Fun and Games

Nadia is definitely into games these days. So far today we've played Don't Spill the Beans, Cootie, Candyland, and Don't Break the Ice. She's not at the competitive state yet; she genuinely rejoices when I win or Paul wins. She's definitely not a sore loser (yet). We've also had a lot of fun at the playground this week. The weather has been such that it's been cool enough to enjoy a walk to the park in the morning, and it's been hot enough to go to the pool in the afternoon (on the days it hasn't been raining). Yesterday I was shocked how few people were at the pool when we arrived given it was about 4pm and in the 90's. Ian continues to enjoy being in a flotation device in the pool. Nadia loves to wear goggles.

I finally called the endoscopy clinic yesterday afternoon. I had waited because they were very specific that they would call me. Well I don't think I should have waited 8 days to call because the first available appointment was August 29th. The endoscopy is taking place a full month later than we hoped - 15 weeks after his first one, and we were supposed to have the second one 6-8 weeks after the first one. I asked to be put on a cancellation list, but I'm not holding out much hope for that. Maybe I should have driven to Philly for a weight check. I guess I will be buying more EleCare as I only have 9 cans left, and that won't last until we get the next biopsy results. At least it's scheduled. Maybe it will be his last one. That would be wonderful. He has had a couple of meals lately where he didn't cry if he had a toy to play with. I never knew it could be so hard to get a baby to eat. He's 19.5 months old and still is behind where Nadia was at 6 months old in terms of eating solid food. I tried to get him to lick a few new things lately - a lollipop, popsicle, and jello jiggler. No to all three although I did put a little jello on a spoon, and he did eat some that way. He's doing much better with sleeping though. Yesterday he didn't get up until 7:55am!!!! Today he woke up at 7:10. Good job, Ian! Thursday and Friday he only cried 10 minutes before  he fell asleep (for his nap), and today he only cried 5 minutes. That is also progress although he still takes short naps in his crib (ex. today it was 25 minutes). Today Paul accidently woke him up (loud noise in the kitchen) soon after he had fallen back asleep in my arms, and I couldn't get him back to sleep after that, but normally he sleeps for 60-90 minutes in my arms after I get him from his crib. I keep hoping that some day he'll start taking his whole nap in the crib, but it still feels like we're making progress that at least 1/3 of his nap is in the crib.

Tada!

The kids ate an early lunch today after Alexis finished babysitting them. Usually we (Nadia and I) eat our lunch during Ian's 4th meal, but today we ate during his third meal. This meant Nadia wasn't going to have her nap right after lunch, and since it was raining outside, I decided to get out some cookie cutters I got at a yard sale this summer and some Playdoh. They had a blast. Nadia was in a giggly mood, and she raised her arms and said "tada!" like she was taught at gymnastics. Ian thought it was funny and imitated her (said "da!"). They kept doing it back and forth. Sometimes Nadia started it, and other times Ian started it. I enjoyed watching and laughing with them. It was a great moment for Ian because he usually doesn't imitate, especially verbally. He is making a lot more attempts at saying words now. He often says one sound from a word such as "ma" for milk, "no" for nose, "uh" for truck, etc. The words he pronounces the most clearly are "no" (which he often repeats for emphasis - "no, no, no"), "eye," and "ball."

Yesterday I decided that I wasn't going to try a new tactic for Ian's naps yet. I thought maybe we're close and shouldn't give up yet. Yesterday he screamed for 80 minutes (much longer than usual) before sleeping in his crib for 25 minutes. He then slept another hour in my arms. Today he only cried for 10 minutes (YAY!) before he slept 35 minutes in his crib, and then he slept another hour in my arms. Eventually I know he needs to take his whole nap in the crib, but it feels like progress that he's taking part of his nap in his crib. He's doing really well at night. This morning he didn't wake up until 7:10! The earliest he's awakened over the past 7 days was 6:30! I actually had my shower and got dressed before he woke up this morning. Bliss. Now if I could just get to bed a little earlier. I've been staying up until 10:30 grading every night lately. I went to bed with a headache, and I woke up with a headache. The first thing I did after getting out of bed was take 2 Excedrin. It's not really the way I like to start my day, but I am exhausted from trying to juggle two full-time jobs. Yesterday I did make some progress on setting up one of the courses that will start in a month (the one I've never taught as an online course before). I asked Alexis to babysit 6 hours a week the next two weeks. She did 4 hours a week last week and this week. I also asked if they'd do 4 hours a week starting in September.

Miss Clavel

Photo taken on July 2nd; I kept forgetting to post it!

For a few weeks Nadia has often been pretending that she's going to school. When I ask her where she's going to school, sometimes she says the name of my university, and other times she says Penn State. This evening I asked her what the name of her teacher is, and she said "Miss Clavel." Can you tell she's been enjoying the Madeline books lately? Netflix has decided to separate the charges for DVD's and the streaming service in the near future, and because of that we're going to discontinue using the streaming part of their service. Nadia will miss being able to see the old episodes of Madeline that were available through Netflix. I will say the lines from those books often run through my head, and I know they're not just in mine because yesterday at one point Nadia said she was running "fast and faster" (as Miss Clavel does to the scence of a disaster).

A little overwhelmed

Last night I told Paul that a lady from church is coming to our house tonight to meet with me as we're working together next week with teaching VBS. It turns out he didn't know I was helping with VBS this year, and he looked at me like I was crazy. Yes, I do need to get back on track with saying "no" more often. One example would be a few weeks ago I accepted a request from someone at the University of Pittsburgh to do a review of one of their professors who is going up for tenure/promotion. It seems they do external reviews (some that the candidate has selected as well as some that the administration selects). All the reviews for tenure and promotion are internal at my university. Anyhow, I agreed to do that review, and the materials have been sitting on our dining room table. I need to read them and write my review in the next couple of weeks. I should have said "no, thank you." In terms of VBS though, I don't regret having said "yes" to that. I regret having agreed to teach 2 courses plus conduct 3 individualized instructions!

I haven't helped out with VBS the past 3 summers. The first one because I had a newborn bay, and the last two years because I was teaching (face-to-face) classes that met at the same time as the VBS. Next week I'll be doing my office hours from 9-10pm instead of 7-8pm, which will enable me to do VBS from 6:00-8:15pm. I'll be taking Nadia to VBS with me, and Ian will be having some extra time with Daddy. Now the truth is that since I'm teaching these classes, I probably shouldn't have volunteered to help with VBS since I get the bulk of my schoolwork done between 7-10pm each night and I'll be away from the house from 5:45-8:30 each night next week, but I've really missed VBS. I'd rather pick VBS over teaching online courses. Maybe next summer I'll just be doing VBS and the choir. There's a community choir that rehearses in July and August and has a performance in September every year. My choir director is one of the two directors of the group (about 100 people sing in this choir). I haven't been able to do it in the past, but if I resign from the university, I can do it next year, if we're still living in this area.

