This is nuts!

I'm trying to decide where to start as I write this post.  I feel like so much of this is tied into things that started happening years ago, but I don't think I'll go back that far.  So, let's start w/this past Wednesday & I'll see where it leads me!  We took Blaise to an allergist in TN.  My wonderful friend's Mom works there, so I felt comfortable going.  Rewind about 3 weeks.  We were finishing up with lunch, and within 5 minutes, Blaise started to break out in hives.  They were on his face, neck & shoulders.  I immediately threw all the kids in the car & booked it to Walgreen's.  My intention was to talk to a pharmacist about a dosage for Benadryl.  Being that we aren't doctor or medicine people, I had no idea how much to give him or if I even could.  Unfortunately, the pharmacist was no help & told me to get him to the dr. ASAP!  This helped my anxiety none.  So, I then book it to Urgent Care.  I sign him in & sit in the "well patient" waiting room then I look around at the 15+ people hacking in there.  It only took about 2 minutes before I decided to leave.  It wasn't going to do me any good to sit in a nasty waiting room with 3 kids while my baby's hives got worse.  So, back to Walgreens.  This time, I called our pediatrician in TN on the way & got a dosage for him.  (I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't take him to the pedi in the first place.  Well...we don't have one.  Remember the whole "we're not dr. people" thing??  Yea...)  So, I ran in again & gave him Benadryl in the parking lot.  I headed back home & got him undressed so I could see if the hives had spread.  They had.  They were now all down his back, chest & stomach.  His eyes were also starting to swell.  He seemed very agitated too.  So, I put him in the bathtub to try & soothe his skin & called Bobby.  By this point, I was in full blown panic mode & balling.  Bobby came home, we got him out of the tub & w/in minutes, he projectile vomited everywhere.  So, it was back to the bathtub.  I could see his skin starting to clear.  The red patches were slowly starting to turn back to his normal skin color & his swelling was going down.  After his bath, he fell asleep in my arms & slept for about 2 hrs. & work up totally fine.  And that was it.  It was terrifying, but I was so grateful he never had trouble breathing, which I knew was a possibility.  So....back to the allergist in TN.  After telling him the story, he decided to test him for strawberries & nuts.  The test showed that he is allergic to nuts.  All nuts.  In a sense, I was bummed, but honestly, I was relived to know what it was that caused that horrible attack.
Here comes the blessing in all this!  At that time, I was still nursing Blaise just in the morning & at night.  (And in the middle of the night when he would wake up to get in bed with us.)  The dr. told me if I was breastfeeding, I couldn't have nuts either.  Now that is a problem b/c I'm eating a lower carb diet, so nuts are a staple.  So, it was good motivation for me to weane him.  I knew that getting him to sleep through the night was the first thing we needed to do b/c that's when he's most interested in nursing.  So, Bobby & I decided that we would start last Wed night.  We even shook on it to make it official!  ;)  I was dreading the next few nights.  But, to our surprise, Blaise slept through the night Wed night.  I nursed him as usual Thurs morning & in the back of my mind, knew it might be the last time I nurse him.  Again, he slept through the night Thurs night, Fri night, Sat night & Sun night!!  Y'ALL.....the child has slept ALL night (8ish-7ish) IN HIS CRIB!!!  No waking up at all!!!!  He's 14 months old & I can count on one hand the times that has happened prior to Wed night!  I'm amazed!  He also hasn't nursed since Thurs morning & seems totally ok with it!  If I wanted, I could be totally sad & depressed over this, but I'm looking at the bright side.  Momma gets a new bra!  My boobs will now be two separate entities & hopefully will be raised above belly button level!  Also, I'm sleeping again!!  Like 8 hours in a row!  That hasn't happened since I was about halfway through my pregnancy!  I hardly remembered what it felt like to sleep an entire night!  WOW!  I'm feeling like a new person.
OK.  I'll get past the excitement of sleep eventually.  Maybe.  What's amazing is why he's sleeping now.  Bobby & I are convinced that the nuts were making his skin itch and/or his tummy hurt.  He had some places he had scratched until they bled & were scabbed.  Those are totally clear now.  Poor, sweet baby!!  He was probably just irritated & it was keeping him from sleeping!  Isn't that amazing?  I am in awe!  My sis said it best.  It's like I had all the pieces to the puzzle, but couldn't make them fit together!  Now, that they do fit, it all makes so much sense!
I'm grateful to know what was bothering him & to be able to avoid foods that bother him!  My next post will be on that & how God is already using this as a blessing for our family.

