A change of topic: Scalloped Potatoes

These potatoes are heavenly. They are a lot of work but it is so very worth it, especially when you want to wow people. For this recipe I like using Yukon Gold potatoes, they have a nice buttery taste to them that works perfectly with the recipe. I can also leave the skins on the potato and the texture of the dish is not tampered with.

Woo!

Not only is Evan going to be going to school this fall but Harry is as well. I had been planning on sending him to a preschool run by the parks and recreation department twice a week in the fall. Evan and Harry are so close in age that I knew Evan going off to school would make Harry very envious, plus I could use the break and go shopping for groceries with just one kid. Then when I was talking with the woman who is working on finalizing Evan's IEP she asked if I wanted Harry to be a peer model at the special education preschool at Evan's elementary school. Naturally I jumped at the chance. It was free and I would be able to drop them both off at the same time in the morning saving me extra trips. Plus Harry would be going in the morning where at the other preschool he would be going in the afternoon which is not his best time. Harry still needs a nap now and then or it is meltdown city.

I am getting more and more excited for fall to come. I am going to have 4 mornings a week with just the baby! Through my husband's work I can get a free gym membership and I plan on using some of those mornings to work out. I have been rather lazy for the last year or so when it comes to exercising so I am excited to get back in the groove.

Baby pics to apease the grandparents

A change of topic: Blue Ribbon Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms make an amazing appetizer or finger food for a party. I made them for my knitting group's Christmas party and they flew off the plate. The few I had left over after the party were amazing as leftovers, so if you are making these I highly recommend hiding a few in your fridge for later. I added a bit of onion powder and also followed the recommendation of some of the reviewers to cut back a bit on the sausage.

Kid Pictures and Knitting content

Smiling baby! He has been smiling for about a week or so but I could never get a picture in time before now.

A silly little boy that saw me taking pictures of the baby smiling and wanted me to take a picture of him sleeping. Yeah he is sleeping all right lol

Another silly little boy that saw me taking pictures of his "sleeping" older brother and wanted me to take a picture of him sleeping.

Two silly little boys in bed. We used to have the bunk beds bunked but unbunked them due to Harry's daredevil antics. He loved jumping on his high bed. He would also lean over to look out the window making me very worried that he would fall.

Mittens! This is my first pair of mittens. I started them awhile back and only now took pictures of them. I gave them to my mom since I owed her a pair of socks and knit one but forgot to take notes (since I was not using a pattern) and then forgot the tweaks I did, like how many stitches I cast on in the first place. So I bought her off with these so I don't have to try and go back and figure out what I did on the sock. Anyone know a one legged person with a size nine shoe that wants a hand knit sock?

A close up. They are a nice thick wool so they should be cozy in the winter.

A change of topic: The Best Blueberry muffins

I have been meaning to share some of my favorite recipes in a more organized fashion for some time but the baby stuff had kind of taken over my brain and my blogging. Please forgive any errors as I am typing this with a grumbly baby in my arms.

Recipezarr has become my cookbook and while every recipe that I try there is not always a winner I have found a lot of winners. First up is The Best Blueberry Muffins. I made them for my ward's Easter brunch and they were a hit. I keep frozen blueberries on hand for use in oatmeal so when I made the muffins I used frozen and just baked them for the longer time.

Who needs sleep?

Life has been busy. It really is amazing how much time I spend feeding Daniel. You forget how frequently infants eat until you have one again. Some days it feels like all I do is feed him.

My parents are in town for a visit (another reason for lack of blogging) and because of that we had Daniel's blessing (kind of like a christening in that he wears white but otherwise nothing like a christening) in an almost hap hazard manner. About a week before they came I realized that we should probably let the Bishop know that we would be having the blessing that Sunday and only a day before that I realized that maybe we should have him blessed in the first place. I guess it really is true that the third kid gets the short end of the stick a lot more often than the previous kids. At least he got a blessing outfit of his very own. My mom bought one for him since the one we used for Evan and Harry was too big.

If I am on the ball I may post pictures of the gardening that I intend to do tomorrow. Don't hold your breath though.

The boys and grandma

I wanna hold Baby Daniel

Evan and Harry are always asking to hold the baby and occasionally I let them, watching them like a hawk the whole time. Poor Baby Daniel will have to put up with it until he gets too big for them to hold or at the very least active enough to squirm out of their grasp.

All mah boyz (messy faces and everything)

Evan is obviously the better holder of the two.

I promise Daniel is not crying, he is rather concerned though.

"Halp!"

A "the baby won't go to sleep" post

I had about five hours of sleep last night and it is not looking good for tonight. I am not sure why Daniel is being such a stinker about staying asleep (this kid has some sort of radar that tells him when I am ready to lay down and sleep because that is when he gets grumbly and fussy. He sleeps great when I am not trying to sleep), but it sure is brutal having to take care of my every day normal stuff while fighting the desire to curl up on my bed and zonk out.

To amuse you while I try and get the baby sleeping deeply enough that he might consider staying asleep when I put him in his bed I will share some pictures of the boys. Friday was our ward camp out which was not much of a camp out for us since we did not actually camp out. It was close enough that we could go for the dinner and evening but not have to stay for the night. The pictures are all of Evan and Harry because Daniel was busy being held by various ward members that wanted a baby fix with out actually having to give birth.

The boys thought it was fun to eat dinner on the ground. They asked for the lasagna even though they both hate it and did not even eat a bite of it. They did gobble down the macaroni and cheese that i brought for the potluck.

Throwing rocks in the lake was a blast.

I love Harry's laugh, it is very infectious.

The highlight of the evening was the campfire. They were fascinated by the whole process.

Summer!

Today marks the unofficial start of summer. We have a quiet day planned but did splurge on some steaks that we will grill on the good old charcoal grill. It is a bittersweet day for me since it is the last day of my husband's leave, tomorrow he is back to work, leaving me all alone with three kids.

Luckily we have a nice quiet week ahead of us. It is the first time in months that we don't have any doctor's appointments planned. I am almost giddy with excitement! It is nice that we are finally getting a chance to have a break and even possibly plan some stuff with friends (what most stay at home mothers do when faced with a day alone with three kids). I have almost forgotten what it is like to have a play date to look forward to. It will be nice to not be so wrapped up in just keeping my head above water and maybe get a chance to enjoy the swim.

Here is a gratuitous baby picture for the grandparents who think I don't post enough pictures. I love the twisted positions that babies can sleep in with out doing things like throwing out backs and the like which would happen to us older and more decrepit people. The poor little guy has a bit of a cold thanks to his generous brothers. I tried to keep them from sharing their germs, but that was impossible with such smitten older brothers.

It's IEP time

Disclaimer: if this is a confusing post it is because I had very little sleep last night and I have a baby that is finally sleeping in my in my arms.

We had Evan's first IEP meeting in preparation for Kindergarten on Wednesday. It was a very interesting process to get to the meeting and the meeting it's self was also rather eye opening. The preschool folks that did the evaluations were amazing. I think they did a great job with the IEP and if it is followed Evan should have a great school year.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time to the first time I was chatted with the neurologist about the effects of Evan's stroke. I would dope slap that man on the back of his head for telling me that Evan would show no signs of the stroke after a year. Maybe physically it could have been possible with a more mild stroke but Evan's stroke was not a tiny minor stroke. It took out a full third of his right hemisphere and that part of the brain controls more than just muscles.

This was really driven home when I was listening to everyone talk at the IEP meeting. The stroke affects how he sees things. He has trouble seeing things that come at him from the left. It has also hindered his ability to draw and write. Evan will not draw anything beyond lines and wonky circles when his peers are able to do a lot more. Evan writing his name is problematical for the same reason as the drawing.

Evan's language comprehension skills have also been hindered by his stroke. In novel situations where he is easily distracted he is less likely to be able to use different language skills that his peers can. He can do better when he is at home and in familiar surroundings but he would be lost in school if there were not going to be accommodations for him.

One of the biggest things that could hinder him is his easily distractible nature (another stroke issue). It can be hard for Evan to concentrate on what he is doing with out someone to help redirect him. We are hoping that we can easily get him a helper to sit with him in the classroom and keep him on task as well as helping him with physical tasks he needs assistance with. The budget crunch being what it is we may get some resistance with it but I am going to fight for that should they try and refuse. It would also help ease the pressure on the Kindergarten teacher who will also have other kids to deal with in the class.

I think the best part about the meeting was having my feelings confirmed about Evan's potential. He has the ability to be a smart kid that can catch up with his peers and learn to adapt to his brain injuries, we just have to get him the support he needs so that he is not forgotten and frustrated. It also confirmed my decision to send him to public schools. The services he will be getting are much more than I could even attempt at home and the specialists are much more trained to deal with them than I am.

R.I.P. Sparky

Once upon a time there was a happy squirrel named Sparky. He loved to run along power lines to reach distant trees. Once day he decided to try a new way down to the ground. Sadly for Sparky that new way down happened to complete the circuit. With a bang Sparky found himself in Squirrel Heaven.

