Why Don't These Pants Fit & Other Reasons February Sucks....

This month has been a real bitch.  Not too many things have been going my way (yeah, I'm aware that "that's life", but it doesn't mean I have to like it).  Here's a few (yes, there are plenty more I'm NOT including). 

Many of you may remember in December I had facial/oral surgery & was on a soft food diet, soon to be replaced w/a diet high in calories & carbs (I lost a lot of weight while recovering).  Well....the aftermath has arrived!  Note to self: you CANNOT survive on chocolate, noodles & Pepsi & expect to continue to weigh 111lbs, nor can you get lazy, lay around watching Millionaire & The View & just stop Pilates all together & expect to stay bikini-ready! 
I can proudly say I'm back on track, exercising daily & only had 1 Pepsi yesterday!! Yay, go me! (You don't know how huge that is, only drinking 1 Pepsi....The only fair comparison would be like an alcoholic who starts drinking before noon, drinks all day & even goes to bed w/one on the nightstand....that's a pretty accurate pic of my relationship w/Pepsi). 
So, I'm trying to eat right, exercise daily & make smart choices when it comes to my non-stop snacking after 9pm every night.  I'm confident this extra weight will just evaporate w/a little hard work.
.....just solved 1 problem.....hopefully......  

That being said, I'm officially OVER winter (ok, ok, so technically mid 70's to low 80's isn't much of a" winter", but hey, it's winter to me)!  I want to swim & stroll along the beach & bitch constantly about how I wish it was winter again.  I long to be tan again instead of albino. 

My skin.  When did it decide to finally go through puberty & just break out like crazy?!?  I'm 35! Why is this happeni....oh, God....could this be tied in w/my bouts of crying for no reason (or a really sentimental commercial), the hot flashes I get throughout the day, the sweat I'm drenched in 1 minute, followed by cold chills the next.....is it, dare I even say it....MENOPAUSE?!?!  Lord help everyone close to me if it is!  But seriously, my skin is worse than it ever was when I was a teen!  I'm so ugly right now......& fat.

This next one is DRAINING ME!  Ben's extra-curricular schedule.  He is 7 & his dance card is way more filled than mine (ok, so I don't even have a dance card).  On Monday & Tuesday he, I mean WE have baseball until 7:30pm, Wednesday it's Cub Scouts from 6-7pm, there's trips to the library & park, entertaining him every second of every day, having to feed him, clothe him, let him live in my house, etc....its exhausting!  (Yes, I am very aware that is what having kids is all about, but everyone is entitled to bitch about it from time to time & yes the last part was 100% joke).

I am basically saying, hurry up March, I'm waiting!!! That's all. 

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

Hurricane Ben.....

Since my last post (over 2wks ago).  I know, I'm soooo horrible w/deadlines, but I have a REALLY good excuse....well, actually, I have four excuses!

The first & second reason is Ben & I.  Last Thursday, I had to pick him up from school early w/a fever & lots of snot.  He wasn't allowed to come back until the fever was under 101.1° for 48hrs (GREAT policy if you want my opinion)!  There's been a lot of sick children & staff so the school has taken extra measures to keep uninfected people that way.  Anyway, he stayed home Friday too & by Friday night, I had a fever too.  I am pretty sure we got the flu.  It lasted until Tuesday for BOTH of us!  I'm still sneezing non-stop & have developed quite the sexy, distinctive "smokers cough".
(Note: sarcasm was sprinkled on my smokers cough comment for those who'll give me hell for "glorifying" smoking)

Excuse number three is baseball clinic.  I am generally a pretty laid-back, mellow mom.  Not so much when it comes to ANYTHING even remotely associated with competition, winning, losing...basically, if you can win it, I want to be the one to have the top prize.  I'm extremely competitive.  Baseball (thank God) is just as important to Ben as it is to me.  I'll be the first one to admit, he's good.  Damn good.  He's been playing t-ball for two years now & has moved up to the "minor leagues".  They had a team-building clinic Tuesday, to let the coaches see what the kids have to offer & to fairly split the kids into teams.  Quite a few coaches were checking out my lil slugger!  One coach even walked across the field to check him out!  He did an outstanding job & I'm very proud of him.  He's going to be such an asset to any of the teams!

Number four.  Two words.  Pinewood Derby.
Um, so, yeah....I breed champions!  Ben won second place overall out of the entire troop!  His car was the fastest out of all the other packs except one car....it was a great race.  We almost had him, but, sadly, our car had a tire problem at the end when we needed it to race fast.  But, he won a trophy & all the splendour & bragging rights to dominating the entire race!  If it weren't for the tire problem, I'm confident we would have swept the whole thing!  Congratulations to Wyatt, the weblow who's car was just a smidge faster than Bens.  Everyone did great & everyone had a good time. 

