My Sister e-mailed me a recipe for Raspberry Creme Muffins, the other day which the girls and I tried out this afternoon. She got it from a bloggy friend (I don't know who, or else I'd pass on credit). But if they taste even half as good as they smell right now baking in my oven, I'll be in heaven.

Raspberry Creme Muffins:
1 egg
1/2 c sour cream (I use Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream)
1/4 c oil
1/2 c sugar

Combine the above ingredients then add:

1.5 c flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t salt

Fold in 1 c. raspberries. Grease muffin tin. Bake at 375 deg. for 20 minutes.

You can see here that Kayla loved the batter so much she decided to lick the counter before I got a chance to clean it...



And after days and days of chilly rainy weather in May, we finally got a day like this...


(These were the ONLY two clouds in the sky - match that with mid 70's)

Kayla has had polly pockets for a while and recently Alysa has really gotten into them. Kayla is usually good with sharing, but Sunday Alysa wanted to play with them and Kayla didn't want her too. Since they are Kayla's toys, I didn't make her share them. And since I don't run out and buy the girls treats/toys often, I decided to take the girls out and get Alysa her first Polly Pocket. She was SO excited. And yes, these toys are small and Alysa is only 2 1/2, but...she is good with putting things in her mouth and she only plays with these when I am present. She is actually more into dressing them than Kayla is (she is my doll lover). With Kayla at gymnastics last night, I was able to get her on video. I apologize for the staticy sound in the first one - not sure what happened there.





And now all Alysa wants is a hat for her dolls...

On Saturday my Mom and I took the girls to Storybook Land. Kayla has been asking to go since our last trip back in August. She was so excited to go she did not fall asleep until after 10pm Friday night. She spent well over a half hour on Friday looking through the pictures from last summer. Last summer it was a long time before she would go near the horses on the carousel, so I wanted her to see the pictures of her finally on them to hopefully bypass any anxiety from this year. She had NONE. The horses were the first ride she wanted to go on. Actually she’s been asking a lot to go on a real horse. Alysa stayed on the bench until the end of the day when she decided to go on a horse. There was only one ride this year that Kayla would not go on and in the end Alysa went on almost all of them also, although she did not like the balloon ride. It scared her. I broke down this year and allowed Kayla to go on the roller coaster. It’s pretty fast and whips around pretty good. But she’s been asking to go on since last summer. I’m not sure when she’ll go on again because she really didn’t know what she was getting into. She was pretty shocked by it. Later that night she told me she was scared of it. So who knows. But I’m proud of her for trying it.

This is the first year that the girls were really into all of the fairy tale displays. They have Humpty Dumpty, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Old Woman and her shoe and many more. They spent a lot of time going in the little houses and peaking through windows.

I love this place because aside from it being a bargain at $20 a person (I am comparing this to Great Adventure and Sesame Place at close to $50 per person), it is seriously the cleanest public place I’ve ever been. The employees are very nice and friendly, the bathrooms (they have a family bathroom and all are child-friendly) are super clean. They have a place to purchase food, but they do not discourage you from bringing your own food and have a huge picnic area for just that purpose. I will admit to one complaint (although it is not against the park). They sell popcorn- and I am not really begrudging the park from doing this. I remember being a kid and part of the appeal of going to these types of places is getting to eat nothing but junk. I actually have to say I miss being able to eat, horribly delicious, greasy, artery clogging heart-attack-on-a-plate food. But…MUST the popcorn and food be brought ON the rides? Yes, ON the rides. There was a girl who brought TWO boxes of popcorn onto the carousel and sat on the bench for three rides chomping away. I wish they had a “no food on rides” rule. But if that is my only complaint, I think we had a good day.

And in case you’re wondering, the girls closed the place down. We got there when they opened at 11 and stayed until they closed at 5. My Mom and I were dragging quite a bit, but the girls would have stayed all night! And Kayla – she was up again that night until after 10:30. She kept coming out to talk about the day and at 9:45 when I went in to check on her, she went on and on about the roller coaster and the horses. She was quite excited to go to school today tell everyone about her adventure.

I had some hopes that this would be the first year that I could take them either by myself or with friends without relying on my parents or having J or I take a vacation day. But since there are rides that one will go on and the other will not, that does not look like it will be an option this year. (*sigh*)

Here are some photos so you can see for yourselves just how much fun they had…

[*See below for most recent posts!*]

Welcome to Food Allergy Awareness Week. Please be sure to check out the following posts this week about living with food allergies...
(List will be updated as posts are added.)

Food Allergies & Gymnastics
Food Allergy Rant
Food Allergies in Schools
Dairy Lurks EVERYWHERE
"My 5 Minutes of Fame

I thought I would end the week of Food Allergy Awareness with an article I have been meaning to post since March.

