Lucy's Tummy and Gluten-Free Recipes

Over the past few months we have switched to a more restrictive diet for Lucy. She started to complain about a hurty tummy back in January, and the past few months have included a series of doctor visits, as well as a failed attempt at a hospital lab to get her to participate in a fructose malabsorption test. This is an excerpt of an email that I wrote to my friend M-A about the invalid fructose malabsorption test, which we tried to do in early March:

"Today was an incredibly frustrating day for me. Lucy was supposed to have her fructose malabsorption test, and we spent the past 24 hours getting her ready with a special diet (I woke up early in the morning to cook chicken and rice!) and following all of the specific requirements. We woke up early this morning, brushed her teeth with only water, and drove down to Tacoma for the appointment. And when we got to the hospital, the tech asked Lucy to drink a large bottle of sugary fructose water in five minutes. I wish I would have known about this time limit in advance, because Lucy doesn't do well with those kind of constraints and she was caught off guard. She took a sip, and then froze up, refused to drink, and started to cry. I tried to coax her through drinking it for a few minutes, and she made about 2/3 of the way through the bottle before the time ran out. The tech said that the results would be considered invalid because of the delay and we would have to reschedule! I was nearly in tears when we left the lab.

So, we are not any closer to discovering the problem. I'm not sure that Lucy is mature enough to handle the requirements of this test. She might be better prepared for what would happen if we did it all over a second time, but I think I'll see if our doctor has other recommendations. I don't want to repeat what happened today!"

We haven't gone back for a test, but I think we have figured out some other things which are helping Lucy's diet. We have cut back on almost all dairy and are avoiding wheat, and those things seem to be helping. We have seen an allergist for testing but Lucy's test didn't show an allergic reaction to dairy or wheat, so perhaps it is some other GI issue. The allergist gave us a form so we can get celiac screening done at a lab, so we might do that. I suppose we should also see a GI doctor eventually, but it seems like most of her tummy problems are solved (as well as the chronic constipation that she has had for most of her life) if we cut out these things. I'm not sure if I want to go through the hassle of seeing another doctor only to be told that they aren't sure what is wrong and to just keep doing the things I am doing...

So now my new hobby is going to speciality grocery stores and trying to figure out gluten-free recipes that Lucy will eat. It is quite a change and I'm actually glad that I have only been teaching one class for each of these past two quarters because thinking about specialty food takes up a lot of time. I never wanted to have my life revolve around thinking about food and special diets, just as a reaction to how much of my childhood was spent driving to goat farms and wandering around health food stores. When all of these dietary restrictions started for Lucy, I told J that this was my worst nightmare. It's still kind of true, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm figuring it out.

I have a couple gluten-free options that have been working so far. Lucy will eat pasta that is made out of lentils that comes from Trader Joe's, as well as a couple of other gluten-free products (like bread, muffins, pancakes and granola bites) which come from that store. I've found some other gluten-free mixes for cakes, corn bread, muffins and brownies at QFC. My friend Rachael shared with me a recipe for mochi waffles that the kids like, and this might end up being the dairy-free and gluten-free replacement for Grandma J's waffle recipe that we have used for our whole marriage until this year. When I was visiting Rachael in Saint George last month, she also made some flourless chocolate cookies to take back to Seattle. Lucy liked those so we'll have to make them again. 

Tonight, however, was a disaster when I tried a new recipe. I saw a video to make these easy gluten-free chicken nuggets on Instagram (see a similar TikTok video) and they were absolutely terrible. I think they were hands down the worst things I have ever cooked, and that's saying something because I'm a pretty terrible cook. It ended up being a huge mess to make the mixture, in part because our food processor doesn't work well and I had to move everything to a blender. Then the consistency of the mixture was off; it was so goopy that I couldn't create nuggets that held their shape. (Was a supposed to bake the potato instead of boil it? The recipe just called for a "cooked potato," but maybe the potatoes absorbed too much water when I boiled them?) Then, after I added a little corn meal to firm up the mixture and tossed the semi-firm "nuggets" into the air fryer, they turned into these terrible, dense biscuits that didn't even taste like chicken at all.

Since J was out of town for work, I was under an extreme time crunch to finish dinner before taking Sam and Lucy to their evening lessons. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before I could make anything else. I couldn't bring myself to eat them but Sam didn't have a choice, because his cello lesson was about to start. Sam was a good sport about it, and he ate a few of them with ketchup before we hurried to his lesson. While he was at his lesson, I went shopping at Target and bought him something else to eat for the rest of his dinner. But when I picked him up, he said he was still quite full and that the weird biscuits were at least filling.

