My heart is heavy for a community that is mourning. For a country that is asking why? For a country that is asking why, again? For families that are feeling numb. There are so many questions that all of us are asking and don't have the answers for. This has us thinking, deeply. All I do know, is that there are no easy answers to all of this.
People are crying out, "Gun Control!" But, gun control is not going to solve this problem. It is only a part of the solution. Think about the times that guns have not been used to kill people. Bombs have been used. Chemicals have been used. Airplanes have been used. Yes, I think there should be some gun control. I said some. I believe in the right to bear arms. I think there is a line that should not be crossed by the general public though. My husband is a hunter and a responsible gun owner. I believe that people have a right to own a gun to provide food for their families and/or people in need. We have family and friends who donate their hunting harvest to organizations that feed people in need. I am not the only one who believes that gun control is not the whole answer. This blog was brought to my attention this morning and has some good points. The reality is, there are responsible gun owners. And then there are the other gun owners. And then I think the problem lies within the person behind the gun much of the time, but not always.
Why does the problem not always lie with the person behind the gun? I think that sometimes these people have a mental illness. I also read this blog this morning, about a mother of a boy living with mental illness, who struggles to care for her son. Her story will make you think twice about judging the family of one of these people. Our country is failing these people who need help and can't get it. I'm not saying to lock these people up and throw away the key. There must be a better solution than that. There has to be a humane way to help them.
I also think that our country has lost it's morals. We've taken God out of our schools. What our country was founded on is no longer allowed in the school systems. Yes, maybe some thought patterns of the past needed to be changed, but there are some fundamental ideals that are sorely missing. Even if you don't believe in God, you can't argue the benefits of the Ten Commandments. Can you? They are basic standards of how to treat others as well as yourself. Our country has lost sight of that. In the effort to accept everyone, we are also accepting people behaving badly. Our country has become very selfish. Am I on a soapbox right now? Maybe. But, I firmly believe this is a very big part of the problem!
This video states much of what I believe.
Many of my regular readers are aware that I am a homeschooling mom. When my oldest was approaching Kindergarten age, the massacre at Columbine happened. I could not imagine the pain those families were going through. What the students experienced at such a young age. It was at that time, that we started hearing about homeschooling and learned about it. There have been difficult days, but we don't regret our choice to homeschool. When we hear about these events on the news, we are even more grateful that we homeschool. Now, there is a place for public and private schools. Homeschooling is not for everyone. We have family and friends who are working in the public and private schools. I'm glad they are. The schools need people like them.
Like I said, there are no easy answers. And we may never really know why. And this is what I have been thinking while thinking about Sandy Hook. I pray that God wraps His arms around all those who are hurting in the wake of this tragedy.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Back in the Saddle Again
It has been far too long since my last post. We had our summer vacation and came home with illnesses. Then, it was time to get our school year organized and underway. Then, our area met Super Storm Hurricane Sandy. Then we needed to fit in the medical appointments that had to wait for oldest's surgery recovery and physical therapy to end. That brings me to now. Whew! Yes, it has been busy.
I have post ideas lined up. I am getting my knitting "on" for Christmas. I decided I didn't want this Christmas to be quite as "material" as it has been in the past. So I informed the kids that this year was going to be simple and practical and stuff that they can use on a very regular basis. I will have to wait until after Christmas to post my knitting projects, so as to not spoil them.
My goal for this blog right now, is to post at least once a week. I have a lot of goals for our school this year that I need to focus on. If I can manage to post more than once a week, then wonderful! But, my goal is at least once a week, so that I don't burn out, because I enjoy blogging.
Thank you for sticking with me!
I have post ideas lined up. I am getting my knitting "on" for Christmas. I decided I didn't want this Christmas to be quite as "material" as it has been in the past. So I informed the kids that this year was going to be simple and practical and stuff that they can use on a very regular basis. I will have to wait until after Christmas to post my knitting projects, so as to not spoil them.
My goal for this blog right now, is to post at least once a week. I have a lot of goals for our school this year that I need to focus on. If I can manage to post more than once a week, then wonderful! But, my goal is at least once a week, so that I don't burn out, because I enjoy blogging.
Thank you for sticking with me!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I See The Light at the End of the Tunnel - So to Speak - Part 2 of 2
When I set up this blog, I had not intended on quoting scripture, because it wasn't the purpose of this blog. But I am going to here, because it is the basis, as well as the why, of this particular post series.
When our pediatrician told me he wanted my daughter checked for Marfan's, I was nervous and admittedly a little afraid. If she did indeed have Marfan's, what were we going to do? How were we going to handle it? I knew that God was in control, and wouldn't give me more than I could handle, but I wasn't quite ready to let go. How was I going to manage multiple medical appointments for one child, when I had five, and then with a sixth on the way? How was Steve going to handle the stress with the finances?
I didn't have much confidence in myself, because there are people who've questioned my capability of being a mother to my children. Yes, I've actually had people tell me that I can't be a parent (I'm not a single parent, mind you) without help, that there were many things I couldn't do, as a mother, without help. But, on this journey, I've learned that, that is not entirely true. I've tried to please other people before, but the thing is, I can't and I shouldn't. That's not what I was created for. There is One that can help me and gives me strength. There is One that I should strive to look to for my help and that One should be first in my life. My husband should come next and then my children. Other people should come after them. Things get messed up when those priorities aren't in order.
This leads me to the scriptures I want to share that are supporting me in this awareness.
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 NIV
"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 NIV
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 NIV
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:2-5 NIV
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James 3:17 NIV
Now what have I learned? I don't know if this was the purpose, but this is what I am learning from this. I am capable of being the mother that my children need. I am capable of managing their needs. How? I have a husband who is my partner in this journey. I'm nearly positive, that no one can say that they have had the same journey and experiences as I have. The only one who can come close to saying that, is my husband. But, we still have had separate experiences through this. He isn't home during the weekdays to help me manage this. But, he supports me. And the times that I have needed him to make some arrangements to work from home, so that I could manage an appointment that I couldn't take everyone to, he did that. He doesn't see everything that happens during the days, but he tries to listen to me and understand my days. He tries to help me sort out things that I'm having difficulty with. Why? Because that is what our relationship is suppose to do. We are a team. And I think, that considering what the past year and a half have been like, we've done a pretty good job on our own. We've proven to ourselves that we can do what we need to do for our family. Our priorities may not be the same as other people's, but this is our family and we are taking care of what we feel are the top priorities for this family.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have a few people who've been Grace to me during this time. They have listened to me without telling me what to do. They've given me a chance to think it through and sort it out, as to what is the right thing for me to do for my family. They've been a shoulder to lean on. They've walked next to me and encouraged me in my journey.
I feel like God allowed a lot of things that I couldn't control, to happen so that He could show me His faithfulness, that He would supply my and my family's needs. I learned that when I humble myself before him, drop the prideful feeling that I can do it on my own strength, He took care of the details. He supplied what we needed, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. It felt like we were living through storm after storm or on a rollercoaster ride that kept looping itself without stopping. This particular ride is slowing down, but as odd as it may sound, I am grateful for it. Because I learned much from it and have grown from it. I'm not the same person I was two years ago. I am in a better place.
Some things that had once been a priority needed to drop further down the "list" temporarily, while we dealt with the things that needed to be a higher priority. Now that life is getting back to some sort of normalcy, the priorities are being re-evaluated. I learned that life operated more smoothly when we had daily routines in place. We had gotten away from them and I am in the process of working on a new routine or daily schedule. It is possible that that may become a future post. Oldest may still need to see the specialists for a few more years, but we should be able to handle that, especially as I work on maintaining better rountines and a better calendar.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this part, quoting scripture isn't the purpose of this blog. But, if I feel led to in the future, and if it has any relation to the subject of the post, I probably will at that point. I still need to finish re-reading Mockingjay so that I can post my thoughts on that book.
When our pediatrician told me he wanted my daughter checked for Marfan's, I was nervous and admittedly a little afraid. If she did indeed have Marfan's, what were we going to do? How were we going to handle it? I knew that God was in control, and wouldn't give me more than I could handle, but I wasn't quite ready to let go. How was I going to manage multiple medical appointments for one child, when I had five, and then with a sixth on the way? How was Steve going to handle the stress with the finances?
I didn't have much confidence in myself, because there are people who've questioned my capability of being a mother to my children. Yes, I've actually had people tell me that I can't be a parent (I'm not a single parent, mind you) without help, that there were many things I couldn't do, as a mother, without help. But, on this journey, I've learned that, that is not entirely true. I've tried to please other people before, but the thing is, I can't and I shouldn't. That's not what I was created for. There is One that can help me and gives me strength. There is One that I should strive to look to for my help and that One should be first in my life. My husband should come next and then my children. Other people should come after them. Things get messed up when those priorities aren't in order.
This leads me to the scriptures I want to share that are supporting me in this awareness.
