What a sad story! Father dies from Anaphylaxis due to Penicillin allergy and incompetent doctor

It *really* bugs me that there are so many medical practitioners out there that don't really get how serious allergies are..

The doctor was told repeatedly this man had an allergic reaction to penicillin, but chose to ignore it. ".. the house surgeon's mistake - in assuming that at worst an allergic reaction would be a mild to moderate skin rash or wheezing - might suggest a general gap in the knowledge of many junior doctors."

Unfortunately I don't think it is just junior doctors. Experienced ER doctors, and even those who are supposedly experts in this area - allergists - aren't always trained sufficiently, and don't have a clear understanding of the severity of allergies.

We REALLY need a better terminology distinction between Anaphylactic Allergy and non-life-threatening symptoms. Training would help, too.

What a great story! 3yo uses Epi to save brother

This is such an amazing and wonderful story of a 3 yo (yes, a THREE year old) who saved his 18 month-old brother by using an EpiPen!

His mother froze when she couldn't feel a pulse in her son Ryan, then her 3 yo son Alexander grabbed his brothers Epi and gave it to him, just as his dad had taught him.

How totally cool is that? Way to go, Alexander!

Our October support group meeting

went well!

We had some new faces, and old friends. We shared the booty Enjoy Life foods gave our group at the FAAN walk, the Crayons sports drinks and great company!

One of our members had the great idea of starting a training team which can advocate and train at our local schools. What a great idea.. we'll start small with an introduction/fact presentation, and work up from there.

How do you remember to carry your EpiPen?

Our support group had its first official play date on Sunday! It was fun being at the park with other families who really 'get it'. It is sooo nice to be able to talk to other parents about whats going on in our lives, and how allergies affect it.

I asked the other moms how they remember to carry their Epinephrine? Each mom had Epis or Twinject in their handbags. Because Dads don't have handbags (or manbags!), it was a problem. Many parents have spare Epinephrine stored in the car, despite knowing the Epinephrine is temperature sensitive, as it was the only solution they had.

I'm glad I asked the EpiPen manufacturer at the SF FAAN Walk to make the Epis smaller; at least I tried.

Making Epinephrine dispensers a more convenient size would make it easy for people to carry the meds everywhere with them. Imagine an EpiPen the size of a lipstick, that you could use as a key fob? Or even a large watch with two pre-measured doses - to inject you could just press a button to get the life saving epinephrine (it could also tell the time :-)

We have an Allergy Pack Combo that we use as a (very large) keyring. So any time we go anywhere, our keys help us remember to bring along the Epi..

How do you guys carry your Epinephrine? How about your spouses?

First foray into baking without a kitchen

We're doing a major remodel of our kitchen, which is extending rapidly into other parts of the house (there was a 5'x5' hole in our bedroom wall last week!). Our kitchen is a big hole.

I usually do all our baking to avoid nuts.. and because my Kindergartner needs an afternoon snack, I thought I'd try to bake some healthy (?!) cookies for him in our temporary kitchen upstairs.

I started out with an oatmeal cookie recipe, added toasted wheatgerm, currants, and tiny dark-chocolate chips (it can't be any worse than the nut-free Quaker granola bars he's been taking for afternoon snack!).

The kids were very excited about my baking, as its been over 2 months since cookies or cakes have appeared.. so they couldn't contain themselves and were aching to dive into the cookie dough, which they did to their satisfaction.

Well, the DeLonghi convection toaster oven did ok - despite its convectionness (!), the bottom cookie tray took longer, and the top tray browned faster.. but I made them!! I also decided bigger is better when it comes to my sons.. hence the second batch of super-sized cookies.

Its good to be back baking, and blogging :-)

FAAN walk for a Cure.. in SF!

Our support group attended the FAAN walk towards a cure in SF this weekend. Despite the drizzle and grey skies, it was great!

There were lots of vendors represented; I especially liked speaking with one of the managers at EpiPen. I requested they look into redesigning the Pen to make it smaller; there is apparently something in the works for next year.

