Thursday, February 21, 2013

Freezer Meals

Today my sister and niece came out for a visit.  It was great to see them both and fit in some snuggles with Jill along with hearing her sweet giggles.

This visit had a purpose though.  Ground beef was on sale this week and I thought I'd like to take advantage of it and fill my freezer with some meals.

Together we managed to cook up a storm, especially considering I don't move too quickly these days and we had an almost six month old supervising!

4X spaghetti sauce recipe
4 meat loaves
over 100 meatballs
2 mexican lasagnas

I think we each plan on assembling a traditional lasagna using some of our spaghetti sauce tomorrow or sometime in the near future - whenever cheese goes on sale!

We split it all up and now each have freezers full of dinners ready to go!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Dentist

Last week Caelan had a dentist appointment.

There was a time when Caelan had to go under general anaesthetic to have his teeth cleaned in the operating room.  However, his last couple appointments have been in the usual dental clinic at CHEO.  This isn't to say that Caelan now opens his mouth wide and willingly has his teeth cleaned.  Not even close.  There are normally 3-4 people involved in holding him down, cleaning teeth and suctioning.  The good news is he doesn't get so mad that he holds his breath and passes out anymore.  He still cries during the cleaning but recovers quickly once the work is done.

We're working more on getting him to accept the toothbrush in his mouth and have even enlisted the help of his EA's at school who have been adding this to their daily routine with him.  We're hoping that a little peer pressure at school will work wonders!

I made a big deal about how nice his clean teeth looked when he got home that day. I even asked him if I could take a picture of his teeth. At first he agreed but it wasn't that easy of a picture to get! I did get one in the end though - look at those pearly whites!



Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Genetics

It's been two years since Caelan's been to see the Genetics Dept. at CHEO.

The reason why they like to keep in contact is mainly to share any new information that's discovered about CHARGE and any major changes in Caelan as well.  They're there to support us with any questions we have about his diagnosis and future.

Well there were no new developments with CHARGE in the past two years and we really don't have many questions for them.  We're well supported through a number of different channels regarding CHARGE and I didn't have any concerns to discuss with them.

I'm happy to say that we our follow up appointment will be in FOUR years time!!  That was probably the highlight of the appointment for me... Four years is a long time in CHEO hours!

I was also happy to get a weight and height for Caelan. So here are the stats, to the best of our/their ability, nothing too exact!

Weight: 14.75kg or just over 32 lbs.
Height: 93.5cm or 3ft. 6inches

He seems to be hovering around that weight forever!!

They also wanted to take pictures of Caelan's CHARGE features, however that was when Caelan's patience for this appointment ran out and he "lost it".  He quickly recovered when we packed up to leave though so nothing to traumatizing.  Just typical 4 year old behaviour at being fed up of adult talk in a hospital room for almost an hour.  I advised that I'd e-mail them some pictures so they could share them with the residents.  CHARGE isn't that common so they don't get to see these features very often and because it's a learning hospital I like to help out if I can.

 

 
Caelan's "CHARGE" hands have a more square palm and that crease in the top half of his palm takes a sharp curve upwards making it resemble a hockey stick... If you compare it to yours, yours probably doesn't do that.
 
 

One of Caelan's "CHARGE" ears. That cartlidge that goes straight across his ear usually is in more of a "Y" shape... I think?!

They also wanted a picture of his asymmetrical facial features that show that his right eye is smaller than his left and his facial palsy if I can capture it... Haven't been able to yet!
 


Friday, February 15, 2013

Honk Shue

Recently, when we tuck Caelan in at night and wish him a good night's sleep, this is what we get to hear as we walk away from his bed....


That's Caelan pretending to be asleep and "snoring"!

one week

Hard to believe that I've been off work for one week!

What a week it's been though!

  • Friday the kids had a snow day so all dreams I had of a relaxing quiet day including a nap disappeared quickly.
  • Monday was another snow day!! 
  • Tuesday I went and did errands all by myself.  It was glorious!  Groceries all by myself, the bank all by myself, Walmart all by myself!  Loved every minute of it!!  Tuesday evening, Damian and Ryland went to an information night at the high school.  Slightly traumatized to think that she'll be going to the high school next year no matter how many times I'm told that the kids in grade 7 and 8 are kept separate from the higher grades.
  • Wednesday I went into town for my 35 week appointment.  Everything still looks good, baby's head is still down and I did my GBS swab.  No weight gain again for those of you who are interested!  Afterwards I met up with my sister and niece for a little shopping and lunch.  Then raced back out to pick up Caelan from school for his appointment with Genetics at CHEO (more on that in another post).  Caelan and I stopped by the office quickly to drop off my parking pass and then spent some quality time together in Chapter's.  We got home just as Damian and the girls were heading out to the eye doctors.  No concerns with either girls vision.
  • Thursday I had the morning to get some laundry and house cleaning done before going to get Caelan from his Dentist appointment.  Also managed to get some returns back to Walmart and check out Old Navy's sales.  Damian had a Dentist appointment too later in the afternoon.
TODAY, finally I have a day to catch up on computer correspondence, pay bills and return phone calls...  Maybe that nap too since I've been up every hour the past few nights and fighting a terrible cough.

Tonight I'm looking froward to a nice relaxing dinner with girlfriends!

So my first week off hasn't gone how I imagined it would and I'm almost glad to see it over, but at least it's ending on a good note.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

34 week appointment

ok so ... you know how I didn't gain weight two weeks ago at my last OB appointment... Well, how about we just pretend I gained half the weight that I gained in the past two weeks!  (and no, I'm not sharing that number!!)

Good news is that the baby's head is down and I'm measuring right on 34 weeks.

Hard to believe we're down to weekly appointments already!  Next week they'll do the swab test for Group B Strep.  I've never been positive before so I'm hoping for the same results.

Have to admit that I'm looking forward to my last day of work tomorrow though.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

pillow

Momma's baby belly makes a good pillow...


I'm always surprised that Caelan finds this comfortable because the baby is usually kicking him!

Monday, February 4, 2013

February's Menu Monday

Here it is folks!
  1. Crockpot Cranberry Chicken with rice and veggies
  2. @ Friend's for dinner
  3. Chickpea Chowder (Looney Spoons Collection pg.
  4. Stroganoff Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies
  5. Starvin' Guy Chicken Pot Pie (Looneyspoons Collection pg. 160)
  6. Kraft Creamy Cheddar Veggie Lasagne
  7. Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Veggie Medley
  8. Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and Salad
  9. Garlic Beef Stew
  10. Six Million Dollar Manicotti (Looneyspoons Collection pg. 134)
  11. Garlic Meatballs, Rice and Veggies
  12. Pancakes and Sausages! (Shrove Tuesday)
  13. West African Peanut Soup and Sandwiches
  14. Beef Bourginon
  15. Pulled Pork Tacos
  16. Italian Style Chicken Spaghetti
  17. Uncle Pat's Tortiere, fries and veggies
  18. Dilly Chicken and Garden of Eat'n (Looneyspoons Collection pg. 151 & 93)
  19. Turkey Meatball Soup and Sandwiches
  20. Orange Beef Stirfry
  21. Breakfast for dinner - quiche?
  22. Homemade Lebanese Donair Dinner
  23. Chicken Stew (Looneyspoons Collection pg. 146)
  24. Butter Chicken (Looneyspoons Collection pg. 166)
  25. Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Grill Cheese Sandwiches
  26. Turkey Enchiladas and Salad
  27. Hungarian Goulash and Perogies
  28. Leftovers!
Only a little obvious which cookbook I decided to flip through for inspiration!