Conferences and Allergy Test Results

I went to both Carissa's and Gabe's parent teacher conferences on Wednesday. Carissa went with me to her conference, and Gabe was taking a nap during his conference so he didn't go. Carissa got the highest scores on her report card that she could, and her teacher said that she was a very conscientious worker and a good citizen. We need to continue working on reading, and counting to 100. But, Carissa's teacher said that she is doing wonderful and is right where she should be or better with everything. Gabe's teacher said that he has been doing great academically, and that he does still have some problems with sharing (normal for his age). Also, Gabe hasn't had any more fits or behavior problems since the last time we had talked in September with one exception being the day of the conference. Gabe didn't want to go inside when outside time was over, so he climbed the play equipment and a teacher's aid had to help him down which made Gabe upset, but the aid said that he needed to calm down by the time they got to the door and he did. So, he still did pretty well compared to past events. Gabe also still confuses a couple of his colors and doesn't recognize very many letters yet, but he is still on track for where he should be.

Then the allergy doctor called me back yesterday with Carissa's test results. She definitely has lots of allergies, and since he just went over the results on the phone I don't have all the details for everything. She is very allergic to sagebrush, and cats, grasses, and weeds. She is still allergic to egg whites, but it isn't very bad. Dogs, walnuts, and trees are mild allergies. She is a candidate for the allergy shots, but there is no way she would let us give her a shot every week for 20, then every other week, then once a month. Totaling about 3 years worth of shots these shots, we may do it someday though. So, the doctor wants us to find a new home for Leo, our cat, but for now we aren't looking. He is 8 years old, and I would like it if he could live the rest of his life with us. Also, it is a possibility that Carissa will develop asthma, and the shots could help prevent that. As of now with the current allergies that Carissa has she should have hay fever from May until now every year with a slight let up in July for a couple of weeks. Then because of having a cat and not airing the house out in the winter like we would in the warmer months, Carissa's allergies may be bad from now until May. All of that means that as long as we have the cat and don't do the shots Carissa will need medicine pretty much year round. We need to schedule an appointment with the doctor for March, so that he can figure out a medicine regiment for Carissa before her hay fever starts. And, we will just keep using children's Zyrtec for the time being for the cat allergy.

Halloween

This year Carissa decided to be a "wicked witch" as she was telling everyone, and Gabriel decided to be a "vampire." And they made sure that everyone knew exactly what they were. They both took naps yesterday, which was great because they really needed them. And, they did great all evening and they had a lot of fun trick or treating. There were a few houses that they thought were too scary, but mostly everything went well. It was just the kids and I that went out this year, because Ben was supposed to be working at the haunted house. But, the car wouldn't start and he didn't end up making it to the haunted house, so he was home when we got back and the kids got to him all about trick or treating.

Pumpkins

On Sunday, Carissa and Gabe went for rides on their ATVs with Grandpa and Uncle Josh for a few hours. Carissa was ecstatic when she heard that they could ride their ATVs for a couple hours. Grandpa said that Gabe did great going up and down the hills, and that Carissa wasn't interested in the hills. After they got back I picked them up from my parents house and we went home to decorate pumpkins. This year instead of the kids painting their pumpkins we bought push in pieces that remind me of Mr. Potato Head pieces. It was really easy for the kids to do on their own. They got to use any pieces they wanted and put them where ever they wanted to.

Allergy tests

Today, Carissa and Gabe both went to the doctor for allergy tests. It has been just over 3 years since Carissa's first and only allergy, so it was time to see what has changed if anything. Plus this fall her allergies were the worst they have ever been, and we want to confirm that she really isn't allergic to eggs anymore. Then there is Gabe, and he has never had problems like Carissa. But, between him having allergy/cold symptoms at the same time the rest of us are having allergies and our previous allergy doctor telling me that because of mine and Ben's allergies our kids are pretty certain to have allergy problems too I assumed that Gabe had allergies as well. We ended up waiting over an hour from when our appointment was supposed to start before that doctor came in, and considering that the kids did pretty well. The sad part was that most of the wait was back in the room, and not in the waiting room full of toys, coloring, and video games.

