Still no baby

I know many are checking, but there is still no baby.

Treasure Box Day

So Tuesdays are the day we get our vegetable and fruit delivery from a local coop kinda business. The boys love it. They will try things from the magic treasure chest that they won't try from the store. Kids are so funny. I was unsure if this would work out for us, but I love it too. I spend less because I am at the store less and it forces us to use fruits and veggies I might not otherwise use...like rainbow Swiss chard. I can also get fresh grass fed cow milk. It makes awesome yogurt.

I have been slowly trying to make reasonable changes in our diets. Some things are quick and easy (but maybe not cheap) like the kind of milk we drink. Bread was by far the easiest. I can make 4 loaves at a time and that will usually last us for about 3 weeks. Others have been more difficult, like cutting ready made, store bought snacks. Gabe is completely suckered into the shiney wrapper of snack bars.

Don't get me wrong. I still consider ice cream a food group, and Blue Bell is my favorite. Every once in a while I love going to Sonic or Chic-Fil-A. I know they are bad for me and just don't care. But, I no longer need a super cheese burger and large fries. The small fry for all 3 of us will do.

Hopefully over the next year, we can make the changes stick. If you are thinking you want to try and make some changes, try reading "In Defense of Food" then take a look at everything you have in your pantry and fridge. It will at a minimum make you think about what you are buying and why.

The side benefit is that this is probably the healthiest I have ever felt. I have gained the least amount of weight with this pregnancy and I never feel like I am skimping. I am still looking for the reasonable balance where I don't have to spend all my time cooking, but also don't feel like I am filling my body with junk. Most websites really lean towards doing everything from scratch...which I think only works for a very small percent of people.

To find local farms and farmers markets: http://www.localharvest.org/

I have already found some things in the Savannah area so that we can make the transition during the move.

Random Pictures

These are just some random but cute snaps I took of the kids over the last month.

And then the snow came...

So we had a fantastic sunny day...and then it snowed. Not just a little, but 8 inches worth (8.7 at the airport technically). While I am not a fan, and I think Rob is just completely done with the snow, the boys still love it. Today it is was actually sunny with the snow still on the ground, so the boys trekked on out to enjoy it all. At one point, I looked out and saw Gabe and Anthony just laying in the snow like two little puppy dogs. Didn't get it on film (jpeg) but still makes me smile to think about it.

Here are a couple of pics...hopefully the last from this year...of the boys in the snow.


But the funniest thing by far today was Anthony doing his homeless impression. He made himself a little house out of the news paper. I thought it was super funny. When I asked if he would like it to only have a house of newspaper, he said no, because it would not keep him warm like our house. Very astute.


Oh, and have mentioned lately how much I love my camera. I mean truly love. I didn't know I needed a new camera till Rob bought me this one. He is the best husband ever. My old camera tended to blow out the whites and make them all the same shade. Not this one. Even in high contrast, I get beautiful whites with very little effort. Thank you baby for the amazing camera! Here are a couple of snow/sunny pics keep in mind this is my low res jpeg, and not even the good file.

Finally Sunny

So today is finally a warmish sunny day. This winter we have been plagued with cold and snow. Usually the Midwest sees at least a couple of weather breaks in January and February, but not this year.

The boys have been running around and loving the sun. Rob managed to get the last of the lawn prep from Spring done, and I am getting a little alone time.

Everyone is Irish

Why celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Because deep down we all long to be a bit Irish. We want to drive the snakes of winter out and drink good beer. I can live without the corned beef and cabbage, but the Guinness is enough to keep me going through the day.

This year, we celebrated in historic downtown Leavenworth with a parade to make any small town jealous. I have to admit, it made me smile and think of parades in North Pole AK where the real reason for the parade was something to do and a little alcohol.

The parade was cold. Really, really, really cold and windy. So we sat with friends and watched the local Irish clans in trailers, trucks and other vehicles parade past. There were some firetrucks and old cars. A few horses. No band or music. We sent the guys for hot chocolate and coffee and just hoped for the best. All in all, not a bad day...but still made me laugh that this was called a parade.

When in Doubt, Bake

With all the cold weather, I have taken up baking. Not cakes or sweets, but breads. I now make our daily sandwich bread and rolls from scratch (and everyone seems to really like it). I have also experimented with a few specialties, one of which is bagels.

Being from New Jersey, Rob is a bagel snob. I have made two batches so far, but we are not quite there with taste. Rob claims I am just not Jewish enough to make really great bagels...but these will do until we revisit the Northeast.

The boys like to help with bagels because they are really hands on. Even though I have an amazing Kitchen Aid Pro-grade mixer, I find they turn out better if kneaded by hand. I love watching them in their little aprons get excited about baking stuff. Anthony will come in as soon as they are out of the oven. He will rub his little tummy and what is that yummy smell. Then I get big hugs and kisses as he attempts to convince me to give him one right away. Needless to say with a super sweet face like his, I cave pretty quick.

The ER Part 2

So, apparently our house is monkey see monkey do.

After Gabe's little trip to the ER on Wed, Anthony decided he needed to go. Last week Anthony had an ear infection. The doctor said they were bulging pretty bad and she was concerned about them rupturing before his body could heal on its own. So, we started an antibiotic (Omnicef for my med friends). It is pretty strong and it literally tore his body up. It destroyed every good bacteria in his body. So, he had a bloody poop on Thurs and Fri. Then the vomiting started on Fri morning. UGH! Off to Urgent Care because getting a same day appt wasn't going to happen.

Urgent Care takes blood (yeah, he really hated that). Result was they sent us to the ER. The ER takes blood and runs the same test...grrr. Angry mommy starting to appear. Poking children unnecessarily is very dumb!!! Guess what, same test, same result.

So, they poke him again for a different test. Couldn't we have done this all the first time? And worse, they stuck him and didn't have everything ready so it took way too long with me having to hold down a screaming child. Bad nurses!

We have now been here for two hours, and they have done nothing to actually move us to the recovery road. They took XRays...to make sure there wasn't anything that he swallowed. Nope.

Poked him again to give him a cath to be able to do the IV...but wouldn't start that for another hour even though he was clearly dehydrated (dry lips, white nails, etc). They told him not to drink. I ignored that...some medical advice is just not smart.

Finally started the IV. Gave him 2 Popsicles (which at 10 cents a piece were probably the best medicine he could get). Told me to take him home. Clear liquids for 12 hours followed by bland food for another 12. This took all together 7 hours. SERIOUSLY!!!! I could have gotten this from my home remedies book.

Lessons learned: No more strong antibiotics for Anthony. We go to the ER first and skip Urgent Care (would have saved me at least 1 needle stick and about 2 hours). Give child Popsicle before going anywhere to see if that fixes the problem.

BTW: he had colitis and a stomach bug because I got the stomach bug on Sunday and it laid me out flat!!!