Low Calorie Chicken and Veggie Alfredo

This post is going to be very unpolished, just written as I was trying to remember what I cooked tonight.




This is a great low calorie meal. I made this only for me, but I could definitely increase the portions and make enough for the whole family. I try out things on myself and then if I like it, we can make it for everyone. 

Chicken & Veggie Alfredo

Assorted Veggies chopped in bite size pieces (broccoli, cauliflower, Mexican (green) onion, zucchini, and yellow squash) I did 2-3 cups just for me =)

Frozen, yet previously cooked chicken breast (5 oz) (I cook all my chicken breast in advance and then freeze individual portion sizes)

Walden Farms Alfredo Sauce

Assorted spices (garlic powder/salt, sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, cayenne – this was a mistake but turned out well. I accidently poured some over my veggies and chicken in the pan and then rinsed it all out, but a small residue stayed and added a bit of a kick.)

Olive Oil

Miracle Noodle/Shirataki Noodles



Chop all your veggies. Reheat the chicken. Once the chicken is warm, slice into bite-sized pieces, unless you have a really good knife that will let you cut frozen cooked chicken. Place about a teaspoon or so of olive oil in the pan and add veggies and pre-cooked chicken. Season with spices. Once the chicken and veggies are done, top with Alfredo sauce, about 1-2 tbls, just enough to coat the food, not overwhelm it.

Shiritaki noodles, just need to be drained and rinsed and dried. I decided to toss them in the same pan as the chicken and veggies (on one side) to just heat them a bit, but it’s not required. Shiritaki noodles don’t have much flavor and will pick up the flavor from the food it’s served with. Shiritaki/miracle noodles as I learned from googling it are noodles made from plant fibers (yam flour) and have no calories and less than 1 g of carbs per serving. Compare that to the 20g per serving on regular noodles.

Top the noodles with the Chicken and Veggie Alfredo. Add a salad on the side (half the plate) topped with your favorite Walden Farms dressing.

The only calories from this meal come from the salad, veggies, chicken and the olive oil. Seriously, Walden Farms – zero, miracle noodles – zero.

Sea World 2010

The first video from Sea World is Joseph's narration of the Penguin Encounter. It's quite refreshing to hear his perspective on things.



The next video is very short and is of the Beluga Whales.


The next ones are various photos from Sea World (including Shamu.)

I've  had this post in draft for a while.  I was waiting until I had all the videos put together.  Sea World was pretty fun.  We went on Atlantis 3 times.  I went on the other water ride once, but Joseph went on it twice.  They have this high tech dryers that will help dry you off for $5.  I did not use them, but another couple was done and told Joseph he could go in and use the rest of their time.  We watched a couple shows (Shamu; Sesame Street; and Seal, Sea Lion, Otter.)   I took photos of the fish in the aquarium there but did not compile them into a video.  

Birds, Sea Lions and the Ocean

Here are some photos Joseph took from the boat of the animals we saw.  I took maybe one or two, but Joseph took the majority of them.  I forgot to mention that we also saw the movie Oceans while on our trip.  Based on the ear flaps the animals are either sea lions or fur seals.

Trawling on the Ocean Odyssey

After breakfast, we went to the pier to take a ride on the Ocean Odyssey.  After a quick safety demonstration we left the pier and headed out into the Pacific Ocean.  I have never been on a boat in the ocean before. They had the children help set out the net (otter trawl.)  Then a couple minutes later, we all pulled on the rope to bring the net up.  Then the children sat around and learned about some of the animals that were caught.  Duplicate animals were tossed back into the ocean.  Joseph took some great photos of the animals, due to the release form, I can only post the photos without other children in them, so enjoy the video below.

The Otter Trawl

**ps stay tuned for what else we saw on the boat in the next blog....

Breakfast at Sharkey's

As part of the Oceanography trip we ate breakfast and dinner on Tuesday at Sharkey's.  It's a bait, tackle, kayak rental and food place on the pier.  The breakfast was continental style with eggs, bacon, pancakes and muffins, etc.  It was really good.  While on the pier, Joseph took pictures of the various birds he saw, fish that people on the pier had caught, animals in the tanks, and many other things.  I put together a little video of his photos, but since I don't have a photo release, I can't publish them as they have other people in them.  So please leave a comment and I can email you the video.

