Pinterest Tryouts

Pinterest: It's like Fantasy Football for CHICS!
Here's a few things over the past few weeks that I have tried... some are successful, others are not... and some are still waiting.

1. Stuffed Pepper Soup - YUMMO!!! I have made this twice in 2 weeks. It is a big hit at our house. The leftovers are just as fantastic and it is good in eggs the next day. (from Skinnytaste.com)

2. Pumpkin Cupcakes - YUMMO! Super moist. Didn't follow the recipe exactly though. I used a spice cake mix, 1 cup of pumpkin and 1 cup of water. Ran out of time to make the frosting. They were great without and a few less calories. (also from skinnytaste)

3. Salsberry Steak with Mushroom Gravy & Mashed Potatos/Cauliflower - YUMMO! Super great and filling. (also from Skinnytaste)

4. Clementine Cake - Not a great success. Had a weird spongy texture from the eggs. It was more like a dessert quiche and quiche is not one of my favorite foods.

5. Frosting techinque. - not a success... not the recipe's fault. It was TOTALLY user error!

6. Freezer meals for the crockpot - so far so good. Still waiting to make the BBQ chicken one. The beef goulash was good. Loved the fact that we assembled 4 meals for the freezer in less than an hour with several interruptions from kids.

7. My future dining room table - the plans are printed and I have this on my Valentine's Day list. We will see if the wood fairy makes this in time. I am hoping for Easter at the latest.

8. Dryer sheet - great idea and it works. It has lasted 2 weeks at our house. The last load was a little static-y, so it must be time to change it/refresh it.

9. Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes - tasted great! Frosting didn't set up. The caramel was too soft. The directions weren't accurate, but still tasted great! The chocolate cupcake is by far the best one I have ever tried. The caramel tasted right, it wasn't a good consistency though. That's what I get from following directions and not following my (not-so) expert caramel making self. (I make caramels every christmas by the tons!)

10. Freezer Breakfast Burritos - a new family FAVORITE! I made a dozen at first. They lasted about 4 days. I made 2 dozen next. They are awesome. Reheat in the microwave for 1 min and eat! Kinda like McD's Breakfast burritos without having to drive there, wait in line, pay a dollar for one and drive home. (We live in the country now... and no one wants to go to town even though it is only 4 1/2 miles one way) I made 2 dozen for less than $5.

11. My latest endeavour - Winter sown seeds in milk jugs... yup... my garden is started outside as of today. It is strictly on trial basis. We won't know the full outcome for a couple months.

My drafts are done for next week's picks from Pinterest! Stay tuned to see them.

With Love,

The Logan Brick's

2012: Cheers! To new beginnings...

I don't like resolutions. They always end up broken. Great intentions are interrupted with daily life, so we are resolving to do nothing. We are resolving to be us... for us... and with us!

Bucket List for 2012:
1: Take one memorable family pic each month.
2: Do something out of the ordinary.
3: Spend time with family and friends.

After all, they are the glue that keeps us together.
4: SURVIVE 3 semesters of clinicals and school.
5: Spend more time with God.
6: Exercise more, Eat more veggies.
7: Grow our garden; be closer to our food sources.
8: Develop my cookie/baking skills.
9: Continue to freezer cook to keep home-cooked meals on the table.
10: Go on a family vacation that will print great memories in our children’s minds.

Here we go!
With Love,
The Logan Brick's

Our Family Bucket List for 2011

2012… We are welcoming you with open arms!
Last year was not our best. 2011 was not kind to our family. We had a few good moments with her, but, oh man, she was rough. So goodbye, good riddance, adios, auf weidersehen 2011!
Our family bucket list update:
1: Eat too much at family dinners & feel no guilt –Life is too short to worry so much!
We ate so many Christmas cookies… Wow! THEY WERE AMAZING!

2: Volunteer together
We rang the Salvation Army bell as a family. Corah sang carols during the bell ringing while EJ wished every person that walked into Rural King a MERRY CHRISTMAS at the top of his lungs!

