What's for dinner

In a life as busy as ours it's really hard to figure out how to fit cooking dinner into your life.  I will say too my boys still don't eat.  As in one really won't eat and the other still requires my feeding him. My oldest who is almost 7 will not feed himself unless you hand him the fork and he has an ipad to watch while he sits at the table.  My 4 year old still eats very limited foods.  He will not sit at the table and most of the time we don't care as long as he eats something.  Both boys are really small for their age.  Part of it is genetics.  Part of it is their Autism and not eating.  So many nights I am preparing more than one meal.  Usually I can modify my oldests to include part of what we eat and just add some gluten free stuff in when needed.  He also eats applesauces with blends of fruit and/or veges and enjoys yogurt so he eats alot of that too.

What I prepare for us is easy but very good.  We have taco night which consists of boxed El paso dinner package and easy blender salsa with scoops Tostito chips.  We have spaghetti night which is Paul Newman's sockarooni which I had tomato sauce too and lots of extra seasonings and we buy Pillsbury's french loaf which is so good.  Sometimes I add a salad and B really likes spaghetti so I just make him the guinoa noodles and he eats our sauce.  We usually have white chili every week during the winter.  It is so good and the perfect comfort food.  I also fix deer chili alot in the winter.  We love the McCarroll's chili mix and we add fire roasted tomato's, tri colored peppers and onions for extra tasty chili.  These are our go to meal's and take very little prep time.  Usually I will cook part of the meal during lunch while the boys are at school or do the shopping at that time.  Any time B doesn't eat with us I fix him gluten free chicken tenders, a cheeseburger, or Udi's bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

The things I cook a few times a month.  Parmesan chicken with spaghetti, skillet pork chops, skillet steaks.  We usually get Bob Evans mashed potato sides and I eat a salad because let's face it it's the only way to keep weight off.  I don't do potato's often anymore.  It's meat and a salad.  Very little bread if I can help it.

Over the break we had family come down and I let Publix do the Turkey. lol  We ate on Friday so I was a little worried but they had plenty of fully cooked turkey and sides ready for us.  It made a wonderful no stress meal and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  I am all about taking the weight off myself when I feel it'll pay off.  It sure did because our youngest ended up sick and I got little sleep during their visit.  It was nice to know all I had to do was pick up and warm up the food instead of having to cook it all.  This is coming from someone who actually likes cooking.

My new loves....

On the clothing front I have landed on two specific stores that suit my new needs as I am no longer good with flimsy clothing or things I wore in my 30's.  I love love Christopher and Banks and before you think older lady store remember this ... they have a very wide range of clothing.  They cater to younger and older women and their clothing is very well made and they offer great sales.  My next favorite is JJill.  They have the most stylish and comfortable clothes ever.  If you love jeans with stretch that don't bind at your waist these clothes are great.  If your slightly over weight and need a little higher on the waist jean these are the best.  Pair them with a nice undergarment that holds in a little on the tummy and you will look much slimmer.  They also have great statement pieces and if you love tunics and leggings they have a very wide selection.  You can easily buy from these stores and find clothing that you can pair up and make outfits like the younger women just by watching trends and outfits style posted on pinterest.  Just remember to buy a full length mirror and try things on before you think "I can wear it".  I have thought certain outfits would look great but they look completely different on me than on the model in the pics.  I can't stress enough how important it is to try things on.  These two stores are very true to size so if you find your size ordering online is a great option and most of the time you'll love what you bought but these stores will also let you return in store at no extra charge.

Another store I don't frequent as often is Ann Taylor Loft.  There clothing varies a little more in sizing especially with each season so I make sure to try on all pants and dresses before purchasing.  I will buy shirts online though as I have had good success with them.  They too have really good sales and if you like to shop end of season you can really get some great statement pcs. on trend.  I really really like their jewelry too.

So I won't post any pics until later this week.  I will show you what looks I have put together from my fall wardrobe that match up to some outfits I pinned on pinterest that I really liked and wanted to duplicate.

