Being a Food-Allergy Mom

I've tried many times to express my feelings and frustrations about being a food-allergy mom, but could never get the words right.  Carissa K did a way better job explaining what it's like than I ever could have.

Her article on the Huffington Post perfectly described what it's like.  I've not been secretive about the issues that we have had, how much anxiety it causes me, and how it's changed our lives.  But there have been many other times that I have been so upset and frustrated because of what a friend thinks and has said.

I know that people don't understand when we tell them that we cannot be at a party or get together if peanuts or peanut butter is present.  I know they think that I'm overprotective or exaggerating.  But I'm  not.  I don't let it bother me 90% of the time, but the other part of the time, it really eats at me.

I loved how Carissa K said:

1. As the parent of a child with food allergies, it makes us crazy when people make any sort of assumption about food allergies other than this one assumption -- a food allergy is a life-threatening condition that causes children to stop. breathing. immediately. It's very real... and it's very scary.

2. As the parent of a child with food allergies we want you to know that this is not a lifestyle choice. While it's admirable that some people choose to eat healthy and be aware of the ingredients in their food, we aren't standing in the grocery store aisle reading the label on everything that goes into our cart as a hobby. We're studying those ingredients to make sure there's not an obscure ingredient that could kill our children.

If we are friends in real life, and if you have ever been frustrated or didn't understand me, please read this.  If you know someone, maybe a nephew or child at your church, that has a food allergy, please read this.  If I can help just one person understand, it could make all the difference to me and possibly, my child's life.

Related Posts:

40+ Peanut-Free Candy and Treat Options
Peanut Butter Substitutes

"Official" Tooth Fairy Certificate

What?!?  A new blog post?  I know.  You are probably surprised :)

But I actually have something to share!

Layne lost her first tooth!  Well...lost is a relative term.  She had to have it pulled because the roots had dissolved.  But anyways, I had about 9 hours notice that the tooth fairy was visiting our house that evening.  After perusing Pinterest, I found exactly what I was looking for.  Except it cost lots of money and wasn't downloadable.  I decided to create my own which turned out quite different, but I loved it!

After printing, I made my own little envelope for our gold dollar and sprinkled some "tooth fairy" glitter.

And lucky you!  I've got a boy and girl blank version that you can print!  I printed mine on 60% size to make it a little more "tooth fairy" size!

Boy Version

Girl Version

Want some other tooth fairy ideas?  Check out my Tooth Fairy Pinterest board here.

Stopping by to say...

Happy Valentine's Day from these Crazies!!

Casual Chic with No nonsense!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think boots are my new favorite footwear...which is saying a lot considering my love affair with flip flops.   And how can you top wearing adorable boots?  By wearing adorable boots with super comfy leggings or tights, of course!  And if those leggings or tights are super affordable?  Even better!  

Plus, leggings are just a tad more forgiving than skinny jeans after having a new baby :)  I've had a little trouble losing my baby weight (plus some that I've put on since!) and its been challenging to give variety to my small wardrobe that still fits.  

The main way that I change up the same old clothes is by accessorizing! Changing up tights, scarves, and jewelry can totally change an outfit!  And since I'm a jewelry lady, I've given awesome alternatives to the pieces shown with much more affordable Premier Designs jewelry pieces.

No nonsense tights and leggings are very affordable and can be easily found at grocery stores, drug stores, and mass stores (like Walmart and Target).  They come in lots of fun colors that can easily change up your outfit with a simple switch.  Check out how the leggings in the outfit below add a fun pop of color!

Jill Martin, Emmy-winning TV personalty and co-author of best-selling style guide "I have nothing to wear!" has teamed up with No nonsense to give fashion and style advice.  She is very stlish and fashion-forward...a great person for No nonsense to partner with!

You can check out No nonsense on Facebook or on Twitter (@benononsense).

 

 

Innocence & Glasses

I've found lately that I shouldn't make assumptions when it comes to my daughter.  There have been many times lately where I have assumed that a question or a comment meant something totally different than it really did.

As an example, back in August right after school started, Layne told me about a little girl at her school that wore the same clothes every day.  I immediately went into an explanation that not everyone in her school were as blessed as we were.  And that some kids' parents may not have enough money for a whole bunch of clothes.  Her response?  "Or maybe it's just her favorite outfit."  To which I said, "Yep, you're probably right."  (By the way, I've come to know a little bit about this little girl from being around at school...Layne was right.)

