7 months and first ER trip! Oh boy!

      Lauren just turned 7 months on Sunday.  She is the joy of our lives.  She is so cute and so fun!!!  I just love how interactive she is now.  I am not ready for her new found mobility though.  I love watching her scoot and get herself to where she wants to be.
      Today it was absolutely beautiful so Lauren and I played with bubbles for about a half hour today.  She just loved playing in the grass and she even found a bug!!

Yesterday was a whole different story though!  Oh my! It was a whirlwind of emotions for mommy, daddy and poor Lauren.  Yesterday started a little different than most.  Lauren and I both were up and ready at 5:30am.  By ready, yes we were both showered and dressed! Amazing, I know! I washed bottles, made bottles and fed Lauren, who then fell back asleep at 6am.  She woke up around 8am just in time for daddy to come home for breakfast.  Shortly after Kevin went back to work around 9am, Lauren and I were playing on the couch.  She was acting like she wanted to stand up, so I grabbed both of her hands (like I have done several times) ..she started to push up with her legs and I was letting her use her own strength to pull up when I heard a "pop".  I first thought it was just a little pop in her wrist, nothing serious.  She kinda wimpered and then progressively started to get more upset.  I at first thought she was just hungry because it had been almost 4 hours.  I put her in her high chair and laid some puffs on her tray while I made up some cereal.  I noticed that her left arm would not move and she would only reach with her right arm.  I took her left arm and tried to see if she would grip my fingers and she would not.  When I had moved her arm, she began to scream and the screaming did not stop for a very long time.  I called Kevin and we decided to meet at the Emergency Room.  Once I had her in her carseat and her arm was stabalized she settled down.  She actually fell asleep on the way to the hospital.  We were fortunate not to wait long to see the Dr. 

As you can see in this picture, her left arm is just limp!  She wouldn't even lift it up. 

She was so strong and brave.  The Dr. said that she had Nursemaid Elbow.  Her elbow had been dislocated.  He said it was very common in young children and to not feel bad. 

 I just felt terrible though.  I had not been rough with her.  I had not been swinging or yanking.  It was a total freak accident.  Her tears and screams just broke my heart.  The Dr. wanted to get an xray and make sure it was nothing more.  He didn't see anything on the xray and just re-set the elbow.  He warned us that she would be upset again because it would hurt.  She was so brave though.  She cried for only about 30 seconds after he re-set it and then was back into the swing of things shortly thereafter. 

As you can see in the next two photos, she has no problem now with the elbow.  Kids are so resilient!

We came home and played for about an hour and then we both took a 2 hour nap!  It had been a long morning!  Very shortly after she woke up, she was back to her goofy self. 

I am just very thankful that it was nothing worse. I am still very cautious about everything now.  I am so paranoid.  I just don't want her to be hurt again.  I know that probably won't happen.  It still will never get easier. 

TASTY TUESDAY

Blueberry Muffins (with Splenda)


Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of salt ( I left this out...I have been trying to reduce extra sodium in my diet)
1/2 cup light margarine or unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
1 cup SPLENDA; No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup 1% or skim milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries; thawed.  ( I used Dole frozen blueberries.  They were so delicous, juicy and plump!)

How to make:

1. Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.  Lightly spray liners with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
4. Beat margarine at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add SPLENDA and honey, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.  Fold in blueberries.
5.  Spoon batter evenly into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 20-22 minutes or until golden.  Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack. 

*Note: to freeze muffins, wrap in heavy duty alumimum foil or play in a zip top freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months

Nutritional Information per serving: 1 muffin
Calories 160, Calories from fat 40, Total Fat 4.5g, Saturated fat 1g, Cholesterol 35mg, Sodium 230mg, Total Carbs 26g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 7g, Protein 4g
Exchanges per serving:  1 1/2 Starches, 1 Fat

*Note sodium can be reduced by omitting salt, and using reduced sodium margarine or butter.  Also, you could add fiber by using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. 

