A Tale of 3 Little Boys

3 little boys all in a row. While one smiles, one starts to cry and the 3rd decides to be grumpy. If you put in some giggles, a few tickles and games... what wonderful laughter, hugs and kisses they give.
3 little boys in my house. One will be reading, the other singing and the 3rd likes to recite his ABC's. When you add in a friend and helper (Chelsey), a wonderful husband and the Savior...the house becomes a home.

 

My Daniel- 8 yrs.  One day littlest love, I will get to see the world you have created in that beautiful head of yours. I will take your hand and we will explore each others worlds together. I will finally get to talk with that sweet person,the one my spirit can feel, the one I catch glimpses of day to day. Until that day, keep on creating your glorious world and I will relish in the glimpses I can catch.Keep on blossoming and filling my heart with joy.I am so very proud of you son.

 

My James- 6 years. Bright eyes hungering to learn. Sweet smile and gentle arms waiting to love and comfort. So many talents within, my son, leaving me wondering what you will do with them, what greatness is in your future and why I was so blessed to be chosen as your mother. What an honor it is my sweet boy and oh how I love you.

 My Ben- 4 years. Little hands, little feet, big blue eyes and a smile. Little hands making messes, little feet never stopping, big blue eyes ever looking and a sweet sweet smile to get away with it all. One day, your hands will calm, your feet will slow and you will be grown. Till then dearest one, keep exploring and remember your smile,so that I may remember mine when I catch you in your mischief.

S.N. Week 1 day 4- Taking a sick day off

I think mothers should get sick days. Wouldn't it be nice to call in, tell someone that you're sick and that you won't be in for the day. They reply with an "okay we'll take care of it" and you can rest knowing that the kids will be picked up from school,  homework done, therapies attended, projects finished, housework done,  kids fed and bathed,etc. and that you can pick up where they left off the next day when you're feeling better? Hmmm maybe I should start a union. 

Sadly, the autumn chill got to me and I am sick. All I want to do is lie my aching body in bed and try to sleep off my pounding headache and sore throat. But, since there isn't a mother's union, I wasn't able to call in sick. It was nearing dinner time and all I could think was, "I'm glad dinner will be quick and easy to make." I was hoping it would be anyways, and it was. Quick and easy and OH so yummy! We'd never had the Creamy Baked Ziti before and what a delicious surprise! A great recipe for a tired mommy and hungry kids. Below is the recipe. Enjoy!

Dinner Menu:
Creamy Baked Ziti
Sauted Zucchini and Summer squash
Garden Salad
 
Recipe link for Creamy Baked Ziti: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/creamy-baked-ziti-120729.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-rbe-_-20101102-_-1011

S.N. Week 1 Day 3- Pizza and A Movie

After the softball game, my husband and I headed back home to our anticipated meal of Brick Oven Pizza,Throwback Pepsi and Homemade Pumpkinbutter Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust. He was SO excited that I got a piggyback ride all the way from the field to the car. Lots of kisses followed.

 Tonight was my one night off. I was NOT going to cook a full meal. This girl was going to take her well deserved break and sit back and relax tonight! So, to keep my goal, I made a pie for dessert since I had cheated on the pizza.

The pie was light and creamy blended with a hint of the Pumpkin Pie flavor we all love. The Gingersnap Pie crust heated things up a bit with it's spicy bite. You can use Graham Cracker crust or regular pie crust if you prefer a more subtle companion for your cream filling.
I LOVED seeing my husbands face after he took his first bite of the pie. If you'd like to do the same for your husband, below is the EASY EASY EASY, 3 ingredient recipe. "Shhhh..you don't have to tell him how easy it was."

Creamy Pumpkin Butter Pie:

1 jar of Pumpkin Butter- my preferred brand is Dickenson's
1 container of Cool Whip NOT frozen but soft for the shortcut version  OR I whipped my own cream for a fresher, healthier and creamier taste, adding vanilla and sugar while I whipped.
Pie crust of your choice, cooled if made freshly.

Divide cream in half. Gently fold pumpkin butter into half of the whipped cream. Make sure to keep as much air in the mix as possible to keep it light n fluffy.
Pour into the pie crust and smooth out evenly.
Next, layer the 2nd part of cream on top and smooth out evenly.
Chill in refrigerator for 30min or until set and chilled.

Gingersnap Pie Crust recipe- http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/gingersnap-crust

S.N. Week 1 Day 3- American Classic

Take me out to the ball game

Take me out with the crowd!

