Saturday, March 23, 2013

Fun day!!

Today was a fun day out for us! We started at the Home Expo in town as I heard there were some fun activities for the kids. Amanda enjoyed playing dress up and making a birdhouse.
 


 We went and picked up Adam from work and then took Amanda to see the Easter Bunny and Daddy caved and decided to get her ears pierced too. She did incredibly good...only about 30 seconds of crying...I suppose the sucker they gave her helped!! Adam is off to Casper, WY this entire next week for work...always hard to have him go for long but we were blessed to have a great day today together. 
   


 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Big Sister!

   


We are excited to announce that Amanda is going to be a Big Sister! Baby #2 is due to arrive November 2013! We are beyond excited to have another little one in our home!!



Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Green Smoothie

I know, I know....worst blogger ever!! I've been really busy this past month and rarely have time to sit down, let alone blog!!  This morning I tried a new smoothie with Amanda and Ian (the little one I watch during the week). One of my best friends gave me a rendition of this and I kinda made it up as I went with what we had in our house. 

Although it doesn't come out green I call it our "Green Smoothie", and it is an excellent way to get added nutrition into the kids without them knowing what is in there!

Green Smoothie:
- handful or two of spinach
- 3/4 c frozen raspberries (or any fruit really...strawberries would be great too)
- small handful of frozen blueberries
- 1 frozen banana (we freeze them in chunks so that it is easily blended)
- 1 spoonful of peanut butter
- water (fill the blender about half way up your other ingredients)...you could also substitute this with orange juice, or add Greek yogurt for added protein! 


Monday, March 11, 2013

Dinner Ideas and Learning/Play Time

We started out today with great Mommy/Daughter time! I had finally gotten around to finishing diapers for Amanda's baby dolls...something that has been on my "To Do" List for months! They turned out great and Amanda LOVED them! She was so excited when I first gave them to her, that she lined all her babies up on her bed and made sure each of them got a diaper!





We played all morning in her room and decided to do some "math". I got out the cubes and addition flashcards. Amanda really enjoys math and she is very good at it so I'm always trying to come up with new ways of teaching her! I had seen something similar to this on Pinterest and thought it was a great visual way for her to understand addition! She caught on very quick.








Dinner Tonight was Taco Salad! Amanda always loves to help me prepare dinner and especially loves getting to put her own dinner together. To make tortilla bowls, we place flour tortillas in a greased glass bowl and place on a baking sheet in the oven at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure to remove tortilla bowl and place on cooling rack until cooled completely. Then you can fill with whatever you'd like. Our toppings tonight included: black beans, avocado, lettuce, shredded chicken, tomato, cheese, salsa and sour cream, and Olives for Adam!! Delicious and so easy!

















Last week we tried a new recipe that I had acquired recently through Pampered Chef. It is called Chicken Parmesan Soup...and I highly recommend it. 
What you need: (Serves 6)
- 1/4 loaf French Bread
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp Garlic and Herb rub, divided
-1 1/2 c chicken stock
- 2 c marinara sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
- 2 1/2 c diced cooked chicken breast 
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 oz fresh Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Cut bread into 3/4 inch cubes. You should have about 2 cups. Toss bread cubes, oil and 1 tbsp rub in Baker. Microwave bread cubes, uncovered on HIGH for 3-4 minutes or until they begin to brown, stirring every minute. Spread croutons over a piece of Parchment paper to cool. 

Stir stock, remaining 2 tbsp rub, marinara sauce, tomatoes, chicken, and garlic, pressed, into the baker. Microwave, covered on HIGH for 11-13 minutes or until soup is hot. Grate Parmesan and add to the baker. Top with half of the mozzarella and sprinkle with half of the croutons. Top with remaining mozarella. Let stand, covered for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve soup with remaining croutons. 














Off to go work on more Bridger Babies items, stocking up for the Babes in Bozeman Expo that I will be a vendor at on April 13th from 10-4pm!

Friday, March 1, 2013

Our February and Update on Dad

Where have I been the last month?? I have to apologize as I couldn't figure out what I wanted to blog about next. I wanted to start anew with this past month behind us, but I kept going back to the fact that so many of you already knew where I had been, and so many people are still asking about Dad. So here is what our last month looked like and an update on Dad.Here it goes....this is going to be a long post!! 

February was a hard month for me. Dad got placed into the hospital on  Saturday, February 2nd. On the night of the 5th, I had just finished putting Amanda to bed when my mom called me and told me the doctors didn't think that Dad would make it through the night. Wow...I was a mess!! Adam and I made the quick decision to pack and go to Missoula that night....we got into Missoula around 11:30, after what seemed like the longest drive I've ever taken from here to there, and headed straight to the hospital. I stayed at the hospital, but unfortunately Amanda wasn't allowed on the ICU floor so Adam took her to Mom and Dad's. On the trip over, all I could think about was the last conversation I had with Dad, a 2 hour phone call the night before he ended up in the hospital...would this be my last conversation I'd ever have with him?

