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Monday, May 05, 2008
Drum roll please…
24lb, 10oz – That is what Alysa weighed at her GI check-up last week. 1lb, 9oz – That is what she gained since March 13th. Needless to say that not only has her new diet and supplements been a success in getting her to eat, but she is gaining weight AND has gained ground on the growth curve. She is back up to just under the 10%. He doctor is very pleased and if she continues to gain weight and do good as we wean her off the Prevacid, we will not need to go back and see her again. Please cross your fingers that everything continues to go well.
I had my free weekend as the girls were with my parents. It was nice to relax, “sleep in” (8 is now sleeping in for me) and do some things for me. I can’t say I was as productive as I would have liked, but…I did get a couple pages scrapped during our scrapping day, which I will post later on or tomorrow. I will also say it was perfectly timed since this past weekend was National Digital Scrapbooking Weekend. Saturday night three of us had some munchies at my house and then we went to a local comedy club. It was great to get out and laugh. Some of the comedians were really funny.
The girls had fun at Nanny and Gramp’s house. Kayla did get a bit homesick. When I talked to her Saturday evening, the first words out of her mouth were, “I want to come home.” Sunday they went to the Aquarium which they loved. And Sunday afternoon, my parents delivered two extremely tired and cranky little girls. But these two tired and cranky little girls were very happy to see me and the feeling was mutual.
I am in need of suggestions. Last Thursday I received the May newsletter from Kayla’s school. In this newsletter was a fun announcement that on June 4th they are having their annual school picnic with lunch served. For most Moms it probably brings up happy thoughts and feelings of “how nice that they do this”; or “this will be fun for the kids”. But for me, as an Allergy Mom, it made me feel like a vice was tightening around my stomach. And it pretty much has stayed that way ever since. I went in Friday morning to talk to the receptionist at the school about the picnic. It is after Kayla’s normal school day and they feed the kids lunch. Now technically, since it is during the school’s lunch period, I can just not let Kayla stay for it. Even though that would be the best (and easiest) for my anxiety level and would obviously keep her out of harm’s way, this goes against my desire to give Kayla as normal a life as possible. I strive to let her experience everything other kids can and have kept her away from things very rarely. So…I need to be armed with information AND make sure that I am one of the volunteers that they were requesting. Last year, they served hotdogs and buns and macaroni and cheese, then they had fruit and veggie trays, and of course, what would a picnic be without the ice cream man? As of now, that is what the menu will be this year, but…they are open to suggestions. She said they will consider anything – keeping in mind that it is workable and kid-friendly (apparently the mac and cheese was a huge hit last year). One of the women (I believe the owner) lives close by and cooks it all at her house and brings it back over at lunch time. They are willing to get hot dogs and buns that I choose (yay) and I was even told that I can go with the owner to her house and cook Kayla’s separately (they really do “get it” at her school). So…now I want to come up with kid-friendly and kid-pleasing alternatives to macaroni and cheese. The ice cream is not as flexible as there is no cost-friendly alternative that the school would consider. Milk-alternative ice creams are not cheap. So, I’ll have to bring hers with me and bring some valium for myself. I will also be supplying the school with a case of wipes so we can put a package on each table so the other Moms and teachers can wipe their hands down when they are done eating. She also said that they can put down table cloths which they will then take down as soon as the kids are done eating.
I am very grateful for their willingness to work with me. I know that even if the menu does not work out to be 100% safe for Kayla, I will feel better letting her be there knowing that they truly do have her best interests at heart and are willing to make adjustments on her behalf.
So…if anyone has any suggestions for a substitute for macaroni and cheese, please let me know. Even if you think it may have dairy in it (other than cheese, which is almost impossible to substitute for), let me know, since most dairy can be easily substituted for.
Here’s a pic of Alysa eating a soft pretzel with J today. She LOVES them but can only have them when Kayla is not around…
p.s. I got my camera today…but…they sent me abroken refurbished one. I can’t even talk about it…
I had my free weekend as the girls were with my parents. It was nice to relax, “sleep in” (8 is now sleeping in for me) and do some things for me. I can’t say I was as productive as I would have liked, but…I did get a couple pages scrapped during our scrapping day, which I will post later on or tomorrow. I will also say it was perfectly timed since this past weekend was National Digital Scrapbooking Weekend. Saturday night three of us had some munchies at my house and then we went to a local comedy club. It was great to get out and laugh. Some of the comedians were really funny.
The girls had fun at Nanny and Gramp’s house. Kayla did get a bit homesick. When I talked to her Saturday evening, the first words out of her mouth were, “I want to come home.” Sunday they went to the Aquarium which they loved. And Sunday afternoon, my parents delivered two extremely tired and cranky little girls. But these two tired and cranky little girls were very happy to see me and the feeling was mutual.
