Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Looking for Answers

Sometime in early December, I got a small spot on my left hand that seemed like eczema. Just a tiny patch near my wedding ring finger. I didn't think much of it at first but gradually over the coming weeks, it began to spread on my hand. I still just thought that my hand was dry from the winter and it was eczema.

Then, sometime after the New Year, it had spread to my other hand - eventually it began to itch and I had a hives like rash on both hands, hives and round patches the size of quarters going up my forearms, and hives-like dots across my stomach. Soon it spread to my entire neck, chest, around my nose, ears and somewhat on my scalp. It got to the point where I couldn't hold or nurse Aria comfortably or have my shirt sleeves cover it because it was so itchy and uncomfortable. And I didn't leave the house very much. (Probably contributing to the winter blues I mentioned in a previous post, that so many people deal with this time of year.) I didn't make it to church since Christmas time until this past Sunday! It was a beautiful sunny morning, too. (: (Our church in my Michigan hometown and our Michigan U.P. congregation both have call-in numbers. So I was able to call in to my hometown to listen to services, which was nice.)

About a month ago, I had to stop wearing my wedding ring. And it became pretty much unbearable. I have never.in.my.life been that itchy. I was severely allergic to poison ivy as a child and this was much like that - only it seemed worse. There was no relief for it. It would itch and then burn.

The odd part about it is that it would come and go. When I say 'go', I just mean it would somewhat get better, never really going away completely. It would just be bearable and only a little itchy at times. So, good days and bad days...

About the time I took off my wedding ring, I decided to go to the walk-in clinic (the nearest one to us is about 40 miles away). My Chiro. recommended it when I was so-out-of-control itchy upon my visit that day, and he was just as baffled as I was about it all. I literally couldn't sit still the entire visit! My hands were horrendously itchy. I'm still convinced that I'll have scars on them for the rest of my life. But I'm sure as with anything, they'll fade with time.

At that appointment, I was given a prescription for an antibiotic and given a hydrocortizone cream and told to come back if it didn't help. The doctor was baffled, too, and said she would send me to Dermatology if the antibiotic didn't work. The hydrocortizone has done nothing for it. The antibiotic seemed to help clear it up at first, but halfway through the ten day dose, it suddenly flared up again.

It was bizarre.

So I made another appointment. This time at my regular medical clinic, about 23 miles away, hoping to see our family practitioner. She wasn't available on short notice so I saw another doctor. He prescribed Prednisone to make me comfortable (because I was nearing that unbearable point again) and gave me a referral to a Dermatologist (about 50 miles away - see a pattern here? We live *way* out in the country). I made an appointment but am not able to get in for about a month.

A few days ago, I started thinking it might be an egg allergy. I started eating them again in December after not eating them for many months - and I have been eating them nearly every day or every other day because I suddenly loved eggs after not liking them all my life. So, thinking it may be eggs, I stopped eating them on Sunday, after flaring up in spite of being on the Prednisone and taking an antihistamine that day. Monday, I felt great! Barely any itchiness and I felt so good, I even went out for a power walk just as I had on Saturday since I had been feeling good then, too. It felt awesome to get outside and enjoy the winter sun and fresh air!

Then Tuesday, Mark and the kids cooked eggs and bacon for supper and I helped feed it to Aria and washed her up (getting egg all over my hands while doing so). And I nursed her not long afterward. That evening, I started getting itchy again. And I woke up during the night from the itchiness and again early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep so I finally took some more antihistamine, in spite of going two days without it.

I'm not saying it's from the eggs - I have no idea at this point... I do know, however, from all of the reading and research I've done on Carter's peanut allergy that if you're highly allergic to any food/substance, you can react simply from touching it - as is the case with his allergy. But, ultimately, I'm not ruling anything out at this point and I can't confirm anything either. I'm just trying to find answers.

That brings us to today. I'm about halfway through the Prednisone. It got really bad this morning, in spite of the meds., and I was grateful that I just so happened to make another appointment the other day at my clinic to get blood work done today (because I was suspecting the egg at the time). I would have been calling to beg for an appointment if I hadn't had one already.

