What the hell...spring break starts tomorrow!!!

Where is my partly cloudy 55 degree Washington weather???? Please come back! This is the second day of snow in late March, and it is NOT right!!! Spring break is next week, and we need our rain with sun breaks AND 55+ degree weather! Snow on March 28th does NOT make people around here happy and joyful like if it snows in December or January. Folks are a little crabby and COLD!
So, please, wonderful weather gods bring back spring. We promise to be nice to it.

number 185

It is Friday!

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?
Comfort and velvet- it is one of my favorite colors.

Soup
How many cousins do you have?
I think around 12 or more. Our family is so big and extended it is hard to figure out how one relative is related to who.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?
Usually around 9.5 or so - it really depends on the situation and moment.

Main Course
Name something that is truly free.
Your first love.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.
Singing puppies run in New Guinea.

oh what a day...

Each kid had a check-up with the pediatrician today.
Here is what we learned......
- Daria, who just finished her antibiotic today for her ear infection she had 10 days ago, STILL has an ear infection. This time BOTH ears are infected!!! Hooray! The doctor prescribed a stronger antibiotic, and she is suppose to take some cough syrup for her cough. Hopefully, the cough will clear up and the ears will get better. The funny thing is her ears have not been bothering her at all, but she did score one point below on the hearing test, which the doc said had to do with the infection. AND...she did not score well on the eye test, so she is off to the eye doctor in a couple of weeks for the first time. We knew that day was coming soon since Micah and I both wear glasses.
- Now, Bauer had 2 appointments today - pediatrician and kidney doctor. The pediatrician told us he no longer had an ear infection (yippee!), BUT he is wheezing when he breathes and needs to start treatment, so it does not develop into something horrible. The nurse showed us how to do the breathing treatments, and we were sent home with a new machine to play with every 4-6 hours. The doc said we need to do the treatments until he stops wheezing. Luckily, both kids go back to the doc to get ears and lungs checked out in about 10 days. I hope everything clears up by then because we need some serious 'good health' time.
The kidney doctor appointment went well. Nothing new to report and no new meds - that is surprising. His next visit is in 2 months, hopefully.
Spring break begins after tomorrow, so let the adventures begin!

on the mend

Good news: Bauer's ear infection has cleared up, but the poor boy still has a cold. His cough sounds so phelgmy. Luckily, both kids have a check-up on Thursday, so the doctor can check their ears and everything else out.
So far, Micah and I are feeling good. I have been taking emergen-c, which is something I have never taken before. One of my friends swears by it, so I decided to see if it can ward off those damn germs the kids like to sneeze, cough, and wipe all over me. I just started taking it yesterday, and it really does not taste too bad. I have been drinking my 2-4 cups a day, and it is nice to have a natural energy burst (that does not include caffeine) during the day.
As of today, I believe it is helping - but we will see what the next few days bring.

what the....

Guess what???
Both of Bauer's ear are infected.
Luckily, our doctor's office is open on Saturdays and Sundays, and that rocks.
The doc said both ears are very red inside.
Poor baby.
He was moaning all night last night and had a fever this morning.
We opted for the antibiotic one time shot (which also rocks).
So, hopefully by morning, he will be feeling better and the fever will be gone.
Tomorrow is his first Easter (not like he cares or knows), but I do not want his mother to miss Easter brunch.

Oh yeah, twice today - Daria nearly learned that the Easter bunny is her parents.
Incident one: she almost found the Easter gifts because she was trying to be helpful.
Incident two: well after she went to bed, and when Micah was eating the carrot she left out for the Easter bunny, and as I was putting the gifts in the baskets - she came downstairs to go potty! It was so close! I think she knew something was up, but we pulled it off somehow.

Happy Easter

We colored our eggs today.

They turned out pretty cool - if I do not say so myself.

Check out our cool colors....

Daria was impressed that I knew how to make purple and pink with food coloring.

It is great that I still can impress her.

let's feast again!!!

I love Friday Feast! I do not know why I have not participated in a while.

Well, here goes - enjoy!
Appetizer
Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Somedays, the country sounds like it would be heaven, but I do enjoy living near the city.

Soup
Who is the cutest kid you know?

It is a tie between:

and

Salad
Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

I couldn't believe it when I heard my dear friend's dad is dying of cancer, and that is why she will be coming to town soon.

