Twins birthday

Yesterday was the twins actual birthday, well not until 10:36 and 10:38 p.m. respectively. I usually do dedication pages on my blog to commemorate my children's birthday and yesterday just slipped by. We ended up having an impromptu grill out last night with some friends - on top of an already crazy day. The time just slipped away. But when I was in bed I did my usual prayer time and thanked God for each and everyone of my blessings , a/k/a my children. I can not believe it has been 5 years since they burst into our lives, and that truly is the best way to describe the interruptions of our sedate life, and we have never looked back (no time to!).

Thier enthusiasm for life is so life afferming and makes ordinary events into a adventure. When you step back and look at them, you what that for yourself.

Each twin has their own style, they are their own person. This pic is so typical of my girl twin and really underscores her personality. She is so dramatic, but in a good princess diva way : ) She is larger than life and wants the spot light!

My boy twin, here with his big bro, is more quiet and intense. He has the temperment and concentration of a concert pianist. He is a very intens little man and takes most things to seriously. Not sure where he gets that from - LOL

Together they balance each other out to perfection! Think God planned it that way? Me too!

I love you E & E I also want to thank God for giving me a gift on this day five years ago that I didn't even know I wanted or needed.

Blessings, MOM XOXOXOXOX

You know you might be a redneck if . . .

. . . the socks your wearing might not be your own! Lets just say we have sock issues here and leave it at that!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Beans and NSV

Seems like I spend all my time in the kitchen lately. But some times things work out so well I enjoy sharing them. First, I buy all my beans dry and cook them - cheaper that way. Second, I cook them all at once and freeze what I am not using - time saving that way. Third, when I need beans I don't have the excuse, they are not cooked or ready - saves time and money that way : ) So yesterday was bean cooking day at our house, I had three crock pots going at one time - such a beautiful sight! Then I froze them in 1 1/2 cup servings, the same as a can of cooked beans at the store. Then today I made . . . beannaise! LOL

Last week I made my own blender mayonnaise, and was unimpressed. So I consulted my Uncheese cookbook for another option that had no corn syrup, msg or tofu (a common vegan cheese replacement). Turns out that many vegan dairy free recipes can swap out white beans for the tofu, what a cheap and healthy alternative! My son and I are affected by dairy and DS needs to avoid as much fermented food as possible, so no tofu and that leaves white beans. I am a total bean freak anyway. I have never met a bean I didn't like, ok lima's are pushing my good will, but sill . . . Well let me tell you, making the beannaise was easy - peasy and it tasted wonderful! The consistency was perfect, not thin like the home made blender mayonnaise. I am telling you to check out this book by Jo Stepaniak and see her others as well. She has a wide range of vegan and allergy free cooking ideas, options and info. My link isn't up yet for this book, but will get to it soon. In the mean time mosey over to www.amazon.com and check it out.

NSV stands for a non scale victory in weight watchers world. I didn't make it to my meeting last week due to lack of transportation. DH is on his way as we blog to pick up a scrap car with his cars missing part. Hope that didn't confuse you to much, but the issue here is that I didn't need the meeting to make myself feel better. Here are just some of the NSV's I have noticed over the week: My bathrobe ties tighter around the middle, my underwear of all things is loser, the sleeves of a tight shirt are not tight now, some new shirts I bought were snug - not now and l can tie an apron string around my front again! Ok, the apron thing is like an inch, but I can still do it and I couldn't say 2 months ago! On top of all this, today I jumped into my jeans and ran out to the dentist at the but crack of dawn to get my crown and my DH asked me how much I had lost since I looked so good in my jeans : ) Now I remember why I married him xoxoxo LOL I just wanted to sum this up with something I heard my first week at WW: The leader said he was tired of asking us as we weighed in if we were having a good day and our reply being, "guess we'll find out as soon as I get on the scale". He said our days/lives being good or bad shouldn't depend on a number on the scale. Not being weighed last week but still seeing all these reminders of my good work really emphasized this for me. What wonderful affirmation. I sold another old curriculum today, so I should be able to pay for another 10 weeks of WW! It has worked for me in the past and it's working for me again as I enter a different point of my life path - an allergy/sugar free path - LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Memorial Day menu plan

