WHY???????

I sorted the laundry. I.Totally.Did. ALL OF IT!!! But it snuck in on me. The Little Man left a Pull-Up inside is PJ bottoms and it went through the washer. Somehow I missed it. Maybe because I was doing laundry at 9:30 pm and I was tired. Maybe I need glasses (new glasses, because I already wear glasses). Maybe that's just my luck. But that sucker left on HOLY mess in my washer and all over the giant load of laundry I washed it with.
This is not the first time I've encountered such a thing. See here for last unfortunate incident. The Little Man only wears Pull Ups at night due to continuing accidents, but we may have to rethink this plan after our latest washing machine tragedy. I'd rather wash sheets everyday. OY! The mess these things made. It left a residue on the clothes so I'm rewashing them.
I really hope this load can be saved. All of the Older Boys school pants were in there. DARN YOU PULL UPS AND DARN YOU TIRED EYES!!!

Teenee Beanee Jelly Beans

Looking for some safe Easter candy? How about some Teenee Beanee
Jelly Beans? I called Just Born (the manufacturer) today and they said they are gluten free, there are no dairy derivatives in the ingredients, and there are no nuts or eggs used in this plant.

I tasted the "Country Retreats" flavors and they were really yummy!!



But hold your horses Grandma! Don't be buying these for my boys because they did not agree with my taste assessment. At first they liked them, but then not so much. I'm going to get the "Americana Medley" flavors and see if they like those any better, but the Little Man is NOT a jelly bean fan so far.

But for those of you who do like Jelly Beans and have food allergies, these may be an option for you.

Nervous Laughter And Uncomfortable Silence

The Little Man had his Parent/Teacher conference at his school today. As I thought everything is going well. He's a great kid and very smart. Luckily he behaves better at school than he does at home too. They said he "cooperates (what?) and follows instructions (who's instructions? Certainly not mine). But I'm glad if he's going to have good behavior it's outside the home so at least we look like good parents to the outside world.
The one thing that he needs to work on is large motor skills. He has trouble hopping on one foot and skipping and preforming the more "athletic" tasks. We know he's clumsy. Heck, we just got rid of his booster seat a few weeks ago. Not because he couldn't reach the table but because he keeps falling off the kitchen chair. He's very uncoordinated. We know that. We had the Older Boy take classes at one of those expensive child friendly gyms until he started Kindergarten. We tried that with the Little Man but he kept catching every illness the children had and it would trigger severe asthma attacks and after 10 weeks of continual illness in the fall of 2006 we just decided that his immune system couldn't handle that kind of stress so we stopped taking him. This fall with his starting school I was afraid to tax his immune system by putting him in a class with more sick children and the age appropriate gym class that he would be in would be without parents and he was going through enough separation anxiety with school. So again, we opted not to put him in another class. Well, he really needs some kind of physical education/gymnastics class. He needs to work on those large motor skills. So I decided to sign him up at a local, smaller gym around the corner from our house. My neighbor told me about it and I stopped in today to check it out. It's a children's gym, but it's a real gym with real gym equipment. I think he's going to like it and I really think it's going to be good for him. He'll start at the end of March and the class is an hour and a half on Fridays. The first half will be gymnastics and the second half will be ball sports. I hope it's not too long for him. We met "Mr. S." his teacher and he seems very nice, but.... I asked if this was a parent participation class and he said "OH no. The children go in by themselves and you are welcome to sit in the lobby or you can leave for the hour and a half. It is a long time". So I said "Well, the Little Man has multiple food allergies. What do you do with the EPI pen"? And his reply? He laughed. No, I'm serious. He laughed. Looked at me like I had 3 heads and shook his head and said "I don't know what that is". And I stood there dumbfounded. Was he kidding? The secretary said "Oh you just leave it here on my desk. We have another mother who's child has food allergies and she leaves and just leaves it on my desk". To which Mr. S replied "I don't know what that is". And the secretary said "It's a shot. You know, you stick them with it". And I'm standing there with my mouth hitting the floor thinking WHAT THE H_ _ _? So I'll be staying on Fridays. I'll be getting a lot of reading done. And I'm OK with that. The Little Man can hone his large motor skills and maybe I can teach Mr. S. what an EPI pen is. How do you work with children and not know this or are not even aware of it? I hope this is a good place. It was packed with people, but this did not give me a warm fuzzy.

Are You Up For Taking A Food Allergy Survey?

