Oh Nuts!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Well, it was inevitable - bound to happen sometime - a ticking time bomb, if you will...

Tree Nut Consumption

If you don't know Pooh Bear is allergic to tree nuts, specifically, walnuts and pecans, but we have been instructed to avoid ALL tree nuts. {side note: she is not allergic to peanuts - which are not even a nut, they're a legume} We visit the allergist every ear to have her school paperwork signed and to have a new epi-pen prescription written and filled. I carry 2 epi-pens with me all the time, we have 2 epi-pens in the cupboard at home and the school has an epi-pen in the office with her name on it. We had successfully avoided the need to use one for 5 plus years.

Until Saturday.

Saturday afternoon she called me from her friend, L's, house...

P.B.: "Mom, get my epi-pen ready. I ate some tree nuts."

Me: "What!?" "How!?" "When!?"

P.B: "They were in a cookie. My tongue is itchy and kinda getting big. L's mom is bringing me home right now."

When she arrives home, L's mom is so worried and apologetic. I'm sure I seem totally rude telling her it was okay, we'll take care of everything and pretty much blowing her off because I needed to follow P.B. into the house to give her the epi-pen.

Mark and I have a brief argument discussion about whether or not to give her the epi-pen, wherein I convince him we have to give it to her and then take her to the ER. I then hand him the epi-pen and tell him he gets to give it to her. {I'm such a pansy.} I did volunteer to hug her tight, which was a huge help I'm sure.

Epi-pen given, Pooh Bear and I head to the ER. En-route I ask her 8 to 23 times if she was still okay. 

We check into the ER and I realize that it's going to be traumatic not because of our situation but because of all the other interesting people there! The guy shaking in the corner of the tiny triage area, the crazy vocal lady without insurance on the other side of the curtain in the bed next to Pooh Bear {she may have hurt her knee but now it's totally better?}, and finally the little girl who had split her finger open falling off her bike, screaming while they performed a block on the finger. We both covered our ears for that part.

Anyway, they gave her some benedryl and a steroid that would help her body deal with the allergic reaction. she was really shaky with all the adrenalin and epinephrine coursing through her body. Then we waited to see if she had any other adverse reactions. We were there for about 2.5 - 3 hours under observation and then she was cleared to go home.

Thankfully before the doctors had to start more work on the little girl's finger next to us.

An exciting and, at the same time, utterly boring Saturday afternoon.

It was a favorable outcome {P.B. alive} and we learned a lot that afternoon. First, never assume that your friend's mom knows you have a food allergy. Always ask if the homemade cookies have walnuts in them! {I'm not sure what happened here. P.B. is so good at asking about the food she is given. She even asks me if I have put tree nuts in her food! Maybe she doesn't trust me!} But she did everything right after and was so great through the whole ordeal.

Statistically, it will happen again, but we'll be ready and we know how to handle it. Maybe this incident bought us another 5 careful years.

As an added bonus, she now has a great "What Happened This Summer" story when she goes back to school in the fall!

Dance Festival 2012

Today was the annual Dance Festival at Drama and Pooh Bear's school.

It was pouring down rain at 7:45 when I drove the girls to school.

But I have been through the refiner's fire when it comes to sitting in the rain/snow/wind/cold as a REAL Salt Lake season ticket holder so, we prepared for the worst.

But by the time we got to the school around 9:30 it had stopped raining and by the time the festival was over the sun was out and it was hot. Welcome to spring in Utah!

This year they went in order from youngest to oldest so Pooh Bear's grade (third) was up first {well, not first, I guess they were actually 4th, but you get my drift}. It was a new dance with awesome choreography and fun to watch. Pooh Bear did a few round off back handsprings at the very beginning and then rocked out with the rest of her class. Sadly, I didn't bring my good camera because of the rain so I have sad iPhone pictures to share and my phone was doing something weird so I didn't even get very many of those. Mark took video with his phone so you can watch all the dancing excitement! 

Drama's grade went 6th or next or whatever. She's in fifth grade. They had a cowboy/girl theme. They also tried to spice it up this year. Of course Drama is so tall she's waaayyyy in the back. I couldn't even find her until Mark pointed her out. Another awesome jig.

Between dance numbers Mr. Melville, the principal, {I totally just said to myself the principal is your pal to remember how to spell principal. Thank you 4th grade spelling tricks.} Would announce which kids had won the prizes from the Road to Success Reading program they have been doing all year. The kids would receive raffle tickets each week according the number of days they read and now the 5th and 6th graders were all in the running to win a Kindle. And guess which lucky 5th grader's name was called to win the Kindle....Drama's! She said she wasn't even paying attention but I screamed out loud like a crazy person. 

Ironically, she was going to get a Kindle for her birthday on Sunday. Now I have to come up with something else! Great.

Pooh Bear's the one in the hot pink shirt, BTW. {ha} She tumbles first in the back and  then she's on the front row, the 6th girl if you start counting from the left @ the girl with super long blonde hair.

