Another Visit with Doctor House

Cole and I went back to visit Doctor House yesterday. Cole continues to puke after almost every meal, and he just seems uncomfortable. So, I figured we needed to go back to Doctor House for a checkup. It's a good thing we went because we found out that Cole has only gained 8 ounces in the last 4 weeks. He should have gained around 2 pounds in that time. Anyway, between the poor weight gain and the puking, Doctor House decided to move forward with an esophagogastroduodenoscopy to figure out what's going on. For those who are interested, here is a link that describes the surgery:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Say a little prayer that everything goes smoothly and we get some answers!

Update: Operation Stinky Pants

It's been 3 weeks since I did away with diapers for Sydney! Although it was difficult at times, I never backed down - she's not worn a diaper since September 6. So far, she's only really had a handful of accidents, and they've all been at the house - never outside of the house. It's still a work in progress: most times, she has to be reminded to go potty. But, overall, I'm very proud of my little girl. With all the changes lately (school, teething, and potty training), she's really been a good little girl and adapted well. Way to go Sydney!

Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers

Until yesterday, I had never had stuffed peppers! These were fairly easy to make and delicious. Definitely a dish I could make for company. This recipe made more than enough filling for four peppers - probably closer to six. Also, I didn't use the cheese or butter. Instead, I used breadcrumbs and a spray of Pam for a crispy top. Finally, I cooked the peppers in a baking dish with tomato sauce in the bottom.

4 medium green bell peppers
8 ounces ground pork sausage
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain rice
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Bayou Blast
1/4 cup chopped green onions, green part only
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
4 teaspoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Cut off the top quarter of each bell pepper and reserve. Scoop the seeds and veins out from the inside of each pepper and discard. Set bell pepper shells aside. Remove and discard the stems from each bell pepper top. Season the insides of the bell pepper shells with salt and pepper, to taste. Dice enough of the bell pepper tops to make 1/2 cup. Set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, crumble and brown the sausage until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the onions, 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, and the celery. Saute for 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the rice and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and Essence. Cook for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions and parsley. Spoon the rice mixture into the bell peppers.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and cheese. Season with a pinch of Essence and mix well. Sprinkle the crust over each pepper. (I used breadcrumbs and Pam). Top each crust with 1 teaspoon of butter and place the peppers into an 8-inch baking dish or pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom, about 1/3 cup (I used tomato sauce). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are crusty and brown and warmed through. Serve hot.

Original sauce: Emeril Lagasse, Food TV

Citrus Chicken and Rice

This is an old recipe, but I love it. It's especially good in the summer (or on a 90 degree day at the end of September).

4 boneless chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c orange juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c uncooked regular long-grain rice
3 T chopped fresh parsley (or 1 T dried parsley)

In nonstick skillet, cook chicken (I usually season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning). Set chicken aside.

Stir in broth, orange juice, and onion. Heat to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Remove chicken to plate. Stir parsley into rice mixture.

Congratulations to Lorraine and Angus

Back on July 3, 2010, Lorraine married Angus Goldberg! At that point, Cole was only 8 weeks old, and we were in no position to be able to travel to their destination wedding in Camden, Maine. Anyway, today - we were lucky enough to be invited to a champagne brunch to celebrate their nuptials. The brunch took place at Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob's house. It was very nice with plenty of good food and great company. The kids were well behaved, and I think Lorraine and Angus really enjoyed themselves. What more could you ask for? Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg!

Slow Cooked Green Chili Pork Tacos with Fresh Corn and Olive Salsa

There's a lot of preparation that goes into this meal - at least for the salsa - but it is totally worth it. These tacos were out of this world! Definitely a new addition to the regular rotation!

Tacos
2 pork tenderloins
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T salt
1 t pepper
1/2 t garlic salt with parsley
3/4 can of green salsa

Place all but the salsa in the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. When the meat is cooked, remove the liquid, shred the meat, and add the salsa. Cook on warm until ready to serve.

Salsa
3 ears of corn, corn removed
1/2 c sliced black olives
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 T diced red onion
salt
pepper

Combine all ingredients and serve with tacos.

Avocado Mash
2 avocados
1 T lime juice

Combine and serve with tacos.

Original recipe source: http://www.picky-palate.com/

Chicken and Biscuit Casserole

Oh my goodness, this was spectacular. I think this may be a go-to for my next meals on wheels delivery for my moms' group!

1/8 c butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c chopped baby carrots
1/4 c flour
1 t white sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t pepper
2 c chicken broth
1/2 c frozen peas
2 c cubed chicken (olive oil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning)
1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with Pam.

In a skillet, saute chicken in olive oil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. When cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm. In the same skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in butter until tender. Mix in the flour, sugar, salt, basil, and pepper. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil 1 minute, reduce heat, and stir in peas. Simmer 5 minutes, then mix in chicken. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.

Place nine biscuits over top chicken mixture in the baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through.

