Jake's Cast is Off!

Jake got his cast off yesterday after school.  He is pretty excited.  He still has to be very careful for the next couple of weeks.  The doctor told him not to do anything stupid!  I love our doctors.

Purple Cow Guts

For those of you that don't know what a purple cow is, let me tell you.  A purple cow is a milk shake that for the flavoring you add concentrated grape juice.  Specifically you add Welch's because it is super flavorful and extra purple.  We have tried it with other brands and it just doesn't taste the same.

I first heard of these years ago when I was serving in the primary.  This and grasshoppers (a cookie like thin mints) was the special treat at the yearly baptism preview.  All the kids were excited to come so they could find out what these were.  This year for YW in excellence we used purple cows to go with our purple theme (see the mybokehcreations blog for the post).  We had purchased way to much and so the left over supplies came to my house.  The young women wanted to have them again last night.  We were learning how to make cinnamon rolls and topped our bellies off with a purple cow.

There was an open container of juice.  I wasn't able to get the lid on tight so I put it inside my blender glass with the lid on.  I placed it carefully in the trunk of my car and packed stuff around it so it wouldn't tip.

Well apparently it didn't work at all because this is what I found when I got home.

Let me answer a few of the questions that might be rolling through your head while you laugh hysterically!

No, I did not have the glass part on the base while traveling.  I was using the base to help hold the glass in the corner of the trunk.

Yes, I did stand up the glass part when I opened the trunk. It didn't end up that way.

Yes, I did swear when I first saw it.  "Oh sh**" flew right out my mouth.

No, I didn't cry.  Too busy swearing apparently!

Yes, welch's is very thick and a concentrated red/purple color.

Yes, it does look like a bloody murder scene.

Yes, it welch's does stain.  That orange wash cloth in the bottom edge of the picture is no longer orange.

Yes, it does look like it tipped over pulling out of the church parking lot.  From the extensive splatter you can tell I didn't make it far.

No, I will never to do this again.  Any extra juice will be dumped down the sink prior to leaving!

And to top it all off, I forgot my milk.  So after I cleaned the purple cow guts up, I went back to the church to get my milk.

More Teeth & Cookies!

K-dub is teething again.  He had 2 teeth when he was placed with us.  The first month he was here, he got 6 more!  And after a short break, he's teething again.  I'm pretty sure he is working on everything that's left.  Every spot that doesn't already have a tooth is swollen and I could feel a molar had just broken through or was about to.  Needless to say, he has been very grumpy this week.  He just follows me around the house crying and fussing.  Holding him doesn't help.  Motrin usually works but today it didn't.  By 7:30 tonight, I was ready to go bonkers.  And to top it off, I had a sugar craving.  Bonkers and cravings tend to go together.



Yep, that's drool!



So, I decided I'd whip up a batch of my favorite cookies, Chocolate Chip-less.  For those of you that don't know what that is, it's mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe, minus the chocolate chips.  These are my absolute favorite, even if my intestines and gluten have an ongoing disagreement.  I have never been able to convert these to gluten free and have them turn out.  Trust me I've tried.  They either taste horrible or bake into a paper thin rock or both.  So when I really crave them, I make them.

My favorite is right out of the oven, and ever-so-slightly undercooked.  I don't know how my love for these started.  I would assume that it has something to do with being the youngest of 5 children.  Picture this with me if you will.  You come home from school and mom is baking cookies for everyone.  The oldest kids (Brian and Jeff) call dibs on the first batch of cookies to come out of the oven.  These cookies are loaded full of yummy chocolate chips.  They eat them and run along.  The middle kids (Steve and Lisa) call the second batch to come out.  They too have plenty of chocolate chips in them.  They eat their cookies and run along also.  Now it's my turn.  Mom is scraping dough that is stuck on the sides of the bowl to get enough to make one or two more cookies.  If I was lucky, there might have been one chocolate chip left for one of the cookies.  She bakes them up and because she is trying to clean up with all 5 kids home, she puts them in for the minimum time.  She doesn't give them that extra 30 seconds to a minute more that they need because she's ready to load the cookie sheet into the dishwasher.  And there you have it.  My love for chocolate chip-less cookies begins!

Those of you that are the youngest in your families completely understand this sibling hierarchy.  I have a similar reasoning for why, as a child, always took cool water baths!  Still to this day, I don't care for real hot showers.  But all said and done, I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything.  I love my family and love to laugh at our stories.  I hope my children will think so highly of their childhoods when they get older. 

Here's my mom's recipe if you're lacking some yummy goodness in your life.  It's an older Hershey's recipe and is not the same as on the bag of chips today.

1 cup crisco

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Cream together then add:

2 1/4 cups flour (a little more if needed)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Add 2 cups chocolate chips (optional!)

Bake in pre-heated oven at 375* for 8-10 minutes.

