10/25/12

Today was a pretty good day. Work went well, the day flew by – even though I actually have to work tomorrow, it still went by fast. I left early to pick up the girls and bring them in for their flu shots.

Amelia’s teacher said she told her all day long she wanted to use the potty. She would sit on it, but wouldn’t actually go. That sucks, but at least she’s showing interest there. When I picked them up, I told them we had to hurry and get to the doctor. Olivia assumed I meant the “kitty doctor”, and I just let her believe that to avoid any possible argument. We finally loaded into the car and were on our way. Olivia knew right away when we pulled into the lot where we were, and she was annoyed. She asked me “what do you have to have done, mommy”. LOL. I explained they were getting their flu shots today, and they were both fairly unhappy with me. I distracted them by “racing” them into the building and directing them to the fish tanks. The nurse called us back right away and the girls were having a grand time playing on the bed and goofing around. Things got serious when the nurse came back with “stuff” though. I opted to get the flu mist for both of the girls this year. I asked Olivia if she would go first…she quickly said no, and volunteered Amelia. Great big sister right there…She did let Amelia sit on her lap though, which was cute. Amelia of course acted like she was being tortured, but quickly got over it when the misting was complete. Olivia seemed grossed out and confused by the whole process, but she did well. And, we were done. We were in and out in about 5 minutes, so YAY! Christian also got his flu shot, at work, today, so we’re all flu shot protected now! Woot!

Right from the doctor’s office, I stopped home to pack the girls a bag, and we were off to my mom’s. Tonight, Christian and I are heading to the Vikings game with his friend from work, so my mom is taking them overnight (since she has them tomorrow anyway). EXCITING!!!!

I dropped them off, raced home to get ready – arriving at about the same time as Christian. He showered and got ready, and we were off to pick up Lorenzo. We fought the rush hour traffic into Minneapolis, split the cost of parking at a close lot, and made our way into the dome. I just LOVE going to Vikings games. It’s such a fun experience, and nothing beats the energy of it. Lorenzo splurged on tickets and we got to sit REALLY close, right behind one of the end zones. The Vikings ended up losing, and really didn’t play well at all (ugh), but it was still a great time! So exciting to be there, and to be so close, was like a dream come true!

Of course, it was bumper to bumper chaos trying to get out of the lot/out of Minneapolis. But, we made the best of it. We finally got out of the chaos, stopped for some gas, dropped Lorenzo off, and made our way home. Of course, I passed out immediately. Work, is going to be ROUGH tomorrow. Definitely worth it though!

Rico Update for the Day – he seems more like himself every day. Today, I mixed his prescription food with some fancy feast wet food to see if the taste and scent of that would get him to eat more. He did eat more than he has been, so that’s good, but I still had to give him some dry food too. Hopefully we can get this feeding stuff figured out soon. At least he seems to be getting better and getting back to himself.

Here are some pictures from the game!

10/24/12 - Southwestern Skillet Macaroni and Cheese with Glazed Baby Carrots

Today was a pretty low key day. Just the usual, work, home, dinner, play, baths, bed. Pretty exciting!

Amelia did use the potty at school though, which is good. They bring her to the potty throughout the day. Sometimes she sits, sometimes she refuses, but today was the first time she actually went. YAY!

Today’s Rico Update – He’s doing well. He’s still not taking to his wet food, so I’ll have to do some research on how to transition him to it. He is perky though, has more energy and more personality. Still pretty low key, but he seems like he WANTS to do more, which is good.

Today’s dinner was Southwestern Skillet Macaroni & Cheese with Glazed Baby Carrots.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Elbow Macaroni
• 1 pound Ground Turkey
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 14½ can of Diced Tomatoes, with their Juice
• 1 8oz Can of Tomato Sauce
• 1 4½ can of Diced Green Chiles
• ½ cup Water
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

• 1 package of baby carrots
• ½ jar/6 ozs of Orange Marmalade

Directions:

Pasta

1.      Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the macaroni according to the package. Drain, and keep warm.

2.      Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the chili powder, cumin and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles and water. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the macaroni and cheese, stirring to combine.

Carrots

1.      Place 1” of water in a large saucepan; add the carrots. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes.

2.      Drain the carrots and place in a large serving bowl. Stir in the marmalade and serve with a slotted spoon.

10/23/12 - Sloppy Joe Hot Dish

Today I only made it about half the day at work. I was too worried about Rico being home alone all day, with nobody to keep an eye on him. So, I packed up some work and brought it home to work from there for the afternoon. Rico wouldn’t leave my side, he seemed really happy to have me home. I feel like I made the right decision, he seems happier, and more like himself, and was full of cuddles. So, that was heartwarming. As I was typing away, he kept reaching out to hold my hand, and it just felt like a sign... 

