Healthy lunches

In am effort to make my whole family more healthy and eating better foods I am going to be packing their lunches for this school year.  School starts next Wednesday, so I have been busy as a bee trying to get all the supplies ready to go.  I think the key to success is planning.  If I plan foods for the week and I have all the supplies I need to pack healthy lunches it will be easier to be successful.  Or at least that is the plan.  See... better already: I have a plan to have a plan!  

The kids all have insulated lunch bags.  I just needed the dishes to put inside of them.  So I bought these LOTG brand (lunch on the go) lunch systems.

So it comes with 2 smaller dishes, and ice pack and then the whole thing is is covered with the lid.  The ice pack sits on the side pegs and provides a shelf so you can put a sandwich below the shelf, then the ice pack and then the containers on top.  Green lid covers the whole thing.

In addition to the lunch system I also purchased some other things that will make their lunches fun...

Various cookie cutters, hearts, rectangles, circles, Suns, flowers, stars.  And then small silicone cups to separate foods from touching in the containers, small metal dishes to serve same purpose.  And lastly... what kid wouldn't like to eat small fruits, vegges, cheese and meat cubes with small appetizer forks and little plastic swords?!?!

I also have reusable water bottles for them to take as well.  My lunch plan is not only healthier for their bodies but because it will be a "no waste" system it will be healthy for the Earth.  No plastic wrap, sandwich bags, paper bags, or napkins to throw away.  Oh speaking of napkins.... I am going to tie dye some cloth ones for them so they will have enough for the week!  When I get them done I will post pictures!

My goal is to also take pictures of their lunches after I make them in the morning.  And then once a week I will post what I packed for them.  I know that I have gotten lots of ideas off other mom blogs, maybe I can help someone else. :)

And this weekend I am going to try to make and freeze some muffins and other baked goods that are healthy and tasty to add to their lunches.

Facelift

My blogger got a touch of a face lift.... I updated the pictures and the template.  I hope that these changes will inspire me to start blogging again.  Facebook is much faster to get short updates out on by I would like to get back to blogging again.  It is therapeutic!

Enjoy!

Jasmyn's finger

Yesterday Jasmyn was playing tether ball at recess and she bent her finger backwards. The joint swelled up and by the time she got home her finger was purple around the joint.

But she could still bend her finger and while she "babied" it she still used it. I gave her some Motrin hoping that would help with the swelling. As the evening wore on she started getting more emotional and upset. I really thought it was because she did not want to go to bed, and lately she has been a bit of a drama queen. To appease her I crafted a splint out of some popsicle sticks and some tape. I splinted it up and sent her to bed. She went to bed willingly and slept well. In the meantime I went onto Facebook and asked my other Mom friends what they would do. Most of them said to take her in to get an X-ray. I decided I would take her in to the Doctor in the morning.

So this morning I got the 2 older boys off to school and then called our pediatrician. He suggested taking her into an Urgent Care facility so that an X-ray could be done. Our Pediatrician does not have x-rays in the office. We went to our local Urgent Care and after waiting for a very long time they took her back to get an X-ray.

I was SHOCKED to discover that her finger was in fact broken.

Here is a quick picture I snapped with my cell phone of her finger X-ray.

This picture shows the break. Her finger got bent backwards. So the fracture is right above the growth plate. You can kinda see how the bone snapped and then got jammed in. The Dr said that children's bones are like a green stick. They do have some "bend" in them. This is the case for Jasmyn's break.

The Urgent Care Dr recommended we follow up with an Orthopedic Dr. so that it could be properly splinted and followed up on until it heals. The Urgent Care Nurse put on a make shift splint. It was a horrible splint job. Jasmyn could still move her finger side to side which could make it worse, since the bone is not stable. We already have worked with an Ortho Dr. for Jasmyn a few years ago when she broke her wrist. I called them when we got home and they were able to see her that same day.

The Dr said that Jasmyn's finger is in good position to heal properly. It does need to be stabilized to protect it while it heals. But at the same time he does not want her to lose mobility in her finger. Since the break is above the joint he felt that moving the joint a few times a day would help her maintain the mobility in her finger but still allow it the stability to heal. So he put her in a finger splint that is removable. Her little finger just slides in and out of the plastic form.

Then to stabilize it on her hand we use Coban to wrap it. Coban sticks to itself but not to the skin. It is perfect for keeping it in place and easy removal.