Oceanography Trip

Joseph and I went on an Oceanography trip this week.  The trip was a field trip as part of a school club.  The school hired Project Exploration.  They put on trips all the time for schools.  All year we've been attending the Oceanography club learning about the oceans and sea animals.  We left for California early Monday morning and upon arrival in San Diego we went to Coronado Beach to create sand animals and then we went to Seaport Village for dinner and to walk around.  Afterwards we went to the movies and saw the new Disney movie Oceans.  Then we headed to our hotel to sleep as Tuesday we were getting up bright and early for a busy day. These are Joseph's videos of his visit to Seaport Village.

Coronado Bridge

Seaport Village Part 1

Christmas Gift Shoppe

Seaport Village Part 2

Did you know hair gets darker when it's wet.

Sam loves his purple eyes.  They really are blue with a ring of violet around the pupil.  But if you tell him they are blue he will either yell at you "MY EYES ARE NOT BLUE THEY ARE PURPLE!" or he will respond calmly, "Well actually... they are purple."

He loves his BLONDE hair.  Mom's hair is brown.  Dad's hair is brown.  Adam's hair is blonde.  Joseph's hair is almost brown.  Josh's hair is brown.  When he takes a bath and his hair turns brown he gets upset that his hair isn't blonde.  The other day, he ran into the bathroom while his hair was still wet, and upset said "it's still brown."  About an hour later he ran into the bathroom and got very exicted, "My hair is blonde again!!"

Three-yeear-olds, crazy temperaments and funny attitudes.

Disney Volunteers

Last year Disney had the promotion where you could go to Disneyland (or World) on your birthday for free.  I registered the whole family, however the only convenient option was for Joe and me to go for our birthdays and anniversary.  I bought 2 discounted 2-day park hopper passes online so we could each go every day.  On my birthday I used my free pass and Joe used his first day ticket.  On our anniversary we both used our tickets at both parks, and on his birthday I used the last day of my ticket and he used his free pass.  Since our birthdays are 2 days apart and our anniversary is right in the middle it makes celebrating easy.  This was Joe’s first visit to Disneyland and both of our first visit to California Adventure.

This year Disney’s promotion made it possible for the entire family to go all at once.  The only problem was actually trying to get registered for it.  Everyone was trying to register for the promotion.  We were able to finally get accepted to volunteer somewhere and I was excited about that.  I have heard there are volunteer vacations that people can do but I don’t know much about them.  I remember reading a brief article once about them in LDS Living magazine.   So I was excited that that with this promotion, the kids could earn their ticket and go.  All but Sam were eligible

The first appointment that I set up only would take adults.  I would have done it but it while partially while I was at work so Joe got to take it.  It was working at a bake sale for a retirement community fundraiser event.  He had fun.  They even fed him.  I should have done this job.  What I got to do with the boys (Adam, Joseph and Joshua) is yard work.  We brought 3 hibiscus plants.  The boys each planted one.  Then we asked what else we could do.    We went and placed mulch down over a flower garden.  Then we shoveled gravel and moved it from a big gravel pile to another area where they were laying down plastic.  Under that plastic had been weeds, which Joseph had helped weed.  It was fun nonetheless. 

About a week later, we received our vouchers by email.  Now it's time to plan a trip.

Photos

Adam working hard

Joshua posing

Joseph planting
Adam posing

Faith

I earned my Beehive, Mia Maid, Laurel and Young Woman Recognition awards while I was a youth.  Due to changes in the current YW program, women can earn the new personal progress medallion by completing the same requirements as the young women AND earn an honor bee charm AND earn another medallion (they have both silver AND gold.)  Our ward has decided to allow and support the Relief Society sisters who are willing to earn the medallions for the first or second (or again third) time.  I decided I would earn them now too.  I've read through the whole book and decided to start with Faith. 

I pray.  I don't pray regularly, but I do pray.  Sometimes it's in the middle of the day and only in my mind, but I need to get back into the habit of praying morning and night.  So I decided to start with the first Faith value.  It requires reading scriptures (and conference talks) about Faith and making a habit of prayer for 3 weeks.  I started Sunday, although I started reading before that, I figured it'd be easier to remember which day I started praying if it were a Sunday.  I've done well, I’ve forgotten to pray a couple mornings and so I prayed when I remembered. 

