My son nudged me out of bed Tuesday morning at 6:00. “This is the day, Mom…to post the pictures.” Right… I’m on it. Bleary eyed, we came down stairs to pick the best photo of the Lego creations he had made Friday night… the night we learned about the Lego Contest, Build Your Best Ohio.

(Yes… I’m breaking my rule about kid posts… and no, I don’t have everything ready for the new place yet…but this is an emergency.)

He carefully went on the internet to search for some of his favorite things… “Is the Sears Tower in Ohio?  How about the Golden Gate Bridge?” After enough searching, he narrowed down his building to three, not just one, Ohio Landmarks.

Here they are:

Apollo 11, (Neil Armstrong) The Huntington Center, and The Wright Brother’s Airplane. He named it, “Look How Great Ohio Is!” Is that not adorable, right in itself?

We loaded the photos, and I voted for him, giving him the first vote… and he was the first entry.

Just ask me how thankful I was when I woke up today, and tried to vote again, and the site said, “You already voted!” What a score! I am not obligated to continue voting for the next four week, every day — no pressure! Because, I know I would miss a few days, and feel plagued with guilt… with no recovery…

But something is bothering me. We have over 100 views, and only 10 votes! Please, if you can find it in your heart, give him a vote, please.

I found this sitting on my desk this morning.

With a note attached:

And they just told me they get out of school early tomorrow…

While we were staying at the hospital for our 23 hour tour, he was not allowed to eat. Surgery may have been eminent. His IV was hooked up for fluids (spare me the memory of watching him squirm and cry while his vein “blew” three times just trying to place the IV).

The next morning, it had been 18 hours since our last meal. I was ravenous… but I didn’t dare ask him if he was, for fear of inciting latent hunger pangs lingering in his tummy, just below the surface.

Mamma’s gotta eat… I needed my strength for whatever else would be laid out in front of me for the day.

I took a stroll down to the hospital cafeteria. This was a far walk… I had planned to eat down in the cafeteria, but it was so far — I couldn’t leave him alone that long. So, the plan was to eat in the room — with him — so I had to pick out something that would simply repulse him. That would be easy — he’s a picky eater — the vegetarian that doesn’t eat vegetables.

I scanned the salad bar, the soup kettles, the vending machines full of partially hydrogenated oils (his favorites!) and the clear plastic containers of tuna sandwiches and wraps. Soon, I spotted the perfect meal. Sushi. He hates Sushi.  And this was Hospital Sushi. I hesitated myself… but, hey, the word “hospital” in front of sushi would be the ultimate sacrifice. Nothing says Mommy is sacrificing too, like “hospital sushi.”

So, I carried my plastic tray of Hospital Sushi, and a cup of green tea back into room 523, where my son sat waiting, already glued to a video game of tic tac toe on the flat screen TV above his bed.

He noticed. “Is that urr lunch?”
“Yeah,” I said, and quickly followed up with those revolting words, “Hospital sushi.”

Without missing a beat, he looked up at me with his pitiful brown eyes, and said, “Can I have a tiny speck of your rice?”

I will add that that pitiful tray of Hospital Sushi was the worst meal I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I couldn’t even finish the thing.

Within an hour, the nurse announced it was time for him to eat. This is what he ordered off the hospital menu:

• A bowl of rice
• Waffles
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Pears
• Green Gelatin
• Two cups of apple juice
• Sprite

The food came. He was busy eating. In silence. When the nurse came in to check on him, she said, “How’s your food.”

He mumbled, without looking up from his plate, “It’s dewicious.”

And he ate every tiny speck of a crumb.

He’s fine. We thought he was having an acute appendicitis… which called for an overnight “Observation.” While there, he miraculously got better.  Thank goodness… no cutting involved.

The hospital has just undergone a major renovation… the rooms, were beautiful. Sadly beautiful, like a posh hotel. Which, is truly, such a tragedy, that we ever need such beautiful spaces to keep parents and kids so happy during a scary time in their lives. Our friend Seth, missed this renovation… and we missed him during our stay. He would have loved this room. (Except for not being able to eat.)