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 NIV
"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 NIV
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 NIV
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:2-5 NIV
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James 3:17 NIV
Now what have I learned? I don't know if this was the purpose, but this is what I am learning from this. I am capable of being the mother that my children need. I am capable of managing their needs. How? I have a husband who is my partner in this journey. I'm nearly positive, that no one can say that they have had the same journey and experiences as I have. The only one who can come close to saying that, is my husband. But, we still have had separate experiences through this. He isn't home during the weekdays to help me manage this. But, he supports me. And the times that I have needed him to make some arrangements to work from home, so that I could manage an appointment that I couldn't take everyone to, he did that. He doesn't see everything that happens during the days, but he tries to listen to me and understand my days. He tries to help me sort out things that I'm having difficulty with. Why? Because that is what our relationship is suppose to do. We are a team. And I think, that considering what the past year and a half have been like, we've done a pretty good job on our own. We've proven to ourselves that we can do what we need to do for our family. Our priorities may not be the same as other people's, but this is our family and we are taking care of what we feel are the top priorities for this family.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have a few people who've been Grace to me during this time. They have listened to me without telling me what to do. They've given me a chance to think it through and sort it out, as to what is the right thing for me to do for my family. They've been a shoulder to lean on. They've walked next to me and encouraged me in my journey.
I feel like God allowed a lot of things that I couldn't control, to happen so that He could show me His faithfulness, that He would supply my and my family's needs. I learned that when I humble myself before him, drop the prideful feeling that I can do it on my own strength, He took care of the details. He supplied what we needed, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. It felt like we were living through storm after storm or on a rollercoaster ride that kept looping itself without stopping. This particular ride is slowing down, but as odd as it may sound, I am grateful for it. Because I learned much from it and have grown from it. I'm not the same person I was two years ago. I am in a better place.
Some things that had once been a priority needed to drop further down the "list" temporarily, while we dealt with the things that needed to be a higher priority. Now that life is getting back to some sort of normalcy, the priorities are being re-evaluated. I learned that life operated more smoothly when we had daily routines in place. We had gotten away from them and I am in the process of working on a new routine or daily schedule. It is possible that that may become a future post. Oldest may still need to see the specialists for a few more years, but we should be able to handle that, especially as I work on maintaining better rountines and a better calendar.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this part, quoting scripture isn't the purpose of this blog. But, if I feel led to in the future, and if it has any relation to the subject of the post, I probably will at that point. I still need to finish re-reading Mockingjay so that I can post my thoughts on that book.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I See the Light at the End of the Tunnel - So to Speak - Part 1 of 2
This week marks the proposed end of 9 months of this round of physical therapy for my oldest. It has been a long road. I had mentioned in a previous post, that my daughter had been diagnosed with Ehler's Danlos Syndrome and I'm going to take a little time now to talk a bit about our journey in learning about EDS, in the midst of life, what we've done so far and what I've learned about raising a larger than average family when there are things beyond your control. I've broken this up into two parts because it is long. The first part is a chronological account of the craziest year we have ever had. I promise, although it is long, it does come to an end. The second part, that will be posted in the next day or so, is about what I have learned.
My dear girl had grown 10 inches in a matter of 2 years. Her knees would hyper flex. So our pediatrician, whom we'd been seeing for the past 13 years, at that point (about 2 years ago now), wanted her checked for Marfan's Syndrome. After a little bit of time passed and her knee had gone out from under her a few times, I finally got the initial appointment scheduled with the specialist he wanted her to see. She had already had a bit of physical therapy at this point. Her first appointment with the specialist was scheduled mid-January of 2011. That year held a lot of unusual medical stuff for this family.
New Year's Day came and we ended up in the ER with our then 6-year-old daughter because she was vomiting every hour, on the hour, and it wasn't stopping or responding to oral anti-nausea medication at home. When we got to the ER, their oral anti-nausea medication didn't stop it either. They had to put her on IV anti-nausea medication. Over the next few weeks, this bug hit all but 2 of us. It hit me on the day we were scheduled to see the specialist. Fortunately, Steve had scheduled to work at home that day, so that I could take her to the appointment. I was 6 months pregnant with our 6th child. I ended up sick in bed that day, while he took her to the appointment.
As soon as the doctor saw him, standing 6 ft, 5 in., tall, she remembered why she was seeing our daughter that day. Our daughter showed orthopedic signs of Marfan's, but we needed to see a few more specialists to reach a diagnosis. So, in February, I took her to see the pediatric cardiologist. They did an EEG and an EKG. Everything looked normal, thank goodness! But she is suppose to have these tests every year now, until she turns 21. With both Marfan's and EDS, there is a possibility of an enlarged aorta, which can be very serious. They are both connective tissue disorders. So far, all is good, in that respect.
We also lost our washing machine in January and ended up replacing both the washer and dryer.
March came and we were rear-ended in our 15-passenger van, right in front of our church. We were pretty well protected in our van, although it did have damage and needed repairs. The poor lady who hit us had a mess, for what was left of her Jeep. I don't know if it was totalled or not. She was taken away in an ambulance. The children faired okay and went in to our church. After things were settled, Steve took me to the ER to be checked, because I was 8 months pregnant. After they checked me out in the ER, I was sent up to maternity for observation. Everything looked good, the baby wasn't in distress, so we were sent home that afternoon. A good friend from our church took our children home from church for us and stayed with them until we got home. Two of the girls were already scheduled for x-rays the next day, one of them being oldest. She needed x-rays to determine if she had scoliosis, as part of the Marfan's work-up.
Two weeks later, we were back at the hospital with me having some problems that needed monitoring. There is no way to really know if it was related to the accident or not. I was monitored for about two days and then the decision was made to deliver the baby. Our beautiful baby girl had to go to the NICU because her sugars were out of balance. She stayed there until we were both discharged. I spent my days going back and forth between my room and the NICU. The other children didn't get to hold her until we were home. There was a sibling day, but for the siblings to be able to come into the NICU, their doctor needs to provide proof of vaccination. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that, because our dear pediatrician was hospitalized as well. So they looked at her through the window near her bed. It was so hard for them! We went home after I had been there for seven days. I was restricted from driving for three more weeks. I also needed to find a pediatrician that was willing to see the baby while we waited for ours to get well.
After the home nurse checked the baby out and then me, she saw my legs were still swollen, and she started looking for signs of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). She felt that I was okay. But a few days later, when I still had swelling, and I had been dreaming about a blood clot getting into my lungs, I called my OB and he suggested that I go ahead in to the ER and get it checked out to be sure. So my friend came and picked the baby and I up, since I couldn't drive yet. Ultrasound showed no blood clots and I just concentrated on increasing my water intake. Soon enough, the swelling went down. But, peace of mind with the possibility of something like DVT, is priceless! Easter came and went. Thankfully, I had finished the preparations for Easter before I was in the hospital!
My dear daughter hadn't had much trouble from her knee and had gotten a brace for support, so that she could continue clogging. So, she was able to take part in the Garden State Stomp workshop. The day of the workshop was the day that I could start driving again! So I took the baby and the three oldest to the workshop. That was the beginning of May.
I also ended up taking the baby to see a pediatric cardiologist at another location, who turned out to be the same one that saw oldest in February. The pediatrician that had been seeing baby, heard a rapid heartbeat and wanted her heart checked. She had an EEG and an EKG. She did not tolerate it well, but everything checked out fine.
In June, we had a family vacation. The day that we were to come home, our then 5-year-old woke up vomiting. Somehow, over the course of the year, this child was sick to her stomach 4 or 5 times! And the dear child that started the year in the ER, went to the ER again, this time for a fractured arm. In July, just before the rounds of camps started she was given the okay to participate in the activities at camp, because her arm had healed. However, when she got home from camp, she went to the ER again. In all the busyness, we hadn't stayed on top of the care of her new ear piercings and one of them ended up inside her earlobe. They cut the earring out of her earlobe. Thankfully, it healed well. This time, we are waiting until the fall, when camps are done, to get that ear re-pierced.
Also in June, oldest saw an opthamologist as part of the Marfan's work-up. All the doctor found was that she needed glasses for near-sightedness. So far, not enough body systems showing signs of Marfan's!!! However, our pediatrician's health wasn't improving and he had to close his office.
In July, I had some major dental work done. I learned that pregnancy and nursing requires increased calcium. The body provides for the baby first. So, if you aren't getting enough for both of you, your teeth will suffer for it. Then I ended up in the ER again, this time for a ruptured ear drum. Then, oldest saw genetics. We got the diagnosis of EDS and recommendations of what physical activities are safe and what are not. Then she went off to camp with a note of what she couldn't physically do there.
The next week was the beginning of August. We had another family vacation, at camp. On our way there, dear child who started the year in the ER was once again sick to her stomach. We had fortunately packed stuff just in case. She felt better the next day. But then, a couple days later, she was back in the ER again (because there was no local doctor's office that we could take her to), this time for pink eye. I think it was bacterial and not viral, because she seemed to have gotten something in her eye while playing on the playground. Once she was cleared of the pink eye, the next youngest got a black eye, from walking in front of someone swinging, I think. We were so fortunate that one of our neighbors was a nurse!
After we settled back in at home, we had that earthquake that was centered in Virginia. We didn't have much to deal with, as far as aftermath, but it was a little unnerving to feel the house shake! That same week we had Hurricane Irene to deal with. I spent time gearing up for it. We spent that night in tornado watch, the three oldest of us taking turns on watch with a crank radio. We had spent some of the time in the basement and some of the time in our family room and center hall. We were so glad when it was all over. And then, we discovered that one of the girls had come home from one of the camps with lice. I spent the next two weeks treating all but the baby's head, washing bedding, sterilizing and vacuuming. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. It was not fun. This year, we are checking heads when they get home from camp.
