To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

 To continue the theme of my children finding answers to puzzling health issues, I will share a couple more:

Gabrielle spent a couple years suffering from sudden onset of terrible gastric distress and pain, debilitating fatigue, and constant nausea. After multiple visits to various specialists, she was finally diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance (pretty much at celiac disease levels), which had caused several big ulcers in her stomach and ulcerated spots in her intestines. Once she stopped eating gluten for several months, the ulcers and intestines healed, the fatigue lifted dramatically, and she is able to eat without vomiting. A low-dose anti-anxiety pill was the final piece of the puzzle to quiet her busy mind. Six months or so later, she sleeps well, eats very strictly gluten-free (she can't handle even a little gluten), and is able to deal with her high-demand job with aplomb. 

Gabrielle's husband, Raine, has also just found some relief after a couple years of mysterious and debilitating pain. I think he racked up visits to no fewer than eighteen medical specialists before he was finally diagnosed by a holistic chiropractor. 

Raine was suffering from agonizing stabbing pain in his intestines as well as vertigo, dizziness, and constant nausea. I do not know how his hiatal hernia was missed by the gastroenterologist (he had an endoscopy, for goodness' sake!), but the chiropractor has been manipulating his stomach and intestinal area in such a way that Raine has found immense relief from pain and is now able to eat normally and without agonizing and constant pain. Turns out the vertigo, dizziness, and some of the nausea were from an entirely different cause: military neck, where the neck vertebrae are straight when they should be curved. The other doctors were probably trying to find a cause that answered all of the symptoms together, so maybe that is why they were stymied and kept bouncing him from specialist to specialist. Fortunately, the chiropractor is the perfect person to treat his neck, as well, and Raine has been able to eat, work out, and put in more hours at work without pain, vertigo and dizziness, and vomiting. 

He's feeling so much better, in fact, that he has accepted an Army deployment to Africa for ten months. But more about that later....

For myself, I have found an excellent answer for my sleep issues: melatonin. I had tried melatonin pills in the past, but they either did nothing or made me feel so groggy in the mornings that I couldn't function well. Plus, I found it difficult to time the taking of melatonin pills for best effect, so I gave up on them thinking that they didn't work for me. 

Earlier this year, however, Husband and I tried 3mg melatonin gummies, and they work so well that I get a solid six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted sleep every night and wake up feeling refreshed. I spent decades feeling like I could barely function because of poor sleep, so this development is thrilling! Turns out that seven-and-a-half hours of sleep is perfect for me. Husband needs eight or nine hours of sleep a night to feel good. I take 6mg, Husband takes 3mg, and we're both happy. 

Walmart sells a very decent brand of gummy melatonin called Olly Sleep. Olly Sleep gummies contain 3mg melatonin as well as L-Theanine, an amino acid that reduces stress and induces relaxation. Also very good (but no longer available at my Walmart) are VitaFusion sugar-free 3mg melatonin gummies. Both are very affordable.

I thoroughly chew two gummies about thirty minutes before I want to go to bed, and I never have problems falling asleep within moments of my head hitting the pillow. Nor do I have problems waking up in the mornings. I occasionally get some vivid dreams, which is a common side effect of taking melatonin, but they are merely interesting or weird dreams and never nightmares (I can't remember the last time I had a nightmare, actually). 

If my experience with melatonin gummies can help anyone else get some needed sleep, I am glad I shared. The older you get, the less melatonin you produce, so those of us getting close to being able to claim senior citizen discounts need all the help we can get.

 

Fractured Pelvic Bone

 Turns out Siân had a pelvic fracture that was causing her all that agonizing pain and nausea!

After the ER docs shrugged their shoulders when it turned out Siân didn't have an infection, her OB/GYN also checked for infection. When none was apparent, she said, "Well, I'm going to send you to a physical therapist that specializes in post-partum womb healing physical therapy." Fortunately, Siân kept that appointment because the PT asked a ton of questions--questions the doctor(s) should have been asking but somehow failed to do--and conducted a thorough examination of her pelvic area. Finally, she said, "I can't prove it without an x-ray, but I can almost one hundred percent guarantee that you have a fracture in your pelvic bone."

