Ella's Guide to a Tonsillectomy

Ella's Guide to Surgery:
Tonsillectomy, Adenoidectomy, and Tubes - Oh my!!!

Step One - Have your dad and home teacher give you a blessing the night before surgery.

Step Two - Take a shower the night before and let your mom put two French braids in your hair so it will stay out of your face the next few days. (Plus - all the nurses think it's really cute!).

Step Three - Wear your comfiest PJ's and bring your favorite stuffed animal and pillow with you. Have your mom put all her kisses and loves in your stuffed animal so if you ever are scared and your mom's not there, you can hug your animal and feel her love. I brought "Ellie the Elephant."

Step Four - Bring both your parents. Make sure one of them is funny so you don't think about surgery!



Step Five - Be put to sleep while holding your mom's hand and being told a wonderful story by a nurse that sounds like Mary Poppins!

Step Six - Eat lots and lots and lots of popsicles in the Recovery Room - also drink apple juice and be completely doted on by the nurses.

Step Seven - Make sure to be wrapped in warm blankets like a cocoon - nothing feels better after surgery.

Step Eight - Go to the bathroom and hop on both feet - then tell your mom that they "didn't mess up your jumping."

Step Nine - Be wheeled out in style to the car. Wave to people like you are royalty.

Step Ten - Eat as much ice cream, popsicles, jello, and bubble gum that you can handle - after all you have a doctor's note instructing your parents to feed you this!

Step Eleven - Declare to all who will listen that you "locked up your brain before surgery so they wouldn't take any of it- all your thoughts are still there!"

Step Twelve - Enjoy your family serving you hand and foot - even your older brother!

Mom's Thoughts

Ella has needed her tonsils out for quite awhile. They are so large that she has obstructive sleep apnea and when she gets sick, she has to use a nebulizer in order to help with breathing. We were lucky and were able to get surgery scheduled the day after school got out!

Ella was SO cute the day of her surgery. She is usually bouncing off the walls but you could tell she must have been a little scared (even though she insisted she wasn't) and unsure about what was going on. She was so quiet and shy before the surgery! It was so cute how she would smile with her eyes at everyone but not answer questions without lots of prompting. Her surgery was scheduled at 7:30 AM so we were told to bring her in her PJ's and to bring stuff that comforts her. The nurses were fabulous and made up this whole little story about going on a picnic and needing to blow up a balloon with a special mask. I was the only one allowed back with her so I got to hold the anesthesia mask while the nurse kept telling Ella about the picnic they were going on. She was out immediately! After the surgery she was in pain so they gave her some medcine through her IV and she took a nap. We weren't allowed back while she woke up but she remembered to hug her elephant and she said she could feel me there with her (which made me so happy). When she woke up we got to go sit with her. She was soooo out of it. She slept most of the first day and by the second day no longer needed pain meds. We have been keeping it easy and she still is not talking too much - it's been really quiet around here! I actually miss the non-stop singing, humming, talking, and dancing. I'm glad this surgery is over with and hope it helps her sleep better at night. I already can tell that she must not have been hearing too well because she is jumping at noises that wouldn't have even phased her before. It will be interesting to see how she does these next couple of weeks. I'm curious about whether or not her voice will change.

This is one surgery down - one to go. Libby was supposed to have her tubes done this week but it was postponed due to scheduling. Luckily, that will be a much easier procedure!

Easy Parmesan Tilapia

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic salt
2 lbs. Tilapia fillets

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking dish with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl mix together Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Add the basil, pepper, and garlic salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Place Tilapia fillets in a single layer and put in oven. Cook for 5 minutes, turn over, cook for additional 5 minutes.
4. Take fish out of oven and cover fillets with Parmesan mixture.
5. Put fish back in oven and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Here's another fish recipe that we love! We just had this a couple of days ago and my kids are begging for it again already. We like it with rice and broccoli. We eat a lot of broccoli because it is one of the few veggies I don't have to fight my kids over. (I have one who will eat any veggie and one who won't).

Yummy and good for you - can't beat that!

Enjoy!

WFMW - Curlformers

Have y'all heard of these??? Curlformers are my new favorite hair tool. I use them on both mine and Ella's hair. I saw them all over the hair blogs a couple months ago but hesitated buying them because NOTHING ever works in my hair. Ever. I finally decided to splurge and buy them a week ago after seeing post after post about the amazing curls you get with these - you have to check out this post from Babes In Hairland. It's the one that finally put me over the edge.

If you haven't heard of these, Curlformers are little nylon spiral rods that you put in wet hair. You thread a long hook through the rod and then pull the hair down through it with the hook. You can then either air dry or use a blow dryer until your hair is completely dry. If this made absolutely no sense, you can see the video tutorial here (it's very short).

Here is a picture of Ella with them all in her hair. They are super duper easy to put in and don't take much time at all. I used them on my hair first and had no problem doing my whole head of hair by myself. Much, much easier than sponge rollers, hot rollers, etc. I think they really are foolproof.



