Monday, October 24, 2011

Parental Bereavement Act of 2011

Hey Friends,

I am blessed to have such an amazing employer that allowed me take a bereavement period, but other parents are not so lucky. Please sign the petition (Click on the link below) so that every parent can get the time off work that they deserve after experiencing the most devestating thing a parent can ever go through. Thank you!

Parental Bereavement Act of 2011 (S 1358)

Take Care,
Lisa

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Chowdah!

Hey Friends,

This post is about one of my favorite topics, FOOD!

My mom signed me up for the Rachel Ray e-mail at some point and I get a new 30-minute meal recipe each morning. I know I have been getting these e-mails for a long time, but I’m not sure exactly how long it has been now. This morning when I opened my e-mail I saw the picture below and my mouth started watering it sounded so good! Granted I had my Cherry Cheesecake Visuals shake sitting next to me on my desk that I hadn’t started drinking yet so maybe I was just starving, but how great does Corn Chowdah Mac ‘n’ Cheese sound? I absolutely LOVE comfort food and especially when it is cold outside. I don’t know where you are located, but here in Lee’s Summit (suburb of KC) it is starting to get REALLY cold so this is the perfect fall dish for our home.

I love to cook and experiment and my husband will always attempt to eat anything I make (oh one of the many reasons why I love him!). Granted 98% of the time it is good, but there has been that meal or two that I wouldn’t feed to a stray dog it turned out so bad (still have no idea what I did to ruin it either, oops!). So at some point this weekend I’m going to try this recipe and I will let you know how it turns out. I have posted the recipe and picture below if you would like to try it.

I know this is different from my other posts, but it is time y'all get to know the other side of this girl behind the computer.


Ingredients:
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 lb. mezzi rigatoni, penne rigate or cavatappi pasta
  • 4 ears corn, husked
  • EVOO, for drizzling
  • 1/4 lb. bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 baking potato, peeled and diced into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning (half a palmful)
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 red chile pepper, such as fresno, seeded and chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • A few sprigs thyme, chopped
  • 3 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • About 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • Few grates fresh nutmeg
  • 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese
Directions:
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
    While the pasta is working, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the broiler. Place a small bowl upside down in a large bowl. Stand each ear of corn on the small bowl and scrape down the kernels.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of EVOO and the bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
  3. Add the corn, potato and Old Bay to the bacon drippings in the skillet and brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery, chile pepper, bell pepper, onion and garlic; season with the thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, then the milk; season with the mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce coats a spoon thickly; lower the heat to low. Stir in the parmigiano-reggiano.
  5. Add the corn-potato mixture and the white sauce to the pasta in the pot and stir together. Transfer to a casserole or serving dish, top with the cheddar and bacon and broil until brown and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Take Care,
Lisa

Sunday, October 16, 2011

A Sign

Hey Friends,

Well this past week I decided it was time to schedule an appointment with my OB for the lovely female yearly check and to discuss baby #2, whether it is 10 months or 5 years from now I'm ready to discuss. However, when I called the office to schedule an appointment I found out that my OB was no longer there. I instantly could feel myself start to panic. I wanted to throw a temper tantrum and say, "WHAT!?!?! What do you mean they aren't there! I need my OB to be there!" instead I just kept my calm and said thank you and hung up. So I got on my insurance plan website found another OB that is considered in-network, has great ratings and is close to me. I called and scheduled my appointment and the first available appointment she has is Nov. 11th so that is a good sign to me that she must be good that I have to wait! And 11-11-11 is suppose to be a lucky day so maybe the stars will align and it'll go perfectly and she will be everything I could want in an OB. I'm nervous though. She doesn't know anything about me or Macie so I will have to start at the beginning and tell my story. I know I'll cry and I'm praying she is understanding. They are sending me a form to sign so I can have my medical record sent over so that will help, hopefully?!?!

