Another Interview

I just love to interview Macy. There is just something about asking a kid questions and hearing their answers. I definately miss hearing all the sillies the kids used to say when I was teaching full-time :)

Here is an "If you had to" interview I did with Macy. Enjoy!




If you had to:

Be in a talent contest, what would you do? “Flips”

Sing karaoke, what song would you sing? “Oh like baby” (Baby by Justin Bieber)

Be on an island with one item, what would you take? “Mickey Mouse” I laughed and she replied , “that is my favorite toy, I would have to have it!”

Meet someone famous, who would it be? “Justin Bieber”

Choose your “last meal”, what would you choose? “Waffles”

Compete in a track event, what would it be? “Running”

Go to a casino, what game would you play? “Uhhhh, ummmm, mmmmm, Candyland”

Choose your favorite pizza place, where would it be? “Pizza King” This little girl knows good pizza when she sees it!

Name your favorite movie, what would it be? “Grinch”

Choose any 1 pet, what type of pet would you choose? “Kitty, you know like Harley…..I would pick him!”

I'm Tired!

As most of you have figured out, I am not doing a Food Fanatic Friday AGAIN this week. I just haven’t had the time or energy to even think about a food post. You know what’s on my mind? Sickness. Two week ago, it was the flu. Of course Macy was the one who got it worst. It was a stomach flu that took her out of commission for days. Our days consisted of clothing changes, vomit buckets, anti-nausea medication, sprite/Gatorade, and very worried parents. Last week, after thinking she was much better, she got a UTI. Well, we thought it was a UTI. After being doubled over most of the day in pain, gagging over and over, becoming very lethargic in the evening, and urine that looked less than desirable….our nurse practitioner diagnosed a UTI. The antibiotics sure seemed to perk her up by the next day….we were on our way to recovery. During all this, McKenna’s nose started running like a faucet. 3 days later our doctor’s office called, and Macy’s urine came back okay. What? The antibiotics worked…she was feeling better?!?!?! What??? We have no idea!

Last Friday, we got together with some great friends, who were visiting from Ohio. McKenna’s nose was still giving her some issues, and that night after drinking some milk, she vomited on the floor of their hotel room. Yuck! Saturday morning, McKenna woke up a mess, and Macy was coughing. Seriously?? Can’t we get a break in this house? So I dosed Macy with some cough meds, and drove her to her friend’s tea party, while Jeremy headed with Big Mac to the doctors.

This is where the fun starts. After 30 minutes into the tea party, the mother calls me to let me know that Macy started coughing, and coughed so hard she vomited. She said she was fine otherwise, and was not wheezing or acting abnormal. I let her stay, but did head back over about 15 minutes early to get her. I am not kidding when I tell you that when I walked in, they seemed too relieved to push her out the door. The other mom’s gave me the “oh, your Macy’s mom” look. I don’t know if any of you other mom’s of special needs children get this look, but I get it a lot. Then one mom felt the need to comment how the fact that Macy didn’t eat anything…..wanting some sort of response from me regarding her usually eating habits or her weight. I really wanted to tell her to “mind her own business”, but said “well that can be pretty typical for any child when they have a cough with lots of mucus”. And yes, I said it a snotty tone.

I am just tired. I am tired of the “look”. I am tired of the comments. I am tired of having to give an essay to explain why my child is the way she is. I am tired of the anorexic mom that feels the need to say (with a head shake), “Your girls are just so little”, EVERY time she see them at pre-school pick up. I heard you the first time lady, and if you even had a clue what my AMAZING little Macy has been through, you might just want to crawl under a rock. I am tired of feeling the need to apologize to people (other parents, teachers, doctors offices), for “putting up with Macy”.

“Putting up with Macy” has been the most amazing part of my life so far. Yes it may be challenging, but I LOVE every second of it, and I wouldn’t change one part of it! “Putting up with Macy” has made me who I am today, which I think is a pretty good person! This little girl has touched the lives of most people she comes into contact with. I say “most” because there are those few who are quick to judge, quick to make assumptions, and never take the time to really know about her. Those people like the old gentleman at Meijer who said to Jeremy, “Dad you need to feed that kid. Get some meat on her bones.” That old man is SO LUCKY he didn’t say that to me!

