Time...again

I know I have blogged about time...or the lack thereof...before.

This time is going to be short and sweet. You see I had something in my head...an idea for a blog....but it's not there now...

It was about time...or how I manage my time (not well) or something.

Long story short, I have no clue....it might come to me, but who knows when.

If it does I will be sure to share.

In the meantime!! Don't let the time slip away from you. Do the things that are important to you...with out having to think of someone else first. I think this train of thought might be the only way to get anything done!!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.....stay safe...and warm!!!

Songs

I am sitting here...too late..I should be in bed.
But Madison is up...and Kelly is up....so I too am up (I'm off tomorrow!)


And I'm bliping like crazy. (and drinking beer!) (((not always a good combo!!)))


It just hit me.....I love music...not that....but songs 'speak" to me.


I know I'm not the only one. But most songs reflect or can correct my mood.


I just listened to Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg. For some reason this song always makes me think of my high school boyfriend. I'm not sure why...we haven't ever run into each other in this fashion. I guess because he's the one  I thought I would be with (at least at the time).


Music can be weird that way. Not only does it spark memories, but can initiate feelings that have laid dormant forever....and really aren't associated with the song.


I love music though...I love the way it makes me feel, even when it makes me feel sad. 


Music is my muse!! I play it in some form all through the day. So many times I get to relive the past and sometimes....the future. 


What's your favorite song?
Does it have  special meaning to you or do you just like it?


I have so many questions....it's hard for me to narrow down mine, but I think my 2 favorites are Pink Who knew and Foo Fighters Best of You!!


Don't ask me to explain...not sure I could!

No More Seafood...for Madison

We went to Pei Wei tonight for dinner. no big deal right...good food...fun family time...

That's what we thought! We ordered the crab wantons for an appetizer. We have them all the time in Chinese resaturates...but they are usually not made with real crab meat.

After Madison took one bite, Kelly and I looked at each other... we knew better. How could we have forgotten.

Madison has a food intolerance to seafood. We thought for awhile it was just white fish (read fish sticks) but it has now happened with crab and lobster.

We keep hoping she will outgrow this intolerance, but every now and then (once a year or so) we slip up and discover she has not outgrown it.

On this particular night, she took 1 bite.....1 bite of the crab meat. Said she didn't think she liked it and pushed her plate away. We just stared at each other...realizing what just happened and what we where in for. We hope and prayed that the 1 bite she took wasn't enough to upset her tummy.

We were wrong. After we came I home I jumped every time she hiccuped or burped. She kept saying "I'm ok mommy". So I finally put her to bed thinking we were in the clear...I was wrong.

She woke up vomiting and there was nothing she could do. It comes so strongly she has no control. I grabbed her up and stuck her in the bathtub...still holding the vomit bowl!

I feel for my baby. The funny thing is she had fish and other seafood before all this happened with no problems. She used to devour fried shrimp and loved crab or lobster bisque.

I'm not sure how or why....but I hope at some point in her life she will be able to eat seafood....It really is yummy!

Bra..it's a pocket...right?

Ok so I will admit it....I hate wearing a bra. Seriously....IF I have to wear one I will make every attempt to make it a sports bra!

I do make use of bras around the house though!! hubby laughs at me.... You see...maybe I should add that i don't like clothes either... So around the house I usually end up in yoga pants. Well any of you out their that wear them, know, they don't have pockets.

So when I'm flitting from one room to another, with baby and children in tow. I often don't have any hands left for essentials...like my cell phone. I have to stick it somewhere...so in my boobs seems to be the sensible place!

Even if I'm not wearing a bra...just a tight shirt, my boobs are well endowed enough that they can still hold on to things. (yeah i know...I'm just bragging now!!)

So tell me....do you have a pocket substitute? Do you use your bras for unusual things??

Etsy here I come!!

