It Just Keeps Coming!

Christmas morning we woke up to 18 inches of snow and no power.  We took a quick photo and then headed over to my parent's warm house.  

Today it continued to snow all day.  This is 9 straight days of snow!  Rain is in the forecast for this weekend!

Snow Day

We got our first big snowfall of the winter.  It arrived a day later than we were expecting but it did arrive!  We woke up to find this:

That is a ruler in the snow.  It reads 6.5" and it is still snowing on and off

Luna was not sure what to make of it all.  When it got on her hand she tried to wipe it off on me.

Maggie thought it was great, you can see her running down the driveway.

Wake Up Call....

Today started as any other normal day here at the Vance house except that Brian was working from home since a "big" snow storm was predicted.  

The morning went as usual and then it was lunch time.  I put Luna down for her nap and then Brian and I ate our lunches together (such a treat for me to have lunch with a grown-up).  Well after lunch I decided to try some fruit cake that my Mom had brought over the day before.  

For those of you who do not know, I have a severe allergic reaction to certain nuts, not all nuts just certain ones.  Cashews are the worst and I know as soon as they are in my mouth that I have just eaten something very bad.  The worst/scariest part of my reaction is that my throat starts to swell shut, scary I know!  

Growing up I never had an Epipen (which is like a shot of adrenaline), I just stayed away from nuts.  When the occasional accident happened I just suffered through it and by the grace of God it never killed me.  Well in my adult life I have since gotten an Epipen at the insisting of my husband.  But luckily, until today, I have never had to use it.

Well back to lunch/dessert, the fruit cake.  It had huge nuts in it.  When my Mom had brought it over I of course asked immediately what kind of nut was in it.  My Mom said it was brazil nuts.  I was surprised, that was one nut I did not know if I could have or not, in my memory I had never had it.  So I asked my Mom if I could eat brazil nuts thinking of course the woman who raised me would know.  But she said she did not know.  I am guessing until today I had never had one.

Well being cautious before I ate the fruitcake I reminded Brian where the Epipen was kept.  In a locked filing cabinet in our bathroom.  Weird I know, but there are crazy laws about keeping medicine locked up when you are foster parents.  So I started by licking the nut part, trying to make sure all was ok.  I felt fine so I jumped right in and ate the cake.  About 3/4 of the way through the piece I started to not feel so good, really itchy in my mouth, throat and ears.  So I stopped eating it, hoping that was as severe of a reaction as I was going to have.  

I kept itching my ears and Brian started to get worried.   About 5 minutes goes by and I ask Brian to go get the Epipen my throat has started to become tight.  It is scary but I try to remain calm.  Well Brian goes upstairs to get the Epipen but of course it is not where I said it was.  Well we spend some time looking for it (ie the car in the garage) and Brian remembers that it is locked in a separate box for just prescription medications (again a fostercare requirement, so helpful).  Well we get the key (from downstairs) and try to unlock it, the key does not work (again so helpful).  I am starting to panic a bit, I know I need the Epipen and I am not sure how much time I have.  

Brian decides we are going to have to break the lock on the box so as he is taking it out to the garage I start to vomit (another reaction of my allergy).  By now I am really panicking, I can't believe this is happening.  

Brian brings the Epipen to me and I try to administer it to my thigh because that is the correct spot to administer it.  Well it did not work, I forgot to take the cover off.  Then I really start to panic, we are going to have to spend more time reading directions! You have to be kidding me! So as I am leaning over the commode, just in case there is anything left in my stomach, Brian tries to figure the thing out.  He hands it back to me and I stab it into my thigh again but so very unfortunately for me I was holding it upside down and I administered it into my thumb.  The needle is about 1/2" long and hurt like you can not believe, I can only guess it hit my bone because the needle came out bent and not just a little bent.  

Well the reaction to the nut dissipated quickly, within 15 minutes I felt much better.  My heart was racing and I was jittery but those were all good signs.  But what started to bother me was my thumb.  Over time my thumb became extremely cold, white and numb.  I ended calling my doctor who said I needed to go to the emergency room.  

At the emergency room , they wrapped me in blankets and kept my thumb in warm water to heat it up.  Luckily for me the point of injection was in the pad of my thumb and not the very tip. There have been cases of people losing their thumbs (or parts of their thumbs), the cells/tissue die and fall off as a result of the epinephrine.  I did not have a severe case and they discharge me after my thumb started to regain some of it's color and told me to keep it warm. Which I am doing as I write this.

So I am fine, my thumb is still a little numb and on the cold side but I get to keep it! Yeah!

