Monday, February 27, 2012

Qualified to diagnose

IMG_3589e If you’ve been following along on the blog over the past few months you’ve read about our struggles with Maisie’s chronic nasal congestion.  We found out back in November that Maisie’s allergic to wheat, egg whites and dairy so we removed all those items from her diet and she seemed to be doing somewhat better.  The nasal congestion that was right in her nose cleared up and it wasn’t wet and blue up there anymore.  But unfortunately the removal of those foods did not completely clear up her condition and the congestion seemed further back in her sinuses. 

IMG_3598eThere was a thought that her adenoids could be the problem but after a visit to an ENT that was ruled out.  Our next stop was the allergist who performed further allergy tests only to find out that there were no additional allergies.  He then sent her for a CT scan where they found that Maisie had a major infection in her sphenoid sinuses.  He put her on a 28 day course of Augmentin and then a probiotic was added to help with the stomach side effects.  By day six of the Augmentin Maisie was suffering so much she was unable to sleep more than four hours due to being so congested when she was laying down so the doctor started her on steroids to try to reduce the swelling and allow her sinuses to open up a bit and provide her some relief.  Sadly the steroids only seemed to affect her mood, focus and attention and didn’t do the trick in helping her sinuses so after the five day course something else needed to be done. 

IMG_3602eNow that I’m medically qualified to make such decisions, thanks to my many consultations with Dr. Google, we are starting something new with Maisie.  I’ve learned that certain foods contribute to chronic nasal congestion with the biggest culprits being wheat, dairy, refined white sugar & high fructose corn syrup.  Since we’ve already completely removed wheat and dairy from Maisie’s diet we decided to see what would happen if we also removed the white sugar and corn syrup…I mean it can’t hurt and hopefully, fingers crossed, this will help my sweet little Maisie Miao Miao

IMG_3611eMaisie loves her sugar though and she really deserves sweet treats and needs the calories so yesterday I made a new sweet treat for my best girl and instead of using white sugar or corn syrup this Peanut Brittle uses Agave

The Peanut Brittle was very easy to make and tastes delicious.  If we find that removing white sugar and high fructose corn syrup from Maisie’s diet makes a difference with her congestion, you’ll be seeing more sweet recipes over on Cook Lisa Cook using sugar alternatives like Agave and honey.  Whether you’re eating sugar or not, this recipe is worth checking checking out, just click on the picture below to be taken to the recipe.IMG_3618e

More delicious recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Apple Pancakes and Baked Egg & Avocado.

Enjoy!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Play date with “S”

I’m still behind in posting but working to catch up.  Monday was a holiday so no school but Maisie did have gymnastics practice in the morning and then afterwards Maisie’s classmate “S” came over to play.  The girls had good fun together.

IMG_3421eThere was make-up.

IMG_3426eA lot of running around.

IMG_3428eTickling.

IMG_3431eHugging.

IMG_3447eNoodle sword play.

IMG_3449eMore running.

IMG_3451eThe obligatory cartwheel.

IMG_3484eThen the playtime ended with the girls riding matching Hello Kitty Razor scooters.

Maisie had a blast with her friend and it was a great way for her to spend the afternoon.

Monday I’ll have a new Secret Recipe Club recipe posted over on Cook Lisa Cook so please check it out at noontime.  This past week, since we’ve still all been fighting off the lurg, I made a big old pot of Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Thai Shrimp Soup.)  This soup with the heat from from the chilis and its spiciness is perfect when you’re sick as you can actually taste it and it helps clear you out too.  If you’re healthy or sick this is a perfect soup.  Click on the picture to be taken to the recipe.

Tom Yam Ghoong

Other recent recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Apple Pancakes and Baked Egg & Avocado.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Getting comfortable waiting for the doctor

photo (3)eI had to laugh and of course take some pictures of Maisie as she got comfortable waiting for her doctor to come into the room.

photo eThen she entertained herself, doing what she likes best.

photo (1) eWhen the wait got long she took a nap.

Maisie is now tolerating her antibiotics better with the addition of the probiotics but there hasn’t yet been any relief in her sinuses and she’s still up suffering and not sleeping each night from about midnight to 2 or 3am.  In an attempt to help her, Monday afternoon the doctor started her on some steroids to try and reduce the swelling in her sinuses so that she can breathe a bit and get some sleep.