So here's the point of this message - Ether 12: 6 "...Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."  The majority of this that I am referencing is that you can't receive a witness (testimony) of Faith until after you've been tried.  I've had many trials of my faith.  Not necessarily doubting my testimony but more of doubting things that will come to fruition because I cannot see the future.  I am going through one right now.  My knowledge tells me we won't get a house.  We had planned to buy, but due to a miscommunication, we are going to continue saving for a larger down payment.  We still want a house, so we are looking to rent.  I have faith that we will find something wherever it is best for us to live.  Faith tells me that it'll all work out.  I need to trust in the Lord that he'll do what's ultimately best for me even if it's not what I want. 

   

Get Your Face On!

So there was this party called Get Your Face On.  I read about it here and then it linked to here.  I read about it on the date the party was actually supposed to happen, so I obviously didn't make the deadline.  However, I liked the idea so much I decided to have my own party.  So here's me getting my face on.  Now, my dear friends, it's your turn.  Post it on your blog, link it back to this post and leave a comment so I can see yours too.  I've decided to have a giveaway to get people interested in doing this too (see below.) I don't always have personal entries on my blog, but I hope to add more do-it-yourself type entries as well.  I wear make-up when I go to work, sometimes when I go to church and occasionally on days off.  I like to let my skin rest so I don't wear it every day. So here goes:

My before and after shots (some of the coloring is due to lighting, but I took the shots from the same place in my bathroom):

How I do it.  These are my make-up brushes.  I've labeled them so I can reference them by number later.  This set of brushes came with my starter kit from Simply Karen.  It is a mineral make-up company.  I purchased their Allure Collection to get started.  It came with everything but lip products.  Now you'll see as I go through this that not all my make-up is mineral make-up.   

  

1) Foundation Buffer Brush

2) Perfect Coverage Concealer Brush

3) Multipurpose Powder Brush

4) Dual Ended Shadow & Blender Brush (large side)

5) Dual Ended Shadow & Blender Brush (small side)

   

So I start by applying my foundation (right) all over my face with brush #1.  I gather enough foundation on my brush, tap off the extra and apply all over.  Then I use brush #2 to apply a slightly yellower foundation (mineral foundation) around my eyes, alongside my nose and on any blemishes I might have.  

Next I apply blush (left) with brush #3.  You can see there are chunks of blush in the container.  Before I used the mineral I was using another blush which broke, so I put it into the top of the mineral container.  I keep cotton balls in each container to prevent spilling.  Most of the blush I actually use is mineral residue still on the cotton ball.  I tap it into the lid and swirl the brush around the lid, tap to remove excess and apply along my cheek bones. 

After my blush, I move up to my eyes.  I first use eye liner.  My current product is from Yves Rocher and is green.  Since it is green, I am using green shadow, too. The green really makes my eyes look green too.  I line the top almost all the way and try to get a little off to the side.  Then, I line the bottom about halfway.  I use my little finger to smudge or the smudger on pencil to blend the lines so they aren't too harsh.

Next I apply (with brush #4) a light eyeshadow all over my eye lids.  If I want to highlight the arch on my eyebrows, then I will use a very light (white, silver, cream) color right below the brow.  Then I apply a darker shadow (with brush #5) diagonally from the inside corner of my eye to the outer edge of my eye brow and then straight down to my crease.   I also use whatever is left on brush #5 and follow my eye liner (top and bottom) to seal my eye liner, which prevents smudging.  I finish off with mascara on top and bottom lashes.  I only apply one coat for daytime, however I will add a second coat if I am going out or dressing up.  I prefer smudge-proof over waterproof.

Lastly, I line my lips and fill them in with color.  I like darker cool colors on my lips.  I always keep a tube of lipstick in my purse.  Currently I line my lips with Artistry's Wine Liner.  My lipstick in my make-up box is Lancome and in my purse is L'Oreal.

Are you ready to "Get Your Face On?"  I am having a give-away.  This give-away goes until 3/31.  So you have until then to do any of these things.  I'll hold the drawing the beginning of April.  I don't have the exact prize picked out yet, but it will be make-up.  Good luck!  If you are a boy, you are more than welcome, to still post photos of your routine.  Here are the rules:

How rude!

