A menu plan by the incredible shrinking woman who also gave herself an early birthday present

This post is a combination of three posts that have been running through my brain in the past two days.

Hence, the never-ending title.

I hope the post won't be never-ending.

Subject #1: My menu plan, in no particular order...

Chicken noodle soup and homemade (!!!) rolls
Pork chops and stuffing (carried over from last week)
Chicken and noodle casserole
Shredded pork enchiladas
Chicken left overs
Enchilada left overs

I was Susie Homemaker this weekend! I bought some bone in chicken breasts and used them (along with carrots, celery, and onion) to make my own chicken stock.

I took the chicken off the bone and divided it in half - one half to be used for soup and one half to be used in the casserole. I also set aside a couple pints of the chicken stock - one for the casserole, and one for future use.

Then, I made my chicken noodle soup and included homemade noodles (using my mom's recipe). Mmmmm.

In addition to the homemade noodles, I used this recipe to make dinner rolls from scratch. Mmmmmmm.

Then I cooked some noodles (not homemade) for my casserole, and put them, the chicken, two cups of chicken stock, a can of 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup, and some seasonings in a casserole dish. I put in the fridge and heated it up for dinner tonight. Simple, but good, and we have lots of leftovers.

Today I also cooked a four-pound pork loin in the crock pot. When I got home I divided it into four sections, shredded it all, put three sections in the freezer for later use, then mixed the fourth section with some taco seasoning and put it in the fridge for Thursday night, when I plan to make enchiladas.

Whew! I promise you that I'm not always this productive. In fact, I don't know what's gotten into me lately. All I know is that I want to get as much stuff in the freezer while I have this crazy energy!

Subject #2: The incredible shrinking woman

I joined Weight Watchers (again) last week. I had success with WW before I got married, and since Kaitlyn was born I've tried several times to get back on track. But lately I've had renewed motivation to lose the 75 extra pounds I'm carrying.

75 POUNDS.

That's crazy!

Anyway, this renewed motivation happened to coincide with a recent revival in my prayer life. Coincidence? I think not.

It also happened to coincide with the start of a "Weight Watchers at Work" program through my employer.

So.

I weighed in today and in the first week, I lost 5.2 pounds! WOO! HOO!

(People usually lose a lot of weight during the first week because of all the water weight, and then it's supposed to level off to 0-2 pounds per week.)

I have lots of other thoughts related to the weight issue, but I'll save those for another day.

Subject #3: My early birthday present

For a while now, I've wanted to get a FoodSaver vacuum sealer. Kohl's has them on sale this week - their normal price is $199 and I got it on sale for $79.99. Happy birthday to me!

I got it yesterday and I've already used it to seal up leftovers from last night, the three pounds of shredded pork I mentioned above, and a bag of baby carrots that was soon to go bad.

I think Mike is skeptical that I'll use it on a regular basis, but I have high hopes. I gave it a place of honor on my kitchen counter, which I've read is one of the keys to actually USING it, versus storing it in a cupboard and intending to pull it out when needed.

If anyone has a vacuum sealer, feel free to share any tips or suggestions!

Subject #4: My mom

Ok, so I cheated and threw this one in at the last minute. (Get over it.)

My mom started her chemo today. I talked to her tonight and she was in good spirits. If you think of it, please pray that the rest of her week (especially once the medicine really kicks in) will go smoothly.

Subject #5: Mike and the fire

Yeah, I cheated again and threw another one in. (Hey, it is my blog, after all.)

The majority owner of the company has found a building to lease for the short-term, and is thinking about rebuilding on the site of the building that got BBQ'd. They will hopefully be able to begin portions of production tomorrow.

In the meantime, they are getting orders like crazy! This is a big answer to prayer! For 3+ years we've been waiting for things to take off, and we seem to finally be getting to that place. Ironic, because they manufacture RV's (fold-out campers, to be exact), and while so many RV companies have been laying people off and closing down factories, we are GROWING.

Praise the Lord!

(I'm done now.)

Menu Plan Monday - week of 9.22.08

So this has now turned into "Menu Plan Tuesday". Oh well. Here is what is on the menu for this week:

Monday
Omelets

Tuesday
Pork roast and potatoes in the crock pot

Wednesday
Tacos

Thursday
Chili

Friday
Up for grabs

It's a pretty simple menu, but this week will be fairly busy between Mike's work load and family activities.

Next week Mike's company will be moving to a new factory, and to say that he's a little stressed about the details would be an understatement.

