Meatless Monday

Egg Salad Sandwiches and baked mashed potato
I thought that perhaps others might have left overs from Easter dinner and this would be a great way to use them up (this year we had pizza). Then you can use the left over ham for lunch sandwiches all week long. That would certainly save you some cash.

You'll want to start the baked mashed potatoes first.
Take any left over mashed potatoes (they should already have milk, salt and pepper added to them from when you mashed them) probably want at least 3 cups and in a bowl mix in 3 tablespoons of sour cream and 1 cup of cheddar cheese and if you have some left over green onions throw some chopped up in there too. That should be very creamy, if they are not then add in a little splash of milk. Then spread them out in a casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes on 350F

Take 6 hard boiled eggs and a 2 tablespoons of mayo. Mix together, but don't make mush. Then add in a stalk of chopped celery and a few chives and a tablespoon of lemon juice and stir those in. Now if you feel you need a little more moisture I would add in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. If you have some lettuce put that on the sandwich as well. Eating these on a hearty whole grain bread makes it more healthy and filling.

Meatless Monday

This is a recipe I invented last week. I put chicken in it, but I the chicken was in the way. It was really filling too. I can't think of anything fun to call it, I guess moving wore out my brain as well as my body.
This is a really fast moving and quick to make meal. Using fresh broccoli really makes a difference to me.

Cheesy Noodles and Broccoli
You'll need to have 2 boxes Mac N cheese, a chopped shallot, chopped garlic and 2 cups chopped broccoli, and a few slices of cheddar cheese.

In a large skillet heat up a tablespoon of olive oil. Throw in some garlic and shallots.
While those are turning translucent on Medium-High heat open 2 boxes of Annie's Mac N Cheese and get the noodles started in boiling water (probably start your timer).
Then throw some chopped broccoli in the skillet. You could add in just about any vegetables along with the broccoli if you would like right here. I might have added some bell peppers if I had some.
Add in just 1/2 a cup stock or water
Cook until tender.
While cooking the broccoli, if using Annie Mac N Cheese you should get a bowl and follow the directions on the cheese mixture adding milk and whisking it together.
Drain the noodles (when the timer goes off)
Then add some seasoning to your broccoli. I go with a tiny bit of salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary.
Stir the noodles into the broccoli in the skillet.
Turn off the heat.
Then stir in the cheese sauce. Throw on 3 or 4 slices of cheddar and stir it all up.
Walk away for a couple of minutes and then stir again (the cheese will be melted).
You can served this with a simple green salad on the side. If you have a large family you may want to add some black beans to make it a large meal.

Meatless Monday

I became a fan of Leslie's blog Leslie Loves Veggies after she participated in one of my contests. I thought who better then to host a meatless meal then a Vegetarian.

Hi I'm Leslie From Leslie Loves Veggies

I have been a Vegetarian for almost 20 years! I love delicious veggies, fresh ingredients and SPICY food, Just ask my Hubby!

Today I have the Honor of being a guest blogger for Meatless Monday! I am so excited to share a recipe I have been making for a very long time. It comes from "Lean Luscious and Meatless" which was one of the first cookbooks I got YEARS ago when I became a vegetarian.

Remember think in season, Flavor, Color and EAT WHAT YOU LOVE!!!!!

Southwest Potato Lentil Stew

Serves 4 so you may want to double it!

1/2 cup Lentils, uncooked (3-3/4 ounces)
2 Medium potatoes (12 ounces total) unpeeled, cut into 1/2 " pieces
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped celery leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups tomato juice
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons chili powder or more for chili lovers like me!
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients, mixing well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 40-45 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir several times while cooking and add small amount of water if thinner stew is desired.
Per Serving: 210 Calories, 11 grams Protein, 1 gram Fat, 42 grams Carbs. 487 mg Sodium. ZERO Cholesterol~

This would be great with a piece of Crusty Bread and a NICE GREEN Leafy Salad!
Enjoy
Leslie from Leslie Loves Veggies
also find me on twitter

Thanks for the great recipe I can't wait to try it out. I really love that you have add in the calories too that is great for readers on a diet.