Upon arriving at the hospital I was excited that we had made it, mostly because I hadn't received another call from Mom yet, so I knew Dad was still with us. However, I wasn't mentally ready for what I saw when I walked around the curtain to Dad's room. It was quite possibly one of the worst feelings ever to see someone so close to you in the state Dad was in. Dad was unresponsive and intubated, with a breathing tube that was supplying him with 100% of his oxygen. There was only enough standing room for 2 or 3 of us in the room, with all the machines that were hooked up to him. He was also hooked up to a 24 hour dialysis machine rather than the conventional dialysis he does (which is a MWF thing for him). That night, I had a Chaplain come pray with us over Dad. I was hoping for a Catholic Priest so we could get Dad the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick but I couldn't because of the time of night. Little did I know, this Chaplain would end up being a major source of my relief, as I processed everything throughout my two week stay. That first night I stayed for as long as I could until I was basically told to leave for the night. I only got about 3 hours of sleep that night, as I had so much flooding my head, praying that wouldn't be the last time I got to spend with my Dad.














The next morning, we went back to the hospital and we did get  Father McCormick to come pray with us and anoint Dad with the Sacramental oils. We were told that Dad had a very rough night.We then spent some time with Dad before heading into a meeting with multiple doctors where we learned that while Dad was having an procedure done Sunday, he had suffered a heart attack and had gone into cardiac arrest. He then was unresponsive and was intubated with the breathing tube after experiencing RDS or respiratory distress syndrome. Dad also had lots of fluids on him which wasn't allowing him to get any nutrition, they tried tube feeding, but almost all of it would come back up. He also had too much fluid in his lungs and had pneumonia. Dad also had what is called Sepsis. Sepsis is a serious medical condition caused by an overwhelming immune response to infection. Chemicals released into the blood to fight infection trigger widespread inflammation.
Inflammation may result in organ damage. Blood clotting during sepsis reduces blood flow to limbs and internal organs, depriving them of nutrients and oxygen. In severe cases, one or more organs fail and in the worst cases, infection leads to a life-threatening drop in blood pressure, called septic shock. This can quickly lead to the failure of several organs -- lungs, kidneys and liver -- causing death. So this was not an easy diagnosis to hear. Surprisingly that day Dad showed some improvement. I think the oils Dad had received that morning were "working their magic" and prayers were definitely being answered. 

That afternoon after leaving, Adam had called and said he had gone to get the tires rotated and balanced on our vehicle. I had heard a funny sound with our vehicle when we were about an hour away from Missoula the night before, but said a prayer for a safe drive and the noise stopped shortly after. After inspection of our vehicle, we ended up having to replace all tires, get an alignment and get the ball bearings replaced ...which made for an extremely expensive week considering we both weren't working. We were told that we were lucky the tires hadn't blown. Thank you God for keeping us safe. 

That week I made several trips daily to see Dad and come the end of the week when Adam had to go back to Bozeman for work, I just COULD NOT leave knowing the state he was in. Amanda and I ended up staying an extra week,and thanks to a wonderful family friend I was able to take Amanda to preschool so that I could go spend time with Dad at the hospital during the day. Amanda LOVED preschool! It was a great opportunity for us and a great reassurance that she will do great once she begins school in a little over a year. Was so fun to see her making new friends!! Each night she would come home and tell me about her day, it was so great to see how excited she was!

As the week progressed, Dad's numbers were looking better and better, he was breathing more on his own and they had removed many of the original meds he was on when we had first arrived. By Wednesday he started responding slightly with some head nodding, but it was still hard to tell if it was intentional. He also would get really agitated when any of us were talking to him. Wednesday was a hard day for me, and I was not impressed with his nurse that day either so I didn't go back that night...by this time I felt physically and mentally drained. Thursday morning I was unable to go to the hospital so decided to spend Mother/Daughter time with Amanda which is exactly what I needed to re-lift my spirits. I just LOVE my little Amanda!! My brother had the day off so I met him at the hospital so we could take turns staying with Amanda in the waiting room and going in to see Dad. The waiting room had puzzles and coloring books which were very nice to have and great for relaxing considering the situation. I now know where to donate my puzzles when we don't want them anymore! What an amazing day Thursday was! Dad had been extubated that morning and was awake and talking!! Thank God!! I have witnessed a few miracle this year already, this being one of them! My Faith was completely restored, and my relationship with God has grown by leaps and bounds this past month. 

