Fall!

Hi Everyone!  Long time no blog, right?  I wont even bother apologizing for not blogging over the summer (what's the point - you know I still love you guys, right?) - life just, well, HAPPENS.  I take it as a good sign that I only have time to post bits and bobs on Facebook (if you don't follow me over there, please join me - you'll see much more Peanut Free content that way).

Here's a small glimpse into what's going on in our lives right now:

School
B started 4th grade!  I can't believe it - 4th grade.  She starts middle school next year (yup, our district has middle school 5th through 8th grade and the whole idea of it makes me insane), so I'm just enjoying my little girl. The big changes this year are that she doesn't carry her epinephrine to the playground any more (her principal takes all the kids epis in a cooler each day to the yard) AND she's not sitting at the peanut free table anymore.  She was really starting to feel self conscious, and since she isn't airborne reactive, we are trying out her sitting at the regular tables with a buffer.  All of her classmates have known her for years, so they instinctively know not to sit next to her if they have peanut butter in their snack or lunch.  It's been working out great so far, and she feels less like the 'allergy kid'.

Anxiety
Along with school came B's anxiety.  BIG TIME.  She's just a creature of habit, and the beginning of the school year always brings a lot of anxiety until she's settled.  That, coupled with her existing anxiety over her food allergies makes it challenging!  How are you all dealing with anxiety??  We are lucky in that B's teacher is so supportive and helpful - don't know what we'd do without her!

Birthdays
Speaking of B, her birthday is next month (the day after mine!) and we are throwing a Candy themed party for her at her dad's house.  So fun!  I have a Pinterest board full of ideas - cannot wait to get all crafty!  p.s. you can follow me on Pinterest if you want - I have an allergy board too as well as all sorts of random things.

Enjoy Life Decadence Bars
The fine folks at Enjoy Life sent us a box of each of their new Decadence Bars.  Holy cow they are awesome!!  B's favorites, in order, are:

• S'mores
• Cinnamon Bun
• Cherry Cobbler
• Chocolate Sunbutter

I tried them myself and every flavor is DELICIOUS (and I'm not just saying that) and the textures are great.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, you really cannot go wrong with this brand.  The care they put into their product development is outstanding and so apparent when you taste their products.

Thank you so much to Enjoy Life!

Mondo Beyondo
This is a personal one for me.  I'm taking an online class called Mondo Beyondo and I'm just loving it.  This is my second time and it's even better this time around.  I highly recommend Andrea's classes.  They really just help let your dreams out so you can make them a reality!  No affiliate links or ads here, just my personal opinion.

Halloween
B has asked for a day costume and an evening costume (jeez, what did I agree to??).  Each year, B goes out trick or treating, gets all the candy she wants and then we either trade out unsafe candy for safe candy or she leaves the majority of it out for the Halloween Fairy and gets a treat in return (usually a small lego set or something equivalent). The funny thing is that she's a candy hoarder.  I still have a bag of her halloween candy in the freezer from last year! I should probably throw that out LOL...

Love
I'm still seeing the same guy. He's still traveling around constantly for work but his home is here with me and for that I am extremely grateful. Life is GOOD! :-)

Hope you are all doing great too.  Please do join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.  I love interacting with you all and seeing what you're all up to!

Gabs

Happy September!

How did THAT happen?  It's been 3 months since I posted, and for that I am sorry.  Truth be told, most of my posts have been on Facebook (have you liked my page yet - you should!) - it's just easier than a blog post.  Lazy, I know!

So what's new???

B started 3rd grade - nope, not a typo.  THIRD grade.  She was pretty happy and check out her outfit - is she a trendsetter or what? I love those Boden yellow pants (they are SOOOO bright - this picture doesn't even begin to show the yellowness)!

First Day of Third Grade!

We've had an eventful few months.  

B has had some major anxiety issues this year - to the point of Separation Anxiety Disorder - it had become almost unbearable until we started therapy and found this book:


What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety



B's anxiety stems from a lot of things, but primarily our divorce as well as her allergies.  Even though she's in a safe environment both at home and at school (her teacher and school are pretty great) she still just worries, plain and simple.  But these worries were affecting her quality of life (and ours) so we needed to do something.

If you have a child with anxiety issues, buy it.  I can't put into words how highly I regard this book. We still have a ways to go, but after just a week we were seeing tremendous changes in B.  These exercises, coupled with a more structured schedule as well as a lot more sleep in her life have made a huge difference.  Each week we are seeing a stronger, more confident (and worry free) child emerge. 

