Tag: allergies

Food challenges

What do you think of when you read those words? Food Challenges

Do you think of an eating contest? A diet? Allergies? Picky eating? Sadness?

As a mom of a child with food allergies it is a roller coaster. Sometimes it’s easier and then it can be harder.

Our little angel is starting to notice, understand and get upset that he is eating different food from those around him. When GiGi comes to visit we usually go out to eat which is dangerous to begin with. She and big brother chose to go to Hideaway Pizza, a family favorite! When the food arrived he looked around at his plate and then at all the pizza on the table. He reached for bubba pizza and we all yelled “NO!!!” His little bottom lip folded over and tears started streaming down his face. He is beginning to notice. He says “I try it.” “Peeez!” Looking at me with such a sad and confused look, it made me hug him tight, carry him away from the table, and burst into tears myself.

It’s happening. We have been pushing it and we need to stop taking him places that are unsafe. This sucks because it starting to get harder and more cruel. We have to make a change but it is so hard. Once you see your baby in pain you want to protect them at all cost. Going to restaurants is an easy go to for all people and Mom’s are no different.  So it’s a little more complicated when your child can’t order anything.

Since it’s summertime and we have lots of celebrations, the allergies are at the top of my mind. Bubba and I make special allergy free food and treats so he can participate and feel included. We found out that shaved ice is allergy free!!! (be sure to ask.) Squints and YaYa.


Easy & common things you don’t think twice about until you are a parent of a child with extreme allergies include: cheese sticks, yogurt, Cheerios, pizza, cake, cupcakes, cookies, chicken nuggets, gold fish, and peanut anything etc.

We really do NOT expect anything to change or for anyone to make crazy accommodations for us. This is the world we live in. It’s up to us to protect and teach our kids what is safe for them. But should that include not taking them places out of fear? NO! He just started at a little nursery school and we love it. They  take his allergies very seriously and I feel he is safe, comfortable and happy there.

Anytime he has something in his hand that is not safe we used to scream “NO!!!!” Out of fear and now it scares him to tears. We are trying to be calm and say “no baby that will make you sick,” I reminded him that he can’t have those treats or he will get sick and have to go to the hospital. He says “k.”

Food is a big deal in American culture. Sometimes we affiliate it with family, celebrations and even love. When I think “ok I can do this,” then I slip and think,” but I want pizza, ranch, cheeseburger, or queso or a donut.” All terrible food choices I know, but man they are delicious and cheap.  I love the idea of becoming paleo and vegan but seriously the execution in Oklahoma is hard and expensive! Yes I am complaining. It’s really F-Ing hard when you can’t have wheat, oats, eggs, dairy or nuts. I go to 3-4 different stores to get all the things we need and like. But I’m starting to not mind as much it’s the new normal.

Today I saw new items from one of the safe brands he can have.

Enjoy Life Foods

I was so excited I called my mom and almost burst into tears. Sounds absolutely ridiculous but I have been waiting for this brands pizza crust and brownie mix to come to Oklahoma for 10 months. They are “Allergy-Friendly”

This is huge! It’s the little things in life that matter and being able to let him experience them not only brings him joy but all of us as well. When I showed him and big brother all the new “safe” foods bubba said “oh mama that makes my heart go up!!” As he beams his smile and hugs me tight. He is so protective, aware and helpful when it comes to baby brothers food and safety. For that, I thank God. When baby sees his food boxes he is thrilled, claps, smiles and says “Yay!!” It’s the little things that matter.

Of course we hope and pray he will outgrow some of these allergies. But how will we know?

Food challenges.

Skin testing.

Needless to say I was afraid to take him to get his skin tests. He was scared but he did amazing! I’m so proud of him! He’s mama’s tough, beautiful boy! Please read the next posts for more photos, videos and recipes.

Teaching him that things will hurt him and make him sick is crucial to this process. Empowering him to know he is feeding his body with the best food possible is important for his self esteem. Remember he is only 20 months so our allergy journey has just begun.

XOXO

Just Happy Mommy

 

 

Plans

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Plans 

Why do we make plans?

We aren’t promised tomorrow or next week or even next year. 

Plans make me happy and plans make me cringe. 

“So what’s your plan?”

We have been hearing this question for a majority of our lives.

“Where do you plan to go to college?”

“What’s your plan after college?”

“Where do you plan to live?”

“Do you plan on getting married?”

“Do you plan on having kids?”

“Do you have a retirement plan?”

“Health care plan?”

And it all comes full circle again when you are a mom… “Where are your kids going to school? What’s your plan?” We all have a calendar full of activities, events, parties and obligations. 

I always had a plan. I was a go getter as long as I could get sleep and some cocktails. As a young journalist you take any job you can get in tv. Then you fake it till you make it. In my case the job was assignment editor. What you ask? Exactly. Think of it like the air traffic controller of a newsroom. You don’t care about them until they F$&@ up or until you have to fill in for them. Basically you plan the news for a living. I made it my plan to master this position and I ended up making it my bitch! RIP deuce desk 

I knew I was going to get married at 25 and I did. I wanted to have kids at the exact same ages my mom did 29, 32, and I did. Who knows maybe we will have #3 in 5 years hubby LOL! He’s done I’m still open to the plan. I knew I wanted to be a mommy and raise my family in Tulsa. Always liked the idea of moving away but it’s never gonna happen. 

