Baby Dreams

I've neglected my blog. I know you are all fine with that and surviving. :)

I've had two baby dreams so far.

A month or so ago, I dreamed we had a boy, blue eyes, light hair and skin (like me) and we were in the car leaving a church. I was holding him up front (!) and he was a pudgy older baby maybe 5 mo, and I reached around to put him in his facing-forward car seat (!) and remember thinking, I hope whoever put him in the seat to come to church had read the instruction manual for the car seat, and I was thinking, I really need do read it myself.

So strange!

Last night, I dreamed that I had a baby girl and had to go away right away for whatever reason for about a week, and I came home to my old neighborhood and a neighbor offered me a piece of pita with hummus on it that I snacked on as I crossed the street to go to my parents old driveway. My mom came out with my baby and handed her to me, and I got a good look at her face: light hair, blue eyes, light skin, and I was so excited to be home and be with her again. She looked to be about 5 months old and not a newborn though I was only gone week, she wasn't pudgy like my son in the other dream. lol.

So far, I've put my kids in danger and neglected them! Thankfully I am not overly concerned that this will flow over into reality.

Frisbee

Micah and Asher could go all day with playing frisbee! Throw, fetch, tug, rinse and repeat.




My parents also do agility with each of them, and they can hardly wait to get out on the course to practice! They whine and whine when it's not their turn and see each other getting to do agility.




Practice at dusk in the backyard

Oregon!

We went and are back already. Man, did it go fast. We looked forward to this trip for about seven months and can't believe it's already over! We had a great time with my family. Thankfully, we did not have any flight delays! Here are some photos. Check out the rest here, if you'd like.





My husband, the rock thrower.

My younger brother Adam, being goofy in the surf. The water wasn't as cold as it normally is.


We picked peaches again this year.

Get them as a kid, I say!

Note about the poll: Please let me know if you aren't able to view the results. Mine does nothing when I click "view results".

---

Ryan's ordeal with chicken pox continues. There are 300-400 spots/blisters on his body, and they are not comfortable. Many have told us that getting them as an adult is pretty bad. They're right - getting it as a child is much less in comparison, though it's still a major event for a kid. In honor of this, I have included a new poll at the bottom of this post.

Some things we've done that we believe have been helpful:
- mega doses of Vitamin C (we're talking 20,000+ mg a day)
- recommended increased temporary doses of Vitamin A for tissue repair and reduced chance of scaring
- increased doses of Vitamin D for immune support
- topical ointments, including Aloe Vera gel, Vitamin E, and coconut oil. All have served to relieve the itching and promote healing in various ways.
- Epsom salt baths and Aveeno oatmeal baths. The Epsom salt bath has helped to progress the blisters to scabs (sorry) and the Aveeno has relieved itching, as it claims.
- once we knew the fever was down on its own, ibuprofen was a help for head pain, and he also started taking Benedryl today for itching. It has helped a little.

I've been glad to have the weekend at home and have the worst days fall on the weekend (at least we hope those were the worst days). We've also been grateful to be able to consult with a doctor at church, which has allowed Ryan to be able to stay in the comfort of our home. Ryan has slept poorly at night since Friday and is desirous of a good night's rest. Last night was a lot of discomfort, especially on his back and on his forehead and scalp. Despite all that, he is a great sport and is willing to swallow a lot of pills and rarely complains. I usually have to ask specific questions to find out how he is feeling :).

We see progress though: fever and sore throat have gone for the most part, breakouts have significantly slowed, some have scabbed over and the baths are a relief. We're on Day 5 and hopefully the worst is behind us. I've talked to a couple people in the last couple days about their experience with adult chicken pox, and it has never been fun or easy.

If you happened upon this post while searching for adult chicken pox treatment, feel free to email me if you have any questions. Not that I'm a pro by anymeans, but I've read a good deal this weekend about adult chicken pox (and chicken pox in general) and have been grateful for the info. So far, Ryan's case, though severe according to the doctor, is not out of line with what I've read or learned about this illness in adulthood.

This is a rare post, that fortunately for you and my husband, does NOT contain any photographs.

POLL: (closes at 5pm EST Tuesday)

Of all the things to get....

Guess who's husband never had chicken pox? Guess also whose husband was around someone with shingles in the last couple of weeks?

