C is for Cookie

I was on a mission to find a dairy and nut free sugar cookie that my son could decorate and eat along with his classmates at their pumpkin patch party.  I didn't have much time to run around town and decided to swing by a nearby Sprouts Market.  I combed through the packaged cookie isle (not the bakery) and score - I found what I was looking for: a box of Enjoy Life Foods Crunchy Sugar Crisp cookies.  A box of 14 cookies was just under $3.  They are free of the 8 common allergens and best of all, my kids liked them.

Double score!  Further down the cookie isle, I found an entire section of KinniKritters animal cookies in three different flavors (regular, chocolate and graham style).  A preschool mom turned us on to "K-Kritters" and up until now I was having to make a special trip to the People's Pharmacy across from Westlake High.

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C!

Bag Full of Rocks

The Pirate and the Parrot had a great time trick-or-treating yesterday evening.  We sat the Pirate down well before Halloween and reminded him that he would be getting a lot of treats on Halloween from the neighbors and that some of them were not safe for him.  He could have his treats only after Mommy and Daddy sorted through them.  Our little pirate nodded and said "OK.  Just as long a I don't get a bag full of rocks."  Ha!  The kid cracks me up!  On a side note, I love that my kids love "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"....so very nostalgic for me. 

Here was our trick-or-treat checklist:  Epipen, handwipes, flashlight and safe candy that I purchased for the kidlets to enjoy between houses.  It makes it easier to enforce the no eating candy from your trick-or-treat bag until we get home and sort through the loot, especially for the Parrot (aka little sister) who is 2 and, well, very much a 2 year old.

Unfortunately, the sheer amount of chocolate that was handed out in our neighborhood was amazing.  This is the neighborhood I would have loved to have trick-or-treated in as a child.  The Pirate got caught up in the Halloween excitement and when we arrived home, he announced that he wanted a piece of chocolate from his plunder.  He knows that he can't have most chocolate and he got a little bent out of shape when we pulled out a safe dark chocolate bar from our pantry.  The safe chocolate was quickly put away and the pirate's treasure was scanned and to his and our delight a box of Disney Cars game cards and a safe lollipop were identified...oh and no rocks....whew, crisis averted.  

Major observation this year:  After trick-or-treating and we were home, our son happily ate Halloween candy, although I could tell that it bothered him that I was pulling it out of our stash and not his trick-or-treat bag.  What will I do differently next year?  I think I will make Halloween baskets or buckets and fill them with Halloween toys and safe candy.  When we get home from trick-or-treating I will present them with the Halloween gifts to make it easier for them to part with the trick-or-treat bags so that Daddy and I can do our candy inspection a little easier.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!  

I Want My Baby Back...

Ribs, that is.  I will apologize now if the Chili's jingle gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  This review is long overdue.  Chili's is and has been on our regular restaurant dinner rotation since "the beginning" (since we found out about our son's food allergies).  Three years ago, not many restaurants offered allergen information to their customers.  We were thrilled to easily find Chili's Allergen Information on their website.  A hard copy is available for reference at the restaurant and the managers we have encountered over the years have been very knowledgable about food allergies.

I am particularly pleased that Chili's has expanded their Pepper Pal Kid's Menu over the years.  I love that they have great vegetable and fruit side options for the kiddos.  The Brodie Oaks Chili's, our location of choice these days, recently started a Pepper Pal Kids Birthday Club promotion.  You sign your riblet up and they recieve a postcard good for a free kid's meal and sundae on their birthday.  I think it's great, except for the dessert part.  I do wish they would offer a non-food item in place of the sundae for the little ones who can't eat sundaes, perhaps a special Birthday Pepper Pal coloring book or birthday paper hat?

We have dined at numerous Chili's across the US with our kiddos without incident.  And for this food allergic family, it is a relief that you can find Chili's at many airports.  They serve great margaritas, good food and our little riblets love their little Pepper Pal meals.      

Results

We received our son's annual allergy lab test results this week.  His milk IgE levels went down 25% in the last 12 months.  His peanut levels remained low allowing for a skin test to be administered in order to determine if he is a candidate for a food challenge.  Munchkin endured an itchy skin test and unfortunately, the reaction was too big to qualify him for a food challenge this year.  All in all the results are promising and we are hopeful that he will eventually outgrow these allergies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm back online after a long road trip to the Midwest.  We returned home just in time for our little guy's 4th birthday (which we've actually been celebrating since last week since we were visiting family).   

On Monday night the four of us went out for dinner at Casa Garcia's on South Lamar.  The birthday boy had the #6 Niño's Crispy Taco Plate which included a crispy taco with no cheese and a side of rice and beans.  I personally like the chicken fajita burrito topped with tomatillo sauce and no cheese.  Casa Garcia's has been on our dinner rotation for a long time.  It was one of the first restaurants we dared to venture to after we learned about our son's food allergies.  We have eaten at two different locations in the Austin metro area over the past few years and our son has never had an allergic reaction.

On Tuesday night we celebrated with my parents over a plate of Meyer's Elgin pork ribs and my mom's Mexican rice for dinner.  This coming Sunday we have the official party with several of the birthday boy's friends and lots of family.  I think the birthday boy has been thrilled to prolong his celebration.  

Happy birthday big boy!