The Phrase that Broke My Heart

Cort first started experiencing asthma when he was 2 1/2.  Since then, he's been on a variety of different daily preventative medicines, all of them causing disturbing side effects.  We finally found one that he seems to tolerate, but it isn't 100% when it comes to preventing his asthma symptoms.  While he had a bit of a remission for a while in the late summer, he has had more frequent days where he needs the nebulizer this fall.  Luckily, whenever Cort is struggling with his asthma, Reid makes sure to take extra good care of him.

Recently, when we were driving to preschool one morning, Cort was having a rough time.  He'd already had a nebulizer treatment but for some reason it wasn't helping as much as normal.  As he coughed over and over again, and I debated sending him to school at all, he said in a small, sad voice, "Mom, when will I not have asthma anymore?" 

There are some things that as a Mom, you just can't fix, no matter how much your heart longs to make it better.  I am thankful, though, to live in a time where we do have nebulizer machines in the home, where we can treat the asthma most of the time without having to rush to the ER.  It isn't a cure for my sweet Cort, but I'm so thankful to have that machine when we need it.  And I won't give up hope that Cort will outgrow the majority of his asthma symptoms as he gets older, just like I did as a child.

Readers, what is a modern technology that makes you thankful year-round? 

Never Fail Chocolate Meringue Pie - Vintage Recipe

This recipe comes from my 1975 copy of For the Love of Cooking.  When the holidays approach, I start thinking about pies, and trying new recipes.  This is the first time I ever attempted chocolate meringue pie, and it turned out splendidly.  It is a more dense and rich chocolate than your pudding based recipes.  The layer of chocolate is also not as generous as pudding based recipes, but I found that since it is much richer, it was just enough.

 Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
3 heaping tablespoons cocoa
Dash of salt
1 cup boiling water
1 baked 9 inch pie shell (I think you could use an 8 inch, if you wanted the chocolate to be thicker)
3 egg whites
3 tbsp. sugar

Beat egg yolks until light and lemon colored.  Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa.  Add beaten egg yolks and salt to sugar mixture.  Slowly blend in 1 cup of boiling water.  Cook (preferably in a double boiler - but I just used a pot and was careful not to get it too hot), stirring constantly, until mixture is thick.  Cool.

When filling has cooled, spoon into cooled, baked piecrust.  Beat egg whites until they begin to stiffen (this can take a while, be patient).  Continue beating while adding sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until whites form stiff peaks (if you lift the beaters out of the eggs, a white peak will form).  Spread on top of pie and bake at 350* for 15 minutes or until crust is brown. 

Needless to say, this pie didn't last very long in our house!  Enjoy it.

My Claim to Fame is Dog Puke - and How to Clean it Up

Well, not really.  But I will say that two and a half years ago I wrote this post about how to clean up dog vomit and it still gets a lot of hits on Google.  We were having a really good streak in which our border collie, Scooter, hadn't barfed in the house since I wrote that post.  But hunting season started a few weeks ago, and Scooter gets really neurotic during hunting season.

Happily, I was away at a craft fair when I got the text, "Just sprayed off the living room rug in the driveway.  Scooter laid out a HUGE barf."  Boy was I glad I was gone for that one.

Let me show you Paul's ingenious method for cleaning the rug though.  He used one of our chicken tractors that is not in use to put the rug on.  Then he was able to clean it really well using cleaning supplies and the hose on full force, and it dried in the sun. 

Paul isn't always the world's best cleaner, but I have to say I approved of his methods for tackling the dog puking episode.  Great job!

Readers, I'm hoping you haven't had to clean up anything gross lately!

The Gate to Nowhere

1.  Every time I drive into town, I pass this gate.  It's on the side of a gravel driveway, and it goes to nowhere.  It isn't for the driveway.  Or the property.  In fact, it has no connecting fencing.  I suppose it's just decoration.  Almost like someone planned to have a little decorative garden there, but lost their way.

2.  On Halloween, we decided to drive to this neighborhood we'd heard all the rural folks like to go to for trick or treating.  It was CRAZY.  The streets were lined with cars up and down, and kids in costume were everywhere.  I wonder what the people who live there think about all us country folk coming down from the hills?

3.  While trick or treating, Pierce went up to a house and started talking to the people there.  They started cracking up.  They were really laughing.  Come to find out, he'd asked them for Reeses cups, because he said his mom just loves Reeses cups.  Guess I got busted!

