kateelayne carefree treats

Mom Guilt!

2009-09-21T13:50:00.004-05:00

I suffer from what I call "mom guilt" a lot these days. I let those little doubting voices creep in at the most inconvenient times and usually under unwarranted conditions. Take for example the past week. Thursday, in the midst of our normal early morning rush, the phone rings. Normally, I would just ignore it, but our phone never rings at 7:30 in the morning. I grabbed the phone and glanced down at the caller ID to find my daughter's school prominently displayed. YIKES! A million and one scenarios passed through my mind before I could even answer the phone. Luckily, none of the disasters I had envisioned were the reason for the call. But, a recorded message did informed me that due to the torrential downpours, the lower school had flooded and would be closed for the day. That was Thursday, today is Monday. The school is still struggling with the flood and I am still hanging out at work with my daughter. (Not sure if you can detect the change of tone in my voice, but believe me, it is there).

Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE days off with my child. Snow days are a cause for celebration around our house. We pile up on the couch in our pj's and watch movies. We make soup and grill cheese sandwiches and take afternoon cat naps. The snow falls and melts all in one day and she goes back to school the next. In my Norman Rockwell mind, that is how we should always spend an unexpected day off from school. But not now. No. I am a working mom and I have "mom guilt" that we haven't had a chance to do any of that. Instead, I had to call in grandparent re-enforcement for Thursday, which made both the grandchild and grandmother more than happy. They lunched, shopped and napped. Friday, we packed a backpack full of books, movies and her DS and headed into the bakery where she spent the day fully content hanging out with me.

Monday rolls around, the school is still closed and we are at the bakery again. Only this time there is an added bonus....a friend! Lucky for us, my daughter has a friend whose mom works behind the bakery and guess what that mother and daughter were doing today......hanging out at work together! So, the girls have spent the day playing office and "working" in the bakery. They have decorated the bakery with pictures and eaten way too much icing. They made up dance routines that included dressing up in aprons and singing into spatulas. We ordered in for lunch and they even managed to get in a movie too. Basically, it was a play date at an unconventional location. And you know what? She loved it. All of it. She loved spending the day with her grandmother, she loved spending the day at the bakery with me and she loved spending the day with her friend no matter where they were.

My daughter just came in the room and asked if she has school tomorrow. I told her I had not heard and asked her why? Her response? "I just want to spend one more day at the bakery with you." I think I am done with my mom guilt.

-Kathleen

A Little More Organization

2009-08-31T09:17:00.005-05:00

Can I just say how happy I am to see this Monday roll around? Why, you ask? Because that means at my house, we now have two official weeks of school/work under our belt. Week one was all about the chaos of getting back into the swing of things and week two was all about making it run smoothly.

Last year at this time was very fly by the seat of your pants around my house. The bakery was just up and running and I was wearing my mom hat and my business owner hat all at once. Most days, I felt more like a professional juggler than anything else. This year, I took a different approach.

I started the summer by getting my house cleaned out and organized. I purged all the old junk, moved some rooms around, threw some fresh paint on the walls and had all those little odds and ends repaired. I added a new calendar to the refrigerator and merged everyone's schedule. Now, when I shuffle into the kitchen to make coffee, I know what my day will bring (to some degree) and just how I will manage to get it done.

At the same time I was attacking my house, Layne and I were mapping out a new strategy for kateelayne in order to accomplish what we set out to do.

With two weeks behind me, I now realize what a great teacher the last year has been. I learned that every night doesn't have to be a gourmet meal, things will happen that you are completely blinded by, friends will be there when you aren't sure how to make it all work and most importantly, I can wear both of my hats at once. Now, with my house in order, my business on track and my child blissfully tucked into 3rd grade, all feels right in my world.