Now, on to the hurricane that is my son.
Ben's room.  Its indescribable.  Its horrific, horrendous & for lack of better words, a fucking mess. 
I have spent hours upon hours cleaning, scrubbing, organizing & tidying up his damn bedroom.  He & my nephew completely destroy it on a daily basis. Not just take a few things out & not return them to their proper spot.  I'm talking full-on war zone.  It's literally a fucking dump.  They wallor in their own filth & fester in their boy-cave. I am at my wits end!  I can't do it anymore!  I (amazingly) kept my cool last night while I laid down the law.  Neither one of them will be allowed to leave the room until it's cleaned.  William will NOT be permitted to just go home when it's cleaning time & Ben will NOT sucker me into "helping" him, which translates into mom doing everything.  They both assured me that things would be different this time, that they'd both start keeping things tidy....
Bullshit!
I walked into the room this morning, after they left for school....the horror of it!  Its just not even cool, what these spoiled, little princes are doing.  It's total & complete bullshit!  Guess I know what I'll be doing today.....fuck!!!

Any suggestions? I need help, ASAP!!

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

It's A Scary, Scary World (to the tune of "Its A Small World)

I'm watching the news (if that's not depressing & terrifying enough), I just can't shake the unsettling feeling I get about the latest & "cray-est" sociopath making headlines.  Its now been about 40 hours since a Vietnam vet took it upon himself to board a school bus, shoot the driver 4 times & take a young boy who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism) hostage.  He & the boy have been holed up in an underground bomb shelter-type bunker.  The man has allowed the police/officials to send the boys necessary medicines through a pvc pipe tube leading into the shelter & the boy is said to have food as well as t.v.
Police are negotiating to free the boy, who is probably scared shitless!!  ANY child would understandably be terrified, but an Aspie?!? Its amplified by about 1000!!!  It's a disaster waiting to happen if officials don't act quick!
Children who suffer from any type of trauma such as this, have a difficult time coping, but most have the social "know-how" to keep their captors somewhat calm & at bay.  With Asperger's, social skills are lacking (for a better word).  Emotions can be raw & at times, primal.  Being in a small, confined space is out of routine (another Aspie "quirk") & is likely to cause even more confusion & frustration for the 5 year old Alabama boy.  Aspie's are creatures of habit, love & thrive off of routines.  Most are very intelligent, but many have a difficult time conveying wants, needs & sometimes verbal/communication skills are delayed.
Imagine the poor boys mental state after not only seeing his beloved bus driver get shot to death in front of him & his peers, but then having to actually go with this crazy man?!?!
As a mother, my heart aches for this boy & makes me hug mine even tighter.  As an advocate for Asperger's & Autism, it breaks.  I have a very special son.  I know how a change of routine messes with him; example: for over a week, his teacher has been prepping him for her being out of the class today & tomorrow.  She knows that this is essential for his success & behavior.  He would more than likely have a "yellow" or "orange" day if her absence was sprung on him (as opposed to a child who does not suffer from the spectrum of disorders).  He would shut down during tests, shout out during lessons & tomorrow's field trip would be a disaster (for not only him, but the other children & adults). 
Aspie's need structure, compassion & an understanding I fear the young boy may not be getting. 

In closing, I hope & pray that this man lets the boy go.  Sooner than later.  He needs his parents, his house & his routine.  He's just a baby....his family needs him too.  I am choked up at the thought of what his poor mother must be going through.  Everyone, I don't usually ask this, but PLEASE PRAY FOR HIS SAFE RETURN!!

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

You Can Learn A Lot From A Second-Grader...

Since my last post, I've been really busy (by busy, I really mean lying around, watching pirated movies..ooh, Silver Linings Playbook, Django & This Is 40 are all SOOO GOOD!! I highly recommend them all- Christopher Waltz BETTER win best supporting actor for Django...his role was superb). Plus, we've actually made some good headway with the Pinewood Derby car (I'm surprised too, trust me)!

The thing that has (honestly) kept me the most busy is Ben.  He got his report card & although he got all "Satisfactories" in personal development (what??? You're kidding me), he got 2 "C's" (1 in math & 1 in language) & a nice little note in the "comments" section letting me (once again) that he has no attention span, can't stay focused, disrupts others & his "quirks" are causing behavioral issues. WOW....what a kick to the motherly groin! I KNOW my son's got his fair share of issues, but to hear (or read) someone else say (or write) them, it hurts.  It hurts bad.  It breaks my heart to look at him, knowing he IS trying..something is just not clicking.

