7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Praises, Grilled Apple Pie and Real Life Large Family Mess!

 Happy Friday! How was your week? 

Ours was stressful, but it ended GREAT!  God is good all the time, and all the time God it good!

 

1. Praise 

 Addison's stitches came out this week. Test results came back too. It's not cancer! Praise the Lord!
Her lymph node did come back positive for infection and irregular inflammation. Apparently when she caught epstein barr virus back in May (Which we didn't find out until September. A level of 22 is considered high. Hers was 400, in September!) her immune system had trouble fighting it off and it decided to set up camp in her lymph nodes. Particularly in one certain one. That's the one they took out. It had started to change in it's feel, and they wanted it out for testing ASAP. The infection also showed up a couple of other ways on her body. We will still be working to resolve those as well. She will recover and be normal. That is all that matters.

 Parents, when you know something isn't right with you kids...ADVOCATE FOR THEM!!!!

That mother's intuition... is Jesus...listen to HIM. 

 We went to the Dr off and on all Summer for this and it took me finally putting my foot down and demanding they do something before they sent us forward to a specialist. By the time we got into the right specialist, they wanted it out on the very next surgery day.
Apparently there is a big link between epstein barr and childhood lymphoma.



2. Haircuts and cuteness

  While I usually cut the majority of the hair in the house..life has been crazy, and Anna's hair was starting to intimidate me.It was a seriously messy mop of half mullet and half curls. I just couldn't do it. Plus she is very anti sit still for Mommy, right now. Addison's hair was needing a stylist touch up also.
So I called up Shelli and she managed to fit them in this week. This is Anna's first time sitting in the big girl chair without Mommy.
Addison didn't hold still long enough after she finished for me to take a picture. That is typical health Addison, so I'll take it!



3. Appointments...

 I went back and looked. We have had no less than 15 appointments in the last 3.5 weeks.  I wasn't joking last week when I said there had been a lot of them. That is just doctor appointments. Not including co-op, cross country and other obligations.

 So. If you know us in real life and I was supposed to call you for a play date or a get together or to contact you for anything...that is why. I'm sorry. We are slowly getting back to normal around here. 

 I noticed this week that over 75% of our photos recently have been taken in a waiting room.

 

However, on a positive and slightly fun note. All of the kids (Anna not included, obviously) had eye Dr appointments this week. Which means, they all got to pick out new glasses!

She slept through the ENTIRE thing!

 I did too. Mine wasn't quite as fun though, The Dr walked in and say "So you're 32 now." A statement, not a question. I say yes, and then he does my exam.

He says "Looks good. All of your changes are typical for getting older." 

OUCH! Thanks a lot Doc!


In conclusion...I'm getting older and my four-eyed family will be styling some new frames in a couple of weeks.!




4. The pinning addiction has begun!
The is a copy of the post I made this week. 

 Emma just got Pinterest. It is too funny listening to her go "Oh man! That's a good idea!" Every five seconds.
The birth of the pinning addiction has begun! Starting her young.


5. A real life look at monthly shopping.

I have mentioned before that we do real life here. Messes, imperfections, they are a part of life. What help would I be giving to other moms if I hide it?  
Monthly shopping is definitely a new thing for me. I'm loving it though! It is really crazy, stressful and hectic for 1-2 days and then I don't have to deal with it again for a month.
While unloading this week, Emma suggested we take a picture to share. I should point out that some freezer stuff is already put away, and we had already went on a non food run the day before for household stuff. When we do it all in one big trip, you can barely walk through the house. But it all fits comfortably in our very small kitchen, and small deep freeze. Creativity is key. ;)

So here you go. Our real life mess, large family, monthly shopping style...









6. Things we ate this week.

 For some reason, the monthly meal planning has helped me to add in more new recipes. We have had a handful in the last couple months. Most of them were approved and asked to be made again. I only share and recommend things that work for us. So if I ever post something on here, then rest assured it is good stuff! ;)

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Brown Sugar Pork

I really thought I had made a flop with this one. All through the meal people kept commenting on it being spicy. They kept going back for extra coleslaw and more water. At the end of the meal I apologized and told them I wouldn't make it again. To which everyone asked why and said how good it as?? I am not a fan of eating spicy food, but apparently they are. I already knew this about Dustin. Looks like the spicy gene got passed down. If you like something with a little heat, this is the recipe for you!

Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla's 

 My friend Angela  mentioned utilizing rotisserie chickens in her meal plan to save time . She also homeschools and does co-op and other similar things as our family. She also has 6 kids. When Angela talks, Lyndsay listens. ;)


 We typically grab a chicken while in Sam's club to have for dinner on the night we grocery shop for the month. Toss it with a salad and everyone is happy. But buying them specifically to cook/freezer cook with was a new idea that I hadn't exactly tried. There are tons of recipe ideas online. This one is the one we tried this week. It came together super quick and made a good bit more than the recipe implied. Which is always a bonus.
Dustin even asked for it to show up again in the meal plan sometime soon.  That my friends, is saying a lot!


Apple Butter and Apple Pie Filling!

  We canned apple butter and apple pie filling this week. It was our first attempt with the  pie filling. It didn't exactly specify how tightly to pack the apples in the jar. So we just kind of guessed. Next time we will pack more in there. The recipes turned out tasty though.  I'll be making more later this fall when the granny smith's come on. Also, Andy told me yesterday that he has another bushel of Fuji's for me. I'm picking those up today.
 Dustin if you are reading this..I have absolutely no idea where all these apples keep coming from, that keep showing up at the house. **Shrugs and winks over shoulder at readers.*

 

7. Apparently you CAN bake an apple pie on the grill.

  Shortly before we moved in here we went to Lowe's and bought  a set of kitchen appliances on sale. They are not all the same brand. They were on sale and fit our needs and budget, at that point in time. The fridge has been descent. The dishwasher is temper-mental  but gets the job done. The oven. Oh dear, the oven. This thing has given us issues the first three months of owning it. It is safe to say it is a lemon. The extra warranty wasn't much help either.
Well, it finally gave up the ghost this week. It just so happened to happen while Emma was prepping her first ever homemade pie crust. She was making an apple pie.
We did what any resourceful family did. We panicked for a few minutes. Then, we cooked it on the grill.

Turns out you can bake an apple pie on the grill! It was delicious!

 


I personally can not make a pie crust to save my life. Emma? She has the gift...it was amazing!


Dustin is still buying me a stove in the very immediate future though. Because the lack of stove thing is going to majorly eat into our monthly meal plan and budget.

Blessings!

~Lyndsay