This is a great way to use up any frozen pumpkin you may have in the freezer. You don’t have frozen pumpkin? Am I the only one with an overabundance of frozen pumpkin? Don’t answer that, please. If you don’t have the frozen you can use canned pumpkin.
I have also added the instructions for a crumb topping which is optional. My kids love muffins, especially Cinnamon muffins, so I add this to them to keep them happy. Continue reading “Pumpkin Muffins”
I think everyone knows by now that I have a special needs child. He is 14 years old. Where has time gone? He can be the sweetest most loving child on most days. On other days he can be the most irritating and annoying child on the planet. He will test your patience to the limits and then some. So life can be a little crazy here especially when it comes to the toilet paper!
We quickly learned that routines were a must! He thrives on routines and schedules. He likes to know what is to be expected and when to expect it. He does not, I repeat DOES NOT, like changes. As we all know there are many changes in life and especially with this many people in our house things are constantly changing.
So what do we do? How do we handle the changes? How do we keep our sanity?
Well, we have our basic routines. We have routines for mornings, for afternoons, and for bedtimes. We also have our school routines and certain routines that we follow for extra activities. We try our best to stick to these as much as possible and give him something ‘constant’ that he can count on. By trying to keep things as normal as possible, even when we are away from the house, it helps him to stay balanced.
When there are changes we know to keep an extra eye out for him and they way he acts. He will usually give some kind of warning behaviors before he hits complete melt down stage. His older siblings have learned some of these signs are able to help me intercept when needed. We can redirect his attention and focus onto something that doesn’t upset him or we can try to explain what is going on to him depending on the situation.
There are times, like the holidays, when meltdowns are almost inevitable. We try to watch and listen for clues that one is approaching but sometimes a melt down will come out of nowhere. Once we get him through it then all is well again until the next time. The younger kids have learned that this just part of life. They know to give him space and to give him some quiet time so he can calm down and unwind. They have developed and understanding and show a lot of empathy towards him when he is struggling.
Some of the warning signs are in the picture above. I had not made it into the bathroom to do my morning Swish & Swipe and apparently the toilet paper was on the ‘wrong way’ and which was enough to send him over the edge a couple of days ago. He then proceeded to shred the toilet paper all over the bathroom, unfold all of the towels, and turn everything around backwards. Why? I don’t really understand why but I’m sure it made sense to him in some way.
After spending a few minutes in the bathroom he came out and went to his room and shut the door. This wasn’t normal and when I opened the door he was folding his socks and lining them up. He just kept saying something about ‘the wrong way’. It wasn’t long before someone found the mess in the bathroom.
After this event his older sister had me show her how to ‘properly’ fold the towels so that she can help to put them away right. She also had me show her a couple of other ‘tricks’ to cleaning and tidying up the bathroom to help keep it the ‘right way’. She is also displaying empathy towards him and towards me by trying to help with this.
Being a Momma of many can be tough. There are some days that are tougher than others. This day was no exception but I also know it could’ve been worse if we didn’t have our routines in place to help him. By helping him we are also helping each other. When one family member is struggling it causes the rest of us to struggle as well.
Something as little as the toilet paper roll can trigger a meltdown which can lead to a ‘bad day’. I know there are so many people who argue about what the right way is for the toilet paper. In our house it is the picture on the left, no exceptions!
I encourage you to look for things that you can do to help others in your house, no arguing about what is the right way or the wrong way, just do it.
This is a meal that my special needs son enjoys helping me with. He really likes to eat it as well. I try to let the kids help with certain meals and this one is ‘his’ meal. It helps them to feel a sense of accomplishment when they are able to do things independently. I do have to supervise with a lot of the oven part but other than that he really enjoys helping to put the bowls together.
You can add your favorite toppings to it and make it the way you like it. With individual bowls, each family member can customize their own bowl. Serve it with rice and beans.
Note: We do have a set of ovenproof bowls that we use to shape the tortilla bowls themselves but you can check out this link for ideas to make them without a bowl. Continue reading “Tortilla Bowl Taco Salad”
‘Momma, come sit with me.’ That’s what my 3 year old said today at lunchtime. He had been picking at his sandwich and sticking around the table after everyone else had went to their rooms for lunch. He gave me that sweet smile with those little blue eyes just a sparkling. Who could resist that smile?
Not me! The neverending To-Do list can wait. The basket of unfolded laundry can wait. The dirty dishes in the sink can wait. The chores that need finished can wait. The millions of other things running through my mind,at any given moment, can wait.
Right now he needs me and he is asking me for my time. I admit that sometimes I feel like I am spread pretty thin. I feel like I just can’t do anything more than what I am doing right now. It’s hard being a Momma.It’s hard being a single Momma. It’s hard being a special needs Momma. It’s hard being a single special needs Momma! Yes, I said it’s hard. It’s almost downright impossible on some days. But then there are the good days or the little moments like this.
The house is quiet-ish as everyone is settling down for naps and/or quiet time. The school work has been finished and put away. He continues to nibble at his sandwich while I grab my glass of watered down iced tea. I sit in the chair next to him and he smiles. A genuinely lit up ear to ear kind of smile. Those little eyes are just dancing with ideas that he wants to tell me.