So Here’s the deal. Plans are bullshit. We plan and plan and then plan the plan. Since becoming a mom I have started to sometimes loathe plans. Simple example, kids get sick. Can’t plan that. Although I can usually predict it because we will have some BIG plans it could potentially ruin. Case and point this week. We are leaving for the beach at the end of this week. We have planned this for months and it is a much needed getaway for all. 

Come on robbers hope you like stealing dishes in the sink, clothes from old navy and mountains of laundry. My husband always says I should not post that we are out of town for fear we get robbed. But I say the most valuable things we have is our kids and yes we are taking them to the beach too! It’s a family vaycay. 

    
Our little boy has a compromised immune system (for any new readers) and has extreme allergies to food and the environment. So today I took him to see our sweet pediatrician because he has been coughing and breathing rapidly, congested and feverish. We decided since we are leaving town and our deposit is NON refundable,  we better check everything off the list. 
So we took chest X-rays, nasal swab for flu and throat swab for strep. NO fever, no flu, no strep. Chest X-ray not so good. She called it fluffy. Possibly the start of pneumonia. If you have never experienced a child getting a chest X-ray it is like a mid evil torture device. The tears stream and baby cries mommy until it’s over. As a mom this is one of the worst sounds. 

  
This evening daddy comes home with a bag full of drugs (costing more than my car payment) and we begin our new plan. Our new normal. I will be administrating breathing treatments everyday even after he is done being sick and finished the antibiotics. 

   
 A mother never plans for her baby to be sick. A baby who is sick has got to be the saddest and most painful thing. And for a mom who helplessly tells them it’s going to be ok and begging to God to help her child or take their place, it is exhausting. 

I see this in my own mother. She shows so much grace and strength while helping me and telling me it will be ok. All the while I know her aching heart yearns for her baby girl to get better. Your baby is your baby. Whether they are 18 months or 31 years they are still your baby after all. Our health is our wealth. 

Please click below to learn more about food allergies.

Living with food allergies 

As people we are taught to follow a plan. We thrive on plans. We have safety plans.We have goals. We have agendas. We have tasks, events, celebrations and expectations and obligations. 

I kinda hate the saying “it’s always something.” It comforted me until recently. I know we all have pain, triumphs, struggles and things going on. But when someone says “it’s always something,” isn’t that just a nice way of saying tough shit move on?!? Or am I my usual sensitive Sally?!?

I think I have fallen short on some of my promises I made in my first blog posts. I promise to keep it real. Well here’s the real deal I can’t do it all. I can’t be a super me! Everyday I try to get up and be the super mom and a super wife and super friend and super daughter and super sister.  

Thing is I’m exhausted and need to realize over and over that

 I am enough. 

Just me being me. 

I can’t plan for everything that gets thrown in my way. 

I really admire other moms and bloggers who really have their shit together. Pretty Instagram pictures, lighting, poses and real posts. I have ideas and try, but fail miserably. 

I want to keep hustling my blog, my brand and make extra money for my family. That’s why I took this picture tonight. If you can’t plan your posts to promote yourself and your business then do it all in one. I’m a wife, mommy, writer, hustler and swag lover! I hope this makes you chuckle 😂 links below

  

Like I planned on posting about my 60 day beach body reveal well here is the reveal!
I didn’t change shit and I look the same. Chips and salsa erryday! Mommy pops, donuts, smoothies and currently a big bowl of spaghetti! 😂😂😂🍷🌮🌶🍩🍝

  
I wanted to do a cute pinteresty post about how to perfectly pack the family for a beach vacation. At this point we will be lucky if we get to go. I’ve gotten this far… I love this plan from Pinterest and 

40 Beach Tips & Tricks
  

So I sit in the bathtub with my wine and baby monitor on full blast and think I hate plans but I know I need them. 

I hope & pray everyone stays safe during these storms. It is important to have a safety plan in case of a tornado. 

Xoxo

Just happy mommy 

Swag photo cred: Hubby and links below 

Fabulous Earrings by Abby Sparks
Lip Sense Lip Gloss
My IT WORKS!
Mom Life Tee & Sunnies

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

I use this saying all the time and almost everyone knows what it means but I decided to look it up anyway. 

Definition
A common experience of living in apartment-style housing in New York City, and other large cities, during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Apartments were built, similar in design, with the bedrooms located directly above and underneath one another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing their shoes in the apartment above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar sound was created.

Verb
wait for the other shoe to drop
(idiomatic) To defer action or decision until another matter is finished or resolved.

(idiomatic) To await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable 

It’s kinda like when you got your shit together and have a moment of “yep it’s going too good”. The anticipation of what happens is waiting for the next shoe to drop. 
I am superstitious. I get it from my Papa. I know there is no such thing, but still my mind will say, “Dammit! I jinxed myself.” 
I have lots of examples of this so, please let me indulge you. 

