TheHenrichsens.com

Hunter had one of his insulin reactions last night. I sort of knew it was coming. Everytime I think, “Hunter hasn’t had an insulin reaction for awhile” he usually ends up having one within a couple of days. Perhaps it’s self-fulfilling prophecy, maybe it’s Heavenly Father preparing me, but either way I wish I never had that thought, cuz then maybe it wouldn’t have happened. Nevertheless, it did. We always check his blood right before we go to bed, around 11:00 or so. He’s blood sugar was high so Mark corrected and we went to bed. I was a little nervous because the pump gave him a pretty big dose of insulin but I figured with the number of times Noah and Denver are out of bed, I’d be up during the night and would recheck his blood sugar then. So, around 1:00am Denver came toddling in and woke me up. I got him settled back in bed and checked Hunter’s blood. He was at 74 which is a great number, but because I was nervous, I went ahead and gave him some juice. I debated for a long time about reducing his basal rate, but decided juice was better, and then went back to bed feeling confident he would be fine until morning. At 3:00am I was awakened by Hunter’s blood curdling screams for me and quickly slugged Mark to wake him up and went running for Hunter. He didn’t seem too out of it and I managed to get a tube of glucose gel in him really fast. We checked his sugar and got the following readings–74, 56, 370 and 135, all within 10 minutes. Your guess is as good as mine. His screaming got worse and worse, so finally Mark gave him some glucagon and within minutes he was coming out of it. He wanted Aunt Kak-Kak as soon as he came around enough to speak and after a ham sandwhich and a few hugs he was out cold for the rest of the night.

Of course, that made for a rough day for me, fighting the depression of knowing this wasn’t the last time, that there’s nothing I can do to help him or make it stop, that I won’t always be there to help him, that he’ll always struggle with this, etc. etc. It doesn’t help that I was extremely tired and exhausted from a busy night–thanks to Noah and Denver also being up several times. Codependant that I am, I dealt with the stress by cleaning the house like a madwoman and trying to be too busy to feel the pain. It pretty much worked.

Hunter, on the other hand had a great day and got to go on his first field trip with kindergarten. They walked to the local fire station and enjoyed a demonstration with the firefighters including a chance to use the firehose, sit in the cab and watch a firefighter in full gear crawl across the floor. Mark went with and seemed to have had a pretty fun time himself. Hunter asked a lot of questions (thanks to Daddy’s encouragement) and even found out what kind of ice cream and cookies they like, for his beloved Kak-Kak.

For dinner I was too tired to make a big meal so I waited until Mark got home and he helped me whip up another new recipe–some really good soup. This is a small recipe, so if you are going to make it for more than two people, you’ll need to double it. But it is very simple and fast and really, really yummy. And. . .it’s great for Fall and cold winter nights.

Ham-n-Swiss Soup

1-1/2 Tbsp. butter

1-1/2 Tbsp. flour

1 (14-1/2 oz.) can chicken broth

1 cup chopped broccoli

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

1 cup fully cooked ham, cubed

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

In a saucepan, melt butter; whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the broccoli and onion; cook and stir until crisp-tender (this only takes a few minutes). Add the ham, cream and thyme; heat through. Stir in the cheese until melted. Serves two.

With Fall settling in I’m already craving the tastes of gingerbread and pumpkin, homemade soups and turkey, sweet potatoes and ham, homemade caramel and toffee. I can’t wait for Halloween and turtlenecks and snow. There’s something about the beginning of Fall and the change of seasons that makes home feel so cozy and makes me want to bake and fill the home with all the sweet smells of the holidays. As a result, today I decided to bake me up some Pumpkin Bread. I’ve been searching for a good recipe and I’ve finally found The One! So, for those of you who are already craving something Fallish and want a great way to spend a rainy afternoon with the kids, try out this recipe. Hunter and Noah helped me mix it up and I must say, Noah is getting really good at cracking eggs for me–only 1 shell out of 4 eggs cracked! The recipe made one loaf and 18 muffins–we ate the muffins and I’m planning on freezing the loaf for another rainy day. Anyway, it was delicious and we had fun spending the afternoon together–dumping and pouring the ingredients and licking and scraping the bowl.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1-16oz. can of solid-pack pumpkin

3-1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 cup water

In a large bowl combine sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water. Pour into two greased 9-in x 5-in x 3-in loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely. Yield: 2 loaves.

