recipes I've tried in the last few weeks

Why do weekends have to fly by so fast? Poop. I had the busiest week ever at work this past week. It was absolutely exhausting. Spent the day yesterday recuperating by the pool in my parents' backyard. I also spent some time feeding the cutest chipmunk who didn't mind my phone in his face while he crammed peanuts in his cheeks. Check out my instagram account for some super cute pics of the chipmunk (I'll be posting more throughout the week since I got a ton of good shots of him).

Pablo had surgery this past Friday to help fix the bladder issue that had him in the hospital on father's day. But go figure, due to an infection, they could only do two thirds of the surgery. The other third is happening this week. Pablo's urologist is hoping that this is the last of the bladder surgeries and if it doesn't solve the current issue then another surgery will be needed in about 8 weeks. Fingers crossed...

The kids have one more week of school left before summer vacation. YAY! I am so excited that I get two months off from having to prepare lunches/snacks for school. We met with an occupational therapist who was assessing Simon and his Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) over the last few weeks and she gave us some tips and exercises to work on with Simon to help him improve his writing, self dressing and other fine motor skills. Simon will continue to see an occupational therapist during the next school year as well (at least till December for sure).

With so many nights a week of baseball over the last few weeks, meals aren't the most blog-worthy around here lately. Here are some of the decent recipes I've tried lately starting with these scrumptious thai chicken tacos. Perfect summer meal!

better homes and gardens

Next up we have baked penne. Super easy and delicious - especially if you use some really good spaghetti sauce:

taste and tell

Needed something fast on a baseball night and since the kids LOVE french toast, I thought I'd try nutella stuffed french toast with macerated strawberries. YUMMMMMM.

cooking classy

Another yummy pasta dish for all you lemon lovers: lemon chicken pasta.

lil' luna

Beef & broccoli ramen - soup that eats like a meal. This was delicious and you definitely need to use a good cut of steak to make it easier to eat. The kids had never tried baby corn and it took some coaxing for them to believe that you eat the whole corn. I will be making this again as it was simple to make.

everyday with rachel ray

This next meal was Isabella's fav as she loves anything in a tortilla. Toastachos. I loved this meal and it was quick to make.

everyday with rachel ray

Best summer dessert on the planet - potluck cheesecake dessert. Made it two weeks in a row because it was that damn good and addictive.

cookies and cups

Had a bunch of browning bananas so I wiped up a batch of buttermilk banana bread.

two peas and their pod

recipes I've tried this week

This was a fantastic week for many reasons - the snow has almost completely melted, I had a fun night out with some ladies from work, my mom made us her to-die-for lasagna last night and we got the results of Simon's MRI.

Simon's MRI came back normal. His head is perfect and there is nothing wrong that the neurologist can see that can explain why Simon has such low muscle tone and why he has difficulty with normal movement and motor skills. There is nothing more the neurologist can do either. He explained that the issue can be within the brain cells but that can't be tested. Even kids with down syndrome have normal MRI scans. The neurologist explained it that maybe Simon will just be that kid that has really bad coordination his whole life. Maybe his coordination will improve as he gets older. He did say that we need to worry if his muscle issues get worse. So big sigh of relief. We also really wanted to have a scan of his brain done due to his dad's brain tumour history...we wanted piece of mind that Simon's brain was okay and now we have that.

Back to today's order of business - food. The first recipe I tried was fast crazy delicious homemade pizzas. Why I had never thought to make pizzas with naan bread is beyond me. Kasia over at my full house blogged a bunch of good pizza topping combinations. I plan on always keeping naan bread and pizza sauce on hand to make pizzas - great for weekend quick lunches or for when the kids hate what I've made for dinner.

my full house

I was craving breakfast food for dinner one night so I made peanut butter and bacon pancakes. Quick, easy and delicious beyond words. Pablo and I are huge bacon fans so we really enjoyed this. I made a batch sans bacon because for some reason that is totally baffling to us, Isabella does not like bacon (!!!). I'd like to make them again but this time when we have bananas. Bananas would have made this meal absolutely perfect. I served the pancakes with strawberries instead.

joy the baker

I still can't believe I have never attempted to make a lasagna before...and I am half Italian. Shame on me. This 15 minute lasagna was as close as I've gotten. It was really good considering how easy it was to make. Brought the leftovers to work too and still tasty warmed up.

kevin and amanda

This last dinner recipe made me wish we had a working BBQ because when things are supposed to be grilled and you use a frying pan instead, it just isn't the same at all... This would have been that much better grilled like the recipe says - honey garlic pork chops.

