Our Story : The Good, The Bad, And The Food Allergies

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T12:55:00.003-05:00

(graphic from "Free clip art" on Hubpages)

LIFE I AM THE NEW YEAR
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Life I am the new year.
I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.
I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me,
waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve
is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will,
all the faith that you claimed but did not have --
these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened
by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity
to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "behold, I make all things new."
I am the new year.
-- Author Unknown

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies - reworked

2009-12-29T08:01:00.003-05:00

I didn't bake as much this year as I usually do. We usually have too many cookies left over and then I eat them all. That is really NOT what I need to do. So I scaled down my baking. Plus I ran out of time. I did make these but subbed holiday M&M's instead of safe chocolate chips (since he passed his peanut challenge in October). And I took Kinnitoos Vanilla Sandwich cookies and dipped them in chocolate. It's easy and everyone likes chocolate covered cookies. But I saw this recipe for red velvet shortbread cookies on Tastykitchen.com and they looked so festive that I just had to make them. The recipe also didn't include egg, so that was one ingredient I didn't have to sub for. They turned out delicious and I'm having one right now with my coffee (and yes, I've started my New Years Diet but that doesn't include a morning cookie at the moment).

Gluten Free, Egg Free, Nut Free (and can be dairy free) Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup Bette's Gourmet Featherlight Rice Flour Blend (Authentic Foods)
2. 1/4 brown rice flour
3. 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
4. 1/4 cup sorghum flour
5. 1 tsp. xantham gum
6. 1 tsp. baking powder
7. 1/2 tsp. baking soda
8. 1/3 cup sugar
9. 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
10. 1/4 tsp. salt
11. 1/2 cup butter or dairy free margarine, cut up
12. 1 Tbs. red food coloring (or adjust until you get the color you want)
13. 3 ounces safe white chocolate chips
14. 1 tsp. shortening
15. sprinkles (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a food processor combine the flours, xantham gum, baking powder, baking soda. Cover and pulse until mixed well. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Cover and pulse until combined. Add the butter/margarine and the red food coloring. Pulse until mixture resembles crumbs. Then continue to process until mixture clumps together.

2. Scoop dough onto parchment paper and knead for 2 minutes. Press dough until approximately 1/2 inch think. Cut with round cooking cutter and move cutouts to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue with scraps until all dough is used.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until middle is set. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

4. In sauce pan, melt white chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Dip half of each cooking into melted chocolate and add sprinkles if desired. Place back on parchment paper until set. Store in sealed container.

Enjoy!!

Another Christmas has past...

2009-12-28T08:36:00.002-05:00

The older I get the faster time seems to fly. I can't believe that Christmas 2009 is behind us and that we are looking to 2010. My boys are getting so big. I just want time to slow down a bit so that I can savor this time when they are little. Every time I turn around another child is wearing floods. I can't seem to keep them in pants that actually fit.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were rather quiet at our house and I was able to take in every second of the wonder. They boys were excited for Santa's arrival. Mom on the other hand was feeling a terrible upper respiratory infection coming on (and oh did it ever! I think Santa brought toys and GERMS with him...)

Before Christmas Eve mass

Milk and cookies for Santa and some carrots for the Reindeer

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Present opening happened so quickly that I don't have any "during" pictures

But they look happy in the "after" pictures so I guess that Santa did good

Checking out the stockings

Grandma and Grandpa came over later with more presents and then we visited the other set of Grandparents the next day.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:27:00.002-05:00

Luke 2: 1 - 14
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1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'i-us was governor of Syria.
3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.
7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
10 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;
11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

My oldest son is getting coal this year

2009-12-19T09:04:00.003-05:00

This morning I was in the kitchen looking for new and wonderful recipes to make for Christmas dinner. My son comes in the kitchen and gives me a really big hug (which he doesn't go often) and says lovingly, "Thank you Mom". And I said "Your welcome, honey".
(Boy) "Thank you for working my Christmas party at school yesterday".

