We'll be gone for awhile!

Haven't updated in a few days...I've been a busy bee trying to clean the house, pack for our mini vaca, and "single" parent Monday-Friday. Today, Gavin and I are headed up north to our cabin with my mom and will be there until August 2nd. Casey will join us Thursday evening along with my extended family on my mom's side. Each summer we have a family reunion where most of the Heise clan gathers for a weekend of fun at the lake in good ole Aitkin, Minnesota. We are hoping that the weather gets a little bit nicer, but no matter what we will have a great time!

It will be Gavin's first meeting with several of my cousins, and all of his great-uncles...I am excited for everyone to finally meet our little man!

We don't have the internet at the cabin, but I may get a chance to post as I will be headed to the library to participate in a market research study for CF caretakers . I need to sign online three days next week for 20 minutes a day to answer some questions, and for just an hour of my time I'll get a whooping $150...hey, every penny counts, right?!?

Thanks to Angela, Phoenix's mom, for giving me a heads up on this one!! Also, the family of the Fighting Phoenix is holding a major fundraiser for CF in their city, Tammy Cochran is even participating by holding a concert tonight! Good luck with your busy day, and I am sure that you will raise a ridiculous amount of money!

One final note before I sign off for a few days, check out Ronnie's site if you get a moment of free time. He is a 29 year old living with CF and he has a lot of great info to share. I have learned a lot through his blog, and he truly is an inspiration!

Wordless Wednesday

Blog Hop - Recipes!

Blog Hoppin Tuesday again already? My goodness time flies!

This week we're sharing recipes, and I thought I'd share quick, simple and yummy chicken enchilada recipe.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Heat the oven to 350°F

Ingredients:

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups Picante Sauce (or any chunky salsa will do!)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortilla (6-inch) warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)
Optional: 1/2 cup drained black beans

1. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder, chicken & optional black beans in a medium bowl.
2. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas (leave about 1/2 cup extra to put on top before baking)
3. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side up in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
4. Top with remaining chicken mixture, additional picante and cheese
5. Cover the baking dish & bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling
6. Top with the tomato and onion.

** Speaking about time flying, on a side note, today is the fourth anniversary of my father passing away from pulmonary fibrosis. RIP Dad we miss you.

Not "My Child" Monday!

A special edition of Not Me Monday this week! Not "My Child" Monday was started by MckMama. For more Not Me Monday's, and other fun reads, head over to her site.

My child would not decide that sleeping through the night was overrated by waking up at 4 a.m. each day for the entire first week that Casey was away in Rochester working. No of course, not. My child would not try to make that first week even more stressful and sleepless...nope not my child!

My child would never think that it's funny to go "THHHBBBBB!!" with his tongue with a mouth full of rice ceral. My child would never smile and giggle after spraying me, the highchair and the floor with rice cereal after showing off his new trick. My child would also never try to chew on the side of his highchair, play with its buttons, or look for the dog while his mommy is trying to feed him. He would also never take his hand, stick it into his mouth, pull out the rice cereal and wipe it all over his face. Nope, not my child. He's much too clean and sophisticated for that!

My child would never decide that his slight cough would disappear as soon as his daddy got home. My child would never do this to make his daddy think that mommy is being too cautious and a worry wort. Nope not my child, he would never make others think that his momma is crazy in the head!

And finally, my child would never get a hold of his doggy's bone (while his mommy was in the bathroom) and chew gnaw away on that slobbery thing. No way. My child understands that he needs to be careful around germs and would never sneak in a dog treat or two...sigh...

A Whole New Perspective

Now that our little guy is enjoying the world from a whole new sitting perspective he's been having a lot of fun!
Remember the dog that wanted nothing to do with Gavin? Now the two are attached at the hip. Louie follows Gavin wherever he goes, and whenever I let Gavin play on the floor, Louie just has to come over and chew his bone right next to him.


Only problem is, Gavin now thinks that the bone is a great toy and constantly goes after it...


He's also a big fan of the bricks surrounding our fireplace...

Over the last day or so I've noticed that Gavin has developed a slight cough. I am not sure if it has to do with his teething, or if he has come down with something. He seems to only cough when he's overly drooly, his appetite and demeanor are normal, he doesn't seem to be more/less sleepy, no runny nose and no fever. But I did call our clinic this morning and left a message, I would rather be safe than sorry! Hopefully they will call back shortly and let me know what to do, if they want us to come in I think I will wait until next week to see if the cough persists through the weekend. But I wouldn't be surprised if they want to see him and put him on an antibiotic. Our clinic is big on prevention and they try to catch everything at the very early stages so it doesn't evolve into a health fiasco. So keep our little man in your prayers that it's nothing serious and it's just that overwhelming drool that is making him cough!

Update: CF Clinic nurse called back. We are upping his chest therapy to 3x a day and if his cough doesn't stop/seem better by Monday we'll need to bring him in. She (Evelyn) thinks it sounds like its just due to his teething, but it never hurts to bring him in a check to be sure!

