The Princess and the Golfer

Happy Halloween everyone!

We had a fun weekend of friend/school parties/pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating/parades today. 

Helena was scared to dress up because she thought that people wouldn't know who she was.  Seriously.  There was actual crying about this.  I reassured her that her costume wasn't that good.  I'm not sure if she gets my humor sometimes.  I remember when I was five, I thought the same thing about my mom painting my face blue to complete my Smurfette costume. Then I was peeved nobody knew who I was....just a girl in a white dress.

Here's our Princess Presto from Super Why.  Go Spelling Power!


With Dad as Buzz Lightyear.

Getting ready to trick or treat!

Harper killed it as a golfer. Although I felt bad because after wearing this, he now definitely knows the word "itchy" and what it means. :)  He caught onto trick-or-treating FAST.  Saying, "TREAT TREAT!" and "Thank you!" and "Bye!" almost every time!  Bonus of the allergy issue, mom and dad immediately pocketed all peanuty items...you know, for safety.

-Emily :)

Soup Brain

I've been tired lately.  Ash out of town for three days last week, Helena up puking in the middle of the night two times, plus my normal middle of the night insomnia, plus Harper's still insistence on not always sleeping through the night equals a grumpy, tired Emily.

Saturday morning Ash is home finally and I was preparing soup and cornbread for a friend's Halloween party that evening.

I'm making wonderful, beautiful butternut squash soup (my new fall food obsession) and finishing it up by pureeing it in batches in my food processor.  From scratch, gluten-free cornbread is in the oven. 

In the middle of my cooking bliss there are two kids whining at me for this and that...fast forward the movie, mom!, where's my milk?, where's my car?, on and on and on. 

Sidenote:  I now totally understand why my mom would sometimes get frustrated with my siblings and I when we were little for always asking her where things were.  Why is it the mom's job to know where every single little trinket, toy, shoe, blanket, etc. is at every single moment in time?  To quote my mother (and I often do these days...) "I don't know!  It's not mine!  I can't keep track of everything that everyone owns!" If Ash asks me where his shoes are one more time....;)

So yeah, my soup.  I'm pureeing the final batch and all of the sudden I notice my food processor making a weird noise, like it's stuck, and then I see a paper towel in a weird spot.  Hanging out of the top of the bowl.  OMG.  I did not just do that.  Upon closer inspection, yep, I did.  Pureed a paper towel into my soup.

Cut to me thinking for a couple of minutes if I could somehow salvage said soup to serve to people who aren't my immediate family.  Will they notice it's a little 'chunky'?  Maybe I could strain it out? 

Down the drain...

These are thoughts from a not-thinking-clearly brain.  I still had two-thirds of the soup that wasn't contaminated.  People will just have to eat less, I finally decided. :)

And then I realized, dammit, I burnt my cornbread.

And I have since had seven hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Still running a deficit, but much better.

-Emily :)

Substitutions

Ash: "What is it, an empty bag?"  My sentiments exactly.

But, it was actually not bad.  Replaced egg-ish thing needed in the batter with 1/4 c. applesauce and all was well in our 6 a.m. Saturday pancake world.

I also made these Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies with gluten free flour this weekend and seriously, they were some of the best cookies I've ever made.  I had to freeze half of the batch so we wouldn't eat all 55 of them!

So, this week I'm thinking, "Yay for experimental cooking!"

-Emily :)

Helena Quote of the Week

Background: Helena calls all of her nether regions her 'bum'.
Scene: Before bathtime, kids are running around naked....

Helena to Harper: "Wow Harper, you have a really long bum!"
-Emily :)

No Longer Nutty, Eggy, or Doggy

This week we found out that Harper is allergic to peanuts, all other nuts, eggs, and dogs. 
 

Poor little guy at his appointment....:(

We're hopeful these are all things he will grow out of, but for now, we're trying to figure out how to manage this.  His peanut allergy is the most problematic since, you know, it's capable of killing you.  I have done several peanut exposures with Harper in the past few months which resulted in hives and rashes and nothing worse, thank goodness.  But, the doctor says depending on how much he would/could ingest he could at any time have a more severe, life-threatening reaction.  We will know next week from a blood test his likelihood to grow out of the peanut allergy.  He will likely grow out of the egg allergy.

