I'm going under the knife...

While everyone else will be enjoying barbecues, family vacations, and trips to the beach this summer, I will be laid up in bed catching up on Dexter and the new season of Orange is the New Black. That's right, I am getting my tonsils removed.

After having recurrent strep throat several times a year since childhood, my doctors have recommended I go through with a tonsillectomy. Although strep throat has never been enjoyable, in the past I was able to fight through, take my antibiotics, and bounce back relatively quickly. Until the last couple of years. Now my fevers are higher, my throat is more painful, and the antibiotics take longer to work. Not only that but it takes me a couple of weeks to get back to normal. Now that I have children and a husband that is never home, it's not really possible to rest and sleep it off. Plus I am, ahem, getting more mature (I refuse to say "older"). So instead of suffering with strep four times a year, I am opting to put an end to it once and for all.
I had my consult with my ENT doctor in April. He checked me out, read my history and highly recommended I have the procedure done. But the first words out of his mouth made me seriously reconsider. He said "You ARE going to regret having this surgery." He proceeded to tell me it will be "the most painful experience of your life." Additionally, my husband would have to be with me at all times for a minimum of two weeks. I love my husband but I also like my space, so the idea of having James by my side (while I am in pain) doesn't hold much appeal. The consult didn't go how I expected at all. I mean, I have no pain tolerance and I was not expecting such a long recovery. He told me we would schedule the procedure and to go home and do some research. So that's what I did.

The first thing I did was watch a YouTube video of a tonsillectomy being preformed. Huuuuuge mistake. I almost called the office then and there to cancel my surgery. I kept on reading and found many blogs and websites devoted to providing information for adults undergoing a tonsillectomy. Recovery for children and adults is completely different. For some reason, children are able to bounce back in a shorter period of time. The recovery time for adults is about four weeks. That sounds like ages to a busy mom.
So I decided to compile a list based on my research. I am hopeful that this will help me to prepare and not be so overwhelmed when I return home from the surgery.

1. Stop watching the tonsillectomy video (I just can't help it!)
2. Start eating super clean and really focus on my fitness. I'm convinced it will shorten my recovery time.
3. Stock up on soft foods and smoothie ingredients, including plenty of ice.
4. Prepare my bedroom. I will be spending a lot of time in there, so I want to be as comfortable as possible.
5. Make a list of shows and movies to catch up on.
6. Get together some reading material.
7. Make a list for my husband. I'm not really sure how he will handle taking care of the household, dogs and kids and I want things to run smoothly.
8. Make some meals for the freezer so my family doesn't starve (lol).
9. Come up with activities for the kids to do.

And that's pretty much the plan. June 27 is the big day. I'm hoping I will at least be able to catch the fireworks on the Fourth. This girl will certainly be ready for some fun!

Boys will be boys?

Having a rebellious child can be both frustrating and scary. Brady entered the world with eyes wide open and ready to explore. He was crawling at 5 months, walking at 10 months, and escaping his crib before his 18-month birthday.

He has always been into everything. In fact, I don’t believe he has sat still for more than 10 minutes at a time his whole life (with the exception of riding in the car.) Due to his activeness, it is difficult to take him anywhere fun. Restaurants are out, because of his inability to sit still. I remember a time when he got up from the booth and left the table with the booster seat still attached to his bottom.  

Going to the store has always been a nightmare. He screams at the top of his lungs when he doesn’t get what he wants. He once, unbeknownst to me, left a trail of Goldfish down every single aisle in the grocery store because I wouldn’t buy cookies. Thinking if he was allowed to drive the “car cart” at Food Lion he would behave, I gave it a try when he was 4. It wasn’t until I was on the other side of the store that I realized he had escaped the bottom of the cart and was running around like a wild man. Talk about scary!

His potty mouth was another issue. In June 2012 I took him to Belk to choose a bridal gift for a friend. He pitched the biggest fit of his life over a Cars toy. I got the “control your kid!” stares from every person we walked past. He then proceeded to tell the cashier she was a “dookie head.” I haven’t been back to Belk and I haven’t taken Brady anywhere alone since.

