food allergy?

hey mommy friends. i have a question about food allergies. it seems there are a lot more kids these days with food allergies, and i want to know more about it. i want to be able to spot it in my child, in case she might have it.

is there anything you noticed happening with your child that led you to believe he/she had a food allergy? colicky? sleepless nights? skin problems? more stomach issues than normal? weird poo issues?

did you have to go to a doctor to figure out what it was? how long before you figured it out?

how well do your kids grow after having to change their diets (and possibly yours)?

*i don't really know if izzy has a food allergy or not. i'm mostly just curious. she has some of the same skin problems as me. i've always been super sensitive to perfume, dyes, heat, and certain natural allergens. but it was brought to my attention recently that i might have a food allergy that causes my skin problems too, which could also be izzy's issue. who knows though? i've had skin problems all my life, and i've never eaten the same thing every day that i have had a rash or other skin problem. so...this would be really hard to tell.

after church, we were bad. but...all for the sake of nihon

this past sunday, st. paul (one of the twins), hosted a japanese lantern lighting festival. it was only for one day, and i really wanted to go. so pete let us, and we even had some family and a friend join us.

this is pete and i. look how fat we are now. i bet you didn't recognize us. i've finally shed my baby weight except for 1 pound. now i need to work on my lazy-wendy's weight.


this is lahave being "gentle" with izzy. he's our nephew, and he's super cute and love him tons. but...he is sort of jealous of izzy sometimes and has hit her in the face a couple of times. *mojo, this is who asher used to look like. they don't really anymore.


gavin, bree (pete's sis), and saleit. saleit is from israel. did you know that there is some weird theory that japan is one of the settlements of the lost tribes of israel? saleit would probably laugh at that one. she was ready to go at one point, i think.


this is right before we left. even though izzy is crying, i love this picture. i'm sort of the type of mom that laughs at their kid when they're crying for no reason. this was izzy's pre-bedtime meltdown. don't worry. i'm not a jerk.


all in all, the festival was okay. not really that great, but it was nice to hang out and people watch. we saw lots of japan-o-philes, a.k.a. manga nerds. and we even saw this:



...except it was on a bunch of white girls. i think this style is totally strange, but it's actually more charming on a japanese girl. on a white girl, it looks way stupid. sorry. and i just found out that they call this style "lolita." gross.

back to cool

i wish izzy was going to school, so i could get her this:

dairy-free bubble tea

okay all. i attempted a recipe for bubble tea smoothie without any dairy. i guess you could call it more a bubble smoothie. i have a slight lactose intolerance and avoid dairy here and there, but i know some of you also have allergies or children with allergies. so here goes (sorry, no pictures):

*this recipe yields about 4 16 oz. smoothies, i believe. my cups aren't clear, and i'm sort of guessing on the general size here.

1/2 can of pineapple juice concentrate
3-4 cups of fresh mango or frozen
1 cup ice
1/2 to 1 cup water

blend until smooth. pour into cup already filled with your tapioca pearls and enjoy bubbly goodness.

my concoction was fairly sweet, so i would recommend using less juice concentrate or putting in more water to dilute. white grape, apple or whatever juice concentrate you would like to use should work great. it's pretty much the same idea as the syrups you can buy at the asian market. cheaper, though.

you can use any sort of fruit too. it's your idea of what a delicious smoothie/slushee should be, but with pearls!

also, there are different sorts of tapioca pearls (different colors even) you can get at the asian market. you can get ones that are ready in 5 minutes, or you can do the old-fashioned way and wait an hour or so. it's pretty easy to make them up, and all packages you buy should have instructions in english on it. hopefully.

enjoy! oh, i'd love to see pics of you or your family enjoying your bubble tea concoctions. i will try and get one up of us. we're even thinking of having a bubble tea party with some friends! wanna come?

izzy happenings

just a quick baby update, because i know all of you have been aching to know (and see) what's up with this young lass.

here she is. already an exhibitionist. what is it with little girls and pulling up their dresses?


no. i didn't cut her hair. she has obtained her own bald spot on the back of her head from rubbing her head on the mattress when she sleeps. i just hope it doesn't look like that forever. i hear extensions are expensive.


we call this "the stallone." i've been having a hard time capturing a smile on camera. she sees the camera and sort of goes blank. it's as if she is too cool to smile or something.


this girl loves to stand and walk. if you try to sit or lay her down after doing some walking, she gets a bit whiny. i think i am in for some trouble in the future.

united noodle, i love you

i went on an expedition for straws and syrups for bubble tea (a.k.a. boba). i've only been to a few asian markets in the twin cities, and there are a lot. my all-time favorite is united noodle company in the downtown area, because they are ginormous and have everything for japanese, thai, korean, chinese, and filipino cuisine. they even had frozen siaopao (sp?), which is the filipino version of a meat-filled dumpling. no offense to the chinese, but the pinoys do it better.

anyway, i found my straws. i didn't get the powder or any syrup, because i want to do it fruit smoothie style sans dairy. i'm so excited, i just can't hide it...!

here are a couple sites that have recipes on them:

www.bubbleteasupply.com
www.bubbleteastore.com

i'll post later how my concoctions come out.

bubble tea recipes?

does anyone else like bubble tea? pete and i got some the other day, and i have been craving one every day since. i got a mango pineapple one, but there was no milk in it. i guess some are made with milk, but mine wasn't. i figure i could recreate it, but has anyone else made bubble tea before and have a great recipe to share?

*we can't go to uptown to get this delicious drink, because izzy doesn't like the sound of blenders and the smell of dirty hippies.