Please Don't Feed the Animal!

Yay! Yay! My house is clean (mostly)! Lately, I've been so bogged down in Christmas shopping, Ezra's allergy appointment and shopping to replace all of the contaminated food, and just general laziness that my house had become quite a mess. We had gotten to the point that we were almost making foot trails from one room to the next :P. While I hate to clean, it drives me absolutely insane to have my house dirty (that one I can definitely blame on my clean-freak mother). I noticed I'd been particularly irritable and unmotivated lately and I knew that the mess was to blame. So, yesterday afternoon I called Spencer up and told him that as soon as he got home from work we'd be cleaning the house from top to bottom (that way I'd be held accountable for my decision). Because I have a fabulous husband he didn't even hesitate to help me clean. Honestly, a lot of the mess was just picking things up, but that's what often overwhelms me. If I can just have the house picked up and looking presentable, then I'm a lot more motivated to do the laundry and scrub the bathroom. Anyway, we worked our tails off for a few hours last night and then rewarded ourselves with watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Cleaning wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be, but then again, it rarely is.

On the allergy front, things are going pretty ok. We're looking into alternatives to your typical dairy foods and things are looking promising. We've discovered a small section of health foods in a local grocery store. It had a non-dairy pizza that, despite the spinach topping, was pretty decent. I'd still take regular pizza over it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Ezra wouldn't eat any because he's used to his pizza looking different since we usually just take the cheese off of the pizza for him. As that isn't an option, we'll probably just make our own and make it sauce-heavy so he recognizes it. We also picked up some soy yogurt that Ezra could eat that was very convincing, some dairy-free blueberry waffles, and some tofutti cheese slices that we have yet to try. There's also a couple of small health foods stores in town that I still need to check out too. There's a big health food supermarket in Oklahoma City that I know carries some fun non-dairy foods like chocolate chips and mac and cheese, so the next time we head down, we'll have to stop by. Now that my house is "safe," I'm in the process of slowing making the rest of the world safe too (isn't that the mission of all mothers:). As we spend a lot of time at my mom's house, she's working on moving unsafe food higher up in her pantry and I'm supplying her with safe things for Ezra to eat (uncontaminated chicken nuggets, some Soy Dream ice cream, etc.) so that I can go there without having to pack a lunch first. I'm still pretty worried about other people feeding him food at Church parties, nursery, etc. I've discussed it with his nursery, but I think that I'll have to ban them from giving him anything (even if they've made it w/out dairy) just b/c I won't know if anything else they've put in it is contaminated. I've considered pinning a sign on him that says, "Please Don't Feed the Animal!" (teehehe) and I'll probably get him a medicalert bracelet too. If anyone has any other ideas, feel free to pass them on. Thanks for listening to me rant...have a fabulous day!

Long Time, No Post

Sorry for the long wait guys, but things have just been crazy around here! I'll fill ya'll in:

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

On Saturday evening, we headed down to Guthrie, OK with my sister, Stephanie, and her family to see their "Victorian Christmas Walk-Around". It was absolutely friggin' cold! It was 24 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like 15 degrees! We just bundled up the kids and made do. Georgia was in my sling (she's now in the hip carry-such a big girl!) and so she got quite a bit of my body heat to keep her warm. Ezra's eyes would occasionally water from the cold, but other than that seemed to be doing fine with the frigid temperatures. Guthrie is quite an old town and is lucky enough to have many of their original buildings downtown. In their display windows they show people doing activities (pie baking, knitting, dancing, etc.) or items that would've been used at the turn of the century during Christmas. It's very festive to see all the lights and decorations and, of course, they just have to have a very fun, traditional Santa. Ezra just watched Santa in awe, but managed a whispered "thank you" when he was given a small candy cane. He continued to clutch the candy cane for the rest of the walk in his little mittened hand. Overall, despite the wind and cold, it was a very fun way to celebrate Christmas!

Covered in Frosting From Head to Toe

On Monday night for Family Home Evening we got together again with Stephanie and her family to make sugar cookies. We gave each little boy a small pile of dough and a few cookie cutters. As the boys have each played with playdough many times, this was a relatively straight-forward task. Ezra eventually abandoned the cookie cutters, instead choosing to make little "snakes" for the rest of the time. His cousins, Cooper and Greyson, did pretty well, despite the occasional sneezing on the cookies and dropping the dough on the ground only to pick up and continue working. After baking the cookies, the fun really began. The boys covered the cookies in frosting and began a whirlwind of sprinkles and colored sugar...which they would lick off, of course. After a while, Ezra skipped the cookie part all-together and just started to decorate his hand and then lick it clean. Between some more coughing, dropping, and finger-licking, we soon decided that the only people who would be eating the cookies are the little boys themselves.

