2010 High/Low

When Jarom and I were newlyweds, we went to dinner at my Aunt and Uncle’s house one night.  At the time they had three girls (there are two little boys now too!) and they went around the table and each gave a high/low report for their day.  The high was the best thing that happened, the low was the worst part.  We were impressed by the game and have done it over the years (less consistently, but during some memorable times in our lives).  I’ve decided to compile my list of high/lows for 2010 as I welcome 2011 with open arms.

In no particular order, here are my lows:

*    March - Hazel has an anaphylactic reaction to hypoallergenic formula

*    April - I come down with strep throat

*    November - Jarom lands in the hospital with abscessed tonsils and low oxygen levels

*    June - Hazel has a scope and biopsy done and is diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis

*    April - Hazel is diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies

*    December - Jarom’s tonsils are removed

*    August - Hazel suffers another severe reaction to milk

*    March - Hazel is labeled a “failure to thrive” for weight and development

And my highs:

*    June - Family RV trip to Oregon for the Wright Reunion

*    June - Jarom turns 30 and celebrates with friends at a surprise party

*    March - I help as a committee member with Miss Eagle Mountain Scholarship Pageant

*    October – Walk for Food Allergies with team Hazel

*    November – I complete a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day

*    June – Hazel is no longer labeled “failure to thrive” and sits on the charts in the 25^th percentile for weight and is well above average for development!

*    June – Jarom and I celebrate 6 years of marriage in the seaside village of Florence, Oregon

*    October – We upgrade to a minivan!

*    September – Cannon starts Preschool

*    December – Hazel starts Nursery

*    December – Hazel enjoys a number of regular foods as well as almond milk

*    December – Our first Christmas at home in years – so awesome!

I'm certainly glad my Highs outnumber my Lows.  Call me crazy but I just love the thought of a fresh new year.  I love the opportunities that exist in the blank pages of a new calendar.  Jarom and I have been compiling our short list of goals for 2011 and I just feel like it’s going to be good.  I hope it’s a good one for you as well.  We’ve had our struggles but we’ve also been able to witness miracles at the hands of strangers and loved ones.  We’re hoping to stay out of the hospital this year and enjoy our time as a family a little more.  Happy New Year!

Hazie's Kitchen

I fully plan on doing a Christmas recap. I just need to document the one gift we worked the hardest on. First of all, this was not an original idea. I don't actually have many original ideas. I'm just really good at copying others and adding my own little twist. You can find entire flikr groups dedicated to nightstand play kitchens that people have done. I came across one of these groups over the Summer and became obsessed with the idea of making on for Hazel. Basically, the idea is that you find an old nightstand. We found this one at Deseret Industries for $10. Jarom thought it was hideous and almost didn't buy it. I took one look and saw the potential. I loved the little embellishments and the fact that it had a bit of a wider surface. It was in rough shape but I knew a little TLC was all it needed to reach it's true kitchen identity.

Then you sand it, paint it and decorate it to look like a little kitchen. Sounds easy enough, right?

I won't say it was easy. It wasn't. We actually made one to donate to our local Hearts for the Holidays program which provides Christmas gifts to families in need. It was good to have a little practice before we started hers. I thought the first one turned out great, though.

Okay, here's a side-by-side before and after of the totally finished product for Hazel.

and here's a closeup of the finished kitchen.

• 

• Salt and Pepper shakers are little wooden "people" I painted from Robert's crafts
• The sink bowl is a cheap dog dish from Walmart
• The faucet is a real one we found on KSL for $5 and cleaned and shined and put new knobs on
  
• The knobs for the stove top were one of the most expensive parts. $16 for a pack of 4 at Home Depot. Jarom brilliantly rigged them with a spring so they kind of bounce and turn. Love them!
• The stove top burners are just black circles of paint (I thought we could have done felt too) and silver painted dowels
  
• Jarom added the back splash and shelf - did I mention he's brilliant?
  
• The towel on the side rack is just a dollar store washcloth with the straps and ruffle added
• The curtian over the "pantry" where the bottom drawer used to be was made with a little help from my mom and her surger. I've been saving that fabric for something special
• Jarom took off the handles from the old drawers and fabricated the oven bar which was also painted silver to match the "towel rack", burners and the inside of the oven
• The "oven rack" was made from wood scraps Jarom had laying around that were painted silver
• We painted the entire inside of the kitchen black so the silver oven rack would really pop
  
• The napkin holder is a picture frame Jarom's had on his workbench for a while. I cut little hearts out of the scraps I had left from making the ruffle and towel. The End.
  

We went to Toys-R-Us and compared it to the play kitchens there. We paid a total of about $40 for all the items for Hazel's play kitchen. I just love how it turned out and I'm glad we did it. It looks totally fabulous in her room along with her new table and chairs. I love that we were able to match her room and make it personalized with the things we wanted. We also splurged on some Melissa and Doug food sets (the sushi one is my personal favorite) and a pack of pots, pans, baking supplies and cooking utensils from Costco.

