3x5 Folded Card Thank You Card

I love creating cards at Shutterfly.com during the holidays. I especially love when they give me a coupon for sharing my creations. Enjoy!

Mint Julep Thank You Card

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Candy Canes

Whose child does not love a great Candy Cane? Or as my boys always say, a great Candy Can? We have been chomping on these candy canes. They are made in Mexico, but the box promises that they are made in a nut-free facility. So far, so good. Merry Christmas!

The Spangler Website says this (and I LOVE IT): It has been our experience that families with allergic children take great care to determine the origin of the food their children consume to protect against an allergic reaction. Families should ask the origin of any candy or food product that is in an open bowl or container to ensure what their children consume is free of allergies. If you have any questions, please contact our Quality Assurance department through email at info@spanglercandy.com or toll-free 888-636-4221. 5 ways we make sure our products are allergy free. Our manufacturing facilities are 100% free of gluten (from wheat, barley and rye), dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish and shellfish. All Spangler Candy products are made on dedicated manufacturing equipment. We thoroughly clean every manufacturing line, every day. We notify all of our suppliers about our allergen standards. We also request an annual allergen report from each supplier to verify that the ingredients they provide are allergy free. At least twice a year, all of our products are tested for allergens by an independent food lab. Did you know? Facts about food allergies and intolerances in the United States. •About 3 million children have a food or digestive allergy.1 •About 4% of adults have a food allergy.2 •30-50 million people are lactose intolerant.3 •Over 3 million have celiac disease, an intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye.4 •More than 3 million are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, or both.5 •Over 900,000 have milk allergies.6 •Over 2 million have autism.7 •From 1997 to 2007 the number of children with food allergies rose by 18%.8 (1) National Center for Health Statistics, 2008 Brief, (2) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 2007, (3) Consumer Health Interactive Report, 2008 (4) Celiac.com, 2007, & National Institutes of Health (5) Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, 2003 (6) Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), (7) Autism Speaks (8) American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, 2008.

Cholinergic Urticaria

This very much describes L. I feel like this answers the questions to L's hives at the pool and in the bathtub, when running around the backyard, and when just getting too hot at night or when playing indoors. For example, tonight L was wearing a tee-shirt, sweatshirt, and jeans while running around the house playing. He came to me with a few hives on his face and said "Will you help me get this sweatshirt off?" I immediately think

Those hives are tempature related, not food related.

A whole new way of thinking about L's hives, for sure. I am in awe that the answer to his constant hives for the past few years is quite possibly due to tempature changes and quite possibly not food related. I really am amazed at how closely the article in the link describes L's symptoms. As always I am grateful to a loving God who has opened my eyes to yet another answer in understanding my children.

Annual Allergy Testing for L

The boys have been to too many doctor appointments lately. But, we have made some great discoveries at the Allergy Appointments.

Below are the blood work results for L. They will be followed up by skin testing of the allergens listed with which fall below .34. To read the results you should know: Less than 0.10...no significant level detected .10-.34 borderline, significance is determined with doctor (our doctor will follow up with skin testing and possibly food challenge) .35-.70 Low .71-3.50 Moderate 3.51-17.50 High 17.51 or greater VERY HIGH L's Results Fall 2011: Peanut >100 (extremely high as expected) Pea 20.60 (This is no surprise really because Peas are legumes like Peanuts. This is a new and very serious allergy) Sesame Seed .62 (This is new and significant. No sesame seeds for L in any form) Almond 7.28 Pistachio 2.51 Hazelnut .94 Chestnut .73 Cashew .97 Brazilnut .77 Conclusion: No nuts, sesame seeds, or peas for my oldest! Numbers that have dropped/or are insignificant: Milk .18 Casein (milk protein) .14 Egg Yolk .30 Egg White .26 Latex .15 Red Dye <.10 Gelatin Bovine <.10 Gelatin Porcine .28 Yellow Dye .12 The next step, to be preformed next Wednesday, skin test to Latex, Milk, Egg. If the skin testing goes well the next step would be a food challenge (a little bit of the food is eaten in Doctor Office and patient would be watched for reaction)

