OK...
It's been awhile
But, in my defense, pinterest is really....well...interesting. And it has spots for all the recipes I try....
And, being a parent is some tough business. Son#1 and Son#2, being teenagers, have been e s p e c i a l l y teenager-esque. Like, after-school-special-teenager-esque. And, Finn has been Finn. Being a parent of a kiddo with special needs seems a bit easier than a parent of teenager, though, I have to say. At least Finn comes with equipment and a team of support staff. These boys just come with rolling eyes and attitude. Have I mentioned they know everything too?
Good grief.
I just can't imagine I was T H I S bad!!! I am sure my mom and dad would have something to add, but, alas, they are not on this blog and therefore can't interject about what a perfect vision of teenagehood I was and how I had no attitude, except love and respect. And how I willingly complete all my chores and then some. So, you will just have to take my word for it...
Tomorrow, I have the pleasure of getting up close and personal with the court system. Yay (where is that mad face guy) and then on Monday there is IEP for Son#2 and his ongoing med changes for the impulse control issues that cause him to play video games, without stopping, for weeks on end and forget to shower. I wish there was a medication for Son#1 and his incessant need to be with GIRLFRIEND, as if she will disappear if he is not within 10 feet of her.
Even though all this is going on, MainMan has managed to continue to construct his zombie fortress with his clan of friends and plan for the end of the world, as we know it.
Sometime, I would just like to shower, without interruption.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
OK...today's blessing...
Even though Finners has been a little...ummmm....challenging (?!?!?!) lately, she has learned to say "I yub oo mommy," which of course, forgives everything and makes it all better. Good thing because challenging is a delicate way to describe some of these behaviors!!! ;)
Soup recipe of the day
Chicken Wild Rice
First...make your chicken stock...
I like to take a whole chicken and cover in with water in my stockpot
add a couple of bay leaves, 2 celery stalks (leaves etc included...just break it into a couple of pieces so it fits in the pot), a whole onion cut in half, and a 2 carrots halved or quartered (however they fit in there)
cook for an hour or so...until the chicken is done and should be falling off the bone
pull 3 cups of broth from the stockpot and set the rest aside.
boil 3 cups of broth and add 1.5 cups of wild rice, simmer for 45 mins until rice is tender (or follow the directions on your wild rice...some are different...the main point is to use the broth and DO NOT use instant wild rice)
while rice is simmering,strain broth in stock pot...you want to get rid of the celery, onions, carrots and bay leaves you put in there and any pieces of bone etc that happened while cooking chicken. I don't strain it in any fancy kind of way, i just use a straining spoon...works just fine but I suppose you could get all cheesecloth etc with it if you wanted.
you can also pull apart the chicken. Get rid of bones and skin (yuck) and add meat back to stockpot broth.
Dice into small pieces
1 whole onion
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic (or be like me and just use the minced kind in the jar...about 1 really big tsp)
you can also dice up a carrot or two if you want
melt 4 tbsp of butter in a pan and saute onion, celery, garlic (and carrot) until soft (about 1-10 mins)
add 3 tbsp of flour and whisk for 3 mins
add to stockpot broth and meat...stir rapidly so it is all mixed well
rice should be done now so you can add that to the pot too
now add some spices to taste...
I add salt (lots of salt)
pepper
basil
some cayenne
and a splash of lemon juice (like a tbsp or a bit more)
get the soup up to a nice rolling simmer and add about 2 cups of cream (or half in half if you are watching your weight but really...add the heavy cream already)
do not let the soup boil after this (the cream will separate. you can still eat it but it won't look creamy and nice)
ladle up into boils and serve with some garlic butter croutons or fresh homemade bread...Yummmy
when I first started making soup I was always buying campbells broth and using chicken breasts. This whole chicken way is waaaaaaaaaay more cost effective, makes a muuuuuuuuuuuch better broth/stock and serves more. I always make sure that my stock pot is about half full (I am not so big on super thick soups) but if you like thicker soups, just use less water. just make sure your chicken is covered with water
also...the difference between stock and broth is not a very big one...stock is just a more condensed version of broth...so the longer you cook the chicken in the water with the veggies, the more flavorful it will become.
