Lame, Lame, Lame

I've become discouraged by my children's lack of enthusiasm to celebrate Wild and Wacky Holidays this summer. Either my idea was lame or my children are. And, frankly, I'm leaning toward the latter. Motivating Pinky and the Brain to do anything besides watching TV, surfing the internet on their iPhones, or playing Minecraft is nearly impossible. Pinky would be perfectly satisfied to sit on the couch in her bathrobe all day, and the Brain has a permanent place at the kitchen table. I'm going to have to find a new tactic to get them off their hineys. 

So, I guess we won't celebrate a Wild and Wacky Holiday EVERY day, but I will be picky about which ones I choose.

And I have another plan for fun in July. Maybe my enthusiasm will rub off on them.

Brainiac strikes again

Pinky and I were watching Master Chef in the living room while the Brain was playing Minecraft on his laptop. I was amazed twice during the episode when home chefs cooked dishes they had never made before. I asked Pinky, "How do these people know how to cook lobster and make Hollandaise sauce if they've never made it before? How do they even know what to do?"

That's when the Brain piped up and said, "It's the mind of a master, Mom."

Happy National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!

We were going to celebrate National Jerky Day, but as luck would have it, my mom brought us VBS Monster Cookies! So we were able to celebrate peanut butter cookies instead. I know they're not your traditional P.B. cookies with the fork hash marks, but this batch of cookies has 3 lbs. of peanut butter in it, so it definitely counts!

 

Besides, the cookies were free, and we would have spent a lot of money at the jerky store. Yes, you read that correctly. There is a jerky store near our house. They sell the standard beef jerky in a variety of flavors, but SuperD and the Brain enjoy trying new, exotic flavors of jerky. Alligator jerky was a big hit, but the salmon jerky they tried stunk up my car for days! Next time, I think they need to try antelope, buffalo, elk, ostrich, venison, or wild boar. Who knew, right?

Insulin frustration

Novolog
This insulin is what SuperD and the Brain use in their insulin pumps. It is a fast-acting insulin which begins working within about 5 minutes. That's why it's good for the pump. A diabetic can give themselves insulin (bolus) as they are eating their food and it will begin working immediately, just like insulin from a pancreas would. The Brain uses 1-2 bottles each month, and SuperD uses almost 3 bottles in the same time period. Without insurance, this small bottle costs $164.19. So if not for medical insurance, our family would spend $820.95 on insulin alone while using two insulin pumps.

Novolin R
This is the insulin SuperD will have to use until he is back on insurance. Novolin R is also a fast-acting insulin, but it doesn't begin working until about 30 minutes after you inject it. So, a diabetic must estimate how much food will be consumed at a meal, estimate what time the meal will be eaten, and take the estimated amount of insulin about 30 minutes before eating. Because of this, the peak time of the insulin, and the amount of time it takes to cycle through the body, it is not recommended to be used in an insulin pump. That's unfortunate since this small bottle only costs $24.88.

So, the question is: why is Novolog almost 7 times more expensive than Novolin?

Of course, even if it were recommended for pump use, we would still have to find a way to purchase the ultra-expensive infusion sets (needle and tubing) and cartridges without insurance.

Happy Corn on the Cob Day!

Holy sweet corn, Batman! Why have I never eaten corn this way before? I've had boiled corn from frozen ears. I've had canned corn. I've had creamed corn. I've eaten corn casseroles. But this was yummy! And easy! I just threw the corn in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, peeled back the husks, buttered it, and seasoned it. I may never eat corn any other way ever again!

 

 

 

 

The Brain only ate half of his because he was annoyed with the silk.

 

SuperD loved his but was worried about it being a high carbohydrate choice.

 

Pinky was a good sport, but she still doesn't like corn.

 

And I ate every bit of mine! YUM!

Iced tea and yo-yos

Our family was split on what holiday to celebrate today.

SuperD chose to celebrate National Iced Tea Day. He brewed an orange pekoe black tea and served it up a la Duck Dynasty in his blue Tupperware tumbler. That's a fact, Jack!

Sadly, I was misinformed about today being National Yo-Yo Day. I guess it was actually 4 days ago on June 6th, so we just celebrated a little late. June 6th is believed to have been the birthdate of the Mr. Duncan of Duncan yo-yos fame.

The Brain chose the Yo-Yo Ball because "it always comes back to you." Pinky and I split a 2-pack of Duncan yo-yos. I took the Mosquito, and she took the LimeLight which is super cool because you can yo-yo in the dark. I had wanted the Butterfly, but I couldn't find one. The Brain quickly lost interest in his yo-yo. After all, how many tricks can you do with a yo-yo that can't sleep? Pinky and I learned the basic Gravity Pull and the Sleeper. I also tried the Breakaway, but I'm not very good. I guess I'll never be as good as this kid:

Friendly firefighters

SuperD and the Brain took some cookies to the firefighter recruits who were running drills in the park. I watched as the Brain approached the trainer, who then motioned for all of the recruits to gather around my son. A dozen young men stopped what they were doing to give all of their attention to him. They were all smiles and took him to see the fire truck. They let him wear a helmet and sit behind the steering wheel. Then they all posed for pictures with him. What good guys!

Happy Donald Duck Day!

Donald Duck is 79 years old today. To commemorate his birthday, our family sat down at the dinner table with a friend of the Brain and attempted to draw the famous character. We drew and erased and laughed.

 

Pinky was a little frustrated with her drawing. She wanted it to look perfect.

 

The Brain was several steps ahead the whole time.

 

SuperD is a whiz at drawing! He actually drew three different versions of Donald. His final copy was based on a different drawing. It was awesome!

 

 

The boys didn't stick around to outline or color their drawings.

 

Pinky and I have twin Donalds.

 

I think our family needs to do things like this more often. It only took about 30 minutes, but, oh, what fun we had!

Smile!

It's Upsy Daisy Day! 

"What's that?" you say. Today, you are encouraged to face your day positively. Don't be a Gloomy Gus. Get up 'gloriously, gratefully, and gleefullly. Today is a brand new day, with no mistakes in it. So, start your day with a smile, no matter what challenges lie ahead. And stay positive!

I scream. You scream.

We all scream for National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!

For a Wild and Wacky Summer, we are going to celebrate wild and wacky holidays. Once again, we won't be taking an extended vacation this year, so I'm determined to have some fun with my family here at home. Three years ago, we had a scavenger hunt of 101 places to visit before you're 12. We didn't make it to all 101 places, but we had a fantastic time. This year we will discover some cool holidays, eat some good food, have a whole lot of fun, and detail all of our adventures here. 

Pinky and the Brain helped me make chocolate ice cream from scratch tonight. My grandmother always used a mix, and that's the recipe my mom gave me. I got this recipe from a cooking website. It took FOREVER to set up, so we didn't get to eat it until 11 p.m. It had an interesting taste that everyone agreed was a little like a mocha flavor. I'm not sure I would use it again, but we had fun making it.

Can you believe chocolate is only the second most popular flavor of ice cream? It's number one in my book! If you're lucky enough to live in Oklahoma, you might want to check out one of Braum's seven new flavors of chocolate ice cream. Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!

Pinky grows up

Pinky went to a sleepover, and when I arrived to pick her up, this girl was in her place. 

SuperD will be using his force field to fight off the boys!

Migraine

We ended up in the ER again today. The Brain awoke with a migraine this morning. The neurologist warned us this might happen. He said the confusional migraine could be the first of many that will continue and increase during puberty. This time the Brain wasn't confused; he was in tremendous pain. Since he had spent the night at his grandmother's house, she tried to do all she could for him, but when she called me, he was screaming in pain in the background. He was begging me to get to her house fast. All he wanted was for a doctor to fix it. So off we went to the ER, where they gave him prescription strength Motrin, he threw up twice, and they released him. Now he has taken a nap, is eating a biscuit, and seems to be feeling better. 

I certainly hope this isn't what his preteen/teen years is going to look like.

Super powers

I wish SuperD had X-ray vision. It would have come in handy yesterday. We were convinced that his arch nemesis, The Red Menace, had stolen his keys. The evil villain ate mine. Months ago, I tried to unlock The Menace's trunk, and the key snapped right off in the lock. Since I'm not blessed with super strength, I blame the sinister car.

And yesterday, we thought the villain had struck again. We looked all over the house. SuperD's keys were nowhere to be found. We searched for hours. SuperD was distraught. The Menace drained his powers. We did not want to pay someone to break into the car. The Red Menace would not win!

Then at bedtime, SuperD suddenly exclaimed as we walked down the hallway. The villain was not to blame. You see, SuperD clips his keys to the belt loop of his pants, and at some point in time (probably when he relieved himself), he accidentally tucked his keys into his waistband! 

This whole problem would have been avoided had he not been wearing his mild-mannered computer tech disguise. His superhero costume doesn't have belt loops!