Monday, November 30, 2009

sick kid update

Well the Kiddo stuck around 99.8 for several hours before finally popping up above 100, then it was about 101 so we gave him some Tylenol and tripled his 6pm dose of HC. Less then an hour later his fever started to break and he was back down to 98. Of course now that it's been 4 full hours since the Tylenol his fever is creeping back up, gave another dose and put him to bed. We'll see how he is in the morning.

We did cave and call the doc just to check. Doc said to triple his HC doses for the next three days and if he stays sick for very long to take him into the ped doc to make SURE what it is. I think that if we can keep his fever down okay we will skip the doc visit and just do the extra dosing. He hasn't been anywhere in the last week where he would have picked up anything scary so I am pretty sure it is just a cold.

Figured y'all would want an update.

Naps

I cannot remember the last time the Kiddo took a nap. It's been at least 6 months, if not a year. The only time he ever naps now days is when he is really sick*, otherwise it's go go go energizer bunny.

Well today, as mentioned in my previous post, I turned on some of my Christmas music. Some really pretty instrumental stuff. The kiddo, being the odd sort, curled himself up on the floor near the Christmas tree box and FELL ASLEEP!!!

* Edited to add: turns out he IS sick, as of 2:30pm low grade fever, 99.2 degrees.

Monday with a vengeance!

Today is Monday, and it let itself be known louder then most Mondays do. I awoke to the Man home when he should have been at work. I freaked... apparently his schedule has been changed AGAIN (the second time in as many weeks) and nobody could tell him where or when he is supposed to work today. So he went back to bed and to sleep (since he was up at 1 to cover a couple hours of somebody elses shift).

I, of course, could NOT go back to sleep... it's a bad month for him to be missing days of work due to somebody elses stupid scheduling issues.

The kiddo woke up at 8 and immediately wanted to eat.. that didn't work so well since he has to have his meds and wait an hour. He was NOT in a cooperating mood with the waiting to eat thing.

Then to top the morning off my computer got infected with some random malware... not a little one either but a super icky bad one. I think I got it cleaned off but I also shot an email off to the two computer guru's in my family hoping one of them can confirm it, or suggest what else I can do.

To kick this day in the pants I went ahead and started with Christmas decorations. I put lights up around the livingroom ceiling, and tinsel rope... lots of sparkly tinsel rope. I also put on a couple Christmas cd's. And to make up for this crabby posting I'm including a picture of the Kiddo from Thanksgiving day, he's waving hi at me while he looks at his cousin and asks her why she wont smile for me.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Kiddo woke up this morning obsessed with going to Arizona. I'm not really sure why. Anyway Happy Thanksgiving to everybody, especially my family. I love you guys and miss you more then usual today.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thankful

I am working on remembering the things I am thankful for today. Mostly because the Man will be working tomorrow (4 to midnight) and I'm facing a Thanksgiving with his family but without him.

So I'm trying to convince myself that Thanksgiving isn't about who you are with or what you are doing... I'm having a few issues with that. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because it IS the one that's the most about who you are with. There isn't anything commercial about it, no toys being bought, or candy or anything... just family and laughter and really good food. I miss my family the most on Thanksgiving, I miss how we tease each other and laugh and smile so much our mouths hurt. How we don't actually watch football, and the only time the tv really gets turned on is to play games. Everybody spends time with everybody and the only drama is right when the food is almost done and my mom is trying to make sure that everything finishes at the same time so it's all hot and fresh and the yummiest. Then there's 9 or more people crammed around a big table passing food and eating till they are so full they can't move.

Anyway I am thankful for my Kiddo, and my family, that I have heat and food and a warm comfortable bed. I am also very thankful for m&m's.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

daddy

The GI Joe I've had for at least 7 years has been renamed. The kiddo decided that Rico wasn't a good name for him, a better name would be Daddies name.

So I wonder, should I laugh or be concerned when the first thing he does with said action figure is suit him up and sit him down to play game boy. Oh and then, when I turned OFF the game boy (to try and save battery life because the Kiddo had gone into the other room to play) I got yelled at and told that the game needs to stay ON so daddy can play it!
*honestly the Man really doesn't play the thing that often. And when he does it's generally after the kiddo is is bed and it's solitaire!
**check the great trigger control GI Joe has! Keep you finger off the trigger till you're ready to pull it :)

A bit of spicy

I have found yet another recipe made with chicken that the Man will eat!! I really think a couple of you will like this one too, it is SO easy to make and would be good with chicken or turkey.

