Everyday Life for Four Seasons

I had wondered how we would all recover from the death of our cat, Erma, and as it turns out, we're doing quite well. The girls miss her but have moved on. I find myself turning to say something to her before remembering she's not there, but those moments are disappearing quickly. From a housework point of view, it's significantly easier now that she's not here. She required a lot of care that had to be done on schedule. But would I do it all over again if we could have her back? Sure.


Speaking of housework, I am back to feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things that need to get done on a daily basis. Not all of it relates to homemaking, but the things that weigh my spirit down right now do. I need to make some changes. Here's a short list off the top of my head:

1. The girls cannot continue to play, play, play without cleaning up, cleaning up, cleaning up throughout the day. I simply cannot handle the mess. Hmmm, "mess" isn't exactly the appropriate term. To them, the toys and objects that are left all over the house are props in their detailed, dramatic play. But I'll tell you, when it's bedtime and I'm tired, it looks like one big mess to me.

2. Laundry. Let's face it: I hate doing it, folding it, and putting it away. This job needs to be delegated to my husband and children ASAP.

3. 'A's habit of collecting things. This girl LOVES to collect objects. All kinds, from anywhere. I tolerate it for a while, then something happens and I feel like I'm pushed over the edge. Last week when I found that the greasy fishing *component* (or whatever it's called) that she found in the woods had left a stain on the carpet, I had one of those moments. She collects things and weaves them into her play. When I talk about this, people come up with all kinds of helpful suggestions. Oh yes, I've done many of them. She has a big case that matchbox cars come in, and she stores her collection in there. When that gets full (and it has), we glue the collection to a piece of sturdy cardboard so she can see all of her objects and have more room in the case for more *stuff*. We hang things up and display them. And still she brings more collectible items into the home. The worst are the cough drop and candy wrappers. Tell me, who needs a collection of wrappers?

I am overloaded with a number of other things right now too, but those things are either enjoyable (like all of the volunteer and paid work I do, or the gardening that will soon commence in earnest) or they are impossible to change (like the on-going, low-level stress that comes with living with a child with life-threatening food allergies). I can manage just fine if I get rid of the most frustrating pieces of the puzzle.

In the meantime, it finally feels like spring in our neck of the woods, and that, my friend, goes a long way with me.


:: I love sandbox hands! ::


:: Strawberries ::


:: Garlic coming up! ::

Erma is gone. She died in my arms on Tuesday.


She's been feeling "old" for a while now, so it wasn't a huge surprise. But it wasn't exactly expected, either. She was fine when we all woke up, and while I was preparing breakfast for 'A' and 'H' she came and asked for some food too. This was our routine. She would sit by her plate and look at me until I finished up with the girls and fed her.

While I was getting breakfast ready, she left her place at her plate, and the next thing I saw was Erma, hobbling and limping as quickly as possible back to her comfort spot by the pellet stove. I wondered if she had twisted her leg or pulled a muscle. I called the holistic vet to say that she needed to come in for a chiropractic adjustment. I got a 12:30 appointment and went along with my morning plans. But Erma wasn't okay. Every time I checked on her, she was agitated: tail flapping, pupils dialated, posture twisted. She was in pain and she was confused. Perhaps even scared. I offered her food and water, but she wasn't interested. I offered her comfort, which she took in small amounts. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but my gut told me it was the end.

By chance, 'A' and 'H', who are always with me during the day, were ready to be picked up by our babysitter extraordinaire, Rachel. Last week, on my birthday, I thought about the perfect present, and realized that a day by myself to get things done would be just what I wanted. Rachel and I talked and decided on Tuesday. As I got them ready, I told them to tell Erma that they loved her and say good-bye to her, just in case she died that day. It wasn't a new conversation: I had been telling them for a few months that Erma wasn't going to live much longer, and when she died it would mean that she would stop breathing and walking and purring, and she wouldn't be living with us anymore. She would be dead.

Rachel picked them up; I got Erma ready for her cat-carrier. When I picked her up to put her in it, she lost control of her bladder, and urine went everywhere. I thought, "This is it. She's dying." Then I thought, "Maybe she has held it in all day and she just had an accident." I had this thought because you know, I'm the mother of small children who put themselves in just these situations. These kinds of thoughts aren't foreign to me.