The other issue we dealt with this summer was Alopecia Areata - have you heard of it?  Luckily, at this point she has a mild case of this.  She had a small patch about the size of a silver dollar (remember those LOL) at the top of her head that has thankfully grown back, but boy was that scary! I've seen things online that indicate that kids with allergies and eczema are prone to this.  And kids with stress in their lives (hmm that sounds familiar).  If your child had this, can you leave me a comment?  I'd be interested to know how you treated it.  Ironically (am I using that word correctly? probably not), once we STOPPED using the cream the doctor prescribed, her hair starting growing back.  I think working on her anxiety and stress worked too.  We'll keep an eye out, but at this point she's in the clear for now.  Whew.

Other than that, things are good.

Still (technically) married, but that shouldn't be the case by the end of the year.  Divorce, in case you didn't know, really sucks.  Even when you agree on everything financial, custody, support, etc.  It takes forever (at least it seems like it does) and there's so much paperwork.  I don't recommend it if you can avoid it.

I'm still coaching folks - it's going really well!  I was really overwhelmed by the number of folks that have contacted me.  If you're interested in a session, shoot me an email - I'd love to help you out.  I have something in the works for folks with tight schedules - look for an announcement in the coming months (here of course, but sooner on Facebook, who am I kidding?).

Take care everyone - Happy September!!!

Gabs

Happy New Year!

Hi Guys!!!!  How are you all? 

Me & D

I honestly can't believe it's 2012.  Where did the time go??

Frankly, 2011 was the worst year of my life and the BEST.  The separation was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's gotten so much easier.  B is really settling in to her routine (which wasn't without major bumps and anxiety attacks - both for her and for me).  I'm seeing someone new and I couldn't be happier.

See?




But as many of you in the food allergy community know, we started the year with a tragedy.

Little Ammaria Johnson, a first grader in Virginia, died as a result of a fellow student giving her a peanut (that she ate) on the playground.  She went into anaphylactic shock and passed away.

The school didn't have an epi pen on site (apparently they refused to keep one even though Ammaria's mom asked them to).   

I still can't think about this without starting to cry.  Bottom line:  this was preventable!!

B is 7.  She has epi pens all over the school - in the office, in the class, etc. 

But you know what?  This could still happen to her. 

I'm trying to figure out how to tell B about this without scaring her too much.  She's usually really good about not eating anything I don't approve (or pack for her), but what if a friend she really trusts offers her something? 

We've got some work to do.

If you'd like to help Ammaria's family (they were having trouble giving her a proper funeral), you can find more information on how to donate here.

Hug your kids, FA mamas.  And hugs to YOU for advocating to the ends of the earth to keep your babies (and my baby) safe.  Tragedies like this can be prevented!!!

Peanut Allergy: Sabrina's Mom (via allergymoms.com)

Sabrina.

When I used to hear that name (BPAD - before peanut allergy diagnosis) I always thought of the teenage witch.

Now I think of Sabrina, a 13 year old girl who suffered a fatal anaphylactic episode at school after eating french fries contaminated with microscopic dairy particles.

Her mother, Sara Shannon, turned this horrendous loss into her personal mission - to ensure that noone has to go through this again - to protect allergic children in school. Sabrina's Law is her legacy in honor of her daughter - her only child - who would have been 21 this year.

Gina Clowes of allergymoms.com posted an interview with Sara on her website this month.  They are friends and the ease in which they chat about this is really uplifting and wonderful to read.  There are so many great points made in the article.  This in particular gave me the chills:

Gina: You got the call that every allergy mother dreads.

Sara: Yes, the one every allergy mother dreads. I couldn’t believe it. The word “collapsed,” that’s the worst word for an allergy mom to hear. Sabrina had always survived her reactions. She had never had a reaction where she collapsed.

Gina: This is such an important point for anyone on the call. When I hear, “mild peanut allergy,” for example, and I know you and I both feel the same way and we cringe at this. Because reactions are unpredictable. Most everyone who has had a fatal reaction has had a milder reactions previously.

Please go read it.  And bring a box of tissues. 

What an amazing woman.

Thank you Gina!

Peanut Allergy: A Cross-Contamination Story

Cross contamination can happen when you least expect it.

Here's a short story that taught me that preventing cross contamination isn't always easy.