Main Course
If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

I love Nature's Gate - just about all of their products.

Dessert
What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

a multi-vitamin and a B-complex vitamin

trying something new

Tried a new brownie recipe today.

It was the first brownie I have made using silken tofu.

They are called fudgy brownies, but they were more cake-like than fudgy.

Suprisingly, they turned out super yummy, and this will definitely be a recipe I will add and tweek in the future.

Okay, enough jibber-jabber - here are some photos and the super simple recipe.

Fudgy Brownies
8 oz. silken tofu, drained
1 1/2 cups plus 6 TBS. unbleached white flour
2/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour a 9 inch square baking pan.
2. In food processor, process tofu until pureed; in small saucepan, mix 1/3 cup flour with water until smooth; stir in pureed tofu until blended; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 3 min. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool completely.
3. Add sugar, vanilla and mix until well blended. In a small bowl, mix cocoa and oil. Then stir into tofu mixture; stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder until blended; scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake until top is dry and springs back lightly, about 25 minutes. Set pan on wire rack and let cool, then cut into bars.



Trying out different camera features here.

good-bye winter...

I hope when Spring shines it beautiful warm light on us tomorrow all the colds, pink eye, and ear infections will leave the freakin' house.
Spring is here.
Winter ailments gone.
Please.

It seems too early for bunnies and eggs

Like everyone else I talk to, Easter is coming way too early this year.
I cannot believe I have to buy Easter basket crap and boil and color eggs in the next few days.
To top it all off, my family still has not decided if we are doing brunch or dinner or who is attending for that matter.
It is Tuesday!
Easter is just a few short days away!
And I really do not care, BUT I have kids.
Actually, I have a 7 year old who is completely aware that Easter is THIS Sunday.
Happily, the 9 month old could care less.
In fact, we could celebrate it in April, and he would be happy with that.

This photo was taken before the pink eye outbreak.

eyes and ears

It seems like since we have a baby this school year Daria has brought home EVERY single virus possible AND shared it with the family.
Oh, how I love that girl....
Daria has pink eye AND and an ear infection!
Her ear was not even bothering her.
Now we are on 10 days of antibiotics that may or may not turn her poo red!
And guess what??
As soon as Daria and I returned from the doctor, Bauer's eye was weepy!
Luckily, I had the wisdom to ask the doc if I could use Daria's antibiotic eye drops for Bauer.
He said I could, so I did.
Hopefully, Daria's eyes will be better in the morning, and she can go off to school because the girl is not feeling the one bit sick.
Now, we are just hoping Micah and I are in the clear because I have no time for a sick husband (again) or a sick me.
And of course, both kids have their check-ups Friday morning, so no matter what we will be back at the doctor's this week.

just wanted some cookies

I realized I had 2 or 3 bottles of molasses, and I started craving some molasses cookies. I dug out one of my favorite recipes: molasses peanut butter cookies.

The only changes I made to the recipe was I used 1 cup of spelt flour and 1 cup of unbleached all-purpose, and I added 1/3 cup of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. This added a hint of chocolate to the cookie - doesn't chocolate make everything better??

Here is the final product:

Needless to say, they rock! And there are not many left in the cookie jar.

peanut butter + banana = french toast goodness

This was Friday night's dinner.
So simple.
So freakin' yummy.
Make this for breakfast, snack, and/or dinner.
Your family will luv you.

finally

For months and months, I have had a stack of pictures on my desk dating back to April of last year. A lot of photographic moments have happened since then, and the pile was driving me crazy just sitting there collecting dust.
Yesterday, I decided I was going to conquer that pile, and get every single picture in the house either in a frame or an album. And the only reason this giant task was possible was because Daria was at my parents house. And Bauer, thankfully, cannot get things off the kitchen table yet. Well, by bedtime last night, I had all the pictures divided by months AND every photo was labeled and dated. That was just half the battle.
Today, I finished. I am proud to say that all photos put away. There is an empty spot on my desk, and looking at it makes me smile.

spring ahead in winter??

It is too early to loose that priceless hour of sleep.
I am not ready!
Why did they change it?
Is it worth it when the temperatures are still winter-ish??
The big question is...will Bauer sleep an extra hour Sunday morning??

how cute is this...

8 1/2 months and counting....

oh fellow cat lovers, we have all be there...

Simon's Cat ROCKS!