365 Days With A Food Allergy

Have you ever looked at a map of the world, all laid out in front you, and thought, "hmmm...where to go?" Even if you are an adventurous, free-spirited person, food allergies have a way of paralyzingly our curiosity through fear. The constant need to have to be aware of all of our surroundings, naturally develops into taking less unnecessary trips; Always packing our own food and knowing the specific details of the environments we plan to enter ahead of time. The lack of general knowledge of food allergies in the public can force us into creating our own safety bubble. It's a cause and effect reaction that can force families with very severe food allergies to first, find themselves excluded, and then inevitably, because of their previous absence, not given any consideration.  People and the public, in general, can become a safety hazard. To make matters even more difficult and suspect, food itself becomes a weapon because of cross contamination, poor labeling, and very l...

I often notice myself apologizing. Not because I've personally done anything at fault, but more like-- we both walked in the same direction, so "I'm sorry." Or, I'm telling a story and "I'm sorry" when people don't understand. Worse, I'm in a public space and asking questions to assure my daughters safety by questioning if there's milk present, and "I'm sorry" to ask. I'm not sure where this notion came to me that I should be so "sorry." I am all about manners, just ask my 2 daughters, but "sorry" is the wrong wording, and it emits a lack of equality and rights. I'm not sorry, I respectively acknowledge my part in things, but my leadership toward safety is not an act that requires me to feel "sorry" for my behavior. That is what I mean. I'm not sorry to inquire if an  area is safe for my daughter. It's my right and my obligation to know. I'm accountable and responsible for th...

We Can All "Have It All" So do you believe women can have it all? Can anyone? Isn't there an opportunity cost to everything? Do some people "have it all", or is it just the opportunity cost playing a lesser role in their priorities. I don't really think anybody "has it all". I think everything is a matter of perspective, and subject to your value system.   We are raised within this capitalistic, media driven perception that we want to be rich, famous, beautiful, have "things, be "someone" etc. Aren't we already someone? In our own little world's, aren't  we are all of those roles to someone? We are wealthier than someone, idealized by someone, have a "better" job than someone, everything is a perception we either value and hold onto tightly, or we don't and we develop an attitude of complaining that, I've seen, last a lifetime. What's real? Shouldn't we seek the blessings in our circumstances ins...

The Ultimate Test of Our Food Allergy Knowledge Livin g with life threatening food allergies has a way of defining our lives through our functional boundaries. We (who live within this worldwide epidemic) learn to navigate our way into complete avoidance of the allergic foods, as the best (and only) precautionary measure for safety. But, it can become a very monotonous, predictable, isolated, and an over-analyzed existence, as well. So many parts of our lives are not by choice at all, instead, our only life preserver. But, what happens when you leave your controlled and "figured out" safety net with familiar settings to break the molds we've set, and decide to explore the world with food allergies? My family decided to define our own boundaries when we decided that we had the tools we needed to take control of our situation and take on the unknown! We sold most of our belongings, drove east coast to west coast in an RV (to maintain our needed controlled environment), then...

  I recently read a great post by one of the founders of Hello Mamas http://www.hellomamas.com, Christa. Check out her well-done piece that I'm referring to here: http://dish.hellomamas.com/index.php/things-people-need-to-stop-saying-to-mothers-going-through-a-miscarriage/  This is a great example why HelloMamas is so great! It really embodies so many elements of being a mom,  that there really is something for everyone!    Christa shed some important light onto a topic that's usually not discussed- at least properly and humanely. And, so it inspired me to share my personal experiences with losing pregnancies. My hope is that some readers can relate, and can find support knowing they definitely aren't alone.   These experiences with loss & death have affected my perception of raising my children with food allergies. There can be an unhealthy balance that develops with any loss or death, and with little support it's almost unavoidable. For me, I also...

The Story Behind the Picture    I  worry sometimes that this media sensationalized, ideal sense of "perfection" is vitally harming the younger generations. "Perfection" is a feeling, not an image. Feeling everything is going "perfectly" etc. But, we live in a materialistic, superficial world- where we are innately taught to perceive ourselves by our struggles or shortcomings, instead of searching for our gifts. We all have special gifts, and I hope our new growing generation learns to see beneath the surface enough to notice that in each other. It's not that everyone is the same and everyone deserves a trophy (and that whole plethora of an argument), it's more about appreciating differences and learning to seek the gift of individuality. There's a BIG difference. Our kids are being raised in a global, e-commerce, social media driven, multicultural world. We need to stay current with the changing world when raising kids today, in order to prote...

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...