I was baking pumpkin sheet cakes for little B's class party.  It's a great little recipe that I'll post soon (promise - it will be my content for tomorrow!).

So I'm making the cakes and I'm trying to get it over with first thing in the morning, so of course I'm rushing through it.  And I'm feeling hungry, so I go to have my morning toast.

So I'm eating and baking, baking and eating.

And the cake's are in the oven, filling the house with the most gorgeous scent.

And I look down on my plate and realize that I was eating almond butter while I was baking.

CRAP!

One of B's classmates is peanut allergic but avoids ALL nuts.  And here I was prancing around, making cake while eating almond butter.

After shrieking (seriously - I did!), I took all the previous dishes and put them to the side. Then I washed my hands with really hot, soapy water.  Then I wiped the counter down with bleach and hot water.  Then I got new utensils and baking dishes, gave them another wash in hot soapy water for good measure and started again. 

And now I have two safe cakes cooling on my counter ready for a safe celebration tomorrow.

Dear Universe: I'm an Idiot

Are we having fun yet?

Sometimes (who am i kidding - many times) as a food allergy mom, you slip up, and you think to yourself "I am SUCH an idiot - how could I have missed this?!".  You beat yourself up, because SURELY noone else makes mistakes when it comes to keeping your PA (or FA) child safe.

Right?

Right?

Well, if you are feeling that way in the future, just bookmark this page so you can refer back to it and not feel so alone....

So last Sunday there was a fun run at B's school.  It really was more of a slow jog because, well, most kids don't run.  They start running, then they get distracted, then they see a water station 20 feet after you start and then over the entire course this keeps happening and you really haven't run at all, now have you?

Anyways, after the run, they gave us a goodie bag and a medal (i use that term loosely) and then handed each child a piece of chocolate.

I know what you're thinking already - "you didn't let B eat that did you?"

Of course I didn't.  Well, I didn't right then and there.  Actually, i said she could have it then and there but she decided she wanted to eat it later. 

Why did I approve it? Well, because a Peanut Free Mom I know organized the event and the chocolates and specifically requested hershey's miniatures plain chocolates for the event.  (Note: foreshadowing).

So, we went on our merry way - she went on a bunch of bouncy slide thingies, played carnival games and had a ball in the extreme heat we had (90's in September - yikes!).

So we get home, and she's looking at her swag bag and comes upon the chocolate.  I tell her, sure, you can have it now. 

So she goes to open it, unwraps the fancy paper with our school logo.  And what is it?

A MR. GOODBAR!

She didn't freak out - she didn't eat it - she just handed it to me with a super mad look on her face, like, 'what's the big idea?? - i thought this was supposed to be safe?!?".  My jaw hit the floor and I panicked a bit. She hadn't opened it to the chocolate, but what if it was all peanut dusty??  Crud!

I threw it away immediately and made B wash her hands before she could touch anything else or get her hands near her mouth.  Crisis averted right?  For the most part, yes.  But....

But it got me thinking - what if she HAD just randomly popped it in her mouth at the event? I DID tell her that her PA friends mom ordered the chocolates and they were SUPPOSED to be safe, so it was a real possibility that she would have.*

What the heck would I have done???

Because you know what the cherry on top is? 

I didn't have an epi-pen or benadryl with me (where was I gonna put that in my spandex pants??). 

What was I thinking FORGETTING THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCESSORY I HAVE AT AN EVENT WITH A BUNCH OF FOOD???

And that's the story of why I'm an idiot.

It took that one little candy bar to realize what a fool I am, that I can't let my guard down.  I needed that little yellow wrapped reminder to tell me that I need to stay prepared ALL THE TIME (if you haven't seen this segment from The Balancing Act, you'll see all the more reason for keeping an epi on you at all times).

----------------------------

*my fellow PA mom was MORTIFIED about the chocolates - she got in touch with me right away once she discovered the issue herself. i don't blame her a bit - they were donated chocolates and the woman did tell her that they would only be miniature hershey's milk chocolates.

First Grade Starts TOMORROW!

I cannot believe that my little girl is starting FIRST GRADE tomorrow.

What happened to this little bean?

God, just look at those chubby cheeks and arms..

And even more so, look at my clean house - Holy Moses - haven't seen THAT in a LONG time - ha ha.

So we met B's teacher on Monday.  She is so much warmer and nicer (frankly) than her Kindergarten teacher!  She's nervous about B's peanut allergy, but she wasn't defensive about it.  She just wanted to know what we needed to do to keep B reaction free.  It couldn't have been a better meeting (I asked her all of these questions).  I know, we'll see how things go over the course of the year, but it is a great start.

