Cooking

Hey, I am going to start just posting recipes on my cooking blog, http://thecookinggene.blogspot.com/ . That way, you can have the recipes and I don't have the pressure of making it all nice and pretty and documented with pictures. That's been my stumbling block when it comes to the other blog. It interrupts my cooking groove to stop and pick up the camera. So enjoy, let me know what you think of the food.

Dinnertime

I am going back to my basics for dinner time that I started when Fiona was sick. Freezer meals! Seriously, when people would ask me what they could do to help, I would encourage them to bring dinner. They would scoff that off and end up not doing anything. Which was fine, I didn't want to pressure anyone, but just about the best help I ever got was when someone would bring a dinner (thanks Ranell, you were the best!). My day, while Fiona was on steroids, would involve cooking all day long. She didn't want a bag of Cheetos, she wanted homemade nachos, later followed by a hot dog, later on she would want a taco. You catch my drift. So I spent all day cooking and cleaning. When dinnertime rolled around, I was really indifferent to coming up with dinner ideas.

Now, I am again back to being indifferent at dinnertime. Sort of a combination of the hot weather and the nausea. Then I remembered how much I loved having freezer meals. I have a few that are tried and true and I have started compiling more recipes. It also helps that we never eat an entire recipe of something. We can eat half and freeze the other half.

So, I combed through my recipes and borrowed a few cookbooks from the library. It is really easy to find recipes, especially if you start with a good cookbook that tells you what freezes well and what doesn't. This time around I don't have an outdoor freezer, so instead of putting the meals into disposable pans, I am pouring them into ziploc freezer bags and it's amazing how many meals I can fit into my side by side. I got several chicken recipes in last week and I am going to work on hamburger this week. I am just not ambitious (crazy?) enough to do one of those cook for a day, eat for 30.

Health Update

So, I spent all summer taking different variations of the pill, writing down the pros and cons of each. My doctor wanted me to see her before she prescribed any more. I brought in my list and WOW! was she different from last time. She was very robotic last time and wanted to know, at the end of the appointment, why I was upset. Well, let's see, she just said she's not sure there is a cure, and what she has to give me is going to make me very uncomfortable for a while. So, she's sentenced me to chronic pain for about the next 20 years and the cure might be worse than the disease... and she wonders why I was upset.
Now to this visit, she was cheerful, glad to see my list and wanted to know how things were going. We discussed my options and she thought trying a pill with more estrogen (to control the pain) and less progesterone (to control the nausea) would be the way to go. And that I should take this pill for the next 3 months straight to see if the side effects do wear off. I went home cheerful and actually excited that things might get under control. Also, she warned me that if we do nothing it will just get worse. This made me feel really good about my decision to keep trying the pill. So, I took my first pill of my new prescription last night and went to bed.

My first thought at 2am was, what the heck was I thinking? At 3:30am, when I was retching over the toilet, I thought, there is no way I can survive the next three months of this.
What is it about being sick at night that just makes everything worse? I suppose I could've gotten up, but my bed is so comfortable. Secretly, what I really wanted to do, was wake up TD and banish him to the couch so I could turn on the TV and also surf the internet. But I didn't. Maybe after Moe leaves, I can just get up and walk to her room and sleep in the bed and watch TV without disturbing anyone. Hopefully it won't go on that long. I didn't manage to pass out ( I would say fall asleep but it wasn't like that) until around 5am. Ugh, I am totally dragging today, not to mention, the nausea hasn't entirely left.
But! I am determined to live with the cure as well, or better, than I lived with the disease. This means, I am off to the Y. Trust me, I am not jogging this morning. Between wanting to vomit and lack of sleep that could only mean a trip to the ER. I am still hoping that things are going to get better and they say a positive attitude makes all of the difference, right?