My to do list is just really long at this point. I need to get ready for VBS next week, do some housework, work on preparing the online course I'll be teaching in one month that I've never taught as an online course before, and of course I always have LOTS of grading to do. I did get the lawn mowed today. I decided to use part of the time Alexis was watching the kids to mow the lawn. I think it was the first time I mowed this month! The assessment course is going rather smoothly as I taught that as an online course last summer and last fall. I made adjustments to the syllabus and how I set it up, and that one is manageable now. I've never taught the social studies course as an online course before, and I established far too many discussion boards. We're half way through the 4th week of a 6 week course, and thus far 1,162 messages have been posted by myself or students in that one class (I haven't read/assessed 161 of those yet). Looking at a colleague's course from last session, he had 1,684 discussion board messages in one course. I am tweaking the syllabus so that it will hopefully be more manageable in the fall. Every time I think "I wish I was a SAHM" I keep reminding myself to be grateful that #1 I can work from home and #2 that hopefully some day (soon?) I will be a SAHM again. The lessons I am trying to learn at this moment are #1 get back to saying "no" more often and #2 ask the neighbors to babysit a little more often. Last week they watched the kids for 4 hours total. I was thinking of doing 4 hours a week again this week and the next two weeks, but I'm thinking of upping that to 6 hours a week. Also, I am going to talk to them this week about watching the kids 4 hours a week during the fall semester. I am not Wonder Woman.

Between Speech and OT, we had someone here from 11:25-1:45 today. Ian's case manager from Early Intervention also was here during part of that time span. Karen had two suggestions for his naps. The first is to put Nadia down and then take Ian for a little stroller ride right near our house until he falls asleep and then take Ian in the house in the stroller to see if he'll nap in the stroller. The second was to call the Pediatrician to see if he would approve of Ian having 1/2 or 1/3 of a tablet of Melatonin once a day (30 minutes before nap time). She said some of her autistic children that she works with use Melatonin for their naps. She said it works with some kids and doesn't with others and that you'll know within the first couple of times of using it whether it will work with Ian or not. Today he cried for 25 minutes and then slept for 30 minutes and then I went and got him and he slept for an hour in my arms. In my mind that's another option. He'll get more sleep that way and not cry so much if half the nap is in the crib and the second half in my arms. Karen suggested trying the stroller method before calling the Pediatrician for approval on the Melatonin.

This morning he fell asleep in the stroller on the way home from the playground, but I woke him up when we got home because it was almost time for speech and then OT. The stroller I use to take them to the playground won't fit through a door into the house, and even though it's cooler this week, I still think he'd be too hot in the garage. Karen said of all the children she's ever worked with (and she's been doing this a LONG time), Ian has been the hardest with teaching him to eat. She is not sure if he's still in pain or if he's that strong willed/ rigid. She said if the biopsy comes back clear and he continues to scream, she wants us to take Ian to see a psychologist (local) who specializes in helping kids overcome trauma (Ian's trauma being how painful it was for him to eat for so many months). I hope we don't need to add another psychologist to our list of people working with Ian.

It's a Small World!

After going more than 6 months without seeing my friend, Cheri, we've seen each other 3 times over the past 4 weeks. I should add that she's the only friend I've chatted with on the phone or done things with the past 3 years. I don't exactly have a booming social life, lol. I can't remember exactly when we met. I think maybe it was in January 2005? We met at my old church a month ago to hear the King's Brass and last Wednesday at a park to hear a symphony orchestra. Last night we met at another church to hear the group FFH. We had seen them in concert together in 2006. Last night's concert wasn't free like the other two we recently attended, but it was only $5. The surprising thing was that another group (Waters Edge) opened the concert, and when they stepped on the stage I said - I know those guys! That band had 3 members, and they all graduated from the university where I teach in 2008. I had two of them (twins) in a practicum in the summer of 2007. Obviously they haven't gone into the field of elementary education (yet). They released their first CD a few months ago. I had no idea that they were Christians or that they were musicians. I do remember they were very respectful and hard working and also did a very nice job in their pre-student teaching field experience. I sent them an email this morning to let them know I was at their concert last night, and Caleb wrote me back and told me when they'll be in concert again in our area. It's definitely a small world!

Ian is doing really well with sleeping during the night. The past nights he has slept around 11 hours straight each night. He's woken up (for the first time) sometime between 6:55-7:20 the past three mornings. Way to go, Ian! Naps are still an utter disaster, and today is day 11 (3 of the past 14 days I didn't attempt a nap in the crib because we were on the road too much). This time he only cried for 20 minutes before he fell asleep, but then he only slept a whopping 15 minutes. He's up there crying, and I expect he'll cry until I go get him (about an hour from now). I'm anxious to hear what Karen will suggest tomorrow as this doesn't seem to be working. Nadia has her pillow over her head so that she can sleep through his wailing.

The weather is oh so much cooler today so we went to the playground. I have missed the exercise! Ian was beside himself with glee. He said "boh" when he wanted to be put on the boat (bouncer). He also loved being on the seesaw and swing as well as just running around and as always getting excited every time a truck went by on the road that can be seen from the playground. It rained a little on the way back. The kids stayed dry, and I didn't mind getting rained on. It's much better than being out in 100+ degree heat! I haven't mowed the lawn in a few weeks, but I think it will finally need to be mowed this week. The very hot, dry weather we've had lately hasn't been very nice on the lawns.

37 of Her Favorite Things

1. favorite underwear - Zoe (from Sesame Street) Unfortunately we only have 2 pair of Zoe underwear. Most of her underwear has either Dora or Elmo on it, and this causes a total meltdown some days.

2. favorite pjs - Disney princess nightgown - she'd wear this all day long if I let her. She's been taking her underwear and bottoms off by herself for awhile now, but this was the first (and thus far only) article of clothing she's pulled up over her head herself.

3. favorite shoes - white sandals I got her at the dollar store a few weeks ago. She recently learned how to put them on herself. She had been taking her shoes off herself for quite a while. Sometimes she still puts them on the wrong feet, but every once in a while she does it correctly the first time.

