Rating: 4 Candy Canes
Sunday, November 28, 2010
O Christmas Tree
Tonight we put up the Christmas Tree. Emmaline and Lil are to the age now where they will remember Christmases. I still remember being about 6 years old and just feeling that magic of Christmas all around me. They girls were all excited to see familiar ornaments. Most of course ended up in the front and down low - which AJ helped to fix a bit. Afterwards we sang a variety of Christmas songs. Now I can start wrapping presents and filling the tree up underneath!
Rating: 4 Candy Canes
Rating: 4 Candy Canes
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving
We are thankful for many things in this house. But mostly we are thankful for pie. Everyone in our house got to pick one kind of pie this year. It went like this:
AJ - Key Lime
Bethany - Pumpkin
Emmaline - Cherry
Liliana - Rhubarb
Idgie - Strawberry
Lincoln - Apple (though he just had to watch us eat it! None for him!)
Then at 5:00pm on Wednesday night, the missionaries, having heard about our pie feast the week before, called and asked if after hitting two other Thanksgiving dinners, if they couldn't come to our house for pie. Of course we said yes (how can you turn down two sad missionaries who are so far from their homes on a holiday???). So I quickly added a Cookies 'n Cream Pudding Pie to the mix.
Everything was homemade except for the Key Lime which I confess was provided by Sara Lee. Oh and I guess I bought the graham cracker crust for the Strawberry. The pumpkin and rhubarb pies were made from produce from our CSA this summer. The cherry and apple pies were made from fruit we picked ourselves. It felt ever so satisfying to eat those ones since we literally made them from scratch - picking the fruit with our own two hands. And feel free to admire that lattice crust on my apple pie. Best lattice I've ever done. So beautiful. It felt sinful to cut into it - almost.
And then there was the turkey. We did the same thing we did last year and made it on the rotisserie on AJ's grill. Isn't it pretty?
AJ - Key Lime
Bethany - Pumpkin
Emmaline - Cherry
Liliana - Rhubarb
Idgie - Strawberry
Lincoln - Apple (though he just had to watch us eat it! None for him!)
Then at 5:00pm on Wednesday night, the missionaries, having heard about our pie feast the week before, called and asked if after hitting two other Thanksgiving dinners, if they couldn't come to our house for pie. Of course we said yes (how can you turn down two sad missionaries who are so far from their homes on a holiday???). So I quickly added a Cookies 'n Cream Pudding Pie to the mix.
 |
| Top to Bottom and L-R: Strawberry (2), Pumpkin, Key Lime, Rhubarb Custard, Cookies 'n Cream, Cherry, Apple |
Everything was homemade except for the Key Lime which I confess was provided by Sara Lee. Oh and I guess I bought the graham cracker crust for the Strawberry. The pumpkin and rhubarb pies were made from produce from our CSA this summer. The cherry and apple pies were made from fruit we picked ourselves. It felt ever so satisfying to eat those ones since we literally made them from scratch - picking the fruit with our own two hands. And feel free to admire that lattice crust on my apple pie. Best lattice I've ever done. So beautiful. It felt sinful to cut into it - almost.
And then there was the turkey. We did the same thing we did last year and made it on the rotisserie on AJ's grill. Isn't it pretty?
We've been discussing something very important the last few weeks though and perhaps Thanksgiving isn't the time to come out with it but here it goes. We don't love turkey. Turkey is *fine* and I've had it excellently cooked in many ways - so I know it isn't the preparation that is the problem. We just don't LOVE it. And it seems like for a big meal that you go to a TON of work over, you ought to just LOVE the main attraction .... right? So we have come to a decision. As for us and our household, in future Thanksgivings we shall eat ribs or steak. So there. We might make a token turkey breast but the main event is going to be something we can sit down and thoroughly enjoy. Stay tuned for next year!
Other bits of interest about Thanksgiving. This year I introduced the girls to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are very very lucky girls to have access to DVR because back in MY day - I had to watch all 900 of the commercials that come on during that thing. However, we recorded it for them and fast forwarded commercials. It was great. They were enthralled for the entire thing - absolutely glued to the TV. Except for every minute when Emmaline would run to AJ and tell him the new thing that they were showing. After the parade, there was a National Dog Show on which Emmaline loved. They had fun spotting their different breeds of stuffed puppies that they have. I caught Emmaline leading Poodle Dragster around the family room later "showing" her. (Have I ever mentioned that Emmaline named her Poodle Beanie Baby Poodle Dragster? Probably one of the most awesome names ever).
