Déjà vu at the skin clinic

Yesterday Alasdair (4) had one of his regular appointments with the dermatologist.

 

Last week when our GP was referring Fraser to dermatology I mentioned that Alasdair had this appointment coming up. Our GP said that I should ask if they would look at Fraser while we were there anyway as even though he was asking for an emergency referral for Fraser it would still be a few weeks before he could be seen.

 

I didn't really have to ask when we were there though. Once Alasdair had been checked over and his treatment plans discussed (keep on doing what we're doing) the dermatologist immediately turned to Fraser, who was sitting on my knee. I mentioned about his referral and the suggestion from my GP. She agreed to see to his treatment there and then, rather than wait for his official appointment, which she looked up on the computer and is still three weeks away! I've just to ignore that letter when it comes through.

 

After talking with the doctor we then waited to see the nurse. She usually puts the creams & bandages the doctor has prescribed on the baby/child and talks the parents through how to do it all.

 

It was the same nurse who had treated Alasdair when he was first at the clinic, at exactly the same age that Fraser is now. She remembered us well as Alasdair had been seen by her every week for about 6 weeks. Although she knew we didn't need to learn about the treatment, she still creamed and bandaged Fraser so that he would get some instant relief from the itchiness. The little star smiled the whole way through, despite the fact that he was lying on a big bed having creams and bandages applied by a lady he didn't know.

 

Now Fraser has his own little corner of creams and ointments to match those of his brothers'.

 

 

 

 

And now he too gets greased up from top to toe after bath time. I think Alasdair quite likes the fact that Fraser now has the same routine as him. Although James(13) and Calum (11) both had the post bath creams and bandageswhen they were smaller, Alasdair obviously doesn't know this and so until now has felt that their eczema is different from his as they just need creams on their hands/arms/legs.

 

I need to hold onto that little right hand when his vest is off otherwise he will scratch and scratch away at his chest. He's learned how to scratch and determined to show me how well!

 

 

I wanted to get some photos of his face to keep a record of how his eczema is doing....

 

 

 

 

...and of course he kept turning his head towards me all of the time when I was trying to photograph the sides!

 

 

 

And still smiling of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can read about the start of Alasdair's eczema here and see where the déjà vu comes in, but here are a couple of photos of him at around the same age as Fraser is now.

 

This was before he had started any treatment...

 

...and a few weeks later.

 

 

 

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Make it Monday - Golf Club Covers

Time to share one of gifts I made before Christmas. I couldn't share it before now as it was part of my dad's Christmas present and he reads my blog - hi dad!

 

I must admit that I was a little concerned that he might open his present on Christmas morning and then stare blankly at the contents, not knowing what it was meant to be!

 

So I told my mum, just in case!

 

 

Aren't they cute?

 

Calum (11) and David (8) loved helping me make the pompoms for the tops.

 

Now all my dad needs to do is wait for the winter storms to pass, as well as find a break in his busy schedule, before he can show off his smartly dressed golf clubs!

 

I found the pattern for these on the blog Repeat Crafter Me and you can get it by clicking here. You will also find lots of other free crochet patterns over there too.

 

 

 

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Hogmanay, eczema, allergies & 007 Monopoly!

Three weeks ago, aged 8 weeks, Fraser was given his first course of antibiotics as he had the beginnings of a skin infection. His eczema began to settle down a little but then flared up again and so he was given another course.

 

We went through to stay with my in laws for Hogmanay/New Year last week when he was about 48 hours into the second course. He had a lot of yellow crusting on his forehead where the skin had been weeping, as you can see below.

 

I know I'm more than a little biased, but aren't his eyes beautiful?! :-)

 

 

All of the other boys adore him but he really brings the soft side out in our rough-and-tumble boy, David.

 

It wasn't just eczema we were dealing with on Hogmanay though.