Siân literally fractured her pelvic bone giving birth to Christopher, whose head size was in the 99th percentile. She will obviously have to hold this over his (big) head for the rest of his life.

While Siân is still in pain, it is just so nice to know what is going on and to have a plan for it. The PT explained that the muscles around Siân's fracture were knotting in order to protect the fracture and also in response to Siân's stress, increasing the pain. Turns out Siân also holds her breath when she is stressed, which also increases the pain. Siân is attending four weekly sessions with the PT in order to reduce the muscle knotting and to do exercises that help relax and heal the pelvic area. There isn't anything else you can do for a fractured pelvis like this except take it easy in the walking/running department and not lift anything really heavy. Time will heal it, so another couple months should see Siân mostly back to normal. I hope. That poor girl. She's had a rough couple of years. I am, however, so grateful for the three adorable and amazing grandsons she has given us. 

I'm Coming For You, Yo-Yo Ma!

 I've got some pictures this time. I think that always makes things more interesting.

Before getting into the pictures, though, I have to tell you a story: the ward music director came up to me last Sunday and said, "I know you play the cello. I was wondering if you would be able to do a musical number?"

I started thinking about how many months I would need to feel ready for a cello solo, having not actually played my cello in...well, it's been a long time. Would I feel comfortable in six months? Seven? Yeah, I could get something ready in that time if I pushed myself.

"I want something different than piano solos and voice. I need something in two weeks, something for Pioneer Day," she went on.

I choked. My finger callouses have long since vanished. I don't have the hand or arm strength needed to press the strings or draw the bow for very long. Playing the cello is physical. Strength is needed. Yet I am soft and doughy. 

What did I do? I accepted the challenge, and I've been practicing every day since. My left hand fingertips are on fire as I go through the blistering stage of rebuilding callouses (I nearly shrieked today when I pressed my pinky finger into the string because the open blister stung so badly). I've been focusing on technique, but I have to stop every minute or two to shake out my left hand or my right arm. I am going to sound absolutely awful in two weeks, but I accepted the challenge because it forced me to achieve a goal I had for myself for this summer, which was to pull out my cello and get back into playing shape. Maybe I can beg the music director to let me redeem myself with another musical number in a year or so when I've improved enough not to be embarrassed. 

Funnily enough, she then asked me to also sing in a trio a few weeks after my cello solo. I mean, when you don't have tons of instrumentalists in the congregation, voice and piano are still the most viable options, and people love to hear them. Unfortunately, my voice is not doing well, so we'll see if my alto part in the trio is low enough for me to get through. Once I hit C above Middle C, I'm squawking uncontrollably. I still haven't seen the doctor about that abrupt change to my voice.

Anyway, pictures.

Elannah and I went thrift shopping for her wedding dress. We're not cheap, but why not try to find a perfectly good dress for a very good price when you will only wear that dress once in your life? 

Fortune favored us and we found this dress--which seemed perfectly tailored for her--for $80 (originally $500, according to the sales tag left hanging on the sash).

You can't really see it in these pictures, but there is subtle lace detailing on parts of the bodice. The skirt is covered with two layers of tulle, and the dress has a little train. Elannah wanted a very simple design, and though it didn't look good on the hanger, it looked so elegant on her when she tried it on that I told her I was going to buy it as a backup dress even if she ended up finding something else. You don't leave this dress behind just so you can go back and find someone else has snatched it up. 

In the end, my other daughter, Sophia, who has been taking sewing/tailoring classes, was able to match the bodice fabric and replace the sleeves, which were uncomfortably tight and not in the style Elannah liked. She replaced the original sleeves with the butterfly sleeves Elannah really wanted. Sophia also made a wider sash and added a bow at the back. While I absolutely adored the quiet sophistication of the original, I'm very happy Elannah has a dress she loves and feels beautiful in. I will post some wedding photos in August so you can see the finished product on this very beautiful bride-to-be. 

