Cheeseburger Broccoli Chowder
Ingredients:
6 c chicken stock
1 1/2 lb ground beef, browned and drained
2 tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 c milk
1 bag frozen broccoli
8 potatoes, peeled and cubes
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta, cubed*
1/2 medium onion, chopped
flour to thicken
*In place of the Velveeta, you can use 2 cans condensed cheddar cheese soup. If you use this method, only use 3 cups chicken stock and increase the milk to 4 cups.
Combine hamburger, Worchestershire sauce, milk, and chicken broth in 4 qt soup pot. Add potatoes and simmer about 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except flour. Simmer another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are tender. Remove some of the broth to another bowl, whisk with flour, and use as a thickener. Serve.
Apple Butter
Ingredients:
Apples - peeled, cored, and chopped (approx 2 qts after prepped)
Water
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Sugar
Salt
Ground cloves
Once the apples are peeled and cored, I cut them into quarters (since they're small apples), add a little sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little water, and cook covered about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that, I remove the lid and cook until desired tenderness, mash with my potato masher, and cook until desired thickness. A little taste test here and there and maybe a little more sugar or cinnamon. I don't have a preference for a type of apples (besides free - that always works good for me!!), but I have been getting Wealthy windfalls from FM. They are a little bruised, but that doesn't matter. If it's too bad I might cut it out, but so far it's been pretty good!!
Salsa Chicken
4 small chicken breasts or 2 large, cut in half
6 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 pint salsa (I use homemade)
1/2 c shredded cheese - cheddar, colby jack, or whatever your favorite is
Place chicken breasts in 8x8 casserole or similar sized baking dish. Spread 1 1/2 tbsp cream cheese on each chicken breast. Top with salsa. Cover with foil and bake approx 30 minutes at 350. Remove foil, sprinkle with shredded cheese, and continue to bake until chicken is no longer pink and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
Chicken and Mushroom Sauce
2 medium chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2-3 tbsp garlic flavored olive oil
1/2 stick butter
1/4 c diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c sliced white button mushrooms
1/4 + 1/2 c milk
2 tbsp flour
1/2 block cream cheese, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp parsley
Heat olive oil in a deep skillet. Add cubed chicken breasts. Sautee until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. Add butter to pan. When melted, add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are thoroughly cooked and tender and onions are translucent. Remove from pan and set aside. Add 1/4 c milk to pan and heat to simmering, scraping up all tidbits from bottom of pan. Add cream cheese and gently whisk until well incorporated and melted. Gradually add in remaining milk and bring to simmer. Whisk in 1 tbsp flour. Add mushroom mixture and chicken back into sauce. Simmer approximately 10 more minutes. Add more flour if necessary to thicken sauce. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over mashed potatoes.
Taco Salad
1 lb hamburger
1/4 c diced onion
1 packet taco seasoning
1 head lettuce, chopped
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped (more if desired)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
tortilla chips
Salsa or French dressing
Cook hamburger with onion. Use taco packet to make taco meat (follow packet directions). Be sure to drain grease from hamburger before adding seasonings. Combine meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and black beans in large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. Crush up some chips and put on a plate or in a bowl. Top with meat/veggie/bean mixture. Top with salsa or French dressing.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Recipes - P1
A few of my friends have been asking for some of my recipes lately since I've been doing quite a bit of cooking. So I thought, why not just post a few recipes at a time as separate entries? Maybe someday I'll post a whole separate blog for this, but this is how it's going to work for now :)
So here are the recipes for this week:
*Note - I cook like Grandma - many of my measurements are guesstimates since I don't measure most of the stuff - I go according to taste. Feel free to alter any of these recipes to fit your particular tastes.
The base for many of my soup recipes and chicken recipes is chicken broth or chicken stock. I've become fond of making my own. I've tried making it using some dark meat quarters I had bought on sale, but it works much better using a whole chicken carcass. You can buy an already roasted chicken, or roast your own chicken, serve it for dinner using the drippings to make gravy for your potatoes, then cut off the remainder of the meat. You can leave any of the fat you cut off with the carcass for a little extra flavor.
Chicken Stock
Ingredients
1 chicken carcass with leftover fat/skin and neck, giblets, and heart
4 stalks of celery
4 carrots, peeled
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt, to taste
water
I use an about 8-10 quart stock pot. Put the chicken carcass and other chicken pieces into the stockpot with enough water to completely cover by about 4-6 inches. Chop each carrot and stalk of celery into 3-4 pieces. Cut onions in half if using small, quarters if using a large onion. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 4-6 hours, covered, stirring occasionally. Pour through colander to remove all the chunks. (I usually pour it through a couple times. Stock will be a little cloudy. You can also use a cheesecloth in the colander to get a clearer stock, but I like the flavor it maintains.) To get a more concentrated flavor, you can take the strained stock and return it to heat for another hour on low. I add about a tablespoon of salt while my stock is cooking. Then the stock can be canned while still warm, or let cool and freeze. I add any additional salt when actually cooking with the stock - making soup, gravy, etc.
Cheesy Potato Soup (originally from my mom, but slightly modified)
So here are the recipes for this week:
*Note - I cook like Grandma - many of my measurements are guesstimates since I don't measure most of the stuff - I go according to taste. Feel free to alter any of these recipes to fit your particular tastes.
The base for many of my soup recipes and chicken recipes is chicken broth or chicken stock. I've become fond of making my own. I've tried making it using some dark meat quarters I had bought on sale, but it works much better using a whole chicken carcass. You can buy an already roasted chicken, or roast your own chicken, serve it for dinner using the drippings to make gravy for your potatoes, then cut off the remainder of the meat. You can leave any of the fat you cut off with the carcass for a little extra flavor.
Chicken Stock
Ingredients
1 chicken carcass with leftover fat/skin and neck, giblets, and heart
4 stalks of celery
4 carrots, peeled
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt, to taste
water
I use an about 8-10 quart stock pot. Put the chicken carcass and other chicken pieces into the stockpot with enough water to completely cover by about 4-6 inches. Chop each carrot and stalk of celery into 3-4 pieces. Cut onions in half if using small, quarters if using a large onion. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 4-6 hours, covered, stirring occasionally. Pour through colander to remove all the chunks. (I usually pour it through a couple times. Stock will be a little cloudy. You can also use a cheesecloth in the colander to get a clearer stock, but I like the flavor it maintains.) To get a more concentrated flavor, you can take the strained stock and return it to heat for another hour on low. I add about a tablespoon of salt while my stock is cooking. Then the stock can be canned while still warm, or let cool and freeze. I add any additional salt when actually cooking with the stock - making soup, gravy, etc.
Cheesy Potato Soup (originally from my mom, but slightly modified)
Ingredients:
1 box chicken broth (I use Swanson or homemade and then don't really measure - think it's about 6 cups...)
