This year's Mother's Day mini session with the boys

We kept it short and sweet. Lunch was awaitin' and we don't keep food waiting long in this family! Here's a few of my favorites.

There. That oughta do the trick.

Use #452 for Duct Tape: keeping a little turkey's diaper on during naptime.

You know those jobs you see people doing and you think to yourself, "They couldn't pay me enough money to get me to do that job!" This morning as I was wiping poop off the wall and carpet. . . again, I realized that what I was doing was very similar to one of those jobs and I was thinking, "They don't pay me enough to do this!" Then I remembered, I'm NOT getting paid a penny! So, after I scrubbed off and showered in hand sanitizer, I walked into the kitchen to make breakfast where I saw my Mother's Day card Barrett made for me at school. He drew a picture of himself and wrote some lovely things about me inside. He says my eyes are yellow like the sun and that I weigh 4 pounds. Man, I love that kid! This mom job is tough stuff, but you can't beat the pay!

Bluebonnets

I love this picture. Oh sure, there are nice smiling-at-the-camera pictures of the boys sitting in the bluebonnets, but this one is my fave. Can you feel the love? Does it remind you of Lennie from Of Mice and Men?

This kid is trying to potty train himself with no help from me!

So what's the problem? Ah yes, there is a problem. I tried to potty train Kyle a couple months ago with no success because we were/are always on the go. I decided to try again this summer when I could devote more time to it at home when we weren't always rushing out the door. Now, it seems, Mr. "I do it" is ready and I am not. The problem is when he needs to go (and sometimes he's too late) he just takes off all his clothes right where he is. . .whether it's in the living room, the middle of the coffee shop (yup, the guy with the laptop got a good laugh that day!) Sometimes I'll walk into a room and it's like Kyle has disappeared into thin air. All that remains are his clothes in a pile on the floor. I now know I will find him on the potty.

This morning Kyle took off his dirty diaper and PJ's before I could get to him - yuck. I am this close to getting out the duct tape, but I'm not sure that encourages potty training.

Interviewing the boys

We were at lunch the other day waiting for our food and I decided to interview the boys. This was an attempt to maintain and reinforce good behavior with the added benefit of learning a little about them. They loved seeing me write down their answers! This is a great activity that I plan to repeat casually and watch how their answers change. Of course, I'll probably add more complex questions as they get older too.I especially love Kyle's Best Friend answer! If you have suggestions for more questions, I'd love to hear 'em!

Barrett
Age 3 ½

What is your favorite color? Red
What is your favorite animal? Dinosaurs
Favorite food? Apples
Favorite song? “Jet! It goes like this- Jetty jetty jetty…” (I’m pretty sure he made this up)
Favorite cartoon character? Thomas the Tank Engine
Favorite book? Little Boy (by Allison McGhee)
Favorite toy? Airplane
Favorite holiday? Christmas
Who is your best friend? Michael
Tell me about girls… “My favorite girl is Ava.”

Kyle
Age 2 ½

What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite animal? Sock monkey
Favorite food? Plum and pears
Favorite song? ABC’s
Favorite cartoon Character? Percy
Favorite book? Dooby Dooby Moo (by Doreen Cronin)
Favorite toy? Dump truck
Favorite holiday? (Asked as multiple choice question) Christmas
Who is your best friend? Mommy
Who is your favorite girl? “uhh, uhhh…”
“Do you know what a girl is, Kyle?” “no.”

Hamburgers? a gluten-free alternative...

With allergies, comes a few sacrifices. . . like hamburger buns. My boys are pretty content with their bunless hamburger patties, but I have noticed that if I give them 2 patties and a side veggie, they will use the patties as buns and the veggies as filler to make a "sandwich." These guys just want their food to look like everyone else's.

With the new allergy results I might be able to figure out or find a recipe that I can make or adjust to work, but for now this looks pretty darn good! I used Polenta (in the roll--if you haven't tried this stuff, you should!) I cut the rounded ends off for the top "buns" and sliced the rest for the other bottom buns and extras. Just heated it on a skillet and put a hambuger patty between and it looks like a "real hamburger."


Corn (the main ingredient in polenta) is a common food allergen, but fortunately my boys are able to eat it.

We had to show Barrett how to pick up and bite into a hamburger-a whole new concept for him!

Allergies:Retested, Results:Unbelievable!

We had the boys retested to see if there were any improvements or any new allergies. We are supposed to do this about once a year and it has been a year so we did it. The results are color coded and number coded. I fully expected to walk in and see two charts lit up with colors like the 4th of July, but to my surprise, they weren't very colorful at all! Hooray! Huge improvements across the board. All the hard work of elimianting these foods is really working!! There are still some reactions, but many of the biggies aren't biggies anymore. We still will need to be careful about staying on a rotation diet to prevent new allergies, and getting those old ones back, but we have more freedom and flexibility.
I am so proud of my boys and how well they have handled this past year. Barrett recently told me that sometimes he wishes he didn't have allergies. Now I know for certain that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. They really will outgrow most of these.
I have to admit that I am scared to reintroduce these foods that have been "no-nos" for so long! It sounds crazy, but it may be harder for me to give them something I am programmed to think may hurt them, than it was to go through the trouble of eliminating all of those foods in the first place.
I am excited about the fact that they will be able to eat real birthday cake!! That makes me so happy I could cry! Okay, I am crying. A year ago, I was crying over my son's first normal bowel movement as a result of the elimination diet, and now I am crying because they will be able to eat cake on their birthdays! We have come a long way! This is good news for our family and any family dealing with these kinds of food allergies. There is hope!