I said, "Well, don't worry, we won't be making those again. They were terrible." And Sam replied, "Yeah...they were...Chicken Mc-Yuck-Its." That made me have a hearty laugh. J appreciated the pun when we called him about an hour later.

Kitty-Cat Sweatpants and Growing Up

 I had a moment in the grocery store today, when I was shopping for Christmas pajamas at a Black Friday sale. I found a cute pajama outfit for Lucy that had a fuzzy red shirt decorated with ice-skating penguins. I debated for a moment in buying it, wondering if Lucy would like the penguins. And a random memory from elementary school popped into my mind. I was in fifth grade - two years older than Lucy is now - and I was absolutely mortified because my mom had bought me a red sweatpants outfit with decorated with puffed-paint kitty cats and a tiger stripe design. I felt like I was way too old for kitty cats then and I really resented it when my mom made me wear the outfit to school one day (I think it was Valentine's Day, which is why my mom insisted on red). And I realize that I'm getting at a point now where it is hard to choose Lucy's clothes for her. She wants to be her own person and often choose her own style. She mentioned in a school assignment last year that she's "really good at fashion," so I should let her enjoy that more. And hopefully I won't put her in a mortifying situation like the one I found my fifth-grade self in. 

There have been a few moments where she has liked the aesthetic that I choose for her still, and her school picture this year was a good compromise. I choose the outfit (a vintage floral print with a shirt and skirt), and Lucy choose the butterfly headband (she did not want a hairdo) and the necklace. She did not want a hairdo, but she did agree to let me put mousse in her hair to help tame/shape her curls. This may be the last year that I get to have that much influence, though. I need to let her make more of her own choices.

This is what the full outfit looks like (she also wore it on the first week of school):

And yes, I did buy the penguin pajamas, not because of the penguins but I think that she'll really like the soft fuzzy red fabric. And if she hates the penguins, then I'll look for something more "tween" next year. Or maybe I'll start letting her choose her own Christmas pajamas, so she can be the fashionista that she wants to be on Christmas Eve.

Sam is still really easy when it comes to clothes and almost always wants me to make selections for him. He just wants things that are comfortable (e.g. sweatshirts, t-shirts and Levi jeans) and have neutral colors. But he has gotten into the habit of wearing button-up shirts for his school pictures, and he just doesn't seem to question that or consider what other options might exist. Really, Sam doesn't want to spend any more time thinking about clothes than he has to. He usually gets dressed with whatever clothes he pulls out of the drawer first.

These kids could not be more opposite, and not just in their attitudes toward clothing. I'm glad I get to be stretched as a parent and learn about different ways to connect with and teach them. I'm learning a lot about myself in the process, too. 

Lucy and the Pandemic

 

Lucy made this self-portrait earlier this month, which depicts her in her bedroom. I love that she included details like window, her heart stained-glass decoration, her three dolls (Blondie Bloom, Felicity and Molly), as well as three of her Lego sets (camping, Poppy from Trolls and the hair salon with a pair of scissors on top). The closet is marked with a snowflake, because Lucy thinks the air in her closet is cold instead. And best, of all, the window overlooks our yard, and Violet is dutifully barking at a neighbor who is walking past with their dog.

When I saw this self-portrait, on one hand I loved to see a happy girl who was smiling in her room. And I think she is genuinely happy. But I also couldn't help but think about how that bedroom - and our house - has been so much of what she has known the past two years because of the pandemic. Sometimes I lament about how her childhood is so strange right now - the other day I got a little emotional realizing that she was not going to get the "recorder unit" in her music class because the kids can't blow on recorders and expel their breath into the classroom air.

I've also been reminded of how Lucy's childhood is so different because Lucy and I have been reading the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. We are just about to finish the fourth book in our Betsy-Tacy treasury, which is the last one! And while the girls in those stories lived about a century ago, some of the things they experience are timeless parts of childhood: playing with friends, using your imagination, and exploring the outdoors. I wish Lucy had a friend who lived across the street, so they could spend going to each other's houses, and spending their free time imagining and pretending together. She does have some friends that she likes, but the pandemic has prevented us from doing too many playdates.