Defiance also encompasses his stubbornness and fearlessness. If he is told he cannot have a treat, he climbs the counter and gets what he wants. I walked into the kitchen a few days ago and he had made himself an ice cream sundae that was bigger than him. He has no fear- when he was 2 he climbed a stack of moving boxes and said “Look mom, I can touch the ceiling!” I recently walked in on him “tightrope walking” around the ledge of his sisters crib. There have been countless trips to the ER and Urgent Care, not to mention the body cast he was in at age 3.

My husband proclaimed time and again that our son is just a boy being a boy. I have reluctantly agreed. Funny thing is, his defiant behavior only occurs around and towards me most of the time. I secretly believe that he blames me for his dad being gone so often. Being a military family can have many effects on children. It is part of the life and I am sure we will see more examples of this the more dad is gone and the more we move. And in case you are wondering, we do implement time outs and there are consequences for unacceptable behavior. We do not just “allow” him to do these things.

Brady is five years old now, and will be entering kindergarten in the fall and things have not improved much. I have been in tears more days than I can count out of worry and frustration. I have been scared to death that he will run out in a parking lot or simply leave the house and wander off (he’s done both-  we have child locks but he knows how to work them all). He is a night owl and will stay up until 11:00. There are many nights I have fallen asleep (while waiting for him to go to sleep) and awoken in terror that he had hurt himself or got into something. His behavior, while slightly improving, is still questionable and the number one problem is this: he is still not fully potty trained.

Brady’s toilet training became delayed when he was in his body cast for 6 weeks. It took him a year to relearn habits and be able to pee-pee in the toilet. This only came with the help of his teachers. At his 4 year old check-up I expressed concern to his doctor that he was still having bowel movements in his underpants. The doctor told us everything I had already tried and didn’t seem concerned. I hear too many stories about forced potty training and didn’t want to push it. A year later, he was still having accidents every day. These weren’t just small accidents and the child was and is petrified to sit on the potty! Screaming at the top of his lungs that he was scared he was “going to be killed” is heart-wrenching to a parent. Here are some things we tried:

1. Sticker charts

2. Choosing own underpants

3. Using the baby potty, picking out his own toilet seat, and using the big potty

4. Forcing him to sit on the toilet

5. Ignoring the toilet and quietly cleaning away the mess

6. Ordering parenting books and children’s story-books about being afraid to poop

7. Using Metamucil and fiber gummies

8. Prizes

At his 5 year old check-up the doctor seemed concerned enough to refer him to a developmental pediatrician. My husband freaked and was very concerned they would diagnose him with something and recommend medicine. We were nervous about that, but agreed it was time to get to the bottom of some things. Regardless of the outcome, we needed help. There are so many awesome parents of children with developmental delays, and I knew we would be able to handle whatever was to come our way.

Today was Brady’s appointment and he did fabulously. We had to go out of town to meet with a specialist and she was great. We filled out lots of paperwork and Brady underwent lots of tests and exercises, including tests to determine autism, oppositional defiance disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD and others. This was obviously a little nerve-wracking and I felt I would be blamed for his behavior. Before I became a mom, I constantly judged other parents. Now that I am the mom of a spirited child, the shoe is on the other foot. Fortunately, it turned out that none of our fears came true.

He actually scored well above average on his testing. The doctor explained that he is very intelligent (which I already knew J) He does have large tonsils (as do I-I’m getting a tonsillectomy in June- yikes!)and grinds his teeth. The doctor seemed to believe it is interfering with his sleep and causing some of his behavior. He does have separation anxiety, but I already knew that as well. He has borderline ADHD and shows borderline defiant behavior. Other than that he is a perfectly “normal” little boy who needs some more structure in his routine. I was given books and information to read over and was encouraged to set up an appointment with a counselor to discuss Brady’s toilet habits and his behavior towards me. We are scheduled to return for a follow-up visit in a couple of months.