4.  Now that Halloween is over, the boys got to break out the turkey shirts I made them.  They all look very cute.  Pierce wanted to know why turkeys have the gobble hanging down from the beak.  I had no idea.  I told him it was for decoration.  Does anyone know if it serves a purpose?

5.  Today I'm linking up with Friday Fences for the first time (and, as with every Friday, with Nancy's Random Friday).  If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome :-)) 

Thanks to everyone who guessed on my photobombed post last Friday.  No one guessed the correct answer - which was a cow tail!  Many of you were close, though.  The random winner of homemade soap was Monkeywrangler. 

Hot Chicken Salad Casserole Recipe

I didn't have a ton of cravings during my pregnancies, but I can remember two I had when pregnant with the twins.  The first was for buffalo chicken wings (which is really weird, because in my 'real' life I don't really care for them) and the second was for this Hot Chicken Salad.  This is also weird, because it's a recipe I hadn't thought of in years - my mom used to make it when I was a kid.  I sent her a frantic email, "Do you remember that casserole that had all the chicken and celery?  I HAVE TO HAVE IT!  Do you have the recipe?"  Sure enough, like any good mom, she not only had the recipe, but she even MADE me the casserole and brought it to my house.  Yeah, she pretty much rocks. 

I've been making the casserole a couple of times a year since then.  It's a great way for me to use leftover chicken, and the kids all seem to enjoy it. 

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups diced celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. salt

Mix and refrigerate overnight (or for a few hours).  Top w/ one package Pepperidge Farm stuffing breadcrumbs and 1 cup grated cheese.  Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes.  I tend to put aluminum foil over top for the first 20 minutes, then remove it for the last ten.  Enjoy!

K5 Learning Website Review and Giveaway

Disclaimer:  I was provided with a 6 week trial of K5 Learning for review purposes.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post.  All opinions are my own. 

I've blogged before about how I like to supplement what my boys learn at school with additional learning activities at home.  We usually do workbooks and printables, but I was intrigued when K5 Learning contacted me to see if I'd like to do a review of their website.  They provide an online reading and math program for grades kindergarten - 5th, which builds skills through independent study. 

K5 Learning has sections for reading, math, and spelling.  There are lessons children can do, which are fun and engaging.  The characters are cute and get excited when kids get a problem or game correct.  Parents can also go in and give their child assignments that he or she can do when logged on. 

The twins are just four, and still in preschool, so they are still a little young.  However, they were able to do some of the lessons - alphabet letters, numbers, and beginning sight words.  Both Cort and Reid loved trying their hand at the lessons, even the ones that were too advanced for them.

And although our internet connection is horrifically slow (we have to get online through our cell phones, and the connection is poor due to the mountain behind our house), this website loaded easily and ran efficiently.

One helpful thing the site offers free is an assessment in reading and math.  Once your child is assessed, lessons start at the appropriate grade level, and build from there, growing increasingly challenging as your child builds on skills.  I had Pierce do both assessments.  Pierce is in first grade, but he is in a second grade reading group at school.  He is also at a second grade math level (he has passed the end of first grade math level test, so they give him extra work at school to keep him challenged, as I didn't want to move him up).  It took Pierce about 30 minutes to take each assessment on the K5 Learning website.  Once he finished, the results were immediately available when I logged in as the parent.  The website placed him on a second grade math and a second grade reading level.  So their results are consistent with the results I have received from Pierce's school.  In addition, now Pierce can go to the website and continue to build on his current skill level from home.  He's the type of kid who loves to learn, so he is excited to continue using this program.

K5 is offering a free six week trial to one lucky reader!  Just click on the Rafflecopter below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bony-Legs

When I was eight years old, in 1983, a book came out called Bony-Legs, by Joanna Cole.  I checked it out from the library and fell in love with the tale of the evil witch that lived in a house on chicken feet.  It's a clever tale - one with a few twists involved. 

I was excited to find a copy at a used library book sale a couple of years ago.  My boys love it as much as I did.  Each year when I get out the Halloween books, this is the one they are most excited to see.

Case in point, when Reid designed his preschool trick or treat bag, he must have had Bony-Legs on his mind.  Because what he came home with brought a smile to my face.

Readers, do you remember any spooky books from your childhood that made you shiver in delight?