bountifulplate

Around the holidays I heard about how "Secret Santas" were paying layaway tabs for complete strangers at the K-Mart.  It started small and then gained momentum around the country.  I thought that was such an unselfish thing to do.  I bet that person (who I am sure wanted to remain anonymous) never thought that his/her random act of kindness would have such a huge impact. I have heard of other stories similar to that, such as going through a toll booth and paying for the person behind you or how a patron leaves a huge tip for the waitress.  Those are the kinds of stories that I like to read about. I remember one year my daughter, my dad and I took some food baskets that our church had put together and delivered them to a rent subsidized apartment complex around Thanksgiving or Christmas.   Most of the people living there had one room and everything they owned was contained in that one room.  The recipients of the food baskets were so incredibly appreciative ...

My two younger children have an almost 8 year age difference between them.  Trying to find something that both of them will do together for more than five minutes can be challenging!  For the past 3 or 4 years my kids have built gingerbread houses.  I buy a kit that includes the gingerbread, icing and various toppings.  This year I was my son's "assistant."  I have this habit of trying to do too much for him.  This year I let him tell me what to do.  He decided whether the line of icing would be straight or curvy.  I applied the icing, but he guided me the whole way as to where to put it, such as what shape he wanted the windows, etc.  For a kid with ADHD and Autism he sat for a good 1/2 hour with a very determined look on his face decorating his house. My daughter is much more creative than myself.  She made a snowman out of the leftover icing and used sprinkles for arms.  I would have never thought of doing that! I love to see fro...

I have made this biscotti a ton this Christmas.  Enjoy! 3 cups white flour 1 cup unsweetened cocoa 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 ¼ cups white sugar 6 tablespoons butter, softened 4 large eggs (slightly beaten) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease two  cookie sheets with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside. In a large bowl,  combine sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla extract.  Beat by hand or with mixer until creamy.  Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until well combined either with your hands or with a large spoon.  Chill dough in fridge one hour. Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 12-inch long log.  Flatten slightly (about 2-3 inches across). Place each log onto the lightly greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Pull the cookie sheets out  and let cool for 5 minutes on wire rack.  Remov...

It took me a long time to get a cell phone.  Now, my husband, daughter and I all have one.  My hubby and I use ours mostly for touching base with each other. My daughter, like most teens, uses hers for texting. When I was a teen we used a telephone to communicate, some of my friends had their own phone line  (I was SO jealous of those friends)!!  In my family growing up, there were five of us sharing one phone line.  There was no e-mail or texting or cell phones.  Some of my friends (forgetting that I don't text), will say, "well, Cathy, I sent you a text about..."  I have to gently remind them I don't text.  I've told them, "I got your text, but don't know how to text you back!"  My friends and daughter would be ecstatic if I started texting on a regular basis.  My daughter has tried to give me "lessons."  She'll say things like, "mom, all the other moms text."  My response back has been, "well, this mom doesn't!...

Sometimes I think what my son would be like if he didn't have Autism.  The first 2 1/2 years of his life I knew something wasn't quite right, but couldn't put my finger on it.  When my son was about 5 months old, my father-in-law became ill and my husband went back almost every weekend for 3 months to visit him and to check on his mom (they lived in Cleveland).  I stayed home to take care of my daughter and my son.  My father-in-law passed away when my son was about 8 months old.  Our family continued to go to Cleveland routinely  to visit my mother-in-law for another year and then cleaned out and sold their home.  During those days I would nurse him on my lap and be sorting papers  at the same time.  My in-laws were of the Depression Era so you can imagine the amount of stuff they had!  Some days it was all I could do to bathe my kids and feed them.  After we moved my mother-in-law closer to us and got her settled, I then began to ...

I recently had my follow-up visit with one of the cardiologists that treated me during my "unscheduled" hospital stay in November.  Since it hasn't even been a month since my stay, I am still adjusting to the fact I have a heart condition.  As I was waiting to be seen by the doctor, I looked around at the other people in the waiting room with me.  I was the youngest by about 20+ years.  Some of the people were attached to oxygen, others had wheelchairs and walkers.   I kind of sat there scratching my head, thinking how did I end up here???  As I think back to about 6 months ago, before I ever knew I had an irregular heartbeat, I remember my feet and legs not really hurting, but definitely feeling uncomfortable if I tried to get up from the bed, chair or off the floor.  I really didn't think too much about it at the time. When I started having the shortness of breath pretty much all of a sudden during my daily walks, I still didn't think a whole lo...

From time to time I think about a comment that one of my elementary school teachers wrote on my report card.  It said, "something is wrong with Cathy, she doesn't talk."  I really don't know why that comment has stuck with me all these years.  Through a large portion of  my school years,  I was what you would call the "quiet" kid.  At times, most definitely  "shy." Those were  the two "labels" most associated with me.  I tried to keep my nose clean and not get into trouble.  The other day, my daughter and I were watching a show called, "Toddlers and Tiaras."  It's a show on the TLC Network that's a reality show for  kids beauty pageants.  Either a judge or one of the moms (I can't remember) was talking about the contestants being "facially gifted."  That was a label I had never heard before in my life.  When my daughter was a baby/toddler,  I toyed briefly with putting her in beauty pageants.  But, once...

My son decides  from time to time that 4 a.m. is a great time to get up for the day.  Thank goodness it's rare!!  I wish I could say he takes a nap or goes to bed much earlier than his usual bedtime, but he doesn't.   A few weeks ago,  I woke up because I  heard him singing.  I looked over at the clock and it was 4 a.m.  At  4:30,  I heard him going downstairs past our bedroom.  I looked over at my husband and jokingly  told him I don't go on "duty" until 5!    It got me thinking that as moms,  are we ever "off-duty?"  Some of our many "jobs" include the following:  Job #1 -  chauffeur (driving one or more children to activities usually all beginning and ending at the same time). I haven't come up with a way to be in two places at the same time (yet).   Job #2 -  chef (trying to please one or more children and/or husband with your culinary expertise) - made even tougher with dietary ...

My daughter is halfway to her 16th  birthday.  When she was younger, I wanted to do everything for her. I treated her like she was made of glass.  I would give the other  kids a hard time on the playground if they weren't nice to her. I'll never forget when she was in second or third grade she told me, "I'm not going to call you mommy anymore, I'm going to call you mom."  It made me a little sad, but I got over it.  I was so tied into her that when she went to preschool at age 4, I would stare at the clock, waiting for her to come home from school.  My world at the time revolved around taking care of  her.  What I wouldn't give now for a day with 25 hours in it! As she's gotten older, I've had to learn to distance myself somewhat.  It's a slippery slope, you want to help, but how much is too much?   When she had to do a project making a lighthouse in elementary school, we went to the hobby store and bought some supplies.  When ...

I am a person who likes to be in control, I readily admit it.  Well, on  the Monday before Thanksgiving, I definitely was not in control!  I unexpectedly ended up spending the night in the hospital.  I thought I was taking good care of myself, I've been walking two miles a day/five days a week  for about 8 years or so.  I've also been trying to watch my diet more closely.  I had noticed that about the past six weeks I was getting short of breath while walking.  I  thought  maybe it's because I was trying to talk too much at the same time I was walking (I do have a big mouth sometimes)!   I also had been having some chest pain (during those six weeks), but thought it was because I am usually trying to do two or more things at the same time.  I was at the hospital that Monday morning  for a Stress Test and Echocardiogram.  I was scheduled for those tests because  towards the end of  October when I donated bloo...

