Adventures in Cooking

Ok, so it has been several months since my last post, I know. Things have been really crazy! I just happen to have a few spare moments that I decided to use to write. As most of you know, I am doing my student teaching right now, and also taking a class, so I am still a very busy girl, as usual!

Carson just keeps getting bigger and bigger. He is starting to outgrow alot of his clothes, so we just had to start shopping for an all new wardrobe. Plus, with it being so unusually warm for most of this February, he needed new seasonal clothes too! It is unreal how the weather was, mostly in the 70s. Very strange.

Anyway, the newest thing that is happening is food. Carson lost his appetite for a couple of weeks following an ear infection, but he has finally gotten back to eating just about anything we give him. On February 19, Marty, Carson and I attended our first PKU cooking class. We met up with Jimmy, Julie and Noah at Jeff State south of Birmingham. Chef Jason was our instructor, and I thought he did an amazing job and had some great recipes for us! We worked together at stations to prepare these recipes, then went to another room where we all sat down and tasted them. I was most disappointed with the egg plant burgers. They smelled and looked SO good while cooking, but ended up tasting VERY bitter! Yuck! Carson agreed, and so did Jimmy and Marty. The best thing to me was the pasta with pesto and the veggie fajitas. The zuccini tasted delicious in the fajitas, and Carson liked it too! After the class, the six of us stopped at Logan's and ate together. We had a great time! It was a beautiful day as well.

This experience inspired me to start cooking more low protein foods and try some new recipes. I have started getting adventurous, and I love it!

First, I made some really quick and easy biscuits with Cambrooke's MixQuick. The recipe came from their website, www.cambrookefoods.com. Unfortunately, I have yet to get them to keep well, as they get kind of gooey after a while. Definitely best when fresh. Carson loves them, and they are super low in phe. He loves any kind of bread! I thought I took a picture of these, but I guess not because I can't find it!

Next, for Valentine's Day, I made Carson his first cookies. I made the Butterscotch Chip Cookies, from Cambrooke's site also. Very easy to make, and delicious too! Carson enjoyed them, and I also brought some to church to share with friends. Everyone said they tasted just like a normal cookie...yummy!




Very satisfying!

The most adventurous thing I tried to bake so far was homemade graham crackers. I got this recipe from the Low Protein Cookery for PKU cookbook, which is the older PKU cookbook. I just recently ordered it through Amazon.com and had it shipped to my house. I actually bought the newer cookbook first, a long time ago! I did make a fudge recipe out of the new cookbook at Christmas. I have not yet perfected my fudge, so I ate it all myself. It sure did taste wonderful though...chocolate and butterscotch! Yum! If you wonder why so much butterscotch, it is because it is much lower in phe than chocolate, so a better option for Carson. Anyway, I digress. For the graham crackers, I used Wel-Plan Baking Mix, honey, molasses, corn syrup, cinnamon, sugar, and I do not remember what else. The problem I had was that I did not have a flat cookie sheet, only one with sides, so I could not roll them out perfectly flat. They did not get crispy. Instead, the texture was more like a cookie. I will also use half the cinnamon it calls for next time, because I prefer less and felt it was too strong. However, they were still delicious, tasted much like a regular graham, and most importantly, Carson loved them too! I look forward to trying them again with the proper modifications. Graham crackers are Carson's favorite snack, which he picked up from Noah a long time ago. Unfortunately, one Honey Maid graham square has 19mg of phe, which is high for such a small portion. The homemade grahams are significantly lower, so I will be making them again very soon!


As for Carson's eating habits, he is being pretty selective right now. Ever since we suffered from the horrible stomach virus last month, which took Carson over a week to recover from, he has not been eating the same. He went back to eating canned sweet potatoes, Bruce's Yams, and refuses to eat them in any other form. He will still eat green beans as long as they are with something else. He will also eat carrots sometimes, and he still loves broccoli and cauliflower, thankfully. He probably eats spaghetti five out of the seven days a week, only because I refuse to make it every single night. I use low protein spiral noodles and 2 tablespoons of Ragu Traditional Old World Style. Apparently, this is Carson's most favorite food in the whole wide world! He must have spaghetti! With 1/2 cup of the noodles, this portion totals only 23mg phe, which is wonderful. But the noodles are mostly starch! Sometime in the near future I plan to try a low protein mac & cheese. I also bought some lopro rice to try. The major problem we are having right now is Carson's reluctance to try new foods, as well as his rejection of fruit. He used to eat all kinds of fruit, but since the virus has completely refused it and spit it out. What to do? Any tips are appreciated. I plan to try to make a nice dessert for him with fruit in it to try. We will see!

