So, I'm Going To Be Gone

Within minutes, I'm leaving for a Women's Weekend at the cabin. There will be lots of food, wine, knitting, and laughing. On Monday, I'm driving to St. Cloud to visit with Alyssa. We may look at cars, altho that is not my forte. Tuesday, I'm getting my hair cut/colored by my long-time hairstylist, Noreen. Then, I drive back to Thunder Bay.

Please pray for all of the pets and plants at my house!

and so it goes.....

well.....got the Claritin around 5:00pm today. When I read the ingredients it contained lactose...which of course is milk. so I called the on-call doc...which was thankfully our own doctor. He called back and all I had to say was "Claritin has lactose in it". And he understood. so he called the pharmacy and ordered a prescription of Zyrtec syrup for me. However, our insurance wouldn't cover it, the pharmacist called the insurance co. and they said they couldn't do an override with her, but if I called they could probably work something out with me. I called the insurance co., went through all the menus, just to hear "Our customer service dept is now closed. Please call back during normal business hours." I wanted to scream! I refuse to pay for the prescription without insurance helping out...just being stubborn I know, but I am so frustrated with everything right now...and the hives aren't as bad as last night.

I am treating the hives with the Benadryl cream Dr. Steve and it is working better than the hydrocortisone. Thank you for that suggestion. Hey! I just realized our Dr's name is Steven. Maybe you could cover for him when he is on vacation!

The hives came back after a walk tonight. All in areas where certain types of clothing rub and fit closely. And where you sweat. But they aren't really spreading. just little patches here and there...but my do they itch!!

And here is a suggestion. If you ever have hives or irritated skin...I do not recommend shaving. No matter how badly you think you need to shave. It will not be worth it.

Maddox had his first fun day at the park today. Usually he sleeps in the stroller, but today he put his feet in the sand and LOVED it!! He dug into that sand as far as he could with those little feet and had such a look of pleasure on his face! He could not get enough of it! Then he sat in the baby swing and had a great time with that. Just leaning back, holding onto the chains looking like he's been swinging all his life!

Mason attempted the monkey bars and was able to swing to the 4th bar...quite an accomplishment for him. He was pretty proud! Also sliding down the fire pole like nothing!It is fun to see him try some of these things that have been so intimidating and scary for him in the past. He's growing up! i'm so proud of him.

Off to bed now. We are going to Hoyt Lakes tomorrow to visit Craig's mom for the day. i hope i am done itching by then.

Claritin here we come...

I have been given the green light for Claritin!!! As soon as Maddox wakes up from his nap we are going to buy it!!

These stupid things are still hanging around...well, the hives are gone but my skin still itches and burns. I was up every 3 hours with itching because the hives kept moving around my body, but in a symmetrical pattern. It was wierd. Whatever was on my left arm was in the exact same place on the right arm in the exact same pattern.

When I put my deodarant on today, my armpits started itching within 20 minutes. After I washed them, it stopped. Maybe it's the deodorant? Who knows. I've narrowed it down to a few things: Olive oil soap, dried apple chips, deodorant, apple cider vinegar, stress. OnceI have the Claritin, I will begin experimenting.

I've been trying to read the comments, but haven't been able to for some reason. I'll try again.

Maddox's skin was so clear this morning, but now that I am using the regular handsoap again, his skin is getting blotchy again...maybe a different olive oil soap would work.

On a bright note...I rinsed my hair with apple cider vinegar water last night, and my hair was completely tangle free this morning. Even after sleeping with wet hair in a pony tail all night--and that is unheard of for me. It also felt really soft. But, maybe it contributed to all the hives?

Torture...

the itching...itching...itching. I was awakened to itching at midnight as the hives have spread. They are all over my trunk, forearms, wrists and neck. The pharmacist did not think it was a safe idea to take Benadryl for a variety of reasons, and the Cortaid just isn't knocking back this batch of hives.

Trying to find natural remedies, but putting pressure on my trapezius point did absolutely nothing except aggravate the hives because I had hives there.

I feel like i am in the Twilight Zone or an Alfred Hitchock movie. I know stress can cause hives and I realize we have had a bit of stress, but I was feeling pretty good today.

