Quote of the Day

As I was reading on in the many tangents and rabbit chases I find myself browsing through (Google is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?), I came across this quote. Being the sugar queen that I am, I can’t believe I had never heard this one before!

So, for anyone having a bad day, just remember……

STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backwards!!

And we all know that Life is too short, so you should always eat dessert first. So… go indulge a bit!

This is what happens when you plan.

Oh, the busy days!

to start, I am the kind of person who MUST have my day, or week, or month, what have you, mapped and scheduled down to the letter. I thrive on organization, make a million lists every day, and go insane without things all sitting in perfect angles where ever I’m working.

Today was supposed to start off pretty simple. My Little Man had to stay home sick today, so we had a short little list of priorities to tackle and then it would be home to relax. Well, I guess the words “were supposed to…” should tip off the direction of my day’s story…

The list was simple. Get up and ready, head to the store for waters, Gatorade, and some ice pops since my son is on an all clear liquids diet. Then head to one last store to find him a good pair of little sandals. Easy enough, right? Wrong.

As we are walking to the car, all psyched for our outing, Mommy looks in the car and it hits… the car seat is in Daddy’s car, with Daddy at work! So we take a little detour and tromp around our neighborhood for a while. By the time we got back, it was nap time as we waited for a car seat delivery at lunch time.

Time goes by, the car seat is delivered by my great husband who came home for us and naps come to a close. And then, the real fun begins… !

We load up, stop at the gas station to fill up, and head out to Kohl’s department store – one of our favorites. We chat with a few employees that I used to work with, find Little Bit his prize sandals (that he, of course, wanted to wear to bed…), and start of to the grocery store for the last bit of our journey. Only to be caught with just a LITTLE snag… I turn the key and our van wouldn’t start!!!

Back into the store we go. We make our way back to the customer service desk and call my husband. He comes to jump the car, and has to take it back with him to work to change the battery…

So all in all, the car seat ended up back in Daddy’s car. Daddy had to take two extra long lunches to rescue us from stranded fun (or maybe that’s from spending extra money at Kohl’s he was saving himself from?). And our sick little boy has not gotten any better.

Oh, such fun days!

Oh! I almost forgot! I had made a trial dinosaur birthday cake for a certain someone turning two in August. Hubby had taken it to work, since it wouldn’t have gotten eaten here at home. And then, Mr. Dino decided that he didn’t want to be eaten and slipped off the tray as Daddy was getting out of the car. Sad dinosaur!

Brown Sugar Chicken (Crock pot)

This recipe is SO good and easy! Throw everything in the crock pot in the morning, and it’s ready to go by dinner! Of course, that’s how most crock pot recipes are; and I’d just LOVE to meet the person who came up with that wonderful invention, vital to any kitchen.

2 lb. boneless chicken pieces
1 C. packed brown sugar
2/3 C. vinegar
1/4 C. lemon lime soda (I used Sprite)
2-3 Tbs. minced garlic
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. black pepper

————-

STEP ONE ~
Place chicken (uncooked), in the bottom of the crock pot.

STEP TWO ~
Combine all remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low setting for 6 – 8 hours.
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PERSONAL NOTES:

~ When you combine all the ingredients, it WILL look like a science experiment (Sprite and vinegar are fun HA!). That’s OK, though!

~ Don’t let the chicken cook too much longer over the 8 hours. I’ve made this recipe twice because the first time, beyond my control, we didn’t get home until it had been sitting there 10 hours. We had brown sugar rocks and a crusted crock pot that night!

~ This goes really well with yellow squash and green beans!!

Addictive Pumpkin Muffins

We all love the little spoils in life, no? My Recipe of the Moment today is just that. For those of you who enjoy Starbucks as much as I do (and I don’t even drink coffee!), this is a MUST try recipe! My “regular” as I walk into any given Starbucks would be a Vente hot chocolate and a Pumpkin Loaf. Well, to save a buck or two, here is a recipe for your own pumpkin treat!