blog chef

Spent today baking as per usual. Started off with a blueberry and cream cheese muffin top bread and then I wanted to try these easiest microwave chewy peanut butter granola bars.

averie cooks

cooking classy

Lastly, my twin and I went over to a co-workers place one night for a get together/jewelry party and we thought it would be fun to make a cocktail instead of the usual wine or cooler. We ended up deciding on this smashed raspberry lemonade cocktail and we loved it (thanks again Dianne for a fun evening!). We also made it at my parents house last night and everyone there loved it too. Perfect summer drink.

a beautiful mess

Simon update - a visit with a neurologist

A few weeks ago, we got a letter from the local children's hospital that stated that Simon had an appointment with a neurologist. This seemed out of the blue because we haven't had an appointment for Simon in ages at the hospital. As soon as we saw the neurologist, I asked him when he received the referral (which I knew came from Simon's developmental pediatrician). He looked down at the chart and said August. Pablo asked him of what year. He looks down and said 'of last year' with a puzzled tone to his voice. I asked if that is a normal wait time - 14 months. He said the normal wait time is 6-9 months and that the referral must have gotten lost in the shuffle...

Trying to stay calm despite being thoroughly annoyed with this news, the neurologist asked us a bunch of questions about Simon like when did he start walking, talking and when was he toilet trained. He also asked how Simon manages stairs which we said is still a challenge for him since he still has to put both feet on each step. He often goes down the stairs on his bum. He asked if Simon can ride a bike with training wheels. We said he can't - he can't get the continuous motion of moving his feet and keeping his feet on the pedals. He brought Simon over to a set of stairs and observed him going up and down them. He asked Simon to sit on the ground and then asked him to get up on his feet. He asked Simon to stand on one foot - which he has difficulty doing. He was going to ask Simon to jump on one foot but since he couldn't stand on one foot...We told the neurologist that Simon only learned to jump in the last 6-9 months - where he can actually get both feet off the ground at the same time.

The neurologist concluded that Simon definitely has issues with his muscles. He doesn't think it is a coordination problem because Simon can go from sitting to standing quite easily. Now he would like to determine if Simon's issues are due to an issue in the brain or just an issue with the muscles themselves. He wanted to start with testing the muscles themselves since testing the brain means an MRI which they will have to put Simon under and this is a last resort. We were sent off to get blood work done to check the muscle enzyme levels. From there, Simon will undergo another test where they put small acupuncture like needles in his muscles and he will be asked to move those muscles and they will test the muscle activity. It's a good thing Simon doesn't mind needles - he has never once cried for a needle. If these two tests are inconclusive, an MRI would be next. Pablo's medical history is also being taken into consideration due to the amount of various tumours he has had.

The next muscle test will probably be in the next few weeks....

Simon update

It seems like Simon has more medical appointments than Pablo lately - and that is hard to beat. I figured it was time for an update on Simon since it's been awhile since I last posted about his developmental issues.

Simon had a few sessions of physical therapy before Christmas but since his low muscle tone can't be 'fixed', there is no need for him to continue with physical therapy. We did get some good advice on things to do with him to improve ie. walking on curbs to improve balance, walking up and down hills to improve strength, have him sit in a chair as opposed to sitting on the floor to prevent him from being slouched over. The physical therapist said that what Simon needs now is occupational therapy.

We've been on a waiting list for Simon to be seen by an occupational therapist since July 12th. We just got a call that there was a cancellation so Simon's first occupational therapy appointment is on Jan 22. Can't wait because this is what he has needed the most - and to prepare him to start school this coming September.

Simon has also been on a waiting list for speech therapy since July 12th. He had his first appointment this past Tuesday. It was a 1.5 hour assessment. We have to go back this Tuesday for the second part of the assessment. Simon sat at a desk and answered questions from the speech therapist for over an hour without moving or getting restless. We were all amazed. Most kids can't sit still that long and I didn't think Simon had it in him to do it (he never sits still that long at home). I think he liked the intellectual stimulation - it was like being at school. The speech therapist is going to start seeing Simon regularly after the assessment - she agreed that he does need help with his speech. He's got the vocabulary but he mainly needs to work on the clarity of his speech.

We have an appointment next Friday at Isabella's school - where Simon will be starting kindergarten in September. We want to give them the assessment that we have from the developmental pediatrician and discuss the options for Simon for kindergarten. This should be an interesting meeting. I have a lot to say and I want to make sure that the proper help is given to Simon when he starts school.

