I cannot go to (school, work, daycare) today.

Every year, I hope and pray that my girls stay healthy in the winter. Every year, I start out thinking it isn't going "too bad" with the illnesses, but then whammo: February hits and all hell breaks loose on the sickness front.

Let us start with Kyla. Poor, sweet, angelic 21 month old Kyla girl. She has had a hell of a time over the past year -starting LAST January (2010) into the present with her chronic ear infections. She was my "ear girl" and up until last month's tubes surgery, she was dealing with ear infections every 1-2 months. Along with that ears, she'd occasionally get some sort of gastro-intestinal (aka POOPY) infection, and we'd be dealing with a red tushie, pushing the water with probiotics, and praying for a healthy tummy.

After she got her tubes, things were sailing along great until the past few weeks. Then, uh oh. She started coughing. And coughing. And coughing. She had a runny nose and the cough progressed greatly until last Monday (President's Day) - Mama's day off of work. I called into the nurse line for advice on the cough. I was told that unless she 1) had a fever or 2) starting having wheezing (labored) breathing to not worry about her. So Monday night after I called? She gets a fever of 101 and starts getting Wheezy breathing. Lovely. Poor baby.

CJ and I nebbed her, and then she woke up Tuesday with a fever, so I stayed home and brought her into the doctor. Dr. J. was great- she really listened to Kyla's chest for what seemed like forever. She could hear the "wheeze" and wasn't sure if she heard signs of pneumonia or not, but she had us get a chest Xray to see what things looked like. Of course, Kyla had a little "gray area' in her left lung, so Dr. J. put her on some medicine to get rid of that nasty pneumonia in her chest. The doctor said that pneumonia has been diagnosed like crazy the past few weeks- things have not been good in MN for little ones.

Through all of this, my little Kyla girl was a trooper. Hanging out in doctor's offices, and waiting rooms, and being drug through Target for her medications and nary a squeak of protest from her. She's a little ham. Poor baby is on her medication for a few more days, and in the meantime, the meds are causing her poops to be atrocious, so we're pasting her tushie up and giving her lots of food that binds (ie: bananas!).

Which then leads us to Keifer Lynn, shown below from last Wednesday night in the Urgent Care office with her sister (along for the ride). Yes, Keifer is having a nebulizer treatment in this picture.

So our Keifer girl seemed to be rolling right along this winter. She had a bout with pneumonia herself in December, but we were germ(sick) free over the holidays and January was (what CJ and I think) a stellar month of NO doctor visits!

And then came Wednesday. I called to check on Kyla at lunch, to make sure she was doing OK at daycare (she was) and Elaine told me Keifer was complaining of the chills, not feeling well, and coughing. She had a fever of 100 but Elaine was going to nap her, and CJ would pick the girls up after nap, as I had a night class I was taking at 3:45. Elaine called me after nap to inform me that Keifer woke up with a fever, and had a "Rash "of some sort all over her face (turned out to be hives from the fever). She has never had hives as a reaction to a fever before.
Daddy picked her (and sissy) up and headed straight to Urgent Care. I was in class. The wait was estimated 2+ hours (of being in the office total) so I planned on leaving class early to go get Kyla. Great. Keifer's oxygen levels were checked upon check in, and they were (what) they nurse called "very low" - a 90. Apparently anything under 92 is NOT a good thing? So they nurse told CJ that any lower and K1 would have been hospitalized. They nebbed her (see above picture) and her oxygen level seemed to go up some.

There was no sounds of crackling in HER lungs (whew) but she was having the labored breathing + the fever. So, we had instructions to give her her 2 nebulizer treatments every 3-4 hours, on top of the 2 different steroid and antibiotics she was given to clear up HER chest /coughing. If you could hear K1 cough, along with her sister, you'd think there were seals in our house rather than 2 young girls.

So our poor girls. Keifer continued to have a fever up until Saturday, so both CJ and I have missed a lot of work. K1 has been clingy and complaining of NOT feeling good - well, of course, with low oxygen levels, she has no energy. She's had huge black circles under her eyes, and becomes flushed with any sort of vigorous activity.

Needless to say, Mama & Daddy been stressed lately. All the sickness and missed work and medicines to keep track of on top of whiny and clingy children has been quite stressful lately. I just cannot wait for the bright, warm days of summer to be here- and pray for health and peace within our household.

2 Truths and a Lie - Blog Carnival!

Here is the link to my BIG REVEAL!

CLICK HERE to learn the "Truth" and "Lie"

So, my friend Liz suggested a fun blog meme entitled ~ Two Truths and a Lie. The premise of this game is to blog three things...two truths. One lie.

I wasn't sure I wanted to play along - as reading the other bloggers stuff I find I'm stumped!! Even some of the ones I felt like I know pretty well...I guess that's the fun of this game.

Here are mine...

~ I once played the violin on live TV in Duluth, and the show's creator was Duluth's current Mayor's father.
~ I appeared in Peter Frampton's home movies, as I was mistaken by his young daughter as their nanny aboard a snorkeling charter boat in the Keys.
~ I also appeared as an extra in the movie Iron Will, that was filmed in Duluth in 1994.

