Matters of the Heart

I love my son's heart.  It is full of compassion and kindness.  It is open and teachable.  It is quick to soften and slow to offend.  It is appropriately protected.  It doesn't go wandering.  Emotionally healthy, spiritually healthy, and, I'm happy to say, physically healthy.

We had a little while to wonder about that last part, after getting a unexpected referral to a cardiologist.  It started off as an simple appointment to have a couple warts frozen off.  While we were there, his left arm turned purple and mottled.  This has been happening sporadically for the last six months or so, and we've thought nothing of it.  It looks like he's ice cold, but he's not.  It doesn't cause him any pain, it doesn't tingle.  Just purple-ish.  I wouldn't have even thought to bring it up if the doctor hadn't noticed it.  And it's funny...because if this had happened when this big kid was a little kid, like a toddler, I probably would have been at the E.R. with him, insisting they find the cause.  But as he's grown, so has my relaxed approach to this type of thing.  I guess since it didn't bother him at all, I decided it didn't need to bother me.  But the doctor was a bit concerned about that in combination with our family's heart history.  She just thought it was a good time to have him screened and make sure this had no kind of heart connection.

I was totally fine with that.  The first evening I was a bit nervous, because it's not everyday you go in to have warts frozen and leave with a referral to a cardiologist!  And I know he's a man-sized kid, but this is still my baby.  Then I was fine with it all, and then I woke up the day of the appointment with a belly full of nerves.  My mind wasn't worried, my instinct was that everything was fine, but my body reacted with a great force of nerves.  I'll leave it at that.

But, of course, all is just fine.  His heart is in perfect health, and there is not the slightest sign of any kind of structural abnormality.  And it ended up being such a neat experience.  Alex is thinking about pursuing some kind of career in the medical field, and these matters are quite intriguing to him.  So when they started the echocardiogram, they offered to put in a movie for him to watch to pass the time.  (Granted this is a pediatric cardiologist, so their offerings were pretty "lame".)  Instead, he asked if he could just watch the test.  So the gal was great with him...taught him all about his heart as she did the exam.  The more she talked, the more I relaxed...knowing that if she had seen anything concerning she probably wouldn't be so chatty.  He learned a lot about his heart that morning.  I was going to take a picture of him getting that test, but he would probably rather give up food for a meal than have me take that picture.  And you know how huge that is.

I couldn't resist getting just one picture...

It's a great thing to hear a cardiologist tell you that your son has a completely normal heart.  Does my heart good.

And the comings and goings of purple-ish-ness?  There are a couple possibilities, neither being a big deal.  We probably won't even pursue it any further.  Just maybe nothing more than a crazy quirk.

Nothing quite like a bit of concern thrown your way to make you stop and appreciate the goodness of a good heart.  In every way.

Monday Menu ~ Carrot Cake

I know I said my focus was going to be dinners for awhile, but this week calls for an exception.  For many reasons.  And one of those reasons is that Easter is already this Sunday, and this would make a fabulous dessert. 

And this cake always brings a funny memory of Beth:  when she was about 18 months, I think, we had an open house/dessert night for some friends who had lived here and then moved away.  The man of this family LOVES this cake.  Requested it.  So I made it for him.  We had set the desserts out on the dining room table, and everyone was busy visiting and catching up, kids playing chaotically all around.  A little boy, probably around 5 and sporting a darling language delay, came up to me and said, "Excuse me, but yo witto baby is on the tabo eating yo cake!"  Sure enough, there sat Beth, ON the table, eating off all the cream cheese frosting, one finger lick at a time!  She had made her way across about 1/4 of the cake by the time she was busted.  I wish I had taken a picture, but at the time all I could think of was how to rescue enough of the cake for Larry to have some.