If you guessed MY husband, then you are right! We were meant to get on a plane tonight to Kansas for a quick weekend trip for Ryan preach in Topeka and us to celebrate Ryan's parents' 40th anniversary. Well, instead of being on a plane right now, I'm at home, having tucked my dear husband, covered in about 70 chicken pox blisters with a fever of 102, into bed. The fever has hovered around 101-102 and indicates an active, contagious case of chicken pox. We're not sure how many more spots will appear but expect more over the next few days. He is taking quite a lot of vitamin C, some vitamin A and has been resting. He "feels" ok. He's not achy or cold like he was yesterday, and his spots don't itch (yet?). We're applying vitamin E for topical soothing and believe the vitamin A capsules will also help with tissue repair.

We trust in God's providence for this. Sometimes we don't clearly see why God's will includes things like this, but we trust Him, not our circumstances or understanding. We anticipate that we can reschedule the trip sometime in the next several weeks. Also, Midwest Airlines will waive the $100 change fee for each ticket if they can call the Dr.'s office next week to verify his diagnosis. That means we need to have him seen for a checkup and hope that will work out.

Ryan's sisters all had their bout of chicken pox as children but Ryan never caught it. We know that it's not shingles because shingles deals with the nerve endings, and Ryan doesn't have pain related to inflammation of the nerves. We know that someone who hasn't had chicken pox can contract it from someone who has shingles. We are thankful he has it now instead of during the seminary year or when we have small babies down the road, or when he is full time in the pastorate. His schedule is pretty low key right now besides missing Kansas this weekend. We hope and pray he'll be non-contagious when we travel to Oregon in two weeks.

Time to clean up some then head to bed myself.

Canoing

I was hoping to lose 4 inches from my waist on the canoe trip and have more toned arms, but hey, that takes time, right? My arms are stronger though. I ought to canoe 35 miles every weekend. That would sure do it, wouldn't it?

The trip. First of all, God was so gracious and good to give us gorgeous, sunny clear weather. Forget the hazy, heavy air of a many summer days in PA. We had crisp skies, fluffy clouds and a nice breeze. That was a wonderful gift. The sun was blazing though and I missed a few spots with sunscreen! We are also so thankful that no one was injured. There were a few bumps of course, but we were all safe. The Allegheny River was pretty lazy, and we had pockets of faster currents which added momentary thrill and rocking. Fellow Pittsburghers will all be happy to know that it wasn't until we were halfway through the first day's journey that I realized that this was indeed the same Allegheny river that flows through Pittsburgh. The dots just hadn't connected until then. I really am smart though other times.

Sadly, I have no pictures. I wasn't comfortable taking my camera on the canoe or leaving it unattended all day at the vans, and we forgot to take our small point and shoot digital camera that could have been transported more safely in a ziploc bag. So instead, I have included other wildlife pictures, such as a beaver.

We canoed for about three and a half hours the first day and put out for the night around 5:30. We got back in around 1o am Saturday and finished the trip around 3:30. Ryan and I actually got home around 7:30. We had about 9 hours total of canoing, which was a little more than initially expected, and the youth were troopers to keep on paddling without knowledge of how long it would be until they'd have rest. While we wanted them to learn and grow and be stretched, we also wanted them to have a good time.

On Friday evening, setting up camp took a little while, and we barely got the tents up before it was dark because of a couple delays, one of which is way too confusing to explain, but it had to do with car keys. We also had to walk about a mile to [and from] the vehicles holding our equipment. We had some time to kill before we could set up camp, and there was a trail which is part of Rails to Trails running through the area, and we explored a long, old train tunnel. What used to be tracks is now a trail, and we walked this trial to the cars near the face of the tunnel. While exploring the tunnel, it was a very eerie to walk toward complete blackness and have light behind you. Step by step, the darkness slowly increased so much you could almost feel and hear it. It was strange.

The campsite? Rustic. A hole had to be dug for the bathroom.

As far as canoing was concerned, we were generally not far off schedule over the two days, but looking back, I can see how there was nearly constant work all weekend outside of canoing. Between walking to the vans, waiting for keys, taking two trips back with equipment, digging the bathroom hole, preparing dinner, setting up camp and more, it was a lot to do by bedtime. Again, the youth were great sports and helped out with no complaints. I think I would personally prefer a more established campground area with bathrooms and near by parking for the vehicles holding equipment. We had an awesome, loud thunderstorm around 2 am and thankfully, only one tent leaked water (not ours, hehe). Ryan and I each slept better than we anticipated though we were quite achy.

As far as adventuresome situations, Ryan and I had a little rescue mission when two 14 year olds tipped their canoe and couldn't get back in. We'll call them E and T. The canoe was nicely filled with water, and I had the smart idea to have T get back in and try to row. "Just try it" and sure enough, it started sinking when he got in. We quickly tipped it back over as dreadful images of a sunken canoe filled my head, and we ended up rowing them the riverbank. E held on to both canoes and felt quite "stretched" at times to stay connected to bring the water-laden canoe along to the bank.

At the very end of the trip, T was on the other side of the river as he approached the canoe center where we were getting out, and the current was decent enough nearly drag him downstream and keep him from crossing the river. He hurriedly stroked upstream to at least remain somewhat stationary while Ryan and two chaperones canoed out to him to catch and bring him in. They had no choice but to go downstream some, and they hiked their canoes back up through mud and sludge. Ryan and another chaperone ended up doing an army crawl in order to make progress! Needless to say, they were tired.

All in all, the trip was worthwhile. We appreciated having experienced adults along, and I know the youth had fun. I wouldn't really call it "fun" for us, but Ryan and I learned quite a bit about canoing and camping, and we really enjoyed doing that together.

Rustic-ing It

Man, am I in for an adventure today and Saturday. Ryan and I are chaperones on a youth group canoe trip for our church. I'll tell you more about the trip later on in this post. First, the context of Alicia going on a canoe trip.

You may or may not know that I really want to learn more about outdoor excursions such as extended hiking, camping, and so on. I love the mountains. My one-time experience of camping so far? Let me see if I can find a picture for you.

Ah. Yes. Here we go.

So you can imagine my excitement to jump into a "broader" "experience" of a two-day canoe trip with no bathrooms, no showers, 18 teenagers and sleeping in a tent (not all 18 together, mind you) on a campsite that you'd only know is a campsite because someone made a fire pit in the past. It really is exciting, no sarcasm there. I used a precious half day of vacation time and worked through lunch the rest of the week since it's all I have left after what I've scheduled the rest of the year. Friday is the first of the 5 busiest days of the month too. I really wanted to go on the trip. My boss will be there too!! Hahaha! He goes to our church and is bringing two of his kiddos along. I think it will be a good break for both of us from the potent corporate-ness of our jobs.

I can't wait. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous up near Parker, PA on the Allegheny River, and I think it'll be a great time. I'm helping with the food, and I had a planning meeting the other night with two experiences ladies, one of which offered to do all the shopping for us. Melissa and I will take it from there for the trip and order the youth around to be our kitchen slaves. I'm going to learn a lot and have a great time, and we've been praying for safety on the river and while camping. We were kindly encouraged to string up all food at night at least 30ft from the campsite. We have bears 'round these parts. We'll have the vans with our all stuff parked "near" the campsite ahead of time before putting in, and loop back around to the starting point to start canoing. Did I say near? I meant to a MILE away from the "campsite". Yup. That's our only optoin, so we have a hike there and back to bring equipment and food to the campsite once we put out of the river Friday evening. I believe the total distance we're canoing is 30 miles or so.

I keep using quotes on "campsite" because, well, it's not a typical campsite with a parking lot and hot showers. We'll dig a hole for the bathroom, put a tarp up around it as a luxury feature, and go through a bottle of hand sanitizer. We'll heat water to wash dishes and ourselves and clean dirty icky filthy teenager feet.

Oh, on another topic, guess who is making the amay-hay-zing Quinoa dish again sometime soon? Ding Ding ding! I am!! We're getting 12 ears of corn from the farm this week so there ya have it. Speaking of Quinoa, I was flattered to have wonderful comment from the Whole Grains Council on my initial quinoa post. Has anyone tried it yet???? Was anyone's interest in quinoa piqued as a result of my post? Please tell me so. Some of you are "lousy" at leaving comments (and some are awesome...thank you!!) Just sayin'.

