My Allergy Journey

This journey started several years ago, but now that it's well underway, I'm finally recording it.

I decided to have some allergy testing done years ago since we had met our deductible and I hate how often I get sinus infections. (Doctors has always said that an allergy attack often can turn into a sinus infection.) We did the testing, but then Dr. Mireku mentioned pregnancy can affect how allergic you are to your triggers, what your triggers are, etc. Since we had other pregnancies planned, we put off doing anything about my allergies until we knew we were done with babies. So now that we're done with having babies, we re-did the testing to find out what my levels are and to what, so we have a new baseline.

My new baseline showed that I'm allergic to Hackberry tree, Johnson weed/grass, Lamb's quarters weed/mold, dust mites, dog, cat, cockroach (EEW!), and Pem Notatum. My sheet shows me the different levels of each of these, but the serum for me will treat all of these, regardless of the levels.

Once the testing was done, Dr. Mireku suggested an alternative course of treatment for me, which is awesome! So, Traditional Testing is two injections each week for 6 months, followed by two injections each month for 6 months. I qualified for RUSH, which is one full day (8 hours) of shots, followed by two months of 2 injections each week, and then the 2 injections each month over the next 6 months. So basically, I got 4 months of shots done in one day, so that I shaved time off the course of treatment.

This is good for several reasons: 2015's Out of Pocket Max has been met, so I'm trying to get as much done in the next few months as possible. Because, hello... FREE. Secondly, as a busy mom of three boys, this saved me four months of twice-weekly injections. That's a lot of coordination, so removing time from the hours I would spend in the office is amazing.

I had to take several different medications each morning and evening for the three days ahead of time and then show up prepared to stay the whole day, including food, drink and entertainment. Seth took the day off so he could fill in for me, taking the bigs to school, running errands with Carson, and then to OT in the afternoon. I borrowed some "don't-talk-to-me-headphones" from a friend, brought a stack of magazines, BSF homework, and a book with me. I stopped at Starbucks on the way and brought my water glass with me. I brought some things for lunch, which I had to eat in an isolated area, and aside from getting shots all day long, it was really relaxing!

My stash of entertainment for the day.

Rocking the don't-talk-to-me look.

This was where I was all day long. They had HGTV on the tv all day long, so during the moments where I had the place to myself (most people just come for a 30 minute shot stay-as I will following this week). When people came, I put the headphones on to help keep me focused on what I was working on and discourage chatting. The biggest complaint was not seeing the sun/daylight all day long.

In the beginning, I got shots every 30 minutes which meant that magazines were my best bet, because it's hard to do BSF when you're getting interrupted all the time like that. Then it was one shot, wait an hour and lastly, one shot, wait 2 hours. Once my time was elapsed and I'd been checked out by the doctor, I was free to go. I have one more big appointment on Thursday, where I have a shot followed by a two-hour stay, but then I transition to the twice-weekly, 30 minute slots. I think the pace is determined by how well I react, and my goal is to try to go through as much as possible while it's free to us.

Here's the back of my arms when I got home.

While I'm not guaranteed to be totally free of allergies, it will mean I have to worry less about the things I am allergic to. If I go to a friend's house that I didn't know has a cat, I'm paranoid the whole time, worrying about how I'll react. I try really hard to remember my allergy pill anytime I'm heading to a house I know will have allergens, and hate how awful I feel when I forget. Plus, not being so allergic to so many things should reduce the number of sinus infections I get each year which will be a huge benefit.

So, the future looks like a 2-hour appt on Thursday followed by injections twice a week for most of the rest of 2015. We'll check back on my progress in December to see how things are going for me to move to maintenance which is just two shots a month. I'm excited to have this much done already and I look forward to feeling better and better going forward! Thanks for all your prayers!!!!

Georgia Mae's 6th Birthday -- 2015

Our sweet Georgia Mae turned 6! I picked up some toys and treats at Pet Supplies Plus that day, and she got to eat a sweet treat and "open" a new toy. I didn't even have time to wrap the gift, so I really just set it on the ground next to her and got a picture of it. The boys were kind and caring and excited for her to be having a birthday, which I love. We didn't do anything special for the humans of this family, but they were still excited and great about it. They cheered her on, talked excitedly about her gift and treats and we sang to her. I love how they are great to her (and she to them).

Our first picture of her, on our way home.

First Day of School, Christ 4 Kids -- Fall 2015

All three boys are going to Christ 4 Kids at Christ United Methodist this. I feel so lucky to have found such a great school that has classes for all ages and that all of my boys can go to the one place.

