Poor Emi and Kaida

The other day Emi was outside with the chickens and ended up stepping on a nail that went through her shoe and punctured her foot. She was fine for awhile and then the pain set in. She was limping at first and then couldn't put any pressure on it at all after. Boy did she milk it. Daddy got her all propped up in the recliner with her foot wrapped up with a towel that had ice in it. There she sat eating her dinner and calling for this and that. She was a little upset that she couldn't walk I helped her think of a solution. We talked about people who can't walk and what they do. She came up with I could put her in the wagon and the stroller!! I said those were great ideas and would work for outside but what about inside the house? Then she put her index finger in the air and said I know, I know I can crawl!!! So crawling it was! But whenever we went anywhere she had to be carried. It didn't slow her down for long. She is now on the mend and is just slightly limping.

Now on to her next "wo is me." Emi has always had HUGE tonsils (in my opinion) and been a little bit of a snorer and jerker when she sleeps. As she has gotten older/bigger it has become more pronounced and she has been walking up more much than when she was little. I starting thinking about her genes and that it could be something genetic as Jason and his dad have diagnosed Sleep Apnea and CPAP machines. So when she had her 4 year check up I had that on my list of things to ask about. The doctor said he thought they were a little large but that he would send us to an ENT who is more versed in that area. I made an appt (man this is when I love being off-when you get to say to the receptionist any day and any time is fine!!) and she was seen. He sent her for X-Rays to get the whole pic which we did as soon as we left his office. I called for a follow-up appt and we went and saw him this past Monday. He looked at the Radiologist's report and said her tonsils and adenoids were signifcantly enlarged which was consistent with the snoring, waking up, etc. He suggested getting them removed. I said "okay, let's do it. How long before it could done?" (I wanted to get it done before I go back to work so Jason doesn't have to deal with it, plus we still don't have a car to fit us all.) He said he does surgeries on Wednesdays and that as soon as the insurance approved it they would schedule us in. On Thursday I called the insurance and they said it was "in review." I called on Friday and they said it was approved. I immediatelt called the ENT to let them know. Well long story story she will have her adenoids and tonsils removed this coming Wednesday!!! Monday we go for a pre-op appt and lab work and then Wednesday morning will be the big day!!

Now little Kaida had dental work done in November and I noticed a few weeks ago that it looked like it hadn't been done so I called the pediatric dentist. They informed me I needed to get a new referral whch first meant I had to go to the regular dentist. We went and he wanted to do it. Luckily the receiptionist said that I wanted to go to a pediatric dentist. (He was a little rough when he worked on me.) So we went and it ends up the fillings came out so they have to be re-done. Lovely. Poor child. Lucky for her she got another stuffed animal dog (last time they gave her a dalmation dog-very nice quality one) and a balloon. She didn't mind and associates the dentist with good stuff!! So on Tuesday morning she has to go in to get those taken care of. They also happen to be the 2 front teeth. I can just see her with some gold bling caps on those 2 teeth and her loving every minute of it!!!

So this will be one busy week but I am glad I can schedule all these appointments while I am off so I can be with them.

An AWESOME surprise!!!!

I went out to check the mail and balancing on our fence was a package. I figured it was from my parents but boy was I WRONG!!!! I looked at the writing and quickly noted it wasn't either of my parents. I picked up the package and looked at the return label and it was from (are you ready for this??????? CHIEKO OKAZAKI!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am still in shock and teary eyed. (For those of you who don't know who Chieko is I will post about her later tonight-she needs her OWn posting to even try to do her a little justice!!!.) Before I had the 2 bigger girls open the package I HAD to take a picture of it with its labels and such! So the 2 older girls opened it and much to their surprise she had thought of them as well. She sent them each a book. They are already enjoying them!! For baby Chieko she sent 2 DARLING outfits in 2 different sizes (that's a smart woman if you ask me!!) also enclosed there was a very very sweet note. I have made copies of it and then am putting it in the fire/waterproof safe to keep it in good condition for Chieko until she can appreciate and treasure it. What a sweet woman! She has always been high on my list and now she has just outdone herself!!! What a blessing to have good women in our lives. At this point I am speechless, I don't know what I can say to actually have one understand how I feel about this
woman. What a wonderful surprise, it has made my day...no week....no month!! I am in HEAVEN!!! What a blessed woman I am, truly blessed.

The girls opening the package.....

and revealing the marvelous contents!!!!!

Super cute outfits for baby Chieko (does she have good taste or what?!!)

and totally awesome book picks for the other girls!!
How thoughtful!!


Emi thoroughly enjoying the new book!!!


Thank you, thank you Chieko!!!!
We love you!!!!!!

