Semi Thumbs Up!

For some reason, Jecilyn LOVES Applebees. It's not like she gets some super meal there...it's the same thing EVERY SINGLE TIME....Mac & Cheese. And, not to toot my own horn, but MY Mac & Cheese is WAY better than Applebees. Mine is usually homemade...and usually organic. It is not the stuff that comes in a blue and yellow package and is likely PROCESSED just around the corner at Kraft. Although it claims to be the "cheesist," I'm pretty sure what it really is a whole lot of chemicals colored and flavored with petroleum to taste like cheese. In fact, the label reads as follows:

ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (DURUM WHEAT FLOUR, WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), CHEESE SAUCE MIX (WHEY, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CITRC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID, MILK, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE).

My mac & cheese consists of organic pasta (made from 100% Durum Semolina), organic milk, and cheese. One would think that Kraft may be accused of false advertising, since, clearly, my Mac & Cheese contains more cheese than theirs. However, I actually looked up the definition of "Cheesiest." According to Merriam-Webster, the definition is as follows:

Main Entry: cheesy
Pronunciation: \ˈchē-zē\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): chees·i·er; chees·i·est
Date: 14th century
1 a: resembling or suggesting cheese especially in consistency or odor b: containing cheese
2: shabby 3c, cheap < cheesy movie>
— chees·i·ness noun

So, although my homemade Mac & Cheese does contain more cheese, by definition, I suppose Kraft's is the "cheesiest." Or, at least cheesier than mine...but I digress...

The point--and I had one when I started this post--was to tell you about our trip to Applebees yesterday. Nettie suggested I take pictures...but, I couldn't find the camera in the pit that is my car....so, you'll just have to settle for the story. Jecilyn, of course, ordered the aforementioned cheesiest mac & cheese. For Treavor, I ordered two mini hamburgers--no roll, no butter, no cheese, and applesauce not fries. Treavor, being Treavor, decided to throw a tantrum while we waited for our food. The waitress came over and asked if she could bring over some crackers for him. I told her that he couldn't have crackers. She replied, "Oh, yeah, that's right...you said he's allergic to bread...so I guess that means no crackers too." I thanked her, and she returned to the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned. Treavor had calmed down by this point (or perhaps I had just tuned him out!). She asked if he could have fruit. Then, she returned with a whole plate of fruit from the bar...pineapple, strawberry, orange slices, apples balls (looked like they used a melon baller--is that what it's called?--to scoop them out), and cherries. How cool!!! Treavor loved it! Jecilyn was jealous!

So, even though I'm pretty sure this incident was situational--a good waitress who wanted to shut up my snot nosed kid so he wouldn't disturb other guests--I'm still giving Applebees a Thumbs Up!

Wheat Free Wednesday

My friend Amy gave me this recipe. I believe it is her mother's recipe. It was VERY easy...and VERY Tasty. Here it is:

2 lbs ground meat (Amy says she uses turkey and beef. I just used beef!)
16 oz of Salsa (Amy recommends fresh salsa...I used Archer Farms Organic Medium Salsa from Target)
1 1/2 cups Oatmeal

Mix it together...make a loaf, and bake. I think I baked it at 350 for a little more than an hour. It was fabulous! I recommend serving it with Mashed Potatos and Corn! I also put cheese on mine and Jecilyn's! Yummy! It was a little on the spicy side...but we enjoyed it! Thanks Amy!

Thumbs Up!

Since yesterday I gave Chuck E. Cheese's a big THUMBS DOWN, I thought today I'd give some thumbs up to some restuarants who have been helpful and accomodating.


In January, we were staying in a Holiday Inn by the Philadelphia Airport. The restaurant in which "Kids eat free" was closed. Food was available in the bar--where they were smoking....The only other option was Denny's. I was little--ok a lot--fearful of taking Treavor to a place where eggs were cooked all day long. And, looking at the children's menu---there was NOTHING that he could eat. I mentioned my concern to the waitress. She sent over the manager. He was extremely helpful! He made suggestions, checked all of the labels--and brought them to me for clarification, and made sure the grill was cleaned prior to cooking Treavor's food! Thanks, Denny's!

On our way back from Maine, we made a bit of an emergency stop in Milford Connecticuit (Jecilyn puked in the car!). We stayed in a hotel which had a Friendly's adjoining it. They were great too. They cleaned the grill. They also gave Treavor dessert--strawberry topping--no ice cream. He loved it! We have since been to our local Friendly's. They allowed us to bring our own "Ice Cream" and they kept it in their freezer. They served it with the rest of our ice cream....with Mandarin Oranges on the side. Treavor loved it!!!

I've been to a few Lonestar's too. The first time I went, I wasn't with Treavor...but I was still nursing him. They were great. A manager came over and made suggestions. The waitress was very helpful. So, I returned to another Lonestar with Treavor. They were so great when I went...I forgot about the peanuts. So, when I returned with Treavor...I got a little nervous. We do not know if her has an airborne peanut allergy--and I don't really want to find out. However, we decided to take the chance. We were sat away from others eating peanuts and did not have any at our table. We also made sure Treavor did not leave his chair! When I told him about his allergies, the waiter was great. He said they would cook his food on a seperate grill! How cool is that!?!? Of course, the kitchen screwed up the first round...and brought it out on a bun with butter....Our waiter noticed...and returned it to the kitchen. The manager came to apologize. I'm pretty sure they didn't just throw that same burger on the plate and bring it back out! (And, hopefully they didn't spit on the new one!)

On our last trip to Trader Joe's with Jeseray and Jocelyn, we stopped at Lonestar again. Jocelyn is also allergic to wheat and milk (and corn and apples and walnuts). So, our ordering was a bit of a pain in the took-us. But, the waitress was great. She asked if we needed the manager...but we declined. It was all good!

