Last Day of School

I always get a little weepy on the last day of school. Well, unless a child has had a difficult year that I am glad to see the back end of. Of which I am glad to see the back end. But even then, it's such a clear marker of the passage of time and the growing of the children.

Eldest will be in middle school next year, which she is totally ready for. She and her best friend are so anxious to have their own lockers. For the past two years, it's as if they've had "Please take one" signs on their desks. Items are stolen in their classrooms all. the. time. And while I understand the teachers aren't going to waste time figuring out whose pencil/highlighter/pencil sharpener it really is, it's irritating.

Anyway, I thought I was handling the upcoming change of schools pretty well until she said matter-of-factly, "This is my last day in elementary school. It will be the last day I ever have recess." *SOB*

Second child is also changing schools from the cozy nest of the Kindergarten/First grade building to the large elementary school. I told him I would miss our walks to school (and made him walk with me in the rain this morning for his last day). He told me he would miss them, too, and suggested he come on some of my evening walks so we could still have time alone to walk and talk. *SOB*

Yesterday was Kindergarten open house for number three. Yes, three kids in three different schools next year. I can still hold onto a bit of denial for one more year because our Kindergarten is half day. First grade is the year that is the hardest for me. Still, the "Welcome Class of 2026" poster hit me hard. *SOB*

So, Graham, you and your September birthday-self are going to have to stay home with me for one more year and give me lots of hugs.

Jerome Bettis, Allergy Playbook, Auvi-Q

Does anyone else find it humorous that bloggers are often offered speaking engagements and telephone and television interviews? We're introverts! We're socially awkward! But sometimes there is an offer you can't pass up, like say, interviewing a former player from your family's favorite football team about a new epinephrine injector you love. And you think about chickening out but you don't know how you'd ever explain that to your children. So, in the words of Sundry, you get on the ________ plane. Or in my case, you talk to The Bus.

Two other bloggers were in my interview as well, and we all had the opportunity to ask Jerome Bettis two questions about allergies, asthma, his new Severe Allergy and Anaphylaxis Playbook, and Auvi-Q. We watched him answering the questions online while listening on the phone to both Jerome and someone telling us when it was our turn to talk and our turn to stop. Talking to one person while someone else is talking in your ear is weird. As a parent, you'd think I'd be used to that. Anyway, enjoy. Thank you to Auvi-Q for the opportunity, and thank you to Jerome for being so gracious.

Internet Sickness Warning Signs; Reader Question

I think I have a case of Internet Sickness. Here are some warning signs.

You, to your husband: Today was a great Facebook day, if I were that sort of person.
Husband: How so?
You: "Spent today with my beautiful family putting up the gazebo, painting porch furniture, and getting the yard ready for spring. Now my man is grilling chicken and baking bread for our yummy dinner. #IloveSaturdays"
It would be perfect if I had run 10 miles today. Or, you know, ever. I could include that too.
Husband: [Laughing] Step away from the computer.

You keep composing long incoherent rants in your head about food allergy-related food restrictions versus self-imposed food restrictions that factor in economic status and freedom of choice. You realize Speedbump Kitchen has already done this in a coherent, non-offensive manner. You consider attaching Speedbump Kitchen's post on liberty to everything you write.

You're thinking of changing your blog signature to "You can make whatever substitutions you want to in my recipes and you are welcome to share them if you can do so in a friendly, helpful manner.  Otherwise, you are welcome to do whatever you like in the privacy of your own kitchen."

Yeah, not the worst case I've ever seen, but time for a little sunlight therapy. What do you do to cure Internet Sickness?
----------
So what reader are you all going to use since Google's is going away? I still use iGoogle for my homepage, too, late adapter that I am. Please help me move on.

Recipe Contest

I really want you to win a $500 gift card to Williams-Sonoma! And other fun prizes! So enter the So Delicious Dairy Free 2013 Recipe Contest and then be sure to post all about what you buy with your winnings. You can enter more than one recipe! Or a previously created recipe! The deadline is May 17, so get cooking!

Five hundred dollars!