Regarding the family activities, we are celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this weekend. Their anniversary is at the end of October, but we originally decided to celebrate early as a family so they could take the time around their actual anniversary date to celebrate as a couple.

Unfortunately, my mom's chemo treatments will probably prevent them from doing anything too flashy for this year, but I'm sure they'll make up for it later.

Speaking of chemo, she is set to start this on October 7 so if you think of it, please pray that things will go as smoothly as possible.

On another note, I must tattle on her just a little. Last week she got a teensy bit carried away while rocking in her glider, and she tipped it over backwards.

I think she just wanted a little excitement and decided to create some.

She's always been a rebel like that.

(Next thing you know, she'll be trying to roller skate in the driveway.)

Ok, anyway, back to the topic of menu planning. If you want to see more menus, head over to orgjunkie.com. This week Laura is doing a themed Menu Plan Monday and has asked everyone to post a family favorite recipe, so you should be able to find lots of great recipes to try out.

As you may have noticed, I have not posted a family favorite recipe. In light of this, and in light of the fact that I am posting my Menu Plan Monday on a Tuesday, I will not link to my blog from Laura's MPM post.

I would hate for people to come in search of a family favorite and all they would find is a story about how my mom is off her rocker. (They would also probably think that I inherited the rebel gene from my mom, which I probably did.)

Surviving the Eeyore Days

**Warning - the beginning of this post has a lot of whining, but I promise that there is good news at the end. :-)

I feel a lot like Eeyore lately.

(Although I'm not sure if he ever had tonsillitis.)

One week ago today was when we took Kaitlyn to the doctor and she was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease. It seemed that the doctor fully expected her to be better by Monday.

On Saturday, I went off to the hospital to spend some time with my mom. We had a great time and watched the movie "Last Holiday" which was absolutely adorable.

After I arrived back home, I realized that I did not feel well. When I took my temp, it was above 102.

Yikes.

On Sunday morning I woke up with a horrible sore throat and took a trip to MedPoint, where my fears were confirmed - I had some form of an infection. The doctor diagnosed it as tonsillitis and gave me a prescription for some antibiotics.

She told me to stay home from work on Monday, but after that the medicine would kick in and she was confident that I'd be able to get back to work on Tuesday.

On Monday I continued to feel horrible. I also got a message from my sitter that her son had pneumonia, so she wouldn't be able to watch Kaitlyn for a few days.

I thought, you've got to be kidding me! What else could possibly happen???

(I think I should stop asking that question, because I mean for it to be RHETORICAL but it always turns out to be LITERAL.)

After scurrying to line up some sitters for Tuesday and Wednesday, I realized late on Monday night that I still had a fever.

Um, wasn't the antibiotic supposed to knock this stuff out? Wasn't I supposed to go back to work the next day??

I called my sister Monica for some advice, and realized that I would be taking another day off work. (Without pay, since my vacation and sick time are officially gone.)

On Tuesday we took Kaitlyn back to the doctor because her gums were bleeding (which ended up being connected to the hand, foot and mouth disease) and the doctor seemed concerned about my throat.

He said that if it was a bacterial thing I should already be feeling better.

He looked in my mouth and said, "Whooooooaaaa duuuude. You sure do have some puss sacks back there."

Why, thank you. I've always wanted to be recognized for my puss sacks.

Now, when your doctor, who is normally low-key, feels the need to say "whooooooooooaaaaa duuuude", it's really not a good sign.

The verdict is that whatever I have is probably the same virus that Kaitlyn has, just manifested in a different form.

Yeah, it's a virus. So the antibiotics won't make it better, and I just have to wait it out.

The doctor suggested that I take the rest of the week off.

**sigh**

So Kaitlyn and I have been hanging out together at home this week, trying to get better.

I've let her watch waaaay more TV than is good for her.

We've spent a lot of quality time with Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Bob and Larry. I'm officially tired of watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and VeggieTales.

The good news (yes, there really is good news) is that we are starting to feel better, and we are seeing God's provision during this time.

We are thankful for our church family - people have been providing meals for us this week which has been a huge blessing.

We are also thankful for our immediate family, who have taken the time to help us even though they have so much going on in their own lives.

There have been a few unexpected financial blessings that have come along, reminding us that God will provide for all of our needs.

Another HUGE praise is that my mom is home from the hospital! She arrived home last night, and seemed happy to be back in familiar surroundings.

I know that someday all of this craziness will end and things will get back to some form of normal. For now, I will trust that God continues to be in control.

