Hyper aware of allergies

Andrew and Geoff were giggling in the bathroom last night, as I was cleaning up the living room. When they came out, Andrew had a bandaid over his papercut from preschool yesterday, and Geoff had a Wiggles bandaid on the back of his neck.


We had bathtime just a half hour later, and Geoff was annoyed at the bandaid on his neck, so I peeled it off. Well, there was a rash and little red dots all around the edges of the bandaid.

So I had a good five minutes of sinking feeling in my stomach, and wondering if Geoff has a latex allergy, or if it was just that he'd been picking at it, and irritated his skin. And plotting out life without latex: avoiding birthday party balloons, being careful at doctors' checkups, and all the other places where latex hides.

If I didn't have an allergic kid, I'm sure that I'd have gone with the skin-irritation-from-scratching theory. After all, Occam's razor says, "the simplest solution tends to be the best one."

Instead, since I'm hyper aware of allergies, I went digging for the box of bandaids, and was thoroughly relieved to find that the bandaids are latex-free, so it was probably just irritation. Or an allergy to the adhesive, which is a lot easier to deal with than a latex allergy. One can avoid bandaids. Phew.

Bullies and allergies

I have Google news alerts set up to send me me news and blog postings about allergies. Today's alert included the posting "Mean Grown-Ups," from the Please Don't Pass the Nuts blog. (I've also added a link to this blog in my sidebar.)

This post also links to the Our Story blog, and I found one of the comments so enlightening that I wanted to excerpt it here: "Instead we teach him to be aware of his surroundings himself, to always be on alert. We have worked with the school on awareness and epi training. Everyone knows him and his situation. The school has been very accommodating. My son carries his epi/benedryl everywhere he goes in his fanny pack. He carries wipes with him to use on tables/surfaces he is not familiar with. He washes his hand constantly. Is this alot to ask of a 7 year old? Yes, but to him that is just the way it is. He doesn't know any different.....he has had these allergies all his life yet still leads a very normal life despite his allergies. He does not feel sorry for himself." (comment made by orgjunkie, who, amazingly, is also here in BC. It's a small world.)

I'm lucky that Andrew's not in school yet, but I'm also dreading that day because of these issues of parents who threaten to smear allergic kids with peanut butter.

And I just heard last weekend that my neighbour's 12-year-old daughter had pistachios waved in her face at her high school, with the taunt, "So, are you going to pass out if I do this?" Her mother went up to the school and spoke with the teacher, and was assured that it wouldn't happen again.

Bullying is bad enough in the schools. I get that kids need to play power games, just because they're learning how to deal with life. But when bullying threatens the life of my child, I'm afraid that I'm going to become one of those crusading allergic parents.

And I just don't get the parents who are bullies. They're setting horrible examples for their children, and it's no wonder that bullying then becomes such a huge problem in the schools.

What part of anaphylactic to peanuts don't you understand?

We were playing outside my mom's house today, and the 4-year-old girl from across the street came to join us. She really likes playing with Andrew when their schedules coincide — she's in daycare, and has a few classes scheduled too, so they only see each other once a month or so.

She went back inside at some point, and came out with dog cookies for her huge and friendly dog. Her dad assured us that the cookies were home-made, totally safe for dogs, adults and kids. He listed the ingredients, which included peanut butter.

My stomach churned, and my blood pressure went up, and then I reminded him that Andrew's allergic to peanuts — he'd been told before, but we don't see him very often. He let his daughter feed one cookie to her dog, and then took the tin away from her.

And then the dog proceeded to try to lick all of us. And the dad explained that "he's a licky dog, has been since he was a puppy."

So, what part of anaphylactic to peanuts do you not understand?

I should have just taken the kids inside, but instead, I just tried to keep Andrew away from the dog. He did most of it himself — he doesn't like overly-friendly big dogs anyways. Geoff is fascinated by dogs, so I wasn't so successful at keeping him away, but then again, we don't know if he's allergic to peanuts or not, though he's scratch-tested negative so far.

At the time, it didn't feel right to ask the dad to just put the dog in his back yard while the kids were playing, but that's probably what I should have done. We were only outside playing for half an hour, and then the kids got thirsty and wanted to go inside. (I'd also taken them to the park for an hour earlier, so they had plenty of outside play time.)

Allergy Shock Hits Home

This article from the Victoria News is like a look into our future.