There was a huge board in the back of the room, full of silhouette pictures of frogs and prairie grass, with an adjustable lens. You could “pick” your color for the day to match your mood. Ours was always green. At night, this big board was your nightlight.

Snapped with phone

He figured out how to get to the bathroom on his own, jumping out of bed, unplugging the IV, and wheeling it with him to the bathroom… and adjusting the bed buttons so he could easily manuever in and out of the bed easily without tangling the cord.

“Mom, did you know that when you hold those buttons they keep going?”

“Yeah, honey, you have to let go once you get the bed where you want it to be … you stop pressing.”

“Yeah, but it keeps going.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

I left to get some tea. I was probably gone 2.5 minutes tops. He was calmly in his bed, searching for a movie on his “personal laptop” the hotel hospital provided.

A few hours after we returned home, I overhead him telling his older brother this:

“…so, when you keep pressing the button, it keeps going. So, when mom left to get her tea, I kept holding the button until my legs were straight up in the air… just like Curious George when he broke his leg!” Then, laughter.

The least he could have done was to let me see so I could have snapped a picture.

“OH Yeah! Well,  when you go to bed you wear an Origami KIMONO! And I’m telling everyone at school!!!…..”

Blurry Kodachrome memories…. when things just move too fast — and there’s no camera fast enough to catch them. I did my best.

Packing List:

One country ham

Corn Meal (Forgot…. throw into car!)

Packs of Starbucks Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate

Pears

Cans of Pineapple and Cherries

Ice Skates (lake is frozen!)

Entire duffel bag  of mittens, snowpants, gloves, scarves

Extra blankets

Hersey Kisses for Peanut Blossoms

Peanut Blossom Cookie Dough (already made)

When we drove to Chicago, my husband and I snuck into the lake house and pulled out the Christmas tree, and decorated it… and left a few presents.

So, you’re wondering what I got in my Altoids Tins? This particular one came from the one who loves green — which explains the green highlighter used to write my treasured “Gift Tag.”

He even borrowed a little ingenuity from this Origami Master Brother to make an “envelope” that was a shirt — without a tie, because this one is for a girl.

Inside were little scraps of paper… because, “You’re a writer, Mom.” Of course.

Also included was a bottle of Grapefruit Essential Oils… OK, he didn’t actually make this part of the gift — but we’ll let it slide for thoughtfulness. Grapefruit is my favorite scent. After each of my babies, I suffered from a medium case of the Baby Blues. I found the care I needed in an Aromatherapy Apothecary store, where the essential oils are kept behind a counter — like pills in a drug store — not in little bottles you pick yourself. You tell the girls in the store your “problem” and they mix a concoction for you — dry skin, acne, anxiety, depression, wrinkles, labor pains, back ache — you name it, there’s an essential oil remedy for you. They girls there study plants, and they have tomes of research to aid them in creating your remedy. The whole experience is quite charming.

Every year, my husband walks into that store at Christmas time, and asks for “Susie’s card,” and buys me a selection from that list. (You can do this to0, and use one of my many remedies they have already built for me — for you — they’re timeless!). My index card, dates back to 1996, with handwritten notes on all of the remedies they have made for me. Many of the remedies are listed in the above paragraph.

I love the ancient wisdom in these essential oils that have been around for centuries.

For the Postpartum Blues, the essential oils called for are Grapefruit, Rose (quite expensive — so just a drop) myrrh and Frankincense. I’ve always liked the fact that the 3 kings brought Jesus a gift of Frankincense and Myrrh — and that’s what goes into the Postpartum Blend. I wonder, if that gift was really for Mary, to ease her stress for all that she had to deal with at that time — giving birth in a barn, feeding shepherds, and eventually fleeing because Herod was out to kill all the babies.

Notice that I call the Postpartum remedy “care.” The aromatherapy gave me a means to care for myself at that critical time when I learned how to find my balance each time our family grew. (How would I manage the grocery store — the library? One in a sling, one in the cart, and one by my side holding my hand… and then the fourth.)