I've been working extra hard with him on his self-control and on math & grammar facts.  He seems to be improving daily!  My mom taught me a lot about being a good mother, but she set the bar pretty damn high as far as the art mothering goes, so it's very hard to even come close to the outstanding job she did with my siblings and I.  Plus, our situation is very different.  Medically different.  Ben was diagnosed with slight Asperger's Syndrome (informally) by his former pediatrician, all his teachers have agreed.  This year ADHD/ADD has also been thrown around (although NO FORMAL DIAGNOSIS has been done- just educated guesses from doctors & teachers).  All that, plus, at seven years old, has been through a tremendous amount of shit no ADULT should even have to endure. 

If I've learned anything this past month, it's that I'm not the world's greatest mom....I'm far from it, but, I love my little stink and he loves the shit outta me.  I love him so much I would literally DIE for him.  I know, any good mom would say that, but when your dealing with my son, it takes restraint, control and nerves of steel.  Not many people (including his/my family, teachers & doctors) can deal with him for longer than a few hours without either calling me to come pick him up (family), have conferences about his behavior (teachers) or suggest testing (doctors), which, I HAVE done.  He's on Medicaid, so NO specialist wants to treat him or when we DO find someone willing to work w/him, they just tell me he'll grow out of it!  He IS very difficult to get through to and sometimes, you just can't!  It doesn't mean I've failed him as a mother, no, he'll love me unconditionally just like I do him.  It just means I have to come up with a different way to get through.  I've learned that by just breathing, stepping back and reassessing the situations, I, WE, can figure things out....together.  The way it should be.  He's taught me patience, acceptance, empathy and humor.  That sure, we're both gonna screw up, hell, I screw things up DAILY, but instead of beating myself up, learn to laugh at the little things.  He's taught me that I can do ANYTHING!  I am a strong mama who will do whatever it takes to see him succeed. 

So, all that being said, that's why I haven't posted the Tasty Tuesday edition featuring my favorite recipes.  Ben comes first.  He spent many years playing second fiddle to MY personal problems (my mother's death, my multiple bi-polar episodes, financial troubles, my father growing ill, me constantly being in the hospital, almost dying multiple times, losing 3 babies to ectopic & miscarriages, you get the idea).  But no more.

I've fully committed myself to being 110% there for him.  Emotionally, physically, mentally, basically the whole shebang.  I know there's gonna be so many days when all the blood, sweat and tears pays off, but I also know there's gonna be days where I'm ready to pull my hair out, days where I just wanna scream, but that's OK.  He's gonna be OK, we're all gonna be OK.

OK, I swear I'm not gonna bitch..

I had to take 11 days to recuperate after my last post. Whew! I was like a vampire on a deserted island- No blood-filled humans to suck dry! But, as time has passed, I've calmed down and have had some moments to myself to breathe.

I'm sorry for being so ape-shit cray cray on the 1st day of the year, but good God! I was an emotional wreck, lemme tell you! All things are better, my lil concentration camp victims hair is growing back nicely; I no longer want to castrate Karl and there's been no more arguments over commercials of any kind!

Ben's been signed up for little league (3rd year now) and started his winter/spring session of Cub Scouts last week. 
On his meeting Wednesday, they handed all the scouts a small box w/a block of wood, 4 nails and 4 small plastic tires....yippee!! Pinewood Derby time! (Can you just sense my enthusiasm)?  Now Karl and I have to figure out a way to have Ben's block of wood be faster than all the other kid's parents make their blocks of wood. 

Yep, I'm THAT mom, you know, the 1 who's kid has the nicest, most artist reports and projects? The 1 who in a weird sense is trying to make up for my craziness around the house w/stunning projects.  Well, carving wood is not in my arsenal of "project weapons". I'm clueless!  Karl's acting as if he knows what's up, but he doesn't have a fucking clue either!  I have visions of a Special Olimpics Pinewood Derby car....tires all fucked, paint chipping, wood all snagged and splintered.  It should be a real fun time!

I recently told myself (and the world wide web) that I would start exercising 5 days a week again and low and behold, I am actually sticking to it!  I'm pretty damn proud of myself for that because I also said I wasn't going to smoke either - I quit in September and did soooo good, until Christmas fucking day, I've been buying packs ever since.  So, this week, I'm giving it up again.  I have to.  I felt soooo much better when I wasn't choking down a Misty menthol 120.  Plus, my asthma is acting up and I KNOW that's the reason why. 

On the business end of things, Karl's been hard at work looking for work and filed for unemployment (I KNOW he'll get it).  I've been looking into ads and sponsors for the blog (if you want to advertise, email me).  Things are looking up.  I can't expect miracles to happen overnight, but we were dealt a horrible hand days before Christmas.  I expect him to be back out there working in no time at all. We will be able to manage as long as we quit buying Ben everything he sees!

I've also been doing a lot of cooking (pics on Instagram of my delicious meals) and I'm putting together a Tasty Tuesday edition of recent recipes for y'all (prob next Tues).

In closing, I hope everyone's first two weeks were great and hope your all sticking to your resolutions!  Here's some pics you may have missed on Twitter and Instagram of the fam and I.Until next time....

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

Happy Friggin' New Year....

Why I'm NOT Gonna Let This Year Suck Ass (or will it??):

I thought about being all cheerful and chipper this morning, but as life will have it, that is just not in the cards for yours truly.  My morning started off with an epic argument w/Karl over a furniture commercial.  Yeah, you read that right, a fucking furniture commercial!!!  I swear to God above, this man of mine is completely insane!  I love him to death, but seriously, death is looking like a pretty sweet deal right now.  (OK, so maybe not DEATH, but a slow and painful castration would do him nicely).  Then, we caught Ben trying to strangle the dog!  Now, Karl's shaving Ben's head to look like a concentration camp victim!!  I told Karl to NOT do that, but since I talk in languages that are not spoken by the caveman that is my hubby, it went unacknowledged!  Great!  It's been a wonderful 2013 thus far and if this is any indication how the next 364 days will be, y'all are in for quite a blogging treat (by treat I mean my incessant ramblings and bitch-fests about my family).

2012 Re-Cap:

I thought it would be fun to reminisce about the past year, until I actually thought about all the shitty things that happened.  It then didn't seem so fun anymore, but, since I'm a glutton for punishment, here goes:

January started off good enough, I was pregnant with twins and life was great!  I was working as a director/principal of a small preschool (even though the owners were major ASSHOLES) and making good choices for the babies and myself.
February brought on complications with the twins.  One was tubal and the other one's heartbeat was faint-to-not-there.  Instead of getting my remaining tube and ovary removed, we opted for chemotherapy to "shrink" the tubal pregnancy.  I missed a total of 3 days of work due to the chemo & got bitched at sooo badly from my bosses, I miscarried the remaining baby.
March 2, 2012 I was asked to go home from my job after getting told I "lied" about my doctor appointments...I never went back to that joke of a school again.  I filed for unemployment, which the owners fought me on (they lied under oath to the appeals board, got caught & I won my unemployment - ALWAYS keep copies of time cards, Dr appts, etc for yourself - that's what proved them wrong).
April was a pretty boring month.  I had completed my chemo and was feeling weak, yet determined to get back into the swing of things again.  We took Ben to beaches and the Shell Factory and other places since the previous month was focused on my illness and recovery.
May was here and gone in the wink of an eye!  I started doing Pilates and focused on changing  the outside AND inside.
June was hot and sticky so we spent pretty much every weekend at the beach.  Sanibel Island was our favorite place to hit the waves.  The shells are also awesome out there!
July started out horribly.  I can't even write about it yet, for total and absolute fear, disgust, shame....I seriously can't really even think of anything, next to my mother dying, that's ever been worse!  All I can write is that, God sends his strongest solders to fight his toughest battles and I rose to the occasion and came out on top!
August is when dad was hospitalized.  That was the longest month of my entire life!  To sit in intensive care, everyday, thinking your dad is going to die....its something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.  It was horrible.  It was terrifying.  Not to mention his and Ben's birthdays are in August.  Ben had a good party (he didn't know I was crying the whole time, scared sick).  My family stuck together the best we could, my brother, sister and I were a united front (with a few breakdowns here and there, hey, we're siblings, we were bound to fight w/each other at least once, right) and decided if he was going to have to have the plug pulled, we would have to honor his wishes and do what he wanted.  Well, something made us try just one more thing, by month's end, he had a tracheotomy performed and there was talk of a rehab facility for him to learn how to breath w/o a respirator.
September dad was moved to Sarasota to the rehab hospital.  He made a super-quick recovery and returned home to his children, grandchildren and friends. His trach hole closed up and he started to walk again!  In honor of my dad's recovery and since I NEVER want Ben to have to go through that, I quit smoking.  YAY me!!
October was filled with candy, costumes and was a pretty good month!  I felt like things were slowly getting closer to "normal"  I was sticking to the No Smoking rule and felt damn good about it!
November had lots of food, folks and fun!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the entire family at dad's house and nobody fought!  A feat worth mentioning!
December came and went in a flash...Christmas was awesome, but overall the month was just kinda blah.  I had facial surgery on my sinuses and teeth, Karl had an injury that landed him in the hospital and jobless and Ben caught bronchitis!  Merry Christmas, indeed!!

So, in closing, there's really no place to go but up for my family and me.  We're poor, pissed and ready for a change!  I'm more determined than ever to make something work for the unluckiest family on earth!  C'mon, 2013, lets DO THIS!!  I'm gonna stay positive and I'm NOT gonna let you get the best of me like I let your younger, dumber sister, 2012!!

