The 16th of the month... again... and with it brings another month of sweet, precious, amazing life for my Lily. 

It is hard to believe that it was 7 months ago today that Lily made her miraculous appearance into this world.  It has been an amazing, frightening, frustrating, and always blessed 7 months for sure.  Our tiny princess lights up our life, and keeps life interesting every moment.  Love you baby girl!

My Easter Lily!

And while I know many of you are wondering about things like my weight loss, my trip with Lily to North Carolina, and how my running is going, I promise I have posts coming on all those things this week, but for now, because we all have to eat...what's for dinner this week?  Well... a few weeks ago my mom bought me the new Pioneer Woman cookbook for my birthday, and I've been trying 1-2 recipes a week from it.  If you already know PW, you'll know that she is not known for her... well... let's just called it Weight Watcher's friendliness.  So... I've been adapting the recipes as best as I can to keep them points friendly and healthy, yet tasty for me and my family. 

This past weekend we tried the Peach Whiskey BBQ Chicken - definitely a hit!  I've shared my adapted and more Weight Watcher friendly version of the recipe below.  PWs... uses a chicken legs, and a lot more butter, oil, whiskey, well... just a lot  more of everything!

In addition to the Peach Whiskey BBQ Chicken we are having:

Jack Daniels chicken (Costco) on rolls, Sweet Potato Fries, Salad
Beef and Bean Burritos with Homemade Pico De Gallo
Chili Lime Tortilla crusted Tilapia (find in the frozen section at Costco), rice pilaf, and a veggie
Chicken Ravioli with Butter and Parmesan Cheese, Tomato Salad

Healthier Version of PWs Peach Whiskey BBQ Chicken
4 servings @ 8 Points+ each

4 Bone In Chicken Breasts - remove the skin
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 cup whiskey
1 cup BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)
1/3 cup of peach preserves (I used E.D. Smiths Peach Mango All fruit jam)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
2 peaches sliced or a can of peaches drained and rinsed (peaches are not really good right now in MN)

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
melt butter and olive oil in a heavy, ovenproof skillet, Brown chicken on all sides over medium high heat, about 5 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan.  Turn pan down to medium and add the onions, and cook about 3 minutes.  Add the whiskey and cook about 3 more minutes to burn off the alcohol.  Take a couple swigs out of the bottle while you are waiting (Shhh... don't tell anybody). 

Add the BBQ sauce, peach preserves, Worcestershire sauce, water and peaches.
Return chicken to the pan, cover with a lid and put in the oven for 1-1/2 hours.

PW serves with mashed potatoes, but we served with rice and some veggies to keep it a little healthier.

OK... almost wordless Wednesday, because I have to admit that I have been down in the dumps and stumped about my weight loss - or lack thereof the past couple of weeks, but one glance at this picture, and I am reminded that every single pound I gained was worth it!

I know its a couple of days late...

Turner Syndrome Fact #3:  Girls with Turner Syndrome are super cute!



OK, OK, maybe that really wasn't a fact, but it is true!

My friend Deanna (who by the way a huge thanks goes to for helping me promote Turner Syndrome Awareness month) always posts hilarious pictures of her 2 little ones.  Her baby boy, Carter, was born around the same time as Lily and she had an almost 2 year old, "Chubbs" who just happens to sport an extra chromosome.  Chubbs had a cystic hygroma prenatally, just like Ms. Lily did.  That's how Deanna and I were "introduced".  Anyways, together those two equal hilarity.

Whenever I see her pictures I think... oh my children would NEVER act that way.  They are much too sweet, kind, well-behaved, docile

Chubbs and Carter, this is for you

... bright pink hat!  And I quote:  "I didn't knock her over... I was just playing with her, because she likes to be knocked over"

I'm so glad Ms. Lily has her big brother to "help" her as she grows up.

Can you believe that we are already nearing the end of the third week in January?
Can you believe that this little pumpkin is already 4 months old as of Monday?

Today is National Prematurity Awareness Day.
The Empire State Building is lit in purple tonight in honor of it.

Just over 4 years ago, I knew nothing about premature birth.  The thought of it never even crossed my mind.  I didn't realize it could happen to me, and then on August 9th, 2007 I became suddenly and unexpectedly aware of premature birth, when my own little preemie entered the world at 3 pounds 4 oz and 16.5 inches long.  He was born too early, because I developed HELLP syndrome - a very severe form of preeclampsia.  The only way to save me and him was for him to enter the world... early!

