Motorcyle!!

If you didn't see this post on facebook, Samuel is now the proud owner of a motorcycle. And the surprising part about all this is that I'm the one that found it and told him to get it.

He has been commuting 45-60 minutes each way to school every day, and he was driving this old (1994!) Ford F-150 truck that was getting about 15 mpg. The gas was killing us, as we are getting up to almost $4 a gallon here in AZ. So when our tax refund came, I was assigned the task of finding him a great commuter CAR.

I was put in charge because of my tenacious researching skills (I love it) not to mention that I had more time at home with the computer to find deals and set up test drives.

I learned that the 2004 Hyundai Sonata, which was in our price range, was the MOST reliable car from 2004 out of ANY MAKE and ANY MODEL. So I decided that I wanted one. It was kind of a sleeker/cooler looking car, and wouldn't make him feel like a high school student when driving it. I test drove 4 of them. There was one that drove perfectly, and I wanted it really bad, but several times while test driving it, I had this very clear thought come into my mind. "DO NOT BUY THIS CAR." I was crushed, because finally I had found "THE ONE"- it had everything I wanted and drove sooo nice...but the answer was no. It was hard to swallow, but I told myself that it was probably because the transmission would blow out or something in the near future, and we would have wasted all our money.

I test drove SO many cars from private sellers on craigslist. I was driving all over the Phoenix valley, hauling around 3 kids (and putting all 3 of their carseats in the cars I was test driving.) One guy called me a "real trooper." Hahaha. I was starting to get frustrated, and finally it occurred to me that I might be looking for the wrong thing.

Samuel has owned 3 motorcycles in the past, he's an experienced rider, and he has the endorsement on his drivers license. He LOVES motorcycles, and was afraid to get his hopes up when I told him I was looking at motorcycles (I had to ask what to search for, since I know next to nothing about them.)

24 hours later, he was riding his new motorcycle home. We got it for $1500 less than I was going to pay for the Sonata, and it gets twice as good gas mileage. (I think he's getting 40-45 mpg.) It's saving us a ton of money and we're thrilled with it.

This purchase was conditional upon two things- that we have a life insurance policy on him, and that he always wear a helmet. He agreed, and it's been a blast to have that thing. We went on a date the Friday after he got it, and we took the Motorcycle. It was fun and exciting and made us feel young again (lol) and as an added perk, Samuel looks hot riding it, and walking in the door in his leather jacket. Kinda turns me on. That's never a bad thing. ;)

The girls love it too. They've all been on a ride around the block. Ella loved her ride so much that she kept lunging back towards him to get back on it, and so she got to go twice. She is surely her fathers child.

So here it is, a 2006 Yamaha V-Star Silverado 1100. It was assembled in Japan, which makes me feel even better about it's reliability.

Easter

Easter was fun and low-key this year. Our ward put on a breakfast and easter egg hunt for all the primary kids on Saturday morning, and the Easter Bunny came to our house and left their baskets on Saturday morning as well. So we got to do all that non-religious stuff on Saturday, and focus on the Resurrection on Sunday. I kind of like that and hope to keep that up every year. These pictures are out of order (Sunday first) but I'm having trouble moving them, so out of order it is. Here's our Sunday pictures. I really did not mean to dress all of us in purple. Everyone chose their own outfit, and we happened to match. Funny.

Samuel and I sang the most gorgeous arrangement of I Know That My Redeemer Lives in Sacrament meeting, it's the one from EFY 2000. It really made Easter special to focus on the words to that hymn. When I was practicing it alone, I seriously kept having to stop because the words were hitting me so hard, and I was crying. I'm so grateful for the knowledge we have that we will all be resurrected someday, and we can be with those we've lost forever.

Saturday Pics:

Can you believe we have never dyed eggs? We aren't intentionally leaving it out, it's just that we haven't had our own easter egg hunt, we just keep going to these public events. Maybe next year.

On another note, I am so glad that all the candy/junk food holidays are over. Now I can keep the candy out of my house, and therefore, out of my belly.

