Shameless Product Endorsement

Let me begin by stating that the opinions expressed are my own and I am not receiving compensation for sharing them with you all but I wouldn't be opposed if that happened (wink, wink.)  I am not telling anyone what I think they should do, although I think most people would be better off if they took my advice!!   I am just sharing my own experience and opinion so please, don't get your panties in a wad.   This post is not intended to provide any medical advice, I'm not a doctor (I just play one on TV.)

The Boy Oompa-Loompa has ADD with vocal and motor tics.  Even before he started public school and the teachers conducted their assessment on him, I knew.  It wasn't an issue during our years of homeschooling because we had learned redirecting techniques that helped him regain his focus. However, in a classroom of 25 his fidgeting, twitching and humming was distracting the other kids.

Like all other parents faced with this diagnosis we turned to our family doctor.  Her plan consisted of a very low dose of ritalin.  We tried it for several weeks but The Boy was experiencing horrible nausea, headaches and loss of appetite which resulted in weight loss.  The doctor switched him to a patch that eliminated the stomach issues and headaches but cause a nasty reaction to his skin and left horrible burn marks.  It seemed to do the trick and we were able to get a cream to soothe the burns so we went with it.

While it greatly reduced his restlessness and tics so he could get through the school day, the medication made him flat and dull.  He seemed apathetic to everything going on around him. When he wasn't patched on the weekends, he was more himself.  I fully understand that the medication is designed to "bring him down" a bit but it totally bummed me out that my little guy was so radically different when he was medicated.

Fast forward two years and a higher dose patch due to a few growth spurts causing massive height and weight increases (of course only after I had bought him pants and shoes.)  He is still experiencing the burns and apathy but now is complaining that he doesn't like how he feels while patched.  He said it made him feel restless inside and we noticed he was becoming more aggressive.  I know that part can also be attributed to hormones but it was a problem nonetheless.

This is where the product endorsement begins.  Sorry you had to sit through that little story but it was necessary to get here.

Mr. Awesome© listens to Joe Rogan's podcasts frequently, okay like daily.  Okay, like multiple shows a day.  Anyway...several guests on his show have discussed Alpha Brain, an all natural memory and focus enhancing supplement.  I will admit to being skeptical, it's my nature, but I bought the fifteen day bottle and decided to give it a whirl.

I am so thankful that we found this stuff!  The Boy noticed a difference immediately and where we had to fight and cajole him to "patch up", he willingly takes the Alpha Brain.  He says he feels more energetic, more focused and is able to get through a day at school tied to a desk with minimal tics and periods of distractedness (might not actually be a word but I'm going with it!)

The Boy takes 2 capsules in the morning then another one when he gets home if he has a lot of homework. His grades on homework assignments has gone up and the quality of his work has greatly improved.  When he is on Alpha Brain he isn't as twitchy and can sit, relatively calm, for longer periods, this is a major plus since his constant movement is exhausting to deal with.  The best part is that my little guy's personality is back...he's not grumpy or dull and the aggressiveness is almost 100% gone. He's always gonna have a little fight in him...youngest male child, two teenaged sister...nuff said!

Remember these are my opinions only, not a substitute for professional medial advise, blah, blah, blah.

Opinions of a truly grateful momma~Deborah

Resurrection

So I'm sitting at my kitchen table on this cold, gray autumn day.  It's the morning after the homecoming game and dance in which I sat on freezing metal bleachers in the rain and wind cheering on our football team and watching my daughters and son rock out with the band.  All is quiet and I realize just how far I am from the woman I was 3 years ago.   Change is good my friends!

Three years ago I was hurt, heartbroken, bitter and angry.  I had lost so much in a very short amount of time.  That tremendous loss made it very difficult to see the good things that were right in front of me.  I shamefully admit that I checked out.  I was here,  but only going through the motions of living.  I did those things I was supposed to do but my heart wasn't really in it.  

I don't recall the impetus that inspired me to decide to go back to school but I am ever so thankful it happened.  While they were a gruelling two years in which I often felt overwhelmed, the experience restored my confidence and allowed me to once again hope.  The future began to not seem so bleak.  

I had the strength to "let it go" (yes, that stupid Frozen song is now running through my head making me want to stab myself).  I learned others' decisions are theirs to own and any fallout due to those idiotic decisions are theirs to live with. While I may see a better way, I can't stress myself trying to help them.  Especially when they are hell-bent on destruction.  

