She's potty trained, ALREADY!!!

Just kiding!

Today we were at the library, and for the first time I used the family bathroom. I thought it would be cute to see how Isabella would take to the toddler toilet. Eh, she wasn't liking it so much...maybe next time!

Chef Niki Strikes Again!

Chipotle, Corn & Kidney Bean Stew

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Lg onion, diced

2 Tbsp diced garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

a few dashes of black pepper

2 chipotle peppers (canned), drained and chopped

1 (28 oz) can diced (or crushed) tomatoes

3 cups water

4 russet potatoes, cut into 3/4in dice

2 carrots, cut into 3/4 in dice

1 cup corn (or three if you miss read this like me)

1 (16oz) can kidney beans, drained

1 cup (or more if your family loves it, like mine) cilantro, cut...stems and all

juice from lemon

• In a stockpot, saute the onions in the oil over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Saute 1 minute more. Add the chipotles, tomatoes and water, stir. Add the potatoes and carrots, cover and bring to a low boil...simmer for 20 minutes.
• Uncover, add the corn and beans. Thin out the stew with more water...if needed. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lemon juice. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
• Serve with your favorite slice of homemade, fresh bread and/or garnish with cilantro for good looks ;)
• Serve with a cold glass of your favorite wine... beer would work just as well :)

VIEWER DISCRETION...Really

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

The following are pictures of Tom's burn. He had an appointment today and the doctor upgraded the diagnosis to a partial 3rd degree burn. It is healing, but will take some time. Tom is now on a different type of pain medication (more for at night), and an antibiotic. The risk for infection is high...and you will soon see why. *hey, nice rhyme Nik* Tom returns to the doctor on the 13th to see how it is progressing. Just realized, that is Friday the 13th. Great.

On a happier note, I had my orientation today at Ohio State University. So far all of my transfer credits are falling into place. I do have two generals that I have to knock-off. Thought I had courses to cover them...but nooooo. O'well. Other than that I have Bio's/Physio, Chem, Physics and Math awaiting my arrival :) Well, I am taking a math this quarter- which should be loads of fun.

Help me Doc!

As some of you may know, Tom dropped boiling hot water on his foot Saturday night. He has been self medicating (and has performed a self diagnosis) since then. I have yet to see the extent of the burn, but knowing Tom, it is far worse than one could imagine. For this reason, I finally convinced him to seek medical advise. It didn't take long to convince him...just a few nasty pictures from my Mosby's Dictionary. A mesh graft here, a third degree burn there... you get the picture (no pun intended!).

We set out to a local urgent care, but as it turns out the one we had driven to did not accept our insurance--so we went to the nearest ER. His final diagnosis was a 2nd degree burn, dorsal left foot, about 6-7cm. The ER also performed a debridement of the burn. Which, according to Tom hurt very bad *insert profane language here*...see, the hospital--HOSPITAL!!--could not find any lidocaine to numb to top of his foot. Sadly, Tom had to suffer through feeling every cut the doctor made removing the old, dead flesh. After all was said and done, the nurse gave him a fake shoe to use, but being the non-compliante patient that he is, he removed it and walked out with just his sock. >:( Now the girls have a fake size 16 medical shoe to play with!

He is doing OK tonight, has been managing to wheel himself all over the house using a rolling desk chair...quite entertaining if you ask me. The gauze on his foot is moist and red, looks gross. Tomorrow when he unveils the wound, I am going to record a play by play photo footage (hehe...like the puns tonight!) with my camera. If I have clean pictures, I will post some in the next blog :)

That is all for today. See, I told you this family has a thousand plus (+) tales! And it just gets better with time!

Dearest BMW Driver

Dearest BMW driver on the 161 East today around 4:50pm,

I would like to kindly remind you that in the state of Ohio, bright orange road signs that state "ROAD WORK AHEAD 1 MILE" probably means that road work is going on. Also, when a sign that states "REDUCE SPEED AHEAD" means that you are going to have to slow down from the 65mph+ to whatever the next sign states. In this case it was 45mph. I'd like to remind you (again) that this means to slow down...not put the pedal to the metal and hope you can safely get more car lengths ahead than necessary. Thanks for putting caution to the wind, and placing us safe drivers lives at stake...not to mention my 12month old. BTW, did you get very far? Um, no...after cutting myself and several other drivers off, you (I laugh) were stuck behind a Mini Cooper abiding the law. Eventually I lost sight of you, and turned on my appropriate exit...but I hope that the lurking highway patrol of Licking County found your @ss and gave you a speeding and reckless driving ticket.