I came out to my car this morning and saw the front passenger door was unlocked and slightly opened.  I guess it was left unlocked last night.  Any way, the would-be thief stole my Sandisk Sansa mp3 player full of conference, church, other religious, and downright awesome music (but it needed to be charged,) $2 that belongs to my kids from recycling cans, and a shiny blue small notebook we use to track car repairs, gas mileage, etc.  Sounds like a kid got into my car and took stuff.  Bad kid.  I filed a police report, but nothing will probably come of it.

Interview

It's official:  I have a new friend.  I was interviewed by my friend and author Sarah M Eden.  Check out the interview here.  She is having a contest on her site, so you'll need to leave a comment.

Canning & Year's Supply.

Lately I have been canning.  My parents got me a pressure canner for Christmas because Katie Forsberg taught 2 canning classes at church and got me excited about canning.  I always wanted to learn.  My friend Madeline used to do it all the time, but I thought it was this horrible process.  I suppose it could be if you have to cut up a bunch of fruit and spend all day doing it.  But I haven't had that experience yet so for me it is very easy, refreshing, exciting and rewarding.  Since Christmas I have canned beans, ground beef, chicken (twice,) made my own spaghetti sauce and canned it, and am planning to do another batch of ground beef tonight.  Joe loves how easy it is to have prepared meats available to use.  No worry about freezer burn or food spoilage.  I love it!!  I want to make some fruit juice jelly next.
Also I have been working on our year's supply.  I highly recommend using this site and signing up for their baby steps.  I am a little behind but I am in the process of assembling our 72-hour kits.  Joe has also made me a can rotation shelf for the kitchen island and I am excited to use it.  The plans were off this site too, but since Joe has awesome carpenter skills, he made a custom one that would fit our shelves (length and height.)
So canning is actually helping us build our year's supply even more.  I can about 6-7 quart jars at a time and we maybe use 1 or 2 per week (total.)

Remembering Adam's Birth

Since Adam recently had a birthday I decided to share our experience about that day with you. 

I was due January 8, 1997. My mom went to California for two weeks during Christmas and made me promise that Adam wouldn’t be born until she came back (12-28.) I told her I’d do my best but couldn’t guarantee anything.


I was working while I was pregnant with Adam. I had Cigna insurance so I didn’t have a steady doctor, as they were designed where you would have any of their OB doctors. On Friday, December 27th I went in for my 38 week visit and asked the doctor if he’d release me from work early. I have this terrible fear of going into labor in public (work, church, etc) and would have preferred to spend my last 2 weeks at home relaxed, not stressed. He said he couldn’t do that because there was no medical reason to release me from work. So I was bummed that I’d have to go to work on Monday and be worried for 2 more weeks.

It was right after Christmas (28th) so I took the tree down and packed up the Christmas decorations. I decided I might as well pack my bag for the hospital. The lists mothers are given to prepare for the hospital trip are outrageous. The baby is not going to need 5 pairs of clothes for a 1-2 day stay. Most hospitals are pretty generous with diapers, formula, clothes and blankets to use while there. The more children I’ve had the less I’ve taken to the hospital. My mom was also coming home that day so I was getting everything out the way so we could spend time together over the New Year’s holiday.

That night at about 7-8 at night I was laying on our guest room bed reading a book when I moved my leg and heard a pop. You know the sound you get when your hip joint pops. That was the sound. Being very pregnant I had to go to the bathroom too. So as soon as I passed the carpeted hall and hit the tile floor my water broke. Everywhere!! I started screaming for help. I wasn’t sure if my water had broken or if I wet my pants a whole lot. I was new to this whole experience. I called Cigna’s nurse line and was told since I wasn’t having contractions I could stay home until I did.

Meanwhile, my parents were at the airport about to come home and after they checked in the airline announced that they’ve over-sold the plane and were looking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a trip home the next day and 2 vouchers good for a flight anywhere in the US. My parents were having such a good time and I hadn’t paged them yet so they volunteered. No sooner had they accepted the offer when I paged my mom’s cell phone. She called me back a couple of minutes later. I told her what happened and that we weren’t going to the hospital yet. My mom was about to have dinner and would check on me later. I took a bath, which is something you should NOT do if your water has broken, but it was very relaxing. My mom called me back and told me to go to the hospital because women in our family have babies very quickly. It was better to go too early than too late. My mom went back to the airline and told them she needed an earlier flight than the one they had given her because I was in labor. She worked out the flight issue while I headed to the hospital.

On the way we stopped by a new Burger King®. The lights were on and people were inside, but they hadn’t had their grand opening yet. I was so mad that I couldn’t have a Whopper®, that I have never eaten at that Burger King® and I tell the story every time I pass it. I wasn’t upset that they hadn’t opened yet, but that they had their lights on and that was misleading and I was in labor and wanted a Whopper®. Moving on, I went to the hospital knowing I wouldn’t be able to eat food again until after Adam was born.

We arrive at Desert Samaritan (Banner Desert) right after midnight. They were about to send me home (no contractions) when I told them I thought my water had broken. They did the fern test and admitted me. I really wanted to be brave and rough it (no drugs) but after 2 am I was so tired and couldn’t sleep through the contractions I was having, so I asked for something to help me sleep. I was given a shot of Demerol® in my i.v. Then the room started to spin and every thing looked fuzzy and I suppose I fell asleep because I don’t remember anything until 6 am when a strong contraction woke me up. The nurse came in after I buzzed her and I decided to have an epidural so that I could continue to sleep. I was not able to get much sleep because it took awhile for the anesthesiologist to arrive perform the procedure.

After the epidural, the doctors determined that I was not progressing as fast as they would have liked so they spiked my i.v. with Pitocin®. Eventually I was ready to deliver Adam. However, in the meantime, some other lady who had several children already was also ready to deliver so they asked me to stop pushing (hold him in) while they helped her. After the doctor was done with her, I was able to start pushing and at 11:28am on Sunday, December 29, 1996, Michael Adam Allred was born.

The nurse took him and performed all the vitals and measurements. He weighed 8 pounds and 6.5 ounces. He was 20 inches long. About an hour after he was born they allowed visitors in the room. My parents had arrived at the hospital at that moment too. They had come directly from the airport after catching the first flight. My mom took him and instantly claimed him as her own. To this day, they are very close.

Those who came to visit during our hospital stay were Jason & Krista Meeks, Randy & Angela Judd, my parents – Gordon & Wanda Simeona, John & Carolyn Wallace, Neal & Penny (Jonovich) Wallace (they are no longer married so I listed her maiden name) & their children (Wesley, Shayla & Shawna.) If I left someone out I apologize.

Ironically, the doctor that came to release me from the hospital and provide my doctor’s note from work was the same doctor that I had seen on Friday. I asked him if he was surprised to see me. So I didn’t have to go to work on Monday after all. I only stayed one day in the hospital so I was released on Monday. We brought him home and he’s looked the same ever since.

What we did in 2009

So I've never done a Christmas Letter and I used to be so good at sending out cards. I actually do have a box of cards that I can use to send out. However, I've become lazy and haven't done it. So this year I am writing a New Year letter of what we accomplished last year. So if you don't care to read it, then you can move onto another of my blog entries instead.

Joe – He fixed the green car (Dodge intrepid) so now it works and Victoria can drive it to work. He went to Disneyland (and CA Adventure) for the first time for his and Victoria's birthdays and anniversary. He works in the Junior Nursery in the ward.

Victoria – She learned to make pumpkin desserts out of fresh (not canned) pumpkins. She went to Disneyland, CA Adventure and Magic Mountain this year. She also works in the nursery in the ward. She learned seasonal loan products (RVs, boats, etc) at work. She's been with USAA 2 years now and her 401k now is completely vested.

Adam – He received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained a Deacon by his Papa. He serves as the second counselor in the Deacon's Quorum. He played softball for his school earlier this year (7^th grade.) He made the football team again for this school year (8^th) and made the basketball team (8th,) all that practicing with the scouts paid off. He went to camp Geronimo for the first time. He went to Magic Mountain to celebrate his entrance into teenager-hood. He got glasses. He got to play with the Ironwood marching band during halftime of an Ironwood Football game. He went to the temple for the first time with the youth. He got stitches earlier in the year when he collided with a fence at school and it cut his leg.

Joseph – He earned his Webelos and Arrow of light. He is in his 2^nd year of home schooling through AZ Virtual Academy. He is in 5^th grade. He started taking medication. He got glasses. He almost met a rattlesnake. He has recently started reading books and really enjoys them. He went to Day Camp during the summer.