We had a lot of fun having the missionaries over that evening for pie. They were so stuffed. Apparently everyone loves to feed them on a holiday because they ended up hitting 4 different houses (including ours). They apparently went to one Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, and then an early and a late one on Thursday, and then our house for pie.
And one more funny. On Friday I was making the girls some lunch (they had already had pie for breakfast) and Emmaline asked what we were having. I told her we were having leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls. To which she said, "Oooooh. But I want pie for lunch!" That's my girl!
Rating: 8 pies
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Incredible Inedible Egg
Today Emmaline had a challenge for Eggs-in-a-Baked-Good. It went badly. Really badly.
Our test item was a cookie. She started with half of a cookie which contained 1/18 of an egg. That's right - that isn't a typo. That is 1/18. She gobbled up her cookie and ran off to play. A few minutes later she came to sit quietly next to me with a magazine - which I should have taken as a sign right away. In a couple minutes I noticed she was coughing from time to time. A very soft cough - like you have a tickle in your throat. I took a good look at her and saw that maybe her face was a little red - but I rationalized that right before she at the cookie, I had washed her face so maybe it was red from that. Still though, I let the nurse know and she said we would give it a few more minutes and see what happened.
After a few minutes I noticed that she was starting to scratch her throat and cheeks. So I let the nurse know and we were pulled back into an exam room. The doctor listened to her lungs and said she did sound more "wheezy" than she did before we started the challenge. He said we'd wait a bit longer and see what happened next - if anything. So we sat and waited for about 15-20 minutes. She seemed to be doing fine in that time - no change at least. The doctor came back and checked her again, and said we would give it some time again.
As soon as he left, she started to cough. She coughed, and coughed, and coughed, and coughed. Finally I knew that really wasn't right so I ran to get the doctor. He came and listened to her and next thing I know, we were pulled into another room where she was given a shot of Epinephrine (That is what is in an Epi-Pen, but in this case it was a regular shot and not using the emergency Epi-pen). Normally needles don't bother Emmaline at all, but I could tell she was scared and that stressed her out about that shot and she began to cry. Once it was over with though, she calmed down again.
She then was put on a nebulizer for about 10 minutes. When the shot and the nebulizer were both done, then she started to sneeze. She sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. So they gave her some oral medication for that. And in that time she also started to itch. To itch and itch and itch. She was clawing at her stomach and legs. Finally I lifted up her shirt and discovered her torso was covered in hives. I held her hands and tried to help her not to scratch. But then she started using her feet to try and scratch her legs - which led to the discovery of hives on her legs as well. The nurse brought in some cooling anti-itch gel and we rubbed it all over her. It helped for a time - but then the vomit started.
By the time we left the office (6 hours after arriving), she had vomited 5 times in a 4 hour time frame. She napped between vomits but the vomiting was actually a good thing and we were all happy to see it. Vomit meant that the cookies were getting OUT of her system instead of continuing to be absorbed! During one of her vomits, I was holding Lincoln in one hand while holding her barf bucket in the other. While she was throwing up, Lincoln spit up all down my shirt. The nurse and I both busted up laughing - because if you don't laugh at that stuff - then you cry instead.
Her doctor said that most kids if they fail a baked goods challenge, it happens much further along, and he was surprised she failed it on the first test and with only 1/18 of an egg. He was also impressed that she failed in three different body systems.
So basically what we learned today is that without a doubt, eggs will kill her. It is a really scary thought. But As we drove home, I remembered the time we watched a little boy challenging peanuts. He went from tiny cough to ICU within 20 minutes. And you know - Emmaline's reaction was so minor in comparison, which gives us a lot to be thankful for.
Rating: 10 Fireballs
Our test item was a cookie. She started with half of a cookie which contained 1/18 of an egg. That's right - that isn't a typo. That is 1/18. She gobbled up her cookie and ran off to play. A few minutes later she came to sit quietly next to me with a magazine - which I should have taken as a sign right away. In a couple minutes I noticed she was coughing from time to time. A very soft cough - like you have a tickle in your throat. I took a good look at her and saw that maybe her face was a little red - but I rationalized that right before she at the cookie, I had washed her face so maybe it was red from that. Still though, I let the nurse know and she said we would give it a few more minutes and see what happened.
