MPM - Week of October 19th

Monday: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, Corn

Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti, Homemade Classic French Bread(mom's recipe, new to me)

Wednesday: Maple-Glazed BBQ Meatballs (new recipe), Broccoli and Pasta in Dijon Sauce (new recipe)

Thursday: Salmon Patties, Fried Yukon Gold Potatoes, Baby Carrots with Ranch

Friday: Mac and Cheese Taco Bake, Salad

Saturday: Roasted Chicken(new recipe), Grandma O's Homemade Noodles (LOVE THESE!!! Ultimate comfort food for me! Jason loves these too!), Green Beans

Sunday: "Homemade" Pizza (I say that in quotes cause we will be using a Jiffy pizza kit with added cheese and meats), Homemade Pepperoni-cheese bread(mom's recipe, new to me), Salad

I am also going to try and make homemade potato bread, and whole wheat bread (in the bread machine I never use!) from recipes my mom gave me. The boys and I also made some granola bars that Sharon shared the recipe for on FaceBook.

I'm being a little bit adventurous this week, 4 breads, granola bars and the 3 other new recipes I've never made and a ton of "cooking"! I seriously haven't cooked this much EVER!

I will let you know how it all turns out and will post recipes if they are good, or if you are interested, just leave a comment!

For more menu ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

So...Hello old friends!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long! We are settled in at the new place for the most part. A few boxes here and there but mostly done. Still no word on closing at the old house. Prayers about that whole situation would be greatly appreciated! Jason is back from school. He was gone from Sept. 13 till October 9th. That made for a very long first month here, not knowing anybody, unpacking, finding a new school, etc. However, Ethan has started at his new school and loves it. It's a charter school and they seem equipped to handle his behavior "issues". He's adjusting well, learning lots and making tons of friends. All the other students are really nice and helpful. Alex is doing better now that daddy is home all the time. While Jason was at school, he was turning into a little terror. I love my kids, but I was seriously on my last little bit of patience! He was having daily (hourly??) tantrums, throw-down screaming fits! Since Jason has been home, just a little over a week now, Alex has had only 2 tantrums, so I'm sure some of it was stress, adjusting, etc. Not that that excuses his behavior but definitely explains it. I know I can act like a spoiled brat when I am stressed and not getting my way, especially if I am sad, etc.

In other news, I am so sick of our dog! He has been so frustrating. The boys and I bought him 2 chew toys/bones and he refuses to chew them, only to find random toys to chew up! His list so far includes 1 train track, 1 wooden street sign, an unknown green plastic object that he threw up after eating(!) and last but most important, the boys' favorite game cartridge for the leapster - Pet Pals! Now obviously they should pick their toys up better and we've talked about this. However the game cartridge was an oversight. The leapster was put away, and the cartridge had fallen out on to the car rug they have, and blended with the purple on the rug. So when we did a quick pick-up/look over of the play room we didn't see it. Ten minutes after the boys went to bed I heard a strange rustling noise and went to investigate only to find the dog chewing the plastic cartridge to bits, with his peanut butter (FAVORITE FLAVOR!!!) filled bone sitting mere feet from him!! I could've (fill in the blank here) that dog! But I didn't. I just put him in the laundry room with food and water and closed the door for the night. Then I proceeded to inform both Ethan and Alex what had happened. They were both shaken up and Alex was crying so hard (about a silly game!) that I had to cuddle with him for a while until he calmed down. Needless to say they haven't left ANY toys out since.

Jason and I are adjusting to living together again, after only having weekends together for over a year. Let me tell ya what, it is nice to have him here all the time, even with all the silly little annoying things, like the toilet seat being left up, or him rearranging things. It has really sunk in how much I missed having him here for all the little things, and how every night when he gets home and we go to bed, I can cuddle up to him, instead of his pillow. It hasn't been perfect but we haven't really been fighting or anything either! More than I can say for the last year. I am calmer, happier, less stressed, and hopeful. We are working together in every aspect of our marriage, family and life and it's very liberating so to speak. We have talked more about finances in the last week than in the last year. We decided to close his IRA (not the work one, but a rollover one) to pay off some of our debt so we can use those monthly payments to pay towards our biggest credit card and hopefully soon our truck. I am hoping in about a year we will be debt-free except a house payment, God willing. We haven't completely decided if we are going to buy a house up here or what we want house/land-wise.

