Hairs

I was bored with my hair. Other than an occasional hair cut and maybe some highlights it hasn't really changed in about 15 years. I have never had it dyed other than the highlights.

I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to do something completely different with it and she offered to pay for it as my Christmas present. Plus, I'm one of those people who get gray hair really early (started getting it when I was 16) and when I put my hair up for work it was getting pretty obvious. I'm not yet 30- I didn't want my gray showing anymore.

So today---this is what I did! Eeeee...tell me what you think...

My color inspiration....(I was going for light burnette with a hint of red)

BEFORE

DURING

(super nervous)

AFTER

side by side...

I like it. 

Do I love it? No.

But I do like it. I don't quite love it because it is more red than I wanted. A little more of the "fake red" if you know what I mean and I'm one of those girls that like things to look natural. I think when it fades I may like it more. It's pretty in the pictures...in person it's just so....red and bright.

I'm interested to see what the boys think when I pick them up from daycare hehe. And Marcus! You know how men never notice when you change something? Well...he better notice today...

:)

Awww, Nuts!!

When Luke was born we immediately noticed that he has super sensitive skin. His ezcema was so bad at one point that his skin was oozing plasma.

It cleared up mostly but lately it's been bad again and I keep seeing him scratch and scratch at it.

Knowing he's my "sensitive" boy (both body and emotions) I kind of joked that I bet he'll be the one allergic to everything.

A few months ago I gave him his first taste of peanut butter in the form of a pb cracker. I can't really remember his reaction but I do remember the next time he had one. His whole face broke out with red blotches with white welt looking bumps or lines.

Immediately I was like "he's allergic!" and ran to give him a bath. Marcus looked closer at him and said "no, I think he just scratched himself up with the cracker." oh. That made sense to me. With his sensitive skin that was definitely a possibility and I did see him sort of scratching his face with the cracker.

So recently I decided to give him a pb and j sandwich that was soft so if he reacted I would know for sure it was the peanut butter and not the cracker.

This is what he looked like after he ate it.

(his cheeks were red before hand from ezcema but the redness around his mouth and chin appeared after the peanut butter)
(his eye is okay- it's pressure from the helmet that makes his left eye lid push down because it puts a lot of pressure on that part of his forehead since that's the part of his head that protrudes)

About a week later I did a skin test on him. I just rubbed a little pb on his arm. Not long after he had a small red circle with a white bump in the middle. A friend who is has educated herself a lot regarding food allergies because her son has them told me this sounds like a classic hive reaction.

The day before Thanksgiving I took Luke to the ENT and allergy doctor and explained the situation. He said that from what I did and saw that I have pretty much proven that he has a peanut allergy and to avoid all peanuts and other nuts (the similar protein strand of other nuts can also set off a reaction)

We talked a while about food allergies and his ezcema. 20% of people with peanut allergies out grow it so there's a good chance he'll always be allergic. We talked about different testing options and he said a new blood test will be available in a few months that is much better than the current one so we should wait for that.

Meanwhile he recommended a skin prick test to see if he is allergic to other foods.

Next Friday I will be taking Luke in to get his little chubby thighs poked again and again to check for allergies. I know it's going to break my heart but I also know that it is going to help him if we know what to avoid. Hopefully it will help clear his ezcema some and stop his frequent diarrhea and random rashes (I have to apply a cream topical anesthetic on his thighs an hour before the testing so that will help with some of the pain)

Meanwhile I have been reading up some about myths and truths about food allergies and different tests. There is a TON of information out there and it's tricky because some of it is false. Food allergies are somewhat unpredictable because every kid is different and in the past there hasn't been a lot of testing.

We now have Epi Pens on us at all times and also at daycare. You never know with a food allergy what the reaction could be if exposed. Sometimes it can be mild, sometimes severe and life threatening. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

I just keep thinking about reeses cups and snickers and all the lovely yummies that contain peanut butter that Luke won't be a able to have. Of course missing out on stuff like that isn't a big deal but still...I love me some snickers :)

Please pray for us regarding his skin prick testing. I hope I can be there for him and not fall apart if he gives me that look. The "why is this happening to me" look (it doesn't sounds like it's a quick thing and then done, the pokes will take a little bit). I know the information we gain will be worth it although there is still guessing involved since you have to take much more into account than just the skin prick test. Pray for me as we travel this crazy road of allergies that's so new to me since they don't really run in our families.

