Someday I'll look back at this and laugh.

This summer during the break between summer school and regular school, Peanut had a hard time. He expressed this hard time by smearing poop over every surface in his bedroom everyday for 21 days straight. It was not fun. As a result, we took the carpet out of the boys room. This meant we needed some other sort of flooring in there. Filbert has had this idea for quite a while now to take the laminate flooring from the living room and put it into the boys' room and then get new flooring for the living room. We also thought that, if we were going to it, we should rip out the carpet in our bedroom and continue the flooring into there. Filbert thought it would be a good idea to knock down my closet since it is poorly designed and has some functional obsolescence. (there's my effort at pretension for today.) Walnut and Peanut had the whole week of Thanksgiving of off school, so I packed the two of them plus Cashew up to my parents (the Grandnut C's) on Sunday, giving Filbert three and a half uninterrupted days to work on this grand project. His dad and mom (they prefer not to think of themselves as nuts) were enlisted to help.

Remember that three and a half uninterrupted days? It turns out, not so much. I was under the impression that since Filbert had this huge project to do, he was taking Monday through Wednesday off to work on it, until he came to join us in Iowa for Thanksgiving. I should have known better. He took Monday off and really only had half of Monday because since I was in Iowa with the kids, he had to go to the boys' parent teacher conferences that afternoon and go bowling that evening. (Bowling is sacred, don't even suggest that he take a night off.) I discovered through phone conversations the misunderstanding regarding the work schedule and then lived in fear for the rest of the trip. (Bonus: Cashew potty-trained while we were there. Yay. (Peanut is still not trained, but he no longer plays Picasso with his poop, either. Yay.)) We still managed to have a lovely Thanksgiving and Filbert returned home early to continue work on the closet.

I arrived home to see my lovely new floors and my missing closet. I still don't have a closet. I haven't been able to put the house back together after moving the furniture out of three different rooms. Chaos reigns (remember in Get Smart the evil agency was called Kaos?). And that chaos led us into the Christmas season and prevented any sign of Christmas from appearing in our house. We did get the small tree put up, but the cats keep knocking it over and chewed through one of the light strings. (Oh, by the way, this summer we got 2 kittens. They are named Lavender and Fairbanks. The kids love them.) So anyway, I was feeling kinda bummed about the lack of Christmas cheer in the house, but I have resolved to do better next year and also, Filbert is not allowed to start any new projects until all the projects he has started are completed. Oh, that's right, I forgot, part of the reason we chose the timing of Thanksgiving to do this project was because Filbert thought the bunk beds that he is building would be finished by then. Unfortunately, the work of getting three rooms ready for new flooring delayed the completion of the bunk beds. They're still not done, either. (Filbert is not a loser. I told him I would say that, because he was concerned that people might think he was a loser. He's not a loser, though.)

So anyway, we muddled toward Christmas and tried to look forward time with family and friends instead of focusing on the chaos. We've also had to deal with the escalation of Peanut's PWS related food-seeking behaviors and our fridge has a shiny new padlock on it. Peanut has been getting up early in the morning before anyone wakes and has delighted in finding many ways to strike fear into our hearts. He's really too smart for his own good.

On the 23rd, Filbert and I and his sister, Lisa, and her husband took their grandparents out for a special Christmas breakfast. While there, we got a hugely unexpected (and generous!!!) wad of cash from the Greats to spend on Christmas. Later that day, Lisa and I thought it would be a fabulous idea to go shopping with the money to get stuff for the kids that they could open in front of the Greats on Christmas. (Really, we just wanted to get away from the kids, between us we have a 7 year old, a 6 year old, a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 2 year old, and one of us is pregnant, and I'll give you a hint, it's not me.) I asked the kids what they wanted and got various answers, but Peanut was quite emphatic about wanting a "blue guy". I didn't know what this was. I got him a light saber, instead.