1 1/2 cups raisins
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
6 eggs
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup chopped walnuts

——–
STEP ONE ~
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and have enough cupcake papers for 3 dozen muffins. (The recipe will make about 3 dozen – 36) Soak raisins in hot water for about 10 minutes to plump, and then drain.

STEP TWO ~
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, canned pumpkin, and applesauce until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth batter. Add the raisins and walnuts. Spoon into baking cups.

STEP THREE ~
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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PERSONAL NOTES:

~ These are muffins. They WILL turn out still sticky on the top.

~ Store in air-tight containers. To last longer, keep them in the fridge or freeze them.

~ When Hubby tried them, he said, “These are better than the Starbucks bread!” I think that had to have been the best compliment he’s ever given my baking!! ENJOY!

The original source can be found HERE at AllRecipes.com.

I’ve Missed Everyone!!!

Well, HELLO!! to everyone!! It has been way too long since I have been able to stop by for a chat with you all here in my little space. I had a few computer problems, but you know what… I got a new computer so all those problems are solved!!

Let me just catch up a bit…

I got checked for breast cancer and am in the ALL CLEAR on that front, thus far. Of course, I will always be keeping a close check in that area.

I also could not handle the pain and inconvenience of the gallstones any longer. I finally broke, and had surgery to remove my gallbladder in late March. My surgeon was nothing less than a Godsend and the surgery was a full success. The recovery was a bit rough, but I made it through and now I am pain free!

The hubby and I are wonderful, growing together more every day. We have finally learned to break our barriers and are coming to be more than 100% honest about every last thought. God truly does answer prayer. Hubby’s job will soon be needing managers, and he is in top prospects for a promotion and raise in possibly only a month’s time! And, once he gets to a stable, progressing position where he is comfortable, it will be BABY BROTHER OR SISTER talking time!!

The Little Bit… Oh, my Little Bit!!!! Our son will be TWO years old in only a short month and a half!! Time has flown by MUCH too quickly! He has developed the sweetest little temperament! He always loves to clean up after himself, and loves to make sure everything is stacked and lined up, just right. Over all his toys, he LOVES to sit down and read his books, and he is obsessed with shoes! If you leave them laying around, he will make sure to bring them to you, and offer to assist you in making sure they get back on your feet. He has grown so much!!

I am currently back in the workforce, but am praying hard that I will be able to find the opportunity that I have been waiting for, in order to be able to work from home and stay home with our boy.

I’m so glad to join everyone back here in this great virtual space! See you all again… soon!!

My Scares And Some Updates

So, I had a huge breakdown last night. And if I start not making sense, forgive me. I have a lot of thoughts right now.

I have had gallstones for a little over four years now. I’ve modified my diet and always kept it under check and have only had a couple attacks. Well, it’s getting uncomfortable now. No pain, it doesn’t hurt; but I can feel it up against my rib cage. I’m having to come to terms that there’s no more delaying it, and I’m going to have to have surgery. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD MIX with me and surgery!

I have also had lump under my arm that comes and goes that no one could ever diagnose for about 10 years now, and an uncomfortable pain I was starting to have in my breast on the same side a few months ago. Well, the pain has done nothing but get worse and worse and worse. It hurts SO bad, I can barely stretch my arm or back to do anything without having pain. Last week I just about hit the floor in hysteric sobs when I realized I could feel something that WAS NOT part of what is supposed to be there!

A little background: I have a family history of breast cancer. My grandmother has undergone a number of surgeries for it. It’s now come back, and she has only been given a maximum of a couple more years (with chemo). Ever since I was able to really have a say-so in doctors visits I have been begging, pleading and yelling for SOMEONE to give me a mammogram, and still have YET for anyone to grant it to be because “I’m just too young to have cancer.” I’m sorry, but NO WAY!!!

I broke down sobbing for half an hour last night before my hubby realized I was seriously upset (men lol) and came to lie down in bed with me. He said that he’s always going to take care of me no matter what, and he’s not going to think the worst until it happens. He just didn’t realize that I HAVE been thinking the worst for the last two and a half months and it’s finally taken me over!

