PCMC

The first thing we always have to do when we get to PCMC is let Addie toss coins in the fountain. We have done this since she was old enough to toss things and so now it is tradition. The fun fountain that used to be in side the north lobby is now gone and so we have to use the fountains outside the north entrance. Which means, we always have to use the north entrance even though the cardiology dept is on the south end.

We had a short wait before they came to get us for the EKG and echo. The cardiology waiting room is a big playroom with lots to do, so Addie was disappointed that our wait was so short. She didn't get to finish coloring her picture.

After her vital signs and EKG were taken, (Holy crap! O2 saturation of 91%) Addie changed into a hospital nightgown and got to choose a toy from the prize box. She took the little beany tiger and also got some tokens for the toy machine since she was so good for her EKG. She got a few more after her echo and ended up with a total of 5 tokens (3 bracelets, a ring, and a little rubbery man). She had to have some lab work done and got a prize after that too.

After we were all done we went for some lunch at the PCMC cafeteria. All she wanted was a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, which she eats all the time at home, but whatever. She also had to have her chocolate milk and a pink glazed doughnut. We got out of there pretty quickly, all things considered. We left the hospital around 3:30. Not too bad. And we beat traffic for the most part. We are supposed to go back for another follow up in November.

Our cub scouts held a Mother's Day dinner tonight, so I went with Jack to that. It was very nice. Then we had to leave that quickly to get to his game. Unfortunately he had the late game today and it was cold! I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is some weird vortex over that ballpark where the wind blows ALL THE TIME!!! Jack's team lost, but they had some good hits.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea - An ornamental shrub with large clusters of white, pink, or blue flowers.

May 11, 2009

I'm babysitting Lane's grandma's hydrangea that she got for Mother's Day while she is out of town for 2 weeks. It's huge, gorgeous, and I'm not sure I want to give it back when she returns.

Since Grandma is out of town and Lane wanted to sleep since he had to get up early for baseball practice and I got held up at work extra long there was no baking today. In fact, I think I may have forgotten to have dinner! I had two oranges around 4:00 and the kids made themselves sandwiches. I did get some new silicone bakeware in the mail that I had ordered. So much new fun stuff to experiment with, if I can just find some time! Too much stuff is going on this week, and so I think I won't get a chance to do anything at all until Thursday, if then. May is always so busy with baseball games and all the stuff that comes with the school year winding up.

Tomorrow we have a very busy day. We have to go up to PCMC for Addie's check up. It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since her surgery! It is likely to be a long visit with the usual EKG and chest xray, plus they have scheduled an echocardiogram (sp??) for her this time. The echo alone takes an hour. Then we have to still see the cardiologist after all that, and we always try to eat up there in the cafeteria. That is our way of giving her something exciting to look forward to in our effort to keep the hospital a happy place rather than a scary place. After that I have a Mother's Day dinner with Jack's cub scouts, and then we are scheduled for the late baseball game at 8:00. LONG DAY!! Then Wednesday is piano and a game, Thursday is Taylor's choir performance, and on and on it goes.

Popcorn, Jam, Equipment

Popcorn - Small kernels of corn exploded by heat

May 8, 2009

We eat A LOT of popcorn at our house. But it has to be movie theater butter or extra butter. I wonder why I'm not losing weight? Popcorn is an integral part of all movie watching, as well as our "Sunday Routine" of all junk food all day long.


So on Saturday I decided to make jam. Macey's had strawberries on for a good price and since my strawberry plants are just barely flowering I decided to buy some for "jamming." My strawberry plants are kinda hit and miss anyway, since I have to try to keep the neighbor kids out of them. Last summer I found 2 of the neighbor kids sitting down, right in the middle of the strawberry plants, just going to town on them. No wonder I wasn't getting much of a harvest! Anyway, I love making strawberry jam because it smells so good, and the freshly washed and hulled strawberries are GORGEOUS. I could just look at them all day long.

But I have to move the jam making process along, so I typically have 2 or 3 batches going on at any given time. I have this really weird ability when I am doing any kind of canning to dirty every single dish towel I own in the process. Even with freezer jam. Weird, I know. But when it is all finally in the bottles, ready to go the freezer, again I have to just look at it for a while. I love the look of freshly bottled anything, and peaches and jam are the best!

