The Power of Birth Order

"Firstborns tend to be type A's who don't cut themselves any slack."

I know this is true for me. There are some benefits from this but it does come at a price. I'm going to do my damnest to help Gav succeed but let him know that it is ok if we don't get it all right. The October issue of Parents Magazine talks about the book "The Power of Birth Order."

Don't think I'm running out to get the book but I do know the kids will have love above anything from me. I hope the rest falls in place =)

Back to school

Gavin started back to school on Tue after Labor Day. It was cute. Him and all his friends hugged each other in a big group. He's a big boy now. In pre-k, I still can't believe it. Saturday is the back to school picnic with chili and dessert cook off... I'm going to place!

We put Austen in at Tutor Time. When I knew she was going to be in Amy's class (Gav's first teacher) I said ok that's where she is going. Last Thur was her unofficial first day. Its called a free day. She did great. It took some time for her to ease into moving away from us but once she realized it was ok A did great. Mon was her actual first day. We have her going M,W,F for 5.5 hrs (half time) a day. In a month or so she might go to 5 half days.

I start back next Thur (some vacay)! I have only one real class, lots of research, teaching 3 labs possibly 4 and I'm mentoring freshman for the first few weeks (the Dean's idea).

The new real estate office is done and I'm Ken and Marie are thrilled. The Grand Opening is next week (I think). With A in daycare Boom will start back up there.

Still busy peoples over here. Taking Gav to Kidspace Museum Friday for Pirate Night. Can't wait for our Mudrun Sat 25th. Its a 5k obstacle course in mud!

Our 10 yr high school reunion is Oct 1st. I can't believe it has been 10 yrs since I graduated (I'd rather 10 yrs since I first started high school haha). I'm not going. I really don't care. The people I love I talk to and the rest... oh well. Tiffany and Shawn did try to convince me to go to save her. Sorry babe, you are on your own. When it comes to the 30 or 50 yr I'm down guys and you can quote me on that (notice I said 30, 25 is still too soon hehe).

Besides all the fun madness, I'm tired. I haven't been sleeping well. I miss that window when I should have fallen asleep and then I'm up awake. When I do fall asleep, Gav has been doing this "Mommy" call in the middle of the night and he does it multiple times. Luckily A sleeps thru the night. It took yrs for Gav and he still has his moments (which I don't mind because it is extra cuddle time).

Who knew... I didn't!

When Austen was around 8-9mon I out a 1/2 tsp or less of cinnamon in her oatmeal. Normally I put a little bit of brown sugar or maple syrup but I decided to give an extra treat. We all know babies love to feed themselves and they get it everywhere. Her face was covered in oatmeal and she ate it all. When I wiped her face, everywhere the oatmeal touched her skin was red from irritation. First I freaked thinking it was hot but I knew I let it cool and she would have screamed. I wondered why the oatmeal made her face inflamed, it had never happened before. I thought about the cinnamon being in there for the first time but I was like nah! Just to be safe I've never added cinnamon again and she was fine. At the AV fair, I gave A a piece of churro (oh boy did she enjoy it). Very quickly that skin irritation was back. I knew it had to be the cinnamon and yup there it was all over the internet, Cinnamon allergies! Something I believed was uncommon is common. I read that to wait a week and introduce the allergen again to be positive. I gave her a bite of applesauce with cinnamon and the skin irritation was back. Thankfully no anaphylactic reaction. She gets a skin irritation and it doesn't bother. No more cinnamon for A, I don't want to chance it. Oh, the reaction occurs almost instantly but goes away within 15-30min.

Side note: She is not allergic to strawberries, peanuts, soy, or any other common allergens

Treasure Box

A few months back Marie introduced us to Treasure Box. I highly recommend everyone do it if its in your area. Its a company that provides a box of food for $30. There's different boxes to choose from. I always get the protein box and either the month's box or the kid's box (each box is $30). There is seafood box and TV dinner box (which I don't think the TV dinner is that great of a deal) to choose from. We have so much food left over from Jul and Aug. Here's this month's menu. There's a set menu for every month. There's a set pick up day (usually last Sat of the month) at a local church. Check and see if you have it because it is SO worth it!!!