BEYOND A PEANUT FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS CARDS REVIEW

I am sure most of you that have read my blog before know that the Munchkin' Man has a severe allergy to peanuts. Since the awful day of finding this out, our lives have changed drastically. I have read many books. Searched the web and read tons of blogs. I also have been looking for products to help educate family members on this life threatening allergy. I came across the website Beyond A Peanut one day while doing a search. The first thing that caught my eye was the statement on the top of the website that was the description of what I have been looking for:

Resources to empower children with food allergies and teach those caring for them how to provide a safe environment

I contacted them and asked if they would like to sponsor a review for my blog. Dina sent over the Food Allergy Awareness Cards and Diggins Munchtime Placemats.

The Food Allergy Awareness Cards are FANTASTIC. They are a wonderful reference for anyone that has a child with a peanut allergy. The pack comes with 36 cards that provide tips and information on staying safe. Since the MM is not in school yet, I have used them to help educate family members on what is safe for him and what is not. The pictures and quick reference make the cards the most useful tool I have found so far. The cards are color coded letting you know which situations would be considered safe, pose the greatest risk, and what may be a potential risk. The cards are great for all ages. Even my 2 year old can look at the pictures and tell me if it is something that is safe or not safe.

When the MM goes to school, I will be sending the cards with him so that his teacher can help the other students understand allergies. If you have a child with a peanut allergy, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the Food Allergy Awareness Cards.

The cards are recommended for all individuals caring for your child with a nut allergy in:
your home
your extended family members
your neighbor's house
your day care provider
your school
your church or synagogue

I was also able to review the Diggins Munchtime Placemats. When ever we go out I have to make sure that the food the MM is going to eat is safe. We also have to make sure that we have something to entertain him while waiting for the food to come. The Diggins Placemats are super. They have wonderful pictures to color, counting games, and letter finds. We have used them at restaurants and I have also used them at home when we need a little "quiet time." I have also shared them with some friends and they love the activities that are on the placemats also!! I just fold a few and always keep them in our bag!

The website Beyond A Peanut is a great resource for peanut allergy facts as well as up to date information that has been in the news regarding allergies. Take a minute to check out their great products as well as the extremely useful information they have!!

Have you used the Food Allergy Awareness Cards? Please leave a comment to tell me how you used them :)

Thank you again for Beyond A Peanut for sponsoring this wonderful review.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY- I LOVE FALL (pic overload)

We love taking hikes during this time of year :)

BOOKS BY TARA WINNERS

Thank you to Tara of Books by Tara for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway! I love the illustrations and the poems in all the books. I hope the winners enjoy their books as much as we do.

Now onto the winners......drum roll please :)

#16 Brie H said...
16
3rd tweethttp://twitter.com/bdelaughter/status/4915095372bdelaughter@hotmail.com
October 16, 2009 9:05 AM

#29 Julie said...
29
I like all of her books-but either the snowman or car washaunteegem@yahoo.com
October 23, 2009 11:04 PM

#32 Bethie said...
32
Please count me in. I would like to read Water to my son.lizzi0915 at aol dot com
October 24, 2009 11:25 PM

Congratulations to all the winners. Please contact me within 24 hours with your shipping information. If a winner does not contact me within that time frame, another winner will be chosen.

MUFFIN TIN MONDAY- ORANGE/PUMPKIN THEME

Wow! We have not done a Muffin Tin Monday in awhile. Over the weekend I bought the Wilton Jack-O-Lantern Silicone Mold. I found it on sale and could not resist.

Here is what the Munchkin' Man had for lunch:

* Soy Butter and Pumpkin Butter sandwich cut into a pumpkin shape with raisin eyes

* Tangerine slices (I "carved" a face in the one side with pretzel stem)

* Applesauce with Halloween sprinkles

*Carrot sticks

*Pumpkin milkshake (soy milk, canned pumpkin, agave nectar, and pumpkin spice)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY-KNITTING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

I figured that I would show one of the MANY projects I am working on for the holidays :) (they are dishcloths!)

BOOKS BY TARA- REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY **CLOSED**

I am completely addicted to books. The Munchkin' Man has followed in my footsteps. Every time I go out shopping, I seem to come home with another book. A few months ago, I won a wonderful book SNOWMAN from Books By Tara. We thought this book was fantastic!! The book has large pictures of the process of making a snowman. The process is explained with a super cute poem-

"Time to make the snowman's head

Put it on the tippy top

Now his body's complete…but BARE!

