Sunday, November 9, 2014

Race cars

He loves the race car set Nana bought!

Birthday Presents

Presents time!

Happy 2nd Birthday

Birthday cake was a success!

2nd Birthday

Jace's 2nd Birthday was Thursday, November 6th, but we had a party over the weekend. The party was at Kids Kingdom.


We arrived early which gave the kids a moment to run around before everyone arrived. My husband was a little nervous that no one would show up. Maybe it is living in Las Vegas or the people we know but we have a problem with RSVPs and people actually showing up.

I don't know if other moms experience this but it always seems like the same people always flake. My husband says not to expect anything or don't take it personally, but how can I not when you say you will be there and then just don't show up. Then there are those who don't call and avoid me like they are embarrassed that they cannot come. Do I say nothing and continue to support them and their children? This seems petty but it could ruin relationships. One person I really want to like, but she is the biggest let down of all. She is my husbands friend and for the past three birthdays I have tried to "understand" but she is not a friend if she doesn't show when she says she will.

I suppose the more positive approach would be to focus on the relationships of those people who do make an effort. I was so glad to see a few people and appreciate that they took time out of their weekend to hang out with my small children.




Batman Hat


I am selling hats for a craft event this weekend. It started as an event to support a friend and her personal business and turned into a huge deal. I have a ton of orders, but the biggest little thieves are my children. So far Jace has taken the batman hat and the spider-man hat. He seems to really love them though and with the cuteness how can you resist.


He walks up to the hats or the styrofoam heads wearing them and growls. My favorite was when he put it on and said "Daddy!" and pointed to the batman symbol! I LOVE it! It's so precious! The photos are blurry but still adorable.


So stinking cute. He is waiting for dad who is outside starting up the Grill. He plants himself in front of the back door and waits for dad. It was somewhat cold so we didn't want him outside.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Allergy Update - November

Allergic Food List:

Wheat, Dairy (includes milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt), Coconut, Soy (oil, beans), Nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts, macadamia, pine nuts), Seeds (sesame, pumpkin, flax), Tomatoes, Pineapple, Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries, Lemon, Lime, Oranges, Citric Acid, Sweet Potatoes, Beans (black beans, pinto beans, lentils), green beans, peas, oregano, cinnamon, garlic and carrots.


Non-Food Allergic Items: 
dogs, polyester, carpet, petroleum (Vaseline), mold, disposable diapers, flame retardant, red and blue dye

Update for NOVEMBER: 

This month we are adding garlic, carrots and flame retardant to the allergy list. 

The decision on the apples is still undergoing. It doesn't seem to be a problem after we re-introduced them, but I am skeptical. He did not get better after they were omitted, but that doesn't mean he isn't allergic to many more items. There is still something that is causing him an intense rash we just haven't been able to figure out what it is. 

FLAME RETARDANT 


I went through the kids clothing and trashed everything that indicated Flame Resistant on the label. If any governing entity ordered companies to remove this deadly chemical from clothing 50 years ago... these companies didn't get the memo. I noticed after going through everything we own that the fabric tag indicates FLAME RESISTANCE and other are marked NOT FLAME RESISTANCE.  

I was pleased with the brands like CARTER that actually indicate their clothing is NOT Flame Resistant. After reading what the chemical does to your body I am horrified that my children would sleep wearing it on their bodies. I hope maybe I can take comfort in the fact that these are second hand clothes and have been washed so many times that maybe the effect is minimal.

According to this article and many others I've read, this chemical has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, fetal brain development and thyroid problems. Since my child has severe allergies and the doctor indicated his this could be a sign of thyroid-ism problems, we are taking no chances.

The most alarming find was that it is also put into GATORADE the sports drink. What kind of logic in any demented world makes that okay? 

Spider-man costume

Since infant size in SUPER HERO was near impossible to find for a Halloween costume, I used pajamas. Luckily I was able to find 100% cotton SPIDER-MAN pajamas that are specifically marked NOT FLAME RESISTANT on the label. (I have recently discovered the government allows this toxic chemical to be added to kids clothing so I am on a mission. No FLAME RETARDANT items allowed for my children.)


$6.00 pajamas at Wal-Mart turned into an awesome costume combined with his Spider-man hat I made. He was so excited! At that price I bought a batman outfit also to match his batman hat in case he somehow changed his mind.


It was 85 degrees during the day so it wasn't very cold at night. Hence sister didn't want to wear her Elsa hat or cape that went with her dress. I don't blame her it wasn't very cold. So we braided her hair around the side of her head and to drape down her shoulder.

They were so stinking cute.

Halloween Day

Halloween was a gorgeous day. It was 85 degrees outside. We spent most of the day at Nana's house. The kids spent most of the time playing in the backyard. Jace played with the PINK stroller while we carved pumpkins. 

Although Madi played dress up for a bit as well. She discovered a set of pink curtains that my mom used to have hanging in the spare (Madison's) room. 




Pumpkin Carving

We decided to buy two more pumpkins after the last (free) pumpkin rotted within days of carving it. I can't complain it was free.

Madison did a great job choosing these. They were thick and with great stems. I of course did the hard part of cleaning out the guts and seeds to make sure they were clean for carving. My princess daughter didn't want to touch the inside because it was gooey.


I had to start the jagged carving tool for her. It was part of a simple carving kit with small handles but the tools did a great job at cutting straight through the pumpkin.


She did a great job following exactly where to cut the pumpkin. I drew one and my mom drew the other. I figured this was a much better than actually taping a sketch to the side of a non-flat surface and trying to explain how to cut and where not to cut. Maybe in a few years...


The idea or inspiration originated from Nightmare before Christmas... and this is sister and brother or girl and boy jack-o-lanterns.


Candles and small kids never are a good idea. I happened to be at the dollar store and came across LED lights in packs of two for $1. We put two them in the pumpkins then I also added them to the pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket so it would also glow while she carried it from door to door.


They looked awesome! I was really impressed. They didn't last very long after carving them. I purchased them about a week early. I of course left ours inside the house as it was 85 degrees during the day, but I noticed a few people who carved theirs early had problems with keeping them alive for Halloween.


Happy Halloween! or (Nevada DAY!)

Halloween Party

Madison decided instead of wearing her Elsa Frozen outfit to school for their holiday party she wanted to be a Princess Kitty so she could wear her shiny dress. How could I say no... Halloween is also Nevada day so for people luck enough to live in the state of Nevada most of the schools, banks, etc are closed. 

They changed the rules since I was little. Nevada day is actually Halloween. The day the great state of Nevada became an actual state. When I was younger we had Halloween off from school because it was deemed a state holiday. Now they made it a rule that businesses close the last Friday of the month of October in honor of Nevada day. So this year we were lucky to have it fall on Halloween.


Jace is fascinated by Spider-man. Madison put on her hat and he ran to get his. He was adorable every time someone commented on his hat he would point to his head and say RAWWRRRR!


So freaking CUTE!