3: Cookies for Santa & Reindeer food – see above pictures. There were about 2 dozen cookies leftover…that is until Zoey the dog ate them. EJ put out carrots for the reindeer.

4: Give 2 “secret’ gifts to 2 special people in our lives. We chose 2 children from the Salvation Army gift tree. We picked out a 12 year old girl and a 5 year old boy.

5: Fill Stockings – the kids had their stockings hung from the top of the TV stand. Good thing Santa is tall and provides great wake-up calls at 3:00am.

6: Make Advent calendars/stringed presents. We found a lego advent calendar for EJ. He watched Caillou’s Christmas story of the Advent season that explained each day of the calendar and the variations of Christmas throughout the world. He enjoyed the advent calendar. Each day he opened a small part to build to create the city. He also enjoyed Corah’s advent calendar. When she went to open Day 5… no chocolate….Day 12 gone, Day 16 gone. EJ had enjoyed her days as well as his!

7: Make peppermint bark & caramels – made caramels a little last minute, but they got done. EJ and I took treats to the hospital. He had naughty treats (coal made from oreos) and nice treats (caramels). He enjoyed going around and deciding on whether people were naughty or nice. Everyone got a huge kick out of him. Didn’t get to making the peppermint bark… ran out of white chocolate making buckeyes. The Big E LOVES white chocolate buckeyes.

8: Ice skating in Lafayette – waiting on this glorious Indiana weather

9: See 3D movie @ IMAX Indy – Polar Express? – didn’t go see the IMAX, however, for EJ’s birthday, we went to see a 3D movie in Lafayette. We took Gma, who hadn’t seen a 3D movie EVER… She thought it was outstanding. PUSS in Boots was super cute. And of course our Christmas season couldn’t be complete without viewing the Polar Express and The Christmas Story 500 times!

10: See a play/musical/dance – We will be going to Wabash in January to see Swan Lake. It’s the FAMILY GIRLS NIGHT OUT! All the wonderful women in our lives will be dressing up, going to dinner and then going to the musical/play/ballet.

11: Make a gingerbread house – GMA put a gingerbread house together with the kids. Corah did a lot of the frosting whereas EJ was in charge of the CANDY… SURPRISE!

12: Cut down our family Christmas tree – We went to the tree farm and of course, like every other year, we went on a day that it was not opened! Due to chaotic scheduling, we opted to go to the local B&K and pick our tree out from the kind people who cut them down from their family farm and sell them to the YAHOOs of Logantucky that missed the days that the farm is really open.

13: String popcorn/cranberries for the tree – decided the dogs would have gained too much interest in the tree with food on it. Maybe another try next year.

14: Send out a new “awesome” number of Christmas cards – I believe our final total was around 80. Not our greatest year, but it will do. Next year…. Our card is already planned out.

15: Make Hot Cocoa after sledding – once again… waiting on the wonderful weather of Indiana to produce some of the white stuff so our children can use the NEW sleds.

I never considered once how I might feel after my father would pass away. I always knew that I would/could handle the situation and then work through the emotions after. I always knew that I was a survivor. I am the caretaker. I am the decision maker. I am the strength in weak situations. I have always been an adult. I have always (well, almost) been responsible. I have made my life from scratch and I have the student loans to prove it. I pay day-care fees and work full time. I pay taxes and full premiums on dental appointments when our yearly maximum is met. I educate Corah with a little help from others via homeschooling. My calendar looks treacherous. My appointments are plentiful. In all that I do and have experienced over the last few weeks, I am grateful.