I just finished putting together 4 epi kits (epi pen, benadryl, doctor's note, and medication approval note) for different locations on site at school:  Her room, Main Office, Library, and a Traveler (that will go with her to PE class and/or any other unexpected location).  I'm not doing one for the lunch table this year.  Why?  Well, her class is right in front of where they eat.  So if there's an issue, the staff and volunteers will know to go to her class to get her meds.  The office is right nearby too.  Also, last year it got put out on the table where they eat lunch.  In the winter it isn't really an issue, but when it's sunny - i don't need to tell you guys - the meds are shot if they get hot.  I did, however, put a benadryl single dose in her lunch box.  It helps that I'm working lunch duty 2x week this year.  One day is a minimum day (no lunch) and we'll keep our fingers crossed for the other two each week.

And here's where the frustrating part comes in.  I called our allergist over a month ago asking for a prescription refill for epi pens and a doctor's note telling the staff when to use the epi and when to use benadryl (if anyone's interested i can post the copy of the letter - just leave me a comment on this post).  Simple, right?  Just redate the letter from last year and update the benadryl dosage if necessary to account for weight gain.

Nope,  not simple enough for her.

I get there today (I know, nothing like waiting til the last minute) and she didn't leave me the letter.  Instead she left a one page "allergy plan" that didn't give any actions, dosages, doctor's name/signature, or clinic location. What the hell??  It's not like she was new.  So I left a not-so-nice message on their voicemail today asking them to just recreate the letter - i didn't ask for an allergy plan, but thanks anyways.  I'm not leaving anything to chance so I'm having my husband drop off a copy of last year's letter at the allergists on the way to his office. 

So in those packs I have the old letter.  It'll do for one day.  And then I get to go and replace all the letters.  These people are going to think I'm crazy. 

And I am, a little.  Aren't all FA moms a little bit?

Back to school hit me hard last year and it's hitting me hard this year as well.  It's not enough that we have to worry about our kids fitting in, liking their teachers, doing their best job at learning.  We worry about each and every phone call we get, worry about every possible scenario that could happen, and try to anticipate it ALL, all the time trying to be calm.

It's exhausting. 

I hope you are all handling the pressure well!

Proof That Some People Just Don't Get It....Again.

Today, I managed to get a small taste of what a milk allergic mom goes through.

I just dropped B off at school and saw something baffling.

They have alphabet snacks, meaning each week someone brings in a food with a different letter - we had "V" so I brought in vegetables with dip. In theory, it's a cute idea, but what a pain in the butt when you have food allergies to worry about!

So today is "Z" day and the mom brought in Za'atar rolls, which in and of itself is a pretty awesome idea for a Z snack! But here's where the insanity came in to play.

B has a classmate (let's call her X) with a milk allergy.

So while I'm getting B settled (coat off, homework in cubbies, etc.) this creative mom brought the snack in and told the teacher it was safe for everyone. Of course I chimed in (uh, grilled more like it, but I was nice - really!) and asked about the ingredients to determine whether or not it was safe for B.

But then she says "It's safe for X, too. There's no milk in it, but I just used cheese in the dough."

I looked at her and said "What exactly do you think cheese is made from?"

Blank stare in return from both her and B's teacher. X would be having a different snack today.

But what if I wasn't there to point that out?? I don't think X is ana to milk, but still. We should still be educated and vigilant about keeping our allergic kids safe.

It never ends, I guess.

When we get around to educating parents in B's class next year, I think I'll pull together a handout detailing the top 8 allergens and examples of each food.

Have any of you guys experienced something like this? I've had the 'she can't eat peanuts but she can have other nuts, right?' line, but that one's sort of understandable - they are two different things.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts - should I have just butted out??

p.s. just found this neat handout for foods to avoid with a milk allergy - this will come in handy!

ppss. and here's one for peanut allergy!

Thanksgiving Feast FAIL for Peanut Allergy

OK, maybe B's Thanksgiving Feast at school wasn't a total FAIL.

But get this.

I walk into school with B's stuffing muffins in hand (they were a HUGE hit BTW - the other stuffing mom's stuffing wasn't touched - I actually felt a little bad) and asked the teacher if anything had nuts in it.

She said, "Don't worry, the kids know enough not to give B anything with nuts."