If you're a parent of a child with food allergies, click Here. The Survey is being conducted by Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. It takes about 15 minutes to complete and asks questions about your knowledge of food allergies, how food allergies affect your daily life, and how food allergies affect you emotionally.


One of the questions asked if I felt stressed about leaving my child in the care of others recently (I'm paraphrasing).
My answer was yes (it will give you a "degree" on which to answer) and my stress level wasn't major, but I did feel stressed about it. One recent situation was when my neighbor took the Little Man from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm to have him play with her daughter for the day. I took all his food, but the neighbor (who is extremely bright and capable) has never watched him before. I had demonstrated the EPI to her before and we went over it again that day and we covered what to do in the case of an emergency and what things were not ok for him to play with (PLAY DOUGH) etc. but I was still nervous. The second recent occurrence was when he stayed for "Lunch Bunch" at his preschool. I didn't sign him up for this last semester because of his separation anxiety, but I thought it would be good for him to participate this semester (and good for me too). Normally he gets out of preschool at 11:30 am, but with Lunch Bunch, he stays until 2:30 pm. He eats lunch, does crafts, plays with toys, and has "quiet time" until I pick him up. I was nervous because I know his teachers know what to do with him, but I wasn't sure about the other teachers. Luckily HIS teachers were the 2 that over saw Lunch Bunch this time. Although they do this every week, I only signed him up for 4 sessions (at $20.00 a session, I couldn't afford any more). Everything worked out really well since his teachers were there. As soon as the lunches came out, the teachers got really nervous and decided it was better to have him sit at his own little picnic table just slightly away from the other kids so that his food wasn't near anyone else. The school is supposed to be peanut free (although we know that peanut does get in because parents forget) but it's the wheat allergy that really freaked them out. I'm glad they were freaked out. That means that it's in their minds and that they are also afraid he'll have a reaction. So I think I can relax (even slightly) for the next Lunch Bunch.

One thing I notice about these little outings is that they are just as good for me as they are for the Little Man. It gives him independence and it helps me to get used to relinquishing some of my control. Up to this point I have been the sole person responsible for taking care of the Little Man and his food allergies. But he can't reside under my wing forever. I need to start letting go and trusting that he will be ok. That's not to say that I'm still not stressed or that I don't say a prayer before I let him out of my sight, but I don't think they'll let me go to college with him so it's a good thing we're starting now.

If you get a chance take the survey. It's well worth the 15 minutes.

We're Having A Snow Day

School was cancelled on a count of too much snow, so I decided we should go out and play in it. I haven't taken the boys out much this winter because I'm really not a snow and cold person. I don't ski or ice skate and I haven't been sled riding since I was a kid, but I thought they'd love it. Older Boy had a blast but the Little Man started crying 5 minutes after we went outside. He was cold, his glove fell off, he got snow in his boots etc. He takes after his Mommy. Always cold and whining. I managed to keep them out there an hour, but we didn't get our snow man built. We built a snow blob instead. I'm sure if I had more time he would have been a beautiful snow man (lol).











Hi honey, I shoveled the walk for you:


It wasn't fun:




Our redneck snow blob:








No feed for the birds. Only snow:

No, The Paint Fumes Didn't Get Me

Actually the painting went very well! Much better than I expected and way better than I could have hoped for. I started trimming at 9 am while hubby took the boys to Grandma and Papa's and he joined in when he returned. We painted all day with only a lunch break and were finished and cleaned up by 6:30 pm.
I still like the "Toasted Pine Nut" color which is a good thing because I figured since our room was so large I'd buy 3 gallons and we only used 2 gallons. Want to guess what color we'll be painting the boys bathroom in a few weeks?
Sunday was Church/Sunday school and a trip to Home Depot for socket and light switch covers. Then I figured since we were on such a roll I needed to go shopping for new art work for above our bed. And we found it. 4.5 hours and 6 stores later we finally found it. Man, there is some really ugly art out there. The boys were beside themselves with boredom at this point but I'm so grateful they hung in there for most of the day. The room is now ready for the window treatments to arrive next month. I need to get more things for the walls, but I don't want to do anything else until I see how much wall space the window treatments take up.
I'll take some pictures later. It's not all that exciting and I don't have any "before" pictures but I have some lovely "during" pictures.

