ER Trip

Nathan has had a little cold, nothing too bad. He just was sniffling, coughing, etc. I don't even think he had a fever. He has had the Flu Shot too.

Well, today I noticed he was coughing more and seemed to have lough breathing. I saw his stomach contracting. I gave him all his asthma inhalers/nebulizer - he didn't seem to be improving.

Once I saw him on the couch and I heard him wheezing, I knew we had to go to the ER.....ASAP.

They took him in right away and checked his vitals and his oxygen was lower, they listened to his breathing and said he was having an Acute Asthma Attack.  They gave him Prednisone. 

They called in the Respiratory Therapist and they gave him continuous Albuterol nebulizer treatments - which I didn't know you could do.

After a while Nathan was feeling better and his breathing improved. He is on a 5 day treatment of the steroid.

Hopefully he is feeling better soon!

Why I Can't Volunteer to Cut Box Tops for School Anymore...

I love helping to earn money for our school, so when I found out there was a position open with the PTO to be a Box Top Coordinator, I was all for it. I mean I could do most of it at home. I could cut and count Box Tops in my spare time. 

What I didn't think of or even expect is what I would find in my bags of Box Tops that needed to be cut. I found Box Tops that came off of Peanut butter cookies that were dirty - residue of the back. This meant I was bringing Peanut allergens in to my home!! Families from school would turn in full bags of garbage that I would need to cut the Box Top out of, some of these items contained Peanuts!!! EEEEKKK!

We also count and send in Milk caps. This means dirty Milk caps with Dairy protein in my house (Nathan is allergic to dairy). Dried Milk flakes would fall off these caps.

Some of the Box Tops are located on the tops of butter containers, which also contain Dairy. Parents would send in the whole top of a butter container with butter still on the back. They were oily, never even washed. 

Then there is the gross and random things I would find in the baggies of Box Tops that are sent to school that I pick up and bring into my house. I would find beads, crumbs, notes, grocery lists and hair!! GROSS! Not only human hair but animal hair - another allergen for my son.

I wasn't aware of all this or I would not have signed up. I will continue to fulfill my commitment for the rest of the year - I will cut these when Nathan is at school and wash down the table before he gets home. I have to store the Box Tops/Milk caps in the garage so it is not in the house. 

I know I will not be able to volunteer to do this again.

Happy New Year!!

Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. December went fast, sorry I didn't get more posts on this blog. With my husband taking off of work and Nathan's school concert and winter break...time just flew by.

Thank you for reading my blog, I plan to have some changes on my blog in the new year, not only writing about Nathan's allergies but also our life and family.

I  hope you will continue to read my posts and please comment or send me an email. I love hearing from all my readers. 

Wishing all of you a Happy and Healthy 2014

Merry Christmas!!

Allergy Moms are Organized

Nathan's teacher told me that the class will be decorating Christmas cookies in class and asked if I could bring something in for Nathan.

Nathan said he wanted to decorate a cupcake instead of a cookie but he needs all his own items. He can't share sprinkles, frosting or anything, etc. I decided to make Nathan his own decorating kit to take to school. I wish I had taken a picture before he took it but when he brought it home the teacher sent me a note.

It said: Thank you so much for sending this. It worked out perfectly! You are so organized!

Peppermint Fudge

Nathan and I were watching my favorite cooking show on TV, The Pioneer Woman. While the show is not allergy friendly, I do love to watch.

The Pioneer Woman was making a Peppermint Fudge on the show and Nathan said to me "Oh mom that looks so good!" This meant I needed to get creative and make a Peppermint Fudge for him that is allergy free.

This is what I cam up with and it was so easy and he loved it.


Peppermint Fudge

1/2c Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
2T Soymilk
Crushed Candy Canes

After I melted the chocolate in the microwave, I mixed in the soymilk. Then I added some crushed candy canes to the top. I spread it out on wax paper let cool in the fridge.

He loved them!

Peppermint Chocolate Sundae

Nathan loves ice cream but with all his allergies he is limited to flavors, but with it be Christmas time I decided to get creative. Nathan loves peppermint  and chocolate so I made him a Peppermint Chocolate Sundae. 

It was easy to make I just used Dairy Free ice cream, Chocolate Syrup and crushed Candy Canes He just loved it.