Finally Trying Again Friday

I'm going to try blogging again... A lot has happened since my last post... I'm still here... Hope to be posting regularly soon...

Traveling Thursday

Thursday was a day of traveling around town... We had our 'session' this morning after a couple weeks off due to ills and auto troubles... We discussed enabling issues... There was a small crack into fixing these things... So, there is hope of change.... I took Linebacker and Peanut to recycling soda cans for money... We had 19 lbs... It had been a while since I'd travel down south to the recycle station... Peanut was complaining of some pain in her mouth so I called the dentist... He's out of town but left the name and number of a back up dentist... I called them and they were able to fit us right in... I picked up Monkey early and we headed to the dentist... Despite them fitting us right in because of a cancellation... I wasn't sure how long it would take and didn't want Monkey sitting worrying when I was coming home... They looked around and couldn't find really much wrong... They did an x-ray and one of her teeth had a spot so they prescribed an antibiotic to clear everything up... I brought her home, gave her some pain meds and she laid down for resting time... We canceled ST for her... We took it easy and all ate soft foods with her that evening...

Weeeee Wednesday

Today was quite the ride of busy excitement... We took the car to a repair man last week... He quoted us a carb and vac system repair to the tune for $450+... I don't know who has that kind of cash laying around these days but we aren't one of them... We said uh we will have to wait and just spend the 45 minutes it takes of fighting with the car to start it and keep it running then proceed to drive around town at the top speed of 10 MPH... I called to vent to my daddy about our auto woes... He suggested a repair... So, when my husband went for an oil change last Saturday he asked the oil change guy if that is something they do... He said if my husband bought the part he put it in for Free! God Bless T... So, my husband picked up the part and I took it to T yesterday and for less then $4.50 we have a 'brand new' car again! All it needed was a new fuel filter... Now we are going 110 MPH I like to tease... ::smirk:: It really does drive that fast but I haven't gone that fast in some time... I usually top out around 90-95 MPH at the highest on the empty interstate... ::grin:: I'm thinking what it is a blessing to not be wealthy at this point in the year because if we did have the money we could have blindly paid that repair man and still have a car that didn't run right... Thank you, God for blessing us and when we thought doors were being closed (unfairly) that other doors opened in the most unexpected places... Patience is definitely a virtue and proves that HE does always provide... We have grown with much Grace during this experience... So, I was able to go to our bi-annual meeting easily (now that the car is repaired) with the psych and the rest Engineer's behavior program team and special needs service coordinators... We caught the psych up on all that has happened since we enrolled Engineer in his program... It was a very good meeting and gives me at least some peace that we did make the right decision... I have struggled as any mother would with this decision... God is still holding me firmly yet gently in his hand during this very tough time... His behavior program can see why we use this psych for our medicine management... They were very impressed with his medicine philosophies (he wants him on as few and doses as small as possible and maybe even some day medicine free, not to mention his willingness to try 'natural' vs chemical treatments), his knowledge of Autism/latest available research as far as treatment/medication management and his passion for Engineer's care... He is the only person who has gave Engineer medication for his needs... He knows him (he's been seeing Engineer since he was 3/4 years old) and our family very well... It showed today in our meeting that we aren't just 'another patient'...He is truly an asset, a blessing and an advocate for him... Thank you, Dr. F... Peanut had ST... She is doing wonderful... We had religious education tonight... It was good to see all our friends again... I worried so much about making it to the various appointments this week because of our auto issues... Yet, again God carried us through and granted me the Grace I needed... I am truly a Blessed woman...

Tasty Tuesday - Chicken Burrito Bundles

Chicken Burrito Bundles

2 lbs chicken, cooked and cubed/shredded
1 pkg Taco Seasoning

2 C. or 16 oz Can Refried Beans (I have a recipe if you like)
1-2 C. Cheese (Cheddar, Jack, Colby/Jack, etc), shredded
2-3 Tomatoes, chopped
1-2 Onions, chopped
Flour Tortillas

Salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees... Place chicken and seasoning in a zip lock bag and shake till coated...

Spread refried beans on a warmed tortilla (they won't break if warm when you got to roll them), top with chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and onions.... Roll up, folding in the ends to contain the filling... Wrap each individually in foil...

Bake for 15 minutes and serve with Salsa....

Side Note: You can make these wrap them in foil... LABEL THEM... ::smirk:: Then pop them in your freezer... You have your own homemade 'freezer section' burritos... They can go straight from the freezer to the oven... Heat until hot in the center... Also, great on the nights when the family eats in shifts because of activities... You can make them up in the morning or the day before.... Sit them in the fridge and when they are ready to eat it's in the oven, to the table and eat...