This Saturday (November 26) has a special significance for me.  My beloved cousin that passed away  in March would have been 50.  She left behind so many people that struggle with the loss.  My cousin was one of  a  twin and she also has a younger brother.   My aunt (her mom) is one of the many people that loved and adored my cousin.  I have written about my "Auntie" before.   She was married to my mom's brother.  My aunt took care of her husband and at the same time helped to take care of my 101-year old grandmother until both of them passed away.  She and I talk a lot about what it is like to be the "caregivers"  in our families.   My aunt and I  have a really tight bond and we are incredibly close.  I cherish my relationship with her.  She has been a good sounding board for me and I hope that I have been the same for her.  She has been one of my son's biggest supporters through all of his c...

We recently had my stepson  fly in to town to visit.  He is an adult and on his own, but we always welcome him  back into the "fold"  when he comes.  We would love to see him more, but he is so busy with his job that we're happy for whatever time we have him.  We were lucky this time to be able to have him with us for four days.  We never know from visit to visit when we'll see him again, so we always try to make his visits a good time.  I have known him since he was 6.  He will be 28 in January!  As the saying goes,  time really does fly by.  He wasn't in our house five minutes before I was asking him if he would like something to eat!  I had a sandwich on the kitchen table for him within 15 minutes.  I love cooking and baking for him (I always have).  He appreciates it so much and always gives me  the best compliments!  How could I not want to feed him??   We made him an early Thanksgiving d...

Hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is almost here.  It kind of bums me out that the day after Halloween all the Christmas and holiday decorations start coming out full tilt!  What about Thanksgiving??  It kind of seems like the forgotten holiday because it's wedged in between Halloween and Christmas.  Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for all that you have.  When you don't have a lot, it's sometimes hard to find something to be thankful for.  When you have a lot, it's easy to forget to be thankful for what you have.  One of the many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is the incredible opportunity I have been given by MomsEveryday.com.  There are so many "mom" websites out there in the Blogosphere.  I have found their website to always  be positive, encouraging and nurturing.   I am thankful for my loving family and  friends.  This will be our first Thanksgiving without my mother-in-law.  I know that...

I looked up in the dictionary recently what the word "special" means.  The first definition I saw was, "out of the ordinary."  I was thinking, well, that certainly describes my son.  He is anything but ordinary!   Ordinary means something that is the same.  Wouldn't the world be a boring place if everyone was the same??   I had to hear that our son was "below average" several times at his recent IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting in October.  The IEP is an annual meeting with usually the child's teacher, social worker, psychologist, speech therapist and the parents to discuss the special education services your child gets through the school system.  We were getting results of the many tests that were administered to get his current "performance"  level.    I had to hear that our little guy was extremely "below average", well "below average" and  that his language impairment was "profound."  I am r...

One thing I have tried my hardest to be throughout my life is a positive person.  The past year and half for my family has been a roller coaster ride.  I felt at times that I was in the front seat just flying at warp speed down the tracks.  Around this time last year,  my mother-in-law, daughter and son were all in the hospital in the same week!  I knew when the nurses and doctors started to recognize us in the Emergency Room that maybe we were there a little too much.  What I am realizing as I get older is no one goes through their life without at least one serious challenge.  It's how you handle those challenge(s) and how you come out on the other side is what separates the positive people from the negative people.  You can choose to let life's challenges weigh you down or you can choose to look at the positive side and learn from those challenges.  Negative people to me are just "toxic."  Life is way too short to waste time on negativ...

The title of this post is what I overheard an elderly  woman say about me when I visited my mother-in-law one time in Cleveland.  There were a trio of ladies that would hang out by the lobby and watch the people go in and out of the assisted living facility my mother-in-law lived in for about a year.  Those ladies would comment on everyone coming in and out, they really didn't have much of a "filter."  I didn't get too bummed out, because I walk 2 miles, 5 days a week, so I think my legs looked okay.  Later on though, it did make me wonder, what is my fashion style? Back when I was  in high school,  the style was bell bottom pants and platform shoes.  The "Izod" shirt was popular and something that I wanted all through high school, but never got!  I just wore whatever was comfortable, not paying a whole lot of attention to the current style.   I only went to college for a handful of semesters before I started working and going to co...