I want to remind everyone that we are doing the 4 day rotation diet, for allergy free and sugar free eating. We use the book by Mary Yoder. Since it is a 4 day rotation, we get almost two rotations in a week and they fall on odd days. For instance today is day two in the week 4 rotation and come Thursday we will start day 1, week 5 rotation. With that said, here is a look at what we are eating this week:

Week 4/day 2 - Monday: B~ Buckwheat Pancakes and fresh pineapple

L~ Lentil burgers and potato salad

D~ Crock pot sirloin and vegetable soup with cornbread

day 3 - Tuesday: B~ Puffed rice cereal and blue berries

L~ Chicken salad and watermelon with celery sticks and cashew butter

D~ Chicken stuffed zucchini w/baked potato and carob cake

day 4 - Wednesday: B~ Fried mush with fresh oranges

L~ Barley cabbage soup w/ millet cake

D~ Cabbage rice and beef casserole w/ salad and short bread cookies

Week 5/day 1 - Thursday: B~ Cooked amaranth porridge and mixed berries

L~ Bean patties and chili non-queso sauce w/tortilla chips (I make my own faux cheeze)

D~ Golden chicken with cucumber salad and pumpkin pie in an oatmeal crust

day 2 - Friday: B~ Cooked pollenta and whole grain toast

L~ spinach nuggets with sweet potato fries

D~ Pigs in a home made blanket with veggie sticks and baked donuts

day 3 - Saturday: B~ Blueberry muffins with fresh fruit juice

L~ Tuna potato casserole and fig bars

D~ Baked fish with pea soup and spelt crackers

day 4 - Sunday: B~ Cooked barley cereal with blackberries

L~ Grilled faux cheeze with baked fries

D~ Twins birthday party: Grilled turkey dogs and burgers, veggie tray with faux cheeze dip, baked beans, home made lemonade, cake & ice cream

If you have any questions about our menu, the rotation diet or making healthy dairy free cheeze products, just drop me a comment. For more great menu ideas visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Here is the recipe I promised yesterday:

Home made rice milk

3 cups water

1 cup cooked rice (brown)

2 TBSP. olive oil

1/2 tsp. liquid stevia

1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

1/4 tsp. salt

Place in blender or Vita-Mix and process until blended. Strain through a fine strainer. May save pulp for fiber in other recipes such as soups.

Carob Rice Milk

To 1 cup rice milk, add:

1 1/2 tsp. carob powder or to taste

1/4 tsp. stevia

Hope this helps : )

Blessings, Beth Ann

Health food hopping

Yesterday went well in terms of learning more about the best location for purchasing healthier food, whole food per say : ) And of course time spent with my friend is always a huge blessing and gift in affirmation.

We started with a trip over to Whole Food, formerly Wild Oats. Have a hard time with that and keep interchanging their names - oops, sorry to all that confuses (besides me - LOL). Love getting there early when the store is almost empty. I was also pumped because I had scored a $5 off coupon from one of the frugal food blogs I read. It was good on meat, seafood or produce. Since their produce isn't a good deal usually and I can't afford much seafood, we headed straight for the meat counter. My friend clued me in that even this store had marked down meat - yea! So that was what I used my coupon on.




One of my main motivators for driving that far is that Whole Foods has a bulk section. I found it lacking and their were almost no bargains to be had there. I did get some raw/unsalted cashew pieces for making my own nut butter though, so that was good. I also found some vegan carob chips for baking, an imposable thing to find in my area. Wish I had bought more. I also checked the price of rice milk. There national brand rice milk was only thirty cents cheaper but . . . their own brand was two dollars cheaper! That got me a bit excited and I had to remind myself that I didn't need any since scoring that deal at Kroger two weeks ago. We don't drink milk anymore and only use the rice milk in some baking and in making faux cheeze, so a little goes a long way. There was also a better selection of gluten free/rice noodles. Other than that . . . not much else exciting. Oh, besides the coupon I saved ten cents on every canvas bag of my own that I brought in to bag my food.