Joshua – He turned 8 and had a fun Army party. He got baptized along with his best friend Aaron on the 4^th of July. He got glasses too. He earned his Bobcat (with help from Aaron's mom, too.) He is in 3rd grade and his teacher at school is one of the counselors in the Primary so he sees her almost every day. He loves his teacher. He got to go to Cub Scout Day Camp for the first time.

Sam – He had surgery. He spent his last year in nursery and will be joining the ranks of Sunbeams. He was potty-trained and had a big boy party. He turned three. He fell in love with Lydia (Aaron's baby sister.) He loves to talk and tell stories and his language has improved since we started blogging although he still can't pronounce eses (S.) He kissed a chick. He dislocated his elbow once when Joshua and he were playing.

I am sure there is more and find that as I blog more I'll have a better record for 2010. Happy 2010!!

The Strattera® Chronicles (part 1)

*WARNING: This will be a long blog entry as it contains a 10-day log of Joseph’s reactions to Strattera®.  It was started to identify any reactions he might have experienced.  I did not want to post it as a daily log.  I was going to wait the full 30-days, however I have found a 10-day log is still educational and will continue my 30-day log and will update every 10 days.*

Joseph has been home-schooling for over a year and has started to decline again in his schoolwork.  Some days he can get many assignments done, but after the first month of school, he started to decline.  He was getting behind in every subject and in overall attendance hours.  His teacher put him on an action plan today to bring his work up to par and make up for lost time. 

I took Joshua to the doctor for some allergy medicine and the doctor gave me a sample of Strattera® to try out on Joseph.  Straterra® was previously recommended as the correct medication for him to take, however due to the suicidal tendency side-effect we elected to try all other non-medical options for him first.  That was one of the reasons why we moved Joseph to home-schooling.  The other reason was that we felt the school really wasn’t going to do anything more for Joseph.  They refused to give him an IEP because they didn’t feel it was necessary.

 

Day One (11-20-2009)

We gave Joseph his first introductory dose at 5pm.  Like most medications Joseph needs to be weaned onto it.  When I switched from Dilantin® to Tegretol®, I had to wean off one while weaning onto the other.  So it’s understandable that he would start with a low dosage and work his way up to a higher one.  At first I wasn’t noticing any changes because he’d wrestle with his brothers and after removing them from him so he could do his work, he actually started doing work (after he already told Joe before taking it he was done for the day) and when he finished an assignment he asked for more.  When I switched him to another subject at first he contested and then he willingly moved on to the work.  Was this merely a placebo effect?

Day Two

Joseph took his dose at 10:15am.  We decided to start giving him the medication in the morning so it will give him the most benefit during the day.  He said he had a little trouble sleeping last night.  He said as he was laying there he’d feel dizzy as if the house was moving.  He’s noticed he has the burps (like the almost vomit kind.)  He sat next to me on the couch as started shaking like he was convulsing but he was doing it all himself.  He said there are words spinning in his head and he was trying to stop them by shaking his head.  The words in his head don’t hurt him but he is getting a headache.  He feels yesterday was perfect.   So far an hour later he is still acting just like Joseph always does.   Just when I think it is working because he seems focused on his art project, he starts humming, singing or making some ghastly noise.

Day Three

I was at work when Joseph took his medicine this morning and was gone most of the day so I was unable to observe his behavior.  After coming home, however he is still acting like his normal self.  When I asked Joe if he noticed anything different about Joseph’s behavior today, his reply was, “No, he was the same.” 

Day Four

Joseph took his medicine after he came home from church.  We finished up packing the car for our annual trip to Sedona.  His behavior was not noticeably different.  He did sleep in the car on the way up and when we arrived he unpacked his own suitcase and watched television with his brothers until dinner.  We sent him to bed a bit later than normal and he did have difficulty falling to sleep.

Day Five

We gave Joseph his last low dosage pill today because he was annoying.  He was playing miniature golf and getting frustrated when he was losing and he wasn’t remaining calm.  After we gave him his medicine, he still was rather active and did not want to work on school work.  By the end of the day he was two assignments short of his overall daily plan.  This took literally all day to complete 5 assignments.   The two remaining assignments he’ll have to make up tomorrow in addition to the 7 needed.  Tomorrow a slightly higher dosage starts as well.

Day Six

Joseph was a bit less difficult today.  He was able to complete all his school work for today as well as the two assignments left over from yesterday.  After wards, he had time to play.   I am not sure if he worked hard because the next 3 days are going to be vacation time or if he was just more focused.

