{Influenza B has infiltrated}

(image found here of Influenza B virus)

Influenza B has infiltrated my home thanks to the parents who thought it would be great to send their kids to school with a high fever instead of keeping them home, YAY us!

Sam got it first and was out for 2 days, Aaron got it next and was out for 3 days, Ruth got it next and is still down and out, going on day number 5, MJ has it too but not as severe as Ruth but not as mild as the boys, William got a little bit of it but missed the whole shebang by sleeping it off and I can now feel the starts of it creeping up on me due to lack of sleep taking care of MJ and Ruth.

I had to take Ruth and MJ to the ER the other day because both had high fevers (MJ was at 102° and Ruth was at 103°). They tested MJ to see if it actually was the flu and to rule out the respiratory virus that can be quite severe to babies - thus knowing which flu bug is flying around our home, Influenza B.

The ER doc seemed annoyed that we don't do the flu shot/nasal spray every year. Let me explain why we don't do it. I was told that I needed to get the flu shot when I was pregnant with Aaron and then again was told that I needed to do after he was born if I didn't get it before - I waited til after he was born and not only did I get flu-like symptoms from the shot but ended up with the flu virus not covered by the shot and was sick for almost a month. So NO we don't do the flu shot but all the kids are vaccinated and up to date on their shots, we just don't do the flu shot.

By the way this is the first time since I got the flu shot all those many years ago that we actually got the flu.

Right now there is nothing the docs can do and I am to continue what I am doing to help Ruth and MJ combat their fevers, aches, pains, chills, cough & congestion.

Yesterday was a rough one because Ruth had a temperature of 105° and I had to give her a luke warm bath, we had our home teacher come over and give her a blessing and between the bath, blessing and the help of two little medications (Tylenol & Ibuprofen) we got it down to 101° and it's been hovering between 101° - 102°.  Today she's still not up to her normal self but she has eaten a little and is sleeping away the day to help her feel better.

MJ is seriously congested and with the aid of some saline mister and the little suction ball I am able to keep her pretty happy and with the help of the infants Tylenol I am able to keep her temp down as well.

So keep us in your prayers as we battle this nasty little bug with gusto!

{Banana Muffin}

I came across a quick and easy banana muffin recipe that anyone can make using ingredients found in most pantries (including mine, which is saying alot).

This is a picture of my muffins cooling on the rack.
One muffin contains 166 calories, 28 carbs, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.

This recipe yields 12 muffins (exactly, which never happens, right?) or 1 loaf, I used my large pampered chef scoop (works beautifully to fill my regular size muffin tins to the perfect size). These muffins freeze beautifully and taste even better the next day!

Pre-heat your oven to 350°

Ingredients:

Mix these ingredients together in the bowl you plan to mix everything in:

4 large banana's mashed (I used a mashed potato masher it worked beautifully)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup melted butter

In a separate bowl whisk these ingredients together:

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

add the dry ingredients to your banana (wet) mixture a little at a time - making sure to incorporate all the flour. Once all mixed up, placed the mixture into your muffin tins, put in your pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minuets or until a toothpick comes out clean.

You will have some actual banana chunks in the muffin which is a nice surprise. If you want nuts, just add a small handful to your batter.


I am going to try this recipe using a blend of gluten free flours next time to see how it turns out because I am wanting to try and cut as much gluten out of my diet as possible. I will let you know how it all turns out.

{2011 Weigh In: Week 7}

Another week down and I know it's not weight related but Auntie Flow has visited me - FINALLY!! I am irritable grouchy and all too bloated - sucks but I can't get past the giddy at her arrival (read here to find out why)!

This week has been a struggle as I have been craving sweet stuff like mad and giving in like mad - now I know why but it still drives me nuts that I couldn't control it - it's something I am going to have to take one day at a time.

The good news is that I am down 4 lbs from last week and that makes me oober happy! I have been eating better and working on taking out as much gluten as I can and it seems to be making a difference with MJ and the bloating I have been feeling. I have also been working on getting the excess salt out of my diet and now my swelling has started to go down - YAY!!

Next month I am going to get some gluten free flours so that I can start baking bread and what not with it - found a great homemade recipe for a substitute for All purpose flour so that I can still make goodies and such but without the gluten in them. I realize that this is a topic that has brought on much debate on my facebook page and I just don't get why becoming Gluten free is such a big deal. Just cutting what I can from my diet has really improved not only my tummy troubles but MJ's as well and it's not like I don't get enough protein either. If you know why, let me know.

Below is my last 4 weeks of progress or lack there of in some weeks. Sorry this week is just short and sweet but that's the jist of it as I need to go grab MJ so she can eat and then I can fish dinner out of the oven - ribs with homemade BBQ sauce - yummy!

Week 4 weigh in: 275.5 pounds

Week 5 weigh in: 273.5 pounds

Week 6 weigh in: 286.5 pounds

Week 7 weigh in: 282.5 pounds

total weight loss/gain: + 2 pounds from week 1 (- 4 lbs from last week)

{OWOH Winners}

The winners of the One World One Heart "door prizes" are the following:

the (2) winners of a signed 5x7 "In the Clouds" print matted to an 8x10 are the following:

the (2) winners of the magnet of the "In the clouds print" are the following:

I will contact everyone either by email or on their blog today. Thank you to everyone who entered and I sure did enjoy reading all the wonderful blogs!

(2) winners of this print & (2) winners of a magnet of this print

{Happy Valentines Day}

find image here

Here I am writing this while MJ sleeps as do the rest of the kiddo's but I know that the boys will be staying home due to sickness and I will need to make sure that the valentines the boys worked so hard to make will get distributed tomorrow without them being there.

I swear this crud the boys brought home is a pain in my rear end! Sam got it first, now Aaron has it and I have been feeling achy and more tired then normal and I have a sick sense that soon Ruth will come down with  it too, (why did I think it was a good idea to have so many kids all at once?).

Anywho, enough about that, check out the cute and wonderful valentines my kids made today when they were feeling a bit more upity - they only had 2 requirements from me for these 1) make sure it has at least one heart 2) make sure you put some sort of border around it - and I would scan it and make it the right size for them to make cards with for their homemade valentines:

Happy Valentine's Day From Aaron

Happy Valentine's Day from Sam

Happy Valentine's Day from Ruth

I am getting these made into magnets along with the image below for our fridge because I want a constant reminder of how awesome my kids are and how much I love them (really I don't need a reminder so much as I need more magnets and why not have ones that showcase my family and their artwork?).

I am working on doing a water color of this for my wall but until then this one will work for my fridge!

As a side note, (been having alot of those in this supposed valentine post), I am working on getting stuff out of my house and into the basement and rearranging things so I am not looking at boxes of things I still haven't found places for (especially my laundry/mud/pantry room). I need to make room for family that may come this month and a chest freezer next month and other items that I need to get to relieve myself of crazy boxes.

We wanted to downsize and I am glad we got the home we did but I didn't downsize enough and I am struggling with what I am willing to let go of and how creative I can get when it comes to storing items I want to keep but haven't figured out where to put yet. Who knew downsizing would be so chaotic!

Anywho, I hope you all have a super ♥HAPPY VALENTINES DAY♥ tomorrow and give those you love a little extra love and attention and remember to carry the love with you through out the year because you just never realize how short our time really is here until it's too late.