School

Last Wednesday was Nevin's first day of school! I can not believe how fast time has gone and my little man is in school. The worst part of last Wednesday was that I got sick and couldn't even take him to school on his first day. Thankfully my mom is off on Wednesdays and was able to take him because Ryan is not home on Wednesdays. He cried a little but once she was gone they said he did great. Thursday I was able to take him and he just waved goodbye like a big boy. I choked up but did not cry and that sort of shocked me! I think I realized he is going to do really well and have fun. Today starts the first day of a long week. He even took a nap when he got home today. I think all the new changes and a busy weekend caught up to him. When his teacher brought him out she told me the one thing every parent wants to hear, 'He is really smart and going to fly through the school year.' Awesome! His speech path. has been telling me for months how smart he is and it kills her that he can not express more. Hopefully we will get his AAC board really going and he will be able to communicate even more with us!

Too Long Old Friend

As you can see my blogging as fallen by the wayside with 3 kiddos, a move, therapy out the wazoo and just good old fashioned LIFE! But that also means this is in dire need of an update. :)

Ryan and I ~
Well, we bought a new house (with gracious help from my parents) and moved June 1st. It was a roller coaster of decisions but perfectly planned by God. At first we thought we would like to stay in the city but it was clear after weeks of looking that was not God's plan. We took a break, got a new realtor and changed gears to the county. It took a little time but not much to find an awesome house in Affton that is extremely close to my family and closer to Ryan's family as well. We were able to get the house for an amazing price after some tough negotiations but we really had peace through the whole process. Everything on our house list was answered with a 'Yes' in this home. It was really neat to see God just work it all out and continue to work in Ryan's business and my Pampered Chef business to provide for us.

Skyler ~
He has been my big helper this Summer with the move and being a great big brother. It is neat to see the different personalities in all 3 boys and how their 'ranking' plays into it. Skyler is very protective of his younger brothers, likes to take them around, show them off almost and keep an eye on them. If he wants to wrestle with them or pick on them it should be no big deal but the Lord help the other child whole steals a toy from them because they band together and attack in protection of the other brother! He loves to help get things for Gavyn or teach Nevin knew things (like potty training!) or help me doing chores around the house. Some days I don't know what I would do without him. In a few weeks he starts kindergarten at SCCS. He is so excited about his new school and learning to read and more about numbers. I really think he is going to take off and have a blast at school. I just started reading 'The Chronicles of Narnia' to him and his eyes just lit up with excitement over this new world I opened to him. He is a great kid.

Nevin ~
My little man is making HUGE progress from a year ago! He graduated from First Steps when he turned 3 in February and we started to go with the city schools for therapy and preschool but that was a bad situation. We ended up never enrolling him in school and found other options. He has been going to this amazing therapy place called PS Kids since the end of February beginning of March. The things he has learned and the care we have gotten from them is phenomenal, I can not say enough. He gets OT for an hour a week, PT for an hour a week and over the Summer he got 2 hours of Speech. He has made great strides in OT with learning to get clothes on and off better, hold a crayon the right way, cut with scissors, strengthen his overall upper body and take direction while sitting at the table a lot better. PT has been amazing! He is climbing better on ladders (like play equipment), going up and down stairs with just holding onto the railing (he had been going up and down on his belly before), running and the biggest goal just this week, JUMPING! It was so great when his PT teacher brought him out to the waiting room on Tuesday with a huge smile on her face and said, "Nevin, show your mom what you can do!" and he JUMPED! The entire waiting room clapped and cheered. Everyone there knows and understands, they just get it even if they don't know you. Speech has been making some big strides as well although it is much slower than the other areas. We are working on doing an AAC board with him right now so he can tell us what he wants through the computer since his language is so delayed. He is at about an 18 month level and yes, that is progress for us. A year ago he could make the /m/ sound and say 'mom' now he can say:

Mom
Lightening
Baby
DaDa (NaNa)
Binki
Dog Dog
Skyler (Iler)
Shane
Matt
Mater
Moon
More
Yes
No

These are approximations, if he said these to you you may not have any idea but I do! He can make the /b/ sound, /p/ sound, the vowel sounds. He can pick out the right verbs and nouns from pictures. There are so many things with speech that have progressed but it is very slow. He starts preschool at Affton SSDEC in a couple weeks and will be getting Speech and Language, OT and PT and we will keep going to PS Kids as well. Keep praying for him, he is a little fighter.

