanut butter, he thought nothing of it.

When the old allergist asked me if I wanted an EpiPen for Henri, I asked, "Do we need one? Will Henri's egg allergy lead to that?" The allergist spoke into his voice recorder, "Mother refuses EpiPen." At which point, I hurriedly said, "We'll get the EpiPen if you think we should get one!"

The old allergist was nice, but his method of care was very...I don't know the right word..."do this if you want"..."what do you want to do?" My response, "I DON'T KNOW! YOU TELL ME!"

Seriously, he's a nice doctor, but he didn't hand over the information and guidance like I needed.

This allergist did test Henri for eggs (positive), soy (positive), milk (negative), and wheat (slight positive).


THE PEDIATRIC ALLERGIST:

When I told the pediatric allergist about Henri's dislike for peanut butter, he suggested testing Henri for a peanut allergy. "Peanut butter is like pizza for kids," he said. "They love it. When you tell me that your son spits out anything with peanut butter in it and detects it even when mixed in, it concerns me that he might be getting a sensation on his tongue from it."

And then there was the information...

• web sites
• support groups
• local grocery stores that carry allergy-free foods
• a company that makes food without the top 8 foods that cause allergic reactions in them
• advice on when to use your EpiPen
• an allergy response action plan

Some of the information I knew or had at least suspected from the research I had done on my own, but I had received little direction other than to "avoid the foods" from our previous doctor.

Thanks Christy!

***********************

Then I read some stories that came with the packet of information of parents having to use their EpiPens. I read about the child whose tongue was burning because of accidentally eating a food with nuts in it. Hmmmm....

Now I have 3 EpiPens. The one I got last year expires next month. I'm disappointed that the Target pharmacy gave me 2 more that expire next January 2009. Um, Henri's next appointment will be in February 2009. Should I bother bringing them back? Or say... close enough? It's so hard with food allergies because you never know what is going to happen. There could be no reaction, a small reaction, or a big, scary reaction.

Food allergies are confusing. People often ask me how serious Henri's allergies are. (I don't know. I've seen my son covered in hives from eggs & he spits out anything with peanut butter in it.) Or do we have to leave the EpiPen with the childcare providers if they're serving safe food. (Yes, just in case.)

On a positive note, Henri tested negative for an allergy to finned fish.

They also tested him for various seasonal allergies, and I'm waiting to get those results in the mail. We know he's allergic to something that spits out pollen in May & June. That's when his eyes swell up and get itchy.

I've always been bad at conclusions, so I'm going to end like Madeline. That's all there is. There isn't anymore.

Happy Birthday to the Honey!

(sing with me to the tune of Happy Birthday)

Happy birthday to the Honey!
He's awfully kinda funny!
And now he's 28.
Happy birthday to the Honey!

I love you.
Yes, I do.

my little sister's new blog

Our Family...Complete

the 1st commandment?

Henri, practicing his Bible verses tonight:

"Exodus 20:2-3: 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no more good ideas before me.'"

See the actual verse here.

rock, paper, scissors

Cutting construction paper

is Henri's new favorite activity

and he enjoys it especially with a good friend


& live music.

bless the girl

Johnny says a blessing over our kids each night while putting his hand on their heads. Tonight while Johnny tucked Cosette into her crib, Cosette placed her hand on her own head for the first time just as her big brother first did 3 years ago.
As if to say, "It's time to bless me, Papa. It's time to bless the girl."

review of NOOMA videos

Because I'm interested, I thought I'd post this link in case you are too:

Greg Gilbert's review of Rob Bell's NOOMA videos.

Sorry, my blog isn't consistently about my children, my husband, theology or me. It's just a big hodgepodge of whatever is going through my head at the time.

what we did on my birthday

First, we went to Henri's 4-year check up on Friday. Here are the stats:

Height: 3ft 5.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 37 lbs (50th percentile)

Henri brought his new doctor kit to the appointment to show the nurses and doctor.