Some other views of the finished product

The inside of the oven

The "towel rack"

If you are interested in making one of your own, please let me know! We'd love to offer our advice after making two of these. There are some things we'd do again and some things that were not worth it. If you can't find me, I'll probably be in Hazel's room playing with my her kitchen!

Ketchup

I missed Thanksgiving. I really have a lot to be thankful for too! We were in California with the Becar family and had a blast. Dawn Noel and I ran a turkey trot Thanksgiving morning. It was a good way to stretch our bellies for the great feast. We also got to watch Jordan play football for Cajon (Jarom's alma mater). They totally dominated!

The Turkey Trot
Jarom and I at the Cajon game

We stopped in Vegas on the way home to find a place showing the BYU vs. Utah game. It probably would have been better just to keep driving. Bummer.

Now it's Christmas time. I've been so stressed this year about making things just right for the kids. They love the tree. A little too much sometimes. I've got a sad little branch hanging down from one of them trying to stand on it.

Hazel turned 18 months last week which meant Sunday was her initiation into Nursery! I've been so stressed about it with her food allergies but she's got great, attentive teachers. She went right in without a single tear and played the whole time. Not that I was checking on her every 10 minutes. Jarom watched her during snack time and she enjoyed her dried blueberries and rice crackers just as much as if they were orange fish-shaped crackers. She'll never know the difference anyway.

Monday we went on the "Polar Express". A family in my parents area has a train running through their property. They put on a full fledged show with a visit from Santa and all. It was a highlight of my kids' Christmas festivities so far. We'll have to make it a tradition. I had tears in my eyes as they showed pictures of Christ's life and played a beautiful Christmas music.

My dad "Papa" and Hazel waiting for the train

Cannon on Santa's lap

All Hallows' Eve

We celebrated Halloween on Saturday, the 30th. A majority of kids in Utah trick-or-treated then, too. Even though the weather was less than ideal, we had a great holiday. The kids only lasted for about 8 or 9 houses. Hazel loved every minute and Cannon got whiny and wet.

We started the evening with our traditional meal of "monster brains". I started that a year or two ago when I saw it on a blog. (If it was yours, let me know because I've forgotten and would like to give credit!). Cannon has called spaghetti "monster brains" for the last year. He prefers his without meatballs aka "witch eyeballs". Hazel likes hers plain. I like mine with yummy red sauce aka "ogre blood". Jarom likes "the works".



Cannon was Buzz Lightyear. He's been planning his costume since July when we were looking at pictures from last year. He loves Toy Story and especially Buzz. He was thrilled when we put on his costume and wanted to sleep in it. Hazel was a pig. She was a pretty darn cute pig. We tried to get her to oink for us. The closest she came was a bark. Close enough, I say.



We started out trick-or-treating in a wagon with 3 umbrellas. We made it to about 4 houses when we decided to turn back and finish in the car. That was a novel idea and we made it to one whole street before coming back home. The weather let up for the last part and made it slightly more enjoyable. When we got home, Cannon and Hazel both handed out candy. I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part.

The highlight of my night was a little girl dressed as a witch who came to our door. She had black and orange stripes all over her hat and dress. Cannon said "Oh, she's a darling Halloween carrot!" Jarom and I tried to apologize but busted up laughing when he shut the door. We'll work on some Halloween costume etiquette for next year.

Jarom ended the night by dumping our entire bucket of candy into some teenager's bag. Score! Some kid lucked out with a solid $8 worth of candy. Looks like we'll be raiding our kids pumpkins for any Sunday trick-or-treaters.

I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween!

One great thing about not blogging for months is that I find out that people really read this thing. I see old friends at the store and they say something like "where have you been?" or "you need to blog". It makes me feel needed. Even if most of the stuff I post is about my kids. People, the wait is over. I have a list of things that I want to post about. Mostly it's updates from the time I wasn't blogging. A few trips, and a few exciting things about Hazel.

So, let's get to that part.

(Hazel with my mom aka "Gramma") taken 10/28/10

Hazel is doing great! She's eating regular foods like wheat crackers (yes, wheat!) and fruits, vegetables, breads, rice and beans. She's chunky and healthy and incredibly feisty. She's saying little words like hat, hot, bath, bye bye, uh oh, no no, ball, baby and duck. She loves balls and balloons and bubbles. But, we're working on her aggressiveness tendencies. She tackles and bites kids twice her size and is generally a tiny bully. I know she has a high pain tolerance and confuses being loving with being mean. She's come a long way and I'm thrilled with her progress. And she's got hair. Lots and lots of hair! Like piggy tail doin' hair! Yay!

(Taken 10/28/10)

Cannon is doing great too. He's growing up fast. He started preschool with me and has been doing well. He loves his friends and is learning quick. He loves letters and numbers and is mourning the loss of Summer. He's definitely an outside boy. He says the funniest things and is totally excited for Halloween.

(taken 10/12/10)

We went to California in the middle of October to visit our Becar family. We got to go to Knott's Berry Farm. Looking at this picture makes me want to go back. It was warm and nice there meanwhile, it's freezing and snowy here.

Anway, I have the best of blogging intentions. Especially since this blog serves as my scrapbook, journal and family timeline. I'll be back soon.

Family Pics?

This is mostly for Mandi, my amazing friend and neighbor who took our family pictures yesterday. And for my Mom and other Momma, Sheri.

Look! It's our whole family all together in one picture! It's a miracle!



I like this one because of how everyone is standing. See all the different levels? I love it. Could Hazel's little arm on Jarom be more adorable? And Cannon is posing, and kind of smiling.


And this one? Love it! We started out with eight balloons, but the wheat did a number on them and ended up with only this one. But I think it's perfect.



Then there's this one. I really like it. I think I like the placement on that first one better, but this is nice too. Hazel's little crusty face cracks me up! Jarom said she looks like a pioneer baby. Haha!

There are really so many to choose from. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to put on my wall. I'm excited to finally have a family picture with Hazel included.

So, a huge thank you to Mandi! You seriously rock and we LOVE them! Grandmas, you'll get your prints soon.

June

June 28th finds me on the couch in my PJs reeling from the month I've just had. I don't know if I've ever experienced a month quite like it. So many milestones, events and getaways crammed into 28 days and it's still not over! This is a small taste of our experiences of June 2010.

June 2nd - Hazel's 1st birthday. Swimming, eating, and joy-ing for our 1-year-old.

June 4th - Hazel has a scope and biopsy done on her esophagus, stomach and intestines showing that she indeed has eosinophilic esophagitis or EE (as we suspected all along). 7 long hours at Primary Children's Hospital. She was so cute in her little gown and such a good girl.

June 8-11 - Annual getaway to Park City. We stayed at the beautiful Westgate Resort in the Canyons while Jarom attended the annual convention for Secondary Principals. Shopping, eating and shopping some more.

June 10th - Celebrated Jarom's 30th birthday in Park City with a BBQ and cake.

June 12th - Successfully planned and carried out a surprise party for Jarom's 30th birthday. He was actually surprised. His family came from California, we danced and ate nachos and chocolate cake. Many long-lost friends came and it was a special night. Thanks to those who came and made it special. And my apologies if you weren't invited. I was a wreck for the whole month before and I know I left some out that he would have loved to see there. So glad it's over!

June 15th-16th - Beehive campout. Cute girls+s'mores+tinfoil dinners+wind=successful overnighter.

June 16th - Cannon's 3rd birthday. Jumping, left-over nachos, cake. So much fun for my little boy!

June 17-19 - Trek. Jarom and I were a "Ma & Pa" for 10 kids for a handcart Trek through the mountains. 20 miles, exhaustion, dancing, eating, pulling, hiking, dirt. We came back exhausted, sore and forever changed.

June 20th - Father's Day. I love my father(s) and the mystifying father of my babies. I'm sad we didn't really get to celebrate, but I hope that the 3 fathers in my life know who they are and that they are loved.

June 21-27 - Wright Reunion/Becar Family Magical Mystery RV Tour. 7 days in a giant motorhome with my little family was amazing. We traveled to Lake Woahink just outside the coastal city of Florence, OR. We boated, ate, talked, shopped, 4-wheeled and enjoyed our awesome Wright family (My mother's side). I'm planning a full post dedicated to this trip. A highlight for me was definitely being on the tube with Jasmin and Kristin. We were pretty much assaulted and abused on the tube and my neck hurt for days but I've never laughed so hard in my ever loving life.

June 24 - Celebrated 6 years of marriage! We snuck away from the reunion festivities for a quiet dinner at a sleepy little seafood place and a walk on the docks where the fishing boats were resting. I had oysters for the first time and discovered my unquenchable LOVE for clam chowder. Holy heck, fresh seafood is freaking good stuff. I vow to someday live where it's readily available. Jarom had a double cheeseburger, of course.

June 28 - Nap until July.

This does not include the doctor appointments, physical therapy, packing, unpacking, repacking etc. I'm not doing this to brag (not sure if advertising my inability to say "no" and clinical insanity is really considered bragging). But, I'm in awe of the stuff we were able to do in one month. I'm not necessarily someone who loves having a lot to do. In fact, I really like my down time. I plan on having lots of downtime the rest of the summer. I do feel incredibly happy that I have the opportunities that I do. I guess in short, I love my crazy life.

