Growing Up

I've been really busy the last couple weeks, and haven't had much time to keep up here. I'm not going to try to remember everything that's gone on, but I wanted to brag on my boys for a minute.

First, Saturday was Johnathan's Space Derby with the cub scouts. It made an already busy week very hectic. Corey has classes three nights a week, and we're coming up on finals week, so he could not miss any classes to help us work on the rocket. He also works full time. So, that pretty much left me to help Johnny with his rocket. I'd never made a rocket before. And if you were in my shop class with me in 7th grade, well, even my bridge was a failure. Every spare moment we got was spent sanding, and sanding, and sanding... When it came time to paint it, Johnathan chose the design all on his own. He found some gold star stickers in the arts and crafts box that he thought would be cool. So, he decided to paint the body black, and the front and back ends gold. It had a gold racer stripe going down the length of the top, and a gold 100 on each side, along with three of the gold stars. I'll update with a picture in a little while.

Tuesday, was Ethan and Elizabeth's last sign language lesson. They had fun with it, and we are still signing to each other. That used to be the time that we would go to Discovery Time at the main library. The new branch of the library opened this week, and their Discovery Time is on Mondays. This doesn't work for us because it runs into when Ethan goes to preschool. So, we've decided to take a break for at least the next month until school is out. Then depending on what we've got going on, we'll decide whether or not to start going.

Wednesday was kindergarten round up for Ethan. Next year is going to seem a little strange. Kindergarten is an all day program. So, I will only have Elizabeth at home all day next year. I'm hoping to get a neighborhood preschool together like I did for Ethan last year. Either way I will not be paying for preschool next year. Between a combination of the neighborhood preschool if we do it, Circle Time that is done through the Family Resource Center at Club Heights Elementary, Discovery Time, playgroup, and any homeschooling I do with her next year, I think it will be enough for a 3 year old. So, it will be very strange for me to only have one child at home next year. It actually makes me want another baby that much more. It's hard to believe that Ethan is old enough for kindergarten.

While we were at the round up, the school counselor started talking to me. He works personally with Johnathan, as well as the other children in his class. He told me that he thinks Johnathan has made vast improvements in the last couple of months. I have to agree. He seems much more mature to me lately, and is really handling things well, over all. It made me happy to hear his counselor had noticed it too.

The day of the derby, Ethan went to a birthday party. His friend Tyson, and Johnathan's friend Daghen are brothers. The derby was Daghen's first Cub Scout activity, and he and Johnny were both excited that we was starting scouts. We took Daghen to the derby with us, and his mom kept Ethan after the party to play with Tyson while we finished up at the derby. Johnathan's rocket didn't do very well, but I was really proud of him. He was happy and excited the whole time and was having fun just racing his rocket and cheering on his friends. He never once complained about his rocket's poor performance. Then later on, his friend won first prize! Johnathan didn't place. But instead of getting upset, he happily congratulated his friend. This is just some of the proof of the way he has matured in the last year.

Finally, Sunday morning, I woke up and came out of my room to hear Ethan saying "Johnny's going to vacuum!" I went in to see what was going on. The boys had gotten up and by their own choosing, had picked up their room, and Johnathan was about to vacuum. Johnny is hypersensitive to certain sensations. Loud noises, and anything that gives a mechanical shake are just some examples. He has always been terrified of the vacuum. So, although I know he is plenty old enough to learn how, I've never pushed the issue. So, it was neat to see him come out and get the vacuum by his own choosing and attempt to do it himself. I did help him to keep the cord out of the way, and told him that until he gets a bit older and a little more coordinated and proficient, that I don't want him vacuuming without me or Corey there to supervise. But I was really proud of my little guy for jumping such a big hurdle. Autism may not have a cure, but I think bit by bit, we are going to conquer it.

Tea Parties Are a Bad Idea

I want to take a minute to give my 2 cents on the tea parties going on around America right now. This is a really, really BAD idea. Sending tea bags or any other questionable substance into the IRS or any other government work place will only waste people's time, and YOUR tax payer dollars.

I used to work in the mail room for the IRS back around the time of the whole Anthrax scare. Anytime something comes into the mailroom that is questionable in any form, it HAS to be treated as Hazardous Material.

When that happens, all of the work has to stop. The employees have to be either quarantined or evacuated to a safe place. The hazmat team has to be called in to deal with the substance. And because of the Anthrax scare, they cannot assume that it's tea because of the news stories or whatever and just ignore it. Because as we found out during the anthrax scare, some people are just sick, and they could even get some great inspirations from these Teabaggers.

