Warning: This post may be contagious

Apparently my family has 3 of the worst immune systems ever.

Shortly after his 6 mos shots, Jamie got his usual post-vaccine cold.

Then the hubs got a cold.

Both boys were finally on the mend and I woke up with a sore throat.

Wednesday I finally get checked out....sinus infection.

Yay.

Then my husband comes home with a wicked cough.

I force him back to the doctor....Bronchitis.

Lovely.

Yesterday Jamie woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was super crabby all day.

He also had a constant runny nose and a super fantastic cough that rivaled his dads.

Joy.  Another one bites the dust.

I put him to bed and notice he's breathing really fast which I thought was maybe just from his congestion.

I check on him around 10 before heading to bed myself and realize he's burning up.

I took his temp, the thermometer immediately starts beeping and the big sad frowny face informs me he has a temp of 103.9.

I sat with him for another half hour as he continued to sweat, fuss, cough and breath all funny before finally taking a trip down to Children's Hospital.

A full work up to rule out RSV, 2 chest xrays to rule out pneumonia until we reach the culprit.

Influenza.

Great.  My 6 mos old has the flu.  :(

Thankfully a dose of Motrin brought is fever down to normal by the time we left and it hasn't spiked over 100 since.

Today we've done a lot of sleeping, he hasn't left my chest in over 24 hours.

I don't mind the extra snuggles, neither does dad.

 Please send some get well vibes are way!!

Come on spring....we're tired of all these winter germies!!



Dear Mom...

Today marks 4 months since we said our goodbyes.  I thought as more time went by it would start to get easier, but it doesn't seem to be the case.  Those first few months were kind of a blur of disbelief, but now the reality of it is setting in.  You really are gone....forever.  For the first time I actually, for a split second, went to call you.  I don't think I even completely finished the thought before I realized couldn't, but I know you're watching over us.  I like to think that when I see your car drive by or hear one of your favorite songs on the radio that it's signs you send to remind us you're always around. 

So much has happened in four short months.  So many things you've missed.  New car (though I know we could have wheeled and dealed even more if we'd had your mad car buying skills), new job (which I have you to thank for), more house catastrophes (Adam's about ready to blow the whole place up).  KState beat number 1 ranked KU.....in basketball.  I know you had a part in that one, cause it truly was a miracle.  Jamie is like a totally different little boy.  He's a jumping machine in the horsey you got him and just yesterday started playing with your favorite ball.  I hope I'm making you proud.  Being a mom is one tough job and I don't think I ever fully appreciated everything you did.

I know everyone says it's God's plan....that things happen for a reason, but I don't understand it.  It's not fair.  I look forward to the day when I can see something that reminds me of you and it doesn't make me sad but makes me smile.  I look forward to the day where I don't dwell on the fact that you won't be around for a lifetime of memories, but instead be happy for all the good times we had.  I look forward to that day....and I'm know with time I'll get there.

Missing you always.  Love you forever.
xoxo
Em

(almost) Wordless Wednesday


Jamie and his future wife Isla's big second date!

Jamie and Isla sitting in a tree.....



K-I-S-S-I-N-G!



My son is quite the ladies man!





So What Wednesday

So what if.....

• Monday night we ate egg rolls for dinner because forgot to thaw out the chicken for stir fry
• I've been letting Jamie sleep in our bed every night for the last week.  He has a cold and can't sleep on his back without immediately waking up....plus I have to get in all the snuggles while he still lets me
• The hubs didn't send me flowers for Valentine's Day....he got me the Michael Jackson Experience for the Wii instead.  WAY better then silly ole roses!
• I signed up for a free Stroller Strides class 3weeks ago and still haven't gone.  It's at 9:30 on Saturday morning.....nuff said
• I sold a bunch of cloth diapers we don't use anymore so I could justify buying more
• I bought some Gerber baby food.  It was on sale AND I had a coupon which made it practically free 
• I've decided this whole homemade baby food isn't all it's cracked up to be.  I can't get some of the purees as smooth as the store bought versions and god forbid if Mr. Picky has even one chunk in his food
• I ate an entire bag of Sweet and Sour starbursts on Sunday.  Anytime I'm getting ready to start dieting I go on this crazy crap food binge....as if I'm never going to see food again.  I'm like Charlie Sheen.... without the drugs
• I have a whole list of things to do, but wrote this post instead

What are you saying So What to this week?  Link up here!