Then we headed over to Trader Joe's, which ironically enough is housed in an old Wild Oat's store. I have never not seen that store busy, no matter what time you arrive. They open at nine and I have gotten there at eight-thirty, and there was already a line. Huh. Not sure of the attraction, half the size of Whole Foods and less organic choices. They do have some nice produce and produce prices. This store is truly the operating den of every individual who wants fancy food but doesn't want to make it themselves. It is a packaged, prepared food haven. That said, they also have wicked awesome recycled canvas store bags. These are the ones I buy to reuse. I reuse them at Whole Foods (they pretend not to notice) and other local area stores. They are great to keep in the side pocket of my door on my Durango. They can also double for library bags if one of ours is forgotten. You get the picture. To tell the truth I never gave the whole reusable bag thing much thought. Then I read a blog . . . her ambition is to have a matching set of reusable store bags . .. . . Now those of you who know me (and love me :P) and my OCD . . . You see whats coming right? I am trying to convince myself it doesn't matter, it's no big deal . . .


Anyway, got some great produce and ended up getting my brown rice noodles there. Used them today when I made faux mac & cheeze. By the way, K if your reading this - you were right, those smaller noodles were great. I also noticed that their brand rice milk was the same price as Whole Foods, that gives me two buying options but I believe my friend mentioned that if I bought a case at Whole Foods I would get a 10% discount. Since it is nonperishable this is the best way to go. I did however find a recipe in my allergy free book, for making my own, which I will share in a separate post. Not sure about grinding up my own cooked rice and worried about the consistency. I might just have to try one batch to see the price difference and see if I like it.

Headed home after that but stopped by Aldi's to pick up their 2lb. bag of lemons for 99cents. I bought two bags and will make lemon ade out of them. (also used another Trader Joe's bad there as well :P)

By the time I made it home I was whipped, still so hot here for this time of year. My wrists were feeling better (tendinitis issues when weather shifts) so I juiced my grapefruits and mixed in some pureed berries for breakfast today. I also made some into home made Popsicles, kids seem to like it better that way - tasted like sour patch kids! Guess I won't be buying grapefruit again in the near future.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Been awhile . . .

Been awhile. Just been crazy. Between regular home chaos, summer vacation (children's friends), cooking 20+ hours at church for our roofers and being roped into taking on another special needs animal - thanks Doc Tate, you get the picture! I am sure I met myself coming and going couple times (we are still sharing a vehicle at my house). Oh, and speaking of Doc Tate (son's boss) - he gave said son a go cart that needed some work. So now son and hubby are working on this thing all hours of the day and night. We opened the pool, still a bit cold, but doesn't seem to stop the younger kids or their friends,

I know there are like a thousand other things I want to share, but it is 6 a.m. and I haven't had my life coffee. DH opens today at 7, I am droping him off and whisking away to M'boro to pick up a friend and head off to the Franklin Farmer's Market, Wild Oats and then Trader Joe's. Meanwhile another friend will be at my house babysitting and using my pool. Fair trade off right?

Only other real exciting news is 20 more days until I see my daughter and grand kids. I will try to get some pic's posted of our new family member - bubbles - and the Yerf Dog go=cart w/ roll bar! LOL : P

Blessings, Beth Ann

Retro . . .

Things are tough all over, I know we are not alone. I just wanted to share that we made the decision to get rid of our cable. We only had reg. basic, but it was still another bill. We also found we were watching almost nill and was disgusted by most of it. We were uncomfortable watching most shows with our kids and if we were honest, we wouldn't want to watch with God sitting next to us either. If you are to embarrassed to watch something with God, then you just don't need to see it. That's how we view it, or don't, any how. For about 3 years we have been subscribing to Netflix, and the package we get is half the price of our cable bill. I have found it a valuable tool for home school. We especially enjoyed the documentary on Mt. Vesuvius. But we have discovered another benefit , retro TV shows.

