Dear all of us, scrambled thoughts

Dear all of us,
Do you ever have times when you have so much going on in your head that you can't even focus? Please tell me it's not just me!
There's too much going on. School has been in session for almost two months and I still can't get with it. The quantity of homework and common core is driving me insane. The math homework! Oh the math homework! I have to believe that whomever invented common core does not have children. It is pure torture.
I look at the calendar and laugh. There is so much on the calendar that I have to schedule in when we can go get some pumpkins.....
Halloween-never been my favorite holiday and even less with food allergies. But look at this!
http://blog.foodallergy.org/2014/10/06/the-teal-pumpkin-project-for-an-allergy-friendly-halloween/

Remember to paint your pumpkin teal! I will post pics as soon as ours is done.


There is so much out there that is making my head go crazy. I can't turn on the news anymore. Ebola, the respiratory virus that's going on (we don't have asthma but it still makes me nervous), beheadings, ISIS, and on and on.....

I wish the news would show more of what is good in the world. I have to believe that the good outweighs the bad. It's just that, of late, all I hear is bad. It hurts my heart when I hear of those doing the wrong thing. Especially those who are involved in the lives of children.

I wish people would take a minute everyday to be thankful for what they have. If you have a good life, if you are surrounded in love, if you and your family have your health, please don't take that for granted. Enjoy it. So many, many people have lost so much. Be grateful for what you have and spread love and joy. Have some perspective. Don't spread hate. Don't hurt others. Play nice! Isn't that what we teach our children? Adults need to listen to this advice.

Changing focus....

I am the mom of two amazing kids, I am truly lucky. Yes, one of them has life threatening food allergies. The food allergies consumes a lot of my time. I have to be diligent to keep her safe and that then affects every aspect of our lives. Food allergies are not however the only thing that happens in my life. This is why I am thinking of changing the focus of the blog. I will of course still discuss food allergies but it will also cover every other aspect of life as a mom.
What do you think?
I am sitting her busily jotting down notes....
I'm excited to share the new blog with you soon!

Then the bottom fell out

The children have been in school for about a month. It has been a relatively quiet month. There's homework, after school activities and so on....pretty typical first month of school.
I have known my youngest child now for 9 years. I'm her mom so I think I know her pretty well. She is the happiest child that I have ever met. It's just her nature. From the time she gets up until she goes to bed, she is happy. She has a huge smile on her face and she is a bundle of energy.  I wouldn't have it any other way. So, when she cries I know something is wrong. She was sitting on the couch and suddenly burst into tears last night.  I couldn't even begin to imagine what was wrong. It turns out that she had been made to sit at the allergy table since the beginning of school. This is not something we asked for, it was in fact the exact opposite of what we asked for.
I felt like I had been punched in the stomach.
My child has never, in 6 years, shown any anxiety about her allergies. Now here she is balling her eyes out because she was shoved at another table.
Fast forward to this morning. My husband sent an email last night and went to the school this morning. The situation was explained. The teacher didn't realize the stress that the table situation had caused. She is going back to a regular table today. Hopefully problem solved.
I think like most situations  you don't really get it until it happens to you.
Do parents of allergic children need to become more vocal? I already feel like all I do is talk about allergies to others. Does anyone here me or do they hear waaa waaa waaa like Charlie Brown's teacher? What else can parents of allergic kids do to make the non-allergic community listen and understand what it's like for our kids?
I don't know but the advocate in my is awake and ticked off today.
Parents of allergic kids-we are our kids best advocate. You have to stand up. You have to shout from the roof tops. You have to raise awareness. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you.

It only took 5 days

On the 5th day of school the phone rang. It was noon and I was relaxed. I had spent the morning with a friend drinking coffee and chatting. Then the phone rang and the school number came up. It's only the 5th day. The 5th day!!!!!!!!!
My youngest was coughing. She was coughing and couldn't catch her breath. She was given water and the coughing stopped. She was then asked, "Does your throat hurt?" "No" "Does your chest feel tight?" "Yes"
Well.....that led to a dose of benadryl and a call to me.
Am I thrilled that the school was on top of things? Of course. Will a dose of benadryl hurt her? No it won't.
I do know that if I was there I would have seen that a cough is sometimes just a cough.
Thank goodness for teachers that care.
Do any of you work full time or even part time out of the house? How do you handle it? I can't imagine what would happen if I did work. How do you handle the stress? I'm home and still stressed out......

A good feeling

We filled out all of the paperwork. We researched. We came up with a plan. Then we met the teacher. She seems very nice but she's new to the building.......
Fingers crossed for a good year. Another safe year. Please let this teacher get it.
Have you met the teacher that your child will have?

I wonder what it's like to have a "normal" school experience. I can't remember what normal is.....

Endless paperwork

As I get ready to start another school year and attend yet another 504 meeting, I am astounded by the amount of paperwork that needs to be filled out.
I do not understand why year after year I have to fill out the same forms. This year there is even a new form. I am not sure why there is a new form but there is one. It pretty much asks the same questions as the other paperwork does. This means more wasted time filing out forms, getting doctors signatures, and so on. Of course I will do whatever it takes to keep my child safe but this is insane....
Are you filling out piles of paperwork too?

One more week

One more week off then school starts. I have my paperwork in order, epi etc is ready to be dropped off at school. Just waiting on the yearly 504 meeting.....
Going to work on safety AND inclusion this year. We learn as we grow I guess.
Are you ready for this school year? What do you do to make sure that your child is safe and included?