Hello, friends. I have to take a minute here to brag, if that’s okay with you. Normally, even if I don’t get around to posting it here, I menu plan each week. Most of the time, even though I have a plan in place, I stray from that plan, and it’s never for the better. When that happens, we spend money we don’t need to and end up eating less nutritious and less tasty food than we would have if I had just stuck to the plan. This past week was different. We ate exactly what I had planned and left little to go to waste in our fridge. Our meals, for the most part, were healthy and well-rounded. They tasted great. I feel really good about all of this, so I hope you’ll excuse me giving myself a virtual pat on the back here.

Now, onto the upcoming week. Here’s what I have in mind:

Lunch/Dinner
(Leftover) Veggie chili with homemade bread
Dal over rice (inspired by my friend Aimee’s comment on this old post)
Rice and bean burritos on homemade flour tortillas
Curried channa, potatoes, and tomatoes over basmati rice
Lentil soup with homemade bread
Homemade pizza
Breakfast for dinner: Scrambled eggs and cheese with a bagel and a side of fruit
ALTs

Snacks
Green smoothies!
Ginormous salads-yum!

Need more dinner ideas? Check out Jenna’s Mindful Menus Blog Roll!

Want more? Check out the Weekly Menus archive.

It seems our soapy offering was well-recieved. Yesterday the temperature got up into the mid-40s. We spent nearly an hour outside, running around the playground and rolling in the mud (just Jude on that one). I was amazed at how alive our neighborhood was yesterday. The park was (nearly) packed with kids and their families; people were out walking around; teenagers were riding bikes. It was fantastic. Overall, winter wasn’t so horrible this year in Chicago. Sure, it was cold, but it wasn’t unbearable. It snowed a bit, but we (unfortunately) weren’t hit with any real blizzards. The chances that we’ll see another snow storm before Spring really arrives is great, but still, I can see an end in sight.

Today, there’s a chance we’ll get some rain. The temperature is slated to top out at 45 degrees. I don’t know if we’ll get outside for very long, but we’re going to do our damnedest to get out into the fresh air for at least a bit.

How’s the weather where you are? If it’s still cold, you should think about offering up some bubbles to Spring. She seems to like that.

Being a full-time, stay at home mom is hard. I’m lucky that Josh and I are full partners in parenting and that he is more than willing to give me as many breaks as I need. I have it better than a lot of people. This I know.

Sometimes though, no amount of empathy or understanding can distract me from the very harsh reality that I’m raising a super excitable not-yet-three-year-old who:

has an abundance of energy
experiences his emotions in a big way
no matter what his size or apparent cognitive ability, is still only two and three quarters years old and simply cannot understand all that I really, really want him to be able to.

In other words, Jude and I have been having some, uhm, misunderstandings as of late.

I long for warm weather. I can’t help but really, truly believe that life will be so much better and more manageable when we can spend out days outdoors… running around one of the many local parks we frequent or playing on the beach along Lake Michigan, building sandcastles and eating a picnic lunch.

Sometimes a change of scenery can work wonders (or so I tell myself). Bad mood and bad tempers that fester and build indoors dissipate when exposed to fresh air and strong sunlight.

Dear Spring,
Please hurry.

Love,
Jillian

It’s another crazy week here in the Frank household. Josh is working a ton this week, so Jude and I will be roughing it on our own quite a bit. If you feel like hanging out, give us a call!

Here’s what’s cookin’ (or being reheated) this week:

Breakfast
Oatmeal with ground flaxseed and frozen fruit

Lunch/Dinner
Refried bean burritos
Veggie burgers with sweet potato fries and broccoli
Penne pasta with sun-dried tomato and pumpkin seed pesto and green beans
Curried channa and potatoes withe basmati rice
Veggie Chili
Breakfast sandwiches
Homemade pizza
ALTs
PB&H w/red peppers and hummus
Grilled cheese and tomato w/baby carrots and broccoli dipped in hummus

Snacks
Green smoothies
Ginormous salads

Need more dinner ideas? Check out Jenna’s Mindful Menus Blog Roll!

