crayon box. November 9, 2009

I am absolutely paranoid of my house looking like a day care. I am constantly trying to find clever ways of hiding things from sight.  We have two ottomans (ottomen?:)) in the living room with lids that are removable.  This is where we keep toys.  Greta is in a huge coloring phase right now. It seems that the crayons are always out on the dining room table. For my birthday this year, my friend dropped off a cookbook,  and this lovely box full of gourmet cupcakes.

This lovely, feminine box now houses our crayons!

Updates. October 29, 2009

First of all, let me update you on our little friend, Matthew. His is now in  serious, but stable condition and his latest EEG showed no seizure activity. He is still sedated to give his brain and body a rest. Please do continue to pray for this wonderful little boy that the doctors would make wise decisions and that he would be back at home with his siblings!

Miles had 2 big Dr. appointments this week. On Tuesday, we met with Dr. Wright (Neurologist). She was pleased with how Miles is doing, but suspects that his backtracking on pulling up to stand may be because he is in pain from a tethered spinal cord. She ordered an MRI so we will know for sure. This of course would mean another surgery. We are praying that Miles is just being tempermental and that this is NOT the case. They will do the MRI on the day of his eye surgery (Nov. 19) because he will have to be sedated anyway. We will also be able to have the MRI read by Dr. Puccioni that same day.
Today we met with Dr. Puccioni (Neurosurgeon) and he thought Miles looked great. He dialed the pressure on his shunt down again. This will allow the fluid to drain even more quickly. The have had to slowly adjust it to a faster setting since his last big surgery. Adjusting it too quickly can lead to things collapsing inside the brain.
So, overall two good appointments. We are just praying that he does not have a tethered spinal cord.

Tonight, Greta and I have a date for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, starring…..Daddy! I’m sure I will be posting photos soon

urgent prayer request. October 29, 2009

Our dear friend Matthew is in the hospital. He has had a very rough month, in and out of the hospital with H1N1 and then pneumonia. Now, he is having seizures that they can not get under control. He is in the PICU. Please, please join me in  praying for our friends the Soldatke’s and their sweet little boy Matthew.

10.10.2009 October 10, 2009

Today we woke up to this-

So, we’ve been doing a lot of this-

And some of this-

And we made some of these-

They are unbelievably good and have chick-peas in the dough!

Visit my cooking blog to see this unique recipe.

speaking of Mom… October 10, 2009

I ADORE my new bowls! Thank you

that kind of Mom. October 10, 2009

My Mom was not that kind of Mom.  I never thought I would be that kind of Mom either.

But…

I am.

The kind of Mom who lets the kids mix all of the play-dough colors together.

And I love it!

Are you that kind of Mom?

a growing list. October 5, 2009

of words!!!!

up, down, bye, bath, duck, quack, eat, more, no!, Dad, night-night, car, home, shirt, shoe, T.V., all-done, phone, fork, on, ball, sit, chair, shoe, flower, uh-oh, banana, milk, door, keys, pop, play, Mom, Greta

Just 2 short months ago, Miles began speech therapy. Each word is a miracle to us!

perfection. September 23, 2009

please take the time to read this beautiful post written by my blogging friend, Kristen.

It captures perfectly how I feel about my son.

weekly menu. September 18, 2009

Just got back from the grocery store and it’s going to be a yummy week! There were great sales and I had awesome coupons.  I am going to try a few new recipes

Macadamia encrusted Chicken and gorgonzola sauce with Cous Cous

Fajita burgers and mashed Sweet potatoes

Chicken Au Gratin  with mixed greens

Chicken Divan

Cheese tortellini and corn

Popcorn shrimp with raw veggies and ranch

Chicken Cordon bleu casserole (crock pot) and mixed greens

the ultimate grocery list. August 28, 2009

My weekly grocery trip with Greta and Miles in tow is one of the highlights of my week. I am beginning to realize just how odd this is.  It is really an enjoyable time with the kids and usually does not take us very long. Here are my tips for the “ultimate” grocery experience!

*Make your weekly menu- go through the pantry and fridge and determine what items need to be used up. Read the weekly specials for the store you will be shopping at and plan accordingly. If you use coupons, pull the good ones. After you have made your menu, start your list.

*Make categories for your list- PRODUCE, MEAT, DAIRY, CANNED/PACKAGED, BAKING, FROZEN, and MISCELLANEOUS—or whatever categories you like

*Go through your list and estimate how much each item will be. Here is an example of what my PRODUCE category usually looks like.

PRODUCE

bananas-4

strawberries-3

other fruit-3

spinach-4

onion-1

…you get the idea. This will help you to stay within your budget.  As you shop you can keep track of how much the items actually are and then if you have any extra money you can get a few splurge items like ice cream or goldfish crackers (yes, those are splurges at our house!)

*Let little ones “help” by putting groceries into the cart or on the conveyor belt, and keep energetic little ones close by, by having them keep one hand on the cart at all times.

Making a list with categories will keep you from walking back and forth over and over in the store and estimating amounts for each item will keep your budget on track.

So,  give it a try and happy shopping!!