Allergy Testing

Poor little Annie has had food allergies since she was a newborn. We had her skin tested when she was only 3 months old, but results at that age are usually wrong, and they were in her case (everything showed up being negative.) But after many prayers, and lots of tears, I got a very clear answer in my mind, from Heavenly Father, that corn was bothering her the most. That's when I went on a crusade to find her a corn-free baby formula, which was hard to do, but luckily not impossible. Here it is- the only corn-free baby formula that I know of: Simliac Alimentum Ready-to-feed. (Every single powdered baby formula on the market is sweetened with corn syrup solids and sometimes has corn starch in it too. So it has to be this liquid stuff.) Annie transformed into a very happy baby on this formula, and her reflux was related to her allergies, and it stopped too, without any medication like Zantac or Prevacid. Most doctors said that she was sure to grow out of the allergies or sensitivities, but now at 3 1/2 years old, she was still complaining of stomaches and she would get itchy eczema and rashes occasionally. I was so stumped as to what was causing them, because I limit her to very little dairy (she drinks almond milk, but does love an occasional chunk of cheese, or yogurt.) And I was also keeping her about 75% gluten free, which was hard. To be honest, I quit making dinner for the family, because Kalia wouldn't eat Annie's special food, and Samuel usually isn't home by the dinner time hour-- anyway, that point aside, it's been a long road. We were so grateful when our family doctor told us that Annie could be allergy tested right in her office. She wanted to start with outdoor allergens, but I insisted we get right to the food. And I'm so glad we did. We had to do it over two appointments, and this time the allergy testing was slightly different than it was 3 years ago. This time there was no "control" prick, or histamine added. They just did skin pricks of 40 different foods, and then waited 15 minutes, and then measured the size of the red circles that were left.

Serum on. It was hard for her to lay on her stomach for 15 minutes. The redness around the pricks was huge at first and I didn't know what to think.


4 mm and smaller was considered a normal reaction. Then the other sizes were 5 mm (moderate), 7 mm (high), 9 mm (very high) and 11 mm (extremely high).

Now let me just say that I have spent the last two years doubting whether or not Annie was really allergic to corn as a baby. You know how you always wonder if that was REALLY revelation that you heard in your mind, or if it was just your own thought? I had also decided that it was probably still eggs, milk, and wheat causing Annie's rashes and stomachaches, so I just wanted to see.

It was a shock to get her results. Not only had she NOT outgrown her allergies, she had WAY more allergies than I had ever dreamed. Allergies to foods that make you just scratch your head- like garlic, and lemon, and rice.

But the real validation was that she only had ONE allergen that was considered EXTREMELY HIGH, and guess what it is? CORN. It was a cool moment for me, and really strengthened my testimony of divine revelation.

Another surprise was that the usual foods that bother people (dairy, wheat, eggs, etc.) were all only moderate or moderately high allergens. For our family record, I am going to record all the foods and her reaction to them (measured in millimeters).

Oh yeah, and notice the only food she WASN'T allergic to? PORK. So strange.

Apple -9
Apricot -9
Banana -7
Barley -5
String Bean -7
Broccoli -7
Cantaloupe -7
Carrot -7
Chocolate -9
Corn - 11
Garlic -9
Grapefruit -7
Mushroom -5
Oat -9
Orange -7
Pineapple -7
White Potato -7
Rye -7
Soybean -7
Strawberry -7
Tomato -7
Watermelon -5
Whole Wheat -5
Beef -5
Pork -4
Chicken -5
Egg-5
Turkey -5
Cow Milk -7
Fish -7
Green Pea -5
Lima Bean -7
Buckwheat- 5
Cherry -5
Cucumber -5
Lemon -9
Onion -7
Spinach -7
Cauliflower -5
Rice -9

This is her back right after they wiped off the serum stuff, and right before they measured her.
Positive for 39 out of 40 foods.





And also for the record- we had Kalia skin tested and were surprised when she came back allergic to tons of things too, although all of her reactions were moderate, only 5 mm, which is probably why we never knew about them.

If you were wondering if Samuel and I have allergies, the answer is...probably. I didn't know I had any, and neither did he, not with the typical reactions, but allergies can cause reactions that are usually not recognized, such as irritability, dark circles under the eyes, ADHD-type behavior, skin itchiness and bumps, mouth itchiness, diarrhea, etc. When I was nursing Ella and went on that super strict elimination diet, the bumpy skin on my legs smoothed out like silk. So obviously that was an allergy that I hadn't noticed. I miss that skin now that I'm eating normally again. I am pretty sure it was dairy that caused that reaction. Samuel has a few other random symptoms that are probably allergies too. And I do have a brother that had severe allergies as a baby, and he is still allergic to a bunch of things. He has asthma too. So I am just guessing that something about the combination of Samuel's DNA with mine caused this crazy food sensitivity. It is probably also caused by food alteration, and the food I eat while pregnant. I might try to eat all organic during the next pregnancy and see if there's any difference. Chances are, all my kids will have this to some degree.

Ella is still very allergic to everything, and will be staying on her special formula until she's 2. Thank goodness, because right now EVERY form of solid food except for maybe squash and greenbeans, is causing some sort of problem with her. SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS DANG FORMULA! Thankful that we have it 100% covered through WIC and insurance as well. Ella can be allergy tested (and treated) after she turns 2.

So now, back to Annie, we are just waiting for insurance approval, and she will be treated with some allergy drops that will be formulated just for her, and the foods that she tested positive to. That's quite a cocktail. Supposedly I just give her a few drops under her tongue every day, and it's supposed to "re-set" her body and help it recognize these foods as good, and not as foreign invaders. I am really hoping it will work.