I am not one for extreme temperatures. I do not do well in the bitter cold and I can’t stand to be out when it’s really hot and humid. So imagine my enjoyable weekend with it being in the 90’s Saturday and Sunday and hitting 100 yesterday. This could all have been tolerable, had I been INSIDE! Saturday, the store J manages had their open house. And his boss goes all out with food (which of course we could not eat) and face painting, balloon animals and pony rides, as well as other animals to pet and play with. I figured we’d drive there, ride a pony, pet some animals and leave. Nope – two hours later…miserably hot with two very cranky children who did not want to do much anymore, but did not want to leave, we left. Their favorite part was the pony rides and the baby chickens. Kayla even got her face painted (she never would have done that last summer). Alysa, after seeing Kayla’s butterfly face, wanted hers done. By the time it came to be her turn, she was DONE! So she did not get painted and we prepared to leave, but…not without one more pony ride. It was good for us to go – we finally all got to see J’s store and meet his boss and coworkers. The girls were beside themselves with excitement to go to Daddy’s work. He was the proud Daddy showing off his girls. It was a sad car ride home with Kayla telling me and my Mom (she came to see the pony rides) that she is “really going to miss Daddy”.

Later that afternoon, my Mom stayed and I went up to a gathering at a friend’s house. It was a lot of fun, but I paid for it on Sunday. It’s an hour away and since I hadn’t slept much the few days prior (due to the school saga), I was wiped. Getting home at 1:30am when you’re already exhausted doesn’t do the body good. Yesterday, I took off from work so we could take the girls strawberry picking. Fun you say? Of course, except it didn’t have to be a 100 degree day! It was brutal, but at least the farm was empty. We spent $27 on strawberries and cherries. We have a lot to eat. Yesterday afternoon, the girls would not hear about staying inside. They frolicked in the kiddie pool while J worked on getting the big pool ready (oh, why couldn’t it have been ready for the weekend…) and I sat miserably in the heat watching the girls enjoy themselves. Oh to be young again and not be bothered by the heat…

In the school saga – I have decided to go directly to the owner. I debated and agonized over this and came to the conclusion that regardless, she needs to know. It is equivalent to going to the Super Intendant in a public school. I know that no matter what way I go, I risk the situation getting worse. There are other reasons I don’t think going to the Director again will go well. Last summer, I scheduled a meeting with her and Kayla’s teacher to go over her care – the Director was too “busy” to meet with us, so I only went over it all with her teacher. In September, the Director asked me for permission to speak to her doctor. I was fine with this (and gave both her doctors permission to speak to her about Kayla) because the more information they have the better equipped they will be. But I got the impression from her tone, it was more for her to see if I was exaggerating Kayla’s situation. She never did call either her allergist or pediatrician. In early May, I left a message with the secretary there for the Director to call me and I was clear that I wanted to have our allergist come in to the school (free of charge) to meet with the teachers and staff to go over food allergies. He does this and is a real advocate for children with food allergies. I told her that it would be a good refresher and some good new info since the world of food allergies are changing. Fewer kids are outgrowing milk and egg allergies, so they will be seeing more of those allergies in their school in the coming years. The Director never called me. They are all fairly “minor”, but put together they show a pattern of disregard for the severity of food allergies. I have drafted a letter to the owner which I will get to her tomorrow. I have also scheduled a meeting with her for next Wednesday (June 18th).

In light of all of this, I decided I wanted to show my appreciation (aside from just saying thank you) to Kayla’s teacher and aid. So I gave them each a little Longaberger pottery bowl filled with freshly picked strawberries and a thank you note. Without them, Kayla would not have been as safe as she was this past school year.

I hope everyone else who has been in this stifling heat stayed cool over the weekend. I know I’m still paying for not staying inside more.

*Note - I will be posting pictures later on this evening.*