I called the vet and informed them that this was perhaps The Day, and I would be there soon.

On the car ride, Erma sunk more and more into herself. She started to find that place where we go when we die from natural causes, that place inside of her where all that matters is her own survival. She responded just barely to my touch. She put her head down between her paws to rest... her head?... her eyes?... her life?

When I arrived, she was examined and it was agreed that her heart was failing. With it, her systems were failing. My goodness, it went fast. I always wondered how it would unfold. Would it be long and drawn out? What would the signs be? How would I know? As it turns out, it went along rather quickly.

I made the decision to put her to sleep right then and there. I was alone. My girls weren't with me, and Jeff was at work. The decision was mine to make, and I would be there without my family. It was then that I realized that the day was unfolding just as I wanted it to. In the past, when I thought about this day (and I had - it was a long time coming), I had always assumed that the girls and Jeff would be present. The only question was, "would the girls wait in the waiting room during the procedure?" Now that question was irrelevant. It was me and Erma. And somehow, it was everything I wanted it to be. I realized that if the girls were there, even if they waited in the next room, my thoughts and energy would be directed toward them and not toward Erma. If Jeff were there, I would have stumbled over how to let him into my pain. She was, after all, my cat of 18 years. I got her as a kitten when I was 20 years old. She's been with me for all of my adult life, and almost half of my entire life. She's my cat and my friend. Saying good-bye to her was a very personal thing for me. Doing it alone was best.

I had some time alone with her, but her progression was so rapid that she didn't want to dilly dally. I put my ear to her belly to listen to her purr, as I have done day after day for 18 years. For the first time, her purr was weak at best. She was barely with me. She was ready. I called for her doctor and sat down with her in my lap. A sedative was injected first, and I sat with her for about 15 minutes, just holding her and watching her slow down. She was awake but became increasingly relaxed and unresponsive. I didn't have a lot of thoughts at this point. She was just ready, and I was there to see her through it. Then the final injection was administered, the one that would stop her heart. It was all so peaceful. I did have a fleeting thought that perhaps I shouldn't be doing this, because it's So Final. But it was the right time, and I couldn't override that. She died quickly and peacefully in my arms. And in that moment, everything about it was right.

Emotions are funny. I thought that I would be devastated. On the way to the vet's office I cried and cried. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her. But when it was all happening, and I saw that she was ready to die, and then watched it happen, my emotions changed. I went right away to acceptance. Don't get me wrong, I'm sad. I find myself looking in places where she habitually sat; I look down to see if she's scratching at my chair to get my attention; I miss the feel of her soft fur; and I just called Grace by Erma's name on accident. Heck, I get teary just writing this. I miss her. But I know that the time was right. I don't have any second thoughts or doubts about her death. It happened when it was supposed to happen.

So tell me, where does the time go? It's flying by so fast for me right now. I've got my hands in a lot of pots, so that factors into it. It's birthday season for us ('H': March 8; 'A': April 9; Me: April 14; Jeff: April 20), followed by Mother's Day and our wedding anniversary. It's spring, and the ground is thawing, so we're busy with yard clean-up and gardening. I'm involved with UU congregation activities. I'm educating my children. Managing the household. Comforting the cats. Feeding the birds.

This whirlwind of activity seemed to come on strong, and after it started, I shed my 20th century skin and welcomed some 21st century technology with open arms. I'm what you might call a "late adopter" of technology. I had a flip cell phone that I barely used, and I wondered why people would ever want to text each other when texting seemed so cumbersome. I didn't store music on any device - the radio was just fine for me. I checked my email when I was home and connected to the internet between loads of laundry. At some point I started to realize that I wanted to be able to connect to the internet while I was out and about, and perhaps it would be nice to have my email available then too. I went to the Verizon store and picked out a Droid X. I love it! My technology-hip husband has brought me up to speed very quickly: when I get into my car now, I can listen to Pandora or my stored music through the radio, and when I make calls, I can hear the conversation through the car speakers. At home I can plug my phone into the TV or the stereo to listen to music or look at photos. I have to say, I love being wired! I never thought I would. I think I can keep my old fashioned values but still live in a modern world. Nice.

