So, here's the deal...

I have been nothing short of a piss-poor blogger. Quite frankly, it's been a crazy month and a half, between getting appointments finally rescheduled and all the trips to Children's for lab work. There has also been dealing with the side-effects of Prednisone in a three year old when Texas refuses to dry out. He's also been eating like a proverbial horse Good times, I tell you, so long as mommy has plenty of caffeine, Add to all that the week or so that the drain for my kitchen had an intermittent clog for about a week, DART train line closures and re-routes, and it was more fun than anyone should be allowed for any one single mom.

So, in the final two days of May, here I am, once again doing a reboot of sorts. Not just with the blog, either. Basically, with EVERYTHING. I'll cover the blog first, because that's what this is, after all. 

I'm making one change to how I do Mama's Mission of the Month for starters. On the last day of every month, I'll post the following month's goals. Tomorrow, June's goals will be revealed. Starting in June, on the last day of the month, I'll do the recap and reveal for July. That will be the way I'll do it, just so it doesn't eat up two days worth of posts.

"Life With/Life Without" will be getting a reboot. I'm basically starting over. I'm not going to just pull a copy and paste job on what's already been written, because, quite frankly, I'm unhappy with the previously posted product. I drafted them on the computer for the sake of time, and I'm an old fashioned girl that way. All my posts are going to be drafted with pen and paper and then typed out. The way I used to do school assignments. It is my groove, and I want it back, damn it. 

I will post updates on Landry's journey with ITP. Just to bring you all up to speed, the second time we went to Children's and he had a level of 28, they scheduled a follow-up in June. By early the next week, I was calling to ask for a draw. Mommy's instinct was spot on, as his count was at 7. I was given a ton of instructions and a prescription for Prednisone in the event that certain criteria were meet. We ended up in the ER for a few hours that night, as Ryli was running one way, Landry the other, and it resulted in a head on collision. The lower the count, the greater likelihood of a brain bleed, and it's far better to be safe than sorry. By Friday, I spotted purpura (a rash of purple spots on the skin caused by internal bleeding from small blood vessels.) in his mouth and called it in. Steroids started that day. With a dose left, his labs showed his levels were 118. We scheduled an appointment for the following week. Ten days removed from that beautiful, triple digit count, he was at 4. One more round of steroids while they finished up getting insurance authorization for IVIg. Two days after coming off Prednisone, his count was a whopping 217. Next appointment is nearly two weeks out, and its the original follow up appointment. They have slid it up to 9:30 in the event IVIg is necessary, to remove the need for two trips. I'm nervous. He's clueless.

The whole ITP thing has been a bit of a trip. I already know what to look for, and so far, since the diagnosis, my "Mommy Sense" goes berserk around 30. Ryli has been great. Landry is pretty good, other than the lab draws. At this point, I'm not sure if he totally hates them, or if he's putting on a bit of a show. He wears his band for as long as he can, which is cute. Right now, for a brief little bit, he can almost be normal. Still need to watch his head, though, because the drop from 217 to the range in which I can tell his numbers are dropping is huge, and right now, he's not all that far into the "normal" range of platelet level.

This summer, Ryli and Landry each get to go to a day camp. I could have put them both into the same camp, but I thought that it'd be a treat if I sent them separately. That way, they get two week's worth  little breaks from each other, and in turn get some one on one time with me. 

The homeschool curriculum that I bought over a year ago is no longer collecting dust. Copies have been made, and we will be starting Monday. It should be fun. I've already discussed not sending Landry to daycare of any kind in the fall until his ITP clears, so we will continue through after Ryli starts kindergarten in the fall. I'll post little schoolhouse recaps on Fridays.

I've decided to ride it out a bit longer here. Moving would be a logistical nightmare, and right now, where we are may not be the best neighborhood, but it is very convenient to pretty much everything. Ryli's future school is just across the street. There are several major bus lines that go down our street, and they both have stops that cover three of the four train lines. There's an after school enrichment program that Ryli has been dying to start. It's close to every store I really need, and I've also made friends with the kids' friends' parents, plus there's Nicole, our resident teacher.

Expect to see more food on here as well. I have been a tad berserk in finding recipes, and June will be a month of trying a lot of new things. I am hoping that they will all be successful, but odds are there will probably be a minimum of one epic fail. 

To sum all of this up, I am back, and I don't intend to fall off like I did before. You have been warned!