Peace, Love, LUCK & Light,
Katie
(formerly known as the world's unluckiest mom)

Out with the old, in with the new!

Well, this shitty year has finally come to a close & I for one couldn't be happier!

I spent the afternoon at Ben's new Dr's (he's got bronchitis), pigged out on Dairy Queen (just incase dairy product prices skyrocketed), put on my VS Pink jammies & played some Tiger Woods on the Xbox w/my guys....I know what your thinking, but I actually wouldn't have spent my night any other way!

Please be safe tonight & may 2013 be a million times better than 2012!

For all you di-hard katiebugs out there, I'll be doing a re-cap of my adventures (all the highs & lows) of the year tomorrow so stay tuned!

Peace, Love, Light & a very Happy New Year!!
Katie

I'm the WORST....

OMG....I know, I know! I promised a new post (pre-Christmas) and I didn't deliver. (I'm sorry, I really am)
I spent some much-needed rest and quality time w/my family. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, as I did.  My family all gathered at my dad's Casa (pap's house) and feasted on two different types of hams- a honey glazed AND smoked bacon (my fave- swine on swine), cheesy hash brown bake, asparagus and my world-famous bacon/swiss rolls! (I smell a "food file" recipe for 2013)!! Of course, we were at no loss for sweets either: cheesecake sampler, cookies and Xmas cupKates!
The kids scored big-time with video games (COD: Black Ops II & Halo4 for both), Halo Megablocks, art sets and Legos. My brother also gave the boys $50 Visa giftcards!  Success!
I didn't do to bad either! I got a Hello Kitty-themed bag full of goodies and fun things w/who else? Hello Kitty! I also got a collagen mask (I'm dying to try it out)! It was a simple Christmas this year, but it was just what I think everyone needed! Then.....
Life happened (AGAIN)!!
Karl lost his job and to top it off, Ben and I BOTH have the flu....a terrible, nasty, icky flu that will not go away!!
So, as this fabulous (I use the term loosely) year comes to a close, I can only hope for a better 2013.  With the ending of the shittiest year ever about to end, I thought some resolutions were in order.  Since there's nowhere to go but up, I'm shooting for the starts and setting the bar high!  So far, my list goes something like this:
1. I WILL exercise AT LEAST 5x a week
2. I WILL be a more patient mother & wife
3. I won't be so critical of others (especially my family)
4. Maybe I'll look into going back to school
5. I want to start going to church (maybe if I repent, my luck will improve)
6. Drink more water
.....drumroll.....this is the biggie.....
7. BLOG MORE CONSISTENTLY!!

OK, with all that out there for y'all to now hold me accountable for, lets enjoy some pics from the holidays! (All my pics can be seen on Twitter: @MizzKatieS or on Instagram: @mizzkatie_s follow me on both!!)
I'll be blogging again real soon, I wanna get one more post in before the new year, so, until we meet again....

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

I've missed y'all!! (just a quick update)

I just wanted to let everybody know (for those who didn't already), I was hospitalized last week & had to undergo surgery.  I'm OK, but the procedure was quite grueling & painful.
I had a sinus infection that spread to 3 of my back molars, which, in turn, led to major abscesses & major infection.  The surgical team & all the Dr.'s who worked on me, as well as the nurses, CNA's & staff did a wonderful job getting me back to health.
Hense, I've been at home, quietly resting.  Then, early Friday morning, Karl's shoulder became dislocated (from a previous injury) & we were back at Lee Memorial! After enough Prophefal & Ketamine to kill a full-grown elephant, they were able to pop that sucker into place. I was still pretty swelled up & still feeling really lousy, but I was determined to get out my Blogmas Christmas Edition but after hearing about the tragedy in Newtown, CT., I just couldn't!  I was totally devastated! I taught & was a principal for 12 years....it really hit home.  I spent the next few days crying my eyes out & wondering why.  There's still so many unanswered questions that we ALL have, so many emotions that we're all still trying to get a grip on, but, for the sake of the families, the children & the entire nation, I feel that we must use this horrific tragedy as a platform to educate & make sure this NEVER happens again. Period. (I'll delve into my personal feelings & opinions later).
Now, on a (much) lighter note, Christmas is just days away! Are you ready?  Are you even close? Hahaha....me neither!  Tonight, I'm wrapping presants, tomorrow, more shopping!
I am gonna be blogging tomorrow too! Yep, spread the word- I'm back from hiatus!

I also wanted to say that I hope everyone who was celebrating Hanukkah last week had 8 safe, happy & all-around crazy-fun nights with your families! 
Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

I Got Lice....and that's the BEST thing that's happened all week!!

