Wow, it's been some time since I've posted. I've creeped around though and tried to keep up with everyone. Life has been so busy lately. I've started to work. It feels good to get a pay check. It has been 12 yrs since I've last recieved a pay check... wow.

    DH got a promotion which means more money, YIPEE!! The bad thing is he has to work over night. Getting used to the new schedule is harder than we all thought. It feels as though we never spend time together.  We are managing though.

    We've had some birthdays in the last month and a half and the twins will be turning 4 August 3. I'll be starting preschool with them in September.

   We are packing away our money and still trying to save in order to move to Michigan. Now that DH got a promotion, his company will pay more money for the move. I can hire a moving company and not have to worry about packing anything away. That will be so nice.

   Other than the usually bust stuff, i have been trying to stock the freezer for winter. Today I hva estarted baking quick breads and storing them away for winter mornings breakfast or snacks. Next week I'll probably make some soups and chili's and maybe a stew base. I've learned to hold off on adding the taters until I thaw out the stews and soup. The taters get too mushy if you freeze them. I just hard boil them or roast them and then add to the soup or stew once it is heated through.

   Well, I hope you all are enjoying the summer. I'm not sure when I'll find time to post again but I will check in and read.

   Bye Y'all!

   I haven't been on for awhile. Actually, I haven't felt like being on in awhile. I have had so much drama to deal with. My extended family, parents and brother and his family, have been driving me nuts!

    This is the whole reason why I stopped communicating with them in the first place. I thought last year, when they came back into my life, that God was trying to tell me something... that they were being brought into my life for a reason and so I prayed about it. I prayed for them, I prayed for me, I prayed for everyone. I did what I thought I was suppose to do. I helped where I could. I gave where I could. I did everything, but I suppose it wasn't enough.

    I'm just not sure what I'm suppose to do. or why they are in my life giving me this drama? What am I suppose to learn from this? Am I suppose to treach them something? If so, then I am failing miserably! I am trying to do good... I am trying to spread the word of God and enlighten them... I just don't know.

    Once again my brother and his family are homeless. Once again it is all because he and his wife do not want to work. Once again they are trying to get everyone else to bail them out instead of helping themselves. They have even gone as far as giving a pitty story on Myspace.com to all of the people on there and the people have thrown an auction and raised money for them to put aside for a house, rent and security deposite. But do you know what they are doing? They are not saving that money! They are spending it on whatever they please! It drives me nuts!!! These poor people are thinking they are doing a good dead and giving money and my brother and wife are spending it on clothes and cigaretts and drugs. Oy! If only they knew!

    And once again he is trying to give his daughter to me. He tells me in so many words that he and his wife are tired of dealing with her and don't like being around her. How sad is that?

   I would gladly take her for good. I would gladly raise her as my own, but I no sooner get they girl and break her into our family routine (which she is not use to and fights me tooth and nail on rules) and then they come and get her or visit her and all my work goes out the window!

    CPS is suppose to be involved here because they aren't sending the kids to school. I'm just wondering why CPS hasn't removed these kids yet. They are living with my brothers wifes mother in a one bedroom apartment. Their 16 yr old dd is now dropped out of school and living with her 17 yr old boyfriend...

    ... drama. Too much drama and I'm wondering why or what I'm suppose to do. What does God want me to do? Should I even stay involved. I don't want to. I want to cut all ties and just explain to them that I can't help them since they won't help themselves.

    I have been driving myself nuts trying to find a large sewing basket. Currently I am using 2 sewing baskets and I still need more storage. I was wondering if any of you ladies could help me. I have looked at Joann fabrics but their large boxes are the same as mine. I wanted something larger... maybe almost like a storage bin/basket. I would like for it to be portable but if y'all know of any sewing storage bins let me know.

    Thanks y'all.

   I'm posting on another Monday. Boy, I'm getting good at remembering this. I didn't post a menu last week because I didn't have one. We were in the midst of our first heat wave and we ate different types of salads and sandwiches all week. I wasn't about to turn on my oven and heat my house up more.

