"Baby Girl"

Do you know that feeling, when you look at someone you love that is in pain, and you just hurt for them? It sits all the way down in your gut. You can't help but stare at them. You just wish you could do something. ANYTHING. There is no greater pain in the world than to see your child hurt.

It started out as a simple ear infection. Ashley has only had one before in her life, and this could have actually been the same one lingering on, since it was just a month prior. I took her into the Dr. to get an antibiotic. They prescribed Penicillin, actually it was Augmentin which is penicillin with an additive. Things were going smoothly until day 7 when Ashley woke up with hives covering her body. I was sitting on the deck reading the paper when she walked out of her bedroom. When I saw her, I immediately knew what it was, because I had the same reaction when I was little (only I was school aged and old enough to remember every detail). I quickly put both Luke and Ashley in the car and rushed to the doctor's office. They said to immediately stop the penicillin and put her on benadryl. I did that, but she still wasn't clearing up. It's like the benadryl did nothing for her. That evening she seemed to be feeling worse, so the doctor called in a prescription for a steroid. I had a neighbor come over (Brent was out of town) to sit with Luke and Ashley so I could run to the pharmacy, I am so grateful for wonderful neighbors. I gave her the steroid and she seemed to clear up a little, but not much. Having a 4 year old on a steroid is interesting to say the least.... I watched her sleep the whole night. The next day was about the same. However, the rash was shifting, where her skin was covered with hives before was now clear, and where it was clear, was now covered. Strange, but I thought OK, the penicillin was still in her system. It hadn't even been 48 hours since her last dose. The next morning she woke up and this is when I got scared. REALLY SCARED. I don't even know if scared is the correct word to use here. I was fearful for my baby girl. What if her throat closes up?! The hives had shifted again, only this time to her face. She was completely swollen. She couldn't open her eyes. Her lips were enormous and her scalp was covered. You couldn't even recognize her. I immediately called our doctor and he met us at his office. It was closed since it was a Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday. (what an awesome doctor right?) He told me she could be allergic to something other than the penicillin like peanuts or berries. So he said to stop those as well. He increased both her benadryl and steroid. By the afternoon, Ashley was back. Not 100% but back. The hives went down significantly, and she was no longer moaning in pain. She started looking like herself again. By the next day, she was completely clear, only bruises were left behind. Bruising? Seriously? I'm not a hypochondriac, I swear, but I called the Dr. yet again. He was concerned about the bruising as well and asked that I bring her back in. They ran a series of tests and everything came back negative. Which was good, that meant the hives were just so bad that they bruised her poor little body. Within 2 days, Ashley had no bruising and her beautiful skin was back.

This has been a stressful journey, and I am so glad that it is over. Ashley has had peanut butter already and no reaction, which is great. We will try berries soon. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I want to post the pictures I took for the doctor. I decided I would, after all, the point of this blog is for Luke and Ashley to look back on their childhood. Also, what if Ashley has a child one day who goes through this? I kept asking my mom questions about my reaction to penicillin and it was hard for her to remember. She probably blocked it out because it's pretty traumatic to see. I will try my hardest to block this out too.

Later that afternoon. This is how her eyes are supposed to look!

How she is supposed to act!

Now you don't think I would end a post with pictures like that do you?! Check out this porcelain skinned baby girl!

Ashley's taking tap and ballet!!!



She is so proud when she puts on her leotard. She struts around the house showing off. She says she likes ballet better right now, but tap is just so funny!

I am thankful to have the pediatrician we do. He worked really hard and close with me throughout this whole ordeal, answering all my questions and never once making me feel stupid. I tried really hard to stay calm, not only for Ashley, but for Luke. I didn't break down until last night and it was over a stupid commercial! Guess, I just kept it all in. I am thankful that Luke and Ashley didn't pick up on my fear. At one point, Luke said, "why is she making that face?" and that made me laugh. I love my children more than anything in the world, and I hate to see them in pain. I know this is just the beginning, and they will get sick again, I just wish I could put it on me.

Recipe: Homemade Marshmallows

What a crazy winter it has been! Not only has it been cold by Florida standards, but the rest of the country, it has been blizzard after blizzard. I love the snow. I know those of you up north are hating me for saying that right now, but some of my favorite childhood memories involve the snow. For those of you who follow this blog that don't know me personally, I grew up right outside of Nashville, TN. It doesn't snow there often, but when it does, EVERYTHING shuts down. Especially the schools. There was this puppet on the news (y'all let me know if he's still around)his name was "Snow Bird" and he was the one who announced the school closings. We used to sit around the TV waiting for Snow Bird to appear. I remember hearing my mom say on a few occasions, "I want to rip Snow Bird's beak off!". hahahaha! As a kid, he was great, as a Mom now, I can see how she would feel that way! My siblings, cousins and I loved him, it meant NO SCHOOL! We would then spend the day outside sledding, skiing and ice skating. SO much fun! We would top off our day with bowls of soup and hot chocolate. Great memories. This is one memory I would like my children to have.

Since we now live down here in South Florida, there is NO chance of a snow day for Luke and Ashley. So I figured I would bring the fun memories to them! We loaded up in the car and went to the local ice skating rink. It's definitely not like iceskating on our frozen pool or the Pizza Hut parking lot, but it will do. Luke and Ashley were SO excited.

At first they hated it. The second they stepped onto the ice, they started slipping all over the place, their noses started running and they complained of being cold. ha! FLORIDA BABIES...... But after a few minutes, they caught on and took off. Of course there were some falls, but they got right back up and kept trying. They laughed a ton. I laughed at the old lady who was out there in a complete ice skaters outfit. I mean tights and a l.i.t.t.l.e. skirt (Something that should only be worn by an in shape young woman)she thought she was hot stuff so it made it even funnier. I personally was afraid she'd fall and break a hip. I feel the need to make fun of her, because she came awfully close to my kids, almost knocking them over doing her twirls. I should have gotten a picture of her, but decided just to take some of Luke and Ashley on my phone.

Ashley:
Luke: that's Phoenix behind him.Talk about being sore for a couple days. Maybe it was from all the triple axises I was doing. (is that what they're called?)

We've been eating a lot of soup this winter. Some days, I have to crank the air conditioning down low so it's bearable, but some evenings, it's really cold! With the cold comes Hot Chocolate and with Hot Chocolate comes MARSHMALLOWS! Most of you know how much Ashley loves marshmallows, so we decided on a cold day to stay inside and make them. Turned out to be easy and they were delicious. For my friends up north who are dealing with yet another snow storm and are stuck inside, this is a great activity to do with your kids.

Here is the recipe, I copied from Alton Brown.

Homemade Marshmallows:
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup ice cold water, divided
- 12 oz. granulated sugar, (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 t kosher salt
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- nonstick spray

Place the gelatin into a large mixing bowl along with 1/2 cup of water.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, 7- 8 minutes. Once it reaches this temp., immediately remove from the heat.

While waiting on syrup to heat, prepare a large 13 by 9- inch baking pan, by lightly spraying with non stick cooking spray (be sure to include the sides).
In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle the mixture onto the baking pan and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12- 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.


When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly. dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Be sure to eat the left over marshmallow whip!
Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of the each marshmallow with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! I'm not much of a marshmallow eater, but these were REALLY good. I bet they'd be even better roasted. Now I want to go camping. Hmmmm... maybe that will be our next adventure....

I am thankful to have had such a wonderful childhood with such special memories. I hope I am making special memories for my children as well.