 

As everyone at granny and granddad's got competitive in a game of 007 Monopoly in the run up to 'the bells' at midnight, I noticed Alasdair's eye was getting puffy. I know he hadn't eaten anything he shouldn't have but there must have been something spilled on the table that he accidentally touched. It could have been cream or ice cream from dinner time, or perhaps something from the cheeseboard some of the others had recently eaten.

 

I felt a little bad for not making sure everything was clear before he went to the table to join in the Monopoly game but I was busy with Fraser in the other room and hadn't really thought about it.

 

I was watching them all from the other room when I thought his eye looked funny and so called him through to me. His eye was almost closed over and there were hives on his face. I gave him a dose of antihistamine which soon stopped it from getting any worse. It did take quite a while for the swelling in his eye to go down though.

 

This is him a couple of hours after his first dose of medicine.

 

 

 

It didn't stop him from enjoying his evening though and my sister in law was able to take this lovely photo of us all after we had seen in the new year. It's a pretty good one considering it was taken at about 12.30am!

 

 

 

And I can't leave out this other great photo taken of us all with my husband's parents and sister in law's dog.

 

 

 

 

But back to Fraser and his eczema.

 

His second dose of antibiotics didn't do an awful lot of good either and so on Monday I was back at the doctor with him. As soon as he saw him the doctor decided to refer him as an emergency referral to dermatology. He also prescribed a topical antibiotic cream and low dose steroid cream, which is happily beginning to do the trick.

 

On top of it all, the poor wee man has been struggling with a heavy cold and bad cough for that last week, which may be why his eczema flared up a bit worse last week. It's certainly been the pattern with the other boys' skin.

 

For a week or so he has been much more sleepy than usual and content only sleeping in my arms. I don't mind the extra cuddles but I was beginning to miss my content smiley boy.

 

His cough has begun to settle down today though, and we've all been enjoying seeing his eyes sparkle again.

 

 

 

He's also now got the coordination to scratch those itchy bits too!

 

 

As for who won the 007 Monopoly, well we nearly missed the bells because they were all so engrossed in it! Ask Auntie Anna and she will claim it was her. But then so will dad. And James! So I think we should call it a draw.

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Crochet Mood Blanket 2014

The tree is down, the decorations are packed away for another 11 months and a bright new year has begun. Well, not quite so bright. It's been rather stormy and wet weather wise, but I mean bright as in full of opportunities.

 

I've never been one for New Years resolutions, as I think I mention every new year. All that giving up chocolate and stuff. It's just not me!

 

But a year long crochet project.....

 

I came across this one on Instagram and just loved the idea. All that it involves is one granny square a day. Or week. Or month. Whatever you think you can manage. Then at the end of the year you have a lovely sized blanket.

 

Now you might have noticed my love of the humble granny square over the last few months.

 

Since the summer there have been two brightly coloured blankets for my two littlest men...

 

 

 

 

 

 

A granny square teddy blankie toy......

 

 

 

 

And my current work in progress, a granny blanket for my own granny. It's going to be a joint Christmas and birthday present for her. She turns 90 at the end of the month.

 

 

 

How then could I resist this challenge?!

 

The original idea was to assign colours to your moods and then crochet each day according to how you feel but plenty of people are doing their own variations.

 

I've decided to go with a purple/lilac theme as this will be for our bedroom. I've always fancied making a blanket for our room but the thought of a King sized one was a bit daunting! At the pace of a square a day it's a little less so, and it means I can also work on other things at the same time. In my spare time. Ha. Ha.

 

Anyway, back to my plan.

 

I'm going to have shades of purple and maybe greens on average days, then on special days I will choose special colours. Like pinks for female family members' birthdays and blue for the males. Then the odd coordinating colour for any other special days. And maybe an occasional different square pattern too. I'll see how it all takes shape. All the squares will be bordered in cream.

 

I know I won't manage a square every single day so on days when I have more time I plan to make up some extras.

 

Oh yes, and I'm keeping a wee note of what squares/colours were done on what dates so it'll be more of a memory blanket than a mood blanket.

 

Here are my days 1-4.

