Allergy Update

Summer's head is still doing so much better since we removed dairy from her diet completely.  I decided to change our allergist appointment to the other doctor in the practice.  He was recommended quite highly from some members of my multiples club.  We saw him last month and he was quite impressed with her progress and that I stuck with my gut and cut out the dairy when the prescription shampoo didn't work. He agreed to allergy test her so we did on Wednesday while I was out of work recovering from my surgery.  He tested her for several other common allergens while we were going through the test.  She had to be off of her Zyrtec for 5 days prior, so her nose was deliciously goopy by the day of her test!
It turns out that she did not react to the milk or anything else that they tested except for a dog... which we DON'T have.  This of course does not disprove that she has a milk allergy.  Our course of action now is to start reintroducing milk products and seeing if the reaction recurs.  We are starting to allow foods that have milk ingredients cooked into them (ex: waffles, crackers, baked goods).  She is a bit confused by this right now, but the first thing she requested when I told her she could have things with some milk in them, (but still no actual milk or cheese) was chocolate!  That's my girl!
More updates to come I'm sure

As a side note, I must tell you what happened while we waited for an hour in the waiting room to be seen.  There was a small play room in the waiting room and Summer had I sat inside because she could not be away from me.  She gets very shy in crowded places.  She was nicely playing by herself with a set of nesting boxes.  Stacking a tower as she figured out the proper size order.  A girl that I would estimate to be 1-2 years older than Summer came right in and grabbed the boxes out of Summer's hand in an effort to "play" with her I guess. Summer attempted to continue playing with her, but the girl continued to be rough and Summer came back to sit by me.  The little girl undeterred, came and attempted to pull Summer by the arm back to the nesting blocks. Summer was not very happy about this, but remained calm.  I nicely let the little girl know that it isn't nice to be pulling Summer and that she didn't want to play.  And then finally her mother wondered in from the rest room.  I did feel bad for the mother as she was expected and seemed to have quite the cold, but not sure that excuses the behavior or that you left your child alone and did not take her to the rest room with you.  However, I admit that I'm kind of of freak about this and would never had left them unattended in the waiting room. 
Anyway to the point of this story.... if you've followed the Summer saga at all you will not the lack of reaction here.  For whatever reason, she did not lose her temper and did not bite, scratch or pull this girl's hair! I was so proud of her that I could barely contain myself.  I made sure to let her know and later that night made a huge deal to tell Daddy in front of her so that he could also show her how proud he was. 

Checking in ... 3 in 30

This month of course is not going according to plan!  In the course of one week, I had to finish preparing for my HUGE consignment sale and prepare to be out of work for 2 weeks and prepare to have an internal organ removed and be on the mend with 2 small children.  This was quite enough for me to contend with. 

The came the devastating phone call that a beloved uncle had passed suddenly and much too soon, which meant traveling to the services in an already busy week.  But well worth the travels to be with my family that unfortunately I don't get to see often enough.  Then my breaking point came when my less than 1 year old washing machine started leaking buckets due to a rip on the seal (luckily it was still under warranty and was fixed a week and a half later). 

I am finally feeling somewhat human again after my gallbladder was removed on Monday and here is my progress for the month. 

1) Continue Progress on Clothing - I completed preparing for my consignment sale.  I left with my in-laws CRV full of items and returned with this 1/2 a bin of clothing!  Success! 

Still loving my laundry schedule but with the broken washer and me healing that currently means that my fabulously wonderful mother-in-law has been helping with the laundry.  I have sorted through the hand me down bins and my purchases for both children and have an XL Ziploc (seriously love these bags) of spring/summer size appropriate clothing for each of them. Not perfect, but am happy that I am still progressing thanks to some help from the MIL. 

2) Cook at least 3 nights per week - This has just taken a back seat to all that has been going on.  Getting read for my consignment sale and traveling out of state and being stressed has just not left me in the cooking mood.  This week however there has been a home cooked meal each night, does it count if I didn't cook it??
3) Read a book - DONE!  I have finished the book that I've been picking up and putting down for quite a while.  Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner and am hoping to read another book over my next week at home. 

The best of friends...

My dear sweet Coley Boley...  Cole has long been my cuddle buddy, but he's had a tough relationship with his sister.  I don't half blame him as she does think that she is his mother and coddles him incessantly.  He allows this when she is feeding him, but shoves it away when she is trying to wipe his hiney.  I am so excited to see that he has recently asserted himself as her BIG brother!  He is constantly now watching out for her and helps encourage her when she is frustrated.  Summer recently had her first field trip at school, while it was Cole's second.  (We decided to separate the kids in daycare last year and it was a wonderful decision for everyone.) All of the kids have to wear a BLUE school shirt to the field trips.  If you know Summer, you know this is a problem as the only colors that she will allow in her wardrobe are pink & purple.  I began preparing her for the color of her attire for the field trip a week in advance.  We were in discussions about it and Cole spoke right up.  He said, "Summer, I need to tell you something.  You can pretend it is purple."  I was so proud of my boy for coming up with something so clever to encourage his sister.  Each day as I reminded her of the blue shirt coming up, he would remind her that she was going to pretend it was purple.  When it came time to wear the blue shirt, it was no problem at all!

I have recently seen my two absolute opposite twinnies become close friends and I'm so happy that this has been the long term outcome of us deciding to separate them at school.  I'm not going to proclaim that it is sunshine and roses all of the time, but we've come a far, far way from last. year. 

3-in-30 March Goals

So I am seriously excited by this challenge... the first month was a bit rocky, but I am so happy with my accomplishments so far this year.  Granted they are major baby steps on what I really want to get done, but by breaking them into small realistic pieces I don't give up as easily and actually feel like I am getting somewhere.  Even if it is very slowly!

I have to pull back in the reigns a little bit on this month's goals as I will be having my gallbladder removed on March 19th and out of work recovering for 2 weeks. 
1) Continue Progress on Clothing - this means finishing preparation for my consignment sale, sticking with my laundry schedule and figuring out what clothing is needed for the upcoming season (I have hand-me-downs as well as some newly purchased and consigned clothing to organize). 
2) Cook at least 3 nights per week - I LOVE to cook!  I really do.  However, working 40 hours a week, driving 70 miles a day, 3 1/2 year old twins who would rather eat breakfast for dinner, a husband who does not arrive home until 8pm and numerous other excuses... I do not cook as often as I would like or as I used to.  With my new low-fat diet requirements (not sure what my restrictions after surgery will be yet) and my Summie Lou's dairy free diet, oh and did I mention my extremely picky husband... I've begun exploring some new menu options.  My goal is to plan a menu for the week on the weekend, so that I can do the necessary shopping for the week.
3) Read a book - I have not read a full book for quite some time and I was most likely on vacation when this was accomplished!  Since I will be spending 2 weeks home from work recovering from my surgery mostly by myself... I figure I should be able to read AT LEAST one book!  That's it folks... wish me LUCK!