Three

He's three. It's hard to believe that three years ago was the magical day I became a mom. After 17 hours of labor, Cannon was suddenly the center of my universe. He's been quick to do everything - always in a rush. He rolled over from his front to his back at 2 months. He crawled at 6 months. He walked at 9 months and has been running ever since. I look at his big boy frame and hear the things he says and I'm baffled that this is the little baby I brought home from the hospital those three years ago. Now he says things like "Mom, we have a problem", and "Mom, go away", and "Mom, can we make blueberry muffins, please?" Yes, Cannon, the answer is yes. As long as you want to make blueberry muffins more often than you want me to go away. And please, for the love of Pete, slow down.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy. How did I ever get so lucky? He's a wonderfully sweet, painfully smart little man. Yay for 3!


(As a side note, we decorated his room last night while he was sleeping and I can't wait to hear his reaction this morning when he sees streamers and balloons covering his walls. We'll be bouncing today and eating nachos and chocolate cake as requested.)

Update: This morning when Cannon woke up and saw his room he said: "My room is a mess, who messed up my room? Lets clean it!" That's my clean freak son. After I told him it was for his birthday I think he liked it. He's been calling it his birthday room. Phew!

The boy

I know the content of this blog has been 95% Hazel for the last few months. I'm hoping to decrease that number to 92% after this post.

Cannon is here too, and he won't let us forget it. In many ways he is becoming less and less a baby and more and more a boy. He'll be 3 in a little over a week. Jarom and I joke that I gave birth to my husband - their resemblance is uncanny. They love all the same things. Although he's going through a bit of a stubborn and naughty phase (at least I pray it's a phase), he is hilarious and perceptive.

He loves to sing and can remember songs after hearing them only once or twice. His favorites are "A Temple" aka I Love to See the Temple and "A Family" aka Families Can Be Together Forever. But he can also sing "Book of Morning Stories", "Bluebird", "Spider", Blackbirds", "Cannon Hammers with one Hammer" and lots of others.

He's crazy. He likes to jump off of high things and ride his 4-wheeler. He's not scared of much. He asks us not to buckle his car seat every single time we put him in the car. I always have to explain to him that it's dangerous and we love him and want him to be safe. He's starting to understand the concept of danger. Kind of.

He is obsessed with helicopters. Jarom took him on a real helicopter ride last week and he LOVED every second. He got to wear a headset and talk to Jarom the whole time. He was glued to the window and when he got out he said "can we do it again and again?"

He still takes a good 2-3 hour nap every day. He has to sleep naked for some reason and when I tell him it's nap time he never complains, but he'll start stripping himself down to just his underwear. It makes me laugh, but whatever it takes to get a few hours of Hazel or project time.

He has a neat streak. He likes things to be clean and in order. When he goes to bed at night, he has to have all his trucks and cars lined up against the wall before he can get in bed. He likes to help me sort the laundry and if I give him a baby wipe, he'll clean the floor, table, chairs and baseboards.

His very favorite activity is making blueberry muffins. We make a batch almost every other day because he loves them so much. He is capable of eating an entire batch all on his own. I always make a mini-mufin pan for him and a pan of regular sized ones. One day I was sick and making the muffins took a lot out of me so I went to lay down when they were cooling. I came back and he had eaten every single muffin!

It's no secret that Jarom is his favorite person. He wants to be just like his daddy. While I was pregnant with Cannon I had a vivid dream in which a little blond boy about 3 or 4 years old was sitting on my bed and asked me to "do his hair just like daddy's". I remember so much about that dream, and in many ways it has come true. When Jarom gets his tools out to work on a project, Cannon is right by his side with his little plastic tools. When Jarom mows the lawn, Cannon is right behind him with a plastic lawn mower. When Jarom laughs, Cannon laughs. And, well, you get the picture. It's a good thing he's got such a great man to idolize.

He's a great kid. It's been hard for him to be neglected while Hazel takes so much of our time and energy. He's faced this trial with love and understanding. He is very sweet to his sister and rarely shows signs of jealousy. He snuggles her and sings her songs and sometimes even shares his toys with her. I sure love him. He makes our house loud, fun and messy but I love him just the way he is.

(this picture was taken on Mother's Day by Jarom)

One

She's one. It's pretty hard to believe. I remember exactly what I was doing at 11:20 a.m. on June 2nd 2009 and I won't ever forget it. What a ride it's been. I wouldn't change anything about this year - although it's had plenty of tears and prayers. It's mostly been one of the best years of my life. Happy Birthday, Lovey lulu! I'm attempting to make an allergy-free cake for her to devour. It's not an easy task. We'll be swimming and partying with family later today. I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures of the festivities.






(A note about the pictures. Hazel is quite possibly the most difficult child to photograph. She NEVER looks at the camera and when she does she squints and makes her scrunchy face. I pulled out all my bag of tricks to no avail. I still think they're cute but I wish I could get one normal smiling picture, ya know? My across-the-street-neighbor, Monica made her cute bow. I love that it looks like a party. I knew the second I saw it that she'd wear it for her birthday. I just got the tutu at Kid-2-kid, although I wish I would have had my friend,Jamie make one. She does such a great job.)

