A Few of My Favorite Things . . .

. . . Now even better!

I love granola, but I haven't been able to find a gluten-free, sugar free version I like.  I decided to quit searching for the right brand and start looking for the right recipe.  Fortunately I found a good one here! It is very versatile and you can use whatever nuts, seeds and fruit you like.

Yummy GF/SF Granola

2 cups gluten free whole rolled oats

½ cup raw nuts, chopped

¼ cup raw seeds (sunflower or pumpkin seeds are great)

½ cup unsweetened dried fruit, chopped (I like unsweetened coconut)

2-3 tablespoons honey (or use maple syrup)

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

½ tsp vanilla extract or almond extract

1 large pinch fine sea salt

Recipe: Preheat the oven to 300º F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and use your clean hands to mix well and toss to coat. Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes (may take a little longer), until very lightly toasted.

I also like meatloaf, but I rarely make it.  It takes so long to cook and I hate having to check it in the middle to make sure it's done.  Here is the recipe I use, plus a fun, easy way to cook it.  It's another recipe you mix with your hands.

My Favorite Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

3 slices bread torn into small pieces (or 3/4 cup gf oats)

1 egg

1 cup milk (or almond milk)

1 onion chopped

1 T worcestershire sauce

1 t salt

1/2 t dry mustard

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t sage

1/4 t garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands to mix well.

(Here comes the cool part! Are you ready?)

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop large balls of the meatloaf mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. (That's a cookie sheet with sides.)  Bake at 375 for 25 min.  Serve with ketchup.  After dinner, clean your pan by throwing away the foil.  Easy!

Funny Girl

Yesterday we got in the car to go to Costco. I said, "Hop in your car seat, doll."
She said, "I not a doll. Don't call me doll."
"What should I call you? Kitty-cat?" I teased.
"Call me . . . neighbor!" She replied with a laugh. She continued, "Hi there neighbor!" And gave me a friendly wave.

That afternoon, Aaron gave Lavender a ride in one of the big boxes from Costco. He even attached a rope as a handle and pulled her through the house while the box slid around on the tile. Lavender loved it and wanted to play again today. After awhile, she told Aaron that it was his turn. She insisted he get in the box and she tried to pull him with all her might. She was frustrated when he wouldn't budge. Fortunately, she accepted my suggestion to give bunny and monkey a ride instead.

Safe and Sound

Planning a flight with a toddler? Never, I repeat, never bring a carseat on the plane. Unless of course you want to be miserable, annoy/enrage other passengers and incur the wrath of an obsessive flight attendant. That's all I'm going to say about the flight home.

It is great to be home! We got in lots of walking during our site-seeing and museum-going, but nothing beats early morning walks with my sister. The cacti even bloomed to welcome us home.

I also finally received a Mother's Day gift that I requested. My family have me two of Brian Kershisnik's prints for Christmas. "She Will Find What is Lost" has been hanging in my living room ever since and I love looking at it every day. I love the other print too, but "Nativity" wasn't framed, so I mentioned that I would love to have it framed for Mother's Day.  It is beautiful and definitely worth the wait!

I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but when John and Evan headed to the emergency room in Chicago, Evan's GoPro was left in the taxi. Unfortunately, with all the stress of the situation, none of us could remember the name of the cab company. John paid cash, so there was no way to trace it. We tried calling dozens of cab companies, but nothing turned up. Evan was heartbroken. He had documented the entire trip and had thousands of pictures on the memory card that he was crushed to lose. We kept calling even after we got home, but the chances of finding it seemed slim to none.

Then Aaron had the bright idea to look on Reddit. Sure enough, there was a post about a GoPro found in a taxi. We made contact today and the camera is already headed our way. The girl we spoke to said, "My co-workers made fun of me for posting it on Reddit, but ha! It actually worked!" We are so grateful to her and to Aaron!

To top it all off, Evan got the chest tube removed today. It was very painful, but at least he's healing. For now that is. He may be having surgery soon, but that's a story for another day.

Finally

The time has come. We are finally on our way home! We couldn't get a flight until this evening so we made the most of it by sleeping in (even Lavender cooperated!) and hanging out at Millennium Park. We had a great time checking out the bridges, sculptures and fountains. The big electronic faces change expression and squirt water out of their mouths, so that kids love it!

Our biggest surprise was the DNA Testing "Who's Your Daddy?" Truck. For some reason, I haven't seen one of these in our neighborhood.

