Home and Away

Yesterday, I painted my toenails red, white and blue. The kids think they are awesome. This morning, I put up the flag on the front of my house. The kids were excited. I read numerous expressions of gratitude on Facebook. I talked to my boys about the holiday. It felt good to celebrate. It felt good to mark the day as special.

Tonight, I took time to remember what it felt like to be an Army wife on Memorial Day. I remember the fear I felt- the fear that one day I would observe Memorial Day differently, as a widow.

Tonight, I thought of those that have lost everything in the name of service.

Tonight, I found this special by CNN: Home and Away

It's a powerful tool to see just how many lives have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you click on a specific month, the map shows the hometown locations of those that died. You can see how many people died each month from 2001-2010. You can search for a specific name. You don't have to know someone that's died to be powerfully touched by the sheer numbers. It shows 2,469 casualties for Afghanistan and 4,771 for Iraq. Each number has a name, a face, a hometown and loved ones.

So tonight, I honor those that have died in Iraq and Afghanistan by praying for their loved ones.

I am forever grateful.

This just in: Sunday Snapshot

I took an after dinner photo of the kids for no other reason than the fact that two out of the three kids were standing next to each other laughing.

I love these kids.

Thursday Thanks Tank #155

Today, I am thankful for:

• my husband's job
• my kid's laughter
• a clean kitchen (and the sound of the dish washer washing my dishes)
• music
• an upcoming concert
• flip flops (ya, I know- who am I?)
• swim lessons for the kids
• Google (because it allows me to find info for our move)
• getting doctor appointments
• friends that will watch kids
• a great time visiting with a friend and letting the kids play
• glow in the dark fingernail polish (I bought it for my daughter but, seriously, it's so funny when you get in bed and forget that you have it on- ya, my own fingers startled me)
• fruit (especially cherries right now)
• Pigtails on my little 3 year old
• Pizza
• Breakfast for dinner (which is what we had tonight)
• A quiet house when the kids are in bed
• My kids telling me stories about their school day
• Encouraging my son as he writes a paper
• An email from the school district where we are headed saying they are a nut-free district
• the smile on my son's face when I told him that the school we are headed to will not serve peanut butter or peanut products in the lunch line and that they already have a peanut-free table set up ("nut-free" means they don't serve it, kids can still bring it to lunch)
• the excitement of my peanut allergic son's brother's when they heard about the school not serving peanut products
• the sadness I feel about leaving the school the kids are in now. I am thankful for the sadness... because of what it means... amazing teachers that care.
• Chocolate (it's a love-hate relationship- but even with the calories there is more love than hate)
• Lists
• Cold Water
• multiple kids wanting to say the blessing at dinner

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~Jean Baptiste Massieu

Food Allergy Thoughts This Week

My son's food allergy is not something we just focus on during special occasions. It's something that we concentrate on daily. Here are my food allergy thoughts tonight.


Every so often, a food allergy is beneficial. Oh, not really. But, I always to try highlight the positive. Today my son's class got individual treat size M&M's as a reward. My son got a regular size Skittles. He didn't mind.

A few weeks ago, I called an ice cream manufacturer. Much to my dismay, the ice cream cartons do not contain a peanut warning but there is a peanut warning online. THAT is ridiculous. I called to voice my displeasure. They responded by appreciating my input and sending me a gift certificate for a free carton of the ice cream. What? Maybe their customer service representative wasn't really listening.


I am still eating peanut butter Reece's eggs when the kids are in bed. I might have stocked up on those a little too much when they were 50% off.

I continue to be touched by the kindness and forethought that people show with regards to my son's allergy. I have had school volunteers go out of their way to make sure my son gets a safe reward. I have had friends make sure to provide safe treats. Just the mere fact that my son's teacher keeps skittles on hand for my son because the coupon for free pizza is for a pizza place that isn't safe, makes me smile.

I had a unique opportunity to meet with another peanut allergy mom whose son will be starting kindergarten next year. It brought back memories. Starting school is such a trying time for parents of food allergy kids.

This past weekend, I couldn't attend an event because I didn't plan for it. It was an event with food. My options upon remembering late the night before were 1) pack my son his own lunch 2) buy something the day of the event and pay for it (meaning extra expense) or 3) just miss the event
I couldn't go. I didn't have the energy for it. Sometimes, it just sucks. That's the honest truth. And, I know everyone doesn't always understand.

I wish my local stores carried sunbutter. Soybutter is carried at Wal-mart. We don't like it that much.

I brought way too many cupcakes to the soccer party last week. But, it was my first time using thawed frozen cupcakes in addition to the fresh batch I made. It was helpful to have those frozen cupcakes on-hand. I will make cupcakes again soon so I can have frozen treats as back-up for events.

I went to pick up some raisins this past weekend for a family picnic we were having in our backyard. Instead of raisins, I grabbed some yogurt covered raisins as a treat. When I got home I read the label and it says, "May contain an occasional peanut." That's pretty specific and pretty darn scary, if you ask me. None of my boys would touch them.