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My grandchildren are so wonderful. I'm around them a lot, and I've been spending every morning helping Siân as she gets breakfast and feeds them. They're exhausting, but I love them so much! Siân still has no answers as to why she is suffering so much pain and nausea so long after giving birth (neither the hospital nor the OB/GYN could find any infections, which might have explained things). Her OB referred her to a physical therapist for pelvic therapy. Her first appointment is today, so we'll see if any benefit comes from it.

Above is the newest boy, six-week-old Christopher. This photo of him is from when he was really new, and he's lost a lot of that really newborn look now. While Siân is making breakfast for Nicholas and Tyler in the mornings, I hold Christopher. I take him out back and sit on the patio or the deck so he can see the sun shining through the red sun shade, which he finds fascinating. After Siân gets breakfast made for the older boys, she takes Christopher to feed him his bottle and I sit at the dining table and help Nicholas and Tyler. The older boys eat and then play for a few hours before Siân takes them downstairs to their room in the hopes that Nicholas will take his nap. Sometimes he does.

Sixteen-month-old Nicholas is 100% big personality. He is the Energizer bunny. He is a man on a mission to play at all times, and he already has a very well developed sense of humor and mischief. Oh, I love this kid! He is speaking in two- and three-word sentences, and he's finally figured out how to say his name well enough for us to understand him. "Nit-o-las 'raj! (Nicholas garage)" he will insist when he hears Husband working on something in his garage workshop, pointing at his chest with his pudgy little finger. Other times, he demands that his Uncle Gary sing Hot Cross Buns with him. Otherwise, he's constantly on the move between his toy box, the kitchen cupboards, the dog's water bowl (when I forget to put it safely up on the counter), and the collection of everyone's shoes by the front door. 

Tyler is heading to kindergarten this fall, and he is very excited to make new friends. He will talk to anyone and everyone. Recently, when we took the Tyler and Nicholas to the local art fair, we let the kids play on the playground, and when we turned around, Tyler plopped himself down next to a random adult and just started chatting. Fortunately, the adult turned out to be my co-worker's wife, who is also an old high school classmate of Siân's, so Tyler was perfectly safe, but yikes! I'm very happy that he has never had the need to distrust adults or children, but we're going to have to keep an eye on him and teach him a little stranger danger.

Siân and Nathan just bought a bunk bed, and Tyler is exceedingly proud to have the top bunk (and also very happy that Nicholas has not yet figured out how to climb the ladder). He's such a sweet, smart kid. I love when he just wanders over to me and sits himself on my lap or snuggles up next to me on the couch. He generally doesn't have a lot of time for cuddling, so I don't take it for granted when he chooses to snuggle.

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Lastly, here is a picture of a finished embroidery project. It's very amateur because I was just trying out different types of stitches, but I like the colors. I copied a design from an adult coloring book, and since it gave Indian vibes, I used bright colors and no shading. For my next project, I am going to try some subtle shading in a floral motif or something. I love crewel work and needlepoint, as well, so those are on my list.

That's all for now. Thanks for joining me for a bit today!

News Pileup

 Sometimes I just wait for a couple months so that the news piles up. That way, you are far less likely to be subjected to my rambling thoughts on whatever pops into my mind.

School came to a successful end as far as my job was concerned. All the graduation ceremonies and the printing of diplomas are over and done with, and I've since been enjoying very limited work hours since.

Far more importantly, Siân gave birth to my third grandson, Christopher, who is perfect and beautiful and looks just like a miniature copy of his oldest brother, Tyler. At almost six weeks, his goals are to stay awake and very alert as long as he can between naps while also strengthening his neck muscles. His smiling and cooing skills have suddenly blossomed, which I find delightful. He is a content, sweet baby who is obviously just as smart and clever as his older brothers. 