You are my Sunshine

We all know that song.  It's a catchy little tune we all sing to our kiddos at one point or another.  It's also a bit cliche, in my (former) opinion.  But, if you stop & really listen to the words, it is oh so precious.  Especially when you think about someone you adore.  Which brings me to the topic of this post....my sweet Blaise.  Anyone who knows this precious child falls in love with him.  He just so happens to be the easiest human to love.  I seriously tell Bobby at least once a day that Blaise is my best friend.  He just laughs & thinks I'm crazy.  Which I am.  Crazy in love with this baby boy.  He brings me so much joy!  It's my theory that I didn't soak up Gabe's "babyhood" because he was my first & I just didn't get how fast it would go by. Not to mention, I was sick & pregnant with another baby before he was 5 months old.  Then came precious Gianna.  Who, from what I can remember, was the sweetest baby.  But, her "babyhood" was also a blur because, well, I had a newborn & a 1 year old.  Life was insane.  It was good, but insane.  So, we decided to have a little break before we had another.  And then came Blaise, 3 1/2 years later.  I had had time to catch my breath & I now understood how fast babies grow.  I was committed to soak up every second of his "babyhood".  And I have.  I truly do adore this child.  He has this larger than life personality squished into this tiny little body.  It's incredible to watch him play.  And eat.  And drink.  And laugh.  And cry.  And sleep.  He is a wonder!  We all are just smitten by our little peanut!   

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.  You make me happy, when skies are gray.  You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.  Please don't take my sunshine away."

When did this happen?

Last night, as we were driving home, we saw 2 police cars that had pulled someone over.  The kids are always obsessed when they see that & start to guess all the reasons that person may be pulled over.  In the midst of the chatter, we hear Gianna say, "That's not cool!"  Bobby & I just looked at each other, wondering if we actually heard that correctly!  Bobby asked her what wasn't cool & she said "That the police pulled that guy over."
This morning while the kids were eating breakfast, something fell over & Gianna said "It's all good!"
REALLY??!!  Dear, sweet Gianna....you're 4!  F-O-U-R!!  I know she gets her sass honest, but please child, just stay little for a while longer!  She tells me all the time that she'll be 5 on her next birthday, but that she already feels 6!  She's such a mess!  And she never wants to be little, just like me when I was a kid.  *Sigh*

Homeschooling Group

Today is a rainy, gloomy day!  It's a curl up on the couch under my electric blanket kind of day!  Which, btw, is one of the best gifts my hubby gotten me...ever!  But, I didn't lay on the couch like I wanted.  I actually went out & about on all sorts of errands with the kids.  After we were done, we went to church to have lunch with the homeschooling group.  I've been homeschooling all year, but haven't really plugged into the community here yet.  Most of the kids are older, but I still met some nice people & the kids enjoyed themselves!  I'm hoping to get something started for the younger group of homeschool kiddos.  We shall see how that goes.  I was so encouraged, though, to see so many "normal' homeschool families!  Unfortunately, homeschooling sometimes comes with the "long hair, long skirts, socially awkward" stigma, but these families were not like that at all!  See you judgy people??  My kids can be well adjusted AND homeschooled!  HA!

Just waitin' on my ball!

We had this picture made into a magnet & it's on our fridge.  It's our sweet little Nonna doo when she was maybe 3.  Or maybe she was still 2.  If I really wanted to know, I could find out, but for now, let's just say she was wittle!!  We used to take the kids mini bowling all the time in Franklin & they loved it...for the first 10 minutes.  Then they got bored & wanted to go spend $20 in the arcade!  This pic was after she hardly tossed the ball down the lane.  She wanted to do it all by herself, so it rolled at the slowest speed  anything could possibly roll.  Sometimes it would stop in the middle & we'd have to go push it the rest of the way.  This was her waiting for her ball to get to the end of the lane.  I just love this picture!  It totally captured that moment & I will never forget it!

When my memory fails me

Here's something weird about me.  OK, that's a loaded statement because there are many, many weird things about me.  But here's just one.  I love to reminisce, but I have the worst memory ever!  Maybe that's why I like to reminisce so much.  Because I don't remember things & I need people to remind me.  Or maybe it's because I remember things so much better than they actually were.  Or maybe it's because it's an escape from whatever is troubling me at the current moment.  Whatever the reason, I just like it.  Today, as I was cleaning, I came across a photo book I had made of the kids from 2010.  I was almost in tears as I flipped through the pages.  My babies were still babies then.  Their faces were chubby & when they smiled their cheesiest smiles, their eyes totally went away!  I feel like so much of my life as a mother has been a total blur.  People warn you that kids grow up fast.  But what they don't tell you is that you don't remember most of it.  At least I don't.  So, I decided then and there to start a new blog & be dedicated to posting regularly.  I used to have one, but without going into details, it accidentally got deleted.  DELETED.  I was heartbroken.  Dramatic as it may sound.  Devastated.  All those memories...just gone.  With one accidental click.
But, I will move on.  I will stop my pouting & whining about the other one being gone & I will start new.  Not because I have anything that witty to say or because my life is fabulous.  But because I don't want to forget.  The day to day routines of life seem boring to most (including me sometimes), but those are what make up our lives.  And since I can't rely on my brain to help me remember, I shall blog.