Miss Lexi Mishaps

Lexi hurt herself at school on Thursday. She fell off the monkey bars. She told me it hurt, and I told her we would give it a day, and see if it still hurt. She woke up crying that night so we gave her some chidlren's tylenol and she went back to bed. The next morning I asked how her arm felt. She replied that it was fine, no pain. She went to school, etc. When I picked her up, again I asked how it was, and she was happy to report it felt fine. Unfortunately that night, she woke up again crying and complaining her arm hurt. Since it was the middle of the night, and I am not a fan of ER visit costs, I gave her some medicine and told her we would go in the morning. The next morning (Saturday), she said it did not hurt, and she was fine. She played all day and had no complaints. Last night though, for the third night she woke up and crying. It was about 10:30 and most of the instacares or urgent cares in the area close between 9 and 10. So again we decided to wait. Only this time it was slightly swollen. We gave her tylenol again, and wrapped it up with an ice pack. Then had her go back to sleep. 

This morning this woke up happy, and said it didn't hurt, but was favoring it and not doing anything with it. Since I am not fond of these middle of the night wake-ups, we decided to just take her in to be sure it was okay. I had ward council, so I couldn't go, so Brett took her, and Wendi came over to watch the boys, while I was at my meeting. 

The verdict: She had an x-ray (pictured below), and it is NOT broken. It is however sprained. And while she does not necessarily need a splint, the Dr. splinted it in order to help stabilize it and so she would protect it. Often if it is not broken, kids will play on it hard and aggravate it (which is what she had been doing). So he put a hard splint on, and wrapped it, and said she needs to keep it on for three or four days. She is really hating it, as it sort of scratches her arm. and she has picked at it some, so it is not as cleanly wrapped as before. 

We are going to play at CornBelly's tomorrow, so I told her she has to keep it on until at least Tuesday so she does not hurt it further tomorrow. Apparently it takes just as long for a sprain to heal as a break, and sometimes hurts even worse. Here's hoping she heals quickly. She is not a happy camper when she is in pain. Not that many of us are.

She has been pretty funny about it. She does not want anyone to know what happened because she "will be too embarrassed." She is milking it for all it is worth, asking the boys to do stuff for her, hold stuff for her, etc. She even tried to get the last dessert by saying, "I'm the one with a sprain." haha it backfired when her dad pointed out that this means her arm cost us $100, so maybe her brothers should get the last dessert. lol

That brings me to something else. Although I am not thrilled this happened, I am extremely grateful today. I am grateful my daughter is alright. I am grateful for a husband who would take her in to deal with this while I served in my church calling. I am grateful to extended family for their help and support.  I am grateful we have access to things like Urgent Care, which is far more cost effective than an ER visit. I am so grateful for technology and qualified doctors. And I am grateful that Brett and I have been putting money aside each month into a specific account for medical expenses and emergencies. We never would have guessed Lexi would be our most costly medical emergency child to date, (this is her 3rd visit) but hey, at least we have the funds to cover it, and can feel grateful she is okay, rather than stressed about the expense.

Baby Names!

Cydney Colleen Yerkes

Okay everyone, we decided on a name for our new addition. We are not 100% certain, so if she comes out and we change the name, don't be surprised. But for now we are loving the name Sidney. Of course, we have thrown out a million names, and had it narrowed down to a few, but couldn't seem to decide. Then we added this one into the mix.

My mom's name is Colleen, and we wanted to use her name for the middle name, so we were trying to find a name that worked well with Colleen and Yerkes. This is not as easy as it seems.

We are also huge fans of the Yankees, and named Alexis after A-Rod, and Derrick after Derek Jeter, so we were debating whether or not to continue the trend with baby #4. But really, there are just not that many cute girl names to be found on the Yankee's roster.

After a lot of joking around we decided to change the spelling to Cydney, to get a C, and then use Colleen for a second C, and call her CC, which works perfectly because the pitcher for the Yankees right now is CC Sebathia, and we LOVE him.

Here's hoping our little one is far cuter than he is though, huh?

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Freezer Meal Review

Winner, winner, we have another chicken dinner...
 
This is a delicious meal! The recipe is originally from Mels Kitchen Cafe but I found it on Pinterest, and it is was pinned from Life is a Lofthouse! It is pretty tasty. I actually made it last week, and we gobbled it up, so I decided to make it again tonight so I could get some pictures for the blog.

This is the recipe and directions:

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.   

 

I do not bother turning it because I  am lazy, I just make sure to coat it good in the first place, and then again near the end I flip it and stir it around. 

I altered this some to make it freezer friendly. I put the chicken in one bag. I put a small bag of corn starch in, just so I have everything. Then I mix up the sauce and put it in a third bag. Freeze. Then thaw the day I want it. Coat the chicken in the corn starch, beat 2 eggs and coat it again, this time in egg. Brown it up, throw it in a pan, and bake for the hour it calls for. I also like to cut back on the sugar some, I probably used closer to half a cup than 3/4, but I do not always measure exact.  I served it over white rice, and with steamed broccoli and fresh cut watermelon wedges. Pretty tasty dinner, and very little work from the freezer to the table. It is one of the ones I really like from freezer because it tastes just like it would from fresh, but you do all the work ahead of time and in bulk to cut back on the mess and labor the night of. 