6-8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta cheese, cubed
milk (around 1/4 gallon) (as much as necessary - sorry, I don't measure it!!!)
flour (to thicken)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 lb bacon
Chop bacon into small slices and fry until almost crisp. Drain and add onion. Cook until onions are tender. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and carrots. Add enough milk to cover all by about 1-2 inches and Velveeta cubes. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Whisk flour with some milk and add to thicken. Cook until desired thickness and until potatoes and carrots are desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Creamed Chicken
Ingredients:
6 c chicken broth or chicken stock (I used homemade)
2 tbsp butter
2 c diced fully cooked chicken (I used leftovers)
1/2 c milk
flour (to thicken)
1 1/2-2 c frozen mixed peas and carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth/stock and milk to a simmer. Remove some of the liquid to a bowl and whisk in flour to make a roux to thicken sauce (I've learned doing it in a separate bowl reduces the number of flour clumps in the sauce). Whisk roux into the sauce. Repeat as needed to reach just shy of desired thickness. Add butter and mix until butter is melted and incorporated through. Stir in chicken and peas/carrot mixture. Simmer, stirring frequently, until meat is heated and veggies are cooked. Sauce with thicken as it simmers. Add salt and pepper to taste. (You may need a little more salt if you are using a homemade stock. I don't add much salt to my stock when I make it, so I usually have to add more to the final product.) Serve over biscuits or mashed potatoes.
Baking Powder Biscuits (this has become a staple in our house - easy to make and goes great with soups or served with gravy over them!)
Ingredients
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
1 c milk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening (I use a pastry blender - works great!) until well incorporated and mixture has smaller than pea-sized lumps. Stir in milk until entire mixture is moistened. Now, the original recipe said to bake at 450, but my oven is old and goes into self-cleaning mode if I turn it up that high, so I bake at 375 for about 18 minutes, then add a few more minutes if needed. Biscuits are done when they are browned on the top. This recipe makes 12 biscuits. I cook them using my Pampered Chef Pizza Stone. (I have the old one without handles, but very similar to this.)
I've also been making this amazing Amish Baked Oatmeal I got from Economical Eats by Heather - my family LOVES it made with the raisins. They're not so fond of it with the chocolate chips. I've also put 2 chopped bananas in place of the raisins. I think next time I do the banana, I'm going to add some walnuts too - I think that would be a good flavor. This is really easy to make up the night before, storing it in the refrigerator, then throwing it into the oven while the kids are getting ready in the morning.
Be sure to check out a few others that I had posted before - applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and bean and ham soup.
If you want any of my other recipes, just ask!!
1 box chicken broth (I use Swanson or homemade and then don't really measure - think it's about 6 cups...)
6-8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta cheese, cubed
milk (around 1/4 gallon) (as much as necessary - sorry, I don't measure it!!!)
flour (to thicken)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 lb bacon
Chop bacon into small slices and fry until almost crisp. Drain and add onion. Cook until onions are tender. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and carrots. Add enough milk to cover all by about 1-2 inches and Velveeta cubes. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Whisk flour with some milk and add to thicken. Cook until desired thickness and until potatoes and carrots are desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Creamed Chicken
Ingredients:
6 c chicken broth or chicken stock (I used homemade)
2 tbsp butter
2 c diced fully cooked chicken (I used leftovers)
1/2 c milk
flour (to thicken)
1 1/2-2 c frozen mixed peas and carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth/stock and milk to a simmer. Remove some of the liquid to a bowl and whisk in flour to make a roux to thicken sauce (I've learned doing it in a separate bowl reduces the number of flour clumps in the sauce). Whisk roux into the sauce. Repeat as needed to reach just shy of desired thickness. Add butter and mix until butter is melted and incorporated through. Stir in chicken and peas/carrot mixture. Simmer, stirring frequently, until meat is heated and veggies are cooked. Sauce with thicken as it simmers. Add salt and pepper to taste. (You may need a little more salt if you are using a homemade stock. I don't add much salt to my stock when I make it, so I usually have to add more to the final product.) Serve over biscuits or mashed potatoes.
Baking Powder Biscuits (this has become a staple in our house - easy to make and goes great with soups or served with gravy over them!)
Ingredients
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c shortening
1 c milk
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening (I use a pastry blender - works great!) until well incorporated and mixture has smaller than pea-sized lumps. Stir in milk until entire mixture is moistened. Now, the original recipe said to bake at 450, but my oven is old and goes into self-cleaning mode if I turn it up that high, so I bake at 375 for about 18 minutes, then add a few more minutes if needed. Biscuits are done when they are browned on the top. This recipe makes 12 biscuits. I cook them using my Pampered Chef Pizza Stone. (I have the old one without handles, but very similar to this.)
I've also been making this amazing Amish Baked Oatmeal I got from Economical Eats by Heather - my family LOVES it made with the raisins. They're not so fond of it with the chocolate chips. I've also put 2 chopped bananas in place of the raisins. I think next time I do the banana, I'm going to add some walnuts too - I think that would be a good flavor. This is really easy to make up the night before, storing it in the refrigerator, then throwing it into the oven while the kids are getting ready in the morning.
Be sure to check out a few others that I had posted before - applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and bean and ham soup.
If you want any of my other recipes, just ask!!
Just Livin' Life...
I do well with my blogging for a while, then I notice I have some big gaps in my entries. Life gets in the way at times. I just don't seem to realize how much and how often life happens :) The last month has been a little chaotic, but when isn't it when you have two crazy kids running your house?? LOL!
We spent a week with sickness going through the house. Beau had strep and an ear infection. Scrappy caught a bad cold and had a sore throat. Hubs ended up with an awful head cold, bad enough that it kept him home from work for a day. In the middle of all that, we still went to a benefit for our friend who has terminal cancer. We didn't stay long, but we did make it there. After everyone else had gotten over being sick, I got hit with a head cold. My balance is horrid as it is just from the pregnancy. Add the vertigo that comes with severely clogged sinuses does not help. And the additional dizziness, which we thought was from low blood sugar from what the doctors said.
My weekends have been super busy with the kids and with hubs working Saturdays and church and Sunday school on Sundays. It's been so busy that I even gave away the 10 gallons of tomatoes that I had picked a week ago with the intention of making spaghetti sauce. I still have 3 bags and a box of apples sitting on the table out back that I haven't had time to do yet. From my dizzy spells, I've decided it's something I can't do if hubs isn't here. Maybe this weekend I'll have a chance to do at least some of them. On Sunday that is, since he's going in to work on Saturday. My car has decided it doesn't wanna work right - almost sounds like the spark plugs are misfiring or maybe something with the fuel injectors, but it shakes and jerks so awful when it's idling. He's going to see if he can figure out what's wrong with it.
An update on baby: My last appointment, on Tuesday, baby weighed in at about 3 pounds 4 ounces. My previous appointment baby was about 2 pounds, so he/she is growing really well!! We still see echogenic bowel, but we weren't too surprised by that. The blood pocket is still there too. When I went to TOPS yesterday, I finally gained 2 pounds. Doc said I SHOULD be gaining about 1/2-1 pound per week and baby should be gaining 1/4-1/2 pound per week.
