More Snow

Yup, lucky us, we got more snow overnight and should keep adding inches during the day. I am so ready for Spring. Steve just read somewhere that this is the coldest January we have experienced since 1977. Of course that year was my first year living on my own and going to college, so it is all a bit of a blur and truthfully with all the alcohol I consumed, I probably didn't even notice the cold...LOL

I am going to make some "South Beach" friendly cookies today. For those who may be following the "South Beach" diet, these are phase 1 friendly. These are so amazing because there is no flour in them and yet you would swear there is. I am including the recipe, give it a try if you are a peanut butter cookie lover, but don't want all the carbs that usually go along with peanut butter cookies. I have a hard time keeping the kids out of them. :o)

EASY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 cup natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/3 cups Splenda
1 teas. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into small balls (I get approx. 36 tiny cookies per batch).
Place fairly close together as these cookies don't spread much. Press each cookie ball with a fork dipped in Splenda, making a crisscross design. Bake about 8 minutes or until done. Do not over bake. Let cool slightly and remove from pan.

An A.M. Post

Thought I would jot down a few thoughts before I get busy for the day. Last child just got on his school bus. Bradly gets on his bus at 6:45 and he had a very rough morning. He won't be happy when he gets home from school because that means he didn't earn time on his Gameboy and the computer today. Oh well, I need to remember that he has more good mornings than bad ones these days, and it used to be the other way around.

Today marks a week of us following the "South Beach" diet. We already feel a lot better. I think one of the hardest things is not to be discouraged about how MUCH we need to lose. We know it will take a long time and of course, we all want to get the weight off and look great in a month..LOL I thought I would share our favorite salad recipe.....trust me..once you try this hot dressing, you won't want to go back to other dressings. We love this made with fresh baby spinach.

Chinese Chicken Salad

For two large salads:

1 large or 2 small boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced. I boil mine, but you can grill too.
2 large plates or bowls of torn lettuce or fresh spinach (our favorite)
grape tomatoes
2 slices of bacon, crumbled (I use the precooked kind)
slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
2% shredded cheddar cheese, or part skimmed mozzarella, shredded
thinly sliced cucumber
thinly sliced sweet onion (opt)

* Add whichever of these ingredients you like or come up with some of your own.

DRESSING

1/2 cup canola or olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP. low sodium soy sauce
2 packets of Splenda
1 dash ground ginger
1 dash black pepper
1 dash garlic powder

** Bring the dressing ingredients to a boil in a small pan while stirring with a whisk. Once ingredients are well blended, pour over the two salads evenly...continue whisking while pouring as the dressing separates easily.

ENJOY and let me know i f you try this please. :o)

Nice Sunday

We are enjoying a really nice Sunday. First my hubby made a nice "South Beach" breakfast which was a hot cinnamon ricotta cheese dish. It was really good. Yesterday we had a small roasted turkey for supper. It was great and we had enough for a turkey salad for lunch and enough turkey breast for another meal. After lunch we played a game of "Cootie" with the boys and also a game of "Memory". Bradly was the winner of both and mom and dad were the big losers. LOL We all had a great time. Bradly got the movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth", for Christmas from Megan and Scott. He loved the movie so much that he borrowed the book from school and has read the whole thing. He has been wanting to watch it again, so that is what we did with the rest of the afternoon. Nick petered out and took a nap during the movie and is actually still napping. I am sipping a nice cup of sugar- free hot chocolate and looking forward to playing a game of "Wordscape" on the puter. Tomorrow we have to take Brad to Buffalo to see the surgeon that did his ear surgery. I am hoping that is the only time I have to brave the cold this week. :o)
.

Saturday, January 24th

I hope no one has given up on me ever posting again. I have been busy, but mostly I think I have the winter blahs. Things have actually been going pretty well. One great success is that Steve and I finally started back on the "South Beach Diet". We are shaking our heads and wondering why we ever stopped eating this way. We love the various foods we can have, and I actually compiled a large recipe book of phase 1 and phase 2 recipes that we really enjoyed the last time we were on this diet. I decided that since I was so diligent on posting some yummy, but not so healthy recipes, that I am going to randomly post some of our favorite recipes that I have either found or converted to be" South Beach "friendly. I think you may be surprised at how delicious healthy eating can be. Today is day # 5 for us, so we are well under way.