In September, oldest was at a friend's house and the mom, who happened to be in medical school, could hear her wheezing from clear across the room. My friend listened to my daughter with her stethoscope and said she was indeed wheezing and may have asthma. So, it was off to our allergist the next week. Confirmed mild asthma. She had been telling us for a while that she thought she had it, but we never heard her wheezing in our presence. We've had experience in hearing wheezing, because her younger sister has a life threatening allergy to tree nuts and has a tendency to wheeze with her bad colds. At some point in the fall (I can't remember when it was), one of the other girls fell outside and hurt herself and thought she had broken a bone. Steve took her to the ER that night after meeting us at 4-H. Turned out to be just a sprain, thank goodness!
In October, oldest's knee went out again and she was on crutches. Steve took her to the ER after he got home from church board meeting. We went back to the specialist. More physical therapy for 3 times a week, for 12 weeks in an attempt to make the knee stronger, before considering surgery as a last resort. Let me just say, physical therapy is different than being involved in sports. You make accommodations in your schedule for sports, because it's something that you plan for ahead of time. Physical therapy is out of need, not desire, and you can't exactly plan for it. It takes time out of your normal routines too.
In November, just before Thanksgiving, we lost my grandmother, the last of our living grandparents. The weekend after Thanksgiving, oldest's good knee went out from under her. We went back to the specialist that week. What we've learned during the year, is that her kneecaps ride high and with her EDS, her kneecap would sublux, or slide out of position and then slide back in. And it would happen at random times. No way to control it, really. So the doctor said that since the good knee was starting to compensate for the bad knee, we needed to do something to give her stable legs. We needed to schedule the surgery for the bad knee. We scheduled the surgery for February 2012, after giving her a chance to get some social activities in.
In December, we needed to go back to the allergist for follow up for oldest, as well as the one with the nut allergy. And one of the other girls was diagnosed with very mild asthma, not as bad as oldest's. Plus, I needed to find and settle with a new pediatrician. I got the five older children set up with a pediatrician office we wanted to check out and found out that our beloved pediatrician of 14 years, had passed away in November.
We also lost our microwave in December and ended up replacing it.
January of 2012 was better than January of 2011. Oldest had her big social activity before her surgery in February. Then we spent the next two weeks at home with her recovering, before going back to see the doctor for follow up. Then we started more physical therapy and focused on her recovery, per the doctor's instructions. Since January of 2011, it felt like we were a living, breathing science textbook. Through out all of this that I have shared with you, we also had the regular colds (some needing nebulizer treatments), allergies, and such that are normally encountered in a year, with Steve taking care of his own health, but, we have never ever, had a block of time like this, ever before. We had to do some creative out of the box learning mixed in with our regular style of schooling.
Oldest is doing much, much better now and has one physical therapy appointment left, before she has a mini summer vacation. She is back to dancing now and is grateful to have a knee that is more stable. And now, we are able to schedule other regular health maintenance medical appointments that we didn't have time for.
You can breathe now, because I'm done with this part. Ha, ha, ha! Next, I'll explain why I took so much of your time to tell you about the craziest year we've ever had.
My dear girl had grown 10 inches in a matter of 2 years. Her knees would hyper flex. So our pediatrician, whom we'd been seeing for the past 13 years, at that point (about 2 years ago now), wanted her checked for Marfan's Syndrome. After a little bit of time passed and her knee had gone out from under her a few times, I finally got the initial appointment scheduled with the specialist he wanted her to see. She had already had a bit of physical therapy at this point. Her first appointment with the specialist was scheduled mid-January of 2011. That year held a lot of unusual medical stuff for this family.
New Year's Day came and we ended up in the ER with our then 6-year-old daughter because she was vomiting every hour, on the hour, and it wasn't stopping or responding to oral anti-nausea medication at home. When we got to the ER, their oral anti-nausea medication didn't stop it either. They had to put her on IV anti-nausea medication. Over the next few weeks, this bug hit all but 2 of us. It hit me on the day we were scheduled to see the specialist. Fortunately, Steve had scheduled to work at home that day, so that I could take her to the appointment. I was 6 months pregnant with our 6th child. I ended up sick in bed that day, while he took her to the appointment.
As soon as the doctor saw him, standing 6 ft, 5 in., tall, she remembered why she was seeing our daughter that day. Our daughter showed orthopedic signs of Marfan's, but we needed to see a few more specialists to reach a diagnosis. So, in February, I took her to see the pediatric cardiologist. They did an EEG and an EKG. Everything looked normal, thank goodness! But she is suppose to have these tests every year now, until she turns 21. With both Marfan's and EDS, there is a possibility of an enlarged aorta, which can be very serious. They are both connective tissue disorders. So far, all is good, in that respect.
We also lost our washing machine in January and ended up replacing both the washer and dryer.
March came and we were rear-ended in our 15-passenger van, right in front of our church. We were pretty well protected in our van, although it did have damage and needed repairs. The poor lady who hit us had a mess, for what was left of her Jeep. I don't know if it was totalled or not. She was taken away in an ambulance. The children faired okay and went in to our church. After things were settled, Steve took me to the ER to be checked, because I was 8 months pregnant. After they checked me out in the ER, I was sent up to maternity for observation. Everything looked good, the baby wasn't in distress, so we were sent home that afternoon. A good friend from our church took our children home from church for us and stayed with them until we got home. Two of the girls were already scheduled for x-rays the next day, one of them being oldest. She needed x-rays to determine if she had scoliosis, as part of the Marfan's work-up.
Two weeks later, we were back at the hospital with me having some problems that needed monitoring. There is no way to really know if it was related to the accident or not. I was monitored for about two days and then the decision was made to deliver the baby. Our beautiful baby girl had to go to the NICU because her sugars were out of balance. She stayed there until we were both discharged. I spent my days going back and forth between my room and the NICU. The other children didn't get to hold her until we were home. There was a sibling day, but for the siblings to be able to come into the NICU, their doctor needs to provide proof of vaccination. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that, because our dear pediatrician was hospitalized as well. So they looked at her through the window near her bed. It was so hard for them! We went home after I had been there for seven days. I was restricted from driving for three more weeks. I also needed to find a pediatrician that was willing to see the baby while we waited for ours to get well.
After the home nurse checked the baby out and then me, she saw my legs were still swollen, and she started looking for signs of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). She felt that I was okay. But a few days later, when I still had swelling, and I had been dreaming about a blood clot getting into my lungs, I called my OB and he suggested that I go ahead in to the ER and get it checked out to be sure. So my friend came and picked the baby and I up, since I couldn't drive yet. Ultrasound showed no blood clots and I just concentrated on increasing my water intake. Soon enough, the swelling went down. But, peace of mind with the possibility of something like DVT, is priceless! Easter came and went. Thankfully, I had finished the preparations for Easter before I was in the hospital!
My dear daughter hadn't had much trouble from her knee and had gotten a brace for support, so that she could continue clogging. So, she was able to take part in the Garden State Stomp workshop. The day of the workshop was the day that I could start driving again! So I took the baby and the three oldest to the workshop. That was the beginning of May.
I also ended up taking the baby to see a pediatric cardiologist at another location, who turned out to be the same one that saw oldest in February. The pediatrician that had been seeing baby, heard a rapid heartbeat and wanted her heart checked. She had an EEG and an EKG. She did not tolerate it well, but everything checked out fine.
In June, we had a family vacation. The day that we were to come home, our then 5-year-old woke up vomiting. Somehow, over the course of the year, this child was sick to her stomach 4 or 5 times! And the dear child that started the year in the ER, went to the ER again, this time for a fractured arm. In July, just before the rounds of camps started she was given the okay to participate in the activities at camp, because her arm had healed. However, when she got home from camp, she went to the ER again. In all the busyness, we hadn't stayed on top of the care of her new ear piercings and one of them ended up inside her earlobe. They cut the earring out of her earlobe. Thankfully, it healed well. This time, we are waiting until the fall, when camps are done, to get that ear re-pierced.
Also in June, oldest saw an opthamologist as part of the Marfan's work-up. All the doctor found was that she needed glasses for near-sightedness. So far, not enough body systems showing signs of Marfan's!!! However, our pediatrician's health wasn't improving and he had to close his office.
In July, I had some major dental work done. I learned that pregnancy and nursing requires increased calcium. The body provides for the baby first. So, if you aren't getting enough for both of you, your teeth will suffer for it. Then I ended up in the ER again, this time for a ruptured ear drum. Then, oldest saw genetics. We got the diagnosis of EDS and recommendations of what physical activities are safe and what are not. Then she went off to camp with a note of what she couldn't physically do there.
The next week was the beginning of August. We had another family vacation, at camp. On our way there, dear child who started the year in the ER was once again sick to her stomach. We had fortunately packed stuff just in case. She felt better the next day. But then, a couple days later, she was back in the ER again (because there was no local doctor's office that we could take her to), this time for pink eye. I think it was bacterial and not viral, because she seemed to have gotten something in her eye while playing on the playground. Once she was cleared of the pink eye, the next youngest got a black eye, from walking in front of someone swinging, I think. We were so fortunate that one of our neighbors was a nurse!
