Tubes

Just over two years ago, shortly before Lauren's first birthday she had to have tubes put into her ears.  After countless ear infections that were getting worse each time she got one.  The doctor originally told us that he wanted to leave them in for about 18 months but no longer than 2 years.  We past that mark back in January and went in for her checkup and he gave us the good news that the one in the right ear had fallen out but the bad news that the one in the left ear were still there.  That meant we had to go in and have it taken out. 

 

Lauren was in very good spirits this morning despite not getting to eat breakfast.  The doctor came in to talk to us and marked her ear to make sure he would be working on the correct one. 

 

 

While we were in her room we could here several other kids waking up from their procedures and most of them were crying.  I just kept praying that the Lord would keep Lauren in good spirits and that she wouldn't have any trouble waking up from anesthesia. 

 

They gave her a bear to cuddle with.and she was being quite silly!

 

The procedure took about all of 15 minutes and they were coming out to get us.  The doctor said that she did great and her ears looked fantastic.  The patch he put on the hole will help it heal and we just need to keep it dry for the next 4 weeks.  Not too long after we talked to the doctor they said that she was awake and ready for us to see her.  I was scared that she would be crying but we walked back there and she was in the nurses arms drinking a juice box.  :)  No crying, no nothing!  She even started asking to eat some cashews that my mom had brought for her.  We even got to bring home the tube as a souvenir.

 

 

I am so thankful that everything went well.  I know that it is a simple procedure but it always gets me when my child has to have anything done!  I am also SO very thankful that she woke up without any issues.  That made the whole thing a lot easier on momma!! 

Ramblings

This week was a roller coaster.  I had some horrible ups and some horrible downs and then some not so horrible times but least to say I am SO glad it is the weekend.  I have the next three days off and I could not be more glad. 

Colton has had a cold.  Nothing too major compaired to what he had a while back.  But he is back to his night time wakings.  For the last three nights in a row he has woke up between 4:30 and 5 and not went back to sleep.  I am a little tired needless to say. 

I went from posting every day for a week to nothing for three days.  :( I was on a roll and then I got crazy busy at work, ended up working late every single night this week which left no time for extra stuff once I got home. I am way behind on blog reading too.  I am going to try to catch up this weekend.

Great things are in the works for me at my job.  They are several months in the making but I am excited.  I am praying that all goes well.

Lauren and I went in for our ENT checkups last week and Monday she will be going in to have one of her tubes removed.  The one in her right ear has fallen out but the one in her left ear has not.  The doctor needs to go in, remove it and patch the hole.  They will be putting her under so I am a little worried...OK ALOT WORRIED!!  She did fine when they put them in but that was 2 years ago.  She is way more aware of what is going on now.  I am praying that she won't be scared when they take her back and that she will wake up from the anesthesia without any problems.  I would love to go in and them check her ear and say that the tube has fallen out and we can go back home!!!  She is scheduled to go in at 10:15am and she can't eat or drink anything after midnight.  That worries me too.  She normally has breakfast and is about ready for lunch by that time.
My checkup went as expected.  I have scheduled my sinus surgery for March 30th.  I was only off the antibiotic for a couple of days when my runny nose came back and then the congestion followed.  So I am going ahead with the surgery.  I can't wait to have all of this taken care of.  BUT I am going to be honest and say that I am scared.  Not really of having the surgery but the pain and recovery afterwards.  I know that it will be hard and that I am going to have to rely on other people to care for my children.  That is not always my strong suit.  :)

My mother lost her job on Monday.  The company that she works for has been struggling for quite some time.  They came to her on Monday and said that they had to let her go and that the company may be closing its doors.  I am very sad for her. She has worked for this place for 16-17 years.  She is in a place that she has not been in a really long time. Please pray that she will find a good paying job quickly.

I think that is all for now.  I had a lot of catching up to do.  :)

Journey

I am still trucking right along on my weight loss journey. I am up to a total weight loss of 22 pounds! I plan on staying on the strict diet until the end of the month and then moving into the next phase where you slowly add back in more calories and then after three weeks you move into the maintenance phase where you add back in starches and sugar. What a horrible time of year to be eating no sweets! It was very hard to abstain from indulging in the goodies that I made for Valentine’s Day. I do have to admit that I did take a bit of one of the Red Velvet Brownie Covered Oreos.

Before embarking on this journey I never would have considered myself to be an emotional eater. I would say that I was a bored eater; I would eat if I had nothing else to do, if I was home alone or to have something to keep my hands busy, those kinds of times. But here recently I have found myself wanting to eat something not good for me when I have had a stressful moment, day or morning. I apparently must have found comfort in those foods in the past and that sometimes comes back to haunt me when I didn’t even realize that I was using food as a comfort. There are several days that I have gotten discouraged. The mornings that I don’t lose any weight I get the urge to sabotage myself even though I know that if I keep doing what I am supposed to be doing that it WILL pay off.