About  week ago I started listing items in my etsy store. I am very excited about this. I have been working hard on making some great jewelry pieces and want to share them with everyone. I plan to expand on my collection in the near future. And I have more pieces made that I am trying to get listed.

 I have recently been going through jewelry and items that I inherited from my mom and grandmother. I have some wonderful pieces that I know I will never wear, so I'm going to open a 'Vintage' section as well. :)

I am also hoping to get some of my Photos listed. (and not just of my Jewelry!!)

I have so many crafty ideas and inspirations!! I could spend all of my time 'creating' things!, but unfortunately I don't get to do that between work and family!

Hubby is pretty good about giving me time in 'my room' to be creative and have some quiet alone time!! I'm not sure how I would survive without it!

Check back often to see what's new and different!!

What's up with kid shows!

This morning we have been watching all the shows Nick Jr has lined up for us!! Now I'm not saying that my mind is always in the gutter!! But seriously....what are they thinking when they come up with names for characters? For instance Dora has baby Winkie on with her today. Am I the only one who thinks of a penis when I hear winkie? Chances are I'm not.
There was a show earlier and it sounded like they kept saying boobies. They didn't, I think the word was moobies.....but thats close enough! I'm starting to think that dirty old men are coming up with these names. Probably laughing at the stations for not picking up on it.
As an adult, I think it's funny....sometimes. The funniness ends as I hear my 3yo repeating what she thought she heard!! I think I'm going to start paying more attention to these shows! If nothing else it will be fun to share!

Convo with a 3yo!

Warning...this is a potty training post!!
Madison is almost completely potty trained! We are very excited, but it tends to lead to some strange conversations. Most recently:

Madison: Mom i need to poop.
Me: Well lets go poop then.
Madison: Look mommy I pooped big ones! (this is very importatnt to her, she likes to report size!)
Me: good honey
Madison: Looks like daddy and kids.
Me: ok honey.......good
Madison: Looks like a daddy and kids.....looks like daddy's poop.......mom I pooed daddy and kids....like daddy!
Me: *speechless*.....how do i respond to that!!

At Just the Right Moment

My mom was always there for me. No matter what.

(this is my favorite picture of the two of us)

I was going through a box of recipes that I have collected over the years. It had been packed away in storage and not found until recently. Buried in this recipe I found a sandwich bag full of newspaper clippings and cards with quotes on them. Once I open it up and started going through it...it made me smile....and cry.

Once I grew up and was out on my own....things weren't always easy. My mom was not always one for words, but she always let me know she was thinking about me. She would cut articles out of the paper she knew I would enjoy. She would slip those quote cards into my purse for me to find on a random day. She was always thinking about me.

I wanted to share one of these quotes with you all....I think it's just what I needed today!

Daily Guide to Happiness

PRAY:

It is the greatest power on earth.

LOVE:

It is a God-given privilege.

READ:

It is the fountain of wisdom.

THINK:

It is the source of power.

BE FRIENDLY:

It is the road to happiness.

GIVE:

It is too short a day to be selfish.

PLAY:

It is the secret of perpetual youth.

LAUGH:

It is the music of the soul.

WORK:

It is the price of success.

SAVE:

It is the secret of security.

I'm not sure where this came from there is no author on the card. It spoke to me today. It helped me remember that she will always be with me, watching over me and my family.

My mom and dad on Taylor's christening day.

My mom as a child, one of my favorite pictures of her.

My Light

Let me start by saying, my girls mean the world to me. I love each and everyone one in ways I could never put into words. Even when they get on my nerves, I love that they are their own little people with their own personalities. Even if they rarely get along because of it!!


Abigail, the youngest has this power of me...I'm going to try and describe it!

She's not quite 1 yet, (< 2 weeks!!!) but she seems to know what I need. If I'm sad and depressed she cheers me up with her giggles and quick snuggles. When I'm mad and upset, she talks to me in her beautiful sing song voice. The way she says "Hi" is the cutest thing ever. I can't explain it, but I'm trying desperately to get a recording of it before she stops saying it like that.