After a few minutes I noticed that she was starting to scratch her throat and cheeks. So I let the nurse know and we were pulled back into an exam room. The doctor listened to her lungs and said she did sound more "wheezy" than she did before we started the challenge. He said we'd wait a bit longer and see what happened next - if anything. So we sat and waited for about 15-20 minutes. She seemed to be doing fine in that time - no change at least. The doctor came back and checked her again, and said we would give it some time again.
As soon as he left, she started to cough. She coughed, and coughed, and coughed, and coughed. Finally I knew that really wasn't right so I ran to get the doctor. He came and listened to her and next thing I know, we were pulled into another room where she was given a shot of Epinephrine (That is what is in an Epi-Pen, but in this case it was a regular shot and not using the emergency Epi-pen). Normally needles don't bother Emmaline at all, but I could tell she was scared and that stressed her out about that shot and she began to cry. Once it was over with though, she calmed down again.
She then was put on a nebulizer for about 10 minutes. When the shot and the nebulizer were both done, then she started to sneeze. She sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. So they gave her some oral medication for that. And in that time she also started to itch. To itch and itch and itch. She was clawing at her stomach and legs. Finally I lifted up her shirt and discovered her torso was covered in hives. I held her hands and tried to help her not to scratch. But then she started using her feet to try and scratch her legs - which led to the discovery of hives on her legs as well. The nurse brought in some cooling anti-itch gel and we rubbed it all over her. It helped for a time - but then the vomit started.
By the time we left the office (6 hours after arriving), she had vomited 5 times in a 4 hour time frame. She napped between vomits but the vomiting was actually a good thing and we were all happy to see it. Vomit meant that the cookies were getting OUT of her system instead of continuing to be absorbed! During one of her vomits, I was holding Lincoln in one hand while holding her barf bucket in the other. While she was throwing up, Lincoln spit up all down my shirt. The nurse and I both busted up laughing - because if you don't laugh at that stuff - then you cry instead.
Her doctor said that most kids if they fail a baked goods challenge, it happens much further along, and he was surprised she failed it on the first test and with only 1/18 of an egg. He was also impressed that she failed in three different body systems.
So basically what we learned today is that without a doubt, eggs will kill her. It is a really scary thought. But As we drove home, I remembered the time we watched a little boy challenging peanuts. He went from tiny cough to ICU within 20 minutes. And you know - Emmaline's reaction was so minor in comparison, which gives us a lot to be thankful for.
Rating: 10 Fireballs
Sunday, November 21, 2010
7 months
November has clearly been a very slow month for us - which is nice! Life has just been chugging along with nothing good or bad to report! Lincoln is now officially 7 months old. He sits well now (a month ago he needed some assistance still) and he rolls to where he wants to go. He did not want to smile for the photo and this is the best I could get.
And this is what it looked like to try and get a smile out of him! Poor guy - there are more comedians in the house than audience!
Rating: 5 Lollipops
And this is what it looked like to try and get a smile out of him! Poor guy - there are more comedians in the house than audience!
Rating: 5 Lollipops
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Halloween
Sorry this one is so late - I had trouble uploading the photos!
This year we celebrated Halloween on Saturday at the church Trunk or Treat. Emmaline have had grand plans for several months now to go as puppies, after finding directions in a book on how to make a dog costume from a paper bag. On Saturday I asked to them to clean up the family room so that we could spread out and make their costumes. What *should* have been a simple task, turned into an all day ordeal, with them getting the family room clean in time to go to the Trunk or Treat - but not in time to be able to make their costumes. So, they were costume-less this year. Idgie and Lincoln were able to dress up though!
Rating: Too much Candy. Way too much.
This year we celebrated Halloween on Saturday at the church Trunk or Treat. Emmaline have had grand plans for several months now to go as puppies, after finding directions in a book on how to make a dog costume from a paper bag. On Saturday I asked to them to clean up the family room so that we could spread out and make their costumes. What *should* have been a simple task, turned into an all day ordeal, with them getting the family room clean in time to go to the Trunk or Treat - but not in time to be able to make their costumes. So, they were costume-less this year. Idgie and Lincoln were able to dress up though!
Rating: Too much Candy. Way too much.
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