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...

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::

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...

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...

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...

What A Day - Wednesday

It was one of those days... ::smirk:: It was picture day at school... School picture prices are ridiculous! I hope they turned out well... I'll share when they come in... This year we have Engineer and Monkey in public... I will have Peanut and Linebacker's done in a private session locally... I need to schedule that before our membership expires and I lose my discounts... eekk! Sitting Fees are killers! I just seriously want a break from appointments so I've been putting off setting up a day/time for that... Time is ticking... Some things I'd like to share with my blog readers but not sure how to word them because this is a public form... So, if I struggle with things and they sound kind of cryptic I know you my regular readers understand... Let's just say this mornings 'session' started off very well then went quickly down hill... ::sigh:: Hopefully the next one will be better... I've talked to a few friends in detail and I need to just step up and say what needs to be said at the 'sessions' or it's just a waste of time because REAL change needs to happen... I've come to a point where it's A. just give up and live with things the way they are and forget about any hope of change, B. leave and say forget it's not worth fighting to change/can't live with it unchanged any more, or C. step up and despite the consequences make change happen because things can't continue this way any longer... Sorry for the repetitiveness... I seem to lose my vocabulary when I'm upset... ::sigh:: A girlfriend of mine and I have a plan and hope to start working on it so I'm ready when the next 'session' rolls around... I'd appreciate any prayers... I'm usual so very assertive yet this has my knees shaking... Monkey had ST and that went well... Don't you just love how I just blink change subjects... ::grin:: Sometimes I'm hard to follow... Sorry, just how my mind works... We had our first CCD class tonight... It was good... I was wondering why the 'theme' was You've Got Mail... We learned/will be teaching this month at home about "Epistles" which pretty much means 'old letter that was read to large groups of people'... Pretty creative of the curriculum writer... Next month is "The Final Coming" sounds pretty foreboding... ::smirk:: Should be interesting... I made Chicken Enchiladas... I signed the children up for the Epiphany Play... It will be our first year... I'm excited... I guess that is pretty much what today consisted of... Catch ya again tomorrow...

Shopping - Saturday

Shopping is the prefect term to describe today... I shopped nearly all day long... First place I went to was Walmart to restock our pantry... I arrived at 11:45 AM and left at 2:15 PM... I didn't realize how long I'd been in there till I came home and saw the time... WOW! I rested for a bit after unpacking... Next I picked up Engineer and we headed to Sam's... We were in there about an hour... We dropped off my Netflix in the box and then I dropped him off... Roofer came by to see if he could find the leak... Our main roof is shot... Looks like we will be replacing that in the spring most likely... UGH! He is sending us some estimates on costs... It will be twice what the kitchen repair was because that was only 3-4 squares of shingles and the main roof will be 9 squares most likely... I rested for a few hours while my husband took the middle ones to the library and run errands... When he came home I finished up the last of the shopping at the grocery store... Another 90 minutes of shopping... We have about 10 things I couldn't find at my usual locations that I will have to search for around town for but we are fully stocked! The pantry, freezer, fridge, you name it... It's packed... This months budget was $500 since I had to restock many of our 'staples'... The rest of the month will be a perishable here and a gallon of milk there and that's it as far as shopping in concerned till after November 7th... Look for my new monthly menu that week from Oct 25th- Dec 5th... After all that shopping we cleaned cabinets, drawers and shelves so we could pack away all our purchases of the day... Amazing all the junk you can collect... LOL!! Have a great rest of the weekend...

Many Lists Monday

It was a quiet day... I ran to the store and the bank... My husband had a dental appointment... Peanut had speech today because her regular day has an appointment so we moved it... I worked on several lists today as it is the beginning of the month... So, I had to make perishables list, freezer/pantry list, and non eatables list... I had a mom's night at my house with some friends... I made a new grilled chicken recipe... ENJOY!

Golden Glazed Fryer

8 Thighs and 10 Legs (2 nights worth for our family) or 3-4 lb Broiler/Fryer Chicken, cut up

1/2 C. Oil
1/2 C. Cider Vinegar
1 Egg, lightly beaten
Chicken Seasoning
Salt/Pepper to taste

Coat grill rack wit nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Preheat grill. Grill chicken skin side down, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes. Turn; grill 15 minutes longer. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients; brush over chicken. Grill for 5 minutes. Turn and brush with glaze; grill 5 minutes longer or until meat thermometer reads 170 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the dark meat. Discard unused glaze.