To this end, I usually take a day or afternoon to make my soup...I let the chicken cook with the herbs and veggies for at least a couple of hours and the stock is a golden color...more flavorful (you might need to add more water so check on it every so often). You can also throw in whatever veggies you have and can even go veggie if you are a non meat-eater....the soup would just be wild rice and would be made the same only you would cook a pot of veggies (maybe add some leeks in there, more carrots and then you could add some mushrooms in with the sauteing portion)...then no chickens will have been harmed in the making of your soup.
Even though Finners has been a little...ummmm....challenging (?!?!?!) lately, she has learned to say "I yub oo mommy," which of course, forgives everything and makes it all better. Good thing because challenging is a delicate way to describe some of these behaviors!!! ;)
Soup recipe of the day
Chicken Wild Rice
First...make your chicken stock...
I like to take a whole chicken and cover in with water in my stockpot
add a couple of bay leaves, 2 celery stalks (leaves etc included...just break it into a couple of pieces so it fits in the pot), a whole onion cut in half, and a 2 carrots halved or quartered (however they fit in there)
cook for an hour or so...until the chicken is done and should be falling off the bone
pull 3 cups of broth from the stockpot and set the rest aside.
boil 3 cups of broth and add 1.5 cups of wild rice, simmer for 45 mins until rice is tender (or follow the directions on your wild rice...some are different...the main point is to use the broth and DO NOT use instant wild rice)
while rice is simmering,strain broth in stock pot...you want to get rid of the celery, onions, carrots and bay leaves you put in there and any pieces of bone etc that happened while cooking chicken. I don't strain it in any fancy kind of way, i just use a straining spoon...works just fine but I suppose you could get all cheesecloth etc with it if you wanted.
you can also pull apart the chicken. Get rid of bones and skin (yuck) and add meat back to stockpot broth.
Dice into small pieces
1 whole onion
2 celery stalks
2 cloves of garlic (or be like me and just use the minced kind in the jar...about 1 really big tsp)
you can also dice up a carrot or two if you want
melt 4 tbsp of butter in a pan and saute onion, celery, garlic (and carrot) until soft (about 1-10 mins)
add 3 tbsp of flour and whisk for 3 mins
add to stockpot broth and meat...stir rapidly so it is all mixed well
rice should be done now so you can add that to the pot too
now add some spices to taste...
I add salt (lots of salt)
pepper
basil
some cayenne
and a splash of lemon juice (like a tbsp or a bit more)
get the soup up to a nice rolling simmer and add about 2 cups of cream (or half in half if you are watching your weight but really...add the heavy cream already)
do not let the soup boil after this (the cream will separate. you can still eat it but it won't look creamy and nice)
ladle up into boils and serve with some garlic butter croutons or fresh homemade bread...Yummmy
when I first started making soup I was always buying campbells broth and using chicken breasts. This whole chicken way is waaaaaaaaaay more cost effective, makes a muuuuuuuuuuuch better broth/stock and serves more. I always make sure that my stock pot is about half full (I am not so big on super thick soups) but if you like thicker soups, just use less water. just make sure your chicken is covered with water
also...the difference between stock and broth is not a very big one...stock is just a more condensed version of broth...so the longer you cook the chicken in the water with the veggies, the more flavorful it will become.
To this end, I usually take a day or afternoon to make my soup...I let the chicken cook with the herbs and veggies for at least a couple of hours and the stock is a golden color...more flavorful (you might need to add more water so check on it every so often). You can also throw in whatever veggies you have and can even go veggie if you are a non meat-eater....the soup would just be wild rice and would be made the same only you would cook a pot of veggies (maybe add some leeks in there, more carrots and then you could add some mushrooms in with the sauteing portion)...then no chickens will have been harmed in the making of your soup.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
OK...so the dessert experiment failed...onto new things
So I tried to do this thing, where I made desserts and we celebrated by eating a new one every night...and it went all fine and dandy until the desserts weren't getting done until like 9 or 10pm and the kids were sleeping and Cori had to get to work
And...let's face it...
I cook but I am not Julia Childs and I am not living like that other Julia who wrote that cool Julia and Julia blog
I am a mom of two teenagers and 1 toddler
I am a teacher
and...well...I am tired.
My kids aren't all that adventurous and the grocery store around here barely carries anything more exotic than vanilla extract.
So...in 2013...I am changing the message...desserts and blessings!!!
It is my goal to find blessings every day...and throw some desserts in there too :)
And...let's face it...
I cook but I am not Julia Childs and I am not living like that other Julia who wrote that cool Julia and Julia blog
I am a mom of two teenagers and 1 toddler
I am a teacher
and...well...I am tired.