Gavyn ~
My miracle baby continues to be a miracle. We have conquered a big fear and defied odds when he became mobile! We have an army crawling baby on our hands and it is amazing to me each and every time he gets going. We never knew if he would sit up, if he would eat OK, if he would roll over much less be mobile with crawling and one day walking. He is not really pulling up yet, he can do it about half way so we are very hopeful that he will but only time will tell. He is getting better at holding his weight when you stand him up and he likes it now. Anything new is scary to him and he fights it. The biggest battle is showing him he can do these things and they don't hurt. Once the mental part clicks for him he seems to take off. He is still very much a baby and I am OK with that most days. Some days I do cry and mourn for the normal 17 month things we are completely missing out on but I have to pull myself up by my bootlaces and remind myself there was a day I thought I would not bring him home. We have to keep moving forward and not feel sorry for ourselves! We are so blessed and he is so amazing. Gavyn is still in the First Steps program and does PT once a week, OT twice a month and we are starting speech with him in a week.

I know a lot of you still pray for my boys and thank you, I feel your prayers and I see the answers daily. Last Tuesday morning I was having a really hard time and I prayed for a miracle and that was the day Nevin jumped. God hears us and answers us.

Love to all!

Shopping Week 3, Oups

I just realized I threw out my shopping receipt before blogging it! I know I spent less than $75 and only hit up Aldi. One night last week we just ate leftovers because there was so much food in the fridge. I saved the Lemon chicken and egg rolls for this week. I can try to recreate the list as best I can and post the Meal Menu.

Dairy:
2 2%Milk
Whole Milk
2 dozen eggs
Sharp cheddar 8 ounce block
Monterey Jack 8 ounce block
32oz. Plain Yogurt
Butter
OJ
Steak fillets

Frozen:
Corn
Raspberries
Ice Cream

Produce:
Carrots
Grapes
Pineapple (0.99!!)
2 Avocados
Tomatoes
Spinach

Misc.:
2 Juice
chips
Paprika
Parsley flakes
Cinnamon
Italian seasoning
Cookies
pudding
jelly
chocolate sauce
tortillas
English muffins
hamburger buns


Menu Plan

1. Lemon Chicken, egg rolls, soy broccoli

2. Peach Glazed beef fillets, carrots and garlic potatoes

3. Skillet Beef tamales, chips and homemade salsa

4. Stuff Grilled Chicken, broccoli and flat bread

5. Citrus Chicken with peppers, rice and salad

6. Fried Fish, grilled veggies and chips

7. Easter food with family :)

Helmet Safety

On Saturday my mom's old church put on a safety awareness with Childrens Hospital. We were planning on taking all three boys but Skyler came down sick and Gavyn ended up taking a late nap. We took Nevin and he had a blast! Was totally unintimidated by the fire engine, tried out the bounce house, ate a bunch of cookies and got fitted for a helmet that only cost $8! He was so proud of his helmet and did not want to take it off. :) I asked the nurse if there was another way to get my 5-year-old fitted and she told me I could bring him to Childrens and do it at anytime. I had not idea that they offered this service for free and that I could still purchase a helmet for $8 at the hospital. Yesterday mom and I took him over and he too was super proud of his cool helmet. If you are interested in doing this call Childrens and make an appointment, you go to the parking garage (they give you a voucher for free parking as well!), pull into the safety check area and take them into the little office. You can also get your carseat checked there as well.

Shopping List Week 2

Aldi $73.55

Dairy:
2 2% milk
2 whole milk
2 biscuit tubes
Cinnamon rolls
Parmesan cheese shredded
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese
32 oz. Yogurt
Butter
Sour cream

Frozen:
Chicken breasts
2 frozen egg roll packs
Raspberries

Misc.:
Bread crumbs
2 veggie/fruit juice
Olives
Veggie oil
Tomato paste
Honey
Light ranch
Chocolate chips
Brown rice
Cinnamon cereal
Raisin crunch cereal
Fruity cereal

Produce:
Package pears
2 bunches bananas
2 bags sweet potatoes
Carrots
Broccoli
Bag of 3 romaine hearts

Menu Plan:

1. Pull apart pizza with salad and pasta (I use the biscuits for the crust)

2. Grilled chicken penne with mozzarella peacan crusted salad

3. Beef Satay fried rice with flat bread and broccoli

4. Oven fried chicken with carrots and home made steak fries

5. Meatloaf with pasta and carrots

6. Pancakes and fruit

7. Lemon chicken with rice, egg rolls and soy broccoli

Granola Bar Update

I posted my granola bar recipe awhile ago but since then I have played around with it a lot and tried different things. I still make the original recipe but sometimes I make a healthier version. Here is the original recipe and I will tell you what I have changed up.

