.The Castro Family.: May 2010

Memorial day parade

>> Monday, May 31, 2010 – Everyday life, Family, Holidays

A wonderful family day! Dave was gone all last week, so it was great to enjoy the day together. We headed to the hometown parade in Old Town Rockville, had lunch and ended the afternoon running in the water fountains. The girls had a blast.

Watching the parade...

The girls will probably tell you that their favorite part of the parade is the candy!

Addie was such a trooper. She's such a great baby!

Fun in the water...

Our find of the day...

>> Wednesday, May 26, 2010 – Everyday life, Selah

of the month, really! As Selah, Addie and I were driving home from dropping Mckenna off at school, we pulled on our street to find this little guy. He was sitting in the middle of our street. We rescued him and enjoyed him for a few hours...until he escaped from the box. So, unfortuntely Mckenna did not get to see him. But Selah THOROUGHLY enjoyed him. She named him Spot Honey. He was really cute!

Adelyn and allergies

>> Monday, May 24, 2010 – Adelyn

It's been quite some time since I updated on our little bitsy girl. Thanks to everyone who has emailed and called, especially after her last appointment, checking in and asking about her. I know I have not been able to respond on all of them, so wanted to post a bit on her.

First, she is doing well! Growing like a weed is an understatement for her. We joke that her rolls have rolls! I'm so grateful that she is healthy and growing.

Her appointment with the allergist went well. Loved the doctor. They could not test her skin because as the nurse got ready to, her whole body broke out in hives. So, there was not a spot to test. After that they sent us off to the lab, which was pretty dramatic for both of us. They had to try in 3 places and literally went digging for a vein. When it was all over, blood was over both of us, and I was a bit shaky...and melted in tears when I walked out.

I got a call about 5 days later to hear that they were not able to test for everything because the lab did not draw enough blood. BUT, we did find out that she is allergic to peanuts. Supposedly she is not to egg, milk, and gluten. They were not able to determine a number of other things such as wheat, tree nuts, soy, etc. The doctor suggested that I slowly introduce some of the things that she tested negative to. So far I've tried egg and she seems to be ok with that. I have tried some gluten foods, but very little as I try to stay away from too much for my sake as well. But she seems to be ok. I have not yet brought back dairy because I'm nervous about that one. I think I'll stay off of it for some time still.

My strict diet seems to have also helped with her poop issues. And some of her skin on her head still has consistently been better. However, other parts of her body are the same or worse. Her skin still continues to break out and sometimes pretty bad, with the oozing blisters. I can tell it really bothers her at times, but she continues to be a happy baby.

We continue to try various things (all the time). Her bath routine changes almost every week as does the things I use on her skin. I recently contacted a naturopathic doctor that I have used for years and she prescribed some herbs for me to take and some herbal ointment to put on Addie's skin. We'll be using that for a few weeks to see if that helps.

I am supposed to go in for more testing this Thursday, but I might chicken out! I have heard that testing can not always be conclusive and sometimes be false positives and negatives. I just hate to put her through that again. We'll see if I end up there or not. My dear sister cleared her schedule and got a sitter without me even knowing, so she could come with me for moral support. It would be nice to know, though, or have an idea of what she tests positive and negative for so I have a better idea of how to guide my diet.

I do have to say that all these issues are so minor. Addie is doing well and I'm so grateful for that. She is an amazing baby and I could not be enjoying her more. How grateful I am for this little gift to our family.

She still loves bugs!

>> Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Selah

Although she can sometimes seem fickle when it comes to bugs, I'm convinced that Selah is still fascinated by them. Today I was out weeding in the garden beds and I found just about the biggest beetle I have ever seen. I literally heard something in the mulch and turned to find him crawling around. He was actually very pretty, decked out in an almost irredescent green. I went to get Selah and she loved it! We put him in a jar until Mckenna came home from school. Then Selah wanted to let it go because she announced that he would be happier. I'm sure she was right!

An adventure in the bathtub

>> Sunday, May 16, 2010 – Adelyn, Everyday life

If you are a mom who loves cleanliness, I'll advise you not to read on! I would usually put myself in the "love clean" category, and while I do, cleanliness has taken on a whole new meaning for me with having 3 kids in the house. This is to my sister's delight (in a good way :). However, if your little one struggles with eczema, there is a little bit of helpful info. included below.