Drama is on row 7 so you can't see her for most of the dance but towards the end when they dance in groups of 2 rows at a time -  she dances with the fourth group and she's front and center with the aqua tee shirt, denim shorts & cowboy hat.

Can You Graduate With Honors from Preschool?

If anyone can it would be The Boss for sure!

Last Thursday The Boss graduated from Ms. Cathie's Preschool. She and her classmates have advanced from the 3 year old class to the prestigious 4 year old class.

It was held in the Primary room at the church and included several cute preschoolers, many songs with actions,

 silly faces and giggling.

All year as the class had been learning about the alphabet they made a scrapbook page for each letter and Ms. Cathie collected them all and made them into an adorable bound scrapbook. She presented each book to it's student and read the V page, for Valentine. Ms. Cathie asked them what they loved on Valentine's Day and this is what The Boss had to say:

I love...

my family. I love my 

Grandma and papa. I love 

Pizza Pie and my Mom. 

Oh and my Dad and my 

Mom. I love these shoes too... 

(points to her gold shoes! So cute.)

Ms. Cathie is an amazing teacher!

Of course little Miss Bea wanted to be a part of the action and kept trying to steal someone's chair. She won't have to wait for long, she starts preschool in September!

I tried to take a picture with the camera timer. 

It's always an adventure with these two!

Bring on the Summer!

Random Reasons Being Four is Awesome-sauce

Preschool Pirate Day

Preschool St. Patrick's Day and pots-o-gold

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

Swimming suits are a season-less clothing option

Rocking a soccer jersey

Eating "Lightening Bugs", Thanks Grandma Tina

Exercising

Anything can be a hat or accessory

Just being four

Pouting

Decorating Cupcakes

80s Day

It is 80s Day at school today.

Oh the 80s. I had great hair in the 80s. 

And I looked awesome in neon. But really, who didn't?

When I was informed at 8:00 pm last night that it was, in fact, 80s day we had to get pretty creative. So, we found some old tee shirts and cut the neck off and then added some flair to Drama's and cut Pooh Bear's short. To "top" it off we ratted a pony on top of their heads. Oh! And the glove, how could I almost forget the glove?

80s day = Success!

{please don't look at Pooh Bear's shoes. don't buy shoes from shoe carnival, they are the worst. but of course these shoes are the only ones that she can find. her good trainers? Lost. cute boots. lost.}

Critical Thinking Wins Again

It is my job, as mother and resident math nerd, to check math homework nightly. Whilst checking Pooh Bear's homework for awesomeness I discovered this gem. At first glance the answer appears wrong but upon further reflection she is absolutely right! And I am going to let her turn it in this way.

Math question #8. Would you rather have your recess last from 10:30 am to 10:45 am or from 10:45 am to 11:10 am? Explain.

Pooh Bear's answer {translated}: 10:30 am to 10:45 am because it is freezing. But if it was nice, I would pick 10:45 am to 11:10 am.

Hey, I'm teaching my kids critical thinking around here. We like to look at the big picture and factor in all the variables {spelling optional}!

I haven't seen an answer this astute since Drama gave this answer on her homework.

Typical Tuesday

It's a typical Tuesday here at the Van Horn house. Are you excited to witness it? Yea, I thought so...

First things first, I'm up nice and early to make it to the gym.

When I get home it's a crazy zoo trying to get Drama and Pooh Bear off to school and Mark to work {his hair is the hardest to do}. I try to get a shower in, bathe the Boss and Bea, and get the Boss to preschool by 9:30. Sorry no photographic evidence of this part of the day.

Bea and I drop the Boss off at Ms. Cathie's Preschool and spend some quality time together running errands. We hit Walgreens, the gas station, the Library and then helped in Pooh Bears class tutoring math. Bea's awesome at fractions.

Home for a quick snack. Peanut butter and the biggest apple I have ever seen {seriously it was as big as Bea's head}.

Then back to pick up the Boss from Ms. Cathie's. Buddy likes to come with us.

Today she came home with a plastic Easter egg. Last week she came home with a real live goldfish named "Belle".

Back home to eat lunch and practice counting to 20. We had to take off our shoes and Buddy helped with the counting.

After nap/quiet time, Pooh Bear arrives home from school and it's snack and homework time (Drama has service club and is still at school).

Newest requested snack = green smoothies. Seriously, they watch me put the spinach, carrots and special "greens" powder in the blender with the fruit and oj but they still love it and slurp it down. We made extra for Drama and stashed it in the freezer until she got home.

Dinner is always a fun affair.

{yes, she did poke herself 3.56 seconds after I took this photo}

The after dinner entertainment is always exciting... someone usually ends up injured. That's one fat lip sister.

Jammies, check. Brushed teeth, check. Reading books, check.

Finding a hole in your jammies and laughing because it's super silly, check and check.

The Boss insisted in having her jammies altered to fix the hole problem and then she channeled my Grandma with the "waste not, want not" mentality. New slippers, check!

It's all in a day's work...