A Flying Ghost and a Cackling Witch

In case you were wondering which parent Asher took after,

it's apparently not me, but we both like to do scary things with our hands in Halloween pictures.

Halloween Recap

We took advantage of the cold spell two days before Halloween to put long-sleeve shirts and pants on the boys and light a fire in the fireplace. Glad we did because it was back up to 96 degree here yesterday. Sigh...

Asher and Luke had lots of fun earlier that day (hence A's white hair in the fireplace pic) at Asher's preschool Halloween parade.

The next night was the ward Chili Cook-off and Trunk or Treat. This is also the only night that Asher was up for his full costume--make-up, white hair, and costume. He picked out the costume on his own and loved being a "flying ghost."

When he first got on the whole costume, he said, "Mom, how am I going to fly?" Fortunately, jumping off a kid sized table did the trick.

Luke was about the cutest Woody ever (though a picture of him by my un-made bed eating cereal is the best pic we've got; I guess all my blog readers know that I don't get around to making my bed much.). He kept those boot covers on all night, and I actually took away the hat because I was worried he would loose it. In retrospect, I should have just let him keep it because he was pretty darn responsible about it (well, you know, for a two year old).

And, Luke had trick or treating down! He'd say "Trick or treat" and then, "Thank you" in his cute little Luke voice. Almost makes a mom forget that he did this a little over a month ago...

This is the back of our car for Trunk or Treating. Not a bad first attempt for someone who's working on being a bit more creative...(but, next year, we'll need some fog. Don't you think?)

Nate did all the pumpkin carving himself this year. The middle pumpkin teaches kids about the dangers of drinking because really, what is Halloween, but an opportunity to teach kids our teetoaling ways?

And, here's the neighborhood crew getting ready to trick or treat. At this point, Asher would only wear the costume, but Luke was still game for the entire Woody ensemble.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Because America Runs on Apples

The little boys and I had a fun and exhausting weekend. We went up to Utah to say goodbye to my cousin, Daniel, who is leaving for his mission in a couple weeks. Daniel is one of the few people I know who can quote a Jedi master in his farewell talk and make it work, even add an additional dose of spirituality to the talk.

We got back late last night, and I decided in the morning after feeding Asher stale Dad pancakes and dropping him off at school that Luke and I would stop by Dunkin' Donuts for our breakfast (because we can't take Asher anywhere to get donuts--darn egg allergy).

So, I got us two chocolate cake donuts and ate (or inhaled) one, reminding me of morning sickness on the Boston subways and making me a little nostalgic.

But, Luke wouldn't eat his.

I begged. I tried to sneak a bit in his mouth (that's usually what I do when I'm trying to get him to try something new and sugary). What does it say about my priorities that I'll let him miss out on a bite of asparagus, but NOT a bite of donut?

He got mad. Then, he started to cry, "I want elbows."

"You want elbows?"

"No, I want elbows." (at least that's what it sounded like)

Then, I realized that Luke was turning down a Dunkin Donut chocolate cake donut for an...

apple.

I wish I wanted an apple over a donut, but I'm afraid I'll pick the donut every time.

Halloween Time

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Here's some decorating we've done (the pumpkins on the top of the bookcase are from our camping/pumpkin patch trip that Jessica is far more on top of documenting than I am). Imagine the Frankensteins with stapled mouths--as soon as I get to Home Depot to get our staple gun fixed. And, the random block of moss on our table will be covered with lollipop ghosts when I feel brave enough to tackle that arts and crafts project with the boys.

So long, Elecare...hello, butter!

When Asher was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis, an allergy disorder, 3 1/2 years ago, this is what I longed to see. To have some sort of crystal ball so I'd know just what food allergies he would "outgrow."

Throughout Asher's decline, diagnosis and medical care, we've been tremendously lucky. We've been blessed with smart and caring doctors in Boston and Phoenix. He loved his vanilla Elecare, a formula made of amino acids, the building blocks of all food. While some kids have to get feeding tubes to tolerate the stuff because it doesn't taste that good, Asher would drink cups of it (which was good because he had to drink 6-7 cups a day to avoid getting a feeding tube).

But, his Elecare was expensive ($600 a month). I'll spare you the tirade of trying to hold insurance companies accountable when they broke an Arizona law that mandated that insurance companies pay 75% of the price of formula for kids with Asher's disorder (I'm looking squarely at you, Arizona Blue Cross/Blue Shield).

Last year, about this time, we did a soy trial, and Asher passed, which means he didn't throw up, get hives, have diarrhea or complain about an upset stomach. This meant that provided Asher kept up with his growth, we could drop the Elecare, which he has done (way to grow, Asher!).

But, Elecare has been my crutch. When Asher wasn't gaining weight and refused to eat what I gave him and had such a limited diet, I felt like a better mom when I gave Asher the caloric-dense beverage. We haven't used it for 9 months now, and I'm finding that I'm just now ready to give it away. (Anyone want free Elecare?)

For a couple months, I've been feeling like it was time to do the last food trial I'm comfortable not doing in a doctor's office--dairy. (For the record, Asher's reactions to peanuts and eggs are so volatile and his lab work predicts that he probably won't outgrow these allergies, so I'm very reluctant to try those at home or, er, ever.)

This past week, I made Kirstin's delicious sugar cookies, but I used real butter instead of our usual Smart Balance substitute (oh my goodness! I forgot how delicious butter-based cookies are!). Every day, Asher gets 2 sugar cookies to see if there's a threshold for the reaction.

And, so far, so good! He doesn't show any signs of gastrointestinal distress, which is always my primary concern and will stop a food trial. He does get a slight red rash around his mouth, but once I wash his face, it goes away. And, if that's all that happens, I'm comfortable with calling the trial a success in another week.

I like to think this disorder is behind us, but I've been on enough support group listserves to know that this may not be the case. Still, I remember as a member of those listserves and as a more participant of our local EOS support group, wishing that I heard more success stories.

I suspect that there are more like mine, but as our kids get better, we forget walking up and down store isles in tears, wondering what we could make for dinner, or missing trips because packing all that food was just too hard, or sitting at the computer, crying as we read other families sharing their stories.

We just get busy, and truthfully, I feel a little guilty when I think of the families who started this journey around the time we did. We met some wonderful, generous people (you can see them and Asher in the video below, which was done as a fundraiser for this great site). It's hard to think about how as they lost foods, we gained more. But, I've been thinking that as someone with a success story, I owe it to these people to share our story.

"Mom, I made a pretty picture,"

said Luke with a black Sharpie in hand and a poopy diaper around his ankles this morning.

Luke's Imagination

Luke is the best self-entertainer ever. (My mom says he gets that from me.) With Asher in school most of the day, Luke and I like to putter around the house. And, Luke prefers that I not be around while he putters.

Here are some play areas I found after putting him down for a nap:

Ok, this one makes me cringe a bit...these cars were first used in the planter and then, made their way into Aunt Gail's baby grand piano (that we are borrowing).

Seriously, the kid will play in a planter for 1 hour, talking to himself and the trucks he is playing with, or with animals, growling away among the houseplants.