After a week and a half with a tube down Dad's throat, it was very hard for him to talk because it was so bruised and sore so it was hard to hear him, but he was talking and that is what plastered a smile across my face for the rest of that day!! He was moved from ICU to another floor in the hospital on Saturday, two weeks after his arrival, which was helpful in allowing me the peace of mind to head back to Bozeman on Sunday. At this point Amanda finally got to see her Papa Jerome! She always can put a smile on Papa's face. Dad has a long road ahead of him but he is the strongest man I know! He moved from the hospital to Village Health Care,a nursing home on Tuesday where he will get lots of physical therapy and learn how to walk again. This will be temporary until he has enough energy to stand for quite sometime, he will then be moved to Providence Center in Missoula for more physical therapy before heading home. Please keep Dad in your prayers, his strength and determination is impressive and if you are in Missoula please take time to stop by. I think these visits from friends and family will keep him motivated to keep working towards his goal of walking and getting better to come home!

Pictures from our trip to Missoula below! Amanda finally gets to see Papa..several trips to the Carousel..one of many puzzles in the waiting room...Valentine's Day Red...My Patron Saint Therese right out of the elevator doors on the 5th floor (so I knew Dad was is good hands)...Amanda wearing Auntie Jill's boots and sunglasses...and Amanda exerting her independence from Mom at a basketball game, by sitting about 6 feet away from the rest of us! 


 

 


 


We are now back in Bozeman, back to our routine and looking forward to a new month. Amanda is enjoying being able to dress up again and play with her buddy Ian (the little boy I watch). Here she is putting her nursing/doctor skills to work. She told me while we were in the hospital she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up. Following mommy's dream! She also has enjoyed doing art projects again! We spend Adam's days off together as a family.After searching several ponds in Bozeman with no luck finding the ducks, we found them. There were probably 300 ducks, all at the MSU campus duck pond. We then went to Murdocks to see the baby chicks and Amanda and Adam had fun in the hunting and toy sections. We will find out in the next few weeks about new job growth opportunities for Adam, and I'm asking for continued prayers that God will lead us in the direction he wants us to take! Thanks for sticking with me through this post...I know it was extremely long!!





 


 
 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Saturday Fun Day!!

Saturday afternoon I left Amanda with Adam so that I could get a little break!! I left to go into town to do laundry at Adam's sister's home. Our vacuum, washer and dryer all went out within two weeks of each other and Naomi has been so kind to let us use her washer and dryer and the comfort of her home rather than having to sit at the laundry mat. Thank you so much Naomi!! 

When I was pregnant with Amanda, I had read the book, " The 5 Love Languages of Children" and have decided to re-read it. Through reading it again, Adam and I quickly have come to the conclusion that Amanda's language of love is Quality Time. So, earlier in the day, we had decided to make Saturday night all about Amanda. She wanted to do a sleepover, so we called Auntie Jill to see if she wanted to join us for the night. 

After finishing laundry, I came home to this...the entire living room rearranged and a fort that they had made with several king sized sheets...it covered almost the entire room!! Amanda had the biggest smile on her face as she showed me what her and daddy had been up to!! Adam is such a good daddy!! Amanda was so happy!














Adam had also been cooking for a good portion of the afternoon...he made homemade chicken nuggets for dinner...a request of Amanda's! They also made cookies on sticks and Amanda decorated them all by herself!

















After dinner we had family movie night! We watched Rango! Amanda laughed so hard during the movie! There is nothing better than the genuine laugh of a child!! Made me realize again, how blessed we are to have little Amanda in our life. 

During the movie we also painted nails, and after the movie was over Amanda wanted to play Chutes and Ladders! We were going to all "camp out" on the floor and have a sleepover, but after we had concluded our fun evening Amanda just wanted to crawl into bed. Two hours after her normal 7pm bedtime, and she was out within about 3 minutes! That night was so fun, and the joy it brought to Amanda was one of the best feelings EVER!!




Sunday, January 27, 2013

Business Orders

Today was a busy day for me working on completing several business orders! We just got over the flu bug here at the house and I have been putting off what needed to be done because of a severe lack of sleep this past week. I love productive days!! It feels like a big weight has been lifted and it was so nice to have some craft time today! 

 




     

    



The bibs will be a new item to my website! Thank you so much for all of you who have supported me with my new business this past year! Can't believe I'm coming up soon on Bridger Babies 1 Year Anniversary!! Through your support, I've been able to live out a dream of mine, and I've been able to stay home with my little Amanda and share each and every precious day with her! So Thank You!!