My creative daughter....

Well, really both of my girls are quite creative. I have no idea where they get it from! ha ha I am getting a kick out of this 10 year old's cooking skills. The thing that is amazing about this is that all of her little ideas are inexpensive, fast and easy to make. Today for lunch, Destiny wanted freedom to create and promised she's only use the microwave. Okay, sounds good to me! So Destiny cooked hotdogs and chili. She took flour tortillas and sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese on them. She threw the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds, melted the cheese...spread a spoonful of chili over the cheese, then wrapped up the hotdogs! LOL My daughter made chili cheese dogs in a tortilla! It was actually really tasty.

Today on a shopping outing, I bought Destiny Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2. She came accross my copy of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul that my dad bought me back when the Chicken Soup books first became REALLY popular. Destiny read a lot of the book and just loved it. I bought her, her very own book. She is so excited! She's laying at the foot of my bed reading it right now.

Destiny has a project due for school on Wednesday. She has to read about Abraham Lincoln and make a poster about him. We are going to surf the net for info on President Lincoln and make her poster tonight. We have come up with some fun ideas. I will post photos when the project is completed.

My grandmother..

My grandmother was the most amazing woman I have ever known. I was thinking about it earlier, and I feel that she truly is my main inspiration for starting this blog. For 16 years, prior to her death, my grandmother kept a journal. She wrote in her journal every single day. Every single day for 16 years my grandmother only wrote about the GOOD THINGS in life. Our family is not without hardships, and we are certainly not perfect. My grandmother was able to look past the negativity and maintain a positive outlook. She kept her head up every day and never let life get her down. This mentality is what made her the strong, accepting, wonderful woman we all came to know and love. If I can be anything like my grandmother, I know I have succeeded.

Perhaps a sign....

Emma and I went to visit her potential new owners today. We had a WONDERFUL visit. Emma had a lot of fun terrorizing her dogs. Uh oh! Emma is a puppy and the other dogs are an 8 year old Jack Russel and a 9 year old chihuauah. Emma was very good behaved, but her energy level was just too high for two older dogs. We visited for two hours. Emma was able to play and make new friends, but at the end of the visit the potential owner decided an older dog may be a better mix for her home.

I cannot say this devastated me! I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, Miss Emma belongs in our family. What this means is that *I* need to take on the sole responsibility of parenting her and I need to become more disciplined as a pet owner to care for her and show her the time and attention she needs. We really do love her very much. This shouldn't be a difficult task!

Dinner DeJour

Destiny's big dish of the night - Egg Tacos! For someone who hates eggs, I am learning to become quite the fan with my daughter's cooking escapades. Destiny requested I teach her how to make scrambled eggs so she could make egg tacos. Its a lot of fun to cook with Destiny. Its even more fun to see how good she feels about herself once dinner is completed :)

Doughnuts for Dad...

Brennan is 5. Although he is a big boy, there are a lot of concepts he doesn't understand. The kids' dad moved to Arizona in August. He was just back to Illinois for a visit and the kids are missing him tremendously. We went grocery shopping this afternoon and Brennan asked if he could have a doughnut. So, all of the kids picked out doughnuts...we finished our shopping and we came home. When we got home Brennan broke his doughnut in half. His sister asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm saving this one for dad." He wrapped up half of his doughnut and put it back in the bag. lol Sissy said, "Buddy, daddy isn't probably going to be back until the summer. It will be old by then." Brennan stood by his little statement and was adamant he was saving this doughnut for his dad. His sisters wouldn't drop the issue until Brennan finally ate the other half of the doughnut. I had to pick him up in my arms and kiss his little face all over. I have the sweetest, most thoughtful boy in the world.

Losing Emma...

We have an amazing little dog. She is a rat terrier named Emma. Emma is just a joy to have in our family. She is the best tempered animal I have ever met. Unfortunately, I have come to realize I am just not cut out to be a dog owner. Not right now. The kids are still too young to really help and the mom, well, the mom is just too busy to take on another child. Emma is wonderful and I hate to lose her, but it is time for her to go.

Destiny begged for a dog. She wanted her so badly. Shortly after Destiny's birthday, Emma joined our family. She has been a wonderful addition, but very quickly Destiny tired of caring for the dog. Lately, Emma has been making accidents by the door. This is not the dog's fault, it is the humans' fault. She tries to give queue's that she has to go to the bathroom, but because it is cold - Destiny does not want to take her for a walk. This poor dog is stuck in the house all day long. The kids are even getting sick of playing with her. At first, she was like a brand new toy. Everyone wanted to care for her and play with her, now they treat her as if she is a pest. This poor little puppy doesn't deserve that. I am simply spread too thin, and I cannot show her the attention she deserves.