Meatless Monday

This is one of the simplest meals ever. I think it is great if you keep this stuff around for a quick snack or meal anytime.

Bean and Cheese Burrito

I love to use whole wheat wraps. They make the meal more filling and healthy! For the beans you can use whatever suites you. If you have some leftover pinto beans from a pot of beans you can drain them and smash up a bit. Add some jalapeno's and some chili powder then heat them up in the microwave or over the stove until they are pipping hot. Then spread them on a wrap and put some shredded cheese on them. If you are looking to lose weight I recommend a tiny bit of sharp extra sharp cheddar and the rest low-fat mozzarella. On top of the cheese add some salsa. Now salsa is actually pretty healthy, but some brands add lots of sugar. 15 grams of sugar is a teaspoon. If the serving size is only 2 tablespoon then I think a whole teaspoon is too much. Then wrap it up and you may want to heat the whole thing for the cheese to melt, but you don't have to.There you go dinner.
You can add leftover meat of almost any kind to this if you wanted. You may want to make some rice to go with this. I also like salad.

Have you seen this

I seen a story about this on something like night line probably a year before I even got pregnant yet it stuck in my head. I am glad it did too. When my daughter was going through a waking-up phase I started putting a stuffed animal in the crib. It stayed in the crib and no big deal. Recently however she has started bringing it out of the crib with her or going back and getting it on her own. It is pretty battered and beaten already. Just washing this thing has become a pain in the arse.

The story on dateline was a company that convinced stuffed animal companies to give them a few of more popular selling items before they discontinue them. Now, when your childs lovey gets destroyed, left at the park or carried off by a random dog you can get a replacement. After almost an hour of searching I found it at Plush Memories lost toy service.

I thought I would share so other moms might not have to search quite that long. I was surprised it was so hard to find. I think perhaps I was thinking I need an extra one of these stuffed dogs before it gets destroyed rather then replace my childs lovey, because we just call them her friends.

The Turkey Who Liked To Show Off ~ A Choctaw Story

The Turkey Who Liked To Show Off ~ A Choctaw Story
Akak Chaha Ile Yimmi kvt Imachukma

On warm days the animals liked to go to the creek and talk with friends. The wind was blowing and it was cool by the creek. As the animals were talking to each other Turkey ran by as fast as he could run.
"I can run faster then anyone in the woods" said Turkey
The animals looked at Turkey but they did not talk to Turkey
"Fox I can catch you" said Turkey
"Wolf I can catch you" said Turkey
"but no one can catch me, I can run too fast" shouted Turkey
The animals did not look at Turkey. The animals did not talk to Turkey.
Turkey said "You won't talk to me because I can run faster then you" and he laughed at the animals and then Turkey ran away. After Turkey had gone the animals talked about what he had done.
"Turkey should not make fun of us "Fox said
"We know he can run fast." said Rabbit "Why does he want to come her and show off? "
The animals talked about turkey
Possum said "We are all animals and we should be friends. When turkey shows off and makes fun of us he is not being a friend"
"What can we do" the animals said
Then Possum said "Let's choose someone that Turkey can't catch"
"Let Turkey try to catch me" Turtle said.
"but Turtle you can't run fast" said Possum
"But I can trick him and he won't catch me" said Turtle
So Turtle went home and he asked his brothers and sisters to help him truck Turkey. The tutles put feathers on their head so they would all look alike.
"Here I am"
Each time Turkey would almost catch one turtle, another turtle would jump out from behind a tree and say "Here I am". Turkey chased the turtles all day and never caught them. Turkey thought he was just chasing one turtle.
Turkey said "I give up. I can't catch turtle because he runs too fast"
"Turtle tricked you" said the animals
"That is why you couldn't catch me" said Turtle
Everyone began to laugh.
Then Turkey said "I won't make fun of anyone anymore"
Then they were all friends again.

