tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12659555456659619212024-03-04T22:42:29.874-08:00Let's Not Be RashOur journey through the land of allergies and severe eczema with our daughter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-62204358152226794452016-08-15T10:26:00.003-07:002016-08-16T15:42:20.577-07:00Super De Duper Long UpdateIt has been over a year since I last updated the blog. We've had lots of changes over the past year. We took a 3 week (work-related) family vacation to Colorado last summer. It was fantastic. <br />
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In September, Eric started a new job in Houston. We sold our house in October, moved in with family for a month, and then moved into our new house in November.<br />
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We found a new church and started getting plugged in.<br />
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We had a rough start to the new year with lots of catching up with school, and some various illnesses throughout the family. But once summer came, we had an incredible epiphany. This was the first spring, in many years, that Rapunzel's skin didn't get infected, or even really flare up at all.<br />
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WHAT?!?! Every spring when the allergens start blooming, her skins gets so flared, that she ends up with an infection and has to be put on antibiotics and steroids to reel it in. Then, with the summer heat, it's a battle until fall/winter to get/keep it under control. But this year, her skin has stayed beautiful! It's been absolutely amazing! She was able to go to church camp this summer. I went along as a counselor, because I wanted to keep a close eye on her and her skin.<br />
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She has suffered from "hypohydrosis" which means that her sweat glands do not function properly, and so her body has a really hard time cooling off and can get overheated very easily. Also, anytime she gets wet, her skin gets really itchy and if she doesn't apply moisturizer immediately, she'll end up scratching herself bloody. At least, that's how it's been every summer for several years now. But, do you know what? That girl sweat buckets while we were at camp! I've never been so excited to see sweat dripping from someone before! It was "hot as the dickens" out there, and she was red faced like the rest of us, but also drenched in sweat like the rest of us! She was so perplexed by it too. "Mommy, is the sweat supposed to be dripping down from behind my knees like this?" "Yes baby girl, it sure is!" LOL And while she did continue to use her moisturizer after her showers, it wasn't dire for her to keep it with her and apply everytime she got wet in the pool or lake (or in any of the other many ways they got wet at camp). Her skin looked fantastic! I literally broke down in tears at camp when I was sharing this news with another counselor. I am thankful to God for healing her! I'm well aware that this does not mean she is forever 100% healed. She still has eczema, and we still have to take care of her skin. But this was a HUGE victory!<br />
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In other news, all the kids have had a great time finding new things to be involved in since the move. Belle started taking art lessons and apparently, she's been harboring some mad drawing skillz!<br />
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She also just joined the student choir at church and signed up to be a part of their art team.<br />
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Rapunzel took part in the kids choir at church and really enjoyed getting to sing on stage. This year she wants to audition for some solo singing/speaking parts!<br />
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Hercules played baseball in the spring. Their team won 1st place for the season, and finished in 3rd in the end of season tournament. Go Braves!<br />
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And Aurora played soccer this year. I think she enjoyed making new friends and getting new clothes more than the actual playing. But she still did great and had fun!<br />
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Hercules was diagnosed with Selective Mutism and we started therapy with him for that in April. We've seen some great progress, and will continue therapy into this next school year.<br />
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Speaking of next school year, things are changing around here for us! Belle and Rapunzel are both going to be taking some classes (English for Rapunzel - English, History and Government for Belle) at a local homeschool organization. Hercules is staying with me 100% of the time, and Aurora is going to public school. Lots of changes. I've gotten a lot of questions about why we are sending Aurora to public school this year. The short answer is: I feel as called to send her to public school this year, as I did about homeschooling her last year.<br />
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The long answer is: This past school year was tough. We started late due to our move, and it took me awhile to get into a groove of homeschooling all 4 of them. Aurora was constantly begging to do school. but then when it was her turn, she was "bored" and ready to be done. It was a battle every day. I was becoming very discouraged and it was a distraction for the other kids as well. In the past, when I would have a "bad day" I'd end up online looking up public school enrollment, but always ended up getting panicked at the thought of sending them to school. I'd pray and feel reassured that homeschooling was the right decision for us, and we'd move forward. However, this time when I would start to look up public school for Aurora, instead of feeling panic, I felt peace. It was bizarre. I wasn't really going to send her to school, was I? No, I am a homeschooler. I'll figure out how to make it work. Then our church held a "School Options Panel" during the spring semester. They put together a panel of people from Public school, Christian Private school, and Homeschool. It was meant for people who had kids starting school, who were trying to decide what to do. I decided to go, just because I was curious what they had to say about homeschooling. I already knew I was a homeschooler, but I was curious. At the panel, something interesting was revealed. Each of the three "experts" in their field, had kids, and at one time or another had had their kids in all three different school settings. Wait, you mean, you can homeschool one year, and then public school another year? Or have one kid in public school and another in private school? Or any other combination? And that is actually, OK? I mean, duh, right? But this is what I realized. So I started thinking about the possibility of sending Aurora to public school (cause we just can't afford private) for real. I talked to Eric about it, and he was on board for considering it. I prayed about it, A LOT, ALL SUMMER LONG. I felt nothing but peace about it. So when it came time to register her, I did it! And I am so excited! She is going to love it, and I feel so good knowing that this is where God wants her to be. Now, I don't know if she will always be in public school, or if it's just for this year. We're taking it day by day.<br />
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If you made it to the end, kudos to you. Now you are relatively up to date on the goings on of our family!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-48610459752897131662015-07-15T14:41:00.000-07:002015-07-15T14:44:24.098-07:00Soy Test<div style="text-align: center;">
Rapunzel had another appointment with the Immunologist last week. This time, we were retesting for soy, with a possible food challenge. We were in town for family stuff anyway, so Eric took the other kids to Chick Fil A to eat and play while we hung out at the hospital for the appointment. We had a pretty sweet set-up!</div>
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There was a Nintendo 64 and recliner! We played Mario Party together while we waited.</div>
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They did the skin test on her arm: positive, negative, serum, edamame, soy milk.</div>
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This was just after the stuck her.</div>
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This was after a few minutes. Already starting to look positive.</div>
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I didn't take anymore pictures because I was trying to keep Rapunzel's mind off of the itching. And once the dr. came in and told us what we already knew (she was still VERY allergic), and that there wouldn't be a food challenge, we gathered our things to get outta there!</div>
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We go back in 1 year and then we will retest for pea. Hoping for a negative test and then a food challenge!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-80817434019305156742015-02-14T09:09:00.001-08:002015-02-14T09:09:34.091-08:00Blog Series: My Favorite Gluten Free {Bread}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The next thing, after flour, that we thought about trying to "replace" on our gluten free diet, was bread. I could actually give or take bread most of the time. I've never LOVED it. I mean, don't get me wrong, fresh baked bread straight from the oven is good stuff. But it's not been hard for me to turn it down. There are days though, where I just want a grilled cheese sandwich. Or french toast. So after trying all different brands, we have our favorites.<br />
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There is a local bakery here in San Antonio that is completely gluten free. They stock some of their products in some of the HEBs around town too. We like their white sandwich bread for making grilled cheese. It has a different texture than regular wheat bread, that we don't tend to care for unless it is toasted. So we just keep a loaf (or 2 or 3) in the freezer, and toast up a couple slices when we need them. It works great with some butter for a grilled cheese. They also have a cranberry loaf that my kids love to make toast with for breakfast.<br />