We took them out the next morning and this is what her hair looked like:



I separated the curls with my fingers for a softer look and sent her off to school. Even in the VA humidity, the curls lasted ALL DAY with NO FRIZZ. She has great hair though. The real test is my rats nest of hair.

For me, I put them in when my hair is towel dried. I let them air dry for a couple hours and then use a blow dryer. Both times I have used them this week, the curls have come out damp (I am so inpatient). BUT, they still have lasted all day with NO FRIZZ! I am so excited about this. The picture of me a few posts down on Mother's Day shows my hair with Curlformers. I just did the bottom half of my hair that day and then pulled it into a side ponytail before church. So easy. I even had my kids help me. After all, it was Mother's Day. Ella handed the rod to Spencer, he put the hook in, and I put it in my hair. Here's the pic - sorry it is hard to see.



Perfect curls every time is what is working for me this week. For more great tips and ideas head to We are That Family where she hosts "Works For Me Wednesday" every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games
Hairstyles for Girls
Agent Cool Blue - Kids Oral Hygiene
Vinyl Chalkboard Menu

My Secret Energy Boost

I am posting two WFMW Wednesday posts this week. For my post on Curlformers (best hair tool ever!) go here.

WFMW - My Secret Energy Booster


Every day between 3-4 PM I am hit with such a wave of tiredness I feel like I just can't go on. It is the worst possible time for this to happen because I have kids coming home from school, dinner to get on, and usually a million errands to run. With 3 kids a nap is usually just not possible. I hate the mid afternoon energy slump and used to drink a coke (which didn't really work) until I discovered Emergen-C a couple months ago. This little packet is a LIFESAVER:

I mix one of these with water and almost immediately have energy again! Best of all, there is no sugar or caffeine in Emergen-C which means you don't crash from this later. You can take this several times a day so you can use it any time that wave of tiredness hits. Mid-morning has been hard for me lately too but that's because I'm not sleeping enough at night! Emergen-C also builds up your immune system which is a huge additional benefit but I'm in it for the energy. I drink the orange ones and the taste is not too bad. It's just a fizzy orange drink.

There is also a kids version - the adult one has too many vitamins to be giving to the kiddos:
We got this for our kids. Just a warning - my daughter Ella did not like the taste of the strawberry and she usually will down any drink. With an ice cube and a straw she is fine taking it though. Other flavors might be better though. It has enough vitamins in it to be their daily vitamin.

BUT - I really don't care whether they take this or not - there are a ton of other vitamins. I just got it to stop the whining about wanting to try mine.

Emergen-C is my secret to surviving our very packed busy days (we have a doctor's appt every day this week for Libby and Ella, including minor surgery for me).

Try it - I hope you like it!!

For more great tips and ideas head to We are That Family where she hosts "Works For Me Wednesday" every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games
Hairstyles for Girls
Agent Cool Blue - Kids Oral Hygiene
Vinyl Chalkboard Menu

My Entrepreneuer or SillyBandz MANIA!!

The Silly Bandz craze has hit Virginia! If you have not been introduced to this trend yet, consider yourself a lucky duck. Silly Bandz are rubber bracelets that come in packs of fun shapes. They stretch out when on your arm but then go back to their original shape. They come in packs like this (4 of each shape):




We first saw Silly Bandz when Michelle brought them as gifts for my kids in AZ. She said they were all the craze in North Carolina. I could not believe that both boys and girls wore them, as well as younger and older kids. Spencer didn't show any interest in them until a couple weeks ago he came home wearing some he got from our next door neighbor Kyle (pictured below).


Thus ensued a very very long search for me for Silly Bandz. I could not find them anywhere! Finally, I found out our local Hallmark right across the street had them the whole time while I drove all over VA.

I thought Spencer wanted the Silly Bandz for himself - he had different plans. Knowing the craze that they have created in other places, Spencer decided to bring them to school and sell them. That afternoon he had made enough money to buy back the pack he sold (he only sold about half a pack) and a new pack. He has some sort of ranking system in his mind for which Bandz will be popular and which won't. He sells each band anywhere between .40 cents to a couple dollars! His friend SunLee has started bringing Mountain Dew to school and selling a can for $3.50!!! This is elementary school - I have no idea how these kids have so much money on them. SunLee and Spencer are pooling their profits to buy two Ipod Touches. They figured out they need to sell $10 a day to meet their goal. After a week, they are still on track.


Those are Ella's arms pictured above but Spencer comes home every day looking something like this. One side is for sale and one side are his reserved ones for kids that didn't have money that day. I don't know how long this will last. Our Hallmark is now sold out of Silly Bandz almost every day. I'm sure at some point they will be banned from school. But for now - my little business man is cleaning up!!!


I remember the trends of jelly bracelets, shoes, pogs, garbage pail kids, etc., but I never thought in a mllion years to try and make money from them. Spencer cracks me up with all his ideas - what a smart boy!

Happy Mother's Day

I take a picture of me and the kids every year on Mother's Day. They are some of my favorite pictures. To know that these three little munchkins belong to me makes me one of the happiest people alive.