Day Seven

This morning we competed in the miniature golf contest and Joseph was very active.  He kept “practicing” because he was bored waiting again for his turn.  He had not yet had his medicine so we can’t expect him to act differently.  After it was over, we went back to our room and ate breakfast and he took his medicine.  His brothers wanted to play outside afterward and so we made Joseph wait until it had been an hour.  Before sending him out to play we instructed him to behave, act calmly, and be respectful of our reputations (not so much that I care, but I wanted him to understand his behavior reflects on us.)  Joe checked up on him and he was acting fine.  I am watching him play in the pool right now and he is a bit crazy, however he is playing with other children.  It is the day before Thanksgiving and he’s swimming in a pool.  At least he is burning off extra energy so he can sleep well tonight.  Oh occasionally he has said he has a hard time falling to sleep.

Day Eight

Joseph was able to go out and play today with his brothers.  We didn’t hear any complaints.  He and his brothers have developed a rash and Adam is sick from eating cookie dough that was left out all night.  Other than those ailments, none of which affect Joseph he’s been fine.  We went to a park today and Joseph sat alone watching everyone else play.  Then I decided to do the fitness trail and he joined me.  We then played wall-ball, or a variation of it.

Day Nine

Joseph was acting a bit wild this morning so I reminded him to take his medicine.  He did before taking his medicine decide to build the racecar kit (like pinewood derby, but not as intense) that I had bought for him.  While his brothers played outside he sat mostly quietly watching television and building his racecar.  Later he played outside too.  I am watching him now in the pool and he is playing with his brothers and a guy that is playing with the kids in the pool.  I think he’s one of the other kid’s dad or grandpa.  The real test will be tonight when we get together with Joe’s siblings and their kids.  Ours will be the oldest there, but none the less, we’ll see how he acts tonight.  His behavior was fine tonight.  Only once did I hear someone else tell him to stop doing something and it was while he was outside playing.  In fact the three three-year-olds were wilder than he was.

Day Ten

Joseph took his medicine a little later today than normal. That was mostly due to him leaving to play mini golf and not being in our room to give him the medicine.  For the most part he was cooperative.  He worked on an Art project for school, the lesson he has yet to do, but we had time to just do the project.  Occasionally, he gets a bit wild, but for the most part he is okay.

Recap from first 10 days:

So far I've noticed Joseph is very wild in the mornings and that reminds us to give him his medication.  I don't know if the medication is working for him or if it gives him a placebo effect.  I try and ask him his opinion about the medication and he doesn't want to provide one.  He still has a hard time following multiple instructions.  I do like how he plays better with his brothers (not in the morning) and doesn't seem to cause as many problems as he normally does.

Girls are from China

*warning this entry contains proper words for body parts. If you feel uncomfortable seeing words like that, then please stop reading now.*

I have always been of the mindset to teach my children the proper names for their body parts. I grew up calling girls parts po-po and boy parts peecha. I know people aren't comfortable with hearing the proper names: penis, testicle, scrotum, vagina, vulva, breasts (as Sam lovingly refers to as nurses – items that nursed him,) however the boys are going to learn the proper names at some point so why not be the ones to teach them and that our bodies are beautiful creations from our Heavenly Father.
Since Sam had surgery he was aware of his parts that had problems and were going to be operated on. He also recently was potty-trained and became fascinated with his penis in the process. He thinks it's amazing and everyone should have one.  A major problem is mom doesn't have one. He would often ask me where my peanut (he can't pronounce the 's' sound so what we hear is peanut) was. I would explain that girls do not have penis (even though he can't say it right, he gets mad if I call it a peanut because then I am not saying it right.) His brothers convinced them mine was cut off so he was afraid he'd lose his too. I told him girls do not have one at all. He was very uncertain about this and tried inspecting me every time he took a shower with me.

After months of trying to convince him, I finally broke down and explained that girls are not born with a penis only boys are. I explained that girls are born with a vagina and we have other parts that we use to pee (another concern of his.) He happily explained, "Oh!! Girls are from China!!" He has been content ever since.

I suppose if girls are from China, then boys are from Peanutville, it sure beats the Mars/Venus explanation. Since he really believes girls are from China, he says, "I want to go to China with you." Kids do say the darnedest things.

