Dye-Free in a Brightly Colored World

A few weeks ago Cordy came home from summer camp with bright blue streaks down her legs and blue around her mouth. I could already smell the artificial raspberry flavor, but still asked her about how she ended up covered in blue. “We had popsicles at camp!” she happily explained.

“But sweetie, you know brightly colored foods aren’t good for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, “but it was a special treat!”

And that special treat left her distracted and less in control for days. Sigh.

When summer camp started, I asked about bringing in dye-free foods for snack time. They said we could but that it probably wasn’t necessary, as they were making efforts at healthy snacks this year and couldn’t think of any that would have dyes in them. Fruit, water, all-natural lemonade, graham crackers, cheese sticks, etc – all safe for Cordy to eat. With that knowledge, and a reminder to everyone about Cordy needing to avoid food dyes, I assumed we were in the clear when it came to snacks.

I guess I didn’t factor in “special” treats. Her class takes several field trips, and as a result they sometimes get a treat for the kids when they’re out and about. Cordy is aware that artificial food dyes make her feel bad and that she shouldn’t eat them, but she’s also a seven year old who, at that age, would have to show the impulse control of a zen master to say no to a treat when everyone else was getting one.

We consider her reaction to artificial food dyes an “allergy” even though it technically isn’t. It’s listed on all of her medical forms under allergy simply because it’s too complicated to provide the full explanation. Allergy produces a better response from others than “sensitivity” so that’s what we call it to get their attention. Only it still gets overlooked by teachers and caregivers far too often. It’s not life-threatening so therefore it isn’t given the same consideration as a peanut or shellfish allergy.

But we know it’s there. We’ve seen the difference between Cordy exposed to food dyes and Cordy without them. When she’s dye-free (and by that I mean hasn’t had any in over a week), she’s calmer, better able to focus, and seems more present in our world. Her repetitive behaviors (pacing back and forth, flapping, etc) are decreased, too. She’s more in control of herself and seems happier as a result.

When she was younger, people tried to tell me it wasn’t the dyes – we were just giving her too much sugar. So I set up my own test. I kept her dye free for over a week, then gave her a sucker (rock candy) that had no dye in it – pure sugar only. No reaction.

Days later, I gave her the same thing, only this one was bright blue with artificial coloring. Forty minutes later, the signs were there: she couldn’t sit still, she was irritable, emotionally out-of-control, and she wasn’t as interactive with us. She stayed like that for days, just from one little blue sucker. It was a frightening realization.

We’re not perfect with keeping her dye free, but we try to minimize the damage. Still, it’s very hard to find treats free of dyes. Annie’s makes fruit snacks without the artificial coloring. And Welch’s has all natural freeze-and-eat juice popsicles that look very similar to the artificial junk ones.

I also was recently told about Unreal, a line of candy that is free of artificial food dyes, but still looks and tastes like many of the popular candies we see everyday. It’s just rolling out, so it’s still hard to find, but I did manage to track down and buy it at Michael’s craft store. Their version of M&Ms? Really good.

So after the blue popsicle incident, we brought a bag full of Cordy’s treats to her summer camp to hand out to her when others are getting treats she can’t have. She’s usually pretty understanding about it, especially when we can give her some of the more yummy treats. But I know she longs for Starburst or a sucker now and then.

I only wish more food manufacturers would remove the bright food dyes from their foods. There’s no nutritional value to these dyes and there are natural dyes that can be used instead. Don’t believe me? Look at McDonald’s new Cherry Berry Chiller. That drink is about as bright pink-red as it could possibly be without glowing. I thought for sure it was one giant cocktail of dyes and artificial flavors, but it isn’t. It gets all of its color from fruit and vegetable sources, and the flavoring is all natural fruit juice and puree.

Who expected that?  If McDonald’s can do it, there’s no reason other companies can’t do it, too.