As for now, I plan to follow doctor’s orders and work hard on establishing a better routine for the kids. I plan to implement the tips and suggestions given to us and read the recommended books. If it takes counseling for Brady to work out his feelings regarding toilet training, I am fine with that. The purpose of this post is NOT to make my son look bad, embarrass him, or share our private information. This is solely to give parents the courage to seek help for their children if they feel it is needed. Parents tend to stress about potty training and I want them to know if it is accomplished by the time your child is 2, that’s great. But if your child is still struggling at age 4 or 5, that’s ok too. I have a hard time envisioning my son still pooping his pants in 5^th grade. If he is, that will certainly warrant another blog post. Embrace your children’s differences and never be afraid to ask for help! 

Tiny Techies

It started when Brady was 2. I joined the rest of the world and traded in my old flip phone for an iPhone. I didn't care for it at the time, but once I figured out how to navigate it I downloaded Angry Birds. The second Brady saw Angry Birds he was entranced. The child wanted my phone ALL the time. I let him carry it around thinking it was cute. No one could have a phone out around him without him completely taking it over. He watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on repeat every time I had to take him grocery shopping. We literally could not leave the house without that phone. Somehow, it survived 2 years in his grips without breaking.
When he was 3, I received a Kindle Fire for Mothers' Day. I hid it from him for a week or so because I knew what would happen. Sure enough he found it and I have not read a book on it to this day. This went on, and my father received a tablet for work. Brady wanted to go see Grandma and Pa Pa every weekend just so he could play games on that tablet. One low point was when Brady downloaded a $19.99 bowling game on my credit card. I knew I had to be more careful about parental controls. He had also figured out how to watch videos on YouTube. I then blocked the internet.
I purchased him an InnoTab tablet just for kids. I was so excited when I first saw the commercial! Finally, a tablet for kids! My son isn't the only one! He took one look at it on Christmas morning and decided it was for babies. It didn't have "hi-fly" (wi-fi) and you couldn't play any game you wanted. The touch screen wasn't advanced enough for him. So the thing sits in a drawer in his room while he continues to use anything else he can get his little hands on. Don't get me wrong- he still did normal little boy things. He played sports and did art and liked to help cook. But he had a serious technology addiction.
When Cecilia was born, he was getting bored of the games on the iPhone and Kindle. He had played pretty much every free game for kids, and some paid ones that he HAD to have. He saw a commercial on Nick Jr. for online games and activities. The commercial said "have a parent log on to nickjr.com and check out games from your favorite shows." The next thing I know, Brady was playing a Bubble Guppies game on the computer. How he figured out how to operate my laptop (and the fact that he had carried it around) was sort of unsettling. I knew my son was smart, but he had just turned 4 years old. I never even saw a computer until I was in middle school.
I remembered I had an old Nintendo DS from when I was younger. I was desperate to keep him busy since I was busy with the new baby. I also wanted my phone, computer, and Kindle back. So I charged up the Nintendo and popped Super Mario Brothers in. It was love at first sight. He had the whole game practically beaten in a week. We went on a vacation in the mountains when James returned from Afghanistan. The cabin we stayed at had a Wii. I begged James not to let him see it. We waited until the last night in the cabin to show it to him. If he had seen it earlier, we wouldn't have done any of the activities I had planned. It was amazing. He figured it out immediately. He kept beating James in boxing and bowling. I thought his dad was letting him win, but he wasn't. Brady was even able to beat the computer within a few minutes. He didn't want to leave the Wii and I told him the only Wii was at that cabin in the mountains.
Against my wishes and better judgement, my mother and James decided he needed a Wii for Christmas. On Christmas morning, Brady acted like I would if I saw a new car in the driveway. Unfortunately, my misgivings about him getting the Wii all proved true. He didn't want to stop playing. Ever. It caused many tears and arguments and even some threats to take it away. Finally, 3 weeks after Christmas, the "new" has started to wear off and there are a couple of days where he hasn't played at all.
About 2 weeks ago, my 13 month old Cecilia started saying "Moni." I thought it was some cute new nickname for me. But she was getting frustrated that I didn't understand. She became increasingly angry and would scream and thrash when we got in the car. It happened every time we dropped Brady off at school. I finally saw what she was grabbing for. The Nintendo DS. She was saying "Mario." My sweet little baby girl's third word was "Mario." I gave her the game and she immediately relaxed and began pushing the buttons. She had already loved playing with my iPhone, and her tiny fingers knew to scroll through the pictures, and type letters under 'Notes."

