Book Review

Recently I was asked to review the book "if your kid eats this boo, everything will still be okay" by Lara Zibners, MD.

I was excited to check it out because with three boys I figure I will end up in a situation where I don't know whether to it is ok to wait or head to the ER.

The book is full of really good information. It goes through a lot of the common (and some not so common) problems you run into as parents.

There are also chapters on airway, heart, head, eyes and ears, nose, mouth, throat, tummy problems, "the plumbing", body, skin, fever, allergies and bites, poison, bumps and bruises, and major trauma.

I like that she talks about newborns in a separate section because of their unique situations.

She covers everything from a minor little bump on the head to a major trauma and everything in between. I really liked that it was broken into chapters by parts of the body. It made it really easy to find what I was looking for quickly.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the style of writing. It wasn't really talking down to you, but for me I didn't appreciate her brand of humor.

All in all this book is a great reference book for parents to have around. I would still go with your gut instinct in reference to your own kids, but this is a good book to have around just in case.

Meal Plan Monday

Starting this week I am going to try and plan out all our meals. With Cody out for the summer we will be trying to have some sort of structure to our day. And I really need to get back on track with my budget so hopefully this will help.

Monday:

B: panackes, berries

L: cheese, crackers, pepperoni D: out

Tuesday:

B: muffins, fruit

L: sandwiches, veggies D: bacon cheeseburger pasta

Wednesday:

B: cereal

L: mac & cheese

D: BBQ chicken sandwiches

Thursday:

B: eggs & toast

L: leftovers

D: beef kebobs

Friday:

B: french toast

L: out

D: hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad

Saturday:

B: eggs

L: picnic

D: ribs, grilled veggies

Sunday:

B: pancakes

L: leftovers

D: goulash

Swagbucks

I found this cool site on another message board I'm on. It is search engine and certain things you search earn you swagbucks. You can trade the bucks for other things like Amazon gift certificates and other cool stuff. You use it just like a regular search engine. I've earned 31 bucks in about a week, but I don't search too much. If you want to join use this link http://swagbucks.com/refer/3cboysmommy or click on the banner on my side bar.

Happy searching!!

Teacher gift

I finally had a chance to do something crafty a few weeks ago. I would love to say that it is going to happen more, but I doubt it. Right now I am knee deep in my Lamaze course design. It is fun, but very time intensive also.



Anyways, on to the craftiness. I found the idea on this blog http://creativeholidaygiftideas.blogspot.com/2009/05/teacher-gift-framed-crayon-letters.html awhile ago and thought it would make the perfect end of the year teacher gift.



It is super simple to make and didn't cost me anything put a piece of paper and the frame.

Meal Plan Monday

Now that life has calmed down a little bit I am hoping to get back to Meal Plan Monday each week. My grocery budget was so much better and we didn't have that horrible what are we doing for dinner discussion every night.

Monday: chicken wraps (based on a recipe by Sam the Cooking Guy)

Tuesday: chili and cornbread

Wednesday: pork loin, baked potatoes, and veggies

Thursday: bacon cheeseburger pasta

Friday: hot dogs and beans

Sorry about not updating (LONG)

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Life has been very interesting and hectic around here lately and not always in a good way. I'm going to try and sum everything up in this post, but be aware it will probably be long and not always light hearted.

In March we found out that my dad has colon cancer. He had surgery in April and started chemo in May. It has been and continues to be a long road. He is doing as well as you can on chemo. We've been going down as often as we can which leads to a lot of travelling with three kids.

In April my uncle passed away suddenly. It was my mom's only sibling. It came as quite a shock and sadly we weren't able to be there for the service.

On a happy note I started my training to become a Lamaze certified educator. I attended a seminar in Buffalo the first part of June. It was awesome and I will dedicate another post to just that. Needless to say I am super excited about doing this.

Yesterday I found out that my dad's brother passed away. He had been sick for awhile and had some complications in the past week or so. It is hard because he is in Florida and no one had seen him for awhile. I'm glad that he is no longer suffering, but I feel for all of the family that is left behind.

Cooper was retested for his nut allergy yesterday and the results weren't good. He is still allergic so I guess we will spend the rest of our lives in a constant state of concern whenever he eats something or goes somewhere. I am grateful that it isn't something worse, but it is still a hard thing to live with.

On one other good note Jeremy is now on a day staff job! This means a consistent schedule and most weekends off. He will have to work a few late nights and a weekend here or there, but nothing too bad. I am so grateful to not have to do anymore night shifts.

Overall it has been a very rough 6 months or so. I am grateful for the good things and trying to deal with the bad. I am hoping to get better about updating my blog with some fun lighthearted stuff in the near future.

For those that are still reading, thanks for sticking around!

Tomato dumplings

This is a recipe that my MIL gave me when we got married. It is my husband's favorite meal and his request every year on his birthday. It is super simple and quick which I love.

Tomato Dumplings

2 c Bisquick
2/3 c milk
1 68 oz can tomato juice

Pour tomato juice into large pot and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine Bisquick and milk. It will be a little dry and lumpy looking.

Once the tomato juice comes to a boil, drop dumplings in. Usually the bigger dollops you put in the less "sinkers" you have. I usually get 8-10 dumplings per batch.

Lower heat to medium and let boil uncovered for 10 minutes then cover and cook for 10 more minutes.

Let cool slightly and serve.