Should have taken a picture of the finished product

Because had I taken a picture, you could actually see what I cooked up for lunch today. Instead, this will have to do:

As I mentioned before, I am cooking all sorts of things that I wouldn't have even a year ago. A year ago, I would have most likely opted for the quick and painless lunch out of a can. Lately, it has been leftovers from the night before, but the yield from last night's meal made that out of the question. Ryli wanted chicken noodle soup, but this is April in Texas.

So, knowing that I had all the ingredients on hand, I made a recipe that I had been ogling on the label of the diced tomatoes I use so often. Zucchini, Black Bean & Rice Skillet.It was quick to make, and Landry helped by scooping the cut zucchini and green pepper up and putting them all in the measuring cup. The only alterations I made in the recipe all hinged on the cheese. It had been in the freezer, so I put it on halfway through the rice cooking. Then, of course, I put more partially frozen cheese on Ryli and Landry's bowls, so when they stirred it up, it was at an edible temperature.

The kids insisted on dining outside, so I hauled out the nifty little Ikea table and stools, and they both dug in. Ryli, the black bean-phobic, mowed hers down, declaring the "beany things" delicious. Landry, as is his way, is still munching on his.

Dessert was made yesterday. Pineapple Dump Cake. Easier to make than damn near any dessert ever, and good, too. They claim it isn't photogenic, but I disagree.

Next time we make ham, the quiche recipe on that page is definitely on the menu.

Mad Scientist (insert evil laugh here)

I confess, I typically have a sizeable sweet tooth. Since the grocery trip a few weeks ago, I have come to realizing something pretty appalling, Somehow, besides two packages of brownie mix and some muffin mixes, I neglected to buy anything sweet. Most nights, Ryli and Landry couldn't really care less if there's a dessert, but when they get a hankering, it usually lasts a few days, easily.  When they want something sweet, they are extremely persistent and will not forget.

Sunday night, they weren't asking for dessert. They were outright demanding it, which set off my sweet tooth. The muffin tin and the brownie pan were in the wash and in use, respectively. A crazy idea started to formulate in my warped and tired mind. I grabbed a tube of refrigerated crescent rolls and the honey bear. After rolling half the tube up with just honey, I pulled out the cinnamon and sprinkled that on the honey before rolling them up the second half and cooking as always.

After the allotted 14-17 minutes baking, I yanked them from the oven, and they smelled delicious. I somehow managed to buy them enough time to cool before the kids realized that they were done. I managed to sneak two for myself. Had I known that everyone was going to be so head over heels for the sticky, ooey, gooey, pretty cheap treat, I would have started making them long ago.

We made them again, only this time, I did spray the pan before I laid out the honey-fied goodness to pop them in the oven. I knew from the first batch that the pan would be a horrid, sticky mess without a spray. Day three, and they wanted them again, only this time they made it clear they wanted something other than honey and cinnamon. I was stumped until I remembered the chocolate syrup. That was a hit as well, although somehow proved messier than the honey and cinnamon.

All in all, it was a success. It also made me recall a few little recipes of sweet and/or salty snacks from back in the late 70's- early 80's that I think need to be resurrected.

Once a Month Meals, oh how I missed you!

When we moved up to Dallas in 2012, I went on a recipe hunt. Landry wasn't really eating anything aside from baby food yet, Ryli would gobble down anything that was set before her, and X was constantly on my back that I never made anything for dinner outside of my then repertoire. (honestly it was pretty pathetic)

In my hunt for new dishes to try, I ended up following via e-mail a lot of different blogs and their newsletters. My inbox was perpetually stuffed to the virtual gills back in those days. I bookmarked so many recipes that peaked my interest. I even tried a few. Funny thing, though; for as much as X complained that I never cooked anything outside my normal repertoire, he almost always vetoed what I wanted to try in lieu of the usual fare. Go figure, and add that to the litany of reasons I don't miss him.

Flash forward to last summer, when Ryli, Landry and myself were setting up in our new home, with X not allowed. I started to get kitchen implements that I had wanted forever to make things at least a little easier on me, but that X would say no to because he wanted another toy or some other bit of foolishness Nothing that fancy, mind you. Things like a good skillet, a cast iron skillet, a big slow cooker, a food processor (remember, I only have one functional upper limb). The only truly questionable purchase I made was still a money saver. (I bought an air popcorn popper, saving money and entertaining the kids, which is a total win-win)

There was one recipe that I got from Once a Month Meals (it was Once a Month Mom back then) that went over particularly well,yet only made once. I really don't know why I only made it once, but by the time I was making up the grocery list, I google searched until I found Tangy Beef Stroganoff just like I'd remembered. It was made last Friday, with two kids slurping it up with their egg noodles.