My husband will be 60 next year  and I will be 49.  Being parents of three children so many years apart from each other we have heard just about every comment there is.  When a couple of girls in their late teens came to our house to buy one of  our cars a few years ago they were admiring a picture of the two younger "kids" we had in the hallway.  One of the girls remarked, "are those your grandchildren?"  I started giggling until I realized that would make me "grandma!!!"  I am certainly old enough to be my son's grandmother, but not to be my daughter's grandma.  When my husband went about a month or so to an eye doctor appointment, one of the technicians asked my husband if he was "retired."  He told her, "no, I have a seven year old."  He came home and said that  had took the wind right out of his sails. My husband exercises every day, does yoga and eats very healthy.  Some of my friends have already retired from the workfor...

I've mentioned briefly in a previous post that I was bullied when I was in high school.  I graduated over 30 years ago, so I've had time to sit back and reflect about those times.  There is always something in the news about bullying.  It think it's a 1000 times worse now, because of the social media.  Bullying can take the forms of physical and verbal, both of which I think are equally terrible.  Two bullying  incidents in particular stand out the most in my mind from my high school days.  I remember sitting in the bleachers during gym.  One of the girls that was out on the gym floor thought I was laughing at her.  No matter how much I told her I hadn't been laughing at her, she started saying stuff like, "I'm going to beat you up later" and other things along those lines.  Some other girls observed what was going on and they said, "don't worry about her, we'll take care of it for you."  I didn't even know those other girls, but th...

One of my first thoughts when I woke up this morning was that it  is exactly two months until Christmas and about a month until Thanksgiving.   It seems that the holiday season keeps getting earlier and earlier each year.  I understand that stores make a lot of their profit during that particular time of the year, but seeing a fully lit Christmas tree in one of the stores that I frequent  in the middle of September seemed a bit much.  I couldn't believe  the store had several aisles of Christmas merchandise, trees, lights and other items already out.  Back to school shopping had barely finished!!   A few years ago I remember I went to a store looking for a few items to help supplement my daughter's Halloween costume.  I was in the store on Halloween (surprisingly those aisles of the store were almost empty).  The employees were actually taking apart the displays! I felt like saying, "excuse me, but could you wait until at least the next ...

When my beloved mother-in-law (who I affectionately called "Momma")  passed in January we had to clean out her room at the assisted living facility where she had lived for about 4 years.  My mother-in-law was always a stylish woman, she wore perfume and lipstick all the way up to the few days before she passed.  She had  tons of clothes in her closet.  When we moved her here from Cleveland, I started washing her clothes for her about once a week.  Whenever I would go over to visit her,  she always made a HUGE production out of me washing her clothes.  The caregivers and I had worked out a system so I knew which clothes were dirty and which were clean.  They would leave the buttons or snaps undone on the clothes hanging on their hangers in the closet,  so I could pull them right out of the closet and toss them into a bag to take home and wash.  There would also be a few articles of clothing in the dirty clothes basket too, but all of...

Having a child with Autism and ADHD has been quite an interesting journey so far.  As I've mentioned before,  my little man was diagnosed with Autism at about  2 1/2 and then diagnosed with ADHD at about age 3.  Kind of a double "whammy!"  Before he talked, which was about age 3, he made very little eye contact and very much preferred his own company.  A specific incident stands out  and will probably be forever etched in my mind.  I have tried very hard to involve my son in a lot of my baking and cooking. It has taught him how to count among other skills.   One of his favorite things he likes to do (and still does)  is to  pull up a chair from the kitchen table and put it against the counter so he can watch me more closely.  On this particular day which was before he was talking, I was unpacking our dishwasher.  I had turned around to put something in the sink or to put something away, my back was turned to him for litera...