Just Because. . .

Twas just a brief hiatus from blogging, but, I'm here if you'll have me.

I took some fun pictures at my parents house for family dinner tonight. I'll be posting some of those a little bit later, but, for now here's one of Hazel that I fell in love with. I love the scrunchy nose and disgusted sneer. I love the little heart clip in her delicate tousled hair. I love the newly plump cheeks and milky cream skin. Those eyes that seem to know so much. And oh, how I love this little stinker-ella. I just do. She'll be 1 on Wednesday which makes me both ecstatic and heartsick all at the same time. She's my favorite little girl in the whole wide world. The things she's taught me in the last year are profound.

We have a Winner!!

I decided to draw a winner from a hat - or rather let Hazel draw a winner...

Here's the hat, naturally.

Here are all the names of the awesome participants.
She digs in.

Now at first all she did was play with them. But - then she really did pick just one. She held it for a minute and decided this would be our winner.

Here's the name.

Congrats to Ginger - my totally rad neighbor!! Thank you to all who participated - I feel it was a successful week of awareness. Maybe I'll recover from blogging every day by the time next year rolls around. Then we can do this all over again! Have a great Saturday - and Ginger I'll bring this prize basket over and save on some postage!!

p.s. Blogger is being weird. My punctuation keeps ending up at the beginning of the sentence. Don't know how to fix it so if this is punctuated all crazy - I blame it on blogger.

Sorry for the Delay

I'll announce the winner... today. Just later than I thought.

Food Allergy Awareness Week - Day 5 - LAST CHANCE!

Today is your last chance to enter my wicked awesome Food Allergy Awareness Week Contest!!

Leave a comment (any comment) to enter today! (One per person, please)

Thank you SO very much for participating. It's been fun - I'm glad it's almost over.

Come back tomorrow and I'll announce a winner!!

p.s. Today is my 27th birthday. How in the world did I get to be 27? I'm eating cake and I don't care who knows it. No crumbs for Hazel, though, the poor dear. Have a great weekend!

Food Allergy Awareness Week - Day 4

Yesterday's answer was pretty easy - and yes, mom, abstinence is right. But here's what the UFAN website says:

Strict avoidance of the allergy-causing food is the only way to avoid a reaction. Reading ingredient labels for all foods is the key to maintaining control over the allergy. If a product doesn't have a label, allergic individuals should not eat that food. If a label contains unfamiliar terms, shoppers must call the manufacturer and ask for a definition or avoid eating that food.

For today, I'd just like to know if you've learned anything by participating, so answer one of these questions (one comment per person, please):

What have you learned this week about food allergies?

or

What question do you still have about food allergies?

I'll answer any questions (as best as I can) about allergies and my posts won't count. You could do both if you want, just leave one comment. Basically, if you comment, it counts - but just once. Clear as mud, right? :)

p.s. Hazel gained 2 oz. at her appt. this week - hooray for that! We were referred to a gastroenterologist at Primary Children's Hospital and will meet with him in 2 weeks. I'm nervous about that appointment. I think she'll probably have a scope and biopsy done on her esophagus. It won't be a whole lot of fun for her but at the same time, we'll hopefully have some answers about why she can't handle ANY solid foods. Right now she's only eating Neocate and rice crackers. Any time she eats solid food she throws up and has diarrhea. I know some day she'll thank me for discussing her bowels on the internet. Sorry, hun.

Food Allergy Awareness Week - Day 3

Thanks to all those who are part of the contest so far!! It means so much to me that you are getting the word out and learning about food allergies. I figure even if one person learns something new - I've done my job. I forgot to tell you the answers to the trivia questions. I was totally going to do that. Oops.

Most of you got the answer to day 1 right. The top 8 most common food allergies are:

milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat

**Lucky Hazel has all of these but shellfish and fish plush a few random things like corn and oats.

Day 2 was pretty easy. The answer was:

Epinephrine (which is synthetic adrenaline)

To enter today, just answer this trivia question in the comments section. Find the answer in the FAQ section of UFAN:

What is the best treatment for a food allergy?

Food Allergy Awareness Week - Day 2

To enter today, just answer this trivia question. (Answer can be found on FAQ section of the UFAN page).

What does epi-pen stand for?

One entry per person today. You'll be able to answer until midnight on Tuesday, May 11th.

Food Allergy Awareness Week - Day 1

Today is all about getting the word out. To enter to win the prize basket, you can do these three things to be entered today.

• Mention food allergies on your blog for one entry. Send people to enter this contest and if they mention your name, you get an extra entry. (Make sure you link to your blog in the comments section.) You can always link to my posts about Hazel or the Utah Food Allergy Network website.

