Boys in tights

Eighth grade was hazardous for Landon.  In one school year he managed to break both hands and tear the meniscus in his knee.

 We're about to make him wear full body armor. 

Yesterday he had surgery to repair the tear in his left lateral meniscus. It was in an unusual place in the meniscus and the torn piece was curled up into the joint so they weren't able to repair the tear.  They just shaved off the mangled portion and smoothed things out.  Everything else in the knee looked great and there is still a good amount of healthy meniscus so he should heal very well.  And of course he's still hoping to play football...

This is Landon getting in touch with his feminine side.

Shaved legs--

and tights are sooo much fun!

His knee is pretty swollen but it actually feels better than it did before the surgery and he is able to walk with barely a limp.  He is missing high adventure camp this week.  Rustin, Austin and Dallin are all gone.  This is the longest amount of time Dallin and Landon have spent apart. It's not a big deal to them now like it would have been when they were younger.  I think every developmental stage is easier if it is done in its own time without trying to rush things. 

Of course if I had my way no one would grow up and leave home.  They would just stay the same forever. Or at least move in next door.  

Just kidding.  I think.

Pick a puppy

After traveling the world for 15 years my sister and her family are about to embark on their biggest journey yet:  they're getting a dog.

Being the mother-hen-oldest-sister that I am, I'm offering the cliff notes version of puppy training theories. I read them all and we tried most of them before we finally figured out what works best for us.

From our first rescued nippy miniature schnauzer Murphy,

 To our hyper and very distract-able and lovable beagle Molly,

and her puppies,

 

to our current easy going family boy Beau,

we have tried a lot of training strategies and made a lot of mistakes.

Trial and error is not the most effective way to learn.  

So here is my first suggestion:  watch this Caesar Milan video and then read the book if you are so inclined.  Can't go wrong with the Dog Whisperer.


How to Raise a perfect Puppy--Caesar Milan

Where do I send my thank you card?

I had the most lovely surprise at the pharmacy today.

I usually leave my monthly trip to the pharmacy about $300 dollars poorer than I went in, so the pharmacy (even my favorite Dicks's pharm!) isn't a place that makes me smile.

We have two ADHD kids and medicine makes their lives infinitely easier.  The problem is that ADHD medicine is a pain and it is expensive. That should be Expensive--$300 per month for the last four years to be exact.  That's almost 15,000 dollars in the last four years alone!

Today when I went to the pharmacy I was shocked when I went to swipe my card and saw a balance of $10!

Our medicine is finally generic.

Hallelujah!

I think I skipped out of the pharmacy today.

My medical bills just decreased by three hundred dollars a month!


Of course this little tender mercy occurred just in time for Landon to have surgery to fix a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee tomorrow.
  
So the drug savings will just go to the hospital.  


But I'm not complaining...

I lost my camera cord and other excuses...

For some reason I can't blog without pictures.  I guess I figure my thoughts aren't interesting enough on their own.  Most of the things I really want to remember are pictures!

This week I have been having that "past-the halfway through summer mark" panic that sets in every year at this time. 

I feel this tightness in my chest and a fluttery panic in my stomach.

What is that about?

I don't like it when the kids go to school.  It feels like some really important and exciting event is ending and I didn't enjoy it enough. Or I didn't take advantage of it enough. Or I didn't make them do enough projects around the house--like helping me paint the ceilings (which is way easier for the 6 ft+ members of my family...), build that beautiful deck I have imagined outside or at least clean out all the closets!

It's not like the kids disappear when school starts, right? And we still have 6 weeks so no worries...

I have lots to write about--Jenna's 9th birthday, our Hatch family handcart trek, cousins, a chicken coop in the making and a million other awesome summer memories. I'll get to the writing as soon as the laundry is done and I find my camera. 

In other words...don't hold your breath.

Twinkle in my eye.

These boys make me smile... 

Happy weekend!

The oatmeal dilema

I consider it one of my motherly duties to help my kids eat a wide variety of foods.  This is no small feat considering that we have a couple of kids who instinctively throw up when a new taste or texture is encountered...(Austin...)

So last week we had a red letter day.  Half way through dinner I noticed that all SIX kids (Jackson will eat anything but potatoes) ate fish with no complaining or sneaky half portions.

Awesome!

The secret?--a good  layer of Panko bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and a healthy coating of cooking spray in a nonstick pan to get a good crispy yummy fish.

Time to move on to another food challenge. Breakfast.

I want my kids to eat oatmeal.  Unfortunately they think cold cereal is a punishment breakfast. Actually anything that can't be covered with peanut butter or syrup is pretty low on the breakfast totem pole.  These spoiled rotten kids actually memorized the recipe to make pancakes from scratch (their mean mother refuses to buy pancake mix...) just in case there isn't a sufficient supply of hot chocolate and toast (the second favorite breakfast around here). 

Oatmeal? Am I kidding myself?

What was the response from Landon (and everyone) when I announced that our family was going to eat oatmeal once a week?  "If I was starving in the woods and all I had to eat was oatmeal I would use it as bait to catch a squirrel."

Not much hope there.

So I found a chewy granola bar recipe from Rachel Ray and I adjusted it a little bit.

Chewy granola bars

3 1/2 cups rolled old fashioned oats

2 cups rice crispies

melt together and boil for two minutes:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup honey or karo syrup

1 cup brown sugar loosely packed

1/2 cup peanut butter (if you want...)

Line a baking pan with wax paper and tightly press the mixture into the pan.  The more you press the better the bars stick together.

Trust me.  Use the wax paper.

And don't get impatient--stick the bars in the fridge to cool. The bars won't stay together until they are completely cool.  The longer they sit the better they stick together.

Just so you are warned--if you have the need to be a bit more--uh--'regular'--eat five of these babies in one day...

Of course we sprinkled chocolate chips on top.  And added a scoop of peanut butter to one of the batches which was delicious.

Everyone loves these babies.  I figure they are getting a good half cup of oatmeal per bar.  Not bad.

*This is one of the rare recipes that has to be measured correctly --the original recipe calls for 4 cups of granola but if I'm going to buy granola I will just buy granola bars.  I have a million years supply (at our current rate...) of rolled oats so I use those.  I tried 4 cups first but 3 1/2 sticks together better. And boil it for two minutes.*

So there it is.  My oatmeal requirement is met.  Next up--salad. Or maybe tuna fish...

The irises are in bloom, the strawberries are ripe and the kids are out of school.  

It's officially summer.

Our first day home we made a wish list.  Here goes:

Swim at Dierkes Lake.

Go to the Drops in Shoshone.

Have a drive-in party.

Have a croquet and badminton party with homemade ice cream (try that salted caramel recipe!).

Float the Bear river.

Hike from Willow flat to Bloomington Lake.
Visit/play with our cousins.

Go to a Symphony in Sun Valley.

Go to Roaring Springs.

Go to rock hopping at Niagara Springs. 

Go to the Drive-in with friends and take our own treats.

And of course I have a million plans to clean, organize and repaint the whole house.  

But I didn't tell the kids that yet...

* Tomorrow is our 17th anniversary! I'm planning to make this for dinner and then take
Rustin out to this to have him all to myself!*