Wrapping frenzy-Allergies- Ikea- Costco

So I began today my great quest to be "about" the wrapping of gifts in a more, ummm, timely manner this season. I purchased my very pretty, double sided paper while at my local Costco; gathered together my fancy dancey sizzors. I was set to start wrapping. Rob was reading the last of Charles Dicken's "Christmas Carol", a tradition in our house, and life is good. Would you not guess, could you not believe, not 5 gifts into my night of wrapping extravaganza, and I run out of....tape. Yes! Tape, plain boring tape. I hunt, search, probe, all the while trying not to miss the story. Eager little faces waiting to see if Ebeneezer Scrooge will yet again REPENT, as he does each year.
O the torment. will he, won't he, will mommy , won't mommy?
What do you think I did? I repented. Sat down, had a piece of chocolate, and figured, our Lord, did not wish me to "over wrap" anything tonight. Isn't God good? AMEN to that.
We went to the doctor today, to have Ben tested for allergies. We have to see the doctor next week to "discuss" the results. Ben is allergic to quite a number of things it would seem. Ben has skin issues too. For the bruiser he is at nearly two, you'd never guess what a softy he is.
He is allergic to MILK> Ben loves milk. The report says he's allergic though, to all milk, but goats milk, or raw cows milk. So I am thinking HE"S NOT really allergic to milk, but that what ever they do now, with all their fancy dancey messing with foods, cows, hormones and spiking the temperature etc, they are making normal cow milk, intolerable to my baby boy's system . Apparently we need to look at getting Ben raw milk, and vat pasteurizing it ourselves maybe, or get that Amish stuff. We have tried some goat milk, he hated it. Maybe it was bad goat milk, I don't know enough about goats milk to know when it's good and when it's not. But I don't think it is legal to sell raw milk in Illinois. I have heard of people going over the border to get the stuff. What is this hemp or something? You'd think I was trying to score some drugs. You know, I realize that I am getting a bit sassy here, but doesn't that just seem weird?! I mean you can't go anywhere with out the Milk people telling you how it "does your body good", and yet, it's so not good! This is America, where are my milk options? Why can't I just get my milk from a COW? Is that so unusual to want? And maybe I want the cow that gives to me Milk, to get to graze in a green field, and eat grass, and be outside in the sunshine, where it can make VITAMIN D, maybe, I want the Cow to be free to roam about the farm, (in my mind, the barn is painted red, and there is lots of room in the cows stall, and my cows name is Bertha, or Milly or something nice and wholesome like that). I tried this Vat pasteurized milk from this Amish company once. But it was like $7 a gallon! Wow ! Well so there is our milk dilemma. I will start researching soon, after the holidays if I have any sense at all.
Ben is also allergic to all the dye they put in foods, surprise surprise. Bunches of outside stuff. Carpet glue. Carpet glue? What do I do about that? Carpet glue as opposed to wood glue, or Tile glue, or linoleum glue? He's allergic to dust, dogs, cats, tobacco, carpets (in addition to the glue that often accompanies the carpet), hmmm, oh, MSG (isn't everyone allergic to that?), oh and tons of cleaning supplies, detergent, and molds and fungi. So much for that fun home school science project I had been doing. Oh, he 's also allergic to dandelions, this is only encouraging Rob in his winter mulling over our front lawn. It is a bit like giving him ammo. (For those of you who don't know, we have a neighbor, he's great, but his lawn looks like a golf course. Its green when ever there is not snow on top of it. He has an in ground sprinkling system. Its amazing. Then there is us, you'd think we were growing Dandelions for the health food store in town.)
I must say I am looking forward to hearing from the doctor his thoughts, advise, etc. I am thankful, that there wasn't anything that we saw that would cause him to die from an allergy. You know, how some folks are so allergic to bees or peanuts, they can actually die just being stung, or breathing peanut dust or something. It's frightening! I praise the Lord that He has granted man the mind to figure some of this "fall" stuff out, so we can be wise and discerning.
Then we went to IKEA. By this time it was 2 pm. And we needed lunch. That is what happens when you have a doctor 40-45 minutes away from home; and you plan a 1pm appointment. You leave at lunch, sit in a car, have your appointment, and get out and you are SO hungry, and I confess, I see the time, and I am ashamed that I didn't feed them sooner. But it takes 25 minutes just to make sure every ones gone potty, hair is brushed, socks match, and are on feet prior to putting on shoes, then in the excitement Ben has to poop (every time, right after you put his snow stuff on), so I had to take off stuff to change him, get him dressed again, make sure there is a train piece for each hand, make sure big kids have their "assigned" reading books, make sure we have our Diana Waring CD's for the car ride, find my glasses, and my purse, get Ben buckled in the car, make sure I have something to drink, because by now I am getting dehydrated. And off we go. Of coarse, I am almost out of gas, so you see, I have to leave before 12 to get to the 1pm appointment, and no one wants to eat lunch at 11:15, they just don't want it. They groan, and make faces, and well you get the picture. But the alternative is going to IKEA for hotdogs at 2 pm.
So there we are walking looking for a cart to put Ben in, when some woman starts speaking (rather loudly) "WHAT? ARE YOU ON BREAK ALREADY? hEY!" naturally I presume that she is like many rude people today, just being mean to a coworker in front of customers (so common today), when I realize, after she repeats herself, she is actually speaking to my children! I turn around to see this IKEA worker coming toward me to inquire why my children are with me. As if they weren't my children but the States, and I am only allowed to have them after hours, as my offering to society, as my gift to my community. It was awful. I told her that we home school, and take breaks as we see fit, as our life deems necessary, and that today was doctor appointment day, is that a problem ? She looked rather taken aback. I know I was. What is with people? Don't they remember the rule that they teach in school "don't talk to strangers"? What is stranger than an adult rushing toward you, asking you a bunch of questions about things you don't understand? Break? What grade school child do you know that would answer such a stranger...hmm, let's think, can you see it?
"Oh yes siree, we are indeed enjoying our winter break, we hope too that our teachers are all well and good this holiday season, thank you for asking. How about you? Will you be forced to work over the holiday? Oh dear me! Really? Do they make you put a lot of overtime in? Do you take probiotics and echonacia, to ward off the diseases you must be exposed to here in this heavily populated working environment? Does you company offer you good medical and dental plans? My father has PPO...." Can you see it? What was this lady thinking, that she was gonna sit down and chat with my children? People can be so funny sometimes.
After that, and hotdogs, shopping, and cinnamon rolls, we went to Costco. I tell ya, you really can get in a lot of history this way. I love that Diana Waring! She is fabulous, God has blessed her with a gift, I really enjoy listening to her, and so do the kiddo's. Costco was better because they know us at Costco. They all look forward to seeing my kids, my kids like going to Costco. We say hi to the ladies by the eyeglasses department, we visit all, and I mean ALL the spots where they want to give you a taste of something, we got our toilet paper, some chavre cheese (it's goat cheese, and Ben's not allergic to it, this is how I justify that purchase in my mind), and we left. It was nice to not be IKEA'd.
Taco's for dinner, and you know the rest. I do hope that you are blessed! Happy wrapping!
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