Stricken

I know you all were waiting with baited breath to hear what happened next in our illness saga. I awoke this morning feeling extremely tired and kind of strange, and soon had full-blown malaise: nausea, extreme bodyaches, killer headache. I didn't actually barf, although I might have felt better if I had. As for that macho older son, he returned from his soccer game feeling much worse, having won the game but succumbed to the illness. And 10 year L., who had spent yesterday being righteous, complaining how inconvenient it was to have sick family members, and that the house was contaminated and he had nowhere to sit that wasn't contaminated, was (perhaps rightfully) stricken down this morning also. I felt genuinely bad for him that he had to miss his school Halloween party as well as trick or treating. D. had to work late, and I was too sick to take them trick or treating, but only J. and I. were really well enough to go, so they went with some of J's friends.

And Another One Down....

It's a picture perfect fall day today, but I have decided to stay in and try to stay on top of the laundry. Why? you ask. Because as the stomach flu moves slowly through the family, continuous laundering is required to stay abreast. I particularly love how young children run while puking, so that it is spread over as large of a surface area as possible. So far, 4 of the children have definitively had it. The eldest, in typical male macho fashion, went to his soccer game with a stomach ache, in denial of his symptoms, so I'm guessing it will be 5 victims by the time he returns. Baby A. managed to crawl through some vomit this morning, moving too quickly to be stopped, since the rest of us were distracted by helping the victim, cleaning the mess and being grossed out. She was immediately washed off, but I suspect it will have been in vain. So far, the adult duo has remained well, but I am not hopeful about our chances.

Not to mention that we may have infected all of our party guests last night. At party time, the only ill person was 2 year old K., who voluntarily sequestered himself in my bedroom (he was afraid of the fog generated by the fog machine), but obviously several others were about to become ill, and presumably contagious, as they double dipped apples in caramel dip, chips in salsa, and veggies in ranch. The party was a success, however, and a good time was had by all.

Good News!

The good news is, D. made the basketball team! As a mother, though, my heart was breaking for all those boys (15 made the team and 21 did not) who were waiting outside with long faces when I went to pick him up from tryouts, while the coach talked with the boys who made the team.

My Week

Sunday: Dh gone to DC Sunday night onto Monday.
Tuesday: D. finds a big pile of dog barf under his dirty clothes in his room (which he and L. cleaned up).
Wednesday: A piece of the vacuum is discovered missing and it won't work without it. That afternoon I. came home early with a stomachache, threw up when she got out of the car (after telling me and the school that she didn't feel like she needed to throw up).
Thursday: Dh leaves very early for Pittsburgh, will be home Friday. I. stayed home from school since she'd thrown up the night before. I spent the day folding all the laundry (it was about waist deep) in an attempt to find the vacuum piece, since the vacuum is normally stored in the laundry room. The laundry room is now empty and the piece was NOT in there! While folding all that laundry, I noticed a piece of clothing wedged in the corner of the couch. When I pulled it out, it was covered with what looked like vomit, and I peered into the crevice of the couch and there was some in there. Ewww! I didn't have time to deal with it right then. Then J. arrived home from school and said her stomach hurt, followed by diarrhea and fever. When I came home from one of my many trips to and from kid activities, I saw something on the floor by the couch, and it looked like a chunk of vomit. Turns out it was a piece of KFC chicken from last week that I'd thrown out of the frig into the trash the night before. The child latch on the garbage cabinet broke the day before, so now both A. and Spot are getting in the garbage. Spot apparently HID his chicken in the couch! It wasn't vomit, it was chicken. I removed the couch cover and washed it. L. brought home a note from I.'s teacher telling us that 17 of 25 students were absent that day (including her) due to the stomach flu and they called the health department. They disinfected all surfaces in the classroom, but apparently it is very contagious. During the night last night I was awakened by a high pitched mechanical whine, wasn't sure if it was the water softener or the furnace blower, but it was loud. After a few minutes it got quieter and faded away, but I had a hard time falling back asleep. I almost called dh so he could hear the noise and tell me what he thought. I was not about to go into that creepy "Michigan" basement at 4am by myself. Last time there was a loud noise, though, it was the a/c burning up when the bat was in there.