I am thinking about a couple of different things I would like to do. Just me. More to come on that but they are kind of a big deal, one has to do with writing, another my flute, another photography, another a community theater. Not sure which one I want to pursue/look into, if any at all. But I need to find myself a hobby. I need to really use my creative side. I am a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, but that is not all of who I am. Just as Ethan has a diagnosis of ASD, he is not his diagnosis, he is so much more than that. As is Alex so much more than a naughty 4yr old who throws tantrums. That may be WHAT he does sometimes, but not WHO he is!

Okay, so this post is long. We are going grocery shopping soon and then maybe to go see Jason's work for the first time. Then home to make some yummy dinner, Ham and Cheddar in a Loaf, basically a ham and cheddar calzone without pizza sauce. If anybody wants the recipe, let me know! It's easy, and yummy!!! We are eating that and baby carrots tonight. Menu plan for the week coming tomorrow! First one since we've moved that I actually sat down and really planned. Just been playing it day to day so far.

bye for now

Getting ready to turn off and unhook the computer. No internet at the new place till the 15th, and no satellite tv till the 14th. Buckeye is picking up the modem and cable reciever in the morning sometime. 3 days with nothing to watch on tv, and 4 days with no blogs, email, and facebook!!!! What will I do with myself?
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Oh. Wait. I know. Unpack at the new house and get settled in!

By the way, did I mention, this new house is way bigger than what we have now? like almost 1000sq ft bigger. Not even sure what to put in the "family room" since we only have one tv, and there is a "retreat" w/ a built in desk in our master bedroom. Thinking it may become the playroom area for the boys and the fourth bedroom will be a guest room instead. Still figuring out all the details. Oh and the boys are already telling each other, "This is my room and you can't come in. Go to your own room!!!" This is the first time EVER they have their own rooms.

I am overwhelmed with the kitchen. There is almost too much cupboard/counterspace. I don't know what to do with all of it! Not to mention not having enough towels and bathroom stuff for 2 full bathrooms. We've never had 2 bathrooms before (well unless you count a very tiny sink and toilet room as a bathroom, I mean it was smaller than the ones on an airplane! or a lone toilet in the middle of a basement?).

Ok, since I sound like I'm complaining about too MUCH space, you all have permission to come knock some sense into me...

Well, Bye for now! See you all in a few days.

Since I promised

but have yet to upload the pics of my new baby niece, an update about our current living situation will have to suffice for now! You will just have to trust me that she is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen.

We have been approved for the house we wanted to rent! We go tomorrow for orientation and a walk-through of the property. Electric and gas company are taken care of for the new place. We still have to contact Comcast and AT&T to decide on a cable, phone and internet plan. AT&T has a triple play type deal, but for tv, they use DirecTV - satellite - which we had for over a year in Maryland and hated it. Never had service if it rained or was cloudy, and just was all-around disappointing to us. On the other hand, Comcast seems to only have phone and internet available in our area, so we have to try to call them and find out what the deal is with that.

Jason leaves Sunday for Pennsylvania. We are staying at a hotel for a couple more days and I am soooooo bored! We drove up yesterday evening, and are staying till Thursday morning when we have to check out. Then we will take most of things we have (extra clothes, boxes from storage, etc) over to the new place. Jason will head to work and we head to our old house to pack the last of our stuff, and spend the night. Jason plans to head back right after work. The old house is almost set to go. Our things are 95% packed. Jason called Buckeye to cancel our phone, cable, and internet service there as of Friday. We are getting the electrical fixed, and paid for this week. On Friday, we are getting a power of attorney so I can sign for Jason at closing to sell that place. We are packing up the house Friday, spending the night and heading to the new place Saturday. Then we play the waiting game for a closing date. It has to be within 30 days of us moving out or our home owner's insurance tacks a fee on us for the house being vacant! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Not sure why, unless they are worried about higher risk of fire/flood/break-in/??? since nobody is there to take care of upkeep? but only if it's vacant 31 days or longer! Whatever! No big deal really.

What else is new with us?

Oh I know! Ethan loves Pokemon. Be it the cartoon, gameboy game, or now, the books. We found one at Meijer today and got it. He likes the idea of reading the book from right to left/back to front instead of left to right/front to back.