I love this cake so much, it is a treat every time I eat it.  I have a couple friends in my life that love it as much as, or even more than, I do.  I always make this as a 9x13, but if you want to do a layer cake you certainly may.  I think you could even get 3 layers out of this batter.  If you do the layered cake, double the frosting recipe so you have enough.  You will be really happy you made this cake, and you'd be wise to keep it covered if Beth is near by:


Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups grated carrots (I always use the small side of the grater for this recipe.  I think it incorporates better into the cake.)
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, do NOT drain
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Beat together oil, eggs and sugar.  Add pineapple - with the juice! - and grated carrots.  Mix well.  Stir in baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Add flour and combine well.  Add vanilla and beat well.  Stir in nuts.  (I use a nut chopper and chop them quite a bit.  I would say just smaller that the size of pea gravel.  Again, it all blends into the cake better so you don't just have one big hunk-o-nut.  If you hate nuts, leave them out.  If you are allergic to nuts, PLEASE leave them out!  But if you are not sure, go ahead and add them.  It really brings out a great flavor in the cake.)  Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray and pour in the batter.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  The center should have just lost its jiggle, with the edges well-set.  If you take it out and the center immediately sinks, pop it back in the oven for about 5 more minutes, then check it again.

Let cool completely, then frost with cream cheese frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 box powdered sugar

Beat together until well-blended and fluffy.  Spread over cake.  Sprinkle with some additional chopped nuts to make it look all perty.

If You Don't Like the Weather, Wait 5 Minutes and It Will Change

And, if you didn't like my choice (CONNIE!!) to not make those Reese's Egg cookies, you'll be glad to know that my mind can change just like our fluctuating weather.  Yep, I changed my mind, took a risk, and made those cookies.  Here's how it went down:

Yesterday was a busy day, full of one event to the next.  While sitting in church last night, I heard Brad's stomach growl.  Mine was doing the same thing.  I sat there with a divinely-inspired craving for eating breakfast for dinner.  I just could envision a hot stack of pancakes with butter and enough syrup to dip each bit in individually.  And a tall glass of milk.  So as soon as we got in the door from church, I pulled out the griddle and made some pancakes.  It was 7:00 by the time we ate, and I still had not had a chance to run.  So, as soon as I swallowed down my last bite, I changed my clothes and got on the treadmill.  Yeah, I know.  Never a good idea to eat something that sits like a brick in your tummy and then run.  Picture Michael Scott and his carbo-loading carton of Fettuccine Alfredo.  Well, fortunately I did not go the way of Michael.  I pounded my way through an uncomfortable 4 miles, thinking the entire time of those doggone cookies.  To me, that was a sign I just had to make those things and let it go.  If I can eat something as filling as pancakes and then run and STILL be thinking of them...something had to be done.

As all signs were pointing towards a Saturday night trip to Target for Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, Brenna came up to her sweaty mother and informed me that it is Spirit Week at school, and she needed to wear something yellow one of the days but didn't own anything yellow.  "Well, what would you think about a yellow t-shirt from Target??"  She told me that would work fine, but she didn't need it until Friday.  I told her there was no reason to put off anything until the last minute, so let me change my clothes and we'll go to Target!  Yeah, pretty gross.  Pretty desperate.  My face was still flaming red, my hair was plastered to my neck with sweat...but I figured there couldn't be that big of a crowd on a Saturday night, so why not?! 

45 minutes later we were back home with 6 Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and a yellow t-shirt.  I pulled out the 'ole Kitchen-Aid mixer and away I went!

The verdict????

I'd rather eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg.

On a totally separate, completely serious note:

Today is my sweet Grandma's first birthday in heaven.  I hope my mom threw her a great party.  I hope it involves some great food and some great laughs and lots of love.  And I miss her very much today.  And always.

Five Dollar Dinner

Tonight we had an adventurous dinner!  I had heard this idea somewhere way back, and never had taken the time to try it.  Tonight we were down one kid, who happens to be our most indecisive one, and I was trying to think of something easy and fun to do for dinner.  Friday night frequently means homemade pizza around here, and lately it has also found this family bounding in different directions.  Tonight, 4/5 of us were home, with no plans -- hallelujah! -- and so we tried the five dollar dinner.

