Halloween Make-up

Being in our ward comes with a tradition of a trunk-or-treat activity each October. As usual, we got the kids in their costumes. I then decided to put just a little make-up on Maya. Todd just rolled his eyes at me.

Maya, on the other hand, was giggling as I tried to put on some sparkly eye shadow and lip gloss. She thought it was great fun, especially licking the lip gloss as I tried to put it on. I had to laugh at how excited she was about it. At a year and a half, my baby already naturally loves shoes, purses, babies and make-up. Could she be any more girl?

Todd was less than thrilled that our little angel is already liking make-up and giggling at the prospect. It may take a few years for him to get used to it.

Music is a BIG part of my life!!!

I know, most of this blog is about my kids. But hey, maybe it's time I made a front stage appearance on my own blog. Those who know me well know that I love music and love to sing. I finally gave in and created a playlist. (Sorry to those of you who hate being assaulted by music on blogs.)

You'll see that I have a few songs from Wicked. You can thank Paul and Kyla for that. I really like the single version of Defying Gravity. Steven Schwartz is an incredible composer. I was kind of upset that I couldn't find Stranger to the Rain. Some of the more current songs are a bit obvious, but you may not know the Dan Fogelberg songs. Longer, I just flat out love the melodies, harmonies and lyrics.

Leader of the Band is a little more special to me. The lyrics, especially the last verse, remind me quite a lot of my father. Sometimes I get all teared up listening to it. Apparently I'm not the only one of my siblings that feels this way about the song. I recall bringing it up once, and then having a great discussion about the mutual love of our dad and the song. (By the way Justin, Mike, Aimee and Paul, I have the sheet music so we could sing it for Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary.)

Oh, Nuts!!!!!!!

Literally, nuts. The source for an evening of extreme anxiety. I didn't think that an evening snack would turn into such a headache, but it did. Maya, our beautiful little girl, tried a cashew nut last night. She'd had a little peanut butter before without reaction, so we didn't think twice about it. Boy was that a mistake.

Luckily she spit out most of it. But then her body reacted. She threw up a little. Then her mouth became surrounded with hives. Then the symptom that really scared us, her voice became hoarse as her throat started swelling shut. I immediately gave her benedryl before the slight chaos of finding wallets and keys. We took just a moment to decide whether or not to wake Ethan, and then Maya and I were out the door.

A few blocks away, the terror hit me, I can't monitor her while I'm driving. I could go back for Todd, but already almost a quarter of the way to the clinic, I kept going. I couldn't chance the time. I kept talking to my little one, trying to get her to laugh or say anything just so I could hear her breathing.

Though the drive was probably only 5 minutes, it felt like 20. I ran her inside and straight to the pediatric desk, cards already out to check her in. A triage nurse was immediately sent for while her information was placed in the computer. "Did we call in?", what kind of question is that? Like I'm going to waste time on the phone while my baby can't breath.

The nurse comes, yay!! We skip the initial weighing in and go straight for the oxygen stats and stethoscope exam. While the nurse checks Maya as I explain what happened and that Maya's had benedryl. Oxygen stats at 100, I finally feel like I can breathe. Her lungs are clear, another sigh of relief. But her voice is still so hoarse. She sounds like she's whispering as she says bye bye to the room and we are taken to an official exam room.

The nurse practitioner comes to examine Maya. Already the hives are fading and her voice is coming back slightly. Maya is given an oral steroid and some extra benedryl. I was told that we chose well, other than not bringing the whole family. While we could have called 911, not all vehicles carry epinephrine. If we ever do have to call, we have to specify that it be brought to make sure it's there.

By the time we get our discharge papers, Maya's voice sounds clear and the hives are just slight pink discolorations around her mouth. Then we get to wait in the building for 2 hours, to make sure she doesn't have a relapse in her condition.

At the end of the long evening, Maya is exhausted and, for the first time ever, falls asleep in her stroller, which we obtained after the exam but before our 2 hour jaunt through the halls. We go home with an epipen, which gives me more comfort than you can know, and orders to benedryl the baby to kingdom come for the next 2 days. We also go knowing that we will have to be extra cautious about all food given to our little one.

While I don't generally allow the kids to sleep in our bed, I felt that this night would be an appropriate exception to that rule.

Connecticut Coast

The government has this wonderful rule that as long as it doesn't cost the country any extra money, then an employee's family can join them on a business trip.

Todd had to go to Connecticut, and we went with him. We enjoyed 3 beautiful days in Old Saybrook. We walked around the town quite a bit, and enjoyed the quaint main street. Ethan and Maya both enjoyed seeing all the water.

Ethan was also enthralled with watching some men fish from the side of the river. He asked all sorts of questions and kept trying to get closer to look. I had to keep reminding him to back up so he wouldn't get a hook in the ear while they cast their lines. It was a bit of an education for him. He'll definitely be wanting Todd to take him fishing.

Apparently it was an early location for a ferry that went to Long Island. There was a small park that gave a little info on that history, but the need for a restroom quickly ended that visit as well as finding out more of the story.

Old Saybrook was also close to the spot where Yale started. Yes, the Yale. There were some commemorative stones there, ironically in the middle of a graveyard, where some remnants were left to rest. Obviously, Yale has since been moved.

Gas Prices Six Years Ago

Most of you who know us are also aware that we moved to the east coast 6 years ago. The time has absolutely flown, especially the last four years with our little ones.

Yesterday, I was cleaning out a binder to reuse and found an interesting scrap of paper. It was an envelope on which we had written our gas expenses from our move out here. We noted the town where we filled up, how many miles we had traveled, the number of gallons put in and the total price of the purchase. I'll list some of the gas prices per gallon below.

Green River, WY $1.239
North Platte, NE $1.699
Omaha, NE $1.369
Peoria, IL $1.349
London, OH $1.319
Annandale, VA $1.359

That trip cost us $305.75 in all. At not quite 3 times the gas prices now, that same trip in a moving truck, towing a car at 10 mpg, we would spend about $825.55. Oh, the good old days!

Holy Hanna

Okay, so I couldn't resist the cheesy title. Truth be told, we faired quite well with what was then just a tropical storm system. We got about 5 inches of rain in 6 hours, so it was very wet. Luckily, we prepared by checking the gutters and walkout to make sure that the drainage paths were clear.

We did not lose power during the actual storm, so our sump pump was able to mostly keep up with the water. We were also fortunate enough not to lose any trees this time. Ethan had fun watching the rivers of water in the streets, but did not like having to stay in doors. (For those who don't know, that muddy brown section is our ditch topping over. Sorry about the screen in the way, but I was not about to go outside just to get a clearer picture.)

We'll have to see what the rest of the hurricane season has for us this year. Hopefully we won't receive any direct blows. The last time we did was 5 years ago with Hurricane Isabel. She left us without power for nearly 5 days.

Helping Out

Maya has come to the point where she wants to be involved in everything. So she climbs up on the stove drawer handle to try and help us cook. Maya likes to help unload the dishwasher, whether or not the dishes are clean. Maya can never let Ethan be the only one in our laps, or being read to. She wants to help put away the laundry, in other words, she's really good at unfolding clothes and dragging them on the floor.

But there is one duty in which she has been able to start actually helping us. Diaper duty. Maya has now started to take her own diapers to the trash. She still needs assistance to open the pail, but throws the diaper in and joins with us in saying "Hurray Maya".