Just some random stuff and probably none of it really makes sense

Yep, how's that for a blog post title?? So here it goes:

1. I'm tired. Really, really tired.
2. The basement is moving right along. The dry wall is up and mudded and taped (?) and today they sanded it. My house it white. No, I mean my WHOLE house is white. The Older Boy said "Mom, don't you think you should wash this floor"? (pointing to the tile in the foyer and hall) and I almost said "Shut the H____ up" before I caught myself. The Entire.house.has.a.nice.white.dusting. SSSSSIIIIIGGGGHHHH.......
3. I took my car in to be fixed this morning. It's leaking something. They called this afternoon to tell me that the "something" is power steering fluid. It's leaking in two places that I don't remember but I do remember that it's close to $1500.00 to fix. And it's going to take several days because they need to order parts....
4. So I'm driving a rented Dodge Caliber. It's an interesting car. Not bad, not good. The kids hate it, but I think it looks kind of butch (and at the moment it fits my grumpy attitude - kind of "Don't mess me with me or I'll kick your behind").
5. I worked in the lunch room today. I LOVE seeing all the kids. Especially at the beginning of the school year. They all grew so much over the summer. And I love that they are still excited to see the moms at school. They are still young enough not to be embarrassed by us yet.
6. And speaking of growing, the Little Man needs all new pants because none of his fit. Older Boy can wear his, but they are floods. Wal-Mart, here we come (after the price to fix the car, we can't afford to shop any where else).
7. And today was the 1st day the Little Man ate lunch at school so I'm glad I had lunch duty. I got to see how things went. Even though I lectured him relentlessly this morning(think shrill harpy) on sitting at the head of the table so he wouldn't be surrounded by his allergens, he managed to sit smack dab in the middle of table. But he did keep his food off the table and didn't touch anyone. All was well. But I'm still not breathing easy.... yet.
8. And they had some questions for me so it was good that I went in. They weren't' sure if pine cones and acorns fell under "tree nuts". And I assured then that he was fine with pine cones and acorns have gone untested but I was pretty sure that he was OK with those too. And the Art Teacher handed out Dum Dum suckers today and they wouldn't let him eat those until they checked with me, and I assured them that those were OK too. Both were good questions and I'm glad that they checked with me. It means that they are thinking....
9. When I woke up this morning it was 46 degrees F. Hello????? It's still August. Please don't start with the crappy weather yet. I can't take it.
10. I need some peace in my life. Too much stress and construction. And now I'll be car shopping. It's a 2003 and starting to cost more than it's worth (although I hope not to pull the trigger on that until after the first of the year).
11. Pray for me.

I didn't abandon blogging

I didn't abandon blogging. I've just been obsessed with getting the boys off to school. Especially the little one. The 1st week is over for the Little Man and even though he only went 3 shortened days, everything went well. Next week he'll go longer and then the following week he'll start going full time. The first time he eats lunch at school is Monday and as luck would have it (or maybe they planned it this way) I have lunch duty so I will get to be there to supervise. But who am I kidding? I would have been there any way.










(The Little Man with his teacher, Mr. S.)

Ok, he's there and I've done the best I can do to put all the safety nets (and a few plastic bubbles) in place. There are 8 safety sacks with emergency action plans, epi pens and Benadryl in every place he will be around the school. The gluten free play dough is in the room. The safe snack box and snack tray are in the room. Everyone who needed training has been trained. All parents have been alerted. All craft supplies have been checked. All pasta and wheat art supplies have been removed from the room. Hand washing procedures are in place. I will be at the school as much as I can. And the boy himself gets lectured every day.

So life as we know it must start returning to normal. I'm back to work, which I've missed. I'll be back on twitter, which I haven't missed as much. And I'm sure Kindergarten will be giving me lots of blog fodder. I just hope none of it's about food allergies.

Attack of the killer peanut butter sandwiches

"What is with these food allergic kids"?