We lost power for a few hours and now have a dead squirrel in our back yard thanks to Sparky's antics. For some reason my husband was not going for the possibility that we could turn Sparky into dinner (after all he was precooked right?). I would post pictures but I am not sure that you all really would like seeing the dead Sparky.

Two weeks

It is hard to believe that Daniel is already two weeks old. He had a great check up, he is already back up and a little over his birth weight. When the doctor listened to his heart he did not hear the murmur, so it is very likely that when he has his follow up echo in a few weeks that nothing at all will show up and that the hole that is present in fetal circulation is closed even if it was a bit slow to do so. Daniel also passed his follow up hearing test, so he officially hears even though we already knew that.

It has been an interesting adjustment having a "little" baby for the first time. We had to actually go out and buy some newborn sized diapers. The sized one diapers were too big to fit him properly with out covering his umbilical stump. He is also drowning a bit in his 0-3 month clothing.

Evan is cracking me up when it comes to "his" Baby Daniel. When he saw the umbilical stump he thought that it was Daniel's manly bits. I had to explain to him what it was and he actually seemed to get the concept. Later on when we were taking the baby to the hospital for the follow up hearing test Evan thought that we were exchanging "old" Daniel for a new Daniel. After all we were taking him to the place he had come from. It took us awhile to convince him that the Daniel we brought home was the same one we had always had. Evan is also obsessed with holding his brother, which he can actually do with a bit of help from me and the couch.

I finally got around to giving him an actual bath for the first time. Like a good mom I took blackmail pictures and am sharing the cuteness.

Aww look at that very sad face.

Someone is not very happy about having his bath.

Overdue update

I have been rather wrapped up in baby stuff which is normal at this stage. Here is a bit of a run down on the stuff that has been going on:

• Daniel decided that he would give nursing a shot, but only for one day. He latched on beautifully and nursed proving to me that he could do it. But in the middle of the night changed his mind and wanted to have a bottle. Once that decision was made there was no convincing him otherwise. Things are a lot nicer now that we are not battling wills at feeding time even though I would much prefer him to nurse. I do feel good about the effort I made to nurse him. The hospital had amazing lactation support and I feel like this time around I did everything I could and that there was nothing more I could have done.
  
• Good news: My c-section pain was very quick to leave. I only had to use two of the nice happy pills that my OB prescribed. Bad news: over the weekend I developed a pinched nerve in my neck which had transformed into the worst headaches of my life. The happy pills have been rather helpful for this when used with heat therapy. I am hoping that soon I will be able to actually function with out drugs in my system. I am so glad that this is happening when I have a lot of people around to help out, because otherwise it would be very hard for me to deal.
• Evan has a blister on his left foot due to his foot brace not being properly put on. I feel bad that I was not able to prevent this, but it was also not really in my control. He will be wearing sandals until it heals, so it is a good thing that the weather is getting very nice.
• Projects are being done at a fast pace. My husband and his father have been keeping busy doing things like building a compost bin, moving our shed so that it does not flood when it rains too much and finishing the bookcase that we moved with us in pieces. I am thrilled about the bookcase because that means I will finally (after almost a year!!!!!!) get to unpack my books and not have a pile of boxes sitting in my living room for guests to look at.
• I am starting to get a touch of cabin fever and wanting to get out more. If my headaches behave and leave like I want them to I may actually get to go out on a date with my husband so that we can see the new Star Trek movie which I am rather excited to see.
  

Pictures

The many faces of Daniel

The peaceful sleeping face

The Overlord is displeased face.

The almost gas smile face.

The "Rarw!" face

The gentle kiss from big brother face.

The cute little toes! (try not to drool on your keyboard)

I am home!

And for the first time the baby came home with me.

The delivery went pretty smoothly. I was apparently contracting rather frequently while they were monitoring me, so it was very likely had the original c-section date been there I would have had to have gone in earlier. I had been kind of having the feeling that things were beginning to start so I was glad that I was able to hang on long enough that it did not end up being an emergency situation where I had to rush and find someone to watch the boys.

Daniel Michael made his appearance at 8:53 am and weighed a very nice 8 pounds 4 ounces. His head was 14 inches around (compared to Harry's whopping 16 inches). We have been struggling with nursing big time and now that my milk is in (thanks to the mad pumping skilz I learned with Evan) he has no excuse and still will not latch properly. The lactation support at the hospital I delivered was awesome and ironically much better than the hospital I delivered at in California. The lactation consultant just could not get him to latch so we are taking a bit of a break and I am pumping for the time being to maybe see if he will change his mind and actually decide to be easy on mom and nurse.