In my mind I've got an inner monologue going:

"Oh, you mean the kids who know basically nothing about food allergy (save for 2 others) and who can't READ know not to give her nuts?!?! Are YOU nuts lady?"

I ALMOST laughed in her face, like are you out of your cotton picking mind?!?

But I said, "it's not the obvious nuts I'm worried about, it's the hidden ones. Mind if I take a look at what you're serving?"

And I did. And everything was safe for B. Awesome! Off I went to work/errands/etc.

Cut to pickup.

On the way home, B tells me that she couldn't have the dessert at said feast. I probed, because sometimes she actually CAN have the dessert, but she gets scared/worried about it containing nuts and doesn't eat it.

"Why couldn't you have it?" I asked.

"Because it had a crosstamination warning" (her words, not mine).

"So what did you have? (thinking stupidly that her teacher surely gave her one of the safe snacks in the bag I put in the classroom)"

"Nothing. Neither did M (who has a milk allergy) or M (who has a peanut allergy too)."

So I say "Wanna go to Starbucks for some chocolate milk since you didn't get dessert?"

That went over well. So we did.

But inside, I'm getting annoyed.

I mean, why couldn't the stupid (yes I said it!) teacher tell me that morning that they would have a dessert that wouldn't be safe???? WTF (yes I said it!)??? I could have easily gone home and whipped something up (I'm all Martha Stewart like that). Why didn't the jackass (yes I said it!!) use one of the safe snacks I provided months ago???

So frustrating.

But B, wasn't angry. So why am I?

Needless to say her teacher and I are going to have a LONG chat on Monday about all of us.

Homeschooling? What do you think?

I've been leaning more and more towards homeschooling B.

No, she hasn't been bullied.

No, it isn't because she's got a peanut allergy.

Yes, she has lots of friends.

Yes, she's keeping up academically.

I don't know - there's just something that makes me want to home school. I really feel like she's a good candidate (and that I could do it to, and well). But taking that leap is big!

So I'm curious - how many of you home school your kids? Why?

And how's it working out?

I've got a poll set up to the right. Will you take a second and let me know where you stand on the issue? If you have anything else to say, leave me a comment!

Labels: How Far Do You Go?

I try not to single out B with too much peanut free paraphernalia.

She has a medic alert bracelet (or if she isn't wearing that, she's got a shoe tag and a dog tag necklace), a button on her backpack, and that's about it.

I have a few cute shirts that say things like "Some Bunny Doesn't Eat Peanuts", but not much else.

I don't label her jacket. I don't have a bright colored lunch box for her that says "NO Peanuts!".

I'm not criticizing other parents for doing this. I'm actually wondering if I'm doing her a disservice by being quiet about it. But I also don't want to single her out to bullying by going overboard.

How are you all finding a balance with this? What's working for you?

How much is too much? Too little?

Peanut Allergy: Is it Possible to Have a MILD Peanut Allergy?

Twice in the last week, someone I've come in contact at school with has brought up the concept of having a 'mild' peanut allergy. Is there such a thing?

Case 1:
We have this thing in B's class where parents bring in a snack that corresponds to a letter - so someone will bring blueberries for 'b' day, apples for 'a' day, you get the picture. So it's c day and I find out what the snack is (hoping for canteloupe). It's corn muffins - rats. So I ask if the parent has brought in a label or ingredient list. B's teacher says 'B should be able to have them - X's mom made them and he has a peanut allergy too. But his is mild, unlike B's'. I was about to give her a speech about how there are no mild nut allergies, but I shut my trap. (I've come to find out that this boy doesn't have an epi or any meds in class either - avoids peanuts, but still has mixed nuts, Planter's I suspect, in his lunch on a regular basis. yikes. That's fodder for a whole other post though.) Did I let her have the muffin? Nope. She got a treat from her treat bag.

Case 2:
B had another substitute teacher. Her first sub had a daughter with a peanut allergy (such a relief!). Today's sub was fine when I told her about B. She mentioned that her daughter is allergic to bees and is well versed in the epi (another relief!). She asked me the level of B's allergy. Was it mild? This time I did explain that there is no mild allergy, at least in my opinion. But I showed her where B's epi was in class and she was prepared. No snack today (kids bring their own most days) so I stressed to her that there shouldn't be an issue and just stressed the meds were there just in case (that's when I discovered the kid from case 1 didn't have meds in class).

