Fruit Salad ... Yummy (oh, you know the rest!)

Getting a children's song stuck in your head is the WORST. At times, I have wanted to stick a fork in my ears to pry the annoying tune out. And the ones that are the WORST of the WORST are these guys. Honestly, I haven't had these guys and their strange music on in our own house in at least two years.

But, when Big Guy asked for this for breakfast .....


I was very proud of his healthy choice. But also, the blueberry-apple combo reminded me of this song .... aghhhhhhhhhh!!! (what is it with those phallic hats??) Regardless of that fact, his "fruit salad"of sorts was a hit and he ate it all up!



One of the two key ingredients are these from Trader Joes (our favorite balloon-giving store)

And while he snacked on that, Little Guy enjoyed some Soy Yogurt.



So, all in all, a very healthy breakfast --- hurrah!!!!!

I can eat that when I'm big

Now that Big Guy has started to out grow his dairy allergy, he can eat regular (or as he says "grown up") yogurt. So this weekend, we found these at the store. We threw some in the freezer and they were a BIG hit for dessert. In fact, he ate two, at which point, the tube became a little too "frosty" for his hands, so he went and got ... well, you can see for yourself.

He at the blue one and the strawberry one. The Shrek pictures on the Go-Gurts were half the fun.



The mis-matched mittens to solve his problem with a too-cold package just kills me. I love the ingenuity!

But, of course, Little Guy also likes Shrek and also also likes yogurt. But they don't make soy yogurt in the cool Shrek go-gurts. So, he got to eat these ...

Mint-Chocolate chip soy ice cream sandwiches. Which are also pretty darn good.

And yummy.

And messy. (Note the partially eaten sandwich hanging out of his mouth so he can show me his hands)


That sandwich was gooood!!!!!!!!! I don't care if it was a soy product!

And as the title of this entry states, Little Guy took the whole thing in stride. He asked for one of the Shrek yogurts and when I said no because it would make him sick. He told me "Okay, but I can eat that when I'm big, right?" I assured him that when he is 4 years old, it is very likely that he can eat that. But I won't promise, because you just don't know.

But, just like Big Guy, he is very accepting of the fact that there are lots of foods he can't eat. He doesn't get mad or upset. (Granted, he does for lots of other things, as a normal 2 year old would.) But he is okay with this food allergies. Thank goodness!!!!!

Working with our schools

I recently got an informative email from a friend of a friend -- who I "met" via this blog -- about what she is doing to prepare for kindergarten for her child. She agreed to let me publish her email so we can all learn a little more about what other moms are doing. She has a 4 year old (nearly 5 years old) daughter who is severely allergic to Peanuts and tree nuts and Eggs. She also has a 2 year old son who is allergic to Milk, Eggs, Red Meat, Cinnamon, Apples, Tomatoes and has outgrown Wheat allergy. He has a soy intolerance as well. So you can see, she has been dealing with food allergies (and lots of them) for quite a while.

I noticed your blog about kindergarten. Lauren is starting too in the
fall. I am meeting to get a 504 plan together.

You should absolutely consider this. We met with a partner at Hinshaw Culbertson who works on the school side and handles almost all the Chicagoland schools and represents them for ADA rules and IHP's and 504's. He recommended to me to do one and get it all in writing. As long as it is a "reasonable request" then they have to comply.

I am insisting on a peanut free lunch area w/ our school because they can't guarantee that someone can wipe down the tables and the handles on the doors, etc....Lauren can't be held responsible at age 5 to do this.

They MUST also train the teachers and teachers MUST administer the Epi PenJr. if need be. Teachers will try to not do this and reference a state contract, BUT the Federal law of ADA supersedes that he told me.

I meet w/ principal and teacher this Wed. at 2:30. Every school has an assigned 504 coordinator. Some schools it's just an extra role the principal or teacher takes on while others have someone who does it full time for the district.

I hope you consider this because I think a 504 plan will help the teachers take it more seriously. I told you, I got the entire downers grove park district to change their food in the vending machines to peanut free and stopped any products containing peanuts from entering any of the pre-school snacks and no more home baked foods whatsoever.