I tasted Divvies cookies which are great, a new candy bar from Enjoy-life foods, which is really yummy - and also Crayon all-natural fruit and sports drinks, which I LOVE. My son can't drink Gatorade because the whites of his eyes go red (allergy?); I guess its the artificial color.. so these natural ones are great! Thank you Crayon! Now he wont feel left out when his team have a special after-soccer drink :-)

Gabrielle and I manned a table for our support group; we had lots of people interested in finding out about our group. We shared the table along with FEAST, a support group based in the East bay. It was really great to meet the FEAST leader, Mimi, and talk to her about what they had done.

Gabrielle and I had cute buttons for giveaways, which said 'Peanut Free Mama', 'Ix-nay Uts-Nay', and 'Dont you dare feed me'. They were really popular. Next year we'll also have some other foods represented (Allergies are not Eggsadurated, or TWheat Allergies Seriously!, maybe?). If you have good ideas for other slogans, let me know!

Swings and roundabouts

Its been ages since I posted last. Lots has happened. The prep for our remodel and trip to the UK, and L going to school really took its toll.

The worst was the first day of K. On the way home, my son casually told me (as only a 5yo can), that he had a Turkey and cheese sandwich at school today. But I didn't pack him a sandwich!!!!

Turns out the head teacher (to whom I had spoken at great and copious lengths), FORGOT to tell L's teacher that he was *only to eat food from home*; his teacher knew about his allergy, but not the no food rule. Thank goodness he was fine. But I was not - I fell to pieces. After all the effort trying to prepare for his new school; something as fundamental as this went wrong. It totally blew away all confidence and faith that I had it 'under control'.

I also couldn't believe he stood in line with the other kids! He must have asked the cafeteria staff if there were any peanuts or tree nuts.. because he asked me if he was allergic to wheat (which was probably what the cafeteria staff asked him!).

What could I have done differently? What did I do wrong? What should I have done that I didn't do? What if he had had a reaction? Lots of guilt, worry, fear, anger - on top of my travails of the last few months it was all too much. It totally blew my energy stores, and I was left bereft!

What did I do? First thing was to speak to his teacher first thing next morning. She was horrified and very sympathetic. Then what? Need to regroup and work out what additional profilactic actions I can take?

I read Linda Coss' How to manage Your Child's life Threatening Food Allergies and also Caring for your Child with Severe Food Allergies. Both gave me a really good idea of what I could have additionally done.

I also scanned KidsWithFoodAllergies web site (one of my favourite online support forums for Parents). Along with reading great posts from those that have been-there before me, I found an excellent 'Food Allergy Discussion Guide' bySafe@School, in the Resources section.

Anyways, I cobbled together a discussion list for the head teacher, and also put together a folder for the Class teacher (and any substitute teachers). The folder includes:
o Emergency Action Plan
o A summary of L's allergy and asthma, and dermatographia (1 page)
o A list of possible symptoms, along with 4 pictures of L having a reaction (2 pages)
o An introduction to Food Allergies (2 pages)
o The Chart which shows the grading of symptom severity

I met with the head teacher and his class teacher. We discussed the contents of the folder, how we would deal with L's penchant for lining up with the other kids, the symptoms and signs of an allergic reaction. We also talked about using FAAN's PAL program. The school were very positive! And I feel a little more positive now. Although my illusion of control is not in evidence (probably a good thing!).

I still need to work with L on a new set of skills of how respond in this new environment...

I hate family parties

even when the hosts are bending over backwards to be helpful. It requires being THAT kind of mother.

This is especially hard when you don't see the family often.. having to explain about food allergies. Going over the party food beforehand to find out what they are serving so I can bring something comparable isn't too bad. Its when they really want to provide safe food that it gets harder; trying to convey you're not really paranoid when you ask to look at the packaging for the pasta and pasta sauce for nuts. Surprisingly both the pasta and the rice had 'we cannot guarantee this food is nut free' (this warning seems to be peculiar to British foods, as I haven't seen it in the US yet; I assume it means that the manufacturer didn't have any nuts, but they cannot guarantee the source ingredients they use aren't cross-contaminated). The desserts are particularly hard.