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For regular sandwiches with either lunchmeat and cheese or sunbutter and jelly, we like a special loaf from Udi's. I've only found it at Target (of all places) in the bakery section. It's called Udi's Florence Street Bakery Farmhouse White Bread. It's not even on the Udi's website, because I think it's that new. But it's softer and more like traditional wheat bread. We can keep a loaf of it on the counter for about a week, but if it doesn't get eaten by then, we just move it to the freezer and toast slices as we need them.<br />
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As for hamburger and hot dog buns, we will sometimes use Udi's. The Udi's buns taste fine, but they are just so very dense. It makes it hard to eat a whole burger. So most of the time, we find that just putting some toppings on our burger or dog and leaving the bun off works great. I will admit that at first, my kids thought the idea of eating a burger without a bun was the worst thing ever, but now they will even forego a gluten free bun in favor of no bun at a restaurant. <br />
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My mom was awesome enough to get us a bread machine for Christmas that has a gluten free setting. We've been whipping up all sorts of breads with it and we love it! We have the Cuisinart CBK-200. We've tried various mixes from King Arthur, Bob's Red Mill, and Pamela's and they've all been great. I plan on trying out some other homemade recipes soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-35621429743677736802015-02-07T14:45:00.001-08:002015-02-07T14:46:12.203-08:00Blog Series: My Favorite Gluten Free {Flours}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The very first thing I thought about when making the switch to gluten free was, flour. There are all types of gluten free flour out there: brown rice flour, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, oat flour, almond flour (which we avoid due to nut allergies), coconut flour, quinoa flour, corn flour, soy flour (which we also avoid due to allergies), sorghum flour, garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, arrowroot starch, cornstarch and more.<br />
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However, one can not simply substitute any gluten free flour for wheat flour. I imagine if you did you'd be left with a crumbly mess. You have to find the right blend of other flours and starches, and of course the vital xanthan gum, which acts as a binder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55L4hMVeITMnCkCIZwUKwHbqOt9tEobNbDdLD6K72h5f0-pxPQ4OSadHFrQkviTCgUk8mUHMZ0UUoLaoj4KyzuSZggUhDQoeb15BLA2pN3s3dovbQKV1GKyUUgbOkeazjU5sL40YPkG4/s1600/afbh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55L4hMVeITMnCkCIZwUKwHbqOt9tEobNbDdLD6K72h5f0-pxPQ4OSadHFrQkviTCgUk8mUHMZ0UUoLaoj4KyzuSZggUhDQoeb15BLA2pN3s3dovbQKV1GKyUUgbOkeazjU5sL40YPkG4/s1600/afbh.jpg" /></a>You can make your own flour blend. There are plenty of recipes out there. I try to keep a bin of my favorite in my pantry. But I'm going to be honest. My favorite blend has a couple of harder to find ingredients that my grocery stores don't always keep in stock. And I have found that it isn't *that* much cheaper to make my own if I can find good deals on store bought blends. So while, I do use and make my own, I probably only use it half the time. My favorite homemade blend is from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Shoestring-Bakes-Bread-Biscuits/dp/0738216852/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423343473&sr=8-2&keywords=gluten+free+on+a+shoestring" target="_blank">Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread</a>. My second favorite is from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Allergen-Free-Bakers-Handbook-Cybele-Pascal/dp/1587613484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423343504&sr=8-1&keywords=allergen+free+bakers+handbook" target="_blank">Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook</a>.<br />
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So, what about store bought gluten free flour blends? There are so many to choose from. I have my favorites and I have some that I was surprisingly disappointed in. Let's start there.<br />
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I heart Trader Joe's. It is my favorite grocery store for most things. I go there about once a month and stock up on so many things there (I'll save that for another blog post). So I was excited to see that they have their own gluten free flour blend. However, I wasn't impressed with it. The ingredients are simple: whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour, and tapioca flour. Notice there is no xanthan gum, which is fine. You just need to add your own when baking. I just found that this made my baked goods have a weird texture. Kind of gummy. And when I used it as a breading for let's say, chicken, to cook in the oven, it never seemed to cook properly or get brown. Sad :(<br />
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As far as middle of the road blends, I like King Arthur's, Namaste (found mine at Costco) and Bob's Red Mill. They all do a good job in baked goods, and hold up well in savory cooking also.<br />
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But so far my favorite is Jules. It's the starchiest to say the least, so probably not the healthiest. But it makes the best baked goods and works beautifully in dinner dishes. I order mine online from their <a href="http://www.julesglutenfree.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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Using gluten free flour blends (homemade or store bought) I have been able to make pretty anything we want gluten free at home. Cake, waffles, chicken tenders, roux... you name it, it can be made gluten free!<br />
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Last March, our entire family went gluten free. It started with my husband, who read the book "Wheat Belly" while out of town for work. He'd been experiencing a lot of symptoms that the book addressed. So, he figured he'd try cutting out wheat to see if it made any difference. Within a few days, he noticed a big difference, and by a couple weeks, he had none of the symptoms he'd been dealing with for years. He encouraged me to try to make changes for the whole family in regards to eliminating wheat. I was reluctant at first. After all, I'd had Rapunzel go gluten free for 2 months before in an attempt to heal her skin, and we saw no results. But he had no plans of eating wheat again, so I figured... why not? I am an 'all or nothing' type girl though, so if we were going to make the switch to gluten free, we were going to be all in. So I did my research again, made meal plans and grocery lists, and we started our gluten free journey.<br />
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I will admit that even a couple months after we started, I didn't feel any different. I didn't notice a difference in any of the kids either. But I stayed the course. I was a little jealous of my husband, who happened to lose 20lbs just by eliminating gluten. I was not so lucky. He was feeling a lot better from no gluten, and by now, I was in the groove and it was easy to continue to eliminate it from all of our diets. We found out what we could eat where, and what to shop for and cook, and it was not so bad after all.<br />
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Even when Belle went off to church summer camp, I made sure to send her with a bag full of safe snacks, and took the time to highlight the things on the camp menu that I thought she could eat with some alterations (hamburger without the bun, breakfast taco without the tortilla, unless there was corn tortillas, etc.). It ended up working out great for her because they had a salad bar at every meal and she LOVES salad. They also even had gluten free pasta available on spaghetti night! Her gluten free diet didn't hinder her camp experience in the slightest.<br />
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Over the summer, I saw my endocrinologist to get my thyroid levels checked (I have Hashimoto's autoimmune disease, as well as nodules on my thyroid), and it was the first time in several years that my numbers looked great, without needing to change my med dose again. I mentioned to the endo that we'd gone gluten free in March, and she had no doubt that was a big reason my numbers looked so good.<br />
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Then in January, I went back again, and my numbers were EVEN BETTER. So good that they said if they get any lower, they'll need to BRING DOWN my dose of meds. When I was first diagnosed, I was told that my meds would continually be upped through my entire life. That there was little chance of going backward. So this new turn of events was very exciting, encouraging news.<br />
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Last week, I finally gave in and went to the allergist. Ever since we moved to San Antonio, in 2009 I've had to take Zyrtec daily for allergies. If I missed a dose, I felt it! But as long as I took my Zyrtec, like a good little girl, I was fine. Until this winter. The mountain cedar blew in and tried to kill me. "Cedar fever" is no joke. I was a stuffy, snotty, sneezy, itchy, miserable mess. So I finally went to the dr. to get some relief. As he was looking over my records, he asked me how bad my asthma had been triggered through all of this. Normally, I have to take my inhaler consistently through the "cold" months (I use the term cold loosely, because we are in central Texas afterall). But I realized that the only time I needed it (or the nebulizer) this winter was for a short time right before Thanksgiving, when I got a bad upper respiratory infection. That's it. He agreed that a gluten free diet could be a big contributor to this!<br />