The same thing is beginning again. I know now is the time to set the rules. But I have to ask myself, is it really that bad? I wish I knew more about technology. It is embarrassing when my 4 year old gets annoyed when I can't figure something out on the Wii or my phone and says "Mom, just give it to me. I'll just do it." I don't know where they get it from. James doesn't play video games, or even use the computer unless it is work related. And I am completely clueless when it comes to all things technology related. I won't even say how long it took me to figure out this blog thing. So, again, is it wrong that they learn at an early age? Is it best to allow it but set more limits? Will it help them in the future? Maybe I struggle with this because I was growing up just as the internet was becoming a household phenomenon. It has changed so much in the past 20 years. How much more advanced will it be in another 20 years? Will it hold my children back if I don't let them continue to learn? I just don't know at this point. Maybe I'll ask Google.

This and That

This week I continued experimenting with my KitchenAid stand mixer. It has to be the best Christmas gift I have ever received. I use the thing almost every day. Sampling all these delicious breads and baked goods, however, had me questioning myself. As good as they taste, all these delectable carbs can't be good for the waistline. My husband asks "What's the problem? Don't you enjoy baking? Don't you like the homemade goodness of fresh baked breads?" Of course I do. But I'm not my husband. I don't run 5 miles a day and do pull-ups for fun! So I decided it was time to start giving away my tasty creations. Immediately, I knew what to do: send them in for the Marines! It's win-win. I can keep baking and they can eat it. I can have my cake and (not) eat it too.
First, I made bagels. We love bagels around here, and I thought I'd try the famous Peter Reinhart's recipe for the perfect bagel. They were a lot more work than I thought. The results, however, were divine!

These babies were too tough for my mixer to knead. James had to do the kneading since my carpal tunnel couldn't handle it. I decided on cinnamon raisin (my favorite) and sesame seed (his favorite.) Here, they are ready to do a slow overnight rise in the fridge. 

The next morning, they were ready to boil. Who knew bagels were boiled? Not me! After being boiled they were baked on high heat for about 8 minutes. 

Here they are cooling. Once again, I am by no means a professional, but these bagels rivaled any bagel I've ever had from Dunkin Donuts! 

Later that night, we decided on homemade pizza for dinner. We had lots of cheese and random toppings left over from Christmas and New Year's snacks and wanted to use them up. The pizza dough was pretty straightforward; the recipe came from the KitchenAid users manual. Below is the finished product: 

I prefer a thin crust pizza, but this was good nonetheless! 

I wanted to try a couple of other recipes and decided to send those in for the Marines. First I made a yummy cinnamon swirl bread. 

I think I should have rolled the loaves a little tighter, but hopefully the mistakes were mild imperfections only I would notice. 

I wanted to make bagels again, but didn't have the stamina to knead that crazy dough, so I went with English Muffins instead. They were pretty fun to make, and had a relatively short rise time. 

Once again I learned something new. English muffins are grilled prior to baking! I used my nifty new griddler to grill them all at once. The dough balls magically flatten out and start to look like English muffins! After grilling, they are baked to finish cooking the centers. 

I made plain and cranberry-orange. 

I put the goodies into bags, and loaded up a basket for James to share with his fellow Marines:

The basket was a hit! There were no leftovers :) 

All in all, it was a successful baking week. I took a break and only made blueberry muffins this weekend. I had some fresh organic blueberries from Backyard Produce that I needed to use up and whipped up a small batch of muffins today. Luckily, Cecilia and Brady enjoyed them. I feel much better feeding them homemade wheat muffins, as opposed to the unhealthy (yet delicious!) Entenmann's muffins. 

