Ittybitties Under the Weather

A little battle of germs has been raging on in our house.

Two weeks ago today Owen had a nasty case of the stomach flu. Poor little man was violently ill for several hours and then was weak with little appetite for a couple of days.

We hoped and prayed that the rest of us wouldn’t get sick. Danny and I just had nausea and stomach pain for several days. Grace was fine.

Then the next week Grace started a seal bark cough. She missed a day of school and then seemed better. Over the weekend she spiked a fever. It was in the 103′s from Saturday to Monday morning when she looked like she was improving.

Then yesterday her fever started to increase again and her cough was getting worse. I  called the pediatrician and we drove down to Eugene. She had crackling in her lower left lung and he said she has pneumonia. She started antibiotics and the doctor said to expect her fever to still be high through today and for her to be out of school all week.

Fortunately, my sweet parents and in-laws have been able to help so that I haven’t missed every day of work this week…

Now we wait, and worry about Owen. He has been doing so well with his asthma. I have actually had him weaned down to the lowest dose of his nebulizer that he has been on since September. He started a slight cough on Saturday so I added back his Xoponex, but for once he is responding to cough syrup and not asthma medicine. Which I take to mean his asthma is in check. Finally.

But Owen has been exposed to his sister for days and pneumonia would be terrible for his little lungs. So we are praying he continues to stay strong and fight it off.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

This is the best potato soup I have ever had…ever.

I have made it several times and never manage to get pictures of it…I finally tried today with the last bowl…Yeah, not a food-blogger…I want to encourage you to make this, not discourage you. So I will not post a picture…just the recipe and any suggestions I have for you…

I found the original recipe on Tasty Kitchen but have made some slight modifications.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups Diced Potatoes (peeled)
• ½ cups Diced Carrots
• ½ cups Diced Celery
• 3 cans Chicken Broth, 14 1/2 Oz Each
• 1 can Cream Of Chicken Soup (10 Oz. Can)
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup diced ham
• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 package Cream Cheese (8 Oz. Package)

Instructions:
In a large slow cooker/crock pot, combine all above ingredients, except for the flour and cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until potatoes are done.

About an hour before you serve the soup, cut up the cream cheese and add it to the soup. Stir until blended.

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My suggestions:
I have tried this with no celery and double the carrots and it’s good. Extra garlic? Good. Healthier versions of Cream of Chicken soup? Good. 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese? Good. “Can’t even taste a difference” good.

The original recipe called for bacon, I liked the ham much better. I also don’t usually add salt because the ham is salty enough for us. Bacon is a yummy garnish though.

I am not exact when it comes to potato/chicken broth measurements. I dice a bunch of potatoes and then I cover them with broth.

The original recipe also called for flour to thicken at the end. I have never needed it, probably because I don’t use the full amount of broth…The next day it is even thicker so I add a bit more broth when I reheat it.

Finally, if you don’t have the full 8-10 hours for this to cook on low, you can turn it to high. I also tried heating it up to a boil on the stove and cooking it for about 20 minutes and then putting it in the slow cooker. That shaved off a couple of hours of cooking time.

 

 

Lessons Learned at the Coast

When you need to go potty…don’t lean up against the rock you are peeing on…

At the End of the Day

After the adventures at Seal Rock State Wayside we went back to the cabin and had roasted marshmallows.

And then they crashed…

Seal Rock State Wayside, Part 2

The kids had so much fun at Seal Rock State Wayside.

There were some neat rocks for them to climb on and lots of places to explore.

Tide was just starting to come in and there were some other people on the beach that told us that this part of the beach would be completely gone during high tide. We decided to make our adventure a short one so that it didn’t become a wet one…

Seal Rock State Wayside, Part 1

Over the New Year holiday we went to the beach. We decided to go on an “adventure” to Seal Rock State Wayside. There is a parking lot where you can walk down stairs and a path to the beach…but that’s not adventurous enough for us! We had to park at the next pullout and climb down to the beach.

As Grace and I were still heading down, Danny, Owen and Daisy were already on the beach…

After Danny got Owen to the beach, he came back to help Grace…

When we got down to the beach, this is where we found Owen…

Little man does not need much help…
In fact, sometimes you have to hold him back

Exploring on the rocks

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
on Vimeo from Moonbot Studios
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Owen and I watched this short little film today called

Absolutely enchanting. Books are so powerful.

Reminded me of the first few minutes of “Up”…

Irony…

So, I apparently lost a week on the blog…oops:)

Maybe next week…
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Danny and I decided to open a credit union account. Back in the end of December (the 27th to be exact) I went in to one and opened an account. Ordered checks. Ordered debit cards.

As of Tuesday, nearly 5 weeks later, we had not received our debit cards. We have been dancing between two accounts because we had transferred direct deposit, bill pay, etc. to our new account but still need a debit card for so many things.

Well, as of today guess how many debit cards I have?!?!?!

8. eight. EIGHT.

Seriously.

Four arrived yesterday and another four today, by Fed Ex.

It’s funny how something you lack can be so frustrating. Ahh, but an excess of the same thing can also be a bit frustrating just a few days later…

It makes me want to go out and use them a bunch, but unfortunately, 8 debit cards doesn’t mean 8 times the amount of money…