Siân, on the other hand, has suffered. She had some bad hemorrhaging during and after the birth (her first natural birth after two C-sections), and that blood loss weakened her quite a bit. Furthermore, she is still in a great deal of pain at all times, enough so that she can barely walk more than to make a very short shopping trip--when she gets out at all--and she needs pain medication almost all the time. A couple days ago, on Sunday afternoon, I insisted on taking her to the emergency room because the symptoms she was describing to me sounded very alarmingly like a brewing infection--and catching something like that early is crucial! Six hours, a few blood draws, a urine sample, and CT scan later, the doc came in and told her that they did not see any infection and discharged her. I asked him if there was any reason that he could think of that would be causing her to have so much pain and nausea when she should be well healed from the delivery, and he just shook his head and told her to follow up with her OB/GYN. Of course, the OB is booked out into August, so Siân just has to wait until her regular follow-up appointment in July. 

Siân's husband, Nathan, has four months of parental leave, so he and Siân have been able to help each other take care of the three boys and spell each other for sleeping and naps. They're both always exhausted, of course, so I help out in the mornings with getting the older boys breakfast and then holding Christopher while Siân prepares bottles for the day and eats something herself (when she isn't too nauseated to eat). After breakfast, Husband and I sometimes watch all three boys when we can convince Siân to go take a nap. If not, we play with the older boys while Siân feeds Christopher. Later in the morning, when Nicholas, the 14-month-old, starts getting droopy, Siân takes all of them downstairs to their rooms so Nicholas can have a nap and so that she can wake up Nathan, who takes most of the night shift with Christopher and sleeps in the mornings. Nathan has the fortunate skill of being able to sleep through anything, so even when the boys are in the room, he can still snooze away.

I so love my grandsons. I am so grateful that I have a bond with them and can see them every day. To hear Tyler's and Nicholas's excited cries of "Nanna! Nanna!" as they climb up the stairs to the main floor fills my heart with joy. Nicholas and I especially have a strong bond because I spend a lot of time following him around to keep him from harming himself (he's into everything!), but Nicholas absolutely adores his Grampy, whom he calls "Granky." Granky is the topic of conversation at all times: where he is, what he's doing, and when he will show up to play with Nicholas. Nicholas's other favorite topic of conversation is the Beep. "Beep" refers to any electronic appliance, as most of them make some sort of beeping sound or other. Nicholas's favorite Beep to discuss is Granky's huge massage chair, which is both fascinating and frightening. He is also partial to the air fryer, which has a very satisfying beep. 

 Right after school ended, Husband and I and the boys (my sons, Joseph and Gary) drove out to Indiana to see Husband's mother and father, my MIL and FIL. Gabrielle, Sophia and her husband Matt, and Elannah flew out and joined us the evening we arrived in Indy, and we all stayed together in an AirBNB for a few days. We were able to visit with the two of Husband's brothers who live there as well as MIL and FIL. My kids had never met Husband's youngest brother and his wife and their two adorable little girls, and we had a very good time with both of their uncles' families. 

MIL, unfortunately, is sinking fast. We were able to visit her and FIL several times during our stay, and they gave us a packet of photos they had sorted out of Husband as a child and photos they had of our family. MIL spent a great deal of time going through her jewelry with my daughters. They were each encouraged to take what they liked (none of it is precious except for the memories the pieces will invoke, and that helped my girls feel better about taking Nanna's jewelry), and it was a sweet hour, though tears were shed. 

This last Sunday, the day I took Siân to the ER, MIL said in their weekly family Zoom call that she didn't think she would last out this week. She is ticking all the boxes for end-of-life events. I haven't heard any news since then, but I'm sure she is suffering even more now than she was on Sunday. I am grateful we had the chance for Husband and I and all but one of our children (who had just had a baby) to see her so recently. I'm honestly not worried about what will happen to her after death, as I know she will go to a glorious and beautiful place to be reunited with her beloved parents and her Savior. I am much more worried about FIL. His heart is going to break into a thousand pieces, and his very manly British upbringing doesn't allow him to show or express much emotion. It's going to be very, very rough for him.