I call her my light, my sunshine on a cloudy day. Things in this house can get stressful quickly. She is such a happy baby(except for at THIS moment!) She doesn't let much bother her and she tolerates her sisters quite nicely!!

She is growing up so quickly. She is already very independent. She likes to try and do everything herself. And when I say quick snuggles...thats all I get (but at least I get them!) She has never been a big snuggler...but she likes to lay her head down on my chest..it last about 5 sec then she is ready to move on. I enjoy those 5 secs and know that they won't be around long!

She's growing up so fast. There are days I wish time would stop or at least slow down so I can enjoy this time with her a little longer!!

I know I'm selfish...she deserves to grow up...but I guess that part of me that knows she is going to be our last baby...just wants to enjoy it a little longer!

Blank

I have been on vacation from work for almost a week. I figured that I would have ample time to catch up on my blogging....and I have, but my mind is blank. It's not there there is nothing there, but there is too much. And I'm having issues compartmentalizing. There is so much I want to say and do.... I'm off for another week...I'm going to work on this...or at least try!!

BBQ Bake

Here is a new recipe that I threw together the other night!! It was pretty yummy, and not pasta! So I decided to share!! Hope you enjoy!

1 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
1 pkg smoked sausage (I used turkey)
1 can black eyed peas
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Sauce:
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
garlic powder
Mesquite seasoning

1 bad frozen tater tots
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350*. Brown the ground beef and onion with a little garlic powder and mesquite seasonings. Drain well and mix with sausage, peas, and corn. Put mixture in a 13x8 baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients, season to your taste. I added a little extra garlic powder and mesquite seasonings. Top with tots, no need to thaw they will cook through in oven. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese let cook and additional 15 min. I would let stand 5-10 min before serving!
That's it! It's easy and delicious!!

We are all Misunderstood?

As many of you all know, I am the sole person responsible for my grandmother. This is quite an addition to my already hectic life. I acquired the responsibility after my mother passed away in 2003. I was never given a choice. I am all she has left besides some nephews that are out of state.
I know some will judge me for saying this, but I resent her at times for being a burden to me. I know she doesn't mean to be, but she makes my life so much more stressful than it COULD be! And I know the people at her facility judge me. I don't visit as often as I should, I don't get her exactly what she wants when she wants, and I'm often late on payments, because managing my own finances is hard enough.
It upsets me to know that they judge me without knowing the details. And I know they do. As a nurse we judge families everyday. You try not to, but it can be hard. We don't know the stories, we don't know why a family hasn't spoken for 20+ years. It's not our job to know it's our job to take care of those who need us.
Granny and I have a lot of baggage from the past. Fortunately for her, she doesn't remember most of it and if she does, she pretends not to. I however remember it all. I remember how she took my uncle in after my grandfather died. How she paid for everything for him, even the company that he tried to start that bombed. She babied him, and let him do whatever he wanted. She gave him control of her money and her life. In the end he had moved her away from her friends, exiled her from her family, kept her drunk 24/7, and drank himself to death (in 1998). During his last 2-3 years she has little to no recollection of what happened. To this day he still walks on water... she thinks he was taking care of her. During those years my mother tried to go through the court system to have them both declared incompetent so she could at least save my granny's money. He paid people to speak on their behalf.... the courts decided they didn't need to intervene, my grandmother is now almost penniless and has no clue.
Guess who got to go pick up the pieces after my uncle died.... You guessed it... me! She wanted to go back to Florida, so I was in charge of her while my parents got her business settled in TN.
Granted I was in my early 20's, but I had a life all my own. She hadn't wanted anything to do with us for several years and I was supposed to swoop in like nothing had happened.
Lets fast forward to fall of 1999. I was pregnant, my parents didn't know yet. I went to visit for the weekend with the intentions of telling them the news. (I was unmarried at the time and knew it would be difficult for my parents at first). I end up in a meeting with my parents and my mom's therapist. It seems that for several years during high school, my mom was sexually assaulted by one of her teachers...a female teacher. My mom went to a boarding school and was looking forward to summer so she could be away from her attacker. Then she discovered that her parents had invited her into their home for the summer. She was assaulted in her own home, the one place she thought she would be safe. (Needless to say I didn't share my news that weekend.)
I was there when my mother confronted my grandmother... my grandmother's response... we thought something was wrong, thats why we invited her to spend that summer.... they wanted to "figure out" what was going on. I mean seriously what kind of parents do that. My grandmother brushed it off like it was no big deal. My mother was severely depressed for most of her life over this and other stupid lacks in judgement by her parents.
There is so much more.... I could go on and on, but I won't. I hate that even in granny's demented state, her stories sound plausible..... people believe her even though they know they shouldn't.... There's no telling what she says about me when I'm not around.... I try not to worry about it, but I'm only human.
We are all human and we all judge..... just try to remember, we don't know the stories that aren't told.

