Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Planning a party (with allergies in mind)!

I can't believe my little, big girl is turning 2 next month! Where has the last 2 years gone, I can only say the the lack of sleep due to this strong willed little lady of mine, is unreal. I have been a zombie for 2 whole years, BUT they have been the best years of my life. So anyways, I am planning her birthday bash. The theme is all decided (it will be revealed once the party is underway) but now I have to actually execute ALL the ridiculous ideas I want to have. I have enlisted the help of a few of my crafty friends and my crafty little sister. I am handling all the food and baking because of A1's allergies I am too fearful of catering and the like.
Some of her allergies she seems to be outgrowing. We recently took her to a wonderful allergist out of Children's Hospital in Boston and he did a total scan of her blood and some of the allergies are finally going away. I never really understood food allergies until it affected our family and it can be down right S.C.A.R.Y. To have to worry all the time if she will come into contact with something and I am constantly checking her face if we eat out or we are around people or children where she could very well eat something that will make her sick. The good thing is that we have been dealing with this since she was a small baby so we really don't know any different on how to prepare food for her. When I first got her allergy diagnosis a year ago, I felt devastated, how was I going to feed her "real" food (all she had eaten then was baby purees and breastmilk) and a dear old friend/boss said to me "this is a blessing in disguise, she will be so healthy eating this way" and in hindsight she was right. All the allergies A1 has, eliminates tons of junk, trust me there is junk she can consume but lots she can't as well. It has opened my eyes to how I was eating at times and as a whole has made our family healthier. It has also taught me to cook differently and to view preparations of food in a new light. For these reasons I see the allergies as a learning tool for myself and a way for me to grow in my knowledge of food.
So with that in mind, I will try to make all of the food A1 friendly, but not lack in creativity or taste. I want everything to be perfect from the invitations to the cake. Last year for her first birthday we did family and friends, and one of her baby friends, but this year we have made so many new baby friends we want to have a few more littles at the party, so the food has to be creative and toddler-friendly (lots of picky little ones) so I have been running through ideas and recipes for months to get this just right, fun and creative! I'm sure none of her little friends will remember her birthday party as they grow or even the week after but I still want it to be awesome (its the party planner in me talking). So, until then, I will be on pintrest and etsy daily looking for inspiration to get this party perfect...




6 comments:

  1. You are such a dedicated mama! Both your kids will be super healthy so allergies really were a blessing for you all! Excited to see your creativeness in your recipes in this venture!!! Goodluck!

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  3. This is a timely post for me-- our Bunny's first birthday is next month. While she does not have any allergies, one of her little friends does have a host of them.

    I love the way you take the whole thing in stride and use it as way to eat healthier and be more creative!

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  4. Can't wait to see how the party comes together, and the menu!

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  5. I can't wait, I love to party plan!

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  6. I definitely see how cooking for allergies can make your diet healthier. I went through a period when I was young when I couldn't have any corn products. I'm not sure I totally believe that the diagnosis wasn't a little bit of mumbo-jumbo but anyway.... Almost everything that's not totally natural has some kind of corn product in it these days. It was difficult but I ended up eating a lot of natural and healthy foods.
    Interesting stuff!

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