Shortly after we got home, the doctor's office called. It's never a good thing when the call after you leave.... I had my blood tests and glucose screening done, so they were calling with the results. My hemoglobin is about 12.4, which is great since I'm normally borderline anemic. My thyroid levels were good too, so that means the higher dose of levothyroxin is working just as it should be doing.
Then the bad news - I failed my glucose test. Dr Rose has said that 140 and under is considered to be 'normal', 141-189 is 'inconclusive' and warrants a retest which is a 3 hour fasting test, and 190+ is considered having gestational diabetes. Well, I tested in at 191. Yay, another complication. For the next week, I'm supposed to log all the food I eat. They sent a few prescriptions over for me to get filled. One was for lancets, one for a glucose monitor, and one for test strips. I go back to Rochester next Thursday to meet with the dietitian and diabetic counselor. They are going to show me how to check my blood sugars and when I'm supposed to do it. From the sounds of it, they don't think I'll need medication and I should be able to control it just by what I eat. We'll see what happens. Hubs is taking the afternoon off to go with me.
The nurse I spoke with on the phone gave me a 'heads up' on a few other concerns. When a mom has gestational diabetes, the baby usually has a higher birth weight. Babies born at term are closer to 10 pounds, which she said can cause complications in itself. There is a chance of shoulder dysplasia and an increased risk of C-section. Baby also runs risks from his/her blood sugar dropping after birth and will have to be more closely monitored after birth. It sounds like I will be going in for weekly appointments after my appointment on Thursday so they can monitor the baby with non-stress tests and to watch the baby's weight and the amount of fluid. I guess this really isn't such a bad thing since we're getting closer to when the doc figures the baby will come. As of right now I'm almost 29 weeks.
My wonderfully amazing husband talked to his boss after I called to tell him about my upcoming appointment. He asked if I wanted him to go with me, and after some discussion, he told me it was best if I don't travel that far alone (it's over an hour drive to see our doctors, but they ARE specialists and some of the best in the country!) He told his boss that my appointments are going to be weekly. One of the great things about him working for a small shop is that his boss is much more flexible than most. His boss has a child with medical issues also, so he's pretty understanding about all this. He said it's fine, but that hubs is going to have to make up some, if not all, of the time somehow. So that means he'll probably be working Saturdays, or possibly just staying a couple hours late most nights. I'm ok with that, especially since he's really doing it for me. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?? I know I sing his praises quite often, but from my past relationship experiences, most of those 'men' wouldn't have been so supportive.
Speaking of my wonderful husband, I got some 'alone time' out with him on Saturday (after he cleaned up the branch we lost during Thursday's wind storm!)
We had a sitter come for a few hours while we went out for a few hours. It was his birthday, and there was a big 'We Love You' party for our friend with cancer. I was the designated driver, obviously. We went for him to have a few adult beverages and to visit with friends, then out for supper. We had just asked for a 'to-go' container when the sitter called - Scraps was vomiting :( She sat with Beau while we took him into Urgent Care since he was already on antibiotics but was still running a fever.
These past almost 2 weeks, I have be very tired besides dealing with the dizzy spells. Hopefully after Thursday we can get all of this under control. But my house is falling apart. My kitchen is a disaster. I don't have the energy to get caught up with it. I've fallen way behind on laundry. I can barely stay awake enough to do my homework. I've been doing all my errands right away in the morning after dropping Beau off at school, and by the time I get home I'm completely wiped.
One of my current classes, stress management and wellness, has given me some tools to use to help combat stress. I've actually been practicing some of the meditation methods and found them useful. Some are more difficult to do with small children around, but I make due. I'll be sure to post the ones that are working best :) I'm actually thinking of using some of the meditation methods for labor when baby comes! Yes, I'm planning to do this delivery all natural again, so we'll see what happens!
We spent a week with sickness going through the house. Beau had strep and an ear infection. Scrappy caught a bad cold and had a sore throat. Hubs ended up with an awful head cold, bad enough that it kept him home from work for a day. In the middle of all that, we still went to a benefit for our friend who has terminal cancer. We didn't stay long, but we did make it there. After everyone else had gotten over being sick, I got hit with a head cold. My balance is horrid as it is just from the pregnancy. Add the vertigo that comes with severely clogged sinuses does not help. And the additional dizziness, which we thought was from low blood sugar from what the doctors said.
My weekends have been super busy with the kids and with hubs working Saturdays and church and Sunday school on Sundays. It's been so busy that I even gave away the 10 gallons of tomatoes that I had picked a week ago with the intention of making spaghetti sauce. I still have 3 bags and a box of apples sitting on the table out back that I haven't had time to do yet. From my dizzy spells, I've decided it's something I can't do if hubs isn't here. Maybe this weekend I'll have a chance to do at least some of them. On Sunday that is, since he's going in to work on Saturday. My car has decided it doesn't wanna work right - almost sounds like the spark plugs are misfiring or maybe something with the fuel injectors, but it shakes and jerks so awful when it's idling. He's going to see if he can figure out what's wrong with it.
An update on baby: My last appointment, on Tuesday, baby weighed in at about 3 pounds 4 ounces. My previous appointment baby was about 2 pounds, so he/she is growing really well!! We still see echogenic bowel, but we weren't too surprised by that. The blood pocket is still there too. When I went to TOPS yesterday, I finally gained 2 pounds. Doc said I SHOULD be gaining about 1/2-1 pound per week and baby should be gaining 1/4-1/2 pound per week.
Shortly after we got home, the doctor's office called. It's never a good thing when the call after you leave.... I had my blood tests and glucose screening done, so they were calling with the results. My hemoglobin is about 12.4, which is great since I'm normally borderline anemic. My thyroid levels were good too, so that means the higher dose of levothyroxin is working just as it should be doing.
Then the bad news - I failed my glucose test. Dr Rose has said that 140 and under is considered to be 'normal', 141-189 is 'inconclusive' and warrants a retest which is a 3 hour fasting test, and 190+ is considered having gestational diabetes. Well, I tested in at 191. Yay, another complication. For the next week, I'm supposed to log all the food I eat. They sent a few prescriptions over for me to get filled. One was for lancets, one for a glucose monitor, and one for test strips. I go back to Rochester next Thursday to meet with the dietitian and diabetic counselor. They are going to show me how to check my blood sugars and when I'm supposed to do it. From the sounds of it, they don't think I'll need medication and I should be able to control it just by what I eat. We'll see what happens. Hubs is taking the afternoon off to go with me.
The nurse I spoke with on the phone gave me a 'heads up' on a few other concerns. When a mom has gestational diabetes, the baby usually has a higher birth weight. Babies born at term are closer to 10 pounds, which she said can cause complications in itself. There is a chance of shoulder dysplasia and an increased risk of C-section. Baby also runs risks from his/her blood sugar dropping after birth and will have to be more closely monitored after birth. It sounds like I will be going in for weekly appointments after my appointment on Thursday so they can monitor the baby with non-stress tests and to watch the baby's weight and the amount of fluid. I guess this really isn't such a bad thing since we're getting closer to when the doc figures the baby will come. As of right now I'm almost 29 weeks.
My wonderfully amazing husband talked to his boss after I called to tell him about my upcoming appointment. He asked if I wanted him to go with me, and after some discussion, he told me it was best if I don't travel that far alone (it's over an hour drive to see our doctors, but they ARE specialists and some of the best in the country!) He told his boss that my appointments are going to be weekly. One of the great things about him working for a small shop is that his boss is much more flexible than most. His boss has a child with medical issues also, so he's pretty understanding about all this. He said it's fine, but that hubs is going to have to make up some, if not all, of the time somehow. So that means he'll probably be working Saturdays, or possibly just staying a couple hours late most nights. I'm ok with that, especially since he's really doing it for me. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?? I know I sing his praises quite often, but from my past relationship experiences, most of those 'men' wouldn't have been so supportive.
Speaking of my wonderful husband, I got some 'alone time' out with him on Saturday (after he cleaned up the branch we lost during Thursday's wind storm!)
We had a sitter come for a few hours while we went out for a few hours. It was his birthday, and there was a big 'We Love You' party for our friend with cancer. I was the designated driver, obviously. We went for him to have a few adult beverages and to visit with friends, then out for supper. We had just asked for a 'to-go' container when the sitter called - Scraps was vomiting :( She sat with Beau while we took him into Urgent Care since he was already on antibiotics but was still running a fever.
These past almost 2 weeks, I have be very tired besides dealing with the dizzy spells. Hopefully after Thursday we can get all of this under control. But my house is falling apart. My kitchen is a disaster. I don't have the energy to get caught up with it. I've fallen way behind on laundry. I can barely stay awake enough to do my homework. I've been doing all my errands right away in the morning after dropping Beau off at school, and by the time I get home I'm completely wiped.
One of my current classes, stress management and wellness, has given me some tools to use to help combat stress. I've actually been practicing some of the meditation methods and found them useful. Some are more difficult to do with small children around, but I make due. I'll be sure to post the ones that are working best :) I'm actually thinking of using some of the meditation methods for labor when baby comes! Yes, I'm planning to do this delivery all natural again, so we'll see what happens!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Revamping and Redoing
I've been a SAHM mom for one year and 5 months, and I still have no idea what I'm doing. No one tells you how hard it really is to be home with your kids. Or if they do tell you, very seldom do you believe them. I mean really, how hard can it be???
Well, believe me, it's a lot harder than it looks!! Between the running and doctor's appointments and cleaning and laundry, it seems like nothing is EVER done!! Factor in a child with a medical condition, and that amplifies it.
I must admit that now that school has started for my oldest, some of the chaos and craziness has died down. The end of summer means no more baseball until next summer. But it brings with it a whole new array of appointments. Now it's back to Girl Scouts, church and Sunday school, and homework. The scheduling for all the running had to be peared down so that I can make it home in time to pick Beau up from school. Every now and then, I do have to find someone else to pick her up or drop her off, but most often it's just me.
I tried making a schedule to follow for basics during the day. Turns out I can't keep to a schedule. Either can the little man. He doesn't nap when I schedule him to. He doesn't play quietly during his 'scheduled' time either. I guess with a 3 year old, trying to maintain a set schedule is just not in the cards. Yeah, I have my list of "to-do"s, but I think that's going to be the best I can do.
Today's list of to-dos??
Scrappy is working a little harder on potty training right now, so he's ACTUALLY wearing underpants - which is really big for him. So obviously, I have to have some laundry going so I can wash up his accidents. I'm almost out of laundry soap so I'm going to try making some homemade from a recipe I got from a friend. I'm about 2 meals behind on dishes, so I have those to do. Clothes to put away. Vacuum. Cooked down my chicken yesterday, so today I have to sort it all out and strain it and clean the meat and hopefully can it. I'm really hoping the weather doesn't get as hot as predicted. (Supposed to be 90 today, but I think I'd prefer the 70's.) And, at some point, I need to get some reading done - I have a paper due Wednesday for school....
Well, believe me, it's a lot harder than it looks!! Between the running and doctor's appointments and cleaning and laundry, it seems like nothing is EVER done!! Factor in a child with a medical condition, and that amplifies it.
I must admit that now that school has started for my oldest, some of the chaos and craziness has died down. The end of summer means no more baseball until next summer. But it brings with it a whole new array of appointments. Now it's back to Girl Scouts, church and Sunday school, and homework. The scheduling for all the running had to be peared down so that I can make it home in time to pick Beau up from school. Every now and then, I do have to find someone else to pick her up or drop her off, but most often it's just me.
I tried making a schedule to follow for basics during the day. Turns out I can't keep to a schedule. Either can the little man. He doesn't nap when I schedule him to. He doesn't play quietly during his 'scheduled' time either. I guess with a 3 year old, trying to maintain a set schedule is just not in the cards. Yeah, I have my list of "to-do"s, but I think that's going to be the best I can do.
Today's list of to-dos??
Scrappy is working a little harder on potty training right now, so he's ACTUALLY wearing underpants - which is really big for him. So obviously, I have to have some laundry going so I can wash up his accidents. I'm almost out of laundry soap so I'm going to try making some homemade from a recipe I got from a friend. I'm about 2 meals behind on dishes, so I have those to do. Clothes to put away. Vacuum. Cooked down my chicken yesterday, so today I have to sort it all out and strain it and clean the meat and hopefully can it. I'm really hoping the weather doesn't get as hot as predicted. (Supposed to be 90 today, but I think I'd prefer the 70's.) And, at some point, I need to get some reading done - I have a paper due Wednesday for school....
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Domestication :)
I have to admit, I love being a housewife. I love being domesticated. I love spending an afternoon cooking up a storm to feed my family a good hearty meal. It's even better when my husband decides he's going to do the dishes for me :) (Yes it happens quite often too!! He's the best!!)
I know it's early for nesting for this little one. Actually what I'm doing is preparing. The plan had been to make a bunch of freezer meals so they can go right from freezer to oven and we can still have yummy home cooked meals every night this winter without much work. Well, considering my 7 cubic foot freezer is full (and I mean FULL) already, why not do some canning?! (No, it wasn't originally my idea - it was Opa's). I have 23 quarts of fresh tomatoes from my Opa's garden that we blanched and froze, plus 8 quarts of green and yellow beans. Thursday we decided to do 'a few more' tomatoes since he wanted some canned to take on the road. We ended up with a total of 18 quarts and 18 pints of tomatoes. I know I could just say 27 quarts, but we did them in both sized jars so we each have 9.
