One Hell of a Birthday

So, I was expecting this post to be very excited and happy-go-lucky about the very fun birthday I had.  Things were going great - went out to lunch with my mom and then went to Plucker's Wing Bar for dinner for a free meal (they give club members free meals on their birthdays) and then came home to watch West Wing with some of our friends.  All was going well and we were getting ready for bed when I received a terrifying phone call.

Apparently, my brother (you know, the one who just turned 21) decided to disappear without a trace this afternoon.  He closed his bank accounts and took his computer, gps, and the car and left.  People close to our family already know that this is especially terrifying because Danny has Asperger's Syndrome.  Asperger's is a high functioning form of Autism that prevents him from fully understanding social interactions, emotions, and "bigger picture" implications of his actions.  Even though he is nearly a genius - just shy by a few IQ points - he doesn't have very many skills necessary for living alone, though this is something that he's been working on with my parents for years.  He is finally succeeding in college, recently got his driver's license, and is learning what is necessary to take care of himself.  The hope was that he'd earn his degree soon and then would start trying to find a job and possibly get an apartment.  I'm unsure what suddenly spurred him to abandon this plan.

He was found in Fort Stockton, TX, on his way to El Paso where he was planning to live.  My mom managed to track his cell phone and the police picked him up.  He was confused as to why he'd be on the missing person's list and thought that his actions were completely rational.  The Fort Stockton Police Department says that he was articulate and seemingly without disability so they were unable to detain him (which is complete and utter bullshit, if you ask me.  If you have been declared an adult child by the government then OBVIOUSLY there is some obligation by the police to return you to your guardian/parent!) and he has promised to drive back to Austin.  Whether or not he returns has yet to be seen but I'm pretty sure he won't try to pull anything else now that the police are involved.

Needless to say, the end of my birthday has been stressful, emotional, and draining.  I'm still so full of adrenaline that it is unlikely I'll fall asleep any time soon.  I am frustrated that he didn't talk to me - which he normally does before going through with any crazy schemes - and I am hoping he gets home safely.  Fort Stockton is about a six hour drive from here, so hopefully he'll be back in the morning.

**UPDATE 2:00 PM - Danny was driving home from Fort Stockton after getting some sleep and things seemed to be going pretty well.  I spoke to him briefly on the phone and he said he was sorry for making us worry.  Then, just when I thought things were alright, he totaled his car.  He apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a light pole, then rolled into a barbed wire fence.  He is unharmed and there were no other cars involved.  The sheriff in Llano is now holding him since there was still the missing person's report out and my mom is picking him up there.  I can't wait for this whole ordeal to be over.**

Menu Monday - Momma's Birthday/Road Trip

This week's edition of Menu Monday is brought to you by my birthday!  What can I say, birthdays make me excited.  Also, the boys and I are going on a road trip on Thursday for my Aunt's birthday bash in Chicago.  Sadly, Travis won't be joining us because of work so he'll have to fend for himself as far as food goes.  We'll miss him very much but I'm sure he'll have fun partying with his friends and reliving his single pre-baby days.  :)

Monday - Spinach and Artichoke Mac 'n' Cheese

Tuesday - "West Wing Night" and Alex's Birthday!  Food TBD

Wednesday - Chili-Mac (for chili recipe, look here!)

Road Trip Food (Prepare Wednesday) - PB & J sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, slice fruit, etc.

Introducing a New Blog!

Sorry the posts have been kind of sparse this week, I've been working on a side project in all of my spare time.  As many of you know, I love to cook.  And I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.  So, I decided that I wanted to start sharing recipes and talk about food more.  As this idea grew, I realized that it was simply too big and would quickly take over this blog which I want to keep family-related.  Besides, there are separate audiences for recipes and baby posts and I thought it would be best not to mix the two.  So now I present to you... *cue drumroll*

Chef Momma and the Hungry Hornes!

Hop on over and follow it if you're interested. Pass it on to your friends!  Grab a button!  Comment! I'll be posting both here and there and I'll probably cross link to recipes in my weekly meal plans. I'm super excited and I hope you are too! :)

Ode to Children's Television

Oh DJ Lance,
how do I love thee
with your bright orange jumpsuit
and hat oh-so-fuzzy?
You say dancing is awesome
and sometimes sound Jamaican,
I am not sure why,
but my heart is achin'!

I am confused yet intrigued
by these strangely shaped beings
Tootie's a cat-dragon?
What are these things?
And though Foofa is pink
and Muno is red,
I can't ever get those
crazy songs out of my head!

