Life with the Dokulils

A Day in the life of... plus a recipe.

2012-01-24T22:18:00.000-06:00

I recently read a post on askmoxie.org about not using the word, "OK?" at the end of your commands that you give to your children. Something about how saying, "OK?" at the end of the sentence might confuse them into thinking they have a say in the matter. Moxie, as well as many other parents, found this hilarious. As did I! She then went on to ask parents what other rules they break with their kids. Mine was EASY!

Welcome to the Sesame Street trance!

On some mornings, after my not born yet, trouble maker, of a son wakes me up at 4am to practice his break dancing and karate moves, I find it difficult to function at full capacity. Enter Big Bird! Adam adores Sesame Street. And I have to admit - I'm quite entertained also. He usually will only let me watch 20 minutes at most before he's over it and off into the cupboards or pantry. I really need to put the child proof door knob thing on the pantry door...

There's this big TV controversy with moms. Very few moms admit to letting their kids stare at the boob tube. I find the idiot box useful for things like unstacking and stacking the dishwasher, prepping dinner, or sleeping with my eyes open.

My genius brother put this together. I giggled when I saw the "S"word coming out of his mouth.

Yes, I'm that mom.

Don't worry, we do other things too.

Like baby signs! Adam loves baby signs. He's soooooo good at it. He knows well over 20 signs now. He loves learning new ones and is a quick student. Andy recently taught him how to sign baby. He grabs his belly and wiggles. He knows several signs for bed time, meal time, bath time, pets, and other daily routine things we do.

We had a baby signs class last Saturday and learned about Bath Time. Adam sat in the pool with the balls for most of the class. I had been warned that the kids would get wet. But in typical pregnant fashion, I forgot. Luckily, he was more interested in splashing than swimming.

Adam has two very special favorite things. The weirdest of the two is to brush his teeth. He could brush his teeth for an hour. And sometimes does. Recently, Adam has been throwing full fledged tantrums every single time I put him in his car seat. He's quite strong, I'm quite pregnant, and my car is quite high, that it makes it difficult to truly "force" him to sit in the car seat without him helping me just a bit. I've tried time out, I've tried time in, I've tried yelling, I've tried discussing the pros and cons of car seats, I've gotten out my check book and asked him how much... I get no where! I've been racking my brain trying to think of how to get this child into his car seat. So, yesterday, in the Lowes parking lot, as I was counting to 100 so as not to lose my patience with my toddler who was totally in protest of the car seat - which I might add is the coolest car seat ever as it rotates!!!! - I came up with the perfect bribe... MR. TOOTHBRUSH!

And let me tell you. Mr. Toothbrush is coming with us for every car trip now. As Adam and I headed to the car this morning to meet up with his buddy, Landry, and his mom, Tina, at the children's museum, I carried Mr. Toothbrush in my pocket. I had even smeared the tiniest dab of our baby tooth paste on it to "sweeten" the deal. Sure enough, as we neared the car door, Adam's knees started to wobble, his face began to turn scary shades of red, his arms started flapping like a chicken who was going no where... I calmly said, "Adam, if you sit in your car seat, you can brush your teeth."

And just like that, Adam's knees straightened, his face returned to normal, his eyes twinkled, his arms stretched out for me to pick him up and buckle him in.

It worked again on P Street in downtown Lincoln as we were walking back to the car.

Moments like these make me feel like super mom.

We had fun - as we always do - at the Children's museum!

When Adam's not brushing his teeth, he wants to be outside. He generally wakes up from his nap and starts patting his head - which is the sign for hat.

But just like the story goes... If you give a toddler a hat, he will ask for his mittens. And if you give him his mittens, he will ask for his boots. And if you give him his boots he will ask for his coat. And if you give him his coat he will look at you with such sadness in his eyes, crocodile tears will fall, after you tell him its way too cold to go outside. You inevitably will bundle up as well and walk around the house two times in the bitter, freezing, below zero wind chill so that A) He will believe you next time you tell him its too cold and B) Not make you feel like the worst mother alive who won't take her child outside.

We came inside to thaw and thought we'd make this for dinner!

Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2-3 T store bought or homemade pesto

A few shakes of crushed red peper (to taste - its spicy stuff!)

1/4 cup or more of chopped sun dried tomatoes

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup white wine

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

handful of grated parmesan cheese - or more. Like way more.

1 lb cooked bow tie pasta.

Cook pasta while you do the following:

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and pesto and crushed red pepper. Cook until chicken is just starting to brown, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add sun dried tomatoes, broth and wine and scrap up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Mmmm. Flavor!

Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or so until chicken is cooked through.

Add heavy whipping cream and parmesan.

Let it simmer for a bit to reduce and slightly thicken. 5 min or so.

Stir in pasta and let the pasta soak up the sauce for a bit before serving.

This is Andy's favorite dish. I make it way too often for him. Its amazingly good. How can it not be! Wine? Cream? Cheese? Yes please!

Make sure to comment, OK? :-) What rules do you break with your kids?

Ready or Not!

2012-01-16T14:11:00.001-06:00

Things are really cookin' here! I've got this huge bun in my little ol' oven. My kitchen has been overdrive trying to keep up with my growing appetite and my growing family.

Finding ways to entertain a busy toddler while trying to keep this said bun in the aforementioned oven can be tricky some days.

One solution has been a baby signs class. Adam and I are attending a weekly baby signs class with my cousins and a friend. He loves it.

He also loved the other little boy's pacifier....... So much so that he stole it from the little helpless boy and to his mother's horror, shoved it in his mouth.

A few days after our first baby signs class Adam has caught a really awful cold. I tried telling him that's what happens you suck on other people's pacifiers. Its a life lesson. But I'm pretty sure he'd still do it again.

Another way to entertain the beast, I mean, toddler was to take him to the Children's Museum to meet up with a great friend who has a little guy the same age as Adam. They had so much fun. He could have been there for hours. We're looking forward to going back as soon as the terrible, awful, no good, very bad cold is completely gone.

In other news:

The To Do lists are growing at an alarmingly rate.

1) Prepare and freeze as many mspi meals as possible before April.
2) Get a pedicure. like yesterday. Trim toe nails and wash feet first so as not to be utterly embarrassed.
3) Tell everyone in the world the difference between visiting and helping.
4) Buy a dresser with a changing table topper and put baby clothes away.
5) Redecorate the toddler's room so I don't feel so guilty about turning his world upside soon. Everybody knows that a Star Wars themed room will make it all better.
6) Teach toddler how to talk.
7) Throw a dinner party before I vanish from society into a sleep deprived, frizzy, frazzy, milk maid.
8) Make a Valentine's Day wreath.
9) Eat more yogurt. Eat less chocolate chipless cookies.
10) Brush teeth TWICE a day. EVERYday.

Whew! And that's just the upstairs list.

My husband has been super supportive. Many of our conversations have gone like this:

Irrational Pregnant Lady: "I-i-if we d-d-don't get a dresser right away, then the new baby will have no cloooooothes."

Sobbing.

Supportive, amused Husband: "We can get a dresser really soon. That's ok. We are going to need a new dresser. Might as well get one now. "

Irrational Pregnant Lady: "B-b-b-but you said you didn't want to spend ANY money on ANY thing for ANY one and so we c-c-c-an't get a n-n-new anything. And so n-n-now we have nothing for the new baby."

Sobbing.

Supportive, confused Husband: "I don't remember saying that we couldn't buy anything for the new baby."

Irrational Pregnant Lady shoots him daggers.

Supportive, smart Husband: "I'm really sorry that you THOUGHT you heard me say that."

Irrational Pregnant Lady shoots him deadly daggers.

Supportive, smarter Husband: "I mean, I'm really sorry that I gave you that impression. We can buy a new dresser. What kind should we get?"

Irrational Pregnant Lady, "I don't know. Whyyyy do I have knnnnn-ow everything. Having to m-m-make all the decisions is ov-v-v-erwhelming."

More sobbing.

Supportive, bewildered husband, "I like this one from pottery barn."

Irrational Pregnant Lady, "You ar-r-r-en't even listening to me."

********

And now that I'm sure you're dying to know, we have almost picked out the baby's new dresser. Which is great news, because apparently the new dresser means the baby will have clothes to wear!

Really, though... Everyone is pulling their weight here, trying to get ready for the new baby.

11 weeks to go.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Catching up - Part 2: And then it was Christmas!

2012-01-09T14:49:00.001-06:00

We are just now catching our breath from the whirlwind fall. Actually, I find I'm always trying to catch my breath. There's this big baby - and I don't use the term big lightly - in my belly taking up all my lung room. Then there's this active boy - and I don't use the term active lightly - in my house who keeps me on my toes, on my knees, outside, inside, up, down, round and round... You get the picture? Just thinking about it leaves me taking big, deep breaths again!

December was unforgettable. We kicked off the month with a huge community Cantata. I served as assistant director and even got to direct one of the songs. Standing in front of a 70 voice adult choir was amazing. Something I'll never forget. I also was the director for the children's choir. I had 50 kids sing in the choir this year. Almost double as previous years. I didn't realize we had 50 kids signed up until dress rehearsal. I then realized why I'd been so tired every Thursday night after the kids' rehearsals!

(Photos courtesy of Stacy Ideus. Visit her blog here.)

A couple days before the huge show I caught the stomach flu and ended up in the ER. I became extremely ill and got dehydrated very quickly. Preggos are usually just one glass of water away from dehydration, according to my OB. My blood pressure plummeted and my heart rate became tyachacardic - really fast. So, the ER doc pumped me full of fluids and drugs and send me home feeling much better. By the performance day I was feeling pretty good! Nothing was going to keep me from performance day.

(Photos courtesy of Stacy Ideus. Visit her blog here.)

We performed in the brand spankin' new Wahoo Learning-Arts Center - an amazing theatre for such a small town. The kids were fantastic. Cute. Ornery. But as soon as those lights came on and the curtain opened - they were pros. They smiled and followed my flailing directing arms. I was so proud!

The next weekend, my brother and his girlfriend flew in from California to celebrate Christmas. Luke's lady is named Cara. And I love her. I hope they are together forever and they come visit us more. I somehow conned Cara into making a huge Christmas dinner for our family and my inlaws. She was such a trooper and never cussed directly at me even though I kept saying, "Just one more dish..."

We decided to have a blended family Christmas this year, combining my family and Andy's family. There's only so many days we all get to be together now that everyone is spread out. And it was way easier on this mama.

Little did Cara know - we would be making: Lobster Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Bearnaise Sauce
Real Creamed Corn Pudding
Broccolini with Pecan Brown Butter
Spiced, Glazed Carrots with Sherry and Citrus
Mushroom Potato Gratin
Libby's Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
(Click on the dish and it will take you to the link!)

Dinner was so good. So special. So special to have most of our family gathered around our table. We sure missed those who couldn't be there though.

Christmas was kinda lost on Adam. He enjoyed the tissue paper and gift bags for awhile. He really appreciated Santa who didn't wrap his toys and just assembled them and set them by the tree. Santa brought him some art supplies, a bubble blower lawn mower, and a car that he can ride in while mom and dad push. He loves them! He also got a potty chair and is learning potty signs. We're not ready to potty train just yet but we're making it familiar and he definitely is getting the hang of it!

The rest of December was a fun blur of family get togethers and then a not so fun blur as several members of the family got sick. Including my husband. Who got the flu. The real flu. The kind the flu shot prevents. I know someone who will be getting their freaking flu shot next year. Anyway. This is a happy post!

Now we are on to the doldrums of winter. Its been amazingly nice out and we've still managed to keep up our long circus walks with our neighbor. But with this baby due in less than 3 months - my walking is turning to waddling. We're starting to nest like crazy people. Well, I am starting to and Andy is helping me along and keeping very busy with his new wood workshop hobby.

I hope you all are having a good 2012!

"She's a recording artist."

2011-12-28T15:16:00.002-06:00

This is how my neighbor and good friend, Stacy, introduces me to people. I love it! I toss my hair a bit, square my shoulders, and reply, "Pleased to meet you!"

