Maximizing your Twitter Account

(Taken from http://www.wegohealth.com/ )

"Twitter Power Tools for Health Activists*" is the second in a series of webinars designed to help you make the most of your Twitter account.

During this 45 minute presentation, we'll give you a guided tour of some of the most useful third party twitter applications to help you save time, reach more tweeps, and take tweeting to the next level.

Joining the webinar is quick, easy, and free:
To join the presentation of "Twitter Power Tools for Health Activists" on Wednesday, June 3rd at Noon Eastern Time, follow the steps below:

1. Sign in or Register for a free WEGO Health account at www.wegohealth.com/register .
2. RSVP to the event from the "Events" page on WEGO Health: http://community.wegohealth.com/events/twitter-power-tools-for-health
3. After you RSVP, you'll receive a confirmation email from WEGO Health. Be sure to respond to reserve your spot!

Please note: An RSVP alone does not reserve your place in the webinar!

"Twitter Power Tools for Health Activists" will be presented by Shwen Gwee. Shwen is a very active practitioner of social media - he blogs regularly on the Med 2.0 Blog and Podcast, founded the Social Pharmer Unconference and Network, and is highly active on Twitter (@shwen), with over 1,700 followers and more than 5,500 tweets. Shwen's aspirations are to combine his background in academia, agency, and industry together with his interest, experience and passion for emerging technologies and new media, in order to drive innovation in science and medicine.

We hope you'll be able to join us on June 3rd! Contact community@wegohealth.com if you have any questions.

*What does that mean, "Health Activist"? Health Activists are people who are passionate about health, care deeply about others, and are driven to share their knowledge and experience for the greater good. If you're discussing health issues on the internet, there's a good chance you're a Health Activist! Take our quiz to find out what type of Health Activist you are: www.wegohealth.com/quick_quiz .

Visit me on WEGO Health http://community.wegohealth.com/profile/Janeen

This years RAST Test: The good, the bad, and the down right confusing

And really the down right reality of RAST testing and allergy testing in general. I'm certainly convinced at this point that it is NOT an exact science (the testing that is).

2008 numbers:
wheat (6->100)
rye (6->100)
barley (5-97.30)
casein(3-3.72)
egg white (3-13.80)
egg yolk (3-5.85)
milk (2-2.50)
almond (1-.59)
Brazil nut (2-.72)
hazelnut (2-2.26)
peanut (1-.70)
dog (4-24.50)
cat (3-3.96)

2009 numbers
wheat (6->100)
rye (6->100)
barley (5-81.80) which I guess actually went down. I thought it was the same.
oat (3-14.10)
casein (3- 5.96)
milk (3-4.36) The casein and milk are confusing because he just passed a challenge on these
almond (2-1.65)
Brazil nut (3-5.19)
Hazulnut (3-12.00)
Peanut (2-.85)
Egg white (3-6.59)
Egg Yolk (3-4.76)The eggs went down too! I thought up but this is encouraging.

ALL of his seasonal grasses, pollens and mold went way up. The doctor said he seems to be "growing into those". But they are controlled by Zyrtec for now so we are leaving that as our action plan.

The Little Man was most upset that his dog number was 3-10.90 and cat was 3-7.42. He really wants a pet and the doctor said he would really hold off on that for now (and I really agree with that).

So really what does all this mean? Well, if you look at the milk numbers and the fact that he passed his challenge in December and eats ice cream (Vanilla Breyers only) and yogurt, it doesn't mean a hill of beans. But it does give us a guide line on some things (sometimes I have no idea exactly WHAT).

We talked about the grains and how unusual it is for someone to have grain numbers that high. My son pulled the short straw on that one. Because of his initial reaction at 10 months (SEVERE) and the high numbers "we'd have to be out of our minds to challenge it" (that's the doctor speaking). The egg did come down some and we may look at it in the future, but we did challenge egg in baked form right before he was two years old and had to use the EPI. I have no interest in re-challenging egg until the numbers come down a bit. Tree nuts went up, so that's a no go. But that leaves peanut. Peanut has been low all along. He's not had any to my knowledge. We found out about the peanut through testing. SO................
we are challenging it July 31st (and I'm freaking out already). The doctor feels that if we can eliminate that one from our list of allergies for school we will have less to worry about and it will also open up more things for him to eat.