Soup

No, not posting a fantastic soup recipe or about how badly I could use some soup right now. No, this post is about obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD. My husband has it. We are lucky he isn't on medication and doesn't have to be treated for it, although in the face of some dire adversity I can imagine we might need to seek help.
The best way for us to deal with the cooky things the OCD bring along is humor! Laugh at it and move on. When it becomes excessive we do have to stop and discuss it. Then get it in check. Mostly though we just laugh. I thought I would share with you a few of the things we laugh at.
Have you seen the soup commercial that is a "taste test" and they are in a field and there are 2 tables and two girls eating soup and a line of people behind them. Then one line of people look at the soup and move over to the other line. We were watching TV and this commercial was apparently the only supporter of this TV show and we seen it like 20 times in an hour. Finally my husband says to me "I am concerned that all those people will be eating out of the same bowl". Then he makes a gagging icky eww face. Then we laughed
We lived in the Seattle area and anywhere we went it was crowded! So every time we would get ready to go somewhere that was bound to be extremely crowded, right before we walked out the door he would have to stop and get a rock out of his sock. You can not imagine how annoying this was to me. He NEVER once found a rock. He would have to change his socks. We would be postponed 20 minutes. One day we goggled OCD to find out more about it. This is one of the signs of it. Now when we shop for socks I ask him to make sure they don't have rocks in them before we buy them and we laugh.
While my aunt was at the house visiting my husband decided to take the dogs out to potty. She stopped mid-sentence and asked me if my husband had locked himself out of the house. I said you can't lock yourself out it is a deadbolt. Then we got back into the conversation and I realized what happened. When he walks out of the house, he locks the door then he pulls on it three times. I told him how I didn't even notice anymore and she mini freaked and we laughed.
He read a book about a leper. In the book the leper had to learn to check that all his body parts were there. No my husband does the same with things in the pockets. He has to randomly stop and check all his pockets and take inventory. I ask him if he has all ten fingers and we laugh.

Meatless Monday

Leek and Potato Soup

First you up a little oil in the bottom of your pot. Then you add in a diced onion and a few 3-4 leeks that are thinly sliced. Once they are cooked up nicely perhaps starting to brown a little you add the potato's and spices. I add garlic, salt pepper, red pepper and celery seed. The potatoes should be finely diced so they can cook down faster. Then add vegetable broth or half broth and half water (saves money) to just cover the potato's. You should cook the potato's until they can be easily broken apart with a spoon. It will really depend on how well you diced them. Now would be the time to smash them with a spoon if you want a really creamy soup. Just use the back of a wooden spoon and smash a few against the side of the pot. Then add some cream to taste and warm back up. Make sure you don't burn the cream by stirring often. I like to continue a soft boil for about 5 minutes to just get the tastes married.

Who's Baby is it ???