(Mom) "You're welcome. I enjoy being there with you and your classmates. I had fun".

(Boy - as he's walking away) "Thank you Mom. Do you want to know why I said 'Thank You' again"?

(Mom - thinking it's going to be something really sweet) "Sure, honey".

(Boy - yelling as he runs off) "Because you're forty and you probably couldn't hear me".

You better run boy. I may be forty, but I'm still faster....

Guess he forgot who does the Christmas shopping in this house.

Fa la la: We're in the home stretch

2009-12-17T16:58:00.006-05:00

Only 8 days left until Christmas. Are you excited? I am. And a bit behind.

I've been at the school all week for various projects/plays/musical shows. Today was my only non school day and as luck would have it the Little Man came in my room at 4:30 AM complaining that his throat hurt. Surely it couldn't be strep. He just finished his last round of antibiotics for strep on Sunday. But he was crying and he had a fever and it sure "looked" like strep. And it looked like my free day was no longer free. I was going to finish my Christmas shopping today, but you can't drag a child with strep through crowded stores. Well I could, but then I might be giving the gift of strep to many people for the holidays. The good thing about getting up at 4:30 AM is that it allowed me to get my Christmas cards addressed (but I don't have stamps) and the treat bags for tomorrows school Christmas party put together. At least I was productive. The pediatrician confirmed it this afternoon. It's strep and he is on another course of antibiotics. Sadly he'll miss his Christmas party tomorrow at school. He missed his Halloween party because of strep. This has been going on way too long.

Some highlights from the past week:

Monday we built gingerbread houses. The Little Man's allergy friendly one didn't hold up so well and we had a roof collapse. So what's a mom to do? Stick a big wad of marshmallows on the inside of the house and call it an avalanche. He was still a bit disappointed but we tried our best.

They did the nativity at school (I don't have pictures of that, only video) and then Noah's Ark. The Little Man was the rainbow.

Taking a bow.

Just keeping busy with Christmas prep

2009-12-10T21:36:00.004-05:00

The days are flying by and December 25th is getting closer. Things are getting done but I still feel like there is much to do. The boys presents have all been bought and wrapped. I have about 50% of the family members presents bought.

The house is all decorated and looking festive for Saturday Evenings "business" Christmas party. Except that the porch lights keep blowing a fuse, in the actual lights. I've fixed it a few times, but since the temperatures went to 18 degrees F and the winds are 50 MPH, they are currently out and staying that way until I find my parka. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well please for Saturday's party. I'm a tad nervous...

I think I have all of next weeks school activities on the calendar and I have one allergy friendly gingerbread house ready to go for Monday's house building.

I even managed to find 2 out of 3 teacher's gifts (by accident). I stopped at a local nursery yesterday to pick out a wreath for our front door. Apparently the winds were so high that they blew the roof off of their greenhouse (It's a HUGE greenhouse) destroying all the stuff inside so they had to close down to get everything put back together. So I stopped at a local farm instead and found a wreath, but also found some really nice gift baskets filled with local honey, pure maple syrup, pancake mix, Amish apple butter etc. They're really cute and hopefully it's something the teachers will actually use.

I haven't started baking yet. And there is still a bit of shopping to do. But I think things are, dare I say, under control.

Oh and I posted the other day about honey baked ham possibly being gluten free. I emailed them just to double check and here is their response:

Dear Janeen,

Thank you so much for your email. We always enjoy hearing from our
valued guests. To answer your question, there is no wheat, rye, barley,
oat, eggs, or tree nuts in The HoneyBaked Ham. If you need anything
else, please let me know.

Warmest Regards,

Bill Walters
Guest Experience Manager
The HoneyBaked Ham Company of Ohio
11935 Mason-Montgomery Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45249
Office: 800-394-4424 ext. 4103
Fax: 513-583-4191
bwalters@honeybaked-oh.com
Visit us on the web at www.honeybakedforyou.com

I'm still not trying it on Christmas(I already bought our ham that I will make myself) but I will consider this for the future!

