This was my first holidays with a toddler allergic to foods
and I just need to vent how exhausted it has been for both
myself and my daughter. We made many mistakes which I will
learn from and perhaps others can learn from:

*one was going to other's for dinners five nights in a row!
*always having to pack our own foods and make sure we had enough
for her to eat;
*navigating around the dangerous foods on the table,
*saying no way too many times to my daughter
*saying no way too many times to relatives and having conflicts
caused by them saying "well there is just a little bit of ____ in
it, I"m sure it won't bother her
*relatives trying to give my daughter way too many sugary foods
which they made special for her but that they still shouldn't eat
*dinner served way too late for my daughter's tolerance and having
a very tired over-stimulated toddler on my hands.

Next year most dinners will be at our house so I have more control
over what she can and can't eat and won't have to say no so much
and get into arguments with relatives about why she can't eat things
they have made for her. If we do gift openings, they won't be
focused around holiday dinners!

Well, thanks for listening and I hope others can learn from my
mistakes. I look forward to getting back into our daily routine
and gaining control back over our lives.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Jill