So my stance is that there are no Mild Peanut Allergies. That being said, REACTIONS can be classified as mild, but a peanut allergy itself? I wouldn't go there. You can have a mild seasonal allergy but with a nut allergy, all bets are off. I haven't done a tremendous amount of research on the subject, so I can't send you to the scientific literature on pubmed, but I can say without a doubt that you can have mild reactions for years and then experience anaphylaxis, and death due to peanut ingestion. I'm just a few degrees of separation from someone who learned it the hard way.

And that's not a chance I want to take (I know - I'm so boring). So to whom it may concern: B has a severe allergy. Until that skin test and food challenge comes back negative, let's keep it that way.

In my personal opinion, people who treat their nut allergy as mild are playing with fire. What do you guys think? Has your allergist described your (or your child's) allergy to nuts as mild? Ours errs on the side of severe, no matter what the numbers say.

Momversation: Have Food Allergies Gotten Out of Control?

Are you familiar with Momversation?

Basically a handful of bloggers get in front of their webcams and talk about a specific topic, hopefully giving a variety of points of view about a certain topic (can you see foreshadowing here?) usually things like whether or not you should circumcise, but in this case they tackle schools and food/peanut allergies.

Here's the video:


This video bothered me for a variety of reasons, but mainly because it was just a bunch of bloggers who know jack squat about food allergies going on and on about how "food allergies didn't exist when I was a kid!". Yawn. They didn't have a fair and balanced panel of people to discuss this topic which is affecting all schools today. It would have been a great opportunity to raise some awareness. Just as I would expect them to have a mom with a diabetic child if they were discussing juvenile diabetes.

You can see my response in the comments calling them on this (my name is missusp). What do you guys think?

p.s. I really do think it's terrible the way one of the blogger's daughters was treated because she accidentally brought peanut butter to school. what would have been a better way to handle that?

Staying Reaction Free in the Classroom with a Peanut Allergy: Questions to Ask

Here's a (partial) list of questions I asked B's teacher and principal when I met with them a few days before school started. I say partial because I know that I am prone to asking four billion questions when put in a situation like this. It's not necessarily in order, just the order on the chicken scratched paper sitting in front of me. Also, I wont go into their answers because, frankly, it will take too long. Suffice it to say I got positive answers to basically everything I asked and/or requested.

I'll try to add to the list as I remember more things that I asked.

Here goes:

1. Have you ever had an allergic child in your classroom? If so, how did you keep them reaction free (notice that I didn't say "safe" - I find people get defensive when you imply they might not be safe with them) in class?
2. Ideally I'd like an epi kit (my definition of kit is an epi pen, benadryl single dose, her photo, and doctor's note) in the office as well as any room/location B will be. These need to be in accesible, NOT LOCKED locations.
   
3. How many places will B be? Note: B has PE, recess, lunch, snacks, and art class outside of her official classroom. So we've got epikits in the office, her class, the room where art class is, a kit for the lunch/recess monitor and one for the PE teacher to carry (it's stored in the class and she picks it up when she picks up the kids).
4. Where are snacks eaten? Where is lunch eaten? Is there an allergy table? Or do you create a barrier around my child of kids who aren't eating peanut butter?
5. How often do the kids wash their hands?
6. Are faces wiped after snack/lunch if the child is dirty/has obvious residue?
7. Can I provide wipes for the above?
8. Who provides snacks?
   
9. Is the hot lunch option allergy aware? How can I contact them? Note: I have really no intention of letting her eat hot lunch, but I checked and was happy to see that no peanut products are sold in the hot lunch program.
   
10. How do you handle birthdays? Can you ask parents to just be aware that there's an allergy and to let us know if there will be nuts in the treat?
    
11. Can I provide you with a safe treat bag to keep in the classroom for cases where unannounced treats come in?
12. Do you reward with candy? If so, can you come up with a non candy alternative?
13. How will other teachers/staff that come in contact know who B is?
14. What happens when there is a substitute teacher? Can I provide you with a printout/photo to help the sub know that she should be aware of B's allergy?
15. Have you ever been trained on an epi trainer? If not, can I train you now? (note: I did it right there!)
16. Do you know the signs of anaphylaxis?
17. If an emergency happens, what is your plan of action? Specifically, is 911 called from the classroom, or is a call made to the office who then calls ambulance.
    
