The Verdict Is In

The Monday after The Lime's cashew incident, I called his Pediatrician to get a referral to an Allergist.  The soonest appointment the Allergist had was a month out, and our anniversary, but we took what we could get.  The appointment time was also during The Lime's nap and they said to plan to be there about 2-3 hours.  I.could.hardly.contain.my.excitement.

I didn't mention anything to The Lime until just a few days ago, and I only told him we were going to the doctor.  When we pulled into the parking lot today, he asked, "Where's my other doctor?"  The kid is so aware of his surroundings.

We walked in, presented the receptionist with all of the paperwork, sat down, and waited our turn.  I could not believe how many kids (especially boys) were there for allergy shots.  The Lime kept hearing the word "shot" and kept asking if he was going to get one.  I didn't know exactly what our appointment would entail but I reminded him how brave Sister Bear was when she got her shot from Dr. Grizzly.

Finally, we were called back and The Lime had to take off all his gear so the nurse could get his weight.  Thank goodness the nurse brought in some blocks that helped us pass the time as we waited and waited and waited for the doctor.  (Just as a note, since working in a dental office, I totally understand that professionals get behind, and I do my best to be patient and understanding.)

The doctor finally came in and I told him why we were there (cashews) and he explained when someone has a cashew allergy, they're more than likely allergic to pistachios, too.  Strange, since The Lime has had pistachios and nothing happened.  He went ahead and ordered a seasonal allergy panel as well as tests for cashews and pistachios.  Another nurse came in a short while later and wrote on The Lime's back what tests would be done.  She then applied a very tiny dot of each allergen and said if the dot resembled a mosquito bite after the fifteen minute waiting period, that meant The Lime was allergic.  Also, The Lime couldn't touch his back during that time, which proved to be the hardest part of the test.

It took less than a minute for The Lime to start reacting and he began sobbing because it itched so bad.  Thankfully we had episodes of Daniel Tiger to keep him distracted and I blew on his back to help relieve some of the itch.  When I'd try and catch my breath, he'd immediately say, "Keep blowing!"  He didn't quite understand what getting lightheaded and dizzy meant.

When the nurse came in to read the results, there was no doubt what he was allergic to.

Grass (knew that), cashews, and sure enough, pistachios.

So, we got a prescription for EpiPens and are now one of those families that will have to tell everyone wherever we go to not give The Lime certain nuts.  I hate worrying about things (I wouldnt be surprised if I have ulcers or am on the verge of getting them) and now I've added one more thing to my list.

But at least we know and knowing is half the battle.

Lucky #7

My favorite number has always been 7, and not necessarily because I feel like it's lucky.

When I was in 8th grade, I had an assignment where I had to explain why my favorite number was my favorite. My reasons were that I was the seventh person in my family and I liked channel 7 news. I kid you not.

Let me add another reason to the list; I've been married to my sweetheart for seven years today.

Before taking the plunge, we sat down with the man who would perform the ceremony and he inquired a little bit about us. He asked each of us why we wanted to marry the other person. While I can't remember LaVor's response (whoops), I do remember my simple answer, "He makes me laugh."

I've been e-mailing my mom's cousin and her husband for several weeks, gathering family history information. We finally spoke over the phone last week and they said, "Well, you sound like a very happy person." My response was, "I've been blessed with so much, I really have nothing to be but happy."

I like smiling, I like being happy, and I especially love laughing. My main source of all of that is LaVor.

Like when he brought home In N Out for dinner last night, or when he rubbed my back last Sunday, or when he encourages me to fundraise for the walk, or when he makes funny faces, or when he fills my car up with gas without me knowing. I could go on forever.

What makes me extremely happy, though, is knowing we're a team forever.

When we got engaged, someone asked us where we were going to be married. I was sort of taken back because there wasn't another option besides being sealed in the temple. My heart aches for people who utter the words "til death do us part" and who don't know about the wonderful opportunity to be an eternal family.

While marriage is hard and a constant learning experience, it is also wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm one lucky girl.

Wild Imagination

My dad called me yesterday, while he and my mom were at a museum with my niece and nephew. He said there was a little section that resembled a grocery store. Then my mom spoke up and said, "Kimberly...you would have loved it!"