Want more? Check out the Weekly Menus archive.

The other day, Papa mentioned that you’re now officially closer to being 5 years old than you are to being a newborn. I’d like to tell you that I responded in a calm, rational fashion, but the truth is, I (mentally) kicked him in the shins and (actually) got all choked up.

The past thirty or so days have been kind of crazy for us. It’s still cold, windy, and (a bit) snowy here in Chicago, so we’ve been doing our best to keep ourselves occupied while being holed up indoors. We’ve started visiting the Evanston Public Library two or three times a week. Their entire first floor is a dedicated children’s space: there are steps to climb, mats to roll and jump on, toys to play with, crayons and coloring sheets to complete, puppets to animate, blocks with which to build, a tree house to hid in, and, of course, a poop-load of books. Your favorite toy in the entire library is a fairly realistic-looking plastic lion. As soon as we shed our outdoor clothing and shoes, you make your way towards the library’s set of animals, pick up the lion, and tote him around with your for the duration of our stay. The few times we couldn’t find the lion, you told me he was probably sleeping, with a blanket, and that maybe he would be awake next time.

I recently stumbled upon a website called No Time for Flash Cards. You and I have been having a great time replicating some of the activities Allison, the blog’s author, has written about: we’ve made an alligator out of the letter A; assembled a rain stick out of a cardboard tube, some rice, a pipe cleaner, tin foil, and tape; turned our living room into a cafe; and transformed a shoebox into a mailbox. You and I have also been spending a lot of time building towers out of your Duplos and houses from your Lincoln Logs. You’ve been painting and stickering nearly non-stop for the past month. I can never seem to completely de-sticker my clothes before leaving the house these days; just yesterday a friend pointed out the mushroom sticker on my elbow that I had overlooked while getting ready to go out.

We’re both ready for the weather to warm up. You’ve been running around in circles (literally) a lot lately, and I’ve been trying my best to come up with some energy-expending indoor activities. Sometimes you’ll do my PT exercises or some yoga with me; other times we set up my yoga mat as a jumping station and practice leaping over various objects.

I can’t believe that in less than three months you’ll be three YEARS OLD. How exactly did that happen? Last thing I remember, you were 21.5 inches long and asleep on my chest. Before you were born, I marveled at how quickly the years were flying by… Monkey–I hadn’t seen anything yet. Since you’ve been born, days and weeks and months and years have been going by in a blink. One minute you’re snuggled up in my arms, the next you’re scaling the big kids’ slide. How did this all happen?

I love you, Jude.

Love,
Mama

There are a few reasons why I haven’t been writing very often as of late:

1. These days, I’m often times sans laptop. My battery won’t hold a charge, and my power cord died, so unless Josh is home to loan his charger to me, I’m SOL.

2. I’ve been reading a lot. I recently finished the first two books of the Septimus Heap series and Jane Eyre, and I started the third Septimus Heap book tonight. Once I finish that series, I have the complete works of Jane Austen to get through. I *heart* reading.

3. I’m tired. By the time Josh gets home and I have access to my laptop, I don’t want to do much other than veg out and watch Gilmore Girls.

Likewise, there are a few reasons why I haven’t been posting my menu much as of late:

1. I’m lazy. For the past few weeks (since I hurt my back, really), I’ve been throwing lunches and dinners together kind of piecemeal. I don’t like it, but it’s true.

2. See numbers 1 and 3 from the previous list.

3. See number 1 from the current list.

All that said, I *do* have a menu ready to go for this week. (It helps that Sunday was a Food Swap day!) And since I know you’re all on the edge of your seating wondering what I’m putting in my belly this week, I’ll get right to the point.

Breakfast
Oatmeal with ground flaxseeds and frozen fruit
Coffee. Lots of coffee.

Lunch/Dinner
ALTs
Curried channa
Veggie chili
Home made mac & cheese
Chiles rellenos
Minestrone soup

Snacks
Green smoothies
Salads
Fruit

Want more? Check out the Weekly Menus archive.

Need more dinner ideas? Check out Jenna’s Mindful Menus Blog Roll!

This afternoon, our neighbor friend, Sarah, offered to drive Jude and me to Mt. Trashmore* in Skokie to go sledding. Mt. Trashmore is made up of three distinct hills: small, medium, and large. Riding the small hill was a blast. There are moguls down the middle of the hill, and try as we might to stay to the sides and avoid them, their pull was too great, and we ended up hitting every one each time we made a run down the hill.

After just a few trips down the smallest of the three hills, Sarah and I decided to take a look at the medium-sized hill. It was bigger, and the moguls numbered more than on the small hill, but it didn’t seem to be too scary, so I decided to secure Jude in my lap and have a go at it.

We FLEW down that hit. We hit (nearly) every mogul. The second to last one was BIG, and as soon as we hit it, we both went flying. Don’t get me wrong, we had fun. Jude laughed the entire time and his little body didn’t touch the snow. Me, on the other hand? Well, I landed square on my back (with Jude on my front and slid on the icy snow for a good long while. I felt fine right after the incident, but now, a few hours removed…well, I’m sore, to say the least.

After we picked ourselves up an brushed ourselves off, we played for a while at the neighboring park. Shortly after that, some kids showed up and started sledding, and suddenly, Jude was interested in the hills again. By the end of the day, Jude had gotten into a pattern of going down with either Sarah or me, then taking a run by himself, and then riding down with the other adult (down the littlest hill, FYI). He was visibly exhausted by the time we got to the car, and he couldn’t help himself from telling me (over and over) that he liked! the tea Sarah had packed for us to enjoy.

*Apparently, the hill we went sledding on is a old, filled-in landfill that was covered over specifically to make a sledding hill. Or something like that.

On Friday, while Jude and his babysitter played at Day Frog, Josh and I met with Kenji Muro, a fantastic neurosurgen at Northwestern. Dr. Muro squeezed us into his schedule with less than 24 hours notice, and for that, I am eternally grateful. So, the appointment went well and ended with Dr. Muro prescribing physical therapy for me (as well as some meds for my pain). At this point, I’m waiting to try the new medication that Dr. Muro prescribed until after I’ve tried PT for a few weeks. I dislike drugs. I dislike, nay, I HATE putting that shit into my body. I realize that there is a time and a place for pain pills, and that yes, this *is* probably one of those times and places when they are warranted, but still, I will wait and see how my body does without them.

This morning I had my PT evaluation at Athletico in Evanston. Overall, I thought it was a good session. The PT was personable, thoughtful, and knowledgeable. He put heat on my back and did some deep tissue massage and showed me a handful of back/core exercises that I’m to do 2-3 times per day, every day. I go back on Friday for my next session and will be going twice a week until my checking account runs dry. I’m really hopeful that the PT will be enough, that I won’t have to rely on pain pills or muscle relaxants to avoid or manage the pain for the rest of my life. I suppose only time will tell.

Through all of this, Josh and Jude have been wonderful. Whenever I leave to go somewhere, Jude asks, “Go doctor?” He has also been great about helping me around the house. If I drop something on the floor, Jude will pick it up for me without hesitation. He is also being really good about climbing onto the bed for me for diaper changes so that I don’t have to lift him.

Josh is a superstar of a husband. He has been taking care of Jude and the house and me, without complaint, for nearly two weeks now. He is such a source of strength for me. I’m not sure what I would do without him.

I imagine that the next few weeks are going to be tough for me–I’m going to have to learn what my limitations are and relearn the proper way to lift and bend and sit. Luckily for all of us, we have a friend coming to stay at our place for two weeks… I’m really glad to know we’re going to have an extra set of hands on deck.

This week’s menu is almost completely made up of meals we have stored in our freezer. Though I’m doing much better than I was this time last week, I still can’t be on my feet for any real length of time without ending up in a world of pain. In addition to these meals, the “Casserole Calvary” from the church where Josh works is likely to supply us with a meal or two. Last week they brought us stuffed shells and veggie risotto to help us through.

