Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

1-1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
2 ounces process American cheese, cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.  Place in a greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish; set aside.  In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually add milk; bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes; reduce heat.  Stir in cheese, salt and pepper until cheese is melted.  Pour over macaroni; mix well.  Melt the remaining butter; add the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle over casserole.  bake uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Yield: 6 servings.

Taste of Home: April/May 1998

Good Night Xangaland..........

Tonight this lady has to get to bed early.  I am still fighting this cold.  Tommy is off sleeping as are the older two boys.  We enjoyed a very nice evening at home tonight.  We had homemade Mac n cheese for supper (though my hubby prefers Kraft out of the box) and Jello parfaits. 

After supper I did up the dishes and we played some board games.  We played two rounds of sequence and one of Jenga.  It was alot of fun.  It is always great when you can actually get Erik to play a game.  

Then it was time for Tommy's bath.  He is getting to be quite the splasher.  He loves he water.  Erik supervised of course and Tommy splashed him.

I did manage to get most of my Christmas, which have now become the new Years Newsletters printed out.  So dear family and friends me on the look out at a mailbox near you for the newsletter.  I almost didn't do one, but I figured alot of people wanted to see pic of Tommy and the boys.  So it is late, but it is for the New Year not Christmas, which deosn't make it *as late. 

Have a great night and weekend!!!!!!!!

This salad I make often when we have company.  I had to type it up as it is often requested by others...so I figured I might as well share it here as well.  

Two-Cheese Tossed Salad

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt

5 cups torn fresh spinach
5 cups torn iceberg lettuce
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 carton (8 ounces) cottage cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
2 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a jar with tight-fitting lid, combine the first eight ingredients.  Refrigerate overnight.  Just before serving, toss spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, and cheeses in a large salad bowl.  Shake dressing and pour over salad.  Sprinkle with bacon.  Yield: 12-14 servings.

Taste of Home : April/May 1998

Morning....

Well I am home sick today, this cold has gotten the best of me.   I hope to actually finish up my holiday letter today and get it mailed.     I am way behind!   It isn't my fault I hated the picture I had taken on the boys at Sears, but I can use the one we took at Thomas's baptism instead. 

Tommy is 10 weeks old today.      He is doing well.  He is sleeping at night for about 6 hours at a time, which is nice.   He seems to be back to normal after his shots now.   We have started signing to him, well at least I have.  My hubby forgets to sign when he feeds him, but that is why we started now so we could get into the habit.  The only sign we are doing is the one for milk.  

Joshua is glad for it to be the weekend!  Having only three days of school this week makes him a happy boy.  Later this month we go to orientation with him at the high school.   I can't believe it, my boy is going to be in high school next year.  It will be a crying moment for me. 

Erik is coming for his weekend visit tonight, so we will have a busy weekend.  I don't have anything specially really planned, but will make dessert for supper tonight.  That is always a big treat.  

Last night, my nephew Nick came over.  He needed a haircut.   So I needed to do that.  I have been cutting his hair since he was about 2.   He has a hard time with it.   He hates to have the hair cut by his ears or neck.  He is overly sensitive to sensory things due to his diagnosis of autism.  So last night he was extremely fidgety so I told him he had special super powers.   REALLY????  What are they Auntie??   You have super not ticklish powers......he was impressed and turned on his powers and we got the hair cut by his neck.  He tried so hard not to squirm!   You know he also has super holding still powers too, we had to turn those on too!!!   But we did get a fairly decent haircut in the end.  And of course, at the end he got to pick out a treat.  He picked Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in a cup.   (they don't give you good enough treats at the haircut store, that is one reason I have to do all his haircuts.)   He has greatly improved on his haircuts, though it takes a while, I no longer have to chase him through the house or hold him down to do it.  

Always an adventure at our house   You gotta love it!

Hello everyone -

Well it is about 10:00 and I thought I would drop in and say good night to Xangaland.   I have had a fairly productive day.  Tommy was fairly cranky throughout the day, but did seem to sleep alot.  I expect he will be getting up in the middle of the night tonight. 

We managed to get the plastic up on some of our upstairs windows during one of Tommy's evening naps.  That seemed to warm it up in here.  BRRRRRRRRRR!   I did some cleaning, straightened up the kitchen and put away the laundry off  the dining room table.  That is a terrible hot spot for me.  I always seem to have clean laundry on there to put away.

