Thankful Thursday

Top 10 Things I'm Most Thankful This Week

1. Friends (IRL and Internet)
2. Faith To Lean On In Hard Times
3. Extra Money To Always Go On Our Annual Family Vacation
4. Religious Freedom
5. Quality Movies Available To Watch As A Family
6. Library
7. Hardworking Husband Who Stays Up Late Into The Night Working On Finishing Up The House Repairs After Working All Day
8. Plenty Of Food
9. Warm/Cool Dry Places To Sleep
10. Two Working Automobiles

When Did I Sit Down - Wednesday

Today was one of those typical whirlwind of activity days... The morning was mostly quiet and I didn't do much except breakfast for 4 and laundry... Just before lunch the flurry of activity started and is finally starting to wind down a bit... I had to run out for new back porch bulbs... I dropped off my mileage sheet for the end of the year... I also had to pick up milk, eggs, cheese and juice before we ran out today... We had lasagna again today... I also had some of the boneless pork ribs with bbcue sauce for a twist... I replaced the lamps I bought in the back porch light... We picked up the house and I vacuumed... Of course mixed in with all that was a flower picking event, rest time (ie nap for the littles), dinner and baths for 2 and a 3rd in few minutes... We also trained in a new respite staff to pick up the rest of the open shifts for June and will work in July... We have had our staffing increased and will be making a decision soon about our oldest out of home placement... We are waiting to see if the opening is open and we are one of two families applying for it... I'm not sure what we will do if the other family is chosen to fill the opening... I don't really want to think about that... Right now we are only guaranteed the increased staffing for June because of the pending placement... We will see what happens in July... So, I'm off again to bathe the last little munchkin (Linebacker) then catch up on my Netflix... Currently going through the first season of Highway To Heaven...

Tasty Tuesday

Today was a typical day... I ran one errand... Peanut had Speech at her new time... We met a good friend and mother of 8 (this includes twins!) at the park... The always constant picking up, vacuuming and laundry... My fun task for the night is cleaning off the desk so we can do drywall work in here... I will post before and after PICs later below the recipes... Thank you for all the replies to yesterdays publishing... Of course back by popular demand... It's Tasty Tuesday... ::smirk:: I guess this weekend I will share my latest version of the very common Mexican Casserole... ENJOY!!!

I modified the recipe to feed many... The recipe says you can make this in one of those tiny round 2 Qt casserole dishes... I expanded it to a 9 x 13 so we have more then a snack from it...

Flour Tortillas (2 pks of 10)
1 Qt. of Refried Beans (I make my own from scratch but you can use a can of the store bought kind)
1 Jar of Salsa
2 lbs of Taco Meat (hamburger w/ taco seasoning {I was out and mixed chili mix in mine})
2 lbs Cheese Shredded (I used mozzarella and colby/jack and medium cheddar {had several open so used it up})

Heat and mix the refried beans and salsa to make it a spreadable mixture... They recommending greasing your pan but I didn't... Who has time for such things... ::wink:: First is a layer of tortillas... Next is half the bean/salsa mixture... Next is a layer of 1/2 the taco meat... Follow that with a layer of 1/3 of the cheese... Repeat... Tortilla, Bean/Salsa, Taco Meat, Cheese... Finish with a layer of Tortillas and Cheese... Bake 25 minutes covered in a 350 degree oven... Remove foil and bake 15 minutes to finish heating it through and brown the cheese a bit on top... Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream and guacamole as desired...

Computer Desk Before:
::photos appearing soon::
Computer Desk After:

Much Time Away - Monday

I really needed to take some time away... Things have been up and down here... I'm struggling with many things right now... I'm still trying to sort through them... My oldest, monkey and peanut are all done with school... Linebacker had his first birthday and is doing well... He is currently learning to walk while wearing shoes... He has always been barefoot and only walked indoors... Now that the weather is warming up a bit he is spending more time out back and needs the proper foot protection... He really enjoys exploring the backyard... He toddles around and checks every thing out... He recieved a swing for his birthday and he loves swinging with the breeze blowing... My garden hasn't gone so well this year... Linebacker was born mid-gardening season last year... The year ended well but I didn't do any end of the season prep before the snow came... We placed a lock on the gate... We didn't find the key till a week before Memorial day... The key (along with a whole group of others) was lost last Tues and we haven't been able to find it... Right now we have to do decide whether to keep looking for the missing key(s) or just cut the lock off and start over... We also added some 'compost' that wasn't right or something and the soil consistentcy is a mess now... I will probably have to empty each of my boxes completely and start over again... It makes me angry and I haven't even gone at to look at the garden in days... Remember when our kitchen leaked in February and the insurance company refused to do anything about it... We had the roof repaired in May... About 10 days ago or more we put up green board to replace the 'tile' ceiling... We are also in the process of staining our stair railing... The installer left it unfinished... We sanded it down and prepared it for stain... We are now staining it piece by piece... Each spindle has to be removed and stained the put back... We can only do a few at a time... We have 6 done and 6 more to go... We are still working here in the computer room as well with dry walling... We need to sand it down and put another coat of mud on... Hopefully it will be ready for primer then... I'm making a lasagna for a friend today who had surgery today... Today has been a pretty typical day... I picked up my oldest meds from the pharmacy... Stopped at the cathedral and registered for CCD for the fall... I went to the hardware store and picked up some more door keys (the little tuna can lookin' key) and a light bulb for the vent hood over the stove... I picked up the Italian link sausage I forgot yesterday that I need for the lasagna... This was all precedded and followed by the usual laundry, pick up, meals for the children, etc... I'm hoping to be posting regularly again now... I also spoke with a friend about my thoughts on discontinuing homeschooling completely...

Thankful Thursday

Top 10 Things I'm Most Thankful This Week

1. Availability of Perpetual Adoration/Daily Masses
2. Vision to see all things God had created (children, flowers)
3. Hearing to hear children's laughter/voices and nature (rain, wind, animals)
4. Voice to sing/speak of Blessings/Prayers
5. Modern/Close Health Facilities
6. Wonderful Locally Owned Small Town Like Catholic Bookstore
7. Spring Rains to green up the world after a long winter
8. A fully repaired Roof (Thank You to Jacinta's BIL)
9. Two Local Catholic Radio Stations
10. God's warnings to keep me aware of the evils in the world

Tasty Tuesday

The recipe as promised yesterday... I've made several different 'chicken n' biscuit' recipes over the years and this one is very good and easy!

Biscuits (8-10) you can make from scratch like I do or buy the can kind

32 oz chicken broth and 17.5 oz chicken broth

1.5 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breast cubed, browned in skillet w/ olive oil

.5 - 1 lb carrots, coarsely chopped (used can of carrots, drained {had on hand})

3-5 ribs of celery, chopped

1 med. onion, chopped

1/2 C. frozen corn (I omitted and put in 1/2 C. frozen peas and 1 lb. frozen green bean cuts)

Spices - I used my own 'secret mix' it calls for 3 t. basil and 1/4 t. pepper

1 C. flour

Bake biscuits according to can/your recipe... In large pot combine 32 oz broth, chicken, carrots, celery, onion, corn {peas, green beans}, and spices... Bring chicken mixture to a boil... Reduce heat and cover... Simmer 7-10 minutes or until veggies are tender...

Whisk together flour and 17.5 oz broth in bowl (I like to use my 4 C. Pyrex measuring cup)... Whisk into chicken mixture until smooth... Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened...

Split biscuits and spoon chicken mixture over top...

ENJOY!

Making It On The Homestead - Monday

As many of you may have read on Facebook... I'm offering all my crosses this month (May) and leaning on the strength of the Blessed Mother... Praying for the intersession Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Anne, St. Monica, St. Gianna, my Guardian Angel, St. Micheal the Archangel, and Blessed Kateri to assist me in accomplishing many things as a wife, mother and keeper of my home... Things have improved... I've been focusing on the homestead and not on the world... There are bumps in the road as is expected... Still much room for improvement... Thank you to all of you who prayed for me while I was away... I appreciate that... We are in full swing as far as remodeling 'season' goes... I sanded our banister and it is ready for us to start staining it... The children and I made a fun game of spread the grass seed today to try and recover our snow mashed and flood drowned lawn back to it's former glory... All the dishes were washed and put away... I spent a good part of the day vacuuming and wiping down all surfaces of the 'dust' provided by our sanding job... Several loads of laundry were done and I made a delicious new 'chicken n' biscuits' recipe which I will share on Tasty Tuesday... It's simple and quick! I browsed through the June issue of Martha Steward living... She has a wonderful section on grillin'... The children and I had a wonderful drive singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet and checking out the latest construction projects at the Hour of Mercy (3 PM) this afternoon... I'm instructing yet another FMCHE member in the wonderful art of SFG... I look forward to sharing her 'creation' and mine once I find the key to my garden... ::smirk:: I'm off to continue in my homestead...

