Visit to ENT

First of all, thank you all for the encouraging words about tubes. I am so thankful to have all my blogging mommies for support, prayers, and answers to my ridiculous questions! We went to the ENT yesterday. They had a cancellation and were able to get us in! Her ears were still very infected. He wants to see how she does through the summer before we rush into tubes. He said the summer months are off season for colds and infections, so hopefully she won't get many ear infections. He doubled her antibiotics and we are going back in 3 weeks for a follow up. Now if they are still infected then, he said she is obviously resistant to antibiotics(we have tried 4 different ones now), and we may need to go ahead and talk about tubes. So anyway...we took the conservative road. We will just have to see how she does now.

About to leave for the doctor

Maggie's cousins came over to play yesterday. They stopped by on their way to Destin. She had a great time and enjoyed watching them play. She tried to join in on the fun several times, but just isn't quite ready to run around yet!

Maggie and Cousin Claire

I don't have many pictures to post!! We have no plans this weekend, and plan on relaxing and getting our little sugar pie better!!! I am going to Sex and the City 2 tomorrow with some friends and could NOT be more excited!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Weekend!

Prayers Needed

Today we went to the doctor with our 6th double ear infection in the last 3 months. We are right on target about every 15 days for one. Today the doctor recommended we see an ENT for a consult about tubes. Of course the ENT cannot see Maggie for 2 more weeks, so we will patiently wait. But I am pretty sure they will recommend tubes. She cannot seem to shake these ear infections. Poor little thing has been so sweet these past few months though, even with fever and some serious teething going on as well. I am just ready to get her feeling better...with NO infections!! Please pray for us! For any of you mommies who have been through the tube thing, I need an encouraging word. I am SCARED and NERVOUS for Maggie and myself!

7 Months

Well Maggie has officially spent the night out! Last night we went down to New Orleans to celebrate my good friend Lindsay's 30th birthday! Maggie stayed with my parents for the first time and everyone did great, including me:). I had a mini breakdown on the way down there, but once we met up with everyone I quickly realized a night alone with no kiddie worries wasn't going to be so bad after all!!! We really enjoyed ourselves but we were both about to die to see Maggie when we woke up. We couldn't get home fast enough!!

Maggie turned 7 months this month. Everyone told me to treasure the "baby" months, and I did, but it has all gone by WAY too quickly for me. I cannot believe how fast they grow, learn and achieve things!

Some Maggie facts:

1- Maggie is crawling and pulling up on everything,

2- She eats 2 bowls of cereal a day, 1 jar of fruit, and 1 of veggies. Her favorite veggie is carrots and her favorite fruit is pears. We haven't tried bananas yet though!

3- She wears a size 3 diaper.

4- She is in 9-12 month clothes. She is petite, but so tall we have to buy bigger size clothes.

5-She wears a size 2 shoe but would much rather go barefoot, and I am totally ok with that.

6- She talks all the time. She says new sounds daily. Still no mamma though:(

7- She is doing SOOO much better at school. We think the separation issues might be almost resolved!

8- She hates juice. I have tried apple, pear, and white grape juice. She won't drink any of them plain, or mixed with water.

9- Sophie the giraffe goes everywhere with Maggie. It is by far her favorite teether, and it fits perfectly in her hand for her to carry everywhere!

10- Sadie is her very best friend!!

Some things have happened worth mentioning since my last blog. Brian had his 27th birthday! Yes...I married a younger man! Happy Birthday Brian! You are the best daddy in the world!!

And Brian's brother, Eric, got married! We wish you and Lisa all the happiness in the world!!

Love

Just when you think you know Love, something little comes along to remind you just how BIG it really is.

I have been many things in my life; a sister, a daughter, a wife, a best friend, an employee...but a mother is by far the most rewarding and special "title" I have ever received. This Mother's Day started off extra special with breakfast in bed by my sweet husband and lots of cuddle time with Maggie! Then off to church and to eat at my parents house.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! What a truly exceptional role model of a wife and mother you are to me everyday. I thank God to have such a loving, understanding, selfless mother for a best friend.