We invited about 60 people to a Halloween party tomorrow night at our house, and I am supposed to be getting ready today, but J. is home sick and my sitter who normally comes on Friday, doesn't feel well either.

TGIF!

How Much Is Your Blog Worth?

Not very much, apparently! Interesting idea, anyway.

My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Baby and Me

Baby and Me, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Top of the Hay Maze

Top of the Hay Maze, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

After we got the pumpkin, we returned home to eat lunch and A. napped. Then we went to a local farm stand where they build a hay maze every year. It's not that big or exciting but the kids love to go. They also have pony rides, hay rides, pumpkins, cider and sugar coated warm pumpkin doughnuts. This place is about a mile from our house on the way to town, and I have to confess that I stop there several days a week to get some of those fresh, greasy doughnuts! Yum! Luckily, if I eat more than 2 (they are small) it upsets my stomach or I'd be a blimp.

We didn't do anything but climb the hay maze and take some photos. I also bought 2 bunches of corn stalks for outdoor decorations since we're having a Halloween party this year. The owners of this farm stand are marketing geniuses. The thought that I just paid $10 for what farmers consider garbage boggles my mind. Much of what they sell (homemade pickles and preserves, craft items, produce) they neither grow themselves or make themselves, but this time of year the place is a gold mine. City slickers come in droves.

Gimme that Camera!

Gimme that Camera!, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

As I said, full of opinions now, and she always wants Mama's toys: the camera, the phone, and the computer!

11 months

Pumpkin Girl, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here's mama's little pumpkin at 11 months old. She is full of opinions now, wants her way and is harder to distract, but still a sweetie.

She points and grunts a lot, has been heard saying things that sound like "hi" and her brother's name. She has learned to climb stairs, but can't yet stand or walk on her own (and we're in no rush!)

Still not a great sleeper. On good nights she sleeps for about 4 hours, nurses and sleeps another 4 hours, nurses again and sleeps another 2-3 hours. On bad nights (this is about every other night) she sleeps for 4 hours or less, but won't go back to sleep after I nurse her! She seems asleep and either screams when I put her down or awakens again after 10-15 minutes. She is getting her molars so I have been dosing her with Motrin nightly, which seems to help.

Our Pumpkin

Our Pumpkin, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Monday the kids had the day off from school, and we did some fun fall/Halloween activities.

First we went and got a pumpkin. Last year getting a pumpkin for each child at a local farm cost me $50. I didn't want to do that again, so I told them we'd get one really big one. This beauty ran me $30, so I guess that's better.

I've decided that our summer project next summer will be to grow giant pumpkins! We could really make some money (if I can figure out how!)

Easily Pleased

Sometimes, that is. Last night I made spaghetti for dinner, the way I sometimes do: Saute some Italian sausage in a pan, add Trader Joe's spaghetti sauce, heat and toss with noodles. Only this time I used rigatoni, when usually I use linguine or spaghetti. You'd have thought they never had it before--they were crazy about it. Even though I had added sauteed spinach this time, it didn't dampen their ardor. I told them they'd had it before, only with different shaped noodles, but they kept telling me how great it was.

New Catholic

I took an online quiz, and below are the results. Interesting, and somewhat true. I am not young, nor am I considering a religious vocation. However, as someone who was away from her faith for many years and has fairly recently returned, I am "new" in my faith. I have noticed that my attitudes are different from many of my peers who were also "cradle Catholics." They are much more likely to criticize the Church or reject certain teachings that they don't agree with. When I chose to return to the Church, I chose to accept it as it is, and embrace the beliefs of the Church. I am also more excited to learn about my faith--I am discovering it anew.

You scored as New Catholic. The years following the Second Vatican Council was a time of collapse of the Catholic faith and its traditions. But you are a young person who has rediscovered this lost faith, probably due to the evangelization of Pope John Paul II. You are enthusiastic, refreshing, and somewhat traditional, and you may be considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. You reject relativism and the decline in society that you see among your peers. You are seen as being good for the Church. A possible problem is that you may have a too narrow a view of orthodoxy, and anyway, you are still a youth and not yet mature in your faith. New Catholic 50% Liberal Catholic 41% Radical Catholic 36% Traditional Catholic 33% Evangelical Catholic 33% Neo-Conservative Catholic 29% Lukewarm Catholic 14% What is your style of American Catholicism? created with QuizFarm.com

Cooking

It's just what I feel like doing these days--and eating, of course! I'm such an autumn person--the season really energizes me.

