Enjoy Life!

What better way to wrap up a fun week of food allergy awareness than with a tour of the Enjoy Life Foods facility!?! Like the BugaBees, the folks at Enjoy Life know how to stay safe and still have lots of fun! And their products make is so much easier for those of us living with food allergies and intolerances to do so.

May I just say, the new Crunchy Sugar Crisp and Chocolate Granola products pose some serious competition for our current family favorites, Snickerdoodle and Gingerbread Spice cookies. Luckily, we have enough shelf space in out pantry for all of them!

A special note to all my mates in Australia ... Enjoy Life is now being distributed in your corner of the world. Be sure to check out their Boom Choco Boom bars and other great products. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

Thanks so much to Joel, Kasey, Alina, Linsey and all the ELFers for your hospitality and dedication to making delicious products that so many of us can eat freely and enjoy!

FAAW Coloring Contest

Calling all Wisconsin Kids! Are you one of the 3 million U.S. children living with food allergies? Do you have a friend, classmate, or sibling who is? Whether you have a food allergy or not, this contest is for you! It's not too late to help the Food Allergy Association of Wisconsin (FAAW) promote education and awareness during national Food Allergy Awareness Week taking place May 8 to May 14. Join the millions of people all across the country who are participating in activities inspired by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and other organizations that share the same mission.

FAAW’s coloring contest is easy and fun. Simply draw a picture on the form provided of yourself and/or someone you know who is impacted by food allergies. It can be your best friend, your baseball team, your grandparents or anyone special! Knowing how to safely manage food allergies is always important, but remember, there are many other (more exciting) things to know and learn about too! Your artwork should show what other things are important in your life that help make you and your pals unique! Do you like horseback riding, swimming, or going to the park? Whatever it is, show us how you and your friends and family stay safe and have fun in spite of food allergies.

Win great prizes including movie passes, gift cards and more! All contest participants will be entered to win a random drawing of fun and exciting giveaway items.

Send your entries marked FAAW Color Contest to the Food Allergy Association of Wisconsin, 2722 Union Street, Madison, WI 53704 by MAY 15, 2011. Color scans can also be emailed to sheree@foodallergywis.org. Don’t forget to write your name, address and phone number on the back of your entry! We’ll call you if you are one of our lucky winners. (All winners will be posted on FAAW’s Facebook Fan page.)

Food Allergy Awareness Week is May 8-14!

So I've just booked all my classroom visits for Food Allergy Awareness Week 2011. Have you given any thought to what you can do to help?

In addition to reading a copy of "The BugaBees" (my suggestion) FAAN has a great list of ideas to help get you started. Among other things, FAAN's web site offers free downloadable presentations, talking points, coloring pages and more. Beyond that, this video from Nick News is still one of my favorites to share with kids and adults.

If you're not the group-presentation-giving type, consider other ways you can help build awareness. Refresh friends and family members on Epi-pen protocols. Send a special "thank you" card to those most supportive to you and/or your children's food allergies. And if you're someone who doesn't have to deal with food allergies on a regular basis, take time to educate yourself --- you just might save a life one day!

Fear of Success

Last weekend, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a Writers’ Conference at the University of Wisconsin. It was both fun and inspiring to meet so many smart, creative people! And while they were all very different, with diverse backgrounds and personal stories to tell, there was one common attribute I found consistently among all of them: Modesty.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one to pick up on this because, interestingly enough, the theme for Friday’s lunch presentation was “Fear of Success”. The speaker asked some very poignant questions: Why do writers consistently downplay their work? Tell themselves they‘ll likely never be picked up by an agent? Never have a publisher interested in their story? (Mmm.. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we’ve had it pounded into our heads that the competition is seriously fierce out there?) But maybe the speaker has a point too. Maybe there is a part of us, deep down inside, that is a little bit afraid of what success will look like.

We all know it’s easier to stay quiet, take the back seat, let someone else have the spotlight. Writers aren't the only ones who may feel this way. Many food allergy families I know also prefer to leave it to others to make the effort so they don't have to. But in the spirit of Food Allergy Awareness Week next month, I challenge you not to fear success. I challenge you to ask for better accommodations in schools. To stand up for safer food policies and protocols. To teach others how to help protect kids who need our protection. And to do your part to spread understanding and compassion for those living with food allergies.

Don’t be modest. Tell your story. And keep in mind that Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times before any of his books were published. Remember that success is for those who never give up.

Share the Love

Share the love of reading by donating your new and gently used children’s books to the Half Pint Library! Find a Half Price Books location near you before March 31st to participate.

More Free Lunch!

Qdoba is taking the Chicago area by storm and offering free lunch for 'Lil Foodies ages 12 and under at their newest location on March 19!

Check out Qdoba's online food allergen menu and stop in to see us if you'll be in the Lincoln Park neighborhood next month.

Hope you can join us!

Camp Tag

Summer Camp registration for my kids occurs this weekend! This will be the second year we have participated in the YMCA program offered through my daughter's school and I have no doubt it will once again be an awesome experience. For food allergy families living near Joliet IL, Philadelphia PA, or Sandy Spring MD, you have some other exciting summer camp options this year thanks to FAAN and their new program, Camp Tag.

Camp TAG is a 5-day, half-day camp for ages 3-12 that will launch in summer 2011. It will provide a safe place for children with food allergies and their siblings to have fun with no worries about having an allergic reaction, as well as give them an opportunity to meet other children who share the same conditions and know they are not alone.

While these locations are a tad bit too far for our family to participate this year, we wish all participants great success!