Back from break for an announcement!

Last night I told you I was going to take a break, but I had to come back to give you some news!

Last Sunday afternoon, I went out with Andrew and Heather to take some maternity photos.  We were trying to wait for snow, but it appeared that the baby was coming sooner, rather than later.  So, we went to the woods to take photos.

We got some nice pics and it was a good thing.

Because - on Tuesday, when they went for another non stress test, they got sent back to the hospital because her BP was up again and the non stress test wasn't great.

She ended up getting admitted and was induced.

She was 5 weeks early, but it was time.

Meet Cassandra Joy Scott!

She was born at 1:30 am on Thursday morning, after a long labor.

She was 21 1/2 inches long and 9 pounds, 3 ounces.  

Yes - she was that big at 5 weeks early!  Heather is a type 1 diabetic and they are known to have big babies.  It's one of the reasons she has been monitored so closely.

Cassie is in the NICU.  She is doing well but has had low blood sugar because of the meds Heather was getting.  She has to be able to maintain her blood sugars and that is improving.

They think she will have to stay in the hospital a few days longer than Heather, 

As many of you know, this baby has been prayed for, long before she was conceived.  What a wonderful Christmas gift!

And now - I plan to start my blog break again.  I'll catch up with you all after Christmas.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Friday Funny

 

 I'm going to take a little break until the new year.  Wishing each of you a wonderful Christmas, with time to remember the most amazing gift of all - Christ!

Cooking Thursday

 The recipe I'm sharing today is a little different, but might be something you can use this time of year.

This is a Chai Tea mix that we really enjoy.  I'm not a coffee or tea drinker, but this is so good!  I made it last year as a little gift for family members and some friends.  This year I made it for the other managers at work.  So, if you're looking for a fun little gift, this is a good one.

Chai Tea

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea, regular or decaf, a powdered mix that's sometimes called "unsweetened iced tea"

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 cup powdered nondairy creamer

1 cup French vanilla-flavored powdered nondairy creamer

Measure all dry ingredients into a blender or food processor. Pulse or puree until well-combined and mixture becomes a fine powder. Transfer to an air-tight jar or container or spoon into gift jars.

To make the tea stir 2 heaping tablespoons of mix into a mug of boiling water. 

Makes 6 cups mix

I put my mix jars into kraft bags, attached cute labels, tied on with christmas cording and bells.

Christmas through the house

 Today I thought I would show you a few of our Christmas decorations we have set up through out house.

These wooden mittens are hanging on the front door.  Bob's sister made them.  She had leftover flooring pieces and decided to do something with them, and came up with these.  I thought they were so cute!

I have this little tree set up in the bathroom.

This is on a table in our living room.  The little nativity is one that we made when I was helping with our local MOPS group.  It's made to be toddler friendly.

Here's another little table in our living room.

In our hall is this card rack.  Don't you love getting cards?   Some of you might spot your card here.

This is on our dining room table.  I made the ornaments a few years ago using decals.

This is our dining room.  I love the way it looks in the evening, with the little tree in the corner lit up.  Hanging from the light fixture is a mistletoe ball which was given to me by one of my residents several years ago.  She has since passed and I like to think of her when I hang this each year.  Do you see the little star garland hanging below the clock?  That was sent to me by Connie from Crafty Home Cottage a few years ago.  I find so many Christmas decorations make me think of friends and family!

We don't have a fireplace, so our stockings are hung from a shelf.  I got new stockings this year and needed to find stocking tags.  I found some I liked but at $13 each, the price was steep when I needed 11 of them.

So, I ordered the wood tags from Amazon and wrote the names on myself.  I like how they turned out.

That's it - a little tour of Christmas at our house!

Oh Christmas Tree!

 

Here's our Christmas tree this year.  Last year we bought one that was smaller - 5 1/2 feet tall and skinnier than our previous trees.  It makes it much easier to set up and decorate.

Here's a few fun ornaments on our tree:

This is an ornament that I've had since before we were married.  When we were first dating, the first time I met Bob's family his sister Karla was working on these ornaments for a fund raising bazaar.  This was 40 years ago, so decorations were a little different.  I started helping her make these, and even then, we thought they were pretty ugly.  We did a lot of laughing over them.  Several months later, at Christmas, Karla was the one laughing when she gave me this ornament.  Every year since them, this ornament is hung with fun memories.

This ornament is new.  It was given to me by my sister Cheri last year.  It has a special message - it's my moms handwriting.  Cheri had a card Mom signed with "Lots of Love". She found someone who could transfer that writing and put it on an ornament.  It made me cry!

I loved it and had some made for Bob's siblings this year, with his moms writing on it.

These are some other favorites - all Santa ornaments that Bob has carved through the years.  They always make me smile!

