Halloween

Our Halloween this year was pretty average.  Pumpkin carving, carnival and trick or treating, and tons of candy.




At the carnival.  It was mostly just waiting in line and collectng candy.

The Enchanting Witch

The Candy Corn Witch

The end of the night, all hyped up on sugar.

Thanks for the candy kids! Your father and I love the chocolate!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Our peanut allergy testing results

On our first day at Nationals Jewish Hospital we were able to do skin prick testing for nuts of all kinds and also drew blood for brand new blood allergy tests. 

They can get blood results back in just two days there! Fan-freaking-tastic!

The skin prick test came back positive.  I was devastated.  Cheyenne had skin prick testing and blood allergy tests done back in July and both were positive for peanuts.  If she was getting yet another positive then I felt that there was no chance of her having a false positive.  I was defeated, realizing we would be stuck with the curse of the peanut for good.





Here is my tough little nut after the blood draw.  She was such a brave girl.  She didn't even fight the nurses as they took care of business!

For the next two days I learn all about eczema treatments and food allergies.  I also realize after talking to other mothers that if I am in fact destined to be a peanut allergy mom then we are lucky.  Some children here are allergic to so many things I am left wondering what they eat. 

We do food challenges to a few tree nuts over the next couple of days but mostly we are just apprehensively awaiting the blood results.

The blood results come after an antagonizing three year wait...I may tend to exaggerate a bit now and again.  The Dr tells us that it is low enough for peanuts that we can do a food challenge! 

It seems that I have a stampede of butterflies in my stomach.  This is SCARY!  After avoiding peanuts like the plague now I'm about to force feed peanut butter to my peanut allergic child. 

The first dose is barely enough to even scrap up on a spoon.  She eats it with no qualms and runs off to play.  Twenty minutes of vigilant watching later she gets her vitals taken and her skin is scoured for any sign of rash, this is done before all new doses and at the end.  There is four doses in all each increasing in size and then an hour wait.   By the last does we are mixing it with chocolate and forsing her mouth open. 

At the end of the hour wait there is no wheezing, no struggling to breath, no swollen lips, not one single tiny hive, not one hint of a rash!!

That's right! My Cheyenner-nanners is NOT allergic to peanuts.  I can't even begin to articulate what a relief this is.  Our lives are forever changed. 

Cheyenne was never allergic to peanuts.  False positives are more common than most people think.   We are proof of that.  And praise the Lord we are!

Non-binding binding

I highly dislike traditional binding.  I don't like doing it.  Truth be told, I suck at it.  I know, I know practice makes perfect.  After working hard on a quilt the last thing I want to do it finish it with a haggard looking binding.  Most of the time I do a wrap around binding because I'm good at that one. 

I seen this impressive non-binding on pinterest.  I planned to do this on a camping quilt I'm making for my daughter's upcoming birthday.  I made the top and proceeded to sand which the three layers and I quilted it up.  It was then that I decided it would be a good idea to look at that tutorial and see how to do this non-binding binding.  Crap! I've done it wrong and I haven't even started yet. 

See I assumed it was going to be done way I had pictured in my head but I was wrong wrong wrong.  That's what I get for assuming.

I decided I would try the non-binding the way I assumed it was going to be done and hope for the best.  I already had my three layers quilted and I had cut the binding down to match the edges of the quilt(see what I mean about my assuming). So I folded the backing in about 1/4 inch over the batting. Then I folded the top under as well.  It took about an hour to get all the way around my quilt.  It was painstaking to get it perfectly even and I had to pin it a ton. 

I hate pinning.  If I think there is a chance I can sew something without pinning it then I will every time.  This project was not the time for skimping on pins.

Here I am stitching it on the inside of the presser foot.




Here is the finished edge.

All done!



Here it is all finished!  Camping in style here we come!

National Jewish Health Here We Come!

Two weeks in a hospital.  I signed us up for this.  I must be trying to kill us all.  All because of those #!%&^  peanuts!  We don't really need two weeks of this do we?  I mean it's only a mild peanut allergy...I think.  It's only a little eczema...covering 80% of her body and spreading.  Those mystery rashes she has been getting lately are bothersome as well. OK yes we NEED to go.  These half hour baths everyday need to stop too, but it's the only thing that helps her skin.

We are taking Cheyenne to a pediatric day program for eczema and allergies at National Jewish Health. I find myself debating this decision over and over this week.  The program sounds perfect for our needs and the reviews are outstanding.  I'm thankful to God for the opportunity, but I would be lying if I said I was excited for this.  Two weeks sounds a bit excessive to me, but hey what do I know?   