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All of this to say, that while I was positive a gluten free diet was the right decision for my husband, I was reluctant to believe it would have any positive effect on the rest of us. I knew it wouldn't 'hurt', but I definitely didn't think it would help anything. But I WAS WRONG. It has taken time for me to see, but it has absolutely made a big difference for me! No looking back now!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-76782342621057357432014-10-23T07:42:00.000-07:002014-10-23T07:56:12.662-07:00Eczema Awareness Month 2014Once again, we participated in the Eczema Awareness Month campaign by submitting pictures to the National Eczema Association. Belle and Rapunzel both made signs and let me take their pics. They are both featured in this video, by the National Eczema Association.<br />
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And look who made the cover of The Advocate, The National Eczema Association's magazine!<br />
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We are happy to do what we can to help spread awareness about eczema! We still have good days and bad days at our house, but we thank God daily for the blessings he's given us and continue to pray for healing!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-50064491276625365602014-07-24T12:43:00.000-07:002014-07-24T12:44:47.738-07:00Homeschool 2014I have spent months planning and am finally (almost) ready for school to start 'round these parts in a few weeks! We are working on rearranging some of our rooms to give us a bigger playroom, so once that is done we will be all ready!<br />
<br />
Here is our daily schedule. No, we won't follow this schedule every.single.day. And no, we won't even follow it 100% on any given day. But, it gives me a starting point, and a structure to go from.<br />
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<br />
It's color coded, so everyone will know where they are supposed to be. Pink is with mom. Green is at their desk. Blue is on the iPad. And purple is on the desktop.<br />
<br />
Here are the curriculum choices I've made for this school year.<br />
<br />
<u>All</u><br />
Bible - <a href="http://shop.apologia.com/56-who-is-god" target="_blank">Apologia Biblical Worldview - Who is God?</a><br />
<br />
<u>Belle</u> - 6th grade<br />
Math - <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Saxon+Math+6-5+3ED+Homeschool+KIT/024426" target="_blank">Saxon 6/5</a> and <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Saxon+Math+7-6+4ED+Homeschool+KIT/024430" target="_blank">7/6</a> (I'm hoping to get through 6/5 and start 7/6 this school year)<br />
English - <a href="http://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-126--/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Grade_6" target="_blank">Rod and Staff 6</a><br />
Spelling - <a href="http://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-166--/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Grade_6" target="_blank">Rod and Staff 6</a><br />
Writing - <a href="http://peacehillpress.com/writing-with-skill-middle-grades/" target="_blank">Writing with Skill</a> Lv. 1<br />
Literature - various books throughout the year with accompanying notebooks or lapbooks<br />
<br />
<u>Rapunzel</u> - 3rd grade<br />
Math - <a href="https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Saxon+Math+Intermediate+3+Comp+Homeschool+Kit/020006/3cc6021ca5ce6b20ab889a8a?subject=10&category=9809" target="_blank">Saxon Intermediate 3</a><br />
Grammar - <a href="http://peacehillpress.com/grammar/" target="_blank">First Language Lessons</a> Lv. 3<br />
Writing - <a href="http://peacehillpress.com/writing-with-ease-elementary/" target="_blank">Writing with Ease</a> Lv. 3<br />
Spelling - <a href="http://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-163--/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Spelling" target="_blank">Rod and Staff 3</a><br />
Phonics - <a href="http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=1460M" target="_blank">Explode the Code</a>, books 7 &8<br />
Handwriting - <a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/category/HWT" target="_blank">Handwriting Without Tears</a>, Cursive Handwriting and Cursive Success<br />
<br />
<u>Belle & Rapunzel</u> (and sometimes Hercules and/or Aurora)<br />
<a href="http://www.mfwbooks.com/products/M50/40/15/0/1" target="_blank">My Father's World - Creation to the Greeks</a><br />
history, science, bible, music, art<br />
<br />
<u>Hercules</u> - Kindergarten<br />
Math - <a href="https://www.aophomeschooling.com/product/mak015" target="_blank">Lifepac K</a><br />
Phonics - <a href="https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=5&category=823" target="_blank">Get Ready, Get Set, and Go for the Code</a><br />
Handwriting - <a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/category/HWT" target="_blank">Handwriting Without Tears</a>, Letters and Numbers for Me<br />
<br />
<u>Aurora</u> - Pre-K<br />
<a href="http://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-10020-GHIJK/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Preschool" target="_blank">Rod and Staff ABC series</a><br />
<br />
<u>Hercules & Aurora</u><br />
<a href="https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Five+in+a+Row+Vol.+1/019808/4a8b4b4197e25b73b8a21b0c?subject=2&category=6487" target="_blank">Five in a Row</a> Vol. 1<br />
<br />
Our plan is to start school on August 20! I don't have a set calendar after that. I plan to do school MWThF. On Tuesdays we'll have Moms Next and piano lessons every other week. On our off weeks, we'll use Tuesdays for field trips, dr. appts, catch up days, or just plain lazy days. We'll take time off around the holidays and as the need arises (illness etc.). I listed out our lessons in order and marked the quarter, half, and three-quarter way points. That way I can assess throughout the year if we are staying on plan, and can adjust accordingly.<br />
<br />
This will be the first year I don't have any nappers! It will definitely be a big change for us! I'm hoping that we can spend the afternoons doing fun things together (instead of sitting at home being QUITE BECAUSE SOMEONE IS SLEEPING!). Right now, Belle is signed up for volleyball. Rapunzel and Aurora are going to be taking dance classes. And Hercules will be playing soccer. We definitely have a full schedule!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-33967775544983178052013-12-31T12:45:00.002-08:002013-12-31T12:45:29.494-08:002013 Year in ReviewI thought I'd do an obligatory walk down memory lane of the past year. I basically just pulled my favorite pictures and status updates from facebook to share here. We've had an incredibly blessed year!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Aurora comes up to me with my earbuds in two
pieces and says, "This just broke." I told her, "No, it didn't
just break. You pulled it off." She says, "Did you see me?" And
I (lying) said, "Yes." Her eyes get big and she just says,
"Oh". That's right child, this mama has eyes EVERYWHERE so you better
watch it! Lol</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>We use the saying, "You get what you
get and you don't throw a fit" in our house. Aurora decided to change it up
to suit her liking and now says, "you pick what you want and you don't
throw a fit."</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The kids were
playing Just Dance 4 and the song "Call Me Maybe" came on and Aurora
sings it in a pirate voice, "Call Me Matey!"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>A small peak into how defiant Aurora is:
She's eating her applesauce with chopsticks because I told her to go get a
spoon.</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Aurora: "Mommy, what you are
doing?"<br />
Me: "Taking the sheets off my bed so that I can wash them."<br />
Aurora (with a very sympathetic look on her face): "Oh, did you teetee on
them?"<br />
Thanks, kid.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>Aurora is playing the "Handwriting
Without Tears" app on the iPad, and when she makes a mistake it says,
"Give that another go". She insists it's saying, "Give that
another goat."</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">For a few weeks now, I've been occasionally
finding pee on the floor around the toilet downstairs. Of course, no one would
own up to it, but I just assumed it was Hercules. I never made him clean it up
though, because I didn't know 100% that it was him (I just cleaned it myself).
Today, I hear Aurora yell, "Hercules, I did it! I stood up and didn't get any
tee-tee on the floor!" Well, there ya go! Apparently she's been attempting
to stand and pee like Hercules (only sometimes) does. I explained to her that
only boys can stand to tee-tee. Not sure she's buying it, but at least now I
know who to make clean up the pee mess if I find any.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>Aurora turns to her friend, grabs her cheeks, and
says, "You're as cute as... ME!"</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Aurora's new joke:<br />
Why did the chicken go over the street? Because he had no legs! Get it? NO
LEGS!!!<br />
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>Was watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
with the kids and when the abominable snowman came on the screen, Aurora
screamed, "AHHH! It's a zombie!" SMH</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Every time we drive into Houston, we play
"Belle, this is your life". Belle, there's the hospital you were
born in. Belle, there's the apartments we lived in when you were a baby.
Belle, there's the church you went to preschool at... She just gives us
"the look". (if you know Belle, you know the look)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>ME: Woohoo! The soccer fields are closed,
so there's no practice tonight!"<br />
Belle: Why'd you say WOOHOO??<br />
Me: Oh, um, I meant BOO HOO!</em></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Belle: I kept swallowing water at swim
lessons and now I keep burping.<br />
Eric: You're not supposed to swallow the pool water. That can make you sick.<br />
Me: Life lessons here: Don't drink the pool water. Don't drink the bath water.<br />
Belle: You're not supposed to drink the bath water??<br />
<br />
This explains so much.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>As I recover from being sick over
Thanksgiving, my voice is fading. I'm at about 20% today. I was talking to the
girls' piano teacher this morning in a muy muy soft voice, and Belle said
