In which SCA projects predominate

Apologies for the lack of blogs; we've been largely been preoccupied with getting ready for a SCA event over Labor Day weekend. I've been doing lots of blogging, though - just not here. Go to From Lijsbet's Desk for an up-to-date record of happenings.

Much of the same content (but with better pictures) may be found in the section of the Companie Golden Lyon's web page devoted to my projects, A period encampment. Recent posts are on the Tents and Tables pages, and there are some recent but older posts at the period bed page. Since we're working hard on these projects just now, there's a lot of activity.

SCA projects may predominate, but there's still a strong preoccupation with Evan getting into school. I have a sheaf of papers to deal with on a daily basis - late last week saw a particular flurry. With Evan's rite of passage last week has come a much stricter schedule. He's home at 3:40, he gets to watch literacy videos until dinner at 5, and then we do some sort of directed literacy learning until bath at 7:00. He's to be in bed by 8:00, which is rather nice, since the parents then get uninterrupted time to work - on SCA projects, of course.

It's a grind, but it's better than last week's chaos - it seems the school must "ease" the kids into school with two part-days before the kids get to go to school full-time.

On top of it all, Chris repaired the sink in our bathroom this weekend.

Of course I'm stressing about what's getting left out. The yard and garden is a disgrace. I haven't got curtains made for my bathroom (a project sitting for the past two months), not have I gotten any Goth clothes made for Chris or me. The laundry is a consistent three-basket pile, and we all need SCA clothes.

It'll be good to get Three Stags over - the work toward the event is good, but the relief will be better. Maybe I can get the yard in shape before I leave for New York.

In which today is pretty much like any other day for Evan

But today is a day with profound meaning for his mother. Today is of course Evan's first full day of Kindergarten.

I awoke with a migraine this morning, which is really too bad, since I didn't get the pleasure of any wine to trigger it. Because of the migraine, I was late getting up. Evan had awakened with Grandma early this morning, and crawled into bed with me - of course, this limits sleeping. I got up at 7:50 and tried to get Evan up. This was something of a challenge; although he didn't get to bed too late last night, I suspect that he just didn't get enough sleep what with waking up.

I learned at yesterday's meeting at the school that there is no hot lunch for the kingergarteners this week, and so had to make him a lunch. The subject of food at school has become a huge point of contention due to hysteria over food allergies. I had pretty much decided that we'd let the school feed him, since they seem to think they can provide a peanut/tree-nut diet, and it's an overwhelming issue for parents to insure that there are no nut products in what their child brings to school.

I'm annoyed enough by all this that I did some research last night. Although the Enrichment teacher tells me that she's got 20 kids with food allergies (out of about 50 kids) , research [1] indicates that only about 8% of children will have food allergies, and of those less than one percent are considered life-threatening. Besides nuts, children may have life-threatening reactions to milk, soy, eggs, shellfish or wheat. No one is advocating removing any of the other common allergens from the school in entirety, although anaphalaxis due to any of the non-nut allergens is just as swift and deadly - and unpredictable, especially in children with a personal or family history of atropy, including conditions such as eczema, hay fever, or asthma.

Research also indicates that the incidence of nut allergies is grossly overreported - many diagnoses are made without sufficient tests and challenges to acertain not only the precise allergen, but if there really is an allergy at all. Just because a person tests for the IgE antibody, doesn't mean that they will react badly to any allergen. The only way to diagnose any allergy is to use double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. Skin pricks and blood tests are reliable indicators of IgE antiboties, but poor predictors of reactivity. One wonders how many of the "food allergies" present at Lois Lenski (or in any other elementary school) have been thouroughly tested and accurately diagnosed.

The school district has a long-standing rule prohibiting the sharing of food, which should be quite enough precaution - combined with teacher enforcement - against allergic children eating potentially hazardous items. Yet, we are told that one particular potential allergen - nuts - must not come to school. This outright ban on nuts is often supported by the myth that even a whiff of peanut odor is enough to cause anaphalyxis; there is no mention in the research of bona fide reactions occuring other than through ingestion or contact with skin. Although subjects may react strongly to the smell or presence of peanut butter, these are antecdotal reports and not supported by clinical research. There is strong evidence that reactions to smell or proximity are psychosomatic.

