November 30, 2012

Outside Temp: 46 F (still feels like fall around here... snow is almost totally gone and with the exception of the wind, it's just beautiful outside... now that I've said that, it's going to snow.)

What I cooked today:
Chicken and Potatoes: I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner.  I pulled out some chicken and decided I would make chicken.  But I didn't want to make the same old Chinese chicken that I usually make.  So, I flipped through a couple recipe books and came up with something.  I rubbed the chicken with some Greek seasoning, then seared it in my cast iron skillet.  Then I took some potatoes and carrots and put them in a pot.  I pulled the chicken out of the skillet, and added some stock and flour to the skillet and whisked them together.  Then I poured the stock over the potatoes and cooked them for a few minutes.  I threw the vegetables into a casserole dish, with the chicken on top.  Then I baked it for about 30 minutes.  I had a little too many potatoes, so the ones that were not in fluid were a little stiff, but otherwise, it turned out great.  I think next time, I'll toss the veggies in some seasoning before cooking them, and I'll add a little more stock. 

Update:
We still have Ryan in a toddler bed.  I know.  I know.  It's time to move him up to a twin.  But his room is really small, and a twin bed will fill it up.  So, we've been putting it off. 

Well, we've almost run out of time.  About 2 days ago, I sat on the edge of his bed to hook up his TPN, and I heard the unmistakable crack of splitting wood.  It wasn't totally broken, but it was sure thinking about it.  I mentioned it to Patrick, but he didn't really understand.  So, last night, he sat on the edge (as we do almost every night) to hook up his TPN.  And then there was a really significant 'crack'.  I got some zip ties and tried to stabilize the cracking wood.  He slept just fine last night, although he was almost falling off the bed when I got him this morning.

So, this afternoon, Connor was playing with Ryan in his room on the XBox, and we hear the really loud 'crack', followed by a 'thump'.  A few curse words later and we realized that the wood was almost totally useless.  No, wait.  There is always duct tape!

I grabbed my trusty roll of silver perfection and went to work on the bed.  The side rails are now covered in duct tape and it seems pretty stable.  I've warned everyone in the house that Ryan is the only one who can use his bed.  I figure it's limit is somewhere in the 75 lb range, which means that anyone else sitting on the bed will make it break.  I'm betting that we can hold out for a few more weeks, maybe even until Christmas.  But, maybe not.  Perhaps it's time for a trip into town with Grandpa's truck.