Okay, I have ranted enough. I am guessing you all get that I have a pretty high frustration level right now……wonder where that came from? Oh yeah…..the sickness. Anyway, back to my story. Jeremy and Big Mac find out at the doctor’s office that she has an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection. They started her on antibiotics and 3 times a day breathing treatments, which by the way, we also started with Macy. So for 6 days now, we have been doing 6 breathing treatments a day. Macy was still coughing all week, spiked a fever on Tuesday night, stayed home from school on Wednesday, was sent home from school on Thursday for coughing so hard she vomited twice, and stayed home again today. To be honest, we are pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. This has not required steroids or antibiotics, YIPEE! By Day 3 of McKenna’s antibiotics, she still wasn’t any better, so they switched her to another stronger one. By Day 4 (yesterday) of not being significantly better, they sent us to the hospital to have a lab (respiratory panel) done. It checks for things like flu and RSV.

So far today, with help of good old Benedryl, McKenna has not vomited, and is actually playing some and eating again. We haven’t heard back about the lab yet, so I take it as no news is good news  To top it off, Jeremy was out of town for 2 days this week, which left a very tired Mommy at home alone. My wonderful mother-in-law called and checked on me a few times and offered to drop everything to come help when I needed it! I love her! Are we nearing the end of this sickness, I hope so! When a double whammy hits, it sure takes you for a ride. I know sometimes it can be easy to look at the negatives, and lately (as you could all see from my rant), that is what I have seen. But during those times of trial, I have learned to look at the big picture for some of those positives. I know it may sound crazy, but I see many in this! I will leave you will one statement, “BRING ON THE SPRING!”
Have a great weekend, tell someone you love them!

Food Fanatic Friday....or Maybe Not!

I sat trying to think of a great recipe to add this week for Food Fanatic Friday, and I just couldn't come up with one for this week. Well, let me be honest with you.....I am busy watching Grey's Anatomy, chatting with my sister-in-law on Skype, and too lazy to get my butt up and get my recipe book!

Now that I got that out of the way, let me do the update I would rather do this WONDERFUL Friday :)


I bet you have all been wondering how my 2 little beauties are doing, so here goes!

Macy

• continues to grow in leaps and bounds in preschool, she looks forward to school EVERY day!
• has a best friend and a boyfriend at school. She is heading to her best friend, Jennifer's house this weekend for a tea party. She was mad a few weeks ago at her boyfriend, because he didn't say thank you for the picture she drew for him. In her words, "Ty had a crappy morning at school today, and he didn't say thank you for my picture!" Yes, "crappy", lol!
• her new favorite "school" activity is spelling words. She loves to write the words "cat", "dog", "mom", "dad", "pat", "bat", and many more! She "teaches" us all night long!
• she turned 5 a few weeks ago. If her sassiness grows with each year, I am SO in for it when she turns 15!
• she loves being a big sister, but often gets in trouble for "man handling" Big Mac, or bossing her around.
• In the last 2 weeks, she has had the stomach flu and a UTI. Poor thing....still remains a trooper! We just hope the weight loss doesn't last long. She has her 5 year well-check at the pediatrician on March 2nd. We are praying for GREAT weight gain since last year!
• She is still dancing, and has her recital this weekend! Can't wait to see it!!!

McKenna

• is a mighty eater! She can already out eat Macy. Anyone who knows Macy knows that she eats like a bird, but Big Mac eats like a vulture :)
• has about 10 words now, although she prefers to use the word "that" for EVERYTHING. She points and says, "that?" She wants to know what everything is...it's so cute!
• McKenna is our climber. She climbs EVERYTHING! She has now learned how to climb onto the chairs at the table, and then climb onto the table. KING OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!
• she is continuing to have some stranger anxiety. It's understandable since she is with me all the time, but we need her to get over this. Last weekend at church was interesting...Jeremy tried to take her to the nursery......she screamed for 20 minutes straight.....our number (the only number the whole service) popped up on the screen....which means we have to go get her. She was a mess when he got her! Still crying and breathing irregularly.
• Big Mac has been cruising around on her tricycle this week since it's warm here (60*). She doesn't pedal yet, but she sure loves me to push her around :)

Here are some pics of the girls. Enjoy!

I have loved optical illusions since I was little. There are so many kinds of optical illusions, but my favorites are the ones that are double images.

Here are a few of my favorites.

I was curious as to what image my 5 year old would see, so I asked her.

I didn't give her options, I just simply asked her, "What is this a picture of?"

"Fish"

"Guy" "Towels"

"Bear"

"Cup"

"Duckie"

"Indian?"

