Dark Humor

Today I picked my son up from school.  It was already a strange day...the kids, getting out at 130 and 145 respectively for Christmas vacation, the fact that I was running on three hours sleep due to Logan's sleeplessness the night before (330am...want to watch Bee Movie?  Anyone?)  And the fact that Nathan was already done with home school just combined for a weird kind of day.

When I picked Logan up, his teacher assured me with a smile on her fact that he was "Sugared up and ready to go!  Merry Christmas!"  I love her.  I love his teacher.  She has done so much for us.  I will say nothing more.

Well, because the schedule was so messed up, and because Logan was so full of sugar and dye, he was extra cranky this afternoon.  By extra-cranky, I mean lots of constant yelling, screaming, and just general inability to deal.  He finally went in the bathroom and just sat in the tub naked and yelled and yelled.

I know this because I had his brother check on him.  He was sitting there yelling, "I need help!" when in fact, nothing was wrong.  So we left him alone because if he needed to yell, then maybe we should just let him.  Sometimes autistic children yell and stim a lot after school because they've had to "hold it in" all day.  When Logan gets in the car, depending on the kind of day he's had, he's either calm or he lets loose with a verbal smorgasboard sure to tickle your eardrums and rattle your nerves.  It's not his fault, he can't control it very much, and that's just the way it is.

So I sat here at the computer, chatting with a friend to keep my mind off of the total chaos in the other room, and the yelling continued, and all I could think was, "Polar bears yell when they poop."

Seriously, have you seen this meme, on the internet? You know, I don't know if it's true.  I know almost nothing about polar bears, except that they are more vicious than normal bears, extremely territorial, do not drink Coke, and it's best to just stay away.  But there's this pic going around on Pinterest that states the aforementioned interesting fact.  I will spare you a visual.

And what has this got to do with anything, you ask?

Nothing.  It has to do with nothing.  It has only to do with the fact that when things are completely chaotic, and you can't do anything about it, you have to find humor somewhere.  You can't sit there and cry or stay angry at a situation that is beyond your control.  EMT's do it all the time.  So do police officers.  Because the alternative of truly thinking about the situation in all of its stark clarity, and truly considering what is happening, especially when you can't do anything about it doesn't help anyone.  Humor is my coping mechanism. So is talking to friends, asking them to unload (because if I'm listening to their problems, I'm not thinking of mine), and chocolate.

Now I'm going to go in the kitchen, finish dinner, and sing.

 Logan sounds better than me.  Trust me.

Dinosaurs in the Backyard

When Logan was six years old, a child psychiatrist told us that he did not engage in pretend play, and that he had no imagination.

Logan is nine years old now.  Today he ran into the house from the backyard, breathless and excited.  He came up to me and said, "Dinosaurs in the backyard!"

"Really?" I said.  "Dinosaurs?"

"Dinosaurs get you!" he proclaimed.

"Well, be careful out there, " I cautioned, and he was gone.

A little while later he came into the kitchen with a plastic container that I had just washed and the bread pan from my bread machine.  Both had remnants of grass and dirt in them.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"This dinosaur's food, this dinosaur's water," he said.

"Okay.  Put it in the sink."

And he did, and then he disappeared again.  I didn't care about the dishes.  Dishes can be washed.  This is what I cared about:

A boy playing outside, pretending things that little boys pretend.  Of course, it's a few years behind what a normal nine year old is into...but I cannot describe the happiness and satisfaction I feel, watching him come into the house, talking about his "dinosaurs" that he "fed".  And I think that the more I discover of Logan's little world, the more I love it.  These are the days that make the other days worth it.  The days when he's hard to deal with or won't sleep...dinosaurs make up for it.

Comfort Food

Yesterday, because we were going to get a lot of ice, I decided to make some good old fashioned comfort food.  One or two people have asked for the recipe.  I have to say this is not my recipe, I got it off of Pinterest, but it turned out really well.  I would suggest pairing it with some baked beans or a green salad.


Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (You can use a rotisserie chicken to save time, or do like I did and steam two chicken breasts in your steamer with some veggies).
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
2 cups Bisquick (or generic baking mix)
2 cups whole milk
1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of chicken with herbs is better, or do like me and mix it with some Kick'n Chick'n spice)
3 tsp chicken bouillon granules (I used Wyler's, and I only used  1 1/2 tsp because I don't like the salt content)
1/2 tsp dried sage (I used 1 tsp)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt or more to taste

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Layer 1:  9x13 in casserole dish:  melt 1 stick butter .  Spread shredded chicken over butter and sprinkle black pepper and sage over this layer.  DO NOT STIR.
Layer 2:  In a small bowl, whisk milk and Bisquick.  Slowly pour over chicken.  DO NOT STIR.  Layer 3:  In a medium bowl, whisk together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup, and bouillon.  Once blended, slowly pour over Bisquick layer.  Again, DO NOT STIR.  Bake casserole for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.


Vegetarian Modification:  I do have friends who are vegetarians and welcome their suggestions on modifying this dish.  I suggest substituting the chicken with salmon, the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and chicken bouillon with vegetable broth, cream of potato or other favorite vegetable cream soup, and vegetable bouillon.  Substitute the sage with dill and the pepper with lemon pepper.  Then follow the directions as needed.