Tired - Thursday

I wasn't posting because I was busy but now I'm just in a bad mood... I doubt anyone wants to hear about how irritated and just plain spiteful toward anyone who dare even breathe near me...

Thankful Thursday

Here are my top 10 this week...

1. A husband who loves me despite all my faults
2. Spring Sunshine
3. Movies that Transform your Heart and your Soul
4. Generosity of Others
5. Knowing others personally who are open to Life
6. Spring Flooding is almost over
7. My children
8. My home
9. A table where no one leaves hungry
10. My parish

Where? Wednesday

Where does the day seem to go? I'm not really sure... I don't want to board my readers but right now I need my blog to list my accomplishments during the day... Right now at the end of the day I'm thinking what did I do today? I feel that I didn't do much... I know that isn't true... Starting today I'm going to work on listing all the many tasks I preformed on most messages till I'm out of this so what did you do today? Only to think did nothing...

Breakfast
Taxi Mom
Peanut ST
Laundry - 3 loads
Oldest Psych Appt
Lunch
Nap
Monkey ST
Dinner
Return Library Materials
Cook Dinner For Tomorrow - BBCue Chicken in Oven
Apple Pie
Pick Up House
Nurse/Change Linebacker - Several Times

More to come later...

3rd Tooth - Tuesday

Linebacker's 3rd tooth arrived over the weekend... It is on the upper right side...

Easter - Monday

We had a wonderful Easter... I will work on posting daily again this week... We survived the history making flood... We never had to evacuate but we were prepared if that was to happen... The ones in bold below are all the ones we have lived through since our residence here... We did make it down to 30 something or lower feet but it is going back up to 38 something feet in the next couple of days and then expected to go back down and cease flooding at all till next spring... Many things have happened since I last published it seems like months ago even though it was just a little over two weeks... I will have lots of 'back' messages to put up as well as new messages with many photos...

Here is now the new Top 10 Historical Crests:
(1) 40.82 ft on 03/28/2009
(2) 40.10 ft on 04/07/1897
(3) 39.57 ft on 04/17/1997
(4) 37.80 ft on 04/11/1882
(5) 37.34 ft on 04/15/1969
(6) 37.13 ft on 04/05/2006
(7) 36.69 ft on 04/14/2001
(8) 35.39 ft on 04/09/1989
(9) 34.93 ft on 04/19/1979
(10) 34.65 ft on 04/16/1952

Kitchen Remodel FINISHED!

What do you all think?

::photos to come::

I still have some more work to do but wow what a difference...

Kichen Remodel - First Project

Here is the first project I did... Just something small till I can do the 'big' project... This is a small cutting board/cookie sheet cabinet next to my cabinets that are under my sink...

Here is a 'before' I started:Everything that was in the cabinet:
Here it is 'after' I finished:
What a difference!

Weather Wednesday

As if historic flooding occuring we didn't have enough to deal with but yet ANOTHER 'mini' blizzard blew through our area... It was a blessing because it helped slow the river so we could strength, build or build higher all the various levees around town... It is beautiful... I'm glad I could just stay home...
This what it looked like when we first woke up mid storm...

This was later on after things had calmed down... I always find it interesting how sometimes the snow clings to our roof and other times it doesn't 'stick' at all...

This is out of 'library' window... The snow is almost up to the 'sash'...

This is a view from outside when the snow is melted... Helps give you some idea how high the snow is!
::photo to come::

Remember our Mid March Blizzard... Look at the PIC of Peanut playing... She would now be completely hidden from view of our backdoor now...

This is me showing how high the snow is next (left) to our driveway...

Kitchen Remodel - Let's Start

I've decided to give my kitchen a makeover with the help from some friend VIA the internet... Here are some 'before' PICS of my "mess"... LOL!!!


::photos here::

Flooding - Friday

I'm writing to let you know that I won't be posting here until the flooding stops... We haven't decided if, when, and where we are evacuated... I will have updates on Facebook... If you aren't already my 'friend' on Facebook, I consider doing that soon because I may not have computer access for long... I will have a running comment section for a friend VIA phone to update once we do leave...

Thankful - Thursday

Ten Things I'm Most Thankful This Week

1. Working Utilities
2. Dry Land Around My Home
3. Plenty Of Food/Water/Emergency Supplies
4. Flood Protection Materials/Machines
5. Volunteers
6. Internet Access
7. Radio Stations Devoting 24/7 Programming To Flood Coverage News
8. Safety of My Family
9. Faith and Grace
10. Global Network of Support

Here is a list of our top highest flooding levels... The bold ones are the ones we have been here for...

Historical Crests

* ft on 03/ /2009 (what ever the new record will be)

(1) 40.10 ft on 04/07/1897

(current level when last measured 39.61 ft)

(2) 39.57 ft on 04/17/1997
(3) 37.80 ft on 04/11/1882
(4) 37.34 ft on 04/15/1969
(5) 37.13 ft on 04/05/2006
(6) 36.69 ft on 04/14/2001
(7) 35.39 ft on 04/09/1989
(8) 34.93 ft on 04/19/1979
(9) 34.65 ft on 04/16/1952
(10) 34.41 ft on 04/02/1978

I last read our projected crest went up a foot to 42' feet now... I will know more after the 10 PM news... I know I've told some of you there are 7 evacuation zones that the city officials mentioned... I looked at the maps provided by the city and we aren't in an evacuation zone... I'm not sure what that means for us... The other zones are told to leave the area by coming into our unnumbered zone... So, I guess they move everyone to the middle and when water goes down we would branch out... Seems strange but we have only been here 10 years and never experienced anything like this prior to living here either... So, we have to trust that the officials know best... I will update when I can...

We Need Flood Prayers - Wednesday

I'm asking for all my family and friends if you could please pray for ND and MN residents fighting flood waters... We are expecting the river to crest at 41' on Saturday which is 23 feet above flood stage... They canceled school today and for the rest of the week... Thank you for your support...

We are 1.6 miles from the river and still pretty safe if the river hits 42' (according to the 'prediction' maps)... It's our neighbors, stores, schools and friends that are being directly affected... People in the rural areas not even 4 miles south of me are calling the local radio station in tears please come and help us...

More Water - Monday

So, what do you think of my backyard? This isn't flooding from the river... This is what happens when the snow first melts... Lovely huh?
My oldest is having a good time... The tops of his feet are completely covered... He wears a Men's size 6... He's wearing his 'mud boots'... They are just pretty much the standard issue farm boots... Solid black w/ the orange soles...
Here he is building his own 'levee' to hold back the water...
Today was a quiet day... I made a chicken, noodle dish for dinner... I also baked more cookies... This time I made Monster cookies... I scrubbed the fridge... I chatted with a friend on the phone... I started and finish the Walton's Season 3 Disc 1... I have many errands to run tomorrow... I will be dropping in the box... I'm excited for the next disc... This one only had two episodes... It seems like there was no time inbetween when I finished the 2nd season (library has that) and started this 3rd season... I dream about my own large family living out on the mountain some where like the Waltons do... I can't wait to go back to a slower time and move away from all this go, go, go and technology... I did several more loads of laundry today... I'm looking forward to empty baskets and filled drawers... Off to fold mine and Linebacker's... I wish mine with baby when I'm nursing and use a gentler 'baby' type laundry soap... No dreft! I don't like the way that stuff scented at all... We used Ivory snow for years too... I grew to not like that scent either... I'm all about no perfumes and no dyes now... Today I struggled with eating enough grains... Otherwise I did quite well...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 8-1/2 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 2-1/2 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3-1/2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 3-3/4 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 8 oz (7 oz)

I could use some prayers for Linebacker and I tomorrow morning... Thank you...

Study - Saturday

Here is my counts for today in regards to my eating...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 7 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 1-3/4 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3-1/2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 4-1/4 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 12-1/2 oz (7 oz)

I will update on the rest of the day later... Linebacker is calling...