Some recent updates since I haven't blogged in a while.

1- I finished the 5K alive!! I am already looking to do another one. It was such a feeling of accomplishment running through that finish line with your friends and family cheering you on.

2- Maggie's separation anxiety has gotten worse. The daycare called last week again for me to come get her. She had been screaming non stop for hours. It is weighing really heavy on me. I pray everyday this phase will pass soon.

3- Maggie is eating cereal twice a day and a veggie once.

4- Maggie is not the best napper. She cat naps for 30 minutes throughout the day but the days of 2-3 hour naps are long gone. I am hoping this too will pass.

5- I am afraid to say it...but she definitely associates Brian with DaDa. She never looks at me and calls me that, but she does him all the time.

Sorry Maggie but everyone loves a naked baby!! Check out my little butter ball.

No! No! No! I will not put away the bouncy seat. I refuse. This is my crutch. What will I do when we put this thing up?? That will mean all her baby things are gone!! Notice how she sits up and almost flips the seat over! She has only fallen out a couple of times...TOTALLY kidding!!

This is where she spends many mornings checking emails, facebooking, and updating her blog on her laptop. Notice the teething ring always in hand...she is teething like a maniac!!

For any of you who know my husband...then you know she did NOT get these thighs from him!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! Motherhood is a unique and truly rewarding gift from God, and I hope you thank him everyday for it. There is nothing that tugs at my heartstrings more...

Da Da Da Da Da Da

You are in for a treat with this blog! I figured out how to upload a video from my blackberry!! I think Brian is manipulating our child while I am gone to kickboxing. I came back from kickboxing last night and all she said over and over and over again was da da da da da da. It's her new favorite word...or sound really bc she has no idea what it means. However, Brian thinks I should write in her baby book first word, Dada on April 26th! Now me on the other hand, I believe the first word has to be intentional and she has to know the meaning. Help us decide here....should I write it down as her first word??!!

Here is a video today still saying her new favorite word...

My mom recently gave Maggie the best chew toy. Its a Vulli Sophie giraffe! Its made of all natural rubber or something and totally safe for her to chew on all day...which she does. It must feel so good to her sore little gums. Supposedly the company is out of Paris and all the movie stars are buying these for their babies. My mom is just so hip. ha! I had never heard of it. You all probably have several of them!

We are still going strong with the cereal every night before bathtime!!

and in the next week or so will add this...

We are home sick today with yet another ear infection. This one makes 4 so far! The doctor explained it well today. There are over 200 common cold viruses and we as adults are immune to most of them by now. But babies catch every little virus they can, especially when they start to crawl and put things in their mouth. Multiply that times being a daycare baby and its no wonder we are sick every other week!! Good news is...summer is coming up and not the season for cold viruses and her immunity is building up. The colds are what causes her ear infections, so its a vicious cycle we are in right now!! However...I am loving being home today and cuddling and rocking her as much as possible. She is SOOOO sweet today!

Target is quite possibly my favorite place. If it had groceries, which some do, then it would be the only place I ever went!! Do not be afraid of the Archer Farms brands at Target. Everything I have ever gotten is SO good! Their granola bars are awesome. This is my latest discovery...parfait granola bites. The lemon raspberry is by far my favorite but there are many other flavors. Pop these things in the microwave for 5 seconds and its a little piece of heaven. Only 1 point for you weight watcher gals out there.

Another recipe...I made these last night and they were too good not to share. Thanks Lyndsey for the recipe!!

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves- 2 Pts for muffin for WW people

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 egg

1/2 c. finely crushed crackers(I used whole wheat ritz, 2 servings)

1 1/2 c. weight watchers mexican cheese

1 c. chunky salsa

I added some mexican chili powder and cumin to spice it up but it was not in the recipe!

Heat oven to 400. Mix the first 4 ingredients and 1/2 cup of the salsa, and 1 cup of cheese. Spoon into 12 muffin cups sprayed with pam. Use back of spoon to make indention in each muffin mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Then top with remaining salsa and cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Could serve with mexican corn or black beans. Enjoy!!!