It shocked me, as I’m sure it shocked everyone who heard the tragic news, that a 13-year-old Esquimalt girl died last week from a severe allergic reaction after eating some fast food. ...

My youngest son is about her age and he too carries the burden of a potentially life-threatening allergy. It’s not clear what allergen killed Carley – she had allergies to peanuts and dairy products – however it is clear that she lapsed into anaphylactic shock and never recovered.

His son is about to go off on a band trip, his first without his parents. The fears that fill his head are also in mine. I hope that we'll be able to raise a responsible kid who's not too afraid of the world, and who will be careful with his life.

Anaphylactic Student Protection Act

Another round of support and letters are needed.

On March 28, 2007, the Anaphylactic Student Protection Act, 2007 was introduced in the BC Legislature by an NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly, David Cubberley (MLA for Saanich South and New Democrat Education Critic). There was an impressive show of the support at the legislature by BC advocates and the local media picked up the story with province wide coverage. Overall, the day was quite successful.

Now it's time for action. As the MLAs review the need for this type of legislation, a massive show of support from the public is required. Given that the Bill was introduced by the opposition party (NDP), it's vital that they receive support from the governing party (Liberals) in order to increase the chances of the Bill being passed.

Sara Shannon, mother of the late Sabrina Shannon, sent a letter to each MLA, including the Premier, requesting their support of this non-partisan Bill. Mike Shannon, Sabrina's dad, attended the BC Legislature last week to show his support. For their ongoing efforts, we extend our deepest thanks to them both.

While the second reading is listed on the Orders of the Day for April 16, 2007, there is no guarantee that the Bill will be read that day. We urge you to send an email/letter to show your support today. Take this opportunity to share your story and why you think this Bill is so important. Your email should list some key messages which may include:

- Emphasis on children's safety and protection at schools
- Need for regular training and education for schools on anaphylaxis management
- Raise awareness of anaphylaxis in the community and need for support

For BC Residents: Send your emails directly to your MLA and to those politicians listed below:

For Non-BC Residents: Show your support by emailing:

- Premiere, Gordon Campbell: gordon.campbell.mla@leg.bc.ca

- Hon. Shirley Bond, Minister of Education: shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca

- David Cubberley: david.cubberley.mla@leg.bc.ca

If you are interested in connecting with other BC parents, please contact the following Anaphylaxis Canada members in the BC area:

Pam Lee at: pamela2543@shaw.ca or Caroline Posynick at aspa@posynick.com

Also, if you know of other parents who would be interested in helping to support this bill (with or without children at risk), please forward this email and ask them to send their letter of support as well. Everyone's voice deserves to be heard.

Together we can make a difference.

Anaphylaxis Canada

Another dead teenager

This one's too close to home. A 13-year old girl died from anaphylactic shock after eating with her friends. She had left her epi-pen in her locker, and went to the food fair in the mall.

The Vancouver Sun wrote:
Carley Kohnen, with allergies to a number of foods including dairy and peanuts, ordered a burrito and a doughnut from the Hillside mall food court on Thursday. According to her parents, she was told her food was free of the proteins to which she was deadly allergic. ...

Her parents told her to never try a new food without gaining permission from them first. Throughout Carley's young life her parents had hauled chefs and bakers out from their kitchens to assure them her food was free of dairy, peanut or egg. They read every package that went into making her food.

But in the end, even their best efforts couldn't protect her. Carley was a teenager, said her parents, and she longed to eat the same foods others kids enjoyed.

I know there are thousands of allergic kids who survive their teenage years. I hope Andrew does as well. Stories like this one, however, scare me shitless. Especially since it's the second dead child this week. My heart goes out to her parents.

Administrivia

I've added a couple of allergy-related blogs to my sidebar: No Peanuts Please, Rachel's Recipe Box, Notes from the Trenches and Mama Maven.

Definitely check out Rachel's Recipe Box for a ton of incredible looking recipes. I've really gotten into a food rut in the last year, and I'm hoping this will help me out of that rut.

Also, I've moved my knitting obsession to a new blog: Yarnfloozies, which I'm sharing with my friend Dotty. She's doing more posts than me, but I'm really enjoying our new digs over there.

What does "die" mean?

A 13-year-old Australian boy died last week from eating something with peanuts. He was away at a camp, and out of his normal routine. The allergy folks do warn that the most allergy-related deaths
occur among teenagers, because of their higher risk-taking behaviours. This scares me, but it's still a decade away, so perhaps Andrew will have outgrown his allergy by then. (I'm eternally hopeful, but still frightened.) His allergic reaction last week has led to quite a bit of clinginess and neediness over the last few days.