You see, I had (have) a small infatuation with cash registers and played store A LOT when I was younger. In fact, when the fabric store that my mom worked at closed its doors, she bought one of the cash registers and gave it to me for my birthday. I remember the first day I had it, I woke up bright and early to play a round of store before school started. The cash register was against the shared wall between the living room and my sister's bedroom. It only took a matter of seconds before my sister came out and yelled, "Shut up!" The sound of "cha ching" must not be very appealing at 7:30 in the morning.

The end of summer was always the best time to play store, since I had several new outfits (with the tags still attached!) that I could use as merchandise. I went as far as making fake checks, asking for the blue pens that I noticed retail shops had, and making sure I had a wedding ring and fake nails on. No detail was forgotten.

So it's no surprise that The Lime has the exact imagination I have.

He can always be seen with his cowboy hat on, sometimes his fireman jacket, always his belt with his police scanner and his huge ring of keys, his cowboy boots, and multiple cell phones (for work and personal use).

When we were in San Francisco a few weeks back, he dropped the scanner and the clip on the back of it broke, thus preventing him from being able to hook it onto his belt. We tried putting it in his pocket but it just wouldn't stay. My mind was constantly turning, trying to think of what I could do to make it clipable again.

Last Saturday, we were cleaning out/organizing the garage and I came across a case for a pair of binoculars we got while on our cruise last year. The Lime had naturally claimed the binoculars as his own and didn't care an ounce about the case. When I found it on Saturday, the lightbulb went off in my head and I thought, "the radio!"

We grabbed The Lime's belt, slid it through the loop on the back of the case, and gently slid the radio in. Taa daa! It fit perfectly! And now The Lime is back in action.

My niece was over the other night and the kiddos were playing in The Lime's room. I went to check on them and found The Lime wearing his hard hat. He said, "I saw it up there so I climbed on my Mack truck, stood on my toy box and got it!" He's been into climbing lately...eeeekkk! But he looks so darn cute in the hard hat, even if he wears it backwards.

We can't go anywhere without The Lime in his full getup. He gets lots of stares and comments and often asks me, "Why is everyone looking at me?" Apparently a cowboy/fireman/ranger/worker man isn't the norm.

If only everyone had your wild imagination, kiddo!

Scriptorian

We just had the sister missionaries over for dinner and after we ate, they asked their usual, "Can we share a scripture/message with you?"

When they opened their scriptures to 1 Nephi, chapter 8, they asked, "Do you know what this chapter is about?"  Ummmm...no.

I remember when I was an early teenager, I was in Sunday School and a boy was flipping through the Book of Mormon and stumbled upon this picture.

He stopped and said, "Who is that?" I avoided any and every opportunity to talk to this kid and this time was no different. "I don't know," I responded. "What?! You don't know?!" he exclaimed. Part of the answer was to avoid having to talk to him and the other part was that I thought it was Nephi and his family but didn't want to look stupid. I figured by that age, I should definitely know who that was but I didn't.

Sort of like earlier today, in Primary, when we were talking about Joseph Smith. The President asked if anyone knew what scripture Joseph Smith read that prompted him to pray to Heavenly Father, asking what church he should join. When a ten year old busted out with, "James 1:5! 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.'"

While I knew the James 1:5 part and the "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...", I had flashbacks of my Nephi experience and thought, "If a ten year old knows the entire scripture, I should definitely know it!"

The Visiting Teaching theme last month was "Teaching and Learning the Gospel". In it, they quoted President Kimball saying, "Become scholars of the scriptures-not to put others down but to lift them up!"

When I read that, I initially thought of Marlis Grow and her scriptures. If I had five sets of scriptures before me and I had to choose which one belonged to Marlis, I would bet money that I could do it. I can envision her scriptures as I type this - loved, studied, marked, treasured, used, thick. If she doesn't bury them with her when she dies, the recipient is one lucky person. She is what I envision a scholar of the scriptures to be. (I even shared the description of her scriptures with the ladies I visit teach.)

The message also quoted Sister Cheryl A. Esplin saying, "Learning to fully understand the doctrines of the gospel is a process of a lifetime and comes ‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.'"

Amen and hallelujah! I won't tell you what scripture story, because I'll embarrass myself further, but I was preparing a Primary lesson last month when I came across a scripture and a lightbulb went off. I told LaVor, "How have I been raised in this church and I'm just now realizing this?!"

I know. Because my scriptures stay in my church bag and only get looked at on Sundays or if I'm preparing a lesson or talk. I guarantee you that ten year old boy reads his more than once a week or he's just a genius and can memorize things after reading them once.