After we settled back in at home, we had that earthquake that was centered in Virginia. We didn't have much to deal with, as far as aftermath, but it was a little unnerving to feel the house shake! That same week we had Hurricane Irene to deal with. I spent time gearing up for it. We spent that night in tornado watch, the three oldest of us taking turns on watch with a crank radio. We had spent some of the time in the basement and some of the time in our family room and center hall. We were so glad when it was all over. And then, we discovered that one of the girls had come home from one of the camps with lice. I spent the next two weeks treating all but the baby's head, washing bedding, sterilizing and vacuuming. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. It was not fun. This year, we are checking heads when they get home from camp.
In September, oldest was at a friend's house and the mom, who happened to be in medical school, could hear her wheezing from clear across the room. My friend listened to my daughter with her stethoscope and said she was indeed wheezing and may have asthma. So, it was off to our allergist the next week. Confirmed mild asthma. She had been telling us for a while that she thought she had it, but we never heard her wheezing in our presence. We've had experience in hearing wheezing, because her younger sister has a life threatening allergy to tree nuts and has a tendency to wheeze with her bad colds. At some point in the fall (I can't remember when it was), one of the other girls fell outside and hurt herself and thought she had broken a bone. Steve took her to the ER that night after meeting us at 4-H. Turned out to be just a sprain, thank goodness!
In October, oldest's knee went out again and she was on crutches. Steve took her to the ER after he got home from church board meeting. We went back to the specialist. More physical therapy for 3 times a week, for 12 weeks in an attempt to make the knee stronger, before considering surgery as a last resort. Let me just say, physical therapy is different than being involved in sports. You make accommodations in your schedule for sports, because it's something that you plan for ahead of time. Physical therapy is out of need, not desire, and you can't exactly plan for it. It takes time out of your normal routines too.
In November, just before Thanksgiving, we lost my grandmother, the last of our living grandparents. The weekend after Thanksgiving, oldest's good knee went out from under her. We went back to the specialist that week. What we've learned during the year, is that her kneecaps ride high and with her EDS, her kneecap would sublux, or slide out of position and then slide back in. And it would happen at random times. No way to control it, really. So the doctor said that since the good knee was starting to compensate for the bad knee, we needed to do something to give her stable legs. We needed to schedule the surgery for the bad knee. We scheduled the surgery for February 2012, after giving her a chance to get some social activities in.
In December, we needed to go back to the allergist for follow up for oldest, as well as the one with the nut allergy. And one of the other girls was diagnosed with very mild asthma, not as bad as oldest's. Plus, I needed to find and settle with a new pediatrician. I got the five older children set up with a pediatrician office we wanted to check out and found out that our beloved pediatrician of 14 years, had passed away in November.
We also lost our microwave in December and ended up replacing it.
January of 2012 was better than January of 2011. Oldest had her big social activity before her surgery in February. Then we spent the next two weeks at home with her recovering, before going back to see the doctor for follow up. Then we started more physical therapy and focused on her recovery, per the doctor's instructions. Since January of 2011, it felt like we were a living, breathing science textbook. Through out all of this that I have shared with you, we also had the regular colds (some needing nebulizer treatments), allergies, and such that are normally encountered in a year, with Steve taking care of his own health, but, we have never ever, had a block of time like this, ever before. We had to do some creative out of the box learning mixed in with our regular style of schooling.
Oldest is doing much, much better now and has one physical therapy appointment left, before she has a mini summer vacation. She is back to dancing now and is grateful to have a knee that is more stable. And now, we are able to schedule other regular health maintenance medical appointments that we didn't have time for.
You can breathe now, because I'm done with this part. Ha, ha, ha! Next, I'll explain why I took so much of your time to tell you about the craziest year we've ever had.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Artistic Pursuits - Our First Official Lesson in Using Pastels
Have you ever felt intimidated by beautiful works of art and wondered how in the world the artist did it? I have. I had watched a few artists create beautiful pictures with colorful sticks, not knowing what they were called, but they sure were pretty colors, especially when the black light showed a beautiful picture hidden within the picture. Only recently, did I realize that these colorful sticks were pastels. And the only reason I realized this, was because this wonderful website had a link to this wonderful website, that offers free online pastel tutorials and I have been trying a couple of the tutorials with my own children. After learning a couple of simple techniques, I realized that this was indeed what these talented artists did. Words cannot express how excited I am to be learning this art form! I will probably need to find more online tutorials or actually buy a book (if I can't find one from the library) for us to continue learning techniques, once we finish the lessons offered on the website. To be honest, I'm hoping that "Nana" has more lessons to share with her grandchildren and us.
Today we did the Path to the Beach lesson. I put little one in the highchair with paper and crayon, only for her to drop them to the floor and longingly watch us use our new and now very used pastels. She wants so badly to join in. I can see now, that we need to expand our supplies, because we are enjoying this venture. Even my 13-old-son, who has never been interested in coloring and finds it to be a chore, was easily convinced to give it a try. He's not entirely on board yet, but was drawn back to the table to watch his older sister give the lesson a try.
.jpg)
Today we did the Path to the Beach lesson. I put little one in the highchair with paper and crayon, only for her to drop them to the floor and longingly watch us use our new and now very used pastels. She wants so badly to join in. I can see now, that we need to expand our supplies, because we are enjoying this venture. Even my 13-old-son, who has never been interested in coloring and finds it to be a chore, was easily convinced to give it a try. He's not entirely on board yet, but was drawn back to the table to watch his older sister give the lesson a try.
.jpg)
10-year-old.
13-year-old, who doesn't like to color.
8-year-old.
6-year-old.
16-year-old.
And then mine. I don't consider myself to have much artistic ability at all, so if I can do it, anyone can give it a try.
I'm going to need to use the better camera for future posts. Here is the link to the tutorial we used for this lesson.
If you've never tried pastels before, give yourself a chance to try them sometime soon!
Monday, June 25, 2012
What Does Grace Look Like? (A Little Marshmallow Philosophy)
We have had the privilege to introduce friends and family to new food experiences here at our house. The short list is: grilled cheese sandwiches, taco salad, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pancakes, s'mores, and there have been more that I can't remember. Last night we fired up the fire pit for s'mores and invited friends of our two oldest children, who happen to also be brother and sister. The discussion got to how to make the perfect roasted marshmallow for the s'more. One of our girls had left with her grandparents the day before, so that left the other two younger girls explaining to their older sibling's friends how to roast the marshmallow, each of them insisting that their way was best. In an attempt to keep it from escalating into I'm right and you're wrong, I started to explain that there is no wrong way and no right way to roast a marshmallow (aside from putting the marshmallow on the pointed end of the stick and not the other end). Everyone has their own opinion of what makes a perfect roasted marshmallow and how to make it. Some people prefer a lightly toasted, golden brown exterior. Some people would rather have the end near the fire toasty and the other end not toasted. Some people prefer a small kiss of flame to blacken the marshmallow, while still others prefer a large kiss of flame to engulf and blacken the marshmallow. And then there are different ways of roasting. Keeping the marshmallow ever so gently rotating over hot coals, placing the marshmallow over the coals and turning every couple of seconds or sticking it right into a flame. And yet there could be even more ways of roasting. And none of them are right or wrong, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion of what is a good s'more, based on their own preference of taste and their experiences. By the time I finished explaining this, my son's 12-year-old buddy said, "Wow! Just a little bit of marshmallow philosophy there, huh?" To which I got a good chuckle and said, "yes, that could apply to many things in life!" He was the one that Steve had to point out the correct end of the stick to put the marshmallow on after putting it on the wrong end! (Snicker) Ha, ha, ha!
So what does this have to do with grace? I'll get to that, but first, what is grace? Well among the many definitions, my copy of Webster's New World Dictionary gives this definition: To bring honor to; dignify. So, what does dignify mean? A few pages over in the dictionary, it states: to give dignity to; make worthy of esteem; honor, exalt or ennoble. Dignity means: proper pride and self-respect. So then, to treat someone with grace means to bring dignity to them. Hmmm. So, what does this mean and what does this look like? Bear with me as I share my observations and reflections on this.
Life is a journey and we all have different experiences, which means we all have a different journey. We are all individuals. Just like those marshmallows, our experiences shape us and our thoughts and opinions. I don't think it is possible for anyone to have an identical journey to someone else. Not even a spouse or children. Think about it. We all have different childhoods. We all have different learning styles. We all relate to people in different ways. We may walk along through life together, but we are different people. We all have different preferences in how we do things or accomplish things.
There are people that think that they know better and freely give out "advice", whether it's wanted or not. It comes from strangers as well as people you know. Some people tell you how to raise your children. Some people tell you where to send your children to school or how to homeschool (despite not having experienced homeschooling themselves). Some people tell you how or what to feed your children/family. Some people even tell you how to discipline your children. Some people discount your feelings. Some people tell you what activities your children should be in. There are so many different scenarios. Many of these people don't see you in your day-to-day life, but feel very comfortable doling out their suggestions of how you should do it. And some of this could have been meant for good, to be helpful, but ends up being hurtful.