Asher

Funny story from my mom, if you like dogs:

"I was laying on the couch and Asher came over to me and put his front feet on my shoulder. I was reading and didn't pay any attention to him, so he started tapping me on the shoulder with one of his paws. He kept on tapping me on the shoulder until I looked at him and then he gave me a couple of kisses and then went and laid down. It was like he was saying 'Mom, Mom'."

Hilarious! Do you have any funny pet stories?

7

7. Loads of laundry. Today. Done. Washed, dried, folded and put away. Seven. 49 quarters used. 2 loads yesterday. 63 total quarters in two days.

P.S. My husband has a new blog. Link to the left.

Weekend

Ryan and I had a great visit with my Pap & Grandma, my mom's parents, on Friday and yesterday, who live about two hours from here. Our conversations consisted of talking about their old farms, who is related to who, showing wedding pictures, all with loud voices and enunciated words since my Grandma is nearly deaf. She is great with reading lips though and I was glad we were able to communicate so much. We spent about an hour in the computer room at their retired living center, and I showed them online pictures of their great grandson, Cohen, trips to Oregon, our wedding, honeymoon and more. My grandma particularly loves seeing the pictures and misses out on a lot since she can't talk on the phone.

Our breakfast turned out great, and we all really liked the egg dish. I ended up having more bread than the recipe called for and as a result had to add more eggs. I should have baked it longer and at a higher temperature, because I went to serve it and the eggs were still runny! I put it back in the oven, covered, and raised the temperature 25 degrees, and it turned out great. The use of sourdough bread gave the dish a nice tang. Alas, I didn't take a picture of that dish or the Butterscotch Breakfast rolls but I did take some of my grandma. She's not one to look at or pose for the camera. I didn't think to pat her hair down though...



The land near my grandparents house is lush and green right now. It's a rural farm area and to get to their place, we travel over a "mountain" which has a pretty nice view. What do you think of the first picture? I was playing around with it in Photoshop. It's tricky to get a good picture of a light sky and dark foreground, especially when you have your husband quickly pull over to the side of the road and take a picture into the sun instead of the sun being behind you. Do you look at it and first think that it's too processed? Your thoughts, please.


Oh, my grandma LOVES Ryan. She's nearly deaf though so she calls him any of the following names: Rain, Randy (I have a cousin Randy), Rine, and sometimes Ryan. She's a dear and sent us home with some homemade applesauce.

And to top off the country, down home theme, a tire:

Indulgent Brunch

I'm probably going to regret this calorie-wise, but I can't wait to eat breakfast tomorrow! For what reason? Well, I'll be making the following two recipes at my grandparent's place this weekend. They live about two hours away in a retirement apartment in rural PA, and Ryan and I are going to visit them tonight and tomorrow, and this will be our brunch in the morning:

First, a family favorite: Butterscotch Breakfast Rolls. Some of you may have had these or know them by another name. A close recipe is here. Though my mom used to use rolls and make them in a bundt pan, she now uses Rhode's frozen cinnamon rolls (in the bag, discarding the icing) in a regular 9x13. My mom started that a few years ago and since she's, well, a fabulous cook, I've adopted it as well. That makes me fabulous, right? There is no additional cinnamon in the recipe I use, and they sit overnight in the oven to thaw and raise. Something to note in finishing them well is to let them sit for a few minutes after you turn them out onto a plate or tray but before removing the dish in which they were baked. This will allow the syrupy, sticky, buttery topping to settle on the rolls and not on the baking pan. We grew up having them every year for Christmas breakfast and only occasionally have it other times in the year. And oh, I only put nuts on half since I don't care for nuts in baked goods. I think I still get teased for that sometimes! My family loves me.

Second, I'm making a half recipe of Sleepin' In Omelette, posted by Pioneer Woman. I'm making half since I don't want to use 10 of the 12 eggs I just bought, and the four of us do not need a huge dish of the stuff. Some of us will be tempted to eat more of it than our consciences want us to eat (me? nahhhhh). Instead of onion rolls , I may use some nearly stale sourdough bread that I have in the freezer.

Check out the rest of Pioneer Woman's blog for some delicious (non-light) recipes and good photography. She got sucked into ranch life by being swept off her feet by a cattle rancher and now lives on a ranch with 4 children and a lot of cowboys and has some pretty fun photos of ranch life. Talk about a run on sentence!

