In three short weeks, A is going to be seven years old. Seven! It seems like only yesterday that I was marveling at the way he'd curl up his toes anytime we'd touch the soles of his feet, or grab onto our fingers or a toy if they were within reach. Now, he'll be entering 1st grade at the end of August, and his favorite things are Star Wars and acting class.
Birthdays used to be challenging, at least with finding a cake recipe that was safe yet delicious. I've always made A's cakes specific to whatever theme he wanted that year, whether it be Blue's Clues, Elmo, The Wiggles or Mickey Mouse. This year, it's all about Star Wars (see: his favorite things). So, I've decided that the easiest character to make from the menagerie is R2D2. But one thing was certain: I did NOT want to make it 3D. I consider myself to be relatively creative when making his cakes, but the only 3D cake I did was when I made the Big Red Car for his Wiggles-themed party, and that was made with a cake pan shaped like a car (cheating, maybe. But it saved my sanity).
Anyway, luckily with A's allergies to egg whites being on the lower end of the spectrum, we are allowed baked egg in recipes like cakes and cookies. Just today I made a batch of mint chocolate chip cookies (using Eillien's mint-flavored chips). For his birthday, I will probably buy cake mixes from Duncan Hines, a brand that I know has cake mixes that contain only wheat. The frosting they make contains soy, which is also safe.
Whenever we go to a function (the cookies are for a graduation BBQ), I always bring a safe treat for A -- enough to share with everyone, but one that I know he can safely enjoy. I do it regardless if we are asked to bring something or not. Who's going to turn down a dessert? Desserts are often the hardest for us when we're someplace like a birthday party or a BBQ and everything is dairy and egg-laden. If A is invited to a friends' party, I almost always send along a treat for him to have in place of the birthday cake.
He knows by now that his treat will most likely be something brought from home, and nine times out of ten, he's okay with that. That small percentage when he's not? Here's a story to illustrate:
He attended Vacation Bible School at the end of June at his school. On the last day, they had a scavenger hunt, where the prize at the end was a goodie bag. Prior to this day, a volunteer pulled me aside and let me know that because they wanted to make sure A was completely safe, they didn't include candy in his bag and instead put some other fun things in there like a bubble wand and tattoos. I told her that was great and that A would be okay with that.
Well, I was wrong.
He climbed into the car that morning and proclaimed "It's not fair! Why does everyone else get candy and I don't?" I tried to reassure him that the teachers wanted to make sure he was safe, and he replied "But they got sour patch kids. I can have those!" After much explaining and cajoling, he was okay.
I know A is going to be in these situations for as long as he still has his allergies (I'm still remaining optimistic that they will someday go away) and hopefully as he grows older, he'll fully understand that sometimes he just doesn't get what he wants (as with other things, like going shopping and not getting every toy on the shelf!).
At least we can be comfortable knowing that during our busy summer, A will be able to enjoy safe treats when we're at various get togethers and birthday parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment