Our week

It's been a full week. My big project for the week was to get the kitchen cleaned out. Do you have any idea how many places flour can get into?! Getting out a spatula or a cookie sheet I'd notice a little bit of flour in the drawer or cupboard, which means that anything (or everything) in that drawer could have a trace of flour on it, which has enough gluten in it to cause a reaction for Jake. So I went to work re-cleaning all the dishes and drawers and cupboards. I'm not done yet, but getting there. I also got to replace any non-stick coated pans/cookie sheets that have any scratches in them, since the scratches can hide gluten that can't be cleaned out. I have a list of kitchen supplies that need replacing one of these days. What a fun adventure. :) But tomorrow marks 2 weeks that Jake has been gluten-free and he is feeling better already. Except that he had a couple french fries on Friday that were glutenated by being fried in the same oil as breaded chicken and had a little bit of stomach woes from that. But in general it's working out well.

While I've been cleaning the kitchen, Rachel has done a great job at keeping herself entertained. Thursday she decided she wanted to go swimming, so we filled up the pool and she had herself a ball. She even tried putting her face in the water once she had her goggles on (she HATES getting her face wet).

She calls her goggles "googoo goggles" like in the Dr. Seuss ABC book.

Friday afternoon we headed up to Mesa to visit Jake's parents who were down for the week trying to organize some of Jake's grandma's stuff. They were kind enough to babysit while we got to go to the temple, and Rachel had a blast playing bowling with Grandma Campbell. The next morning when we took them to the airport Rachel was very excited, until she realized she didn't get to ride on the airplane, too. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our camera with us, so missed out on any photo ops with Grandma and Grandpa Campbell.
After dropping them off at the airport we went back over to the temple visitor's center since Rachel had never even been to the temple (we always leave her at home with my parents when we go) and she had a blast. We ran into some people from our ward who were babysit-swapping, so Rachel got to run around with one of her favorite friends, Lydia, for a while. They played in the fountain outside, and had fun pushing buttons inside to hear about Jesus.
We eventually headed home for some nice LONG naps and a relaxing Saturday afternoon. And I used that time to FINALLY finish the quiet book (while neglecting my poor hubby and daughter--sorry!). Woohoo! No more big projects for me for a while. Except that now that that's done I can actually start cleaning things up and making the computer/craft room into a room for the baby. Anyway, here's the finished product:

Inside the front cover I put a pocket for books/magazines.

And inside the back cover I put a pocket for a coloring book/blank notebook for coloring on, and crayon pockets. So now we're set. We don't even need to bring a separate bag to church--this can hold it all.

Half-blinking Rachel was happy to find it all done when she woke up this morning and promptly got to work dissembling it.

Birthday weekend

Sunday was Jacob's birthday. To start out his birthday weekend on Friday night we had a campin (instead of a campout). We moved around the couches and TV so we could watch The Lion King from inside the sheet tent.

Rachel (and Jake) were excited for the new adventure.

Rachel sat 2 feet from the TV patiently waiting for us to come join her for the movie--she wouldn't give up her prime seating.

After the movie Jake read bedtime stories in the tent. So cute. :)

Rachel was the only one to brave the elements and stay in the tent over night (besides her stuffed animal friends). Jake and I wimped out and stuck to our cushy mattress.

Saturday was occupied with a couple church activities and some nice relaxation. Then Sunday we celebrated Jake's birthday. Rachel opened his presents for him (apparently he was taking too long when he spent more than 10 seconds looking at the first one).

After church we had some tasty shishkabobs and a delectable gluten-free "cake:" rice krispy treats (actually rice chex treats--rice krispies have gluten). Betty Crocker actually makes some gluten-free mixes, but Jake was more interested in rice krispies than cake, and as the birthday boy, what he says, goes.

Happy birthday, Jake! We love you lots and are very happy that you were born! Keep up the birthday-having for many years to come! :)

Quiet book

I finished sewing the pages together of the quiet book I've been working on, and had plans to get the cover done this week, but got a bit distracted with learning how to be gluten-free, and cleaning out the pantry and shopping for new food. And having the quiet book done enough to take to church with us really cuts down on my motivation. But I'll get it done one of these days. In the meantime I thought I'd post the pages of the not-quite-but-almost-finished product. Rachel loves to play with it. So much so that I try to hide it from her during the week so it won't lose it's novelty and will keep her occupied at church. On Sunday I listened to all the talks. So far it's working. :)

Last page and first page: clock with adjustable hands, and shapes to match that velcro on.

Snap on apples with a little basket, and color matching/button manipulating flowers.

Velcro alphabet. I made doubles of some letters so she can spell things like Mom or Dad.

Traffic light with snaps for the lights and a road with a little garage that holds a matchbox car to drive around the town:

Buttons with fish to unbutton and put in the net. And her FAVORITE: Noah's Ark. There are 12 animals I got in a Farm Animals Toob at Michael's (with a 40% off coupon) and she LOVES playing with them. All week long. Unfortunately she likes to talk to them and for them. Not exactly a quiet activity during church. Oops.

Getting dressed-there are several outfits that velcro on and she loves changing their clothes. As for the gingerbread man, she loves the gingerbread man himself, and gets the little gingerbread men from Candy Land to talk to him, but isn't quite up to tying the bow or unbuckling the belt, though she can buckle it fine. Maybe in another year.

And the barn that my Mom and Dad did. I still need to make a few finger puppets to put in the little pocket behind the barn doors. It's in the plans for the next couple of days. And the weaving the rug is, much like tying a bow, a bit advanced, but she'll get it eventually.

I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. And very happy to have it all done. Halfway through I was thinking (like I do with most craft projects I start) "Why did I decide to do this?" But by then it was too late to quit, so I just rushed to finish it. And whenever I get around to making an actual cover, I'll be really done and can finally clean the big mess that is to be the baby's room.

Hello Gluten-free food

Last week Jake got a call from his doctor saying that his blood test had come back indicating he may have Celiac Sprue, and on Monday an endoscopy confirmed it, so now he gets to go gluten-free. Celiac Disease is basically gluten intolerance, so he can't have anything that was made from wheat, barley, or rye. It is partially genetic, and is said to affect 1 in 133 people, but a lot of people are not currently diagnosed.
Unfortunately gluten shows up in A LOT of food. Fortunately there are a lot more products coming out that are gluten-free, so it won't be too hard to find replacements for the food he can't eat, just a bit more expensive, and tedious to check every label every time. There's also a risk of cross contamination from any wheat product (since they're all over the place), so we'll have to have a separate butter container because if he gets a crumb of bread with wheat in it, it could cause a reaction, and dining out will be an adventure, though some restaurants are starting to have gluten-free menus. He'll either get his own tray at sacrament, or a plastic baggie with his own "special" bread.

Yesterday I tackled the pantry. I haven't made it to the fridge or freezer yet, but here's the food we're giving away so far:

All our cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc. soups, pasta, cake mixes, couscous, etc.

I'm keeping the soups and cereals and other things that Rachel and I can eat for lunch and breakfast, otherwise there would be a lot more. And I have a pile of food I have to call about or research online to see if it has gluten--ingredients like "natural flavoring" or "modified food starch" may or may not contain gluten, but the only way to find out is to contact the company or find out from someone else who has already contacted them. It'll take a while to get everything figured out of what he can and can't eat, but at least he'll start feeling better soon and his stomach problems of the last year and a half or two years may finally be solved. Woohoo! So that will be worth all the hassle.

Here we go on our gluten-free cooking adventure. I've made gluten-free tortillas, and have plans to tackle bread one of these days.... We'll see how it all turns out. :)

Play ball!

Last week after Jake mowed our lawn to make it beautiful (so green, especially for Tucson:), Rachel wanted to play ball. She's actually getting pretty good at throwing and catching the ball (at short distances). And she loves kicking her balls around too. She has a MUCH longer attention span with a ball than with a crayon in her hand. Like a half hour, vs. maybe 2 minutes. I guess she'll be our little sports player.

Her other favorite game: playing with the neighbor's cat.

The other day she said, "You know what my favorite game is? I let Lie-lie in our house, then I chase her and catch her and take her outside." (Really her name is Laila, but Rachel always mispronounces it.) We are lucky to have such a happy, easy going cat for a neighbor. It keeps us from actually having to get a pet of our own. And that cat LOVES us. She hears us in the back yard and hops over right away. And if the back door is open she books it inside and hides as far in as she can get--sometimes just behind the couch, or if she's lucky, all the way in the back bedroom under our bed. Silly cat. But she brings Rachel such joy. And doesn't scratch her all up when she carries the cat like a sack of potatoes. :)

Reading scriptures

Last night we were having family scriptures and reading out of the Book of Mormon reader about when Alma is talking to his sons. Rachel was having a really hard time focusing for more than 2 seconds. Or for even 2 seconds. Usually asking her to point to someone in the pictures helps to get her to at least look at the book, so Jake said, "Where's Alma?" She pointed to him. Then he asked "Who's that?", pointing to Helaman (having just said Helaman's name 3 times while she was not paying attention).
Her response: Cortizone. (I'm not sure if she was trying to say Corianton, or Hydrocortizone, which we put on her eczema when she has it)
Jake: No that's Helaman. Can you say Helaman?
Rachel: No. I can't. I can only say Taco and Hammer!
Jake (trying to resume reading since she was looking at the page): Alma told Helaman...
Rachel: That's not Helaman! That's Taco!
Oh, the joys of scripture reading with a 2-year-old. :)

Our week

Earlier this week I heard Rachel call out one of her favorite phrases: "Mom! Come find me!" She loves hide and seek. This is where I found her this time:

She's getting more creative with her hiding spots these days, I guess.

We actually got monsoon storms that rained enough to produce puddles twice this week. The monsoons so far this year have been a real disappointment, but we hold on to the hope that they'll pick up real soon. Thursday it was actually raining with no lightning nearby, so I let Rachel go out and play in it. She told me she needed her rain hood. I dont know where she came up with that, but she certainly doesn't have any type of rain gear. She loved the rain. Especially the walk afterwards where she got to go puddle jumping.

The first time we went puddle jumping this week she insisted on wearing her tennis shoes. The second time we were able to convince her that her clogs were much more puddle-appropriate.

This week I finally got inspired by a friend of mine starting to work on a quiet book, and started to make one of my own, two years late. Rachel could have been entertained for many a sacrament meeting if I had started a couple of years ago. But she'll enjoy it now, at least. And maybe learn how to do some buttons and snaps. I've gotten 4 pages done this week:

There's also a double page with 26 velcro spots on it and felt letters to put the alphabet on it, or to spell words. I have quickly come to love WonderUnder-it fuses two fabrics with no sewing. I have too many pages planned, but this should keep me busy until the baby comes. I had started cleaning up what is going to be the baby's room, organizing all the craft junk that is in there and such, but this has mostly undone all of that. But hey, there's plenty of time, right? :)