I have a new and wonderful recipe posted over on Cook Lisa Cook for Baked Egg & Avocado which is wonderful beyond words and I swear that given the opportunity I would eat this everyday for the rest of my life and be a very happy girl.  Click the picture to be taken to the recipe.

IMG_3239e[1]

More delicious recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch, Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing and Apple Pancakes.

Enjoy!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Hedbanz

IMG_3208eBrooke, Maisie & Cole playing Hedbanz.

This photo is a “lost” one from a week ago Friday as I don’t think that I’ve taken a photo of Maisie in a week.  With both of us being sick I just haven’t bothered pulling out my camera even though she has had some fun times and activities. 

Today I completed my course of antibiotics for my pneumonia but I’m still really dragging…and coughing, so I guess it’s back to the doctor this week for me.  Now that Maisie’s taking the probiotics with her Augmentin her stomach has calmed down and she’s tolerating the medicine better.  There hasn’t been much, if any change in her congestion levels but she’s only five days into her 30 course of meds.  Hopefully soon the meds will kick in and she’ll start feeling better and less congested. 

Last Sunday night it was cold, wet and I didn’t feel like cooking but I saw an interesting, easy and Maisie “safe” recipe which I quickly made for her dinner.  She loved it that night and reheated a couple of mornings this week for breakfast.  I finally got it posted over on Cook Lisa Cook so check out these wonderful Apple Pancakes, perfect for breakfast, breakfast for dinner or anytime.  

IMG_3412e2

More recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake, Malted Pretzel Crunch and Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing.

Enjoy!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chani’s Mane Event

Between Maisie and I both being sick and all the various doctor appointments and tests, I’m way behind on blogging, cleaning, laundry and I can’t even remember what else but I’m now working on catching up and personally I think catching up on blogging is a lot more fun than laundry or the dishes.  So this post is a little late but last Saturday afternoon, one of the coldest days of the year (with the wind chill it was in the 20’s,) Maisie attended Chani’s 5th birthday party.  Chani’s birthday parties are always so much fun and Kathy does an over the top wonderful job with all the details and this year she put together an awesome horseback riding party.  There’s no matching Kathy with the effort and attention she puts into every last item and the parties are always so special for the children and adults.  Me, I just attend, feel totally inadequate in my loser party planning abilities but thoroughly enjoy the event. 

IMG_4408eBirthday girl Chani(picture by Lisa F.)

IMG_3319eThe tables were beautifully decked out.

IMG_3318eKathy made the banner, the cake pedestals and even the party hats.

IMG_4376eThe room looked so pretty and festive.

IMG_3313eEven with the food Kathy kept with the theme, I love her hay bale Rice Krispy treats.

IMG_3314eThe food table looked so pretty and her lemon crackle cookies…well those were really delicious.

IMG_3316eThe caramel corn was a favorite with Maisie and it was so cute how Kathy presented it.

IMG_3321eKatie, Maisie and Briana waiting their turn to ride.

IMG_3333eI managed to have my camera on the wrong setting the entire party and this was the only picture that I was able to get of Maisie on the horse.

IMG_3338eAfter riding the horses the children decorated horseshoes. 

IMG_3341eMaisie, Birthday girl Chani and Briana, three little cutie-patooties.

A big thank you to Kathy and Matt for including us in Chani’s party, always so much fun and we look forward to seeing what you come up with and do each year.  Check out Chani’s past two parties, Chani’s 4 year old everything Mickey & Minnie birthday party and her colorful 3 year old Crayola party.

I may not have the awesome party planning and follow-through skills of Kathy but I do have some crazy cooking skills and my latest recipe posted over on Cook Lisa Cook is crazy delicious.  This Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing is light, healthy, delicious and super simple to make and the Carrot Ginger Dressing is very similar to what is served in Japanese restaurants so if you enjoy it out I’d suggest making it at home.  As usual, just click on the picture to be taken to the recipe.

IMG_3287e[4]Other crazy delicious recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake and Malted Pretzel Crunch.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

CAT scan update

IMG_3374e We have been on quite the medical merry-go-round lately trying to figure out what’s going on with Maisie and all her congestion.  Her pediatrician sent us to an ENT to get her adenoids checked out but those were fine.  The ENT suggested that there may be additional allergies and that we should see an allergist.  The allergist ran further allergy tests which thankfully showed no additional allergies.  He then recommended that Maisie have a CAT scan which she did last week. 

