Friesencold

All I have time for is this….

and this…

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

I am really having trouble getting into The Poisonwood Bible and I’m 70 pages in. How long should I give it? I have heard from probably 7 or 8 people that the book is very good, but I’m wondering is it good later or is it just not my type?

Cash went to bed at 11:30 last night and was awake at 3:15, crying. We let him cry and it only lasted for 10 or 15 minutes and then he was back asleep till 7:30! That was a great night.

Bauer is over the moon today because he gets to go to Drew’s birthday party this afternoon (and won’t have to take a nap) and then he gets to spend the night at his friend Branton’s house. We will pick Bauer up at church tomorrow morning.

Bauer’s coughing is much improved since we’ve started doing the Flovent 2x a day. We’re also branching out on activities to do with his glasses. Lately, we’ve been playing games, like the fun elephant stacking game called Zimbbos he got for his birthday this year, or the alphabet matching game he got for his birthday last year. He enjoys them both and I enjoy them a lot more than trying to keep him focused on doing the activity books.

Here’s something I’m going to do with Bauer this year as we prepare for Christmas. I read this in a parenting-type magazine at the end of last year and have been waiting a whole year to get to do this with Bauer. I am very excited and I want to share the idea with all of you in case anyone wants to do the same thing.

I am going to wrap up 24 children’s Christmas books. We own 16 and I am looking into buying a few more to add to our collection, but I don’t think I can afford 8 more right now. So the last few I’ll check out from the library. I am then going to wrap up all 24 books in Christmas wrapping paper and put them either in a big stack somewhere in our living room or in a basket if I can find an inexpensive cool-looking basket. Each night, starting on Dec. 1 and continuing through Christmas Eve, we will let Bauer choose one wrapped book from the basket and TJ and I will sit down together with Bauer and read the book aloud to him. Usually just one of us reads to him at night before bed, but I’m hoping with this, we can make it more of a family time. This will be a fun way to help Bauer see how many days are left until Christmas (as many days as there are books left in the basket), plus he will get to enjoy a bunch of Christmas books. And I hope it will turn into a special family tradition.

My friend Beth recently recommended at least 20 good Christmas and Winter books to me, so I went to the library and looked at as many of the ones from her list as I could find. I narrowed it down to the ones I like best and that I think Bauer will enjoy the most right now. Here are the ones I would most like to add to our collection this year:

Snowmen at Night or Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
Merry Christmas, Curious George! by Margret and H.A. Rey
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate
Clifford’s Christmas by Norman Bridwell (this one, not necessarily for its great literary value, but because it’s cheap and Bauer really enjoys the Clifford books we have)

If anyone else wants to share yours or your kids’ favorite Christmas books, I would love to hear your ideas.

Last night. Cash. 11:00pm-6:30am. Enough said.

With the recent turn to cold weather and the fact that our whole family has been kind of sick for the past week or so, we’ve gotten on a soup kick.

On Sunday and Monday (TJ’s two days off), we had Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup for lunch both days. On Tuesday for lunch, I had a can of Trader Joe’s Low Sodium Minestrone Soup, and last night for dinner, TJ and I each had a can of Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle. Today we decided to meet TJ for lunch, so we went to Whole Foods because I was wanting soup yet again (plus I knew Bauer would eat a piece of their pizza). TJ got the Butternut Squash Bisque and I tried the Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup. We also shared a big square of their delicious cornbread. I say delicious, but today was an exception because I really couldn’t even taste it due to my stuffy nose. But I’m sure it would have been delicious if I could have tasted it. Ditto with the soup.

I don’t think we’ll have soup for dinner tonight, although I bet Lauren in Orlando will if she reads my blog today (I only wish you could shop at a Trader Joe’s, Lauren. You’d love it!).

I have been wanting to fix a new recipe for Soy-Glazed Tofu and Carrots and I have all the ingredients on hand. I’ve just been waiting for us all to feel 100% before expending the energy on a new recipe that we may not really get to enjoy for lack of feeling well. Today probably isn’t the day either since I am not sure I’d be able to taste whether it is a good dish once I go to all the trouble to make it. Maybe we’ll opt for something like veggie burgers and baked beans since that’s a quick and easy meal to prepare and since I know what those foods taste like and can just use my imagination as I eat.

TJ took Bauer to Home Depot yesterday to pick up some filters for something in our house. TJ is always buying filters for something, so that’s why I say something because it could be anything. Air purifier, humidifier, furnace, vents, who knows?

While they were walking past all the endcaps, Bauer looked up and saw a huge blow-up Santa figurine like people buy to put in their yards around Christmastime. Bauer loudly called to TJ, saying “Dad, look, it’s Jesus.” When TJ asked him again who it was, he still said it was Jesus, and then he added, “And there’s Mickey Mouse.”

We were in Michael’s The Craft Store today buying a 4 foot pre-lit fake tree because this year we plan to have a small Christmas and because we want to avoid any potential mold that a live tree could bring into our house while we are trying to help Bauer get past these allergies he has and because this particular tree was 50% off. It looks fake, but it was $20. The one that was fake but looked real was $350. Anyway, in Michael’s, I noticed Bauer looking at a row of little Santa dolls (can you call Santa a doll?) that was displayed on an endcap and so I asked him who it was. And again he said it was Jesus. I hated to break the news to him, but I decided it would be best for me to tell him that it is actually Santa Claus. Although maybe it would have been kind of fun to tell him we were going to the mall to talk to Jesus and get a picture with him.