Special visitor

As many of you all may know I have not been on top of my schedule at work! I have managed to work Easter and Mother's Day. I am scheduled to work my Bday, anniversary and my 3yo's Bday....

Anyways, as I was pouting around work on Mother's Day my terrific hubby decided to bring the kids to eat lunch with me!! This was wonderful news, because I was having a stressful day.

My hubby and kids arrive and I go out to tell them that i'm going to be a few minutes!! (Code Brown!) Taylor is asking over and over again "why would someone put a paper towel up there?" as she is staring at the ceiling!

It seems she had noticed this brown thin sticking out of the ceiling and had asked daddy what it was... he answered, it looks like a paper towel, just forget about it. Well of course seeing as how she's my child...she can't get over anything until she has an answer!

So now I'm standing here staring at this brown thing in the ceiling. And i noticed that it was not a paper towel as my husband had thought....unless of course paper towels have eyes!!!

It seems we had a little visitor trying to take a nap in the hallway!! Unfortunately the pictures aren't the best, because they were taken with my phone, but I think you can see it pretty clearly!!

The bat was rescued from the ceiling and let go outside.....It was sweet of him to visit, but time for him to go...

Pierogi Casserole (New family fave!)

I had a bag of frozen pierogies in the the freezer and wanted to do something with them. I googled and read several recipes and came up with one that was similar to what I found. It is yummy and rich and feeds a crowd!!

Pierogi Casserole

Prep time @ 15min
Cook time 45min


Ingredients

1 bag of frozen Pierogies
16 oz sour cream
1 can cream of celery soup
1 small onion
1 tbsp butter/margarine
1 package turkey smoked sausage
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion salt (can use plain salt instead)

Pre-heat oven to 350*.
Chop onion and sauté in butter (feel free to use EVOO or another substitute) until translucent.
Chop smoked sausage into bite size pieces.
Spray a 13 x 9 casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer pierogies in the bottom of dish.
In a small mixing bowl combine sour cream, soup, garlic powder and onion salt.
Sprinkle the onion and smoked sausage over the pierogies.
Spoon sauce mixture over other ingredients and spread to cover dish.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook 30min.
Uncover and cook for 15 additional minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy!! I generally serve 3 pierogies as a portion, this recipe feeds my family of 5 (that eat) with leftovers!!!

TMI

Just a quick post!!

So to make a long story short.....My in-laws are divorced...going on a year now!. My FIL work in Cali and my MIL lives in their house in MS. My FIl comes home every so often when he is not working! Well Mother's day was one of his return visits. This time he decided to bring his girlfriend (even though he says she's just a friend!) with him...... Do you see where I'm going....They are all staying in the same house together.

My MIL thought she would be alright with this arrangement. (I have no clue what she was thinking)But apparently she is not. It seems my FIL is sharing a wee bit too much info!! I will spare my hubby and not recall the convo he recently had with my MIL, I think it may have scarred him for life.

But word to the wise people...even when your kids are grown....they DO NOT want to know about their parents 'love' life. There is a line that should not be crossed when you are talking with your child!

Unfortunately for my husband, that line was crossed...........he might not ever recover!!

Bank of America helps??

As many of you know, Kelly's identity was stolen last week. He called me on my way home from work one night in a panic, because he had tried to order pizza and our debit card was declined...from 2 different places. i pulled up my mobile banking only to find out that there was a debit of $888,888.88 to our account. there was no explanation as to where is came from. Kelly tried to call customer service and of course....they were closed. There was nothing we could do.

That empty feeling washed over me as I wondered what were we going to do. Obviously we couldn't do anything until the next business day. So we had to wait...... and as we waited i got more and more frustrated, reasonable thought went out the window....

Who the hell would try to take that much money....from not just us, but anyone....

and why had the bank not caught such an odd amount..... I pondered on this for the next 12 or so hours....

First thing the next morning after we got the girls off to school. Kelly called the bank. I was downstairs feeding the baby and started googling $888,888.88...I knew there had to be a reason it was for that amount!

At first I found info that the bank had done it because they thought someone had committed fraud. I wondered what we possibly could have done for the bank to think that we had done this. I decided to keep reading.....I found a blog posted my someone (didn't think to save the search) stating that their bank had done this when their identity had been stolen.

I had mixed feelings over this! i was glad that maybe the bank didn't think we had committed fraud, but worried about our information.

When i was finished giving A her bottle I joined Kelly to see what he had found out.

Sure enough his info had been stolen. We didn't know where or how. the bank had put this hold on our account, because they knew it was a legitimate account and they didn't want whoever this person was to be able to touch it. For this I was thankful. They credited our account for all the fees that had been acquired. Kelly went into a branch explained the situation...new account opened...old account closed....they gave us some information on what we needed to do to report the theft......we thought that would be the end of our issues...at least with the bank...

It was not....

Yesterday was payday. I had managed to stop my direct deposit (to the old account)but, they could not start the new one in time so i got a paper check. Kelly came to work to get it a rushed to the bank to deposit it in time.....We do have bills to pay people!!!

He received a notice that there a hold being placed on our account until they could verify that the check was a good one...WTH.... this is my paycheck from the big hospital that I work at...the same one that had been direct deposited into our old account for 5 years.....

I told Kelly to call to find out why and get the hold taken off ( I had to do this once before). I thought maybe it was because I have not been added to the account yet...and yes I signed the check over to him before he deposited it!

He couldn't get any info on the phone, and the branches were closed by this point so we had to wait til this morning.... Saturday morning. the worst banking day of all days.

He went into the branch thinking this would be the easiest way to handle it. It wasn't!

The person he talked to informed him that not only was there 1 hold on our account, but 2....and the account was severely in the hole. It seems that they ended up putting 2 holds on 1 check, each hold was for the amount of the check....and other transactions had gone through so lots of overdraft charges......

The guy didn't have a clue what to do about it. He said hopefully Monday night it would be reversed and both hold should be removed.....HOPEFULLY...WTF....seriously thats all the help he could be.

Kelly immediately left and called customer service. He was told by the rep that when they pulled up our account it was blocked. All that would come up was a message stating that the account holder had to go into a branch to access this account. Seriously....He told the CS rep that the branch didn't know what to do with it either.....By the time all this happened it was after 1pm and the branches were all closed

So here we are, beyond moneyless, bills due, HOPEFULLY it MIGHT be fixed Monday night....

So Bank Of America really seems to think that we are going to stick around after all this. I am greatly appreciative for what they did when they discovered my husbands info had been stolen. But it was supposed to have been fixed with our new account. Why do we have to keep jumping through hoops, why are they doing this to us. Do the not think that the stress of everything else we have going on is enough.................