Failing Friday

Today was a failure of a day... I didn't do much of anything... I've been tired all day and haven't wanted to do anything either... Roofer came by and put plastic up for the rain storm due to arrive in a few days... You can see I didn't do much eating either... Here is my counts for today in regards to my eating...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 3-1/2 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 1-3/4 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3/4 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 1-1/2 C. (3 C.)
Fish/Beans 7-1/2 oz (7 oz)

Thankful Thursday

10 Things I'm most Thankful this week

1. A Freezer Full Of Food
2. A Clean Clothing
3. My Children
4. Internet Access In My Home
5. Enough Dishes For Each Member To Have Their Own
6. Hot Water For Bathing
7. Ability To Hear My Children's Voices
8. Ability To See My Children's Many Daily Accomplishments
9. Ability To Splash In Puddles While Walking With My Children
10. Safe/Crime Free Area Outside For My Children To Play

Today I did many small loads of laundry today... It is so much easier to go through the 4 stages of laundry when you don't have 50 pairs of socks, 35 pairs of underwear, 20 undershirts, 8 bath towels, 10 dishcloths, etc to wash, dry, fold and put away in one load... I also wrote my Congressman and 2 Senators today in regards to the President's proposed budget plans... I ran quick to the store during the lunch hour and picked up a list of juice, eggs, PB, milk, ceral, and cheese... Amazing how you run out of things all of a sudden... I just opened the fridge and poof no milk... I know the other day we had a gallon and half... Of course that was the other day... ::smirk:: I finished one of my Netflix DVDs... One more till I have my 2nd Walton disc... I can't wait to watch them over the weekend... My husband started on his 'Vietnam' movie that he wanted... He is enjoying it very much he told me this morning... Here is my counts for today in regards to my eating...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 12-1/2 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 1-3/4 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 2-1/2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 4-1/2 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 9 oz (7 oz)

First Step!

Linebacker stood up and took one completely unassisted step then squatted and crawled away... I think he maybe be walking by Easter... How exciting!!!! I will share PICS when he does it long enough to catch on film...

Weeee Wednesday

Today was a crazy wild ride... It was up and down and up... I made it through the day in one piece... I did several loads of laundry... I tried doing smaller loads in hopes it would make it easier to wash, dry, fold and put away more... Peanut and Money both had speech... Peanut didn't pass her hearing test again yesterday so we are waiting for a referral... We will see what this person says... I will be seeking a second opinion from someone we know... Other then the children being wild and crazy it was a quiet day... Two more Netflix DVDs came and I'm about 1/2 way through the first one... I'm hoping to finish them both tonight so I can start the Waltons 3rd Season which is next in my queue... I did much better with my eating... I didn't have to do odd things like eat an entire can of peaches to meet my dietary needs...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 10 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 3-1/2 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3-1/2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 3-1/4 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 9 oz (7 oz)

Tasty and Time Clock - Tuesday

I felt like I was punching the time clock day long today... I dropped the boys off and dropped Peanut off... I stopped in the grocery store for some juice, Linebacker snacks and breakfast... I ate the breakfast as I drove to the monthly meeting for my oldest... We had a good meeting... We are working on another extension and ways to coordinate his education with his general home life... I left there and went over to the PO to mail a book from my husband... I stopped in the local Ace Hardware store to use my 'rewards' coupon... I found an awesome stainless steel 'measurements' magnet... The one I have now is from a Tyson Chicken package... It is 'well loved' to say the least... I left there in plenty of time to pick up Peanut and head home for lunch... We are having fresh from the freezer my famous Mexican Lasagna that I made my friend when she had her twins... It tasted like I just made it this morning... I called the roofer about putting a tarp on the roof before the rain this weekend... Peanut, Linebacker, and I all took another walk today... It was shorter only about 10 minutes because I didn't realize the time and we left later then I wanted... I did a bit better in my eating but it was a struggle near the end to meet my daily recommendations... I had to eat a bunch of 'snacks' to fill in what was lacking... I was still a bit short...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 10 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 3-3/4 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3-1/4 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 3-1/4 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 8 oz (7 oz)

Now I'm going to fight my house back into an acceptable state... It seems to falling apart in the housekeeping department for some reason... I'm sure how since we haven't been here to make a 'mess'...

Monster Cookies

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. vanilla
1-1/2 C. peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C. M & M baking bits
1/2 C. chocolate chips
1/4 C. raisins
2 t. baking soda
4 1/2 C. oatmeal

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in, in this order baking bits, chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop onto cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake.
4.Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

ENJOY!

My Day Off - Monday

Today was my first day off from the usual... The way it works right now to start is I have one morning off a week... I had a bit of a rough leaving the house... I wasn't as prepared so it was a late start and still recovered and had 90 minutes of ME time... It was wonderful... No errands, appointments or household shopping... I found myself a pair of tennis shoes I like and added to my wardrobe at my favorite clothing store Saver's... So, I have a few new things for spring/summer for myself and Peanut... Including an awesome baby pink corduroy jumper for Easter... I feel refreshed and ready to face the week... Peanut and Monkey both had Speech today... Monkey's Speech was a make up from the Blizzard... Peanut, Linebacker and I took a 20 minute walk this afternoon... I dropped some computer games in the library slot, put gasoline in the van, and mailed a letter... I receive a complimentary copy of No Cry Sleep Solution: Toddlers and Preschoolers...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 11-1/2 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 2-1/2 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 2-1/2 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 11-1/2 oz (7 oz)

We will see what happens tomorrow...

Simply Saturday

It's simply another Saturday... Today I've done simply things I would do most any other Saturday... I woke up and fed Linebacker carrots and oatmeal... I sauteed onions in butter and fried up a lb of bacon... I made 6 scrambled eggs and shredded cheese... We had breakfast burritos... These consist of a tortilla filled with breakfast type items... Today ours had scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, onions, a slice or two of bacon and salsa... Roll it up and eat... We also had tater triangles on the side with ketchup... I ate a bowl of strawberries and blueberries while feeding Linebacker... I haven't done so well with drink of water today... I'm in a bad mood again... I did remember to take my vitamin... I fixed the tub faucet after our oldest stripped it by being too rough with it... This required the use of a flat head screw driver, adjustable wrench, and a tiny Allen wrench aka a hex key... Luckily it was the cold water... After I disassembled it and stopped the water I reassembled it and it's working perfectly now... I ate a snack of PB & Banana sandwich... Returned two of my husband's DVDs to the library... Scrubbed blue Xs off the wall my oldest decided to draw all over upstairs... Hopefully the stain of blue crayon left behind on the wood won't show after we stain it... Oldest and his staff finally have his rooms cleaned to our standards... I did a bit of laundry... Wrote a few emails and played a couple computer games... My husband is working so I wasn't out running tons of errands today... We spent the day at home trying to reclaim it from the chaos... It's not really dirty just cluttered up again because of laziness and busyness... I found a neat tool to help me track what I eat My Pyramid Menu Tracker... Today I'm behind on Grains (4 oz) and Veggies (2-1/2 C.)... It recommends for a nursing mother like myself to consume 10 oz of Grains, 3-1/2 C. Veggies, 2-1/2 C. Fruits, 3 C. Milk and 7 oz of Meat & Beans per day... I plan to do it each day for a week and see if I'm consistently behind in a certain group or if it varies and all even out by the end of the week... I'll let you all know...

Free Friday

After talking to my good friend and mentor Michelle (she is really awesome and I admire her greatly) last night I decided to make some changes in my life... I know I posted a while back about a full plate... I made the positive step forward of emptying things off my plate... However I made the negative step forward of just filling those places with other harder to recognized comments because they were not routine but sporadic in nature... I became even more over worked then before... I've another change... I'm going to take one day for myself a week... Right now it's just about 2 hours in the morning but I hope to expand it to a longer time... I won't be spending these days catching up on housekeeping, grocery shopping, or running to appointments... It is about time for ME... I also changed some other things in my life like going to bed and when I take a shower... Since it's Winter can't take one in the morning before the children wake up because my hair would freeze... I don't own a blow dryer so that's not an option... I do enjoy a nice shower when my hair won't freeze... Good way to help you wake up... I'm also making an effort to remember to take my vitamin and eat 3 healthy well balanced meals in a day... Does anyone have any links with print outs where I can write down what I ate so I know I know if I had all my servings of each of the food groups? I thought about looking on a diet set I won't be using it to lose weight but I'm sure they might have that sort of thing.. Any input would be helpful...

Thankful Thursday

10 Things I'm most Thankful this week

1. A freezer full of food
2. A clean home
3. Celebrating another birthday with Monkey
4. A family doctor
5. Outside help to provide the best environment we can for our oldest
6. Linebacker is a healthy growing boy
7. Loving, Faith-ful/filled Husband
8. Staying At Home to care for household
9. Family
10. My husband's employer

Not to much going on today... Monkey had Speech... Peanut had Speech to make up because one day the therapist son was sick so she had to reschedule... My oldest had a psychiatry appointment... It was only 1/2 hour and we didn't talk about all I wanted... So, we will go again before the end of the month... We also need to do labs... I will do those that morning and see him in the afternoon to discuss the rest of what's going on and lab results... It was a good day... Talk to many friends online and on the phone... I'm going to make some changes in my life but that will have to wait til tomorrows message because it is late... Night all...

Winter Blizzard - Wednesday

We survived our March blizzard... It was a lot bigger then our December Blizzard... My devoted and loving husband cleared the drive way after the Blizzard went through and was gone at 1 AM... He shoveled almost 2 hours to clear it out... I still had to fight the drift the plow made but it wasn't too bad... He's a good man to his family... I'm very grateful... Everything was on delay today because everyone had to dig out from the big Blizzard... Peanut had Speech in the afternoon and Monkey didn't have Speech at all because his therapist was out of town and finally made it home to the Blizzard in town... They closed many roads and no travel advisories were every where... The weather channel came and visit for our last Blizzard in December... They should have some for this one instead...