Recently, I was interviewed by the fabulously talented photographer. Read about it and see some CUTE pictures of Adam!

http://stacyideusphotography.com/blog/?p=1719

Then visit her other posts and website and drool!

Catching Up Part I

2011-12-26T11:43:00.002-06:00

Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house - not a creature is stirring... Because the hubster took the toddler to Lowe's and left this pregnant mom alone all morning to do nothing but lie in bed, sip tea, watch HGTV, and browse pinterest.

Can you hear the angels singing???

So, while the house is so quiet - I thought I might update you all on October and November.

I'm having trouble remembering the fall... I know it was here. I know we did stuff, lots of stuff. But its all a blur! Somewhere in there we packed up our house into two suitcases and loaded our carry ons with baby gear and headed to Phoenix to watch Andy's sister get married.

Have you traveled with a toddler? Oh, my. First Andy and I packed as light as possible into one suitcase and Adam got his very own suitcase. Lots of outfits, sleepers, diapers (cloth), sleep sacks, bottles, pacifiers, toys, books, the partridge in a pear tree. Then Andy had a carry on - a diaper bag - full of diapers for the trip, extra outfits, milk for the plane, snacks, two turtle doves. And I had a carry on - an additional diaper bag packed full of entertainment for the plane ride including three french hens. Add to that a stroller that we gate checked and stroller bag to protect the outrageously expensive but totally worth it Orbit stroller gear and four calling birds. Lastly, we somehow managed to get Adam, our two carry ons, my purse, and his convertible car seat, plus five golden rings on the plane. Thank God for Aunt Julie who flew down with us and Grandpa Lyle who flew back and helped as best they could!

We were so grateful to be able to see Hannah and Will get married... But after Adam developed an ear infection on our second day, a trip to urgent care and two exhausted parents boarded the plane to come home - we decided we'd put traveling off for awhile!

Not long after we arrived home - it was time to trick or treat!

Andy as the milk man and me as the knocked up 50s housewife off to a neighbors bash!

Let's see - Halloween! That was fun! Adam was a monkey. But he found the whole event rather emotional and so we only trick or treated at two houses before turning around for home. In fact, we were rather lame this Halloween. We set an ORANGE bowl out on the door step and hung a sign that said, "RING THE DOOR BELL AND DIE! BABY SLEEPING!" Ok - maybe it was bit nicer than that but not much... Andy and I watched a movie and we called it a night!

You might notice I have pink in my hair. After 11 years, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer again. This was a big blow for her and all those who love her. Things seemed to move at a snail pace as she navigated through treatment options. Luckily, the cancer was noninvasive. But because our family history is so strong in the breast cancer department, and because this was a second cancer for my mom, she and her doctors decided to proceed with a total mastectomy. This would allow her to escape radiation and other long term drug therapies that carry enormous side effects and risk. After the mastectomy, the pathology results came back showing an additional cancer that the mammogram hadn't found. This additional cancer was an invasive cancer and reassured mom that she had made the right decision. Because the lymph nodes came back negative for any cancer, mom is now cancer free and not needing any further treatment. Just rest and serenity!

I have to tell you how amazing my church family was through all this. They supported my little family here which helped me support my mom and dad there. There were tons of prayers said and I know they worked. Mom is still recovering 6 weeks later but doing great and going back to work full time this week!

My mom is brave. And strong. And ate a lot of patience pie. I love my mom.

A couple weeks after her surgery it was time for Thanksgiving! Last year I had double stuffed oreos for Thanksgiving dinner because I was nursing an MSPI child - and oreos have nothing real in them - making them safe for me to eat! So this year, I went nuts. I went pyscho cooking crazy.

THE MENU!

I set the table on Monday and started prepping as much as could on Tuesday and Wednesday.

My final menu included: Alton Brown's Brined Turkey

Bon Appetit's Spinach-Porcini Stuffing which I made gluten free

Sue's cornbread stuffing

My Grandpa's Sweet Potatoes

Gravy with Cognac (made from the turkey stock simmering on the stove all day)

Mashed Potatoes

Sue's cranberries (Sue is a chef with a fabulous blog and I make her recipes all the time.)

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

Vision's of Sugar Plum's Pecan pie with homemade pastry crusts

Freshly Whipped Cream

Bon Appetit's Real Creamed Corn Pudding which was a new recipe I tried out

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Crispy Prosciutto and Golden Raisins again from Sue

and Roasted Green Beans with Shitake Mushrooms.

(Click on the dish and the link will take you to the original recipe!)

PLUS my mom brought her famous oyster stuffing and some rolls and a family friend, Mary, brought cranberry fluff.

After we feasted, we reheated, loaded the car - twice - and then headed up the road to Andy's Grandparents house where we feasted again.

I miss Thanksgiving already.

Then it was December. That's when all heck brook loose.

To be continued...

It Was the Best of Times...

2011-11-02T10:52:00.003-05:00

I remember these days... I think.... Well, at least I think I remember these days...

Just hours old. Not one of us knows what we're really in store for. What came was a baby with severe reflux, food allergies, terrible nurser, triple feedings... but so sweet and so beautiful.

Somehow we manage to survive and thrive though only sleeping for 2-3 hours total a night. And that's not in a row.

Merry Christmas Baby! Nursing pro and sleeping 5 hours straight almost every night. Food allergies have been identified and the mspi diet is in full swing.

6 months old! So happy. Such a busy baby!

9 months old. Swinging at the park. And a smile for everyone!

My beautiful boys.

11 months. Sitting, standing, cruising. Always on a mission.

And then the big day!

First Birthday! We had a Little Man theme complete with mustaches, bow ties, pretzel cigars, and lots of cake!

Almost everyone liked the cake!

The cake made one little boy a bit nervous...

FOUR generations. How blessed are we!

Granddad and Adam

Mommy's Little Man

Happy Birthday baby!

We had such a special day! Andy put together a video capturing Adam's first year. It was so special. We were overwhelmed with family and friends who came to celebrate Adam's first year with us. Adam is loved by so many!

Barefoot, Pregnant, and Enchiladas

2011-09-13T21:36:00.000-05:00

On a whim, I decided to make enchiladas for dinner tonight. Easy for the picky husband to eat. And easy for the toddler to gum.

Getting to the kitchen was the most challenging part of the recipe. Said toddler had taken every last tupperware and tupperware lid out of the tupperware cabinet and strewn them about in an almost impossible, genius obstacle course. He is a genius, you know.

Adam had his first year check up with the pediatrician last night. It was the usual weight, length, head check, chit chat, and............ shots. Adam weighs 21 lbs 5 oz now which is about the 20% for weight on the CDC growth chart. He is about the 70th% for length.

But his head.

His genius head.

92%. Need I say more?

I tripped over the intricate, deliberate maze that my genius child expertly constructed making sure to put any pieces I disturbed back in place so that Adam's daddy could share in the proud moment. It was only fair.

Really, though, this is a post about enchiladas.

Growing up, our big family get togethers almost always included a Mexican Enchilada night. The recipe is quite easy and quite delicious.

You'll need:

2 T Oil. (I used safflower. Canola, Veg would also work, but not Olive oil.)

2 T Flour.

1 - 12oz Can of Tomato Sauce.

Palmful of Cumin.

Half Palmful of Chili Powder.

Garlic Salt.

1/4 t Oregano.

Dash of Crushed Red Pepper.

Whatever other spices you can find in your pantry that sound appealing.

Tortillas.

Cheese (Jack, Cheddar, whatever) freshly shredded is best.

Diced Onion (red is best)

Beef or pulled chicken, or whatever meat you want.

I browned Ground Bison and seasoned it with Kosher salt, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, etc. Then I set it aside.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over med. high heat. Add the flour and whisk until the flour is starting to brown. Pour in the tomato sauce. Use the left over can of tomato sauce to add a can full of water to the pan. Whisk until smooth. Fill the can once more and set to the aside in case the sauce gets too thick. Which it will.

Add the spices. Taste for seasoning. A TINY dash of cinnamon could be yummy! But don't over do it.

Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 min. stirring occasionally. Add some more water as it cooks to thin out slightly.

If you are married to my husband - skip this next step. In a bowl, combine the freshly shredded cheese and diced onion, reserving a bit to sprinkle on top.

Butter a couple 9X13 baking dishes. I take a dinner plate and set it near the enchilada sauce. Take a tortilla dip both sides in the sauce then set on the plate. Put the desired meat in the tortilla leaving a little room at each end and sprinkle some cheese/onion mixture. Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down in the dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Keep adding water one tablespoon at a time to thin out the sauce as needed to finish the job. I thinned it out after every couple tortillas with just a bit of water. I ended up with 9 or so enchiladas.

Top with remaining sauce (if there is any) and remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and crank the oven to 425 and bake for additional 5 minutes or until cheese just starts to brown. Let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes before serving.

They were delicious! Andy said the best ever. He said that AFTER he interrogated me on my use of onions in the recipe. If I wasn't pregnant and wasn't exhausted and was in a good mood, I would have grated some onion or pureed it in the food processor to trick him. As my readers know, I'm not above tricking (lying) to my husband while in the kitchen. We're really in trouble. I heard that tricking your husband into eating foods he thinks he doesn't like is the 4th leading cause of divorce. You can read about my first trick here. (Click on the word "here".)

I made some rice to go along with the enchiladas. (en-chee-la-das) This was another classic recipe that my mom always made during the big family get togethers or special birthday dinners. Also very easy and tasty.

You'll need:

2 T. Oil

Diced onion

1 C rice (I used brown basmati)

Just under 2 C water, broth, or combo. (I used a leftover container of vegetable broth I had in my fridge.)

2 T hot sauce

salt/pepper

Half palmful of cumin

1 T Chili powder

Garlic powder

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan with a tight fitting lid, heat oil over med. high heat. Add rice and onion and stir while the rice toasts. Add the water or broth or combo, hot sauce, and seasonings. Add a generous sprinkling of garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce to low. And let it cook according to the package directions. Mine took 50 minutes. Well, that's a lie. My stove sucks. I hate it. And it doesn't know what low means. So mine took way longer because after 50 minutes I realized that my oven thought low meant off. So, if you have a pyscho oven like mine - give yourself some extra time.

It was a delicious dinner. Even my toddler enjoyed it. He didn't enjoy it enough to swallow his bites. But he did open his mouth wide like a fish and take every bite. He even chewed it. Then he spit it out and looked at me with the strangely familiar twinkle in his right eye. I know that twinkle. It means, "Whatcha gonna do about it, huh mom?"

But I know better than to mess with him. After all, you can't mess with a genius.

Just when we thought we had it all figured out...

2011-09-10T09:36:00.000-05:00

You know, things have been nice lately. We're getting sleep! Like long stretches of uninterrupted sleep!

We have a nice routine with two naps a day, play time, eat time, clean up time, walks in the stroller, giggle time.

We can even start to see light at the end of the diaper tunnel.

Food allergies have become a distant memory.

Tantrums are easily dissolved by bursting into random song while dancing like a chicken with its head cut off.

Things are nice. Predictable (as they can be with a toddler). Smooth sailing. Fun. Always interesting.

Its like Andy and I decided that we were getting too much sleep. Saving too much money. Enjoying too much free time. That's what I thought the first time anyway...

Well, we did it again!!!

We're expecting Baby Dokulil the Second to arrive in the very beginning of April! We're all thrilled and looking forward to a bit of chaos again! There's a bit of calmness surrounding this pregnancy. I'm not a "rookie" this time as my doctor called me the first time. I will go hours (ok, maybe ONE hour) before dashing to the bathroom where I somehow lose my cookies and then remember that Oh! That's RIGHT! I'm pregnant! AGAIN!

Things are so different this time around! When I was expecting Adam, Andy would rush in every morning with a chef's coat on and a delicious 3 course breakfast fit for a Queen of a small country. He rubbed my feet, rubbed my back, he held my hand when I felt a little funny. He would proudly announce to people that "WE" were pregnant. Then he'd get this evil stare from me and soon he started telling people that "I" was pregnant.