Tasty Tuesday ~ White Chili (Take Two)

After my first disastrous take on chicken chili found here, I took all your suggestions and went back to the drawing board.  After searching several sites, All Recipes.com won out, two people even claimed to have won chili cook offs with this recipe.  It was good, I don't know if it was blue ribbon good, but certainly better than the last one I tried!  I think what it boils down to is I'm just not a huge fan of the whole White Chili concept.  I still wanted to pass it along though, just because it's not my taste doesn't mean someone else won't love it.  Enjoy!

White Chili

What You Need:

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed

1 bunch green onion thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t ground ginger

1/2 t salt

1/2 t dried sage

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground white pepper

1 T olive oil

3 T butter

1/4 c all purpose flour

2 c chicken broth

2 (14 oz) cans great Northern beans, undrained

What You Do:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add chicken, saute until cooked through.  Remove from pan.

2.  Saute the onion, red and yellow peppers, jalapeno and garlic in same skillet.  Return chicken along with ginger, salt, sage, cumin and white pepper.  Mix thoroughly.

3.  In a separate small saucepan or skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour to make a roux.  Whisk in chicken broth and mix all together.  Stir this mixture into the sauteed chicken and vegetables.

4.  Stir in beans with can liquid and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Bon Appetite!

It's Valentine's Day!! :::insert sarcastic, woo hoo, here:::

I've never been big on Valentine's Day.   Not in an anti, I hate love kinda way, just never thought of it as anything special.  I used to think it was because I never happened to be dating anyone come that mid February day.  Heck, I was 24 the first time I even spent the holiday with anyone remotely special and even that couldn't spark the cupid in me.  It's not that me and my husband aren't romantic...in fact quite the opposite.  However I want my hubs to be romantic on his terms, not because Hallmark tells him to buy me a mushy card and send me flowers.  It's the out of the blue, element of surprise romance that gets my heart a flutter!  Regardless of all of this, can I tell you that every year I usually get flowers because my husband is afraid I'm faking all my anti-Valentine's Day rants and will be mad if I don't get anything.  Haha.  He's probably right!  Every time my phone rings I'm hoping it's the front desk telling me I have a delivery, I'm so bad!  So this morning I picked up his favorite carrot cake cupcake from the local market.....and a blue powerade.  It may not scream I love you, but he'll be excited and that's what counts.  So much for not celebrating!

Happy Valentine's Day from one of my favorite Valentines!

Project MILF

I've finally had enough with the post baby bod I've been rockin'...or really not so rockin'.

It's not cute.  At all.

The hubs has been nice and continues to tell me I look beautiful.

Bless his heart but I usually respond with a grunt, a laugh or a suggestion that he needs his eyes checked....cause while I appreciate his compliments I do not feel beautiful and it's starting to affect me in more ways then one.

The obvious avoidance of mirrors and the scale, but I also just feel blah in general.

I have no energy.  I've become lazy.  I have no motivation to do anything and I know a lot of it has to do with how I'm feeling about myself.  Funny how it can be a vicious cycle.

So after weeks....and weeks....and weeks of saying I'll start tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or after this or that I'm finally saying enough is enough.

Since you all followed my journey of the growing baby bump, it only seems fitting to share with you the journey of losing the post baby belly.  I'm thinking a monthly post since it's not going to happen overnight and I can only subject you all to my flab over the internet so often.