4. favorite songs - Her current favorite CD is the one she was given at the second VBS she attended. It's by the Go Fish guys. Her two favorite songs on the CD are tracks #2 and 3 ("I love to tell the story" and "I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord"The first song I also enjoy listening to. I can't say the same about the second one, but since it's a Christian song, I let her listen to it although it's not one I'd choose to listen to on my own.

5. favorite bag - the Elmo backpack. She'd take this everywhere she went (including to bed) if I let her. This girl LOVES purses, and this backpack is currently her favorite. I got it for 25 cents at a yardsale for Ian, but Nadia has claimed it.

6. favorite thing to do with a purse/ bag - stuff it to the gills - She is definitely a packrat. She fills every purse or bag until the zipper can barely be shut. She puts in an extremely random assortment of items in each purse. I have to go through them every now and then to make sure she hasn't put in a piece of food or something like that.

7. Often heard saying - "I'll never do that again" (and the word "never" is said with great emphasis) and "I forgive you" (she says this if she says "I'm sorry" and I don't quickly reply that I forgive her).

8. most prized possession - the pillow Paul got her in Poland last summer. He has a tough act to follow when he goes to Italy in September. She adores that pillow.

9. favorite kind of ice cream - chocolate

10. favorite kind of cake - chocolate (do you sense the pattern here? She's a girl after my own heart in terms of her love of chocolate!)

11. favorite fruit - raisins

12. favorite drink - milk

13. favorite way to drink water (in other words generally the only way I can get her to drink water) - via a plastic water bottle (one I can refill with tap water) She won't drink it from a glass, but I'm just glad I found a way to get her to drink water.

14. favorite thing to do at the playground - swing (she still prefers the infant style swing)

15. favorite thing to do in our backyard - jump on the trampoline

16. favorite thing to wear - a skirt or dress. Her third choice would be pants. She does NOT like to wear shorts right now, even though it's in the 90's outside. She definitely voices her opinion about what she wears these days. I had complete control over her attire for 3 years. Those days are behind us now although I haven't relinquished all input!

17. favorite TV show - Olivia is her favorite. Her second favorite lately would be old episodes of Madeline (based on the books). Her favorite Madeline episode is the Christmas one.

18. biggest fear- whales. Paul and I are very, very, very tired of talking about Jonah. We discuss this prophet multiple times a day, every day. Whew. I'm planning to take the kids to Sea World in August. I'm hoping if she sees a whale in person that maybe her phobia will decrease.

19. favorite hot food - spaghetti
20. favorite songs to sing by herself - ABC song and "Zacchaeus"

21. favorite flavor of yogurt - vanilla

22. favorite kind of oatmeal - peach

23. favorite friend - Abbey

24. favorite ride - kiddie rollercoaster

25. favorite type of sandwich - egg salad

26. favorite swimsuit - one with Ariel on it

27. favorite dvd - Flo the lying fly (by Hermie & Friends)
28. biggest obsession - tissues. She goes through a million!

29. favorite cereal - Honey Nut Cheerios

30. favorite Bible story - Daniel and the lion's den

31. favorite nicknames for me - Nonny and Mimi (I can't stand either of them - I've asked her to pick between Mommy, Momma, and Mom)

32. favorite indoor activities - doing 12 piece jigsaw puzzles, getting dressed up, or painting - at this very moment she's wearing a hat, long bead necklace, a purse, backpack, glasses, dress up shoes, a wand, and maybe 30 bracelets

33. favorite way to make Ian laugh - saying "oink oink" really loudly

34. favorite fruit snacks - Dora ones or Gushers

35. favorite Veggie Tale character - Sweetpea (Petunia Rhubarb)

36. favorite question - "Who's in Heaven?"  - We discuss this several times a day.

37. least favorite part of the day - having her hair brushed

I thought writing about her favorites would be a different way to do her "37 month old" post. Part of the reason it was easy to write about her favorites is because she has very strong opinions these days! It's actually been frustrating at times lately because her preferences as to what she wears, listens to, watches, eats, etc. are so narrow that we're having a lot of battles lately. I hope this phase passes quickly. I don't mind her expressing her opinion, but I just wish there was (for example) more than 2 pairs of underwear she would wear without a fight. She also has settled into a default of assuming she won't like something. She gave me a hard time a few times about going to swimming lessons, and yet EVERY time at the end of the lesson she'd talk about how much fun she had. I wish her default was assuming that she will enjoy something rather than that she won't like it. I have to be creative in getting her to do what she needs to do without tears. For example, a couple of raisins on the spoon means she'll eat the chicken enchilada or telling her she can take her Elmo backpack in the car with her usually means she'll get in without tears. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down! I just have to be creative in figuring out what "sugar" will work in a certain instance.

Of course I have to say that in general she's far more flexible than Ian. He won't drink from the sippy cups that I bought yesterday even though they're the same exact "make and model" so to speak. The difference is that they're just a little bit stiffer because they're brand new, whereas the other ones are 2 years old and have been well used by Nadia and now Ian. Karen often uses the words "rigid" and "strong willed" to describe him. I have to agree. He is very picky, especially about what goes in his mouth!!!

Tasty Treats

The only time we stop at a fast food restaurant is when we're on the road for 3 or more hours in a day. Usually that doesn't happen very often aside from trips to Maryland. It's been happening a lot more frequently this year due to having to drive so far to take Ian to see various specialists. During the last few months I've tried a few new items that I've really like, so I thought I'd mention them here in case any of you were interested in tasting them yourself. I've had Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken salad three times thus far. I would have had it again two days ago except it's rather expensive. It's very good. I just wish it wasn't quite so pricey. I think Wendy's has forgotten they aren't a sit down restaurant. My absolute favorite salad is one that Panera makes for a limited time each year. Wendy's isn't quite as good as Panera's, but it's definitely my second favorite. The last two times I was at Wendy's I tried two of their new shakes. Both of them were outstanding - the Carmel Frosty Shake and the Wild Berry Frosty Shake. I don't want to know how many calories are in them. Don't get a large. The regular is plenty big enough. They were both extremely delicous.

I don't care for Arby's, but Paul likes to go there now and then. Once with him I tried their new Jamocha Oreo shake. It was very good. I have to say these shakes are rather fancy (the new ones at Wendy's and this one at Arby's ) in terms of their visual appeal. Can you tell I like ice cream, lol? I used to eat ice cream all the time. I rarely eat it at home any more, but I do love to have some when we go out to eat as a treat. At McDonald's I tried their new frozen strawberry lemonade. I am sure that has FAR fewer calories than the shakes I had at the other places. It was refreshing. I've also had their Rolo McFlurry twice. I think it's the best McFlurry they've ever had. My favorite used to be the Reese's PB cup one. The next time I'm at McD's I want to try their new Mango Pineapple real fruit smoothie. That sounds tasty to me!