Pinterest oh I am addicted

I have to say that ever since I closed my FB and stopped using it almost completely for over the past 3 months I am now addicted to Pinterest.  I have down time in the car alot and I hate watching football so after the kids go to bed and I just can't keep cleaning and working or I'll never get to sleep I relax while combing my Pinterest page.  I am really amazed at how many things we have tried and actually still use.  Like recipes for easy homemade peanut butter playdoh and Kool aid playdoh.  Grayson loves those so much he asks for them alot.  Now his big thing is having FRESHLY made playdoh.  The kool-aid kind is really his favorite.  We have also made sensory bottles that the boys enjoy way after making them and sensory filled balloons with rice, playdoh, and cornstarch.  I will say we have had a few mishaps with the sensory balloons.  Grayson loves to poke holes in them and I have managed to catch him and just cover it with a new balloon but he managed to spill rice all over behind one of our chairs without my knowing it.  We just found that mess today. :-(

 Homemade play dough recipe. 

Smells fruity and the colors are so bright and vibrant!

RECIPE:

* 1 Cup of Flour

* 1/4 Cup of Salt

* 1 Small Package of Kool Aid

2/3 Cup of Boiling Water
1 Tb of Oil 

Mix the dry ingredients.

In sauce pan boil water take off heat and add oil then mix with dry ingredients

Stir well then, knead on a piece of waxed paper on the counter

(it will be hot for a couple of minutes)

You will need to do this  recipe for each color. 

Store in the fridge in a container. 

Peanut Butter playdough

1 cup Peanut Butter (I use natural PB)

1/2 cup honey

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix well and that's it.  Fun!!! Fun!!! and they can eat it too.

We have also used recipes for eating.  Like the easy homemade salsa.  That is my go to recipe and we love it.  I will never buy canned salsa again unless I have zero time.  But really this recipe is super easy and takes no time given it's made in your food processor.

Easy Blender Salsa

~ 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes

~ 1-10 oz. can orginal Rotel

~ 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped

~ 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

~ 1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not depending on how spicy you like it

~ 1 tsp. honey

~ 1/2 tsp. salt

~ 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

~ small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed

~ juice of 1 lime

Put all the ingredients in the food processor or blender. Pulse to combine for 30 seconds or until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or favorite dishes.

Another great recipe comes from another blogger.  It's Crawfish Monica and it's so delicious.  I like to fix it in the winter time as it's a nice and rich comfort food kind of meal.  You can find the lighter version of this recipe at:

http://www.supergluemom.com/crawfish-monica-a-lighter-version/

Or you can go with the fatting version at:

http://www.gonola.com/2012/04/01/gonola-recipes-at-home-crawfish-monica.html

it's the heavy cream that really gets you. :-)  But if you've never eaten Crawfish Monica you may want to go with this version first.  It's not one you'll eat all the time so live a little.   

Another thing I have gained from my pinning on pinterest is a knowledge of style.  In the past year I have been isolated and stuck indoors or had the kids attached to my hip.  Shopping has been mostly about purchasing food or items for the kids.  Otherwise a trip out meant a drive to take the kids to school, therapy or errands to run.  This year has been really the first time I've been able to shop for me without buying something at Target.  I have nothing against Target or even running into Old Navy for something but I am not a 20 year old bean pole who can basically put on a tshirt and jeans and look great.  I have to work at looking cute and I have not been looking so cute.  I use to love clothes and shopped regularly.  It was actually one of my favorite hobbies.  I had forgotten how much I had missed buying things for myself.  Well hide in a closet for 6 years and try to reinvent yourself.  eeeek!!! It's not easy.  I really haven't figured out who I am anymore.  But pinterest has been a good place to kind of look for a new me.  My old 20/30 something self was preppy/punk.  Now what can I do with that being about 12 pounds heavier and over 40.  Having kids at my age and just being my age is a rude awakening.  Especially if you don't have lots of time to take care of yourself.  Which I have done really well to try and do over the past 6 months.  I have revamped my diet, closet, tried to exercise more which is extremely hard, and cleaned out my closet.  I can't believe how many things I had in there that were from before we got married.  Worse yet I actually have some items from when I lived in Louisiana.  Yikes!!!  It does make me feel pretty good that I can still wear those items although I'm not really sure why. 