Tasty Tuesday

I know I promised Lenten recipes but I made this on Sunday and now I have to share because it was so delicious...

Creamy Cajun Chicken w/ Pasta

2 T. butter
1 t. garlic, minced
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 T. Cajun Seasoning

1 T. Parsley

2 bunches of green onions, chopped
1 pint Heavy Cream
Cooked Pasta (we used wide egg noodles but you can use whatever you may like such as spaghetti or spirals)

1. In skillet melt butter and cook garlic for about 30 seconds over medium heat. Stir in chicken and cook until browned... Add Cajun Seasoning and stir until mixed well... Sprinkle on Parsley... 2. Add Green Onions and cook until tender... Add Cream and turn heat to high, boil until slightly thicken.
3. Stir in cooked pasta and serve immediately.

Monkey Birthday - Monday

I'm feeling a little bit better... Today is Monkey's birthday... First I will talk about the day then share photos of Monkey's wonderful day... I picked up mini cupcakes for him to share with his friends... Peanut had speech... We dropped my husband's car for repair... We went out and picked up the rest of the things we needed for the party... We made homemade pizza and ate ice cream cake... I decorated it... Monkey opened is presents and talked to his grandparents on the phone...

::photos to come::

Sick Saturday

I have this awful headache... I'm going to take some pain medicine and go lie down...

2nd Lenten Friday - No Meat

I was Thankful for a quiet day today... I had one appointment this morning and was able to be home the rest of the day... I had a choppy nap so I am a bit tired... I'm looking forward to my husband mini vacation when I can have some R & R... I made Shrimp Broccoli Alfredo w/ Bow Tie Pasta today for lunch with my husband... The children and I are having a traditional Lenten meal of Fish and Chips (fries) for dinner... I did do a bit of laundry today just to be caught up for the weekend... We are doing linens during my husband's mini vacation... I dropped my latest Netflix video in the box Monster-In-Law... It was surprisingly different then I thought it would be especially the ending... I would recommend all women who have a Mother-In-Law, are a Mother-In-Law or will some day be a Mother-In-Law to watch it... It does have a few things I generally don't watch in movies and those were same gender relationships (very mild only 'references') and cohabitation/premartial relations... Otherwise a good movie... The rest of the Christy series arrived today so I look forward to watching those and then the 'independent movie spin offs' are next in my queue... I also dropped of a giant stack of DVDs at the library... When I went to renew them online I did so on the wrong day so they were due earlier then our 'usual' weekly library days...

Linebacker's Teeth

Not the best picture but I hope you can see his two tiny teeth on the bottom...

Thankful Thursday

10 Things I'm Especially Thankful This Week

1. Warm Home
2. Functional Auto
3. Indoor Plumbing
4. Modern Medical Care
5. Plenty of Food
6. My Children
7. My Husband
8. Good Friends
9. Ability To Read
10. Religious Freedom

I dropped everyone off and headed to the dentist for visit... My second this week... It went very well... I stopped at Walmart to pick up Monkey's CARS Leapster game but they only had one and it the box was empty... ::frown:: So, I sat for 15 minutes and waited for TRU to open... It was cheaper there because I had coupon but I didn't really have time to wait for them to open... However I guess Walmart made the choice for me... I was about 10 minutes late coming home... I went and picked Peanut up and at a 'snacky' lunch... We had buffalo strips, mozzerella bites, pot stickers, creamed corn, pepperoni/sausage mini pizza and mini chicken egg rolls... We didn't want to fix a 'meal' because we knew we couldn't eat meat tomorrow... I picked up the house and vacuumed... The carpet man came and steamed cleaned the house... Monkey has ST in the kitchen because the carpet man was working where they usually work in the library... We took a quick drive around town while the carpets dried a bit... I didn't have respite because staff was attending a funeral out of town and wasn't unable to come back for their shift... I watched 1/2 a movie and did a ton of laundry... Almost ready for the weekend...

Whirl Wind - Wednesday

Today could not be describe better the the title above... I dropped the boy off and then wrote out the bills for mailing... Peanut had speech... I continued to work on the bills an other household items... I went out to run errands... I stopped at the PO drop box and put in almost 10 things to be mailed including my Netflix videos... All the bills are now paid or on their way to be paid... Always fills good to be over and done with that... I stopped in Kmart and picked up Linebacker an umbrella stroller... They only had one style and I'm not thrilled with the pattern but it's more about function vs design... It will perform the purpose I need it to... Umbrellas don't last long in our family so it's also a matter of what's the best deal over prettiness too... I will need it on my next trip to the dentist because I can't hold him while I have my tooth fix like I did when I had my cleaning done... I dread being numbed... At least the issue will be fix and I won't have that funny feeling forever... It was off to pay my husband's clinic bill off... When I was in there in February they said his was paid when I was paying on mine... I though that didn't sound right but the usual patients account lady was working with someone else who was having more serious problems then me coming in to pay off an account... We received a bill saying it wasn't paid off and so I finally made it back in there today to do that... I stopped at the Cake & Candy world, a cake decorating type store, to pick up the toppings for Monkey's birthday cake... I found a really cool Lightening McQueen Candle and some other little doo dads... I also picked up a tube of pre-made/pre-colored icing... No reason to make a whole bunch of icing and coloring it for a bit of writing... I picked up Monkey's Cake from Ice Cream Plus... Their ice cream cakes are 1/2 price on Tuesdays and Wednesdays... I made a quick trip into our bank (right next door to the ice cream store) because the ice cream store only takes checks or cash no plastic not even your check/debit card from the bank... My next stop was the grocery store... I picked up just a few things like Linebacker food/juice, bananas, bread, milk, juice, mustard, tuna, spices/extracts, and candles for Monkey's cake... I looked at my receipt and it had just turned noon... I headed home for lunch and kiss my husband before he headed to work... I unpacked all the items and put them away... I ate a bowl of stir fry and chatted with friends via IM... I found Monkey's Leapster CARS game (there are several) I will buy for his birthday present... It was time to pick up the boys... No nap for me today and now I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't have skipped it... Monkey had speech... It is his speech therapist birthday today... She's 25... Happy Birthday R! We had religious education tonight... To Be Continued...

Day Trained!

Peanut is day trained... I owe my thanks to this book -

Title: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers
Author: Elizabeth Pantley

Here are two Quick Facts About Potty Training from her book...

♦ The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child's best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months.
♦ You can begin training at any age, but your child's biology, skills, and readiness will determine when they can take over their own toileting.

This is 100% true and so helpful... After reading this book and taking the quiz I knew Peanut wasn't ready yet... She had just turned 3 years old... However when she was ready I knew and could help out where she needed me too... She will be 4 in a few months... There have a been a few bumps along the way but no tears from me or her... ::grin:: I couldn't recommend a better book (I've read a dozen or so)...

Tasty Tuesday

I'm going to write about the day then share a tasty Lenten friendly recipe... Today has been a busy day... I dropped the older three off... I made a stop at Kmart to pick up more pull ups for Princess... She is almost completely day drained... I also picked up Monkey a book for his birthday... I dropped a Netflix Disc in the Mailbox... I had a dental visit... Just a general cleaning... I have one tooth that is a bit rough and I have to floss that spot constantly... They are fixing that later this week... I called in my oldest prescriptions as to speed that up... I dropped off my form for mileage reimbursement... I went to the pharmacy and only had to wait a few minutes... I'm glad I remember to give them a call so I didn't have to wait too long... It gave me just the perfect amount of time to go across town and pick up peanut... I paid the electric/gas bill and the phone bill online... I also paid an eBay auction for my husband... He bought Monkey (who's birthday is around the corner) a coin bank... I went to the car insurance place and paid our bill... I also made a quick run to Sam's... I picked up a cooking magazine from Taste of Home and Love Dare the book from the movie Fireproof... I picked up the boys and did a 'recon' trip to the new doctors office... Linebacker has a check up next week and I wanted to make sure I had good directions and check to see how much time I needed to arrive on time... I also worked on the laundry... I am 'caught' up for the moment... I fixed the shower sliding door... I watched the rest of the Christy discs I have... I will drop them in the mail and excited to finish the series... I wish they had more then just a couple seasons... I'm really enjoying it...

Homemade Fried Fish w/ Homemade Tarter Sauce

2 eggs, beaten
2 C. crushed square crackers (saltines)
2 lbs of fish cut into 1-1/2" wide strips
Oil for frying

1. Beaten eggs in one bowl and crushed crackers in a ziplock. Dip fish in eggs and then shake in zip lock till lightly coated. Let stand for a few minutes before frying.
2. Heat oil to 375 degrees or when the water pops when flicked on the surface... Fry just enough for one layer of fish in your pan without touching. Fry 2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels.