It's 11:52am and here I sit at Cape Coral Hospital, in a wheelchair, swelled up and very sore.
What happened, you ask? Well, let me rewind to yesterday morning.  My sister calls me at 8:30am to tell me she and my nephew have lice. Great. Lice. Now, I've had lice before , but I was a dirty little kid- I'm an adult who takes great pride in my personal hygiene!  Maybe I don't have it, I thought.  I thought wrong. Ben didn't have any (surprisingly), neither did Karl.  Just me.  So, I had to treat EVERYTHING- humans, furniture, bedding/linens....it was a nightmare!  Plus, I'm STILL dealing w/the tooth, it's now soooo bad that my eye is almost swelled shut!  To top things off, after dozing off around 3am, I woke from a dream & had to pee.  I got up, but, the weight of my body (all 117lbs of me), was too much for my ankle, it just snapped! Its now swollen, bruised and can't support my weight. 
So, I sit here in this crowed reception area, waiting, waiting, waiting for these schmucks to tell me they can't do shit to help!
I'll keep everyone updated on Twitter and Instagram of what's happening w/me.  Bad luck comes in 3s so hopefully it's over!

I'm including a pic for you're viewing pleasure of what I looked like when I woke up....WARNING: THIS PIC IS VERY, VERY DISTURBING! View at you're own risk!!

It's beginning to look a lot like BLOGmas!!!

Deck The Halls With Christmas Cheer...

So, its December, it's shopping season, holiday season and it's also my favorite month!  I love love love the holidays, especially Christmas!  To celebrate just how much I love all things red, white & green, I'm announcing the first annual BLOGmas!!!  Basically, Blogmas is just me randomly blogging about the holidays, what we're doing, where we're going and what we'll be getting Ben this year.  I'll be posting pics on my Instagram and Twitter accounts daily so make sure to follow me on them too!  I will be doing a Food File all about Xmas cookies, a clothes haul from my birthday and....of course, Ben's wish list haul!!!  I'm even thinking of doing a virtual tour of the house so y'all can see my Xmas decorations!  Make sure to check here daily to see what I'm up to next!  To kick things off, I thought I'd share a few pics I've taken so far of the holidays...I hope y'all enjoy this time of year as much as I do! (I don't wanna show too much, I'm saving those pics for future blogs)

Beautiful Bulbs

My Hello Kitty tree

Sally Ornament

What's your favorite part of the holidays?  Mine is definitely seeing the look on people's faces when they get the gift they really wanted and the tag says from: Katie!!  That's the best present of all - giving!  I love giving gifts (and receiving....who doesn't???).  I love decorating for Christmas, the lights, the sparkles, the sheer happiness.....it's like I exploded all over the place! lol  Email me your favorite part of the holidays or just leave me a comment below!

Dentist Wanted: For Pro Bono Work...

My swelled-up left side...
NOT feeling like a beauty today!

It's 11:36am (est) and I'm on hold with my bleepity-bleeping insurance people.  I have had to endure the physical pain, torturous throbbing and mental anguish of an abscess tooth, or 2, possibly 3.  I literally can not take this pain any longer!!!  Normally, no big deal, go to the dentist's, right? Wrong.  I have horrible teeth, most in the back have had to be pulled and I'm not working with a whole lot so I'm trying to save what I've got.  So, the dentist's assistant suggested we try to get the insurance co. to cover dentures cause its beyond cosmetic now, its medically necessary - I can't eat without teeth and I'm down to my last 2 on one side! But when I RODE MY STINKING BIKE 6 miles THERE AND BACK, I found out my insurance has dropped me!?!?!  Why?  Because I have Medicaid (I'm medically needy with my RA and all), that's why.  They dropped me because according to them, I make too much money (last time I checked, I did NOT get a paycheck from sitting around blogging all day), but apparently, that's why!  So, I'm back to square one....swelled face and no relief in sight! 

** I'm DEAD serious about the Dentist wanted!!!  If you want to help my mouth, shoot me an email!  Please and Thank You!!


Happy Birthday To You, Mom

Today's my late mother's birthday.  She would've been 65 years young.  I miss her so so much, especially around this time of year.  She loved being with family and devoted her entire life to taking care of us.  No matter how much time goes by, I still miss her like it happened yesterday (OK, I'm trying to NOT cry right now).  She was a great teacher, a wonderful wife and hands down, the BEST mother any child could ever want or ask for.  She was and always will be my hero.  She may be gone physically, but she's always with me, in my mind, in my heart.

My beautiful mama

With my dad on their wedding -
They would've been married 28yrs
this past July....Love you Mom

Wedding day jitters....

Happy Birthday Mom, I love you.

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie


Keep next year as interesting as this year - subscribe to my blog or my YouTube channel, or follow me on Instagram and Twitter....OR, you could do all of em!  Never miss a minute of my adventures!