Thank you so much and I'll keep the blog updated about it.

And then there was one...

Nathan spent this last weekend at his grandma's house (having a blast, going to the cirus, etc) so I just had Luke for the whole weekend.

It was so stinkin' easy. One kid.

It made me think back to when Nathan was that age and I only had one kid. Did it feel easy? No. Was I incorrect at that time for thinking one kid was hard? No. It's just that my perspective has changed.

Just like if a mom of four only has two kids at home for a day or two. Those two kids would seem so easy compared to the four.

Luke missed Nathan while he was gone so I ended up playing some home videos of Nathan and looked at some pictures on the computer. Seeing pictures of Nathan when he was Luke's age brought back all sorts of memories and the doubts that sometimes flooded my head back then.

Nathan, a little over 1 year old 

(first oreo experience)

Luke watching videos of Nathan

I think with our first child in some ways we don't quite feel validated as a parent yet. We haven't proved ourselves yet. We haven't experienced enough mommy moments to think "yeah, I got this." We want things to be perfect and sometimes feel bad when they aren't.

I think with the second (and third and fourth) kid we let a lot of that go. We know we are capable of parenting. We loosen up some.

Now, of course there are moments when we feel overwhelmed and incapable. But God designed motherhood to be like that. If we never felt that way we wouldn't turn to Him and lean on Him to sustain us. We can't do it alone.

It can be so easy to look at a mom with only one child and think "girl, you don't know how easy you've got it! I have ____ kids running around at home. One is easy peasy"...but we must not forget. We must hang onto the memory of when we were that. When one kid was hard.

It's good for our perspective to change. Yet we can't completely let go of what it was before.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From my family to yours...

Laugh a lot today.

 Look for the good and be thankful for that. 

For there is good in almost every situation.

Have a great holiday!!!

Rollin' With Tha Eggs (Egg Roll Making Party)

Recently my family got together with our good friends, The Hallidays, for our first bi-annual Egg Roll Party.

(It was originally the first annual party but since it was so much fun and the egg rolls were soooo yummy we decided we need to do this at least twice a year)

A few months ago we were at their house and they made dinner for us. They served the BEST EGG ROLLS ever that were made by Dana's mother-in-law. These egg rolls were something I thought about on a weekly basis- no joke. I think I even dreamed about them once. They were that good!

In August Dana had the idea of our families getting together and making a bunch because it's a big chore for one person but a small chore for many hands. Our plans fell through a few times but we finally got together and made egg rolls! (please excuse all of the exclamation points...I can't help it...they're just SO good! !!   ! !!)

I came up with a craft idea for the kids to keep them occupied while we did all of the chopping. It was a big hit! I painted toilet paper rolls the day before and then Dana supplied all of the craft goodies for the kids to make custom monsters.

My monster was stalking the kids...

Finished Result

Meanwhile....lots (and lots) of chopping later (poor Dana got stuck chopping ALL of the cabbage), we finally sat down to roll up the egg rolls.

Their 7 yr old daughter, Caitlyn, impressed me with her rolling skills. She was good!

Somehow, although we each put a slightly different amount of filling in each egg roll, we ended up with the perfect wrap to filling ratio. We used all 100 wraps and had no filling left over.

100 egg rolls! That's a lot of fat egg rolls!

Caitlyn patiently waiting.

When they were all fried we sat down and enjoyed a very yummy meal of egg rolls and delicious rice (they have a rice maker)

Luke loved it!

 After dinner the kids had a great time playing together while the adults talked and talked and talked...

 Trey (Dana's nephew) and Nathan

The kids followed Luke around copying everything he did for at least 30 minutes...it was hilarious. At one point Luke came up and hugged me which meant all the other kids attacked/hugged me too! 

Crawling around copying Luke

It was a fun Sunday afternoon with friends!

(and the best part is we had plenty of egg rolls to take home and freeze for later!)

The "I hate cutting potatoes" Potato Soup Recipe

Tis' the season for soups and chili's so I thought I would share this.

My aunt gave me this recipe a few years ago and we LOVE it! Being a working mom I'm always on the lookout for easy recipes. And one that doesn't just claim it's easy but then has 20 ingredients and directions to do stuff to food that I don't understand- but one that is ACTUALLY easy! And yummy!

Who hates cutting up potatoes? Oh you too? It's no fun huh? So try this recipe and let me know what you think. You have to dice an onion but you don't have to cut one potato!

Ingredients:
1 bag Ore-Ida Hashbrown Potatoes (cube cut)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of potato soup
1 cup milk
1 medium onion
5 Tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
(optional: crumbled bacon or cheese or whatever you prefer in your soupity soup soup)

(the cans of soup are the condensed soups, I believe they are about 10.75oz - just the "regular" size can)

Directions:
1) Dice onion and sauté in the butter
2) Throw in the rest of the ingredients
3) Let cook (until potatoes are tender) and stir occasionally
4) Eat
5) Go back for seconds

Easy right?

Enjoy!
(here's a poor quality photo of a very yummy soup)

blog post of uninteresting

Hi.

I feel like I don't have anything interesting to say.

No cute stories. No pics. No neat DIY's. Just...yeah. Hence- no blogging.

Also, Marcus has been out of town for about a week and a half for work so I've been extra busy with work, kids, after work stuff, weekend stuff...life.

I told my kids they weren't allowed to get sick while Marcus was away because I had no sick time left and wouldn't be able to care for them. The littlest one didn't listen to me and got a fever this week. I'm super duper grateful for my aunt who was able to stay with him so I didn't miss any work.

I do have vacation time I could have tapped into if it was absolutely necessary- however if I did I wouldn't be able to be off for a week for Christmas and having worked for over a year with not one week off I really really want to be able to spend a week with my family.

Marcus flew home last night and Luke was well this morning so after a few errands we took the kids to daycare and had a date day :o) We ate an early lunch and then went to see Breaking Dawn 2- it was really good. We enjoyed it and I think they did the whole series really well by following the books pretty closely. We read them (technically I read them to Marcus since he doesn't read novels but enjoys being read to) back before they were all that (do people still say that?) Kristen Stewart actually had to act in this one since the whole "oh I'm just a clumsy human so in love with a vampire" act wouldn't quite cut it this time. I think she did a good job but I do think she's doomed to forever be "Bella".

Did you know Stephanie Meyers also wrote another stand alone book that's being made into a movie? It comes out next Spring? It's called "The Host" and although it's completely not the type of book I usually read I really enjoyed it and I hope they don't botch the movie. It's one of those books where you read the synopsis and it sounds so stupid but then you end up completely caring about all the characters.

Speaking of reading...I'm in a rut. I LOVE reading. I don't remember taking a break more than a week or so from reading until these last few months. I haven't really read for about 2 months. I'm actually in the middle of a book that I like...but I just don't feel like reading. Maybe it has to do with me having a kindle now? Maybe I miss holding an actual book? (boohoo, I know, so sad I have a kindle hahahahaha)

I'm in a reading and blogging rut. Anyone been there?

Marcus and I agreed that 2013 is going to be our year of change. Changing habits, changing lifestyles, changing diets. We're going to get active and stay active and get healthy. I want to be an active family. A family that moves. I want us to be around a long time for our children, our grandchildren, and hopefully our great grandchildren.

I move a lot at work but I don't do any cardio. Marcus has a job that it solely on the computer and only gets up to go to the bathroom or to eat= not much moving. Both of us have metabolisms that work against us rather than for us.

Yes I lost about 30+lbs this year but that's mostly from breastfeeding. And although we're continuing with that I know my body. I know that the first year after I have a baby it's freaky and weight melts off me. I also know that the next year it comes back on and then some. Not this time. Nope. I've dealt with preeclampsia twice already and when we choose to have another child I want to be healthy before and during the pregnancy to decrease the chance of it happening again.

Anywho. Hopefully I start blogging again and get out of this funk. I even have a few posts written that need a little tweaking but haven't got around to it yet. I know not many read this other than family and a few friends but I enjoy blogging. I like looking back on old posts or letting my brain spill out here. So for my sake...I hope to be back soon.

Meanwhile...enjoy this holiday with your family. I will be making my first Thanksgiving meal for mine and I look forward to it.

(I know I said I didn't have any pics to share but I had to post this one from today. We were at Luke's helmet appt and the boys just looked so cute sitting together!)

If anyone feels like commenting...tell me what your favorite dish to eat/make on Thanksgiving is!

My Week In Pictures

I was going to sit and write an actual blog post right now but both my kids just had major tired, cranky tantrums at the doctor's office. You know how that is- all of your energy is gone in second? So yeah.

(For the record, it was mainly Luke having the temper tantrum. Nathan is too old for those but he was still not being a good listener and back talking me so that added to the stress. Yep. Note to self: Don't schedule a dr appt for 1:00 when you will be out all morning and they'll be due for naps)

Anywho.

So instead I'm just going to dump some cell phone pics on here. I like pics. So here ya go...

(and if you are a fb friend I apologize that you've seen at least half of these already)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This was on the way to see Wreck It Ralph (which I kept calling Wrack It Ralph) I kept trying to get a good one of both Nathan and myself but didn't quite work out :o) 

Family chore time! Even Luke stepped in and undid everything helped.

On the way to vote Tuesday at 6am in the cold. Marcus is looking back saying "why in the world are you taking a picture?" For the blog babe, the blog!

 Someone posted this on fb (can't remember who- sorry) and I thought it was pretty funny.

 I looked at this the other day in Nathan's room. This is Nathan when he was Luke's age (1 yr). Wow. Time flies. And he looks like the cutest little pig farmer ever. We still need to get a picture of Luke like this. 

(my in-laws are pig farmers hence all the pigs)

My dad, Luke, and Marcus

 I found this last night after Nathan was in bed. I was wondering if I should be concerned since it looks like...well...yanno. So this morning I casually asked Nathan. He said "it's me sitting on a big stack of pumpkins" Oh...shame on me for thinking otherwise! :o)

A porcupine security system...keeps people from stealing your change in your piggy bank. Nevermind that Nathan doesn't have any money.

Another find in Nathan's room. Yanno, just a cat looking out the window upside down.

 Family floor wrestling is a huge event in our house.

 My sweetest

The boys before the dr appt meltdowns. 

There ya have it folks! Have a great weekend!

Halloween 2012 (a little late...)

This year it was a bit on the chilly side for Halloween so we decided to take the boys to the local Bass Pro Shop because I had heard that they were going to have trick-or-treating inside. It was fun but I thought they were going to have a bit more decorations or...well... people at least. There was hardly anyone there but the boys enjoying going from counter to counter and trick-or-treating.

Nathan picked out a dragon (or dinosaur? can't tell) costume last month and I happened to have a similar costume left over from Nathan's 2nd Halloween that fit Luke. So they were matching dragons...or dinosaurs...or alligators?

 The sweetest thing was when they were walking around holding hands. Luke thinks Nathan is the best thing ever and loves doing things with his big brother.

When they walked up to the counter about the 3rd time Nathan held out his bucket and said "trick or treat!" and then Luke held out his bucket and said "abba do ba bada" in his baby talk. It was so funny! Marcus and I started laughing. He knew what to do even though he couldn't quite say it.

 Nathan sat and watched this real turtle for awhile. He was asking me lots of questions about turtles.

 

After Bass Pro we stopped at McDonald's for a quick dinner.

Then we went to a few of our neighbor's houses to trick or treat.

 We had a fun time together as a family! Happy Halloween!