A lot easier than I thought!! 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, then add your tomatoes and squish the air out. Opa told me to be sure there's about 1/2 inch of headroom too. We kept the juice separate (since the tomatoes had plenty of their own) and he cooked that down for a few hours, skimmed off the water after letting it sit and cool over night, strained out the seeds, and froze it. Perfect for homemade soup :)
I thought today would be a good day for doing some more canning - the weather was beautiful, in the 70's, and the kids could play outside while I was working in the house. Hubby was gone, putting some hours at the shop, so it was perfect. Kids and I went to Farmer's Market (one of my FAVORITE places in the summer and especially the fall!! Yeah, some stuff is a little more expensive, but you can't beat the freshness!!) I made the mistake of letting the kids pick out my onions and ended up with one bad one. But we got 2 good sized bags of apples for $2, 2 pumpkins about the size of volleyballs for $4, a pimento pepper for $0.50, and a couple onions for $1.
Picked the ripe tomatoes and a couple yellow peppers from my garden, so I put tomato sauce on my list. Found out my cousin absolutely LOVED the pumpkin butter I gave out for Christmas last year, so I promised I'd make her some more. Beau was begging for homemade applesauce for lunch, and I didn't want to open a jar I'd already sealed, so why not make some more :) Also decided better use up the ham hocks and ham pieces that were in the freezer so bean and ham soup was added to the list. And while I'm at it, why not make chicken stock and can some chicken too??
Well, that's NOT what happened :(
Yes, the applesauce was made, courtesy of my Pampered Chef goodies (since I only had a few apples to do, I didn't get out my apple peeler/corer/slicer, but I DID use my serrated peeler and my apple corer.) Super easy - I can't say I really have a recipe, since I cook like everyone's grandma - a pinch of this and a pinch of that. My method? Once the apples are peeled and cored, I cut them into quarters (since they're small apples), add a little sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little water, and cook covered about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that, I remove the lid and cook until desired tenderness, mash with my potato masher, and cook until desired thickness. A little taste test here and there and maybe a little more sugar or cinnamon. I don't have a preference for a type of apples (besides free - that always works good for me!!), but I have been getting Wealthy windfalls from FM. They are a little bruised, but that doesn't matter. If it's too bad I might cut it out, but so far it's been pretty good!!
While the applesauce was cooking, I started what was going to be tomato sauce but ended up turning into spaghetti sauce. (I thought it tasted really good when done, just a little sweeter than the canned stuff.) I started out with blanching and shocking my tomatoes so I could remove the skins. The tomatoes were pretty firm, so they didn't give off a lot of juice when I did this. I cut out the stems and threw all the tomatoes into my 4 quart soup pot (it was about 1/3 full), cut a yellow pepper into big chunks and added about 3/4 of that, 1/4 of an onion in big chunks, some Italian seasoning, and about 2 tsp of garlic. I had to crush the tomatoes down a little at first to get some juice for it to simmer in, then used my immersion blender to chop things up a little more. I let this all cook a couple hours, sampled (needed a sprinkle of salt to combat the sweetness), then removed this lid to cook down a little more. I REALLY hate it when the tomato sauce splatters all over the stove, so I went to the Devil Store (WalMart for those who don't know DS) and had gotten a screen to prevent grease splatters for bacon - works great with the tomato sauce too!!! Didn't can this one - just ended up in the fridge in a Tupperware container.
Got my bean and ham soup started too!! Super easy - add 2 bags of dried beans (no, I don't pre-soak mine) and the package of ham hocks and just boil the crap out of it for a few hours until the beans are soft. Scrape the meat off the bones, discard the rest, add the already-cooked-leftover ham, then can it! Ended up with 4 quarts. Unfortunately that was the last thing I made for the day.
I LOVE homemade chicken noodle soup. My mom and I had canned some chicken and broth a couple years ago and it was really good and makes it easy to make soup whenever I want, and it tastes so much better than using bouillon. Even though hubs doesn't like chicken noodle soup, I can still use the canned meat to make chicken gravy for biscuits or other things like that - or hot dishes. Decided I wanted to do that today, but didn't have everything I needed. Made my shopping list, plus I had to get a few things to make Snicker salad for the family reunion tomorrow.
I was putting my shopping list into my purse, stepped on a toy that had been left out, and hit the hardwood floor. Hard. It hurt. So, of course, I didn't go anywhere until hubby came home. Called him, in tears, and told him what happened, plus I was having horrid pains in my side. Felt a little better by the time he got home, so I convinced him to take me to the store, but went pretty slow. But I got all my stuff I needed. Hopefully I'll get my chicken started tomorrow - it takes 2 days to make. Once I make it, I'll share the 'recipe' since I don't use a real one. Same thing with the pumpkin butter. But for now, I'm off to bed. Hoping to get updated again in a few days, hopefully with some pictures too!!
Oh, and to update the TOPS weigh in and pregnancy weight loss/gain: I was down 1/2 pound this week, bringing my total loss to 13 1/2 pounds.
I know it's early for nesting for this little one. Actually what I'm doing is preparing. The plan had been to make a bunch of freezer meals so they can go right from freezer to oven and we can still have yummy home cooked meals every night this winter without much work. Well, considering my 7 cubic foot freezer is full (and I mean FULL) already, why not do some canning?! (No, it wasn't originally my idea - it was Opa's). I have 23 quarts of fresh tomatoes from my Opa's garden that we blanched and froze, plus 8 quarts of green and yellow beans. Thursday we decided to do 'a few more' tomatoes since he wanted some canned to take on the road. We ended up with a total of 18 quarts and 18 pints of tomatoes. I know I could just say 27 quarts, but we did them in both sized jars so we each have 9.
A lot easier than I thought!! 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, then add your tomatoes and squish the air out. Opa told me to be sure there's about 1/2 inch of headroom too. We kept the juice separate (since the tomatoes had plenty of their own) and he cooked that down for a few hours, skimmed off the water after letting it sit and cool over night, strained out the seeds, and froze it. Perfect for homemade soup :)
I thought today would be a good day for doing some more canning - the weather was beautiful, in the 70's, and the kids could play outside while I was working in the house. Hubby was gone, putting some hours at the shop, so it was perfect. Kids and I went to Farmer's Market (one of my FAVORITE places in the summer and especially the fall!! Yeah, some stuff is a little more expensive, but you can't beat the freshness!!) I made the mistake of letting the kids pick out my onions and ended up with one bad one. But we got 2 good sized bags of apples for $2, 2 pumpkins about the size of volleyballs for $4, a pimento pepper for $0.50, and a couple onions for $1.
Picked the ripe tomatoes and a couple yellow peppers from my garden, so I put tomato sauce on my list. Found out my cousin absolutely LOVED the pumpkin butter I gave out for Christmas last year, so I promised I'd make her some more. Beau was begging for homemade applesauce for lunch, and I didn't want to open a jar I'd already sealed, so why not make some more :) Also decided better use up the ham hocks and ham pieces that were in the freezer so bean and ham soup was added to the list. And while I'm at it, why not make chicken stock and can some chicken too??
Well, that's NOT what happened :(
Yes, the applesauce was made, courtesy of my Pampered Chef goodies (since I only had a few apples to do, I didn't get out my apple peeler/corer/slicer, but I DID use my serrated peeler and my apple corer.) Super easy - I can't say I really have a recipe, since I cook like everyone's grandma - a pinch of this and a pinch of that. My method? Once the apples are peeled and cored, I cut them into quarters (since they're small apples), add a little sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little water, and cook covered about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that, I remove the lid and cook until desired tenderness, mash with my potato masher, and cook until desired thickness. A little taste test here and there and maybe a little more sugar or cinnamon. I don't have a preference for a type of apples (besides free - that always works good for me!!), but I have been getting Wealthy windfalls from FM. They are a little bruised, but that doesn't matter. If it's too bad I might cut it out, but so far it's been pretty good!!
While the applesauce was cooking, I started what was going to be tomato sauce but ended up turning into spaghetti sauce. (I thought it tasted really good when done, just a little sweeter than the canned stuff.) I started out with blanching and shocking my tomatoes so I could remove the skins. The tomatoes were pretty firm, so they didn't give off a lot of juice when I did this. I cut out the stems and threw all the tomatoes into my 4 quart soup pot (it was about 1/3 full), cut a yellow pepper into big chunks and added about 3/4 of that, 1/4 of an onion in big chunks, some Italian seasoning, and about 2 tsp of garlic. I had to crush the tomatoes down a little at first to get some juice for it to simmer in, then used my immersion blender to chop things up a little more. I let this all cook a couple hours, sampled (needed a sprinkle of salt to combat the sweetness), then removed this lid to cook down a little more. I REALLY hate it when the tomato sauce splatters all over the stove, so I went to the Devil Store (WalMart for those who don't know DS) and had gotten a screen to prevent grease splatters for bacon - works great with the tomato sauce too!!! Didn't can this one - just ended up in the fridge in a Tupperware container.
Got my bean and ham soup started too!! Super easy - add 2 bags of dried beans (no, I don't pre-soak mine) and the package of ham hocks and just boil the crap out of it for a few hours until the beans are soft. Scrape the meat off the bones, discard the rest, add the already-cooked-leftover ham, then can it! Ended up with 4 quarts. Unfortunately that was the last thing I made for the day.
I LOVE homemade chicken noodle soup. My mom and I had canned some chicken and broth a couple years ago and it was really good and makes it easy to make soup whenever I want, and it tastes so much better than using bouillon. Even though hubs doesn't like chicken noodle soup, I can still use the canned meat to make chicken gravy for biscuits or other things like that - or hot dishes. Decided I wanted to do that today, but didn't have everything I needed. Made my shopping list, plus I had to get a few things to make Snicker salad for the family reunion tomorrow.
I was putting my shopping list into my purse, stepped on a toy that had been left out, and hit the hardwood floor. Hard. It hurt. So, of course, I didn't go anywhere until hubby came home. Called him, in tears, and told him what happened, plus I was having horrid pains in my side. Felt a little better by the time he got home, so I convinced him to take me to the store, but went pretty slow. But I got all my stuff I needed. Hopefully I'll get my chicken started tomorrow - it takes 2 days to make. Once I make it, I'll share the 'recipe' since I don't use a real one. Same thing with the pumpkin butter. But for now, I'm off to bed. Hoping to get updated again in a few days, hopefully with some pictures too!!
Oh, and to update the TOPS weigh in and pregnancy weight loss/gain: I was down 1/2 pound this week, bringing my total loss to 13 1/2 pounds.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Back to School
It's been a week since my last entry - so much for every day or for every other day!! (I AM working on getting this into my schedule!!) I did get my kitchen cleaned and organized - for the most part. Beau and I spent 6 hours working on it. Crazy, I know!!! But it's nice being able to use my kitchen again. It just seems like so many things have gotten away from me when I was on bed rest and it's taking forever to catch up!!! I've documented a lot of the stuff we buy, and I've made some new rules for the house. I also have a couple new dry-erase boards that have been added to the fridge, in addition to the one that's already by the phone. There is also a corkboard that has been next to the phone for some time. The dry erase board there is for frequently called phone numbers: our CF nurse, Shopko pharmacy, a few friends. Also when checking the answering machine, any one who needs to be called back gets written up there with their phone number until we no longer need it. The cork board holds various notes and business cards. One of the boards on the fridge is our running grocery list. The other is for notes/to-do list for mom and dad. Yeah, at my 'old age' and with the baby brain going on, I don't always remember all the stuff hubby and Beau ask me to do. Write it down and I can't forget it :) Today, for example - call vet (girls need meds), Beau needs allergy meds, call CF nurse about Scrap's meds, order replacement hose for vest. I never would have remembered if it wasn't right in front of me!!! lol!!
Made a couple batches of applesauce yesterday - ended up with 5 pint jars and 9 half-pint jars, plus some I put right into the fridge to have with meals. Scraps hasn't really tried it, but everyone else seems to think mama did pretty good. We bought the pint jars and the half pint jars were given to us. The initial investment will be worth it (along with the 'canning supplies kit' hubs got me - the tongs, funnel, and magnet) because right now for generic applesauce, we pay $2.99 per jar. For ALL of the applesauce I made, plus about a quart I made on Saturday as a test run, we paid $9 for the apples at Farmer's Market. One of the bags was only about 1/2 a bag since the kids had eaten some of the apples throughout the week. Hubs was able to get some really yummy apples from a customer for free too. Next time I think we might just wait and get them from him!! I told hubs that if he can, to get 2 more bags, then we should be set for the next year until apples are ready again :)
Another huge step in this past week was specifically directed to me - being lower maintenence, especially with Baby on the way. So... I cut my hair. A lot shorter. 12 inches donated to Locks of Love. I almost cried, but didn't. Kinda liking the new style, makes it easier to brush, don't have the snarls I did before. Hubs is happy I can't put it in a bun anymore (my go-to style when I have time for nothing else). I'll also save a TON on shampoo and conditioner. It's easier to wash now too since I have to do it under the bath faucet cuz we don't have a shower. Some of my traumatic shots:
It FEELS so much lighter too!! Don't think my hair is going to be giving me too many more headaches :) I'm still not COMPLETELY used to it, but it's working a lot better for my daily routine.
My oldest also started back to school today - 3rd grade already. Of course, we had the usual fight last night because she wanted to finish watching WWE on tv. But much to my surprise, she was already up when I got up at 630 this morning!! Ate breakfast then hopped in the tub with only being asked once. Very smooth first day! My little man didn't even throw the normal fit of not wanting her to leave or wanting to go with her (we live too close for her to ride the bus, so Scraps and I take her to school every morning - she's not old enough to walk on her own!!).
Of course one couldn't get pictures taken without the other one getting them too, but that's fine with Mommy :)
Now I'm off to try getting some homework done and get lunch made for the little man and mama :)
Made a couple batches of applesauce yesterday - ended up with 5 pint jars and 9 half-pint jars, plus some I put right into the fridge to have with meals. Scraps hasn't really tried it, but everyone else seems to think mama did pretty good. We bought the pint jars and the half pint jars were given to us. The initial investment will be worth it (along with the 'canning supplies kit' hubs got me - the tongs, funnel, and magnet) because right now for generic applesauce, we pay $2.99 per jar. For ALL of the applesauce I made, plus about a quart I made on Saturday as a test run, we paid $9 for the apples at Farmer's Market. One of the bags was only about 1/2 a bag since the kids had eaten some of the apples throughout the week. Hubs was able to get some really yummy apples from a customer for free too. Next time I think we might just wait and get them from him!! I told hubs that if he can, to get 2 more bags, then we should be set for the next year until apples are ready again :)
Another huge step in this past week was specifically directed to me - being lower maintenence, especially with Baby on the way. So... I cut my hair. A lot shorter. 12 inches donated to Locks of Love. I almost cried, but didn't. Kinda liking the new style, makes it easier to brush, don't have the snarls I did before. Hubs is happy I can't put it in a bun anymore (my go-to style when I have time for nothing else). I'll also save a TON on shampoo and conditioner. It's easier to wash now too since I have to do it under the bath faucet cuz we don't have a shower. Some of my traumatic shots:
It FEELS so much lighter too!! Don't think my hair is going to be giving me too many more headaches :) I'm still not COMPLETELY used to it, but it's working a lot better for my daily routine.
My oldest also started back to school today - 3rd grade already. Of course, we had the usual fight last night because she wanted to finish watching WWE on tv. But much to my surprise, she was already up when I got up at 630 this morning!! Ate breakfast then hopped in the tub with only being asked once. Very smooth first day! My little man didn't even throw the normal fit of not wanting her to leave or wanting to go with her (we live too close for her to ride the bus, so Scraps and I take her to school every morning - she's not old enough to walk on her own!!).
Of course one couldn't get pictures taken without the other one getting them too, but that's fine with Mommy :)
Now I'm off to try getting some homework done and get lunch made for the little man and mama :)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Barriers.....
Yes, I'm way overdue on this entry. My life has almost fallen apart in the past month and a half, and I have been having trouble putting it into words. I have had enough trouble just understanding it all myself. It's been more than a little overwhelming.
June 24 saw me back in the doctor's office - on basically an emergency-type visit. The bleeding. Again. I called hubs at work and then Grammy to watch the kids. Doctor L had an appt open at 2 and since I called at 12:15, he thought I could wait (obviously heavy bleeding wasn't much of a concern to him even though it scared the hell out of me!!!) We went in, he listened and heard baby's heart beat, and told me to take it easy. We were in, seen, and out in less than 10 minutes and I was in no way reassured. When asked why I was bleeding, his answer was "I don't know." Well, soon enough we would find out how reliable - and what a LIAR, this doctor was.
After my June 12th appt (and my last ultrasound here), I was supposed to be referred to Maternal-Fetal Medicine so they could get my medical background - supposedly. After my July 15th appt, I was FINALLY scheduled with Maternal-Fetal Medicine and was to go to Rochester to see them to 1) meet with the nurse, 2) have an ultrasound, 3) meet with the OB, and 4) meet with the Genetics Counselor. Um, no, I canceled the last appt right away - there was no reason to meet with the Genetics Counselor after we already did that less than 3 years ago after Scrappy was born. We knew all we needed to about the chances of CF with the baby, the complications associated with CF, and all that other stuff that Dr L didn't seem to know about. So here I still had 3 appts - but when I asked the appt desk AND Dr L's office WHY I was being referred - NO ONE knew!! Was it for the CF or was it for the bleeding?? Turns out we wouldn't actually find out until we got to Mayo.
July 25 - Hubby took a half day off to go with me to my appts at Mayo. Best decision ever. We met with Dr R, who is a specialist in high risk pregnancies. Turns out we'd been referred because there is a blood 'pool' or 'pocket' above the placenta. Dr L knew about it but didn't bother to tell use. Turns out THIS is why I've been bleeding - it's the blood from this pocket leaking. WTH??? He couldn't say "I'm sending you to Roch because idk why this is here?" (Nope, NOT going back to Dr L! Ever!) Dr R told us to expect that Baby will most likely be here before 34 weeks because of the size of the pocket. It's a rare complication and they're not sure why it happens, it just does. (At least it's an explanation and an HONEST one at that!!) Dr R said Baby most likely will end up in Rochester anyway, and it's up to us if we want to continue to see the docs at home or not. Until we make our decision, we're supposed to continue with our appts as scheduled.
Aug 26 - Second appt in Rochester. We had 2 appts with Dr Y, who was ok to being with, seemed nice and friendly, but I really DON'T like liars. Especially when it comes to mine or my children's health. Dr Y told us he's been in contact with Dr R and we're supposed to be having checkups and ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks. According to Dr Y, we would ONLY do the steroid injection to help Baby's lungs develop if I was still ACTIVELY bleeding. My husband and I also decided that I'm not going to get my tubes tied right away, as we had planned, because of the likelihood of Baby coming early. We want to keep our options open. Dr Y, however, said we're still going through with everything as planned, delivering here even though we told him we want to have the baby at Mayo, and that I'm still getting my tubes tied, even though we told him we changed our minds. It was completely obvious he wasn't listening to me. When I asked about when we should follow up with Dr R, Dr Y changed the subject. I finally took it upon myself to call Mayo and found out the only contact he had with Dr Rose was ONE EMAIL. Like I said, I'm NOT a fan of liars. I made an appt to see Dr R, and we've decided that is where all of our appointments are going to be done from here on out.
Went to see Dr R. He was happy to see us. I think switching over there is the best decision we've made. He said it looks like Baby will still be coming early just because of how much bleeding I had earlier on, but it's a good sign that it's stopped. Hopefully it means Baby won't be coming AS early. We weren't scheduled for an ultrasound, but he said let's do one anyway :) We saw that the pocket was still there. We also saw that Baby still has echogenic bowel. (Echogenic bowel in this pregnancy means either 1) Baby has been swallowing blood and it's moving through his/her system (which doesn't do any harm) or 2) it's a precursor to meconium ileus, which is intestinal blockage caused by mucus caused by CF - obviously we're hoping for #1!!!) If Baby DOES have m.i. at least we'll already be in Rochester, which is where he/she would be sent anyway to have it treated. We are supposed to go back to see Dr R in 3 weeks. As we were on our way out the door, Scot mentioned getting a tour or knowing where to go if anything happens - so Dr R set up a tour right then and there for us!! Talk about a great doctor!!
I'm going to wrap this up now, but will keep posted as the pregnancy progresses. And to keep things up-to-date, yes, I'm still attending TOPS religiously. I'm not following my eating plan as religiously, but how often can we when we're pregnant. But to-date, I'm at a 13 pound loss total! I had gotten down a total of 15 pounds, but babies always have an effect on that :)
I've been doing some thinking, and become addicted to a new blog I found. I'm working on making my household more workable... and looking at re-evaluating my blog a bit. Yes it was originally started as a method for me to track my health and fitness efforts, but I may expand that. The title - TODAY is Day One - is all about new beginnings - being able to start over TODAY. This can be health, fitness, financial, or just how to live your life.