"Why do we have to give up peanut butter just to keep a few kids safe"?

"Can't they just stay away from it"?

I've heard these questions and more (usually not so kind) when it comes to the issue of removing peanut butter from school.

Attack of the Killer Peanut Butter Sandwiches written by author Linda Coss does the following:

This article explains why it is necessary for schools to enact a variety of measures to keep food-allergic children safe, and why it is not as simple as teaching the food-allergic children to "be careful."

With school starting, I'm sure that many school systems are facing this issue and the article explains the basics of why removing peanut butter from the school can be necessary to keep children safe.

I'm not necessarily for sweeping bans of any type, but not all situations are "one size, fit's all" and I think things need to be looked at on a case by case basis. Banning peanut butter, or a certain allergen, especially in a preschool situation where young children put there hands in their mouths or around their faces frequently is definitely something that I support 100%.

Food Allergy Alert - Van's Wheat Free Pancakes

**THE FOOD ALLERGY & ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK SPECIAL FOOD ALLERGY ALERT
NOTICE**

EGG, MILK, and WHEAT ALLERGY ALERT
August 20, 2009

Van's International Foods is recalling "Van's All Natural Wheat Free
Homestyle Pancakes" due to undeclared egg, milk, and wheat.

The product was distributed in Arizona, California, the District of
Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

The 12.4-oz. package bears lot number 200060629B1, UPC 0-89947-60604-9,
and "best if used by" date of March 30, 2010.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full
refund. Consumers with questions may call (303) 848-6013 or e-mail
customerservice@vansintl.com.

Some safe paint options for school

The school asked me to call about the paint that they use to make sure that it is safe for the Little Man's allergies (wheat is used as a thickener and egg can be found in many tempera paints). The following is the information that I got today. Only one company (Lakeshore Curriculum) seemed to read off a complete list, so if you don't see your allergen here, that doesn't necessarily mean it's in the paint. I'll include the phone numbers so you can call and double check:

Best Buy Liquid Tempera Paint - Lakeshore Curriculum Materials Co., Carson, Calf.- 800-421-5354: I was told it is free from egg, dairy, nuts, gluten, wheat, rice, soy, food oils and latex.

Sargent Arts Liquid Tempera Paint - 800-424-3596: The lady said it was free from wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut (all my son's allergies) but she didn't give any other information. I'm pretty sure it's probably "free" from other things too but you'd have to call and check.

Prang water colors - 800-824-9430: The lady said it's free from wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut, tree nut, dairy, gluten, latex, red dye #9 (she said "I think #9 - whatever the big one is) and "other stuff too". So if you don't see your allergen listed here, call them.

Everyone was pretty helpful and the calls took all of 5 minutes.

A meeting with the principal and the NEW teacher

You read that right, NEW teacher. Not the teacher I talked to back in May about the Little Man's food allergies. Not the one I saw a few weeks ago at the pool that said "I'll be calling you". She quit. When she quit, I don't know. Today I met with Mr. S. Yes, a male Kindergarten teacher (and not remotely like Kindergarten Cop). Mr. S seems very nice and like he "gets it" or like at least he's willing to "get it". He seems like he's going to work with me. And of course the beloved aid that we all love and wish we could take home with us was there and she made me feel more than comfortable (Yay for Mrs. C.) The Vice Principal is going to carry the EPI at recess and we have all the rooms picked out that need EPI's and art supplies checked and play dough will be removed from the room (along with any other food used for art supplies). They have all my expired EPI's and some fruit to practice at their teachers meeting (and they were so thankful that I brought them). The Principal assured me that they will take the best possible care of my baby. The Emergency Action Plan is in place and I was assured that I can "pop in" anytime during any activities (like the gingerbread house project or Book Cook) to make sure things are safe. So I'm breathing a sigh of relief for the moment and preparing for any tweaking that may need to be done.

Eating out with food allergies is always an adventure

Luckily this adventure ended well, but I stressed out through it the whole time.

