The Wednesday One: Week 25

The Wednesday One: Week 24

The Wednesday One: Week 23

Well, since I'm almost a week behind here, I guess I need to get this posted! It was a hard week for us with the loss of our Daisy. I wish I had pics of her from every day to use, but I don't.

Rest in Peace, Sweet Daisy Duke

Daisy Duke Seeley
February 2, 2006 - June 7, 2014

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."  - Dr. Seuss

She'd been with us since she was just 6 weeks and 6 pounds.

As I sit here at the beach, during our annual Florida vacation, I have to keep repeating these words to myself. Our sweet baby girl is gone. As you know, she was diagnosed with lymphoma just about a month ago. We made the decision at that time to try chemotherapy, to see if we could rid her little body of this vicious disease and hopefully give us a little more time with her. Though she spent her lifetime with us, 8 years was much too short, but it was plenty of time for her to get us to fall head over heels in love with her. If you would've asked me 8 years ago if I could ever love a dog as much (or more!!) than most humans, I would've laughed at the mere idea. But Daisy quickly stole our hearts and became our "first" baby. She truly was the perfect pet and our best-behaved child. Her almost humanistic expressions never ceased to amaze us, and made us love her even more. Boxers are a special breed.

Sidewalk dining at Brasserie Jo in Chicago

Anyone who knows us knows how big a part of our family Daisy was. She went nearly everywhere with us (including a trip to Chicago, where she was able to dine with us) and we've tried to include her in as much as we could. So, our annual vacations have been trips to pet-friendly beaches for the last several years. Daisy loved the beach, which was kind of funny seeing as how much she normally hated water. Even as a puppy, she quickly learned that if the concrete outside the back door looked wet, she did not want to go outside to potty. She was a princess from the beginning! But when it came to the beach, she couldn't get enough of it. She loved chasing the birds and the waves here on the gulf coast of Florida. So, a few months ago, we planned another trip back to the beach. Then we found out that Daisy was sick and we didn't know what would happen. We hoped to still be able to take her one last time, so she could enjoy the week at the beach with her favorite people.

Our sweet princess

We took her to the vet on Wednesday last week, to get her checked out, as she seemed to be having a rough time again after her 2nd chemo treatment. The vet wanted to see if it was just from the chemo, or if the mass was still enlarged, so she did another ultrasound to check. Unfortunately, it looked like the chemo wasn't working, and though that may have been part of the reason she wasn't feeling great, it was probably because the mass wasn't shrinking, and may actually have been getting bigger. :( So, at that point we knew that she probably wouldn't be undergoing any more chemo treatments, but we would continue to give her the prednisone as palliative care, to keep her comfortable. The vet thought she would have a good week with us at the beach, and didn't see any reason that we couldn't take her with us. By starting the prednisone, a steroid, again, her appetite returned and she was eating well and had her familiar pep back in her step. So, Saturday morning rolled around and we were up early to start our long road trip to Florida.

Tucked in the backseat. Comfy on her favorite pillow.

After nearly 12 long hours in the van, we finally made it to the ocean and Daisy watched the birds from the backseat as we made our way across the big bridge over to the island we're staying on. As we pulled through the gates to the subdivision, Josh asked if Daisy was ok. She didn't respond and we started to worry. We pulled over and realized that her body was limp. She had taken her last breath. We were literally 5 minutes from the house that we would be spending the week in, and she was gone. As it was happening, it was traumatic. We'd been driving all day, we were tired, and the unthinkable had just happened. We were devastated. We arrived at the house and got her out and tried to see if we could revive her, but it was too late.

Now that we've had a couple days to process it all, we're coming to terms with her death, or at least the way it all happened. We would've loved to have been able to spend the week with Daisy at the beach, but it wasn't meant to be. We're glad that she went peacefully, on her own terms. She was laying on her favorite pillow, able to see all of her people from the back of the van (where she spent so many hours over the years), surrounded by love. We didn't have to make the difficult decision to put her down. I still don't know if I could've done that, even though I know that is sometimes the best option. Even though we didn't know it was happening, I'm glad that we were all there with her. She knew we loved her and that's what mattered. Now she's up in heaven, watching over us. As Ethan says, she's an "angel dog," keeping us safe and sound. Though it's been a difficult week so far, we're trying to remember that Daisy would want us to have a good time and enjoy our beach vacation, just like she would've if she had been here. We love you and miss you, sweet girl.

Amos's Nine-Month Check-Up

Age of Baby: 9 months

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz (down to the 3rd percentile), +8 oz from last month
• Length: 28 inches (up to the 42nd percentile), +1 in from last month
• Head circumference: 17.5 in (down to the 26th percentile)
• Height-to-Weight ratio: down to the 3rd percentile

Amos is still wearing a size 3 diaper and 6-9/6-12/12-month clothes. He wears a size 3 shoe.