That is right when I the pregnancy test said positive my husband actually said
"That ain't my baby"
I didn't even have my eyebrow raised before he began to apologize all over himself. Now, I have heard the phrase before "apologize all over themselves" but I had never seen it. It seemed as though he was literally tripping on his tongue. He was also backing away from. He was studdering and his hands were awkwardly moving. I am actually, quite "apologizing all over themselves" isn't a cause of death, because he almost went backwards over the couch and broke his neck.
Once I got my eyebrow raised and my hands on my hips (while trying to NOT laugh at him). I very clearly stated that I didn't want to hear that ever again.
Next he started saying really odd things including "But, I just bought flip fl0ps". He said that Dads can't wear flip flops. Then he got online and went car shopping, we couldn't afford one.
Once he finally got through his shock. He was a great husband to a pregnant women. He was also very protective. While we were at the mall once a man was looking at every person who walked in. I was sure he had been stood up or something. To seem less obvious I guess he decided to casually lean against a garbage can. Apparently the garbage can was empty and not attached to anything. So when he lean against the garbage can, it scooted in my direction. He tried to catch himself and continued to almost fall and to push the garbage can in my direction. He was making a super slow bee line right at me with the empty garbage can. Even if he suddenly fell down completely one quick step forward was all I needed. Suddenly, I am being pushed or carried or maybe it was more like awkwardly carried that quick step forward by my husband. Then he said didn't you see that. You could have been hurt. Is the baby okay?
I couldn't help it I burst out laughing at the poor guy. It was like there was a man running through the mall with a gun. Although it was that traumatic for him. That is when I knew he was going to be a really great father.
Although, I must say when somebody says they have never changed a diaper you might not realize what exactly that means. The first 3 or 4 diaper changes in the hospital required almost an entire box of wipes and two or three (one I am pretty sure 5) clean diapers. He was so funny and gentile with her. Well, after he got the diaper changing thing down he was the most I could ever hope for in the father of my child.

I took a risk

So, I have been looking for friends online. Ones that have kids and like to get out and do free or super cheap things around town. It is easier for me to approach someone that I have already talked to a bit online. We usually have something in common.
I recently discovered, became addicted, and recovered from facebook. I joined the circle of moms on face book. There is a group specifically for my metro area Portland, Oregon, so of course I joined that group. Then me and one of the girls were both looking for activites in the area so we friended each other. Then her Facebook status said "is enjoy my box of organic produce". I let her know that I thought that sounded yummy. So she told me where to she got it from
It was from this local company called Organics To You. She said it was really great and she loved it. So I checked it out. It is a local company that delivers boxes of organic produce right to your door (using biodiseal of course). They use mostly local farmers. Rachel Ray said the other day that local fresh produce is usually cheaper. They describe there boxes, but everything is subject to change.
I thought about reasons to try it and came up with so many. I wanted out of my cooking rut. I wanted more veggies in our diet. Autumn's doctor said it was important for her to have a variety of vegetable, not the same ones over and over. I took the risk and ordered the $50.00 box of mixed veggies and fruits. I got it all set up for monthly delivery. Yesterday, I got my first box. I think it was a really good deal. I wish I had gotten more carrots, but oh well not that big of a deal.
I also got completely out of my cooking rut! I have never used leeks, kale,beets or eggplant so I am surfing the net figuring it all out. It is fun. Last night I roast the beets and I am going to make a salad with them. I also roasted the eggplant with some garlic stuff in it and diced it up. I'm going to add it to chilli like you would corn. I am getting a leek and potato soup recipe from my new friend.
We got
salad mix, lettuce, several beets, 1 eggplant, 3 large oranges, 4 red pears, 3 green apples, and 3 or 4 red apples, a bunch of carrots, leeks, kale, 4 large potatos, 3 small lemons, broccoli, 12 button mushrooms, 2 yellow onions, a large garlic clove, and some orange califlower (never seen orange).
I think it is a good deal. I had to really squish it together to get it all in the camera.

Indoor Playground Disaster !