More songs that are catchy
and dance moves so grand
can always be found
with the Fresh Beat Band.
Making me crave smoothies
and full of instruments galore,
surely guarantees
this show's not a bore.

The actors can pretend
better than most
that they can actually play
the instruments they boast!
Not bad singers
and dancers to boot.
And it certainly doesn't hurt
that Twist is kind of cute.

This morning I thought
to put my feelings in verse,
as I tried to lose
the songs stuck like a curse.
So, a shout out to Moms
who watch TV with their spawn.
I know I'm not the only one
who secretly loves Nickelodeon.

Menu Monday... Let's Try This Again!

So, Travis suggested we go out to dinner tonight since I'd been taking care of my little sisters all day and was exhausted come dinner time.  I thought I'd just let the menu be and adjust as necessary but I realized that I scheduled chili for tonight and that is a critical ingredient in Wednesday's chili-mac.  Needless to say, some maneuvering has to be done.  I figured since it's still Monday, it's not such a big deal.  Hopefully THIS menu will stick though!

Monday - Out to eat

Tuesday - "West Wing Night" with roast whole chicken (no change)

Wednesday - Chili

Thursday - Southern Fried Chicken

Friday - Chili-Mac

Saturday - Papardelle with roasted tomato sauce (no change)

Sunday - Travis at game, leftovers or dinner with Melnicks (no change)

Alright, now that everything is set again, it is bedtime for Mommy!

Menu Monday - Third Week's The Charm!

Last week we didn't quite stick to the menu 100% again so I'm hoping that this week we will get all of our ducks in a row and things will fall into place.  Travis being sick really threw off my groove but he's feeling much better now and there's NO MORE EXCUSES!  At least, that's what I keep telling myself.  :)

Monday - Chili (save leftovers for Wednesday)

Tuesday - "West Wing Night" featuring roasted whole chicken with rosemary potatoes and veggies

Wednesday - Chili-Mac (with leftover chili from Monday)

Thursday - Go out to eat!  (kids eat free at Texican!)

Friday - Southern Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies

Saturday -Papardelle pasta with roasted tomato sauce and grilled chicken

Sunday - Travis at game, leftovers or dinner with Melnicks for Alex and boys

Bonus food options: save chicken bones for home made stock, dehydrate strawberries for macarons

First feverless night in 5 days

As far as pneumonias go, I think I must have caught it early, because I'm feeling a whole lot better here on Saturday night. Alex is off with her old high school buddies drinking somewhere downtown (nothing too alcoho I hope, since she's driving) while I hung out here with the boys. My sickness has slowly faded today from really crappy this morning to now where I am feeling alright. Oral temp. of 97.9F isn't too bad, either. Thanks for the well wishes to everyone who have been calling me, messaging me, and posting here on the blog about it. I give it up to the expensive (but seriously worth it) antibiotic: levaquin. Thank god pharmaceuticals don't just make "little blue pills" but also invest in some innovative antibiotics to combat a horde of diseases that are becoming immune faster and faster to our resistances.

The boys had a pretty uneventful night; they didn't enjoy dinner too much so I had to supplement with additional citrus. I think crab isn't quite up to snuff for their palates yet; honestly I don't blame. I don't like much seafood myself, with the exception of crabcakes. These ones were made with the Costco fresh crab meat, which we bought last week and was still super fresh and delicious. Yum, yum. I've saved the fried up patties for Alex when she gets back to feast on at her leisure. They truly were tasty, despite our other fresh celery and carrots biting the dust well before the crab did. Ah well. After dinner, Eli and Jude wanted to play around so we watched some Rugrats before trying out each of the toys in the toy box that could be pulled out. Then, delightfully for me, they cooperated with the "pick-up" game and we put away nearly all the toys. Joy! I'm so glad that we worked on that one. They went to sleep pretty well, too, although I went into their bedroom later on in the evening to discover that Jude had passed out in the middle of their room on top of one of his stuffed bears. I gently picked him straight up and placed him delicately onto his mattress. Along for the ride came his big stuffed bear too. That boy has a kung-fu grip if I've ever seen one!

Well, that's really all I've got right now. It's late, I'm still a bit tired. I hope everyone's enjoying the weekend; summer is fast ending and I am starting to feel it. I've only got 2 more weeks of time with the boys before I'll be back at school. I'm glad to have an academic schedule though; it'll give me a lot more time with the boys in the long run.