And I realize some things can't be helped or changed. Hopefully the virus will get under control, of course, but we may never have a little girl move into our neighborhood. I am glad, though, that she has her brother to play with. It's not quite the same as a little friend that is your same age, but she really loves Sam and is really happy to spend time with him. And I'm glad that she does have one friend that she is getting to "grow old" with: Abby H. I like thinking about how Lucy and Abby have known each other just about their whole lives, and I like that they have a history similar to how Betsy, Tacy and Tib go through different adventures in each book as they grow older. Abby doesn't live across the street or even in walking distance, but I'm glad we can drive to her house in just 10-15 minutes.

Narnia Halloween!

Well, we did it. After our brainstorming and a lot of costume prep, we had a Narnia-themed Halloween! It especially felt like I triumph because I wrestled with my sewing machine a lot on the day before Halloween, as I tried to get my dress ready. I had never sewn on a machine with the such different kinds of fabrics, ranging from a stretchy white dress, to a gauzy netting, to faux fur. And my sewing machine skills are pretty basic to begin with. I even enlisted Lucy as a helper to help lift up the foot of the machine so that fabric would not get caught in the needle or the bobbin thread. Later that night, I found a little piece of paper next to the sewing machine, where Lucy had been documenting our slow progress:

   1. So far, so good

2. Keeps getting stuk :(

3. Haveing trouble

4. :( The dress is cout (caught)

5. Takeing a while :(

6. Good again!

My friend Katie had sent me some tips on what she did when she was the White Witch, and I followed some of those. I also found a webpage that explained how to make an icicle crown out of crystal clear hot glue gun sticks.

J made most excellent runes on the Stone Table

Here is the final product! I was the White Witch, S was the Stone Table, Violet was Aslan, L was Queen Lucy of Cair Paravel, and J was the Wardrobe.

We had a chili cook-off with our Dinner Group and went trick-or-treating around the Roses' neighborhood. It was the most delightful trick-or-treating experience that my kids have had, I think, because the whole neighborhood was filled with kids, and it was still light enough to see and appreciate the costumes of the kids. Normally we are some of the only costumed people out in the dark neighborhoods.

October is always a really difficult month for me, because I tend to teach more classes in the fall quarter and there always seems to be more going on. THis year was no different. I'm teaching four classes this quarter, helping out with two different art programs at Lucy's school, and serving on the national board of the WMS. So adding Halloween costume prep into the mix always seems untenable, especially because midterms happen the same week as Halloween. But somehow it all came together, after a lot of hard work and late nights, and it is always nice to finally say goodbye to October with a fun evening.

When we were driving home, Sam said, "What family costume theme should we be next year?" And J immediately replied, "Store-bought costumes. Our family theme is that we will all be wearing store-bought costumes next year." Ha!

"School" Pictures for 2020

We didn't get a chance for regular school pictures this year, since schools have been completely online so far. I wanted to make sure that we could send updated pictures in Grandma Judy's birthday card and have new pictures for our 2020 Christmas ornaments, though, so last weekend Jeremy took some pictures with his camera. He did a good job photoshopping them to make sure the lighting was just right. Even Violet got a "school" picture taken, which is well deserved since she attends first grade and seventh grade Zoom classes on a semi-regular basis.

Both Jeremy and I were shocked looking at Sam's picture and realizing how old he looks now. I think he has grown at least eight inches this year; he now wears size 16-18 in clothes. He looks so grown up in his picture! Lucy confided in me that she thinks she looks "like she's eight" with her missing teeth, so she is feeling grown up herself. Her top two teeth have been missing for almost six months, but we are just starting to see one coming through her gums. We'll see if she gets to legitimately sing "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" this year.

Lucy's Tap Dance Book

 Lucy's first grade class has been working on writing non-fiction. They get to choose their non-fiction subjects. She's already written a few about flowers and written a page or two about holidays. Lately she's been working on a book about tap dancing. Since she has been doing all of this through online school this year, she's been taking the liberty of making videos on Seesaw to send to her teacher. In fact, she's made so many videos that I told her to stop sending so many to her teacher, to respect Ms. N's time. Sometimes she'll make little audio comments along with the video post that say, "This is Version Two. If you don't remember Version One, then go back and watch the previous video." Ha ha! Hopefully Ms. N is amused by this submissions and not annoyed.

Here is one such video:

And here is the text of her book:

I don't know if she'll keep up with her tap dancing lessons, but I'm glad that she enjoys them and wants to write about them. She will always be my little Shirley Temple.

