A Special Thanks

At this time of year I would like to take some time to thank those special people who help all of us allergy parents get through everyday life.

 

Every allergy parent needs support.  Dealing with food allergies isn't easy, and without those special people to help us out along the way or to give us that push we need to be activists, we would just be lost.
 

For me that person is my husband.  He's an amazing partner and friend. Always encouraging me to press on and do more. Nothing I bring to him is silly or trivial. He would make a great activist himself if he could just, "Tell those blanking people that their blanking kids can't have blanking nuts at school." I guess that's why I'm the activist in the family.

It could be that special teacher you friended through the PTA who sends you messenger updates about events. And when she asks you what a 'real' pumpkin is, you know she meant Teal.

It could be that neighbor who has a grandson who is allergic to nearly everything and understands what your going through, and offers you and your daughter a homemade allergy free cookie. Or the other neighbor from down the way who is always willing to step in when you need a trusted person to keep her safe while your at the school educating people on the importance of knowing about food allergies.

It could be your mother who finds those almonds that are free of all other nuts, so that you can put them in your Holiday cookies.

It could be your support group on Facebook, that lets you tell it how you really feel and they all get it. It could be that blogger mom who does so much in the way of being an activist that it makes you think, 'I can do this!'

Where ever you get your support and inspiration, be sure to give them a little thanks for all that they do for you. 

Happy Holidays.

 

Halloween Hoopla

If you plan it just right you can do fall/Halloween events for about two weeks, three if you really have a sense of adventure.

The Pumpkin Patch

Our first outing every fall is to the pumpkin patch, Country Corner in Alpha, IL. We have a friend who is the program coordinator and we love picking out our pumpkins and popping corn from the fields. They have a great range of activities for the kids and as she gets older she will have new things to do and experience. We always enjoy our time there, even if it is just for the photo ops.

Farmers Market

This year I discovered that the last farmers market in Macomb, IL was called Moon Over Macomb, and that they offered free activates for the kids. They had a straw bail maze, petal tractor race, decorating mini pumpkins, story time, and a horse drawn wagon ride through the square. Not to mention the farmers with their pumpkins, mums, crafts, honey, fruit, and baked goods.

Before we left for town that morning I made two Teal Pumpkin buttons. I simply downloaded a pumpkin outline and printed it out on teal craft paper, I cut them out and wrote 'Teal Pumpkin Project' in black marker and placed them between two sheets of laminating paper. I put tape on the back of mine and fixed it to the lapel of my coat. I had planed on putting the other one on my daughter by deiced against it and dropped it into my purse.

While on the wagon ride one of the moms sitting across from me yelled out, "The Teal Pumpkin Project. I just read about that. We're peanut and tree nut." To which I replied, "We're peanut." She informed me that they were going to be participating and before she went home for the day she was going to be getting her spray paint. It makes me smile to think of moms across the country 'tagging' pumpkins for awareness. Before we got off the wagon I reached into my bag and handed her the other button, I knew I made two for a reason.

Halloween Hoopla

The grade school puts on a Halloween Hoopla the Friday before Halloween. They offer a photo booth, games, activates, costume parade, pumpkin carving contest, and a pizza dinner.

Since my husband is away on work, and it was just going to me and my daughter attending the hoopla I couldn't see how I was going to promote allergy awareness until the PTA started to message me. It started with a question of what to pass out in treat bags for kids with food allergies. To which I sent a brief list and a link to Foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project. When she informed me that she had heard about it on TV, but was unsure what it all meant I saw my chance to educate. I asked for a table at the Hoopla and began planning my education strategies.

First of all I had my Teal Pumpkin, Flyers from the FARE website, and a list of safe treats. Since I couldn't man the table all night with a two year old, I put together a little giveaway to get people to the table. They will drop their names and numbers into a pumpkin to receive a gift bag full of non-food treats.

The picture below is just a little preview of what will be on my table.

Halloween and Food Allergies

When I was young Halloween was a time to dress-up and be someone else, go to parties and eat lots and lots of candy. Now we are trying to learn how to navigate this holiday with a food allergy. It hurts my stomach to know that people will be try to give my child things that could send her to the hospital or even kill her.

Teal Pumpkin Project

FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) has promoted their Teal Pumpkin Project, where you paint a pumpkin teal and place it on your front porch along with a printable poster that states that you have non-food treats available. For more information please click on FARE Teal Pumpkin Project.

Some non-food item gifts can come from the Dollar Store, Oriental Trading Co., and the craft store. From rings, glow sticks, stickers, rubber snakes and spiders, and even festive cups, and pencils.