What has been especially difficult for me is my love of baking and cooking. I love to make delectable treats that are “to die for” and to try new things for dinner. There really isn’t much room on this diet for variety or the need to follow a good recipe. We end up eating a rotation of the same food every few days. However this is getting me to experiment and try lots of different things when I would hardly ever stray from the recipe I was using. I am getting creative figuring out things to replace the oils and fats when cooking things in the skillet. Using herbs are a great way to add flavor without upping the calorie content of your meal. Lemon and Lime juice are great liquids to add to shrimp. They not only give it something to simmer in but add lots of flavor. Sugar free hot sauce {like Franks} is a nice addition to ground turkey. We have also been using all kinds of spices that don’t contain any sugar…I never realized how many of those prepackaged seasonings you buy at the store have sugar added in to them in some form or another! Reading the ingredient list has been quite the eye opener. Sugar is added into everything!

What I have loved about this diet is that it has gotten me to eat more fruit and vegetables. We would always have some sort of vegetable for dinner but the portion size was way off. Now my plate is filled almost to the brim with veggies and I eat fruit for breakfast and snacks. These are definitely habits that I am going to carry on even when I can start adding back a variety of other foods into my diet. I want to continue reaching for an apple or some other fruit for my snack instead of Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, cookies, cupcakes, and other sweets that got me into this position in the first place.
Another thing that added so drastically to my weight gain was soda. I was drinking at least one a day and not just a 12oz can. I would go through the drive through and get a large drink to “last me all day.” I was consuming way more than I was telling myself I was and I know that only added to my weight gain. I have not had any soda since January 16th!! I have only been drinking water and green tea.

I have been amazed at how much better I feel. I can’t wait to see what I can accomplish in the next 13 days!  But my journey will be far from over.  This is just the beginning of a life long journey of healthy eating!

Be Mine!

I love to be able to make so many different things in Photoshop.  It is so easy to customize and make things just the way I want them.  When I saw that Jodi from MCP Actions was giving away free mini Valentine Templates I jumped right on them.

I made each kid a set and then used the Wallet Template from the Coffee Shop Blog to put them all onto 1 4x6 photo.  Total cost of 20 personalized Valentine's for each kid a little over $2!!

Red Velvet Brownie Covered Oreos

I am on a red velvet kick for Valentine's Day. Oreos are one of my favorite cookies and making these was so hard since I am on a diet! But I wanted a special treat for Lauren to pass out with her Valentines and I am also going to surprise my employees.

Start by mixing the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar in a large bowl.  Add each thing to the bowl one at a time and mix after each addition. 

Whisk your eggs in a small bowl and then add to the mixture.

After you've added the eggs fold in the flour and mix until combined.

Next, take your Oreos and dip them into the batter one at a time.  That's right...get your fingers nice and messy!!

Put them into your lined cupcake tins

Bake at 350F for 14 minutes

I let mine cool in the pan for about 3 minutes and then I moved them to my cooling rack.  I took them out of the cupcake liners after about 5 minutes or so.  I didn't want them to stick. 

Delicious!!!

Red Velvet Brownie Covered Oreos
Recipe adapted from Picky Palate

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 bottle {1 oz} red food coloring
2 tsp. vinegar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Place cupcake liners into muffin tins

In a large bowl combine the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing after each addition.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the first mixture

Fold in the flour until fully combined.

Dip the Oreo into the batter. Place Oreo into cupcake liner. Repeat until you have used up all your brownie batter.

Bake for 14-16 minutes.

Let cool for a couple of minutes and then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to continue cooling.  Remove from cupcake liners after 5-10 minutes.

Red Velvet Cake Revisited

I know I know I know!  I have already posted the recipe for Red Velvet Cake.  Well this time I have changed it up just a teeny tiny bit and photographed some of the steps throughout the process.  :)  And since Valentine's Day is quickly approaching I thought now would be a good time to post this.  You should make this cake for your sweetie. 

So here is my Red Velvet Cake Revisited. 

To your mixer add the shortening, sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract and cream them.  ;)

Make sure you sift your flour.

Make a paste out of the cocoa and the red food coloring and add it to the mixture first mixture . 

Alternately add flour and buttermilk.  Then mix soda and vinegar in small bowl and add to batter.

Blend well 

 

Don't turn your back or little fingers will try and get a taste. 

Pour batter evenly into three greased and floured 9 or 10 inch cake pans for 20-25 minutes at 350

Frosting 

 

Cook milk, flour and salt on stove top

 

until thick, stirring constantly. Let cool.