Thankfully our family were very accommodating and understanding. They didn't look strangely at me when I brought his bread rolls or pasta, but instead wanted to make sure their home-made pasta sauce was safe; they even made their own cake so my son could have some; I have not seem him that happy to be able to share in the party dessert, ever!!

It is almost as if our family had read the new Allergy Moms Newsletter entry 10 things Every Child with Food Allergies wishes you knew! The first entry speaks about longing to be included. He certainly felt included yesterday.

Thank you, great Auntie Gina. xxx

Catharsis

We just arrived in the UK, after 4 weeks of harrowing preparation. Not only are we on vacation, but we had to empty our living room, kitchen and bathroom beforehand. We're also renovating our kitchen! In addition to that we have built a wet-bar in the room above the garage which will serve as a temporary kitchen workspace while the construction is underway. So a mini building project prior to an international flight, prior to a kitchen rebuild. The morning of our departure the counter top was installed. Two hours after that the under-counter bar fridge was delivered (after 7 phone calls to the delivery people and their warehouse, and an impassioned plea to the driver).

Well, I can freely say this is one of the worst months of my life.

Whats this got to do with food allergies? During this time, I had to remember how to prepare for an international trip..

• how many Epis do I take?
• where do I put them so there is a low chance of them being lost?
• should I encourage L to carry his own Epi (in his spiderman hipbag)?
• what kind of food do I need to bring (and should I double it to allow his non-allergic brother to have some too)?
• how do I stop a helpful flight assistant giving my son food dangerous to him while I'm sleeping?
• should I let L have the fruit plate I requested for his meal? What is the chance that it will cause an allergic reaction?

How do I keep him safe??

Thank goodness we arrived safely (with an appalling lack of sleep all round). What choices I made?

I carried 6 epis, all in carry-on luggage. Two in my handbag (with Benadryl easymelts and an inhaler), two in an 'emergency bag' (which will be left at his Grandparents house), and two in our portable EpiPen carrier (with inhaler and single dose Benadryl). In the emergency bag I also included benadryl single-dose spoons and easymelts, Predinsone chewable tablets, and his inhalers. I also decided it would be a good idea to have L become accustomed to carrying his own meds, so L also had a Spiderman hip bag with an Epi and an inhaler. He was a real trouper and didn't complain about it at all!

When we were seated, I wiped his tray table down with two separate wet wipes.

For food, we brought cheese sandwiches made from a fresh french loaf, crispy apples, a large bunch of grapes, packets of potato chips, Peanut and Nut free Granola bars (way to go Canada!), fruit rollups, and Graham crackers! Oh.. and bagels with cream cheese! And a Gladware container full of his favourite breakfast cereal. And our nanny also over compensated by also sneaking in a large container of precut watermelon!! Whew. It was an effort remembering it all, let alone packing it all. I'm surprised the plane didn't list all the way to the UK.


What did I do to prevent the flight assistants giving L food without my knowledge? Not enough! I did prepare this laminated sign which was pinned to the headrest on his seat. I feel bad that I didn't remember to speak with the attendant to let her know of his dietary restrictions. Also, the first attendant didn't notice the sign! Next time we need to use bright coloured paper (yellow, maybe?).

I also gave in, and let him have some fruit from the fruit plate, for the dinner meal. By the time breakfast was served, I couldn't bring myself to take the risk of cross-contamination, so he ate a Granola bar and some grapes (after all the careful packing, he didn't want the cereal, because we didn't have fresh sliced peaches to go with the Cheerios - ahh.. the trials of motherhood!).

So we made it safely. Thank goodness.

I've missed writing about food allergies in the last few months.. and hope you will all forgive me for my tardiness :-)

Picnics & dogs...

are a very common combination. Throw into the mix that dogs often either eat peanut butter directly (or its added into their food).. and you potentially get anaphylaxis at a park!

Today we went to our friends birthday party at Golden Gate park. He had invited his friends, their kids and dogs.