And maybe next week we can exchange the Eeyore days for a few Tigger days. (Doesn't that sound like a lot more fun?)

A much better day (except for the hand, foot and mouth disease)

Today has been 500% better for my mom. Early this afternoon she was moved to the oncology floor, which has much nicer rooms and a more peaceful atmosphere.

The nurses are also able to be more focused, resulting in significantly better care for the patients.

One huge praise is that mom is now on a regulated morphine drip - she gets a small amount on a regular basis, but can increase it (up to a certain limit) as she needs to.

Another praise is that she has been able to do her breathing exercises more frequently. While she still has a ways to go before she gets to a normal level, she is currently at a level that they consider acceptable for her stage of recovery.

Going to the hospital tonight was a completely different experience - I could immediately see that she was better rested.

I met one of her doctors (she has three), and he was incredibly nice and had a wonderful bedside manner. My sisters mentioned that the other two doctors are just as nice. The three of them have a great reputation and my mom was told by one of the nurses that she has "the big guns" working on her side.

While I was at the hospital my mom was able to get out of bed (with the help of two nurses) and move to a chair, where she sat for a half hour. It was encouraging to see her making this kind of progress.

And now we move on to the frustrating part of the day...

At 9:30a.m. I got a call from Kaitlyn's sitter saying that she was once again running a temp.

**sigh**

I picked her up and took her to see the doctor, who informed me (very casually) that Kaitlyn has hand, foot and mouth disease.

Or is it foot, hand and mouth disease? Or mouth, hand and foot disease?

Whatever.

Anyway, I heard this and thought, excuse me? WHAT does my child have? Is it chronic? Will she be foaming at the mouth soon? Is this related to leprosy? Isn't this one of those things that she might have gotten from chickens or cows or some other form of livestock???

(My overactive imagination was working overtime.)

After quieting the many voices and questions in my head, what I actually said to the doctor was, "Um, what did you say she has?"

I found out that this is a fairly common thing for kids to get, and is a virus that simply must run its course. It got its name because blister-type sores can show up on the hands, feet, and in the mouth.

Kaitlyn doesn't have any sores on her hands or feet, but she does have one big sore on her tongue. :-( No wonder she doesn't want to eat anything!

The doctor said to treat it with Benadryl and Advil/Tylenol, and it should go away in a few days.

By the way, another fun happening today (said with just a hint of sarcasm) is that I tried to give Kaitlyn some Bendaryl and when I pointed the syringe in her mouth and squirted some in, it squirted right back out and sprayed my entire shirt.

Nice.

(I think I'm done whining.)

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, both for Kaitlyn and for my mom. Thanks to everyone who has been praying!!

The day after

Today was a rough day for my mom. She woke up to excruciating pain because a nurse had TURNED OFF HER PAIN MEDICATION.

She turned it OFF.

Less than 24 hours after major surgery.

What was she thinking?

When one of my mom's doctors came in and saw what was going on, she let the nurse have it and made it very clear that mom was to have whatever pain meds she needed.

However, it seems that the communication between the doctors and the nurses (especially after a shift change) isn't the best, and all day long they have been trying (or not trying) to regulate her pain meds.

When I got to the hospital tonight it was obvious that mom was in pain. Between the four of us (my dad, my two sisters, and me) we worked out a plan to document everything and figure out the best system for helping mom to stay ahead of the pain.

My dad and Andrea are going to take turns staying with mom tonight, in order to make sure that she gets consistent care.

Two prayer requests: pray that mom's pain will be managed so she can get some rest, and pray that her lungs will be strengthened. She has to do breathing exercises in order to avoid pnuemonia, which could complicate her recovery.

(At least I think it's pnuemonia, but my brain is dead, so it could be some other condition that she needs to avoid. Even if I'm wrong, I think you get the picture.)

Please also pray for me and my family, that we will know how to best advocate for mom during her recovery.

When I left the hospital, mom was doing much better and it was apparent that the medication was working. She was more conversational and was back to joking around a bit. Hopefully it will all be downhill from here.

One good thing about tonight is that Kaitlyn, who has been cutting her second year molars and had a fever for the past two days, went to bed without any problems. Hopefully this means she will sleep through the night.

(Which means that mom and dad might get to sleep through the night.)

Also, while at the hospital, I was informed that my sisters had read yesterday's post to my mom. I think she enjoyed it, but once she is feeling better she might decide to throw the can of chili at me.

Only time will tell.