The Dr wants her to take the splint off 3-4 times a day and just make a fist and then extend her fingers. She is to repeat it in sets of 10. We will do it before school, and after school a few times and then right before bed. This also means that she can remove it for bathing, hand washing, etc. In fact the Dr said that if she was willing to wear the splint in the water that she could even finish her last 2 swim lessons this week. :) She was willing to try it today and did great in her lesson! We just took the splint off after she was out of the pool and dried it off really well. After her hand was dry I just re-wrapped it. Easy Peasy.

Dr wants to see her again in 10 days to take another X-ray. We will then see how she is healing and how long she will have to wear the splint.

She is in good spirits and for now is enjoying getting out of some of her chores since her finger is broken. :)

Never a dull moment in the Bray Bunch household!

Update on the kids

Kaleb is 8 and going into the 3rd grade. He has been struggling with some social awkwardness and seems to be very concerned about people laughing at him. He doesn't want to wear the new tie dye shirt I made him that is purple and dark blue (colors he choose) because he thinks the purple is too girly. Sigh. We are working on just getting him to love himself and be himself. He is looking forward to starting school and making new friends. He had been in a class that looped from 1st to 2nd grade. In third grade he will be in a class with a different mix of kids and we are both very excited about that. He loves to read and loves science. He made me google umbrella birds and xray fish this morning and read him the facts about each.

Jasmyn just turned 7 and will be starting the 2ndgrade. She is a social butterfly and Harlie's second Momma! She has a BFF named Rachel whom she plays with all the time. Thankfully they get along great and it is a sweet little friendship. Jasmynhas been experimenting alot with makeup and nail polish this summer. I have some funny pictures of her covered in eye shadow and blush. She loves mascara too, but is really bad at putting it on. LOL! She often looks like spiders have attacked her face. I bought her a package of makeup removing wipes so she can get it off when she is done playing. Works like a charm! She is super loving and caring with Harlie. He will cuddle with her on the couch and fall asleep. They are super sweet together!

Mason continues to be my most challenging child. He is stubborn and gets his feelings hurt very easily. He is a sensitive child but explosive at the same time. He has a great sense of humor and really gets comic timing. He just turned 5 and is starting Kindergarten in September. He still struggles with colors and letters so I am a tad worried about him starting Kindergarten. But I Figure if he has a hard time and it becomes clear he needs to repeat K then we will do that. Him being born July 19 makes him one of the youngest in his class. I worry about his social and behavioral skills holding him back from learning. He might just need another year to mature. Or he may just surprise the socks off me!

Harlie is 22 months old. He is all boy. He likes to play in the dirt. He loves to go to the park and dig in the sand/mud area. I was starting to become concerned about his lack of verbal skills. But just in the past month he has added new words and phrases to his vocabulary. His favorite is "mine". The first time he said it he held the toy behind his back and looks defiantly at Jasmyn and said "Mine". It was so cute! My other favorite is when he wants to nurse and says "other side". I don't know why that is what he choose to call it. I guess it is probably because when he finishes on breast I would ask him "Do you want the other side?" Apparently it stuck! So now he will climb into my lap and say "other side". He even gets picky about what side we start with. LOL! Last week he fell in the hallway and hit his head on the wall. He ended up with a smallish gash on his forehead but it split open in a star pattern and the edges wouldn't close. I took him to urgent care and he ended up with 2 stitches. I am sure that is just the beginning of the trips to the urgent care for him!

Jasmyn & Mason Grandma Mary & Harlie
Mason
Jasmyn

Family Picture

Kaleb
Jasmyn & Harlie
Harlie

The story of Kali

Kali

January 1, 1996 - June 15, 2011
May you rest in peace.


I bought Kali for Tim as a Valentine's Gift in 1996. She joined us at home at my Grandma's house with our other cat Zoe. Zoe and Kali became inseparable and went on to have 6 kittens and grow old together. Zoe preceded Kali in death in July 2009.


As a kitten Kali was smaller than the average kitten. She was feisty despite being smaller than Zoe. I loved her cream colored strip on her nose and the way that her eyes looked like someone outlined them with eyeliner.
Kali's favorite place to cat nap was above my head on my pillow. Well anyone's head really. I remember Grandma making us lock her down stairs with us at night so that she would not "nest in my hair". Kali continued to enjoy sleeping on my pillow for the duration of her life.

Zoe and Kali had a love affair. They were together every day until Zoe died. They bathed each other. Played with each other. Shared everything. When Kali went into her first heat Zoe was the only one around to make babies with! LOL! We had thought up until then that Zoe was a female cat. Ha! Weren't we surprised when 60 days later Kali had 6 kittens. When Kali went into labor with her kittens she climbed onto my pillow and would slowly purr with each contraction. She was very calm and content to be petted and loved on. I got to witness all 6 babies come into the world. Kali was a good momma. She cleaned each one off and let it begin to nurse. She was super protective of her kittens. She would not let Zoe around them until the kittens eyes were open and they could walk with ease.

Tim, Zoe, Kali and her kittens
Once the kittens were grown and gone out into the world to good homes Kali and Zoe settled back into their routine. Their love and companionship being the constant.

They moved with us from Sandpoint to Coeur d' Alene to Seattle to Renton to Spokane and then to our home in Spokane Valley. They never ran away or even resented us for making them move. Every night Kali would sleep on my pillow and Zoe would sleep at the foot of the bed. All was right in their world.

A few years ago Kali was diagnosed with Mammary cancer. The Vet said that cats that have had kittens and nursed them are at a higher risk to get mammary cancer. She asked me if Kali had been spayed. She had been but not before she became a mother. Who knew that allowing her to have kittens way back then would potentially kill her today? I don't think Kali would have had it any other way. She loved her kittens and was sad to see them leave. We decided to treat her cancer with surgery. 6 months after the surgery the cancer reoccurred and we had another surgery and then another. She did well for about 1 year. Then I noticed a small lump on her tummy again. We waited and watched. It grew very slowly over 4-6 months. Then in a few weeks time it grew so fast. The Vet said that it is likely on the 4th re-occurrance that the cancer is spread throughout her body. We could run some expensive tests but the prognosis was not good. We choose to take her home and provide hospice care.

She got fancy soft food. The kids were extra gentle with her. She got lifted onto our bed to nap. She got extra pets and love. She was spoiled rotten!

But then I noticed she wasn't enjoying things like she used to. She no longer had the strength to jump up on the ledge where we kept her food (away from Harlie). She no longer slept on my pillow at night. She stopped cleaning herself. She started to limp. She stopped purring. She stopped eating.

It was time.

I made the appointment with the Vet. I told the kids very gently that she was going to die. I told them she would go peacefully. I asked them if they wanted to go with me to the Vet. We took pictures. Tons of pictures. I cried. I looked through my photo albums for pictures of her. I started writing this blog entry. I cried again. I held her and pet her and rubbed her under her chin and between her ears. She rubbed me back. I cried into her fur. The kids got home from school. They cried. Kaleb helped me find a box that will be her casket. We covered it in brown paper. The kids decorated it. We found a soft blanket to put inside of it. Kaleb asked me questions about caskets and pillow when people die. We took more pictures.

Pictures from today.

It was time to leave for the Vet. Kaleb wants to go with me. He wants to hold her paw when she dies. I hold Kali in a towel while I drive. She doesn't fight me. We get to the Vet office. We all cry. Kaleb decides he doesn't want to be with her after all. He says goodbye and pets her one last time and heads to the waiting room. I cradle her head in my hand and kiss her head. I whisper softly how much I love her and wish her well on her journey. The Vet pushes the medicine. Almost instantly her head relaxes in my hand. Peaceful transition.

Kaleb comes back in a gives another pet. We gather her up in a box and carry her to the car. Kaleb insists on holding her in his lap. We arrive home. Jasmyn Mason Harlie and Tim say goodbye. We all cry. Kaleb wants her collar for a keepsake. I remove it and give it to him. It is raining outside. Kaleb and I take her to the hole Tim has prepared. Kaleb puts her in the ground and we use shovels to bury her. Tim comes out to hold an umbrella. We say goodbye again and it is done.

Kali and Jen
Forever in my heart.

Kaleb's Teeth 2

We have been waiting for a while for a molar to come through Kaleb's tissue so that Dr. R can anchor the 1st appliance to it. We have been waiting since October. In early January we went to the dentist and had an x-ray done to see what the progress was. At that time the dentist thought that Kaleb's tissue was pulled to tight for the tooth to erupt. The treatment for that was to cut into Kaleb's gum tissue and manually expose the tooth.