I hear more and more stories of parents who are discovering their kids are sensitive to food dyes. I know we’re not alone in experiencing some kind of adverse reaction to dyes. Research has linked it to hyperactivity. Some kids get rashes and eczema from red food dye. Others have stomach discomfort. Others – like Cordy – have various behavioral changes. And these dyes are in everything the kids come in contact with, from candy to mac and cheese, to chewable pain relievers and even toothpaste.

Europe has already figured this out, and most foods there are artificial-dye-free or contain warnings about having artificial coloring int them. What’s taking the United States so long to catch up with a public health issues that other first world countries have already known and addressed?

For now, we continue reading every label and try to educate those who care for our daughter about the importance of keeping her dye-free. It’s not that we’re crunchy green parents against all processed foods (because our grocery cart would prove we’re not) – it really is a matter of our daughter’s health.

Photo credit: Photos by *Micky 



So This Is 36

When my mom was 36 (and happy birthday yesterday, mom!), I was 14 and considered her to be old. Not old-old like my grandmother, but just old. She wore high-waist jeans and worn out t-shirts all the time, she had no clue as to what was currently on-trend, she listened to “oldies” music, she was constantly weary from working long hours, and she was already showing grey hairs and a few lines around her eyes.

And it terrified me.

My greatest fear as a teen was growing old. Granted, I didn’t like the body I already had, but I felt like after 30 it would just be one depressing downhill slide as the body fell apart and the mind lost it’s ability to grow and change. I sometimes wondered if I’d even live much past 30, or if I’d find a way to go out in a blaze of glory and end everything on a high note before I had to endure watching it all break down around me.

I was a stupid teenager.

Today I’m 36, and obviously I don’t feel the same way I did at 14. Age has provided perspective, and I see how some of my earlier thoughts came from the anxieties and understanding of a teenager.

Today I am no longer wishing for a short, glorious life. Oh, I still have all of my anxieties of growing older as the grey hairs have taken over in the past year and I watch the fine lines deepen around my eyes, but I’d much rather face those changes than the alternative. Not only because I want to live to be an old lady, but also because I now have children of my own. These two girls need me, and I need them. I’ll probably need them long after they think they still need me.

Today I’m in the best shape of my life. I weigh now what I did at 14 (and haven’t weighed that since I was 14) and I’m learning to love the body I have. Sure, it is starting the process of falling apart that frightened me so much as a teen, but rather than fear it I’m fighting it. Oh no, body, you’re not allowed to slow down on me now – we’ve got a long way to go.

Today I find myself happier than I have been in a long, long time. I love my family, quirks and all. It’s taken years and several jobs, but I’m genuinely happy with the work I’m doing now. As much as losing my job back in March sucked, it was a catalyst to bring a whole lot of awesome into my life. Funny how those little details work themselves out, isn’t it? Things aren’t perfect in my life by any means – our financial situation is still shaky due to Aaron’s job, we want to move from our current house but can’t, and they have yet to invent calorie-free Nutella – but the stuff that really matters is solid.

Today I’m content to know that I’ll never please everyone, so I’ll just worry about myself and the opinions of those I care about. I don’t have to follow trends, but if I happen to like a trend I can flaunt the hell out of it. Or I can flaunt the hell out of something untrendy. It’s whatever I like.

Today I’m discovering I still don’t know that much about who I am, but it’s time to find out.

Today I’m still fighting inner demons, but I finally feel like I’m on the winning side. They have their minor victories some days, but overall I’ve got this.

Today I realize that my mom was truly comfortable in her own skin at 36, just like she was at 26 and still is now. She worked hard to provide for me, and pushed through that weariness to reach the goals she had set for me and herself. She didn’t over-analyze everything. She knew what she liked, and she knew what needed to be done. And now that she’s retired, she’s continuing to pursue her goals and be exactly the person she wants to be.

Today I know now that my mom was and is far more self-aware than many people I know, and I only wish I could have that same self-awareness and self-confidence that she did at 36.

