31 Days: Naomi's Surgery

Yesterday we made our way to one of the local surgery centers for Naomi to get tubes in her ears. It's not something I thought we'd be doing this early in her life (11 months old) but it ended up being necessary.

Naomi got her first ear infection right around four months. This was not a good sign but then she went months without another one. I'm a firm believer that teeth coming in play a large role in ear infections and when Naomi started getting all her other teeth ear infections came with them. When she got her third ear infection in six weeks I knew we'd be on our way to tubes. Fortunately, we LOVE our Pediatrician and she recommended them the day I was going to tell her we were going to see an ENT to look into tubes. I got right in to see a Nurse Practitioner in our ENT's office (we saw her post-op from Nyla's tubes) and I knew I wanted to get surgery scheduled right away. I'm glad I went because the next available surgery date was almost three weeks away. Yuck! 

The three weeks, for the most part, went by pretty quickly. I did the best I could keeping Naomi happy even though I knew she was miserable. She fussed most of the day and was so clingy. I definitely learned how to do many things with only one hand free. But it wasn't anything new to me. She'd been like that for months. 

Before surgery in her little gown

And then finally the big day arrived! We had to be at the surgery center at 6:15 a.m. Daniel and I got up at 5 and got ourselves ready. I packed Naomi's bag and our things the night before (I'm a planner :) ) and my mom got to our house around 5:30 to take care of Nyla. At 5:45 we woke up Naomi and whisked her out the door. She wasn't allowed to have any food or her bottle after midnight. She could have had water or juice but not after 5. We decided we didn't want her up that long before we had to leave so we let her sleep. Thankfully, she did great not having anything all morning. 

We drove to the surgery center and got checked in. We were called back for pre-op questions and answers and then we just waited. We saw our doctor a little after 7, he prayed with us (just another reason we love him!), told us what he was going to do and then said the nurse would be in to get us in a couple minutes. The nurse came in about 5 minutes later and we walked to the "bunny tunnel" where we picked out a toy for Naomi (rubber duckies for the bathtub) and they took her away. I grabbed a coffee and back into our room we waited. Five minutes later our doctor was walking in our room and told us everything went great and there wasn't too much fluid in her ears and they'd be waking her up and they'd come get us soon. Five minutes after that we were called back to the recovery area to see our sweet girl. She wasn't thrashing as much as Nyla was after her tubes were put in even though we were expecting that. We sat in our room with her and each held her and sang to her and after about 15 minutes of that she was ready to go home. They released us and off to home we went. 

We got home she had a big breakfast, took some of her bottle and took a two hour nap. She played independently most of the late morning, we had lunch (she ate a ton of food), we ran a couple of errands and came back home for an afternoon nap. I swear when she woke up she was a completely different baby than she'd been in months! She was great all morning but even better in the afternoon. She's also been taking a few steps for the past couple of weeks but last night she was walking all across the kitchen, all the way across the kitchen and she'd turn around and come back. Amazing! I told Daniel that I felt like she'd probably walk better once the tubes were in and I was right. I knew they'd help her balance and they certainly have.

We've always called Naomi our snuggly and smiley baby. The past few months she's still been snuggly and smiley but much more fussy than she should've been. I hate that she had to have surgery but I can't imagine her suffering like that and have possible hearing damage because we didn't take steps to help her. I'm thankful for all those who prayed for her these past couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone for your support!

Yesterday afternoon after she had half a cupcake. Yeah, she's totally better!

31 Days: Menu Plan Monday

Each week (well most weeks) I join hundreds of women in menu planning and linking up our menu plans. I started menu planning not long after Daniel and I got married 4 years ago. Almost everyday around 10 a.m. I would get a text that said, "What's for dinner?" I'm serious. At first I laughed. Then I got a little irritated. I had no idea what was for dinner! It was 10:00 a.m. I hadn't even eaten lunch by then. And why did it become my responsibility to think and cook up what's for dinner?