And after all that, I'll leave you with this:

(pre-hair cuts)

(same day, post hair cuts)

And to all, a good night :)

Wheat Allergy Alert

2009-12-07T17:38:00.001-05:00

This came over from FAAN today:

WHEAT ALLERGY ALERT
December 7, 2009

College Inn is recalling “College Inn® No MSG Chicken Broth” due to undeclared wheat.

The product was distributed nationwide.

The 14 ½-oz. cans are mislabeled “No MSG” and bear any “best by date” with UPC 2400032230.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 552-7684 or visit www.CollegeInn.com.

DUDE, Honeybaked Ham is now gluten free

2009-12-03T15:48:00.003-05:00

I had no idea! But while doing research for WEGO Health today I came upon this post from Allergn Free Please and that's what she said. So I went to the website and in the FAQ section it says :

What are the ingredients in The HoneyBaked Ham®?
Ham Cured With Water, Salt, Sodium Lactate, Sugar, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.
Glazed With Sugar, Gelatin, Paprika (Color), Maltodextrin, Food Starch - Modified, Dextrose, Spices, Natural Flavor [With Brown Sugar. Invert Sugar], Natural Flavoring.
*** You are now free to enjoy any of our signature meats (HoneyBaked Ham, Sliced & Glazed Turkey, HoneyBaked Deli Style Boneless Ham) without wheat gluten!

SWEEEETTTT!!

I'm not sure I'm going to try this on Christmas (I have a fear of spending Christmas in the ER). But we will be trying this out for future reference.

Just thought I'd pass this along for anyone else who'd like to be lazy and buy a ham instead of make one (which is actually really easy).

Time sucks that get me every time

2009-12-02T14:56:00.001-05:00

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Moving right along to the next holiday

2009-11-30T19:52:00.005-05:00

With Thanksgiving behind us as a not so distant memory (I promise to share successful recipes soon. There were some good ones!), I've started getting serious with my Christmas decorating and planning. Both trees are up and most of the decorations. It did feel a little like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation though (minus Cousin Eddie). It took about 2.5 hours and 4 very painful phone calls to "Santa's Best" for some new bulbs to get my "ever lit" pre-lit Christmas tree lit. But it's working for the time being and hopefully the new bulbs will be here soon. I'm waiting for the ones I bought and rigged up from Target to give out any minute now. The young man from "Santa's Best" (that's how it came up on the caller i.d.) thanked me for not yelling and cursing at him since he really had no idea what he was doing and since he hung up on us twice. Apparently that was how all of his other calls went that day. I wanted to. I really did. But I had to remember the reason for the season...
The lights on the deck are up too. I had to buy all new ones since our old ones refused to work. One set of the new ones only half lit. I tried everything to get the other half to light but after shocking myself, decided it was best to return them and get a new set (Now I know why our GE stock is worth nothing. Can you say shoddy product??). But the tree, the deck and the house is finally all a glow with the Christmas cheer.

I am just about done with my shopping for the boys. I did most of it on-line this year as I felt time slipping away from me. Apparently I'm not much of an on-line shopper. My credit card company decided that it wasn't my "usual pattern". It must have appeared to them that someone must have stolen my card and had gone to town buying toys on-line. They decided that it was best to cancel card. At least they're pro-active...

The planning of the "corporate Christmas party" for my husband is going OK too. I say "OK" because I've had a few issues with the caterer but I think things are ironed out now.

I'm hoping to start wrapping this week. I always wait until the last minute for that and the hubs and I are usually scrambling on Christmas Eve to get things wrapped after the kids go to bed. I vow to be more organized this year! Things may have gotten off to a bumpy start, but they can only go up from here, right? RIGHT?