(Sidenote: I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in the situation of having a toddler's blood drawn.  It took four adults.  It was bad.  I almost called the whole thing off when the 16 year old CNA started off being in charge...um...no, not gonna work.)

So, I'm still deciding how to deal with this situation in terms of how I cook, what everyone else is allowed to eat in the house, etc.  Here's everything I pulled out of my pantry that contained stuff Harper is allergic to.  It actually wasn't as bad as I was afriad it was going to be.

So, throw in Ash's fairly recent decision to follow a gluten-free diet and the fact that eggs and peanut butter are two of Helena's favorite foods and we've got ourselves some fun cooking times around here!  Maybe I'll just start a restaurant out of my house!
I'm definitely still processing things.  I did make a list of about thirty dinners that I can make that 'agree' with everyone.  So, that's good.  And we're lucky that Harper is a very good eater -- for instance he loves kale chips and has even eaten some salad! 

I'm wondering if any of my 'readers' are dealing with this as well with their child (or themselves) and has any resources or ideas that I can tap into.  So far I've got two epi-pens and a "what allergens are in chain restaurant food" app on my iphone.

-Emily :)

Cash and Carry

So I've told this story a lot in the past month to family and friends, but want to make sure I document it here.  You know, so I can remember to put it in the baby books. Because without this blog, I remember nothing. Ha!

So, we all know how much I LOVE driving my 2002 Caddillac Deville.  Thinking she might help in persuading her father that I need a new car, I have repeatedly expressed my disdain with my ride to her.  She's way better at nagging than I am (surprising, no?).

So one night at bedtime Helena asks me how much money a new car costs.  Thinking I'll teach her a little finance lesson I say, "Well, cars cost A LOT of money...mommy and daddy have to save their money for a long time to get one."  She then asks, "Like, how much?"  "Thousands!", I say.  "Wow, that's a lot!!", she replies.  She falls asleep, no more questions, gazing at the 18 piggy banks in her room.

So fast-forward four days and we're in the car on the way home from school.  The conversation goes like this:

H: "Mom, when are we going to get a new car?"
Me: "Well, I told you , we have to save up our money, so I'm not sure."
H: "But MOM!  When are we going to get it?"
Me: "I don't know, Helena.  Probably in the next year or so."
H:  "What are we going to do with Harper when we go get your new car?"
Me: "Ummm....well....I don't know.  I haven't planned out that far."
H: "But what are we going to do with him?!?"
Me: "Well, Helena, we'll probably just take him with us.  Why are you worried about this?"
H: "But MOM!  Harper can't go with us!"
Me: "Why Helena?  I really don't understand."
H:  Well, he can't go with us because he 's not going to be able to help us carry all of that money!"

Because, you know, of course we have to take all of our ACTUAL MONEY to buy a car.  That makes total sense!!  Modern banking and loans are total B.S.-- she's so forward thinking.  Ha!

-Emily :)

Helena Quote of the Week

"Hey guys...I want to be a mom when I grow up, but I also want to be a dad, so I can ride a bike."

-Emily :)

4!

Helena turned 4 on October 4th....oh my, I can't believe she's this old already!  We had a really fun day starting with peanut butter pancakes and then a trip to the Jump and Bounce.  Then we had a tee ball game followed by pizza, presents, and cake.

Helena posing with her requested Hello Kitty cake and her beloved cars.  (Maybe we should have made a car cake?!?)

There may have been some clandestine frosting licking....

Grandpa Larry, Grandma Teresa, Great Grandma Millie, Great Grandpa Bill, Great Aunt Jodie, Great Uncle Terry and cousin Matt were all on hand to celebrate with us.  Helena (and Harper) so enjoyed having family around to celebrate the special day.

Everyone...except Ash.  Thanks for taking the picture, honey!

Us explaining to Helena that she has to make a wish....

Me and Harper at Jump & Bounce....I'm not going to lie, that place makes me tired...and sweaty.  (Thanks for the pic, Aunt Jodie!)

Papa Larry and Helena sliding down at Jump and Bounce.

Playing with her new marble maze. :)

Playing with Harper in the yard...

Stuffing her face with cake after tee ball.  "Best cake she had ever eaten..." she said.  I'll take that. :)

We're so lucky to have such a smart, sweet, hilarious daughter.  We love you so much, Helena.  Happy Birthday!!

-Emily :)