All b-day treats left in the hall to be "take homes". They also must wash their hands or use Handi-Wipes upon entering the classroom. Janitor is required to clean Lauren's classroom first w/ clean towels. I go and "spot check" this once a month as a "surprise" to make sure that's how it is happening. I also pre-approve all snacks before class. I double check the ingredients and they can only bring in foods that have no peanuts and also are safe for Lauren to eat.

I have done a lot of work in my town and honestly, it's difficult, time consuming and parents get mad. But they're only mad a month or two and now no one cares. And for first time moms, they don't' know the difference, it's the moms who has older kids and didn't have to comply. But they got over it.

I just wanted to pass this info along. Also, don't' forget, epi's can be left in classroom NOT in nurses office and can be carried on the child as well... Hope this helps.

Wow, as you can see she has been very busy and working hard to protect her child so she can be a normal kid at school (versus home school or something else). Luckily, Big Guy and Little Guy don't have such severe allergies ... they need to ingest the food they are allergic to, not just have it in the air. But, it's helpful to hear what other folks are doing for their kids.

I have to admit, I had no idea what a 504 plan is, so I went to my handy-dandy allergy-related web pages to learn more. First I went to Allergy Moms where I got linked to FAST where they had lots of links and I swear they had a good example of one of these plans, but for the life of me I can't find it. Anyway, another site defines it as:

The "504" in "504 plan" refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies that no one with a disability can be excluded from participating in federally funded programs or activities, including elementary, secondary or post secondary schooling. "Disability" in this context refers to a "physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities." This can include physical impairments; illnesses or injuries; communicable diseases; chronic conditions like asthma, allergies and diabetes; and learning problems. A 504 plan spells out the modifications and accommodations that will be needed for these students to have an opportunity perform at the same level as their peers, and might include such things as wheelchair ramps, blood sugar monitoring, an extra set of textbooks, a peanut-free lunch environment, home instruction, or a tape recorder or keyboard for taking notes.

Good to know. Still not sure what I'll have to do regarding all this for Big Guy, but now I know more about some options.

Can he eat a hamburger bun?

Little Guy started daycare this week with Big Guy. In addition to the fears that he will cry and wail and give me the deathgrip when I try to leave him there, I get to worry about if they will remember NOT to give him the cheese tortellini or the muffin at snack time.

I get to fax documents back and forth to the doctor that give them permission to stick him with the epi-pen if he eats the wrong thing and goes into anaphylaxic shock. And more documents that allow them to give him benadryl.

But I am lucky, one of the reasons we chose this center for Big Guy is how well they handle food allergies. They post a picture of him in the room with a list of his food allergies so if a new teacher comes in the room she can see immediatley what his issues are. The whole school is nut-free, so I don't have to worry about peanuts in anything. And they have special menu items for kids with food allergies or who are vegetarians. But still .... I worry.

The teacher even called me at lunch yesterday to ask, "Can he eat a hamburger bun?" I told her it should be fine, but I knew there was a teeny-tiny chance there was egg in the bun. But since 90 percent of the buns I've looked at in the past four years, don't have egg in them, I hoped it would be okay.

And really, these things can creep up at the weirdest times, when you think you have done everything right. Like when Karen's son had a reaction to a tiny bit of egg on his hands. So, if it can happen to the mom, it can happen at school when I am miles and miles away.

And my Little Guy, like Sarah's Katherine, will learn this is just part of who he is. But it is another thing to worry about. And I totally agree with Sarah when she says that caring for your child is a privilege, not a chore, but you have to admit it is one more thing to worry about.

But, really, look at that face? How could you NOT want to do whatever you need to to keep him safe.
And we all know, that every mom worries. And every mom has something to deal with with their kid. It might be lots of ear infections and having to get tubes in their ears. It might be a delay in speech. It might be a wicked temper. Everyone has something, right?

His First Jolly "Recital"

Last week (I know this is late!) Big Guy sang in his first recital at school. It was very cute. Despite his often shy demeanor he told me it was fun and he liked it .... finally his drama queen tendencies he gets from me are coming in handy.

Oh and when I say "school" I really mean daycare. I think that is a term we all use to try to distance ourselves from the bad reputations that many daycare centers have had over the years. And of course, the guilt of not taking "care" of our kid ourselves in the day. So, we call it school so we feel like they are there because it will advance their education.