To top it all off, my brother in law and his girlfriend got me a Kindle for my birthday. A Kindle! I had never seen one in "real life" and I was surprised by how easy it is on my eyes. I'm thinking about which book to buy first...


In the meantime, I'm enjoying a book that my friend and fellow blogger Erika introduced me to... which has lead me to a new way of looking at bread and, dare I say, has given me a new outlook on life: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Wow. Super easy, super delicious. I'll say it again: Wow!


I've also been practicing my cake decorating "skills" - or rather, displaying my lack of cake decorating skills. I decorated this covered wagon cake for 'A's birthday last weekend, then tried a round cake for my birthday a few days ago. The covered wagon cake turned out great - the round cake, not so much. Jeff's birthday is in a few days, so I have yet another chance to see what I can do with a pastry bag full of frosting. We had a nice family party for 'A' and in a few weeks she'll have her friends come over to celebrate.

Did I also mention that I continue to work at the farmer's market every other Saturday and I'm working on developing a few websites too. Life goes on. Things need to get done; people are here to be appreciated, noticed & loved; my little girls want to be read to and played with; food needs to be cooked; the house loves to be cleaned; the church is counting on my energy. Somehow I manage to do just enough of these things to feel like I'm contributing to the greater good.

So, what do you do when you're feeling depressed about the upcoming end of both of your cats lives? You clean the garage, of course. We've been needing to clean it for about 5 years now, and this was the weekend to do it. If you had peeked in before we started, you might have thought we had... um, trouble setting our priorities. I guess that's a nice way of saying it. In short, it was a total pig sty. Now it's a partial pig sty, and it's on the way to becoming a cleaned up work space. Woo hoo!

This week has been very boring, thank goodness. Refreshingly boring. I've done laundry, taught reading, put the deck furniture out for spring and summer use, cooked meals, run errands, read stories aloud, and so on. Busy and boring, just the way I like it.

:: 'H' and 'A' at the library ::

Oh my, I've stumbled upon the photo apps for my new phone! I can take photos and apply all kinds of filters to them. Today I'm using Retro Camera by Urbian. I can see how this can get addictive awfully quickly.


:: Erma ::

I've had two days in a row of bad news about our cats, Erma and Grace. I posted yesterday about Erma's failing kidneys. Today the doctor called me with the results from Grace's bloodwork and said that her thyroid levels look too high, and since her heartbeat was very high yesterday, even for a nervous cat, combined with the fact that she's lost weight, I might want to consider a second test to determine conclusively if she has an overactive thyroid. The vet has a gut feeling that it's a serious problem. I ordered the test.

If Grace does have an overactive thyroid, I'm not prepared to send her for surgery or give her medicine daily for the rest of her life. I'm not prepared to say good-bye to her, either. When reality hit yesterday about the end of Erma's life, I thought how lucky we are to have Grace to help us get through this. I wasn't planning on losing Grace, too.

Over the years, I've given thought to Life After the Cats. I know that they'll die someday. I know that I'll want to get another pet, because I like to live with animals. I've never owned a dog, but part of me would like to have one. Maybe a standard poodle. Or maybe another cat. I would love a Maine Coon Cat. They're loving and they're wonderful hunters. The hard part about getting a pet after losing one is that I half expect the new one to replace the old one. But in reality, they don't. They're completely different, as they should be.


:: Grace ::

I still have to sit down with our holistic vet and talk about all of this. I'm trying to not be emotional right now, but the knowledge that my cats are ill and I can't make them well again is painful for me. I'm here to be their caretaker and companion as they make their final journey. I'm trying to not think about the hole they will leave in my life, how I'll miss the physical closeness, the fresh smell of their fur, the sound of their purr, the sense of trust they have with me, and all the years that have gone into our relationships. But I can't help feeling very sad.