Today, I’m thankful that I still have another 364 days of being 36 to make that wish come true.

…and that old lady reading glasses can now be snazzy.


Fun & Learning At COSI (+Giveaway!)

One perk of living in Columbus is having a wealth of options when it comes to entertaining your kids. Want to see some animals? Well, we’ve got the number one rated zoo in America! Want a good children’s science museum? Oh yeah, we’ve got the number one rated one of those, too!

The COSI (Center of Science & Industry) children’s science museum has been a part of Columbus for as long as I can remember. As a kid, our elementary school would take field trips to COSI, and I remembered wandering the dark hallways learning about the refraction of light or the makings of the human body or how rats could be trained to play basketball or what life was like a hundred years ago and how we’ve progressed. I still have my drawing of the space shuttle made by a robot in the early 80’s. (That robot is no longer around, sadly. I’m sure it’s no longer all that special for a robot to draw a picture when we have iPhones, but I thought he was pretty awesome.)

COSI has moved since I was a child, relocating further down Broad Street to perch on the edge of the Scioto River. It’s bigger now, with even more room to offer some pretty fantastic exhibits and classes. Cordy and Mira spent many of their toddler days in the Little Kidspace area, so I was delighted to be invited back with Mira last week to learn more about their early childhood classes.

We started off the morning in Little Kidspace for some free play time. If you’ve never been to COSI, Little Kidspace is an area designed just for the five and under crowd. Older kids aren’t allowed in to play (but they do have a holding area with some video games if an older kid wants to wait while their younger sibling plays) so there’s no chance of a big kid running over a little one or shoving them out of the way.

Someone was happy to be there.

You also have to check in and check out with the attendant at the gate – you can’t leave without the same number of adults and kids, and no kids are allowed to leave the area by themselves. This is handy when the area is enormous and you can’t always be aware of where your child is at all times, especially with more than one. The Little Kidspace area even has its own bathrooms, nursing area and snack area, so there’s no reason to leave while the little ones are playing.

Mira, of course, quickly found her way to the water tables. I always groan at having her go there, knowing she’ll find a way to soak herself. But other parents should know that they do provide raincoats for the kids, and dryers are available for free, too, if you need a shirt or pants dried and have a spare set.

When it was time for our class, we met in the Little Kidspace classroom and joined the circle. There are a ton of classes and camps and programs for families year-round at COSI. After a welcome song, we read a book together and then were set free to explore the different science stations around us. There was a goop station (cornstarch and water goop), a place to create bubble art by blowing bubbles into dyed soapy water, a building area with bricks and rocks, a sensory area with dyed, cooked spaghetti, and a nature area with bugs and worms to examine up close.

Mira loved the rainbow colored spaghetti.

Early and late in the class – the colors mixed quickly!

And the bubble art.

She looked at the worms through the magnifying glass, but wouldn’t hold any of the bugs. I also have no photos of this because I wasn’t about to get close enough to take one.

After playing for awhile, we met back in the circle for a goodbye song. We then had lunch and we were set free to explore the rest of COSI. There are so many cool areas to visit – along with an extreme screen theater showing 3D films on a rotating subject basis – that you can easily spend the entire day there.

One of my favorite areas is Progress. You step through the corridor and into a street made to look like 1898. You can play with an old cash register, see what the telegraph office looked like, step up into a buggy in the livery stables and imagine what it was like to ride behind a horse, and pretend to be an operator for a very basic telephone service before we all had data plans with our phones.

 It was dark in there, too.

Then you walk through another corridor and see the same street, only now it’s 1962!  Mira was amazed at how much had changed, while I marveled at how I remembered my grandmother’s TV looking just like the one in the appliance store and then taught Mira the basics of playing pinball in the diner.

I played with the SAME Barbie case at my grandmother’s as a kid!