I have always said I was born in the wrong time period, I much prefer the 50's - early 60's and I own all the Green Acres DVDs (got to love that song stuck in your head); just to give you a glimpse into how my head works - LOL Anyway, you can watch these shows with your kids. No nudity, swearing, violence, and so forth. We also love reliving our youth with some great 80's shows that we enjoyed. To our delight, our children love them too! My son's faves are McGyver, Knight Rider and Northern Exposure. My daugther enjoys Knight Rider as well and Perfect Strangers, not to mention Little house and all their spin offs. I am sure you get the point.



There are many, many more new and old friends to see. I am just thankful this service is available. They also have all the new release movies, with reviews from critics and fans. That is a valuable tool for a parent when their child wants to see something you have never heard of before. They also have Christian movies that never make to big screen and I might never have heard of if not for them. I could go on and on, but I won't. I just wanted to let other parents know there is a great tool out there for controlling your family enviorment at a budget price. They make it safe for family viewing and movie nights again. So get a good family movie, I recommend a recent pick of ours - The cat from outer space (circa 1967), grab the kids, hubby and some popcorn. Have fun being a family again!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Friday findings

Another wet day here in middle TN. Not to mention that the humidity is up as well. Today is a pay day, and DH said he is going to get pool chemicals this week-end and open the pool - yeah! Twin daughter has been talking about the pool non-stop. She has recently learned how to put her head under water and wants to try it out. She also said she would help her twin brother by holding his head under for him. Note, she made no mention as to letting him back up. . .
Our air conditioner for the downstairs gave out last fall (a huge ancient behemoth). My loving DH said we can't afford a new one if we run the pool this year. So I am going to stand in the middle of our pool all summer, up to my eyeballs, like the hippos on the Nile do. Will let you know if this helps.

Yesterday was my week 7 weigh in at WW, and I was down .6. I feel that is a miracle after all the goodies I ate over Mothers day week-end. That brings my total loss to 13.2 pounds (have no idea why they do the digi thing). For those of you keeping track (and you know who you are) that is 13 boxes of butter quarters. Not bad I guess.

Well this is day four of our first week eating allergy free, and I feel it went real well. I even baked blackberry muffins for breakfast today, using brown rice flour. We are not feeling deprived. We are eating 3 square meals a day, together as a family (blessing that DH comes home on lunch). The kids are eating all kinds of new veggies and grains. Cool. Went and did my Krogering today, twin DD loves that store, they have little shopping carts just her size (to cute). Got a screaming deal on Rice Dreams Milk, 2/$5 (reg. $3.59@) They also had a $1 off coupon if you bought 3. I bought four and the cashier mad a mistake and gave me $1 off each box. Guess that is my big news for the day.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Rotation Diet Menu

So this is the first full week of us following a rotation diet, mostly for DS. Also hoping for residual benefit's for the rest of as well. For some reason I have had some dairy issues ever since having the twins. The point is that this should clear up anything in the rest of us that we didn't know was an issue yet. In a nut shell the theory is that if you eat to much of something it will build up inside of you and you become allergic to it. Think antibiotics and how your body can become immune to any benefits from it if you take it all the time. Same with say wheat or peanuts. Eat it all the time and it stops being a healthy food. So, once every four to eight weeks is better. Example: today is beef, banana, and amaranth (grain) day. Again, check out the book in my Amazon recommendations. Here is a look at our menu for the first four days:

Day 1 -
Breakfast: Cooked Amaranth (porridge) and banana
Lunch: Pepper and beef sandwich with carrot sticks
Dinner: Spaghetti squash and beef casserole with cucumber salad (oil & vinegar) and banana cake (stevia is only sweetener used and fruit is always used in baking in place of butter)

Day 2 -
Breakfast: Buckwheat pancakes and apple
Lunch: Creamed chicken sandwich with spinach apple salad
Dinner: Parsley breaded Fish, sauteed spinach, broccoli cauliflower salad (apple pie - optional, but we are skipping this)

Day 3 -
Breakfast: Cooked quinoa cereal w/ blueberries
Lunch: Blackeye Pea soup w/home made wheat thin crackers (made this before and kids love them!) and kiwi
Dinner: Chicken potato casserole, sauteed eggplant, tossed salad (carob chip bars - optional, we are skipping this. I need to find some carob chips first! LOL)