Questions I still have from L's results

Questions I still have: Is L really not allergic to gelatin? The gelatin in Frosted Mini Wheats used to really make him cough, but he did love them? He dislikes most food with gelatin (jello and marshmallows) L always has hives it is a daily occurrence. The cleared up a lot once latex, food dyes and gelatin were removed from his day/diet. But, I learned today there are sooooo many reasons for hives. Non-food, non-latex reasons are very possibly the answer. The hives I thought L was getting to food dyes and latex could also be explained by Immunologic and Non-immunologic Urticaria...basically HIVES. There are several causes of hives and they do explain exactly when L has hives that I thought were food related. Reasons include being exposed to hot and cold temperatures in the pool and bathtub. L regularly gets hives at the pool and almost nightly in the bathtub, which could mean the temperature change causes hives, not the latex toys or the food/medicine he just consumed before bath time. L will get hives when upset and when he plays outside (exercise induced hives), when clothes are too tight (in his most recent growth spurt his clothes, specifically his elastic waist band of underwear, which contains Latex, itch and cause redness and hives), after playing the violin and having an object rest in the "cave" of his neck, the resting of the solid object could cause the hives as opposed to the latex(in the form of bandages to make it softer) on the violin). Hindsight is 20/20 it is easy to see where I could suspect a latex allergy in place of Urticaria. Some foods and medicines do cause Uticaria, such as eggs, nuts, fish, and penicillin and sulfa. But, I am definitely rethinking why L gets hives. I feel like we have some answers from today's results and we have a possibility of adding Eggs, Milk, Gelatin and Dyes back into L's regular diet. Wouldn't that be wonderful? We are still a NUT free home. We now will not let L near PEAS:) Lucky kid...well at least he thinks so. He was not at all allergic to green beans, so I will put those back in his diet:)Sorry L! All of this information is a lot for L, who is just 5 years old. My plan is to talk to him about Urticaria and call it just plain old HIVES and to try to teach him better how to understand his body and be able to alert us, his teacher or other adults when he recognizes signs of an allergic reaction. Also, L very rarely complains of itchiness or any discomfort when he has hives. Hives are not treated with medicine unless they become painful or disrupt life work, play and/or sleep (this is the advice from my doctor....not medical advise for you or your child). I will let you know what the skin results tell us and possibly the food challenge. I really never imagined we would work up to a food challenge for L. If we do great, I welcome it. But, if we don't L already lives without and we know God has a plan for L and we will find Joy in the Journey with or without egg and milk allergies:)

B's Results are so pretty

B's Results Fall 2011: Casein (milk protein) <.10 Milk <.10 Egg White .26 Egg Yolk <.10 Soybean <.10 PEANUT .44 (This is a class 1 allergy. When B was 1 y/o he was a class 4, when B was 2 y/o class 2, and now class 1....this is a very positive trend. The doctor predicts a possible food challenge next year if the number continues to go down. I am afraid to be too optimistic. Time will tell. But for now no NUTS!) Could B possibly be food allergy free in a year? Unimaginable, but really nice to imagine!

Traveling with Food Allergies

I just read an interesting tip at the allergist office yesterday...When traveling bring along more Epipens than you would normally carry. I had never thought to do this. We always travel with L's and B's two pack of Epipen Jr's. We always keep them in a set. So we always travel with four epipens, two for L and two for B. I think this is a great tip for traveling because you may need your Epipen and be either farther from a hospital than usual or not sure of where a hospital is/get lost, etc. (just let your imagination imagine as a mom, mine usually will:) On our next trip we will take our "at home" epipens and "going out" epipens. Love this tip, hope you do too! Why so many Epipens, you maybe wondering? You can use an Epipen every 15 minutes as needed for anaphylaxis. Also, sometimes Epipens don't work or the person who needs the epipen shot fights it and you don't get it injected all the way, several reasons I have heard of and can imagine. I know my L, who is 5 years old, will fight me if the epipen is ever needed because he absolutely hates shots! Safe travels!

The forbidden fruit

I thought I had it all perfect. L knew that he could not eat anyone's food but his own at school--only his lunch, only snacks from his safe snack box. Well, for the Fall Curriculum his class learned about trees, specifically the APPLE tree. We went to Open House night as a family. The brother of one of L's friends, gave L and apple slice on a toothpick, and I was surprised to see L eat it without batting an eye! What my perfect plan ruined!

I talked to L about this on the way home from open house....WE only eat our food! We don't know if that apple had been in the hands of someone who had nuts on their hands or cross-contaminated when cut. L said "But mom I did not get sick. It was fine." Okay folks I have a smart guy on my hands. But I said "Yes you were fine, but lets not do that again. You only eat your safe food at school." End of discussion...Well, no not quite. The next day we are walking home from school. L says, "We learned the parts of an apple today and then our teacher let us all taste a bite of apple." "Did you L?" "I don't want to tell you, Mom." PUNISHMENT....he disobeyed. Then, time to reflect on my strict rules....L has a great teacher who can probably cut the apple up safely. I talked to teacher. L, teacher and I had a discussion about this matter. We decided if the teacher, L and I discuss the food (used as a learning tool) L can have it in the class. The next week his class rated Yellow, Green and Red apples and graphed the results. L was part of the apple tasting and rating contest. L knows I only want him to eat food from his teacher that she and I have discussed. So far it is working out. The teacher and I have discussed pumpkin seeds, popcorn and, of course, apples. By the way, the Yellow Apple was by far the most popular apple in L's class! L is a smart kid, who has a lot of food restrictions. L feels safe at school and trusts his teacher. I trust her too. She is really a great teacher for L. We have some new rules and they seem to be working. I feel that L and I have to be a team, working together to manage his food allergies, because one day he will be doing it all by himself. (DISCLAIMER: I am still the parent and the one who makes most decisions...L is just smart enough and aware of his food allergies enough to help me and be on the team to keeping him safe.)

Halloween

We survived it...that is always my first goal...It was fun...that's my second goal!

We trick-r-treated with neighbors. Our neighbor was just diagnosed with peanut and tree nut allergies. We were officially the nut-free gang! We had a little bit of an adventure. We got locked out of our house, without our epipen jr.s and benadryl. My mom and brother went and got a spare key for us from my mom's house (sorry I ruined there Halloween...but they saved the night!) And luckily we trick-r-treated with friends who have a epinpen jr and benadryl. I hope to not have that kind of adventure again, or at least if I do it again I want our epipens and benadryl with us for goodness sake! I let my boys accept all the candy and when they got home they traded their bags full of candy for a cupcake and half a rice-milk candy bar by Enjoy Life. Click here for a coupon. Very yummy! There was some kettle corn in their bag that they could have. L loved it. B left his bag for L to eat, not a popcorn fan I guess. Check out this great popcorn. This was a new brand for me. The packaging looked promising. I researched the company on line and felt it was completely safe for them to enjoy it! Check it out. In our area it sells at Remke Biggs and Costco.

Soy Free Vitamins

I have had a lot of trouble finding a children's daily vitamin that includes iron and is soy free. For L the challenge was Gelatin Free and Dye Free. The answer has been: L takes

A special thank you to all the Vegans who have made a market for "gelatin free" vitamins and other health foods. We found these vitamins at a locally owned health food store. You can buy them on the internet cheaper. I may do that next time, assuming I plan ahead in time. For B the challenge is he is allergic to SOY. He could eat the very popular Flintstones Complete:

But, I am trying to avoid the Red Dye for him as well, to avoid a future allergy (my own concocted method, not one I have reviewed with the allergist yet) Currently I spend a lot of time on the elementary school grounds. I have met many great people. I recently met a neat lady who works at Whole Food Market. She has become a great resource for me on healthy foods and vitamins. She recently informed me that most vitamins were wheat based until recently when the price of wheat went up....then they mainly became soy-based because soy is cheaper. I have not been able to discover for sure if the above mentioned vitamin, that L takes, only contains soybean oil and/or soy lechitin or if it contains the soy protein, flour, etc that B has to avoid. This post is motivating me to write Bluebonnet and ask if there vitamin just contains soybean oil....or actual soy protein and/or soy flour. I will get back to you if I receive a response. Do you have a favorite Soy-free, dye free-vitamin that contains iron??? Please share!!!