Now, he stands in the door way and tosses me my Zofran and progesterone before he rushes down the hall to pick Adam up from his crib, change his diaper, get him dressed (which is still a major source of contention because Andy lacks fashion sense which I hear is the 3rd leading cause of divorce), get him fed, prepare his oatmeal, and get to work before the office closes for the day.

So, all alone, I drag myself out of bed and head for the nearest place I can toss my cookies. Splash some water on my face. Gag my way to the oatmeal. Eat a few bites. Make a face at the toddler who thinks me gagging and running from room to room is hilarious. And wave goodbye to Andy as he squeals his tires to freedom.

Then our day starts! And its non stop and go-go and never a dull moment. No more laying in bed all day. Or being pampered all day. Now its a non stop cycle of diaper duty and chicken dances.

And I have to say, I love it.

Don't Rock the Boat, Baby!

2011-08-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

Isn't she purty?

My life, My circus

2011-08-20T10:05:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, OK - like September 3, 2010 - I started planning Adam's first Birthday Party. A Petting Zoo. Clowns, not the scary kind. Happy Clowns. Elephant Rides. Fireworks. Gourmet Chocolate Cake. Tea, in fancy cups. A live orchestra serenading us with Mozart, Chopin, and the occasional children's song. My list went on and on.

Andy grew tired of talking about the details. I knew this party would only succeed if I took over.

I'm very lucky to have a friend/nanny/former student named Laura who is so talented and creative and great with Adam. She got on the computer and pulled up idea after idea. Blog after blog. She's the real brains behind this circus!

The invitations have been sent. I really had thought about just doing Evites. But then a conversation with Megan abruptly changed my mind. That conversation MAY have gone something like this:

"I'm thinking of doing Evites for Adam's First Birthday party. That's OK, right?"

"What?!? No! Its absolutely not OK. Only mothers who only half love their children do evites for a FIRST Birthday!"

"Oh. Ok! Well, I'll order some paper ones then."

So, the Evites went out as I was waiting for the paper ones to come in. Then the paper ones came in and went out. And on another note - have you noticed that RSVP has gone completely out the window? You can write RSVP or PLEASE LET ME KNOW - And it just doesn't matter! I may have food for 60 and only have Andy, Adam and I. Oh well. It'll freeze.

I do have this problem about feeding people. I've convinced myself that all people who enter my home are starving. They come from a land with no food. They may never have had food before. Ever. And its my job to feed them. To nourish them before sending them back to their land of saltless, stale crackers and tepid, moldy water.

A few years ago, I was dating this wonderful, handsome, smart, funny guy. We decided to host a Christmas Party. This wonderful, handsome, smart, funny guy did, in fact, own a home with a kitchen, but it was for looks only as it had never been used. Well, maybe to heat up the occasional pan of frozen taquitos. I think he was thinking a few bags of chips, we'd splurge on a couple dips, some liquor and maybe even a Christmas tree.

Well, unbeknownst to him, I was scouring cookbooks and online recipes coming up with the most fantastic menu ever. And for some reason I was particularly found of shrimp. In fact, listening to me talk about the menu for the party was like watching Forrest Gump. We were going to have Shrimp Cocktail, Hot Shrimp, Pepperoncini Shrimp...

Let's just say I've never heard the end of the time I put 12 lbs. of shrimp into said man's grocery cart.

He married me anyway. And he knew well before the nuptials that I had this problem with feeding people.

Adam will hopefully get a balanced side of the two of us. Hopefully, he'll enjoy feeding people, but also have the brains to realize that 12 lbs. of shrimp is a bit much. I think he's pretty smart. Sometimes he looks and me says, "Mother, must you really insist upon serving every food group at every meal?"

Speaking of Adam, he's this close to walking. He'll can walk about 4 feet on his own without falling. He gets pretty proud of himself at about the 2 feet mark and starts clapping his hands so wildly that it almost causes him to wipe out. If he'd just concentrate... He's like his mother in that regard. Doing two things at once, especially when one of those things is walking, is too challenging and most often results in a dislocated knee or a bruise on the butt.

We just had a scary week here at the Dokulil house. Out of nowhere, Adam spiked a temperature on Monday and we raced off to the pediatrician's office confident we'd come home with some magic concoction and expert advice and he'd be better by Tuesday. Instead, we came home with no prescription, print outs on how combining tylenol and motrin causes toxicity and ER visits, and encouragement on not to freak out because he's got a fever. We also came home with a 104.7 fever. Of course I did the right thing. I freaked out! I administered tylenol. Cursed terrible words (in my head) at the pediatrician for not sending us home with the magic concoction and checked on Adam every 15 minutes that night and slept with the monitor attached to my ear. The fever went down, and then the crying started. Then mom went down. Then dad came home. Then out of nowhere, Adam shot up from my lap laughing and talking about how much fun his birthday party was going to be and could we make sure there were zebras in the petting zoo.

By Friday, Adam was back to his old self again, starving, and complaining about the all the food groups on his tray.

It was a long week!

Another Mom's Milk.

2011-07-10T13:08:00.002-05:00

Goodbye Medela Symphony Pump.

Goodbye Medela Pump in Style.

Its over.

I'll continue to nurse, but I'll have to offer at least 2-3 oz of formula after each nursing session.

ON THE BITTERSWEET SIDE... Let me introduce you to Megan. (Click on Megan to read her story.) Megan is one of my bestest bestest friends in the whole world. We share the same birthday. We both had blonde hair until I died mine brown, but I've bleached it back - so now we both HAVE blonde hair. We both adore pugs. We both got pregnant at about the same time. We both obsess about breast milk and breast feeding. Megan has twin girls. Two beautiful, healthy, amazing, smart, charming girls. And she nurses them when she can and pumps when she can't.

I won't lie... To listen to Megan talk about how much milk she produces in a day is like being on a strict diet and watching someone eat an entire chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate curls and chocolate ice cream, and chocolate wonderfulness.

Megan also has a huge heart. She's cheered me on through the trials and tribulations of breast feeding. And is fluent in my saga. (Click here if you want to be too.) Now that her girls are 9 months old, she's producing more milk than her girls need. So, each Wednesday Megan loads up her little cooler with breast milk and hands it over to me to take home. Are you shocked? Another mom's milk?

I guess some people would be weirded out by it. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion and reaction - I challenge you to think like a parent and not a pervert... What if there was no formula? Remember that? Remember when there was no formula? Probably not. It was a LONG, LONG time ago. But its a true story! (There also used to be no running water or electricity too... but I digress!!!) Moms who found themselves in situations like mine found themselves a wet nurse. Someone to nurse their baby because they couldn't. Breast milk is best. There's no denying that. Formula is fine. I've had to use it from day one. But breast milk is alive with enzymes and immunoglobulins and all sorts of specific nutrients that a baby needs that can only come from the breast.

So, when Megan offered her breast milk for Adam, I humbly accepted it with so much gratitude. I know Megan well. I even seen her medicine cabinet! :-) She's a non smoker. A non drinker. Her worse offense is a serious sweets addiction. I think Adam is enjoying the sweeter milk!

I decided to write about it because I'm proud to be giving her milk to Adam. I'm not ashamed of it. I don't think its weird. I don't think its perverse. I made the decision carefully and deliberately. And I thought, just maybe.... someone out there needed to hear that.

Birthday Buddies!

Megan: Andy and I are very grateful and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you!

Me, my family, my mountains!

2011-07-05T15:38:00.001-05:00

Back in June, we loaded up the car - Wait. Let's start over. We crammed everything we possibly could into our Honda Pilot. Toys, Baby Food Cooler, Baby Supply Crate, Toy Bag, Pack and Play, Stroller, 2 Large Suitcases, 2 Diaper Bags, Portable High Chair, Mother-In-Law and said Mother-In-Law's 2 very small bags.

Off we went! Estes Park - HERE WE COME!

Heidi, my mother-in-law was assigned with the most difficult task of all. Keep that baby entertained for the duration of the car ride! We split up the trip on the way there and stayed in North Platte. Adam did great in the car. And did OK for the overnight in a strange hotel in a strange bed.

We stopped in Loveland, CO to hit up the Coach Outlet and the Gymboree Outlet. My partner in crime, Megan, had a special request to be filled at the Coach store. And so did I! A special thanks to Heidi, who bought part of my new Coach bag as a birthday present!

My Mountains

Finally, we arrived in Estes and met my Father-in-Law, Lyle! I love the mountains. I love them so much that I call them MY mountains. I don't think they mind.

We checked in at our cabin and received a great surprise! The one bedroom cabin we had originally reserved was under construction. Would Andy and I mind switching to the three bedroom, two bath cabin with washer and dryer instead? Um, NO PROBLEM!

We walked up and down the streets of Estes, buying souvenirs, chocolate, and popcorn. We took a day trip up Trail Ridge Road. Andy and Lyle held their breaths around the sharp turns. They would look down the side of the mountain, thinking the worst, talking about how dangerous this road is. Adam and I sat in the back seat rolling our eyes and smiling! (We were very glad that WE didn't have to the driving!) There was so much snow at the very top! In fact, there was so much snow that they had JUST opened Trial Ridge Road for the season. (A full week late!)

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

We tried to hike around Bear Lake as it has a paved path around the entire lake making it great for a stroller, but the lake was still partially frozen and the path still snow packed. A park ranger stopped me and said, "Don't take that baby in there." We didn't argue!

Instead, we headed over to Sprague Lake! Sprague Lake is GORGEOUS! The views around the lake are majestic and breathtaking!

Growing up, Andy and his family came to Estes Park each year! Everywhere we went was another story! Remember the time when Jon and I hiked around this mountain and found this resort. Remember the time, I got to ride the trolley into town all by myself from the cabin? Remember the time, Hannah would ride the horses every year even though years later she would admit how much she hated it! Remember the time Dad said he would climb that mountain? Remember the time... Much has changed in Estes since the original Dokulil Family started going. But still, much hasn't. Laura's Fudge shop is still there. Everyone went home with pounds of chocolate in the car and in their tummies!

One Night, Andy and I went on a date night! Lyle and Heidi took care of Adam while Andy and I went out to dinner at the Dunn Raven Inn and saw a movie, The Hangover II. Our first movie in over a year. Where has the time gone?!?

We took loads and loads of pictures. For all the pictures, go to http://keepingupthedokulils.shutterfly.com.

It was a wonderful trip. Every time we're there, we start scheming ways we could stay up there forever. But reality set in and it was time to cram everything back in the car to head home. This time, Heidi rode home with Lyle. With no one in the backseat to entertain Adam, we were sure nervous that it would be a terribly LONG trip home. We made plans to stay the night again half way to make it easier. But Adam had other plans. He took a long nap and entertained himself so nicely that we decided to do the whole 9 hour trip in one day. He. Did. Great!

Grandpa Lyle and Adam

We are looking forward to making Estes Park a yearly thing just as it was for Andy in his childhood.

Low Milk Supply and PCOS and Other Woes

2011-06-19T09:58:00.007-05:00

For those friends and family who read my blog, consider this your warning that you're about to learn more about me than maybe you wanted to know.

I've been so sad. So mad. So frustrated. Defeated.

PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) has struck again.

You see, just getting and staying pregnant with PCOS is a big accomplishment. For many women, its an awful, grueling, heartbreaking battle. Andy and I were so lucky. First, I knew I had PCOS before I even got married. Because of this I didn't have endure the typical year of trying to get pregnant on my own. Because my doctor knew beforehand, I was monitored from the get go. I was given Clomid when my test results showed anovluation. After one dose of 50 mg we got pregnant. I was given progesterone as a precautionary treatment as up to half of women with PCOS miscarry early on. I suffered no real morning sickness. Just an exaggerated bout of fatigue in part from the progesterone. Pregnancy was fairly easy. And the scooters at the grocery stores made it even easier.