On the 24th, we opened presents with the family and Peanut again expressed his wish for a "blue guy" and we finally figured out that he wanted a Perry the Platypus toy. Since Filbert had to go out and exchange the two seated bicycle VCR we had gotten for his parents, he told Peanut that if he could find one, he would get him a "blue guy." We also didn't have any tape to finish wrapping presents. It turns out everyone closes at 8:00 PM on Christmas Eve and the only thing Filbert was able to get from our list of last minute stuff was some tape from Walgreens that cost about a thousand dollars. I finished wrapping everything up, put it on the card table in the middle of the family room, hung some stockings and went to bed.

At 6:30 this morning, Walnut came into our bedroom and said Peanut's up and I think he's opening presents. We rushed to the family room and every stinking, last present was unwrapped. When asked why he did this, Peanut just replied, I can't find the blue guy, where's the blue guy?

Silence

I was basking in it yesterday. Big mistake. (Will I never learn?) Silence is a very bad thing with two preschoolers in the house. Silence means they don't want you to know what is happening. Yesterday's silence was 2 roll's of lifesavers being eaten in the space of about 5 minutes. Peanut claims he only ate 2. All Cashew would say was "My want more yifesavers IN MY MOUF!"

Thankgiving Eve

'Tis the eve of Thanksgiving, so I suppose I should think of some things for which to be thankful. (like how I made sure not to end that sentence in a preposition? )

I'm thankful that I don't have to cook the turkey.
I'm thankful for my dear sweet Filbert.
I'm thankful for my delightful Walnut.
I'm thankful for my precious Peanut.
I'm thankful for my boundless Cashew.
I'm thankful for godly parents who love me.
I suppose I'm thankful for 3 older brothers. ;)
I'm thankful for loving in-laws who are not the stuff of nightmares.
I'm thankful for my dishwasher (even though Filbert does most of the dishes.)
I'm thankful that Filbert does most of the dishes.
I'm thankful for my house.
I'm thankful for my bed. (I really love my bed.)
I'm thankful that even though times are tight, my children have never gone hungry. (I mean actually hungry, not whiny privileged American hungry which just means I want a cookie.)

R.I.P. Sparky

My cat died Saturday night. Well, actually, we had him put to sleep. He was 13 years old and recently diagnosed with diabetes. He was suffering and didn't have much time left. The kids were all in bed, but we thought Walnut would like to have a chance to say good-bye. I woke him up and he groggily petted Sparky and sadly bid him "Farewell." I took him back to bed and held him while he cried and I cried a little bit, too.

Peanut was sick and staying home from church with Filbert. Walnut said he wanted to stay home with daddy to "see what the house will be like without Sparky." So while Cashew and I went off to church, Filbert took the boys to Lowe's and they picked out a birch tree under which to bury Sparky. Walnut helped Filbert dig the hole. Peanut watched. Finally, Walnut asked if the hole was big enough. Filbert told him that it was deep enough, but it needed to be wider, to which Walnut replied "Can't we just crunch him up into a ball?"

Happy Father's Day!

We hope you are enjoying Father's Day and celebrating not only your own dad, but the father of your children, too. Amy and I couldn't be married to better daddies. Do you have a great photo of your child/children with dad? Send us a link to it so we can appreciate your man, too!

Happy Father's Day!

Mr. Bean and String Bean looking over the edge of the ferry.

Photo by Mandie

Filbert entertains Walnut, Peanut, and Cashew.
Photo by Hazel

Hazel's Hobby Corner

I promised some pictures of my latest creations, so here we go!

First of all, we have my garden, 3 tomato plants and 5 pepper plants.

Here's a tomato plant:

Tomatoes
Photo by Hazel

Here's another tomato (actually it might be the same tomato, just a different angle):

More tomatoes
Photo by Hazel

And here are the peppers along with Walnut's super scary blue widow spider whose name is Bluey.

Walnut's scary spider invades the pepper plants.
Photo by Hazel

Now for some sewing projects. I made pillowcases for Walnut and Peanut.