In happier news, Husband has been cultivating some new hobbies. He's been working with resin and wood and is currently doing some experiments making keychains in order to get more familiar with the properties of the resin. I spend a lot of time with my grandsons, and when they are downstairs, I'm doing my own experiments with Jacobian crewel work

I got myself back onto a low-carb diet, and I've lost ten pounds in about twelve days without being hungry, so that is going well. I'm not congratulating myself yet, as I keep losing the same ten pounds over and over over when I fall off the low-carb wagon and eat delicious carby things. I'll be more impressed when I've lost enough weight for it to be noticeable. Meanwhile, the good people of YouTube who devote themselves to creating keto recipes have been a huge help in keeping me motivated. I mainly just take regular recipes and convert them into low-carb or keto recipes, but some of these people are brilliant and have invented recipes for amazing breads and pastas. 

Last night, I made sushi bake at Husband's request. I did not, however, want all the carbs from the rice, so I made cauliflower rice and seasoned it as I would the sushi rice. After putting the crab topping on the cauliflower sushi "rice," I couldn't tell the difference. It was delicious! And because it was so filling, I couldn't eat more than one serving. I also eat a ton of sardines, mostly the kind in mustard sauce. Sardines are awesome.

Wedding plans for Elannah are chugging along. We found a beautiful, perfectly fitted dress at a thrift store for $80. Elannah didn't like the sleeves, so Sophia, who has been taking sewing/tailoring classes, is replacing the fitted sleeves with the butterfly sleeves Elannah wanted. A neighbor who used to be a large events planner has offered to let Elannah use any of the huge collection of classy party decor she has, so decorating the venue will be pretty easy. I'm booking a photographer, and we will start sorting out the food in a couple weeks. Invitations have been ordered and will go out to family and friends as soon as they arrive. I have GOT to remember to post about this on Facebook. I don't think about FB, I don't go on FB, I don't have it on my phone, so I never think about it, but Elannah asked me to share it so that I can start gathering addresses from friends who want an invitation.

I've got to go. My choir has been asked to sing the national anthem at this year's Miss [Our City] Pageant, and call is at 6pm. My voice has been having a really rough time for the last few months (a story I have not told you yet), so I'm not sure how much I will contribute, but I will do my best not to squawk. 

Opening the Windows of Heaven

 I was struck by a realization the other day. You might already have thought of this and I'm just late to the game, but it was a realization that has embedded itself in my heart and mind. I find it very comforting and uplifting.

I have been reading in the New Testament about Jesus's words and actions, including feeding multitudes with only small amounts of food. In a way we cannot understand, Christ was able to multiply small amounts of food in order to adequately feed thousands of people and still have his disciples pick up baskets and baskets of uneaten food. This is a miracle. 

I was talking to a friend the other day, and we somehow got on a related topic. I recalled a story I had once read in which an early Mormon man felt he was above such things as paying tithing or felt that the Church did not use tithing funds the way he felt they should be used. This man was telling a prophet or apostle (I can't remember the names of the people involved) that the way he paid his tithing to the Lord was by reserving a certain amount of his income for charitable works and then choosing to whom he would give his money. The person he was talking to admonished him for thinking he could circumvent the law of tithing as laid out in both ancient and modern revelation. 

In the Old Testament (including in Malachi 3:10), the Lord emphasized the importance of returning ten percent of all He blesses us with back to the Lord, and He made it a commandment. It is such an important commandment that He outlined the blessings of paying tithes and offerings and the consequences of not paying tithes and offerings. The blessings are miraculous. The consequences are dire--not because He is a vengeful god but because a nation that does not honor God will naturally fall, and in not nice ways (look where we are now!). 

My sudden thought was that this man who decided to take tithing into his own hands was overlooking the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Christ took a small, simple offering of a little bread and fish and was able to feed thousands. He can also take our small, simple offerings of tithes and offerings and multiply the effects to bless millions. The man who arrogantly thought he could improve on the Lord's plan for paying tithes into the storehouses by making his own charitable donations was doing a good thing, yes, but he could only bless a small number of people with that money. Christ can take our tithe offerings and multiply the effects in miraculous ways--far beyond our human capacity and knowledge. If we refuse to voluntarily give back to the Lord only a small portion of all that He has blessed us with, we deny not only His authority but His ability to work miracles. We are, essentially, refusing to feed the multitudes. Unlike the young boy who willingly offered up his little lunch of five loaves and two fishes to the apostles so that five thousand people could eat and be sustained (and for which I am sure he was blessed for the rest of his life, both spiritually and physically), we are arrogantly thinking we can do better than God. Charity borne of love and humility is always a good thing, but wouldn't you also hope that your donation of time and money could be made miraculous through the power of Christ? 