 

 

I know I have quite a few crochet friends and it would be great if you could all join in. I'd love to see what everyone else makes. Wouldn't it be lovely if those of us who are taking part could exchange a square each?!

 

Let me know if you are in!

 

There are other ways to connect with those taking part. There's a Facebook page, just search for Crochet Mood Blanket 2014. Or on Instagram look for #crochetmoodblanket2014. Incidentally, if we haven't connected on Instagram yet I'm @myhousefulofboys.

 

Finally, here's a Gaelic word of the day to kick start the new year:

 

Plaide (pla-je) - blanket

 

 

 

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8 weeks old

Our sweet little man is now 8 weeks old.

 

8 weeks.

 

In one sense it seems such a short time but in another it already seems hard to remember what life was like without him here.

 

8 weeks was how old James, Calum & Alasdair all were when their eczema started. James' was a moderate sort of eczema, seeming bad enough at the time, but Calum and Alasdair's went from nothing to severe pretty quickly.

 

8 weeks old and here is our beautiful wee Fraser....

 

 

It looks like he is going down the same road as all but one of his brothers.

 

I had him at the doctors on Wednesday as his forehead was so sore looking and he had angry red patches on his chest and the top of his back too. Our doctor is wonderful, in my opinion, and so sympathetic. He remembered Alasdair being just the same and looked up the treatment the dermatologist had prescribed for him after his hospital stay when he was 3 months old. He was also more than happy to refer Fraser straight on to dermatology if that was what I wanted.

 

I was happy to see how things go over the next few weeks first.

 

So, the little man has his first ever course of antibiotics as the doctor was almost certain he had the beginnings of a skin infection. He is such a good boy at taking them too. I remember his brothers gagging on the medicine when they were a similar age but he takes it quite happily!

 

I must admit I felt rather disheartened for a little while on Wednesday when we came back from the doctor. About the thought of our beautiful wee man having to go through what his (equally beautiful) brothers have. He has been such a contented wee soul and I wondered whether that would change if his skin became so sore.

 

Then I read about someone who's 6 month old baby was due to have heart surgery that day. That kind of put things into perspective a bit!

 

And Alasdair was actually pleased to hear that Fraser has eczema as he said, 'he's just like me!'

 

So I suppose that, hard as it might get for him (and I'm praying that he doesn't get anywhere near as bad as Calum and Alasdair did!), he has plenty brothers (and a daddy) who have been through it all too and can empathise with him.

 

The patches on his back and chest have cleared up a lot and his forehead is looking better than it was.

 

And so far he has remained the contented, smiley wee thing that he was before all this started.

 

 

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It's beginning to look a lot like.... - part 2

Last week was another of those blink and you miss it sort of weeks.

 

There were various Christmas things on for the boys and my mum and dad were down for a few days too. My mum was down for a week when Fraser was 3 weeks old but this was the first time my dad was able to meet him. They have 8 grandchildren - all of them boys!

 

I was going to share a few photos of bits and pieces from last week tonight but Calum (11) wanted me to share this instead. He learned how to play his favourite Christmas song in one evening last week. We don't have the music for it so I just taught him how to play a section at a time and he's remembered it since then.

 

I would like to point out that our house is always this calm and tranquil.

 

Really.

 

Ok, well, sometimes!

 

Listen out for Fraser chatting/singing along too. Very cute.

 

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It's beginning to look a lot like.....

 

 

On Saturday these two went out with daddy to choose this year's tree. David (8) chose last year's tree and took his responsibility very seriously. He wanted to choose an equally good one this year. He did in fact choose an even better one. Lovely, full and round.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday evening it was the boys' responsibility to hang the ornaments. They love to rediscover the ornaments each year and reminisce about them.

 

Here is Alasdair hanging his favourite ones....

 

 

 

 

....and here is a close up of them.

 

 

I didn't realise what an investment those Thomas ornaments were when I bought them ten years ago. Back then we just had two boys, aged 3 and 1. I never imagined then that ten years later the ornaments would still be as popular and that we would be blessed with 5 boys.