It's snowing like a beast here today. I had no idea that this was coming and was totally shocked this morning when I woke up to multiple school closing and bad weather. Older Boys school was open and once I got out of our little neck of the woods the roads weren't too bad. We passed a road levy here not too long ago, but apparently that didn't go for plowing. I have to leave to pick Older Boy back up from school in 30 minutes and I'm not looking forward to the drive. I hope a plow made it over here by now.

Other than that, nothing exciting has been happening here. But that can be a good thing. Some days, I like just average everyday life.

How I'm Spending My Saturday

Remember this post ? Well it's not so funny any more. Today is "D" day or should I say "P" day. We are painting our Master Bedroom. I spent last night taping and we moved all the furniture into the middle of the room. I'll start trimming while Hubby takes the boys over to Grandma's house where they will spend a fun filled day eating junk and getting away with murder. I'm also starting to think that working out with weights with Gilad on Fit Tv yesterday probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had. I'm so out of shape that my back is killing me, so this ought to make today extra interesting and fun (although I have to say that I LOVE Gilad's work outs and if you have Fit Tv or Discovery Health Network give them a try).

So wish us luck today! We have to paint 14 foot peaks and I have a feeling by the end of the day I'm going to despise the color "Toasted Pine Nut".

A New Food Allergy Wiki

This looks promising!

Innate Health Foundation Announces New Wiki for Food Allergy Resources
Food Allergy and IBS charity launches website to collect and share information about restaurants, food products, recipes, etc. for the food allergy and food intolerance affected community

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) February 21, 2008 -- The Innate Health Foundation is proud to announce the launch of a wiki-style website to serve the food allergy/intolerance community: The IHFWiki. The IHFWiki has information for the food allergy/intolerance community about restaurants, food products, food producers, recipes and more. This is the first Internet service specifically designed to provide people with food allergies/intolerances a central location for information about food products and restaurants and to give food producers and restaurants a free, neutral opportunity to communicate with the food allergy/intolerance community. "The IHFWiki is a godsend -- it makes it so easy to find someplace to eat or find the foods I need" reported one user.

To read the entire article, click Here

To check out the actual Wiki, click Here

My Allergy Friendly Find For The Day

I was plugging around blog land looking to see what was going on in the allergy world when I stumbled across this:

The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

Yes, my friends, Cybele Pascal has a blog. Now maybe this is only news to me, but I was totally excited to find it. She's not posting much because she's currently writing a new book, but there is some great information in previous posts and I'm sure more great posts to come.

The simplest things make me happy!

Make Your Own Gluten Free Pasta

I'm not sure I can do this because we avoid egg too, but I thought this article was interesting and I'm certainly going to try and make my own gluten free, egg free pasta.

Making your own pasta is fun, frugal — and better

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, February 20, 2008

By Gail Ciampa

Journal Food Editor

I’m a big fan of Silvia Bianco, Connecticut chef and author of the cookbook Simply Sauté. I love getting her monthly newsletters online with her homespun philosophy. You can visit her Web site at www.chefsilvia.com.

Last month’s offering seemed relevant to our penny pinching stories about how to eat better for less.

She wrote “Sometimes easy doesn’t mean fast. Making fresh pasta is certainly far more time-consuming than store-bought but the process is easy and the results are so worth it. It’s even better than store-bought fresh pasta. It’s not as heavy and it melts in your mouth.”

Furthermore, making your own means you can make gluten-free pasta, which is important for many people with allergies. Here’s a recipe for the pasta and her puttanesca sauce.

Here are Bianco’s rules for making dough.

•Kneading dough is fun but don’t overdo it. Just knead until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough resembles rough clay.

•Let the dough rest under a plate for at least 15 minutes before you begin working with it and then knead again for a few minutes until smooth.

•Roll the dough as thinly as possible (whether by hand or with a machine) and then flour both sides before cutting it into the desired shape.

•Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water.

You can go HERE for the rest of the article and the gluten free recipe.

Article from The Providence Journal (www.projo.com )

Enjoy Life and Rachel Ray

The Following is a press release I received:

Enjoy Life Snickerdoodles Will Be Rachael Ray’s ‘Snack of the Day’ on Feb 18
Ray shares with national audience how great allergen- and gluten-free cookies can taste
SCHILLER PARK, IL, February 14, 2008 – Enjoy Life Foods, the country’s leading allergy-friendly, gluten-free company, received an amazing Valentine’s Day gift today when it learned that its popular Snickerdoodle cookies would be featured as the “Snack of the Day” on the nationally syndicated Rachael Ray Show on Monday, February 18, 2008.
Snickerdoodles, classic soft cookies topped with cinnamon sugar, are the most popular flavor among the company’s wide variety of allergy-friendly and gluten-free foods. Like all of Enjoy Life’s delicious products, Snickerdoodles are specially made to be gluten-free and free of the eight most common allergens*. Also, they are all natural, trans fat free and made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free bakery.