Are you a parent of a child newly diagnosed with food allergies? How about some answers to your questions...

2009-11-30T09:50:00.004-05:00

Originally posted on WEGO Health:
My son was diagnosed with his food allergies at 10 months of age. When the allergist told me that he was allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts my first thought was "What am I going to feed this child"? I was so lost and so scared and I had no idea what to do. No one else I knew had a food allergy child and I didn't know where to turn. Unfortunately, as wonderful as our allergist is, he is not very helpful in this area. He showed me pamphlets from The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and I did get in touch with them and purchased as much information as I could, but I did not find all the answers I was looking for. Not knowing where to turn or what to do is one of the chief complaints that I hear from parents with a newly diagnosed child. That is one of the reasons that I started my blog. I wanted to let others know that they are not alone. And that even though I'm not a physician or an expert, just a mom that has "been there, done that", they could feel free to contact me with questions and I would try to point them in the right direction.
To continue reading and to see all the helpful links, click here to go to WEGO Health

And so it begins

2009-11-28T09:20:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning we woke up to this:

It's gone now. But it will be back.

I'm not ready for snow and Old Man Winter.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:05:00.004-05:00

(photo from Microsoft Clip Art - this is not my table. I'm not that talented)

Wishing you all a wonderful and blessed (and allergy safe!) Thanksgiving Day!

Wishing: Safe travels to those that are on the road, safety always to those that are spending Thanksgiving keeping our country safe, and happiness to all.

I am thankful for too many things to list here. My life is so full and God has blessed me with so much. I may not always remember to say "thank you" and I may not always seem appreciative, but in my heart I always say a prayer of thanks for all the blessing I have been given.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!

Buttermilk

2009-11-24T11:42:00.002-05:00

I mentioned in yesterdays post that my buttermilk has "modified food starch" in it. I'm so naive that I thought buttermilk was just milk. Goes to show you, you can't get lax on that label reading. But I called the dairy this morning at 7:30 am to see if they knew (at this point I'd throw out the buttermilk, but I'm just curious) and the receptionist had no idea so she put me through to the plant. They didn't know either, so "Mike" told me to call back later as he had to go look it up. I just spoke to Mike and he said that it's corn. Good for us, bad for the corn avoiders.
I think from now on I'll go back to making my own (I thought I was being pro-active by buying it this time. I think I outsmarted myself).
But THANK YOU Colteryahn Dairy for going to the trouble for looking it up for me.
Just another reminder to take nothing for granted...

Sorry for the ramble. That is all. Resume normal activity.

Oh for the love of corn bread!

2009-11-23T17:51:00.003-05:00

Corn bread is going to get me this Thanksgiving. I'm just hoping that it doesn't get the Little Man....

I got a note from his teacher that the Kindergarten, along with the first grade, is making a "friendship stew" for Thanksgiving. Each child was asked to bring in an ingredient. We were asked to bring in "chopped apples". Even though the "stew" is supposed to be mostly fruit (fresh fruit, dried fruit, canned fruit, etc) I can't take it for granted that it will be safe for the Little Man. So I stopped by the class this afternoon to ask the teacher what is in the stew and he said it was basically just fruit, so I told him to look for a container of safe "stew" in the Little Man's back pack just for him. He said he thought the Little Man might be able to have the stew (NO) but he was sure he couldn't have the corn bread. CORN BREAD? CORN BREAD? DID SOMEONE MENTION CORN BREAD? CAUSE NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT CORN BREAD! Yes, corn bread. And the class will be making it themselves. IN the class room. An added bonus. It's Jiffy bread. But he doesn't have to eat it. OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!!
My son is severely allergic to wheat. His last reaction was anaphylactic (ingested reaction). He's contact reactive. Why did no one tell me about this??? He can't be in a class room with 17 other Kindergartners tossing about wheat laden batter (my head is exploding). I wanted to say "You are so NOT doing corn bread". But I'm a nice person and I will put my son out before I put out anyone else. So instead I went straight inside the building and hunted down the poor first grade teacher. I've known her for 5 or 6 six years and she knows the Little Man and his limitations well. And since she is part of this I said "R, he can not be in the room with this tomorrow". She could tell that I was about to take up my allergy mom machete and start taking out everyone around me at the knees. We agreed that all of the bread would be made in her room instead of the Kindergarten and the Little Man would go and hang out in the office while the bread was being made. I need to make sure that I send a note that states that everyone needs to be extra vigilant with hand washing too.