All I want to do is loofah my entire body. My heart breaks even more for little Maddox, because this is pure hell!!! I read that they only last for a couple of hours, but we are past that now. Hopefully in the morning these will be gone. I hope I figure out what caused these so I do not have a repeat of this. If I could roll around in a sand pile it would be heaven.

Has anyone had this happen? Does anyone have any suggestions?
always an adventure around here.

THE MAGIC OF OLIVE OIL

We have discovered olive oil soap. I tried it out and it is pretty nice. It comes in a bar, and is unscented...not a great scent..but very moisturizing. When I wash up with it, I feel like I should jump into a frying pan. We found some scented ones online and some liquid soap, so we are going to order that. Also found some olive oil body cream we are going to try.

I tried a bit on Maddox, and he didn't react. Hooray!! I have been rinsing his hair with vinegar water everyother day and that seems to help with the itching of his scalp.

Oh nice. I just realized I have hives all over my armpits while writing this!!! What the heck?!?!? Maybe the olive oil soap is not a good idea. I tell ya!! I have no idea what just caused that. Who knows.

Maddox is cute as ever. so smiley and sleeping a bit better...when I don't take fish oil. i am assuming he is allergic to fish. I am sorry Dr. Steve, but I will not be taking the fish oil, but I am taking flaxseed oil instead. i hope that is OK?

Well, I am off to figure out what the heck is wrong with me now and try to get rid of these hives. Always something at the Wiediger household. Thankfully nothing terminal or life threatening...just annoying.

Mason's W's Dictionary

Mayonnaise: a distress called, commonly used by pilots when their planes are going down. Example: "Mayonnaise!!! Mayonnaise!!! My plane is crashing!!"

Tomato: a storm in which clouds form a funnel and strong, damaging winds are present. Example: "There is a tomato warning!"

Michigan: a place where people tells others about Jesus. Example: "The missionaries live in Michigan"

One of Mason's newest toys...avocado pits. He loves them. Can't get enough of them. After they dry out, he peels them and rolls them all over the house.

Mason posted on his blog

Hi there. Mason wants everyone to know he posted on his blog, and he changed the name of his blog to "Go Fly a Frisbee" (address stayed the same) because he likes the name of this blog so much.

Things are relatively stable here...hooray. Just doing a lot of research on Coconut free products. For shampoos, I either need to use a clay based one or a shampoo bar. Sounds fun. Maybe I'll just grow dreads, then I really don't have to worry about washing my hair. Maddox occasionally breaks out in hives and we don't know what from, but a little hydrocortisone is all he needs to knock them out. That is an improvement. AND he can use a regular terry-cloth towel now after bath without breaking out all over. We are moving forward.

Maddox is getting mobile. Starting to roll around the living room a bit. I was hoping to hold off on that for a bit longer. Now I am going to need to scrub my floors on a daily basis to make them safe for him. Between Mason's dust mite allergies and Maddox's food allergies, my house should be pretty clean (operative words being "should be").

I'm not a real doctor, but I play one on TV . . .

I had some time today so I got picked to be the doctor in a video we are doing for vitamins and supplements. Not much of a role, but I better remind you to take a multivitamin and your fish oils today.

Happy Birthday 'eh!

Forty some-odd years ago today, the world welcomed a very special lady. (Hold your thumb over the guy on the left to get the full effect since this is the only picture I had access to right now)

Happy Birthday 'eh - Cathy.

Our Guest This Morning

Was the baby eagle. Well, not quite a little baby. This one is probably 2 years old. The 1-year-olds are flecked with more white. I was getting ready to do Pilates when Ginger 'went off'. I mean, she lost her mind. I looked outside and couldn't figure out what the deal was. Nothing. I ran upstairs, fully intending to scold the offending barker, but when I saw the eagle on the pergola, all I could do was run for the camera. This must have been some gutsy eagle, because s/he seemed unruffled (ha ha) by the barking abuse. Let me assure you that this bird was HUGE. I can see how an eagle could pick up a dog or cat. Ginger had better watch out..

The Collector

Mason informed me today that he is collecting the boxes toothpaste tubes come in and Orbit gum boxes. He had done some funny things today, but my mind just went blank.


We did some rummage saling this past weekend and found a matchbox ice island car track. Mason has played with it for hours everyday since we bought it!! It has been wonderful for both of us!!

