Sick?

So, Miss Abby has come down with everyone's chest cold. This does Not make me a happy Mama.

The night before last, she was up fussing and coughing and rattling all night. We got very little sleep.

Last night, she ate at 11:00pm, and then wasn't interested in anything but sleeping. Wouldn't eat, and didn't want to move from her comfy spot next to Mama. She slept through the night with no coughing, or rattling, but she scared me half to death that she didn't want to eat.

So. Babies are scary when they're sick and don't sleep, and they're scary when they're well and sleep like rocks... I'm never happy.

Mother, er Sister Hen

Just got home from Abrielle's two week check-up... Took Liana with me. (John is still off work, so he was home with the other two.) I'm *SOOOOO* lucky to have such great helpers!!!! She is such a mother-hen!!! The nurse told us to take Abrielle's clothes off, and Liana asked if that meant her little mittens too. The nurse said yup, and then Liana said, "You know she has sharp nails and she might scratch herself, do we have to take them off?" lol... I knew she'd be a fabulous big sister! :O)

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a nice Thanksgiving! John's sister and kids came up for dinner (her hubby is a hunter, so he was off looking for his deer for the day). We had way too much food, but this mama is going to appreciate the leftovers, especially since I'm still dragging from whatever bug this is. It was nice to not have an enormous house full of company since we're still sick, but it was also nice to not be "alone" for the holiday too. Just enough company to be special, but not enough to make it stressful, know what I mean?

Last night the girls and I finished up the pies (four kinds this year; apple, plum, cherry-cranberry and pumpkin.) And when I say "girls" that includes Abrielle. John plunked her in the middle of the kitchen table between the flour canister and the Crisco and she had her very first pie-making tutorial. Can't start too young I guess! She'll be a pro by the time she's ten! It was really fun, though it did seem "wrong" to let such a new baby get floured up! Liana and Aleksa love to play with dough scraps, so they were having a ball. (Adam and Papa were off playing a game together).

I've been really intimidated about making the turkey... only tried that a few times before and it hasn't ever been very good at all. (Can you say D.R.Y.?) This year though, we put the birdie in a salt-water brine overnight, and WOW was it yummy! I'll never make it any other way again! (Thank you allrecipes.com!!) (Well, John actually made it, because I couldn't do all the lifting involved.) If you've never tried making a turkey this way, ya gotta give it a whirl - you don't even have to baste it in the roasting process! It's juices are sealed in from the salt-water soak. Easy.

We have so much to be thankful for... I hope you all found many things to thank God for too.

Hospital Pic!

Have to share Abrielle's hospital picture! Hope this works!

http://www.our365.com/webnursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyFinder.aspx

birthdate 11-12, last three letters of my last name: fis, and I think you have to select the state: WI

Sick

Well, five down, one to go. Everyone except Abrielle is or has been down with a nasty upper respiratory bug since we've been home from the hospital.

I've been down the hardest I think, but I'm sure it's because I've been sleep-deprived on top of being sick. I'm actually wondering if I don't have pneumonia... if I'm still rattly in the morning, I'm going to the clinic. *groan* I thought I was done with doctors for another few weeks.

We're really praying our littlest princess doesn't catch this one. It really is a nasty bug, and she's just such a tiny thing...

Pictures!!!

Had to show off my sweetie... I couldn't get these to post in the order I wanted them to, but you get the idea... The mixing bowl bath pictures were kind of a nostalgia thing... Abby was the same birth weight I was, and my mom gave me my first baths in a mixing bowl. I thought it would be fun to give Abby her first bath in one too. (I do have a regular bathie for her, so don't feel too sorry for her yet!) ;O)

Doesn't the little Miss look thrilled with her Mama? lol!

I love this one of Liana and her Grandpa. I extra love how much they resemble each other!

My favorite picture so far, though is below... The older three aren't having Any Fun at All with their baby sister, as you can plainly see...

Below is our coming home picture... I'm not sure we can smile any broader.... :O)

And here's our Little Fish... the Princess Abrielle aka Abby, Abri, Brellie, Abriella, Lella, Lelly, Abriellie or Sweetie Pie, depending on Mama's mood. :O)

Four of my own

Can't believe it. Today, John and I drove home from the hospital with a healthy, bouncing (well, not quite!) baby girl. That's never happened before. We've always had quiet, sad drives home from hospitals complete with plants and sympathy cards. We've never done the "happy reasons to leave the hospital" routine.