I did have to head out and meet Christian at school for the girls’ fall conferences. First up we met with Amelia’s teacher. She just ADORES Amelia and is excited to have her in class full time now. She said Amelia has a huge personality, and is so helpful. She likes to clean up, and tries to get all of the other kids to help too. She was really happy with Amelia’s development and where she’s at right now, and is really impressed with her vocabulary and the way she speaks. Really, nothing was too surprising, but it’s great to hear form her teacher.

Olivia was up next. Her changes since spring were amazing. She’s really grown and thrived in this setting. She is meticulous and devoted to finishing any project she starts, she loves group time and has been participating really well. She’s doing really good with letters and numbers and is doing great all around. And, she just loves her personality. She said Olivia is the first to greet her with a big hug every morning when she gets there. She’s always helpful with cleaning up and listens really well. She welcomes any new kids to class with open arms, and plays with all of the kids in class. She’s doing great, and I’m so proud of her!

Now, if only they could listen that well and be so nice to each other…at home. Ah, one can dream.

We made our way home after conferences, ate some dinner and had a relaxing day. Rico isn’t really taking to his food – I set him up in the kennel (with a bed and his litter box) with some water, a small amount of his new wet food and a small amount of his normal dry food, jus thing we could get him to eat something.  He wasn’t really interested in his wet food, but he did eat a little of the dry food. I guess that’s progress.

Tonight’s dinner was Sloppy Joe Hot Dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz package of refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 1 pound of Ground Beef
• 1 15oz can of Tomato Sauce
• 1 envelope of Sloppy Joe Mix
• 1 cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Sides:

• Garden Salad

Directions:

1.      Preheat the oven to 425

2.      Unroll the crescent dough into two rectangles; sealing the seams and perforations. Roll out each rectangle between two pieces of waxed paper, to fit a 11x7x2” baking dish. Grease the baking dish and place one rectangle inside. Bake for 5 minutes.

3.      Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef over medium heat until no longer pink, and drain. Stir in the tomato sauce and sloppy joe mix. Spoon the mixture over the baked dough, sprinkle with the cheese and top with the remaining rectangle of dough. Bake for 155-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

This one was pretty good, and quick, which is nice. It just didn’t have quite the taste I was looking for though. I think it would be better with just some good ol’ manwhich or something, or even adding some herbs and spices to the mixture.

10/22/12 - Lemon Pasta with Chicken

Rico was back to the clinic, bright and early this morning. Christian dropped the girls off at his parents’ house so I could bring the cat in and focus on that. He seemed to have even more personality this morning, and his catheter bag looked WAY better than it did before, so I’m hoping these are all good signs.

It was hard to focus at work, but it was also a good distraction. Everybody was really caring and understanding about what was going on, which was a big comfort. I did leave early to do our grocery shopping and start dinner so I would be ready to pick Rico up at closing time again.

Christian picked up the girls, we ate, and then Amelia and I left to pick him up. The vet seemed really optimistic. They took him off the catheter around lunchtime, and he was doing well with it. She said she felt him shortly before we got there and his bladder was a little hard…but she squeezed it and it released, so that was good. She said to just keep trying that for a while. He’s on a prescription food for the next month, and then she wants him permanently on wet food. He’s on pain medication through the week, and they administered a long-lasting antibiotic already. She did recommend x-rays to make sure there weren’t any kidney stones or anything materialistic blocking him, but we just couldn’t afford it. We just have to hope for the best. They ran his blood work again, and everything came back at normal levels, including his kidney enzymes, so that is really promising. He is supposed to go back in a month for a check-up, so hopefully everything goes well. I’m really nervous to have him at home and not really know what’s going on.

In the end, we spent about $1,000 on his procedures and care. I never in a million years thought I would spend that kind of money on a pet. It still sounds crazy, and ridiculous when I think about it. But, something just came over me when we brought him in. I just knew we had to do something, we had to save him. I don’t know, being faced with the decision, I guess you just have to trust your gut. Money really is just money in the end, and I have to remember that. Just another hurdle to get over! In the end, this guy spent the evening cuddled in my lap, and that brought me a lot of comfort in our decision...

We again had Rico stay in the kennel, one last night, to keep him relaxed and low-key. He’s still not really eating, but hopefully soon. The girls had their baths and went to bed shortly after we got home, and we all called it a night.