I got a new book that I'm pretty excited to start reading. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I haven't seen the movie, but I may after I read the book. I've been trying to read the book version of things before seeing the movie version. Otherwise, I feel like the book is spoiled. I know that sounds strange. Wouldn't it be the same for the movie then? you might ask. Well, not for me. If I read the book, then I have a certain expectation of the movie, or an idea of how I think it will be onscreen or how it is in my imagination. I can picture the whole book-world in my mind and really become part of it while I'm reading it. Then I see the movie, and it may be different or the same and it doesn't spoil the book. I don't know, that's not coming out how I mean, I think. Oh well. I know what I mean, LOL.

That's all for now.

What do you want first?

The good or the bad news? If I sound like I'm a bit whiny or complaining today, I apologize. I am a bit whiny AND complaining today. BUT I'm also quite happy. This is a strange feeling.

Good news:
We found a place to live, a manufactured home (re:double wide trailer). I had very low expectations as did Jason. I may sound petty or whatever, but I had a preconceived notion about trailers. This place is gorgeous. It's a newer home, less than 10 yrs old I think. We can rent it for $950/mo for 6 months with the dog. It's 2100 sq ft., has 4 beds, living and family rooms, dining area, awesome kitchen, 2 full baths (master bath has his and hers sinks, garden tub and stand up shower), comes with ALL appliances including washer and dryer! No neighbors behind us, just woods, quiet community. Tons of closet space, driveway, and storage shed. It's available right now. We have applied, put down a deposit, and are awaiting our background and credit checks. That takes 3-5 business days, after they have all our info. They need Jason's employment verification and pay stubs, and my ss card (copy) still. Worst case scenario we can move in end of next week, just before he leaves for PA.

Bad news:
They still need a copy of my ss card. Now normally this would be no biggie. Except we have packed 90% of our stuff and I can't find my card. I've looked 2 of the 3 places it would be. The third place accidentally got packed already and the box is in MI in storage! Jason can't get over there till morning to see if it's there or if it got lost. If it's lost I can apply for a replacement.

Good News: To get a replacement I go downtown and fill out a form that they mail in. All I need is a passport (don't have one) or a driver's license and birth certificate and will get a receipt showing I applied for a replacement and receive that in 3-indeterminate amount of weeks. The receipt may work until I get the replacement card.

Bad news:
I need my birth certificate. I LOST THAT TOO!!!! UGH. I know where Ethan's is. I know where Alex's is. I even know where Jason's is. I know where all of their ss cards are. I know where our marriage license is. But anything that is exclusively mine, and suddenly extremely vital to the near future, well, that I can't find anywhere!!!

Good news: I can also get that downtown, right away.

Bad news: another $20 out of my pocket.

Good news: I'll already be downtown tomorrow dealing with a stupid parking-on-my-own-grass-next-to-my-technically-not-allowed-gravel-driveway-because-we-didn't-live-here-before-2000-and-the-city-likes-to-screw-people-over-ticket. Yeah, $75 because my mom parked her brand new car on the grass 100+ ft from the street, next to my driveway by the fence to my backyard, for 6 hours. Never have I heard of this law even though my dh parks there all the time on the weekends. Supposedly they are worried about cars leaking oil. Yeah, OK. brand new car under warranty, registered to someone not living at this house or even in the same town. hmmm. oh well that's why I'm fighting it. Of course I had to pay $50 to appeal, which I will get back if I win, and won't if I lose and if I lose not only do I lose that money but I have to still pay the full ticket amount!! So glad we are moving...

Good news:
Buyer has accepted our offer to fix electric and take it off the amount we are paying at closing.

Bad news: still no set-in-stone closing date.

Bad news: our van is making me angry to put it nicely. It's acting really wacky. A few weeks ago, I drove to the grocery store and then the gas station no problem. After getting gas, the thing wouldn't start. F-I-L came and jumped it. Thought it was the battery. Went to Auto Zone next day and nope, battery and alternator tested great! Fast forward to yesterday morning. Same thing, gas station, pumped gas, tried to start it and nothing. Thank goodness I ran into an old friend and she helped me stay calm. My M-I-L called me back and said my F-I-L was on his way. Again he jump started in and it made it to MI and back with no issues, even after sitting last night when we were at the hotel.
When I was trying to start it at the gas station the gauges were acting wacky though, and there was a strange error message on the radio (instead of the dash message center). I hadn't even thought of it till now, but the button on the driver's door for the passenger window puts it down but not up, the back windows don't open, the auto slide door at random times doesn't open automatically, and the brake light is on - something to do with a sensor for the abs, and every so often the airbag light comes on for a week and then off for weeks at a time. My F-I-L mentioned yesterday that he thinks it's an electrical issue. I wonder if all those things are connected??