When I found the recipe, I couldn't help but remember that I was one of the original subscribers when they started to offer a subscription service. All that time I logged in, just soaking up the delicious sights, and I forgot about it. I was rather disappointed in myself for forgetting that one. They had a few menus every month in 2012 when last I'd looked, but they have grown. It used to be a traditional menu and a few others, like the Glten Free/Dairy Free and Vegetarian. Now, there are those, along with whole food, Paleo, Diet, Allergen, and varying Mini Menus. I admit, I got sucked into the site on several occasions in the past few days.

The goal of the site is rather simple with a membership. Admittedly, I'm still acclimating myself, but there does seem to be more options than I remember. You can still just look up a recipe and cook it on the spt for a meal the same day, but as the name implies, this is meant to be something you do once a month, freezing everything for reheating on the intended day. Now, however, you can customize your month's menu how ever you like, make shopping lists,and have the directions to get you through preparation, cooking, freezing and storing. And if you're like me, and need something that day, and/or lack the space in your freezer, the recipes are in a format where cooking without freezing is always an option.

Right now, I'm planning meals in advance, but I don't have a whole lot of wiggle room as far as what I can somehow manage to cram into the freezer. I long for the day when I have enough space to spread out in, and hope to get a chest freezer so that I can start freezing meals and still have space for everything else. For the time being, I'll continue to plan as I have been. All in good time, I will have the sufficient space and storage tools to be able to do the single cooking days.

Until then, I seriously urge you to click the link below the picture. I swear, you won't regret it. At least, not for any negative reasons!

Check it out here!

Holy groceries! (and other news)

So, Monday was our belated grocery shopping trip. This time, I had a plan. I made a rough meal plan, and then I kid you not, I did three drafts of my list. The final was broken down into categories, with price estimates for the things I would need that weren't in the sale ad. It was three pages, broken down into departments or clusters of aisles.

I ran and grabbed the big stuff first. All the things that are on the heavy side when you are walking with a folding grocery cart, a three and a half year old, and a brand new five year old. The only "big" things I didn't get at the start were dairy items. I grabbed soda to last the month, and all the meats. Within 15 minutes of starting this semi-kidless shopping trip (Cynthia was in the car with the kids), the cart was already heavy. After the sodas, I grabbed roughly 45 pounds of meats. 

I then went to the entrance and proceeded through the store on my usual route. I updated the price for things as I went, starting from the beginning. I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of my price estimates were way off on the high side, meaning I could get a few things that I'd forgotten to put on the list. The motivation behind this gargantuan shopping trip was simple; get enough to last the month (minus things like milk because we go through a lot of it) and build up my very pathetic excuse of a pantry, which will over time bring down the amount of money that I spend. 

I'd brought my bags, as I'm making a habit out of using them since Dallas now charges a nickle per bag in the city limits.The store I went to just happened to be in Richardson, so not having enough bags wasn't an issue. Once everything was bagged and paid for, the bagger and I each pushed out a cart and loaded up Cynthia's trunk, and the floorboard at my feet. Oh, and my lap.

Cynthia ran her little girl in to use the bathroom while we loaded up. When she got back, I ran Landry and Ryli in, and then we were off to the house. After what seemed like a million runs back and forth between the car and the house, Cynthia headed for home, and I set out on the herculean task of putting all those groceries away while simultaneously keeping the locusts out of the haul.

It took awhile, and the first shake ups to the meal plan, which were expected. There was no way the Boston butt would fit in the freezer, so that slid into the Tuesday slot as Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, along with the Slow Cooker Carne Asada. I don't have a dutch oven of any size, so I've always made the shredded pork in the slow cooker. I learned that if you get a larger roast than what the recipe calls for (in my defense, they were on sale for $1.99 a pound, and and 8+ pounder was the smallest I could find), the lid to the crockpot will not go on correctly, adding a bit to the cook time.

So, as you can imagine, the house smelled amazing. The carne asada finished up just in time to make some really good nachos. The shredded pork was plucked from the slow cooker after our meeting last night and shredded when it cooled a bit. I suspect it will easily be Saturday before I need to cook again. That, to me, is awesome. It means more time to play dinosaurs with Landry or Littlest Pet Shop with Ryli, or on occasions, the best of both worlds... dinos and LPS coexisting side by side. Win-win in my book!