Tonight we had dinner at Red Lobster. We hadn't been there since January, and it's Paul's favorite restaurant. It seems no matter what time of day we show up, there is always a wait. We arrived at 4:15, which we thought would be before the dinner crowd. Wrong. Nadia does really well at sit down restaurants now, but Ian is a handful. He just wants to run. Most of the time Paul and I have to take turns taking him somewhere. Only one of us can be sitting and eatinng. Paul got the $15 special that included soup, salad, biscuits, an entree (he got tilapia), and a dessert. Nadia and I shared his dessert (brownie sundae). Nadia had macaroni and cheese, and I had maple glazed chicken. Nadia and I didn't finish our meals so we can enjoy them again tomorrow as well as some extra biscuits. The three of us all like the biscuits!

After dinner we ran a few errands. At Target I bought Ian 3 more sippy cups. Yesterday I meant to write about the sippy cup issue in my "picking my battles" post. Originally there were 2 kinds of sippy cups Ian would drink from. Now we are down to one. Yesterday I tried to get him to drink from the one he used to accept. He chose to just go without instead. After he had been up for 3 hours I finally just gave in and gave him the sippy cup he wanted. His diaper was dry for the first 4 hours he was awake, which is why I decided not to fight that battle. I decided it's not worth trying to get him to be more flexible with what he uses to drink his milk, so I bought 3 more of the kind he likes. We have bigger fish to fry even though the sippy cup he likes is annoying because if he tips it over the EleCare spills all over the place.

This morning Ian didn't wake up until (drumroll, please) - 7:20am. What makes this a REALLY big deal is that for the first time ever it was the first time he woke up. The other times he slept until 7:00 or later he had been up fussing at some point earlier than that. He was quiet from 8:00pm to 7:20am. Way to go, Ian! The nap didn't go well today though. He cried for 25 minutes, slept for 25 minutes, and then cried for 1 hour. I got him at that point. He never took any other naps today. He had started to fall asleep on the way to the pool this morning, but I managed to keep him awake. A 25 minute nap is way too short. We shall see what Karen says on Tuesday.

Ian is crying over both the raspberry and cherry almond yogurt. I'm used to him crying when I feed him, but it bothers me more when I've paid $2 for a small container of yogurt. I really was hoping he'd like the yogurt. I'm hoping Patty calls on Monday to schedule Ian's next endoscopy. I really want to know if there is a medical reason why he keeps crying when I feed him.

GI Take Two

Yesterday we left the house at 8:50am. I dropped Nadia off at Sarah's and then continued nonstop until we got to the Hershey Medical Center at 10:45. I went to the bathroom, changed Ian's diaper, and made him a sippy of EleCare before we checked in for his 11:00 appointment. The nurse weighed him, and the doctor talked with me awhile before doing a brief exam on Ian. We were getting back in our car at 11:20. I could have driven straight back, but then I would have arrived at Sarah's during Nadia's nap. So we had lunch inside Wendy's (usually I'd do drive thru), and I did a little shopping at the outlets in Hershey. I used to enjoy going in stores like Dress Barn, but that wasn't going to happen with Ian. After being cooped up in the car for 2 hours he just wanted to RUN. The Carter's outlet had an area with toys, which helped. I did buy some things there for both children. The orange skirt Nadia is shown wearing in the previous post is one of things I bought. I also went in the Osh Kosh B'Gosh and Gymboree outlets. I bought one item in the latter, and that actually represented my first purchase at a Gymboree store. Even their clearance rack is a bit more than I usually pay, but I thought the pair of shorts was really cute. I got a size 4. Hopefully Nadia will like shorts next year. This summer she only wants to wear skirts and dresses. There was a Children's Place outlet, but Ian had enough so I'll save that one for the next trip. Once we were closer to home I stopped at Aldi's for a few things and also went to the health food store and bought 8 almond yogurts for Ian. 19 soy yogurts cost the same as 8 almond yogurts. I got 2 raspberry and 6 cherry ones (all they had). I also ordered 1 case (12) of vanilla coconut milk yogurt and 1 case of blueberry coconut milk yogurt. A case is 15% cheaper than buying them individually. Those 24 yogurts will cost over $40. Sadly, he hasn't been too keen on these yogurts. I think he didn't like the seeds in the raspberry one. Hopefully he'll like the vanilla and blueberry ones.

Nadia can put these sandals on by herself now!

The appointment yesterday was just an exercise in jumping through a hoop so that we can schedule Ian's next endoscopy. He said that they usually do the next one 6-8 weeks after the first one, and it's been 9 weeks already. I was hoping Patty (the nurse who schedules the endoscopies) would call me yesterday or today, but she didn't. I'm hoping it will be scheduled sometime in the next 2 weeks. He said the procedure takes 5 minutes. I know. You wouldn't think a 5 minute procedure would require 7 hours of driving (two round trips to Hershey). It's better than doing two round trips to CHOP (11 hours). If PSU worked with our local hospital, our commute would only be 60 minutes (round trip).

The VERY good news is that we found out today that we actually do have Rx drug coverage. Go figure. I trusted CVS and Walmart when they said we didn't, especially as the prescription card the insurance gave us said "this is a discount program not insurance." When AstraZeneca was giving us grief, that prompted me to beg Paul to inquire about it at PSU. I guess we should have done that MONTHS ago. Now our decision is very easy regarding which insurance to go with in the fall. PSU's is $500 cheaper a month for us. It turns out if we get prescriptions filled at PSU - they cover almost all of it. Well unless it's an emergency and we MUST have it filled asap, I will be giving all prescriptions to Paul to fill on campus! We only have to pay $31 for a month's supply of Pulmicort (which was costing us $350 a month). If we get something filled elsewhere, we submit the receipts and they reimburse us 50%. Supposedly there is a check in the mail to the tune of over $400 for our reimbursement for what we've spent on medications the past few months. I am very happy about the refund, but I wish we had figured it out sooner as then we could have saved another $400 by having them filled on campus. Live and learn. I am very relieved not to have to deal with AstraZeneca any more. Now I have to see if they'll reimburse us 80% of our cost of EleCare (as they would have if we had gotten through Diplmoat Pharmacy) even though I've been buying it on eBay.

