The "E" Word

It's the younger brother of the F word, and not nearly as foul, but the consequences of uttering it in a crowed room could clear the room just as fast. (OK, not really, but you get my point...)

I think my kid has Eczema.

I have been hearing a lot about eczema lately, it's been a heavy topic on the neighbourhood (not mine) list serve. I DREAD eczema, and anything that may possibly be food allergy related. The thought of food allergies in my family makes me tremble in my boots! OK, we mostly don't do dairy, and we've dealt with that just fine, but having to figure out if soy, wheat, fish or eggs needs to be eliminated from our diet sounds about as much fun as poking plastic (toxic plastic...there's another can of worms) forks in my eyes!

Seriously, all you gluten free-ers, and celiacs out there who successfully abstain from all the things that make you go coo coo, I have only the heartiest admiration for you. (And did you know that the spell checker has never even HEARD of you people?? You should tell them!!) I tried once to eliminate wheat, but I like to eat, and I have the will power of a gnat, and if you place a big bowl of chocolate and stomach cramps next to a big bowl of no chocolate and no stomach cramps, I'd choose the full bowl of coco coated crampy goodness any day!

So, now the kid has potential food allergies. Which means he's going to have to abstain, which means I too am going to have to abstain, and that just takes the fun out of everything! That'll darn near ruin christmas!

I think, I think the first step is to eliminate all the CRAP that he gets fed at daycare. We LOVE LOVE LOVE our daycare lady, and every little thing about her, but the food that G eats there is not quite what we're used to eating here. And understandably so, as this woman feeds a hoard at lunch, including my hollowed leg little trucker, and no one has time to pop homemade organic scones for 8 into the oven, while stirring the vegetarian lentil stew and wrangling 8 screeching kids. So the kids eat processed pizza from boxes. And foods of a similar vein. Now don't get me wrong, there's certainly no homemade organic scones baking in my oven, or veggie lentil stew simmering on my stove, but there is homemade bread from the bread machine. And vegetables, sometimes even grown in my own garden, and I think that's what we have to get back to.

If you were a daycare lady, would you be offended if someone sent their kid to you and started packing them their own lunch? I mean, that's the simplest thing to do right? She doesn't have to cook different for the whole brood, just feed my little rabbit his chopped up melon, and the other kids get their pizza and hot dogs and mac and cheese, and we'll all be happy!!

And in the mean time, I need something to clear this up. Suggestions?