Ridding myself of all that emotional baggage has helped me see the blessing right in front of me.  I am married to a man who adores me, even when I don't deserve it.  While there are time I know he hasn't particularly liked me, he never looked for a way to cut and run.  I have three of the most amazing, talented and brilliant children to ever grace the earth who love me and think I'm pretty okay. They're teenagers so landing a solid "okay" in their books is like scoring a perfect 10 in the Olympics.  In fact, Mr. Awesome© and the Oompa-Loompas thought so highly of me that they wrote and recorded this little ditty:

This new season of life, while crazy busy thanks to work, kids and marriage, is amazing and I feel like a new person.  Am I still stressed, of course, but it doesn't overwhelm me anymore.  I know that I have to take care of myself, Mr. Awesome© and the Oompas and let the rest of it go.  I am a new me, and she's pretty freakin' awesome if I must say!!

Triumphant Return of Eddie...

Hmmm, shitter must have been full.

Cousin Eddie, our very "special" barn cat who isn't a barn cat at all, disappeared about 4-5 weeks ago.  In that time we've had crazy below zero temps twice and we figured him for dead.  Either frozen like a giant kitty ice cube or eaten by a non-Disney woodland creature.   We were wrong.  The little schmidt strolled onto the back deck this afternoon as vocal as ever.  He's been meowing for 30 minutes straight and I can only imagine what he's trying to tell us.


Eddie: HEY!!!  I'm back, did you notice, hey I'm back!  Did you miss me?  I missed you.  Hey!!  Scratch my chin.  Ooooh, hey now scratch my back and belly.  HEY!!  Look it's that big dog who sniffs my butt while trying to look like he's not sniffing my butt!!  I'm back, did you miss me?  Huh?  Did you? Did you miss me?  OH MY GOSH!!  It's that kid...the one whose backpack I took a dump all over!  Hey kid...did you miss me?  Did you see...I'm back!  HEY!   Scratch my chin.  Ooooh, hey now scratch my back and belly.
LOOK!!  It's that little tube-like, sausage dog who humps me all the time!!  HEY BUDDY!  I was gone but now I'm back!  Did you miss me?  Huh? Huh? Did ya?  I missed you!  WAIT...no humping.  That's just weird dude.  HEY LADY WHO FEEDS ME!!!  I was gone but now I'm back!  I missed you, dis you miss me?  Huh? Huh? Did ya?   Scratch my chin.  Ooooh, hey now scratch my back and belly. Can I have some food?  WAIT!  You need to stay in here and watch me eat.  HEY!   Scratch my chin.  Ooooh, hey now scratch my back and belly.  I was gone but now I'm back!!  I missed you.  Did you miss me?  Huh? Huh? Did ya?



Oh boy...yea....Eddies back!!


Did ya miss me? Huh? Huh? Did ya?...........................Deborah

Christmas Epiphany...

Ya'll know on most days I'm about as deep as a puddle,  so I had to pull out the serious scuba gear for this one.  Overall, it's been a shitty year.  There have been highlights, of course, but in a generalized sense, we're talking piles of crapola.

As many of you know, I lost my Dad last December.  It sent me into a massive downward spiral of depression and guilt.  Sad that I'd never hear his voice again.  Sad for all the things he'd miss.  Guilt that I didn't visit enough or tell him I loved him enough.  It's been rough going and I still get weepy when I am reminded of him but I'm managing.

As a double-whammy, I  lost my Mom this year too.  What makes this even more tragic than losing my Dad, is that she's still alive.  She made the choice to remove herself from my life and it breaks my heart.  I'll never understand the workings of her mind, nor do I wish to, but I hope one day that she does and is able to find her way back into my life.

This brings me to my epiphany.  I've been so down and stressed by life's crap that I've missed an entire year. A whole year has gone by and I've felt no joy, happiness or anything for that matter.  I've been numb and I decided I'm sick of feeling like crap.

I only have a few short years to have my kids under my roof so forging a great relationship with them is so important.  I want them to look back and have more positive than negative memories of their childhood.   I'm not delusional enough to think it's all gonna be rainbow farts and unicorn rides but it can be good.  Really good.  I want to be one of those people who make lemonade out of life's lemons.  Only mine will be spiked with vodka, of course!