Monday morning we are going to stalk every manager we can find until this is resolved.....we will then run away as fast as we can and take our money with us...........

Hurt feelings go both ways!

I got a call from my granny this morning. I haven't had a chance to talk to her in a few days so I answered the phone. The first words out of her mouth were "you really hurt my feelings this time". I knew what she was talking about. She says ( I say it that way because, she's not often accurate) that she has received some award from the "National Assisted Living Organization" (I'm not even sure if there is one.)

She says there was a big write up and she wanted me to make copies so I could have one and she could send some to her friend in Florida. I haven't had a chance to talk to her, because I have been working. She knows I'm not allowed to talk when I'm working.

When I answered the phone I had all intentions of congratulating her and telling her I couldn't wait to read the article.....she never gave me the chance. When I tried to explain that I was sorry I didn't have the chance to call her she just kept saying "you may not care about it, but I'm very excited".

I tried 3 different times to apologize and tell her I was excited, she wouldn't listen to me. I finally got frustrated and asked her why she never listened to me...her response "I'm sorry I bothered you."

I give up....we have many conversations that go this way. She asks me a question and when I give her the answer she ignores me.

I told one of my Twitter friends this morning that she is "crazy granny" she is either crazy funny or crazy mean.

Kelly tells me not to let it get to me. I try not to, but it's hard. I know she has dementia and gets confused....but she's not totally gone, part of her is still in there. She was always a little bit narcissistic, but it has gotten worse the older she gets. She is the master of guilt trips, she always has been. There are days when I wish that was something that was lost in the dementia.... instead, it seems to have only gotten worse.

What you say???

Now I know that when i have a good/funny story to tell, I never mind telling it over and over again.... To different people that is!

I was at the old house today (yes we are still rapping things up there!). When the next door neighbor came over. He's unemployed and gets lonely! he always gets so excited when we come back, cuz he has a grown up to talk to! (Like my hubby he is mostly a stay at home dad now!) So we were talking, for like an hour, and we got to talking to what happened to the lawnmower. (scroll down for that story!!) Now mind you, I have personally told him this story 3-4 times. I have heard Hubby tell him a couple of times.....how the hell does he not remember it by now.

I tell him we are going to have someone come to cut the yard because we haven't replaced the lawnmower yet...."oh yeah what happened to it?"

I had to pause to regain my composure. I expected that in that moment he would be like "oh yeah I remember"...it never happened. So I had to tell the story over again. I loose my enthusiasm after the first couple of times.

I kept waiting for an "Oh now I remember"...it never came.

I know I don't always have the best memory, but come on...

After he left (an hour + later) I got to thinking..........

....................................

.................................

.......................

This was not the first time I had had reoccurring conversations with him. I have been in his house a couple of times...he doesn't remember..... He has asked to see our floor plan several times....he never remembers it, but says he like ours better....

I kind of wonder what he did in his younger years..........

*Lawn Mower Story*

I will warn you it won't read as enthusiastically as when I tell it!!

About 2 years ago, hubby got a new lawn mower, a nice one!! My neighbor does seem to remember it being a father's day present! He might be right! (of course he remembers that!!)

So at the time i was still working night shift. I would come home around 8am and be exhausted. Back in those days I would try to work my 3 shifts a week in a row so I wouldn't flip flop my schedule too much.

Now I don't remember how many nights I had worked, but I was tired and in a hurry. I'm not for sure what I was doing. So I get out of the car and go in the house.....all of a sudden there is a loud crashing noise! I had taken 2 steps in the door....I turn around and there is my van, about 4 feet from me. It seems not only had I not turned the van off......I hadn't put in park either.

I almost got squished. luckily the lawn mower kept it from hitting the house......and of course ME. The lawn mower was pushed under the grill which finally stopped the van. In the process the handle was ripped off and the wires that connected the starter disconnected. Did I mention it had only been used for about 2 months! Hubby wasn't sure how to fix it so we sold it at a yard sale!

