Stupid Peanuts

Well it's official. Kyla has a peanut allergy. I wasn't surprised when they called to tell me that. Just disappointed. Kind of sad. On a scale of 1-6, she's a 4. That's a pretty serious allergy. She's also a 1-3 for soy. This means a peanut could cause an anaphylactic reaction but soy will most likely just cause hives/constipation/diarrhea. She can eat some soy products. She eats crackers that were made with soy so I think she can have commercially prepared products and just not true soy like wasabi, soy sauce, edamame, tofu, etc. Peanuts/nuts are something we need to watch. She doesn't seem to be so sensitive that she can't have anything that was manufactured in the same plant as peanuts. Some kids have allergies that are so severe they can't even be near an open jar of peanut butter. But Kyla recently grabbed a handful of a pasta covered in peanut sauce. I wiped her hand but she did continue to eat with that hand. No reaction. So we're hoping that she has to actually EAT peanuts in order to trigger a reaction.

It's scary for sure but we're just going to keep her covered in prayer. We've educated ourselves, educated our families, we have an emergency epi-pen, we've watched the video tutorial on how to use it, we've signed up for a couple of mailing lists for literature about peanut allergies and we're going to order Kyla a medic alert bracelet just in case. We'll be sure Kyla is educated and that anyone who is her caregiver or teacher will know about the allergy. McKenna is very aware of the allergy and has been super careful to help us look out for peanuts. It's not a difficult job. We don't really eat peanuts or peanut butter here. I occasionally eat almond butter but that's it. So I don't anticipate this will mean a dramatic lifestyle change for us. Kyla will NOT be living in a plastic bubble but we WILL educate and prepare so that we can prevent a worst-case scenario.

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I have to share this funny email my sister sent me about my nephew Luke. He's 3 and finishing up his first year of preschool so he's in that stage where his conversations are so funny. Mel was given a project where she has to ask Luke what he loves about each of his teachers and they're going to compile them into a book. Here is the conversation she emailed me:

Ms. Marybeth
Mel: Do you love Ms.Marybeth?
Luke: Yes, my love her.
Mel: How come?
Luke: Because I love her Valentimes.
Mel: Why else? LoL
Luke: She pways with me, my just love her.



Ms. Arlene
Luke: I love her cause of Valentimes. Him nice, and plays me playdough.



lol

Ms. B
Mel: And do you love Ms.B?
Luke: Yes, Valentimes.
Mel: Why ELSE do you love her? Lol
Luke: She talks to me “no biting”


LOL What am I supposed to do with this?!

ROFL That just cracked me up. "Yes, Valentimes." You can tell by the third teacher he was just giving a form answer. LOL! Funny kid!


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Speaking of preschool ending! McKenna's in her last month of her second year of preschool. *Sniff* These kids are growing too fast. Can you believe Kyla starts preschool in September?!?!?!?!

Anyway, McKenna's school is planning some fun activities for the last month. They just sent us the calendar. Check out these fun events:

5/9: Mom's Tea! All Mommies are invited to have a tea party with the students in their classroom.
5/10: Water day (they come in bathing suits and spend the day playing in toddler pools and with water toys.)
5/16: Circus day (a clown, face painting, a jump house and snow cones!)
5/23: Unbirthday party (since most of the students have summer birthdays, they're doing an unbirthday party for her class. They're gonna make cupcakes and have pizza.)
5/24: Last day picnic on the lawn!

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Last night my sister and I had a little GNO (girls night out) and went for dinner and some shopping. I decided I wanted to pick up a couple of dressier items for myself and the girls for church. The church isn't formal but it's not necessarily jeans. So I wanted to find some things that were just a step above casual. I picked out these for myself at NY & CO:

This top:


This top:


And these pants:


Then we stopped at Naartjie for some clothes for the girls.

I got these outfits for Kyla:


And these outfits for McKenna:


Then we decided to peek into Janie and Jack and we found the perfect dress for Kyla's dedication next month. For McKenna we dressed her in an all-white Hawaiian dress because that's just "us". We wanted the symbolism of the all white but the formal baptism dresses aren't really our style. So I wanted to do the same for Kyla and my sister spotted this adorable dress on the clearance rack of all places! It's PERFECT! Especially since the dedication will be in Nevada in June!


Now I just need to remember to book our hotel room!

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Today was Erick's swearing-in ceremony. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera but from where I was sitting, I wouldn't have been able to get a very good picture anyway. He got his new badge and all that. He was given a Blackberry this week so now they can get ahold of him 24-7. Bad news I tell ya! LOL! I was able to meet the Chief which was a highlight for me. I really liked her. I liked what she said during the ceremony - she seems to really have a genuine heart and vision for the department that I admired.

My Dad and Cheryl watched the girls so that Erick and I could go in peace. Afterward we went out for an early dinner at Chomp's to celebrate. We really hadn't had the opportunity to celebrate his promotion until now! So that was nice. Thanks again Dad & Cheryl!

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Now I'm off to give the girls a bath and put them down for the night. Then I need to just work, work, work to catch up on the "first of the month" emails that always flood my inbox. *sigh*