Ain't No Peanut

Don't ask me why I titled this post this way.  I said it in my head and it stuck that way.  However, this post is about peanuts and the fact that we have to avoid them.

When my little Goosie was a year old, we discovered that she has a peanut allergy.  She found a peanut butter lid and apparently enjoyed the tasty treat.  However, this is when we discovered that she had an allergy to it.  Red eyes, swollen face, hives.....it was not exciting.

A couple years later and allergy testing shows that she is still allergic to peanuts.  And, to make things even more interesting, our 16 week old baby boy also has the allergy.  Yeah.  We know this because I held him while eating a peanut butter cookie and he had an allergic reaction.  Swollen face, swollen eyes, hives, breakout eczema, whelps....it was not exciting.

We now carry epipens everywhere we go.

Now. Living with a peanut allergy proves everyday to be harder than once imagined.  Cross contamination is everywhere.  EVERYWHERE! 

Tonight after leaving church we stopped by a local ice cream shop.  It was busy on this wonderful Sunday evening and we waited in line.  The longer we waited, the more nervous I became.  What about the scoops that are being used to scoop the icecream?  What about the peanuts that are being used for sundaes?  Are hands being washed?  The frozen stone in which they make smashed icecream was not being cleaned, only wiped.  It is not the responsibility of the ice cream shop to make sure that my daughter is safe, it is mine and my husband's. 

Needless to say, but my little Goosie only had soft serve. 

The one thing that I hold true and fast is that God is the one who holds my little daughter in His hands.  And they are not covered in peanut dust.

Hello Friends....

It has been a long, long time since I have posted here.  Life is busy, running, turning, upheaving, and then settling back.

In March, we added this little guy

And my others just keeping bigger....

Goosie is now three!

Manny is now 5 1/2

and my beautiful Little Cheese will be 9 next month.

God has truly blessed our family.  Change, however, is also coming on September 6th.  The day after Labor Day.  "S" Day.

We have made the decision to send our oldest two children to public school this year.  It is not a decision we came to lightly but is one that we feel strongly is for the best.

Today, I took Little Cheese for her reading test.  As I walked around the school with my two youngest while waiting, I felt excited and strangely sad at the same time.  I am so excited for my Little Cheese to be in the school environment.  So excited for the experiences that she will have.  So excited for the friends that she will make.  So excited for the adventures that public school hold.

However, it is the first time that she will not be with me.  And I am going to miss her.   However, homeschooling will still be part of our lives.  Every day I will have the chance to help my children learn and grow and teach them.  So, this blog will be up and running so come on....come homeschool with me!

$20 gift card to Amazon for $10!

Talk about making diapers cheap!  Or homeschool supplies, books, music, kitchen gadgets, toys, or any other endless, endless possibility of things that Amazon.com sells!

One of the online daily deal sites, Living Social, currently is offering a $20 gift card to Amazon.com for only $10.

The way this works?

You go to the site and sign up.   Once you are signed in, go to "More Deals" on the left hand side menu.  I chose the city of Baltimore as my city but I believe that you can choose any city listed.  The deal is nationwide.  The deal should come up for the $20 gift card.  Simply choose to purchase it.

Your gift card information will be sent to you the day after the current deal expires.  So, although you won't get the gift card for a couple days, whoo-hoo!  $20 to Amazon for cheap!  Please note, though, that your banking account will be charged immediately....just so you know.

Here is the fine print on the deal copied directly from Living Social:

The Fine Print

Limit 1 per person, no gifting allowed • Amazon.com Gift Card does not expire • Voucher purchase is valid for US-based customers only • LivingSocial Terms and Conditions apply • The Amazon.com terms and conditions set forth below are deal specific terms that supersede any inconsistent terms in the LivingSocial terms and conditions.

Now, I used Living Social back in December for the first time.  It was easy.  It was not hard.  It was not scary.  In fact, it went so smoothly that I am telling you about it!

Important:  If you are so inclined, go directly through the Living Social link that I listed above.  Yes, I will benefit from it ($5 credit to my account) but so will you!  If you have never signed up before, using the link above will also give you a $5 credit on your account.  Due to the specific wording of this deal, I am not sure if you will receive your credit toward your first purchase or if it will just be applied to your account for another purchase.  However, either way, you must go through the link given to get that credit.  Or, just go to Living Social on your own.  Just want to be honest and real with you about when I benefit from my posts....

Multiplication practice

As we are learning our multiplication tables, I am trying to come up with other ways to practice than to just use flashcards. 

So, the other day I printed out sheets of paper that had the sums of multiplication tables 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

Then, I printed out the problems and we cut them into small strips

Then Little Cheese had to tape the problems under the correct answers on the sheets

to have the ending be like this:

It was just a nice way to practice something that we have been doing every day.

Forbidding the words "I'm Sorry"

Yep.  That's right.  I have forbidden my son to use the words "I'm Sorry" for the rest of the day.  Is this a free pass to do whatever he wants without any consequences?  Absolutely not.  Then why on earth would I forbid those words?

I have lost my mind.

No, really, the words are empty and meaningless when he says them.  I have taught him from the moment he was old enough to speak to say the words "I'm sorry" when he has done something wrong.  Hit your sibling, say I'm sorry.  Disobey, say I'm sorry.  But, I have taught him a get out of jail free card.  Saying those words are what you are to say to get out of trouble.  But in truth, those words are to mean so much more.  I've essentially taught my son to lie.

Those two words should mean that you have realized you have made a mistake.  Those words are to be said when you truly want to let the person know who has been offended that you realize your mistake and you would like to make things right.

Instead, as soon as I start speaking to my son, he starts chanting, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...." over and over and louder than I am speaking.  He doesn't mean it.   He is essentially saying "Stop, be done.  Stop. Be done..."  And, chanting over top of what I am saying is even worse disobedience.

So.  It's time to make a change.  For the rest of day, my son is not allowed to say those words.  He must come up with other words to express that he knows that he has done something wrong.  Well, you might be thinking, what are other words?  "Please forgive...".  God calls us to forgive each other, not to say "sorry" until you are blue in the face.

Where we are headed...

In April we will welcome a new little boy to our house.  By April, I hope to have all of the major things covered for the school year. 

Also, we are looking forward to a new adventure.  Public School.  In the fall, Little Cheese and Manny will be going to a wonderful school division.  We (and by we I mean my husband and I) are looking forward to all of the wonderful things that come with attending public school. 

My husband has worked in the same school division for the past 12 years.

It is a big change...baby, school, newness, not having all of my children at home all day, routines....but that is where we are headed.

Merry Christmas!

May God bless you and your family!