Walnut and Peanut's pillows.
Photo by Hazel

And the back view:

Walnut and Peanut's pillows-a view of the back.
Photo by Hazel

Here is Miss Cashew modeling her new skirt.

Cashew models a skirt by taking a turn on the runway.
Photo by Hazel

I am publishing this one just because it is super cute.

Cashew is cuteness in a nutshell. (pun intended)
Photo by Hazel

Now, for the pièce de résistance (check out my fancy French!) I had the house to myself on Wednesday so I took the entire afternoon to work on making a blouse from this tutorial. Three straight hours I spent working on this and at the end of three straight hours, I present to you all....

The beginnings of a shirt sewing project. This is one of the shoulder straps.
Photo by Hazel

E is for Elephant

This is a proud mommy post, so if any of you are turned off by that, here's your chance to escape.



Last night as Filbert was reading to the little nuts, he started pointing to some letters for Peanut. Filbert pointed to a "d" and Peanut said "whoof, whoof" as in d is for dog! How much does that rock! That's pretty smart for a 3 year old, let alone a 3 year old whose parents were told he would be retarded! But, that is not all! Filbert pointed to the "e" and Peanut did his elephant sound and sign! His evaluations have always shown that he does not have any cognative delays, but it's nice to get a little extra confirmation every once in a while.

Happy Birthday, Cashew!

As soon as I knew I was pregnant with each of my kids, I knew something about them. With Walnut, I knew as soon as I saw the pink lines, that he would weigh over nine pounds. I don't know how I knew it, but I was without a doubt that this baby I was carrying would be huge and he was, 9 lbs, 4 oz. With Peanut, I knew he would be born early. Mind you, I was thinking 2 or 3 weeks, not 7. Filbert's parents planned a long vacation, for the entire month before his due date. Their plan was to be back 3 days before my due date, and I assured them that they were going to miss the birth. As it turns out, they missed their whole trip, as Peanut arrived before they even left, and they couldn't bear to leave with him in the NICU.

Five and a half months after Peanut's birth, I knew I wanted another child someday, but not quite yet, and I didn't know what Filbert wanted. So it was with great trepidation that I took a pregnancy test. I cried when I got a positive and showed it to Filbert. He got that funny look on his face that a man gets when he knows he is "da man" and then I was relieved and started to be a little bit happy. I knew that this was the daughter I had always longed for and even more, I knew that she was going to be fine.

My darling Cashew, I wish you that happiest of birthdays and many more to come. You overwhelm me with your life-force and I hope you always will. I pray the Lord will guide me in the way to mold you into the woman you are meant to be, for you are a force to be reckoned with. You are so much more than fine, but words fail me.

Baseball

My child and Amy's children will never be able to connect over a game of baseball. Since we live in Chicagoland, we have 2 major league baseball teams: the Cubs and the White Sox.

Mr. Bean is a Cubs fan. Filbert is a Sox fan. String Bean is already saying, "Go Cubs!" and I know Walnut roots wholeheartedly for the White Sox (it is just a matter of time for Peanut and Cashew if they haven't started being fans already). Amy and I count our lucky stars that the rivalry between the teams hasn't affected the friendship of Mr. Bean and Filbert, yet.

Right now the Bean family is out-numbered by the Nut family. At least we can agree on football. The Bears are the team to root for! Go Bears!

A Slip of the Tongue

We've all made them. We've all said things we've had to apologize for. I'm fortunate that I've never made one on a late night television show. I'd like to extend some grace for President Obama regarding his "Special Olympics", but I'm having a hard time with it. It's personal for me. That's my son that is being mocked. I've heard the apology, but the sting is still there. It's all over our society, the disabled are still a minority that it's okay to mock. How many times have you heard a joke about riding the short bus? The short bus is a reality for me. Every day I walk down my driveway and get Peanut off of a short bus. He absolutely loves riding the bus. He gets the most precious, excited look on his face when you ask him about the bus. He even made up his own sign for the bus, he waves his little hand in the air in an arc. But then I think about a few years from now when he hears his first "short bus" joke and the thing that brings him such joy now, will make him the butt of a joke.