I'll admit that it really doesn't look like much but it's very good.
.........................................................................

Kings Ranch, Chicken
(serves 4-6)

In a small bowl take 3 cups leftover cold shredded or cubed roast chicken (if you don't have leftovers then buy a couple roasted chicken pieces from the grocery deli), toss with a tablespoon or two of lime juice or chicken broth from cooking to moisten. Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes while you mix the rest.

In large bowl mix:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 cup El Pinto Chipotle Salsa, mild, medium or hot, your choice (this has a great flavor).
3/4 cup sour cream
1 dash red pepper flakes (leave out if you like your food wimpy)
1 tablespoon Penzey's Chili 9000 chili powder (this stuff is the best)
2 cups tomatoes with green chili, with any liquid drained off

Tear or cut into 1 inch pieces:
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)

Measure out:
1 generous cup shredded Cheddar/Colby Jack cheese (about 4-5 ounces)

Place half the tortillas in a 2 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or VERY lightly greased. Stir chicken into soup mixture. Top the tortillas in the casserole with half of the soup/chicken mixture. Repeat layers, sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, until hot and bubbly (if cheese starts to overbrown, cover with foil the last 10 minutes).

Top with additional sour cream if you like. Serve with veggies and cornbread. Stand back.

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*note that it's really spicy, I actually prefer the taste of the salsa more then the chili powder so the next time I make it I'll cut back a little on the chili powder and the red pepper flakes.

*Also I want to layer a bit of cheese with that second layer of chicken mixture. The original recipe doesn't say to do that but I like cheese. Keep an eye on it, the cheese browns a little to quickly... it's best when it's gooey and stringy.


Monday, November 23, 2009

It's a 'small' issue

The Kiddo is almost five years old. I have to shake my head, seriously, in three months he will be 5!! Where did the time go? He is so small that quite often I forget that he's as old as he is... but one of these days real soon he'll probably start growing. Which brings me to my issue. Why the heck are beds so darn expensive?! The Kiddo has been sleeping in his crib since he was just about a year old.
Several years ago we took the side slats off but it's still a crib sized mattress in a crib sized space.
Either the bed is getting a little small or the kiddo is getting a little big. See the Kiddo doesn't sleep to well a lot of nights and my theory is that, because he is an active sleeper, when he rolls over he hits the side or bottom rails and wakes himself up. So the Man and I talked, and talked, and decided that he might just need a new bigger bed. So we went and asked the Mans mom if we could have back the full sized bed she gave us two years ago (we returned it when we moved into the apartment hoping to save space for awhile). She told us we could not have it again. So then I did pricing on beds and realized that in order to buy him one we'd have to pretty much sell the car! I guess he'll be struggling to sleep in a small bed for a little while longer.

Mondays

I'm tired, very tired... It must be Monday. The Kiddo is not tired, he never is. I'm half tempted to take a dose of his medicine just to see if it gives me some energy, but sanity still has control so I'm not going too.

I took a picture of the kiddo. This past weekend we bought a game for him to play on the mans game boy advance. Apparently they don't sell those things anymore (the game boy) so the games are getting clearanced out. It was a 5 dollar game and the peace and quiet it's brought me over the past several days has been more then worth the cost. The game is lightning mcqueen racing, basically all the kid has to do is hold down the a button and steer left or right.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Appitizing...

I've got a new recipe for y'all. You know how I like bacon!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

1/2 lb bacon cut in half
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Wrap 1/2 strip of bacon around each water chestnut and secure with toothpick. Combine ketchup and sugar in a small bowl and mix together; dip each wrapped water chestnut into this mixture.
3. Place water chestnuts in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish and bake covered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until bacon is crisp.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Oh my stars!

Apparently we had a meteor last night, well more correctly early early this morning. Codi mentioned it in a comment to my shooting stars post*. She and her husband were woken up by the boom.

