Friday

We've had a very eventful week and I must say that I am thrilled...for Friday has arrived. It brings with it a coziness that no other day holds. We will spend the day in our jammies. The queen of the house has decreed that. In case you think that's me...the two year old is reigning right now.

Wednesday, Matt and I traveled to Farmington Hills, a three hours drive, to see a specialist about my ear. It was a good visit filled with lots of hope. It appears my right ear drum is 75% gone. Yup, you heard that correctly. And one of my three hearing bones is completely eroded away. So, April 15th we will make the drive again, but this time for surgery to repair the aforementioned. This doctor only performs this type of ear surgery and is confident he can not only repair my ear drum, but also restore most, if not all of my hearing.

In other news, Nanny Neal is coming! I am going to San Diego on a business trip next week - and who better to take care of daddy and the girls than Nanny! I'm going to come home to one spoiled family. But that's ok.

Well, I have children calling for various reasons. I'm drowning out the laundry for right now.

The Less Clothes the Better

Sent to you from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry...you know you want one.

2010 (so far) In Pictures

2010 started a little differently than I anticipated. Sickness had overtaken our household. But, alas, we are finally healthy (knock on wood...do Christians do that? I don't think so. Oh well, you get the gist.) and with a clean house, cupboards full of food and kids napping, I can think about blogging.

Hello Blogger, its been a while. Would you like to see some photos of our last few months?

Huh? Its Sunday Again?

Boy, when you're sick, time flies. Another week gone and it appears that our health has returned. Praise God! I was wondering if we would ever be well again.

After a long week battling illness, Matt and I spent the weekend with our youth at SnowBlast Winter Retreat. It was a blast, no pun intended.

We're home now, our sweet girls are sleeping and we are enjoying a Valentine evening watching the Olympics...and facebooking...and blogging.

Excited for a day to recuperate tomorrow before heading to work on Tuesday. Hope you all have enjoyed your weekend. I will post "well" pictures soon!

Poor Baby

Strep throat and breathing treatment.

Sent to you from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry...you know you want one.

Sickly

My poor baby. After several days with a 102 fever, we decided to take Annelise to Urgent Care last night. Why do we always wait until late evening to take her? It makes for such a crying mess and much more drama than I'd like. But, alas, the doctor confirmed my fear. She has strep throat (which she got from me) and a double ear infection.

This is definitely not our normal Annelise.

Healthy Recipe...And My Kid Loved It!

Like every other mom on the planet, I'm always looking for healthy recipes that kids will eat. And love. As much as chicken nuggets. Ok, that might be a stretch. But I digress...

I spend a lot of my time watching the food network. You know, its something I can have on during the day that is wholesome, doesn't require my full attention, and I learn a lot from it.

Yesterday, while on the couch sick with strep throat, I was watching Giada at Home. I have to say, she's not my favorite one to watch, but she sure does makes some great, healthy meals - and who doesn't love Italian food anyways.

Of course, she was making a spectacular meal for her daughters' first birthday party, much grander than the pizza and cake we enjoyed for ours...but I digress again.

She made some sort of macaroni and cheese, which I versioned today, and wouldn't you know, Annelise loved it. So here is my version. Hope you enjoy!

Macaroni & Cheese - Healthy Italian Style

In a pan, soften onion and carrot over medium heat in olive oil. (I also added a half bag of frozen mixed veggies for additional health content!)

Boil water for your pasta of choice. (I used the multi-color spirals from a box mix I had in the cupboard.)

Add your pasta to the veggie mixture.

Drop 4 oz. fat free cream cheese over the top and add a few spoonfuls of the pasta water to help loosen and mix together.

Mix in 2 tablespoons butter.

Salt to taste.

Enjoy!

PS: I must note that everything BUT the broccoli was a big hit. She's still working on that.

Strep Throat, What?!

Warning: This blog may come off as complaining.

Felt like a truck hit me after church yesterday. Achy bones, achy muscles. What's a mommy to do?

I'm normally not one to rush to the doctor, but decided I shouldn't risk anything with all of my ear troubles. I'm already going to have to have surgery very soon to repair my inner ear, don't want to make matters worse by letting some sort of sickness take me down.

Doc says I have a bad case of strep throat. Who knew you could get strep throat without having tonsils? She didn't.

I'm so thankful for a wonderful friend who took my girls this morning and told me not to pick them up.

Pray for us please. I've never been characterized as sickly and now realize how frustrating it is to constantly have some sort of infection or illness preventing you from fulfilling responsibilities in every area of your life. As a woman who tends to (in a sinfully prideful way) do it all I'm feeling helpless.

Lord, may I rely on you and you alone for my strength (or lack thereof) today.