• Mention food allergies in your facebook status for another entry. (For safety reasons, only my facebook friends are eligible.) Make sure you comment here to let me know you've done it.

Here is an example (feel free to copy and paste):

May 9-15th is Food Allergy Awareness Week! Did you know approximately 12 million Americans suffer from Food Allergies? Eight foods account for 90% of all food allergies. If you see someone showing signs of allergic reaction (all over hives, eyes swelling, trouble breathing, heart problems, etc.) use an epi-pen and call 911 immediately!

AND

• Answer this trivia question in the comments section for one additional entry. (Answer is in the FAQ section of the UFAN website.

Name the top 8 allergies.

Leave a comment for each thing you do to enter. I'll choose a random winner on Saturday, May 15th! You'll be able to enter today until midnight on Monday, May 10th. Check back tomorrow to see how you can enter.

Hi Non

Non is a name I lovingly bestowed upon my mother when I first started using text messages. Before phones with full keyboards, there was predictive text. My mom got her first cell phone when I was in high school and I was trying to figure out how to text. Every time I typed "Mom", predictive text would change it to "Non". It stuck. Now all my sisters use it as a nickname for her. "Hi Non" was the first text message I sent her and it continues to be a text we sisters send her just for fun.

My preschoolers filled out a little survey about their mom that I sent home with them along with some handmade gifts. I thought I'd take it and try to tell you a little about my mother.

What is your mom's first name? Heather

What is her favorite food? My mom loves fresh seafood - especially salmon perfectly grilled, lightly seasoned and smothered with mango salsa. Fish and chips from Burgerville is just about her favorite thing ever.

What is her favorite thing to do? She loves to teach - and she's good at it. Her 1st grade students love her. She works hard and does fun things and she celebrates their success. She's always telling us the funny things they say and do. Just yesterday she told me how excited she was that her class did so well on the DRA (reading test). I hope someday to be the kind of teacher she is.

What is her favorite color? She used to tell me that she loves all the colors but I know she's also said she likes yellow. So, yellow?

What is her favorite place? I know she loves to be anywhere her family is. When we get together it's really silly. She loves her own brothers and sisters too - and all of her nephews and nieces. If family were a place, it would be her favorite.

What is her favorite treat? I definitely got my sweet tooth from my mom. Anything chocolate, frosted, or glazed is good. Ice cream, cake, pie, doesn't matter. It's a favorite. She makes yummy things - her chocolate chip cookies are money. Her carmelita bars are perfection. Her pinuche frosting is, well, it's really really good.

What is your favorite thing about her? It's really hard to narrow it down to one thing. She's amazing. I guess I would have to say her patience. Raising kids is a challenge. I think anyone who has kids will tell you it's hard. I'm so glad my mom decided to love me despite my teenage years. I was a brat. I'm thankful that my mom was patient enough to hope I might turn out ok. The jury is still out on that - but at least we're friends now. Shortly after I got married, our relationship changed from mother/daughter to friends. I still need her to be my mom. I still call her crying when my baby hurts or when I just don't know what to do with my jealous almost-three-year old who took scissors to Hazel's rocking chair cover. It's nice to call my 24 hour on-call nurse. Even if she doesn't have the answer, she's calm and confident. Maybe someday I will be just as amazing as she is.

Happy Mother's Day to you, Non!

The Prize Basket

I just wanted to show you the loot that one lucky winner will receive from my Food Allergy Awareness Week giveaway.

Most of these items were generously donated - I'd like to thank those who were kind enough to share their talents (and yummy treats) with us!
.

• Assorted handmade cards from With a Touch of Glitter along with a cute flower headband. Remember Hazel in her cute so tweet set?
• Nursing cover, cupcake potholders and headband from PoppySnaps. They have way cute handmade baby gear too. Check out their blog!
• A gift card for half dozen donuts from Beyond Glaze. I brought a dozen of these to a game night with some friends a few weeks ago and they were a huge hit! The chocolate covered strawberry flavor (bottom row, second from right) is to die for.
• A gift card for a dozen bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Spongy, moist bundt cake. The frosting is perfection. So freaking good! I've tried the pumpkin spice and cream cheese frosting, but I hear the other flavors are amazing.
• A set of OPI shrek-tacular minis nail polish from Peerless beauty supply. LOVE the Shrek collection - super trendy colors. I'm wearing the blue right now. My name is Ashley and I'm a nail polish hoarder. OPI rocks! (4 colors include: Who the Shrek are you?; Rumple's Wiggin'; Fiercely Fiona; What's with the Cattitude?)
• A free hour-long session from Ashley Becar Photography (and a high resolution CD with 40+ edited images) Limit 6 people. Yes, I know I need to update that blog.
• A circle punch from Creative Memories. Thanks Non! Two circle sizes - great for cards, scrap booking and random preschool activities.
• A bag of Smarties. One of the only candies available in stores with NONE of the top 8 food allergens. No wonder they're so smart.
  

