Friday Things
1. Joseph had his first oral challenge fail at the allergist this week (insert massive sad face). We had two tree nuts left – pistachios and cashews, and those were the two with the highest IGE levels in his blood work, so we saved them for last. This week we were doing pistachios, and after just two small doses, he broke out in hives all over his face. I felt so bad, but at least the silver lining (if there is one?) is that both this time and when he had peanuts, his only reaction was hives, which is bad, but it’s not anaphylactic. So, our plan of action is to have him continue eating all the nuts that he already passed (almonds, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts), then avoid the others until next summer, run more blood work, and if the numbers have come down (FINGERS CROSSED), then try the oral challenge again.
2. On a positive allergy note, I also took Dominic this week to be skin tested for peanuts since kids who have a sibling with an allergy are seven times more likely to have one as well. He had ZERO reaction, so it looks like his peanut allergy-free!
He’s going to have a big week… next Wednesday is his birthday and we’re throwing his birthday party tomorrow! We can’t wait to celebrate this amazingly sweet boy.
3. Do any of you use Sling TV? We’re contemplating cutting the cable cord (well, satellite dish, in our case), and we were 99% sold on the PlayStation Vue, however, we hit a snag when we realized we couldn’t get the local AT&T sports channel, which is where most of the hockey games are broadcast and, well, we watch A LOT of hockey. We can’t do the NHL package because we’re in our local market, so it would be blacked out. The only solution we’ve found that could work is SlingTV… if you use it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
4. Talk to me about the Instant Pot! I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I want to add another kitchen appliance to my house, but I’d love to hear what your favorite things are to make in it!
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5. Love this article that Joseph’s music teacher shared >> What Should A 4-Year-Old Know?
6. Have you ever made the Harry & David dip? I made it for the first time in months and I forgot how totally and utterly addictive it is… SO easy and the perfect dip to put out when you’re watching a game or having a movie night.
7. I can’t believe that Halloween is already creeping up on us… what’s your favorite Halloween candy?!
8. And speaking of fall holidays, is there anything you’d like to see me tackle here on the site for Thanksgiving? Give me your wish list!
9. Less than a week until hockey season starts… hallelujah!
10. TGIF! I hope you have an awesome weekend!
I have tried Hulu, SlingTv and Directv Now. I dumped Slingtv during the trial period because I could not watch a preseason football game on my local channel. Their website said I could and after 1 hour with customer service and no resolution, I ended my trial. We found the interface for Hulu confusing (never could find what I wanted to watch) so I settled on Directv Now.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my InstantPot. I use it for basics — hard-cooked eggs, potatoes, broths, soups, stews, rice. I also use it for things like pulled pork (c’mon, pulled pork start to finish in about 2 hours instead of all day? yes, please.). Spaghetti Squash. Yams. it also works as a slow cooker — so if I’m not using it as a pressure cooker, then I can slow cook things (see broth). Oh, I want to make potato salad! Hard cooked eggs – 10 mins start to finish. Potatoes, fork tender – 10 mins, start to finish. While things are cooking, chop the celery and onion, make the dressing. Done in under an hour. BAM (to quote Emeril). My friend has used hers to make yogurt MULTIPLE times and swears it’s better than anything she’s ever bought in the store (I haven’t gone that route). I don’t use it every day, but I’ll say I do use it at least once a week, often more. I don’t use any other small appliance in my kitchen that often — including the toaster.
(And when you do finally break down and get one, check out the recipes over at NomNomPaleo.com — she gives good InstantPot.)
To save money on cable (we have Dish Network), we put a pause/vacation hold on it every year from about April through August (when there’s no gooD sports!). It costs $5/month to maintain the hold.
We have been using slingtv for about two months now and the only downside is that there is some buffering during busy times and the DVD limits your options to fast forward depending on the device you are using to watch tv. Definitely try a free trial if it’s still being offered and see how’s it streams in your home. For a family that hasn’t had cable at all in over six years, we do like it.
Wish List for Thanksgiving: I’d love to make an easy & DELICIOUS stuffed Turkey Breast. Do it earlier in the day and keep it on hold to warm prior to our Thanksgiving Dinner. My husband usually deep fries a turkey. I’d like this beautiful stuffed Turkey Breast to serve as well. Thank you.
I second this request. Stuffed turkey breasts are fancy yet perfect for say two people who do not want to cook a whole bird or a nice option even if you are doing a whole turkey or having a crowd.
Just one word of caution on Dominic–since he is under 2 years old I wouldn’t necessarily trust the no peanut allergy due to skin testing. I have a son who is highly allergic to peanuts. He had had a reaction at 13 months old to a peanut butter sandwich (we were traveling and had few options). When he was 2 they did skin testing for everything due to a lot of ear infections. He did not react to the peanuts. They told us to not give them to him anyway because skin tests aren’t always accurate until they are a little older. Anytime later that he was accidentally exposed, he reacted to peanuts. When he was 9 his doctor told us that an esophageal biopsy showed him to still be highly allergic to peanuts. He’s now 22 and totally avoids them. We have two other sons that aren’t allergic to them, so it’s possible Dominic’s not. I’d just wait until he is over 2 or 3 to try them out on him.
Yes, definitely the only true test is to introduce the food, but that’s actually the first time I’ve heard about someone having a negative skin test but actually being allergic to the food; usually it’s the opposite – you can have a positive skin test but still be able to eat the food without having a reaction.
I love my Instant Pot. My favorite things to make: risotto (including your sausage version!), steel cut oats, pasta and meatballs, pork chops, chinese chicken. I am going to try poached eggs soon and cheesecake. In my book, it’s worth the $100 or so JUST for risotto and steel cut oats… seriously.
Oh, and mashed potatoes! I don’t know how I could have forgotten that! When I make potatoes on the stove they boil over EVERY. TIME. Now in the IP, no mess, perfect potatoes, hardly have to use any milk/butter. WIN!!!