I had to be quarantined or evacuated a number of times during the three years I had worked there. The times I was quarantined, there were at least two occasions when I had to be kept past my work hours (and I worked swings the first year so by the time I got out of work it was 10pm) before they evacuated us. Both times I was told to go home immediately, not to come in contact with anyone, shower well, and wash all clothing immediately and anything else I had come in contact with before coming in contact with other people. One of those times I had a little 3 year old and a small infant who I could not pick up from the sitters until I did all this in order to protect their safety, even if the substance really was nothing.

And you know what is used to pay the hazmat team, the police that have to get involved, the overtime that is needed in order to now get these tax forms through on time because of the amount of time that the employees are not allowed to work during the quarantine/evacuation, etc, etc? Tax payer dollars. So, if you are looking for a way to protest your tax payer dollars not being used efficiently, this is not the way to do it.

Please, if you are thinking about attending one of these Tea Parties or being involved in anyway, I ask you to please think of this and ask yourself if this is tax money and time well spent.

A Beautiful Day

We had such a nice last day of spring break. Well, Ethan did have to go back to school today, but Johnny didn't and since Ethan's school day is only about 2 hours long, I still consider today to be spring break.

I woke up early with Corey at 6. I know that seems insane, but with him gone so often between work and school, I take what I can get. And I tend to be a bit of a morning person anyway, so I get up at 6 with him about half of the time. I usually get the bed made and then read my scriptures while he eats breakfast and gets his ipod ready to go and we chat a little bit.

Once he was gone and the kids were up and dressed and through with breakfast, we all headed outside to the front yard. Next Monday is our spring clean up pick up day for green waste. So since the sun was out, I decided that today was a good day for yard work. We've had a few wind storms recently that had blown some garbage into our yard, so I quickly got the kids to work picking up garbage and putting outside toys where they belong. After that, we piled into the van for a trip to Lowe's. I needed a new trowel, and some new garden gloves. They also had a pair of kid gloves that were Johnny's size so I got those for him. Ethan was disappointed because he loves to help me in the garden. But he isn't as much help to me as his brother because he's still a little too young to really understand the difference between a plant that is considered a weed, and a plant that isn't considered a weed. I like to let him help me plant new plants and water. He's good at that. But it's still a bit early to be planting any new flowers so I needed someone who could help me weed. We left with the promise that next week we could come back to see if they had anymore gloves that size in. Elizabeth, who is NO help in the garden at all yet, saw a pair of Dora gloves that she wanted and cried all the way out to the car when I said no. I might surprise her with them next week too.

By the time we left Lowe's it was getting close to when I needed to be getting Ethan his lunch before he had to go to school, so we went through the drive thru at Del Taco for tacos and quesadillas. After lunch, we all walked to the preschool and just enjoyed being out on such a nice day.

When we got back, I put Johnathan to work cleaning up the front porch and sweeping the porch and driveway. Have you ever given an 8 year old boy the job of sweeping outdoors before? You should try it sometime. There is nothing that they have to worry about breaking so they can be as aggressive as they want. There were lots of "Hiyah!"s coming from our house! While he was doing that, I went to work, pruning back my snap dragons and bushes and while at work doing that found the one thing that I hate about gardening. A spider. And not just any spider, either. I found this spider:

I am not the type of person who can bring herself to stomp on a spider, or swat at one with a shoe or something like that. The little ones maybe, but black widows aren't little and the anticipation of the squish just grosses me out. So, I went and got a can of ant poison and sprayed the heck out of it.

Johnathan and I got most of the front flower garden weeded by the time we had to go get Ethan. We found a couple other surprises in our gardening adventures. The first was a caterpillar. I got a couple good pictures of it under one of my snap dragons, which I will show just as soon as my husband ever gets iphoto fixed. We also found a ladybug.

After we got Ethan, I got Elizabeth down for a nap and Johnathan and I finished the front yard. My arms were trembling and my shirt must have come up in back a bit, because I have a nice sunburned stripe along my lower back. It's supposed to be kind of yucky weather the next few days so I won't be able to do anymore until Friday, but at least the front is done and now I just have to concentrate on the back yard. It will be more work. I have a Virginia creeper back there that has taken over everything and I plan to cut that way back, and prune my lilac bush a little bit. I need to get the weeds out of the beds and get my little corner bed ready for strawberries. 

Last year, Ethan and I decided that for a project he and I would grow some strawberries and make homemade jam. Well, the birds ate a lot of them, we had a hard time keeping Buddy out of the bed, and they just didn't do very well because of all this. There were just a handful left and one day they were nice and red. I decided that I would let Ethan go out and pick the few that were left and we'd buy some more to go with them to make our jam. Later that day before we had a chance to pick them, Libby went out to play. I went out to check on her to find her sitting innocently by the strawberry patch with red juice running down her chin and hands. There wasn't a single strawberry left in the patch. This year, I'm going to see about getting some chicken wire or something to help keep birds, dogs, and cute little girls out of them.

It's been such a nice end to our spring break. When 6:30 rolled around Libby could barely keep her eyes open, and Ethan was yawning. Johnathan wasn't quite ready for bed, but was acting subdued. I got the younger kids to bed and had a quiet evening with Johnny before I sent him off to take a bath before going to bed. And now the house is quiet and peaceful and you wouldn't for a moment think it is supposed to rain tomorrow.

For my before bed project, I plan to make some greeting cards.

Good night. I hope your day was just as beautiful and fun, and productive as ours.

God is With You, Forever

I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about the Relief Society lesson that I found so touching today. 

Everyone goes through trials and I have had my own share. To name a few, my dad developed a tumor on the left side of his brain and had it removed when I was 16. That was scary enough, especially since my mom had always stayed home with us kids and hadn't been in the work force for about 30 years or so, and the work force had changed drastically in that amount of time. She didn't feel like she had the skills necessary to get a job that would pay well enough to take care of me and herself should my dad not survive the surgery. When he did survive the surgery, it was a really tough year of him not going to work. He had worked for his company for many many years and he still received payment while he was recovering, but we relied mostly on food storage that year to make sure we had enough money to afford other things if needed. My first child was suspected to have autism at 3 1/2 years old and would have been diagnosed if it hadn't been for his age. No doctor was willing to diagnose him until he turned 5 and until then he was categorized as developmentally delayed in order to receive treatment. I have a nephew who has Cystic Fibrosis. I have another nephew who was born in perfect health, but when he developed RSV early in his life the doctors ignored it. He had a massive seizure when he was 6 weeks old, which killed over 50% of his brain cells, leaving him blind, and with multiple other severe disabilities. He finally passed away at 19 months old. I had to live with my in-laws for a year after living on my own, in my own home with my own rules and ways of doing things for six years. I have fought post partum depression twice, and the second time almost killed me. I watched my mother fight uterine cancer. These are only some of what I have had to endure, but the point is, I have had trials that I have had to face.

Yet, not even in my darkest hour, when I was suffering from depression, have I ever felt truly alone. In many ways I think that is what has always gotten me through the tough times. Because as long as I am careful to keep my Savior close in my life, I can always feel His love surrounding me in my time of need.

Two and a half years ago, when we first moved to Washington Terrace, I was right in the midst of post-partum depression. Johnathan had been going to an alternative kindergarten at West Haven Elementary, and they were conducting an experimental classroom that year that he was a part of, that was designed specifically for children on the autism spectrum, since they often have very different needs than other children with special needs. Because of this, I felt very strongly that he needed to stay at WHE for the remainder of the school year, even though it was only November. It was the only class like it in the district, but moving to Washington Terrace placed us outside the special needs boundaries for this school, and this meant that if we chose to keep him there, we would have to transport him ourselves, as no bus would be available. He had never taken the bus before anyway, so we had already been transporting him ourselves, but it meant that I was driving for two hours, every day for five days a week just to take him to and from school. I also had a 3 year old and a baby who had to come with us. These daily trips didn't leave a whole lot of time for other things like spending time with my kids, or getting housework done, let alone having any time to spend with adults. Johnathan was acting out as a result of the move and the change in his environment. There were meltdowns almost daily. Corey was going to school and working full time, and I was left alone with the kids a lot. I felt very lonely.

We hadn't been living here very long when I was given my first calling -- Relief Society pianist. Sounds easy enough if you know that I play, but I'm not the type of pianist that can look at a piece and just sit down and play it without a previous thought. I need to have some time to practice if I don't want to have to assault anyone's ears. With the daily two hour trips and just trying to get the very basic chores done so we had clean laundry and dishes and a decent meal on the table at night, plus trying to give my kids any attention, while I felt like I was drowning, I really didn't have a lot of time to practice. And it showed. I sounded bad and I knew it. I had many times when I wondered why the Lord had given me such a calling when He knew how much of my time was already being taken as it was. But this is also when I learned that the Lord really does know what He's doing, and has a plan in mind for me, and for everyone.

