What's In the Oven

Something I haven't tried before - Swope bread.

Oh I hope it turns out!

I also have a chicken and mushroom casserole ready to bake for dinner tonight. This one I have made many times before. I add shredded carrots and put it over whole grain brown rice instead of noodles.

Last Weekend

On Saturday Jacob came down with pink eye. I took him up to Kelsey Seybold (love them!) to get him a prescription.  Luckily we caught it really early and so far none of the rest of us have gotten it. Although you know when your child has pink eye then right away your own eye starts to feel weird and twitchy.

In other news, I spent some time in the kitchen this weekend and here is what was accomplished:

   

• 2 Lasagna Casseroles
• 1 batch of popcorn chicken
• 1 batch of ground chicken tacos
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1.25 lbs ground turkey

For the meats, I just cooked them with sea salt and dehydrated onions, so the taste is neutral enough to be added to just about anything. I got this idea from Hillbillyhousewife.com because she wisely points out that cooked ground meat defrosts in a fraction of the time as raw frozen meat.  It was very satisfying to get all that done.

I have adopted a new strategy at dinner time. I make one meal and put it all out in serving dishes on the table and we all eat it. The kids manage to find some pieces of most meals that they will eat.  Sure, sometimes it results in odd pairings for instance tonight Jacob had apple sauce, tortilla chips, rice and milk for dinner; the other night Bella wouldn’t eat garlic chicken pasta but she did eat bread and salad. Wait – I know you are thinking, how is this new? isn’t this how normal people eat dinner. Yes I know but I am one of those Moms that somehow wound up as a short order cook every night – I would make one meal for Will and I and then another one, maybe even two, for the kids. Well, I just finally got tired of it, it wasn’t helping the children try new things, and by the time I sat down to eat everyone else was done! 

I was worried that the children would revolt or starve, but so far it’s working.  I am sure there will be some meals that are too spicy or fancy for them, and so I’ll make them something else but I want it to be the exception rather than the rule.

Sunday afternoon we were meant to go visit our friends that have a new baby, but with Jacob’s pink eye I didn’t think he should go. So, while Will and Bella went to visit (and drop off some of the food I made), Jacob and I went to the zoo.

If you can handle how cool and breezy it was (we bundled up) then I totally recommend going to the zoo on a not so nice day. The weather combined with the Superbowl meant we had the place to ourselves. There was no line for anything! We rode the carousel twice and both times we were the only ones on it!  After their visit, Will and Bella joined us – the kids just ran and ran and played and played.

 

 

I’ll have to dig up my other zoo photos in this spot for a comparison.

This is one happy kid! Fun with his new camera My favorite shot

Bella in the eagle’s nest

After the zoo closed we all went to eat dinner. The kids were happy and exhausted and went to bed. Then Will and I opened a bottle of wine and watch Night at the Museum.  (Will got Netflix from me for his birthday)

All in all it was a most wonderful weekend even though we did sit out from watching the Super Bowl. I think the football guys did ok without us. Go Saints.

Cloth Training Pants Update

Our cloth training pants order has been sewn and shipped. As of Friday, they were in Anchorage, AK.  On Saturday, William took Bella with him to get my car inspected.  A little while later I got a phone call that Will and Bella were on their way back home because she had an accident all over herself, all over Will and even managed to create a puddle at the front door of the car inspection place. Uh-oh. Boy do we need those pants!

What I’m Excited About

Poor Bella, she has been so sick for so long and we just never could get to the underlying cause – eventually, finally, we found out that she has a urinary tract infection which explains EVERYTHING. Night waking, regression in potty training, mysteriously high fevers, low immune system (she has had pneumonia, diarrhea, two viruses, two cases of strep and a yeast infection all since November), grouchiness, clinginess, lack of appetite.  Praise the Lord that I have a job that allows me to work from home or I honestly don’t know what I would have done over these last few months.

It was so scary and frustrating because week after week she would get sick.  It just makes me so upset to think how long she probably had this (Mystery fevers started in late November – shortly after she had diarrhea –which is probably how she ended up with e-coli in her urinary tract!) and we didn’t know!

I’m trying to be understanding of why three different doctors never would take a urine sample (I asked!) until finally the last time Will went I told him to tell the doctor we wanted a full blood work up and a urine sample. Period. 

I know doctors do their best, and I know that they probably get scrutinized for over ordering lab work and it costs families money so maybe they hesitate. And each time we took her in she was always sick with something (because a UTI will lower your immune system) so it was hard to get anyone to see the bigger picture.

I’m just grateful it is being treated now and I have learned that I will need to speak up next time and that if your daughter has a fever and no other symptoms – order a urine sample! (Don’t ask, don’t suggest, don’t say “Do you think, maybe?” Say - “I want you to run a test for UTI.”  No one, no matter how good, how loving, how educated will ever know my child like I do!

So, where’s the happy exciting part? Well, I am in the process of working with a vendor on Etsy called QTBUNNS to have some cloth training pants made for Anabel.  I believe that plastic Pull Ups at night and naptime are contributing to some of the problems she has had lately. The choices are all so pretty and it’s been fun to pick out the fabrics and everything. I can’t wait for them to arrive!

In Which I Make Yogurt for the First Time

Last Friday I used my new yogurt maker for the first time.  What I discovered is that yogurt making is very simple, it takes a very long time but it is not “hands on" time.

Here is what I put into my yogurt:

Whole Organic Milk, honey, vanilla & a good brand yogurt. 

 

First, I scalded the milk by bringing it up to 185 degrees, but not allowing it to boil. (That thing sticking up is a candy thermometer).

 

 

Then I cooled it quickly back down to 110 degrees by placing the saucepan into an ice bath in the sink.

Next I added the honey, the vanilla and my starter yogurt. Then I poured the milk into the containers and put the containers into the machine. I set it for 10 hours.

At the 8 hour mark… I think something’s happening in there!

After 10 hours the machine turned itself off and I put the yogurt into the refrigerator overnight.

 

The next morning – YOGURT. Rich, creamy, dreamy, tart wonderful yogurt.  With no food coloring or additives or high fructose corn syrup. It took 4 3/4 cups of milk, which is less than half a gallon – so it cost me about $2.50 for 36 ounces.

If you like Fage or Greek Gods, this yogurt is that good. A thick layer of cream across the top – the texture is perfect – it was so worth the wait.  Sorry, I didn’t put it in a pretty dish with fruit to take the picture, I was too busy eating it!