I had to leave my own family this week  to help my mom recover from some surgery.  This is the third time this year that I have had to leave the hubby in charge of running the household in my absence.  I am so detailed oriented that I spent  almost 2 hours typing up a single spaced 2-page  "itinerary" for him to follow before I left.  When I was typing it up before I left he was like, "we don't need that, we'll be fine!"   I have an incredible support system of friends that help take care of my husband and kids when I'm gone and make it possible for me to be able to leave.  One of my friends is making my family a meal to enjoy, another mom said, "I've got your back."  Other friends have sent e-mails, letting me know that they are thinking of me.  I've always been this person that when people have offered to help  I would always say, "no, that's okay, I have it covered."  As I've reached the ripe old age of 48, I've...

I am certainly not what you would call a "frequent flyer."   I have been a passenger on planes, ships and trains, but my preferred mode of transportation is definitely a car.  This year I have been on  a plane twice so far.   I always find it kind of interesting to "people watch" in an airport.  You see just about  one of everything.  Families, businessmen, businesswomen, kids, babies, senior citizens, teens, entire sports teams, etc.  Traveling by plane always seems to take such a long time, especially if you are crossing over time zones or have layovers.  Earlier this year I was flying back from the East Coast by myself and ended up at a busy Midwest airport.  I was there waiting to catch the last leg of my flight back home and the airline decided to cancel my flight completely because the weather was really bad.  After that happened , I had to wait in a huge line to get a voucher  to use towards the cost of a hotel...

Finding just the right "mom" purse has been a challenge for me for years.  Some were too small, some too big, but none were just the right size.   I kind of sound a lot like Goldilocks!!   Guys are lucky, they can just carry around their wallets in their back pockets.  When you're a new mom pretty much everything goes into the diaper bag.  As your kids get a little older, they don't require so many items, but do require snacks, etc.  So, you can get away with  them carrying a small backpack for their stuff, but there again you still need a purse.  When they get even older they still require things, "hey mom,  got a tissue in your purse?",  or "how about something to eat?"  Given that my  kids are now 15 and 7, I can't really carry around a diaper bag anymore and the only time my kids cart around backpacks on a regular basis  are for school.   So, I went on the hunt for a purse, still not knowing what exact size would ...

When I met my hubby almost 21 years ago, he brought a very special "gift" to our relationship, my stepson.  I met him for the first time when he was right around 7 years old (the age my little man is now).  I knew that he and I would get along well when we both thought something was absolutely hilarious at the zoo during one of our very first outings together. He was in our wedding when I married his father.  I hear more negative things said about stepchildren than positive and that kind of  bugs me!  A relationship of that type takes time, communication, patience and lots of love.  When he was younger,  he and I would play endless board games together.  I'm the one who taught him how to ride his bike. Now that he has gotten older,  the topics of conversation are different, but one thing I have always told him is that I support him 100% in anything that he does.  I make sure that I always have his "back."   I think I can count on on...

Since both of my kids have been trick or treating, I have been the one that stays home and hands out the candy, while the hubby takes them out.  Since my daughter is now 15,  I am left wondering,  how old is too "old" to trick or treat?  I get such a kick out of the kids that come to our door - some can barely talk and get the words out and some older ones  just stick their hand out without even saying those magic words, "trick or treat."  My feeling is,  if they're old enough to be making the effort, they deserve at least one piece of candy.  I think the funniest  costume(s) I saw were a few years ago  when  a bunch of teens jumped out of our bushes with a flash camera aimed at me and told me they were the "paparazzi."  I felt like I was a "star!"  Pretty original idea!!  I'm now on the hunt for a costume for my 7 year old.  With the different sensory issues he has, it has been challenging since he doesn't reall...

I grew up with a dog, hamsters and gerbils, so I love animals just as much as anybody, but nobody told me when we moved into our house that it would become the neighborhood "zoo."  When we first moved in, we had squirrels that sounded like they were running laps around our family room rafters.  Once we managed to get them to "move out" then one day when we had our garage door open a bat decided to fly in.  My husband was chasing him/her around our house with a shoe until it flew out our front door.  Then, one day when my daughter was much younger, she was like, "mom, come down here we have snakes."  Sure enough, there were two snakes slithering around on the basement floor.  Since then, we have had field mice, a  baby frog, and most recently a family of raccoons that decided our fireplace was their new home.  Living in our front bushes we have a nest with a family of birds and in the back of our house we have a few woodpeckers having a contest to ...