And right after we got him home from the clinic, Andrew asked "what does die mean?" That's a question that no 3.5 year old should have in their head, let alone think to ask. So from what we can tell from his questions and behaviour, he's trying to deal with the concept of mortality. It's something I can barely think about, so I'm struggling along here.

And another news piece for all the new moms out there: Apples and fish reduce allergies of babies in the womb. I didn't eat much fish when pregnant with Andrew (afraid of all that mercury), but with Geoff I did eat some sushi every week.

Wouldn't it be ironic if all that advice for moms on what to eat was actually contributing to the allergy epidemic? I remember being told not to eat peanut butter, fish, caffeine, and a whole lot of other things. I thought that was tough back then -- and now I'm on an even more restricted diet (no dairy, very little soy, no nuts or peanuts) and it's not that bad.

First epipen use

Where do I begin? Well, I guess it started with Geoff's cold, which started last week. Then Andrew got it, and I started getting it on Tuesday. It really was just a cold, but that's tough enough to deal with when Geoff's awake half the night to nurse because his breathing keeps waking him up.

Then yesterday, my mom accidentally gave Andrew a Chinese treat which had peanuts in it. He threw up twice, and was looking kinda listless, so she administered his epipen. Then she called Tony who dropped everything and rushed home, and he called me, and I sped home too. That was the longest SkyTrain ride ever.

My mom took Andrew to the clinic, which is where I met up with them. Andrew was totally fine, Geoff needed a nap, and my mom, Tony and I were shaking with stress.

Since he was there anyways, the doctor gave him a general checkup and found that he had an ear infection. So we get the antibiotics and go home to give them to him. He refused to take them after the first taste. We persuaded him into most of it anyways yesterday.

Today was a different matter -- nothing was going to get him to open his mouth. My mom finally asked me if I'd tasted it, and when I did, I figured out why he wouldn't take it -- it was NASTY. Think bitter, then metallic, then bitter and disgusting. I have no idea why the pharmacist gave us that for a CHILD!

We went back to the Shopper's tonight, and they gave us a pill instead, which Andrew ate once it was buried in some ice cream.

Moral of the story -- if your kid complains that the "medicine tastes like YUCK", dip your finger in it and give it a taste, because you might just agree with him.

We won't go into what my mom learned about treats for Andrew. She's still freaking out and mad at herself.

Anaphylaxis legislation in BC

I just got this from Anaphylaxis Canada today, and I'm spreading the word about it.

____________________

Dear Registrant,

We thought you would be interested in knowing that a key piece of legislation is being introduced in the BC Legislature regarding anaphylaxis policies in public schools for the province of British Columbia. A private member's bill is scheduled to be proposed on Wednesday March 28, 2007 by David Cubberley (MLA for Saanich South and New Democrat Education Critic). This bill is entitled "Anaphylactic Student Protection Act 2007".

Many of you have children who would benefit from province-wide standards for anaphylaxis management plans.

Don't remain silent on this important issue. Your support is needed now.

To find out how you can support this bill personally, contact your MLA directly. Click on the following link to send an email to your MLA today: http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-4.asp and also provide a copy of the email to: Mr. Cubberley's office at david.cubberley.mla@leg.bc.ca and to Hon. Shirley Bond, Minister of Education at shirley.bond.mla@leg.bc.ca.

You are also welcome to attend the legislative session being held tomorrow at 1:30pm at the BC Legislature Parliament Buildings in Victoria to show your support. If you would like to attend this session please contact Mr. Cubberley's Legislative Assistant, Brian Kowalski at 250-953-4741 for further details.

For more information on how you can connect with other parent advocates in the BC area, please contact Anaphylaxis Canada directly at info@anaphylaxis.ca and we can forward your information.

Please feel free to share this information with others in your community.

Together we can make a difference.

Anaphylaxis Canada

Lactose free chocolate bars

Happiness is … a kid getting his very first chocolate bar.

Yeah, most parents frown on giving chocolate bars to their kids. But when your kid can't have any chocolate because most of it contains dairy or nuts, you start looking for ways to give him treats.

We've got two kids' birthday parties this weekend, which means that Andrew will be looking at birthday cake and treats, and probably won't be able to eat most of them. So when someone showed me these chocolate bars at lunch today, I went and bought one of each for Andrew.