One night, Corey was at classes, and I had just gotten dinner cleaned up and the younger kids in bed and was sitting on my couch, watching tv and missing my husband, feeling lonely and just really wanting to crawl in a hole and hide for a while, when the Relief Society chorister called. I'd met her a few times and she called to review the next month's music schedule, when we got talking. I learned that she was the head speech therapist at Washington Terrace Elementary, and that her own son, now grown, was autistic. Somewhere in our conversation she figured out that I was having a very tough time, was in the midst of depression, and was being left alone a lot. She understood so much of what I was going through, both with Johnathan, and with the PPD. She began doing little things to help me. Once in a while, on one of Corey's class nights, she would show up at my door to announce that she was here to get the kids through dinner and put them to bed and I was to go to the library to read, go get my hair done, go see a girly movie, or whatever I wanted. Sometimes I opted to stay at home because it was so good just to have someone to talk to. She would call me in the middle of the day from work to see how I was doing. She would bring us dinner once in a while so I could take the night off of cooking. She would come over just to visit, look around for a moment and then grab the mop, or would start going to town on the walls or any number of the other things that were being brushed aside because at that moment of my life they just weren't on my list of priorities. My priorities were just getting through the day. She would come on her lunch hour to announce that we were going for a walk to make sure that I got out into the fresh air. She was the first reason why I was called into the pianist position. She is now Johnathan's speech therapist at Washington Terrace Elementary. She has been an angel in disguise for our family, and especially to me.

One afternoon, months into my calling, I found myself with a few moments that I could actually practice. I decided to seize the opportunity. I was deep in the very darkest part of my depression at this point, and on the list of music for that week was the hymn "Did You Think to Pray". Music has been a very spiritual thing for me, akin to prayer, only I seem to feel it more. I would even go so far as to say that music speaks to me much more clearly than most scripture I've ever read. Also, for whatever reason, perhaps because I'm a singer more than I am a pianist, if a piece of music has words, even if they are not being sung, I always hear them in my head while I'm playing, and many times even mouth the words. Maybe this helps to drive home the point when I need it driven. I want to share the words to the third verse and chorus, which are the words that really struck me that day:

When sore trials came upon you,

Did you think to pray?

When your soul was full of sorrow,

Balm of Gilead did you borrow

At the gates of day?

Oh, how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don't forget to pray.

This was the second reason I had been given this calling. So that I could hear the sweet words of this hymn and be reminded that in my moments of sorrow, I need not carry the burden alone. I have a Savior who already knows my pain. At that moment, I couldn't remember the last time I had knelt in prayer. I was still going to church, obviously, and had just kind of been going through the motions, but nothing more for quite a while. This was the moment when that changed, and I don't think there were many moments after that that I wasn't praying -- praying for comfort, for strength, for knowledge, for energy, for whatever it was that I needed. And it was so good to know that even though I still had a lot of pain, that I didn't have to go through it alone. And that made the burden lighter. It was in that moment that I finally began to heal. 

As difficult as every trial I have had has been, each one has shaped the person I am now. They have made me stronger, more selfless, more willing to serve, more patient, more kind, more willing to find the light within the darkness. I hope that I can continue to endure any trial given to me, knowing that I have my Savior there, and that I will always remember that He has already suffered for me. He knows my heart. 

And should I ever find myself wanting to complain of my trials again, I hope that I will remember D&C section 122 verses 8 and 9:

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art though greater than he?

Therfore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and they years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

This was such a touching lesson, and I thought it was so fitting for Easter morning. I love the week of Easter and how my thoughts turn to the Savior in such a way that reminds me of what He has done for me, and what is promised to me because of what He has done for me. But only if I endure the trial of my life on earth well.

Happy Easter

Pictures from my Old Blog That I Want to Keep

Feeling Lazy Today

I was really looking forward to yesterday. It was one rare day where I didn't have to take Johnathan or Ethan to school, no one had a sign language class, a chess club meeting, or a scout meeting. We had plenty of food and other household goods in the house, and I'm ready for Easter where buying is concerned, so no need to go to the store. My poor house has been greatly ignored lately and it was really starting to show. So, I was looking forward to having a full day ahead of me where I could just focus on the house.

I worked really hard. I washed Ethan's sheets and made his bed from scratch, as well as made my bed and Libby's. Johnathan is responsible for his own bed, and he did that. I did four loads of laundry and got about 2/5 of it put away. I helped the boys with their room for a while. It didn't get finished because I needed to go make dinner, and they were supposed to work without me (yeah, that's a funny joke). I made dinner, a vegetable dip for today (Easter with the in-laws), and some Irish soda bread with raisins for breakfast this morning.

