allergic to almost everything

Well, we’re starting our third day since finding out that Barrett is “allergic” to 26 foods including wheat, eggs, dairy, soy and all nuts, plus more—These items are pretty much in everything. Despite the difficulty in finding foods he can eat, I feel very good and optimistic because I know we are on a path to healthiness and happiness for him. I am so glad we are catching this now before he fell behind too far in his language development, and I am hopeful we can turn around his behavior issues, too. I have already charted a marked improvement there when I eliminated just the dairy!

To catch up on why I decided to have Barrett tested for IGG food Allergies, read below:

15 months old: He was asked not to come back to a preschool program after the first day. I have done everything I know/read/heard to do short of biting him back, and nothing has helped. (he’s been biting since he was 10 months old—since he’s had teeth!)
20 months old: he was drinking 4-6 8 oz. cups of dairy milk a day, had a vobulary of about 10 words and I was struggling to get him to say those! Additionally, we began to have weekly meetings with speech therapists, and a behavior therapist soon after.
22 months: a pediatrician speaking to my mom’s group, mentioned that due to the fat content and mucous-forming properties, that we shouldn’t feed our kids more than 16 oz. of dairy (Whole) milk, so I reduced his to 1-2 8 oz cups per day. At this point, it was like pulling teeth to get him to say just 2 new words a day (a personal goal I set for Barrett and myself).
5-7 days after the milk reduction: Although I made no connection with the milk at the time, my husband came downstairs after reading bedtime stories saying Barrett said at least 10 *new* words out of his book! His language continued to improve steadily from this point.
24 months: saw the Oprah show with Jenny McCarthy talking about her son with Autism. I felt strangely drawn to watch this show b/c I read her book, Belly Laughs cover to cover in the book store while I was pregnant with Barrett and laughed the whole way through. I guess I felt we had a connection because of this. While watching her on the Oprah show, I felt like she was talking directly to me even though I knew Barrett did not have Autism. It all came together after that. She gave me 2 new words—Gluten and Casein—that I had never heard before from my doctor or anyone. I looked back at the milk reduction and I also began to make some comparisons to my other son, Kyle.
Comparing Kyle (who is 14 mos younger): Kyle has been on soy formula from very early on because he could not keep the dairy formula down and as hard as I tried my body did not produce enough breast milk (for either child). Kyle has no biting/ behavior problems and his language development is very good. Also, Kyle’s poop (sorry, it’s about to get graphic) was much firmer even though he was younger. I kept waiting for Barrett’s “baby” poop to become little boy poop but it never did. I know now that this is because his bowels were being destroyed by the foods he was eating.
Barrett at 28 months : After much research, I couldn’t stand the thought of giving Barrett dairy knowing that it was hurting him so I removed it completely from his diet. He had his first firm stool of his life! About ½ to 2/3 were firm after this point--(had been very loose before with some undigested parts), so I knew there was still a problem, figured it was gluten. I charted improvement with biting, and he could sit still on the sofa by himself, and he began to feel pain—something I didn’t mention before, we always use to talk about how “tough” Barrett was—he didn’t seem to feel pain. I recall a time I was cooking, I heard Barrett trip and then get back up and continue playing, so I figured he was ok. I looked at him a few minutes later and his face was covered in blood and he never even whimpered.
29 months: Switched pediatricians, got the allergy test, been to Sprouts, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Brookshires here in Farmersville--surprisingly it has some good stuff—I was shocked, but happy; I’ll be thanking the manager!

**Update: Barrett was on a allergy rotation diet that eliminated the 26 foods he was allergic to for a year. We had him retested at that point and there were only a few foods we had to eliminate. His biting stopped, his bathroom issued resolved, and his speech is on track for his age. He is in Kindergarten now and learning to read and write. Kyle had some food allergies too and he did the same. They both can now eat anything except seafood. Kyle is above average for speech and reading now, although he never was delayed. For more info, do a search on this blog for "allergy"--you'll find recipes and other info. Also, I am happy to share my allergy rotation/ food plan/recipes/etc...just email me.

a little something for Santa

On Christmas Eve, we made cookies! This is definitely the beginning of a new tradition. Actually, in an Aggie home, if you do something once, it's already a tradition.
Here's my dairy-free recipe for the sandwich cookies:

Chocolate and Peppermint Marshmallow Sandwiches

1 cup flour
½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 oz. unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter substitute, (smart balance light)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ c red and white sprinkles
1 recipe peppermint marshmallow filling (below)

1. Heat oven to 325. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, wisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over low to medium heat, melt butter and baker’s chocolate. Remove from heat and let stand until cool (approx 20 min)
3. Stir in sugar, vanilla extract and eggs to the chocolate mixture until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until a dough forms.
4. Form a large dough ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
TIP: You could also split the dough into 2 or 3 dough balls and freeze the extras for later—great for getting that variety we need without wasting food!
5. When dough is firm, form into 1” balls. Dip the tops of half the cookies into sprinkles and place on ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 325 for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool fully before adding the marshmallow filling (see next recipe).


Peppermint Filling
1 pkg unflavored gelatin
½ c cold water
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
a few drops of red food coloring (optional)

1. In mixing bowl of stand mixer, mix together gelatin and 1/2 cup water and let stand 5 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, mix 1/3 cup cold water and sugar and heat to 238 degrees, measuring with a candy thermometer. (appx 10 minutes)
3. Add sugar mixture to gelatin and beat on low with wisk attachment for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and food coloring on medium-high for 12 more minutes.

a cautionary tale about names and nicknames

I have this theory about names, whether it be for your dog, or your child, and it is this: If the name has a well-known meaning or is a characteristic type name the child will tend to live up to the name. There is a an exception to this thoery: Sometimes the child will go out of his/her way to prove he/she is nothing like the name describes.

Now for some examples:
1) My aunt's dog Sassy was the sassiest dog you ever met.
2) We have had to stop calling my son Kyle by his nickname "BooBoo" because he has bit through his tougue requiring a stitch, the next day he sliced his wrist on a piece of glass, he has chipped a tooth, etc, etc, and he is only 14 mos old! We now call him just "Boo".
3) I used to work with a very shy man named Coy
4) My mom's dog named Sugar ended up being diabetic.
5) A roommate in college was nicknamed princess by her father, and called home weekly for Daddy to send money. She also expected gifts for every monthly anniversary from her boyfriend. I could go on and on...
6) Exception: Rowdy, my former neighbor, was the least rowdy person I have ever met. He was living to disprove his name.

My thinking is that your name is often the first thing people know about you and consciously or subconsciously we may treat a person a certain way based on their name. How do you perceive a person named Candy vs a person named Margaret?

If you think about it, I am sure you can think of people you know with names or nicknames that are charateristics and they probably fit it to a tee or maybe the are trying to live it down. Just be careful when you give a moniker to your loved ones that you aren't pigeonholing them for life! no pressure :)

a little confession

Okay, so my favorite Christmas song is Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bruce Springsteen. Gotta be by Bruce Springsteen. That little intro he does at the beginning..."You guys know what time it is? Christmas time. Clarence, you been, you been rehearsing real hard now, so Santa'll bring you a new saxaphone, right? Everybody out there been good or what? Awww, not many, not many, you guys in trouble out there..."

I used to have the record of this song. I just makes me smile. I feel like such a child of the 80's when I hear it and yet so Christmasy! My favorite part is when he really gets into it and kinda makes his voice roar--you know how Bruce does. My mom went to a Bruce concert back in his hay day (wish I knew where that phrase "hay day" came from) and brought me back a tee shirt. It was a night shirt at the time because it was so long on me. I wonder where that shirt is now...

Well, in the spirit of my Fave Christmas Song (I'll have to have another blog entry 'bout my fave Christmas Hymn), here's my fave Christmas card I made this season. Merry Christmas!

a few little trimmings

It's going to be so nice being home for Christmas, soaking up my children's excitement. When I was growing up we always went to my cousins' house for Christmas (and that's the way I wanted it, then). And last Christmas, while our house was being built, we had no room for a strand of tinsel much less a Christmas tree in the tiny apartment we were staying in. So, I am so excited about Christmas this year, I feel like a kid again but not because I am excited about what Santa will bring me! It will be the first in our new house and it will be the first when I think Barrett really understands what's going on. I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning. I can't wait to be up late with Cody assembling the (don't tell) Train set and sneaking a nibble of Santa's cookies.

So in all of my excitement, I had to take a picture of our living room decorated for Christmas...and the boys admiring the tree.

I asked Barrett what he thought was in the gift box and he said, "Shake it!" Where did he get that idea??? hmm...Daddy?

a little love for the ladies

**Disclaimer: I am TUI--typing while under the influence (of pain-killers)

I have been praying for the women in my life...all of them. We have so much to learn from each other and and give each other through our experiences and unique way of being able to connect and communicate. I guess with all the stress and pressures and obligations and judgement heaped upon us as women and moms, I shouldn't be surprised that we all sometimes act in ways that we're less than proud of. My prayer is that we can see each other as fellow women who have many of the same struggles and have empathy rather than judgement, see goodness rather than malice (very few people do things out of meanness), and give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Verses on my mind...
1) The book of Ruth

2) "But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5:44

3) "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." Matthew 25:45

[ETA: I have had to fix the numbers above twice! I am really feeling loopy--going to bed now]


I am so grateful to the following women and so many more...

*my mom for...oh my, where to start... if I can be half the mom she is I will be very proud. She did so much with so little. I admire her in so many ways!
*my mother-in-law...she never makes me feel obligated to go anywhere on Christmas, she is so generous and shows her love through acts of service--the lady never sits down!
*my grandmother...she is amazing at always seeing the goodness in people-a personal goal of mine is to be more like her in this way. She is always supportive of my dreams.
*Heather Coleman...It's so great to be around a person who is always upbeat and genuine.
*Meredith Braaten...I just had surgery, and she made my dinner tonight, how nice is that?
*Leslie Newman...She is always smiling and laughing--a joy to be with, but she is the kind of person who would be there for you through a difficult time...not just a fair weather friend.
*my Mom to Mom friends...I am so grateful for the parenting advice and friendships, and the meal help after I had Kyle. I enjoy their company so much, I drive an hour to see them each week.
*Emma...I am grateful that even though we're separated by distance, we can pick up where we left off every so often and know that we always have a good friend in each other.

a little boy with big blue eyes

Kyle

a little introduction

So here's the introductions. This is my wonderful husband, Cody who makes life great in so many ways, and Barrett who is 2 years old and Kyle who is just over 1 year old. The three of them are the loves of my life!

This was taken on Thanksgiving Day. We took just a few minutes away from the noise and crowd and football game (gasp) to go for a "helicoptor ride" outside.

I titled my blog the little things because I was thinking of the expression, "It's the little things in life (that are the big things)" and of all the little things, little moments and young people in my life that mean so much.

As a mother (and photographer), I never want to take the little things for granted. I want to capture those little moments and make them last forever.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful:
-for family
-for fall leaves
-for love too big to contain
-for the pure joy that "flying" brings
-for a warm home out of the cold