"You sound like a sweet lady." Cause you know, I'd never sound like
that with my normal voice.</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Rapunzel: This strawberry-quiche smoothie is
soooo good!<br />
Me: Kiwi<br />
Rapunzel: What?<br />
Me: Strawberry-kiwi, not quiche<br />
Rapunzel: Oh. Can you make a strawberry-quiche smoothie?<br />
Me: I can. But I won't.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>Just took all 4 kids for a quick trip to
Trader Joe's. Walking through the frozen foods aisle "We Got the
Beat" came on and I honestly think people thought we were starting a flash
mob with the moves my kids had going on!</em></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">First time seeing white sand and the girls
exclaim, "Look! Snow!"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Teenage boy just came to my door with a
fundraiser and when I answered he asked if one of my parents was home. Totally
made my day!</span><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I just had a most entertaining conversation
with my 4 year old son while putting on my sneakers:<br />
Hercules: are you about to exercise?<br />
Me: yes<br />
Hercules: with the exercise movie?<br />
Me: yes<br />
Hercules: oh, we haven't seen that in a long time. <br />
Me: thanks... Do you want to exercise with me?<br />
Hercules: no, I'm already strong. I'm stronger than Belle, Rapunzel, AND Aurora. <br />
Me: oh you are?<br />
Hercules: yeah, I can push them down really easily. <br />
Me: well, that's not very nice. <br />
Hercules: it's ok, it's only when we're playing "Bad Hercules"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-60468245153752691322013-11-21T12:31:00.003-08:002013-11-21T12:31:39.377-08:00Food ChallengeRapunzel had another appointment with the Immunologist yesterday. I took all the kids with me on this trip.<br />
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It was a LONG day. We left home at 7:15am and got home at 11:05pm.<br />
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The first thing they did when we got to the appt. was a breathing test.<br />
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Rapunzel had to blow into this machine, and try to get the bowling ball in the picture down the lane, and to hit all the pins. She did it 4 times, then took some puffs from an inhaler, and then did it again a few minutes later.<br />
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After that, they took us to the exam room. They collected the food we brought in for the allergy testing (corn, peas, and orange again) and we waited. There was lots of waiting.<br />
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They finally came in and did the skin test.<br />
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The last skin test they did, orange and corn were both kind of inconclusive. This time, she tested negative to both of them! She tested more negative to them, than she did to the negative control!<br />
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She's still highly allergic to peas. No peas for Rapunzel!<br />
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Since she tested negative to the corn (and corn syrup, which they included on the skin test), we did a food challenge with the corn.<br />
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They started by having her eat one kernel. And then we waited.<br />
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Then she ate several bites and waited. And waited. And waited some more.<br />
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She felt great! No tingling, no stomach ache, no rash. She passed the food challenge!<br />
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She's no longer allergic to corn!!!<br />
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After being at the doctor's office for 6 hours, we left just in time to sit in Houston rush hour traffic.<br />
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So, it was a very exciting day, with some very exciting results for Rapunzel. At our next appointment, in six months, we're going to test her soy allergy and possibly do a food challenge with that!<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-5843764136777848302013-11-07T11:02:00.001-08:002013-11-07T11:02:24.899-08:00Eczema Strikes BelleBelle has always suffered from eczema, right along with Rapunzel. The difference is, Belle's was never severe, and always easily controlled. Not sure what's going on here, but now Belle's eczema is really flared up. Luckily, it just seems to be on her arms right now. Her legs and trunk are dry, but not flared yet. I actually took her to the pediatrician today to make sure it was indeed eczema, and not something else, just to be sure. She agreed that it appeared to be eczema, and that it didn't seem to be infected at this point. So, now we move to more rigorous skincare for Belle. She's not too excited about twice daily tub soaks, switching to cotton clothing, and adding in bleach baths. But I explained to her, that these are the things we need to do to help her skin get better. She's really uncomfortable from it. Her skin is really itchy and burning. So hopefully kicking her skincare into high gear will be enough to help her!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-44122734996506482092013-11-04T16:44:00.002-08:002013-11-04T16:44:37.522-08:00Allergy Testing 2013Well, Rapunzel has been on her Immunotherapy (allergy shots) for a year now. So it was time to do another round of allergy testing to see how she's responding.<br />
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She was so excited about it.<br />
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Not.<br />
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It took 3 of us to hold her down so that the nurse could administer the test. But once that part was done, she was fine. She sat up and her tears dried, and she didn't bad another eye. Trooper!<br />
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So, the results... First the dr came in and went over the numbers. The reactions were substantially smaller for almost all of the pricks. She still tested moderate or high for most things, but overall, the results were still better than before. Some even went away completely! Which means that the shots are working. Hallelujah!</div>
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So we'll keep on keeping on with the weekly injections. Funny enough, she doesn't mind those at all.</div>
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Belle, on the other hand...</div>
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She hates the shots! But she doesn't have to have her testing done until March. I already know hers are helping her tons. She only seems to be really miserable lately when she gets around cats (which she's highly allergic to).</div>
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Rapunzel will be seeing the Immunologist again in 2 weeks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-61738929335606798902013-11-02T13:28:00.003-07:002013-11-02T13:28:52.471-07:00Costumes!I was worried about trying to find a Halloween Costume for Rapunzel this year that was cotton. Most (if not all) of the packaged costumes are polyester, and I wasn't sure what Rapunzel had her heart set on being.<br />
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Belle bought some fake glasses at Claire's in August with some of her birthday money, and she was so excited about them. She decided afterward that she wanted to use them and be Velma, from Scooby Doo for Halloween this year. A girl after my own heart.<br />
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(This is from Halloween 2010)</div>
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Hercules wanted to be The Hulk. That was easy. We bought him a costume and also some Hulk fists as an early birthday present.</div>
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Aurora wanted to be Dora at first. I had started buying bits and pieces of thing to put together as a costume, when she changed her mind and wanted a packaged costume like Hercules. So Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates it was.</div>
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Rapunzel wasn't sure what she wanted to be. She does use some dress up clothes that are polyester, just around the house to play in sometimes. But I didn't want to get her something like that to wear all night, in and outdoors, so I was excited when she decided to be Daphne from Scooby Doo! I was able to find her some cotton separates to wear and with a wig, it was perfect!</div>
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We teamed up with the same friends we dressed as the Scooby gang with and were characters from The Big Bang Theory. Can you guess who we were??</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-60038816731099405022013-10-14T14:30:00.000-07:002013-10-14T14:30:02.137-07:00So... What's Worked?I thought I'd give an update on the things that we think have helped Rapunzel's eczema get better. We've tried so many things over the last year +, so it's hard to know for sure what has helped and what hasn't. But here are the things that we're pretty confident about.<br />
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<u>Daily Soaks & Moisturizing</u><br />
When Rapunzel wakes up every morning, she moisturizes her skin before getting dressed. Every night, she either soaks in the bath, or takes a shower. Then she moisturizes her skin immediately after.<br />
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When her skin was still really bad, she was using Vaniply Ointment. Now
that it's healed and healthy, she is using Vanicream. The Vaniply
Ointment is greasy and messy, but it's all she could use for a long time
because anything else burned her skin. As soon as we were able to
switch to Vanicream, we did. It's still thick and great at moisturizing,
but not as greasy and doesn't ruin her clothes and sheets!<br />
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<u>Bleach Bath 3 Times a Week</u><br />
Rapunzel soaks in a bleach bath (1/2 c. of bleach in a tub full of warm water) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. This has helped tremendously in keeping staph infections at bay.<br />