So...there you have it. Do you know which are fact and which is fiction? Bragging rights to anyone who guesses correctly! Drop me your answer in the comments and then hop on over and see what the other bloggers are saying about themselves!

Um, K2: you've got a bucket on your head!

Curly Q

One of my endless dreams and wishes has always been to have a child with curly hair. Me? I have fine, limp, dull hair that I consistently color, give body perms and gob full of "product" to make it appear lively and full.
My K1 has thick, gorgeous hair that people would pay lots of $ for. Kyla is turning into a little Curly Q, when her hair is wet! It has the ability to make me smile like a goon when I see her curls. I just hope 1)they stay and 2) they make her as happy as they make me!


Here she's telling me "baby, baby" -which in Soupy language means "Naked baby" which is our chant after bath time!

My Vday gifts

Above - my silly K1 is gift #1. As always, my first-born girl owns a big chunk of my heart. Especially when she writes me personalized, homemade Valentine's cards that say: "Mommy, I love you" on the front, and inside (as told to Elaine, our daycare provider): "I love to go to the mall with you tomorrow. Love, Keifer"
Then she signed her name all by herself (pretty darn good if I do say so myself), and added plenty of decorations.

Our girl was obsessed with making sure her homemade Vday cards for her daycare friends this year were nice and SPARKLY - so she had daddy drive her around the night before for "Sprinkles" because Mommy didn't buy any and make her happy. Daddy made the card that Mommy designed (Justin "Beaver" on the front, inside saying "Baby, baby, baby, won't you be my Valentine?"), and together, my crew found glitter glue that made K1 very happy. They sat and painted their cards for quite some time on Sunday night.

My Valentine's gift #2 is shown below, decked out in her Valentine party outfit. Yes, those are hearts on her pants and hearts on her furry vest! Oh, how I love to dress my girls for festive occasions. Kyla had no clue what the big deal was about heart day, but she loved wearing hearts on her outfit and apparently loved getting cards and gifts from her daycare pals. She loved them so much, she kept ripping her bag trying to figure out what they were! For Kyla's card this year, I printed out some black & white cards I found on family fun's website and Kyla colored each and every one herself! I love to have my kids put their own touch on cards we make for others!

And below is the gift that my K1 and Daddy came home with, after searching for sprinkles the night before Vday itself. Apparently, when Keifer saw these flowers in the store, she insisted that Daddy buy them for me. When they arrived home, she was beyond pumped to present them to me, and was so giggly and happy, my heart was about to burst with love for this little drama girl! The best part about her 'getting' holidays is the joy she experiences to the extreme in celebrating them! For about a week, she told CJ and I both that we were HER Valentine! (*swoon*) and she kept telling us she loved us out of the blue. Not that THAT is unusual (we are lucky) but it was so sweet the way she realized that the holiday was all about love.

Wordless Wednesday: Just like Mama?

Wordless Wednesday: Silly girls, just because

No real reason for these pictures. Kyla had mama's socks on. Keifer insisted I take a pic of her with one of her (many) pretend phones.

Night night, dolly

Last month, Kyla was playing w/the girls' dollhouse, when she took the fairy Barbie and put her to sleep, all on her own.I heard her saying "night, night" and when I looked, she had set up this mini-bed for Barbie. I thought she did a pretty good job at 19 months, figuring out what to put together (furniture wise) to make a bed for that long (giant in the house) Barbie! :)


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The family that cooks together....

I just posted a recipe that I made last night in hopes that you will find it useful and enticing enough to try it out yourself!

Well, I have another recipe to share with you; one that I KNOW you'll find delish and just as easy to make, especially for us mommies that have limited time to make nutritious meals for our family.

This past Sunday, Keifer told me she wanted to help me make a new stir fry recipe that I found in my magazine Everyday Food. I typically DO NOT make recipes that I find in this particular cooking magazine, due to their higher calorie count and me just not being too interested in what they suggest. However, being a lover of Chinese food, I thought this might be worth a try!

The Recipe:

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Green Beans

Source: EveryDay Food January/February 2011

ingredients:

1 cup long-grain white rice

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 bell peppers (any color), seeded and diced large

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved

5 scallions, thinly sliced

2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

instructions:

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over high. Add chicken, bell peppers and green beans and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.

3. Whisk soy sauce mixture, add to skillet, and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff rice with a fork. To serve, spoon chicken mixture over rice and top with peanuts if desired.

Serves: 4

Nutritional information: 447 calories, 8g fat (2g sat), 36g protein, 61 carbs, 5g fiber

MY TIP? Cut the sugar in half- it does turn out pretty darn sweet (unless, of course, you have a sweet tooth)

Keifer helped me grocery shop for the ingredients that afternoon, and put the green beans I cleaned and chopped into a bowl for me (she also did this with the red peppers we used, and to my delight, she also snacked on about 4 strips of them!)

She (K1) picked up the camera and took a NOT so flattering shot of mommy chopping the veggies

Mama & her girl (sous chef?) I'll have you know, this girl does a great job with the whisk!! She whisked the sauce VERY CAREFULLY for me, while I prepped the chicken.