I decided to start reading the book I got as a shower gift, "Sign with your Baby".  It is a program to communicate with infants before they can speak via sign language.  We decided to start the signs early as Tommy is starting to pay attention to things.  When he is upset and crying due to hunger, he will calm immediately when he sees the burp clothe or when it goes around his neck.   He knows that food comes next.   So maybe he could relate the sign to the occurrence as well.    Either way it will get Hubby and I used to signing with him.   My best friend signed with her son.  She had amazing results.  He was producing signs and conveying his needs by 8 months.   She started when he was 5 months old. 

If you want to know more about the program you can check out their website http://www.sign2me.com/ .  If any of you have had an experience with signing with your child I would love to hear about it!!

Well I need to get to bed, since I am still fighting this cold of mine.  I hope I get over it soon, seems to be a bit better.

BTW, the Baked Chicken Breasts were a hit with the family!    Gee, I better figure out what we are having tomorrow before I go to bed.  I did already pack my lunch for tomorrow and did the supper dishes.  So I am doing pretty good!   I even went down and straightened Erik's part of the bedroom. 

Heavens Very Special Child

A meeting was held quite far from earth,
" It's time again for another birth,"
Said the angels to the Lord above,
"This special child will need much love." 

His progress may, seem very slow,
Accomplishments he may not show
And he'll require extra care
From the folks he meets way down there.

He may not run or laugh or play,
His thoughts may seem quite far away,
In many ways he won't adapt,
And he'll be known as handicapped.

So let's be careful where he is sent,
We want his life to be content.
Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play.
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for this gift from Heaven.
Their precious charge, so meek and mild
Is Heavens very special child.

Anonymous "Community Voices" August-September, 2001

This poem was in a publication I read at work.  I am a social worker assisting families with children with disabilities.  I really was touched by this poem.  Sometimes it is hard to do my job, it makes me worry so about my children.  I am very lucky that all three of my children are developing well and are healthy.  

It is incredibly hard on me when a child on my caseload dies.   It makes life seem so unfair.  Or a little one already disabled gets cancer, etc.   But most families are so incredible strong and dedicated.  They are amazing.  They make the job all worth it

My nephew is diagnoses with Autism, so we are always learning new lessons from him.   Be it in my personal life or work I am always amazed by the little ones!  They have so much to teach us about life, if we just take the time to realize the lesson.

Tommy's 2 Month Dr. Appointment

Today Tommy had his well baby Doctor visit since he is 2 months old.   He did ok, and I did alright surprisely too!  He had to get three shots.  He was suppose to get 4 shots, but they were out of one of the vaccines.   He screamed for the shots!!  And I didn't even cry, but was close to it

He was very happy this morning so he gurgled (a gooo) and smiled while the nurses measured him.  He weighs 13 1/2 pounds.  His length is 24 inches.  Both his height and weight put him in the 90% percentile.  He is a big boy His head circumrance is 40cm (50%) which is good. 

The Dr said that I can begin giving Tommy cereal when he consistently drinks 40 or more ounces a day.  So we are going to start measuring how much he eats a day.  I think he is eating about 36 ounces a day, I'm not exactly sure. I didn't track it on a per day basis.  He does eat between 4-6 ounces each feeding though.

Tommy is developing well, he is holding his head well and is very strong the Dr said.  He is not yet pushing up with his arms when on his tummy, but he hates to be on his tummy so I don't put him there everyday.  So I will make a point of putting him on his tummy daily now.  He does lift his head when on his tummy though.

So we lived through the first set of shots.  Tommy is sleeping now, I gave him some tylenol and he seems fine.  More shots when he is 4 months old.

In trying to be more organized, I am trying to plan out our meals better.  Usually I get home from work and I have nothing thawed out for supper and I am freaking and we end up eating junk

So tonight we are having.........................(drum roll please)

Baked Chicken Breasts

"Baked" chicken without having to turn on the stove!

                      Ingredients:
           2-3 whole chicken breasts, halved 
           2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted 
           1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup 
           1/2 cup dry sherry 
           1 tsp leaf tarragon or leaf rosemary 
           1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
           1/4 tsp garlic powder 
           1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained

                      Directions:
                      Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry;
                      place in Crock-Pot. Combine remaining
                      ingredients and pour over chicken
                      breasts.

                      Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10
                      hours or on High 4 to 5 hours.

                      Prep time: 10 minutes

                      Serves 4 to 6

Quick and Easy.....and hopefully good.  I will let ya know!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope everyone had a safe and joyous New Years.  I went to work on New Years Eve, but then came home a bit early.  We went over to our neighbors for a fondue party and played games to bring in the New Year!