These are Ross Chocolates, made in BC, and lactose free. The label says "may contain nuts" so I called them to check on what that means. They told me that they also make a chocolate bar which contains almonds, and another with coconut (which isn't considered a nut). Since Andrew's eaten both almonds and coconut safely, that eliminated a major worry for me.

They're available at Shopper's Drug Mart, in the candy section. He got a couple of pieces before dinner, and another piece after dinner. He was a happy kid!

Good thing he didn't know about the other two bars that are in my bag. I won't bring them out until the birthday parties on Sunday.

Family photos

We had family photos done a couple of weeks ago, by Nadine Inkster, who's a local wahm. She's really good, and gets the kids all loosened up and happy to be photographed.

Andrew jumped over the stool again, like he did last year.
Geoff can't jump yet, so he just picked up the stool like the strong little kid he is.
And another family shot ... Nadine had so many good photos that it was hard to choose which one I liked best.

Readymech crafts

I just found these amazing cutout craft projects at Readymech. Andrew's almost ready for these. We did snowflakes over Christmas, and he's getting really great with scissors. (He's not ready for the 3D snowflakes yet, but maybe next Christmas ...)

My only problem will be with the tape. He loves tape. He loves to wrap it around the banisters, chairs, doorknobs, cupboard handles ... anything that will stay still long enough to be wrapped. So anything that involves tape is a high-supervision activity.

New allergies blog

Thanks, Hew, for your comment and links! I found two super new allergies blogs, plus an interesting Time article on how children and families struggle to deal with their allergies.

The Time article is particularly (ahem) timely because Andrew seems particularly sensitive these days to the fact that he has allergies and most other kids don't.

We were at my mom's house for dinner on Saturday night, and she'd baked some fish cakes which had dairy in the breading. I guess he wanted fish that night, because a few bites into his dinner, he put stopped eating, put his head down on the table and looked so sad. He finally said that he was hungry for fish, so my mom made him some safe fish-sticks and fries, which he ate happily. But his sadness was overwhelming for him -- he almost started wailing just thinking about it. Just thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes. I wish I could take away his allergies and let him lead a normal life which doesn't have all these food issues in it.

Commercial foods Andrew can eat

I'll be working on this list regularly, but if I don't get it posted now, I'll just keep on procrastinating on it.

We've got a reasonable list of commercial/processed foods that Andrew can eat, and I figured I'd share it to help others with allergic kids. There are lists out on the Internet, but most of them are American, and have brands that we can't get up here (like Sunbutter, a peanut butter substitute made from sunflower seeds).

This list fits Andrew's allergies: dairy (including the other names for dairy: whey, casein and lactose), nuts, and peanuts. Some of these things are egg-free. Andrew's got a pretty violent reaction to traces of dairy or nuts/peanuts -- he throws up within about 5 minutes -- so if he's eaten a food and not thrown up, I've added them to our "safe" list.

I haven't read the labels for soy content, so if you're also soy-allergic, then you'll have to check the labels out for yourself. And remember, always read the label for yourself, as ingredients can change over time.

Restaurants

• McDonald's chicken nuggets (Edited to add: Patti just commented that this contains whey, so it's off-limits for dairy allergies. But Andrew's been eating this all along with no reactions, so I'm going to get him allergy-tested again to see if he's outgrown his allergy over the last year.)
• McDonald's fries
• McDonald's filet o'fish -- if you hold the cheese
  
• Boston Pizza kids meal, chicken strips and fries
• Japanese restaurants are pretty much dairy- and nut-free. Our kids won't eat sushi, but will eat tempura and udon noodles.
• (We don't -- okay, we CAN'T -- eat out much, so this isn't a huge list)

Grocery store -- meats

• Maple Leaf Top Dog hot dogs
• Johnsonville Italian sausages
• Maple Leaf Breakfast Grill (bacon substitute)
• Most ham has been safe so far
• Save On has amazing marinated meats (chicken, steaks, etc.). Most of their marinades are safe -- just don't get the maui.
• Duso's Raviollini -- mini ravioli pastas, no dairy content, does contain whole eggs. I boil them up with some peas or broccoli, and it's a balanced meal in one pot. They're so small that they're a perfect toddler bite. Available at Save On, but you just have to stalk the Duso's section as it's only there every other week, as far as I can tell.
  

