That Time I Got Poison Ivy (or Sumac or Oak or Some Other Devil Plant)

Yesterday's episode of Curious George was about poison ivy. Well, he's about a month too late since it's been a month since I got it (or sumac or poison oak or some other plant from hell).

Jeremy had a mild case the week before I did. I was so paranoid that the oils from the plant were somewhere else in our house, but Q and I somehow managed to stay clean.

The next weekend, we did some work in the front yard. I had never used a weed eater before and I decided to trim back the lantana in front of our yard since it was all dormant and brown from the winter. I kind of enjoyed weed eating...something about it was therapeutic. BUT, that little plastic thing that goes on top (to keep stuff from flying at you) was coming loose. Since I am a genius, I decided to just take it off and keep going.

At that point, stuff started flying up at my legs and arms (Jeremy was smart enough to give me some glasses to protect my eyes). It stung a little, and I thought "Hmm, I will probably have some scratches on my legs, but this is so fun, I'm going to keep going."

I'm not sure what got me, but I had a major allergic reaction to something. It started out as little bumps that sort of itched, to full-on torture. It itched and burned so badly all the time! I couldn't sleep and I would try not to scratch w/ my fingernails so I ended up just rubbing so hard that I caused bruising.

It has been a month and I still have remnants on my skin.

The best part...I haven't shaved my legs this whole time (I mean, how was I supposed to?!). Yesterday, I wore shorts and I could feel the wind blowing through my leg hair. Awesome and sexy, I know.

Here's what I learned:

1. Don't do yard work in shorts and a tank top. Basically you should cover every inch of your body with something and pray. A lot.

2. That plastic thing on the weed eater is there for a reason.

3. If you get poison ivy, sumac or oak, here's what works best:
-A paste made of baking soda, salt and ground up oatmeal relieves the itching and burning (temporarily)
-Ocean Potion ICE works wonders on the burning
-Tecnu scrub helps with the itching and takes away the plant oils
-Calamine lotion also helps relive the itching and burning (I had to apply it a few times a day)
-JUST GO TO THE DOCTOR!! I learned the hard way. I waited a week and finally went. I'd had it w/ the itching and not sleeping. She gave me a steroid and an anti-itch pill that helped. It didn't go away immediately, but it helped a lot.

4. I don't know why people don't use this as a form of interrogating criminals. Give them poison ivy, let them get to the burning and itching point and then they will tell you anything you want to know to make it stop. Seriously...I could be in the FBI.

Enjoy the graphic pics below and burn them into your brain as a warning. Don't mess with these plants...they are for real.

Easter 2014 and Marshmallow Jesus

We had such a fun Easter! It was so special to be able to talk to Q about the true meaning of Easter. I know it's still a little confusing, but she'll get there.

Friday, Q didn't have school so we were able to play and hang out with my brother and sister-in-law at my mom's house. Before heading over there, that morning I decided to do an Easter craft just for fun! Auntie Em and her boyfriend Taylor were there too and my step dad and mom had the day off. Poor Jeremy was the only one who really worked. :) That night we went to dinner and then all hung out at our house playing Taboo and laughing hysterically!

Saturday, we got up and went to the Easter Eggstravaganza at church. Poor Quinn still wasn't feeling 100% so she wasn't really into the egg hunt (or drop as we should really call it). Poor baby got another fever so we headed out to eat lunch and let her nap.

The guys went to play golf and my dad came in town to play with them. We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and enjoying family time while Mom and Dennis slaved in the kitchen making an Easter dinner complete with ham, mac and cheese, beans, salad and chocolate chip cookies (I seriously lost count of how many I ate). While we were hanging out that afternoon, I painted Q's toenails for the first time (a SUPER light pink color that you can hardly see) and she felt so special.

My mom gave Q her Easter present early so she was in heaven. A Cinderella Barbie complete with glass slippers. I. Hate. Those. Shoes. Q must have taken them off and put them on no fewer than 1,000 times in an hour. AND, she would lose one every other time. My mom kept saying over and over again "I think we need to glue her shoes on" and I might agree at this point! It was just so funny to see her try one on partially and say it was like Drizella.

Sunday morning was so fun. The Easter Bunny brought Q a Barbie and some other useful things like a loofah, bubbles, Cinderella shirt, chocolate and a squirt gun. Again...I hate Barbie crap already. I mean really, why do they need so many tiny accessories.

Marshmallow Jesus
I'd read about resurrection rolls somewhere and decided to try them with Q. Basically you pretend a marshmallow is Jesus and a crescent roll is his tomb. You "prepare" Jesus' body by dipping Him in butter and then cinnamon and sugar. Sounds odd, but it was an interesting way to explain how people used to use spices to prepare bodies for burial. Then, you close marshmallow Jesus in the crescent roll tomb. The oven acts as the three days in the tomb and then, voila! Jesus isn't in the tomb anymore! He's alive! Q was so excited and she told everyone who came in the kitchen that morning that Jesus wasn't there any more. :)

We all went to church and had an awesome time of worship and celebration. I bawled my eyes out during one of the songs because it was the song we played at my Margaret's funeral (a video of my cousin Aron and me singing "I've Just Seen Jesus"). I love our church and our pastor had an awesome message of hope and grace.

Lunch/brunch was at a restaurant with a playground because that's where we go these days. It's win-win...Q gets to play and I can bribe her to eat. Mom of the year.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter celebrating the risen Savior!