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<u>Cotton Clothing</u><br />
We still avoid polyester at all costs, and try to stick to cotton for all of her clothing. It's been a little bit of challenge to find certain articles in cotton (coats, gymnastics leotard, etc.), but it's doable and we feel like it's made a big difference.<br />
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<u>Immunotherapy</u><br />
It has been almost a full year since Rapunzel started her Immunotherapy (allergy shots). I do believe that they have finally helped. They told us it would take 6 mos to a year to see improvement. The first 6 mos, she was worse than she'd ever been. But now, I feel like they have truly helped. However, I still don't know if I would advocate their use in helping with eczema, considering how bad it got before it got better. I feel like if we'd had the information we have now about how to properly care for her skin consistently, we may have been able to avoid those really bad months. But, maybe not. Who knows.<br />
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Other things we've tried that didn't necessarily help with eczema but did help with other things:<br />
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<u>Magnesium</u><br />
We started giving Rapunzel a Magnesium supplement to help her sleep at night, thus to help her scratch less. This has helped her tremendously. Even now, she's not nearly as itchy as she had been, she still takes this every night to help her sleep. And bonus, it has also helped with some GI issues she'd been having.<br />
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<u>Removing Foods</u><br />
Even though her eczema didn't clear up as a result of removing foods from her diet, her overall health and general well-being has greatly increased because of it. We are still on the journey to find out what she's truly allergic to, and what she is just sensitive to. But eliminating all of those foods (corn, soy, nuts, pea, orange) from her diet has definitely made a noticeable positive impact on her life.<br />
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But I have to say that the biggest thing that I believe has helped Rapunzel is <u>PRAYER</u>. We've prayed for our girl diligently, and we have been blessed with many friends and family that have prayed for her. We believe that our Heavenly Father is the Great Physician and that He is the One behind her healing!<br />
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"O Lord<span class="text Ps-30-2" id="en-ESV-14322"> my God, I cried to You for help,</span><span class="indent-1"> <span class="text Ps-30-2">and You have healed me." Psalm 30:2</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-51130098499408600112013-10-08T12:54:00.001-07:002013-10-08T12:54:28.040-07:00Eczema Awareness MonthOctober is Eczema Awareness Month. Rapunzel took part in this short video by the National Eczema Association to help spread awareness about eczema. Take a look!<div><br></div><div><a href="http://youtu.be/ZmuXYM6iPIM">http://youtu.be/ZmuXYM6iPIM</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-72973800154042630282013-09-25T12:45:00.001-07:002013-09-25T12:45:07.315-07:00Mom to MomThe other day I was sitting around with a group of ladies and one of them started talking about her son, who is suffering from severe eczema. Of course my ears perked up. I started a sentence with, "Have you..." and in the second I paused, she answered, "Yes." Oh, how I know that feeling. When everyone around you is offering their advice and what helped their child, or their friend's child, or some random thing they read online that one time. All well-meaing, all just trying to show support and care. But, yeah, we've tried it all. I wasn't even going to ask, "Have you tried.. (fill in the blank)." I actually wanted to know if she'd been able to pin-point his triggers. And as I remembered answering myself at one point, "It's everything" was her answer.<br />
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I will not ever call myself an eczema expert. Eczema is a tricky little disease that presents itself differently in everyone. So I know that what helped Rapunzel, may not help another child. And I know how completely overwhelming any information can be when you're in the thick of the journey. But I also know how badly I want to help them in any way that I can.<br />
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So, I told her I wouldn't offer up any advice, because I know she's tried everything. But that I've been there. I'm still there. Just because Rapunzel's eczema is clear for the moment, all it can take is a small backslide and we could be right back in the middle of it again. And that if she had any questions or just needed someone to talk to, I'm here. She's doing an amazing job!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-67796007263058772992013-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:002013-09-21T16:47:13.022-07:00About So Much More Than GymnasticsWe spent all of last year trying to figure out Rapunzel's eczema and how to get it and keep it under control. I feel like since summer, we've finally gotten a handle on it. We've figured out several of her triggers, implemented and sustained a helpful skincare regimen, and now her skin is clear and she's feeling good almost all the time! It's been a long road, and I know we'll still have set backs, but I'm so glad that we've finally gotten to where we are.<br>
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One of the things we did last year in an attempt to help her skin, was to limit her extra curriculars. Because her skin was so bad, there were many days when she had to stay covered, and even wrapped in bandages. Being outside longer than a few minutes caused her to become itchy. So there wasn't much as far as sports that she could take part in. She couldn't even attend Belle's soccer games, so Eric and I had to take turns keeping her home, or finding a friend to watch her during games.<br>
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I was so pleased to see how much her skin healed over the summer, and how other than a few small flares, it's stayed healthy as we're coming up on fall. So around the time we started school this year, we let her choose a sport/activity. We did specify that it needed to be something indoors, as she gets overheated easily, and it stays hot here into November. She chose gymnastics.<br>
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She had her first class competition today and I wasn't sure how she'd do. She's only been in the class for a few weeks, and she still deals with a little bit of anxiety (although that has gotten SO MUCH BETTER since her skin has cleared up). But, the girl did awesome. There were only a few who earned a 1st place ribbon in all 4 events, and she was one of them. She totally rocked it!<br>
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I was in tears as she stood on the podium and accepted her medal and ribbons. I just think back to this time last year. I was in tears as I watched her skin weep and bleed. I was in tears as she was scared to even take a bath because the water burned her skin. I was in tears as I applied medicine and bandages to her raw wounds. I was in tears to the doctors, as I begged and pleaded with them to figure out why it was so bad. I spent much of this past year in tears. Wanting to help her but not knowing how. And now, after pouring our hearts and souls into this journey, I'm in tears over how far she's come. How far we've all come.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pBetzaPcncKt62HNC_5uQeO3ShZ0-_PgzTXHLBGkRq5oWRWh5FigJQSrS_CvMBPYLAnAOI3gMKJ4YFdaYKcUsiEQ8Sz7-BalSDkO34sTna2VAKPw9dlJdLToICTU78LutPIu7Zwlk2A/s640/blogger-image-291574492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pBetzaPcncKt62HNC_5uQeO3ShZ0-_PgzTXHLBGkRq5oWRWh5FigJQSrS_CvMBPYLAnAOI3gMKJ4YFdaYKcUsiEQ8Sz7-BalSDkO34sTna2VAKPw9dlJdLToICTU78LutPIu7Zwlk2A/s640/blogger-image-291574492.jpg"></a></div><br>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-29989039364026843802013-09-14T19:17:00.001-07:002013-09-14T19:26:46.512-07:00Real FoodWhen I started removing known allergens from Rapunzel's diet, and therefore from my menu plans, I started just looking for anything that fit the bill. Even if it wasn't the healthiest, as long as it didn't contain her allergens. A lot of changes were healthier. No corn syrup meant somewhat healthier alternatives. But now that we've been avoiding corn (and the others) for over a year, I've begun to realize that I can still do better. So, I've been incorporating more real food meals. I'm not a 100% stickler, but its a change in the right direction. So, with that, I thought I'd share our menu plan for this week:<div><br></div><div>Breakfast:</div><div>I still let the kids pick what they want for breakfast from our usual suspects:</div><div>Plain yogurt w/ a splash of vanilla and pure maple syrup, sometimes with granola on top</div><div>Plain oatmeal with maple syrup</div><div>Whole wheat toast with natural jelly or butter</div><div>Whole foods cereals</div><div>bagels with cream cheese</div><div><br></div><div>Lunch:</div><div>I don't usually eat the same things as the kids anymore. I will usually eat leftovers from dinner, or make a salad of some sort, sometimes a sandwich on whole wheat bread. You can see more of what I eat by following me on instagram @amberloveseric</div><div>But for the kids -</div><div>Egg salad, triscuits, cheese stick, raspberries, pineapple, cucumbers</div><div>Waffle/cream cheese sandwich, ants on a log, pear</div><div>Sliced apple and sunbutter sandwich, hummus and pita chips, carrots</div><div>Hummus, cheese, cucumber pita pocket, applesauce, grape tomatoes</div><div>Raspberry whole wheat muffins, smoothie pop, plain popcorn (popped sorghum for Rapunzel)</div><div><br></div><div>Dinner:</div><div>Teriyaki pork tenderloin, sesame noodles, green beans</div><div>Taco soup, salad</div><div>Stuffed peppers (stuffed with beef, quinoa, beans, veggies)</div><div>chicken pesto pasta, black bean soup</div><div>Sweet n sour chicken, brown rice, broccoli</div><div><br></div><div>Those menus don't really look all that different from past menus. The difference is the ingredients I use. Real ingredients. Real food. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-21119973902986597172013-09-05T13:32:00.001-07:002013-09-05T13:35:36.561-07:00Immunologist Appt #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>We made a day trip to Houston yesterday for another appointment with Rapunzel's immunologist at Texas Children's. We left at 7am and got to the hospital at 11:30. Just enough time to scarf down some lunch and make our 12:00 appt.<div><br></div><div>I knew there would be a lot of waiting, so we came prepared with some schoolwork. Love her "I don't want you to take my picture" face. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2F1-CgvDbqB6g1-V8qR7LKHHDQE_8EmRTDcqhgOsFUX7kQMHMoN98S_9tI_OjbWh6mHbD-6Ya6DpIp_P7YPT967W5jjEBGyV7twpvtulcX7yvGMtnanYPDQESCTgu1VMaWFg0wFa1KE/s640/blogger-image--869759890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2F1-CgvDbqB6g1-V8qR7LKHHDQE_8EmRTDcqhgOsFUX7kQMHMoN98S_9tI_OjbWh6mHbD-6Ya6DpIp_P7YPT967W5jjEBGyV7twpvtulcX7yvGMtnanYPDQESCTgu1VMaWFg0wFa1KE/s640/blogger-image--869759890.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The doctor came in and let us know that we'd first be doing a scratch test with extracts and actual foods for: corn, peas, and oranges. </div><div><br></div><div>They brought in someone from Child Life to help her during the test. She did great!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KC4vWQpZ9C-Oj-RXGlFpDDHnomzKTaewqF_vWVkunu9JHP4kxI1tip7gbTmlQ4QCH9HUl4OkATHKw1KipltCW4zgZtD8XxwsEykoyhRFPRh7KtZ6lSQfIWXEaYxRT5cUeKX41bIxdVA/s640/blogger-image-1896232000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KC4vWQpZ9C-Oj-RXGlFpDDHnomzKTaewqF_vWVkunu9JHP4kxI1tip7gbTmlQ4QCH9HUl4OkATHKw1KipltCW4zgZtD8XxwsEykoyhRFPRh7KtZ6lSQfIWXEaYxRT5cUeKX41bIxdVA/s640/blogger-image-1896232000.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>This is after only a couple of minutes. I didn't get another picture afterward because she was getting uncomfortable, so I got up to hold her hand. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclEs9MyfeExHFUaLQEF60pn8xbfis-Z73iZRq_7C6P8wM2C15pwLUvFnJsOVI2L-Q3_ltStinHgwUrKpsA3a_bofDZlAqR4jtDsZGKSH2EgmGmYlD-27-khrMypRa8K2WYHS8OO8le5g/s640/blogger-image--518606789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclEs9MyfeExHFUaLQEF60pn8xbfis-Z73iZRq_7C6P8wM2C15pwLUvFnJsOVI2L-Q3_ltStinHgwUrKpsA3a_bofDZlAqR4jtDsZGKSH2EgmGmYlD-27-khrMypRa8K2WYHS8OO8le5g/s640/blogger-image--518606789.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>After the test was over, the doctor returned to go over the results. They did scratches for pea extract, fresh pea, orange extract, fresh orange, corn extract, fresh corn, and boiled corn.</div><div><br></div><div>To Erica's chagrin, she is still allergic to peas. Big time. In the doctor's words, "quite possibly anaphylactic to them.". Both the extract and the fresh pea scratches swelled up substantially. Got it. No peas. She didn't need to tell me twice!</div><div><br></div><div>Orange was inconclusive. The extract reaction was just ever so slightly positive, but the fresh orange was negative. She said if we wanted to attempt a food challenge on our own at home, she would be ok with that. We're thinking about it, but still avoiding orange for now. </div><div><br></div><div>Corn was baffling. Of the 3 scratches for corn, one reaction was very large, one was borderline (but still positive) and one was negative. Not enough evidence to rule out the corn allergy. And because there was a positive, we couldn't attempt the food challenge today. So, next time we come in, we'll be focusing on this. We'll do another scratch test for corn - this time with corn on the cob and corn syrup. And possibly the food challenge. </div><div><br></div><div>I was very confused about her testing positive on the skin tests, yet her blood tests coming back mostly normal. The doctor explained that we can't rely on one test over the other. Instead, we use all the results to paint a bigger picture of her allergies. She also explained that just because her numbers do not indicate a possible anaphylactic response, does not mean that it's not a true allergy. Rapunzel has not experienced an anaphylactic reaction before, but her extensive stomach aches and general unwell feeling after ingesting an allergen are still definitely signs of an allergy, and are even sometimes referred to as slow anaphylaxis. </div><div><br></div><div>I will admit that I became a little lax about what Rapunzel ate when we ate out this summer after her last appt, but my eyes have been reopened and I will continue to be diligent about what she eats!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-9070990856195479042013-08-24T20:34:00.001-07:002013-08-26T12:13:38.369-07:00How we do Homeschool 101School is in session! We decided to start on the actual start date of our local school district again this year. I let each of the kids pick out a "first day of school" outfit for the occasion.<br>
<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJGVgeL4dgiSCVX4p7RLpAgv5A8j1IsSsVKYIKzdkascQX9Tz9cvP-INCgKTS4ueHuOZlt9noFm4epyvBSnUvRe3vOMEjodeuGOCK1gUTYuiXexjsi8S45uK7q9v3mPEwn5CmQX73Ju8/s640/blogger-image--643882568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJGVgeL4dgiSCVX4p7RLpAgv5A8j1IsSsVKYIKzdkascQX9Tz9cvP-INCgKTS4ueHuOZlt9noFm4epyvBSnUvRe3vOMEjodeuGOCK1gUTYuiXexjsi8S45uK7q9v3mPEwn5CmQX73Ju8/s640/blogger-image--643882568.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKvHEnf6HrGFi5iiBWsLCuX8IxxVqx-6X2llNdG3JAxw4SY_meSBoBQHIy1d_XxVWpYtVA4ugyZSFAQGDWacZNEXneiyVdOIrBhqNVEN9fEwEx9lr3VuWCcXGg2fMWyj3zQfGoVgjdU4/s640/blogger-image--1404329615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKvHEnf6HrGFi5iiBWsLCuX8IxxVqx-6X2llNdG3JAxw4SY_meSBoBQHIy1d_XxVWpYtVA4ugyZSFAQGDWacZNEXneiyVdOIrBhqNVEN9fEwEx9lr3VuWCcXGg2fMWyj3zQfGoVgjdU4/s640/blogger-image--1404329615.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOTzRanjIyqATXWLJeRtwVms9ALXZ9PMKxfb3M7EcO9Ef8iyBzXRrqdMDeXqSQD-zmXnNvhhijolnXTCx3KBmyClJG1sIlEAxv5Gw1Z34DhHYDrk68-rs1dJlE30-qGcuFYex62cOrrw/s640/blogger-image--1849570051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOTzRanjIyqATXWLJeRtwVms9ALXZ9PMKxfb3M7EcO9Ef8iyBzXRrqdMDeXqSQD-zmXnNvhhijolnXTCx3KBmyClJG1sIlEAxv5Gw1Z34DhHYDrk68-rs1dJlE30-qGcuFYex62cOrrw/s640/blogger-image--1849570051.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xx6dNQkzCOc0yrZJXaBet786klfM4mtAoVm9ZkxeF-YdtRWfG21A6is6icjJekYGYhe6OpWkrjJ2_7W6IWBxrjReFnoglo1ENlZPZjaV2_g-sGRkMpmORb59FQ8nwJosGrPaHT9PoUA/s640/blogger-image-1953869063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xx6dNQkzCOc0yrZJXaBet786klfM4mtAoVm9ZkxeF-YdtRWfG21A6is6icjJekYGYhe6OpWkrjJ2_7W6IWBxrjReFnoglo1ENlZPZjaV2_g-sGRkMpmORb59FQ8nwJosGrPaHT9PoUA/s640/blogger-image-1953869063.jpg"></a></div></div><br>
I am really excited about this school year for several reasons. We have some new curriculum that I'm really looking forward to. ALL of my kids will be "doing school" this year (preschool-5th grade). I've updated our schoolroom some and think it will help our school day flow better. I've come up with a basic schedule for our days that I hope will help us to stay focused (at least most days).<br>
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Here is our schoolroom.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioARwlllbVsVh1nLCSWp3qM0rdnKALA91WeeFnGTyMZWBSanCKBFdm7U6hptqmYhjx_fPidFidrVgFhYTqKucYQT8ou4a_EbeKvdimKF16M0KyYazZ4SQ26hndzhWqEXdc6PJ1Jlq2_AI/s640/blogger-image--135920756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioARwlllbVsVh1nLCSWp3qM0rdnKALA91WeeFnGTyMZWBSanCKBFdm7U6hptqmYhjx_fPidFidrVgFhYTqKucYQT8ou4a_EbeKvdimKF16M0KyYazZ4SQ26hndzhWqEXdc6PJ1Jlq2_AI/s640/blogger-image--135920756.jpg"></a></div><br>
On the left are the girls desks with a couple 10-drawer storage units between them (will be adding one more in the gap). The center one is filled with preschool activities and the other two are for the girls' work. In their desks they each have a pencil pouch with basic supplies, a notebook, and bible.</div><div><br></div><div>On the right is my desk where I check work. The table in the center of the room is where we do work together or where the girls can spread out if they want/need more room than their desk.</div><div><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2Qf-RjY-EyLKF6_lOjDpxi8zfIqKMdtJ0kT5ZmG48414DuI2HscgUuXYM9lTOZ3pwwVtGvpkDBk2F355Dk_P4cUQ-oBVLHIc7hytBPnfBzbeVi5Gd01Yi7CPGQ7PJd1vkmnDxBDymvw/s640/blogger-image-1088138708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2Qf-RjY-EyLKF6_lOjDpxi8zfIqKMdtJ0kT5ZmG48414DuI2HscgUuXYM9lTOZ3pwwVtGvpkDBk2F355Dk_P4cUQ-oBVLHIc7hytBPnfBzbeVi5Gd01Yi7CPGQ7PJd1vkmnDxBDymvw/s640/blogger-image-1088138708.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div>This is the other side of the school room. We have a big sectional couch, which is where we do some group activities and reading. The train table that is beside the ottoman isn't supposed to be there. It's waiting to get hauled upstairs. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_Svho3wfPs86bAv_FL_7KgSCDSgWteNbp52CR5wN8EYtyWvuJ0sEA3fATT-sxaYSw8oqCzBrtel_8MCQTw7LXCwLPf-Z5_JXV-McAJQIzcY190-XnBgsMCzvB1w7fX-Oh3CYoRYjejo/s640/blogger-image-1414467376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_Svho3wfPs86bAv_FL_7KgSCDSgWteNbp52CR5wN8EYtyWvuJ0sEA3fATT-sxaYSw8oqCzBrtel_8MCQTw7LXCwLPf-Z5_JXV-McAJQIzcY190-XnBgsMCzvB1w7fX-Oh3CYoRYjejo/s640/blogger-image-1414467376.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div>This is the bookshelf that is on the right in the picture above. It houses all of our curriculum for this year. The stack of bins/books on the left is waiting to be moved as well (it's old curriculum). </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj98953B2U3xCej_VUe5dwQrsINFYZu1IJAqd-SOsZSE5BPGFUJZseyJDgu1_YYw5tfgeUC8I6dCA7tTtVv-nT_5ItRanqNEQ15zZ-NJ4oAd0EWhpXG5nuSW2QlHtkGXN0SzHaRYt5bo/s640/blogger-image--1503424607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj98953B2U3xCej_VUe5dwQrsINFYZu1IJAqd-SOsZSE5BPGFUJZseyJDgu1_YYw5tfgeUC8I6dCA7tTtVv-nT_5ItRanqNEQ15zZ-NJ4oAd0EWhpXG5nuSW2QlHtkGXN0SzHaRYt5bo/s640/blogger-image--1503424607.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div><div>The cabinet of the bookshelf holds extra supplies (there will be more added soon as I clean out our old closet, and it will hopefully become more organized). </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Here is our curriculum.<br>
