An explanation

So, many of you know that booger has numerous food allergies. I feel like it is easiest to give a bit of background info before I go into my story, then my explanation and apology to my friends...

Food allergies are very dangerous for children. At such a young age, he is unable to communicate to us if his tongue is feeling funny, if his tummy hurts, or any other symptoms of an allergic reaction are to occur. Thus, it is easiest for us to make everything for him from scratch, having total control of the ingredients. Many times, things contain milk, soy, eggs, etc. without saying those exact words. This leaves us in the position of constantly second guessing ourselves. It is very easy to cross-contaminate food as well, just by mixing a "safe" food with a spoon used on an "unsafe" food, not washing things thoroughly enough, etc. This is a common way for an attack to occur. Again, this just makes it easier for us to cook everything he eats, and not to go to restaurants with him. The nut allergy is a completely different topic. It is so scary and horrible, we can not even eat my favorite food (peanut butter) for lunch without worrying that when I see him at night, I will get him sick.

This has posed quite a challenge on our family over the past year, trying to find out what he can/can't eat, likes, etc. Finally, we are starting to get into the groove of things. Then, Easter strikes. Christmas was a fairly easy holiday to maneuver around, mostly because we went to people's homes. We could bring his food with us. Easter, however, is the holiday when everyone in our family goes out to eat at a buffet. This is probably the least safe environment for our son. The risk of cross-contamination is about 90%, if not higher. In addition, this particular restaurant serves nuts in several dishes. This is just a nightmare for us as parents. Thinking we would try to offset the inconvenience of not going there, we try to offer to cook for our entire family. This was immediately shot down by the woman who gave birth to me. We explained the situation, to no avail. We were ordered to still attend the brunch and egg hunt afterward. EGG HUNT?!?! You mean the thing he is allergic to? So we ask about plastic vs. hard-boiled eggs, and are basically told to be there no matter what. Not to mention it is in the middle of his nap time, which we try hard not to mess up. Otherwise, we have a grumpy booger. Not fun. So, we went. We were social and pleasant, but we left early. He needed his nap, and we needed to take care of him. And he had fun.

Now, for the apology. I am genuinely sorry that we do not go out with you guys as often as we used to. Hopefully, this brings light to why we don't go out as much as we used to. It's just easier for us to provide our own environment. Our friends have an open invitation to our home at any time, and ask the hairy one, we are pretty ok cooks. I am also sorry if we ask you what you have eaten that day before you play with my kid, if you had peanut butter right before you saw him, you can't play. Sorry, those are the rules. If you have any more questions, just ask me. P.S. This is not meant to make anyone feel bad, just to let you know what's going on in our lives right now.