I’ve decided that one of my goals is to get some new meals worked into our regular old menu of spaghetti, tomato soup and grilled cheese, pizza and tacos. As a result, you all are going to benefit because I will be posting all of the recipes that taste good and are relatively simple, since I’m not a great cook and I don’t have a whole lot of time to spend preparing meals. Then, you too will be able to introduce something new to the dinner table at least once or twice a week and with very little work involved! Hurray!

Anyway, tonight’s dinner consisted of Bacon-Feta Stuffed Chicken, salad and bread with homemade jam and honeybutter. I really like Feta cheese and tomato and this chicken dinner calls for both. So, I gave it a try and it ended up tasting pretty good. So, give it a try and let me know what you think.

Bacon-Feta Stuffed Chicken

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts flatened–I pounded them with a rolling pin between two pieces of wax paper–very easy.

Crumbled Feta Cheese

Crumbled Cooked Bacon

Salt

Pepper

Vegetable Oil

14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes

Dried Basil

In the middle of each chicken breast, sprinkle some feta and bacon. Fold over the breast and secure with toothpicks. (I didn’t have toothpicks, but the breasts still stayed closed pretty good.) Sprinkle each chicken breast with salt and pepper and brown in a large skillet with the oil. (I turned the chicken breasts once, so they were browned on both sides.) Drain the can of tomatoes and add to chicken. Sprinkle with a little more Feta and basil. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serves 4.

Noah had a baby in his tummy, a long time ago, when he was a grown up and when the baby came out of his tummy it wasn’t breathing?

Did you know that Noah has a grandma that has “petted” a deer?

Did you know that a stranger kidnapped Noah and tried to cut his head off?

Did you know that one time, a long time ago, Noah was riding a “poison horse” and it ate a wolf?

Did you know that Noah knows all about the letter “A” because he went to school a long time ago?

I’m telling you, Noah almost has me believing in reincarnation. He is quite a character and the stories he tells–well, let’s just say they’re kind of scary. He is so animated and dramatic, he’s always got us laughing about something. The other night he prayed that Hunter would “grow up and act like a five year old.” I couldn’t help but chuckle through the rest of that prayer. This afternoon, Denver was getting frustrated with a lego “lawn mower” he was trying to build and was crying quite a bit. Finally, Noah said, “Ahhhh. . .Denver, sweetheart. I will help you.” He’s so hilarious and sweet and such a snugger. Every night right around 3:00am he comes into our room and very quietly, very patiently taps me on my shoulder until I wake up. And then, he just stands there smiling, waiting for me to pull him in bed with me. It’s like he knows I’ve been waiting all night for him to come and he’s so proud of himself for not oversleeping. No matter how exhausted I am, I can’t help but smile and snug him, for at least a few minutes. He’s just so darn cute. And yet, he sure can whine and when he doesn’t like something–the squeals that come out of his mouth. It’s no wonder I’m going deaf. I think he cries almost as much as he’s happy, if not more. But, when he’s happy he’s wonderful and we’re sure glad we have Noah in our lives.

Tonight I made Lasagna Casserole and Applesauce Jello for dinner. I don’t know how many of my brothers and sisters remember eating Applesauce Jello when we were younger, but I do and let me tell you, it tasted as good tonight as it did when I was 8. So, for all of you that are looking for a yummy, but simple side dish to go with dinner, try this one out. The kids will love it and if you are married to a Stout–they probably will too.