Most of all, I look forward to six weeks from now, May 14th, when I FINALLY graduate from college and can devote more time to cooking and trying new recipes for my little man. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Say "Beets!"

Ok, so maybe I went a little too P.C. for my son, since he doesn't eat cheese. He does like beets though! :)

The point is, he mysteriously learned how to smile at the camera without any training! What a hoot! We have laughed so hard we have cried! Anytime we need to brighten the day, all we have to do is get a camera out in view and he puts on a show. My favorite story is the one night I was on the couch watching TV and Carson was running around in the hallway. The camera was sitting on the TV tray next to me, dormant, no one touching it. Carson walked by, saw the camera sitting at his eye level, and did his thing! I laughed so hard I almost fell off the couch!

These are fun times...:)

Other things Carson is now doing:

He has a favorite song on his piano Uncle Eric bought him for Christmas last year...Polly Wolly Doodle. He now knows exactly how many times to push the button until it plays that song. He's already a "flipper" just like his Daddy!

He is climbing, but so far not much on the furniture. He is practicing though.

He has a favorite cartoon now called "Super Why". It comes on PBS in the mornings.

He loves books and he loves music...my kind of boy! :) He also loves throwing and kicking the ball...much like his Daddy.

His favorite thing is playing chase. He is even learning to hide and jump out at us because Marty and I have done that to him so many times. Also, for the first time, he started chasing girls. Sunday he chased Natalie after church and provided all the adults with much free entertainment. They were so cute! I think it caught Natalie by surprise because he has never done that before. He's a ladies' man now!

We are having alot of fun with Carson and looking forward to so much more. God continues to bless us every day. We have SO much to be thankful for, as always!

Carson's First Year

And what a year it has been! Full of ups and downs...mostly ups. It flew by but at the same time it feels like he's been here forever. Strange isn't it?

As I reflect on the first year of Carson's life, my thoughts of course immediately go to PKU. As much as you try to make life adapt to your new normal and not make it a big deal, it becomes that much more an important part of every day life. I spend alot of time planning and researching and shopping, even just thinking about things Carson can eat and things he will need in the future. I make it a priority in my life so hopefully it will be easier for him when he gets older. Even so, this is something I LOVE doing. I am enjoying every minute of it, and I do not view it as a burden at all. It is fun for me to shop for things and try new foods, and I am going to try to make it fun for him too. Just like every other part of life, I see it as an adventure. We have all come a long way from crying in that doctor's office; now our visits to the clinic are spent chasing Carson around the room!

Babies grow SO fast and make such tremendous leaps in development their first year. It has been a miracle for me to actually witness this for the first time. It seems like just yesterday I could lay Carson down for a nap on the couch and not even worry about him rolling off, and now he can get himself down and walk away! I suppose the main step he hasn't made so far is talking. No actual words yet, just babble. But like everything else we've been through, I know he will do it when he gets good and ready.

One of the neatest things about Carson's first year of life is how many places he has been. Marty made the comment one time that Carson has been to more states in his first 9 months than many people have ever been in their whole lifetime! That's true. I know that he will never remember it, but we have lots of pictures and videos to show him when he gets older, as proof! So far Carson has been to Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, and Florida. He has seen the Alamo, Yellowstone National Park, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Crazy Horse, the Rocky Mountains, and a Gulf Coast Beach. That sure is alot of traveling for one little guy! I look forward to the future and hope that we will get to take him to many, many more places.


For Carson's first birthday party, I tried to keep it as small as I could and invite only immediate family. On his birthday, Monday, August 16th, 2010, I grilled a Carson-friendly meal and made a low-protein birthday cake.
We had grilled squash, zucchini, carrots, and pineapple; white rice with strawberry pineapple salsa, and jerk chicken (only thing not Carson-friendly). Carson still ate mostly baby food, so he tasted of some of the rice, but nothing else. He of course played in his cake, but did not eat any of it. Those in attendance were Nana and PawPaw, Granny and Pops, Nanny, and Uncle Jason.










The weekend just before Carson's birhtday, we had celebrations with other sides of the family too.
On Saturday, August 14, we had a get-together at Papa Steve and Glenda's with Grandmother, Uncle Eric (who was home visiting...yea!), Aunt Nissa and cousins Ellie and Parker (who just moved back from Texas...yea again!). We got to swim in the pool, which is Carson's favorite thing (water)
and Parker taught Carson how to climb a step.



On Sunday, August 15, 2010, we went to Papa Green and Nanny Judy's after church with Granny and Pops, Uncle Darwin, and cousin Caleb.