Pine Island Jr Olympics

My Little Champion
Today, Ben competed in the 31st annual Jr Olympics right here on Pine Island! He, his classmates and the rest of the school participated in various events like frizbee throw, long jump, softball throw as well as 50yd dash and .25 mile races.
I can officially announce that my son did an outstanding job! He got 3rd in the 50yd dash and 2nd in the .25 mile!! I've included pics of the day.

This post was done completely on my phone so that's why it's not as jazzed up as my regular ones. Stay tuned-this past week has given me PLENTY to write about.

Thank You....yeah, I really mean you!!

I wanted to say thanks to all my ladies, worldwide!!
Plus, I wanted to check out the blogger app & see how to post pics from my phone. So this is a test too, 2 bird's, 1 bullet! 

hmmm.....

Holiday Blues
I know that the holidays are supposed to make you all warm and fuzzy, but seriously, I just really feel like punching someones lights out!!!  This is my freakin' favorite time of the year and crappy things just keep happening!  Here is how I spent my Thanksgiving vaca.....not at all how I'd imagined (it wasn't that bad, I guess I'm exaggerating, but still).

"Forgetful Jones": Why Can't My Child Remember Anything?!?!
So, Ben goes w/his grandparents for Thanksgiving and comes home Friday, minus 1 coat and his brand-new pair of shoes I just got him!!  It gets better...I didn't realize any of this until 8:20am, they leave for school at 8:25.  I was so mad!!  He's 7!!!  He should be responsible enough to bring  home his ONLY pair of school shoes and the ONLY hoodie he has that fits him, but also, why was no one checking to make sure he had everything?!?  I'm on a budget, I can't just go out and buy new shoes and coat at the drop of a hat- especially considering that not even 1 month ago, he got the shoes, shirts and jeans!  So, yeah, I called grandma about 9am, to try to arrange a meeting to get back Ben's things. I STILL haven't heard back....
**it's now 7:19pm and I have YET to hear from grandma about his stuff.....typical.
**he has shoes and a hoodie.  I found a pair of basketball shoes I bought him years ago but were too big - they fit now & the hoodie is just his "winter" one - lined with wool & kinda hot, but still...

Thanksgiving With The Family: Why Do I Think It'll Be Different Every Year?!?
I spent Wednesday evening sifting, stirring, breaking, mixing and baking pies!  This was the first time I've ever made pies, let alone homemade pies!  They all turned out excellent!  I made 2 pumpkin pies, using my mom's recipe (everyone LOVED them), a pecan for my dad and for Karl (which turned out to be everyones 2nd fave), and finally, I made chocolate delight; a chocolate, cream cheese, cool whipped and graham cracker crumb crust made into the most heavy, delicious thing ever!  Feast your eyes on these beauties:

Ingredients for my famous
Chocolate Delight

Finished Product
Top: Layers from the side
Bottom: What the top looks like

Pumpkin Pie Ingredients

Pecan Pie Ingredients

Finished Pies!  YAY!!
(yes, those are little pumpkins on the top of the pecan's crust)

But anywho, back to why my Thanksgiving was less-than-stellar.  One word: DAD.  This man who I camped out beside for 2 months straight and put my life on hold to nurse back to health for did NOTHING but bad-mouth my pies "I hate pecan pies - they're way too sweet!" (I made it especially for him, I've never even had a pecan pie - my grandmother made them for dad every year, I thought I was doing something nice for him, guess not)!  He went out of his way to stick in nasty comments every so often (like "nobody cares what your blood pressure is" when the ENTIRE house was taking theirs on his BP cuff)!  Then, he made sure he sprinkled in a few choice comments about how I was "evil" and shit like that...It WAS a fun day, don't get me wrong, but for once, just once, I would love it if my dad wouldn't treat me like a freaking murderer!!  I love that man so so much.  I just WISH he'd love me back (or at least pretend for the freaking day)!!

Black Friday Shopping: Not For Me!!
While most of you across the country were waiting in line for days, some of you "smart" shoppers even braved the elements and camped out for weeks leading up to the biggest shopping day of the year, while I slept in!  I DID, however, go out to buy one very important thing for the holidays:  Car Insurance!  I'm such a middle-aged mom!!  I was actually excited to get it outta the way!  What a responsible adult!  Seriously, I would've LOVED to hit the mall, outlets and shops, but I'm on a very limited budget and have to watch every penny.  So, in a way, black Friday sucked too.  I miss having money, but LOVE being a stay-at-home mom....it's sooo worth it!

The Blog: Really Wondering If I Should Continue???
The last time I posted was almost a week ago.  Why?  You might ask, well, because of the lack of participation.  Guess how many of you entered the cupcake contest?  The same number of you that entered the Outfit of the Week contest and all the others......a big, fat 0!  I have held multiple contests and have had so many open-forum styled posts, asking for feedback, comments, participation, etc.  Plenty of you have read it, many of you from all around the world! I HAVE gotten feedback, it's all been super-positive, but, I guess that I thought it would be a bigger deal than it is.  It's a HUGE deal to me, I love this, but, shit.....it takes up a lot of my time I could be using to spend with my family or whatever.  So, I really don't know.  Maybe I'll give up, maybe I won't.  