Since L had anaphylaxis to a dog a few years ago, I have always been leery around dogs, especially knowing that their diet often includes PB. So today.. when a well-meaning friend was pushing my son toward an unknown dog, I had to intervene and explain that he was allergic to dogs, and peanut butter. Thank goodness I did that, as we then found out this dog has PB daily! A nice strategic lick on my son's face could have resulted in an ER visit.

Every now it feels like I have food allergies under control; we know the drill, the precautions, the dangers, the symptoms.. then something so simple as this comes up, and it throws me for a loop. What if I hadn't asked? What if it was just my husband supervising the kids that day? Would he have asked? How cautious do I need to teach my son to be around unknown animals?

He needs to have a balanced life, but we must also keep him safe, and teach him how to keep himself safe. Explaining to a 5yo how to be safe but be included in activities is hard.. where is the balance? How can I explain it when even I don't really understand myself?

Today he asked "Mom, the dog's paw touched the soccer ball, so I can't touch it any more". I explained it was only if the dog licked him that he may have a reaction.

There were questions along the same vein yesterday, when my kids discovered our neighbours have a walnut tree. "Mom, the squirrels are bringing walnuts from our neighbours tree into our back yard. Daddy said the squirrels think its safe here, so they bring the nuts here. But its not safe for me".

He understood you can't ask a squirrel not to bury nuts in your back yard. But to explain that it is (probably?!) ok for him to pick up an uncracked nut, look at it and then throw it away, but an open nut on his skin might cause a severe reaction?

I know there are lots of other parents out there that have the same worries, but tonight I feel so alone!

Its about time!

Auto-injectors have always seemed to me to be too large, and the needle when exposed, scarily intimidating. I recall emailing the manufacturers of our auto-injector asking them to improve the design by making it smaller (and so more portable), and capable of having two doses. I didn't hear anything back.

A design student from the UK who suffers from Food Allergies has taken one step in this direction. He has designed a new auto-injector for a University Project, which is shorter than most of the well known auto-injectors, and there is one designed for infants too. Its not clear, but the needle also seems smaller. Check it out - its called the Allerject, and sure as heck doesn't seem as intimidating as the current products available. He has applied for a patent, and hopes it will come to market.

It is a nice step towards a better auto-injector.. now we just need one this size that contains TWO doses of epinephrine!

FAAN Walk for a Cure

The FAAN walk for a Cure is coming to SF soon - Sept 20th, in fact. My friend Gabrielle registered a team for our SF Food Allergy support group - its so exciting! My family have all registered, and have already hit up our friends and family for donations.

I love the internet! L's granddad from England was the first to donate. So cool.

If you can't attend a walk, please consider donating to FAAN, and do so through the SF Food Allergy team!

Tomorrow @ Kindergarten

L and his brother J will visit the new school tomorrow for evaluation day to see if they fit in. This is *not* a nut-free school. And I'm worried about keeping L safe. I've reminded him of the safe-food rules, and will speak with the teachers tomorrow morning to ensure they know what they ought to:

o where his Epi and inhaler are
o that he is not to have any food except that which comes from home
o that he and any children who eat peanut butter must wash their hands prior to and after eating
o what an allergic reaction looks like
o our contact mobile phone numbers
o what his Food Allergy Action plan is, and what it says

My phone is on re-charge. My hopes and prayers are out there. I've got to let my children go, but I want them to go safely!

Kindergarten... again

After deciding to leave our child in his current school which is preschool->K, an opening has come up in a K-5 school.

What to do, what to do? The school seems to be allergy aware. They train all teachers once a year in how to deal with allergic reactions - and they're happy with me attending their teacher training session (that is promising). Their cafeteria does not serve peanuts. They don't totally ban peanuts from the school, but do strongly request parents do not send peanut or nut products with their children. *They* request parents send in treats for allergic children, and also have a stash of treats available. They do store the Epis in the school office, and *not* in a locked box (the head mistress was horrified when I asked her if they were in a locked box). So it looks promising.

But it is still hard to move my child from a safer environment (no nuts).

The plus side is the school should suit him to a T.

