365 Days With A Food Allergy

Three years ago, we walked into our local Claires Store. My ,then, 4 year old had accomplished the scholastic feat of learning all of her continents, oceans, and the entire milky way!  I had been prodding her growth with promises of something from the store, as a sort of reward. Claires ( http://www.claires.com)  is such a fun store for girls, and the girlie side of us women! My daughters made their way through the sparkle and frills and back to the Disney princess lip-glosses for kids. I bought one and thought "it worked! The knowledge and the bribe were complete!" But, as she ripped off the wrapping to her new lipgloss in the car and applied her new sparkly, "fun" lip gloss--our worlds changed! Her face began to swell with hives. I was driving and looking back on her telling me something was wrong and what I saw made me grow scared, really, really scared.  I pulled over and jumped out of my vehicle and got to her. I wiped off the lipgloss and washed her face with ...

10 Food Allergen- Safe Snacks for Play Dates!   Food in general has come a long way! It's wrapped up in tradition and secret recipes, memories and essentially feelings. People "feel" a certain way about food and their expectations of what's "normal" in regards to food. Foods value, beyond sustenance, has become so highly regarded in social opinions. Food's become so famous that people can easily and honestly justify choosing food over safety as acceptable. The expensive packaging, unique flavors, high budgets, sexy commercials and long list of ingredients, bring people to desire brands, tastes, and want to make them a part of their memories. It makes them "feel" a certain way.  The same way people "care" about your wellbeing if you're famous.  Food allergy families don't see the Fame in food. They make such strides to peel back the layers of labeling and marketing. They dive into being placed on eternal hold's with the man...

This is my favorite time of year!! I love the outward expressions of compassion,  empathy and love that people show more frequently and openly at Christmas. People fill the community coffer's more, and open their eyes to helping others more readily than they would at any other time of year. During this time of giving --an inner conflict can arise to justify the gluttony that we mainstream Christians  will experience. It can raise feelings of guilt for the millions whose ~basic human needs~ are not met. While we're feeling overindulged, and showered in gifts, some people literally have nothing. This is a time to remember that giving is far more rewarding than receiving, and service to others enriches our souls. This is what Christmas is all about right? It also makes us average American families really think about what on Earth our kids really "need". We (as a society) have made this holiday so much about Santa and presents, and less about giving and remembering the...

Halloween Tricks & Non-Edible Treating With Halloween coming up, and all of the psycho movie trailers barricading television, this "food allergy mom" can show you a reality trailer of a scary trip! You know that moment when you become terrified and your brain has been programmed to call 911? This scenario can be a false sense of trust for food allergy families. Under ordinary circumstances seeing the rescue squad or having the P.D. show up in a scary situation would usually give a sense of relief, but for us in the food allergy world it's another level of educating authority . We need to eyeball the scene for signs of food in their cars, ambulances, bodies--anything that can add additional danger to our kids. So when "help is on the way," don't get tricked into thinking your part is done, and make sure "the help" isn't about to add to the danger.   One of my biggest nightmares is calling 911 for anaphylaxis right after the EMT's l...

This past month has been busy! Our organization, Food Allergy Resources & Mentoring (FARM) ,had its 2015 5K themed "Nature vs. Nurture". After months of advocating for food allergies and the need for community awareness, then getting sponsorships from local businesses, the 5K happened! This year's was so amazing because the community really embraced our cause, and I really felt progress in our mission being made. The event was truly an experience from start to finish. The theme "Nature vs. Nurture" wasn't without cause. Our venue was at the Ritch Grissam Memorial Wetlands , a wildlife photographers haven. The off-road course was laid out among all of Florida's native wildlife, and Yes that meant alligators too. With a heightened sense of their surroundings, the race participants learned some eye opening food allergy statistics from posters held at each turn by our amazing volunteers. It was impossible to finish the race without a n...

I always enjoy this time of year when we celebrate America. It makes me see hope when I look at the American Flag hanging from door to door. Our family plays American trivia games throughout the whole month of July, as we remember and reflect on the collaborations of faith, and the hope that people had and still have in this land. We teach our children the grand efforts, most noted accounts of the characters in our history that made such an impact, and leading to the world we live in today. Learning that the world hasn't always been the world we know now. We had to fight for the freedom to call this our America. Despite how we celebrate America's independence, our history is full of people unwilling to accept change and differences. Race and gender are a big part of that. After America's independence, it took almost another century of fighting for changes before Lincoln abolished slavery. It took until 1919, for women to be allowed the right to vote, after an 80 fight throu...

I started this blog as a journal documenting the day to day obstacles that affect my family, as we learned how to live with a life threatening food allergy. I wanted to have a more accurate account of allergic reactions to relay to physicians, and to review with my husband, as we cultivated a lifestyle that works for us based avoidance and educated guesses. I can see now, looking back, how all of those accounted-for days became our story of evolution as food allergy parents. Along my year-long journey were efforts to connect with other moms and I met another "food allergy mom" (virtually). She introduced me to HelloMama's  which has become a great resource for myself, and so many mom's of all kinds to meet other mom's with similar interests and lifestyles. Let's face it, it's hard to make mom friends. It's especially difficult to make food allergy-safe mom friends, I can attest to that! So, thank-you  Hello Mamas for asking me to contribute a monthly ...