Aug 27
Saturday started out normal for our family. The Big E worked all night and slept the morning while the kids and I went to a soccer game. My parents went garage-sale-ing. We attended a wedding after taking the kids to my MIL’s. My parents enjoyed the day. Mom worked around the house. Dad worked in the garage. He was getting a generator together to finish the shed. After the wedding, we were supposed to go on a movie date. No kids, just us. It had been quite a while since our last planned/unattended date (April – back when Corah went to Riley). We were quite ready for this night. Sans kiddos. Of course for any special occasion, I did what all women do. I wore the more uncomfortable pair of shoes possible. I talked the Big E into taking me to Kohl’s to find a comfy pair. I tried on probably 5 pairs… found one. Then my phone rang. It was my mother. She was frantic sounding on the phone. She told me that my dad had stopped breathing and they were working on him. I had to ask her what she meant. She told me that they were doing CPR and had shocked him once. I hollered for the Big E and we left. I don’t remember much of the drive, it went by too fast. What I remember of the drive was that he was gone and it would be ok. I don't remember the sound of God's voice, but I know it was Him. He gave me comfort in the moments that were the most critical. He told me that it was his time and that He would take care of everything. We got to the hospital before the ambulance arrived. CPR was still in progress. It had been at least 17 minutes. It was not good medically speaking. We were surrounded by an amazing team. They did everything they could, but Jesus had decided that He was calling him home. All activity ceased and he slipped away. No pain. No lingering. Just gone.

Aug 28
We went to the funeral home to make arrangements for the service. It was smooth and too easy. Decisions came naturally. Family was called. They were all coming. The house was soon full. The next few days were blurry.

Aug 30
The viewing

Sept 1
The funeral

Sept 5
My birthday and the first day that we tried to resume some form of normal.

November 3, 2011

Now it's November, a little over 2 months have passed. It has been an odd few months. Each day passes by without him. He was such a center part of all of our lives. It is hard to put him on the back burner and live life. But we are surviving. So many people ask "how are you holding up??" Well, it's definately not me holding me up... It's God. He held me together with his embrace during the night my dad passed away and walked across the pearly gates. He held me together while I gave a eulogy at my dad's funeral. He held me together through moving in with mom. He has done the work, I am just a participant in His plan. I figured that being an active participant is the least I can do to survive.

In the coming season, our goals are to develop some form of new normal. We have a very unique picture of family. Our immediate family includes my mother. We live with her now. It works out well most days. We work, we homeschool, we go to and from the doctor, we go to preschool and swim clinics, and occasionally we travel. We are working on a new normal. Our routine is slowing coming together.
So in hopes of a new normal, this is our bucket list for the coming season:
Go look at Christmas lights
Eat too much at family dinners & feel no guilt –Life is too short to worry so much
Volunteer together
Cookies for Santa & Reindeer food
Give 2 “secret’ gifts to 2 special people in our lives
Fill Stockings
Make Advent calendars/stringed presents
Make peppermint bark & caramels
Ice skating in Lafayette
See 3D movie @ IMAX Indy – Polar Express?
See a play/musical/dance
Make a gingerbread house
Cut down our family Christmas tree
String popcorn/cranberries for the tree
Send out a new “awesome” number of Christmas cards
Make Hot Cocoa after sledding

Day 2 School for PJ people

Yesterday went well. Corah got up at 745am, found something for breakfast, reviewed her daily work and got busy. She was so busily involved with school work that we (my husband and I) were told repeatedly to leave... she was busy reading. Math, Science, Social Studies - Byzantine Empire, and science... finished. Day 1 done. Dad was Mr. Mom for the day... I got called in to work (insert sarcastic surprise here). They survived without me! Came home to a semi-clean home with dinner (BBQ chicken prepped from Sunday) on the stove.... maybe I should work more often.

Day 2 - School for PJ people
I love PJs, so why not learn one day of the week in PJs! Today started out with a review of yesterday's work. Grading math, reviewing concepts she learned yesterday... only disagreement we had was because I wanted to do review when she wanted to read. The teacher rules had to be stated. When it is school time, I have to check out as mom and become the teacher. She needed to hear those words. After that, no problems.

We will see how the rest of the week goes...

