Bad Mama

The boys had their well baby checkups this morning and I feel like the worst mother in the world. While their heights and weights were fine, it turns out that Evan has an ear infection. After his screaming fits last week, I told Ryan I thought he might have one, but we kind of shrugged it off since we knew he'd be going in today for his checkup. So who knows how long the poor little guy has been in pain. He hasn't had a fever and hasn't been pulling at his ears and short of learning how to use an otoscope, I don't know what else we could have done. He'll start an antibiotic this evening and hopefully that, along with the acetaminophen for his shots-related fever, will keep him comfortable until it clears up.

As for their statistics, once again we were reminded that our children are not going to grow up to be linebackers.

Liam - 32 inches tall (5th percentile), 25.7 pounds (25th percentile), BMI in 75th percentile
Evan - 26.5 inches tall/long (50th percentile), 15 lbs, 10 ounces (25th percentile)

Both boys got shots and while they both cried, amazingly, I did not. That's a first, for sure. Maybe I'm finally toughening up a bit.

The pediatrician did warn us that if Liam has another ear infection then she'd like us to consult with an ENT. I was hoping to avoid the whole "tubes" thing, but if makes him more comfortable, then we'll have to seriously consider it. Unfortunately, I think Evan is on the same path seeing as he's had three ear infections in the last six months so it looks like at least one of our boys will have to have something done.

Anyway, considering all the things that can wrong in such tiny bodies, we are very lucky to have such healthy kids. Heaven knows there are worse things than ear infections and short statures.

The Ick Factor

I've cooked thousands of dinners for our family over the years (seriously - we've been married almost eight years and I cook six nights out of every seven) and we've had chicken as our main source of protein for probably one-third of those meals. Not just any chicken, mind you, but boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I use them for everything from grilled chicken to baked chicken to casseroles. That's a lot of chicken. And a lot of money. And just like everyone else these days, we've been looking for ways to cut back on our grocery bill so the days of using expensive chicken breasts three times a week are over.

So in the spirit of pinching grocery pennies, I cooked not one, but two whole chickens for the very first time yesterday. I'd found whole chickens on sale at our local grocery store (2 chickens for $8) and used probably $3 of lemons, herbs and spices. Our little herb garden came in handy for this recipe that saw on Oprah a few weeks ago so that saved us even more. And while I was thrilled that I could save money by cooking whole chickens, I was not so thrilled with the process.

I thawed the frozen chickens. Very easy, not messy at all. So far, so good.
I opened the packages and rinsed the outside of the chickens. Very easy, a bit messy. Still so far, so good.
I put my hand inside a chicken to pull out the innards. And this is where I lost it.

With a pile of gizzards, necks and who knows what else piled in the dish I'd used for defrosting, I slowly slunk down and away from the cabinet leaving my hands over the sink and put my head as close to my knees as possible. My gag reflex was working overtime and I was certain that my lunch was going to make a reappearance. Sydney came running to see what was wrong and then ran to get Ryan who finished cleaning out the chickens and patted them dry.

While Ryan laughed his head off, I composed myself long enough to use a pair of forks to stuff the birds with lemon rinds and herbs. And while I'm sure it was not the fastest or most efficient way of doing it, using one fork to lift the chicken's tail area (I think that's what it was) and the other to stuff the flavorings into the smelly cavity worked quite well for me and my gag reflex. I poured the marinade on top, covered them with foil and shoved them in the oven.

They came out quite juicy and tasty and those two birds supplied us with enough meat for four meals. We had roasted chicken with vegetables last night and this week I'll be making chicken enchiladas, chicken pot pie and depending on the weather, perhaps chicken and dumplings.

On the upside, we saved quite a bit of money: we got at least sixteen servings of chicken for about $11.

On the downside, there's a huge ick factor involved: I don't think I'll ever get the image of the innards or the smell of the inside of a chicken out of my head. And despite the money we saved, I don't know if I can go through the process again.

But, since Ryan didn't seem to be bothered by it (apparently that's one advantage to growing up in a family that hunts for its meat), I think I'll just make him do it from now on.

After all, I've cooked enough meals - it's his turn.

