PolkaDotMommy (Jamie)- Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, PTC President, Caretaker, Weakness- Coach Handbags and Complicated Coffee.
Oregon Dad- Husband, Father, Favorite Catch Phrase- “I don’t watch THAT much Football!”, Developer of shoes for little feet, loves to travel.
K-Man/K1- (Kyler) 8 year old son- sometimes whiny, often funny, loves LEGOS and HOTWHEELS. Currently determined to be a zoologist who specializes in the care of Penguins.
K2- (Kaylee) 7 year old girl- bossy, snuggly, in love with American Girl and her cat, Peanut (see below). Has a mouth that outshines normal orthodontia and is estimated to cost us close to 30k by the time she is 19.
K3- (Kenzie) 6 year old girl- our GF girl, fearless, can put a puzzle together in seconds. The only one brave enough to attempt (and excel) at rock climbing, has decided to give up Ballet next year for Soccer.
Little Critter or K4- (Kelsey) 3 year old girl- the baby, or rather “big girl”, loves to run around with her big sisters and brother, often gets hurt in the process. Often fools people into believing she is about 18 months because she is tiny… they are amazed at her climbing, running, jumping, disobeying abilities.
TeenGirl- 15 year old teen sister/surrogate daughter/ aunt to the K’s . Came down with some mysterious auto-immune like disease over the summer and has since spent more than 12 weeks at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital with a medical team trying to determine what exactly is going on. No answers… lots of medications… transfusions… Aphersis. Looks to be on the road to recovery, hopefully remission will be lifelong.
PALS Mom- Jamie’s Mother, 50 years old with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) Bulbar On-set. Diagnosis September 2006.
Peanut- Black and White Kitty adopted from the animal shelter… we were told P was a BOY cat, when he went back to be fixed so we could officially adopt him, we found out P is actually a GIRL cat. K2 is thrilled. Oregon Dad is devastated and refuses to acknowledge the cat is female.
Dakota- Huge, mixed breed dog adopted from the animal shelter 14 years ago. She is on her last legs and we are trying to prepare for the devastation of losing her. (Dakota went to Heaven on April 4th, 2008 )
Our vehicle of choice- Toyota Prius (for the daily commute and everything else!).
Our vehicle of necessity- Dodge 2500 (to haul everyone and everything as needed and survive our country living during bad weather). Still trying to convince Oregon Dad that the new Caravans are manly enough… and more practical for our family. 
Family Motto- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Cliche’ I know) & Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible (We stole this from the school systems! Why? Because it’s a good one.)
Garbage can- half empty, Recycling containers- overflowing.
Favorite Magazine reads- MacLife, SEED, Living Without, Family Fun.
Recommended Book List- GoingPublic The Book by Dave & Kelli Pritchard, Freakonomics by Steven Levite and Stephen Dubner, The Teenage Book of Manners Please by Fred Hartley, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Favorite TV- (we aren’t THAT counter-culture!) Football, Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown, TLC, Animal Planet, The History Channel.
Must Haves- Vermont Soap Butter Bar, California Baby Shampoo and Cleansers, Nordic Naturals DHA Jr. , Fair Trade Coffee Like Peace, Wholesome Sweetners Fair Trade Sugar, Ecos Natural Laundry Detergent.
Struggles- Balancing our ideals with REALITY. Understanding that we want to do OUR part to preserve the planet and produce healthy, well adjusted children, KNOWING what is within our grasp to do and ACCEPTING what we cannot change. MAINTAINING our standards even in diversity, ADJUSTING to change as life gives it to us. GRASPING what it means to be counter-culture, while maintaining a BALANCE so that our children UNDERSTAND what it means to make RESPONSIBLE decisions. Remaining ACTIVE in all aspects of our children’s lives without becoming suffocating, TEACHING by example. BEING the people we want our children to become.
January 11, 2008 at 9:56 am
Hey! I read the food allergy page. This sounds a lot like my son Pat. He had failure to thrive at 5 months due to the formula. I couldn’t breastfeed because I didn’t produce enough milk. At first I thought it was because I didn’t feed him enough but turns out I don’t have milk producing boobies! Then he did fine until he was 2. At 2 he started to have huge anger outbursts and behavior issues. Finally at 4 I came across some information about how food can cause behavior issues. I did a little experiment. I changed his milk to soy and got rid of all the high fructose products. Now he is 7 and doing much better. Much like your daughter he is very fidgety. He’s always messy!
Everyone said he was a problem child. I knew differently! He is still hyper and throws huge tantrums. Instead of them being every day, they are once or twice a month.
We need to measure our children in the good they do and not in their faults! Doctors tend to do just that. That’s why I don’t listen to them unless it is absolutely necessary!
Thank you for sharing her story. It lets me know I’m not alone!