THE day!

I have been thinking a lot about the day my Hubby and I met! I was working at an insurance company, still living in Oxford, MS. I had broken up with a man i thought was the love of my life almost 2 months before. (that's a different story!) I had taken a part time job as a security guard at football / basketball games (at Ole Miss) to earn some extra pocket money! I had a horrible break up with my ex and had only really stay in oxford in hopes of a reconciliation.

Little did I know.....

My first night on the job I was to help out at a basketball game. As I was checking in and seeing where they wanted my for the evening!! I was told that this guy named Kelly would be in charge of me for the evening!

I took one look and that was all.... I knew it was meant to be. It was like we had known each other forever. I have always been one that has to get to know people before I open up and am truly myself around them. With him I felt comfortable immediately. I went home that night and told my roommate that I had met the man I was going to marry!

Little did I know at the time....that I would be right! We fought several obstacles to get where we are today. That is a story for another day. I will have to have permission to tell it. This June we will celebrate 5 years of marriage and November will mark 13 years since we met. It has been a long journey, but one I will never regret! I love you always!

Hot Lemonade??

Alright peeps, time for a crazy granny story! Those that follow me on twitter may have heard this one already, but I still have to share!!

So the other day I'm talking to granny on the phone and she asked how the kids were doing (mind you she doesn't always remember how many we have, but she knows we have some!) I mentioned that most of the family had been sick with one thing or another and that the baby, Abigail, had her first fever a little over a week ago. She said she hoped we all got to feeling better soon, and that was it.....

The next day she calls and leaves me a message. She says that I need to give the baby some hot lemonade...why you may ask? Because hot lemonade will bring the measles out!! Apparently when my mom a baby and sick, someone told her to try hot lemonade. She tried it and it worked!! It brought the measles out so my mom could get better faster!! She said once the measle were out she would feel better and hopefully not have to deal with them ever again!

Why she thinks my baby has an underlying case of the measles is beyond me. That's what makes crazy granny so entertaining!! Guess she forgot that there was now something called a vaccination to keep kids from getting the measles! Got to love her!

I swear I'm going to write a book....I have stories for days.

Not so settled!

This weekend was a little strained in our house. Brianna was here for the weekend and very excited about the new house!! She was ready to help in any way for us to get the house in order, so we can really enjoy it! This caused issues with Taylor.

Taylor loves to help, but one of two things always happen. She loses her focus/concentration and forgets what she's doing. Or she tries to help in the wrong way. For example, unloading the dishwasher before the dishes have been washed...She means well it just doesn't always work for her.

Brianna spent most of the weekend one step ahead of me and we got a good bit done.

I don't know how to teach Taylor to think ahead, I'm not sure if it's possible for her. As you may remember she is our ADHD child. She has issues focusing on everything. She even forgets she has to pee sometimes! She means well, but gets frustrated when things don't go her way. We have an appointment with a new psychiatrist next week and I'm hoping he will be able to help. we have been waiting since Jan. for this appointment, but he is supposed to be one of the best in the city!

I sure hope he can give her some tips. We need all the help we can get!!

Not enough time!!

Why is there never enough time? There is so much I want to do, but I have issues finding the time. This is mainly due to the fact that I always have a child around me. Don't get me wrong I love my kids, but they are ALWAYS under my feet, or just in my personal space.
The good news is we are moving. We found a good deal on a house that ought to give us room to breath, I mean move! I am hoping that once we get moved (In less than a week!) and settled, that the kids will realize how much fun having their own space is!! Hopefully I will get to do more "me" stuff!
I know that moving in itself won't make a difference, but we will have more room to roam so to speak!! Speaking of i guess I need to get some more packing done.
I will return, and try to update more!! That is both a threat and a promise!!

#Boobiewed!

I just wanted to jot down a little note to remind everyone how important it is to check your breasts. It doesn't matter if your male or female, both sexes have breast tissue and therefore can get breast cancer. Early detection is key.