So like any loving allergy mom I come home and whip up a batch of corn bread for the Little Man to take to school. It's a new recipe that looks really tasty and it calls for buttermilk. I made the bread and then I noticed that buttermilk has ingredients that go beyond "milk". OH YES IT DOES, BECAUSE THAT IS HOW MY DAY IS GOING. One of those ingredients is "modified food starch". WHY???? WHY???? WHY???? Of course the dairy is closed so I can't ask them what the heck it is. They open back up tomorrow at 7:30 am, and I'll call back but for now I'm whipping up batch number two of corn bread with regular old milk. I HATE YOU CORN BREAD. I HATE YOU FOOD ALLERGIES. And I hate that schools have such issues with communication.

What we've been up to: a recap of sorts

2009-11-16T17:56:00.004-05:00

I know I've been absent from the blog lately. Life has really been getting in the way of blogging. So I'm just going "recap" last week. It's boring, but it's an update. If anything exciting happens, don't worry, I'll hop on and let you know. But for now, we are just hanging in there and getting by:

1. I started my Christmas shopping. I have the boys "big gift" bought (even though it isn't all that "big") and their Christmas outfits. Osh Kosh was having a really good sale so I'm done with the clothing.

2. The Husband went to Florida last week for business and either contracted strep on his way there or had it already and it was aggravated by the plane travel. The poor man was sick and had to go straight to the Doctor when he came back for antibiotics.

3. The boys have pretty much finished their antibiotics from their bouts of illness and I'm hoping that the worst is behind us and they stay healthy for a while (fingers crossed, please).

4. Because the Husband was ill, I got to go to Scouts last week with Older Boy. The boys worked with tools and made wooden airplanes. One mom with a bunch of dad's and tools was interesting, to say the least. I survived and all the boys left with completed airplanes and 10 fingers in tact.

5. Friday I got my hair cut. It's a little different but nothing too radical. I'm tired of my stacked bob and I'm looking for something else so I'm going to let it grow out a little bit. Then I went shoe shopping and had lunch with my mom. It was a girls day. Thank you for the birthday shoes mom, love you!

6. Yes, I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks. It's a big ugly one that should come with botox and liposuction. I don't want to talk about it....

7. A friend of our family passed away last week. He was 47 and left behind a wife and 3 children (9th grade, 7th grade, and 3rd grade). It was very unexpected and shocking and my heart breaks for their family. Please keep this family in your prayers.

8. I just got back from the Doctor and I have a sinus infection. I'll be on antibiotics too. We need a serious germ bomb to go off in our house and kill all this crud.

9. I'm ready for Thanksgiving - bring on the turkey.

Have a wonderful week!! Stay healthier than we are :)

And the winner is....

2009-11-15T21:37:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm a day late (and I'm sure a dollar short) but the winner is....

Infant Bibliophile! Congratulations!! Just email me your mailing info to chupieandjsmama@gmail.com and I will forward it to Betty Crocker and your prize pack will be on it's way.

Thanks to those who participated in the contest and thanks to Betty Crocker for the wonderful, gluten free prizes!!

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks (gluten free!) and a contest

2009-11-10T19:16:00.004-05:00

One of the Little Man's favorite snacks is fruit snacks. He.love.these.things. Did you know that Betty Crocker has gluten free fruit snacks? Although I may not be thrilled with the dyes in the fruit snacks, I am so grateful for something safe that he can eat that comes from the regular grocery and that I can tell non allergy moms about. A few times this year a really caring mom has called me to ask what she can bring to school for a birthday snack for the Little Man. These snacks are on the top of my list.