These will not have the normal creamy batter consistency.  They will be more like a thick cake batter.  They will have a cakey consistency when they are cooked.  I made mine last Wednesday and have kept them in a tupperware container.  They are still very moist and delicious! I hope you all enjoy.
**Sorry no pictures today. Our connection is super slow and will not upload...if I get a chance tonight I will try again!**

Lauren's New Trick

I was getting Lauren undressed and ready for bathtime.  I happened to have the camera in her bedroom and caught her new trick!  She rolls on her belly and then scoots all the way around so that she can play with the wipes.  I did a little "censoring" on her toosh.  I didn't want it flashed all across the internet, no matter how cute those dimples are!! She is becoming quite the little stinker.  Today we made a trip to Target to get some baby proofing supplies.  The only thing left on our list is the baby gate.  The store didn't have one large enough so we are going to check Wal Mart and if they don't either, we will just order online. 
Hope everyone had a great Monday!  We enjoyed having Kevin home today, and the beautiful 70 degree weather.

Kansas City

This past weekend, we took a short trip to Kansas City.  It was  a lot of fun.  It was Kevin's little surprise for me and Lauren and a nice getaway for him as well.  He has not had a day off since March 7.  He totally deserved this little getaway!  We were able to get a great hotel at a great rate through Hotwire .  If you have never used hotwire, then I highly recommend it.  It is a little different from other travel websites, in that you don't know exactly what hotel you are staying at until after it is paid for.   However, you do pick an area that is close to your destination and they give you the star ratings and what hotels correspond with the appropriate star ratings.  We have yet, to have had a bad experience.  We have strictly used hotwire for the last 3 years and always the best hotels for great prices!  THIS is where we ended up staying.  3 1/2 star hotel with indoor waterpark for $47/night!  The hotel's cheapest rate was $87/night.  We stayed for the whole weekend, including taxes, for less than $120!  The hotel is directly across from the KC Royals and Chiefs Stadiums, so we will definately be returning in the future!!  I even booked the hotel again for next weekend for my parents coming to visit.  I saved my mom $250 on hotwire vs. orbitz and travelocity.  How awesome is that?!  It helped that I knew the description of this hotel on hotwire and was able to basically know ahead of time where I was booking! 
We had a nice relaxing time.  We slept in, ate great food and visited a few great places.  Unfortunately the weather was not the greatest and were not able to do as much as we would have liked.  Kevin, however, enjoyed having cable in the hotel room to watch the NCAA tournaments since we have not splurged and signed up for cable service at home yet. 

We took Lauren swimming for the first time.  She was so adorable!  She loved it so much.  She was splashing around and kicking her feet.  These are the only pictures that I have of her swimming. I had to take them on Kevin's cell phone because I had forgot to pick up batteries for the camera on our way to KC.  I picked some up on Saturday but when we went down to the pool, some other kid had pooped in the pool and everyone was clearing out..YUCK!  So we took Lauren back upstairs and let her splash around in the bathtub.  We will get some more pictures and videos this weekend when we meet my parents there for Easter. 

On Saturday morning, we visited the National World War I Museum.  After a scary drive through the ghetto, we finally arrived and I was so relieved!  I am not joking when I say ghetto.  I'm talking people on the streetcorners at 9:45am..and they were not waiting for the bus..LOL 

They had a lot of interesting exhibits.  I wish that I could have seen more.  I had to step out of the exhibit for a while because Lauren had a poopy diaper and she was hungry.  They didn't have any bathrooms in the main museum and they did not allow food or drink.  I told Kevin that he could just go back in and keep looking around.  I thought Lauren had a poopy diaper, turns out it was just gas.   It was so rotten!! So after I changed and fed her, I was getting ready to put her back in the stroller and head back into the museam and I smelled the nastiness again..so I trucked over to the bathroom again and got her undressed, to find a very nasty diaper.  SO by the time I got the second diaper changed and her loaded up in the stroller and on our way back to the main exhibit..Kevin was walking out.  I was a little disappointed but he took some great pictures (on his cell..LOL because I had the camera with me)  and it was probably more meaningful for him as well.  If it were nicer out, we would have walked around the grounds and went up into the Liberty tower.  It was in the 30's and raining hard, so both of those things were out of the question. Maybe some other time!! If you like history and museums, this is a great place to visit! Another perk is it's FREE for all active, reserve and retired military men and women!!

After the museum, we headed to Arthur Bryant's BBQ.  Let me just say...OMG BEST BBQ EVER!!! When we got there at noon, the line was all the way to the door.  By the time we left, it was out the door and halfway down the block.  This joint has been around for many years and after eating there we know why!