Mystery Bean - Monday

Today I'm going to relate a funny event that took place today... I went out to my freezer and there were two unmarked containers... I thought they were both Refried Beans... I took the smaller of the two and brought it into the house to thaw for a recipe (will share tomorrow) and to eat with Tacos... Well, you can imagine my surprise after it was thawed I realized... This isn't Refried Beans... It must be Chili... ::smirk:: So, I used them in my recipe anyway... Hey how different is Chili from Refried Beans any way... I'm eating mine not quite sure why it tasted 'sweet'... I asked my husband if he was enjoying his... He said yes and it was ok... I'm like well that sounds off... That statement almost contradicts itself! Today he decides for me to put his 'refried beans/chili' on the side of his entree instead of using it in the recipe... He is eating it as I was folding laundry before he headed off to work... He says something isn't right about this Chili... It doesn't taste like that awesome Chili we just had last month... Why is it sweet? Then we realized... They were BAKED BEANS!!! I put Brown Sugar in my baked beans which would account for the hint of sweetness we were tasting... So, I took it out thinking I'm thawing 'refried beans', used it as 'chili' and in all reality it was Baked Beans... My husband such a trooper eating it anyway... Despite my funny encounter with the 'mystery' bean... It teaches me to ALWAYS label my containers... EVERY time! ::grin::

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Here are the children in their costumes... Hope everyone had a great Halloween... We had delivery pizza and went door to door Trick or Treating...

Monkey - Dale Jr. Peanut - Chocolate Chip Cookie Linebacker - Snowman The Candy:

Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th

It was another quite and typical week.... We are having car troubles which will hopefully be fixed soon... So other then my daily walks of 0.8 miles... I stayed home... Still setting things up on the new computer... I also took the time to catch up on laundry... Not much else to say really... Hopefully next weeks blog will be a bit more... ::smirk::

Tasty Tuesday

Caroline's Peanut Butter Criss Cross Cookies

2 C. Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt
3/4 C. Butter, melted
3/4 C. Peanut Butter
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 t. Vanilla
Sugar and Fork

Mix ingredients together till well blended... I use a 3 T. scoop (we like big cookies) to make mine but you can roll them into balls and place on cookie sheet... Dip a fork in a bowl of sugar and press the tops to make the criss cross pattern (see photo)... Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees...

ENJOY!

Menu Planning Monday 10-26

Here is my monthly menu (about $500 for a family of six) for October 25th - December 5th... ENJOY... Watch my blog for recipes... Some have already been posted as they are family favorites... If you want to find the recipes on my blog click on the 'label' "Recipe" that will take you to them all...

Super Bowl Chili
Chicken Parmesan
Swiss Steak
Chicken Quesadillas
HALLOWEEN Pizza – Delivery
Chicken Burrito Bundles
Tacos
Chicken Oven Baked w Barbecue Sauce
Philly Cheese Steaks
Martha’s Rosemary Fried Chicken
Spaghetti Meatballs
Ham Dinner
Chicken Stir Fry
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Weeknight Pot Pie
Lasagna
Chicken Fettuccine
Cheese Burgers
Thanksgiving
Onion Salisbury Steaks
Chicken Fingers
Tomato Crockpot Beef Roast

Wednesday 21st - Saturday 24th

This week kind of flew by... I was quite busy... However when I look back it's like what did I really do... Funny how life is that way... You are running, running but then when look back you are what exactly did I do? I guess it's just hard to remember things when you were so busy that you didn't even take the time to remember them... LOL... A few things I did were of course laundry, remodeling, baking, cooking, playing with the children, reading books, cleaning (LOL), I spent some time catching up on sleep... We have a 4 day weekend... It's been wonderful! I haven't really gone any where... Just stayed here at home taking care of home... Just a step back away from the run here, run there, kind of life... The Walton's Season 4 has rolled around in my queue so we have been taking time to sit back to a time when things didn't move at the speed of light... So, funny in one episode they are driving and one is saying my goodness how fast are going? the driver replies oh 20-22 MPH! The other replies slow down before you kills the both of us... Can you imagine driving anywhere at less then 25 MPH? Funny how times change... How I wish we could all go back to those simpler times and when everyone knew what really mattered most in life... I know times then were hard but still... Something to think about...