I went to bed late last night with the kitchen still a mess, but I was tired. I will go tackle that now so I can have it done before we head to Corey's parents house for an egg hunt and dinner.

But I was so tired from working so hard yesterday that I slept in until Libby came into my room at 8:30 asking very sweetly for a bowl of oatmeal with raisins. I got her going on breakfast and then reclined on my couch for almost 40 minutes. I wasn't completely unproductive, though, since I was reading my scriptures the entire time. Johnathan finally broke my laziness when he asked for breakfast. That's when I decided it was time to start moving and getting something done. :)

So Proud of Him

I will definitely be back to update with pictures for this.

In the past, cutting Johnathan's hair had always been a major ordeal. He is extremely sensitive to textures, and other senses, and it just made the whole experience very painful to him as well as to everyone else involved. I used to cut it with a buzzer because although he cried and fought me the entire time, I could do it quickly, it would look decent when I was finished, and as long as I used one of the shields, I wouldn't have to worry that I might cut him if he just so happened to move in the wrong direction, which happened more often than not. Hair cutting was also a two person ordeal. We had to have one person holding him down and talking him through it, and another person cutting his hair. And forget taking him to a salon. They never would have put up with it, so we were stuck with doing it ourselves. And remember, this is all part of his autism so he cannot help being like this. Imagine what it would be like if you were very sensitive to sound, touch, etc, and you were being put through a situation where there you were being forced to sit under bright lights, being held down by another person, with a funny plastic thing around your shoulders, hair all down your neck and sticking to your face because you are crying, and listening to the buzzing noise of the buzzer as it vibrates over your head, removing something that provides warmth to your head, or listening to the snip snip of scissors. Do I have you crying yet, because I know I am bawling right now thinking about what my poor baby had to endure every six to eight weeks. And we always cut it as short as we dared without risking cutting him so that it would prolong the time in between cuttings.

Finally, during my pregnancy with Libby, he just got way too big and violent at hair cuts and we decided it was not worth the risk of him kicking, headbutting, or hitting me in the stomach and possibly losing the baby over. So, he went about 4 or 5 months without a hair cut while I finished my pregnancy and then recovered.

When we revisited cutting his hair again, I presented him with a choice. He has nice hair, and unlike his brother's, it lays nicely on his head, so I told him that we really needed to cut his hair because he was starting to look like a girl (which he didn't want to be), and that he could choose to either let me cut it with the buzzer, or with a pair of scissors. He didn't like either choice, but to him the lesser of the two evils was the scissors. They are quieter, and don't vibrate against his head. So, we put a movie on the portable DVD player for him and went to work. Corey was there the entire time to talk him through it or hold his hand if he started to get agitated while I worked. And that was the beginning of cutting his hair with scissors every six weeks. Again, I cut it as short as I dared without cutting him and still having it look good to help prolong the weeks in between cuttings. He has nice hair, and it suited him very well.

But a few weeks ago I noticed that he has horrible dandruff. He had cradle cap (baby dandruff) pretty bad as a baby and small child, and I remembered that once we started buzzing it regularly it disappeared and didn't come back. Our other alternative was to use a dandruff shampoo, but it isn't tear free, and I don't trust Johnathan's hair washing abilities enough yet to think he could do so without getting it in his eyes. Corey used to have a real problem with dandruff, but ever since he started buzzing his hair it went away and has never come back. So, I decided I'd rather deal with buzzing Johnathan's hair over stinging eyes if shampoo got into them. I gave Johnny a week or so to think it over. He has an automatic toothbrush, and uses it so I talked about how he puts that in his mouth and the sensation of the buzzer is very much like the toothbrush, and is actually a little quieter.

Then on hair cutting day, I kept the scissors handy just in case, but then turned on the buzzer. Johnny started panicking a little, but I said, "Just listen to it". And we just sat there for a few minutes listening to it, until he seemed a little more comfortable with it. And then I said "lets try touching the handle. Not the hair cutting part -- just the handle." He wasn't sure he liked that very much, but then I showed him how with the #4 shield on I could hold it against my hand and it wouldn't cut me. He still wasn't sure. I had cut Corey's hair earlier that day, but I noticed later that there were a few stray hairs that got missed, so I took the opportunity to show Johnny what I would do with it on his dad's head. He saw that it didn't hurt his dad and just cut the hair. And he finally said okay. We put in a movie for him on the portable DVD player to help take his mind off of it. He was surprised how much faster it was to cut his hair this time. There were a few times when he got agitated but we got him through it. And when we were finished he looked at himself and decided he really liked it. It's really short, and when he got up for school the next morning to find out that I wouldn't need to comb his hair that day, because there isn't enough to comb, he thought that was awesome. So, I think after 8 years, we have finally conquered hair cutting with Johnathan.