Beth and Alex were each given five dollars, and we took them to Safeway.  They had to find their own dinner.  The parameters were quite loose, although I did tell them that 1. They could not combine funds to buy a package of Oreos and a gallon of milk and call that dinner.  2.  They could not shop in the bakery.  3.  They had to have something of a fruit or vegetable.  5.  We were not rescuing them if they went over their limit.  6.  Any change was for them to keep.  7.  If they bought something that had 10 servings, they were not eating all 10 servings.  At one sitting.

They both wanted to know if they had a time limit.  Oh, dear.  I told them not specifically, but at some point I was going to light a fire under them and "encourage them" to make a decision.

After 45 minutes of sweet freedom roaming the aisles of Safeway with their own basket, they finally meandered over to the self-checkout lanes.

Here was the result:

a pizza pocket, 1/4 pound of onion rings, and 1/2 pound of fruit salad

grand total:  $4.58

a pizza pocket, 1/4 pound of jo's, a banana, and a Dr. Pepper

grand total:  $4.45

And although I cringe at the nutritional deficit on those plates, I know it's just one meal.  And the adventure didn't come without some lessons learned.

Here's what they came away with:

1.  Safeway has a lot of choices.  2.  It must cost a lot to feed a family of five.  3.  You gotta pay attention to what's on sale.  4.  It's hard to decide what to have for dinner.  5.  It's fun to be a checker at Safeway.

Nothing like some personal experience to hammer home some life skills, and some understanding for their mother!  And they simply had a blast together.

Now we owe Brenna the experience.  We'll clear an afternoon for that in the near future...

***On a totally different topic, thanks for the input on the quandary I was in yesterday.  I think I have decided that it is not worth my risk.  I will save myself the trouble and the calories and just eat an egg.  Have you seen the GIANT Reese's Eggs they have this year?  Sweet mercy.  And, Marlece, I have one mini dark chocolate sitting right here on my desk where I can see it everyday.  I don't want to eat it and admit they are gone.  I bought the original package in December.  There's some additional proof for you all that I am a bit nuts.

A Chocolate Peanut Butter Quandary

I came across something today that I needed to share.  I will say right off the bat that I am having mixed emotions about this.  A part of me wants to dive in and try, and a part of me feels that something I dearly love has been violated.

Go check out this recipe:

Reese's Peanut Butter Egg Cookies

It's just a cookie.  I shouldn't devote so many thoughts to it really.  But I have been evaluating it in my mind all day.  I saw this recipe this morning.  I then went to work.  And I thought about it all day.  I'm torn.  Torn, I tell you.  I love Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs.  I.  LOVE.  THEM.  So when I saw a cookie that featured them, I thought I had hit the cookie jackpot and the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg jackpot at the same time.  But then as the day went on, I realized that this cookie is taking a big risk.  Chopping up all those beautiful works of chocolate/peanut butter perfection is a risk.  What if the cookies disappoint?  Then you've wasted perfection.  And why mess with perfection??  But what if they just take perfection to a new level?  What if they are something that has been missing from my life and I don't even know it?

I just don't know.  I do know that a girl can only contemplate such a weighted issue for so long before taking action.  If I can go down a wild water slide at practically break-neck speed, then certainly I can take a risk on a cookie.  But on the other hand, I watched "the angry lady" while I was on the treadmill earlier this week, and she talked about never making a major decision when you are feeling emotional, either really high or really low.  And thinking about the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs is all it takes to make my emotions go really high.  And thinking of chopping them up and possibly ruining them makes my emotions go really low.  What a quandary.

Anyone out there want to take one for the team and give them a try for me?  And by "the team" I do mean me.  In the meantime, I'm going to hop on my treadmill and run out my vacillating emotions.  Maybe in about 45 minutes I'll have my answer.

A Graphite Tattoo and A Lipstick War

Over the last couple weeks there have been some interesting facial changes in both my girls.  Battle wounds, really.  One perhaps permanent, one temporary.

