I'm a Smoker...

of meat. It was time to replace the gas grill and I was thinking of going charcoal. Not only did I go char, I went smoker. So no actual charcoal is used, just wood. I cooked our first meal in it today, 6 chicken breasts. They took 2 hours and turned out super-brown on the outside, but super-juicy on the inside. Peel and eat bird! I loved using the smoker and may attempt a cookout for the Fam on Memorial Day.



After a thick coating of bacon grease and a 3 hour smoke, it's ready for cooking.

Useful Post Alert!

OK, so last night we order pizza. I'm super tired and lazy so I just plop the steaming hot pizza box onto the espresso colored coffee table. Oops. I pick up the box and there is a cloudy white heat stain that will not go away with regular cursing and paper towel wiping. So I went online and found this remedy.

Put down a cloth diaper folded in half (we happen to have one of these), then put a hot (cotton setting) clothes iron down flat right on the cloth, right over the stain for about 15 seconds. Pick up the iron, remove the cloth and wipe the moisture away and the stain is gone. It worked great and the stain is gone. Not sure of the type of wood or finish, but the table is relatively new, dark, and we were told not to use a wax based polish.

Have a nice weekend, folks.

The Real Cam...

Bad Blogger...

Sorry for the delay of information!
Cam's ultrasound shows a normal spine, so our concern with the dimple is "did we get all of the crap out of it?" I will post some more pics soon.

Whew...

Cam was going nuts feeding and screaming for about 4 days. He's finally calmed down a bit, now. I guess that was the feeding frenzy that goes with the growth spurt we heard about. A young mom who is a cashier at our local Tom Thumb told said, "When your kid is going through one of his/her frustrating "phases" and you think you've reached your wit's end and you're going to freak out and scream, they stop. Then about a week later a new frustration phase comes to test your patience." So far she's right on the money.

WC is going to have an ultrasound today to determine the depth of a dimple he's got on his backside. It's called a sacral dimple and worst case is spinal issues, best case is no issues. We feel like he's pretty strong down there and everything seems to be working normally, so we are confident he will be OK.

Three weeks old

Cam's starting to clutch and grab at things he sees and is a heck of a screamer.

A couple of milestones have happened. He finally passed his hearing test after about 5 attempts. It seems that the folks at Cooks couldn't get their equipment to function properly and couldn't get a proper reading. All of these appointments are a major pain and seem like a waste of time, but I guess you gotta be sure. Also his umbilical cord fell off yesterday. So creepy.

Andrea's beloved cat Macavity has suffered a set back this week, too. He's an old dude and now has high blood pressure, so I've been on cat duty as of late. Med's twice a day, eyedrops 3 times a day and helping him around the house as the high bp make him dizzy and wabbly.

Generally, we are doing well and are looking forward to more visiting outside of the house. Cam had a good visit with the Reid Grandfolks last weekend. His first visit outside of the house that didn't involve a Dr.

No one sleeps.

Week of April 7th...

Well, Cameron's looking good and seems to be feeling good, too. Andrea and I just about have him sleeping at night and alert during the day, so sleeping is getting easier for us.

Andrea strained her neck feeding and staring at him! She really hurt for a couple of days there, but a neck brace and some moist heat seems to speed the recovery.

Grandma Susan stayed with us for a few days last week while I returned to work. What a blessing it was to have her around.

Here are some pics from the last week, Cam is growing fast and looks more mature to me every day!

first bath

Grandpa Henry's lap

Friends Amy and Mazzy

Uncle Chris and Cousin Senia