 Back to why pinterest has helped with my style.  There are several Mommy bloggers out there that post what they wear.  They even have reviews of this novel idea called Stitch Fix.  I have not tried this service out myself as I just discovered it this weekend but most of the Mommy fashion bloggers I have wanted to follow I have discovered are using this service.  Of course none of them solely purchase all their clothing from Stitch Fix they all seem to really like the clothing and post several fixes as they are called online.  Basically you are getting your own stylist.  Here is the link from another blogger that will detail this great service.  http://fiddledeeme.com/2014/04/five-tips-get-best-stitch-fix/  you can also look up these ladies on instagram or google their blogs and see some of the outfits they have picked up from using this service. Blogger's (One little Momma), (The better Mom), and (A sort of fairytale).  I might try out this service but not right now.  I just revamped my closest and purchased several new fall items.  Second I am not working and I do love to shop and actually have time again.  I really wish though I had known about this service several years ago.  I really could have used it and for anyone who hates to shop and works this sounds like a great service.  I have taken advantage of the looks they have acquired and many other outfits and what I wore posts to come up with what my style is now and what I will be wearing.  I shopped using those examples off my phone and recreating some of those outfits with similiar clothing or with my own ideas on how I can make the outfits my own.  

Well it's time to figure out what we all need to eat for supper.  As well as get the kiddos a bath, dinner and into bed for school tomorrow.  

Off to a crazy start...

Our week has been full of activity.  G is still off of school and he needs so much busy work to keep him out of trouble.  B is exhausted and having a bit of a rough week.  Not terrible and he is still able to learn and do work just not at his best.  Hoping he will recover from whatever it is that's making him tired soon.  He doesn't seem sick really but struggling with allergies some and his sleep hasn't been great lately.

Yesterday I reorganized the pantry and the day before I cleaned out the fridge.  Evidently, it's been a while because I had some expired stuff that I would have never thought was so old. It's not pinterest worthy because it's not all perfectly done with like green beans all in one section and labels on all my storage but it's good and it'll probably only last a short time but hey things are not falling on our head now.  :-)  Seriously, though all those people that look to be OCD organizers either are in fact OCD or they have too much time on their hands.  I buy alot of times what's on sale and I have no storage set up for buying in bulk.  Our pantry is way too small for our size home and although I love the floorplan the storage is not adequate in my opinion.  Will have to make it work because we won't be moving any time soon.  I'd post pictures but I can't negotiate it away from my youngest son.

I have so many ideas for post I'm going to have to write and list and schedule time to type them out.  This post is short and sweet but I promise more and better post to come.  Just need both boys in school to have the time to gather complete instead of sporadic thoughts.

Our new blog

This is the first post of our new blog.  Times have changed and I think we need something fresh and new.  This is about keeping normal in a not so normal life.  We are a family just like any other.  We have struggles.  We have two boys one is 6 and one is 4.  They are wonderful and challenged by a little thing called Autism.  I wanted to share our struggles, milestones, and keeping sanity as well as keeping this Mommy happy despite all the craziness that is injected in our everyday life.  I want this blog to be about how I keep it together.  What things as a Mom have helped me.  Because honestly being a Mommy in general is somewhat consuming but being a Special needs Mom is an entirely different journey.  It's complex, it's extremely self sacrificing and let's face it it costs a lot of money as well as your sanity if you don't take care of yourself and your marriage too.  We spend money on things an average family would use for vacations, new homes, vehicles and fancy clothes, and whatever other luxuries we are now giving up.  But you can still save money, meet your needs and your families needs.  You just have to get creative.  Pick your battles, and make the decision that your gonna make it just fine and so are your kids.  You just have to look through a different lens.  Stop and smell the roses.  Keep your faith.  Be balanced, organized and let yourself fall apart sometimes.  Does that sound like you?  The average Mom?  Some may say yes others no.  But I think we are very similar if you just step inside my shoes and see things through my lenses.  Which by the way I do wear glasses.

A little more about our story resides in this blog which started 6 years ago.  It's a tough read at the beginning through the middle and for some maybe even as recent as two years ago.  But if you want the back story it resides at www.braden-kaleigh.blogspot.com.