Because of Addie's skin problems, she requires at least one bath a day. If I was supper committed I would do 2, but that doesn't seem to happen much. I have found eczema responds better with more frequent "moisture baths," as I call them. I have tried many ways to do this, after reading about them, and by far we have found one method works best with Addie. I put in some Sweet Knee Oatmeal Cookie bath and start running warm water into her bathtub. Then in Adelyn goes! She really loves her bath, when she is not tired or hungry. I let her soak a bit, with a wash cloth on her head to help lock in the moisture. After a minute or so I add a fair amount of olive oil to the water. Then I start giving her a rub down all over, massaging her whole body with the oil water. I do this for about 5 minutes. Then out she comes, I pat her dry and finish with Sweet Knee bun glaze (I know, weird name - it's actually intended to be a diaper rash preventer, but many also use it for rashes, etc.) all over her body. If she has really bad breakouts, I'll add a little bit of hydrocortisone cream before the Bun glaze. Others have found that letting their baby soak for 10 minutes in the water and then rubbing them down with Vasoline helps. I tried this and it did moisturize, but I liked the all natural element of olive oil and, although it doesn't moisturize quite as well, her skin seems to do better with it.

So, anyway, this afternoon she desperately needed a bath. We missed last night and her skin was getting quite dry and irritated. I put her in her bath as usual and turned around to get a towel for her. I came back and added the olive oil and gently started to rub her down. I was getting tons of grins and smiles and coos. I had my hands and arms in the grease water, up to my elbows, but was loving it. A wash cloth went on her head as usual and I was massaging. I give all these details before explaining what happened next. I got her out of her tub (no rinsing), rubbed her down with Bun Glaze and then dressed her. She looked at me with happy smiles - all done! However, I then went to empty out her bathtub...as I did huge clumps of yellow mass started dumping out and I thin, "that did not look like oatmeal bath." I just stood there staring trying to figure out what was going on - quickly I realized - POOP! She had pooped in her bath. She must have done it as I got her towel from the rack....all before I proceeded to rub her down all over with that water in her tub. "GROSS," I think. For about one minute I just look down at her trying to figure out what to do next. All my girls have pooped in their baths before, so you'd think I'd be used to this. But Addie had yet to, thankfully, because her baths are so long and frequent. The tired side of me said, "Oh she'll be fine, but the mom inside said, "I've got to clean her off." My shirt as well is splattered with water. So, I clean out the big bath tub and her tub, strip her down and back in she goes. All the while Selah wakes up from the banging and is screaming. I get Addie cleaned and back out. As I'm getting olive oil to rub on her (since I didn't put it in her bath this time), the bottle slips from my hand and it goes squirting everywhere, all over the new towel and Addie. Fortunately, I catch it with my other hand. Addie looks up at me with olive oil streaming down her face and gives me this completely confused look, as if to say, "what is going on here?" She is now dressed and everything from before goes in the hamper. I run to get Selah and she comes to the bathroom as I finish up. But as I dump the bath water out, MORE POOP comes out. "What???" Then it dawned on me...there is a little plastic seat in her tub, attached to the bottom. The poop was stuck underneath and coming out every time I rinsed water through the tub. Super gross! Again I realize she was sitting in poopy water. But by this time, I'm too tired. As I take the plastic out it's...well, really disgusting (I'll spare you of details). While I'm doing this, Selah is behind me on the potty, crying cause there is no toilet paper. I turn to try to give her some and accidentally tip Addie's bathtub full of water in the wrong direction dousing Selah with a load of water, including blanket (disastrous!). Thankfully, Addie is spared. So, Selah is screaming, Addie is confused, and I'm actually laughing as I think, "I've got to put this on the blog to always remember!"

Now, Selah is calmed down and Addie is happy in her chair. Maybe not entirely clean but let's not think about that!

Tired

>> Saturday, May 15, 2010 – Everyday life

Yes, some of the most tired days of my life have been just recently. You know you're tired when:

*You're driving down the road wondering where you are supposed to be and if you're on the right side of the road.
*You are looking your child right in the face, and can't remember what in the world her name is...for a good 5 seconds. Or... *Someone stops to comment on your baby and asks what her name is...and you stumble over your words, making funny noises, desperately trying to remember (yes that happened!).
*You sleep through the alarm and wake up to your 3 year old telling you that she has to go potty and, looking at the clock, realize you have 10 minutes to get your Kingergartener up, dressed, fed and out the door. (We did make it!)
*Your yard starts to look like something out of the wild west...have no energy to get out and pull the gazillion weeds sprouting up all over and plant flowers.

My sister and I get together sometimes and laugh as we compare stories. Hands down she has me beat on the number and severity in her stories, not to mention the humor. But nonetheless, it's amazing what our brains do when they are running on little sleep!

Addie's new toy

>> Tuesday, May 11, 2010 – Adelyn

Adelyn has recently started playing with toys, real colorful ones. However, if she doesn't have an actual one, I love how she makes due with just her hands and feet. Put her on her back and she looks at her hands and feet as if she has seen them for the first time. I love it!