I mentioned the other day that we are having our basement finished and last night we needed to go shopping for granite (exciting, I know). The boys and I were going to rendezvous with the Husband at the granite shop after he got off of work. This would be sometime around 5:30 pm-6:30 pm. So the Husband decided that "We should all go out to eat". Um, sure. Should be easy enough, right? Well, if you have food allergies, then you know it's not. So the Husband picked the place (because Older Boy really wanted wings) and called and spoke to the manager who said "Yes, no problem! We handle food allergies and intolerance's all the time. We can make him a plain burger, in a clean pan, no bun, and a baked potato on the side". My husband asked "Are you sure you can handle all of his allergies? He needs the clean pan, clean utensils, and you need to make sure there is no cross contamination. His food can not come in contact with any other food". Manager: "Yes, sir. It will not be a problem". So I say "Call them back and make sure it is 100% pure ground beef - no filler". He does (it is - which it was not at Idlewild last weekend. They use bread crumbs in their hamburgers), he gets another manager and confirms all the previous information. "No problem, sir". Famous last words.

So we get there yesterday evening before Hubs and after placing the drink order, I hand the waitress my sons chef card, I explain about the food allergy, ask for the manager and/or chef, tell them about the allergies and discuss what was previously discussed that he could eat and I get "I hope we have a pan". I hope we have a pan? The waitress comes back a minute later and says "We don't have a pan but the chef says he will clean off a section of the grill really well just for him". Um, NO WRONG ANSWER. So I ask if they can put foil on the grill and she says no, that it will take too long to cook the burger that way. By then the manager comes back and says the chef said that they will put foil on a flat pan and run it through the pizza oven while the oven is empty essentially baking the burger. Ok, that sounds reasonable. Although the words "pizza oven" sends a shiver down my spine and my husband goes a little pale.

But it worked. And the burger was safe. And he had no reaction. And they accommodated us.

The waitress was an absolute doll. She really went out of her way to make sure he was safe. But would I go back with him? No, probably not. "Pizza oven" just freaks me out. The boy that's anaphylactic to wheat had his burger cooked in a pizza oven. I'm sweating just typing this. My husband couldn't figure out the whole "no pan" thing, but I guess everything is either grilled or fried. No need for a pan then.

I brought other food with me for the "just in case this doesn't work out". And I'm glad that we called ahead and I'm glad that we constantly ask questions. You have to. Because yes, the meat was safe but I can only imagine what has been cooked on that grill. That burger could have been cross contaminated with any number of things. Or we could have lucked out and it could have been fine. But rolling the dice with my son's life just doesn't work for me.

Maybe from now on I should be bring along safe food... and a safe pan.

Oliver's Labels

Last week I received an e-mail from Oliver's Labels and they asked me if I'd do a review on their allergy related labels. Click here to see the different designs that they offer. Because my son has multiple allergies, they sent us the "No Nuts, No Gluten, No Eggs" label. It wasn't clear to me from the website but you can get multiple allergens listed on one label.

The labels are really nice and seem like they would hold up well. The graphics are full color and are guaranteed not to rub off. They also said that the machines that they use to print the labels are eco-friendly. That's a nice bonus.

They also offer a lost and found system called found it codes. If your child loses an item the nice person who finds it can go to a special place on the Oliver Label website to virtually turn it in and Oliver's Labels will help you get it back. They said they included these in the samples, but I didn't see them in my envelope.

The labels look really nice and I'll be looking into the shoe labels that they offer. My issue with the allergy label is that it says "No Nuts". Some kids are allergic to peanuts and some kids are allergic to tree nuts (or both) and I think it would be nice to differentiate. Some people don't even know what a tree nut is. The other is the "No Gluten". Technically it works for my son because he is allergic to wheat, rye, barley and oat, but that can be a little confusing. He's not allergic to gluten, he's allergic to the proteins in wheat, rye, barley, and oat. Am I nit picking on that? Yes, probably. Do I have an answer on how to correct that issue. No, I really don't. I'm just bringing it up.

