11 hours 31 minutes and 26 seconds until.....

BON JOVI! Happy (very early) Birthday to ME!

Can't wait for tonight!

Let's Play a Game

What's missing in this picture?

A Peace Offering

...for being such a terrible blogger - I will offer you a recipe.

Oatmeal Muffins

Original recipe found here.

I have tried making the muffins about a hundred different ways, and they seem nearly impossible to mess up! Seriously, how sunny amazing would blueberry muffins be with a little lemon or orange zest in them?! It also works well to mix up the batter the night before, refrigerate overnight, and bake in the morning. My notes and adaptations are in parentheses.

* 1 c. flour (white-wheat)
* 1 t. baking powder
* 1 t. baking soda
* 1/2 t. cinnamon (1 tsp)
* 1/4 cup ground flax seed (optional)

1. Whisk together in a bowl.

* 1/2 - 1 c. brown sugar (sucanat...I use the lesser amount because I usually add pre-sweetened cereal)
* 1/2 c. oil (1/4 c oil, 1/4 c applesauce)
* 2 eggs (1 egg or equivalent egg replacer)
* 1 c. leftover oatmeal (or any other leftover hot cereal, and I have probably tried them all--even quinoa)
* 1-2 tbs. Almond/Peanut/Cashew butter (optional)
* 1/2 c. raisins (dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries chocolate chips, etc.)

* 1 t. vanilla (maple, orange, etc)

* You could even fold in some chopped walnuts or pecans if you wanted to.

2. Mix together in another bowl.
3. Combine two bowls until just moistened. Batter will be thick, but you can add a splash of rice milk if you think it needs it. Fill 2/3's full in a greased muffin tin for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about a dozen muffins. You can double this recipe.

Wednesday

Perhaps someone should have told my Christmas cactus that it's nearly Easter!

(It's been in bloom since right around Valentine's Day, and this is the last flower of the season.)

"It WORKED!"

These are the words Lily breathed after she found the first dollar under her pillow left by the Tooth Fairy.....prefaced by running excitedly out of her room and yelling, "MOMMY! DADDY! LOOK WHAT THE TOOTH FAIRY LEFT ME!!!" ....at midnight! (About a week later, she lost the second bottom tooth.)

Leah gets to do most things first, so it's kind of cool for Lily that she lost the first tooth. (I'm pretty sure Lily was the first one to wave too...) And, it's only a matter of time for Leah. She has one tooth that's so loose, I'm surprised it's still hanging on.

Other than that, all three girls were doing great...until last Friday. Lily's lungs had been crystal clear all week. Then, a week ago, her nose started running again. Her lungs have been junky all week. The other two have also been fighting it. Leah woke up coughing so much (literally every 5-10 seconds) this morning (at 4 am) that I thought she was Lily! I ended up giving her a neb, and she settled down.

So....we're hanging in there, and Spring can't come soon enough for me! {smile}

Temps in the 40s

Sap...

dripping from the trees...

....finding treasures...

....in melting snow...

...to use in Stone Soup....

...first glimpses of green grass....

...splashing...

...through puddles...

....rolling through snow....

....sinking knee-deep in it....

....finding the first icky-squishy....

....mud of the season....

Spring. is. in. the. air!

My Valentine's Day

My Valentine's Day started around midnight, when I packed a bag, gave 2 nebs and a vest treatment, snoozed for 3 hours on the couch, gave another neb/vest treatment, held Lily, slept in the recliner, tried not to get sick, gave more nebs/vest treatments, called the pediatrician, took a shower, drove Lily to the hospital, spent 5-1/2 hours in the ER at Children's, and got admitted.

Lily had RSV.

She did not get *as* sick as she had been with H1N1 back in October, but it's always scary when asthma kids get sick.

Tuesday was kind of her turning point, where I could tell she was starting to feel better. Yesterday was a very good day. She laughed, she played, she stood beside her bed, and she was discharged late afternoon. It was a very good day.

Last night, I crashed in my bed around 8:30 pm, too sick and exhausted myself to unpack anything, work on the church bulletin, or even watch an episode of "Chuck."

Very few things are as sweet as sleeping in your own cozy bed, on your own cozy pillows, in a dark room, without interruption.

Home, Sweet Home!