Allergies!!

Had a relaxing day alone at home yesterday - dh took the children out on errands for most of the day. It was very odd - wandering around the house aimlessly before getting any sense of motivation or direction as to what to do with the free time. Something many Mamas experience, I think.

When they got home, they brought in a 12 pack of Fanta sodapop among the other things. dd (nearly 5 yrs old) asked if she could have some, so her and her brother split a (355 ml) can... so she had about 150 or maybe 200 ml. (She has had the odd glass of pop; it's certainly not a regular thing in our house - I don't keep pop or store-bought juice in the house hardly ever) Within five minutes her face started getting red splotches on it... a sure sign of an allergic reaction (in her). We've already cut raw tomatoes (including cherry tomatoes, which she absolutely loves to eat, unfortunately) and mandarin oranges out of her diet... so we're pretty sure it's a citric acid allergy (she can tolerate cooked tomatoes - like pizza sauce & ketchup). Anyways, back to yesterday... she has this splotchy, itchy rash on her face & neck within minutes of ingesting this "food", and I use that term VERY loosely. She wasn't having a major (anaphylactic) reaction, but certainly this is the strongest reaction she's had to date, but then again, she's only 4. :( This morning she woke up and her face is ever so slightly swollen... face & neck still red... but she wasn't having difficulty breathing and she said it was only itchy on the outside of her neck, not the inside, and no swelling or anything unusual going on inside her mouth. But still... pretty damn scary. Ended up driving into town and speaking to a pharmacist who recommended Benadryl or something similar, so that's what she's having (although I'd prefer to avoid the food colouring & sugar that's in it). All over 1/2 a pop. The kids' cousin has pretty severe food allergies - nuts, for one - and his parents carry an Epi-pen for him (thankfully have never had to use it).

Makes you think long and hard about what it is we call "food" and why we pollute our bodies with beverages like Fanta. Which one of the food groups does THAT fit into? Mind you, here's dd who's also allergic to oranges and tomatoes - organic, raw ones at that. What has happened to our food supply? And before you go commenting about how that Fanta even got into the house.... judge not, my friends. While I am committed to eating raw, organic, vegan foods in as natural a state as possible (and from local sources as much as possible), not everyone in the house shares my opinions on the subject. dh eats meat, dairy, all manner of cooked food, alcohol, what you'd call "junk food" (in moderation) - chips, dips, pop, all that kinda stuff. So here are two parents who are eating widely differing diets, trying to raise children together (and no, we didn't start out eating so differently; it's me that's changed tremendously in that regard over the past decade). Obviously it leads to a lot of discussion and compromise, on both our parts.

I remember before getting married the person marrying us asking us if we had discussed all eventualities... what an odd question - how could you possibly know where life was going to take you? We certainly didn't talk about the possibility that I'd become vegan, or raw, or talk about different parenting strategies or values... I mean you're getting married, the details of a wedding are all-consuming in that moment. Just funny.

Anyways that's about it. I'm going to go back to reading Raw Success by Matt Monarch - great read so far - lots of things to ponder/food for thought as I'm reading it. Will write more on that once I'm farther along or finished the book.

Happy Saturday,
~n~