Its so hard to know what to do to keep your child safe, but still let them live their lives

TIME

Do you all have the same problem I do? TIME. No, not the magazine! That element of life that passes so quickly.

I typed up our most recent SF Food Allergy support group minutes nearly two weeks ago. Have I had time to send them out??

Kids, allergies (that should be ALLERGIES), kids school/daycare, grocery shopping, washing, illnesses, allergies, kids (have I mentioned husband yet? - and - note there was no mention of friends). Usually, either the number of items in my to-do list is at status quo, or growing. After being off work for a few months now, my list is shrinking, and I've been feeling up to tackling some of the biggies on the to do list - namely renovating the kitchen.

Can't imagine how I'm going to manage it all in a few weeks time..

How do you all manage? Do you think caring for a child with life-threatening food allergies is a full-time job?

Interesting.. environmental pollution link to atopic disease

I have always had this wild hypothesis that if one were to attempt to correlate the incidence of food allergies (and atopic disease) to where a child was conceived and born, that there would be a relationship.

Research reported in many news articles such as Science Daily seems to concur. The study found a link between proximity to high traffic roads, and the incidence and severity of atopic disease.

Hmmm. I soooo wish we had an administration that would consider health and the environment top priorities!

To Test, or not To Test?

Thank goodness there are researchers out there trying to pin down when a CAP RAST (or similar) blood test can predict a successful IOFC (In Office Food Challenge).

Especially considering a simple diagnostic test such as a Skin Prick Test (SPT) caused Anaphylaxis in a young child requiring THREE doses of adrenaline, and over 6 hours of recovery time... How frightening for the parents, and for the toddler. My heart goes out to the family!

I just wish we could speed up the research to find out why allergies are on the rise, and why the severity of the reactions are getting worse. One thing we can do is raise money for these wonderful researchers to be able to do more studies. For example, by donating, or raising money for organizations such as FAAN (the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network), who sponsor grants for, and advocate for food allergy research.


Why not join (or donate to?) the FAAN walk for Food Allergy happening in various cities later this year! And next year, if there isn't a walk in your city, why not get a group together to help organize this coool event?


Apologies for the storm after the drought.. I promise not to write anything else for at least another 24 hours.. ( unless I think of something in the meantime :D )

Told ya!

For all those huge food manufacturers that (seemingly) can't be bothered with providing allergy-smart foods - read THIS:

Food Allergies Trigger Multibillion-Dollar Specialty Market

You guys are losing out on lots of $$. Same with supermarkets that don't stock allergy-friendly foods!

Anyone want to start a bakery with me? Can you imagine the market in the Bay Area for Allergy aware bakery? I'd LOVE to be able to drop in to a local bakery and buy nut-free cupcakes (for school birthday parties), cakes for birthday parties, muffins for treats, great breads, pastries!! And... maybe even Ice cream??

Can you imagine?

SF Food Allergy Support Group meeting #4

Our support group is rolling now! It is soooo good to meet other parents in the bay area who have children with allergies - well, its not good the children have allergies, but its great that there are parents reaching out to each-other at this stressful time. YouKnowWhatImean!!

Although there are online support groups that are GREAT, there is nothing like meeting people face to face that really get it.

It is even more of a buzz to see new people attend our meetings; and to see the relief on their faces when they see there are others out there just like them, that they are not crazy or paranoid. And to know I helped make that happen! Whoo Hoo!

If you can join us for the next meeting, check out sffoodallergy.org for details about where and when!

Way to go, Nob Hill, AND Dare Foods!

I no longer like going to Safeway because of the enormous new nut-stand they have prominently housed at the front of their store. So, I've been shopping elsewhere.. like Nob Hill Foods.

While wandering the aisles, I noticed they had Dare cookies! Dare cookies are Peanut and Tree Nut free and are made in a Peanut/Treenut free facility!! Whoo hoo!

Way to Go Dare, and Way to Go Nob Hill!

Companies like you give us parents hope that manufacturers may eventually notice there are lots of us that would love to have easily available, great quality products suitable for allergy sufferers (and their families, schools, friends, etc etc etc etc).