Operation 5K

So Amanda wanted to run in a 5K in Laurel this coming weekend. I figured she needed some moral support, so I told her to sign me up too! Now let me explain...I have never ran a 5K. I can hop on an elliptical for 30 minutes all day long, or do an hour of cardio kickboxing no problem. But the open road with me and my tennis shoes...well that just plain scares me. I am so not a runner. I think its bc it is all in your head. I know I am probably physically fit enough to run a few miles, but my head tells me something different every time! I think it intimidates me or something. So anyway... I decided a week in advance to do this with her, so no real training here. Just a big ol prayer to the man upstairs to just get me through it...somehow.

This weekend was SO relaxing and wonderful! Brian had a work thing Friday night so Mags and I hung around the house and played all sorts of fun things! Saturday we slept late and did absolutely nothing while the supposedly bad weather came and went. We went to Heather's crawfish boil that afternoon, even though Maggie had a fever by then. We had a great time and especially enjoyed the company. Maggie kept a fever through today. Not sure what is wrong. Might be ears...she is very congested. Prolly head to doctor tomorrow if nothing changes. No pics to post from the weekend. Sorry!

I did have a few new discoveries I wanted to share...

1) Chocolate Cheerios are tha BOMB!!!

2) Parenthood, the new TV show after Biggest Loser on Tuesday night is SOOO good

3) Comcast On Demand has a kids section...with all sorts of shows for little ones to watch. Can't believe I am just now finding this out!

4) and last but not least...Target just got in the CUTEST clothes

Ok...night night blog people.

Separation Anxiety

So we are going through some difficult times right now, for both of us. Maggie is having separation issues really bad. She used to be so happy and would go to anyone and everyone, and now she cries when someone else holds her. Needless to say, she has not been getting good reports at school lately. They called twice last week to let me know that she had been crying non stop and that they thought something might be wrong with her. I left work early to pick her up and she was happy-go-lucky Maggie all afternoon with me. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now, and she just isn't acting like she used to around other people. She is crying more and more, and that is the last thing I want to hear when I pick her up from school. It makes it SOOOO hard to drop her off there everyday, and SOOO hard to concentrate on my work when all I can think about is Maggie. We got a great report at her check up last week, so I know nothing is bothering her. She may be getting more teeth in, but she isn't crying like that with me or Brian, so we figure it is separation issues. Either we are going to get past this stage quickly or I will soon be a stay at home mom. It is killing me. It also makes me SUPER nervous to leave her overnight. Brian and I have a New Orleans trip planned in May(1 night), and a St. Louis trip in June(2 nights). I hope we have this issue worked out by then, otherwise both grandmothers won't be getting much sleep when they babysit!!!

On a higher note, we did her 6 month pictures with my sister this past weekend. My sister does photography on the side when she is not working her 9-5. She is even doing some weddings now and her pictures are fantastic! Here are a few of my favorites!

This past weekend Brian and I worked hard in the yard. We dug up some old bushes and planted new ones. We planted Pink Fermosas(azaleas), Indian Hawthorn, Japanese Boxwood, and a Japanese Magnolia(my favorite). We also got all the flower pots looking good with some spring flowers! It was so nice to have a weekend where we had no plans and we could relax and get some things done around the house. I also am very excited to have an herb garden. Well more like 3 herb pots. I am growing rosemary, lemon basil, sweet basil, dill, thyme, greek oregano, chocolate mint, and parsley. I have already used several of them and they taste amazing. But the smell is what I really LOVE!

I love me some Dr. Oz. He occasionally has some really good recipes on there. My mom tried this one and told me it was really good. So we decided to make it last week and have made it twice since then. Its easy, tasty, and very healthy!!

Lemon Asparagus Chicken

Ingredients

4 (4-oz each) skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 red bell pepper, stem removed, seeded, and diced

1/2 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions

Rinse the chicken under cold water. Season the chicken with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

In a large, non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Stir in the garlic and the red pepper. Add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the zest and the chicken broth and turn the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Serve immediately over hot rice.