Betty Crocker contacted me to ask me if I (really the boys) would try some new snacks (yes, they sent me a FREE package of fruit snacks {giving a wave to the FTC}). The Little Man was highly excited. His reaction on Halloween made us a little leery of gummie type snacks but he's always eaten Betty Crocker snacks with no issue so we let him have these over the weekend. He had NO issues with the Betty Crocker snacks (thank goodness!). And both boys gave two thumbs up to the fruit snacks.

Along with the fruit snacks, BC sent some really neat toys that the boys have enjoyed. The light up yo you was their favorite.

The package included the following:

There are 2 boxes of gluten free fruit snacks, a Frisbee, a retro Pick ‘em Up Sticks game, and a light-up yo-yo. For more information on other allergens you can go
here.

The nice people at Betty Crocker have also offered the same package for me to give away. So I'm having a contest to give away the above package. Just leave your name and e-mail address in comments here on the blog and I will announce a winner on Saturday.

I survived swine flu 2009

2009-11-09T15:40:00.003-05:00

I need a shirt or a bumper sticker. When I last left you, the Little Man had strep throat. By the end of the week, the rest of us got knocked down by H1N1. Today is my first day out of bed since Friday. My husband didn't go to work Thursday or Friday and anyone who knows him knows that this is so not like him. He'd drag his deathbed into the office if he could. He's very dedicated. But someone in his office recently had a baby and once he started not feeling well, he realized that it was going to be bad and he didn't want to give to the baby. Older Boy went down fighting also. But he lost the fight and is still home from school today. I took him to the pediatrician because he is still coughing and he also has a double ear infection and a sinus infection.
So I'm very behind in everything. Except that I started to get my Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes together. Food Allergies keep the holidays interesting, so since the flu confined me to bed for 3 days I had nothing better to do except watch trash TV (Those crazy Housewives and ANTM kept me company) and catch up on my magazine reading. Thanks to all my back issues, I've got lots of new recipes to try out this holiday season and most involve cheese (surprise, surprise).
Speaking of cheese (my usual fat catalyst), who gains 4 pounds with H1N1? Yea, that'd be me. How the heck did that happen?? I was and still am nauseous, but potato chips were my friend and my main food group. They lessened the nausea. Chips should be banned...from the world.
I really hope that this takes care of our flu/H1N1 for the 2009/2010 season. Once you get it, can you get it again? And the total irony is that I signed us up on line for the H1N1 vac. I signed us up Wednesday night, and we fell down with it on Thursday. Go figure.
But we are recovering and I took down the "caution tape" and the Hazmat tent that surrounded our house. The mailman can stop throwing our packages in the bushes and running like heck (oh yea, he does that anyway).

WEGO Health webinar tomorrow: Join us

2009-11-03T20:20:00.001-05:00

Join us on Wednesday, November 4th for an exclusive, Health Activist-only event: "When to See a Reproductive Endocrinologist: 7 Key Factors".

Our speaker, Dr. Glenn Schatmman of Cornell University, is one of the country's leading reproductive endocrinologists.

Health Activist participants will gain:

Valuable insight to help women online to make informed decisions
In-depth medical updates - usually reserved for physicians - about the factors that all TTC women should consider
Exclusive direct access to Dr. Schattman during our live Q&A session

This event is free and made possible by one of WEGO Health's sponsors.

We'll be offering this one-hour webinar at four different times on Wednesday, November 4th: Noon, 4PM, 6PM and 9PM (please note: all times are Eastern Standard Time)

Earn $5 for RESOLVE:

WEGO Health is always looking to improve the quality of our Health Activist events. To help us incorporate your ideas and feedback into later programs, WEGO Health will invite all webinar attendees to participate in a brief follow-up survey.

