Mommy of the Year

I don’t know why, but recently, a few of my friends have made comments of admiration towards me as a mother of two. So since I am obviously so good at this I thought I would share some of my secrets of great motherhood with my dedicated readers and friends!

1. When Barrett is throwing a tantrum, I carry him like a football to the naughty corner. This is because he won’t mind me when I tell him to go there, and this way his kicking and hitting is facing away from me. It’s all about self preservation.
2. I have been known to totally forget about the dog. I once closed her in Barrett’s room for the night (she always sleeps in our room) and I didn’t even notice until I got him up the next morning.
3. Under my jeans, my legs haven’t been shaved for weeks. I wonder if Locks of Love takes leg hair…
4. I sometimes wear the same outfit 2 days in a row so I don’t have to think about what I am going to wear and if it’s clean.
5. After having kids, I have discovered it takes 3 days without washing my hair for it to begin to look greasy. Taking a body-only shower or bath saves precious blow-drying time.
6. I have taken my kids to “work” (which is Panera where I can get high speed internet) and made them sit in high chairs for 3 hours while I tried to work. Snacks and toys were provided and repeatedly thrown from the table.
7. In order to have nap time to do the things I need to do, I don’t want the kids to sleep in the car. I sometimes will wake Kyle up in the car so he’ll sleep at home. It’s like poking a hornets’ nest, because it really ticks him off.
8. Before I wipe down the high chair and floor after meals, I call in the dog to clean up (lick off) the big stuff.
9. There was the Spoiled Milk Incident of 2007 that is still being talked about today in the Starr family. Cody had loaded the car for a get-together with his family. When we got there, I got the kids out. During dinner, an 18 month old cousin had taken a sip of Barrett’s cup and his face went twisted like an old man with out his dentures. The milk was sour because it was a cup that had been in the car for a couple days. I had failed to clean out my car between trips and that day’s cup got mixed up with the OLD cup. Mommy of the year! Thank you very much!

hair

Give me a head of hair, long beautiful hair. Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen. Give me it down to there. Hair! Shoulder length or longer. Hair! Here baby, there mama, everywhere now daddy, daddy. Hair! Hair! Grow it, show it, as long as I can grow it…

If you haven’t figured it out, that is from the musical HAIR! I think the best part about writing that is the fact that I had to ask my strapping husband to tell me the lyrics! I did write that for a reason, though. I have decided to grow out and donate my hair to Locks of Love.

I have done some research and have chosen Locks of Love because it fits for me. Although the 10” requirement will be a challenge, (some others take 8” lengths), I wanted to be a part of helping kids who can’t grow hair because of burn, or disease or Chemo. It’s tough enough being a kid with hair as I recall. Hair is so important (just ask Meredith). It shapes how we feel about ourselves. It’s one of the first things people see when they look at us. I know it’s the first thing I look at when I look in the mirror. I can’t imaging being a kid without it! I hope I don’t become an adult without it.

www.locksoflove.org has all the info. I would love to have partners in donation! I think my ponytail is about 5-6 inches long to the point where I am willing to cut it. I don’t want to have to get a Demi Moore-in-Ghost-haircut afterward. I plan to take pre-natal vitamins--those puppies made my hair and nails grow super fast when I was pregnant! Sorry I am not going to post a pic of me/my hair right now...ugh. If you wanna do it too, let me know and we can have a cutting ceremony!

going out

I love food. I have dreams about food. I love going out to eat. We never go out to eat at fancy expensive restaurants. We can’t afford it and my husband has this weird hang up about being able to put his entire dinner in his mouth all at once—go figure! We usually end up going to the same old favorite place and have our same favorite tacos. Maybe someday we’ll have the money to eat at all the fancy places, but for now I am enjoying eating dinner out wherever it may be.
I love going out on date night (babysitter) because someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning and I get to eat my food while it is still hot. At home I usually end up cutting seconds for the boys just about the time I am ready to dig in. I also love that there is actual conversation. The last time Cody and I went out, we sat in our booth for 4 hours. There were tears, there was laughter, there was apple pie! Obviously we had not had a chance to have a decent conversation in a while. And at the end of the meal, no one felt it necessary to wear his bowl as a hat (Mr. Kyle)!

I came home and kissed my sleeping boys and thanked God for giving them to me. I know that while we can’t always afford a fancy meal out or the items on the very long list of things, I have everything I need. And someday when we have lots of money, and we can eat at those fancy restaurants, we’ll probably still be eating at our same favorite joint eating the same old tacos because we like ‘em!

Good Morning Elmo!

We like to give Barrett lots of choices, especially at bedtime, because we find it makes the process go more smoothly. However, for a few nights, when asked which pajamas he wanted to wear, he kept picking out the Elmo swimsuit that had mistakenly been put in the PJ drawer. I had to draw the line. It was too cold to wear a swimsuit to bed. He needed long pants, even footed pajamas! Then, I thought I should let him wear the swimsuit (even though it’s Elmo—don’t get me started) OVER the PJ’s. He was so happy! I don’t know if it was about self-expression, or getting to make a choice, but the happiness was still exploding on his face the next morning. So I say, let your quirky little light shine kiddo…as long as it’s at night in your bed where no one can see you! ;)














































He's been wearing the swimsuit to bed ever since!

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 :)