Some things just need to be said...

I'm not really someone who gets on a soapbox very often or feels the need to vocalize her opinions on the hot topics of the day. That's not to say that I don't have opinions or strong feelings on issues (just ask Justin); it's just that the importance of my relationships within my family and community far outweigh anything I have to gain by spouting off on what I may agree or disagree with.

However, Justin forwarded me this article today from MedlinePlus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_115574.html.

It's entitled "Children With Food Allergies Often Face Skepticism". It's interesting, informative, and a little shocking when you read about, for example, family members giving kids food they're allergic to just to see if there's a reaction. I will take the opportunity to share my opinion on that: how cruel.

I was at a Rockies game yesterday for a staff event. I was sitting next to two lovely ladies (both with no kids), one of whom is probably one of my favorite people at work. She has a heart of gold and a special mission to adopt dogs who are in their golden years. They were asking me how Jacoby's been doing and wanted to know more about the food allergies our boys have. It was an interesting conversation on several levels:

~~They were shocked to learn that both of my boys have life-threatening food allergies, that we carry epi-pens wherever we go, and that their lives would actually be in danger if they ingested something they weren't supposed to.

~~They were very interested in thinking about all of the places where our boys would not be safe: restaurants, Coors Field (as we sat surrounded by fans munching on peanuts; and actually the Rockies have started hosting a game each season for allergic kids to attend in a special club box), bakeries, etc. One asked if I was nervous sitting amongst all of the peanut munchers. And I said that I wasn't (but I spared her the details about how I would have to change my clothes as soon as I got home, wash my hands and arms before I hugged my kids, and how I would need to leave my shoes in the garage until I figured out some way to scrub them off).

~~They wanted to know how I felt about kindergarten in light of our food allergies. Everyone in the world wants to know how I'm feeling about kindergarten these days!! I told them honestly that Justin and I probably weren't as excited about it as other parents might be and that it makes us anxious. I shared that we were exploring "other options". And they of course asked what those were...it's truly amazing how big people's eyes get when you mention "homeschooling".

So, it was a great conversation because I got to share about our lives and impart a little more awareness about food allergies to two people who didn't know a lot about them. Having simple conversations with others is where I feel I can be most effective in spreading the word about food allergies while also advocating for my two boys.

Here's what I want people to know about us and the food allergies we deal with:

~~They are real. They are serious. They are deadly.

~~Our lives are vastly different from those who don't live with food allergies. We bring our own food everywhere we go. We take a lot of precautions when we’re out in public, and we’re always thinking about cross-contamination when we’re eating outside of our home. I'm sure some would consider things we do as excessive or extreme (see article above), but that's the way life has to be with food allergies. We’re not trying to be difficult or garner special attention. There just simply is not a lot of room for accident or error.

~~It's not easy living with food allergies. In fact, it's downright difficult and scary sometimes. But please don't feel bad for us or think that somehow our lives are diminished or impoverished in some way because of this medical condition. We have a wonderful, full life together, and our boys are absolutely, positively worth all of the extra effort. They are happy, healthy, bright, and truly the light of Justin's and my life. We would do anything for them.

~~We're not envious of those who don’t have food allergies. I have my burden, and you have yours. I don't have the time or energy to waste on feeling sorry for our state or wishing I could trade my burden for someone else's. Jacoby and Morgan come with food allergies, and I wouldn’t trade either of them for the world.

~~We need your love, support, encouragement, and prayers that one of these days all of those researchers currently devoting their careers to figuring out how to treat food allergies will uncover the hidden pieces to their origin, cause, treatment, and cure.

~~If you could experience for one moment our level of fear and concern when we think about all of the "what ifs" whenever our boys are out of our care, you would soon understand why some things like kindergarten are just not as simple or straightforward for us as they may be for other non-allergic families. And that's why we are considering other alternatives for our boys' schooling.

If we decide to keep our boys home for school, it will not be because I want to don a denim jumper and join the ranks of right-leaning Evangelicals who feel the need to shelter their children from the world. Nor will it be because the quality of education in the Boulder Valley School District is found to be sub par (quite the contrary, we’ve heard that families move to Louisville to attend our would-be elementary school). Believe me, if we home school our kids, it will be the most crazy and daring thing Justin and I embark on to-date, and it will be to keep them safe. That’s basically what it comes down to for us: safety. And yes, we know that our kids are not the first kids to ever have food allergies in a public school system (seriously, if one more person tells me that…). Jacoby will attend kindergarten at the public school next year if Justin and I feel that he will be safe and that his medical conditions will be taken seriously. Everyone has a different threshold when it comes to safety, and we know where ours lies when it comes to our boys and their well-being.

So, if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my treatise. I’ve been inundated the past few weeks with information on kindergarten, food allergies, homeschooling, and parenting, so I apparently had a few things to get off my heart! Please read the article, share it with someone you know, and hug (or send lots of cyber love to) an allergic child and/or their parent today (how's that for a soapbox?!)! (: They need it…I promise.