Evan update: He is uncomfortable, but not in pain as long as he keeps up with his meds. He has an appointment with a thoracic surgeon on Monday afternoon so hopefully he'll have the tube removed then.

We're homeward bound!!

Freedom!

We spent another day at the hospital, but the good news is: it was our last! Evan was hoping to have the chest tube removed today. As a trial, they removed the auction and clamped the tube. After several hours they took another X-ray. Unfortunately, Evan flunked! In other words, his lung collapsed slightly. The surgeon determined that Evan needs to keep the tube in for our flight home. He will follow up with a thoracic surgeon at home and have the tube removed next week.

Evan was a good patient and did his laps around the hallways, totaling at least a mile. He also did his breathing exercises and learned how to care for his incision and drain valve. Exciting stuff, huh?! We also got ahold of the (somewhat) local missionaries, who took a very long bike ride to help John give Evan a blessing. Interestingly, they were the third set of missionaries we met during our trip!

Evan was finally released this evening and he walked (nearly) a mile back to our hotel. I had to include another photo of the amazing view from his room since yesterday's shot was cloudy. The other picture, with the fence in front, is of the hospital.

Although Lavender wasn't quite as angelic today, she did continue her hobby of making friends wherever we go. The hotel staff played a board game with her, brought her fresh pineapple that they cut into little pieces and a huge chocolate covered strawberry! When we left the hotel lounge this evening she gave everyone hugs and kisses! It was unbelievable!

We are grateful Evan is out of the hospital and we are on our way home!

Reasons to be Grateful

We spent today at the hospital with Evan. I didn't think he'd appreciate me posting pictures of him in his hospital gown, so you only get to see a bit of his arm as he is being comforted by Peter (Lavender's doll who is the star of Ezra Jack Keats' book The Snowy Day).

Evan had a spontaneous pneumothorax and had a tube surgically inserted in his chest. It seems to be working well and it looks like the hole in his lung has closed too. Tomorrow they will clamp the tube. If all goes well, they will remove it tomorrow and we will be able to fly home Friday.

One of the doctors told us that it is a good thing this happened before our flight. He said that if Evan had flown, it could have put pressure on the heart that would have been "incompatible with life." Interesting way to put it, but we are grateful for the timing, even if it meant spending a few more days away from home.

The hospital is really beautiful and they didn't even charge extra for this amazing view!

We had some other sad news today. Our dog Roxy passed away early this morning. Aaron got up early to let her out. She was curled up asleep next to the couch, but when he went to pick her up, he realized she was gone. Aaron, Ryan and Marianne buried her. We are sad not to be there to say goodbye, but grateful she died peacefully in her sleep. I don't have a picture of here on my phone, but here are a couple of blog posts with her picture. Scroll down near the bottom of both posts.

http://happyhartz.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-walking-secrets-part-2.html?

http://happyhartz.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-weekend-and-beyond.html?

Finally, I am grateful that Lavender was so good while sitting in a hospital room all day. She even took a nearly two hour nap. I consider it a miracle. Really it was a tender mercy from God. We celebrated by letting her ride up and down the escalator and letting her take a long bath before bed. 

Melanie

Farewell?

Today was our last day in Chicago and John and Evan were both excited to spend it at the Art Institute. We waved good bye to the bean and said hello to the lions in front of the museum. After about 10 minutes of the impressionists, Lavender made it clear that she was not going to sit in her stroller while we looked at art! I took her down to the children's room and she played for awhile. Then we went to the still life room full of objects that kids can arrange to make their own still life. Lavender and her new friend Alison decided to use every possible object they could get their hands on to make "dinner." They had a great time and made quite a mess.

After lunch, Evan went to look at a few more things by himself. About 15 minutes before we were supposed to go pick up our luggage and head to the airport, I got a text from Evan saying the right side of his chest hurt and he couldn't breathe. When we met him, he was obviously in a lot of pain. John got him in a taxi and took him to Northwestern Hospital. After an EKG and a chest x-ray, they diagnosed a partially collapsed lung. It can happen spontaneously, often to tall, thin men. He had surgery to place a tube in his lung and is spending the night in the hospital. Hopefully, we can fly home soon. Meanwhile we are all feeling a little crazy. This was not the way we wanted to extend our trip. Please keep Evan in your prayers!