When I went in, I was told that you have to be off the antihistamine and Prednisone for about two weeks prior to getting blood work done to test for an allergy. I broke down in tears right then and then. (Didn't see that coming - talk about embarrassing.) I had been emotional all morning, prior to my appointment because of the itching. So the PA for my doctor (since my doctor wasn't available this time either) decided to give me a stronger dose of steroid pills and a powerful steroid cream - stating to take this stronger steroid for about a week and then to use the cream after that and if I could go at least 4 to 5 days without the pills or antihistamine they could do the tests. (But I could still use the cream.)

I left feeling a little better but still anxious. I didn't want to take stronger drugs because I'm nursing. And Mark wasn't thrilled about it either. And, at ten months old, I'm not ready to quit nursing. I love nursing. I've already been having a hard time taking all of the stuff I'm taking right now because of nursing but I'm feeling a little like a desperate woman at this point. I just want relief. (As an aside, many people comfortably take these meds. while nursing. I'm just really cautious.)

About twenty minutes after I left the doctor's office, I got a call from the PA. She asked me when I'd last taken an antihistamine and if I could come in now for blood work. (I had taken some 5 hours prior to our conversation.) She said they like to have someone off of them for 24 hours but to come in and do the blood work anyway since I was still in town and most of it would have worn off by then. I'm hoping the fact that I didn't take any the past two days will help give more accurate results, as well.

My gut is telling me it's a food allergy, but, really, I have no idea... (They can happen to anyone at any time in your life.) Absolutely no clue. They're going to test for a multitude of allergens. I'll have the results within a few days. At this point, I'm hoping and praying for answers! We can't begin to properly fix or treat this without answers. And I'm also feeling anxious that I won't get them because then we're back at square one and we'll have to start looking at other things. (And, there is always the possibility that we won't find any answers no matter what we do...)

I never thought I'd be excited about a food allergy but the idea of being allergic to a food, and knowing what that food is, is making me have high hopes. I would be absolutely thrilled (until it all sank in, I'm sure). Carter has so badly wanted someone in our family to be allergic to peanuts. And if his own mom could relate to his food allergy in the way that he has it, I would look at the bright side and consider it a gift in its own way. You can get used to not eating certain foods and watching what you're eating. That would be the least of my worries. And I know it would help him feel less alone in it all.

I have racked my brain over and over and over, in the past two months, trying to come up with anything new that I might have done or used in the month of December. All to no avail.

I can't think of a single thing.

All of our cleaning and laundry products, toiletries, foods, etc. are the things we've been using for a long time. I'm sure the dry winter air is probably exacerbating the issue but it's not the cause of it so hopefully we'll find something soon. My fingers are way crossed and my hopes are high.

Etsy Favorites :: Restyle {by Heidi}

My sister, Heidi, has been restocking her shop, Restyle {by Heidi}, with handmade / upcycled and vintage items! ...because apparently that's what you do when you decide to close your Etsy shop. (She was considering closing it and then suddenly began refilling it. -- a much better choice, for sure!) Check it out!

{Handmade Yellow Triangle Garland.}

{Handmade 80's Inspired Striped Toddler Tee.}

{Vintage Rust-Colored Billy the Kid Pants.}

{Handmade Geometric Zipper Pouch.}

The Pull of the Moon

I live in the country, so the night is silent. Right...?

I noticed the beautiful glow of the semi-full moon out of the upper windows in the living room, this evening one evening last fall. So once the kids were all asleep, I slipped out the side door onto our back deck...

{Source.}

Now, normally, I'm a total chicken when it comes to the dark. Totally afraid of the dark. And totally not afraid to admit it. So, I don't typically go outside by myself when it gets dark. I may or may not be known, in this house anyway, for having Mark or one of my very brave children retrieve things if I happen to forget something in the ol' bargain cruiser if it's night time. (Yes, I'm not afraid to sacrifice my own children in the face of my own fears. Some mother, right?)