Come back on Monday, May 10th to find out how YOU can win!

*All pictures taken from company websites. With the exception of Poppysnaps which were taken by my lovely cell phone. :)

Another Update... and an exciting announcement!

No, I'm not pregnant. I'll let you know what it is at the end...

Two weeks ago Hazel lost an ounce and it was discouraging but we didn't dwell on it too much. We decided to have faith and move forward. There was a UFAN (Utah Food Allergy Network) support group meeting in Salt Lake that Jarom and I attended. It was awesome! An allergiest presented some of the latest research and information for allergies and we learned a lot. He was great, detailed, caring and knowledgeable. After the meeting I looked up our insurance providers and found that he's on our list! We made an appointment with him and I'm counting down the days until May 25th for our appointment. We'll hopefully learn more about how to help Hazel.

Last Sunday was a chaotic morning and I gave Cannon a sippy full of milk to distract him so I could get my hair done. Hazel was playing on the floor and Cannon decided to dump the entire cup on the floor in the kitchen. Hazel splashed in it and then rubbed her eyes. I quickly picked her up, flushed her mouth with water and checked her body for hives. I didn't find anything so I got both kids in the car and headed to church. When we got there I was in such a hurry that I didn't even look at Hazel when I got her out. I didn't think about it until I was walking the halls and heard a few people gasp. Hazel's eyes had completely swollen shut. It was horrible! I didn't have the epi-pen with me so I ran home for Benadryl and called her Dr. Luckily since it was just her eyes we didn't need the epi. She looked pretty miserable for a while but ended up being just fine.

It's impossible not to be hard on myself - I feel so guilty about it. If there is anything I've learned through this, it's not to dwell on the bad stuff. My focus is on Hazel and the amazing people that are helping us out and donating money for formula, formula, time and genuine love and concern. I've said it before and I'll say it again: You are all amazing and are literally saving Hazel's life!

Needless to say, rules about milk have changed. Cannon only drinks it at the table and puts it in the sink when he's done. I mop the kitchen twice a day and we had our carpets cleaned by zerorez. They just use water so we don't have to worry about reactions to harsh shampoos and detergents. My carpets look amazing and we are relieved that we don't have to worry about her crawling all over the place.

This last Tuesday, Hazel gained a whopping 4 ounces! She's hit the 4th percentile. We could not have been happier! After her weight check, I took her to Jarom's office to tell him the happy news and the little show-off crawled on her hands and knees across his office floor for the first time! It was the most amazing thing! I cried and clapped for her as if she had won the Nobel Peace Prize. In that moment all the stress, worry, Dr. appointments, physical therapy and tears were worth it. She's gone from being a miserable little blob to a happy and feisty little cruiser in a few short months.

We are hoping that she continues to grow and learn. She's hit so many little milestones in the past few weeks. It's like she's making up for lost time. I know she'll be okay and it's such a relief. It's not going to be easy, but at least we have the assurance that with a lot of hard work and prayers we'll be able to provide what she needs. Food allergies are a daily battle.

###########################

Now for the announcement! Next week (May 9-15) is National Food Allergy Awareness Week. In order to celebrate I'll be doing my very first blog GIVEAWAY! I have gathered an awesome prize basket to give to one lucky winner. Trust me, it's good. You'll have the opportunity to enter all week by answering questions and creating awareness in your online networks. There will be something new each day. Then on Saturday (May 15th) I'll announce the winner. Stay tuned for a peek at the prize basket and I'll start the contest on Monday, (May 10)! I'm so excited for this opportunity to bring awareness to something so near and dear to my heart. The more that participate, the better. You really won't want to miss this. Stay tuned!

Hazel is Growing!

We had a weight check this morning and she's up 4 ounces... which is pretty amazing!

She still has a lot to go but the fact that she's finally gaining just makes me want to do a happy dance.

She also has two cute little bottom teeth that she loves to show off. We didn't weigh her last week because we were in California for Spring Break. (I have some pictures to post of the vacay.)

I'd just like to thank the many many people who are still praying for her and those that are helping us get formula. You people are amazing! We'll never be able to express our gratitude. You are saving her life. Literally.

They Say...

that "the best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep".




How about a full day of sleep?



The past 24 hours I spent either in bed or in the bathroom throwing up



It wasn't pretty



But this morning I woke up covered in sweat and feeling much better



about Hazel



and well, and everything



Thank you once again for your words, thoughts, prayers, karma, and chi



I'm feeling hopeful

(extra credit goes to Jarom who still gave me a kiss this morning even though my hair was a greasy rats nest and my breath was... well, bad. He stayed home from his church meetings last night to put the kids to bed and clean the house. He's pretty much the coolest.)

Frustrated

I wish I could give a better update than this, but I just don't know...


I'm frustrated



Pardon me
This is more of a venting of feelings than an official update



Hazel's face looks good
But she still has patches all over her cute little body
She still scratches herself all day...
every day



She only gained .5 oz. this week
That's like what?
A grape?
Failure to thrive
Those are hard words to type



She's still throwing up
At least once a day
Which is much better than 20+ times a day
but frustrating



Neocate ®™ is expensive
But it makes her so much happier
But so expensive



Insurance would cover a feeding tube
and the surgery to put a feeding tube in
and Neocate ®™ if it were fed to her through a tube
but not if she will eat it from a bottle
which she does
quite well, I might add



It's absurd



People keep calling me strong
and courageous
I'm not
I'm scared
and I cry
a lot



But, we met with Kids on the Move
and they're AWESOME and make me feel capable



And Hazel really is adorable
and funny
and so worth it



And Cannon is smart
and hilarious
and sweet



And Jarom is so wonderful
and supportive,
and snoring right now



And my family/ward members/blog readers/facebook friends/
strangers I met online while googling "eosinophilic esophagitis" for the 800th time
are amazing people
who have just the right words



And Heavenly Father loves me enough to help me gently learn
how to be a mom
and how to be a bit pushy
and how to get what I want
and how to want the right things
and how to listen
when I just want to scream



People are good. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

(I've read through this a few times and I can't decide if I want to hit the orange "publish post' button. I think I will. But please don't judge me.)

Stuff

Here's some stuff I didn't know how to order or title, but still want to share.

Cannon. This was taken while he was in time out. I love it. Not much has been said about Cannon here lately. He's been a real peach during all the visits to Doctors and Hospitals. He'll pretty much do anything for a dumdum - and I'm not above bribery at all. He's been potty trained since October. He figured it out all by himself and I couldn't be happier about it. He talks like a grown up a lot of the time. Sometimes he uses the funniest phrases. He is OBSESSED with helicopters. He has 3 that he sleeps with each night. He points them out in the sky all the time. We live near a military base and they fly over our little valley all day. He loves riding on the 3-wheeler with his daddy. He's such a boy. He has no fear. He can be a stinker, but oh, I love him so.

Hazel. Yes, I know she's all I talk about, but she's such a happy thing. Her hair? Yes, she rivals Albert Einstein. I don't know what to do with it. It just keeps growing like that and I'm afraid it's my fault. One day she will curse my name for passing on my curly headed genes. She's completely content to be held all day. She loves her 'mum mum' but daddy is growing on her too. They love snuggling at night while watching Spike tv. She absolutely adores her older brother and has developed a high tolerance to being wrestled, bumped and smothered with affection.

Us. PLEASE don't tell Jarom I posted this picture. He'll never speak with me ever again. He hates it of him, but I think it's fun. He's just standing weird. We got to chaperon the night dance at his school and got our pictures taken. Cory Adams. Yep, the same one that did all my high school dances. Good times. I'm glad I'm not in Junior High anymore. I'm also glad that I get the opportunity to people watch at a Junior High dance. I saw a couple break up and get back together 10 minutes later. Good times...

Medical Bracelets. I get to have one made for Hazel with information about her allergies. I thought of those ugly gold ones that they have displayed at the pharmacy, but I found this website that makes adorable medical alert merchandise. I think I might order a plain tag and then make some interchangeable bracelets to match different outfits. Kind of like those cute watches with the interchangeable bands.

Hazel Update

This is just some more stuff about Hazel, if you're interested. She's been on the formula for 13 days and her eczema is really clearing up. She still scratches like crazy so I know she's still itchy. Her skin is so beautiful. Her eyes look so blue. I can't believe the difference.

We go in each Tuesday for a weight check and a blood test to check for more allergies. Last week she had gained 13 oz!! Almost a pound. Amazing!

Through some more testing, we found out that she's also allergic to almonds and oats. She's NOT allergic to walnuts, pecans and rice.

I found some rice rusks that she absolutely loves to nibble. She also likes dried apples and bananas.

Can I just say that invisible specks of food on the floor are the bane of my existence? Seriously, I have a panic attack every time she reaches for something and sticks it in her mouth, which is like 56,000 times a day. Maybe someday I will chill out - but images of my little swollen Hazelnut make me shiver each time it happens.

I am so thankful for my network of support. I have talked to so many people who have similar experiences with allergies and dietary issues. It's hard, but so much easier with people who care and have "been there".

Last week we had an anonymous case of Neocate show up on our porch. I have no idea who it's from, but THANK YOU if it was you. You made me smile and cry at the same time. It baffles my mind that someone spent $150 or more to send our sweet Hazie love-in-a-box. Seriously, you rock, whoever you are.

Also, just a huge thanks to everyone who has commented, called, prayed, and sent cards. We are blessed to have you in our lives. I finally feel like my life is getting back to 'normal'. I might even do some laundry to prove it.