A Week

The week flew by for us. Justin's class is off to a good start. The boys are doing great, and will officially be in Pre-K and Preschool tomorrow. They also start their new Mon-Tues-Thurs schedule, so they'll probably get to see some new friends. I've been printing off family/sibling photos this afternoon since both of their classes are going to be making family books to start off their new school year. Jacoby's older friends have all gone off to the big school, which has left Jacoby's class slightly puzzled about all of this business about kindergarten. He informed me the other night while I was tucking him in that when you go to kindergarten you no longer have a mommy and daddy and you don't live at home. Good thing we have 1 year to sort through all of this!

Most noteworthy for us this past week was a visit from our owner Thursday evening. Everything went just fine and she seemed pleased with the condition of the house. She did bring a realtor with her, which stopped Justin's and my heart briefly, but she was trying to get a sense of what would need to be done around the house after we move out to be ready to sell. We feel pretty confident that she understands our timeline and won't be kicking us out before we're ready.

We declared Friday "family day" and decided to go on a couple of "daventures" (as Jacoby says). So we visited Dinosaur Ridge to learn more about the fossils and dinosaur discoveries in our backyard (the Stegosaurus is the Colorado state fossil, in case you were wondering...just one of the factoids we learned). We then ventured to a cute amusement park called Heritage Square in Golden. It figures that I would have at least one child with a thrill gene, and it looks like it may be Jacoby. He laughed the entire time we were on the roller coaster, while Mommy screamed like a girl. I'm going to have to buck up if I'm to keep up with them when they get older! He also rode the Scrambler with Daddy. I believe we may have traumatized Morgan on the roller coaster, so he and Daddy had to ride a tame kiddy ride to make things better. It was a very fun day.

We've spent the rest of the weekend at home, not doing much of anything but playing, napping, and hanging out. We're looking forward to an uneventful week.

Fossilized footprints (they're colored in with charcoal so they can be seen easily)

Brachiosaurus leg bone fossil

Life-sized replica of a Stegosaurus

Life-sized replica of a Maiasaura (the Montana state fossil...in case you were wondering)

The reason behind most of our dinosaur daventures...

Getting loaded on to the Ferris wheel

The view from atop the Ferris wheel...I'm not going to lie, I wanted to scream like a girl here as well

The little roller coaster Jacoby loved and Morgan didn't love so much

Daddy looking manly in the kiddy ride and helping Morgan overcome his new-found fear of rides

Having a great time on the Scrambler

View of Heritage Square. It was a little empty which made it a great time to visit.

Our week is off to a busy start. The boys go to preschool 2 days this week and then they're home on Friday while their teachers move in to new classrooms. Jacoby will be in the Pre-K class and Morgan in Preschool I next week. They will have the same teachers (something I love about this school), and I think Morgan will be thrilled with his new classroom. Jacoby has already transitioned up to Pre-K this summer when they combined the classes.

The owner of our house stops by for a visit on Thursday, so we've been busy getting the place ready. It will be nice to meet her after living in her house for 4 years now! And despite the work, it's really nice to have a clean, organized home.

Justin starts teaching his Tu/Thurs class tomorrow. He's taught this Greek I class for a couple of years now, and I think he's looking forward to introducing the language to a new group of graduate students.

The freshman move into CU this week and Boulder Valley School district starts, which means traffic is a bit horrendous getting into Boulder and Target is definitely off limits for at least the next 4 weeks. I can't believe Jacoby will be off to kindergarten in 1 year!

Work is busy for me and I'm already knee-deep in the planning for our meeting in Hawaii this fall. Lucky for me, one of my favorite admins gets to come along as a helper since this meeting is going to require about 3 of me with all of the logistical craziness. I'm thrilled to have her coming to along.

Notable quotes:
We were riding bikes at the lake over the weekend and a a shirtless (male) runner went past us. Morgan said, "Oh, he forgot to get dressed!"

Mommy to Jacoby: "Time to get your superhero legs on and pedal hard up this big hill!" Jacoby back to Mommy: "I DO NOT have superhero legs! I have little legs and I CANNOT pedal up the hill!"

Have a great week everyone!

Our new favorite activity is washing the cars. The boys are great helpers, and I love it when they tell me they're making the car nice and warm while they dry all the water off!

Morgan busy washing with his sponge

Jacoby likes to be in charge of the hose. As you can see, he's very thorough!

It's a great way to spend the evening and get a chore done!

The latest from our garden. The basil smells wonderful!

Our little rock star

And We're Back!

Whew! It was a whirl-wind week after we got back from our trip on Monday!

Jacoby had a dentist appointment Tuesday morning and finally made it through a full check-up, cleaning, xrays, and flouride. His teeth are healthy, but his lack of growth for nearly a year (before he was diagnosed) hasn't left much room for permanent teeth (which by the way, this was my first time looking at xrays of a child's mouth, and I at first was trying to figure out how in the world Jacoby's mouth looked similar to that of a shark with two rows of teeth...that was until I figured out that the permanent teeth show up in the pictures along with the baby teeth. (: ). So, the dentist is already talking about braces. Sigh. But not to worry, we still have a few more years and lots of growing to do before any serious decisions will need to be made.

The boys were thrilled to be back in preschool on Wednesday, and they both jumped right back in without a moment of hesitation. They were missed by their teachers and friends, so the welcome back we received was heart warming. We're SO blessed to be part of this little preschool community.

The wonderful summer pace I was enjoying at work before vacation disappeared when I arrived back at work on Wednesday. And as I suspected, I had to hit the ground running to get caught up on a few different projects.

Our garden grew by leaps and bounds while we were gone. I picked 3 zucchinis that measure between 12 and 24 inches. We've had some for dinner and the boys will be eating some in their whole wheat chocolate chip zucchini muffins at school this week. (: Yum! I also discovered that lettuce can grow up to 3 feet tall if it's not harvested when it should be. Oh well, we'll try again next year with that one. We're expecting more zucchini and some carrots. I made strawberry sherbet this weekend, completely dairy free, and it turned out great. However, my vegetarian bean burgers were not a hit and that recipe ended up in the recycling bin. (:

We have a busy week ahead. Jacoby finishes up the last of the field trips and has what may be his last OT session. Justin has one more week before he begins teaching his Tu - Thurs class in the evenings.

We hope everyone has a great week!

Montana Road Trip

We had a wonderful time in Montana, visiting with our family and friends. The boys were great travelers; they ate well, slept good, played hard, and enjoyed every moment of the trip. Here are the highlights:

Our trip began in Great Falls and we spent time with Grandma Pam, Grandpa Bill, and even enjoyed a quick visit with Aunt Linda.

We enjoyed very mild weather in Great Falls, so the boys spent plenty of time outside. Justin spent a couple of days in Bozeman visiting friends from high school.

We had fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit

Here's a very happy little boy enjoying his vacation

Jacoby had a great time harvesting rasberries with Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bill

Enjoying s'mores

We visited the Great Falls farmer's market and Morgan had a great time riding Copper Penny. Jacoby wouldn't go near the ponies.

Reading books with Grandpa Bill

Enjoying the big slide at Black Eagle park

Jacoby and Daddy tried going down headfirst and backwards

We spent a day playing in the water and picnicking at Holter Lake. The boys enjoyed Grandpa Bill's pontoon boat.

Morgan rowing with Grandpa Bill

Taking a little rest

Morgan completely out with the remainder of his snack still in his mouth

Nearly every evening the boys could be found outside in Grandpa Bill's garage doing whatever it is that boys do in a garage. They loved looking at Grandpa's treasures.

Silly boy with his 3D glasses on

Grandma Pam and Morgan at Giant Springs State Park

Grandma Pam and Aunt Linda out in the backyard

Happy boys up on a big rock

Ryan's Dam

The second half of our trip was spent in Billings. Des and Jax came in to town to spend time with Jacoby and Morgan. All 4 boys had a great time together. There's never a shortage of energy and activity whenever they're together.

We also got to spend time with Aunt Megan and Uncle Mark. The boys went swimming at Lake Elmo and then spent time in their favorite playhouse at Aunt Megan's. Justin and I enjoyed a great steak dinner with Megan and Mark that evening.

We also went to a Mustangs baseball game with Megan and Mark. I ran in to a friend from childhood and got to spend some time catching up with her during the game, which was wonderful.

Morgan is technically our social kid, but when there's a lot of activity going on he tends to hang back and do things on his own (which works in his favor when Trouble happens and he's no where near the scene of the crime). Anyway, he managed to get all of the boys playing "recycling truck" which involved dumping all of Grandmanette's toy bins and having a grand time.

Grandpa Michael took the boys to the toy store so they could each pick out a toy. Morgan ended up with a John Deer tractor and Jacoby picked a Lightning McQueen race track. They had a great time and also had fun playing in these motorized cars.

Grandpa Michael also treated us to bumper boats and go-karts at Geyser Park. It was lots of fun!

It was typical to have small visitors with requests for videos whenever my laptop was out. We're watching garbage trucks on YouTube in this picture.

Oh, the joys of unloading and unpacking after a long trip. But we arrived home healthy, happy, and in one piece after a great Montana adventure. The boys were great travelers during the long hours in the car. They were glad to be home and seemed to miss friends at preschool.

We want to thank all of our families for being such wonderful hosts while we visited and for accommodating our very special diet! We loved seeing all of you and had a great time!