Good-bye March... Hello April! I remember as a little girl that I looked forward to April so much. Not just because it was my birthday month (the 14th!), but because April, where I grew up, meant SPRING. It meant opening the windows, switching to a lighter jacket, tucking the hats and mittens away until next year. It meant the smell of wet, fresh earth, the sound of birds chirping, and the feel of cool rain. Here, in upstate New York, spring takes a little longer to arrive. Tonight, as a matter of fact, we're supposed to greet a hefty snowstorm and by tomorrow afternoon there should be 6-12" of the cold white stuff on the ground. Outside there is still snow left over from the winter storms, but we've been watching it melt inch by inch these past few weeks and are ready for some spring-like weather to arrive.


In the meantime, life goes on.

:: It's maple sugaring season here, and our family took a drive to a nearby farm to see how the sap is drained from the trees and boiled down into syrup. And how it can be turned into cotton candy and maple candies, too!

:: I finally broke down and got a smartphone. I've been feeling the urge for a while now, and the desire finally overcame me. I signed up with Verizon and got a Droid X. Oh my, I do love my new phone! All I want to do is play with it. I don't want to do laundry, teach my kids, look at the sky, sew 'H's prairie dress, pet the cats, or anything else I would ordinarily want to do during an average day. I just want to sit and look at my phone. This feeling will pass, right?

:: I took Erma to the vet for blood work this week and today I received the results. It's not good. Though she appears to be fine, her kidney function is failing rapidly. Wow. I know that she won't live forever, but I am not ready to think about life without her. I'll see the holistic vet soon and we'll discuss the blood work numbers.


Two things that I'm long overdue on telling you about: Disney World (exciting!) and 'H's eye surgery (scary).

Disney World, to sum it up, was exciting and full of all kinds of surprises. Everything they do there is over the top. Everything is made for FUN. It's also incredibly crowded, but we expected that. 'A' is the perfect age for it - she loved everything. 'H' returned home with a very short list of things she liked and a long list of things that scared her, but she managed to have a good time in spite of herself. Her favorite ride was Soarin' at Epcot.

Eating at the park was, in theory, very easy for a child with life-threatening food allergies. I had told the restaurants when we made the reservations that she had allergies, and when we arrived at the restaurants, I spoke with the manager and the chef before we ordered. They told me what she could eat and she made her selection. At the Crystal Palace, the chef took us around the buffet and she pointed out what she would like, and the chef prepared it for her in the kitchen, rather than take it from the buffet and risk cross-contamination. At La Hacienda de San Angel at Epcot, 'A' ordered a burrito but decided that she didn't like it, so she didn't eat much there. What do you think she liked the most? Yes, dessert. What kid doesn't? How wonderful that she was able to eat a brownie with ice cream at a restaurant and we didn't have to worry!

All in all, I give Disney World 2 big thumbs up for how they handle food allergies.

About 'H's surgery: A few days after we returned home from Florida, the girls were playing and 'A' knocked 'H' in the face with a board game piece. Of course they did this while I was on the phone - I think all interactions that result in crying happen while I'm on the phone. 'H' said her eye hurt, so I looked and saw something in there. I had no luck trying to flush it out with eye wash, so we all hopped in the car and took a ride to the pediatrician's office. He couldn't get it out either, so we were sent to Albany Medical Center to see the pediatric opthamologist. She took one look and said, "It's metal, and it's been there a while. It's not from this morning." Where could she have gotten metal in her eye, and why didn't she tell us about it when it happened?

The doctor took most of it out but felt there was still some rust left, so she scheduled surgery for the following day. 'H' had to have the whole nine yard for anesthesia - a drink to put her into la-la land, followed by the anesthesia she breathed in through the mask. She came out of it just fine and has been okay since then. I was way too concerned about her and the surgery to think straight. It took me a while afterward to unwind and come back to a state of feeling like things are "normal".

Things ARE normal now, thank goodness. All is well in our little world. In the bigger world, all is not well. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the nuclear reactor meltdowns, the political upheaval in the Middle East, and in my state, the extreme state budget cuts are all cause for concern. But here at home, we're good. Safe and sound.