 

 Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don't care if we NEVER get back!...

Peanuts? Hmm...How about homemade Roasted Spiced Almonds instead?
Tonight is my one night in the week off and THIS is the totally fun and perfect way I spend it-
My husband is in a softball league. They play every Wed. night and I LOVE going out to the game, sitting with my large soda and yummy treats picked out to savor as I relax and enjoy watching my husband and friends play. Tonight my special treats were the Roasted Spice Almonds that I made earlier in the day. A shout out to my little sis for the recipe. THANKS! They filled my house with a delicious cinnamon toasty nut smell and were a hit at the game with my husbands family. Talk about ADDICTING! They were SUPER easy to make too. Below is the recipe.

Warning: If you eat one, be prepared to not have the will power to stop until you've consumed several handfuls...and then a few more...and then a few more.

3-4 cups of almonds
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1Tbsp. of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
( to me 1/2 tsp of salt is WAY too much. I added about 1/3 of a tsp. and it was perfect)

In a mixing bowl, put in cinnamon, sugar and salt. Mix well.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg till frothy. Pour almonds in bowl and thoroughly coat almonds.
Pour egg coated almonds into the bowl of cinnamon, sugar mix. Coat thoroughly.
Place almonds on a large cookie sheet.
Bake at 275* for 45 min, stirring every 15 min while baking.

S.N. Week 1 Day 2- Autumn Supper

I woke up this morning stiff and exhausted. It felt like I had been run over by a semi while I was asleep. However, two things brightened me up and got me going. One was remembering that it was the day to vote. How excited I was to exercise my right to do so! The second was hearing the wind blow the leaves outside my door and feeling the autumn chill in the air. Such a wonderful morning got me excited about my day and especially about dinner. I decided that an autumn inspired meal would be yummy and fun for dinner tonight.

After going through the propositions and candidates one last time, dressing my little 4 year old and arming myself with dum dum suckers for bribery, my grocery list and keys, we headed off to do our duty and vote.
It felt wonderful, having done my "homework" and voting. I felt up lifted and even hopeful that maybe the next few years will go better for this country. Either way, it was fun knowing that now I could at least gripe if it didn't get better,without a guilty conscience right? Heehee. My littlest one was pretty good while I was voting and after having finished his bribe, he thought he was going to help me turn in my ballot. We settled at letting him hold my purse for me instead.
Next we had fun picking up our few extra things that we needed for dinner. My 4 year old got to choose the carts that are more like cars. It was red. He was in and buckled before I could even reach down and ask if he needed help. I showed him the horn to honk just in case, cause mom likes to have fun too and "drive" the car-cart like she stole it down the grocery isles. Nothing beats hearing my little guy squeal in delight as we zoomed through the store. On our way home we shared an eggnog. Creamy, cold and oh so yummy! I think I got my little guy addicted. It's more fun to have a "drinking" buddy. Glad he's addicted too.
Well, dinnertime finally rolled around and it was time to get a cookin'. I decided to buy an acorn squash and russet potatoes to add to our chicken meal. Mash potatoes are always yummy with chicken and the acorn squash would be autumn perfect, glazed with a brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon mix.

The menu:
Roasted Chicken with Cranberry Apple Citrus Sauce
Butter Mashed Potatoes
Brown Sugar with Cinnamon and Cloves Glazed Acorn Squash

 There were a lot of adult flavors and textures. I'm proud of how well my little gang ate despite their food texture issues. It's SO much fun to cook something else besides chicken nuggets or plain pasta now that they're eating more complex textures!!!

I was surprised at how easy and fast the chicken was to cook. If you'd like to try it, here's the link for the recipe: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/whatsfordinner/m/channel/food/recipes/roasted-cranberry-chicken-540019/;_ylt=AiKSJF18_vEGDRRj8aSc0EPkgKU5

I added an apple, juice from an orange and a touch of it's zest to the original recipe. Squeeze half of the orange onto the chicken while searing it. Add the second half of the orange to the sauce along with the zest. Cook recipe as directed.