Simple Saturday

My husband had to work today so we didn't go any where or do anything... Our new Netflix discs came so we watched Little House on the Prairie the last disc of the 1st Season... We spent some time outside... Not much else really to say... Just a simple day...

Tidy-Up Tuesday

Today was whip the house in shape to show it to the realtor so he could make an estimate as to it's market value.... He was impressed with all the projects we have completed and the ones we are mid way through... Still a lot of work to be done before it is ready to sell... After he was done my husband and Monkey went out to take care of some errands... Peanut had ST at her new time... She is doing fantastic... I went out to run a few errands myself with Engineer... Nothing fancy... We stopped at the library to return a book and the mailbox to drop another Netflix envelope in the mail... It was a pretty uneventful day... Baths and off to bed for the children... I'm going to work on a bit of Engineer's hat and then it's off to bed for me... We have a early morning tomorrow... Should be an exciting day!

Frantic Friday

Today I had more then I care to have to do in one day... It started with a 3 hour visit to the ER because Linebacker had a fever of 103... They gave him a Tylenol suppository and sent us home (1:30 AM)... I chatted with my husband about what all we had to do tomorrow and finally fell asleep (2:00)...I woke up after only a few hours of sleep (8:00) to take Monkey to his last day of VBS (9:00) at the Cathedral... I stayed with him while we watched a picture slide show of the children that week participating in various activities... The parents then listened to the children sing a song... Off we ran to the next thing... We then arrived at home to take the van to the mechanic (10:00) to see if he could figure out what was going on with it... It as back home for just a bit then I packed their lunch to drop them off in the drop in child care while my husband and I went to an appointment... Again I was off an running (10:35)... I headed back home to pick up my husband to leave for our appointment (11:30)... We arrived at our appointment (11:50) and it went very well... Back to the mechanic (1:25 PM)... It wouldn't do what it was doing for us so we said we would take it to run errands and bring it back and hopefully it would do it's 'thing'... Picked up Monkey and Peanut {Linebacker stayed w/ us the whole time} (1:50)... Next we headed off to errands... We stopped at 4-5 different places... We went back to the mechanic (3:00)... The van did it's 'thing'... Mechanic dx the problem as the 'crank sensor'... Which since the "geniuses" who designed the thing put it in an awful place would cost us $200... We said ok and left it there to 'fix' itself so we could drive it back home (3:30)... We won't be repairing it for now and will just deal with this latest annoying 'quirk'... We unloaded and worked on dinner... We picked the van back up (5:25) and brought it home... My husband and Peanut went out to run errands while Monkey stayed home to help me out with Linebacker because I had a horrible sinus headache and at that point could barely see... When they came home it was baths (7:00) and all that jazz then off to bed (8:00)...

