Action Packed

This weekend was great, action packed with goodness. We had a potluck at our clinic on Saturday (Hi Everyone!) and everyone tried their hand at making their favorite Ethiopian dish. It was really fun, and we hope to make it a yearly tradition! The only snafu was Aesa's pre-party trip to the ER.

I have had a suspicion for over a year that he is allergic to nuts. He got hives all over his body when he was 15 months old, and although I didn't see him eat a cashew, Arlo was on the couch eating a bowl of them while Aesa was scooting around the couch. I was making lunch and when I heard Aesa fussing, he was already covered in bumpy red hives with little blisters in the middle of them. I never saw a nut go in his mouth, and we had just come in from outside (where he had tried to put oodles of things in his mouth), so I had no way to know WHAT gave him hives. I guess allergy tests aren't effective on wee kiddos, and they aren't very fun either, so we were told to wait until he was bigger. Well... I think we know now! He was eating a cookie with walnuts in it right before we were leaving for our potluck, and got INSTANT hives. Not as bad as last time, but all over his torso. Ugh. So, I guess we'll have to do some sort of allergy testing after all. Crapola. The kid hardly eats anything (truly- he had no idea the cookie had nuts in it- he was mesmerized by the candy sprinkles!) and now we have to eliminate a plethora of delicious and healthy nuts. I think he is trying to make it in the guiness book under the 'child with most limited diet' category. At least he is inspired.

Sunday we had a cooking lesson with a woman Andy met at an Ethiopian market a month or so ago. It was great! We went over to the house of another woman who is in the process of bringing her daughter home from Ethiopia. We were joined by another friend we have made along the way (who is also in the process of bringing a beauty home from Ethiopia) and we cooked up a little storm. The berbere we used was so aromatic, it was awesome. We made gommen (stewed kale) and Mesir Wat (red lentils with onions, garlic, tomatos, and berbere)- the food was unbelievable. Hands down the best Ethiopian food I have ever tasted. Thank you so much Mel! I feel so blessed to have connections to so many wonderful people in my life. The richness added to my life by the people who share a bit of their time with me is immesurable. I am so lucky.

No pictures today, my computer has been infiltrated by the trojan horse virus, yippee. Adobe won't open, thus I can't download any pictures. Our computer hero is coming over this weekend to check it out, so hopefully next week I can get some pictures posted.

Arlo is outside shoveling right now, it is his first time playing in the snow this winter. We haven't had snow all that long and it has been cold or raining most days, not to mention I have been in denial about the multitudes of bundling that I am in for this winter. It gets old fast. I think I am still recovering from last year. They are screaching to go out, I am sweating, putting gloves on little noodle fingers while the boots get kicked off, someone has to poop and the phone is ringing. It was fairly painless today though, Aesa is sleeping and Arlo is willing to get dressed nicely (since he wants to go out) and he is playing outside by himself. Sweet. I can handle this. A little sweat and muscle work to get him dressed and then he is off to entertain himself. Too bad we don't have a hill in our yard.

Arlo is in to telling jokes right now. Anything remotely silly will do. "Hey Mom, what do you call a really cold mouse?" Hmmmm. "A mice cube." Hysterical belly laughs.

Today, at lunch, he said to me "Mom, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I said 'I don't know, what are you thinking?' He said, "I'm thinking that frogs eat people!" 'Nope, I DEFINATELY wasn't thinking that!" Hysterical belly laughs. Repeat with slight variation 25 times. :) It really kept his attention and he ate a great lunch sitting on his seat at a restaraunt, until he bit his thumb trying to eat a noodle. That was the end of the joking and the eating. He got a bandaid from the manager and everything was right again.

An Aesa update, he is still really funny. Every day at naptime and bedtime, he initiates the same routine. After he gets in his crib, he has to sit up, whisper in my ear (I'm not sure what he is saying, sounds like lalamu or as I like to think, I love you) and then he gives me a zerbert on my cheek. I cover him up and squat down so he can honk my nose through the bars of the crib. Priceless. That's it and he is off to dreamland, if I forget, he will scream like a wildman until I return and we do our little ritual. Silly, yet effective.

We are still waiting on our insurance to schedule Aesa's surgery, hopefull we will hear something soon. We are hoping for surgery in January on his tonsils and adenoids. It is a really tough decision for us, so I don't think either of us are upset with the waiting. I can't even think about it too much or I know I will back out. It is hard to imagine him in pain after the surgery, I try to remind myself that he suffers quite a bit right now with lack of sleep and eating issues and staying sick so long...but it is still kind of scary.

This weekend we have two birthday parties to go to with the boys, my brother's birthday is Saturday "Happy Birthday Andy", and my husband's birthday is on Sunday "Happy Birthday Andy!". The boys are looking forward to Christmas. Today at lunch, the woman sitting next to Arlo asked him if he had seen Santa this year. Arlo looked at her quizically. She asked if he had seen Santa around at any stores or anything. Arlo answered, matter-of-factly, 'no he lives at the North Pole'. Sweet. When the woman was leaving she said bye to us, Aesa turns to her and cheerily shouts 'bye Grandma!' Did I mention I love my kids today?

Hope you are snug and warm this Holiday Season. Hope your hearts fill with friendship and love. For those of you who are celebrating with your wee ones this year, give them an extra squeeze, and for those of you waiting to hold your wee ones, those squeezes are right around the corner- we are thinking of all of you this Holiday Season and wishing you Peace and Joy.