If Danger is Afoot...

...you can be sure that Cashew thought of it, Walnut figured out how it could be accomplished and Peanut volunteered to go first. They're very cute, but they do make me tired sometimes.

Peanut's First Day of School

Since Peanut celebrated his third birthday last week, he is no longer eligible for Early Intervention. This means he goes to school now to receive his therapies and so forth. We had an IEP meeting (Individual Education Plan) and it was decided that Peanut would go to pre-school 4 mornings a week and receive Speech, Occupational and Physical therapies. The classroom that he is in is especially for kids with speech problems. We visited the classroom and Peanut had a wonderful time. Our biggest concern was that he would have an hour bus ride home from school. So yesterday was the big day, Peanut was nearly beside himself with excitement and couldn't wait to get his back-pack on. Filbert got to drive him on his first day, because I took him for the visit. I'm still not sure that was quite fair. Then I just had to wait for the bus to bring him home. The bus was scheduled to drop him off at 12:07. I had my coat on and was waiting by 11:55. At 12:17, I called the school to find out where my baby was, and as soon as I was put on hold I saw the bus coming up the street. I ran down to driveway to meet it, but it drove right past. I ran after it for about a 1/2 block but then I could see it turning a corner, so I turned around to head it off at the next block. I flagged the bus down and found that the driver had been given bad directions. Peanut was sound asleep so he did not see the crazy lady chasing a bus down the street, but I'm afraid most of my neighbors did and I've been trying so hard to keep the crazy in the house.

True Confessions, Part IV

All of my life, I have wanted a daughter. When I was pregnant for the second time, after having already had a son (who I adore), I *really* wanted a daughter. I remember one particular conversation I had with the Lord, in which I informed Him in no uncertain terms, that this baby I was carry had better be a girl, or I was going to be really mad. I probably don't need to mention that this was a one-sided conversation or that this is not my proudest moment. Then I went into labour almost 7 weeks early and was in the hospital for days trying to keep this baby inside to cook a little longer. After three days of total bedrest in the hospital, the baby wasn't doing so well and the doctor said "Call your husband, the c-section starts in 40 minutes." Filbert made it just in time and as I lay there waiting for my second child to be born, I didn't care anymore if it was a boy or a girl, I just begged God to let me hear my baby cry when it was born. The tiny cries of my 3 pound, 13 ounce son are still the sweetest sound I have ever heard.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Peanut! You are my heart and my joy.

Thumbs Up for Peanut

I just read an article in Parents magazine (February 2009 issue) about weird things toddlers do. I want to publicly affirm Amy that Peanut putting a green bean up his nose was a completely normal toddler thing to do. The human body is simply amazing and Peanut was just acknowledging that by exploring the innermost parts of is nose with that bean. So, instead of looking at it as a moment of embarrassment for mom and dad or another big doctor bill to pay, write it in Peanut's baby book as the day he discovered that God's creation was amazing.

My favorite quote from this article? "Toddlers tend to do weird things simply because they can." I think those toddler years are going to be fun with String Bean! Apparently I have fascination of nakedness to look forward to? This could get interesting...

Nuts and More Nuts and Some to Giveaway!

In case you were wondering, my nut name is Hazel. I cannot not take credit for the idea of naming my kids after nuts, it was my co-blogger, Mandie, that came up with it. She and Mr. Bean have always called Peanut, Peanut and Walnut is a play on our last name and Cashew is, well, just another nut. I decided to follow the trend and give my husband and I nut names, too. I picked Filbert because I think it's funny and Hazel just because I like it. Plus, they are kind of the same thing, just like a happily married couple should be! So when we were given some nuts to giveaway, it seemed only appropriate that I be the reviewer.