I have been thinking of baby names in my head a lot recently which is something I started doing before I became pregnant with Macie. Maybe it's a sign, I guess we will see. So far the names that I have thought of and like a lot are Layla Marie or Layla Ann for a girl and Wyatt Christopher, Wyatt Alan, Wyatt Thomas, or Beau Thomas for a boy. Why do I already have baby names picked out when I'm not pregnant and am just starting to think about the possibility of it? Good question I guess that is just the OCD in me. I also based the names off of what sounded best with Macie. Macie and Layla, Macie and Wyatt or Macie and Beau...I think they all have a nice ring to them. :)

With starting to think practically about baby #2 these past few weeks the fear has also started to appear. When I think of baby names I am happy and think it's time to try again, but then I think of Macie and the reality and pain set in and then I think I can't do this again out of fear the same outcome will happen. So I guess I'm really not sure when or where the path will take me, but hopefully after talking to the new OB Nov. 11th I'll calm down a little! 

Hope y'all had a nice weekend with this great fall weather!

Take Care,
Lisa

Monday, October 10, 2011

Newspaper

Hey Friends,

The St. Louis dispatch is doing a "Deadly Daycare Series". Macie is mentioned and I am quoted in the first article Children die as dangers are ignored. There will be more articles later today and tomorrow so I will update this blog post as the links become available. I have more to say about this, but I do not have the time to write right now.

1. Children die as dangers are ignored **Macie**
Has anyone heard of daycare.com? This nannyde who calls herself "The Daycare Whisperer" decided to write a blog and focus on Macie's death. Daycare And SIDS/Sleep Deaths Article *Child Deaths Mentioned*  I don't know how I feel about this.

2. Safe sleep for Infants
3. Choosing child care in Missouri
4. Prosecutors face legal limits on punishing illegal day care operators
5. They skirted the rules and 8 babies died

Take Care,
Lisa

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Reminders & Strangers

Hey Friends,

Well in case I was comatose and didn't realize Macie's birthday was this Thursday the mail isn't helping. I have gotten a lot of 1st birthday coupons, magazines and post cards from different baby places saying Happy Birthday! Ugh. This hurts. So this morning when I was going through a big stack of mail and came across another reminder I acted how any angel baby mom would (maybe?). I got angry tore it in half shoved it into my trash can and sat on my kitchen floor and bawled my eyes out. This hurts. I thought the saying goes "time heals"....well there is no healing for this Mother yet. But maybe that phrase doesn't apply when you are dealing with the loss of a child. I definitely don't have the answers, but I do search for them. I want/need to know why. I know this probably sounds cliche, but why me? She was my world and now my world is destroyed and will never be the same. I hate my reality, but I am living it. Just because part of me died the day Macie got her angel wings 8 months ago doesn't mean time has stopped. Time definitely hasn't stopped...Macie's 1st birthday is this Thursday. A day I have been dreading. Chris and I will be there facing the day hand in hand. Helping each other push through, trying to accept and survive another horrible milestone.

Random-so I'm sitting in Starbucks and I had my blog pulled up to read some of your comments, Thank you by the way. Your comments help me a ton so please keep commenting! Any ways, a lady walked by me and said that is a great blog my heart goes out to that mother. Without thinking twice I looked up said Thank You and just went on about reading. She got her coffee and came back and sat at my table with tears in her eyes. She didn't realize it was me until I said thank you. (I have no make-up on, my hair up and glasses on, but I don't think I look that different-however I must!) She told me I am an inspiration and help her (who....me?), she also told me that she prays for Macie, me and my husband all the time and loves reading my blog. I thanked her and she left. She wanted to stay and talk for awhile but was in a hurry. Now that I'm sitting here processing this it seems surreal to me. She doesn't know me. If Macie wouldn't have gotten her angel wings she probably never would have known I existed. How did she find me? And I'm helping a complete stranger? Wow. Thank you for stopping and talking to me- I needed to hear what you said.

Take Care,
Lisa