Little Stuff = Big Stuff

I keep finding these little pictures (on Facebook and Pinterest) that are so humbling and eye opening. Here's a good one...

I can't tell you how many times I'm cooking dinner, or feeding the baby, or doing some other task when one of the kids comes up to tell me something and I only half listen, and don't give them my full attention.  Hayden is old enough that he can call me out on it too.  A few months ago he asked me to look at something and I said "That's great buddy" and he said, "You aren't even looking!".  So, something else I want to work on is giving them my 100% attention when they have something to tell me or show me. 

Parmesan Meatloaf

I saw this delicious looking recipe for Parmesan meatloaf on Pinterest.  I'm not much on traditional meatloaf, but it happens to be one of Kevin's favorite meals.  I was trying to find a happy medium with this recipe, but it was a FAIL!  Here's the original recipe.

Here's the changes I made:

1. I added 1 egg
2. I used quick cooking oats instead of breadcrumbs
3. I added a half cup of shredded parmesan cheese to the meat mixture
4. I served it with noodles

I thought I could make even more changes for next time (so we'd love it), but Kevin told me I shouldn't ever make it again (talk about a blow to the ego!).  IF I made it again, I'd:

1. Not add the extra sauce on top (I'm not a saucey person)
2. Use regular pasta sauce instead of marinara sauce.
3. Cook it and eat it the same day (it was in the oven when Allie had her seizure, so once it was cooked we put it in the fridge and ate it the next day.)
4. Serve it with spaghetti as a side item.  Lots of reviews said it tasted like a meatball, and I wouldn't make it the main dish if I made it again.

Teaching Kids to Think

What I am striving to do....

(She was on KLOVE yesterday and, as a parent, I got a lot out of her stories/interview.  Here's the link to listen to the clip!)

Febrile Seizure

Parenting definitely has highs and lows.  Last night I had the lowest low I've ever experienced.  Here's the long version of what happened last night.

Wednesday morning at 12:30 am, I woke up to one of the kids coughing.  It sounded bad so I got out of bed to see which one was coughing.  I checked on all 3 kids and they all seemed fine.  I laid back down and the coughing started again.  I figured out it was Allie, so I went in and had her sit up so I could give her a drink.  When she woke up she started screaming and gasping for air.  It was really scary, so I called Kevin at work and asked if he thought I needed to take her to the ER.  He agreed something wasn't right so he was able to take vacation and come home.  He held Allie the rest of the night and she only had one more bad coughing spell.

When I woke up that morning I could tell she had a low grade fever.  It was right around 100, so I gave her some meds throughout the day to keep the fever at bay.  She was her normal, spunky self all morning and afternoon.  She woke up from her nap right before 4 and was still acting fine.  She had wanted to call my dad that afternoon and we didn't get a chance to before her nap, so I let her call after her nap.  While she was on the phone, she told my dad she wanted him to come hold her.  How can you say no to that?  So around 5 my parents stopped by.  Allie was content on her Papaw's lap.

About 5:30 we could tell Allie wasn't feeling well.  She started shaking a bit, which I just thought was her fever coming back on.  I took her temp and it was 102.4*.  She then proceeded to throw up.  I took her in the bathroom to clean her up and she was shaking so bad I needed to have my mom help me get her undressed.  I put her in a luke warm bath to rinse her off.  She seemed concerned she had dirty hair and was upset I hadn't washed it.  I got her dressed and the shaking was still bad.  She seemed to only want me so I wrapped her up in a fuzzy blanket and held her tight.  She was closing her eyes and being quiet and the shaking had stopped.  I called the after-hours clinic and made an appt for her at 7:40.  I could tell she was still very warm, (I took her temp and it jumped to 104.2*) so I told her I needed to set her down or let Papaw hold her so I could get her medicine.  She didn't talk, and just gave me a very blank stare.  I set her in my dad's lap, expecting a protest, but she just sat there.  I said to my mom, her lips looked a little purple.

I turned to get the medicine and my parents said she was getting ready to throw up again so I came running with the bucket.  She was making no noises and seemed to be trying to throw up.  Some came up, but she went completely limp and closed her eyes.  At this point we moved to the ground and my dad was holding her and smacking on her back.  She was just dead weight, not able to move, and getting more blue by the second.