T-shirts

While Gavin was napping this afternoon I stumbled up this website

CafePress

Here they have t-shirts for just about everything. In the search bar, type in what you support, whether it's cystic fibrosis, autism, cerebral palsy etc. they have shirts for just about every disease & disability. Does it raise money for you cause, no but wearing a t-shirt will get the word out about your cause. And we all know that awareness is a huge step in fighting for a cure!

They have sizes for babies, toddlers, kids and adults! And the prices are pretty reasonable, just thought I would share!

Sitting Pretty

Now I'm not going to mention any names, but a certain five month old has started sitting all on his own...

...sorry the quality isn't the best, the closest camera
I had on hand was the camera on my phone...

Wordless Wednesday

Three Things You Didn't Know...

It's MckLinky time again! Wanna learn three things new about us? Read on...

Casey and I were the last to ever believe that we would end up together. When we met at work we both were unhappily (haha) dating other individuals. It was our coworkers that couldn't believe we weren't together, we were the ones content with just being friends...our first "date" was a Halloween party and all of our friends said..."FINALLY!"


Casey owns at least twice as many shoes as I do. True story. Pathetic on my part I know :)

The night Gavin was born, there was a total of twelve babies born at that hospital. Gavin was one of six born within an hour. When I spiked a temp and Gavin's heart rate plummeted the doc on call rushed in, looked at me and said, "Don't push! You must wait for me to come back to figure out what's going on, and the woman nextdoor is crowning." OK, this is after I had already started the pushing process and now I had to stop? Oh boy...Then almost immediately after Gav made his arrival (with the assistance of a vaccuum, our little bugger was "stuck") she had to run off to the next room to deliver another little one. She had been on-call for over 24 hours at that point, she definitely earned her paycheck that night!

Not Me Monday!

This morning I did not make myself a cup of coffee before making Gavin a bottle, even though he was definitely a hungry little bugger screaming chillin' in his highchair, yelling pleading with me to hurry up. I would never need a kick of caffeine to survive a morning. No way, not me! I would always make the bottle first and my coffee last!

On Saturday I did not change Gavin's diaper on the floor of a meeting room at the zoo (that I don't think was for public use...) instead of using the changing facilities in the bathroom. I would never ever be that mom who changes their child's diaper wherever it is most convenient for me, ignoring the disgusted looks of dads walking by (the mom's just walked by smiling, I think they were glad to not be me!). I did not pray that there wasn't a meeting later on in that room as I threw one very smelly diaper away in the garbage can. No way...not me!

I did not get to my hair appointment early on Friday and decide to stop in at Once Upon A Child across the parking lot from the salon while I waited. I did not have to sprint across the lot to avoid being late becauseI took too long in the store. I most definitely did not decide that I needed to buy Gavin this hat because a)it will protect him from the sun while swimming and b) it's so dorky that it's cute and c) it will be great to tease him about a few years down the road...

I am not writing this post while Gavin is napping instead of cleaning up around the house and doing some much needed laundry. No way, not me!

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

Now that the move to Rochester has become official, and Casey begins his job tomorrow, we decided to head to the Minnesota Zoo yesterday. We have several busy weekends in a row coming up and we weren't sure if we would get another chance to bring Gavin there this summer before we move. It was an absolutely beatiful day. Mid-eighties, no humidity (a definite plus for our little CFer) and a breeze to keep us just cool enough.

We packed the diaper bag...thank goodness I brought extra since Gavin decided the zoo was just a wonderful place to have one of those explosive CF diapers (you CF mommas know what I am talking about!)...the stroller and the baby bjorn. Here's the problem with the baby bjorn, when Gavin realizes we have it, he refuses to be in the stroller. If I had been thinking, I would have started him out in the stroller, but I was so excited for him to see the animals that I plopped him in the carrier. Do you think he lasted for more than five minutes in his stroller after that? Nope, of course not! So I carried him most of the day, at least I got a work out!

Gavin was an absolute doll (except when we tried to stick him in the stroller, haha) the entire day! He loved being out in the sunshine surrounded by all sorts of exciting sights and sounds. We got to explore the new exhibit Russia's Grizzly Coast and it was really neat! You can get right up close to the bears, and when I mean right up, I mean mere inches away from the animals. At one point we got to sit by a window and watch a Russian Bear take his (or her?) afternoon swim.

And then we checked out his (or her?) friends taking an afternoon nap.

Often Gavin was often more excited to stare at the crowds than the animals...or let's be honest, he was most excited to stare at the long grass blowing in the wind...but he did enjoy the massive aquariums that were filled with fish!

At one point, my back got a break while Daddy carried our little man around. I've discovered that it's quite difficult to drink anything out of a brightly colored bottle (the Gatorade I greatly needed) now that Gavin has mastered his hands and grabs on to anything and everything, so this break was much needed and appreciated!