“We are extremely proud to be featured on the Rachael Ray Show,” says Scott Mandell, president, CEO and co-founder of Enjoy Life Foods. “We’re happy that even more people with diet restrictions will learn they can find great cookies made especially for them as close as their local grocery stores,” he adds. “Even if you don’t follow a special diet, our Snickerdoodles are a darn good cookie.”

Approximately 135 audience members of the Rachael Ray Show will receive a free box of Enjoy Life Snickerdoodle cookies and sample them on the air. For show times and local channels in your area, visit the show’s website at http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show-info/showtimes/

Enjoy Life Foods offers 21 delicious allergy-friendly and gluten-free products including soft-baked cookies, snack bars, granola, bagels, semi-sweet chocolate chips and nut-free trail mixes, all of which are made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free facility. Each product is free of the eight most common allergens*, certified gluten-free (by the Gluten Free Certification Organization), casein-free, all natural, trans fat free and certified Kosher. All Enjoy Life products are vegetarian and many are also vegan.

Enjoy Life products can be found at natural food and select grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada. Visit www.enjoylifefoods.com for store locations and more.

Rachel did a show last year on cooking for food allergies. First food allergies with Martha, Trace Atkins, and now on Rachel Ray. It's really nice to see the national attention our cause is getting. Hopefully with more awareness comes more understanding.

Kyle Dine and Epi Man

Kyle Dine, a food allergy musician, is coming to town near us very soon. You can check out this interview he did and his performance of his song EPI Man. How cool that he is taking his food allergies and trying to teach children more about food allergies and trying to teach children who have food allergies not to be afraid.

Sentinel - City Of Destiny

Sentinel - City of Destiny by Landel Bilbrey



A couple months ago I was sent the book Sentinel - City of Destiny
by the author Landel Bilbrey. He asked me read the book and let him know what I thought.
Sentinel – City of Destiny is not your ordinary book. It is a book written around God’s word and written in such a way as to instruct boys on how to grow up to be good, godly men. This book is a wondrous story of two young boys and their journey to the mythical city of Sentinel. The story is full of kings, dragons and knight type tales. All of these are metaphors for things that we read about in the bible. Throughout the book there are quotes from the book of “Logos” which is actually the book of John.
The story is full of exciting twists and there is much action to keep the readers interest. But that is only part of the books appeal. The main appeal is that this is a teaching book. It is designed for children to read along with their parents or teachers and the main concept of the book is to show boys how to become strong men in today’s world. There are actual exercises in the back of the book that you can do with your children to help them gain a better understanding of what they are actually reading.
Throughout the book, the main characters are severely affected by the decisions that they make. The story clearly shows how if you make one decision you will go down one road, and if you make the opposite decision you will be led down another road and the boys’ consequences are completely different. Obviously this is true in our own lives. Sometimes we forget to impart that wisdom upon our children and unfortunately they are left to find that out on their own and sometimes it is at their own detriment.
The book talks about what is a “True Man” and how we can find the answer to that question in scripture. God has given us all the tools we need to make the right choices and be the best we can, we just need to know where to find them and then discuss them with our children.
Many of the struggles that our children will face today are brought up in the story and in the exercises in the back of the book. This gives parents an opening to discuss how children should handle them and how God says we should handle them. There is a correct way. And we should be teaching them to our children prior to them experiencing it for themselves.
Many of the books for children today have secular themes or politically correct teachings and for Christians these do not always fall in line with our values. This is a book that has a decidedly God centered story and theme and one that you can feel comfortable having your children read and one that you may actually learn something from too. It’s the type of book that has been sorely lacking on our books shelves.
Thank you Landel for bringing it to my attention and thank you for giving me the opportunity to review it and to let others know the Sentinel-City of Destiny is available for families. As Landel says in the opening of the book “The world today and tomorrow needs godly men. How will our boys know unless we tell them?”

Not only is it a wonderful teaching book but it’s an excellent story that really grabbed my attention.