18. Will you follow an allergy plan written by her allergist (e.g. will they give benadryl or only epi pen)?
    
19. Are there other children with allergies in her grade?
20. Will parent volunteers be made aware of her allergy?
21. How are field trips handled? Can I be a permanent chaperone? (note: they said i could!). I mentioned that for instance, if we were going to a farm, many times the feed has nuts in it. I think they'd rather have me there than have to stress about it, and I don't mind that a bit.
    
22. Can you give me an idea of the types of projects you have that might involve food? Can you give me a heads up so I can provide safe ingredients or alternatives? I gave them an example that gummi worms many times have a peanut/nut warning and that I could find a safe brand to use that wouldn't affect the project at all. They were surprised to hear that and were happy that I offered a solution.
    
23. Do you have class pets? What kind of foods do you feed them? Turns out they have frogs that eat crickets. No chance of B ingesting those :)
    

I think that was the majority of the questions I asked. Each question started a really good, open dialog with her teacher and principal. I felt really happy about it. Of course, we'll see if everything is followed (so far so good), but they weren't at all defensive. Going in to the meeting with solutions instead of demands was my main objective and I think it worked out well. Catch more flies with honey, right?

One thing I didn't ask about was art supplies. If your child has a wheat allergy, you definitely want to ask about the types of supplies they use to ensure your child wont react to wheat in playdo for example.

Also, know that I DIDN'T ask for her class to be peanut free or for the school to be peanut free. Some of you wont agree with me, which is fine. But this is the road we're taking. B is not airborne reactive, so we are taking this road towards easing into a peanut filled world. Since there's really going to be very very little eating going on in her room, we're going this route.

Did I forget anything? What did YOU ask that I didn't?

Kindergarten, Allergies, and Tears (oh my!)

Has It Really Been 2 Weeks?

B started Kindergarten last week. It's been rough. Tears every day (mostly hers) - I am hoping it will be a phase that she'll snap out of soon. It's not like she's never been away from me. She's been in daycare/preschool since she was 5 months old. Change is hard I guess.

As for keeping her safe in school, things couldn't be better. I had a meeting with her principal and teacher before school started and save for banning peanut butter in the school, I've had all her needs met without protest. In fact, they suggested other things to think about (and remedies to the problems). I have lots of notes that I'm going to put here soon. I know it wont help those of you who just started your kids for the school year, but maybe it will help someone searching next year. I have lunch duty on Friday, so I'll get a better sense of how the allergy table works as well as their hot lunch program (which claims to be peanut safe). We'll see about that!

I feel like I've filled a million epi prescriptions and bought dozens of bottles of benadryl. But I think every base is covered. How about you guys? Any surprises yet from school?

It is Really Happening + Food Blogher '09

It's been a busy few weeks for us here at Casa Peanut Free.

B and I jetted down to LA last week to help my mom recover from surgery on her rotator cuff. The Italian grandmother in me came out - the best way I knew how to take care of her was to make sure her fridge was stuffed to the gills with food! Since it's just my mom and dad, I made quite a few recipes out of this magazine - they were fantastic! Thankfully, she's recovering nicely and wont be starving any time soon.

Our visit down to LA including a flight there and back on United. It was really stress free I must say. We upgraded to Economy Plus for both legs (there and back) - those extra inches of legroom meant B wasn't kicking (errr, annoying!) the passenger in front of her. There were only drinks served (no snacks given out or for sale), so I really only had to keep an eye out for those around us eating peanuts. Thankfully we were flying midweek, which made for a flight full of mostly businessmen and women and they weren't packin' PBJ's. We did have a run-in with some apple juice (the apple juice won) and I hope the next passenger in seat 8A on the 11th was wearing rubber pants. That seat was pretty wet when we were done with it. Oh, and did I mention it was my fault, not B's? Let's keep that on the DL, shall we? :)

Anyhoo - where was I?

School! School's starting in a week and a half and I'm really sad about it. My baby girl is going to be in Kindergarten! While I was gone I got a really nice message from her principal wanting to set up a meeting next week so we can discuss B's plan and how we're going to make sure she has a safe learning environment this year. He also told me she wasn't going to be the only allergic kid in her class, which I found comforting in a way as well. What a relief that he left such a nice message - great start to things! So, today I'm putting together a list of all my questions - once I'm done I'll post it here. I'm really stressed out about it and I hope I don't forget anything. The biggest issue I think I'll have is that I don't think they currently keep epi's in the classroom. I'm gonna have to arm myself with some facts and figures from the scientific literature to help convince them otherwise. I'm trying my best, though, not to be in defensive mode the moment I walk in. I'll let you know how that goes too.