My kids aren't all that adventurous and the grocery store around here barely carries anything more exotic than vanilla extract.
So...in 2013...I am changing the message...desserts and blessings!!!
It is my goal to find blessings every day...and throw some desserts in there too :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Ipad
Today...
I received the most amazing gift...
A co-worker, Lisa, pulled me aside and GAVE me an IPad for Finn!!!
Who does that?
Who just GIVES something like this away?
I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
She is so sweet and made sure to tell me that it was the 1st edition and so it wasn't that great (is she kidding???) and they had used it before so it wasn't new (I care why???) and meanwhile I was sobbing like a lunatic.
Gratitiude is my word for the day...overwhelming gratitide
how do you thank someone for giving you a gift that has the potential to change your child's life forever?
I received the most amazing gift...
A co-worker, Lisa, pulled me aside and GAVE me an IPad for Finn!!!
Who does that?
Who just GIVES something like this away?
I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
She is so sweet and made sure to tell me that it was the 1st edition and so it wasn't that great (is she kidding???) and they had used it before so it wasn't new (I care why???) and meanwhile I was sobbing like a lunatic.
Gratitiude is my word for the day...overwhelming gratitide
how do you thank someone for giving you a gift that has the potential to change your child's life forever?
Friday, March 16, 2012
Seizures can SUCK IT
Seizures can suck it.
They really really really can (I am very emphatic on this point)
I have no desserts (although pound cake is up for tomorrow)
but
tonight
seizures can suck it
this is the latest video of our poor little sweatpea
this is a pretty typical event
notice how we can't get her attention, her right eye doesn't match her left and her whole body crunches up and into itself???
so tonight
I am feeling sorry for myself, my family, my friends and most of all my beautiful and amazing baby girl
seizures can suck it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h06RkEBM66c&feature=youtu.be
They really really really can (I am very emphatic on this point)
I have no desserts (although pound cake is up for tomorrow)
but
tonight
seizures can suck it
this is the latest video of our poor little sweatpea
this is a pretty typical event
notice how we can't get her attention, her right eye doesn't match her left and her whole body crunches up and into itself???
so tonight
I am feeling sorry for myself, my family, my friends and most of all my beautiful and amazing baby girl
seizures can suck it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h06RkEBM66c&feature=youtu.be
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Holy Smokes!!!!
Well...Holy cow...it's almost like I forgot my promise to myself to blog everyday (and make desserts.) Well...OK...I did forget (about the blogging part...not so much about the desserts.)
Life, of course, has continued to race past us at lightening speed.
The boys are settling in at school and continue to amaze me with their unique personalities. Nick is the most sarcastic, funny, deadpan 14 year old I have met (and I have no idea where he gets it from.) He has decided that he and his friends are a posse (he calls them his consiglieres...where did he even learn that word?) and they all changed their names to ridiculous things. His is something like Periwinkle something something something. He is in speech now too (Discussion so he gets to argue which is awesome for him)
Dylan has some great friends too and has started volunteering at the local theater. I think what drew him first was all the free pop and popcorn he could eat and drink but he keeps going back. The free movies might help but I think he is a good kid too. He hit a rough patch there for a bit but hopefully we are through that (we better be or it's military school)
Our house will be completely paid off this October. Exciting. Feeling like a grown-up for a change. :) The boys are helping my dad make Finn a playhouse this summer and then we are going to plant flowers etc right around it...maybe even a willow tree. I am really excited. The boys are also going to finally get their own rooms (thank you tax returns) We will start framing them in sometime this Spring. I might be as excited as they are because then their mess will be contained to their own rooms and I won't have them fighting over who made what mess because it will be pretty easy to see... :)
Finn has had some pretty rough times since Oct. The past week has been especially difficult. We had tubes put in on Thursday (pretty basic surgery) and then watched her seize about 25 times in a 4 day period. She started a fever that night that finally went away fully on Thursday (the 16th) after a night in 2 ERs (don't ask) 3 hours of fast flow IV fluids, IV Keppra, 2 doses of rescue meds and several consulting calls with the Mayo. She is finally back to her choochy bird self today. And maybe even back up to her pre-surgery weight.
To celebrate, today we made candy popcorn. I was going to make it on Valentine's Day but as we didn't get out of the ER and back home until 5am that morning, I just never got around to it.