This book is geared for ages 8 and up. And is family friendly. I highly recommend it to families with young boys!
You can go here Sentinel - City of Destiny to see how to order the book or to read the first six chapters.

My Poor Husband

Ring....

Shhh... it's Daddy's voicemail...

"Hi Honey, it's me, I'm leaving Circuit City right now and I just bought a new T.V. for our bedroom and a new DVD player. The man is coming Monday to hook it all up. Hope you are having a good day. Work hard and make lots of money. Love you".

I'm so bad....

(And yes I did...)

Do You Really Want To Get Me Started?

OH NO YOU DON'T!!! So Martha announced her "Big Idea" winner(s) yesterday and the food allergy group got the shaft. Apparently it tied with the Pet Magazine idea. I'm not sure how that's possible since it received 57% of the votes and won the popular vote. Did we not win the electoral vote? Were there state delegates at stake? Hanging chads perhaps? How do you tie when something had 57% of the vote? 100 - 57 = 43. 57 is GREATER THAN 43 making 57 the WINNER. And actually there were other ideas voted on so the Pet Magazine didn't actually get 43% of the vote. But anyway what does this all mean?

It means: The Pets are getting their own magazine.
The allergy friendly recipes will be incorporated into Martha's 3 other magazines and made easier to find on marthastewart.com. We are not getting a magazine.
Um, did I miss something? I thought the contest was for an allergy friendly magazine.
I'm glad that there was more of a spot light on the need for more allergy friendly recipes done by a main stream source, but if you didn't really want to use this idea, then you shouldn't have promoted it.
The allergy community really rallied behind this cause and the contest wasn't really fair. Yes, I know, life's not fair, but then don't have a contest. Don't ask us to vote. All you're doing is trying to drum up more publicity off the backs of people who were hoping to get a little help from you.

You can watch the whole thing here:



Yes, I'm disappointed, but I also feel used. Should I be surprised? No I Should Not.

Just Random Stuff

So what's been happening at the home of Chupieandjsmama? Not much. The birthday HOOPLA is finally dying down. Thank goodness. Although it will rev back up this weekend (sans decorations - I took them down because I couldn't take it anymore).
Yesterday was a "snow day". We had some snow, but not a lot. I think school was cancelled because it was 4 degrees. Now today we are getting the snow and I drove white knuckled to drop the Older Boy off and pick him up. I'm just glad that we are home and staying inside. Now we just need Hubby to make it home safely. Maybe we'll get another snow day tomorrow. It's been coming down all day, but it does seem to be tapering off.

Older Boy came home from school with a project for the 100th day of school. We have to come up with 100 things for him to take to school. On Thursday. Valentine's Day. Thanks for the notice. He didn't like any of my suggestions. So what are we doing? Sea shells. Easy enough because I have a ton from our trips to Maryland. Problem? He won't let me put them in a jar because "Mom, they have to be counted and it's my project and it's not how I want it done because it's not what the teacher said to do". So what am I doing? Drilling holes in them and putting them on a string. I need a hole drilled in my head. Luckily I found 50 that were "pre holed" by whatever lived in them before we absconded with them from Maryland. Now I just need 50 more. I can't believe I'm drilling sea shells. I called Hubby at work to ask how to change the battery on the drill and he was highly concerned that I started a home renovation project. No Dear, just drilling some sea shells.

And speaking of Valentine's Day, I still need the boys to write their Valentine's. Older Boy can do his, but I'll be doing the Little Man's. I'm sure some parents have taught their 3 year olds to write their name, but my child is not that advanced so unless they want a scribble, I'll be doing his for him.
I also need to come up with a "healthy snack" for Older Boys school. I think I'll do cheese and crackers. I'm debating on if I should cut the cheese into little heart shapes. Is that just adding unnecessary work onto myself? I'm thinking "yes" but we'll see.
I'm in charge of the Little Man's party. I said I'd be Room Mom, and I guess I didn't realize that meant that Room Mom did everything for ALL the parties. I'm not complaining (well, maybe a little) because I get to be there and make sure everything is safe and that he doesn't come into contact with anything he's allergic to. But I was kind of hoping that Room Mom was just the facilitator not the coordinator. Oh well.... So I have to come up with 2 games (and the teacher informed me that she wants games that involve a lot of activity. I wish she just told me what she wanted me to do ;D), snack, paper products, and take home treat. I'm stumped on the snack. I think I may do Cherrybrook Kitchens sugar cookies (with red sprinkles) and red grapes. Kind of an odd combo, but one thing is healthy and both are red.
So that's the last few days in my totally exciting life. Bet you wish you could be drilling holes into sea shells.