Immunizations:

None this month.

Doctor's Visit Summary:

His visit this morning went well. Everything looked great...except his ears. :( Poor guy has a double ear infection, which is probably why he was running a low-grade fever yesterday and was up screaming the night before last. Sigh. Otherwise, the doctor said he looked good, just on the small end of the range. But, visually he looks nice and healthy, so no worries.

Picture of Baby:

Here is Amos's 9-month picture in the 12-month onesie. He's getting too big!! He has so much personality and continues to be his happy, easy-going self.

And here is a comparison of all three of the boys at nine months, just for fun. Ethan and Noah were still significantly bigger at this point (Ethan was 28.5 inches long and weighed 18 lbs 1 oz and Noah was 28 inches long and weighed 18 lbs 8 oz). He's still a good mix of the two. Not as crazy as Ethan, but not as serious as Noah was at that age. ;)

Ethan, Noah, and Amos (each at 9 months)

Accomplishments this Month:

• Crawling correctly (stomach off of the ground)
• Pulling himself up on furniture
• Walking along furniture (cruising)
• Saying "mom-mom-mom"
• Using a sippy cup for water

I love these animated gifs! Haha!

Amos has had an explosion of accomplishments this past month! Of course it all happened while Daddy was away in China for 3 weeks!

He has mostly given up his "army crawl" now for a "true" crawl. When he wants to go really fast, though, he still drags himself. He is really quick at it, so I guess that's why! ;) He has also started pulling himself up on furniture and walking around, hanging on to some of it. It didn't take him long to figure out the crib either, so that was quickly lowered! He loves this new standing position, as he can reach, and help himself to, all of the toys his brothers have been trying to keep away from him! Haha!

Amos is definitely saying "mom-mom" now. It usually happens when he is hungry at the table and wants me to give him food! Haha! He also says it a lot when he is tired and ready to sleep.

I finally gave him a sippy cup to try out. He is able to get some water out of it, but for now, prefers to use it as a teething toy. Sigh. I probably waited a bit too long on this one, but hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon!

New Foods tried this Month:

• Yogurt
• Pancakes (pumpkin, banana, buttermilk)
• Eggs
• Pasta/noodles
• Broccoli
• Bread
• Cheerios
• Cake
• Ice cream
• Chicken
• Pork

We've moved on to table foods for Amos now. He doesn't seem to mind being fed the purées, but it's definitely easier to let him feed himself, since he is willing and able. That may have been helped by the fact that Daddy was out of town! So, I let him try anything that he wants as long as I can break it into small enough pieces. I'm obviously avoiding things like honey and nuts, and other potential allergens, at this point. The boy loves pancakes just as much as his big brothers. Surprise! I already make double batches of those now. Soon I'll be feeling like a cafeteria worker with the amounts of food I'll need to prepare for these growing boys! Yikes! I've also continued to nurse him every 3-4 hours during the day (around 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 9 pm) for around 5-10 minutes.

Amos had a rougher month in the sleep department. He is still averaging around 13 hours of sleep a day (10.5 hours at night and 2.5 hours during the day). He is still going to bed between 9 and 10 pm, and sleeping until between 8 and 9 am. He has continued to wake most nights this past month, though, but goes promptly back to sleep if I feed him. Sigh. Half the time, he wants a morning nap, but half the time he waits until the afternoon to sleep. If he takes a morning nap, he usually goes back down later in the afternoon for a 2nd short nap. I thought the night waking was related to teething, but he has kept it up even after the bottom two teeth were in, so I don't know about that. :/ I'm hoping it'll get better again soon!

The Wednesday One: Week 22

The Wednesday One: Week 21

Teacher Gift Idea: Target Gift Card Holder

I like to get the boys' teachers a little gift at the end of the year to show our appreciation for the time and effort they have put in with the kids all year. Last year, I designed a cute coffee cup card with Starbucks and Target gift cards. This year, I decided to just do Target gift cards, and I found this cute idea via Pinterest, of course. She offers a free printable on her blog, but I wanted to change it up a bit with my own fonts, so I recreated it, adding a bit more color and some arrows, too, to go with the bullseye theme.

I printed the page and allowed it to dry. I like to use this double-sided matte photo paper when I print at home. It's nice and durable and images print beautifully on it. Next, I marked where I wanted the gift card to be, then used an exact-o knife to cut around the white circle of the bullseye.

