February 2009 Archives

No ... it's a possible sprain in his ankle. 

I got a call from Noah's school nurse yesterday morning telling me that Noah "fell or something on the playground and is now complaining that his leg hurts."  She said that she didn't see any bruising, redness or even a bug bite.  She said that he was crying and saying that he wanted to go home.  I had Andrew and Jacob and a trunk loaded with groceries (first time and last time I take the babies grocery shopping) so since she didn't see anything, I told her to put some ice on him and call me if that didn't calm him down.  Well, she didn't call but I was still worried.  I called her.

She went and asked Noah how he was feeling and Noah responded "I feeling a little gooder."  So I left Noah at school and continued on with my day.  Around 2:15pm, I get another call from the nurse saying that Noah had just woken up from his nap and was crying again about his foot or ankle?  I thought it was his leg.  So I make arrangements for Myra, Emily, Andrew, Jacob and Josh while I go to school to take a look at Noah for myself.  On the way there, I remembered that he had mentioned his ankle hurting over the weekend.

There's no swelling, no redness, no nothing.  I call Josh and we decide to call the doctor.  The doctor looks at Noah and decides that he must have a "small sprain" and that it should heal on its own in about a week.  No wraps, no restrictions. 

Fast forward to this morning.  I take Noah to school and he throws the BIGGEST fit he has thrown since ... well .. I can't remember.  I drag him across the parking lot into the school hoping that maybe his teachers can help convince him to stay.  He cries that he doesn't "need to go to school" and wants to stay home with me.  Long story short, after about 10 minutes (felt like forever), I decided to take him with me to drop off Myra in hopes that he'll change his mind about school.  He didn't.  He threw another fit as I was pulling into the driveway.  I ended up leaving him in the car (he didn't want to get out) screaming "I want to go to the doctor!"  (Last night, it was a fight to get him to go to the doctor.)

Right now he's doing well.  We'll be heading out the door in a few to get Myra and Emily from school.  Noah has requested to ride his bike.  My thinking (after him napping both Saturday and Sunday and after him eating 2 cereal bars, 3 peach sauces, a bowl of chex and a bowl of mac & cheese all before noon ... this morning) is he's actually having his first experience with growning pains and he's not quit sure what to do about it.  He can't explain what he's feeling to anyone so no one else can do anything about it either.  He's frustrated with it all and that's why he's acting out.  He just doesn't know what to do with this pain he's feeling.  Maybe?  Then again, it could be a small sprain in his ankle and him just geting ... terrible for some reason or another.  I like the growing pain idea better.

Our friend Anna has inspired us to post recipes again.  I came across this one through Slashfood, a really cool food blog.  I guess I was in a really garlicky mood that day so I ran home and made one of the recipes and then the next week, I made one of the others.  It is really a combination of the two recipes, but it's mainly based on this one.  Knoblauchremesuppe means Garlic Cream Soup in German and this stuff is AWESOME.  I added the onion and parmesan cheese to recipe because I lubs me some onion and we had some parmesan on hand.  I also used the stick blender because we just got one and I wanted to try it out.  The first soup I made didn't get its benefit, and I think it really made a nice texture.  Anyway, here's the recipe:

1 medium onion chopped
3 tbs unsalted butter
8-10 cloves garlic
1/4 cup sifted flour
3/4 cup milk (or heavy cream)
1 1/2 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
2 tbs chopped parsley, plus additional for garnish
2 slices crusty bread
1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, and then saute the chopped onion until it is soft and translucent (a few minutes).  Keep the onion on low heat and add the garlic, finely minced or squeezed through a garlic press. Saute gradually, on low heat, making sure the garlic does not brown.

When the garlic has softened (5-10 minutes), begin whisking in the flour so that it forms a thick paste. Add the milk (or cream), in a slow stream, whisking constantly (standard roux technique). When the milk has been fully incorporated, begin whisking in the chicken stock. If you want to smooth it out, use a stick blender on it until all the big chunks are gone.  Allow the soup to bubble and thicken, and add more stock if needed.

Chop the parsley and stir into the soup. Cut the bread into croutons and toast.  Serve the soup topped with some chopped parsley, croutons, and a bit of shredded parmesan cheese.

Makes about 4 servings.

--UPDATE--
I finally took a picture of this recipe.  Here it is:

In the mornings, I take Noah to his school, pick up Andrew and then drop Myra off at her school. If I time it just right (7:19am), I can catch a bus stopping traffic on Main Street for me.  There's normally several kids getting on so I have plenty of time to cross all five lanes.  This morning, the bus stopped and went in the blink of an eye!  I told Myra "That bus wasn't stopped for as long as it usually is" to which Myra replied "Tis the season to be sick."  She was dead serious too. 

I guess I've finally sat down and decided to get the blog rolling again.  We've been away for some time.  Sorry about that.  Work has been beating me down lately.  We met our second deadline, so now I have a little breathing room.  Thursday night was Myra's first soccer practice for the Spring season.  She now plays on a team called the Fusion with the absolutely horrid team colors of yellow and black.  They are going to practice 2 nights a week at my middle school which I can't decide is a blessing or a curse.  Sounds like Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to get pretty long for me.  Noah spent the whole practice kicking around an extra soccer ball and he really had fun.  It looks like the boy might FINALLY be interested in something that doesn't involve trains or race cars.

Today is Valentine's Day.  It's really one of my least favorite holidays.  Well, Arbor Day doesn't really float my boat either, but at least nobody expects a card on that day.  This year, Chris and I are stealing a page from a friend of mine's playbook.  He told me that he never buys roses or chocolates or cards or anything for V-Day.  He and his wife just bake a homemade cake.  They spend some quality time together and get to eat it afterward.  What could be better!  So, this afternoon, it's cake time!

One last random thought.  I am in LOVE with this song.  It's country and called Fifty Dollars and a Flask of Crown and I heard it at a wedding a few weeks ago.  I can't get enough of it and I don't know why.  I don't like country, I don't like Crown Royal, and I never carry cash.  This song is the anti-Josh but it's absolutely entrenched in my head. 

Just wanted to make a quick post letting everyone know that we are still here. 

Josh has been busy with work, yearbook, AVID, a wedding was thrown in there and now physical therapy.  Myra's been busy fighting with us about doing her homework.  She says it's either "boring" (regular class) or "it's too hard" (PACE).  We all knew this day would come but I think we're slowly resolving that.  Josh has been a big help with that.  Noah's been busy begging people to play with him but I think I've got a solution for that one.  Me?  Well, I've been busy with my usual life so there's not really anything exciting to report there.  We did sign Myra up for another season of soccor so be looking for that to come ... in March I think.  Until then ...

Don't forget about us!