Carson, fall 2015 in "Infants"

Graham, fall 2015 in "Young 3s"

Austin, fall 2015 in "Pre-K"

They're all smiling!

lots of backpacks

That's a pretty good smile given that he seems to have lost it.

Would NOT stand up. But, he smiled!

Sound asleep.

These two are practically dating. lol.

Graham and Ms. Carol and Ms. Ellen

Austin and Mrs. Self

They are to find their notebooks and start "writing" in it.

Pine Cove Conference -- Labor Day Weekend 2015

In June, Pine Cove came to our church and did Camp in the City. Our boys were too young to attend the week-long event at church, but I went home and looked them up on the internet because everyone talked like they knew exactly what it was and I'd never heard of it before. I saw that they not only do week-long camps for kids, but family camps. They also have weekend-long family camps which are called Family Conferences. It's a Christian family vacation spot, like summer camp for kids, but you go with your family and they have different speakers/activities for kids and the adults (plus all the campy-stuff like canoes and a pool and a zip line). I immediately put us on the waitlist for the Labor Day conference, but we were like 16th on the list and I figured that we would never get called up to actually go. BUT WE DID!

I about fainted when they called, but it was true! We had to register and pay within 24 hours, which we did and I anxiously counted down the weeks towards our one and only vacation of 2015. (Momma needed a vacation!) The boys were super excited too, even though we didn't really know what we were getting into. They kept talking about their "vacation" and were helpful in getting everything packed which was very nice. Just having them roll their suitcases toward the garage is helpful!

East Texas has a way of reminding me of home.

We were on the waitlist for The Bluffs and The Woods,
but got called for The Woods.

We stayed in Azalea Lodge, which was more like hotel rooms than cabins. One big space with a sink in the open and a bathroom just big enough for a tub/shower and a toilet. The wall unit was amazing and we used the ceiling fan constantly.

Our room had bunk beds...

space for a pack-n-play (which they provided)..

a futon, and a bed. That was the smallest queen bed ever.

This was a little grassy area in front of our lodge.

The lake had been drained, but it was still relaxing to just look at.

An awesome campfire area which was not yet operational.

The new dining hall was only a few months old.

big trees

The first thing that happened when we got there was a dinner and program in the hall. I had no idea what to expect and didn't bring my phone or camera to catch pictures. The next morning, my first order of business was to head to the coffee shop. Carson came with me and looked pretty cute on this chair. Will he be the next finger sucker?

After coffee and locking ourselves out of the room (all the doors are kept open all the time--such trust! We didn't realize the door was in the locked position when it was shut.) and needing help getting that taken care of, we went to breakfast. Which includes a short skit/program and announcements.

What Graham thought of the volume.

nom nom nom

After breakfast, the boys went to Cove Kids to play and we heard a speaker on parenting (Mark with Heartlight). Then it was lunch (the boys by themselves with their classes and us in the dining hall). After lunch, we picked up the bigs and went swimming at their awesome new pool, rinsed off and then went to watch Seth play in a game of Turkish Delight (soccer meets football meets basketball). The big sons had challenged the dads to a game and though our sons were obviously too small to play, Seth was up for the challenge, so the boys and I went to cheer him on.

They let us borrow a jogging stroller to walk up there, which was great.

Graham was ready to play!

The boys watched for a bit together which was super sweet.

Seth volunteered himself for goalie and did AWESOME!

He seems kinda unhappy here, now that I look at it, but he was just watching intently.

Water break!

The bigs borrowed a football and made up their own game.

In the third quarter, Seth handed over goalie duty and rocked the field too!

They huddled afterward and Bama Jama encouraged and prayed for the group.

Carson was a trooper the whole time.

It. Was. Hot.

After the game of Turkish, we dropped the boys back off to Cove Kids, showered and went to dinner which was set up as a Date Night. They had little tables for two set up in the dining hall and some questions on the table to ponder while we ate. They took music suggestions and Seth and I even got to dance to quite a few songs. After that, we picked up the boys and went to make s'mores around a campfire. (I'd like to mention how much we sweated during that, but going forward, just picture us covered in sweat during every single thing we did. It was SO humid!)

Spofford Man Faces

dimple!

one of the counselors helping the boys roast their marshmallows

We got back inside, fed Carson a bottle, and even though he was super happy (as he is most of the time), the AC-from-heat plus bottle knocked him out faster than you could say "baseball." It broke my heart to have to wake him to change him for the night.

