Talan give your fries to your brother!

Ashton's stats:

47lbs (52%)

47 inches (65%)

the nurse said he was like a square. Ashton argued he was more like a rectangle. 

Talan's stats:

26lbs (88%)

30 inches (57%)

There are only 12% of 1 year olds in the country that are bigger than Talan. 

Talan's BMI is also considerably larger than his brothers. 

1989

Brad's April 1989 journal:

Have you read about the oil problem in Alaska?  This is what I know about it. I don't know anything about it. I like George Brett. He is a good baseball player. 

Brad's January 1989 journal:

I listened to rap. My brother has rap tapes. My mom and dad don't want him to have them. They take them away from him but he still has some.

Brad's March 1989 journal:

It is the first day of spring. Happy Spring! I used to write really big. Now I'm writing small. I used to not make pictures. Now I'm making pictures. 

These were my favorite things that I've stumbled upon the last couple days. I absolutely love them!!! 

Sorry Uncle Clint

Ashton: "yellow is a girl color."

Aunt Tanya: "Uncle Clint wears yellow."

Ashton: "Well, Uncle Clint is pretty much a girl because he's married to one"

backtracking

I secured the blog so certain information could not be seen by random people, but now most of the readers of my blog can't log on. So....I removed the password. I probably won't post much about Brad for obvious reasons. I just want everyone to be able to see the blog.

So....read away random strangers.

fun with bath letters

First Grade

Ashton is officially a first grader having successfully survived his first 3 days of school. He was excited, but you'd never know it. He's got a classic 'school sucks' attitude. It wasn't until our trip to old navy and his discovery of a striped shirt with skulls on it that he became excited about the first day. I thought it was cute that I had to ask permission to take pictures of him at the bus stop. He only granted me permission because Brad isn't here to take him to the bus stop. Otherwise I was told I had already taken enough pictures.

Although I know nothing that happened the first day because apparently Ashton has come down with a case of school amnesia, he did say he had fun. When I asked him, on the walk home from the bus stop, if he liked first grade better than kindergarden he said, "Yeah. I actually get to learn things in first grade."

So for the next 9 months from monday-friday 8am-4pm he belongs to USD 437.

Cell phone drama....

For the last month or so Ashton has been wanting a cell phone. He doesn't understand why he doesn't have one. He refused to talk to Brad after he told Ashton he was too young for a cell phone. Seriously, who is he going to call?

So, this was a conversation that he had with his Aunt Tanya recently:

Ashton: I'm going to ask Santa to bring me a cell phone because one year santa brought me everything I wanted.

Tanya: I didn't have a cell phone until I was like 25.

Ashton: eck.....what?!....you lived wtihout technology?!?! I could never do that.

Tanya: Well, they didn't have cell phones when I was a kid.

Ashton: What?!?! Were you a pioneer?

Tanya: When gradnpa was a kid they didn't even have TV

Ashton: eck....if I didn't have a TV I would just always wish I had a playstation.

She ruined my fun!

As you may have read a couple posts ago (random text post) some woman....or at least I assume is a woman...professed her love for one named Joe via text. This text was re-routed to my phone somehow. I didn't text her back.

When I told my brother-in-law about my mysterious text he said that I could have some fun with that. I couldn't resist. So I texted back....

'Joe loves me. Back off!!!'

Seconds later she texted back and I was very dissapointed at what I saw. It simply said, "I am so sorry...Wrong number....Sorry"

NO FUN!!!

Random text of the day...

I love you so much joe...I am so sorry...I am so crazy about you. 

Do I want to waste one of my 400 texts this month to text this person back? 

Paging Dr. Mante

I walked into the Cotton O-neil Clinic where Talan was about to go through the trama of drawing blood out of his fat little arm. The place reeked of needles. I can say in confidence he was the only person younger than 25. We checked in and I filled out paperwork that didn't really have questions pertaining to a baby allergy, but I went with the flow. Talan walked around a bit, looked at the fishies then he saw the most amazing thing. A little old man pushing his little old wife in a wheelchair. They were sitting in the same waiting room and as soon as Talan locked eyes with that wheelchair he knew he had to push that thing. He dropped on his hands and knees and was on his way to push this amazing thing. He even lowered his head to cut out wind resistance. Sadly, he was stopped just short of an arm reach and I spent the next 15 minutes trying to keep him away from pushing a 90 year old woman down the hall and into a wall. Mission successful. 

Then it was our turn. 

The allergist was Dr. Mante. Judging by his accent I think he was from Zimbabwe. It was an amazing accent. Talan played on the floor while I explained the peanut situation. The Dr. was really surprised that he had had such a reaction to the nuts at such a young age, and looked at me in shock when I said that I have never given him anything with nuts knowingly. He had tons of questions for me and actually listened and wrote down everything I said. Dr. Mante said if he would have seen Talan as a young baby with his eczema he would have told me that because of

 his eczema he has a higher chance of allergies and we are well on our way to asthma. No eggs

 until 2 years old, if it doesn't walk on the land he can't have it until he is 3...and no nuts until he is 3. That would have been nice to have been told that one of the many trips I made to Ft. Belvoir to remedy this eczema problem. 

So, Talan is on a strict diet since he is now high risk due to having BOTH eczema and the peanut allergy...

no processed food, no nuts or foods that have been manufactured in the same factory as nuts, and no adult food. If it doesn't come from the baby isle it is off limits until he is 2. I told Dr.

 Mante that he eats ALOT! A gerber graduates meal is pretty much a snack for the 24.5 pound chunk-ball. 