Of course, telling you about COSI isn’t nearly as much fun as experiencing it firsthand, so I have four general admission passes to COSI and four passes for the Extreme Screen to give away to one lucky reader! Obviously this is more convenient for readers local to the area, but if you’re planning a family trip to Columbus at any point this year (hey, why not?), these passes are good through the end of the year.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below telling me what part of COSI you would most like to explore with your kids. That’s it, easy-peasy. One entry per person. I’ll accept entries until end of the day on Thursday, June 28, then select one winner at random. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you’re the winner.

Good luck!

Full disclosure: Mira and I received a free admission. All opinions are my own, including the opinion to bring extra clothing if your kids want to play at the water tables. You’ve been warned.



Reason #84 Why I’m Glad We Got A Dog

The one thing I dislike the most about living in the suburbs in a planned neighborhood is the number of door-to-door salesmen we get on a regular basis. It was far worse when the homes were still being built, as salesmen preyed on young families with the money to buy new homes, knowing they would likely be needing all of the things they were selling to outfit those new homes.

It’s not quite as frequent now but they’re still regular visitors, unaware that the neighborhood’s number of empty homes and neglected yards are a clear signal of families struggling to get by with no money for their door-to-door goods.

But the worst of the worst are the carpet cleaning salesmen. You know them – they go by several company names – all offering to give you a “free carpet cleaning” and then try to sell you their outrageously expensive vacuum cleaners. Of course, once you let them inside your house, it takes an act of God or a threat to call police to get them to leave if you won’t buy a vacuum.

So last night, right after dinner, there was a knock at the door. As with every visitor to our doorstep, Cosmo immediately went into sentry dog mode and gave a few low woofs as he took his position in front of the door. I saw the casually dressed unknown couple at the door, and couldn’t tell if they might be neighbors, religious folks trying to convert us to their church, or salespeople.

Aaron went to the door and opened it. The man immediately launched into his script:

Salesman: “Why hello there! How are — is that a pit bull?”

Cosmo was right at the door, his head between Aaron and the outside and he was trying to push his way further towards the couple. The man was clearly startled by our dog.

Normally, Aaron is quick to point out that Cosmo is a mixed breed, even if he is part pit bull. Detecting the scent of salesmen, however, he decided to go with the guy’s assumption.

Aaron: “Yep, he’s a pit bull. Although he’s generally friendly.”

The man inched back a little as Cosmo tried to get to him – only a little because his female partner was directly behind him – but tried to continue on.

Salesman: “We’re with XYZ Company, have you heard of us?”

Aaron: “No, sorry, I haven’t.”

Salesman: “Really? Wow, I’m surprised you’ve never heard of XYZ Company! Well, your family was selected to receive this from us (carefully handing Aaron a bottle of some kind of cleaning solution) and we’d also like to offer you a free carpet cleaning today!”

Prior to this I had been trying to call Cosmo to come back further into the living room, away from the door. Once I saw him hand Aaron a “free” bottle of cleaning solution and offer the carpet cleaning, I stopped any efforts and muttered under my breath, “oh no, no, no.” Go be annoying, Cosmo.

Aaron: “Sorry, we don’t have time right now. We’re just getting ready to put our kids to bed.”

From my spot in the living room, I sighed. Aaron went with the classic “we’re busy right now” excuse, which works well for some salespeople, but for the vacuum people only presents as an opportunity to offer to come back later. Rookie move on his part, but I can’t blame him – he hasn’t turned away as many as I have. I would have gone with “we’re replacing our carpets soon with wood, so no thanks” or “we have two kids, cats and a dog, so there’s really no point in trying to keep it clean” or even the basic “not interested, thanks” response.

However, Cosmo was reacting to the man’s enthusiasm by trying his best to get out the door to get to him. Enthusiasm to Cosmo = play with the dog! To the man at the door, I’m sure Cosmo being held by the collar as he shook with excitement and fought to get out the door to greet this new person = dog wants to eat me!

