Red

This week's Unplugged Project was simply specified "Red", whatever we wanted to do with "red". I really didn't get too creative, just some red construction paper, red sparkly paint, red finger paint, some googly eyes for fun, white paper, and crayons.

My sister, Sarah, and her daughter, Laylah, joined us for the fun. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. :)







This project didn't last too long. I should have put more thought into it and given the kids some more direction. They still had fun with the eyes, though! Laylah and Will painted them and Nathan, well, you saw... :)

Join us this week by doing something with boxes!! Go to Unplug Your Kids on Monday and link up or send her the pictures and she'll post them for you if you don't have a blog. This is great fun with the kids and what memories are made of! Please join in the fun!

Don't Got Milk

Of course I have spent most of the past two days on the internet researching milk, milk proteins, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, milk, milk, milk... Here are some of the links to interesting information I have found:

• Don't Drink Your Milk
• Living Without Milk (I ordered his cookbook - hope it's good!)
• Avoiding Milk Protein (I assume Witt's allergy is to the protein not the butterfat - hope they have a scratch test for each so I'll know for sure)

There is a plethora of information out there regarding milk allergies! I am amazed!

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Today I went to our local Publix to see what kind of selection they have for milk-free products. I came home with Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (it smells like cream cheese and is very close in taste with the garlic and chives in it, but the texture is a little off. I can handle it, though.) I also purchased Willow Run Soybean Margarine (I hope it lives up to the review - UPDATE: It does! Can't tell the difference! Yipee!). I also found Earth Balance buttery spread. We'll see how it goes...

I happened across the rice milk and almond milk stashed across from the cereals (of which I have read that only Special K contains the milk protein, casein). I bought some rice milk just for comparison sake (Jeff and I have decided that the vanilla soy milk tastes like a very thin eggnog; I'll let you know what we think of the rice milk when we try it). Speaking of comparisons, though, I asked Jeff to pick up two other name brands of vanilla soy milk while he was at Walmart this morning. Turns out there is also chocolate soy milk! It's really not bad at all; I don't think the boys will balk at it one bit. The milk transition is going so much smoother than expected. In fact, Will asked for some "vanilla ice cream milk" with his lunch today! :)

I also checked out the tofu section as I had read that it helps with thickening when replacing milk in recipes. I got a little overwhelmed with all the different types and flavors so I figured I'd buy tofu when a recipe specifically calls for it and tells me what I need.

I was also good in picking up some extra veggies while I was there. I love asparagus but have never cooked it myself. I bought some and think I'll give it a try while I'm learning other new cooking skills as well.

The upside to all of this is that if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened now. Nathan is still young enough that he probably won't even notice "new" food and will probably just enjoy it. Will is picky anyway, so he can just be picky about the new stuff, too. :)

It is amazing that there is another whole world out there without cow's milk. I have always just passed these items by in the grocery store never giving it a moment's thought. I never knew that a substance in milk is used for glue! yuck. I never knew that soy milk would actually be better than descent. There is so much I have to learn about this new world we've entered. Hope you enjoy the ride as we go through what I am sure will be many trials and errors!

Allergy Update

*Image from flickr
Well, after 4 calls to the doctor's office and a week after we were supposed to have the results, we got the confirmation that Witt is indeed allergic to cow's milk. I really thought it would have been the peanut butter on crackers left out for Nathan that caused the anaphylactic reaction in Witt, but no... it was the cow's milk in his first bottle of formula. Honestly, I was hoping it was peanuts because I thought peanuts would be an easier allergy to handle as more people are aware of the severity of peanut allergies and because milk is in EVERYTHING at my house. (He still could be allergic to peanuts, though. The allergy test on the blood gives a lot of false negatives. He'll be getting the scratch test on Tuesday for peanuts, egg whites, and egg yolk to verify.)

I must say that I kind of fell apart the night we got the results as I had been living in denial for two weeks. But now, reality sets in. I must change our eating habits. Immediately. Especially mine as I am breastfeeding. Think about it: No milk. No cheese. No creamer in the coffee. No sour cream. No butter. No mac-n-cheese. No casseroles made with cream of something. No church potluck suppers. No buffet dinners. No chocolate! I'm still really new to all this and there might be some good substitutions for these items; I don't know. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised at the vanilla soy milk. Even Will liked it - which was a SHOCKER!!!

Now I just need to find a no-milk cookbook and practice with new recipes. I like cookbooks... I like new recipes, but I usually like them with lots of cheese. *smile* Oh well. Maybe I will find something better and won't feel like I'm lacking the good ol' comfort foods of the south. We'll be getting more veggies and maybe even try some tofu... wow, can't believe I said (wrote) that. ;) [Please don't think that I have any hesitation in changing our diets. Witt's life is far more precious than cheese! We will do whatever it takes to keep our children safe and healthy. It can be done with a sense of humor though!]

If you are interested in learning more about milk allergies, please read this article. As my first real search for information on the internet, I found it very helpful and not too overwhelming. Also, if you have dealt with anaphylactic milk allergies in your family, I'd love to hear how you have handle it all. (A great big thank you to Mom Unplugged and Melissa at Through My Window for all your support and suggestions so far!!)