Mark put up our back deck during the summer. Having a second-floor deck makes me feel a little more secure when I go out at night by myself.

So, this particular night, knowing it was balmy (this is all relative to fall weather here)... knowing it was balmy out and the moon was so beautiful, I slipped out the door and onto the deck expecting to be greeted with a peaceful silence of a warm autumn night. Instead, I was greeted by a whole cacophony of sounds.

Off in the woods, I could hear the soft rustling of leaves as a small animal walked by. The loud bawling and moaning of the neighbor's cows down the road. More crunching of leaves but this time just a couple of short sounds. A brief but deep gentle bleat from one of the goats in the direction of their pen. A truck braking on the highway over a mile away. Dogs barking off in the distance...

Noise.

There was noise everywhere. But when I looked up at the moon, I felt its silence and the night was so still and beautiful. So calming. Soothing. And for a second I forgot all the noise.

{Source.}

The moon is my favorite thing in the whole world. It never ceases to mesmerize me and it's been this way for me ever since I was a child. I love the night. And I love it even more when the moon is out. I especially love that the moon, even for a moment, can let you forget about stressful things.

It can stop time.

Just for a moment.

There is so much more out there than just us. Than you and me. There is so much more than the here and now. And when I look up at the moon, and the stars, I'm reminded of that. And I know that no matter what stressful things I'm going through, no matter what stressful things are happening, everything will be all right. Nothing lasts forever. Not here. Not now.

{The stars as taken from the Hubble telescope. Source.}

I wrote the above passage one night in September, last fall. (2012) We were dealing with the harrowing news of Mark's sister's cancer and things were really scary. (She has since received the wonderful news that she is miraculously cancer-free! This, after being sent home on hospice in early winter...)

...And as I looked out at the beautiful full moon this winter night, the glow of its light sparkling on the snow, the long shadows cast upon the ground from the tall pines, I remembered this post. Life is full of blessings in so many ways. In so many things. It can be so easy to lose sight of that, to lose faith at times... To try to take control somehow when things are difficult. Yet, God is always there to lead and guide us. In Him truly all things are possible.

Creative License

At the beginning of the school year for creative writing, I ordered the Story Starters: Helping Children Write Like They've Never Written Before book by Karen Andreola. I highly recommend it. It was written by a homeschooling mom and I especially like that there are story starters of other children who homeschool so my kids can easily relate to them. It's super thick and has 458 pages. So there are countless ideas to get kids writing.

Initially both of my kids (my two who are at the right level for this book) loved it. As the year progressed, my eleven year old (Nikayda), who has never been super crazy about story writing has begun to tire of it but not my 9 year old (Abram).

He absolutely loves the book and looks forward to it every time it's time for 'Story Starters'. Lately, he's begun to request writing his own stories entirely from start to finish. That is exactly what I was hoping for and I believe this book helped to pave the path to where he is now.

Of course, he is 9, and therefore uses quite a bit of creative license fitting for his age group with the stories he writes. For instance, he wrote a story about a band of robbers with body parts as their names; Lung, Heart, Liver... Butt.

*sigh*

And then, we have the stories of blood and gore. Which apparently holds a deep fascination for boys. I have no idea where it comes from as we don't read stories like that and he isn't exposed to war/killing video games, etc. So, I'm chalking it up to a 'boy thing'.

And, then we have the story about the 'Potty Boy'. But, hey, I tell myself, at least he's writing. And of his own free will! (....right...?)

As a homeschooling mom I was thrilled to finally find the solution for getting him excited about writing. And while I realize everyone isn't going to love creative writing, I feel fortunate that I've found something that works him. Because believe me after a couple of years of nearly pulling my hair out trying to get him to write a few sentences in a daily journal, this is a big deal.

Nikayda has some penpals that she regularly corresponds with so it's not that she absolutely doesn't enjoy creative writing. She just hasn't been as into story writing. Yet. I keep hoping it'll come with time. And if it doesn't, that's okay, too.