A more common scenario is that the victim has had at least minimal physical contact with the allergen. For instance, the person may have been touched (or kissed) by another person who has handled or consumed nut products. For this reason, it makes good sense to maintain high standards of cleanliness in the classroom, both in personal hygene (which just makes good sense in any case) and in keeping surfaces very clean.

Furthermore, we were informed that Evan's class will remain nut-free throughout elementary school. The Kindergarten is nut-free this year; next year, the first grade will be nut-free. The likelyhood is strong that next year's Kindergerten classes will be nut-free too. However, research shows that children will not necessarily have the allergy forever; 20% outgrow the allergy. Will the kids in Evan's class be tested annually using double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges techniques? Doubtful.

If it was a matter of just prohibiting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this would be a simple matter. "No sharing" and "wash hands" rules should suffice to keep truly sensitive kids safe. But the prevalence of nuts in the American diet makes this a overwhelming and undue burden. Nuts are in many processed foods, and nut oils are used in many ethnic cuisines. This means that I can't send Evan to school with a long list of foods, which has been thoughtfully been provided by the school. Add to this the lack of education about the risk and safety of peanut oils in various states (and the total lack of labeling as to the state of the oil in question) and this issue becomes a case of Russian Roulette.

Other research indicates that children with food allergies experience a lower quality of life (QoL) than those with insulin-dependant diabetes! I would say that the QoL experience extends to the families of children who are in the same schools. As I'm packing Evan's lunch this morning, I find myself questioning my decisions. Peanut butter is right out, but what about the breading on the leftover chicken I sent? What about the oil in which it was fried? What if the truly sensitive kid pilfers a crumb in spite of teacher oversight and rules? What if my decision causes a child to suffer, or worse to die? Since the school has instituted a ban, am I legally liable? I suspect so. I have a sneaking suspicion (justifiable in fact) that the lawyers are behind all this.

After agonizing over lunch, Evan and I set off for school. His first full day. Well, not really full-day; full-day kindergarten is out of fashion just now. However, there is an enrichment session available which makes up for fashion, at $13 a day. We arrived at school at 8:50, and were directed to the primary playground, where he barely took a moment to give me a goodbye hug and kiss. Then he was off, eager to play with kids and on the playground equipment, and I was left in a swirl of other people's kids and parents clinging to cameras - or kids clinging to parents. I watched Evan for a bit, and then walked away.

He was totally at home, thouroughly absorbed in playing. I'm feeling like my little boy has grown up all too fast. At these times, I am forced to deal - unwilling - with issues of mortality, both his and mine. I know why people have a second child. As the first grows up, we long for the sweet innocence of our formerly very small child, and the need to maintain those sweet innocent days tends to overcome reason. Being an avowed only-child parent, today is especially bittersweet.

I thought I'd come home and cry all day. It still seems like a good idea, but I scheduled some self-care in the form of a hair appointment this afternoon. Make no mistake, I'm terribly proud of my little guy. But it all seems too soon. There are Coffee and Kleenax socials at the school today for the morning and afternoon parents. But I'm ducking all that - I can't handle other parents' grief and mine too.

[1] http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm

In which Chris and I go to a movie

Yes, we went to a movie! I know it seems pedestrian, but when you're parents of a 5-year-old, these things are rather more out of the ordinary than less.

We put Evan to bed, and left him (sleeping) with his grandma. We had already made arrangements for her to keep him for the evening if she had to work. However, the work actually needed her on Saturday, and so our "date" became the late show.

We saw "Pirates of the Caribbean". No it wasn't as good as the first. Yes, the critics are right. I mostly thought about how much I loved Jack Sparrow, and how much I missed him in this sequel. It's not to say that Johnny Depp wasn't in the movie; it's just that I'm not sure that he knew that he was supposed to be playing the same character as last time. Some of the dialogue was lost in the accents and the special effects, which meant that the plot details and twists - and the characters' motivations in many cases - weren't apparent. I did like the special effects, though. Davy Jones' effects were great; I found myself wanting to watch him more and more. Bootstrap Bill, Will Turner's father, was another special-effect stand-out. And Tia Dalma is a personal favorite.

But I really miss Jack.

In which to see better, I have to see worse

Having put it off long enough, I've actually seen an eye doctor with the intent to get another pair of glasses.