Tonight’s dinner was Lemon Pasta with Chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1½  cups Uncooked Medium Shells
• ¼ cup Bread Crumbs
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Pepper
• 1 pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 6 tsp Canola Oil
• 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup reduced-sodium Chicken Broth
• ¼ cup Lemon Juice
• ½ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Sides:

• Frozen Garlic Bread – cooked according to the package
• Green Giant Veggie Steamer – cooked according to the package

Directions:

1.      Cook pasta, according to the package. Meanwhile, in a large plastic bag, combine the bread crumbs, garlic poweder, salt and pepper. Add the chicken, and shake to coat.

2.      In a large skillet, coated with nonstick spray, sauté the chicken in 4 tbsp of the canola oil until the juices run clear. Remove, and keep warm.

3.      In the same pan, heat the remaining oil. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring until blended. Gradually stir in the broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened.

4.      Drain the pasta, toss in the lemon sauce. Serve with the chicken, and top with the parmesan cheese.

This one was nothing super fantastic, but it was a good, simple meal to have on hand.

10/21/12

Well, day 2 of Rico chaos. The girls actually slept in a little bit this morning, which was welcomed. As soon as we were all up, Olivia and I got ready and brought Rico back to the vet. He didn’t eat anything all night (not really a surprise), but drank his whole bowl of water. Hopefully that’s good. There was still a lot of blood in his urine, and he was still very lethargic this morning. But, seemed a little interested in his surroundings. And, cried on the car ride, which he usually does, but didn’t do yesterday, so that seemed good too!

Christian and Amelia made breakfast while we were gone, and we ate right away. I got right to my Sunday cleaning chores…laundry, dishes, kitchen clean up, sweeping. The usual. We had some lunch, and the girls went down for their naps just as the Vikings game started up. We sat, relaxed and watched the game together. Another win, YAHOO!! I sure hope the streak continues and we have a great season!!

When the girls woke up, we stopped at a local gardening market to pick up some carving pumpkins. We had a buy one pumpkin, get one free coupon, and this place is actually really fun. They have a TON of pumpkins to choose from, so we wandered around for a bit, picking one out. They have goats to feed (who, apparently were the only goats in the world that weren’t hungry) and a big pumpkin jump house for the kids. The girls got their play time in (PS, the weather was AMAZING), we bought a couple pumpkins and we were off.

The clinic closes earlier on Sunday, so we had to pick Rico up. They said he was still responding well. They lowered his pain medication dosage, and thought maybe that was making him more tired and mellow. He was drinking well, they did an IV flush and got some fluids in him. He showed some personality (and REALLY perked up when he saw us), so they were really happy to see all of that. His urine is still pretty tinted and cloudy, and he’s definitely nowhere near back to normal, so they want him back in the clinic tomorrow (which, they expected all along). Hopefully tomorrow will be it though!

We picked up some Pizza Hut on the way home because we were all in the mood for some bad, greasy, fulfilling food tonight. It was delicious, and it hit the spot. Rico stayed in the kennel again (still hooked up to the catheter), but was moving around and definitely interested in what was going on around him. Stress, to the max! I’m not sure what we’re going to do financially about this yet…I haven’t even started thinking about that. I’m hoping we don’t have to dip into our line of credit! I JUST paid Christian’s off on Friday and we were finally clear, and just down to the tires. Money, evil.

10/20/12 - Hearty Potato Soup

Oy, vey! That about sums up today.

So, any “long time readers”, or folks who know us in real life, know that we had to put a cat down last year…really, closing in on 2 years ago now. Frank. One night I went into our basement to do some laundry and found Frank laying inside the door, lifeless. He actually was still alive, but barely. We rushed him to the emergency animal clinic, and they knew immediately his bladder was completely full, about to burst, and he was in really bad shape. They gave us some options, but made it pretty clear that anything we did was an extremely long-shot, and it did not look good. We ended up putting him to sleep, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life.

Now, we still have our other 2 cats, Rico and Chloe. Rico has always been the “perfect” sized cat…the perfect shape, slim and muscular. For a long time, he had some kind of weird digestive issue that made him throw up, basically on a daily basis. Sometimes food, sometimes just a watery substance. A few months ago he stopped throwing up. We had finally started regulating their food and we had water bowls in a few places throughout the house. He noticeably started gaining weight, and we figured it was just because we had his digestion issues under control. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve noticed that he’s REALLY put on weight…he has been getting really heavy, like SOLID heavy. It didn’t seem normal, but I wasn’t sure what to think. Well, this morning, I knew there was something wrong with him. He was walking funny, he was fairly lethargic, he cried when we picked him up, and I caught him making a few unsuccessful trips to the litter box. We were immediately worried that he had the same thing as Frank, it instantly popped into our heads, and I was starting to panic.