MONDAY : beef meat pie

TUESDAY : Cheeseburgers, french fries, cole slaw, taters sald

WEDNESDAY : breaded pork chops, mac-n-chez, broccoli, corn, rice, dinner rolls

THURSDAY : Ham steaks, grilled pineapple slices, augratin taters, parmesan orzo, corn on cob, dinner rolls

FRIDAY : pizza, cheese sticks, veggie salad

SATURDAY : leftovers

SUNDAY : lasagna, tomato & mushroom salad, Italian bread

** all meals include a small dish of either applesauce, peaches, or fruit cocktail. And in the case of my twin DS, a bowl of macaroni and cheese  

DESERTS FOR THE WEEK : peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, walnut brownies, apple crumb pie, ice cream sundays

 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

                                           Psalm 139:7-10 NKJV

   Even though you can't see him, hear him, or feel him, you know that as long as you're breathing, God's Spirit is present. God is with you everywhere - whether you want him to be or not.

    Did I get your attention with that title? Wouldn't it be nice if there was a Macaroni and Cheese diet? That would be the yummiest diet ever, lol!

    So as you all know I have 5 kiddos running around here. I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to raising kids... ok, so an expert in the first years of kids. I am only beginning the teen years so I can't say I'm a complete expert on kids yet. Anyhow, we mothers soon realize as our kids get to toddlerhood that the kids start getting picky and trying to voice their opinions on things. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the food fazes that kids go through. We moms have all delt with our share of our kids only wanting to eat hot dogs, or fish sticks, or cookies, etc. You all know what I'm talking about now, right?

    So I wasn't completely aware of this stage in toddlerhood until I had my first child. My first child was a great eater! She ate everything I ever gave her and liked it. She wasn't picky at all. it was great. Until one day in her toddlerhood when she was about 1 1/2 or 2 yrs old when all she would eat was bologna. I couldn't get her to eat anything else for about a year. I would go to her doctor and explain my fear but they reasured me that it was normal and one day she would start eating normal again. Well, lo and behold she did grow out of it and she is now a healthy 14 yr old who won't eat bologna  go figure.

   When my second child was born I was all ready for this stage of toddlerhood. I was expecting to buy stock in oscar myer since I figured I would be spending tons of money on bolonga. But much to my surprise his food faze had a bit more variety. Once DS hit the age of 2, all he wanted to eat was veggies and fruit. For about 2 years he went vegan. I didn't worry as much seeing as how his faze was a bit more healthy and had more variety. I constantly had to have a veggie tray and fruit tray out at all times.

   So, as my third child hit toddlerhood i was prepared for anything and thought to myself that I would not stress and just let it happen. But much to my surprise, DD didn't go through a food faze. She ate normally. Phewww!

    So when my twins came I thought for sure that I would just let them eat whatever their little hearts desired and not stress a bit over it. I figured, as long as they ate something I would be fine with whatever they threw my way. I always wondered if they would have the same food faze or I would have to deal with two seperate ones. So as my twins are headed out of toddlerhood now (they will be 4 in August) I thought once again that I was in the clear and they weren't going to make me go crazy with the food issues. I thought I had made it and would never have to deal with the struggles of getting a variety of food into a screaming, swirming toddler.

    Life is funny though, isn't it? Always something new to amuse you... as of about 2 weeks now, my twin DS will only eat macaroni and cheese. I can't get him to eat meat. I can't get him to eat fruit. He won't even look at a vegetable. He won't eat breakfast. He won't eat lunch. he won't eat dinner. That is, unless I make macaroni and cheese. I am guarenteed that he will clean his plate if I put a big bowl of macaroni and cheese in front of him. So there we have it. macaroni and cheese for breakfast? Macaroni and cheese for lunch? Macaroni and cheese for dinner? Yes, yes, and yes.

   I pretty much can make mac-n- chez with my eyes closed. I'm an expert at boiling the water and getting the noodles just right. And the cheese sauce is perfect! Ahhh, ya gotta love Kraft!

    Oh, and my twin DD doesn't seem to being going through a faze as of yet, but I'm waiting... as of now, she will eat anything I put in front of her. She's my little piggy  She thinks she is a real live princess so i continue to tell her that princess' eat everything on their plates that their mommy gives them. this so far works and she will eat everything I give her and then say, "see mommy. I am a princess and I ate everything." Ya gotta love that trick  it also works on keeping her clean, lol. She won't go outside and get dirty like the boy, because princess' don't get dirty