We have Henri's allergist appointment tomorrow morning. We're seeing a new pediatric allergist who came highly recommended by my friend Christy, who also has a young son with food allergies. We're praying that he's outgrown his food allergies and that the appointment goes well.

In the evening, we took Henri & Cosette to the Children's Museum. We had never been there before, and we had a blast! Henri enjoyed his time as his friend's Ava & Sarah also came along, which meant that the Hot Honey & I also enjoyed spending time with Ava's parents, Rachel & Nathan.

At 4, Henri loves pretending and the museum was a great place for Henri, Ava, & Sarah to pretend away.

Henri is also intrigued with spelling simple words and sounding them out. He points out Stop signs while we drive, spells the word, and then sounds it out. Then he often moves on to a new word, and makes up which letters spell it. Like, "Cake. G-R-K-H. Kah-Aaa-Kah." I let him watch Word World on PBS if we're home, and I think much of his interest in spelling words has come from that. He likes to imagine that he can make things by creating words like they do in the show.

I guess sometimes birthdays are just more fun when you can have fun with your kids.

and now

I'm 31.

in case you're wondering...

as of yesterday, I can speak... in a low, raspy sort of way, but my voice is mostly back.

joint effort

I took the picture.
My Honey edited it.

ring around the collar mouth

Here's my sweet 4-year-old boy. Can you see the ring around his lips?

It's not food (except for the spot in the left corner). Really, I try to wipe his face after he eats, but his food always lands right where that ring is after every meal, snack, drink, ect. We can't figure it out. Why does he always have a ring of food around his lips? For some time now, he's had this chapped ring around his lips. What do you call this? Chapped face? Chapped outer edge of skin surrounding lips? His lips are fine. It's the area around the lips that's sore. I sometimes put chapstik on the ring, but then he licks it off.

no voice

On Saturday night as Johnny & I were getting ready for bed, I began to notice my voice was deepening.

Sunday, I was hoarse.

Today, I can whisper, and a sound sometimes eeks out while I breathlessly try to speak.

On a side note, I found it a very sweet moment when Henri prayed over our lunch today since I couldn't talk very well.

I have laryngitis. I think I get it every year for a few days.

About 5 or 6 years ago in the early summer, I was looking for a new job since I had been let go. I had an interview at a medical supply company that an employment agency set me up with. I interviewed with several managers in the tight office space. For hours and hours, the manager in charge of the interview asked me every question in the book and then some. He would pause, and ask me another question and then another and then another. It was getting ridiculous as there wasn't much more to tell him about my skills. All the while, my voice was getting weaker and weaker and weaker. Finally, at the end of the work day, he asked me if I would take the job as an administrative assistant IF they offered it to me. I told him I would have to think about it. And then I think I remember him asking me even more questions. Exhausted, I left that office determined that I would not accept a position there.

The representative left a message on our voice mail the next day that the company wanted to offer me the job. I e-mailed her my reply, and apologized that I couldn't call her because I had laryngitis. In fact, my voice had become nonexistent. I was astonished that I couldn't even whisper. The representative later told me that she thought I was lying.

I went on a walk. During my walk, I remember pondering that if I needed help, I wouldn't be able to get anyone's attention through a scream. No sound. Nothing. Not even a whisper would come out. A very strange feeling.

Two days later, my voice reappeared.

I haven't had laryngitis that bad since. Today, I can at least get a small sound out...sometimes. So watch out...when your voice is going hoarse, don't push it further (like in a really long, annoying interview), or you might end up with nothing at all. :)

hairdo

Since having children, I've been dreaming of little girls in pigtails or braids. That's part of the fun in having a girl, right? (Never mind the snarls, right now).

At Henri's birthday party, my friends, Rachel and MCK Mama, inspired me to try to put a band in Cosette's hair.So the next day, I gave it a try.