Christmas Card Sneak Peek

We finally took the kids to have their pictures taken professionally after my attempts did not turn out so well. We went to Portrait Innovations at the suggestion of Allie at Adventures in Imperfection (thanks, Allie!) and they turned out really well. Here's a sneak peek at our seemingly well behaved children:








So if you get a Christmas card from us, you're most likely going to see one of these pictures. Hope I didn't ruin it for you. :)

Fun Fact Friday

I'm running short on ideas for posts today, so I'll have to fall back on the old Friday standby: fun facts.

1. The kids got a ton of Halloween candy and are only allowed to eat a piece or two each day. It's been 14 days since Halloween and it's almost all gone. Oops.

2. My dream car is an Audi TT with no car seats in the back.

3. I'm cooking a whole chicken for the very first time tomorrow (we usually just eat chicken breasts). Keep your fingers crossed.

4. There is a lady down the street who has introduced herself to me twice and I cannot for the life of me remember her name. I'm usually good with names so I'm pretty embarrassed to have to ask her again.

5. The boys have their well baby checkups next Monday and I have to take them by myself. Both of them are scheduled to get shots. What was I thinking?

Thankful Thursday

Seeing as it is November and the month is dominated by Thanksgiving, I thought that I would devote the next few Thursdays to thinking about what I'm grateful for.

I am, of course, grateful for my family, health, comfortable home and plenty of food to eat. But on the lighter side, I'm also thankful for:

* red toenail polish.
* the seat warmers in my van.
* the DVR that lets me revisit great shows like "The West Wing" and "Malcolm in the Middle".
* jeans that fit "just right."
* underwear that fits "just right."
* seeing my kids' faces light up when they open gifts.
* my little herb garden.
* finding awesome new recipes to try.
* scented bubble bath.
* finding the perfect stocking stuffers.
* Ryan who lets me steal sips of his Coke.
* Sydney who lets me experiment on her hair.
* Liam who hugs me ten times a day.
* Evan who giggles when I make funny noises.

What non-serious things are you grateful for?

Amazed

Would you believe that I have become an expert on mommy type issues? Yeah, me either.

But the other moms in our little Wednesday singing group at church seem to think that I have all the answers for baby/toddler problems. Once they found out that I had three kids (they only see Liam and Evan since Sydney is in school), I have been bombarded with questions:

"Where did you get that pacifier clip?"
"How do you get green bean stains off of a baby-sized collar?"
"Is separation anxiety at 6 months normal?"
"How did you get him to sit up by himself?"
"Where did you get that snack carrier?"
"How do you get him to be so friendly?"
"How do you go to the bathroom with a toddler and an infant?"
"When do you eat?"
"How do you do it all?"

I answer as many questions as I can, but some of them stump me, like the "How do you do it all?" one. I usually just say, "One day at a time," and they laugh, but I seriously don't know what to tell them. And when I'm answering something easy, like the green beans on the collar question, I want to shout, "If only you knew how incapable I am of getting my baby to sleep through the night!" But I don't shout that because it would scare the babies and more importantly, I don't want to shatter their image of me. :)

I'm amazed that in their eyes, I am the expert. Would they still think this if they saw me bribe Liam with a cup of juice or snap at Sydney because her room is a mess? Probably not. Would they still think I'm a Super Mom (I have visions of a woman in "mom jeans" with a spit-up covered cape) if they knew that the toy room is a perpetual disaster area or saw the frying pan that I just can't seem to scrub clean? Nope. By the way, anyone know how to get dried/burnt barbecue sauce off of a supposedly non-stick frying pan?

It seems like yesterday that I was the one asking all of the questions and I realize now that the moms from whom I was seeking advice were probably thinking that they weren't experts on anything mommy related, either. But I guess there are no experts, just women who don't mind sharing the wisdom they've gained from their experiences. It's just crazy to think that now I'm one of the wise ones.

Happy Day

For all my fellow Americans, Happy Veteran's Day! If you know any veterans, please take the time to thank them for all they've done for us.

For anyone who is not American, Happy Armistice Day! I always thought it was so neat that the treaty to end The Great War (aka WWI) was signed at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.

And, if my memory serves (which is questionable thanks to "mommy brain"), Happy Birthday to Matt! For those of you who don't know Matt, he just got engaged and he wrote about his sweet proposal here. If you need a pick-me-up today, you really should read it.