Whats up Wendsday . . .

my middle DD's cat, Tina! I love this sphinx like pose on top the computer. She is only six months old and has blue eyes. She loves to get out and go under our above-ground pool/deck. She is soooo hard to keep white, but DD sure gives it a try, much to Tina's chagrin - LOL

Guess it is time for a mid-week round-up. Lets see, whats been going on . . . I have had sinusitis and now a chest cold, which I gave to DH. Got guilted into a Cajun cook-out last Saturday, my sickest day. But it ended up being a great day. Enjoyed supporting a friend at her function, and taking a gazillion kids to a cook=out, got locked in a room with oldest DS (long story) and having a great talk with him . We also backed our motor home out into our second driveway, so we could spring clean it before our annual Mother's Day camping trip (never thought I would want to camp again after last Oct.). We ended up being rednecks and rolling our awning out and sitting under it in camping chairs when our company came over later that night! LOL Lets see, what else . . . DS still is having some bad days, but also some good ones. He still isn't able to go back to work full time, and is struggling to stay awake long enough to catch up on school work. Not much else happening here . . . managed to nickle and dime it all week since we were broke from fixing the Durango. Feel very blessed indeed that we were able to get that part and that DH could fix it himself. He also got a car job for this Friday, so looks like grocery shopping is in our future!

Went to get my permanent crown yesterday, and it didn't fit. How ironic is that, since they have all this fancy new laser and computer equipment to prevent this from happening. I felt the need to point that out and was informed there is still a 10% chance of a refitting. Lucky me, I'm in that percentile. Then they said they needed to re-prep me, would I like to do it now or come back later. Like a dummy I asked what that meant. They explained they had to re-numb me (three needles) and re - drill out my tooth (down to the bone) for a better fitting crown. Then they would retake all the pictures and make a new temporary crown. I laughed and told them they better do it now since I wouldn't come back for that! All I have to say is, it hurt. It still hurts.

Had an impromptu cook out last night. It was a friend of ours b-day and we had been watching her kids. Another friend called out of the blue and said she was on her way over too. Then to wrap it all up, our friends moving to Vegas dropped in after their closing for a final good bye. Great food (wish I could have chewed it), great friends and good times. Kids had a blast playing with all the other kids and neighborhood kids. Only thing missing were the lightening bugs, next time.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Just checking in

Thought I would jot down a quick update, since I left so many unanswered questions yesterday. First, did have enough money for car part, just won't have any grocery money for the week or be able to go on my Women of Faith trip this week-end with my church. Bummer. But still trying to feel blessed we had the money. Second, grandpa D was able to give DD a ride to testing today and then kept her to help them finish packing - LOL Unfortunately we couldn't find a ride to church last night and after DH walked all the way home from work he just wanted dinner. DH thinks if he stays up all night after he gets out of work late tonight he might be able to get the truck fixed. Not much else choice really. Now if I can just find a ride to W.W. . . .

Well DS is having a bad day today. Killer joint pains, gut rot and migraines. Guess I shouldn't be surprised since he had three good days in a row this week. He probably over did it. It's easy to forget how sick he can feel, when he is almost his old self again.

Last but not least, where the heck are these flip flops? I haven't seen them since this picture was taken, way back last year in South Carolina. Maybe they are still in the RV? Since I will home and broke this week-end, might be a good chance to back the RV out and clean it good. Would like to take our maiden voyage this year on Mothers Day week-end. Will try for a house sitter this time, although there ain't much left to take!