So by the end of my lifetime, I'd love to have scriptures that look like Marlis', or to be able to recite James 1:5, or to know what 1 Nephi chapter 8 is about.

And in the least, I'll be able to tell people who is in the picture above.

Soda Pop

Much to my dismay, The Lime is a sodaholic. Because you always seem to want what you can't have, right? He also just recently started calling it soda pop. He can't remember where he learned that.

After 12 years together, I finally shared an embarrassing part of my life with LaVor. I used to have a huge fear of having to go to the bathroom when a bathroom wouldn't be readily available. So road trips were a nightmare because I had to pee every half hour, whether I really had to go or not. I also avoided any beverages other than water because I was convinced they went through me faster, thus making me go to the bathroom. Soda was at the top of the list with Snapple close behind. LaVor said it was a good thing I waited to tell him all of this because he might have changed his mind about me. Silly goose.

That's where my dislike of soda started. Then I went to culinary school and took a nutrition class where I learned more about artificial sweeteners. The fact that diet soda can actually be worse than regular soda startled me, even though I don't consume diet drinks.

Then I was exposed to proper dental hygiene and realized soda could do a number on pearly whites. In fact, a combination of video games, Mountain Dew, a lack of brushing and a lack of flossing could cause a $10,000+ disaster. The suggestion of drinking through a straw to limit the amount of soda that touches the teeth doesn't fly with me.

While I try to avoid the stuff, The Lime can't get enough of it. In fact, I think he consumed more soda during our trip than I have in the last year. You might be asking, "You're the parent, why don't you just tell him he can't have it?" Remember he's a sodaholic? If he's around it, he'll find a way to drink it. And it's everywhere! The kid can spot a soda machine from a mile away.

He prefers root beer and orange, both of which leave a nice stain. I cringe when I see what it does to things on the outside, I can only imagine what his insides look like.

So from here on out, we are water and milk drinkers. The Lime might hate me but his teeth and body will thank me for years to come. At least until he gets a job and insurance and can pay for his own choices.

Family Vacation

Ater a week in the Bay Area, we are settling back into the swing of things at home. The bags are unpacked, laundry is still being done, pictures are edited and uploaded, and a major grocery shopping trip needs to happen.

It was great to see family we hadn't seen in a long time and finally introduce The Lime to cousins he's never met.

The next few posts document our trip. There are some days that don't have posts because no pictures were taken those days and I didn't think trips to the mall or movies were noteworthy.

I did learn a few things while we were gone, though.

-Camping isn't as bad as I was expecting. As long as I have a real toilet and soap to wash my hands, I'm fine.
-I need to bring more pants and less shorts the next time we go to the beach.
-Food is a requirement to prevent crankiness. So is sleep.
-Prayer is real (already knew that one...just needed to reiterate it).
-Listen to your gut when doing laundry.
-I love listening to stories.
-We really miss good Mexican food.
-I'm addicted to family history.
-I love my bed.
-I still feel more comfortable in our old ward, even though we've been gone for 4.5 months.
-The Lime won't be going to the movies anytime soon.
-I might be a helicopter mom.

Several tears were shed, a few arguments had, lots of wet clothes changed, good meals eaten, and lots of memories made.

Family Vacation - Day 1

For months, we had been anticipating our trip to the Bay Area, to spend time with LaVor's family that was in town from Switzerland.

We were also very excited to attend another A's game! We got to the coliseum just in time to walk down to the seats above the dugout and call out to Coco before he had to head onto the field. Unfortunately, Nate Freiman was the only player acknowledging the fans. Should have brought The Lime's Coco sign!

The Lime played musical chairs the entire night and might have even made it on tv. The folks in front of us received a text message from a friend, with a screen shot of them waving their rally towels. I believe The Lime was in the corner of the shot. Thankfully, it wasn't when he had a mouthful of red vines.

We started the game off strong but things went downhill in the second, third, fourth, and seventh innings.

I won't name any names but the fellow with his back to the camera certainly didn't do anything to help our situation.

Thankfully, we still managed to have a good time and it wasn't because the people a few rows below us were blowing their pot smoke in our direction. It's because we were watching our favorite pastime with our family.

Family Vacation - Day 4

The big day! After months of anxiety, the first day of camping arrived. We had everything packed and ready to go, the only thing left was us.