Anyway, the recital was a "Jolly Phonics" recital where all the kids two years old and up could show the parents the songs they are learning to learn their letters. It was fairly hilarious -- and something straight out of Parenthood -- when all the parents pulled out their cameras (and I was right there with them!) and started filming this momentous event.

And he is such a superstar, he had another recital for Catholic Pre-School of Religion where he sang more songs ... these about Jesus. This recital had snacks afterward so I made sure to grab a couple bags of Teddy Grahams in case there wasn't anything there for the boys to eat.

Two shows in one week. Wow! I think it is the beginning of a trend!!

It's a small, small (blog) world

Sarah at No Whey Mama clued me in to the Vegan Lunchbox and Shmooed Food in her comment to my last post.

At the same time, my mother-in-law was busy making "muffins" with Big and Little Guy.

Not exactly their best glamour shots, but you might be able to tell that they do really enjoy these muffins. Okay, you probably can't tell from Big Guy's photo (on the right). He looks sorta confused or worried.

Grandma lets them take a cheese spreader and add their own frosting to the "muffin

So, I asked her if I could get a copy of the recipe. And she sent me an email to let me know she found it on the Vegan Lunchbox site and it was actually the Fluffy While Cupcakes recipe. The first time she made them she didn't include the coconut extract. The second time she used lemon extract because it was what she had in the cupboard.

Smart Grandma! She knew all about that great site long before I did. But isn't it cool? I found about it through my new blog friends

Speaking of new friends, check out Karen's blog, Because I Said So. Her son has egg and peanut allergies and one of the many things she blogs about is dealing with these allergies. She shares a heartbreaking story about what happened to her son when he ate a homemade cookie ... luckily it didn't result in a trip to the ER, but definitely was a difficult experience for her son.

All this talk of baking (not to mention 3 brown squishy bananas sitting on my counter) inspired me to make banana bread with the boys.

Here is the recipe ...

Banana Bread

3 large ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg -- I use Energ-G egg replacer
4 T.
butter or margarine
1 1/2
cup flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Heat oven to 325
Grease
9x5 loaf pan
Mash bananas, beat in sugar, egg, butter
Stir in remaining ingredients until just moistened
Pour in pan
Bake 55-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean

Yummmy! Enjoy.

Filling the Pantry

I am including a new section to my blog called “Filling the Pantry.” See it on the right-hand side below the blog archive.

I was inspired when I saw the “Foods” section in No Whey Mama’s blog . By the way she has posted some good-looking recipes. I want to try the Monkey cookies -- I’ll just need to use the egg replacer and skip the nuts.

Anyway, when I started this blog I wanted it to be a humorous (on the rare good day) resource for people and place to share experiences and tips. I have always said that dealing with food allergies is MUCH easier once you know how to fill your pantry with various “safe” things that your child can eat.

I have included lots of references to different products we like at our house, like here and here. But I thought listing cool products on the right would make it a lot easier for the “hordes” of people that read this blog.

When I was roaming other blogs, I did find a reference to Divvies. But I need to see them kid-tested by Big Guy and Little Guy before I will post it on the Filling the Pantry section. They look yummy. Has any one tried any of these out?

Also, let me know if you have any other good food suggestions.

Thanks!

First Step Towards Kindergarten

One small step for Big Guy ... one giant leap for Mommy!

Earlier this week I signed up Big Guy for kindergarten. I absolutely think he is ready, so I'm not too freaked out about my "baby" going to school, but it is a lot to take in. And of course, on top of everything else, I need to think about the food allergy thing.

I filled out the forms and listed all of his allergies (luckily there is a looong blank line on the form!) and mentioned it to the mom-volunteer at registration. She said, "oh, they are really good here for kids with food allergies, they even have their own table in the cafeteria."

Oh.

I guess that is good news.

Right?

Because every mom dreams of having their child ostracized and forced to sit away from everyone else. Right?