After a couple weeks of this I made a decision to start planning our dinners. I started planning one week at a time. A few months later I felt like I was planning all the time because the weeks went by so quickly. I then moved to planning every two weeks then I went monthly. I've gone back and forth to planning twice a month and once a month. At this stage of our busy lives I now pdlan once a month. I also plan two weeks of meals and repeat each. We'll have the same foods on the same nights for two weeks in a row. We've been doing that for a month now and it suits us. We still get a varied menu but I'm not struggling to figure out what's for dinner.

There are some months when it is HARD to plan but I know we save money and I save my sanity come 4:00 p.m. when it's time to get things going. If you visit this blog weekly you'll find my menu plan for the week and the link to find other women who link up their families menu plans.

Do you menu plan? If so, how often?



Monday- Zuppa Toscana soup (tastes EXACTLY like Olive Garden's) and breadsticks

Tuesday- Lasagna (this one but modified a bit)

Wednesday- Daniel's french toast and bacon or eggs

Thursday- spaghetti lemon (I have their cookbook... it's my favorite!) with chicken breasts

Friday- leftovers from the week

Saturday- sandwiches and leftover soup

Sunday- lunch: pizza; dinner: leftovers

Hop on over to Organizing Junkie's site to find more great menu plans!

31 Days: My Day-to-Day

This month I'll be writing about our everyday lives; how we live life as a family and our everyday activities. Today I want to share with you how my day was on Friday. This isn't everyday, of course, but it's most days.

Friday, October 5, 2012

5:00 a.m. I wake up, get dressed to go running with my sister and make Naomi a bottle.

5:10 a.m. I walk down to meet my sister at our usual meeting spot, stretch, chat and take off.

5:15 a.m. We begin running and run for 25 minutes today.

5:45 a.m. I make my way back home and do some stretching.

6:00 a.m. Daniel leaves for work and I get a load of laundry started.

6:45 a.m. Naomi wakes up: diaper change, bottle and change into clothes.

6:50 a.m. I switch Nyla's old crib and give to Naomi.

7:00 a.m. Nyla wakes up; potty and change into clothes; start another load of laundry.

7:10 a.m. We read books and play in Nyla's room.

7:30 a.m. We head outside; my girls love to walk, write with sidewalk chalk and play basketball.

8:00 a.m. We have breakfast and talk(see my breakfast menu here).

8:30 a.m. Naomi takes a morning nap; Nyla and I read books, build towers, "cook" in her kitchen and she has independent time in her room.

9:00 a.m. Naomi wakes up and gets a diaper change; we play in the playroom and read books; we head outside for a few minutes and talk to our sweet neighbor Jean.

10:15 a.m. I fix lunch for the girls (I'm working on a lunch menu plan for us).

10:45 a.m. I try giving Naomi her bottle but as she's been doing all week, she refuses to take it; she gets put in bed.

11:00 a.m.  Nyla goes potty, we read a book in bed, sing and I rub her back, per her request. I tell her, "You can get down and play in her room but you have to be quiet and you have to stay in your room. When you get tired just climb back in bed and go night-night." She obeys and is asleep by 11:45.

11:10 a.m. I take a quick shower

11:20 a.m. HHGregg calls. The delivery men are 30 minutes away with my new appliances! I do a little blogging while I wait on them.

11:45 a.m. HHGregg delivery men arrive with our new stove/oven, microwave and dishwasher. Woohoo!

12:00 p.m. I have a little lunch and put my feet up.

12:15 p.m. Nyla wakes up from her nap. I think she heard the delivery men (they came in right by her room). She stays and plays in her room a little bit longer.

1:00 p.m. Nyla comes out to the den and we read and play together.

1:45 p.m. Naomi is up but is playing in her bed so I leave her.

2:15 p.m. I get Naomi up. She gets a diaper change, finally takes her bottle and we sit in the kitchen and have a snack.

3:00 p.m. We head outside again and wait for our neighbor Kynadi to get home. Nyla loves seeing her get off the bus and she always needs a hug from her.

3:30 p.m. Daddy is home! We are his welcoming committee outside and covered in chalk. :)

3:40 p.m. We head inside to get ready to go see Sir and Cookie (my parents). We're having dinner with them tonight since I have no oven/stove. Daniel takes the girls to the back while he changes. He plays the guitar and entertains them while I get their stuff together.

