A Broken Typewriter

Can I let you in on a little secret?

Mark and I are trying for baby #2. TMI? Well, we're not trying at this very second (that would be impressive, no?)!

I've told a few of my friends, and both, at different points in the conversation have asked if I was worried about having another child with a serious food allergy. It caught me a bit off guard. One even asked that if there was a test out there to have in utero to determine allergies, and it showed positive for PA, would you change your mind about keeping the baby? I stammered for a few seconds, and said "of course not, PA is manageable. everything else is fine with Bella. you just learn to deal with it. and we would do the same with another child if that was the diagnosis." All the while I am thinking "do I really want to call this person a friend? what a stupid question!"

To me, PA isn't a disability, so hearing that last remark was really off-putting. It's not like Bella wont be a functioning member of society. But I do think that other folks see it as a disability. Mainly because of the exceptions that are asked of food manufacturers, airlines, restaurants, schools, etc. I think us moms (or PA or other allergic folks) who are proactive about keeping safe get a bad rap, and it is perceived that because we are suffering each day, we in turn work at making things 'harder' for others by asking them not to bring peanut butter to school, have nutty products around, etc..like we're martyrs or something. We're learning to manage the allergy, not the other way around.

I don't know about you guys, but I feel stronger each day that Bella doesn't have a reaction (stronger, mind you, not invincible - I'm no idiot). Stronger that we can meet the challenge of PA and not bow down to it. So there is no disability - she is smart as a whip, is healthy, is full of energy (and some attitude)! Ok, I am rambling and feel like some sort of marching, patriotic music should be playing over this, so I'll stop.

But it is true that I do worry (actually I would downgrade that to being mildly concerned) that another baby may have allergies that adversely affect their life. But we would deal with it. I like to think that this journey has made us more sympathetic to others with allergies (or yes, other disabilities).

But I'm not pregnant. Yet. So I don't have much to worry about at this point. We'll just keep practicing and I'll keep you posted if that typewriter really is broken. Wink Wink.

What do you guys think? Would you have another child (or have you) after having one with a life threatening food allergy? Is it selfish to if there is a possibility of passing it on? Tell me!

Gab

p.s. get it? broken typewriter? missing a period? anyone? anyone? bueller?

New Safe Snack for Bella: CLIF Kid Organic Twisted Fruit

I just discovered these at our local market.

CLIF Kid Organic Twisted Fruit

Four flavors: Tropical Twist, Sour Apple, Strawberry, and Mixed Berry. We've tried them all and Bella can't get enough of these. And I don't feel too bad if she wants one with her waffles in the morning. No sugar (in fact, less sugar than lots of other healthier things like kids yogurt).

Our Menu This Week

Got my act together yesterday and created our weekly menu. Here goes:

Sunday
Beef Burgundy (in the slow cooker). Parsleyed Egg Noodles. Bread.

Monday
Pasta with Mario Batali's Bolognese Sauce (made on Sunday). Crescent Rolls. Salad.

Tuesday
Roast Chicken (with crispy skin - Bella's favorite). Green Veggie. Rice. Gravy. Yum.

Wednesday
Leek and Potato Soup. Salad. Bread.

Thursday
Agedashi Tofu. Broccoli. Rice.

Friday
Kids are swimming. Eat out with cousins and inlaws. Probably pizza.

Saturday
White Bean and Sausage Soup (in the slow cooker). Salad. Bread.

If you are interested in any of the recipes, let me know.

Can you tell that it's starting to get cold around here? This week is total comfort food. And what are you having?

The Life of Bees

A few nights ago, we had Bella's cousins (Aidan and Natalie) and their folks (Mark's brother Scott and his wife Nadja) over for dinner. Chaos always ensues (good chaos mind you) and toys are scattered throughout the house and into the backyard.

While I was tidying up the back patio, around the sandbox, in the dark (save for an outdoor light), I felt something sharp on my foot. We've been doing lots of work in our backyard (currently it is reminiscent of a war zone) so I thought I had stepped on a nail or some glass. I shook my foot, annoyed that we had let something like that go unnoticed around children. Then I realized that all my shaking wasn't making a difference. I looked down and saw a bee, holding on for dear life, stinging me. I must have stepped on it while it was trying to hunker down for the night.

So, there I was, being stung and the first thing that came to mind when I realized what was happening was "Am I allergic to bees? Am I going to need Bella's epi-pen?" Thankfully, I'm not. And I'm afraid I weigh a bit too much for her epi jr.

What are the odds of there being a bee right there? I mean, you read so much about bees dying out - maybe they are just all coming to my backyard?

Anyways, the sting, it hurt, alot. It was on my pinky toe. So I played my martyr card and got to sit on the comfy chair the rest of the night, feet up on the ottoman, glass of wine in hand.

Breathing. Thankfully.

Rats!

Bella's MedicAlert bracelet came in today. She saw her 'jewelry' and wanted to put it on right away! Alas, about 4 minutes later, a whiney voice emerged from the living room begging me to take it off her.

Is duct tape an option? hee hee. kidding of course.

And what do YOU eat?

On my other site I posted recently about how I go about planning our meals. It's a good system (but not without some faults - but hey, it's an evolving process) and it keeps me sane each week. I'm a bit OCD about it in some respect - I even keep my menus in a neat little pile next to my cookbooks. They serve as inspiration for me when I just can't think of anything new to make.

I'm always amazed at folks who ask, upon learning about Bella's PA, "my god, what do you eat?", as if there aren't ten million other options for us (I mean, I count ourselves as lucky - we only have a peanut allergy in our household. It could be so much more!).

So what are we having at Casa Peanut Free this week? Here you go:

Sunday
Ribs. Coleslaw. Cornbread. Napkins. Yum.

Monday
Seafood Pasta. Bread. Salad.

Tuesday
Grilled Vietnamese Chicken over Rice Vermicelli (hold the peanuts!). Cucumber Salad.

Wednesday
Pork Tenderloin. Lemon Orzo. Salad. Bread.

Thursday
Grilled Salmon Kebabs. Orange butter. Asparagus. Rice.

Friday
Kids are swimming. Eat out with cousins and inlaws. Probably pizza.

Saturday
Baked pasta with chicken sausage. Salad. Bread.

I just noticed that I making alot of other people's recipes this week. I usually wing it more. So what are YOU having? Share please!

I didn't forget!

Allergic Girl tagged me for a meme. I was out of town with the hubby for a few days. I'll get this posted soon, I promise!