Good news: As of today at 3something, the van is still working. Let's hope it stays that way. We really don't need/can't afford another car payment, however small.

Good news: The house we found to rent is in the exact school district we want!!! YAY!

This is long enough for now. If you read this far, thanks for sticking with me through my whining... LOL

She's here!!!

My sister-in-law had a c-section this morning because my niece was breach, so they scheduled it a couple of weeks ago.

She was born at 10:44am. She weighs 6lbs 13oz and is 20 inches long. Jocelyn Jean is so beautiful! I can't wait to share a picture of the happy little family and the baby. I went up to the hospital for about an hour and a half w/o the boys tonight to see them. They are doing great and mom is trying hard to breastfeed Jocelyn. I'm sad that I might not see her again for awhile, what with moving and all.

Speaking of that, I haven't updated in so long! We have some electrical issues that need repaired and still don't have a closing date. We are trying to get the buyer to please, please, please pay for the repairs (it would have 500 to their total mortage approximately, which is about $5/mo). We have the house nearly completely packed, the boys are officially done w/ school till we are up there. The boys and I are driving up tomorrow to meet up with Jason and figure out school stuff, and maybe look at a few houses, and we are going to be completely moved out of the house this weekend.

Even though we don't have a closing date. Yeah, I know, what are we thinking. What if? right. Well Jason has school from Sept 14- Oct 9 near Philadelphia, so we have to move before he goes or hold closing off till after he's back, because the buyer wants possession at closing. And I am so NOT trying to do this move completely on my own (well obviously I have parents and siblings to help, but you know what I mean.) Also the other crazy part is, we aren't renting cause we can only get a 12mo or longer lease at any houses or apts that take big dogs and we would like to buy a house ASAP, but we can't make any offers until closing is done and over with! So we will be living in a hotel room (w/ a full kitchenette, thank goodness!) for at least 6 weeks, probably closer to 3 months. Should be fun. Oh well, at least I can't complain that I'm missing Jason - except when he's in Pennsylvania - I'll just be complaining that I'm sick of him, LOL. After all there will be 2 adults, a 7yr old boy, a 4 yr old boy and a 8yr old lab mix in about 200 sq ft. Maybe it's bigger than that, I don't know, but I have a feeling it's going to feel a lot smaller than it is really quickly. Hey, more motivation to find our next house at least, right? Or at least to get outside more while we can during the nice weather and to learn the area faster.

Ok, time to go let my poor dog in the house, and watch some tv, um I mean, pack, and order me some dinner . Mmmm, bbq chicken pizza and cheesy bread from the big V.

Picture update later, I promise. We will be gone all day tomorrow and most of Wednesday, so look for an update Wednesday night and pics too. If you even care. LOL.

WooHoo!!!!!

*Update* I wanted to note that we had not called our realtor yet to say we changed our mind about taking their lower offer. He called us first to say he had finally heard from them and they had taken our last counteroffer of 76000! So less out of pocket for us than we expected!! YAY!


They came up to our counteroffer and accepted! The house is sold!

Well, we still have their inspection to make it through which has to be done within 10 days from acceptance. I have confidence there will be no issues.

After that, closing should be within 60 days from now.

We have 6-8 wks to find a new place to live. Time to start looking! YAY!

Here we go again...

Ok. So we made a decision today. We are telling the potential buyer we accept the last counteroffer they gave us. We will have to pay about $2500 to sell the house. However we figured out some other things.

We will get most if not all of our escrow back (I believe, I vaguely remember getting it back when we sold the MD house, though it didn't leave a lasting impression, considering we sold the house at an awesome time and made a chunk of change).
Also we will save having to pay mortgage AND rent, plus Jason's gas to travel there and back Mondays and Fridays.

Jason was discussing the whole thing with his landlady and got her point of view.

