The Man of the House

This is my Handsome Hubby!

I am so proud of him... and slightly jealous... he started working on his MBA this year and he's doing a great job! It's a lot of extra work and I miss having him all to myself in the evenings, but he's learning so many interesting philosophies and strategies that it's definitely worth the sacrifice.

We've been married about 13 1/2 years and it's interesting how we learn and grow together. In our wedding pictures we both look so young... and it amazes me that within just months of meeting we were married and experiencing life together. We've had happy times and sad times, but there's not anyone I'd rather be spending my life with. I think he's amazing!

Love you, Handsome :)

My Young Man

It's official... OTG Boy is no longer in Primary... he's a Young Man now! He's growing up way too fast.

I am so proud of this boy... he's loving Jr. High, he uses his time wisely, he is diligent at practicing the cello and piano, he likes to sing in the choir and he is doing a great job with his sports this year.

OTG Boy's love of reading, has inspired me to listen to more books on CD, since I spend more time in the car than I do sitting down with a book. I've enjoyed listening to the novels he's been telling me about.

This kid is definitely On The Go... but I couldn't be more proud.

Above and Beyond

The Professor is still going above and beyond when it comes to learning. He's in his second year of attending virtual school. Most breaks are spent reading his science book for fun. This year he's been focusing on improving his writing skills and his cursive - he's doing a great job with both!

Just yesterday he was telling me that he's narrowed down his future career path to two possible choices... "I'm pretty smart, like to think of new ideas, and like to do experiments - so I could become a famous inventor. But, I do have a talent for balancing on things, so I could become a professional tight-rope walker."

I guess we'll see what happens - my future may hold a house full of unique inventions, or free tickets to the circus... both exciting!

Bubba's Turn

Bubba has grown so much since this blog began. He has a love of life that is absolutely contagious. He loves sports and he's always asking if I can go outside and play with him, whether it's playing soccer or throwing a baseball. I wish I had more time, but I do take it as a compliment that he thinks I'm coordinated enough to go outside and play.

He loves school, loves riding the bus and loves recess.

Bubba loves to help... he's always in the kitchen helping me with whatever. Part of it is, he is truly that helpful - the other part... he loves to snitch - anytime I'm cutting up cantaloupe he's there.

Big Changes

This little boy seems to grow by the day!

Which truly is a miracle.

In his short little life he's gone through rounds of testing trying to determine why he wasn't gaining weight.

When he was 15 months old we rushed him to the ER - his heart was racing and his breathing was labored. Turned out he'd swallowed a dime and it was lodged in his throat - after emergency surgery and a day of recovery life was back to normal.

Then in September came the "peanut butter incident" and another rush trip to the ER. Now our world is completely changed: no peanuts, no eggs and no tree nuts. No more peanut butter, no mac & cheese, no ranch dressing... big changes, but a huge blessing. Once we removed these foods from our diet Junior has started gaining more weight, his cheeks aren't red and chapped and he has a much healthier appetite.

Junior is daddy's little boy. If Dad is home Junior is with him... if Dad is leaving Junior wants to go.

Junior gives the happiest kisses and loves using his new words. Two new words of the day... "cool" & "pitty stars."

Long Over Due

Updated photos of these handsome little men are long overdue!

So, as we come into the holidays I'd like re-introduce you to a few of my most favorite people.

Which First... the Chicken or the Egg?

For Junior the choice is clearly chicken!

Yes, he is allergic to eggs, too!

Originally, we thought he was able to tolerate eggs that had been cooked into foods like pancakes, or banana bread - but, over the last month we have realized how wrong we were. Now, that we have been removing allergens from our home it has become painfully obvious that when Junior eats pancakes his face is red and blotchy within minutes and the other day when we tried boiling eggs his eyes began to water and his nose started to run... we haven't cooked with an egg in two weeks.

Let's just say, we are very glad we never invested in the chickens we were thinking about buying last year :)

So what do we do with egg allergies?

Read the Label!

Key Words in the Ingredient Lists are:

albumin or albumen, egg (dried, powdered, solids, white & yolk), eggnog, lysozyme, mayonnaise, meringue and surimi

Foods the Doctor Suggested We Avoid:

egg flavoring (natural & artificial)

lecithin

macaroni

marzipan

marshmallows

nougat

pasta

This allergy is definitely taking some getting used to - no more marshmallows, miracle whip and cheap pasta from the store.

Did you know candy corn contains eggs? Well you do now!

Now everything is made from scratch and I'm experimenting with ingredients I can substitute for eggs. Luckily, my eggless pancakes have been a success - Junior loves them so much he talks about them in his sleep!

Now if I can just figure out how to make eggplant parmigiana without eggs we'll be okay!