I last put a barrette in Cosette's hair in December for our family picture, and a ponytail seemed impossible in her thin blonde hair.

There's still too little hair on the sides to do pigtails.

Though Cosette was squirmy, I got the tiny rubber band in her hair.

She was so intrigued with me brushing her hair that she picked up the hairbrush and tried to brush it herself, pulling a few hairs out of the band.

Thanks ladies for suggesting that I try it again.

Happy Birthday Henri!

Henri is 4 today!

We had a birthday party for him on Sunday. He wanted a "monster" themed party and a cake with yellow frosting. So that's what we tried to give him.

Whew! Good news. He liked it.

Henri is allergic to eggs. Imagine the challenge of having to make an eggless cake. I've tried MANY recipes, and only ONE recipe I have works well for making layer cakes and tastes great, thanks to my friend Jess. This year instead of making a round layer cake, I tried the recipe in a Bundt pan, adding 20 minutes to the bake time, to make this cake:

Henri's Birthday Cake

My good friend Jess realized a couple of years ago that one of the cake recipes in her cookbook (that she made for her dad's birthday) did not require eggs, and she passed the recipe on to me. In my opinion, it's also a REALLY, REALLY good cake recipe (if you like rich, moist, dense chocolate cake). The recipe is from an out-of-print cookbook called American Bistro by Diane Rossen Worthington. So for your baking enjoyment, but without the frosting recipe included because I always do something different, I've put the recipe down below. If anyone knows that I should not reprint this recipe, I will quickly remove it. I'm so thankful to Jess for passing the recipe on to me and to the author of this recipe. Henri is so grateful when he gets to actually eat cake, and asked me again and again this year if I would make him an eggless cake for his birthday party. I just want to share the love. Thanks.

Chocolate Celebration Cake
from American Bistro by Diane Rossen Worthington

(aka Eggless Chocolate Layer Cake)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. (I use parchment paper or Pam Baking spray or Bakers Joy. Once the cakes stuck to the pans badly when I used just butter & flour, and I called Rachel crying. She straightened me out and sent me off baking with parchment paper.)
   
2. Prepare the cake: In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place the cocoa in a large bowl and slowly add the hot water while stirring constantly. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the cold water. Stir in the vegetable oil and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing it evenly, and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the pan.
4. Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes (or Bundt pan for 50-55 minutes), or until they begin to come away from the sides of the pans and the tops are springy to the touch. (Do NOT open the oven until you are ready to test the cake for doneness). Remove to racks to cool for 20 minutes. Run a think-bladed knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cakes, then invert onto the racks to cool completely before assembling.
5. Place the first cake layer, chocolate chip side up, on a serving plate. Spread frosting thickly over the layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Top with second cake layer, chocolate chip side up, and push down gently. Finish frosting as desired.

Makes one 9-inch, 2 layer cake (serves 8-10).

Enjoy! It's 1:00 am, so I will post more about the party activities later.

Cosette turned 14 months

and I missed it... because I forgot... but then I remembered... the next day.

a new arrangement

We moved our computer into our bedroom last night on a whim out of the 3rd bedroom, which has been a guest room/office/Cosette's sleeping room (it has a pack 'n' play set up in it). Maybe I'll take a picture later, but I'm still figuring out where to put all the office stuff that came along with it. Things are messy right now. Plus I want to nap. Nuts, Cosette just woke up from her nap.

I'm also pondering putting Cosette or Henri into the 3rd bedroom. Right now the crib & Henri's twin-size bed are in the same room. But then what do we do with the full size bed that is in the 3rd bedroom? I might continue to keep our pack 'n' play in there for when Cosette naps. Perhaps we'll wait until Cosette graduates out of her crib, and we'll throw her in the full size bed. To have the kids share a room or not, that is the question.

Giggling with excitement in her sunglasses.

Right now, Cosette is enjoying shutting herself into our closet. Problem is: she cries every time as she pinches her fingers when she pulls the door shut.