Will I still get sad and stressed?  Hells yeah, but I'm done letting it rule my life.  I'm focusing on just the good baby!!  I get to watch my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful daughter grow up and I need to make sure she knows all about her crazy Grandpa Jim!!  My sister and I are getting along better than EVER!!  My kids are totally awesomesauce.  Mr. Awesome© rocks too. I'm doing well in school and will have a kick-ass new career soon.  Life is good.  I just forgot.

Happily......Deborah

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner...

I love to cook and I hate to cook.  I'm contrary like that.  I enjoy creating meals and having people rave about how amazing it tastes.  Despite my lack of social life, I love the thrill of planning a menu and cooking for crowds.  It's the whining I encounter round about 6pm when the Oompas as the dreaded question of, "what's for dinner" and they don't like the answer.  Ugh, that again!?!?  Yes, you impertinent little monkey, we're having that, again.  It's the again that's killing us.

I'll let you all in on a secret.  Ready??  Here goes...Mr. Awesome© is a creature of habit.  You name a restaurant in the central Ohio region and I'll tell you exactly what he would order.
Olive Garden: Chicken Alfredo (he'll then proceed to have the waiter grind 2lbs of Parmesan cheese on top)
Max & Erma's: Loaded Skins off the appetizer menu
El Campisino: Beef Taco Salad, extra cheese
Taco Bell: Burrito Supreme no red sauce, extra sour cream and a chili cheese burrito, extra cheese
Wendy's: Asiago Ranch Chicken Club, add cheese and guacamole
Frisch's: 2 plates of chili spaghetti (al a carte) and 4 dinner rolls.  He has NEVER in his life ordered anything but chili spaghetti.  No Big Boys for him!

You get the point.  If he planned our weekly menu it would read: chili, loaded skins, baked nachos, spaghetti, pizza.  Repeating over and over and over again!

I got adventurous this week and *shock and horror*, tried two new recipes I found over on One Hundred Dollars a Month.  Thanks Mavis!!  Of course, he's worked late, very late, every night this week and ended up stopping on the way home for takeout.  At least the kids liked the new dishes!

Curry Chicken

2 chicken boneless chicken breasts cut in bite sized pieces (original recipe uses precooked chicken)
1 large onion, chopped
Several cups assorted veggies (snap peas, broccoli, peppers, carrots-not included in original recipe)
3 tablespoons sesame oil (original recipe calls for olive oil)
5 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 ½ teaspoons ginger
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 cups chicken broth
**I have had horrible experiences adding flour to recipes like this as it got all lumpy.  In this case I added a cup or so of the broth to the bowl with all my flour and spices then mixed well to make a slurry.  Make for a smooth sauce**

Directions
In a heavy pan saute chicken in sesame oil till cooked.  Add vegetables and cook on medium-high till tender. Add chicken broth, honey, and soy sauce, to the pan and stir. **Slowly whisk in flour, curry, ginger, and salt until there are no lumps.  Reduce heat, and let simmer for 30 – 45 minutes until all the flavors are combined and the sauce has reduced a bit. Serve over a bed of warm rice.

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients
2 or 3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup lime juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can {1 1/2 cups} black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin

Directions
Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low or 4- 6 hours on high until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Serve over rice or with tortillas and all the fixings.

What's nice about this meal is that you can dump everything into a freezer bag for busy days. Just pull out of the freezer the night before to thaw, dump in your Crock Pot and presto...dinner!!


Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!

Coffee Talk with my Subconscious...

Mrs. Awesome: Thanks for meeting me Subconscious.  I'm a little disturbed about the off the freakin' wall dreams of late and wanted to see what's going on with you.

Subconscious: Yeah, whatever.  I don't really see the big deal.  I still get coffee, right?

Mrs. Awesome:  No big deal?!?!  Dreaming about being in rehab with Whitney Houston and having GIANT freakin' squirrels use my hands as pacifiers is totally a BIG deal!!

Subconscious:  Can't blame me entirely, the rehab part was probably because of your high levels of alcohol consumption...ever think of that??

Mrs. Awesome:  I don't drink that much.  Only enough to drown out the Oompas' whining.....okay yea,  I see your point on that one.  They just whine so damn much!!!  That still doesn't explain the awful dream where I was doing my bidness on a toilet in the middle of a living room filled with relatives!  You gotta admit that's out there.