Hit the Publish Button Already

• The FARE Walk in Pittsburgh is scheduled for Sunday, September 15, 2013 in Heartwood Acres. They are looking for volunteers to help organize the event.
• Online registration is happening now for FARE's spring conferences.
• Here are the winners of the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge.
• The Auvi-Q epinephrine auto-injector has been released and it is awesome. I saw a test one and it is so cool. 
• Jerome Bettis is working on an anaphylaxis awareness campaign with Sanofi US, the producers of Auvi-Q. Go, Steelers!
• Sanofi US is also working on a Severe Allergy Awareness Hall of Fame on Facebook.
• This amendment concerning emergency epipens in schools is working its way through the PA House of Representatives.
• It is sponsored by a representative who co-sponsored this bill, which amends the Public School Code of 1949 to add "in school health services, further providing for possession and use of asthma inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors...."
• It is weird to be all 100% public about blogging in real life and online now that I have my lovely job. 
• People keep talking to me about it. Have I mentioned that's weird?
• I've been hiding from writing here because I can't stop thinking about people reading my blog and making fun of it or judging it.
• I think it's a crock to say that people don't talk about you/judge you. I totally think they do, but you have to get out there and do what you want in spite of it. After hiding in fear for two months.
• Shalini should be a motivational speaker.
• Now I can tell you more things about myself. Like the fantastic PA state representative sponsoring the epipen legislation is my dad.

How rumors get started

Mom at preschool pickup: "Sarah, I need to ask you about the girls' Sunday school class."
Me: "OK."
Mom: "Did you teach yesterday?"
Me: "Yes."
Mom: "Did you...share something?"
Me: "That I...like to cook?"
Mom: "Anything else?"
Me: "Noo...."
Mom: "My daughter told me that Helen's mom is going to have another baby in a couple of months and that you prayed for her and the baby."
Me: "Oh! No, we're getting a new nephew and cousin. We prayed for him and my sister."
Mom: "OH! Well, [daughter] has been telling everyone that you're having a baby, so if anyone asks, that's why. I'm so sorry."

I wonder what else they took away from the lesson.

Things I've learned in the past month

• The toddler stages are some of my favorites.
• A toddler saying "Whoa ho ho" for "Santa" is one of the cutest things ever.
• Speech therapists are miracle workers. At least, ours is.
• My two-year old was the best-behaved child I have ever seen in the candlelight Christmas Eve service. This is in no way bragging because a.) I don't know why he was, and b.) my other three two-year olds had to be removed from their respective services.
• I love reading the same books as my daughter. Yay, mini book club.
• Telling me you're 'one of the good guys' immediately lets me know that you are not.
• I really enjoy serving people good homemade food.
• Getting rid of baby gear is sad, but it makes LOTS more room in our little house.
• Keeping your hand on my shopping cart while I'm unloading it and leaning into my van to peer at my groceries and children is very threatening behavior, sir.
• Major Pettigrew's Last Stand was my favorite book of 2012.
• Dying the day all the out-of-town guests leave was really inconsiderate, Kevin. Rest in peace, little parakeet.
• Buying a new pet bird for the kids two days after Kevin's death was a little fast for Mama. Welcome, Hedwig the cockatiel.
• I love my job.
• I wish I had written this. "Just as I would never dream of going to vegan blog, insulting the writer and demanding a steak recipe… please don’t come to my blog and get worked up about marshmallows or honey in my homemade ice cream recipes." Preach it.
• Copying and pasting a quote from another blog messes up my font settings. 

Allergy ereader and grocery deals

Yes, I am ignoring the stack of Christmas cards I need to address to share:

• A free six-month digital subscription to gluten-free magazine Easy Eats
• Mad Alex Products' going-out-of-business sale
• Gluten Freely's closeout sale (because they are teaming up with Betty Crocker and Live Better America)
• Alisa Fleming's and Hallie Klecker's new ebook, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook

You needed to do more shopping, right?

If you haven't got anything nice...

...to say about anybody, come sit by me.--Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Allergic Living magazine is looking for contributors (You can remain anonymous!) for an article about food allergies and marital stress. I mean, I'm sure you and your spouse and in-laws extended family have NEVER had any disagreements about anything related to the care of your food-allergic children, but if you happen to have a friend who has experienced these issues, she could respond. Anonymously.

They're looking for happy stories, too.

I look forward to reading the article and figuring out which contributor is you your friend.

More information and a link can be found here.

Welp, it's official

I'm the new Associate Editor at Go Dairy Free!




And holy crap, is that a big photo of my face.

Thanksgiving recipes; Melissa and Doug

Hey! Thanksgiving is Thursday! I'm hosting it at my house again! Recipes here and here, and, a new addition, here is Scott's my dairy-free mashed potato recipe. Thanks, Honey!

Also also, Mary Ostyn posted her cream of anything soup recipe from her cookbook! Just use plain powdered soy milk and dairy-free bouillon (I never spell that right the first time) and you are SET to make dairy-free green bean casserole and dairy-free pot pie with the leftovers! The possibilities are endless.

