Scary Times

Yesterday afternoon, Erin Joy gave me quite the scare.  Hives suddenly covered her body (well, at least her head, stomach, back, and upper arms), she swelled up like a balloon, and she started violently scratching herself.  I called her dermatologist to see if it was perhaps a reaction to the anesthesia from the day before, but I just reached an answering machine so I left a message and called her pediatrician.  He doesn't work on Tuesday.  

I ended up taking her to a walk-in clinic.  By the time we got there, she started wheezing.  She seriously couldn't breathe.  It was very scary.  They gave her an injection of epinephrine which worked immediately.  She started to breathe immediately and the hives magically disappeared.  We had to wait awhile to make sure that she didn't have a reaction to the epinephrine.

It is scary to me because I have no idea what caused her to go into anaphylactic shock.  She ate lunch four hours before she broke out and she didn't eat anything strange like peanuts.  She has eaten peanuts before with no problems.  She ate nothing that she hasn't eaten before.  I wish I knew what triggered her reaction.  I don't think it could have been the anesthesia because it had been over 24 hours since her surgery.  Does anybody know if milk can cause anaphylactic shock??  She had chocolate milk and cheese sauce on her school-lunch-nachos.  I generally limit the amount of dairy products I give both of my girls because they have BOTH shown signs that they are allergic to it.  Not this severe though...just a little tummy trouble and cold-like symptoms.  Can Comet or Windex cause anaphylactic shock?  She had been helping me clean the bathroom right before she started to swell and get hives.

I thought anaphylactic shock was caused by peanuts or bee stings or shellfish.  The doctor said sometimes it can be caused by unknown triggers.  WHAT!!!  I need to know what caused this so it NEVER happens again.  I'm going to talk to her regular pediatrician.  He is very wise and I trust him.  I hope he can point us in the right direction.

She now has an EpiPen.  I get to give her an injection if she ever goes into anaphylactic shock again.  Great.  I have had students with EpiPens and I have always hoped and prayed I would never have to give them an injection.  Now my own daughter has one.  I really, really, really hope I never have to use it.  I hope nobody ever has to use it on her.  Watching her swell up and struggling to breathe was very scary.

After our scary visit to the doctor, we went to the Halloween carnival/trunk-or-treat at our church.  Erin Joy was perfectly fine after her adrenaline shot so I figured we might as well go.  If we didn't go, Rachel would have been furious because she has been looking forward to this for many days.  We are going to another Halloween Carnival on Friday so we will have enough candy to last until Christmas.  Last Christmas, I used Halloween candy to fill their stockings.  I wonder if they will notice if I do it again this year...

MUST READ BOOK

I seriously couldn't put this book down.  Haregewoin is an amazing woman.  I can't imagine taking in so many children without any support to care for them.  I never realized how bad the AIDS epidemic is in Africa/Ethiopia.  This book was written by an adoptive mother with four children from Ethiopia and several biological children.  You must read this book.  You must check out this site (CLICK HERE).

Here is a description that I cut and pasted from another webpage.  The book is even better than the description.  Run to your local library, check it out, and read it!!!

Book Description
THERE IS NO ME WITHOUT YOU is the story of Haregewoin Tefarra, a middle-aged Ethiopian woman of modest means whose home has become a refuge for hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS. It is a story as much about the power of the bond between children and parents as about the epidemic that every year leaves millions of children, mostly healthy themselves, without family. 

Originally a middle-class woman with a happy family life, Haregewoin fell into a deep depression after the death of her recently married daughter. But then a priest brought her two children, AIDS orphans, with nowhere to go. Unexpectedly, the children thrived, and Haregewoin found herself drawn back into daily life. As word got out, an endless stream of children began to arrive at her door, delivered by dying parents and other relatives who begged for her help, and, pushing against the limits of her home and bank account, she took more and more in. 

Today, Haregewoin runs a school, a daycare system, and a shelter for sick mothers. Without medication for her charges — some HIV-positive, some uninfected, and some infants trying to fight off the virus, but almost all of whom come to her terrified and malnourished — she forges on, caring for as many as she can handle. Increasingly, she also places them for adoption with families like that of journalist Melissa Fay Greene, who has two children adopted from Ethiopia. In Haregewoin Tefarra's story, Greene gives us an astonishing portrait of a woman fighting a continent-wide epidemic.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is our new Halloween tradition.  We have to have it a few days before Halloween because Halloween night is so busy.  I really like the soup, but not enough to have it more than once a year.  I love curry and the curry/pumpkin combination is delicious.

If you are interested, here is the recipe:

8 slices bacon
3 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
8 cups water
2 T chicken bouillon granules
1 large can packed pumpkin
1 T sugar
1 tsp thyme
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Cook the bacon in a heavy pot. Remove from heat, crumble, and set aside. In the same pot, mix the oil, onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 15 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon, pumpkin, sugar, thyme, and crumbled bacon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.

