Eryn's dermographism

So Eryn has been having her hives for forever and we have been at a loss as to what to do. We has her tested for food and pet allergies and she came up negative, so the next step was to do the "skin prick" tests. It was a little expensive and the hives seemed to lessen for awhile, so we thought we would wait and save up money to do the test.

Well, our pediatrician retired suddenly and so we had to go to a new one. Through a sister-in-law (thank you Roxann!) we found one that specializes in asthma and allergies. So we went to an appointment and what a blessing! He did a simple test by "scratching" her back with a semi-sharp point to see if her back would form into welts where he scratched. I said nothing, but thought "Yep! We will see those welts, no doubt". Sure enough, as we have seen so many times on Eryn, she had the welts (he did it in the shape of tic-tac-toe). She also had been scratching close to where he scratched so she had even more welts on her back. Even the doctor was surprised to see such a severe reaction. So much so, that he took pictures of her back to show to others. He told us that her condition was called dermographism.

Most people with dermographism have a reaction to their skin being rubbed, often resulting in their skin will turning red. Dermographism is when that red marking also results in a hives type of reaction. The red in combination with the raised hives, make it look like you have been writing on your skin (this was taken from dermographism.com).

Now, it seems as if this is not a serious condition and our doctor told us there may be no "cure", but we can try to see if we can diminish its severity.

It sounds weird, but I was so relieved to just find out what she has. I was sick of people who don't know us giving us looks like we aren't doing enough for our daughter. The school nurse seemed to be frustrated that Eryn was coming in all the time with hives and would seem to look at me as if I was a bad mother for not figuring things out yet. I am not excited she has this, but it is not something serious and we will learn how she can deal with it.

I am also so grateful for those who helped me in finding this doctor and for the doctor himself. I have read where others have gone to many doctors not being able to be told any answers for years, and we only had to go to two! Thank goodness.

Fun Vacation

The family just went on vacation to Tennessee. And it was so much fun that I am actually blogging about it!

We went and saw Spencer and Roxann at their country home. The kids went swimming and jumped on the trampoline and got into other sorts of mischief. They also got to try out the Wii and they loved it. So much so, that we may cave and get one for Christmas. The only thing is that Grant loves the boxing a little too much. He keeps trying to practice his moves on his sisters.
They also miss Truffles von something or other...I can't remember her name...but Eryn is now going to get a kitty when she can move away from us.
It was so nice and quiet and relaxing, that we wanted to stay longer.
Spencer and Roxann almost got us to stay with the promise of a tractor pull the next day. Nothing we love better! But alas, it was time to go after just a couple of days.
Time to job hunt in Tennessee?

some new pics of the family

Baby Log, Stardate Feb.14. 2009

First of all, I want to wish my little girl Eryn a Happy Birthday. She is such a sweet and helpful little girl and we are so blessed to have her.

second- Update on the newest addition.

We have decided that we will call him Ryan. So, that is what we are calling him. Sharel and Ryan got to come home yesterday around noon. We had a wonderful nurse who I think worked extra hard to get us discharged before noon. We came home and Sharel went to bed. So far Ryan is very quiet. He eats every 3-4 hours and seems content to either sleep or look around. I know that they say newborns can't smile and they can't see, but last night Ryan was looking around while I was talking to him. His eyes were darting back and forth like he was trying to focus on something. He finally looked right and me, and then he smiled. It only lasted for a second and then his eyes were back to moving around. Maybe I just have that new father naivetee, but I think he was able to focus his eyes on me for a second and liked what he saw.

Anyway, he so far is quite content and easy. Sharel and I find ourselves doing things we never would have done with Eryn and Rachel, like leave him sleeping in his bassinet in the bedroom while we eat dinner, or leaving him alone in the living room while we go look for a diaper. We know he is in no danger, and it is nice not to have new parent jitters.

All the kids have taken a shining to him, even Grant. We were a little worried that Grant would be jealous, but so far he has not. Not to say that he won't ever get a little jealous, but he is actually quite gentle and soft with Ryan. Of course Eryn wants to hold him every second and she does a great job of it. Rachel has been the most reserved so far, but even she wants to hold him and play with him.