The last few days I have had my super mom cape on and kicking ass at mom life! 

Friday the boys and I had a friend over to try out some new lip gloss. It’s called lip sense and I thought ok what the hell. I love me a good lipgloss! It was so cool and we had a blast. The boys loved her and I love my new everyday color called first love. It doesn’t come off, it’s all natural and I am so excited I got it today! Find her on Facebook Kiss Proof Kisses and tell her you saw it on Just happy mommy  😘💄💋

This is with NO makeup. My before, then after lip color, then with gloss and still perfect even after swim lessons! 

  
Then Saturday we had my cousins wedding which was lovely and great to see my cousins. 

Then Sunday we relaxed and went shopping at trader joes OMG obsessed and so happy they have one in Tulsa now. I waited a month but it was still a zoo! My mom and I ran over to Nordstrom rack and old navy to get some cute beach gear for our trip in 24 days! Bow chic a bow wow! Holler ED vaycay 2016!  

 Yesterday Our AC was broken so a sweet friend helped me out (shout out to said friend,) and a repair man was there in less than an hour! Boom! Then I had to take my son to school, then take the baby to my moms, then off to the dentist to get 4 fillings. OUCH! Back to pick up the baby, then pickup at school then off to SAMs to get a few things, go thru the car wash oh ya and clean, vacuum and mop my house all before 6:30pm when friends were arriving for my first wrap party! Finally got in bed by 10pm. Booya! 

Just Happy Mommy It Works
So today feeling pretty proud of all I had accomplished, I had a pep in my step. We made it out the door to school and then to visit my BFF, drop off some yummy food and stare at her beautiful week old baby girl. Of course we had some coffee talk. (In the mike Myers voice). It was a perfect morning!

  
 Then little man and I went to my parents’ to go for a walk. My mom is my soulmate. We are there for one another and know each other better than ourselves. I told her, after bitching about something, “But you know what? We are healthy. We haven’t had to use an epipen in a while.” And as soon as I said it, I thought “MFer! I should not have said that for fear of jinxing my streak of good luck with no allergy attacks!” After our walk, little man had some red bumps on his face and he was rubbing his eyes. I immediately thought there it is. The other shoe dropped. He’s going to have a reaction. (Also just to note: this is where he had his first anaphylactic reaction so I’m on high alert.) We washed his swollen face off and I got him some Benadryl and decided to get him home and give him steroids. I called my husband, who was home for lunch, and he had the medicine ready as soon as I screeched in the doorway. 

I left my parent’s house just praying to God to keep my baby safe. I kept reaching my hand back into his car seat so he would grab my fingers with his little hand. I would shake them and then he would squeeze my finger back. We did this the entire ride home. For anyone in a health or dangerous situation car rides are hell and seem like every brake light is another breath taken for granted.

  We are home now, and he is sleeping. I have the monitor on full blast. I walk in to watch him breathing every few minutes. I overreacted this time. The last couple times I have been so calm and just gave him Benadryl and a bath. But today I thought “OK, bitch nuts, it’s on.  We have been too lucky, and Since I got cocky with saying no epipens, it was on.” I am so thankful that he is OK and just very congested. 
I am almost certain it is something outside. This time of year, in Oklahoma especially, allergies are at the all time high. When I was at the TV station, I remember that Tulsa is one of the worst cities in the US for asthma and allergies. I love living in green country but, I hate seeing my baby struggle to breath and my big boy getting shiners under his eyes from the high pollen count. 

Anyway, we think we got our shit together, and then we don’t. Sometimes the shoe drops, and sometimes it doesn’t. But the knowing things are too good to be true and the anticipation of knowing something will go wrong in the future is what causes me anxiety. I for one have to force myself to live for today. I cannot control what happens. God is in control, and I have to trust in Him to take care of me, my babies, and my loved ones. Good things happen and bad things happen. Life isn’t fair and it’s all about perspective and being thankful. 
Seeing my friend’s new baby girl this morning and having a few minutes to talk, just us girls, just us moms, is a gift I cherish. 
I always check FB and Instagram when the boys are napping or having quiet time, and a sweet friend of mine posted this on my timeline.
Why being a mom is just enough 
Tears streamed down my face as I read this. It was just what I needed. Me taking care of my boys and giving them the time, love and attention they need and deserve is enough. They make my world go round. 

 We survived swim lessons and both boys loved it except for this one comment. I was running after little brother while big bro had his lesson. He was ready to jump in! A mom watching me run back and forth says “this is when you lose the baby weight.” 

Ummmm I’m sorry what?!?! I thought “Wtf lady?! ”  I wanted to say “Oh I’ve already lost my baby weight and guess what I’m going to Wendy’s after this bitch!” I Obvi didn’t say that but you bet your sweet ass I got a spicy chicken sandwich! Insert Wendy’s ad here 

  So Im hanging up my proverbial super mom cape tonight. Wednesday is our no plans, no pants, PJ day, and I intend to enjoy it fully and completely with my little humans.

Xoxo

Just happy mommy