There's more to do, not time to stop "

Tara, the author, wrote her books with her youngest child in mind, who was showed signs of Autism at the age of two. She worked with her son using one on one therapy. About her books she states:

I have found simple books and pictures to be one of the best interaction tools available. They help establish a mutual focus for making social connections. I have also found that there are a limited amount of simple books that aren’t too babyish. I created Tara Books to help fill that void.

Tara's books are such a wonderful learning tool for all children! I contacted Tara about her books and she sent The Munchkin' Man Jake-O-Lantern. This was such a great book to introduce the Fall season. I love the sequencing of the book. The book is so easy to follow, even for a 2 1/2 year old. The pictures are so colorful and true to life. The Munchkin' Man was able to look at the pictures and tell me step by step instructions on how to make a Jake-O-Lantern. This story is also told with a fantastic poem:

"Pick out a pumpkin

Just the right size

How the face turns out Will be a surprise! "

I would recommend Books By Tara to any parent that is looking for books that have:

* fantastic real life pictures

* playful themes

*story lines that are open ended for further discussion with your child(ren)

*wonderful poems with language that is easy for children to repeat

*ways to support a MOM :) that is working hard at helping a community that is growing in great numbers!

Another thing I thinking is totally fantastic about Books By Tara, is that with each book she has Extension Activities. They are a super way to take her books one step further.

Here are a few pics of the Munchkin' Man and his Jack-O-Lantern book and also activity:

We followed the pictures in the book to make our oh so wonderful Jack-O-Lantern. Most of the time the MM was asking if he could eat it!!

Did you like what you saw in this review? Do you want to win your choice of book from Books By Tara? Here is your chance. Tara is going to giveaway one book of your choice to THREE lucky winners!

Here is how you enter:

Mandatory:

1. Visit Books By Tara and tell me what book you would love to read to your child

Additional

2. Sign up for Books by Tara Newsletter
3. Follow Books By Tara on Twitter

4. Follow me on Twitter

5. Subscribe to my feeds

6. Tweet this giveaway for extra entries (3 entries per day)

** You must leave a comment when you do any of the additional entries!!!!***

**Make sure you put an email for contact if you are the winner ***
*** This giveaway will end on Monday, October 26,2009***

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY- PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS

PEANUT ALLERGY AND THE PLAYGROUND

Once the weather becomes cooler is when I come out of the house. I enjoy the summer, but I hate going to the playground when my son can not even go down the slide because it is too hot. Well, the first nice cool day, we went to a local park to get some fresh air and exercise. We first took a hike through the woods to look for some of the signs of Fall. I am in love with the colors all around during this season. After our hike, we headed off the the playground. The playground has two sides- one for toddlers and then one for older children. The MM loves those sit on giant spring things on the toddler side. He then went over to the large equipment. We were having a great time. There were a few little girls playing and they were also eating a snack. Of course like any other 2 yr old, the MM went up to one of the little girls and asked for a cracker. I told him he could have snack when we got home. Then..... I realized the girls were eating peanut butter crackers!!! AHHHH!! I told the MM to go and play as in my head I am completely panicking!!! I have been teaching him not take snacks from anyone without asking me, but you never know. I was a mess. Do I take him to the other side of the playground? Do we leave? Were is the Epi pen? If something happened do I run to the car and get the Epi pen or do I carry him with me? Doesn't that mother know that there are kids with severe peanut allergies? I was also trying to calm myself down. It will be ok!! Well after about 10 more minutes, it was time for us to leave. Luckily we had been there for awhile and the MM did not protest, it was time to go home and a peanut free lunch :)

When we got home I reflected on the situation and my reaction. What I really learned is that not everyone is aware of allergies. It is not realistic to think that everywhere we go people are going to think "is this snack safe for all children?" I think that this is just still very new to me and in time I will be able to handle these type of situations with a little more sanity.

I am very luck with the support I have from friends. When I go to birthday parties, I call them before we go and ask what they are having. It makes life easier to know if there will be something for the MM to eat. Friends have read ingredients for me and even have gone out of their way to make sure there is safe food.

If you have a child with a peanut allergy, please leave a comment about a situation you were faced with and how you got through it!! I would love to know also what other parents would have done and how they would have felt with this situation!!