Archive for the ‘Randomness’
Journal: A few thoughts about my sons…
I just thought that I had better write down a few things about the differences/similarities of Lucas and Aiden while I can still remember. They are both growing so fast that I am doing my very best to document these years with them as much as I can. Here are a few things that I see are similar between Lucas and Aiden, they are both curious, both were/are chunky babies, both have/had a fixation with lights, and both are happy. Aiden is a chatterbox now, but early on he wasn’t as much. Lucas is already a chatterbox and I have no doubt that the two of them will stay up chatting away at night once Lucas is talking. Lucas also likes to blow raspberries, which makes bubbles form on his lips. I don’t remember Aiden ever doing that. Lucas also sucks on his bottom lip/tongue which is really cute and reminds me of when my sister was a baby. He still hasn’t taken to the binky either and by now Aiden was a pro at the binky and we were able to use it to encourage him back to sleep when the time came to take away middle of the night feedings.
I have been slightly emotional this week (it doesn’t help that I had to go two days without my meds.) but mostly just the last couple of days because I decided to inform myself a little more on Lucas’ misshapen head and what treatment would be. The condition is plagiocephaly, it is fairly common (although I haven’t come across too many infants who have had it) and takes 2-6 months to correct. I was hoping that Lucas would only have to wear the helmet during sleep times but according to my research he will be wearing it 23 hours a day. This has me feeling a bit overwhelmed because about two months into wearing his band/helmet to correct his plagiocephaly he will be going in for surgery to correct his hypospadias. On top of that he has cradle cap (which might be a problem while wearing a helmet/band 23 hours a day). I was hoping that genetic ailments would be evenly distributed amongst my kids but that ended up to just be wishful thinking as Lucas has many already (and probably more to come) while Aiden has lucked out so far, showing no signs of allergies, sensitive skin, and being otherwise fine. I do think he may have slight asthma and the chances of him (or any of our kids) never needing glasses is slim to none. Anyway, that is what has been on my mind this week. Until next time…
Kids Climbing the Walls? Use These Tips/Tricks to Finding Things to Entertain Them.
I have had a couple people ask me where I hear about various promotions, free activities, and other activities. I thought that I would share some useful links as well as tips on how to find these things in your area. Some things like 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins, a free meal for dressing up like a cow at Chic-fil-a, or a free corn dog at Hot Dog on a Stick are things that you can check on each year to find out when or if they will happen again. One thing that I do so that I don’t have to remember to go checking is when I hear about a promotion like a free hot dog, pretzel, or $1.00 smoothies at Jamba I go to their website and sign up for the e-mail mailing list. That way when they have promotions in the future I will hear about them. A few that we go to yearly are 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins and free slurpee day at 7-11 on July 11th. Some new ones that I have heard about this year are free pretzel day at Pretzelmaker, free donut day at Krispy Kreme, free corn dog at Hot Dog on a Stick, and of course the $1.00 super fruit smoothies at Jamba juice.
As for activities, a lot of those I have learned about from hear say. It is important to note that thanks to the zoo, arts, and parks tax you can take advantage of free days at several venues in Salt Lake. Once a year Discovery Gateway has a free day. Hogle Zoo has a free day the last Wednesday of the month from October or November (not 100% sure which) to February. Every month of the year you can go to the Utah Museum of Natural History for free on the first Monday of the month and to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the first Wednesday of the month (both of these are at the U of U). I recently learned that the Monte L. Bean museum at the Y is free all the time and we intend to make a trip out to see it. Wheeler Farm has a free May Day Festival every year during the month of May. Salt Lake City holds a festival called Living Traditions festival each year in May or June and it is free admission. Canyon Rim park holds a yearly Venture Outdoor festival which is usually during the month of June. You can go to a family fun day at This is the Place for free during the month of July as part of the Days of ’47 celebration. They also hold an annual Easter Egg hunt that is free admission as well. Gallivan Center has a free lunch bunch concert series all summer long and they also have Radio Disney Days. You can also attend the free concert series at Brigham Young Historic Park. They have concerts every Tuesday and Friday June through August. http://www.lds.org/event/s/ConcertsParkSchedule_2010.pdf Barnes and Noble book stores do reading activities and story times through out the year as well and Home Depot has Kids Workshops the first Saturday of the month all year for 5-12 year olds. Lowe’s does kid workshops as well and that info. can be found at https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com
The other thing that I do is go to my city’s web page and look at their event calendar. A lot of cities have free movies in the park weekly or monthly during the summer. I know that a near by park is doing free family night in the park every other week through out the summer. You will also be able to get information on any special events going on in your city as well as Independence Day and Pioneer Day details. Most city websites also have info. regarding the parks in the city, hiking trails, and other recreation. You can go to the website of the rec center in your area and it will have event info. for their facility. I know that South Davis Rec. Center does a free swimming day during the summer and that Alta Canyon has dive in movies (for a fee) in the evening a couple of times during the season.
