Kid Friendly Recipes - Translation - Easy!!

These are 2 easy recipes that I made last night. I would think that most kids (not my own, of course - ugh!) would love both of these dishes and they are sooooo easy that I had to share! The first was mini zucchini pizzas (thank you Betsy.) You just slice a couple of zucchinis, put them on a greased baking sheet, salt and pepper and then add a dollop of pizza sauce...



You then add some cheese. I used parm and cheddar.



And bake at 350 until the cheese melts! YUM!!!



The second dish was a beef roast (yes, this from a vegetarian!) and requires a crock pot! If you have kids and DON'T have a crock pot - WHAT???? I just get any kind of beef roast that happens to be on sale (I can usually find them for around $5) and put it in the crock pot with 1/4 cup worchesire sauce or balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup ketchup and cook on high for about 5 hours. My Hubby (Happy Birthday, BTW) really likes this and so should your kids:) Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of it but it is fork tender and (according to my hubby - because I am indeed a vegetarian - delicious)!!!

Good Checkup and a 6 month reprieve!!

Today we took Lizzie for a check up with her clubfoot doc - the wonderful Dr. H.!! We usually go for regular check ups at her office but today we went back to the hospital where Lizzie was casted - 18 times!! We wanted to see the staff that had been so wonderful to us during our 21 week clubfoot journey. When we told Lizzie where she was going and that she was going to see Mrs. K.(the very sweet nurse who operated the very evil casting saw), her first fearful reaction was "no cast Momma!!!" I assured her that she would not get a cast today and that was followed by a smiling, "no cast Momma!!!" and a "Hooray!!" I sometimes have to stop and remind myself about all that Lizzie has been through in her 3 years on this earth. She is one of the strongest, most resilient souls that I have ever known. No matter what is thrown at her, she always seems to be able to find love and courage and happiness and laughter within herself and that is such a gift. I am still desperately waiting for her "peace" to come. I know it is coming and I see it developing a little bit more everyday but it is still not completely within her yet. She loves big and crys big and we are working on that peaceful middle ground that I can see but can't quite get to yet. So we continue to love her, love her, love her! One days like today, I get reminded of her journey and her incredible progress and her amazing capacity for love and for loving life. She did get a great report card today and a 6 month reprieve. It was so good to see everyone and have them confirm for me what I sometimes forget! I thought I would post a couple of older videos of Lizzie as we began this journey a little over a year ago! I cannot wait to revisit this post a year from now!!

This is video of Lizzie still in her orphanage. It is hard to tell, but her foot is turned almost completely backwards and is upside down.


This is when Lizzie figured out how to walk in her first cast!


She even figured out how to walk in her brace! We called it the brace shuffle!


And the first time she walked with a straight foot!


To the present!


Lizzie May, you take my breath away!! I look forward to watching you run as fast as those little legs will go on the soccer field, dance your way across a stage, walk up to get your high school diploma and walk down the isle to a very lucky young man!!!

I scream for Ice Cream!!

First of all, thank you to everyone who replied to my "Red Rice" post! Tricia, I laughed out loud at your "boogers and ketchup" comment!! Lizzie doesn't eat either, by the way!! Although, if boogers were full of fat and calories, I just might encourage the habit!! They aren't, are they? Hehe!! Anyway, we had another fabulous weekend at E. Beach and guess what Lizzie discovered? ICE CREAM!!! Talk about fat and calories!! Amazing what a little sand, surf and heat and humidity will do!!! Do you think ice cream is good on broccoli?? Below is a picture of what Lizzie looked like after devouring, I mean enjoying her chocolate vanilla swirl!




Here are some other cute shots from our little piece of heaven on earth!!










A couple of rare shots of the usual photographer - me!!

Red Rice!

As most of my family and friends and well anyone who will listen knows, Lizzie just does not eat. We keep her going on a sugary sweet comb of Pediasure (chaching) and Carnation Instant Breakfast, or for those in the know - CIB!! We have tried working with a completely wonderful OT and even put her a medication to help stimulate her appetite. Some things worked a little bit while others failed miserably. Some things worked for a while and then all of a sudden, not! It has been very difficult and frustrating to say the least. Lizzie came to us at 2 years of age weighing 17 pounds and wearing 3 month size clothing. Can you even imagine? I couldn't and I still have a hard time remembering exactly HOW little she was. As soon as we got her, my first instinct was to FEED her. Lizzie, however, had another plan in mind. As happy as she seemed to be with us, she had just lost control over everything single thing in her life. Everything all at once was turned upside down and no longer her familiar routine. As difficult as I believe her life was, it was still her life as she knew it and we were messing all that up. I think that the only thing she could control was whether or not she was going to eat and what she was going to eat. Give Lizzie a bag of "blue" Doritos and she can inhale that thing in less time that it takes to open the bag. Put her at the table for a meal, however, and you would think she was being tortured! I am lucky to get 2 bites in her of any one thing on her plate! For anyone who has ever dealt with eating issues, you know how extremely difficult it can be. You don't want to make food more of an issue than it already is, but you want them to eat - desperately - especially when they weigh 17 pounds at 2 years old!! Anyway, there are 2 foods that Lizzie just loves - tacos and red rice. She seems to prefer spicy! I wonder why??? Hehe!! I was heating her up some red rice in the microwave the other day and turned around to find this:

"My red rice!"



She didn't eat the whole bowl but was pretty darn close!! I slept good that night!!

Wonderful video from Love Without Boundaries

Check out this blog and wonderful fundraiser!! This family is trying desperately to bring their beautiful daughter home. Please check it out and chip in if you can! Every little bit helps!

Frustrating!!!!

Every now and then, I pull out my old camera (you remember the non-digital ones, right?) and have a little fun! It's funny because as soon as I take a picture, the girls will ask to see it! I have to admit to a bit of impatience there as well!! I also get annoyed at not being able to snap a bi zillion pictures to get the one good shot! Yes, it sometimes takes me that many to get a good one - ugh! I just have to point, shoot and pray!! This time, however, I had the feeling that I had gotten some really great shots and delivered the precious film to CVS to await perfection!! I was greatly disappointed when I noticed that about half of the pictures were not there!! Either the old camera needs to be put out of it's misery or CVS really screwed up!! Do they know how hard it is to get my kids to pose for a picture???? Anyway, here are a few of the survivors!!