For every attendee who completes this short survey, WEGO Health will make a $5 donation to RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. Your time helps us learn where we can improve and helps RESOLVE reach more families coping with infertility.

To receive your invite to this exclusive event, please complete this brief survey: Fertility Webinar Survey.

A member of the WEGO Health team will email you if you qualify for this event.

Please contact us at community@wegohealth.com if you have any questions about attending "When to See a Reproductive Endocrinologist: 7 Key Factors".

A quick update

2009-11-02T16:29:00.003-05:00

I took the Little Man to the pediatrician today. He woke up screaming last night because his throat hurt and he had hives on his hand again:(
They did a strep test and he's positive. And as they put it, "He's not a little positive, it came back full blown".

I asked that ER doc on Saturday to do a strep test and he said "Nope, no need to. He's fine". This was after a 2 second peek in his throat. Now I wish I would have demanded one. He could have been on antibiotics for 24 hours already.

The pediatrician said her first thought on the hives is that they were caused by the strep. That was my first thought when it happened (viral hives)because he hadn't been feeling well but he did eat the candy and then they just appeared. Also, he was sneezing more and lots and lots of "stuff" was coming out of his nose that wasn't coming out before. Maybe a combo of both? I don't think we'll ever really know what caused the reaction. Lynda from Kids with Food Allergies was kind enough to send me information on where I can send the candy to have it tested for allergens. I think I'll be doing that.... just to see.

But he's better now. He's on antibiotics and Orapred (oh why oh why the steroids??? He's like the energizer bunny on speed...) and Zyrtec.

Now I'm just waiting for the older one to fall. You know it's coming...
I'm cleaning the whole house with hydrogen peroxide trying to stave off the inevitable.

Halloween in the ER

2009-11-01T08:45:00.003-05:00

Ah Halloween, Thank Goodness It's Over! What a nightmare.

Like I said in the previous post, the Little Man hasn't been feeling 100%. We let him Trick or Treat at just a few houses and really *most* of the candy he got was safe. I gave him all safe candy [or so I assumed] and so did one other neighbor who has a child with a peanut allergy.

He's not allowed to eat anything until he gets home and we check it. My candy and the neighbors candy are in "gift bags" so it doesn't touch anything else. Because he wasn't feeling well, we told him he could eat ONE thing and he picked Starburst Gummibursts from my bag. He had these once before and I double checked the ingredients with the company.

But things started to go down hill. His nose got clogged even more than it was. And he became very itchy. I checked his skin and it looked really dry (not unusual for him) so I put on some Vanicream. Then I noticed that some of the dry skin started to look raised. In a matter of minutes he was covered in full body hives (neck to toes). I gave him 2 tsp. of Benadryl but after a minute or two it didn't seem to be working. Things weren't escalating, but they weren't getting any better either. So off to the ER we went.

I rode in the backseat of the car sandwiched between 2 booster seats with EPI Pen in hand just in case his breathing became affected, but his breathing was fine and we kept telling stories on the way there to keep him talking so we could gauge his voice and breathing.

The first thing they did was check oxygen levels and his oxygen levels were perfect so thankfully his breathing wasn't affected. The ER didn't give him a shot either. But they did give him Orapred (steroid) to help the Benadryl along. And he and his brother got cherry Popsicles as a treat for being in the ER on Halloween (and surprisingly it was quiet for Halloween and a Saturday night).

So we are home. And he's much better hive-wise. He still isn't feeling well. He's got a virus that is messing with his digestive system. I asked the ER doc if he thought the hives could have been viral hives, but he said no. We had him check his throat and it doesn't look like strep. And his ears did look red, but that could have been from the reaction and not an ear infection so we have a script for antibiotics "just in case" he starts complaining of ear pain.