So what did you see? A fish or girl? Man or mermaid? Towels or dog? Polar bear or seal? Cup or faces? Bunny or Duck? Eskimo or Indian?

MARCH FOR BABIES!!!!

I'm very excited to be a part of March for Babies again this year and hope you will join our team!

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. We're walking because we want to do something about this.

The money we raise will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.

Please join our team. You can do so on our team Web page. If you can't walk with us, please help the team reach our goal by making a donation. You can do that online as well.

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

Visit my team Web page at
http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1476907 or click on the button on the side bar of the blog.

I am taking orders for t-shirts this year. Sadly we didn't have enough people respond last year, therefore we weren't able to order t-shirts. I have a great website I am using to create these fantastic shirts, and the more shirts we order, the cheaper they are. I am estimating the cost about $12 per shirt.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT A SHIRT THIS WEEK!!!! You can email me at jandkvanvleet@hotmail.com

This is what they will HOPEFULLY look like. Don't mind the weird box around the text, I couldn't get that off the pics.



PLEASE join us to support this amazing cause!!!!!

If you would like to learn more about March for Babies,
visit the Web site at marchforbabies.org.

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by
preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Food Fanatic Friday!!!

This weeks recipe is one that I made years ago...before kids....and forgot about. I remembered what a great recipe it was this week. We made it on Wednesday night.....and it was just as GOOD as I remembered!

French Onion Pork Cutlets

2-4 pork cutlets

Mayonaise

2 packets of french onion soup mix (this is the powder soup)

Brush each pork cutlet (top and bottom) with mayonaise. Coat with french onion soup powder. Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, and place pork cutlets in the pan. Bake COVERED at 325* for 1 hour 30 minutes. Uncover for the last 20 minutes to brown and crisp.

These pork cutlets are so tender that you don't even need a knife to eat them!!! We served ours with homemade twice baked potatoes. I'll save that recipe for another day :)

Have a wonderful weekend! Jeremy and I are heading out for a special Valentine's Day dinner :) We are BEYOND excited for a date night!!!

Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Bakey!

2:30 a.m. (I'm sleeping) *tap* *tap* *tap* (on my shoulder) (I roll over)

Macy: "Hi Mom."

Me: "Macy, it's 2:30 in the morning. It's still night night time. Go climb back in bed."

4:10 a.m. (I'm still sleeping) *tap* *tap* *tap* (on my shoulder) ( I roll over)

Macy: (this time she just stares at me)

Me: "Macy, honey, it's still night night time. You need to sleep until it gets light outside." (I walk her back to her room, tuck her in really well, and stroll back to bed)

6:30 a.m. (I'm sleeping) (This time I hear her bedroom door go flying open)

Macy: (stands and stares at me) (walks over to Jeremy's side of the bed....he doesn't move) (heads back to my side, stares at me for another minute) (heads back to her room and reads books until 7 a.m.)


YES, our little "sleeper" has turned into an early riser. We usually don't have the 2:30 a.m. or 4:10 a.m. wakes, but she gets up frequently around 6:30. I have made the rule that we don't get up before 7:00 a.m. unless we have to :)

So that brings me to my question....

Have you ever seen this?



We want one so bad! It runs $39.99 on Amazon. You can set the clock for a wake up time.....for us that would be 7 a.m.. When it is "night night" time, the clock lights up the sleeping cow, so children know that they should still be sleeping. Once 7 a.m. rolls around, the light switches to the dancing cow. The switch is silent, therefore it doesn't wake the child. What a great invention! There are many other variations of the product, but I have read the reviews and this one seems to be the best. What do you think? How do you keep your kids in bed until a certain time?

Bieber Fever

Anyone who knows Macy knows that she has "Bieber Fever". This obsession started when she happened to see him on TV. She loved the song "Baby", and would sing and dance to it each and everytime she heard it anywhere! This obsession has led her to believe that he was singing to HER when he was on Oprah. It has led her to believe she saw Justin Bieber (aka some random kid) walking through our neighborhood. She wouldn't leave the window for an hour. This also led her to tell any random person she comes into contact with that she has a Justin Bieber poster, CD, doll, t-shirt, and a book! She loves him!

Well Macy got lucky! Did you know that Macy recently appeared in a video with Justin Bieber? Check her out!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Did you know that Justin Beiber has a movie coming out on Friday? Macy and I WILL be seeing it on Sunday! Can't wait, lol!