I've spent a lot of time in visioning this trip.  After a full day of packing  I'm nervous and exhausted and we haven't even started yet.  

First we have a days drive to Denver, CO.  Then for two weeks we will be at the National Jewish Hospital, 8am to 5pm.  Monday to Friday. With a 22 month old.  My four year old will be there also but I'm sure her and her Dad will split faster than a speeding bullet to go on adventures.  I've heard talk of the zoo, aquariums, museums, build a bear..and on and on.  If you listen to my husband talk, it sounds like a lovely vacation.  "I can't wait to spend time with my girls" he keeps telling me, alright alright can't fault him for that.

Eczema treatments for the first few days.  When her eczema is healed we will move on to allergy testing.  It's the allergy testing I'm dreading the most. Just how much poking of my baby do they plan to do?   

As if that wasn't enough there is classes for me to go to.  About eczema and allergies and nutrition classes(to make sure she gets all the stuff she needs while on diet restrictions).  I'm all about learning new things to help my children and the knowledge I gain could be life changing.  I can't stop wondering how I'm supposed to go to this class and pay attention with Cheyenne with me.

National Jewish doesn't believe that one positive allergy test means your allergic. False positive happen every day, or so Google tells me. I'm praying Google is right and this is all a big misunderstanding and I can bring that creamy heaven in a jar, AKA peanut butter, back into my home.

Sitting in a hospital isn't exactly a Disney world vacation.   Down right punishment for a nearly 2 year old.  The kids will likely go stir crazy and I'll pull my hair out. 

A Peanut Allergy Hurts

I took my kids to story time today, we try to make it every week.  I don't know how it is at other library's story time but here they always have a theme to their book choices and a craft that goes with the theme.  I love it, the kids love it.  It's a win-win.

Today's theme was spiders. Yes!! I love Halloween. 

Craft time! It's a spider, yes that was expected.  A freakin' food craft? Are you kidding me, you have a monterous sign that says "No Food or Drink Allowed".  Cheyenne is allergic to peanuts and your handing out M&Ms left and right.  Thankfully, she isn't deathly allergic and I eventually calmed down her tantrum and we went to look for some books, hey the kid just seen donuts and candy and was dragged away while the rest of kids went into a feeding frenzy, I would throw a fit too. 

I want to complain.  At the same time, I don't want to take anything away from the other kids.  This isn't their faults and shouldn't be left out of anything, but neither should my daughter.  I find it hard to believe that my daughter is the only peanut allergy kiddo in this town who likes story time.

This is the first time we have been left out of an activity.  So it hurts me.  It's not about donuts and candy.  It's about being left out.  It's about my child being left out.

If we were never going there again it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but this is a place we will be visiting weekly for a long time.  My question to other peanut allergy moms is how do you handle things like this? 

Who Am I?

Good freakin question just who am I?  I'm a stay-at-home mother of two, Harlee is 4 and Cheyenne is 20 months.  Zoo keeper might be a better description.  My daughters run through this house like  rampaging rhinos.  But I'm getting off topic.  I'm just your average redneck soccer mom, I'm a weird combination of a 'doer' and a procrastinator.  I'm always busy cooking, cleaning, crafting, sewing,  hunting, fishing, or playing with the girls.  And when I have a tiny bit of time to myself I jump on pinterest and come up with zillions more things to make and do...like start a blog so I can write my heart out.

So who am I? Most people define who they are by their profession.  Most people do not find 'stay-at-home mother' to be a lucrative or desirable position, or one that takes much skill.  But it is who I am and it's what I love.  Along the way I hope to discover what I will be when my children don't need me to kiss their boo boos anymore. What a sad day that will be I love these girls to pieces.  As for now after I tuck them in bed and sign them lullabies each night I will ponder the possibilities, writer? dental hygienist? go back to nursing school? There is too many choices. For the present however, I'm thankful my calling is bed time stories and not something that takes me away from these precious faces.  I am a family woman, and I like it that way.

3 Reasons I Started This Blog

1. I like to write but I’m not good at it.

So if I write and write and write I’ll get better…well hopefully anyway. One day I’d like to write a book. For now I’ll start small. Right now I'm still super thankful for spell check. 

2. I have lots to say.

Lots and lots.  Just watch and you will see.

3. I wanna show off.

I love crafty projects. I love doing. I love making. I love homemade goodness. I want to show you what I can do and make. And just maybe I can help you make something too.