Love Dare Challenge, Day 8

Share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

Well, it has been one week since I started the Love Dare. It's been fun accomplishing all of the tasks and hubby has noticed all of the little things I've been doing for him. If you're keeping up with the Love Dares, only 32 more dares left to complete :o) I'm personally going to continue with the Love Dares, but I'm not going to post them here each day anymore. If you'd like to continue with the dares, here is the link to find all 40 of them: http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.4845189/k.F3D8/Love_Dare/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp

Smile for the x-ray!

I took J to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital today to get his x-ray. He was a VERY good baby!!! We had to wait for 45 minutes in the lobby. Finally, we were called to go back to radiology. We get into the room and I have to take off all of J's clothes including his diaper. The x-ray tech draped a wash cloth over his private area. She told me to hold his legs down straight and not to let him wiggle. She said all babies cry at this part because they don't like to lay so still. I did as she said and told J to "Smile for the picture". He is such a ham, so of course he did. The tech started laughing. She said, "OK, this next pose will most likely make him cry". He had to lay perfectly still with his legs up and open in a frog position. Again, I said, "Smile for the picture" and he got a huge grin on his face. The tech said she had never seen a baby that was so well behaved. That's my boy!!!! We should hear from our Pediatrician early next week. I keep you all posted.

Love Dare Challenge, Day 7

On a sheet of paper, write out positive things about your spouse. At some point during the day, pick a positive attribute from the list and thank your spouse for having the characteristic. Ooh! This is a fun one! Except, I'm not just going to pick one attribute, I'm going to thank hubby for all of them! Now where is my construction paper, scissors, markers, and glue???

The Love Dare Challenge, Day 6

Choose to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Well, I hope this doesn't jynx me now, and give me a tough marital situation to deal with today! I think some of these challenges are for couples with problems. Oh well, some of them are fun!

For those of you who read my post yesterday, I feel much better today! After all, this is not life threatening. If J does have something wrong with his hips, than we fix it with a brace. And, we're fortunate to have a good doctor who can catch these things early. Thank you for all of the comments, emails, and phone calls yesterday. I have great friends and family!

One Crappy Day...

Where do I begin? I woke up, fed J, played a little, then realized I was running late for the Pediatrician appnt. So I hopped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and nursed J one more time before dashing out the door. I was excited because this was the first time that we were going to arrive on time...yippee! I got all the way to Apopka-Vineland (which is about 2 miles from the Doctor's office) and realized I forgot my wallet (PROBLEM #1). Which means NO insurance card and NO money. Well, I wasn't about to turn around. When I signed in, the receptionist acted as though it happens to moms often. Phew! Nothing to worry about. I sit down and hold my little guy and wait to be called. The waiting room was packed, so I figured it would be a long wait. To my surprise, they called us three minutes later. (I could tell the other moms were surprised too, they had the "I've been waiting here forever and she gets right in" look on their faces). We get into the room and our favorite nurse says, "strip him down to a dry diaper". Of course, J's diaper is wet, so I proceed to change it. Meanwhile, my son pees during the diaper change all over his outfit (PROBLEM #2). I reach in my diaper bag for the spare outfit that I usually keep in there and as I feel around I remember he has already worn that outfit last time we were out and I forgot to put another change of clothes in the diaper bag (PROBLEM #3). So off to the scale to see how much my doodlebug weighs! The nurse says, "14lb 4oz!" I say, "No, you must be wrong, last visit which was 2 months ago, he weighed 14lb 2oz. He only gained 2oz in two months! Do it again, it must be a mistake!" The nurse weighs him again and gets the same outcome (PROBLEM #4)



So, the Doctor comes in worried about J's weight. He has gone from the 50%ile to the 10%ile. She said it could be hereditary since hubby and I are both on the petite side. However, he still should have gained more than 2oz. She reccommended that I feed J solids 6 times a day and nurse after each meal! If he doesn't gain 1lb in a month, we'll have to go back. At this point, I'm feeling bad, but this is an easy fix. Just feed him more. No biggy.



