Monday, February 28, 2011

...and we have a winner!

We have a winner for the Sloane Miller "Allergic Girl" book giveaway!

But first let us give a huge thank you to Sloan Miller for agreeing to donate a signed copy of her excellent new book! Thank you SO much Sloane :)

Even if you didn't win the book--I highly suggest you go out and buy the book or kindle version and add it to your food allergy library. It is a "must read"!

The one person who will be getting her own signed copy of "Allergic Girl" is Libby (@theallergickid)

Congratulations Libby! Either DM or email me your mailing info and I will send it to Sloane.


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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Birthday party blues

When I got to school yesterday Hannah was totally excited because a little friend handed out invites to a birthday party at school.

This is first time attending a birthday party other than family who, of course, is familiar with her allergy.

After reading the invite, I found out that it's at a pizza restaurant that I don't trust to be honest and second it's on FRIDAY. As in tomorrow. The invite was given out yesterday. That is totally short notice!

I talked to my #foodallergy friends on twitter a bit last night. To get their advice as some of them have dealt with similar situations.

What I heard seems to match my initial thought. Take our own food and "cake treat". I put a call in to the mom(whom I don't know) so I could RSVP and also explain the allergy situation so she will be aware we have to bring food in for Hannah's safety.

Hannah seems just fine with bringing safe food and just wants to see her friends. I am trying to teach her that good, fun times do not revolve around food.

Have any of you dealt with this? How did you handle?

Oh and does anyone have a yummy recipe for peanut free cupcake?? Or know of a "safe" mix? Lol I need one super quick!!








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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Only 5 days left!!

Just a reminder there are only 5 days left! The random contest will be announced on 02/28 BUT you have to make sure you are entered by 7pm on 2/27!!

It's simple--just make sure you are following this blog with friend finder. It's easy, just look to the right of the blog page and click on "follow"

I am so excited for whoever wins!! Good luck to you all :)

And a Huge Thank You to Sloane Miller for donating a signed copy of her new book "Allergic Girl" for this giveaway!!



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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Enjoy Life

Do you like cookies? Do you have food allergies? Are you looking for gluten-free? Then you should give Enjoy Life's cookies a chance!

Http://www.enjoylifefoods.com



A bit of background about Enjoy Life. It was founded by CEO Scott Mandell. Initially, Enjoy Life Foods was launched with 12 items but now has 26 delicious products!

All Enjoy Life Products are free of the top 8 allergens(wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish) and MOST Enjoy Life products are free of potatoes, sesame, sulfites, and casein.

We have tried several(double chocolate brownie, snickerdoodle, and lively lemon) of the soft baked cookies and are in love! They are small but packed with taste and better than any non allergy friendly options in the stores.

Enjoy Life foods also have tasty chewy bars. These are good but not one of our family favorites. We tend to lean towards very berry chewy bars when we buy them. The Choco loco chewy bar has recently been reformulated and has improved it's taste. I think they are on the right track with it, and I am excited to see how they will improve on it!

They also have a Boom choco Boom chocolate candy bar that it great. I tried the dark chocolate one yesterday(found it at my local Meijers grocery store) and was pleasantly surprised. I will be buying one for my daughters Easter basket for sure.

Enjoy Life has has bagels, cereal, granola, and trail mix that I haven't had a chance to try yet--but you better believe I will be asking my grocery store to get them in.

Check your local grocery store for Enjoy Life Products--if you can't find them then ask for them! Most grocery stores have no problem special ordering. I have also found products on Amazon.

Who else has tried Enjoy Life items? What were your thoughts??



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Friday, February 18, 2011

Does it ever stop?

I wonder sometimes if I will ever stop being scared. Scared for Hannah.

When every cough when or after she is eating makes my heart stop...or when she eats dinner then immediately says my tummy and throat hurt.