Even Lauren had her first BBQ experience.  The meats were so tender, that our little munchkin was able to have a few tiny pieces of pork and brisket!  Her favorite though were the pickles and the white bread.  She was such a cutie, pounding on the table for more.  Here is a picture of her.  It looks as if she is not paying attention but this was me, holding her little grabbing hands back from the plate and her staring at the plate of food!  She was such a good girl all weekend. 

The rest of Saturday we just relaxed and napped.  Saturday evening we had a very light supper down at the hotel restaurant.  Lauren sat in her first big girl high chair. 

She is getting to be such a big girl.  She was 7 months old on Sunday.  She is now scooting around and can get herself pretty much anywhere she needs to be.  We are now in need of some major baby proofing in our house.  She hasn't quite figured out crawling, but I know it will be soon.  With her army crawling/scooting and the fact that she will get up on her hands and knees and rock, it will be very soon. I don't know if I am ready for that yet!

On Sunday, we slept in, packed up and headed out.  We did a little shopping.  Got Lauren an Easter Basket and some goodies, ate lunch and headed home.  Kevin and Lauren both took a nap yesterday afternoon while I was on the computer.  I would be lying if I said I didn't nap either.  At one point I woke up, head back, mouth open on the couch, 40 min. after the last time I had looked at the time on the computer.  We were all pretty exhausted.  We watched a movie and went to bed! 

I can't wait to do it all again next weekend.  My mouth is watering thinking about the BBQ.  After already having ate there, I know EXACTLY what I am going to get next time.  AHH I can't wait!!

Question?!

I hope I don't sound stupid... but seriously what switch goes on in a baby's belly at day 365 after birth that says "ok...I can have dairy now!!"  I just don't get it, and I don't want to get into a mommy war.  I know the Dr's recommend waiting until they are atleast one to introduce dairy and cow's milk...but would it hurt to introduce them to the dairy a little at a time over the course of a few months?? ...ok that's all I have for now.  Thanks!!

TASTY TUESDAY!

Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter ( 3 sticks)
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
4 cups (24 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips

*chopped walnuts are optional but they make the cookies so delicious!*


Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt ( dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoons full about 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until light brown ( centers will be soft )

Cool 1-2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack or foil. Makes between 4-6 dozen depending on the size of cookies

These cookies are seriously my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I have had many requests to make them from Kevin, my dad and even a cousin who used the recipe for a bake sale back in Illinois.  I just happened upon the recipe one day on the back of the flour bag and made them.  Kevin came home and said "Kristen, these are the best cookies you have ever made!"...and so the story begins.  They are the only cookies I make now.  They are delicious!!!!  You won't be able to just eat one. 

I have decided that every Tuesday on my blog is going to be Tasty Tuesday.  Each Tuesday, I will post a recipe that we make here at home.  It will range from breakfast to dinner to dessert and anything in between.  I hope you all enjoy!!  Feel free to join in the fun and post your own Tasty Tuesday recipes!!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Gold Medal Flour

weekend ramblings...

*On Friday, Lauren and I both had doctor appointments.  I had an ultrasound to determine a dute date and Lauren her 6 month well check and immunizations.  She once again did amazing! Lauren also got to see her new little brother/sister wiggling around. He/she is due to make their debut on or around September 18th!  
I want to thank my mom and sister Stephanie for making the trip to come with me to our appointments because Kevin has a training that he cannot leave until the 26th.  They have been a tremendous help.  Lauren loves snuggling with the both of them and will miss them dearly.  Luckily she will get to see Grandma and Grandpa at Easter. 

*Saturday we got close to 5 inches of snow with freezing rain and frigid temps.  Kind of a bummer since Thursday it was sunny at almost 70 degrees.  Oh Kansas, you have crazier weather than Illinois!  I'm sure within this month, we'll see rain, snow, crazy winds an tornados.  In Minnesota, they had 4 definate seasons. It was so beautiful.

*Luckily, by Sunday it was pretty much all melted!  Lauren and I have been hanging out pretty much by ourselves since March 7th.  Kevin has not had a day off since then.  He is currently at a course that he has to complete to get his promotion.  We were lucky to see him every evening for a few hours though.  That will not be the case this coming week. 

