Random Ramblings

This morning we had an 8 am Doctor's appointment. I realized at 7:30, as I was trying to wake P up, that I should not have made such an early appointment. He was bemoaning how tired he was, asking for 'FIVE more minutes!' We were only about 5 minutes late to check in at the ped's office though, so I consider that a small victory.

The Doctor spent about an hour with us! I did not feel rushed, and got alot of allergy questions answered. I also found out that P is in the 75th percentile for weight (40.25 pounds) and the 95th percentile for height (43.5 inches). When did my child get so big?! *Sigh*. He's almost full-grown. Okay, probably not...but it won't be too long before he reaches the top of the giraffe in our pediatrician's office.

After nearly 3 years without a severe peanut attack, it baffles me that P has had TWO pretty severe attacks this month! I'm wondering what in the world is going on! This last attack was at church on Sunday, when a well-meaning relative gave him a Butterfinger chocolate heart (for V-Day) and within 20 minutes of eating it, P had thrown up, had hives all over, and was itching profusely. He also had a hoarse voice and was coughing. (Throat swelling?!) I called the nurses line, and absolutely praise the LORD that his second dose Benadryl kicked in because the next step was the E.R. The nurse told me to watch for the coughing/hoarse voice, and of course unconsciousness. This attack really shook me up. I hate seeing him like that! We have to be so careful.

So, after eating out at Applebee's a couple weeks ago (where he also had a pretty severe reaction)...I am thinking we can no longer take him out to eat with us. He has had their chicken tenders/fries at least a dozen times...They are not cooked in peanut oil, do not normally cause reactions, etc. THIS time however, it appears that the french fries that were prepared in the common fryer were contaminated with some sort of peanut product that may have been cooked in the fryer previously. He threw up his entire supper that night after he was in bed...had hives on his face/bloodshot eye...gave him Benadryl and then he was fine and slept through the night.

I am taking him to the natural doctor next Tuesday that we've seen before in town. I was skeptical of their processes at first, but we saw AMAZING improvement with his severe eczema and tummy troubles when he two years old. I am a firm believer in the natural treatment of the body. It seems that Dr. offices many times just give you creams/pills to mask the symptoms, but natural care is aimed at getting to the SOURCE of the problem. I'm thinking something is out of whack with P right now, causing his more frequent and severe reactions. Hopefully they'll be able to pinpoint it and give us the minerals/supplements we need to help him out!

After our lengthy Doctor's appointment this morning, we picked up our new prescription for 2 more Epi-pens (and bought P a pack of Transformers for being so brave while they took 3 vials of blood from him) and then headed over to meet some friends at the Children's Museum. The kids had great fun playing, and us Moms loved the chat time! I grabbed a Jimmy John's sandwich on the way home for lunch. Yes, #6. Delightful.

Tonight is my friend's jewelry party and my Mom is coming down for it. I suppose I should get to cleaning. The maid is late again. She's so fired!

My New Favorite Food

Maybe it's a pregnancy thing...but I am totally craving THIS right now:

It's a Jimmy John's #6 (Vegetarian...with alfalfa sprouts, avocado spread, tomato, provolone, cucumber slices, oh my!). And it's my serious fave. I ate two this weekend. (On separate days, just to clarify.) Yum!!!

This delicious image is from jimmyjohns.com

Coffee Break

So, P wants to name his lil' sister...Baby Sister. Original, no?

I've been babysitting more in these past few weeks for the 3-year-old girl I occasionally watch. It keeps us busy and I guess is good practice for...having 2 little ones. I think part of the reason P wanted a baby sister was because of this little girl I babysit. Guess it will take him a while to get used to the fact that he can't PLAY with his baby sister for...a while. ;o)

This morning while getting groceries, P almost freaked out because I bought some coffee. He was like, "Are you getting caffeine for your baby?" (He's ON to the fact that I quit drinking it every morning because of my pregnancy!) I told him that I probably wouldn't be drinking it, but Daddy would...Too funny.

At lunch today, I told him, "Eat your chicken patty." He responded indignantly, "I'm not Patty!!" Cracked me up. He went on to ask me, "Why did you say that? Just being funny?" So serious too...He didn't realize I was talking about his food, not calling HIM Patty. *Sigh.* It's the little things...he keeps me on my toes!

P with his friend, H, who I babysit :)

Think Pink!

It's a girl!! We are shocked and excited. Everything looks healthy, so that's a huge praise. We are so thankful. It was amazing to see her heart, brain, little hand up by her face...her squirming around, etc.

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

A Dream Worth Remembering?

I am being reminded of some of the...interesting parts of being pregnant. Crazy dreams. They come in all shapes and sizes. Last night (actually early this morning) was a doozy for me.

Here goes: Joel and I went in to discover the sex of our baby. (Our ultrasound is tomorrow, yay!! Normally my weird dreams consist of ONE element of reality, mixed with things that would never ever happen.) As we got up to go in, the nurse came up to Joel...and was talking to him. CLOSELY. A little too closely. Ahem...she was asking him, "So, Joel...what about US?!" I was standing right there! Are you kidding me?! Who was this chick?! I was completely shocked. Later when I brought this up, about this possibility of Joel and 'the nurse'...He was like, "Ugh...Jen. This woman has come onto me BEFORE, and nothing happened. NOTHING. You're the only one for me..." So there it was. This crazy chick obviously had the hots for my hubby and he had fought her off. :) Anyway...next in my dream, we were at a sporting even of some sort. (Interesting turn of events, huh?) I happened to see who I thought was the 'nurse lady' across the area from us, and I sat on Joel's lap...and started making the 'Loser' symbol with my thumb and forefinger, taunting her. She looked infuriated and got up (with her 3 friends) to head our way, where there just happened to be 4 empty seats. This is when I realized that this was NOT the 'nurse lady' at all...SHE was sitting closer to us. This was just some random girl. That's when I bolted. I ran out, and my dream ended with my opening doors and running down a hallway to escape these girls that were going to pound me into the ground.

This is where I must note, that also in my dream...when I was trying to insult 'the girl' with my loser hand sign...I couldn't actually make the loser hand sign. I had to hold a couple fingers down with my other hand, to do the 'L'...Which...kinda makes ME the loser, no?

So, I'm wondering...What is up with the crazy dreams?! While they sure are entertaining...they definitely are making it harder to get a good nights sleep! It's hard work running from people, etc. I wonder if I burn more calories when I have such a strange dream. Something to ponder.

I'll try to post the results of our ultrasound tomorrow. And if the nurse at my appointment gives Joel a second look...I'm going to be watching her. :)

He makes me laugh

I love this kid. The other night, out of the blue while we were sitting on the couch, he said, "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart." Really? Hmm...I wonder what goes on in a 4-year-old's mind. :) He makes me laugh.

Joel bought him the movie Flushed Away and he LOVES it. He keeps asking to watch "Flushed Down the Toilet". It's his serious fave right now.

He also takes...INTERESTING photos. This last one was a self-portrait. A lil' scary, huh?

Loving Swagbucks

I was hesitant to try Swagbucks...but last Spring I signed up, and have been loving it!! So far I've earned two Amazon giftcards for $5 each, $5 in Paypal $, and $50 in restaurant gift certificates. All of this for just doing normal, everyday searches online! I set Swagbucks up as my homepage, so instead of Google, I just use Swagbucks to search and earn great prizes. Just thought any of my (few) blog readers that don't know about Swagbucks might be interested in giving it a try! If you want to sign up for this free program, you can click here.

Hope everyone is staying warm! I think we're going to stay cozy inside tomorrow. The windchill is supposed to be 36 BELOW! Yikes. I'm already ready for Spring! :)