April Round-up:

A great idea from Katie the Scrapbook Lady! She suggests that at the end of the month you take a few minutes and roundup your memories, looking over your calendar, blog posts, or wherever you keep track of you schedule, and filling in a few quick notes using a simple format. I used her list of questions found below.

1. What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

This month I worked on the Twilight series. I'm trying to keep up with my older girls so I know what they're talking about!!!

2. What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?

We have bee watching Ghost Hunters and the Biggest Loser.

3. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

We had a get together with the neighbors before Easter. We had a party for Mollie's first communion.

4. What gifts did I give and/or receive?

5. What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Nothing yet, but I have my eye on the new EAS sports active for Wii that will be out on May 19th.

6. What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Mollie's counts have been very good this month. Our biggest problem has been with Caremark getting her medication to us!

7. What were my accomplishments this month?

I pulled off Mollie's party!!! I was able to get the house clean and have a prepared menu. I was able to find a dress for her to wear! I made her cake and decorated some cute cookies for her party!!

8. What were my disappointments this month?

I wanted to get more scrapbooking done.

9. Anything else noteworthy to include?

Starting to prepare the garden- we added a new section for the upcoming summer.

What other questions would ask yourself to remember the month? Let me know your suggestions!

Wordless Wednesday - My cracked egg

This is an older post that I saved as a draft. I was too heartbroken at the time to put these words out there! But now- with the success we have had with nplate I can breath a sigh of relief!

For many out there today is what's called Wordless Wednesday- posting a great picture that has some meaning. This is my first post for this and it has to come with the following explanation for the true meaning to be understood. After this original post-at the advice of our doctor we went with chemo treatments and Mollie lost her beloved ponytail. For months now she has been mistaken as a boy and had a messy growing out mop! To see her with her hair fixed and looking so beautiful was unbelievable for me.

************************************************************************************

(I posted this to Mollie's caringbridge site, sorry to duplicate)

Another ITP parent described their experience in a way that fits how I have felt for months now:

"It's like you've been handed an egg with a crack in it and been told not to break it."

How do I keep from breaking her? Better yet, how do I keep her from breaking herself? Now that Rituxan didn't work we are down to a very short list of options:

• chemotherapy to suppress her immune system
  
• nPlate (which will be FDA approved on July 23rd but the test in children are still going on)- has some side effect that concern me after using Rituxan
• splenectomy
• doing nothing

I've been spending a lot of time trying to research these options and any other I might find. Really I'm just running in circles because there are so few guarantees. Mollie has defied all the odds- she became one of the 20% that do not go into spontaneous remission within 6 months.

You can find more Wordless Wednesday post at

As They Grow Up
or
Wordless Wednesday

Crock-pot Italian Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients:
1 package sweet Italian sausages
1 cup chopped sweet onion
4 garlic cloves
2 medium yellow peppers, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 jar tomato pasta sauce
4 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta
shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Spray cooker. In cooker mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours.

Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Serve sausage mixture over pasta with Parmesan cheese.

Scrappers Block

I have had scrapbooking block for several weeks now! I just couldn't get a layout started. I would stare at pictures and start collecting some items and then freeze.

I finally got myself going yesterday! I found some favorite pictures from back in 2006 and started some pages... finally!

No rotten eggs

Follow Food Safety Guidelines When Handling Easter Eggs

From University of Nebraska-Lincoln Notes :

LINCOLN, Neb. — Don't make the fun of dyeing hard-cooked Easter eggs turn into a food safety disaster when eating them later, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln food safety specialist says.

The first step to avoiding a foodborne illness when eating Easter eggs is to make sure the eggs don't crack when boiling them, said Julie Albrecht, UNL food safety specialist in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The best bet for cooking eggs is to put them in cold water, bring to a boil, then turn the heat off and let them sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

Full article - http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0904060.shtml