Your 1st Day

On Syd's first day of school, I received a small gift bag with some tissues and some Hershey's kisses inside. On the outside was the following poem:


Your 1st Day


I wonder what you're doing right now, and if everyone is treating you kind. I hope there is a special person, a nice friend that you can find.


I wonder if the teacher knows just how special you are to me. And if the brightness of your heart is something she can see.


It's hard for me to watch you grow and have to let you go. Because it seems like yesterday you still had blankie in tow.


Your first big day of preschool is such a special time, but I'll be back to pick you up and once again you'll be mine.



I mean geeze! If I wasn't crying because I was dropping her off for the first time, after reading the poem, I was definitely in tears!

"Wake Up! It's the First Day of School!"

For as long as I went to school - from preschool through college - my mom would either come into my bedroom (when I lived with her) or call me (when I lived on my own) on the first day of school and say, "Wake up! It's the first day of school!" Today, I got to continue the tradition with my little girl. Today was her very first day of preschool, and she did great! She enjoyed an enormous breakfast: eggs, yogurt, toast, and a banana. Then, I got her dressed, and we were out the door with her new backpack. She walked into school like she owned the place, and didn't look back!

School is three hours long, and so I picked her up right around lunchtime. She seemed very happy as she was walking out with her teacher. She announced that she was hungry and said that she wanted to go back to school. The entire ride home, I was trying to get information out of her. What did you do today? Did you eat a snack? Did you hear a story? Did you get to sing ABCs? Did you play on the playground? It was like pulling teeth! The only somewhat reliable information I got out of her was that she ate goldfish and heard a story about God and how he put stars in the sky. How sweet!

I'm going to call today a success. We'll see how Thursday goes!

Tom's on a Roll!

Tom's been working overtime around the house recently. First, he finished the playground. Now, he's built a TV stand and hooked up our new TV in the family room! Years ago, we bought a great media wall for our rear projection TV. The one thing we didn't anticipate was what we'd do if we ever wanted a flat screen TV - or any other TV that doesn't come with a stand attached. Anyway, Tom suggested that he could build a stand, and boy did he build a beautiful stand! We've been without TV in the family room for several months now, and now I'm having a bit of a love affair with the new TV. The best part was watching the Redskins beat the Cowboys on Sunday night!

Behold: Bergemuda's Playground is Finished!

After nearly 17 months of construction, the playground is finished! Tom did an absolutely spectacular job pulling it together in the last couple weeks. It is enormous - with plenty of room to run, jump, slide, climb, and swing. There's the playground itself, a sandbox, and what we like to call the parents' lounge. The entire area is covered in woodchips, and Tom built a beautiful retaining wall to hold everything in place. Really - it is the envy of toddlers everywhere! :) Sydney's already loving everything about it. We routinely go out to play several times a day. It took a while, but it was well worth the wait!

Crockpot Apricot Pork Tenderloin

This was incredibly easy to make and delicious!

1 package of Lipton Onion Soup mix
1 18-ounce jar of apricot preserves
2 pork tenderloins

Place the tenderloins in the crockpot. Combine the soup mix and preserves. Pour the mixture over the meat. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

Operation Stinky Pants

Last Saturday morning, I learned there were coupons available for the circus at a real estate office about 10 minutes from the house. So - I quick got everyone dressed and started loading the car. I put Cole in his car seat, and he immediately started crying, which just puts me on edge. Then, I got Syd, helped her put her shoes on, and led her to the garage. I put her in her seat, (we're almost ready to go!!!) but when I tried to buckle her straps, she refused to actually sit down... she'd pooped in her pants. UGH! Everyone out of the car, take off the shoes, take off the clothes, change the diaper and start all over.

That's it. I decided I'd had enough of changing diapers and that Monday would be the start of operation stinky pants (formal, boot-camp style potty training). So, naturally, we spent Sunday choosing all new panties. We went on a special trip to Target and selected only the finest styles and patterns: Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Zoe, Tinkerbell, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Dora the Explorer.

Monday morning, we woke up and immediately put on a pair of training pants (thicker panties) and Syd put a pair of her new regular panties over top of the training pants. We've not worn a diaper since!

It's been an entire week since Operation Stinky Pants began. So far, so good. We've had a handful of accidents, but overall, she's doing very well. Yesterday and today, we've had no accidents at all! We've even left the house a couple times with success. I'm not quite ready to announce, "Mission Accomplished", but we're definitely on our way.

A Visit with Doctor House

I took Cole to the Doctor House of pediatric gastroenterology doctors yesterday. He was great - he took an entire hour to listen to our story, examine Cole, and come up with a plan of action. We discussed several possible problems that could be causing Cole's tummy issues. In the end, Dr. House said that Cole clearly has a "raging" case of GERD that he felt could be treated more aggressively. So - he tweaked the meds Cole is currently on and added two more medications. He also gave me the go ahead to start giving Cole rice cereal. We've got two and a half weeks to see if these steps make a difference and decrease the amount of puking. If not, then we'll be heading back to Dr House to schedule a GI scope procedure to explore the possibility of delayed gastric emptying or some other internal structural or functional problem. Keep your fingers crossed!