1 C. Mayo
2 T. Sweet Pickle Relish
1 T. onion, finely chopped

Combine ingredients and chill well... Serve with fish...

Money Spent - Monday

Today I seemed to writing checks left and right... I walked to boys this morning... I caught a ride back with a friend... I should have dressed better... I thought it was warmer... I was thankful for the WARM ride home... We went and picked up the van... A new radiator, repaired door handle and reattached turn signal/runner light... Peanut didn't have ST because the ST son is ill and didn't go to school today... We will have to reschedule to later in the week or some time next week... Next was the plumber... The tub was draining a bit better then it was a week ago but still wasn't draining like it should... He also unclogged the toilet... The holder did become stuck... He managed to remove 2 of the 3 parts and the 3rd part hopefully managed to go the rest way through the line... We have two plumbing fixtures working at peak performance... He referred us to the estimate department for our vanity... The water doesn't want to come out of the faucet and the drain doesn't want to drain... It seems we will need to replace our galvanized pipe with new modern 'pipe'... We will know more once the estimate team comes out for an inspection... The next check to be written was to the Schwan's man... I paid cash for my order and the stuff my husband and I picked out I wrote a check too... Supposedly there is a joke the Schwan's man is the modern day 'milk man'... I told my husband our Schwan's man was not seen as that way to me... I wanted to mother him versus having a 'crush' on him... We had a good laugh about that... I had a good nap... I picked up the boys and made a drop at the library... We had Chinese stir fry we made last night for dinner... It has steak, pea pods, green beans, peas, carrots, broccoli, green onions, and mushrooms in it with lo mien type noodles... I need to put the troops to sleep... They are resisting... I'm sitting away here just tap tapping on the keyboard...

Super Movie Saturday / Special Request

Several new Netflix movies arrived today... I watched most of this new series called 'Christy' some times it is hard to watch because of what the people endured during that time period (1912 and beyond) but I enjoy it because of how they responded to what times were like... My husband's first movie arrived today too... He wanted Enemy of the State... I will not be watching it with him... He isn't interested in watching Christy... I washed several loads of laundry today... My husband had to work today... When he works Saturday it makes for a long day for me... Our oldest flushed the toilet paper roll holder down the toilet... I went to the local hardware store and picked up another then installed it... I'm not sure how he managed this task... He did clean up his room today when asked... We bought him a drawer to store his toys in... It is working like we had hoped...

I have a special intention prayer for one of my readers... If you could please prayer for M. and her family in this especially hard time we would both greatly appreciate it... Thank you...

1st Lenten Friday - No Meat

Today is the first Friday of Lent... Hasn't been going very well for me in my 'improvement'... I only pray that each day I can do better then the previous... The fasting and no meat part has been easier then in years past... My husband had the day off and we dropped the van off for a new radiator, driver's door handle and to put that turn/runner light back because it fell off again... It was also my husband's pay day... We ran a few errands together like grocery store, Target, picking up a new deep fryer from Macy's and bank deposits... We made baked fish for dinner... It was delicious... We finished Hancock... It was pretty good... Better then I had expected... We didn't make it back to the repair shop before he closed so we are vanless... Which we aren't happy about at all... We will know better next time I guess... It is hard to do things in my husband's dinosaur I mean car... Otherwise good day...

Tasty Thursday

I tried a new recipe this week... It is very simple and easy... I found it on the back of the Onion Soup Mix Box...

Onion-Roasted Potatoes

1 envelope onion soup mix
2 lbs of potatoes cubed
1/3 C. Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In baking dish or roasting pan combine all ingredients.
2. Bake, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

I had the monthly meeting about my oldest and the various services he receives... We all gave our updates as to how things are going and if there are any needs... I passed on the information from the Parent/Teacher Conference to the 'team'... Monkey had ST... I placed my first Schwan's order online... Now to wait for them to contact me about delivery... I went paid for class photos for the boys... I also talked to the staff and addressed questions I didn't ask at conference... We are all on the same page... I did a little laundry...

Ash Wednesday

Happy Ash Wednesday... I don't know why we have Ash Wednesday... I just know we fast, don't eat meat and go to Mass to have a cross of Ashes put on our forehead... I will have to do some research as to the whys of Ash Wednesday... I welcome my readers to share their resources... I'm always learning new things as a convert... The children colored some Ash Wednesday print outs (photo to come)... I picked up a veggie pizza which the children revolted and refused to eat... I gave it to a friend and her family of 10... We had plain ole boring cheese only pizza for dinner instead... I guess I will know better next time... I have Mac & Cheese scheduled for the children on our first meatless Friday... Peanut had ST this morning... I tried to rest this afternoon but the Schwan's man came and knocked on my door... ::smirk:: I flipped through the new catalog and saw several items I'd like him to bring when he comes again... Nothing for today... I'm still fighting off various ills... I'm going to rest and watch my newest to arrive movie Kit Kittredge... She's an American Girl for those who don't know... I've seen Molly, Samantha and Felicity's movies... I'm not sure if Chrissa's movie is available through netflix or not yet... I will have to do a search... I wish I could go to sleep but the tub is clogged (read hair cuts on Sunday) and I'm waiting for my husband to unearth the snake where ever he put it so I can unclog it... Maybe tomorrow I will have some good rest time... We will see...

Tooth Tuesday

If you hadn't guessed by the title of today's message... Linebacker has his first tooth coming through on the bottom right... I don't think I've ever seen a cuter tooth! Amazing how we can take the most joy in the tiniest things... He has to show his tooth off to those he meets... The children are all excited and now they think he can eat all kinds of things... ::smirk:: I had to explain he needs lots of teeth just like them... He does eat his far share of items without the aid of teeth... Some of his favorites are bits of chicken and waffles...

Today is Fat Tuesday... To celebrate I ate a whole regular size Baby Ruth... It was delicious... I'm going to switch Tasty Thursday to Tuesday starting next week... I think I'm going to share my Northern Pike Cakes recipe... It is simple and oh so Tasty... Thursday will be Thankful Thursdays when I list 10 things I'm especially Thankful for that week... If I don't limit myself it would be a very long post... ::grin:: I have no staff today because it's the staff birthday... He waited till late Sunday afternoon to say anything so no replacement staff could be found on such short notice...

I had all three conferences today... Monkey is doing AWESOME... The district had tried to hold him back a year because of his delays but I'm so glad I pushed for him to be in Kindergarten this year instead of a year of Head Start before starting Kindergarten next year... He is doing well in ST, OT and PT... He will probably not need OT or PT at all after 1st Grade... That is very exciting... In general academics in November when writing the numbers 0-20 he could only write 6... He can now write 17 out of 21... Upper case letters in November he could only write 2... He can now write 13 of 26... Lower case letters in November he could only write 5... He can now write 17 of the 26... He won't need ESY this summer but we are looking into a delayed students summer program through the local city park district... He has had wonderful improvement...

Next was my oldest Conference... He is doing very well too... They found a way to help him write... He builds the letter/number using wooden pieces then he writes the letter/number... That is a huge improvement over last year... It was a struggle to write just one letter or number for anything... He is also working on putting his shoes on correctly (left on left foot) and tying... He can put his shoes on his correct feet 75-80% of the time... They also noted he had only had 5 time outs in about 60 days... Where it was 20+ in a month... He would only work for 5 minutes or less... He can now work up to almost 1/2 hour with minimum disruptions... All amazing improvements...

We loaded up and had to drive across town for Peanut's conference... She is also doing very well and won't need to attend ESY this summer... She will need to come in for ST but only once a week... I'm hoping to work it out with my oldest ESY schedule... She has mastered since she started in September words that end with M and T... She has also mastered the concepts in/out, on/off, over/under, big/little, up/down and open/close... She still needs to master words that end with D, P and N... She is also still working on the concept of behind... She spoke in understandable sentence length in September of 2.5 words... She now speaks in an understandable sentence length of 3.95 words... It surpasses her goal of 3.5 words...

Linebacker showed off his gross motor, fine motor and social skills... I'm not sure if I wrote about this but he was screened last week and had to score a minimum of 48 out of a 100 to not be developmentally delayed... He scored a 78... The test is only up to 11 months so he is advanced at 9 months old...

I'm finishing off today with fighting the laundry and watching Out of Africa...