Well, up until this point I have had a very lovely experience as a mom. I know we all over our children. I also have her or seen horror stories about toddlers. They are becoming their own person and it can sometimes present issues when they decide not to eat, or potty train, or show off their new skill of getting naked. My daughter has slept through the night with very few exceptions since 4 months old. She even slept 14 hours a night for 2 weeks straight. I have watched her push macaroni and cheese aside to eat her broccoli. She even wore pants with very few accidents and even fewer melt downs for an entire week (molars are coming through so she decided no panties this week).
I have basically been holding my breath. It is possible I still need to hold it and that I am just simply over-reacting to today's situation. This could be an isolated incident. Perhaps her molars have turned her into a bit of a drama queen. I can hope and prey all I want but let's be honest. More then likely I have a problem and I am a bit over my head. Any advice is welcome, presenting in a nice way is preferable.
So my regular readers know all about my back issues. I try as hard as I can to not let them stunt my daughters development. We try to go to library time every Wednesday for the story time called "fun for ones". We usually miss a week each month, but never two in a row. My daughter is 14 months old. I met a lady online who also has twins that are 14 months old and she introduced me to these indoor play gyms they have all over in our area. So we went together last week and it was okay. She just never played with any of the other kids really. She would not share but that is normal. She tried to take, but I didn't let her.
Well, this week she was sick and we went to a different gym by ourselves. Most of the children their were more like 2 or older. Anytime a child got close to her she completely freaked out. She would scream in their face, stomp her feet and fake cry. The other mothers would run up and say no no she was playing with that or don't push. I explained to the other mothers, their hadn't done anything expect look at her. I mean a few kids did try to shove her, but she is big and doesn't do down easy. One kid tried to take a toy, but she didn't let him.
I honestly didn't know what to do. Telling her to stop screaming at other kids didn't really do anything. Removing her from the situation gave her what she wanted and seemed to encourage the behavior. We stayed for less then an hour. I didn't know how to deal with it and she wasn't having much fun.

Before You Rent

My husband started his degree in criminal justice a while ago. I was amazed when he came home and said that lights have been proven to lower crime in a area significantly. I can't remember the exact number but 30% percent comes to mind. Your probably wondering what this has to do about renting. Well actually it is a big part of choosing a home, not just an apartment.
Drive by the property at night. My husband I would make a habit of getting our yearly drive through meal (well for him it is yearly) on a Saturday night and roll the windows down and go find a parking spot in the complex we were thinking of renting. If there are a bunch of drunks you can hear them. If there are creepy people running around, your gonna feel creepy. If there are kids causing mischief you'll notice at about 11pm on a weekend. You'll get a feel if this is the place for you or not.
Another good idea is to drive by during your lunch break during the week. Think if you were going to rob a place is this an easy target. Is it completely deserted during the day? If you were home sick would you feel like nobody noticed? This could be easily fixed with a security guard or an alarm system. You might want to check on the cost in your neighborhood, to see if your ready for that investment.
How about the bushes. Right around sun up or sun set you should walk around the property. Walk to the mail boxes and the rent drop or to the end of the drive way. Look for dark shadowy areas that somebody could be hiding in. Then see if you can need to talk to neighbors to get bushes cut down. Possible get a light to shine away the shadows. How much of an investment and hassle will it be to make it impossible for someone to hid on you property.

I Won WooHoo

I just want to share with everyone this awesome new website. It is still in beta but it runs very smoothly. It is a social networking site (I know like you need to have another one to keep up with). I high recommend it though
It is called Moms Like Me. There are a few things that are simply great about it. First it is divided up into local areas. So you are talking and connecting with moms in your area. I love chatting online with other moms from anywhere. I especially like to learn how other cultures and different and the same as here in the US. Sometimes though, I just want to go get coffee with the girls.
Since we moved here I was on bed rest and then you know a newborn. Next the back spasms, so getting out and meeting people has been tough. Already I met some new friends. I learned about an indoor playground at a few gyms in the area. The cost is very cheap $2.25. So that was awesome!
Then they also have groups that anyone can make, since it is local, local business come on and make a group to host give away. It is really easy after you've made your simple profile all you have to do to enter these give away's is join the group. It is so easy just click join group. So I joined a few groups when I first signed up. One of them was for a give a way for a fair called NWKids Fest that is happening at the Oregon Convention center this weekend. I won tickets so now we can go. The tickets value for us was 25.00. They let you bring the whole family though so for a family of 5 that is a much higher value. I am so excited I just wanted to share.

Meatless Monday

Sorry, last Monday I completely spaced it until Wednesday.

This recipe is one of my "secrets" and it is great for munching on for an early dinner and then go back and snack later in the day. I love to make it early in the morning on a spring day and then you can go out and play worry free.

