more than 9 to 5...my life as "Mom": Menu Monday #52 and Daisy Update

We had a pretty great weekend. After starting Daisy on prednisone last week, her appetite (and thirst) returned in full force and she had that familiar pep back in her step. It's been great to see her feeling better again! Unfortunately, with the steroid comes increased hunger and thirst, so she's been famished and drinking way more water than usual. So, in addition to waking at night with Amos, I'm also getting up 1-2 times a night to let her potty. Although I've been requiring a bit more caffeine to function lately, I'm just happy and thankful that she's feeling better for now. Her first chemo treatment was this morning. I picked her up this afternoon after picking Ethan up at school, and she is resting comfortably now. We'll be able to start weaning her off the prednisone now, which will be helpful for the side effects. Like I mentioned in my last post, we're doing a single agent therapy for her chemo treatment. They're using the drug doxorubicin. It has been shown to be fairly effective when used alone. It is expected to result in an additional 6-9 months for her, though our vet was only able to get an additional 4 months for her dog with it. I guess we'll see what happens! :/ Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers for Daisy and our family. We really appreciate it! We're holding off on telling the boys how serious it is right now. They know that she is sick, and getting old, and have continued to pray for her to feel better. I think Ethan is starting to figure out that it might be something fatal, but he is remaining hopeful for her. I don't want them to worry too much about it these last months, and instead enjoy the time they have left with her. I know I'll be doing enough worrying for all of us. :(

On Friday night, we went out for a bit and tried out a new local Asian place, Ming's Asian Cuisine, for dinner. I had an excellent spicy tuna roll, and we also enjoyed our entrée, the curry seafood Thai style casserole. With shrimp, scallops and crab meat in a spicy curry sauce, it was delicious! For dessert, we hit up Rita's Italian Ice next door. For some reason, I had never before had frozen custard, so we enjoyed some vanilla custard. :) Yuuuuuum!!

On Saturday morning, I made Ethan's favorite, whole wheat pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese icing, for breakfast. The boys went down for early naps so we could get up and head to the park that afternoon for a birthday party for one of Ethan's preschool classmates. Unfortunately, I had it in my head that it was at Winged Deer Park, when it was instead at Willow Springs Park. So, we were definitely super late, having to drive across town to get to the correct park, but they had fun when we got there. Crisis averted. Sigh. I guess my mind has been a bit preoccupied lately! After the party, we headed to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. It was a gorgeous day, so we dined outdoors on the patio. We tried their Mellowterranean pizza (it has an olive oil and garlic base with grilled chicken, onions, roasted red peppers, black olives, chives, feta and mozzarella cheese with a side of tzatziki sauce) this time and both loved it!

On Sunday morning, we had our favorite egg bagel sandwiches before church. Afterwards, we came home to get ready to have friends over for dinner.

Sunday: Grilled NY Strip steaks, roasted asparagus, poblano pesto Alfredo cavatappi

We invited friends over for dinner and made a delicious meal. Josh grilled some steaks and I made my favorite poblano pesto to top them, and we also mixed it with my favorite homemade Alfredo sauce to top the pasta. Yum! Our friends added to the yumminess by bringing a delicious Maryland crab dip with bread, and dirt pudding for dessert! :) It was an awesome feast, the kids had a great time playing, and we enjoyed some adult conversation for a change!

Monday: Cajun pork fajita burritos with cilantro lime rice, mozzarella cheese, sautéed red onions and red peppers

We'll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo with this tasty meal! I'm marinating a pork tenderloin in a mixture of dijon mustard, orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, and cajun seasoning (this recipe here). Josh will grill that, then we'll shred it up to fill my homemade flour tortillas. We'll also add in the other elements for a Chipotle-inspired fajita burrito, including this awesome cilantro lime rice recipe! I can't wait!

Tuesday: Masala chicken kebabs, roasted cauliflower

I'm finally going to try this new, yummy-looking recipe for chicken. I hope we love it! I roast my cauliflower with a little EVOO, cumin, and garam masala, so it will go perfectly with this chicken!

Wednesday: Cheeseburgers, baked sweet potato fries
We'll enjoy some classic burgers on whole wheat buns with cheddar cheese and our favorite fries on the side, complete with some of my spicy ketchup!

Thursday: Tomato basil pasta

This will be something quick and easy as Josh will be preparing for his trip to Asia in the morning! :( We sure will miss him!

Friday: Out to eat

Thankfully, Grandma Frank will be coming to keep us company while Josh is out of town. We'll probably enjoy something out on the town. ;)