Kaleb was a trooper trough the process. We started off with some oral medications to relax Kaleb. After about 30 minutes we went back to the dentist chair and they put some topical medicine on the gum tissue to numb it up some. After that took effect they put some Nitrous gas on Kaleb. I stayed with Kaleb the whole time and held his hand. I kept reminding him to breath through his nose so that he would get the full effects of the Nitrous. The dentist then injected the Novocaine into his gum. Kaleb did not feel a thing! It was fantastic! After a few minutes they took the nitrous off him and then the dentist just cut a slit in the gum line. He also used a dental instrument to push the tissue back around the tooth to help it erupt. Kaleb was amazing through the whole thing and did a fantastic job of holding still and listening to the instructions from the dentist and his assistants.

Fast forward to last week. I was still having some concerned about the tooth. I would check it fairly often to see if more of the tooth has erupted. I could see no change. Last Friday Kaleb has a routine dental cleaning and X-rays. The dentist compared the films from 6 mos ago, to 2 mos ago to the current X-ray. The tooth has no moved. It is growing but it is not moving. The roots are growing longer and into the jaw line, but the tooth is not moving up into it's place. The dentist said we need to go back to the Orthodontist Dr. R and let him know what we found. Basically the tooth is going to require some kind of intervention to get it in place. I am sure it will be another appliance of some kind and that probably means more expense as well. Sigh.

I called the Orthodontist today to get an appointment scheduled and they have one available tomorrow March 15th. So keep us in your thoughts as well start the process with the Orthodontist.

Grandma's Popcorn Balls

13 years ago on November 7th, 1996 my Grandma passed away. My Grandma and I were close. She was an incredible woman. She loved Popcorn Balls. So on the anniversary of her death my kids and I decided to make popcorn balls in her honor. I also got to tell the kids stories about her and how much I loved her as we cooked together. It was really sweet.

I thought I would share the recipe and some pictures of us actually making the popcorn balls. Here it is.....

1 large bowl of plain popped popcorn
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 sm package of jello
1/4 cup of butter (for your hands)

Step 1: Pop the popcorn. We use an air popper to pop our popcorn. We filled a huge bowl with popcorn. I popped it into the green bowl and then separated the un-popped kernels from the popcorn and placed the popcorn into the white bowl.

Step 2: Then you set up the area to actually make the balls. You will need a small bowl of butter to put on your hand to form the balls. You will need a place to put the balls after they are formed. I use a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.
Step 3: Make the sauce. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup in a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly to avoid scorching.

After boiling for a minute then add a sm package of jello mix. Jasmyn helped with this step! Stir the jello mix into the boiling sugar and mix thoroughly. Bring to a complete boil.
Step 4: Pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn. Then mix the popcorn and jello together. The sauce is HOT so be careful.
Step 5: Butter your hands. This will keep the sugar from sticking to your hands and burning you. It will also keep the popcorn balls from sticking to your hands. Then press the popcorn into balls. Press hard to help them keep there shape.
This recipe makes about 12 balls.
Mason on a popcorn ball sugar high!Kaleb enjoying the spoils!

Kaleb's Teeth

A few weeks ago we took Kaleb in to the dentist for a checkup. The Dentist took routine X-rays and did an exam. He felt that Kaleb would benefit from "early orthodontic intervention". hahaha That is code word for: start saving your money for braces!

Today was our consultation appointment with the Orthodontist. Kaleb did great! He normally has a bit of white coat syndrome and freaks out as soon as the Dr. or nurse gets close. But today he did great! He was cooperative, friendly and polite! I love it when kids act like they were raised to act! They took a panoramic view xray of his mouth/jaw and then some actual photos of his face and his teeth.



After the photos and x-rays we spoke with Dr. R about what he suggests to correct Kaleb's dental problems. Kaleb's problems will require 2 phases of treatment. Phase 2 will happen once his baby teeth are all gone and his permanent teeth are all in. This is probably 3-4 years down the road. And doing Phase 1 treatment will make phase 2 easier and we willhave better results. But Dr.R wanted to show us what the problems are before discussing Phase 1. It is kind of a laundry list.