Eat Hearty & Give the House a Good Name

My cute Grandpa Burke used to say this all the time and was one of the quotes that struck with me. Maybe because the 2 of us had/have a love for eating and the bellies to show for it!! And it was also one thing he was always proud about-that I would try anything and eat hearty and allowed me to do so!!

Now enough about the name of the post and on to why I am posting!!

Last week there were some super good deals on meat at the local store so I stocked up. I bought meat for carne asada (which I marinated and then bbq'ed and came out fabulous) and the I bought ground beef and 2 cross rib roasts. This was kinda brave and daring for me as I have never cooked up any of those meats except of course ground beef. And although they were on sale for a great price they weren't free so I could have easily messed them up!!!

Well I got on the internet and search for quite awhile looking for recipes. I finally settled on a few. The carne asada was a success so I proceeded on to the rib roast. I used this fabulous pan my parents got for me that is large and has a long handle (I have been using it ALL the time since I got it, Thanks mom and dad!!). The recipe called for you to cook it for one hour leave it in the oven sealed (don't open the oven AT ALL) for 3 hours then turn the oven back on for anohter 30-40 minutes. Well roast number one came out pretty darn good. Today I made roast number 2 with a few minor alternations and it was WAY better!!! I am very excited!! Not only did the roast come out great but at the request of my husband I used the drippings to make gravy. I have only attempted to make gravy one other time and it was a huge flop so I was VERY nervous. Well, lo and behold I did it and it wasn't too shabby for a novice!!! I have to say I am quite proud of myself, so proud I had to post about it. I started and finished late and should be sleeping but had to boast for a few minutes!!!

The super yummy meat!!!! Yes mom I put whole cloves of garlic in it!!!

Is your mouth watering yet?

(Please notice the beautiful counters my parents helped me to clean and that I am now maintaining on my own, WOO HOO!!!)


So everyone...............

Eat Hearty & Give the House a Good Name!!!!!

A garden!!!!!

Jason suggested we have a garden. We planted some things last summer but then moved so we didn't get to reap any of the rewards. We had some reconfiguring to do with the chicken area so Jason took that on. The chickens now have less room but it will actually work in their benefit as we will be keeping them in more of the shade (down here is HOT during the summer). At night (and other times) the chickens go in the other part of their area which is......a covered hot tub!! My in-laws have a hot tub that they haven't used in years and it is covered by this beautiful gazebo kind of thing Jason's grandpa made, very Japanese looking and with Shoji. He does beautiful work. So we put it to use for the chickens. The hot tub has a cover so they have a roaming area there along with their nesting boxes. Well Jason has it all fixed up and it looks great!! The girls and I spent an afternoon of mixing in some dirt to augment what we had and then we planted our seeds that they helped me pick out. So we should have onions, carrots, lots of lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, crookneck squash, scallop looking squash and tons of tomatoes. I will take some pictures today and post. Of course nothing has come up yet but you will get the idea!!!

PS We have also ordered some baby chicks that will come in May. We are very excited!!!

Chow Hound and more!!

I knew Chieko was having a little growth spurt as she no longer can wear her preemie clothes but I wasn't expecting this much!!!

Chieko had a check up on Thursday and has packed on some serious height and weight. We went in 2 weeks ago and since then she has gained 1 pound 6 ounces and grew 1 3/4 inches!! WooHoo!!! Grow baby grow!!!So her new stats as of Thursday 3/19 are:

19 3/4 inches long
7 pounds 4 ounces

Enjoying the swing!!! (Most recent pic taken this morning)

First bath..drying off in the towel Mari (my fabulous aide at work gave her)

Big sis Kaida holding her. Kaida is fantastic holding Chieko and can hold her for long periods of time and is to comfort her by giving her her pacifier or patting her and singing to her if she ever starts to fuss (which is rare-only when she is hungry or gassy)

Emi loves to smother Chieko with loves-hugs and kisses abound in our home-sometimes a little too much and I need to remind her to give her some space!!

I am grateful for a beautiful family who loves each other and for everyone being so helpful and understanding. We don't have a car that fits everyone so many times one or two girls have to be left behind. The big girls have been very sweet about saying things such as "that's ok mommy I'll wait here for you." My husband is a great guy who helps out a lot and will willingly stay home with them and make things fun for them while at home. Thanks everyone for being so helpful, understanding and cooperative!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

Whatever It Is

I am on a Zac Brown Band "Whatever It Is" kick. I not only love his voice and love the words of the song but also the music just makes me feel happy (in other words you could take away the words and the music would do it for me as well). If you haven't heard it yet, I hope you enjoy it as well.


**So the video was working and then they did something with it on Youtube so I took it off. But please find somewhere to listen to it. Sweet jam!!!