I see those trains hanging on our tree for quite a few years to come. In fact, even when the boys have all grown too big for Thomas the Tank Engine, I know that I will still be hanging them up to remind me of these days when they were small.

Those kissing reindeers on the right below are one of my personal, non boyish, favourites. I cross stitched them a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our tree is a Caring Christmas Tree. I know I have mentioned them before as we get one of these trees every year. The money raised from selling these trees goes towards helping the charity my husband works for help the homeless in many different ways.

 

So whenever we look at our tree, not only do we feel the joys of this time of year but it also serves as a constant reminder to us of those who are less fortunate than us. We are blessed in so many ways and I would never want for any of us to forget that and take it for granted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Christmas Recipes - Chocolate Reindeer Cake {Gluten & Dairy Free}

 

 

Now before I start properly, yes I do realise that this is another chocolate recipe, but (a) it's Christmas, and if you can't indulge at Christmas then when can you? And (b) chocolatey treats are few and far between when you are on an allergy restricted diet!

A lot of children dont like the richness of traditional Christmas Cake and pudding so this is a fun alternative for them. You can make this by using ordinary self raising flour, margarine and milk without altering any quantities if you don't need to cater for allergies.

 

The cake is basically my Old fashioned chocolate cake recipe, which I shared in my very first ever post here, but instead of cooking it in round sandwich tins, cook it in a long rectangular tray-bake tin. It will need slightly longer to cook, although not too much longer.

In a bowl mix:

6oz wheat free self raising flour (I've found Doves Farm to be the best)

2 0z cocoa

In a pan mix:

4oz dairy free margarine

4 oz sugar

4 desert spoons golden syrup

and heat gently until melted.

In a jug measure:

1/4 pint soya or rice or oat milk

and beat in 2 eggs.

~Now add the egg/milk mix to the melted margarine mix and then add all of this to the flour mix.

~Whisk with a balloon whisk until the flour is all mixed in.

~Pour into your greased and lined tin.

~Bake for around 20 mins at 180c.

Make butter icing made by beating together:

4 oz dairy free margarine

10oz icing sugar

2 oz cocoa powder.

You will also need:

2 cinnamon sticks (the antlers)

a pinch of dried cranberries, or a glacier cherry (the nose)

2 dairy-free white chocolate buttons, or a couple of blobs of white icing (the eyes)

Once the cake has cooled it is time to start cutting the shapes. These measurements are very rough. I don't measure them!

Place the cake with the longest sides across the top and bottom. Using a sharp knife cut off a chunk, from top to bottom, of about a quarter for the head, leave 2/4 for the body and cut the final quarter into four slices (across the way) for the legs.

I hope that makes sense!

If you think your cake is thick enough to do so without it crumbling, slice each section through the middle so that you can sandwich them together with some of the chocolate butter icing. If your cake isn't thick enough it won't need this extra layer of icing anyway as it will be covered in the stuff!

Now arrange your pieces on a large plate, or foil covered tray if you don't have a plate large enough, and cover the whole cake with the rest of the chocolate buttercream.

Add the antlers, nose and eyes, using a dot of buttercream on the buttons to make the pupils.

I know he looks too cute to eat but once you have a taste of the chocolate cake you will feel better about it!

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Christmas Recipes - Chocolate Yule Log {Gluten Free & Dairy Free}

 

I've made a chocolate log to have as one of our puddings on Christmas Day every year since I was in 2nd or 3rd year at high school. We learned how to make one in home economics that year and then I made another for Christmas Day. After that it just became the tradition that I would make a chocolate log each Christmas. It wouldn't seem like Christmas dinner without one now!

 

This recipe isn't the one I used way back as a 14 year old (I'm not even going to try and work out how long ago that was!) but is the recipe we use to make one of Calum's favourite cakes - Jam Roly Poly - adapted to make it chocolatey. The step by step photos in this post were taken whilst making the jam version so just imagine that they are chocolate coloured!