With Love,

The Logan Brick's

An Adventure for Corah

Because of Corah’s recent diagnosis, one of the challenges that we faced in the last few months was what to do with Corah for schooling next year. The movements have subsided. Her balance is back. The tics are fewer. She has completed a triathlon (swim, bike, run). She is physically 95%. Emotionally and mentally, she is still 60%. Her decision making skills are less than to be desired. In a normal person, a fire alarm sounding would signal to the person that something is wrong. In her, no response. A bug flies by your face, you swat it away. For her, the bug is attacking her causing her to scream and run wildly to escape. New situations cause panic and excessive anxiety. Changes in plans are emotional road blocks. The thought of sending her to a school full of 6th - 8th graders where they change classes every 45 minutes and do not have one teacher who “knows” them was absolutely terrifying. After speaking to the middle school counselor, we just didn’t get a good vibe on the structure or how her days would be controlled. So our options: We could send her to a county school, where 6th grade is still elementary. We could send her to a private catholic school. Or we could keep her home and educate her ourselves. So after much thought, prayer, counsel and discussion…
Tomorrow is a very exciting day for our household. Tomorrow is the first day of school for us! We are embarking on a new adventure with Corah. We, Ez & I in collaboration with Gma, will start homeschooling. Ever hear of the game show, Are you smarter than a 5th grader?? The answer is NO! We have discovered that the majority of what we (the adults) have learned in elementary school we have long forgotten. Luckily the State of Indiana offers a virtual public school at no-cost to the family. She has to follow traditional school rules, has holidays off, a set of teachers, books and they have to follow her 504 plan (developed for special needs). A teacher provides a plan, grades her work and assigns homework. A teacher is available every day of the week to interact via live lessons if a topic isn’t understood. It will take some practice and a few weeks to get used to. She can do anything! Afterall, she did complete a triathlon less than 3 months after a physical stumbling block.
In preparation for our week, I have devoted all Sunday afternoon to cooking, prepping and freezing meals in attempt to ease our busy week. We made raspberry/blueberry muffins, chocolate oat pancakes, frozen chocolate banana bites, bbq chicken, tomato basil chicken, meatloaf and homemade corndog muffins. I found a great blog that had great recipes to freeze. We have mapped out our meal plan for the week and will be sticking with it to ease dinner time stress.
Books are ready. Computer is ready. Kids are heading to bed. And the parents not far behind.
With Love,
The Logan Brick’s

Corah's Chorea

It has been 9 weeks since we first noticed our daughter's world turning upside down. It has been a crazy roller coaster ride. 9 weeks ago... We had what we thought was a normal, growing preteen with wild hormones and a rapidly changing body. She would complain about her knees and wrist hurting. She would cry for no reason or for the smallest complaint or frustration. She had always been a busy-body, but was moving more frequently... fidgety... But her penmanship had changed. Her handwriting that was graceful had become similar to a kindergarten boy. When we asked her about it, she shrugged and just said that her wrist hurts when she writes. She offered no complaints other than writing difficulty, occasional headache and occasionally knee and wrist pain. Looking back, in February, she was taking a test and lost her peripheral vision. We took her to the eye doctor and to her pediatrician. Both exams were normal. In early April, penmanship changes. Late April, the complaints increased.

Monday, April 25th

Corah went to the school nurse. Side note: AMY IS AMAZING!!!... Her throat was a little sore. A glass of water cured it. Later that morning, her wrist was hurting her and she couldn't grip a pencil. Amy the Amazing called us concerned. Usually Corah doesn't complain, so she was worried. We made an appointment with our pediatrician. Side note: our pediatrician is as old as dirt and loves to read...translation: he is very experienced and keeps up to date. During the appointment he examined Corah. The exam was relatively normal with the exception of movement of her right hand and mouth at random. He referred us to a neurologist in Indy. The appointment was scheduled in June. No worries. To us, we weren't worried. Our doctor wasn't worried.

Tuesday, April 26th

We got a call. Our appointment had been moved up to May. No worries still. I am a nurse. I know what urgency looks like in a physician. He wasn't worried. He did give us a possible name. Chorea... Movement...