-Kathleen

Food allergy training

2009-08-28T05:38:00.005-05:00

As I sit here with my coffee, waaaay too early, preparing for a food allergy & epi-pen training I'll be doing at my son's preschool later this morning, I felt the need to share some thoughts.
I've done this training several times over the past few years, and each year the stories and statistics get scarier. This morning I'll share a story with the teachers about a little girl I know who became anaphylactic after eating an unsafe cupcake. I hear these stories so often, and feel so thankful that my children haven't been the subject of the scariest ones. I'm not sure if that's luck, persistant training of folks around them, constant awareness or what. But I am more than grateful for their safety, so far, in the food allergy world. Six and half years ago, though, when my oldest son had his initial reaction to peanuts, I was completely scared - and that fear never leaves the mother of a food allergic child.
When I talk with the teachers this morning, I'll hope to instill a bit of that fear, but more so the confidence that they will know how to handle any emergency. It's critical that we allergy parents stay in touch with our children's teachers and caregivers. These initial meetings and trainings open the doors for continued communication all school year. Certainly, I hope this year is another reaction-free year, and I will do what I can as a mother to ensure that.
Stay well,
Layne

We Are Ready!

2009-08-14T16:12:00.002-05:00

Recently, Layne & I spent an afternoon at my house looking back at our first year with the bakery. With lists and notebooks in hand, we re-evaluated long term goals and short term projects. We discussed what we did right or not so right and how to improve upon each. We talked about our vision for the bakery and the path we need to take to get there. We emerged a few hours later with our lists revised here and tweaked there and fully focused on taking kateelayne to the next level.

One item that is consistently pushed to the end of our ‘to do’ list is our blog. It should be the easiest to tackle right? Wrong! Week after week, we both grumble something about the blog and quickly move on to the next topic of discussion. But, here we are, one year later and we are ready to commit! We came up with a plan for each of us to post weekly updates. Layne is going to focus on the allergy part of our business since that is her passion and I am going to write about what our lives are like being moms and having our own business.

Check back with us often and if you see one of, ask us how the blog is going. Chances are we may need a little encouragement!

- Kathleen

First Anniversary and FACT meeting

2009-08-04T15:00:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe Kathleen and I have been baking our carefree treats for a year now! This month we're excited to "start fresh" so to speak with a better idea of what the months ahead hold. With school starting and new schedules to arrange, things are about to get busy . . . for everyone! The idea of making lunches and sending snacks to school everyday -- while ensuring my children are safe among their classmates's snacks and lunches -- can be a daunting task. While this is not new to me, as my oldest is entering 1st grade, it's still nerve-wracking. So, I'm heading out tonight to the FACT meeting where Susan Dean will speak to the group about the best ways to prepare for the new school year . . . given our children's food allergies. The meeting is at 7:00 at Whole Foods if you want to join!

A new year!

2009-01-04T09:07:00.002-06:00

Here at kateelayne, we are so excited for 2009! We have great plans for this year and look forward to your feedback. One of our many goals for '09 is to blog more often. We want to stay in touch with our kateelayne community and be a resource for you all. On that note, let us remind you of the upcoming FACT meeting Tues., Jan. 6th at 7:00. The Nashville-area food allergy support group meets every other month at Whole Foods. The January meeting will cover the topic of "lastest research" and be presented by Dr. Donald Brothers, Jr. Feel free to join the group for some valuable information!
Wishing you a carefree new year!
- Layne

Testing recipes . . . .

2008-12-09T11:19:00.003-06:00

We just tasted the yummiest little vegan, kosher, allergen-safe brownies we've ever had . . . warm from our ovens! Delish!! Think we might have to update our product list!!

First e-newsletter sent!

2008-12-04T05:55:00.007-06:00

Kathleen and I were thrilled to finally send our first e-mail announcement yesterday. Since our doors officially opened 3 months ago, we've been thankful our customers have found us through word-of-mouth. Now, with our monthly e-newsletter, more folks will learn about our delicious treats! Also, we're updating our website with new products, so please check that often.

We appreciate your support!

- Layne

We are taking orders!

2008-09-03T12:42:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our new BLOG and our new WEBSITE! We are finally up and running and here to take orders. Bear with us while we take care of all the in's and out's of blogging and managing our website. It is our goal for our wesite and our blog to be a resource for our customers. Please check back often for regular postings and to plug into our kateelayne community.

Thanks!
Layne & Kathleen