Time Off Tuesday

My husband had off from work today... Monkey had a dental appointment to fix something that was bothering him on the lower left side... We stopped for some ice cream (suggested by hygienist) afterwards... It was breakfast then phone calls... Due to my husbands bad private session we will no longer be going there together to that organization either... He called and made a new private appointment and I called to cancel our together one we had for that afternoon... I then did some calling around to find somewhere new we could go... We had our 'meeting'... It wasn't very long and was kind of intense... Not happy with our switch and Engineer whacked them in the back of the head... He reacts physically when he feels threatened and he does not like when they come visit the house... I'm sure he's picking up on all the tension... My husband called and talked with the car insurance people about that thing... He had bumped a car in the rain in June 09... It was an employee parked in the guest area of a hotel... They have an older 70s early 80s large sedan... The officer said oh no more then $100 of damage if that... The night it occurred... Now the guy is claiming it will be $1200 to fix the 'damage'... We are thinking gee his WHOLE car probably isn't even worth that much! Even if they don't pay that amount of the claim or any of the claim or the whole claim... Our insurance is automatically going up just because a claim is being made on top of what we already pay... An extra $25... Isn't that just peachy?!? These are the same people we have homeowners with... When our roof leaked in Feb 09 they said oh we will repair the interior damage but not the actual roof... ::eye roll:: Yes, lets repair the ceiling and not the roof so when it rains again, it can be damaged again... That makes so much sense... We hired someone ourselves to repair the roof and we are fixing the ceiling (first coat of primer is on, woo hoo) ourselves... We really need to switch companies... We had excellent service prior to our agent retiring... Now we have bounced around between 3-4 agents... Our dealings with them are becoming more unpleasant each time... They cancel the towing coverage on both autos because we had my husband's car towed twice (broke down) and the van once (broke down) in 2 years... Come on people... What's the point of having towing coverage if you never use it... They considered that 'excessive' use... Moving on... Engineer left with a friend... My husband took the two middle ones out to run errands while Linebacker and I had a 1/2 nap... He was asleep before they left... All the noise/commotion of them leaving and us relocating to a different room he didn't do much sleeping once it was quiet... By the time we settled in and fell asleep, Engineer and had come back with his friend... ::sigh:: Husband returned with the middle ones... He asked if I could run to the grocery and pick up a few things... I said sure... He was showing me the different things he had returned with including new library videos for the week... I inquired where Peanuts birthday present was... He says "we returned it with the library stuff... I didn't realize it was one of ours"... He had returned other videos that we don't own from the series... I head to the library and waited probably 30-45 minutes for them to find it... Nothing... Left my name, number, and title of the DVD... I will call them tomorrow if they haven't called me by a certain time... I saw a FMCHE friend, Caroline (she pronounces it Carolyn), who was headed to our Altar Society meeting... I didn't realize it was that night, my husband had some where he was going, and they don't have childcare... So, I'm in the group and make bars for parish events but never been to an actual meeting... I don't think... I was in my husband's car because when I left to go run these errands the van was doing what it did on Saturday and Monday... My husband stop by the mechanic (nothing but answering machine when we call) and he is out of the shop till some time next week... I went to the store and picked up milk, eggs, cheese, juice, cereal, PB, Wok Oil, and bobbi pins... After coupons it was $7 even I think... I made my way home... We had dinner and my husband went to a newly formed 'men's prayer group' that him and his friends made... The 'wives' are also forming a group... It's funny because we refer to our group as the 'mom's group' and the husband's call their group the 'men's group' not the 'dad's group'... Interesting how we are different... We hope to have our first meeting soon... The guys have been meeting since mid July... So almost a month... It has really been a great thing for my husband... They are a great group of guys... The children and I watched more Little House on the Prairie... Time to drop it in the mail and Netflix to send us a new one... I finished Peanut's hat... I think it might be good for two seasons... I gave her some 'growing' room... I'm working on one of the boys' hats (Monkey or Engineer)... They have the same circumference size but different lengths (brim to crown)... Linebackers should knit up in no time because his is the smallest... The boys' hats are all the same color, a variegated blue yarn... Peanut's is lavender and a variegated purple/pink yarn... I think the exact same color as last year... If I ever have a working computer that likes my camera I will share PICS... It's late and I need to head to bed...

Mean Monday

Life was kind of mean to us today... I was up early and took all the children to an appointment... They were mostly good... I had feared the worst taking all 4 of them to such a small office... We came home... My oldest and I then went to run errands... We dropped off an update for some paper work for him... We mailed a quilt block I made... We came out and I had the same problem I had on Saturday where the van makes the sound like it is going to turn on but doesn't... We were downtown... It would be too far and too long to walk home... We had missed the bus we would have needed to catch to be home when we needed to be... Thankfully I saw an old homeschooling friend who was able to give Engineer and I, a ride home... My husband had a private 'session' with just him today and I didn't want him to late because of me... Thankfully he was just late on his own... I called around to see if A. I could find out what might be wrong with it and a ride back downtown to see if the van would start... On Saturday after it sat a bit it started just fine... It ran fine the rest of the day... I finally asked he neighbors if they were available to help... The neighbor lady (the one I mentioned before who's 80 this year) sat with the children while her husband gave me a lift downtown to see if I could start the thing... I tried it and it started right up like no problem at all... I drove it home... We received a call from our car insurance company... Not a good call... Something we were over and done with in June has come back that we have to deal with again... UGH! Now our rates will probably go up... Lovely... My husband comes home and here is bad thing #3... His session did not go well at all... He was 15 minutes late... The person is refusing to see him again... ::sigh:: So, we had not such a nice day today... We had a few nice things happen today so it wasn't all bad... A friend stopped by and gave us some fleece she didn't need... We were excited about that... Now the children and I will have to find some kind of project to make with it... We are anxious about tomorrow... I need to do some more cleaning to have the house ready for tomorrow... The laundry monster is growing!