Finally! I thought. This wasn't so bad, I thought. I started making plans for my child. He needed a cute room to live in. A blue room for a boy. A crib. Fancy diapers. Fancy stroller. I was going to be the best mom that ever was! I took all the classes. The baby 101 class. The lamaze class. (Then I ended up with a Cesarean due to a breech baby.) The breast feeding class. I took pages and pages of notes. I bought a pump, nursing pillows, books. I read about it daily. I talked about it daily. I was obsessed. I couldn't wait to nurse my child. I thought about the miracle of bringing life into the world. How my body was designed to birth a child and then nourish him. God has chose me to be a mother to His child. I prayed and prayed for a spectacular child. I promised to do my very best and prayed for God to show me His way. I felt honored. I knew so many who struggled far, far worse than I to get this far.

The day arrived where I finally got to meet my precious son, Adam Jones Dokulil. The love swelled in my heart that its a miracle it didn't explode out of my chest. I looked at this not so tiny newborn baby and promised all over again: To hell and back I would march for this gift. Nothing would ever be as important. Only my best would I give. I fell in love with my new family.

Then my milk came in.

The greatest pain I've ever felt. Far, far worse than my fresh and raw incision from the Caesarean. The nurses came in frequently to check on me and asked me about my incision. I would say it was completely fine. No pain. But my chest was excruciating. They smiled and said, that's normal. Seriously? I thought. This is normal? Ok. Well, I'll deal with it. I did my lamaze breathing as the lactation consultant massaged my breasts every few hours while I pumped. My child couldn't latch yet. So, it was up to the Medela Symphony hospital grade pump to provide me with some relief. Bruise after bruise formed on my chest from the deep massage. But to no avail. Very, very little milk was coming. We were sent home with our new baby, my gigantic breasts, and very little instruction.

The next day I desperately sought help from Milkworks. My lactation consultant (LC) took one look at me and told me I was severely engorged. Before we could even try to get Adam latched we had to get the engorgement down. Ice and cabbage leaves followed with lots of pumping and frustrating attempts to get Adam latched on. A far cry from the hot compresses they were putting on me in the hospital. My engorgement came down to what she considered a normal engorgement and the process of teaching Adam and myself how to nurse began. We clipped Adam's tongue thinking maybe he had a posterior frenulum. He'll latch right on afterwards, they said. No. He didn't.

I went through several nipple shields as we were learning. I cried and breathed deep breaths as he and I tried over and over again to latch. He clamped down on to the shield causing more bruising and bleeding and blistering. But I had promised. To hell and back I said.

This wasn't our only battle. He wasn't gaining weight despite the formula supplementing. Despite the pumping. He was refluxing the entire contents of his stomach several times daily. By the 9th week, we discovered he had a milk soy protein intolerance. (MSPI). I cut out all traces of dairy and soy. I scolded our pediatrician for making me feel like a panicked first time mom whose child dribbled a bit of milk down his chin on occasion. We put Adam on Zantac then Prevacid to protect his vulnerable tissue from the excessive reflux. We discussed surgery options if this became worse. The doctor yammered on about the importance of stuffing him full of food. He has to gain or a failure to thrive diagnosis would be made. I joined a support group. I forced every drop from my breasts and the bottles into Adam's mouth. I forced all those who fed Adam to do the same. We had dropped from the 85% at birth to the 10%. I found out Adam was also sensitive to peanuts, tree nuts, avocado and citrus. I religiously avoided all of it. My best would be all I would give.

We rented a scale and I pre and post weighed him at each nursing session to see how much he would take. Each day was like being in a 2nd grade math class. Adding ounce after to ounce to a feeding chart. Each day we concentrated on getting Adam to eat as much as we could. We still do. We were still using nipple shields but he was slowly learning. I was only having to offer formula once sometimes twice a day. I knew my supply wasn't great. I had accepted that I would never have a freezer full of milk like so many other moms I know.

I took herbs. I power pumped. I nursed more when I could stand it and felt brave. I prayed. I meditated. I continued with my LC for 12 weeks. I ate as much oatmeal as I could. I made lactation cookies every few days.

And finally one day. Adam latched. After 12 weeks. I slipped off the nipple shield during our nursing session and he went right back on. No pain. We did it! No more nipple shields. I could nurse so much easier now where ever I went. No pain. I looked forward to feeding my child. He loved it too. He could bounce on and off so easily. Our patience paid off. I was so proud of myself. So many would have given up. But I didn't. I promised. And I kept my promise. We made it! From here on out, it would be easy.

But it wasn't.

I will still using formula. Now 2 bottles a day. And the formula wasn't cheap. Because of his MSPI, we were having to use Neocate. Adam hated Neocate. And so did we. It was clumpy. It would get stuck in the nipple. It would frustrate me and everyone else who fed him to no end.

I knew Adam just wanted my milk. Oh how I wished I had enough milk for him. But I didn't. I had tried all the tricks. But this was the best my body could give. PCOS had struck again. Just when I thought we had made it! We had conceived. We had a successful first pregnancy. PCOS struck again and robbed me of my obsessive desire to exclusively nurse my child. For many weeks, I was able to provide 21 of the 28 ounces Adam needed to thrive. Then, for many weeks, I was able to provide 20 of the 27 ounces Adam demanded. Then 19. Then 18. Then 17. Then 16. Then 15. Then 14.

Today, Adam is 9 1/2 months old. He nurses like a rockstar. But only twice in the morning as there's too little of milk for him to get a full meal in the afternoon and evening. I'm able to give him 13 ounces of milk out of the 28 ounces he demands. Many of you might say, at least its 13. Yep. At least its 13. You're right. 13 is better than zero you might remind me. Yep. It is.

I don't know how much longer I'll get to nurse. How much longer my milk supply will hold out before it counts down like a rocket ship to nothing. Despite all those "tricks" to boost milk supply, when you have a hormonal imbalance like PCOS, you are ultimately at the mercy of your body. No amount of herbs, pumping or increased nursing is going to fill my freezer full of milk let alone satisfy my child's daily appetite. I often wonder what would happen to us if it was a few hundred years ago. Long before formula. I guess some other lucky mother would have to nurse my child.

When I think back to my plans to nurse Adam for at least two years as recommended by the World Health Organization, I feel like a failure. Is this the first time I've given every thing I have and lost? I just can't will my body to create more milk. You have more to offer your baby than your breast, they said. You did your best, they said. I wanted it all. I want so badly to wake up every single morning, pick up my child from his bed, brush his hair across his forehead, curl him up in my lap and stroke his cheek while he quietly nursed to his heart content. He is still then. He is quiet. He is my little baby growing up. He deserves the best. You'll find other quiet times, they said. Yep. I will.

I struggled last night with the reality that the privilege to nurse my child is coming to a close much sooner than I wanted. Much, much sooner. I'm taking Metformin now trying to wrangle PCOS under control. I'm using the hospital grade pump yet again. But its just a matter of time. Hopefully I can beg, barter, or steal 10 more weeks.

This and That

2011-06-01T21:10:00.010-05:00

Awhile back... Andy took the day off and the Dokulils were off to the zoo! Hannah, Andy's sister, had given us some "Zoo Bucks" and it was such a beautiful day to use them! THANKS HANNAH!

We walked all over the zoo and as always, Adam LOVED every minute there.

A few weeks later, we celebrated Mother's Day.

Andy made the entire day so special! I was pampered all day! From breakfast to the spa to shopping to a homemade lasagna dinner with grilled asparagus straight from the garden and even a new ring to replace my wedding band so I can at least look like I'm married! :-)

The day was wonderful! Can we do this every week???

May just flew by. We had a Barbeque here over Memorial Day weekend. A couple friends and their kiddos came over. I should have got more pictures but Megan managed to snag a couple!

I love their faces!

Say a special prayer tonight for the Billings family. They held the funeral for their 6 month old baby boy Owen today. We wore Orange to support the family today. Orange was Owen's color.

To end on a happy note - It was MY mommy's "DOUBLE NICKLE" birthday today! We celebrated by bringing dinner to her and sharing some dessert! It was a lot of fun! Adam loves seeing his Grammy! We definitely missed Granddad - but someone's gotta catch those fish! We're looking forward to seeing you both this weekend!

SAY CHEESE!

Dinner and a Show

2011-05-31T20:20:00.011-05:00

The view from my deck at the moment is so beautiful. We were so lucky to have bought a house with a gorgeous landscaped yard. I mean GORGEOUS!

I still have no idea what I'm doing. Right now, I'm just trying not to kill anything and learn everyone's names.

Not sure why everything is underlined... Makes me feel like I should say something really important! I can't get the underline out! UGH!

Dinner wasn't bad either! I made chicken fajitas. I did everything on the grill and it was so delicious! The chicken and veggies were marinated in lime, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper. I threw in some liquid smoke, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Just a great marinade! Email me for the recipe and I'll link you up!

For those of you who know my husband, you'll be shocked to find out that Andy has now added red bell peppers to his list of vegetables he'll eat if you make him. GO ANDY!

It was a wonderful dinner. All of us enjoying our dinner on the deck and taking in the show (the view).

Adam enjoyed some broccoli, chicken and apricots, and cubed sweet potatoes. Such a big boy!

Don't forget to wear Orange tomorrow to honor little warrior, Owen.

Can you believe tomorrow is JUNE!?!?!

Wednesday is Orange for Owen

2011-05-30T13:49:00.003-05:00

This is from Melissa Bissing who lost her 6 month old, Owen. She and her husband have donated as many organs as they could and have remained steadfast in their faith. They have 3 other little boys at home. She's asking for all to wear orange on Wednesday. Orange was Owen's color.

You can find more of her posts here.

Can I ask a favor?

Don’t treat me differently … share the good things in your life with me. Come to me when you need someone to listen. I’m not broken beyond repair. I want to share in your happiness and sorrow too.

Random tid bit … I really liked this poem I found:

The mention of my child’s name
May bring tears to my eyes,
But it never fails to bring
Music to my ears.
If you are really my friend,
Let me hear the beautiful music of his name.
It soothes my broken heart
And sings to my soul.

Another favor, I know I’m greedy. If you are able to, you are welcome to come to the funeral. We went through this with open arms and we wouldn’t finish it any less. Owen needs a full army for this battle.

All are welcome to attend. Come when you can and leave when you must. (In other words, don’t feel like you can’t stay for the service.) Owen’s story and spirit will be shared. I can’t help but want to scream it from the rooftops and have as many people experience his warrior spirit.

Third favor … now I’m REALLY greedy. Wear orange. The triplets all have their colors. Logan is ‘lime green.’ Get it? Both start with L. Weston is ‘winter blue’ (because white is boring). And Owen is orange.

Yellow Mellow

2011-05-27T19:52:00.005-05:00

Remember when???
The Loves of my Life

OUT OF THE KICHEN: The other day, Andy noticed that Adam was always reaching for his yellow toys. So, while in the bath tonight, we put a yellow ducky next to other colored toys and every time he reached for the yellow ducky!

How cool that his daddy noticed this!

In other Adam news - he started army crawling today. He can stand while holding on to me or the furniture. He can pull himself up in his crib. He can walk while holding on to my pants or my hands. He rolls all over the place and boy is he FAST!

He's eating cheese now and uses his pinchers to grasp it. So adorable!

We've been having a blast hanging out with friends and enjoying the wonderful weather. Andy has taken to gardening like a pro and I even planted a couple planters this year. Ugh. Dirt. We've also hired nanny one day a week to allow mommy and daddy to go on a date night. I try not to bombard her with phone calls and texts... :-) She's doing great and it also helps that our neighbor, a police officer, keeps an eye out for us.

I can't believe its the end of May already! My baby brother will be turning 25 tomorrow. Wow! I thought I was 25! I sure miss him but I know he's happy and having the time of his life out in CA.

Time just flies. Our summer calendar is already filling up! With a trip to Estes Park followed by a trip to Canada, we're a busy bunch! We're lucky to have such wonderful friends and family housesitting and pet sitting while we're away. I'm so looking forward to seeing my family and taking on Adam on our first family vacation!

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE being a mom. I really hope that God's plans are for me to have more children. This family is my passion. I can't imagine doing anything else.

