Flu Season

Ugh. Flu season.  LM caught the flu...and got an ear infection at the same time! Poor baby.  It really didn't help that I caught the flu too (probably from him) and was laid out for 2 days, should have been 3.  It's been a week and I still feel like crap!  But enough whining about my sore achey flu ridden self...

LLM has been just fighting the sniffles for 2 months now, on and off again sick with something.  Colds, stuffy noses, ...roseola... and now, the flu plus ear infection.  I couldn't even tell that he had an ear infection, he didn't give any signs that it was bothering him.  I started noticing I was fighting the losing battle with a virus on Sunday, and that evening when the little guy came back home to me I noticed he wasn't feeling so well.  Verified by his daddy who said he spit up his dinner.  (next time daddy...use PUKED instead of spit up if its more than a mouthful)  The next morning he had a fever.  Gave him tylenol which helped and he was eating and drinking fine so off to work I went.  Next thing I know my sitter calls me and tells me he's not eating or drinking and he has a fever of 103.9°F OK well...we get to the doc's office later that evening and she takes a look and then here he turns out to have his very first ear infection AND the flu.

Nothing we can do about the flu...sorry bud. We just gotta let our bodies fight it.  Here's some tylenol/motrin though for the symptoms.

But for the ear infection...antibiotics.  He's not been on those yet. His dad and I are both allergic to penicillin so I asked the doc if it makes him more susceptible to it as well.  She said not necessarily, but amoxicillin is the best one to use for antibiotics so we're gonna try it.... OK doc. I trust ya.  Well in true LLM fashion, he was fine with it.  Actually he quite likes drinking it.  He gets excited when he sees the dosing spoon.

#weverb12, 11

11. spend/save [LIVE]: Are you richer or poorer this year, compared to last year?

First off. What kind of empty question is this? I know the prompts are suppose to be open ended, inspiring reflection but I'm not sure this one really inspires me today.

Financially, I'm poorer. In fact. I'm darn near broke.  I have a spending problem, which doesn't allow for much savings.  Plus having kids is expensive.  I'm ok with that, knowing I'm richer in most of the other aspects of my life.  Wealth isn't about money.  Cliche, but true.  I have grown closer to friends and family.  I have the innocence of LLM and the fascination in everything around us.  I mean, having LLM in my life enriches my life a hundred fold.  That's worth every failing in the past year.  I've branched out and met a whole new group of people whom inspire me every week to get out there.  And, I have a new endeavor which will at some point add more financially to my life as well...at some point.

Financially next year I will probably be broke.  But, I know that would only be temporary.  I can find ways to make more...  In the words of Grandpa George (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) "There's plenty of money out there, they print more every day...but this ticket-there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be.  Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?" NO SIR.  

#weverb12, 10.

10. lose [HOPE]: Did you have to say goodbye to a person, or even a cherished object, this year? Take a moment to celebrate the memory

Oh dear... don't get me started.  Though part of me doesn't want to 'celebrate' the memory, I would celebrate the story.  Because if it weren't the story, I wouldn't be who I am today and I certainly would not have LLM in my life.  Every person who comes into and walks out of your life is a lesson.  Every lesson shapes you into the person you're meant to be.

#weverb12 update 8 - 9

Again, the weekend got busy, and though I did post these to Instagram, it never made it's way here.

8. respond [LISTEN]: Do you actively listen to your inner voice/conscience? Describe a time this year you heard and responded to it.

My inner voice is my constant companion.  The little Jiminy Cricket inside has encouraged/restrained/guided me through the ups and downs of this year.  There's been plenty of times I've wanted to impulsively act on anger and many of those times I stopped to listen to that voice that says...wait. breathe. Actions and words have the power to damage, and while they can be forgiven it's never forgotten.  Sometimes you just have to stop and listen. Take the view in from a different perspective.

9. triumph [CREATE]: How were you challenged by a project or goal this year? What did you learn from it?

While there are many things I'm not proud of, and many of those which occurred in this past year, I am proud of how I've been as a mom.  There was one goal I had in mind, and that was to do the best I could do for LLM.  That included breastfeeding for a year. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to not have to pump anymore, but knowing i'm only 3 weeks away from hitting that goal out of 52 weeks?...Dammit I'm gonna finish.

Honestly, I can't think of anything else that I can say "I wouldn't change anything about what I did" except for what I've done as a mom.  It's a learning experience, and I've learned a lot...but despite the hurdles, I came out triumphant.

the weekend. in one post.

Curse the blogger app on my phone. I'd written out the entire post last night recapping the weekend and then    having accidentally hit the wrong button to attach the picture, it deletes my post.  WTF is that?!  I decided it wasn't worth my time to type it all out again on my phone when it would be easier to wait until I had a moment to get it on the computer.  So, here I am.

The weekend was fairly packed trying to get ready for LLM's big birthday bash and celebrating my god daughters birthday among other things.  I was very productive yesterday, really.  Finished the monthly timeline photos of LLM's first year!  Here they are:

snowflakes!

Cute, no?  Note to self: never, ever, cut out individual tiny letters by hand on card stock ever again. Next time, I'm going to Archiver's. They have die cut letters don't they? That was the most time consuming, carpel tunnel inducing, PITA task.

And I also managed to wrap a few Christmas presents as well.  I love wrapping presents.  It's like art for me.  Just another way to be creative haha.

Yeah, I'm kind of weird. LOL

Last night after LLM came home we were playing before dinner time and as I watched him, he's taking more and more steps on his own.  I can't believe he's walking already! Well, I finally got it on video. Woohoo!!