There aren't enough other things that make kids feel worried and bad about themselves. When I was in 3rd grade, Adam G. teased me every day on the bus about my hairy arms and told me I looked like a gorilla. Hi ... nearly 30 years later and I still feel a teeny-tiny bit self-conscious about my arms. (Note: they are hairy, but they are blonde hairs and not too unusual.)

I digress. I KNOW it is a good thing to protect the kids. I KNOW there are kids out there who have severe food allergies. But evidently, I'm not alone in this fear. Check out this "Allergy Nation" article, especially the section on School Rules. I found it on Check My Tag. Thanks, Ria.

We have the kindergarten parent's night on April 30, so I'm sure I'll learn more there. Big Guy can, luckily, tolerate a lot more of the food that used to make him sick. He now eats regular yogurt and cheese. He knows not to eat peanuts and other nuts. And he is fine being near peanut products. For example, I eat a peanut butter sandwich right next to him while he eats the Sunbutter sandwich.

So, I don't really think he needs to be at a seperate table. Espescially because kindergarten is only 2 1/2 hours long, so the whole issue of eating in the cafeteria won't come up until first grade.

I'm sure there will be LOTS more to blog about on this subject.

Anyone else have experience with starting your allergy kid at regular "big kid" school??

Easter Bunny

Whew ... I just finished putting out the spoils from the Easter Bunny. As you might imagine, there are many treats that are not available to me for my kids. No chocolate bunnies or Cadbury eggs. However, they can eat jelly beans, hurrah!

Also, there are very cute Sweet Tart eggs with stickers so you can decorate the plastic eggs with eyes, nose and a face and create your very own egg family. These treats are okay for my boys to eat. And I found new candy-coated licorice that is delish!

Evidently there are other parents who want alternatives to candy to give their kids on Easter morning ... I found a package of plastic eggs filled with various morning cartoon characters: Dora, Boots, Diego, Blue, SpongeBob and Patrick. No candy, just more little toys to litter my house.

Overall, I think the boys will be happy and have fun looking for the eggs. Frankly, any kid is happy getting CANDY before breakfast, whether it be Sweet Tarts or a gigantic chocolate bunny.

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Back!

I know it has been ages (in blog time, at least) since I last wrote. And just as things were sorta heating up at "He Can't Eat That!" My last post about the food allergy clothing generated several great comments. So, thank you!

And it elicited a "lurker" and fellow mom of a food allergy kid to say hello. Sarah, at "No Whey, Mama" posted a comment to let me know that she listed "He Can't Eat That!" in her blog roll. Cool!!! I think that might be a first. Hurrah! And I'd love to return the favor, so I am adding Sarah's blog to my Mommy Blogger list.

As a result, I've checked out her blog and it is a good read. I can relate to her entry about her daughter's note to anyone watching her about what she can't eat. Little Guy regularly tells me "I can't eat that Mommy. It has eggs in it and makes me sick."

And as I think I wrote earlier every once in a while we play "What will you say if someone gives you ....?" This game involves me saying to the boys, "Pretend I am a friend at school and I tell you 'Hey, try these peanut candies. They are great!'" And then, Big Guy says "No thank you. I'm allergic to peanuts." And Little Guy puts his mouth into my outstretched hand and pretends to eat up the pretend candies. And he laughs hysterically. Hmmmm. I'm not too worried about this killer behaviour because he is my little ham and comic and I'm pretty sure he is doing this for the laugh. The fact that in real situations he asks me if he can eat things leads me to believe he sorta gets it. Plus he is younger and doesn't eat food without me or one of the grandparents around.

Anyway, the point is that even at a young age, these kids get it.

Well, tomorrow is Easter. A VERY interesting holiday for kids with egg allergies. I'll be back very soon with more on how we are handling a holiday that revolves around eggs!

Food Allergy Clothing … Next Hot Item on the Runway?

Hey! This blog thing is working! What do I mean? I mean that thanks to this blog I have gotten hooked into other web sites and blogs that deal with food allergies through comments like this to my posts.

And like everything on the web, once you start clicking on one site it takes you to 10 more cool related (or unrelated, but interesting) sites.

So, now I have a plethora of things to blog about, but for this post, I want to focus on the allergy clothing that is out there. Who knew? Not me!

