Thursday, July 28, 2011

Allergies


It's been confirmed. Lucas is officially allergic to cats and dogs. More so cats, but only by a tiny margin. This is the cause of his asthma, and presumably his eczema as well.

I feel like I should have known. Looking back, there were signs, I just didn't see them clearly.

The question now becomes, What do we do with our beloved dog, Light? Do we keep Lucas on the daily allergy/asthma regimen and keep the dog? Or do we give him up so Lucas can breath easy?

We've had Light for almost two years, and in that time Nico and Matthew have become really attached. Timmy, Lucas and I aren't really pet people, so we mostly tolerate him for the others. Lucas never really gets too close to Light, but his fur is everywhere! Nico has accepted that we may have to give him up rather graciously, but I know if the time comes he will be heartbroken. Thankfully we already have a great home lined up, just in case. A place where Nico could go visit often.

I only spoke with the Dr. briefly on the phone when she told me the results of his allergy test. We have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks, and we will speak more in depth about it then.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tonight's conversation

The boys spent most of the day with their uncle, which tends to get them overly excited. On the way home they were trying to convince me to sign them up for boxing. When I informed them boxing isn't a sport children can partake in, they decided on wrestling instead. T.V. wrestling to be more precise.

Anyways, the boys had the funniest conversation in the car, and I'm going to try and recreate it here for all of you.

Lucas: Sometimes people make a mistake and think they are boxing when they're really wrestling.

Nico: No one is going to think that, because the sign on the building will say wrestling.

L: What if they couldn't read?

N: Well, when they walk in someone will say, "Welcome to wrestling." then they'll know. Besides if they can't read, how would they think it says boxing?

L: Well what if they were blind, and drove up thinking it was boxing.

N: If they were blind, they wouldn't be driving. Unless they took a taxi, then they would know where they were.

L: What if they walked?

N: If they were walking, they would have a helper dog, to take them where they wanted to go, then they would know they were at wrestling and not boxing.

L: What if they were allergic to dogs?

N: Then they could get their wife to help them.

L: What if they weren't married?

N: Then they could get their mom or dad to take them.

L: What if they didn't have parents?

N: If they didn't have parents then they were never born, and wouldn't be doing boxing or wrestling.

At this point they both were just having so much fun playing the what if game, which somehow led to someone (presumably the blind guy, who is allergic to dogs, has no family, and was never born) peeing in the sink.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Rated M for Mature

It's no secret that my boys play a lot of video games, and watch a lot of t.v. What many may not agree with, is I don't pay any attention to game, t.v., or movie ratings. If my boys want to watch/play something, I let them.

One of Nico's favorite shows is 1,000 ways to Die, where each episode they reenact five unusual ways people have managed to get themselves killed. Lucas is actually getting pretty good with Call of Duty Black Ops and other "mature" games, on the Playstation. Tosh.O is a family favorite show, and so are shows like Family Guy and Futurama.

I do have a line drawn. I do not intentionally expose them to anything pornographic (True Blood is only put on when they are in bed). Nor do I expose them to things that will cause nightmares. (One might think that 1,000 ways to die would cause nightmares, but it doesn't.) Also, Tim doesn't really play any of the really scary games, so there aren't any in the house for the boys to play either. What I don't care about is supposedly adult language, or adult situations. If my kids hear a word they don't understand, they ask what it means. If they see actions they don't understand, it opens the door for a meaningful conversation.

What's really fascinating though, is that my kids still gravitate towards the kids stuff anyways. Our t.v. is on Cartoon Network more than any other channel, and Little Big Planet 1 and 2 are played more than any other game we own.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Home Alone

Timmy and I were discussing at what age is it appropriate to leave the boys home alone. I looked up Florida law, and as it turns out, there is no minimum age set for our state. If the child is mature enough, and understands the rules and what to do in an emergency, it's ok to leave them alone. That's not to say that you can't still be charged with neglect, for leaving an obviously too young child unsupervised, but it's at the parent's discretion.

So knowing that, how can I tell if my children are mature enough to handle being unsupervised? It's a tough question to answer.

I would say that right now Nico, at seven, would do just fine being left alone for short amounts of time (an hour or less). But not if Lucas were also home. They have this way of antagonizing each other, that I'm sure all siblings share. Nico and I have had many talks about what to do in an emergency situation. When to call 911, how to get a hold of me and his daddy, and when to go to a neighbor for help. Lucas is always present for these conversations, but I'm not sure how much actually sinks in. I think he would be more likely to panic in an unexpected situation, and thus it's going to be some time before he is left on his own.

Nico has been asking for this little bit of freedom and independence since he was five. I have yet to let him try it, but that day is approaching. Perhaps within the next year? We may start off with a half hour trip to the grocery store, and see how he handles himself. It's going to be a good two to three years before I would consider leaving the two of them alone together, though.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Food

As a child, I was an extremely picky eater. There was almost a solid year where I ate nothing but bread and cereal. Corn and green beans were the only vegetables to ever cross my lips. The only way to get me to eat a potato was if it was french fried. When my mom would cook something for dinner I didn't like, I would just fix myself a bowl of cereal or buttered toast instead. She constantly told me my taste buds would change as I got older, but I never believed her. Until one day I found myself enjoying broccoli, pot roast, baked potatoes, and all the other foods I swore would never make their way to my gut.

I was afraid that my own childhood pickiness would be passed on to my children, but that doesn't seem to be the case. My boys will eat just about anything I put in front of them. Because of the freedom I enjoyed as a child, I have never required them to eat anything. If they don't like what I make, I'll fix them a sandwich. They never have to clean their plates, when they're full, they're full. One might assume this would lead to them being more picky, but quite the opposite has occurred. They almost never leave food on their plates, and almost always eat what I cook.

Still, I find it odd when I hear one of them exclaim "Yay, brussel sprouts!" when I set a plate down in front of them. Some of their favorite foods are things I couldn't even look at with out wanting to vomit as a child. Because of my own experiences, I can sympathize with parents of picky eaters, but I am secretly grateful not to be in their shoes.