Please enjoy these recipes while I stalk Amazon. Thank goodness for today's annual Melissa and Doug sale, otherwise the baby would have nothing under the tree. Magnetic Farm Hide and Seek, you are mine.

Aunt Sarah

Don't you like the sound of that?!

So tell me, just how much fun is it to have a niece or nephew to spoil and then send home? Especially when your sister* and her family are moving in three doors down and you can steal him/her away whenever you want?

*She went public on Facebook today, so I can FINALLY tell you!

Free Food Allergy Mama Cookbook

RIGHT NOW on Amazon, The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book ebook is free! Go, go, go! before the price changes in five minutes to $79.95! (Ah, Amazon. We love ya.)

I own this cookbook and use it often. I can't wait for Kelly's next cookbook to be released!

Haiku

I wake up and bathe
I greet the roofer working
Outside the window

Firetrucks are cool
I do not blame you, Toddler
Crying when they go

Hey, Librarian
Thanks for insulting my kid
And making me cry

I forgive you, Friend
For backing into my van
I hate this rental

Aldi, thank you for
All of your pumpkin goodness
A lot dairy free

#Winning

I'd like to direct your attention here, and invite you over for homemade dairy-free ice cream once my new ice cream maker arrives.

P.S. I'm giving my current ice cream maker to my sister to thank her for the idea.

Anaphylaxis 101

I am late in posting this, but you can bet I will be 'encouraging' my allergic child to enter. $2000 college scholarship? Yes, please. I've always loved Julie Bowen (WHEN will "Ed" be out on DVD?!?) and now I love her even more.

“Modern Family” Star Julie Bowen Joins Mylan Specialty L.P. to Launch Health Awareness Initiative to Address Growing Rate of Life-Threatening Allergic Reactions

Get Schooled In Anaphylaxis™ Campaign Kicks Off with College Scholarship Challenge

Basking Ridge, NJ, September 26, 2012 – Emmy-award winning actress Julie Bowen, known for her comedic role in “Modern Family,” is for the first time publicly sharing her family’s experience with life-threatening allergies to help drive a national conversation on this serious health issue. Bowen is partnering with Mylan Specialty L.P. to launch Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis™, a multi-faceted public health initiative that aims to increase awareness of and preparedness for life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis).

To view the multimedia content, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/57462-get-schooled-in-anaphylaxis/

The campaign’s first priority will be to focus on educating the school community. Sending children to school can be a great source of anxiety for parents of children who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions because the children are out of their parents' direct care and supervision. In addition, recent tragedies involving school-aged children have highlighted the need to further educate teachers, school staff and students about anaphylaxis.

“Like most kids, my son spends 180 days in school each year and I need to know that the people he is with every day know the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis and what to do if it occurs,” said Bowen, who had no idea her son had life-threatening allergies to peanuts, walnuts and bee stings until he experienced an anaphylactic reaction when he was a toddler. “Fortunately, my son received immediate medical care and recovered quickly, but it was a wake-up call that anaphylaxis can occur anywhere and at any time, even when you may not think your child is at risk.”

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction that has many possible triggers, may occur quickly and without warning, and must be treated immediately with epinephrine. Avoidance of allergic triggers is the critical first step in managing life-threatening allergies. However, allergens are not always obvious and accidental exposure may still happen.

To get the school community involved, Bowen is calling on students nationwide to join the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge™. Students in grades 1-12 are encouraged to visit www.Anaphylaxis101.com and submit an essay describing an idea to help their school become more aware of and better prepared to support students who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions. Fifteen students from across the country will be selected by a judging panel to win a $2,000 college scholarship.

“My son is only five, but he has already started to take responsibility for his life-threatening allergies and become his own advocate,” said Bowen, who will star in a public service announcement (PSA) about anaphylaxis. “Through the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge, students across the country will have the opportunity to educate their peers and help everyone be more aware of life-threatening allergies.”

Food allergy is the most common cause of anaphylaxis, though it can also be triggered by insect stings, medications, latex or other allergens. It is estimated that one in 13 children in the U.S. suffer from a food allergy and a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the incidence increased 18 percent from 1997 to 2007. Up to 1,500 deaths each year are caused by life-threatening allergic reactions.

“Anaphylaxis is a significant public health issue in our nation’s schools, where accidental exposures to allergens may occur,” said Hemant Sharma, M.D., associate chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “We need to make sure everyone responsible for the safety of children in schools knows how to identify and avoid allergic triggers, recognize anaphylaxis signs and symptoms, and understand how to quickly get appropriate treatment and immediate medical care when a life-threatening allergic reaction occurs.”