Liz at Mom-101 showed me these items at her other site, Cool Mom Picks. And thanks to Ria for the comment that led me to her site Check My Tag where they sell clothing that alerts people to the fact that your child has a food allergy and what to do if they eat something off-limits. And then through all that clicking around, I found the patches would require that my guys wear 4 patches … isn’t that a bit much??

Anyway, for fun today I showed Big Guy the different sites and his reaction to the Allergators, “That’s silly. Alligators don’t have allergies.” And the shirt at jeeto that he liked best was the dinosaur one. Go figure!

Anyway, if anyone has any thought or experiences on using these types of clothes, please ler me know!!

"March"ing Along

Wow! It is already MARCH!!!!

It has been awhile (again) since I last posted. I have to admit I am not always feeling it. I do enjoy reading other people's blogs, and I was sad to see a much more experienced blogging mom decide to take a permanent break.

But, like most mothers, I feel pulled in so many directions. It's hard to find time for this creative outlet. Mary at Mom Writes talked about slowing down in the blogging world too. And being somewhat of a perfectionist, I always think I need to have a really funny or meaningful thing to say. But that's not really true in blogland, right? I also get down by the lack of comments, but I shouldn't because I read lots of blogs and don't comment ... I think that is called "lurking."

Also, recently I was inspired by the Lazy Organizer blog and my mom, who has been organizing her whole house. So, last week I cleaned out the pantry/extra dishes/vases/etc. closet in the basement and made that look purdy. AND I cleaned out the medicine/shampoo/everything else closet in my bathroom. Those two feats took professional help (aka my mom came over and cheered me on).

But this weekend I cleaned out Little Guy's closet ... how many diaper bags do I need???? And today I cleaned out the frig ....how many jars of salsa do I need??? And I did those two cleaning jobs on my OWN! So, needless to say, keeping my home from turning into a pigsty also takes up blogging time. (Not to mention my pesky job!)

Also, I have been reading "Surrendering to Motherhood" a book my friend recommended. It really gets you thinking about what is important. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, while I am blogging here today, Big Guy was drawing. Below is his masterpiece, titled, "Bat." Enjoy!



P.S. The words at the top are a result of his interest in letters and copying the letters in the book we read, "Bats at the Beach" that sparked his interest in drawing the bat in the first place.

The Problem with Breakfast Bars

I know that breakfast bars are basically a good marketing gimmick to give people cookies for breakfast -- including kids. I mean, really, how different is a breakfast bar from a fig newton?

Anyway, if you've read this blog before you know that breakfast can be a difficult meal for kids with allergies ... no eggs, etc. Like a lot of moms, I sometimes give in and let the boys eat a breakfast bar for a treat for breakfast ... usually followed by a mandatory yogurt. Up until the time we found out that Little Guy can have wheat, I gave him bars like these. But now I want to give him bars that I can get at the regular grocery store .... but, NOOOOOO! I can't find any. They all seem to have eggs or dairy or nuts in them.

Big Guy can have these because he is growing out of his dairy allergies and can tolerate some dairy in baked goods. But I can't find any regular breakfast bars that Little Guy can eat. So, guess what he can eat in the breakfast bar "cookie" aisle? Pop-tarts!!

Yep, that's it. If I feel guilt over breakfast bars, you know what I must think about pop-tarts! And yet, you also know that I hate to deny the kids things because of the allergies. So, now they get pop-tarts as a treat once in while.

So, if you have any suggestions for breakfast bars that the boys can eat, PLEASE send them my way!!

Happy Valentine’s Day Eve!

Alas, our last ditch effort to get valentines last night was for naught. We ran to Walgreens and successfully found Spiderman valentines, but because we got a big snowstorm last night and all day today, I could not get Big Guy to school. Oh well, he can bring them on Thursday (the next day he goes to school).

Here I was thinking I did so good with the valentines and then I read about Mary. She writes about the cute valentines she and her daughter Emily made for her 3-year old pre-school class at Mom Writes. She also shows some of the other cute things the kids (actually the moms) in the class made – candy necklaces, homemade crayon hearts, homemade cards, etc.

I am such a loser. I was feeling good because this year I taped a mini box of Nerds to the Hallmark Spiderman valentines. (Last year the kids just got a card.)