Next week I will probably make a couple of loaves for practice and take them to my moms work. I think the most important thing with any craft is to keep practicing. 

In other news: 

Walter is still here! He's a keeper. He loves it here and is fitting in just fine. 

We had a little cabin fever today and escaped to Chick-fil-a. Brady and Sis had a blast. Then we went to Books-a-Million and Pet Smart to get some new toys for the pups. 

Tomorrow morning, James heads off to Alaska. He isn't excited about leaving 70 degrees for 0 degrees, and I'm not excited about him already leaving again. On the bright side, at least he will still be in the US! At least I have my KitchenAid to keep me company :) 

Bread Baking: My First Week

I never spent much time in the kitchen until I got married in 2006. At that point, I could not even fry an egg. Over the next few years I improved and learned a few basic kitchen skills. When I had my first baby, I vowed to prepare healthier foods for the good of my family. I began preparing dishes containing more fresh herbs and veggies, different grains, and more lean fish. I didn't do much baking with the exception of cookies and brownies. 

Over the past year, my son Brady expressed an interest in helping out in the kitchen and he really started to enjoy baking. We made such a mess and my little hand mixer couldn't stand up to our baking frenzies. When fall rolled around I decided I would ask Santa Claus for a KitchenAid stand mixer. I had to remind Santa of this several times, but low and behold there was a giant box under the Christmas tree with my name on it. I took my new mixer out of the box the very next day and read the entire instruction manual. There was a section on breads and the process of bread baking really seemed interesting. I have made plenty of banana breads and other quick breads but I decided I wanted to make real bread, like the artisan bread you buy for $4.99 at Harris Teeter. So I stocked up on some supplies and started with a basic wheat loaf: 

Whole wheat loaf: Perfect for sandwiches or toast. 

Next, I decided to try my hand at some pretzels, because they looked so fun to make. They aren't picture perfect, I'll need some more practice with shaping.

I made jalapeno-cheddar, salted, and cinnamon sugar. Yum!

I wanted to try a buttery, garlicky, rustic bread next. I found this one on Pinterest. This was so good we ate one loaf the first night! 

Rosemary garlic bread. No kneading required on this one! 

My most recent project was ciabatta. I love salty breads with chewy crust and a nice crumb (those big holes on the inside of the bread.) It took a lot of mixing and proofing (rising time) but I think it came out wonderfully for my first try. 

The loaves on a couche, ready for proofing.

The final product, with a view of a couple of large hole structures.

I know my breads are far from perfect, but I have never gotten so much enjoyment out of baking. The science of the flour, yeast, salt and water coming together to form bread is nothing short of amazing. Kneading and shaping the dough into loaves is so relaxing, and watching the dough rise and double in size over the span of the day gives me a sense of accomplishment. Knowing I can make fresh bread for my family, for very little money, makes me happy. Also, I know what goes into the dough and it is not artificial flavors, ingredients, or preservatives.  

I'm not sure if this is a passing interest, or will turn into a lifetime love of bread baking, but I am having a blast learning and experimenting. Don't be afraid of trying, I promise your family will be happy you did! 

A Christmas Visitor

This was one of the best Christmases I have ever had. Being surrounded by my family and watching my children's bright eyed wonder filled my heart with happiness. To me, togetherness is an important part of celebrating the birth of Jesus. We spent the day laughing, telling stories, opening gifts and eating too much delicious food. It was a perfect celebration.
The day before Christmas Eve, my mother, who works at a veterinary hospital, called to tell me about a little dog that was abandoned and in bad shape. We are big animal lovers, and she was thinking of bringing him home with her. He desperately needed a good grooming as his fur was completely matted. The groomer had to shave him and the veterinarians looked him over. He seemed to be healthy and they estimated his age to be 1 year. My mom couldn't resist and ended up taking him home for a trial. She brought him over to my house for a visit that night and it was love at first sight. He went home with her and she brought him over again on Christmas Eve.

