Two-by-Two Hands of Blue

(If you don't get the reference from the title, go watch Firefly and Serenity. Your inner geek will thank you.)

As some of you know, our little Firefly was sick. He had a cold, a virus. It was nothing to worry about, just a couple of days home with momma and some meds to keep his fever down. 

Earlier That Day

He went down for his afternoon nap and when he woke up was clingy and starting to feel warm again. I let him lay on my chest for a few minutes and just as I was getting up to measure out his medicine, he lifted his head off my chest, looked around, began drooling and his eyes round up in his head. I called Husband because that's what you do when daddy is a doctor. 

By the time he answered his phone Firefly had started shaking in a full body seizure. Husband started going through his emergency lists and just as he asked me if Firefly was still breathing, he stopped.  

My baby boy wasn't breathing. His lips were turning blue.

I called 911. EMTs came. 

The seizure stopped when the were coming in the front door and he finally started breathing again. They gave him oxygen and we got a ride in the ambulance. He was strapped down and was just staring at me, groggy and not really able to understand what was going on around him. (I was trying not to puke, with the adrenaline and car sickness in the back of that truck.)

The seizure lasted under 5 minutes, but it took Firefly about an hour to regain his strength and his ability to take in his surroundings. When he did, he latched onto me and wouldn't let go. Husband met us at the hospital and we went through a few tests to make sure there wasn't something really wrong with him.

What happened was that Firefly's fever spiked to quickly and he had a Febrile Seizure. Luckily, they are generally benign and may never occur again. He was predisposed to them because there is genetic component and I had had one when I was 18 months old. 

Still nothing prepares you to watch your child's lips turn blue. 

Not being able to do anything about it. 

Have to wait out the seizure.

Seeing his small frame bundled up and strapped to a stretcher, huge by comparison.

In the tiniest little green hospital gown.

He did so well, even ate the applesauce they brought for him and learned to drink out of a straw.

That small cold made its rounds in the household and Firefly and Husband were both sick and miserable together.

He was even back to his cute self when Grandma came down to stay with him while I had to back to work. (Until he got an ear infection on top of everything. sigh.) 

This was, by far, the scariest situation that I have ever been in (topping listening to his unborn heartbeat slowing drop during labor). I am proud of myself for staying calm, remembering details and handling the situation appropriately. 

Still, let's never do anything like this every again. Ok Firefly? Ok.

Menu Monday {27-Feb-12}

Only a week late! Things got a little... complicated last week. Anyways, on with the food!

Homemade Pizza

An Original

I use a boxed pizza dough and store bought sauce when I make it at home. It's simply to much effort to make dough from scratch. That and I don't get along with yeast. (If anyone has any yeast/bread baking tips I'm all ears!) Make the dough according to the direction on the box and pre-bake. This time I used Classico pizza sauce and added some basil, oregano, chili powder and garlic powder. I topped it with roasted red peppers and pepperoni (plus some jalapenos for Husband). Finally, layer with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. 

Italian Turkey and Polenta

Adapted from: Elefantitas Alegres

Another of my attempts at making a beef dish with ground turkey. I can't say that it translated well, but it wasn't bad. I think it would have been better with a more robust tomato sauce. Modifications: As I said, I used ground turkey instead of beef, but I also left out the red pepper flakes for me and Firefly. We also aren't so concerned about cooking light so I used whole milk and a large, unmeasured amount of cheeses.

Greek Quesadillias

Adapted from: Annie's Eats 

This turned out quite yummy as you can tell by the picture of a happy Firefly below. I don't know if he liked the flavor as much as momma did, but he sure did like feeding himself and taking huge ginormous little bites. Modifications: Totally forgot to buy spinach that week so that was left out. However, I think in the future I might used basil leaves instead. We also left out the black olives because, well, yuck!

Orange Pork Chops

Adapted from: FoodNetwork

These were delicious, but we were all feeling kind of crappy and didn't eat a lot of them. The orange juice made a delicious crusty layer that I loved. Modifications: I left off the garnish ingredients but used the other ingredients in mostly the directed way. I'll have to try this one again some time. I served it with...

Brussels Sprout and Quinoa Slaw

Adapted from: Eat, Live, Run

We really fell in love with this dish. It would be a great summer slaw, served cold or even a cranberry dish for the holidays. Modifications: I left out the bacon because it just seemed like a lot of work I didn't think the dish necessarily NEEDED it and opted to used quinoa - a grain- in place of couscous - pasta. We also used cranberries instead of bing cherries. Cranberries are way more cost efficient!

That's all I have for that week and last week? The new recipes that I had planned were scrapped in favor of a trip to Wendy's on the way home from the emergency room. More on that later...

For now the sick little Firefly is waking up from his nap!