Kevin, who had been sleeping, came in because of all the commotion.  He said "What's going on?", and my mom and I started screaming for him to call 911.  I was trying to tell him what had happened as he talked to the dispatcher, while smacking Allies back.  My mom tried to do a finger sweep of her mouth and her teeth were clenched shut.  Several more seconds went by with no changes.  I saw Hayden standing back looking confused and I had a melt down.  I started crying and praying, and about that time some more throw up came out, then she started opening and closing her eyes.  She seemed to have come back to life.  She was still burning up so we took her clothes off and I took her in the bathroom and started wiping a cold wash cloth on her.  She wouldn't talk, but just kept looking at me.  My dad kept asking her if she could hear us, and she just kept moving her eyes but not talking.

I came back in the family room so we could wait for the paramedics to get here.  Hayden came over and started talking to her and she was saying, "yeah" to him.  It was music to my ears to hear her talking.  The paramedics got here and listened to her chest, and said they thought it sounded like she had a seizure.  They gave us the option to await for our appointment, which was over an hour away, or they could take us straight to the hospital by ambulance and get seen immediately.  Kevin and I decided to go the ambulance route because she still had a fever and we were scared to death it might happen again.

Kevin got her carseat out of my car and they strapped it to the stretcher.  While they were getting things ready, Hayden brought Allie her ni-night that she loves.  It just melted my heart.  Then my mom said when she came back in the family room, Hayden looked at mom and said, "We should pray for Allie."  I almost cried again!  It just made my heart happy to know that when he was scared and confused, he knew to pray.  That was a good mommy moment.

I rode in the ambulance with Allie, and my dad drove Kevin to the hospital.  The doctor came in immediately and we went through the whole story of what happened.  He ordered blood work, a catheter for urine testing, flu and RSV testing, along with a chest x-ray.  Holding her down so she could get poked and prodded and swabbed was so hard.  She obviously wasn't happy with any of those nurses and she started showing some attitude and I loved it!  She was giving them looks that killed.  They would talk to her and she was so snippy!  "NO" was the word of the night.  "Do you feel better now?" "NO".  "Do you want ____?" "NO"!  "Let me take your temp" "NO".  "We are going to do this real fast" "NO".  I was just so happy to hear her talking.

Mom had sent a text and said Hayden wanted us to know he's said 5 prayers for Allie and one was, "God we know you have all the power in your hands."  Earlier the nurse brought me in medicine to give Allie for the fever.  It was 102 shortly after we arrived and before we left she was super chatty and happy.  Her temp was back down to 98.7!  The doctor came in and said all the tests were normal, the x-ray looked good, and agreed that she had a febrile seizure and just seemed to have a nasty little virus.  We got a little information on what exactly that was and were free to go.

Around 9 we packed up to leave and Allie decided once we got on the road she had to pee, so we let her use the potty I keep in my car.  I decided she needed a special treat for all she went through, so we got her a vanilla milkshake.  We got one for Hayden too because he was such a good big brother.  Allie was welcomed home by a house full!  Kevin's parents were here, my mom and Hayden and Krissy were waiting, along with TJ and the cats!  She liked the attention and enjoyed showing off her bandaids.  She didn't seem to want to go to bed, but once we tucked Hayden and her in, they both fell asleep almost immediately.

Kevin and I spent the next couple hours going over what had happened and crying about how scared we were and rejoicing about Hayden being the silver lining to this dark cloud.  We thanked God that my parents just happened to be here.  I can't even fathom having to go through all that by myself.  While it absoultly was one of the hardest nights ever, I feel like the love we have for each other, as a family, grew so much deeper.  And I didnt know that was possible.

These seizures happen to 1 out of 25 kids.  To read more about them and what you should do if it happens to you, click this link.

The first picture was during the ambulance ride.  The second picture is how we kept her distracted and entertained by our iphones :)  She loves looking at pictures of herself so we took plenty last night!

Here's my little Allie today...........

She has three sticker marks from the ambulance where they had to plug her up to the machine to check her heart rate etc.  She also has a scratch on her face from when she went limp and went into the puke bucket face first. She's been happy and talkative all day today.  Hope I never take these little moments for granted!

Pizza Casserole

I had a free 30 mins one day last week and browsed Pinterest!  I found several new recipes I wanted to try.  I thought I'd start with the safest one - Pizza Casserole.  No weird ingredients, so I knew we'd like it!

The recipe makes a huge 9x13 pan, so we were able to get 2 meals out of it (total bonus).  The casserole was good, but while it didn't knock my socks off, I loved those crunchy pepperoni on top!  Some people mentioned adding Italian seasoning or sausage to spice it up a bit.  I didn't try any of those additions, but if you like a little spice in your life, then go for it!
Here's the link to the original recipe...

Ingredients:

1 bag of Egg Noodles

1 2lb jar tomato sauce (I used Prego)

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 lbs hamburger meat

1 package pepperonis (I used turkey pepperoni)

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Brown the beef
3. Cook the egg noodles according to package
4. Layer as follows:
1. Thin layer of tomato sauce
2. Half the noodles
3. Half the beef
4. Half the sauce *(read tips below!)*
5. Half the noodles
6. Half the cheese
7. Rest of the sauce
8. Rest of the meat
9. Rest of the cheese
10. As many pepperonis as your little heart desires
5. Cover with foil and bake 30 mins
6. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 mins

Tips from me:

• Turkey pepperoni isn't nearly as greasy and it's just as tasty, so use it!
• I only put a layer of pepperoni on top, but NEXT time, I'd but some between #4 and #5.  There's not such thing as too many pepperonis!
• They make a 3lb jar of Prego and Kevin said he'd prefer it more saucy.  I liked it with the 2lb jar because I'm not a huge tomato sauce lover, so it's your call!

Heart Garland

Valentines is my favorite holiday (besides Christmas).  My mom sent me a link on Pinterest that had a picture of a heart garland.  It drives me crazy when I click on a picture and I don't get the step by step instructions on how to replicate what I've seen!  This link was one of those.  (And oddly enough this blog post is one of those!  If you need more pics let me know!)  There were a few pictures so it wasn't impossible to figure out, but I like things spelled out for me!

I bought 4 different colors of felt from Joanns.  I folded the felt in half and sewed a stitch on the fold of the felt.  Then I used my rotary cutter and sliced the sheets of felt in 1 inch strips.  I made some of the strips 5 inches long and some 3 inches long. 

I turned the felt strips inside out and sewed the bottoms together, giving them a heart shape!  I just continuously fed them into my sewing machine so I wasn't stopping and starting and wasting a bunch of thread.

 I don't have a picture of the next part, because my first attempt failed.  I thought I'd thread the hearts together with thread, but it was just not strong enough.  I had some yarn that worked perfect.  I had to buy an extra large needle with a large eye to be able to thread the yarn, but it worked perfect.  I had some leftover red and white balls from last valentines day and I put one between each heart.  I think I made the garland for less than $3 and I have enough supplies to probably make another!

4 Months

Happy 4 Months Krissy!  I've been taking a picture of her (well actually lots of pictures) every 20th day of the month.  Here are months 1-4 :)

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

This month:

• We've started cereal, which she hasn't decided if she likes yet.  
• She still has no desire to roll over, but she is loves "talking" and watching Hayden and Allie! 
• She doesn't mind tummy time, but it usually doesn't last long because she falls asleep.
• Her favorite toy are her hands.  She's just noticed she has toes so I'm sure they will make their way to her mouth soon!  
• She eats 6oz of Gentlease every 3 hours, eats a little cereal around dinner time, and sleeps a solid 12 hours at night.  
• She has been my best sleeper, but my most fussy baby (which is my fault).  I think it's probably because there are two other little people competing for mommy's attention and I can't stop what I'm doing every time she makes a peep.  
• She loves when I read to her and talk to her.  
• I think she looks like a girly version of Hayden. 

January Date Night

Kevin and I decided to make it a priority to have a date night once a month.  He plans the odd month dates (January, March, May... etc) and I plan the even month dates (February, April, June... etc) and we can choose not to tell each other what has been planned.  We were both really looking forward to this date last night!  We hadn't had one since before Krissy was born!