27 hard, and yet precious days in the NICU followed.  I can honestly say that I still remember two of the nurses there distinctly - Debbie and Amy.  I will never be able to express to them how much they did for our family during those 27 days. 

I remember the day we brought him home.  I remember being terrified that this preemie was now living in my home with me.  We had a year of RSV shots, avoiding other people, and being scared at every little symptom.

I still walk into a hospital and can smell that distinct, antiseptic soap smell.  It's all it takes for the memories of isolettes and NG tubes to come racing back.

Today... thanks to modern medicine my preemie is a 36 pound, 4 year old.  He is in the 50th percentile for weight, and the 70th for height.  He wasn't even on the charts until he was 2.  He is smart, and fun, and social.  He loves computers, scrambled eggs, and music.  He can be sassy and sweet within the same 10 minutes, and sometimes he stands in the middle of my living room and poops his pants on purpose... I'd say he is a normal 4 year old boy... wouldn't you?  He bounced back from his early start... and then some!

Baby "L" saved me from a life of obesity.  It is because of my preemie that I decided I finally had to do something about my weight.  It makes me almost teary-eyed when he now shows pride that I'm his mommy.

"L" 1 day old

"L" 1 year old

"L" - 2 years old

"L" - 3 years old

"L" - 4 years old

Don't be a fool like me and think it can't happen to you.  1 in 8 babies are born too soon.  Prematurity is the number one killer of newborns!  I support the March of Dimes, as they try to lower these statistics.

Yes... you all know that Lily is a miracle, but my first born is also a miracle!  And he was even tinier than she was!  I am the luckiest mom in the world to be the mother of 2 miracles! 

Of  course with two cuties, I would be in trouble if I didn't post a picture of them from  Halloween.

Despite reassurance from the dragon, the pea is pissed!

Now... its the day after, and I'm stuck alone in the house with a baby and a crapload of Halloween candy.  Think my son will notice if I throw it in the trash before I eat it all?

Hope you all had a great Halloween.  I'd love to hear what you or your kids dressed up as. 

And remember, the Halloween candy is made as far back as Valentine's day, so its old and gross when you get it.  If you really need a sweet fix get yourself a couple of good pieces of dark chocolate and sit down and savor them!

I'll be honest.  This past week dragged by!  First we had ungodly heat, then there was the blood pressure scare of last week's appointment, and the near daily blood pressure checks, bringing me finally to today.

Drum roll please.... 30 WEEKS!  There is a 3 in front of that number, people!  A 3... not a 1 or even a 2. 

I'm happy to report that my blood pressure has been steadily going down since last Thursday.  Readings in the last 2 days have been 119/76 and 114/72.  I have my weekly doctor appointment tomorrow, so we'll see how my blood pressure compares there.

And now, since the heat wave has passed, we've been able to get out walking again in the evenings.  I hope this will have a positive effect on my blood pressure, but it definitely does NOT feel very comfortable to me anymore.  Lots of pressure and pulling sensations in my hips and legs, and the other night I had round ligament pain for about 6 blocks.  I almost thought for a minute I'd have to have my husband walk home, get the car, and come pick me up!

Last night my son woke up wet in the middle of the night.  I changed his sheets, and laid awake for over an hour before I could finally fall back asleep again.  When I finally fell back asleep, it was only a half hour or so before my alarm sounded, but during that half hour, I had a dream.  I had a dream where Dr. P was delivering my baby.  They took the baby away, but brought her back to me.  She was beautiful, she was perfect, and the Dr. told me that the growth on the back of the head/neck was NOT an encephalocele.  They told me there weren't any other tests they needed to run and we could take her home.  It was the best dream I've ever had, but boy was I disappointed when I woke up and found it wasn't real. 

I don't believe much in the significance of dreams - otherwise I would have been captured a hundred times over by bad guys, fell off of numerous cliffs, and had monsters that chased me down every street.  I think I had the dream because I desire this in the depths of my heart, not because of some prediction I see happening.  Regardless, I can't help but hope there is some truth to what I saw.

I cannot leave this post without sharing my sweet "L"s almost 4 year old pictures that we had taken this past weekend.  Despite of the horribleness of this pregnancy, one hug from this boy certainly reminds me every single day that I am blessed.  My pregnancy with him was far from perfect, his birth was scary, and the 27 days he spent in the hospital were painful... but in the end, I think he was definitely worth it!



Bad Cell Phone Pic, but the cake says - Happy Crappy Pregnancy!

 Moral of this story.... ask and you shall receive!