Eight More Broken Bones and The Tenth is Set For Free!

We need a punch card or some sort of rewards program for Urgent Care Center. Yes, another fun-filled evening with an injured child.*

Lance and Spencer were wrestling while getting ready for bed. I was in Josh's room, putting his jammies on. All of a sudden I heard a "Wham!", dead silence for a few seconds, and then a piercing scream and cry from Spencer. Apparently he had fallen pretty hard on his arm.

We tried to calm him down for a good half hour, just to see if he was truly hurt or just really tired. (I know it sounds mean, but who wants to spend all that money if your kid isn't really hurt?) We got his favorite blankie, tried making him laugh, and even gave him some 'forbidden' nighttime juice. We finally decided he wasn't overreacting or faking it for attention.

We put Josh to bed (he was tired and in the way), tried to get Spencer dressed (he was only in underpants and socks when he fell), and called the Polmateers (our neighbors) to see if one of them could come stay with Josh while we were gone. Brother Polmateer and Lance gave Spencer a blessing before we left, which really helped him calm down.

At Urgent Care they took some x-rays and decided that Spencer may or may not have chipped a bone in his elbow. (Things like this are really hard to tell on little kids because they're growing like crazy.) They put him in a hard splint and told us we'd have to wait for confirmation tomorrow once a radiologist took a look at the x-rays.

Dr. Mom's diagnosis? No more more wrestling!

*We are good friends with the Urgent Care Center.

• In July 2006, Spencer broke both bones in his lower right arm; we started at Urgent Care but were eventually sent to the hospital.
  
• On Thanksgiving Day last year I woke up at 3am with a major ear infection. I had three families coming for dinner that day, so trying and waiting to find a doctor to see me was not an option. (Plus, I HURT.) So it was the Urgent Care Center at 7am for me!
• And then tonight... well, you know the story.

A Cornucopia That Meets My Standards

I've put away all the Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins and have moved the rest to the mantle. I don't usually have any Thanksgiving-specific decorations, but I found this cornucopia at Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago:

I've never really liked cornucopias; I'm not a big fan of woven baskets and stuff like that. But I loved this one. The wire and the beading puts a contemporary twist on a classic Thanksgiving symbol.

Best of all, it was only $4! When I saw it, it said "I'm only $4, Maren! How could you afford not to buy me?" It's hard to argue with cornucopia logic.

Utah Trip - Part Three

I've just had a busy busy day. First I touched up the paint jobs in both bathrooms (pictures of those will come once I get new towels and such). Then I spent a couple of hard hours clearing the flowerbeds and garden and getting them ready for winter. Dead basil is hard to get out of the ground! Definitely less basil next year. Or at least not enough to feed all of Sicily.

But I digress...

On the Friday we were in Utah we went to my Aunt Janee's house for her annual Cousin Halloween Party. (Side note: I am the third oldest cousin on this side of the family, so most of my plethora of cousins are much younger than I am - closer to Spencer's age.) I had forgotten to pack the Halloween costumes (world's worst mother, I know), so Spencer borrowed grandpa's pumpkin costume. Highlights of the party included:

• Witches brew (apple juice with dry ice in it)
• An impressive amount of pizza
• Running around like wild banshees outside
• Uncle Bryce dressing up as a scary monster, running and screaming like a madman
• The annual cousins in costume picture (getting all the kids to hold still was seriously like herding cats)
  
• A pinata and several small child/pinata stick close calls
• Gorging on candy while watching The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
  

Spencer has always wanted to try a pinata and was in heaven over the whole evening. I was again the world's worst mother when I took them home at 9pm. Spencer, having eaten his weight in candy during the evening, too much excitement, and no nap, had a spectacular tantrum for 45 minutes once we got home. Not the best way to end the day, but a sure indicator of a good party.

Utah Trip - Part Two

Okay, enough pumpkin and Skittle distractions. On with my travel log!

On Thursday we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. It had a bunch of activities perfect for energetic little boys. Susie was kind enough to take us and we dragged uncle Kevin along, too. A few highlights:

Kevin was great at playing with Spencer. They both loved the slides!
(Bottom right corner: Spencer in the Cow Train - he felt very grown up on a ride by himself!)

Spencer with his usual grace on a slide.

Kevin impersonating a robot on a slide.

Josh was mesmerized with these singing chickens. He clapped and laughed and pointed for the whole show - totally adorable. Of course, this is just another reason why we will not be going to Disneyland any time soon - It's A Small World 47 times in a row would force me to throw myself off the boat, praying for a swift death. (Although Josh would lurrve it!) ((The ride, not my death.))