Brett claims this is his favorite of the freezer meals thus far! Can't complain when the hubby loves it! The freezer meal recipe version and bag instructions can be found here. I print the bag instructions out on label paper and put them directly on the freezer bag so I have them on hand while preparing the food. Simple as that.

Delicious dinner...

 

This is delicious Flank steak, and twice baked potatoes. Both freezer meal items that we love. I usually reserve this meal for Sunday dinners, but I made a mistake this morning, and needed something really tasty tonight.

Okay, here is my mistake story: I got my bountiful basket this morning, and wanted a big healthy breakfast full of fresh veggies. I diced up potatoes, green bell peppers, carrots, and a few other veggies, cooked them up in my new birthday omelet pan, and yum, they looked so good. I threw in some diced ham for protein. Topped with fresh diced tomato. The kitchen smelled great, and they looked fabulous. Usually when I make this type of meal (hash), I use some hot sauce or ketchup depending on my mood on the side for a little extra flavor. I opened the fridge and my Sarachi caught my eye. Yum, I love Sarachi. But it is HOT. Without thinking, I squirted a bunch over the top of my bowl of hash, and then settled in to eat it. It was yummy, but uh, yeah, I forgot the HORRIBLE heart burn I get when I am pregnant and eat anything with too much kick. I paid for that breakfast all day. Tums did not touch it. So I basically avoided food all day, and wanted comfort food tonight! lol

We had this with a big green salad with lots of cucumber, carrots, radish, etc. And my favorite, Italian Dressing. It was very satisfying, and extremely flavorful.

The flank steak is one of my faves because it is easy, and tastes fancy. I made up this rub to use on it, in an attempt to copy a rub I liked. It is a little spicy, so adjust according to your taste. Basically, use the oil to coat the outside, put your rub on, marinate for 30 minutes in fridge. Then broil for 6-9 mins per side based on how done you like it. Let it sit for 5 mins, then slice against the grain and serve. 

Flank steak rub

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you do not like spice, cut back here)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 25 grinds fresh black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil- to help the rub stay on the steak!

More food

Yummy Cookies

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen. 

Courtesy of Apple a Day

Derrick has really been wanting cookies lately, and I am NOT a baker. But these are easy enough, and very tasty. They look fairly browned in this photo, but truly they were crispy outside, soft and chewy middle, which is what I love. I cooked more than 10 minutes despite the warning in the directions because I feel like my oven temp is not that accurate. But hey, they turned out great! I have made them twice in the last two days.

Pot Roast Slider Meat Tacos...MMMMM

We had pot roast sliders for dinner last night, which were super yummy, and today for lunch I was hungry and did not want to spend much time fixing something. Derrick asked for a quesadilla, and I had been dreaming about using the leftovers from last night in tacos, so I that is what I made. It literally took less than 5 minutes to throw them together. I sliced the meat, heated the griddle, crisped up my taco shells with some cheese in them, topped them with the meat, chipolte sauce, lettuce, avocado, and some salsa (wish I had fresh salsa, but it was still delish).

What an awesome freezer meal, totally versatile meat, and so far 2 great meals out of it. Mmmm

So you can find the recipe for the meat here!  

1 3-4 lb beef roast

Bag1:

·       1 cup water

·       1 cup salsa

·       1 envelope onion soup mix

  1 envelope Italian dressing mix

1 envelope Au Jus mix

 

Bag 2:

·       ¼ c sour cream

·       2 Tbs chili sauce

·       2 tsp creamy horseradish sauce

 

Cook roast and bag 1 ingredients in crockpot 6-8 hours. Serve on rolls, with provolone, and creamy chipolte sauce(bag 2).

Beef...it's what's for dinner!

Do you remember that slogan? Haha! I do.

Well, here is another review of a freezer meal, this time the pot roast sliders.

YUM!

Another good one. 

I was sooo tired this morning, so I wanted a fast dinner, so I threw this in the crock pot, and then smelled it cooking all day. My mouth was watering. 

After I picked my munchkins up from school we stopped at a local produce stand and bought corn on the cob and watermelon and potatoes. We figured they would be a nice accompaniment to dinner. 

I made homemade french fries with the potatoes, wedged the watermelon, and steamed the corn.

I baked some biscuits from a can because I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to go home made tonight. It took about 10 minutes for the potatoes and corn to get done, and the same time for the biscuits to bake, so it was a really fast and easy dinner. I decided to slice the roast rather than shred it because it seems to stay on the buns (biscuits) better that way and is easier for my kids to eat. But it was super tender, and shredding it would have been a simple matter, for those that prefer shredded meat. Then pulled out some lettuce and avocado to top the sliders.

The chipolte sauce that came with the recipe was to die for. In fact, I am already dreaming of the tacos I am going to make tomorrow with the leftover meat and sauce. I am super full, but can't seem to get them out of my mind.

Everyone loved it. Dillan said, "That was freaking good mom!"  So you can find the recipe here! Under Pot Roast Sliders. I hope your family likes it as much as mine did.

The sliced meat

The finished product!

The days are long, but the years are short!

Tonight I needed this reminder....

The days are long, but the years are short! 

It has been one of those long days. Mondays are sooo busy for me with work, and just getting everything in order for the week. Today was especially long and tiring. Derrick was GROUCHY all day. Cranky Derrick is not fun, and he tends to be a bit of a tornado when he is ornery.  I put him down several times for a nap, and he would fall asleep for about five minutes, then wake back up.

I had a few personal things to take care of, with Lexi, and life, and then there is the everyday life stuff like cooking, cleaning, getting kids off to school, home from school, etc. I felt like I was a busy bee all day, making phone calls, running errands, putting out fires, and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on.... (you get the point).

I truly felt like I was swamped all day, but the only thing I feel like I accomplished today was making dinner for my family, and frankly, that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't a pre-made freezer meal.

When 7:30-8 rolled around, I was soooo glad to put my kids to bed. BUT...like long days have a way of going, my kids were not very cooperative. They would not stop talking, they would not keep the lights off. When I went down to get them back in bed, I found a disaster zone (in what was previously a very clean room, at bedtime the room was spic and span). They had torn their beds apart, etc. Long story short, it got even worse. Ugh. Sometimes, I just feel like it will never get easier, my kids will never stop pushing the buttons, and doing the things they know better than doing. And of course, Brett is not home, so I felt like I was battling alone.

Being angry with my kids doesn't help. Being frustrated doesn't change anything. It is hard to learn, and harder to put into practice. I decided I better just apply some of that frustration to getting some work done, and try to make up for a day that felt like a waste of time. I sat down to read some articles I had bookmarked for some stuff I had to write, and I happened to come across a heart felt plea to parents to not wish away the years of childhood. It was an interesting article about how parenting does get easier, and kids do grow up, the messes eventually stop, the interruptions eventually stop, the inability to even use the bathroom without someone to knocking and needing something does eventually stop, it spoke to me. It included the phrase "The days are long, but the years are short." Today was certainly long. But I still can't believe Dillan is almost 8, that Derrick is no longer a baby, Alexis has little crushes, etc.

I am not trying to do a moral of the story post, honestly, I am still furious with my children's behavior tonight, and still trying to wrap my head around why I bothered getting out of bed today, but I am grateful for the tender mercies, and tiny reminders we get along the way that someday it won't feel like such a heavy load. I look forward to that day, and for now I am going to do my best to let the messes go, let the frustrations go, and just enjoy my children being children.

Freezer meal review

Okay, it is time for some freezer meal reveiws. I have not tried all of the ones from the last batch yet, but here is what I think of the ones we have tried. 

Bang bang chicken- Ugh, not my favorite. It is totally bang bang chicken, so if you like that at a restaurant you will probably like it, but for me it was way too salty. I used a barely sweetened peanut butter, so it may have been tastier if I had used less soy sauce and a more sugared peanut butter, but I probably won't repeat that recipe in my rotation. 

Mongolian beef- It was a hit with my family. Dillan was very enthusiastic about it. No one complained. The only change I made was when I made it, the sauce was not thickening up the way I expected, so I added corn starch during the final stages of cooking just so the consistency would be better. We really enjoyed it though.

Mongolian Beef

Pretzel

Orange chicken

Orange chicken- We love the orange chicken, which you already know if you follow my blog at all, but I did not love how much sugar it called for. I cut it in half, and my family did not even notice. Still a favorite. I added a little extra orange zest.

Pretzels- They are great, an easy after school snack, and have tons of options. I froze them at the point after making the dough, letting it rise, shaping it, then I let it rise for a few more minutes, and froze. Then when I pulled them out to cook them I added a minute to the baking time, and still did the soda wash and let them stand for ten minutes. 

Flank steak- It is a delicious recipe, and a real winner. 

I will keep you posted on the others as we try them and adjust them to out personal liking!

Pie Pockets...YUM

Tonight I had some leftover pastry dough from when I made freezer meals on Tuesday
(recipe here).

When I made them, I used them for lasagna pockets, pizza pockets, meat pockets, etc. all savory. Tonight I cut up peaches, and made pumpkin pie filling, and used them to make the pockets into peach pie pockets, and pumpkin pie pockets.

I used an egg wash on the top. Then I sprinkled them with sugar and cinnamon. Baked them at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, and YUMMO! My kids loved them. I loved them.

I made several to freeze so that when I need a quick treat I can just throw them in the oven. Brett was awesome and totally helped me out. We also made about 50 pretzels for after school snacks. It was a fun night with my hubby cookin' in the kitchen!