Oh What A Night.....

AND IT WAS NOT A GOOD NIGHT!

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, or know our family well, know about how bad Macy gets when she gets sick. Not only can a simple cold turn into pneumonia in 1 day, but 1 vomit can cause her blood sugars to plummet to the 30-40s. We have actually ended up in the hospital 3 times for dehydration/blood sugar issues just from having a simple flu. When Macy vomits, we have been instructed by our pediatrician and metabolism doc to offer Gatorade to replenish with sugars. We can't just let her go without, and allow her stomach to settle. We have seen Macy so lethargic from low sugars that she can't even talk or lift her head. Talk about scary!!!! If she can't keep down a decent amount, we offer have to offer it to her as 1 oz every hour.

Last night was one of those nights that open up the flood doors and allows all those memories of Macy's first 2 years flood into my mind. Nights like last night were the USUAL 3 years ago. She was sick constantly, has always vomited quite a bit, and the trach always made matters worse.

Here is a look at what our night last night looked like:

• 8:30 p.m. Macy goes to bed
• 11:25 p.m. Jeremy and I head to bed.
• 11:37 p.m. As my eyes are getting heavy, I hear Macy cough, and then I hear a vomit. It was all over her, her sheets, and her pillow. We changed her bedding & clothes, offered her 6 oz Gatorade.
• 12:01 a.m. Macy is back in bed. Jeremy and I head back to bed.
• 2:32 a.m. I hear a cough & vomit. We rush in her room.....RED Gatorade was everywhere! We again changed her bedding, pillow, & clothes. We offered her some oj this time because she was requesting it, and we weren't sure yet if this was the flu yet, or just from coughing. We gave her 4 oz.
• 2:55 a.m. Macy fell asleep in our room. Macy breaths so loud that you can normally hear her through the walls, so having her in between us was like a freight train!
• 3:13 a.m. Jeremy and I, still both awake, decided to move her back into her room.
• 3:15 a.m. The move was too much for her, she vomited everywhere, AGAIN. Changed all bedding & pillow (luckily no clothes this time). Checked blood sugar...WOW, we were at 115! Must have been the oj still in her system. This time we offered her 2 of Gatorade, even though she didn't want it. We made her drink it.
• 3:34 a.m. Back to bed......Jeremy wasn't sleeping, I wasn't sleeping. As a matter of fact we were both lying there wide awake. I was counting her breaths per minute through the monitor. I know, I'm crazy!
• 4:03 a.m. Good thing I was still awake....I heard another vomit sound again! This time she tried to get up and get out of bed knowing she was going to get sick, and there were only 3 small spots at the foot of the bed. Jeremy and I wiped them up, but we left the sheets, frankly because we only had 1 other spare set for her bed! We offered her 2 oz Gatorade, and did a breathing treatment. Poor thing was falling asleep sitting up during her treatment. After her treatment was over we gave her 2 more oz.
• 4:22 a.m. Back to bed......NOT Jeremy and I though....we couldn't get back to sleep.
• 4:38 a.m. ANOTHER vomit. This time we had to change the sheets again. This was now our VERY LAST set of sheets. She had 2 oz of Gatorade. And just so you know.....it is a fight each time to get her to take the Gatorade. Who wants to drink that when you are sick?!?!?!
• 4:55 a.m. Back to Bed Jeremy and I were wide awake at this point. We discussed getting up to start our day, we listened for coughs or gags, and I was counting her breaths.
• 6:15 a.m Vomited again. Did you notice that she made it over an hour that time, we were impressed. We gave her 2 oz. of Gatorade and changed her clothes. Luckily this little girl has LOTS of jammies.
• 6:26 a.m. Back to bed in our room. We had no more sheets for her bed. Macy couldn't sleep. When she laid down she would start to gag. Jeremy would reach for the bucket on his side of the bed. We had a few false alarms.
• 6:43 a.m. This time was NO false alarm. She vomited again. This time we got up, and made our way downstairs. Jeremy headed to the store to get some Sprite.

That was our night! NOT FUN! I am so thankful that most of our nights are no longer like that! I still have no idea how we were able to function those first 2 years...I always describe us as walking zombies.

With the help of a sprite/Gatorade mix given at 1 oz every 30-60 minutes. Macy finally slowed her vomiting around lunchtime. She carried her puke bucket with her everywhere she went in the house today. Poor thing! She has been eating the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet today, and we just put her to bed. We are praying for an easy night tonight!