Day 4 -
Breakfast: Blackberry muffins and grapefruit
Lunch: Salmon puffs, salad and corn cakes
Dinner: Cabbage rolls, corn bread and strawberries

Hope this gives ya all a better idea what we are eating and how we are working towards an allergy free/sugar free diet. Any questions, just ask.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Mother's Day

Wishing all a warm and wonderful mother's day, if your a mother or not. I will say mine was one of the best ever. My day started with my oldest calling from MI, bright and early! Only four more weeks until her visit! I am sooo excited to see her and the grand kids. I just walked around all morning with a big grin on my face. My DH and other four kids made me breakfast and we all ate together before heading off to church. It was a wonderful service with an awesome surprise at the end. A gentleman who had been attending regularly for the past few years gave himself to Christ! He had a great testimony to share and the joy was palatable and contagious! Again, I couldn't stop smiling. After church it was an extremely quiet day, the twins even took a nap. Ok, they actually fell asleep watching a video in the early afternoon, but still . . . LOL DH and kids finished getting our starter plants transplanted from the peat pots we started them in, into the garden and we called Grandma S in Las Vegas. It was the next best thing since I can't reach my own mom. Miss the Vegas due so much . . .

Well they are going to start putting the roof on our church tomorrow and one of the lady who runs the church kitchen approached me about helping to cook for the crew. It was a sign and a blessing. We are struggling with medical bills/school tuition and curriculum and I had recently been praying on if I should try to watch children again to help our income. I really don't like kids and feel that not only do I have enough of my own but with cooking special meals for my son - three times a day; well a bit over whelming to say the least. So being asked to cook, which I guess the insurance company will pay for (or something like that) seemed ideal. I love, love, love cooking and I love, love, love my church family! Just another reminder of how God provides and will show you his will. Just be patient and listen.

Blessings, Beth Ann

menus and more

No, we're not eating turkey this week - I wish! LOL But we are making more menu/eating changes here. After reading about a zillion books on CFS and other chronic illnesses, throw in a million on allergies as well, and we have decided on our course of action. In an effort to help my oldest son with chronic pain, that as best we can figure is residual from the Bar Epstein Virus (which compromised his immune system and caused the mono), we are going to try a four day rotation diet. It should be much healthier for all of us. More simple whole food. Check out my Amazon.com link above. Will post a full menu next week although it will be a bit disjointed as we are camping over the week-end, which entails our designated "camping" food.

Speaking of healthy . . . I forgot to mention that at my W.W. last week I was down another pound, a grand total of 11 in five weeks. Was hoping for bigger numbers but will be content with the down word trend. Remember, that is almost 3 bags of sugar and 11 boxes of butter sticks! LOL That coupled with my potassium supplements and I am feeling like my old self again, if not more energetic!

Burppee delivered my starter plants yesterday, so if it ever dries out down here I can transplant my tomato's and peppers. The pumpkins and gourds we started here at home are starting to sprout and should be ready for the garden soon. Now that the rain has dissipated a bit I will have to discern what is a bean or cucumber plant vs. a week! :) Guess that is it for garden news for now.

Not much else here except I am also putting in many eyeball hours researching a new curriculum for the kids come fall. I fell in love with "My Fathers World" for the twins and kindergarten. Am now seeing if it might be a good match for the older two as well. I showed it to middle DD, and she seemed enthusiastic over their many hands on activities. Will have to go over DS high school credits and see what he still needs. I know Spanish for sure as that got put on the back burner when he fell ill. You can check out the new curriculum at www.mfw.com and our old curriculum at www.sonlight.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Just checking in

Sorry I haven't been posting much. Not much new and exciting around here, I will choose to count that as a blessing! It has rained almost nonstop for three days now. We needed the rain, but now it is getting ridiculous. We put most our garden in last week, and now are worried for the little seeds. Sigh, guess we will just have to wait and see since it doesn't even stop long enough for me to go out there with my blow dryer to try and help. Speaking of help and rain .. . remember our church lost it's roof in that Good Friday tornadoes? Yea, you can only imagine. Hopefully they can start the rebuilding processes next week - unless they are busy on an ark.

Blessings, Beth Ann

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