Birthday Party with Coconut Ice Cream

We had L's friend party this week. L is 5 years old! I can't believe it. His food allergies seem to be sticking around (no outgrowing them yet!) I served water(little ones still spill and oh! they did), chocolate cupcakess (egg free, dairy free, nut free, soy free ones) with coconut ice cream----chocolate or vanilla. No child noticed the difference in the ice cream. One child, who has a milk intolerance, took some convincing that he was allowed to eat ice cream. I took him in the kitched and showed him the containers with the coconuts on them (not cows!:) He liked the chocolate....evidence: it was all gone!

The cupcakes and ice cream were not sugar free. This was well noted when the kiddos went crazy after "cake and ice cream". It was so nice, as the mama, to see B and L sitting at their little picnic table (spilling water everywhere) and enjoying "cake and ice cream" with their friends. No special orders, no digging out their different "safe" cupcakes because they were all safe. Next week we will dig out our safe treats at a friend party, but for this week all the kids were the same and it was a happy day. Happy Birthday, L!

Coconut Milk

My boys love, love, love Coconut Milk Yogurt and Ice Cream by So Delicious! If you have not yet tried it...go get some! Don't delay! It is delicious and sweet! We will be eating some at this weekends birthday festivities:)

Basics

So I did a lot of reading of other mom blogs and I have read a lot of books about food allergies and this is what I determined was needed for L's situation: 1. ONLY eat food from home 2. Be in a Peanut/Tree Nut free classroom 3. Everyone washes there hands when entering the room 4. L always washes his hands with soap and water before eating 5. L always eats on a clean surface 6. L washes his hands with soap and water in the cafeteria (hand sanitizer will not do the trick) 7. L eats at the Peanut/ Tree Nut free table This has been working well for 3 weeks, but L has had hives the past two days. The possible culprit a sore in his mouth (probably where he bit his lip) and he cannot keep his hands off of it....despite my threats and redirections, I find his little hand in his mouth : (

School-IHP

L has begun Kindergarten! I can't believe he is old enough! Don't all mothers say that! I spent a lot of time doing paperwork, arranging medications and talking to his teacher to get ready. We decided to do an Individual Health Plan instead of a 504B. I feel this is the best decision this year. I really might change my mind! The District cut the school Nurses and replaced them with Health Aides. Our Health Aide is so sweet and kind, but she is a former Art Teacher, not a medical background:( The Health Aide is organized and even gave me her cell number. L's teacher is super nice and is providing (to her best ability) a peanut-free room. L is doing the "snack box" provided from home and lunches packed at home. He only eats his food! I really feel super strong about this! L knows the rules...only eat food from home. It seems to be working and we are almost a month into school. I really wanted to shelter him and keep him in a nice peanut free bubble....But he wants to SOCIALIZE and learn with great teachers and fun peers! I know in my heart him being at school is what he needs and what is best for him. I only hope God has the patience to listen to my lengthy prayers about keeping my little boy safe!

peanut butter cups

I was in a room with L and B and a bunch of other kids and a bunch of pb cups! The smell was foriegn and awful (because at this point I really hate peanuts and peanut butter). We left soon after this. We were not expecting peanuts/peanut butter. When we got home it was bath and bedtime. L had hives all over his trunk when I bathed him. Hard to say if they were because we were in a room with so much pb being eaten by young (messy) children. But, it made me feel sad and worry about the future and future social events It made me upset that food is such a BIG part of socializing. But, I know that we just take one day at a time and that God will lead the way if we let him.

