J and I decided to treat ourselves to some take-out this evening. We hardly ever bring dairy into the house but tonight was just one of those nights where we wanted it that bad. As usual we took all the precautions, got everything we needed out before, etc. While we were sitting down eating, Kayla comes into the kitchen (she was supposed to be in bed). I told her that we were eating dairy and to not touch what we had. She was curious and came over to look at our food. We showed her what we had and told her what it was. I also told her we'd clean up when we were done. So she then looked at me and said, "Make sure you wipe the table really good (she evened used hand motions to demonstrate what she meant)." She then went back upstairs to her room without any flicker of upset or nerves.

She makes us so proud - we must be doing something right. And yes, honey, we did wipe the table really well.

With Kayla’s party this past weekend, my Sister, Mom and I spent the entire day Friday cooking. Friday night when she was back at my Mom’s, my Sister put together my new recipe for Watermelon Salsa (full party details and menu with recipes to follow). In this recipe are fresh jalapenos cut up. She did this and had problems with her hands burning from the juice. She had to throw out her contacts that night and even the next morning, had burning in her eyes when she put new ones in and had to throw those away also. In the midst of this, she had to find a way to neutralize the oils from the jalapenos because it obviously does not wash off easily. So she did what most of us do nowadays – search the internet. And what she found was that you should rinse your hands in rubbing alcohol and then soak them in DAIRY!!!

So my wonderful big Sis suffered in silence so as to not contaminate herself for Kayla’s party and food prep.

This past Saturday in the middle of my Sister's visit Kayla had a birthday party. Her friend Cole, who we met when they were in Kindermusik together as babies is turning 5 as well. He was one of her "first friends" outside my circle. Up until now I've always dragged my Mom with me to birthday parties when J was unavailable to help me police the food and monitor Kayla when Alysa is with me. But as Kayla gets older and her awareness and responsibility grows I have to expand my comfort zone. It's not an easy thing to do, but I take things situation by situation. My girlfriend Jodi is really great, the party was at her house, so being familiar with the surroundings helps. She also has always avoided cheesy foods - doritos, goldfish, etc. I knew the menu and it was all relatively tame - any foods that may have contained dairy were mild and lower risk (like chicken nuggets, etc). So I made this party our solo debut. And I'm happy to report it was a success. Alysa enjoyed the potato chips and pretzels at the party while Kayla ate the snacks I brought.

They had a air and bubbles show which the girls absolutely loved! Kayla handled the whole partly beautifully (especially since I didn't realize I had no icing and had to bring her a cookie instead of a cupcake). She did well avoiding the food and joined the singing while staying far enough away from the cake. She even swung on the swings with her cookie while I helped Alysa have a piece of cake. She was patient and understanding and she made me so proud.

The only thing I did avoid was eating myself. I'm still not comfortable leaving her long enough to get food and then taking that much time to eat it. So for now, I'll stick with watching the other adults enjoy the food. Baby steps, right?



Next party...Kayla's!

I keep meaning to get on here, but with my Sis and her kids here it's been kind of hard. Give me the weekend - I'll get some pictures up Sunday since I should have some peace and quiet for a few moments.

But luckily we're all having a blast together. Tomorrow we're off to Storybook Land. Fun-fun!

I just had to share my newest find. I love when companies put the positive spotlight on food allergies. Don't get me wrong, there are not many positives to having a food allergy, but with so much negative press, having it pop up with a positive or even just an every-day-reality-type spin on it is a breath of fresh air. I get excited to see even the smallest company or article giving food allergies some positive attention. So it's even better when larger and well established companies jump in.

Recently, Kayla discovered American Girl. Since then she has created a wishlist of wants from their catalog. The other night I received an e-mail from a close friend who's daughter is also into American Girl. American Girl has come out with a new lunch box set for the dolls. As with all their stuff, it's an adorable set, but what makes it so special to me is not the cute sandwich on the croissant or the box of raisins or apple sauce cup. It's not even the adorable lunchbox cooler. But it's the "littlest" thing - this set of 4 stickers...



Kayla gives all her dolls and stuffed animals allergies. The cat is allergic to mice, the dog is allergic to bones. And since she knows I am allergic to cats, she feeds her cat stuffed animals special food so "Mommy will be safe", and so on and so forth. So this will absolutely make her day! A friend of mine is getting this for her and I can't wait!

I don't even have this yet and I left a review for the product praising American Girl for their thought and attention to kids who live with food allergies. Even their product description is heart warming.

"A sheet of allergy stickers your girl can use to help her doll stay safe while she snacks"

It is through products like these that our jobs as food allergy parents do and will get easier. For us it's a fact of life and I for one am thrilled to be able to give Kayla something that will help her to feel, as Gina put it, like "One of the Gang".

Thank you American Girl!

We headed out to our township fireworks yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that although there were a lot of people there was enough space and it was not cramped or crowded. The girls had room to run around and play and be goofy. The fireworks, which we were told would go off at dusk, didn't start until 9:45p.m. Alysa was begging to go home even before they started. But they were great and the girls were in awe!

Shortly after we got there we got to see 4 parachuters jump out of a plane. Later on when Alysa saw another plane she asked if more would jump. I can see this may be a running theme in our house now.



You will note the glow sticks in Alysa's hand. These were "given" to us when we arrived. You'll note how fed up I am with taxes with this translation (my actual thoughts at the time)...

Attendant - "Would you like some glow sticks for the kids? They were provided by the Township"

My Internal Translation - "Would you like your kids to have a glow stick that you, bought for this event?"

Thankfully the kids loved their glow sticks - Alysa actually slept with hers. :)

It's been super busy around here and it will just get worse with my Sister and kids arriving tonight for 3 1/2+ weeks. We're so excited to see them but with that and Kayla's party, etc it has been and will continue to be hectic around our house.

But I can never be too busy to stop and reflect on this day, the birth of our great country and the freedoms conceived by our founders. This year will be the first we will take the girls to see the fireworks. We will try to find a place not amongst the crowds, but where we can get a good view. Kayla is not big on loud noises, so being too close will not make her a happy camper. They are very excited to go, so it should be a nice night and it's a picture perfect spring day - sunny and 81 with a nice cool breeze and very low humidity.

This day is even more important now as our freedoms are slowly being stripped away by our ever-increasing-in-power government and elected officials. With every new government mandate and law, we have less control over our lives and the lives of our children. We are being told not to live for ourselves and the values, we, as individuals hold dear, but to live for others. This is not what I wish for myself or my children or any individual in our great nation. It is because of this that I am excited to be joining my Dad in Washington DC on September 12, 2009 for the National Taxpayer Protest. It will be my first protest and I know it will feel good to do something to help get the word out that the path this country is headed down is disappointing and unacceptable!!!

I hope everyone enjoys the festivities today. Please take the time to remember what made this country so great to begin with - Individual Rights - the right to pursue our own dreams and not the dreams of others!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY