My Sinus CT Scan

I have 4 big films of images but this is just a glimpse of 1. Can't really see the detail that good as it was taken with my camera, there are alot of fuzzy gray areas that only show up when held in the light.

I have my ENT appointment this thursday so i should know the findings then, it could be sooner if my regular docs office calls with the results.

I am sure only 1 person cared to see this but i thought i would post it on my blog anyhow

We have another walker!

Isaak just started taking steps unassisted and has been doing better everyday. I now see him walk from one side of the room to the other. It only took him almost 15 months. lol

Homeade Tortilla Soup!!

When i was a cook in a cafeteria i used to work at before i had kids, I made this soup every tuesdays and it was our best selling soup. I have been trying to remember this recipe for a long time and i finally remembered it and made it yesterday and it turned out just like it was supposed to. I thought i would share

Now, do know that i am not good at measurements so this is my best guess, I always just eyeball it. Start out using a smaller amount of the seasonings and add more to your taste.

Ingredients:
1lb diced cooked chicken

Jar of Chicken buollion cubes

2 regular sized cans of ROTEL ( use the mild version so its not too spicy)

1 small can of diced green chilis

Bag of shredded mozarella cheese

Pack of flour tortillas

vegetable oil

chili powder

cumin

Italian seasoning
Reux- which is a thickener for soups, its made using butter and flour

I boil about 1lb of boneless chicken breasts, after its cooked, tear apart and set aside
In a 5qt Pot, fill 3/4 of the way with water and add about half the jar of buellion cubes, you can add more to tasteAfter it comes to a boil, add the reux to thicken the water/chicken stock. I melt about 2 1/2 sticks of butter in a skillet and add just enough flour to thicken the butter up.When you chicken stock is all thickened up (you can use cornstarch instead to thicken if you prefer)Turn the heat down to medium and add both cans of rotel, the can of green chilis and the seasonings. I don't measure so i just eyeball it, maybe about 3tbs of chili powder, 1tbsp of cumin and 1/2tbsp of Italian seasoning. Again, you can add more or less for taste, you may just start out doing a little at a time.Add the chicken, stir and then top it off with the mozarella cheese. Then you are done with the soup and just turn off the stove and let sit.
Next take your tortillas and cut up into bite size pieces. In a skillet, heat up enough vegetable oil to fry up the tortillas, once they get a light golden color, take out and lay on paper towels to absorb the oil.
You can use the tortilla chips to dip in your soup or eat however you like.

I took this pic and this soup is cold in this pic so its not a great pic

Girls night out at Dave & Busters!!

First, I went and got a much need haircut before i went out. We kept most of the length in the back, just trimmed an inch, then i got layers throughout and side bangs. This was the after:

This was the before, taken about a month ago, it was mainly all one length since my old layers had grown out.

So, its been awhile since i have went out, Besides the time i took my neice to see the movie New Moon, I only went out 2 other times the whole year last year so i was more than ready to get out with my girls.

I decided on Dave and Busters as i have never been and since they opened one here a year ago or so, I wanted to try it out. I met up with my best friend Jennifer whom i have known since i was 7 years old and my cousin Jennifer.

We had such a fun time even if i did spend a little too much money. lol

We all chose the 15.99 play and eat combo, where you can choose from several different entrees and you get a 10 dollar game card included. I had the chicken strips and fries and it was pretty good. I also had a few "perfect margaritas" and wow, they know how to make some drinks, either that or i am just light weight since i rarely have a drink.

After chillin at the bar and eating, we finished the rest of the night playing games. It was a blast, and i ended up with enough tickets to get a cup with a lid and straw and some candy from the gift shop.

1st post in the New Year!

All this cold weather lately has had us cooped in the house, so when it warmed up this week, i made plans to meet a friend and her daughter at the mall for lunch and then afterwards we let the babies play in the play area.

Short video of Roman walking around the play area

Roman and Isaak are 14 months old today!
Isaak still hasn't started walking yet but instead he has really improved on his climbing skills as he gets on my coffee table, the couches, everything. lol That boy is into everything
They are both changing so much and i love it. I can seriously just sit for hours and watch them play, they are always making me laugh.

We call Isaak the little meanie. haha He will scratch and pinch you to get attention, i dont know where he learns it but he did. I gave him his 1st time out yesterday for his behavior, i placed him in the little wooden rocking chair for 1 minute and he just started smiling his adorable dimply grin and then squeeling with delight because he thought being in the rocking chair was the funniest thing. ha!

Romans new favorite thing to eat is apples, whole apples, and if you aren't watching he will literally eat the whole thing, core, seeds and all. He will freak out if you try to take it away while he is eating it, i learned the hard way. lol He really doesn't even like me looking at him while he eats it because he is afraid i will take it away again. I just peel the apple and remove the stem and hand it to him and then i take it away when there isn't much left to it.

