As we approach Thanksgiving, I've tried to discuss with the Babe about what we're thankful for. This year Thanksgiving falls at the same time as Hanukkah (a unique occurrence on the calendar). With all the holiday adds, and soon to be gift receiving on her part, I anticipate a lot of greediness popping up. I want her to remember that we are very fortunate.
My daughter told me that at school yesterday they made a picture, and then were to write down what they were thankful for. My daughter is thankful for grocery stores. Now we don't live in a third-world country nor in an area with little industry. When I saw her paper this morning, I laughed with her teacher about it. Apparently its not so much the stores themselves, but the Babe is thankful for grocery stores because that is where we get food. That makes complete sense.
This year I am thankful for our health and that the Babe is able to attend school. Those are the big things in our lives. There are a lot more things I'm thankful for, such as our family and our new home. We have an abundance of things to be thankful for. While I have a lot to be thankful for, we are also hopeful that this season sees our extended family in continued good or improving health.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
A Wonderful Halloween
Another Halloween has come and gone, and we survived. In fact, we did better than just survive. The Babe had a wonderful day for many reasons. In fact, it started a week or two prior when we were "Boo'd" by an anonymous neighbor. Apparently our fairly new subdivision was having some fun, where a mysterious Halloween bag would show up on your doorknob. One Sunday morning when my husband went to get the newspaper, he found our bag. Our initial thought was Uh Oh! Dreading the thought that it would be filled with candy, we were thrilled that everything in the bag was fun things for the Babe, and none of it involving food. I suspect whoever gave this gift was someone I had met recently, but whomever did it, it was great. When we had to "pay it forward", I made sure to keep it food-free, and gave it to a family that I knew was having some food intolerances or issues.
As for Halloween, it started with the Babe going to school. I haven't discussed this here yet, but she's been enrolled part-time in a private kindergarten. They have been wonderful, and have tried to be very conscious of the environment and any potential hazards. Its a small building, and they knew the classrooms that satellite off of hers were all having pizza delivered for lunch on Halloween. As they couldn't control the delivery time, we agreed that I would pick the Babe up by 10 a.m. to avoid the potential risk from airborne dairy.
When I dropped her off that morning, we gave out little goodie bags. I was able to tie in a little food allergy lesson, hopefully raising a little awareness and/or future tolerance. Basically, my message was that you can have fun without food. The message probably went over the 4 and 5 year old heads, but everyone was happy. After I picked up the Babe, we headed home where we made sugar cookies. I tried out a new recipe (to be posted at another time), and the Babe had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out pumpkin shaped cookies. Later, we decorated foam picture frames that were Halloween-themed.
Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating between 6-8 p.m. I had intended to speak to the families in my cul-de-sac in advance about having a safe treat that I would provide them to give her. I had bought a bunch of little items. Well, I didn't get a chance to talk to them, so I told the Babe that if she didn't get a safe treat, I'd have something to swap for it. The Babe insisted she'd get safe treats. Well, guess what? For the most part, she was right. It was wonderful.
In the afternoon, the family behind us dropped off a little goody bag with a non-food item, because the mom knew she couldn't give candy. Then once the Babe was ready to trick-or-treat, we headed off to the three nearest houses. House number one gave the Babe a bag with her name written on it filled with...no food! There were other treats like stickers, bubbles, slap bracelets and more. Truly wonderful! Then the next house the father said they had two different treats they were giving out but he wasn't sure which was safe. One was a possibility, so I took that one, which will be swapped. I appreciated the gesture though. The third house they gave the Babe a package of crayon rings and a little (3x5) princess coloring thing. Can we say totally amazing? I hadn't talked to any of these parents in advance, yet they all got it. The Babe was included. This was her first year we actually dared to trick-or-treat, and what a treat it was! All those things I got just-in-case, so she wouldn't be disappointed, weren't necessary. In fact, I gave her some at the end of the evening, and the rest are going to be saved for next year. The Babe had a fun-filled, totally safe Halloween.
We celebrate any thing that brings us closer to "normal", and while we may have tap-danced around a few potential hazards to make the day a success, we still got to dance.
As for Halloween, it started with the Babe going to school. I haven't discussed this here yet, but she's been enrolled part-time in a private kindergarten. They have been wonderful, and have tried to be very conscious of the environment and any potential hazards. Its a small building, and they knew the classrooms that satellite off of hers were all having pizza delivered for lunch on Halloween. As they couldn't control the delivery time, we agreed that I would pick the Babe up by 10 a.m. to avoid the potential risk from airborne dairy.
When I dropped her off that morning, we gave out little goodie bags. I was able to tie in a little food allergy lesson, hopefully raising a little awareness and/or future tolerance. Basically, my message was that you can have fun without food. The message probably went over the 4 and 5 year old heads, but everyone was happy. After I picked up the Babe, we headed home where we made sugar cookies. I tried out a new recipe (to be posted at another time), and the Babe had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out pumpkin shaped cookies. Later, we decorated foam picture frames that were Halloween-themed.
Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating between 6-8 p.m. I had intended to speak to the families in my cul-de-sac in advance about having a safe treat that I would provide them to give her. I had bought a bunch of little items. Well, I didn't get a chance to talk to them, so I told the Babe that if she didn't get a safe treat, I'd have something to swap for it. The Babe insisted she'd get safe treats. Well, guess what? For the most part, she was right. It was wonderful.
In the afternoon, the family behind us dropped off a little goody bag with a non-food item, because the mom knew she couldn't give candy. Then once the Babe was ready to trick-or-treat, we headed off to the three nearest houses. House number one gave the Babe a bag with her name written on it filled with...no food! There were other treats like stickers, bubbles, slap bracelets and more. Truly wonderful! Then the next house the father said they had two different treats they were giving out but he wasn't sure which was safe. One was a possibility, so I took that one, which will be swapped. I appreciated the gesture though. The third house they gave the Babe a package of crayon rings and a little (3x5) princess coloring thing. Can we say totally amazing? I hadn't talked to any of these parents in advance, yet they all got it. The Babe was included. This was her first year we actually dared to trick-or-treat, and what a treat it was! All those things I got just-in-case, so she wouldn't be disappointed, weren't necessary. In fact, I gave her some at the end of the evening, and the rest are going to be saved for next year. The Babe had a fun-filled, totally safe Halloween.
We celebrate any thing that brings us closer to "normal", and while we may have tap-danced around a few potential hazards to make the day a success, we still got to dance.
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