All in all, it was a very eventful birthday weekend...a fitting way to wrap up Carson's First Year.

To Carson, I want to say Mommy loves you very much. We are so blessed to have a little boy like you. You are the sunshine in our lives that lights up every day. God made you perfect no matter what anyone else may say. I'm so thankful for our first year together and thankful that I get to be your Mommy. I am having so much fun and I enjoy every minute I get to take care of you. I pray for God to always bless you, keep you safe, happy, and healthy. I love you! Happy First Birthday!

My Labor Story

In honor of "Labor" Day today and all the young ladies I know out there who are expecting, I am going to share with you my labor story. (By the way, I am feeling insanely jealous of you for some reason. I'm not ready to have another baby yet, but I LOVED being pregnant and having a baby! I'm so excited for all of you!)

Carson's due date from the beginning was August 28, 2009. On my weekly visit Thursday, August 13, I was dilated 1cm and 70% effaced. If you don't know what that means, ask somebody! I will say when you get to 10cm you're ready to have a baby, which most people know, but if you're 100% effaced your water might break. So, because I was 70%, the doctor was concerned my water could break within the next week, so she told me to come back Tuesday instead of waiting until Thursday. She would check me again and if too thinned we would talk about inducing labor. I was ok with that. I like to have things planned out, and that would give me time to prepare, right? I also figured that was the most likely scenario, because with my body things are usually late or slow! I kept telling everyone at work I was ready for Carson to come, but I was so "small" to everyone else they didn't think it would happen.

The next day, on Friday after my appoinment, it is typical to have some discomfort after the doctor visit. I was hurting and just kept feeling worse and worse. At lunch I drove down the road, trying to decide if I wanted to just get lunch or go home. I opted for home. When I got there, I ate my lunch in the quiet all by myself, and decided these cramps could be contractions. I started timing them, and sure enough, they were 8-10 minutes apart, very regular for just cramps! I took it easy the rest of the evening, and eventually they stopped. I slept good that night, no more pain.

Saturday morning I got up at 6am, went to the bathroom, and got a surprise! I don't want to get too graphic for all you weak stomachs out there. Don't worry...it wasn't a baby! LOL! Let's just say it was a plug. I knew that this could mean I was going into labor soon, or it could be a couple of days. But I knew it wouldn't be long. I woke Marty up, told him to get in the shower, then I took a shower and we finished packing our hospital bags. I said "Today might be the day!" We called our parents and told them. I started having contractions and kept timing them. My brother-in-law came to baby-sit me so Marty could finish whatever farm work he was doing. Late in the afternoon I went to the bathroom and saw (hold on weak stomachs)blood. That's when I freaked out. I had some bleeding early on in the pregnancy, and it turned out to be ok. This time I was scared again. We threw our stuff in the Jeep and rushed to the hospital, and I called from my cell phone on the way. The doctor said it was normal and no reason to panic, just come in and get checked. Well, guess what? Still just 1cm and 70%! Actually, I might have been 100% that time, I don't remember. Anyway, they kept me for an hour, saw no change and sent me HOME!!! I was LIVID!!! It takes us 30 minutes or so to get there, and I'm in LABOR! Oh yeah, and I'm upset because my doctor is not on call and I really wanted her!

So since I felt horrible and we didn't think it would be long, we decided not to go home. Instead, I wanted to eat just in case. I didn't feel like going into a public place and trying to sit down as much pain as I was in, so we went to Sonic. I had a bacon cheeseburger toaster (which has BBQ sauce on it, always my craving!), tater tots, and a Dr. Pepper. We ate in the car, which was not easy to do in between contractions. Then we went to Grandmother's house in town and I labored on her couch for a while and drank some water. My contractions never would get as close as 5 minutes apart, but they were regular, and very hard and painful. Eventually I got tired and decided to go home. I got into bed and tried to sleep or rest, but the contractions kept coming. Finally, at 10:30, I called the hospital again and spoke to Dr. Short. I had a contraction while on the phone with her, and after hearing that I couldn't talk through it, she told me to come back in. We took our time getting ready, AGAIN, and I grabbed my box of Cap'n Crunch on the way out. After all, it had been 5 hours since I'd had anything to eat! And I knew this was it.