IN THE KITCHEN:

Adam's palette is growing! We've steamed and baked sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, pears, and peaches. He also eats baked chicken thighs, whole milk yogurt, mild cheddar cheese crumbles, banana, and avocado. I'm eating just about everything now except obvious soy and peanuts. I'm cautious with the other nuts - but so far so good!

Recipe of the day - Chicken Parmesan. I made it tonight with spinach linguine. It was delicious! If you'd like the recipe - email me directly!

That's all for now! I promise the next post will have more pictures!

Leave a Light on

2011-05-25T23:17:00.002-05:00

Leave a Light on for Baby Owen.

I'm leaving my outside lights on for Baby Owen so that Heaven can see them too.

(Copied from creightonchic.blogspot.com) - Thanks, Megan, for this post.
If you have any prayers to spare, this family could sure use them. . .

I ended up checking out a blog for a fellow multiple momma after a Facebook friend posted a prayer request a couple of days ago. This family is going through a really tough time right now. They have a 4 year old son and 6 month old boy triplets. On May 22nd, the mom (Mel) was doing baths and putting the triplets to bed when they noticed that Owen, one of the triplets, had flipped himself onto his tummy in his crib. When they went to flip him back onto his back (babies are supposed to sleep on their backs now to reduce SIDS risk) he was unresponsive. Mel called 911 and started CPR on little Owen. Long story short, this little guy has been in the hospital since the 22nd with a very grim prognosis, only a 2% chance of survival. The family found out today that his EEG (brain waves) were flat, no activity. In the morning they will take him off of the ventilator to verify that he can not breathe on his own. They have then decided to donate his organs.

I can not even imagine the pain this family is going through. So many people have sent well wishes and prayers, and Mel has unwaivering faith and trust in God, she is seriously an amazing woman. My heart breaks for her and her family. So my one request for tonight is that you add this family to your prayers for the forseeable future. I can't imagine losing a child. So young. So innocent. So sudden. It's just awful. If you'd like to visit her blog and leave a comment letting her know of your support, you can do that here: bissingfamily.wordpress.com

Life is so short. Remember to love deeply, forgive quickly, and live every day to the fullest. I think we all forget how precious life really is. I am holding my girlies a little closer tonight. I hope you do the same.

Funny Face Friday!

2011-04-29T11:34:00.003-05:00

You all know that Rebecca Black song, right? "Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday..." I can't get it out of my head. Every single Friday. It happens. Usually the night before while I'm trying to go sleep but instead think about every possible thing I should/could do on Friday, Friday. UGH!

Last night, instead Rebecca Black's broken record playing in my head, I couldn't stop thinking about those in the South. About all the people who didn't have beds that night. Who lost their loved ones...... their children.... their parents... I snuck into Adam's room a couple times to just kiss him.

Now that we're in a new house this year I had to make our tornado kits again. We are good to go after I put some more water down in basement with some extra tennis shoes. Its scary stuff. Every Spring, Andy the insurance man, just shudders when the weather report mentions anything but sunny skies. Such is life in the midwest.

ANYWAY, I thought I needed to cheer myself up. So here are some funny faces from Adam. Take some time to make a funny face yourself today. It'll do the trick!

Love,

Sheila

Friday.

EASTER!

2011-04-25T21:20:00.002-05:00

HOPPY EASTER!

Did the Easter Bunny visit you?

He came to our house! We had so much fun with Adam's Easter basket! And he seemed to like it too! He got some sippy cups, pacifiers, toys, bubbles, a book, and a little bunny! The Easter bunny also brought Adam's 4th tooth! All front teeth have popped in. Poor buddy!

I think the BUBBLES were his favorite!

We all wore coordinating Easter outfits. Yes, I'm THAT mom. Andy was a good sport. I paraded us around church showing everyone how ADORABLE we were. I'll post some pictures of that later...

Easter dinner was at my house this year. I made a feast expecting a small army. But for the five of us who were there - It WAS quite delicious! We had a honey baked ham, candied sweet potatoes, potato and shitake mushroom gratin, roasted asparagus with mushrooms, spinach salad with strawberries and candied pumpkin seeds with a strawberry vinegrette, deviled eggs, apple and banana salad, sweet berry salad, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!

(And not a picture to boot. UGH!)

The entire feast was mspi friendly!

It was great to see my parents and Andy's dad, Lyle, came too! Adam enjoyed being the center of attention and soaked up all the Grandparent love!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Its a time of year where we celebrate rebirth, forgiveness, acceptance, and humility. Wishing you all a blessed Easter!

Love,

Sheila

Mommy and Me Monday

2011-04-18T15:30:00.005-05:00

Hosted by Krystyn
I thought I'd take a break from the screaming bloody murder Monday to post a pic of my baby and Me! Too often, moms are stuck behind the camera... So here's proof that mom really exists! And in "keeping it real" mom is wearing NO makeup. (I'm so brave.)

In other news: Adam is cutting a tooth today. It looks like it hurts so bad and he's quite beside himself. Some tylenol and ice chips in the mesh feeder will hopefully help a bit! LONG DAY!

Snack of the day: MSPI friendly Blueberry muffins: Mix 3/4 C. Hemp milk with 1/4 C. Safflower oil, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup of sugar. In a separate bowl mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until dry ingredients are incorporated. Batter should be LUMPY! Add some blueberries. Line a muffin pan (or grease it) and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 12 regular muffins.

They're pretty tasty - better undercooked and with a butter alternative. I like Earth Balance Soy Free.

Recipe Adapted from: http://eatingoutmspi.blogspot.com/

I miss cheese...

2010-12-09T20:58:00.008-06:00

Look at the date! December?!? That's how long it took me to edit the post!

Today is: April 17, 2011

I really do. I miss it. It's not the end of the world or anything... But I miss it. Almost as much as butter.

Adam Jones Dokulil is now 7 1/2 months old! I can't believe it! I can't believe how wonderful being a mother is. I love being home with him. I love how he looks at me when he wakes up and I walk into his room. I love how he giggles at me! I love teaching him how to wave and bounce and walk and sing. Life is good!

Its sure been a journey getting here! But I look back it and feel so proud of all of us. Adam and I hung in there for 12 weeks as he and I learned how to nurse. The HARDEST thing I've ever done. But he's so good at it now! And he loves to nurse!

His reflux has calmed somewhat. He's been on Prevacid now since November. I've been dairy/soy/peanut/treenut/citrus free since November also. I MISS CHEESE! I MISS BUTTER! I MISS CREAM! (But don't feel too bad for me - I discovered double stuffed oreos and other decadent treats and somehow didn't loose an ounce during this "diet"!)

We're in full swing with solids. I make all his food with my baby food maker that my brother and his lovely girlfriend bought me. I LOVE IT! My goal is to never buy jarred baby food. Its so easy to make and I enjoy doing it so why not!?! (Ok - I did buy 4 jars of baby food for our tornado preparedness kit. But that doesn't count, right?!?)

Adam enjoys bananas, pears, avocados, chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, green beans, and...... ...... WHOLE MILK YOGURT! We're just in the early phases of a dairy trial. But so far so good! He's had 1 tablespoon of yogurt everyday for the last 5 days and passed! This means I can add yogurt to my diet! It also means that he will switch to from his one bottle a day of Neocate formula ($$$$) to a one bottle a day of regular formula like similac. If he passes that - I shall go on a cheese eating binge for sure. Fingers crossed!

Spring is also in full swing! (Or, at least it was until it snowed all day on Friday.) We've been to the zoo several times already with Megan and her "honeys". Megan has twins the same age as Adam and we all have a blast hanging out together! (I know I do!)

Until next time!

Sheila

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

2010-11-25T22:40:00.015-06:00

Hello World! I can't believe its been 3 months since Adam was born. I feel like I opened my eyes and its Christmas time already. A lot has happened! Let me catch you up.

Adam was born Cesarean because as his father put it, "Buddy, you slept right through the part where you were supposed to turn!" He was a breech baby. The delivery was piece of cake and I definitely don't feel like I have missed out on anything by getting to skip the major labor part!

The doctor pulled him out one butt cheek at a time and finally held him up to me so I could see whose head had been banging against my ribs for so long. Such a beautiful guy! He wailed, we cried, and life as a trio began.

Adam lost weight very quickly (as many babies do) and we were forced to start supplementing with formula in addition to nursing and also pumping. This is known as triple feeding. And it blows. Big. Time. We fed Adam every two hours whether he wanted to eat or not using this method for 3 weeks until he finally got back to birth weight. It took about an hour to complete the feeding process, then change a diaper, wash the bottles and back to bed. The alarm would go off about 45 minutes later and the process would repeat itself. My mom came and stayed a week to help us out. She did all the laundry, put clothes away, cooked us all 3 meals a day, got up in the middle of the night, cleaned. She was amazing and I bawled when dad showed up at the end of the week to pick up mom who was standing in the driveway with her suitcase and her thumb sticking out. I think I even heard the tires peel as they drove off into the sunset together. (Ok - that's not REALLY how it happened - but it's close!)

Finally we were on the right track! A growing, VERY happy baby! A growing, VERY happy baby who couldn't for the life of him keep much down. For several weeks, Andy and I struggled to get him to retain anything! We never left the house without 12 or so bibs and a couple changes of clothes and extra blankets. His diapers were always suspect and he had this rough patch of skin on his cheeks, legs, and arms.

I knew that something wasn't adding up and made sure he was weighed weekly if not more often so I could track his growth. And sure enough, he started to slow down in his weight gain. A typical baby should gain between 4 and 7 ounces a week. During October, Adam was lucky to gain 1 to 3 ounces a week. Back to the doctor we went where Adam was diagnosed with MSPI (Milk Soy Protein Intollerance) and excessive reflux. We were told to start the triple feeding again, given a prescription for Zantac, and I cut out all dairy and soy products from my diet.

That's pretty tricky. There's a lot of weird words that mean milk or soy. So label reading has been important. Eating out is the most difficult because its hard to trust what's in the food.

He is getting better. However we do occasionally have days where projectile spit up, awful diapers, and ezcema reappears. When that happens, I look at my food journal for patterns and that's how we've come to realize he is also sensitive to peanuts, pecans, avocados, and possibly citrus.

He's getting so big!

Besides the diet drama, this is one awesome kid. He sleeps all night now, and actually needs to be roused to eat. He is the most unfussy baby I have ever met. He chatters a lot. Smiles constantly. Giggles. He adores his daddy. (And his mommy.) He's working on sitting up too. After 3 months of nursing, we almost have the hang of it. I'm one proud mom!

Here's my favorite photo of last week:

Lastly, A few recipes I made followed lately that fit within our MSPI little life:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/herb-roasted-chicken-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pot-roast-with-vegetables-recipe/index.html

http://mspimama.blogspot.com/2010/10/black-bean-corn-salad.html (This was awesome and I ate it all with some corn chips!)

A couple GREAT sites for MSPI familes are: http://mspimama.blogspot.com/ and http://intolerantoffspring.com/

Peace out Peeps! I'll be posting again soon! (I hope!)

There's a new guy in town!

2010-09-29T15:23:00.004-05:00

Adam - Yes! He's as cute as he looks!

We're so in love and cherishing each second.

He was born on September 2nd and weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz.

I still think the stork theory makes more sense that what actually happened...

Interesting Read!

2010-09-01T10:30:00.002-05:00

A friend of my family recently sent me this article about making your own baby food...

I don't think it means you can't sneak of bottle of Gerber in there from time to time, but I found it really interesting and enlightening!

ttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/norah-o-donnell/baby-love_b_697375.html?ref=email_share

Funnel Salt Cake

2010-07-28T09:55:00.001-05:00

Yep. Funnel. Salt. Cake.

Ingredients:

French Fries

Powdered Sugar

Dump powdered sugar all over french fries. Then dump some more because I know you didn't dump enough the first time. (Notice I didn't say "Sprinkle".)

Enjoy!

New House: THE BEFORE

2010-07-18T07:59:00.028-05:00

My husband and I have been planning on building a house just up the street from where we live now. We made a long list of things that were really important to us. My list included, stainless steal appliances, a 6 burner range, double oven, nice hood, granite counter tops, lots of counter room, etc. You know, all the necessities! (ha!)

