The Cashew

So, you think you're doing pretty good. You think, wow. So lucky am I to have perfectly average kids with no issues. 

And then your world gets turned on its head. 

Both of my kids have had peanuts and almonds and granola bars and Thai food and mixed nuts.

But. 

I suppose Henry had never actually consumed a cashew. 

Both kids had a small bowl of trail mix (raisins, cranberries, peanuts and cashews) after dinner on Tuesday.  I was watching Clare eat. She held up a cashew and said, "wat dat?"  

At that moment, I thought, wait. She's never had a cashew ...is this okay?

Simultaneously, in the kitchen, Henry had also ingested a cashew. Told Rick something was wrong and immediately started to throw up everything he has ever eaten.   His face started swelling. Red cheeks. Blisters on his lips. 

Into the car for the fastest drive to town I've ever piloted.  

When we arrived at emergency we were ushered in immediately. Two shots of epinephrine, IV of two antihistamines and an oral steroid finally got Henry back to being Henry. 

I never thought I'd be a parent of a child with anaphylaxis, but here we are. The ER nurses kept commenting on how calm I was. 

There are two reasons for that. 

One: it is what it is. I knew what it was as soon as he started throwing up. It's manageable. I've worked with many kids with it. It's fine. 

Two: as I was driving in, I felt frantic. I asked my mom to be with me. I said, "mom, I need you here now". As a nurse, she was the ultimate calm in medical emergencies. She was with me. 

So. Henry is anaphylactic to some nuts. We go on. 

From the Weather Book

February 1

February 2
Six more weeks of winter!  Afternoon lovely and sunny.

February 3

February 6

February 7
Snow, both light and heavy, all day.


February 9
Milder, with more snow.


February 10
Sunny, -20 in the morning.

February 15
Sun and wind.  Another cold night.

February 16

February 19

February 20
Sunny and warm!

February 21
Rain and snow.  Zero degrees.

February 23

February 27
Back into the deep freeze.

February 28

March 1
Snowy, -10C

March 2

March 4
Light snow.  Still cold.

March 5

Finding Peace

I don't really feel like myself unless I'm engaging in regular physical activity outside.  Snowshoes have recently saved my life.  The vast amount of snow, and until very recently, the temperatures have kept me inside, running only on the treadmill.  That's just not enough.  I need to be outside, among the trees and breathe in clean, fresh air. 

 

In the past week, I've visited almost all of my spring, summer and fall hunts

in the fields and forests across the road.  Yesterday I made it back to the beaver pond and way up high above the marsh.

 

Moving through the forest, in the soft, deep snow, there is just the shush, shush, shush of my snowshoes.  At the pond it is completely silent.  A place to be alone with my thoughts.

 

Something has been missing since Christmas, but I've found it again, and all it took was for me to get outside.

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Snowshoe

Snowy Days

I really dislike weather complainers.  You know the type- those people who complain about what's going on outside no matter what.  Too cold, too wet, too hot, too snowy. 

 

I try hard to not be a weather complainer, but this winter is wearing on me.  It's almost always too cold to be out and about with a tiny little girl, and if it's not too cold, it's too snowy or too windy or...you see where I'm going here.

 

 

I try to get out when I can, but even then, there isn't anywhere to go!  The snow is far too deep.  Up and down the driveway we go. 

 

I long for spring days when I can put her in the back pack, pull on my boots and head off across the fields.

 

 

 

 

Nothing to See Here

You know, there really isn't much to see on a frozen lake when it's covered in many feet of snow.  The shoreline holds some interest, but it's mostly just a vast, blank whiteness.  It was hard going today, too, even in snowshoes.  The snow is that deep.

 

 

From the Weather Book

February 26
- snow, snow, snow

March 1
- in like a lamb

March 3
- light snow

March 5
- sun!

March 9
- mild, sun
- clocks back

March 10
- light rain
- mild
- slush on lake

March 11
- rain

March 13
- snow, squalls in the evening

March 14
- clear, cold & sunny

March 19
- snowy all day

March 20
- first day of Spring

March 23
- mild, sunny
- light snow in the late afternoon & early evening

March 24
- mild, sunny
- still lots of snow!

Coming Soon

This time last year I was musing on my son's first year of life.  I was thinking of all the moments and memories that combine to make him the little person that he is, and that define our relationship.

 

While I always think on him and his little life, this time of year brings an even sharper nostalgia. 

 

This coming Monday he will be two. 

 

 



Happy Birthday, dear boy.



 

He is the light in my day.  He is why I do so many of the things I do.  He is the reason why I seemingly smile at nothing throughout the day when I am away from him.  I hate to leave him, and can't wait to get back when I do. 

 

He has made me who I am.  And even though in a few short months after his second birthday, he will become a big brother, he will always be first.  He is the one who MADE me a mother.  He has shown me that I can do so many things.  He has given me confidence in ways he will never know.

 

 

See you soon (but not too soon!), sweet girl.

 

Something I often wonder is if we made the right choice in moving here.  I hope that in this wide open space, our children are free to grow in character with no bounds.  I hope their minds expand and their bodies grow in tune with the earth and their surroundings. 

 

I hope more than I can ever put to words.

 

 

Morning

It's no secret that I really enjoy mornings.  I have always been a morning person.  There are days when I do more before 9 a.m. than I accomplish for the rest of the day.  I like to rise early  during the week (usually around 5 a.m.) to run and enjoy some peace before the rest of the house wakes.

 

 

 

 

 

I love being awake to watch the sun rise.  It is a very important thing to me, and one that has really only developed since since moving to Maple Lake.  I've always loved morning, though.

 

Why?

 

Mornings hold a power that no other time of day does.  Being awake before any one else brings a peace and serenity to me that I struggle to find throughout the rest  of the day.  At sunrise, anything is possible.  Mornings are when we make a choice.  Will it be a good day?  Bad?  Nondescript?

 

 

 

I try every day to choose positivity.  A sunrise is a clean slate.  Anything is possible, and if you're like me and up before anyone else, no one is there to tell you "no".  At sunrise my mind is completely my own, and it's absolutely bursting with possibility.

 

 

From the Weather Book

February 8
- snow!

February 9
- bright, cold, sunny day

February15
- snowy then sunny
- lovely

February 16
- gorgeous sunrise, cold morning

February 19
- lots of snow!
- mild

February 20
 - clear
- cooler, temperature drop late afternoon

February 21
- cold
- clear day

Over It.

As I slogged home this afternoon on a road that hadn't seen a plow all day, I came to the realization that I am over winter.  It's a bit early to be having these feelings, I know, as we have many weeks of winter left.  But I'm done.

It really has so much more to do with the lack of road maintenance around here than anything else.

Beauty still surrounds. 

We are still enjoying the fun that snow brings. 

But the roads?  Terrible.