Have a nice day and stay safe... if not for your own well being, but for our community's.

Sincerely,

The mom in the mom van

PS

Thankfully I was off the road and out of the harm that you were causing. Making it safely to my home enabled me to make a fabulous meal for my family. Banana Black Bean Empanadas. Yummy. And I didn't burn down the kitchen :)

Irritability, that sums it up

To most it would be a case of the "Mondays". I call it irritability.
Today was a rather blah day. Nothing to exciting. Carly and Abby off at school, Tom resting in bed from an injury, Isabella sleeping her way through teething, and me testing out the kitchen oven all day--hoping to not burn the house down.
Tom spilled a lot of boiling hot water on his foot a few days ago. I'd say he has a 10th degree burn, but there is no such burn. I will say that it looks ugly and he advised me NOT to put a picture on here of it. >:( He has been resting and keeping it clean and well aired.
I got Carly's test scores back. Not where I imagined they'd be...but she is still a bright girl. She got a 120 on her IQ test. Average for her peers is between 84 and 100; so she is clearly out of the norm...but not "gifted"enough. Bleh.
Abby...she is the apple of my eye. She just got bumped up in her reading level. She is also so good with Isabella :). Today she got a pony-tail rubber band stuck in her hair. She was seconds away from cutting a chunk of hair out before I told her "NO!"...thank goodness she put down the scissors!
Isabella is teething. Need I say more? She took a good nap today, and is now flailing her body to and from in her pack-n-play. I have created a monster. She falls asleep in our bedroom, in her pack-n-play, on a nightly basis. Ashamed? Yes, very much. Regret? Eh, sometimes...but she is so gosh darn cute!
Today I managed to make a healthy snack for Isaboo and I...and the kitchen did not burn down! I also fiddled around on the computer. A lot. Too much almost. I did fax off some items to OSU, so I accomplished something today!
That's all for today. Simply put, irritability.

Sweet Potato Fries with Cucumber-Mint dip

Sweet Potatoes

** Preheat oven to 350*
** Cut SP into fry cuts & place on greased cookie sheet
** Spice with 1/8tsp nutmeg & cinnamon
** Add salt and pepper to taste
** Bake for 30 minutes, turning once (15 minutes)

Cucumber-Mint Dip

** 1 1/2 C plain soy yogurt
** ~4 Tbsp diced cucumber
** Dash of cinnamon
** Pinch of finely cut fresh mint

** Combine and mix all, refrigerate until ready to serve

IF THIS IS ALREADY A RECIPE BY SOMEONE, ANYONE...SO BE IT. I MIXED THESE INGREDIENTS THIS WAY AND ENJOYED IT!

PS, this also goes good with vegetarian or vegan chicken nuggets

Yo Gabba Gabba

Isabella LOVES Yo Gabba-Gabba "Hold Still"
Here she is wiggling (rocking out) to the song. She was watching on the computer, and I apologize about the poor quality recording. We have a dark house :)

The Box

The 2nd and 3rd grade classes performed a musical concert centering around what "we could do if we had an empty box". Each class dressed the part for their box. Abby's class decided that they would create a fairytale with their box. Several of the students dressed in fairytale attire; ranging from princesses to a lumberjack. They all looked too cute!


Abby's class with a fellow class. The other class made a Veterinary Clinic with their box. Some children dressed as animals, while others dressed in veterinarian clothing. *if you spot Abby (dead center in pigtales) and count two boys over to the left, the kid in the grey sweater is her 'crush'...they both have a crush on one another* Sigh.

This 2nd grade class made a fire-engine with their box. WooHoo!

This 2nd grade class performed next to a 3rd grade class. The 2nd graders went back in time with their box to "prehistoric" times. Some dressed as caveman (and women), and dinosaurs. The 3rd grade class went up in space in their box. Many looked like green aliens, but others dressed as astronaut's.

Here are two classes waiting for their big debut.

The following video is Abby's class singing. You might want to turn up the volume...half of them are more or less mumbling! Cute. OK- so I was going to add the video, but it was taking WAY to long. I threw in the towel!