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Belle - 5th grade<br>
English - Rod & Staff 5th grade</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBVTIqXUJmovsD5G-2TePZzr7ck0J9YD8OxttRvDnCAOHgrIUeEvA_wqlp05F6HhKlO38sPVrLf6eKS6C06flVTuqaDnu78bD8GOWUVIEUNMtwTvXwoCSO_BCXp1W5Xm1s4nixGOrkxY/s640/blogger-image--1550144355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBVTIqXUJmovsD5G-2TePZzr7ck0J9YD8OxttRvDnCAOHgrIUeEvA_wqlp05F6HhKlO38sPVrLf6eKS6C06flVTuqaDnu78bD8GOWUVIEUNMtwTvXwoCSO_BCXp1W5Xm1s4nixGOrkxY/s640/blogger-image--1550144355.jpg"></a></div><br>
Spelling - Rod & Staff 5th grade</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwh6oLJe4F7BpvZLblaFrc_7eIPCjwe0ouvzn5zcM4cDdGQ58shpz_DqC_kfm23Ftwjh7Dfuq1iGVG2hD8dSTyEzz_zkBYm8h01_TAuqoVcJ01hxSm_97PR6F_61I3wrwyjbtoQvV7AM/s640/blogger-image-82902074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwh6oLJe4F7BpvZLblaFrc_7eIPCjwe0ouvzn5zcM4cDdGQ58shpz_DqC_kfm23Ftwjh7Dfuq1iGVG2hD8dSTyEzz_zkBYm8h01_TAuqoVcJ01hxSm_97PR6F_61I3wrwyjbtoQvV7AM/s640/blogger-image-82902074.jpg"></a></div><br>
Reading - Rod & Staff 5th grade</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5J-3nh7w5g7zPQZTWeMZYAEIzDbvL41hERjYgYLRrJigioxN8j5b5oNWo9AefcQW-dV1PGHY6ARimE9aMSfznlo-SB7LtYN0Z_792CZRoeRssTToA66YDaljHnzT1x71M7TpvqehJKA/s640/blogger-image-1439630208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5J-3nh7w5g7zPQZTWeMZYAEIzDbvL41hERjYgYLRrJigioxN8j5b5oNWo9AefcQW-dV1PGHY6ARimE9aMSfznlo-SB7LtYN0Z_792CZRoeRssTToA66YDaljHnzT1x71M7TpvqehJKA/s640/blogger-image-1439630208.jpg"></a></div><br>
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears - Can Do Print and Can Do Cursive</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUKe96ftxl0lacdFDBnwfUgXGYT6ef-WUVVM5iNTsDRI7nicW3bWVvVy8D73RgjDn2e1W46AvTq1BOyrb1hITCw1Eh7MNEx1OHMWH-2ACULGxo8lLFy2mn7tJRvx9YOBWrAb5yub6SYg/s640/blogger-image-1308162686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUKe96ftxl0lacdFDBnwfUgXGYT6ef-WUVVM5iNTsDRI7nicW3bWVvVy8D73RgjDn2e1W46AvTq1BOyrb1hITCw1Eh7MNEx1OHMWH-2ACULGxo8lLFy2mn7tJRvx9YOBWrAb5yub6SYg/s640/blogger-image-1308162686.jpg"></a></div><br>
Math - Saxon 5/4</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDjVqolVPgr-P_m5Xk50KFou-I17lwIGEoXPpi89NwGCwrb9U8RVt86pZX34wVrAn5eei0q3fTHS7tdY0K8j0ejnpjxTWrJO3nqw-5xLgBm0-uqNmdAp1qIp7sG8JzrvLpaeiBuQFNVE/s640/blogger-image--1028663992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDjVqolVPgr-P_m5Xk50KFou-I17lwIGEoXPpi89NwGCwrb9U8RVt86pZX34wVrAn5eei0q3fTHS7tdY0K8j0ejnpjxTWrJO3nqw-5xLgBm0-uqNmdAp1qIp7sG8JzrvLpaeiBuQFNVE/s640/blogger-image--1028663992.jpg"></a></div><br>
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Rapunzel - 2nd grade<br>
English - First Language Lessons - Level 2<br>
Writing - Writing With Ease - Level 2</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn7Lxno05M0NqtGXByVon_nVDddtDnCN1D9zgx2AwoK2ktuz7ZcnwA9GrNP8kfNAhU7ihzymqc5XRt4M3cxgLLGLoS4FtfoTN10Ko5y1K00ZYm0aMvrGgplkdoXkSRDqYe0bBwYPaHgw/s640/blogger-image-687865624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn7Lxno05M0NqtGXByVon_nVDddtDnCN1D9zgx2AwoK2ktuz7ZcnwA9GrNP8kfNAhU7ihzymqc5XRt4M3cxgLLGLoS4FtfoTN10Ko5y1K00ZYm0aMvrGgplkdoXkSRDqYe0bBwYPaHgw/s640/blogger-image-687865624.jpg"></a></div><br>
Phonics - Explode the Code - 5-6</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Vl_IMD-KzVguymZ9S8khoq7eMTH_IR2ylPF5aIrVe8t4TCu4KimRid11Kgj4LltURgz4sKMJvPbbusrtrhElu3WPC6Ze3wObD2GVxjKRxUJtPO9nbTdXE_zFcS8EqEHA6Fzv1iCym-g/s640/blogger-image--1675629936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Vl_IMD-KzVguymZ9S8khoq7eMTH_IR2ylPF5aIrVe8t4TCu4KimRid11Kgj4LltURgz4sKMJvPbbusrtrhElu3WPC6Ze3wObD2GVxjKRxUJtPO9nbTdXE_zFcS8EqEHA6Fzv1iCym-g/s640/blogger-image--1675629936.jpg"></a></div><br>
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears - Printing Power and Cursive Handwriting</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz3zgevw_2WtT4InVMJ2tHesLIRpiN4GyhjO84LiAWgQMxMVC2wV3aNEk5yfYfpenTlXnzUsJY7QfsRWX2_flKh1v_O_F2vB7WfjPNbU0I1x3s-7oENo2ZP7Fo7HPR2VZCnKNT5h-hHo/s640/blogger-image-815741476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz3zgevw_2WtT4InVMJ2tHesLIRpiN4GyhjO84LiAWgQMxMVC2wV3aNEk5yfYfpenTlXnzUsJY7QfsRWX2_flKh1v_O_F2vB7WfjPNbU0I1x3s-7oENo2ZP7Fo7HPR2VZCnKNT5h-hHo/s640/blogger-image-815741476.jpg"></a></div><br>
Math - LIFEPAC grade 2</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oftFIMcqsM_N5aAf1O5mifIujx_8GrDBXCsiW-cz8wHpwR-HQfS0P8sRygLXaRDkdhfLYyjzaPvQtd8_kQX43SjIT3tdZwfOXpB46llkTKSEM3ydGtYLg_RWArnco3qaN2vuDqkS5sw/s640/blogger-image-1102793159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oftFIMcqsM_N5aAf1O5mifIujx_8GrDBXCsiW-cz8wHpwR-HQfS0P8sRygLXaRDkdhfLYyjzaPvQtd8_kQX43SjIT3tdZwfOXpB46llkTKSEM3ydGtYLg_RWArnco3qaN2vuDqkS5sw/s640/blogger-image-1102793159.jpg"></a></div>
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Belle & Rapunzel (and sometimes Hercules and Aurora)<br>
My Father's World - Exploring Countries and Cultures, which includes history/geography, science, bible, music, and art.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMY1gAGXt8kifULLY7aF8ZD1mKh2hEiwF0F3OQJb39wgm9RZn7gZwinwtwmwGCZxx4zYJozUWmd1RWPcT80Nz2OyabUTjAcsTbCQedLH_T2MVaoA8R5ocsgbXPFPUPKY6L86SFHx1_Szo/s640/blogger-image--2083434904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMY1gAGXt8kifULLY7aF8ZD1mKh2hEiwF0F3OQJb39wgm9RZn7gZwinwtwmwGCZxx4zYJozUWmd1RWPcT80Nz2OyabUTjAcsTbCQedLH_T2MVaoA8R5ocsgbXPFPUPKY6L86SFHx1_Szo/s640/blogger-image--2083434904.jpg"></a></div>
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Hercules - Pre-K and Aurora - Preschool<br>
Rod & Staff - Preschool Activity Workbooks</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLPBzgM6DM6cSAe65ROlg7hdJwP6J5IDnGkZLI0BQOms02Wx4Bci-qckFxis3Wz8cX31XnzHdu7p2yWMqiqYj1vm23zZbXdgCDR-oCU13CUY3ZMwldVPZ_jct6i2_hDE8efXz3t7_OhY/s640/blogger-image-383164973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLPBzgM6DM6cSAe65ROlg7hdJwP6J5IDnGkZLI0BQOms02Wx4Bci-qckFxis3Wz8cX31XnzHdu7p2yWMqiqYj1vm23zZbXdgCDR-oCU13CUY3ZMwldVPZ_jct6i2_hDE8efXz3t7_OhY/s640/blogger-image-383164973.jpg"></a></div><br>
Letter of the Week - Confessions of a Homeschooler<br>
and other preschool activities, including games, manipulatives, workbooks, dvds, and iPad apps</div><div><br></div><div>Belle is also enjoying these Millers book during her free reading time. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2-telsz_2d3BQXSeWJ89uMJzhopECP6RD1t5LjcKiJ1_AUz1g0c1H9Xxcrrnx81funJleJDgcAbn-cGX3C90cV2ZxCt1QTkkQQI8B79iqR0dJg0D7C4Gzvlnlb8XfwM2JxnGW15VtBQ/s640/blogger-image--682072414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2-telsz_2d3BQXSeWJ89uMJzhopECP6RD1t5LjcKiJ1_AUz1g0c1H9Xxcrrnx81funJleJDgcAbn-cGX3C90cV2ZxCt1QTkkQQI8B79iqR0dJg0D7C4Gzvlnlb8XfwM2JxnGW15VtBQ/s640/blogger-image--682072414.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI17xAIJwolCYLixnmM1ywttaOBpffq7rlGp25pGt74PJn0-HLxCqORV22jqTWj2S-BJE9X7rtHSij4DmvKJuNmkG13s8VHuW3dk2ehwtqW0P7QBuzi_tCVztVqE50IGQVdddw8V_AmSU/s640/blogger-image-915158385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI17xAIJwolCYLixnmM1ywttaOBpffq7rlGp25pGt74PJn0-HLxCqORV22jqTWj2S-BJE9X7rtHSij4DmvKJuNmkG13s8VHuW3dk2ehwtqW0P7QBuzi_tCVztVqE50IGQVdddw8V_AmSU/s640/blogger-image-915158385.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">The kids should be awake, dressed, beds made, room picked up and downstairs by 8:00am on school days. That means I can sleep until 7:30 and still have time for a quick shower and quiet time before we start our day. The little kids are almost always up by 7:30, so that's not really a problem. If they happen to sleep in, I'll probably let them. The older girls are not consistent as to their wake time. So they are setting an alarm (they share a room) for 7:30 to give themselves plenty of time to get everything done and be downstairs by 8:00. </span><br>
<br>Here is our schedule. I even created an "adjusted schedule" for days when we're out of the house in the mornings for various things (MOPS, dr. appts, playdates, etc.), because in the past, those days ended up being wash days because I just didn't know where to pick up in "just" the afternoon. Now, no excuses! </div><div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAzOv1E_HDgeau24OfRf9u0RkdMeDS07IS9KaBH_WJPQR0OUKxYwwjGLJSoL2o-99TBzfMpvR1DrEy2Pu_YytOv7HpfFka75KgivFi-XI-fvT_-GBbmr4k_Stg-xi4c99ipL8h_QyS-Q/s640/blogger-image-135513987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAzOv1E_HDgeau24OfRf9u0RkdMeDS07IS9KaBH_WJPQR0OUKxYwwjGLJSoL2o-99TBzfMpvR1DrEy2Pu_YytOv7HpfFka75KgivFi-XI-fvT_-GBbmr4k_Stg-xi4c99ipL8h_QyS-Q/s640/blogger-image-135513987.jpg"></a></div><br>More curious about any part of our homeschool? Leave a comment and I'll be compiling a Homeschool FAQ. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-61987161601774134192013-08-20T06:40:00.001-07:002013-08-20T06:40:23.235-07:00Weekly MenuThings around here are go go go as we wind summer down and prepare for our new school year. I've been asked to share about our homeschool, so I'll be doing that in an upcoming post.<br />
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Rapunzel's skin has been doing pretty well lately. She still has some small flares in her usual places (elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, neck), but they're small, and not head to toe. We are so grateful for that!<br />
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I just thought I'd do an installment of our weekly menu, since I'm finally back to cooking again now that Eric is home. We had friends over last Thursday night, Belle's 10th birthday party last Friday night, and more friends over on Saturday for lunch. I always order/make/buy too much food so we're having leftover soup, bean tacos, pizza, and sub sandwiches for lunches this week. So I only planned dinners.<br />
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Monday - Lemon Garlic Chicken, couscous, green beans<br />
Tuesday - Picadillo tacos, spanish rice<br />
Wednesday - Pork Roast, apples and sweet potatoes<br />
Thursday - Tilapia, zucchini, orzo<br />
Friday - SURPRISE!<br />
Saturday - leftovers<br />