Big Guy signed his own name and I thought I was mother of the year. NOT! I guess this will be another holiday where poor Big Guy can’t eat most of the “treats” he gets. I am just too worried about the nut possibilities with many of the candies. He is doing better eating dairy and therefore chocolate, but it seems like a lot of those candies have a high likelihood of having nut residue. Oh well, we'll see what he gets on Thursday.

While cruising the internet, I found some interesting facts (and my comments) about Valentines Day from Hallmark.

• Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine’s Day by purchasing a greeting card. And I’m sure you are loving that, Hallmark!
• Romantic Valentine’s Day is a top card-buying occasion for men. Not my husband – he told me early on in our relationship “I don’t do Valentines Day” -- it is a Hallmark holiday” And the factoid above confirms it. (Seriously, I am not complaining, he does a lot of great things other times of the year when he doesn't "have to.")
• Last-minute shopping is the norm for this holiday with nearly 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards purchased in the six days prior to Valentine’s Day. Okay, that makes me feel better about my Walgreens run.

Anyway, some more candy ideas to accompany your valentines (if you are into that) for you food allergy folks … Nerds, lollipops, skittles, those candy necklaces , gummy anything (maybe not these).

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Got Hot Chocolate?

Today we got a couple inches of snow, so Big Guy, Little Guy and I went out to shovel the driveway. Due to the steep pitch of our driveway, this was QUITE a task (seriously, it feels like it is at least a 30 degree angle –though my husband is telling me it is only 15 degrees). Luckily, no one tumbled down the icy driveway.

But we did enjoy some yummy hot chocolate afterwards. See the mustaches for evidence of how much they liked it.

The boys also snacked on Dora’s legs and Boots. No, they aren’t cannibals. I found new Dora “animal crackers” which gives the boys a chance to munch on a little girl’s legs and a monkey. Why do kids get such glee out of digesting TV characters? Anyway, I just mention it here because it is another food product that doesn’t contain dairy, peanuts or eggs – hurrah!

Oh yes, the sugar is kicking in.

Whatever it is ... it's hysterical.

Come on ... wouldn't you want to be eaten up by this cutie-pie too?

Funny or Scary?

Funny or scary? Creepy or cute?? You decide!!


I mean is it just me, or does it look like Homer is about to devour Little Guys hand?

Hopefully Little Guy won't come home and decide he should try to put his foot in MY mouth. (I do that enough as it is.)

Thank you, Grandpa-parazzi for sharing these photos of Little Guy from today. Only YOU would have Homer slippers and that's why we love you!

Catch-Up (not ketsup)

Whew ... it has been a while since I last posted. Life has been crazy ... working lots more hours than normal, planning a big trip, trying to figure out what to do about kindergarten. pre-school and childcare this fall for Big Guy and Little Guy. Stress levels are on the rise!! So, what suffered? My blogging.

I was inspired to get back on tonight because I am vain and wanted to show my latest picture of the boys from today ....

Also, I wanted to voice my violent agreement with many of the other posts out there from other blogging moms about the Today show piece on Friday about "happy hour and playdates" Do I think mom's should be getting wasted while their kids play with other kids? No. Do I think it is okay to have a glass of wine with friends while your kids play? (If you know me at ALL, this will be a huge no-brainer) YES. If you want to read some witty posts on this check out Wonder Mom; Friday Playdate; Crib Ceiling or A Mommy Story. As my friend at work said, "I don't' see what the issue is. How is this not different from getting together for dinner with friends and while the kids play you have a beer or glass of wine?" And another point I heard was why is this so focused on moms? Do you think dads don't get together and while the kids play, they watch the game and have a beer?

Well, anyway, enough of that. As part of my catching up, I finally posted my new year's eve photos to that post ... at least I got it done this month!

I am also happy to report that because of this blog I got to know another mom through email who just found out her son has peanut allergies. I'll blog more on that when I can be more thoughtful.

For now, I will just say GO BEARS !!!!!

And if you want some fun, get-in-the spirit You Tube videos, check out the Lyric Opera singer or some good old-fashioned Superbowl Shuffle knock-offs with Da Superfan Shuffle.