Since one of the primary concerns with Prader-Willi Syndrome is obesity, I am always looking for healthy snacks, and I think I've found one in Snacktrition. As most people know nuts are full of fat, but that's not actually a reason to avoid them. Nope, quite the opposite, in fact, because the fat in nuts is the good kind. Almonds and Cashews have only 17% and 6% (respectively) of the "bad" fat, and have about 20% protein, making them much more filling than an equal amount of chips or cookies. They are also rich in minerals, something most of us are sorely lacking. One thing that makes most commercial nuts unhealthy is the oil that nuts are usually roasted in. However, Snacktrition offers 4 different variety of nuts that are oven roasted with no oils. Even better though, is that they bake on fiber and calcium along with yummy sea salt, so besides the good fat, you're getting other nutrients that your body needs. Now, the big question is, how do they taste? Well, they taste like nuts. Ha! (Sorry, I had to do it.) Actually, they are quite tasty and your hands don't get greasy when you eat them.
Snacktrition offers Sea Salt Cashews with Fiber, Salt and Pepper Cashews with Fiber, Smoked Almonds with Calcium, and Sea Salt Almonds with Calcium. Their fifth offering is a Fruit and Nut Mix which combines the Sea Salt Cashews and Almonds with dried blueberries and cranberries and yogurt chips. This one was an especial favorite at our house, I didn't really want to share it, but we had a family emergency and I needed to take the kids to visit a relative in the hospital and Filbert missed dinner because he was too upset to eat and once we knew the crisis had passed, everyone just started inhaling the stuff. Filbert would stop chewing every once in a while to comment on how awesome the stuff was. He has even commented that he would buy both the salt and pepper cashews and the fruit mix again, and he is a notorious cheapskate. Peanut and Cashew seemed to like all the nuts equally, although, sometimes Cashew just sucked the salt off of the almonds. I took my sample pack to my family's Thanksgiving gathering and the reviews were all positive, but there was no clear favorite, although the men seemed to favor the salt and pepper cashews. So all in all, Snacktrition is good stuff and gets the Nut family seal of approval (or Hazel looks down and pats her tummy.)

Now that I've got your mouths watering, who wants some free nuts? I thought so! Sign up for our giveaway! 5 lucky winners will be receiving a sample package of Snacktrition products to enjoy, just sign up below. Remember just one entry per household.

Giveaway ends Monday, December 8 at noon (central time zone)!

Trust and Priorities

The priorities of a 5 year old are quite interesting. I was taking a shower the other day. Cashew was asleep and Walnut and Peanut were watching Sesame Street, so I thought I might be able to luxuriate for a bit, maybe even shave my legs. Then all of the sudden, I heard Walnut come thundering down the hallway and burst into the bathroom. I prepared myself for the worst, expecting to hear that Peanut's head had fallen off or something, when Walnut said "You have *got* to see this!" and thrust Peanut's blue hat into the shower for me to see. There was no blood, but there was no pom-pom on the top, either, just a few straggly pieces of yarn. Peanut's newest joy is pulling the yarn out of pom-poms and he had delighted the heck out of that hat. Later that day, while the boys were watching TV in my room, Peanut had knocked all the clothes off of the top of my dresser (remembering that I'm a Messie, that means a *lot* of clothes). I didn't notice that the TV was askew, but Filbert did when he got home. He asked if something happened to it and I was about to say no, when Walnut piped up. "Peanut tried to pull it off, but I caught it, it almost fell to the floor and the remotes were going everywhere, and I almost dropped it, but I got it back up there eventually" (paraphrased). I asked him why he didn't call me, and he said "oh, I didn't want to bother you." So, to a 5 year old, yarn - *huge*, TV's - not so much.

I was thinking about this later, as I lay in bed trying to sleep and it occured to me that sometimes, I'm like this, too. When I'm running late, I have no problem throwing up a quick prayer for green lights. With the little things, it's easy to trust God, but with the big things, it's a different story. Finances are tight, but do I trust God's provision? No, I'm busy filling my mind with all sorts of schemes to make a million dollars. When I'm sick and tired and overwhelmed by life, do I ask for help? No, I struggle and fume and fuss, but I don't want to be a bother.