I dropped this postpartum essential oil blend into a mason jar, full of Epsom Salts and and equal amount of olive oil, and packed it in my bag to go to the hospital. After birth, when I was able to take my first shower, in the hospital, I took the jar, unscrewed the lid, and slathered the salt scrub all over my body. Smelled wonderful. The citrus smell from the grapefruit was always so uplifting. Then, I showered as usual, and the scent would linger.

I would use that scrub every day, as long as the scrub lasted. It was my ritual. This was my way of caring for myself at a time when so many others, much more helpless, needed me.  Occasionally, I will have a bottle made for me when I want to remember how lucky I was to have these babies.

It’s his birthday. The one who loves green. And trains… and the entire concept of wearing shorts all winter. That one. He’s ten. I made the greenest cupcakes I have ever seen.

I used an entire bottle — the big one, one ounce– of green food coloring.

Then, we made this cake balls for his class “treat.”

Have you had a cake ball yet? They are SOOOOOO good. And why wouldn’t they be? You simple take a baked cake, put it into your food processor, along with a glob of icing, dip it in chocolate, and add sprinkles. Why wouldn’t that be good?

Then, we let him get an aquarium… for his room. To hold a couple of frogs. He is OVER THE MOON about this.
Right now, we are cycling the tank… this could take 2 to 4 weeks — before we can get the actual frogs.

I did all the research… and we have two very “tough” fish who are busy building the bacteria in the tank to get the water ready for the frogs. All I can say is, he is just over the moon with joy over this one… and it didn’t hurt that it was a full moon for his lovely birthday too.

Two summers ago, our neighbor carried a very large square “train table” out of their house and to the curb. Then the words “free” appeared on a piece of paper taped to the front. Made by the father, legs painted white, their son, about the same age as my little guys, used it as his “train table.”

At the time I needed a lego table, and the neighbor helped me carry it over and move this hand-crafted table into our lives. Never a train table (much too small for their creations), but always some kind of building table. This Christmas, it served as a building table for the mass of “building” Christmas presents. The Eiffel Tower, The K’Nex Ferris Wheel, The K’Nex Roller Coaster (absent during picture because owner decided to tear it down for repairs), The Sears Tower (leftover from our trip to Chicago), and the Origami Christmas Trees — with a white sheet for “snow.” There was a time when a lego figure appeared… and it was the Abominable Snowman. The scene, was obviously a 3-d replica of none other than King’s Island at Christmas.

All designed by two very, clever sweet little boys. This is one tree that is very, very hard to take down.

Since NBC dubbed me last night officially as a “recipe tester” (I AM NOT!)

(My kitchen… my moms with blogs friends ((we are not mommy bloggers!!))… my gifted friend’s mugs.

Visit them here: Momofali, and Rachel (awesome for you gadeners!). Amy, you know her. And my new friend Wenderly. And of course, Mikaela, from NBC.)

I thought I would give you the low-down on those lettuce wraps that I created for the babysitter.

I found the recipe last summer, on, of course…Pinterest… and I had not realized it at the time, but I learned later that this is a low-fat recipe for lettuce wraps! You wouldn’t know it… it’s delicious.

You can find the recipe on IowaGirl eats, here:

But here’s a rundown of the ingredients:
Ingredients:

1lb ground chicken breast

1/2 medium onion, minced

salt & pepper, a dash of each

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 inch nob fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter

1/2 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)

dash of fresh pepper

3 green onions, chopped

1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

The only thing I do differently is to double the amount of sauce. To adapt this for the crockpot… I simply used already cooked chicken breasts that I had leftover from another meal. (Want to know how to quickly shred your chicken? Use your mixer… not kidding… it’s works, amazingly.)

Then, I added the chicken to the crockpot… and then just threw in the sauce ingredients… skipping the microwave step. I left out the peanuts… and saved them to sprinkle on at the end.

Turned the crockpot on low, and after about an hour, I lifted the lid to stir up the ingredients throughout the chicken. It was technically “ready” at this point, but we weren’t ready to eat… the extra simmer time just deepened the flavor.

Then, we pulled off the lettuce leaves, wrapped, and enjoyed.