It's just one more sign to me that although, autism cannot be cured, we are beating it, and he is becoming more mature with each passing day, and is making me believe more and more that he really is going to make it and have a wonderful, successful life.

Apple Spice Muffins

This is what we all (except Ethan who wanted another breakfast burrito) had for breakfast this morning with a banana and a glass of milk.

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 T plus 1 1/2 tsp powdered milk

1/2 cup water

2 1/2 cups shredded apple

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat the top and sides of muffin pans with cooking spray, or use liners. 

In a large bowl, cream together the applesauce, butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into the egg mixture. Reconstitute the powdered milk with 1/2 cup of water, and mix into the batter. Fold in apples. Scoop into muffin cups to fill about 3/4 full.

To make the crumble topping, in a small bowl, combine sugar, flours, cinnamon, and butter. If you are lucky enough to have one, use a pastry blender, otherwise use two butter knives to mix the crumble together until it looks like little peas. Sprinkle on top of the muffins

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes for jumbo muffins, and 25 for regular muffins. Remove from bans to cool.

This is a recipe that I found years ago and then modified to give it a little more flavor or color, make it healthier and make it cheaper. If you don't want to use applesauce, you can use a full 1/2 cup of butter. This was the first time I'd ever used the whole wheat flour in it. My family is used to eating whole wheat bread, but not used to eating whole wheat flour in other baked goods so I want to get them used to it slowly, so I substituted just part of the regular flour for whole wheat. You can do all all-purpose flour or all whole wheat flour. The 1/2 tsp of nutmeg was my own addition because I love nutmeg! We use powdered milk when cooking if a recipe calls for milk. We drink regular 1% milk because we can't stand the taste of powdered milk just to drink it. But then, we don't like the taste of skim milk either, which is what it's supposed to reconstitute to. But using powdered milk in oatmeal, muffins, and other recipes saves us a ton of money. As a family of five, we go through a lot of milk just by drinking it and pouring it over cereal alone! The original recipe only calls for 2 cups of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced. I wanted more apple flavor than that so I upped it to 2 1/2 cups. Then one day when I was making these I got lazy and decided just shredding them would be a lot faster and easier (this was my pre-apple slicer days). So, I left the skins on, and shredded away. I liked it a lot better and continue to do it this way. By shredding them, you don't get big chunks of skin, but still enough to add some extra fiber. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of walnuts, but they burn Corey's tongue, so we leave out the nuts. Sometimes we'll add pecans if we have them in the house since walnuts are the only nut Corey seems to have issues with.

Also, last night when I went to put in the brown sugar, I discovered that when I went to Target with Johnathan yesterday, I somehow didn't end up coming home with the brown sugar I had planned on buying since we were completely out. I checked my receipt and I must have put it down before getting up to the front to pay because it isn't on there. So, what do you do when you want brown sugar in a recipe but don't have it? You add 2 tablespoons of molasses to 1 cup of white sugar.

iPhoto is Broken

I have several posts going on in my head right now that I wanted to use pictures with and I wanted to update Corey and Johnathan's pictures to the right with some that I just took, but when I went to upload the pictures this morning I discovered that Corey broke iPhoto. He'll have to fix it when he gets home this afternoon.

But I think I'll go ahead and get these posts out anyway so I don't forget about them.

An Experiment

I am constantly in awe of people who use no or very few prepackaged goods, and I am constantly swearing to myself that I could never do that. But I was thinking about it the other day and asked myself, "Why couldn't I?" I'm a fairly good cook, if I do say so myself. my bread making skills could use some help, and I can't make a pie crust (unless you don't care about it being pretty), but I do pretty good! So, I've decided that for the next month I am not going to buy any prepackaged goods, except for a few types of cereal that I use in recipes (corn flakes, bran flakes, frosted shredded wheat, and raisin bran). No hamburger helper, no cereal, no instant oatmeal now that I'm feeling more confident in my oatmeal making abilities, no cake mixes, etc. I do already have some of those things in the house but since they keep well, I am making a commitment to not use them or buy any more for one month, unless it's something that has already been made up and I have leftovers (Corey's birthday cake). This will not include pasta or tortillas (I know how to make pasta but I don't have a pasta maker so it's a pain in the neck, I have always wanted to learn to make tortillas and I may do that at a later time, but not for this experiment). It will also not include microwave popcorn (because I don't have a popcorn popper) or soda (yes I know I need to cut back but I'm not ready for that yet) and although I'd rather not use it, I may use a package of ramen now and then because I already have it in the house and Ethan loves it, but other than that and the cereals that I regularly use in recipes, from now until May 9, I will not be buying it. 

