Oh, we aren't vacationing.  I'm preparing for a yard sale this weekend.  We're having a neighborhood sale and I need to get my behind in gear. 

Have a great rest of your week!

Tales from the Trenches: Rashilacious

My child has skin that could take a rash if the sun set too fast. 

My husband calls me at work to report that K- has broken out into a rash, he believes from the table that the neighbor gave to us.  It was shedding something, which we aren't quite sure what, and the child broke out in a rash from head to toe that itched.  Of course, I asked the typical, "Is her tongue swelling?  Can she breathe okay?"  That kind of stuff.  She's had a cough.  No runny nose.  No fever.  Still, I panicked because then I thought of strep.  (You can get a rash with strep.)  The doctor's office closed 1/2 hour beforehand. 

I left work to go home and assess the situation.  Hubs had her in the tub.  I tossed in some baking soda for good measure and gave her a teaspoon of Benedryl.  (I should say that Hubs would have done the Benedryl, but since I buy generic, it didn't exactly give a "as compare to" name on it, and by phone I couldn't tell him for sure which bottle.  The baking soda?  He said that he wouldn't even know where to look.)  In 20 minutes of my arriving home, the incident was done. 

We returned the table, said thank you but that it was too big.  The neighbor knows nothing else.  He would be absolutely horrified if he knew that K- had an allergic reaction to it. 

Wow.  The kid who can't have bubble bath, go into a hot tub, use fabric softener in clothes for or eat pickles because she has such sensitive skin.  (The pickles burn the skin around her mouth.) 

She is a delicate flower.  :S

Smiles in my day:
-  K-'s rash was a short lived thing. 
-  Hubs who kept saying, "I've got it!  I've got it!"  He was still relieved when I came home.
-  Working on garage sale details with the neighbor.

Have a great day!

Yummy and delicous and easy to make and yummy . . .

I used to make homemade granola for Hubs all the time.  I remember having to portion it out, because he would eat the entire batch in one sitting. 

I've been looking for different things to send with K- in her lunch to summer camp.  I was looking to tweak with a few ideas for when school starts. 

Today K- and I made granola.

Bailey's Leaf Yummy Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/4 cup oat bran
2 T crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 T honey
1 1/2 t apple pie spice
A generous handful of raisins
1/4 cup peanut butter chips

I warmed the peanut butter and honey together.  I mixed it together and allowed K- to stir it in.  Basically, I tossed everything in BUT! the peanut butter chips and baked it at 350 F on two cookie sheets sprayed with Pam for about 25 minutes, flipping it halfway.  (You want it brown all the way around!)  When completely cooled, add peanut butter chips. 

Things to note: 
My granola was a completely reworked and tweaked Breakfast Granola from New Vegetarian Cuisine.  I used salted and roasted almonds, because it was what we had.  They asked for unsalted peanuts.  I also used real maple syrup because that is what we had.  Imitation would be fine.  I would have left out the peanut butter chips, but it was a special request by K-.  They say it makes 12 servings, and when I did it before I think I did it by a 1/4 cup per serving.  (It doesn't state serving size.)

NOT allergy friendly.

Smiles in my weekend:
-  A trip to Amish Country.  We took my mother-in-law as a thank you for watching K- all year long.  It's something nice that she doesn't get to do. 
-  We had three days of being A/C free.  Sadly, the cooling box is back on again.  Gladly, we have one.
-  K- having such a great time making granola.  I really need to get girlie baking in the kitchen more often.
-  All the butterflies!  We even had a buckeye show up, which is rather rare for our neck o' the woods.  Hubs has only seen one once before seeing it here.
-  Our Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar is now in a chrysalis on my gerbera daisy plant.  We should have a new butterfly in about a week!
-  The tomato plants have gone wild!

Have a great day!