Musical children and the Daddies Patrick
Somehow this turned into a very long and tiring weekend.  Lots of things on our plate combined with fretting over Noella and her skin.  Patrick even joined my state of general anxiety, heading to the drug store early this morning to buy special Eucerin Anti-Itch lotion.  I declared her a victim of seasonal allergies, and said she was not allowed to go outside. This was not easy, her being a kid and it being a gorgeous day, and eventually I actually had to go outside (she could either come with me or stay home alone, which did not seem the best option).
Patrick spent most of today trying to take down the crushed gutter from our massive storm last weekend.  (Side note: This weekend we got our family basement time at 9pm on Friday night for tornado warnings. We need a better basement arrangement!  Sometime over the course of that storm a rear neighbor's tree split and is hanging over our yard. No damage..yet.)
Anyway- Patrick's day was devoted to the gutter with the help of various neighbors and "the other Patrick"s very very tall ladder.  The other Patrick (this is what Mariel actually calls him) lives two doors down with two daughters of his own.  His eldest, Beatrice,  is just a bit younger than Mariel, and the two of them started off playing at their house, broke it off for lunch, then came to our house for several hours this afternoon, and then went out shopping with her mom, Amy, before dinner.  We declared it "musical children" day. 
It is an interesting study to see the moods the two of them go through in a day together.  At their house, Mariel was polite, quiet, thoughtful, and well behaved while Beatrice and her sister fought and refused to share with one another.  At our house Beatrice was sweet, well mannered, and so kind to Noella while Mariel descended into a frenzy of misbehavior.  I wonder if there is something territorial about it all? 
There was a time this afternoon when the girls were playing (nicely) in the living room while both Patricks climbed ladders outside the window and sliding doors.  The girls watched, laughing, trying to identify which of the ladders belonged to which of the "Daddy Patricks."

Anne 0, Allergies 1
We are thinking gluten is not the culprit.  Or at least if it is part of the problem, gluten has decided to collaborate with a partner or two.  Not only has Noella's skin not gotten any better (we are on Day 4) but her allergies are apparently getting worse.  Now her eyes won't stop itching and they are all swollen and red.  Maybe seasonal allergies are part of this?  I myself am a mess- I spent about 20 minutes outside on Thursday night to mow the front lawn and was almost immediately congested and itchy.  Plus, she has started to get mad.  You would think a 16 month old would not know the difference between what she is eating now and last week, but that would underestimate Noella's appreciation for food.  In daycare on Friday she was so annoyed that she could not have pizza with the other kids that she refused to eat any of her own lunch.  In Noella's book this is a major protest.  Skipping a meal is just not something that she does.  So a few more days with this and then, if there are no improvements, we will be on to the next experiment.  Wish us luck!
In the meantime, Patrick and Mariel are off to her first major league baseball game.  She wore a pink fancy dress, shiny neclace, dress shoes and red socks.  According to her, the red socks are so she can think about the Cardinals.

Chicago!

The train was entertaining, and definately less painful than trying to keep Noella in a car for 5 hours.

Mariel and I taking a picture of the skyline (as reflected in the "bean") with my lovely friend, Kimberly.  Kimberly has the pleasure of being married to a political scientist, who is also a good friend and former office mate.  They both came to Chicago for the conference so I and my children got to selfishly monopolize her time. 

 

Mariel is getting good at taking portraits! 

Mariel: Bean roadkill.

This is Noella outside of the Aquarium.  It was pretty cool and far too expensive.  Definately something that is easier to do when work is paying for the hotel room!  The dolphin/ whale show was fairly silly, but entertaining for a 4 year old.  The highlight of the whole experience for Mariel, however, had nothing to do with sea life.  She got to go on her first taxi ride and found it marvelous.  I do have to say that it was one of the nicer taxis that I have been in- so a lucky pick for such a momentous occasion!

Delayed action Kool Aid
Starting tomorrow, we are going to go gluten free for Noella.  Her eczema has gotten so much worse and is now overwhelming me, but is not being seen as something treatable by her pediatrician.  While we were in Chicago this weekend (great time, by the way) she was incessantly scratching her poor little wrists, and her legs and arms have been covered in blotchy red patches for weeks. 
I grasp the medical idea that eczema is not caused by food allergies, but I have not had any indication that her pediatrician's office understands that it can be triggered by food allergies.  Being a well trained researcher, I have been doing some work and am fairly convinced that allergies are at least a reasonable possibility.  Since we are clearly not on the same page here, and I do not want to be forced into using steroids on my 16 month old child, I am going to try some alternative therapies. 
First, cut out wheat and gluten to see if helps with the itching.  If it makes no difference, on to to the other usual suspects, such as dairy.  I don't see how this can harm her (she has been way down on her diary since her stomach bugs, anyway) and it just may help.  Second, I made an appointment with a homeopathic doctor to see if they have other suggestions in terms of how to monitor and control other potential triggers.  I am not really interested in medicines or supplements (Western, Eastern, or herbal), but I do want to see a medical practitioner who is willing to consider environmental or food allergies in relation to her skin issues and help me figure out how to reduce that exposure. 
So, now that we have left Shining Rivers and the gung ho Waldorf devotees it seems that they have gotten to me.  Patrick has declared me a hippie freak, I just spent $100 on gluten free groceries (less exotic than it sounds, as potatoes, corn chips, and apples are also included in that category!), and I am taking my toddler to a homeopath.  Perhaps I will start dressing us all in organic cotton next week...and as I write that, even in self-mockery, I think, hmmm... that might be good for her skin...

Fly away

A few weeks ago we got our birthday gift of caterpillars in the mail.  We watched them grow and grow, and about a week ago they changed into chrysalids and got moved out of their little plastic home and into the butterly net, awaiting their big change.  I'll be honest- I sort of forgot about them in the guest room. 

Thursday morning I went in to check my computer and to my surprise there was a butterfly in there. I managed to spend about two hours between getting appropriate flowers and an orange at the store (shopping for butterfly food was a new experience) and just staring at him/her.  It is surprisingly exhilerating to watch a butterfly up close.  By the time Patrick and the girls came home that evening, all of our butterflies were out.  For the space of a few days, we all spent a lot of time just watching them.  Patrick reminded me several times that these were Mariel's butterflies, not mine. 

But, really, they couldn't stay too long in the tent.  I was worried that they could not really fly in there and they seemed to be getting a little crazy trying to do it anyway.  Saturday morning we let them go out into the big world. 

Good luck butterflies! Come back and see me (um, I mean come back and see Mariel)!