I love spending my time this way

An hour of my evening tonight was spent doing a task that was 100% preventable.

What is this little bugger doing in soapy water, you ask? Thanks to my adeptness at drinking coffee at the computer, these guys got a good bath. Especially since I turn my coffee into wonderful, creamy, sugary goodness. Mmm.


It took a little while to put the keys back on.

My handsome husband was quite absorbed in the skill I displayed.

And...let's just say the "Quality Control" department didn't quite test all the keys to see that they did indeed type with out slushing around before grinning with satisfaction of a job well done. Blast that L and spacebar. Who needs them anyway? Same with N, K, J, comma. We don't need you!

And yes, I chronicled this in photos. For you.

There Is More Cheese!!!

Ryan and I got a surprise in the mail last week, thanks to my mom :) Thanks, Mom!

Clutter

I think there is a message I'm supposed to be hearing, as I've come across topics of "Clutter" a lot recently. It is spring, after all. Crystal is spurring her readers on with de-cluttering projects, and Get Rich Slowly is helping us remember how much stuff we accumulate.

The other night, while Ryan was at class, I finally attacked the mount of linens and clothes in our bedroom. I had winter sweaters out that needed to be stored (no drawer space thanks to my new husband...who I wouldn't trade for the world!), a huge duvet that was too warm at this point and pillows and sheets and towels that needed a home. I trimmed down a lot of it by putting some linens and clothes in some plastic bins I got on clearance at Target a few weeks ago, and reorganized Ryan's closet shelf to house sheets and blankets. It felt great!

Our next project is to find homes for many items stacked in the old guest room/new study. We rearranged it a few weeks ago and it's now Ryan's study with a desk and a book shelf. Much is left to organize though, but we're glad he has a dedicated place for his seminary studies.

An incentive for me to push on sooner than later with some de-cluttering and organization is a yard sale our church is putting on next month. I plan to take a ton of stuff there, including items that we "upgraded", so to speak, through wedding gifts. Some things are just extra and no longer needed. I LOVE getting rid of clutter.

Are you working on anything like this lately? If so, what is it?

First Car Purchase!

Ryan and I purchase our first car together this week! We picked it up Tuesday night and are enjoying it. We had shared a car since we got married two months ago and while we enjoyed the extra time together, we looked forward to replacing Ryan's dead car. I looked and looked and looked for a 2000 or 2001 Camry and we finally found one that we could look at (schedule restraints, distance, etc), pay for, and like. It is our hope and prayer that we can have it for 6-8 years and 100k more miles. This one is a 2000 and it only has 82k miles which is low for the year.

There Is No More Cheese

It's usually a little sad when I use up the last of our supply of Tillamook Cheese. What's this cheese, you say? It's made in the coastal town of Tillamook, Oregon and growing up, we'd always get a 2lb loaf of "Oregon Cheese" from my grandparents in our Christmas box that came in the mail. Not only are we fond of it because it's from Oregon, but it's also a highly rated cheese for it's quality and taste (which I didn't appreciate as a child for obvious reasons: it was just CHEESE!!!). As an adult, I certainly appreciate it more, but I can't get it here in Pittsburgh without paying an arm and a leg for an itty bitty block at Giant Eagle. Tillamook ice cream, by the way, is the best I've ever tasted.

These days, since I only get it from Oregon, having Tillamook Cheese in our home means that I saw my family recently, either because I was there or they were here, ever since they moved more than a year ago to Oregon. My mom generously brought me not one, but TWO baby loaves of Sharp Cheddar Cheese when they came for our wedding about two months ago. We just finished up the last of the cheese last week.

At this point, the next time we'll have any Oregon cheese is when we visit my family over Labor Day. Labor Day! It's so far away!! Mom, can you send some more before it gets too warm to mail it? :) We miss you guys too, not just the cheese.

Photo from company website

Birthday Cake

Ryan requested that I make the Double Chocolate Torte for his birthday next month. He really enjoyed it last year, and I even went as far as freezing a couple slices for him to take to his family in Kansas. It went over EXTREMELY well, and I think I became part of the family at that point. I laced it with "We really like Alicia" dust.