I called it "Italian Pasta Salad".

First thing I do is put about 1/4 ranch dressing and 1/2 cup Italian dressing in a huge bowl and whisk them together. This makes a very yummy coating. Also using it isn't as unhealthy as using other things people make pasta sauces out of.
Next I dice up 4 medium sized tomatoes. Stir them into the sauce. I also like to add some halved kalamata olives and a few pepper roccinis topped and a colored bell peper all uncooked. Stiring them into the sauce as I go.
I like to lightly steam the rest of the vegetable before adding them. So I put them in a colander over a pot with some water and cover with a lid. I will just usually add what ever is in season broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are good staples.
Then just cook a bag of twisty noodles. For this type of salad "al dente" is best.
Chopped up your steamed veggies if you didn't already and stir. You may want to add some salt and pepper at this point.
I like to serve garlic toast with this salad too. What else might you serve with it?

A post about Blogging

Well, a few months ago I threatened to start doing paid reviews on my blog. I thought at that time one of the paid review sites would start letting you do reviews after 30 days. I was wrong. On March 2nd I will be a 90 day blogger on this blog and I WILL start signing up to do paid reviews.

So to get as much action as possible on my blog I spent this week doing a big blogger no,no. I spent MUCH more time on promoting then I did on content. I am sorry about that dear readers. I did at least make sure my most recent post was entertaining.

I thought I would tell you guys all the things I am going...or trying to do.

I joined a facebook group called Networked Blogs, but I haven't figure out how to use it yet.

I joined Twitter and I don't really get it. I guess what I don't get is how come it is so cool. I was sure I would be instantly addicted like I was to Facebook. Yet, I am completely addicted to Facebook, luckily this blog is imported into Facebook, so while I am blogging I am also Facebook'ing.

I joined many directories. I moved all my links at the bottom of my posts to my side bar. I am still trying to get my sidebar to look quite right, but it is good enough for now. I also have a list of directories at the very bottom of my site.

Technorati is very confusing for me. I am not sure how to network on there. I found my authority number and I am NOT impressed.

I did figure out there are webmaster tools just for me. I haven't figured out how to make a feedburner tiny little box that has the number of reader or subscribers or something. I am not really sure what that number even stand for. I see them all over though. I click on them and still don't get it. They are little tiny rectangle boxes that have a number and say feedburner.

So, if you have any advice or a post about any of the things I am looking for please comment with the link or tip!

Also if my page is loading slowly let me know. I hate pages that load slowly, I won't wait for them to load, so I don't expect you to wait.

Oh yes and I finally made my header much better looking I think. I cartoonized a picture of a painted brick building from a Hopi Jewerly store on the I40 in Arizona. I think it turned out well especially considering I had to edit OUT my husband and IN half a wall that never existed. I am sure now that I told your (or even before) you can kinda guess where the walls ends. I like it though.

I promise I will not use all caps on any word in my next 2 posts since I over did it a bit on this one.

I love the internet

I grew up with computers. I mean that so literally it is silly. As I became older and more mature, computers became slimmer and user friendly. We both exited our "awkward" phase in the same year. Remember dial-up (I kinda do). Now, some days I think what would I do without a computer, well more specifically the internet. Really, I meet people online, I make money online, I play games online, I learn and I read. I even went to school online. I remember speed reading through studies to I could excerpt pieces for marketing research papers.
I'll be honest I think that if there was no internet, I would not be as educated as I am. I wouldn't know about the world as well as I do. I would have never been able to play free rice dot com and feed people. I would never have realized adopting a dog from a shelter is better then getting one from the puppy store. I would not know what kind of lizard my uncle brought me when I was 8.
I internet has really made me who I am today. I wish that all people had access to it and took the classes that I had taken to be able to use it well.
My point here is simply that I am thankful for the internet, it has made my world smaller. I can now reach out and help others, get support and play games.