Applegate Farms Hot Dog Recall Due To Undeclared Milk and Soy

Although these aren't being sold in stores any more, I'm posting this because people may have them in their freezer. I'm really disturbed to see this. When I called Applegate Farms they assured me that Gluten and Casein weren't in any of their products and that there weren't any cross contamination issues. I saw this alert over at www.kidswithfoodallergies.org :

Milk and Soy Allergy Alert

WASHINGTON, Feb 8, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for approximately 8,784 pounds of hot dog products because the products may contain non-fat dry milk and soy, known allergens, which are not declared on the label. The products were produced at Dietz & Watson, Inc., a Philadelphia, Pa., establishment.

This public health alert was initiated after a consumer complaint investigated by FSIS and Applegate Farms confirmed that the products were mislabeled.

The products subject to this public health alert include:

* 16-ounce packages of 'Applegate Farms Certified Organic, the GREAT ORGANIC UNCURED HOT DOG.'
* 16-ounce packages of 'Applegate Farms Certified Organic STADIUM ORGANIC UNCURED BEEF HOT DOGS.'

Each package also bears the establishment number 'Est. 9574' inside the USDA mark of inspection and a use-by or freeze-by date of 'JAN 15 08.' The hot dog products were produced on Nov. 21, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

Based on product shelf life, these products would no longer have been sold in grocery stores after Jan. 15, 2008. However, these products could be in consumers' freezers and it is important that consumers look for them.

FSIS has received one consumer complaint of an allergic reaction due to the consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an allergic reaction should contact a physician.

Media with questions should contact Linda Boardman at Applegate Farms 1-800-587-5858, ext. 700. Consumers with questions should contact Gina Asoudegan at Applegate Farms 1-800-587-5858, ext. 800.

A Week Of Birthday Celebrations

So basically we've beat a dead horse and it ain't over yet. We celebrated Older Boys actual birthday on Tuesday and he had his "friend" party yesterday at a "bouncer" place. I think a good time was had by all.
Today was supposed to be the family party, but due to bad weather the party was cancelled and rescheduled for next weekend.

Here a few highlights of the birthday week:

Favorite Ingredient Friday (Chocolate Edition)

Who doesn't love chocolate? I know I do. I gave it up for lent, so since I can't eat it, I'm going to post about it. This weeks F.I.F. is about Chocolate for Valentine's Day. I'm posing 2 recipes. One that's Not allergy friendly and that I wish I could make and one that is allergy friendly and still tasty.

NOT ALLERGY FRIENDLY:
From http://www.allrecipes.com/

White Chocolate Cheesecake with White Chocolate Brandy Sauce:

INGREDIENTS
1. 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate
2. 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
3. 3/4 cup white sugar
4. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5. 3 eggs
6. 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
7. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 2 cups finely chopped white chocolate
9. 2 fluid ounces brandy


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Wrap the outside of a 10 inch springform pan with foil. Grease the inside of the pan.
2. Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
3. Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Pour mixture into the prepared springform pan.
4. Place cheesecake pan in a water bath filled with warm water. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set before removing from pan.
5. To make White Chocolate Brandy Sauce: Place 1 cup heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Watch carefully so it doesn't boil over. Pour hot cream over 2 cups of finely chopped white chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until melted. Add brandy and continue stirring until incorporated. Pour over chilled cheesecake and serve.

Allergy Safe Recipe:
Sunbutter Buckeyes - safe for peanut, tree nut, gluten, egg, and dairy allergies



Ingredients
1. 1 jar of Sunbutter
2. 3 cups of safe powdered sugar
3. 1/2 cup dairy free margarine
4. 1 bag of Enjoy Life chocolate chips
5. 2 Tbs. shortening

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl mix the entire jar of Sunbutter, the margarine, and the powdered sugar together. Line baking sheets with wax paper.
2. Roll Sunbutter/sugar mixture into 1/2 - 1 inch balls and place on wax paper lined sheet.
3. Place in refrigerator.
4. Put Enjoy Life chocolate chips and shortening in a bowl and put in the microwave for 30 second intervals and mix in between each interval. Only go until chocolate chips are completely melted (approx. 4 - 30 second intervals).
5. Dip Sunbutter balls into melted chocolate and stick a toothpick in the middle of the ball to remove. Place back on cookie sheet.
6. When finished place chocolate coated balls back in refrigerator until chocolate is set.
Enjoy!