It sort of tastes like Frankenberry cereal (or some other strawberry flavored cereal...I never really had Frankenberry cereal...it's just how I imagine it would taste)
candy popcorn
1 bag of puffcorn (or twelve cups popped popcorn, unpopped kernels removed)
1 30z box of jello (any flavor...I used strawberry)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
heat oven to 300 and line a roasting pan with tinfoil. spray tinfoil with cooking spray or butter
dump popcorn into pan
heat sweetened condensed milk and jello powder over med/low heat until hot and bubbling (4-5 mins)
pour over popcorn and stir with long handled wooden spoon
plop in oven for 20 (I did 25...just in case...I hate mushy popcorn) and stir every 5 mins
spread on sprayed or buttered foil when finished and break apart
enjoy
:)
Life, of course, has continued to race past us at lightening speed.
The boys are settling in at school and continue to amaze me with their unique personalities. Nick is the most sarcastic, funny, deadpan 14 year old I have met (and I have no idea where he gets it from.) He has decided that he and his friends are a posse (he calls them his consiglieres...where did he even learn that word?) and they all changed their names to ridiculous things. His is something like Periwinkle something something something. He is in speech now too (Discussion so he gets to argue which is awesome for him)
Dylan has some great friends too and has started volunteering at the local theater. I think what drew him first was all the free pop and popcorn he could eat and drink but he keeps going back. The free movies might help but I think he is a good kid too. He hit a rough patch there for a bit but hopefully we are through that (we better be or it's military school)
Our house will be completely paid off this October. Exciting. Feeling like a grown-up for a change. :) The boys are helping my dad make Finn a playhouse this summer and then we are going to plant flowers etc right around it...maybe even a willow tree. I am really excited. The boys are also going to finally get their own rooms (thank you tax returns) We will start framing them in sometime this Spring. I might be as excited as they are because then their mess will be contained to their own rooms and I won't have them fighting over who made what mess because it will be pretty easy to see... :)
Finn has had some pretty rough times since Oct. The past week has been especially difficult. We had tubes put in on Thursday (pretty basic surgery) and then watched her seize about 25 times in a 4 day period. She started a fever that night that finally went away fully on Thursday (the 16th) after a night in 2 ERs (don't ask) 3 hours of fast flow IV fluids, IV Keppra, 2 doses of rescue meds and several consulting calls with the Mayo. She is finally back to her choochy bird self today. And maybe even back up to her pre-surgery weight.
To celebrate, today we made candy popcorn. I was going to make it on Valentine's Day but as we didn't get out of the ER and back home until 5am that morning, I just never got around to it.
It sort of tastes like Frankenberry cereal (or some other strawberry flavored cereal...I never really had Frankenberry cereal...it's just how I imagine it would taste)
candy popcorn
1 bag of puffcorn (or twelve cups popped popcorn, unpopped kernels removed)
1 30z box of jello (any flavor...I used strawberry)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
heat oven to 300 and line a roasting pan with tinfoil. spray tinfoil with cooking spray or butter
dump popcorn into pan
heat sweetened condensed milk and jello powder over med/low heat until hot and bubbling (4-5 mins)
pour over popcorn and stir with long handled wooden spoon
plop in oven for 20 (I did 25...just in case...I hate mushy popcorn) and stir every 5 mins
spread on sprayed or buttered foil when finished and break apart
enjoy
:)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Infantile Spasms Awareness Week and Pumpkins
So tomorrow kicks off infantile spasms awareness week. I like to think of IS week as the kick-off (must be my word tonight) for Epilepsy Awareness Month, which is all of November.
Finn never was diagnosed with IS but they waffle back and forth (they being a myriad of neurologist...small n as they are not God) with thinking she had some sort of atypical version...she showed delays and seizures but not the hyppsarythmia pattern associated with IS.
The end result, I guess, doesn't really matter. She has seizures. She has delays. It sucks.
This weekend we had to load her up with diastat. Not my favorite thing to do. For some reason I have this hang up about giving her diastat. Like it makes her worse or I am damaging her brain by giving her this rescue medication...maybe because it is called a rescue medication...
She also had what is called a drop seizure. It looked like someone came up behind her and pushed her head into her chest, and her arms flung out, and then she dropped to the floor and her head smashed into the concrete floor of the store twice before I could get to her...split lip and goose-egg.
