Nice little article written by a Minnesota parent with a child with special needs.  The ABC's of Raising a Child with Special Needs. 

As much as I am looking forward to going out to bookgroup tonight,  I am really tired and not feeling the best....we will see what the rest of the day brings.  Hmmmm....to go or not?

MORNING....

-YESTERDAY -

Work went well.   I had alot of calls to make.  I was able to locate school supplies for a large family that couldn't afford them.  That was good.   I also had to apply for SSI (Social Security) for someone.   Argh...I tried the online process which wasn't too bad, but I still have to call them, which is a nightmare most times.   I did manage to get a walk in at work over my lunch.  I haven't been able to do that in over a week.

Our evening was ok.   Supper was great!  Everyone really liked it.  The refried beans weren't  a huge hit, but I liked them.  The rice I made a little too spicy, but it was good.  Everyone loved the Tacos.   Tommy was being crabby and wouldn't come to the table to eat.  He ate a bit later once he was done being so mad.   Not sure what was up with that since he had a nap.   He got an owie by his eye and it was bothering him.  A toy fell and hit him outside.  

Hubby bathed Tommy and got him ready for bed.   Was feeling pretty overwhelmed by what I need to get done and hubby was not really helping.  He was working, but that is a whole other story.   I layed down with Tommy around 8:30 and he went to sleep early!  YEAH!!  So hopefully he will wake up this morning better. 

After Tommy was in bed I worked on my HIPPA study guide for work.  I have to take the test today.   I have to do this every year and it is a pain. 

-TODAY-

I am so happy that I have book group tonight.   I need a night out with the girls so badly!   They are a fabulous group of ladies.  We are going on Syd's yatch so that will be fun!    So I will be out until late tonight. 

Work wise I need to take my HIPPA test an I have a pretty intense IEP meeting this afternoon.  But of course before I go to work I have to take Erik's immunization info into school AGAIN.  They wouldn't let us get his class schedule until I  turned it into the nurse, which we did on the 16th.  Now they called yesterday and said he can't start school because he doesn't have his shots.  ARGH.  And of course they still haven't called me about his IEP!   I know they are busy, but really he is a new student it should be some priority here. 

-TOMORROW-

Not much...another intense school meeting at work.   There are so many problems to work out with some kids on my caseload before school starts so it is a busy week for me.   I can't wait until school starts and things settle down for about a week and then it is budget time.  

SUPPER:   Hubby's cooking - hamburger helper and veggie

GRATITUDE:  Grateful my hubby apologized this morning.    

Supper Tonight...............

Tacos

• tortillas or taco shells*
  
• 1 lb. cooked ground beef (from freezer)
  
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
  
• shredded lettuce
  
• diced tomatoes
  
• grated cheese
  
• sour cream
  
• salsa

Prepare taco meat according to package directions. For softer tacos that don't bread when you bite them, preheat oven to 300°. Fill each taco with meat and grated cheese and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Serve with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

  Spanish Rice

• 1 chopped onion, sauteed (from freezer)
  
• black pepper
  
• chili powder
  
• cumin
  
• Adobo seasoning
  
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
  
• Olive oil
  
• 1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
  
• 1 cup water

Saute onion in olive oil in a Dutch oven until tender; remove from pan. Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and brown the uncooked rice. Do not burn! Add chicken broth and water (this will sizzle loudly when the liquid meets the hot oil), add seasonings to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes; do not open. When cooked, add onions and any other warmed items you may have on hand that would be good in rice (corn, salsa, Rotel, etc.). Stir gently and serve.

  Refried Beans

• 1 bag black turtle beans (kidney,pinto, or red beans also work)
  
• cumin
  
• Adobo or garlic salt
  
• olive oil
  
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Rinse beans in a colander and check to be sure there are no stones or other debris. Place beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so that the water is twice as deep as the beans. Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and cover, let sit for 1 hour. Drain beans in colander and rinse pot. Place beans in slow cooker and cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours.

Drain beans, reserving liquid (place colander on a lg. pan or bowl then pour beans in). Separate beans into 2 cup servings in freezer bags, reserving 4 cups of beans for tonight's meal. Cover beans in each bag with some of reserved liquid

Mash 4 cups of beans, adding enough liquid to make beans mushy and soft. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a fry pan and add mashed beans and spices to taste. Stir until hot and bubbly. Heat enchilada sauce in a sauce pan and serve beans topped with enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.