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up Wendsday . . .

our cat, Joe! Joe has discovered a new place to sleep, the top of my kitchen cabinets. As an added bonus he gets to scare the tar out of people. He will seemingly just drop out of the sky and land in front of you on the counter, giving the person a coronary. Most of us have quickly learned to start looking up as we enter the room! There also used to be decorative wooden houses, trees and what not up there. Joe quickly found that he could launch those off as tiny missiles and hit unsuspecting children and other pets before they knew what hit them! Aren't kids, I mean cats, great? LOL

Yesterday was DH day off and we spent the morning going into the "boro" for standardized testing for middle DD. As home schoolers we have a choice to do this. We always chose to do it, so each kid gets done every other year. Helps us to keep track of what level they are currently testing at in all their subjects. So far there has been no major surprises. Then we spent the afternoon helping the grand parents load up their moving truck and cleaning out their house in general. So sad. Two more days and they are gone. We are thinking of going out west to visit maybe next March, God willing and depending on how the medical bill situation is. We are going to have to peel B off of Grandpa, the twins still don't get it. For some reason they think the g-parents are moving into the "city/boro". Not sure why . . .

Today was a tad alarming. As I was driving middle DD home from testing, goes for three days, our Durango started making a WHUMP, WHUMP noise. For me to actually notice it, means alot. Usually DH will ask if I hear . . . fill in noise of your choice here, and I don't. So it was bad. It was making me alarmed to say the least, but I still stopped at the pharmacy (it's on the way) and picked up my perscriptions. By the time I pulled into the driveway, the steering was acting funny. I called DH at work, conviently a car auto parts retailer. He said it sounded like my front wheel shaft/bearing thingy. I told him I wasn't driving it again and he needed to get his own ride home for lunch. Lucky for him that the g-parents are staying in their RV at the funeral home about a block from his store, until their closing on Friday - then their outa here! So grandpa was his taxi. He cam home and looked at it and drove it, confirming his first diagnosis. He said we were lucky we made it home. Even with his discount at work, it's a lot of money. Not sure where we are going to get it. Not sure how we will bet DD to testing tomorrow. Not sure how we will get to church tonight. Not sure of alot of things except that we will pray, and God will provide.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday

Ok, I am having such a "Monday". Hope everyone else is having a good start to their week. Not much else happening here. Trying to eat healthier for my son and his CFS and my W.W. and hoping it will benefit the other family members as well. When has eating more veggies ever hurt anyone, right? LOL Here is a look at our menu this week:

Monday: Baked fish w/ cinnamon parsnips and steamed cabbage

Tuesday: Crock pot fiesta chicken over rice w/ green beans

Wednesday: Chicken sausage stir - fry (still doing bible study but eating at home)

Thursday: Crock pot sweet potato and lentil stew w/ salad

Friday: Rice pilaf w/shrimp and broccoli

Saturday: White chicken chili Verde w/ cornbread

Sunday: Brown rice pasta w/tomatoes and garlic, and brussel sprouts in pecan butter

For more menu plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com

Whats for dinner at your house this week?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Just checking in . . .

Not much happening around here, praise the Lord! LOL The past couple of days have been sunny and in the 70's but looks like some clouds are moving in and we might see rain for the remainder of the week-end.

Went and did my weekly shopping yesterday. I really love Kroger's, so much more calm than Wal-mart. I leave with great bargains and my sanity! It was my first trip shopping for my son and his CFS diet. I almost fainted at the price of cashew butter (he can no longer have peanuts) but got 3 pks. of b/s chicken breast on mark down (he can only eat poultry, lamb and rabbit), yea! I also spent a bit of time on Amazon.com and was amazed at the groceries on there. I searched for the brands I couldn't find at Kroger and didn't want to drive an hour to Wild Oats to get. Happy to report that Amazon had most and I ordered some blue corn chips for son (he can't have potatoes, only corn and rice products). So cool that it not only comes to my door but qualifies for super saver shipping too - LOL See my recommended picks at top of blog.

Other good news, I lost another two pounds at W.W. this week making my four week total loss ten pounds. Cool. That is equal to 2 1/2 bags of sugar, 10 boxes of butter quarters or a sack of potatoes . . . You get the picture :)

Other sad news, this time next week our friends and acting grandparents will have left to move to Las Vegas :( I met them seven years ago when we moved to middle TN. The first week we were here I interviewed at the radio station, which they owned, and the rest as they say is history. We have shared every holiday, birthday and even vacations with these fine folks. The twins still don't understand, but the older kids are sad. My middle DD is going to be so tor up. First my bff moves into the city, then our friend/neighbor moves back to Mexico and now these guys . . . Hmmmm Wonder if we are personally driving people away from the area? . . . Nah! LOL looks like we are now going to start splitting our vacations between South Carolina and Las Vegas. Oh, that reminds me - only ten more weeks until my oldest DD and grand kids come to visit! Can't wait!!!!!!! We took them to the aquarium in Chattanooga last time, thinking about the Zoo in Nashville this trip. What do you all think?