And then there are people who come alongside you and say that yes, your feelings are valid. Yes, this journey of yours has been challenging and I don't know how you've managed. I'm grateful to be on this journey with you, because watching how you've chosen to handle things has been a blessing to me. Sometimes there are no simple answers. These people don't so much tell you what to do, but support you in trying to figure out what is a good thing or the right thing for your particular situation. And that, is what I think grace is.
Grace brings dignity. Grace acknowledges that every one's situation is different. Grace acknowledges that there just may be a different way to handle a situation, just as well. Grace allows a person to make their own decisions based on their situation or circumstance. Grace recognizes that sometimes some things need to take a higher priority than others for a while. Grace allows a person's God given free will. Grace accepts a person for who they are and what their journey is teaching them. Grace allows a person to discover their journey and become who they were created to become. Grace brings dignity, a proper pride and self-respect. Grace recognizes a person as an individual who is worthy. What about you? What does grace mean to you?
Back to the marshmallows, did I have a perfect s'more that night? Yes, I believe I did. My second and last s'more marshmallow was toasted perfectly for me that night. It was nicely golden brown on the outside, eased off the stick and was a nice element of gooeyness, that when it was pressed between the chocolate and graham cracker, cracked just so to let the goo ooze in just the right way to have a perfect combination of crunch and goo.
So what does this have to do with grace? I'll get to that, but first, what is grace? Well among the many definitions, my copy of Webster's New World Dictionary gives this definition: To bring honor to; dignify. So, what does dignify mean? A few pages over in the dictionary, it states: to give dignity to; make worthy of esteem; honor, exalt or ennoble. Dignity means: proper pride and self-respect. So then, to treat someone with grace means to bring dignity to them. Hmmm. So, what does this mean and what does this look like? Bear with me as I share my observations and reflections on this.
Life is a journey and we all have different experiences, which means we all have a different journey. We are all individuals. Just like those marshmallows, our experiences shape us and our thoughts and opinions. I don't think it is possible for anyone to have an identical journey to someone else. Not even a spouse or children. Think about it. We all have different childhoods. We all have different learning styles. We all relate to people in different ways. We may walk along through life together, but we are different people. We all have different preferences in how we do things or accomplish things.
There are people that think that they know better and freely give out "advice", whether it's wanted or not. It comes from strangers as well as people you know. Some people tell you how to raise your children. Some people tell you where to send your children to school or how to homeschool (despite not having experienced homeschooling themselves). Some people tell you how or what to feed your children/family. Some people even tell you how to discipline your children. Some people discount your feelings. Some people tell you what activities your children should be in. There are so many different scenarios. Many of these people don't see you in your day-to-day life, but feel very comfortable doling out their suggestions of how you should do it. And some of this could have been meant for good, to be helpful, but ends up being hurtful.
And then there are people who come alongside you and say that yes, your feelings are valid. Yes, this journey of yours has been challenging and I don't know how you've managed. I'm grateful to be on this journey with you, because watching how you've chosen to handle things has been a blessing to me. Sometimes there are no simple answers. These people don't so much tell you what to do, but support you in trying to figure out what is a good thing or the right thing for your particular situation. And that, is what I think grace is.
Grace brings dignity. Grace acknowledges that every one's situation is different. Grace acknowledges that there just may be a different way to handle a situation, just as well. Grace allows a person to make their own decisions based on their situation or circumstance. Grace recognizes that sometimes some things need to take a higher priority than others for a while. Grace allows a person's God given free will. Grace accepts a person for who they are and what their journey is teaching them. Grace allows a person to discover their journey and become who they were created to become. Grace brings dignity, a proper pride and self-respect. Grace recognizes a person as an individual who is worthy. What about you? What does grace mean to you?
Back to the marshmallows, did I have a perfect s'more that night? Yes, I believe I did. My second and last s'more marshmallow was toasted perfectly for me that night. It was nicely golden brown on the outside, eased off the stick and was a nice element of gooeyness, that when it was pressed between the chocolate and graham cracker, cracked just so to let the goo ooze in just the right way to have a perfect combination of crunch and goo.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Father's Day Ideas
Life has been a little busy around here lately. I did finish reading Mockingjay from The Hunger Games series, but I want to re-read it before posting my thoughts, because life was very busy while I was reading the book and I need to refresh my memory.
That brings me to the topic of today's post. Father's Day. There are three days left, including today. Have you thought about it yet? If you need some ideas or just inspiration, there were some good ones on the news this morning.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Hope this helps inspire you to treat the fathers in your life this weekend!
That brings me to the topic of today's post. Father's Day. There are three days left, including today. Have you thought about it yet? If you need some ideas or just inspiration, there were some good ones on the news this morning.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Dark Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Chips and White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
We had our last spring birthday celebration around here recently. My son requested dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate chips and white chocolate frosting. After some thought, I decided to add some melted white chocolate to buttercream frosting. It actually worked pretty well! After baking the cake, which was simply a dark chocolate cake mix with some dark chocolate chips added in, I made my favorite buttercream frosting recipe. Then I melted 6 oz. of Baker's White Chocolate. I added the white chocolate gradually, since it was much warmer than the frosting, so as to sort of temper it. The frosting really tasted good. I do believe I'll do this again. I'm sure that this could be a way to make some chocolate buttercream frosting as well. Writing on cake isn't the easiest thing to do. Maybe I'll have it down before they are all grown up.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Once Upon a Time, There Was Some Order in the House...Then I Had Toddlers
Once Upon a Time, I had a house that had some semblance of order. Then I had babies that grew into toddlers. It has been a couple of years since I've had a toddler in the house. It is official that I have one again. You know what I mean. Before they become mobile, books tend to stay on the bookshelves. Things don't get dumped as much. Clean laundry can get folded without going into a mouth or being dropped on the floor that still needs to get mopped.
Well, now that my precious baby girl is walking and running and climbing all over the place, my cookbooks are almost daily unshelved and on the floor. My clean laundry makes it to her mouth or the floor, while I'm trying to fold it. School papers are fascinating to her. Books are fascinating to her. She is curious and learning about her world. It's a good thing to be curious. That's how we learn. It's also how we learn what is okay and what is not okay. It is not okay to stick her hands into my cupboard and grab the box of Jello and rip it open. It is not okay to play with chemicals. It is not okay to rip school papers. It is not okay to open the dishwasher door. It is not okay to pull down on the oven door. It is okay to be curious about books, I'd just rather them not be on the floor... daily...multiple times. It is okay to try to help mommy fold laundry, when she is bigger and not putting it in her mouth, or on the floor. Her much older siblings would appreciate her not pulling their bookmarks out of the books they are reading.
I remind myself that she is learning boundaries and that it is building a foundation for her. She won't be doing this forever. Her curiosity is a learning tool. Today she found a bottle filled with colored sand and a loose top. She had fun learning about it, before she was caught. In the past I've had nearly a full bag of flour on the floor by another curious toddler. One toddler knew how to unlock the deadbolt on the front door and open it and run out, down the sidewalk, around the neighborhood, in her diaper. She was between 1 and 2 years of age and I was pregnant. My oldest had to chase her down for me and bring her back to the house, while she giggled about her escape. We changed the lock on the door after a few times of this happening. These are times to remember, because they only last for a short time in their lives. The day will come that I will look back and smile at the memories.
Here's a picture of little one's adventure today.
This child cracks me up. She makes a little bit of noise and then shushes herself, because we are trying to teach her to not be loud. Silly girl!
Well, now that my precious baby girl is walking and running and climbing all over the place, my cookbooks are almost daily unshelved and on the floor. My clean laundry makes it to her mouth or the floor, while I'm trying to fold it. School papers are fascinating to her. Books are fascinating to her. She is curious and learning about her world. It's a good thing to be curious. That's how we learn. It's also how we learn what is okay and what is not okay. It is not okay to stick her hands into my cupboard and grab the box of Jello and rip it open. It is not okay to play with chemicals. It is not okay to rip school papers. It is not okay to open the dishwasher door. It is not okay to pull down on the oven door. It is okay to be curious about books, I'd just rather them not be on the floor... daily...multiple times. It is okay to try to help mommy fold laundry, when she is bigger and not putting it in her mouth, or on the floor. Her much older siblings would appreciate her not pulling their bookmarks out of the books they are reading.
I remind myself that she is learning boundaries and that it is building a foundation for her. She won't be doing this forever. Her curiosity is a learning tool. Today she found a bottle filled with colored sand and a loose top. She had fun learning about it, before she was caught. In the past I've had nearly a full bag of flour on the floor by another curious toddler. One toddler knew how to unlock the deadbolt on the front door and open it and run out, down the sidewalk, around the neighborhood, in her diaper. She was between 1 and 2 years of age and I was pregnant. My oldest had to chase her down for me and bring her back to the house, while she giggled about her escape. We changed the lock on the door after a few times of this happening. These are times to remember, because they only last for a short time in their lives. The day will come that I will look back and smile at the memories.
Here's a picture of little one's adventure today.
This child cracks me up. She makes a little bit of noise and then shushes herself, because we are trying to teach her to not be loud. Silly girl!
What Does Your Posture Say About You?
Have you ever paid attention to your posture? I don't mean in regards to your skeletal or muscular health, though that's important too. Have you ever noticed your mood or energy level when you've noticed your posture? Apparently your posture says a lot about how you feel about yourself. Do you feel confident? Do you feel anxious? There was a study done about this and was mentioned on the news this morning.