Andy's list had things on it like movie theatre room, audio/video wiring throughout the entire house, and a man cave. Also major necessities!

The other more realistic things on our list included, more bedrooms, a room of its own for the baby grand piano, a bigger kitchen open to a family room, linen closets, a bigger master bedroom/bathroom, the list went on and on.

Since I'm 8 months pregnant, most of these plans for building went on hold. And it was decided that in the Spring we would dig. That WAS the plan. Until Andy's aunt, our neighbor, my friend, showed up on Friday, July 9 and told us to go look at a house for sale on the other side of town right by the school. Her husband, Uncle Jerry, is the realtor and gave us a nice tour on Saturday, July 10th. We really liked it! It didn't have the dream kitchen or the dream movie theatre room but it had everything else on our list! We looked at it again on Sunday, July 11th. (My birthday!)

We decided with interest rates at historic lows and with a baby on the way, we should do it! (Besides, August was looking pretty lame anyway. I'd be done teaching, just resting up before the baby is born. Enjoying some naps and frequent trips to the bathroom. BORING! We needed more things to do! -not!-) We made an offer on Monday, July 12th and sold our house on the same day. Everything lined up into place and now here we are packing!

The plan is to close on Friday, July 23rd and start moving little things over. The painter comes on Monday, July 26th and we do the big move on July 30th! Our goal is to get settled into this house before this baby pops out to see it.

Here are some BEFORE pictures of the new house. I'll be posting the updates as they come!

It needs a little white picket fence... :-)

Here is the front entry way which leads up the stairs, to the formal living room, or through to the kitchen. White walls everywhere. Next is the formal living room. Can you see the decorator's feet? The formal living room leads to the dining room. The dining room leads to the kitchen!

Here's the kitchen! It's very spacious but I do look forward to bashing it in and putting in one or two fancy appliances and some granite! The kitchen also has an informal dining area. Then is quite open to the family room! The carpet in the family room is navy blue, and while it is so soft and plush, its got to go!

Here I am back at the front door. Just under the stairs is the powder room. The gold has got to go! Around the corner to the left is the family room, laundry room, and a 3 car garage.

Upstairs is the master bedroom and master bathroom. A LOT of white.

Across from mommie and daddie's room is Baby Adam's room! Soon to be blue (again)! Down the hall is the upstairs bathroom. The wall paper is coming down! And a shower curtain is going in! Then at the end of the hall is Andy's Man Cave. Andy's Man Cave even has a special back cave for Adam to keep all his toys. HA! The toys will invade every room, I'm sure!

The last room on the upper level is the spare bedroom which my mother has claimed as her own. (Remembering back to when I was 13 years old and desperately wanted black curtains in my room but mom thought that was a bit too dramatic... perhaps NOW is the time to put in some black curtains and perhaps THIS is the room to do it in! Just joshing MOM! kinda.....)

Back downstairs to the main level is the deck and the deck over looks a little waterfall. (Here fishy fishy fishy!)

The backyard is beautifully landscaped and I have A LOT to learn about plants and not killing them. But I am up to the challenge! The middle picture is back to the front of the house and the twirlly swirlly tree things that Andy will be maintaing! And along the north side of the house is a dozen or so fully grown spruce trees! They're just gorgeous!

Needless to say, we're feeling so blessed. We're lucky to have found this house and to have sold our house so quickly. We're lucky to have so many wonderful friends and loving family to help us get in the house quickly and out of the current house. We aren't taking a bit of this for granted and are overwhelmed with gratitude.

In other unrelated house news: Today was my party/shower with all my students. We had a blast and I'll post pictures soon!

Until next time,

Sheila

Sheila OUT of the Kitchen!

2010-07-03T15:22:00.018-05:00

Can you believe my last post was November of 2009?

Well, I've been busy!

January 1st 2010 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! It was also this morning that my husband I woke up and found out "we" were pregnant! What a way to start the NEW YEAR! (It was this day that a huge craving for Grandma's sweet pickles started!)

Without going into too much detail - my husband and I had been waiting for this day for awhile. We had prayed for it, saved for it, dreamed about it... and now here it was! I spent the rest of the winter in hibernation mode. I got up out of bed only for the necessities and then went straight back. Most of January, February, and the first part of March are a blur. Food sounded awful. I was STARVING! But nothing sounded palatable! Except anything my mom cooked. My wonderful mother made us food often and brought it over. She made Andy his favorite meals too. Do you know how much life is easier when there is wonderful, yummy, and nutritious food already for you to heat up and enjoy in the fridge? My mom knew this and took very good care of us. (And still does!)

Soon, the grass started to poke through the frozen ground and we could see the beginnings of Spring. Hallelujah! It was a hard, cold, wet, frozen winter. I was starting to get rounder and rounder. I had found some long lost energy. Andy and I started shopping for baby furniture and making plans to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. Now we just needed to know what color to paint. Pink or Blue?

There are two types of people in this world. Those who love surprises and those who don't. Guess which one I am? :-) I most definitely do not enjoy surprises. I'm a huge planner. I LOVE to plan. I LOVE to plan to plan. And I like to plan my back up plan! So needless to say, we opted to find out what we were having as soon as possible!

It's a BOY!!! So, let me tell you how I remember finding out: We were in the ultrasound room, and the doctor was scanning the baby and telling us how healthy and great he was doing. Then she said, "Do you want to know?" Up until this point, we were convinced we were having a girl! Everyone told us they were sure we were having a girl too. So we thought how could all these people be wrong? Clearly they SEE something in my growing belly that I can't see! So, about a week before the ultrasound, we started calling this baby a "she".

Well, the doctor pointed to the screen and pointed to this "thing." Clearly, this baby is all boy as there was no mistaking the "thing". Tears were welling up in my eyes as it was all becoming even more real. And I started immediately making plans and checklists. Blue paint, monkeys, brown curtains, tinkle teepees, the list went on and on. Andy and I got into the elevator on our way back to the car after finding out we were having a beautiful baby boy. The door closed and Andy started chanting, "IT'S A BOY! IT'S A BOY! TWO to ONE! TWO to ONE!" I smiled at him. How naive, I thought. Doesn't he realize the power of the mother? Then he wisely realized, "Your vote probably counts more than ours, huh..." Um, YEAH!

We decided to name him Adam Jones Dokulil.

It wasn't long after that Adam's flutters started turning into full fledged kicks and rolls and punches. He's an active little guy! I swear I felt my first flutter before the end of the 1st trimester. By week 15, he was getting bigger and stronger. And before I knew it, it was time for my first baby shower.

I have the most amazing church family. The women in my church are especially wonderful. They take care of everyone. And they took care of me. My pastor's wife and the church choir that I direct through me such a special shower. They had the entire room decorated with baby toys that they sent home with me. There was amazing cinnamon rolls, sticky pecan rolls, fruit, juice and we were serenaded as we ate. We played some games and then opened presents. I was so touched by the generosity of these women. I'll never forget it.

A second shower was held on June 26th at my sister in law's house. Aimee out did herself on everything from food to games to gifts and her amazing hospitality. It was a wonderful day!

Here we are now in July! I'm 8 months pregnant. We had our 32 week checkup and Baby Adam is doing great! We actually got to see his face today! For the last 15 weeks, he's had his arm, elbow, feet, legs, etc. in front of his face keeping us from getting a good look at him. Currently, he's still in breech position. Most babies have turned head down by 34 weeks. I'm not sure if Baby Adam read the manual on how to be born yet. But we're not worried!

(Can you see his eyes, and nose, and mouth and chin?)

The year is half over! Its been an amazing year full of surprises. I'm overwhelmed and humbled by God's blessings. We are so thankful and enjoying every single day.

(I MADE this! I MADE it! Go here to Andy's cousin's blog to find out how! She's got awesome tips and ideas! Plus her kids are adorable!)

This weekend is my shower/party for all my students. It's bittersweet as I will be "retiring" from teaching at the end of July to prepare for the baby and then be a stay at home mom. I'm so excited for the opportunity to spend so much time with my kiddo but I will sorely miss my students and their families.

Check back soon for more pictures and updates! I promise to do better! (Ok - I promise to TRY!)

Love,

Sheila

PS - Constant Craving: ANYTHING POTLUCK... Mmmmmm

PPS - How pregnant are we?!?! Me and my best bud - partners in crime!

Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes

2009-11-12T10:47:00.018-06:00

(Here we are handing out candy on Halloween. I'm the nurse and Andy is the swine flu. He's wearing a pig nose and a thermometer.)

If you've been reading my blog - you know I adore my husband. BUT - (there's always a but) He's a picky eater. To give him proper credit, he will pretty much TRY everything I make. There's a few exceptions. Like Fruit. Or Cauliflower. There are some foods he's never had but insists he hates them. It's maddening. His friends and family tell me how much he's changed and how much he eats... But to me, the girl who will eat just about anything - it's like saying, "Well, you used to be a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad eater, and now you're just kinda bad..."

I have a special friend, Sue, who inspired me to start this blog. She's a chef in New Jersey and has a fabulous blog called foodnetworkmusings.blogspot.com. Also you can read her articles at http://www.examiner.com/x-13347-Princeton-Food-Examiner. She's also responsible for my new addiction to Twitter. Recently she posted a recipe for "mashed potatoes". I told Andy that our friend, THE CHEF, had posted a new recipe. I just told him it was a different take on mashed potatoes. Andy replied, "LET'S DO IT!" (Which is code for "Make it for me.")

Now, hopefully you read in the first paragraph how he won't eat cauliflower.... Insert "TRICK OR TREAT MASHED POTATOES" here! For this particular dinner I sent him downstairs with strict instructions not to come up until dinner was on the table.

Here's the skinny on how I TRICKED my husband into LOVING cauliflower. (Ok - maybe he won't admit to loving it - but he had seconds. SECONDS!)

My adventure starts at Open Harvest in Lincoln, NE. I picked up 3 decent sized salmon fillets, 4 huge beautiful scallops, carrots, zucchini and cauliflower. (da da daaaaa! - that's the scary music.)

I've never been a huge salmon eater and needed a yummy way to serve it. So I tweeted, THE CHEF, and asked for a yummy salmon recipe. She tweeted back a Rozanne Gold sauce that she said was so good she'd serve it to the Queen of England! It IS delicious. Here's how to make it:

Boil 1 lb. chopped Zucchini with 1/2 c. Water and 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 15 min. or until soft. I left the skin on the zucchini for color and nutrients! Then throw it in a blender or food processor, water and all and puree with a couple tabs of butter. Taste for seasoning.

For the samlon - I rubbed it down with some good extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and baked it at 375 degrees until it was just starting to get flaky. I like my salmon more on the underdone side. Dry salmon is awful.

The carrots were also easy - rub 'em down with olive oil and salt and pepper and get them in the oven with the salmon. After I took the salmon out I cranked the oven up to about 450 degrees to finish roasting the carrots.

The scallops looked so good I couldn't pass them up. Plus I wasn't sure how well the "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes" was going to go over so I thought I could butter him up with some seared scallops. I dried them thoroughly, seasoned them with salt and pepper and popped them into a hot pan with olive oil and seared them for a couple min on each side.

Now the fun part! This recipe comes foodnetworkmusings.blogspot.com which she got from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-stella/mock-garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html?rsrc=search.

First, if your husband thinks he hates cauliflower also - buy some potatoes and set them on the counter. Then hide the cauliflower behind the FRUIT in the fridge. After the coast is clear - take out the cauliflower and chop it into big bite sized pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cut cauliflower until they're easily stabbed with fork. The recipe says 6 min. I think I had to boil for closer to 8 min. Sue recommends putting your peeled garlic whole in with the cauliflower. She says she does this for regular mashed potatoes also.

Then drain the cauliflower and garlic and put into a food processor. Add 1 T. cream cheese. I used neufchatel cheese. It's just like cream cheese but a little lower in fat. Also going in the food processor or blender is a 1/2 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, a handful of parmesan cheese and some butter. The recipe calls for 3 T. I used 1 1/2 T. Then puree away. Unlike regular mashed potatoes you can puree until the cows come home and it won't get gluey. If you live in Nebraska like I do - it's very possible that those cows will really truly come home. Taste for seasoning - I added a bit more neufchatel and salt.

I plated the salmon dressed with the zucchini butter sauce and roasted carrots with Seared Scallops atop a heap of "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes". I nonchalantly placed the plate in front of my now suspicious husband. "Ok, what's the trick?" He asked. "They're pureed in a food processor honey! You can't do that with a normal version - but with this tricky version - you can!" I replied. (See? I didn't lie!) Until he asked, "So, is it really potatoes?"

I had a choice. I could tell the truth and reveal that in fact I was about to trick him into eating cauliflower. Something he has professed his pure hatred for. I could be honest and run the risk of him not evening trying it. Sending me into a heap of frustration and ruining our lovely dinner. OR! I could fib. It was for the good of the family. The good of dinner! The good of our health! I mean cauliflower is good for you! I was actually helping him by lying right? It's an important source of something healthy! He needs it!

"Yes, it's potatoes. See?" I lied. I LIED! I pointed to the bag of yukon gold potatoes sitting on the counter. (Please don't forget to have them ready for this exact moment.)

He grabbed his fork and took a bite. I sat there trying not to stare as he steered the fork to his mouth. "Yummmm!" He exclaimed.

What?!? Yum? You like it? I won? All these thoughts started racing through my head. But I thought to myself - victory isn't one bite. Victory is when he goes back for a second helping. So, I waited. I quietly said Thank You and kept on eating. Soon, he was asking for another helping of the "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes". I couldn't believe my ears! He ate another huge helping. I couldn't take it anymore! I was going to burst!

"Do you want me to tell you what the trick is?" I coyly asked him. "Uh huh." He stared at his plate, bracing himself for something terrible.

"IT'S CAULIFLOWER!!!!! IT'S CAULIFLOWER! YOU ATE CAULIFLOWER! YOU LOVE CAULIFLOWER!" I cheered. I knew he would like it! I had won! Victory was mine!

"So, seeee? You do like cauliflower don't you?" I teased him.

And do you know what that little booger said?

"Eh, It's Ok."

Happy Birthday to.... ME!

2009-08-02T16:43:00.013-05:00

DAD to me: Another year "buffal-older"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE birthdays. This year, I decided to throw myself a party. It was so much fun! I invited family, friends and my students! We had an island of food including TWO carrot cakes and ONE chocolate cake. Yep. THREE cakes. I went easy on myself for the party and used Famous Daves for the meat: BBQ Pulled Chicken! All I had to do was chop up the veggies and fruit and make a few dips and baked beans!

Any excuse to make Guacamole... I've read recipes where people sub out some of avocado for peas! I've never tried it, but some people seem to really enjoy it. Plus, avocados are high in fat, a really good fat, but its still fat. So, anything to lighten it up is awesome in my book. Maybe next time, I'll add the peas... MAYBE

This is my favorite Guacamole Recipe:

4 Avocados

2 Jalapeno

1 Small Red Onion, small dice

1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

2 (or more - use more) Garlic Cloves, pressed/grated/minced

2-3 Limes, juiced

Salt

Mash the avocado. I use a potato masher and mash it on a plate. It doesn't need to be smooth, leave it a little chunky. If you don't like your guac spicy - remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno. When I'm not making it for a party, I do half and half. One pepper with the seeds and ribs and one without. Add peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic to the avocado. Add the lime juice a little at a time and taste for flavor. I like a strong lime flavor and used the juice of 3 limes. Season with salt to taste. I like to make it ahead of the party several hours to let the flavors incorporate.

YUM!

I also made a charred corn, red pepper, onion and chipotle salsa. I take no credit for this as it was right out of my bon appetit magazine. But it was soooo easy and soooo good. I husked 3 ears of corn, quartered 3 red bell peppers, and trimmed 1 bunch of green onions. Then I brushed some olive oil on and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I had the grill on high, and grilled the veggies until they were pretty well charred. The corn and peppers took the longest, obviously. After they came off the grill and slightly cooled, I cut the corn off the cob and chopped up the charred vegetables. Finally I added some lime, lime zest, garlic, and salt. The recipe also called for a tablespoon or so of a chipotle hot sauce. But I think I would have preferred to char up some jalapeno peppers and used them instead. The recipe says this salsa keeps all week and goes great on top of fish, chicken and burgers. But it also goes really well with tortilla chips! :-)

This is about HALF the food we had. The other half took up the other counters.

The other half of the buffet which spilled on to the back counters.

Two of my rock stars, Rachael and Ashley were the life of the party!

These kids are so much fun! (And no, I didn't give Will the black eye.)

Towards the end of the party, I realized I had prepared a low(er) fat version of a five layer dip. But I had stored it in the downstairs fridge and forgotten to set it out on the table. It was recipe straight from foodnetwork.com by Ellie Krieger, a celebrity chef/nutritionist. It was very yummy and made for a great midnight snack.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/five-layer-mexican-dip-recipe/index.html

Five Layer Dip (Laura's Favorite!)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I would use WAY more garlic than this.)
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo (Next time, I would skip this and add jalapeno, roughly chopped or two to the onion garlic mixture.)
4 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt (I salted each layer of the dip.)
2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 ripe avocados
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion (I used a small red onion.)
1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno pepper, optional
3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions (and jalapeno, if using) and cook until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.

Put half of the onion (and all the jalapenos) mixture into a food processor with the black beans, chipotle pepper (optional), 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, cumin, water and salt. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Add the corn to the skillet with the remaining onion mixture and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro leaves. (Add a pinch of salt.)

In a small bowl mash the avocado with the remaining lime juice. (Add a pinch of salt.) In a medium bowl toss together the tomatoes, scallion and jalapeno, if using. Season tomato mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the black bean dip into the bottom of an 8 by 8 glass baking or serving dish. Top with the corn mixture, spreading it out to form a single layer over the beans, repeat with the avocado, then the tomatoes. Top with cheese. Serve with baked chips.

Per Serving:

Makes 12 servings. Calories 140; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 0.7 g) ; Protein 5g; Carb 16 g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 245 mg

I have a wonderful family! My uncle Sean brought his guitar and it didn't take long to whip it out and start singing.

Katelin, my cousin, made my birthday card by hand and even included a lovely rap.

"Got them yellows, got them purples... wika wika wika"

Laura, my wonderful and talented student, made me this candle!

She'd like you all to know she's fundraising for her junior year abroad and you too can have one of these candles!

I had a wonderful and memorable night! I really wish I could have posted the recipe for the best Carrot Cake in the world, but Carrie Fischer, the local expert baker, will only tell me her secret ingredient is carrot baby food.

Happy Birthday to ME! It was truly the best year ever.

Little Italy - oh and a new puppy!

2009-04-17T08:41:00.022-05:00

Meet Addy May!

About a month ago I finally convinced my husband that we needed to adopt a puppy. Not just any puppy. A black, female, pug puppy . This was no small feat! It took two years of begging, pleading, negotiating, bribing, I even thought about blackmail. He always said no. We already have an 8 year old pug named Zona who is King of the house. We travel too much to take care of puppy. We have a new(ish) house that a puppy would destroy. They're too much work. I mean, he had some good arguments.

Then one magical day. A Thursday to be exact. A pug rescue group posted a picture of this adorable, perfect, healthy female pug puppy. She needed me! I could see it in her eyes. She was calling to me! I quickly emailed Andy, telling him, "She needs a home." He emailed back, "Cute."

I started to send messages to the rescue group telling them how perfect I was for this puppy. Well, they started as messages and developed into full fledged essays. I pleaded my case to the foster mom. And then I pleaded my case to my husband. Maybe I just wore him down. Or maybe the picture of this adorable puppy called to him also. But finally he said, "We can go look at her."

After we passed a home inspection, bought the entire puppy section at our local pet store, we drove out to Omaha to meet and adopt the puppy. We named her Addy. Addy May.

She's the most perfect puppy ever! (And she loves me!) She's not destroying the house. We realized we really don't travel THAT much. And Zona's losing weight because he has someone to play with and go on walks with. Andy has even professed his love for the newest member of the family and confessed that he is, in fact, happy we adopted her.

Shortly after we adopted her, I took off in a jet plane with my mom for San Jose, CA to visit my brother, leaving my new puppy with Andy and Zona. Despite missing my puppy, I had so much fun with my family! We walked through a red wood forest, strolled the Santa Cruz pier, and made the short drive to San Francisco to ride the trolleys, shop in the Haight-Ashbury district, and of course, eat in North Beach (Little Italy).

When I think of North Beach I think of Trattoria Contadina. A delicous Italian bistro on the corner of Union and Mason. It's one block off the beaten path. And it's an intense hike uphill from the wharf. And I mean UPHILL! But it's heaven on a plate and worth every bead of sweat you work up by the time you arrive. This ristorante is so good, you'll need a kleenex to dab the tears that will fall as you bite into their expertly prepared dishes. I did. I started with a Salad Caprese. The tomatoes weren't in season, but I looked past it as the pesto and basil and fresh mozzarella on top of fresh greens were so flavorful.

I've had the pleasure of eating at Trattoria Contadina three times. I always order one of the specials. This time I ordered Spinach Fettuccine with Sea Scallops and Mushrooms in a Basil Cream Sauce. I ate every bite and proceeded to plan how I would recreate this dish when I returned home.

I started with some shitake mushrooms. Stemmed and chopped into small strips. I reserved the stems for stock or the cream of asapargus soup I've been planning on making one of these days.

Then I prepped some shallots.

Next, I made a basil chiffonade by stacking the leaves, rolling it into a cigar and slicing very thin strips.

The last thing to prep are the scallops. I bring them out of the fridge, blot them dry and check them over to remove the thick muscle that sometimes is overlooked by the monger. These scallops were dry frozen which makes me happy because I know they're not water logged and will taste fresher. Well, as fresh as any seafood can really taste in land locked Nebraska. I slice the scallops in half horizontally before gently searing them.

Spinach Fettuccine with Sea Scallops and Shitake Mushrooms in a Basil White Wine Cream Sauce

1 box Spinach Fettuccine
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic, minced (Don't use garlic out of a jar. And use as much fresh garlic as you can stand! I love it!)
About 2 Shallots finely chopped
Shitake Mushrooms (you decide how many, stemmed and sliced into thin strips) Can also use Cremini Mushrooms if Shitakes are unavailable.
Sea Scallops (you decide how many) blotted dry, sliced in half horizontally
Dry White Wine (I used 1/2 c. at least - you be the judge)
1/2 c. to 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (I rarely measure, just add until it looks good and taste delicious.)
Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan (let's say 1 cup)

After prepping my shallots, mushrooms, and scallops I bring large pot of water to a roaring boil and generously salt it with Kosher salt. Add pasta and cook according to directions on box.

While waiting for the pasta to boil, I heat enough olive oil over medium heat to cover the bottom of a large dutch oven. Add shallots and garlic. Once they begin to soften I add the mushrooms and let them start to brown. Remove shallots and mushrooms from dutch oven. Increase heat to medium high. Add more olive oil if necessary. Season scallops with kosher salt and pepper and add to dutch oven. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side and remove from pan. They'll cook more later.

De glaze the pan with the white wine. (And pour yourself a glass - this is a must.) Let wine simmer for a few minutes letting the alcohol evaporate and the flavors concentrate. Scrape up all the brown yummy bits also known as fond up from the bottom of the pan. Add basil, reserving some for garnish. (Some people add their basil in the beginning of the cooking process, but I think it retains more flavor if it goes in towards the end. Plus then I have less of a chance to burn it, something I'm very good at.) Then add the cream. Sprinkle some Parmesan over the top and stir to combine. (By some Parm, I mean a handful. It's good stuff!) Taste for seasoning. Add some freshly ground pepper. Add salt if needed. (I needed it.) Let sauce simmer and slightly thicken. Add shallots, mushrooms, and scallops back to pan. Reduce heat to medium low.