Breakfast
Oatmeal with Ground Flax Seed, Honey, Frozen Fruit and Cinnamon

Corn Coconut Curry Chowder
West African Peanut Stew
Not-Tuna Pate Sandwiches (this is a simple recipe from the raw foods cookbook Josh got me for Christmas)
Homemade Pizza
Eggs and Bagels
ALTs

I’d like to say that green smoothies were on the menu this week, but my brand new blender broke a few days ago, and we have yet to replace it. *sigh*

Want more? Check out the Weekly Menus archive.

Need more dinner ideas? Check out Jenna’s Mindful Menus Blog Roll!

About 20 minutes after writing that final paragraph, I called the ambulance and went back to the ER. I was admitted to the hospital that evening, and just returned home last night. Stay tuned.

Tonight, as I lie in bed for the umpteenth day in a row, I’m going to make good on my “stay tuned” promise.

On Sunday morning, after tweaking my back in such a way that rendered me utterly useless, I decided to call the ambulance and head to the hospital. Erin, a new friend of ours, was babysitting Jude (and me), and was kind enough to offer to stay with him until Josh could get home.

I was greeted at the hospital by Super Bitch Nurse #1, who over the course of my stay in the ER told me more than once that she and every other ER nurse was suffering from herniated discs and that they managed to “suck it up and get on with it” everyday.

I met Semi-Asshole Neurosurgen the following afternoon. He was unable to locate the MRI films I brought with me to the ER but assured me that we could just “look at them tomorrow and figure things out from there.” Uhm. No. Sorry I can’t get up and help you look for the films, doc, but I know they’re here, and I’m not waiting another day to get treated. Find them. Now. Kthxbai. Within the hour, he *did* find the films and ordered IV steroids for me…

Enter Super Bitch Nurse #2. While she was prepping me for the steroid injection, she inquired about my films. I told her that the doctor had found them, that they had been put out by nurses’ station. She replied that that was good because the doctor had left her a note to find them, and she “didn’t have time to do that.” Great. The nurse who’s in charge of my care doesn’t have the time to look for the films that are going to enable the doctor to diagnose and treat me. Wonderful. That same nurse laughed at me after I asked her why in the hell my body felt like it was on fire after the steroids were administered because “that’s a common side effect.” And when I asked her why she didn’t warm me, she told me that “every drug has that potential…”

Tuesday morning the physical therapist I had met the night before stopped by to try to help me get up from bed and walk. The first time I got to my feet, I felt light-headed immediately and had to lie back down. When I tried again about thirty minutes later, I was able to stand for about a minute before I got light-headed. Steven, the PT, was really supportive and felt that I would be up and walking by the end of the day if I kept trying. My blood pressure was really, really low (88/50 on Tuesday afternoon), so the light-headedness wasn’t a surprise.

Re-enter Super Bitch Nurse #2 to administer my meds. The PT had just left, so I asked her if she could please come back in about an hour to help me try to stand/walk. At that point I was told that she was very busy, had two other people to attend to, and that she didn’t think she would have time to assist me.

*facepalm*

Luckily, the fucking bitch *did* come back within the hour, and with her, uhm, help, I was able to stand up for about two minutes before needing to lie down again.

Later that night, after Steven came back and helped me get up and walk the halls, I was discharged… but not before I had to threaten a new doctor with signing out AMA if he didn’t simply discharge me. For Christ’s sake, the doctor hadn’t seen me before, didn’t know how much my pain had improved, and didn’t know what kind of progress I had made. After dealing with the nursing staff from hell, there was no way I was spending another night in that shitty hospital. No way in hell.

So, now I’m home. Able to stand, walk, and sit, but only for a few minutes at a time. I’m not able to take care of Jude by myself or take care of my husband, or take care of my house. I’ve been feeling really down, and I’m really looking forward to starting physical therapy on Monday and getting back to normal.