Geez - has this week gone by already? I had every intention of posting this earlier in the week, but the time just got away from me.

Monday night when I got home from work, the girls were SO excited because they said they had a surprise for me. I was taken into the backyard to find this...







J got it for me and put it together with their help of course. And what makes it better is it was a "steal". It's something a customer at his store special ordered a couple of years ago and then never purchased. So J's boss gave it to him for next to nothing. I love a bargain!!! So now I don't have to fumble with table umbrella's anymore and I can sit in my shade at my patio table.

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Other than that, it's been a pretty low-key week. I gave up on undies for Alysa this week since that is the only time she has accidents. She's been accident free all week, so I'll try again tomorrow.

Planning for Kayla's party is in full swing and she's getting very excited knowing which friends will be there. I have to start thinking about the menu, which, if my one friend comes (who I met in my support group) will be free of dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, strawberries AND eggs. That will accommodate 3 other allergic children besides Kayla. The eggs shouldn't really be difficult (which makes it easy to leave out), since I make all my food from scratch anyway. It mainly means no potato or macaroni salad. I never make deviled eggs in August anyway. But I got a new kielbasa recipe from a Mom at gymnastics, so I think I'll try that out.

Monday night when I was leaving Kayla's gymnastics class, one of the Dads came up to me and said him and another Mom were talking and he asked if I'd be interested in taking the kids out for poison ice cream after. I, of course, thanked him for the offer, but declined and explained Kayla's allergy. He immediately asked if she could have water ice. So it looks like we'll be going to Rita's. There really are so many people out there that are willing to put out the extra effort. I spoke to the manager tonight of the nearby Rita's and he's pretty sure that they can put something aside for us. She can't eat anything out of an open container (b/c of cross-contamination) and since it will be 7:30 when we go, they won't have anything sealed anymore. I have to call tomorrow night to talk to the owner to confirm that it can be done. I'll go in the morning if I have to, pay for it and come back later to eat it. Of course, this is way out of my comfort zone since the other kids may very well get custard or cream ices, but...it again comes down to the battle between keeping her safe vs. letting her do normal kid things. Since it's a small group, I want to give it a shot. Just know there will be one super stressed Mommy at Rita's Monday night!