Business has been slow in both of my shops. This is to be expected after the holidays. I have sold a few items, but not much. I need to get back to promoting more. I did finish a couple of new bags, but need to get the last one listed.

I have unfortunate and heartbreaking news. Our 21 year old adopted son, Chris, who was released from the county jail in October was arrested again on Wednesday. We were hoping that he had learned something from the last incarceration, but evidently he didn't. We don't know yet what his official charges will be, as there is a chance he may be able to get them reduced. He has two court dates scheduled in two different towns, so we will have to wait and see. The D.A.'s office already said they are quite sure they won't let him out to await the court dates because the last time they did that, he ran. I would rather see him kept right where he is until it is decided what will happen, than to see him have the opportunity to run again and end up in a bigger mess. Our whole family is sad and very disappointed....hopefully this time will be it, because I can't lose the hope that one day he will respect himself enough to live a life he can be proud of.

On a much happier note, Steve and I attended Nick's C.S.E. meeting at school yesterday. There were quite a few people present at this meeting, and every one of them talked about the great improvements they have seen in Nick and how much better school has been going. He does have a ways to go, but the improvements have given everyone encouragement. I think the biggest help has been that his "Skill Builder", Ken, has been going into school and working with him as well as training the staff how best to deal with Nick. Everyone has been pleased with how well Brad transitioned back to home and how well Nick adjusted to him being back home. Brad loves school and is hoping to start bowling once a week after school.

Steven is evidently being hired on permanently for a construction company. For the last couple of months he has been working through a temp agency, so this is great. We have seen him mature and it has been interesting to hear him sounding frustrated at others when they are doing things that he used to do (like drinking with no thought to anyone else). We are so grateful for the changes he has made.

Reid and Rachel are both back at college. Rachel was very ill yesterday. I am hoping she feels better today. Megan and Scott are doing good, although my heart just breaks for Megan. She had to find a new home for one of her dogs and I think it almost broke her heart. As usual when my kids are hurting, I wish I could make it all better, but I can't. I can pray however, and I do plenty of that. :o)

Whew!!

Well, the weekend is over. The kids are showered and ready for school tomorrow and their clothes are out and ready for them to wear. It was a VERY rough weekend. We had the girls Friday and Sat. nights, which was nice. Nick had almost no control at all on Sat. and Sun., and Brad wasn't too great either. Today was better and Nick's skill builder came to work with him, so that was nice. Rachel was home for the weekend too, as she was sick and needed to go to the Dr. and the Chiropractor today. She just left to go back to college. Reid stayed until Friday morning and we enjoyed his visit too. On Thurs. Reid drove into Rachel's apartment as Megan was still there. They figured out that the three of them had not been together since Christmas 2007. How weird is that? They had fun and ordered chicken wings from the Anchor Bar, then Megan headed back to Canada and Reid headed back here and spent the evening with us.

My hubby made buttermilk pancakes from scratch for dinner along with sausage and fried eggs. It was really delicious. I know there was a reason we named him the chief cook and bottle washer..LOL Oh, and Saturday, with the kids help, I got the upstairs clean and put back together, which feels so good.

This week will be busy as the boys have dentist appointments in Batavia and we have a C.S.E. meeting for Nick on Friday, plus Charity and Carolyn are will be here at different times on Wed. they are both workers from S.P.O.A.( Wyoming County mental health). This particular group of workers are from the WAIVER program and they are awesome. They have helped us more than they can possibly know. :o)

I am Early Today!

It isn't even one o'clock in the afternoon and here I am blogging already. I hope I don't throw anyone into heart failure or anything. LOL I actually do have to fold the towels and get them put away, but I thought I would do this first.