Daniel has a bit of fluid still in his left ear so we have to go back and have his hearing retested. He also has a slight heart murmur that was checked out with an echo this morning. It is nothing major and very likely that the teeny hole between the atrium has not shut yet. Evan's cardiologist reviewed the echo but the wall between the atrium was not very well pictured in the echo so we will go back at the end of June for another look. I am not worried a bit since really anything that does not make him turn blue hours after birth is really not much to worry about at all.

I am feeling pretty ok, tired but my pain is not too horrid. Something that helped me recover a lot quicker in that area was that my OB did not use staples to hold my skin shut. I always felt awful until they were taken out when I had my c-sections with the older boys. It feels very nice to be non pregnant, I still catch myself squatting to bend down and pick stuff up when I don't have to any more. It is also nice to take a deep full breath. sorry if this sounds a bit disjointed but I am typing while pumping, on pain medication and after a night filled with sleep that was hardly deep and restful.

It's baby time

I will try and get my husband to update with pictures and everything. He is a computer guy but still clueless in the art of blogging and actually clearly communicating the information that is necessary for people to know so I may have to bribe him to even try and then write out a post on paper for him to type here. He also has no idea how to post pictures, so this could get interesting. I am praying for a smooth delivery and a smooth recovery (something that has not exactly happened either time) so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as well. I really need "baby stay out of the NICU" vibes sent my way.

Evaluation

I have been dreading Evan starting Kindergarten. Due to his heart defect and stroke I always knew that learning issues would be very likely. How could they not be? Most kids get all the oxygen they need to their brains from birth. Most kids do not have damage to a significant portion of their brains. Still, I hid my head in the sand and pretended that Evan's issues were largely physical in nature. I knew this would have to end when it came time for him to enter Kindergarten. I even considered homeschooling him so that I could pretend a bit longer and I could shelter him more from all the potential bullies and mean kids out there. However after prayer and the realization that our personalities are such that I would probably blow a gasket if I was to be entirely in charge of his education I decided that the public schools would be in charge of most of his education... for now.

Evan had his initial evaluation today. He can be very inattentive at times, especially when something he is being asked to do is not something that he really cares to do and that affected the the results. In most of the areas he was tested in he was either at the low end of normal or just below normal, so I do have the hope that he will be able to catch up to his peers with some extra help. He is getting a further more intensive evaluation in a classroom setting for the next two weeks which of course is going to be fun what with the baby coming on Friday an all. It sure is going to be an interesting juggling act but as this is the last evaluation session for the school year there is not much choice. I really wish that we had known our moving fate in a much timelier manner so that we did not have to rush at the last second to get everything done.

I just can't help but reflect on all the crazy and huge things that have gone on in the past year or so. There have been so many massive changes that it has been hard to keep on my feet and rolling with the punches. I really find it interesting that so many things with Evan and the baby have come to a head at the same time (the diabetes diagnosis and Evan's surgery happening at the same time ect). I really wish things would slow down a bit so that I can just relax and enjoy some of it but I am not seeing that happening.

(late) Sunday Cuteness

The boys dancing around our defunct yard light.

Harry modeling my newly finished mittens. I managed to finish them in time for the weather to get nice and hot rendering them useless until next winter.

This is a very blurry picture of Black Fish and White Fish our newest fish in our tank. The danios we had in there died (probably because I was horrid about remembering to feed them but I have reformed, honest!) so I thought some pretty goldfish would look nice in the tank. Evan likes the black one the best "because it is cute". Harry likes them both equally and they both love watching the tank and squealing over the fish.

Nothing seems to go as planned

I got a call this morning shortly before I had to be out of the door to take Evan to a follow up pacemaker appointment in the big city. It was my OB's office wanting to reschedule my c-section for the 1st. Which is one day before my in-laws are coming to town and my husband starts his time off that he scheduled for the baby. Greaat!

Luckily I have a great visiting teacher who was able to watch my kids for the actual c-section (even though we will have to drop the kids off around 6:30 in the morning) and my husband was able to get the extra day off he needed. Plus the Relief Society President is on the ball and going to get us dinners and the extra babysitting that we will need. It has been so stressful scrambling around trying to get everything replanned that I had already planned just because some hospital big wigs decided that my OB needed to attend a conference (one that I am sure was not planned at the last second). I could have gone with one of her partners but I really like her and would feel uncomfortable with anyone else at this point in time.

The upside is that I will be unpregnant several days sooner than I had anticipated even if I am not all that sure I can handle three kids. I guess I should have thought about that before getting pregnant lol!