I called the clinic we took Chuy to a few weeks ago, explained what was going on, and they said they could see him at 2:00. I was really hoping they would tell us to bring him right in, but I was just relieved they could see him so I didn’t think much of it. We tried to go about our morning…ate breakfast, played with the girls, kept an eye on Rico. The girls were really interested in what was going on and wanted to be close to Rico. We got them down for an early nap, showered and got ready. We had to wake them up to get them ready and head to his appointment (even though, of course, they weren’t tired).

The nurse that checked us in didn’t seem SUPER concerned. His temperature was low, but his heart rate was strong. But, he was just lying on the table…didn’t care who was touching him, or what they were doing to him. Definitely not normal. The vet came in, felt his belly, and knew right away his bladder was filling up. She started talking about options, and said that his bladder needed to be drained immediately, and he needed to get unblocked. Then started talking about IV’s, clinic care, etc. and the dollar signs were piling up. I started crying – over our poor cat, over this decision we had to make, everything. They left the room so we could talk about it, but made it known that we needed to decide NOW. I was so torn. I could tell Christian was too, but he said I’m the one who takes care of our money, so I had to make the decision. In the end, I couldn’t put him down. We’ve had him for 8 years, he’s strong, he’s our baby. There was something inside me, that just told me it wasn’t his time. So, we agreed to move forward with the procedure and care.

They rushed him back into their clinic, and we left. The girls ate a little, late lunch and then we all headed out into the yard. We raked up the leaves in the front yard, filled our Halloween pumpkin bags and ran around, playing with the girls. Anything to distract us from everything else that was going on.

We picked Rico up at closing time (they don’t do overnight care at this clinic). They said he responded well to the procedure, but the first bag of fluids that came out was almost all blood. He was in bad shape for sure. They kept him on an IV all evening, and injected some water under his skin to rehydrate him. They sent him home on a catheter to help flush out his system and make sure everything kept flowing. Because of that, we had to set up the dogs old kennel for Rico to stay in, and put it on our bed so it was up high, and the catheter could hand down below him. He was very mellow all night, and pretty much just laid with his head in his water bowl, drinking away. Hopefully that was a good sign. Tomorrow, he goes back to spend the day in the clinic. Fingers Crossed, my heart breaks just thinking about it.

Tonight’s dinner (amidst the chaos) was Hearty Potato Soup – perfect comfort food for the occasion!

Ingredients:

• 6 Potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes
• 2 Carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 Celery Ribs, thinly sliced
• 2 14½  oz cans of Low-Sodium, Fat-Free Chicken Broth
• 1 tsp Dried Basil
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Pepper
• ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1½ cups Fat-Free Half & Half

Sides:

• Fresh Bakery Buns - toasted in the oven.

Directions:

1.      Combine potatoes, carrots, celery, broth, basil, salt and pepper in a crock pot and cook on High for 3 hours.

2.      Stir together the flour and half & half, stir into the soup, cover and cook for another 30 minutes.

This was good, and a great, filling soup. I would like to add some kind of meat to it though…shredded chicken, some ham…something to give it a little protein. Then, it would definitely be perfect!

10/19/12 - 3-Cheese Keilbasa Bake with Sesame Green Beans

Today was my Friday off. YAY! My mom also had today off because of her work conference last week, so she had Olivia for the day. Amelia actually slept in until around 8:30, so that was a wonderful start to the day! Though, my weigh in brought that down a notch. I gained a pound this week. Ugh. Just a pound, and it's to be expected seeing that I haven't been at the top of my gain, but still. Boo.

Once up, we got right to potty training fun. Amelia was ready to go right away…I asked her what we were going to do today, and without missing a beat, she said “use the potty!!!”. We made her little sticker sheet, we filled her M&M jar, we took her diaper off, and we got to it. She played, colored, ate breakfast. All of the usual. She wouldn’t really sit on her potty much though. Shortly before her nap, I finally got her to sit down on it for a good long time (we looked at pictures on my phone to distract her). Yet, she still didn’t go. She made it through the morning with no accidents, but also didn’t go at all. A little frustrated, I put a pull-up on her, convinced her it was underwear and we don’t go potty in our underwear, and put her down for a nap.