Fruitful Friday

I woke up to a wet day... I thought maybe I would do a little sewing but alas no sewing was done again today... LOL... I did knit some more on Peanut's hat... Little by little and hopefully it will be done soon... I know winter is just around the corner... I took hamburger out of the freezer for Sunday's casserole and breakfast stuff out for tomorrow when we make one of our super breakfasts that would rival IHOP... ::grin:: The children and I took a little drive so we could leave the house... We were suffering a bit from cabin fever... I was in no mood to clean mud off the their boots, them, their clothes, the floors and the carpets... We went to the library to return late books and DVDs... Opps... My husband keeps taking them to pick up new stuff but doesn't return the old stuff... Just remembers to return his own... ::eye roll:: However the most exciting thing today was dinner being interrupted... It went like this... I was annoyed when the door bell rang in the middle of dinner... I'm thinking who is ringing my bell... It's dinner time... I peek out the front window and see no auto... I'm thinking it's another door-to-door salesperson... I open the door to my surprise one of my favorite people... The UPS man... LOL!!! I said oh I was wondering who was ringing my bell during dinner... He blushed... I continued... I wasn't even expecting a box... What a wonderful surprise... He smiled.. I thanked him and he was on his way... As a compulsive shopper the UPS man has brought me MANY packages! I brought it in the house... Such a small box... I wondered what it was... I hadn't even ordered anything lately that I could remember... ::Smirk:: So, I opened it... What was inside? Complimentary materials from Christopher West for my husband... We were sent the CD Box Set of Winning the Battle for Sexual Purity: Straight Talk for Men and Good News About Sex and Marriage... How Blessed are we... God is sooo good!!! I am thrilled... I wrote him and told him about our situation... Isn't he such a wonderful man?!?! I had to share what a wonderfully fruitful day it was for our family...

To Do List Thursday

I had many things on my to do list today... This morning I made garlic mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts in a butter sauce to go with our hamburgers I made last night... I made a few phone calls... My husband had a dental visit (routine check up)... Monkey and Peanut had Speech... I chatted with my neighbor next door... She is 80 this year (born in 1929)... I will be 30 in less then a month... She calls me 'kid' instead of by my name... Always saying how beautiful the children are and that they keep her young... She has 3 grown children and several grandchildren (all school age)... We were talking how Engineer will be in 4th grade this year and Monkey in 1st grade... When we bought the house Engineer was 2 years and 7 months old, Monkey wouldn't arrive for another 5 months, and I had just turned 23... Look how our family has grown! I didn't do any sewing because I'm more tired then I thought I would be... Guess the week is catching up to me... I knitted some more on Peanut's hat... It should be done soon... I then can start working on the boys' hats and then scarves...

More Monday

I know I have been gone for a while... Life was busy... Peanut had tubes put in her ears and 3 hours of dental work done under sedation... We went on vacation over 4th July weekend... This year we took our annual family vacation at Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Unit... We primitive camped 4 days and 3 nights... Things were crazy but here I am... The problem we had in May finally had some results... This is a good and bad thing... So far with us cooperating things won't be come any more of a mess... As far as our little engineer's situation we are looking at another 6 weeks till we have an answer or not... We had a meeting and updated the files... Everything looks promising... We talked about other options if things don't go as planned... He has less then 2 weeks of ESY left... YEA!!! Peanut had her 4th birthday... It was a 'princess' Dora theme... She received some new clothes, Leapster 2 (pink/purple), 2 Leapster games (Dora and Disney Princess) a book and a Dora DVD... We grilled out burgers, hot dogs and chicken... Our computer was giving us all kinds of trouble but seems to have calmed down... Linebacker and Monkey are both doing well... Everyone is healthy... My husband made an amazing recovery from a issue he was having late one Saturday evening... I can't do anything but Thank God each and every day that we are rid of that evil that was in our home... Ordered and started using Catholic Woman's Daily Planner for 2009-2010... I read a wonderful book called Addicted To Stuff by Dale O'Leary... I signed for Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life Foundational Study in the fall... I'm currently working my way through A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot... I made a major decision regarding the fall which I will reveal on Saturday... I have received as a gift, bought, or newly rediscovered on my bookshelf several other books I'm going to read this summer/fall/winter... They are When the Heart Cries (Amish Fiction) by Cindy Woodsmall, Domestic Church: Room by Room by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, The 25-Day Financial Makeover by Francine L. Huff, The Cross Country Quilters (quilting fiction) by Jennifer Chiaverini, Food Storage 101 by Peggy Layton and Holiness for Housewives by Dom Hubert van Zeller... I hope that catches everyone up... I hope to be blogging again now on my regular schedule...

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)

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!

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...

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...