Wake up and smell the pumpkin seeds

You can hide.

You can try to pretend you have other things to do.

You can be inordinately cute

But your pumpkin guts belong to us!

Addie and Gilad's preschool went to the farm this last week (and Addie's 2 year old class used it as an excuse to teach the children all the standard nursery rhymes and songs, so all week we heard her singing "Old MacDonald" and "Baa, baa, Black Sheep" and so on). They came home with popcorn and pumpkins. So we've hacked the tops of their heads off and scooped out the brains and guts and are soon to eat fresh roasted seeds.

I don't believe it!

Sachy's 11! And even though he wasn't feeling well this morning, he rallied enough to eat pizza

and have his first ever chance to eat his own birthday cake!

So when does it stop?

Okay, Kayla's home, hooray. Addie gave her many hugs and kisses.

We had Sachy's seudah to show how thankful we are that for a year now he has been able to eat!

And I did finish spinning some more CVM (a little finer this time),

and I'm washing some Finn and spinning some Dorset into a 3 ply worsted sock yarn.

Why am I dis-spirited and depressed? I can't really get into all that's been going on. But I'm not happy.

A Fond Farewell...

To Sachy's gtube!  It's gone!  He's unbuttoned!  For the first time since he was one year old (he's 10 1/2 now) he has no feeding tube!

We are so happy!  Can you tell?!

It's the law

As I was just getting ready to go, Sachy ran up to me yelling, "Go! Go! Go!  SWAT Snuggling Team!"  So I swatted him.

Incidentally Addie and Gilad have both been sleeping really poorly the last few nights.  A couple of nights ago Gilad came running into my room at about midnight announcing, "Mommy, I don't like this storm!"

"Um, there's no storm."

"Oh."  And with that he turned around and pitter pattered back to his bed.

And now Sachy just came up behind me reiterating his status as head of the "SST."

Some force is strong in this one

Apparently it's a force of chaos, but still.  In case you're wondering, he was watching Star Wars (or whatever they call the original now) and The Empire Strikes Back.

A busy happy day

Sachy has started his hand at spinning on the wheel:

We had a nice, busy day.  We found 2 letterboxes; we went to some friends' Chanukah party; and we got some Shabbos cooking and shopping finished.  We had latkes again tonight at dinner and the kids had donuts and gelt at the party.

Meanwhile, as of last night this is how far I had gotten in the secret hat project:

But while I've knit several more rows and hope to get more of the lining side done this evening, I probably can't show any more of it.  I'll explain after I finish and send it out.

Oh, and Addie spent the day walking into doors and then crying.  Seriously, she walked into 3 doors today, including once when she walked right into an opening car door and fell backwards, bonking her head on the sidewalk.  She has nice goose eggs on both the front and back of her head.

One of them thar catchup posts

Feivel is starting to feel a little better as the antibiotics really kick in.  Yesterday he still had some shoulder pain (referred pain from the diaphragm irritated by the lower lung lobe which had the fluid and infection), but today he really seems more energetic and more himself.  Take that as you will.

Gilad was up a lot last night coughing, so he stayed home today because we were worried he was really coming down with something serious.  Well, we were wrong and he spent the day driving Jeffrey nuts so he goes back to school tomorrow.

This Shabbos Sachy has a class Shabbaton--the whole 5th grade will be with us (the synagogue congregation, I mean, not our family personally) for the whole time.  Kayla is escaping to sleep over at her friend Shira's house instead of being here.  An added bonus is that Shira also has a 5th grade brother, so he'll be here rather than with the girls.

And I've been knitting up slippers for Feivel in bulky Lopi yarn, to be fulled (felted knitting); and spinning up some mini skeins from leftover singles and fiber bits:

Back from the allergist

Sachy had his big allergy appointment today.  The office was great logistically and professionally--easy for us to get to, ample free parking, they have great hours, they saw us right on time, the doctor was terrific and has a particular interest and full knowledge of EG, and discussed everything he thought with us with complete explanations.

He suspects that while this was true hives (as opposed to chicken pox / coxsackie / measles / mumps / impetigo / whatever other rashes you can imagine)(we brought photos, which helped), that the hives were actually caused by a virus and not by a food allergy.  However, amid much hysteria (I exaggerate not here--Sachy had a full vagal response, turning red, sweating, vomiting, the works) he had a blood draw done to test for a few foods Sachy had recently eaten before he got the hives.  He did also feel that his breathing was mildly asthmatic but that he just needed to have albuterol handy, and he thinks Sachy should follow up in the Spring regarding seasonal allergies.  We'll check back in once we get the test results!

Cool yet itchy

This is what Sachy looked like when he woke up.  Basically we need to keep giving him Benadryl every 6 hours around the clock.  The pediatrician says it may take up to 5 days to get whatever the problem is out of his bloodstream, so he has an appointment with the allergist next Friday (giving him enough time to get rid of the allergen and then get the Benadryl out of his system so testing can be accurate).

Could be an interesting (itchy) morning

What you see here is Sachy's leg.  The white lines are from his scratching.  The big red blobby blotches are hives, with which he is covered from cheeks to toes.

Of course, this is the morning when I am supposed to be doing a program with his class.  The good news is that means we can send him in to school knowing I'll be there on site for most of the morning to check on him; the bad news is that if he progresses to more manifestations of random allergy nonsense, there goes the whole program!