Family Party!

 We had our party for my side of the family this past weekend.  We weren't sure we would be having a party this year as my Dad was fighting  Covid, but in the last week he has improved immensely and we were thrilled to gather as a family again.

We had the party at our church, so there was room to spread out.

My sister Terri, always the crazy one, showed up ready for a party!

Alaina and Ruby were excited to give Great Grandpa and Grandma some Christmas Cards they made.

Dad and Ann sitting by the fireplace.

Ruby helping Grandpa with a gift.

The girls were excited to open a present too.

Checking out a photo board of the grandkids.

Laura, Aaron and family with G Grandpa and Grandma.  Heather and Andrew weren't there because they are in quarantine, expecting the baby soon.

Ruby, G Grandpa and Alaina.

My brother Duane, me, sister Cheri, sister Terri and Dad.

Aaron and Ruby relaxing.

It was wonderful to be together again, and we were all thankful that Dad is doing well, and Ann never got it.

In other news, Heather is also doing well, she is at 36 weeks on Monday and they would like her at 37 weeks, so hopefully there will be a baby soon.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Here's an easy bar recipe that makes a nice big pan!  It's one I've made for years and is perfect for bringing when you need to share something.  I recently made these to send with Bob when he was off hunting with his brothers.

M & M Squares
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup oleo
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups M & M's

Beat together peanut butter, oleo and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix flour, oatmeal, soda and salt.  Add to oleo mixture.  Mix in 1 cup M & M's.  Press into jelly roll pan.  Sprinkle remaining M & M's over dough.  Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A Day in my Life

 December 1 fell on a Tuesday which is normally my day off. However, the Doctor that has been helping with our admissions had asked to do some of them on that day, so it was a little different schedule for me.

Here's how the day went.

I slept in a little which is always nice.  I was up around 7:30, got ready and got a few things done.

I gathered the towels to wash them, then browned some burger for a freezer meal I planned to make later.

I set up just a few Christmas things, including changing out this shelf in the bathroom.

Then I headed out.  The sun was shining but it was cold!

I stopped and had a manicure which was badly needed!

Then I went to work to get some paperwork ready for the Dr.  He still can't come into our building, so I gather all the paper work and e-mail it to him.

When I got to work, I did just a little decorating before starting on paperwork.  My neighbor was making these cute gnomes, so I got one to hang on my door.

and set this out on a cabinet.

Then it was on to gathering information.  I got it e-mailed to the Dr and then left for a bit.  I had an eye doctor appointment.

The eye Dr I go to is about 5 minutes from my work so that worked well.  I was there for about 1 1 /2 hours.  The med I am now taking for Rheumatoid Arthritis require some extra testing and they needed baseline tests.  I also had to pick out new glasses which is never easy.  
I made it back to work at 2 and called the Dr.
We saw 4 new patients and he faxed paper work back to me.  I had a few other things to work on and left at 5:30.

Here's my office hall, all quiet as I left.

I picked up this yummy roast beef sub, which Bob and I shared for supper.

After supper, I used the burger I had browned earlier in the day and made a few freezer meals. These are now all wrapped up, ready to thaw and eat on busy days!

And then it was time to relax! See that cute little snowman?  He was a gift from a resident's husband several years ago.  They've both passed but I love remembering them when I see this.  Anyway - I lit a Christmas candle and enjoyed the Christmas lights.

And just like that - the first day of December was done!

A few more updates

 Here's a few updates to things going on in my life.  I'm hoping things calm down soon so I can go back to regular old blog posts!   :)

My dad and covid...     Last weekend was pretty miserable.  Sunday afternoon he said he was so dizzy and had a lot of stomach pain.  My sister Cheri and I went to his house, masked up and went in.  I found him with a low BP and pulse, pale and weak,  We decided it was time for a trip to the ER.  We knew it was likely that they wouldn't let us in, and that's what happened.  We pulled up, they came and got him and told us to wait in the parking lot and call the ER in about 30 minutes.  It was heartbreaking to see them wheel him in and not be able to go along. We waited and then I called.  They said - oh, it will be at least an hour.  He's not even registered yet.   At that point we decided to drive somewhere and get a cup of coffee, instead of sitting in a dark parking garage.

We enjoyed seeing some of the cool old buildings in town.

This is one of my favorites - it reflects everything around it so nicely.
We found a Bigbees and got some coffee, then sat in the car and called the ER again.  I got to talk to a nurse this time and tell her what's been happening.  She said she didn't know if he would be admitted but we may as well go home, as the tests they were running would take over 2 hours.
So, we headed home (it's about 30 minutes) to wait for more information.

On the way out of town, we say this building with all the decorations lit up.

