Sorta Off-Topic

So I've been doing this blog thing "seriously" for about two months now, although I've dabbled in it a bit in the past (with limited success; said blog was something I started with two friends and intended to be a place for political musings and critiques of the day, but alas, I got lazy and didn't really hold up my end of the deal as far as postings were concerned. ) Anyway, I've really been having fun with Songs in the Key Of..., mostly because it is a great way for me to document my son's life (much easier than writing it by hand in a diary, I'm ashamed to say).  But still, I've always struggled with the question of how much personal stuff to reveal - mostly as far as K. is concerned, but also for my own benefit.  It's laughable to think that my life or this blog would ever elicit details juicy enough to warrant a crazy scandal, but still, when it comes to your child's privacy, you really can't be too careful. This is all a long-winded segue to the great New York Times Magazine article I devoured the other night, about the rise and fall of Emily Gould, former blogger in chief for Gawker.  If you can spare the time this weekend, check it out. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for this sort of stuff, but I do think you'll find it fascinating...

Allergy Secrets Revealed...

So we had our allergy appointment yesterday.  First, when the allergist checked K's lungs he said "I hear what I wouldn't call 'wheezing' exactly, but something more like a precursor to asthma wheezing... we will need to watch that."  Oh, wonderful.  That didn't really surprise me, however, because my brother suffered from asthma throughout childhood.  Bummer.  Then they did pulled out all the stops to test him - 24 pinpricks with allergens on his little back. Poor baby!  He was a brave little boy though, and only cried a tiny bit (although, thankfully, he soon got distracted by a little plastic bus he found under the doctor's examining table).  We had to wait 15 minutes after the test to see how he reacted to the allergens.  This is a picture of what it looked like, for those of you who are interested.  Those red dots you see are what the allergic reaction looks like (the one on the top left side of his back is part of the control group - it's "histamine" - and the pin prick above that is just to test his sensitivity to the pricks in general - it's saline.) Having struggled with allergies throughout childhood, the "pinprick test" was no big deal to me since I had to have it done all the time.  However, I quickly learned that others didn't have such a cavalier reaction.  I sent these photos to my husband on my iPhone while we were waiting for the test results, with no proper context or explanation, and I immediately got a frantic phone call: "What the heck is going on?  What is that on his back?  Is he alright?"  Anyway, we got the results back immediately and... (drumroll, please)... the good news is he is only allergic to three things, one way more than the other two.  Tree pollen is a doozy (3+ on a scale from 0-5 with 5 being out-of-this-world highly allergic), followed by milk (1+) and tomato (1).   The bad news is tree pollen is... EVERYWHERE I CAN SEE.  We have to give him baths every night (to make sure it gets out of his hair so he doesn't bring it into bed with him), keep our windows and doors closed (so much for that fresh spring air), and keep our car windows rolled up when driving.  Argh!  And we also need to give him Children's Zyrtec and an OTC nasal spray called Nasal Chrom every night for the next month (by which time pollen season should, God willing, be over).  We'll go back and check in with the allergist at the end of June. So there you have it. As for the other allergens, the doctor doesn't think we need to change our milk regimen (since he looooves his whole milk) unless it starts to really bother him.  And the tomato allergy was so inconsequential that the doctor didn't even mention it to me - I just saw it on the sheet he gave me afterward.  The really great news is he has no allergies to 1) dust (yay, I don't have to feel guilty about a messy house!) and 2) animals.  Our beloved yet maligned cat dodged a bullet!

Best of Beach Pics

I have a happiness hangover from our excellent weekend at Rehoboth Beach.  Still exhausted, so all I have the energy to do is post a coupla "Best of" photos.  Enjoy!

Beach Weekend!

We're going to the beach tomorrow!  We're celebrating my sister in law's birthday so the gang is all coming ... should be a great time.  I'll be taking a hiatus from posting over the holiday break so I'll leave you with another of my favorite pictures.  This was K's only other experience with a beach: the Gulf of Mexico.  We went to visit relatives near Bradenton, Florida last February. Here's me, K, and my brother after dipping our toes into the Gulf.