She did that last night and I can say I was a mess inside. She asked for mcdonalds chicken nuggets and after said her tummy and throat hurt and that she felt sick. My heart stopped then started going about a thousand beats per minute as I calmly(on the outside) took a look at her. No hives, no swelling, no change in voice, no coughing....but she said it hurt and she needed medicine. I was honestly scared because I wasn't sure if it was a "mild" reaction or just a normal childhood tummyache.

What bothers me the most is that I was panicking on the inside. I have seen her have a reaction and had to use epi on her in the past. I was strangely calm then but last night I was a mess inside.

Does the worrying and constant anxiety go away? Get better??
Turns out it was just a tummy ache. But I was still a mess inside. :(

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Win a signed copy of Allergic Girl by Sloane Miller

Do you want to win a signed copy of Allergic Girl??? 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMwzEKkm7ro

It's so simple! All you need to do is follow this blog and you are entered in the contest--there will be a random drawing on February 28th.

A huge thank you to Sloane Miller for her donating this great giveaway!

Make sure you are following for this great chance!!

Giveaway to be announced tonight!!

I am SO excited about revealing my giveaway tonight--I have been working with this person and their assistant with last minute details. I know you are going to LOVE it :)

In order to be part of the random drawing, just make sure you are publicly following this blog. To follow simply look on the right hand side and click on "follow"(it's right above the thumbnails of followers) and if you are already following just make sure you are showing under followers on the page!

So follow now and stay tuned tonight for the give away announcement and details :) :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

"Mom I just can't can't believe it"

I cannot believe my good luck! I attended a twitter food allergy party(more on twitter and food allergy support later) and won the grand prize from Divvies Bakery! Divvies is a peanut, tree nut, milk, and egg free bakery.  You must check out their website and take a look at http://www.divvies.com/



As most food allergy parents know, finding any kind of sweets that are safe for our kids is next to impossible. Hannah does not even look at candy in the store or even ask about it because she knows that none of it is safe for her. That being said, you can imagine her extreme excitement when she saw this smorg full of yummy goodies! I let her open it and the first thing out of her mouth was "can you see if its safe?" I told her ALL of it was safe and it was for her. She just looked at me like I was kidding and said "mom I just can't believe it! And its all safe?? I can eat it?? Its like Christmas!"

                                                              


I have never heard of Divvies until recently and I had never ordered anything from there before either. I had heard wonderful reviews online from my food allergy tweeps and was super excited to win the grand prize of the Divvies Smorg. I was super impressed by the shipping time first off.  I got the message that I won the prize on Monday morning, and got the shipment on Wednesday!  WOW!!

Divvies was created by Lori and Mark Sandler. Their son Benjamin has food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, and eggs. Like any child, Benjamin wanted to eat the same things as his friends and not stick out. The Sandlers put their heads together and came up with tasty snacks that are enjoyed by all--food allergies or not.

The recipes started from Lori's kitchen as she tried different combinations to make the snacks safe for kids with allergies yet just as tasty(more so in my opinion) then the other cookies at the store.

Divvies has outgrown Lor's kitchen and now has its own dedicated facility where no peanuts, tree nuts, eggs or milk enter the doors. Divvies candies, frosting, and sprinkles are certified by their manufacturers to be peanut-, tree nut-, milk-, and egg-free and are packaged in Divvies Bakery. Divvies conducts routine testing to minimize the risk of any cross-contamination in their certified allergen-free ingredients.

We haven't been able to to try all the goodies that came in the Divvies Smorg but I tried the BingGo Benjamint crunch bar and LOVE IT!!!!!!  I am a huge fan of peppermint anyways so anytime I can combine peppermint and chocolate, I am all for it!!

More importantly, Hannah was totally excited when she saw all the SAFE goodies!! She could not believe that all of it was safe for her to eat. For a child who has never had a candy bar--it was a HUGE deal. She was totally excited and wanted to try a bite of everything!!!

Thank you Divvies for your awesome products--you made my Hannah's day and we will certainly be ordering from you in the future! I can't wait to tell all my friends about your tasty product!!