Having a Good Time Safely

I have been reading some wonderful comments from parents who take their allergic children out trick-or-treating. No one wants to feel left out and these parents have developed strategies to let their kids have a good time. The first was to wear gloves, or incorporate gloves into the costume. Second always carry your child's epinephrine auto injector. Third don't let them eat anything until they get
home.

You can always say, "No, thank you. I have an allergy." Or should you chose to accept candy there are so many more options. You can go through you child's candy and allow them to have the safe items. Some dentist offices offer a candy swap where they pay you for candy and they usually pass out new tooth brushes. You can pass it on to you friends at work, and buy safe candy on clearance. Or you could trade for cash, toys or anything else your child enjoys.

I told my husband that I planed on baking safe cookies so she can come home and have something she enjoys.

Our First Year Out

This will be our first real Halloween out enjoying the festivities. Year one we passed out candy at the door, and last year we only went to friends and family who knew about our allergy and they all had safe snacks for our daughter. This year we wanted to try the Halloween Party at the grade school. They take pictures, have a costume contest, games and activities for the little ones. Hoping for a great time, let you know how it turns out in.

Why We Need to Read Food Lables Everytime

Fall is a beautiful time of year. The leaves are changing, the weather cools, and harvest is coming in. After picking fresh apples from the orchard all I want to do is make pie, until you realize your pie crust contains milk, eggs, and peanuts, what's an allergy mom to do.

I love fresh made apple pie, and fall is the perfect time of year to make it. I let my husband convince me to take it easy on myself and just purchase pre-made pie crust. In my rush to get a million things done while my husband had my daughter, I failed to read the label on the box of pie crust, and brought home two boxes that stated they may contain milk, eggs, and peanuts, along with containing wheat.

We had less than four hours until it was time to leave for our friends Fall BBQ, and I started to debate about just using the pie crust. I went back and forth for several minutes, I knew our daughter would be the only one there allergic to peanuts, and our friends sister-in-law is allergic to milk, and I found out later that the new son-in-law was lactose sensitive. As I started to unroll the crust it began cracking and breaking apart, it was dry and hard in spots. I picked up the crust, box and all, and pitched it into the trash can. I scrubbed my hands and the pie plate with scolding hot water and soap, and wiped the entire counter with a Clorox wipe.

I pulled out my shortening, water and flour and began mixing the pie crust together. I made two separate balls and let them chill in the fridge. I mixed all the dry ingredients for the pie filling, and started pealing and slicing my apples. Once I had my dry mix folded into my apples, and the apples were well coated, I pulled out the first ball of dough. I quickly rolled it out and fit it into the bottom of the pie pan and pored my apples in. I liked a tall domed pie that is just bursting with apples. I rolled out the second crust and used my fall cutouts to put apples on the top as vents. Once the pie was topped I trimmed and pressed the ends with a fork.

After 40 minutes it was a beautiful pie that I received many complements on all afternoon. The best was when one of the gentleman asked me when I was going to be opening my bakery.

We had a lovely afternoon and the only desert my daughter could eat, other than my pie was a S'mores we made her away from the rest of the kids who were eating Oreos off a platter mixed with peanut butter cookies.

 

For a full recipe on Country Apple Pie and Crust see our recipe page.

Our First Trip to the Zoo

I have always wanted my daughter to be able to experience things I enjoyed as a child. Going to aquariums, museums, carnivals, fairs, the zoo, and so much more. With a peanut allergy we have found that we need to be extra cautious of how we go about attending these and other activities.

Do Your Homework

I always look up where we are planning to go online first. Look up directions, hours, entry fees, and if they offer food. We usually pack our own lunches, but I do like to know what the options are should we choose to purchase something or if you want to know what others might be eating around you. I know you can't control what others pack and eat, and as much as you may want to wipe down someone else's kid with a Wet Wipe, you just can't do that sort of thing.

Visit in the Morning

We like to arrive just as the park/attractions are opening for the day. For the most part we only catch the other early birds who do the same. First thing in the morning things are clean! Bathrooms, tables, floors, have all been cleaned from the previous day and have yet to be touched by lots of people. It cuts down on germs and possible food proteins that could be left on a touchable surface. As we all know our little ones touch everything.

Visit in the Off Season

We choose to make our first visit to the Zoo in the fall. The weather was very comfortable, the crowds were nonexistent, and the majority of the kids were in school. It made for very easy and comfortable viewing of the animals. We had our choice of rides and attractions.

Some things to consider about the off season. They may have shorter hours, instead of opening at 9 AM as they did all summer they now opened at 10 AM, so we had more time to pack lunches. They may be open fewer days, we found out that they were closed on Mondays for the fall so we changed our week and went on Tuesday. In the off season you just might get a discounted admission price, we were given free admission to the zoo, and only had to purchase tickets for the rides. There is always the possibility that all of the exhibits may not be open, we had a few that were being renovated, but we still enjoyed everything else we got to do and see.