I knew he was taking me shooting, but I didn't know what all he had planned.  He bought me pink ear and eye protection which was my first surprise.  We did our shooting at Strictly Shooting and had a fun time!  (I wasn't a bad shot if I do say so myself).  Then he told me he was taking me to dinner at my favorite place.  I guessed China Bistro and I was right :)  I mealed on some General Tsos chicken!  He told me he had one more thing planned and it was something neither one of us had ever done.  I racked my brain and had no clue what he planned.  He told me he was taking me to an Icemen game.  I still don't understand the game what so ever (like why the guys hit each other a dozen times, but the 13th time ends up in a fight? and why the crowd cheers for fighting when it's frowned upon in just about every other sport? or why the officials stop the game so much?), BUT the atmosphere was high energy and fun!  I think the kids would really love going to a game so we may try to plan that before the season is over (as long as we can distract them during the the "Hey you suck - we're gonna knock the puck out of you" chant...).

Kevin favorite part of the date was between stop 1 and 2.  I was getting out of the car for dinner and something dropped in my boot when I was walking into China Bistro.  I stopped in the parking lot, shook my boot, and out came an empty bullet shell.  He planned a great date night so I have some high expectations to fill for February! 

January's Mid Month Update

Outside my window . . . it's chilly but sunny

I am thinking . . . I'm soooo glad Krissy is past her big growth spurt!  She was waking up 1, sometimes 2 times a night, eating a few ounces of forumla, and we were both exhausted!  My perfect sleeper has returned and I'm thoroughly enjoying my solid nights sleep once again :)

I am thankful for . . . my husband helping out with finances.  He's doing the budget and balancing the checkbook, and it takes a small weight off my shoulders, but also helps keep us both in check with our spending.

In the kitchen . . . chaos is on my counter.  I really do try to keep it cleaned off, but how do people do it?  It's the place we eat, the place things land when they come in from outside, it's where I put the mail, make lists, dry bottles, store baked goodies, etc.  I'm a firm believer that you can NEVER have too much cabinet space! A pantry would be amazing too... if we ever move I have a long "must have" list!

I am wearing . . .my normal/everyday wardrobe... jeans, long sleeve tshirt, and uggs

I am creating . . . a valentines garland, and starting the girls Easter outfits

I am going . . . crazy in anticipation for my sister's next ultrasound!  I can't wait to hear 100% what they baby is! 

I am wondering . . . what kind of tax refund we'll get this year.  A big check would be fantastic.

I am reading . . . Sacred Parenting - our new book for DOK this semester.

I am hoping . . . to get some pictures hung soon!  (I think I've said this before, but I have everything I need to get them hung, just waiting on the urge to get it done!)

I am looking forward to . . . my date night with Kevin later this week.

I am hearing . . . Hayden and Allie playing (aka destroying their room) while the baby naps. 

Around the house . . . things feel bare.  I love having Christmas decor out~! 

One of my favorite things . . . is that Hayden and Allie are at a great age to help out!  We have been playing this new game "mommy says" and they get so into it!  "Mommy says put your socks in the dirty clothes", "Mommy says pick the pillows up off the floor", etc - and when they game is over (everything is picked up) they both get a piece of candy.  We usually play once a day while I'm feeding the baby.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .DOK starts tomorrow, date night this week (as I said earlier), then the normal grind of cooking, cleaning, hopefully blogging, and sewing :)

Monumental

 

I first heard about this documentary when Kirk Cameraon was on Bill O'Reilly several weeks ago.  I was interested enough to remember I wanted to see the movie.  I forgot about watching it until a friend recommended I see it.  I looked into renting it and realized it's not a movie Redbox carries (yet?).  I ended up buying it from Family Christian Bookstore.  After we put the kids to bed one evening, we turned it on and really enjoyed it!  I was going to try to tell you in my own words what the movie was about, but had a hard time describing it briefly, so just take 2 minutes and watch the trailer below!  If anyone would like to borrow it, you're more than welcome! 

 

Krissy's 3 Month Pics

 I had my very talented cousin, Lacey, take Krissy's 3 month pictures.  Her in-studio pics are unbeatable.  Here's a sample of my favorite pics from Krissy's 3 month photo shoot a couple weeks ago!

I'm a sucker for hand pictures... this time I was prepared and had Hayden's nails trimmed and cleaned, and the girls all had pink nails :)

One of the little outfits we got Krissy for Christmas.  Hayden and Allie both had this pose at the 3 month photo shoots.