HAND SOAP

So the first week of school for L has come and gone. It was thankfully uneventful. I was really proud of L for coming home and telling me that there was no handsoap in the cafeteria, only hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer will not do the trick. It took some investigating to discover the dispensers in the cafeteria do not hold the foam soap supplied by the district. It just leaks out as soon as you put it in. I bought some thicker soap and it still does not work that well. For now the solution is to have a regular store bought dispenser, which Bob the Janitor fills on a regular basis and to keep soap in the not-working-so-well dispenser until who knows when. L tells me each day that he is washing his hands....this is the important part that his hands are cleaned before he eats:) And now I am friends with Bob the janitor and Bob the janitor now understands why hand sanitizer is not enough for my son:)

Red Dye #40

We have finally figured out one of the reasons for L's hives. Red Dye #40! It's everywhere...in toothpaste, juice (or I should say "juice"), hand soap, shampoo, vitamins, candy, everywhere! Avoiding it for a child with peanut, tree nut, milk, and egg allergies is hard because ....that means no skittles, starbursts and other go to treats. Halloween is shaping up to be an all out trade if for a Rice Milk Chocolate Bar. The Candy Bar is good....but we shall see how it goes:) I read somewhere technically you can't be "allergic" to Red Dye #40 (which is made from Coal Tar, yuck!). It is technically an "intolerance". But, you can have hives, breathing trouble and possibly anaphylaxis. This is serious business. So we were planning to skip our annual trip to the allergist. But, in light of this and also the gelatin allergy. As well as possible seasonal allergies and reactive airway business, which means nightly breathing treatments.....I think we will take Luke back to the Allergist for a little follow up, some testing and a good plan to keep L safe, happy and healthy!

Vitmain without Gelatin

We have recently discovered L is allergic to Gelatin. This explains his hives after he got his chicken pox vaccine, his coughing while eating certain cereals (Lucky Charms, Frosted Mini Wheats (All Varaties), and his more recent stomach upset and general hives when taking a daily vitamin. Almost all daily vitamins contain gelatin, as well as some fruit snacks, soft drinks, and canned meats. Make-up also contains gelatin, luckily as a boy this should not be an issue. Gelatin is made from animals. So we have had some luck in finding Gelatin-free vitamins. Vegans don't want Gelatin in there diet, and either does L. This is a blessing. I don't think L needs a daily vitamin, but B does need one. L wants to be included in the morning vitamin fun and thanks to Lil Critters he can be. I found the vitamins at Target. Random place, but I am grateful to find them there and not make a special trip to the health food store.

GELATIN

It took me a long time to figure this out. But, L is allergic to gelatin. I began to suspect this after little things added up. First, he had a terrible reaction to his Chicken Pox Vaccine. Second, every time he ate Frosted Mini Wheats he would cough and cough. Then, it happened again with Lucky Charms. Finally everyday he and B take a daily vitamin. L began to complain about his tummy hurting and refused to eat much of the time. After label reading, I cut out gelatin and life is much better. L has not had official (expensive) allergy testing. But when you know you know. He can be tested in his next annual allergy doctor visit. L has been very involved in this discovery and feels more confident eating when he knows the ingredients of his food and plays in active part with me in making sure his food is safe.

I would have a harder time with this discovery, except when I told the doctor I though there must have been egg in his chicken pox vaccine because he had hives for two weeks following. She said "it may have been gelatin." sort of thinking out loud. I am so glad she did. I have since read that there is more likely to be a reaction to gelatin than eggs when vaccinations are given.

SOY

Somehow B's allergy to SOY was overlooked and not tested in his first round of testing at 13 months old. Now at 2 we know he is allergic to soy. He was not experiencing hives when he drank soy and I was missing it. He instead sounded like a made case of bronchitis all the time. I worried about him so much. It was a huge answer to prayer when we discovered his SOY allergy. Since eliminating soy he is much better, happier, and more energetic. L continues to drink and eat soy as a main part of his diet. It gets a little more complicated as what they are allergic to changes and goes in different directions. But, with extra planning and label reading we are doing just fine.