2. Pour the soup in batches into a blender and puree. Return to the pot. Mix in the mild, nutmeg, and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with cheddar and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

How I modified it because I can never follow the recipe....
*I left out the milk...we only have soy milk in our house (milk issues with the girls) and I didn't think that would taste very good

*I also didn't puree the soup in the blender....I thought it tasted fine the way it was so I left it a little chunky rather than creamed it
*I added more curry because I love curry and I think the curry is what made the soup good, so be generous with the curry...I just dumped some in...I at least doubled the curry

It makes a great Halloween soup! You should all try it at least once.

Last year, we made pumpkin ice cream and that was really good too.  We might have to do that later.  Maybe for Thanksgiving....

Usually we have roasted pumpkin seeds too because they are so yummy and the girls really enjoy roasting the seeds from their pumpkins.  I shouldn't have turned the oven up while cleaning the house and reading a good book.  I totally forgot about my baking pumpkin seeds until black smoke started coming from the oven.  Darn.  I'll have to wait until next Halloween and try it again.

I'm glad the soup turned out well to make up for the black pumpkin seeds.  The book was excellent and the house is clean so I suppose it was worth burned seeds to finally have a clean house and finally have time to finish my book.  I'm going to blog about the book next.

Lookin' Good

Erin Joy has hardly any swelling and no black spots.  She is just a little red.  I don't think her doctor lasered right below her eye.  Her eye is usually swollen shut the next day, but not today.  I know she didn't laser the stubborn eczema patch that just doesn't seem to go away.  The red spots below her nose are remnants of a recent cold.  Her nose looks worse than her birthmark.

Yesterday while looking in the mirror, Erin Joy said, "I have birkmark.  Doctor give me birkmark."  Silly girl.

I am looking forward to a day off work.  Doctor's orders....I have to watch her for signs of dizziness, scabbing, infection, and so forth.  I'm going to watch her while I finish my good book, make pumpkin soup, and clean the house.  My goal for the day is to wear my pajamas all day. (At least until our church's Halloween Carnival tonight).  I'm going to throw a coat over my pajamas to drive Rachel to school and pick her up.   Ah, what a great day!  I get to pretend for a day that I am a stay-at-home mom.   Nice!

Laser

Playing in the waiting area before her laser treatment today.  Notice how light her birthmark is.  She has one more treatment scheduled in December and then she should be finished.  Oh, I hope so.

She woke up happy after a fairly short treatment.  We were late arriving (stuck in Seattle traffic) and they rushed us to surgery as soon as we got there.  She didn't have time for the "giggle" medicine before surgery so they asked me to go back with her while they put her to sleep to help her stay calm.  She did very well.  She followed directions and didn't complain.  (This isn't always the case.  Sometimes she refuses to even stand on the scale or let the nurse take her blood pressure.)
She slept peacefully all the way home.  She is awake now and doing well.  She has eaten a little and doesn't seem to have any nausea.  She has had diarrhea a few times though.  Strange.  I didn't think that was side-effect of anesthesia.  She didn't have that problem before surgery.  I'm sure she is fine.  I'm ready for a nap though.  We got up WAY too early this morning.  Erin Joy is watching Little Einstein now.  I'm going to go snuggle with her on the couch and take a nap until I have to pick up Rachel from school.

Harvest Carnival

We had a fun time at our school's Harvest Carnival last night.    Erin Joy got pizza all over her white costume and then she had an accident.  She started to cry and told me it was my fault.

"You didn't take me potty!"  She cried loudly.

"You didn't tell me you had to go potty, " I responded.

She made quite the scene and quite the puddle.  I'm washing her costume in the washing machine now.  The label says to spot clean only and to not put it in the washing machine.  We'll see what happens.  I hope it survives.  She needs to wear it two more times before Halloween is over.

Jack-o-Lantern Carving

We enjoyed a beautiful evening outside carving our pumpkins. Erin Joy carefully designed her pumpkin and I cut it for her. The pictures don't even begin to show all the details she put on her pumpkin. The pictures don't show how crooked her pumpkin is either. It doesn't stand up straight. It is definitely a jack-o-lantern with personality. The best kind.

Rachel REFUSED to carve her pumpkin. You would have thought I was a deranged murderer or something by her reaction to my suggestion of carving her pumpkin. She did not want me taking a knife to her precious Rosie Pumpkin. Sweet Rosie: the pumpkin that was so selectively chosen.

This year we will have one carved jack-o-lantern and one uncarved jack-o-lantern. I'm using my pumpkin as a serving bowl for pumpkin soup. I'll take a picture of it and post a recipe when I actually make it. I like it, but not enough to eat it more than once a year. One of my girls liked it last year and one didn't. I can't remember which one. I'll find out soon.

Who Should I Vote For?

I read this letter to our presidential candidates on another blog. I agree. Click here to read the post.

By the way, Rachel thinks I should vote for Obama because his favorite children's book is Where the Wild Things Are. I can't remember McCain's favorite children's book, but it was a boring one, according to Rachel. I think it was Robinson Crusoe or something like that. (They were interviewed for a Time For Kids publication).

I wonder if we would be better off if we allowed young children to vote. Couldn't be worse....maybe I'll let Rachel fill out my mail-in ballot. It is sitting on my desk waiting for me to vote. I am still undecided about many issues...yikes...November 4th is lurking...

That's all I will say about politics. I choose not to talk about politics on my blog because I have too many family members who don't agree with my usual political positions.

Grammar Lessons

Erin Joy has been working hard to include helping/linking verbs in her sentences.  (I learned them as helping verbs when I was a kid in school, but I teach my fourth graders linking verbs...same thing...verbs like: is, are, was, were, has, have, had...in case you didn't know.)  Adding linking verbs to her sentences is one of Erin Joy's IEP goals.  She will say, "I hungry" "Him tired" (yes, she is working on pronouns too), "I cold" and so forth.  I always make her repeat whatever she said and fix her grammar.

I think she has finally figured it out.  Lately she has been saying, "I am love you."  Nice overgeneralization, Sweetie!  I am love you, too, Erin Joy!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Can you believe she is giving this away??? If I ever made something like this, I would have it put in a shadow box or framed or bronzed or something. I would certainly never give it away.

Remlinger Farms

We had a blast at Remlinger Farms with friends yesterday.  While I waited for the video to upload, I made magazine covers out of a few of my favorite pictures.  I loved the pictures I took on the little roller coaster, but they didn't fit well on any of the magazine covers.  I was sitting in the seat in front of the girls so I turned around and took pictures of them.  The pictures were blurry, but still cute.  I learned sitting backwards and taking pictures on a roller coaster (even a kiddie roller coaster) isn't a good idea if you want to keep your lunch down.  

Anyway, it was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and the beautiful fall colors were amazing.  Even the girls noticed the beautiful mountains, trees, lakes, and rivers as we drove over an hour through gorgeous back roads to get to the farm.

We ended the day by picking pumpkins.  Our pumpkin choices reflected our personalities.

Me:  I wanted a big pumpkin.  Only a perfectly round, bright orange pumpkin with a good stem would do for me.  I ended up with a smaller pumpkin than my original selection though for two reasons:  a smaller pumpkin was cheaper and I didn't want to carry a big pumpkin.  That's my personality:  cheap and not wanting to work harder than is necessary.

Erin Joy:  Sweet Erin Joy didn't really care about her pumpkin selection.  She chose the first pumpkin she saw.  It was mis-shaped with definite personality.  She is so easy-going.  She will accept any choice that is made whether it be which restaurant we eat at, which clothes to wear, which game to play and so forth.  This makes life so much easier because her big sister is certainly very, very opinionated.

Which leads to Rachel...

Rachel had to have the perfect pumpkin.  She wanted a small one.  In 2006, she had a little sugar pumpkin that she decorated and named "Rosie."  Rosie slept with her.  Rosie played with her.  Rosie was a good friend.  I had to convince Rachel to take Rosie outside and let her sleep on the swings when Rosie started to get old.  I was afraid she would start rotting in the house.  Poor Rachel was devastated.  Every day she would push Rosie in the swing and talk to her before leaving her outside.  Well, that was the year of the big flood.  After the swing set floated around, the neighbor's deck came crashing through the fence, and other such damage, I had to talk to Rachel about Rosie.  Rosie was the first thing Rachel asked about after the flood.  I told her Rosie was gone.  She sobbed.  I was wrong however.  When the swing set was finally uprighted, lodged under the seat of the swing was Rosie.  I'm not kidding.  Rosie was a survivor.  She was so muddy and disgusting that I decided to just throw her into the compost heap because Rachel already thought she was gone so why make her grieve twice for eventually poor Rosie would finally rot? 

Phew, I didn't mean to get so long-winded.  Rachel hasn't mentioned Rosie in a long time.  She remembered Rosie yesterday and she was determined to find a replacement for Rosie.  Unfortunately, the pumpkin farm grew big pumpkins and not little sugar pumpkins.  After searching and searching and her mother finally telling her to just choose one because Erin Joy REALLY had to go to the bathroom, she settled for a very small, but perfect pumpkin.

She named it Rosie.  She wanted to bring it into the house when we got home.  She told me that she is NOT going to carve it.  She wanted to sleep with it.  NO WAY!!  We all sleep together.  Two girls, many stuffed animals, one cat, and one mom is more than enough for one bed.  I refuse to sleep with a pumpkin.  (When she had her previous Rosie Pumpkin, she was sleeping by herself. I have given up on making them sleep in their own beds.  They always ended up in bed with me anyway so why not begin the night that way.)

I really didn't mean to write so much.  I guess this is what happens when I wake up too early in the morning.  I wonder if anybody really read the whole thing?  Maybe my mother will read the whole thing.  I hope you at least watch the little video at the bottom of this long post.  It is only 3 minutes long.  I just downloaded a free Halloween song off the internet.  I hope you all enjoy "The Monster Mash."

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

LOOK, LOOK!!!

This is what I paid for gas yesterday!  I wasn't even at a cheap gas station.  I thought gas would never be less than $4.00 let alone less than $3.00.  I figured I better take a picture because it is too good to be true.

I paid LESS than $30 to fill up my car.  YIPPEE!  Gas prices are falling as fast as my retirement fund is losing money.