The next morning, the boys went to get me coffee while I showered and got ready and then we made our way to the dining hall for breakfast. The staff is SO great. They bring the hot plates to the table, and immediately get cutting for the boys (Austin didn't want his pancake cut), bring bibs if we need them (which we do when there's syrup involved) and get sippy cups. I let them choose their drink and Austin asked for juice every time while Graham asked for milk. I love that he asked for milk. Got some WI in that boy! ;-) While you're eating, they perform a skit (which was also something I didn't know to expect).

This staffer came and asked if she could eat with us. So fun!

Carson wasn't impressed. lol

After breakfast, we again dropped the boys off to Cove Kids and went to our speaker session. Lunch was again separate (the big boys had zero complaints about that--they were taken to eat a picnic, so they were glad to not be with us). After lunch, we picked up the bigs to take Austin zip-lining which he had been begging us to allow him to do since Saturday (the field they used for Turkish is near the zip line, so once he saw it, he couldn't stop talking about it). There was actually one spot left for Sunday and we signed him up when we went to our date night the evening before. He was SO excited. (I, on the other hand, didn't think he would actually go through with it once he got up to the top. And then once he was up at the top, my Momma Nerves kicked in and I couldn't hardly look at him up there.) One of the things that made this better for all of us is that a particular counselor "Snolaf" was at the top at the place where Austin would jump off. (Austin had badly scraped his knee Saturday morning and that counselor was one to help/check on us, and since then Austin and Graham had both been totally enamored with him, which made me enamored with him.)

getting helmeted

That was a wind-y staircase!

Snolaf in the blue shorts

The sun made this a dark picture, but Austin's hugging him.

He was talking him through it and then he jumped!

And pretty much immediately went backward.

They wheel some stairs over to where you're hanging and disconnect your wire and then you walk down the stairs to the ground. But have to carry your stuff back to the beginning (only a couple hundred yards).

Again, it was HOT.
Wish I had gotten that great of a photo of Austin jumping off the platform!

Here's a video of Austin zip-lining.

After zip-lining, Seth took the boys on a canoe ride (a small one since the lake was down), and I read in the room for 30 minutes before going to pick up Carson. He wouldn't take a nap like he should have, so he and I went roaming around and sat on the swings by the dining hall for an hour waiting on the the others. I read, he slept, and I took some pictures of him in the falling light.

Then all the other arrived dressed in the themed Red, White, and Blue, we changed Carson's clothes to match the theme and I proceeded to take 4392 pictures to try to get one picture of all four looking at me and at least semi-smiling. The problem wasn't that I needed a better smile (though Austin seems to have lost his picture smile), but there were so many things to look at besides the camera!

Pine Cove 2015

Then we went inside for the "BBQ" which wasn't actually BBQ food, but was still good. I spotted Snolaf and asked if he would sit with us and then also asked if he would pose for pictures. He was such a great guy and I always want to encourage the boys if they find a male role model that they feel drawn to. This was one of the clearest examples in a long time, so I wanted to document it.

After dinner was a carnival outside which meant snow cones, cotton candy, dunk tank, dance party, water slides, and a Turkish rematch (the dads won the first time and the sons won the second time). There were sparklers at the end, but we didn't stay that long. We had three little boys who desperately needed baths and bed.

This is what they're doing in the above picture. The next morning included a continental breakfast (which not many people came to, but we did since the boys were "SO hungry" from the minute they woke up), followed by family worship outside. Then we had like an hour before brunch, so we finished packing up and started loading the car.

The closing to the skit was hilarious, but Carson didn't seem to care. I stuck a napkin under his face because I felt it must hurt laying against that thing. And I'd actually brought a toy for him since he seemed so bored at meal times. BUT, he slept instead.

The final part of the skit was all these guys on the golf cart,
reversing out the doors.

5 minutes into the ride home and everyone was passed out.

Summary of Pine Cove
Our boys spent lots of time in Cove Kids which they called their "class", but they had a blast. The staff was super helpful at meal times especially and I felt I was able to love my kids way more since we had such help with them! Some people wouldn't probably like the break from their kids, but we did. All ages go to age-separated things, so it wasn't just our young boys that were in day care or something. They wouldn't have spent significant time apart if they were 15 too. The staff probably wouldn't have cut their food, though. lol.