I am in need of suggestions. Last Thursday I received the May newsletter from Kayla’s school. In this newsletter was a fun announcement that on June 4th they are having their annual school picnic with lunch served. For most Moms it probably brings up happy thoughts and feelings of “how nice that they do this”; or “this will be fun for the kids”. But for me, as an Allergy Mom, it made me feel like a vice was tightening around my stomach. And it pretty much has stayed that way ever since. I went in Friday morning to talk to the receptionist at the school about the picnic. It is after Kayla’s normal school day and they feed the kids lunch. Now technically, since it is during the school’s lunch period, I can just not let Kayla stay for it. Even though that would be the best (and easiest) for my anxiety level and would obviously keep her out of harm’s way, this goes against my desire to give Kayla as normal a life as possible. I strive to let her experience everything other kids can and have kept her away from things very rarely. So…I need to be armed with information AND make sure that I am one of the volunteers that they were requesting. Last year, they served hotdogs and buns and macaroni and cheese, then they had fruit and veggie trays, and of course, what would a picnic be without the ice cream man? As of now, that is what the menu will be this year, but…they are open to suggestions. She said they will consider anything – keeping in mind that it is workable and kid-friendly (apparently the mac and cheese was a huge hit last year). One of the women (I believe the owner) lives close by and cooks it all at her house and brings it back over at lunch time. They are willing to get hot dogs and buns that I choose (yay) and I was even told that I can go with the owner to her house and cook Kayla’s separately (they really do “get it” at her school). So…now I want to come up with kid-friendly and kid-pleasing alternatives to macaroni and cheese. The ice cream is not as flexible as there is no cost-friendly alternative that the school would consider. Milk-alternative ice creams are not cheap. So, I’ll have to bring hers with me and bring some valium for myself. I will also be supplying the school with a case of wipes so we can put a package on each table so the other Moms and teachers can wipe their hands down when they are done eating. She also said that they can put down table cloths which they will then take down as soon as the kids are done eating.
I am very grateful for their willingness to work with me. I know that even if the menu does not work out to be 100% safe for Kayla, I will feel better letting her be there knowing that they truly do have her best interests at heart and are willing to make adjustments on her behalf.
So…if anyone has any suggestions for a substitute for macaroni and cheese, please let me know. Even if you think it may have dairy in it (other than cheese, which is almost impossible to substitute for), let me know, since most dairy can be easily substituted for.
Here’s a pic of Alysa eating a soft pretzel with J today. She LOVES them but can only have them when Kayla is not around…
p.s. I got my camera today…but…they sent me a
8 Comments:
Yay for the weight gain!! I sure wish I could pass her some of mine (lol). She needs a little more, and I need a little less.
Glad your kid-free weekend was a good one:)
So sorry about the camera. I won't speak of it any more.
That's great news about the weight gain.
Sounds like you had a fun weekend! I pulled down my scrapbook stuff, after you mentioned it.
That stinks about your camera. You would think they would have given you a brand new one.
I know it's not mac and cheese but...baked beans?
Bush's Baked Beans don't have any casein or dairy in them.
http://www.bushbeans.com/faq.php
They're even easier and cheaper than mac and cheese, and everyone I knew growing up loved them(except me, bleh)
Woo-hoo!!!!!!!! What a cutie patootie! I'm so happy for you guys, I'm sure it is the beginning of the burden lifted off of your shoulders.
Okay, I tried to post a rrrreally long comment earlier, & my computer randomly froze up, lost everything, & said something about PHYSICAL DUMP (which is what i thought my 2 yr old does in his diaper).
So, this post will be a little more brief...
My allergy girl LOVES & is totally used to plain pasta, so I've only done this one time for her:
Dairy-free pasta + fleishmans (glucose free/ sodium free) butter + any lactose-free cheese (whole foods / trader joe's here, arries it). I just cook it like the 'regular' kind. The cheese of course doesn't melt near as well. But you get the same idea.
I think it's AWESOME that her school is working so hard for you.
I had a negative experience last week w/ Flynn's school. They didn't tell me ahead of time (they claim the parent didn't warn them) & a child rbought in ice cream for their bday.
I didn't have a substitute for Flynn. So, I was later told that she sat in a separate room (w/ a different class) & ate the snack I sent w/ her (wow, fruit snacks, gee, what an exciting alternative to the ice cream all YOUR FRIENDS are eating next door).
I left a very upset voice mail on the director's phone that I bend over backwards to work w/ them so that she's not left out. Then this happens.
I was upset all a.m. thinking of how that must've felt to be sent to a different class so that your buddies could have such a treat.
Needless to say, I don't think it'll happen again. Or, we will be looking for a new place.
Okay, that did end up lengthy, sorry about that.
My girl's current fav: SUPER PRETZEL. Frozen. Cheap. Easy. And she loves it.
Be well!
That's nice to hear how the school is so willing to work with you! The really do care about children's safety -- but I know that some can be hard-pressed and less accommodating... you are lucky :)
Sux about the camera -- I can't even imagine the frustration at this point.
What about popsicles instead of ice cream? Those are cheap for the school to buy! I usually do Macaroni and Chreese (I think it's from Road's End Organics) for Lily when I need an alternative. Otherwise she's pretty happy with DF buttered noodles. I even stir in a little squash so the color looks right. No one notices at my house. :)
I'm glad to hear Alysa is gaining weight and on the growth curve - whoo hoo!
How great that you had a kid-free weekend to do your own thing too :)
I don't have a lot of advice about the picnic since I don't have experience in that area...but how about frozen fruit pops instead of ice cream? I'm not sure what is in the ingredients though?
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