Subconscious:  Hee, hee, hee.....(clears throat), um, I mean that must have been horrible.  I got nothing on that one though.  Maybe you're really an exhibitionist in hiding??

Mrs. Awesome: Doubtful.  Now, about last night's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride"...the Amish?  Really?

Subconscious:  Don't dis the Amish.  They're wonderfully, simple folk who really know their way around a quilt.

Mrs. Awesome: You are so frustrating!!  Get serious!! What are you trying to tell me that can be perceived by dreaming about Amish men submitting bids for my hand in marriage?  Why was the one guy trying to speak to me in German?  I don't know German, except for a few words I learned by watching  the Sound of Music.

Subconscious:  Drugs.  You must have taken drugs.

Mrs. Awesome:  I do not take drugs.  At least not the kind you buy in the ghetto from some shady character named Snake.

Subconscious: Yea, cuz' his name is Harry.

Mrs. Awesome:  It's Barry and bite me.  At least explain why my Dad was seriously considering some of the offers. Selling me off to the highest bidder?!?!

Subconscious:  Have you met you?  If I was your Dad, I'd do the same.  Now gimme my coffee!!

What I Did Instead of Writing My English Essay...

Damn you Pinterest and your eleventy million amazing crafty projects that I want to make yet never seem to have the time!!  Until today.  I got my inspiration from Lynette over at Cleverly Simple and knew, after seeing her massive failure of a first attempt, that this was one project I could tackle.  By the way, if any of you are in the central Ohio area and are interested in learning how to save money, check out Lynette's seminars on couponing.  Fantastic!!  She breaks it all down and makes the process of using coupons a breeze.

Anywho...here is my take on the pool noodle and yarn wreath:

Here's to successful recreations of Pinterest pins!  Guess I'll be spending tomorrow working on that essay.

63 more school days till Christmas break...

Not that I'm counting or anything because I totally, absolutely lluuurrvvee school.  Like really.  Totally.

As part of my Intro. to Management class we have to take many assessments of our personality and overall characteristics.  How productive are you?  How well do you manage your time?  How well do you interact in a group setting?  I didn't do so well on this last one.  It used the words "tyrannical" and "overbearing".   Me?  Never!!!

Well gee, let's analyze that for a minute, shall we?  For the past 12 years I've been managing a group of children.  I love them dearly but my particular Oompa-Loompas are not upper echelon.  They have the attention spans of gnats on speed.  They make a houseful of drunken frat boys seem clean.  They move like snails when we're already 10 minutes late but act like Tazmanian Devils hopped up on crack when I'm trying to relax with a box glass of wine.  Realistically, the only option I had was to be a tyrant!!
My vernacular is full of phrases like, "suck it up", "there's no crying in baseball", or my favorite for when they got a cut or scrape, "oh, rub some dirt in it."  Apparently, these comments to not translate well into the workplace.  Apparently, I need to learn to talk in a non-Drill Sargent voice and demanding my subordinates "get their heads out of their asses and get to work".  Hmmm, this should prove interesting.

On the bright side, I've answered a long standing question from almost every high school algebra student.  I've seen the practical application of algebra!!  Hallelujah!!

Portion =Base x Rate, List Price=Net Price/Complement of Trade Discount Rate, Single Equivalent Discount Rate x List Price =Trade Discount Amount!!!
Yea...I'm bad ass like that.

Smell ya later...

Where, oh where, oh where is Shadow?

The phrase, "life happens", should really be changed to, "life kicks you in the ass then drives over you in it's Buick."   I wish I was able to say that I've been vacationing on my private island and was too intoxicated on rum filled goodies and gorgeous cabana boys to blog but I'm guessing ya'll would see right through that crap!!  In my particular case that damn Buick decided to do a few burn-outs before driving off.

Let me 'splain...No, there is to much.  Let me sum up.

I spent several months working through the final stages of the grieving process after losing my Dad in early December.  Christmas sucked, New Year's sucked,  Oldest Oompas birthday sucked.  You get the gist of the sucking.  It sucked.  It still sucks, but it sucks a little less everyday.

The Oompas grew and grew and grew, despite my warning of groundings and spankings.  Oldest Oompa started high school this year.  I'm a hot mess of emotions about all this.  On one hand, I'm sad to see my little girl grow up but then she's grown into such an amazingly cool kid person that I like.  Not saying she doesn't have her moments where I'm reaching for a shot of tequila and counting to 100 so I don't lose my schmidt over some stupid thing she's said or done.  Let's face it, she's still a teenager!