I did ask him about the milk numbers and his response "That's why we only use testing as guide and not a rule. The only true way to know if you are allergic to something is by a challenge". We've seen reactions to wheat and egg. Please pray that we don't see one to peanut.

And because of the dog/cat numbers, stay tuned for some pictures of our nifty new fish tank.

How much stuff can you pack into one Memorial Day weekend?

Well, apparently a lot.

Friday, I picked Older Boy up from school and the race weekend began. We headed out to ride Thomas the Tank Engine for the fifth year in a row. Even though Thomas is still a favorite in our house, we thought we'd skip it this year (it's not cheap). But someone that Hubs works with has a lovely girlfriend that works for the railroad that sponsors the ride and she gave us free tickets. THANK YOU so much for that. The boys were so excited! The Little Man was overly excited. He is a Thomas "Fan"atic and gets so excited he gets mean. It's not pretty.



Big Lego/Duplo Thomas



Waiting to ride the rails



Sitting with Daddy riding the Train. The picture before this was of him throwing a fit, but I'll be a nice Momma and not share that one on the internet.



The boys and Thomas

Saturday was yard work day. No pictures of that. I'm sure you all know what that looks like. We still have more to do. It never ends.

Sunday we woke up to this:

The hot air balloon race.



I love the hot air balloon race and where we live seems to suck at least one down into some sort of abyss and this year was no different. This star balloon just couldn't make it and landed in the golf course across the street. Bad for it, good viewing for us.

Look out golfers. Hope no one was tee'ing off.



Then off to church and the festival. The boys loved the rides. The parents not so much. It cost $20.00 for 4 rides. Can you say "rip off"?? I can. They had a bracelet you could buy for $15.00 for unlimited rides but we were limited on time due to the parade and couldn't make use of it (and we would need 2). But the boys had fun.





Then it was lunch time. As we made our way to the rides I noticed a french fry stand that appeared to only sell french fries. I of course had safe food with me but I figured it couldn't hurt to check it out. As we waited in line I could see them cutting actual potatoes for the fries. One man cut and cooked the potatoes while the lady served them and took the money. I was right, they only served fries. And they used vegetable oil, not peanut oil (she showed me). And they didn't salt them. And it was just potatoes and oil. And we got them. And they were delicious. And the Little Man was happy he ate something safe at the festival.

Then we waited an hour and a half to see his brother in the parade. In 85 degree heat. On the side of the street. And he whined at me for an hour and half. Good times.

Hurray, it's the parade!





Here come the scouts!! They had a bee hive float. Three scouts rode on the float and the others inside the pick up truck.



There they are (not the best picture, they don't look very happy)



And parade #2 Memorial Day morning. They march to the cemetery for a very nice ceremony.





I feel like I need another day just to relax. But today is back to work and back to cleaning. Back to real life.

A day to remember

those that gave all.

My second cousin
Patrolman John S. Reese (The Officer Down Memorial Page).

The First Responders fight wars on our streets every day. We pray that they are safe. But that is not always the case. Remember to say thank you when you pass by a First Responder. They work hard and put their lives at risk to keep us safe too.

Happy Memorial Day

My oldest son walked in a parade today. I was very proud and it was a nice moment. However keeping the youngest son quiet and happy during the hour and half we waited for that parade was not so great. Pictures to follow. In the meantime:

Happy Memorial Day



(photo from www.arlingtoncemetery.org/index.htm )

Thank you to all those that serve our country: past, present and future. Your sacrifice and dedication is much appreciated. Thank you is not enough.






My Great Uncle John Maycrovich Jr. Killed WWII, Feb. 3 1943 North Atlantic - MIA.

Preschool graduation and a birthday party

Yesterday was the Little Man's preschool graduation. I didn't cry. At least I tried very very hard not to cry. I did get teary eyed. How can that be our last day at the preschool? We've been going to the preschool for 4 years, starting when Older Boy was three years old. 4 years flies by. It's been a blink of an eye. It's been a good school for us and both boys enjoyed going there and learning their basics, learning about God and Jesus and learning in a play-based warm, loving environment. The teachers and both directors that we had were wonderful with dealing with the Little Man's allergies. We made it through two years with no reactions. I can't ask for more than that. They also made sure to include him in as much as possible and when they couldn't (i.e. birthday celebrations) they made sure he never felt different or left out. Again, I can't ask for more than that.
I hope we will be as lucky at his new school.



