Buffalo Appointments

We are currently out of town right now, we are in Buffalo NY! My husband is getting his pre-transplant appointments done today, tomorrow and then again next Monday we will have to drive out here (3 hour drive) so he and I can do our orientation appointment. This is big news for us, in early March he will get admitted for his Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant, which means that his donor passed all their tests and is in the process of collecting the stem cells for the transplant process. Monday we will learn all about what happens when he gets admitted and what I will need to know to take care of him and be his 24 hour care-giver, which is required for him to be discharged from the hospital. It all gets a little complicated from there because we have the two small children. Luckily though my mother will be able to come over for a few months (starting when he gets discharged) and watch the kids, because my husband is required to stay in the Buffalo area--with his caregiver for approximately 2 months after he gets discharged from the hospital after the transplant. It would be so much easier if we lived closer then he could just stay at the house and the boys would be there, but because we live so far away that is just not possible. Of course I can't have the boys with me either because if my husband needs to get admitted I would still need someone to watch them, only now in Buffalo instead of at home.

Right now, the boys and I are at the hotel. I finally managed to get my youngest Z (1), to take a nap and my other son Shane and I are doing quiet activities. We would go to the zoo or something but it is raining and snowing off and on so it is not really the right weather for doing anything while my husband is at his appointments. Tomorrow will be a little more interesting since we have to check out of the hotel by 11, but my husband still has appointments most of the day.....not sure what we are going to be doing while he is gone. We shall see!

It's been a Crafty week here

It has been a crazy past few days here at the house! It is just me and the boys right now while we wait for word to go pick up my husband from the hospital. His numbers are starting to come back up after the chemotherapy but his platelet count is being stubborn, so he is stuck there until they decide to come up. Meanwhile back here at the house we had that lovely winter storm come through and dump at least 16 inches of snow on us in just about a 24 hour period. There was a couple days where my oldest (3) and I were able to get outside and get some fresh air, and get some energy out!

When stuck in the house we have been doing many crafts, from coloring to working out of our Green Kid Crafts box, our WonderBox (which sadly they are discontinuing, we are going to switch over to Kiwi Crate) and lately water color painting! I have also taken up some crafting and have been working on my quilt that I started, and a second quilt piece that I started while waiting on more fabric and fusible interfacing for the first one. I also took the time to finish up a diaper liner/doubler for my cloth diapers and I think it turned out pretty good for my first one, of course you learn as you go and I can always make improvements in my design for the future ones.





I also took the time to roast up some chickpeas which turned out super tasty! Here is a recipe if you want to try it for yourself!

Roasted Chickpeas
You will need:
2 Cans of Chickpeas
A drizzle of Olive Oil (maybe 1Tbsp)
Seasoning of your choice, this is such a great snack you can really make it any way you want! I recommend plain old Salt and Pepper, Paprika, or even Cayenne if you want a kick. (I wanted a sweet snack so I used a sprinkle of Salt, Brown sugar, some Cinnamon and some Vanilla and Almond extract).

Preheat oven to 375 (I use 400 because my oven is off)
Open your canned chickpeas, wash/rinse them well.
Dry them off! Be sure they are super dry or they won't get crunchy when you bake them. I let mine sit in the pan and air dry for 10-15 minutes before I proceed.
Add your Olive Oil to the pan and shake it to coat all of the chickpeas.
Sprinkle your spices and shake the pan again to make sure they all get coated.
Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until crunchy, they will get too hard if you overcook them, again my oven is off so I end up baking for around 55+ minutes.
Pull them out and let them cool for a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a container of your choosing!
These are such a great snack, instead of reaching for those unhealthy chips or anything else, you can munch on these versatile, delicious and healthy (they are full of fiber too) roasted chickpeas!


Got more free stuff in the mail today! My sample of Elmer's ProBond Advanced arrived, which is super neat and I can't wait to try it, it is supposed to work on just about any surface! I also got my new L'Oreal Advanced Haircare sample, I chose Color Vibrancy--plus it came with coupons! Last but not least, I received my TV Diary from Nielsen and CASH for incentive to complete it! Great mail day today, I love getting freebies in the mail, do you get a lot of free stuff? I don't think my mailman likes his route some days!


Stay warm!