He says he woke up at 4 am with the hives, itching all over.  How could he come in contact with something at 4 am in bed?

Can I start a petition demanding the recall or impeachment of all eosinophils and IgE?

Beach babies and a Yarnapalooza

We're back from a few days at Bethany Beach, where we hung out on the sea shore, ate ice cream, rode bikes, walked, and generally chilled out.  A great and wet time was had by all.

Meanwhile, Sachy has left for Camp Simcha.  He'll be back in 2 weeks.

We came back to find this:

Something like 10 pounds of yarn for charity afghans, courtesy of Ravelry member XenaBob!  I've already told Robin M. who coordinates the charity afghan group here, and I'll be distributing the yarn to everyone who is working on granny squares for the blankets.  Thanks again, XB!

They're outa here!

Feivel is at boy scout camp; Sachy and Jeffrey are at cub scout camp; and I drove Kayla up to girl scout camp. The men all left yesterday morning at 6:30; I drove Kayla up to Leesburg in the early afternoon. So now it's just me at home with Tirtze, Gilad and Addie.

Gilad took scraps of paper last night and told me he was writing postcards. He scribbled on each of them, then "read" them to me. They say:

Dear Tatty/Feivel/Sachy/Kayla,
I miss you.
Please come home tomorrow.
Love, Gilad

Unfortunately, yesterday I also engaged in acts of plumbing. With Grandpa's help, I replaced the insides of our toilet, which had some pipe leak that make the whole house knock when you flushed. When we re-connected everything, though, it turned out that now the connecting pipe between the water valve and the toilet had sprung a leak. Oma took the original so she could run to the hardware store for me today to get an identical one, but I figured I would go to the store myself and find the right thing and get it done last night. Needless to say, the one I got was the wrong size at one connector end, so the toilet is still not usable. Sigh.

However our big new is:
Gilad is now wearing big boy underpants.

he's lost what?

Sachy went to Kings Dominion yesterday on a camp field trip.

He came home having lost:

his towel

his yarmulke

one sock

his underwear

his eye glasses

I'm surprised he managed to keep all his body parts intact.

Sachy will absolutely flip!

Pokemon knitting charts for about 10 different characters.
Somehow I see myself being "told" to knit a Pikachu or Squirtle sweater by next fall, in size 8. Oh, and one in size 3 for Gilad, too.

To Infinity and Beyond

Sachy's new pump finally arrived yesterday afternoon. Tres cute, n'est pas? Sorry, don't tell him I said that, it's very cool.

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Parents in tears is the answer.
A few weeks ago, you may remember, I mentioned that Sachy had failed his trial of oats as a food. It wasn't too spectacular a failure though, he was only sick for a few days; and we had already ordered some oat matzah to be ready if he could have it.
And so, on the first night of Passover, Sachy did go ahead and eat his oat matzah, cognizant that he might get mildly ill, but willing to trade the risk for the mitzvah and the experience. I expected him only to take a taste, and I had definitely discouraged him and made sure he knew there was no need for him to even try it, but he was undeterred and in fact determined, since he knew he wouldn't likely get sick right away. He didn't eat just a bite, though; he loved it, and ate quite a lot. The next day he ate more, also eating margarine for the first time in his life, because one of the Passover varieties of margarine contained only oils. But I've saved what brought his parents both to tears Saturday night:
Listening to our 9 year old bentch (recite the blessings of the grace after the meal) for the first time in his life, in full, out loud, joyfully.
He did feel a little off the next day, and he's only eaten a bit more matzah, but he is so happy to be able to have it, even at a price, and even if only occasionally.
It definitely made for a Passover we'll never forget.

10 points

10 points to the first person who can tell me what this note I found in my purse says (yes, I can read Sachy's name at the end, but that's it; except the word right above his name might be, "under"). (image removed, see below for why:)

Update: We figured it out, even though at first both boys denied any knowledge of it and then Feivel said it was his. Turns out it's Sachy's ID and password for one game, so it's just as well it's illegible!

APFED Appeal

Yissachar has never tasted matzah



Yissachar and other Jewish children with eosinophilic digestive diseases can't have matzah, maror, or wine at their seders. In fact, many of them cannot eat any foods ever, other than medical formulas which they drink or have pumped directly into their stomachs through a feeding tube.

“Eos” diseases don't occur exclusively in the Jewish population, but there are too many Jews suffering the diseases' pain, malnutrition, growth issues, hospitalizations, and other consequences.

This year as you prepare for your Pesach of special foods and drinks, remember Yissachar and help us research and fight eos diseases by contributing to APFED, the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Diseases.


Checks can be made out to APFED, and sent to:
APFED
c/o Elise Cohen
13402 Arctic Ave
Rockville MD 20853
For more information about eosinophilic diseases, contact Elise at elise.cohen@verizon.net or go to APFED on the web at www.apfed.org
The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in December 2001 by a group of mothers of young children living with Eosinophilic Disorders. It is a patient advocacy group dedicated to improving the lives of those living with eosinophilic disorders..

Harry Potty-mouth and Diego Goes

Jeffrey and Sachy were exchanging Harry Potter-eque spells the other day. When Jeffrey pointed at Sachy and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Sachy countered with what is apparently a 4th grade favorite curse, "Smelly Armpits!"

Gilad got a new "Go, Diego, Go!" potty, which to my mind gives a whole new meaning to "Diego, Go!"