Since I've not worked much since June, I KNOW there need to be some budgetary changes made in our house. I'm also tired of the mounds of 'to-do' items on my list and would like to get it all under control before baby comes, especially since school has started for me now and will be starting for Beau soon. My first effort has come in following many of the tips found in the blog I've been reading and incorporating many things from a book I have, "The Family Manager Takes Charge." I'm going to start blogging about how these changes are progressing in our household. I'm also up for suggestions and input. No one ever tells you the reality of being a SAHM and how challenging it actually is. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and now, more than a year later, I'm working on getting my life in order. Some things just take time.....
(yes at the beginning I said 'the past month and a half.' I started this entry, then life just got in the way. I'm going to make an honest effort to blog once a day or at least every other day. Today's actual date - the completion of this entry - lands on Aug 30, more than a month after it was started.)
June 24 saw me back in the doctor's office - on basically an emergency-type visit. The bleeding. Again. I called hubs at work and then Grammy to watch the kids. Doctor L had an appt open at 2 and since I called at 12:15, he thought I could wait (obviously heavy bleeding wasn't much of a concern to him even though it scared the hell out of me!!!) We went in, he listened and heard baby's heart beat, and told me to take it easy. We were in, seen, and out in less than 10 minutes and I was in no way reassured. When asked why I was bleeding, his answer was "I don't know." Well, soon enough we would find out how reliable - and what a LIAR, this doctor was.
After my June 12th appt (and my last ultrasound here), I was supposed to be referred to Maternal-Fetal Medicine so they could get my medical background - supposedly. After my July 15th appt, I was FINALLY scheduled with Maternal-Fetal Medicine and was to go to Rochester to see them to 1) meet with the nurse, 2) have an ultrasound, 3) meet with the OB, and 4) meet with the Genetics Counselor. Um, no, I canceled the last appt right away - there was no reason to meet with the Genetics Counselor after we already did that less than 3 years ago after Scrappy was born. We knew all we needed to about the chances of CF with the baby, the complications associated with CF, and all that other stuff that Dr L didn't seem to know about. So here I still had 3 appts - but when I asked the appt desk AND Dr L's office WHY I was being referred - NO ONE knew!! Was it for the CF or was it for the bleeding?? Turns out we wouldn't actually find out until we got to Mayo.
July 25 - Hubby took a half day off to go with me to my appts at Mayo. Best decision ever. We met with Dr R, who is a specialist in high risk pregnancies. Turns out we'd been referred because there is a blood 'pool' or 'pocket' above the placenta. Dr L knew about it but didn't bother to tell use. Turns out THIS is why I've been bleeding - it's the blood from this pocket leaking. WTH??? He couldn't say "I'm sending you to Roch because idk why this is here?" (Nope, NOT going back to Dr L! Ever!) Dr R told us to expect that Baby will most likely be here before 34 weeks because of the size of the pocket. It's a rare complication and they're not sure why it happens, it just does. (At least it's an explanation and an HONEST one at that!!) Dr R said Baby most likely will end up in Rochester anyway, and it's up to us if we want to continue to see the docs at home or not. Until we make our decision, we're supposed to continue with our appts as scheduled.
Aug 26 - Second appt in Rochester. We had 2 appts with Dr Y, who was ok to being with, seemed nice and friendly, but I really DON'T like liars. Especially when it comes to mine or my children's health. Dr Y told us he's been in contact with Dr R and we're supposed to be having checkups and ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks. According to Dr Y, we would ONLY do the steroid injection to help Baby's lungs develop if I was still ACTIVELY bleeding. My husband and I also decided that I'm not going to get my tubes tied right away, as we had planned, because of the likelihood of Baby coming early. We want to keep our options open. Dr Y, however, said we're still going through with everything as planned, delivering here even though we told him we want to have the baby at Mayo, and that I'm still getting my tubes tied, even though we told him we changed our minds. It was completely obvious he wasn't listening to me. When I asked about when we should follow up with Dr R, Dr Y changed the subject. I finally took it upon myself to call Mayo and found out the only contact he had with Dr Rose was ONE EMAIL. Like I said, I'm NOT a fan of liars. I made an appt to see Dr R, and we've decided that is where all of our appointments are going to be done from here on out.
Went to see Dr R. He was happy to see us. I think switching over there is the best decision we've made. He said it looks like Baby will still be coming early just because of how much bleeding I had earlier on, but it's a good sign that it's stopped. Hopefully it means Baby won't be coming AS early. We weren't scheduled for an ultrasound, but he said let's do one anyway :) We saw that the pocket was still there. We also saw that Baby still has echogenic bowel. (Echogenic bowel in this pregnancy means either 1) Baby has been swallowing blood and it's moving through his/her system (which doesn't do any harm) or 2) it's a precursor to meconium ileus, which is intestinal blockage caused by mucus caused by CF - obviously we're hoping for #1!!!) If Baby DOES have m.i. at least we'll already be in Rochester, which is where he/she would be sent anyway to have it treated. We are supposed to go back to see Dr R in 3 weeks. As we were on our way out the door, Scot mentioned getting a tour or knowing where to go if anything happens - so Dr R set up a tour right then and there for us!! Talk about a great doctor!!
I'm going to wrap this up now, but will keep posted as the pregnancy progresses. And to keep things up-to-date, yes, I'm still attending TOPS religiously. I'm not following my eating plan as religiously, but how often can we when we're pregnant. But to-date, I'm at a 13 pound loss total! I had gotten down a total of 15 pounds, but babies always have an effect on that :)
I've been doing some thinking, and become addicted to a new blog I found. I'm working on making my household more workable... and looking at re-evaluating my blog a bit. Yes it was originally started as a method for me to track my health and fitness efforts, but I may expand that. The title - TODAY is Day One - is all about new beginnings - being able to start over TODAY. This can be health, fitness, financial, or just how to live your life.
Since I've not worked much since June, I KNOW there need to be some budgetary changes made in our house. I'm also tired of the mounds of 'to-do' items on my list and would like to get it all under control before baby comes, especially since school has started for me now and will be starting for Beau soon. My first effort has come in following many of the tips found in the blog I've been reading and incorporating many things from a book I have, "The Family Manager Takes Charge." I'm going to start blogging about how these changes are progressing in our household. I'm also up for suggestions and input. No one ever tells you the reality of being a SAHM and how challenging it actually is. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and now, more than a year later, I'm working on getting my life in order. Some things just take time.....
(yes at the beginning I said 'the past month and a half.' I started this entry, then life just got in the way. I'm going to make an honest effort to blog once a day or at least every other day. Today's actual date - the completion of this entry - lands on Aug 30, more than a month after it was started.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)