{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Easter: Past and Present

William's First Easter, April 2006, 3 1/2 months old

Marie's First Easter, March 2008, 5 months old

Anne's First Easter, April 2011, 9 months old

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

One For the Books

We try a lot of new recipes around here. While a lot of people try to do one new recipe a week, I have to reign myself in and be sure to do at least one tried and true meal each week. What can I say? I get bored easily.

With all the new recipes being tested there really aren't too many that are must-make-again meals. Don't get me wrong, we usually enjoy them, I just feel like there are too many recipes out there to repeat any that aren't fabulous. This past Sunday was one of those rare occasions when we tried something new and said, "We HAVE to make this again."

Here's the key, if you try this recipe use chicken thighs.
You must use chicken thighs.
Do yourself a favor and use chicken thighs.
The sauce is great, quite tasty actually, but what made this dish was the chicken thighs (as opposed to chicken breasts.)
Have I made my point? Chicken thighs, people.

Find the original recipe here at Eating Well.

And the recipe with my, it's-what-I-had-in-my-pantry alterations ...

• Barbecue Pulled Chicken
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle in adobo sauce
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 can tomato paste 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 
  
• Stir tomato sauce, chile, vinegar, honey, paprika, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, spices, and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker until smooth. Add chicken and garlic; stir to combine.
• Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken can be pulled apart, about 5 hours.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Return the chicken to the sauce, stir well.
• 
  

Serve on french bread rolls with your choice of toppings. We used mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and dill relish.

Yes, it is as good as it sounds.

P.S. The past two days I have used the leftover chicken to make a salad for lunch. Romaine lettuce, chicken, black beans, avocado, salsa, and some crushed chips. Yum!

{this moment}

Our Anne: The Sick Saga, Part 2

When Anne finally woke up for the day at 11am I went in to her room to find that once again she was burning up. I picked her up and she snuggled right up against my shoulder and didn't move. After checking her temperature my heart just sunk when I saw that it was 102.7 again. After a dose of ibuprofen and a bath we only managed to get it down to around 101. 

She perked up enough for us to feed her lunch but only a couple of hours later lunch came right back up.

04.11.11, evening

 Her lethargy was worrisome, to say the least. Whether in our arms or laying down she hardly moved at all, she barely cried, and we couldn't make eye contact with her. Our usual bright eyed, energetic, and curious baby was not there at all. I called my mom with the symptoms and she without hesitation said to get in touch with our doctor again. Another phone call to the doctor confirmed that we needed to get her into Urgent Care.

Actually, after too many negative experiences at Urgent Care with children we opted to go to Wee Care Pediatrics. I didn't realize I needed an appointment, but the receptionist was quick to help Anne get into a doctor. She saw the worry on my face, I'm sure, and I'm grateful for her willingness to work with  me and my frazzled self.

Discussed Anne's history with the doctor.
Checked her breathing. Just a little wheezing.
Checked her oxygen levels. Great.
Chest x-ray. Good.
Checked her ears. Red. Pussy. Bulging. Still.

Enter Rocephin.

April 11:
Anne woke up without a fever and with an appetite. She was wiggly and squirmy and ready to crawl and her smile was back. We could not believe the change we saw in her already. Brandon took the morning off so I could do a follow-up appointment with our regular pediatrician. She had another rocephin shot and I was told to go back the next day for her last dose.We also tested for RSV and found out it was positive.

04.12.11, evening

Today:

Every time I look at Anne I say a prayer of gratitude for the inspiration we received to take Anne to the doctor and the scientific developments that allowed my sweet baby to recover so quickly. On Sunday we felt like we were watching our baby slip away from us. Now today you wouldn't even know that she was that sick just three days before. She still has a slight cough and a clear runny nose but the fever and wheezing are gone. I hated seeing her get those shots (so much worse than immunizations!) but I am grateful they were there for her when she needed them. We are truly blessed to live in this time. 

Our Anne: The Sick Saga, Part 1

Our Anne has had a heck of a time this past month. Around the middle of March her temperature started to float around 99.5 pretty consistently. At the time she was cutting two teeth so we assumed that was the reason. When this persisted for more than two weeks and was accompanied with a runny nose, fussiness, and eventually a cough I decided it might be something more.

March 24:

Double ear infections. Double red-pussy-bulging ear infections. 

Enter Amoxicillin. 

April 1:

At this point, her temperature had dropped and her fussiness started to decrease. It was a relief to think that she was on the mend. Day ten of the Amoxicillin, her last dose, she woke up with a fever. What?! I talked to my mother and sister, my own personal on-call nurse and ear infection expert and the consensus was that the infection probably hadn't gone away and she would need another round of antibiotics. No big deal, somewhat routine, right?

April 4:

Dr. determined that her infections are gone, although there was still some fluid in the ears. He told me, "She must have just caught another virus. If the fever persists for 2 more days you should bring her back in."

April 6: 

The fever persisted. Brandon and I determined that I would take her in the next day if she woke up with a fever. That night the fever climbed to as high as 102.7. Our neighbor and Brandon gave her a priesthood blessing, that and only that was the reason I was able to sleep restfully that night.

April 7:

Another trip to the doctor. Bronchiolitis and double ear infections (again!) caused by whatever nasty virus she had managed to catch.

Enter Albuterol and Omnicef.

I was also given a rough time line of how I could expect the virus to play out. Her symptoms would probably peak around the weekend and then progressively start to get better. The fever, if due solely to the ear infections, would only last about 48 more hours. 

April 9: 

Her fever was still sitting around 100.5 and congestion was still present. That afternoon she slept from 12:30 until 5:30. When she woke up her eyes were closed shut with green gunk and her nose was just covered in congestion. I called the doctor and we determined that she was still experiencing symptoms from the virus but if she stopped eating or started struggling with her breathing we should go into Urgent Care right away. She barely ate dinner and nursed and went down for the night around 7:30pm. 

April 10: 

Anne woke up around 5am without a fever. We put her back to sleep and she proceeded to sleep until 11am.  We were relieved at this point, sure that she had made it through the worst of it and was sleeping the last of this yuckiness away. We were shocked that she was sleeping for so long but figured that she must finally be feeling well enough to get a good rest. We could hear her stir and cough every once in a while so we weren't worried about her.