Avery's Mobile Domain

One of my best friends, Amber,  is moving to North Dakota on Friday.  Like many others in the area, her family is going where there are some really good paying jobs on oil fields.  They will be in somewhat of a remote area called Powers Lake.  The school has just over 100 kids, grades k-12.  This last week she was talking to the principle on the phone.  In their conversation, the principle ask where they would be living.  Amber told her that they would be staying in their 5th wheel camper.  This a common thing there.  Many families are doing this.  The principle said that in the state of North Dakota there is a law that states anyone living in a mobile domain automatically qualifies for free/reduced school lunches because they are considered homeless.  So the joke now is that Amber will be homeless in her mobile domain even though they are keeping their home here and will making adequate money to support their family.

Today we had a farewell lunch at El Gallo Giro for Amber.  I wanted to give her something.  So I got the idea to include "mobile domain" in a sign for her wall.  And this is what I came up with.

I purchased a black frame to finish it off.  It turned out soooo cute.  I'm thinking about using a different saying a making one for my own home.

Yep, it's broken.

I took Jake to the doctor yesterday and he's got a fracture.  It's a clean break (not in his wrist but at the bottom of his forearm near his wrist) and was still aligned fairly well.  Which is surprising since I found out he rode all day Saturday with it broken.  It was too swollen to cast now.  The doctor put a splint on it and we will go back on Friday to have it casted.

Now I know I've mentioned he wrecked his motorcycle, but your probably wondering more details.  So here's the story.

Once upon a time there was a young boy who went camping with his father.  Both the boy and the father enjoyed riding motorcycles very much.  So on this camp trip they took their motorcycles.  They woke up Saturday and said "It looks like a beautiful day to ride."

So after breakfast, they got their motorcycles out of the truck and went for a ride with friends.  The young boy thought it was fun to jump the water run-off breaks in the trail.  He had done this on several other trails before, and thought there was no harm in this.  Now being less experienced in riding than his father, the boy rode behind his father on the trails so he could see what he father did and follow his example.  On this particular day, the father was out of sight of the boy.  The boy did not see his father roll over this particular water break.  When the boy came upon it himself, he jumped it like all the others.  The poor young boy did not know what was on the other side.  For on the other side of this water break was a gully.  The father looked back just in time to see the boy's front tire nose-dive into the trail and the young boy fly over the handlebars.

The father, kind hearted and full of love for his son, rushed back to help.  The young boy instantly grasped his wrist to his chest in pain.  The father asked the young boy if he was okay.  The young boy being very brave replied yes and refused to turn back.  It had be quite some time since the family had rode their motorcycles and the young boy's desire to ride was strong.

Now this crash took place just 1.5 miles in on the trail.  The brave young boy pushed forward and rode the rest of the day with his father, completely another 36 miles!

That evening, the young boy's wrist was still swollen.  The father decided it would be best for the two of them to head back home.  So after dinner, they loaded camp and drove home.

The next day, the mother returned home to find a bandage wrapped around her young boy's wrist.  She inquired what happened.  The information provided was vague.  She had the young boy take off the bandage so she could see.  The mother, being wise, told the young boy that they would call the doctor first thing in the morning because she thought it was broken.

Monday morning arrived and the mother took her young boy to the doctor.  The doctor confirmed the mother's suspicions.  The young boy had indeed broken a bone.

Ahh-Oh! We're in trouble now!

Look at what I caught K-dub doing!  We are definitely in trouble now.  Guess I will buy a gate this week.  He can't get his knee up on the step yet, so we have a few days.

Okay, I was wrong.  I had gotten this post ready yesterday, but had it scheduled to post this morning.  Not even an hour after he stood up for the first time, he got his knee up and was able to completely climb the first step.  And of course he fell and bonked his head on the wall. Gate time!

Weekend Fun

Well it's been a little longer between posts than I've wanted.  K-dub keeps me pretty busy.  Since he has been with us, he has gotten 6 new teeth.  That right 6 in the last month.  And I think he's getting more.  He also started crawling last weekend.  Now he can track me down pretty quick.  I will have to get a gate for the stairs soon.  I'm starting to get a good routine with him now and he has definitely gotten comfortable with us.  He loves Jake and Ellie.  They can always get him to laugh.  He also loves Wayne.  When he hears the door open from Wayne getting home from work, he always stops what he is doing and looks for him.  It looks like we will have him for his 1st birthday next month.  I'm excited to have a little party for him.  He is such a great boy and it is a privilege to have him in our home.  Even with teething, he is a happy boy.  I can't wait to see how happy his is when those teeth stop causing problems.

This weekend Ellie, K-dub and I went to Mountain Home to craft with mom for her birthday.  We made some great projects and had fun visiting.  Donna and her friend, Lisa, joined us too.  The four of us always have a great time when we are together.  If you want to see what we made, you'll have to check out my Bokeh Creations blog.  I'll be posting those projects soon.

Wayne and Jake decided they would go camping since the rest of us were going to be gone.  They went to Idaho City to camp and ride.  But their weekend was cut short.  Jake got hurt Saturday morning.  He wrecked on his motorcycle and injured his wrist.  It's pretty swollen still.  He got behind on pain relievers today and was in quite a bit of pain come dinner time.  I will be taking him to the doctor tomorrow to see if he broke it.  Keep your fingers crossed that it's not!  I'll blog an update when we have one.