Picking my Battles

I find it challenging at times as a parent to know which battles to choose. For example, I'd prefer that Nadia would feed herself. Sometimes I insist upon that, and other times I do feed her. The reason I don't prefer to feed her is because I'm usually trying to feed Ian or myself, and that's enough to keep me busy! It's not that she can't feed herself. For whatever reason, she wants to be fed most of the time lately.

Ian used to sit happily in the shopping cart at the grocery store, but for whatever reason now he just wants to be held. That is a battle I've chosen to fight as he's just too heavy to carry while pushing the cart and getting groceries. He's starting to get the message as he no longer cries during the whole time. Now he just cries part of the time.

We've gone through many ups and downs with how Ian has handled Mommy getting a shower. Sometimes he has played happily or watched tv. Other times it's been a major tragedy. I never had these issues with Nadia. I used various things such as the Jump Up to keep her happy while I showered. This week he's decided not only to scream during my whole shower but also to join me in the shower. On Wednesday he came into the shower for the first time. I thought the hot water would change his mind. Nope, he still wanted to be held. When Nadia was his age, she hated the shower. It was a negative consequence used during part of potty training. I learned a lesson on Wednesday, and stripped Ian so that at least if he joined me in the shower he'd be naked and not get his clothes and diaper wet. He joined me again today. Let me say it's not easy to shave your legs and shampoo your hair while holding a 24 lb toddler. I'm not sure I want to allow this to continue. Maybe I'll start showering at 6:00am now that he's not getting up as early.

I've gotten him around 6:40am the past two days. He has fussed off and on prior to that, but he never was really crying. Both days he took a morning nap, which means he woke up too early. Yesterday he only took one nap. He slept in the car from 10:00-10:40 en route to Hershey. Today he fell asleep on the way to Nadia's last swimming lesson. One downside to having him take his naps (or at least the first half of his nap) in his crib, is that he's now crying for at least a few minutes when I put him down at night whereas before we started the nap training he wasn't crying at night. As for his nap today he cried for 40 minutes and then was quiet (but awake) for 10 minutes and then slept 30 minutes. I went and got him even though it hadn't been 2 hours. I thought that since he had taken a nap this morning maybe all he needed was a short nap. I was wrong. He slept in my arms for 80 minutes after I got him from his crib. I guess I should have let him cry like Karen said I should if he only sleeps for 30 minutes. I was also afraid he was going to wake Nadia up.

I hadn't brought our "boat" to the pool in over a month. Today a mom had a couple of flotation devices that her twins weren't using. I asked if I could borrow one, and Ian liked it this time! I had tried him in this same thing awhile ago, and he hated it the first time. We three had fun holding hands and going around in circles singing in the pool today. Some other people started singing with us (songs such as "Do you know the muffin man"). They said the water temperature was 83. It felt a lot warmer than that. I actually was wishing the water felt cooler, and I rarely have that opinion. It's been really, really hot (triple digits). You know it's going to be a warm day when it's in the 90's at 9:00am. I think the temps are supposed to drop some on Sunday. We haven't been to the playground lately. I want to go again, but I'm not walking there in this heat! We've either been at the pool or inside.

Giving Thanks

1. Ian woke up at 5:50, and I let him cry. He only cried for a few minutes and then he slept until (drumroll, please!) - 7:30am! Yes, my son who for so very long never even slept until 6:00, slept until 7:30am! That was almost 12 hours in a row!! I am sure he was tired because yesterday between the hours of 7:00am and 8:00pm he only slept for 25 minutes. Karen said to gradually adjust his wakeup time, but I think we've already switched to a "no earlier than 7:00" wakeup time. We shall see if this sticks. I hope it does. If he starts waking up earlier I will probably compromise at 6:30am.

2. Dr. Williams worked his magic, and they offered Ian an appt with the head of the GI department at Hershey tomorrow at 11:00am. YAHOOOO! It still means an extra trip as if CHOP had just let us go for the endoscopy there would only have been one trip, but if I'm going to make two trips, I'd rather make them to Hershey as it's closer. Plus I'm thinking I'll squeeze in a trip to the outlets there as I used to enjoy shopping there and haven't been in more than 7 years. Nadia will miss her swimming lesson tomorrow, but this is more important. I don't view this appointment as being beneficial for anything but jumping through the hoop required to set up Ian's endoscopy. I'm just glad we didn't have to wait until the end of August to accomplish this task. I'm going to drop Nadia off at Sarah's tomorrow. She'll have fun playing with Abbey, and that will be much better than having her spend 4 hours in the car plus then I'd be managing both of them during Ian's appointment.

3. I'm thankful for our central air conditioning. It is sooooo hot out there! I'm not looking forward to our next electric bill, but it's worth the $$ to stay cool. I should add that I have the thermostat set at 75. We're trying to be sensible. :-)

4. I stopped at one yard sale on the way to Nadia's swimming lesson this morning, and I got the kids a little puppet theatre! I think maybe it was overpriced in terms of what people typically charge for things at a yard sale, but it was much cheaper than if I bought one new. I probably should have made an offer a little lower, but I just hate doing that so I paid what they were asking. It includes a storage area for puppets. Now we need to get some more puppets! The kids both had a blast with it already today. They like playing peekaboo through the curtain. I love it when they are laughing together. For a few months I had been wanting to get them a puppet stage of some sort, and I hadn't thought of getting one at a yard sale!

5. Alexis came over to babysit for 2 hours today. I need to do this more often now that I'm working for the university from home. I need to remind myself that I don't need to try to be wonder woman and do it all myself.

6. I am going to a concert this evening. I am really looking forward to that! I love music, it's a free concert, and I'm meeting my friend, Cheri, there. What more could I ask for?

7. Ian slept a little more during his nap today. He cried for one hour (ugh) and then slept for 40 minutes. I went and got him right away even though Karen told me to require him to stay in his crib for two full hours. I realize 40 minutes isn't a great nap, but considering he only slept 25 minutes yesterday, it's a step in the right direction!

8. It seems the NFL lockout will be ending very shortly! Paul and I would have been bummed if there hadn't been any football to watch this year.

9. Nadia's tooth that was grey has turned white again! The dentist said that she'd have a grey tooth until the permanent one came in, but he was wrong! Had I known that, I would have held off on getting her 3 year pictures done. It was grey for about 2 months.

10. I forgot to mention this in my Thankful Thursday post last week, but 11 days ago the choir director told me (when we were rehearsing for my flute solo) that I "looked like a skinny minnie in that dress." That was music to my ears! I don't think I'm skinny. I could definitely still lose more weight, but I am enjoying being able to wear all my clothes again.