Our speaker topic was parenting teenagers which obviously wasn't super applicable to us, and I didn't care for the speaker a ton. He was a little crass and carried jokes too far. Like kicking a dead horse of a joke. I kept wanting to say "enough already. move on!" The weather was HOT and though I packed an extra change for each person, I should have packed two or three outfits per day. As soon as we went outside, we were soaked in sweat from the humidity. We were pretty well shaded most of the time, so the sunscreen was fine and I didn't see any bugs which was AWESOME, but I was tired of sweating (I told Seth on the last day that I didn't want to go outside at all that day and then the family worship was outside. lol) . I didn't drink anything but water at all my meals, but should have brought one of my water bottles with me to keep filled. (Me of all people didn't bring a water bottle!?)

I also didn't bring a First Aid kit. doh! With three sons, I need to be better about that! Austin needed a giant one the very first morning and used the last two the camp seemed to have (which I was told was weird and an oversight) and I scraped my elbow at the pool and had to get Neosporin and a bandaid from our neighbors next door. I would bring the Avon sunscreen + bug stuff again (but a fresh bottle so I wasn't worried about running out), just because I like how it applies and would bring a First Aid kit with all the things we did or might have needed. Plus, we should have brought lanterns and flashlights. As it was, we were walking around at night to the light of my phone. (I have been very much "at capacity" lately and looked at the packing list once. I mostly just packed based on what I imagined we would need, but remembered to include the R, W, & B outfits but no bandaids or flashlights.)

I would also suggest wearing a watch. There are so many things that require you being at a certain place at a certain time. (Because they provide all your food, you have to be ready to eat when the meals are served. It's not a vacation where you determine the schedule or can eat whenever you want. Unless you bring food along which I wish I would have since there was a mini fridge in our room.) Like meals are at xyz times, you have a slot for zip-lining at This Time (and if you miss it, you're out of luck). The basic schedule was breakfast at 8:30, "class", lunch at 12:30, free time until dinner at 6, free time. But if you sign up for activities during the free time, those happen at certain times, you can't just show up whenever. (The pool is only open when there are life guards, for example.) I want to get some sort of water resistant/water proof watch I can wear in the summer for splash grounds and camp and such, so I can know the time without having to constantly ask people or have my phone on me. I was often wearing clothes with no pockets, so we were at the mercy of everyone around us. lol. (When we were at the pool, we were counting down the time before we HAD to pick up Carson by, and found ourselves with no idea of the time. I asked Austin to say to a man "Excuse me, do you know what time it is?" and he did it perfectly. He was a perfect little gentleman!)

Overall, it was a blast. The price was super good and includes food, lodging, activities, and childcare. I say "childcare" but they didn't just get babysat (well, Carson did, I guess), but went on nature hikes, they went to the pool, they had picnics outside, etc. They did lots of awesome stuff while we were in our speaker session. They weren't just playing in a room the whole time. We drove over to The Bluffs before heading home and I'm pretty sure The Woods is going to be our home going forward. Everyone knows I'm drawn to water and The Bluffs isn't on a lake. The Azalea lodge is old and there are rumors of it being torn down soon, but there's a waitlist years long to get into the other, brand-new cabins there. My biggest complaint about our room was that the window seal was broken, so we couldn't see out. We were on the end, though, which was really nice so we only disturbed one family with all the yelling and crying we had in our room.

The faith element was obvious. We prayed before each meal, the counselors were always dressed very modestly, they wove faith into everything! I told Seth that I felt so safe and comfortable there. Our door was always open and I never felt creeped out by that. I didn't worry that my boys were going to be in dangerous situations or left to get hurt. I knew that either a staff member or a fellow camper would come to the aid if we needed to. It's not like our boys were wandering the grounds without us, but tons of other kids were, and it just felt so safe and I felt myself relaxing mentally and physically. (You know how there's that saying about the mom being ready to take somebody out who's going to hurt their kid? It was that part of my brain that relaxed. I wasn't on high alert anymore.)

One story that particularly stands out is of one of the kid volunteers. (I guess some youth groups come to help out? I'm not super clear on that, but know there were kids helping serve meals who were not staff.) After Austin skinned his knee (he was dripping blood, it was so bad), one kid who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, walked up and told Austin how brave he was, and that he knew it hurt but was proud of him being so strong and gave him a High 5! I was nearly dumb-founded. This kid was just a few years ahead of him, but Austin beamed when the kid said that. It was like being around family, everyone watching out everyone. You're there by yourselves, but you're not. Does that make sense? I wasn't expecting that or to make friends.

I totally want to go again next year. Even though we made friends there and had a great time not knowing anyone, it would be a blast to go with another family. Want to join us??

Additional videos they showed us that had us laughing: Dad Life and Mom Life. (Seth and I both think the Dad Life one is funniest.)