She stated that many of the houses in MI are selling for way less than valued, so we will find a nice house, in a nice area, that we are happy with, for a good deal.

Also she made another point. She told him, at least this way, he will be able to go home to his wife and kids at night, in his own home. We won't really be losing anything, cause the house we will be buying will be worth more than we buy it for, so that in the end will make up for our losses. Also he gets reimbursed for certain moving expenses (10 days hotel, 24ft moving truck, car tow dolly), and we should get escrow back, along with the no more rent/gas.

So:

• Selling the house: $2500
• Moving expenses: $2500 (+/- a few hundred dollars)
• Having our family together and not having to deal with all the bologna: PRICELESS!!!!
  

On another note, Jason is officially enrolled in college!! He just has to register for classes. He gets the GI Bill and they are starting a "new" one for veterans, called Post-9/11. It has some awesome benefits, including BAH which is housing allowance! He will get whatever the going rate for the zip code is where he goes to school. His tuition will be paid in full and he gets money towards books and supplies!

He will start in the fall and go half-time to start, since he's been out of school for 10+ yrs.

I am so proud of my hubby. I love him so very much and hope to be a big support to him during this huge transition. (He's also going to be working full-time, probably on 2nd shift!)

update on house

So the realtor called back. They countered our counter, went a little higher and want the closing costs (6% of purchase price) to be paid. We did the math and we would have had to pay between 1500-2000 to sell the house! No way. So we are countering with a bit higher (still 2500 less than asking, mind you we are only asking around 80000 to start) and offering to pay their closing costs. After all is said and done - mortgage paid off, their closing costs, our closing costs and commission fees - we still have to pay around 500 to sell the house! but better than the higher amount that we don't have. Good thing we are going with a VA loan this next time, no PMI and no down payment required. If they don't accept the offer but counter with lower again, we will have to decline. 500 is the highest we are willing to pay to sell the house. Just can't do more.

Glad Jason's company will reimburse us for moving expenses, like the truck, gas, and even a hotel for 10 days while we look for a place to live cause we are moving from out of state - even if it is only a couple hours away. However we have to pay up front so there goes the savings for a couple of months, cause you know it will be 6-8 weeks after we submit the paperwork and it gets approved before we actually get the money back. Although they may surprise me and do it quicker than that.

SO glad I decided to E's party at Chuck E. Cheese's this year. Especially since if we come to an agreement, closing will be just 2 days after his bday, and the house will be packed up and ready to empty, since they want possession that day! I knew there was a reason that I felt so strongly about the ease of a party somewhere else this year!

All right, time for me to hit the hay now. I have been staying up too late the last several nights, again, and I need me my beauty sleep. Or maybe we could call it my "what's the opposite of cranky?" sleep? since if I don't get enough, I'm cranky, irritable and have been known to be downright overbearing in the morning! Just ask my kids, the poor monkeys! Getting on them about taking too long with breakfast or snapping to quickly if they spill, instead of calmly asking them to clean it up while handing them a rag or napkin.

Night, all. More tomorrow. Promise.

Hoose for sale...

(ok, no I didn't spell house wrong, it's a joke. Jill and Jason are the only ones who ever read here that will get it. Jill, in case you are not sure, think SMIB, LOL)

So we got a call today. We have an offer on the house!!!

Bad news: It's a low offer, over 8000 less than we are asking, which may not seem like much but we are asking that amount so we can break even w/ closing and commission fees. Plus not only are they lowballing but they want 6% of their closing costs paid with that amount, so it actually takes us to 12,000 less than we are asking and wouldn't even pay off the mortgage let alone closing costs and commission fees!! We would end up owing 4710.00!! Um yeah, not happening.

Good news: We are countering with a little higher amount (think 1900higher), none of their closing costs pd. We should be able to cover all the mtg, our closing and commission fees and only have to (maybe) pay 240. I would rather not have to pay a single solitary penny (yes that's redundant...). We could always say no and hold out longer. We could also counter a little bit higher, say 2200 higher and break completely even...

Realtor said he's going to talk to other realtor and give our counter offer. Personally I think they are getting a great!!! deal. New windows, new GFA furnace, backyard fixed up and other little updates totaling 20000, and all appliances are staying (fridge, stove, dishwasher, dryer and washer) which are easily worth another couple grand! And we are technically losing money on this deal any way we go since we break even after paying mortgage cause that 20000 was out of our pocket not financed in the mortgage, so we spend our hard earned savings to update and won't see a single penny back from it. I am disappointed about that ALOT in case you can't tell! Oh well, we knew the market is hard right now. But it still sucks. Bad.