Love love love the tutu!

Probably my favorite........

Baked French Toast Casserole

I made this twice in the month of December!  Once was the day after my birthday when we were at Christmas Lake, the second was on Christmas morning.  The cinnamon streusel topping made it super delicious!  You make it the night before and it bakes for an hour the next morning.  I put it in the over before we started opening gifts on Christmas morning, and it was finished as the kids were still playing with their toys. 

Baked French Toast Casserole
The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman
(click the link above and it will take you to the recipe on her website and all her awesome pics)

Ingredients

• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you're using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

I used Walmart's french bread both times I made it, but I'm anxious to try it with sourdough bread next time!  I also didn't put butter or syrup on it because I didn't think it needed it!  If you haven't tried this before, plan on making it this month!

Gifts from December

Between my birthday and Christmas, I received lots of great gifts the month of December!  I asked for lots of practical things like my own little tool set to keep in the kitchen, a coat rack, velcro command strips for hanging pictures, but I also got some fun things too! 

Amy gave me three little Willow Tree people for my birthday.  I had a figure that was a mom with two kids, but I hadn't gotten anything new since Krissy was born.  The sweet little set below sits on my window sill in the kitchen.  I absolutely love it!

I had mentioned to my mom before Christmas I'd like a fabic cutting mat and rotary cutter.  I have the hardest time cutting a straight line and that's kind of important when you're sewing.  I was happily surprised to open those two gifts on Christmas!  

Here's some fabric I just cut...

The fabric on the left is the one I cut with the rotary cutter - the one on the right was cut with fabric scissors - what a difference!  Totally worth the investment if you sew :)

Kevin also bought me a gun.  He's taking me on a "date" next week and we are going shooting.  I'm looking forward to learning how to use it!

I got lots of wonderful giftcards, new fiesta, cash - all of which I'm excited about! 

Braids

I love braided hair.  I wish I was talented enough to braid my own, but I'm not.  Allie's hair is just now getting long enough to braid.  I LOVE it!  I love doing her hair.  I love the way it looks when it's done.  I figured it the braids look best when her hari is wet... I just need to figure out how to get her to sit still, and not move her head.... any suggestions? 

A few months ago I spoke too soon, shouting to the world saying, "Allie is potty trained!" - and she was for about two weeks - but she decided she wasn't ready and kept having tons of accidents.  With all the changes of having a new baby, we just put the potty training on hold, and decided to wait till I knew she was ready.  After Christmas proved to be the best time!  We've had lots of time at home and SHE told me she was ready to potty train.  I bought her some new undies to get her excited about it, and she's done fabulous!  No accidents to report!  I still have her wear a pull up to bed, and she hates it.  Hoping the night time wetting stops soon and I don't ever have to buy another diaper/pull up for her!  Way to go Allie!  

Doing her "pose" from behind :)

Resolutions

What were some of your resolutions?  Here are my two...

1. Lose the rest of the weight I gained while pregnant.

I've always ended up joining Weight Watchers to lose my last 15lbs.  I need the accountability.  Right now I have more like 25lbs to lose.  I keep getting random emails from Weight Watchers saying "join for free!" so I think that's a sign telling me I need to get started!

     2.  Learn how to drive Kevin's stick shift jeep.

I was on the verge of learning when I had a bad experience last year.  I was stopped at a red light and when the light turned green I tried to go and couldn't, then I panicked, panicked more, and I just wasn't pushing the clutch in far enough.  The guy behind me honked and was super rude and I've been traumatized ever since.  I think it would be a nice option to take the jeep when I need to run an errand so I could leave Kevin with the "family vehicle" if he needed to go anywhere.

I wouldn't call this a resoultion, but I saw a picture on Pinterest that said "You life happens in an Instagram" and it was a challenge to take a picture every day for a year.. so far I've kept up with it, and you can follow me on Instagram, or look to the right side of my blog and see my latest Instagram pics. :)

Christmas/Snow Pics

Some of my favorite pictures from the last week....

The night before Christmas

Allie loving her baby doll and Hayden loving his Jake stuff on Christmas morning

Maybe next year Krissy will be more interested in Christmas?

Getting hit by a snowball

Sipping homemade hot chocolate