Then, I slipped the gift card down in. By keeping the opening snug, it should stay in place on its own, but you can add a piece of tape under it to be sure. I attached the card to a piece of plain black card stock, to help keep the card in place.

Next, I dressed it up with some baker's twine (purchased at Michaels) and a chalkboard gift tag (found in the Target Dollar Spot!). It would also be easy to use some of the extra black card stock to create a tag. I used a metallic silver Sharpie to write on the tag.

Perfect!

If you're interested in a cute, updated printable featuring Bullseye, the Target dog, please convo me via my Etsy shop. It's available for just $3! :)

The Wednesday One: Week 20

Menu Monday #54 {Chicken Parmesan Cups recipe}

On Friday night, my mom and I let Ethan choose our dinner location, and we ended up at Cracker Barrel. We had visited Bagel Exchange for lunch, so I managed to have breakfast for all three of my meals that day. Yes, that is awesome. 

On Saturday morning, I made Ethan's favorite, whole wheat pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese icing, for breakfast. After that, Grandma got packed up and headed back to Ohio. After being gone from home for a month, it was time to go back for a bit. Hopefully we didn't scare her off, and she'll be back later this week to keep us company again while Josh is still away in China! That evening for dinner, I made the boys' day by letting them make their own personal pizzas. I had made my dough earlier in the bread machine, then we topped them with sauce and cheese. I also added some chicken to mine. If that wasn't enough to make the night awesome, I won "Mom of the Year" for making them some M&M cookies, too!! I figured they would work well for bribes if I need them! ;) Haha!

On Sunday morning, I continued on as Super-Mom by making our usual egg bagel sandwiches, doing some laundry, dishes, and getting the boys ready and to church, on time!! I lucked out and scored a nap since I got them all down at the same time for their naps. Perfection. After that, we played outside, watered our garden (it's starting to sprout!), took a walk, then we came in so I could make dinner. I would definitely say it was a successful day. Let's hope I can keep it up this week!

Sunday: Chicken parmesan cups (see recipe below)

I tried out a new idea for dinner. I've made "cups" in the past using Pillsbury® Grands!® biscuits. This time I used chicken parmesan ingredients in them. They turned out awesome and were a big hit with the boys!

Monday: Chicken nuggets, mac and cheese

The boys love it and I love that it's quick and easy. :) Who doesn't love some mac every now and then?!?

Tuesday: Grilled cheese, tomato soup

Ethan has been begging for grilled cheese for awhile now, so it's time to make it! Another easy meal while we're on our own. :) I'll probably add some tomato and fresh basil to my sandwich to make it even tastier!

Wednesday: Whole wheat pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese icing
Who doesn't love brinner? The boys love these pancakes so much, and they're actually fairly nutritious with the pumpkin in them, so I figure they'll work for dinner. ;)

Thursday: Preschool picnic

The boys' preschool will be having its end of the year picnic. I'll need to figure out what I want to bring to share with the other families. It will be a fun evening with the other parents!

Friday: Out to eat

Not sure what we'll have yet. I'll probably let the boys pick.

Saturday: TBD

I may make some homemade pizza again. The boys loved their personal pizzas so much!

What's on your menu this week?

Now for the recipe...

Chicken Parmesan Cups

(Serves 4-5)

Ingredients:

• 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits (8-count)
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese, optional
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 16 pieces/chunks Perdue® Simply Smart® lightly breaded chicken chunks, frozen
• 1 1/2 cups pizza, or spaghetti, sauce
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• Fresh basil, optional

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 16 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.

Pull each biscuit apart into 2 layers; press each into 4-inch round. Place 1 round in each of the muffin cups. Firmly press in bottom and up side, forming 1/4-inch rim. Put 1 tablespoon of the mozzarella cheese into each cup. If you like ricotta cheese, put 1 teaspoon on top of that. Place a chunk of the frozen chicken on top of that. I used the bigger chunks and it's ok to use them frozen - they'll cook along with the biscuits! On top of the chicken, spoon about 1 1/2 Tbsp of either pizza or spaghetti sauce. Top it all off by sprinkling on about 1/2 Tbsp of the shredded Parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh basil, if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let sit in the tin for 1 minute, then gently remove.

I love how quick and easy this meal is! The most time consuming part is getting all of the biscuits flattened and into the muffin tin. After that, it's a breeze! Being able to use the frozen chicken chunks makes this so easy to prepare. I love that I didn't have to dirty another dish trying to cook the meat first. I used pizza sauce for mine because I already had an opened container of it, but spaghetti sauce will work great, too. The kids would prefer this without the ricotta cheese, so next time, I'll make some with it and some without it. Enjoy!