this is my family before pumpkin_seed.  i must be 19 here and buster would be 23 and eli is 6 months.  this picture is so funny to me cause we ALL look like babies!!  well, i guess in hind sight we really were…

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek 

 Mama Kat’s Writing Assignment:

2.) Worst dentist experience ever.

3.) Describe a “new road” you’ve taken in your life.

4.) What would you say to a mouse who could talk?

5.) Who is the best listener you know? What makes him or her such a good listener?

I chose 1.)  Allergies much?

I chose this prompt because my son had severe allergies.  They tested him for like 42 non-food (and a couple food) allergens and he tested positive for allergies to like 38 of them, no joke!!!  He was allergic to anything with fur or feathers.  Algae. Dust. Pollen. The two major proteins in milk.  Grass.  Pine Trees. Oak Trees. Birch Trees.  Easter Lilies.  I have no idea what else. There were to many things to remember!!! We had to take the carpet out of his room because it harbored dust and dust mites.  We had to put a plastic sheet and pillow case on his bed (under the cloth sheets and pillow case) to keep dust and dust mites from coming into contact with his face and body.  I was only allowed to vacuum once a week so as to not “put airborne allergens into the air”.

This child had ear infection after ear infection as a baby.  Had tubes put in his ears twice.  His eyes would almost swell shut with  some severe allergic reactions…

Then between his 2nd and 3rd year of life, he would have these bouts where he would wake up in the morning or from a nap and just start throwing up uncontrollably until he was so sick we would have to take him to the ER.  They would have to hook him up to IV’s and keep him there for hours until he was well enough to go home.  Once he had a fever of 106 ° and was hallucinating.  It was terrible. 

I had finally had enough.  We had moved and the kids had a pediatrician rather than a “family Dr.” so I told her I wanted him tested for allergies.  She told me they don’t normally test them til they are 8, he was 5-6 at the time.  So I told her either you can approve it and the insurance can pay for it or you can not approve it, and we will pay for it.  She approved it and off we went.  He was put on medication for years and was slowly growing out of his allergies when he went to heaven. 

My little pumpkin_seed knows how to make me happy!!!  look at these cute little “pupcakes” she made (she’s taking them to church for all her friends tonight)…almost all by herself!!

This is her (on the left) today, with her friend K…at the Dr.’s office, reading to each other.

aaahhh, good times!

I got this e-mail from my mom and couldn’t resist positng it.  Kid’s say/do the darndest things!!!  Enjoy your weekend!!

The ‘Middle Wife’ by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher
 
 I’ve been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.
 
 When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they’re welcome.
 
 Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
 
 She holds up a snapshot of an infant. ‘This is
Luke, my baby brother, and I’m going to tell you about his birthday’

 
 ’First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom’s stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.’
 
 She’s standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I’m trying not to laugh and wishing I had my
camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

 
 ’Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, ‘Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!’ Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. ‘She walked around the house for, like an hour, ‘Oh, oh, oh!’ (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)
 
 ’My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn’t have a sign on the car like
the Domino’s man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.’ (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)
 
 ’And then, pop!
My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!’ (This kid has her
legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

 
 ’Then the middle wife starts saying ‘push, push,’ and ‘breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom’s play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.’
 
 Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I’m sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it’s show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another ‘Middle Wife’ comes along.
 
 Now you have two choices…laugh and close this page or pass this along to someone else to spread the laughs. I know what I did!!!
 
 Live every day as if it is your LAST chance to
make someone happy!  

Pumpkin_seed got to play in her first official Volleyball game Tuesday night.  She has only really had problems with serving.  Everything else she is pretty good at.  She served 3 times that night and made it over the net twice!!  They play up to 5 sets (best 3 of 5).  Each set except the last goes to 25 points.  The deciding set only goes to 15, and each set they have to win by 2 points.  Well, it started off kinda scary!!  They lost.  But then they won.  Then they lost again.  Then finally, they won the last 2 sets!!  So, they won the overall game!!!  WAHOO!!! I am so proud of my Pumpkin_seed!!! 

Just so you all know, this is not a paid post or review!!  I just happened to see  this on Good Morning America this morning.  Actually, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do my Talk About Tuesday  post about today and then I saw it….right on my television!!  

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, finally listened to the public and started a campaign to change the packaging on toys they sell.  You know, the packages that you have to have a chain saw or a jack hammer to get into.  I don’t know how many times I have sliced myself open trying to get a package open.  Everything from batteries to Barbies is packaged in that hard plastic that you have to have a 25 year college degree to get into without hurting yourself or someone else!  UUUGGHHH!!

Well, have you won’t have to put up with it to much longer.  Some products, from what I hear have already been packaged differently.  Jeff says they are starting with the most popular items first and working their way down to all products sold!!  WWOOOHHOOO I will no longer dread opening gifts!!

      My friends said that when my kids got married I
      could stop worrying and lead my own
      life. I wanted to believe that, but I was
      haunted by my mother’s warm smile and her
      occasional, “You look pale. Are you all right?
      Call me the minute you get home. Are
      you depressed about something?”

      Can it be that parents are sentenced to a
      lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another
      handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of
      human frailties and the fears of the
      unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue
      that elevates us to the highest form of life?

      One of my children became quite irritable
      recently, saying to me, “Where were you? I’ve
      been calling for 3 days, and no one answered.
      I was worried.” I smiled a warm smile.
      The torch has been passed.