Lookin' Good

All I can say, is my bracket is already lookin' pretty good...130 points and 99.5%. Last year, I made it to the finals with a whompin' 99.7%, and BYU, if you pull through for me again on Saturday, I may just have a repeat.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is too funny not to post. Thanks Jeff for sending it to us. Oh goodness...people can be so so funny.

Chicken Baked Chimichangas

I'm not the best cook, but I do ok. And sometimes, I stumble across something that turns out really well, and that makes me happy -- especially when I'm cooking for people other than Marcus and the girls. Yesterday I found this recipe I wanted to try for Beef and Bean Chimichangas, and I tweeked it here, and there, and here some more...and came up with my own Chicken Chimichangas. Super easy and yummy. I had some left over filling so I put that in the freezer -- ready for round 2 some time soon.


4-5 chicken breasts
1 medium chopped onion
1 7oz can green chilies
1 can refried beans
1 can corn
1 can enchilada sauce (Old El Paso is the best, in our opinion)
taco seasoning
whole wheat tortillas
shredded cheese (I used cheddar and mozzerella)
1 T. melted butter


Boil chicken. When cooked, dump water and rinse out pot. Shred chicken with fork. While you're shredding chicken, cook chopped onions in pot. Mix shredded chicken with cooked onions. Mix refried beans with chicken and onion until well mixed. Then add green chilies and drained corn and mix together. Add maybe a 1/2 c. enchilada sauce -- stir in. Sprinkle taco seasoning over mixture...few tablespoons maybe.

Lay out your tortilla and spread mixture over top. Sprinkle a little cheddar and then some mozzerella over mixture. Fold tortilla ends in, and then sides in so it's all ingredients are enclosed. Lay on cookie sheet seam down. Continue until all tortillas are filled and on cookie sheet. Brush chimichangas with melted butter. Pour some enchilada sauce over top. Put in oven and bake 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, shredded lettuce, tomato, etc.

Makes 13 chimichangas.

How To Teach Your Baby to Be Physically Superb -- Glenn Doman

How To Teach Your Baby To Be Physically Superb: From Birth To Age Six; The Gentle Revolution by Glenn Doman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have ravenously been reading all of Glenn Doman's "How to Teach Your Baby..." books. Along the way, I have found pure delight in the knowledge and information I've been getting from them. This book, however, didn't light my fire like the others. I'm not sure if it's because I'm burned out on the subject...but I suspect it's because I just don't think this is as important to me. I do know and understand, especially after some time doing therapies with Samantha, that our physical development is highly connected to cognitive development as well. So, the importance of movement and physical superbness, I get. And I will -- and already have begun to -- use some of his exercise suggestions. I just don't see myself getting as involved with this program as I will, or hope to, with the others.

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"My Name is Jenny..."

...and I have a daughter with microcephaly."

There's this parent support group that this woman told me about. Her daughter goes to school with Sammy, and as much as I love this mom, I'm not sure I'm interested in being a part of a support group. I did get on the email list, and the woman in charge asked if I wanted to get coffee next week sometime. I guess it wouldn't hurt -- of course, the coffee part would have to go, but I guess I could meet her. Would it hurt? But if I meet her at a coffee shop, am I somehow committed? I'm not sure I want to do that.

A long time ago, after Samantha was born, someone suggested attending some kind of a support group. I don't think I was ready for something like that at the time. As much as I wanted to meet other parents in similar situations, I wasn't sure how I felt about us all talking about our kids who weren't "normal." I think I was trying to cling on to as much normalcy as I could, and being a part of a support group made me feel not normal. Furthermore, no matter how much we all had in common -- having kids with special needs -- each of our stories are different. I already knew there weren't groups in our area for microcephaly. Samantha's diagnosis is just too rare to have a support group dedicated to just that. And I was afraid that being a part of a group, but not being able to fit into that small group, would make me feel even worse.