Anyway, he had me finally make an appointment for next Monday morning for BOTH points of issue. My mom is going to come up to watch Little Bit so he doesn’t have to go, and hubby is going to try his best to take time off so he can go with me because I’m SO SCARED and absolutely just DON’T want to go face that alone!

On a lot happier notes:

Little Bit got an ENTIRE mouth-full of teeth last week… ALL at once! Boy, was that fun! He’s walking around everywhere and now that he’s got some chompers, enjoys eating more big boy meals with Mommy and Daddy! He turned 15 months last Monday, the 17th. Time has flown by MUCH too quickly!

Singing the Praises of My Hubby (and others)

So, after a busy, busy, BUSY weekend, I finally have time to sit and relax, in quiet… as my 15-month-old has crashed back in bed after an early morning of taking Daddy to work and doing our monthly grocery shopping.

I had to post this morning singing the praises of my marvelously wonderful husband.

About three years ago I developed chronic stress headaches. Recently, I have not had many and they have been very few and far between. Last night, however, I ended up with one of the worst episodes I have had in months; with blinding pains in my eyes, nausea and the whole nine yards. (For those who don’t know, they are a combination of migraines and sinus headaches, complete with all symptoms of both.) I managed to dig out my medicine, but knew I was in for a long haul waiting for everything to take effect. One of the bad things about these headaches is that I have to be sitting up or standing, if I lie down they get much worse.

So as I am sitting on the bed in agony, hubby somehow wakes up, which he normally does not do. Even though it was 2:30 AM, he got up to rub my back and neck and did whatever he could to make things better for me. He even got out of bed, now at 3 AM, to run me a hot bath. When my husband wakes up in the middle of the night, he usually will not remember being up, or anything that he did (going to the bathroom or getting a drink and such things). But this night he made sure that he was awake, and did not go back to bed until the medicine had kicked in and I was able to lie down to sleep.

This morning, he did not do anything else before making sure that I was alright. And even stopped to get me a soda on our way to his work, just in case I hadn’t slept off all of the medicine.

It just goes to show that no matter what we go through each day, he will always do whatever he can to take care of our family when we need it the most. Aw!

And while I am on the subject of singing praises, here are a few more…

One of my greatest friends, Erica, has always been there to support me through ups and many downs. I don’t think I could have made it through the darkest time of my life without you. I love you, girl!

The best Mom sites I have ever found are MomConnection.com and TwitterMoms.com. The AMAZING women at Mom Connection are so incredibly sweet and some of the best friends I have made. Twitter Moms is a site for like-minded Moms who are also on Twitter. They are so creative and tallented! There are so many great groups to connect with other Moms with similar interests and hobbies.

And to draw to a close (but absolutely NOT least by any measure!), is Jessica, who I met through Twitter Moms. She is SO sweet and has the biggest heart for not only her little ones, but for everyone around her as well! You’re fantasic!

My Joyful Journal 11.7.08

Sponsored by great friend Danielle.

A memorable moment…
Our Little Bit has FINALLY gotten the whole walking business down!! He still sometimes thinks that crawling is a faster mode of transportation, but if we ask him to stand up and walk, he does! He will stumble and just get right on back up to try again! He has grown up WAY too fast!!!!!

I am grateful…
For many things involving family. Many of which are quite personal, so I won’t bother you with details at this point. As well as I am thankful for the MANY friends I have made who are the most caring, generous and loving people that I am blessed to call MY FRIENDS!

I laugh…
When people in management don’t do things as promised. I have just moved beyond anger at this point. When a landlord considers things that they say as just another job, and don’t take into consideration that those requests come from the people who have to live their every day lives with those things wrong. Oy vey.