It all began innocently enough.  Homework was being done side-by-side at the dining room table while enjoying the beautiful view out the window.  Or maybe the beautiful view was being enjoyed out the window while a little homework was being done.  At one particular moment, one girl was looking up, one looking down.  There was suddenly something exciting to see, and exclamation of "Oh, look!", a pointing hand that was holding a newly sharpened pencil, a chin turning into the pointing hand...and in a matter of seconds there was a tip of a pencil lodged in my daughter's chin.  We cleaned it like a sliver, following doctor's directions.  Those directions came with this disclaimer:  "It is possible that after cleaning everything out a black mark will remain there.  It's called a 'graphite tattoo' and is common with that type of injury."  I asked what she meant by the mark remaining there...forever?  There was a pause, and then, "Umm, yeah, most likely."  Sure enough, despite all our attempts, there remains a black mark that looks like it would be easy enough to pull out of there.  Forever?  Time will tell.  Brad has a graphite tattoo on his hand, we just didn't know that's what it was called.  She is a lot like her sweet daddy...this is just the one child I felt very confident would never consider tattooing herself.

terrible picture, but you can get the idea

Flashing forward a couple weeks, and my other daughter waged a war against a very innocent lipstick.  She woefully underestimated her opponent, and came out on the losing end.  It all began at a sleep-over.  The girls decided to do make-overs on each other, using the cheap dress-up lipsticks.  Then they decided to kick it up a notch and do blindfolded make-overs.  One thing led to another, and apparently these girls had lipstick caked onto their faces, in their eyebrows, covering just about every piece of skin on their face.  No pictures were taken at this stage of the war, due to the fact that the only photo journalist available at the moment turned into a very freaked out dad with one glance at the faces before him.  The second mission of the war began immediately, and lasted about 45 minutes, the weapon of choice being soap and washcloths.  And a lot of manual labor.  The result?  My daughter literally scrubbed the skin off her cheek.  From the description, this lipstick dried on like stretched and stuck bubble gum, and was very resistant to any removal.  And the dad was the only help available at that moment.  So when I saw my daughter the next morning, cheek swollen and looking like she had a road rash, it was obvious to me that a lesson had surely been learned.  I don't think she will ever enter a war with a lipstick again.  At least not blindfolded.

this was day 2, it is healing quickly, to her great relief.

Monday Menu ~ Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

These potatoes are so fabulous.  I love them as a main dish, with a big salad.  This salad is my favorite with it, but this one is also great.  This recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine years ago.  I've also made these potatoes without the ham and served them with as a side with a ham dinner.  But they are so substantial and yummy, I think they are better as the main event.  They are definitely a belly filling comfort food.  The kids love them...it turned them all into Bob Wileys at the dinner table.  If you know what I mean by that, 100,000 bonus points to you.

These also freeze great.  This recipe makes 16 servings.  I will bake 6 for dinner that night, and freeze the other 10.  For our family, that's two extra meals or a bunch of lunches.  I'd say that's some pretty efficient use of time.  If you are making them as a main dish, use large baking potatoes, and be generous with the ingredients.  If you are making smaller sides, just use smaller potatoes and pull back a bit on the ingredients.  You really can't mess this one up.

Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

8 large baking potatoes
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups diced fully cooked ham
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste

Scrub and pierce potatoes.  Bake at 400 for 40-60 minutes or microwave on high for 12-14 minutes or until tender.  (Totally depends on your potato size and microwave!  My jumbo potatoes took about 20 minutes in my microwave.)  Meanwhile, cook the sausage until no longer pink, drain.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise; scoop out the pulp into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4 inch shell.  Mash the pulp with the butter.  Stir in the sausage, cheese, ham, bacon, sour cream and salad dressing.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  (I never think it's needed.)

Spoon mixture evenly back into the potato shells.  Place those you are baking on baking sheets.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

To freeze, wrap each potato tightly with plastic wrap after you stuff the shell.  Place in labeled freezer bags.  To cook, pull out the number of potatoes you are cooking, allow to thaw and bake as directed above.