Tonight was Holland Hill’s “Back to School” night for kindergarten and 1st grade. I had such a good time. It wasn’t anything special but it was so fun to go sit at Hunter’s table and meet the parents of the kids he sits with and flip through his “journal” and see the picture he drew for me. His teacher, Mrs. Bunkoci, was really cute and did a great job introducing us to kindergarten. She talked a little about discipline and punishment and that she always goes to the parents first. And then, if that doesn’t work, she’ll send them to “time-out” or take away recess time, etc. She was looking at me the entire time and although I felt a little awkward (now everyone knows I’ve got the troublemaker) I also thought it was kind of funny and just smiled at her the entire time, thinking “Go ahead. . .whatever it takes to get him to settle down. . .I’m behind you 100%.” Up until now she’s sort of made me nervous–she’s VERY strict and matter-of-fact and I’ve always felt like she thinks I’m a rotten mother. She’s never said anything but I’m just used to the friendlier approach–you know, the “hi, let’s chat” kind of thing. But she hasn’t been giving me a whole lot of anything to work with. Tonight made a big difference. We got to chat and I think I finally convinced her I’m alright. Or maybe I just convinced myself that I’m alright. Either way, I feel like we made a connection and I feel a lot more confident in approaching her with questions or problems or whatever.

Anyway, when I got home Hunter was anxiously awaiting my report and was very interested in what I saw and what Mrs. Bunkoci said and what we did. One of the parents whose daughter sits next to Hunter said she loves Hunter and that he’s so cute and smart. She said she and her mother were in today to be “guest readers” and that Hunter was so funny. He was telling her how to get to our church and our house and that he was doing a better job than she would have done herself. She said all of the sudden her daughter, Jenna, has been interested in learning how to draw hearts and after seeing Hunter’s journal she said now she knew why. Hunter’s journal was 30% pictures and the rest was filled up with “I [heart] u Momme” over and over again. When I told Hunter that Jenna wants to learn how to draw hearts, he immediately started trying to figure out how and when he was going to teach her and decided that during “centers” might be a good time. Mrs. Bunkoci said he’s so smart and that he’s always the first one done with his homework and she tries to get him to write more words but he always complains that he’s too tired. I mentioned that he’s kind of lazy and when it comes to doing anything, if we want him to do it, he won’t. But if we let him alone, he usually will do some pretty amazing things. She agreed. We were at the store the other day and he spent about 3 minutes staring at a sign, silently sounding out the words until he could read the entire sign, word for word, no mistakes. But, if I had asked him to read it to me, he would have refused and whined about how his legs are too tired or that he hasn’t had a snack for a whole 15 minutes and he’s going to whither away to nothing if he reads another word.

I feel really blessed to be where we are right now and to be in such a great school district. I was so stressed about sending Hunter to school, with his diabetes and all, but they’ve taken him in and done a great job and I’m very grateful. So thanks to everyone who’s made this possible and helped make going to school such a great experience for myself and Hunter.

Eight months ago we were in Kansas with Grandma and Grandpa Stout. Noah, who is extremely sensitive to odd noises, had a rough time getting used to Grandma and Grandpa’s rattley heating vents. The rattling noise made Noah very nervous. As a result, the night I tried to read “Bedtime for Frances” to Noah for the first time, he got a little freaked out and couldn’t get past the crack in the ceiling part. After that, he refused to let me read the book to him, or even look at it for that matter.

Then, last night he gathered up enough courage to let me read it to him and surprisingly enough, he liked it. He liked it so much he’s been carrying it with him everywhere, including today, when he took it to Nursery in the hopes that someone would read it to him there. And then, he burst into tears when he realized we left it in Nursery and the doors were locked. Luckily, Sister Dance had a key and saved the day. Noah held onto that book like it was a million dollars.

As we drove home from church I glanced behind me to see what Noah was doing. He had the book open to the “crack in the ceiling page” and was staring at the crack like he was in a trance. When I asked him what he was doing he said he was helping Frances keep watch on the crack in case a spider tried to come out of it. Sweet Noah! And clever too.

Hunter had homework last week, to come home and count as high as he could. Mark managed to get up to 92 with Hunter before his 15 minutes were up and he needed another snack. (Just Kidding.) Anyway, the next day we asked him if he got to count for Mrs. Bunkoci. He said, “Yeah I counted to 100 and then she stopped me. I was going to count to 1000 but she just stopped me and I couldn’t count anymore!” That made Mark and I both chuckle and made me want to squeeze him so tight. Sometimes, poor Hunter is too smart for his own britches. He must have inherited that from his Dad! Don’t worry Hunter, we know you could have counted to a million if you were given the chance.