At this point Cosmo nearly escaped out the door and was whining in frustration at not being allowed to greet the people on our doorstep. And that’s when the magic happened.

Aaron: (pulling Cosmo back in as he lunged at the salespeople – to lick them) “Cosmo, get back in here! Sorry, he gets really excited around new people. He’s not a mean pit bull.”

Salesman: “Yeah, wow he’s big.”

Aaron: “Yeah, he’s over 80 pounds now, still just a puppy.”

Salesman: “Oh, uh, ok. Well, thanks for your time. And I’ll need to take that back, too.” He took the “free” cleaning solution from Aaron, turned around, and left. I had to laugh that he actually took the free gift back from us after handing it to Aaron.

I’ve NEVER seen a carpet-cleaning salesperson so quick to give up a sale, and can only assume Cosmo scared them off. To a stranger, I guess he is a scary looking dog. He’s big, full of energy, and loves people. He’d rather lick you than bite you, but his enthusiasm can be interpreted as threatening. (To be fair, he’s also a good protector and will probably growl if he thinks you’re up to no good.)

When our house was broken into years ago, the police detective who worked with us said the best alarm system we could get was a dog. Turns out, a dog is also perfect for turning away door-to-door salesmen.

Good dog, Cosmo.

Just doin’ my job.


Summer Camp Is Here and We’re All Happy About It

Yesterday marked the beginning of eight weeks of peace and quiet in my house, also known as summer camp. Yes, I’m working from home, but I think we can all agree that I will get more accomplished, and the girls will have a lot more fun if they’re not with me all day.

They’re attending the same camp they went to last year. It’s expensive, but it’s worth every penny for how happy both kids are to be there and for the caring staff who understand that every child is unique and celebrate what makes each kid special.

Two years ago, when we were considering summer camps for Cordy, we looked at a few that catered to special needs children, but I felt they were too much like daycare and not challenging enough to keep Cordy’s mind stimulated. Aaron and I both felt that if we could put Cordy in a situation that (gently) pushed and challenged her, she’d rise to the occasion and grow from it.

This summer camp is based on a Montessori philosophy and places a strong emphasis on learning while having fun. When Cordy attended the first year, I was worried that she would be too much for them to handle and she’d be asked to leave. Instead, they adored her and quickly adapted to her. Everyone had a great time and that summer we saw her ability to socialize with other kids grow, along with a greater tolerance of her sensory aversions.

Last year Cordy was old enough to join the next group of kids, an older group of kids. I was uncertain if they would be as tolerant of her differences as the younger kids, or if the greater sense of responsibility expected from this age group would be more than Cordy could keep up with. Amazingly, she did great. Other kids talked to her and played with her, and her teachers found her to be charming. (Ha, where have I heard that before?)

So yesterday we packed up all of the first day of camp supplies and climbed into the car. Cordy was already anxious that no one would remember her because she cut her hair since last year. I assured her that someone would probably remember her, and that her hair is not the only thing people notice. (Mira, of course, had no anxiety and was secretly plotting how to quickly take command of her entire class.)

When we arrived, Cordy nervously stepped out of the car, glancing towards the sign-in table. One of the camp staff immediately saw her, waved and shouted, “Cordy! Hi! It’s great to see you again!” Cordy’s face suddenly glowed with the big smile on her face as she ran over to say hello and tell her all about how she was scared no one would know her because of her haircut.

Before we could finish signing them in, both kids had waved goodbye without even looking and ran for the playground.

And when I picked them up yesterday afternoon, both groaned that it was already time to leave. Cordy even had other kids helping her hide from me so she wouldn’t have to leave. (Seeing other kids playing with her was enough for me to play along for a few minutes.) Their teachers – same ones from last year – expressed how happy they were to see the girls again, and of course how much they’ve grown in a year.

Today they were just as excited to go back to summer camp. And I’m thrilled to see them both so happy and active for the summer. I’m hopeful that it’ll be a great summer for all of us.

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