Lessons Learned From Fiona

Remember when I blogged about 'Amy'? Well, we have come up with another problem. Her sister had a birthday party this week and my girls weren't invited. It was the first time in the two years that we have lived here that the girls weren't invited. Buttercup was rather oblivious because it seems that she has outgrown these girls. Since she's moved on to the new school, she has had less time for the girls. Fiona was a bit bummed, but she had another birthday party to attend this weekend, so she was okay.
Fiona's birthday is in just over a month and I was already considering throwing her a Halloween party. My first thought? Well, these little girls won't be invited, that'll show them. So, I started discussing this party with Fiona and asked her who she wanted to invite. The first two invitees out of her mouth were Amy and her sister. She held no ill will towards these girls. Instead of 'showing' them, she just wanted them to be there.
So, I think I need to learn a bit more from Fiona and take the high road. I think inviting them, despite leaving Fiona out, would set a better example for everyone, including me. Wait until you see the pictures. It's going to be a great party. I have wanted to have a Halloween party for Fiona since she was born. In a few years, she's going to have the scary version and that will be even more fun.

I LOVE Mondays

I really do. It's my chance to start a new week. I have a schedule in my head every week. Sometimes, I manage to accomplish all of my housework, on the day that it's scheduled, or just accomplish it period. Sometimes, I don't. Thus, the joy of a new week and a fresh start.
Today before 10am, I managed to vacuum the carpets, fold half of the laundry, make a casserole for tonight, do my arms workout and get the girls off to school. Hear me roar, huh?
I don't think I ever had a favorite day of the week before. When I was younger, sure I liked Friday because the weekend was starting, until I realized that the weekend wasn't always for fun. My dad would take us woodcutting up in the forest in order to get enough wood to heat the woodstove for the winter. Or, we would get to help with yard work. This was way before I developed my love of hard work and sweating. Then there were the 5 years of paper routes which involved getting up at a horrible hour in order to make sure the papers were delivered on time. Then there were the 5 years of early morning or really late shifts at Mickey D's. Later on, as a Mom, there was no real difference between days, they all sort of blended together.
But now, with the girls in school full time and TD having a set schedule, I can have a set schedule as well. Once I started a schedule I got to see where I could fit other things in. For instance, on Fridays, I go to Buttercup's school during her library time. I get to volunteer where she can see me and be surrounded by books and help her pick out something fun to read.
This Monday has started out so great, let's see if I can keep up the momentum.

Help a Little Kid Out

When Fiona was sick, she was nominated to be a Sparrow. It's this amazing organization that helps school kids raise money for a specific child that has special needs. They partner with a business that underwrites the fundraising and the kids go into the community and do stuff to earn the money provided. They oftentimes raise money on their own. I just got this email and if you aren't partnered with anything else, I would urge you to link your Albertsons card to it. I would myself, but unfortunately we don't have Albertsons and I miss it!



SPARROW CLUBS USA
Albertsons Community Partners Program
Info:
Sparrow Clubs has been approved to receive contributions from Albertsons through the Albertsons Community Partners program. The Albertsons Community Partners program was established in 1997 as a partnership between Albertsons and our communities' schools and non-profit organizations dedicated to the education and development of youth. Sparrow Clubs supporters may link their Albertsons Preferred Savings Card (the blue one) with our Community Partners ID number. When a Preferred Savings Card is scanned during check-out at the register, Albertsons will donate up to 4% of monthly spending amounts to Sparrow Clubs USA! Preferred Savings Cards may be used at Albertsons, Sav-On Drugs, and Osco Drug Stores. This is a great way to support Sparrow Clubs at no cost to you!

CommunityPartners Website:

Sparrow Clubs supporters may link their Preferred Savings Card by going to www.albertsons.com/cp. You will need your Preferred Savings Card number and the phone number that was registered with the card. Sparrow Clubs' Community Partners ID# is 49001020728.
If you do not have a Preferred Savings Card, you may also apply for one at this website.
Supporters must re-link their Preferred Savings Card to Sparrow Clubs every year to continue to support our organization.

Questions:
Email us at info@sparrowclubs.org
Call us at (541) 312-8630

Poor Princess Buttercup

I know, my poor girls and this time I actually mean her. She came home on Monday and laid down on the couch complaining of a headache. I thought the bus ride and thought of homework did it to her, so I let her lay down while I finished making granola bars. When I finally came over to take a look at her, she was beet red and hot. Poor kid. It's been a couple of weeks since Fiona was sick, but whatever this is has been making its way through the school system.
So, she stayed home yesterday and seemed to be recovering rather well. She had a bit of a sniffle and a slight fever, but I figured she would probably be at school today. Last night at 4am she wakes me up. She's tearful and worried about puking. Swell. She apologizes profusely for waking me up, I am sure it's because she's heard me nagging her sister. I told her this is exactly when I should be woken up. I gave her all sorts of medicine and finally got her to go back to bed. But this morning, she was 102.5 and not going to school again.
I hate how much pressure the schools down here put on the kids. She's worried about missing these couple of days. Not to mention, she says some of her friends haven't been feeling well, but they have been worried about the tests and projects they are doing this week and so they didn't want to miss any school. Thanks. Appreciate that. Buttercup hardly ever gets sick. She didn't get it from Fiona because it's been 2 weeks.
Buttercup has been enjoying the special treatment, usually reserved for Fiona. That's one thing, if you never get sick, you never get special treatment. Unless you are a mom and you never get special treatment anyway. I hope I don't get this. Like I said, there wouldn't be any special treatment, just a trashed house and no food awaiting me when I recovered. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Oh, and if she misses tomorrow, I have to take her to get a doctor's note....so I don't get into trouble. Like there is anything the doctor can do for her.

Poor Princess Fiona

Really I mean poor me. Fiona is having sleep troubles again, this isn't the first time I have blogged about it. Or even the second time. Before, it had to do with all of the drugs floating through her. I am not sure what the problem is this time.
Fiona has always had trouble sleeping. She started out as a difficult baby and always slept better when she wasn't alone. That didn't mean I slept better and after 3 months, she had to cry herself to sleep rather than sleeping with me because she kicked all night. Around the time she turned three and I guess came out of the cage, she started having problems again. Even sleeping with her sister wasn't good enough. I finally found a Disney Princess half tent that made her want to stay in bed all night. That lasted a few months and then she got sick and all sorts of rule flew out of the window.
In the past week, she started school, stopped sharing a bedroom with her sister again and got sick. I am sure that it was the trifecta of bad sleeping, but I am not sure what to do about it. I do know that I can't stand that during the past three out of four nights, I have been jolted out of sleep by someone shaking my arm. Seriously, she puts her fingers on my forearm sticking out of the covers and rattles it back and forth. The first night I put her back to bed, the second night I let her sleep on the floor of our room. The third night I actually made a bed on the floor in preparation for her and she slept through the night. Last night she came in totally terrified. She said she had a horrible nightmare and kept glancing around the room.
I have a few ground rules. She cannot climb into bed with us. She was too germy the first couple of nights and I do not share space well, just ask TD. Plus, I don't want her to get comfortable in our room. She can sleep on the floor, but I prefer her to stick to her bed. I do want her coming in if she's that terrified, but c'mon! Several nights in a week?
She wants Buttercup to move back in with her, but Buttercup has to be up an hour before she does and several times she has slept in, which Fiona wouldn't if she had to share a room.
I feel conflicted sometimes. What if something were to happen to her and I spent the last times with her making her go to bed alone or going to school when she only felt OK. Then again, she could be perfectly fine for the rest of her life and I could create a monster.
Any suggestions? She has a couple of nightlights, we have tried door shut, door open, I regularly check the closet for bad guys for her. She sleeps right next door to her sister and Moe is down the hall. I am at a loss and I am starting to get really sleepy all of the time. And when I get sleepy, I get bitter. It's kind of like the Incredible Hulk, you wouldn't like me when I am bitter.