 

If you want to make this with 'normal' ingredients it will work fine, just use plain flour rather than self raising. The reason I use self raising in my gluten free version is simply because I prefer the texture it gives over the gluten free plain flour. The plain flour gives a much drier texture, making this too hard to roll.

With wheat flour though you won't have to worry about this, and making it with self raising flour will make too fat a cake, again trickier to roll.

You will need:

4 eggs

4oz sugar

4oz Doves Farm Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

1oz cocoa powder

Some extra sugar for sprinkling

Dairy free chocolate buttercream for filling (or cream if you aren't dairy free)

~Using the whisk attachment on your free standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together well until they look really light and creamy.

~While this is mixing you can prepare your Swiss roll tray. Grease it lightly and line with baking parchment/grease proof paper.

~When your eggs and sugar are ready gently fold in the flour and vanilla. Try not to mix it too much or you will flatten the lovely air bubbles you have just beaten in.

~Bake at 200C for about 12-15 minutes only. It is important not to overbake. If you do the cake will be too dry and rolling it won't be so successful!

~The cake is ready when it is lightly golden.

~While the cake is baking, prepare a sheet of baking parchment/grease proof paper slightly larger than the baking tray. Sprinkle it all over with your extra sugar.

~When you take the cake out of the oven, carefully but quickly tip it upside down onto the prepared parchment and sugar. Peel off the baking parchment that was on your cake in the oven.

~Now cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to cool down.

~When your cake has cooled, spread your chosen filling all over the cake. Then, starting at one of the short sides, roll up the cake. You can use the baking parchment to help you push and roll.

Because gluten free cakes tend to be a bit more crumbly I don't try to spread any chocolate buttercream over the log like I used to when baking with wheat flour. If you are using wheat flour then do go ahead and cover the log in icing and finish off the decoration with fork markings to make it look like a proper piece of wood!

 

I think the little cracks in the cake make it look quite wood-like anyway, and we just finish our decor off with a good sprinkling of icing sugar snow. And, as you can see in the top photo, last year Calum (11) made a cute little Robin out of sugar paste as a final flourish!

 

 

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Christmas Recipes - Stained Glass Biscuits/Christmas Biscuits

 

I first posted this recipe two years ago but there is no harm in repeating it again as it is, I think, a lovely wee tradition. We also use this recipe, minus the stained glass part, to make up simple Christmas biscuits. We don't bother with any fancy decorating on them, just a sprinkling of icing sugar, as you will see from the photo at the bottom of the post.

 

The recipe I use is adapted from a Nigella Christmas biscuit recipe.

 

To make wheat & dairy free Christmas biscuits you will need:

10oz Doves Farm Wheat Free Self Raising Flour

2tsp mixed spice

1tsp ground cinnamon

3 oz dairy free margarine

3 oz light brown sugar

2tbsp runny honey

1-2 beaten eggs

~Put the flour and spice in a food processor and blitz until mixed.

~Add the butter, then blitz, then add the sugar and blitz again.

~Now add the honey, blitz it in, and slowly add the eggs.. You probably won't need all of the eggs, but you might, so go slowly here, stopping the blitzing when everything comes together as a dough.

~Now roll out your biscuit dough on a floured surface and cut out your shapes then place on greased baking trays.

~Once on the trays cut out a shape in the centre and place a boiled sweet in this centre.

~If your sweet is too big for the hole in the biscuit, just crush it up a little with a pestle and mortar and fill the hole with chunks of sweetie instead.

~You will also need to make little holes at the top of each shape you plan to hang on the tree. Use a skewer or cocktail stick for this.

~Bake at 180C for around 15-20 minutes, after which your biscuits will be golden and the sweets will have melted and filled up the middle.

~Leave to cool on the trays as the stained glass centre will be hot, hot, hot!

~Once cooled you can thread them and hang them up. If you find that the hole has closed up a little in cooking, thread a needle and sew the string through it. Works perfectly!

They look so pretty hanging on the tree with the fairy lights shining behind them.

 

 

And the non-stained glass version.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

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