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up Wendsday

Not much is the answer. It has been a blessedly calm week since last Friday's storms. The kids are plugging away at school work, working towards an end. May be longer for us than we thought since all the sickness, but hey - that's one of the great things about home school! Oldest DS is still suffering what I have now come to call "typical" CFS pain and symptoms (chronic fatigue syndrome). He gets dizzy and light headed every time he moves, splitting headaches, gut aches, chest pains, and muscle/joint pain in general. He usually feels so bad he doesn't want to eat. It is an uphill battle all the way. I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to read everything I can on CFS and am now trying to prepare my first weeks worth of menu plans. Not an easy task. We are trying an elimination diet to see what foods will help and what foods make things worse. There is two pages of not allowed food, such as caffeine and sugar, and only half a page of allowed foods such as vegetables and beans. We have already noticed that when he eats certain foods that are on the don't list that he doubles over in agony and is so weak. Today for lunch I made a pureed cauliflower soup, and it was awesome if I do say so my self! LOL I cajoled DS into trying some. He ended up eating the whole bowl and there has been no pain or a trip to bed to rest. He has been able to sit in the living room with the rest of the family, what a joyous rarity these days! The soup was made to CFS specifications, and all seems to be well. Looks like we are on to something. I will go Friday and do my big weekly shopping at Kroger's and praise God that they carry so many healthy/specialty foods such as cashew butter (he can't have peanuts) and wonderful organic veggies. Most times both DS and I feel tired and overwhelmed, but we know we can get through this - with God!

Blessings, Beth Ann

We are OK

Hey there, sorry it has been a week - but it has been a CRAZY, INSANE week! I have received several emails and text asking about us and the tornadoes. Praise the Lord we are all fine and relatively well. Our little burg was spared the brunt of the weather. Most damage occurred in the city, about twenty miles from us. Pray for them. Our church lost it's roof, right down to it's rafters in the early a.m on Thursday. I got the call around 6 a.m. and by 6:15 we were there, and I spent the next 6 hours cooking and helping out any way I could. The community really pulled together to help us get it battened down before the next round came through around 1:30 p.m. That was the storm that flattened parts of M'boro. I came home from church in time to get all the kids and their friends in the basement (by the way I had only had two hours sleep the night before - son was sick again). After all the tornado hoopla was over I thought maybe I could lay down before getting ready for Good Friday Services. I had just about drifted off to sleep when big DS runs upstairs yelling that little DS had a banana stuck up his nose! (rolling eyes here) Man, that will wake you up fast. I run downstairs to find out it is a banana shaped piece of candy, a runt. He had it up there good too. We fussed with it to the point that I thought yet another trip to the emergency room was in our future (and they had told me they were sick of seeing me, last week). Just before all hope was lost, DS who had been crying pretty steadily, the candy started to disintegrate. So there was orange/yellow snot running down twin DS face. I told him to blow (which he never has really mastered) and from somewhere he gave me he best nose blow of his and his siblings history. The candy shot out of his nose like a rocket propelled grenade and flew across the bathroom! Success! Hurray! Just as this is all finishing up DD came home from the soon to be Vegas bound grandparents. They were running a moving sale through all this! LOL I gave up on sleep.