We got back into the maternity ward around midnight. This time a different nurse, not Kim who I had seen earlier and loved, was on shift. When they checked me, I was like 2 or 3 cm. They said wow, you have been laboring hard! Well, no kidding!!! They got me all hooked up and Carson was on his way. They gave me Stadol in my IV for pain, but it just made me dizzy. The contractions hurt so badly I remember saying "If this is what pain relief feels like I'd hate to feel the real pain!" I was goofy, but I knew what was going on. I had to lay there for what seemed like hours before I was far enough along for the epidural. Actually, they told me it was time, and then it seemed like hours went by before the lady even got in there. I was worried about this part, but it was a piece of cake. Except for the part where you have to hold still. When they sat me up in the bed, I had the most monstrous contraction EVER and I screamed in pain. Marty, who was forced to stand outside, was upset because he thought the epidural hurt me. I barely even felt it, and I sure was thankful for it, because that contraction HURT!!!

After that I finally was able to settle down and rest a bit. Unfortunately, there was one little section at the bottom of my abdomen and top of my thigh that didn't go numb. And if you have never been numb from the waist down, let me tell you it is a weird feeling! I couldn't stand it when they touched or moved my legs. I could see them, but my brain was telling me to feel like they were still in the original position. I yelled at Marty several times to stop touching or moving my legs, and cover them up with the sheet so I couldn't see them! They were freaking me out! Anyway, I could still feel when a contraction was coming, although it didn't hurt anything like before. By 9cm I was stalled out for a long time. Dr. Short said it worked out good because she had to deliver several other babies too! She was a busy lady that night.

In fact, I laid there so long that the next shift of nurses came in at 7:00am Sunday, and my original nurse, Kim, was back in time to deliver Carson! Yea! I was so happy, because I thought she was great. But by this time, I was all out of Cap'n Crunch energy, and I had been awake for over 24 hours with no sleep even after all the medicine! Pushing was hard, especially being numb and so exhausted. I started around 8:00. By 9:45, Dr. Short had finally come in the room to help. She looked about as tired as I felt! Then at 9:49 am, officially, Sunday, August 16,2009, my little Carson Allen Rice popped into the world! Why couldn't she have helped sooner?! is what I was thinking. The worst part is the shaking afterward, I guess from the meds wearing off, or maybe it's natural. But I wouldn't hold my baby boy until the shaking let up some because I was afraid I would hurt him! When I finally got to hold him, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I am so proud of my little man!

I love the fact that I went into labor unexpectedly, which is obviously not what I expected. And I love to tell the story. God bless each of you out there who is expecting a new bundle of joy. I hope you have the same happy story to tell and enjoy every minute of it. Thanks be to God for blessing us with Carson.

Happy Labor Day!

Summer Fun

Just like his Mommy and Daddy (especially Mommy!), Carson LOVES the water!!! His first swim in the pool at Nana and Paw-Paw's was on the first official day of summer, June 21. We had a ball! I was determined to get him in that pool that evening when I got home from work. He was tired, but that sure perked him up! He spent the majority of the time splashing on top of the water with one hand...constantly! He wouldn't stop! He kicked his feet some under the water, but it did not have the same effect, so he didn't like it as much. He also played with a ball just a little, but mostly he just wanted to splash. The next time in the pool, it was the same thing.



Carson's first beach trip

Once again I say the apple does not fall far from the tree, because Carson, much like Mommy, appears to be a beach-bum-wannabe.
For our final summer hoorah we went to Destin to spend the Fourth of July weekend with Shaunna, Dustin, Lucas, and Callie. Little does Carson know that he did the same thing last year, only in Mommy's tummy! :) This time he actually got to play with Callie instead of just kicking me every time she squealed. We had a nice, relaxing time just hanging out and playing in the water.
We went to the beach one day and let Carson experience the sand and the ocean for the first time. He was actually very impressed! The beach was nice and clean, and so was the water. The only difference was there was no algae, and this is the time of year it usually washes up. Maybe the oil prevented it from growing. There was no oil or tar balls in the water or on the sand. Everything was beautiful and we had a great time. I was amazed that Carson even loved the sand! He dug so much that he almost buried himself in it! And he just had to bend down and splash in the ocean, of course getting a nice mouthful of sea water.



Of course, no Fourth of July celebration would be complete without some fireworks. We went down to the Harbor Walk and found a spot to stand and watch the fireworks show over the water. Thankfully, this even impressed Carson! I was so afraid he would be scared and scream. At the very end of the show, it began pouring down rain. Luckily I was smart enough to plan ahead. I had an umbrella and Carson was in his big stroller, but neither shelter was enough to protect us from the monsoon! We all got back to the condo soaking wet, but we had a blast! Carson was such a good boy, and we all enjoyed his first Fourth of July. I just love sharing all these wonderful firsts with my little boy and his Dada!

Thanks so much, Shaunna, for welcoming us into your home away from home for another holiday weekend. We appreciate you giving us a chance to relax and showing us a good time.