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

Peanut Allergy Fear #2,986: Drop Off Birthday Parties

In the last 24 hours, B has gotten not one, but TWO birthday party invitations.

Great, huh?

The only bummer is that they are both drop off optional. One of them is in San Francisco at the Exploratorium - there's no way she's going to that alone for a variety of reasons.

Not sure about the other one that's local. It's at an arcade.

My gut is telling me to insist that I come or she can't attend. But I also know that eventually I need to let go.

But B is only 5! A baby I tell you!

Do I drive her there and sit outside the venue, just in case? Will I have 'crazy' written all over me??

What should I do??? What do you guys do???

Refusal

B has been to two birthday parties in as many weeks and hasn't had a piece of cake at either.

And not because I told her she couldn't. It was quite the opposite. I told her the cake was ok to eat - safe in fact and to go ahead a dig in!

She wouldn't budge. She had a slice at each event in front of her but made excuses at each (my response? I ate the cake for her - what else was I to do?).

But why did she really refuse?

Was it her sixth sense? Fear?

I'm thinking the latter. I think she's stuck in between being polite to her host and being her own advocate.

My heart breaks that she even has to THINK about this stuff at the ripe old age of 5. That she worries an innocent piece of cake could do her in. Even one her mom says is ok.

I hope and pray she grows out of this.

Allergy Free Bakery to Open in Oklahoma City this weekend!

via Cupcakes Take the Cake

Green Goodies by Tiffany
Green Goodies by Tiffany delivers specialty cupcakes in the Oklahoma City & Edmond area, by special order. We specialize in organic cupcakes made from scratch and baked in small batches to order. We also offer delicious cupcakes to those with special dietary concerns (gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, vegan, etc)

Delivered fresh to your door, our cupcakes offer you a unique way to celebrate and share all life's occasions. We deliver to homes, special event locations, offices, birthday parties, corporate meetings, or anywhere you want cupcakes.

Green Goodies by Tiffany
7606 N. Western Ave.
Nichols Hills, OK 73116
918-605-2527
greengoodies at live.com

If any of you live in the Oklahoma City area and check it out this Saturday, July 11, from 12-6, leave a comment and let us know what you think of the place.

If they truly are an allergen free bakery it would be a great thing for Oklahomaans (is that even a word?)!

Birthday Parties: Hosting a Child with Food Allergies

This came through my Google Alerts this morning and I thought it was a great article to share with you guys.

Tips to Plan a Safe Birthday Party when Inviting Children with Food Allergies.

Dina (founder of Beyondapeanut.com which you should all check out) did a great job of giving a rational list of why parents of allergic kids worry about sending their child to a birthday party and ways to alleviate the stress for both sides. I think that these tips actually carry over to play dates as well.

How do you guys approach parents throwing the party your child is invited to? Do you all stay at the party with your child? Or do you go? If you do, what made you feel comfortable in doing so?

Watching her back....

I thought I'd share a sweet story with you guys.

Over the weekend, we went to a birthday party for one of B's pals from school. It was a GREAT party - in a fabulous park, not too many kids, a great sunny day - but the best part was how wonderful her friends are.

When it came time to eat, all the kids sat down at a picnic table, got their plates and napkins, their juice boxes, and were presented with platters of sandwiches.

I'm sure you can guess what kind of sammie was included in the spread. Yup, PBJ.

But I'm not a parent who freaks out about PBJ's anymore. Only if my daughter actually eats one. There were wipes around, so I figured any kid who ate one could just wipe their hands and we'd be fine. Plus, these kids are older now, and much less messy. B goes to a school that allows PBJ's so she's around them all the time. I just don't stress about it anymore. I can't. This is just part of our life moving forward so we just need to deal.

So back to the party.

The birthday girl's dad was telling everyone what kind of sandwiches there were. He's such a nice guy, he apparently made the sandwiches, and he was so proud of them! He called out:

"Yummy Peanut Butter and Jelly!"

"Cream Cheese and Jelly!"

"Turkey and Cheese with NO Mayo or Mustard for the Kids!"

"Turkey with Mustard and Mayo and Lettuce for the Grownups!"

So the kids all sit there, trying to decide what they want, and negotiating with their parents about EXACTLY how much they need to eat before they can have cake.

And out of nowhere one little girl pipes up "We can't eat Peanut butter and Jelly - B is allergic!!!". And NOT ONE of the kids took a PBJ.

I could NOT believe it. My heart melted right there on the spot.

I hadn't said a word to anyone there about her peanut allergy. I just told B quietly that the sammies in front of her had the Peanut Butter but that she could have any of the others.

So the kids had turkey or cream cheese and jelly. And everyone got cake (with frosting!! and chocolate!!!)

Such solidarity. Without B even saying a word. Those little girls are good people.

Just so you know, the turkey sammies went fast. The sight of a bunch of grownups eating tiny little squares of PBJ was pretty funny.

Not so Easy Bake Oven...

So B's 4th (yes, can you believe it?!?!), 4th birthday is coming up in a little over a week.

She's been asking for just about everything. If you have a child who watches TV (yes, I'm a terrible mother who lets her daughter watch Spongebob - what do you think she's going to be for Halloween?) then you know what I'm talking about. Every commercial that comes on garners the following:

"Mom, I want that!"

OR

"Mom, we NEED to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, where a kid can be a kid. You can relax and have a salad there you know!"

OR

"Mom, if I promise not to wear makeup can I have a Bratz hair curler set?"

You all think I'm joking about the last request. B's what you call 'a verbal child', so things like this really come out of her mouth. I wont tell you what she said when she walked in on Mark going to the bathroom last week. I know, TMI!

