Happy Birthday, Madison!

Today, we helped celebrate Madison’s birthday!  It’s been a joy watching her and Olivia’s friendship grow!  Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl!

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Hula Hoop

My niece, Izzy, is crazy good at the hula hoop.  She can even hula hoop, walk and sing at the same time.  I've learned that hula hooping is NOT the same as riding a bike as it is a skill you lose when you get older.  I used to be able to hula hoop really well.  I remember even going for the Guiness Book of World Records on the hula hoop. (I seem to remember also trying to break the record for longest time on a pogo stick.)  LOL!  Now, I can't get the hula hoop to stay on my hips for more than a second.  Any adults at there who can still hula hoop?  Izzy, I expect you to still be able to do this 30 years from now.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Olivia missed school this week because she kept saying she was sick (she did have a bit of a cough.)  I thought she was pulling my leg to get out of going to school, but poor girl is losing her voice and her cough is getting worse.  I think she is sick once again.  She even missed her trip to the pumpkin patch today with her preschool class.  Then my kitty, Kelsey, (who had her spay surgery on Monday) started bleeding from her incision yesterday.  So, the vet requested that we keep her contained.  She’s had to stay in the bathroom downstairs since yesterday afternoon.  She just cries and cries down there by herself.  When I went in to check on her tonight, she was bleeding again and her sutures look like they’ve opened a bit.  I’ll be calling the vet again tomorrow morning.  We never had any problems when Autumn was spayed.  This has just been awful.  Hopefully, I don’t have to take Olivia to the doctor and Kelsey to the vet in the same day.  Good grief.  And we have a busy busy weekend ahead of us!

Best Friends Forever

Food For Thought

I won’t lie. . .I do not enjoy cooking.  I don’t find it relaxing or therapeutic or exciting.  I’m not a bad cook (ask my husband!)  It just seems like such a chore to me.  It doesn’t help that I have high blood sugar and most food that I like raises my blood sugar and puts me in an almost comatose like state.  And, my daughter is not a good eater.  She’s not necessarily a picky eater as she’ll try almost anything, but she eats two bites and she’s done.  So, I’m on a mission to change all of that and try to find some joy in cooking (as well as eat healthier and better manage my blood sugar.)  Olivia is always interested in helping me cook and I thought that if we did it together it would be more fun AND maybe she’d want to eat more of what SHE helped make.  So, every week we are putting together an entire menu including fruits and vegetables with every meal.  And, every week I am trying one new recipe.  If it turns out good. . .I will share it with you. 

So, the first one I tried?  Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings!

Yum!  It was delicious and I highly recommend.  Here is the link to the recipe.  Not very diabetic friendly, but I have to take this one step at a time.

http://www.bubblecrumb.com/2010/02/14/crock-pot-chicken-and-dumplings-recipe/ 

On the menu for this week?  Muffin tin meatloaf and cauliflower mashed potatoes.

My Thoughts On Cooking:

I only have a kitchen because it came with the house.

I read recipes the same way I read science fiction.  I get to the end and I think, “Well, that’s not going to happen.”

I made my favorite thing for dinner. . .a reservation.

I love a man with dishpan hands!

The only self-cleaning thing in this kitchen is the cat!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Busy busy day today.  Ryan was off for Columbus Day, so we decided to declutter and reorganize the storage room.  Wow, we had a lot of stuff and I’ll admit (other than Olivia’s clothes and toys) it was mostly mine.  I have a habit of keeping everything.  Some of our findings?  A box of brand new towels (wedding gift, I think) a big box of my old purses, two ice cream makers, my old Sega Game Gear, and every syllabus, folder and assignment I ever did in college. 

This is what we had to contend with.  We have a huge storage room in the basement.  Sometimes, however, when you have a lot of room you don’t take the time to really organize it because you don’t have to.  We just got in the habit of tossing things in there and it was in desperate need of re-organization.  It was actually quite cleansing to get rid of stuff.

The best thing I found?  My bunny poster!  It hung in my room throughout childhood and reminded me to become the best person I could be.  It says: What you are is God’s gift to you.  What you become is your gift to God.  I thought it was lost forever.  It’s now hanging in Olivia’s room.

Kelsey also had her spay surgery today. . .poor baby.  She is just not doing very well tonight.  I don’t remember Autumn being so sad and tired after her surgery.  I was getting ready to hang up clothes from the dryer when she found a nice warm spot to lay.  I didn’t have the heart to move her.  Hopefully, she’ll bounce back soon!