Luna's First Birthday

Luna turned 1 at the beginning of December. As a foster parent you often don't get to these milestones with the children.  This is the first time we got to celebrate a birthday and we are expecting to celebrate many more with this special little girl.  Here are some photos to enjoy:

Luna's first Birthday cake.

Birthday Dinner

Opening Gifts

Maggie after the party.

Road Trip

In November, Luna and I ventured on a little road trip with stops in Portland, Sun River and then onto San Ramon, Ca.  I was a little bit weary of traveling all that way solo with Luna.  But once again that kid amazed me and did just great.

Our first day was a 3 hour drive from Woodinville to Portland.  I tried to line up the drive for Luna's nap time but she only slept for about an 1 hour of it.  The rest of the time we listened to a Veggie Tales CD in the car, she loves that CD.  We spent 2 nights with Aimee in her new place.  It was fun just hanging out and relaxing together.

Aimee and Luna just hanging

Next we did a 4 hour drive from Portland over to Sun River.  This drive was at night so Luna slept the whole time. We met up with my folks for 5 nights.

We use to go to Sun River as kids and I had not been there in years it was fun to see it again.  Of course our favorite spot was Goody's the local ice cream parlor.

Then we headed down to San Ramon, CA, an 8 hour drive.  We only had to stop once for Luna to stretch her little legs and walk around a bit.  That day I listened the Veggie Tales over and over again, I think I have  that CD memorized.

Luna and Mt. Shasta

She was a trooper and we got to Gramma's house by 6pm.  Brian had been in California for work, so he joined us at his Mom's place as well.  We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving dinner with the whole family.

Luna unfortunately came down with a cold and it was a rough three nights of very little sleep for Brian and me.

Here is Brian trying to catch up on some much needed sleep.

After the weekend in San Ramon, Brian flew back to Washington and Luna and I started our 12 hour drive back home.  Unfortunately she still was not feeling well and the car ride was not pleasant.  Even the Veggie Tales CD was not keeping her entertained.  We stopped a number of times for leg stretched and diaper changes.  At 6 hours (1/2 way) into the drive, we were eating dinner at a McDonald's and I knew Luna would be ready for bed soon.   I had a choice to make.  Option 1: find a hotel and lug everything from the car to the room with a very cranky baby and probably not get much sleep because she was still sick.  Option 2: keep driving, just have her sleep in the car and we both get to sleep in our own beds.  I opted for Option 2.  So after letting Luna run around a JoAnn Fabrics until bedtime, I put her in the car and drove the last 6 hours straight home.   I was so glad to be home and asleep in my own bed!  Brian was on duty that night!

I am slowly becoming my parents

I grew up with two sisters and we also had a female dog, so needless to say there were a lot of girls in our household. There were multiple occasions of us girls being called by the wrong name and occasionally we were even called by the dog's name. As a kid I remember wondering and being a bit annoyed at the fact that my parents could not get our names right. How hard could it be? They did in fact pick out our names.

Well, the other day I was out running and Maggie had dropped back behind us on the trail sniffing out something. I was pushing Luna in the stroller and wanted Maggie to catch up. So I turned around and at the top of my lungs yelled, "Luna." As soon as it came out of my mouth I knew I have just called the dog by my baby's name. It came out so naturally, I was honestly surprised.

Now I know how my parents did it so easily.

Jogging

About 4 years ago, while we were still living in Massachusetts, I started running, my objective was to get in shape.  I have been running 10-15 miles a week ever since.

When I started, it was just me going out for my runs.  We lived down the road from the town forests, with tons of trails.  It was invigorating for the soul to run in the forest each day.  I loved being off the roads and all by myself it in the woods, it was so peaceful. Usually it was just me in the woods, although maybe once a week I would come across another runner.  The forest felt like it belonged to me :)  Running started serving a very important purpose for me, it lifted my spirits and was my time each day to refocus and connect with God.  

I ran solo for about a year and then we adopted our dog Maggie.  Maggie became my running partner.  When we got to the woods I would let her off the leash and she was in her element. Literally she would have the biggest smile (yes, dogs do smile).

Maggie became my motivator.  In the winter, those cold New England mornings, the mornings that the news anchors say to not be outside longer than 15 minutes, the mornings where it is so cold it hurts your lungs to breath and your nose hairs freeze, I even ran on those mornings. Maggie needed her exercise.  It was always an adventure to run with Maggie you never knew what she was going to stir up.  She loved to chase the deer and squirrels and a couple times we came across a coyote.  In the summers it would be so hot at times both her and I would sit/lay in a creek to cool off.  It was wonderful, we were so blessed to live so close to the woods.

