Wow - A Busy Week

What a week! There was a lot going on between C's birthday and getting ready for school. We had a small party for C. at the house. Just a couple of families who also have 3 year old boys , and a couple of neighborhood kids for my older 2 to play with. I am a big theme person when it comes to birthdays. C LOVES trains, so I chose a train theme. Since it was a small party I used Evite for the invitations, but I did customize the invite with an image of a train. I also tend to get obsessive about coordinating goodie bags and the cake. I always make my own cake - except for the time I was 7 months pregnant.

I purposely planned food that would be safe for the kids. I normally do serve wheat products to my older children, when we have other kids running around the house I do not allow anything that could harm C. I would worry that he would eat a stray cracker. We also have a friend who's son has Celiac's disease, so I wanted to have things he could eat too. I held the party from 2 to 4 on a Sunday so I did not have to prepare a meal. Here is what I served:

Corn Tortilla chips (Tostito's now make an ORGANIC yellow corn chip - I am so happy, since C eats a lot of snack food I would at least like it to be organic!)

Salsa

Spinach dip - it did have mayonnaise , but there is no way C would touch it with a 10 foot pole! Served with carrots and corn chips.

Bruschetta for the adults. - I had every intention of making gluten free french bread, but I ran out of time. Since it was just for adults I went ahead and used a store bought baguette. Again, there is no way C. would touch it.

Birthday Cake made from Cherrybrook Kitchens and ice cream.

Assorted adult and kid friendly beverages.

The weather was perfect - sunny and not too hot, so we did end up sitting on the patio for quite a while. We gave everyone a train tattoo when they arrived and had train bubbles to play outside on the deck. I ordered a foam train craft foam Oriental Trading Company, and purchased a "Stick the Number on Thomas Game" the kids had a lot of fun with the activities. The kids were so silly trying to put the number in the right place on Thomas. My husband also set up a large train track in the family room with our wooden Thomas Train track set. After that they were happy to play in the yard and the basement. It really does not take much to entertain 3 and 4 year olds.

The cake was great! It looked fabulous. My mother in law had bought me a great silicone cupcake kit from Wilton.

It is designed like a puzzle to make a train, dump truck, or rocket. It really makes the creative process very easy. This cake was very easy to make - you can decorate using any safe candy that your child likes. I used Skittles and Twizzlers. I hope they make more designs. Perhaps a girl theme?

I debated making some regular cupcake for the adults, but my husband and I tasted the Cherrybrook Kitchens cupcakes and decided they were good for everyone. They are really good straight out of the oven. The next day they are a little dry - but frosting and ice cream can hide that. I did serve chocolate (I do prefer vanilla) which I feel is not as moist. Everyone loved them - you really can not tell that there is no wheat or egg. They were all devoured! I also used the Cherrybrook Kitchens frosting. It is delicious and easy to work with. It spreads smoothly and pipes easily. One thing I did learn, was to use Crisco instead of butter if you want true white frosting. I have read it before, but I think it seems too unappealing - I do not even use it in cookies. The butter gave my frosting a slight yellow tinge, which makes it harder to dye accurately. My blue and greens were not exactly the shade I had hoped for.

I found a great web site for goody bags and supplies. It is Birthday In A Box. All you do is search the site for the theme you want, and they have pre selected goody bags you can order. I was really impressed, for $5.99 per bag I was able to buy a conductors hat, toy train, train whistle, train stickers and super ball. I was impressed with the service (delivery was prompt) and the quality. Since we were having a small party, it was in the budget (and I feel a good value). For a bigger party it might add up - but there is something to be said for convenience too. If you are looking for a birthday resource, check it out.

My Baby is Turning 3

I am not sure if there is any blogging protocol for just checking out. That is where I have been - checked out, unplugged , off the grid , whatever you want to call it. It started with the fact that I had to relinquish my lap top to the geek squad twice. (Cost me $100 but it was worth it. I got cleaned up - more memory - updated anti virus - etc etc.) At first I really missed my PC and Internet connection. Then, when I did get it back I had a hard time motivating my self to get back on line. Now - I have tons of reading and writing to catch up on! If I have committed an offense - my apologies.

Anyway - my baby turns 3 on Thursday. I am conflicted about this. Perhaps this has to do with my recent disconnect - who knows. We have moved him to a boy boy bed and are in the process potty training. One one hand I am sad that we will no longer have a baby. But I am so ready to ditch the diaper pail! Seven years of diapers is enough! I see other families with older kids at the pool. They can actually sit and have a conversation without having to chase a toddler down constantly. It must be nice - it will be nice, someday. I do have a close friend who is about to deliver her first baby, so I guess I can get some baby time in without the breastfeeding and sleepless nights.

In the meantime I am planing a SMALL allergen free train theme birthday party for the weekend. I planned it at 2 pm so I would only have to serve light snacks and cake. Pretty simple. I think I have the cake handled - a la Cherrybrook Kitchens. I will recap the details after the party.

Could Stress during Pregnancy be Related to Allergies in children?

Some interesting articles came across my Google alerts recently. There are some researchers looking into the possibility that stress during pregnancy may be related to the development of allergies and asthma in children. A small study was done, and it seems that stress can affect the immune system and cause increased IgE levels. They measured the IgE levels of the mother and the cord blood taken at birth. This was then factored in with information about the mother’s lifestyle and environment. The result being that there may be a correlation between pre-natal stress and allergies. Here is the link to the article.

http://empowher.com/share/asthma/moms-stress-pregnancy-may-up-babys-asthma-and-allergy-risk

Our food allergic children have higher levels of IgE antibodies, which cause them to have allergic reactions to certain foods. It seems reasonable to me that if the mother has increased IgE levels, regardless of the cause, that she could pass it into her infant.

I found this theory very interesting and started thinking about my own experiences. I thought about the differences in my three pregnancies and the allergies in my three children. We do have allergy genes in my family, so we do have a predisposition for allergies.

My first pregnancy was normal. I had an average amount of stress for someone expecting their first child. I loved being pregnant and did not have any complications. My eldest K. had a mild milk allergy as an infant that was outgrown by the time she was two. She has no other food allergies. At the age of six she did develop environmental allergies to tree pollen, dust, mold, ragweed and cats. This has caused some complications with ear infections and a ruptured ear drum, but otherwise is manageable.

My second pregnancy was fairly normal. I would say that my stress level was higher. At work I had been promoted to a position with more responsibility. This also required more travel. My husband's company was also going through some changes. This left his employment future a little uncertain. With one child and another on the way, unemployment is that last thing you need to worry about. Thankfully everything eventually worked out for him. Many of you know, being pregnant with a toddler at home is more challenging that your first pregnancy. You can not sleep after work or on the weekends like before. My middle boy R. is highly allergic to peanuts. At the age of 4, he also developed environmental allergies to dust, tree pollen, cats, and ragweed.

My third pregnancy was my most stressful. I had been promoted at work again, I loved my new position, but it was more responsibility, travel and stress. I also had a new boss, whom I liked a lot, but made my head spin! I really think she had some ADD issues. It was non stop go go go. I was due at the end of September and the summer was always our busiest most stressful time of the year. After a very difficult 2 weeks and working many extra hours, I went into pre term labor at 32 weeks. It was intense and scary – I really did not know if they would be able to stop it. Fortunately modern medicine was able to buy me some time. I was immediately put on bed rest and had to take medication every 4 hours to keep from having contractions. Since there were a couple of projects I had not finished, I continued to do a little work from home. At 36 weeks the doctor said it was safe to deliver and I could stop taking my medication if I wanted. Since we had family coming to visit I thought it would be a perfect time to deliver, so I stopped the meds. My baby boy was born 3 days later! C. is allergic to wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, peas, banana, sesame, and coconut. This spring he developed environmental allergies to tree pollen, grass, ragweed, mold, and dogs.

If you take a look at my experiences and compare it to this new theory, perhaps they could be on to something. It is hard to say for sure – there are many variables. This is not to discount other theories, including the hygiene theory, which also seems very logical to me. Who knows if they will ever definitively determine the cause of food allergies? I am just glad that there are doctors out there looking for answers.

I do not think I could have done anything differently to reduce my stress. Sometimes the circumstances just are what they are. Stress is a hard thing to control these days. Especially with how busy we are trying to have it all and do it all. There are a myriad of reasons that stress is not good for us. We all need to do whatever we can to take care of ourselves – mind, body and spirit.