Cream shortening and sugar very well and add flavors. Combine with first mixture, beat until everything is mixed up and is nice and creamy.

Now frost your three layered cake.  I like to start with the bottom layer and get it as much as completely frosted as I can and then add the second layer and so on.  I find this is the easiest way for me to get a nice even coat and for it to look half way decent.  I am definitely not a professional cake decorator.  :)  Make sure that you get a nice layer on top which will be the filling between the layers. 

Ah beautiful!

And absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!!



Three Layered Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients


1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp butter flavor
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp soda
3 tbsp cocoa
2 1/2 cup sifted cake flour or 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour sifted, less 5 tbsp
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 oz bottle of red food coloring

Directions

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, flavors.
Make a paste of the cocoa and the food coloring; add to first mixture
Alternately add flour and buttermilk
Mix soda and vinegar in small bowl and add to batter.
Blend well. Bake in three greased and floured 9 or 10 inch cake pans for 20-25 minutes at 350
Let cool completely and cover with frosting.

Frosting
Ingredients
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp butter flavor

Directions
Cook milk, flour and salt on stove top until thick, stirring constantly. Let cool.

Cream shortening and sugar very well and add flavors. Combine with first mixture, beat until creamy and then ice your three layer red velvet cake!

Giggles

There is something so captivating about a baby laughing.  From the minute they smile you just wait until that first giggle comes!  This morning Colton woke up in a happy mood bright and early at 5 am.  Yes for the third day in a row he has woken me up way sooner than my alarm is set for.  I took this video on my phone so sorry that it is sideways.  I will know next time how to hold it so that it won't do that!  And don't mind that I pretty much poked him in the eye.  I was trying to tickle his cheek and my depth perception was a little off because I was looking at him on the phone.






Isn't he just the cutest little thing!  HIs laugh is so contagious too. 

Makin' Whoopie - Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and what better cake to have than Red Velvet?!?!  This is a little twist on the traditional Red Velvet cake. 

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients

Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cups canola oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of almond extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

Filling:
10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Whoopie Pies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets. Sift the flour, baking soda, and cocoa together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, food coloring, vanilla and almond extracts.

Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together in a large bowl until they turn pale and double in volume. Add the oil mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 5 small additions, starting and ending with the flour.

Using a small cookie scoop {or a medium one if you want larger pies}, drop the batter onto the baking sheets, allowing some space between drops, as the cookies will spread ALOT. Bake until the cookies are firm but not crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer immediately to wire racks to cool. The cookies will be kind of sticky so it is best to let them cool completly.


Filling:

Put the flour into a medium saucepan and slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until very thick, about 3 minutes. Remove the flour mixture from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

Cream the sugar, butter, shortening, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the cooled flour mixture and whip until fluffy. Spread some filling onto 1 cookie and top it with another to make a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies and filling. Cover the filled whoopie pies with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve, this is very important as the filling needs time to set up. If you don't refrigerate it, it will be runny and slide right on out of your pie.

 This is pretty much the traditional icing recipe that I use on my Red Velvet Cake.  I love how it is cooked frosting.  This one tastes a bit more shortening though but it is still REALLY good. 
 
Now I like large whoopie pies and lots and lots of filling, that is why mine are so fat.  You can adjust the size of the cookie and the amount of filling to your taste.  BUT I think THE BIGGER THE BETTER!!!
 
 

3 Year Stats

This little lady turned 3 a couple of weeks ago and we have had to post pone her well check because of all the snow we have gotten.

 

 

When I picked her up from daycare and told her we were going to see the doctor for a check up she said...Why Do I Need KETCHUP????????  I laughed so hard. 

 

Lauren is 39 1/4 inches tall {3 feet 3 inches} - 90-95 percentile

 

Lauren is 36 1/4 lbs - 90-95 percentile

 

The doctor said that everything looked good, she is right on track and we don't have to come back until she is ready for kindergarten.  I only wish we could stay out of the doctor's office that long!  She has another checkup on Friday with the ENT that put her tubes in.  He needs to check on them and see how they are doing.  If they are still in there he might have to go in and remove them.  She had them put in the week right before her first birthday. 

 

I still cannot believe that it has been three years since she first entered this world and captivated our hearts!  We love you Lauren!!!!!!!!

Lauren - isms

It shouldn't come as any surprise that I love to cook and bake and I really hope to pass that passion along to Lauren.  I get her in the kitchen to help me quite a bit and she seems to enjoy it.  She loves to help poor spices and things into the bowl and she loves to help me open butter... One day I was having a friend come over to bake and decorate sugar cookies.  I wanted to get the dough mixed up ahead of time and Lauren wanted to help.  She opened the butter for me and I turned around just in time to see her take a huge bite out of the end of the stick! 

So here are some food related Lauren - isms

"Ketchup make me nervous"

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"I love it! I love butter. Get in my mouth!"

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"Beef?? I thought it was pickles."

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"I am gonna have a mustache like you daddy after I drink my milk."

It's Official

After 7 months 2 weeks and 1 day I have finally reached the weight that I was before I got pregnant with Colton. My pants are fitting better and I can tell quite a difference in the way that my body is looking. NOW I still have a long way to go on my weight loss journey but my first stepping stone has been reached! Next I need to get to the weight I was before getting pregnant with Lauren which is almost 30 pounds. :( I lost all my weight from Lauren pretty quickly and kept it off until after she turned two and I got promoted and the stress from my new role and eating poorly I quickly gained a bunch of weight. But this time I am determined and dedicated to taking it off and keeping it off. How am I doing it? Well some may say that I have taken a bit of a drastic approach but I promise, it is not forever. :)

Since I was in the hospital back in December I have lost a total of 18 pounds. On January 17th I started the HCG diet and since then I have lost 13 pounds. The HCG diet is where you take the HCG hormone twice a day in a liquid form and restrict your calorie intake. The HCG is supposed to help your body burn off the stored fat in your body to make up for the calories you haven’t consumed. The first few days were tough. You are limited to a very strict diet. For breakfast I eat a piece of fruit. For lunch and dinner I have 4 ounces of lean protein and three cups of uncooked vegetables or whatever that equals to cooked. Then I also have a piece of fruit in the afternoon for a snack. You cannot have any sugar, oil or fat on this diet. The program says that you can have 1 tablespoon of milk a day but I omit that since I never drink milk anyways. On about day 3 I was feeling much better and not feeling extremely hungry. I am pleased with my weight loss so far and I plan on going the full length of time on the diet. You can do 15, 30 or 45 days and since I have so much to lose I really want to go the full 45 days. I do really miss cheese, ice cream, butter and cupcakes {anything sweet really!} You also have to watch what kind of lotion and medication that you use. Trust me when I say that if you use a cream or something that is not supported by the diet then you will not lose weight. Last week I didn’t lose much because I had used some medication that had oil in it and my weight loss stalled for 4 days. I have had some days where I have cheated and ate something that was not on the diet. Mostly movie popcorn with butter on it. :) But on those days I did not lose weight so it makes eating those things not really worth it. You are allowed to drink as much water and black coffee and green tea as you wish. My brother started the diet the same day I did and has already lost over 20 pounds! DANG men losing weight faster than women! :)

This is by far just the start of my weight loss journey. Like I said before I need to lose about 30 pounds to get to the weight I was when I got pregnant with Lauren and then I need to lose an additional 15 pounds to get back to the weight that I was when I met Brian. Those are my detailed weight loss goals that umbrella under my 2011 goal of losing weight.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Groundhog Day

WOW! All I can say is SNOW…lots and lots of snow! Yesterday we were hit with that massive storm that has hit most of the country. It was literally a blizzard. The snow was falling but the wind was insane. It was blowing from all different directions and the drifts, although very cool looking, were very high! We had one in our driveway that I swear came up to my chest! The news said our total accumulation was 9 inches. Much less than what they were originally calling for thank goodness. The wind was just the worst part of it all. When I went to get the kids from daycare on my way home from work I had snow almost up to my knees. Luckily my brother had followed me there because he knew I would need some help. If he hadn’t been there I would have had to make the trek twice and that would have been miserable. There was no way I was going to let Lauren walk in that…it would have swallowed her up! I am SO thankful that my brother followed me all the way home because even though I made it up that treacherous hill that always gets me there was no way I was going to make it into my unplowed drive way. He drove up and down it several times with his jeep and then actually drove my car up into the drive way for me because I kept getting stuck.

My mom says that this is all my fault because the last time we had a big snow I spend the day cleaning and organizing and if you know me very well at all you know that I HATE to clean. Organizing is not hard for me. I like to do it and love when everything is in its place but I am very flighty when I clean. I will start a project see something that is out of place, go take it where it goes and see something else that is out of place and the cycle continues from there. So the fact that I finished not one project that day but FIVE is a miracle in and of itself. When she saw my beautifully cleaned off bathroom sink the other day she informed me that this huge snowstorm they were calling for was all my fault. :) HA!! So sorry all you that are getting pelted by this horrendous storm!

BUT HEY! The sun is shining brightly here and the ground hog did not see his shadow. Let’s hope his prediction is right and we are in for an early spring!! {I know that spring is 6 weeks away whether or not he saw his shadow but I think the whole idea of groundhog day is fun}