In Like a Lion...

March has been such a crazy month!  And I am not just talking about the weather, which has been unusually mild for Minnesota.



These kids are such troopers...this picture was taken after we discovered we were locked out of the house.  Thank goodness for forty degree weather!

The month started with some answers about why Lucy's tummy is so fussy.  We visited allergist Dr. Graft, and found out that Lucy has class III allergies to dairy, wheat, peanuts, eggs, and almonds (class II), as well as being borderline allergic (class I) to a plethera of fruits and veggies.  Her tests for soybeans came back negative, but she has proven to still not tolerate them at all.  This has led to me diving into the world of hypoallergenic and gluten free foods.  I have come to learn so much and cannot believe how much more there is out there to learn.  I have been experimenting with several gluten free and allergy free foods and have found that there are some pretty tasty options out there (Ian's products, Enjoy Life chocolate, Jovial brown rice pasta, Vans GF waffles), some edible options (Cherrybrook cookies, Bob's Red Mill GF pancakes), and some fairly nasty products (Namaste muffin mix).  It is really such a learning process, but I feel that our family, as a whole, will be healthier for it.  And there, folks, is the silver lining. ; ) 
At the end of the month, Lucy saw a GI specialist, Dr. Ferenci, and had an upper GI and flexible sigmoidoscopy under general anesthesia at Childrens Hospital in Minneapolis.  She was such a trooper.  Honestly, the procedure was harder on mama and daddy than Lucy!  The hardest part for her was trying to figure out why she coulding drink milk when she wanted to!!!  Everything looked pretty good...there were a few unconcerning abnormals.  We will have the test results sometime in April.  I put the pictures on here, though...is that weird??

Lulu napping before her procedure.

Lucy's Upper GI Tract

Lucy's Lower Tract - you can see the inflamed lymph nodes especially well in the last picture.

This month we also replaced the flooring in our house per recommendation from Lucy's allergist.  Really, with all of the allergy plagued individuals in this family, we will all benefit from the change.  Unfortunately, the timing of the project was poor.  Midmonth, the flu swept through our house and as the floors were being replaced, the kids and I were horrificly ill.  After Alex and Pi spent several days helping us get back on our feet, we graciously repaid them by....giving them the flu, too.  Thankfully Steve was aware of the symptoms and his exposure and got into the doctor right away and was put on Tamiflu.  Alex is still fighting off the after-effects.  I swear, it feels like our family has been sick the entire month...which is kind of true.  Eli has had one thing after another since the first Thursday of the month!

Living Area Before - Please excuse the mess!!!

Living/Dining Area After

Lucy Enjoying the New Floor

And that was our March.  2011 has been so wild so far.  I am hoping things start to settle down as we move on into spring!  The snow is melting and 50 degree weather is on the horizon!  We are itching to get out of this house and enjoy some nice weather!  Eli has even been sleeping in his baseball hat and with his mitt under his pillow to break it in for playing catch with Alex!! 

Happy Spring Everybody!!