Whooo Hooo!

My 5yo did a triathlon today! I was so happy, proud, impressed (did I also tell you I was incredibly worried about his asthma?). He did a kids triathlon with his big brother. They had a blast!

Just goes to show allergic kids can do amazing things!

When we arrived and I saw how far away we would be from the competitors, it made me realize he ought to have carried an epipen & inhaler on the course with him (we had lots in our backpacks, but there were none right with him) - not the sort of thing you think about before hand. I'll make sure he has a Legbuddy next time!

We did give him his inhaler before the event. Things went smoooooth.

It was amazing watching both boys in the tri. They looked impressive with their 'numbers' on their bikes, helmeuts and written on their legs and arms.

One very proud mama, of two wonderful kids.

Contact!

Browsing around the place (as you do), I found a sample letter provided by the Food Allergy Project that we can all fill-in and email to our Congressmen and Representatives in which we request they do everything they can to increase funding for food allergy research!

I've emailed my Senators, and my Rep.

Now, if were only that easy to actually get solutions for Food Allergies! Any takers??

Package received

The lads have a fresh supply of peanut free Quaker Granola bars!! Yay! Thank goodness for the manufacturers in Canada that produce these wonderful products. If only the US manufacturers would do the same, it would be easier (and cheaper) to buy locally rather than via the web. I contacted Quaker US customer support to ask whether there were any plans for PN free products; the answer was no - and - there was no interest at all. I can't believe how short-sighted these people are. Oh well, I'm very glad the web is there.

Not only do Canadian manufacturers have PN safe granola bars, but Nestle *also* have PN &TN free Mars bars, KitKats and Aero bars.. I know sweets should be the least of anyones worry, but I never thought L would get the chance to even try the chocolates that we all take for granted.

In fact, I try not to let him feel like he's missed out at all when he can't have what everyone else eats. Its important to keep sight of the big picture - there are people out there without water, food, clothing or shelter - is it really that important that a child can't always eat what others have? I think not.

We are lucky for what we have.

We are doubly lucky that we can get products that are safe for our children. Yay Canada! US manufacturers - you guys have a long way to go. There is a huge untapped market you have turned your backs on: not only the people that are allergic, but the schools, caregivers, friends and extended families that interact with and care for allergic people. Changing manufacturing practices, even for a limited product size would show compassion and understanding, *and* you would get lots of great publicity while making lots of $$ too. To me, this is a no brainer.

Once one manufacturer starts being truely allergy aware, the others will have to follow, or lose a large market share.

Dithering

I'm still dithering over whether to send L to our local school, or whether to keep him at his current school for another year.

His allergy makes me fear for his safety, and I think he's a too little to be really able to look after himself. So I guess his current school is where he'll stay.

But he will be *so* disappointed not to go to big boy school! With his brother! Must think of a creative way to tell him.

RAST blood test results..

Two weeks ago, L had blood drawn to measure the amount of allergy antibody is in his blood for various types of foods, pollens etc. He was really brave - watched the phlebotomist draw the blood.. no crying at all. He was amazing. I was NOT. On the way out, I started feeling very lightheaded. I made it down the stairs then decided to 'rest' on a bench for a few minutes. I didn't want L to see me faint!

We got the results of the test on Tuesday. I've been trying to ignore them, I guess. For nuts, his kIU/litre (kilo international units per litre) was not too high (he *might* outgrow them).

His peanut was pretty high. According to researchers, it is unlikely he will outgrow the peanut allergy. Bummer. No matter how much you prepare for living with allergies for a lifetime, the actual news still knocks you for a sixer.

He's also very allergic to dust mites, cats and dogs, some types of tree and grass pollens, and dry moulds (whatever they are).

Sorry to be on a downer today.

We also had a Mothers day celebration and his school.. usually they ask me to bring a treat for him, but this time they didn't, and I forgot to ask. So instead of staying around and enjoying the company of the others, we left. There were cookies and cupcakes and pastries.. none of which he could have. L kept asking.. why can't we stay, Mummy?