Nadia the Artist

At dinner this evening, Nadia said (out of the blue), "I'm an artist." I am not sure what prompted this statement, but I think it's because she wanted to paint. We haven't really been doing much in the way of coloring or painting lately since we've been spending so much time outside doing things like swimming. Today was Nadia's seventh swimming lesson. She's had 3 different teachers. I feel like the first one (who taught the first 4 lessons) was the best. Melissa is on vacation right now. We took the time to paint this evening. She had a blast! It was good that we did this in the evening when Paul could entertain Ian. Ian really wanted to paint also, but I am not ready for that mess quite yet (not that I had Nadia painting when she was 19 months old).

My gut feeling that we needed to see a Hershey GI before they'll do an endoscopy was correct. The allergist's office called me and told me that this morning. I did three things today in my efforts to get Ian scheduled for an endoscopy. First I made an appointment with a GI in Hershey for the very end of August. After that consult the endoscopy could be scheduled. This means it wouldn't happen until September. Last week the Allergist said he hoped it would take place in July or at the latest in early August.

My second action was to email Dr. Williams (feeding specialist) as he works in the GI department at Hershey. I explained our situation and asked if he had any means of getting Ian an earlier appointment. He wrote back that he would see what he could do. My third action was to leave another message for the CHOP GI, this time asking if the weight check could be scheduled in the morning on the same day that Ian could later have the endoscopy. They could meet their requirement without me making two trips. I didn't hear back from them yet. My prayer is that Ian can have his endoscopy in Hershey or CHOP in the next several weeks, and that if it's at CHOP we only have to make one trip. Who knew it could be so hard to schedule a 10 minute procedure!

I returned the $15 worth of yogurt to Weis today. I was grateful they took it all back. Tomorrow I plan to go to the health food store and buy some almond milk yogurt (to the tune of $2 for 6 ounces). Ian had OT and speech therapy today. Karen said I shouldn't let him spend the second half of his nap in my arms. I am to leave him in the crib for two hours no matter how long he cries. Today he was in the crib for 2 hours and only slept 25 minutes of that time. This is nerve wracking. I hope he learns to soothe himself in the near future! We discussed various methods to help him. He didn't cry as much in the beginning this time because I gave him an empty sippy cup which he uses as a pacifier of sorts. That didn't calm him after he had slept for 25 minutes. This morning he woke up at 5:50. I had made 6:00 the line in the sand and so I didn't get him. He only cried for a couple of minutes and then slept until almost 7:00. This was a big revelation for me because yesterday I got him at 6:00. I've decided to keep inching the "line" toward 7:00 as I don't get Nadia prior to that time either. If she doesn't sleep until 7:00 (she usually does), then she plays in her bed quietly with her stuffed animals. Ian needs to learn the same skill (Karen said). So I am to gradually over the next 2 weeks push back the time when I'll get him from 6:00 to 7:00. One good thing about a later get up time is it makes it easier for him to stay up until 1pm. On the days I get him at 6:00, he usually falls asleep in the car en route to swimming (9:15am). He didn't fall asleep in the car this morning because he had slept until 7:00.

Well it's 9:59, and I promised myself I would try to be in bed by 10pm every night. I called our neighbors a little while ago and asked if one of the girls can come over and watch the kids from 3-5 tomorrow while I'm grading. I think if they come over 1-2 times a week for 1-2 hours, it would be a big help. It's especially needed tomorrow as I won't be grading tomorrow night because I'm going to a free outdoor concert that a symphony orchestra is putting on in a park. I get the majority of my grading done between 7-10pm, and that won't be happening tomorrow night as I'll be attending my first concert of 2011 (aside from the King's Brass concert on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago).

Switching to Hershey

Lately it feels like things are more difficult than they need to be. I could give a very long list of examples, but I'll just share a couple. The whole EleCare situation with Diplomat Pharmacy was a pain. They sent a UPS man to our door to pick up the cans. I thought it was all squared away until I realized they only credited our credit card for one of the cans instead of both cans. After speaking to a few people and assuring them I had returned two unopened cans, they gave the rest of the money back. Thinking they were sending me 2 cases is what stopped me from buying more on eBay. I then bought some on eBay once I realized that I was going to be returning the cans to Diplomat. They case was supposed to arrive on the 9th, but she didn't ship it until the 11th due to a death in her family. I had to go get some Almond milk for Ian to use for three feedings until the case arrived on the 13th. I have learned from that experience and now have more than a month's supply on hand, which might mean I won't be buying any more because if Ian's next scope is clear, he'll be going off the EleCare.

On Thursday I called the GI to schedule Ian's next endoscopy. Today they called back to say they need to do a weight check on him first. What?!? He had an endoscopy at that office in May, returned to that office to see an ENT a couple of weeks later, and had a surgery at CHOP on June 6. Of course sunce June 6th he's also been seen by the Allergist, Psychologist, and Pediatrician. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I've decided to take Ian to Hershey for the next endoscopy (closer) since CHOP is requiring another trip before the next endoscopy. I called Hershey to make a GI appt. Ironically we had an appointment with them back in February, but we cancelled it because our insurance said they didn't work with Hershey, but they actually do work with Hershey as they've been paying for Ian's appointments with Dr. Williams. Anyhow when I called them today they said that if we need an endoscopy that the Allergist can send the orders to the endoscopy clinic. We don't need a GI appointment first. What a contrast! They'll do an endoscopy without ever having seen Ian, and CHOP won't do another one without seeing him again first. I'm hoping that this person gave me accurate information, and I'm hoping the wait won't be too long. It has typically taken a lot longer to get an appointment at Hershey than CHOP. The endoscopy that included his stomach and duodenum took less than 20 minutes, and this one only needs to be of his esophagus so hopefully they can squeeze him in sometime in the next couple of weeks. The Allergist agrees that Ian is allergic to soy, and he told us to go back to avoiding soy. I'm a little concerned that he got this wrong since he should be more of an expert in this than a psychologist. I'll be returning the other soy yogurts to Weis tomorrow.

Nadia is making so much progress with swimming that she didn't want to wear her inner tube today at our pool. She can't stand in our pool though, so she used two pool noodles instead. The water temperature was a balmy 86 degrees!

Ian screamed for 30 minutes today (an improvement) but then only slept for 30 minutes. I got him even though he had only been in bed for one hour because Nadia was already asleep. I'm curious to hear what Karen will suggest tomorrow about this. He's now taking the first part of his nap in bed and the second part in my arms. I went to bed at 8pm last night. I feel sooo much better today. I need to find a way to get my grading done and still be in bed by 10pm each night.