Pack Your Safety Items

Along with our safe lunch and snacks, we had my daughters backpack, with all its allergy tags and her first-aid bag. I also carried hand sanitizer and Wet Wipe, to keep everyone clean and safe. You know "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Worst Case Scenario

I know no allergy parent wants to think about it, but its always there in the back of our minds. "What do we do if something should happen?" In our house we always plan for the worst and hope for the best. When traveling to a destination we make sure to know where the nearest hospital is, there are now apps for that too.
When we arrive at the zoo, aquarium, museum we ask or check on the map for the first-aid station(s). If you happen to be out in the park and have an incident, grab the first person with a radio you see. Many public venues have drills and procedure's for medical emergencies and they will best know where to meet an ambulance for immediate evacuation.

Just Have Fun

Sometime we get so worries about what could happen, we forget to have fun and be in the moment with our children. Try not to have a heart attack over the kid with chocolate all over his face and make sure your little one is enjoying the giraffe eating his breakfast.

A Day in The Life of a Peanut Allergy Mom

What does a normal day look like for an allergy mom? My allergy routine has become so second nature to me that I fail to realize that other people look at me like I'm just a little off. I've had people tell me that they just couldn't do it. I tell them, "You just do it, because it's just what needs to be done."

A normal morning starts at 6:00 AM, if I don't hit the snooze to many times. I throw open the drapes and fix a cup of coffee. Then it's office time. This is when I do the most of my allergy reading and writing, while the little one is asleep. I read the articles that I have pinned or posted to myself. If I have found a great allergy picture I download it and add it to my folder for future reference.

At 8:00 AM it's time for my daughter to get up. If I had anything I wanted to print, I have it set and walk away. Once we've had breakfast, usually an allergy friendly cereal, pancakes or something else homemade, we both dress and get ready for our day. My daughter always has on her allergy bracelet and the only time I have to make a fuss is when she takes it off and leaves it under her pillow.

This morning we're headed to the Bank, and to do some groceries. We grab our lists, snack, a Sippy cup of milk and a coffee to go. Just as I have my handbag my daughter has her own bag. We upgraded her from the diaper bag to a small back pack. Inside her bag are some emergency items, diapers, wipes, and the first aid bag that contains her Epi-pens. Her bag lives on a peg at the back door. It's the last thing we pick up on our way out the door and one of the first things we put down when we come in.

Her first aid bag contains her Epi-pens, Benadryl, a couple Band-Aids, a copy of our insurance card and an emergency contact card. And to be sure that people know there is life saving medication in her bag, I made a luggage tag that hangs from the top loop. It states her allergy and that her medication is inside, on the reverse I have listed emergency contact's.

The Bank always has Dumb-dumbs and a cookie of the day. We try to avoid both but sometime we do get a Dumb-dumb, and we never finish it. She either drops at the next stop or forgets about and I toss it away.

While at the grocery stores we are always reading labels. Even if it's something we get all the time. I have grown accustomed to the funny looks you get when pick something up off the shelf read it and put it back. My daughter however, still doesn't have the patients to let me read all the labels, so I try to keep her entertained with a pad of paper and a pen, or what ever else happens to be working that day.

After grocery's it's home and time for lunch. We try to change it up everyday. It could be grilled cheese and apple sauce, butter noodles and beef hotdogs, turkey roll-ups with cheese, or even leftovers. Occasionally I have webinars over lunch time, on average about three to four a month. I play them on my phone so I can hear them on my Bluetooth, so my daughter is not distracted from her lunch.

After lunch is nap time. Yeah, Nap Time! It's the best time of the day and one of my busiest. I use these precious two hours of the day to do whatever I need to catch up on. From reading, blogging, house work, or working on my crafting business, and on the rare occasion taking a total break and putting my feet up.

Afternoons are always a toss up. If the weather is good we're outside, if not we try to keep ourselves entertained. If I have something I need to attend in the evenings such as PTA, craft sale, or an event where I'm speaking about allergies, I am always sure to have a babysitting allergy page printed out. Even though our regular babysitter is familiar with my daughters allergy I still go over things with her ever time. I think its more to make me feel better than anything else.

I like to think that my family has settled into a routine that works for us. We have chosen to become a peanut free home for our daughters safety and we avoid bringing things in that could pose a treat to her health. My husband and I due indulge in unsafe items away from home and we do not bring back leftovers.

Once you eliminate the food allergen our day is really no different than anyone else's and my daughter is your typical toddler through and through.