Graduation

Well, I did it. I graduated with a Ph.D. and I still can't believe I did that. I know I would not have been able to do this without the support of Kyle, Taryne, Hayden and all my friends and family.

Me and my advisor, Dr. Rob Hardin before the ceremony

Me and My friend Tyler Standifird, he graduated with a PhD in Biomechanics

Dr. Joy DeSensi, basically one of the original scholars in sport
and one of the founders of our national organization.

Just love these two!

What's next? I got a job as an assistant professor at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, OH beginning this fall. We will be moving there this summer and we are all looking forward to the things ahead!

Allergy Mom

So, I am in lots of "allergy" groups on Facebook. Most are "support" groups and they are all super helpful. Many people provide tips for making something without an allergen or warn you of a place that is not allergy friendly and recommending places that are actually friendly. Because P.F. Chang's is super allergy friendly (they will make a sauce from scratch if you can't have soy but order something that typically has soy sauce in it) while Pei Wei (an affiliate restaurant) is just awful. All of their meat is pre-marinated and they cannot accommodate you at all if you have an allergy to something in their marinade and want to eat meat. I mean, don't they have some unmarinated chicken in the cooler? Really? In the past they did, but not anymore.

I also love these groups because they have lots of cartoons that portray "Allergy Moms/Parents" and they are funny but so true. I don't know how many times I have made an entire batch of cupcakes late at night (or early in the morning) so Taryne or Hayden could have something to eat at a school party or a birthday party. We keep some in the freezer for emergencies, and believe me, there are times when the teacher has no idea someone is bringing something in and she texts me to bring something as soon as I can. I am thankful for their teachers for at least making the attempt to get me there with something before giving them a fig bar or some other allergy-friendly item.

Today I saw this....it is spot on. And I thought I would share. I don't think everyone realizes that my kids have allergies. If they ingest their allergens it makes them very sick or could even kill them. So, please do not be offended if I ask what is in something or if I suggest a slight modification. Every modification we have found works and the food tastes the same. Taryne and Hayden rarely eat candy/sweets and when they do, it is a treat. As it should be. Most kids--and adults--today eat way too much sugar.

I am absolutely terrified when I leave my kids anywhere because of their allergies. So don't be offended if I don't want to leave my kids with you or if I give you a ton of instructions. It is for my peace of mind, not to stress you out. Yes, I will make you use the practice Epi-Pen. I make my baby sitter do it each time she comes over (even though she works at a day care and has been trained on first aid).

Luckily, Taryne and Hayden both know the things they cannot eat and that it will make them sick. I am so impressed and amazed at them for knowing and understanding this at such a young age. If you tell Hayden it will make him sick, he is okay and does not get upset.

Allergies, especially food allergies, suck! At least with seasonal allergies, you can take preventative medication. That is not the case with a food allergy. There is an 80% chance that kids will outgrow food allergies, but only 20% if it is a nut allergy. Please don't constantly talk about how they will grow out of it. Hopefully they will, but there is a 20% chance they won't. I grew out of most of my food allergies, but I still have a nut allergy.

My Little Ballerina

This year for Taryne's dance recital, her class will be the dogs in Cinderella. I love how the ballet show is incorporated into one main story. When I was a little girl in dance class, our recital had an overall theme for the show and all dances (ballet, tap, jazz, etc) somehow fit that theme with the music. Here, at this dance school, there is a theme for each type of dance. Last year, the jazz group went first, then all the tap and then finally the ballet production which was Peter Pan. Even though Taryne is in a ballet/tap combo class, the preschool agers only do the ballet portion.

Taryne is excelling in ballet and tap. Her teach is constantly telling us how well she is doing and that she is one of the best (if not the best) students in the class. She knows her ballet steps and terminology and can do the steps really well. On a few occasions, she has had the opportunity to be the "teacher" because she knew the dance and was asked to lead the class as they practiced.

As of right now, she wants to be a dance teacher when she grows up. She talks about working hard because she really wants to dance en pointe.

This is her costume for the dance recital this May. May 23rd cannot get here fast enough for Taryne!

The Defense

So as I previously mentioned, this past Monday was my dissertation defense. Let me tell you that the entire weekend before was crazy. Stressful, crazy. I felt so guilty on Sunday evening because I was a bit snippity the entire weekend. It was the stress. While I knew my advisor would not let me schedule or present my defense if I wasn't ready, but I still felt this big "what if...".

Well, I am happy to report that I presented the results, discussion and recommendations of my dissertation and passed with flying colors! I have some minor revisions from all committee members to do over the next few weeks but that is totally normal.

The relief to have Monday over and done with is huge. I can't even describe how huge it is. I have finally started sleeping through the night again, I don't get as frustrated with little things and I am partly in disbelief. I always knew I could do it, but I always had those small pieces of doubt. I guess that is normal.

It has been a bit weird to have everyone in my department greet me as Dr. Rode this week. I think it will take a little getting used to.

