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...