More of the Same - Monday

The ills seems to be circling our home... I now have a pretty bad cough and sore throat... My nose is either running or I can't breathe... I guess this is round 2! Peanut woke up with what I thought might be a fever... She had ST and then became warmer... I gave her medicine and she has slept most of the day... Hopefully that won't mean she will be up all night... She also has a mild cough... My oldest was sent home from school early... He has an ear infection in his right hear... They also 'cleaned' his ears... He should be able to hear better now and hopefully be in a better mood once the antibiotic kicks in good... Linebacker has an on and off caught and runny nose... Monkey has the occasional runny nose... I hope we are well enough to attend Ash Wednesday Mass this week... I'm glad today isn't Wednesday because I don't feel like going any where but to bed... I did two loads of laundry this morning while Peanut snoozed... I also emptied dishwasher... I made NC Pulled Pork BBCUE in the crock pot (will share recipe on Thursday)... It turned out delicious... We make it on the grill in the warm months and in the crock pot in the cool months... I picked up oldest RX for his ear and a bulletin so I know what's going on at the Parish this week... Completely slipped my mind on yesterday... My oldest went on a road trip with his respite worker... To see the new 'stage' finished... His respite worker is in a band... My oldest helped them build the 'stage'... Praying for a quiet, peaceful night... Hopefully some sleepy medicine and full nights sleep so I can wake up well... I would write about Sunday but I really need to lay down... We did start watching Hancock together... Sad and Funny at the same time... So far pretty good...

I'm Blue. What Color Are You?

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Super Tired - Saturday

I am sooo tired... I didn't have a nap as I had planned and was very busy this afternoon and evening... We went to the library, my husband paid one of his Mall bills, plus looked in JPenney for a deep fryer, next we headed Target and Sam's... We did a ton of shopping and stocked up on all kinds of great things we needed... After we came home and unloaded everything... I divided up all the Sam's items... We cleaned out of freezer in the garage and reorganized it and our refrigerator freezer... I had to go back out for regular grocery store shopping... We had 'snacks' for dinner.. We bought a new phone to replace our other one... The LCD went out on both handsets causing many issues in receiving and making calls... We are very excited to try them out once they finish their SEVEN hour initial charge... We spent the rest of the night watching our new DVDs from the library with the children... A new Netflix arrived today 'First Wives Club'... Old but funny movie... I look forward to it... I remember watching in my past... I've also recently enjoyed 'Overboard' and the original 'Stepford Wives'... After that I'm headed to bed for an even earlier night then last night...

Frosty - Friday

We had quite the snow event today... They had said 1-3 inches but we had at least 4-6 in my part of town... It was beautiful snow... Very light and fluffy... I ran out for errands around the new hour... I also took Peanut to the doctor... She failed her hearing screening... She has a cold and a sore throat but no strep or ear infections... I baked the bars for the funeral... I picked Monkey up and we went to Soccer... The children had an awesome time... I dropped off my many items to my friends... I saw so many of my FMCHE friends I hadn't seen for a while... Each of us has had our share of illness not to mention weather that keeps us from being able to visit each other as often as we would like sometimes... I cleaned up a lot of papers that had been cluttering the computer room... Filled on our of 'paper' trash cans... I watched a couple Netflix movies online... Now I'm going to head to bed early... I'm sure tomorrow will be another busy day...

Tasty Thursday

I did a load of laundry as soon as I woke up... I dropped off the oldest three... I also made Tasty Mozzarella Chicken before picking Peanut up from school... I took a nice nap and picked up the boys... Monkey had ST... Our Pampered Chef order came in... I talked to several friends about what I will bring with me to soccer... My group is serving the reception after a funeral on Saturday... I won't be able to help in person so I'm making bars... I wasn't able to make them tonight like I had planned... Here is the recipe I promised...

Tasty Mozzarella Chicken

1 egg, beaten
2 T. water
2/3 C. bread crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/8 t. pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-1/2 C. spaghetti sauce
8 oz pkg mushrooms, sliced and sauteed or 7 oz can if you like them like that
8 oz block mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. In quart zip lock, place egg and water. In gallon zip lock, combine bread crumbs, soup mix, and pepper. Coat chicken in egg mixture, then shake in crumb mixture till well coated.
2. Place in greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
3. Place mushrooms over chicken, pour spaghetti sauce over chicken. Bake another 10-15 minutes until chicken is done and sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5-7 minutes longer until cheese melted.

Wintry - Wednesday

Today was a very Wintry day... It was chilly cold and we had a light dusting of snow... I would go outside and shiver... That rarely happens to me... I dropped the boys off... Peanut had Speech... The phone rings... The voice on the other side "come pick up oldest his nose is running, and he wants to lay down and be wrapped up... he 'might' have a fever"... So, I go and pick him up... I expected him to wreak havoc after we arrived home but he was surprisingly good... I stopped by the auto repair shop so the mechanic could make notes as to what he needed for the radiator replacement... Now he can order the parts... I made Tasty Mozzarella Chicken for lunch... I will post the recipe on Tasty Thursday... I ran out to the library and picked up some videos and books... I picked up a couple cooking magazines for my next cooking inspiration... I picked up Monkey and he had Speech... It's almost dinner time and Linebacker was a bit fussy last night... I'm quite tired today... No nap since oldest was home and despite him feeling a bit under the weather he wasn't interested in taking a nap... Hoping to call it an early night after baths and story time... Hopefully we will sleep better tonight... I think he might be starting to teeth and he does have a cold...

To Do List - Tuesday

Today was super busy as predicted... I dropped the three older ones off and headed way up north to the Children's Museum... Monkey had a field trip there this morning... We were the blue group... It consisted of Glasses (girl), Miss In Charge (girl), Free Thinker (boy), and Monkey... We had a great time exploring all the hands on activities... After that I stopped at the post office to mail my mother some pictures of the children I printed out here on my photo printer... I stopped to see a friend of mine... They are recovering from the stomach thing... It was a brief visit... I went to the bank... I stopped and picked up 3 bars of face wash for my husband... It was time to pick up Peanut at that point... I picked her up... I fixed 'lunch'... We scheduled the radiator repair for the van... I ran out to the store to pick up 'dip' chips and breakfast bars for Monkey... I also had to go to 4 stores to find my husband his 'special' medicine he likes to take when he has a cold... He will only take one kind and it has to be name brand and not the long lasting... I ate lunch and paid the mortgage online... My husband was finally off to work and I took a power nap... I picked up the boys and made another stop at the bank... I fed the children dinner and thought I still have plenty of energy left in me... I'm going to do some quilting... Unfortunately a special ruler I need is missing... My 6" and my 12"... I ordered another 6" and 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars and Companion CD-ROM... I ordered both from Carol's website... I buy directly from her... My little you paid all your bills 'reward'... I used some money I earned answering surveys... Nice to buy things without worrying about interest later... It is like using electronic cash... I look forward to the day when I don't have CC bills coming month after month after month... I did make a huge dent in them with our tax refund so I'm on my way to be CC free... ::grin:: I also have a savings that is starting to build... All of which is very exciting... I'm feeling optimistic about life in general... Now if spring would come things would be just rosy... ::smirk::

Might Be Over - Monday

My head cold might be over... I'm feeling better and didn't take any medicine today... So, hopefully that's a good sign... I'm still very tired... Linebacker is 9 months old today... Nothing much happened on Sunday... Spent the day laying around taking medicine... I went to bed early... Today was a quiet day... I paid a lot of bills today... It was a long day of crunching numbers to decide how much of the tax refund to devote to different debts... I'm almost finished with my new book - The Duggars: 20 and Counting! I have learned so much more about their family that the 'TV Shows' could possibly cover... It is well written and an easy read... Tomorrow promises to be a jam packed busy day... I'm headed off to bed...

Still Not Feeling So Well - Saturday

This head cold is still going strong... I picked up more medicine for the children and I today... I did manage to have a nap on and off this afternoon while my oldest was out... The other children who are also part of the sick ones settled down for a nap too... Hopefully the sleep did us some good...

Not Feeling So Well - Friday

Head colds have struck our household and taken down 4 out of 6... One of those is me... So, no message... I will probably take tomorrow off too... Happy Saint Valentine's Day...

Tasty Thursday

First I will recap the day then I will share my new chicken recipe I made Monday and Wednesday this week... I dropped all the children off where they needed to be... I went to the hardware store to pick up some 'keys' for the upstairs doors... The other ones have 'vanished'... I also picked up thicker and longer screws for our front door hardware... I went to the bank and cashed a check... I put gas in van... I was at a 1/8 of a tank... ::frown:: I'm up above a 1/2 now... I stopped at the local Catholic book store... I picked up a really cool book called Religious Customs In The Family: The Radiation of the Liturgy into Catholic Homes by Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J... I've browsed it casually but look forward to reading it cover to cover... I also picked up some prayer cards... A Valentine's gift for my husband and new Crucifix... My other one went missing after I had it repaired... After I picked up Peanut I went to the grocery store since we were almost out of milk... I picked up two more things for Valentine's for my husband...