Totally not wanting to move again either.

But, good thing coming out of this is we will all be together as a family full time again.
But, we have to find a new place to live, new school for Ethan (and he's adjusted so well to this one, I'm sad to take him out of there), new doctors including cardiologist for Ethan, change our insurance, drivers licenses, and car registrations over to MI, not to mention me not knowing a single soul up there... I think that may be my biggest fear/concern of all. All the other stuff will work itself out fairly easy, even Ethan's school. I mean there are only so many school options. I am scared of meeting new people, I have a hard time putting myself out there, I consider myself shy, I turn into a ball of nerves when I think about going a place where I know no one or have to talk to people I know very little, even now I can feel my stomach tensing and twisting and feel lightheaded!! How crazy is that?! Almost like a minor anxiety/panic attack. Weird.
The thing is when I joined Jason in NY, I was excited, first time away from home, newlywed, going to be with my hubby who I love so very much and I felt a little adventurous. When we left NY, I was scared to move to MD, I was pregnant with E and just didn't know anybody there but met some nice people including one of my BFFs Jill, and moving from there to Ohio was hard for a different reason. I didn't want to leave her but I wasn't scared cause I had family and friends here.
Now I feel like I am home, for the first time in a long time, truly home, except for Jason not being here. I mean, we have both of our families here, I have old friends I've gotten close to again, new friends (Hi Sharon and Pat!) and I've opened myself up a lot to people, IRL and online. Now we are going to move 1 1/2 - 2 hours away, and I am going to be vulnerable. I'm going to be alone. Sure I'll have Jason, but he's going to be working full-time and going to school starting in the fall (YEAH FOR MY DH, love you babe!), and I have the boys, but E will be in school in the fall all day and A wants to go to preschool so badly (he's loving school right now!). And I won't have any friends to talk on the phone with, invite over, go out for a girls' night on short notice, get a babysitter on a weeknight/weekend for an hour or two so Jason and I can go out to dinner once in a while. Right now, we have it so good, his 'rents and sis live across the street, mine across town along w/ my sis living halfway across town. We can call on them day or night, whether its just for a babysitter or an emergency (Alex's accident...) and rely on them. We have friends that will help us at a moment's notice. I think that's why I'm scared. I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm afraid about the what ifs. What if A or E gets hurt and Jason's at work and I can't drive cause I need to help them? I know, ambulance. but what if I panic and can't think straight because of the worry in my mind. That's what happened the other day. I froze for a second, after grabbing Alex, then my keys. I just wanted to help him feel better and calm him, but I couldn't do that and drive! What if something happened to me while Jason's at work, or on a deployment out of town, or school out of town? Right now, E could run across the street and get help if he couldn't remember 911 for some reason. Up there, if HE froze up, or was scared or panicked or started crying uncontrollably, he wouldn't be able to call and get help. at all. and Alex doesn't know how to use the phone yet. I've tried to teach him, we are working on it.

Ok, time to breathe. See I told you! Ok, so this is the most heart-spilling, open post I've ever written, but it's thoughts that run through my head, it's things I've been worrying about and now it's out there. Thanks for reading this far and "listening".

I feel much better now. Really. I do.

So anyway. House for sale, one offer, one counter, if they agree we shall see! We would close the end of July if they like the counter and the House passes inspection.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:

No more monkeys jumping on the beds!!!!!

Do you see that nasty purplish bump above his eye? yeah. that happened at around 4pm today. He thought showing his brother a cool trick on his bed would be a fun thing to do. He also thought hurting himself, scaring mommy half to death, going to the ER, waiting for an hour with 5 people ahead of us still, leaving and going to Urgent Care instead, waiting a half hour, seeing the dr, getting 4 head x-rays, and then being told just to watch him for 24 hours would be a fun thing to do too! (I secretly think he did it to get 2 suckers from the dr and a chicken nugget Happy Meal from Nana and Papa...what do you think? LOL)

I'm just extremely relieved that he is ok. No broken bones, most likely no concussion. Just have to watch for signs of a concussion for 24 hours, if there are any, go to ER, and get a head CT. Most likely he will be perfectly fine.