On the way home we visited PomsRUs and bought some safe chocolate (kinder surprise, choccie buttons and also some fruit chews). Then we went home and ate them, and watched the Magic Schoolbus. Not a bad ending for the day.

Arrgghhh!

When I first enrolled L in an after-school activity, I spent time explaining to and training the supervisors about allergies. I was very clear that he is NOT to have any food from anywhere other than home. He takes his snack and EpiPen with him when he goes. Today, I find out they went on a 'field trip' to a local park, and that he ate 4 pieces of cheese pizza.

"The teacher said it was safe because it didn't have any nuts." I also don't know whether they took the EpiPen with them on their 'field trip'

Since I found out I've had a bad headache, and my stress level has shot through the roof. As parents, we try as hard as possible to keep our kids safe, and it seems no matter how hard we try, someone doesn't get it. .. doesn't get how severe and dangerous food allergies can be.

Pizza is a reasonably safe food, but still, we call the restaurant first to make sure there isn't any chance of cross-contamination with any nut recipes they make. This time we weren't given the chance. Thank goodness it turned out ok.

I also reminded L that he should tell the teachers they have to call me before giving him any food.

Tomorrow, we need to talk to the teachers.

FA Support group meeting this morning!

Our food allergy support group met this morning. It was great to see two new members attending! It is a buzz to know we've started a group which can help support other parents of food-allergic kids.

I feel good, da na-na na-na na-nah!

I just donated to KFA (www.kidswithfoodallergies.org), the organization that supports parents of kids with food allergies. Its a great site - there is lots of support, knowledge, recipes that the members share.

If you use and like KFA, would you think about donating?

Public school lotterys .. argh!!

Our local school hasn't proved particularly good for J, so we knew we could apply to the S school district (the thing that is annoying is we live in S, but are in the R school district, whose schools are unfortunately not so good).

The S schools are charter schools; if you live in the school district you apply by lottery in March. Any spare spaces are then filled by a public lottery. Isn't that totally weird? A lottery to get a school placement? My hubby and me can't understand it. But the school districts are apparently so full, they allocate children to schools via a lottery system - no FIFO queue.

So I tried to drop off the lottery applications today, and the schools we requested transfer to are so full they aren't holding a public lottery this year. Argh!

This is all so BS. The amount of tax we pay should guarantee a reasonable school - not first rate, just reasonable. Not one with way below average test scores (only 40% of the students in grade 3 pass the English test).

I want my tax money back!

Am I nuts?

to worry about the new Nut counter/stand that Safeway is installing as a part of their store upgrade? It is big. Apparently people will be able to make their own nut butters.. and some of the nuts will be heated. It's right next to the fruit/vegetable section at the front of the store.. in fact you have to walk around it to get to the fruit&veg!

Do they have any idea what kind of horror that counter inspires in us Mums of kids with allergies?? I hope they don't have nuts in a bag for eating in the store, otherwise it will be truly horrific.. imagine contaminated fruit/veg, or a shopping cart with nut proteins all over it.

Luckily I don't take L grocery shopping, but I do feel worried for those parents that do have to take their allergic kids with them.

Would you be worried? Enough to no longer shop there?

Whats in a name?

Well, I seem to be saying 'not at the moment' alot to my kids. That and the fact I'm almost going mad (read nuts) over my child's life threatening food allergy to peanuts and tree nuts led to the name.

So what will I write about that others will find so interesting? I know food allergies consume a lot of my life.. so there will be FA stuff. What else? Not sure really. Stay tuned.. (god I feel so old! what are all the hip stuff to say these days?)

I never thought

I'd blog. Blogs seem to be a way to voyeristically give others a window into who you are and what you think. I didn't understand why people would want to publish their thoughts on the web. And to be honest, I still don't know why I'm doing this! Maybe I'm hoping for a cathartic experience. I also don't get why people would want to read the ravings of some lunatic they don't know and shouldn't really trust. But I'm finding myself reading others Blogs. Can it be so hard to do? Can I sound as interesting as some of the bloggers I follow?

Nah. Probably not, but why not blog anyway?