Peace, Love & Light,
Katie

Thanksgiving Day Go-To Guide, part 2

It's Just About Turkey Time!!

Thanksgiving for Mice! lol

Here's part two of my go-to guide for an easy, stress-free Thanksgiving!  In this edition, I'm going to explain the perfect way to season Mr. Tom Turkey (my secret ingredient will be reveled), how to deal with relatives that can't stand each other, alternative afternoon activities for the kids and, of course, more sweets!  My family's always been big on sweets and deserts so I'm sorry if I'm putting such a strong emphasis on that aspect of Thanksgiving.  Lets get started!

**One More Day Left To Enter The Cupcake Contest**

Be Creative!!

Send me a picture and recipe for your THANKSGIVING/AUTUMN-THEMED cupcake!  The Winner will be announced tomorrow AND will have their recipe/design featured as the recipe of the week for Tasty Tuesday!!  Entries MUST be in by 10am est.

GOOD LUCK!!

Perfect Turkey, Every Time

To perfectly season a turkey follow these simple steps I learned from a dear old Perto Rican friend, Maria Ortega.  She taught me this recipe at least 10 years ago and I've done it every year since.  It's so succulent and delicious - you'll be loving it!

• cover that bad boy in butter - really coat it good
• next rub it down with Adobo seasoning, garlic salt, pepper and Goya brand seasoning packets(sold in the ethnic section)
• cook it (times will vary depending on size and poundage)
• while cooking, braise with butter until skin is nice and crispy-golden brown
• eat it up

Holiday Drama

It can be the most wonderful time or the most dreadful, depending on what color sheep you are. If your having problems with your family, here's my advice: be polite and ignore them.  It can be very hard, but trust me, NOBODY wants there to be a drag-out, knock-down fight in the streets!  If you are put into a situation where there is NO way to avoid conflict, be the bigger person and just leave!  It sucks, but fighting on the holidays is even worse than keeping your head raised high and ignoring drama, right? Right.

Arguments can wait until after the first of the year....this is the time when families need to be together and love one another!

Alternative Ideas for Kids

After the big feast, the kids are all amped up and ready to go!  Here's a list of ideas to do with the children, they range from $$ to free and all are kid approved!

• Movie Theater - This idea is kinda pricey, but, they usually have GREAT movies that open on Thanksgiving day!  I can remember seeing every classic Disney movie at the theater with my mom, siblings, aunts and all my cousins...we had a blast!!
• Early Black Friday - Nothing says Thanksgiving like waiting in line at Best Buy!  Stay warm and stay safe!!
• Parks - Going to a park is free and has everything you need to get rid of that "food baby" you feel like you're about to birth!
• Neighborhood Pick-Up - Give thanks by cleaning up the neighborhood!  Grab a few bags, the kids and hit the streets!  Pick up the old cans, wrappers and litter left behind.  Mother Earth will thank you!
• Volunteering - Probably the most giving thing you can do is to donate your time to helping others.  Someones ALWAYS has it worse than you, show them they are not in this alone, that you're their to help.  You can't imagine how rewarding you'll feel!

Gobble Gobble Goodies

Now, my favorite part of the post....the deserts!  I'll include short descriptions of each one...if you want more detailed recipes, comment below or email me and I'll get the complete recipe out to you ASAP

Candy Corn Parfaits
Take vanilla and butterscotch pudding
layer them in a fancy glass, then
top it off w/whipped cream!  YUM!!

Leaf Pie Crusts
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes
from pie crust dough, paint with food
coloring and decorate your pies!
Cook as directed and serve w/love!

Double Stuff Toms
Shove candy corn into the icing part
of an Oreo, take a dab of icing to secure
Reese's cup face and candy corn beak
eyes are just black & white icing

Rice Crispy Turkeys
Follow directions on box for treats
take mixture, roll into balls, dip into
melted chocolate and decorate w/
candy corns and candy dots!

Sugar Cookies
Basic sugar cookies cut out w/
cookie cutters & decorated w/icing
& candies. Easy & fun!!

 

Final Thoughts

Whether you're traveling afar or staying local; host or guest; being w/family and friends is the most important part of the day.  Sure, we all want the "Martha Stewart" Thanksgiving, but the majority will closer resemble the "Conner's" (Rosanne)!  Just treasure the time you do get to spend with loved ones.  Don't take it for granted and take lots of pictures.....trust me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Peace, Love & Light,

Katie