Sunday, April 29, 2012

What a week... and I'm not even kidding...

Last week slapped me in the face and left me staring into the sky looking for answers.

My husband had an 'episode' at school that required us to call an ambulance, and when all was said and done, tests were run, blood was taken, doctors consulted, we had no answers.
None.
Nada.
Not a single explanation for what happened.

He displayed stroke-like symptoms, but after running every test they had, the hospital found no evidence of any injury, scarring, blockage, or 'episode'.  Every result was totally normal.

Don't get me wrong - I am sooooooooooo grateful that I'm not sitting in a doctor's office examining a scan of my husband's brain and having an abnormality pointed out to me.  He looks and acts normal - walking, talking, eating, laughing...
But...
I want to know what happened.
I need a name to call it.
I want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
And I'm not in a comfortable place with it.


To make life even MORE exciting, I have to go out of town this weekend for our annual music department trip to Orlando.  I am taking 100+ middle schoolers to Disney, and all the while, I'll be thinking of my husband.

Sigh.

So, this week, the plan is to get through the week.
That's it.
And that will be enough.

Sunday, I made Rachael Ray's roasted squash chili mac recipe.  I had these on the counter that needed to be used or discarded...so I used them.
Monday, teachers are bringing food for my family after everything that has happened.  This will be a welcome blessing, and will probably carry us through the week.
Tuesday, we'll either have leftovers or frozen pizza.
Wednesday, we'll do a chicken casserole that friends brought over.
Thursday through Saturday, I'll be out of town, so the guys will be on their own.  They'll find something from the goodies that our friends bring, or they'll hit the local Mexican restaurant.  Either way, they will not starve.

And we'll get through it.







Sunday, April 22, 2012

Is it already the end of April????

Wow, time is flying.
There is so much to do before the school year ends...it always amazes me how time seems to lag, and then it speeds up when we've got so much to get done!

My boys camped this weekend, and got soaked...again.  (Last month's campout was rainy too.)  But the weather on Sunday was absolutely beautiful, so we enjoyed spending some time outside.


This week's menu:
Sunday~ Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, 'frenched' green beans
Monday~ Open-faced turkey sandwiches (using leftover turkey), swiss beans
Tuesday~ Taco salads & quesadillas (this has become a weekly tradition, and we love it)
Wednesday~ Pasta fagioli (leftover from earlier in the month - frozen, and reheated, adding pasta at serving time, with ground beef added), garlic bread
Thursday~ Breakfast for Dinner
Friday~ Pizza and salad (using the gorgeous lettuce that we now have in abundance)
Saturday~ Burgers on the grill, oven fries, and fresh corn








Sunday, April 15, 2012

April Menu #3

We've got a busy week....
it's standardized testing week (which all the teachers love as much as the students do...)
Hubs and ds#3 go camping this weekend
and Mom has a meeting after school too.

But here's the plan:

Sunday~ Teriyaki Chicken, brown rice, 'frenched' green beans (didn't get to it last week)
Monday~ meeting night... Fend For YourSelf
Tuesday~ Taco salad (Scouting night)
Wednesday~ Hamburgers, cole slaw, roasted potatoes
Thursday~ Turkey breast, stuffing, tossed salad (using lettuce from our garden)
Friday - Saturday~ boys are camping!!

When they camped last month, they wanted to come home and go out to eat.  It was a disappointment for them, so I think I'll have a cozy home-cooked meal ready & waiting for their return. :)


Saturday, April 7, 2012

April Menu #2... after Easter

Happy Easter!

Spring has sprung in our neck of the woods... we didn't have much of a winter, and our garden is in full swing:
This is one of our blueberry plants.  Hubs got smart this year, and built an enclosure for our berry plants.  We're looking forward to some juicy sweetness.  It's so fun to watch the fruit as it appears!

This is our first-ever attempt at corn.  There's nothing like fresh sweet corn in the summer, and we're hoping to have lots of it.

We've got peppers, zucchini, romaine lettuce (that's on the menu this week!), cabbage, and collards in this bed.  I am especially excited for the zucchini... I asked hubs to plant some last year, but he never got around to it.  This year, I'm sure to have all I want.
Potatoes!  You say potato...

Fresh herbs - love to use these as I cook.

                                     
More beds of yummy stuff - okra, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers.  Delish!

I love being able to pick fresh veggies from our garden.  Sigh.  Happy, happy sigh.

On to the menu for the week:
Sunday~ EASTER!  Dinner with the fam: roast tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, peas & butter beans, cucumber salad, apple-cherry pie, and triple chocolate cookies.  Not to mention the egg hunt in my parents' backyard.
Monday~ Taco salads (using our romaine), quesadillas
Tuesday~ Hubs out to dinner before a meeting; ds#3 & I will grab something quick at home
Wednesday~ Teriyaki chicken (I have a recipe I normally use, but might try this one), brown rice, steamed broccoli.  I have some wonton wrappers, so I'm thinking of doing something fun with those...
Thursday~ Omelets, home fries, bacon/sausage (transferred from last week - we didn't get to it)
Friday~ Soup & Salad: tossed green salad, pasta fagioli soup
Saturday~ Something on the grill.  Yum!






Monday, April 2, 2012

April Menu.... Easter's on its way!

I had my menu mapped out... and forgot to post it.
Silly me... but when I look at my blog from the same time last year, it was busy and pretty much the same...
Anyway, here goes!

Sunday~ Guys home from the campout.  Out to eat at their request.
Monday~ Stuffed peppers and spaghetti
Tuesday~ SCOUTS - Beef tips and mushrooms with gravy, mashed potatoes
Wednesday~ Opening Day for Baseball!  Hotdogs & burgers, sauerkraut for hubs (no thank you for ds#3 and me!), roasted potatoes
Thursday~ Chili
Good Friday~ Omelets, home fries, perhaps some grits
Saturday~ TBA

And Sunday will be Easter at my parents' house.