Have I mentioned I hate epilepsy????
I also hate that it makes me miss school functions for the boys and they have to learn how to time seizures and they know what rescue medications are and they know where they are located in our house and they know what seizures look like and what to look for and they have to do without things because Finn needs therapy or therapy equipment or because she can't deal with the temperature change or they get fat lips because they are trying to grab her and her behaviors are so bad they she is biting and flinging her head around.
I hate that I feel jealous when I see pictures of other little kiddos Finn's age doing regular things like jumping in corn piles and running through leaves and singing songs and doing puzzles and Finn is biting hunks out of her arms and bashing her head on the floor in a seizure and struggling to say simple words and still runs lopsided.
I hate that my very next thought is guilt because so many of my seizure mom friends would give their right arms for a babe would could run lopsided like Finn.
And I wouldn't trade my Chooch for anything and I would give up every breathe without even thinking about it if it took these damn seizures away.
AND...today...
I hate pumpkins
I mean, I don't hate the actual pumpkins...they look nice...pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin bars...all good things
but carving pumpkins irritates me
it makes a mess
they never really turn out
it feels like a waste of time
and
did I mention the mess?????
I somehow feel like the Grinch who stole Halloween today....
Get your purple ready
Rock it out
For epilepsy awareness
for all the kiddos who suffer from IS and epilepsy, for their parents who suffer along with them and all the siblings who know more about epilepsy than they ever should have to and who do without with grace and strength beyond their years....
Not another moment lost to seizures
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onetruemedia.com%2Fotm_site%2Fview_shared%3Fp%3Df7684fb0fb476f97185247%26skin_id%3D701%26utm_source%3Dotm%26utm_medium%3Dtext_url&h=AAQGuEDQvAQEtuf7-Fk0vNMa2nzk24PKgjExaOHlYXPy_sg
Finn never was diagnosed with IS but they waffle back and forth (they being a myriad of neurologist...small n as they are not God) with thinking she had some sort of atypical version...she showed delays and seizures but not the hyppsarythmia pattern associated with IS.
The end result, I guess, doesn't really matter. She has seizures. She has delays. It sucks.
This weekend we had to load her up with diastat. Not my favorite thing to do. For some reason I have this hang up about giving her diastat. Like it makes her worse or I am damaging her brain by giving her this rescue medication...maybe because it is called a rescue medication...
She also had what is called a drop seizure. It looked like someone came up behind her and pushed her head into her chest, and her arms flung out, and then she dropped to the floor and her head smashed into the concrete floor of the store twice before I could get to her...split lip and goose-egg.
Have I mentioned I hate epilepsy????
I also hate that it makes me miss school functions for the boys and they have to learn how to time seizures and they know what rescue medications are and they know where they are located in our house and they know what seizures look like and what to look for and they have to do without things because Finn needs therapy or therapy equipment or because she can't deal with the temperature change or they get fat lips because they are trying to grab her and her behaviors are so bad they she is biting and flinging her head around.
I hate that I feel jealous when I see pictures of other little kiddos Finn's age doing regular things like jumping in corn piles and running through leaves and singing songs and doing puzzles and Finn is biting hunks out of her arms and bashing her head on the floor in a seizure and struggling to say simple words and still runs lopsided.
I hate that my very next thought is guilt because so many of my seizure mom friends would give their right arms for a babe would could run lopsided like Finn.
And I wouldn't trade my Chooch for anything and I would give up every breathe without even thinking about it if it took these damn seizures away.
AND...today...
I hate pumpkins
I mean, I don't hate the actual pumpkins...they look nice...pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin bars...all good things
but carving pumpkins irritates me
it makes a mess
they never really turn out
it feels like a waste of time
and
did I mention the mess?????
I somehow feel like the Grinch who stole Halloween today....
Get your purple ready
Rock it out
For epilepsy awareness
for all the kiddos who suffer from IS and epilepsy, for their parents who suffer along with them and all the siblings who know more about epilepsy than they ever should have to and who do without with grace and strength beyond their years....
Not another moment lost to seizures
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onetruemedia.com%2Fotm_site%2Fview_shared%3Fp%3Df7684fb0fb476f97185247%26skin_id%3D701%26utm_source%3Dotm%26utm_medium%3Dtext_url&h=AAQGuEDQvAQEtuf7-Fk0vNMa2nzk24PKgjExaOHlYXPy_sg
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