Monday Morning Musings

New crazy-busy week.

New video. New thoughts. New video.

New countdown clock on my sidebar. (Counts down to the next episode of 24...though you have to add an hour for daylight savings time...)

Going now....

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Emily has her PSSA tests -- the state's standardized tests -- today and tomorrow. She's nervous, but we told her she cannot fail. The tests show whether or not she's learning at her grade level so she can exceed her level, be right on the mark, or need help being brought up to her level.

There's so much noise about these tests in the news media that it's no wonder kids dread them. Heaven forbid we give them some kind of standards to achieve... Okay, okay...hopping down from my soapbox....

We know she'll do fine.

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Good thing kids are more resilient than their parents sometimes....

Edward had his follow-up visit with our doctor this morning. The doctor explained that Edward looked much better on the outside than he sounded on the inside. Apparently, our little guy was much sicker than we realized.

The doctor drew a picture of what the x-ray of Edward's lungs looked like and told me that it was hard to tell if it was bronchitis or pneumonia. He gave us another prescription and told us to continue with the nebulizer.

Hopefully, "budboy" is on the mend.

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5 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT

• kids trading comic books
• a handwritten menu
• buffalo wings in barbecue sauce
• renting a house on an island
• catnip cat toys

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We started a new tradition this season with our 24 viewing: wings.

It all started at our 24 premier party when we forgot to defrost the wings in time to make them...and ended up having them the following week. Mmmmmmm!

Now we realize they're so yummy and easy to make that we've continued making them each week of the season thus far. Why not? It beats chewing off our fingernails...

Stuart likes his with hot sauce, and I usually have mine with honey mustard.

Quick recipe:
Preheat oven to 450. Defrost chicken wing sections. Place on foil-lined pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Place with sauce in a covered bowl and toss. Serve hot with LOTS of napkins.

Hot Sauce:
2 Tbsp. melted butter
4 Tbsp. Texas Pete
3-4 dashes of another hotter sauce

Honey-Mustard Sauce:
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2-4 Tbsp. each of spicy brown mustard and honey