Angry Mama Cat!

Yep, I'm angry, not sleepy, mama cat this week. Last Friday my son's preschool had its Valentine's Day party. I get anxious about these sort of things anyway because I know there's a ton of food, candy and chaos which is not a good mix when someone there has multiple food allergies like my son. However, to add to the anxiety, I found out that the teacher was going to be away that day to help her daughter out with her new baby. I'm not blaming her in any way for not being at school that day. However, it made a bad situation worse because the person in charge, the teacher's assistant is not that educated about food allergies. In addition, the substitute was completely new, not the usual one there, and she had no clue about my son's allergies. Obviously, I left the classroom that day feeling very concerned but didn't feel right dragging my son out of there either.

When I picked him up later that morning I felt some relief as the teacher's assistant handed me a Ziploc bag full of candy and valentines. She only put the candy-free valentines in his box so I could separate the candy at home before Joshua would be exposed to it. On the car ride home I talked to my son about the party and asked about food consumed, etc. He assured me that he only ate the cupcake and candy I had packed for him. So, I felt some of my anxiety melting away and started thinking about the weekend.

Later that afternoon, I found him in the family room with his pant legs hoisted up as he was scratching his red, bumpy, inflamed legs. His skin had been perfectly clear that a.m. so I knew that this was a new reaction. Again I interrogated him about what he'd eaten at the party that day and, again, he assured me he hadn't eaten anything he shouldn't have. I chalked it all up to poor hand-washing practices at the school. The other kids must have eaten something with allergens, not washed their hands and then spread it all over the toys and surfaces before my son played with them.

He continued to suffer through the weekend, constantly scratching. Yesterday morning he presented my husband and I with a homemade valentine and a gift bag - something he made in school. It had a cute little poem on the outside that the teachers had printed up and inside were some red hearts he had cut out and kissed for us. In addition, there were three Hershey's Kisses. Cue up the anxious music here. I asked who had put the chocolate in there. He told me he did. I asked when, he told me Friday. Mystery solved. As everyone who's ever opened a bag of Hershey Kisses before knows, there's always at least one candy unwrapped from the foil. Therefore, any wrapped candies are likely to get small traces of chocolate on them. This chocolate has dairy in it as well as soy. In addition, there's the possibility of cross-contamination with the Kisses that have peanut butter in them. Obviously, my son has never had any such thing. Here's what I picture happened. My son handled the candies and maybe got some trace ingredients on his fingers. Then (gross out factor coming up), since he has a cold, he probably swiped the mucus running out of his nose and popped that finger in his mouth. All of this would happen in a matter of seconds as he's learned to move faster with his finger than a mommy can get to a tissue.

School was closed today and I was unable to discuss this all with the director. However, it seems to me that it should be common sense that a boy with all of his allergies should not be handling any such product. It wouldn't have been so hard for the teacher to put those Kisses in herself and wouldn't have affected the gift one bit. I kept the red hearts he kissed for me but I did throw those Kisses right in the garbage. I know that his life is going to be filled with battles like these unless he outgrows his allergies. However, it just makes me feel very sad that we have to worry about every little detail like this. I hope that kindergarten is better next year when the public school by law will have to accommodate his needs. I'm not by any means suggesting that the candy shouldn't have been in the classroom. However, he should not have been touching it.

In other news, we have his first appointment with an occupational therapist tomorrow to evaluate his fine motor skills. I'll let you know how that goes.

As for me, I experienced some nice weight loss last week and reached the goal I had set for myself for the beginning of March. I attribute that to decreased calorie intake (I average about 1550 a day now as opposed to the 1750 at the start of this diet) and increased physical activity. However, I'm not sure if this number is going to hold as I really overindulged on Sunday when we went to a Thai restaurant. I ate half a duck. Yep, you read that right. Half a duck - at least 1000 calories and that doesn't include the coconut milk-based soup I had before that. At home, I had a nice glass of mead while my husband and I watched a movie. I'm back on track today so, hopefully, I won't see too much of a weight gain this week.

I wrote an article, hooray!

A friend of mine has created a website for authors to post their articles. The writers make money when people click on an ad. I figured, what do I have to lose, so I wrote an article this week. I'm feeling pretty good about it so I'm going to post it here too. I'm hoping that my writing skills aren't too dusty after years of neglect. Let me know what you think!

Birthday Parties and Your Food-Allergic Child

When your child has food allergies something as simple as an invitation to a friend's birthday party can cause a great deal of anxiety. However, with a little planning and preparation, your child can safely attend a birthday party and have a great time too.

The first step is to contact the parents of the birthday child by phone or e-mail and inform them that your child has food allergies. This will help to get you over a couple of hurdles: You'll be able to find out what food is being served and you'll help the host parent to make any necessary accommodations. For example, the parent may choose to make a goody bag for your child that has toys or crafts in it instead of food.

Once you know what food is being served you can decide what's safe for your child and if you're comfortable with them eating it. It is not appropriate to ask the host parent to provide special foods for your child and never assume that the other parent is aware of issues like cross-contamination or hidden ingredients. If you know the other food that is being served, i.e., pretzels, potato chips, candy, etc. you can bring your own safe versions when necessary. Your child will feel better eating something that is similar to what the other party goers are enjoying and you can relax knowing that their level of exposure is reduced. This means that you may need to bake your own cupcakes or cake. It's helpful to double recipes and freeze extras when you're doing baking so you always have something ready on short notice.

While at the party there are several things that you can do to reduce your child's exposure to allergens. Obviously, when your child is younger, it's best if you attend the party as well. However, if your child will be attending solo, you can ask the host parent to help out with a few things:

1. Have your child seated at the end of the table where they will only have one other person next to them.

2. Have your child's safe foods served on the same party ware that the other children have.

3. Ask the host parent to provide wet wipes for kids to clean their hands on after eating. Of course, the host may appreciate it if you provide those wet wipes yourself.

Depending on the severity of your child's allergies you may wish to bring an EpiPen, and an anti-histamine. That way, if the worst situation happens, you are prepared and can give your child the care they need. Obviously, if you have an EpiPen you should practice with the trainer pen. If your child is old enough to attend on their own, have them practice using it as well and make sure they understand what the signs of an allergic reaction are.

Educate your child before they go even if you're attending. Explain that they should only eat the food that's provided or that you've identified as safe. Encourage them to wash their hands after eating and when they return home and to never put any thing in their mouths (i.e., noisemakers) that someone else may have used. Talk about the fun activities at the party and try to steer the emphasis away from the food.

If you follow these few tips the whole experience should go smoothly and your child can enjoy the celebration regardless of their allergies.

Yummy muffins!

I found this great recipe called simple muffins today.

I use vegweb.com all the time for recipes even though I'm not vegetarian anymore because they have great ideas for desserts free of my son's allergens (dairy, egg, soy and peanuts). Not only was this a very easy recipe to make it really tastes yummy. I'm not supposed to have wheat since I have an intolerance for it but I couldn't resist sampling just one! Anyway, here's the recipe as I made it:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups organic brown sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
1/4 canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit
Now combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
Combine water, oil and applesauce and add to dry ingredients.
Place baking cups in a muffin pan (or use silicone muffin cups like I did on a cookie sheet) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
I had a yield of 12 muffins (picture only shows nine because we ate three before I took the shot!) but it really depends on how much you pour into each muffin cup.
These were extremely sweet and now my son is super hyper so I think next time I'll only use a cup of sugar.