Questions, questions, questions

Sometimes life is full of questions.  Sometimes you know the answers to them.  A lot of times you don't.  I've had lots of questions lately...

Q: How do you switch a toddler from a crib to a bed?  Obviously I need to buy some bed rails for Little B's new "big boy" bed (which was actually Hubby T's "big boy" bed when he was a kid/teenager/unmarried adult!) but after that do I just buy him some sheets, plop him on the bed and say good night?!  Do I really trust my two year old with this kind of freedom?  Or maybe the real question here is who is the one really not ready for this: him or me?

Q: What do you do when Grampa comes to visit and brings his grandson a brownie to eat in the bath tub?  (What does he think this is, a ten star resort?!)  

A: I think Grampa and Little B's answer is obvious - eat it!  And if a few of the crumbs that fall in the water end up in your hair, great!  Midnight snack, right?!  Geez, chill out Mommy.

Q: What do you do when your pediatrician calls you in the middle of dinner to say that your child's blood work strongly indicates he has celiac disease?  And oh, also, if that's not it, we'll have to do more tests and depending on how those turn out, we may have to look at whether he has cystic fibrosis.  

A: Try very hard not to focus on the second idea and be patient while waiting to hear about getting an appointment with a specialist to discuss the first.

Q: How do you respond to the following conversation?

Little B: Mommy, where's Baby?

Mommy: Right here (rubbing my belly)

Little B: Nooo, Little D ate him!!

Mommy:  (voice increases in octave) Little D ate him?!

Little B: Nooo, Mommy ate him!!

Mommy: (voice increases to a higher octave) Mommy ate him?!

Little B: Noo, he's just right dere. (pointing to my belly)

Q: How do you comfort the grieving?  Hubby T and I considered ourselves amazingly fortunate that all eight of our grandparents attended our wedding.  We considered our family even more blessed when all eight of them had the chance to meet their first great-grandchild.  Sadly those days came to an end Sunday night when Hubby T's grandmother passed away.  The thought that keeps circulating in my mind is, it must be a lonely day when you first wake up to a world that your mother isn't in with you anymore.  Praying that our time with family this weekend brings comfort to those in our family who need it most.

Q: What do you do when your child throws up for the first time?  This was way beyond baby spit-up folks.  Little B got sick all over a two foot radius of my kitchen floor at lunchtime yesterday...

A: Besides the obvious instinct to clean up the mess, all of the following ran through my head at the same time: how do I get his clothes off without getting vomit in his hair?  How can I pick him up while keeping his dirty hands off me?  How can I keep my slippers clean in this situation?  Oh wait, too late.  How can I salvage the book that was lying in the middle of the floor and is now splattered?  What am I going to use to clean this up?  How quickly can I open the window to start clearing out this God-awful smell? Which do I do first?  And oh yeah, thank goodness this happened in the one room in my house not covered in carpet!

Q: How do you say thank you to friends who know you well enough to know when life gets a little rough, and reach out to support you along the way with texts, hugs, flowers, cups of tea, and encouraging words?

A: Smile as best you can, say thank you, and wait in loving fellowship until it's your turn to reciprocate for them.  (If you think you fall in this category, you probably do - thank you friends!)

Food

I haven't talked about food much lately.  If you're looking for a couple new delicious ideas, try the Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits.  Hubby T does not like chicken, but even he was gobbling this up as quickly as he could.  For whatever it's worth, I used only two-thirds of the amount of butter the recipe calls for and it was still richly buttery delicious.  I also would be remiss if I didn't share the recipe below for oatmeal-peanut-butter-chocolate-dried craisin cookie awesomeness...I think that description speaks for itself:)

The other reason I wanted to do a post on food is to share with those of you who know and love Little B some of his recent news.  A month or so ago when we went in for his 2 year check-up the doctor was concerned about how much he had fallen in the weight percentile category since his last visit.  So she told us to keep track of how many calories he was eating in a day and feed him more calorie dense foods and come back  in to check his weight again in a month.  Once we started tracking his calories, it quickly became obvious that he was not getting the minimum amount recommended for his age.  (Let the record stand that we don't starve him, he's just not interested in eating very much!)  When we went in for his check-up on Monday, we learned that not only has he not gained any weight but he has lost some!  So we are now under strict doctor's orders to feed him whatever he wants whenever he wants for the next two weeks to see if we can increase his calorie intake even more and see if his body is even capable of gaining weight.

This is such a perplexing problem to me.  Of all the problems for a young, well off child in the United States to have, to be underweight?  This seems so absurd.  As does the grocery list that we took to the store Monday afternoon.  We are now fully stocked up on animal crackers, graham crackers, cheese, donuts, pizza bagel bites, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, brownie mix...words cannot express how much this goes against every fiber of my being as a mother!!  I don't consider myself a health nut but I do try to keep my family healthy and the fact that I've been told by a doctor to let my son live on milk and pizza, to give him animal crackers for dinner, to buy him a milkshake at 11 in the morning, is very, very strange.

He finally cracked 1100 calories yesterday, thanks in large part to the Entenmann's donuts he had for breakfast, the macaroni and cheese he had for lunch, and the Reese's candy he ate for dessert.  Hubby T and I keep telling ourselves that we're not setting him up for a lifetime of bad eating habits, this is just what we have to do for now, but it is hard.  I'm not overly worried that anything is seriously wrong with him, at least not yet, but it is a bit heart breaking to see your child not want to eat when you know he needs to.  It's too bad he's not old enough to fully appreciate this "diet."  Hopefully someday we'll all have a good laugh about it over a balanced meal of protein, whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, which will be thoroughly enjoyed by all the boys in my family who will grow up loving a balanced diet as I do.  Okay, that picture might be a bit rosy, but a mom can dream right?! 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal Buttons

Prep 35 mins  

Chill 1 hr  

Bake 350° 6 mins to 8 mins

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Strawberry ice cream (optional)
   
  Directions

  1. In a medium bowl combine oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

  2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat 2 minutes more until mixture is smooth. Add egg; beat for 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; blend in the oat mixture, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Using a sturdy spatula, stir in chocolate and dried cranberries.

  3. Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).

  4. Position oven racks to divide oven into thirds; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

  5. Working with one half of the dough at a time, shape dough into 34-inch balls. Place balls about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets, pressing down gently into rounds.

  6. Bake 6 to 8 minutes until just firm around the edges, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the halfway point. Remove baking sheets from oven; let rest for 2 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack. They will firm as they cool. Repeat with remaining dough, always starting with a cool baking sheet.

  7. Serve with strawberry ice cream, if desired. 

  
  

  For standard size cookies

  • Shape dough into 1- to 1 1/4-inch balls. Place balls of dough about 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets, pressing down gently into rounds. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until just firm around the edges. Cool as directed. Makes about 45 cookies.

  
  

   

Thinking blue

It's official.  Something I never imagined happening to me has happened.  I am the mother of two boys!  Can you tell I'm still somewhat in shock?  I knew there was a 50-50 chance that this new baby would be a boy, but I never ever saw myself as the mother of only boys.*  One of my good friends even said the same thing, so I know I'm not completely crazy.  I'm going to gloss over the disappointment that I felt/feel at not having a girl and focus on the positives that I have come up with so far...

1. We don't need to buy anything.  And probably won't ever have to pay for a wedding.

2. When the boys grow up and become Boy Scouts with their dad, I will have a weekend at home all to myself whenever they go camping.

3. Whenever I feel like getting a manicure or pedicure and Hubby T gives me a hard time, I'll be able to say, "Hey it could be worse.  We could be paying for two."

4. A mother of only boys deserves new jewelry every now and then right?

5. Several friends who are the moms of only boys have made the effort to speak up, welcome me to the club, and assure me that it's really a wonderful thing.  Thank you for those words and for doing a great job with your boys so that I have people to look at and be hopeful for my future with all boys.

6. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!"  (Isaiah 43:18-19)  I may not have ever anticipated being in this place but there are plenty of times in my life when things didn't go the way I wanted and I can see now how they turned out for the best.  God knows what's best for me and what his plan for my life is, and although I sometimes protest, I am happy to follow.

7.  I already spend my days with two boys, so it's not going to be that hard an adjustment.  Especially if my new pair turns out to be anything like my current pair...

Little B and Little D decided to completely ignore the Super Bowl last night in favor of reading books in front of the fire.  What sweet boys:)

P.S.  And before you say, you can always have another baby, the reason this feels final is that having a third child is not really part of our plan.  I know that sometimes these things just happen, but for now, this is it.  Then again, what do I know?  Refer to point 6 above!