Lastly, I have found a couple of good websites that post activities on them. My favorite is the No Bored Kids calendar found here. A couple more good sites are Nowplayingutah.com and http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com (you will need to put your location in on this site so that the info. is for things in your area.) You can also visit the local library (or their website) and check out their events calendar. Many libraries have story time and some will even do other activities. For instance, I recently took my toddler to our neighborhood library for a one time music class. He LOVED it. At the Salt Lake County libraries you can check out a discount day pass for Utah State Parks. I have also gotten books from the library and compiled a short list of easy hikes in the Salt Lake County area. If you want this list comment on this blog entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can send it to you. I would also recommend picking up a copy of the Utah Mama’s Handbook because it is chock full of things to do. It doesn’t have to be the most recent version, just be sure to double check with the facility before assuming that the activity/hours/prices are the same. I hope that all of this info. helps you to keep your kids and family entertained through out the year. Let me know if you have any questions and happy discovering!
Food Allergies
I have decided to finally stop viewing my food allergies as something that is uncommon, unusual, strange, or as something to hide or be ashamed of. The fact is that they are becoming increasingly more common and that more people should be aware of them. People should especially be more aware of nut allergies as they can be the most life threatening and account for the largest majority of food allergies. I went in search of some food allergy statistics and I found the following on The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network website…
Food Allergy Facts and Statistics
* Food allergy is a growing public health concern in the U.S.
* Though reasons for this are poorly understood, the prevalence of food allergies and associated anaphylaxis appears to be on the rise.
* Peanut allergy doubled in children over a five-year period (1997-2002).
* Research suggests that food-related anaphylaxis might be underdiagnosed.
* An increasing number of school students have diagnosed life-threatening allergies.
* A 2007 study has shown that milk allergy may persist longer in life than previously thought. Of 800 children with milk allergy, only 19% had outgrown their allergy by age 4, and only 79% had outgrown it by age 16.
* More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4% of the population.
* The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children – one in 17 among those under age 3.
* About 3 million children in the U.S. have food allergies.
* The CDC reported that food allergies result in over 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year among children.
* Eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.
* There is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of food allergens and early recognition and management of allergic reactions to food are important measures to prevent serious health consequences.
* Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.
* Most people who’ve had an allergic reaction to something they ate thought that it was safe.
* Food allergies are life-altering for everyone involved and require constant vigilance.
* Early administration of epinephrine (adrenaline) is crucial to successfully treating anaphylactic reactions. Epinephrine is available by prescription in a self-injectable device (EpiPen® or Twinject®).
Please be aware of those around you who have food allergies. If you are making food for a large or diverse group of people, play it safe and leave out the nuts. If not, then please make sure to label the food as having nuts or to let the group of people know that your food contains nuts, because even though I try to be extra cautious I do not always think to ask and sometimes I assume a food that I have eaten before will be ok and then I end up having a reaction because an ingredient or two has been changed. Even nut extracts are a problem.
I vow to be even more cautious about foods I am allergic to in the future and I would ask that all of you (my five readers) will be more aware of the fact that more often then not there will be at least one person in a group situation who has a food allergy.
We are a happy Latter Day Saint Family who enjoy being silly. We blog in order to keep our friends and family up to date on our lives, our opinions, and our adventures.