2c. Quick Oats
1c. Flour
1/2c. Wheat germ
3/4c. Brown sugar
3/4tsp. Salt
3/4tsp. Cinnamon
1/2c. Vegetable oil
1/2c. Honey
1 Egg
2tsp. Vanilla
1/2c. Applesauce or Peanut butter
1c. Raisins or Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 pan.
Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.
Add wet ingredients (use 1/2c of veg. oil first, use the same cup for the honey and it will slip right out) mix until moistened.
Pat into pan and bake for 30 minutes.

One thing I always add in now is 1/2 cup of flaxseed. Somedays I take out the vegetable oil and add 1/2 cup of Orange Puree or 1/2 cup of Purple Puree (these recipes are from the 'Sneaky Chef' book). When I take out the veggie oil I also add the applesauce even if I am doing the peanut butter. It keeps them moist and adds a better flavor.

Asked for Recipes

I have been asked about my homemade waffles and chicken nuggets. Both recipes are from cook books and not my own.

Crunchy Chicken Tenders
From: The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine
(I highly recommend this book for any mom with picky eaters! I have taken the concepts and made them my own but use a lot of the recipes on a weekly basis)

1lb chicken tenders (or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2c. Whole wheat flour
2 large eggs
1/4 to 1/2c. "Orange Puree"
2c. "Better Breading"
1/2c. Grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for pan frying

Season chicken with salt. Place flour in a shallow dish. Best eggs with Orange Puree in shallow dish. In a third dish combine Better Breading with Parmesan cheese.

Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, shake off excess, then the egg mixture, and then the Better Breading mixture. Press the breading evenly onto both sides of the chicken. Put on wax paper and store in the fridge for cooking tomorrow or cook immediately.

Oven-bake method (not as brown and crisp, but quicker!)

Preheat oven to 400.

Place tenders on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Turn chicken over once with tongs, then return to oven for another 10 - 12 minutes until cooked through.


Sunday Supper Waffles
From Farm Journal's Homemade Breads
(one of my favorite bread books! Great quick breads, pancakes, muffins...)

1c. Sifted flour
2tsp. Baking powder
1/4tsp. Salt
2 eggs, separated
1c. Milk
1/4 c. Butter, melted

Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a small bowl, using mixer at high speed, best egg whites until stiff, but not dry peaks form; set aside.

Add milk, melted butter and egg yolks to dry ingredients. Using mixer at medium speed, beat just until well blended. Do not over beat. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter, leaving a few puffs of egg white showing.

Bake batter in a preheated waffle maker.

Makes 14 (7") round waffles

Living on 30,000

I have had a couple people ask me how I manage to shop for a family of five and only spend an average of $80 a week. I pride myself on getting good at cutting costs but still making delicious food and not feeding my family crap from a box. I wanted to keep track of how much each meal costs us a day but, I came down with the flu so that did not get done! For this week I will just post my receipt from Aldi and the meal plans of the week. Skyler, Gavyn and I go shopping on Tuesday's while Nevin is at therapy for 2 hours. This week we only went to Aldi and spent a total of $78.53. The only meat that I used for a meal and did not purchase this week was a pork tenderloin that I had in my freezer. I try to watch for good meat sales ( dierbergs 5 for $25 I believe is what it is now) and stock up on things that are cheaper. When I do that I usually save on the regular grocery bill by eat simpler meals that week of things we already had on hand. Some weeks I may spend a little more but some weeks we may only spend $20 because of eating at parents or we just some how have a surplus of food at the house. In the end things just all work out.

OK, here is what we bought:

Meat:
Beef chuck roast
Pork chops
Chicken breasts (frozen)
Kielbasa
Hamburger patties

Dairy:
2 2% milks
Whole milk
32 oz plain yogurt
Large dozen eggs

Misc:
2 crescent roll tubes
2 veggie/fruit juice blend
Apple juice
Chocolate syrup
32 oz ketchup
Olive oil
2 brown rice
Taco mix seasoning
Hamburger buns
Potato chips
Black beans
2 Diced tomatoes

Produce:
Bag of sweet onions (about 5-6)
10 pounds potatoes
2 bunches bananas
Lime
3 garlic heads
Grape tomatoes
Green grapes
Multi color pack sweet bell peppers (3)
2 avocados
2 bags baby carrots
Bag of vine tomatoes
Broccoli crown
Bag spinach

And out of that here is the menu plan for the week:

1. Hamburgers with caramelized onions. Home made waffle fries and salad.

2. Pot roast with baby carrots and potatoes

3. Grilled chicken seasoned with peppercorn and garlic and caramelized onions. Basil, garlic flat bread. Stemmed broccoli.