The doctor was really nice and Carissa and Gabe both did great for the exam part. Then Gabe volunteered to be first for the allergy test, which involved about 12-14 scratches on his back. By the second one he was crying, and so was Carissa. By the time it was all over and Gabe was okay, we still hadn't calmed Carissa down. She tends to get upset when her brother does, plus I'm sure that she knew she was next for the test. Carissa opted for a blood test instead of a skin test to check her allergies, so we had to go to the lab after Gabe's test was done. This was Carissa's first time getting blood drawn, and she fused/cried just a little. Overall, she says that getting a blood test is much better than the skin test. I didn't expect the kids to like the skin test, but Carissa had the test done when she was 2 1/2 years old and didn't cry at all. She did great, so I also didn't expect as much crying as I got either. And thankfully my mom went to the appointment with me which we ended up being there for 3 1/2 hours. Ben was supposed to go, but he was sick and the doctor thought that he had swine flu and a sinus infection. So, Ben had to stay home.

After all that, Gabe seems to have very few allergies and they are very mild. But, that could change as he gets older. And, Carissa's results won't be ready for another week.

Cornbelly's

Over my fall break we decided to pick a place with a corn maze and other children's activities around here and go to it. The kids and I have never been to a corn maze before and we wanted to try it. So, we decided to try going to Cornbelly's, and it was a lot of fun. We watched the pig races, and we went on some rides, inflatables, and they kids dressed up like a princess and knight as well. The kids had a great time and have asked to go back several times since going there.

Jog-a-thon

Today, was the jog-a-thon fundraiser for Carissa's elementary school. Family is welcome and encouraged to come so Gabe and I both stayed at the school when we dropped Carissa off, and we ran in the jog-a-thon with the kindergarten classes. Gabe got a tummy ache from running, (I think because he had just barely finished lunch) so we didn't run the whole length of the race. They had the kids make a loop in the neighborhood and then head back over for the rest of the race, so we cut out the loop part of the race and caught Carissa on her way by us. Then we all finished together. Carissa did a wonderful job and she ran most of the way, when she met up with us she slowed down for a little bit. But, she must have felt better pretty quickly, because she wanted to start running again. After the race was over the school had popsicles for all the kids, and Carissa enjoyed hers in the shade with some of the other kindergartners. Then Gabe and I got some pizza from the concessions there and headed to my parents' house to rest and cool off. I was so hot. And, yes Gabe ate a full lunch, did the run, ate a popsicle, pizza, and a fruit by the foot before he was told that he had enough for lunch. And, the doctors still mention how small he is too me and make sure that he is eating well.

Soccer

Carissa and Gabe are both doing soccer for their first time now. Carissa had a practice on Friday evening and then they both had their first games today. Gabe's coach decided that since they are all preschool age kids that they could just get together and practice for about 15 minutes before the game starts on their game days. So his first practice was right before the game. Carissa is on a kindergarten team and her game was scheduled before Gabe's. She did a great job, and we are very proud of her. She didn't get to the ball very often, but she did a great job keeping up with everything. And it was also pretty obvious that some of the kids on her team had played soccer before. Gabe's game didn't start until noon, and then due to some miscommunication the game didn't really start until almost 12:30. Take a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds who are tired, hungry, and hot (it was about 90 degrees) and who really aren't quite sure what they are supposed to be doing and that describes a lot of how that game went. However, I have to say that it was really cute watching them when the game first started. Two kids went off after the ball kicking it while the rest of both teams stood around in two groups facing each other and looking completely confused. Then the coaches got them all going. Also you had kids wondering off the field during the game to go see their moms only to have their moms send them back. Gabe also did a really great job for his first game, especially considering the circumstances. He really went after the ball a few times and I got one picture of him and another kid going after the ball that I think was a really neat picture.