Jabbi Fam Menu Plan - 4/26 to 5/2

Don't ask me why but I always meal plan on Thursday morning.  Maybe it's because the ads/sales come out on Wednesdays but probably not since I never look at them.  Since all my dinner meals are completely gluten free, sales don't often apply.

I used to post (ok, rarely post) my menu plans on Our Friendly Kitchens but since I'm trying to blog more here, I've decided to just post my meals and recipes here from now on.  Maybe occasionally I will double post a REALLY delicious recipe.

Without further ado, I give your what we are eating.  Why?  I don't know.  People seem to like sharing meal plans.  I guess it helps spur creativity in each other :)  For additional help, I've linked to any recipe's I know are online!

Thursday 4/26 - Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Risoto and Green Beans
Friday 4/27 - Crockpot Texas Chilie and corn bread
Saturday 4/28 - Date Nite - Yay!!
Sunday 4/29 - Pasta w/ chicken, bell peppers and onions, garlic bread
Monday 4/30 - Crock Pot Lasagna, vegetable medley
Tuesday 5/1 - Burgers and Dogs
Wednesday 5/2 - Homemade Pizza

There you have it.  Yes, I cook 6 days a week...mostly.

SMB Moms Night Out - TICKET GIVEAWAY!!

So, I kinda jumped the gun yesterday with my post about the Early Entrance Giveaway - because it turns out that it's not for early entrance to register to the event - it's for 2 FREE TICKETS!!

But, there is ALSO an EARLY ENTRANCE opportunity for those who don't want to wait to see if they won the free ticket :)

So, HERE is the link to the Early Entrance - available for SMB contributors family and friends ONLY before it opens to the whole SMB community!!

|| EARLY REGISTRATION ||

If you want a FREE ticket to the event, post a comment below asking me to PICK YOU and I will randomly select two winners on FRIDAY! If you don't win, you still have a handful of days to pick up your early ticket before the rest of the public at 1pm NEXT Wendesday.

Whew! I hope that makes more sense! :)

(Note: Jessica, Mandi, and Erin, I have you entered already so you don't need to comment again!)

SMB Moms Night Out - Early Entrance GIVEAWAY!

So, as many of you know, I've had to opportunity to become a contributor to Scottsdale Moms Blog. For those not familiar with the blog, here's a little background: SMB was created to unite moms in creating a common community and actually getting moms face to face with each other instead of just online with each other. What started as a small community of Scottsdale moms has now fully expanded to the Phoenix metro area with play dates, resources and mom's activities for all to enjoy.

One of the things (the most famous and wonderful things) SMB is known for is their Moms Nights Out. These are held at wonderful locations around the valley and feature amazing raffles and prizes as well as food and drink. But the best part about them is its a great opportunity for moms to get a night out and spend it relaxing in a fun environment with friends. I have truly enjoyed these quarterly nights.

If you have been a follower of SMB, you know these nights sell out FAST - like in hours. They are limited to 200 people and that's it. As a contributor, I have been given the opportunity to giveaway on my blog 2 early entrance tickets before they go on sale to the public. Here's the event information:

Scottsdale Moms Blog presents

ARIZONA MOM’S NIGHT OUT

Thursday, May 10

7:00PM to 9:00PM

at the Ice Den

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy early Mother's Day, let's celebrate together with a night out with the girls!

Join us at the Ice Den (Bell/101)

on Thursday, May 10 from 7-9PM*

Your $10 ticket entitles you to:

:: a glass of wine ::
:: delicious snacks ::
:: raffle entry & chance to win spectacular giveaways ::

* Doors open at 7PM. Raffle prizes drawn at 7:30PM.

If you would like to be gifted with the early entrance opportunity, simply leave a comment below and I will select 2 people TOMORROW MORNING to email the early admission link. You then have about 24 hours to get your ticket before they go public!!

I really hope to have you, my friends and family, join me at this event!!

Judah's New Born Shoot

We've been super blessed to know and be friends with some stellar photographers - one of them being the AMAZING Kimberly Bee. I love Kim. I know when I schedule a shoot with her, we're going to do something fun...and just possibly illegal. We've sent Jeff carrying a couch into the middle of someone's cotton field, trespassed on what we thought was abandoned property...so as our shoot approached, I wondered what fun we would get up to this time!

Well, since our shoot was during the 120 degree August heat wave, we had a last minute location switch to...our house! Okay...well...turns out that we have a fantastic tree in our backyard. It's a fig tree and it's (much to our neighbors dismay) VERY overgrown. So combine that with Kim's creative eye and wha-la! Naked newborn, balancing in a fig tree in 120 degree heat.

Of course, it wouldn't be a newborn shoot without getting some of the more traditional baby poses so we have those too. And of course, the attempted shot of all the kids. So here you go! Here are some of the photos from Judah's newborn shoot.

I loved this monkey set the minute I saw it - mainly because his dad is well known for some mad climbing skills. So, we now have our little monkey in training.

For more information on Kim, check out her blog - Bumble and Bloom

Blessings,

Abbi

Judah-man: 1 month well-check (a week late...)