4:05 p.m. We head out the door for Sir and Cookie's house

4:30 p.m. Sir gets home and he has Buffalo Wild Wings (mom hosted a bridal luncheon and doesn't want to cook). We're all hungry so we eat. Yes, we like eating dinner early. After dinner we clean up the mess Naomi has made under the highchair. Cookie and Nyla head outside to throw nuts down the driveway. The boys turn on the Braves-Cardinals baseball game. Naomi crawls and does some walking while chewing on any toy she can find. Then Sir heads outside to throw nuts with Nyla.

6:00 p.m. We clean up the den, put diapers on the girls and their footy pajamas, gather our stuff and head home.

6:15 p.m. We drop off my mom's friends purse and bag of books she forgot at the bridal luncheon.

6:30 p.m. We're home. Daniel takes Naomi to the back to have a bottle. They read books and she gets put in bed.

6:50 p.m. Nyla goes potty, gets her diaper and pj's put back on and we get in bed to read a book and sing. I tell her what I told her before nap. She gets down but isn't down long. I peek in on her 10 minutes later and she's back up in bed getting herself to sleep. That 45 minute nap doesn't suit her so she's pretty tired.

7:15 p.m. I put another load of laundry in and get another one out. Daniel and I look at each other and say, "It's only 7:15?" We're not used to it being so dark outside. We have a snack, clean up the kitchen and watch TV.

8:15 p.m. I fall asleep on the couch after awhile and head to the back around 9:30. I immediately fall asleep and prepare for the next day.

And that was our Friday! I wonder why I'm so tired at the end of the day because I feel like I don't do much. Writing it out has helped me see I have my hands full. :)

I don't schedule our day out either. I've tried and I hated being tied to a certain schedule. I like to just see where the day takes us. We go to the park and do crafts other days. I like for Nyla to have independent time when Naomi naps in the morning and that usually happens but for the most part we aren't on a schedule. When the girls get a little older and we start doing certain things we'll have more of a schedule.

Do you find scheduling your day helps you gets stuff done or do you like to see where the day takes you?

Go here to visit many other blogs who are writing for all 31 days in October!

31 Days: Cookies for a Bridal Luncheon

Decorated sugar cookies for the luncheon

My mom and one of her good friends hosted a bridal luncheon yesterday morning. I volunteered to bake and decorate some cookies for them since they had their hands in so many other activities. Plus, I love baking and wanted to decorate some cookies since it's been so long. And my mom wanted one more little dessert for the plates and have a bag of two cookies for each person to take home.

I'm not sure what else to say about on this topic (my brain is fried from all the writing this week!) Since I planned on posting a few recipes during this 31 days writing I'll just link this to the recipe. It was a tasty sugar cookie that I think is best with the icing. You can just slather the icing on each cookie and not worry about it being pretty. They get gobbled up so quick anyways. :)

5-Ingredients Sugar Cookies and Simple Icing

Five-Minute Friday: Welcome

I also wrote a post for my 31 days for today. You can find it here. I LOVE 5-Minute Friday and had to write today. You get two posts because of it. :)

Welcome.

I want to welcome guests into my home and have them immediately feel comfortable. While I want my house to be warm and inviting I'm not looking for perfection. I know I struggle with having things "perfect" but over the last few years I've learned that I'm imperfect and there are some things I have to let go.

And my home is one of them. I like to have a picked up home, especially when people are coming over, but with two young children my house will never be completely picked up. And I've learned to deal with it. I'm not going to apologize for it either. I'm not going to feel bad that my house isn't all shiny and smells like fresh baked bread all the time. That's setting a standard I can NEVER live up to. Why even bother putting that kind of pressure on myself? It serves no purpose and I beat myself up if I don't live up to my too high standards. Pointless.

Welcoming my guests with open arms and an open heart are want I want to focus on. Do they feel comfortable coming in our home? Do they know they are welcome and loved here? That's what I want to display when welcoming guests. Love.


