TTC #4 & Pregnancy Test!

Recent Events

This blog post is a little off subject for it being an allergy blog but I have been going off subject more and more. I really hope you all don't mind. I figure I would just tell you all about more aspects of our life than just the allergies part of it.

When we moved into the house we live in now, we had moved in as renters of my husband's grandmother's house since she was moving to a retirement home. She had 2 cats that lived with her. So, when it came time for her to move she tried to find homes for them and was unsuccessful. After thinking about it, my husband and I decided we would let them live in the back yard and garage. My son and I both are allergic to cats. I am so allergic to them that if I go into a home with cats, I will feel it for at least another 24 hours. So, upon moving in, we cleaned carpets, walls and every surface of the house to get rid of any cat hair or dander. Because of the way cats have always made me feel, I was never fond of them. But, these two cats over the last few years have nestled into my heart. I am sure you can imagine the pain I felt when I went to check on them and found one of the two passed away in her bed inside her little house. It was heartbreaking. I could only think of what I did wrong, how it was my fault and I just completely lost it. I called my husband hysterical and he came home from work to make sure she was really gone and to deal with the remains. It never really hit me how much I grew to love those cats until I saw her lying there. Once I had gotten myself composed and feeling less guilty, I realized that I would have to tell my kids. My daughter is 3 and doesn't quite understand much about how many animals we have, so I figured I would keep her out of it. But, my son knows how many animals we have, their names and so on. So, my husband and I sat in the living room with our children and I was at a loss for words. I debated leaving him in the dark, but then what would I do when he asked where Pumpkin kitty was? Why do we only have Smokey now? So, I ended up telling him that Pumpkin went bye bye and she wont be back. He was sad and argued with me, saying he was not going to say bye bye. Then, he noticed that her house was now gone so I told him that she took her house with her. (The house was where she passed and I will not go into details but to say that we could no longer keep the house.)  We hadn't talked about it since. Then last night, my husband and I went to dinner and a movie with my dad, his girlfriend and my grandmother. When we returned to my dad's house where my sister was babysitting, they did not want to leave. So, I told him that Bear (our dog) and Smokey (our living cat) were hungry and needed us to go home and feed them. He says "You brought Smokey back home?" Apparently he was confused on which cat was gone. That broke my heart. I had to tell him that Pumpkin went away and Smokey still lived at our house.

I know that was a lot of detail but I have never had to tell my children of a loss. Either they weren't around for the losses I have had or they were too young to know any different. I am glad that he is not yet old enough to understand death, that would have been so much more heartbreaking to see. I would love to hear how you all have dealt with telling your children of death of  their beloved animal. As hard as it is, death happens and we all need to learn about it before it is a close friend or family member. It helps with coping when the time comes that you lose someone close to you. When my dog died it helped to show me that I can get passed it, I will move on. So, when my high school sweetheart of 3 years passed away, I knew that while this pain was deeper, I could still get through it.

SMOG

If you know someone with allergies it is very likely that they also have asthma. Asthma and allergies go hand in hand, as I have mentioned in previous posts. One way to lessen the asthma on a day to day basis is to first be sure get your vehicle smog check inspected. If you are near Glendora, CA you can stop by Quicky Smog to have that done by someone that knows what they are doing. You can also find a Quicky Smog in Upland, CA. Cutting down on smog will help your children to live in a safer environment that is easier to breathe.

Take a look around their website to see what they are all about. They look to me like they are dedicated to making a healthier environment for us all!

For more information please visit:
Glendora- quickysmog.com
Upland- fqsmog.com

TTC #3

Zyrtec

As you all have GOT to know by now, I am the biggest advocate for Zyrtec! Even today I was talking it up to my husband as I sat there eating our home made salads without having much of an allergic reaction at all to my raw veggies. I am not severely allergic as my son is to some foods, but I will be very uncomfortable if I bite into a carrot, broccoli, cauliflower or other vegetable without cooking it first.
The down side to  Zyrtec is that sometimes it can get to be a little spendy. The paper comes out with $4 coupons every once in a while and that is GREAT. But, sometimes I give in and buy the store brand. Of course, some brands will have different ingredients in them. You will want to make sure that they are close to the same to be sure that it will work as effectively. I have noticed that even if it says they are exactly the same, nothing works quite as good as the real thing.  Secondly and MOST importantly, I have noticed that some brands will have lactose in the ingredients. I know for a fact that the Safeway brand has that. I am personally lactose intolerant so I feel like that could be a reason why that brand does hardly anything for me. Yes, it is a minuscule amount but if I cannot break down lactose right, wouldn't that effect how the whole pill is broken down? Or even just parts of it? I certainly do not know this but it is my theory. If you have a milk allergy, YOU WILL BE ALLERGIC to these off brands that contain lactose. This is derived from milk, just as Casein and other "secret words" are. Just be very careful when buying the off brand that you do not accidentally get something that could hurt you. I have read the children's Zyrtec that are off brand and have yet to come across any with lactose in it, but I most definitely read any time I do. It is actually quite hard to find children's zyrtec anymore. A lot of stores do not carry it for some reason. Either they only carry the off brand or they don't carry a children's version at all. I can't tell you the last time I actually saw a children's Zyrtec in stores or how many stores I have been to in search of even the store brand Children's Zyrtec.

Well, that is enough of my ramblings for now. I just thought I should tell you all of that sinc eI am always talking about how everyone should use Zyrtec.

TTC #2

Wedding Photos

Recently, our closest friends were married. It was so beautiful and such a joyous occasion. They came over and showed us the slide show they had from their photographer (a family friend). They were nice pictures but I know that she wished that some things had been different. At our wedding we had a photographer that just upset my husband the whole time and then half the pictures weren't usable because of the lighting and settings. So, my advice to ANY couple getting married; invest in a good photographer that has proven themselves to you through sample pictures.  I came across this photographer that does a BEAUTIFUL job. Looking through the website I saw that Green Holly Weddings took wonderful pictures at great prices. It is hard to find someone that not only can capture the moment but can make it look so flawless. Take a look at the portfolio to see for yourself, I promise you will be pleased!

For more information check out this affordable Detroit wedding photographer by visiting www.greenhollyweddings.com

Nut allergy linked to pregnancy and breastfeeding!

Here is a link to an article I just read about children getting their nut allergies because mom ate nuts during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding. Breastfeeding linked to nut allergies

When I was pregnant with my son, who is allergic to ALL nuts, I craved PB&Js and therefore ate them EVERYDAY! I hate finding things like this out because then I start to blame myself. But, I am also happy to know it because, this will help me to be sure that with the next baby, I steer clear. I tried whatever I could to keep my daughter from getting food allergies. Whether she just got lucky or the precautions I took played a part in her not having food allergies, I will never know. But, with all of the extra effort it took, I do not regret it at all because I know that she does not have to go through that.

Check my last blog post for my VLOG and tell me what you think! Thanks!!

Secret? What Secret? I Vlogged about it!

Any feedback? Write me on here in the comments, on Facebook or on youtube. :)

Thanks!

Family Night

Every family needs a night of fun together. There are many ways to do that. My favorite way is to have movie night. We make dinner and grab the TV trays to sit down in front of a family movie. We eat around the table every night so my kids find it extremely exciting when we do that!

I have been thinking about new things to do lately. One thing I know my children like is their TV shows. They love to sing along with the theme songs. So, when I saw that The Fresh Beat Band was coming to town I had to look into it. I found The Fresh Beat Band on www.feefreeticket.com.  In fact, I learned that you can get a lot of different tickets there. You can purchase Concert Tickets, Baseball Tickets, NFL Tickets, Sports Tickets and Theatre Tickets.

I still have yet to decide what we will do for our next family night but I know my kids will go CRAZY if we go see The Fresh Beat Band!

Infant Formula

Having a baby will change your life forever. Deciding what to feed your baby can be quite a difficult decision.  My first child, my son, never learned to latch on. I believe that I could have taught him, had I had the knowledge I have now. Going from breast feeding to formula feeding with him wasn't as much of a choice as it was a necessity. My son would be hungry and we would both become agitated with using a shield to try to help. When I finally made the switch things became easier on both of us, until it got much worse. They diagnosed my son with colic which I now believe was only his milk allergy in an early stage. Once we moved him to soy formula his painful screams, projectile vomiting and constant crying eased. It was only later that we discovered his milk allergy.

The formula I liked best once switching was Enfamil. There are so many wonderful benefits that enfamil can give your baby. If you would like to try it out for yourself visit Diaper Coupons to get your enfamil coupons. Trust me, with a baby in the house, coupons are always a HUGE help.

For more information and COUPONS please visit: http://diapercoupons.co/enfamil-coupons-2012/

Strawberry Cobbler

Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Butter (Vegan if allergic to milk, I use smart balance Light)

2 1/2 C Strawberries, halved

1 C Sugar

1 C unbleached all purpose flour

2 C Milk (I use soy, any kind of milk should work)

2 Tbsp baking powder

Place your halved strawberries into a bowl and combine with the sugar. Be sure to stir well. Allow your strawberries to sit at least 30 minutes or until a syrup forms in the bowl.

Place the butter in a large 9 by 12 casserole dish and place it into the oven. Preheat oven to 350 and let the butter melt as the oven is preheating.

While the oven is preheating, combine the flour, milkand baking powder in a bowl and stir well.

 Once the oven reaches the preheated temperature, the butter will be completely melted.

After removing your dish from the oven, pour the batter evenly in the dish, be sure NOT to stir! 

Then pour the strawberry mixture over the batter, again being sure not to stir it in.

 Place the dish back in the oven to cook for 1 hour or until the crust is turning a golden brown color.

Enjoy! A scoop of vanilla ice cream goes deliciously over this cobbler. :)

Catering Events

Event planning can be quite the hassle. As a parent of a child with multiple food allergies, even attending events can be quite difficult and actually scary. Every Thanksgiving for a few years my son would end up in the ER due to the cross-contamination. I don't even mean food that he was eating because I would bring him his own Thanksgiving dinner. This was just from everyone else eating all of these foods and walking around with the "poison" on their hands and touching things he would soon touch. After I realized that it had no longer become a coincidence, Thanksgivings were held at my house.

I actually came across this great site to help with catering events called Cateror.com. I wish I had known about it the last two thanksgivings and other events held at my house. I will surely be using this from now on! This website offers information and advice on partial catering services, buying pre-cooked or pre-made food and hosting potlucks. There is also a national directory of local catering services and restaurants that provide catering. This site goes beyond giving your sources by helping with party planning to make the whole event go smoother. In this website there are articles as well. There is even one geared toward Food Allergies. I would definitely take a look at Cateror.com and browse around taking a look at these helpful tips etc.

To find out more please visit: www.cateror.com