Back in February our allergist sent out an e-mail notifying the support group members that he had been in contact with a reporter for a local paper who was working on an article about peanut allergies in schools. Even though her article was about peanuts, I saw this as an opportunity to not only be part of an article about food allergies, but also as a chance to reach out to someone and help build understanding that there are other foods that can be just as dangerous as peanuts.

I called her and we had a nice conversation. She told me that I was not the only Mom who called her about other food allergies. At the end of our conversation, she said she may do a sidebar (I had actually suggested a series of article on food allergies – but what do I know?). In actuality, she ended up doing a full separate article on non-peanut food allergies. I was really thrilled to see both the attention on food allergies and the focus on the fact that peanuts are only one of many foods that can kill.

Here is the article. I have changed a few things, like taking out last names and specific towns. The newspaper is the Courier Post which is a South Jersey Newspaper.

Nuts aren't the only food allergy

Why do peanuts get all the attention?

Asking parents to pull peanut butter out of the lunch plan is certainly a challenge. Imagine if schools had to restrict foods made with egg and dairy products, too.
Children with allergies to those ingredients usually outgrow them by the time they enter school, and they usually have to swallow the offending protein -- not just touch it or inhale it. But the nature of allergies is changing, according to allergist Dr. W, and research suggests common products containing egg and dairy might be an issue for lunchrooms of the future.

Rose has a 2-year-old boy who is allergic to the protein in egg. Touching it -- even in the saliva of a fellow toddler who had an omelet for breakfast -- brings the threat of anaphylactic shock.

"If you look in your kitchen, almost everything is made on equipment with egg, in a factory with egg or with egg ingredients," the woman said. Consequently, the family avoids restaurants, seeks out vegan-certified food and reads every label that enters their kitchen. She's found egg in such unlikely places as microwave popcorn.
Dr. W said contact reactions like Rose's son's are rare. Another reason most K-12 schools haven't had to ban egg or dairy is that 80 to 90 percent of children outgrow those allergies by the time they start kindergarten.

"That's the current belief, although current research . . . shows it may be taking longer," he said.

Rose's son has already outgrown reactions to oat, beef, dairy and other products. But Rose, determined to be sure he can take part in life safely, is organizing a Mommy and Me class specifically for preschoolers with food allergies. She's already planning discussions with the school he'll attend as a future kindergartner.

Susan sends her 3-year-old daughter to preschool with enough instructions to outweigh her trepidation. The girl has a contact allergy to dairy, so teachers have to serve her first, wash their hands between touching anything and coming near her, and keep her at the head of the table to minimize interaction.

"I supply all her snacks for school so they don't have to read all the labels," Susan said. "I've tried to teach my daughter as much as I can - that she can't take food from anyone."
It's frustrating, she said, to see schools lay out policies and procedures to address peanut allergies when different products are just as threatening to other children.

"The key to getting more parents more willing to accommodate (children with allergies) is to educate them," Susan said.

I’m famous I tell you!!!

Anyone who deals with food allergies knows to check the ingredients of everything every time! Lactose and casein (one of the main proteins found in dairy) are commonly used as binding agents and can show up in paint, glue, toothpaste and many other household items as well as, of course, food.

Our supply of Benadryl just expired and with Zyrtec now available OTC, I decided to switch since it is what our allergist recommends. It is also my allergy medication of choice. Lucky for us Shop Rite had it on sale this week for $9.99 (normally close to $15 each) per bottle PLUS I had $8.00 worth of coupons. We like to have 3 bottles on hand because we have two emergency travel packs and then a supply for the house. So I sent J out to get two bottles of liquid and one chewables thinking the chewables would be convenient for a cooperative allergic child. The liquid is for the times I need to pour it down her throat. :)

Today, I looked at the packaging and saw flavorings (always a red flag) and "lactose monohydrate. Now I have no clue what the monohydrate means and there are ingredients that sound suspiciously like it is from dairy, but end up not being derived from dairy. So, as always, to be safe, I called. And yes, Zyrtec Chewables do indeed contain dairy. So that leads me to this question...

Why in the world would you put one of the Top 8 Food Allergens in an ALLERGY MEDICATION?!?

I'm waiting on confirmation that the liquid is safe from dairy. Since it is typically used as a binding agent, I doubt it - but as an Allergy Mom, we can never assume anything!!!

Let me also point out that Zyrtec has what looks like a handy link entitled, "Meet the Allergens" on their site. Nowhere on this page are food allergies mentioned.

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And here is a video that will show you just how severe some children's allergies can be.

Even though Kayla will not be entering the public school system for another two years (she’ll stay where she is through kindergarten), I have it on my list to contact the school to start inquiring about their policies for food allergy management. The thought of leaving her in the care of the public school system leaves me feeling downright terrified. One of the reasons why is highlighted in my rant from Tuesday.

With new New Jersey state guidelines due out soon and some federal guidelines on the horizon, I hope that I will have it easier than some of the Moms with kids in school today.

I was recently directed to an article, Addressing Food Allergies, which was published in a school district magazine. The article has some information on upcoming policies and guidelines and gives some examples of what some schools, ahead of the curve, are doing to manage food allergies.