He keeps asking for candy this morning, but the answer there is NO WAY!! I'm terrified to give him anything. The candy he ate should have been safe. I checked it out and the ingredients appear to be safe (the ER doc read it and thought so too). So what caused this? Mystery ingredient? Even though he washed his hands after Trick or Treating was there a residue that got on the candy and cross contaminated it when he ate it? Next year's Halloween will have to be handled differently for sure. I'm thinking that he's going to wear gloves (because he doesn't listen when we tell him not to touch anything), and the candy he gets goes right in the trash and I'll swap it out for money. Then he can go to the store and buy something. Maybe Older Boy will like that idea too and that will cut down on the candy we have in the house.

Before ER:

ER on Halloween:

(he's trying to wave but is exhausted)

Hope your Halloween was less eventful~

This past week has been a blur

2009-10-31T09:00:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's Saturday and the week is behind us. I have no idea what I actually got done this past week but I know it was a lot and I went through it all at about 70 MPH with no rear view mirror. I had projects at the school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That really threw me off and left me with little time for anything else. Throw in work, kids activities, getting ready for Halloween, a smidgen of laundry (I'm so behind!), cooking and I guess that was my week. I logged into bloglines yesterday for the first time since last week and had 576 feeds. I may not have commented, but I did skim/read all of you (call it speed reading and cherry picking).

Yesterday around 11:30 am I was baking cookies so that the Little Man would have a treat at his school Halloween party, putting together the Boo BINGO game that I was in charge of for his class, getting the prizes in bags, and trying to get the candy ready for trick or treating in our neighborhood when I got the call that the Little Man vomited in school again and I had to go get him. I hadn't even showered yet (Nice! The song "I feel pretty, oh so pretty..." kept going through my head"). So I packed up the Halloween game and gifts to leave for the class, picked up the Little Man and came home to frantically dial for back up for the Halloween party. Luckily I found a mom that was able to fill in for me.
So I guess that means I really only worked at the school Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (I feel like I should be on the payroll - lol).

Tonight is Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. The Little Man is hoping he feels better enough to go. I hope so too but I'm trying to convince him that it's "totally cool" to stay home with mom and hand out candy. I'm not sure he's buying it, but he still looks like he might be swayed. It's great when they are little enough to still think that you know everything. He's 5 and he still thinks I know everything. His Older Brother is 7 and he looks at me like I have 3 heads and am the dumbest woman on the planet. Believe me... I don't have 3 heads.

Oh I also forgot to mention that I'm planning a corporate Christmas party for 35 at our house. Yes, AT.OUR.HOUSE. Can you say "Highly Stressed"? So I'll take any tips or suggestions you might have on party planning too. Anything. Throw me a bone, won't you?

So with all that updating, I'll leave you some photos. The photos from Thursday's field trip of the Halloween program at the Alzheimer's care facility are still in my camera but I'll bore you with these instead:

Corn maze at the pumpkin/apple farm

Children of the corn

The Halloween parade that the Little Man should have been in too (if not for the whole up-chucking thing). Sent from Hubs Blackberry. Mine is technically the 3rd child in the pic although it looks like the 2nd (looks like he's behind the lady bug but someone else is hidden behind her or she has 3 legs). He's the scary gray dude, AKA bloody zombie.

And lastly, Commander Fox and bloody zombie from last weeks Halloween party

If you made it this far, thanks for still reading.

Happy Halloween!!!

Wheat Allergy Alert from FAAN

2009-10-29T21:16:00.000-04:00

WHEAT ALLERGY ALERT

October 29, 2009

Pinnacle Foods Group LLC is recalling “ARMOUR Chili with Beans, Original” due to undeclared wheat.

The product was distributed to retail stores in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The 15-oz. cans come in a case of six with a plastic over-wrap that incorrectly states the product is "Gluten Free," while the product actually contains wheat. The label bears an “EST. 2AD” number inside the USDA mark of inspection with dates ranging from August 26, 2009 to October 28, 2009.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 253-5882.