Over all I really like the labels and the company itself. I recommend them and like I said, they more than likely have found a future customer in me.

Thank you Oliver's Labels.

Nightmares, Basements and Food Allergies: OH MY

I've been up since 4:30 am. This is not that unusual for me as of lately. But this morning's reason even made me laugh. I woke up in a cold sweat, totally freaked out because I couldn't figure out which rooms in the school need surround sound speakers in case the Little Man had an allergic reaction. Clearly I'm melding the basement stress with the back to school with food allergies stress.

The speakers should be a non issue. They cost an arm and a leg and the promise of an unborn child (should there be any more - which there will NOT be) and they have shipped and are on their way here.

The food allergies and school are another issue. So I called the principal and made an appointment to meet with her on Monday. Hopefully at that point we will work all of the loose ends out. Then maybe I can sleep.

The pharmacy just called me because the insurance company doesn't want to refill my EPI pen prescriptions because it's "too soon" and I want too many. But I explained why we need so many (to put in each classroom) and they understood and are going to go to bat for me with the insurance company. Apparently 4 EPI pens costs $500.00 dollars. Who knew??? (And I actually was going to try for 8 so I guess that is out) I don't blame the insurance company for not wanting to pay, but I NEED THESE EPI PENS, SO THEY BETTER COUGH UP THE PRESCRIPTION. Or I'm out $500.00.

And to end this post, picture this: our house - usually pretty tranquil (unless you count me yelling at the boys). But today we have the loud sounds of sawing and a powder activated nail gun (sounds like someone shooting bullets - no wonder I'm stressed) and a white mini van driving 60 mph in a 25 mph with 12 ft of cedar sticking out of it's passenger window flying down our street, whipping into our driveway with the sounds of Russian Folk music blasting at 10,000 decibels. Yes, you can tell we are having work done, work with an old world charm (and I'm not making fun. These are great guys. They are just very funny. And they do very good work, but the music leaves a bit to be desired).

Paid survey for seasonal/indoor allergies

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Happy Monday, almost Tuesday

I'm still here. I swear! We've just got a lot going on right now. I'm still getting the boys ready to go back to school. And we went to Idlewild and Storybook Forest over the weekend (pictures to follow at some point). It was fun and the boys had a blast. I almost threw up on the Spider ride, but that's another story.

And did I mention that we are finishing our basement? No, well we are. It's a lot more detailed (read: giant mess/pain in the rear) than I thought. I've been on line trying to find/buy a surround sound system since 7:30 am. We bought one. One of those ones in the "box". But it doesn't do what we need it to "do" so we returned it to the store yesterday and they don't have one that does what we need it to "do" so it's all on me to find one. And you can't actually find one, you have to assemble one from pieces parts and that's really not my thing. And I need to do this by Saturday. Because the drywall is coming. And did I mention that the men that are working on our basement are Russian? And when they start to get stressed they stutter. At least one does. So if I don't have a surround sound system by Saturday, things are going to be ugly. In Russian. So if I'm absent for long periods of time it's because I'm shopping for school shoes and getting yelled at in Russian. But I'll be back. I promise. And I'll bring stories. I promise. Probably in Russian.

Linktastic Thursday

Well that's what I'm calling it anyway. I'm too busy to do a post today and I'm fresh out of interesting blog fodder anyway, so I'm linking back to posts or pages that I love or that I feel are worth sharing:

Sacred in the Ordinary - Catholic Mothers Online - A reminder to stop and take a look around your home and remember to see all the ways that God has blessed you. I don't do this nearly enough. I usually just see all the dirt or the things I don't have.

Back to School with Allergies - Gravity of Motion - This is a "Works for Me Wednesday" post and it covers those who have kids with food allergies and those who don't.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies - Pioneer Woman Cooks - I'm growing jalapenos and we have bacon, and I just have to make these at some point. I.must.make.these.