What Kyla was doing while we chopped veggies: having a good time coloring (and no, we don't change her out of her jammies much on weekends unless we go somewhere! LOL)

Here is the Sweet and Sour Chicken, minus the scallions that I forgot to put on my list! It was just as tasty as it looked! I added some peanuts to the top and scooped this out on top of brown rice. YUM!

I will also tell you that our sister-in-law Jill stopped over with Abby & Mason while I was cooking this, and when she walked in, she thought we had ordered some Chinese take-out! That was a huge compliment to me! *grin*

Now, onto the other recipe. I did NOT take pictures of myself prepping and cooking that particular meal, as we were late into the evening (much later than I had hoped) and I was in a bit of a panic, as the recipe called for Corn Flakes and we didn't have any. However, I improvised and used Rice Krispies, and can I just say YUMMY?

Here is the recipe and what I did to it was I crushed the rice krispies, added some Lawry's seasoning salt, some pepper and some paprika. I used only egg whites to dip the chicken bites into, with a fork, and then rolled it in the crushed krispie mixture. I put them on foil in a baking pan, and followed the baking instructions. I served with some pre-bought sweet potato fries and EVERYONE in the house (yes, daddy!) loved it!

Dinner success for Mama!

The last time CJ went to the grosh, I asked him to pick up a few tomatoes OR a small bag of cherry or grape tomatoes, as K1 usually will eat them during a meal.

Well, the cherry tomatoes were buy 1, get 1 free, and CJ not passing up a good deal (whether we'd eat that many tomatoes or NOT, usually NOT!) he came home bearing 2 bags.

I looked up some new and quick and easy recipes, as cooking is not my forte. I found this one online and figured if I used the Barilla pasta that we typically do, I'd be incorporating some good protein into our diets along with the minimal cheeses (I used both Parmesan and Feta), and the whole bag of baby spinach.

Hello, this was EASY and so delish!!! For me to say easy, you know it's easy. I do not like to cook, especially when I have 2 hungry girls whining for snacks. I would compare this to my favorite dish at Noodles & Company, but I would probably add some more spices and more garlic and oil next time around! Oh, and some more tomatoes for flavor and color. (*and I didn't have mushrooms on hand, so they were omitted from tonight's rendition & I also used bow tie pasta in hopes of enticing my young eaters in the house*)

Here is the recipe, that I found at allrecipes.com (unless you already clicked on my link above):

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach leaves, packed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and cook until golden brown. Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook 2 minutes more, until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted. Reduce heat to medium, stir in pasta and feta cheese, and cook until heated through.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 451 | Total Fat: 20.6g | Cholesterol: 50mg

I know I typically don't post recipes and how I cooked online, but in attempts to change my eating habits BACK to what they used to be when I was trying to lost baby weight, I've slowly becoming obsessed with finding healthy and easy recipes to eat, that my family will as well! And that's a tall order (things my family will eat!)

Wordless Wednesday: Dinner Time for Sissies

That's not a box, it's a .....

Just a smattering of pictures from the past weekend and week of the girls doing what they do best: playing together!

I took home a few boxes from work last week and you know what they say: forget toys, get a box! I tell you, we could/should have just a living room full of boxes, because that's all the girls want to be playing with!

Daddy gives awesome rides in the box! I tried so hard to get a clip of him pushing/pulling them (the girls' belly laughs were the best.thing.ever. to listen to, but alas, Kyla stopped when I turned on record, of course)

Jack-in-the-Box x 2!

Pure, unadulterated joy

My favorite

And a few more pictures from the other day. I found the girls dragging blankets around the house (oh, so sanitary, yes), and finally choosing to camp out in front of the dishwasher. You see those headbands around Kyla's neck? Ahh, yes, the headband and hair clip obsession has already hit her. LOL

Later on, they decided books were a good choice of things to do. They (ALL ON THEIR OWN!) picked their own books and sat on the couch and read to themselves!!!

Yes, Mommy got a little excited there! LOL. I am oh-so happy to be developing readers in the house! You all know how much I adore reading, and to know and witness just how much joy books bring my girls; well, it makes me smile with pure joy!

Children's Museum

Over Christmas break, CJ and I took the day prior to Christmas Eve and had an outing as a FAMILY to the Children's Museum. CJ and I hadn't been there since Keifer was about 16 or 17 months old! Above, we are entering the museum via the skywalk system. Yes, both girls look thrilled, huh? LOL. They didn't really get what we were doing......

But Keifer loved pretending to drive a city bus

and coloring all over her face with washable face paint. And making her own newspaper hat with Daddy.

Kyla was entranced by the tiny balls in the water tables. She loved the balls.

Both girls adored the Habitot area (for younger children/toddlers). Kyla could've walked up and down this ramp all day long if we let her.

Looking out a window with Daddy

Cheese grin in the "frog" pond

Keifer was a racing machine. It was hard to catch her and keep her still for more than 2.2 seconds, but she did enjoy trying to teach Kyla about the room around her.

She really is the sweetest big sister ever. *sigh*