Tasty Tuesday

Chicken Broccoli Cups

2 tubes refrigerated biscuit dough (I always make my biscuits from scratch but not sure how to adapt it to this recipe)
2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I usually use a blend like Colby/Jack or Cheddar/Jack or mild/white Cheddar)
1-1/3 C. Crispy Rice Cereal
1-1/2 C. Boneless Chicken Breast Cooked, Cubed/Shredded
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used 2 C. Chicken Gravy)
2 C. Broccoli Florets cooked, chopped

Place biscuits in muffin cups, pressing dough over the bottom and up the sides. Add 1 T of cereal and 1 T of cheese to each cup.

In large bowl combine chicken, soup(gravy) and broccoli till well mixed; spoon into cups. Bake at 375 Degrees for 20 minutes... Sprinkle tops with cheese and bake another 5 minutes... Serve...

Yield: Approx 20 Single Serve 'Cups'

ENJOY!

Marvelous Monday

I went to Engineer's 30 day meeting at his program... After enrolling they do a 30 day review... The meeting went very well... He is doing awesome in his program... We wrote his plan for the up coming year till his next review which will be done annually now... We have lots of fun things planned for him and wonderful independance skills for him to work on and master... Hopefully he will graduate from the program soon... However I should not get ahead of myself... It will be many years I'm sure before that... I'm so glad we placed him in this program... Still their are feelings of are we really doing the right thing... KWIM? However I remain very optimistic about the future... It was an otherwise quiet day the rest of the day filled with the usual laundry, and other homesteading duties...

Son Saturday

Engineer 9-1/2 Years Old

Saturday is the day I spend a good part of the day just Engineer and me... Today I took some PICS of his latest 'creations' he made via his train set, Lincoln Logs, and LEGOS...

He is doing much better with his log buildings... He used windows and other accessories this time... Before he just made square and rectangle shapes... Just stacking the logs vs creating something... These look like the ones on the box... This is 'Bob's Yard' from his favorite TV Series Bob the Builder... Weren't they impressive... Next we loaded in the car to check out the 'new' Walmart being built on the south edge of town... He was very excited by the 'Road Closed' sign... He loved to ask me during the entire time there... Why is it closed? He would then answer himself... Because there is no road... He thought that was quite the entertainment...

The other sign that caught his eye was this one... He wanted us to walk and 'find' the Dead End but it was too cold... We saw it from the street that passes by the Walmart... He was thrilled... Shouted to me "it ends at the unloading depot"... LOL!!! His staff is really enjoying his extensive vocabulary in regards to construction and trains... I said well he learned it from his videos... He does... He's like a little sponge soaking up each little detail has he watches the video over and over... It was quite chilly and windy since there is nothing to stop the wind way out there in 'farm' country... We had a great time any way... We also spent time picking up sticks at home, and I found two more pairs of gloves for him... I really need to finish knitting his 'new' hat... We had a wonderful afternoon just us... What to do next weekend? Any ideas?

Fs Friday

Couldn't pick just one F today because today was Full of all kinds of F... First F of the day was Fitness... Do to vehicle issues I walked 1.5 miles so I could complete errands... I first walked to a local parish... Spent a few moments in Adoration... I then dropped off some papers... I started my walk to the bank... I deposited two checks, chit chatted and then I was off again... A short walk over to the grocery store to the 'blue' mail boxes... I dropped in a bill I had been meaning to mail for some time... Next I headed home... I haven't walked this far in a long time... Goodness knows it was good for me... I'm proud of myself... I had doubts that I could accomplish such a task... The next F leads me to Foul Mood... I was extremely unhappy starting Thursday night and most of Friday that I had no vehicle and may not have one for some time... However my mood Flipped when my husband with the help of a coworker brought both vehicles home tonight after work... So, there you have it... My Friday...

Thankful - Thursday

It's been a while since I did one of these and wanted to start up again... So, here is are my Top 10 things I'm most Thankful for this week... I hope it helps to remind you of the little things you are Thankful for too!

1. Plenty of Healthy Food
2. Warm, Dry, Safe Home
3. Freedom
4. Healthy Family
5. Engineer is receiving the behavior help he's needed for so long
6. Quality Medical Services Close to Home
7. Good Friends
8. Love of my Husband
9. My children have 7 living Grandparents
10. Functional Computer and High Speed Internet so I can stay 'connected'

Well Wednesday

All is well here today... I dropped Monkey off... Made a loaf of bread... Ready Linebacker and dropped him off... Picked my husband and Peanut up for our session... Everything went well there... I stood up and took charge... It was definetely better without Linebacker there... Peanut was quiet and barely noticeable... My list was helpful... I left it to be put in the file... Should be interesting to see what happens in our next session... Picked Linebacker up... I have this awful sinus headache just over my left eye... UGH!!! Picked Monkey up... Walked 0.8 miles today... Turned the dryer on several times.. Takes forever to dry a load of jeans... Put Linebackers clothes in the wash... Monkey had ST...