Well, as probably most people know, Judah is home! He was able to come home a little over two weeks ago and has been doing really well. Praise God!

Today he is 5 and a half weeks old - he will be 6 weeks old on Friday. That's just crazy. He weighs in at 6 lbs 5 oz and is 19 inches in length. He had his one month well check with his ped (delayed because of when he was released from the NICU) and is overall doing wonderfully.

He eats like a champ. Since he's a preemie, he gets preemie formula added to my milk to create a high calorie, high calcium+vitamins+minerals combination. It's been nice (and different) to bottle feed a baby. The pro's are that anyone can feed him (woohoo!) but the cons are many :(

My poor little mommy heart so wants to nurse this little boy. I do nurse him twice a day right now which consists of him latching for about 20 min and somewhat eating. He's super spoiled by the bottle and can totally tell he's going to be a lazy eater when it comes to breastfeeding. On top of that, I found out today that his pediatrician recommends preemies to be on high-cal feedings until they reach a normal growth curve - usually around 6 months of age. With where Judah is at right now, it will be at least that or longer of hi-cal bottle feedings while mommy pumps. The thought of continuing in this pattern for another 5 months brings tears to my eyes.

Please pray for me as I battle and pray over this. I know that Judah's health is fully in God's hands and that however we get through this, He will provide us the strength to do so. Even if that means finishing out my supply and going from there. Judah is strong and healthy and we praise and give all the glory to God for that.

To all my formula-feeding mommy friends, I know that formula is not the end of the world. I know that you get strong healthy babies who were fed exclusively formula. I love you ladies and I fully support your decision. However, as a mommy who nursed her last two babies almost exclusively, this is so hard. BMilk is best. And the antibodies for a preemie going into (and through) RSV season can make a huge, HUGE difference. Lord, please give me strength.

Updates: Judah, Sophia and Abbi

To make my life easier I'm posting the latest on all of our health issues.

Judah:

Is doing great. He's eating 45ml every 3 hours and has been taking some (or all) of each feeding from a bottle. He's been moved to a crib for a little over a week now and they have adjusted him to just being swaddled and laid on his back to sleep without the additional "comfort" items. He still has his feeding tube and that will remain until he is eating at least 70% of each feeding from a bottle consistently. It could possibly come out over the weekend.

He has been having a lot of "brady's", short for bradycardia, which is a drop in his heart rate. It's totally normal for preemies and I've gotten used to him having them. But - he has to be without them for several days before he can come home.

Sophia:

A little history: Sophi has had a limp for about 3 weeks now. It first started following several days of a low-grade fever and it was initially diagnosed as a viral joint infection. After two weeks of waiting it out, she had made very little forward progress so her ped sent her for new x-rays and blood work. Her blood work revealed only small signs of infection - but nothing that would explain her limp. Her ped then referred her to an pediatric orthopedic who we saw today.

The pediatric orthopedic thinks that she has injured the joint, and that we are dealing with inflammation, not infection. They are still watching her for signs of valley fever but since she is improving incrementally each day, there is no reason to suspect infection unless she gets worse again. Hello large doses of advil.

Abbi:

I think the hardest thing for me to balance is my desire to be in the NICU with Judah and getting the rest my body needs to recover. I think I would actually get more rest if he were home, even though right now I can do 4-5 hour stretches of sleep which I won't be able to do once he's home. However, I don't have the option right now to "just take the baby to bed" with me and sleep when they sleep. Add in there all of Sophia's dr's appointments, Maddi's 6th birthday on Thursday, and getting Maddi and Izzi ready to start school next week. Yikes...not much rest for this very tired mama who can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

They prepared me for it to take 1-3 months to recover from the Valley Fever and that didn't take into account recovering from having a baby as well. Honestly, I don't even feel like I just had a baby, I really feel like I have Valley Fever. I can't pinpoint specific symptoms other than the extreme tiredness - my respiratory pneumonia feels much better overall but still has it's moments (especially with the heat/humidity).

How to pray for us:

* Praise! Always we are praising God. For his provision during this time, for the large number of people who have and are helping our family get through it, for another day we get to bring Him glory. And for new opportunities - I never thought I would have hours to sit and chat with NICU nurses and now I do. Since they try to keep the nurses consistent I've gotten to know a few of them.

* Continued healing for myself and Sophia. That I could find moments to rest.

* Patience and endurance for Jeff when he feels like he's doing all the work (cause he pretty much is).

* That Judah would continue to improve each day. I'm anxious to have him home but want him fully healthy before he is so if that means longer in the NICU, then I'm ok with that.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, love and support. We are truly blessed by each one of you.

Judah: First Bath

We were able to give Judah his first bath today. I thought after three kids I knew how to bathe a baby but we've entered a whole new world. We were instructed by a NICU massage therapist that works with each of the babies on how to give him a swaddle bath. It takes both of us to bathe him - one to hold and support him while the other washes him. It was wonderful having Jeff come today to give him his first bath.

Pre Bath:

Jeff held, I washed

Tiny Little Foot

Judah stayed calm and enjoyed it.

Post bath. The paci gives you an idea of how small he is :)