Chicken Fingers

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Egg, beaten
1 C. Buttermilk (or 1 C. Regular Milk and 1 T. Lemon Juice/Vinegar stirred and let it sit a bit)
1-1/2 t. Garlic Powder
1 C. Flour
1 C. Bread Crumbs
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking Powder
Oil for Frying

Cut the chicken into 1/2" strips; place in gallon size resealable bag. Combine egg, buttermilk, and garlic powder; pour over chicken. Seal and refrigerate 2-4 hours (I usually do overnight because I cook our 'dinner' mid-morning or do it first thing in the morning to cook that evening what ever works best for your schedule). In another gallon size resealable bag, combine flour, bread crumbs, salt and baking powder. Drain chicken, and discard buttermilk mixture. Place chicken in flour mixture; seal and shake to coat. In an electric skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees. I used a standard non-stick skillet on the stove... I heated it to medium... I knew it was ready after I flicked it with water and it made popping sounds... You may need to increase or decrease depending on your stove... I used enough oil so the chicken was 3/4 submerged when frying... Fry the chicken in batches (my pan held 4-5 strips) for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown... Again 4 minutes for the first side and 5 minutes for the 2nd side worked best for me... That had it nicely browned and it was over cooked or raw in the middle. Cut to test it is cooked through to a safe eating temperature. Drain on paper towels. Yield: Approx 18 strips/fingers

Wadding Through The Water - Wednesday

Not sure where to begin to tell you about the events of today... Peanut had ST... The slushy / icy lake at the end of the drive way was still there... It didn't freeze solid like I thought it would... Monkey still had a fever today so we did no schooling with him... Peanut had ST... I went and had Linebacker weighed... We didn't make it to the monthly Breastfeeding group... He is now 15 lbs and 7-1/2 oz... Up from his ER weight of 14 lbs 4 oz on January 19th... So, over a lb in less then a month... We are thrilled! I dropped two NetFlix DVDs in the mail box and two more are 'estimated' to arrive tomorrow... I picked up my oldest and canceled Monkey's ST... I rescheduled my oldest psych appointment because I had scheduled it on the same day/time as my dentist appointment... I fried more chicken today... We loved it so much my husband had me another batch of what we had Monday... The recipe to be shared tomorrow... All the children went to bed easily... Linebacker was asleep but has woke up again when my oldest came home after going out for the a bit tonight to the mall for some Valentine's day shopping... Linebacker ate some veggie and cereal... Hopefully after some 'mommy milk' he will snooze back to sleep so I can have an 'early' night tonight... I slept wrong or the stress of all this water has my back in knots... I ache from the hair line on my neck all the way down to my waist... I did have a 5-10 minute hot soak in the tub... That helped a bit... I'm hoping it is from stress and not how I slept because it makes me not want to go to sleep for fear to wake up in even more pain... I'm trying to avoid taking medicine since I am still nursing... I feel a cold coming on so I soon will probably have to take medicine for that... Again I'm waiting till it's so bad I can't stand it... I wish there was something all natural I could take (oral) that was also safe with nursing...

To Be Continued Tuesday

The day didn't improve as I signed off my blog last night... Our ceiling continued to drip to wake up to puddles in the table (containers overflowed catching the drips), puddles on the floor and a wet kitchen rug... Cleaned it all up... We are praying everything freezes and doesn't thaw for a few months so if need be we can save up the extra funds we need for a deductible or repair... Prior to waking to that Monkey had another episode of croup... Luckily it was a mild episode that didn't warrant a middle of the night trip to the ER like last year... He said he felt well enough for school today but we had to cut the day short because he didn't feel as well as he calmed... Today was the 100th day of school... A very exciting day during the school year in our house... So, at 1 PM he was put in the bed for the day... I was leaving this morning and was trapped at the end of my drive way for 10-15 minutes... The ice/snow had melted enough to create deep ruts that you become caught in if you don't BARREL out of your drive way onto the street... My tires were half way underwater/ice chunks when I was stuck... We spent an hour chipping away at it... It rained most of the day is now an icy lake... It is due to freeze in about 90 minutes... So, it will be a GIANT sheet of ice... Fun fun... We dropped the van off at our repair man... He fixed the dangling running/turn signal light on the passenger side... He also informed us our radiator will need replacing... He did a temporary fix till our Tax Refund can come... We learned why it was delayed today... AUDIT! Now why on earth they would waste tax payers money to review our tax return is beyond me... We have the simplest and most ordinary return someone could have... We have a total of 3 papers to file ONE W2, ONE Property Tax, and ONE Homeowner paper (interest paid on mortgage or something)... What a Joke! We are hoping it will show up in a few day NOW vs it showing up a few days from the last time I talked about it... I signed us up for NetFlix... The library selection was becoming more and more limited... Our first disc arrived today for our free trial... We have Little House on the Prairie - Pilot, Season 1 Disc 1 and Season 1 Disc 2... We are really enjoying watching good quality family programing together as a family... I will be sending a couple disc back out that we are done with tomorrow so new ones can arrive... I think that is about all that's happening today... Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful...

Messy Monday

Today has been just a messy day as far as weather goes... I slide all over the place this morning... Including into a snow bank (would have hit the curb if you was visible)... The front license plate came off when I backed up to continue on my way... To think I was only going 10... I hate the thought if I was going the 25 the sign says... I won't be going any where today and don't look forward to the mountain of errands I have to do tomorrow... I have appropriately named this post... I returned from picking up the boys and discovered my kitchen was WET... I was thinking ugh those children attacked the kitchen the sink sprayer again... NOPE! Our roof is LEAKING!!! In 3 places over the kitchen table... So, I mopped up the water and put out some plastic containers to catch the water as it drips... The down side was 3 of my cookbooks were on teh able two of them open to recipes... Now I have to figure out how to dry them out... The party has started huh? I made a new chicken recipe which I will share on Tasty Thursday (hopefully the cookbook will be dried out by then)...

Yesterday wasn't too exciting... We attended Mass...

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - Blessing of Saint Blaise

We received the Blessing of St. Blaise... I found quite a bit of information at the link attached to his name...

We had a quick 'sub' lunch... We picked up a DVD for Monkey's birthday which is about a month away now... I went out later with Linebacker... We picked up the rest of the 'grocery' list... We bought him a stand-up push toy... He loves it... I will snap some pictures to share... I also picked up a 'sometimes' baby gate... Linebacker likes to 'interrupt' ST so the gate would be used for that 1/2 hour 4 times a week to keep him so he isn't being confined to his jumper toy or being held the entire time... He will have the freedom to explore... He's really into the going out checking things out and then coming back to check in with mama phase... I finally have a copy of the new Duggar book... I flipped through it and already learned all kinds of new things... I look forward to when I can read it cover to cover... We bought a new 'fryin' pan over the weekend... We made burgers in it last night... They were awesome!

Simply Ordinary Saturday

Today was simply an ordinary Saturday in our house... My husband let me take a short nap while he made 'breakfast' for the troops... It was a much needed nap... We then headed out to run errands... We went shopping in search of a new 'family' size frying pan... We found an awesome one... However we didn't find a new 'phone' table for the library... Our current phone table was a tall slender dresser that has bit by bit been dismantled by the oldest and is nothing but an empty shell now... It is an eye sore... Really drags down the whole room... We de-cluttered that room last night of unneeded toys and books... We now have 42 gallons worth of toys in storage... We also threw out a LARGE garbage bag (not one of those tiny 13 gallon ones) of just plain TRASH! Trash meaning everything from ripped up paper, broke toys to pieces of crayon and unusable books... The room is so much more pleasant now to play in... Much easier to maintain... Just now I tackled my bookshelf... I wish I had taken a BEFORE picture because looking at the AFTER you can't truly appreciate the nightmare it was without knowing how far it has come... It looks really nice now and I was able to take media from other rooms of the house and put them where they belong which of course is the book shelf... ::GASP:: Keep books on a book shelf! Who thought of such a thing ?!?!? ::smirk:: We also picked up another tote which I filled with books I don't need in my current path in life but will want later... We made a quick run to the grocery store to restock the freezer/pantry/refrigerator... Also, to pick up the fixings for Sunday Dinner... My husband went out with Monkey to the PO and Library also earlier today... They found 'General Lee' the car from Dukes of Hazzard at a local 2nd hand store... My husband noted the large amount of people shopping he also noticed the jacking up of prices on the part of the 2nd hand store... How nice of them huh? That's all for now... I'm going to call it a night and take a much desired soak in the spa... ::grin:: As for the spell check and image buttons as well as all the other buttons... They have now reappeared... I 'cleaned' our computer and that fixed the issue... Thank you everyone for suggestions...