David, not his real name, of Princeton, N.J., is allergic to milk products and is severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. The 7-year-old sits at a special table in the cafeteria. But when his elementary school science class was using milk in a lab experiment recently, David didn't think it would hurt to peer through a microscope. Yet his eye started itching, and he was sent to the nurse.

I was happy to see them give examples of allergies other than peanuts. With fewer kids outgrowing milk and egg allergies, schools will be seeing more of these allergies in the coming years.

This article also highlights what is wrong with the policies today.

But a stumbling block for Wilmette and most school districts is privacy, which prevents schools from divulging student health information. David's science teacher, for example, was doing an experiment with milk because he had never been informed of David's allergy.

I for one want Kayla’s picture and allergy and emergency action plan plastered on every wall of the school.

With food allergies there is no way to manage them that will make everyone happy. Yes, the school has to manage the needs of food allergic children with the desires of the non-food allergic children. Like with any restrictions, you will always have some parents of the non-food allergic kids upset. But there are ways to successfully manage things without all out bans and without putting the allergic kids at unnecessary risk.

In the Appoquinimink (Del.) School District, a pre-K12 district with over 8,000 students, birthdays in the five elementary schools are celebrated once a month in the cafeteria. Teachers use pencils and stickers as special prizes in the classrooms instead of candy and food as they did years ago, explains Loretta Newsom, a school nurse at Cedar Lane Elementary School.

In the Penn-Trafford (Pa.) School District, children in the five elementary schools are not allowed to bring cupcakes or home-baked cookies for birthday parties and other celebrations. Instead, they must order snacks from the school's cafeteria service from a preapproved list of snacks that do not contain peanuts or tree nuts. Parents of children with serious egg or milk allergies, for example, would receive a list of snacks that do not contain those allergens, explains Peggy DeNinno, assistant to the superintendent. Parents bring orders to the nurse, who double-checks that the snack includes only safe ingredients for the particular class. One student, for example, has a serious allergy to cinnamon, so the snack list for that class has foods that do not contain that spice.

Education is the key to increasing awareness and cooperation both in schools and other areas of our children’s lives. There are a lot of great people and organizations out there working for that cause. Many of us are just Moms who will fight to keep our kids safe.
I have some good people in my life that will help me with the schools. I am hoping that our luck with Kayla’s preschool will continue through public school.

I had a conference yesterday with Kayla’s teacher. Kayla is doing really well in school. Her teacher said she still has some trouble sitting for circle time, but she is improving. She is impressed with Kayla’s knowledge and skills and said she knows more letters and numbers than most kids her age and even some kids older than her. She counts really well and impresses her teacher with how well she can match the numbers with the number of block on some of their materials. She can also match some items with the letter they start with. Her teacher said she is very bright and at times it gets her to forget how young she really is (she is the youngest in the class). I think J and I do this sometimes with the girls, especially Alysa. She is still working on her thumb sucking – reminding her, having her wash her hands, etc. We do that too, but from what I’ve been told, we can’t push the issue until she is five. It doesn’t look like she’ll be giving up her thumb voluntarily anytime soon. She also said that Kayla is very sweet and really likes school (this I knew) and Kayla gives her a hug every day before she leaves to go home.

I took the opportunity of one-on-one time to reiterate some of Kayla’s allergy stuff. It made me feel good to know that the epi-pens are stored where they should be and that the epi’s are within easy reach when they are outside on the playground. She said that they do NOT serve any blatantly dairy snacks in Kayla’s classroom – no gold fish or cheese crackers, no cheese or yogurt, etc. This made me especially happy. I did not request this when she started, so it makes me feel extra good to know they took this extra initiative on their own.

We discussed briefly that she will not be here next year. Thankfully, the teacher’s assistant will be the same, so there will be one adult in the classroom who is familiar with Kayla’s allergy. The assistant is also the one who prepares all the snacks. So over the summer, I will meet with the new teacher and request that her assistant be there to help with the new teacher and to give her a refresher.

Some other wonderful school news that I got yesterday – they have decided to serve water ice instead of the ice cream man! I had given them a list of suggestions on Monday and I got a note back yesterday saying they need suggestions from me on the hot dog and bun brands and that they are taking my suggestion and serving Rita’s Water Ice. Out of their 63’ish flavors, more than half are free of the Top 8 Allergens. You can see their list of flavors and allergen information here. There has been no mention so far of a change in the side dish, so I am thinking they are going to stick with the macaroni and cheese. But…that is much more workable than the messy ice cream. Her teacher realizes that my ability to help handle the other foods will be limited since my main goal will be to watch out for Kayla. I am thrilled with the compromises and accommodations they have made for Kayla.

I am glad to be finishing off Kayla’s first year of preschool with such a good feeling about her school. It will make her start of her second year much less anxiety-ridden, even with her change in teacher.