Now the doctor continues the exam and shows me how little J has one butt cheek larger than the other. I laugh because I thought that was an odd trait to point out about my son. Well, apparently this means that something is wrong with his hips. She flips my little doodlebug over and begins to circle his legs around. She says feel this leg. It clicks when he rotates it. Let's get him to Arnold Palmer for a hip x-ray to check for Hip Dysplasia (PROBLEM #5). Panic begins to set in as I ask how serious this is and should I get the x-ray done immediately. She responds, "no, just get it done in the next 2 weeks." She states that if we catch this now, all we do to correct it, is to have J wear a brace. If we wait until he starts to walk, then he may need hip surgery. At this point, I'd had all the stress my body can take and I begin to cry. She tries to calm me down. Which works until I realize that we still haven't received the vaccinations (the reason for our visit) yet. My little guy must've known I was upset, so to make me feel better, he acted as thought the shots didn't bother him one bit. He is so brave! Time to leave.



Nope, story doesn't end here. Remember, J peed all over his clothes at the beginning of this appointment. So, I had to wrap him in his blanket. Take him out to the car. Get him buckled into his car seat. Wrap him in the blanket again. Put the key in the ignition to hear the car "BING". Look down and see that I have 12 miles of gas left and a 15 mile drive home with NO WALLET!!! AGHHHHHHHH!!!!! (problem #6) I find two dollars worth of change laying around, and fill'er up with about one gallon. It was enough to get me home.



So now I pack J full of food and nurse him. He is currently taking a nap. So I thought I'd look up Hip Dysplasia on-line. Bad idea. Here is a picture of the brace that he would have to wear. The article states that the baby would have to wear this brace for 24 hours a day for 6 weeks, followed by 12 hours a day for 6 weeks. If this fails, they move to traction, then surgery. So that's my CRAPPY day, and it's only 2:00pm.

The Love Dare Challenge, Day 5

Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them. Hmmm! What could I possibly do that would irritate my hubby. I hope he doesn't have a long list of things :o)

It's his half birthday already...

I really can't believe how fast time goes by. He just loves to "ham" it up in front of the camera!!

When I was pregnant and nervous about delivery, women who have more than one child kept telling me, it's not that bad! You forget about the pain and uncomfort and before you know it, you'll be having another baby. I thought they were crazy!!! So during the last few months of pregnancy (when I was very miserable and extremely uncomfortable), I decided to burn those feelings into my brain. When I was in labor, I did the same thing. Well, 6 months later, I still haven't forgotten the discomfort. However, looking back on it, it was all worth it! Does this mean I'm ready to have another? NO!

The Love Dare Challenge, Day 4

Contact your spouse sometime during the day and ask how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.

Love Dare Challenge, Day 3

Buy your spouse something that says, "I was thinking about you today." Time to go shopping!!!

The Love Dare Challenge, Day 2

Do at least one unexpected gesture to your spouse as an act of kindness. Hmmm! What can I do today that would be unexpected??? Are you taking the challenge? I DARE you to!

The Love Dare Challenge, Day 1

Ok, so I heard about this book called, The Love Dare. The movie, Fireproof, was based on this book and it involves a couple on the verge of divorce. They follow the steps in this book, and I won't spoil the ending for you. Anyways, I stumbled upon this website that has a 40 day love dare challenge. I thought I would try it and see how it works. Not that my hubby and I are on the verge of getting a divorce. We rarely ever argue, I just thought this would be fun. Especially with February being the month of love. Each day you get a new task to complete for your husband/boyfriend. Today's task is an easy one for me: Resolve to say nothing negative about your spouse today. I'd love for you to join me in this 40 day challenge and tell me how it goes.