That was over three years ago now, and I'm not sure my desires for a support group have changed. My reasons may have though. Now, I don't know if I want to attend because I actually feel pretty good. I still get discouraged sometimes, but I feel like I've done a lot of therapy between me, Marcus, my parents, and the Lord over the past 3 years. And I feel good -- most of the time.

But does that somehow mean that I think I'm better than these groups that are out there and could possibly help me?
Is it ok just to say it's not my style? And really, anyone who knows me knows I love chatting it up...but in this forum, I'm not so sure.
Should I just give it a try, because, who knows? I could love it?
Or do I not fix it if it's not broke...things are good so just stick with how they are, support-group-free? I just don't know.
Does that make me snobby?
Or somehow in denial (not sure in denial of what, but isn't that the meaning of being in denial?)?
Ah!

Sister Appreciation

Well, the bus ride went well, and apparently Sammy has a new boyfriend...but that story to come tomorrow.

For tonight, I must post this video that my brother-in-law, Bryan, and cousin, Jared, put together for Sister Appreciation at BYU. They showed it during ward prayer and it just cracks me up. Literally. I'm crumbling into tiny little pieces as I type.

School

This morning Samantha went to school just like every other Monday, except today the school bus took her, not me. I know it'll be better for a lot of reasons, but I admit, I cried as Alice (our bus driver) strapped her in. And then they drove away.

It's not that big of a deal, I know. But I cried Samantha's first day of school too. It's time away from me -- that we aren't together. I know it's good for her. I do. But after years of taking care of her, and worrying about her...this is just another chunk of time that I can't keep tabs on her.

But, I remind myself of what Heidi (Marcus' aunt) told me when her son, Michael (also a little guy with special needs) got on the bus for school. The first day she cried, and the second day she did a little jig. I'm sure the jig-ging will come. But today, I know she's on the bus now, headed home, and wonder how she's doing. Oh my little little tiny girl is on a SCHOOLBUS! I imagine she is either falling asleep -- which she frequently does on the way home from school -- or she's giggling at the rumbling sounds of the bus. Either of those options would make me happy. And shortly, I'll get the report.

Aw, my little Sammy.

Living Beyond Organic -- Christina Avaness

Living Beyond Organic: Nutritional Knowledge Redefined! by Christina Avaness


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I'm interested in living a healthier lifestyle -- making better food choices that will greatly impact my life. But this was just too extreme for me. I understood the concepts here and believe that we need to eat foods that are packed with super enzymes, but I have a hard time believing that foods like...apples...are bad choices because of the enzyme factor. I'm at a point in my life where I'm doing pretty good if I choose an apple over a piece of toast, so I think I'll store back in a corner of my brain what Christina Avaness has taught me in her book and save it for a later date when I'm possibly more committed to living an even healthier lifestyle. For now, this is just too much.

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Searching

Not yet anyway, but within the next few (maybe 6) months we'll need a new vehicle. We have been a one car family for 4.5 of our 5 years of marriage. It feels good. But, the time has come to re-enter the world of being a 2 car family. When Marcus gets a job, it'll just be essential. So, we're going the minivan route because, after all, our family isn't getting any smaller. I started looking around today, and holy cow am I overwhelmed. I know what I want but that is far different from what we need. So, I have been conservative in my search, but still, I have no idea how to go about doing this.

In the meantime, I continue to job hunt for Marcus. I've put in about 10 hours going through websites and sending over to Marcus what he should apply for. We're a good team. I weed out job listings based on his qualifications and whatnot, and he either tosses it out (because I honestly just skim the job descriptions) or creates a cover letter and gets his resume and curriculum vitae sent out. Who knows what will happen. I'm assuming it'll take some time, but at least, for now, it feels good knowing that applications are being sent out. That's a huge step.

And so, to add to the stress of finding a job, we decide to look for a car that will hopefully last us a good 10 years. This may be harder than finding a job!