Lastly, Simon starts preschool this week. It is 2 mornings a week for 2 hours for the next few months. He is so excited to go to school and to make new friends. I'm so excited (and nervous) for him.

I'll have lots more updates as the appointments get going. I'm just glad that the wait for these appointments is over and Simon can get the help that he needs.

the latest around here

I got my hair done yesterday. Thought I'd try something different and a bit edgier so I went with a style complete with a shaved side and I wanted a strawberry blond colour. The colour is dark now but will lighten after a few washes. I love the change.

(still need to scrub the dye off my forehead - OH, and photos courtesy of Isabella - little miss photographer!!!)

And now, a quick update on the others.

Isabella - she just completed 2 weeks of full-time camp. She had a blast but came home really grouchy and tired. What we have to look forward to once full day school starts in September...

Simon - we took Simon to a physiotherapy consult on Wednesday and she confirmed that Simon definitely has low muscle tone. She said this is something he'll have all his life so we need to help him improve his muscle tone. Some things we need to do with him are: get him walking up and down small hills, walking on curbs for balance and to get his feet moving one in front of the other on a narrower area, carry heavy things, take him to parks often to maneuver around the obstacles and we need to help Simon with stairs. Simon often goes down a set of stairs on his bum still so we need to get him to walk down them instead. We also need to get him to practice going up with one foot on each step rather than both on each step. We also bought something to strap to the pedals of a tricycle so that we can strap Simon's feet to the tricycle. We tried this at the appointment - Simon's feet strapped to the pedals of a tricycle - and he was able to ride around the room with no problems. It was so cute to see since he's never been able to keep his feet on the pedals before. The physiotherapist also said that it's better for Simon to play sitting at a table than sitting on the floor. Due to his low muscle tone, when he sits on the floor, he hunches his back and his hips point outward more than normal (already an issue). The physiotherapist will see Simon again in August.

Simon cont' - we also saw a social worker about Simon and she confirmed our views on not putting Simon in school this September. A big reason why I want to keep Simon out of school is that if he is in school, all his therapy is done through the school and the amount of therapy he receives depends on the school's budget. If Simon is not in school, his therapy is done through the children's hospital and they can provide more help than the school ever could. We're now looking at options of playgroups, etc. for Simon for September.

Pablo - spoke to his oncologist last week and was explaining to him how he's been vomiting daily for over a month now. His oncologist is setting up an appointment for him to see an endocrinologist - someone who can hopefully help regulate his system because something is clearly not right. Pablo also spoke to the hospital in Toronto about his upcoming bladder pacemaker surgery and it looks like now it won't be till maybe September...
 

developmental coordination disorder

We had the second part of the assessment with the developmental pediatrician yesterday and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) was the diagnosis we got for Simon (also known as dyspraxia). He is behind in fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social development and speech was definitely slow since he didn't start talking till he was 3. Usually kids aren't behind in just one of these areas, they are usually behind in all at the same time. Simon is going to need alot of help in most physical activities ie. extra help in learning how to ride a tricycle and dressing himself. The best thing for his confidence is to not have him involved in group sports but to have him in sports like swimming or horse back riding. One on one activities are the best for him since he'll be able to excel at his own pace.

The pediatrician said that most likely Simon will need heel cups put in his shoes to help straighten out his feet and help his walking. In October of last year, we had xrays done on Simon's hips which showed that his femur is turned outward that in turn makes his feet point outwards. We were told that this will most likely correct itself in a year or so but now 9 months later, there is not a huge improvement. I have a feeling we will be having this reexamined in a few months.

The pediatrician would also like Simon to see a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. As I mentioned in the last post (after his first assessment), the pediatrician noticed that Simon's right eye points inwards a bit so we have an appointment in early December with an opthamologist (gotta love the long wait times). 

After meeting with some resource people from Isabella's school (and where Simon will eventually go...I think), we don't think the school has the resources to help Simon if he were to start JK this September so it looks like we are going to have to find a pre-school to put Simon in that will help him be successful in a school setting. Simon is also delayed in toilet training and this is a factor in him starting school. We are supposed to hear from a social worker within the next week or so who will help us find the resources that Simon needs.

Near the end of the assessment, the pediatrician said that she doesn't know why Simon has this disorder but we could do some genetic testing to see if we can get some answers. She did warn us that we may find out things that we may not want to hear. I then said that due to all the medical issues that Pablo has had throughout his life, I'd rather have an idea of what might be in Simon's future and we agreed to go ahead with the testing.

As usual, I'll keep posting updates.