It's a Choice

Lately I have been reminding myself (rather regularly) that it's my choice whether I see things from a glass "half full" or "half empty" perspective. This past week I was rather overwhelmed with my workload of teaching FT (6 credits in 6 weeks is FT) without any reduction in any of my other responsibilities (although Paul has helped with the kids when I've been talking with students online from 7-8pm). This week will be the third week in the class. In the first two weeks the students posted almost 800 messages on the discussion boards. That's a lot to read, grade, and sometimes write a response. Plus there are assignments to grade and many, many emails to respond to each week. There are FAR more emails when you teach online since they can't ask you a question in person. It should be easier in the fall when I'll be part-time. My department chair called on Thursday to ask what my plans were for the spring semester. I told him I hadn't thought about it yet. He said he'll give me a FT schedule and can give 1-2 of my classes to temps if I ask for reduced schedule. Personally, at this stage of life, I'd prefer to be a SAHM. If I see the glass half-empty, then it's easy to get frustrated with all that I'm trying to juggle right now. My sleep has been the biggest casualty so far as I'm staying up past my usual bedtime grading. If I see the glass half-full, I remind myself that not many people can work from home and have such flexibility as to when they do their work. If I have to earn money, I'm very grateful I can do it in such a way that it rarely takes me away from my kids.

My body also did some really quirky things the past couple of weeks, which prompted me to do something I told myself I wouldn't do again unless we did ivf again. I bought a pack of pregnancy tests at Walmart on Wednesday. I hadn't used one in over 2 years, and I hadn't stared at a negative test since August 2007. I was hoping to never see another one lined test again. I've seen enough of those to last several lifetimes since I was a bit nuts with testing the first few years we tried to have a baby. This one wasn't nearly as hard to take as the one in August 2007 (after we transferred 3 embyros), but it did stir up a bunch of unpleasant emotions. My body kept giving me false hope on Thursday, but on Friday cd1 finally showed up, which actually was a relief in a sense. I so so so badly would love to have another baby. I'd give up any material possession for the opportunity to do ivf again. For more than 20 years I've longed to have at least 3-4 children. I thought that desire would change since our journey to becoming parents was so long, but it hasn't. I don't feel like I'm too old to have another one (yet). When I feel sad that we aren't going to do ivf again, I remind myself of the two little miracles running around our house. Two is far, far better than none!!

 Thursday evening I gave myself a break from grading because of my long day on the road to the Allergist. That was the right choice. I've done a lot of grading today, but today I told myself I needed a little nap. It's been months since I took a nap. Although I don't get Ian prior to 6am any more (and most days I try to push it closer to 6:30), one or both of the kids still usually wake us up long before that (today Ian cried at 4am). I decided today would be day #3 of Ian's sleep training, and I decided to take a nap myself while they napped (or cried as the case may be). He cried off and on for almost an hour and then slept for 30 minutes. I went and got him at that point because Nadia hadn't fallen asleep yet. His crying also kept her up on Friday. On Friday she didn't fall asleep until 3:50 because of his screaming, and usually her nap is done long before that! He slept another hour in my arms. Hopefully the crying will start to decrease this week. He did better with eating today, which was greatly appreciated. He's really starting to want to eat (lick) whatever is on my plate, but usually it's something he can't have. I am still hoping against hope he's not really allergic to milk, but given all the vomiting he did on Saturday, that's probably wishful thinking.

County Fair

Yesterday evening on our way home from the sidewalk chalk festival we stopped at a grocery store so I could buy lots of soy yogurt for Ian. I believe I'll be returning all but one container of it on Monday. I gave him about 4 ounces of vanilla soy yogurt at 6:30am and for his second breakfast (since he eats 6 times a day I consider him to have 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners) I gave him the other 2 ounces of the yogurt plus some sweet potatoes. After I had showered and got the kids dressed, I took them in the stroller to a yard sale en route to the playground.

While we were shopping at the yard sale, Ian started throwing up (on this woman's tarp where she had placed various toys that were for sale. Thankfully the women were very gracious and didn't have a "you throw up on it, you bought it" policy. They cleaned it up and even offered him a drink of water. I picked him up and he continued throwing up in their grass (and on me). After I paid for the items I had already picked out, I put Ian back in the stroller.

He seemed to be doing fine so I thought maybe we could spend a few minutes at the playground, but then he started spewing up soooo much more. I don't know how he had anything left to spew up, but he did. His clothes were dripping wet, and he was sitting in a big pool of it. My poor baby! He had to stay in it until we got home. As soon as I took off his completely soaked clothes (not one part of his shirt was dry), I gave him a bath. Then I thought I'd give him some EleCare because his stomach had to be empty after all that chucking. Paul took a garden hose to the stroller. While he was drinking the EleCare he started projectile vomiting again. He doused a second outfit and drenched almost all of my clothing in addition to the carpet and couch. He was in his 3rd outfit before 10am.

I called the Pediatrician, and they said it was probably coincedental (not that he's allergic to soy). Ummm I strongly disagree. Unless the Allergist can convince me otherwise when I call him on Monday, I don't plan on giving Ian any soy in the near future. He hasn't thrown up like that in almost 2 months. Thankfully he then fell asleep for 2.5 hours (in our arms - the plans for sleep training went out the door with all the vomiting), and he never threw up again the rest of the day. We were away from the house from 3-7pm, and during that time I never changed his diaper. When we got home, I discovered his diaper was still totally dry. Not Good. I gave him another sippy of EleCare at 7:45pm even though usually he doesn't get any past 6:00pm. I never give him one that late, but I'd rather err on the side of him leaking through his diaper tonight than dehydration. I had called for estimates this week on getting our carpets shampooed (and one couch), but I've decided now to hold off another 3 months or so. The most discouraging aspect of this experience this morning is that it shows that Ian will probably be in the 10% minority of those who still have a food or two they have to avoid. i wish he was in the 90% that could have a regular diet after recovering from EE, but I am really doubtful given the strong reaction he had to soy today after not having any soy for 2 months. I think the Psychologist was right, and the Allergist was wrong, unfortunately. I wish the Allergist had been right!