Well, for B's birthday we told her she could have 4 presents, since she was turning FOUR. She thought that was really neat. So the last few weeks have been spent discussing the finer points of Baby Alive vs. Barbie, race cars vs. hotwheels, and transformers vs. spiderman (did I mention she's into boy type toys as well?).

At the top of her list was this cupcake maker. Think Easy Bake Oven without the oven. Basically you make the mix, put it in a cupcake mold, and microwave it. B loves to cook with me (she even uses a knife under my supervision) and even though she's younger than the recommended age, I think she'll do just fine with it. Plus, there's no bulb like with the Easy Bake Oven (i.e. no way for B to burn the house down), so it was the best and most excellent choice for her.

But there's a catch. There's ALWAYS a catch with Peanut Allergy, now isn't there? Like Easy Bake Oven Mixes, this brand's mixes ALSO have a 'may contain' warning. Here's the actual wording:

"Allergy Information:
Consumers with food allergies or other sensitivities, please review the ingredients carefully.
All ingredients are wheat free, gluten free, nut free, peanut free, and trans-fat free. All mixes are packaged on equipment that process wheat, milk, egg, soy, and sulfating agents. May contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.
Major allergens: milk and egg.
May contain soy."

As our good friend Spongebob would say: "Aw, Barnacles!". And can I just add that warnings like this suck. All ingredients CANNOT be peanut free if there could be traces of peanuts in the mix.

So what's a Peanut Free Mama to do about these peanutty mixes?

Google it!

Turns out those fancy mixes for the Easy Bake Oven can be easily replaced by cake mix and milk. Oh, and here are 57 other mixes for you to try as well. Granted, these are for the EB Oven, but I'm betting a variation will work for us.

Who knew?

So we'll adapt the recipes for the cupcake maker she's getting. I don't think she'll know the difference.

I'll let you know how her Carnival themed birthday party goes. Have I mentioned how I tend to go overboard when it comes to parties? Can't just have a cake and punch around here, no sir. I'm going to try to use some restraint, but, darnit I LOVE a good party, especially one with a bouncy house.

Any other toys you've run across with allergy warnings?

Happy Birthday to Me! I am Peanut Free!

Today is a big day around here at PFM.

We're a year old! Yup, August 13, 2007 was the day I decided to document our crazy little journey down the Peanut Allergy road.

Feels like longer, huh?

I don't usually post recent photos of the Mighty B, but I love this shot of her jumping up excitedly (yes, even tho' it's blurry). She'll be 4 in just a couple of months - that went by fast too! Where did my little baby go?

I just want to say thank you to all the kind and wonderful folks out there who visit this site daily, weekly, and/or monthly for a peek into our lives. Not a week goes by that I don't get a nice email from a reader with their story. I'm honored and touched that you've cared or been moved enough by our story to share yours with me.

I hope you all stick around for another year with me. We're all in this together, right?

How Did You Get Here and Our Thai Birthday

This blog has been wonderful for me. I've met so many people that are going through the SAME thing as me - navigating this tough (and sometimes horrible) world of peanut allergy, not to mention some of you out there who have to deal with multiple food allergies (some of them not in the top 8 - I don't know how you do it)! I am truly humbled and thankful when I hear from someone who is relieved to see someone else out there with the same fears!

A recent email I got reminded me how terrifying it is when your child is first diagnosed (unfortunately I don't need too much reminding to get back to that place). A sweet reader told me how her little baby reacted inadvertently to a few kisses from a peanut buttery mouth. In seconds I was transported back to my dining room two years ago. I got chills and teared up. I wished so badly that she lived near me so I could have her over and talk to her and tell her how this would be better. Really, it would be better. And I tried my best to help via email and hope I did ok. But I wanted her to know about all of YOU, my fellow peanut allergy villagers.

And it led me to this post. You all know how I got here.

But there are lots of you that are lurking, never commenting (I know you are there - I have stats to prove it!).

How did you get here?

Seeing your stories would help countless other parents out there just starting out on the journey we're used to at a certain degree.

Please leave a comment about how your child was (or you were) diagnosed. If you have a blog, please leave a link to your site too. How do you feel now vs. that first month or so?

Personally, I feel like I freak out less about Bella's allergy. Don't get me wrong, I'm still vigilant. We were at a birthday party for our nephew (by friendship, not blood) this afternoon and the family is from Thailand. So there was Thai food everywhere - cue horror music! Satay, pad thai, peanut sauce, not to mention a huge tub of crushed peanuts. And I didn't freak. I just figured out what she could eat (and I had a stash of snacks in my purse) and dealt with it. There were hot dogs and buns on a dedicated grill, so we had a hot dog. The Thai food hadn't been touched yet so no utensils came in contact with it. Problem solved. But the old me? She probably would have left and denied Bella the time of her life playing with nerf rockets (with 10 year old boys - but that's another story :>). As I like to say - "I would have freaked my freak!"

So back to my request. We're all in this together. Hearing other's stories helps me and I think it will help someone else who's feeling a little overwhelmed right now.

Wont you take a second to help a newbie out?

Thanks,

Gab

p.s. oddly enough at the party today there was a 10 year old there with a peanut allergy. i couldn't help watching him during the party (not in a freaky obvious way) and it was REALLY interesting (and comforting) to watch him navigate the food and figure out a safe alternative for himself. and he did. and it was no big deal for him. or his friends. it was SO COOL!

Peanutallergy.com

Anyone know what's up with peanutallergy.com's boards being down so long? I saw some rumblings last week about some unrest among posters - I hope they aren't down for good.

Let me know if you've heard anything!

Around here we're gearing up for someone's 3rd birthday (hmmmm, I wonder who?). There will be a bounce house! And sugar! And goodie bags! Oh my!

I'll post a peanut free party plan later this week....