Camp Rock!

My daughter and I enjoyed the new Disney movie Camp Rock. She is all about the Jonas Brothers and the songs are really good from the movie. Here she is rocking out with her Barbie guitar.

Rock star!

By the way, the Barbie guitar is most excellent. Thanks Grandma!

Cross contamination with food allergies is scary.

Well we had our first bought of cross contamination for my daughter’s peanut allergy this weekend. Luckily she just had hives and I quickly gave her benedry. She just had a litle bit of icing on a cupcake from Publix. So no bakery items that we have not made from scratch ourselves. This is the scariest part of her allergy. I am so worried about her at school and when I’m not around to really make sure what she is eating is okay.

Here are some good charts that I put on the fridge for cross contamination and handling a food allergy attack - it’s good for babysitters, etc.

Foods to avoid - peanut allergy: http://kidshealth.org/kid/misc/images_50969/1110295792292.nutAllergy_carrycard.gif

Food to avoid List: http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/diets/nut_allergy.html

Allergic reactions instructions sheet - post in your home for babysitters, etc.http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?lic=1&article_set=36693&cat_id=20221

Entire page: http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/nut_peanut_allergy.html

Food allergy Chef Restaurant cards: http://www.foodallergy.org/downloads/ChefCard_Interactive.pdf

R.E.M. rocked in Atlanta!

I went to the REM concert on Saturday night at Lakewood Ampitheater and it was great. I recommend their new album and seeing them live for any REM fan. There were lots of people young and old. I felt a bit older as I looked out and saw some college kids passed out on the lawn. Ahh to be young again. Not! Amateurs! ha.

Here is the review from the AJC:

PEACH BUZZ: Great night set stage for R.E.M. show

By Mike Benzie
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 06/23/08
Buzz revisited the glory years Saturday night, taking in a little R.E.M. at Lakewood Amphitheatre, where the group finished up its North American tour. Only in 1989, we didn’t have the privilege or the right to purchase $11 beers. Not that we’re complaining (that loudly).
A beautiful night for an outdoor show, highlighted visually by “Electrolite” in the middle of the set, where the mostly packed house lit up the cellphones for a portion of the song.
R.E.M. played a few songs from its latest, “Accelerate,” but opened with “These Days” and pulled out “Driver 8,” “Pretty Persuasion” and “The One I Love.” Michael Stipe was energetic, and his wispy (Buzz thinks he actually “did the robot” for a moment) moves were very reminiscent of the “Losing My Religion” video back in the day.
The show lasted about two hours, and R.E.M. played a 22-song set with a six-song encore. Modest Mouse and The National opened the show.

Did you know you can use 911 for non-emergencies?

I always thought that 911 was for life-threatening emergencies. My neighbor who works for the government says no - always use it. Especially if something happens after hours - for example, there was a car sitting in front of our house late at night for a few nights. I thought I should call the sheriff’s office but my neighbor said to call 911. Also when a car with three people sat in my driveway one time - I was peeking out the window and seeing what was up as my husband was away and we have two kids. She said I should have also called 911 then.

So, I just wanted to let it be known that you will not tie up the lines and if there is ever anything weird, especially after hours, call 911. At least a sheriff will patrol the neighborhood and make sure everything looks okay.

My daughter’s food allergy and food allergies in the news

Well my daughter is sick and last night I gave her benedryl so she could breathe since she was so congested. So now I have rescheduled our allergy appt to next Friday. She can’t have benedryl in 7 days before the skin test. So we will wait another week to find out what all she is allergic to in addition to peanuts.

I have been reading more about food allergies and to my pleasure, many mainstream publications have stories about them this month. It can only help educate people about how serious food allergies are with kids. I can’t imagine worrying about my daughter’s safety in the cafeteria at school, but in a few years, I will be right there with these parents.

