Chef Luke: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, Luke helped me cook for the first time. He's been on a chocolate chip cookie kick of late (don't know where he got that from or why, since he's never wanted to try them before), so I thought it might be fun to actually make some with him.

We need sugar (packing the brown sugar):


And may as well go ahead and chop the nuts:


Mix the wet ingredients well:


Add the flour:


Stir in the good stuff (nuts and chips):


Place on the cookie sheet:


Wait impatiently for them to cool:


Of course, as is usual with Luke and things like this, he has not the slightest interest in actually eating them, despite the fact that he has begged for one almost daily (and even gotten them on a couple of occasions) for the last two weeks straight. Now that we made some just for him and have them at home for him to more or less consume at will, he doesn't want one. Typical!

And a special thank you to DH for taking the pictures. I took a few, but he obviously took most of them (since I'm in them, though largely cropped out). All in all, both Luke and DH did very well with the whole experience.

Currently feeling: in need of milk

Saved by Reflexes (and God)

I came quite close to death this morning, or at least very serious injury. Probably missed it my mere inches, in fact. As I was taking Luke to school this morning, a mini van ran the stop light of a cross street as I was entering the intersection. I promise you, my light was green! Normally, I look both ways even after a green light to make sure everyone has stopped. I don't consciously remember doing that this time, but I do it so routinely, I'm not sure. Either I didn't look, or I didn't see the van at first. There were two lanes of traffic in each direction of the cross street, and the road curves right there, so it is possible the van was screened by the line of cars closest to me. Regardless, the van came flying through the intersection at full speed after I had already entered the intersection.

Beyond that, I am still unclear on exactly what happened. I had stomped on the breaks and come to a complete stop before I had even consciously registered the threat. Merriam-Webster.com defines the word "reflex" as "an automatic and often inborn response to a stimulus that involves a nerve impulse passing inward from a receptor to a nerve center and thence outward to an effector (as a muscle or gland) without reaching the level of consciousness." Often inborn, but not necessarily so. All I know is that it was well after I had pounded the pedal and stopped before my conscious mind registered what was happening. In my brain, it went something like this:

(Stomp, stop; actions assumed but no actual recall) Consciously register "Did I see something out of the corner of my eye?" Watch van go whizzing past, swerving into the oncoming lanes to avoid me (thank goodness there was no one coming), glance up at light to make sure it is in fact green, watch van continue on down the road to my right. Glance in rear view mirror to check status of driver behind me. Decide that, based on his appearance, he did not hit me (if he had only tapped me from behind, I'm not sure I would have known it at the time). Continue on through intersection to daycare.

I actually do not even remember stepping on the brake. I remember my light turning green and me moving forward. I have a very vague recollection of some sort of flicker of movement in my peripheral vision to my far left. I have a very distinct memory of the sounds made in the car as all the junk in the seats and floorboards shifted forward, but I don't remember physically stepping on the break or actually coming to a stop. The next thing I remember is being at a stop and watching the van fly past.

Luke was perfectly fine. He was actually completely unfazed, besides scolding me for "making a mess." One of those distinct sounds I heard was apparently his breakfast bowl hitting the floor and scattering Pop-Tart crusts everywhere. We were less than 1/2 a mile from daycare when the incident occurred. By the time we got there, I was shaking pretty badly. I dropped Luke off, got back in the car, took a few deep breaths, and took a *different* route home so I didn't have to face that same intersection again so soon. Other than a little soreness in my lower right leg, I thought I was okay.

By the time I got home, I was shaking even worse, and I was in tears. It just came on gradually as I drove, and I was in full blown bawling mode by the time I pulled in at the house. DH works from home on Fridays, so he was there to hold me and listen. I also realized that my right leg was really really hurting! I had stomped on the brake pedal so hard that my entire leg hurt from hip to ankle. I'm sure it didn't help that this was the same hip I hurt about 18 months ago. Over the course of the day, more things started to hurt: my right elbow, 3 outer fingers on my right hand, my shoulders, and my neck. I've been in very minor accidents before, and these are all the same things that hurt. I guess I just didn't expect it (other than my leg, which I understand) when we didn't actually get hit. Advil is my friend!

Don't get me wrong, I am very very grateful that we missed each other! I feel so very very lucky. I of course realized at the time that the accident would have been quite bad. It was only later that I consciously realized that the impact point on my car would have been the front driver's side, either the wheel well or the door. As in, MY door! It would have been very very bad for me, and I don't know how bad for Luke (he sits behind the passenger seat). I'm still a little baffled about how we managed to avoid colliding, but I'm not complaining either. Makes me think twice about skipping evening prayers, that's for sure. Everyone be safe out there!

Currently feeling: way too close for comfort

Happy (Late) 6th Blogoversary to Me

I just wanted to say thank you to the folks who dropped by and left me a "happy blogoversary" comment on whatever post was showing at the time they stopped in. Obviously, I completely missed it! Just so so busy lately. Hard to believe it has been six years already. I've certainly enjoyed it! Hope you have, too. Looking forward to many more years to come.

Currently feeling: where does the time go?

Not-So-Pretty in Pink

For his 5th birthday, apparently Luke decided to contract pink eye for the first time ever. Joy. What is it with him and illnesses for his birthday? He got his first ear infection for his 2nd birthday, and now pink eye for his 5th. Not sure if he got it at school or the doctor's office (either is equally likely, I think), but it showed up bright and early Saturday morning. Thank goodness we had his birthday party last weekend!!

We did not feel comfortable waiting until the pediatrician's office opened on Monday for him to be seen, so we went back to the Minute Clinic that treated his ear infection back in February. I did not know that pink eye could be either bacterial or viral. Since there really isn't much you can do to treat the viral kind (besides wait for it to pass), he would have been considered contagious for much longer with the viral version. Thankfully, the viral test came back negative, so we are treating it as bacterial conjunctivitis. They called in the prescription antibiotic drops to our pharmacy, and we were all set.

That is, until we actually tried to administer the drops. He fussed about it on principle for several minutes, and then once I finally got the first drop in, he started *screaming.* I don't ever remember the drops hurting like that, but he insisted they did. And that was just one drop in one eye. He was supposed to have 2 drops in *each* eye. Yeah, that was fun. And we're supposed to do this every 4 hours for a week?! I thought it might get better once the inflammation started going away, but it's been a day and a half now, and he's still screaming just as much, if not more. We finally had to literally hold him down and do them before bed tonight. And I'm going to have to go to school every day and give them to him there at lunch time. It's going to be a very long week.

Currently feeling: hating pink eye!

Luke's 5 Year Stats

Yes, Luke is now officially 5 years old, as of yesterday in fact. We gave him a small gift, ate his choice of meals for dinner (Pizza Hut delivered to the house) and finally played the Scooby-Doo Ring Toss game I bought for his party but never got to. Mostly just a quiet evening at home.

Today, we had his 5 year well visit at the pediatrician. He's done with immunizations and boosters until he hits age 12, but they do prick his finger, which he hates about as much as I do. Nothing much to report, really. She said he looks and sounds great (and he has really big feet! LOL).

Official stats:
* Height: 45.5 in (1.15 m), 90th percentile, up 2.5 in (6.3 cm) from age 4
* Weight: 50.3 lb (22.8 kg, 3.6 stone), 95th percentile up 7.3 lb (3.3 kg) from age 4

Still a big one! LOL

Currently feeling: just fine for age 5

Clean Bill of Health

That's right! Tigger has been officially cleared of her liver problems. The vet checked her out yesterday and said that she looks fantastic (though she would like her to lose a pound; she'd back up to 12). Everything looks, feels, and sounds perfect, and they called this afternoon to say that her liver values are perfectly normal. Yay, yay, yay!!! She does want to see her every 6 months from now on, instead of just once a year, just to be sure we catch anything starting back up in time, but I think we can manage that. Just so happy to have a healthy kitty again!!

Currently feeling: purr-fectly happy

Luke's 5th Birthday Party

Due to some family conflicts, we decided to have Luke's birthday party the weekend before his birthday this year. Between work craziness and buying the house, I didn't feel like I had done enough to prepare, and I was stressing big time over the whole thing. We ended up with a total of 14 people at the party and for dinner afterwards, ranging in age from 76 years to 18 months, and I think it went fantastically well, even if I do say so myself! Not a whole lot of commentary to give, so I'll just share a few pictures with minimal babbling.

The decorations:



The cake, done by Mom again this year, and fabulous as always:



Opening presents:



Blowing out candles:



And a birthday first! Here is Luke actually *eating* a piece of his birthday cake for the very first time. Only took him 5 years! LOL (Yes, seriously, he has never eaten a piece of his own cake before, not even his first birthday party (where he threw it off his high chair tray and cried about the icing on his fingers). He just started eating cake in the last 6-8 months.)



I know there are some group shots floating around with many of the party attendees in them, but I didn't download them before everyone left, so these are about all I have.

BIL, SIL, and our niece stayed at our house with us. We hadn't seen them since Luke's birthday party last year. I think everyone was overwhelmed with the very exciting day on Saturday, so everyone, including the kids, looked about like this Sunday morning (after breakfast for 10 folks):



But it really went very very well, and I think (hope) everyone had as wonderful a time as they said they did.

Currently feeling: well partied