*Today, Kevin left at 4am and will not be home until late on Thursday night.  I know they will be out in the field.  What does that mean? I have no clue. I am so new to this Army wife thing.  I feel like a big dork when people ask me what my husband does and what unit/team..he is in.  I have no idea!!  I feel sometimes like I don't belong.  I know it will get easier with time, and with time I will learn more about what he does.  As for the nights alone, I wonder if I should just get used to it, afterall, there might be a deployment in the future!  Especially if Kevin plans on staying in until retirement.  I am just happy knowing that my husband is happy again.  I see that he really enjoys his job and he has said that "it feels like he had never left".  No questions asked, he is my hero! 

**I need a hobby though.....  new to being a stay at home mom, in a new town. No friends, no co-workers, no family, no church, arrghhh!!! There are only so many times I can vaccuum the house.

May the road rise to meet you...

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Today always takes me back to my childhood. The excitement of the day was just too much to handle.  I grew up going to St. Mary's Catholic school.  My mothers side of the family (Kelleher) was very Irish and very proud of their heritage and still are to this day.  

As a child, this day was so much fun.  From sun up to sun down it was a celebration.  In the mornings, we'd make sure we were wearing our green in order to not get pinched!  My mom would usually have a treat for us and dye our milk green for an extra added kick of fun. Once we got to school, it was a celebration.  We'd have parties, treats, movies.  A day of celebrating St. Patrick.  St. Patrick was a christian missionary most commonly known as one of Patron Saints of Ireland.   

After school, we would continue our celebrations to my Grandpa and Grandma Kelleher's house.  Grandma would have prepared corned beef and cabbage and other treats for us.  

It is a day filled with many great memories of my childhood and yet sadness because I miss my grandparents so much. 

When Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.

In the lilt of Irish laughter

You can hear the angels sing.

When Irish hearts are happy,

All the world seems bright and gay.

And when Irish eyes are smiling,

Sure, they steal your heart away

 

I can't listen to that song now without crying.  I remember how my grandpa's eyes smiled so bright.  He was such a loving, caring and gentle man.  He was proud of his family and where he came from.  He worked hard for everything that he had and provided for his family.  I can still hear him and his brothers and sisters belting this song out at our family reunions.  I wish they knew Kevin, and Lauren.  I know they are looking down on us and watching over us.  I have had family members tell me that she resembles my grandpa.  I suppose it's the chubby cheeks and the smile that never stops that reminds them of him.  I hope one day I can share with my children a glimpse of their Irish heritage and I hope they are proud of every piece of heritage they are a part of,  and that we as a family, and they with their own families can carry on those traditions. 

daylight savings time or pregnancy insomnia?

What to blame?! How about both.  Everyone else has totally adjusted to the time change with no problems. In fact, I was quite impressed that Lauren woke up and went to bed at her normal times (which really was an hour earlier than the day before!).  How did I luck out?! I have the most precious, content, happy baby.  I am not joking, folks.  This little girl is amazing, and I am not just saying that because she is mine.  Anyways, I will get off my soap box.  The next one, will probably be just like me as a kid.  Lord, help us all.  I turned out alright though :)   People would say as I got older... "You turned into such a sweet girl".  I would think to myself , "was I THAT bad?".  Watch home videos.  Yeah, I was that bad.  I wasn't a terror.  Just a whiner.  Kevin might argue that I still am a whiner.  In the end, I turned out ok..right?! :S!?

SO basically the purpose of this was to say, I CAN'T SLEEP!! I haven't had caffeine for a while now either, so I know that is not the culprit.  The snoring from the gentleman next to me isn't helping much either..and I'm hungry. ARGHH!

It doesn't feel like a Sunday to me...