The other day I made:

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bars

Soak 1 C rolled oats in 1 C very hot water. Cream together 1/2 C butter, 1/2 C honey and 1 egg. Add 1 C whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/3C peanut butter and the oat/water mixture. Mix well.

Bake in greased 9x13 pan for 10--15 minutes at 350F.

In saucepan, melt together 1/3C peanut butter, 1 C chocolate chips and 3 Tbsp. milk. (This recipe actually calls for carob chips, in an attempt to be healthy, but it is SO much better with chocolate!)

Let bars cool for 5 minutes, then spread chocolate topping on. Cool and enjoy!



Last night I put this in the crock pot for dinner:

Chicken Stew with Peanut Sauce (also known as African Groundnut Stew)

Cut up 1 frying chicken into bite size chunks (I used 1.5 lbs. boneless thighs--much easier to cut up) or use 1 lb. ground beef. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and brown outside in 1/4C oil. Remove chicken from pan and saute 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic in remaining oil. Add 1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried), 1/2 tsp. salt and tabasco sauce to taste. Return chicken to pan and simmer 45 minutes. Add 1/2 C peanut butter and simmer 15 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

I doubled the recipe and served 9 people (my crew plus my MIL) and we have leftovers.

I sauteed the chicken and garlic/onions, then put all ingredients except peanut butter in crockpot for 4 hours on high, then added peanut butter and left it in pot another 1.5 hours. It is SO good, makes the house smell great.

The Other Side of the Coin

I watched a short, poignant video today, that helped remind me of my many blessings. It's worthwhile watching. When you get to the website, scroll down to the box labeled "Spread the word" and click on the top link, marked "English." to start the short video.

New Links

You'll see below I've added some blogs to my list of "Blogs I Visit." I've updated some as well.

Multitasking Mother of Many Leaves One Behind

It was bound to happen, it was just a matter of time. This afternoon went something like this:

3:45pm--Pick up I. and take her to gymnastics
Stop on way home to get pumpkin doughnuts
Eat doughnuts
4:45pm--Take L. and his teammate that we carpool with to soccer practice.
5:00pm--Pick up D. from football practice
Nurse A. and change clothes
5:30pm--Go for a 1.6 mile jog
5:50pm--Pick up I. from gymnastics and take D. to soccer practice (yes, he plays 2 sports)

I really wanted to go running, as I am working toward a 5K turkey trot on Nov. 13. I got a late start getting in shape, so am now adding a tenth of a mile to my run every day that I run, so I will be at 3.1 miles just in time for the race. I am not compteting, just doing it for the sake of being able to (and because I am so competitive, when my friend said she thought it would take me much longer than 4 months to work up to my 5K/3.1 mile goal, because it took her longer, I immediately decided to do it). I usually run 3-4 days a week. I developed plantar's faschiaitis in one foot over the summer, and because I wasted some time hoping it would get better on its own before going to the doctor, only to be told that it will take months of stretching exercises to get better, but that running wouldn't make it worse, I actually began training seriously 7 weeks prior to the race.

I digress. When I returned home after my run, sweating and breathless, D. was loading and buckling K. and A. into the car. He knew we would have no time to spare and didn't want to be late to soccer practice. As we headed down the road, K. said, "Where's T., mommy?" Luckily we'd only gone about 1/4 mile or so when he said this. I was horrified to realize that I'd left my 5 year old daughter home alone. She had been upstairs playing quietly and it hadn't occurred to D. to herd her out to the car, and I hadn't noticed her absence. I wasn't really worried that she would have gotten into anything dangerous or that anything bad would have happened, but mostly concerned about how upset she would be. She is in a rather insecure phase, and wants to be near me most of the time. I was hoping that she would not have noticed that we left. As luck would have it, she didn't! I told D. my fear, and so he went into the house to round her up and did NOT mention that we'd already left and came back for her! She skipped merrily down the path to the car, oblivious to what had transpired.

Hopefully it won't happen again!