For this year, I am happy to delight my husband this way, and I have no one to impress (and I really didn't back then either). I am very thankful to have a husband who loves chocolate like I do :).

Stuff

I used to be better at blogging. I'd post photo quizzes, recipes, etc. Where have I been you might ask? Well, I am getting married in 23 days!! Wooooooooohooooooooo. That doesn't really answer the question but I'll pretend it does. Ryan and I are going downtown today to apply for our marriage license. Ryan is working hard to wrap up this quarter seminary despite some major setbacks. God is good.

• There isn't a single presidential candidate I like
• I can't wait to marry Ryan and see him EVERY day
  
• Work has been very busy and very frustrating at times, all stemming from the purchase of Benshaw by Curtiss Wright last summer. God has convicted me about my attitude and it's getting better.
  
• I'm excited to see my family in three weeks when they come for our wedding
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
• The salsa from this taco recipe is still my favorite, and it's really easy, and I cannot wait to bite into a Thai Burger again someday. They will be on the menu very shortly after Ryan and I return from our honeymoon. We hope to have his old roommates over for dinner so Ryan can brag about the upgrade in his living situation and I'll probably make those.
  
• CVS has been good to me (see here) with their Extra Care Buck deals and store coupons. Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for her regular posts on sales.
• The Bible study I was in just finished a 13-week series called The Truth Project, and it was very good.
  
• The Starbucks card I signed up for arrived this week.
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
  
• I complained in the past about airline delays. My last two trips went very smoothly with no delays! I went to Oregon with Ryan for Thanksgiving, and I went by myself for Christmas to Oregon.
• Yapta is a great tool. The price of our honeymoon flight dropped by nearly half over the last three months since we first purchased, and I have travel vouchers coming from United. I wouldn't have known about the price drop if Yapta wasn't tracking the flight for me.

Updates

I haven't posted in a while...but I knew I had an excuse :-). Things to update:

• I'm getting married! (duh). Ryan and I are getting married February 23, less than three months from now! We are thrilled at God's timing and can't wait to be married. Pre-marital counseling is well underway, lots of wedding details have been settled so far. Ryan will have a quarter break for seminary, and we're honeymooning to Estes Park, Colorado. I'm honored to have Ryan's three sisters along with Erin and Danila as my bridesmaids.
• I was thrilled and thankful that Ryan and I didn't have any delays flying to and from Oregon last week for Thanksgiving. I head back for Christmas in three weeks. We had a great time with my family, and it was a delight to see my nephew Cohen grin and coo all throughout the week. Adam loves being an uncle. The misty waterfalls were beautiful and wet. The food was fabulous and abundant. God is good. More pictures here.
  
• I continue to be amazed at the work of God in His church in Airdrie, Scotland - He has been bringing many new members this year. Many. Praise be to God for building His church. He said He would do it.
  
• Ryan's sisters are visiting from Kansas this weekend. I'm so excited to spend more time with them! (We really like each other :-)). My menu plan is:
  
• Tuscan White Bean & Garlic Soup by Giada (make ahead) for lunch Saturday
  
• Cranberry Pot Roast (unbelievably fabulous roast....oh my) with some sort of made up Smashed Red Potatoes with chives for dinner Saturday, and green beans (probably with toasted pine nuts and garlic - an easy way to step them up). Individual Chocolate Melting Cakes are for dessert. I only have the Pot Roast in Word, which I can email. The recipe originally came from a NW B&B cookbook, and I adapted some pot roast techniques from America's Test Kitchen, including a roasting temperature of 300 instead of 350 and only bringing liquid halfway up the sides of the roast. I've cooked the roast for 4.5 hours in the oven that way and it really gets to the wonderful fall-apart melty stage. I also nearly doubled the cranberries.
  
• Lunch on Sunday will be the award-winning Thai Burgers I raved about in a post to follow soon.
  
• My recipe links became funky since I last checked. I revised the links, so they should come up cleanly now. I might revamp the way I share the links because I have many non Cooking Light recipes I like to keep handy that I have online elsewhere. I learned I can make free webpages using Google - maybe I'll try that.
  
• I have succeeded twice in cutting Ryan's hair. I think I'm too impressed with myself, according to Ryan.

A big cooking post to follow. . .

He Asked! I said Yes!