The Kids and I: Been sooo long!

Ugh! My blogging has been terrible lately.

I don't even remember what has happened in the last 13 days. Have to consult the calender...

Last week I decided to take Ethan to a naturopath to consult about his allergies. I've been feeling like following the "accepted" medical course of action wasn't enough. I wanted to do due diligence so that he doesn't have to suffer and take medication his entire life. So we went to a doctor in Snohomish that my Aunt highly recommends (and had good ratings online as well). She explained her viewpoint as the teacup principle. Right now, Ethan's teacup is full with inflammation from from foods he's ingesting. When he has a reaction to grass or cats or the other things he's allergic to, the teacup overflows into symptoms like puffy eyes, congestion, etc. The goal is to reduce the inflammation so that when he has an allergic reaction, the teacup fills up, but doesn't overflow into symptoms. I hope I explained that clearly!

So we had him tested for food sensitivities. We will then remove those sensitive foods from his diet for about 3 months and then slowly re-introduce them to find the level that he can take in without the allergies "overflowing" the cup. Its worth a try in my opinion. I just can't accept that my 5 year old needs to be on steroidal nose sprays and shots and stuff for the rest of his life. Before I can accept it, I need to make sure I'm not overlooking other options, no matter how strange they may sound. I just pray that he's not allergic to wheat or dairy. That eliminates about 90% of what he eats!

After our appointment, we headed out to Biringer Farms in Arlington to pick raspberries. Aunt Jenni joined us and we had a great time! We were there only an hour and I picked over 5 lbs of raspberries and Jenni picked 4!

(I had a smudge on my lens apparently)

The crew

This sums up who was the better picker... One focused on picking, the other doing everything but picking :)

Our bounty

Last Saturday we went with April and Gregg to try a new restaurant, Marimba. It does South American food. April blogs about it, with pictures, here so I won't repeat it all. It WAS good and different though. The ceviche was delish and probably my favorite thing of the night.

Tuesday, Ben came over to spend the night with us. Its the first time the kids have had a friend spend the night and boy were they excited! WE really enjoyed having Ben here, and he even mowed our lawn :) The next day, he spent the money we'd paid him for mowing to buy everyone ice cream from the ice cream man. What a kid.

Later that day, we all journeyed down to Aunt Michelle & Uncle Peter's house in Federal Way. We played in their community pool and then had dinner and dessert with them. We had a great time!

Gwen wore this dress many times. I am happy that Elly can wear it now too!