the Life of Olena

The weather is cruddy today, rainy and chilly. We had a few nice days this week but I am anxiously awaiting spring! Unfortunately Olena is not as enthusiastic. She has a huge fear of loud noises and nice weather means trucks and motorcycles which she is terrified of. I feel so bad for her but on the other hand it is hard for me to grasp how on earth she can be so scared - she spends a majority of her time outside wearily walking around the back yard just listening. She likes to have advanced notice so in the event it comes to close she has plenty of time to run and take cover!! it sounds ridiculous I known but it is the truth. I just want the poor girl to be outside in the sunshine having some fun. I was hoping that this summer would be a bit different but the fact that Jason and I basically spent all day on Wednesday fighting her to stay outside with us, I have a feeling it won't be. Sigh!! She started Gymnastics again this week. She kept insisting she didn't want to g

I figured it was time to document some Olena milestones: She is 29lbs Her hair is starting to get really dark. We had to take her earrings out due to too much drama. Sensory issues made them too difficult because she would freak if you even thought about touching them. They fell out one too many times for me and I was fed up with fighting her to put them back in so I just left them out, and she is perfectly fine with that. She can write and recite her first and last name, and her address. She can count to 20 alone, to 50 with help. She has finally mastered buttoning...this has been an ongoing process. She LOVES her HotWheel cars. Daddy gave her a huge bag from his childhood as well as the original HotWheel City, she loves it and Jason loves playing with it too. She is not a girly girl. Does not really care for princesses, or tutus - she does like to wear dresses though. She doesn't really have any favorite foods. She claims everyday at dinner that she doesn't like what

We have had some bad times these past few weeks so sorry I haven't posted. Two and half weeks ago I herniated 2 of my lower discs and that was a nightmare. The worst pain I ever felt in my life and extremely inconvenient I might add. I was flat out for about 4 days before I could even walk, if that's what you want to call it. I couldn't sit, stand, walk, or bend. I basically could lay on my side and that was about it. After 4 torturing adjustments at the chiropractor and 2 weeks of basically doing nothing I am finally starting to feel normal again. I am really sore in the morning and after sitting for too long at work, but it is bearable so I am not going to complain. With that being the case, my house is pretty dirty so now I get to spend this weekend cleaning! Sadly, we lost one of our family pets unexpectedly this week. Mugsy , our youngest dog, had a seizure that made him brain dead. We have no clue what caused the seizures and to our knowledge he was healthy as a horse

Tonight's dinner was winter greens with carrots, feta and brown rice. And I have to say it was really really good! I thought I would share the recipe in case any of you brave souls would like to give it a try. (I know I can count on you Mrs Hockenberry!) Keep in mind Jason does not like vegetables and is a pretty picky eater and he enjoyed it just as much as I did, he even cooked it so that tells you how easy it is to make too! The carrots also give it a very sweet taste so the kiddos should like it too! 2 carrots shredded 2 bunches of Kale (or collard greens or Swiss chard) chop thinly 1/2 red onion finely chopped salt and pepper to taste Crumbled feta cheese (I think a p armesan cheese would be good too) Brown rice cook carrots, greens, onions, salt and pepper in a deep skillet with 1/4 cup of water. *we used our cast iron skillet. Cook over medium heat, tossing once or twice until greens are wilted and tender, 10-15 minutes. Add cheese and spoon over rice. ENJOY!!! As Olena wo