And frankly, we're still more than a little bit in shock over everything that has happened in the last nine months, let alone the last few days. A baby? For US? The belly kind? No way, nuh-uh. Fisher babies don't stick. Or, maybe they stick, but stick to the wrong spots. Everyone knows that the Fishers adopt their kids. But, Abrielle has so far lived up to her name. It means "Strong one of God." She must be a strong one to still be with us...

And here she is. No pie sales, no rummage sales, no plane trips or paperwork. Instead, she's wrapped in a quilt I hand made for a baby that slipped into heaven many years ago. I never could quite give it up to anyone as a gift or to our girls as a doll quilt. But now, seven years later, there is someone actually wrapped in it... a beautiful little girl with John's eyes and cheek dimple, my nose and my chin. How many times had I used to wonder about what "our baby" would look like. And here she is, in the flesh. John and I just look and look, and look and look. And even when we rub our eyes, she hasn't gone away.

I'm sure every new parent feels that way, but to us, she's still a shock to our system. Even while I was in labor, she wasn't quite alllll the way "real" to us. I was just going through the expected motions of "what comes next" not really letting myself totally soak in that at the end of the day there would be a little baby handed to us. John felt the same. And when they actually DID hand her to me, I just couldn't believe it. My tears crashed into me like a semi out of nowhere. I didn't think I would get all emotional, and I didn't expect to, but I couldn't stop. There couldn't still be some mistake, could there? No, here she was, on my chest, with the doctor and nurses congratulating me. She must be mine. Wow. That just seemed way too easy. Where were the strings?

And yet, aside from so many people telling me how miraculous it would be to be handed "my own" baby, I still stand by my stock answer that I do indeed know how wonderful it is to be presented a child "of my own." The day we met Adam, Liana and Aleksa, I bawled like a baby. Adam loves to remind me of that... And while none of my older crew have green eyes like us, or "my nose" or whatever, they are miraculously "our own" dear sweethearts, just as Abrielle is. It's just that our three didn't want to sit still for any length of time, and certainly weren't willing to let Mama nurse them. ;O) The love amount and quality, however, are the same, and that's what makes a family.

We are so blessed. Four babies of our own! God is so good.

Announcing....

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abrielle Koryn, AKA Little Fish, was born at 11:29 this morning! She has lots of hair, a dimple in her chin, and enormous feet! She's 6 pounds, 1 ounce, 20" long, and came out screaming, and the only one who could console her was her Papa. Everyone is doing great, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Sack Cloth and Accents

Poor Adam. English vowel sounds have always been hard for him. Spelling has been difficult sometimes, because he hears certain vowels the same way, or he flips them. Like today during school, he was writing a story and wrote "pup" instead of "pop" - he pronounces them the same way, so he has a hard time hearing the difference between them. The short "e" and "a" sounds are also trouble-makers for him.

Tonight though, his accent and vowel problem about made his Papa choke on his spit.

John was telling the kids the story of David and Bathsheba (as delicately as possible, of course!), explaining that after David had seen Bathsheba, that he had her husband killed so HE could marry her. John really tried to camp on the fact that after David was confronted about what he'd done that he was terribly sorry about it, just as we should all be, and that David was actually a man after God's own heart, etc.

After the story ended, Adam said, "Papa, I bet David had sex."

John said, "Um, what?"

Adam said, "I bet David had sex cloth and tore his clothes because he was sorry."

John breathed a relieved sigh. "Um, I don't know, Adam, maybe he did have SACK cloth, but we do know he was very sorry..."

Times are changin'

Woke up this morning totally thinking I must be in the wrong household.

I walked down the stairs to the kitchen where Liana was busily scrubbing away at the stove. She wasn't tired anymore, she said, so she decided to clean. *blink, blink, blink*

Next, I walked to the kids' rooms, where Aleksa was making her bed and straightening their room. Nobody to remind her, she just did it. *blink, blink, blink*

Then, I checked Adam's room to see him reading in bed, enjoying a book. He's the only one that didn't completely floor me, as he's been our bookworm lately.

My kids are growing up. How could that possibly be?!

The doctor told me this week that Little Fish (uff da, almost wrote in the name there and completely spilled the beans) is supposedly ready any minute.

Life is changing around here, for sure.

Stromboli recipe

I've had a few people email or ask me what stromboli was. Thought I'd just post the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of bread dough (you can use frozen, but I always just make a pizza crust dough in my bread machine. Then I don't have to thaw anything out!)