One more photo ...this guy is not in the video, but he could be, right???

Food Allergies -- Science or Voodoo?

Sometimes I think the whole food allergy thing is part voo-doo because we don't know where it came from or even exactly how to handle it. There are so many different ideas on how to "treat" them. For example, this article was recently published that reports on an experimental study where they fed a person with a food allergy small amounts of the food the person is allergic to. This is the OPPOSITE approach that is normally taken--which is to completely avoid the allergen.

Because food allergies can be so confusing and so damn scary, I signed my family up to participate in the Children's Memorial Food Allergy study. The four-year, $5.5 million research initiative will look at the impact of environmental and genetic factors on children who suffer with food allergies.

It took about half a day to get to the hospital and have the kids, myself and my husband tested. We all had to get blood drawn and get skin prick tests ... that part sucked, but overall it wasn't bad. (And in fact, the tests alerted us to the fact that Little Guy had grown out of his wheat allergy ... hallelujah!) We recently got a letter updating us on the study and asking us to talk to family and friends and see if they might participate. It seems they especially need families who don't have food allergies to serve as the control group. So, if you are interested in helping the medical community figure out this whole food allergy thang, check out this site.

If you participate, we can compare our medical test scores ... cool!

Picture This

Okay, I am finally succumbing to posting pictures of Big Guy and Little Guy on my blog.

I hadn't done so up until now because I was worried about security issues, but after seeing adorable pictures on other blogs, such as Christina's daughter at A Mommy Story or pictures of this cutie-pie at Mommy Off the Record, I can't resist. It is part of the Mommy-DNA to want to show off pictures of your kids, so why not do so on my blog, right?

So, here is the blog premier of my boys!!!! (Trumpets, please)

Below is Big Guy indulging (can a four-year old indulge?) in a soy ice cream cone. Get it! It's yummy.



And here is Little Guy slurping up a rainbow ice cone (another good non-dairy option for you when you are out, like we were at the zoo, where they don't have soy desserts).



And yes, these photos are about 6 months old now. (No more shorts for us for a while.)

So, those are my boys. Most of the time they are sweet and lovable, other times I refer to them as the hooligans. For better or worse, expect to see more of them here!

Kiddie New Year's Eve

We are finally recovering from last night. Ten years ago that would have meant that I was up all night "enjoying" some beverages on new year's eve, today it means a slightly different thing.

Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed some beverages (we tried mojitos, they were yummy), but having two kids at a friend's house with their two kids and another mom with her two kids and a couple with their two (are you keeping up?) makes for a very different new year's eve than the pre-kids kind. (For the record, this totals 8 kids under the age of 4 1/2 years old.) t was still lots of fun, just very different.

We let the kids ring in the new year with plastic glasses of sparkling apple juice and run around with noisemakers at about 8:30 p.m. The kids did great. They all played well and had a blast.

The part about the whole night that wiped me out was the sleepover part of it all. We didn't want to drive on new year's because of all the crazy people on the road, so we had one big sleepover. Unfortunately my two guys didn't take so well to this. Big Guy was so excited to sleep in his new spiderman sleeping bag, but when the time came to really use it and sleep, he couldn't do it. He finally fell asleep in my friend's bed watching Ice Age on the portable DVD at a LATE hour. Little Guy actually went down with no fuss (a miracle for him), but woke up about 2:30 a.m. freaked out because he was in a new place. We had to calm him down without waking the rest of the herd, I mean kids. At 6 a.m., Big Guy woke up to go to the bathroom and freaked out because he was overtired and in a new place. I had to hustle him to the basement so he wouldn't freak out. VERY TIRING. But, we had a great group nap from 11:30 to 1:30 today, so we are all feeling better.

And the bottomline is that, overall, the kids had a great time, and so did the grown-ups. By the way, couple random things related to all this:

1. One of my resolutions is to blog more


2. The kids enjoyed Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn in the cool new mini-bag (perfect size for kids) at the party -- dairy-free and yummy!


3. I planned on posting photos from last night, but realized I left my digital camera at my friend's house. (I told you we were tired!) I'll add them to this post later in the week. Update: 1/28/07 -- Finally added the photos!!
   

So, Happy New Year everyone!!!!!