Wednesday, April 27th

defining day. Corah went to school, no complaints. She was herself for the most part. We went to my parent's farm immediately after school. My mother had bought Corah some tuna snack packs and Corah decided that was going to be her after school snack. She began opening the package on the floor. She couldn't grip the package. She tried opening it with her teeth, successfully. I was watching her... she was getting frustrated. She couldn't get the spoon inside the 2 inch opening of the tuna pouch. She kept trying, but her hands were not cooperating. She was flipping tuna all over. She tried to grab her drink, but instead spilled it. She was in a total meltdown. So was I. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like she had a stroke and the right side of her body wouldn't move the way she told it to. I didn't know what to say or do. I just hugged her. I promised her that we would find out what was wrong with her. I told her that no matter what happened, we will get through this together and figure out life from here on out. With or without her right side. I had to go to work that night... I was thankful for the distraction. I needed my friends with medical knowledge to rationalize this out.

Thursday, April 28th

Amy the Amazing called twice. Once for her wrist and the second time for the movement and tears. She was very concerned. We called the pediatrician. He was out of the office. We saw his partner, a doctor that I deeply respect. Dr Pawlowski had seen Corah in February for her headache. He has seen her "normal" on her neurological exam. He noticed right away something was different. He was worried, but he didn't let us in on his worries. He called Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. They wanted her there tonight. Now, rather than later. We were already worried. We were seeing 4 out of 5 symptoms of a stroke. She had slurred speech, she was dragging her right foot when she walked, her right arm dropped when she held them up, and had no grip strength in her right hand. The nurse in me was FREAKING OUT! The mom in me was as cool as a cucumber. Her father was feeling the same way. We had to be STRONG and THANKFUL TO GOD FOR EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING WE WERE GOING TO BE HANDED!

We got to Riley at 530pm. We were whisked to a room in the ER. They did exams, blood work and tests. We saw 3 different physicians and 3 nurses. She was a new case for them. All of her preliminary lab work came back normal. Her head CT was normal! THANKS TO GOD!!! We were told that they were 90% sure that she didn't have a stroke. But still no explanation on the Chorea.

Friday, April 29th

She was admitted to the 7th Floor in the Simon Tower of Riley @ 0130am. More tests throughout the night. CT with contrast at 3am. More blood at 430am. ECHO and EEG @ 650am. No Sleep + Preteen girl = moody and emotional havoc! We had what felt like a bazillion doctors in and out of our room. She was unusual. The docs took video and did "neuro" exam over and over. Each exam was essentially the same. Neurology consulted Infectious Disease. The collaboration of the teams came up with a diagnosis by 4pm. Diagnosis: Rheumatic Fever with Sydenham's Chorea.
Corah was discharge at 530pm. WOW!!! 24hrs and we had a diagnosis.


Since then: Corah has to have Pencillin for "life". She has mitral valve regurgitation.
She has joint pain and sydenham's chorea. Sydenham's Chorea is a movement disorder. It affects the motor-neuro pathways in the body that misfire and cause her right side to move without her knowledge. The joint pain is going away. It is intermittent and is probably more related to her growth spurt in the last month (she's 5'6", 5'4" in December) than to the rheumatic fever. The chorea is still present. It is subtle and we are usually the only people who notice it. The emotional instability is present and is not changing. It is getting a little worse. She has developed an insane fear of sleep and bugs. She is super sensitive to texture, sound and touch. She had difficulty with dressing and picking out clothes. We were walking on eggshells, but now we can't. She sees an occupational therapist to develop her skills for daily life. She worked with speech therapy during school. Her speech has improved and she has found that others understand her more when she speaks slowly. A chatty cathy we now have to force to talk. She is hesitant to interact with other kids. She will begin seeing a psychologist/therapist in the next few weeks to work on the fears and OCD symptoms.
Daily life can be a struggle. She would like to sit in her room and stay there all day if we would let her. But she needs to blossom in the world. She needs exposure to life and learning. We PRAISE GOD for the child HE has given us. We embrace our opportunity to grow with her. To teach her. To love her. Thanks for all of your prayers!


With Love,

The Logan Brick's