S.N. -Week 1 Day 1

Well, the day didn't go as planned...surprise, surprise. Heheh. Life happened and on top of the usual chasing of my 4 year old around all day to keep him out of trouble and trying to get household chores done, my second oldest had an off day at school and I ended up having to lecture him and set a punishment for getting in trouble at school for not obeying his teacher and talking too much. After setting up my 2nd oldest with his homework and punshment,I ended up having to try and help my oldest calm down and work his way through one of his autism-over focused-freak-out-and-panic episodes before he reached a "serious" level which took several hours. When he has one of those episodes, everything else get's put on the back burner and it's a fight to the finish.I was exhausted more than usual come dinner time. The delicious chicken meal I had planned was going to have to wait. So, tonight I made plan B. Plan B usually means a burger from the nearest fast food restaurant but I had promised myself that I would cook every day this week. So, I made one of the quickest and yummiest meals that I loved and made often as a young girl called Tater Tot Casserole. You've probably already heard of it but just in case ya haven't, here it is...

All you need is:
  1 lb. of ground beef, or more depending on your family size
1/2 of a small onion, diced
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (even with more beef, one can will go a LONG ways.)
1 can of green beans- drained well
1 bag of frozen tater tots
11/2 cups of grated cheese
salt
pepper
8x8 pan
Preheat the oven to the temp. that the tater tots bag directs you to.
In a skillet, brown meat and onions together. Salt and pepper meat to taste.
Drain most of the excess grease, leaving just enough to help the meat stay moist when it's in the oven. Then place meat and onion mix into the 8x8 pan.
Empty the can of cream of mushroom soup into the meat mix. With a large mixing spoon,mix it well.
Next, empty the can of drained green beans on top of the meat mix. Spread green beans out evenly.
Next, place a layer of frozen tater tots on top of the layer of green beans. Spread tater tots out evenly.
Sprinkle generous amounts of cheese evenly on top of the layer of tater tots. Add amount of cheese according to your taste preference.
Bake in the oven to the time specified by the tater tot bag or until ALL of the tater tots are golden brown and heated ALL THE WAY through. Sometimes it takes longer than the bag specifies. That's why I add lots of cheese so the cheese doesn't burn.
Yield- 6 servings

I love how this only takes me 20-30 min to make from prep to eating. I like to serve it with a garden salad and bread. ENJOY! We sure did!

Something New #1

Week #1. 
FOOD!

I love food. Always have. As a young girl, still too young to be actually allowed into the kitchen, I would set up one of my parents lofts as a restaurant and then tell my siblings that they were going to be costumers in my restaurant. When they would finally give in and sit down, I would take their orders and then precede to draw their order out on paper in detail. There my family would sit and pretend to take bites out of paper chicken and sip from two dimensional glasses of milk. Yes, my poor family must have REALLY loved me.I later made it up to them when I was finally allowed into the kitchen. I cooked them yummy meals. I loved every second of it- even down to dishing the plates up and making sure each one looked to perfection.
Since my separation and divorce, I've barely cooked. It was one of the few things my  ex-husband would compliment me on and for some reason it was really painful to do it after I was single. Silly I know...SO, I'm going to get it going again!
This week I'm going to cook something every day. Some will be new recipes I've never tried before. Some will be old favorites. YUMMY food here I come!

Something New

This morning was one of those mornings I did NOT want to get out of bed. I've been worried about my kids-  about their schooling, getting 2 of them re-diagnosed and the stress that comes with that, concerned about their progress and wondering/worrying about what more I could or should be doing for each of them to be able to function in society as they grow. I'm concerned that one may be harming the other by his over aggressive behavior and trying to ignore the heartache that comes with it. I've been nervous about filing for more of the much needed child support. Will it be worth the long fight, worth my ex's potential anger or any of the other consequences of doing so. I've been anxious about my husband and the Border Patrol Job. Will he finally qualify and receive the job. Will he have to move far away from us. If so, what will I do without him. Should I wipe everything that I've fought for my children here clean and move with him to a potentially dangerous place that wouldn't have any of the help that my children and I so desperately need. Will my children become unruly once more without a father figure at home. Worry worry worry...heh.
So many crossroads, more than I've ever had in my life. It seems it is now my turn to get hit with some of the harder challenges in life. Church, my relationship with God and my beliefs, family, children, husband, ex-husband, neighbors, teachers, crazy therapists, money worries,my health...Carefully trying to balance this has taken it's toll. I'm feeling worn, old before my time and even pushing the borders of hopeless. But, hopeful I still somehow am. I refuse to let these things beat me down. Since a lot of these things, I cannot fix nor try to work towards fixing, not just yet, I've decided that each week for the rest of the year,I'm going to try a new task, challenge, etc. to help distract and move me along till I can tackle the bigger tasks. I'll take lots of pics and blog about it so I can look back and see the good I am doing and feel that I am accomplishing something in my crazy world at this time.