I think sometimes people need to have what I like to call a "filter."  You know those people I'm talking about, they pretty much say what they're thinking without thinking about how their words come out.   Words can be used to tell someone how great you look or they can be used to criticize how you look.  My aunt (who I absolutely 200% adore, admire and love with all of my heart) lost one of her adult children in March of this year.  It wasn't that long ago that my aunt lost her husband (my uncle) and her mother-in-law (my grandmother).  I can't even wrap my mind around what that must be like.  My aunt is one of the strongest women I know and I get a lot of my strength from her.  She told me something the other day that just about broke my heart.  My cousin (her daughter) is one of a twin.  I grew up with my twin cousins along with their younger brother.  Neither of my dad's siblings had children, so I only  have those first cousins...

Recently I went to the local  grocery store (as always looking for a great deal).  Looking around the produce section I saw that carrots were on sale for 3 pounds for a buck.  Of course, into the cart they went!  I love to bake so I had visions of looking through my cookbooks (at last count, over 100) thinking sure, I can find a good carrot muffin recipe, no problem.  Well, after looking through several  cookbooks and even getting a few more cookbooks from the library,  I couldn't find one that I thought my family and I would actually eat at "Cathy's Kitchen."  So, I decided to invent my own recipe!  Here are the ingredients:  2 large eggs (slightly beaten), 2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar,  1 1/2 cups peeled and coarsely grated carrots, 1 1/4 cups all purpose white  flour, 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon...

When you become a parent, one of the first things you hope your child does is reach those developmental milestones (crawling, walking, talking, etc.).  When you're a parent of a special needs child sometimes those milestones are reached, sometimes they take a little longer, sometimes they are not reached at all.  For my little guy, he was right on track for everything but talking.  Until he was almost 3 we could barely get any eye contact or any talking.  For someone like me, who loves to talk,  it was almost unbearable.   One thing you definitely learn with children, special needs or not is the art of patience.   I totally 100% admire those parents who have non-verbal children.  I remember reading something in a newspaper or magazine before my little guy talked about a woman who was complaining about how her child wouldn't stop talking and asking questions.  I remember thinking, wow, I would love to have that problem!!!!!!  I alway...

Once you have come to terms with the diagnosis that your child has special needs, now what?  I remember when I first got the diagnosis of Autism for my son,  I felt like I was drowning in information. It seemed like everyone around me had their own opinion.  It is so hard to know where to start.  My son also has ADHD which a lot of the time goes hand in hand with Autism.  If your child is less than 3, you most likely will be beginning with an early intervention program through your county/school district that you live in.  As soon as your child hits 3, he or she usually  "ages out" of the early intervention services and progresses to school.   Depending on the severity of their Autism they will most likely be in a regular classroom with possibly an aide or in a special education classroom. Even if your child is in a private school, there are still services available.  There are lots of free resources out there, you just have to know how to lo...

When you first hear those words, "Autism" there are so many different things that run through your mind. Will my child go to school, college, get a job, get married (the list goes on and on).  I think one of the first thoughts a lot of parents have is anger.  Why did this happen to our family??  Autism just doesn't affect the child, it affects the WHOLE family.  Parents are already completely 100% exhausted both physically and emotionally, sometimes there is very little left to give to your other children.  If you're a single parent, than it is really difficult.  Sometimes parents blame each other for their child's Autism.  One of the best things you can do when you first get that initial diagnosis is to grieve.  It's okay to scream and cry.  I spent  two weeks feeling sorry for myself and coming to terms with the diagnosis.  Other parents take longer to come to terms with the diagnosis. The most important thing is that you do come ...

Hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since September 11th happened.  I remember when I heard, my first thought was that it wasn't real.  I really couldn't wrap my head around it.  We were still living in the DC area. My stepson was in high school, my daughter was at elementary school, I was at home and my husband was in DC working that day.  Interestingly enough, my husband rode his bike to work that day, which turned out to be one of the few ways out of town later.  People were offering him money for his bike so they could get out of  DC!   Once he arrived home safely, we went over to my daughter's school which  was a few miles from us.  The school had decided to go into  "lock down" mode and I can remember a group of us kind of wandering around the school trying to get our kids out and the doors being locked.  The school finally released the kids after a bit and we were able to get our daughter and bring her home....

My daughter who is 15 got her learner's permit this summer.  She and I have attempted more than once to go and practice.  She has to get a certain number of hours under her belt before she goes on to "Segment 2" and then to get her license.  We have practiced in parking lots which really don't give you that "real life" experience.  I learned how to drive back in the Washington, DC area which has the infamous Beltway.  If you can drive on that you can drive anywhere!  I have found that I am way too nervous to be in the car with her right now.  She went with her dad over the weekend and came back and said, "Dad is much better to go practicing with."  I was like I definitely agree with you there :)  My daughter and I are very close, but she always remembers that I am the parent.  I know that I need to ease some of my anxiety about her driving so she doesn't feel so stressed with me when I'm with her.  I was just telling my daughter pre...

I think anyone can relate that when you live in a house with at least one other person, it is nice once in a while to have a little time to yourself.  My special time for  a while has been Sunday mornings.  I walk 5 days a week, most of the time at 6 a.m. with a special friend who I feel so blessed to have met.  So, on the weekends, my body still thinks it's time to get up early.  I go outside, get the paper, whip up some coffee and usually go on the computer and check e-mails and yes, go on Facebook.  This morning, I was chatting with one of my hubby's buddies from Ohio.  Quite a few of his friends are on Facebook, but my hubby does not want to go on, so I talk to his friends.  His friend and I talked for a while and then he needed to go.  Granted, this was all before 7 a.m.!  I find that the early morning, especially on Sunday's help prepare you for the coming week.  My "baby" starts 10th grade this week, so I know it will be a bu...

Yesterday, I got kind of an odd phone call.  I picked up the phone and a voice asked to speak with me.  She said, "I'm calling to follow up on an inquiry you made about continuing your education."  I was thinking to myself if I did ask for info, it must have been some time ago.  This woman kept persisting for more and more information and then said, "let me put you on hold and you can talk to one of our representatives."  I said, "look, even if I did go back to school for an MBA, it wouldn't be for a while."  I finally had to hang up on the chick.  They really don't take no for an answer.  I remember my husband being very concerned about his mom living at her assisted living facility and telemarketers calling and trying to get info out of her, like a social security number.  Having the internet full of your information for any random person to look at is kind of scary.  My 7 year old is on there because he won a "Diaper Derby" event i...

My 30th  high school reunion was this past weekend and living 10 hours away I had toyed with the idea of going to it, but decided it would just be too expensive and hard to work out.  I had lots of mixed feelings being that I didn't have the best experience in high school.  I think others out there can relate.  I was bullied at times by other girls, and actually couldn't wait for high school to be done so I  could graduate and move on with my life.  I have wondered sometimes what my high school friends were doing.  When I decided to join Facebook I hooked up with some of my old "peeps" and compared notes on our lives. My daughter is going into 10th grade and to her high school of course is the biggest thing in her life right now.  She is building much better memories than I had.   I have told her more than once that high school is just part of your life.  More things are waiting in the future - graduating high school, graduating col...

I had my son when I was over 40 years old and my hubby was over 50 years old.  I guess you could say our little guy was kind of a "surprise."  When he was little he cried more than the average baby.  I was kind of out of practice because my daughter was 8 when he was born so it had been a while since diapers and all-nighters.  Around the time of his birth things were very chaotic, we were traveling back and forth to Cleveland because my hubby's dad was ill.  After his dad passed we then cleaned out their house which was packed with stuff.  We made lots of trips back and forth to Cleveland, being my husband is an only child and at the time his mom was still in Cleveland in an assisted living facility.  I didn't notice that my son wasn't really talking or communicating.  As we soon came to find out he had Autism.  Being such a proactive person once I found that out I have done tons of research.  So many people along the way on this journey...