4. Mexican skillet (this is an all in one kind of dish with corn, tomatoes, peppers ect.) with brown rice

5. Pulled pork with buns and salad.

6. Thai peanut chicken stir fry (also an all in one, it is sort of a salad)

7. Cheesy Mexican chicken with homemade salsa and chips.

Some of my meal plans start out simple and I add what I am in the mood for when I am cooking. Other things I keep simple like the all in one dishes for days I know will be busy. Since I have three small guys I try to keep things straight forward but I also want to expose them to different flavors. I always make out my meal plan on Monday, check the sales and do my list.

Hopefully this week will be better and I can post what we eat in a day, what it costs and more of how I plan.

Nevin Lucas

I have not been updating a lot, sorry about that! I have had lots of people asking me about Nevin and how he is doing. Well... He is doing great!

He has been on his thyroid meds for 3 months now and his energy level is thru the roof. He was always been my outside kid but now we have to bribe him to come inside. He would play in the dirt, sand and slides and swings all day if he could. He still needs down time but not nearly as much as he used to. I rarely find him just sitting on the couch or zoned out in his room. He is always playing, wrestling with Skyler or getting into trouble! He is keeping me moving right along with Sky Man.

When he turned three he graduated from First Steps. It was a bittersweet time for us and for his therapist although they still get to see him because of Gavyn, except for his favorite therapist who was his speech. We miss Jill and the fun she brought and the love she showed Nevin. We were going to go with the special school district in public school but that turned into a big mess. For about a month Nevin did not get therapy and we were left wondering what we were going to do next. I spent a lot of time on the Internet and phone trying to find other options for him. We have now gotten him into PS Kids and it is going really well. I am very happy with the facility and therapists. Everyone is helpfulf, nice, knowledgable and caring about these kiddos. It has been a transition from having everyone come to us to now going to them but we are getting used to it. Skyler is such a trooper on therapy days and it is nice to have time with him and do errands and whatnot while we wait for Nevin to be done. Gavyn is so easy going he just goes along for the ride.

Nevin will be following up with his endocrinology and neologist every couple months. He will be getting blood work done every couple months as well to check his thyroid levels. And we are also taking him to see an ENT at the end of the month. His speech is still very delayed and although we are seeing progress all of his sounds are very nasally. Although I don't want one more thing to go wrong for Nevin part of me wants them to find an answer for him. If there is something prohibiting him from talking I want it corrected so he can move on in his journey.

I know there are a lot of you praying for my little brood. Thank you so much! We can see big changes in all the boys. Everyone is making big strides.

The Sippy Cup Saga

Even if you know me well you probably do not know about all of our Sippy cup adventures. Thankfully Skyler and Nevin both transitioned to the cup easily. But there are still so many choices! Soft tops, hard tops, open tops, straw cups... Seems that the list is endless and confusing. You also have to add in all the worries of safe plastics, safe cleaning, my goodness does a mother's job ever end? Now we have Mr.Gavyn and the real adventure begins.

At about 6 months we started thinking about the cup. I went out and got a soft top Sippy and a soft straw cup not thinking anything of it. I was in for a surprise when weeks passed and Gavyn would not let you put it in his mouth, would not pick it up, he wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully we have an awesome OT who was there to help. Unfortunately we are 6 months later and not much progress made. He will pick the cups up and sort of put it in his mouth but there is no attempt to drink. I saw the Honey Bear cup and thought, why not try it? I went to order one and to my great surprise the shipping was more than the cup and I am not about to spend 10 bucks on a cup that might not even help!! I started to look at how it was made, thought about why they work well and thought, "Hey, I could make that!"

I did some plastic research and went looking around my house. Found a peri bottle and some straws. Grabbed the scissors, knife and nail file. Here is what I did:

Cleaned the bottle well with hot water and soap.
Got Ryan to pull the outer cap off of the peri bottle since I was not strong enough :)
Cut the tip down so I could fit the straw in it
Filed off all the sharp edges
Inserted the straw
Presto!

We just tried it out and he actually liked it! Let me put it in his mouth, squeez and he got a mouth full of milk. Hopefully after a few days he will be doing it all on his own.