Hey look - my second post of the day! (And it's mostly about farting. Just a warning.)

Can you tell I'm just a little excited to have my internet connection up and running again? Even if it did take the guy THREE hours to set up?

I got to spend a couple of hours with my mom tonight, and she is in GREAT spirits. Her sense of humor has certainly not been affected.

It was really nice to sit in her room with my dad and my sisters - I can't remember the last time it's just been the five of us sharing a moment. We spent a lot of time laughing and joking, which I think did my mom a lot of good.

On my way to visit mom I picked up some flowers, and a can of chili with beans.

The doctors have told mom that she has to pass gas before they'll start giving her liquids. (Right now she's on IV's and ice chips.)

She's been laughing about that because ever since her colonoscopy, all she's done is fart. I don't know how many times she's had to clean out her colon through this process, and all of that cleaning out has caused her whole system to be, um, at the top of its game.

By the way, she would probably be horrified if she knew I was sharing this. (But she's currently drugged up and won't be reading my blog for a while, so I won't worry about that right now.)

Anyhoo... She's hoping that the passing gas part will come sooner rather than later, and has laughed at the fact that we'll be praying for her to fart.

(I'm not going let Kaitlyn in on this particular prayer request, because she remembers prayer requests for a loooooong time. Ten years from now she'd probably still be praying for God to help Grandma fart.)

Before I went to the hospital I stopped at the gas station to fill up (hee hee - see how nicely that fits in?), then went inside to get something to drink.

That's when I passed the chili with beans.

I bought it, and when I gave it to mom I told her it was to inspire her and help her keep focused on the goal.

I'm sure Michael Phelps had his tokens of inspiration, and now mom has hers.

See how I just related Michael Phelps to farting? Yeah, I'm talented like that.

And, possibly, some of mom's drug may have rubbed off on me because I have no idea how I've rambled all the way to the point of talking about Michael Phelps and farting.

Maybe I need to take all of this internet connectedness in small doses.

Or maybe I should go to bed.

Goodnight.

Praises

Praise #1
My mom's surgery went very well. I haven't seen her yet (I'm headed to the hospital as soon as my niece arrives to watch Kaitlyn for me) but Monica (my sister) told me that mom is in very good spirits. She's quite a bit drugged up, which could account for the good spirits, but at least she has her spunk.

Praise #2
After much weeping and gnashing of teeth and several unexpected bumps in the road, I have internet service at home. And cable. And a home phone. Woohoo!

My day didn't go as expected - Kaitlyn was home today with a fever, and Mike had an emergency business trip to Michigan. I would like to have planned it a little differently, however, everything has worked out ok so I won't complain (too much).

Thanks to everyone for your prayers! I'll keep you updated on mom's progress. One additional specific prayer is that her digestive system will start working ASAP so she can start on liquids, and move quickly to real food. (She doesn't want to eat baby food for the next week.) :-)

Prayers for my mom

As I've mentioned before, my mom, Priscilla, will be having surgery tomorrow. A routine colonoscopy in July revealed a small cancerous mass, and further testing showed masses in her ovaries as well. So, she is having a complete hysterectomy tomorrow and a small portion of her colon will also be removed.

The surgery is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. (EST) - she'll be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for all of the pre-op festivities. The doctors estimate that the surgery will take 4-5 hours, and they expect my mom to be in hospital for 7-10 days for recovery.

Here are some specific prayer requests:
~initial IV to go smoothly (nurses seem to have a hard time finding her veins)
~epidural to go quickly and smoothly
~ureter is free and not entangled
~protection as she receives blood transfusions
~a clean and thorough surgery
~quick healing and total recovery

At her meeting with the surgeon, Mom asked if he could throw in a quick tummy tuck.

Sort of like when you take your car to get an oil change, and 15 minutes into it the guy comes out and says, "Your xyz contraption is dirty and should probably be replaced soon, and your abc gasket needs to be flushed. Do you want me to go ahead and do that now, while I'm already in there?"

Apparently, that's not really an option when it comes to major surgery.

(If you can't tell, my mom has a very healthy sense of humor, which is one of the many things I love about her.)

I hope to be back tomorrow night (from home! on my very own high-speed internet connection!) to post an update.

For now, I'll leave you with two pictures of my mom and my sisters. The first is of my mom and my sister Monica, and was taken a year ago at Kaitlyn's first birthday party. The second is of my mom and my sister Andrea, taken while my parents were visiting her in California.

I love you, Mom!