Until I opened my mouth, I had never thought of tithing quite in that light. I have willingly and happily paid ten percent of my income as tithing since I was old enough to earn any money, and the first thing Husband and I do when we get paid is donate our tithing and fast offerings. We have seem miracles in our lives as a consequence, but maybe someday we will be allowed to know how Christ multiplied our tiny tithe so that it could bless the lives of many more. It's not about self-aggrandizement, it's about glorying in the mercy and power of the almighty God, whom we love and serve. 

I am grateful for the lesson I was given. I am always grateful that my Heavenly Father is willing to teach me because it shows me that He sees me. Lately, I have needed to know I am seen, and this moment was a miracle in my own life. 

No Strings Attached

 Yesterday, as I was walking through the parking lot toward the grocery store, a woman, who was loading groceries into her car, called out to me.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Are you going shopping?"

I thought that was pretty obvious, but I stopped and said yes.

"I have a gift card that expires today. I can't use it. Do you want it? It has $50 on it."

She seemed perfectly normal, so I accepted it from her with gratitude. Who wouldn't? 

Once I was in the store, however, I stopped to check the card balance based on the ancient Arab proverb, "Trust in God, but tie up your camel." I was not about to plop an extra $50 worth of groceries into my cart merely on the say-so of a stranger from the parking lot, however kind and sincere she appeared to be. I'm glad I did because the actual balance on the card was only $8.98. That was still almost $9 worth of free groceries! I got what I needed, emptied the gift card, and paid the difference. 

No, I don't know the answers to any of the questions you have about the woman in the parking lot. I wish I did. It's not every day that strangers hand me free money, so I wasn't prepared with interrogation points. Maybe she handed me the wrong card. Maybe she forgot that she had already used most of the $50 on the one card she had. I have no idea. I wasn't even disappointed that the balance was only $9 because that was $9 of cash I didn't have before. I was just pleasantly surprised that someone handed me a gift card out of what seemed to be an abundance of generosity. I usually have only pleasant interactions with strangers, and this was not an exception. 

Born (and Fed) in the U.S.A

Siân is in her third trimester of pregnancy. She feels like a whale and she is also nauseated a lot--still! I was the same: I was sick for the whole nine months during every one of my six pregnancies. After a couple of months into the first pregnancy (with Siân), I had developed a system of knowing when to vomit in the morning in order to reduce the overall nausea I felt throughout the rest of the day, and I did this with every pregnancy thereafter: after I woke up each morning, I waited until the time was right, quickly slugged down a large glass of cool water, and then activated my vomiting muscles (while I don't usually brag about this particular talent of being able to isolate the vomiting muscles, I feel it should be mentioned, if only once). When done quickly and before I ate anything for the day, the water simply came back up without any additional...seasoning...and I had the comfort of not heaving on an empty stomach. 

I know. TMI. But whose blog are you reading?

Siân hasn't taken the daily morning vomit path. Instead, she feeds her cravings in order to reduce the nausea. Sometimes, only root beer will dampen the urge to spew; sometimes it's orange juice; sometimes it's Twizzlers. 

Anyway, that was the long way around to saying that I do most of the cooking when it comes to the evening meal because Siân doesn't have the stomach for it, nor the energy. Siân is very grateful, and it has forced me to cook way more than I had been doing because I now have more people to feed on a daily basis. Before, when Joseph, Gary, and Elannah were mostly fending for themselves and it was often only Husband and I hungry for dinner, it was a little too easy to just get takeout. Cooking for the family is definitely an improvement for our bank account and our health.