Filled with Thoughts - Friday

I have a lot on my mind today... Things are changing around here for the good but how to make through these changes is what I am struggling with... Today I made my family's version of Mexican Layer Dip... I have the recipe on Tasty Thursday (will write that soon)... I de-cluttered my sewing area which is related to my struggles... How does one down-size? It is obvious... Painfully so... We have too much 'stuff'... Yet it is hard to part with 'things' because it cost money which most of you know we have very little of... So, we feel we must keep these items because we did use what money we had to buy them... The price of things only seems to go up as we progress into the future... So, buy now why the price is still low... ::smirk:: I don't know... This is just really hard... As a parent we all want our children to have so many things yet we don't want them be selfish or be ungrateful with what they have... How do we find balance? What do they 'truly' need? I feel we haven't been good stewards of the wealth we have been provided which in part is our fault for falling into the whole commercialism nonsense... We are all bombarded every day with all this 'you need this' or 'to be a good parent your child needs this'... After the fact you feel bad you spent all that money (you never can obtain what you paid for an item it automatically loses value), your child lost interest in the item quickly and here you are stuck with this thing you should never have bought in the first place... ::sigh:: I am truly at a loss as to the best course of action...

Tasty Thursday - Recipes

Today wasn't too exciting... My oldest went to his monthly psychiatry appointment... No changes were made... My dad had his birthday today... We talked on the phone a bit... That's about all that happened... I going to devote today's post to all the recipes I made for Super Bowl Sunday 'week'... ENJOY! Photos will come shortly if I took one...

Mexican Layer Dip (family recipe)

1-2 C. Re fried Beans, warmed (I have a recipe for this too)
8 oz Sour Cream
1 C. Salsa
1 lb prepared Taco Meat, warm
8 oz block of shredded cheese, I like mild/white cheddar
1/4 head of lettuce shredded finely
1 lg tomato diced (I forgot this in the photos)
1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced/chopped
1-2 Jalapenos, finely chopped (optional)

Use a large plate or pizza pan (round metal one w/ rim)

Place a thin layer of re fried beans, next a thin layer of sour cream on the re fried beans, next a layer salsa on the sour cream, layer of meat on salsa, layer cheese on meat, layer lettuce on cheese, layer tomatoes on lettuce, layer green onions on tomatoes, and finely if you choose to do so garnish the top with jalapenos... If you are a guacamole lover you can add a layer of that as well between the meat and cheese... Serve warm the first time w/ some type of corn chips... It is great the next day cold or you can heat it but it may not be to tasty with warm lettuce/sour cream... If you make the layers too thick it won't turn out well either...

Taco Tater Skins (Taste of Home)

6 Large Brown Skin Taters
1/2 C. butter, melted
2 T. Taco Seasoning (I used what was left of the packet to season my meat for the layer dip listed above)
1 C. shredded cheese
1/2 pk bacon cooked and crumbled
1/4 bunch green onions, chopped
Salsa/Sour Cream (optional)

Bake taters at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Reduce heat to 350 degrees... All taters to cool enough to handle... Cut into quarters length wise... I used a ice cream scoop to scoop out excess potato... You want to leave a 1/4" shell... I turned the extra potato into a side dish for the children who didn't like the skins... Brush each skin w/ butter on both sides... Place skin side down on a baking sheet... Sprinkle each skin with taco seasoning... Top w/ shredded cheese, bacon and green onions... Bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with Salsa and/or Sour Cream if desired...
Yields: 2 dozen

Jalapeno Popper Pizzas {official name} (Pampered Chef Recipe)
Coming soon... Need to take care of linebacker...

Ways to Grow in Catholicism - Wednesday

It started out a typical Wednesday... Dropped the boys off and Peanut had ST... I finished making the rest of the Jalapeno Poppers and Taters Skins... I seriously should not wait so long to type... My mind isn't as sharp as it used to be at times... It is hard for me to even remember the events of Wednesday... I picked up the boys and Monkey had ST... It was monthly CCD night... I was expecting a talk to the parents about various Lenten activities that we could do as a family... However the Fr. W. gave this wonderful 'presentation' about setting up for a Sick Call with the aid of a Sick Call Box or Sick Call Crucifix (see photo above)... It was truly an amazing experience... Growing up non-Catholic I know very little about this particular sacrament... There is nothing that I can even compare it to in my protestant upbringing... I learned so much and am grateful for the knowledge he shared with us...

Time To Run Errands Tuesday

Today was 1st of the month errand day... I dropped off the children... Linebacker and I made our rounds... I dropped paper work off for a 6 month review and headed to the Property Tax office/county treasurer to pick up our reimbursement... Last year you just handed them a piece of paper and waited/hoped for it to come in the mail... This year I waited a couple of minutes and she handed me a check... Woo hoo!!! Now for our tax refund to come in a few days (yes, we already filed ::smirk::)... We will "never be broke again" a famous saying my husband uses... The good news is I will go from 7 debts to 4 after tax refund arrives... How awesome is that?!?! After Treasure's office I headed further into downtown to fill my oldest monthly prescriptions... I headed south to our repair man... He took a look at a few things we are fixing again after the refund arrives... He wrote down what he needs and we have an appointment set up for my husband's next day off during the week...To the PO was my next stop to ask questions and buy 'forever' stamps... Don't forget the price is going up again on stamps only after Mother's Day... A lady who I sold eye shadow to on eBay bought me out... So, I have NO MARY KAY in my house except a few outdated compact which you can't even give away for $0.99 and FREE shipping on eBay... To think I sold these to people for $16 + tax before the 'restyled' them and made them obsolete... ::eye roll:: So, I've paid off my debt from that mistake and removed all inventory from my home... VERY GOOD FEELING!!! I paid our car insurance (we are on the monthly payment plan). I tried to figure out how best to pack up my buy out... I chatted with my husband briefly before I left to pick up Peanut and he headed to his bi-yearly dental appointment... On the way home Peanut, Linebacker and I stopped at the bank to deposit the Property Tax Refund... After returning home Peanut drew on a note pad while Linebacker played at my feet... I was busy using up the rest of the crab meat I used to make Crab Stuffed Mushrooms into Crab Cakes (Mr. Food recipe)... They turned out DELICIOUS! My husband returned just as I finished the cooking of the last cake... We sat down and enjoyed lunch together before he headed to work... I took a much needed nap then headed out to pick up the boys... I figured out how to ship the buy out for the price I quoted... That was a relief... It was looking like I was going to be off by $2-4 and not in my favor... After the PayPal payment arrives, out it ships gone forever... Time for dinner... I'm going to make more Jalapeno Poppers (Pampered Chef Recipe) and Tater Skins (Taste Of Home Recipe) tonight... Hopefully catch up on dishes and laundry... Wish me luck... ::grin::

Beginning Again

I'm back hopefully without another long break like before... I'm going to work on the habit of blogging every day (minus Sundays) again... Today Peanut had ST... I made Crab Stuffed Mushrooms (Mr. Food Recipe) during that time... I then took my husband to the DMV... His driver's license expired on his birthday 16th of December and he didn't know it expired till January 31st when a check out girl asked to see it when he wrote a check... He is good till 2012... I stopped at the store with Peanut and Linebacker to pick up Milk, Juice, Linebacker food, and a few other things I needed for 'Super Bowl' food... I then spent the next hour systemically tearing our house apart to find my oldest Bob the Builder - Teamwork DVD box... It was due today... I found it INSIDE the recliner he likes to sit in... I had to flip it upside down and unfold it to dislodge the box... It has been safely returned... I picked up Monkey and my oldest... I had to leave the van in the driveway where I usually put it away after picking them up so I don't have to do it later when the temps really DROP... Well, with the BIG thaw we had the past few days snow melted and dripped in front of the 'work shop' door making it nearly impossible to go in and out of the garage... I did manage to squeeze through this morning to take the van out... I had 4-6" space to squeeze through... When my husband comes home he will have to pound the ice w/ a sledge hammer so we can open the door further... It will be in the teens below zero by that time... I was using the computer and notice an odd smell coming from the direction of the CPU... I turned it off and went hmm that isn't good... I opened it up and saw it was extremely dusty so I de-dusted it... It isn't making that funny smell any more... ::smirk:: I made Classic Mini Cheeseburgers tonight... Delicious!!! I will share the recipe later... It is from Pampered Chef... I have a crazy busy errand filled day tomorrow... I'm off to clear out laundry so my husband can clean out our room... I will wash the laundry if it is in the laundry area... I am however not going to go 'seek' out laundry to do... Anyone with 4 of more children understands me completely... It is good to be back chatting with you all again... I look forward to sharing my ups and downs with you... Welcome Back... ::smile::

Baptism

Today was Linebacker's Baptism... I'm finally downloading the PICS from my camera... Almost a 100 of them dating back to Mid-December... So, info and PICS will soon appear on my blog instead of titles only... ::grin::

General Update

Day After Christmas

Christmas Day

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Eve

Stay Tuned

Mid-December 2008 Blizzard