Now you would think that after several hours in the sun, and missing his afternoon nap, that Gavin would fall asleep for several hours once we got to the car. Wrong-o buck-o! He was wide awake when we put him in the car

...and woke up immediately once we got home. He also decided to wake up twice in the middle of the night, which is very unlike him, and we weren't sure if he was just hungry or wasn't feeling well. Today he threw up several times, ran a slight fever and just wasn't himself. We gave him pedialyte, some tylenol and he took a extremely long nap. Now he is acting like his usual chipper and talkative self so let's pray that he's not coming down with something! And wish me luck now that it's just Gavin, Louie (the dog) and me Monday through Fridays until we can sell our house and make the move south to join Casey!

Nummers

Gavin's first attempt with solids (not including the applesauce he takes with his enzymes) was quite the experience! I don't think he's a fan of the bland taste because he is so accustomed to the sweetened taste of his applesauce. Today I mixed a bit of the mush cereal with some of his applesauce and that seemed to go down much easier! I'll probably call Kathy, his nutritionist, and see if I can start adding cream and/or olive oil to his cereal for those extra calories he needs, and maybe it will give it just enough flavor for him? We'll have to see!

I just love seeing him in his highchair, just another reminder of how quickly he has grown! He loves to put his feet up on the tray just as someone would put their feet up on the glovebox while sitting in the passenger seat of a car. And FYI, he has the most kissable cheeks...ever!

First video is his very first bite of the rice cereal. The second one is just for fun...gotta love that confused face! I made this first batch of cereal from scratch, but it resulted in one sticky mess. I think that I will stick to buying organic cereal from this point on and will make the rest by hand...

Please ignore the mess (& me) in the background, we're getting ready to move and everything (including us!) is in total disarray

Wordless Wednesday

Blog Hop

This week in blog hop land we're sharing a favorite photo.

We're heading back several years to dig up a photo from my pre-baby (& Casey) days...2004

Our fishing trip up in Canada. We drove up to Red Lake and then took a water plane and flew into this remote resort. Where there aren't any roads, and people use planes like cars. Want to run to town? Get on the plane. Need to restock on beer? Get on the plane. Run out of toilet paper? Better find a nice big leaf...or....get on the plane! If I remember correctly, we were a couple hundred miles away from a road.

We had a cabin with bunks, limited electricity and an outhouse. There were two showers for the entire camp, but I think we each only took one, maybe two, showers the whole week.

Here, we had pulled up onto shore to slice and dice the fish we had just caught for a shore lunch. We would use the oars as cutting boards and cooked up the fish over a campfire. We always did our shore lunches on the islands to avoid and bears sneaking up and stealing our meal!

This picture may seem rather plain to many of you, but it is filled with many memories for me. This was the last trip I ever got to take with my dad (who is sitting on the boat, I am in the middle in the blue vest) who passed away from pulmonary fibrosis in 2005. I spent nearly eight hours a day sitting with my dad in a small fishing boat catching fish after fish after fish...My only regret from the trip is not getting a picture of just the two of us.

*Happy 5 month birthday little man!

Not Me Monday

This morning we did not decide that Casey would be accepting the job he got offered, which means we will not be relocating to Rochester. I am not at all excited to get a new home that has more backyard and fewer levels. :)

I did not put a Baby Einstein dvd on repeat play this morning so that I could start organizing & cleaning out the kitchen. I did not suddenly realize that Gavin had watched it 2 1/2 times and that it was probably time to turn off the tv and find something else for him to do.

I did not throw all of our scattered clothes into the laundry this morning without checking to see what was/wasn't dirty first. I would never have clothes all over our bedroom. I would never avoid actually taking clothes out of the laundry baskets to put them away.

I do not have a baby turning five months old tomorrow. That would just mean that time has flown by. I am not wondering why five months ago feels like just yesterday...

Holiday Weekend

I hope that you all had a happy & safe fourth of July! Luckily, the weather cleared up in time for fireworks last night...and guess what! Gavin calmly watched the first half of the show (without even a flinch at the loud booms) and fell asleep during the fireworks. Who else can say that their little one can fall asleep with all that craziness going on!

Earlier in the day we headed out the country club so Gavin's cousins could have some fun playing on those inflatable contraptions :)

Uncle Kevin trying to squeeze in to help out Grant

Grant playing inside the caterpillar
(it's a bit foggy because the picture was taken through a plastic window)

I personally think the "rear end" of this caterpillar blow up toy could have been designed to look less like a...well...a butt! You can come up with your own description of what it looks like as the kids crawl through...

You'll be big enough to play next year little man...

Laughing at my Aunt Stacy

I love the feeling of the grass on my feet!

Hanging out with Grandpa & Grandma Groettum

My daddy and me!

My two cousins who I absolutely adore!

We had a great time hanging out with the Davis clan while they were in town! Gavin will sure miss all the attention he got from his two big cousins!