My last exam was about two years ago. The glasses I got were impossible for me to adjust to; I could see about 3" of anything held at reading distance from my face. To see anything more, I had to turn my head. I described the feeling as claustrophobic. It was something of a relief then when Chris broke them as they were hanging from a necklace in the car. That was close to two years ago.

I had done a little research before going. I found some frames I liked a lot. The company is called Spectacle Eyeworks out of Canada. These aren't your mamma's eyeglasses - which is of course, the objective. Since I can't seem to find any eye make-up that doesn't burn my eyes, I'd like to have something distinctive to wear on my face instead. Spectacle Eyeworks referred me to just two shops in Denver who carry their line. Of course, neither of those shops are on the Comcast vision plan.

Although WideOrbit will reimburse me for any expenses related to eye care, I decided to try the Comcast plan, and made an appointment at Pearle Vision. After all I know that I can't front the entire expense, and if this could save me some cash, then I might have more in my WideOrbit flex account if I needed it later.

My appointment was at 1:00 today. I had the full exam, including the annoying dilation. They sent me out of the dark exam room into the light. Boy, was it bright. In my impaired state, they expected me to actually be able to see the frames that I was trying on. I did get something of an impression of a line called "Bellagio" which has a lot of interesting frame styles. By interesting I mean floating lenses, laser-cut temples and colors. It being difficult for me to discern details, I was rather relieved when the optician offered to order some out-of-stock frames for me in better colors - this gives me the chance to actually see them clearly before making any decisions. At $200 for a pair of frames, I'm not hurrying this process.

I have to say that the doctor and optician were very accommodating. They spent a lot of time with me answering stupid questions. The optician is obviously interested in my business, as he seems to be going above and beyond to sell me eyeglasses. I'll feel bad if I choose not to buy from Pearle.

However, I had to see the Spectacle Eyeworks frames first. I would have to wait.

The doctor had asked me if I had sunglasses out in the car. I actually had a pair in my bag, but I was gratified to find a much darker pair in the console. Because I had to drive myself home.

I've had my eyes dilated before, but I don't remember it being this bad. It quickly went from "annoying" to "impaired". The optician told me that it would get steadily worse over the two hours following the procedure, and then it would clear. But first I had to get myself home. It wasn't easy, but I carefully drove home and promptly went to bed. I love our Dark bedroom - I loved it a lot more at about 2:30 this afternoon. I covered up my eyes and for the first time in an hour felt like I didn't have abnormal sight.

By 4:00, all was pretty much back to normal. Yes, the sun still looked too bright, but in shade I could see reasonably well. Chris and I hopped in the car and after picking up Boy, headed to Tamarac Square and International Optique. They did have some of Spectacle Eyeworks' frames, and a lot of other interesting frames. I've picked out a couple of pairs that I like reasonably well. The staff at International Optique was super patient and very willing to give advice about shapes - face and eyeglasses. I discovered that plastic lenses are generally too heavy for my face, and a subtle cats' eye shape is good for me. It's not going to be easy finding something suitable in purple. The "fashion" colors are ones I don't generally wear. The blue frame that tones to black on me is a good possibility, although I don't think I have anything in my closet that is blue.

Still no decisions though. The Pearle Vision optician is going to call me in two or three days when the new frames come in. I just have to have patience. And about $400 ahead....

In which I find I'm running my ass off

I have lost 3 pounds this week, so I suppose it's OK, but.....

I've "worked out" every day since I've been home except Sunday. Saturday was the Farmer's Market and then I've walked Evan to school every day this week. He complains. He's so tired! I know I do pace a little too fast for him, and I'm trying to slow down, but really, he's got ten times my energy and less than 20% of my weight.

In addition, Chris and I (with Evan) hiked Deer Creek Canyon Park on Tuesday night. 2.7 miles, and half of it felt like straight up. We used to do that park frequently, and it didn't seem so bad. It's gonna take some more of those to get closer to "in shape".

I was really happy at 200 lbs. I don't know if I could have done any better at Deer Creek Canyon, but I felt better about myself. I felt younger, sexier, more "normal". I had better choices in clothing available in my size.

So, I'm eating normally and probably tripleing or quadrupling the number of steps I'm doing every day. My goal is to get back down to 200 by Halloween. That's 30 lbs in just over 90 days. It seems do-able and a healthy pace.

As long as I don't have to slow down.