Carly the Smarty

Yesterday our baby (not so much of a baby anymore) was tested for the gifted program at her school. I should soon have her test results, and from there we can make the next decision. :) We are also speaking with a "Gifted and Talented" coordinator from another district here in Ohio, and she believes, based off her assessment, that Carly should skip the 7th grade next year. Breeze right on by to 8th. If we do go that route, this spring we will be investing into education material at the 7th grade level...just to be sure we are making the right choice.

The process to get tested was a bit of a challenge for us, but we MUST be her advocate...her voice. Niki was on and off the phone all day on 2/18/09 with a woman from Carly's school telling her that Carly NEEDS to be tested for the gifted program. Carly is an extremely talented, bright young girl. If you know our baby personally, you understand where we are coming from. On the flip side, the woman from Carly's school was very hesitant because she was looking at state test scores from Arizona (which we admit are very questionable). Keep in mind that when Carly was in the 3rd grade (scores they are basing her 'giftedness' from), she was in a combined 3rd/4th/5th grade class at a charter school. Integrity Learning Center is a poor example of what schooling should be, IMO. Overall, we were upset by the quality (or lack there of) of education that was given to the students. The students more or less ran the class, and watched movies all day. Don't get me wrong, we met some very nice lifelong friends there, but the education was not so good.

We have explained everything in great detail to Carly--but for pete's sakes, she know what's going on anyways--and she has voiced her thoughts on the idea of being challenged further and/or skipping grades. Both of which she says that she is OK with...she is actually displaying excitement. Both verbal and physical cues indicate that she is ready (and needs) this transition.

Hopefully the news comes in soon. Niki can hardly sit still! Anxiousness has always been a flaw!

Doctors, Library & Custard!

Yesterday (2/17/09), Isabella had her 12 month check up. New doctor, new facility. Tom and I arrived about an hour before, mainly because we had no idea where the office was. Much to our surprise, it was closer than we had anticipated. As we waited for Isabella's name to be called, she played with her monkey and blankie, and I grew anxious! Finally she was called back--we had not been waiting to long. Angie, Dr. Campbell's MA was a very friendly person, and the staff was pleasant. So far so good. The biggest concern was were we going to approve our new family doctor????

My anxiety was rubbing off on Isabella. She only wanted daddy...she wanted nothing to do with me. I could see that my nervousness was causing her stress...she clinged tightly to Tom. She weighed in at a whopping 19.5lbs and measured 29 inches. **At this age Carly was 18.9lbs, 29.5in, and Abby was 22.3lbs, 32in.**

Dr. Campbell arrived and properly introduced himself, as we did in return. After getting acquainted, he examined Isabella, and was not concerned at all regarding her health or abilities. He was pleased with her growth and development. He is also accepting of our vegan'ish lifestyle. We had a lengthy discussion about immunizations; the benefits, risks, etc. He understands and has no problem with our disinterest in a number of them. In fact, he feels the same way about many of the same. Niki actually disagreed with one, with him (Gardasil). We were upfront and wanted his honest feedback about his own personal choices. *had he avoided our personal questions, we probably would have found a new DO*. Without hesitation, he explained what he has allowed his children to have, not have--why and why not. It was a much enjoyable conversation.

We left the office very pleased and excited to create a new patient/doctor relationship with him.

Hours Later...
We decided to have a little family time at the Granville library. We choose to visit Granville, rather than the Alexandria library, because they have a wider variety of books and magazines for young and old alike. After library time, we headed across the street to Whits Frozen Custard www.whitscustard.com. Whits totally goes against the vegan philosophy, but it was a yummy treat for all of us! While there a nice woman offered to take a family picture of us. WooHoo!!! Family picture? Niki almost forgot what those were like. Usually she is behind the camera!

Overall it was a great day- wish they all were that perfect :)



Werner's at Whits

Isabella watching Abby do homework

First Blog

I have finally established this blog site. Credit should be given to an old friend from my ASU days...Brenna. Now if only I can keep up with this darn thing!

I guess I am going to sound pretty boring- I really have nothing much to say right now. Tomorrow brings new things though- I am sure I will have TONS to say then. Isabella has her 1 year appointment at 2:30pm. I am a bit nervous. We have a new doctor, in a new town, under new health insurance. *sigh* We really miss our old family doctor. He was truly a great man...sadly, every doctor that comes after him will have a tough act to follow!

Anywho, that is it for now. Thanks Bren *hugs*