Last night was our ward Trunk or Treat. There was a lot of rushing around beforehand to get ready since I had volunteered to bring both chili (I actually took Taco Soup because I figured my kids would eat it) and a dessert (cookie bars that didn't finish in time so I had to grab a few packages of store bought cookies from Bryan's stash) and wasn't able to start on either until a mere hour and a half before the activity began. The kids were so excited to put on their costumes and there was some concern when no one could find Sophie's costume that had just been on the couch. We finally discovered she had put it away in the coat closet and we all made it, relatively ontime.
Everyone had a grand time showing their costumes, admiring other people's costumes, eating, obtaining large amounts of candy, typical Halloween stuff.
The real adventure happened on the way home. Usually the kids aren't allowed to eat in the car, but I knew they'd all want some of the newly acquired sugar, and I definitely did not want them staying up to partake of said treats once we got home. So I made an exception and told them they could munch while we drove. We had taken two cars so that Bryan could stay to help with cleanup if needed, so it was just me and the children in the van.
As we drove home, I realized two things: I hadn't gotten any pictures during the evening (which meant no costume pictures) and Sophie might have gotten peanut candy at the event and is the only child that can't identify those on sight. I told the kids that we would take pictures as soon as we got home and instructed Sophie to show Peter ( the sibling sitting closest to her) each candy wrapper before she opened it to make sure it was peanut free.
For the record, Sophie can eat peanuts, but she was in close proximity to Peter and hasn't learned to eat a treat while only touching the wrapper and not making any kind of mess, so the chance of exposure to Peter would be high if she ate something in the van.
We were more than halfway home when Sophie announced, "I don't like this one."
This was quickly followed by, "Oh no! She's eating something with peanuts!" from a rather frantic Peter.
One sniff told me that yes, something with peanut butter had definitely been opened in the van. It took a moment to discover that she was halfway through a fun-size Butterfinger.
At this point in the drive Peter was panicking about the crumbs he could see falling off the candy still in Sophie's hand while Sophie was crying saying, "I told them not to give me peanuts. I tried to give it back." The situation was tragic from both sides.
I told Sophie to finish the candy, because at least then most of the dangerous material would be gone. Then I told Peter that as soon as we got home he was to jump out of the car, empty the dryer, and transfer the laundry. Once that was done, I carefully transported a still crying Sophie out of the van and into the laundry room, then pulled off her entire costume and dropped it into the washing machine. I gave her a thorough shower and we brushed her teeth. While I did that, Bryan inspected the van and wiped down the floor of the laundry room.
Finally, after the panic and trauma had worn down, the kids were able to fall asleep.
We did not take pictures.
This morning Sophie and I ( and by Sophie and I, I mean mostly me while Sophie watched) went through her candy bucket piece by piece with wipes to remove the surprisingly large amount of peanut butter crumbs. Then I washed her car seat, vacuumed the van, and put her Halloween bucket through the dishwasher. Sophie was much happier this morning about the whole episode, though she kept repeating that she had tried to give the offending candy back. I continued to reassure her that she wasn't in any trouble, she just couldn't eat certain things around Peter.
After so many years of handling the peanut allergy, this is the first time something like this has happened. Perhaps my detailed description of our peanut removal process seems excessive, but even a small bit of peanut can cause a reaction. And because of the portion of the peanut protein that Peter is allergic to, any reaction could turn anaphylactic. When dealing with a literal life or death allergy, we don't mess around.
All of the candy has now been sorted. Each item containing peanuts has been traded in for something that won't kill Peter. I did give Cooper and Phoebe the option to keep their peanutty candy and take them to school to eat during lunch (neither of them sit at the peanut-free table and the cafeterias allow peanut products), with the reminder that they would need to completely wash their hands and mouths after they ate, but they both opted for the trade-in.
Between Bryan's work party and the actual Halloween night, we have two more chances to get pictures of the costumes. That means we also have two more batches of candy to sort through for peanuts.
Ah, the joys of Halloween.