I did a quick search and found a story on it via KSL. With video (a must see). How cool is that! A shooting star close enough to light up the sky? Apparently it's a rare event and I really wish I'd seen it, most people aren't actually awake shortly after 12am... but I sometimes am, and I was last night *sigh* :)

* I didn't actually get outside early enough on Tuesday to see the Leonid shower, the article says it wasn't very spectacular so I don't feel to guilty. I hope if any of you got up to see it you saw enough to make it worth it.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Kitchen stuff

I had a dream last night where I was trying to explain my my brother (spiderman) why I wanted a toaster oven for my kitchen. I was telling him that it was the best way to reheat leftover pizza because when you microwave pizza it just gets soggy and yuck.

That dream reminded me that I have yet to brag about my newest kitchen item. My mom bought it for me. She either loves me a lot, or she got tired of me saying every visit how much I wanted the dang thing. If I was a betting person I'd go with the latter.

The item is a can opener. I know, silly to get all goey over something as small as a can opener but I've had the same one since I moved out of her house over 10 years ago. It's a standard type, little grindy wheels that chop off the lid but leave the rim. I use a little papertowel and try to scrub the lid off before opening, sometimes if I have an extra clorox wipe I'll even use that. But still every time I open a can I get a nasty visual of rat poop on the top getting into the food on the inside.

Yesterday I made taco soup, that has always involved a good 5 cans worth of stuff dumped into a pot. 5 cans of rat poop neurosis. But yesterday, for the first time every I made the stuff without flinching! I cranked the little handle on my new can opener and popped the entire lid off each can. I dumped all the stuff into a pot and never once thought about a rat. It was a tad liberating. So if you haven't taken that tiny step into the 21st century yet the I have perfect can opener for you!!.. the Good Cook Quattro SafeCut can opener.

*pardon the little hand, the Kiddo saw me taking a picture and said "oh oh can I help, can I turn the thing to make the can open??" and reached in just as I was pressing the button.

More shooting stars

I usually try to post when I find out that there's a good Meteor shower coming up. Sadly I'm stuck in the middle of a city with way to many lights and never really get to see the shooting starts as I'd like. It makes me miss Flagstaff more and more every time.

This time I'm posting about the Leonid Meteor Shower that's happening tomorrow (Nov 17th). From what I gather you'll want to head outside in the wee hours of the morning – between 1 a.m. and dawn. So if any of you have obnoxious daily kiddo medication times (er like me) or dogs that wake you up randomly... or just feel a bit masochistic.. drag your butts outside and take a look at the sky, see if you can't see a few shooting stars to *wish on.
*My wish will be that someday I DON'T have a kiddo's medication time waking me up every single day before dawn. ugh

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Transformers

The Kiddo is obsessed with transformers. I knew it was only a matter of time, I'm kinda glad he held off until after Halloween or we'd probably have had to fight him on what costume he wore. He loves it, and of course his favorite character is Bumblebee. Though he is rather partial to IronSides too (hey it's a black truck, what's not to love?)

He watches the movie every day, he pretty much has all the lines memorized. Just to illustrate the point I took a picture this morning.

The Kiddo is standing next to the entertainment center. See at the start of the movie (the second movie) all the kitchen appliances get turned into robots and attack the people, then Sam (the main character) yells for bumblebee (who is in the garage in car form) to come help. The Kiddo is being Bumblebee, he is in the garage waiting and as soon as he hears Sam call will run out into the middle of the floor, 'transform' and help fight off the bad little robots. Nobody can ever accuse him of lacking in imagination... He stood there for about 7 minutes waiting. You can see his little right fist balled up (that's his gun).

Friday, November 13, 2009

updates for November

The Kiddo had his H1N1 shot this past Wednesday, 20 bucks!!. I'm not really a flu shots kind of person but with the new diagnoses (as I've mentioned before) we are getting the shots for him to be extra safe. The Kiddo handled the shot great, not even a flinch!! I am very proud of him. We go in for a booster in 4 weeks and will probably get the regular flu shot at the same time.

Yesterday we filled all the Kiddo's prescriptions. It was a very solid reminder on why we need to keep him on medical insurance. ouch.

We forgot the Kiddos crayons when we came home from our last trip south. Grannie is amazing though and mailed them to us. Yesterday the Kiddo set about drawing a picture. It is a car on a bridge with street lights, two people are in the car. I think it's actually pretty nicely done. I scanned it in so you all could see.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I like this

Just a little bit ago I came across a very short news blurb stating that to celebrate this year's Veterans Day, Applebee's is giving a free meal to those men and women who are either on active duty or veterans. To redeem the offer, anyone can just show their military identification or be dressed in uniform to receive the free meal.

I may just ask the Man if he feels like going out to dinner tonight...

Veterans Day

I did not want to forget to say Thank You to all the veterans I know, the Man, my brother, my friends (several) and many of the Mans good friends. I am honored to know them. I also thank all the veterans I don't know, who serve with just as much courage and integrity. Thank you for making this country what it is, for giving of yourselves and your lives for the freedom of others.



Tuesday, November 10, 2009

chicken

The Man usually doesn't like chicken. So, just because I'm lazy, I don't generally make it. But the Kiddo likes chicken and so do I (if it's done right) so I've decided to start making a few things and seeing if the Man will eat them.

Last night I tried my hand at Stuffed Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes. It was YUM, the Kiddo AND the Man liked it so it's staying in the recipe book. I think a few of you will like it too.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Serves 6

8 ounces cream cheese , softened
4 ounces goat cheese , softened
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes , drained, patted dry, and minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 clove garlic , minced
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), trimmed
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh bread crumbs

Lemon wedges (for serving)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Stir the cream cheese, goat cheese, tomatoes, thyme, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together until smooth.

2. Pound the chicken to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Pat dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Mound 1/4 cup of the cream cheese filling at the wider end of the chicken, form the cheese into a log, and then roll the chicken up. (You will have some leftover filling.)

3. Arrange the chicken rolls, seam-side down, about 1/2 inch apart in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish coated lightly with vegetable oil spray.

4. Mix any remaining cream cheese filling with the mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice, then brush the mixture over the tops and sides of the chicken. Toss the breadcrumbs with the butter, then press onto the tops and sides of the chicken rolls.

5. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the very center of the chicken rolls registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges.



Friday, November 6, 2009

drive through

I'm a little out of sorts, yesterdays Fort Hood shooting was something I (naively perhaps) never expected to happen. I wanted to spend today thinking about more positive things. Fortunately for me the kiddo obliged.

Hawk woman (whatever her name is) is a drive through speaker. The dog driving the shoe ordered bacon, smiley chicken nuggets, and ice cream. Sounds good to me!!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Halloween

I wont bore you with ALL the details, (since 90% of you were there *chuckle*) but I will say it was the most fun I've had celebrating Halloween since the Kiddo was born. He is old enough to understand and enjoy trick or treating, he was with nearly all his aunts and uncles and he got to go door to door with his favorite (new) step cousin!!!

We stayed up till midnight, and had maybe one piece of candy. My sisters husband made the best carne asada I've ever eaten, and I got to hang out with my siblings whome I love and miss a lot. Our family has always been close and it feels like we get closer the older we get... It's nice to feel like even though I'm in a different state 99% of the time, that 1% when I'm "home" near my parents and siblings I am still an important part of it all.

I think the kiddo has something to do with that but whatever the reason may be, I'll take it.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

home... again! :)

The Kiddo is not happy. He becomes happy the longer he is awake, but for the first hour or so of the last couple of days he's been a very unhappy little camper. Today there were tears, and sobs, and choked out hiccuped words that sounded something like "I want to fly back to grannie and arizona". I explained that I missed Grannie too but that it was time for us to be home in Utah for awhile. Then I plopped him in front of cartoons because I couldn't think of anything to say to make him feel better, especially when I feel a little sad about it all too. Moving to Utah is one of those things I would not have done if I could go back and redo it, but then look backwards never does help a person move forwards!

My sisters wedding was gorgeous. It was the most beautiful wedding I've been too. The sunset while she said her vows, the sand ceremony, the tables and the music. It feels so odd to have all us girls married now... ...

Thoughts...

Thoughts Become Things; Choose The Good Ones.