Life with Allergies

I don't know why this happens, but I seem to get a second wind each evening sometime around 10:00ish. I think it's b/c the day is gone, the children are (usually) sleeping, and it's nice to have a few moments to do whatever in the world makes me happy. As long as "whatever in the world makes me happy" is something that can be done late at night and at home since it's too late to go anywhere and everything's closed anyway. So that does narrow down my choices a bit. It's still nice to have a few minutes to myself. Ironically, it's also the time of the day when I should be going to bed b/c the boys (Cade) wake up so dadgum early and I'm not a happy mommy when I'm tired and awakened at dark:30 in the morning. It makes more sense to go to bed and get some sleep, but I just can't pass up these last few quiet minutes.

This happens to be my 3rd post of the day- that's definitely my personal best. Makes it kinda seem like I don't have anything better to do or something. The safer bet is that I've got too many "somethings" to do and blogging is just my avoidance mechanism.

This post will also be more about Piper and my failure as a mother. I'm really on a roll, I tell ya! I mentioned in an earlier post (that I'm too lazy to link to) that Piper is allergic to eggs. We even have an Epi-pen in case she accidentally ingests an egg-contaminated product and starts to go into anaphylactic shock. Obviously, Jason and I are both diligent to make sure that whatever she eats is egg-free. We would really like to avoid the drama that goes along with jabbing your child in the thigh with a high dose of adrenaline to save her from the possibility of death. People comment that it must be really hard, but usually it's not such a big deal. We avoid fried foods (which almost-2-year-olds should probably be avoiding anyhow. Alright, EVERYONE should be avoiding) b/c usually an egg-wash is used to hold the batter on. We avoid baked goods. We have to be careful about pastas, breads, and ice cream. So far, we've done OK. And if we aren't sure about something, we stick to the motto "better safe than sorry" and just avoid whatever "it" is.

I've become an ingredient-reading fool. I know all the nicknames and aliases for eggs and egg products and I'm even starting to memorize which brands of foods have eggs or are considered "safe." At least I thought I was doing a great job with all of this... Tonight, I got her new toothbrush and new toothpaste out to clean her sweet (and sharp) little baby teeth. Before, we were just using a thing I stuck on my finger and brushed over her teeth, but she has alot of teeth now and she bites. Hard. So sticking my finger in her mouth is no longer on my list of Things I Like To Do. On a recent trip to the store-who-must-not-be-named, I bought her her own special toothbrush and flouride-free toothpaste so it's safe to swallow. I should clarify... it's safe for average kids to swallow. Not safe for egg-allergic kids to swallow. Because it contains lysozome from eggs!! It never once crossed my mind to check the list of ingredients on the toothpaste.

It had to have been divine intervention that I even noticed it- as she was brushing I just happened to glance at the tube of toothpaste in my hands and the words 'eggs' caught my eye immediately. And boy was she was M-A-D when I grabbed the toothbrush away from her in order to rinse off the poisonous substance. She loves to brush her teeth. As long as I'm not trying to kill her. As always, her face started to break out so I had to give her a dose of Benadryl. I put her to bed not long after that, which is probably a no-no. I guess I should have waited a half hour or so before putting her down to make sure she was still breathing, but I figured it was such a tiny amount that she would probably be OK. The good news is that I did check on her a bit ago and she is still breathing just fine.

Tomorrow I get to conduct a massive search for egg-free flouride-free toothpaste that's safe for toddlers. I bet you're jealous, huh? Wish me luck!

Her First Trip to the ER

Our sweet friends in the "Panda" House just called to check on Piper and so I thought I should update my blog with the details, since we've returned home from the ER in fine shape.

I won't keep anyone in suspense one second longer: Piper's fine. She has a "hematoma" which is just a fancy medical word for a bruise, which is sort of... DUH!, b/c we could, like, SEE IT on her head! The ER doctor didn't find it necessary to do a CT scan- she said the bones in that part of the head are very hard and she didn't think there was any internal damage. Part of me feels better that at least an actual DOCTOR has looked at it, but her discharge instructions were for us to follow-up with our regular pediatrician in 7-10 days if the knot isn't any flatter. Uhhh, that's what I did today and he sent me to the ER, so what might he recommend in 7-10 days?? Anyway, she also recommended Motrin and ice for the inflammation. If you've ever tried to put an ice compress on a toddler's head, then you know that ranks up there with the World's Most Difficult Tasks, just below Using One's Arms as Wings to Fly to the Sun. So I don't think that's gonna be happening.