We pulled into the campsite and immediately unloaded everything and set up "home" for the next three days.

The Lime was totally in his element. He could not have been more excited to be able to play outside 24/7.

After everything was put in its place, we crossed the sand dunes and checked out the chilly beach.

Our plan for the evening was to visit the boardwalk and take advantage of their $1 rides and hot dogs. For months, The Lime has been talking about going to the boardwalk and the time had come!

The carousel was our first stop. We learned that the seats around the outside of the ride are the only ones allowed to take and toss the rings. Consider yourself warned.

The next ride the kids went on was a huge failure. I don't know what or how it happened but it did and I'm still kicking myself. The Lime has never liked things that swing so I don't know why this ride would be any different. He was excited up until we strapped him in and the ride started. His face showed some hesitation but the second it started swinging, he lost it. Terror is the best word I can use to describe the look on his face. I almost lost it myself, feeling completely helpless. Not to mention, we just ate dinner and he looked like he was about to lose it all. The ride finally stopped and he couldn't get off fast enough. For the rest of the night, he talked about the scene from The Sandlot where the boys throw up on the roller coaster, and how he couldn't go on anymore rides because they'd make him throw up.

After a little bit of coaxing, we got him to ride on the Pepsi truck convoy, which didn't spin, swing, rock, or go the least bit fast. We earned a little bit of his trust back.

It was getting late and a good chunk of the group wanted to ride the Giant Dipper before we left. While they were in line, I took The Lime to the restroom to avoid any accidents on the way back to camp. Unfortunately, an accident was had in the stall and I only had a clean pair of shorts to change into. The Lime was NOT happy about this and howled as I tried to take off his wet clothes and put on dry clothes, all while trying to avoid the filthy restroom floor.

It had been a long day and everyone was ready to hit the sack. Back to camp we drove and to bed we went.

Family Vacation - Day 5

We woke up Tuesday morning and I made it through my first night of camping. Despite having an ultra warm sleeping bag, I was cold and I blame it on having my head exposed. Sleeping bags make me claustrophobic and the idea of having the hood cinched around my head made me freak out. Thankfully, The Lime slept great and that's all I was concerned about.

Wait. That wasn't the only thing I was concerned about. I wanted to make sure I was somewhat presentable before stepping out of the tent and since I didn't have a mirror, the camera was the next best thing. I slept with my braids in to ensure some sort of control but my bangs desperately needed to be pinned back.

Due to the previous evening's accident, The Lime had to wear shorts and we relied on his jacket to keep him warm. He didn't stick around the fire long enough for that to make a difference but we was running wild from the second he woke up, which might have also kept his blood flowing.

We woke up to find that a raccoon got into our food stash and pigged out on hot dog buns. He (she?) left more than a mess for us to clean up so breakfast was slightly delayed. But after a while, everyone contributed and we whipped up a delicious pancake breakfast with bacon, fruit, and orange juice.

The plan for the day was to drive up to Capitola and browse through the shops (and buy some taffy). The Lime and I followed some into a shell store and it took him a matter of seconds before he asked, "What's that smell?!" Then he got dramatic and started gagging so we marched our buns right out to avoid any accidents, since I was running out of clothes. We decided to wait in the fresh air until everyone was done browsing.

After pounds of taffy were bought and a Pizza My Heart pizza (so good!), we made a detour to Target to get some miscellaneous items, including another pair of pants for The Lime. Good thing, especially since he fell asleep while we were out and ended up peeing in his pants, again.

When we got back to camp, hot dogs were roasted and games were played. The kiddos had fun pretending and their imaginations went wild.

It wasn't too long before LaVor and his dad needed to get started on dinner. Everyone else decided to go back down to the beach and look for shells. And there were plenty of shells to be found!

The seagulls were also out in full force.

The Lime was being awfully cute and was especially fond of the aqua marine lifeguard stand. Too bad he wasn't as fond of having his picture taken.

All of a sudden, two familiar faces came over the dunes and announced dinner was ready to cook. We heated up the rice, chopped some onions and cilantro, warmed up the beans, and grilled the meat. Our mexican feast was delicious and we finally had a meal that The Lime wouldn't fight us about. Hallelujah!

Unfortunately, later that night, he peed in his pants again and pair of pants #2 were now out of commission.

That was the straw that broke the camels back. It was time to call it a night and hope for a dry Wednesday.