I've also decided not to pick a magic amount of weight I want to lose or a final number I'd like to weigh.  Mainly because my body has changed so much I don't even know where to begin.  You see I actually have reached my pre-pregnancy weight, however none of my clothes fit the same.  Pants that used to be baggy at this same weight now barely fit.  Things are not in the same place they were before.  So to say I want to weigh "X" amount really means nothing to me at this point.  Instead I've decided to pick articles of clothing that no longer fit and make those my goals.

Enter my first mission:

This was actually my moms.  She only wore it a handful of times but I always loved it and when helping go through her closet knew it was something I wanted to keep.  The problem is this skirt is 2 sizes smaller than my current size.  Hopefully by summer I can wear it proudly and think of my mom!

Wish me luck!!

Happy Half Birthday to me!

Hello all!  It's time again for my monthly post!

Yesteday I turned 6 months old.

Half a year.

183 days.

Age blocks from bbBlocks

I've come a looong way!

From 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long to 17 pounds and 28 3/4 inches

 Look at these vintage pics in my bouncy seat!  Now I can pull those crazy bugs right off, and pretty much do every time.  Mom says I'm like a little Hercules.

Mom is just starting to put away my 3-6 month clothes.  I told her I was tired of looking homeless at school with my high water pants and tight shirts.  I mean I'm all about showing off the guns but it was starting to look a little rediculous.  Plus who doesn't love an entirely new wardrobe!?  The 6-9 month stuff is still pretty big on me, but I'm sure I'll grow into them in no time!  I'm also still rocking the medium setting on my diapers but mom has started adding a bit more fluff because I've decided to become a bit of a super soaker.

We haven't done any grown up food in a few months, but now that I have TWO teeth, mom tells me it's time to try again.  It's either that or she's sending me to college with my bottles.  Since I don't think I'll be mackin' on the hunny's with my Enfamil in hand, I suppose I can try and master the spoon....or at the very least learn to not choke and gag before the food has even touched my lips.  Six months old and I'm already a food snob, mama's really in for it!

I've mastered a new trick this month!  Yep, you got it, sitting!  One day I just surprised mom by not toppling over for almost 30 min!  She couldn't believe her eyes....especially when I reached over for a toy and not only did I not face plant it like usual, I sat right back up.  I'm still not rolling over, I get about as far over as you can without completely turning and then just roll back the other way.  One day I'll get it and mom will think I've rediscovered the wheel she'll be so excited.  Oh and dad is convinced I'll be walking anyday now because if you hold my hands when I'm standing, I will take steps.  I don't think I'll be running a marathon anytime soon, but at least I've got the whole right-left-right-left going for me!

One of the most exciting things this month was my very first trip to Ohio for Grandma Debbie's Birthday!  I even got to ride on a plane!  I did pretty good, didn't sleep as much as mommy would have liked, but I was happy and all the flight attendants loved me.  Duh.  Who doesn't love me?!  I had a fun trip meeting all of daddy's family and mommy's old friends.....even went out on a date with Miss Harper.  She's older than me, a cougar if you will, but I think I impressed her with my smooth moves!

My favorite part of the whole trip though may have been Grandpa Jack's fish.  I sat with Grandma for hours just watching them swim back and forth, slapping the glass and talking away to all the fishies.  Looks like mom will be getting zoo passes this summer so we can make lots of trips to the aquarium!

Guess that about wraps it up!  See you all next month!  I don't know about you all, but I'm SOOO ready for spring!  All this winter coat, hat and gloves business is getting old!

Peace out!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Looks like John Wayne is all rode out!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Piccata Pasta

This weeks recipe is brought to you by Pampered Chef.  I got one of their cookbooks at a party I hosted a few weeks ago and found a ton of good recipes to try.  I had to alter it a bit since a few of the seasonings were strictly Pampered Chef products that I didn't have, but I think it turned out great!  The hubs even liked it....except next time he requested I leave out the foliage aka the parsley.  Haha.

