Stone Soup

This past weekend we hosted our first "stone soup" party!

How did we do it? Well first I decided the rules and sent out the invitations. On the invitation I explained that everyone had to bring at least one ingredient for our stone soup that we would make that day all while playing board games and card games.  My idea was that we would have at least one soup, possibly two depending on what ingredients everyone brought. I asked everybody to come early in the morning around 10:30 AM and planned on us eating around 5 or 6 PM.  

I set out some crudité with homemade cucumber lime dip, as well as an assortment of chips.

After our first guests showed up we started the base of the soup.  The first thing I did was sautéed some celery onions and carrots in butter.  I then added some home made chicken bone broth that I had cooked the night before. Our first guest brought mushrooms, so those we decided would be one of the last items to add to the soup. (We didn't want them to get mushy.)

Since everyone who was coming looked as if they were only bringing vegetables, I decided to rummage through my freezer and found some chicken apple sausage that we decided to add. Along with the sausage we added seasonings. Seasonings consisted of Thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper, and 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic.

A while later, more friends showed up with fresh carrots onions and kale grown in the garden.  After the soup had been simmering, we sautéed these ingredients in butter to give more flavor then added them to the pot.

We had another two friends show up with beef broth and a chicken with spinach and a siracha sauce.  I added the broth, then waited for it to come back up to a simmer then added the chicken siracha mix.  

At this time we sautéed the mushrooms with butter and added white wine, let it steam for a few moments then added that to the soup.

I made some rice in my rice cooker at this point.  Then we let the soup simmer while we played the game Munchkin!  Once the game was over, we read the Stone Soup story.

I believe everyone had 2 bowls of this fantastic soup!  I couldn't believe the taste!  All the flavors melded perfectly!  We will most definitely do this again!

One room with three boys!

Life with three young boys can be exciting! When you have a small house it can be tricky to fit all their stuff.  Today I would like to show you how I fit three boys and their toys in the same bedroom.

First off we do have enough room in our house that the two oldest boys would be able to have their room while our youngest to have his own room. In our family though this doesn't work.  When we first moved in, that was our set up. Our two oldest shared a room upstairs and our youngest stayed in the bedroom next to ours. After two or three months of the oldest two constantly telling us they could not sleep in the room by themselves. The two oldest boys would tell us they heard noises, were scared of the dark, complain there was something up there, and ultimately would procrastinate their bedtime every single night. Every single night was tough and long trying to get the kids in bed.  It was exhausting! The next thing was that they started asking why the youngest got his own rooms and the older two had to share a room upstairs away from the family. I felt horrible that they had thought of that!  When we first moved in I had thought of putting everyone in the same room but ultimately decided to try to give the big boys a bit of freedom.  

After having such issues with the boys bedtime, I decided to try and put them all in the same bedroom. So far, they have been in the same bedroom for two months now and it is like night and day. I was scared that my youngest would have a hard time going to sleep with his two older brothers in the same room, but I am so grateful that every night when it is bedtime, it is a breeze! We read a book each night, we sing songs, then I give each boy hugs and kisses and they all go to sleep so easily. The two older boys have no problem and do not procrastinate like they used to. The two older boys also do not complain of noises and other paranormal kind of things as before...  Bedtime is quick, painless, easy, and enjoyable for everyone!

Our house is not big!  The 2 bedrooms downstairs are fairly roomy though!  The boys share the larger room, while my husband and I take the slightly smaller room.  I made my eldest boys beds in Japan, and they love them!  They work nicely for this small room.  I have the youngest in a twin bed on a medal frame, and the oldest two use their loft and platform bed in the "L" configuration as they prefer.

I'm not saying it's easy, but it works for us!  Here is our room...

The entrance, you see we use over the door shoe hangers for extra vertical storage.

Under the first bed are 3 bins that house extra sheets and blankets for all the beds.

This dresser has 3 draws on top, one for each child's socks and undies/diapers.  The 4 draws on the bottom go to 1 per child and the extra drawer is misc. 

As you pan the room, you can see all 3 beds here...  The extra room under the loft is where I have the smaller "library".  (Our upstairs room has 4 book cases full of books!)

Our cat loves to hang out in this room you see!  The book area could be a fort, a house, anything really!  I even hang my wrap up and he swings sometimes! 

The great thing is when we are done swinging, I can just in-tie the wrap and use it for carrying little boy!

Continuing the tour, you see the long set of cubbies? They make excellent you storage!  I also hung a shelf to put other items on including the boys fish tank nightlight.

Here is the closet area.  I currently have 1 long panel hanging down, but I'll provbavly grab another for easier getting in and out.  The medal doors that are suppose to glide on the rail were broken when we moved in, so I took the doors off and just left it "open".

Inside the closet I have more cubby space to hold toys with more pieces, and then all school clothes/nice clothes are hung up. 

Under the bottom bunk bed I have more bins that house "play clothes" the kids everyday not school nor church clothes items.  

We love our set up, and the kids are HAPPY! That's what counts!  It might be a little crammed, it might be a lot messy when all the toys are out, but this is what works for us!

Breakfast sandwiches on the cheap!

I love a good ham/sausage/scrapple, egg and cheese on a bagel/English muffin/biscuit sandwich for breakfast... But with the prices they cost at any fast food place or gas station, could you really afford one everyday? No, at least I can't! I decided to try my hand at saving some money and still getting what I want in the morning...

I was at the supermarket today and found some mini ciabatta buns in the discount bread area!  I took advantage of the low price of day old (maybe 2) bread... $1.49 for 12!  I had to get deli ham anyways for lunches, so I grabbed a little extra and got home to start!

First I used my PC brownie pan to make egg patties. These are the perfect size for the buns!

Then I prepared my buns.

Added ham, then cheese.  I used pepper jack from a 1 pound block I sliced up.  Buying a pound block and slicing your own cheese can be much more budget friendly!

Finally I put the top bun on and packaged them in lunch ziplock bags making sure to take all the air out as I sealed them.

Now they are in my freezer!

All you need to do is remove them from the bag and wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for about 1.5 minutes in the morning.  Great for on the go busy mornings!  Enjoy!!

Happy New Year!

So, I decided I really suck at blogging... But here is to another year!  I am really going to try this thing again...  

Did you make a New Years resolution?  I didn't officially make one, however I would like to try better at blogging, eat a little bit healthier, and hopefully find a way to save some money!  

Summer.... Maybe

What a wonderful summer so far!  Oh wait, it's not summer yet?  It sure feels like it with this heat lately!  The garden is doing well, all the tomatoes are budding and starting to grow, broccoli is taking off, I had tons of radishes I picked already and we will have carrots, peppers, cucumbers and more soon enough!

I have also started canning for the year.  We found a great you pick strawberry plave and I have picked over 18 quarts of strawberries all on my own!

I have made some preserves with some!  We had fresh mint in the garden too, so I tried some strawberry and mint jelly too!  YUM!!

More from Trystian's Journey

So the last week has been so hectic let alone all the fun of the past few months!

Trystian's journey now includes a UTI...  He was okay all of last week until Saturday morning when he was a little sluggish and didn't want to get out of bed.  Friday night was long and the kids didnt get to sleep till way late, so I thought at first that was the reason.  But when I checked on him in late morning, I noticed he had a fever.  It was 102.2.  I got him out of bed and moving because he had to go to the bathroom even though he said he didnt have to.  I got him to come downstairs and about 10 minutes later he had a 103.3 fever.  I gave him tylenol and consulted his pediatric urologist on the possiblity of a UTI or it just being a virus.  The urologist said to make sure it wasnt a UTI.  We went into the ER to get a urine culture.  The doctor was so nice, well the whole team was great!  From the techs and nurses to the doctor, they all listened to my concern of a possible UTI and that I was in contact with our urologist.  Unfortunately the results came back positive.  Trystian was prescribed an antibiotic and we were released.  I told our urologist what was going on.  The urologist said to just let him know once he is better and we would look at getting some tests done to make sure no harm was done to the kidneys. 

Later on that night, Trystian was telling me he was so cold and he was very lethargic.  It was exactly 4 hours from the last dose of tylenol.  I checked his temperature and it was 104.7.  I gave him his tylenol and then called the pediatrician to let him know.  5 minutes later as I was getting off the phone with the pediatrician Trystian's temperature was 105.4.  I started to grab jackets and keys along with the meds he was on put together in prep for the ER again.  It was about 10 minutes from the first time I checked his temperature and he was just laying there and looked miserable.  I checked his temp one more time to find it at 106.9!  I dropped everything except the keys and grabbed him and put him in the car so fast!  We rushed to the ER where they checked his temp at 104.  Thankfully in the time that he had they tylenol in him the temperature had started to go down!  The ER took us to a room and Trystian just layed there.  I told the techs, the nurses, and the doctors about his chronic kidney disease and about the UTI he was diagnosed with that afternoon.  I contacted our urologist and he said that Trystian needed to be catharized and that he should be admitted to the hospital to monitor the fever and UTI.  I relayed this information to the techs, the nurses, and the doctor.  The doctor told me they would get the fever down, and that he didnt need to be cathaterized.  I insisted that he did, however they said they would give him an IV and check his blood.  We were released after the IV was completed and his fever was down to 100.5.  I asked the nurse to check his temperature as we were leaving the room and it had already begun to rise.  I was told that he just needed tylenol when it was time. 

We woke up the Sunday, the next morning at 8am and I checked his temperature.  It was 104.2.  I gave him tylenol and wrote an email to the urologist.  The urologist suggested we go to Hopkins so that they could cath him and take care of him if the local hospital wouldnt.  I decided to try the hospital one more time since the day crew was much more helpful than the night crew was.  We went to church and immediately to the hospital where we got the same doctor as the prior day and she was very helpful and Trystian was cathetarized about 10 minutes after we arrived.  He then got some bloodwork to see if the UTI was being affected by the meds he was given at all.  The outcome was that the first urine culture showed young growth and the new bloodwork showed that the infection was getting better, however not as fast as it should, and his creatinine levels were really high and sodium was super low.  I let our urologist know what was going on, and we were told we would be transported to Hopkins that night.  A little while later we were then told we would stay at the local hospital and that the Doctors were in close contact with the doctors at Hopkins and they would take care of us locally.  Trystian was admitted to the hospital that night and he was given an IV antibiotic to help things along. 

The next day more blood was taken and it showed a very big fluctuation in the creatinine and sodium levels.  We were in contact with the Hopkins crew and told we would be going home that Monday and had follow up appointmens on Friday at Hopkins to start running tests.  We were happy to go home, well I was anyways... Trystian said he wanted to stay in the hospital because he didnt want to go home with the catheter.  Poor kid!  He was released with the catheter in place and he got some leg bags so he can be mobile as well as a couple night bags for night time so I dont have to keep emptying it every 2 hours and can get some sleep.  He has antibiotics to take 3 times a day and had a doctor appointment with his local pediatrician to make sure the catheter looked good and no big issues. 

With all this being said, the urologist has tests lined up for us on this Friday as well as for 2 weeks from now.  Trystian will get an ultrasound and VCUG this friday and we are suppose to learn how to self cathetarize so that we can make sure his bladder is completely emptied, and then when we go back in 2 weeks he will see the nephrologist and get a urodynamics test and possibly a MAG-3 scan.  With all of these test results, we will find out the damage to the kidneys this UTI has caused, and whether the right kidney is worth preserving anylonger since it was already marginally usuable before.  We will also find out why the bladder is unable to fully void all the urine when Trystian pees and if there is a surgical fix for this.  The tests will also show if he has any other obstructions or if the reflux is back. 

I hate seeing my children go through so much, and Trystian has been through too much in his short 7 years here on earth!  He is a trooper though! So brave!!

You can follow Trystian's journey on his facebook page here.  I keep that updated as things happen. 

 

this and that

We have been quite busy and I have not been updating the blog as I should, so here are a few pics of the kids and some things we have been up to.

 

Atreyu is doing well in school and this picture is of him on St. Patty's day with the hat he made.

 

A friend of mine's cat had kittens and here is a picture of Ryder whom was so excited to see such cute little kittens sitting nicely showing just how happy he is!

 

Ryder and I love to go to the zoo, especially now that the weather is nice!  Yes, he LOVES to be on my back and not in the stroller!

 

The kids had a blast coloring eggs for Easter!  We tried a few different methods and they all turned out great!