**FROM MENUS4MOMS.COM

Here is what Josh made for supper last night.   They siad it was good, but there was none left for me when I got home. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup with Mushrooms

• 2 cups shredded chicken
  
• 2 cans chicken broth* or 4 cups homemade broth
  
• 1 onion, chopped & sauteed (from freezer)
  
• 1/2 cup wild rice blend
  
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
  
• 2 Tbsp. butter
  
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry (optional)
  
• Adobo seasoning
  
• 4 tbsp. flour

Combine first 4 ingredients in slow cooker on high. Saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Add to slow cooker. Once soup is hot, add cream of mushroom soup, stirring until well blended. Season to taste with Adobo. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.1 hour before serving, mix flour with 1/3 cup hot water until dissolved and add to soup to thicken. 30 minutes before serving, add milk and sherry.

Good Morning........

-YESTERDAY-

I worked until about 7:30 and then headed home to put Josh's Senior Pics online so his out of town family could make their choices for ordering.   I need to order by the end of the month to get in on one of their specials. 

Work was good.  I had two homevisits.   One was jsut so funny, the kids jsut cracks me up, hey he even flipped me off.   The other boy *had to hug his social worker and he was wet from a squirt gun fight.  So I was a bit wet when I get back to the office.  But it was fun.   Then I did some paperwork and junk.  

Josh helped out yesterday and made supper in the crockpot.  It seemed to go ok, but was all gone so I didn't get to try it.  It was Chicken Wild Rice Soup.  

-TODAY-

I am in the office all day today so it will be phone calls and paperwork.  I have a chiro appointment at 5:30 today so I can't work late.   I have plenty to do around the house anyways.   I don't want to fall behind on laundry.  

Today is my Financial Blessing day so I have bills to write out and my budget to look at.  I need to finish reconciling my checkbook as well.  I might take my bills binder with me to work and work on it on my lunch break.  I can never jsut eat lunch, I need to multi-task.

My goal today....do my bedtime routine!  I have been bad about that again and I kist go to bed.   It is so helpful to do my bedtime routine, but I forget.  

JEN'S BEDTIME ROUTINE
Kitchen - dishes/sweep
Lay out Clothes
Pack Bags
Make Lunch
Prep for Supper if needed
Laundry
Clear Dining Table

-TOMORROW -

BOOK GROUP!!  YEAh.....I love my book  group.  We are meeting on my friends yatch so it should be fun.   I hope the weather is nice.  We will be discussing Mrs Kimble.   A light read, but enjoyable.   Next up we are reading East of Eden.

SUPPER TONIGHT:   Tacos, Refried Beans and Spanish Rice

GRATITUDE:   Last night I was reading in bed and I just smiled to myself as I listened to my hubby softly snore.   I am very grateful for him!   And in between us I hear this little tiny snore.  Tommy was snoring.   Some times while I am reading and they have both fallen asleep I look at them and just smile, knowing how lucky I am!  

Help me pick......I love most of Josh's Senior Pics and can't decide on which two to order.   ARGH!!

Just about ready to jump into the shower.  Tonight I work late.   I have alot of homevisits today.  I have one at 11:30, 3:00 and then lastly at 5:00.   I put some food in the crockpot and I will call Josh so he can get it started when he gets up.   He is watching Erik for us today again.  Yesterday, Josh and Amy took Erik to Como Zoo and they went roller blading around the lake.    They all seemed to have a great time!    I jsut smile when I think of the special time our boys have together.   They are really good to each other!  

We had been planning to go to Florida this year, since it will be the last Spring Break when all the boys are still home and Tommy is finally old enough.   But money was an issue and we couldn't afford it.   God really smiled on us when our friends let us use the time share!     We are so grateful!     Now we can make it work, a dream come true.

Still not sure when my BIL is moving in, but he is going on our End of Summer Celebration with us this weekend.   So I guess we will talk about it then, see if he has made progress on selling his trailer. 

Life is good......Have a great one!

I am so excited!!   We are so blessed by fabulous, generous friends.    Our good friends shared one of their extra vacations with us.   So I went shopping the time share site and we found a resort for the week of our children's spring break!   We really lucked out!   We are going to Florida for Spring Break.  The kids are very excited.   We are all booked and ready to go.  The best part is we have 6 months to pay it off and look for a good deal on airline tickets. 

So we will be spending a week in Florida in March!   It will be cold in Minnesota and we will be so sick of snow and we get to go to the Summer Bay Resort!  Our Friends and their kids will also be in Florida at the same time.  So we will be able to hang out with them hopefully.  

What A Blessing.........

Just picked up Unlimited Ride Coupons for Camp Snoopy.   We are going there as part of our end of summer celebration.   Hmmm....not what other little surprises can I find that are inexpensive for us to enjoy!  We will be taking a Winter Vacation.   Our Friends are letting us use their time share again, maybe we can do it over Spring Break.