I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring husband. Last night we went to a baptism class at Holy Family and I know hubby was tired and has had an exhausting time at work this week, but he put a smile on his face and went. He didn't say one negative thing the entire time we were there (which was over an hour). I love him. Too bad he doesn't read my blog to see how much I love him :o)

Background changes

Ok, so if you check my blog often, you probably noticed that the background keeps changing. It's because I can't find one that I like. Well, actually, when I do a google search, I find several that I like. However, when I try to erase the old HTML code and replace it with a new one, I get an error code. Even though the new background template states it is compatible with "Blogspot". So anyone who is reading this, if you know how to change the background properly, let me know.

cute babies

My little doodlebug had his "friends that are girls" over for a playdate tonight. He enjoyed seeing other babies. Grapeseed (the baby in the polka-dots) is looking at J like he has cooties :o) He also loved watching Mommy and her friends talk and gossip. It must've worn him out, because he went to bed quickly without any fussing. We might have to do this again!

Great Grandparents

Today we went to visit the Great Grandparents. J had so much fun spending time with them, I did too! It was pretty cool to see my own Grandparents playing with my son. They say that dogs are good for the elderly because they keep them company and get them active, but I think babies are even better. Hmmmmm... maybe I can rent my little doodlebug out to the nursing homes to earn some extra cash$$. I have to pay for his college somehow :o)

I'm a worry wart!

I always put J to sleep on his back. Most of the time I use a sleep positioner. But every morning I wake up around 5:30am to find J on his tummy. I usually jump out of bed and run to his room to flip him over. Which always results in him crying for ten minutes then turning over onto his tummy to fall back to sleep. This routine will continue until 7:00am when I finally give up on sleeping and we both go downstairs to start our day. The doctors and websites have me scared about SIDS! I hate ruining his sleep every morning, but I just couldn't live with myself if something were to happen because I didn't flip him over. Yeah, yeah, I know that I was probably put to sleep on my belly along with millions of other babies many years ago, but I can't help but think about how the number of SIDS babies has dramatically reduced since parents began putting their babies down on their backs. So, am I paranoid or should I continue to flip my son every morning?????

Just a bad hair day...

Here is a riddle for you to figure out: what crows early in the morning and has feathers on its head that stick up? No, not a rooster, it's baby J!!!! This is what he looks like in the morning... he must be twirling his hair in his sleep!

J has been sleeping very well. I think it is because it has been VERY cold here for the last few days... in the lower 30's at night. Hubby thinks little J has been hibernating. This is a picture of how he sleeps. PJ's on first, then his sleep sack, followed by his favorite blankie, and topped off with his warm navy blanket. The picture is small, so you probably can't read the thermometer. It's reading 64 degrees in his room!

Isn't it Ironic...

While I have loved every second of the last 5 months and 2 weeks, I must say it has been EXTREMELY difficult finding things to eat that does not contain Milk or Soy due to J's allergy. Well, after several days of starving and crying, my hubby and I spent a couple of hours at the grocery store reading labels and inventing dishes to eat. I'm currently working on writing a cookbook for nursing mothers with the same problem. I find it ironic that I'm writing a cookbook when I come from a family of "non-cookers". Sorry Mom!!!

Anyways, I'd like some feedback. I've included one of the Milk/Soy free recipes from my book below. If you decide to make it, can you let me know two things: 1) how did it taste? and 2) were the directions easy to follow?

Thanks for your help!!!! Enjoy!!!

‘Choken the Chicken
My husband had a hand in naming this dish!


3-4 chicken breasts
12 oz jar Reese Marinated artichoke salad
12 oz jar Mt. Olive Marinated Red Pepper
3 teaspoons yellow mustard
¾ cup favorite white wine
1 cup orzo
3 tablespoon olive oil



Directions:
Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Pour olive oil into frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides. Drain and discard the liquid out of the Artichoke salad and Red Pepper jars, then add artichoke and peppers to frying pan with chicken for 3 minutes. Meanwhile mix wine and mustard, then pour into frying pan. Turn the heat to low and let simmer. In another pot, boil water and cook the orzo following directions on the box. Spoon the orzo onto a plate and top it off with the artichoke chicken mixture. Voila!! ‘Choken the Chiken!