Dogs and cats not permitted beyond this point

I took the Dinks to the allergist this morning. It was something I've been meaning to do for some time now. I have pretty bad environmental allergies. I mean, they are horrible. My allergies were the cause of my 5-times-a-year bouts of bacterial pneumonia when I was a child. Geo has pollen and cat allergies. So naturally, we assumed the Dinks had allergies.

This is one of those times were I wanted "assuming" to be completely wrong.

I have to admit, the testing today is a lot less archaic than it was when I was a child. I remember the two trays of needles wating for me the day I was tested. One tray was full of about twenty needles. The other was almost full. I got the shots in both of my arms one at a time. And for my pain, my second grade teacher bought me a Snickers bar. All in all, I considered it a decent swap for something I thought I had to to go through only once.

Getting needles that is.

Man, was I a dope.

For a while (true duration unknown), I had to get two shots a day everyday. Then it went down to two shots three times a week. Then twice a week to once a week to finally dwindling down to once a month. I did that for three or so years.

Now, I thank all that is holy for Zyrtec-D. I still have really bad allergies, but thanks to modern medication, theyare in control.

Oh, crap, the Dinks! I forgot about her. I was going on and on and on about me I forgot about the child! How silly.

Her allergies are purely environmental. We already knew she didn't have food allergies. She was on milk-based formula as an infant. Geo, bless that man, gave her scrambled eggs at six months, peanut butter at eight months, and heavens knows what else before she was a year old. if she the allergy, we would know by now.

Thank goodness she is nothing like her cousin. That poor kid is deathly allergic to peanuts, dairy anything, and shellfish. I think there is something else but I can't remember. Thank goodness for McD's and ketchup. She'd starve if they were banned from her food list.

Dammit! The Dinks!

Okay, the worst is Dust Mites. Great! Living microscopic thingys! ( Whinger, stop squirming) The dust mite allergy is pretty bad for the Dinks. It's time for some prevention attention in the house.

Next up is dogs followed very closely by cats. I swear, the red spot around the dog mark was the size of a silver dollar (the Eisenhower, not the SBA). The cat mark was just a shade smaller. All this means no trips to the local animal shelter for us.

Then there is my friend, Mr. Mold and all six types of him. Yep, throw that in the mix, too.

Then there is the obligatory pollen. Can't forget that allergy plague! And ragweed is in that category. Oh, goody!

All in all, not bad! A little Zyrtec, a little Pulmicort, and everything will be a-ok!

And no pets.