Ham or Turkey lunchmeat

Shredded Mozzarella and/or Cheddar/American (cheese slices work too)

Pizza Seasoning

Pepperoni

Any other pizza topping you want. We like black olives and mushrooms too.

Pizza sauce for dipping (served at the table)

Directions:

Roll out the dough into a big rectangle

Arrange lunchmeat and Pepperoni "single file" down the middle (lengthwise) (don't cover the whole crust, just the center third)

Put cheeses / toppings on top of that

Sprinkle generously with Pizza Seasonings

Take one side of the bread dough and fold it over the meat/stuff. Pinch it down. On top of that, put another layer of meat and cheeses and seasonings. Fold other side of dough over that. Pinch down well. Seal all edges. Butter the top of the stromboli, and sprinkle with more pizza seasonings (to make it pretty!) and maybe some parmesan cheese too. Make slanted cuts all up and down the stromboli (again, to make it pretty.)

Bake for 30 minutes on 350º. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping, if desired.

Number Of Servings:3-4 adults

Preparation Time:about 15 minutes (not including time to make dough/thaw dough)

Stromboli

I wonder if I should be flattered that at supper tonight Liana told me proudly that she "didn't even gag yet."

I added some mushrooms to the stromboli tonight. It didn't go over too well, I guess. ;O)

Awol again, sorry!

I've been asked where I am, so here I go with a much belated blogpost... Sorry guys!

Thanks everyone for the emails and posts about my dad... What an emotional rollercoaster ride it has been on our whole family. He's actually feeling pretty good right now, I think, and his pneumonia is clearing up pretty well. His regular hemotologist came back from his vacation this week, and Dad got right in to see him his first day back, and was able to hear some good news about the bloodwork that had been worked up... He had been told that he had leukemia and myeloma just a few weeks ago... further testing has shown that to be false. *whew* His hemoglobin, platelets, etc are still horrible, but at least the other two "biggies" aren't going to have to be dealt with too. There isn't a whole lot they can do for him, however, to improve his health other than to make him comfortable and careful about not getting injured etc. He's been talking more and more about heaven and seeing Mom though, and while I am sooooo happy that he has that peace, it is hard to know that my Little Fish isn't probably going to know Grandpa like the other grandchildren in the family, especially since Grandma will also be "just pictures" to him/her as well.

Speaking of the baby, lets just say I'm getting to the "uncomfortable" stage of things with only 3 weeks left before my due date. Not sleeping well these days, and am feeling like I'm a whale. I'm DEFINITELY "Big Fish" right now! lol!

The kiddos are doing fine and dandy. Not a whole lot to report... Um. Hmm. Nope, not a lot happening there. They're all wonderful. Most days. ;O)

Prayer Request

Asking for prayer here... My dad went back to the hospital today to get two blood transfusions (his hemoglobin is like flat-lined)... when his body freaked out on him. He didn't even get one of the units of blood in him when his pulse and bp went out of whack, temp spiked, and he couldn't breathe. It wasn't a pretty sight. They had to "call in a team" to get things back under control, and kept him in the ER for closer observation until things stablized.

Plus, this week the doctors found some Leukemia and Myeloma cells in his blood. Just what a man with hemophilia and hepatitis C doesn't need. They took 14 vials of blood and we will get some more definitive results when his hemotologist gets back from Ireland on the 22nd.

Very hard for me to be so far away being 8 months pregnant. I'd love to hop in the car right now and see how he is for myself.... *sigh* Please pray for my dad, and also for us kids who are worried about him and wishing there were more we could do...

Eeek!

You know you're the mother of an impulsive pre-teen son when you get to the bottom of your ice water, notice something strange inside your ice cube, fish it out, and see that there is a big ole SPIDER frozen inside it.

Can you say, "EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!"

Shower!

It has been such a busy weekend! Fun, stressful, more fun, less stress....

My big sis threw me (and John!) a baby shower on Saturday! Husbands were invited, so I got to see my brothers AND sisters at this one. And three aunts and two cousins. It was really, really, really nice. Got a ton of loot, and had a great time. It was truly a day I'll never forget. John's mom and sister had a shower for me a few weeks ago which was really nice too. Little Fish sure has a lot of people out there who are excited for his/her arrival!