I have to continually remind myself that Layne is only five.  She has so much maturity about her, yet is still so innocent.  Last spring, she had her first eye exam.  We got great news, followed by not so great news.  Her vision is absolutely perfect right now.  Unfortunately, that's not as great as it sounds.  According to her eye doctor, at her age, kids should be somewhat far sighted.  Which means that she will likely need glasses for near sightedness in the next few years.

I broke the news slowly, expecting her to feel self conscious about it like I did as a child.  Her reaction was quite the opposite.  She actually did a little dance and was excited about it.  She could be just like her cousin, Emma (who wears glasses).  My husband and I both had glasses by middle school.  We both wore eyeglasses and contacts for years.  I don't know why I even thought for a minute that our kids wouldn't need them.  It's in our genetics, after all.

{circa 2003}

We both had Lasik surgery almost 10 years ago.  And at the time, there were very limited places to buy glasses where we live.  Where did I have to get them?  Walmart.  I can remember getting glasses in middle school and HATING them.  I begged my parents to let me take them back and get a different pair.  Plus, glasses just weren't as cute as they are now 20 years ago!

There are so many places to buy glasses now.  We probably have 5 places locally that sell them.  Not to mention the ability to buy eyeglasses online now!  I know that it won't be a problem to find super cute glasses for Layne when the time comes.  We will find the perfect pair to complement her adorable personality.

GlassesUSA.com offers high quality frames and lenses.  They have a 110% lowest price guarantee and 100% satisfaction guarantee. They are offering my readers a special discount!  You  can get 15% off your entire order over $50 plus FREE shipping with the coupon code FS15.

Plus, they have a really cool virtual mirror that you can use to "Try On" glasses before you buy them!

{Tutorial} Turkey Hair Bow

I had the privilege of guest posting at Sugar Bee Crafts last week!  I love Mandy and her blog, so this was an honor :)

I decided to make my kiddies custom Thanksgiving turkey outfits this year and my daughter needed a bow to go with it!  This project is very simple and was finished in 20 minutes {including stopping to snap pictures!}.

You'll Need:

5 colored 3" pieces of ribbon {for feathers}

14" brown ribbon

tiny piece of orange and red ribbon

2 small googly eyes

glue gun & glue

Gather your supplies and cut all ribbons to size.  For the brown ribbon, you need a 2", 3", 4", and 5" piece of ribbon.

Start by assembling your feathers.  Dap a small spot of hot glue on the top of one end of the ribbon.  Loop the other top end to make the tops touch together.  The ends should be perpendicular to each other.  This gives the feathers a little curve.  Do this will all 5 pieces.

Now onto the body.  We are using the 3", 4", and 5" pieces for the body.  And we are gluing them a little differently than the feathers.  This time, we want an even, complete circle.  Put a dab of hot glue on the top of one end of the ribbon and attach the bottom of the other end to create a circle.  Repeat with all three pieces.

Glue the three circles together at the spot where they are already glued.  You now have a turkey body!!!

Let's work on the head!  Using your 2" piece, create another circle keeping the two end pieces perpendicular.  

Put a dab of glue on the curve of the inside of the ribbon.  You are basically making a triangle head for the turkey.  Do this on both sides.

Next add the eyes, beak, and gobbler with hot glue.

You should now have 5 feathers, a body, and a head.  Let's add the feathers to the body.  Start by gluing the center feather at the spot where the body is glued together.  

Then arrange and glue the other feathers on.  They look best if overlapped some.

Glue the head on at the same spot where the body is attached together.  You now have a turkey!

I like to use alligator clips for my hair bows, but you can attach it to a french clip, head band, or hair tie.  I also like to cover the tops of the alligator clip if it will be visible at all.  

To cover it, glue one end of the ribbon under the top part that you squeeze {technical terms, I know.}.

Glue along the whole top and wrap the ribbon under the top piece and glue again.

Glue the turkey onto the clip.  

{Hair Bow Tip #1 - Use your blow dryer to get rid of all of those silly, little hot glue strings!}

{Hair Bow Tip #2 - Seal the ends of your ribbon by heat sealing or using No Fray that you can purchase at any craft store.}

That's it! 

{Tutorial} Turkey Thanksgiving Outfit

I had the honor of guest posting at The Ribbon Retreat blog last week!  This was such a fun, quick project.  I couldn't believe how simple the skirt was to make.  I'll definitely be making more circle skirts!

If you have a blog and are interested in guest posting for them, I highly recommend it!  It was a pleasure working with them AND they provided the supplies for the project.  

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year!  I love the yummy food, delicious desserts, and, of course, quality time with family.  And what best represents Thanksgiving?  TURKEY!

I'm going to walk you through how to make this custom outfit yourself!

You'll need:

7 fat quarters
shirt
piece of elastic {mine was 1″}
matching thread
fusible web {I like Heat N Bond Lite}
turkey pattern {download here}

{my fabric choices were Raspberry Medallion in Zoe for Studio E, Yellow Seedling Star in Garden-Go-Round by Studio E, Green Swirls in Good Life for Riley Blake, Orange Essential Dots, Slate Josephine’s Bouquet in Cameo for Free Spirit, Coral Vintage Ironwork in Sunset Garden for Michael Miller, and Brown Circles in Decadence for Riley Blake, in order}

Let's start with the shirt!

Download and print the pattern piece HERE.

Trace the pattern pieces onto the paper side of your fusible web.  Cut out roughly around the edges leaving a little room to cut the actual piece later.

Iron onto the wrong side of your fabric following the instructions with your fusing product.

Now, cut the pieces out on your pattern lines.  Peel off the paper on the backs and begin to arrange the pieces and iron down each layer as you go.

Machine stitch 1/8" from the edge of each piece of the turkey.

Pull the loose threads to the inside of the shirt and tie them off to prevent unraveling.

For other appliqué tutorials, check out these: Disney Cars, Monthly Momento Onesies, and Mickey and Minnie tees.

Now onto the skirt!

You will need a few measurements and a little bit of math, but I'll walk you through it!

First you will need a waist measurement.  My 5 year old daughter's was 19," but she's a peanut for her age.  The other measurement that you'll need is skirt length.  I measured one of her skirts that hits an inch or so above the knee.  I used 10."

To calculate the radius to draft your pattern, you'll need some math :)  {Fun Fact:  I was a math minor in college...too bad I had to google my equations for this pattern!}

Circumference = 2*pi*radius 

{or}

Radius = Circumference/2*pi

The Circumference is your waist measurement + 2 inches to allow for some gathering in the waist.  For me:

Radius = 21/6.28 = 3.34"

Grab a large piece of paper {or several letter sized pieces taped together}.  Start from the top left corner and measure and mark several spots 3.34" from the corner.  Since my ruler wasn't very precise, I just marked mine at 3.25."  Connect the lines to create a semi-circle.  If you have a compass, you could use that much easier :)

Now to figure out the radius of the bottom curve, add your skirt length to the radius of the top circle. 

Waist Radius + Skirt Length = Bottom Hem Radius

For me:

3.25 + 10 = 13.25

Measure 13.25" from the top left corner and connect the dots again.  This makes a pattern piece for one quarter of the skirt.  If you are making a regular circle skirt with one solid piece of fabric, check out this tutorial.

I wanted to piece together my six fabrics used for the turkey feathers to make the skirt.  So I needed a piece for 1/6th of a circle.  To do this, I needed to make a piece that was 2/3rds of this piece.

Using your ruler, draw a line from one end of the arc to the other and measure it's length.  Divide that measurement by 3.  {For me, 4.67"/3 = 1.55ish inches}.  Split your line into thirds.

Do the same with the bottom arc. {For me, 18.75"/3 = 6.25"}

You should have two marks on each line that divides the lines into thirds.  Using your ruler, draw a line from the top left corner through the second mark in both of your lines.

Cut along this line and along the arcs to create your pattern piece for 1/6th of the skirt.  Use this piece to cut out one piece from each fabric.

With right sides together, sew the pieces together to create a solid circle.  Either serge or zig zag the unfinished edge of each seam to prevent the fabric from unraveling.

Once finished, serge or zig zag the top and bottom of the skirt.

At this point, you can finish the bottom hem as you choose.  I left the edge zig zagged and slightly frayed to give a more rustic look.  You can also iron under and hem the edge or add biased tape.

Next, cut your piece of elastic.  You will want a little room, so add 1 inch to your waist measurement.  I cut my piece 20."  Sew the ends of the elastic together to create a circle waistband. 

To pin your elastic to the skirt evenly, start by folding the elastic in half and the skirt in half and pinning the ends together.

Next, fold evenly the other way and pin the skirt in 4 places total.  Do it once more for the skirt to be pinned in 8 places.

To make sure the skirt gathers evenly when sewing the waistband on, hold the elastic at two adjacent pins and stretch it to the same length as the section of skirt that you are sewing.  Continue to do this until the waistband is sewn on.

Next, stick it on your girl and let her twirl!!