Selah snapshots

>> – Selah

(Heather)...Today Selah informed me, "Mom, I want to go to Hawaii." After telling her that it costs a lot of money to go there she said, "Well, a fairy could come and make us really tiny and we could go on a toy plane. That would work mom." If only it would!!!

(Dave)...Did any of you see the Esther play at CLS this year? I took both of them on a daddy/daughter date and have to admit that it was one of the best produced shows I remember seeing at the school. The girls absolutely loved it. I thought to myself (about 15 minutes into the show) that there is no way you could have gotten a boy of the same age to sit through more than 15 minutes. You will have to have seen it to appreciate this story though.

So the girls favorite characters, in this order, were Vashti and Esther. I was grateful for the intermission so that I could hear them saying Vashti's name over and over again they way they translated it. They called her "Mashy." I asked them who Mashy was and they provided me with her other name: the red girl.

The other day Selah went into her room for her pajamas and still had the blanket from her bath on her head--that kind of blanket with the little bear cub hat and ears on one corner to fit snug on her head. When I walked in she was spinning around and around with the towel anchored to her head and the towel "twirling" in front of her singing...

"...cuz I am Mashy... the great girl Mashy! ...yes I am Mashy, the great girl Mashy!"

Grocery store adventure

Before I forget (which I do A LOT of these days) I wanted to write down something I did yesterday. Sleep deprivation makes me do very weird and forgetful things.

So, desperately needing to get out to the grocery store (and wanting to go alone to make it quick and easy) I leave about 7:30. Dave stays with 3 tired and fussy girls. By 7:30pm I am usually too tired to be good for anything these days, but given I had the time, I got out to get some food. First decision was where to go...I was almost overwhelmed with just that one decision, given the many options..Costco, H-Mart, Whole Foods... Dave had to stop and take a minute to draw me out and literally tell me where to go cause my mind couldn't process that one!

I make it to the produce aisle and start loading my cart. Next thing I know, I'm on my way to the next aisle over, grab a few things and go to the next. At this point, I look down and things look a little funny and, well, unfamiliar. I recognize the 2 things I just put in the cart, but where are my mangos...and my purse??? I quickly realized I had up and left the produce aisle with someone else's cart. Horrified I quickly make my way back over, trying to look cool, collected and eyeing things like I was trying to figure out what I needed next. I spot MY cart and nonchalantly try to take the few things out of the cart I stole and mosey on over to my cart, put them in and make a beeline out of the produce section. I didn't dare want the person's cart I stole to catch me!! Poor person though...they must have been looking all over for their cart (and there were quite a few things in it) and thought they were going crazy, while all along, I AM the one going crazy!! So sorry poor person, whoever you are!

So, that's my little adventure at the grocery store. The sad thing is I have other stories too, like leaving frozen chicken in my hot van for over 2 hours on Tuesday. Oh well. But, the fact is I know one day I will look back on this season and forget all this and just remember how cute my little Addie was and how fast the season came and went. One day she will no longer be waking up every 1-3 hours at night...and before I know it she'll be running around with all the other kids. So, while I can, may I seek to enjoy her little baby cuteness, while it lasts, however tired I may be.

My girls

So much to say, not enough time these days. Addie's appointment with an allergist is tomorrow and I'm hoping it will give us some answers - yes, hoping and praying! Not much sleep has been happening around here for weeks now and I'm starting to do some really crazy things (more on that later).

Anyway, yesterday I realized that it had been way too long since I had gotten my girls together for some pictures. I have wanted to do something similar that I did with Alivia and the 2 oldest. A few days before Alivia passed away I had the girls outside with a chair and took some pictures of all 3 of them together. Every time I see that white chair in my house, I think of that day. So, yesterday before dinner I had about 10 minutes to spare and enough energy that I thought I could pull it off. I dragged a fun blue chair that I recently picked up at a tag sale outside and then grabbed Addie to brave the elements (literally - she breaks out all over when she is outside too long and I paid for it last night!). After she was out for a few minutes she started fussing and I realized it had been 3 hours since I fed her - but with my mind these days, it didn't even cross my mind to think about that beforehand. Oh well! When I took pictures of the older girls with Alivia, I had all their clothes coordinated, hair done and all ready. This time, I went out and called the girls from playing in the dirt - literally I did! Clothes filthy, hair all over the place and a fussy baby!

There is so much more I want to say and write, but that will come with time and hopefully a little more sleep. For now, here are my girls who I love so much!

You'll notice in a few of these pictures, Selah has her finger in Addie's mouth...trying to keep the poor girl from crying. Hey, it worked to get a few last pictures in!

I love how the older girls did some of the exact things with Adelyn that they did when holding Alivia, like kissing the top of their sweet heads.