Go here to join the link up party for Five-Minute Friday.

31 Days: Moving to a "Big Girl" Bed

Last day in her crib. Eek!

It seems like yesterday I was carrying this girl in my belly. I could feel her kicks (which were constant, I worried when she didn't kick), she gave me heartburn, I had to pee all the time and my hips ached and ached when I slept at night. How is it possible that she's already big enough for her own big girl bed?

People always said, "Enjoy it, it goes by so quick." I shook my head and nodded even though I had no idea what they were talking about. I didn't understand until Nyla turned 1 month, then 2 months, then 1 year and now 2 years old. It does go by so fast!

Our sweet girl #1 is now she's 2 years and almost 3 months old and getting too tall for her crib. She's only got a few more inches until she outgrows the crib. Plus, she sleeps with 100 stuffed animals and I'm not sure where her little body actually sleeps. :)

Months ago I was out with my mom and we found the cutest fabric; it's bright, colorful and fun. I knew I wanted this to be the material in Nyla's room when she outgrew the baby stuff. My mom bought some and recovered a chair I had in her room and made her some better curtains (our girls like it pitch black in their rooms, they get that from their Daddy). A couple months later my mom called and said the fabric was on sale and asked if I want it for anything else in Nyla's room. My mom can sew and I thought maybe she could sew a bedskirt and pillow sham for the future big bed. She said she could and got enough to sew those two things. A couple months later we found a wood twin bed at one of the antique stores around here. I liked it and mom said she could paint it to any color I wanted. I thought it was cute and perfect for Nyla's first bed so mom picked that up as well.

Now after my mom's hard work painting the bed, fitting wood slats to go underneath the box springs, sewing and finding a coverlet we're ready to move our girl to a big girl bed.

She looks so small in her new big bed

The bed was a breeze to put together. The hardest thing was getting the bed rail fitted properly to the bed. After Daniel got that done Nyla helped put the sheets on and then jumped right up. She's been excited about it since we put together.

We laid in bed, read books, sang and did our usual routine. I told her that she could get down and play but she had to be quiet and she had to stay in her room. I shut the door and she got right down and started playing. I checked on her about 15 minutes later and her floor was covered in her kitchen toys but she was quiet in her bed. She obviously had a big time playing by herself and then climbed up and went to sleep. I hope this means she'll adjust just fine being in her big bed.

31 Days: When Recipes Go Wrong

A disaster

Four-cheese lasagna... it sounds good doesn't it? Melted cheeses with more cheese on top, layered in between spices and noodles. Yes, it sounded good to us too.

Last week when I was planning my dinner menu for October I came across this yummy sounding lasagna. I asked Daniel to tell me what he thought and he said he'd love for me to make it and us to try. So Monday after I dropped Nyla off at KDO and Naomi was taking her afternoon nap I set out to make the lasagna for the following night. The aroma's that were coming from my kitchen were AMAZING! The fresh cheeses, melted and spread all over the lasagna looked so good. And my kitchen smelled great all day which was an added bonus.

Fast-forward to Tuesday. The lasagna is cooked and resting for 15 minutes before we slice into it. Then the moment we've all been waiting for... I cut into it and the gooey cheeses ooze all over the plate and the smell is even more wonderful. Then Daniel takes a bite. And the look on his face is not one of pleasure. Uh oh! I take a bite and probably have the same exact expression. Blech! What in the world? There's a cheese that seems off. I immediately identify the culprit as the gorgonzola. I've had it in the past and wasn't a fan. The flavor is a bit too strong for me. I look to my right and Daniel to his left and Nyla is gobbling it up. What? The picky toddler who won't eat chicken eats this??? So we put on a happy face and start talking about what to do. Daniel suggests marinara sauce to help cut the strong flavor. It actually does help but we still don't finish it and both have a bowl of cereal. And yes, Nyla keeps eating it and Naomi had some bites too.

That's my adventure in the kitchen this week. While I'd say 85% of the time my recipes turn out and are very good there are a few recipes that I throw out immediately. Hey, it happens!

Are there any recipes that you were excited about that disappointed you?