Hi there. We've had a whirlwind two weeks. All of which I promise to write about in more detail very soon. We explored Disney World; 'A' ate in restaurants all week without any food allergy incidents (BIG WOOHOO!!!); we returned to upstate New York to find snow; spent two days at the hospital with 'H' who had a piece of metal in her eye and needed surgery; spent entirely too much time away from home in the evenings all week; and we finished up this longest week ever with a parenting workshop where we realized just how much we're scarring our children (well, not really, but if we were "glass half empty" type of people, we could have walked away with that message). Tomorrow I'll work at the Farmer's Market and after I come home in the afternoon, we are going to spend the remainder of the day together as a family, talking, laughing, playing, eating, resting and feeling grateful to have each other. No driving, no meetings, no computers, no distractions. No health scares, no surgeries, no risk of allergic reactions, no stress. We need this time. We need it very much.

That's what we've been doing and what we need. Here's what we've got in photos today:

:: Snow

:: Snow melting into big puddles

:: Grass, and girls who play in the grass. Girls without coats who play in the grass

:: New growth on the thyme plant in the slushy, snowy garden

:: Emerging daffodils

:: Bold, beautiful flowers on the orchid indoors

See you soon! Have a great weekend.

Tomorrow is a big day for our family... we leave for the airport, for Orlando, for Disney World! We'll be spending the week with Jeff's family, and it will be the first time in years that Jeff and I have visited Disney World (separately, back in the day), and it'll be the first time the girls will see it. They have no idea what to expect. How could they fathom something that is beyond their wildest dreams? They ask me, "Will there be a bouncy house there? Will there be a carousel there? Will there be a ferris wheel there?" Oh, little do they know! More, more, more!

I think I've got the food allergy paranoia under control... to the extent that I can. My purse contains the following items: epi-pen jr.; children's benadryl; prednisone, tagamet and hydroxyzine (in children's dosages); band-aids; bubble-gum (because liquid tagamet tastes horrible); my driver's license; credit card; sunglasses and lipstick. Yeah, I'm ready for a vacation.

I've asked so many people what they recommend seeing in Orlando. The answers I've gotten are all over the place. "I hated Animal Kingdom; Animal Kingdom was the BEST! Don't see It's a Small World; My kids LOVED the Epcot countries! Why isn't It's a Small World on your list? Don't see the countries at Epcot; go to see the princesses; my kids were scared of the princesses..." and on and on. When I put the answers in perspective, it all makes sense. Our vet loved Animal Kingdom. Very small children were scared of princesses. Older homeschooled children loved the countries at Epcot. And really, who likes It's a Small World? I have a list of attractions I think the girls would like to see, and we'll see what works for us.

I'm gone for a week, and I may or may not bring my camera. I may or may not post. No matter what, I'll be back with a full Disney report next week. Allergy and attraction reports in full! Stay tuned!

See you very soon. Have a wonderful week!

:: Making a collage at the Hyde Collection ::

Wow, what happened to February? It went by in a blink. Here it is, the second day of March already. Big things happening here. For starters, we've been doing a lot of things I enjoy lately: visiting the Hyde Collection (two Tuesdays in a row - a good record for us); snowboarding & skiing; snowshoeing; reading (A Visit From the Goon Squad for me, Smiles, the Sound of Long "I" for 'A'); working at the Farmer's Market; attending our UU congregation; sewing a prairie girl dress-up dress for 'H'; and celebrating life and friendship with friends and loved ones.

We've been up to something else as well.... planning our upcoming trip to Disney World! By upcoming, I mean soon... very soon. The chatter of excitement grows louder every day here. I imagine that most families plan out what rides they want to go on and which attractions they want to see, and while we're spending some time on that too, my top priority is getting 'A' through the entire trip without having an allergic reaction, and if she does, being prepared to handle it. That means getting her medicine bag in order, identifying the nearest hospitals and finding out if the Orlando ambulances have Advanced Life Support equipment on board, contacting chefs at restaurants to alert before we arrive, picking out the perfect sized food bag to hold her lunch and snacks every day, and thinking about what food she'll be able to eat.


:: 'H's favorite activity: cutting paper. Hyde Collection ::

I've become increasingly cautious and nervous about 'A' and food. This past year she has had more reactions than ever before, and the severity scares me. In the past two weeks she had two more - not anaphylactic ones requiring a hospital visit, but reactions nonetheless. The first one was to some Tyson Fun Nuggets she ate. They're the dinosaur shaped nuggets that, according to the packaging, contain Wheat and no other allergens. She ate the nuggets for dinner and her stomach was a mess the following day. We didn't connect the dots, and fed her the nuggets two days later for dinner, and again her reaction was the same. I reported it to the company and to the USDA. Clearly there is an undisclosed allergen in the nuggets, and although she is allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts, I would say it's dairy.

The second incident happened a few days ago. I was feeling wiped out after snowboarding on Sunday and ran into the grocery store to pick up dinner supplies. I got a bag of Green Giant steamed vegetables from the frozen aisle. They were in an olive oil sauce. Again, the ingredient label didn't indicate any allergen. I had the presence of mind to rub the sauce on 'A's skin before she ate it, and to my surprise, that section of her skin blew up with hives. Again, there was clear evidence of an undisclosed allergen. I contacted the company.

One of the things that caught me off guard both times I contacted the companies about the undisclosed allergen was the way I was told, "We never hide allergens in our products, we are required by law to report them. We wouldn't do that," as if I were lying to them and falsely accusing them. The Tyson representative asked me if I was sure she has allergies. The Green Giant rep tried to get me to say what else she had eaten that day, that perhaps it was something else.

All of this has filled me up with new emotions, with anger and fear taking more of a central place than ever before. It's one thing if I know for sure that a food item has an allergen - I simply choose to not feed it to 'A'. But when the product is something she's had in the past, or is clearly labeled and does not appear to contain dairy, eggs or nuts, I relax my guard and think it's OK to serve it. See why I'm starting to feel crazy?


:: Name Cards ::

On to a completely different topic: Laura and Mary (I have to bring it up, don't I?). We're finishing up Little Town on the Prairie. In it, Laura and her friends purchase name cards and exchange them. Who do you think ran downstairs to make name cards right away? 'A' and 'H' made them up and had a ball exchanging them. Jeff and I made some name cards too and we joined in the fun.


:: More Name Cards ::

Now the girls and I are going to look through all the artwork I've saved. I really want to mount or frame some of their pieces and display them. The questions are how and where?


:: A year's worth of painting and drawings ::

I've been working on a few projects with 'A' and 'H' and today the stars lined up just right so that I could take photos of them and show you. While I was doing it I couldn't help but think about 'A' stomach pains yesterday and wonder what caused them. I wish I could be the kind of blogger who just does cool projects with her kids and posts the tutorials for you without throwing in all the personal stuff about food allergies and how I feel about things. I'm not that kind of blogger, so I won't try to be.

First, the stomach pains. To tell you about that, I'll back up two days and show you where we spent the morning.

I took the girls to Emma Willard School in Troy to see Pat McEvoy's painting exhibit. We know Pat from church and she is an amazing artist. Lots of color and light. Lots of flowers! Much to our surprise, she walked in right behind us. She was meeting friends and we all happened to be there at the same time. How often do you get to see the artist and her work together like that? As 'A' pointed out, Picasso didn't meet us at his exhibit at The Clark last summer. Hmmm. There are a few reasons for that, namely, that he's no longer living.


After seeing Pat's work, we headed down the street to X's to O's, the vegan bakery. It was my first time there, and I was excited to be able to walk into a bakery with 'A' and tell her to order whatever looked good. She's never been able to do that. It was a VERY BIG MOMENT. Historical, for our family. She chose the cookies and cream cupcake, 'H' chose the chocolate chip cupcake, and I chose the Tiramisu cupcake. We decided to divide them in thirds and share. Yum! What sugary treat isn't delicious? To be perfectly honest, I could have, and have, made such yummy treats myself. This experience wasn't about the quality of the desserts though, it was about going out in public and eating with 'A', and knowing that it was safe to do so.


And just for good measure, we took home a few canoes (think Twinkies) to share with Jeff.