She took a nice, long 3-hour nap. When she woke up, she proudly told me “I didn’t go potty in my underwear!”. I checked, and sure enough, she was dry as can be. She sat on the potty, but nothing happened. We went about our evening….ate a little snack, I made dinner, we played for a while. Christian picked up Olivia on his way home, we ate dinner and spent the evening hanging out together. NOTHING on the potty front though. No accidents, no success – she literally held it ALL.DAY.LONG. I finally got her back into the bathroom before bed and she sat on the potty for a while. I ran the water, I had her soak her hands in a warm bowl of water, we talked about it. Nothing. I decided I better put a diaper on her, because she was going to blow at some point, and a pull-up wasn’t going to do the trick. Sure enough, on the way to their room, from the bathroom, she went. UGH!

So, she clearly knows how to hold it and what the potty is all about, but she’s just not interested in using it. I don’t think she’s ready to give up “being the baby” quite yet. I know it was only one day, but I think we’re just going to take a break, and try again in a few weeks or so. I’ll see if she brings it up at all tomorrow, but I’m not going to push it at all.

Once the girls were in bed, we just had a quiet evening. We were both pretty exhausted, so we didn’t have the energy to do too much.

Tonight’s dinner was a 3-Cheese Keilbasa Bake with Oriental Green Beans.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz Elbow Macaroni
• 1 pound Kielbasa or Polish Sausage (halved lengthwise and sliced)
• ½ tsp Olive Oil
• 1 medium Zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 1 medium Carrot, grated
• ¼ tsp minced Garlic
• 14 ozs Spaghetti Sauce
• 7-8ozs Stewed Tomoatoes
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 7-8 ozs Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• 1 cup Park-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

• 1-1½ pound fresh Green Beans
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 6 minced Garlic Cloves

Sides:

• Biscuits – cooked, according to the package

Directions:

Pasta

1.      Preheat oven to 350.

2.      Cook the macaroni according to the package. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the sausage in the oil over medium heat; drain. Add the zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes, until crisp-tender.

3.      Stir in the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes, Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain the macaroni.

4.      In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and egg.

5.      In a 9x13”, greased pan, layer the macaroni, the meat sauce, the cheese/egg mix and top with the cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

6.      Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Green Beans

1.      Cook the green beans in boiling water, 4-5 minutes and drain.

2.      Combine the soy sauce, oil and sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.

3.      Spray a skillet or wok, and cook the garlic over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds.

4.      Add the beans, stir, and cook for about 2 minutes

5.      Add the soy sauce mixture, and cook for 1-2 minutes.

This one actually had some really good flavor. The girls loved it, and it was nice that the carrots were grated into the mixture – flavor, and guaranteed veggie intake. They actually really like the zucchini too though. Winner!

10/18/12

Today was a super busy day at work. Like usual, on my last day of the week, I had a ton to catch up on before the weekend. But, I’m pretty busy in general right now anyway. Christian has still been working a ton of overtime, with no real end in sight. The girls are doing great in school. They have been doing a “letter of the week” in Olivia’s class since the new “year” started, and Olivia loves it. She loves telling me about their new letters and what they’re learning. She seems to be playing with the other kids a lot more now that Bella hasn’t been going to school. I know she misses her a ton, but I do think it’s helping with her adjustment. Amelia is loving Miss Eva’s class and being with the older toddlers. She still loves her little buddy Niko – he’s definitely her little BFF at school. It’s cute.

I was fairly successful at doing some planning today. I made the girls’ dentist appointments (not until January, but they seem to book up fast) and Olivia’s 4 year check-up (also not until January, but I wanted them on the same day, and her doctor REALLY books up fast), I made their flu shot appointments and made my own dentist appointment. We also found out today we’re going to the Vikings game next week, so I talked to my mom about watching the girls. YAHOO, I was on fire!

After work, I picked up the girls, ran home to pack Olivia an overnight bag, and brought her over to my mom’s for the night. She was really excited, and Amelia was REALLY upset as we drove away and she didn’t get to stay. I welcomed the night of quiet with only one little toddler to take care of, and Amelia quickly got over her anger when she realized she had my undivided attention all night! We had a great night together too. We talked a lot about potty training and I did my best to get her excited. We ate some dinner, played together (no fighting, no yelling, no toy stealing, no tattling, no chaos). It was great!

Now, time to gear up for tomorrow. But, for tonight, I just enjoyed this girl…