Needless to say the menu plan I posted earlier today, yeah, that got rearranged. Already. So I guess spaghetti will get moved to next Monday or I could just shift everything up a day, but dernit all, I want to try those Chili Ranch Grilled Pork (chops)!!

Menu Plan Monday

This week promises to be a good one for us! We are trying a couple of new recipes out and a couple of old favorites. The Chili Ranch Pork and Balsamic-marinated Flank Steak are new to us and I can't wait to try them! I got ground turkey at a really great price this week (5.99/3lbs!) so we are using that instead of ground beef in meals. Jason isn't too fond of it, but he's being a good sport. He says it doesn't taste bad to him, but just different and the texture is different. The boys don't care at all!

Monday - Spaghetti, Salad

Tuesday - Chili Ranch Grilled Pork, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Salad (and possibly Baked Beans)

Wednesday - Teriyaki Sticky Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday - Hamburger helper (made with ground turkey), fruit cocktail/mandarin oranges

Friday - Balsamic-Marinated Flank Steak, Cheddar and Bacon Scalloped Potatoes, Broccoli

Saturday - Turkey Burgers, French Fries, Corn

Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu (frozen premade ones, only bought them cause they were on sale plus I had a great coupon!) Broccoli and Cheese Couscous, Green Beans

Go here to see more menus on Laura's site!

Bittersweet Moments

Ethan goes to a special program for children on the autism spectrum. The program is run by a private provider, who rents 3 classrooms at a local Catholic elementary school. Some of the children in the ASD program are pre-inclusion and some are already in inclusion. I would consider Ethan right about in the middle ground. He spends a half hour going to Sensory Integration, then pre-inclusion morning meeting, then goes to 2nd grade inclusion, then for the last 15 minutes or so back to pre-inclusion for cleanup/chores. During the summer, the Catholic school is closed but Ethan's school is still open. The children go M-Th 9am - 1pm for most of June, July and August with a week break each month. Ethan is preparing to go to 3rd grade in the fall, and was originally upset that he wouldn't get a full summer break.

Dr. B, the director of the school, called me about 2 weeks ago and asked if we would send Alex during the summer months to be a peer-model for the younger kids (3 & 4 year olds). No cost to us, just send him lunch, and he would go the same days and times as Ethan.

Today started summer session.

My youngest child started his first day of school ever!! I am sad and happy at the same time. He is so grownup and happy and excited. He's not my baby anymore. I didn't do a birthday post for Alex because we were so busy I honestly forgot about the blog! Alex turned 4 on May 30th!

Last night, I was getting them out of the bath and we were talking about today and Alex started to get upset and teary-eyed. I asked him if he was worried or scared about going to school or what was wrong. He looked at me with those beautiful hazel-brown eyes of his and said "Mom, I'm sad cause YOU will be all alone!"

I wanted to cry right there, knowing in my heart that I would be missing them both so much, but also because I was touched by his empathy and love for me and my feelings!

Here is a picture of Ethan and Alex on the first day of summer session, and for Alex, school. They call it "reverse-inclusion".

Alex even has his own backpack, lunchbox and water bottle. Don't they look so grown up??? Where has the time gone?

Update on my mom

A few months ago, my mom was in a car accident and totaled her car. She has had neck, shoulder and upper back pain since and the pain has started radiating down her arm. She had an MRI done a couple of weeks ago and was sent to a surgeon/specialist.

Today she had surgery to remove a bone fragment that broke off in the accident and also a disc-ectomy (where they remove a disc?). She has herniated discs and numerous other things going on in there.

My sister finally got a hold of my dad a little while ago. My mom is in recovery still, sleeping. My dad hasn't been in to see her yet. They removed all the bone fragments and are pretty sure that is what was rubbing on the nerve, damaging it and causing her the pain. The nerve will need some time to heal and then we will see if it helps. The surgery went well and she is fine. I wasn't nervous or worried until I couldn't reach my dad, and then my sister Heather called to tell me the same thing! That's when she called the hospital and was reassured. Mom is supposed to spend the night in the hospital and go home tomorrow, but everything went so well, they think if she is feeling ok, she may be able to go home and rest! I know that would make her (and my dad, who doesn't really like hospitals) feel more comfortable and relaxed.