Here is a pic of all the laundry (bedding, pillows, jammies), that we had to wash today. Actually when I took this pic, we already had a load in the washer!

Here is Macy after lunch. She fell asleep on the couch, sitting up, with puke bucket in hand.

SWEET, SWEET GIRL!

She's had my heart since DAY 1!!! Please pray that Macy continues to get better, pray for her to gain back the weight she lost, and pray that this illness doesn't get passed on to the rest of us :)

Food Fanatic Friday!!!

I found a fantastic recipe on a fellow NICU mom's blog. She is so money savy, and constantly coming up with great inexpensive meals. Also, she has great ways to make your food go further. Last week she posted a recipe for a white pizza. We were snowed in this week, had all the ingredients so we gave it a shot! It was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

Since I can't take credit for this wonderful meal, I have attached a the link to her blog so you can check it out for yourself. Trust me....you will love it!

Click Here to view recipe! Thanks so much Jessica for sharing all your wonderful ideas!


Happy Friday everyone!!!! Have a great weekend!

How To.....

...Keep Your Feet Warm On A Cold Winter Day!

Random, I KNOW! But this is an ongoing battle for me! As a matter of fact, last week I accidently wore my house slippers to the store, because I am constantly wearing them around the house. I totally forgot they were on my feet and not my shoes. Actually, I didn't even notice until I stepped my feet onto the snowy ground. How embarrassing!!!

(Here is a pic of the slippers I wore)



Why are my feet so cold all the time? Any medical professionals have an answer to that one?

Anyway....here are the top 10 ways I "try" to keep my feet warm on a cold winter day!


1. Wear house slippers (bet you didn't know I'd say that one, lol)
2. Go take a bath/soak your feet in warm (not hot) water. Trust me...I tried hot water once, and it hurt so bad that me feet stung for 1 hour!
3. When lying on the couch, wrap your child's baby blanket around your feet like a turban.
4. Shove your feet into the crack between cushions on your couch or chair.
5. Wear your husand's hunting socks.
6. Ask your hubby for a foot rub.
7. Wear two pair of footy socks, or 3, or 4.
8. Sit criss cross applesauce (Indian Style, which is what we always called it), but instead of sitting with your legs out in front of you, sit on them. I know, it's a real "pretzel" kind of move, but your booty will realy do some warming.
9. Call your dog to come lay with you, and then shove your feet under his belly.
10. Ask your hubby if he wants to share the couch, and as he sits at the opposite end of the couch, slide your FREEZING piggies up his shirt. Not so warm to him, but it sure warms your toes up REALLY fast!!!

Do you have any methods to warm your toes on a cold winter day? Share in a comment!

Stay warm!

Welcome To My Ice House

Okay, I lied. I didn't get a post on about our weight loss challenge. I'll be honest....I have NO excuse. As a matter of fact, we have been iced in for 2 days!

Here are the cliff notes on our weight loss challenge. We decided after 1 week to allow ourselves to NOT count calories on Saturday nights. That is the only night we go out to dinner, and I told Jeremy that if I am paying to go out to dinner, I am going to eat what I like! In the last 2 weeks, I've lost 2 lbs bringing my total to 6.5 lbs in 4 weeks. Jeremy lost 4.5 lbs in the last 2 weeks, bringing his total to 9.5 lbs! We are both happy with our weight loss so far, and I know that it's going to get harder for both of to take of more lbs. the closer we get to our target weight.

I thought I would post some pics of our Ice House from the past 2 days. Schools have been closed since Tuesday, and are still closed tomorrow. The roads aren't too bad, but sidewalks and side streets are still skating rinks. Our family has been in the house for the past 2 days, playing games, taking naps, wearing jammies all day, and cooking up some fun, yummy treats and meals.

Here are some pics of the outside.

Our neighbors invited Macy over for a playdate, so Macy and Daddy headed out with banana bread in hand :)

There they go, skating down the street!

McKenna got to taste an icicle. She loved it! She kept saying, "mmmmm".

And then to top it off, my hubby headed outside in his shorts and winter boots to get the mail, lol! I just thought it was toooo funny! Notice how everything is still icy.

Tomorrow we get back to the real world. The girls are heading to daycare/school, and Jeremy and I are heading to work. Boo hoo! Wish us luck :)