#weverb12 day 7

7. enliven [GROW]: Was there a book or article that inspired you to make a change in your life this year? What was the source and what did you change?

I had to think about this one a little. Normally, there wouldn't be any kind of book that would inspire anything other than my imagination. However in light of all that's happened and in the search for answers I found myself reading something other than the normal paranormal fantasy and romance. Sure there were plenty, but this is one that was new.

It didn't necessarily inspire me to make a change though. I originally read it hoping it would inspire feelings and a desire for more, it didn't for me but it did help me to see things from a different perspective.

All said and done, I would definitely recommend this book to any couple. I believe it's a good resource into understanding one another, especially if there's miscommunication.

What's This?

Newest 'word' in LLM's vocab now is...wait for it...that, or more accurately, "dat".  His new thing is to point and say "sdat"... and then attempt to mimic what I tell him the object is.  Santa comes out as "thna" and angel comes out as "anal"...yeah. LOL he'll get it one day.  

Oh...and newest development, probably learned at MJ's house (or daddy's. certainly not mine), is pouting.    I tried so, extremely hard not to laugh. I was scolding him for trying to play with the glass ornaments and next thing I know he's pouting and crying!  I snorted trying to hold in my laughter.  But I just sat there watching him fake cry and he quickly stopped after a minute and was back to pointing.  It was hilarious.  I tried to get another moment of it on video however, he was done with the pouting by the time I got my phone out. Ça va.... I'm sure I'll get it on camera another time. <insert evil laugh here>

Meanwhile...Tito Mitch came over and took pics for madmommy's christmas cards... here's some of them:

took some for his 1st birthday coming up

used this on his invites :)

candid. just taking a milk break...chillin

stolen ideas from pintrest haha

not so candid but still in the moment. i love this

#weverb12, cook

 6. cook [LIVE]: What was your best recipe/dish of the year? Share it!

Best? Hm, Not sure... Ask my family. LOL.  I love to cook, and the family "loves" my cooking. Or so they say.  Obviously, I like my cooking...simply because it's made to taste the way I like it.  I have a few experimental recipes in the books...

If I make something new (or change up an existing recipe that I've printed off) that I personally really enjoyed, I try to remember to write it down in my 'cookbook'.  I started this binder in college, saving baking recipes I'd printed from the good old internet.  It soon merged into a melange of recipes, appetizers, entrees, etc.  Things I've successfully tried, and things I would like to try.  I'm more of a baker, just because I have a major sweet tooth and love cupcakes. Love isn't even a strong enough word...I'm obsessed with cupcakes. 

So, here's my Vanilla Buttermilk-Up Cupcake recipe which is a mash up of a vanilla/red velvet/soda cake.  I had a mad scientist moment in my kitchen. 

1 1/2 c sugar

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 eggs, room temp

2 1/3 c cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

~3/4 c buttermilk

~1/4 c cherry 7-up <y'all are gettin' my secret ingredient here ;)

1/2 tsp vanilla powder (= 2 tsp vanilla extract)

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Beat sugar and butter until fluffy...I just let it go for about 3-5 mins if I have the time

3. Add eggs, one at at time, beating until incorporated

4. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla powder in a separate bowl.

5. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, vinegar, and 7-up (if using vanilla extract add it here instead of w the dry stuff)

6. Add 1/4 of the flour mixture to the batter, then 1/3 of the buttermilk mix.  Alternating dry and wet, ending with the dry mixture

7. Scoop into cupcake liners about half full.  Bake for 18-20 mins.

8. Let cool for 1 min in pan, and then cool completely on wire rack

9. Frost/glaze/etc...whatever.  I personally just use a vanilla cream cheese frosting, as it's my favorite kind of frosting.  

Makes 2-2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Enjoy!

#weverb12 Day 4

Day 4..experiment

4. experiment [GROW]: What did you do in 2012 that you had never done before? Will you do it again?

Well technically I became a mom in 2011 but 2 says before the new year so I'm gonna count it. But with that, shortly after LLM was born, I discovered within me different person. A stronger person. And I grabbed onto that persona. It's simple really. I changed.

And yes, I'd do it again. I'm learning that stepping out of my comfort zone isn't as scary as I thought. I've learned that successful people do something that terrifies them every day. I'm working on that becoming more me In the process.

It's not a pretty process but, letting everything fall apart at my feet tore me down to my basic innermost self. And I'm working on rebuilding the rest of me without putting the old pieces back in the same place.

#weverb12, reflect and renew

In the spirit of today's prompt,

#weverb12

I'm going to take a moment to talk about this blog encouraging 31 days of reflection and hope for this past year and next, respectively.  It's completely voluntary, responding to the prompts given Dec 1 - 31.  I actually started this on the 1st and hopefully I won't have a fail moment like with my 30 Days of Thanks attempt.

I've been doing these on my instagram feed (@mstsa) which I do keep private, but I'll try to post my reflections here as well.  So, to catch up:

1. compose [CREATE]: Write a haiku for 2012 (bonus: write one for 2013)

2. watch [LIVE]: What movie did you see this year that you would recommend to a friend?

3. stay [LISTEN]: How did you stay in the moment this year?

I have lived in the moment the majority of this year. Life is full of moments, big and small, but we oft forget to appreciate the small ones; the daily moments that make us unique individuals. We have happy moments, sad moments, painful moments, learning moments... taking the time to be aware of all of them and maybe more importantly...allowing them to happen. Having LLM has really helped me to appreciate all the little things. Every smile, every kiss, every word. Life is a wonderful thing and I've attempted this year not to squander the gifts we are given every day.

As the saying goes:

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow's a Mystery, Today is a Gift, that's why it's called the Present.