In my line of work, I take care of people with cancer everyday. It breaks my heart to watch a young women in the prime of her life die, because the cancer wasn't found soon enough! To watch her family as they bring in her young children to tell their mother goodbye. I have seen families in denial, because "she was healthy a month ago." I have also seen the other side. Women whose cancer was detected early enough and they are with us years later to tell about it. I have had family members die. I have had family members live.

They are making advancements in cancer research everyday. The earlier it is detected the more options there are.

Please pass the message along. It is extremely important even for teens to do their monthly exams.

Every Wednesday on Twitter a group of people, myself included, post pictures of breasts/boobs! It has been deemed boobiewed. We do it to remind everyone how important it is to check yourself. Feel free to check it out.

Lasagna Casserole

I'm not a big recipe girl. I look what I have on hand and start throwing things together. Most of the time I do it pretty well. Here's the problem; I rarely make the same thing twice, because I don't remember what all I put in the dish. I will try to recreate it, and usually end up with an equally tasty meal but it's not the same as "last" time. So I decided I will write down my recipes. This way not only will I be able to go back and reference them, I can share them with others as well. I will warn you: I do not measure! I cook to Taste. I am a good estimator, though so you can trust my measurements and leave it up to your to taste!!



Here is what we ate tonight!

Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Meat (I used turkey)

1lb Pasta (I used elbows!)

1 2lb 13oz jar Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 medium onion - chopped

To Taste - Garlic Powder, Salt , Pepper

Cheese Filling:

1Cup Cottage Cheese ( I used fat free)

1Cup Whipped Cream Cheese

2Cups (separated) Italian mix shredded cheese (1cup for filling, 1cup for top)

1/2 tsp each Oregano, Basil

To Taste - Garlic powder, Salt, Pepper

Preheat oven to 350*

Brown meat and onion, drain

Cook pasta according to package directions, I like mine al dente

Mix all ingredients for Cheese filling, except 2nd cup of shredded cheese

Lightly spray a 2 quart casserole dish

Mix, sauce, meat , and paste - stir well to evenly mix

Place 1/2 of pasta mix in dish

Top with Cheese filling

Add the rest of the pasta mix

Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese (you can use more or less, we are cheese lovers! You can also use different kinds!)

Cook uncovered in oven for about 30min or until cheese is melted and pasta bubbling

enjoy!!

This recipe feed our family of 5 (that eat!) with plenty of leftovers!

I hope you enjoy this recipe should you decide to try it! I am always experimenting so check back and see what i can come up with!

Finding time

I don't know where all the time has gone. I start everyday with a plan. That's just the way I am. The plan never happens. I try to make time for detours. The only problem is I never seem to get back on track. And the time is gone.

I know that part of this is due to my children. And don't get me wrong I would do anything for my kids (yes anything!) I just wish they felt that way about me. I know they love me. I know they mean well. But sometimes mommy needs time to do her own thing.

I feel like time is being fast forwarded most days. Where is the pause button or at least the slow button. There is no way to get the time back and I feel like I am missing so much.

I don't even have time to write this blog...........

Just Plain Cruel

I will start off with a confession. We order pizza...a lot. I always save the coupons that come attached to the pizza boxes, because sometimes they are better than the online coupons.

So the last two times I have ordered pizza I have been screwed. The week of Christmas we ordered and the coupons had expired on 11-30-09. Seriously...what is that about?

Earlier this week we ordered from a completely different restaurant. I was excited because they had a great "family" coupon. We tried to order using the coupon last night (I told you we order pizza a lot!) and I get the message, "this coupon is not valid at this location."
So in other words I can't use the coupon at the same store from which I got it?? How does this make sense.

What is the purpose of giving us these coupons of we can't use them. I don't want your trash. If I can't do anything with them I don't want them in my house. The last thing we need is more random paper laying around, it's already starting to take over.

Thanks for letting me rant...