I made breakfast for dinner tonight and Keith made his plate and then sat it on the counter and walked away for a minute to answer his phone and this is what he discovered when he came back to eat

I always tell the kids to never leave dishes or cups on the counters or tables where the babies can reach them, i guess i should of been telling Keith that all along instead. lol

Ethan and Ian are doing good, already starting to learn how to read, its amazing and i am so proud of them.

I have been doing okay, i have had better days. Just dealing with chronic sinusitus really is taking its toll on me. I don't know if i have ever discussed it here but i was supposed to have surgery on my sinuses before i got pregnant with Ethan and Ian. I have a deviated septum and right ethmoid disease and suffer with daily sinus headaches. Some days are good but the past few months i have been on pain meds because my sinus headaches seem to be worsening. I had canceled appointments and tests before Christmas because there was so much going on but now they are rescheduled and i go for my CT scan on my sinuses on the 8th of Feb and then i will go see my ENT doc and discuss the scan and surgery. I just really hope it works, i don't know what i will do if it doesn't.

Anyways thats my update for now, Hope everyone is doing well.

Christmas 2009

On Christmas Eve, Oklahoma was hit with a snow blizzard, i'm not sure exactly how much snow we got as we had lots of snow drifts but some areas had more than a foot, like my backyard for instance. It was nice to see a White Christmas for a change but i am ready for it to melt already. lol

Here is the boys Christmas in pics:

My brother took this video when we were over at my parents and the kids were opening gifts, we thought Ethans reaction was funny

This is too cute!!

Click on this link http://portablenorthpole.tv/home and you can make a personalized video from Santa to your kids. I made one for the older boys but will show them tomorrow since they are already in bed right now but i think they will love it since it will be directed to *them* specifically.

If you do this, tell me what your kids thought of it and i will update on what my boys think of it

Random!!! **Videos and Pics**

Straight Hair??? LOL.....

I posted this on my facebook and everyone got a kick out of it. I was curious as to how long the babies hair is and what it would look like straight so i busted out my flat iron and because i was being very careful not to get to close to their scalp, i only did the front part of their hair because they kept fidgeting. Even after i flat ironed it, their hair stuck straight up, i thought it was sooooo funny and since Isaak gave me such a great smile, i thought i would share.

I asked Ethan to give Ian a kiss and i ended up snapping the pic too soon and this was the result

The rest are videos

Roman says "Car"

Ethan and Ian had their Christmas program at school last week, I was able to sneak up on Ethan and even though i embaressed him, the girl behind him talked him into singing to his "mom". ha!

Sorry about this video being soooo dark but i really wanted to share this with you because Ethan and Ian were singing. There is a part before the halfway mark where Ian is singing solo and i have no clue what he is singing because of his "speech" but it was still so cute and funny.

Just when things start slowing down......

Thats Roman walking. He has been taking steps here and there but he is officially walking all over the house now. So, i have a 12 month walker. Isaak isnt there yet but i am sure it will be no time before he gets bored with crawling and decides to join his big brother, lol.

12 month check up and stats

Overall they are doing well, they do have runny noses everyday and have since August and Isaak has some congestion he has had since then as well but they seem fine and their pediatrician thinks it could be allergy related given our family history and ethan and ians history. Of course they wont diagnose allergies yet as they tend to wait till they are a little older before doing so. But she said i can continue to give up to 1tsp of benadryl when needed.

I seriously think i will just buy stock in Benadryl, between Ethan and Ian using it for their stubborn itchy eczema and the babies using it from time to time, we go through alot of it.

And as i suspected, we have tall skinny boys!! Isaak is 21lbs 7oz and 31" and Roman is 22lbs 3oz and 30 1/2".

They have their 1st urologist appt in the morning to look at their hydrocele. Crossing my fingers that no surgery will be needed.

And if you didnt read my last post, you can find me on facebook by clicking on the badge or searching for me brandi.griffin@gmail.com

I have noticed myself not posting here as much anymore as things are starting to slow down and, well, i dont have much to write about. So you will probably see less and less of me on here. You can add me as a friend on FB to stay up to date on pics and our family.

Forgot to add that their pediatrician said that if Roman and Isaak continue to have runny noses till the age of 2, then i can switch to giving them Claritin. They also have rough spots on their knees that she said it could be eczema or just irritation from always crawling around. She said they are of age where i could put some of Ethan and Ians steroid cream on it. I believe its probably just from crawling as it doesnt bother them, they dont scratch at it and as long as it doesnt crack to the point of bleeding, then i will just continue to use lotions to keep it moisturized instead of doing the steroid cream.

Ethan and Ian had eczema starting at 10 months of age and up till this day, theirs gets so bad that it will bleed, it will keep them up at night from scratching at it and sometimes we have to intervene with oral steroids when it gets so bad.

I am knocking on wood that Roman and Isaaks is just minor irritation from crawling.