Another thing Bauer said recently that made us laugh was when we found him in his room putting (too much) lotion on his hands from the bottle of Aveeno lotion that sits on his dresser. When we asked him why he needed lotion, he said it was because his hands were spicy.

I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, and it was a pleasure to read (thanks to my mom for reading it first and then leaving it here for me to read, and for my friend Miska for telling me she thought I’d like it). The story is so different from anything I’ve ever read, and all I could think the whole time is how would a person have an idea like this and be able to write about it in such a compelling way? and I wish I could meet Dawsey. Two of my three favorite lines in the book are lines describing Dawsey:

“He’s the most un-hurrying person I’ve ever met.” (p. 167), and

“But let him walk into a room, and everyone in it seems to breathe a little sigh of relief.” (p. 194)

My other favorite line is “You really have to be Kit’s height to see this world properly.” (p. 167) Insert the name of your child into that line and you’ll like it too.

I guess I’ll read my other Elizabeth Berg book I checked out from the library next, although I don’t know what could follow what I just read and give me as much happiness. I was in a different time and in a different place and just amazed at how words can do that.

TJ’s dad, a.k.a. Papa, came to visit us for a couple days at the beginning of this week. He was en route to San Diego for some kind of church conference and decided to stop in Chicago on his way. It was a great visit, and we had some unseasonably warm weather for November so we were able to be outside (even in short-sleeves!). Of course, I still opted to wear my favorite hoodie.

Bauer had 2 doctor’s visits this week, and both went well.

On Monday he had his follow-up visit to the optometrist and I am happy to report that the vision in his right eye (the bad one) improved from 200/20 to 100/20 due to the glasses with patching for only 20 mintues a day over the course of 1 month. And a lot of days we only were able to do 10-12 minutes, and some days none. So it is amazing how much improvement occurred in that short time. We are to continue with the patching and glasses for 20 minutes a day for the next 6 months. I just need to find some new hand/eye coordination activities for Bauer to do. He still likes the maze activity books, but after 5-10 minutes, he needs something different to keep him interested in going for another 10 minutes. I was thinking maybe to have him string beads or pasta on yarn?

On Tuesday, we took Bauer to the allergist to help us try and figure out why he continues to cough. There have been a few nights lately when he has even been awake for an hour in the middle of the night coughing. No fun for him, or for us. The following are things we had him tested for, and a yes or no as to whether he is allergic:

Bananas – No
Cucumbers – No
Wheat – No
Dairy – No
Soy – No
Ragweed – No
Dustmites – No
Mold – Yes

That last one was the only positive, which was positive. It’s an environmental mold that is in the soil and can easily get on one’s skin and clothes when one plays outside. That “one” is Bauer, and it will require more changing of clothes and baths before bed and keeping doors and windows closed (not hard at this time of year now that it is COLD).

We also have decided to try him on an inhaled steroid for 1 month to see if we can get this under control before it gets worse. We have noticed that when Bauer runs around a lot (like on the night of Halloween when we were out trick-or-treating with friends), his coughing seems a lot worse, both during and following the running around. It is hard to say whether the mold or the running is the primary cause of Bauer’s symptoms, but the two in combo are definitely no good. The steroid should help reduce the inflamation of his airways that is likely the reason for his cough. We hope we do not have to continue on the medication for very long, but we are willing to try this to see if it helps Bauer.

My friend Dena made this dish and brought it to us after Cash was born. And yes, she used MealBaby to sign up! This was one of our favorite meals we received, and has now become one of mine and TJ’s favorites. Bauer likes it too!

I did make a few adjustments to the recipe. It calls for 6 large garlic cloves, but I felt that the garlic was bothering Cash when I would breatfeed him the next morning after eating this dish. So I have been substituting a large sweet onion in place of the garlic. I also doubled the amount of tomatoes and corn the recipe calls for. And though the recipe calls for both feta and muenster cheese, I omitted both (so did Dena when she made it for us). It is so tasty, even without cheese. I am going to type it out below just how I make it.

What is so great about the dish, besides how good it tastes, is that you can make it in the morning or early afternoon (whenever you have time) and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it later in the day. It probably takes only 25 minutes to put together from start to finish, and only half an hour to bake in the oven just before you are ready to eat it.

Baked Orzo Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Corn

Ingredients:
1 pound orzo (I found this at Whole Foods in the pasta section)
1 10-oz bag or container pre-washed fresh spinach (I use organic)
4 T olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups frozen corn (I use the organic Super Sweet Cut Corn from Trader Joe’s)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional, but I opt in)

Preheat oven to 375.

Using a stockpot, boil a large quantity of water. Add the orzo and cook until it approaches al dente stage (about 6 minutes).

Stir the spinach into the pasta. Cook 30 seconds. Drain spinach and pasta in colander. Return to the pot or to a large mixing bowl. Pour on 1 T oil and toss to coat well.

Heat 3 T oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes and their juices and simmer 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to the tomatoes as they are simmering.

Mix tomatoes into the pasta/spinach along with the corn.

Oil a shallow 3 quart casserole dish. Spread the pasta mixture into the dish and cover with foil.

Bake now for 30 minutes at 375 or leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking.

I would include a picture since I made the dish last night, but it’s all gone already. We have TJ’s dad in town and he gave the recipe rave reviews too! It makes great lunch leftovers the next day too (which is what we had for lunch today) and you can even eat it cold. If you’re not convinced by now, well, nevermind….