Maybe you're like me. Help is there. There are people that are always waiting to give a hand and even more, we have God that is more powerful and knowing than our minds can comprehend. So why do we find it so hard to trust Him?

Thanksgiving Grace

Grace is what I'm thankful for this year. Actually not just this year, since Peanut was born I've been thankful for grace. I had never really experienced grace, until then. Even though I didn't know it, God began pouring His grace on me while I was pregnant with Peanut. It was grace that kept me from having all sorts of tests and worry to find out why this baby didn't move. It was grace that allowed me over 7 months with Peanut, safe and "normal" inside. It was grace that kept my heart soft, when it would have been so easy to become bitter. It was grace that shielded my eyes from from the limp, lifeless baby that others were seeing. It was grace that hardened my resolve to be a better parent for this special child. It is grace that gets me out of bed every morning. It is grace that showed me I am not a failure and it is grace that taught me to accept help.

I never thought much about grace until it flowed on me so abundantly, but now, I want to live grace in my life daily. I wish I could find the words to explain what grace means to me, but I can't even begin. One of these days I'm going to paint the word "grace" in every room of my house as a reminder to never forget and to always be thankful.

Good for Chuckles

I asked my friend, Bryan, about his favorite websites. One of his favorites is Engrish.com. If you have ever visited a foreign country (especially those located in Asia), you'll appreciate the random humor that comes out of non-fluent English speakers writing things in English.

Here is one of my favorites:

Yikes! I'd hate to be the owner of that ice-rink! Isn't it funny what is lost in translation?

Here's another one that String Bean, Cashew, and Peanut would completely appreciate:


*Warning: there are some Engrish sayings on this site that cross the line (although most unintentionally). Please use discretion when sharing this website with your children, or you may have some explaining to do!

It's a Trick for us.

Halloween, that is.

As I've mentioned before, our Peanut has Prader-Willi Syndrome. (Yes, I'm going to link every time.) The biggest health risk for those with PWS is life-threatening obesity. The obesity stems from a very slow and different acting metabolism and is coupled with an insatiable appetite. In other words, people with PWS will grow morbidly obese on a normal diet and always be hungry besides. Peanut has just started to gain weight quickly and we are in the process of changing our family's nutritional outlook.

When it comes to the candy holidays, we parents already have a problem, and then comes Halloween, the worst of the candy holidays. The whole celebration revolves around candy, even the alternative events. Trick or Treat? bags of candy. Trunk or Treat? entire cars full of candy. So what are we to do? Walnut is well versed in the joys of Trick or Treating and has been talking about this Halloween since last Halloween, nearly salivating at the thought of so much candy. But, we can't have it in the house. We just can't. We can't let Walnut and Cashew have what Peanut can't have and there is only so much sneaking that we're comfortable with. Some one suggested to Filbert that we only keep a 1/4 of the candy we collect, but that is still too much for Peanut to have and we need to break the candy tradition sooner rather than later.

So to that end, we are going to an apple orchard for Halloween. Royal Oak Farm. We hope to make it a yearly tradition. Walnut, Peanut, Cashew and I went there last fall with my co-blogger Mandie, the unblossomed String Bean and our friend Fancy Aimee, who totally rocks on car trips with small children.

The Annointing, cont.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16 (NIV)

Today after church, Peanut was anointed with oil and prayed over by the elders of our church. Filbert and I sat on chairs in the middle of the room with Peanut on Filbert's lap. One of the associate pastors read Scripture and then spread oil on Peanut's forehead in the shape of a cross. One by one the men who were gathered around us began to pray. We had given them an update on Peanut's progress and our concerns at the beginning so they knew our particular requests for this occasion. They did not limit themselves, though, to just what we asked. What a blessing it was to hear these men ask on our behalf what we didn't even know we needed. Peanut's grandparents were all able to be there and listened in with great emotion.