Fast forward to yesterday when Maisie and I returned to the allergist to get her CAT scan results.  The CAT scan showed that Maisie has a major infection in her sphenoid sinuses and the doc said that it could have been there for ages.  The doctor explained that sphenoid sinus infections are often very difficult to treat because of a few reasons.  Blood vessels in sinus tissue tends to be extremely small so only small amounts of blood pass through to them.  Also, the sinus cavities are somewhat isolated from the circulatory system so when using oral antibiotics, the antibiotics are often cleaned up by the liver before they can travel through the narrow passages to the deeper recesses of the sphenoid sinuses.  To overcome these problems a broad spectrum antibiotic is used for a longer period of time.  

After leaving the allergist we picked up Maisie’s prescription for a 28 day course of Augmentin which will hopefully be enough to knock out the infection.  Unfortunately though, one of the side effects of the medicine is diarrhea and this afternoon that started hitting her hard so she's been quite upset and not feeling well with that.  This evening I spoke with Maisie’s pediatrician who explained that the Augmentin is stripping away all the good bacteria in Maisie’s body so I needed to add back in some of the good stuff to help calm down the diarrhea so that she can tolerate the antibiotics.  So right before bedtime a freshly bathed and pj clad Maisie and I headed to the pharmacy to pick up a probiotic which will hopefully do the trick.  Maisie’s now sleeping peacefully which I’m hoping continues through the night.

For Valentine’s dinner I wanted to serve something delicious and red so lobster it was.  Here they are all piled up after being steamed to perfection.  No recipe for this one but tomorrow a new Improv Cooking Challenge recipe will post over on Cook Lisa Cook so please check it out, along with lots of other delicious recipes already posted.

IMG_3415e

Other recipes posted on Cook Lisa Cook include: Mango Lassi, Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews, Curried Roast Chicken Pieces with Spicy Sweet Potato & Carrots, Grilled Corn & Bacon Pudding, Oriental Chicken Salad, Potato Salad with Bacon, Coffee Crusted Steak, Home Style Chicken Curry, Watermelon FrostyMango Gazpacho, Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies, Long Beans with Walnuts, Blacksmith Pizza, Rhubarb Crisp, Laksa, Math Book No Bake Cookies, Aloo Gobi, Mint Lassi, Red Curry Chicken, Lamb Curry, Grilled Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Baked Egg Cups Two Ways, Thai Peanut Salad, Holy Guacamole, Cantaloupe Agua Fresca, Wallaby Darned, Piggy-Out Cookies, Wicked Good New England Lobster Roll, Long Beans with Garlic, Super Simple Summer Shrimp Salsa Salad, Grandma’s Teriyaki Steak, Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho, Red Chinese Long Beans with Peppers & Red Curry, 24-Layer Crêpe Cake, Fig & Watermelon Salad, Grilled Chèvre & Fig Panini, Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad, Grilled Prawns, Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies, Pesto Pita Pizza, Cilantro Lime Chicken, Nutella Crêpes, Mango, Lime & Chile Spiced Ice Box Pie, Roast Beef & Garlic Herb Cheese Sandwich, Layered Crespelle with Bolognese, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil, Jamaican Jerk Meat Pies, Nutella No Bake Cookies, Velvety Mac & Cheese, Welsh Cakes, Tom Yam Ghoong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), Lime Jewels, Southwest Pasta Salad, Walnut Roca Squares, Uncle Bubba’s Shrimp & Grits, Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, Copycat “KFC” Coleslaw, Happy 6th Birthday Maisie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies, Thin Mint Irish Coffee, Caramel Apples, “Rotisserie” Chicken, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Mummy Hotdogs, Mango Upside Down Cake, Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens, Aloo Tikki, Pink Strawberry Cake Balls, Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Dumplings, Rum Cured Salmon, Apple, Cranberry & Rhubarb Crisp, Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic Sour Cream, Crunchy Oat, Almond, Cashew & Pebbles Granola Bars, Texas Chicken with Lime Butter, Biscoff Fudge, Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter, Creamed Corn with Cheese and Cilantro, Potato Crusted Pork Chops, Oatmeal, Cashew & Chocolate Granola Bars, Texas Chicken Sandwich, Seared Scallops with Creamy Pesto & Lemon Pepper Pasta, Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, Glazed Lemon Squares, Chang-Style Brussels Sprouts, Maisie “safe” No Bake Cookies, Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart, Pork Dumplings with Rice Wrappers, Sweet & Spicy Apple Pork, Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel, Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites, Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake and Malted Pretzel Crunch.

Enjoy!

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