Jam - A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar.

May 9, 2009

My first favorite thing to make is bread (surprise!) and my 2nd favorite thing to make is jam, especially strawberry jam. Both of these things should come as quite a shock to anyone who has known me longer than about 15 years. I got married only knowing how to cook spaghetti and Kraft mac & cheese, and even that was iffy because I had a tendency to forget about the boiling water and ruined a few pans by letting them boil dry.

Equipment - A set of tools or devices used for a particular purpose.

May 10, 2009

I got a new baking sheet, new 9" round cake pans, and a decorator set for Mothers Day. Time for some experimenting! I've been watching way too many Food Network Challenges because I have ZERO training, but still think I can do what they do. Oh well, it's just ingredients. I can get more flour and sugar and eggs. But I'm very sure that I over-estimate my abilities.

I also got a new geranium from my parents. I love geraniums! They are such a happy flower. I don't do a lot of flowers in my yard because I would rather dedicate the space to vegetables and herbs. I have a few rose bushes that came with the house. But the only flowers that I ever plant are a couple of geraniums in the front yard because they are so colorful and make me smile.

Catch

Catch - To grab so as to stop the motion of.

May 7, 2009

Not a bad "action shot" considering all I had with me was my phone. You'd think by now I would remember to take my camera with me! This is Jack with his cousin Sager warming up before tonights game, which their team lost 5-8. They had a good rally at the end, but still came up short. Jack struck out his first at bat and walked on his second. He was able to score a run on a wild pitch.

These boys came and watched the end of our game while they were waiting for their game to begin. I liked how they were all lined up along the backstop, but all I had with me was my phone and I couldn't really see well what I was taking a picture of. I really like the way it turned out, except for all the shadows. I'll have to try this sort of thing again when I have my camera with me. After 4 months of this, I would think I would be smart enough to take my camera with me wherever I go!

Begin

Begin - To take the first step in doing; start.

May 6, 2009

Addie was so excited to begin piano lessons today. By the end of today she had memorized her first song, only 4 measures and only used 2 fingers, but you wouldn't believe how proud she is! She just loves to do anything that is "big," meaning anything that Taylor and Jack already do. After I got back from piano, I stuck some Stouffers enchiladas in the oven (thank goodness for Stouffers!) and walked down to the school to watch Lane's baseball practice. What a great bunch of boys he coaches. They are good team members and everyone was having a good time, and some didn't even want to go home after an hour and a half - they wanted to stay and play more! Then we came home and ate our dinner, and then we went out to play wiffle ball for a while. Not to long after we started playing, we had a few kids from the neighborhood wander over and so we had quite a large group of kids playing. The more the merrier! It was another lovely day, hoping for another good day tomorrow since it's another game day. I also have to take Jack to the eye dr. after school. Another busy day!

Pollinate

Pollinate - To fertilize by the transfer of pollen

May 5, 2009

As you can see by the other pictures, I am quite enamored with my apple trees. I guess this is the payoff for all the rain I've had to endure. While I was taking the other apple tree pictures, I noticed that both apple trees were litterally buzzing. There were bees everywhere! But do you think I could get a picture of one? I was nearly blinding myself, looking up into the tree at noon, and it was far too bright outside to see what was on the little view thingy on my camera, so after a while I just started randomly pointing-and-shooting, and hoping that maybe, just maybe, by accident I could get a bee in a picture. Stupid bees won't stay still and pose! Anyway, I accidentally got 2 pictures with bees in, but the other one the bee is almost off the edge of the picture, and this one (somehow) the bee ended up pretty much centered. I'm so hoping that all those blossoms portend a bounteous apple harvest, because I LOVE making applesauce in the fall, and my measly amount of applesauce from last fall is pretty much gone, even after rationing it.

My apple tree

My apple trees look so gorgeous right now! They are fully blooming, aka popcorn popping on the apple tree, and I just couldn't help taking some pictures on this beautiful spring day!