I don't know about you, but now I have another reason to pay attention to my posture. I think I just may start some of those exercises.
I don't know about you, but now I have another reason to pay attention to my posture. I think I just may start some of those exercises.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Catching Fire - Book 2 of The Hunger Games, My Thoughts
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
If you haven't read the book yet or don't like to have hints of what is to come, please do not read!
I can't believe how intense this series is and how deep it is. Poor Katniss goes through so much at such a young age. Frankly, all of the characters have so much to learn to deal with and live through. Just when I thought that Katniss and Peeta were safe, I realized that President Snow is twisted, maniacal and sadistic.
I wondered what was going to happen when President Snow visited Katniss's house before the tour of the districts with Peeta. I wondered if he was really going to let her off the hook if she was able to "convince" him of her love for Peeta. But, at the same time, I knew something had to happen since there was another book to read and it couldn't just be about a happy ending for a whole book. Katniss's description of him smelling like blood just leaves a picture of someone sick to the very core of his being.
I hate that the Peacemakers were replaced in District 12. I hate that Darius was turned into an Avox. That twisted mind putting him on the 12th floor to get to Katniss! President Snow has a mental knife that he just twists and twists after stabbing in the heart! I'm convinced that he wrote the card for the Third Quarter Quell reaping and that it wasn't written years ago. I wonder what the previous president was like and how President Snow got into his position.
I love what the mockingjay stands for! I love that the rebels have been underground and planning a revolt for a long time. I love that District 13 is becoming an ally to the rebels! Seeing the camaraderie between the Victors before going into the arena was encouraging. It had me thinking that maybe they wouldn't fight each other in the arena. But, then I realized, that if they didn't fight, the gamemakers would kill them off. What kind of a stand would that make? I wanted to hate Finnick and Johanna, but they turned out to be honorable people.
As I see it, there is a lot of build up in this book. It stops at a point that you just don't want to stop! I wanted to keep reading when I got to the end and couldn't believe that it stopped where it did. But then again, that's the point of a series, isn't it? I couldn't continue because I needed to be responsible and take care of a few details of my daily life. I am anxious to start up again tonight. I've had friends who've told me they read until 2 am at times. I believe it, because I actually was reading till 1 am one night. But because I kept dosing off and refusing to put it down until I couldn't hold my kindle up anymore, I had to re-read two pages the next day. I'm not sure what exactly Mockingjay holds, but it's got to be intense, considering that District 12 no longer exists.
If you haven't read the book yet or don't like to have hints of what is to come, please do not read!
I can't believe how intense this series is and how deep it is. Poor Katniss goes through so much at such a young age. Frankly, all of the characters have so much to learn to deal with and live through. Just when I thought that Katniss and Peeta were safe, I realized that President Snow is twisted, maniacal and sadistic.
I wondered what was going to happen when President Snow visited Katniss's house before the tour of the districts with Peeta. I wondered if he was really going to let her off the hook if she was able to "convince" him of her love for Peeta. But, at the same time, I knew something had to happen since there was another book to read and it couldn't just be about a happy ending for a whole book. Katniss's description of him smelling like blood just leaves a picture of someone sick to the very core of his being.
I hate that the Peacemakers were replaced in District 12. I hate that Darius was turned into an Avox. That twisted mind putting him on the 12th floor to get to Katniss! President Snow has a mental knife that he just twists and twists after stabbing in the heart! I'm convinced that he wrote the card for the Third Quarter Quell reaping and that it wasn't written years ago. I wonder what the previous president was like and how President Snow got into his position.
I love what the mockingjay stands for! I love that the rebels have been underground and planning a revolt for a long time. I love that District 13 is becoming an ally to the rebels! Seeing the camaraderie between the Victors before going into the arena was encouraging. It had me thinking that maybe they wouldn't fight each other in the arena. But, then I realized, that if they didn't fight, the gamemakers would kill them off. What kind of a stand would that make? I wanted to hate Finnick and Johanna, but they turned out to be honorable people.
As I see it, there is a lot of build up in this book. It stops at a point that you just don't want to stop! I wanted to keep reading when I got to the end and couldn't believe that it stopped where it did. But then again, that's the point of a series, isn't it? I couldn't continue because I needed to be responsible and take care of a few details of my daily life. I am anxious to start up again tonight. I've had friends who've told me they read until 2 am at times. I believe it, because I actually was reading till 1 am one night. But because I kept dosing off and refusing to put it down until I couldn't hold my kindle up anymore, I had to re-read two pages the next day. I'm not sure what exactly Mockingjay holds, but it's got to be intense, considering that District 12 no longer exists.
Friday, May 4, 2012
A Spoonful of Sugar Really Helps?
Home Remedies are becoming a popular way to take care of common everyday issues. Apparently a teaspoon of sugar triggers a response from the body that stops hiccups. Hmm.
There was a segment on the news this morning that stated this. You can watch it here.
So I think the next time I hear one of the kids complaining that they have the hiccups and they won't go away, I'll be singing "just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, medicine go down, medicine go down. Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!" And see if maybe, just maybe, it works.
There was a segment on the news this morning that stated this. You can watch it here.
So I think the next time I hear one of the kids complaining that they have the hiccups and they won't go away, I'll be singing "just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, medicine go down, medicine go down. Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!" And see if maybe, just maybe, it works.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Sea Salt Caramel Hot Chocolate Microwave Brownie
"I'm having a bad, bad day! It's about time that I get my way! Steam rolling where ever I see, Huh! Despicable Me!" That song (from the movie Despicable Me) popped in my head as I was getting prepared to write this particular post. Today just seemed to be an insanely ridiculous day for me. We started a Unit Study on Germany this week. Under normal circumstances, I think it would have been a good thing. However, why did I chose to do this new experience during a very busy week? I don't know, maybe I'm insane. Maybe I just didn't think it through, what this week already held, but wanted to do the study, because I had been preparing for it, had books from the library and just wanted to get started. Start it we did, on Tuesday.
Let me explain. This week is sandwiched by 2 birthdays in our family. That makes it busy already. Plus, my oldest child was diagnosed with Ehler's Danlos Syndrome last summer - which will be a post all its own soon - which led to her need for reconstructive knee surgery in February and physical therapy 3 times a week for about 12 weeks following. Which means I am currently taking her to PT 3 times a week right now. That makes it a little bit busier. Plus, I went to a bridal shower this past Sunday, that please understand, I really, really, really wanted to go to and did and am glad that I did. And, tomorrow night the kids and I are going to do our very best to make it to the showing of Much Ado About Nothing, that our friend is in. Tonight is clogging practice for all but the baby and since my son made it through the tryouts for the big dance they will be performing at Garden State Stomp, he has practice a little bit longer tonight. Then, I decided that I wanted to make 1 gallon of yogurt this week instead of half a gallon, which means that this morning I was informed we were on our very last gallon of milk. And I needed printer ink for today's school needs and a standard sized stapler, because my mini stapler wasn't big enough for one of the things we made as part of the unit study. That just set the morning off on the wrong foot for me. I am in the process of getting us back into a daily schedule and boy am I glad about that!
So anyway, have you ever noticed that when one person is experiencing stress or frustration, it doesn't take long for those around them to be affected by it too? Yes, that means that this morning ended up being a bit frustrating for half of us. Fast forward to this afternoon, after we had made it through the bare minimum that I wanted us to accomplish today, we are having some sanity time. Oldest is upstairs reading. All but the baby has had an opportunity to burn some energy with the Wii Fit and Just Dance 3. Me? I needed to resort to some chocolate. But, the peanut butter cups just weren't cutting it and I didn't want to eat the whole bag. That wouldn't be good, would it? I sat down and took a look at Pinterest and struck gold! Peanut butter and chocolate are tops on my list, but they can't beat ooey gooey chocolate warmth, unless they are part of that ooey gooey chocolate warmth.
I found this recipe and remembered that I had bought some Sea Salt Caramel hot chocolate at Target recently. Salted caramel is right up there with peanut butter for me these days. Off to "work" I went making my brownie.
4 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons canola oil or melted butter
3 Tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Handful of chocolate chips
Inspired by Hot Chocolate Microwave Brownie by alli N' sons.
It was a little piece of heaven and worked wonders for me! I'm in a much better mood. Isn't it amazing how chocolate can do that?
Now, I totally intend on finishing the unit study, as well as doing more of the studies in this geography series. The kids have been learning a lot and we've enjoyed most of what we've done so far. I just need to ease up on myself and realize that we may not be able to complete it in a week, until my daughter has completely healed and recooperated from her surgery. We may need to break it up a bit. We will be doing the study on United Kingdom soon as well as the companion study for 2012 Summer Olympics.
Go ahead and make yourself one of these tonight. You know you want to!