Ginger Oompa is just entering that hormonal, bitchy, if you roll your eye one more time momma's gonna whup your ass stage.  Good times, good times.  She's probably just hungry.  Freak of a kid is growing so fast she's going to be sharing shoes with the Jolly Green Giant in a few months!  At least now when I yell for the assistance of a tall person she and Mr. Awesome© come running.

The biggest changes are for Boy Oompa.  He started 5th grade in public school.  Our days of home schooling are behind us now and he's struggling to make the adjustment.  Riding the bus, lockers, different teachers, school food and of course, pretty, pretty girls.  Poor kid had to beat the hootchies off ...once the new kid novelty wears off I'm sure he'll be okay but, dang...these biotches are aggressive!!

After 10 years of home schooling, I'll tell ya Fred...I was DONE!!!  Teaching, especially your own children, is very taxing.  They're like vampires, draining the very life blood from your body then leaving your rumpled form discarded on the floor like a wet bath towel.  Crap!  Now I have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  Alrighty then, let's see: When I was five, I wanted to be a vet....hmmm, expressing a pit bull's anal glands?? No thanks.   When I was ten I wanted to be a lawyer...that's out because, well, I have a soul.  I wanted to be an English teacher...been there, done that, have the emotional scars from trying to get my 3rd grader to recite a stupid song about all the state of being verbs.  Same goes for the nursing career...treating a quadriplegic's public hair for lice and seeing a male to female "conversion" has created enough PTSD symptoms for a life time.

In the immortal words of Mr. Lloyd Dobler,"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career.  I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed, or repair anything sold, bought or processed.  You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." 

Oh, I know...I'll go back to school!  I signed up for the joy of thesis paper writing, microeconomics, ethics and classes titled "Supervision" where, I assume, I'll learn to supervise something...or someone.  If I make it the two years without losing my schmidt, I'll graduate with an Associates in Human Resources Management. If you run into Mr. Awesome© please ignore his bragging about "banging a college student", he's a bit of a slut.  Classes start Monday...wish me well friends.  Donations of tequila and cliff notes are equally appreciated.

A Day for Antiseptic Cleaner....on the Cheap

If you're a mom you've no doubt had a day, or in many cases a string of days, where you do nothing except clean up nasty, stinky bodily fluids that have been expelled by small children with great force, covering some pretty impressive distances.  Today was one of those days my friends and the worst part was that two of the three exploding children weren't even mine.  Oh, the joys of babysitting *snort*.  

So thankful I've discovered a way to make disinfecting wipes (similar to Clorox but better) on the cheap.
Mix 1 cup water, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 2 TBSP ammonia and 1 TBSP Dawn dish soap; pour over wipes in container and presto.....disinfecting towels!!

 I repurposed an Oxi-Clean tub to hold my "wipes" which consist of a really old towels I cut into pieces.  Fancy huh??? 

I did a little research and every recipe called for only Dawn soap with the reasoning that other soaps had bleach in them and we all know how dangerous it is to mix ammonia and bleach.  I'll admit my first batch was made with Palmolive because I didn't have Dawn, but I read the label carefully.  No one died or passed out so I think it worked.  All original formulas I found called for 2 TBSP of dish soap which I felt was too soapy so I cut it back but that's more a personal preference than one that affects the effectiveness of the wipes. Sorry...grammar fun!!!

Happy Disinfecting Everyone....................Deborah

Life goes on.....

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."- Robert Frost

The past few weeks have been awful, if I'm to be perfectly honest.  I've put on a brave face, shared placating words, passed tissues and held hands.  My crying and grieving was done privately and while it's lessened, it's far from over.  My heart was once again ripped open last Friday upon hearing the news from Connecticut.  I grieve for those families.

One of the hardest things about grief is seeing that life goes on despite how you feel.  People are achieving goals, winning awards, celebrating events and they are happy.  I've found myself caught up in their happiness only to remember my grief and feel guilt.  I don't need Dr. Phil to tell me that's it's a normal part of the process...my rational side already knows this...it's my heart that needs the reminder.

Over the past week, I've tried to avoid anything serious.  No drama movies, no heart-wrenching books and I've done my best to avoid the news channels.   I've been trying to find the comedy in life, knowing my Dad wouldn't want me to be sad.  We introduced out kids to the movie Tommy Boy and laughed ourselves silly.  Some of my best laughter has come at my own expense and today, I hit the jackpot.  My Dad would be laughing his head off over my adventures!

What do you do when 4 days before Christmas your dryer decides to die, you have a huge load of wet clothes in the washer and no way to get to a laundry mat???  Either I'm a genius or a complete hillbilly!!!

Laughing all the way.....................Deborah

Heartbroken...

I had to say goodbye to my Dad yesterday.  Today my heart is broken in a million pieces.

James H. Reed 12/28/1929-12/6/2012

He was gentle, hard working, loyal to those loyal to him, generous in every respect and loved by more people than he realized. There are eight of us kids and countless grand and great-grandchildren who will no doubt think of him every time OSU plays Michigan, when we indulge in a chocolate covered cherry, hear a twisted fairy tale or eat his famous soppy.  He has dried my tears, given advice, picked up me, cheered me on and encouraged me to fly.  Most importantly, he has loved my three children with his whole heart.  He will be greatly missed.

..................................Deborah 

There's ham, I say there's ham a fallin' mom...

Weenie dog is having a Chicken Little moment, except instead of the sky falling, it's ham!!

Hamming it up.................Deborah

'Twas the Monday after Thanksgiving....

Here's hoping everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and got your fill of turkey, football and shopping.  The Oompas and I spent a day baking in preparation of the big day...here is Ginger's first ever apple pie.

Leave it to her to decorate with a squirrel and acorns.  Sigh, she's sooo weird!!!  We spent Thanksgiving with my brother and his wife, my mom, Pops and my oldest nephew.  It was mellow but good.  We were missing my other dad, unfortunately he spent the week in the hospital.  He's recovering well and should be going home today or tomorrow.

Keeping with family traditions Ginger and Boy Oompa and I put up the Christmas decorations on Friday.  This was the first year they were old enough to really be helpful.  Grumpy Teenager Oompa stayed as far away from the living room as possible.  It's a phase...I hope.  It was funny to hear them complain about how short the tree is!!  I told them to remedy the situation they should stop growing...they didn't like my idea.    

I've been reading all these Facebook posts and other blogs, seeing other families' traditions and I need to have an Elf on the Shelf.  Have you seen these??  Creepy little stalker elves that snitch to Santa!!  I'm kinda in love.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of football games, Christmas movies, using up leftovers and letters to Santa.  Girl Oompas go back to school tomorrow so we're running a few errands then spending the day cleaning house and getting laundry washed for the week.  You know...the fun stuff.  Maybe I'll even squeeze in a little Cyber Monday shopping!!!

Recovered from my turkey coma...............Deborah

Coffee, Cafe, Coffi....no matter how you're spelled, I love ya!!

My mother-in-law is to blame for my love of coffee.  Really...it's all her fault!!  She can brew it strong enough to wake the dead from the 12th century.  I'll openly admit I'm not in it for the taste of the coffee as much as the caffeine jolt.  It's rare that I'll drink a cuppa joe without adding a lil sumptin' sumptin.  French vanilla creamer makes me swoon...like big time.  I've been working over the past year to reduce my refined sugar intake and was appealed at the amount of crap in most liquid creamers.  We're talking long lists of crapola ingredients that are hard to pronounce.  Yuck!!

I'm putting down my bottle of CoffeeMate and making a stand...oh, yeah and my own creamer!!!

14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
14oz Half & Half (can save even more money and use milk...I prefer whole milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract.

Pour all ingredients into a jar and stir or shake till well blended.

Swooning......................Deborah

**The handy-dandy lid on the jar is an awesome product called reCap.  Pourable, shakeable, BPA free and available in for regular and wide mouth canning jars.  Totally awesome.**

Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.....

Pumpkins are a very under-rated and under-utilized fruit.  Yes, fruit!!  To most people they're only good for jack-o-lanterns, pies and chucking.  I love incorporating pumpkin puree into tons of dishes.  Of course, it lends itself best to those of the baked variety but toss a few spoonfuls into your meatloaf, spaghetti sauce or chili.  It'll add a little sweetness and a ton, and I mean a ton of fiber goodness.  Tasty and good for you!!

