Another trip to the Doctor.

My poor little boy. He finished his second round of antibiotics on Monday. He woke up in the night Wednesday night and last night. Last night he was up for hours before he went back to sleep. He had a low grade fever when he woke this morning and we talked about taking him back to the doctor, but decided to wait. I gave him ibuprofen before his nap (12:15). He woke from his nap at 3:30 with a temperature of 104. So we gave him some Tylenol, and read stories with an ice pack on his head while Kyle called the Doctor. His normal pediatrician was booked so Kyle got him in to a different pediatrician in the same facility. Luke ended up having to get a really strong antibiotic shot which made his leg very sore. I was promised that it would kill all bacteria and get rid of the infection completely. But, we have to take him back to the doctor in 7-10 days to make sure his ears are fluid free to see if they're draining properly. If not, then it's off to the ear, throat and nose specialist to see what the next step is. It's crazy to me that he has never had an ear infection and now he's had one for a month now and he just can't get rid of it. I feel bad for him. And Kyle and I. We are TIRED!!! On the upside... Luke has reached a new level of "Daddy's Boy", but we learned today that when his temperature reaches 104, he still wants his Mommy =)

Meal Plan and New Recipes!

I know you've seen this picture before, but I just love it.

Luke is feeling better but is not over his ear infections. He was up last night and then was all off kilter today. He said his ears don't hurt, but he can't leave them alone and had a very low grade fever tonight, so we're not in the clear yet. Leta is still stuffy and has a runny nose and slightly congested, but that is the extend of her ails.

We're having more crazy weather here tonight. Not so much in the city yet (or it may miss us) but just north of us and in the Stillwater area. But the weathermen are having a field day. Sunday there was horrible hail (we didn't get any here) but I kept seeing picture on facebook where people had so much hail it looked like it had snowed (in the Quail Springs church of Christ area--where we were married--if you're familiar). In fact, the wind blew so hard for some that there were actually drifts of hail. I had never heard or seen such a thing before. We had some friends who had their picture window broken by the hail. We were lucky to have the hail miss us, for sure. We just got quite a bit of rain.

New Meal Plan

Tater Tot Casserole

Chicken Bundles with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert

Greek Chicken Pasta

Creamy Baked Mostaccoli

Oven Macaroni and Cheese

Chinese

Scallop Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Chicken Penne Italiano

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Oven Baked Mac n Cheese

1 can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cups skim milk

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 1/2 c Parmesan

1 cup Mozzarella

1 lb short cut pasta

Cook pasta according to directions. In a separate large bowl, mix all other ingredients. Stir in cooked pasta. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

*Made the mac n cheese tonight. I added 1 lb diced ham, pepper, and garlic powder. And a sprinkle of nutmeg. YUMMY!! I really liked the addition of the ham. No need to add salt, and I felt like it was a more complete meal.

Creamy Baked Mostacolli

1/2 lb short cut pasta

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 (15oz) cans tomato sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella divided

1 lb cooked ground beef

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Cook pasta just shy of el dente. Put in large skillet and add cream cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add tomato sauce. Stir. Add beef and seasonings. Combine and transfer to casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Greek Chicken Pasta

2 cups uncooked short cut pasta

1/4 c butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/4 c flour

1 (14oz) can chicken broth

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 (7oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1 c feta

1/2 c chopped, oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1/3 c sliced Greek olives

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter. Sauté onions. Stir in flour. Let cook 1 minute. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil, let thicken. Add remaining ingredients, stir and heat through.

Not so well baby check up

Tuesday Luke did not take a nap at all. Then Tuesday night he woke up at 10:30. And at 11:30. And then stayed up until 1:30. And then woke up at 6:30am. So. Not a good night for all of us. He didn't have a fever, but was coughing a lot etc. So Wednesday morning we fully expected him to be super cranky due to lack of sleep. And then Leta woke up with a low grade fever. I skipped Body and Soul and decided it was a good thing that Leta's well baby appointment was the next day so I could get them both looked at. Leta's fever did go away and has not returned yet.

We just got back from the Doctors. Leta did not get her 4 month shots because of her fever so she'll get them at her 6 month appointment. She weighs 13lbs 2oz and is 24" long. That's just below the 50% for both, which is where she has traditionally been on the growth charts. Leta does have fluid behind her ear but no infection. I got a prescription to fill if she should need it, but hopefully she won't. I'm supposed to elevate her mattress a bit in her crib to help the fluid drain a bit better. The doctor thought it looked like she might have milk in her ear.