Visit http://www.overwhelmedwithjoy.blogspot.com/ for more chocolate bliss!

Some Mysteries May Never Be Solved

I'm driving the kids home from school and am stopped at a very long red light. I'm totally lost in thought, staring out in space, thinking of the 1,000 things that I have to do. For once the kids are quiet in the back seat. The radio is on low and for once we are not listening to The Wiggles or The Cars soundtrack. It's just some random radio station and I'm totally not paying attention to what's on. When through my haze I realize that the Violent Femmes are playing and I turn it up a little bit and start to head bop. When from the back seat I hear the Little Man (age 3) say "This song is called Blister In The Sun". I'm snapped back to reality and I turn to look at him and demand to know how he knew that. His reply "I just do". Although I like the song, I don't own any Violent Femmes CD's and am not a huge fan so exactly how did he know that? We may never know the answer to that one.

Are Phthalates A Problem?

I've read several articles like this one from CBS News questioning the safety of phthalates in baby shampoos, lotions, powders, etc. Most of these we don't use and never really did, with the exception of the baby shampoo. That one we still use. The Little Man has very sensitive skin, eczema, and with his multiple allergies I'm reluctant to try new products. Plus we like the "no tears" part of the baby shampoos. We generally stick with one or two brands. But after reading these articles I'm questioning the safety of some of these products. I've always questioned the safety of the products I use. I can't pronounce almost all of the ingredients in the shampoo that I use. But that's for me and it's not that I don't care about myself, it's just that I'm too lazy to do anything about it (and I'm cheap too). But it's different with my children. I wouldn't knowingly let them play with hazardous material so am I going to bath them in it? I don't think so.
So I've been thinking of looking for a new product, but where to start?
Today I took the Little Man to a new hair cut place. It's one of those ones that's a "children's salon" and they let the kids sit in a race car to cut their hair. I've been taking him to a low priced walk in shop but they've butchered him the last couple of times so even though it's cheap, a $12.00 hair cut is only worth it if it looks good. While at the new place, I decided to check out their products and I discovered that they carry this line: California Baby. It's all natural and organic and the best part is that on the label it says: NO NUT OILS, GLUTEN, SOY, OAT, OR DAIRY. How cool is that? It also contains no sodium lauryl sulfate, no DEA, no parabens, no sodium benzoate, no benzolc acid, no benzyl alcohol, or phenoxyethanol. I have no idea what that stuff is, but I'm glad it's not in there.
The products are pricey but can you put a price on allergy friendly safety? And the coolest thing is that I bought bubble bath. The Little Man has never had bubble bath because of his sensitive skin. I can't wait to give him a bath tonight and let him play in the bubbles.
California Baby has a full line of products including shampoo/body wash, bubble bath, sunscreen, bug repellent, diaper care and more. I'm not affiliated with them in any way. I just wanted to share my all natural, organic, allergy friendly, phthalate free find.

A Contest

5 Minutes For Mom is hosting a contest to win an Oreck XL lightweight vacuum . This little beauty is not only lightweight, but has intellasheild that inhibits bacteria growth. Who couldn't use that? I have two boys. Two messy, nasty boys. You know there's bacteria in there somewhere.
So go to 5 Minutes For Mom to check out the contest and sign up. Post on your blog about the Oreck and you're entered. You have until February 28th. Good Luck!

Food Allergy Support Group

Last night I went to a food allergy support group meeting. I think it was my 4th or 5th one. It's parents of food allergic children getting together to share what we know and trying to figure out what we don't know. Usually there is a guest speaker and last nights was a Nutritionist. She was very helpful and very informative. I told her what the Little Man is allergic to (wheat, rye, barley, egg, milk, peanut, and tree nut - everyone always says they feel sorry for us, but it really sounds worse than it is. Thank god he's not allergic to corn or soy) and I gave her a brief run down on what he eats and told her that basically he's picky as heck. He loves fruit, will eat some chicken and beef (this is new for him so he's not big on this yet), will eat all natural, organic lunch meats (nitrate/nitrite free), soy yogurt, rice bread, soy milk and other than that it's hot dogs (Hebrew National - not the healthiest), French fries and junk food. I worry that he's not getting what he needs but the boy is just so picky. His favorite vegetable is peas and he won't eat any other vegetable.
Basically she said that as long as he's not small for his age (which he's not. He's 3.5 and weighs 40 pounds so he's actually a little on the chubby side) and as long as there's no vitamin deficiency he's fine. At his age "picky" comes with the territory and it's harder when you have a child with an already limited diet. We try to limit the hot dogs, but I need to do a better job. He WILL NOT eat organic nitrate free hot dogs. It's like he knows they're not Hebrew National and he just refuses to eat them. It drives me crazy.
She suggested that I offer him what we are eating for dinner and if he won't eat it (like last nights taco's) then offer him one other thing and then nothing else. At least by me giving him the taco's he's still "getting" what we're eating and hopefully within the next year he'll starting eating what we do. If I don't offer it to him, he'll never try it and it takes at least 10 times of a child being exposed to a food before they'll actually eat it (on average).
She also suggested that I cut back on soy with him. That I should start cooking with rice milk vs. soy milk. This way he's not getting so much soy and his body doesn't build up an intolerance to it. Makes sense. So I'll have to pick up some gluten free rice milk when I'm out.
But she did make me feel better that he's fine and his "picky" eating is totally normal. So for now we'll offer him what we have for dinner but still keep the Road's End Mac and Chreese
on hand.

Now I just need to limit his potato chip intake (mine too).

To see if there is a food allergy support group in your area go HERE - AAFA.ORG

The First Day Of Lent

If there ever is a day of the year when you can spot Catholics at a glance, Ash Wednesday is it. It is the one time when Catholics literally wear their faith on their foreheads. In fact, Masses on Ash Wednesday are better attended than Masses on most holy days, except Christmas.

Ash Wednesday—February 6 this year—marks the beginning of Lent for Catholics. The ashes we receive on our forehead in the shape of a cross serve as an outward sign of our sinfulness and need for penance. The ashes also symbolize our mortality, a reminder that one day we will die and our bodies will return to dust. Hence the traditional words, “Remember that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.”

The tradition of receiving ashes has its origins in the Old Testament, where sinners performed acts of public penance. It was Pope Urban II who in the 11th century recommended that all Catholics take part in the practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday. In the 12th century it became customary that the ashes used on Ash Wednesday were made by burning the previous year’s palm branches.

Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. According to Church law, Catholics older than the age of 14 are supposed to abstain from meat. In addition, those between the ages of 18 and 59, not including pregnant or nursing mothers, should eat only one full meal. Smaller amounts of food—not as much as a full meal—may be eaten in the morning and either at lunchtime or dinner, depending on when you eat your full meal.

Happy Birthday To My 6 Year Old Boy

Six Years Old! How can this be? This has been quite the year for you. You started organized sports, left your preschool years behind and began Kindergarten and since it's at your grade school, for all intents and purposes your gradeschool career. You lost your first tooth (actually 3 at the current time). You've had your first over night stay away from home without mom and dad (with grandma and papa, but still...). You have become such a big boy! And you are a boy. Not a toddler, not a preschooler, but a boy. And you are fiercely independant but you still have that gentle, loving heart that makes you who you are. Please always stay sweet!
It scares me how big you are getting. These last six years are a blur and have gone by so quickly. I'm scared to see how quickly the next six are going to go.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDEST SON! I hope your day is wonderful and I hope your 6th year is a wonderous one.

I love you!!

There's Still Time....

To order your dairy free, gluten free, peanut free chocolate from Chocolate Emporium that is. They are still taking Valentine's Day orders until February 6. So hurry or you may miss out on this:

Martha Stewart and Food Allergies

A few weeks ago Barb pionted out that Martha Stewart has a Blog. I quickly added it to my blog line feeds and have been checking up on Martha every time she posts. How cool is that? Martha Stewart and I have something in common.... We both blog. And believe me, that's all we have in common. But Martha is taking a poll on her blog to see who at her company will come up with the next "BIG IDEA" and one of the Big Ideas is a magazine devoted to recipes for people with food allergies and food intolerances. So please go and vote for this:



Alexis, Deputy Home Editor
Special publication catering to those with food allergies and sensitivities that would include recipes
Big Idea: To publish a special magazine that offers delicious allergy-friendly recipes, making life for people with food allergies and sensitivities easier and more delicious. Millions of people, including myself, can't eat nuts, dairy, wheat or gluten, and I’d like to empower people to make great recipes even if they can't use all the standard ingredients.


You can vote once a day every day until February 7!