A Simple Marvel of Modern Life

Do you remember the first time you had an ice cream cone? Nope, me neither. But I will remember the Politician's first cone. Such a simple joy that he hasn't had before (he'll be five in September) because of his dairy allergy. His summers have been full of those confections frozen on a stick, but this was his first drippy, sloppy cone. And I will not forget the excitement and joy on his face when he had eaten enough of the ice cream to dive into the cone itself.

The Enforcer is back there with a Nunna Cookie. Treats all around.

Politician: I can eat this?
Mom: Yup, it's like a cookie.
Politician: A cookie?

Upon hearing this, PT skips the ice cream and goes straight for the cone with a look of amazement when she realizes there is ice cream in there too! The Politician chows down and squeals with enjoyment.

Politician: Can I eat the bottom too? (pointing to the tip of the cone)
Mom: Sure, you can, but it might drip.

At this point PT discovers that with a hole in the bottom she can suck the ice cream out and the Politician follows suit. I was pleasantly surprised that they figured that out with out any hints from me or the Dad.

Growing up, I had an aversion to dairy also as did a few of my siblings. I can have dairy in small doses now, but since I cut back to almost no dairy while nursing the Enforcer (he seems to have the same problem,) I have switched most of our diet to soy, almond and coconut milk. (PT isn't affected at all and she has no problem letting her brothers know when they can't have something because it has "cow milk" and will make them sick.)

It seems that most grocery stores have dairy free products and organic markets have an even larger selection. Dairy-free ice cream, yogurt, cream cheese, pudding, sliced cheese (for grilled cheese sandwiches), and, of course, milk for drinking are all easy to pick up during a normal shopping trip. No need to make a detour for these "specialty" products. Thanks to this convenience of modern life we have soy ice cream on hand as a frozen treat. It definitely doesn't taste as creamy or decadent as some traditional ice creams can, but our older two didn't seem to mind one bit. It wasn't long before the only evidence of ice cream cones was sticky hands, messy cheeks, and great big smiles.