That day 'A' also ate some frozen organic corn (a new brand for us) in addition to some other things. The next day I realized I was short on breakfast offerings so I made the girls some pancakes. 'A' doubled over with stomach pains. She screamed off and on all day. What was causing it? The pancake recipe was the same as usual. I did open a new can of baking powder for it. Could that have done it? The vegan cupcakes couldn't have contained hidden dairy... could they? I could understand cross contamination issues in a standard bakery, but a vegan one? Besides, if she ingested dairy, she would have had hives on her face. I thought back to the corn. When she was 18 months old, she had an intestinal reaction to corn, and I had allergy tests done. Sure enough, she is allergic to it. Fast forward a few years, and she's tolerating it fine. She eats corn on the cob all summer with no issues, frozen corn, canned corn, corn oil, corn in crackers... corn is in so many foods, did you know that? She's been fine all this time. Perhaps there was something special about the corn she ate. At any rate, her stomach took all day to calm down.

The physical pain is a big deal for 'A'. The emotional pain is a big deal for me. When is she safe? What can I trust? Why do I think I can put my guard down? I have so many questions about food allergies and hardly any answers. 75 days until we see the pediatric allergist in Boston.

Enough of that - let's talk about the maps. The girls have been learning about map making for a few weeks now (remember the room maps?). This week they've been making relief maps. I got this idea from "Maps and Mapping" by Deborah Chancellor.


I gave each child a piece of sturdy cardboard for the base. They balled up pieces of newspaper and taped them to the base. I made a paste (see this for the recipe), and they pasted strips of newspaper over the balls of and tape until they were covered. Then we left it to dry.

The next day, they pasted paper towels over the entire project. The newspaper balls had now become mountains. The paper towels were pasted on the mountains and the valleys. We left it to dry.


The following day, the girls painted their mountains. I used acrylic paints that were watered down quite a bit. They added rivers and flowers and trees to the scene. Then I pasted several pieces of string around each mountain to mark elevation.


Part Two of the project (to be completed later today or on Monday) involves drawing an overhead view of the mountains. The idea is to see what the lines on contour maps mean and how they are made. The girls are having fun with this project, and so am I.


Here are two more crafty projects that have been in the works at our house. The first is something I've been doing on and off since Christmas. I gave the girls each a felt-wrapped piece of foam board, to be used for their "Mary and Laura" dolls and furniture. I was tired of tripping over Lincoln Log villages and thought that it would be nice to have not only a perimeter to the town, but also a way to pick it all up and move it if it's in the way. I occasionally make something for the town or the house, such as this garden and pond, and now I'm making food such as beets and turnips. I like making these little treasures, and my girls love playing with them.




The last thing I'll show you today are these adorable little ornaments. The snowmen are made of little painted handprints! I've had the idea to make these for a few years now, ever since my neighbor told me how to do it. Do you know how hard it is to find blue ornaments? I've spent 2 years looking! Here is the simple Snowman Handprint Ornament tutorial.


Snowman Handprint Ornament

Materials needed:

Round blue ornament
Acrylic paints, including white
Paintbrush
Little hands!

Paint a child's hand with white paint. Have them grasp the ornament with the bottom of the ornament in the palm of their hand. You may want to practice this pre-paint. Some children keep their fingers too close together, some wiggle their fingers around while grasping. And some do both.

Release the ornament from the child's hand and place it upside down to dry (I put ours in empty baby food jars). I painted the base of the ornament with white to make a coating of fresh snow. Paint the faces and hats on the snowmen and voila! you are done.

Today

Making:

Relief maps using newspaper, paste and paint. When they're finished, the girls will look at them from above and draw maps of their mountains with markers indicating elevation. I used this recipe for the paste:

Papier-Mache Paste

1 cup water
1/4 cup flour
5 cups lightly boiling water

Mix flour into 1 cup water until mixture is thin and runny.
Stir this mixture into lightly boiling water.
Gently boil and stir 2-3 minutes.
Cool before using.


Enjoying:

The beeswax candles the girls made using the Valentine kit from their grandma and grandpa.

The warmth of the stronger sun


Reading:

Maps and Mapping, by Deborah Chancellor

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (we're up to lesson 23, and my goodness, it works)

How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies by Linda Marienhoff Coss (I want to cry through this book, tears of relief. Finally I've found some guidance)

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan


Finding inspiration for dinners from:

Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
Nava Atlas & Lillian Kayte (Vegetarian Express)


Wanting to:

Send my children outside to play while I sit inside and read