Does anyone ever just get in a rut where their days just mash together and you don't know what day it is?! That is how I feel lately.  I kept myself fairly busy running errands last week, along with Dr's appointments.  This weekend, however, has been BLAH!  Kevin is at a training that he has to complete before he can recieve his promotion to E-6. In the Army that is a Staff Sergeant.  We are thankful that he gets to do this training at Fort Riley, instead of traveling to Nebraska.  However, it is still 2 weeks straight, 15 hours a day or more including weekends.  This leaves us both exhausted.  The last 3 nights he has been home by 6pm.  I have tried to have supper ready.  I attempt to keep Lauren busy in her bouncer or her walker.  I learned very fast that it is not ideal to try and cook at the stove while having to hold Lauren back with one foot from getting any closer for fear of her getting hit with flying bacon grease!  So...bouncer it is during supper preparations.  Today, while cutting the chicken, I cut my finger.  On top of that, Lauren was in desperate need of some attention and a bottle.  So I bandaged up my finger and made a bottle.  The chicken would have to wait.  I managed to get her changed, and fed and happy again, just in time for Kevin to text me and say he was on his way home.  That gave me 20 minutes to get supper ready. I could do it! Afterall, I had already prepped it all before we took a bottle break.  I was trying a new recipe for stir fry that Kevin's Aunt Mandy had emailed me the other day.  I finished it with seconds to spare as I heard the garage door opening.  I know, I know...I didn't have to rush.  What is the big deal if I was still cooking when he walked in the door?! I just  want to do one nice thing for him since he had been up since 4am. I wanted a nice, warm meal ready for him when he walked in the door.  Even if that meant I sacrificed my shower for the day.  I'll take one tomorrow.  We're both so exhausted anyway ...and usually he is stinky too, so it evens out!  Anyways, what I am getting to is that without Kevin to spend time with on Saturday and Sunday, it doesn't feel like much of a weekend.  Just another day, but another day I get to snuggle and watch bad infomercials on the one channel we can pull in with our bunny ears!  Sounds like a perfect day to me. 

Lauren's 6 month measurements~

I forgot to include them in the previous post.

Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz (90th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (70th percentile)

6 months and updates!

Ahhh..time has flown by over the last few months. I can't believe that our little munchkin is 6 months old already.  She is so fun.  Her smile can brighten up a room.  She isn't much of a giggler but I have never seen a baby smile and be as happy as our baby girl is.  She is our everything! 
In the last month, Lauren has been through several road trips from Minnesota to Kansas, Kansas to Illinois and back to Kansas.  She is a trooper and does great with long road trips. We plan on keeping her at home for a while though... It's not fair or fun for her, no matter how well she does. 
When she was back in Illinois with my parents, Lauren had her 6 month pictures taken.  Laura Elliott is a photographer that my sister Kara and I went to high school with in Pontiac.  She takes great pictures!  Here are a few of our favorites.  There were so many great ones (147 to be exact!!) that I still have not chose which ones to get prints of.  I may end up just making a photobook of all of the pictures.  It would take me all day to upload them all, so here are just a few

Isn't she a doll!!  She is such a ham! We have so many silly pictures of her tongue sticking out or just being goofy!  To check out Laura's other work ...  check out her website http://www.lauraelliottphotography.com/

ok..UPDATES

* We have moved to Manhattan, KS.  Kevin is in the Army and is stationed at Fort Riley for atleast the next 3 years. 

*We live in a beautiful 3 bedroom/3 bathroom duplex off post.  I love all of the space! I love our finished basement, the laundry room, and our new furniture! (pictures coming soon)...we are still a little disorganized.

* I am staying home with Lauren until I find a job. I am loving every minute of it.  She is so fun and so happy!  We enjoy our walks together in this beautiful Kansas weather. 

*I haven't really met any friends yet, but hopefully that will change soon.  I am quite lonely right now, so feel free to call or email anytime! 

 Lauren UPDATES

*As mentioned earlier... she is now 6 months old. 

*She can sit up on her own and loves to reach and play with toys.

*She cut her first two bottom teeth..at the same time..on Sunday March 7th.  Our nights have been interesting to say the least.  It makes me sad to hear her cry :-(

*Lauren is so very close to crawling!  She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks but has not managed to go forward yet.  She can, however, scoot backwards on her hands and knees

*Lauren is now eating atleast 3 meals of solid foods a day.  I found out that if I mix cinnamon with her cereal then she gobbles it up!! She loves all fruits and vegetables except peaches.  She is a great eater, and with that..a great pooper....and they smell and I am terrible with smells! ugh!

*Lauren recieved an early easter present from Grandma Deb and Grandpa Jeff. She got a walker! She is ALL OVER THE PLACE!  We are in the process of finding a baby gate that fits our basement steps.  It is so wide that our normal baby gate does not fit...So we right now we just block it off with toys, footstools or whatever we can find.

*Last but not least, Lauren is excited to announce that she is going to be a big sister in September! Yes, 13 months apart! You must be thinking "She is crazy!!" ..yes, I am but it is going to be so fun!  Lauren will be a great big sister..I just know it! 

**I will keep everyone posted and try to update my blog more often..but that is all for now. I smell poop..gotta go... GAG!!