Another Plug for the Y

What is it about the girls being in school that makes me so verbose? Maybe because my mind is allowed to wander free for most of the day without whiny interference? I do have to say that I am delighted every afternoon when they get home.
Anyway, last week was perfect. I had just gotten home from a great vacation, alone, with my family and the girls were in school. I was able to start digging the house out from under the summer mess. There was only one fly in my ointment, our local Y was closed for a week for its annual maintenance and the start of a 6 month renovation. I heard that our Y is the largest in Texas, which must be saying something and now they are going to make it bigger! Luckily, it will be open during the building.
I ended up driving down to TD's Y because one other Y was closed as well and another one was technically closer, but not after drive time. It was okay, but it made working out more of an endeavor that it normally is. But it is always worth it.
While in Medford, I was talking to my brother, who is now a physician's assistant, about my exercising. That and the fact that my parents are always giving me a hard time about my weight. I told him how important it was for my family for me to stay healthy and avoid major medical problems. Once again, the one kidney thing came up and I reminded him that diabetes and high blood pressure are the two quickest ways to destroy my only one. He told me not to let them bother me about it any more. It's not like I am at an unhealthy weight.
I also appreciate how TD supports me and doesn't think it's a waste of my time to spend an hour a day at the Y, instead of the other things I could be doing. He's the one who encouraged me in the beginning when I first started. I was bemoaning my after baby belly and he told me the only way it was going to go was to start running. Ugh! There was nothing I hated more than running. Once, in high school, they tried to recruit me for long distance running on the track team. I explained to them that the only way I got a good time was because I wanted it to be over.
But I worked my way up to running at a good clip and he was right. And I started actually enjoying it.
Exercise is something for you to do that is in the best interest of you and your family. Being in better shape will help you withstand things like the upcoming flu season and being able to take care of your family.
Oh! I highly recommend Oprah's book with her trainer Bob Greene. He explains the levels of exercise that helped me understand that I needed to be working harder. A walk around the block wasn't going to be effective enough when it came to getting rid of the fat. I used to be one of those girls who said she never sweated. It was just because I wasn't working hard enough. Now my body is so in tune that when I hop on a cardio machine I just start dripping. And I LOVE that!

What Are the Odds?

So, in the nearly 40 years that TD and I have been driving, neither one of us has had problems with cracking windshields. And can I just say, (seriously knocking on wood) I still haven't.
But it started last year around December, at least that's when I was made aware of it. TD said he had a crack in his windshield. He said he didn't notice it until Moe started driving his car, but let's just say he's not the most observant fellow. Then he just watched it work its way across the windshield. To be fair to him, we both had no idea that our car insurance would fix it for free if it was less than 6 inches across. So, we had his windshield replaced. #1.
Then, when we were in Oregon in February, we were driving on a highway behind a semi that flipped up a huge bolt and significantly cracked the windshield of the rental van we were driving. Due to the temperature disparity between inside and out, we both watched in horror as the crack quickly spread several feet across the bottom of the glass. Talk about wrecking part of your vacation. #2. Luckily we didn't have to pay to replace it due to some Texas law that doesn't hold you liable for the damage to someone else's property, ie the rental company.
Last week when TD and the girls came to get me from the airport, I was looking out my side of the windshield in the van and I noticed something glittery on the glass. There was a two inch crack in the windshield that had no specific area that had gotten hit. Once again because we had the air conditioning cranked and it was hot outside, the crack turned L shaped and went at least another 4 inches. #3. We had to pay for this one, apparently it was too large to repair.
On Saturday, I was at church helping out with an activity for girls and Moe called. She said Buttercup noticed a small chip in the windshield. I felt instantly sick to my stomach. Was she kidding? She came home and we put the car into the garage and didn't touch it until the windshield guy could come out and fix the crack. #4! Luckily, the crack only moved another quarter of an inch between the time it was spotted and the time the guy got to our house.
This has been ridiculous! I hope that whatever infraction TD and Moe have made against car karma has been taken care of and we can stay away from the auto glass shop for a while.
Quick question, Moe pays for her part of our car insurance and she drives our car for free. Since she was the one driving would it have been fair to make her pay for the windshield if we had had to replace it? I hate that money can come between friends and family, but I also can't subsidize everything and it is getting expensive. I also know it was an accident, but she was the one driving.