Let me explain. This week is sandwiched by 2 birthdays in our family. That makes it busy already. Plus, my oldest child was diagnosed with Ehler's Danlos Syndrome last summer - which will be a post all its own soon - which led to her need for reconstructive knee surgery in February and physical therapy 3 times a week for about 12 weeks following. Which means I am currently taking her to PT 3 times a week right now. That makes it a little bit busier. Plus, I went to a bridal shower this past Sunday, that please understand, I really, really, really wanted to go to and did and am glad that I did. And, tomorrow night the kids and I are going to do our very best to make it to the showing of Much Ado About Nothing, that our friend is in. Tonight is clogging practice for all but the baby and since my son made it through the tryouts for the big dance they will be performing at Garden State Stomp, he has practice a little bit longer tonight. Then, I decided that I wanted to make 1 gallon of yogurt this week instead of half a gallon, which means that this morning I was informed we were on our very last gallon of milk. And I needed printer ink for today's school needs and a standard sized stapler, because my mini stapler wasn't big enough for one of the things we made as part of the unit study. That just set the morning off on the wrong foot for me. I am in the process of getting us back into a daily schedule and boy am I glad about that!
So anyway, have you ever noticed that when one person is experiencing stress or frustration, it doesn't take long for those around them to be affected by it too? Yes, that means that this morning ended up being a bit frustrating for half of us. Fast forward to this afternoon, after we had made it through the bare minimum that I wanted us to accomplish today, we are having some sanity time. Oldest is upstairs reading. All but the baby has had an opportunity to burn some energy with the Wii Fit and Just Dance 3. Me? I needed to resort to some chocolate. But, the peanut butter cups just weren't cutting it and I didn't want to eat the whole bag. That wouldn't be good, would it? I sat down and took a look at Pinterest and struck gold! Peanut butter and chocolate are tops on my list, but they can't beat ooey gooey chocolate warmth, unless they are part of that ooey gooey chocolate warmth.
I found this recipe and remembered that I had bought some Sea Salt Caramel hot chocolate at Target recently. Salted caramel is right up there with peanut butter for me these days. Off to "work" I went making my brownie.
Ingredients
6 Tablespoons Sea Salt Caramel Hot Chocolate mix4 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons canola oil or melted butter
3 Tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Handful of chocolate chips
Directions
Using a fork, mix the chocolate mix and flour in a mug or small bowl. Stir in the oil, water and vanilla until all of the ingredients are wet. Mix in the chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 60 seconds. The center should be molten. If the center is not cooked enough, continue to microwave for 10 more seconds at a time, not going beyond 30 seconds extra. Cool for a few minutes.Inspired by Hot Chocolate Microwave Brownie by alli N' sons.
It was a little piece of heaven and worked wonders for me! I'm in a much better mood. Isn't it amazing how chocolate can do that?
Now, I totally intend on finishing the unit study, as well as doing more of the studies in this geography series. The kids have been learning a lot and we've enjoyed most of what we've done so far. I just need to ease up on myself and realize that we may not be able to complete it in a week, until my daughter has completely healed and recooperated from her surgery. We may need to break it up a bit. We will be doing the study on United Kingdom soon as well as the companion study for 2012 Summer Olympics.
Go ahead and make yourself one of these tonight. You know you want to!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Butterfly Cupcakes
We have most of our birthday celebrations in the spring here. I asked the birthday girl what she wanted for her birthday, cake or cupcakes, flowers or butterflies or princess. First, she had been asking for a Justin Bieber cake...well, I'm not that talented. So these were the options I gave her and she settled on butterflies. I saw cupcake liners that looked like flowers and was struck with an idea. Bake the cupcakes in the flower liners and use the butterfly decorations to turn it into butterflies that were sitting on flowers. I used a box mix for the cupcakes but made my own butter cream frosting, a recipe I've been using for a few years now. I got the butterfly decorations, the pink gel that I used for the butterfly body and the cupcake liners from Walmart, but they are by Wilton. I missed taking pictures of the packages before using them. Forgive me for being human, but this Momma will use products that can simplify making a birthday special for my kids when I also have to make sure that school happens for the non-birthday kids and meal times happen too.
Here's the cupcake liners.
The butterflies resting on the light purple and pink flowers.
I filled a plastic zipper bag with the frosting and cut a bottom corner off to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Then I positioned the butterfly wings on the frosting. Then I used the glitter gel to pipe the butterfly body. They were a hit! Thank you, Wilton, for making my life just a little bit easier!
The butterflies resting on the light purple and pink flowers.
I filled a plastic zipper bag with the frosting and cut a bottom corner off to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Then I positioned the butterfly wings on the frosting. Then I used the glitter gel to pipe the butterfly body. They were a hit! Thank you, Wilton, for making my life just a little bit easier!
Monday, April 30, 2012
My Review of The Hunger Games
I finally finished the first book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. With life not stopping to give me time to read, it took a bit of time for me to finish. I managed to get about two thirds of the way through the book before taking my oldest and six of her friends to see the movie. As usual, the book was better, but the movie was pretty good too. I like the way Katniss's narrative was portrayed through the behind the scenes at the Capitol. There were some scenes in the book that didn't seem to be present as much in the movie. But, considering that many times, they just don't have enough time to include all of a book in a movie, I think they stayed fairly true to the book. There were a few details that were very different from the book and that frustrated the girls.
This poor girl, Katniss has a connection with two different boys that is based on a common life experience with each of them. A connection that goes very deep in very different areas of her life. Each boy has very admirable qualities. They have each stood with her in horrible circumstances brought about by a brutal government. This leads me to say that it seems this series is a romantic political thriller. At this point, I don't know how I want the story to go. I can't even imagine where it's going to go, based on what I'm learning about this government and the president. The government has too much control over it's people. The president strikes me as sadistic. It seems like the people who live in the capitol like the way things are. And then there are the people that live in the "lower" districts that see that the government is too much of a "big brother".
I've been told that once I get going, the books will be hard to put down. I'm already at that point. I have to make sure, before I pick up the book to continue reading, that I won't have anything needing my attention before I can set the book down again. I've found myself re-reading a few sentences when I've been interrupted, because I don't want to miss a detail. So, if it seems like I'm missing from the blog, I'm not. I may be engrossed in a book. I'm sorry if that happens. But I promise I'll be back to continue my review.
This poor girl, Katniss has a connection with two different boys that is based on a common life experience with each of them. A connection that goes very deep in very different areas of her life. Each boy has very admirable qualities. They have each stood with her in horrible circumstances brought about by a brutal government. This leads me to say that it seems this series is a romantic political thriller. At this point, I don't know how I want the story to go. I can't even imagine where it's going to go, based on what I'm learning about this government and the president. The government has too much control over it's people. The president strikes me as sadistic. It seems like the people who live in the capitol like the way things are. And then there are the people that live in the "lower" districts that see that the government is too much of a "big brother".
I've been told that once I get going, the books will be hard to put down. I'm already at that point. I have to make sure, before I pick up the book to continue reading, that I won't have anything needing my attention before I can set the book down again. I've found myself re-reading a few sentences when I've been interrupted, because I don't want to miss a detail. So, if it seems like I'm missing from the blog, I'm not. I may be engrossed in a book. I'm sorry if that happens. But I promise I'll be back to continue my review.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Guacamole BLT Sandwiches
My son had apparently been paying better attention to a Food Network show over the weekend than I had, and told me that he had seen Guy Fieri making a BLT with guacamole. He started begging me to make them. He has really enjoyed the guacamole recipe I've been using, almost as much as his father and I have. It was such a good idea!
I had held off on giving baby any bacon. I've been getting into the habit of buying the low sodium bacon in preparation for her tasting as well as to just make a healthier change in our diets. I happened to have bought large tomatoes in bulk at the warehouse store as well as avocados. So we had tomatoes sandwiches at lunch because the tomatoes were perfect for eating. Baby apparently really liked them, because as she saw me prepping everything for the guacamole BLT's, she started to get excited about the tomatoes. I haven't given her any leafy greens yet, because I still consider them to be a bit of a choking hazard at this age. So she got some tomato, tortilla chips and her first taste of bacon. She loved the bacon!
Ingredients
GuacamoleBacon
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Bread
Mayonnaise
To make the guacamole BLT's, I made this guacamole recipe and let it set in the fridge. I baked the bacon by placing it on a baking sheet and putting it in a cold oven, then heating to 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. While the bacon was baking, I sliced the tomatoes and set them aside. When the bacon was done baking, I toasted the bread. Don't skip the toasting step. It is very important to the structure of the sandwich. If you don't toast the bread, the sandwich will get very soggy and fall apart. I like mayonnaise on my bread, so I smeared both mayonnaise and guacamole on both pieces of bread and then layered bacon, tomatoes and then lettuce and then second piece of bread. Slice and enjoy!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Quick Personal Pizzas
I really don't remember where I saw this, or something like this. But, I know that www.pillsbury.com has a few similar ideas. I went looking to see if that was where I saw it, but I didn't see exactly the same thing. Simply put, I used the Grands Biscuits as the pizza dough. I happened to have "stocked up" on a few cans because they were on sale and I had coupons. I already had fresh mozzarella on hand from the warehouse store and I had stocked up on pasta sauce when it was on a deep sale and I had coupons. I buy pepperoni in bulk at the warehouse store. I needed something quick for lunch. I had the fixing's for these Quick Personal Pizzas. Baby liked them too.
16 oz. of fresh mozzarella (the soft round stuff is better than the brick stuff, but use what you can)
Pizza sauce or pasta sauce
Pepperoni
Or what ever toppings you like
Quick Personal Pizzas
Ingredients
2 cans of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits16 oz. of fresh mozzarella (the soft round stuff is better than the brick stuff, but use what you can)
Pizza sauce or pasta sauce
Pepperoni
Or what ever toppings you like
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease your cookie sheet. Slice the mozzarella and set aside. Press biscuits flat on the cookie sheet. I was able to fit 5 - 6 biscuits per cookie sheet. Top with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, or your favorite toppings. Fresh mozzarella melts and spreads, so don't be too generous with your slicing, unless you like cheese crisps too. Bake for approximately 18 minutes. Check after 15 minutes though, since ovens are different. Let the pizzas rest for about 5 minutes before eating. You want the cheese to cool down so that you don't burn your mouth - or have to comfort a child who burned their mouth.Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Making Yogurt in My Crock Pot
I've made my own yogurt before, when I was making my own baby food with the past two babies. I only made it a few times though, because it took time and I had to babysit it. I had three cookbooks that I used for making my own baby food. The method I used was in this cookbook. I used sterilized tools, jars and such and had to let it sit in a cooler. I wanted to make yogurt again, but wasn't interested in the process I had used back then. Recently I saw making yogurt in the crock pot on Pinterest. Interest piqued! So I decided to give it a try. It is sooo much easier!
This was my third time with this method from Stephanie O'Dea at A Year of Slow Cooking. The first attempt I didn't have a thick enough towel wrapped around my crock pot, so the temperature dropped really quickly and the yogurt didn't thicken up. The second attempt, I remembered about the thermal carrier that came with my crock pot and wrapped a towel around that. It worked! This third time, my timing was just a little off on getting the crock pot wrapped up for the night, but that was because we were eating our dinner at the same time. It was a little thinner, but still thickened yogurt!
Wrapped up in the thermal carrier to incubate for the night.
A heavy beach towel wrapped around the thermal carrier for more insulation.
Yogurt in the morning!
My kids don't eat plain yogurt, but like a bit of flavor, so we had tried putting frozen blueberries in it, but that didn't exactly work. So this time I had purchased some fruit preserves. Voila! It's a hit with those of us who decided to try it! Baby couldn't get enough and she couldn't get it fast enough! That means I'll be doing this a lot now, especially since I have a Naan recipe that calls for yogurt.
The process:
Put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crock pot on low for 2 1/2 hours. Turn the crock pot off and let it set covered for 3 hours. At that point, put 1/2 cup of yogurt starter in a bowl and add 1 - 2 cups of the yogurt you are making to it and mix well. This tempers the starter so it doesn't curdle. Add the starter mixture to the yogurt in the crock pot and gently mix well. Cover the crock pot with a heavy towel or two or an insulated carrier with an extra towel. Let it set for 8 hours or for the night! Don't bake bread the day you make the yogurt or the day before. Don't want the yogurt to taste like bread!
I'm going to try using a gallon of milk next time.
This was my third time with this method from Stephanie O'Dea at A Year of Slow Cooking. The first attempt I didn't have a thick enough towel wrapped around my crock pot, so the temperature dropped really quickly and the yogurt didn't thicken up. The second attempt, I remembered about the thermal carrier that came with my crock pot and wrapped a towel around that. It worked! This third time, my timing was just a little off on getting the crock pot wrapped up for the night, but that was because we were eating our dinner at the same time. It was a little thinner, but still thickened yogurt!
Wrapped up in the thermal carrier to incubate for the night.
A heavy beach towel wrapped around the thermal carrier for more insulation.
Yogurt in the morning!
My kids don't eat plain yogurt, but like a bit of flavor, so we had tried putting frozen blueberries in it, but that didn't exactly work. So this time I had purchased some fruit preserves. Voila! It's a hit with those of us who decided to try it! Baby couldn't get enough and she couldn't get it fast enough! That means I'll be doing this a lot now, especially since I have a Naan recipe that calls for yogurt.
The process:
Put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crock pot on low for 2 1/2 hours. Turn the crock pot off and let it set covered for 3 hours. At that point, put 1/2 cup of yogurt starter in a bowl and add 1 - 2 cups of the yogurt you are making to it and mix well. This tempers the starter so it doesn't curdle. Add the starter mixture to the yogurt in the crock pot and gently mix well. Cover the crock pot with a heavy towel or two or an insulated carrier with an extra towel. Let it set for 8 hours or for the night! Don't bake bread the day you make the yogurt or the day before. Don't want the yogurt to taste like bread!
I'm going to try using a gallon of milk next time.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Pasta with Balsamic Glaze
This idea was inspired by a dish I had at a restaurant a few years ago. I don't remember which restaurant it was or what the dish was called. But, I tried to re-create it or at least come somewhat close to it a few days later at home. I've done it a few times since. Missing from the pictures is the balsamic glaze that I bought from Costco. I need to try and make my own, because they don't carry it anymore and half of us love it. That chunk that's wrapped in plastic in the first picture is what is left of my fresh Parmesan. Almost to the rind. Pretty much ready to use as flavoring in a soup now. I only had enough to shave a little bit for the picture. The rest of us had already grated Parmesan, which wasn't bad, but shaved Parmesan is just so much more elegant and fresh tasting. I need to get some on my next Costco run. I buy my bruschetta at Costco, because it's cheaper there than at the grocery store.
Because Steve was grilling over the weekend, I had him put some chicken thighs on for this meal. That made it so much quicker to assemble the night I was ready to serve this. I have bought the "grilled chicken strips" at the warehouse store before, but they didn't have the frozen ones and the fresh ones were just too expensive. Truth be told, looking at the label on the fresh ones, there were things added that lead me to believe that they were preservatives, since expiration date on the package was a month from now. I didn't feel like paying for that when we could just grill our own ahead of time. The charcoal was smoldering by the time the chicken finished grilling, so it ended up being half grilled and half smoked. It added an incredible flavor, flavor that certainly can't be matched by pre-packaged "grilled" chicken. If you decide to grill your own chicken ahead of time, keep the pieces whole, so they don't dry out when you reheat them.
Top the cooked pasta with warm bruschetta and grilled chicken. Shave Parmesan over top.
Drizzle with balsamic glaze. I'm telling you, the flavor is insane!
Somehow, I missed getting a picture of baby eating this, but she absolutely loved it. Oh wait, that's right, I was also working on yogurt in my crock pot.
Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Pasta with Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta (I use Angel Hair because it just makes it seem more elegant)Bruchetta, desired amount warmed up
Grilled chicken (I used thighs this time, but boneless, skinless breast slices nicely)
Big chunk of fresh Parmesan cheese for shaving (pre-grated will work in a pinch)
Balsamic glaze
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Top cooked pasta with desired amount of warm bruschetta. Top with slices or chunks or shredded grilled chicken. Shave fresh Parmesan over top (I use a vegetable peeler). Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Enjoy!Monday, April 23, 2012
Cilantro Lime Butter
Have you ever had a compound butter? Chances are, if you have ever gotten a steak at a restaurant in the past two or three years, you probably have. I tried making my first compound butter when I got my Julia Child cookbook. I served it on grilled steak and fell in love.
It had been a while since we had grilled steak or even compound butter. I decided to make some since we had good enough weather to get in a chance to grill some steaks for dinner, over the weekend. Here's what I did.
Approximately 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Approximately 1/4 tsp. lime zest
juice of 1/2 lime
salt, to taste
I'm going to try it over green beans soon.
It had been a while since we had grilled steak or even compound butter. I decided to make some since we had good enough weather to get in a chance to grill some steaks for dinner, over the weekend. Here's what I did.
Cilantro Lime Butter
Ingredients
1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softenedApproximately 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Approximately 1/4 tsp. lime zest
juice of 1/2 lime
salt, to taste
Directions
Mix ingredients well and then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Serve over grilled steak. Could even work over vegetables. Maybe even grilled chicken or fish.I'm going to try it over green beans soon.
More Baby-Led Weaning AKA Self-Feeding Baby
I've had six babies and now I finally have one that begs to eat the food that I'm eating. She gets excited to try something new. She asks to try something new off my plate and if I don't notice or give her some to try she gets upset or sad. Can you imagine that? I think it's all because of Baby-Led Weaning too. I wish I had known about this with the other babies. I was happy to make my own baby food with the last two babies, because it was saving money and I knew what was in the food. But, had I known how easy and safe it was to actually feed them from my plate, I would have done that. Last week I was eating some hot cereal and I put a little bit in a small cup to cool for her to try. She went crazy over it and kept asking for more. When she finished what I had put aside for her, she got upset when I tried to put more in the fridge to cool down. She didn't want to wait for it! Turned out it was cool enough to not put in the fridge.
Day one of hot cereal. I've been pre-loading spoons for her and she is learning how to use them. She's getting better.
Oh so happy about the hot cereal!
Oh so sad that she finished it!
Baby-led weaning is so worth it! I highly recommend it!
Day one of hot cereal. I've been pre-loading spoons for her and she is learning how to use them. She's getting better.
Oh, that's good! She needed a bath when she was done. She had it all over her and in her hair and it wasn't coming out when I tried to wipe her up.
Day two of hot cereal. This time she had footed pj's on, so clean up was much easier! Not so much in the hair either.
Signing for more.
Oh so happy about the hot cereal!
Oh so sad that she finished it!
Baby-led weaning is so worth it! I highly recommend it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)