So, we went looking for some answers....

And this is what we got. 

She's potentially allergic (or at least sensitive) to pretty much everything.  Except cats.  Which would be good, if only we had two cats instead of two dogs.

Breaking News: Mariel Eats Soup!

 Bonus News: One Eyed Monsters Return

When I picked Mariel up from school today there was a note taped to her cubby.  It says:

Today Mariel tried veggie soup!  She said " it tastes real good.  Now I like it."

This is probably not shocking for most households.  In our house, this is big news.  The surprise of it is maybe (maybe!) equal to waking up speaking a new language or finding a pot of gold in a flower bed.  Mariel has not eaten soup in two years.  She will try pretty much any food and give it at least one "no thank you bite" before turning it down- except for soup.  She has absolutely refused to touch it since before she turned 2.   I wondered if it was genetic (my mother does not like soup either... we will have to do some research to see if this is an inherited trait)... but maybe it was just an extended phase.  Or some deep ethical opposition to soup that faded?  Oh, to know the mind of a child.

In other equally exciting news, the one eyed monsters have returned:

I love the one eyed monster drawings.  She did a series of them two weeks ago. My favorite was the one eyed monster family (a mom holding baby, dad, big sister, little sister, and brother- each with their very well centered one eye) surrounding a lopsided box.  When I asked what they were doing, she looked at me with suprise and said (because it was really perfectly clear) "Laundry, Mom.  Can't you see that they are doing laundry?"  After the one eyed monster drawings were complete she went into a scissor frenzy, which happens frequently, and before I knew it my precious drawings (which I was honestly prepared to frame) were turned into tiny shapes and shreds of paper.  So once I saw this one today I snagged it and scanned it- even if the scissors come out, I will have my own copy!

Eczema wins again.
We have gone from good  to bad to worse.  There was a wonderful 4 or 5 day period of no eczema.  I was excited, thinking maybe something that we had changed, the diet, the new regimine of creams or lotions, or even different pollens in the air, something, was working.  Instead, I think we just got lucky because in a few days the very dry skin reappeared, and then back to red patches and severe itchiness.  And now she is now covered in blisters.  They appeared Saturday morning, and I thought they were tiny inflamed bug bites.  I checked the dogs, took off all of her bedding, and finally realized that if we had flea infested house or dogs, it was likely that someone else in the household would also have at least one bite, and that the fleas might not be smart enough to only bite the parts of her skin with eczema.  It still didn't register that these were blisters until Patrick took her to daycare this morning and they immediately called and said that they needed a doctor's note to say that her blisters were not contagious.  Blisters are a common part of eczema, sadly, so it seems pretty likely that this is just something else we will have to try to figure out.  We were headed to the doctor tomorrow to do blood draws for allergy testing, so now she is home with me and we go to the doctor this afternoon.  Poor girl.
On a more amusing eczema note, I have started putting her to sleep with socks on her hands to keep the cream on and to keep her from scratching herself or chewing on her hands. I thought this would be torturous, but instead she seems to think that it is pretty funny.  She carries her sock mittens over to me and once they are on starts acting as though the are puppets, saying "Ga ga gaaa" in a silly voice and wiggling her hands over and over. 

She does not wear that hat to bed, although chances are good that she would try if I let her.  I have also tried to take pictures of her hands (where the blisters are the worst), but everytime I do so she keeps playing patty cake with the camera.  It is very effective at getting me to laugh, and her to laugh, but it does make taking pictures more challenging than usual. 

Nice to see you again.
During the summer the girls are going to daycare three days a week and staying home with me two days.  This is partly to take advantage of a quieter schedule, partly because that schedule comes with a significant lack of pay, and partly because in the chaos of the past year I feel like we have not spent very much time relaxing and enjoying ourselves as a family.  This summer schedule forces me to not work or be productive a few days a week, which is somehow translating to me not feeling as guilty for the times when I am not doing work.  Because now I am clearly not supposed to do work all of the time, which makes it ok (in my head, at least, which is really the only place that matters).

So we have been playing more, wandering more, enjoying ourselves a little bit more.  This morning I took the girls to the bookstore and we wandered the bargain books and childrens section for a while.  Actually, Mariel and I wandered, Noella ran around, took everything she could get her hands on off of shelves, chose some books to carry around while yelling "BOOH!", took her shoes and socks off, picked out five stuffed lions to carry in her arms, and said "hi" to everyone in the store.  For some reason they did not kick us out and we left with some workbooks for Mariel to practice letters and a new book that came with a special ballet slipper neclace.  Yes, it was probably made in China (and she has been forbidden to put it near her mouth), will probably break or be lost in a few days, but it has made her very, very happy.  It has been a good day, with happy kids in good moods and with (relatively) good behavior.  I think it is good for all of us to see each other again like this...

The quilt a month club

I have been busy with sewing lately- averaging a quilt a month since March.  I think I am done for a little while, unless I get any requests or am hit by sudden inspiration.  It has been very fun to be back in the tactile, crafty world of sewing and actually make things.  Still, my eyes need a break!

It started in March, with the "Ballerina Princess" quilt for Mariel's birthday:

April was the "Baby Bishop" Quilt for my nephew (complete with the photo of Daniel, thanks to Babci, below):

And now May is the "Favorite Things" quilt for a friend of Mariel's whose family is moving away from St Louis far too soon.  She is a ballerina princess like Mariel, although she favors blue and purple and has a special love for horses: