Because We Need It

Remembering Sarah

I'm in a total fog of disbelief and sadness. I just found out that one of my oldest friends, Sarah, passed away from her battle with cancer. She was 30. She had freckles. She had that cool eye color that you couldn't tell if it was green or hazel. She made you laugh. She was loud, yet compassionate, kind, yet strong, caring, yet independent. I can still hear her laughing and saying, "Oh Noelle...I just love you!"

The strongest point of our friendship was in high school and college, but we always kept in touch. She was always one of my foundational friends. One of those friends who made you who you are.

I don't know how life can be so unfair. Not only did she have a very painful battle with cancer, she just saw the same disease take her husband 11 months ago. I'm just in disbelief. I usually am decent with finding words, but I really struggle today. Sarah was the kind of friend that, no matter how much time passed between visits, you could always pick up right where you left off. I can't believe she's gone. Thirty years. How can cancer kill someone twice? I think I know now.

Rest in peace forever, Sarah. I'll never forget you and your friendship to me.

Totally Tube-ular

After nine ear infections since November, it was finally time to get Paddy Cakes some ol' ear tubes. Every parent braces for the worst, but really, the whole ordeal wasn't that bad. I would not recommend, however, going by yourself, if you have a choice. That wasn't fun. The worst parts of it all were not being able to feed him the morning of the procedure (Have you seen him? This kid lives to eat.) and when he was coming out of anesthesia, he was groggy and scared/crying. Within the same day, he was back to his normal self, not even needing Ibuprofen for any pain. The cutting four teeth at the same time, however, required a little Advil action. So, here's to hoping for a healthier, happier second half of 2013. :fingerscrossed:

I Won the Lottery!

Oh wait, it's just Friday night and both kids are in bed, I have a glass of wine, the TV to myself, and am enjoying the quietness. It feels like winning the lottery. You learn to appreciate even a shred of relaxation! ;)

9 Months: Paddy Edition

He is a big one, that Patrick! At 9 months and 20 something days, he weighs 24 pounds, 15 ounces and is 30.25" tall. 98% for weight and 94% for height. He is also on his 7th ear infection, so we are going to see an ENT in a couple of weeks. I'm ready for my babes to be healthy! :)

ARGHHHHHHHH

Ear infection #7. Just saying.

Lemon Orzo with Shrimp, Feta, and Cherry Tomatoes

I was in the mood for something healthy and savory, yet fresh. This is what I came up with. The recipe is mine, but the photo is not. (www.tasteofhome.com) Enjoy!

Indredients:

1 box orzo
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tsp. minced garlic
12-15 large, deveined shrimp
1 c cherry tomatoes
1 container feta cheese
salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:

1. Cook 2 cups orzo according to directions on box.
2. Sauté olive oil, garlic, onions. Once onions start to cook down, add shrimp, lemon juice, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
3. Drain orzo and add contents of sauté pan to the pasta.
4. Stir together and sprinkle in as much feta as you like.

Serves 4. Would be great served with white wine of choice, a crusty dinner roll, and a fresh spinach salad.

Snow Day Potato Casserole

Today's a snow day! Yippee! I felt like it was a coffee and casserole morning. I put this together with leftover things from my fridge/pantry, and it is awesome. Seriously. I'm doing everything in my power not to eat more of it right now, because it's going to be a great side dish for porkchops tonight.

Snow Day Potato Casserole

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups frozen hash browns
• 2 TBS reduced fat sour cream
• 1/4 c reduced fat shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend; doesn't matter)
• splash milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBS reduced fat cottage cheese (optional)
• 4 slices bacon
• 3 slices Provolone cheese
• Lawry's seasoned salt
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Non-stick spray a 9x9 glass baking dish.
2. Cook bacon in a pan and chop it.
3. Layer plain hash browns on the bottom.
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Lawry's.
5. In a large bowl, scramble the eggs, mix in milk, sour cream, cottage cheese.
6. Add a layer of shredded cheese on top of the frozen hash browns.
7. Spread chopped bacon evenly.
8. Dump bowl mixure on top of that.
9. Top with slices of cheese (or shredded cheese would work, too).
10. Bake in 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until bubbly and light brown.

Tell me what you think!

Paddy is 9 Months Old!

9 months in; 9 months out. Today we're celebrating a year and a half of knowing about your existence. I love you a million times more than I ever expected. Honestly, I wondered how I could have room in my heart to love another baby as much as I loved Olive. You, dear Patrick, have made it effortless. You're the most mild-mannered, happy baby I have ever met. Although you have been through a lot of sickness this year, you still maintain your positive, loving attitude. You're BIG. You're in 18 month clothing right now, weighing about 24 pounds. You're only 1 diaper size away  from Olive. You sit so well now and are just waiting to crawl. You're almost there, with your reverse-scoot. I just love you and so does your Dad and sister. You're the perfect completion to our family.

Time Saving Tips...That No One Will Admit To

New parents are always pressed for time, especially if you're spinning a bunch of plates: work, home, kids, pets, chores, family, friends, etc. No one has the amount of hours in a day it would take to get everything done the way you want it done. Pinterest-esque, right? Well, I like pinning and ooohing and ahhing all over organization, cute recipes, and perfect lives, too, but the reality is: that those photos are pretty, but NOT reality. For 99.9% of people. I'm here to tell you about some time-saving tips that no one will admit to. Go ahread. No one will be the wiser, I promise.

Stop folding baby clothes. And toddler clothes. They wear them so much and they are so small that they don't really wrinkle. Go ahead, just toss 'em in there! I do 3 drawers: shirts, pants/PJs, clothes to grow into/random (hats, bibs, swim).

Don't over-mealplan. Just cook a ton of chicken on Sunday, dice it up, and figure it out throughout the week. Quesadillas, taco soup, salads, casserole, crock pot something-or-other, you've got this.

Find a cheap dry cleaner for your work clothes. Ironing sucks.

Do the chores at weird times of the day. I know it's not awesome to load the dishwasher at midnight or put the dishes away when you're warming up that 4:00am bottle, but you'll be glad it's done come breakfast time, when the load really starts to pile up.

Give it the sniff test. If something is really bulky and will cause you to do laundry a lot sooner than you should, sniff it. It probably can go one more wear.

Don't wash paring knives that have been used on fruits/veggies. Just rinse 'em. A spot here and there eventually adds up to one less dishwasher load. Right?

Get the mail every other day. Yep. I said it.

Hire a cleaning lady. Coming home to a clean house is amazing. I wish we could have ours come clean every single week. Why aren't I a millionaire yet?

And one I can't wait for~~bathe both kids at once. I haven't tried this yet, and I'm fairly positive it's much better in theory than in practice, but I'll give it a whirl.

Baby Food Comparison

I love Meijer. It's not only my favorite grocery store, but it's my favorite for the big 3 baby items: store brand diapers, store brand wipes, and baby food. I always am a little weary of buying generic baby food, so I decided to weigh in on the differences...and was pleasantly surprised! Here are my findings:

I compared Meijer brand "Mixed Fruit" with Gerber Stage 2 "Pear Pineapple".

The differences:

Meijer has two 4 oz. containers of food for about $.89. (11 cents per ounce)
Gerber has two 3.5 oz. containers of food for about $1.10. (15.7 cents per ounce)

Meijer has a circular tub design
Gerber has a rectangle tub design

Meijer's lid is easy to open, with a foil grip piece.
Gerber's lid is not easy to open without baby food getting on your hands.

With regard to size differences, the nutritional value is the same.

Meijer's consistency is thicker and more dense.
Gerber's consistency is more watery/soupy.

While the flavor variety isn't quite as expansive as Gerber, I think I'll stick with the Meijer brand. Good talk.

Olive the Bully

I have a feeling that one day we'll just wake up and he'll be bigger than Olive. Her whomping-up-on-little-brother days are limited. :) Until then...poor little baby!

Spring Fever.

I can't wait for warm weather. I need to get out of the house on the weekends. I need my kids to stop being sick. I need to move these same five sweaters to the back of the closet. I need to wear sandals. I need to get pedicures. I need a night in a beer garden. Anyway, you get the point. Some things I'm looking forward to doing with Olive and Patrick this spring/summer:

-Farmer's Market
-zoo
-fairs/festivals
-park
-swimming
-walks in the wagon
-travel to see grandparents

NO-Monia!

Ugh, this is terrible. I'm sitting in the hospital with sweet little Patrick, who has RSV and pneumonia. And an ear infection.

He started coughing about a week ago, but I assumed it was from teething, as I didn't hear wheezing and it wasn't affecting his sleep or eating. Then, a few days ago, he started waking at night a LOT and not really eating a ton anymore. Again, teething was the culprit...or, was it?  The cough was deepening and I could tell he wasn't his normal, happy self. I called the pediatrician at 4:30pm, on our way home from daycare, and they said to bring him in at 6:30pm. After two breathing treatments on the nebulizer at the office and no improved oxygen saturation, they sent us to the emergency room. From there, he got more breathing treatments, a chest x-ray that confirmed pneumonia, blood drawn, and the worst IV installation I've ever witnessed. It took about 10 minutes to place the IV in his tiny hand that was so chubby, they couldn't find a vein. I was biting my lip so friggin' hard and kept telling myself, "He won't remember this, he won't remember this..." But I wanted to smash someone for hurting my baby, even though it was to ultimately help.

As a parent, you just want to keep them from hurt and pain and sickness and put it on yourself. You want to do it for them and keep them safe from everything. I'm sitting here, looking at my sweet baby, hooked up to a zillion machines, and although thankful for caring doctors and nurses, can't wait to get him home.

Day 3 and counting. We'll see if we have to stay again tonight. C'mon little Paddy....

Birthday Letters

I like the idea of writing a letter to each child on his/her birthday. I know I missed her actual day of birth and the first birthday, but why not start now...here's my letter to Olive.

December 28, 2012

To my beautiful daughter, Olive, on her second birthday:

You're TWO! It really seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. Now, you're a 3-foot-tall, beautiful wonder. You are so funny already, and incredibly smart. You can count to twenty, say the entire alphabet, and know the words to some songs!You love cats and horses, you are learning how to dance, you like to sing songs and roughhouse with Daddy. You have your opinions and like to make them known. You're a leader. You love your brother, Patrick, and are learning how to make him laugh.You are proud to be such a good helper and such a caring sister, and everything you do makes Mommy and Daddy so proud of you. Your brown eyes are shiny and sparkly, and your hair is getting longer with soft curls. You are so cute! We truly can't believe you're ours. We are amazed by you and the things you do every day. You are the best part of our day, of our lives, and we love you more than anything in the whole wide world.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Olive.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy