The Rest of the Story

Saturday night, Steve and I had just given our waitress at Jakers our order when we got a phone call from my mom.  I assumed it was about Carter.

I was wrong.

My mom told me in a voice that I can only describe as restrained panic that we needed to come home because Colby had re-broken his arm.

We rushed home, checked out a very sad, in pain Colby and rushed him to the ER.  We were taken back quickly by the charge nurse and Colby was given morphine within 20 minutes of our arrival.  I was happy about that.

Here Colby is on morphine.  Nice.

(I personally love this drug.  Had it in labor with Andrew.)

 If you look closely at Colby's right arm you can see that it is indeed broken.  We should have gotten a better picture of the "the bend" but we forgot.  I claim insanity brought on by stress.

Here is Colby after being sedated and splinted.  We are just waiting for him to wake up.

Here is Colby the next day.

Some of the things we learned through this experience:

Large exercise balls at Grandma's house can buck you off unexpectedly and cause the bone callouses from your previous broken arm to snap in half hence expelling the myth that callouses are as strong as bone.

Older brothers might see your broken arm and right away tell you how much it is going to cost your parents to fix it.  (we need to work on our sensitivity skills)

If you are carried into the ER and have what the nurse calls a "positive deformation" of the right arm, you don't have to wait, but are taken back immediately.

ER doctors won't let you have a drink of water, but they do provide a small bear to hug and free cable.

Morphine makes you funny.  It also makes you open your eyes and spout funny things when your parents think you are asleep and not listening.  Such as:

"I don't want surgery!"

"Colby, do you know what surgery is?"  

"No...but I still don't want it!"

and

"Carter broke his pancreas!"  

(when the nurse asked if anyone else in the family had ever broken any bones before.)

Your parents will laugh at you when you are mumbling in a morphine stupor.

Grandma's are really awesome because they stay at your house until almost midnight so both your mom and dad can be at the hospital with you.

Having your arm in traction to put your bones back in place is sickening to your mother.  She might hide behind the nurse and not look.  But your dad thinks it is cool.

When the Dr. tells your parents that the drug Ketamine will knock you out for 15 minutes...it will actually take six hours for you to wake up.

In this six hours, your mother will be very scared, the nurse will have to suction your mouth out because at one time she thought you were having a seizure, you will be admitted for observation because the Dr. is worried you will stop breathing, and you mother will have to spend the night on a hospital couch bed (but you are worth it so she doesn't mind).

When you wake up at four am, your mother will be very happy to see you...even though she looks really scary because of the hospital couch bed thing.

A new hospital is better than a hotel because they bring you bacon and frosted flakes to your room for breakfast, and then a milk shake and pudding two hours later.  They also have free cable just like the ER.

You will also be showered with gifts like a new blanket to take home and a large bin of toys.

Nurses who think you are really cute, will take better care of you.

Tylenol does not help with broken arm pain...morphine was much better.

When the Dr. tells you he will be in your room at 8:30 am to release you, he really means 11:45.   But he did come in his church duds so you will forgive him.

Being in the hospital makes everyone tired so you all skip church to stay home and take naps.

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In other news...things I would have been posting if I wasn't in the hospital with Colby.

Carter started guitar lessons.  It's adorable.  

However, he is learning very fast that playing guitar is hard work and makes your fingers sore.  We are not going to prick his left hand for a while per his request.

Saylor and her hair are insane.

She thinks she is queen of this castle and has even be heard yelling down the stairs at her brothers, "Stop it boys!"  I think I need to inform her of who is really in charge.

Saturday morning, Carter and Andrew spent their time wisely making Lego creations.  

This is Carter's.

This is Andrew's.

The times not showing me their creations was spent asking and re-asking if they could go to Grandma's house Wednesday night from 7/8 Central Time to watch the new Lego Ninjago show on Cartoon Network.   Sorry boys, watching a show at 7/8 central would keep you up past your 8/9 central bedtime.

The only reason they had so much free time to build with Legos on Saturday was because they spent Friday night doing this.  It was their "Idea of Awesomeness" as per Andrew.  For some odd reason I am not getting much flack about Saturday chores.  Beautiful.

I read all three of the Hunger Games series this week.  It's a good thing my children did chores, because I obviously was busy with something else.  The worst part of this...when my Kindle ran out of battery power at 10 am at the hospital.  There nothing left to do but stare at my darling child watching the cartoon network while sipping chocolate milk.  Good thing I love him and I feel he is worth watching.

  

Tonight I made the best dinner and I decided I need to document when I cook like this...for posterity sake.   It would also be a good idea for me to write down my best gluten free recipes.  So here goes...

Chicken and Rice Soup

(all measurements are approximate.  I wing this soup every time and it always turns out delicious)

Make chicken stock made from Costco Rotisserie Chicken after all the meat has been cleaned off.  Cover bones and skin with water in large pot and let simmer for at least two hours. 

Let chicken stock sit in fridge until fat comes to top.  Clean fat off and return stock to large pot and bring to boil.

While stock is coming to boil, caramelize in olive oil: 1/2 onion,  carrots peeled and sliced, and one garlic clove minced.  Cook until carrots are slightly tender and onions are translucent and soft.

Add about 1/4 c. uncooked, rinsed rice to boiling chicken stock.  The rice will need to simmer for at least twenty minutes.  Add onion and carrot mixture to let carrots finish cooking.

Season with dill and fresh pepper.  If you don't have enough liquid, you can add one can of chicken broth.

Right before you are about to serve soup, add cooked diced chicken.  (I usually use the chicken from the rotisserie chicken, but we ate it all earlier so I cooked and diced six or so chicken tenders.)  This way the meat doesn't get tough from boiling too long.

Boil just long enough to heat the chicken through and serve with Gluten Free Cornbread!

Seriously, this is my favorite soup!

Gluten Free Corn Bread

...or in other words, the best corn bread I have ever tasted in my life either gluten free or not!

This recipe comes from my sister Jolyn that she got from her darling mother in law and converted to gluten free.  It really should be called Corn Cake because it is that amazingly good.

With permission from my sister and her husband...

1 c. butter (and you wonder why it tastes so good)

1 1/2 c. sugar (get the picture?)

3 eggs (I halved the batch tonight and used 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.)

2 c. Domata gluten free flour (can use regular flour if you don't have the privilege of being a celiac)

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. cornmeal  (I recommend fine or medium grain)

1 c. milk

In large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal.  Alternate flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture.  Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  (I've noticed with my gluten free recipes that I need to cook them a little longer than normal.  I cook a half batch tonight for almost 45 minutes. )  Let sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy with honey. They are so buttery you won't need anything else!