The stressful part came in as we all watched my dad barely be able to breathe... He had just gotten out of the hospital on Wednesday after a three-day stay for a scare with bleeding from his intestines, and had developed pneumonia. He didn't want to go back in to the hospital, though, until after my shower. So. The poor man slept in a chair most of the afternoon. After the shower, John and I hauled him to emergency where they took one look at him and admitted him. John and I finally left the hospital after 11:00pm!

The good news is, that with the antibiotics and iv fluids they pumped into him, he was looking much more like himself by the next morning. He still stayed Sunday night though... I hope they keep him until he is good and well!

The Fishers also had some gifts from folks at our old church... John and I were at the hospital with Dad Sunday morning, so we didn't get them ourselves. John's mom also gave us a rocking chair that had been theirs from when she was pregnant with John. Very nice. She also gave me ice cream cake. Well, kinda. John's sister's birthday was Thursday, so we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and afterwards, we had ice cream cake. I only had a tiny sliver, and my blood behaved itself afterwards, but I did take a brisk walk after dinner and before cake time just in case! ;O)

But anyhow! We got home with all our loot, and there was a package on our doorstep from TULSA with yet another baby gift for us! (Laurel! How adorable! Thank you!!!)

After the kids went to bed, I spread alllll the loot allllll over the livingroom. Had to sort it you know. *wink* It is still quite a disaster in here, but it's a blissful one! :O)

Speaking of disasters! lol! After leaving the shower on Saturday, we were asking the kids how they enjoyed the day, etc., and Liana told us that she was talking to one of the twins (you remember my twin nieces I've mentioned?) Liana told us that Annie or Katie had told her that after the baby is born, that she was going to come and visit us. Liana told her, "Oh, ok. I'll try to make sure the house is clean."

She keeps me humble, doesn't she? lol!

Snack-time Issues

Well, I think the baby stuff is getting squared away. Finally! Just a few more things to do (Still need a dresser up there), and we'll be all set for Little Fish's arrival.

My dad has been in the hospital this week - been pretty stressful over here. He's ok, but it's rough to be so far away sometimes. Sniff, sniff.

Snack-time is an issue around here. If the kids see me eating something, they deserve it too you know. Even if they have something even yummier awaiting them, they still need what I've got. Drives me BATTY because I CAN'T have theirs, and now I have to feed them MY snacks, some of which are rather expensive. Yes, I have been saying no to them. Not always, but I have. And yes, we've had bad attitudes about it at times.

None of my kids are real "pudding" eaters. They just don't like it. So, I figured if I had some for my snacks, it wouldn't be an issue. Liana informed me that when pudding comes in a plastic cup from the store, that it tastes different, and that she likes those. (What. Ever.)

The other day we made two apple pies. (Early, for those of you who know we usually do that on Columbus Day). The kids still ate up all the peelings and cores. Fine. I half-expected them to. It's kind of a tradition by now, right? But after we were finished, I sat down with my snack of cottage cheese and cherries (How 'bout that, those frozen cherries have come in handy!), and of COURSE the kids were instantly starving. Starving for cottage cheese and cherries. Even though they had JUST finished off the cores and peels of at least 16 apples. Very frustrating to this mama. There is just plain no way they were starving for anything. They just didn't like that I had something that they didn't.

I just cannot comprehend the hunger these kids have known... Very hard for me to wrap my mind around.

Connie's Recipes

Thought I'd share these... Thanks again, Connie!!!


Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 c. reduced calorie margarine (25% less fat and calories)
1/4 c. molasses
1/2 c. egg substitute (she used 2 eggs)
1 t. vanilla
1 c. Splenda
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350*.

Spray an 8x8 metal cake pan with veg. cooking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnaomon, and ginger. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine and molasses with an electric mixer on high speed for approx. 30 seconds. Mixture will be very liquid. Add Splenda and beat on medium speed until smooth, approx. 1 1/2 min.

Add flour mixture and applesauce and beat on low speed until mixed, approx. 45 seconds.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350*.

Serves 8

Serving size 2.3 oz.
Calories 170, Carbohydrates: 24 g., Protein: 4 g., Dietary Fiber: 1 g., Saturated Fat 6 g., Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 310 mg

----------

Apricot Oatmeal Bars

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 oatmeal quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1/2 c. Equal Spoonful (or splenda)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cold stick butter
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup apricot or peach spreadable fruit

1. Combine flour, oats, Equal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is vey fine in texture and begins to stick together slightly. Stir in water and vanilla until well blended.