He didn't have to get blood drawn. The dr said that he doesnt want to do the testing until it has been 3-4 weeks from the allergic reaction. So, I am now mentally preparing myself for Sept. 4th when we have to go see Dr. Mante again. He is going to take blood and do 1 skin prick with the

 peanuts. 

We were probably in the room talking to him for 45 minutes at least. He didn't act rushed or annoyed when he had to explain things more than a couple times. And he trained me with the epipen. (Talan didnt like it and it didn't even have the needle. Dr. Mante said, "he's going to cry...just ignore him.") Hopefully we wont ever have to use it. 

I also found out a piece of information about myself. Yesterday the idiot pediatrician said Talan probably got his eczema from me. When I retaliated with I don't have eczema, she said "yes you do. That is why your eyelids are flakey like that." I'm pretty sure she won the award for best

 bed-side manner. Anyway, Dr. Mante was talking about getting Talan a medical ID bracelet but said that the metal would irritate his eczema. My sister-in-law turned to me and said that was probably why I couldn't wear my wedding rings. Click. Light Bulb ON. So my georgeous black titanium ring is out since he said titanium could irritate eczema as well. I guess next time you see me I'll be sporting a tattoo on my ring finger. 

Brad update

Brad is in Mississippi right now. Today he went to the beach and kayaked and I am totally jealous!!! Tomorrow starts back in on training though so don't go feeling like your tax dollars are paying for a vacation. He will be in Ft. Riley (about an hour from here) on the 29th and the army is letting him come home for a few days. Ashton can't wait. He's been missing his dad lately. Talan also wants to show him how good he is at walking. 

This is more of a vent really

If you ever have a child in Topeka, Kansas do not go see Dr. Conroy at Pediatric Care (15th and Gage location). She is the biggest moron!!!

According to her, Talan's peanut allergy is all in my head. Here is my few favorites that came out of her mouth:

1. After explaining last weeks peanut trama I showed her the pictures(same ones I posted in this blog). She then said, "Well, his face looks a little red in this picture. He was probably just getting over a cold or virus."

 --is she serious????? isnt it crazy that he got over his alleged virus the second the peanuts touched him? wow. I don't know what I was thinking. 

2. "It could be that he is allergic to something else in the can"

--the ingredients are peanuts and salt

3. "I don't like to perscribe epipens to parents that havn't gone through proper  training."

--so i get to the pharmacy and the instructions are...pop the gray top, jam in his leg and hold for 10 seconds. how flipping hard is that?

4. "I could run the lab for the peanut allergy right now, but since he has eczema we better send him to the allergist"

--because his eczema is soooo much more life threatening than his peanut allergy. 

5. "If he didn't have the eczema then I would just tell you to keep him away from peanuts instead of sending you to the allergist."

--wow. cancel that peanut butter sandwich for lunch. again...is she serious???

I did get the epipen because I said I wouldn't leave without it. And Talan has an appointment with an allergist tomorrow. That will be a whole different experience. I have to hold him down while they try to find a tiny vein in his chubby arm. 

Here's one for the books

Tanya:  "Ashton, do you even know what Victoria's Secret is?"

Ashton: "No.......I didn't even know she had one"

Meet my kids Over-dramatic and Hyper-sensitive

For months we've been perplexed as to what Talan was actually allergic to. There was that time that he face planted the dog and had immediate hives but there was also that time he got hives while walking into Walmart. Nothing added up. He is allergic to one of my moms dogs, but not to any others?

Today the mystery has been solved. Talan is severly allergic to peanuts. 

Yesterday, my neice offered to hook up my computer for me. I was thrilled because Brad did all that and all the cords were jumbled together, so I had no idea what went to what. She came into my room eating a can of peanuts which she put on the computer desk to snack and work on the computer. Talan being the speedracer he is managed to reach the peanuts. He grabbed the can and pulled it off the table sending the entire contents flying at him. Let me note he did not actually eat any peanuts, they just spilled all over him. He stood there stunned for a few seconds and then burst out crying like he was terrified. I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder as I picked peanuts off his shirt and body.  About a minute later I noticed he was rubbing his eyes as he does when he has his mysterious allergies. I blamed it on some salt getting into his eye and to ok him in the bathroom to splash water on his face.  It wasn't until after I splashed the water on him that I actually took a look at him. His face was bright red, hives all over and his eyes were swollen..one almost swollen shut.

My sister-in-law has an amazing friend who lives around the corner who happens to be an ER nurse. I had my neice call her and she was over in 5 minutes, benadryl in hand, to check him out. I had already given him some benadryl so she just had me apply a cool towel to his face to cool him down which is easier said than done. She said for him to be 11 months old and have this reaction just to the peanuts touching his skin is impressive....meaning we're in big trouble if he ever eats one! When I told her about his previous allergies she thought maybe it started with the dogs. She instructed me to call his pediatrician to get him some stronger medicine because the benadryl was not doing a thing. Of course this was 4:45 but the office closed at 4:30 so I could wait for a nurse to call me back but she would tell me the same thing I've already heard. 

After I hung up the phone I gave Talan a bath to wash all the peanut residue off him. He was surprising in a good mood, and was smiling away.  While in the tub I noticed the hives all over his body starting. He'd never looked this bad in all his allergic reactions. Here is a picture of all his hives on his arms:

We ended up taking him to an after-hours medical clinic to get some stronger medicine. The dr there told me that he was probably just going to be a sensitive kid, instructed me to call his pediatrician to get him in for allergy testing immediately, gave him some meds and NO PEANUTS! So I am now checking EVERYTHING for any traces of peanut oil, peanut butter. So far I know for sure he can eat Fruit Loops and Jr Lunchables.  

He goes to the doctor on Wednesday.

Enrollment day at Wanamaker Elementary

I officially have a first grader! Let the gray hair begin!