My committee: Dr. Fairhurst (tourism), Dr. Trendafilova (sport management), Dr. Hardin (sport management, advisor), Me, Dr. Waller (sport management) & Kyle

Monday is the big day...

This coming Monday, (March 9th) I will be defending my dissertation. That is the main reason there have been no posts since October. The past three years have flown by and I can't believe I am about to be finished with this program and be "not that kind of doctor, doctor".

The last "big" thing left is to get a job. I have had a few campus interviews, lots of phone interviews and I have only heard back on one so far and I didn't get it. But that is okay, because once I learned more about the position, I did not want to be the only sport management professor in the entire school. Not cool. I have another campus interview in a few weeks. I am pretty excited about the school and there is an Aggie in the department, so bonus.

Hopefully after I get through Monday and the revisions to my dissertation, I can post more.

Thanks for your patience, love and support! :)

Dryer Balls

What the heck? Right? I am 99% confident that is what you were thinking. :)

Since our transition to less chemical-laden products, we are now using dryer balls. Kyle recently told me to add dryer sheets to the grocery store list and we both wondered if there was a better way. I immediately took to Pinterest to find a way to make my own. We thought we could save money and be better about what we are using for our clothes.

Well, let me tell you that most of the DIY versions are still FULL of crap. You are basically buying the chemical filled fabric softeners or something else to soak your sponges or rags or whatever you are using for the "dryer sheets". I told Kyle, no way, these are just as bad as what we have now! I changed my search criteria and found dryer balls.

After reading reviews and how to make my own and more, we decided to purchase a set from Etsy. These things are supposed to last about a year or around 1,000 loads of laundry. And they dry your clothes faster and more efficiently and there are less wrinkles. I just wanted to save money and not have chemicals on my clothes.

We were a bit skeptical about the drying faster and saving energy, but they do! Some loads (i.e., pants, towels) required a second round in our now 8 year old dryer. With the dryer balls, one round does the trick. And since they are balls and bouncing around, nothing really gets stuck together so there seems to be less wrinkling.

We spent around $15 plus shipping for 6 dryer balls. That is $15-$20 per year to reduce static cling, assist in drying our clothes and we are actually saving money because we don't have to run the dryer as much. You can even add essential oils to your dryer balls if you like a scent to your clothes. We are a free and clear type of household so we just use the dryer balls as is. By far it is the best money spent on cleaning and household products. We just leave them in the dryer so no need to remember to add the dryer sheet or fabric softener to the wash.

The Milk Allergy

Taryne is also allergic to milk....

For several months she often complained that her tummy hurt and we struggled to determine if she ate too much, was hungry, or just needed to go to the bathroom. We visited the doctor several times and each time we came away with things to try and nothing seemed to work. Finally the doctor suggested we test for this virus that lives in the gut (h. palori or something like that). However, to test for this, they would need to draw blood from her arm instead of a finger prick. Since this is also how they test for food allergies, I asked that potential food allergens be checked as well, especially since Hayden was allergic to a ton of things and I had a few food allergies as a kid. Luckily the virus came back negative (a positive would have meant a month of a few strong antibiotics, yuck!) but the allergens were a different story.

She was allergic to milk and sesame seeds. She was also allergic to about 6 or 7 other things but were pretty minor and only enough to register as an allergen. The milk and sesame seeds were the ones in a higher classification. Since she only experienced tummy pain, we were not prescribed an epi-pen, but if we ever needed one, we have one with Hayden's. 

Luckily, we are pretty much dairy-free in our house with the exception of cheese for those not allergic to milk, so the transition was an easy one. Taryne did better than I expected since she loves cheese. It took her about a week to realize she could no longer have some of the things she enjoyed that was a no-no for Hayden.

The sesame seed allergen is a little different than other nuts/seeds when it comes to the oil. For peanuts and soybeans, the oil is fine for nearly all with an allergen to peanuts or soybeans. A quick search on the internet told me that sesame oil is different in the way it is made and the allergen is still in the oil. Apparently a lot of commercial baked goods have sesame oil in them so we needed to stay away from those...but they usually also contain milk, eggs and soy so we avoid them anyway. The only thing we have come across that she would occasionally eat that has sesame oil is candy corn. I am not sure if it is all brands or the Brach's one, but some other brands contain egg whites so now we have to be extra careful.

As for Hayden, he was retested in August for milk, egg whites and egg yolks and while he is still pretty allergic to all parts of the egg, he is no longer allergic to milk. At the allergy doctor, they did a skin test and it was negative, so we had to schedule a food challenge. This past week, Hayden completed the food challenge and has been cleared to have milk. However, he hates it. He is very specific now when he wants milk: he lets us know that he wants rice milk, in the blue box. He seems hesitant to try some things, but he did eat a little cheese and loved it. At least he can eat it in cooked or baked items provided there is no eggs, soy or nuts.

I think we will continue our limited dairy/dairy-free diet for everyone. We have found that rice milk works as a near perfect substitute for everything we have cooked/baked so far.