 

{Please note: If you purchase through the link in this post, I may earn a small monetary gain through Amazon Affiliates. In all honesty, this is all new to me, so I'm still not completely sure how this whole thing works... but I'm trying it out as I've set some goals to take my blog in new directions this year...}

Six and a Half Years

I really do have other kids. Here's one of them for proof (Carter). It's just so much easier to get pictures of the baby all the time but I need to make more effort to capture the big kids, too.

This is the used-to-be-baby of the family. And he did.not.want a baby sister. The entire pregnancy he was so not impressed that we were having a baby girl. He's six and a half years older than Aria (making him seven now).

He plays with her all the time and it melts my heart. And he didn't believe me when I said he was going to love her to pieces when she was born.

Fatties or Skinnies

We always affectionately call Aria 'our little fattie' or 'our chubby lovey' and lots of other cute little 'chubby' baby nicknames. I love wearing leggings and skinny jeans on her chubby little legs. There is no way around it, this little lady is so completely and deliciously chubby and fat!

For Christmas, she got a pair of kelly green skinnies from Old Navy from us. (Lizard Laura Pop Color Pants. I would love a pair in every color!) The first time I put them on her, Mark called them her 'fatties'. I thought it was pretty fitting...

{On Aria: First outfit: Blue velour sweatshirt from her grandma, Polka Dot shirt from a local second-hand shop (that has since closed), pants from Old Navy, and moccasins from Kaboogie on Etsy. Second outfit: Same polka dot shirt, pants, and moccs., vintage elephant sweater from a friend via La di Dottie on Etsy.}

Whimsical Junk :: Shop Update

I've been updating the shop lately. I have a ton of stuff that I've photographed that's waiting to be listed, as well! Working on fulfilling some of my personal goals this year...

{1960's Black & White Tapestry Handbag.}

I've never had enough items in my shop to make frequent, more consistent sales, and am aiming for 100. It's going a bit slower than I'd hoped to when it comes to adding items, but not slower than I'd expected.

As I'm working to grow my shop, I'm trying to do something for it every day whether it be taking photos, editing photos, cleaning items, or listing items. No matter how small, everything adds up. So I have a ton of pictures to edit for items waiting to be listed and I've been adding them here and there as I find time. And, although, I haven't been able to work on it every day, I'm working on it far more often than I have in recent years. A work in progress...

{Vintage blue carry-on.}

{1980's Chunky Aqua Bead Bracelet.}

I've been wanting a DSLR for years. About 6, to be exact. And at the beginning of this year, I set my mind to begin saving for one. I have so much to learn about photography and editing photos but I'm looking forward to the challenge! I'm hoping to be able to get one this year. If not, then at least by next year. I've been long frustrated with the lack of quality to my photos, especially as a seller of vintage junk, and dream of being able to take clear pictures in just about any lighting - especially low light.

Who Turned Up the Heat?

I like foods with zip, zing and zest but not a whole lot of heat and fire. I made this the other day (minus the Rotel tomatos. - I just used three cans of organic diced tomatoes) and used only half a jalapeño.

After we ate it, all of our mouths were on fire. F-i-r-e.

Now, I know I have a wimpy mouth when it comes to overpowering heat but even Mark was chuckling at how spicy hot it was and he likes a little heat. I, on the other hand, am the girl who likes mild and sweet salsas and only occasionally have I encountered medium salsas that I enjoy eating.

Mark and Nikayda didn't seem to mind it as much as the rest of us. And everyone kept eating it, myself included, in spite of the heat and our burning mouths. It still tasted good.

I wish I'd taken the seeds out before adding the jalapeño though. I even added a little more sugar and more lime juice and it took a bit of the heat down but not much. I've never made homemade salsa before and I went on-line to try to figure out what to do to take some of the heat out. Adding lime juice and sugar were some of the suggestions I saw.

I ended up running out for more cilantro since I didn't have enough and made another batch to incorporate some of the hot stuff into. And it was still too spicy for me.