My Two Dresses

Adam and I went to Goodwill today to look around.While we were there I saw things on the rack that I had donated.It was a bittersweet moment.A couple of months ago, I cleaned out my closet with old clothes and added it to clothes others had given me to donate. I wanted to donate some of the more professional clothing to a women's center, however since I had everything mixed together in two boxes, it was easier to give all the items to Goodwill. I know I should give to Desert Industries instead of Goodwill, however GW is closer and has more locations and is more frequented.

Seeing these items on the rack was bittersweet because I was happy I had cleaned out my closet but sad that I have such fond memories of the clothes. The first was a navy suit dress that I purchased years ago. It looked very professional and fit me nicely (then.) It was navy and off-white and when I wore it I felt like I was dressed for success. I added it to the giveaway pile because it fit me many moons ago.

The second item I saw on the rack was my Prom dress. I saw this dress while shopping with friends for Homecoming dresses in October 1992. I fell in love with it then, but the price was out of my budget. So I continued shopping and found a beautiful dress, which I still have in my dress-up/Halloween box, to wear to Homecoming. Months later, I was shopping for Prom and the dress was on clearance!!! It was now within budget and I bought it and wore it proudly to Prom. I had broken my ankle that year so I wore a beautiful cast on one leg. It was a perfect accessory to my dress (that was me being sarcastic.) I wore the dress again the next year when I attended another school's Prom. I even loaned it to a friend who wore it to one of her school dances. I was able to fit into it 8 years later and wore it to a church Christmas party. Seeing it on the rack at Goodwill brought back all these memories. I hung onto it in hopes that girls from church might want to borrow it or that one day my daughter would wear it. Since I still don't have a daughter, it would be over 30 years old before it would be worn by her.

My wish is that these two dresses bring the same joy they've brought me. A woman might wear the navy dress to an interview and get the job that she's been looking for.
A young woman can feel beautiful at her school dance. That is the joy that arrives from donating time, items, or money to charitable organizations. By giving we receive. By sharing, others can be blessed.

Pumpkin Season

Since we brought home pumpkins the other day from Tolmachoff Farms, I thought I'd put them to good use. My friend Debbie once told me that her friend's mom always used the insides of the pumpkin to make the best pumpkin pie and she had taught her how to do it too. I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. I like the taste just not the texture so I have NEVER made a pumpkin pie. However, now that I have 7 little pumpkins lying around my house, I figured I need to learn how to do something with them.

On Thursday, I researched (googled) pumpkin puree, the official name of the canned pumpkin product. I found several recipes on how to create pumpkin puree. One way was to bake it and then other was to boil it with the skin still on. Either way, once it was softened it would merely peel off the skin. Then place the pumpkin in the food processor and process until it is smooth. I ate a few pieces of it and can't believe how good pumpkin is on its own. Two little pumpkins made a lot of puree.

So now I begin my search for pumpkin recipes. What I have found so far is pumpkin bread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, a pumpkin pie cake my mom makes, and I bought some oatmeal yesterday and it came with a cake recipe on the back, too. Today I am going to make one of those items. Most likely it'll be pumpkin bars, but the boys really want pie. Joe really likes the ice cream. I still have 5 more pumpkins to puree so I've got time to make many different recipes. I wonder if pumpkin would be good in chili. I can freeze the puree too for later.

PS I typed this with the new blog format in Word.

Sam kisses chicks

I know what you are thinking.  Sam is 3 and he's already kissing girls.  While I may say chick flick to describe, well, chick flicks, I don't usually call girls chicks.  Therefore, here is rare footage of Sam kissing a baby chick. 

Sam kisses chick


I actually felt sorry for the chick because the more he wanted to love it the stronger he'd squeeze it. 


We went to Tolmachoff Farms for a school field trip for Joseph.  It was $10 person and it came with admittance (which includes visiting all the things they have there - even the corn mazes,) a free small pumpkin, picking fresh produce, an ice cream sandwich, and a train ride.  Joseph finally got to meet his teacher.  When he came home and told dad about the trip he said about his teacher, "And she's good looking, too."  Joseph has always liked it when his teachers are good looking.  I allowed Joseph to do his own thing during free time, which I think he enjoyed because he often doesn't get to run free.  I was busy chasing Sam everywhere.  This would be why there are more photos of Sam than Joseph.  And I am not in any photos either, but I was there.   

Photos of our trip to Tolmachoff Farms