Allergy Saga: Part II

So...the saga continues. We went to Ezra's allergy dietician yesterday to learn how to deal with his allergies in everyday life. We discussed many different ways we can get Ezra to eat (because he's got to be the pickiest kid ever!), in order to make sure he's getting a well-balanced diet. We also discovered, much to our dismay, that we weren't being nearly careful enough with dairy avoidance. Not only is he not allowed to have any sort of dairy products (which we were avoiding), but he shouldn't have any product that has ANY sort of dairy in it, even very small amounts or products that have been processed in the same plant. This goes for the peanut/treenut avoidance too. So eating out with him will basically be impossible because we don't know if the french fries (which might not actually be all that safe in the first place) will be fried in the same grease that the mozzarella sticks were fried in. We won't know if the plain ol' baked potato was rubbed down with olive oil or butter before it was popped in the oven. Argh! Basically if we want to go out to eat with Ezra we first need to have little chat with the manager to see if he's willing to work with us on the whole cross-contamination issue. *sigh* Our allergy appointment was followed by what I like to call, The Great Purge. Last night, Spencer and I went through every cabinet, shelf, and fridge drawer in our house in order to get rid of any dairy/nut/processed in the same plant as dairy/nuts products. So Stephanie and Mom, you just might be coming into a great deal of food in the next few days as we just can't seem to bear to just throw all this stuff away. While I know that Ezra will have to learn that he can't eat everything that he wants to, I just want him to have a "safe place"(as the dietician called it). I want him to have one place in the entire world where he can eat anything he wants (as long as he asks me first :P). He's going to be hearing, "No, you can't eat that!" plenty of times in the next few years without having to hear it at home.

Lest you think we are being extreme with the avoidance (I know it can seem a little extreme even to us), let me explain. As of now, all of Ezra's allergies are considered low-reaction. His chances of growing out of his allergies are, comparatively, pretty high. The more careful we are about avoiding exposure, the higher his chances are of quickly growing out of his allergies. Also, while he is low-reaction, it's not uncommon for reactions to get much more severe without warning (anaphylactic shock, anyone?). If that were to happen, I would never forgive myself for not being careful enough, when I know better. So that's where we're at right now. Look on the bright side...it could be a wheat allergy...have a fabulous day!

Here's most of our loot from The Great Purge...

I don't even want to think about how much that all cost us!

Meeting the Big Man in Red

So we had our Ward Christmas Party last night. We had a lot of fun watching Ezra dance to the Christmas carols and eatting fabulous BBQ and beef briskit from Bad Brad's BBQ (doesn't that just sound so Okie...with a name like that it's got to be good!). Ezra and Georgia also got a chance to sit on Santa's lap. We all assumed Ezra would throw an absolute fit since he avoids strangers at all cost and gives them his heavy-browed scowl when they get too close. He proved us wrong and instead stood there in wonderment and awe. He willingly sat on Santa's lap and actually refused to move and then gave Santa a hug when he was ready to leave. Overall, it was a lot of fun and defintely helped us get into the Christmas spirit! Have a fabulous day!

Ezra had loads of fun playing with his Grandad!

Like mother, like daughter!

Ezra studiously trying to avoid making eye contact with Santa.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Deville...

He's still a little shell-shocked after his close encounter with the Man in Red.

I've been tagged!

So, Kristin tagged me...

Five things I was doing ten years ago...
1.) Just barely getting to wear makeup. Heaven knows it's done wonders!
2.) Eagerly looking forward to my 13th birthday when I could finally become a teenager...how mature
3.) Wearing lots of button-down shirts tucked in with belts.
4.) Reading everything in sight.
5.) Trying my darndest to be as cool as my older sisters and their friends.

Five things on my to-do list today...
1.) Check out that book for the book club blog.
2.) Make cookies for tonight's ward party.
3.) Hide the candy from Ezra (even harder when I'm eating it).
4.) Start the laundry.
5.) Survive.

Five snacks I enjoy...
1.) Candy (especially smarties, skittles, and candy canes)
2.) Saltine crackers w/a piece of ham and a pickle slice on it (I have to forgo the cheese for now)
3.) Everything bagel w/butter
4.) Oranges
5.) My son's fruit snacks

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1.) Pay off student loans.
2.) Buy Spencer and me new bikes.
3.) Buy a Toytoa Sequoia.
4.) Buy a cute, new house.
5.) Give back.

Three of my bad habits...
1.) Biting my nails.
2.) Leaving my clothes on our bedroom floor.
3.) Leaving tasks half finished to go start something else.

What...we only have to list three bad habits!

Five places I have lived...1
1.) Stillwater, OK
2.) Provo/Springville/Spanish Fork, UT
3.) Logan, UT
4.) Lexington, KY
5.) Corvallis, OR

Five jobs I've had...
1.) Babysitter
2.) Braum's (restaurant) worker
3.) Telemarketer, but let it be known that I wasn't selling anything, just offering a free service :P I absolutely hated that one and only lasted about a month.
4.) Interlibrary Loan (borrowing) worker in the Harold B. Lee Library
5.) Mommy, which is easily the best and hardest job I've ever done. (I don't know...I really liked that library job...;)

Five things people probably don't know about me...
1.) I still feel guilty about being mean to my brother Jesse from like 15 years ago.
2.) I loathe most any kind of housework.
3.) I'm crazy jealous of anyone who is super-active. I wish that was me, but it just isn't!
4.) I am very picky about the art work that goes up in my home, I abhor Thomas Kinkaid and decorator art. Just because it goes with my decor, doesn't mean that stupid painting of a butterfly is going up. (sorry, Kristin, I totally stole this one from you...but we're so much alike anyway, so I knew you wouldn't mind:)
5.) I am probably one of the most stubborn people you've ever met. I'm not quite sure whether that's a bad or a good thing.

Good for you if you've made it this far! Have a fabulous day!

Liberty, Stephanie, Kristin, Erica, and Megan...consider yourself tagged! For instructions, check out Melissa's blog.

Our Whoville Tree

I'm just so proud of our Christmas tree I figured I'd show ya'll! My sister Stephanie calls it my Whoville tree (you know, all the Whos down in Whoville) b/c it's all polka-dotted and just so darn cute! I had the chance to add some extra stuff this year (like our super-fun star on top thanks to Steph!) so that was exciting too. Ezra just loves putting on the ornaments (and taking them off and putting them on...:) and Georgia like to suck on the lights (my mom swears she'll end up electrocuted). I figured I'd also throw in another cute picture of Ez just for good measure and to make up for the bad Halloween one. Have a fabulous day...

Though the weather outside is frightful...

It's crazy how quickly the weather can change in Oklahoma. We go from low 70's and high 60's on one day to friggin' cold 20's and 30's a few days later. We've had ice storms all this weekend (for you non-okies out there, that's when it rains, snows, and sleets, but it's so cold that the water freezes on the ground, causing ice to cover everything!) and they're supposed to last through Tuesday or so. Church was cancelled yesterday and all the public schools are cancelled today (except for the university, of course) in order to avoid accidents. Basically the town is just huddled indoors, trying to stay warm.

While no one could claim the frigid temperatures are buckets o' fun, we're all attempting to enjoy the Christmas-like weather in whatever way possible. Ezra was out feeding the horses with Grandad yesterday and was amazed at all the "ice-pickles" hanging on the fence and the way the ice crunches under his shoes. Feeling motherly and in the spirit of the season, I made Ezra some hot chocolate (soy milk) today. He took one big gulp of it and immediately walked over and put it in the fridge. I guess he likes his hot chocolate cold :P!

All he needs is a pocket protector!

So, we went and got Ezra's allergy tests done last week. As many of you know, Ezra has a dairy allergy and we've suspected other allergies, so we figured the time had come to get him "officially" tested. He tested (predicatably) postitive for dairy, but also for peanuts (eek!) and eggs. The doctor suspected the egg allergy was a false postive, so we'll continue to feed him eggs as normal (not that Ezra eats much egg...or any other food for that matter:P). I'm kind of freaking out about the peanut one. That means not only do we have to prohibit any kind of peanut product, but also any kind of treenut (since they often cross-react). We also got a prescription for an epi-pen, in case of anaphylactic shock. I know it sounds petty, but I guess I'm a little worried about Ezra being the weird kid in class. You know, the kid who brings all of his own snacks to school and has to sit at the "peanut-free" table. His pants are already creepin' up into high-water territory and his left arm pops out of joint all the time, so all he needs now is the pocket protector and taped-together glasses (maybe he can just borrow Lib's:P)! We're going to a dietician on the 18th, so we'll learn more about feeding Ezra in the real world.

As for Georiga's allergies, I'm still off dairy as long as I'm nursing. We suspect that she might have a soy allergy (since she violently throws up the whenever she has soy formula-hence we no longer use it), so I'm trying to lay off soy-heavy foods too. Those two allergies combined allow me to eat a grand total of beans and rice. Ok, it's not really that bad, but almost. Oi-It's 11:39 and I still haven't done my hair and makeup or fed Georgia her cereal...have a fabulous day!

My polar opposites!

As promised, here are our pictures from Halloween. Ezra was a little devil (appropriate, I know) and Georgia was our sweet angel. Hope you enjoy!

PS-Ezra was still mad at us for putting makeup on him when we tried to take this picture...hence, the tantrum