Should I Take Him In?

It's one of my biggest frustrations as a parent.
A parent of two relatively healthy kids.

We make maybe 2-3 extra visits to the doctor each year aside from their annual check-up. This last year our little guy made it well-child to well-child visit with no extra appointments needed. Twelve months and no doctor's visits. We are very lucky that way.

But then the moments come when you have to decide whether a kid should be seen by a doctor when things come up and I'm always so torn. If you go and nothing's wrong, sometimes you can feel a little silly (and by you, I mean me). If you don't go and something is wrong (it's never happened to me, but I can imagine it's terrible), that would be rough too.

Today our little guy was complaining about his leg. This morning I gave him a Tylenol and assumed he had a muscle cramp or something. When he was complaining after lunch, I assumed maybe a bruise. By supper time, after a good nap, he was still crying and complaining about that leg. Even limping. What to do?

I took him in for xrays, to the ER at our local Children's Hospital. The Hubs and I were so undecided, to go or not to go? What a horrible decision to make. So I took him, to be on the safe side.

It stinks to have to see dollar signs about the whole situation, but I do. It stinks.

So the x-rays were clear. No fractures. Although...there's something called a Toddler Fracture that can show up a week to ten days later. So give him rest, Tylenol, and get him checked in a week if he's still limping.

So should we have gone? I just can't say. It's nice to know that he's fine. If we'd stayed home, I'd probably still be fretting.

Maybe it's worth the $100+ to know. For the peace of mind. That my baby is okay for another night.

Knowing that is priceless.
I'm over it for now. I can fuss again when the bill comes.

July 21st

My B turned SIX. It seems like a turning point. No longer a toddler. Preschooler. Kindergartner. She is a school-age child who dreams big and loud.

It is with the usual hoopla that we celebrated another birthday. I don't know if it's because it's in the summer and I'm home from work, but we seem to do lots for anniversary of her birth each year.

We've had a family BBQ each summer where the Hubs and I invite both sides, which ends up being quite a lot of people. We also invited a few friends this year too, which made for good fun. Then on Tuesday, it was our traditional b-day doughnut with a candle and morning presents. She was confused at first, wondering who had joined Catherine (her doll on the right) for a party. Is it mine? She was shocked. An American Girl doll was waiting at the party, just for her. Now she will be able to find a doll that's her very own when the catalog comes in the mail. She has two friends that can sit at the table and share clothes and secrets. It's all very fun!

In the afternoon, we took cupcakes to friends at daycare and then headed off to a local hotel to enjoy their super-fun water park. An overnight stay and another swim in the morning left us all tired and in need of a nap!

Then it was Wednesday. And my baby girl was SIX. She said it over and over. I'm not five any more. It's something that has her very excited. Going to first grade. Impatiently waiting to lose her first tooth. Hoping to pass the swim test to ride the water slide at the Y. There's something magical about this age. If her birthday was any indication, we are in for another terrific year.

Six roses for six sweet years

Got Zucchini?

Sometimes baking makes me feel such a sense of self-worth, I feel like I should've really opened myself a bakery and baked bread every single day. Really.

Tonight I made this zucchini bread. Which is really very much like cake. Delicious chocolatey cake. Mmmmmmm.

Does it count as a veggie. A healthy baked good. If you stuff it full of chocolate chips, melted chocolate, and a couple of extra tablespoons of cocoa powder - just to be safe?

How about if your flour is 1/2 wheat and you sprinkled in a tablespoon or so of flax seed just for fun?

It's a fuzzy line between healthy and not. The two cups of sugar make it a little less fuzzy, but still. It's so stinkin' delicious and there are 2+ cups of zucchini in there!

There are also three plastic freezer jars of grated zucchini (how much do I love my food processor?) to make three more batches of this deliciousness just waiting in my freezer for another day. Mmmmmmmm.

Oh. I did really add the flax seed. And a little sour cream. A dash extra of zucchini. And two or so tablespoons of cocoa powder. So I'd say I didn't follow that recipe exactly.

Go on now. Use those zucchinis that you let get way too big. I did. And they worked perfectly.

Did I mention - mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Summer Vacation '09

If you click on the collage, you can take a closer look. We really did have a fun trip to South Dakota.

We drove through the Badlands, visited Wall Drug, explored Custer State Park on the wildlife loop, drove the Needles Highway, visited Dinosaur Park and Storybook Island in Rapid City, Reptile Gardens, Hill City, rode the 1880 train to Keystone, a ride on the President's alpine slide after riding the tram up, as well as a beautiful drive home through Southwest S.D. and the Sandhills of Nebraska. Hubs even took a helicopter ride with his brother-in-law around the Mt. Rushmore area. There's a ton to do and it really is a great family vacation!

The kids had a great time sightseeing and also spending extra time with cousins in the house we rented. I think their games of hide-and-seek were some of their favorite moments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The One Time Mama Said a Swear Word on Vacation

We rounded a sharp corner and came to this. Before I knew it, the S-word had slipped out. The family we traveled with are in that white van ahead of us. I radioed them to inform them, "Uh oh. Mama just said a swear word!". And it was my idea to take the Needles Highway. Sheesh.

More pictures and stories to come. This drive was one of my favorites. Absolutely beautiful.

I Heart Brownies

I have mentioned before my affection for brownies.

Aliki tempted me this morning with a post about chocolate. And this recipe.

I love that it allowed me to use up the rest of our hot cocoa mix left over from winter. I'm planning to put them in snack baggies for our upcoming road trip. Yummmmm.

Never mind that I didn't have any chocolate chips. I put in a little extra cocoa to make up for it. Never mind that the cocoa mix had mini marshmallows. I'm sure they'll melt in and sweeten them up even more. I added in some flax seed, to add a little crunch in the absence of any nuts or chips.

They are almost done and smell divine. I may have to taste test them, just to be sure they are good enough to pack up for the trip.

I may not have the opportunity for a morning coffee klatsch with friends, but isn't it fun that we can still share recipes and stories over our morning cup just the same. From thousands of miles away.

Thanks for the recipe, Aliki. I needed some chocolate today too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update: I just sampled the brownies. Oh my heavens they are gooooood. The cocoa gives them a different flavor that I enjoy. I can even taste a hint of those fake marshmallows. This recipe is a keeper!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~