Ok, now here is the low down on oldest DS. When we took him to the emergency room last Saturday, they gave him another cat scan, more x-rays and every blood test you can imagine. We then visited our own doc on Wed. The good news is that all his test cam back good. They can't find anything else wrong with him and he seems to be well recovered from his surgery. His blood cell count is even almost normal now after his transfusion. They say the chronic pain he is suffering in his head is from his sleep disturbance and should correct it's self. Same with the chronic stomach pain, which they say is from him mono. Since he had so many complications with it he could take up to 4-6 months more to fully recover. His spleen is still enlarged also. They are also concerned that this may be turning into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There really is nothing more to be done than to try to build up his immune system, which was compromised with the infection from his tonsils and his blood transfusion. He also needs to stay hydrate and eat a high iron diet with little to no sugar, caffeine, dairy, yeast and pasta (wheat). I feel so over whelmed. I am concentrating on the hydration currently and dreading the food issues. He is too eat mostly eggs, fish and beans for protein. He would sooner polk his eye out with a spork than eat an egg! I can't think of one other food he despises more than eggs! Pray for us. We are also still having issues with his blood pressure, he can't seem to keep it up. Thursday evening it dropped off again 40/20 and he fainted again! He is dizzy all the time. I just keep shoving juice in his hand every chance I can. Last night he tried to eat a McD's burger, he brought it back up a couple hours later. Good times, good times. Sigh. Keep praying for us.

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary but I think we are just going to go out to dinner tonight. No elaborate celebrations. I am so stressed, I am afraid to be away to long from the kids (DS). Even yesterday, I wouldn't have spent so much time at the church if there hadn't been someone else at my house to monitor DS. So we will probably eat local at D.J.'s steak house. They have great rib eye's and the best Greek salad I have ever had! There home made onion rings aren't to bad either - LOL Which reminds me, last Thursday was my second W.W. weigh in. My DH was at work and the older two kids were at a library TAG meeting. So I took the twins with me, and they were a hoot! They have no idea why they were there. They just stood in line with me and got weighed too. They guy who runs it was so sweet to them. So they got weighed, I got weighed and then we went to the library. They thought it was a great afternoon! smile Ok, here are the numbers - Elijah weighed in at 43 pounds. Elysha weighed in at 38 pounds, and I . . . not a chance! LOL But I did lose 5.5 pounds! For a two week total weight loss of 8 pounds. I was sooo relieved, but I felt I had earned it. I had made so many hard choices that week. Yogurt instead of chocolate covered pretzels. Grilled shrimp with steamed veggies instead of a cheesy bean burrito . . . you get the point. Hope this week is just as good. Yesterday I was so good it scared me. I didn't eat anything I cooked for other people at church. I didn't even flinch when one person brought in pop tarts and chips to serve the fire dept. workers. OK, I did flinch when she opened the chips and put them in front of me, but I didn't sub come! LOL

Well DS was to sick to work at the rabies vaccination clinic today and is still feeling poorly and has low b/p again. Think I will get him a big glass of the discounted o.j. I found today and go help the rest of the kids color eggs.

Have a very blessed Easter, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday 4/6 - 4/12

What a looong week-end. It included a ton of yard work, company, stranded friends in Nashville, torrential rain, tornado watches and another trip to the emergency room with oldest son. Whew! Turned out that this time son was having a reaction to the medicine he was taking. Lets keep our fingers crossed on this. The bills are starting to roll in from his three hospitalizations, 2 cat scans, 4 emergency room visits, one ambulance ride, five trips to the specialist, emergency surgery, six visits to our own doctor, 4 visits from the home health nurse and a bunch of other little things that they feel like billing us for. Whew! Glad we have insurance, but it's not great. We have a large out of pocket deductible and then they cover 80%. That's good but I can do the math, 20% of thousands of dollars is still more money than we have. Please keep us in your prayers.

This looks like another busy week as well, and includes our wedding anniversary which just also happens to fall on the holiday of Easter this year! It will be our sixth anniversary, but we have been together for over eight years (some weeks feels like more - LOL). Have no idea what we are doing or if we even have TIME to do anything. But for now lets concentrate on this week, and here is a look at whats for dinner at our house:

Monday: Crock pot beef pot roast w/ potatoes and carrots

Tuesday: Cheesy salmon noodle casserole w/ salad and rolls

Wednesday: Bible study & dinner at church (cook out this week)

Thursday: Left over pot roast chili w/ corn bread

Friday: Crock pot pork chops w/ broccoli and noodles

Saturday: Home made pizza for the kids / Mom and Dad out to dinner for anniversary

Sunday: HAPPY EASTER !!! Ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, crock pot green bean casserole, deviled eggs (from our colored ones) and black bean brownies (weight watcher recipe)

For more Menu Plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com
Whats for dinner at your house this week?