Newsweek My Turn: A Plea for My Daughterhttp://www.newsweek.com/id/139437

Newsweek Fear and Allergies in the Lunchroomhttp://www.newsweek.com/id/62296?tid=relatedcl

The 411 on Food Allergies - Quiz - Know your food allergy facts?http://www.newsweek.com/id/62097?tid=relatedcl

RedbookWorried About Food Allergies?http://www.redbookmag.com/home/worried-about-food-allergies

Trace Adkins has an article in June Redbook about his daughter’s allergies - here is an excerpt from People Magazine:Trace Adkins Opens Up About His Daughter’s Near-Death Allergic Reactionhttp://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20202611,00.html

BabyCenter Food Allergies Forum - I have received great support from wonderful momshttp://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=bcus9266

I am a new Trace Adkins fan!

From CMT: Trace Adkins is working with the two U.S. senators from Tennessee to promote legislation to assist schools in protecting 2.2 million children nationwide who suffer from life-threatening food allergies. Adkins, whose 6-year-old daughter Brianna suffers from severe food allergies, raised public awareness of the problem while raising money for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Republicans, announced Monday (June 9) they will co-sponsor the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act to develop voluntary guidelines for schools to prevent exposure to food allergens and ensure a prompt response when a student suffers a potentially fatal reaction. The bill also calls for grants to be provided to implement food allergy management guidelines in public schools. Noting that he and his wife have been seeking this legislation for more than three years, Adkins said, “There have been no consistent standardized guidelines to help schools safely manage students with their food allergies. This bill will help keep kids safe while at school and parents will be more at ease knowing an action plan is in place.”

From www.Kidswithfoodallergies.orgHeed ALL warning statements

“There are now two studies that indicate may contains do contain the allergens in 10% of cases and that it does NOT matter if the statement says: may contain, run on shared lines with, or processed in a facility with, or processed in a facility that also processes “

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More Food Allergy Links

I scheduled an appointment with an allergist and we go next week. It won’t be pleasant doing the skin allergy test, but I need to know if my daughter is allergic to anything else in addition to peanut butter.

I just read on BabyCenter that it is normal to go through emotional stages when your child is diagnosed. I was most surprised by my panic about protecting my daughter and thinking of all the times she could have an attack - at daycare, on vacation, at a restaurant. It definitelly changes your mindset. I will feel better after the allergist appointment too.

I need to educate my husband - he just thinks we don’t need to give her peanut butter. Peanuts are in so many things! And if she had a mild allergy attack, she still could have a serious one in the future.

Here is a great list from someone who posted at BabyCenter:

“Maybe one of these links will help him understand what your dealing with, I think he’s doing like most parents and it’s just in a denial phase. It’s been said that we go through the 5 stages of grief upon diagnosis and I believe it. “

http://www.foodallergy.org/

http://www.safe4kids.ca/

http://www.allergygrocer.com/index.html

http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/section_home.cfm?section_id=15

http://www.allergicchild.com/foodallergyandschools.htm

http://the-clarkes.org/stuff/ana.html

http://allallergy.net/

http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/foodallergy.stm

https://www.aanma.org/headquarters/

http://www.peanutallergy.com/

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/

http://www.gakssnacks.com/

http://www.divvies.com/

http://www.vermontnutfree.com/

http://www.amandasown.com/

http://www.sunbutter.com/

http://www.soynutbutter.com/

http://www.peabutter.ca/

http://www.foodallergykitchen.com/

http://www.childfoodallergy.com/

http://www.simplefood.com/products/

http://theurbanhousewife.blogspot.com/2007/09/homemade-vegan-candy-corn-happy.html

http://www.medicalert.org/home/Homegradient.aspx

http://www.kidsallergystop.com/

http://www.iansnaturalfoods.com/

http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html

http://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/

http://www.nonuttin.com/

http://www.allergyfreepassport.com/

http://www.allergytranslation.com/Home/home.php

http://www.labelitorloseit.com/allergy.htm

http://www.statkids.com/

http://rpdcon40.ross.com/pn/PediatricProducts.NSF/web_Ross.com_XML_PediatricNutrition/EA09CDA3D5EF7BD3852571680070A470?OpenDocument

http://www.neocate.com/aaa_neocate/1128-neocate-home-page.html

https://www.epipen.com/epipen_reminder.aspx

http://www.twinject.com/

http://www.allergators.com/index.html

here’s another with a ton of links.

http://www.foodallergycookbook.com/links.htm#Food