I'm also going to work on my bread making skills this month. I bought myself a bag of whole wheat flour, and some yeast and will just start working on it. My mom has my grandpa's old bread machine tucked away for me if I ever want it. It definitely sounds handy and I may ask for it once I get the hang of it, but for now, I think I've decided I want to learn how to do it without the machine. I bought myself a couple bread pans, and I have a pretty straightforward sounding recipe to start out with from my Better Homes and Garden's Cook Book.

I have several good recipes that I can use for breakfasts, etc, so I'm gonna give this a whirl. If it's amazingly easy at the end of the month I think I will use up the prepackaged stuff I already have and then just keep on not buying it.

Today is day one of this little experiment. Yesterday was our busy day. Elizabeth barely survives Wednesdays, and she crashed on our way home from the library and didn't even want to wake up to have dinner. So she woke up HUNGRY this morning. So, she ate half of a banana while I made her some oatmeal with raisins, sugar, syrup, and pumpkin pie spice, and while that was cooling, she had a cup of yogurt. Later on, I made a bowl of the same oatmeal for Johnathan.

Ethan had a breakfast burrito. Did you know you can cook eggs in the microwave? This is great news for me because I love eggs but I hate cleaning up the pan after cooking them. I don't know how or if it would work on eggs other than scrambled because I've never tried that. Just spray a mug with cooking spray, put in one to two eggs, some salt and pepper, some herbs if you want any, any veggies, breakfast meat, or cheese that you might want, and stick it in the microwave. The original article I found this info in said to microwave one egg for 45 seconds. My microwave won't fully cook an egg in that much time and I put it in for 1 minutes -- 2 minutes for two eggs. For Ethan's burrito, I put in two eggs, sprinkled it with salt, and some mozzarella cheese, and mixed it up with a fork. I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, then put it on a whole wheat tortilla and kind of mashed the egg down and spread it across, then drizzled it with a little ketchup and rolled it up. About that time Elizabeth came running and yelling "Eggies!!!!" Did I mention she woke up really hungry this morning? So, I scrambled an egg in a cup with some mozzarella cheese for her. Johnathan thought the breakfast burrito looked really good (remember this is my autistic, texture and taste sensitive kid, so this is good news!) and said he thinks that's what he'll have for breakfast tomorrow morning. I think Mom better go buy another carton of eggs!

Speaking of Mom, There is still a good half of Corey's birthday cake leftover. What is a doughnut? What is a pancake? That's right, so cake should definitely not be the taboo breakfast food that it has been made out to be. So that was my breakfast! :)

Ethan and Libby are heading to my parents house in a little bit and Johnathan and I are going on a mom and son date. He is the only one of the kids that hasn't gotten a new pair of sandals yet, so we're going to go to Target to pick him out a pair. And he has earned a gift certificate for a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut for being such a great reader, so we will go to the dine in Pizza Hut in Roy for lunch. I've decided that dinner tonight will be the leftover baked ravioli that I made for Corey's birthday dinner the other night, some green beans, and salad.

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life!

Today is Corey's 31st birthday. He has both work and school today so he hasn't really been able to enjoy his birthday, but he has the day off of work tomorrow and no classes so we plan to celebrate then.  I went and got him some shirts from ShopKo today, and a few other things. I plan on making a yummy baked ravioli dinner tomorrow night, and in a little bit I need to go frost his cake. I hope he has a great day both today and tomorrow, and I hope he knows how much I still love him -- even more than I did when I was 16 -- and how thankful I am that he is such a major part of my life.

Popcorn Popping!

It was a beautiful day (finally! I was seriously beginning to think winter might last forever!), and we walked the boys to school today. On the way back from taking Johnathan, Ethan and I saw a glorious sight while walking through a cat walk on the way home. There were blossoms just starting to bud. Tree blossoms, like crocuses, are one of those things that symbolizes hope for me. Hope that the long, cold winter really is going on it's way and the warm, lazy days of summer lay ahead. I was wishing I had had my camera. In fact I was going to go snap a picture of it later but I developed the devil of all migraines. It was the worst one I've had in years. So no shot of blossoms, but maybe I'll take my camera with me tomorrow on the way to take Johnathan to school.

Family Feud

This was on my friend, Sarah's blog and I thought I'd play along

I, too, tag anyone who wants to play. Copy the questions, and don't use my answers!

