Then vs Now

Over the last 10 years, Altman and I have vacationed at my parent's house in Florida every year except for 2 (wedding year and the year Jackson was born). After so many trips to this place, I was thinking about then vs now meaning before Jackson vs with Jackson.

Before Jackson....

We could leave anytime of day that we wanted. Had to work? No problem. Leave late afternoon and arrive at midnight. No big deal.

Less packing. More clothes but less stuff.

More sleep. Go to bed late. Get up whenever. Nap for two hours. Lots of sleep.

More beach time.

Reading on the beach or working puzzles.

Eat whenever and wherever.

Run whenever, wherever.

Adult beverages anytime of day.

After Jackson....

We leave whenever will work best for his sleeping schedule. This year, we left at 6:48 am. It was a good call. We were trying to leave by 6:30 am. I called it a victory.

More stuff. More packing. We look like the Clampetts leaving town. Clothes (still packed way too many even though I toned it down a bit), shoes, food, bed rails, and more. Basically, you name it, we probably brought it. Even so, we are fortunate that the living room looks like the Island of Sodor and these toys travel easily. Jackson is entertained and mommy can read a book.

No sleep. Jackson is off schedule so he wants to go to bed late and wake up early. Because his room is so close to ours, we hear every single move and it keeps us awake at night. His naps are shorter (because he doesn't want to miss a thing) so our naps are shorter too. Who needs sleep? We don't sleep much at home so who cares.

Shortened beach time. Have you seen my kid? Red hair and fair skin. Sunblock is at least 75 and we stay out less than two hours at a time and re-apply every half hour. BUT, we bought a little inflatable pool that is out of the sun in the afternoon so he and daddy play in the pool while mommy watches on from a lounge chair that is in the sun.

No reading on the beach. BUT, we get to play in the water, build sandcastles, follow the tire tracks, chase birds, play trains, and all around act like two year old without anyone making faces at us. Very cool.

Eat at kid friendly places. They must have grilled cheese or mac and cheese on the menu or we don't go there. BUT, our favorite oyster place has the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich and the booth is big enough to contain the toddler. And, we got balloon hats the other night. With no kid, we would have looked silly with balloon hats. Very cool.

Running is now more structured. Altman gets up and runs and I go when he returns. We bring the jogger and take family runs when we just need to get in easy miles (yes, we are still training and do still have workouts to complete). We get to explore other areas and today, we saw Coach Summit while we were running. Extra cool.

Adult beverages later in the day. Yes, we can still enjoy an adult beverage. If Jackson can have apple juice then mommy can have a glass of wine.

When I look back at then vs now, I have no idea what the heck we did on vacations years ago. Seriously. Now, our days are filled with activity. No, it isn't the same kind of vacation as before and some days, it is almost as stressful to be on vacation with a toddler as it is to be home and working and raising him and following life's normal routines.

Now, vacation is so fun because we get to live it through him and through his eyes. Stop signs are the coolest and we chase speed bumps when riding the golf cart because obviously, they are the most fun ever. I was showing Jackson the sunset the other night and now, he wants to see it. He wants to see the purple, pink, white, and blue sky as the sun goes down.

It will be cool to see how things change over the next few years. If we are fortunate to have another child then I can only imagine that we'll need a U-haul to get here. That will be okay. Regardless of one kid or more, being able to spend this time with Jackson and Altman is such a blessing. Now, back to my vacation before it ends!

Reality Check

We had a BIG reality check yesterday. In 2010, at 13 (almost 14) months old, we found out that Jackson is allergic to peanut butter. Yes, ridiculous. Who is allergic to peanut butter? I ate it the whole time I was pregnant and nursing. The child grew from am embryo to a human on peanut butter. I ate it breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. But, alas, he is allergic.

The diagnosis process was horribly frightening. Jason was in Portland, OR and Jackson's teacher made plans for the kids to make no bake cookies. The idea was cool. The kids would play with peanut butter, chocolate chips, oatmeal, and other ingredients to learn textures. She asked permission for him to make the cookies and I said okay.

Within in an hour, the teacher and school Director were calling and I was rushing him off to the doctor. He was coughing terribly and had hives and it was a frightening day.

We keep an Epi-Pen on us 24/7. It is always close. We've had the whole family and babysitters use the "practice pen" and we are adamant about asking for an ingredient list at restaurants and on anything we buy at the grocery.

With all that said, we've been comfortable the last little bit. Seemingly, airborne contact with peanuts or peanut butter doesn't cause a reaction. Like I said, we ask at restaurants and we make sure to read ingredient lists of everything we buy for home.

Just like any other day, we sent Jackson to pre-school yesterday. Same teachers. Same kids. One difference....someone sent peanuts/peanut butter in their kids' lunch bag. Apparently, Jackson came in contact with it.

His teacher texted at 2:20. "Jackson has splotches on his face." I called immediately. She said they popped up after nap. 10 minutes later, she called and said that they were spreading and that they were becoming welts. I told her to get the Epi-Pen ready (they keep one at school) and not to let him out of her sight. When we got there, we dosed him immediately with Benadryl and took him straight to his pediatrician. The hives were terrible and spreading quickly but he wasn't having any problems breathing.

No anaphylatic shock. No Epi-pen needed. Big dose of Benadryl and Zyrtec. He'll take them for a few days. The hives cleared up quickly. Life will go on and all seems to be well.

When I decided that he was gonna be fine, I cried. Just like that, his safety and his health and everything that I am was compromised for a bit. Yesterday was a big reality check. Today, he was playing and riding his tricycle.

I hate that he is allergic to PB but that is our reality and for now, we'll will ask his teacher to check twice for peanut products in lunches and I will go back to being that "crazy mom" again for a bit when it comes to checking food items.