I have a feeling...

I have a feeling another round of allergy testing and shots are in the near future for Peytonn. :(  This Spring has really kicked his butt (or maybe I should say eyes).

You can really see in the second picture just how swollen his undereyes get. The bad part is that he also gets eczema in the corner of his eyes, eye lids, and under eyes due to his allergies. We have to put eczema cream and aquafor on his eyes during allergy season.

I called last week to try and get him an appointment sooner with the allergist than his already scheduled follow up appt in May. The soonest they had was tomorrow. I already know he will want to do more allergy testing and he has already mentioned shots as the next possible step.

He is already on a strict regimen of medications. I just feel so bad for him, his little eyes are so red and itchy all the time. But he is such a trooper too! He always begs to go outside even though that is what causes his eyes to swell up and itch.

But I just love my little cowboy!

And my little solider with cowboy boots.

 

I can't believe he is going to be FIVE on Thursday!! Where did the time go?

What mom's do

Ever wonder what mom's do during nap time?

Enjoy this without anybody asking for some or sticking their fingers in it!

......and catch up on DVR!

Hives

Avonlea obviously got into something that her body did not like:

Her face broke out in hives. Then she got them in the bend of her elbow on her right side and then on the top of her left hand. I have gone through everything that she ate yesterday and the only "new" item would be mashed potaotes from Scotty's that she had for lunch.

I ended up calling the doctor's office and they had me give her some benadryl. After a good nights rest she looked much better this morning!

was back to her old self, playing and laughing.

I'm still not sure what caused it. It could be something I touched and then touched her, something airborne, or something she ate. Poor kiddo!

Food for my soul

Let's face it, we're all busy these days. I swear, some days I feel like I hardly get a minute to sit down. I have three children 5 and under, work full time, two kids in preschool (at different schools and different times), and have volunteered for the two co-ops we participate in. I am constantly on the go and in my car.

I really look forward to the weekend when I don't necessarily have to go anywhere and can just hang out at home with the kids.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! We went to 9am Mass and then headed home. Hubby went to lunch with some friends to discuss their annual "man conference." (yeah, I laughed too!) I decided I wasn't sitting at home on such a gorgeous day, so I loaded all three kids up and we went to lunch at the local drive in (or hot dog house as the boys call it). Then we went to the park. We stayed for about two hours and the kids had a blast! Both boys were red faced by the time we left!

We first started out on a nature walk on the trail:

Along the path, Peytonn found this pretty purple flower. He named it 'Tooney" and carried this things with him. At one point he told me that Tooney was cold and he had to put her in his pocket! I swear, this kid comes up with some of the funniest things! Here is a picture of Tooney, after being in the pocket, of course!

After our walk on the trail, we played on the playground for a while:

Sissy had a great time watching the boys play on the playground:

There is a creek that runs through the park. The creek is dry current, so the bed is full of rocks, which is heaven for little boys who love dirt!

We had such a fun day. Its days like these that truly are food for my soul. Watching my children laugh, play, and discover. After the park, we came home and rested for a bit. The boys played out in the back yard the rest of the day and then we grilled out for dinner. We all slept great last night! We even had the window in our bedroom open all night, which is my most favorite thing!

I can't wait for weather like this all the time!

7 months!

Holy cow, my baby girl is 7 months old!!!

Unofficial stats:
Height:
Weight: 17 lbs 8oz (according to my home scale)

What Avonlea is up to these days:
--sitting up
--feeding herself Mum Mums or puffs
--3 solid food meals a day
--partially weaning
--wearing size 9-12 month clothing
--Size 3 diapers
--loves to smile, giggle, drool, and put anything and everything into her mouth
--possibly starting to see some buds for her bottom 2 teeth.

Avonlea is such a good (daytime) baby! She loves to giggle and laugh and play with her brothers. She loves rolling onto her tummy, but then is pretty much at a loss once on her belly.  She is not getting up on her knees, but then again, none of my kids have started crawling from their bellies. All of my kids have learned to sit and then go to crawling from a sitting position.

She is still sleeping terribly. I've hit my rock bottom, up every one to hour and a half, for a week straight. Then she would be up at 5am for the day. Right about the time she was ready for a nap, I had to leave for work. Needless to say, we've been trying some self-soothing.  It breaks my heart, but I've tried everything else that I can think of.

I also noticed that she wasn't having very many wet diapers per day. She was only drinking 8 oz total at the babysitter. (Probably why she was up all night long...to eat!) So, I've continued to pump, but I've increased her bottles to 5-6 oz each feeding instead of 4oz. I can't produce that much when I pump, so we've started mixing formula in with the bottles. I am still offering her the breast at home, but I've noticed she is starting to be less interested in it. Its hard to nurse her these day, she is so distractable. This is about the stage that I weaned the boys as well. I have mixed emotions about it right now, but I know that she is getting more fluid and that is the most important thing. She is increasing her nightly stretches to 2-5 hours now, which is a vast improvement. We're working on it.

But again, she continues to be the happiest girl during the day!

Question for everyone: what is your nap and bedtime schedules/routines? We have to adjust ours!

Cooking and new recipes

Today the kids and I have been busy in the kitchen. First, we started out making English muffin bread. It was really easy to make in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It took about 30 minutes to rise in the bowl and another 30 minutes to rise once in the bread pans. It came out beautiful!

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Then, I searched for an idea for lunch while the boys played outside and Avonlea was down for a nap. I decided to make pepperoni pizza roll ups. Super easy! I used Pillsbury Natural French bread dough. I just rolled it out, laid my turkey pepperoni and cheese down, then rolled it up and baked it. Big hit with the kids and took me less than 10 minutes to prep.

Source: whataboutpie.blogspot.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I also have this wonderful cookbook that my mom handed down to me called "Whole foods for the whole family." it's from LLL International and is circa 1981. It's definitely been used and worn, but I love this book. Good, wholesome recipes without being über "health nut."

I found a recipe for peanut butter dip. Super easy to make and we all loved it.

Peanut Butter Dip
1 cup of peanut butter (I used natural)
1 cup of plain yogurt (I used Fage fat free Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

*I also added a pinch of salt and about 1-2 tbsp of raw Agave. The natural peanut butter doesn't have sugar like regular peanut butter does. Taste yours and decide if you need to add a touch of sweetness. Honey would work great if you don't have Agave.

Mix the yogurt, peanut butter, coconut, Agave (if using), and salt together in a bowl until well mixed. Place in a serving bowl.

Then cut up veggies or fruit. We used carrots, cucumber, and apples.

Then, the boys and I had a nice picnic in the living room and watched Jungle Book while we ate our lunch. Between the boy and I, we ate all the veggies and Peytonn even licked the dip bowl! I'd say it was a hit and I will definitely make it again.

I hope you try some of these recipes!

Throwback Tuesday

I was going through my Photobucket and came across this video of Bennett when he was about a year old. It still cracks me up!! Take note of the utensil in the right hand.



Oh how much he has grown and changed!