What you Need:

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 T olive oil

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

3 cans reduced sodium chicken broth (about 6 cups)

1/2 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

12 oz uncooked angel hair pasta

1 lemon

2 oz cream cheese

1 14oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 c capers, drained and rinsed (I left these out)

Chopped Foliage Parsley and fresh grated parm cheese (I used both)

What you Do:

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Combine 1 T oil, garlic salt, lemon pepper and chicken into bowl.  Toss to coat.  Heat remaining 1 T oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook 10 minutes until no longer pink.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2.  Add onion and garlic to skillet; cook 10-20 seconds or until onion is fragrant.  Pour broth into skillet, bring to boil.  Add pasta; cook uncovered 7-8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

3.  Zest lemon to measure 1 T.  Juice lemon to measure 2 T.  Add zest, juice and cream cheese to skillet, stir until cream cheese is fully incorporated.  Add chicken and artichokes.  Cook covered 1-2 minutes or until heated through.  Removed skillet from heat; stir in capers.  Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Bon Appetite!

The post about the Super Bowl that has nothing to do with football

I watched the Super Bowl last night.

I did not however actually watch any football.

Impressed?

With a husband who's a die hard Steelers fan, you'd think I would have cared...but no matter how hard I try I just can't get into pro football.  So instead I found ways to entertain myself while the game was on.

1.  Christina Aguilera.  She messed up the National Anthem.  Really?  Come on Xtina.

2. Pepsi Max commercial.  Seriously laughed out loud.

3.  Puppy Bowl.  Who doesn't love puppies?  Charlie was my favorite.

4. The VW Star Wars commercial.  How cute is that kid?

5.  The Black Eyed Peas.  Eh.  There weren't any wardrobe malfunctions, but it wasn't the worse half time show I've seen.  It was pretty awesome when they were all doing the running man, even the weird light up dancers on the field.  Two thumbs up for the running man.

6.  Jamie in his first official Steelers sweatshirt

(This is where you would see an adorable picture if I hadn't left my camera at the bar.  No worries, my brother picked it up!)

7.  Iron City Beer and a Primanti Brothers sandwich flown in straight from Pittsburgh for the KC Steelers Fan Club.  I may not give a crap about their football team, but damn they make a good sandwich!

8.  Glee post Super Bowl.  Who doesn't love a bonus episode?!

Hope you all enjoyed the game!!
Happy Monday!

Dear Mom...

I thought  about you a lot today.  Not really much different from any other day, you're always on my mind.  I miss our daily chats.  No two people could talk about nothing as much as we did.  I miss the way you could make even the worst days seem better.  You had a knack at helping me see the silver lining in everything.  It's hard seeing the glass as half full these days.  I could really use a David Girls day 'O fun....

xoxo
Em

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Look ma!  The snow is almost as tall as me!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Meatball Stroganoff

I recently tried a crock pot Beef Stroganoff recipe I found on another blog and while it was pretty good, it didn't hold a flame to one of my oldie but goodie recipes.  This one actually comes from a Weight Watchers cookbook, so not only is it tasty, it's good for you too!  Making the meatballs can a be a little time consuming so I usually make a double batch and freeze half, then the next time I'm craving a little stroganoff all I have to do is make the sauce!  Enjoy!

Meatball Stroganoff

Serves 4

What you need:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 c breadcrumbs

6 T milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsp chopped onion

pepper to taste

1 T margarine or butter

1/2 can low sodium beef broth

1 T flour

1/4 c sour cream

egg noodles

(Recipe doesn't call for it, but I will add mushrooms sometimes if I have them on hand)

What you do:

Cook noodles according to package.  Meanwhile, combine beef, breadcrumbs, milk, salt, pepper and onion in large bowl.  Form mixture into meatballs, should get approx 24.  Melt margarine into large skillet, cook meatballs over med heat until no longer pink, remove from heat.  Place flour in skillet, add broth.  Place over medium heat 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in sour cream.  Return meatballs to pan, cook 3 min, do not boil.  Serve over noodles.

Bon Appetite!