Last night during bedtime prayers, Noah prayed that “summer would go away and Halloween would come fast.” Today we got out our Halloween/Fall decorations and I guess it sparked some excitement in the boys. Hunter spent the afternoon, dressed up in his Captain Hook costume, chasing the little boys all over the house making loud, scary noises and swinging his sword over his head. Noah tried on his Buzz Lightyear costume (which still fits) but I think he’s going to be a bat for Halloween. We found an awesome bat costume at The Children’s Place for $16.50. Noah was thrilled! Denver, I think, hates everything about Halloween and will feel much better when Thanksgiving rolls around. He cringes at anything Halloween-ish and refuses to let us try on any Halloween costumes. I found a REALLY cute chicken costume at Old Navy and I was hoping he would be a chicken so Mark could be Old MacDonald (because that’s Denver’s favorite book). But Denver cried like it was the end of the world when we put the chicken legs on and I decided, sadly, to return the costume to Old Navy. So, Denver will probably be himself for Halloween and go to bed early, before any Trick-or-Treaters show up at our door and give him nightmares for a month.

We also had Hunter’s “Back-to-School” picnic which was pretty fun. We picked up Primo Pizza (our new favorite pizza) and headed over to the school playground. It was neat to see Hunter running around the playground, saying “hi” to all these little people and having all these little people run up to Hunter and say “hi” to him. He even knew them all by name. When we got home I asked Hunter if he had fun and he said, “Yeah, but why was there a dead squirrel?” At the picnic, Hunter and a couple of other kids ran off into a bunch of trees and were busy playing in there for about 15 minutes. Now I know what they were doing. Apparently they found a dead squirrel and Hunter and another little girl decided it would be fun to poke it with a stick. That made me a little cringy, but I figure he’s a boy and who isn’t curious about a dead animal at least once in their lifetime? It reminds me of all the dead ducks we used to find in the field across the street from Jewell Elementary. Anyway, I made sure he understood that the next time he finds a dead animal that he only pokes it with a stick and NEVER touches it. He agreed and that was that.

My purpose for blogging tonight, however, was not to tell you about dead squirrels and Halloween costumes. I found another scrummy recipe and this one requires no plan ahead time whatsoever. It is very simple and yummy and the boys even asked for seconds on this one. We had it for dinner which was good but it would be even better with breakfast or for brunch. Enjoy!

The first day of Fall. Hunter went to school. Mark went to work. Noah and Denver and I stayed home–cleaning the kitchen and playing lego. We stopped by Sandcastle Park and climbed a couple of trees after Hunter got home from school. And that was it. Our first day of Fall.

It’s hard to believe summer is over–it doesn’t quite seem like fall yet. We sure had a good summer though. We all soaked up a few sunbeams and got a little tan. We had a great vacation in Utah–saw lots of friends and family, visited the museum, the zoo, did some putt putt golfing and bowling and swimming and horseback riding and eating at favorite old restaurants. Hunter learned to swim and ride his bike without training wheels. We enjoyed fireworks on the beach. We went to a Bridgeport Bluefish baseball game and I learned that I like baseball. We swam in the ocean and played at the Lake. We went to New York and saw the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We chased lightening bugs, swung in the hammock and ate drippy popsicles. We went for “rain walks” and rolled down some grassy green hills and ate juicy watermelons. We picked strawberries and blueberries and raspberries and made jam and pudding and pie. We enjoyed all sorts of picnics and yummy salads and “corn on the hunk.” We had a wonderful day at Lake Compounce where we had almost the entire amusement park to ourselves–no lines, no waiting and it was even overcast so, no sunburns! We stayed up late and slept in late and snugged and loved the summer away.

Of course, I’m ready for Fall and the cool, crisp air and pumpkins and Halloween and cider and hot chocolate and the first snow too. But I at least have to say farewell to summer (and a great one at that) before I say hurray for fall. So, here’s to a great summer and an even better fall!