Zoom's Influence on Film Criticism

The kids are watching “Lord of the Rings” and in one scene the camera repeatedly cuts between close-up views of the characters’ faces as they conversed. Lucy said, “This is just like a Zoom where it goes from person to person!” I guess that's the kind of reaction you have when you are doing online school and use Zoom for a few hours a day!

Lucy's Tip Toe Breaks

One of the cutest things about Lucy's online school during this pandemic is that she comes down the stairs at 10:00 every day for her ten-minute break during Zoom. She's anxious to quickly get her snack and chat with her friends via Zoom before the break ends, so she quickly tip toes down the stairs and does this little tip-toe run to the pantry, gets her snack and whispers a decline to my suggestion for a drink of water ("No, I'm okay") and tip-toe runs back upstairs. I'm not sure why she tip toes, but I think it is supposed to encapsulate her urgency and maybe also her independence as she gets her snack?

J pointed out that she sometimes holds up her Z-Bar as she tip toes away, saying, "I'm gonna eat this..." So maybe she also tip toes so that she thinks she'll escape notice and get away with her sweet snack choice? I don't always let her have those chocolate and iced-oatmeal bars as a regular snack, but I have been pretty lax about it since school started. Nonetheless, she keeps tip toeing, and it is really charming.

First Family Bike Ride!

When I was a kid, I loved riding my bike. For me, bike rides were a way to experience freedom and adventure. I could be by myself, go explore, and feel the freedom of independence. I especially loved going along the gravel trail that was in my neighborhood and seeing the Canadian geese at the pond. I would even take the trail all the way past my elementary school, and sometimes meet up with friends.

So, as an adult, it was hard for me to accept that Sam didn't want to ride a bike because I felt like he was missing out on those experiences. Ever since he was about five, he has stubbornly refused to ride one. For several years I came to terms with it, and accepted that his childhood would not be the same as my own. And for the past two years, I have been content with letting Sam ride his scooter alongside Lucy's bike.

But this summer, it was time for Lucy to get her training wheels off. If she was going to learn, then I thought this was a good time for Sam to learn too. Plus, with quarantine and the restrictions due to Covid, I felt like I wanted to put the pressure on Sam so that we could have another way to exercise as a family outside (especially since the Y is practically closed, and we aren't ready to go there anyway due to the rising cases). He kept on hesitating and deflecting my pleas, but we finally got him to agree by bribing him. We promised that we would give him the Mandalorian LEGO set that comes out this fall (for which he has been saving all summer), if he would buckle down and learn how to do it. It didn't take him long to agree to this arrangement. And so he learned to ride a bike, at twelve years old, through coercion and manipulation. But it worked!

With Lucy's training wheels off as well, both kids took time to practice riding in the long drive way across from our house. It basically only took Sam about two days to learn how to ride his bike. He got confident really quickly, and even exclaimed, "Why didn't I learn how to do this seven years ago?" In fact, Lucy noticed how quickly Sam picked it up and muttered to herself, "Why is he faster than me? I've been practicing longer than him..." And this is true, if you count the two years she has been on training wheels.

Regardless, they have both picked up well on bike riding. Lucy can get herself going on her own, and so far we haven't had a major fall yet. We have gone on several rides together, and this is now one of their favorite ways to earn "active minutes" (which then translate into every-other-day screen time). And Sam has agreed with me that bike riding does give a sense of freedom, which he likes. As a parent, I feel like I've finally succeeded in teaching him the joys of bike riding. And I hope he will also remember this experience of facing a fear, overcoming the challenge, realizing that the challenge wasn't that hard in the first place, and developing a love for something that he thought was a fear.

First time practicing on the Cedar River trail by our house. We've been back twice and also explored the other side of the trail by the Community Center and Carco Theater.

Our first bike ride with all four of us was this evening! We went on the east end of the Cedar River trail in Maple Valley. I thought this day would never come!

Lucy is Six!

Lucy had a wonderful sixth birthday. We originally planned to have her friend Abby H come over for an outside playdate (the first playdate since quarantine began!), but then Carrie (her mom) had to be tested for Covid-19 and the H family had to isolate while waiting for Carrie's results. So, we spent the day at home. Luckily, she got lots of presents from her family and extended family, so she wasn't at a loss for things to do. It was a marathon day for me, but I worked hard to say "yes" to everything she asked. She and I flitted from toy to craft to bubbles to toys all day long. The house was a wreck by the end of the day and I was really exhausted, but she had a fabulous birthday. (And Sam said that he had a great day too, because for the most part Lucy was occupied with me and he was able to have alone time in his room! Ha!)