I 've gotten a few other good deals at the sales this summer. A winter jacket and snowpants set for Maddox for 4.00 that looks brand new and a Johnny Jump-Up for 2.00. I also found a brand new baseball mitt for Mason that will fit him next year for a couple dollars. I love the rummage sales!!

Thank you again Cathy for the nioxin tip!! I am going to look into that right away!

Well, might be some severe weather heading our way. Lots of tornado warnings to the north and i hear a few rumbles of thunder outside right now. think I'll head off to bed.

NANA'S LULLABIES

Last night Maddox would not fall asleep, even though he was tired. My mom had done such a great job getting him to fall asleep in Washburn, so I called her.
She sang him lullabies over the phone and it was magical. He settled right down and just listened. when my mom was done singing, I was talking to her and the little guy flipped to his side in my lap and started to fall asleep. I was able to put him down in minutes.

Nana may need to move in with us.

Coconut Milk

Well, we found out tonight that Maddox is allergic to Coconut. Of all things.... Thankfully we found out before I ate the meal with the coconut. Mason had tasted the coconut cream and had a coconut mustache and Maddox touched his face, and lo and behold..minutes later his hands were covered in hives. Cortaid knocked them down and they didn't seem to bother him (thanfully). I read that Coconut allergies are extremely rare (of course they are ) and that most people are allergic when touching the coconut rather than eating it. Maybe that is Maddox's case...I hope...

But, Coconut is in every shampoo and soap and cleaning product in our home, and I think it will be a challenge to find ones with out it. It may explain why he still has som eczema that continues to flare up.



HANDY-DANDY:

While walking outside with Mason he said :Yep. These are dandy sandals. Handy Dandy sandals.



He was helping Craig with the doorknob (again) and brought out his toy tool chest exclaiming "Well, in my handy tool chest I have a lot of tools"



While reading the newspaper (yes, he began reading the newspaper...he read the back as Craig was reading it..not all of it, but enough to get the gist of what the article was about)...he saw a picture of a pig and talked about how cute it was and how it looked like Wilbur (we're reading Charolette's Web) and Craig read the caption and it was about a pig named "Sprinkles", and Mason said "Sprinkles?!?! That's a food, not a name!!"



Mason made Limeade tonight from a lime and tasted it saying "It isn't just perfect limeade, but limeade"





FEE FIE FO FUM

Mason's made up rhyme he plays with Maddox while wiggling his thumb:

"FEE FIE FO FUM, HERE COMES THE GIANT THUMB beep-beep (as he beeps Maddox's nose)

Mason almost rocked Maddox to sleep the other day and it was the most precious thing. He hummed a little toon and Maddox was so content and comfortable in his big brother's arms.



Mason has been making up songs throughout the day about what we are doing. It is like living in a musical. The funny thing is that they usually rhyme, and have a good beat. It is pretty funny.



MADDOX

Maddox is getting cuter everyday. Tonight Mason said Maddox was just the cutest and wishes he would stay a baby forever because he is so little and cute. I told Mason he was pretty cute to and he told me "Well, I'm not the cutest person in this house. Maddox is. I'm cute, but not the cutest!"



Maddox is in the stage where he will reach for us now, and we all just love it. He even reached for Nana over the 4th as we left to give her a "luv".

Sometimes it looks like he is trying to give those open mouth baby kisses too. And when I lay down with him (during those desperate moments when I need a few minutes of sleep), he'll flip to his side and grab my face with his hands and snuggle up his little head to my head. so sweet.



Maddox has very ticklish shoulders and is into hanging upside down over my leg. He'll just lie there with this flat expression on his face until you say something to him. He needs to know what is going on at all times as well. It is getting in the way with eating though. He is a curious child.



Well, off to bed. It's nice having a few moments with both children in bed sleeping and the house silent. Maddox is turning into a very loud baby. Mason's way of coping with it is to yell out noises that are louder than Maddox and cover his (mason's) ears. We are going to work on a way for Mason to have some alone, quiet time in his room to get a break from the noise.

WELCOME BACK!!

That looked like a FABULOUS vacation!! How wonderful for everyone to be together like that!!!
Was it hard to come home? I can't believe all the fun things you accomplished on your vacation!! Everyone looked so happy and relaxed in the pictures.

