Bedtime Solutions

I don't know about you but, our neighborhood is loaded with monsters and witches.  Those darn things make it almost impossible to get a 4 year old to sleep.  Lucky for us, we found some handy anti-monsters, bad guys, and witches spray (water in a squirt bottle) under the kitchen sink.

 

The trick to it is that you have to spray it outside all doors that go outside.

So, we spray it out the front and back door. 

 

 

Just to be on the safe side, we spray it at the bottom of the stairs just in case one of those pesky monsters squeezes through the cracks.

 

 

 

 

Now here's the best news, Kody woke up saying, "Mommy! The monster spray worked!!"  Phew, I'm glad we got those darn things under control.

Side Walk Chalk Art

Kody and I love coloring on the driveway with chalk.  Becoming a part of the picture has become one of her new favorite things to do.

Behavior Chart

I don't know about you but, I have got a 4 year old who has completely found her attitude!  Her teachers at school say she is just the sweetest thing ever.  I'm convinced they have her confused with a different child.  So, it is my mission to find that well behaved little girl and enjoy time with her at home.

I found some little charts with every character you can think of on www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com and printed out a bunch of different characters for a few weeks.

For every thing she does, she gets a sticker.  At the end of the week if she has all of her stickers (I might change it all but one or two...haven't decided) she gets to chose a Popsicle stick from the jar.

Each stick has a different activity that we will do that weekend.

                           

- feed the duck

-go to the library

-movie night

- slumber party in living room

-childrens museum

- go to the movies

- get ice cream

- eat at red robin (her favorite restaurant)

- have a picnic

- go swimming

- horseback riding

- go bowling

- ice skating

- bounce house

- get a new toy

- alphabet tour

Tonsillectomy Recovery- Day 3

Day 3!!

Phew...day 3 you have officially kicked my butt!!  I woke up around 4am pretty sore so I got some more pain meds and ice and passed back out.  My mom took me to my house to get some more clothes and I decided to take a bath while I was there.  BAD IDEA!  It was fine until I leaned back to wash my hair and at that point I thought I was going to suffocate.  No good.  Following along with the bad ideas, my daughter had a birthday party to go to this afternoon at a horse stable.  I definitely should have sat that one out.  We got back to my moms house, I had some trusty mashed potatoes, loaded up on meds and ice, and hit the pillow filled bed.  

This is the best way I can describe to you how the day has played out haha

morning...

afternoon...

evening...

                     

Tonsillectomy Recovery- Day 1 & 2

Day 1!!

So far so good!  I had to be at the surgery center at 6:30 and was back at my moms house around noon.  I remember being rolled into the OR with two gorgeous nurses and having major girl talk (not sure about what) with them as I switched beds.  Then I woke up in an awesome recovery room where I slept for a few hours after that. 

For some reason I expected to have no voice afterwards but, I woke up just a talkin!  My nurse gave me a cup of the best vanilla pudding I've ever had, gave me pain meds, and sent me on my way.

In all of my research I did before surgery, the biggest tip I found was to sleep in a recliner and not a flat bed.  Apparently being upright keeps your throat from drying out.  So, I did just that.  I spent a majority of the day sleeping in the recliner with an ice pack on my neck.  OH!  and for some reason I had a really weird snore?? I don't snore so I'm gonna be pissed if after this I do.  In my short breaks from sleeping, lots of apple juice and pudding/jello accompanied my big bottle of happy meds!

As you can imagine, juice, pudding, and jello are not very filling.  Definetly after nothing to eat since dinner the night before.  So I tried some mashed potatoes.  I made sure they weren't very hot and ate them pretty slow.  I got them down and my tummy was then full! YAY!

They say the first day is cake compared to the rest...I guess we shall see.

Day 2!!

Still going strong!  I woke up in the recliner, throat felt fine still, the rest of my body is a different story.  Fortunate for me, I have the sweetest almost 4 year old ever.  She got out of her bed and hopped in the recliner with me and we watched cartoons on her kindle.  Right as I'm about to eat my pudding for breakfast she says to me "Mommy, can I feed you?" Ah melt my heart!  So she "fed me like a baby"  with the open wide here comes the choo choo haha.

Knock on wood...don't want to jynx myself here but, I've had strep that hurt worse than my throat does now.  Just feels like a lump in the back of my throat...not so much painful as uncomfortable.  The worst part is my tongue from where they clamped it down on the sides during surgery.  I've cut my pain med dosage in half and continue to drink lots of cold apple juice and keep my ice pack on.

I've now moved every pillow in my mothers house onto the guest bedroom so I can be sitting up and have lots of leg room...much better than the recliner!

End of day 2 and my voice is gone! :((

Stuffed Zucchini

These are not only super easy to make but they are also very quick.  I actually found a recipe online that I thought sounded so yummy but, then couldn't find it again.  So, I made this one up with things I already had at home.

All you need:

• Zucchinis
• 1 roma tomato (diced)
• 1/4 cup diced onions (diced)
• 1 cup of croutons (crumbled)
• 2-3 tablespoons of caeser dressing
• shredded cheese

Directions:

Slice the zucchini down the middle long ways.  With a spoon scoop out the inside of them leaving enough around the edges so that it doesn't become flimsy.  Chop the zucchini filling pretty fine.  Dice the tomato using only the outside of the tomato; the juice and seeds of the tomato will make the stuffing mixture too liquidy.  Combine the diced onion, tomato, crumbled croutons, caeser dressing, and zucchini in a bowl and mix.  Spoon the mixture into the zucchini "boats" and top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until heated through.

I put my zucchini boats over a plate of pasta to make a more filling meal out of it.

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

I love making things that look fancy but were actually super easy to make and these def fall into that category!!

All you need:

• Bell peppers 
• your choice of meat (I used ground turkey)
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 jar of salsa
• 1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• shredded cheese (I used the mexican blend)
• sour cream
• fresh cilantro

Directions:

Literally the hardest part of this is cutting the peppers in half.  You can cut the stems off if you want and it would probably be easier but, I think the stem makes them look fancier :))  After you cut the peppers rub a little olive oil on them and bake them at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.

While the peppers are in the oven, brown your meat and add taco seasoning according to package.  Next, add the salsa, beans, and corn to the meat.

When the peppers are done, let them cool to touch so you can fill them easily.  Stuff the mixture into the peppers and bake at 400 degrees for another 15 minutes.  

After the 15 minutes, take the peppers out and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of each pepper.  Place them back in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove peppers from the oven and top each one with sour cream and fresh cilantro.