Pour yourself one more glass of wine. (Hey! You deserve it! You've been working hard!)

Drain pasta and reserve a ladle full of starchy pasta water. (Just in case.) Add pasta to dutch oven. Coat pasta with sauce. If sauce is too thick, thin out with reserved pasta water. (Mine was fine and I ended up discarding the water.)

Serve in large pasta bowl. Sprinkle some Parmesan and basil on top and enjoy!

I thought this recipe was ALMOST as good as the dish I had at Trattoria Contadina.
It's definitely an indulgence!

Here's one more pic of my helper in the kitchen.
She's always by my side.

As Always, Happy Cooking!

White Chicken Chili (South Beach Style)

2009-03-03T19:43:00.004-06:00

I. Love. Food. I envy my husband and my father-in-law who seem to be able to inhale just about any dish they choose and yet seem to look thinner after dinner is over! What's their secret?!?

For most of us "normal" people out there, this is just not the case. And for those of us who love to cook - not just cook - but really spend hours in the kitchen with challenging mouth watering recipes, full of butter, cream, and carbs... - Our inability to lose weight by simply eating more of these tasty fat laden ingredients is a problem!

To be honest, I don't trust skinny chefs anyway. I like watching the Food Network and drooling over the dishes Ina Garten creates on her show Barefoot Contessa. Even Rachael Ray is a little curvy. Look at Mario Batali! Emeril! BAM! - There's a chef I can trust!

Over the years I've played with the South Beach Diet. And for the critics out there, no - it is not a low-carb diet. The diet relies on nutrient dense food, high in fiber and low in fat. And to be honest, every time I've dabbled on the diet, I've lost weight. Not only that, but I just feel better! I sleep better. I have energy.

But slowly, as I would see the pounds come off, I would feel the need to celebrate my new found weight loss! Like the bread basket at a restaurant - yep - the WHOLE bread basket (and butter, because that's the best part). Or mounds of hand-rolled pasta. Mounds of ANY pasta. Brownies. Custard. Movie Theatre Popcorn. Real cream in my coffee. Cupcakes.

I mean, I deserved these treats, you know? I had worked so hard eating lean meats, fruits full of fiber, lots of vegetables. Plus, I hit the gym 4-5 times a week! Give a girl a cupcake!

And after awhile, all that progress was undone, there I was standing in my kitchen, chubbier, tears streaming down my cheeks, crying "WHY???? WHY????"

Well, duh...

Over the course of my battle with the diet - I did find one super star recipe. One that is appropriate for all phases of the South Beach Diet. (There are three phases. Phase one is the strictest and lasts for a couple of weeks, followed by a less stringent phases two which lasts until the weight loss goal has been met. Finally, Phase three is the maintenance phase.)

Here's my adaption from a South Beach Diet Recipe: White Chipotle-Chicken Chili

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (Or 3 Shallots)
4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1" chunks
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons crushed red pepper
Salt and black pepper
3 (14.5-ounce) cans white kidney or cannellini beans*, drained (save 1/2 cup draining liquid) and rinsed
1-2 cans butter beans, drained
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 teaspoon canned chipotle chil**, seeded and minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, ribs removed, finely diced.
1/2 cup nonfat half-and-half
Garnishes: Shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Warm oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion and jalapeno; cook 4 minutes, stirring. Push onions and peppers to one side; add chicken to skillet and sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add 2 cans of white kidney beans and 1-2 cans of butter beans and draining liquid, 1 1/4 cups broth, and chipotle; bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 can of beans and 3/4 cup broth in bowl of food processor. Puree until smooth, then add to soup in pot, along with half-and-half. Simmer a few minutes, stirring, until ingredients are warmed through and flavors incorporate. Taste to check for seasonings. It will probably need at least another pinch of salt. Serve hot; garnish with cheese and cilantro.

*If you are unable to find white kidney beans (AKA cannellini beans), substitute Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans or a combination of the two. (I prefer the draining liquid for Navy Beans over Great Northern.)

**Chipotle in Adobo can be found in many markets now. However, not in small town Wahoo. When I can't get a can of this spicy and smokey pepper - I add an extra jalapeno or two and a tablespoon or two of a smokey salsa.

My best advice with this recipe is to measure the liquid ingredients. I never measure! But everytime I've eyeballed the wet ingredients, the soup wasn't the right consistancy.

Also, if you like it more spicy, leave the seeds and ribs of the pepper and increase the crushed red pepper.

Just remember - all that spicy food is said to increase your metabolism!

~ENJOY!

Meat and Potatoes... Er... Rice

2009-03-01T16:32:00.000-06:00

If there's one thing I generally don't touch in the kitchen, its steak. Not because I don't like it or don't know how to cook it, but because my husband has perfected steak. After drooling over our steaks at Ruth's Chris and Maestro's, Andy took it upon himself to recreate these mouth-watering, sweet buttery steaks at home. Without a 1500 degree oven, however, the task requires some improv.

We get our steaks, specifically - fillets, from Cetak's Meats and Sausages at 70th & Pioneers in Lincoln. He pulls them out of the refrigerator about an hour before he's ready to start cooking. Doing this is so important as it gets the chill off the meat and is less of a shock when the fillets hit the heat. While the steaks come to room temperature, Andy blots the steak dry with a paper towel to remove all excess moisture. He wants a good sear on the steak. He then brushes them with good olive oil and seasons the them with sea salt and pepper. We've prepared fillets a number of ways. When its too cold to grill we go for the cast iron skillet. Cast iron skillets can get incredibly hot and distribute the heat evenly throughout the pan. They are not expensive and every cook should hopefully have at least one!

Sometimes he sears them in the pan on the stove before putting them in a 450 degree oven while they finish cooking to the desired temperature. Other times, he cooks them in the oven in the cast iron pan on high broil and later reduces the heat to finish cooking the steak.

Tonight, he puts the cast iron pan in the oven and preheats the oven and the pan to high broil for at least 30 minutes. Immediately, I remember that I should have cleaned the oven yesterday and I open some windows! BRRR! But it definitely beats the fire department showing up!

He broils the meat for 3 1/2 minutes on each side. Before turning the oven to 450 degrees, he inserts the meat thermomter probe.

One of my favorite gadgets is a digital meat thermometer whose console sits on the counter while the oven proof probe is continually measureing the temperature. It makes it so easy to know when to pull the steak out of the oven! Perfect steak every time. Or poultry. Or Pork.

Andy pulls my steak out when the internal temperature reaches 128 degrees and pulls his out when it reaches 133 degrees. He immediately tops it with butter, tents with foil and lets the butter melt on top while the steak rests, at least 10 minutes.

When the Steak Master is in my kitchen, I'm in charge of the sides. Tonight, I chose a brown rice pilaf and roasted asparagus. Brown rice is so good for you but can be tricky when it comes to developing its nutty flavor without drying out the rice. In my last issue of Cooks Illustrated, they suggested cooking it in the oven in a large dutch oven. Here's what I did:

Brown Rice Pilaf with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Parmesan, Peas and Almonds

4 slices Applewood Smoked Bacon
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth (reduced sodium)
Large pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
3/4 cup frozen peas
5 oz. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat dutch oven on stove over medium high heat. Meanwhile, chop bacon into small pieces. Add to dutch oven and render until bacon is starting to crisp. Remove bacon from dutch oven with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Remove all but 4 teaspoons bacon fat from pan.

Add shallots to pan and cook 8-10 minutes or until shallots start to brown. Stir in water, broth, and salt, scraping up all the flavor stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cover. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in rice. Cover. And put in preheated oven. Bake about an hour.

Remove from oven. Stir in reserved bacon, peas, Parmesan, and toasted almonds. Cover. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve!
For a bit of green on our plate, we go with asparagus. Its loaded with Vitamins K, A and C as well as folic acid. Andy doesn't care about that. He just loves the taste. After snapping off the tough ends of the spears, I lay them on a baking sheet and drizzle the green goodies with some good olive oil, pinch of kosher salt, and freshly cracked pepper. (I save the ends for cream of asparagus soup!) In the oven they go at 425 for 15 -20 minutes, or until the heads start to turn slightly crispy. Mmmm!

Let me know what you think!

Chips and Salsa

2009-02-27T13:59:00.000-06:00

If someone asked me, "What's your favorite food?" Without hesitation - I'd say, "Chips and Salsa."

I thought it appropriate that my first entry be about my greatest culinary love. Maybe to you, chips and salsa seems a novice answer. Not a fitting option for someone claiming to be a wannabe foodie. (At least I said wannabe - right?) But good salsa, no wait, not good - GREAT salsa - salsa that makes you get up and do a Mexican Hat Dance - is hard to find. And then trying to find the perfect chip to go with said salsa? That's practically impossible!

Recently, on a trip with my absolutely wonderful and adorable husband (more about him later) we went on a hike in the West Maui Mountains. It was raining. We couldn't hike to the waterfalls for a brief swim because of severe flash flooding. We were covered in red dirt mud. In fact, we were thinking about what a waste of a day in Hawaii this was. The guide crammed us into a van, promising us a tour of beautiful country on a road fit for one small car. It was a death road. Needless to say we survived the hike. We survived the death road. But nothing could have prepared me for what followed.

The guide served us lunch at a local art boutique. Lunch was good. My husband, Andy, hated it. It consisted of spinach wraps. Turkey sandwiches. Vegetable crudites. And juice - out. of. a. can. Really, every food that he refuses to eat was what was served for lunch. And lunch was OK - that is until the guide brought out the special sauce.

It was made from pomegranate syrup and hot chili sauce. That's it! It was spicy and sweet. And it was heaven all wrapped up in a bottle. Now I guess technically this isn't salsa. Its sauce. But salsa means sauce in English. I digress.

As my husband does each day on each trip we take, he turned to me later that evening, as we sat on our balcony overlooking the ocean, the sun setting on its endless waves, glittering the water with bright golden freckles, the island of Lanai in the far distance, "What was your favorite part of the day?"

I knew it immediately! The salsa! The special sauce! The heaven in a bottle! I knew this answer wouldn't surprise him. He knows how I live for good chips and salsa.

This was my latest adventure in the quest for the world's best chips and salsa. Now, the chips on the other hand - out of bag! UGH! Not good eats - as one Alton Brown might say. But the sweet and spicy salsa sauce? So memorable. And that's what makes a good salsa. Something you remember and can still taste days, weeks, months, after you've had it.

This was a very special sauce. But probably not the WORLD'S greatest salsa. And I've long way to go to find the perfect chip. So, my quest continues. And I'll report any other culinary gems I find along the way.

Adios!

Life with the Dokulils

A Day in the life of... plus a recipe.

Ready or Not!

Catching up - Part 2: And then it was Christmas!

"She's a recording artist."

Catching Up Part I

It Was the Best of Times...

Barefoot, Pregnant, and Enchiladas

Just when we thought we had it all figured out...

Don't Rock the Boat, Baby!

My life, My circus

Another Mom's Milk.

Me, my family, my mountains!

Low Milk Supply and PCOS and Other Woes

This and That

Dinner and a Show

Wednesday is Orange for Owen

Yellow Mellow

Leave a Light on

Leave a Light on for Baby Owen.

(Copied from creightonchic.blogspot.com) - Thanks, Megan, for this post. If you have any prayers to spare, this family could sure use them. . .

Funny Face Friday!

EASTER!

Mommy and Me Monday

I miss cheese...

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

There's a new guy in town!

Interesting Read!

Funnel Salt Cake

New House: THE BEFORE

Sheila OUT of the Kitchen!

Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes

Happy Birthday to.... ME!

Ingredients

Directions

Little Italy - oh and a new puppy!

White Chicken Chili (South Beach Style)

Meat and Potatoes... Er... Rice

Chips and Salsa

(Copied from creightonchic.blogspot.com) - Thanks, Megan, for this post.
If you have any prayers to spare, this family could sure use them. . .