Get Schooled In Anaphylaxis Challenge™ Entry Information

The Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge™ encourages school-aged children in grades 1-12 to write a brief essay and submit up to two visual images. Submissions should explain an idea to:

· Improve awareness of life-threatening allergies in schools;

· Help students who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions feel more accepted in their school; or

· Provide a unique solution to a challenge faced by students who may be at risk for anaphylaxis.

Each entry will be evaluated by a judging panel including family caregivers, doctors, school nurses, advocacy groups and others in the allergy community. Winners will be selected based on creativity and originality of the idea, the clarity of the proposed solution and the potential for implementation of the idea.

Essays can be submitted from September 26, 2012 to November 9, 2012.

For more information visit www.Anaphylaxis101.com.

Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis™ and Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge™ are sponsored by and trademarks of Mylan Specialty L.P. © 2012. All rights reserved. MYS12-8001

Do you hear pounding?

I do because we're getting a new roof. Well, we're getting a new roof on the house and porch. The attached garage/shed combo will have to wait a few years. Is there anything more anticlimactic than pouring money into your house for necessary repairs? Maybe next we'll redo the wiring! WHOO! So pretty! At least I won't cringe every time it rains, so that's something. And I did get to pick the shingle color. (Scott: "There are different colors?")

In part of my ongoing quest to bum free food off of people, I'm expecting a delivery of overripe tomatoes and some basil today. You know I'm going to make Catherine Newman's roasted tomato sauce. Did you see her food feature in the latest Family Fun? Now I must have the microwave chips maker she mentions. Hey, I love the Whirley-Pop she recommended.

I was at a church meeting last night where the other members of the committee un-ironically referred to me as a "youngster." I've often thought that I never want to live in a retirement community because I want to be surrounded by people of various ages making me feel young. It never occurred to me I might start reaping those benefits in my late thirties.

Welp, this youngster's going to do some cooking and try to drown out the pounding with children's musical soundtracks.

Green Tomatoes

One of my favorite Tightwad Gazette tips is the one about letting people know you are willing to take free stuff. Even free stuff that seems like junk to them. It may be trash, or it may be something wonderful like hand-me-down clothing. Or green tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes, adapted from Wisconsin Country Cookbook and Journal

green tomatoes
dairy-free milk
flour, mixed with salt, pepper, and a little maple or brown sugar
DF margarine
shortening
more DF milk
DF chicken bouillon powder

Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Dip in milk and then in flour mixture. Fry slowly in 1/2 DF margarine and 1/2 shortening until crisp, brown, and tender. Remove to a plate. Add more DF milk to the pan, along with a sprinkling of DF chicken bouillon. Reduce into a pan gravy and pour over the tomatoes.

After you've eaten your fill of fried green tomatoes, puree the rest of the green tomatoes in your food processor and freeze in 2 1/2 cup and 2 cup amounts to make:

Green Tomato Cake--I usually leave out the raisins and stir the coconut into the batter.
Green Tomato Raspberry Jam

(Yes, we've cooked and enjoyed both. The cake is one of my dad's favorites.)

Now go raid your neighbors' tomato patches. With their permission, of course.

Yes, I do comfort myself with food

Mah babies are at school! I miss them so. Time to distract myself with cooking, especially foods for them to enjoy in their lunchboxes.

Money Saving Mom is starting a lunchbox freezer cooking session, and Milk Allergy Mom is following along with some dairy-free versions of the recipes.

Alisa posted a great-looking curry chicken nuggets recipe at Attune Foods. I especially like the curry sauce.

Our friends just dropped off 5 pounds of Concord grapes, which means it's jelly time! I use the cooked jelly recipe from the Sure-Jell pectin recipe insert, but I freeze the jelly instead of canning it. I prep the grapes this way because I have a Foley food mill, and I follow the advice of this recipe that says I don't have to strain the grape juice.

On vacation one day we had eggplant Parmesan that contained dairy, so for Katherine's lunch, I made this:

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

2-3 small, thin eggplants
salt
1 garlic clove
olive oil
Progresso Italian Panko Style Breadcrumbs

Slice the eggplants into 1/4 inch circles, salt lightly. Chop or press the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and saute until slightly browned. Add the garlic, turn the heat to medium, and cook until eggplant is tender. Toss in a handful of breadcrumbs with a little more oil if needed and stir to combine. Serve with red sauce.

What do your kids like in their lunches?

Two

Two. TWO! How is that possible?

I love you, Graham. I hope you have a perfect birthday, although I know nothing can compare to the gift the neighbors already gave you: your VERY OWN doggie pillow pet. Life is good.