Quick Takes - The "More Questions Than Answers" Edition

1. I was so proud of myself for typing these up in the car on my phone on the way to North Carolina so as to post on time...then the Blogger App on my phone went kaput and I lost everything.  Here's the best recap I can muster while Emeric is resting his weary baby eyes.

2. Most terrifying project of the week/ever:

I don't always keep fatal chemicals in my apartment,
but when I do it's to make sweet mustache wine glasses.

A perilous journey which resulted in awesomeness.

3. Most terrifying moment of the week: Clare is allergic to pecans??  I very, very rarely buy baked goods at the store - I am a cookie-a-holic and bake cookies probably 3 or 4 days/week on average, but I was trying to get ready for our trip this week so I gave up and bought some from the store.  One box I got was a Pepperidge Farm variety box which included the Geneva cookies - topped with pecans.  That was the first choice of both Ava and Clare and after a few bites Clare started crying and told me "the cookie hurts!!  It hurts my teeth!!"  I thought she bit her tongue, but when I got closer to check out her mouth I realized her face was swelling.

I ran for the Benadryl - expired!  I checked the medicine drawer and found the epi-pen left over from her dairy allergy days - expired!  Stephen went right to the store for some more Benadryl and thankfully it never escalated beyond lower face/neck swelling.  Needless to say, we've got another appointment with the allergist.

My quick internet searches have revealed that tree nut allergies tend to be more highly linked to anaphylaxis and children rarely outgrow them and that the general recommendation is to avoid all tree nuts and peanuts...

4. ....

I don't really know how to share this sad, sad, sad news so...I'll just say it.  Hazelnuts are tree nuts.

Goodbye to you....

I also make Nutella crepes ~ 5 mornings a week and she's clearly doing just fine with it, so maybe we'll be allowed to keep that in the diet?? Does anybody reading have any experience with tree nut allergies and have some insight to share??

5. Another question: I might have asked this before, but does anyone have experience with tall feet?  Yes...tall.  Both Emeric and Ava have a very normal foot length and width, but their feet are thick (like, 4 inches high. Ok maybe 3.) and I can not for the life of me find a baby shoe to fit Emeric.  I never found any to fit Ava when she was a baby either, but at that point there was no reason for me not to just carry her everywhere and so her little bare feet never really touched the ground (I'm guessing this had something to do with her not walking until almost 14 months.)

Yet another shoe question - white saltwater sandals - yay or nay?  How dingy are these going to look after a few muddy days?

6. I'm on a roll with the questions. Why stop now??

Why do children hate bread crusts?

Why does Clare still refuse to use a pillow at age 2.5?

7. I was crazy excited to see Ashley welcomed her twins (um, I'm a little behind the times here) - one named Emerick!!  I might be biased but it's pretty much the best name ever :)

Happy weekend, ya'll!  Go see Jen for more fun summer reading.............

Life as told by my camera phone {p,h,f,r}

Sadly, I have no water for you today.  Leaving for NC in the morning to visit family and I'm still not packed, so here are some quick pictures for....

{pretty}

Saturday was a beautiful day for strawberry picking!

{happy}

Happy sister play :)

 {funny}

Clare found a new sippy cup.

{real}

Thank you for the 50 stickers, Trader Joe's cashier.

I'll forgive you because you're young and clearly don't have children yet. 

Thanks to all the ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter for having me for another round :)

Five Favorites - The "No, seriously. I'm not dead." Edition

I think I'm noticing a trend with my edition titles.

Ok.  I've almost got my bloggy act back together.  A full report on Jamie's oatmeal brain coming soon.  Watch out, internet.

1. Sewing Machine

Check it out.  We got a sewing machine and I made a scarf, which I imagined would be the easiest endeavor in the universe, except it wasn't.  I had great delusions of grandeur - making the girls an entire wardrobe of custom clothes, a new themed bedding set for every month (you think I'm kidding but embarrassingly enough - no. Snowflake sheets for January!  Hearts for February!  Shamrocks for March!  Somebody help me, I have a problem!)

But hey.  At least I have a new scarf.

And a cute baby.

2. Season Passes

In my opinion, season passes to almost anything are a huge boon for families with the 5 and under crew.  You can plan some awesome day trip to the museum, aquarium, zoo, or whatever - and then 2 hours in somebody is having a meltdown and needs a nap, the baby spits up all over your shirt, or somebody has an accident and you forgot to pack extra pants...you know.  Little kids just don't have the endurance to pack in a full day, and it takes the pressure off to have to see everything in one day after you've paid $50 to get everyone in the door.  It's always worth checking out, even if you think it might not be in the budget - our pass to the Baltimore Zoo last year paid for itself in 2 visits.

3. Daniel Tiger

When I first saw Daniel Tiger, I was irritated.  It's a Mr. Rogers spinoff - and who the heck do they think they are messing with Mr. Rogers?!  But then, Ava - who was in the throes of potty resistance - started singing a little jingle when I gently reminded her it was time to use the potty before nap time..."If you have to go potty, stop and go right away! Flush and wash and be on your way!"  And then she happily skipped to the bathroom.

?!

Ok.  I guess we could watch a little more.

And now I'm telling you to put aside your Mr. Rogers rage and give it a try.  Every day when I see the new one pop up on the DVR I excitedly read the description and think to myself "this one deals with getting children to eat their vegetables - how did they KNOW my 2 and 3 year old don't like to eat vegetables!!"  They have pretty much covered every toddler scenario we are dealing with at the moment.

Tonight I accidentally gave Clare a piece of bread with butter at dinner, forgetting that SHE DOESN'T LIKE BUTTER.  Or so she thinks, because she was allergic to dairy for 2 years.  But since I can't unbutter bread, I asked Ava to "sing that song you learned on Daniel Tiger today about trying new foods" and amazingly enough, Clare bit and then proceeded to eat the entire piece of bread without incident.

Moral of the story: Daniel Tiger will help your children eat more butter.

And so will Paula Deen.

4. Trader Joe's Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies

Cookies that double as educational props?  Oh yes. I am all over that.

5. Anyone else needing some deep breaths in the midst of all the insanity lately??

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. I try to increase the power God has given me to see the best in everything and every one, and make that Best a part of my life." - Helen Keller



Happy Wednesday :)  Go see Hallie for lots more favorites!  Seriously, you should go.  I find some of the coolest things browsing through this link up!