1 - Name something you use in the shower?

shampoo

2 - Name something a football player wears under his uniform? 

deodorant

3 - Name something people hate to find on their windshield?

bird poop

4 - Name something a man might buy before a date?

tickets

5 - what is another word for blemish?

zit

6 - Something you cook in the microwave?

popcorn (this really deserves its own food group!)

7 - Name a piece of furniture people need help moving?

couch

8 - Name a reason a younger man might like an older woman?

maturity

9 - Name something a dog does that embarrasses its owner?

jumps on company's leg (blush)

10 - Name a kind of test you cannot study for:

blood test

11 - Name something a boy scout gets a badge for:

Does cub scouts count? It's the only kind of scouting I'm familiar with at this point in my life -- Knowing the Cub Scout handshake.

12 - Name a phrase with the word home in it:

home sweet home

13 - Name a sport where players lose teeth:

um... not really into sports... to the point where I really don't know much about them, but I would think football.

14 - Name something a teacher can do to ruin a student's day?

pop quiz

15 - Name a bird you wouldn't want to eat.

hummingbird

16 - Name something a person wears even if it has a hole in it?

jeans

17 - Name something that gets smaller the more you use it:

sack of flour

Go ahead and play along if you want to!

Day Camp

The preschool Ethan has been attending this year is also a music, dance, and tumbling school. During the summer they have several day camps available. As a thank you to the families who do business with them through preschool, dance, tumbling and music throughout the school year, they kick off the summer day camps with a one hour "Thank You" camp. Ethan got to go to it this morning and had a great time. He got to go into the tumbling room and do an obstacle course and climb the rock wall. He got to see several different musical instruments and hold them, and play some music games. And he got to make a man out of beads and pipe cleaner. The last activity is what he was doing when I came to pick him up. It is the cutest thing. I'll have to take a picture later. I asked Ethan if his person was a girl or a boy. He rolled his eyes and answered "A boy, Mom!" with as much annoyance as a 5 year old can put into his voice. I asked him what his name was, and then started guessing "John, James, Mike" none of which were the answer. I asked him again what the man's name was and he told me to keep guessing. "Bob, Matt, Mark" Nope, all wrong. So I asked "So, what is it?" He got a big smile on his face and shouted "Ethan!"

Life is Beautiful

I've decided to drop my old blog. It just wasn't fun for me anymore and I've decided that I just want a place to record my thoughts and journey through life. I love seeing what friends and family are doing through their blogs and that's what I want.

Things feel pretty good for me right now and we are so happy, and just enjoying life.

Corey is getting close to finishing another semester of school. He's decided to do a summer semester, and is hopeful to graduate in 2010! Yeah! We are finally getting close enough that we can start the count down! I am so happy for him. This has been such a self esteem builder for him, and I'm really proud of him.

Johnathan is in his final quarter of school. He will be going to social skills program three days a week this summer from June 15th through August 6th. It kind of sucks because it will take up our whole summer and we'll have to work family reunions and such around it, but it's worth it if he is able to go to school in the fall more set up for success. I just signed him up for coach pitch and he starts that in May. He is loving Cub Scouts. We really slacked off after he earned his Bob Cat, but we've decided it's time to get going again, and we've decided to make it a goal to pass off one thing a week so he can earn his Wolf badge and arrow points, etc. He is loving Chess Club. We are anticipating the opening of a brand new library that will be much closer to us and they are supposed to be having a chess club there. The days and times have yet to be determined, but I'm thrilled to have it closer. Now if they could just do me a favor and have it any day but Wednesday, that would be great! He just got finished participating in the Jr. Author's Fair at school, and put together a book about his love of Dr. Seuss!

Ethan is enjoying preschool, and is looking forward to getting registered for kindergarten later this month. He has been taking a basic sign language class and loves it. He has such an interest in languages. Maybe he'll be an interpreter when he grows up! He wants to join the chess club with his brother. I've told him that if he's still interested in it when he starts kindergarten in the fall, I'll let him. He'll be going to a day camp at his preschool tomorrow and is very excited.

Elizabeth is just busy being 2. We're trying very hard to get her potty trained, and I plan on starting her on preschool in the fall. I'm hoping that there will be enough interest in a neighborhood preschool again and if so, I'll have her participate. If not, I'll homeschool her for next year. If I can get her potty trained by fall, I'm considering getting her into dance lessons.

Things with me are good. I'm feeling really motivated with weight loss right now, and just feel really good about myself. Right now I'm working on getting my house organized and cleaned up. When I'm done with that, I'm thinking of trying to pick up a few piano students.