Vacation Pics

Here is a cross-section of photos from our vacation. Fishing, fireworks, the zoo, ballgames, Lambeau Field....we did it all.

First Carnival Ride

Maddox was jumping in his Johnny Jump-up today and Mason was sitting with Maddox laughing. I turned my back to wipe out the sink and they were both laughing. I turned around and Mason was spinning Maddox in circles while in the Johnny Jump-up. His body was all contorted and his head was hanging out of the Jump-up. But he was laughing. I gave him the once-over and he was fine. But it was scary to see. We had a talk about it and Mason's reply was "But he was smiling and laughing. He liked it!!!"

Maddox played with his first moth today. A tiny little fellow that provided some brief entertainment.

Mason saved the day by killing a spider that was on Maddox's Exersaucer while we were outside. It was a creepy looking thing and I wasn't able to kill it with a leaf, so Mason took care of business with a stick. He was very proud of his rescuing abilities.

Mason and Maddox update

Until I have my own blog, I'm sorry you have to suffer through all the updates on the kids. i don't want to forget anything and this is easier than writing it down. So, just a warning, this may not be all that interesting to you. (But it is all precious to me)

Maddox: Precious, adorable Maddox. Was 7 months on July 4th!! Allergies are doing well. Just has an itchy head at night. His new tricks include hitting himself in the head with toys, laughing at sneezes, playing with 2 toys at a time, playing with bowls, putting any new object on his head--or rubbing it on his nose.

Lots more babbling now and he loves to blow air through his nose and spit while sticking his tongue out. He says "mamamamamam" (especially when upset), "alalalala, adadadada, mmmmmm, bbababababa". He will not take any medicine and pockets it in his cheek and then dribbles it out later, or blows raspberries with a mouthful of medicine so it goes everywhere. He'll give pretty much anyone a smile that will melt your heart and crinkles up his nose and purses his lips when he smiles. In fact, he smiles with his whole body. He often reminds me of Grandma Haugen when he smiles.

He is all around lovable and a joy. He is sitting up and likes to pant. His bottom teeth are just begging to push through. He uses his feet as much as his hands while playing. He will on occasion roll over to his stomach...but doesn't really like it. He can throw his pacifier almost across a room. He likes to rub my hair on his face and is beginning to chew on it. He obsessed with his toes. He loves when Mason goes to bed before him and he is all alone with Mom and Dad. He loves his Daddy and Mason.....He is wide awake, playing and panting and screeching right now at 10 minutes to 10:00pm.

Maddox has a death grip on hair, and will do anything to get his little hands on the remote and phone. He does not like the sound of running water and the sound of a shower terrifies him. He will kick when angry/unhappy and will toss stuff around as well. Maddox will put himself to sleep at naptime, but struggles at bedtime.

He has had 5 haircuts already.

Mason:
Dear, sweet Mason. He likes using new words like "sweltering" and "apparently"....his 2 new favorites. and has informed us that his room is so hot that he "is just sweltering, double sweltering".

He likes to throw things at the ceiling fan when it is on the highest speed (our only speed) to see what will happen.

He has made lasers out of straws and sticks and has kept them for over 2 weeks. One side lasers cold, one side hot and one stick lasers water. He is keeping the yard safe with them from intruders and bugs.

He loves to dig in his sandbox and make islands, and mountains, and canyons, cliffs and roads.

He loves to make Maddox laugh.

He loves his Transformers and is memorizing all of their stats and has made hideouts out of boxes and by cutting out the characters on their packaging.

He is determined to win a coloring contest and just entered his 3rd one.

He is very picky about what clothes he will wear and cannot be easily swayed into wearing something he has deemed "uncomfortable"....but if he can wear it for about 10 minutes, he will state "This isn't uncomfortable anymore".

He loves making friends and loves the fact that he has so many cousins (including all his 2nd , 3rd, etc...cousins) and Aunts and Uncles.

He thinks Nana and Pop are going to turn into a Grammy and Grandpa soon because they are getting old.

He has a bottomless pit and can often eat as much as Craig.

He is a hardworker and loves to help out (paid and unpaid). He will work to make money and save it for months to purchase something he really wants. He will also check to see if it is on sale.

He loves to learn and asks questions about everything and wants to find answers to everything and information on everything.

He is always touching things and smelling his hands...constantly through-out the day.