At this moment, things are great in our lives. I talked to Nick's teacher yesterday and got a glorious report. He is doing so much better with his melt downs, and he is going to specials (Art, Gym, Music and Library) and actually participating. He is even doing the warm up exercises in gym which he was having fits about not all that long ago. For those of you reading, who do not know Nick, trust me, this is a HUGE improvement. Nick's teacher talked to a reading specialist who advised her to drop Nick's spelling word list for the week from 10 to 4. 10 is too many for him at this time. No matter how much we study, he seems to only get about a 50% on his weekly test. He has a very hard time concentrating and keeping focused. We saw the doctor yesterday and he is letting us try him on a teeny amount of dextroamphetamine to see if that helps with the ADHD. We tried it in a time released spansule form and it made him go into over drive. We are hoping this small amount will enable him to concentrate better. He is also not sleeping in the mornings at school for that half hour every morning, which is so wonderful. His medication makes him sleepy, but it also helps him to control his temper, so it is a catch 22. So anyway, this is HUGE!! LOL

I also spoke with Bradly's teacher yesterday. Due to his hospitalization, Jan. 5th was his first day in middle school/5th grade in his own school. The teacher said he is a cute boy and is doing really well. She has had to speak to him about a couple of strange things he said and a little name calling, but other than that he is also doing great. Steven is doing well, Rachel is back at school and getting quite a few hours at the day care, Reid is home, and Megan is coming to Rachels today. Chris appears to be doing well, but one never knows. It seems nice for a change to have every ones lives running smoothly. After about 5 days of feeling really lousy, I feel like my old self again, so that is good too. The girls are spending the weekend with us, so that will be nice. Best of all, I don't have to set foot out of the house in this freezing weather. The cold bothers my asthma, so I love when I can stay inside. :o)

Brrrr....

The thermometer is steadily dropping and we are supposed to be down in the single digits by morning with a below zero wind chill factor. They are also calling for another 6 inches of snow. We had to take the boys to their Dr. appointment in Springville this afternoon. About 10 minutes before we had to leave it started snowing like crazy and the roads were awful. It usually takes 20-25 minutes to get there and it took 45 minutes today. We would not even have gone except we needed scripts for their meds. Coming back was a little better but we had to wait for awhile on the road as a car had gone off the road and the tow truck was trying to get it out. I am sure glad I don't have to go any where for the rest of the week.

Steven is all moved into his apartment and I am waiting for him to send a couple of pictures by way of his cell phone. I bet it feels really good to him to have a place to call his own. He said it has been cold down there...him and his friends decided it was too cold to go fishing out in the gulf on Sunday. I think he said it was about 40 degrees.

Reid got here safe and sound yesterday. It is really great to have him here, although we haven't seen him today at all since he is hanging out with his friends...and that is fine too. Tomorrow Rachel and Megan are going to see "Rent". I hope the weather is ok for Megan to drive down from Hamilton, Ont.

Well, I am ready to put my feet up and snuggle into my fleecy blanket and read or watch tv. I think American Idol starts tonight. :o)

Saturday, Januarym 10th

Boy, this month is already flying by. I can't believe it is already the 10th. Rachel packed up and moved back to her college today. It is always hard when she leaves after being home on break. Nicholas takes it the hardest, but he adores Rachel. Actually he adores all of his older siblings and visa versa. At dinner tonight he came around to me and laid his head on me and started to cry. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he missed Ray Ray (that is what he has always called Rachel). He felt better when we told him that Reid was coming home from college for a few days. We are all looking forward to his visit too.

Steven did not get moved in last night because the friend whose Aunt and Uncle own the apartment had told Steven he would take him there. The guy went out drinking and then it was too late. Steven was rather bummed today when we talked because the guy didn't go to work today and Steven figured he wasn't going to take him today either. That means Steven has to sleep in his truck tonight, which didn't thrill him at all. I am hoping and have been praying that the guy came through and found time to take him there. Steven has never been there and doesn't know how to get there. The guy is supposed to introduce Steven to the Aunt and Uncle before he moves in. It seems there is always something not going quite right for someone in our family. I guess that happens when you have a big family like we do.

Megan is working a 6 day straight stint and then she is going to Rachel's later this week as Rachel bought them tickets to go see "Rent", which was Megan's birthday present this past year. They are both really looking forward to it and I am so glad that our girls are close. I always wished I had a sister, so it does my heart good to see them together. :o)

Smile, it is Friday

My favorite day of the week is Saturday, but my favorite evening of the week is
Friday. I love knowing that we have a couple of days to relax and we don't have anything pressing to do. We usually watch t.v. or a movie together, which is usually nice..(depending on how the kids are behaving). LOL Nick's favorite movie lately is "Lilo and Stitch". He watched it twice yesterday and just finished it again today. He is funny like that. Even with all the new movies the boys got for Christmas, he would pick an oldie one to watch.

Steven is moving into his new apartment tonight, at least he is supposed to be. His friend told him that his Aunt and Uncle had an apartment on the back of their house for rent. It is fully furnished, has a t.v. with cable and a new air conditioning unit. All utilities are included in the rent. This is a perfect set up for him as he doesn't have any of his household items in Texas with him. He said he is going out on his friends boat on Sunday. They are going out to the gulf. He loves fishing and this kind of fishing is a huge treat. He freezes many of the fish he catches and eats them when he is hungry for fish. He reminds me a lot of my Dad and my oldest brother, Joe. Joe still loves to go out fishing..even in the dead of winter when he has to cut a hole in the ice. Brrr. I tried that once and did not enjoy it at all. One of my earliest memories was of my dad taking me out on West River off from Canandaigua Lake fishing. I caught many sun fish. My dad said I was the only one catching anything. It is kind of cool seeing your parents and siblings shining out of your children on occassion.

We made my Grandma Lilly's homemade ice cream recipe yesterday. It was so good. It is actually frozen custard and just eating it brings back childhood memories. We have not made it in years, and were quite glad our ice cream freezer was still working. It is over 30 years old, so you never know when it will croak, but so far, so good. I guess this was my night for a short trip down memory lane. Thanks for checking in. Have an awesome weekend. Please check out this shop I am promoting today for the Neato Stuff promotional I am taking part in. www.PaintedMemoriesByRos.etsy.com :o)

Another Snow Day

Yup, you guessed it!! We had another snow day from school today. This time it was freezing rain that was the culprit. The kids actually had two whole days back in school from Christmas vacation. We got a lot done today though. We took down the Christmas tree and wow, Bradly is awesome at undecorating the tree, He was a huge help. It took about an hour and a half and it was done. Our sweet neighbor boy came over to carry all of our bins to the basement. He is such a nice boy and a really hard worker. I hope Brad and Nick follow his example with good work ethic and a willingness to help others.

Rachel is working on spelling words with Nick. He has regressed educationally since his hospitalization and it is quite discouraging. He does not read well at all and hates reading. He does enjoy being read to, so that is good.

Bradly had his first day of 5th grade back in his own school. He was attending school at the hospital, but this is in the middle school which is all new to him. He LOVES it. I don't think he is super thrilled with the homework, but he is enjoying being in the bigger school. He missed the bus home on the first day, but got on his bus yesterday and made it home. My hubby was so thrilled when the school called on his cell phone to say that Brad had missed the bus, as he was at the funeral home, standing in front of the casket with the widow. A whole line of people were behind him when his ring tone went off, which was "All I want to Do". LOL....he has since changes his ring tone.

I really need to try and blog everyday. The time just goes by so fast. Yesterday I spent in my studio sewing like a mad women. LOL Then I had to take pics and sit and list every thing I got done on Etsy. This is a time consuming process, but a necessary one. :o)

The New Year

20008 seemed to go so fast. It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes. I am hoping and praying that 2009 finds all my friends and loved ones happy and healthy. It is kind of neat that every year, on January first, we have a fresh new year and a fresh new start to do a little better than the year before. I would like to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and sister-in- law, Aunt and friend than I was in 2008. That probably sounds like a huge undertaking, but it really isn't. I am not talking about a huge change, just small improvements which I believe will come if I can just keep my thoughts and judgement of others just a little more positive and and think more about what small things I could do to make someone elses life a little better.

I would love to make 2009 the year that Steve and Ronna obtain some healthy eating habits that last the whole year not just four or five months. Somedays I feel at least 20 years older than I am and I would like to be healthy when the grandchildren start coming. There are so many things we could enjoy if we would just get some weight off and excerise. When ever I have started eating better and then stopped again, I always tell myself there is always tomorrow. I know if we don't really change some things, there may not be a tomorrow and we will have no one to blame but ourselves. So, maybe some of my readers feel this way too and we could encourage each other and be healthier than we were last year. :o)