I have a whole new respect for jalapeño peppers now.

Speaking of fiery little peppers... This one has quite the attitude sometimes. She's spunky. And she knows how to get what she wants. Spoiled, this one. So, so, spoiled. And, boy, do we love her! {She does not pull herself standing yet... we're just pretending here.} She's got the hairdo to go with her attitude. Her hair stands on end and no amount of patting or combing will make it do anything less. I like it though... It suits her.

Random Wandering Mind:

One of the kids told me it still feels like a party in here with all of the balloons we have floating around. On top of the Valentine's balloons, we still have a few random balloons floating around from Nikayda's birthday which was just before Valentine's day.

I love these DIY Cardboard Playhouses on A Beautiful Mess.

Has anyone ever used these before? They look so cool and I'd never heard of them until recently.

I'm trying to work on this.

When the weather warms up, I want to do this with the kids (via Smile and Wave).

Elephants are one of my favorite animals (along with whales) and this artwork is amazing.

I think we need some of these hanging in our house! I'm itching for spring so the local greenhouses will be open and we can get some more houseplants. (I've given up on outdoor gardening. for now.)

Heart Day

I find holidays like Valentine's Day to be a little too commercialized and all about consumerism. That being said, they're still an opportunity for celebration and celebrations are always fun!

The kids woke up to a little surprise Thursday morning:

They were really excited and it made my day to see how just a little effort and little to no money could make them smile so big. So worth it to stay up those few extra minutes it took to put it all together!

(I wrapped up some Cookies for our Valentine's party and put individual cellophane heart bags on the table for them that had some Gummy Bears and Gummy Worms in them with a little card.)

The paper lace hearts on the windows are thrifted/vintage as is the red and white tissue paper heart banner. They were in bags of misc. vintage paper things at a garage sale or the thrift and have been in my stash for years. I have such a weakness for vintage ephemera (and wallpaper) and it's usually one of the first things I'm digging through at Estate sales or the thrift.

One of our local grocery stores always has these heart mylar balloons for only a dollar each at Valentine's time each year and we usually pick some up for the kids.

{On Aria: Short sleeve and long sleeve tees and pants, thrifted. Moccasins from Kaboogie. Thrifted retro high chair $2.00. One of my favorite finds last year. It's in excellent shape. I'd been hoping to find a cute metal one. I have one in the basement but it needs new rubber covers for the legs so I was really excited to come across this one.}

I always have these big intentions of doing stuff like this for their birthdays (and holidays) every year. I used go all out with streamers and balloons in decorating their bedrooms for their birthdays while they were sleeping, when they were younger. But over the years, I've kind of gotten out of the habit. Although, I still try to blow up a bunch of balloons so they're strewn all over the living room floor when they wake up nowadays.

I'm always inspired by this blogger and all of the things she does to make every special occasion something to remember for her girls. She inspires me to remember that just a little effort can bring about the best memories for your kids. It doesn't have to be anything huge and extravagant in order to be special. Sometimes the simplest things truly are the best!

It was so easy to put this together for them and if I could come up with other simple ideas, I might do it a little more often. So worth it to see how fun it was for them.

Valentine

{On Aria: Carter's pajamas that I thrifted at the Salvation Army near my hometown. I found the pants first and got really lucky because the shirt was still available when I searched for it. (They have everything separated in the shop.) I love them and am going to be sad when she outgrows them. They're 12 months size and probably won't fit her for much longer.}

I'm excited to surprise the kids for Valentine's Day. I've never done it before... that I recall... but I decorated the kitchen with vintage paper lace hearts, a vintage heart tissue paper banner, and mylar balloons - and they have some little treats wrapped up for them with a card waiting on the table. I even put a bright pink mylar balloon on Aria's high chair.

And I bought pop.

The kids were asking for pop for their Valentine's Day party when I was on my way out the door to run to the grocery store tonight/last night and I told them they didn't need pop.

I guess it never hurts to shout out requests when I'm on the way out the door!

Happy Valentine's Day!