Blessings, Beth Ann

This and that

Wow! First of all, let me just say what a beautiful day it has been here! Sun, sun, sun, gentle breeze and temp around 72. Sigh . . .

Ok, LOL Got that out of my system. Guess spring fever is in the air. Burpee delivered my ornamental grass starter plants yesterday and I can't wait to get them growing!

Here is what is happening around here. I went to the dentist on Wed. and everything was fine. I have to go back next Wed. for another crown. That will make three down, five more to go. Hey, it beats a root canal! I also had to visit the specialist today, Saturday. He comes once a month to our tiny burg, and lucky me, this was the Saturday. My dentist had noticed what he called a normal "abnormality" and just wanted a second opinion. So sure enough, I spend an hour waiting just for this guy to tell me that my dentist was right. I will chose to look at it as a blessing that it wasn't something else serious. Apparently I have these blue tattoo's on the inside of both my cheeks from biting them. Over the years the silver in my fillings has turned the skin blue. I have heard of this before, no big deal really. Just thankful that it didn't have to be biopsied for melanoma, which was the second choice!

This morning I went to a "Stamping it up" party for a friend. I don't do much of that, but they has some seriously wicked - cool stuff there! Had a great time and was extremely proud of myself for not eating any of the yummy looking food that was offered. I am thinking we need to start a stamping/scraping club here in our burg. Yea I know, any excuse to get out of the house. Just think, Monday is book club day!!! LOL

Speaking of yummy food and being proud. Last Thursday was my first weigh in at WW, and I did ok. I lost 2.8 lbs. I was hoping for more. Sometimes your first week you can drop five or more. The leader gave me the standard analogy, with the box of butter and the four butter sticks. Each stick is 1/4 pound so each box is one pound. That means I lost 2 and 1/2 boxes of butter. When you think of it that way . . . I don't know, maybe I was just being affected by the weather. We had torrential rain falling and were under a tornado watch from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. Fun huh? Happens all the time here. Still wouldn't trade it for the snow I left though!

Well I can hear DH outside tilling up the flower beds. He will need direction on where to plant the ornamental grass. And yes, I paid money for grass! LOL My oldest son is giving me grief over this. Aren't teenagers cute?

Blessings, Beth Ann

What's up - April Fool's edition

Hi ya all! Another beautiful day here in middle TN. Almost 70, and sunny! Also the first time in weeks that I am starting to feel like myself. Could the mono be almost gone? All I know is the the twins are better. Oldest son is still a bit weak and having some dizzy spells. His b/p still drops and he has to really push fluids all the time. The anxiety pills seem to help a bit and slowly I see his sleep pattern returning to normal - s -l - o-w -l -y LOL

Here are some photo's of middle dd at her dance workshop open house. The place was the same size as my RV, and packed!!! My dd said she had never worked so hard in her life, and no thank you when we offered her a twelve week class - LOL Maybe next year I can sign the twins up for ballet or something . . .

They did every thing from hip hop to cheer.

They also did a musical number from "Hairspray".

Here is middle dd leaving for the Princess Ball with Grandpa D.

Here they are posing as they entered the Lion's Club. There were about 45- 50 "princesses" and I hear there was a never ending tray of pizza rolls! What more could a girl ask for?

Next year it will be DH turn to take both girls as twin dd will be old enough. Only about 4 more weeks until Grandpa D and Grandma S move to Vegas. We haven't been dwelling on it as we know it will be soooooo sad. It will be worse than when our friends moved back to Mexico and took his kids that I had watched 24/7 for over three years. I guess we will have to plan a trip to Nevada soon, after the recession?

Blessings, Beth Ann