I have never seen my son so delighted. We already have two dogs and they didn't mind him at all. We decided to call him Walter. He spent the day rolling around on the floor with Brady, getting passed around by the family and being completely spoiled. My husband told me not to get any ideas; we would not be getting a third dog. Well, after Brady begged and pleaded, and I accused James of being a Grinch, Walter ended up spending the night at our house. The next day James reiterated that it would not be logical to adopt Walter. What about the extra vet bills? The grooming expenses? Having another dog to board in the kennel when we go out of town? Taking another dog out to be walked? We all gave James puppy eyes and Walter spent Christmas night with us as well.
He is fitting right in and has made himself completely at home. I see James holding and cuddling Walter when he doesn't think I am looking. I can tell he would love to keep him. The little guy hasn't had any accidents, destroyed any shoes or furniture, and hasn't even barked once. He is a perfect little gentleman. James put his foot down though, and Walter will not be spending tonight with us. He will go to my moms house, where he will continue to be spoiled. I don't know if he will come back here. I have worked some magic in the past, but James is pretty firm on this one, and in my heart I feel that he is probably right. But I think God sent this little guy to be in our lives, even if it was only for Christmas. I have no doubt that he will be just as happy at my parents home and we will still get to see him often. I am just happy for the time we had with him and I hope he wasn't the only abandoned pup to find a special home for the holidays.

(Almost) 48-Hour Cleanse

I don't know what it is about Dr. Oz, but I love him. He always has great recipes, an interesting show, and good advice when it comes to health matters. I finished (kind of) his 48 hour cleanse this past weekend. Here is a link to his website which contains the information on the cleanse:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/48-hour-weekend-cleanse
The premise behind the cleanse is not weight loss, but to detox the body's main organs. Reviewers of the plan promised that while not easy, they felt revitalized at the conclusion of the cleanse. It sounded exactly like what I needed.
The website provides a shopping list for the 48 hours of meals and snacks. I use the term "meals" loosely. It was more like liquids and snacks. It is advised that you read through the list instead of purchasing everything, because there are different options for juices and smoothies, and you may not need all the ingredients.
I am not a big breakfast eater (I know, I know) so I skipped the breakfast the first day. Lunch was a blueberry smoothie, which I found rather tasty. Dinner called for cabbage soup with a side of applies and sauerkraut. I don't care for sauerkraut so I just had the soup with apples. I did modify the soup a bit; I was pretty hungry by this point, so I did add barley, a couple of potatoes, and a can of northern beans. It made it a bit heartier and I was full. In addition to the smoothie and soup, I prepared the pineapple and pomegranate detox juice. I loved the juice and will probably make it again. It would also make a great base for a cocktail ;) The first day was a cinch.
The second day I woke up hungry. The breakfast is a quinoa dish. I love quinoa but I didn't have any so I had oatmeal instead. I made another batch of the pineapple juice drink and sipped on that throughout the day. I prepared another smoothie for lunch. Dr. Oz says you can eat cut veggies (green beans, radishes, and cucumber) as often as you would like so I made a little veggie plate and had that in the afternoon. By evening, I was feeling a little lightheaded and tired. We took the kids for a ride to look at Christmas lights. All the lights made me dizzy and James declared he wanted a pizza instead of cabbage soup for dinner. In my weakened state, I agreed that pizza was just what the doctor ordered. Not Dr. Oz, of course.
So I almost made it. I did, however, feel very refreshed the next day and even made another smoothie. I noticed my tummy was a little flatter and I probably lost a pound or two of water weight.
I think this is a great cleanse and I liked that it actually had some food instead of just liquids. I would like to try this again in a couple of months, but next time I will definitely be eating the quinoa breakfast and more cut veggies throughout the day. Even though I didn't complete the whole 48 hours, I would still consider this another Dr. Oz success story.