Our ER "stay" was actually quite quick. Which is sort of a shame b/c I was totally prepared to be there most of the evening. The pediatrician told me that if they had to do a CT, then Piper would have to be sedated, they'd do the scan and then we'd have to wait for her to come out of the sedation. He told me to be prepared to be there for several hours. My memory is not void of ER experiences, unfortunately, so I knew that just waiting for all of this could take some time. And since it's not everyday that you actually get to prepare for an ER visit, I took full advantage of our "lack of emergency" status to make sure we had enough stuff to make it through the evening at the hospital. I'll be honest- I'm not going to be winning any awards for World's Most Organized Woman, even though I like to pretend that I am, but tonight was my night!

I had Piper's bag packed with no less than:
7 diapers
a full package of wipes
2 Capri Suns
graham crackers
cheddar bunnies
string cheese
2 fruit cups
a frappucinno (for me!)
a change of clothes for Piper (including extra shoes- hey- you have to be prepared for ANYTHING, people.)
pajamas (in case we got out after bedtime)
crayons (Piper's latest fave!)
writing paper and
stickers (her other recent fave)

We were set for the loooong haul! And I think we spent a total of 45 actual minutes in the hospital. It may have been slightly more, but it definitely wasn't over an hour. I spent way more time driving there and driving home. Which is one of the many things I hate about where we live. It takes way too long to get places. But I digress.

Honestly, it was all so quick that I hadn't even finished filling out all the paperwork before the doctor was through seeing her. The nurse who discharged us even gave Piper a popsicle. That was genius... NOT. I let her have it in the car and tried not to get too uptight about the mess. Since our car is the only car in history to be recalled for being seriously uncool, I tried not to think about orange stickiness all over the seat. I put a bib on Piper and spread her "blankie" over her lap to keep the drips off her clothes, but when she started swinging the melting orange delight all over the place and grabbing it with her hands, my patience had ended. I traded her the popsicle for a capri sun and graham cracker and we both headed home in a more relaxed atmosphere. But evidence of the sweet treat can still be seen around her mouth and on her fingers. And probably on my car's leather interior, too.

So now we're home and everything has returned to normal. And my mom assured me that the contrary-streak that's recently struck my 20 month old sweet angel is less of a personality change brought about by serious head trauma and more about the fact that she's nearly 2 years old. We are in so much trouble!

More Prayers Needed

Just wanted to jot down quickly that I'm trying to get Missy to the ER this afternoon. The short version is that she fell down on the concrete about a week ago and still has a goose egg on her forehead. I called the pediatrician today and he suggested that she might need a CT scan, which means she'll have to be sedated. Which means we have to go the the children's hospital ER. Which means we're going to be there several hours.

The rational side of me feels like there can't be too much to be concerned about considering she's been acting completely normal since it happened. The other part of me hears words like "sedated" and "internal bleeding" and ":head trauma" and "ER" and gets a little freaked out. And of course I'm feeling like a complete failure and neglectful mom for letting my daughter go for a week with a head injury.

Anyway, we're taking things one step at a time and just preparing for a long wait at the ER. Please pray for us.

Happy Birthday, Micah!!

I can't believe that today's the day I became the mom of a 6 year old. 6 years ago today my precious Micah was born. TIme has gone by so much quicker than I ever would have imagined. Besides turning 6, in a few weeks he'll be entering kindergarten and I'll officially be the mom of a school-age child. After being a mom of toddlers and preschoolers for so long, this feels very surreal.

Since we actually had his birthday party back in May so he could invite his school friends, we just made this day into a fun evening for him. Jason and I were at YEC this weekend and just got home this afternoon. Tonight we stopped by our niece's birthday party- she is exactly 3 years older than Micah to the day- then took Micah to eat a a restaurant of his choosing and visited Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. I even let him stay up a bit later to play with his new Batman and Spiderman "figgers." I think he had a fun time overall.

Since I'm blogging now, I thought I might dedicate this post to my first-born child.

Dear Micah,

Your life is an amazing blessing to daddy and me. Your knowledge and vocabulary never cease to amaze us. You soak up new information like a sponge and ask the incredibly thoughtful questions for a child your age. Even though you haven't started "real" school yet, you can read a lot of words, most of them we haven't even taught you- you just seem to know. Learning comes very naturally to you. The Lord has blessed you with a great mind and I pray everyday that you will use your gifts and abilities to his glory for all of your days.

You can be quite reserved when you meet new people, which is strange for daddy and me because we enjoy being social, but once you've warmed up to someone, you hardly stop talking to them long enough for them to respond! I can see that you usually try hard to be a good example of Christ's love to Cade and Missy and that you try to be the best example you can be to them. You have such a sharp mind and you're developing quite a good sense of humor, too.

Most importantly, I can see the Lord working in your life, taking you on the beginning of your journey of faith. He has begun a wonderful work in you and he will be faithful to complete it. My prayer is that you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and that your life brings glory to him forever.

I love you, baby!

Mommy

PS- Happy birthday, Codie!! Love you!

A Name Change

Micah is currently obsessed with why people change their names when they get married. We have some form of this conversation everyday. Of course he wants to know why it's only women and not men who change last names, although I have some "progressive" friends who both chose to hyphenate when they tied the knot. He was also delighted to find out that people can legally change their name to whatever they want when they get older. He's still trying to decide what name he should choose for himself- Spiderman or Batman. I think Batman maybe the forerunner b/c he has that cool utility belt with the "gadgets." I haven't broken the news to him that the utility belt doesn't come as a free gift with the name change.

I mention that story b/c I'm still pondering a blog name change. I mentioned in one of my very first posts that I wasn't sure if the name I chose would stick. I don't think it is. It hasn't really grown on me. At all. And I'd like something to tie my URL and blog title together better. And by "tie them together" I mean they'll probably be the same thing.

When I first met Jason, every computer thing he did had "sturg" in it somewhere. Sturgpod, Sturgdisk, Sturgfile, SturgMac, Sturgfam, and so on. You get my drift. He's pretty much the Sturgman. It kind of sounds like he's really into himself, but it's not like that. I think it's kinda catchy, to be honest. When I had children, I became Sturgmom and I use that quite a bit on the internet and such. So I think I might go that direction.

I particularly hate it that my whole name is linked whenever I post a comment on someone else's blog. Not that I care who sees my name, but it just feels a bit obnoxious to me for some reason. Like the annoying kid in school who vigorously waves her hand to be called on b/c she can't wait to show up the rest of the class when she has the right answer. LOOK AT ME!!! Unfortunately, I think I was that girl. Maybe that's why I'm so self-conscious about it now. I've mellowed. A little.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to change to once again... And I'll only do it if I can keep what I've already started here, which I think I can. I'll probably end up Sturgmom's something-or-other. If you have any suggestions for the "something-or-other" part, feel free to leave me a comment.

The Birds and the Bees

Of our 3 children, Micah is our thinker. And he asks a lot of really good, and really hard, questions. LOTS of questions. All the time questions. Non-stop questions.

Last night on our way to Bible study, out of the clear blue sky he says to me, "The only way a mommy and a daddy can have babies is if they're married." Since this sounded more like a statement than a question, I tried hard to be non-committal in my response, rather than going into all the ways that unmarried people often have babies together. I want to protect some semblance of innocence in my almost 6 yr. old. Lord knows, he picks up stuff like a sponge. Just being in pre-school around other children his age gave him more of an "education" than I was ready for.

So, I replied, "Oh really?" since he sounded like he already had it figured out and wasn't really asking. I figured he'd respond with some statement of confirmation that he knew this was the ways things were. Yeah right. Unfortunately, obviously unsatisfied with my lack of affirmation towards his theory. he pulled the "rephrase this statement into a question" tactic. He said "The only way a mommy and a daddy can have babies is if they're married, RIGHT???" Here we go.

The same mom who tells her kids about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy suddenly developed a conscience and didn't feel like she should lie in this particular situation. So I delicately explained that the BEST way for mommies and daddies to have babies is when they are married, but that some mommies and daddies do have babies when they aren't married. Surprisingly, he didn't feel the need to pursue that matter further. Yet. But I have a feeling this conversation is going to come back and bite me sometime in the future when I least expect it.

I'm under house a-stressed...

Get it? My dorky little play on words there? Say it out loud and maybe it will come to you. Instead of house ARREST, I'm a-stressed. It's bad, I know. But seriously...

One of the ironic things about cleaning- and I mean REALLY cleaning- my house is that things always get way worse before they get better. Is it just me and my own deranged method of organizing and cleaning or does this happen to everyone? For example, I see one thing that needs to be put away, but before I can find a good spot for it, I end up having to pull everything out of a closet and reorganize it. While I'm in the middle of reorganizing and purging all the junk in the closet, I find 50 other things that need to find a new home which means I have to clean/organize a-whole-nother area of the house. In the meantime, all the homeless items are stacking up while I clean/purge/organize and after I work for a half-day "cleaning" the house still looks like a tornado blew through while I sat on the couch eating bon bons or something. And it's like a vicious little merry-go-round that won't stop and you can't off until you listen to "It's a Small World After All" so many times that you want to stick an ice pick in your ears. Whoa, I went a little violent there. But you get my drift, right?

So as I'm preparing the house not only for showing, but also trying to get some packing done ahead of time (non-essentials only, of course) I'm often finding myself in a bigger mess than the one I started with. Which can be infuriating at the time, but eventually leaves me with a deep sense of satisfaction once everything is in its place. It just takes awhile to get there. I wonder if our relationship with Christ isn't much the same. Just as He reveals an area of life to be cleaned up, it reveals another area of life that's in just as much disarray. I think we can sometimes become so overwhelmed by our filthy depraved lives that we just want to throw our hands up and quit. Thankfully, God's measure of grace gives us faith for the looong clean-up process of the heart and draws us closer to him.