And speaking of things I'm growing





these are sitting on my counter (minus 1 now) with 5 more ready to be picked in the garden and more on the way. My bounty runith over with zucchini. I could try to make a zucchini bread/muffin free of wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, and nuts and I could probably do it successfully but the only one that would eat it is me and frankly, I don't need that much sweet carbs (so sayeth my thighs). So I give you these:

Grilled Zucchini - All Recipes

Zucchini Relish - All Recipes

Zucchini and Corn Topped with Cheese - (everything is better with cheese) All Recipes

Article on how to sneak zucchini on your neighbors porch at night.

7 tips for a happy successful school year

Happy Thursday!!

Going back to school with food allergies

My son isn't just going back to school with food allergies. He's going to Kindergarten with food allergies. Meaning: He's leaving the nest and I'm freaking out. I haven't slept in the last few nights. I'm planning. I'm getting things in place. I know things will work out and all will fall into place. But getting there is a bumpy, bumpy road.

The teacher was supposed to contact me back in June when school let out so that we could go over how to handle the class room. I have not heard from her to date. I did however run into her at my boys swim lessons a few weeks ago and she said "I haven't forgotten about you. I got busy and now I'm waiting for my class room to get put back together". Um, yea. Comforting? No. But once I get all my paperwork in order (probably tomorrow), I'll be setting up a meeting with everyone I need to at the school to go over everything that I expect. We met back in May and they said they'd accommodate my requests, but now we need to nail it all down, prepare and execute plans, and give me a warm fuzzy so I can start sleeping again.

I have several different Emergency Action Plans and I just need to figure out which one I like the best. They are all very similar and pretty much say the same thing.

I am refilling EPI pen prescriptions, which is a slow, painful process since A. the insurance company will only let me get a few at a time and B. the pharmacy only had ones that expired in October (no thanks, at $30.00 a pop a need a longer expiration date). The school said I can put one in every room he's in, but since I haven't been able to speak to anyone yet, I'm not quite sure how many that actually is.
And what about recess?????? Who has the EPI pen at recess????? Recess is manned by moms, like myself. Most of us stand around and gossip at recess. We are not looking for allergic reactions to occur and I'm pretty sure that most of them wouldn't know what to do if one did occur. This part of my plan is not finalized and has been really stressing me out. The Vice Principal is outside "most" of the time during recess, but that is "most" of the time, not all of the time.

Food in the classroom: I think I have a pretty good plan for snack time, birthday parties etc., but food crafts are making me stressed. This is one of the main topics that I wanted to speak to the teacher about. Twice a month they do an activity called Book Cooks where a parent comes in and reads a story to the class and then they do a corresponding food craft. I have nightmares about this. We really need a plan here, and I really need to talk to someone about this. They also make gingerbread houses at Christmas and do egg rolls at Easter. I'm breaking out in a cold sweat....

I know this will all be worked out. It's just getting there that seems like an uphill climb.

Some helpful things I've found so far:
Downloadable food allergy resources from Books to Help You and Your Family Live with Food Allergies.

Downloads from FAI

FAANS tools to get you started page

Safety Sack - I haven't ordered this yet, but I think I'm going to (for the classrooms/nurses office/lunchroom/gym)

Medic Alert

EPI Pen and Center for Anaphylactic Support

KozyEpi - I'm thinking of getting him one of these to wear. This may solve my "Who's got the EPI pen at recess?" problem.

Back to school tips for gluten free or food allergy kids from Sure Foods Living

Back to school with food allergies from Living Without Magazine

Kids With Food Allergies Back to School Newsletter

Need gluten free play dough for school?

Or for home? Today is the last day to get 10% off your entire order at
Discount School Supply. Use code TENOFFEV at checkout. Colorations gluten free dough can be found here. Products free from other common allergens can be found here.