Crisis in WeePeople Town

Well the Wee People in my daughter's toy chest are desperately waiting help from FEMA. Apparently FEMA needs to send food ASAP. To appease the baby Godzilla eating all the people. You see in my effort to reduce the toy area I removed the laundry basket we were using as a toy chest. I replaced it with a small square basket that fits on her shelves. Then I put the stuffed animals somewhere else. There needed to be just a smudgen more of room in the basket so I decided to stick the wee people in the fridge of her play kitchen.

Then my dad came to visit and he pointed out that I am teaching my child to keep people in the fridge. Also, that she takes them out for the purpose of chewing on them. Then last week she seemed to figure out that her play kitchen was....a play kitchen. So she mimicked me and got some stuff (people) out of the fridge and she got some pots and pans. She put the people in the pots and pans and was stiring them up with her fingers apparently making people soup. She was very proud of herself when the soup was done she stood up and pointed and clapped and screamed with join.

Needless to say it is now bugging the crap out of me. I cannot wait to get spare time and go to the store to get some fake food for my daughter to play with in her play kitchen. Also I have relocated the Wee People to temporary housing until they can build themselves a house.

MY trip to the ENT. I want to SUE my old Dr.'s

I went to the ENT today. I have been creating, and dealing with what I was told were tonsil stones since September. First I went to the Dr. and said I coughed up this thing that look like plaque she said it was probably just plaque that got caught in my tonsils. Then I went back to a different Dr. in December because my throat hurt and I was not sleeping well and I have this white thing on my tonsil. He said it was a huge tonsil stone. Everyone gets little ones and they are common. Perhaps you felt like there was a pice of popcorn stuck in your throat but you haven't eaten popcorn in weeks. That was probably a tiny little collection of tonsil grossness that what tonsils do.
Since then I have also coughed up two or three more pea (or bigger) sized stones. My husband and I noticed that right before I cought them up I would get a sore throat and feel sicky and really really tired. So the last Dr. had said that if I am having issues I would have to see an ENT.
Well, today I went to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor. He said there are not actually stones he doesn't know why people call them that. He just said that the tonsil crpty is engorged with dead white cells and other stuff. I explained to him that for probably ten years I have had issues with my tonsils and glands swelling combined with unrestful sleep and sometimes even a fever. I wanted to know if the stones or whatever were causing it or if what is causing the stones is causing me not to sleep well, such as a deviated septum causing post nasl drip.
Basically, he said yes the tonsil stones can cause all this and haven't you ever gone to the Dr. about your throat swelling up. I said yeah but they just check me for strep and send me home. I even went to the SAME Dr. in the SAME year 5 times and she just acted like I was a hypocondriatc. Well it is offical!!! I AM NOT A HYPOCONDRIATC. So there stupid Dr. I want to sue. (Oregon lawyers willing to do a pro-bono suit call me!)
He said I have 2 options. I can gargle with hydrogen proxide for the rest of my life twice a day and if they get swollen still try a very strong penecillian type antibotic. The other option is having them removed. The cause of the stones is not post nasal drip but a strong bacterial infection that has taken over my tonsils basically. He said "Tonsils, ....well most healthy tonsils..." get rid of the infection but yours are apparently not going to.
After thinking of all the issues I already with my back combined with the issues the tonsils are causing my husband and I are going to go ahead and get my tonsils removed. If I can breath easier, then maybe my back won't be so sore when I wake up. Just that one thing is worth 10 days of intense horrible pain. I mean two years of exhausting, overwhelming physical therapy did very little and I can't wait to start again. So this seems like it makes sense. On the other had I have a 14 month old toddler. I of course am scared of how this will impact her, but I don't think I have a choice.


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WebMD + OCD = a very long week!

My husband has OCD, he doesn't have to wash his hands a bunch, but sometimes it takes him three or four trips to the store to buy something such as a broom or shoes. I know it is a real disease that completely takes over a persons life. My husband has been able to keep control over it quite well.