I think I found the perfect home for Emma. I will be taking her to meet her potential family tomorrow. This is such a bittersweet moment for me. It is GOOD because Emmy really deserves the best. She has been very well loved...and she deserves to have an owner who can dedicate the time she needs to her. It is sad because I love her so very much. Selfishly, I just want to keep her...eventhough I know that is not the best for her. What do ya do!? The puppy doesn't deserve to suffer because the humans enjoy her presence!

Emma is only the second dog I have ever owned. We did not keep the first dog either. He was nowhere near as well tempered and mild mannered as Miss Emma. He refused to go to the bathroom outdoors. He would spend hours running around outside and go to the bathroom as soon as he got in the house. When we were presented with the opportunity to have Emma, I was really skeptical because of my previous experience with Beni. Once I met this sweet little girl, my heart melted and I knew she belonged in our family. I wish that I could generate more time to spend with her. I wish that I could motivate the kids to want to help with her. The sad reality is that is just not realistic at this time. The better part of me says I need to let her go.

I will escort Emma to her potential family's home at 10am tomorrow. I will introduce Emma and hopefully things will just fall into place. From everything I have learned, I know that Emma will be perfectly loved and cared for in this home. I will miss her something terrible.

I've lost my voice!!!...

Yesterday I started to sound a little squeaky and today I am barely audible! OH NO! I have found it is hard to be the mom when you sound like a goose...lol The benefit of mommy being "under the weather" is the children act like saints! Everyone has been great this morning. They all were really helpful getting each other ready, no fighting, no fussing. I'm not even really sick. I feel fine, I just have no voice. These little people never cease to amaze me. One day they can be each other's worst enemies...and the next day they're best friends. The thing that I find the most interesting is that no matter what, they are always there for each other. Even if they're being sassy or angry with one another....when necessary, they're always right there to help.

Chef Destiny

Destiny will be 11 in June. We have embarked on the new adventure of cooking. She is using the stovetop with ease. She is a bit skittish of the oven, however, she loves cooking on the stovetop. Of course the first thing she learned to cook is BREAKFAST! Destiny makes amazing omelettes, eggs and pancakes. Destiny also makes a mean grilled cheese with mac n cheese being a close second...and she truly is a microwave magician. If it comes in a can, she's all about it! For the last few months Destiny has been asking to help more. She hates cleaning, but she loves to cook! I have been allowing Miss Destiny Rae to make lunch and/or dinner whenever it is feasible. Recently she has been making dinner almost every night. One day she made pancakes for breakfast and she even went as far as to make a little menu with all of the different shapes of pancakes she could make! Hearts, Mickey Mouse, Circles, Chocolate Chip...you name it, she makes it! This has been a very empowering thing for her because it allows her to be a functional part of the family. It gives her a real sense of accomplishment and belonging and it has created a major shift in her overall mood. Whenever Destiny can help cook, she is a very big girl and she is very proud of herself. One thing that she does is she always serves her mommy first. When she originally started cooking things, I didn't think anything of it. I figured she wanted mommy to try it to make sure that she did okay...or she was looking for approval. This has turned into a little ritual with her. She will not allow anyone else to eat until mommy is at the table and has been served. I asked her why she's feeding me first....I always feed in order of youngest-oldest. She said that it is because I work so hard to take care of them, that she wants to do something nice for me in return to show me how much she appreciates me. Its amazing how just something as simple as making your mommy an omelette can be symbolic of so much. She really is a good girl. I can not believe how big she is getting....and how grown up she has become!

A fine day to start blogging

For most of you, no introductions are necessary. I participate in many different online communities and over the years I have chosen to utilize each of my communities for different purposes. This is a place where I can keep a day to day journal of the comings and goings of my little family. A few truths about me are; I am terrible at returning phone calls, I am a workaholic and a single parent, I am currently working to obtain my BSHS/M degree online and I play WoW for stress relief. The kids and I have a Wii that we have a lot of fun with. I am still hooked on old school Mario games. My all time favorite game is Super Mario World. The kids really like it too! We have a puppy named Emma and a cat named Linux. Every day is an adventure in my world and I can't wait to share some of it with you!