Grocery store -- breakfast

• Save On's Western Family instant apple&cinnamon oatmeal (the Quaker oatmeals all have dairy added now)
• New World organic raisin granola (available through spud.ca, a home delivery service)
• Cheerios
• Life
• Mini-Wheats
• Shreddies
• NoNuts Golden Peabutter -- made from peas, and tastes very much like peanut butter. Andrew loves this stuff.

Grocery store -- cookies & chips & snacks

• Dare Simple Pleasures cookies, most brands (oatmeal is the tastiest). All are nut-free, some contain dairy.
• Ritz crackers -- there are a few varieties that are safe, including the Ritz Sticks and the multigrain and whole wheat ones
  
• Oreos -- just not the peanut butter ones. Mini Oreos are a real treat for him.
• Country Choice organic sandwich creme cookie -- organic oreos, basically, and I like the flavour much more than oreos (plus I can actually pronounce most of the ingredients)
• Robert's Veggie Booty -- these are tasty and you can pretend they're healthy because they contain spinach, kale, and other greens.
• Superstore's President's Choice popcorn, organic or regular.
• Fruit leathers have been safe so far
• The socalled "fruit snacks" have been safe, but contain so much sugar that I try to save them for special treats.
• Nature's Choice cereal bars (come in tons of fruit flavours)
• No Nuttin granola bars (see the Nonuttin' website)
• Nature's Path organic crispy rice bar -- cheetah berry.
• Most brands of Pop Tarts (not the yogurt ones, obviously) are safe, but again, high in sugar, so saved for special occasions.


• For toddlers: Gerber Graduates finger foods, shaped like stars, sweet potato, strawberry or apple flavour

Grocery store -- Bakery

• Breads are about 50/50 on dairy content, so we read the labels very carefully. The McGavin's bread basket stores have lots of multigrain breads that are safe for him.
• Two bite brownies are dairy-free -- and dangerous!
• Fruit pies are usually safe, but again, we usually read all the ingredients just to be sure.

Grocery store -- dairy

• VeganRella rice cheese, mozza or cheddar flavours. I don't like these plain, but they melt down really well in a grilled cheese sandwich with ham. (Most of the other soy cheeses contain casein, which is a dairy derivative.)
• Fleishmann's margarine is the only widely-available margarine that's dairy-free.
• Earth Balance Buttery Spread is dairy-free, available in health food stores, and tastes like butter
• Calcium-fortified orange juice. Minute Maid's the usual brand we buy, but Superstore also has a President's Choice brand. Andrew doesn't get enough calcium in his diet, and he won't drink enough milk (since I tried to sneak some breastmilk into his rice dream), but he will drink juice
• Rice Dream fortified milk
• Rice Dream ice creams are pretty good
• Superstore's President's Choice sherbets, non-fat, lemon or raspberry flavours. (And the cheap ice cream cones are safe.)

Grocery store -- freezer

• McCain's Smiles potatoes -- couldn't get through a week without these!
• Most hashbrowns and fries have been safe so far
• Amy's Roasted Vegetable pizza -- I cut up some sausages or put ham on top for added protein. The irony of adding meat to a vegan pizza is not lost on me.
• Highliner fish sticks and fish cakes. Again read the labels -- some highliner products have dairy in the breading
• M&M Meat Shops' chicken strips are super tasty and dairy free
• M&M cabbage rolls -- dairy free and if you get the large platter, it's a huge dinner plus two lunches the next day.
  
• M&M had one brand of breaded fish that was dairy free and really tasty. (Can you tell we're doing an M&M run tomorrow?)
  

Vitamins

• Hero Yummi Bears are his multi-vit, but they don't have a lot of calcium
• For me: Lifetime liquid calcium/magnesium -- comes in pina colada, lemon, orange, and they're tasty
• For Andrew: Swiss Calcium & Magnesium chewable
• Sisu Kiddie Calcium, black cherry fizz flavour, chewable
• Sisu also has a line of liquid calcium supplements. I don't like the flavour, but Andrew does. We sometimes add the liquid calcium to smoothies.
  
• Sisu kiddie acidophilus is dairy-free
• Flora bear chewable acidophilus is dairy free (Acidophilus is on here because one of the current theories about allergies is a lack of intestinal flora. So what the heck, it's the cure that can't harm.)
• Superstore now carries a sour gummy bears calcium supplement that's not expensive and that Andrew likes to eat.

And then there were two...