Today we went to a county fair. It wasn't in our county, but it was only about 20 minutes away from our house. It was a great deal because the admission to get in covered unlimited rides! It cost us $17 including parking for the 4 of us to attend, although we spent more than that because we ate dinner there. But what a great deal to ride all the rides you want for $5! Paul only rode 2 rides - a large Ferris Wheel (with Nadia) and the carousel (with both kiddos). Ian was too small for the Ferris Wheel. It was the first time he really enjoyed riding some rides by himself. Maybe he'll enjoy riding some at Knoebels the next time we go there. He didn't try to climb out like he did at Knoebels the first time we let him ride a ride there. He still was too scared to ride on a horse on the carousel. He prefers to be held. Both children enjoyed seeing the rabbits, horses, alpacas, sheep, goats, etc. Nadia's favorite ride was the rollercoaster. She rode the ride I always call the "Scrambler" (because that was the name of the ride at King's Dominion) for the first time ever. She laughed her head off! I hadn't been on that ride in a few years. It used to be one of my top 5 favorites, but I have to say that although I enjoyed it the first few minutes, my stomach was really wanting the ride to end a little sooner than it did. I definitely couldn't have gone on it more than once. Sigh. I'm getting old I guess. Anyhow I am certain that as long as we live in this area we'll be heading to this fair once a year. We had a great time, and it was very affordable.

Fun in the Sand

After Nadia's fifth swimming lesson this morning, we headed to a state park that has a "beach." When I think of a beach, I think of the ocean. It seems like there should be a different word that refers to sand found near a lake in a State Park. As you can see from the pictures, the kids had fun. Ian didn't like the water (it was much colder than our swimming pool), but he liked the sand. Nadia enjoyed both the sand and the water. The kids would have stayed longer, but we left around 12:30 so we could come home for a bath and nap.

This was day #2 of sleep training for Ian (in terms of learning to take a nap in his crib). We weren't home yesterday. He screamed for 40 minutes and then slept for 30 minutes. He never went back to sleep after that. I didn't want to get him while he was screaming (for fear that he'd think that if I keep crying Mommy will come get me). Thankfully after he had been crying for about 40 minutes he was just standing in the crib (not crying). I chose that moment to go get him. Day #1 of sleep training (Wednesday) definitely went better in terms of the amount of time he slept in his crib. It's really hard to listen to him scream for that length of time, although it is much easier to get housework done with both children in their beds. Hopefully day #3 (tomorrow) will go better for Ian.

Yesterday the latest blog book arrived. It's beautiful. I got this one from Blog2Print. I have to say the quality of the pages is only a tiny bit better than the other books I ordered from another site. The quality of the cover is a million times nicer. If money were no object, I'd definitely buy future ones from Blog2Print. It cost 4 times more than the other site though, and if you consider that other site actually sent me 2 copies of each book (although I only paid for 1 of each), Blog2Print was actually 8 times as expensive. Probably I'll end up going the cheaper route in the future. It's just not worth THAT much money to have a beautiful cover. If the difference in cost wasn't so great, I'd pay a little more for the nicer book.

Floating on her back (with the substitute swim teacher today)

We went to a sidewalk chalk festival this evening, and Nadia got a pig painted on her face.

Thankful Thursday

Ian pointing to the dump trucks and bulldozer working near the playground.

1. Ian and I made our third trip to the Allergist today. At the first appointment (4 months ago), they did skin testing, which showed he was allergic to eggs. At the second appointment (2 months ago), he established the protocol for Ian after his EE diagnosis. I am grateful that we are working with an Allergist who wants Ian to have as few endoscopies as possible. He'd be undergoing anesthesia FAR more times if we were seeing a CHOP allergist. I called the GI today to tell them that Ian is ready for his next endoscopy.

2. I'm thankful for the safety we experienced while on the road for about 6 hours today. We left the house at 9:20 for Nadia's 4th swim lesson. We left the pool for Paul's parent's house at 10:25. Ian and I left their house at noon for the Allergist and returned back at their house a little after 4pm. We stopped at McD's on the way home so Nadia could eat dinner in the car as we got home at 5:45pm, which was just a few minutes before it was time to take her to her final night of VBS. I'm exhausted.

3. I'm grateful for the DVD player. Ian did really well in the car; he fussed off and on during the last couple of hours, but he never was crying or screaming. He only slept for about 10 minutes of the time we were in the car. He fell asleep right before we arrived at the Allergist. He slept through a good portion of the appointment, but the stethoscope woke him up.

4. The Allergist gave me 3 cans of EleCare. They cost me about $18 each on eBay. If Ian's next endoscopy comes out "all clear," he said we can switch from EleCare to soymilk or almond milk. I've spent over $400 on EleCare thus far (for 24 cans), and I've received 8 cans for free.

5. Nadia had fun with her grandparents this afternoon.

Ian sitting during Nadia's swim lesson.

6. The Allergist said we shouldn't worry about the positive blood test for wheat, and he also said we could reintroduce soy. He said it is true that maybe 25% of those who test positive for an allergy to milk also test positive for an allergy to soy (which is why the psychologist asked us to also eliminate soy), but he said that's not the case for those with EE. The reason why I am grateful to reintroduce soy is because #1 soy yogurt is easier to locate and much cheaper for me to buy and #2 Ian loves to lick graham crackers, and they have soy in them. I gave him some tonight. He had some coconut milk yogurt at grandma's house today, and he ate the WHOLE thing without crying or fussing one tiny bit. I plan to buy some soy yogurt tomorrow. I'll probably feed him 1-2 yogurts a day until he's eating a wider variety of foods. I'd be thrilled to have a couple of meals a day be free of crying!

Practicing kicking

7. The Allergist thinks there is a 90% chance that in a few months Ian can be on a normal diet without any medications. PTL!!! I had assumed that he would at least have to eliminate one of these foods for years to come. If the next scope comes back clear, we'll start a plan of reintroducing one food or decreasing one medication every 2-3 weeks. If the vomiting doesn't return, then we will continue to gradually move him back toward a normal diet without any medications. He will stay on the Singulair the longest. This process will take 2-3 months and will begin after we get the next biopsy results (provided those are good).

Blowing bubbles!

8. I learned today that the EE is probably why Ian struggled so long with his weight gain. The Allergist told me today that having EE greatly increases how many calories a child must intake just to maintain much less gain weight. He said that reducing the inflammation helps with weight gain. I had assumed it was just because he was keeping more food down due to not throwing up so much.

9. An electrician installed a light fixture/ceiling fan in our living room on Tuesday. Now all the rooms in our house have a light in the ceiling. The lighting in that room is soooooooooooo much better now! Unfortunately he had to cut several holes in the drywall of the ceiling to run the wires. That's not going to be a fun project to repair, but it's wonderful to have so much more light in that room.