I'm going to try to keep the thumbs up and thumbs down with restaurants going. Maybe other allergy parents will find my blog and the information will be helpful to them. Have a great day!

Chuck E Cheese's....Where a kid can Press 1

My children were invited to a birthday party at our local "Chuck E. Cheese's...Where a Kid Can Be a Kid." Since there is going to be food served at the party and it's at the dinner hour, it presents a bit of a problem for me with Treavor's allergies. So, today, I decided to call them today to see if they would be willing to let me heat up food for Treavor in their restaurant. And, if they would possible store Ice Cream for him in their freezer. I looked up the number in the phone book. It was a local number. I dialed. I got a recording...and I kid you not....It said "For instructions in English, press one!" Are you kidding me!?!?! I don't get a freakin human being when I call a kid's restaurant!?!?!

After about 5 minutes of pressing buttons, I finally got a human that was no where near Dover, Delaware--and could not even answer my question...and, come to think of it...I don't even think she spoke English all that well!!!! She was however, very helpful. She told me that the Ice Cream would be no problem, but that I'd have to check with the individual store manager about the food. Se gave me the number...and I called....The manager on duty told me "We do not allow any outside food or drinks." Geez. At this point, I'm loosing my mind!!!! "Yes, I understand that. But, you do not have anything on your menu that he can eat. He is allergic to flour. And milk. There's nothing that he can eat...." Finally, she told me that I could contact the general manager and maybe she'd be able to help me. Hopefully, I will meet with better results there.

So, at the moment...Chuck E. Cheese's is receiving a big old THUMBS DOWN from Allergy Boy's Mom.

Where Do Easter Eggs Come From?

So my brother calls me on his way to taking Stella Blu to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. He asks, "Do Bunnies lay eggs?" My response..."Uh...Only Easter Bunnies." Apparently he and Rhonda had quite the discussion over this today. Chris concluded that since mammals don't lay eggs...and rabbits are mammals...and bunnies are rabbits...then bunnies mustn't lay eggs. Nice logic, Chris!!!!

Anyway, the discussion went from there to "Thank you Easter Bunny, Bawk Bawk!" We both remember the commercial...but I thought it was foir Cadbury Eggs. Nope....That one went like this!



Hmmm....Maybe this is why Chris got confused...The "Thank you Easter Bunny" Commercial was for another product...It's funny that we remember the tagline but not the product....Do you remember the commercial? The product? Here it is. Fitting that it's one of Jecilyn's favorites!!!



As you can see from the photo at the start of the post, Stella's first encounter with the Easter Bunny did not seem to thrill her. Hey, at least she wasn't crying! But, here's a much better picture...where she's happy! Ain't she sweet!?!?!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Better late than never!!!! Here are some photos from Jecilyn's Birthday Party which was held at Gold Medal Gymnastics in Smyrna. The girls had a great time. Jecilyn didn't want any boys at her party--she was adamant about that one...Which was tough for me since she has had some "boyfriends" since she was little. So, we just invited the little girls from her class. It was a small party. And, it was last minute. She really wanted to have a Princess Tea at home...but since Daddy wasn't home and the remodel wasn't complete, we couldn't do that. I told her we'd do that later, and she seemed to be OK with that. And, then a week before her birthday she freaked....WHERE ARE WE GOING TO HAVE MY BIRTHDAY!?!?! It was as if she wouldn't ACTUALLY be FOUR until she had a party. (Wow, I wish that worked for me!) Thankfully, Brenda at old Medal was able to work us in! And, of course, the day before her party, she decided that she wanted the boys to come too. Oh well...Too late.

Here's the pictures. Thanks to Hannah's mom for taking them!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Fairy and The Easter Bunny

Ok, yeah, I suck. It's been way way too long. It's been a crazy month. I started the major remodel of my "Game Room" and two days in, Jeff got deployed. Fun stuff. Gone, for 45 days. And, since the carpet was already set for installation, I couldn't push it back. Plus, I'd already torn apart the room...so, I was stuck. Thankfully, I got by with a little (A LOT) help from my friends! Liam, Scott, Rob, Nett, Hank and Derek really came through! (And Steph and Mom Mom and Pop Pop to with their help with the kids.). Pictures will be posted as soon as I remember where the damn battery is to my camera.

I missed Jecilyn's birthday. She turned 4 on March 9th. We had a gymnastics birthday party. I'll try to post pictures from that tomorrow. Her friend Hannah's mom took them...cuz I couldn't find the damn charger for the camera.

So, anyway, here's a cute story from my four year old. It's been a struggle to get her to sleep in her bed all night. So, I've been bribing her with m&m's. A few times, I've snuck into her room and put them in her hands ('cause, you know, they melt in your mouth, not in your hands!). One morning, we had the following discussion:

Me: Was there anything in your bed when you woke up?

Her: Yes. There were m&m's. You put them there.

Me: No. I didn't it wasn't me. It must have been the "Bed Fairy."

Her: No. It was you mommy, I heard your steps.

Me: What? How do you know that it was my steps? Maybe it was the Bed Fairy's steps.

Her: (Rolling her eyes and looking at me as if I am clearly the dumbest fool on the planet) Uh, mommy, Bed Fairies don't step. They fly. Duh.....

Oh, of course, what was I thinking. Silly mommy....

So, then, last week, I took her to an Easter Party. When the Easter Bunny (who's body and head had been riding around in my van unnoticed all day) made his appearance, most of the children were delighted. Some, were scared. My daughter takes one look at him and announces, "That's not the real Easter Bunny. I see socks."

UGH!!!!!