I will post more videos and pictures when I get the chance.

Peace- I'm out.

John Ryan Ross Olsen

I know it is a mouthful, but we couldn't decide and it was between these names, so we decided to have our cake and eat it too!

Here is some video for all you too far away to see him.

Ummm.....Hello everyone

Ok, so I know that I do not write. Mostly it is because I am trying to catch my kids, or catch up on the housework, or sleep. I have felt the worst during this pregnancy than any other and it doesn't allow a lot of time to do blogs. Plus, I sometimes am a perfectionist and don't want to do something, unless I know I can contribute a lot of time to and make it exactly as I want it, but oh well.

I will write just for you Merilee!

Things have been going great for the baby despite the awful feelings I have had. He (we think maybe John Ross will be his name) was breech for awhile, but has turned around now. So once again, a textbook pregnancy is about to end in a couple of weeks.

I have tried not to get to anxious this last month, but I think that happens no matter what, so I am feeling like I need to go in a week (ha!).

Eryn is doing really great in school and still loves it. She is continuing to learn how to read and loves her teacher Mrs. Mendoza. I think any thoughts I ever had about homeschooling the kids, she has dispelled that thought (at least for her), because I think others would do a better job of teaching her. I think she would not be happy at home learning. She needs to be able to be social at the same time.

Rachel is excited about her brother coming and always asks about him. She loves to give him hugs and kisses all the time. She is also learning how to read and actually enjoys learning. I think she may become "the cutest nerd". She really does love to explore and learn.

Grant is still Grant! Boys really are a different breed from girls, but so much fun! I love watching him play and explore and grow. I am a little concerned for when little brother comes because I think that there may be some jealous feelings there, but I am sure we will make it through.

See....really boring around our household. Well....at least Danny can make things seem interesting and fun. Love ya babe!

Oh, and I would have to say that Danny would be the best superhero of all time. No explanation needed.....

Once every other month posting...

Thanksgiving- It was good, a quiet Thanksgiving spent at Mom and Dads with Korynn and Bryan and Bo and Andrea. 3 pregnant women under the same roof and everyone lived. It was a super beautiful day, and Sharel and I sat in Mom and Dads back yard in their comfy Cabelas chairs and watched the kids play. I even fell asleep.

Things are going fairly well with us. We are almost done painting the living room, and have ordered carpet for the living and family rooms. Hopefully it will be put in before Christmas. After that we have laminate flooring we will put in the kitchen and dining room. We are quickly outgrowing this house and need to sell it and move into something bigger, hopefully we can do that in the next year, year and a half.

Eryn is doing awesome at school. Her teacher, Sister Mendoza from the 3rd ward, recently asked the kids how to cook a turkey and wrote down their responses. Eryn's "I love to cook with my Grandma so I add some salt and sugar and cook it in a rice cooker for 5 minutes."

Rachel, oh Rachel, where do I begin? She is definitely into learning. She has Eryn and Sharel show her how to write letters, and she is even trying to read. She loves punching me in the gut when I get home. She is also the sweetest little girl out there.

Grant is Grant, most assuredly a boy. He likes to rock out in his Batman pajamas or his Fireman pajamas. He picks up random things and turns them into guns, (I really had nothing to do with this, I think he learned it from Eryn playing cowboys and bad guys). He is throwing less tantrums, and his vocabulary is shooting up. Above all he tries to make is laugh when he knows he is in trouble. When that fails, and sometimes it doesn't, he still throws a tantrum. But we still love him.

Sharel is doing just fine with the pregnancy. Obviously things are a little more difficult for her as this has been her hardest pregnancy so far. We are getting excited and have not really settled on a name as of yet, or haven't even really thought of one to be honest. But we are getting excited, until we realize that we have not had a good nights sleep in almost six years and nothing is going to change for another couple of years, or decades.

I hope we are all caught up now, and I will try to get Sharel to post more often.