The 4 year old class



All 3 classes (3's, 4's and pre-k's)



Singing songs







The graduating 4 year old class of 2009



Getting his certificate


Then the goofing off begins:







We are so proud...

On Sunday one of his school mates had a birthday party at a cool amusement park. We've never been before because of the food allergies, but all was well.

The kiddie coaster:



Taking pretty ladies for a drive in a race car:



The crazy car:



The rocket ship ride:



I brought his safe food and a cupcake for him. And of course lots of wipes. He was still able to eat the pop corn (the ingredients were edible vegetable oil, corn, salt and some kind of yellow coloring [which does not sound appetizing]) and a Popsicle. Those 2 things made him feel extra included. He had a BLAST! What kid wouldn't? Let his summer begin. Older Boy still goes to school until June 9th.

Some light stuff, some not so lite stuff

Because I'm a rainbow kind of girl:

Your rainbow is strongly shaded white and green.

What is says about you: You are an intelligent person. You appreciate quiet moments. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality. People depend on you to make them feel secure.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

What does that mean?? Is white part of the rainbow?? I thought it was ROYGBIV?? I think it was just trying to flatter me.

And now for the not so lite stuff.

Dang. Why do kids grow up too fast? My son came home from school tonight all in a tither because his friend was coming over at 5:15 pm. Well, I had news for him....
He's been not feeling well and the pediatrician could only fit him in at 3:15 pm today which didn't work because A. He was in school (no fever, just nasty nose) B. I was babysitting for a friend. And the ped is "on vacation" Thursday and Friday and obviously Monday (her vacation schedule is starting to get on my nerves...). So I looked on our insurance company website for an alternative and they said "Minute Clinic" (nice place, very helpful, took good care of us). I'm totally taking you to the point of this post through the looooong way.... (no sinus infection, use nose drops and Motrin).
But he was REALLY mad because his friend was coming over with this important information.
What was it, you ask (or maybe you already got bored and left. Sorry)? He wanted to learn how to get on RuneEscape.com (because all the cool kids are doing it. And if yours is one of them, good for you, I just have a different comfort level). You kill stuff (or people) and you can "chat" with other people on line. HELLO? HE'S SEVEN YEARS OLD. NO FREAKIN' WAY!!! This site is so not in my comfort zone. Not on any level for a seven year old. I think he could tell by my reaction that I was totally serious because he didn't put up too much of a fight. And to hammer my point home (like I needed more than NO FREAKIN' WAY....ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR EVER LOVIN' MIND???.....) I went to my handy ratings website (just to see if I was possibly over reacting. I WAS NOT!!). And I showed him that it was rated for 12+ (sorry buddy, you're only 7 years old). And apparently it's very popular and people become obsessed, so if you found me that way, please don't comment. I am the Mother and the Mother has final decision. Thank.You.Very.Much.
Now please don't think that I just totally shot him down. We actually discussed it a bit. We discussed how some people on line aren't who they say they are and how some bad people pretend to be kids even though they are adults just to get kids to be "friends" with them. How some kids go to meet these "friends" and they are never seen again (too much info??). We discussed how I don't agree with the activities of the game (at least for his age). That I didn't think he was old enough to understand what was actually happening and how it affects him. In the end he seemed OK with it. I told him that I loved him very much and that I rarely said no to him so that I must really feel this is bad for him. He agreed (sigh of relief).
Then he happily went to PBS.org and played Curious George. Much more appropriate for a seven year old and his four year old brother looking on (sigh of relief).
Just a taste of things to come.....I'm not ready for this :(

How I'm spending my summer

Take me out to the ball game! This summer I'll be living on the ball field. Both boys are playing baseball this year (the little one - T-ball and the big one - Coaches Pitch). Between practices and games I'm a "baseball mom". It's fun, but can get a bit overwhelming when you add in all the other activities (like school, cub scouts, swimming lessons, scout camp, the fact that I'm teaching VBS....). So if I'm a bit scarce on the blog this summer, you'll know that I'm rooting from the stands.


The Little Man's first up at bat:



He's in the ready position:



Sometimes the dirt is more fun for 4 year olds:



Older Boys first up at bat of the year (it rained like the dickens at his game and was miserable):



Look alive son, look alive:



That's better:



Click here for some baseball trivia about the song "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" by Jack Norworth (1908) from Baseball Almanac.

An Interview with my son about food allergies

Food allergies through the eyes of a four year old.



Mom: How does having food allergies make you feel?

Son: Really sad.

Why is that?

Because I never get to eat wheat, rye, barley, tree nut, egg, peanut and oats and rye. What's rye mom? Can I play on the computer?

Why are you sad that you can't eat those things?

Because they look good, like Pop Tarts, and those things will make me sick.

What do want people to know about your food allergies?

That I need an EPI pen.

Do your food allergies make you nervous?

Uh huh, really nervous.

Why?

Because I'll get really sick and die and because I don't like food allergies.

If you had one wish about your food allergies, what would it be?

Eating it and that I never got sick.

Is there anything good about your food allergies?

No. Because I'll get sick. But I do eat more fruits and vegetables then my brother.

The thing is, we don't talk about his food allergies all that much. Yes, we do the usual "Is this safe" speech 100 times a day, but other than that, we really don't TALK about the food allergies. He is NOT his food allergies. There is so much more to him than that. The blog is about food allergies, but we don't want to make his whole life about his food allergies. And yes, I realize that he's 4 so as his mother and his primary care giver right now MY LIFE is more about food allergies than his and I'm OK with that. I want him to feel as normal as possible but as you can tell by his interview, he doesn't.

My son is not a food allergy. He is:

Smart
Funny
Inquisitive
Frustrating
Loving
Huggable

He loves bedtime stories and for me to sing his bedtime songs

He loves Thomas the Tank Engine even though he'll be 5 in July

He thinks everyone is his friend

He struggles with fine motor skills, but can do math

He is playing T-ball for the first time this year

He loves music and has a good singing voice

He desperately wants a pet

He fights with his brother but sticks up for him when anyone else picks on him

He loves gluten free pizza, Glutino pretzels and potato chips

He is all boy and he's stolen my heart

Yes, he has food allergies and it's hard on him and we deal with it the best we can. But in my heart of hearts my dream for him is live a full and normal life. And I KNOW that he can do that, even with these darn allergies. He's amazing.

Party, Party, Party!!

Party your butt off, party till you puke, party like it's 1999 (oh totally dated myself with that one)...

Well, it's not exactly any of those but it IS a party. A Twitter food allergy party. And yours truly will be hosting one of the parties along with Food Allergy Assistant, Food Allergy Mama, Allergic Girl, Jennifer from Food Allergy Buzz, Ruth from Best Allergy Sites, Rational Jenn, No Whey Mama, Mahardy, Avoiding Milk, and Sure Foods Living. And what would a party be without prizes? Yes, there are prizes and you can go here to check out what they are.

Thank you to Best Allergy Sites and Food Allergy Buzz for putting this party together.

There are actually 2 parties. One is at noon (est) and the other is at 10:30 pm est.

Please go here to RSVP and to find out more about the party or here. If you are familiar with Twitter parties, you'll know to find us at #foodallergy.

Hope to see you there!!

To learn more about our party coordinators, check out interviews I did with Ruth from Best Allergy Sites and Jennifer from Food Allergy Buzz/FAB Snacks. Thank you ladies for the work you do to educate and advocate for the food allergy community.

Food Allergy Safety and Food Allergy Week

This article from Medical News Today talks about how food allergy parents feel that schools and daycare centers are doing more today to protect their food allergic children. I agree. I know this isn't the case across the board and that many parents are still fighting to keep their children safe, but I think overall, when you look at the big picture, things have gotten better. And yes, I realize we still have a long way to go, but it's always better to look on the positive. In October of 2006 when I started this blog, I had no idea that I would "meet" so many wonderful on line food allergy bloggers. These people are parents of children with food allergies and food allergy sufferers themselves that have one goal: To educate the world about how to deal with food allergies and how to live safely with food allergies. I've seen some of these blogs and bloggers transform over the last couple of years. Some of these people have become successful authors, advocates, teachers and entrepreneurs in the food allergy community. And all of them should be proud of their accomplishments. I know that I'M proud of them for the wonderful work they do. I am amazed at how everyone has pulled together to educate and advocate and to make the world a better and safer place for those living with food allergies.

Some notable posts from the last few years:

Food Allergy/GF information on Twitter

MSNBC Article about food allergies, EPI pens, and play dates

Allergic Girl and eating out safely with food allergies

Allergic Girl and Worry Free Dinners

Trace Atkins, Celebrity Apprentice and Food Allergies

Flying with Food Allergies

Food Allergies in Newsweek

Travelling With Your Food Allergic Child part 1

Travelling With Your Food Allergic Child part 2

13 Things that help us keep our son safe (with food allergies)

Check out my sidebar for links to other great allergy bloggers and recipe sites and for information on our allergy safe trip to Disney World.

Mother's Day and Food Allergies

The Husband always lets the kids pick what they want to do for me for my birthday or for Mother's Day. He's a better parent than I am. They frustrate me with their indecision, so I pick what we do for Father's Day or the Husband's birthday and then I make them *think* it was their idea. They are still young enough that I can fool them, but the Older Boy is catching on.

This year for Mother's Day the boys decided that on Saturday they wanted to take me to dinner and then on Mother's Day they wanted to go for a hike in the park. Neither of these would be difficult for a family without food allergies, but for us, there is much planning involved.

We don't eat out much with the Little Man. He's a picky eater and with his allergies of wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut, his options are limited to begin with. We already planned on grilling out steaks on Sunday (which is funny since I don't really eat red meat) so our usual safe place of Outback Steakhouse was out because NO ONE needs steaks two days in a row. Our next safe place of a local natural foods restaurant was out because they closed it down due to the economy (Broke my heart! I LOVED that place. I'm still not over it). So we had to try something new. Now I've heard good things about Chipotle and the boys like Mexican (at least the "Mexican" that I make at home), but we've never been there. We called and spoke to the manager who assured us that they could serve our son and keep him safe. I checked out the menu on line and the Allergen Card and felt pretty good about the fact that we could eat safely there. Like I've said, we've never been there. So when my husband asked if we needed reservations and the manager laughed, I should have known. He said "Think Subway". So we figured it was fast food, and it was. And it was VERY crowded when we got there and that made me nervous. And it was loud and hard to hear the people behind the counter. When it was our turn I started off by saying "My son has food allergies. He's allergic to wheat..." and the girl removed her gloves and put new ones on and informed the manager that they had allergies and he changed his gloves too. And he immediately grabbed the crispy corn tacos because that's what was safe for my son and we took it from there. Overall our experience with Chipotle was a safe one. The only thing that we didn't factor in is that it was too spicy for the kids. They weren't thrilled with that. But at least no one had a reaction....

The picnic the next day was a lot easier because we were in control of that from start to finish. The Little Man picked the menu: pepperoni, chips, gluten free crackers, cheese (for mom. He doesn't like cheese), fruit, carrots, Fritos, and drinks. Not the healthiest of lunches, but it was definitely safe. And because we stopped at the health food store the night before to pick up a few things, I had my latest obsession, GT's Organic Raw Kombucha (in Gingerade - Y.U.M.). We had a really nice time hiking in the park and lunch was fun and extra sweet because the boys put it together on their own. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day.

And because of the food allergies we didn't get to do a big dinner at a fancy restaurant. But the upside is that we had a more intimate time together and the boys were involved in the planning of everything. They enjoyed the day just as much as I did. And really, I can't ask for more than that :)



The picnic pavilion in the park



The Little Man is more than ready for lunch. What is up with this child's hair?



The Husband bringing the grub from the car



Interesting artwork in the pavilion



The boys decided to eat outside which was fine because it was a bit chilly on Sunday. The sun was nice and warm.



Mom and her boys



Chowing down



Here we are



There was a playground too



Although it may have been a bit small for the Older Boy, he still seemed to have fun