He does not like to play Capture the Flag.

He is a champ at Monopoly Jr. and can beat his mom at just about any game.

He doesn't want me to tuck him in bed anymore and doesn't want any hugs and kisses at night from me "because I am growing up mom". (although during the day he enjoys a hug or two)

Helloooo Out there....

I was hoping I'd be reading about everyone's 4th. Did anyone have a long weekend?

We went to Washburn and had a wonderful time. Junal, Vinnie, Nic and Nanni and Dominic also went. It was very relaxing and fun with lots of good food!! thanks Mom!!

Maddox loved being held by everyone and Nana did a super job getting him to fall asleep at night. He even did some 5 hour stretches. Then when we got home he slept a couple of nights for 6 1/2 and 6 hour stretches!!!! (until last night...every 2 hours on the minute). We need Nana to come and live with us!!

Mason had a blast with his cousins! And everyone had a great time. We did fireworks at night in the yard Thursday and Friday night. Some pretty good ones too. It was hard to leave. I want to go back.

The upstairs is looking great. Rooms all painted and the floors are done. The living room is done up real neat. Funky paintings, new couch and fun decor.

Mason and Gianni did a Hula show for us, I need to find a way to download the video to this blog. It is hilarious!!!

Well, hope to be reading some posts soon. Anything happening in Tomahawk, Madison, St. Cloud, Colorado, or Canada?? anything??

He Can Beat God at Uno

At bedtime, we were talking about playing Uno and how Mason usually wins, I don't win all that much and how Mason hates it when other people beat him because he "Is the Champion!"

That led into a discussion of how Mason could beat God at Uno. I explained that would never happen, to which Mason went into a lengthy discourse of how he would lay down his cards and the strategy he would use. He kept saying if we had just one chance, we all could do it.

Aye. I'm all for self confidence, but this is a bit much.

So, at bedtime tonight we covered marriage, living together, and the omipotence and omniscience of God. I wonder what tomorrow night will bring? Economics and the ethics of war maybe?

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!

Happy Canada Day Cathy!!! What do you do on a day like today?

Even the Squirrels Can Get Ear Infections

So, I am looking out our window as we are getting ready to go outside, and I see this squirrel acting just crazy. Running in circles, running up and down the tree, acting as if something is chasing it, standing on it's hind legs and THROWING itself on the ground and lying on it's side, lying on it's back and squirming all over and spinning in circles, getting up, sniffing the air and repeating everything all over again.

I called the local veterinary clinic, they referred me to a cell phone number of an Emily and also to another vet. clinic. Emily didn't answer her cell phone or return my call. I called the other clinic, they gave me a number of a Peggy. I called, and got a fax machine noise. Called the clinic back, tried Peggy again and got her husband.

I proceed to tell the story of the squirrel for the 4th time. His response "I have never seen a squirrel do that before." Then began asking all kinds of questions. Is it an adult or young one, is it coordinated when it runs. That was a tough one to answer, because it kept throwing itself all around the ground, but it ran pretty good when it went up and down the tree. He said squirrels with ear infections have a hard time walking or running in a coordinated way.

All I wanted to know was if it was safe for us to be out in the yard or not, but by the time I was done talking on the phone, I needed to leave for my Dr appt. He said the squirrel was probably safe and chances are it didn't have rabies (my concern) and to call him back with an update after the Dr appt.

Well, the squirrel was gone when I got home. Not sure where it ended up.

Man. Even our squirrels are getting ill. It probably does have an ear infection because it has untreated allergies for acorns.

He's never getting married

At bedtime tonight, Mason asked if Craig and I kiss each other. I said "yes".
to which he replied "It is like you are getting married. Will I have to kiss someone when I am married?"
ME: "yes."
MASON: "Gross. I am never getting married. Can you just live together with each other?"
ME: "ummm, no"
MASON: "Who will I live with then?"
ME: "Maybe some friends"
MASON: "Yeah! Like Vinnie, Nic, Gianni and Noah and Freja and Naomi!!"
ME: "Freja and Naomi will probably live next door"
MASON: "That's wierd"

He Knows Ass Words

Mason was rhyming as we were getting ready to head outside this morning. "glass, class, grass, bass.' and proudly exclaimed, "Hey, I know Ass words mom!!!"