This has been rambling, and not very informative, but I wanted to let you know we're alive over here and peanut free things are going on!

Lastly, I'll be attending Food BlogHer here in San Francisco next month. Are any of you?? I know this isn't technically a food blog, but it does deal with food in a strange way so I'm hoping I can learn something. If you'll be there, let me know so we can chat!

School is Starting Soon. Yikes.

In about a month, B will be an official Kindergartner.

I'm freaking out. School + Peanut Allergy = One Scared Mama.

Haven't spoken to her principal or her teacher about the measures we'll put in place to keep her safe during the day. There's no summer school where she goes (thank you California budget cuts!) so they are closed. I'm hoping they open in early August so I can get a quick meeting in.

Haven't spoken to her after school care either, although she's going to their summer program for a few days in the next few weeks to get her accustomed to the place. At least I know I can take care of that one well before the first day of school.

I'm falling down on the job. Why didn't I take care of this in May?!?

More soon.

Just in Case You Needed Something to Drive You Nuts this Morning

A narrow minded, nosy middle school secretary felt it in her best interest to violate the rights of an incoming student who has a peanut allergy by complaining about it on her site (in great detail, I might add).

Read all about it here.

Shame on her. Per Gina at Allergy Moms, the district has been identified. Hopefully they'll take action and she'll be terminated.

Peanut Allergy: Don't Be a Hater!

As the school year is underway, there is a rise in the number of news pieces about peanut allergies in schools and the attempts at keeping our kids safe by either having a school wide ban on peanuts or allergy tables and other measures in place to diffuse the peanutty goodness in the classroom.

I'm always amazed at the ignorance of people who comment on these articles and casually say that kids with peanut allergies should do the following (my commentary is in parenthesis):

1. Be homeschooled (Homeschooling? Why didn't I think of that? Because I don't know about you, but I'm MADE of money and I don't have a mortgage or anything).
2. Be sent to a separate room to eat (So they can reap the benefits of NOT socializing at school - she feels bad enough about sitting at an allergy table, so yeah isolating her even more will be SO helpful).
   
3. Be expected to know exactly what they can and can't have at the ripe old age of 5 (what? your 5 year old doesn't know how to read? Sheesh!)
4. Be fed peanuts so they aren't a bother anymore. (so THAT's how you treat peanut allergy?!? I feel so stupid).
5. Know that when this commenter was a kid there was no such thing as food allergies (yeah, we're making this whole PA up for attention. blah, blah, blah - well you know what? there are allergies NOW and we're doing the best we can to keep our kid ALIVE at school).
   

It's just a sandwich people - one food of millions. Lighten up. Our kids have a right to a safe place to learn. And I hate to break it to them, but technically food allergies can be classified as a disability so we have good old 504's to back us up. Should we discourage kids with diabetes (we may need to alter our snacks!) or epilepsy (a seizure might interrupt my child's day!) from attending school too? Or how about kids with physical disabilities? Shall I go on?

Hey Mr/Ms Commenter: why not take this as an opportunity to teach your child tolerance? I'm sure you don't know what that means.

My personal stance on allergy tables and peanut bans is this. I support peanut free classrooms for preschool and kindergarten. I support allergy tables and good hygiene/preventative measures for elementary school kids (and junior high as well). A peanut free cafeteria menu would be cool, just so B can eat lunch and not worry about cross contamination, but I wouldn't make it a deal breaker. But banning PB and all traces of it completely? I just don't think it's realistic. So why not come up with a solution that works under each circumstance?

Ultimately, why do people need to be so mean? We know not having peanuts (or wheat or egg or milk) sucks. We live it every day. For you it is a small choice to not send a sandwich in. For us it is a choice between life and death for our child.

OK, my venting is over. Do you have anything to add?

Great Lunch Ideas in Parents Magazine

I saw another good article in the September issue of Parents Magazine:

Lunch is Served
Keep it simple with 25 easy ideas to make school lunches healthy and fun.

These lunch ideas look great, healthy and tasty, and best of all realistic for a working mom like me. Only one of the examples has PB&J and you could easily substitute cream cheese or Sunbutter (if your child eats it - B wont touch it).

They visualize each lunch with photos using the Laptop Lunch system. On that note, we are LOVING B's new LL system. She polishes off her lunch every day since we starting using it. And subsequently she's been gaining weight (which has been a bit of an issue for us).