Here is one of my kids' favorite recipes with pumpkins.  There are a tons of extras you can add into this to up the ante health wise, like wheat germ and I've listed healthier alternatives in the notes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 cup sugar (I use all brown sugar but you can mix and match with white sugar or sugar substitute)
1/2 c vegetable oil**
4 eggs
1 1/2 can pumpkin puree...NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling
1/2 cup water or juice
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 2 tsp for extra flavor)
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour (doesn't have to be white flour but I think all wheat might be a little too heavy for the recipe)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (if you can find the whole nuts and grind your own, it's even better!!)
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (could sub in any dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 400° and grease muffin tins, use paper liners or those silicone ones.

Mix sugar, oil, and eggs.  Add in pumpkin and water.  In separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.  Add in wet mixture and chocolate chips stirring well.  

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 20-25 minutes.  

From the land of pumpkiny goodness..........Deborah


**in most baking recipes calling for oil you can substitute with a myriad of things: applesauce, fruit purees, fruit butters, juice, yogurt, other oils, or butter)

9 years is a long time....

It's been 8 years since I've attempted to go grocery shopping with a baby in tow.  8 very long years.  Any of those crazy voices in my head telling me that another baby would be amazing have been forever silenced.  Friday is grocery shopping day and now that I have my 2 new little charges, nothing changed.  We headed off around 10am and like usual hit all three stores on my route.  However, upon returning home at 12:30pm, I'm much more exhausted than ever before!!  Lugging the car seat and keeping track of a 5yr old who decided to hop his way through the day was a nightmare.  If Boy Oompa hadn't come along, I would still be at the store!!

I went over budget by $8.79 but scored some really good deals.

Meijer: Hershey Baking Chips 2/$4 and I had two $1 off coupons= $1 per bag.  Plus if you buy three you get free brownie mix.  mPerks free toilet paper (6 double rolls) and Hawaiian Punch (for Thanksgiving) $1.48.
Kroger: Dawn $1.97 (bought 2 and had $1.25 in coupons), Crest $1.99 ($0.75 coupon) and all their veggie/chip dips were $1 each.

Got all the goodies I need for Thanksgiving, plus began the stockpile for the baking season!!


Chilling in my baby free zone...............Deborah

So many Veterans, so little time......

Thank you just doesn't seem like enough.  No words of thanks, elaborate parades or solemn moments of silence seem substantial enough to express my gratitude to all of the brave men and women who have died for and defended our country.  Here are just a few of those amazing people I'm proud to call family:

My father-in-law-U.S. Army

My Dad (top right) and all his buddies-U.S. Army

Uncle Mike-U.S. Air Force

Uncle Louis-U.S. Army

Cousin Kevin-U.S. Navy

Cousin Renee and her Hubby Rob-U.S. Air Force

Gratefully yours...............Deborah 

Sunshine and Groceries....Under Budget!!!

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Ohio.  The sun is shining and it's a balmy 70 degrees.  Almost unheard of for November.  I spent the morning working at the camp...they were severely short staffed and with the Board of Directors holding their quarterly meeting at the camp they needed help.  Those extra dollars for my pocket were helpful as well.

This past week was good too....I'm back in the childcare business again.  I am watching the most adorable 13 month old little girl and her just turned 5 year old brother.  I get to cuddle a baby, work with the little boy on preschool basics and keep up on lessons with Boy Oompa.  There is going to be a little adjustment period but if this week is an indicator, we'll be just fine.  Did I mention how adorable the baby is?  If not....she's cute.  Really.

On an even brighter note, I came in under budget with my grocery shopping!!!  $118.77..... Oompas were free!!

Kroger Deals: Milk $1.25/half gallon, Pepsi 10/$10, Batteries 1.99 each, Farm Rich Snacks $1.99(after 2 coupons totaling $2.50 off each), Domino Sugar 4lbs $1.99
Meijer Deals: mPerks 5% off all items, Tennessee Pride sausage $1.79 w/coupon, chicken breasts $1.87lb, Angel Soft 12 double rolls $4.99 w/mPerks coupon.

Weekly Menu:
Take-Out
Pizzas
Chicken Sandwiches and fries
Pork Burritos
Potato Skins, Cheese Sticks and Pizza Snacks
Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Leftovers

As always, I picked up a few things for breakfasts and lunches over the course of the week and will spend a few hours tomorrow morning getting those ready.


$1.23 under budget...............Deborah

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Can you tell which things is not like the others,
By the time I finish my song?

Rockin' out Sesame Street style..............Deborah