...imaginary sisters that is.

Apparently Indeger Patty has a sister too; her name is Kidsteer Motor, probably derived from the skidsteer machines that have been parked nearby. There's been some paving work going on at the local highschool (turning the gravel shoulder into paved parking), so there have been several pieces of construction equipment parked there for a few weeks as the paving has, no dobut, been delayed by the storms that have been hitting us.

We've had 14 storms since the beginning of December - some with 90+kph winds, all with 60+ kph, and each time we get wind, we get heavy rain (6" in 24 hours in one case) or snow.

(guest post by Tony, whose imaginary friends included Tomato Cherry, House Baloney and Ambulance Busdriver)

Yarn sale!

If you're a knitter and you haven't hit the Ram Wools 30% off sale, go now! They've got 30% off everything. I got up early this morning to place my order for Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, and they've already sold out of my first two colour choices (purple and blue), so I got red instead. (I was actually torn between the three colours, so it did help to have part of my decision made for me.)

I'm late onto the bandwagon, but I'm thinking that this would make a nice Rogue or Eris sweater. Or I might just buy one of the Viking Knits books and do one of those beautiful cabled designs. Oh, decisions, decisions. I bought 10 balls, so I should have enough to do a sweater and a couple of scarves. Or maybe design a nice long cabled skirt.

They also had sea silk on for 30% off, which worked out to about $25 Cdn. But all the really pretty colours were sold out as of this morning, and I'm not feeling brave enough to do my own dyeing, so I didn't get any sea silk.

Yummy cashmere socks

I don't think you can buy this kind of luxury — you have to make it for yourself.

I bought some cashmere yarn off ebay in early December, and barely restrained myself from knitting it up into a pair of socks right away. I had a ton of gift socks to finish up, plus four pairs of Fetching handwarmers for Andrew's preschool teachers. (I forgot to take photos of the Fetchings before I wrapped them up, unfortunately. Then my mom and sister in law had liked them so much that I had to knit up a couple more pairs just for them — and again, they were done at the last minute, so I didn't have time for photos.)

So I just kept the ball of cashmere by the keyboard, and fondled it a lot until I got to cast the socks on, which was December 25. I cast them off on December 31, and wore them on the first day of the new year. I'm hoping that's a good omen for the rest of this year — lots more handmade socks for me!

My current project is a pair of gift socks in Knitpicks Dancing for a friend's birthday gift. She wants knee socks, so I've got a ton of stockinette knitting ahead of me. But I'm doing most of my knitting on my commute to work, which makes my commute go pretty quickly. That, and I've finally mastered the art of balancing my new video ipod on my lap and knitting to the side of it, so I can watch a movie and knit at the same time.

Is it bad that I look forward to my commute to work as my "me" time?

Oh, and I should share some photos of the boys.


Richmond General Hospital's emergency room has a great kids playspace in it, with two pretend-airplane cockpits. (Richmond is home to the Vancouver International Airport, for those of you out-of-town readers.) I'm hoping this isn't part one of a series of "emergency rooms I have taken Andrew to". We just have to make sure he doesn't have any more allergic reactions.



The boys loved opening their Christmas stockings. Then the next day, Andrew wanted to get another stocking. Then the day after that, he wanted to know when it would be Christmas again.

Ah, to be three again.

Google pedometer

Okay, now I've got a new favourite toy: Google Pedometer.

Click away on your favourite walking route, and it'll tell you how many miles or kilometers you walk on that route.

Our usual route, from our house, down to the bog trail, over to 70th Street, and back, takes 2.6 miles/4.2 km.

So if I want to do the Walk 100 miles by April challenge, we'll have to do that walk 50 times. The walking part would be easy enough to do. It's getting the boys to cooperate that's the tough part. Andrew wants to walk, then he wants to be in the stroller, then he wants to go home, then he wants to collect "treasures", then he wants a snack ...

And Geoff now wants to walk part of the way, too, then he wants in the stroller, then he wants to be carried, then he wants to walk ... sigh.

Web magazines for thinking moms

I found a couple of very cool web magazines for thinking moms yesterday.



Literary Mama is subtitled "A Literary Magazine for the Maternally Inclined." It's got plenty to keep you thinking. If you're a mom, read the Sex in the Suburbs columns. Funny stuff.


Mamazine.com is another excellent site. I read a few articles yesterday, and had their words and images echoing around my head for the rest of the day.

So many websites, so little time!