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As I put up groceries this weekend, I noticed that I had several things in the freezer that needed to be used. So I declared Friday to be surprise night, where I come up with a meal from what we have on hand. I know it sounds like no big thang. But I am a planner. Normally, my eye starts to twitch when I think about having to come up with a meal, without planning ahead. But I'm going to accept the challenge this time and have a little fun with it.<br />
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And I will leave you with a few pictures from Belle's birthday party. I can't believe I have a 10 year old!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-38084641474220674622013-08-07T20:18:00.001-07:002013-08-07T20:33:42.874-07:00Summer UpdateI can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've last updated. We had VBS at our church and then we went to Florida for 3 weeks. Then I sent Belle off to church camp and the rest of us went to a homeschool convention. We're finally back home and getting back into routine. <div><br></div><div>A few things that I wanted to post about:</div><div><br></div><div>In my last post, I mentioned Rapunzel being put on antibiotics for her staph infection. Turns out it was a really good thing that they did a culture because she had a strain that was resistant to the original antibiotic she was put on. They called her in a new rx and she was good as new!</div><div><br></div><div>On our way to Florida, we stopped in Houston for her 2nd appt with the immunologist. Here's the basics of what I found out:</div><div>Her total IgE was still outrageously high, but her specific IgE for the foods she tested positive for last year, we're low. Which means she's either outgrown her food allergies, which would be great. Or that she never had true allergies, but rather sensitivities to these foods, but treated positive on a skin test because of her eczema. </div><div>So, when we go back in September, they are going to skin test her on those foods, and depending on how she reacts, we will attempt a food challenge on the corn. </div><div>None of her other test results led the dr to think we needed to do any further testing. </div><div><br></div><div>So I left feeling confused and overwhelmed again.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>While we were in Florida, Rapunzel's skin did so great! She didn't get a single flare while we were there. At all. We spent days at the beach, at the park, and just hanging out in the hotel room. We continued with her daily soaks and moisturizing and her three times a week bleach baths and her skin was just beautiful. In fact, I had packed leggings to go with every outfit i packed for her, and I don't think she even wore them at all after the first few days there. Amazing!</div><div><br></div><div>The room we had on base only had a shower, so here's how we pulled off bleach baths:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCtdEgiJ-knMSvYPVM-jJ5ky3f-7JaivuTDN2mR6w6qkT66T9I59uEGmZ7VntERj2NfKDdGmmuSjcmTB_aVR5cfNlur97vu0o2p9GUWhIQ2yUigjBFd6U914Sgdw69ugfGR53MXye8rM/s640/blogger-image--1493571833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCtdEgiJ-knMSvYPVM-jJ5ky3f-7JaivuTDN2mR6w6qkT66T9I59uEGmZ7VntERj2NfKDdGmmuSjcmTB_aVR5cfNlur97vu0o2p9GUWhIQ2yUigjBFd6U914Sgdw69ugfGR53MXye8rM/s640/blogger-image--1493571833.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Then we came home. And she started itching. And itching. And itching. And then she got another staph infection. Then after being home only a few days, we went to Houston and spent 5 days there. She was absolutely miserable the entire time we were there. She didn't sleep well and she was so itchy. Once we got back home, her skin slowly calmed down and I'd say she's in a good place now.</div><div><br></div><div>We're continuing her daily skin care and she seems to be over whatever hump she had. Now we're just looking forward to starting our new school year!</div><div><br></div><div>Here's some photos from our travels.</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbA52Jt1x0FFBQNfFYHv6x7tRFVsjPrwSOzhn-NU3arjmL6OLHxJ8ecPzAemLwxW-9WdNf_0ohrhti4QsxEAVBGFPASAaOeufS4mwu-AzMi1_xBTCszx_oBPzMgTWhllUifLmh6hwpoE/s640/blogger-image--537459190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbA52Jt1x0FFBQNfFYHv6x7tRFVsjPrwSOzhn-NU3arjmL6OLHxJ8ecPzAemLwxW-9WdNf_0ohrhti4QsxEAVBGFPASAaOeufS4mwu-AzMi1_xBTCszx_oBPzMgTWhllUifLmh6hwpoE/s640/blogger-image--537459190.jpg"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPzWmgtqde8BiUieWiwxMJHQ2SiYs9GRT0cZfCCEcX4LDg2N1nKZlWR_4iGRh1ENmHcIBBN-qlSHMFyS-eaGmZBmNM6-4vuvuG06p_Vj6hcAxqFGzDklCJalKPrX-dZOmYLFNkyh0a1c/s640/blogger-image-1602190308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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She had only a couple spots left that were healing. Then this morning, she woke up and had them all over her left leg.<br />
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We had bible study and piano lessons this morning, so I covered her in Mupirocen and wrapped her leg. Just as a side note - every dr. she's seen for her staph has said that she can continue daily out-of-the-house activities, as long as the spots are covered, without fear of spreading it. So we packed up and headed to church. After church we got lunch and then went to the allergist office for their weekly allergy shots. While there, I called the pediatrician's office and made an appt. immediately following to get her checked out. They looked her over and cultured the spots (just to be sure) and put her on antibiotics. So hopefully it will all clear up for good now! We're upping her bleach baths to everyday until she's 100% clear.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-19978531609575839422013-06-17T14:02:00.002-07:002013-06-17T14:02:41.833-07:00Summer Bucket ListIn honor of the first official day of summer approaching (Friday, June 21), I have compiled our Summer Bucket List for 2013. I'm not a fan of summer. Gasp, I know. But I don't enjoy the heat. We don't have freezing winters here that leave us longing for warmer days. We have cool winters that leave us dreading the heat of the summer. But I am a positive person on the whole, so I try to make the best of summer! We take the lemons of summer, and make lemonade! (literally)<br />
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SUMMER BUCKET LIST 2013<br />
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Make homemade lemonade<br />
Plant an herb garden<br />
Have a Movie Night Campout in the living room, to include: <br />
-making tents with sheets/blankets<br />
-roasting weinies and s'mores (with homemade marshmallows) on the stove<br />
-watching a movie<br />
Join summer reading clubs at the library and bookstore<br />
See a Summer Movie<br />
Let the kids paint canvases to hang on the wall<br />
Take pics of kids by state welcome signs<br />
Take fun/silly pics on the beach<br />
Let the kids make garden stones for our flower beds<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-3732750370341998802013-06-14T14:37:00.001-07:002013-06-14T14:41:15.041-07:00Staph & SunOne of the biggest issues we have to deal with, with Rapunzel's eczema, is staph. It's highly colonized on the skin of eczema patients. That's why we do bleach baths. Upping her bleach baths to 3 times a week has greatly reduced her staph infections. In fact, since we went to 3 times a week, I don't think she'd had one single staph infection. Until this past week. Since we've been at the pool so often, between swimming lessons and playtime, I had cut back on her bleach baths. I thought that the chlorinated water was a good enough substitute. I'd read all about how swimming in a chlorinated pool was good for kids with eczema because it helped to kill the bacteria... just like a bleach bath. Turns out, that was a BIG MISTAKE. Rapunzel started getting little staph spots and it took a lot of work to get them to heal, and stop spreading. She had them all up and down her arms and legs.<br />
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When I first noticed the spots, I immediately reinstated her bleach baths and started putting Mupirocen on the spots. It took a few days for there to not be any new spots appearing. I was one day away from taking her to the dr. to get antibiotics. I am so glad we were able to get it under control before that!<br />
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Her skin had been looking so good for several weeks before this breakout. Staph not only leaves ugly marks like that on her skin, but it also causes her eczema to flare-up in general. I'm hoping that now that her staph is under control and healing, her skin will clear up as well. Lesson learned: No skipping bleach baths!<br />
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We'll still be spending plenty of time at the pool this summer, we just won't forego the bleach baths to do so.<br />
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She's working on a pretty little tan afterall!<br />
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Just as a side note: We are really loving the <a href="http://www.psico.com/products/vanicream_sunscreen50.cfm" target="_blank">Vanicream Sunscreen</a>! It's creamy and not lotiony like most sunscreens, titanium and zinc oxide based, and doesn't burn her skin! All the other kids are using <a href="http://www.neutrogena.com/product/pure+-+free-+baby+sunscreen+lotion+broad+spectrum+spf+60-.do?sortby=ourPicks" target="_blank">Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby</a>. I like it a lot too. It's lotiony, but is also titanium and zinc oxide based. They all have really prominent tan lines now! <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265955545665961921.post-519752667759399612013-06-09T13:28:00.001-07:002013-06-09T13:40:03.773-07:00WE DID IT!!!Yesterday was the Itching for a Cure Eczema walk, and our virtual walk team, Let's Not Be Rash, didn't just reach our goal. We exceeded it!!! THANK YOU to everyone that donated to our team. The National Eczema Foundation raised over $75,000 to improve the quality of life for eczema patients and their families. We are so thrilled that we were able to be a part of that!<span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></span></span><br />
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