When I go to the grocery store I always seem to pick up bananas.  Even though 2 out of the 4 of us in our house really don't eat them, I still buy them.  My hubby will say, "why do you keep buying them if nobody eats them?"  I keep meaning to put them in his lunch and then get caught up just trying to get his lunch made before he leaves for work and  I end up just giving him some other kind of fruit.  So, I end up making banana bread or muffins every week.  My go to recipe for banana bread/muffins came from an old cookbook given to me by an old office mate at least  15 years ago.  I have adapted it several times, but this I have found to be the best recipe:  3 medium sized bananas, 1 3/4 cups white  flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 2  large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 6 tablespoons margarine or butter.   Mash bananas in separate bowl with fork.  So...

One thing that I have discovered (especially this past year) is that when you lose someone special to you there are two ways to view it.  One is positively and one is negatively.  I choose to view it in a positive way.  My daughter was very close to her grandfather (my husband's father) and he passed away back in 2005.  Just this past January we lost my mother-in-law (my husband's mother).  My daughter had gotten particularly close to her because her other grandmother lives back in Maryland.  When she passed away it was really hard on my daughter.  She is still actively mourning her grandfather and it's been difficult to comfort her and know just the right words to say.  One thing I heard recently is that when someone passes away one of the worst things you can say is, "I know how you feel."  Unless you have been in someone's shoes you really don't know.  The best words that I have found to comfort her and others that I know that are gri...

I have been baking and cooking since I was very young.  It really is a true passion of mine.  I love to cook and bake for my family and friends.  When I was about 12 or so I had just took a cake out of the oven and had set it on the counter to let it cool.  I guess I got a little impatient (well, okay, a lot impatient) and tried to remove the cake from the pan before it had cooled enough.  It would have been okay, except I tried to do it over the sink where there was a bowl of soapy water.  You guessed it, it landed right in the soapy water!  I remember being so upset about it.  I was telling my daughter the other day that if I had let that stop me from ever trying to cook or bake again just because I failed, it would have been terrible and my own family would never have enjoyed the benefits of my cooking and baking.  Don't be afraid to try again even if you make mistakes.  I promise you, you will be much better for it!

Being a stay-at-home for 15 years (hard to believe it's been that long) the weekends seem just like another day of the week.  Saturdays we usually go to Mass, hang out as a family and kind of goof off.  Sundays are reserved for washing clothes, getting ready for the week ahead and used to be when we would have my mother-in-law over for dinner.  My husband was an only child and my mother-in-law was very close to him.  As my mother-in-law got older and I got to know her better, I feel like she was one of my best friends.  I would wash her clothes and try to visit her as much as I could.  Starting with this time last year she started having a lot of memory problems.  Around the Christmas of 2010, she was admitted to the hospital because she wasn't eating.  As we soon discovered she had advanced dementia.  While the kids were at school my husband and I would go to the hospital and sit by her bedside.  She was really not able to communicate v...

This is my first entry on my blog.  I have thought about doing this for some time and decided to just jump right in! I want this blog to be open to anyone!  A little about myself - I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. We moved to the Midwest shortly after 9/11 and have now been here over 9 years.   I feel like I have experienced quite a lot in my 48 years on this earth.  I have challenges just like everyone else, but food has always been a passion of mine.  I cook and/or bake every day.  I guess you could call it a hobby :)  I plan on using this blog to connect with others out there that have challenging lives and just want to talk, be it about food or just about the kind of day you've had.   I have an amazing stepson, so I have experience with that.  I have a son with Autism, so I can speak to that.  I have experienced the loss of both of my in-laws, so I can speak to that.  I have aging parents, so I can speak to...