Both of our boys received their autism diagnosis last year.  Since then we have been making lots of changes to assist in our every day living.  B is our 6 year old non-verbal son.  We took him out of public school this year and put him in a private school called Illuminate Academy.  They have an intensive ABA program and have made B stronger, more independant, and overall much happier.  Isn't that what's most important a happy child?  We think so and that's one of our biggest goals.  Ultimately we feel B is growing in ways he wasn't able to in public school.  He needs lots of one on one and does much better in a smaller group.  Braden has classic non-verbal autism.  According to his diagnosis he is moderate to severe.  I guess that may be but we feel he is moderate.  If you read about his history and other reasons why he is unable to speak you may understand more fully why we feel the way we do.  B is mild tempered, sweet, loving and will give hugs and kisses sometimes at random.  He enjoys family very much and especially hanging with his cousins of similiar age.  He loves movies, disney, Mickey Mouse, Cars, Veggietales, Leap frog.  He does great on the ipad with learning apps and angry birds.  He uses a Dynavox to communicate and just got his T10 a few months ago.  He is really great at matching and association,  has a really good memory, can do anything he wants to but his want to is alot of times broken.  That's our biggest battle with him.  He is easy going and less demanding than G but he does require a significant amount of help in everyday task.

G is our high functioning we suspect would be considered Aspergers child if they hadn't changed the label to just autism.  He is extremely bright in many areas.  He has been able to read since the age of 2 years and 10 months.  He has also been able to count to 100 since then... now he is 4 and can write extremely well.  He is drawing in more detail and is complete sponge.  He can be aggressive, needs lots of sensory input, doesn't always want to follow directions but will tell others too, everything is always the opposite of what you ask or decide for him to do.  He is also sweet, love able, gives lots of hugs and kisses and is adorable most of the time.  You just have to keep him busy.  He is at a new school, public school but a different one than B went too.  They have been fabulous to G this year and his teacher is awesome.  B had G's teacher for one year and he did great in her class as well.  But this school has really come together for our G and that is an added bonus.  We are hoping to keep him there despite not being zoned for this particular school.

I am a stay at home Mom.  I am 45 years old and my list of careers before this one have been numerous.  Let's just say I am a master of many trades but my best job was being an admin assistant to a few different VP's at a few different major companies.  I have been a supervisor in my past and didn't love the stress of it all.   I guess that's fitting considering my new unexpected career.  I do miss working occasionally but realistically in my world if I have to pay someone to do what I do how is working gonna benefit us?  In the long run it's just a vicious cycle of paying out what I would take in and missing out on our boys growing up.  So my husband takes on all the stress of the bills and I just try to spend wisely and save us money whenever I can.  I will admit last year hit me hard.  I actually went to get a prescription to help with stress but I found the side effects were not helping or worth the exchange.  So now I am using Doterra oils not only on our boys but on myself.  I love the oils.  They have helped with allergies, calm in the house, grounding of the kids and they also help provide a sensory rich environment for the boys.

Things I do for fun.  Make lunch dates with friends while the boys are in school. Ditch the housework.  People rarely come over so it's worth a little messy for some adult conversation.  I also love my fall TV shows and like to relax at home by myself watching a good movie or some of my shows while the boys are at school.  I have become an online shopper because let's face it little boys do not really enjoy clothes shopping.  :-)  I do my own pedicures and manicures most of the time but I find it relaxing and a nice quite escape after the kiddos go to bed.  I absolutely love pinterest.  I have lots of great ideas that I have obtained on this site.  My pinterest link is at the top left of our blog take a look and follow me.  I will post the activities and other things we have tried on pinterest and share what success we have had with it.  I also want to share my style from home to dress and what the boys wear.  You can still enjoy dressing your kids.  I am constantly organizing and reorganizing.  I will share many of my strategies to keeping peace and order in and out of the house.  I am a firm believer that being organized is worth the time it takes to set the organization up.  It will keep you happier as well as the rest of your family because it actually simplifies your life in the end.  It will also ensure your kids happiness and make for fewer meltdowns.  I will share all of those ideas and what we do as well.  I will do product reviews, website reviews and share all things we have found helpful in our journey.