Ts Tuesday

I couldn't just name today Tasty Tuesday because so many other Ts happened to us today... Thrilling day because our Little Flowers / Blue Knights order arrived... We are all ready for year II... I just love this program... I look forward to the day when I can just Travel and start this program in parishes... Sharing my Time and Talent with others... Looks like the Threat that appeared just after Mother's Day will finally be gone hopefully by the end of the month... We should have a letter stating to the fact soon... Woo hoo!!! Today is a double Tasty Tuesday because I'm sharing my Chicken Mushroom Fettuccine Recipe and my Old Fashioned Cookie Recipe...

Chicken Mushroom Fettuccine

1 stick Butter
5 Cloves Garlic, pressed (adjust to personal tastes of garlic)
1-2 pkg Mushrooms, washed and sliced (depending on how mushroomy you like it)
2 C. Milk
1-1/2 C. Powder Parmesan Cheese (I rarely use this form and usually grate my own fresh)
1/4-1/2 C. Flour (thickening sauce)
1-1/2 lbs Chicken, cooked and cubed
16 oz Fettuccine Noodles (cook as directed on box)

Saute mushrooms and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender... Add milk and cheese... Whisk till 'smooth'... Once mixture is warm add just enough flour to thicken and increase heat to medium high... Continue to whisk... After mixture is thicken reduce heat to low and stir in chicken... Stir occasionally till entire mixture is heated through... Combine chicken/sauce mixture and noodles... 8-10 Servings.
Old Fashioned Cookies

1 C. Butter
2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Brown Sugar, firmly packed
2 Eggs
1/3 C. + 2 T. Milk
2 t. Vanilla
4 C. Flour
2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
Icing
Sprinkles (we call them pretties ::grin::)

Cream butter. Add sugar and eggs, beating well. Stir in milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Chill.

Roll dough to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut into circles (I used a floured biscuit cutter). Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Decorate as desired.

Yield: about 5 dozen.

Of course there was all the tantalizing fun of laundry, dishes and diaper changing today... ::smirk::

Moments in My Life - Monday

Here are just a few moments from my life on this particular Monday... This morning I photographed some beautiful snow that is now gone... Wasn't it beautiful?
Here it is on my lilacs:

At moments it was coming down pretty good...
A view down the street:

A lovely up close photo of the individual flakes... Beautiful: I picked up coats for all my blessings and myself today... I'm washing them so photos will be come in a bit... I made Chicken Mushroom Fettuccine... Recipe to come on Tasty Tuesday... Made a few homesteading phone calls... We finished the rest of our 'Family Movie Night' movie... We watched Race To Witch Mountain... Interesting movie... My husband picked it...

Slow Saturday

Kind of a quiet day... I went through Engineer's clothes today... Packed up all the 'warm' things and reorganized all his shelves with all his 'cool' weather things... It should make it easier for dressing for school and dressing for bed... I watched Ladder 49... Pretty good movie... I didn't care much for the ending... I guess not every movie can have a 'happy ending'... Definetely a tissues movie... I didn't expect it to effect me so deeply... I chatted with a friend on the phone and another one in IM... It is good to catch up with friends... The day is gone now... I'm off to throw in a load of laundry, start the dishwasher and head to bed... Night All...

Feeling The Cold - Friday

Brrrr... Winter is coming... We had our first really good frost this morning... Right now our drawers are packed with warm and cool clothes... So, that had to be taken care of today now that it will stay cold and not flip flop back and forth... So, out came all the warm stuff minus one outfit for that odd day and in went all the cool weather stuff... Talk about a PROJECT!!! Whew! Every one's drawers were a messed... We had drawers w/ a pair of shorts in them, t-shirt, pair of jeans, socks, underwear, etc... All in ONE drawer! I'm like no wonder everything looks like it was in a crumpled heap on the floor when you put it on... ::smirk:: I'm glad that is taken care of... I don't know if I updated.... I did some reorganizing and found those missing pieces for the quilt I wanted to work on... I'm ready to sew next week... I only have one appointment and the rest of the days I'm sewing!!! I had my 2nd Women of Grace Study Group meeting today... I just love Johnnette... She is just a breath of fresh air in this flat world I live in... Short post today but changing of seasons is a big task for a family of 6 which I know many of my readers with families of my size and larger can completely relate to... Talk to you all tomorrow...

::before and after PICS to come... need to download them from my camera::