So he begins by informing me that my feet are in the water. I laugh and pull my feet up and sit cross legged in the chair.
‘Is that better?’, I ask.
‘Yes, Momma, now the sharks can’t get you.’
‘Well that’s a good thing! Thank you so much for warning me.’, I say.
He laughs and then he proceeds to explain to me how a T-Rex would catch a fish. He imitates the T-Rex while eating his fish (peanut butter sandwich) and he laughs a lot. He tells me what he wants for snack later, a dinosaur cupcake from yesterday, and he asks if he and ‘all my friends’ can go outside after naps. He always refers to his brothers and sisters as ‘all my friends’ and he draws a big circle in the air when he says it. It is so cute!
He eats a few more bites and declares he is full. Then he grabs his napkin and attempts to wipe the peanut butter off his face. I help him and he takes off running back to his room before I can finish. He jumps into his bed and curls up with a stuffed toy and his favorite dinosaur toy. Then he closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep. I lean over and give him a quick kiss on the cheek and he giggles.
These are the moments that make my day and give me the momentum I need to get through the tough days. I get a little sad as I know they are all growing up so fast. I know that before long he won’t be asking me to come sit with him anymore. I want to take the time to cherish these little moments and enjoy them while I can.
I walked back to the kitchen to jot down this post so I will have it to look back on in the future. I think about how blessed I am and how precious life is. I am so thankful that God has put me where I am right now. He has given me more than I ever deserved and I know He has so many plans in store for me and my family.
He always knows what we need and when we need it. This morning I read Proverbs 13:4:
It reminds me that I need to keep pressing on towards my goals. I can’t give up and let myself get lazy. I can have hope in knowing that if I stay diligent there will be a reward for all of the hard work I put in here on earth. This little moment with my son was just a taste of that and it was so beautiful! I can’t even begin to imagine what the future may hold for us.
Thank you Lord for your blessings on me and my family!
I wrote about the Pantry Challenge in an earlier post. This upcoming week is the next Pantry Challenge I have scheduled. I thought I would break down what my grocery list was and how much I ended up spending for the meals that I came up.
Below are the dinner meals and the ingredients that I had to buy and the costs.
Meal #1: Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken w/Rice and Cole Slaw
Cole Slaw Mix $2.00
Meal #2: Popover Pizza, Salad
Romaine Lettuce $3.29
Tomatoes BOGO $2.99
Meal #3: Tortilla Bowl Taco Salad, Rice, Beans
Will use the extra lettuce and tomatoes from Meal #2 and I had some extra pintos from last week that had I put in the freezer also.
Avocado $1.00
Sour Cream $1.75
Meal #4: Boston Baked Beans, Mac n Cheese, Fried Cabbage
Cabbage $2.05
Meal #5: Cheesy Chicken and Potatoes Casserole, Salad
Will use the extra lettuce and tomatoes from Meal #2 & 3.
Meal #6: Free Day (I will probably make some Chicken Stir Fry, Chicken Fried Rice, and maybe some fried ramen noodles. (These are links to other recipes as I can’t locate mine at the moment.)
**UPDATE: I found my recipes 🙂 Chinese Fried Rice with Veggies, Easy Fried Noodles, Japanese White Sauce. I had everything in the pantry and freezer to make all of these.
I had some stir fry veggies and chicken in the freezer. I also had some ramen noodles and rice in the pantry. I won’t be adding as many veggies to the noodles as this recipe shows either.
Sweet and Sour Sauce $1.99
Meal #7: Breakfast for Dinner
Krusteaz Pancake & Waffle Mix BOGO $2.79
(This is my favorite brand and I grab it when it is on sale.)
Aunt Jemima Syrup BOGO $3.89
So altogether I spent less than $25.00 to complete the meals from the pantry.
I also had to buy some staples that we buy every week like:
Milk x 4 $14.76
Bread x $4.00
Sliced Cheese $2.00
Margarine $1.00
Apples $3.49
Bananas $4.72
Creamer $3.00
Eggs $2.00
These came to about $35.00.
We had a few miscellaneous toiletries to buy for less than $20.00. I also found a BOGO meat sale and stocked up on some things that we will need later on in the month. I did spend around $50.00 0n the meat! Eeek… well I don’t feel too bad because I know that I am saving money in the long run and I won’t need to buy much more meat for the rest of the month.
You can see my totals below and the savings from the store card, sales, and coupons. Plus at Winn -Dixie you can also earn Fuelperks. Right now I am at $0.55/gallon which is about $11.00 off my next 20 gallons of fuel. I also did the survey at the bottom of the receipt to save $5.00 on the next trip.
If I had been tight on money or if I had decided not to spend any extra I could’ve left the store spending a little under $80.00. I could have also cut back on a few other things and stayed under $50.0. I do try my best to catch certain things, like peanut butter, on sale and grab them whenever I can.
By using what I have in the pantry and freezer I was able to save money and use it towards the sales I found for the meat. It also helps to prevent waste and helps me to set a good example for the kids about being frugal. This can be a very useful tool in any household.
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