Spencer and the Giant. (Sounds like a children's book!)

Kevin the farmer.
In the background is "The Creature" - an inflated monster that you can walk through. It's dark and has lots of narrow corners and turns that you have to navigate, all the while listening to a recording of the creature's heartbeat. Spencer did really well, and Josh, who I thought wouldn't even notice anything unusual (in that typical baby way) clung to me and hid his face in my neck. (Hey, I'll do anything for a baby cuddle!)

The highlight of the day - the giant pillow jump. It was like a giant, inflated, rubber... pillow. (Hence the name, Maren.) We all had fun jumping and falling for quite a while. We also took turns holding Josh, who loved bouncing.

Isn't Joshie a cutie?
Spencer sometimes had trouble getting back up after falling, but he didn't want help staying up, either. (In his words, "I want to fall down myself!")

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Dear John & Maura

Spencer and Josh say that this is the closest you'll ever get to their Skittles! Bwahahaha!

(Thanks for the card - it was really sweet and now has a place of honor on the fridge. Spencer loves to 'read' it while eating his candy!)

The Gourd That Keeps On Giving

Is there anything that magical gourd, the pumpkin, can't do? (The answer you're looking for is "No sirree Bob".) Yes, not only is the pumpkin cute, the epitome of the season, and the object of my obsession, it is also quite tasty. I made one of my favorite meals tonight: Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion. I randomly found it last year on FoodNetwork.com and have been in love with it ever since. It's a Rachael Ray recipe, which means it's easy and fast. You can find the original recipe here. But here's my recipe with changes based on my needs and what's in the pantry!

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage
1 pound bulk Italian sausage (although I usually only use 1/2 pound)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1 cup white grape juice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk (although I have used 2% before)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente

• Brown the sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove.
  
• Add the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
• Add bay leaf, sage, and grape juice to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes.
  
• Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble.
• Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in milk. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste.
  
• Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
• Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute.
  

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion
1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
Coarse salt and black pepper

• Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl.
  
• Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Josh seemed to like the meal, too!

Utah Trip - Part One

Going to Utah is not a vacation. Vacations involve relaxing and sleeping in and just chillin'. (See here for an example of a great vacation.) Nope, going to Utah is always a trip. Trips involve lots of work and planned activities and sometimes some stress. (See here for an example of a trip.) Not that trips (or Utah) are not fun - they're just not vacations. That said, I had a great trip to Utah!

The flight out went pretty well. Both flights had empty seats, so Josh got his own seat. Not that he wanted to sit in his seat the whole time, but at least we had that option. (Mommy's lap is apparently far too cushy and comfy. Time to work out more.) Things were pretty low key, even when Josh threw up. What can I say? He was sitting on my lap and it was gross. Silver lining: it was just a little throw up and it was mainly on him, not me. In fact, I didn't even change him until our layover, an hour later. (Does that make me a bad mom? I can live with it.)

We stayed at my Dad and Susie's house, which is always a fun time. They have a ton of toys that the boys LOVE to play with. Favorites include marble magic, race cars, Micro Machines, and 2,789 Hot Wheels. Here's our little Beethoven in training on the baby piano.


The next day we went to Grandpa Viggo and Grandma Joy's house. (My in-laws.) The boys had a ton of fun playing with their cousins and 'helping' grandma rake leaves. Azia helped teach Spencer how to play baseball. It was totally funny - you can tell baseball is not one of the sports Lance likes to play! (I guess I'll have to take that responsibility!) But at least he looks like a cute baseball player, and to me that's halfway there!.(Okay, not really. Guess it's time for t-ball next Spring.)

Major League Spencer

Josh enjoyed playing fetch with the ball.

Dane (Lance's younger brother) tried to kill Josh, so in self-defense Josh decided to ignore him the whole evening. Okay, not really. Josh almost fell off the bed and Dane caught him just in time. Unfortunately, we think Josh thought that Dane hurt him or something and then refused to make eye contact. (Sorry Dane - it was totally funny!)

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I tried to get some good family pictures. As you can see, I failed.

Aunt Katrina and cousin Amanda with the boys. (Katrina and Amanda look great, Lamen and Lemuel wouldn't cooperate.)

Spencer didn't have any grudge against Dane!

Josh risked life and limb and let Dane hold him long enough for a picture. It's kinda cool how they have the same eyes.

Okay, Dane, what's with the goofy face?! And apparently there is something completely fascinating on the floor by Josh.

Well, at least one picture looked good!

Katrina, you said you'd plan a Madsen family reunion for next summer. I'm holding you to it!!