Once we moved to Washington, running changed for me.  We live a good distance from a trail, it is about 1.5 miles on road to the trail.  But at least there is a trail near by.  Once we get on the trail we are only on it for about a mile.  That is the only time Maggie gets off leash. Unfortunately there are houses that back up to the trail and there has been more than one case of me having to go into some one's yard, on to their deck to retrieve my dog.  It is especially embarrassing when they are sitting there watching you.   The only animals to chase are bunnies and I don't let her chase them because the only place to chase them is into some one's yard.  Running is no longer the same for Maggie either. Although she still smiles as she is running off leash along the trail.

Now with the addition of Luna to our family, I have started running with a jogging stroller.  For those of you who have never run with a jogging stroller it is not easy.  When I first started it kicked my butt but it has gotten easier over time.    So I run with the stroller and Maggie on a leash, 1.5 miles on a road, a 1 mile on trail and then 1.5 miles back home on the road.  My mind is occupied with trying not to run over Maggie with the stroller, trying to keep all of us out of the way of the cars, singing to Luna when she gets bored and of course my favorite part picking up Maggie poo.  Not quite the peaceful, spirit lifting type of running I use to love.  But I do it because Maggie needs the exercise and still smiles when she is off leash, Luna loves to make funny noises as she bounces in the stroller down the trail and because I still love chocolate.

Here is photo of Luna and Maggie all set to go on our run, it was raining this day, hence the bubble.  

Not what it use to be, it is no longer just about me.

Fostering through the Eyes of Maggie

We have the best dog in the world, Maggie.  She was actually our first "foster to adopt."  We got her through a rescue organization called labs4rescue.com.  We read a small online posting about her and they shipped her from Arkansas to us in Massachusetts.  The deal was that we had 2 weeks of fostering and during those 2 weeks we could give her back if it did not work out.   After that she was ours.  We kept her :)  Since then,  she has been a blessing to us and to each foster baby/child that has come through our doors.   

Maggie is laid back and mellow which is ideal when you have foster kids coming and going. Here is a look at fostering through the eyes of Maggie.

Getting kisses

When ever the kids are eating this is where you will find Maggie.

Maggie wanting to be right in the middle of all the action.

Getting snuggles

This is my favorite photo, I think it is just hilarious.  It is as if they are waiting for me to give them something to do.

She tolerates a lot, one of which is babies sucking on and testing out her paws.

For Our East Coast Friends

Halloween in the Pacific Northwest
We carved these pumpkins the day before Halloween and they have been outside on the porch ever since.

Yes, that is a slug on my pumpkin....

Man, it is sure wet and damp around here...

Pomegranates

Recently, I went to the grocery store and pomegranates were on sale. 

Back when I was little (elementary school), every once in a while my Mom would put pomegrante seeds in my lunch.  I remember opening up my lunch and being so happy when I saw the seeds.  I knew that it was a lot of work to get the pomegranate seeds out and that my Mom had to really love me to put them in my lunch.  

So seeing the pomegrantes, I thought I will buy one and give it to Luna to show her how much I love her.  Although I do realize at her age she will not remember her first pomegrante seed but she will know the feeling of being loved.

When I got home, I realized I had a problem...all those years of my Mom giving me pomegrante seeds and I never learned how to get the seeds out myself.  Luna is sitting in her high chair eating her lunch while I sat next to her looking at the pomegrante.  I started by cutting it in half and then used my fingers to try and pry the half in half.  Well the next thing I know, Luna, myself, and the floor are covered with pomegrante juice and seeds.  The pomegrante had exploded.   Maggie had a hay day licking up all the juice and seeds.  Luna just stared at me as if to say "why did you just spray me with liquid."  I am dumbfounded, I don't think this is how my Mom did it.  Well I eventually get out most of the seeds but it was not a pretty process.

A few days later I was talking with my Mom and telling her of my ordeal.  Well of course as a good mother does she tells me how to get the seeds out the right way, she also picks up a brochure from the grocery store to show me as well.  

Today I tried again and success!  The seeds are out and neither Luna or I are covered in juice.

Does anyone else have this problem?

So I have a problem that can be a bit embarrassing at times.  I often say something I completely don't mean and am actually surprised that I have said it.  After it happens I wonder where it comes from.

From my last post you can see I love turtles.  Well I was recently at a party and we were talking about kids and Halloween.  I was talking about Luna and instead of a turtle what came out of my mouth was frog.  Why, I have no idea.  I love turtles not frogs.  The conversation continues and I must say how much I love frogs multiple times and don't even realize.  A friend asks if I love Kermit.  I think to myself of course not, I love turtles not frogs, then I realize for the past 5 minutes I have been talking about frogs.   Again I wonder, where does that come from.

This is not the first time it has happen and some times it can be a bit awkward.  One very awkward time was when I was in college.  I was living in a dorm on the 10th floor.   It was a Friday night and I was on a bus heading into downtown Seattle with a bunch of friends.  There were two guys sitting in front of us and we started making small talk.  Through the conversation we realize we lived in the same dorm.  They ask what floor I lived on, I say the 12th (but I actually lived on the 10th).  Well of course I do not realize my mistake before they say that they live on the 12th but have never seen me there...I back pedal and say actually on live on the 10th, but it was awkward and weird.  What is going on in my brain?

I have been waiting for this day....

For those of you who know me, know I love turtles.  I think they are just adorable. Unfortunately for me my love of turtles came later in life and I never got to dress up as one. Although for my 16th birthday party the theme was 50's and my Mom made me a poodle skirt. But instead of a poodle on my skirt it had a turtle :)  I also had a box turtle as a pet for a while, his name was Irving.

So when I thought about motherhood, I looked forward to Halloween and dressing up my little ones as all different things.  I knew there would definitely be a turtle or two in there if I had anything to do with it.  Once again, Luna is my dress up doll.  Guess what she is this year?  A TURTLE!   Isn't she adorable?

Check out that little tail.

Grandma came and visited.  She wanted to see the little turtle.

Luna Sunshine, sitting on the porch with her pumpkins.

We went to Google for the Halloween Party.  Here is Luna and Daddy on the dance floor.

This little girl made my day!

Over the course of many years, I have received a lot of different turtle gifts (i.e. statues, wind chime, ceramic pot, etc.).  But I had never seen this...a turtle balloon animal!

I love it!

A Different Kind of Mom...

It is always interesting to try to explain what a foster family is to little kids.  They have the hardest time understanding the concept.  It can be quite comical and precious they way their little minds work.

One night we had some friends over to dinner while we had a foster baby.  Our friends had a 7 year old little boy and during dinner we were trying to explain to him what fostering means and why we had the baby.  It was one of those conversations that you don't quite know how much the little boy is understanding and then it was over.  The little boy played with the baby after dinner. Then while the family was getting ready to leave the little boy looked at me and said "Did you born him?"  He was trying so hard to figure it all out.

Another time I was outside with our neighbors who have a little girl.  She is about 10 years old.  We had another foster baby and again I tried to explain the concept of fostering.    Over the course of time the baby and I saw the little girl frequently outside.  She would bring over old toys for the baby and clothes, it was precious.  Then one day she came up to me and said "You are still a Mommy, just a different kind."  She got it!  It was a precious moment.

Colorful New England

We recently spend 10+ days in New England visiting with dear friends and enjoying the beautiful fall colors.  It was fun being back in our old stomping grounds.  

The trip started with me flying out early to attend a Women's Retreat up in New Hampshire. This was my 7th year attending and I am so glad I was still able to go even though we had moved.  I loved the time away with friends and the amazing speakers. We always have a blast!

Brian, then flew out solo with Luna.  As one of our friends once said "Beev is the best husband." He sure earned that title.  He did great with Luna, they arrived Sunday morning.  Then we all headed up to Vermont with our friends the Hanlons.  We spent 3 days in Vermont enjoying the fall foilage.

The rest of our trip was spent back in Massachusetts.  We enjoyed catching up with old friends that we said goodbye to last fall.  It was fun seeing how all the kids had grown a year older but the adults all looked the same.  

Goodbye New England until next time!

Lake Chelan

Luna and I just spent 4 days in Lake Chelan with my parents, Sarah and baby Cooper.  We had a great time, warm weather and daily swims.  It was fun having the two little ones together and it sure does change the way you vacation.  Here are some photos from the trip.

Luna and I enjoying the pool.

The view of the lake from our room, it was beautiful.

Luna and Grandma enjoying the view from our balcony.

Cooper and Luna hanging out early in the morning.

At the park enjoying some Spanish Blues music, it was a great band.

We had a great time and now we are looking forward to heading out east.  Massachusetts here we come!

Soda or Pop

We have officially picked up the Washington lingo.  Both Brian and I lived in Washington a number of years ago and calling soda "pop" was normal to us.  But when we moved away we quickly changed to soda.  People tend to look at you a little strangely when you ask them if they want a pop, they think you want to slug them.   So when we moved back I thought that I could never call it "pop" again, too weird. 

But when we had a party at our home and Brian put the label on the coolers I thought we have officially become Washingtonians again and it sure did not take long.