2. Reserve 3/4 cup flour mixture. Press remaining mixture firmly and evenly onto bottom of lightly sprayed 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in preheated 375* oven 12 to 15 minutes or until mixture is lightly browned at edge.

3. Remove from oven and spread with fruit. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture, pressing gently into fruit.

4. Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until flour mixture is lightly browned on top. Cool completly on wire rack. Cut into squares.

5. Store in airtight containers at room temperatures.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutritional information:

calories 108, protein 2 g., carbohydrates 14 g., fat 6 g., cholesterol 15 mg., sodium 27 mg.

---------------

Double Chocolate Brownies

6 Tbs. stick butter, softened
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. flour/whole wheat flour
1 c. Equal Spoonful/Splenda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini choc. chips
6 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Beat butter, applesauce,eggs, and vanilla until blended. Stir in combined flour, Equal, chocolate chips, cocoa, baking powder and salt until blended.

2. Spread batter in sprayed 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350* oven 18 to 20 minutes or until top springs back when gently touched. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.

3. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Makes 16 brownies.

Nutrition information per serving:

calories: 105
protein: 2 g.
carbohydrates: 10 g.
fat: 7 g.
cholesterol 38 mg.
sodium 77 mg

-----------------

Almond Granola Bars

1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 c. oat bran (or just use more oatmeal)
1/4 c. finely chopped almonds
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. veg. oil plus
1 tsp. veg. oil
1/3 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and add to dry mixture. Mix until all ingredients are moistened.

Press mixture into a rectangular shape 7 inches wide and nine inches long. (Wet hands or use one hand and a damp spoon.)

Bake about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into 16 bars using a sharp knife. Separate bars slightly and return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes more. The browner the bottom of the bars, the crisper they will be when cool.

The edges will crumble slightly when cut - set aside for a snack. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

1 bar = 86 calories, 2 grams protein, 4 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates, 1 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 1 gram fiber.

Dessert!

Ya know what?

There are some really neat people in the world.

Wanna hear about one of 'em?

There's a lady at church whose hubby is diabetic. She's been emailing me recipes links here and there for the last few weeks, but wanna know what she did for me THIS week?

She went through her recipes, and made me FOUR different diabetic desserts. Of course, she kept some for her hubby, but because of the samples, I KNOW which recipes I want to try. I got a heaping plate full of apple spice cake, double-chocolate brownies, granola bars, and oatmeal-apricot bars. Plus their recipes of course. And all of them are LEGAL for me! YAY!!!! (Well, they're prob'ly not legal if I eat the whole plateful at once, but you know what I mean!!)

I have discovered though, that when eating the brownies, that you shouldn't try to sneak them up to the bathroom so the kids don't see you eating them - you should definitely put them on a saucer and eat it with a fork at the table. I got too many crumbles on the bathroom floor, and not only could I not eat 'em up after they fell, but I wound up on my hands and knees trying to pick up the evidence!. If I had been eating at the table, I could have eaten every crumb just fine and no acrobatics by a basketball-belly-lady. (I'm sure I was quite a sight!) LOL!

Awol!

Been awol for a while... sorry about that. I've been up to my eyeballs in school, and then trying to get the house "baby-ized" which means I'm having to rip apart the whole house. Well, at least it appears that way! Our loft area upstairs has been the kids' computer area, plus we have a gazillion books and games up there. It now needs to be the spot for a midnight feeding, so I'm trying to make it a cozy spot for a rocking chair (or whatever), and a bassinet or baby swing. The crib and dresser (which is still-to-be-got) is going to be in our room. That means, everything up there in the loft and in our room has been distributed throughout the house. But in order to put say the games downstairs, the kids' closets needed to be overhauled, which meant we had to pull everything they owned out, sort it, make piles of outgrown clothes (nearly everything!), etc. And for some reason, the overflow winds up in the livingroom. (Ever noticed that whenever your house is like that, the next door neighbor decides to visit? lol!)

So.

While trying to manage all this, I'm also trying to keep up the laundry, cooking, etc., with a basketball attached to the front of me. The dusting and floor-scrubbing is just plain not going to be done for another week or two, I'm certain. Yes, you can write your name on the mantle with your finger. No idea how this is all going to straighten out in the eight short weeks I have left before Little Fish arrives on the scene! And the baby stuff keeps pouring in! I had a baby shower this last weekend, and there is another coming up soon... Been having fun, don't get me wrong, but uff, pressure, pressure! Eight weeks! Yikes!

Hence, my absence from Blog Land! :O)