I will celebrate…
The Holidays just around the corner! Great time with family, marvelous (not to mention tons of) food, the giving of gifts to those most important in our lives! …

Something new…
I have remade our monthly, four-week menu plan. Times are getting harder by the day, but having our four-week menu has helped in ways we didn’t even see! We only shop once a month for major groceris and I never have to worry about what to do for dinner. Hubby has decided that he is determined to become more healthy, so he made his requests to change some things on our menu. Which I have done for this week.

A joyful picture from this week…
You just can’t help but love a face like this!! This was Little Bit on Halloween night.

Wordless Wednesday – The Days I Miss…

Our Turtle

I’m a little late getting these posted, but of course I have to show off our sweet little turtle who had the blast of his life over the past holiday weekend on Halloween.

The sweats were obviously way too big, but we bought them to last through the colder months, even though he kept crawling right on out of them! The shell is a spray painted roasting pan.

He had never had so much fun! He thought it was just absolutely grand that we walked around and talked to all of these new people he could grin and smile at and talk with while they gave him fist-fulls of candy that he can’t even eat this year! We also had a little family “party”, so he was just beside himself getting to see his grandparents and great-grandparents all afternoon! (And just so you know, we don’t “celebrate” Halloween; but we enjoy having fun and going around trick-or-treating. We enjoy the “lighter” side, I guess you could say.)

The Best of the Mommy Bloggers Carnival

One of the great things I love about TwitterMoms is the wonderful networking of so many great Mommy Bloggers who all share two great things in common: blogging and motherhood.

Susanna is an example of only one of the countless great Moms there. She is the keeper of A Modern Mother.com, and creator of the first edition of The Best of the Mommy Bloggers Carnival.

There are many great columns that made the cut, and I am honored that my story What A Family Night It Was was a part of the top stories! Since this is a carnival and contest, I would greatly appreciate a vote… pretty please?! All you have to do is head over to The Carnival and post a little comment in my favor.

Thank you all so much for everyone’s great support!

My Joyful Journal 10.31.08

From Danielle’s Joyful Journal

A memorable moment…
This past Wednesday, my brother came down and carved pumpkins for Halloween with me. It was nice, because we never get to do any “sibling” activities together anymore now that he is in school and working, and I have a family.

I am grateful…
For the little that we have. I just can’t understand why so many think that you MUST live with thousands upon thousands just sitting in a savings account. Times are hard. VERY hard beyond what I can even describe without getting emotional, but we manage to live with the little we are blessed to have.

I laugh…
At my brother, who thinks it’s funny to keep pet flies. Ok, not really. They are for a genetics project in his class, but still.

I love…
My family. Period.

Something new…
It’s Little Bit’s FIRST HALLOWEEN today!!! He is going to be a turtle!

I will celebrate…
What I have in life.

A joyful picture from this week…
Our carved pumpkins for Halloween! My brother made a wolf (he loves details) and I made the kitty cat. For the first pumpkins done by myself with no help, I would say I did pretty well freehanding that thing… and my accident-prone self didn’t cut myself once!!

Food Photo Contest

I’m entering in the Food Photo Contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. Little Bit has always HATED getting messy! So when it came time for his first birthday and the infamous Smash Cake, the funniest part was how much he DIDN’T want to play with it! The cake only got touched when Daddy smashed it on his hands! He held this pose for five minutes until someone cleaned off all that yucky mess!

Pirate’s Gold Coins – WARNING!

I wanted to get this out earlier, but PLEASE take heed to this warning before letting your little ones (or not-so-little ones) dig into the treasures gathered from tomorrow night on Halloween.

Some of you may remember the milk chocolate Gold Pirate Coins that used to be very popular. There has been a consumer product advisory and recall of these coins due to the imported candy testing positive for MELAMINE. These coins are commonly found at Costco, dollar stores and other bulk retailers.

Melamine has been found to be the cause of a number of infant deaths and sickening thousands others in China, where the coins are produced.

For those who thrive on checking rumor to truth, it has been found proven through Snopes.com.

Trick-or-treating is a fun pasttime, and a great way to keep the spirit of having fun; but please, DO be careful in your outings and make sure to check ALL treats gathered from your night of fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy’s Future Superman!