I dropped Cheri back home a little before 6 and then went home for supper with Bob.  Shortly before 9 they called and said they were releasing him.  They had given him IV fluids, his other tests looked good. So, Cheri and I went back to the hospital, then brought him home and came back home.

The next morning, he said he's had a bad night again.  I was at work and had an appt with my rheumatologist in the afternoon.  He felt like he needed to go back to the ER (and this is not at all usual for him).  I knew I couldn't take him because I had been fit into that specialist appt.
So, Cheri left work and took him back.  Again things checked out ok, they said it would just take time to build up strength.

Then - I went to my specialist.  He feels my diagnosis is Rheumatoid Arthritis.  He will do more labs in about a month to be sure.  I'm started on hydroxychloroquine.  This is the med that is supposed to be helpful with Covid.  It's used for malaria and rheumatoid arthritis.  It will take 3-4 months to really start working.  In the meantime, I'm on prednisone which they are trying to taper down.  I still have pain, especially in the morning in my knees and shoulders, but it is so much better with the prednisone, and it improves as the day goes on.  He feels we caught this early enough that there will be no permanent damage and we just have to find the right treatment.

This was all on Sunday and Monday, last weekend.
Since then, I continue to check with my Dad daily and he is doing much better.  He is still tired, but a lot of the other issues are resolving.  He's even out of quarantine now.  Saturday I picked him and Ann up, we went to the grocery store and the bank.  He was tired out, but it's wonderful to see him looking more like himself.  Ann never got it, but we are noticing that she has been more confused.  We set up a plan for meals for them from us kids, grandkids and Ann's family too.  For now, we take it day by day.

Then one more thing happened.  Most of you know our daughter Heather is expecting,  She is a type 1 diabetic so is high risk.  She has been having non stress tests twice a week and goes to her specialty OB.  On Friday, the non stress test wasn't going well and her BP was elevated so she was admitted for the weekend.  They are giving her steroid to help the baby's lungs mature.  She was able to come home this morning. She's at almost 34 weeks, so keeping baby in for a few weeks would be good.  But, it does look like baby may come sooner, rather than later!

That's what's going on here.  Hopefully the next time I do an update, it's filled with good things!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Today's recipe is for an egg bake that I made when the girls stayed overnight.  It was easy to prepare the night before, and then I just popped it into the oven when we woke up.  One hour later, we had a yummy breakfast.  This is a very flexible recipe, you can add whatever veggies and meat you would like.

Overnight Egg Bake

2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

2 tablespoons butter 

1/3 cup sliced green onions, optional

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained, optional

Crumbled bacon, cooked sausage or diced ham - your choice!

8 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups milk 

Chopped red bell pepper, if desired

Chopped fresh parsley, if desired     

Spray 7x11 pan with cooking spray.

Sprinkle half of cheese into pan.

Melt butter in skillet.  Add veggies of choice and cook until tender.

Arange over cheese in pan, then sprinkle your choice of meat over veggies.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over meat.

Beat eggs in large bowl. Whisk in flour and milk.

Pour egg mix over other ingredients in pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for one hour or until lightly browned on top.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Garnish with red pepper or parsley if desired.

            

One more celebration

 My girls wanted to do something fun for my birthday.  Originally we talked about going away for a weekend.  But Heather is pregnant, the timing was bad with it falling around Thanksgiving and we all said, it's not the prettiest time to get away.

So, we decided we would just stay at a hotel in town, and do a little shopping around here.  Then covid struck again, things were being closed down., and we knew that wouldn't work well either.

So, they decided to have a sleep over at our house!  Laura planned some activities and picked up food for supper and some yummy treats for later in the evening.

They both arrived around 5 and we started by having some really good supper from one of our favorite places.

Then it was time for some crafting.

Laura had gotten supplies and instructions to make farmhouse style ornaments using wooden beads, twine, wooden disks...

Here's Heather hard at work.

And Laura giving me the - "quit taking pictures Mom" look.  :)      (funny - I get that same look from her daughters!)

Here Laura tried something a little different and it didn't work.  We did a lot of laughing!

Here's the finished products!

Then it was time for some dessert.  It was so good, but we were soooo full!

The next part of the evening involved pampering.  We had manicure gloves, pedicure socks and facial masks.  There may have been a photo taken of me with a mask on, but it was too bad!  There was a lot of laughter during this process too, especially when we all traipsed in on Bob to show him what we were up too.

Then we stayed up for a while, talked, laughed some more, watched HGTV and went to bed around midnight.

We had a nice breakfast together and Laura left about 10:30, Heather hung around because Andrew came over to work on the crib again.

It was a special time, and I really think this was better than staying at a hotel or taking a weekend trip.  Time together with just the two of them is not easily done and I enjoyed every minute of it!