Mother's Day has not always been the best day for me. During the infertility and miscarriage years I would get angry and sad. I would feel like my body was betraying me which in turn made me a failure. I would listen to talks and read Mother's Day cards and feel like I just didn't measure up. Not all the time. Some years were better than others. Then came Ella. After years of pain and heartache our little girl was born. Her birth was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Her adoption completed me.

Mother's Day became a favorite day. It is a day that I give thanks for my children, ad day that I give thanks for the chance to be their mom. I don't do everything right as a mom and some of the talks still once in awhile can make me feel like I don't measure up. But Mother's Day still remains a great day.

This year has been a WONDERFUL year. Three kids. I have been blessed with three kids. Libby is our surprise and miracle. Some of my kids have significant challenges - we're still not sure what the future will hold for Libby but I am so grateful that I was chosen to be the mother of these three little spirits.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women in my life who have been such great examples to me and have helped me to be a better mother.

I'll end with one final picture of Ella. She hams it up whenever the camera comes out. I love my future star!

Salmon Roasted in Butter

I've had a couple people e-mail and ask for my salmon recipe lately so I thought I would post it here. This is my favorite, favorite way to cook salmon. It cooks so fast that I usually put it in when I start my veggie for the night and they are done at the same time. This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking. I used to measure exactly now I just guess every time. You need:

2 tbs butter (real butter)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 lbs. salmon fillets (rinsed and patted dry, skin on)

Steps (this looks like a lot but it is so, so easy!!):

1. Preheat oven to 500
2. Heat in a small saucepan butter, olive oil, and salt over medium heat until the butter is melted. Stir.
3. Pour half of butter mixture over bottom of roasting pan.
4. Place salmon skin side up in roasting pan.
5. Drizzle the remaining butter mixture over the fish.
6. Roast for 5 minutes and then carefully turn the fish over.
7. Roast 5 more minutes or until the salmon is done (see note below).
8. Transfer salmon to serving platter and pour the pan juices over it.
9. Garnish with parsley.

Note 1: I remove the skin the second the salmon comes out of the oven. I just use tongs and pull up on one corner gently and usually the skin will come off in one piece. I then turn the salmon over before serving so it looks pretty :)

Note 2: Signs of salmon being done: Firming up of texture, beginning of flakiness, opaque whiter look throughout. I basically just stick a fork in after 10 minutes and if it is flaky I take it out. I have never had to cook the salmon more than 10 minutes.

My kids beg and beg for salmon. I can get them to eat any veggie or side with the promise of more salmon. We try and have fish twice a week since the Omegas in it our soooooo good for our bodies.

I usually make either spinach fettucine and broccoli with the salmon or fried rice. I like to mix the salmon with everything but my kids will ONLY eat it by itself.

If anyone is interested I can post my other fish recipes and sides - tilapia, shrimp, etc.

Let me know if you try this recipe - you'll be surprised at the ease and how tasty it is!! I want some right now :)

My visit with Pioneer Woman

What a lucky girl I am! P-dub came to visit me on Tuesday night. It was so much fun! We talked about:

- Spanx (hers were too tight)
- vacations without families
- lipstick
- movie and book deals (she's ahead of me on this one)
- Frye boots
and . . .
- Josh cutting off his thumb!

She admired little Libby of course and took pictures of us.

Okay . . . so she wasn't here just to see me . . . and we didn't have a private conversation. But she was so down to earth and wonderful that it seemed like every one in the crowd of hundreds were her personal friends.



I was very surprised by how much she looks like my mother-in-law. They have a lot of similarities anyway . . . they both are city girls who married ranchers, had four kids, and are amazing chefs. My MIL has one up on her on decorating but PW takes the cake with photography.

The crowd at Borders was INSANE!! Luckily, my friend called in advance and found out that Borders was giving out tickets all day. So I went right after I dropped Ella off at preschool and was one of the first to get tickets. We still planned to meet at 1:30 even though she wasn't speaking until 6 PM (I think just to have an excuse to leave the house and get away from the kids!). I was an hour late because one disaster after another kept happening. Libby came with me because Lance had the stomach flu. My mom was going to come pick her up after work if she became a problem but Libby is so incredibly calm that it was so easy to have her with us (my other two were not this good - bless Libby)! We were just a couple rows from Pioneer Woman. Check out the crowd behind us:



The crowds went all the way back on both sides as well. I don't think Border's had any clue just how many women were going to show up.



We were in the first group for book signing. I think we were around the 10th people in line. Ree was so incredibly nice. I stammered out a thank you for all her tutorials in Photoshop and teaching me to use my camera. Here we are:


My friend Irene:



All in all, it was a very fun night. I got to meet one of my favorite bloggers who I've been reading for the past 3 years (I can't believe her blog started only 4 years ago). And I had a great excuse to leave the house and buy her cookbook. In honor of PW, we are eating recipes of hers all week!

I hope to see my friend PW next time she comes through town again!