Kid-isms

The boys have given us a few good laughs this week with their words and thoughts:

As I was taking Kalvin to school, he told me that

"I might have the best memory in the family. I'm like a camera!"

He then proceeded to show me by shutting his eyes as we passed a restaurant parking lot.

He said, "See-I remember that there are three red cars in that parking lot. And at least one of them was a truck!"

Xander pointed out a "Post Wagon Bug" that he saw.

(a VW bug)

Kalvin complained that he "only got TWO hours of sleep all night because of Talmage's crying".

(The night Mr T. hemorrhaged and we called 911. Kalvin didn't know we had 6 rescue workers at the house for over a half hour. He was asleep!)

And Talmage has said every night at bedtime this week that he is still hungry.

And so he's managed to eat another full meal before going to bed. 

Guess he's making up for not eating during his recovery...

I'm Frustrated

I can't talk particulars, but

I just want "IT" to be over.

The frustrations of IT ebb and flow.

Some days, weeks, or even for a month-nothing.

Then the drama comes back in full force.

There has been no resolve yet.

Just around and around we go with those involved.

I will say-

IT does not consume our lives minute to minute.

Rather, it has helped Matt and I gain new perspective-

Who we are.

How strong we can (have) be(come).

Only our family matters.

But 

IT has reared it's ugly head again this week.

I felt like I had accepted IT and whatever will be thrown at us.

Now I'm not so sure.

There is a new wrench in the works.

Everything we have done to try and bring resolve to the situation has essentially been thrown out the window.

What's going to happen?

IT only knows.

Life Is Good

Pic above taken by Xander. Pic below taken by Talmage.

We stopped at our property in Jefferson City tonight and let the boys hang run for a bit before going to dinner. It is just beautiful out there.

On the way out, we also stopped at this trestle 'bridge' and did some exploring...

The survey marker at the base of the trestle.

Talmage was rather timid about trying to walk across the cattle guard. Granted, his feet did fit between the bars...

I tried to capture the colors of the rust and metal. So neat-o in person.

The (still in biz) store across the street from Chubby's restaurant.

 

And three handsome, happy boys being smothered by one happy Mama.

Joy Ride

Most of my yesterday was utterly boring.

I really hate doing the books for the business. If I could procrastinate doing it until the end of time,

I wouldn't think twice.

I'm good at it.
Doing the books, that is...

I just don't like it.

There.

I said it.

I shouldn't say that the entire day was drab.

I got to be Mom another day to three wonderful little boys.

My loving husband kissed me good morning like he remembers to each day.

Even if I was still in my stupor of sleep and didn't respond.

It was another beautiful spring day here in Big Sky Country.

(My allergies didn't let me forget)

And my youngest son lived.

Talmage had his T&A (tonsils and adenoids) surgery on the 9th. His appetite has been on vacation since then (he is usually the family's garbage disposal when it comes to food), but overall,

the kid has done remarkably well for a 3 yr old.

He aced the post op doctor's visit this Tuesday, and went back to preschool yesterday-

pain med free!

Bedtime was uneventful, despite the boys having more trouble these days with the later hours of sunshine.

Talmage fussed a few times after dozing off.

He wanted water.

Matt gave him some and the little guy nodded off again.

I showered and then plopped into bed to go through the day's mail.

Does anyone else get as much crap in their mail as we do? I swear, it's a full blown stack every day!!!

I heard fussing.

Then crying.

And calls for "Mama!" all in a matter of a minute.

Talmage was sitting on his bedroom floor by the bathroom door, clutching his blanket.

Completely inconsolable.

A night terror? Or just wanting to sleep in our room another night?

Down the stairs.

Almost.

When I reached the last two, out came the warmth from his mouth.

Tons of it.

Yuck.

Wait a minute!

It wasn't regular puke.

It was bright red blood and clots. And he did it twice more in a matter of a minute.

My mind raced. My legs raced to our bedroom to wake up Matt. Talmage was crying, but it was weak. He was ashen colored. His eyes weren't focusing very well. We called 911. We live 15 miles away.

It took forever.

He was still breathing and mostly conscious, so I held him and his dad and I stroked his head and just kept telling him how much we loved him. Matt gave him a blessing. We just tried to keep Talmage awake. He started to come out of it a bit by the time the rescue crew of 5 (6?) arrived.

He really cried when then put in the IV. I was glad to hear it!

I rode in the ambulance beside our Mr. T. Matt stayed home to clean up the mess and watch the older two.

Thank goodness they didn't wake up in the middle of everything.

Talmage seemed more with it by the time we reached the hospital. Still a bit spacey, but it was also 11pm and way past the little guy's bedtime.

They drew labs. His hemoglobin (overall blood level) was 8. It was in the 11 range pre op, so he had lost a significant amount.

He dozed off and on between exams and pokes and seemed to be feeling much better.

His 4am hemoglobin was a little elevated from before, so that indicated that he wasn't losing any more.

We were able to leave at 5am.

We are all so doggone tired.

Talmage has eaten well thus far today.

He is not in any pain.

He is asleep on some blankets on the floor right next to me.

He is pale and acts a bit "anemic", which he is right now.

But he is with us.

Lazy Days

I didn't think it possible.

Fresh squeezed lemonade.

Improved.

For all my fellow lemon sippers, I present to you:

Chile Blackberry Syrup

From Gourmet, slightly adapted

2 dried pasilla chiles (1/2 oz.)* 

2 cups sugar

1 and 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup blackberries (3.5 oz.) **

Remove stems from chiles. Break chiles, with seeds, into a medium saucepan. Add sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce to about 2 cups.

t

triple batch

Puree blackberries in a blender, then force through a fine mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl. Discard seeds. DO NOT clean blender.

Puree reduced chile mixture in blender (Be careful blending hot liquids!). Strain this mixture through sieve into the heatproof bowl. Discard solids. Whisk mixture and cool to room temperature.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. May be kept in fridge for 1 month.

*I just use the ones that come in a bag in the Mexican grocery section. Not sure if they are pasillas since the kind I get doesn't say what they are!
**Frozen thawed blackberries work great. I actually haven't even tried fresh ones yet in this recipe!

Try a tablespoon or two in your lemonade. 

The syrup adds a taste of fruit-iness combined with a hint of zing.

Delish!

I Lost

We did some burning on our property today. 

The tumbleweeds are absolutely terrible. 

It is guaranteed discomfort for anyone who must deal with the buggars. 

Long sleeves, jeans and gloves don't seem to matter.

Those cute tumbly balls aren't so cute when you have to touch them. 

They won today: 

Dual Purpose

Have you ever seen a new food 

and couldn't decide if you should try it 

because even though all the ingredients in it are things that you love 

but put all together, just seems a little weird?

So it was with me and Keebler 'Salad'. 

I'm sure it's been around for ages, but for whatever reason, I've never heard of, seen, or tasted a Keebler salad  until this past week.

Is it a salad? Or really a dessert in disguise?
Who cares?

Consider me a convert!

Keebler Salad

1 small package instant vanilla pudding

1 cup buttermilk

1 tub Cool Whip, 10 oz size

1 package Keebler fudge striped cookies, broken into small pieces*

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained*

Mix pudding and buttermilk together until smooth. Add Cool Whip. Mix in cookies, then fold in mandarin oranges. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*If you want to make a lovely presentation, set aside a few uncrushed cookies and mandarin oranges. Place pudding mixture in a clear glass trifle dish and top with the remaining cookies and oranges.

YUM!