He has been having a really bad pain in his ear. His tonsils have been swelling up. This has been going on for over a year now. We thought it was allergies, but then explain the sudden and year round issue. We thought it was an ear infection, so when we did get insurance he went to the Dr. to get antibiotics. When it came back the Dr. would not even see him. She said go to the specialist. So he called and made an appointment with the specialist. The next 24 hours were exhausting.

He kept telling the dogs that maybe he had developed an allergy to them and they would have to do. He took me aside after monkey was asleep to prepare me for the possibility of him having thyroid cancer. He told me how many days it would take for him to recover from a tonsillectomy and therefore would make no weekend plans in the case of an emergency surgery.

Finally, the next day came and he went to the Dr. Apparently, either a shot that he was given in the Navy or a weird virus he caught overseas or something random caused his ears to stop making wax. This made the skin in his inner ear was really dry and irritated. It was especially irritated because he works in a warehouse and the dock is where everyone goes to smoke when it rains. Also, the heater blows right in his ear. So these things were making a mild pain into a severe pain. The fix, a couple of drops of olive oil in the ear when it is irritated for probably the rest of his life.

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We got a blogger down, blogger down... send back-up !

I got hit with a virus on my computer. So, I apologize for my lack of visiting your sites and commenting like I try to do at least once a week. It is a bit frustrating, looking at the security log what seems to have happened is that while I was trying to download adobe media player, I also hit okay for a trojan to download, it all happened with a few minutes of each other. It was weird, when ever we tried to search for anything it would say in the loading bar waiting for happpy something or other to load. So it was trying to redirect all sites to this page that would never load.
Our computer is like3 years old (at least) just about a month ago we went through and backed-up everything important and had wiped it clean. It irriating to update 3 years worth of XP updates and to reinstall programs like adobe photoshop and MS Office. I am glad though that we were able to save the computer. The whole thing though is like a 10 hour process. Reinstalling our security programs and all of that.
This weekend we had a blast though! We went to the free fridays at the Portland Childlren's Museum that was really fun for my little monkey. We did get her to bed about 30 minutes late. She was so exhausted though she slept until noon the next day. Then she talked about it all through breakfast.
Then on Saturday my husband went and had beers and wings with his friends. Monkey and I went shopping with 100 of tax return money (the rest went to pay of the credit card YAY no credit card debt!). My little one is 14 months old. I bought her some 2T and some 3T and even 1 4T outfit and pj's. The 2T pj's I bought her are almost too small. I put on her one of the 3T outfits I bought her and the shirt is almost too small. The pants are a little bit too long. The jacket it came with fits pefect (this week). I am happy to have a large pile of clothes for her (rather then the pitafull looking three outfits)! I get very frustrated trying to buy her clothes though. I found that Marshall's actually has some really great toddler clothes. I always look at Kohl's and find stuff their. We go to a local consignment shop too. The Target in town is horrilbe for clothes in her size. I also went to Ross Dress for less and they didn't even have a toddler section it went 18 month to 6x. Where do you find the best value for baby clothes.
Then on Sunday we went to the Kids Festival. That not as fun as I thought it would be. It was more like an expo type of thing. You know like a boat show, but for local businesses that cater to kids. They all wanted us to sign up for a give away (just give us your number and we will harass you). It cost $1.00 for her to touch the turtle. Then it cost $1.00 to feed the animals at the petting Zoo (which we just went in without feeding them). There were bothes selling overpriced food. Then it cost $5.00 to ride the pony. In the end it is just money and seeing her giggle on a pny was really priceless, but I won't be going back next year. They also had a lion or something like that in a cage which was random and weird to be showing off around kids.
WHEW!
Now, I am having issues with my icky tonsil stones and I am going to see and ENT (oh tommorow I'll tell you about hubby trip to the ENT LOL!!!) on Monday. I hope he can make it soe my tonisls stop swelling up and making it hard to breath when I sleep. I kinda like good sleep.


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