My kids grew up eating a wide variety of dishes because that was my way of traveling without getting on a plane. Searching up new recipes and learning the cooking traditions of other cultures was also a way to get myself excited to cook meal after meal. I think I tried a two-week meal rotation once, but it only lasted for the first two weeks because I couldn't fathom eating those fourteen meals over and over and over. My palate demands variety.

While my kids are all right with trying new foods and have slightly more enlightened palates than their peers, I think the girls's spouses (and one soon-to-be spouse) are quietly worried about what I'm going to be making when they're invited to dinner. To a man, they all grew up eating pretty typical American fare, so when they're confronted with some exotic noodle dish like pad thai or baked potatoes with tuna-mayonnaise and baked beans as toppings (so English!) or an Indian curry, they are cautious. Fortunately, they fear offending me more than they fear trying something new (not that I would be offended, because I truly love each of them more than I require accolades for my cooking), so they'll gamely try anything once before they go back home and eat what they really like. They've even surprised themselves by really enjoying some of the things I've made (sushi bake, for instance, has become a real hit!). 

Siân's husband, Nathan, also grew up eating typical American dishes, so living with us and having me cook whatever strikes my fancy--and it's not usually what he's accustomed to--has been a little hard on him. He's a lovely young man, and he's not horribly picky, but I think that every evening for him is a bit of a worry as he wonders what he'll be confronted with this time. Not every recipe I try is a winner in my books, either, which makes it doubly tough for Nathan. But he neither complains nor make demands. If he just can't stomach what I have made, he will, without fanfare, fend for himself by making something else (usually pizza rolls or frozen taquitos). 

In honor of Nathan's grace and kindness, I decided to re-explore American dishes for a while, so I've made a lot of American-style casseroles and whatnot lately. I made American-style goulash in the Instant Pot the other day, and I thought it was very, very much like a yummy spaghetti bolognese (but with penne pasta), but I think I'm the only one working through the leftovers, for some reason. Hey, it's something to pack in my lunch for work, so I'm happy.

The most popular American dish I made recently was Jack Cheese Casserole, which is a recipe I included in the cook book I put together of our family's favorite recipes that I give to my children as they move out of the house, and which Siân has told me has become a favorite with Nathan and Tyler (recipe to follow). That casserole was gone the same night, with complaints that there weren't leftovers. 

I did try a recipe for Crack Chicken, but that wasn't a huge hit (though there is nothing wrong with the recipe). I had a lot of leftovers that would have gone uneaten, so today, per Husband's suggestion, I added some of the ingredients called for in our family's perennial favorite, Pampered Chef Turkey Ring (fresh parsley, celery, dijon mustard, dried cranberries, slivered almonds instead of walnuts, crescent roll dough), and salvaged the unpopular leftovers.

The quintessential American food, cheeseburgers, always makes everyone happy. I gently mix ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce to loosen the mixture a bit and make it easy to flatten. Then I create very thin meat patties and fry them, like a smash burger, and top them with cheese. I make fry sauce as a toasted bun spread and serve it all up with the traditional cheeseburger toppings (tomato slices, Iceberg lettuce, sliced onion, and dill pickle slices). 

I'll keep making American food for a while. Then, just when Nathan is getting all comfortable, I'll hit him with something deeply unfamiliar, haha!

This recipe is so typically American it turns your blood red, white, and blue. Bring this to a potluck and everyone will beg for the recipe.

Jack Cheese Casserole

Serves 8

8 oz corn chips (Fritos) (Siân uses tortilla chips)

2 cans tuna packed in water, drained

2 (12 oz) cans cream of chicken soup

1 (14 oz) can evaporated milk

1 large onion, diced, or 3 Tbsp dehydrated onion

1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

1 pound grated Monterey Jack cheese (cheddar is also really good)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F.

2. Spray the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the corn chips evenly in the dish. 

3. In a frying pan, saute the onion until soft (if using dehydrated onion, skip this step and simply mix the dehydrated onion in with everything else). Mix together the onion, tuna, soup, chiles, and evaporated milk. Pour the mixture over the corn chips.

4. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the casserole and bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.