Friday, February 1, 2013

Well, that didn't last long...

Well, it started out as a great idea.  I really thought I would be able to keep up with wanting to do 3 Pinterest pins a week.  Clearly I was wrong.  
I have good excuses though.
It has been really cold here.  It being really cold means that I am not leaving my house to buy things for various pins.  I know that sounds lame, but it is true.  
Plus, I have been busy obsessing over things other than Pinterest.  I have always been a crazy google doctor.  You know, the kind that googles things like "child with pain in right ear lobe and left big toe", and then I convince myself that one of my children has some rare disease.  It's not something I am proud of, but it is the truth.  I am aware of it and I really try to keep myself in check. Some days are better than others.
Unfortunately, I have had to play google doctor a lot lately.  Since November, Allie has been complaining of stomach aches.  She also has had random hivey rashes that come and go and her behavior has been crazy.  Those of you that know Allie know that she has always been our emotional one.  Very sensitive.  She wears her heart on her sleeve.  She gets it honest. 
But this has been beyond a little girl just being sensitive.  This has been bad.  Really bad.  Bad to the point that I have had to cancel things because I couldn't leave the house with her.  
So....I turned to google.  Basically everything I found pointed to some type of allergy.  What type of allergy wasn't clear.  We went to the pediatrician and he ordered some blood work.   A celiac panel and a food allergy panel.  So we waited.
While we were waiting, Allie washed her hands with a new hand soap that I had bought.  She immediately broke out into hives on her hands.  That is when it clicked.  She is allergic to dyes.  We decided to run our own little food challenge.  We started reading every label.  Now, I buy as naturally and organically as I can, but we are a one income family and to go completely organic is EXPENSIVE.  We don't eat a lot of junk.  The kids don't drink soda.  They don't eat crappy cereals, but still....dye is in so much!  
We tried our little experiment and guess what.  Her stomach aches went away and our sweet little bug was back.  No more crying fits.  No more anger bursts.  Our fun, spunky, hilarious bug was back with us.
It has been amazing.  
I am a little worried about Valentine's Day.  All the red candy is going to look so delicious to her.  Luckily she is old enough to understand that it is the dye that is making her feel bad.
So...that is why the pinterest project has gone by the wayside.  There are still things I want to try, but I am going to admit right here and now.  3 a week ain't happening.
There was a part 2 to my resolution though.  My 52 weeks of pics of my kids.  THAT I have been able to keep up with.  Check out my album on facebook to see my cute trio :-)
Taking pictures of my kids has ALWAYS been an obsession of mine, so that resolution was simple to keep up with!