Next it was Luke's turn, and to be honest, he pretty well hogged the whole session. I told her all about his rash that we had discovered at the lake and the blood blisters on his ear lobes. She didn't think the rash was because of the antibiotic he'd been on from his last ear infection, because she thought it sounded more viral, but she put in on his charts anyway. The blood blister things on his ear lobes are called "petechiae" I think she said and often result on the face in the sinus area from severe coughing. She thought it was a bit unusual for it to be on the lobes and thought perhaps it was due to his ear infection, but that we'd have to see if that will be a trend. Nothing to do for the lobes. They don't bother Luke anyway. And then she checked his ears and throat. He has a very irritated throat from post nasal drip. He has severe double ear infections. So this time he got a different antibiotic because the last one clearly wasn't effective. So we'll see. She also told us he could have Delsym for his cough (which we'd already done) and that he should take any over the counter liquid children's allergy medication. She thinks both of their problems are being caused by their sinuses being irritated by all the pollen in the air.

I checked to see what allergy meds I can take while nursing Leta, and I can do any over the counter and she said that they would probably help Leta some as well.

Needless to say, we went right to Walgreens and got some drugs. Hopefully they both we'll be feeling better soon. And while knowing that Luke not feeling well is probably the cause of his not very good behavior lately, does not make it any more fun to deal with him. I would be putting him on CraigsList, but Kyle saw on the news where some guy did that and he's in jail now. I guess I'll just have to tough it out. *wink*

And Kyle left bright and early (4:45) this morning to fly to Albuquerque for his UNM track reunion and won't be home until Sunday night. We'll see if I survive. If it gets touch and go I'll just have to reread Luke's seen and heard posts from this morning.

And later this morning.

Me: Luke do you want to play?

Luke: yeah.

Me: What do you want to play?

Luke: Trains.

Me: Okay, we'll play trains together.

L: No, play cars.

Me: You want to play cars?

L: No. I want to play with trains. You play with cars.

I think I just got snubbed!

Seen and Heard

This morning after I got Luke ready for his day, while I was getting ready for mine.

Luke: I'm just walking around.

Me: Oh yeah? Is that fun?

Luke: Yeah. I'm just looking for crocodiles.

Me: Did you find any?

Luke: No. They're outside in the flowers.

Me: What would you do if they came in?

Luke: I would talk to them.

Me: What would you talk about?

Luke: They don't want to come in. They want to stay outside and play.

Me: Are they going to play with you?

Luke: No. They want to play with the bees.

Me: What are they going to play?

Luke: They will not play. The bees do not want to play with them. They just want to smell the flowers...

'Member me?

Both of these pictures were taken yesterday. So it is the most updated you can be with out seeing Leta in person!

Yeah. It's been awhile. Since we last visited, Leta got over her ear infection and Luke got a doosey of an ear infection. It was his first one, but he did it right. He did get a rash from the antibiotic, but the rash didn't seem to bother him.

We went to the lake this past week. Kyle went Tuesday evening with Brandon and Shanna and their almost 1 yr. old Karter and Luke, Leta and I came up Wednesday morning after Body and Soul. We had a good time while we were there. Brandon skied, but Kyle stuck one foot in the water and decided it was way to cold for him. Luke did good at staying in his bed at the lake house, although I'm sure he was extra tired and that didn't hurt either. Leta also slept well while we were there. BTW she is a MUCH better car rider than Luke. Not that it would take much.

Luke is at a difficult age. He's not eating as well, his behavior is challenging, he is not gentle with Leta (although he is improving slightly), he is having a harder time going down for naps etc. He is however, still as funny as ever with the things that he says etc.

Leta can roll from tummy to back over her left shoulder or right. She's a professional at sitting in her bumbo and can sit very well in her jumperoo as well. She smiles all the time, loves it when you sing/talk to her. She also giggles quite a bit. She is a bit of a drooler. She likes to chew on her fist and her burb rag. She can reach for and grab onto toys and chew on them. She will be 4 months old on Thursday and we have her well baby check up (involving shots, unfortunately) so I'll post after that with her new updated "stats".

Cleaned out the pantry

These pictures are in reverse order. Sorry! And I'm too lazy to fix them.

Luke helping me clean out the pantry

Leta helping

After

Before

Leta playing in the jumperoo

Leta playing and being cute

Note the double chin!

All of us sporting our sunglasses. Leta doesn't like hers.

"What's that over there?!?"

Q.T.

Leta's Blanket

Some friends of ours, Mark and Vicki, gave Leta this blanket. It will go in her "Special Keepsake Tub." These were taken over a month ago.

Easter