* Crowding on the bottom which is preventing the eruption of a tooth
* Teeth on bottom that have not come in yet are allowing his other teeth to shift out of place
* Molar not yet erupted- unknown reason
* Recessed lower jaw
* Overjutted front upper teeth with large gap
* Crowding on top which is preventing the eruption of a tooth


Here are some photos to illustrate the above points. The Molar in the back that is "missing" is not truly missing. It is simply not through the skin/gum yet. (you can see it on the xray. It is tooth marked with the # 1) Dr. R says it could be a variety of reasons from overcrowding to it being stuck in the jaw bone. We need to wait to see what happens in the next few months with this tooth as it's placement it crucial in the use of the first appliance Dr. R wants Kaleb to use.

The other missing incisor in the front is again not "missing" but rather just not able to push up because of over crowding. You can see it on the xray as well. Dr. R thinks that because Kaleb actually had that tooth knocked out instead of the other tooth pushing it out is the reason the permanent tooth is not through yet. (Kaleb had a series of mouth injuries that resulted in him prematurely losing this tooth). But this tooth is critical in that it is missing. Because it is no longer there it is enabling the other 4 front teeth to shift over making his bottom teeth off the mid line.
This photo shows the missing upper incisor. As you can see on the Xray the tooth is under the gum but there is no room for it to come through. If we do nothing that tooth will continue to come in but it will turn and come in sideways. We need to gain some space on the upper jaw.
And lastly the front teeth for whatever reason are overjutter (buck teeth/stick out) and have a gap between them. Over crowding of the teeth from the molars forward cause the front teeth to jut out. Again... we need to gain some space in the upper jaw.
So Dr. R went over the treatment plan he has to correct Kaleb's issues.

Phase 1

Step 1
We have to wait 4-6 months to see what is gonna happen with the lower molar that is not through the gum line yet. We have a recheck planned for January to reevaluate that tooth. We need that tooth to be in place so that the 1st appliance can set against it. We are hoping that in the next 3-4 months we will see that tooth erupt through the gum line.
If the tooth does not come through in that amount of time we will go back to the dentist (who referred us to Dr. R.) and they will do "gum contouring" to expose the tooth and investigate why it is not erupting. Once they figure out why then there are other courses of action that could include pulling the tooth. We want to avoid that.
So keep Kaleb in your thoughts that this tooth will work its way through the gumline by the end of January.

Step 2
Kaleb's first appliance is called a Schwarz appliance. It looks like a retainer that is removable. Only it has a mechanism in the center that we will turn daily/weekly that will help us gain space in his lower jaw. The point of this appliance is to slowly push the teeth into better position and move soft tissue. I am not sure it this actually encourages jaw growth or not. He would wear this all the time except for eating. It is removable, in fact he removes it so we can adjust the mechanism. Here is a picture of what the appliance looks like in a mouth. Notice the BEFORE and AFTER.

Step 3

The second appliance would be a Palatal Expander. This one is glued into his mouth and can not be removed. We would again adjust the mechanism daily/weekly to gain space for his teeth. Here is a picture of what his expander would look like. Notice the BEFORE and AFTER pictures.
Basically the reason for doing the 2 appliances is to gain space in the jaws to avoid removing permanent teeth later. Our Dentist was right that Kaleb will benefit from early intervention. Kaleb's jaw is still mold-able and is still growing so these appliances are only effective for children of Kaleb's age.

Step 4
Kaleb will also get some braces on the front upper teeth at some point to help hold the position of the teeth once we gain some space in the jaw.

He may require other appliances and or braces during the 1st phase of his treatment. We will have to see how Kaleb's mouth responds to the treatment.

Phase 2

This is basically full braces with an appliance glued to the top braces that pull his lower jaw forward. This is timed with an age appropriate growth spurt that will enable his body to grow more lower jaw bone and correct his recessed jaw and help his teeth become aligned for a proper bite.

Honestly I can't wrap my mind around Phase 2 yet because I am still trying to figure out how to pay for Phase 1. LOL! We do not have Orthodontics Insurance. Honestly I am not sure such a thing exists! LOL But we do have a few months to save for Phase 1 since we are waiting for Kaleb's tooth to grow in. And Dr. R does offer payment plans and even outside financing. We are trying to avoid both those options because if we pay in full at time of treatment we receive a 5% discount.

Also Dr. R. has a discount for Phase 2. Basically they will take 50% of your phase 1 payment and apply it to Phase 2. This is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it is a big chunk of money but a curse because if they discount it THAT much then what is the whole fee????

Sigh. I hope that Kaleb is happy with his smile and appreciates our efforts to get him there once phase 1 and 2 are complete!