During quarantine Lucy has rediscovered her love for Little People princess figurines. She got her pink Little People castle years ago, but last year I started to store it in her closet because it wasn't getting played with. However, over the past few months she has become really fixated on her princess castle and figurines, and she even was pretending that the pink castle was Elsa's ice castle. It seemed right to get her the Elsa castle for a birthday gift. She didn't even know such a thing existed!

Instead of a Moana cake (since Abby couldn't come over), Lucy wanted to have pancakes with a Moana topper. She specifically wanted to eat blue whipped cream so that it would look like Moana was sailing on water.

Here the old princesses are meeting the new Frozen characters.

Sam was kind and even helped play with Lucy, so she could enjoy her new Frozen castle. Elsa's castle is being defended by Star Wars ships and figurines

Lucy had her birthday playdate with abby all planned out to be a Moana-themed birthday party. Since Abby wasn't able to make it, we still pulled out Lucy's Moana dress and she got to wear the Heart of Tafiti necklace that she planned to wear with Abby.

A fairy house from the F family!

A giant craft kit from C and S

A giant bubble wand from E and T

Picnic dinner from Din Tai Fung at Seahurst Park. Lucy had wanted to swim, but it was too chilly.

Chocolate dumplings for a birthday dessert!

Lucy didn't even notice that her loose tooth came out while she was eating her birthday dumplings! She was startled and had a little cry when she realized her tooth was gone, but she was comforted to know that the Tooth Fairy would still come. She wrote a note, just to be sure.

Bop came over to bring Lucy a birthday present! Gram developed a cold that day, and out of an abundance of caution she stayed home and Bop was sure to wear a mask.

A few days later, we were finally able to have Abby come over for an outdoor playdate (Carrie's test came back negative!). Lucy was so thrilled to get to play with her friend after being separated from peers for so long:

We went hiking with the Hongs about a week later. Lucy and Abby held hands several times while hiking. I know social distancing is important, but I didn't have the heart to stop this cute little manifestation of friendship (although we did sanitize hands afterward!).

Here are few more recent pictures of Lucy:

On a recent hike to Franklin Falls

Reading "The Light Princess" with Blondie Bloom and Felicity

She still loves to play with dolls, both the Fisher Price princesses, Blondie Bloom, Felicity, and the Strawberry Shortcake dolls in her doll house. She also enjoys playing with Lego, reading Tomie de Paola books, riding her bike (she just started to ride without training wheels) and playing with Sam. She has a mild interest in playing the piano, and we practice for a few minutes every couple of days. Here is a cute poem that she wrote for kindergarten:

And here are some drawings that also were made about this same time. She likes writing and drawing on the whiteboard, and we have been trying to practice her handwriting this way:

She is getting more independent, although she still prefers to have a friend with her at all times (and in quarantine, that means either me, J or Sam). She is also getting more mature, and we don't often have fits or outbursts of temper from her anymore. She knows that she can get Sam to play with her if the story involves Star Wars, and she has a growing interest in Star Wars lore. She also likes to play Sam's Lego Star Wars game on the iPad, and it is amusing to hear her talking about "defeating" people in that game. 

Her day-to-day preferences are almost always the opposite of what Sam wants, whether it is the route for our morning walk with Violet or opinions about what to do during the day, but she and Sam always come to a compromise. They have been good quarantine buddies while we have been stuck at home for the past several months.

Lucy's Parking-Lot Dance Recitals

This past week was Lucy Week! In addition to her birthday, we also got to see her perform in two socially-distanced, outdoor dance recitals. We drove up in our car and watched the dancers perform outside in the parking lot behind the studio. Everyone tuned in to the same radio station and the families stayed in the car while we watched the dancers perform six feet away from each other. Despite having to re-choreograph the dance routines and needing to take classes via Zoom, the girls did a fine job.

This was taken in the car, right before Lucy's tap dance to "Dear Future Husband." This was taken just two days before she turned six!

This was taken in the car right before Lucy's hip hop dance performance of "Firework." The performance was taken the day after her sixth birthday! You can see that she is missing two bottom teeth. One of her bottom teeth came out while she was eating her birthday dinner, but she didn't realize it and inadvertently swallowed the tooth!

Lucy did a great job in both performances. I think she does especially well with her ballet and tap classes, but she likes doing hip hop and we're going to continue to encourage her in all these areas of dance!